, i

THE THEOSOPHIST:
A

MONTHLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO ORIENTAL PHILOSO­

PHY, ART, LITERATURE AND OCCULTISM.

CONDUCTED BT

H. P. BLAVATSKY.
UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY.

VOLUME IV.—1882-83.

MADRAS:
P U B L IS H E D BY T H E T H E O S O P H IC A I# S O C IE T Y , A D Y A R ,
 fW a ft v a s :
r i U N T E T ) A T T H E S C O T T I S H I 'K E .S S ,
HY GRAVKS, CooKSOtf ANt» CO.
 THE THEOSOPHIST.
-v ' O Z j T j i m iih : i v .
1 8 8 2 -8 3 .
( O C T O B E R TO S E P T E M B E R . )

INDEX.

P ack. P age. P age.

A t o n e m e n t , t h e m i s c h i e f of t h e B u d d h ist,— C atech ism , See u n d e r
A. d o c t r i n e o f ------- ... • ... 11 9 “ C a t e c h i s m ;” ------- S a c r e d t r e e rtf
“ A v e s t a ” a n d T h e o s o p h y . .. . . 40 K u m B u r n , 130; — R .elic so f S o p ’a r a ;
A b r e w ( W . D . ) , F . T . S ., a v i c t i m t o A vitelii ... ... ... ... 13 3
20 5
101 ; 233 ;------- P e r e h e r a , 236 -------
C h ristian b ig o try ... ... A z o t li . .. • ... ... ... 84 181
M o v e m e n t in E n g l a n d ... ...
A d i B ra lim o S a m a j.— See u n d e r 325
B u d d h i s t s , p e r s e c u t e d in C e y lo n , 205;
“ B rah m o S a m aj.” ' ‘ .
A d w a i t a p h i l o s o p h y , 3 0 ; 138 ;— of
B. B r u n o ( G i o r d a n o ) , t h e e r a of t h e
M a r t y r d o m o f........................... ... 237
A lm o r a S w am i, 118; 128;. 2 0 1 ; B . A ’s, B r a h m o s a n d C h r i s t i a n s ... 175 167
B u l l a g a i n s t S p i r i t u a l i s m , P a p a l —■ —
2 4 5 ; 2 4 8 ;— Versus S e m i t i c B ib le . 175 B a t t e r y , H u m a n s t o r a g e ------- ... 2 7 9
B u r y i n g d e a d b o d ie s , d i s a d v a n t a g e s
A d w a i t e e ’a d i s s e c t i o n of V i s i s t l i a - B a t t l e - g r o u n d of S p i r i t u a l R e f o r - - : -
o f .......... ................................................ . 48
d w a i t i s m ... . .. . .. ... 229 m a t i o n ” ( D r . S. B . . B r i t t a n ’s ) , 147
A g a s t y a , 1 5 4 ;— s t i l l l i v i n g ? ... 2 0 3 B e a r d ( D r . G e o r g e ) , d e a t h' o f‘- 167 c.
A g ric u ltu ral R eform (Indian) ... 91 B e g g a r s , g e n t e e l - 312
160 ; 223 ; 272 C a lc o t.t’s ( D r . ) “ G r a m m a r of M u s i c , ” 126
A h a l y a , E s o t e r i c m e a n i n g of------- ... 2 0 2 / B e l l , B o o k a n d C a n d l e ,
C a l e n d a r , a n a t t e m p t a t a n e w ------- 237
A h rim an , a n d O rm azd • ................... 217 B e n g a l , c r i m e i n ­ 82
C a lifo rn ia on T h e o s o p h y ... ... 3 1 3
A lchem y ... • •• ••• • •• 8 4 B o n n e t ( D . M . ) , p a r a d e d a s s p i r i t -
A l l a h i n A t h a r v a n V e d a . .. ... 2 7 3 C a n d l e , B e l l , B o o k a u d ----------- 160 ;
• 2 2 3 ; 27 2
A l m a n a c f o r 18 83. ( H e e r a N a n d ' s ) . 126 his “ A ro u n d th e W o rld ,” ... 146
1th ayavat-G ila, See “ P h i l o s o p h y of C a t a l o g u e of I n d i a n D r u g s ( D r .
A lm o ra S w am i, A d w a ita P h ilo so ­
S p irit” ; E soteric m e a n in g and P a n d u r a n g G o p a l ’s ) , r e v i e w e d , . . . 147
p h y of— 1 1 8 ; 1 2 8 : ------- a n d o u r
E n g lish tra n s la tio n of— p ro m ised , ■Catechism , C ol. O l e o t t ’s B u d d h i s t —
f a i l i n g s , 2 45; c a l l e d u p o n t o d e f e n d
h i s p o s i t i o n , 3 1 4 ; h i s i n t o i 1p re - - 2 6 5 ; 293 8 3 ; 2 52;- - o f V i s i s h t h a d w a i ta
p h ilo so p h y , ... 1 9 6 ;2 2 8 ; 2 2 9
ta tio n s , criticised , ... 201 ; 2 4 8 B h a t t a , K u m a r i l a ------ - -.... ... 202
C a v e of th e E c h o e s... ... ... 164
Anvnia M wuli ... ... ••• 116 B i b l e , c r it i c i z e d , 143 ; A d w a i t a P h i ­
C e n s u s of 1 8 8 i , T h e o s o p h i s t s ’ m i s ­
A n i m a l s , S o c i e t y f o r p r e v e n t i o n of lo s o p h y versus tiie S e i n e t i e — 175 ;
S e l f - c o n t r a d i c t i o n s of t h e ------- 4 1 ; 120 r e p r e s e n t e d i n t.he— — ... ' • • • 311
c r u e l t y t o ------- 5 4 ; E n c r o a c h m e n t
C e r e m o n i e s , t h e efficacy of f u n e r a l •
o n t h e p a s t u r e s f o r ------- ... ... 173 B i s h o p of B o m b a y , o n d i v o r c e a n d
2 2 1 ; f u n e r a l — a m o n g S a v a g e s , 281 ;
A n n i v e r s a r y (7 tli) of tlie T h e o s o ­ re -m a rria g e ... ... ...
78 B l a s p h e m y , p r o s e c u t i o n f o r — 2 0 6 ; 2 8 4 ;-----—f o r B r a l i m a n i s i n g l o w e r
p h i c a l S o c i e t y , n o t i c e of ... ...
12 Prof. T y n d all on- — 7 ... ... 2 8 4 C aste m en, ... . ..2 0 1 ; 28 5 ; 236
A n t h r o p o m o r p h i s m ................... ...
“ B o m b a y G a z e t t e , ” 'O c c u l t S c i e n c e C e y l o n , R e l i g i o u s r i o t s i n ------- 197 ;
A p o l l o n i u s of T y a n a , M a g i c a l e v o ­
2 0 5 ; 3 25; O r i e n t a l i s t s ’ A s s o c ia t io n
c a t i o n o f ------- ... 58 a n d t h e ------- ... — ... 3 2 4
B o o k a n d C a n d l e , B e l l — 1 6 0 ; 2 2 3 ;... &72 a n d t h e B u d d h i s t P r i e s t s of— 3 1 7 ;
A p p a r i t i o n s a t t li e m o m e n t of
“ C e y l o n F r e e t h i n k e r , ” ... . ... 291
death, . .. ••• ••• i ••• 3 1 5 “ B o o k of C h r o n i c l e s of P i l g r i m s in
t h e l a n d of Y a h w e h ” ( 1). M, C h e la , H o w a — f o u n d his “ G l i m , ”
A r e l is e o l o g i c a l e x p l o r a t i o n s i n E g y p t
6 7 ; R e m i n i s c e n c e s of a ------- 1 1 4 ;
to p r o v e C h r i s t i a n i t y ... ... 173 B e n n e t t ’s ) , r e v i e w e d ...,, . ... 72
1 5 7 ; C helas a n d K n o w e rs , 9 5 ;
Archoeology, t h e p ro g re s s of— a n d B o dies, T h e s e v e n h u m a n — — ... 2 8 2
120 ; “ C h e l a s a i i d L a y C h e l a s , ” ... 253
—■— 301 ;— a n d P s y e h o m e t r y ; ... 2 3 5 B ose , R a j N a r a i n ------- ... ,,.3 1 3 ; 2 / 4
C h iro m a n c y ... ... ••• . 174
A rne Saknussem ................................... 2 3 4 B r a h m , IT o w o n e k n o w s a n d b e ­
c o m e s ------- ... 71 C h r i s t , t h e s t a t u s o f —— 261 ; - i n t e r ­
“ A r y a , ” I n c o r r e c t s t a t e m e n t s of
p re ta tio n s of H i s last w ords b y
t h e ------- 1 7 2 ; A n i n j u d i c i o u s q u o ­ B r a h m a n , cerem on ies t o b e c o m e a
—:— 2 0 1 ; I I o w to b e c o m e '— — . th e M a y a V ocables ... . ” • ’236
ta tio n in t h e — — 2 2 4 ; E lasticity -
o f i ta “ o u t - s t a t i o n ” e p r r e s p q n - ' 2 3 5 ; 2 3 6 ■ ' W h o is a — :— ... 263 C h ris tia n b ig o try a n d persecution,
i n C e y l o n , 197 ; 2 0 5 ; 3 - 5 ; — - i ii
dent . .. ••• ••• 4 9 B ra ln n i n ic a l t h r e a d . ,. 109
E n g l a n d , 2 0 6 ;. C o m p a r a t i v e s t a ­
A r y a S a m a j, tlie d o g m a s o f— ... 140 B ra ln h o S a in ’a j, T h e A d i - — 13 j 3 3 ;
2 1 3 • 2 7 4 '; criticism of A . S a n k a - -. t is ti c s o f I n f i d o l a n d C h r i s t i a n
A s a n s ( Y o g a p o s t u r e s ) , t h e ULiJity
75 M o r a l i t y , 217 ; C h r i s t i a n M o d e r n
of-------- ... ... r i a h 011- - — 7 7; r e p l y t h e r e t o , 117 ;
A s c e t i c i s m , S h a m ------- ... ... 131 N e w 1 D isp en satio n of K esliub . r i t u a l s , t h e O r i g i n o f ------- • 243
49 C h a n d e r S e n , _ !................. 1 09 ; 185 ; ,2 0 0 C h r i s t i a n i t y , 6 ; 1 0 ; — c r it i c i z e d , 143 ;
“ A s ia ” (A . H . K e a n e ’ s), r e v i e w e d . . .
p r o g r e s s o f -------in I n d i a , 139 ; V i c ­
“ A s t r a l d o u b l e s ” a n d E l e c t r o s c o p e . 2 0 9 B r a h m o s , C h r i s t i a n s , a n d B . A ’s ... .175
B r i t a i n , c r i m e i n ----- -■ ... 82 t i m s o f ------- 2 7 6 ; i n f lu e n c e o f ----- r-
A stro lo g e r, r e a d in g a se a le d letter,
u p o n sc ie n c e h i s t o r y , Ac., 3 0 1 ;
1 9 2 ; A f a m o u s ------- ... ... 2 7 2 B r i t t a n ’s ( D r . S. B . ) “ B attle,
3 0 4 ; crim es a m o n g C h ristia n s a n d
A s t r o l o g y , .94; 1 7 6 ; 204;233; g r o u n d Of S p i r i t u a l R e f o r m a t i o n ’, 147
M o d e r n S c ie n c e a n d -------- ... ... 277 “ B r o t h lil t s ” , H i m a l a y a n ------- 4 6 ; 5 0 ; h e a t h e n s c o m p a r e d , 82.;- O r t h o d o x
65'; H o w a C h e l a f o u n d t h e — :— p a d r i ’s b e l i e f in s p i r i t u a l i s n i , 119
A t h a r v a n V e d a , th e so u rce of M a h o -
6 7 ; T h e c u s t o m of b e s p e a k i n g t h e C h r i s t i a n s , B r a l u n o s , a n d B. A 's ,.
m e d a n ism ... ... . .. 27.1
175; C h r i s t i a n s a n d B r a h m i n s coni-
A t k i n s o n ’s ( H e n r y . G O , v i e w s o n ' i B l e s s i n g s 6f J---- - ... ... .... 141
. p a r e d , 119 ; Z e n a n a M i s s i o n 283
M a tte r and F o r c e , . 1 0 8 ; - ------ • B u d d h a , a u th e n tic history a nd da te .
E rro n e o u s im p ressio n s r e g a r d i n g ’ 1 o f ------ w 'nptod, 2 9 5 ; I m a g e s a n d . C lairv o y a n ce , a case of ? . .... i6(8
T h eo so p h y ... ... ... ... 2(50 p h o t o g r a p h s o f - -----y a n t e d . .. 2 8 3 Colleges', P r i n c i p a l s , of In d ian -
t a k e n t o t a s k b y m i s s i o n a r i e s ... 167
A tla n te a n s , a re th e old G reeks' a n d • B u d d h i s m , ' 182 ;. E j u m m u m b o n u r n , - -150
R om ans . .. ... . .. . .. 2 9 5 p f -------a n d H i n d u i s m , 2 3 6 ; R e v i - ■: C o l o u r a n d S o u n d , ... ...
C o n v g rt, A Pr i nc e — • • •• 26(S
A tm an a tm a V iv e k ah ” of S ankar^- 1 v a l o f - — —a n d t h e R i o t s i n C o y - •,,
charya ..i . .. . . . ' ... ‘ 3 0 Io n , 1 9 7 ; 3 2 5 ; O r i e n t a l i s t s A s s o c i ­ Cfook ( R e v . J o s e p h ) . . . .••• ; j .' »-J. 13°
a t i o n f o r t h e s t u d y o f —— - 3 1 7 ; . C o r n e r ’s ( C a r o l i n a ) “ M y .: y i p it . tQ
A t oins,— M o l e c u l e s and E th e r 1-46
W aves, 9 7 ; 1 55; th e Scientists’ ‘ . “ E s o t e r i c ” — — ( A . P . S i h n e u ’s ) , S t y r i a , ” r e v i e w e d . . . ■ ; . .1. .-.
C osm ieal R in g s a n d R o u n d s. 231
^ it-wa o f —’— c r it i c i s e d , -,,, 3 0 4 See under11 Sinnett.”
 P age , P age. P ag a.
Crawford’s (F. M.) “ Mr. Isaacs,” Food, can a man live without------, 16 H u n te r’s (Dr.) exertions for India,
124; 145 Foetioide, is—a crime ? ... .. 282
... 1 ;— r—for H indu Musio... ... 265
Crime in Bengal and Britain com­ Faroe and Matter, 44 ;----- from the Huxley (Prof J and “ Isis Unveiled,” 325
pared ... ... ... ... 82 Hindu standpoint, 66 ; Mr, H, G,
Curses of Pope against Spiritualism, 167 I,
A tkinson’s views on----- . ... 108 Idolatry, 9 7 ;----- *in theVedas 18;,.. 43
D. Fragments of Occult Truth, 2 ; 131 j Immortality,—and Death, 28 ;------of
“ Datavya Bharat Karyalaya,” ... 213 161; 194 ; Explanations of------ , the Sapta Rishis ... ... ... 146
Davidson’s (P.) “ Violin,” reviewed, 126 28; 202; 252 Incarnations, Do A depts recollect
Dayanund Saraswati Swami, oharges Freethought Calendar ... ... 237 their previous,— ... ... ... 296
of—49 ; his dogma of the In ­ Free-thinker (a) in Palestine 72; India, Religious education in-------,
fallible Revelation of the Vedas, Swami Dayanund, a --------- 224 ; 55 ; missionary progress in-------,
140 ; 260 ; ---------- a real Yogi and NO persecution of the Freethinker... 206 139; marvellous rapidity in tho
Yogi, 172 ; ------ a free-thinker ... 224 Fundamental Truths Eternal, ... 294 transmission of newsin— -—310 ;so-
Death,—and Immortality, 28 ; 137; Funeral Ceremonies, the efficacy of cial intercourse between Europeans
— warning 172 ; apparitions ------ 221;------ among savages, 281 ; 284 and the Nativesof—— 319; agricul­
at tlie moment of------ ... ... 315 Future, Religion of the------ , ... 205 tural reform, 91; the 18 Siddhas. of
Delhis, the seven H in d u ------ ... 303 Futurity and Eternity, the theory southern------154 ; Principals of
Denton’s “ Soul o f Things,” 235 ; 239 of------ , ... ••• 44 colleges in---- —167 ; Indian drugs 147
“ Devas,” defined, ... ... ... 263. Indian Mirror,” the Theosophist’s
Devachan, 29 ; 131 ; 202 ; Western G. , image in th e— —... ... ... 30
Gambetta (Leon), a re-incarnation
Stricture and Eastern Theory of of Emperor Napoleon, 166 ; The Indian Witness” of Calcutta,
------ 266 ; the various states of— religion of------, 220; the eye slandering Theosophy ... ... 167
270 : intercourse with beloved and brain of- 222 I n d ra ’s crime, esaterically explained. 202
souls engaged i«- 293 265 Infidel and Christian morality, com­
Gayan Samaj of Poona, ...
Divination, H indu— -169 Parsi parative statistics of---- -, ... 217
Ginwala’s (N. S.) “ Social inter
220 ; 275 course between Europeans and Influx and Efflux, the law of------ ,... 210
1Double,” can the- -murder ? 99 ; Intuition, Reason and— ... ... 327
Natives of India,” ... ... 319
’ 149 ; 314 God, 45;------ irreverently spoken of Inventions ... ... ... ... 5
Double-sexed, the primeval Hum an Irresponsible, the guilty and the— ... 326
by Salvationists, 109; Isothermal
raoe, ... ... . 112 " Isaacs, Mr. (“ F, M. Crawford’s”)
------ 12; A seeker after------172 j
Dragged in again, ... . 206 Personal and Impersonal------ , 74 j 145;------reviewed ... ... 124
Dream-Life, ........... . 269 104; 1 1 9 ; ......................................... 138 “'I s is Unveiled,” 119; the chasm
E. Gospels, Origin o f - —- , ... ... 6 between old and new methods
Earth, Physical changes of the ; 281 Government, profession of religious bridged over in------151 ; Prof.
“ East India Materia Medica,” 96 ; 147 Huxley and— 325
impartiality on the part of—■ — ... 55
Echoes, the cave of the ... ... 164 “ Gramm ar of Musio” (Dr. Calcott’s), 126 Isothermal God 12
E dard’s (Prof.) Electro-magnetio Great names, under the shadow J.
apparatus, ... ... ... 251 of........ ......................... 137; 262 Japan, Magical M irrors of— - 60
Education, 43 ;—oommission at Greeks, are the old—Atlanteans ?... 295 Jesus ... ... ... ... 261
Poona, 1 ; Religious------in India, Guilty, the— and the irresponsible, 326 Jesuits ... ... ... 119
55; music in schools, ... 5 G o r u , How a Chela found his------ Jivatm a and Odoriqen ... 251
Efflux and Influx, the law of------ ... 210 67; the finding of a---- ... 174
Egypt, missionary expedition to------ K ali D evi’s image insulted by
to explore the remains of H padri, ... ... ... 324
Pharaoh’s army ... ... ... 173. “ H , X.,” 39 ; 45; 75 ; 95; 12Q ; ----- Kama,-LoT(a, 2 9 ; ... ... ... 131
Electro-Magnetic Apparatus (Prof. chided, 88 ; Alluring promise Kardec (A llen), Teachings of------ 281
Edard's), ... ............................ 251 of----- 16 ; 77 ; reply to the letten Karm a, 89; ... ... ... ... 252
Elementals, the 3 degrees of----- ... 304 of-----, .104;
138 K 119 ;
eshub St.,—see “ Sen”.
Eliphas Levi, Doctrines of------28 ; Haeckel’s (Prof.) lecture on Law and
Gleanings from------, 36 ; 58 84 Miracle ... .. ... ... 77 K habar ............................. 310
Kingdoms, seven ... ... ... 304
England, Buddhist Movement in------ , 181 H a hn ’s (Dr. O.) views and Funda-. K ingford’s (D r. A.) “ Perfect way
Energy, Is------matter ? 44; Evo- mental Truths, ... ... ... 294
in diet,” reviewed... ... ... 264
luting.................................................. 304 Hair, should men cut their----- . ... 218 Knowledge, Is w ithholding------a
Epilepsy and Mediumship, ... 78 H armony and Homoeopathy ... 219
sin ? 39 ; 95 ; 120
“ Esoteric Buddhism,” See under H aunted house in Zante, ... ... 321
H aute Magic, R itu a l de la, 36 ; 58 ;... 84 K rishnavarm a, (P andit Shyam ii) at
“ Sinnett.” ... ... ... ... Oxford ................ ... ... 27
Essentials of Religion, 213 ; ... 274 Head-quarters, removal of our--—— 53 K um arila B hatta ............................ 202
Eternal, Fundamental Truths------- ... 294 Heeranund’s Almanao for 1883, 126 Kurq Rum* the saored tree of------
Eternity, The Theory of------and Hermetic Philosophy ... ... 84
in Tibet, 130; A Mussulman------
Futurity, 44; Time, space and-------, 69 Herschel’s (Sir W.) views,... ... 299
a t Lucknow ............................ 203
Ether, The Universal luminiferous, 116 Hinduism, Superiority of ^ — to other
E th e r Waves, Ato.ms, Molecules and ------ religions 13 ; 33 ; I d b u H s of L,
— .........................................97 ; 155 gadris to,------ 324 ;Victims of— ■ Lamp, Psychology of the------, ... 42
Ethics of Theosophy, ... ... 326 276 j Summtim------bonwn of----- - Law and M iracle,............................ 77
Europeans and Natives, Socialinter-. and Buddhism, ... ... 236 Law—does—require a law-giver,
course between------ ... . , 319 “ Hindu, magaainesfor— Women,” 119; 1 7 4
Evolution of man, 2 ; 46 ; ... ... 161 126 ; The status of------326 ; D o— “ Life after D eath,” (Dr. H , War-
Excommunication, Pope’s Bull of—, 167 M ahatm as exist? 146; Social in. nekke’s), ............................. 123
Exorcism by Missionaries in cases of tercourse between the European Life-atoms, transm igration of------... 286
hysteria, 160 ; 223 ; ... { ... 272 and the-------319------ Divination, Life-W ave, hum an------ ... ... 1 6 1
169 j------Zodiac 176 ; 204;------ L ight’s Velocity, ... ................ 234
p. ! Musio—see “ Music.”
. ... 88 Historians,infallibility of theWestern SOI Longevity, ... ... ... ... 203
Fasts, the Rationale of------,
Females, Magazines for----- lfJ6 ; Lost A rm , pain in a — — ................ 11
Homoeopathy,------ and Mesmerism Lunatics— whence the name ? ...
Education of Hindu------1 -J the 169; ------and harm ony,... ... 219 •Lynton’s (E. L.) “ Witch Stories,” 1 7 1
S a g u n a B o d h in i for- 291
173’; the Horoscopes and Astrology,... ... 94
status of- 326 H um an storage Barttery ... ... 279
Fifth year, our----- 265; ... ... 293 H um e (A. O.), on the necessity for “ M .A.(Oxon)”—cm the “ B rothers,”
First Cause, Tho.ughts on the religi­ religious education in India, 55 j 46 ; 50 ; on S pirit identity, 256;
ous problem of a ------, ... ... 32 — on the infallibility of the his review of “ S tars and the
Five-pointed S t a r ............................ revelation of the Vedas, ...140; 260 earth,” ,,, ............................ 0 9
 m
I N D E X.

P age . P age.
P age .
Magic,. 164; Spii’if-ualistic} Black—,-. _ Mysterious.race in Nellore, , _ i>> 82 “ Perfect Way in Diet” (Dr. A.
iiystic I^adi-i, 119 : 'Mystic' sto rie s.: K ingsford’s), reviewed ... 264
92-; Black-— -on tlio Nilgh.ins. i Philharmonic Academy of Calcutta,
, ;~ 3 2 0 ;— o£ t h e N e w llis p e n s j it io n , 266
1200; M a g ic a l . M irrq rs or J a p a fi, ■ - Mythical Periods, ' ... .••* ,301 • •■• ... (.' 7 j
Philosopher’s stone, ': J .... ... 84
GO ; a n e x c e lle n t m irror, 1 4 3 ; M a- ;
g ic a l e v o c a tio n . o£ A ppllon^ u s, :.ij 58 ; ■■■ - h : ; / . 1 " Philosophy, “ ------ o f , Spirit’’ (W.
Oxley’s) 18; 121;. 174; 210;
M a g n e tism , M ed ica l-^ — ; .... _ A Nadigrandh<w\s ]■ •••: :. ••• ^33 ' Hermetic----- :84; yisishthadwaita
M ahatmas— S ee “ B r o th e r s ,;, H im ^ - . , Narcotics 131;----- versus Occultism. <283 ‘----- ■, See under “ Visishthad-
• Iayan ” visible and invisible, Napoleon’s reincarnation as Gam- ' waitism” ; Adwaita—— , See under
75 ; Z oroastrian—— 88; do H indu betta, ... ... _ ••• -V“ Adwaita.” ' '' '
, ^— :---- exist ? 146; the 18 , Natives and Europeans, Social inter­ Philoz'oolatric appeal, , ... 173
Siddhas of Southern India ... 154 course between-—,... ... Photographic gun invented by M.
M a h a b h a r a ta in E n g lis h ... ...... 213 National Fund for. tlic study of 329 Marrez, ... ' ... ... ... 5
M a lio m e d a n ism , e so te r ic —— 145 ; Sanskrit, ... ... ••• ••• ^ Pillay, Ramalingam —— ... ... 61
204;------- in Atharvari Veda,: 273 ; Nations, are the G reat------to be Planetary chain, ... , ... ...4 ; 161
A M ahom edan “ K um bum ” _tree. 203 swept away in an hour ?... 295 ;. 301 Politics, Spirits engaged in*----- ... 166
M ahrathi “ Theosophist,” reviewed Nebular Theory, is the correct ? 295 ; 298 Poona Gayan Samaj... ... .. 265
• : : . . : . . 126.; 319 Nellore District, a Mysterious Race Pope’s Anathema against. Spiritual
Man, evolution of----- 2 ; 46 ; ' in— ......................................... 82 ism, • • ... ... ... .. 167
P r im e v a l race of—:—112 ; bep; New. Dispensation,------Seo under Post-mortem life, ... ... ... 123
tenary Principle, 253 ; 282 ; Pro- ^ “ Brahmo Samaj.” _ Pralcriti and Puruslia, ... ... 248
gress of h u m an ity ... ... ••• News, marvellous rapidity in the Pralayas ... ... ... ... 152
M anickya Prabhoo Y o g i , ................3 /d transmission'of----- in tiie East,... 310 Press, W riting for t h e - — • ' ... 79
Newton (Rev. B.) at Rawalpindi, Prevision ... ... ... ,,, 85
Manus,...- ... ................. 1 5 2 ” 254 . ^ 41 ; 120 Prince Convert ' ... ' ..'J
... ....................................... -*■?" > ,,, 263
Masonry, T antric—. ... iqq Niblett’s (H. C.) questions, an­ Primeval Race, double-sexed ... 112
Materialism and its lessons,.. .•• toy swered,... ... 75 ; 76 ; 174 Prophecy,—of mediums 167 ; • of
M a t t e r , Ia fo r c e o r e n e r g y - - —. Nilghiris, witchcraft on tho------- ••• 320 a F a k ir ... ... i ... ... 191
44 . --------- a n d f o r c e i r o m t h e H i n d u Nostradamus, Michel de, ... 277 Psychical Research, Proceedings of
standpoint, 66 ; and Spirit, Numbers, color of— , ... 150 the Society for---- - , . ...■: ■ ... 72
2 4 g ------ !— and its forces 108 ; Psychological Review, mistaken
indestructibility of— ... ... _ ... 128 : O. notions of the------ ... ... 104
Maya Vocables of Y ucutan, C hrist’s Psychology of the Lamp ... ... 42
last words interpreted by---------•• 236 Obscurations, ... ... ••• 161 Psychometry, 239 ;------and Arehaj-
Mayavirupa, ... ••• ••• ••• 314 Occultism, is vegetarianism neccs- ology ........................................... ... 235
Medica, E ast India M ateria-—^-96 ; 147 sary for advancement in — 235 ; P unish and P ra kriti . . ... ' - ... 248
Medical M agnetism ,... ... \ ••• 182 Narcotics versu s ----- 283; G. F. Pythonesses and Serpent Python,.,, 311
Meditation, the tree of-------- 185 Parsons on Theosophy an d ----- 313
Mediumship,------and epilepsy 73 ; Occult accoustics, ... ... ••• 90 Q.
Mediums 262 ; curious Medium Occult Science and its M asters,... 324
istic Phenom ena 85 ; a common Occult T ruth, Fragm ents of------2 ; Questions, pertinent------ ... 235
vice of Mediums, 137 ; prophecies 131; 161; 194; Explanations of
of Mediums. 167'; difficulties in the — 28 ; 202 ; 252 ; policy of the : ................... R. J1
question of Medium-sliip. ... 203 “ M ahatm as” in giving out tho Ramabai (Pandita) ... ... 1
“ Mehladi M ata,” ... ... ••• 168 ------, 65 ; 94 ; 120 ; alleged contra­ Ramalingam Pillai Yogi, the..utter­
Mental labour and full stomach ... 88 dictions in the expositions of----- - ances of—---- - ' ... ' ...;1 61
Mesmerism, as an anaesthetic, 116 ; 231 ; old and new methods of ex­ Ramaswamier (S.), F. T. S., How—
healing by—:— 158 ; homusopathy , pressing-------151;-----in Zoroas- found his Guru ... ... ... 67
a n d ----- 169 ; Medical—170; perils rianism , 217 ; 224; 240 in Rawalpindi Mission School ' and
of dabbling in—280 ; Mesmeris- Dr. O. H ahn’s views, 294; ob­ " Selfcoiitradicti’ons o fth e Bible”,
ing W a te r ,... 281 jections iu the expositions of------- ,
' ' . ' _ 4 1; 120
Metals, transmutation o f— ... 84 295 ; Replies thereto, ... ... 296
Real and.Unreal ... ... ,. .,. 267
.Metaloscopy and Xiloscopy ... 175 O d„ ... .. ... ... 85; 159 Reason and Intuition, ... .,. 327
Metempsychosis, ... ... ••• 287 Odorigen and Jiuatma, ... ... 251 Re-birtl), retrogression in—---- '.- 174
Mind,Thought and Cerebration, 25 ; 79 O lcott’s (Col.) B uddhist Catechism Re-iucarnation theory of' Spiritists,
Mineral,-^-Monad, 303 ; —kingdom, 304 ------See under “ Catechism.” 166; 167
■Miracle, law and—-—77 ; ------ and Orientalists an Association o f----- ... 317 Relics, Sopara Buddhist-------: ' ... 101
Theosophy: ... ... ... 152 O rigines, l e i ------ ... ... 51 Religion,------of tho Future, 205 ;
Missionaries, abuse of power by ----- j Ormazd and A hrim an, ... ... 217 ------ of Leon Gambetta, 220;
41 ; 120 ; Misleading statements Ojfley’s ( W . ) “ Philosophy of S pirit” Essentials of—-— ...213; 274
of------139 ; exorcisms by------ 160 ; ----—see under “ Philosophy” Religious, brutality in Ceylon,
223 ; 272 ; charges of—— against Hierosopliy and Theosophy, ... 244 197 ; 205 ; 325 ~ ;-------Education in
the Principals of Indian Colleges, India. ... 55
■ 167 ; fibbing of-;— :-263 ; insult of Reminiscence of p re v io u s iiica,rna-
: ------ to Hindu goddess^,: 34 ; Padri, See under “ M issionaries” tions, 296
. belief of—in spiritualism, ,j 119 ; M ystic----- - ... ... ... 119 Revelation,------ of St. .Keshubj-J48;
Zenana Mission, ... ... 283 Paine H all Calendar, ... ... 237 nd—infallible ... ‘140
Modern Science,------ seo , tffider Palestine, a F reethinker in----- • ... 72 REVIEWS':'— ' ‘ ' ' .
“ Science.” . . . . . . Piili, the treasures in—:— ... ... 317 “A rya ” Outstation correspondence
, Monad, ^Mineral—— 303 ; .Monadic Panchakon ... ... ; ... ... 9 of the———... ,• ... '.- ' I., 49
Essence, ... . ... . 304 Panahakosa, ... ... ' ' ... , ... 255 “ Asia” (A. H. Keane’s) ... ... 49
; AConas, the Peripatetic application of 304 Paracelsus (Theophrastus), slapders “ Battje-ground of Spiritual Refor­
Moon, influence of the beams of------ against-—r— ... 120 mation” (Dr. S. B; B rittan’^)'., 1,4.7
171; is the------immersed in matter ? . Parsi, light w anted by a—-141 ; tlio “ Book pf tiie phrqnicles of 't|i^Pil-
; ..295; 303 religion of the .— -j—189 ; A grims in tho land of Yah we h,”
; Morality, comparative statistics of mode of divination afnpng. the ■ (D.-M. Bennett’s), 72
the Infidel and Christian . • ... 217 2 3 0 ;.' ... ... ... . . . 2 7 5 “ Ceylon Freethinker” . . ; / ... 291
; Muller’s (Prof. Max) opinion wanted, 236 Patanjali’s Yoga Philosophy ;(Tuka- “ Cosmos, les Mondes”-— —... 173
Music, Hindu^r——5 ; 2 6 5 ; H indu ram Tatya’s, edition), reviewed... 71 “ Esoteric Buddhism” .'(A. • P.
theory of------11 ; “ Grammar of Perehera, ... ... ... ... 236 Sinnett’s), ... ... . ...- ... 288
—'— reviewed ,,, 126 “ Perfect Way,” ... ... 10 ; 87 I“ Isaacs, Mr,” (F. M. Crawford’s),,.. 124
 • - !1 " r <:] 1 ^Page, i . , P age. . '. .. P age,
Kesliub Ch^Scn’s Rdvelatipri 'u.»y<i 148 !Sleep,:m ,w hat'posture to -— r? 185; 323 of-1^—326 ; H ejlry G. Atkin&bn’s ’ .
“ Life after'iDefath” (Dr!. H: Wart: : ; , Sme! 1,, vibratory harrrionics ' of— — 17 errt>n&ous imW&s^ibns regarding!
' nekke’s), ... .<• ••• 12$ Sopai;a B uddhist R elics,. ... ,,1,01.;, 233 — -“7- 2 6 0 .; Califormia on - * -1 ■ : ‘ U; 313
u Light’.’—; % A. (O x o n .y ’i'a-Notes." ■J Soul, whence t h e - 1— ' ... 1 28l T h ir t| .yesfrp1' a | 6 "a'WtorV 315
by-tlU tf&jf t i e ------V.. ,•••'■: 50 ,“ Soul of Things” (D enton’s), 236 ; 239 Tibetaii,' ■Cis-*-1^ ' ramble*" 115'; :
“ M a r i n e s iot-HiriAli WbiVien,” ... 126 Sound, Colour and'——. ... 150 . K u in b u tt 'ti*eB'irt Tibet > .w '130
“ My V i s i t C o r n e r ’s). : 146 Space; Time--and E ternity;... ■ 69 Tirne^ Space'and'eternity, •’ ./. • 69
Pali," Tr^tUte& in-—^.'.v •»................317 8pectral,~W ai4iihg, 85; a scientific : ■ Trant3e-speiakei^i! a comftion vice' ’ .
“ Patanjali’s r • Yog .Philosophy?. . explanation ofJ-----appearance 116 o f . ..!!"■ . 1. ... 137
(Tukaram Tatya’s edition), '..I, 71 Spirit,------a n d M atter, 248 ; “ M„ Aj' : Transmigra.tidri or life atoms .,. 268
“ Perfect Way in Diet,” {Dr. A. : (O xon)” ota-J^^-Identity ... ■ .., 256 T rinity of Rightfeoiisness, ... ... 206
Kirigsfotd'^) ... ... ... 264 Spiritism , 281; re-incarnation theory “ T ruth Seeker Around the wttrld”
“ Philosophy-of Spirit” (W. Oxley’s). 121 o f ~ — .......... .- - . : 167 (D. M. Benn'ett’.s), reviewed; .1 4 6
“ Reply to Extra Supplement to the Spiritu a l Reformation, Hattie ground '. “ Tsdng-Ka-Uhi-Ghien,” Protect of
Theosophist ■■ for July 1 1882,” . of—;— (S. B. B rittain’s), review­ •— —95 ;• greetings to ------ i ,.. 120
(Omrao Singh’s) ... ... ... 172 ,. 6d:, ... ■ ... , .... 1.47 Tukat-ani Tatya’s edition of Patanju-
“ Revised Catalogue of Indian; Spiritualism , .22 ; 23 ; 31 ; Christiah ' li’s Yoga Philosophy, reviewed;.,. 71
Drugs’' (Dr. P andurang Gopal’s) 147 P a d ri’s belief in ----- 119; Pope’s Tyndall (Prof. John), 9 7 ; 155;
“ Satya Prakash,” ■ . ... 126; 148 ; 173 anathem a against------167 ; a observations of------comniunicat- '
“ Social Intercourse between Euro­ spiritual puzzle, 203 ; Death of Dr. ed; 260 I 1on the Blasphemy ■
peans and Natives” (N. S. Gin- '' G. Beard, the most fierce opponent prosecutiohj 284 ;— —speaking as , .
wala’s), ... ... ... ... 319 . of------ '' ... 1 .............................169 though he were an occultist, : ... 301
“ Stars and the E arth ,” ..i : ... 69 S piritualist, Vedantic views of a
“ Suguna Bodhini”. ........... . 1 ... 173 —1— 26; Common vice of .the^---- . 137 , ;; _ u. ■ ■'
“ Tatwa Vivechacka” (Mahrathi Srinivasa Row (P .), on the neces­ Umrao Singh’s “ Reply to the E xtra
theosophist),... ... ■ ... 126; 319 sity of religious education in India, 56 Supplement to the Theosophist for
“ Vedantasara”i ,.i ... ... 318 “ Stars and the earth,” reviewed ... 69 Ju ly 1882”,’ reviewed, ... ■ 172
“ Violin” (P. Davidson’s),... ... 126 Stomach, full—and m ental labour 88 U nreal, Real and — 1--------... 267
“ Voice of India”, ... ... ... 173 Story,, a —of 30 years ago, .. ... 315 Underwood (W .), exhaling fire th ro ' ,
“ Witch Stories” (E. L. Lynton’s),.. 291 “ Styria, m y.visit to—:— ” (C. Cor­ his;.m outh ... ............. ;.'2 7 9
ner’s), reviewed, ... ... 146
Subhuti’s Sopara Relic, ... r
... 233 Vaccination ' y -. 1.
“ Rings and Rounds,” 4 ; 46 ; 2 53' question in Switzerland
Sufi Ode, .............................. 145 ; 204
difficulties in the theory o f----- - 231 “ Suguna Bodhini,” reviewed; and English Parliam ent ... ... 91
... 173
Righteousnes, the Trinity of'------ .. 206 Suicide, is—— a crime ? 3 ; 93 ;------ “ Vedanfasara,” review ed... ... 318
“ Rishis,” do the---- -ex ist ? 146 ; Do Vedantjsm,' in the doctrine of tt
for the sake of Salvation, ... 276 Spiritualist... ... ... ... J>6
ancient------still exist ? .. . ... 203 Sun, Is- th e------merely a cooling
Romans, are the old------ A tlanteans? 295 Vedas'—Idolatry in' th e ----- , 18 ;
mass; 299; the M agisterium of 4 3 ; Infallibility, in the Revela­
Runic and A rne Saknussemm,. ... 234 tlie— 84; ■ the Seventeen-rayed tion ’ of-------- -140; Mahomedah- '
S. disc of ... ... ... ... 202 ism, the offspring of A tharvana
Sabhapati Swami’s beliefs... ... 203 Swami,—‘D ayanund Saraswati. See Veda, ' ’ ............................ 273
Sahara Sea ... ... ... ... 281 “ D ayanund” ; ------of Almora, see Vegetarianism, is—necessary for ad-
Saknussemm A rne,... ... ... 234 “ A lm ora” ; Sabhapati,--------- ... 203 vanceinent in occultism P... ... 235
Salvation Army, . . . . ................109 T. Velocity of L ight ... ... .. 234
Sankaracharya, date and doctrine of Victims of Hinduism as well as of ”
295 ; 304;------Atm anatm a Vivekah Tagore ("Rajah Sourindra M ohan), Christianity, ... ... ... 276
of •... ... ... . , ... 30 ... ........................... . . 7 ; 266: “ V iolin” (P. Davidson’s), reviewed. 126
Sanskrit, N ational Fund for the T antras, ... . ... ... 95 ; 226 Visishtliadwaitism, 196 ; 228 ;—1—
study o f----- ... ... . ... 43 “ Tatwa Vivechacka,” reviewed, 126; 319 dissected, ... ... . ... ... 229
Satan,—Identification of one’s self Temple, Sir R ichard—and Theoso­ “ Voice o f I n d ia ” revietfed ... 173
w ith------ ... ... ... . ... 28 phy, _ •••_ ............................. 128
“SatyaPrakash',” reviewed, 126 ; 148; 173 Theism, in Adi B rahm oSam aj, 13; 33 ^ W. ■
Theosophical Skirmish, ... ... 149 W arnekke’s (Dr. Hugo) “ Life after
Savage RaCeS, funeral rited im ong, 281 death,” review ed,... ... ... 123
Schopenhauer,---- -a n d Theosophy ( Theosophical Society----- andgenteel Widows, -remarriage of H indu—326;
90; —and Adwaitistri, ; ... ... 210 beggars, 325 ; removal of its Head
quarters, 53 ; its Chief Mission, W ittgenstein, Prince, blessed by ■
Science, Lay Che^a’^ letters. on , “ M ahatmas,” .. i ’ -... 142
Secret------65 ; Mbtlferrt—— criti- " ‘ 64; 7th anniversary, of------------ W itch,------ Tragedies, 291;------ craft;
cised 44 ; 66 ; Modern;— -and ' '7 8 ; Founders of------ ... ■ ; ... 206
Theosophical teachings in earlier on the Nilghris, ... ... 320
astrology, 277 : the bugbears of
modern------105 ; 169 ; 192 ; plagia- . w riters on Occultism, |... __ 151
. . x. r ; : :/
risms of modern-------; influence of; , “ Theosophist,” the Indian M irror’s Xiloscopy and Metaloscopy, ... 175
Christianity upon m odern ... 30 appreciation of t h e -----30; a flat­
t . ■ : - ;
Sealed Envelope, reading a -------... 192 tering notice of th e ----- , 152;------
S elf, How to know th e real------- .... 97 in M ahrathi, 126 ; 319; Policy of the Yanadhis in Nellore D istrict ; ' 1 : ‘ 82
Sen, K eshub Chandra, 109 ; Revela- : , —-—, 181; fifth year of th e ---- — Y aegar’s (Dr.) philosophy,... ' v.. '251
tion of------, ... .148; 185 ; 200 '............................................. 265 ; 293 Year, our fifth------ ------265; ... '293
Septenary principle in Esotericism, Theosophists, three grades of ancient Y oga,^philosophy {Tukaram Tatya’s
253;.............. .... ... „ ... 282 ------ 3 9 ;— —assisted in earnest edition of P atanjali’s) reviewed,
Serpent Python, ...' ... : ... 311 researches, 142; A word with 71 ------Postures (Asans), 15 ; Ex-
Shakespeare, from Theosophy 1 to ' the------143 : ------ as photographed tractsfrO m -^—V asishtha, ... ... 185
- - ......' ... . ... 2 6 0 in-tlie Im perial Census of 1881 ... 311 Yogi, M anickya Prabhoo------ ;
Shiva, ... *95; 226 Theosophy:------and the Avesta, 20; w hat is a ——— ? 235 ; Sham, 131; 283
Shroff (K. M.), Secretary to Society Lay Chela’s letters on------65;
for pre veii tion, of /cruelty to “ Indian Witness’s ■slanders '
Z.
. animals, ... .... :.,U ... 54 agairisfc----- 167 ; Schopenhauer Zante, H aunted house in....................321
Shyamji Krishnav&rma.(Pandit), , 27 and-----£)0 ; the failings of1------- Zenana mission, . ... . ... 283
Sinnett’s (A. P.) staitftch ’defence of and A lm ora Swami, 245; miracles Zero, A word with1-—■— ... ... 143
Theosophy, 149 ; “ Esoteric B udd­ and——J152 ; Sir Richard Temple Zodiac, H indu— >— 176 ; ' ... 204
hism,” 253 ; 277 ; 28B ; Some ques­ and-^-i—-128 ; <Miracles and:------- Zoroastrianism, 20 ; 141 ; Zoroaster
tions raised thereby, 295 ; replies , 15U ; ------and Religious riots 197 ; an d ----- 189; Esoteric------- 217; 224;
thereto, ... ... ... ... 296 Hierosophy an d ------524 ; Ethics 240; Zoroastrian MAhatmas ... 88
 TO

SUPPLEMENT TO THE THEOSOPHIST

V O L U M E IV *.

(OCTOBER 1882—S E P T E M B E R 1883.)

W . n L■Z ' , : h Y 2 . \
■ IICCCCOOCM ■

[In tlie following tlie Roman figures represent tlie

Numbers of tlie ’Volume.]

A.
Abayawardene, Simon P erera—I 4;
Thomas Perera— ... I l l 8 ; V G . speech at the A nniversary of—
Address,—of Bombay T. S. in honor
of the Founders IV 8 ;— of Wel­
come to Madras V 1 ;—of Banki-
pore T. S. to Col. Olcott, V I I I 11 ;
—of the leading gentlemen of Ma­
dura to Col. Olcott ...
Aligarh T. S., formation of—-
Allahabad T. S., name of—changed
V 1 ; llules of — ... ...
Amarasuriya (Thomas de Silva) ex­
ertions of—
Anan&iBai Joahi—See under “Joshi.”
A nantaram Ghosh—See “ Ghosh.”
Anniversary, celebration of tlie
seventh—of the T. S., IV 1 ;
“ Report of the 7th—”, reviewed,
X I I 10 ; first—of G untur T. S.,
V I 1 ; first—of Nellore T. S.,
V I I I 5 ; first—of Calcutta (Ben­
gal) T. S., I X 9 ; X 1 ; third—of
Colombo T. S . , ............................ X I 4
Arrah,—T. S., formed, I I I 9 ; Col.
Olcott’s wonderful cures at— V I I I 2
Aryan, oui— Forefathers’ Society,
(Tinnevelly) ............... '
B.
Bakhtawar Lai ...
Balai Chand Mullik... ... I l l 8, 9
Baldeo Prasad, ... X I 6, X I I 11 “ Brands plucked from tho burn-
Banerjea (Nobin K . ) ... ...
Bankipore,—T. S. formed IV 7 ;
Bye-laws of—T. S., V I 4 ; A d­
dress of— T. S. to Col. Olcott,
V I I I 11; Col. Olcott a t— IX 4, 5
Bankoora, Application for charter
for—T. S., V I I 6 ; Col. Olcott at—■
I X 4 ; Sub-committee of T. S., for
studying different branches of
Esoteric science ... ...
Bara-Banki T. S., formation of—I X 3
Barielly T. S., protest of—against
“ H . X .” I 5 • working of—
Baroda^ K anta’ Majumdar,—See
“ Majumdar.”
Beatson (Lieut. Stuart B.), return of
—from Egyptian W ar,
Beauleah T. S., formation of—V I I
,6 j Bye-laws of—.
P a o je . P age . P aob
B ellary T. S., formed, ... ... V 2 c.
B ennett (D. M.), I I 3 ; death of—• V 4 Caithness, Countess of— ... X I 3
Berham pore, D r. Ram Das Sen’s Calcutta, Col. Olcott’s lectures a£—
V I I 1, 4; Sunday School at—
■ T. S., V I 2 ; election of officers of opened by him—VII 7 ; Electioii
— T. S., V I 3 ; Col, Olcott’s of officers of—T. S., ... ... X 12
cures and eloquent lecture a t—V II I 3 Casava Pillay (R.), elected Presi­
Bliagulpore,— T. S. formed, I I I 9 ; dent of Nellore T. S., ... IV (J
S anskrit School of—V I 5 ; Col. Catechism, “ Buddhist”—accepted
... X I I 2 Olcott’s cures a t—V I I I 2 ; Col. as authoritative in Japan ... X II 9
V II 6 Olcott a t— ... ... ... IX 4 Cawnpore T. S., Protest of—against
Bhowanipore T. S.,—chartered V II 6 “ H. X.,” I 5 ; Bye-laws of— V 2
... V 3 Billing (Mrs. H ollis), ... 1 5 Cazeneuve (Jeane Aime de),... XI 3
Bishen Lall, exertions of—V I 5 ; Ceylon, Col. Oleott’s work in—II
... ... ... IV4II 7 , 8 ; V III 6 , 7 ;—forma B ran­ 2 ; his wonderful cures in— ... IV 7
ches at Delhi and A ligarh, V II 6 Chalcdighi T. S., formation of— I X ti
Blavatsky (Mme. II. P.), branch Chatterjee (Mohini. M.), I l l 8 ;
formed by—I I I 9 ; Address in Sunday lectures of—on H indu­
honor of—IV 8 j departure of— ism... ... ... ... X I I 11
for Ootacamund ... ... X I 6 Chelas,—and L ay Chelas, X 10;
Bolarum T. S., formed, V 2 ; Bye- Gurus and— ... ... XI 2
laws of— ... ... ... V 2 Chetty (G.Narasimhulu) of Hyder­
Bombay T. S., w orking of—V 3 ; abad, death of—• ... ... IX 6
VI 3 ; V II 6 ; election of officers Chinese American, edited by Wang-
of—V I 4 ; meeting a t A dyar for Chin-Foo, ............................ V I I I 6
presentation of a silver cup and Chingleput T. S., formed ... VU
tray to the Founders by— ... V II 5 Chinsura T. S., formation of— IX 6
Brahmo Sam aj, digression of—from Christianity, our policy not to be
12 H induism ,— V III 4 ; Acliarya of compromised by—X I 2; D. M.
A di— .......................................... X 3 Bennett’s lecture contrasting—
Bram h, hym n to— ... ... I 3with Buddhism ... ... y 4
X I I 11 Branches, individuality of — Seo Civilization, Vindication of ancient
“ Individuality.” —I 2 ; comparison of Aucient
Indian and Western— ... II 4
IV 6 iug” .......................................... I 2 Colombo, Col. Olcott a t—I 2; third
Brotherhood, U niversal— , VI 1 ; Anniversary of— B. T. S., XI 4
D r. Ram Das Sen’s speech on the Combaconum, Col. Olcott’s cures
—of Man, VI 2; Col. Olcott’s and lecturc at—X I I 4 ;—T. S.,
Lecture at C alcutta on Theosophy formed ... ... ... X II 8
and—........................................... V II 1 Corfu (Ionian) T. S. ,—co-operating
Buddhism , D. M. Bennet’sadm irable with Psychieal Research Society,
lecture in Ceylon contrasting— X 14; Election of officers of—X I 4
w ith C hristianity ... ... V 4 Council, meeting of General—• I V 4
X 13 Buddhist, Galle Theosophical— Cuddalore,—T. S., formed, V 1 ;
School, 1 2 ; Sopara—Relics, I I I Bye-laws of—T. S., V III 5 ; Col.
9 ; “ Catechism” (Col. Olcott’s)— Oleott’s lecture and cures at— X I I 5
V 4 Seo “ Catechism.” Sinhalese— Cures.—See under “ Mesmeric.”
N ational Fund.—See under “ Sin­ Courmes (D. A.), ................ V III 7
halese” ; Col. Olcott’s letter ou the D.
recent—persecution in C eylouV III 12 Dacca T. S., formation of—
... I l l 8 B urdw an, T. S., formation of— IX 5 V II
B u rt’s (D. II,) defence of Theoso­ Daji Raj (H . H.) Thakur Saheb of
... . . . 1phy,
X 7 ... ... ................ II 3 Wadwari, visit of—to Founders,

VI 5 ; departure of—for England,
V I I I 6 ; N arrow escape of—• IX 12
D am odar Das ...
D arjiling,— T. S., formed, I I I 8 ;
IV 5 ; Rules of T. S., IV 5 ; Col.
O lcott at— ................ V III 1
Deaths— See under “ O bituary.”
Defence for w ithholding know­
' lodge ... ...
Delegates,Names and Speechesof—TV 1-4
Delhi T. S., formation of— V II
6 ; ......................................... V II 7
D eshm ukh (Rao B ahadur Gopal
Rao H.), domestic calam ity of— II 3
D evendra N ath Dass
D ijendra N ath Tagore.— Seo under
“ Tagore.”
Disincarnation, an enviable—- X II 11
Dumraon, Col. Olcott’s unprece­
dented cures at— V III 2, 3 ;
formation of—T. S., V III 4, 5 ;
Donation of H. II. tho Malia
R ajah Saheb of— ...
D urbhanga, M embership in the
General Council of T. S., accepted
by H. H . the M aha Rajah Saheb
of— V III 6 ; IX 3 ; formation of
—T. S., V III 6 j ...............
E.
lHait, ill-humoured rem arks
th e — ... ... ... V III
Eclectic T. S., change of Officers of— II
Edirewere (Gregoris), ... ...
Enemy, an—turned Brother, ...
Esoteric Theosophy, “ H ints on—
No. 2” Reviewed ... ...
European, Col. Olcott's lecture on
“ Theosophy, the link between
th e—and native,” ... ...
P.
Fadecw (Hon’ble N A),
F ortin (D r.), ... ...
Founders of the T. S., presentation
of silver articles to—by Bombay
T. S., V II 5 ; welcome of the
leading gentlemen of M adras to
— V 1 ; Slanders of a spiritualist
paper against—I I 3; evening party
a t Bombay in honor of—IV 8
Address of Bombay T. S. to— IV 8
Seeunder “ Olcott” and Blavatsky.
F rin k ’s (W . R.) defence of the
Founders ... ...
Free-thouglit literature, not to be
suppressed for Christiant.y’s sake X I 2
Fund, Sinhalese National—See un­
der . “ Sinhalese ;” Indian N a­
tional—
Or.
Gaj apati Rao, (H on’blc Rajah) ... V 1 Jnbbalpore T. S. formed
G alleB uddhistT. S.,4th Anniversary
of—X 14 ; School of—I 2 ; state­
m ent showing the num ber of
boys in it ...
Ghosal, Jan ak in atb —forms K arw ar
T. S., IV 7 ; Mrs.— ... _ ... V II 6
Ghosh (A nantaram ), donation of—
for Sinhalese Buddhist National
F u n d ........................................
Goonasokera (D -O , D, S.),
Gopal Go vind P h atak (Rao Bahad u r),
detlth of-— ... •••
Gopal V. Joshi— See under “ Joslii.”
P age. P age. P age .
Kotahena riots, Col. Ollcott’s letter
“ H. X .,”„ five protests H< against—
. I 5, on— ............................ _ ...V III 12
... X II 11 6 ; P rotest of Berhampore T. S. K rishnavarm a ( P . Shyamji) ... IX 12
against— ... ... ... II 5 L .
H ague (H olland) T. S. ... Ill 9 Ladios’ T. S.,—-applies for Charter,
H atha Yoga, dangers of practising V II 6 ; working of—... X II 12
— ................................. i n 8 , 9 Lahore, Shylocks of—V III 9 ;—
H ead-quarters, Removal of—IV 6 ; T. S. unchartered, ... V III 12
... II 5 M anager’s notice of removal of Lawrence (S. S.), address of— ... IV 8
— ................ ... ... IV 8 Levy-Bing (L.) ... ... XI 3
Himalayan Esoteric T. S.— See un­ Light, seeiug bright—with closed
der “ Simla.” eyes ... ................... X I I 11
“ H ints on Esoteric Theosophy, No. London T. S.. change of officers of—
2,” reviewed... ... ... IX 9 V I 4 ; number 7 and—V I 5 ; pro­
... V II 7 Howrah T. S., formation of—. V III 4 posal of— th at every Branch be
H urry Singji Roop Singji {Rawal styled “ Lodge” XI 4; applications
Sri), Mesmeric cures of— ... Ill 8 for charters for all Branches in
H yderabad (D ekkan) T. S. formed V 2 United Kingdom to be recommend­
Hym n to Brahm ... ... 12 ed by — ... ... ... X II 9
Lucknow (Satya M argo) T. S.,
I.
Notice of S. J. Padshah’s lectures
Im partial attitude of the Theoso­ in—V II 6 ; a lecture in— ... IX 7
... V III 6 phist and P arent T. S., ... I I 1
India, Regeneration of—■ ... X II 9 M.
Indian Civilization, comparison of Madhava Rao (Rajah Sir T.) I l l 8
Ancient— and Modern W estern Madras, welcome of the leading
civilization, ... ... ... II 4 gentlemen of—to Founders V I ;
IX 6 Indian Mirror.— See under “ Sen working of—T. S. V III 1 ; J . A.
(Norendro N ath )”. Venkataram ay yah's lecture at—T.
Indian National Fund ... ... I l l 1 5., X 14 ; Sanskrit Schools of—T.
of Individuality,—of Branches, I I 1 ; 5., ............................ X I 3 ; X II 8
3 —of Allahabad T. S., V 1 ;—of Madura T. S. formed V 2 ; Bye-laws
3 B ankura T. S., ... ... X 13 of—T. S.V 14 jCoI. Olcott’s lecture
I 4 Initiation Fees, Poona Observer's and remarkable cures a t—X II 2,
VI G insinuation against the collection 3 ; address of the leading gentle­
o f - ................ .................... V I 6 men of—to Col. Olcott ... X II 2
IX 9 Initiation of candidates, Official Maitland (Edward). ... ... VI 5
eiroular regarding— ... V II 7 Majumdar (Baroda K anta), V 4 ; the
Isis Unveiled, French translation Thcosophical School of— ... VIIT G
V II 4 o f- - ................ . . - lb- Malabar T. S., formation of— ... X 13
Iyaloo Naidoo’s plan of raising an Mayaveram, Col. Olcott’s lecture and
cu res a t—X II 7 ;—T. S. formed X II 10
... X II G Indian National Fund ... Ill 1
... XI 3 Mesmeric Cures by Rawal Sri H.
J. Roopsingjee I I I 8 ;—by a corres­
Jam alpore,—T. S. formed, I I I 9 ;
pondent V 4 ;—by Tukaram Tatya
Bye-laws of-—T. S, IV 6 ; P ro­ V 4 ; Col. O lcott’s Marvellous—
ceedings of—T. S. IV 6 ; Col.
See nnder “ Olcott.”
Olcott a t— ... ... ••• IX 3 Mesmerism,dangers of dabbling in—X 12
Jan ak i N. Ghosal—Seo under
Mesmerist, does—suffer by mesme­
“ G hosal.” ( rising P I I I 8; first attem pt of a— V 4
Japanese translation of Col. Olcott’s
Midnapore, formation of—T. S.,..: ]X 6
B uddhist Catechism ... X II 9 Midzdtani (Riyo-Zen) translates into
Jessore T. S., formation of— V III 1, 5
Japanese Col. O lcott’s Buddhist
Jogendro N ath Basu Sarbadhicary— Catechism ... ... ... X I I 9
II 3 Sec “ Sarbadhicary”, ..............
Missionaries, Sinhalese boys won over
Joslii, V isit of Gopal Vinayek,— to from Schools of C hirstian— I 2 ;
H ead-quarters, IX 12 ; address
Cunning misinterpretations of;—1
of Mrs. A nandi Bai V II 7; 3 ; false reports of—disproved by
her departure for America to
HI 1 P. Srecnivasa ltao, Judge of
study medicine, V III G; her arri­ Madras ................ V {?
i val in America ... ... XI 6 Mohini Moliun Chatterjee-—See
... X II 11 “ Chatterjee” " ■
Judge, W . Q.—I 5 ; I I I 8 ; Jo h n Moradabad T. S., formation of—V I
h - ............................ ; ... HI 8 5 ; Sanskrit School opened by—
Jw ala Prasada, Mesmeric cures IX 6 ; C harter granted to— IX 3
... ••• 12 o f- ... ............................ V 3 Moshin Ali, exertions of— ... VIJ 7
J w a l a P r a s a d S a n k h a d h a r a , V II 7 ; IX 7
Mudaliar, (M. .Singaravelu) elected ;
K. Councillor ... ... : , .... V7II 6
Kali Prosonno Mukerjee—See under Mukerjee, Kali Frosonno—fornis a
“ Mukerjee” Branch at Beauloah,, V II 6 ! ^be
V I 5 Kandy (Ceylon) B uddhist T. S., example sot by ^—X II l l ; exertions
... I 4 New H all of— ... ... X 13 of Nivaran Chandra—■ ... X l l 11
K arw ar T. S. formed ... IV 7 ; V 2 Mullik (Balai Chand) ... .... I l l 8 , 9
... I I 5 Kathiawar T. S., change in the name
of— ... ............................. IX 7 " ®r-. .

G orakhpur T. S., form ation of— K hushw agt Rai ... ... XI 6 Nftidu, Memo, of Indian National
X 13 ; Bye-laws of— ... X I I 8 Kiugsford (Dr. A.) becomes President Fund by Iyaloo—I I I 1 ; death of
Gordon (Col. W.) ... v . I i 12 of London T, S.^ VI 4 ; —and M. Ramasawmi— ... ••• I 6
Govinda Chari u (A ), lecture of—■ V 4 number 7, .. ... ... VI 5 Naldanga, Theosophical School
G u n tu r T. S., celebration of first K irtane (Rao Bahadur V. J.) IV 6 ; V 3 a t —1 ... ... ...' V III 6
A nniversary of—• ... V I 1 Kishen ball (Rai), illness of— V II 7 Narasimhulu Clietty(G.) of H ydera­
Crwiw a n d ' Ghel&s ... ... X I 2 Kishnaghur, formation of—T. S. I l l • bad, death of— , .,. ' ... IX 6
Gya T, S., formed, ,,, ... Ill 9 9 ; pol, Olcott’s work a t— ... V II 7 NfirraU T. S. formed ... V III 1, i
 P age. P age. P age.
Native, Theosophy the link between cures of—at Combaconum X II 6 ; Savasadhana,... ... IX 10 ; X 11
the European and— ... ... V II 4 lecture and cures of—a t Maya- School, Galle Theosophical Buddhist
Negapatam, Col. Olcott’s lecture and veram and Cuddalore X II 7; —I 2 ; 3 Sanscrit— and 2 Girls—
cures a t—X II 3 ;—T. S. formed . Medical report on the cures of— opened by G untur T. S., V I 1;
X I I 6 ; Bye laws of—T. S ... X II 7 V III 3 ; X II 7; lectures of—at Sanscrit—of Bhagalpur T. S. V I
Nellore, First Anniversary of—T. S., Ootacamund X II 11 ; Tanjore 5; Sunday—opened by Calcutta
V III 5 ; change of officers of— T. S. formed by—X II 7 ; “ B ud­ T. S., V II 7 ; Theosophical—a t
T. S., IV 6 ; Protest of— Hindus dhist Catechism” of—See “ Cate­ Naldanga V III 6 ; Sanscrit—of
against “ H. X . ’ . •• _••• 16 chism” ; Heavy work of— ... X II 11 Moradabad T. S., IX 6 ; Sanscrit
Nivaran Chandra M ukerjee—Seo Ootacamund—T. S., formed, X I I —of M adras T. 8 ., ... X I 3 ; X II 8
under “ M okerjee.” 6 ; Col. Olcott’s lectures a t— X II I I Searsole, Col. Olcott at— IX 4 ; for­
Nobin K. lianerjee—See under “ Ba­ P. mation of—T. S., ... ... IX 5
nerjee.’’ “ P,” protest of—against “ H . X .” I 6 Secunderabad T. S.,—formed V 2 ;
N oreudraN ath Sen—Seeundor Sen. Padshah (S. J.), hymn of— to Bye-laws of— ... ... IX 7
Brahm I 2 ; notice of lectures of— Sen (Norendro N ath), speech of—
o. . . a t Lucknow T. S. ... ... V II 6 at the seventh anniversary IV 3 ;
Obituary :—M. Ramasawmi Naidu I Paris, working of—T. S., V I 5 ; —forms Bankipore T. S., IV 7;
0; Rao B ahadur Gopal Govind V II 7 ; two new Branches formed Staunch defence of Theosophy of
P hatak II 5 ; TC Ve'nkatanara- a t - ... ... ... ... XI 3 — IX 8 ; Speech of—at Bengal T.
sayya V 4 ; D. M. Bennett lb ; H. Party, eveniug—in honor of Foun­ ' S’s. anniversary ... ... X 2
E. Nawab Si. Salar Ja n g Baha­ ders ... ... ... ...• IV 8 Sethna (Rastomji Dhanjibhoy), X 14
dur V I 6 ; G. Navasimhulu P hatak (Rao B ahadur Gopal Seven (the num ber)—and President
Chetty of H yderabad IX 12 ; Jo- Govind), death of— ... ... I I 5 Founder’s Bengal Tour, V I 1 ;— 1
gondro N ath Basu Sarbadhicary Pillay (R. Casava), elected President and London T. S., VI 5 ;—and
XX G • ... ............... X I I ** of the Nellore T. S ... ... IV 6 Himalayan Esoteric T. S .... IX 7
Odessa T. S. chartered ... X I I 6 Pillsbury (Venerable P.), exertions Shinshin,—H igh Priest of Japan ap­
Olcott, (Col. H . S.), work of—in of—against, H um an Slavery ... V 3 proving of Col. Olcott’s “ Bud­
Coylon I 1 ,2 ; viewsof—on Indian Politics—to be eternally divorced dhist Catechism” ... ... X II 9
National Fund I I I 2 ; Series of from Theosophy... ... ... X 14 Shroff (K. M.) IX 12 ; indefatigable
Iccturcs delivered by—in aid of Pomar, Duchess of— ... ... X I 3 labors of ... ... ... V 3
Sinhalese N. B . F und III 6 ; ab­ Poona T. S., protest of—against “H. Sliolapore T. S. formed ... IV 6
stract of the speech of - a t the 7th X .” I 5 ; election of officers of—X I 4 Shyamji Krislinavarm a ... IX 12
Anniversary IV 4 ; wonderful Poona Observer, Insinuation of—- Simla, (Himalayan Esoteric) T. S.,IX 7
curcs of—IV 7 ; address in honor against Theosophy .............. VI 6 Sinhalese National Buddhistic
0 f —by Bombay T. S. IV 8 ; Pro­ Programme,—of Col.Olcott’s Bengal ■ Fund, C harter for — Eclectic
posal of—of im parting roligions Tour VII 5 ;—of Col. Olcott’s —T. 8 .—See “ Eclectic” collec­
instruction V I 1 ; begiushis Bongiil Southern and Northern Tours X 12 tion of—by Col.Olcott I 1; I I I 3-7;
Tour V I 1 ; Program m e of his Protest,—of U.ircilly,Cawnpore, and errors in the Memo, of—V 4 ;
Bengal Tour V II 5 ; V III 2 ; suc­ Poona T. S.’s against “ H. X .” I donation of Anantaram Ghosh
cess of—a t Dacca V II G; V I I I 1, 5 ;—of Nellore Hindus and “ P ” to— ......................................... V I 5
3 ;—opens a Sunday School a t against “ H. X .” I 6 ;—of Berham ­ Sinnett’s (A. P.) Speech at the 7th
Calcutta, V II 7; marvellous cures pore T. S., against “ H . X .” I I Anniversary, IV 2 ; —expected
of—at Calcutta VII 4 ; cures of 3 ;—of 201 Orthodox H indus visit to H ead-quarters V I 5 ;—
— in Bengal and Behar, VIII 2 ,3 ; against blasphemies in the States­ arrival a t Adyar ... ... V II 7
— forms Branches a t Dacca, Narail, man ... ... ... ... X I 2 Slavery, Venerable P ark er Pills-
JoRSoro and Howrah, V.1II 1, 4, 5; bu ry’s struggles against human—V 3
Q- Sopara relics of Lord Buddha ... I l l 9
Iccture of—a t Darjoeling, Y III 1 ; Queensland T. S., election of Officers
Review of the Collection of thelec- of— ............................ IX 7 ; X 13 Speeches, abstract of—by the dele­
tnres of —I t ; Addressof Bankipore n gates ... ... ... IV 2-4
T g to —V I I I 11; letter of—to tho Ramabai (P andita) ... ... IX 12 Srinivasa Rao (P.,) Visit of—to
E x a m in e r of C eylon npon the riots Ramasawmi, Branches formed by— Tinnevelly ... ... ... V
of the Catholics V III 12 ; Notes Iyer, I I I 9 ; IV 6 ; V 2 ; death of Srivilliputtur, Col. Olcott’s lecture
on the Bengal Tour of— IX 3 ;— —-Naidu, ... ... ... 16 and cures at—X II 1 ;—T. S.
a t Jamalpore, I b \—S tir made in Rawson(Prof. A.L.) forms Roches­ formed ... ... ... X II 1
Beliar by—I b \—at Searsole, Ban- ter T. S., ............................. II 2 Statesman, protest against certain
koora, Bankipur, Bhagulpoie, Relies, Sopara—of L ord B dddiia, I I I 9 blasphemies in the— ... ... X I 2
IX 4 ; a dumb man restored to R eport of the 7th A nniversary of Sunday,— School opened at Calcutta,
speech by—IX 5 ;—forms Branch­ the T. S ................................... X II 10 V II 7 ; Mohini Mohun C hatter-
es at Chakdighi, Chinsurah, Reviews :—“ Thoughts on the M eta­ jee’s—lectures ...... X
Midnapore and Dnrbhanga IX physics of Theosophy” (S. Sunda- Sundram Iyer’s “ Thoughts on the
(>; announcement of N orthern ram Iy er’s), V III 7; “ Collection Metaphysics of Theosophy,” re­
Tour of—IX 9 ; Statistics of tho of Col. Olcott’s lectures” (A. The­ viewed ... ... ... V III 7
cures, &c. of—in Bengal Tour, IX yaga R aja Iyer’s edition), V I I I 1 j Sw arna Kumari Devi Ghosal (S.
10 ; arrival of—a t Madras IX 12 ; “ H ints on Esoteric Theosophy M.,) ............................ V II 6
Lecture of—on mesmerism a t No. 2,” IX 9 ; “ Report of seventh T.
Bengal T. S’s. Anniversary X 7 , anniversary of T. S.,” ... X II 10 Tagore’s (D ijendra Nath) speech at
W arning from—to mesmerists X Rochester (H. S. A.) T. S., ... V 3 Bengal T. S.’s anniversary, ... X 3
1 2 ; Programme of the South Russian T, S., chartered ... X I I 6 Tanjore T. S., formed ... X II 7
Indian andNorth Indian tonrs of— S. T antric rites (Savasadhana,) I X 10 ; X 11
X 12; D eparture of— for Colombo, Saint Louis (U. S. A.) T. S. form a­ Tej N arain City School ... V I 5
X 14 ; a wonderful cure of lly p cr- tion of—X 13; ... ... X II 9 Theosophical Society, im partial
metropia in an eye by—X I 2 ;—• S alar Ju n g B ahadur (H . E. Nawab attitude of th e—and the '1'heoso-
at Tinnevelly, I 2 ; X I 5 ; a dumb Sir), death of— ... ... VI 6 phist I I 1 ; Individuality of tho
man restored to speech by—X I Salzer’s (D r.)speech at Bengal T.S’s. Branches of—lb ; Seventh Anniver­
S ; South Indian tour of—X II 1 ; anniversary ... ... X 4 sary of—IV 1 ; Schools of—Seo
—at Trivandrum, Srivilliputtur Sam aravikram a (D.) ... ... V 3 under “ School.”
X II I ; addressof leading gentle­ Sankhadhara’s (Jw ala Prasad) lec­ “ Theosophist,” im partial attitude of
men of Madura to—X II 2 ; Lec­ tures,—at Moradabad, V II 7 ;— the—and the P aren t T. S., I I 1;
ture and curesof—a t Trichinopoly a t Lucknow, ... ... IX 7 th e—will never compromise w ith
X II 3 ,4 ; lecture and cureso f—at Sarbadhicary (Jogindra N ath Basu) Christianity and suppress Free-
Negapatam X II 5 ; leoture and death of—X I 6 ; ................ X II 11 th ought L iterature... ... X II
 . P age. . _ , P age. ............... , . P ag e .
Tiieosophists, a warning to—I I I 9; T. S. l l 6 ; “ Onr Aryan Fore- 1 . . V. ’
difference between—and non— X I I 9 fathers’ Society” at — . ... 12 Vay, (Baron and Baronesa Von) ... I
Theosophy, the benefits of—V I 1; Tremeschini versus Theosophy IX 1 Vinayakrao J. Kirtane (llao Baha­
Col: Olcbtt’s lecture a t Calcutta Trevaudrtim, Cel. Olcott a t—■ ... X I I 1 dur), .............. . ... IV 6; V 3
on “ —and Brotherhood,” V I I 1 ; Trichinopoly, Col. Olcott’s lecture Venkatanrtr&sayya (K.), ... V 4
hia lecture 0n “ — the link between ! and cures’ a t- ^ X II 3, 4;'—T. S. Venkataramayya’s (J. A.) lecture X 14
the; European and Native” V I I 4 ; fornied, X II 7 jBye-laWs of—T. S. ; . w . (
“ Thoughts on the Metaphysics of X II 7 Wang-Cliin-Foo, our Chinese Bro­
— ,” reviewed, V I I I 7 ; a levy of Tukaram Tatya, mesmeric cures of ther, ... ............... V III 6
arms againsfr^-IX 1 ;—staunchly — I l l 8; V 4; Pablicatioii of W arning to Brother Theosophists I I I 9
defended by tlie Indian Mirror, Patanjali’s Yog Philosophy by-—V I 3 Weerakoon (I). C. P . ) ... ... 14
I X 8 ; Politics to bo eternally u. Williams (J. C.) ... V I G; V I I I 6
. divorced from—■ ... ... X 14 United Kingdom, Circular Order Work in Ceylon, ... ... 1 1
Theyaga Rajaier (A.), exertions tha t applications for charters for W right (T. Herbert) ... ... Ill 8
of— ............................. V III 1 all Branches in—should be rebom- Y.
Tilden (W. D.,) I V 6 ; exertions of mended by London T. S., ... X I I 9 Yaegar’s (Dr.) Philosophy, ... X 4
V II 7 Unwtilla (J. N.), Visit of—to Head Yoga, Dangers of practising
Tinnevelly, lecturc and cures of Col. Quarters ... ................ I X 12 H atha— .............................I l l 8, 9
, Olcott at—X I 5 ; Bye-lav.'s of—
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 A MONTHLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO ORIENTAL PHILOSOPHY, ART, LITERATU RE AND OCCULTISM : EMBRACING
MESMERISM, SPIRITUALISM , AND OTHER SECRET SCIENCES.

V ol . 4. No. 1. BOMBAY, OCTOBER, 1882. No. 37.

. I W » ^ h ife-y o u n g a n d le a r n e d R e fo r m e r be lo n g spared to her

t o w t h :
cou n try, o f w h ich she is o n e o f th e lig h ts a n d g lo ries, a n d
T H E R E JS NO ltliL IG IO N H IG H E R TH A N T R U T H . m a y sh e liv e to see th a t th e seed sh e h a s so w n , b eg in s to
\Fai)iiht ii/olto of the Maharajahs of Jienart t.'l g e r m i n a t e :— 'v A > \
e t/ / i f '
-—------ --------------- ■■ - ----------■ -■ ■—■ 7 Poona, 10th Sept.
The Editors disclaim responsibility fo r opinions expressed by con­ A public meeting of an altogether unprecedented character
tributors in their articles, with some of which they agree, with others was held by tlie leading Bramhan ladies of Poona yesterday to
not. Great latitude is allowed to correspondents, a n d they alone are welcome the Education Commission. The President having
accountable for what they write. The jo u rn a l is offered as a cubicle
referred in a speech 011 Friday to the absence of municipal
for the wide dissemination o f facts a n d opinions connected with the
girls’ schools here, the Arya Mahila Sabha, or Indian Ladies’
A static religions, philosophies and sciences, A ll who hare anything
worth telling are made welcome, and not interfered with. Rejected Association, convened a public meeting of Alaharatta ladies in
21SS. are not returned. the Town Hall to show that, although the municipality had not
encouraged girls’ schools, a real movement was being made by
the best families of the Maharntta country.
SP E C IA L N O T IC E TO C O R R ESPO N D EN TS. Notwithstanding heavy rain, about three hundred ladies,nearly
all Bramhans, and representing the most influential families in
A dverting to articles and correspondence Poona, assembled, with tlieir children, and many of the p r in cip a l
destined fo r the pages of the T h e o s o p h i s t , tve native gentlemen, in the Town Ilall. The famous young ladv,
would call the attention of intending contri- Pandita liumabai Sanskrita, the Secretary to the Association
read au address to the Education Commission and made an
buturs to the follow ing instructions : —
eloquent speech in Maharatti. She dwelt 011 the great diffi­
(/.) lVo anonymous documents will be accepted fo r insertion, eoen culties which tlieir efforts as women of good family had to
though they m ay be signed “ a Theosophist." encounter from the absence of trained female teachers, whom
(II.) A n y contributor not desiring his name to be made public thoy could trust, and the absence of school books fit to be placed
should give the necessary intim ation to the Editor when forwarding in their girls’ hands. They wanted education for their girls
his contribution.
as much as for tlieir boys, lu t Government had supplied
( I I I .) Contributors are requested to fo rw a rd their articles in the
trustworthy teachers and suitable books for their boys, and none
early p a rt o f the month, so as to allow the E ditor plenty o f time for
for their girls.
correction a n d disposal in the pages o f the T h e o s o p h i s t .
(IV .) A ll correspondence to be on one side o f the paper only, The lady’s speech was frequently applauded, and evidently
h a vin g clear spaces between lines a n d with a wide margin. expressed the sense of all present.
The President of the Education Commission, in replying to
the address, expressed his pleasure at meeting such an assembly,
T H E E D U C A T I O N COM M ISSION A T P O O N A . which was altogether a new experience to him in India. He
laid stress 011 the help which such a Ladies’ Association could
T lie fo llo w in g extract from th e Pioneer c o n t a i n i n g a,
render to the cause of female education. lie believed that, if
te le g r a p h ic a e c o u n to f a to ta lly u n p r e c e d e n te d p u b lic m e e tin g
their learned lady Secretary would prepnre girls’ school-books,
h e ld by th e le a d in g B ra m h a n la d ies o f P o o n a to w e lco m e
which were really suitable, they would be translated into
th e E d u ca tio n C o m m issio n — w ill u n d o u b ted ly be read
every vernacular. I f the women of India had really made up
w ith tlie g r e a te s t in te r e st b y o u r H in d u readers. I t is an
their minds that their girls ought (o be educated, all minor
in ter e stin g sig n o f th e tim es th a t th e lad ies o f In d ia h a v e diiiiculties would quickly disappear.
t u r n e d a n e w l e a f a i? d m a n i f e s t e d a p u b l i c i n t e r e s t in th e
The President of the Association, the wife of the most
m o s t im p o r t a n t o f all su b je c ts— ed u c a tio n . T h is str ik e s
influential Bramhan in Poona, concluded the proceedings by a
th o m o re fo r c ib ly w h e n o n e co n sid ers t h e p r e se n t u n fo r tu ­
Mahratti speech, delivered with great dignity, in which she
nate con d itio n o f th e In d ia n la d ies. It is to b e hoped,
dwelt 011 the stimulus which the actual presence of the Commis­
h o w e v e r , t h a t th e e x a m p le s e t b y t h e c a p ita l o f th e P eisln v a s, sion was giving to female education, both here and iu every
h it h e r t o th e m o s t o r th o d o x o f all c itie s a n d th e v e ry h o tb e d province which it visited.
of u n co m p ro m isin g B ra m lia n ism , w ill n o t b e lo st upon
I h o non-official members of the Poona municipality intimated
o th er and less im p r e g n a b le lo c a litie s in th is country, and
yesterday tlieir willingness to take up the cause of girls’
th a t th e en th u siasm and m ental r ev o lu tio n w orked by
schools, and to provide the necessary funds under the new
P a n d ita R a m a b a i w ill n o t d ie away lik e so m any oth er
municipal arrangements resulting from Lord Iiipon’s scheme
institutions started by some of our modern Hindus,' May of local self-government.
 FRAGMENTS OF OCCULT TRUTH. Now occu lt scien ce can and does b rid g e th e g u lf
b e tw e e n sc ie n c e a n d relig io n . T h is is not th e p la ce to
d esca n t a t le n g th u p o n its m e th o d s o f research. O 11 t h a t
No. IV.
head a great deal lia s been p u b lish e d la te ly , and th e
read er m a y b e referred to o th er w ritin g s in reference to
T IIE E V O L U T IO N OF MAN-
o p p o r tu n itie s th a t ord in a ry p e o p le h a v e had for rea lisin g
1SY A LAY CHELA. th e fact th a t ex tra o rd in a ry person s, by th e c u ltiv a tio n of
f a c u lt ie s d o r m a n t in all, (a n d th e ex isten ce of w h ich all
An e s s a y o n s o v a s t a t o p i c a.s t h i s c a n o n l y be a very
fr a g m e n ta ry " F ra g m en t'’ ; b u t a n in c o m p le te sk e tc h m ay m a y p r o v e fo r t h e m s e l v e s if t h e y a re p r e p a r e d to ta k e th e
n e c essa ry tro u b le) h a v e o b ta in e d tlie m eans of e x p lo r in g
be fou n d u sefu l as a fra m ew o rk for sp ecu la tio n . It
region s of th e u n iv er se in a c c e ssib le to th e p h y sica l
is o n e t h in g to ponder on th e orig in and d estin a tio n
senses. By degrees such persons have a cq u ired th at
o f m an w ith o u t k n o w in g m ore o f th e su b ject th a n can be
g a t h e r e d ir o m t h e o p e n p a g e o f N a t u r e before us at any e n o rm o u s m a ss o f k n o w le d g e co n cern in g th e o p era tio n s o f
N atu re over vast areas of space and tim e, w h ic h en a b le
g iv e n m om en t: it is q u ite another to e x er c ise th e
th e m to m a k e p o s itiv e s ta te m e n ts c o n c er n in g th e c h a ia c to r
im a g in a tiv e and rea so n in g fa c u ltie s in fillin g up d e ta ils,
ot t h e p r o c e s s e s w e a r e a b o u t t o d e s c r ib e .
a fter th e g en e ra l d esig n lia s b e e n m ade in tellig ib le . A ll
o r d in a ry th eo ries co n cern in g crea tio n and th e soul T h e first g r e a t fa c t w h i c h o c c u lt s c ie n c c p r e s e n t s t o our
b e lo n g to sp ecu la tio n s of th e form er order, and very n o tic e in r e fe r e n c e to t h e o r ig in o f m a n 011 th is g lo b e w ill
poor, cru d e a n d in a ccu ra te, d o th ey seem , w hen referred be seen at a g la n ce to h e lp th e im a g in a tio n over som e
to th e broad o u tlin e of th e facts as known to in itia te s e m b a r r a s s m e n t s of t h e fa m ilia r sc ie n t ific id e a o f ev o lu tio n .
o f o ccu lt scien ce. T h e e v o lu tio n o f m a n is n o t a p ro cess c a n r e d out 011 th is
G rea tly m ore in te llig e n t, w ith in its d o m a in , th a n r e li­ p la n et alo n e. I t is a resu lt to w h ich m any w o rld s in
g io u s m etap h ysics, o rd in a ry scien ce has m ade out a d ifferen t c o n d itio n s o f m a ter ia l an d sp iritu a l d e v e lo p m e n t
g r ea t deal co n cern in g th e ev o lu tio n of M a n ’s b o d y . And h a v e c o n tr ib u te d . If th is statem en t w ere m erely put
o v e n t h o u g h its c o n c lu s io n s m a y b e in co m p lete, th ey arc fo rw a u l a s a con jectu re, it w o u ld su rely recom m end itse lf
n o t a lto g e th er w rong. I t o n ly errs ser io u sly w h e n it tries fo rcib ly to r a tio n a l m in d s . F o r th e r e is a m a n lie s t ir r a tio n ­
to deal w ith p r o b lem s o u tsid e its proper d o m a in , and a lity 111 t h e c o m m o n -p la c e n o tio n th a t m a n 's ex isten ce is
fa n cies th at Ihe e v o lu tio n of a n im a l form s, and th eir d iv id e d in t o a m a te r ia l b e g in n in g , la s t in g s ix ty or s e v e n t y
gradual im p r o v e m e n t m ay co n stitu te th e w h o le process years, and a sp ir itu a l rem a in d er la stin g for ever. The
w h ic h lea d s to th e e v o lu tio n o f h u m a n it y ; iu o th e r w ord s ir r a tio n a lity a m o u n t s to a b s u r d it y w h e n i t is a lle g e d th at
th at th e in tellig en ce w ith w h ic h h u m a n ity is now th e a cts ot th e six ty or seventy yea rs,— th e b lu n d e r in g
endow ed is m erely one of th e phenom ena of o rg a n ic h e lp le s s a c ts ot ig n o r a n t h u m a n life — a re p e r m it t e d b y th e
c h em istry . H ow ever, in tra in in g m odern th o u g h t to p e r fe c t j u s t ic e ol a n A ll- w is e P r o v id en ce to d e fin e th e c o n d i­
u n d erstan d th e p r in cip le of ev o lu tio n , p h y sica l scien ce tio n s ol th a t la te r life o f in fin ite d u ra tio n . Nor is it less
lia s p a v e d tlie w a y fo r e x p la n a t io n s w h ic h o ccu lt scien ce e x tr a v a g a n t to im a g i n e th a t apart lr o m th e q u estio n of
is a t la st c o n c e d in g to t h e w o rld . I t lia s s u p p l i e d a clu e ju s tic e , th e life b e y o n d th e g r a v e sh o u ld be exem pt from
to th o tru e m eth od of in v e stig a tin g th e resu lts so th e la w o f c h a n g e , p ro g ress a n d im p r o v e m e n t, w h ich ev ery
u n scien tifica lly a ttrib u ted b y v u lg a r c o sm o g o n y to creation . a n a lo g y o f N a tu r e p o in ts to as p ro b a b ly r u n n in g th rou gh
It is d ifficu lt to say how far th o h a b it of litera lly a ll th e v a ried ex isten ces of th e u n iv erse. But once
b e lie v in g th e statem en ts of th e B ib le 1ms r ea lly a b a n d o n th e id ea o f a u n ifo rm , u n v a ry in g , u n p ro g rcssiv e
e s t a b l i s h e d in t h e W e s t e r n m i n d t h e i d e a t h a t G o d , in t h e life beyond th e g ra v e,— on ce a d m it th e c o n cep tio n of
b eg in n in g , p erform ed som e charm “ w ith w oven paces c h a n g e a n d p r o g r ess in th a t life — a n d w e a d m it th e id ea
and w ith w a v in g h a n d s ’’ and th at th e E arth sprang o f a v a r ie ty h a rd ly c o m p a t ib le w ith any oth er h yp oth esis
in sta n tly in to ex isten ce , fu rn ish ed w ith trees and liv e­ th a n th a t of p ro g ress th ro u g h su c ce ssiv e w o rld s. As we
stock , and ready in th e course of th e w eek for- th e h a v e sa id b elo re, th is is not h y p o th esis at a ll for o c c u lt
h a b ita tio n of a 110 less in sta n ta n eo u sly created m an. scien ce, b u t a fact, a s c e r t a in e d and v e rifie d beyond th e
.B u t even w hen orth od ox th eo lo g ists concede th at th e r ea c h (for o c c u lt is t s ) ol d o u b t or c o n tia d ic t io n .
days of crea tio n m ay be lon g p erio d s of tim e, th ey T h e lif e a n d e v o l u t i o n a r y p r o c e s s e s of t h i s P l a n e t in fact,
c e r t a i n ly d o n o t , a s a ru le, g e t rid o f t h e n o tio n th at th is — a ll w h ic h c o n s t i t u t e s it so m eth in g m ore th an a dead
E arth a n d a ll its i n h a b it a n t s arc th e fr u it of an act of lu m p ot ch a o tic m a tte r,— are lin k ed w ith th e life a n d
crea tio n w o rk ed o u t m ore or le ss d e lib er a te ly , ivithiic the e v o lu tio n a r y p ro cesses of sev era l o th e r p la n ets. B u t le t it
limits of the world note before wc, e ith e r th rou gh la w s n o t b e s u p p o s e d t h a t th e r e is 110 fin a lity as regards th e
esp ecia lly d e s ig n e d to p rod u ce th e resu lts now p erceiv ed , sch em e of th is p la n eta ry u n io n to w h ic h we belong.
or b y a m ore w o rk m a n lik e process w ith lu m p s o f c la y , I h e h u m a n i m a g i n a t i o n o n c e s e t fr e e is a p t s o m e t i m e s To
s p a r e rib s, or a n y o t h e r h a n d y m a ter ia ls w liich a ta n g ib le b o u n d t o o far. O n c e l e t t h i s n o t i o n , t h a t t h e e a r t h is m e r e l y
a n d v is ib le C r e a t o r m i g h t fin d l y i n g a b o u t h i s p r e m is e s . o n e lin k in a m ig h t y c h a in of w o r ld s, b e fu lly accepted as
O r ta in ly p h y sica l scien ce, a g a in b re a k in g in upon p ro b a b le, or tru e, and it m ay suggest th e w h o le
th e o lo g ica l co n cep tio n s, d istu rb s orth od ox sp ecu la tio n by starry h e a v e n s a ie t h e h e r ita g e ol th e h u m a u fa m ily . That
p o in tin g o u t th at tlie earth was at one tim e a v iscid is so far from b e in g th e fa c t th a t it is a lm o s t in fin itely la r
g l o b e o f i n o r g a n i c fiery m a t t e r , t h a t fu rth er back still it th crefrom . O n e g lo b e d o e s n o t afford N a t u r e s c o p e for th e
w a s a r in g o f in ca n d escen t vapour th row n o ff from th e p rocesses b y w h ic h m a n k in d h as b een ev o k e d from chaos
s u n , t h a t f u r t h e r b a c k still, i t w a s part m erely of a vast bu t th ese processes do n o t req u ire m ore th a n a lim ite d
f i e r y n e b u l a l i k e t h a t w h i c h t o ti n’s d a y m a y be observed an d d e fin ite n u m b e r o f g lo b es. S e p a r a te d a s t h e s e arc, in
in t h e c o n s te lla tio n o f O rio n , a n d w h ic h t h e tin e in s t r u m e n t s reg a rd to th e g r o ss m e c h a n ic a l m a t te r o f w h ic h th e y c o n sist,
o f m o d ei n p h y sic a l rese a rc h h a v e s h o w n w ith approximate t h e y a re c lo se ly a n d in t im a te ly b o u n d togeth er by su b tle
certain ty to be a ctu a lly in th at state w h ic h reason had c u r r e n t s a n d lo r e es, w h o s e ex isten ce reason need not be
p rev io u sly su g g e ste d th a t our o w n s y ste m m u st have been m uch tr o u b led to concede sin ce th e ex isten ce ol some
in on ce. B u t p h y sica l scien ce d o es n o t g o fu rth er t h a n to c o n n e c t io n ,— o f fo r c e a s e tlie r ia l m ed ia ,-— u n i t i n g a ll v isib le
s u g g e s t th a t th e o lo g y m u s t s o m e h o w reco n cile its concep­ c e le s tia l b o d ies, is p r o v e d b y th e m e r e fa c t th at th ey are
tio n s w ith th e s e r u d im e n ta r y facts. I t ta ils to a c c o m p lis h v isib le. I t is a l o n g t h e s e s u b t l e c u r r e n t s th at th e life-
th e reco n cilia tio n itself, and offers, for its own p art, a e l e i n e n t s p a s s f r o m w o r ld to w o rld .
th e o r y so u n s a t i s f a c t o r y in o n e d ir e c t io n — t h a t o f s p ir it u a l T h e fact, h o w e v e r , w ill a t o n ce be lia b le to d isto rtio n
m y ste r ies,— th a t o n ly a sm a ll num ber of th in k in g * m e n to su it p re co n ce iv e d h a b its of m in d . Som e readers
fin d th em selv es a b le to put np w ith it to th e en tire m ay im a g in e our m e a n in g to be th at after d eath
e x clu sio n o f th eo lo g ica l h y p o th e se s, u n sa tisfa cto ry th ough th e su r v iv in g sou l w ill be d ia w n in to th e currents of th at
these may b e in th e d irectio n o f physical mysteries. ° world with which its affinities connect it. The real process
is m ore methodieal. T he system of worlds is a circuit
round wliicl) nil individual spiritual entities have, alike,
to pass; and th a t p a s s a g e co n stitu te sth c Involution of Man.
For it m ust be realised, th a t the evolution of man
is a process still going on, and by 110 m eans yet complete.
Darwinian writings have ta u g h t th e m odern world to
regard the ape as an ancestor, b u t th e simple conccit of
W estern speculation has rarely perm itted European
evolutionists to look in th e o ther direction and recognise
th e probability, th a t to our r e m o t e descendants we may be,
as th a t unwelcome progenitor to us. And the two facts
ju s t Jpclared hinge together. T he higher evolution will
ho accomplished by our progress through the successivc
worlds of the system ; and in higher forms wc shall return
to this earth again, and again, and again. B u t th e
avenues of th ou gh t through wliich wo look forward to this
prospect, are of almost inconceivable length.
It will readily be supposed th a t the chain of worlds to
which this earth belongs are not all prepared for a
material existence exactlv, or even approxim ately resem bl­
ing our own. There would be 110 m ean in g in an organised
chain of worlds which were all alike, and m ig h t as well
all have been am algam ated into one. In reality the
worlds with which we are connected are very unlike each
other, not merely in outward conditions, b u t in th a t
suprem e characteristic, the proportion in which,— spirit,
and m atter,— arc mingled in t l i c r constitution. O ur own
world presents us with conditions iu which spirit and
m a tte r arc, on the whole, evenly balanced in equilibrium.
Let it not be supposed on l i n t account th a t it is very
highly elevated in tho scale of perfection. On the
contrary, it occupies a very low place in th a t scale. The
worlds th a t are high'T in the scale aro tho'-o in which
spirit largely predominates. There is another world
attached to tiie chain rath er than forming a part of it in
which m a tte r asserts itself even more decisively than on
earth, but this may bo spoken of lator.
T h a t the superior worlds which M an may come to
inhabit in his onward progress should gradually become
more and more spiritual in th e ir constitution,— life thero
being more and more successfully divorced from gross
material needs,— will seem reasonable enough a t th e first,
glance. B u t the first glance in imagination at those
which m ig ht conversely be called the inferior, b u t may
with less inaccuracy be spoken as th e preceding worlds,
would perhaps suggest th a t they ought, to be conversely
less spiritual,— more material, than this earth. T he fact
is quite tho other way,— and must be so, it will be seen
on reflection, in a chain of worlds which is an endless
chain, ie. round an d round which tho evolutionary
process travels. I f th a t process had merely ono journey
to travel along a p a th which never returned into itself,
one could th in k of it, a t any rate, as working from
almost absolute matter, up to alm ost absolute spirit,
b u t n ature works always in complete curves, and
travels always in paths which re tu rn into themselves.
T he earliest, as also th e latest, developed worlds—
for th e chain itself has grown by degrees,— tho fu rthest
back as also the furth est forward are th e most immaterial,
the most etherial of the whole series and th a t
this is in all ways in accordance with th e fitness of things
will appear from the reflection t h a t th e furthest forward
of th e worlds is not a region of finality, b u t the stepping
stone to the furthest back— as th e m onth of December
leads 11s back again to Janu ary. B u t it is not a climax
of development from wliich th e individual inonad falls, as
by a catastrophe, into th e state from which he slowly
began to ascend millions of years previously. From th a t
which for reasons which will soon app ear m u st be consi­
dered the highest world 011 the ascending arc of the circle
to th a t which m ust be regarded as th e first ou tho
descending arc,— in one sense the lowest, i.e. in th e order
of development,— there is no descent a t all, b u t still ascent
and progress. F o r the spiritual monad or e ntity which
has worked its way all round tb e cycle of evolution, a t
any one of th e many stages of developm ent into which
th e various existences around us may be grouped, begins
its n ex t cvclo a t tho n ext higer stage, and is thus still
accomplishing progress as it passes from world Z back
again to world A. M any times does it circle, in this way
rig h t round th e system, b u t its passage round must, not be
th o u g h t of merely as a circular revolution in an orbit. In
th e scale of spiritual perfection it is constantly ascending.
T im s if wc compare the system of worlds to a system of
towers standing 011 a plain,— towers each of m an y stories
and symbolising the scale of perfection,— tho spiritual
monad performs a spiral progress round and round the
series, passing through each tower, every tim e it comes
round to it, a t a higher level than beforo.
I t is for w a n t of realising this idea th a t speculation
concerned w ith physical evolution is so constantly finding
itself stopped by dead walls. I t is searching for its
missing links in a world where it can never find them
now, for they were b u t required for a temporary purpose,
and have passed away. Man, savs the Darwinian, was once
an ape. Q uite true, b u t th e ape known to th e Darwinian
.will never become a man, i.e. the form will not change
from generation to generation till th e tail disappears
and th e hands tu rn into feet, nnd so 011. Ordinary science
avows th a t though changes of form can be detected in
progress w ithin th e limits of species, th e changes from
species to species can only be inferred, and to account for
theso, it is content to assume great intervals of time and
th e extinct ion of th e interm ediate forms. There has been
110 do ubt an extinction of the interm ediate or earlier forms
ot all species, (in th e larger acceptation o f t h e word), i.e.,
of all kingdoms, mineral, vegetable, animal, roan. &c.,
b u t ordinary science can merely guess th a t to have been
th e fact w ithout realising the. conditions which rendered
it inevitable, and which forbid the renewed generation of
tho interm ediate forms.
It, is th e spiral character of th e progress accomplished
by th e life impulses which develop th e various kingdoms
of N atu re, which accounts for th e gaps now observed in the
anim ated forms which people th e earth. The thread of a
screw which is a uniform inclined plane in reality looks
liko a succession of steps when examined o n 'y along one
line parallel to its axis. Tho spiritual monads which are
coming round th e system 011 th e animal level pass on
to other worlds when they have performed th e ir turn of
animal incarnation hero. By tho tim e they come again,
th ey are ready for hum an incarnation, and th ere is no
necessity now for th e upward development of anim al forms
into hu m an forms,— these aro already w aiting for their
spiritual tenants. B u t if we go back far enough we come
to a period a t which there were no hum an forms ready
developed 011 the earth, b u t when spiritual monads travell­
ing 011 th e earliest or lowest human level, were beginning
to come round. T h e ir onward pressure in a world a t th a t
tim e containing none b u t animal forms provoked the
im provem ent of th e highest of these into th e required form,
— th e m uch-talked-of missing link.
In one way of looking a t the m a tte r it m a y b e contended
t h a t this explanation is identical with th e inference of
tho Darwinian evolutionist in regard to th e development
and extinction of missing links. A fter all, it may be
argued by a materialist, “ we are not concerned to express
an.opinion as to the origin o f t h e tendency in species to
develop higher forms. W e say th a t they do develop these
high er forms by interm ediate links, and th a t th e in te r­
mediate links die o u t ; and you say j u s t the same th in g.”
B u t th ere is a.distinction between the two ideas for any
ono who can follow subtle distinctions. The natural process
of evolution from th e influence of local circumstances, and
sexual selection m u s t not be credited with producing
interm ediate forms, and this is why it is inevitable th a t
th e interm ediate forms should be of a tem porary naturo
and should die out. Otherwise we should find the
world stocked with missing links of all kinds, animal life
creeping by plainly a p parent degrees up to manhood,
hum an forms m ingling in indistinguishable confusion with
those of animals. T h e impulse to th e new evolution of
 h igher forms is really given ns we have shown by rushes
of spiritual monads coming round th e cvele in a state fit,
for th e inhabitation of new forms. T hese superior lift'
impulses bu rst the chrysalis of th e older form on the
pla n e t they invade and throw off an efflorescence of some­
th in g higher. The forms which have gone on merely
re p e a tin g themselves for milleniums, s ta rt afresh, into
growth ; with relative rapidity they rise through the
in term e d iate into the higher forms, and then ns these in
turn nro multiplied with th e vigour and ra pidity of all
new growths they supply tenem en ts of flesh for th e
spiritual entities coming round on th a t stage or plane of
existence, and for the interm ed iate forms th ere are no
longer any tenants offering. Inevitably th ey become extinct.
^ Thus is evolution accomplished as regards its essential
im pulse by a spiral pror/rcxs through th e worlds. Tu the
course of explaining this idea we have partly anticipated
tho declaration of an other fact of first-rate importance as
an aid to correct views of the world system to which we
belong. T h a t is th a t the tide of life,— th e wave of existence,
— tho spiritual impulse call it by what name we please,
passes on from planet to planet by rushes, or gushes ; not
by an even continuous flow. Fo r th e m om entary purpose
of illustrating th e idea in hand th e process may be com­
pared to th e filling of a series of holes or tubs sunk in the
ground, such as m ay sometimes be seen at, th e mouths
of teeble springs, and connected with each other by
little surface channels. The stream from the spring as it
flows is gathered u p entirely in the beginning by the
first hole, or tu b A, and it is only when this is
quite full th a t th e continued in-pouring of w ater from the
spring causes th a t whieh it already contains to overflow
into tu b B. This in turn fills and overflows along th e
channel which leads to tub C, and so on. Now, though, of
course, a clumsy analogy of this kind will not carry us very
far, it precisely illustrates th e evolution of life on a. chain
of worlds like th a t we are attached to, and, indeed, the
evolution of the worlds themselves. F o r tho process
which goes on does not involve th e pre-existence of a
chain of globes whieh nature proceeds to stock with life;
b u t it is one in which the evolution of each globe is the
re su lt of previous evolutions, and the consequence of
certain impulses thrown off from its predecessor in the
superabundance of their development. Now it is necessary
to deal with this characteristic of th e process to be
described, b u t directly we begin to deal with if we have
to go back in imagination to a period in th e developm ent
of our system very far antecedent, to that, whieh is specially
our subject a t present,— the evolution of man. And
manifestly, as soon as we begin talking of th e beginnings
of worlds, wc are dealing with phenom ena which can have
had very little to do with life, as we understand the
m atter, and, therefore, it may bo supposed, n o th in g to do
w ith life impulses. B u t let us go back by degrees.
B e h in d th e hum an harvest of the life impulse there lay
th e harvest of mere, animal fo r m s - - a s every one realises.
B eh in d th a t the harv est or growths of m ere vegetable
form s— for some of these undoubtedly preceded the
appearance of the earliest animal life on th e planet.. Then
before the vegetable organisations th ere were mineral
organisations, for even a mineral is a product of N a tu re , an
evolution from som ething behind it, as every imaginable
m anifestation of n a tu re must be until in th e vast series of
manifestations, the mind travels back to th e unmanifested
b e g in ning of all things. On pure metaphysics of that
sort wc are not now ensnared.o o I t is enough
o to show tliat,
we may as reasonably,— and th a t we m ust if we would
ta lk about these m a tte rs a t all— conceive of a life impulse
giving b irth to mineral forms, as if th e same sort of
impulse concerned to raise a race of apes into a race of
rud im entary men. Indeed, occult science travels back
even fu rth e r in its exhaustive analysis of evolution, th an
th e period a t which minerals began to assum e existence.
I n th e process of developing worlds from fiery nebulae
N a tu r e begins with som ething earlier th a n m inerals— with
the elemental forces th a t underlie th e p h e n o m e n a of
nature as visible now and perceptible to the senses of
man. B u t th a t branch of the subject may be left alone
for the present. Let us take u p th e process a t th e
jieriod when th e first world of the series globe A, let us
call it, is merely a congeries of mineral forms. Now it
must be rem em bered th a t globe A has already been
described as very much more etherial, more predominated
by spirit, as distinguished from matter, than th e globe of
which we a t present are having personal experience, so
th a t a large allowance m u st be made for th a t state of
things when wc ask the reader to think of it at starting as
a mere congeries of mineral forms. Mineral forms may
be mineral in th e sense of not belonging to the higher
forms of vegetable organism, and may yet. be very
im material as we th in k of m a tte r very etherial consisting
of a very fine or subtle quality of m atter, in which
th e other pole or characteristic of n a tu r e ,— spirit,—
largely predominates. T he minerals we are trying to
pourtray arc, as it were, th e ghosts of minerals, by no
means the highly-finished and beautiful, hard crystals,
which th e niinora’og iad cabinets of this world supply.
In these lower spirals of evolution with which we are now
dealing as with th e h igher ones, there is progress from
world to world, and th a t is th e great point a t which we
have been aiming. There is progress downwards, so to
speak, in finish and m ateriality and consistency; and then,
again, progress upward in spirituality as coupled with the
finish which m atter, or m ateriality rendered possible in
the first, instance. I t will be found th a t th e process of
evolution in its higher stages as regards man is carried on
in exactly the same way. All through these studies,
indeed, it will be found th a t one process of N a tu re typifies
another, th a t the big is th e repetition of the little on a
larger scale.
I t is manifest, from w hat we have already said, and in
order t h a t the progress of organisms on globe A shall be
accounted for, th a t th e mineral kingdom will no more,
develop th e vegetable, kingdom on globe A until it.
receives an impulse from without, than th e E a rth was able
to develop Man from th e ape till it received an
impulse from without. But. it will be inconvenient
at present, to go back to a consideration of the
impulses whieh operate on globe A in th e beginning of the
system’s construction.
W e have already,— in order to be able to advance more
comfortably from a, far later period th an th a t to which wc
have now receded, gone back so far th a t further recession
would change th e whole character of this explanation. W e
m ust stop somewhere, and for th e present it, will be best
to ta k e the life impulses behind globe A, for granted. And
having stopped th ere we may now tre a t th e enormous
period intervening between the mineral epoch on globe A
and the man epoch, in a very cursory way, and so get back
to the main problem before us. W h a t has been already
said facilitates a cursory tre a tm e n t of the intervening
evolntion. T he full development of the mineral epoch on
globe A prepares the way for the vegetable development,
and as soon as this begins, the mineral life impulse
overflows into globe B. Then when the vegetable
development on globe A is complete and the animal
development, begins, th e vegetable life impulse over­
flows to globe B, and th e mineral impulse passes on to
globe 0. Then, finally, comes th e human life impulse
on globe A.
Now it is necessary at this point to guard against one
misconception th a t m ig ht arise. As j u s t roughly described,
th e process m ig h t convey th e idea th a t by the tim e the
hum an impulse began on globe A, the mineral impulse
was then beginning on globe D, and th a t beyond lay
chaos. This is very far from being the case for two reasons.
Firstly, as already stated, there are processes of evolution
which precede th e m ineral evolution, nnd thus a wave of
evolution,— indeed several waves of evolution precede the
mineral wave in its progress round the spheres. B u t over
and above this, th e re is a fact to be stated which has such
an influence on th e course of events. W hen it is realised,
 it w ill b e s e e n th a t th e life im p u lse has passed several TH E B lIiT H AND G R O W T H OF THE P H I L ­
tim e s c o m p le te ly ro u n d th e w h o le ch a in o f w o rld s b efore
th e co m m en cem en t of th o hum an im p u lse on g lo b e A.
H A R M O N I C A C A D E M Y OF C A L C U T T A .
T h is fact is as fo llo w s E ach k in g d o m of ev o lu tio n ,
v e g e ta b le , a n im a l, a n d so on, is d iv id e d in to se v e r a l sp ira l ( Communicated.)
la y e r s. T lie s p ir it u a l m o n a d s,-— t h e in d iv id u a l a t o m s o f t h a t
A few m on th s ago, a n o tice was p u b lish e d in th e
im m e n s e life i m p u l s e of w liic h so m u c h has been said,-—
c o lu m n s o f th e T h e o s o p h i s t , a n n o u n cin g th e e sta b lish ­
d o n o t fu lly c o m p le te th e ir m in er a l e x is te n c e 011 g lo b e A,
m ent of a P h ilh a r m o n ic A c a d e m y at C a lc u tta , under th e
th e n co m p le te it 011 g l o b e B , a n d so on. T h e y pass several
p r e sid en cy an d m a n a g e m e n t o f R a jah S o u rin d ra M ohan
t im e s r o u n d t h e w h o le cir cle a s m in e r a ls ; a n d t h e n a g a in
T a g o r e , M u s . D o c . , C . I . E . , & c ., t h e w e l l - k n o w n r e v i v e r and
several tim es round as v e g eta b le s, and several tim es as
r e fo r m e r o f H i n d u m u sic. ' In order to u n d erstan d pre­
a n im a ls. W e p u rp o sely refra in for th e present from
cisely th e n e c essity and ob jects of th is in s titu tio n , it
g o in g in to fig u res, b e c a u s e it is m o r e c o n v e n ie n t to state
w o u ld be necessary to review th e progress th at H in d u
tlie o u tlin e of tlie schem e in general term s first, but
m u sic h a s a tta in ed d u r in g th e la st tw e lv e years u n d er th e
fig u r e s in r e f e r e n c e to t h e s e p r o c e s s e s o f N a t u r e h a v e n o w
f o s te r in g c a re a n d lib era l p a tr o n a g e of th e p u b l i c - s p i r i t e d
b e e n g i v e n to t h e w o rld b y t h e o c c u lt a d e p t s (for t h e first
R ajah. H in d u m u sic , b o th as an art a n d a scie n c e , rec e iv e d
t i m e w e b e lie v e in its h is to r y ), a n d t h e y slia ll be brought
th e h ig h est a m o u n t o f d e v e lo p m e n t in th e a n cien t days,
o u t in th e c o u r se o f t h e s e e ss a y s b e fo r e w e h a v e d o n e, but
an d form ed a p o w er fu l h e lp fo th e Rishis and d e v o t e e s in
n s w e s a y t h e o u t l i n e is e n o u g h fo r a n y o n e t o t h i n k o f a t first.
p e r fo r m in g th eir ritu a ls, and to th e w o rld ly p eo p le in
A n d n o w w e h a v e r u d im e n ta r y m a n b e g in n in g h is ex ist­
see k in g for th e en joym en t of in n o ce n t am u sem en ts.
e n c e o n g lo b e A , in t h a t w o r ld w here all th in g s are as M u s ic w a s t h e n , in fact, t h e h a n d -m a id o f relig io n . B ut,
t h e g h o s t s o f t li e c o r r e s p o n d in g t h i n g s in t h i s w o rld . He in c o u r se o f t im e , it c a m e t o b e m ad e th e c o n c o m ita n t ot
i s b e go i n n i n g©1h i s l o n o
g descent in to m atter. And th e life v o lu p tu o u s p u rsu its, a n d w h a t had b e e n c u ltiv a te d b y th e
im p u ls e o f e a c h “ r o u n d ” o v erflo w s, a n d t h e races of m an h o ly a n d p u r e for n o b le p u rp o se s, was ea g erly sought for
a re e s t a b lis h e d in d if f e r e n t d e g r e e s o f p e r fe c t io n on a ll th o by th e w ic k e d a n d im p u re, an d tu rn ed to an ig n o b le use.
p la n ets,— on each in tu rn . But th e R o u n d s are m ore L a tte r ly , it h a d b e c o m e so degraded, th at a resp ecta b le
c o m p lic a te d in th e ir d e s ig n th a n th is e x p la n a tio n w o u ld fa th er w o u ld be shocked to hear h is c h ild re n c u ltiv a te
show if it .stop p ed short here. The process for each th is art. And th e in e v ita b le consequence was th at it
sp ir itu a l m o n a d is n o t m e r e ly a passage from p la n o t to becam e a sso cia ted w ith all th at was v u lg a r and base.
p la n et. W ith in th e lim its o f each p la n et, each tim e it T h e c u ltiv a tio n of m u sic r eceiv ed som e im p etu s d u rin g
arriv es th er e it has a c o m p lica ted process of ev o lu tio n th e reig n o f th e M o g u ls in In d ia , and several renow ned
to perform . It is m any tim es in carn ated in su ccessiv e m u sic ia n s are known to have flo u rish e d d u rin g th at
races o f m an, b efore it passes onward, and it even has period . The M ahom edan s, be, it rem em bered, are
m a n y in ca rn a tio n s in e a c h great race. I t w ill be fou nd p r o h ib ite d by th eir relig io n to cu ltiv a te m u sic, and
w hen we get 011 f u r t h e r th at, th is fact th ro w s a Hood of co n seq u en tly th ey had 110 m u sic of th eir own. W hat
lig h t u p o n tlie a c tu a l c o n d itio n o f m a n k in d as w e k n o w it, th e y p a tro n ised w a s th e m u sic o f th e A r y a n n a tio n s, and,
a c c o u n t in g for th o s e i m m e n s e d iffe r e n c e s o f in tellect and a s p r a c t ic a l m u s ic , w a s a ll th at th ey c h iefly cared for—
m o r a lity , a n d e v e n o f w e lfa r e in its h ig h e s t sense, w h ic h th ey c o n sid e rin g th e m u sic to b e an art m e a n t to sa tisfy
g e n e ra lly a p p ea r so p a in fu lly m y ste r io u s. carn al c ra v in g s — th e ela b o ra te le a r n e d th e o r y o f m u sic , as
T h a t w h ic h lias a d e f in it e b e g in n in g g e n e ra lly has an propounded and recorded by several d istin g u ish ed sages
e n d also. A s w e h a v e sh o w n th a t th e ev o lu tio n a r y process o f old , c a m e to b e lo s t s i g h t of. The system of n o ta tio n
u n d e r d escrip tio n b e g a n w h e n certa in im p u lse s first c o m ­ d ev ised b y th e A ry a n sa g es got out of use, and, in th e
m e n c e d th e ir o p e r a tio n , so it m a y b e in fe r r e d t h a t t h e y aro a b se n c e o f a n y d efin ite sy ste m o f m u sica l n o ta tio n , m uch
t e n d i n g t o w a r d s a f i n a l c o n s u m m a t i o n , t o w a r d s a. g o a l a n d a o f th e in trin sic ch aracter and in teg rity of th e n'tas and
co n clu sio n . T h a t is so, th ou gh th e goal is still far off. ragines w a s l o s t in th e course of th e tr a n sit of t.he art
M an, as we know h im on th is earth, is but h a lf way from ear to ear to s u c c e e d in g g e n e ra tio n s. The rags and
th ro u g h th e ev o lu tion ary process to w h ic h he ow es h is ragines w e r e in h o p e le s s c o n fu sio n , ea ch m o d e r n m u sicia n
present d e v e lo p m e n t. H e w ill be as m uch greater, in s is tin g u p o n th e co rrectn ess o f th eir fea tu res as learn ed
— b efore th e d e stin y of our system is a cco m p lish ed , or ta u g h t b y h im , a n d r e je c tin g th o se ta u g h t b y o th ers as
— th an he is now, as he is now greater th an th e in correct. W ith th e spread of m odern ed u ca tio n in th is
m issin g lin k . And th at im p ro v em en t w ill even be c o u n tr y , a t a s t e for t h e r e v iv a l o f In d ia n m u sic grew in
a c co m p lish e d 011 th is E arth , w h ile , in tlie oth er w o rld s, m a n y a H in d u h eart, b u t it w a s not till th e m ovem ents
o f th e a scen d in g series, th ere are still lo ftie r peaks of in itia te d by R ajah S o u rin d ra M ohan T agore took a
p e r fe ctio n to b e sca led . I t is u t t e r l y b e y o n d t h e range of p ra ctica l form th at th e rev iv a l m ig h t be sa id to have
fa c u ltie s u n tu to r e d in t h e d isc e r n m e n t o f o ccu lt m y ste r ie s com m enced.
to im a g i n e t h e k in d o f life, w h ic h M a n w ill t h u s u l t i m a t e l y
R a jah S o u rin d ra M ohan T agore, who stu d ied m u sic
le a d before th e z e n ith o f th e g r e a t c y c le is a t t a in e d . But
under very a b le p rofessors, fou n d h is fa v o u rite stu d y
t h e r e is e n o u g h to b e d o n e in f il lin g u p t h e d e t a il s of th e
in p r e tty m u c h t h e s a m e p li g h t as h a s ju st b e e n d escrib ed ,
o u tlin e n o w p r e se n te d to th e reader w ith o u t a ttem p tin g
and it was h is en lig h ten ed lib er a lity o f sp irit and .an
to forecast th o se w h ic h h a v e to do w ith e x is te n c e s to w a rd s
en th u siastic, lo v e of A ryan lo r e th at prom p ted h im to
w h ic h e v o l u t i o n is reach in g across th e en orm ous abysses
u n d e r ta k e th e en terp rise, th e resu lt o f w h ich has been to
o f t lie fu tu re.
h im , as to a ll oth ers in terested in th e revival of A ryan
g lory, a m a t te r o f su c h u n q u a lified gra tifica tio n . It w as,
A V E R Y I N T E R E S T I N G I N S T R U M E N T , C A L L E D A L 'l T O T O - ou th e 3rd A u gu st, 1871, th at th e B engal M u sic School
g ra p h ic gun, lia s been in v en ted by a Frenchm an— w a s e sta b lish e d b y tlie R ajah in th e room s o f th e G overn­
M . M a r l'o'z. I t is n o t h i n g m o r e n o r le s s t h a n a v e r y large m e n t N o r m a l S c h o o l, C a lcu tta , w ith th e object o f p ro v id ­
revo lv er, w ith a sto c k to p u t to th e sh o u ld er. The barrel in g h is c o u n t r y m e n w ith a course of m u sica l in stru ctio n
is , t e l e s c o p e , t h a t i s t o say, it c o n ta in s th e len ses of a u p o n a s y ste m a t ic b a sis w ith th e h e lp o f e le m e n ta r y b o o k s
cam era. T h e r e are tw e lv e a p e r tu r e s, w h ic h t a k e th e p la c e and w ith a system of n o ta tio n d ev ised by h im — all
of cham bers. T h e p h o tograp h er p u ts a sen sitise d p la te prepared p u rp o se ly for th eir use. T h is in stitu tio n
b e h in d th ese ap ertu res, and, p e r fo r m in g an o p era tio n was v isited from tim e to tim e by several In d ia n
a n a lo g o u s to c o c k i n g a g u n , t h e w e a p o n is ready for th e g e n tle m e n , and European g e n tle m e n and la d ies in ter ­
field . O 11 s e e i n g a f ly i n g b ird , h e t a k e s a im , a n d p u lls t h e ested in th e art o f m u sic, an d th e en co u r a g in g rem arks
trig g er. T h e c h a m b e r r e v o lv e s o n c e a n d in o n e s e c o n d h o w h ic h th ey recorded in th e visito rs’ book regard in g
o b t a in s t w e l v e lit t le p ic t u r e s o f t l i e b ird in v a r io u s p o s itio n s . th e p la n o f tu itio n and th e e fficien t m anagem ent of
— The In dian Mirror. th e c la sses, p rom p ted th e R ajah to fu rth er exertion s.
 Tlio distribution of prizes to tbo stud ents was made
tlie occasion of giving musical en te rta inm e nts to the
audience who came gradually to appreciate th e m erits and
beauties of H indum usic, which, in thoir previous ignorance,
were a. scaled book to many. On one of these occasions,
th e Rajah had, for tlie first time perhaps in tlio history ot
th e native stage, exhibited th e Tableatrx vi.rctvlx of the
six principal rdf/as of H in du music. T he exhibition was
as interesting as original, and drew tb e applause of the
appreciative audience. T h e idea ol encouraging music by
moans of showing public m arks of appreciation to distin­
guished musicians did not escape the Rajah's notice. On
the ].‘)th August, 187.‘>, a silver medal was awarded, in tbe
presence of a large gathering held in connection with the
school, to I’an dit Bissanath Shastri, a musician who came t.o
Calcutta from the Presidency of M adras; a gold medal to
Professor Mowla Bux, of I'a.rod a, 011 tb e 28t.li N ovem ber
1874; a silver medal te Pa n d it Wasudeo Joshee, of Gwalior,
on th e 2ot,h.Iuno, '1879; and a. gold medal to P a n d it Gopal
Prasad Misser, lately of Galon tt a, on th e Dili Ju ly , 1879.
Branch music schools were established du ring all this
time in various parls of Bengal, and these were for the
most p art supported, as t.he head institution is, a t the
expense ol the I’ajah, and supervised by the Professors and
Superin tendent of the latter. Steps were taken to
introduce music in Governm ent and private schools.
Music was taught, to th e bovs of th e N orm al schools nt
(Jn.lcnt.ta and Jubbulpore, with th e sanction of the
Government Educational officers.
The classes in tlie Calcutta N orm al School were taken
charge of by a teacher deputed and paid for bv the Rajah,
while those a t th e .Jubbulpore school were tn u g h t by
means of a manual of vocal music, called, Giiavoli , p u b ­
lished in H indi by th e Rajah for use in schools in th e
Central Provinces. Some classes in the U nitarian Mission
school, and the C alcutta school (now known as th e Albert.
College) w crea.lsoputundorthecharge of Professors ofMusie
furnished for a time, free of charge, by th e Rajah. Most,
of th e classes where music was begun to be ta u g h t under
tb e patronage, or wilh th e co-operation, of th e Rniab are
still in existence and in a flourishing condition. For th e
use of schools the Rajah has himself w ritten the Yavtra-
Kshcifra Dipiea,,t\. treatise on the Srtar^Mridavria-Manjnri ,
a treatise on th e Indian D ru m ; Jhmtwvivm-Sulrn, a work
on th e harmonium ; and Gilavnli, a.H indi manual on vocal
music. H e has caused to be written, u n d e r his instructions
and published a t his expense, an im portant musical work
styled Sannit, Sara, Bahiilina Taitwa, a wo»k on the
violin, and Kantha-Kammuli, a, treatise on vocal music.
In order to m ake all these works accessible to th e students,
these have been priced a t a. low figure. B u t the generality
of fhe R a ja h ’s publications, comprising works on music,
drama, and cognate subjects, •’re d is trib u te d gratis among
th e Indian public, and also abroad. T h e year 1880 was
full of importance to th e cause of th e revival of H ind u
music ; for it was in this y ear th a t th e G overnm ent of
Bengal recognized the music of the Aryans as a subject
worth encouragement, and was, a t th e instance of the
D irector of Public Instruction, pleased to sanction a
m onthly grant-in-aid of Rs. 25 to the Bengal Music School.
Sim ultaneously with the a,warding of th is grant, tho
L ieutenant-G overnor of Bengal and th e Director of Public
In stru c tio n accepted the office of “ P a tro n ” of t h a t
institution.
T he year 1881. witnessed th e establishm ent of the B e n ­
gal Philharm onic Academy tinder th e auspices of the
L ieutenant-G overnor and the Director of Public I n s tr u c ­
tion, Bengal, and under the presidency and m anagem ent
of Rajah S. M. Tagore. The Academy was founded by the
Rajah on th e 29th August, 1881, and durin g tho period
th a t it has been in existence i t has secured nearly a h u n ­
dred honorary members, among whom are some of the
well-known orientalists, noblemen, and musicians of b o th
E urope aud Asia. T he Academy is m anaged by an
Executive Council presided over by the Rajah, th e founder
of th e institution. D u ring this period, th e A cademy has,
according t.o th e provisions made in the statutes, bestowed
Diplomas of H o no ur and complimentary literary and
musical titles, to g e th e r with th e insignias respectively
appertaining thereto, to about twelve gentlemen, European
and native. A t a m eeting of th e Academy, held in May
last, a medal of honour and a purse of money were bestowed
on A tta Hossien Khan, performer on th e tubla, and a.
Diploma of Honour, as also a purse of money, on E n a y c t
Hoseen K han, performer on the ftltarml- both musicians
belonging to the establishm ent of th e Na.wab Nazim of
Bengal. Since F e b ru ary last, a, music class has been opened
in connection with the Sanskrit. College a t Calcutta (and
affiliated with th e Academy), where, with th e approval of
th e local Government, th e theory of H indu music, as re­
corded in learned treatises by classical musicians, is being
ta u g h t by a Professor deputed to take charge of the class,
and paid for by th e President-Founder. T h e R a ja b h a s offer­
ed three scholarships ofRs.40, Rs. 25, and Rs. 15,each,to be
held by th e students of this class who will stand first, second
and third, respectively, in the exa.mina.tion th a t will be held
a t the close of th e first year’s course. It, may be mentioned
here once for all, that the whole oftlio expenses connected
with the movements, headed by th e Rajah, are met by h im ­
self,and th e sum of the money, that, he has spe n t in furth er­
ance of th e noble object, with which he is identified, has
been by no means inconsiderable, and the spirit in which
he has set, about, the work is above all commendation.
Considering the condition of H in d u music, in which he
found it when he took up th e subject, th e success, which
he has achieved du rin g this short period, is creditable to
his enthusiastic love of this im portant branch of Aryan
learning, and speaks volumes in favour of th e patience,
moderation and judgment, th a t he has exercised in the
discharge of his self-imposed duty. The Rajah has made
a, very hopeful beginning, and, if the movement, speeds on
its course a t th e rate it has hitherto done, Rajah
S ourindra Mohan Tagore will have left, a name, the
memory of which will shine in brilliant lustre in tho
pages of the future annals o ftlio country, as the redeemer
of a, noble art, which has been turned into ignoble use, b u t
which will regain its pristine position of glory and purity,
and which will again become tho means of moral eleva­
tion and refinem ent to bis countrymen. May all success
a tte n d th e noble efforts of tbis liberal-minded nobleman.
T H E O R I G I N OF T H E G O S P E L S A N D T H E
B I S H O P OF BOMBA Y.
T he ignorance which commonly prevails among English
Christians concerning th e history of tlieir own religious
books— and, it is feared of th e ir contents— has been
amusingly illustrated by a few letters recently exchanged
in the Pioneer between th e supporters aud th e critics of
the Bishop of Bom bay— th e controversialists breaking
the ir lances over Ihe pastoral concerning th e divorce and
remarriage question. Much ink was spilt during the
correspondence, and still more saintly ignorance shown on
both sides. “ O n e o f t o e LA TTY ,” who supports, and
“TiiniN(«EN,” who criticises,closethe rather lengthy polemics.
A le tte r from tb e former, framed in a style th a t m ig h t as
well stand for veiled sarcasm as for religious cant (see
Pioneer of A u g u st 19) runs as follows;—
Slit.— I lmve rend, in (his and mnny other newspapers,
articles mill letters respecting the 1 !ip11 op o f Bombay's pastoral.
Hut it, seems t.o me th a t they ail miss the m ark, tu r n in g simply
011 liumnn opinion. T h e question is a very simple one : O u r
Blessed Lord whilst; r n earth, hein<r A lm i g h ty God ns well ns
mini, nnd consequently perfectly kn ow ing every controversy
that, would rage in the future over TJis words (this one amour;
oth ers) snid certain w ords plainly nnd distinctly. T h is is, I
suppose, undeniable—- n t least, by Christians. His servant, the
B ishop o f Bombay (T suppose no one will deny th a t the Bishop
o f Bombny is onr L o rd ’s servant in n more especial sense thnn
he is the se rv an t of the Stnt<') has repeated these w ords plainly
and distinctly. A n d these same words will he repented plainly
and distinctly, and, to some, w ith terrible emphasis, on the Day
 of J u d g m e n t. Tliiit is all, enou gh — too m uch perhaps. H um an
respect, public opinion, civil law— all these tilin g s'w ill pass
away ; bu t the words of A lm ig h ty God will n e v er pass jiway.
Personalty, I am satisfied with know ing th at the C hurch,
h a v in g been endowed by o ur Blessed Lord w ith absolute and
infallible authority iu all questions of faith and morals, has put;
forth certain discipline with respect to m arriage ; but I know
P ro testan ts refuse to allow this. P erhaps a little reflection on
the subject of the Day o f J u d g m e n t may cause them to see
th a t the Bishop of Bombay is rig h t in what, he hits p u t forth.
If a person can calmly m ake up his mind to bring forward at
the Day of J u d g m e n t public opinion, human respect, civil law,
as excuses for wlmt he has done, or no t done, on earth, by all
means let him — and abide tlie result. Hero, on earth, individuals,
good and bail, m ak e mistakes. T h e re , there will be n o n e —ex cept
those already made 011 earth ; and, as F a b e r says, it will be an
exceedingly aw k-vard tim e for finding them out. I do not
pretend to a rg u e against persons who do not, believe in re v e la ­
tion, being only, as my card will show y o u —
O ne ok th e L a ity .
T h i s is v e r y p l a i n ; a n d y e t c a n h a r d l y b e a l l o w e d t o
pass w ith o u t c o m m e n ts. F o r in sta n c e , if “ O u r B lessed
L o rd ” w ho was “ A lm ig h ty G od” k n e w beforehand “ every
c o n t r o v e r s y t h a t w o u l d r a g e i n t h e f u t u r e ” ( t h e P io 'iicer
c o r re s p o n d e n c e a m o n g o th e rs ) t h e n o n e c a n n o t be v e ry fa r
f r o m t r u t h in s u p p o s i n g t h a t h e a lso k n e w o f t l i e r e m a r k s
a n d c r itic is m s in s to r e for “ O n e o f T iu i L a i t y ” in t h e
T h k o s o p h i s t ? T h i s is v e r y e n c o u r a g i n g , a n d really
dissip ates th e last h e sita tio n a n d d o u b ts fe lt a b o u t th e
p r o p r i e t y o f p a s s i n g r e m a r k s , h o w e v e r r e s p e c t f u l , 011 t h e
B i s h o p of B o m b a y ’s f a s t p r u n u n c i a m e n t u . O u r l o g i c is
v e ry sim p le . S i n c e t h a t , w h ic h w e a r e a b o u t to say,
cou ld n e v e r h a v e e s c a p e d O u r L o r d ’s a t t e n t i o n e i g h t e e n
c e n t u r i e s a g o , a n d t h a t u p t o d a t e w e h a v e r e c e i v e d 110
in ti m a t i o n to t h e c o n tra ry (silence m e a n i n g w ith u s — as
w ith every o th e r tru s tin g m o r ta l— c o n se n t) we feel
s e r e n e l y c o n f i d e n t t h a t t h i s c o l u m n o r t w o w a s so p r e ­
o r d a in e d f ro m t h e b e g in n i n g ; h e n c e — it c a n g iv e offence
t o 110 o n e . B u t, before offering a n y p e rs o n a l re m a rk s , o u r
readers m u s t se e w h a t “ T u b i n g e n ” h a d to say in re p ly
to “ O n e o f t h e L a i t y . ” T h e a b o v e - q u o te d l e t t e r e licited
t h e f o l l o w i n g a n s w e r i n t h e P i o n e e r o f A u g u s t 2.') :—
h iit,— Your L a y m a n correspondent, who kn ow s so much
about our L o rd ’s utterances on the subject o f divorce, seem.- to
forget a few points which bear on Lhe m atter, especially th at
tlie “ certain words” which h e aud the B ishop of llom bay rely
upon, weie certainly not spoken by ou r Lord, wlio did not
ex p ress Himself in English, bul are nieiely a translation of an
A lexandrian G re e k translation o f some documents, the origin
of which I thus find spoken o f in Chambers' most orthodox
Encyclopaedia :— *“ l h e inquiry has been treated in an ex trem ely
technical manner by many cnlics. Tlie object o f these theories
lias been to Iind a common origin for the gospels. L ic h h o rn
and Bishop Marsh presume au original document, differing
from any ol th e existing gospels, aud which is supposed to pass
throu gh various modifications. A n o th e r aud more probabio
supposition is th at the gospels sprang ou i of a common oral
tradition. '1 his th e o ry ........is ot course widely sepaiated from
the w ell-know n'j.iibingen theory, which carries the period of
tradition down to tlie middle o f the second cen tury, and
supposes the gospels to h av e been llien called fo r th by
th e influence of opposing teachers.” U n d e r the head
“ 1 iibing< 11, ” in ano ther p a r t o f the Encyclopaedia, 1 read
th a t 1 lie place is celebrated “ as u school o f historieo-philo-
sopliical th e o lo g y ........... tho influence of W h ic h , 011 religious
thought, has been very great., and is likely to prove perm an ent.”
Thus, P a m afraid, y ou r L a y m a n , though doubtless a very good
m an, is not qu ite so accurately informed concerning ou r L ord’s
language, as lie im agines himself ; a nd that, considering the
un ioriu nate uncertainty that atten ds o u r fragm entary records
ot these, tfie .Bishop ol Bombay is no t so wiso in regulating his
views ot divorce according 10 the exact E n g lish te x t of the
liible, as l'arliameiiL has Lieen in re g u la tin g tlie law according
to wlmt connnon-seiite leads us to im agine m u s t probably have
been the views o f ou r Lord.
Ti il i lN U IC N ".
T he reply is very good as far as it goes, b u t it docs not
go very lur ; because, tlie point made th a t “ our Lord did
uot express himself iu E n g lis h ” does n o t cover th e whole
ground. H e c o u l d h a v e e x p r e s s e d h i m s e l f in a n y p r e s u m ­
a b ly d e a d o r liv in g O r i e n ta l l a n g u a g e h e lik e d , a n d y e t —
since h e w as A lm ig h ty God, who k n e w th e trem en d o u s
■weapon h e w a s f u r n i s h i n g t h e p r e s e n t i n f i d e l s w i t h — h e
m i g h t h a v e a v o id e d “ O n e o f t h e L a i t y ” a s w ell a s th e
B ishop, “ his ow n s e r v a n t ,” th e h u m iliatio n o f b e in g ta u g h t
t h e i r o w n S c r i p t u r e s b y t h e in fid e l T h e o s o p h i s t . I n d e e d ,
w hile th e fo rm er has ev id en tly e ith e r n ev er read or has
fo rg o tte n his B ib le, th e la tte r w ho c a n n o t be h e ld ig n o r a n t
of its c o n te n ts , h a s v e ry a r b itr a r ily m a d e a se le c tio n of th e
o n e t h a t s u ite d h im t h e best, since th e r e a re se v e ra l such
c o m m a n d s in t h e B i b le to p ic k o u t fro m , in r e f e r e n c e to t h e
re m a rria g e q u e stio n . W h y d i d n o t h i s L o r d s h i p r e f e r to
t h o s e a lso ? A n d w h y s h o u ld t h e C h r i s t i a n L a i t y b e for­
b i d d e n t h e p r i v i l e g e o f m a k i n g t h e i r c h o ic e, s in c e t h e
B ib le affords t h e m th e o p p o r tu n ity of s u itin g e v ery taste,
w h i l e a d h e r i n g a s s t r i c t l y i n t h e o n e c a s e its i n t h e o t h e r t o
t h e C o m m a n d s o f A l m i g h t y ( Jo d V I f “ O n e 01? t h e L a i t y ”
is p e r s o n a l l y s a t i s f i e d w i t h k n o w i n g “ t h a t t h e C h u r c h
h a v in g b e e n e n d o w e d by o u r B lessed Lord w ith ab so lu te
a n d i n f a l l i b l e a u t h o r i t y in a ll q u e s t i o n s o f f a i t h a n d
m o r a l s , ” han t h e r i g h t t o “ p u t f o r t h c e r t a i n d i s c i p l i n e
w ith re s p e c t to m a rria g e ,” t h e n h e m u s t k n o w m o re th a n
a n y 011(3 e l s e k n o w s . F or, if “ P r o t e s t a n t s re fu s e to allow
t h i s , ” i t is n o t f r o m e x c e s s o f m o d e s t y , b u t s i m p l y t h a t
s u c h a c l a i m 011 t h e i r p a r t w o u l d b e r e a l l y t o o p r e p o s t e r o u s
in t h e face o f t h e B ib le . J e s u s C h r i s t , t h o u g h in o n e s e n s e
a P r o te s ta n t H im self, know n o th in g of P ro te sta n tism ; and
e n d o w e d — if h e e v e r e n d o w e d a n y o n e w i t h a n y t h i n g —
P e t e r w i t h s u c h a u t h o r i t y , l e a v i n g P a u l o u t i n t h e cold.
P r o t e s t a n t i s m , h a v i n g o n c e p r o t e s t e d a g a i n s t t h e d i c t a te s of
t h e R o m a n C a t h o l i c C h u r c h , h a s 110 r i g h t t o a s s u m e out, o f
t h e m a n y a l l e g e d p r e r o g a t i v e s o f P e t e r ’s C h u r c h t h a t w h i c h
s u i t s i t a n d r e j e c t t h a t w h i c h i t f i n d s i n c o n v e n i e n t t o f o llo w
o r to enforce. M o re o v e r, s in c e P r o t e s t a n t i s m c h o se to
g iv e e q u a l a u th o r i t y a n d in fallib ility to b o th t h e O ld a n d
t h e N e w T e s ta m e n t , its B is h o p s s h o u ld n o t, iu d e c id in g u p ­
o n social o r r e lig io u s q u e s tio n s , g iv e p re fe re n c e o n ly to t h e
l a t t e r a n d ig n o re e n ti r e l y w h a t tlie f o r m e r h a s to say. The
fact th a t th e P rotestant, C h u rc h , a c tin g u p o n th e principle
o f “ m i g h t is r i g h t " is, a n d h a s a l w a y s b e e n , i n t h e h a b i t
of r e s o r t i n g t o i t t o c u t e v e r y G o r d i a n k n o t — is 110 p r o o f
t h a t s h e is a c t i n g u n d e r . D i v i n e a u t h o r i t y . T h e cla im ,
t h e n , m a d e b y “ O n io o k t h k L a i t v , ” a s “ T u b i n g e n ”
w i l l s e e , d o e s n o t r e s t so m u c h u p o n t h e c o r r e c t n e s s o f t h o
t r a n s l a t i o n m a d e o f C h r i s t ’s w o r d s , o r w h e t h e r i t w a s r e n ­
d ered by a G re e k or a H e b rew , as u p o n th e self-co n trad ic ­
tio n o f th e s e v ery w o rd s in th e B ib le — a ssu m in g , o f course,
t h a t C h r is t a n d A lm ig h ty G od a re one am i id en tica l. O t h e r ­
w ise, a n d if J e s u s o f .N a z a re th w as s im p ly a m a n , t h e n h e
can n e ith e r be accused of fla g ia n t c o n tra d ic tio n nor of
i n c i t i n g his p r o p h e ts to b r e a k t h e s e v e n t h c o m m a n d m e n t, as
d o n e by G od in th e case o f llo s c a . A n d i t is also, w o
s u p p o s e , “ u u d e n i a b l e a t l e a s t b y C h r i s t i a n s , ’’ t h a t w h a t w a s
g ood fo r a p r o p h e t o f t h e L o rd G o d c a n n o t b e b a d for a
C h r i s t i a n ,' e v e n t h o u gO h h e b e a n A n gO l o - I n d i a n C i v i_l i a n . I n
t r u t h , a s “ O n i o oi>' t h 10 L a i t y ” h a s it, “ t h e q u e s t i o n is a
v e r y s i m p l e o n e . ” I t is o n e o f U n i t a r i a n i s m a n d a m a t t e r o f
ch o ic e. “ C h o c se ye, th is d a y ,” m ig h t say a m o d ern
J o s h u a , ‘‘ w h o m y o u w i l l s e r v e ; ” w h e t h e r t h e G o d w h i c h
t h e J e w s s e rv e d , a iu l w h o c o n tr a d ic ts ou e v e ry p a g e o f th o
O l d t h e .N ew T e s t a m e n t — t h e w r a t h f u l , r e v e n g e f u l , f ic k le
J e h o v a h ; o r h i m w h o m y o u c a ll “ C h r i s t ’’— o n e o f t h e
n o b lest a n d p u re s t ty p es of h u m an ity . F o r th e re can be
110 m i s t a k e a b o u t t h i s : it C h r i s t is o n e w i t h t h e L o r d G o d
o f I s r a e l — all t h i s i d e a l p u r i t y v a n is h e s l ik e a d r e a m ,
le a v in g in its p lac e b u t b e w ild e rm e n t, d o u b t a u d d is g u s t—
u s u a lly fo llo w ed b y b l a n k a th e is m .
To m ake th e m a t t e r p lain, if th e L o rd B ish o p , w ith
“ O n e or’ t h e L a i t y ” in sists th a t C h rist b e in g A lm ig h ty
G o d s a i d c e r t a i n w o r d s p l a i n l y a n d d i s t i n c t l y , a n d lie “ O u r
L o r d ’s s e r v a n t . . . h a s r e p e a t e d t h e s e w o r d s , ” a s g i v e n i n
M a t t h e w v. .‘>2, n a m e l y , “ W h o s o e v e r s h a l l p u t a w a y h i s w i l e
s a v i n g f o r t h e c a u s e o f — &c., c a n s o t h h e r t o c o m m i t
a d u l t e r y , a i u l w/wsoeuer shall -mui'ry her th at is divorced coiu-
m ilte th ad tiU ery ” — then th e so-called inlidols aud the parties
 concerned, liave a righ t to respectfully insist ou liis Lord­
ship, showing th em why ho, the servant o f t h e same God,
should not repeat ccvtain other words pronounced far
more plainly and distinctly, in the book of Hosea, chapter
i, verse 2, and chapter iii., 1-5 ? F o r certain good
reasons— one amoug others t h a t the T h e o s o p h i s t not
being a Holy Book is neither privileged, nor would it
consent to publish obscenities— the said verses in Hosea
cannot be quoted in this magazine. E u t every one is
a t liberty to turn to the first Bible on hand, and, finding
the above passages, read them an d ju d g e for himself.
A nd then he will find th a t Alm ighty (Jod eommauds
Hosea not only to take unto him self a “ divorced wile,”
b u t som ething unpronounceably worse. And if we are
told by some Bible expounders, as t h a t class will often do,
th a t the words must not be taken literally, th a t the}' are
allegorical, then the burden of proof remains w ith the
Bishop to show why, in such case, the words in Matthew
should not be also regarded as a p a ia b le ; aud why, this
one solitary command should be enforced literally, while
near ly every other th a t precedes or follows it, is regarded,
explained, and lias to be accepted simply as a parable. I t
he would be consistent with himself, the Bishop should
insist tha t as a consequence of tem ptatio n every Christian
would “ pluck” o ut his rig h t eye, “ cut off” his rig ht hand
— (and who can pretend, th a t neither his eye nor his hand
has ever tem pted or “ offended” him ?)— would moreover
refuse to ta k e his oath iu a C ourt of Justice, turn bis
cheek to every bully who would smite his face, and
present with his cloak th e first th ie f who would choose to
robb him of his coat. Every one of these commands has
been “ explained away” to the satisfaction of all parties
concerned— amongst others th a t which commands, never
to swear a t all, i. e., to take the prescribed oath — “ neither
by heaven nor by earth,” b u t let th e affirmation be
“ yea, y e a ; nay, nay.” And if, H is Lordship would have
no one deny th a t he “ is Our L ord’s servant in a more
especial sense than he is th e servant of the Sta te ,” whose
law, disregarding C hrist’s injunction, commands every one
of its subjects to swear upon the Bible, th e n th e Bishop
would perhaps b u t strengthen his claim and silence even
the infidels, if, instead of losing his tim e over divorced
wives, he would use his eloquence in supporting Mr.
Bradlaugh, a t any rate, iu his refusal to ta k e his oath in
Parliament. In this respect, a t least, th e Christian clergy
should be a t one with the celebrated infidel.
N o doubt, b u t a little reflection ou the subject of th e
“ Day of J u d g m e n t” may go a good wa v toward explain­
ing the inexplicable ; with all this, it has to be feared, it
will never account for all of the above enum erated
inconsistencies. N evertheless —nil desperandum. There
is a pretty story told of th e jiresent English Prem ier by
Janies T. Bixby, in which, th e objection m ade to a pleasant
plan of marrying the late General Garibaldi to a w ealthy
E nglish lady, viz., th a t the hero of C aprera bad already
one wife,— is triu m p han tly m e t by the suggestion th a t
Mr. Gladstone could be readily got to explain her away.
P e r c h a n c e , His Lordship of Bombay, having heard of the
story, had an eye on tb e “ grand old man,” to help him.
A t any rate, he seems to be as easy a reconciler of the
irreconcilable, and manifests, to use au expression of the
same author, “ a theological dissipating power of equal
s tre n g th ” with th a t of th e reconcilers of Science aud
Scripture.
H a d “ T u b i n g e n , ” instead of g e ttin g his inspiration
from “ Chambers’ most orthodox Encyclopaedia,” turned to
consult what the F a th e rs o f t h e Church have themselves
to say about the Gospel of M atthew in which the certain
words “ O n e o f t h e L a i t y ” and “ th e Bishop of Bombay
rely upon,” arc made to appear— th e n he would have
been far better qualified to upset the argu m ents of his
opponent. H e would have learned, ior instance, th a t out
of the four, the Gospel of M atthew is th e only original
one, as the only one th a t was written in H ebrew or rat lier
in one of its corrupted forms, the Galileean Syriac— by
whom or w hen it was w ritten not being now the main
point. Epiphanius tells us th a t it was th e heretic
Nazarenes or th e Sabians “ who live in tbe city of th e
Beioeaus toward Coeli-Syria and in the Decapolis toward
the parts of Pella, and in th e Basantis” ’\'ho have the
Evangel of M atthew most fully, and as it was originally
written — in Hebrew letters ; and tha t it was St. Jerom e
who translated it into Greek : Quod, nvper in Graecumde
Hclmtco ' er inane tnivstnlimus. et quod vocatnr ajforisyue
Mutthaci autlunticum (Epiphanius I., p. 123-24 ; Dion
Detav., animadv., p. ; 1 iieronynuts., iu eap. X U . , Matth.
cap. 13;.” Matthew, the despised publican, be it re m em ­
bered, is the only identified and authenticated au th or of
his Gospel, th e other th re e having to remain probably for
ever un d e r th e ir unidentified noms de plume. The
Ebionites and th e Nazarenes are nearly identical.
In h a b itin g a desert betw een Syria and E gyp t beyond
Jord an called N abathaea, th e y were indifferently called
Sabaeans, N azarenes and Ebionites. Olshausen (Nachweis
der Echtheit. der SdmmtMchen Schriften des Neuen Test,
p . 3 5 ) finds it rem arkable th at, while all church F athers
agree in saying t h a t Matthew wrote in Hebrew, th e whole
of th em use th e Greek te x t as the genuine apostolic w rit­
ing w ithout m entioning w hat relation th e Hebreio Matthew'
has to th e Greek one. “ I t bad many peculiar additions
'which are wanting in our Greek Evangel ,” he remarks ;
and as many omissions, we may add. T he fact ceases at
once to be rem arkable when we rem em ber th e confession
made by Hieronymus (or St. Jerom e) in his le tte r to
Bishops C hrom atins and Heliodorus, and in several other
passages in his works :—
“ M atthew who is also Leuis (Levi) an apostle from
Publicans, in lo ud aea first with a view to those believing in
circumcision p u t to gether an Evangel o f th e Anointed, in
H ebrew letters and words, it is not known who (first)
translated it into Greek,” he writes. “ T he H ebrew
(Syriac) up to this time is in tbe library of Caesarea. I
received permission from the Nazaraeans, who a t Beroea
of Syria used this (evangel) to translate th is” ( De viris
illustr, cap. o). “ I n th e evangel according to the Hebrews,
which, indeed, was w ritten in th e Chaldean (Lingua\
Chaldaica quciin vocal hie Syriacam) and Syrian language,
b u t with H ebrew letters, which the Nazarenes use to-day
according to th e apostles, or as most suppose according to
Matthew, which also is contained in the library a t Caesarea,
th e history narrates: ‘ Lo the mother of th e Lord and his
Brothers said to him, J o a n th e B ap tist baptizes unto
remission of sins ; let us go and be baptized by him.
B u t he (Iasous) said to them : w hat sin have I committed
th a t I should go and be baptized by him ?’ ” (Hieronymus
adv. Pelagianos III., 2.)
The Gospel we have of Matthew tells quite a different
s t o r y ; arrd y e t Jerom e, speaking of th e evangel
which Nazarenes and Ebionites rrse, mentions it as th e
one “ which recently I translated from H ebrew into Greek
and which is called by most persons the genuine Gospel of
Matthew’ (Book 2nd, Com. to Mattheio, X I I - lo ) . B u t
th e whole t r u t h dawns a t once on him, who reads Je ro m e ’s
l e t t e r " and rem em bers th a t this famous D alm atian
Christian had been before his full conversion a no less
famous barrister, well acquainted with both ecclesiastical
and law casuistry; and that, therefore, he m ust have trans­
formed th e genuine H ebrew Gospel into something quite
different from w h a t it originally was. And such, indeed*
is his own confession. H e a r him saying:—
“ A difficult work is enjoined, since this (the translation
of Matthew) has been commanded me by Y our Felicities
(Bishops Chrom atins and Heliodorus), ivhich St. Matthew
himself, the Apostle and Evungelist, did not wish to be
openly written ! F o r if this had not been S E C R E T , he would
have added to the Evangel th a t he gave forth was his ;
b u t he (Matthew) made this book sealed up in. the Hebrew
characters ; which he p u t forth even in such a. way th a t th e
book w ritten in H ebrew letters and by the hand of h i m ­
self, m ig ht be possessed (only) by the men most religious ;
who als) in th e course ( successus) of time received it thus
(secretly) from those who preceded them, B ut this very
book they (tbe most religious, tbe initiates) never gave, to
any one to be transcribed : and its text they related, some
one way and some an o th e r (a lite r atquc a lite r ). And it
happened th a t this book (the original Gospel of Matthew)
having been published by a disciple of Manichaeus, named
Seleucus, who also w rote fa in tly the acta o f the A postles,
exhibited m a tte r not for edification, b u t for destruction ;
and th a t tbis (book) w a s approved i n a sy n o d
which th e cats o f the Church properly refused to listen to”
(M. Jerom e, V. 445).
And, to suit the ears of the Church who “ properly
refused to listen” to th e o r ig in a l Gospel, St. Jero m e
candidly tells us :—
“ M atthew first iu J u d e a issued in Hebrew' an Evangel
of th e Anointed. This, a t least, ivhen in our ivord (our
text) it differs and assumes d iffe re n t sid ew a ys of rills
(et divertsos r iv u lo iu m tra m ite s d u c it) is to be sought for
(accounted) from one source” (the original Gospel).
Therefore— “ 1 p a ss over those codices mentioned by Lucian
and Ilesychius, which the perverse contention o f a fe w men
affirms”........
In other words, tbe venerable compiler of th e Latin
version of the Scriptures,— the basis of th e present
vulgate— in what is called by Alban B u tle r “ Lis famous
critical labours on th e Holy Scriptures,” distorted the
original Gospel of M atthew beyond recognition. And
it is such sentences as now stand in th e Gospel of Matthew,
and which ough t to be properly called the “ Gospel
according to St. Jerom e,” th a t the Bishop of Bombay and
“ O n e o f t h k L a i t y ” would have any one but the
Christians regard and accept as words of A lm ighty God,
th at “ will never pass a w a y /’ 1 'roh pnclor ! Words copied
with all kind of omissions and additions, out of notes,
taken from various oral renderings of the original te x t—
“ a book they (its possessors) never gave to any one to be
t r a n s c r i b e d ” as St. Je ro m e himself tells us, — still claiming
a divine origin ! If the orthodox exponents of “ historico-
philosophical theology” in Europe bave h itherto handled
all these questions which relate to th e a u th e n tic ity of the
Bible with a very tim id hand, it has n ot in th e least
others to examine them as critically as they would H om er’s
Iliad. And, having done so, they found embodied in th a t
heterogeneous literature th e production of h u nd re d anony­
mous scribes. Its very Greek plural nam e of ta biblia,
meaning “ th e books,” or a collection of small pam phlets,
shows it to be a regular hotch-potch of stories having x
meaning b u t for th e Kabalist. E very child will very soon
be t a u g h t th a t even the Epistles have been regarded as
sacred and authoritative a great deal earlier than the
Gospels ; and th a t for two centuries, a t least, th e New
T e sta m e n t was never looked upon by th e Christians as
sacred as tbe old one. And, as we can learn from St. J e ro m e ’s
w ritingsjustquotedabove, a t th e end of th e fourth century
(he died in 420) there was no New T e sta m e n t canon as
we now have it, since it was not even agreed upon which
of the Gospels should be included in it and regarded as
sacrtd and which should be rejected. As well may we,
Theosophists, claim (and perhaps w ith far b e tte r
reasons) th a t some of th e words as occasionally found in
our journal, “ w i l l n e v e r r A s s a w a y . ”
O B S E R V A T I O N S O N T H E “ R A N C H A K O N !'
IiY BABU K E D A ltN A T lI BASU.
Tiie readers of the T h e o s o p h i s t are w'ell aware of the
efficacy of the five po in ted s ta r (as in the
margin) in cases of bites and stings of
poisonous insects, &c<, b u t few of them
know a n ything about its mysteries or
philosophy. I am, in the following lines,
going to give a brief account of th e
observations I have made in my several
experiments. I made more th a n 50 e x ­
periments with the cabalistic sign in cases of wasps stings,
and I found it to be efficacious in subduing' O the bu rning
O
pain and inflammation, in almost all the cases. The
potency, as far as I have observed, does not lie with th e
sign itself, but in th e manipulation or passing th e finger
over th e inflamed part. T he stings of wasps, &c., cause
inflammation by d istu rb in g the state of the equilibrium
of the vital electricity of the p art stung, and such it
disturbance gives precedence to positive electricity which
is the sole cause of the inflammation. Now, therefore,
when th e figure is draw n with the finger, (the muscles of
th e hand aud arm being relaxed,) on the inflamed part, it
allows the negative vital electricity of the m anipulator to
pass into the inflamed part ; and th u s th e equilibrium is
maintained by the positive and negative electricities. I t
m atters little w he th e r one draws the figure of the
five-pointed star, or any oth e r figure whilst manipulating,
for there is no charm in th e figure itself ; b u t you obtain
the faith and create the belief in speedy cure of th e p a tie n t
by drawing th a t special figure. I t is well known th a t
m ental force is the sole prime-mover of vital electricity.
'This subject will be fully understood by any one who
refers to a work on Electro-Psychology, or A nim al M agnet­
ism , and I ‘should here recommend th e reader to go
through tlie g re a t American savant, Dr. S. B. B r itta n ’s
work entitled “ Man and His Relations,” and I specially
refer th e reader to th e chapter on “ Animal Magnetism as a
T herapeutic Agent.” I t should here be rem arked th a t
cures had been effected by some of th e correspondents
of th e T j j e o s o i ' H I S T by drawing tbe figure of the
five pointed star w ith pen and ink, but it should be
borne in m ind th a t the cures in these cases were effected
by the patients themselves by th e ir own implicit belief
and faith in the cabalistic sign. I believe, the readers are
aware of the renovating and destructive powers of the
m ind ; they are moreover aware of instances in which
persons have been known to have been cured of serious
maladies; and there are well-known instances in which persons
have been known lo expire on their own im plicit beliefs ?
The power of m ind in adjusting the equilibrium of
animal magnetism, or vital electricity, is an undisputed
fact. A skilled magnetic m anipulator with th e determ in a­
tion of his will, in a very short time, brings back the
equilibrium of th e vital magnetism aud electricity of bis
patient, by his m anipulations ; and such is the n ature ol
th e cure effected by the five pointed sta r in cases of bites
and stings of poisonous insects, &c. T he potency in no
way rests w ith th e star, for I have effected cures by draw ­
ing a t random figures while I m anipulated my subjects,
in tho course of my ex perim ents; besides, I simply made
magnetic manipulations in m any of the cases, commencing
from th e highest point down to th e extrem ities of the
fingers and toes, a n d found tbis process to be equally
efficacious in allaying pain aud inflammation of the affected
part within a very few minutes.
T he greater p art of my experim ents were made upon
th e persons o f educated friends, who had very little belief
in either th e s ta r or magnetic manipulations. Those
gentlem en volunteered themselves for experiments, aud,
happily, were convinced of the truth of magnetic m ani­
pulations in cases of disturbance of the vital electricity,
aud they also comprehended th e province of animal
magnetism in our system in its relation to the mind.
I am of opinion th a t the Aryans introduced, very
judiciously, signs, mystical incantations, and so forth, in
connection with tlieir m agnetic manipulations, to secure
th e belief and faith of ignorant people, who would not
have otherwise relied upon th e ir efficacy. I t is the
innate n a tu re of ignorant people and savages to a ttrib u te
th e cause of cures of diseases to miracles wrought by
charms or oth er supernatural m e a n s ; and this peculiarity
is invariably seen all over tlic world. The Aryans, to
satisfy and suit the low m ental capacities of such people,
introduced cabalistic signs and mantras, or mystical
incantations, and sundry other processes, merely to securo
the p a tie n t’s faith and belief, which mi
 m anipulatin g ]>roeess towards the cure of maladies.
Therefore, it cannot be said tliat the whole mystery and
philosophy lie on the cabalistic signs or m antras th e m ­
selves ; but on th e magnetic m anipulations and will­
power evinced in effecting them.
“ T H E P E R F E C T W A Y .”
T h e surprise we feel th a t the authors of the P erfect
W ay should have resented th e review of th a t book, which
appeared in our issues of May and June , would be greater
th a n it is, if it were not almost obliterated by regret.
Certainly we endeavoured to show th a t a good deal of w hat
may be callcd the scientific doctrine of th e book,— its
occult scientific doctrine— was a t variance with th a t
ta u g h t in a school, which wc believe to be the highest in
which such knowledge ran be studied. And, so far as
we arc privileged to bo the exponents of th a t la tte r
doctrine for the service of the present generation, it was
clearly a duty to p ut forward these objections. B u t
setting out with th a t task in view, we were none the less
so deeply impressed with th e general merits of the book
to be described,— with its lofty spirit, with the great value
of th a t which we. conceived to be the “ topic and key ­
note” of tlie work,— th a t criticism of details had to be
suspended while wc gave vent to four or five columns of
almost undiluted admiration. The first halt of our
review was little more than an enthusiastic eulogy from
which indeed some sentences have since been quoted ami
appended to every announcem ent ol the P erfect W ay
in English newspapers. H as any oth e r review, th e book has
received, embodied a n ything like so earnest and reverent
a trib ute to its merits '? W e should doubt this, anti yet th e
authors now write to us in term s which seem to imply
th a t they have been irritated in a far greater degree by
th e critical, than pleased by the eulogistic elem ent in our
estimate of the wor k they have done.
l i n t wo have no wish to say one b itte r word in reply.
A gainst th e authors of the P erfect W ay no angry feeling
can go out under any circumstances from people as
ardently desirous as wo are, to see the spirituality of
th e world improved. It seems to us th a t our authors
have tak en our remarks ungraciously, b u t it is not with
any sensation of wounded vanity th a t we observe this,—•
merely with sincere regret. Perhaps it'any ot our former
criticisms seemed to them roughly written, th a t was
merely due to a freedom of speech born of th e ea rne st­
ness of our respect. W e never th o u g h t th a t objections to
th e ir doctrine introduced by such au exordium, could
have annoyed them. Even now wc v enture to think, in spite
of last m onth’s letter from the authors, th a t our “ strictures”
considering their setting cannot have been “ injurious,” and
we pass to the question whether they were “ warranted. ’
Nowr, th e principal embarrassment wc feel in dealing
with th a t question is due to reluctance to e n te r into any
arg um en t with the authors of the P crfcct W ay th a t can
provoke discord between ourselves and them . W h e th e r
they for their part do or do not discern in th e Tlieo-
sophical Society, an agency engaged o n b e h a lfo f the highest
interests of humanity in com batting its direst enemies,
m aterialism and bigotry, we from our side rcg-'.rd them as
am ong th e ablest and most powerful champions enlisted
in th a t good fight,— as far a t all events as th e outer
•world is concerned. Wee should prefer to drop all points,
now raised in dispute, rather than carry on a fratricidal
quarrel. But, then, our authors m igh t declare th a t wc had
m ade groundless charges against the ir book and had after­
wards run away unable to substantiate them.
As regards the division of the H u m a n principles, the
present letter seeks to show how th e doctrine of the
Pcrfcct Way may be b rought into harmony with the
doctrine of the sevenfold division, i f th ere is no substantial
divergence of belief here, so much th e b e tte r ; b u t wc
failed to realise from the book itself t h a t its authors
realised tlie essential difference between th e fifth and
six th principles, the personal ami th e surviving or indivi­
dual goul,
And even now, though the two scales have been p u t in
parallel columns and apparently made to fit, th ere aro
considerations lying on th e very surface of th e presen
letter, which suggest that, perhaps the correspondence
betw een th e m may n o t really be so complete as it seems.
O ur authors now write of the sixth principle, which, we
said, they ignored :—
“ ........I t is no other than this very element in M an ’s
n a t u r e ........th a t constitutes th e chief topic........ of our whole
book, and it is in the pcrfcctionnient a n d exaltation o f th is
element........th a t wc placc the proper end of all culture
and experience.”
O ur authors in this sentence have p u t th e vindication
of our review into our hands. T he sixth principle is
incapable of pcrfeetionm cnt and exaltation. I t is the
perfect spiritual monad which survives all transitory
existence, and th a t which is really th e proper end of all
self-culture and experience is th e pcrfectionm ent and
exaltation of the fifth principle, so th a t it may be fitted to
unite with the sixth and preserve its personality— an
achievem ent which, in the fullest sense, of the expression,
can never be accomplished by more than a very few, b u t
th e partial achievem ent of which may yield immense
advantage to any one.
T hus it would seem th a t th e principle of which the
P crfcct W a y speaks as its third was our fifth, and th a t
there is no room in th e fourfold classification for the sixth,
which, in fact, if th e fourfold and sevenfold classification
arc to be reconciled, wc should be inclined to seek for in
a sub-division of th e P crfcct W ay’s fourth.
T he authors object to the expression “ N atu re never goes
back upon her own footsteps” as unscientific, inaccurate, aud
beside th e mark. B u t as the idea which th a t expression
sought to convey is one which all occult teaching very
emphatically asserts, all wo can do is to tru s t for another
form of words. T he crude notions of exoteric Hindoo philo­
sophy about th e transm igration of souls do not constitute
occult teaching. W h a te v e r such doctrine may suggest,
wc maintain th a t wdicn th e authors talk about N a tu re
allowing the perverse individual to “ manifest his retrogres­
sion by outward expression, and thus to descend, as well as
to ascend, upon th e manifold steps of th e ladder of
incarnation and re-births,”— they are describing ju s t w hat
N a tu r e does n o l allow. W e arc accuscd of denying a,
logical and scientific necessity by recognising extinction,
wdiile ignoring th e deterioration th a t leads to it. Will our
a uthors please refer back to the Review ? We wrote— “There
may be p u nishm ent for th e self-degraded Egos— there is a
law o f retribution most assuredly lor a ll,— but N a tu re does
not go back, &c.” I t wras impossible to set forth a t full
length all collateral doctrines, but tha t sentence just quoted
was intended to allude to the process of deterioration
which leads to extinction. Only it is n o t a descent on the
steps of th e ladder which has been already asconded. I t
is a wholly different ladder th a t th e self-degraded Ego gets
upon in a wholly different world. Those two phrases
about N a tu r e not going back and sh utting the door behind
her conic o u t of Eliphas Levi, b u t w ithout a great deal
of tiresome searching after them in the works of th a t
voluminous writer, we cannot give chapter and verse.
N e x t about Christianity. I t would take pages of this
magazine to do justice to the tangle which our authors
have made of our a rg u m e n t in th a t matter. They combat our
objection to their explanation of the phrase, “ Mary brings
us to Jesus,” by totally m isrepresenting it. The point is
not w h ether vjc were or were not unaware of the inner
m eaning implied in th e formula. W c said, and say again,
t h a t it is nonsense to a ttr ib u te th a t comprehension to “ the
Church,” which shows in a hun dred different ways th a t it
docs not adopt tiie mystical Christianity which our authors,
in common, no doubt, with some few Christian mystics in
all ages, have distilled from the gross doctrine of
churches. Or, if th e y like it better, th a t of our authors is
the tru e original Christianity, and th e Christianity of th e
church a gross clumsy corruption. I t comes to the same
th in g either way. W h a t people understand in these days
by C hristianity is the ecclesiastical corruption, Anything
 said in defence of C hristianity is so much support given to
the grotesque caricatures of religion p u t forward in modern
pulpits. The mystic who likes to work with Christian
symbology, so far as lie is a thoroughly educated mvstic, is
above any svmbology really. W h a t does it m a tte r w hether
men who think alike wear coats of t h e samo colour ? B u t
do not let us use words in a double meaning, and so
confuse the understanding of people who are not mvstics
at all, thoroughly educated or otherwise. I t would be
easy to amplify all this, but, as we said already, we have
110 wish to dwell upou the points on which we and our
present correspondents differ. So far as wc have striven
against them here, we have been anim ated ra th e r by a
desire to avoid th e discourtesy of le ttin g th eir le tte r go
unanswered, th a n by the expectation of disturbing con­
clusions they have formed deliberately, by the agency of
half a dozen paragraphs. But, 011 the other hand, we ninv
have shown them th a t the Review was not a careless nnd
indefensible production unworthy of tlieir groat work—
nor its views, even where th ey were b u t sketchily in­
d ic a te d -slo v e n ly suggestions of th e moment.
There is only one more m a tte r to be noticed. Surely
it was beneath th e dign ity of th e present subject to
suggest,— w hat is suggested in th e sentence:— “ There is
no surer test of a m an’s own interior status than his opinion
of women.” The opinion of women en tertained by the
writer of th e Review never came 011 the tapis. I t would
be im pertinent on his part to bring it forward even now.
T hat which he objected to was an occult doctrine embodied
in th e Perfect W ay, which gave in his opinion an inaccurate
picture o f t h e moral n ature of th e G enus Ilomo. H e
could hardly have m ade plainer, than he did, his contention
th a t th e doctrine of th e Per foot W a y was obnoxious to
him for one reason, because it was der/radivff to woman.
Women (in th e plural) are as much susceptible of th a t
treatm ent which is described in the Perfect Way, as the
development of “ th e woman” within them,— as men are. So
th a t we found fault with th e phrases used as awkward
svmbology and emphasised th a t objection by passages,
which our authors have now affected to regard as evidence
t h a t the writer of th e Review in his private and individual
ch aracter has nn affinity for women of an inferior tvne.
The insinuation is unkind nnd beneath th e level on which
the th o u g h ts of such people as th e authors of the Perfect
1Vay m ust generally float,— and above all it is irrelevant
to th e present discussion.
B u t let us not qu it th e subject with an allusion th a t
may seem even in th e least degree flavoured with b itte r ­
ness. The letter to which these few words arc a reply is, as
wc began by saying, a subject of surprise for us, because
wc hoped th a t th e Review would have provoked feelings
exactly th e reverse of those which the letter displays. As
it has failed to do this, we can only repeat explicitly th a t
onr admiration for the book and respect for its writers was
really the predom inant idea, which th a t review sought to
c< nvey, and, in spite of the present letter, we regard its
a uthors as having produced one of the most, perhaps the
most im p ortan t and spirit-stirring appeal to th e higher
instincts of mankind, which m odern E u rop ean literature
has yet evolved.
P a in i s ; a L o s t Aijm.— F ro m th e D a n b u r y (C o n n .) D e m o ­
c ra t. — The unfortunate young man. G eorge Rue, who Inst liis unu
from »n accident, received on the New Y o r k nnd New ICnglnnd
Rond ft few weeks since, ha- been seriously troubled l>y ihe
cram ping of hi:* fingers nnd arm s on the side w here there were
none. l i e felt the pain, although th ere wns no arm thero nnd
lie knew it. A friend of his suggested the pro priety o f digying
up the nrm, bu t he did not believe ill the stories he bad heard
about limbs troubling people after th ey w ere c u t off. Tho
limb wns however, exhum ed, and upon ex am ination it was
found thnt the fingers were crumped the same ns he stnted his
were, th e th u m b projected out and th e nrm contracted,
corresponding precisely with his description of liis finders p ut
in tlieir proper place, and the patient wns relieved of th e puiu
immediately and ha s suffered 110 more w ith it since.
T H E H I N D O O T H E O R Y O F M U S IC .*
BY ISAAC L. R ICE.
T h e musical system which next claims our attention is
th a t of the ancient Hindoos. Though unlike th a t of the
Chinese, it is no less curious and interesting. The la tte r
a ttem pted to account for th e power of music over the
emotions by a mystic symbolical system. B u t it was not
th e characteristic of tho Hindoos to enter into such geog­
nostic mysteries. They, too, were susceptible to the influ­
ence of music, and to a very great degree ; b u t they
were too indolent to seek for tho natural cause of tho
p henom enon— they had a simpler way of doing things.
W h y spend your existence in the futile effort to untie a
knot, when you can cut it, and sever its most intricate
ramifications a t a single blow ?
Music is th e invention of tb e great God Mahada-
Krishna, who caused five Ragas to spring from bis *five
heads. T he sixth owed its existence to Parbuti. A fter­
wards B rahm a himself created thirty llaginits. Each
Raga was then personified in a god who protected and
governed it, each Raginit in a nymph. T he Ragas were
th e p rim ary inodes, the R aginits th e secondary ones.
Later, Sarasvati, the spouse of Bram ha, presented m an ­
kind with th e most beautiful of instrum ents— th e rina.
T he domi-god N arad was selected to teach its use. Tli en
M ahada-K rishna endowed the Ragas w ith th e power of
m agic— th e Ragas, in turn, endowed th e Raginits. Men,
animals and inanim ate N a tu re were henceforth compelled
to obey them. One Raga was possessed of the power of
raising clouds and producing rain. A songstress versed
in th a t mode at one tim e saved Bengal from an im m inent
famine by intoning it. A nother Raga could cause the
sun to vanish. One charmed serpents, another lions
an 1 tigers. All heaven is filled with music. The great
God In d ra is surrounded by Gandharvas ; they accompany
him in war and sing his praise in peace. Yea, the
terrible Shiva himself was charmed by the magic of
R avau a’s vin a . Music is the pier of prayer and sacrifice
— it is god-compelling.
T he original system was much elaborated in the course
of time, so th a t it ?rew to contain no less than sixteen
th o u sa n d modes, each of which was governed by one of
th e sixteen thousand nymphs, who attem pted to gain
th e love of M ahada-Krishna during his incarnation. The
nym phs arc governed by th e thirty Raginits, th e Raginits
by the six Ragas, th e Ragas by Krishna himself. Now,
a sc e rta in Raginits had affinities for certain Ragas, it wns
conceived th a t a general marriage had taken place-—tha t
each R aga had been wedded to five Raginits, and that
eight sons had been born in each family; th a t each of the
forty-eight sons, called p u tra s, had taken a nym ph for a
spouse, whereupon th e im mediate family of th e Ilagas
comprised one hu nd red and thirty-two heads, all chief
modes.
Later, the Ragas were construed as being also gods of
th e seasons. This was done, because there appeared to
be a g reat analogy between the frame of mind produced
by each o f t h e Ragas, and the one natural to one of the
six seasons into which tlic H ind u year was divided. The
joyful strains of one Raga were symbolical of th e season
of blooming ; th e gay characteristics of another, of the
ripening of the fruits ; while the sad and melancholy
melodies of another, of the fading and falling leaves.
In tu n e it came to be considered a grave offence to the
presiding R ag a of th e season, if melodies in any b u t one
of the modes subject to his control were intoned.
How differently th e Chinese and th e Hindoos accounted
for the emotive power of music ! On the one hand, tho
gloomy mysteries of th e num bers and the elements ; on
th e other, th e bright, fantastic, gorgeous heaven of sun­
shine, marriages, and pleasures ! And yet, who knows but.
t h a t th e H indoo philosophers, who established such a
flowery system-, were thinkers fully as deep as the Chinese
sages— th a t th e ir original conception and hidden meaning
* “ W h at is Music,” hv Isaac L. Rice. Mr, I. I*. Rice ia a well-known
P ian ist ami P rofessor of Now Y ork.— Ed.
w ere n ot as sp iritu a l as th ose o f m odern days ? It was of th eir c h ild ish liv es. Perhaps th ey m a y fin d as I
t h e sp irit o f th e a g e to c a ll a force a g o d — t h a t is to say, have fou n d , th at th e D e ity who is en th ron ed in th eir
to p e r so u ify t h e id ea l, t h e sp ir itu a l. T h e first th c o ie tie in n s , e x i s t e n c e , is m a d e u p o f a n a c c r o s c e n e e t o w h ic h t h e rocks,
p ro b a b ly , u sed th e w ord Raqa as a sober nam e, sig n ify in g th e so il, th e forests, th e d r iftin g snow s, th e p la in tiv e
m ode. A s th e to n e s in crea sed in v a riety , an d b y th e a id v o ices of n ig h t, th e th unders, and early te a c h in g s, n il
o f m o d u la tio n , changes of rh yth m , & c., a p p e a r e d to be­ c o n tr ib u te e ss e n tia l parts.
c o m e a lm o st u n m a n a g ea b le, or rath er irr ed u c ib le to any If so, what th en \ D oes th is r eliev e th e possessor of
system ; th ey w ere c o m p elled to lim it th e m to a certain such a G od from any of th e terrors or tortu res w h ich
num ber of m odes fit for p r a c tic a l use, and th is num ber H is presence in flic ts ? D oes it r e lie v e such a one from
b e c a m e iu cou rse o f t im e ex ten d ed to six te en th ou san d th e sham e and h u m ilia tio n of k n o w in g t h a t a brutal
by som e c a lc u la tio n , o f w h ic h wo are ign oran t. T hen fe tic h h a s ta k e n p o ssessio n o f h im , and th at, w h ile know­
cam e m y th o lo g ica l p h ilo so p h y . The ton es, w ith th eir in g a b s o lu te ly it is a w retch ed and d eg ra d in g b u rlesq u e
w onderful effect on th e so u l, m u st have o rig in a ted in o f th e c h a r a cter it c la im s to be, h e c a n n o t esc a p e tr e m b lin g
heaven. T b e n ex t step w a s to s p ecify how and w here at its c o u n te r fe it frow n , a n d s h r in k in g from th e w rathfu l
t h e y o rig in a ted , b y w h o m th ey w ere propagated , and th en g la n c e s o f its lif e le s s e v e s ?
th e w ild e st sp e cu la tio n s on th e su b ject w ere th e order of I am p e r fe c tly w ell a w a r e th a t, if th e r e b e a G od , H e is a
th e day. The p e c u lia r p o e tica l c h a r a cter o f t h e a n c ie n t sp irit— w h a te v e r th a t m a y b e— aud th at as such H e is
H in d o o sh ow ed its e lf in th e q u e s tio n “ W h a t is m u sic ? ” u tte rly b e y o n d co m p r e h e n sio n . I kn ow th at such a God
as part o f t h e q u e s t io n , “ W h a t is N a t u r e V is o m n ip o te n t and o m n ip resen t; but w h ile I a b u n d a n tly
k n o w t i n ’s, t h e f a c t has no in flu en ce w h a tev er upon th e
o th er G od w h o has tak en p o ssessio n of m y life. T hus,
w h a t I k n o w '— or a t lea st h o p e — to be tru e, is w ith o u t
A N T H R O P O M O R PIIISM.
in flu en ce up on m e; w h ile th a t w h ich I know to b e fa lse
BY P O L IU T O . e x e r c i s e s u p o n m e a n i n f l u e n c e w h ic h is a t o n c e a ll-p o te n t,
(Concluded from ihe A ugust N um ber.) a n d d isa str o u s. I t , th e r e fo r e , is t h e c a s e t h a t , not o n l y is
IX . th is G od o f m in e an a b so lu te tortu re, a sou rce o f con stan t

A D E M O N IA CA L P O T E N T IA L IT Y . d read a n d a p p r e h e n s io n , b u t a lso forces m e to reject th e

p o ssib ly true, a n d b e lie v e in th a t w h ich I know to be a
It m ay be sa id th at th is o m n ip o ten t p oten tate whom
lie.
I h a v e d e p ic t e d is no G od, b u t sim p ly a cru el, im p o ssib le T h e r e a r c t h u s p r o d u c e d t w o c o n d i t i o n s , o n e o f w h i c h is
ogre w orth y o n ly th e crea tio n o f a savage m in d . I w ill th at o f ab ject m oral c o w a rd ice— a p o ltro o n ery w ith o u t
n o t a t t e m p t , for o n e m o m e n t , to c h a l l e n g e a n v s u c h asser­ e x c u s e ; a n d t h e o t h e r is t h a t of in tellec tu a l m a lfo rm a tio n
t i o n ; n a y , m o r e , I m o s t t h o r o u g h l y a n d c o r d i a l l y e n d o r s e it.
— a case in w h ic h th e d e m o n s tr a b ly fa lse has becom e an
I t is tru e b eyon d a n y p o ssib ility o f d isp u te ; an d y et, th is
a ccep ted truth.
d o e s n o t a lte r t h e f a c t t h n t a ll I h a v e d e s c r ib e d is an in to ­
X.
le r a b le r e a l i t y ; th a t it s e e m s to b e real w h ile I k n o w it to
A N ISO TH E R M A L GOT).
b e f a l s e a n d u n w o r th y ; t h a t m y c a s e is p ro b a b ly r e p r e s e n ­
ta tiv e o f a n y n u m b e r o f oth ers, a n d th at th is relig io u s r e ­ I t m i g h t b e w o r th w h ile , a s a c u rio u s, i f n o t a s a graver
su lt has m ost w r etch ed ly effected , not m erely my s tu d y to a scerta in t h e exten t, to w h ic h rea c h e s th is a n th r o ­
m o ra l, b u t m y i n t e l l e c t u a l life. W hose nature can hnvo p o m o rp h ism . I t is b a r e ly p o s s i b le t h a t a n e x a m i n a t i o n of
a n y freed om , a n y ela sticity , and broad and free d ev elo p ­ t h e su ccess o f th e so u ls o f each h u m a n b e in g w o u ld r esu lt
m e n t w h e n it is w e ig h t e d d o w n w ith su c h a h id e o u s n i g h t ­ in s h o w i n g th a t, in p la c e o f t h e ir b e i n g o n ly o n e G o d , th e r e
m a r e a s t h a t I h a v e ca rried a ll m y life, and w h ic h I pre­ are as m a n y as th ere are in d iv id u a ls; a n d th a t, in p la c e o f
s e n t e d for y o u r c o n t e m p la t io n ? th is fa v o u r e d la n d b e i n g th e d o m a in o f m o n o th e is m , th ere
N o r is t h is i n c e s s a n t to r tu r e , e x t e n d i n g t h r o u g h a n e n t ir e p r ev a ils a p o ly th eism w h ich is lim itle ss in its products
J iie - t im e , a ll t h e r e is o f t h e d ia b o lica l v isita tio n . I t is far as th e u n its w h o m a k o u p th e hum an aggregate.
from b e in g t h e s u m to ta l o f th e h a r d s h ip s o f a d e stin y , th e Perhaps such an ex a m in a tio n , if th o ro u g h ly m ade,
u n fortu n ate possessor o f w h ich is, in s u f f e r i n g , i f n o t in w o u ld reveal th e fact th a t no tw o of us are w o rsh ip p in g
fa ct, d a m n e d b efo re h is t im e . I k n o w th a t, w h e n t h e la st fea rin g , or d rea d in g th e sam e d eified poten cy. I fa n cy
h o u r s o f life s h a ll h a v o a r r iv e d , a n d I s h a ll fin d m y s e l f fn ce th at th e som bre, sco w lin g pow er who h a u n ts and
t o fa c e w ith th e g rizzly sk e leto n , th en reason, e n fe e b le d a fflicts my life is u tte rly u n lik e th e d e ific em b o d i­
b y illn e s s , w ill lo se its s w a y ; th a t t h e te a c h in g s an d im p r e s ­ m ent w h ic h d o m in a te s th e liv es of oth ers. If I m ay
s io n s o f m y e a r ly life w ill a sse r t th em se lv e s, and th at as I draw c o n clu sio n from my own ex p erien ce, it w o u ld
g la n c e d e sp a irin g ly in to th e near and dread fu tu re— across be to th e effect th at th e G od whom each person
th e narrow strea m w h ic h separates th e tw o e x isten ce s— I see s and c o m p r e h e n d s has, as in th e case o f m in e, an in ti­
s h a ll b e c o n fro n ted o n ly by th e m e n a c in g g la n c e s, th e w r a th ­ m a t e r ela tio n in a p p e a r a n c e a n d q u a litie s to th e ea rly te a c h ­
ful counten ance of th is dem on who has th ru st h im se lf in g s and te m p er a m e n t of each in d iv id u a l aud th e p h y si­
i n t o m y lifo a s th o o n ly liv in g God. Is th ere no necro­ cal a sp e c ts and p e c u lia r itie s o f th o reg io n in w h ic h w ere
m ancer who can d isen th ra ll a soul en sla v ed , bound, s p e n t t h e e a r l i e r y e a r s o f life.
b e n u m b e d b y s u c h a h o rrid s p e ll ? T h u s , it w o u ld b e th e fact th a t th e G od of th e m oun­
W e r e m y c a se an iso la te d o n e ; w e r e I th o o n ly v ic tim o f t a i n s is n o t t h e G o d o f t h e v a lle y s , or o f t h e p la in s . H e w h o
su c h a tro cio u s h a llu cin a tio n s, it m ig h t not bo w orth y of is w o r s h ip p e d , or is f e a r e d b y h i m w h o d w e l l s i n the. g r e e n
a n y th in g m o re e x te n d e d th a n su ch sy m p a th y , su ch c o m m i­ a n d s o l e m n fo r e s t s , h a s t h e n a m e , b u t is u t t e r l y u n l i k e t h e
sera tio n as m e n e x te n d to e x ce p tio n a l cases of d e fo rm ity , G o d w h o is t h e o b ject, o f a d o r a t i o n — o r ex ecra tio n , as th e
or iso la te d in sta n ce s of un usu al and p o ig n a n t su fferin g. case m a y be, on t h e a i ’i d p l a i n s , w here etern al grayness
B ut it seem s im jjo ssib le th at th ese phenom ena are broods over th e face of th e la n d sca p e, and sile n c e aud
w ith o u t precedent or p a ra llel. T here m ust be oth ers d e s o la tio n are e n th r o n e d in u n e n d in g sec u r ity .
who have th u s had forced in to th eir natures a b elief D o w n in t h e e q u a t o r ia l r e g io n s , w h e r e t h e broad lea v es
w h ich th ey abhor; a r elig io u s fa ith w h ich th ey o f th e p a lm d r o o p in t h e w ith e r in g h ea t; w here p o iso n o u s
d esp ise, and a god whom th ey know to bo a tra v esty r e p t ile s a n d b lo o d - t h i r s t y b e a s t s lu r k in t h e h e a v y j u n g l e s ;
u p o n O m n ip o te n c e , a d ia b o lica l creation w ho has usurped w h e r e m e n s w e lt e r in a t e m p e r a t u r e a t fev er ben t ; w here
th e etern al throne, and o b litera ted or obscured th e tru e h o w lin g th u n d er-storm s, a b la z e w ith lu r id and g h a stly
G od and th e tru e hea v en . I ■ w o u ld l i k e t h a t a l l who hear fla m e, are e v e r w a n d e r in g a th w a r t th e s k y ; w here errant
t h e s e c o n fe s s io n s — for t h e y s e e m t o m e t o b e m o r e c o n f e s s io n s w i l l - o ’- t h e - w i s p s g l e a m a n d f a d e a b o v e t h e t a n g l e d grasses
th a n a u g h t e lse — to e x a m in e th e ir o w n s o u ls ; a n d d isc o v er o ^ l o n e l y m o r a s s e s ; in th e s e r eg io n s, I fan cy , th e G od w h o
h o w far t h e G o d w h o m t h e y s e e — i f t b e y s e e o n e a t a ll— is r e i g n s is t h e c o n g l o m e r a t e o f a ll t h e s e phenom ena. H e is
o th er th an th e grow th , th e e m a n a tio n o f th e su rro u n d in g s a g ig a n tic savage, w ith a s p e a r ; w h ose lo in s are w ra p p ed
 about with a breech -clou t; and who has th e power of the
cyclone and the thunder-storm ; tlie hot wrath of the blaz­
ing sun ; the blood-thirstiness of the tigers ; and tlie cu n­
ning of tlio venomous serpents th a t bask in th e torrid heat.
Away in the frozen north, th e deity of tho people is a
skinclad c re a tu r e ; who is lethargic ; who hybernates ; who
occupies himself b u t little with tho affairs ol' men. His
habitat is a palace in mid-air. I t s walls in .summer glow
redly under the rays of a sun which b u t j u s t lifts itself
above the horizon; in winter, its frozen faces are ablaze with
the corruscations of tho aurora borealis, and which is, in
fact, the outbursts of the glories of tlie inner effulgence of
this palace of the Arctic God. All about the home of this
Boreal deity, are illimitable fields of ice ; which (’rift, with
thun d e rin g noises, hith er and th ith e r as driven by the
changing winds. Icebergs rear th e ir colossal forms in
every direction ; and upon th e ir shelving precipices sport
seals w ithou t number, and which fall an easy prey to tho
spears of th e elect who havo gained this heaven as tlieir
resting-place.
T here are, then, in fact, two kinds of God in th e composi­
tion of the one : the generic God who has th e qualities of
an isotherm, in th a t he is peculiar to similar temperatures,
and th e specific God', who is a variation o ftlie generic God
to the extent th a t he is modified in accordance with the
education, th e imagination, the te m p e ra m e n t of the indivi­
duals of the respective isothermal belts.
XI.
NO W HY.
A d m itting all this to be true, w hat of it ? is an inquiry
which may be asked by those who have read these confes­
sions. I do not know th a t there is any lesson or conclu­
sion of any m a gn itud e to be obtained from tlieir presenta­
tion. T here may be those, among th e philosophical minds,
who may find som ething in all this of wider import than
I, myself, attach to it,; or they may find it of no possible
value from any stand-point whatever. To me, th e things
herein said are simply of deep personal m eaning and
importance. T hey are an effort to show how a whole life
may be made wretched, under a certain class of circum ­
stances, by the teachings of a so-called religion, b u t which
is, in truth, a miserable, debasing superstition. I do not
m ean by this th a t th ere is no true religion ; th a t there is
nothing upon which men can rely in th e hour of need and
of death, b u t simply th a t the faith which I was ta u g h t
was, and is, the very essence of m align ant and diabolical
c ru e lty ; and that, in every instance where it is enforced,
its consequences are a despairing infidelity, or a belief
which, if honest and sincere, is th e synonym of supreme
unhappiness.
(Continued from tho August Number.)
S U P E R IO R IT Y OF H IN D U IS M TO O T H E R , goddesses, b u t on tlie p a rt of the idolator who does it
E X IS T IN G R E L IG IO N S : A S V IE W E D F R O M
T H E S T A N D -P O IN T O F T H E IS M ,
BY BABU R A J N A R A IN BOSK.
President of the A d i Brahmo Samaj.
( Translated into E nglish by the A uthor.)
<t I only lmnd on, I cannot creato new things, I believe in th e ancients
and, therefore, I lovo th e m /’—
9. H ind uism is more liberal th a n oth er religions. portions of H im ? W h a t else does it indicate than the
Christians and M ahomedans assert that, unless one
be a Christian or a Mahomedan, he is to suffer the
pains of eternal hell. The principal doctrine of the
H ind u religion is that, if a man follows tho religion in
which he believes to th e best of his power, he will be
saved. All H indus hold this belief. T he hym ns to Siva
contained in th e book named Afaldmnastava, and daily
chanted by th e Brahm ins a t the tim e of devotion, has the
following - m e n t of th e O ne T ru e God. I t is, however, necessary tn
R f # r % ^ r c j T ^ ^ ^ R r ' T 5-T3Tq'r
VO
iw K T t r o ii
“ As the ocean is th e goal of all rivers, so thou art the
ultim ate goal of different paths, straight or devious, which
m en follow according to thoir various tastes and inclina­
tions.”
In w hat other religion th a n H induism can such tolera­
tion be m et with ? Such Hindus, as transgress th e rules of
casto and the several orders of life,* th a t is, such men, as
violate all the rules of ordinary H induism , were reckoned
as H ind us by Hindus. In the V edan t Sutras it is said—
‘ I t is seen in the Vedas th a t men violating all miles of
easte and the four orders of life are declared to bo entitled
to Brahm aguau,” or the knowledge of, aud communion
with, th e One T ru e God, th e highest stage of Hinduism ,
and deemed by th e Shastras as the only path to salvation.
N o t only are such m en entitled to salvation, b u t even
Kiratas, th e Yavanas, and other non-Aryan races, who
were constantly revolting against the Aryans and throwing
obstacles in th e w'ay of th e ir Yagnyas, or sacrificial obser ­
vances, were not considered unouiitled to the benefits of
religion, or to be forsaken by God. I t is distinctly said iu
th e Srimad B hagavata :—
C\ NO NO a r r c K W qsrc: l
“ Itevorence be to th a t Vishnu by taking refuge in
whom the Kiratas, th e Hi.inas, th e Andhras, the Pulindas,
tho Pukkasas, th e Abhiras. the K ankas, the Yavanas
the Kliasas, and o ther wicked races are purified.”
Mark the tolerant spirit of Hinduism in this passage !
W h a t other religion is so liberal ? A Mahomedan convert
to Hinduism , nam ed D arap Khan, composed a hymn
addressed to tlie Ganges, and th a t hymn is daily
chanted by th e B rahm ins of Bengal without scruple,
at th e tim e of bathing in t h a t river. T his is another
proof of tlie tolerant spirit of H induism . W h a t Christian
uses th e divine hymns in tlie Vedas in his daily worship ?
Those, who are knowers o f tlie One T ru e God, or Theists,
among the Hindus, do not worship gods and goddesses,
nor observe rites and ceremonies,f b u t still they are not
so intolerant as to exclude idolators from th e pale of reli­
gion, b u t merely call them K anishtha dlnkdris, or followers
of the inferior religion. B u t different is the spirit of
Christianity aud Mahomedanism. T h e Moslem says:
“ Slay the idolator when you see him.” T he Christian
says : “ H in d u s do not worship God, b u t Satan in tlieir
Brahma, Visliuu aud Siva. S a ta n lives in them.” Such
opinions are extremely unreasonable aud uncharitable.
Those, who worship idols, worship them as God through
ignorance. A t any rate idolatry is b e tte r than atheism.
I t is certainly, not proper on the p a r t of th e knowers of
Brahm a, or th e One True God, to worship gods aud
' through ignorance, it is not sin to do so. In fact, all men
do not possess th e sarnu power of intellect, understanding,
or comprehension. Different men th in k differently of
God according to the culture they have undergone, the
instruction th e y have received, and the intellect and the
powers of comprehension which they possess. Where,
then, is th e wonder, th a t some would, out of ignorance,
invest with divinity w hat is not divine, and worship
imaginary gods and goddesses, as the D eity Himself, or as
superiority of H in d u ism to other religions, th a t it unites
th e knowing and th e ignorant iu one body, and, by
precept and example, tries to remove the ignorance of the
la tte r and promote th e ir im provem ent in religious know ­
ledge ? T his arra ng em en t of H induism strictly accords
with th e law of nature. J t is only by gradual steps th a t
m an can comprehend th e infinite God. Wc should, th e re ­
fore, reckon idolatry to be the ladder towards th e a tta in ­
* Su<sb as th e pupil, th e house-bolder, tlie hormit, &c., &c\
1” Such as th e Vcda'sannyasigrihaathas moutioned in K ulluka’s Commentary
ou Manu, und the prevent Paramhansas.
give this advice to those who lmve betoken themselves to
tb is la d d e r :— “ Rem ain not, eternally on th e ladder, but.
try to ascend to Ihe roof.” B u t wo can never be justified
in telling them th a t they arc irreligious or impious.
10. H induism is superior to oilier religions in iliis,
th a t it gives us m inute directions to rem em ber God in all
ou r a c t s ;—
\0 ' this°way a connection has been k e p t between religion and
qaHDi^r sr^rqnr |
W l * t l SpTKT^ f%R5T*T |
'•O
r: *r«TFT!r=t i
^ 'O O s, 1
qn% 1 ledge in H induism as in other religions. Hinduism ignores
qqir | H encc sprung true civilization in ancient India, tliat is,
^ .-ti r vt* *
jf r *rn-7q 11
s r e r ^ r q tf r q r 1*? flrcT?rcr
*Tcf
-v q ^ r f a ^ n - ir r c r c i qr\q ^ II
“ Whilo ta k in g medicine one should th in k of Vishnu, or
th e all-pervading; while eating, Ja n a rd a n a , o r t h o All­
F e e d e r ; while lying down, P a d m a n a b h a ; while marrying,
Praja-pati, or tbe Lord of Creatures; while fighting, Chakra-
dh a ra ; whilo travelling in a foreign land, T r iv ih r a m a ; at
th e time of death. Nara.yana ; a t the tim e of reunion with
friends, Sridhara ; after dreaming bad dreams, Govinda ; at
th e time of danger, M adhusudana ; in th e m id st of a forest,
N a rs in g h a ; in the midst of fire, Jalasai, or the one lying
on the w a te r ; in the midst of water, Vara ha, ; 011 a
mountain, R a g h u n u n d a n a ; while going, Vamana ; and in
all acts, Madhava.” *— Brihad, Aicndiknu/nrar Parana,
quoted in I ia ja PadJudm nt Deb's Snbdakuljm rm m a.
“ 0 Thou 'Mother of the Universe ! from m orn to eve
and fn>m eve to morn, w hatever 1 do is tliy worship
only.”— K r is h n a n a n d n T a n lr n a a r a , or Selections fro m the. sect, and the faith of each of these sects has become a wide-
Tantras.
T he drift of all these sayings is tliat we should not
forget, God in any of our acts. W c should not perform
a n y act without first rem em bering H im . Hindus, when
they write a common letter, begin it with tho name of
God. Such a religious race is nowhere to bo seen.
11. T here is an other point on which H induism is extraordinary stamina. Like the K a b ir Burr, it has tho
s u p e r i o r to other religions, which is thn t all th e acts of a
H in d u are regulated by the ordinances of religion. A
man of note has observed tha t “ th e H indu eats religiously,
drinks religiously, and sleeps religiously.” H induism leaves
out of consideration n e ith e r the soul, nor th e mind, nor the
body, nor socicty. Firstly, no religion contains such rules
and precepts for the. preservation of h ealth as H induism
docs. The idea th a t it is our duty to observe th e laws of
health, and th a t th e ir non-observance especially obstructs
th e practice of religion, pervades th e whole of Hinduism .
So much so is this the case t h a t th e injunction can be
found even in ordinary po e m s:—
“ T h e body is th e primal cause of religion.” I f th e body
is k e p t hale and sound, th e mind remains a t ease, and, if
th e m ind remains a t case, it helps the performance of
religious acts. There is a very intim ate connection between
th e body and the mind. This is p a te n t to all. T he sensual
propensities gain strength from the use of wine and flesh.
The intellect bccomcs dull by excessive eating. And it is
for this reason th a t rules are given for th e regulation of
diet in th e H in d u Shastras, and particularly in the Shastras
* Jou-trdarm , P adm anabha, &c., aro all uamos of Vishnu or tlio All-
Brooding,
treating of Yoga, or divine communion. I t is said in the
Bhagavat-G ita :—
z r ? i w Rsrrr** i
srt *Rfcr ? r : ^ r n
“ Proper food, proper amusements, proper endeavours,
proper acts, proper sleep, proper waking, constitute tho
religious discipline which enables us to cfveit miser). In
hyciene in H induism , and, I doubt not, scientific men
would approve of this arrangement. N ot only hygiene, b u t
politics, military science, sociology, and household economy,
are reckoned by it as parts of religion, so also such common
branches of knowledge, as gram m ar and astronomy, lliero
is no such division as sacred knowledge and profane know­
ne ith e r the soul, nor the mind, nor tlin body, noi soc' e .)•
and religious civilization. T he present civilization
m o r a l
is a hollow o n e — glitter w ithout but, rottenness within.
E xternal refinement covers the grossest viccs. _ Lt is a
pseudo-civilization. T h a t civilization, which springs irom
r e lig io n and morality, is solid and sou n d civilization, and
sucii civilization In d ia could once boast of. btrabo, in ms
ircooraphical w ork , compiled from the materials fu in is i
by the w r itin g s of those who accompanied Alexandei to
India, says in th e chapter about India, th a t Indians fee
110 necessity of using locks to their doors, or 0 w n e i
contracts and engagem ents. How righteous were ,
rules of war th a t obtained in ancient In d ia . > u c i g
ousness is true civilization. W h e n th a t tim e arrives when
such civilization shall return and spierd ovei re 'v 01 ,
th e world will assume a new and glorious aspect. ^
12. H in d u ism is o ld er th a n a n y o th er relig io n , and it
sprung long before the rise of history. I t is o < ci iau
C hristianity ; Buddhism is b u t its rebel child ; Maho-
medaniam is b u t o f t h e other day. H in du ism has icon
existing from a period anterior to the rise ol lustoiy up ^
th e present, tim e, and this shows that it has something m
it th a t can keep hold of th e hum an mind for a long, long
time. I t has cjivcn, and is giving, rise to m any a religions
spreading religion in its turn. H induism can be very
aptly compared to the K a bir Burr, or the great Banyan
tree 011 th e banks of the Nerbudda. This tree is so old,
th a t m any of its branches have become trees in their turn.
As men grow old, they become feeble in body and weak
in intellect, b u t this is not th e case with Hinduism.
H induism has got th e power of rejuvenescence. I t possesses
capacity of renewing its foliage. W ith the progress of
society— with th e development of reason— it wiU assume
a n e w shape which will not fail to satisfy the_ intellect.*
This internal power gives it a claim to superiority over
other religions.
H aving th u s shown th e superiority of H induism in
o-eneral to other existing religions, I now proceed to show
th e especial superiority of th a t portion of it, which Hindus
consider to be th e essential portion of their religion, and
which passes by th e name of J n d n k a n d a , th a t is, the
knowledge and worship of Brahma, or the One T ru e God.
T he aim and object of J n d n k a n d a is the direct worship
of Brahma. I t inculcates the worship of B ra h m a to those
who are capable of comprehending him. The Upanishads
amply tre a t of th e n ature and attrib u te s of B rah m a and
tho mode or m a n n e r in which his worship is to be performed.
Every S h a stra contains words of Jna n , or knowledge of
Brahm a, b u t the Vedant, or th e Upanishadhs, are the
principal works on th a t subject. There arc no scriptures
in the world which contain such instruction about the
n atu re of God as th e Jndnk and a, T he Bible and the
Koran teach th a t God is particularly manifest in a parti­
* This is tostitiod t,o by tbe evolution of Brahmoism out of Hinduism .
 cular place in tlie universe— namely, H eaven.
Upanishads affirm—
“ rw mm
“ H e is omnipresent, all-imm anent, and of the subtlest
cssence.”— M undakupanishad. The Bible says th a t the
Supreme Being is seated upon His throne in heaven and
Christ sits at H is righ t hand. Astronomers have dis­
covered th a t as th e sun is th e centre of th e solar world,
there is a certain star in the firm am ent which is th e centre
of th e whole universe, and round which our sun with its
a tte n d a n t planets and th eir satellites revolve. Dick, an
American religious writer, affirms tha t t h a t star is the
habitation of God and is Heaven. The .sages of In d ia never
fell into such error.
Ono of th e principal teachings of th e Jn a n k a n d a is
t h a t man should endeavour to see God directly, and not
indirectly, by the help of a mediator or prophet.
“ T he man purified by tho grace of divine wisdom sees
Him, th e formless, in mood meditation.-—Aloondaku-
panishad.
S\ vi
“ As th e eye secs th e expanded sky, so the wise sec the
omnipresent God.”-— h‘.iff-1 eda.
I t appears from a study of th e works of J n u n k a n d a th a t
some of its writers did not blindly depend on w hat are
believed to be inspired writings.
arrc^r <Cr
i, \£.
“ God is not to be obtained by Vedic sayings, or by
rem em brance of w hat is le arnt abou t H im. H e only whom
H e accepteth can obtain Him ; to his soul doth H e reveal
H is nature.”— Aathopanin/tad.
*Kii q f c
c =Fk c(TcT |
“ W h a t shall sayings of the R ig-V cda do to H im who
does not know H im ' ! Hivciu&uuturu U p a n ish a d .
s ^ i q u crfr^r
s ??r I ^ q q c iq q r
i “ The effects of these ritual observances, which are per­
“ T h e Rig-Veda, th e Yajur-V eda, th e Sam-Veda, the
A tharva-V eda, Sikslia or Pronunciation, Kalpa, V yakarana
or Grammar, -Niru kta nr Glossary, Clihanda or Prosody,
Jyotish or Astronomy, are all inferior knowledge ; th e
superior knowledge is th a t by which th e Undecay ing could
be kuowii."— M undakupanishad.
q [ * ;£ R q ^ rR :
“ We should not determ ine a n ything only by help of the
Shastra; there is loss oi religiousness in ju d g in g of religions
m atters w ithout th e aid of reason.”— V nhaspati.
*T?fci SflT'f
c K R 'a i k f R s 5 T 5 T lcR *9 vs
‘‘ W hen your reason shall be freed from delusion, then
you shall become indifferent to tradition (Sruti or th e Veda),
or what is reckoned woitliy of being heard (other Shastras).
— B liagauat-U ita.
• *\
q s^m q I prominence is given to th e contemplation of God, though in
?c^RrSR«Tcif crre?r I
srrii^r t q ^ i ^ q s i r q ^ ic •N
r for in the U panishads we come across such beautiful prayers
^ - i r ^ a ^ <rn*q q *m r f % q q r s R i
clff W STCT ^ fflftcT jp^srsir
B u t th e “ As th e man, desirous of obtaining corn, rejects th e husk,
so the wise man devoted to the acquirement of th e know­
ledge of God and o ther kinds of knowledge (leading to tho
same), should, after studying writings (which treat of God),
abandon them as there is no end to books (on th e subject).
As a man, a lte r seeing an object, which he wants to see
by means of a torch, abandons it, so the knower of God,
after seeing God by means of books treatin g of divine
knowledge, should abandon them. As he who has d ru n k
nectar does n ot require water, so he who lias known Him,
the Highest, does not require th e Vedas.”— Utlarugita i n
the B rant h a n d a P u r a n a .
rq % q r y tf c |
ira sjre riffi «Tcfflcq cr«r<rrwcTi ii
“ Know ing life to be transient, one, abandoning all
Sluistras, should worship Him, th e undecaying who is
T ru th itself and who is th e only Reality.”— Ibid.
?Ti% q f ^ r , t ^ q ^ w r q ^ q * f fqsrr: l
*\ flK*rci
C- ^ qc i m c i ^ q a-rr s f f c f a i r e f a 5*! n
“ Shastras are infinite, and there is much to be know n; but
time is short and obstacles many, wherefore a man should
accept the essence of books, like th e duck which, when it
gets milk mixed with water, drinks only th e milk rejecting
th e water.”— Ibid.
q w qV^i > >r0q r £ q ' q ^ R
Vi
|1
3^ ^T rfasr q s r s r ^ r II
“ Reasonable words are welcome though fi'om a child,
V£> unreasonable words arc to be rejected like grass though
H i il utte red by B rah m a ('lie ( Iod who revealed th e Vedas to
m an).”— Yoga- Va&isth
Such a spirit of independence with respect to scripture
is not to be witnessed in an y other religion than Hiuduism.
A n o th e r teaching of th e J n a n k a n d a is to renounce all
ritual observances. Such renunciation by men who have
arrived a t Shreshthadliikara, or the higher stage of religion,
has all along existed in Hinduism . I t is said in the
M undakup an ish ad :—
fw ^ q r S31 a i c r e r *r$n?qr q<r q w i
^ srtr £ ^so q ^ rnof a q R T I
formed by eighteen priests, are unstable and fleeting.
Those dunces, who rejoice at thinking th e m to be impor­
ta n t duties, are often and often subject to decay and death
(i.e., to transm igration in this world).”
I t is said in the M anu Sam hita
^ -if^ p q iq q K :? w f a m x n r : I
w hsth 51 h w r ^ f*\c p r r a ^ q s r e R»v ll
ll “ T he best amongO Brahmins, . renouncing ® these
. . ritual
observances, should be assiduous in the cultivation of
divine knowledge, the study of the Vedas and the prac­
tice of tranquillity of mind.”
K u llu k a Bliatta, th e ornam ent of Bengal, whom Sir W .
| Jon es calls th e best of all commentators in the world,
mentions in his com mentary on the Manu Sanhita, a class
|| of house-holders who were called Vedasannyasis. These
house-houklers totally renounced the ritual laid down in
th e Vedas.* Even now there are classes of men known
as th e D andis ami the P aram hunsas who, forsaking all
ritual observances, devote themselves wholly to th e con­
tem plation of God.
In the Jiiiiukanda of the Hindu Shastras, th e greatest
th e U panishads or principal work of J n a n k a n d a th e r e are not
only precepts about c o nte m pla tion ,b utth e rca re praversalso,
1i
* Tho Veilfts, excopt tlio small portions which <i'o liy the nnniR of the
Up.'Uiishail, consist of rules for ritual oliservaucos, ami hym ns t o t h e goda
jn whoso Uouour they uro perform ed.
as “ Lead me from th e fleeting into th e everlasting, from
darkness into light, irom death into im m ortality.” The
ultim ate object ol religion is the a tta in m e n t of the company
of God ; absolution from sin by means of repentance,
p.nd prayers are tlie m eans for this a ttain m en t. I f enjoy­
m e n t of the company of God bo t h e u ltim ate
object of religion, and if by contem plation only
we can enjoy his company, contem plation is surely tlie
best form of worship. By means of th e body we can go
Dear a man, but never near th e S u p re m e Being who is
beyond the senses. I t is only by m eans of contemplation
t h a t we can obtain the company of th e invisible God.
“ si qpr qr i
STRirflraR ftosftra wawtr cqrWRJir
“ f i e cannot be seen by the eyes, H e cannot be described
by the tongue, H e is accessible to none o f tlie senses. H e
cannot be obtained by means of austerities or ritual
observances. T h a t m an alone, whose m ind has been
purified by divine knowledge, can, by m eans of contem ­
plation, see th a t God who is beyond th e reach of th e
senses.” W hen this contemplation assumes a fixed
unwavering character, when a t all times of life— even in
the bustle of wordly p ursuits— wo can calmly contemplate
H im , when we can always keep H im lull in our sight,
when wc can sec H im w n h o u t intermission, it is callcd
Yoga, or divine communion. T he spirit of p rayer is very
strong in Europe,— b u t still for all that, th ere are not
w anting now-a-days m e n who acknowledge communion
to be th e best worship of God. A n European poet ol tho
highest order has th u s expressed h im s e lf :—
“ Uapt into still communion wlrV?’ tttuscemls
The inferior offices of prayer an'j praise.”
F o r him wlio has got a tru e knowledge of God thero is
110 particular ruling of tim e or place lur devotion. For
him th a t place and th a t time arc the best place an d timo
for devotion where and when he can concentrate his mind
upon God.
“ & ^ im e r e i f a ’f a r a ; ”
“ W h e re he can concentrate his m ind upon God, there
he should worship H im . There is no particular rule
about this.”-— Vedanta Sidra.
To those who have got true knowledge of God, th ere is
no necessity of undertaking pilgrimages. F o r th e m the
a ttain m e n t of a pure h e a rt is th e best pilgrimage.
oi 4 1 4 l ^ r q H ; |
'Ttcfp-i iw irfc trr n
“ T ru th is pilgrimage ; forgiveness is p ilg r im a g e ; m o rti­
fication of th e senses is pilgrimage ; benevolence towards
all creatures is p ilg rim age; simplicity of h e a r t is pil­
g rim a g e ; generosity is pilgrim age; re stra in m e n t of th e
passions is p ilg rim a g e; conten tm en t is pilgrim age ; a b sti­
nence from im proper sexual intercourse is p ilg rim a g e ;
speaking sweet words is pilgrimage ; tho a tta in m e n t of
divine wisdom is p ilg rim a g e ; continence is p ilg r im a g e ;
virtue is pilgrimage. A tta in m e n t of a p u re h e a r t is th e
best of all pilgrimages.”— K a sik h a n d a in the Scctnda
J ’um na,
{ T o bo c o n tin u e d .)
A N A L L U R IN G P R O M IS E .
T O T I I E E D I T O R OF TI IE “ T I l l t O S O P I l I S T . ”
II ordinary success a t college, and in life be the measure of
o rd in a ry intelligence, then 1 may fairly lay claim to be an
o r d in a r ily intelligent gentleman. Y et 1 confess th at, w ith tny
ordinary intelligence, I find myself a t the end of m o nth s of
earnest stud}', as far almost as ever from grasping, in all th eir
comprehensiveness, the noble t r u t h s which arc liom time to time
presented to the readets o f t l i e T h e o s o p h i s t , especially the
sublime mysteries concerning the highest interests ol humanity,
w hich have a p p eared u n der the modest heading o f “• I< ragm ents
o f Occult T r u t h . ” Such being m y position as reg ard s these
teachings, it may well be imagined, w ith w h at unspeakable
delight I read the confident assertion of “ II. X . ’ in the last
num ber o f the T h e o s o p h i s t , stating th a t " i n one w e ek” he
("IJ.X .”)“ro«/t/ te a c h a n y o r d in a r ily in te llig e n t m a n ,a ll th a t in
18 m o n th s w e a ll o f u s hnve succeeded in e x tr a c tin g from them ,”
meaning the “ B ro th e rs.” H ere, said I to myself, is a glorious
prospect specially for one who is, so to speak, groping in the
dat k ! W h en we consider w h a t it is exactly th a t the i S r u t h c r s
h a r e “ unfolded to us in 18 months,” in spite ot the exclusive
selfishness for which, among o th er things, y o u r correspondent
takes them roundly to task ; when we consiuer th a t the F r a g ­
m e n ts alone, if they w e re all th a t had been conceded to us up lo
th e present moment, would themselves throw no uncertain light
upon o u r know ledge o f the hidden mysteries ot lile au d death ;
aud, finally, when wc consider w h at other sterling truth s, as y e t
concealed from the public eye, the Brothers may have already
communicated to the favoured few— ( “ II. X . ” perhaps among the
number) —whom they have admitted into th e i r coufidence, then,
indeed, th e charm o f making oneself acquainted w ith it all withiu
a single week is one th a t it would be sheer madness to throw
away. I, for one, em brace it w ith nil eagerness, and hum bly
beg y o u r correspondent to take me as his ch ela . 1 will a t once
join him a t C alcutta, if, indeed, as 1 suspect, lie hails Irom th a t
city— or w he rev er else he may be. I shall give him implicit
obedience and earnest, undivided attention, if only he will u n­
d ertak e a t the end of his promised w eek (or, for tha t m atter, at
th e end o f 4 weeks) to send me back arm ed with all the knowledge
(ico n sid era b le, as there is every reason to believe it must be)
w hich he has happily succeeded iu “ e x tr a c tin g from the
B roth ers in 18 m ouths.” A n early and favourable an sw er would
be hailed w ith delight. B. J . P.
CAN A MAN L IV E W IT H O U T FOOD ?
to run e d ito r of the “ t h e o so p h ist .”
W h a t is tho purpose o f o ur taking food ? I n adults it only
supplies us w ith an am o u n t o f energy necessary to keep up
the tem perature o f the body and to supply the energy expended
by o ur muscular exertions. Food principally consists of carbon,
and the slow combustion o f carbon in oxygen translorms the
potential en erg y latent in carbon into a kinetic form of energy,
th a t is heat,, and th a t heat into work. Such was until recently
th e general explanation of the scientists o f th e present age.
B u t now-a-days a question has arisen, w h eth er the energy
laten t in the molecules o f carbon or in those of oxygen is durin g
combustion transformed into heat. I suppose th a t it is the
e n erg y o f o x yg en molecules and not of carbon molecules w hich
is th us transformed.
T o transform a solid into liquid, a certain a m ount of h e a t
and, therefore, e nerg y m ust be added ; and so is the case iu
tran sform ing liquid into a gas. F ro m this I conjecture th a t the
total am o un t o f energy in a gas is generally greater than th at
p resent in a solid o r a l iquid.
A m on gst gases o x yg en is the one which is liquified and
solidified with th e greatest cli(lieuIty ; and amongst the solid
elem ents it is carbon w hich has hith erto defied th e attem pts
o f t l i e chemists to t i r n it into n gas.
I conjecture th a t w hile ox y g en abounds iu energy', tho store
o f energy in carbon is very poor. W h en tw o molecules, one
o f the o xy gen and the o th e r o f carbon, come to gether under
favourable circum stances, according to th e law of equilibrium a
certain umount of energy iu the oxygen molecule jmssea
 into the carbon molecule as in the case of the transfer of energy
from a highly-electrified body to another less electrified. The
energy, tliat so passes, re-up pears in the form of kinetic energy,
ami is the heat of combustion.
It it can be shown that oxygen is the source from which wo
draw the energy that regulates the temperature of our body,
and enables it, to do work, and not the carbon, may it, not b«
possible for us to live without introducing carbon at all in the
form of food into our system ?
Or, in other words, the question asked is—can we not
transform the energy potential in oxygen into its kinetic mode,
without the help of its chemical affinity with some other
elements ? There are various processes by whieh potential
energy may be transferred into a kinetic one in u molecule,
anil chemical combination is only one of them.
Thus, for instance, oxygen in the form of ozone easily yields
iu the common form of oxygen, and a certain amount of
energy is thereby rendered kinetic.
How, the question arises, whether it is possible that n mail
could live without food ? It is the law of evolution that our
organs should be so formed, as to bo well adapted to our
necessities ; or, in other words, it is necessity that has
gradually developed and fitted our organs for their various
Uses. I f it be so, then a man might also attempt gradually
to give up food, and his system would be gradually so trans­
formed as to enable him to absorb oxygen in a certain
particular way, that would transform a portion of their
potential energy into a kinetic form.* To some it may appear
something very ridiculous, when I say, that the oxygen
molecules may bo absorbed in a particular way. &c., &e. But
let them think tor a moment of the case of a common platinum
ball aud a ball of spongy platinum. The spongy platinum
ab.-orbs hydrogen in a particular way, so that the absorbed
hydiogen becomes totally distinct, from common hydrogen, in
tbe avidity wit.li which it. combines with oxygen. Therelore. I
say t.o those willing to be testing every alleged fact in nature
by the lormuhis of modern science, that, according to this
science, there is no reason for disbelieving in tho possibility of
a man livii g without any food.
And as almost all our diseases owe more or less their origin
to tbe food absorbed, a man thus abstaining from it ought to bo
healthier and stronger.
Finally, 1 must lvmind the reader thnt the subtler the fluid,
the greater the amount of energy stored in it. Ilence, lie who
will have lem lit the secret of drawing energy from ether and
will have lilted his organs lo perfection for the >iame, may feel
no necessity for breathing the common air.
K iu s u n a s a iim a
Bunkipur, The 7th August, 1882.
T H E VIBRATORY HA RM O N ICS O F SMELL.
TO T H E E D IT O R Ot’’ T t I B “ T I IK OS OI ’I I I S T . ”
By a fortunate chance, ft copy of Dr. Mayo’s Kaloolaht has
fallen in my way, and you can give your readers tho opportunity to
peruse for themselves the evidence thnt the vibratory theory of
smell, propounded by Professor W. Ramsay, of University
College, Bristol, in N uture, (for June 2iird, 1882) was long
ago put forth by an American romancer. In noticing this
curious fact, in the T i i i c o s g i m i i s t for Aujrust, you relied entirely
upon your recollection of an episode iu the novel, wliich, as I
was told, you had read more than twenty years ago. It is a
pleasure now to find that your memory did not deceive you.
The novel in (juCftion forms one of Routledge’s “ Railway
Library,” and may be had at any of the book-shops. Wo must
all feel indebted to Professor Ramsay for opening ono more
of the hitherto locked doors of tho sehool-room of Occult
Philosophy.
yours, &c.
M. 0 . L.
“ At the conclusion of the piece, the prince inquired whether
1 should not like to witness a performance upon the perfume-
• A n d , i n s u c h a case, t l i c w i s d o m o f t h o m a n w h o e x p e r i m e n t e d o n h i s
d o n k e y in t h a t d ire c tio n , a n d h a d n e i r l y succeeded
h a b i t u a t o t h e c r e a tu r e to live w ith o u t fo o d , “ b u t u n fo r tu n a te ly it po t
fcick a n d d i e d ” b e f o r e g e t t i n g e n t i r e l y i n t o th o
vindicated, l i n t j o k i n g a p a r t , d o w o n o t k n o w , f o r a e< rtainty, o f Y o g i s w h o
p a s s m o n t h s a n d y e a r s i n tiautuU/n w i t h o u t e a t i n g ; a n d d o e s n o t t l i o r e c e n t
successful a t t e m p t of D r. T a n n e r a n d o th e rs, w ho liv ed fo r ty d a y s w ith o u t
a n y f o o d , p r o v o t h e h y p o t h e s i s m o r e t h a n p o s s i b l e I— K d ,
a
f K u loolah: or A d v m tu m in, A Jrica.by W, 8. Mayo,
M o o k u k j e k . music appreciates the scientific arrangements of notes in Italian
in h is a t t e m p t to
h a b i t — w o u ld be fully
London*
machine, which had often been the subject of conversation
between us. I at once assented, and, rising, we all repaired, by
a short passage, to a low, narrow, but very long, hall. It was
destitute of furniture, except a couch iu the centre, upon which
we seated ourselves. A t <no end of the lmll thero were two
large circular apertures, the open ends of pipes leading to a
centrifugal bloner, precisely like those in use in the Hudson
River steam-boats. Opening in at tho centre of motion,
nround the axis of the revolving fan, tlio action of the blower
was, of course, to suck tho air out of tbe hall, through tlio
pipe, in a steady current. The upper-eud wall of the hall wn6
studded with the open mouths of very small tubes, the othor
ends of which communicated with reservoirs of perfume with­
out the room. Below this projected from the wall a carved
shelf, or rather box. supporting a row of keys, the extreme
ends of which were attached by wires to valves iu tho tubes.
Upon pressing the keys, corresponding valves were opened,
and jets of s c e n te d air thus allowed to cuter the hall. These
odours, borne on the steady current, passed down tho room,
and out through the pipes leading to the blower.
“ There were im re thau filty distinct perfumes, that
stood in the same relation to each other that tones aud senii-
lones do to the different, parts of the scale iu music.
The harmonic combinations of these were infinite. There are
also several fundamental and controlling odours, by which the
whole scalo can be modified at pleasure. The three principal
of theso are garlic, musk, and sulphuretted hydrogen. The
garlic, which corresponds to the minor key in music, is
exceedingly plaintive and allecting. Compositions in this key
almost invariably excite the smeller to tears. Compositions in
the musk key are very varied in their expression ; sometimes
grave and solemn, like church music ; at other times gay, lively,
and redolent of chalked floors and gas lights. Compositions m
the sulphuretted hydrogen key have invariably a spirit-stirring
and martial expression. It is the proper key for odovate inarches,
battle-pieces and storm-rondos.
“ The-Christian reader, with an uneducated sense of smell,
may, perhaps, turn up his no.-.c tin profound ignorance of his
nose’s capacities) at the instrument, I am describing ; but if lie
should ever have an opportunity of snuffing the melodious
streams and harmonic accords evolved by a good performer, upon
a properly-eonsirncted instrument, he will be compelled to
admit that his nasal organ was given to him for a higher
purpose than to take snufl, support spectacles, or express
contempt.
“ True, nt first he may not appreciate the more recondite com­
binations and delicate u perfumes tmy moro than a novice in
or German opera, but he will at once be able to understand and
admire the easy melodies— the natural succession of simple
fragrances, and, in time, the cultivated sensibility of his nasal
organ will enable him to comprehend the moro elaborate harmo­
nics— the most subtile and artificial odoriferous correspondences
and modulations.
“ The name of this instrument is the Ristum-Kilherum
which, if my recollection of the Greek serves me, is very much
like two words in that language signifying a nose and a harp.
I t was played, upon the occasion of which I speak, liy the
same artist who had just performed upon the sheep skins, and,
although hardly qualified to judge, I hadno hesitation in
setting him down as equally a master of both.
“ For sometime, I sat, the completo verification, notwith­
standing the presence of the princess, of au observation, I think
by Ilaziit, that odours better than the subjects of the other sense.-,
serve as links in the chain of association. A series of staccato
passages amid bergamot, lemon, orange, cinnamon and other
familiar perfumes, quite entranced me, whil* a succession of
double shakes on the attar of roses made me fancy, for a moment,
that the joyous breath of a bright spring morning was once more
dashing the odours of that old sweet briar bush into the open
window of my chamber at 0 ------.
“ The night was well advanced when tho performance con­
cluded, and bidding Kaloohdi good-night, I was conducted by
the prince to my own apartments where Hugh and Jack were
waiting for me. In no mood for talking, I despatched them to
bed, and withdrew to my own chamber, where, revolving in 1113-
mind the question •whether odours, instead o f being material
emanations, may not bv. Vde light or found, mere vibrations
propagated in an elastic medium, I threw myself upon my
couch, and was toon iu a sound sleep, hardly dreaming even of
Kaloolah.”
 IDO LA TR Y IN THE VEDAS. m e d iu m s in E n g la n d th a n to a ll th e B u d d h ist Lam as
and A rh a ts p u t togeth er, th a t th e y w ere, in fact, certain
W i t h rc fe re n c o t o o u r e s t e e m e d b r o t h e r “ D . ’s” l e t t e r , a n g e ls ca lled b y n a m e s w h ich th ey never heard in th eir
p u b l is h e d on p a g e 2 1 3 o f V ol. I I I . o f t h o T n E O S o r m s T , a
l i v e s , a n d t h a t G a u t a m a B u d d h a ’s i n t e r i o r s w e r e o p e n e d t o
c o r re s p o n d e n t o f t h e Arya, fro m M e e ru t , sa ys :—
let in s p ir it u a l l i g h t a n d w h o le s o m e life in flu x from th e
“ T h e alleged se ntence from th e Y n ju r Veda is n e ith e r traceable s p h e r e o f so la r a n g els, lie w ill have an o p p o rtu n ity of
in t h a t Veda, uor in the Veda B h a shy a of Sw am iji D a y a n a u d a
Sarasw ati. T h ere are no P ra shn a s in e it h e r of these books. I a sce r ta in in g th e o p in io n of “ en lig h ten ed B u d d h ists” on
■would like to know where a u d in w h a t A dh yai, o r page, of th e t h e real v a lu e o f h is s p e cu la tio n s a n d t h e e x t e n t of th eir
S w a m iji’s Veda Bhashya it is to be found. T h e q u o ta tio n appears u s e f u ln e s s in p r o m o t i n g t h e c a u s e o f B u d d h i s t p h ilo s o p h y
to have been m ade from some B ra m h a n , or U p a n is h a d , to i n te r p re t and B u d d h ist reform . I h a r d ly ever exp ected th a t a
■which correctly we should have the full p a ra g r a p h before us, a n d
p h i l o s o p h e r o f M r . O x l e y ’s p r e t e n s i o n s w o u l d t h i n k i t p r o p e r
n o t a p a r t of the se ntence as published. I f ‘ D .’ is really in earnest,
wiiy does he n o t u n d e rta k e to prove it to Mr. M a th urad a s Lowji, to attack orth od ox B ra m h in ism and in fo rm th e p u b lic
a learned a u d sp iritually advanced gentlem an, who offers a reward th at h is rea d in g of th e d o in g s of orthod ox p e o p le in
of Its. 5,000 to any person who would prove t h a t idolatry is p a s t h isto ry a n d o b se rv a tio n s o f th eir sp irit a n d a ctio n in
sanctioned iu the Vedas.
p r e se n t tim e s h as n o t le ft a v ery fa v o u ra b le im p ressio n on
“ The fears entertained by ‘ D.’ of being guilty of a religious h is m in d , w h e n t h e sa id s t a t e m e n t is p erfectly irrelev a n t
offence by publishing a word or two of the Vedas are unfounded.
The inspired liish is who published the Veda3 to the world are the to th e a r g u m e n t in q u e s t io n . B u siris m u st, in d e e d , have
noble example to be followed, aud not the peculiar views of a b e e n r ed u c ed to d e sp e ra te stra its w h e n th is c o u n te r -a tta c k
selfish priest or psydo-Bramlian.” on “ o rth od ox B r a m h in ism ” is c o n sid ered necessary to
T h e c o r r e s p o n d e n t of t h e A r y a se e m s to h a v e c o n fo u n d ed sa v e h im fro m a n n ih ila tio n . But what does M r. O x le y
t ’.ic tw o q u e stio n s , a b o u t t h e id o la try in t h e V e d n s a n d in th e k n o w o f “ orth o d o x B ra m h in s %' So far a s I c a n se e , h is
S.iusirns. O u r friend , “ D . / ’ w r o t e a b o u t t h e form er, w h i l e k n o w led g e of th e d o c tr in e s of orth od ox B ra m h in ism
> i r . A lu th u ru d as L o w j i c o n c e rn s h i m s e l f b u t w i t h l h e h itle r, is all d e r iv e d fro m t h e p e r u s a l o f a fe w in c o r r ec t E n g lish
, for t h e p r e s e n t a t lea st. H o w e v e r , a t e f e r e n c o to pa g e 3 0 3 o f tr a n sla tio n s o f B h a g a v a t-G ita ; h e is c o n fe sse d ly ig n o ra n t
OJr lust IN lim be r will sh o w t h a t o u r w o r t h y c o r r e s p o n d e n t is of th e S a n sk r it la n g u a g e , and is, th erefore, u n a b le to
*• re a lly in e a r n e s t . ” H o h a s a lr e a d y a p p li e d for t h e a d d r e s s d er iv e in fo rm a tio n from any of our S a n sk r it w orks.
o f Air. M a t ln i r a d n s a n d h a s a n n o u n c e d liis in te n t io n o f u n d e r ­
H e m u s t h a v e b a se d h is a ssertio n , p e r h a p s, on th e sta te­
t a k i n g to p r o v e t h a t “ id o la tr y is sa n c tio n e d by t h e S h a s t r a s . ”
m e n t s o f s o m e in t e r e s t e d m issio n a r ie s, who are g en era lly
A s l e g a r d s th e c h a l l e n g e o f th e c o r r e s p o n d e n t o f t h e Arya
fon d o f a b u sin g orth od ox B ra m h in ism w hen th ey fin d
n b o u t Die s e n te n c e in tlio V e d as , in q u e s t io n , w e t r u s t t h a t
th e m se lv e s u n a b le to con vert H in d u s to th eir creed by
“ D . ” will soon se n d h i s r e p ly d e f e n d i n g h i s p osition . I t is
fa ir argu m en t. U nder su c h circu m sta n ces, what is th e
froe discussion a lon e t h a t can b rin g to l i g h t h i d d e n t r u th s .
T h e ' l u i s o s o r m s T will, th ere fo re, d e e m it a g r e a t h o n o u r, i f g o o d o f in f o r m in g liis r e a d e r s t h a t h e does not p a tro n ize
t h i s v e x e d q u e stio n a b o u t id o la try is s e t tl e d onco for all t h r o u g h “ orth od ox B r a m h in i s m ,” w h e n h e is n o t p r e p a r e d to p o in t
ils c olum ns. o u t in w h a t r e s p e c ts o r th o d o x B r a m h in is m is b a d , a n d h o w
far m y c o n n e c tio n w it h it h a s te n d e d to v it i a t e my argu­
---------,---- . - ii
. + + ---- ------------------------ m e n ts a g a in st th e c la im s o f B u siris to th e au th orsh ip of
M a h a b h a ra ta ? I b e g to in fo rm th e a u th o r th a t if th er e is
T H E P H I L O S O P H Y OF S P I R I T . reason to condem n any of th e rites, cerem o n ies, or
p ra ctices o f m o d ern B ra m h in s, th eir B ra m h in ism w o u ld
II1EHOSOPHY, TllEOSOPJI v, AND I’SYCHOSOFHV.
b e h e te r o d o x B r a m h in ism , an d n o t orth od ox B ra m h in ism .
B y T. Subba Roic, F.T.S. The tru e orth od ox B ra m h in s arc th e c h ild ren o f th e
m y ste r io u s Fire-mist known to E a stern O ccu ltists. Tho
A n a r ticle by M r. W . O x le y , u n d e r th e a b o v e h ea d in g , tw o S a n sk r it w ords, Badaba and Badabaya, g en era lly
h a s a p p ea r e d in th e la st issu e o f t h e T h e o s o I'.h i s t ^ I t is a p p lied to B r a m h in s , w ill reveal to th e au thor th e real
intended to be a reply to th e strictu res contained in my b a sis o f o r th o d o x B r a m h in is m , if h e can but u n derstand
r e v i e w of “ T h e Philosophy of S p irit,” published in the th eir sig n ifica n ce. The real orth od ox B ra m h in is th e
May num ber o f tlie T n E ..s o rm s T ; b u t a considerable p o r­ Astral man a n il h is r elig io n is th e o n ly tru e relig io n in
tio n of it is devoted to th e exposition of some of tlie th e w o rld ; it is as etern al as th e m ig h ty la w w h ich
im p o rtan t doctrines of w hat is term ed “ H ierosophy and g o v ern s th e U n iv e r se . I t is t h i s grand relig io n w h i c h ia
Theosophy,” as understood by th e auth o r. I shall first th e fo u n d ation o f T h eo so p h y . M r. O x le y is b u t e n u n c ia t in g
exam ine th e au th o r’s defence ol B usiris and th e statem en ts a tr u is m — a tru ism to T h e o s o p h is ts , a t lea st,— w h e n h e sa y s
contained in his treatise on “ T he Philosophy of S p irit th a t “ eso teric tru th is o n o a n d th e sam e w hen d iv e ste d
r e g a r d i n g t h e a u t h o r s h i p o f M a h a b h a r a t a , a n d t h e n jD ioceed o f t h e e x t e r n a l g a r b in w h i c h i t is c lo t h e d .” I t is from t h e
to °p o in t o u t h is m isco n cep tio n s of th e real d o ctrin es of sta n d -p o in t o f th is e so ter ic tru th, th a t I have e x a m in e d
“ T h e o so p h y ,” a n d t h e fa n cifu l natu re of h is sp e cu la tio n s th e th eo ries of th e a u th o r ex p la in ed in h is book, and
on th e d o ctrin es o f tlie n e w system o f E so ter ic P h ilo so p h y arrived a t th e co n c lu sio n th a t t h e y w e r e m e r e fa n cies a n d
an d S c ien ce, w h ic h , it is co n fid en tly p red icted , w ill soon sp ecu la tio n s, w h ic h do n o t h a rm o n ize w ith th e d o ctrin es
su p p la n t th o ex istin g sy ste m s o f E astern B rotherh oods, and of th e a n cien t W is d o m -R e l ig io n w h i c h , i n m y h u m b l e
■ w h ic h is hereafter to be known under th e nam e of o p in io n , is id e n tic a l w it h th e real orth od ox B ra m h in ism
“ H ieo ro so p h y .” of a n cien t A ryavarta and th e p r e -V e d ic B u d d h ism of
M r. O x l e y is p le a s e d to s ta te a t t h e c o m m e n c e m e n t o f h is C en tral A sia. I sh a ll n o w r eq u e st m y read ers to read m y
a rticle, th at w h atever m ay be th e v iew s of “ orthodox rev iew of “ T h e P h ilo s o p h y o f S p ir it” in c o n n ectio n w ith
Bramhins" reg a rd in g h is th eo r ie s and sp ecu la tio n s, th e a r ticle under co n sid era tio n fu lly to a p p recia te th o
“ en lig h te n e d B u d d h ists” w o u ld not be u n w illin g to r e l e v a n c y o f M r . O x l e y ’s a r g u m e n t s .
s y m p a th iz e w ith a u d r e c e iv e h im as a n a lly in th e w o ik I s t a t e d in in y r e v i e w t h a t a s r e g a r d s t h e facts of history
o f reform . m e n t i o n e d i n M a h a b h a r a t a , t h e r e c o u l d n o t b e a n y n e e d for
B u d d h ists m a y n o t b e v ery m u ch in terested e ith e r iu V y a s a ’s “ in terio rs b e in g o p e n e d ,” a n d th a t as regards th e
B h a g a v a t-G ita , its a u th o rsh ip , or its correct in terp reta tio n , p h ilo so p h y c o n ta in e d th er e iii; th e r e was no n e c essity for
a n d c o n s e q u e n tly t h e y m a y n o t ta k e th e tr o u b le ol a rriv in g a n y th in g lik e a sp ecia l r ev e la tio n b y a n g e ls lik e B u siris.
a t a n y p a rticu la r c o n c lu sio n s a b o u t th e c o r r e c tn e ss of th o The learn ed author objects to th is sta tem en t for tw o
a u t h o r ’s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f i t s p h i l o s o p h y , o r t h e j u s t n e s s o f rea so n s w h ic h m a y b e s ta te d as fo llo w s —
liis v ie w s c o n c e r n in g its au th orsh ip . But if th e au th or I.— Vedic a l l e g o r i e s h a v e a b o u t a s m u c h litera l h isto rica l
■ w o u ld p u b l i s h a n o t h e r s m a l l t r e a t i s e t o e x p l a i n t h e p h ilo ­ t r u t h i n t h e m a s t h e H e b r a i c a l l e g o r i e s , & c .,
s o p h y o f s p ir it c o n t a in e d e it h e r in t h e T r ip it a k a s , o r in t h e T h erefore, Mahabharata does not co n ta in any facte of
D h a r m a (Jh ak k ra P r a v a r ta n a S u tr a , a n d assert th at th e history. It i s h a r d l y n e c e s s a r y f o r m e t o p o i n t o u t t h e
real authors of these works were better known to certain fallacy and worthlessness pf such an argument. Argument
 N o. II. is ftill m ore r id icu lo u s; w hen stated in p la in T h e le a r n e d a u t h o r r em in d s m e th a t K rish n a D wypa-
l a n g u a g e , i t s t a n d s t h u s :— y a n a “ is o n ly t b e s u p p o s e d a u t h o r o f M a h a b h a ra ta ,” and
O rth od oxy in sists on a liter a l in ter p r e ta tio n o f such co n fid en tly a sserts th a t “ n o m a n liv in g k n o w s w h o w ere
b o o k s as M ahabharata, th e au thors of th e H in d u sacred records, or w hen and
w h e r e th e y w e r e w ritte n an d p u b lish e d ,” r ely in g u p o n th e
M r. O x le y i s n o t f a v o u r a b l y d i s p o s e d t o w a i ’d s “ O r t h o ­
a u th o r ity o f P r o fe sso r M o n ie r W illia m s, w h o sta te d in h is
d o x y ,”
book on “ H in d u is m ” th at S a n s k r it lite r a tu r e is w h o lly
A n d , th erefo re, it n e c e s s a r ily fo llo w s th at M ahabh arata
d e s titu te o f tr u s tw o r th y h isto rica l records.
c o n ta in s n o fa c ts o f h istory, and th at V y a s a ’s “ in ter io r s
T h is a ssertio n d o e s n o t p ro v e th a t B u siris w as th e real
w o r e o p e n e d ” t o l e t in l i g h t f r o m B u s i r i s .
a u t h o r o f M a h a b h a r a t a f o r t b e f o l l o w i n g r e a s o n s :—
H a v i n g u r g e d th e s e tw o u s e le s s a r g u m e n t s in d e fe n c e of
I. W i t h a ll d u e respect to th e lea r n e d P rofessor, I
B u siris, t h e lea r n ed a u th o r p r o c ee d s to n o tic e th e sixteen v e n t u r e t o a ffirm t h a t t h e g e n e r a l p r o p o s itio n r e lie d upon
states m e n t i o n e d in m y r ev iew , a fter g iv in g m e d u e w a r n in g , is n o t correct. W e h a v e g o t tr u s tw o r th y h istorical records
th a t I sh o u ld m e e t h im as a T h e o so p h is t, and not as an w h ich n o E u r o p e a n h a s e v e r seen ; and w e have, b esid es,
orthod ox B ra m h in . H e says th at as h is tw e lv e states are
th e m e a n s o f fin d in g o u t a n y h isto rica l fact th at m ay be
d u a lit ie s , h e h a s , in fact, t w e n t y - f o u r s t a t e s w h e n I h a v e o n ly w a n t e d , or o f r e p r o d u c in g in its e n tir e ty any w ork th at
six te en , and tr e a tin g th ese la tter , a c c o r d in g to h is own m i g h t h a v e b e e n lo st. E a ster n o ccu lt scien ce has g iv e n
m eth o d , h e asserts th at E a stern T h e o so p h ists h a v e n o t g o n e us th e se pow ers.
b eyon d h is e ig h th stage o f ascent. I f I w e r e to tell h im in
II. E v e n i f t h e g e n e r a l p r o p o s itio n is correct, it c a n n o t
rep ly to th is sta te m e n t, th a t m y states are a lso d u a lities, r e a so n a b ly b e in ferred th e r e fr o m , th a t, w h e n th e n a m e s of
b e w ill p r o b a b ly s a y t h a t h is tw le v e states are so m a n y th e a u t h o r s o f S a n s k r it w o r k s a re m e n t i o n e d in th e sa id
trinities. A nyhow , M r . O x l e y ’s num ber m u st b e greater w o r k s t h e m s e lv e s or in o t h e r b o o k s, w h ic h m a y be c o n s id e r e d
th a n my n u m b e r ; and th is is th e grand resu lt to be as a u th o r ita tiv e , no r elia n ce sh o u ld be p la ced 011 such
a ch iev ed a t a n y co st. M r. O x le y w ill d o w e ll to r e m e m b e r statem en ts.
th a t ju s t as a g e o m e tr ic a l lin e m a y b e d iv id e d in to p arts in III. E v e n if su ch in fer e n c e w e re p erm issib le, it c a n n o t b e
an in fin ite n u m b e r o f w a y s, th is lin e o f a s c e n t m a y sim ila r ly co n ten d ed , in th e absence of a n y relia b le in d ep en d e n t
b e d iv id e d in t o v a r io u s s t a g e s in an in n u m e r a b le n u m b e r ev id en ce, th at, b e c a u se th e author o f a certain S a n sk r it
o f w ays. A n d , in o r d e r to a s c e r ta in w h e t h e r t h e v e r y la s t book is not k n o w n , it sh o u ld be presu m ed to bo th e
s ta g e r e a c h e d b y E a s t e r n a d e p t s is h ig h e r or lo w e r th a n th e p r o d u ctio n o f a n a n g e l.
la st s ta g e c o n c e iv e d b y M r. O x le y , he ought to ex a m in e
T h e f o l l o w i n g s t a t e m e n t is t o b e fo u n d iu th e a u t h o r ’s
ca refu lly th e ch a ra cteristics o f our la st sta g e , in ste a d of
b o o k , p. 5 1 : — “ B u s ir is e x p r e s s ly d e c la r e d : ‘I a m t h e a u th o r
m e r ely co m p a r in g th e n u m b e r o f sta g e s w ith o u t k n o w in g
o f M a h a b h a r a ta , a n d I ca n a n s w e r for fiv e th o u s a n d years
a n y th in g a h o u t th e b a sis o f our d iv isio n . I b e g to s u b m it
o f tim e , for I w a s t h e n on earth’ ; and h e g o e s on to g iv e
th at th e ex isten ce of any state or con d itio n beyond
an in terestin g account o f th e c iv iliz a tio n , and m anners
th e Sh od asan th u m (six te e n th state) m e n tio n ed in mv
and cu stom s of th e in h a b ita n ts of h is day, lo n g ante­
review is a lto g eth er in co n ceiv a b le. For, it is th e
cedent to th e system of caste w h ic h now p rev a ils in
T h u r c e y a - k a l a w h ic h is Nishkala ; i t is th e Grand Nothing
In d ia .” W e are now in fo rm ed by M r. O x le y th at th e
fro m w h ic h is ev o lv ed , by th e o p era tio n of th e etern al
w ords, “ lo n g antecedent to th e system of caste w h ic h
la w , every existence, w h e t h e r p h y sic a l, a stra l, o r sp iritu a l ;
now p rev a ils in In d ia ,” w ere not u ttered by B u siris,
i t is t h e c o n d i t i o n o f F i n a l N e g a t i o n — t h e M a l i a Sunyam ,
but th at th ey w ere w ritten by h im self. E ven th en ,
th e N irv a n a of th e B u d d h ists. It is not th e llazing
B u siris h a s u n d o u b te d ly s o m e co n n ectio n w ith th e state­
star it s e lf , b u t it is t h e c o n d itio n o f perfcct u n co n scio u s­
m ent. “ The in te r e stin g acco u n t o f th e civ iliza tio n , and
n e ss o f t h e e n t i t y t h u s in d ic a te d , a s w ell a s o f t h e “ Sun,”
m a n n e r s a n d c u s to m s o f t h e in h a b ita n ts o f h is d a y ,” g iv e n
w h ic h is s u p p o s e d to b e b e y o n d t h e sa id star.
b y B u s ir is, is e it h e r c o n s is t e n t w it h t h e ex isten ce o f caste
T h e learn ed a u th o r n e x t p o in ts o n t th at th ere cannot a t t h a t t im e , or it is n o t. I f i t is, t h e a u t h o r ’s sta tem en t
b e a n y d iffic u lty or o b jec tio n “ to a c c e p tin g a s a possibility, d o e s n o t h a r m o n iz e w ith t h e a c co u n t o f B u siris, an d I do
th a t th e actu al a u th o r 0/ M a h a b h a ra ta sh o u ld put in , n o t not suppose th at th e author w ill ven tu re to co n tra d ict
an o b j e c tiv e , b u t a su b jectiv e, a p p ea ra n ce in London, or th e statem en ts of an a n g el. I sh o u ld , th erefore, a s su m e
elsew h ere, i f he chose so to do." Q u ite true ; b u t he w ill th a t th e account g iv en by B u siris is in c o n siste n t w ith
never choose to do so. A n d , co n seq u en tly , w hen such th e ex isten ce of caste a t th e tim e h e a p p ea red in h u m a n
s u b je c tiv e a p p e a r a n c e is s ta te d to h a v e tak en p la ce, very form . .
s tr o n g g r o u n d s w ill ba r e q u ir e d t o s u p p o r t it. So far a s I f so, t h e account in q u estio n fla tly c o n tr a d ic ts a ll th e
I can s e e , a ll t h e e v i d e n c e is a g a i n s t th e sa id statem en t. s t a t e m e n t s in M a h a b a h r a t a itself, w h ic h r efer to t h e s y s t e m
S u b jectiv e a p p ea ra n jes lik e th e se are g e n e ra lly v ery d e c e p ­ o f c a ste (see S a n tip a r v a m a n d A n n sa sa n ik a p a rv a m ). The
tive. T h e m isch iev o u s p r a n k s o f P isa c h a m s or e le m e n ta ls a u t h o r ’s q u o t a t i o n o f P r o f e s s o r W illia m s ’ o p in io n r e g a r d ­
may be often m ista k en for th e su b je c tiv e appearances in g P u r u sh a S u k t a d o e s n o t sh o w th a t it d o e s n o t p r o p er ly
o f s o l a r a n g e l s o r .’i v i n g adepts. The a u t h o r ’s sta tem en t form a p o r tio n o f R i g - V e d a , a n d n o r e a s o n s a r e g i v e n for
about th e supposed astral v is its o f “ th e v en era b le K o o t- h o ld in g th at th e system of caste m e n tio n e d in B h a g a v a t-
H o o m i ” i s n o w c J n t r a d i c t e d b y K o o t - H o o m i ’s c h e l a under
G it a is n o t p r o p e r ly s p e a k in g a s y s te m o f c a ste . A nd here
th e o r d e r s o f hi) M aster. U n fo r tu n a te ly , B u siris has no a g a in th e a u th o r th in k s it n ecessa ry to c o n d em n orth od ox
c h e l a i n h u m a n f o r m t o c o n t r a d i c t M r . O x l e y ’s s t a t e m e n t s .
B ra m h in ism for t h e p u r p o s e o f en fo rcin g h is argum ents.
B u t t h e a c c o u r t o f K o o t - H o o m i ’s v i s i t s w i l l b e s u f f i c i e n t t o I f th e a u th o r rea lly th in k s th a t h e w ill g a in h is cause by
sh o w h o w v c r 7 e a sily t h e le a r n e d a u th o r m a y be d eceiv ed a b u s i n g “ o r t h o d o x B r a m h i n i s m , ” h e is e n t ir e ly m is t a k e n .
by d e v ils and e le m en ta ls, or by h is own u n co n tro lled A fter g iv in g u s a b rief a ccou n t o f th e progress o f th o
im a g in a tio n . I r esp ectfu lly b e g to s u g g e s t to M r. O x le y t h a t
U n ited S tates and p r e d ic tin g th e fu tu re d o w n fa ll of
it m a y b e a r g u e d in c o n f o r m i t y w i t h h i s o w n m i g h t y “ l a w orth od ox B ra m h in ism , th e le a r n e d author in fo rm s h is
of in flu x /’ tla t th e P isa c h a m or e le m e n ta l, whom he read ers th a t it w o u ld b e b e tte r n o t to n o tice what in h is
m is to o k for V yasa, m i g h t h a v e p u t fo r th a fa ls e s t a t e m e n t , o p in io n m ig h t be urged to prove th at m y criticism s are
b ein g u n a b le to m a in ta in “ concurrent c o n scio u sn ess at
from a m is ta k e n sta n d -p o in t. C erta in ly , th e a u th o r has
b o th e n d s o ' t h e lin e ,” or for th e s a m e reason , a n d la b o u r ­
acted very p ru d en tly in m a k in g th is d e c la r a tio n ; a n y
in g u n d e r i s im ila r d iffic u lt y (for w e a r e t o ld b y t h e a u t h o r
attem p t on h is p art to a n sw e r th e m a in a r g u m e n ts urged
th at e v e n h e h ig h e st D e v a ca n n o t tra n scen d “ th e la w of
b y m e w o u ld h a v e e n d e d in a d isa str o u s fa ilu re.
c o n d i t i o n s ’), B u s i r i s m i g h t h a v e m is t a k e n h i m s e l f for t h e I t is a lw a y s d iffic u lt for a f o r e ig n e r to u n d erstan d our
aiith u r o f M a h a b h a r a t a , h a v in g lost th e c o n scio u sn ess of
relig io u s p h ilo so p h y a n d th e m y steries of our Puranas,
w h at h e r ea lly was before he had put in th e su b je c tiv e
e v e n w h e n h e d e v o te s a c o n sid e ra b le p o rtio n o f h is tim e
appearance in q u e s tio n . a n d e n e r g y t o t^he s t u d y o f S a n s k r i t l i t e r a t u r e a n d t h e r e a l
secrets o f E a ster n o ccu lt scie n c e can o n ly Le rev ea led by T h e first n u m b e r o f a v e r y s m a ll p a m p h le t c a lled “ F r a g ­
an INITIATE. S o lo n g as E u r o p e a n s treat tlie o p in io n s of m e n t s o f O c c u lt T r u t h ” is b e fo r e m e ; a n d a t p a g e fifth , I
H in d u s w ith c o n te m p t a n d in ter p r e t onr relig io u s books fin d a d e s c r ip t io n o f tlie s e v e r a l c o m p o u n d p r in c ip le s w h ic h
a c c o r d in g to th e ir o w n fa n cies, th e s u b lim e tr u t h s c o n ta in e d g o to form w h a t is ca lled (a cco rd in g to o ccu lt d o ctrin e)
th erein w ill not be d isclo sed to W estern n atio n s. M r. man. B y q u ite a fo rtu ito u s c o in cid en ce I am in fo rm ed
O x le y e v id e n t l y t h in k s t h a t th e r e is n o in itia te in In d ia , t h a t a d e s c r ip t io n , s im ila r in e v e r y res p e c t, is g i v e n in t h o
w h o can in ter p r e t o u r relig io u s books p ro p erly , and th at 5 4 th ch apter of th e Yasnn, one of th e best a u th e n tic
th o real k e y to eso teric H in d u ism is in h is p o sse ssio n . a n cien t b o o k s o f th e M azd ia sn a n relig io n . In sea rch in g
It is such u n rea so n a b le co n fid en ce th at has h ith erto f o r i t (us, o f c o u r s e , n o t b e i n g q u i t e c o n v e r s a n t w ith th is
p rev en ted so m a n y E u ro p ea n e n q u irers from a scerta in in g l i t e r a t u r e , I h a d t o ) , w h a t d o I. f i n d b u t t h a t t h e v e r y f i r s t
th e real tru th a b o u t o u r a n c ic n t r e lig io u s book s. p a ra g r a p h g iv e s all t h e in fo rm a tio n one can req u ire to
M r. O x le y m e a n s to a s s u m e a c e r ta in a m o u n t o f im p o r t ­ c o n v in ce h im th at AveMa, T h e o so p h y , O ccu ltism , E so teric
a n c e by p u t t in g forth t h e fo llo w in g a sto u n d in g a ssertio n . P h ilo s o p h y , o r w h a t e v e r e ls e it m a y b e ca lled , are id en tica l.
H e sa y s in h is a r tic le :— “ W h a t, i f I s ta te to my review er I n d e e d , as a M azd ia sn ia n , I felt q n ito a s h a m e d th a t, h a v in g
th a t p e r ch a n ce— fo llo w in g th e h in t and g u id a n c e of su ch u n d e n ia b le an d u n m ista k a b le e v id e n c e b efore th eft’
Sw edenborg— I and som e o th ers m ay have p en etrated ey es, th e Z o ro a stria n s of th e p r e se n t d a y sh o u ld n o t a v a il
in to th a t sacred r e g io n (C e n tr a l A sia ) a n d d isc o v er e d th o th e m se lv e s o f th o o p p o rtu n ity offered of th ro w in g lig h t
‘ L ost W o rd ’ ” ! u p o n th eir n o w e n tir e ly m isu n d ersto o d a n d m isin terp reted
If 1 had not seen th e a u t h o r ’s book and h is a rticles s c r ip tu r e s b y th e a s s is ta n c e a n d u n d e r t h e g u id a n ce, o f th e
in t h e THEOSOPHIST, I w o u l d h a v e r e f r a i n e d f r o m sa y in g T h e o so p h ic a l S o ciety . Be it w ell u n d erstood th at th e
any th in g a g a in st such a sta tem en t on th e a ssu m p tio n S o c i e t y d o e s n o t p r e te n d to offer M a d a m e B la v a tsk y and
th a t no m a n ’s statem en t s h o u ld b e p r e s u m e d to b e fa lse, C o lo n el O lco tt, as th e A lp h a an d O m e g a o f its researches.
u n less it is proved to be so. But from th o fo llo w in g I f Z en d sch o la rs a n d s tu d e n t s o f A v e s t a w o u ld o n ly care
c o n sid era tio n s, I cannot h e lp co m in g to th e c o n clu sio n to s tu d y and sea r c h for th e m s e lv e s , th e y w o u ld , perhaps,
th a t th e a u th o r k n o w s n o th in g a b o u t th e “ L o st W o rd .” fin d t o a s s is t t h e m , m e n w h o a r c in t h e p o ssessio n of th e
r ig h t a n d o n ly k e y to th e tru e eso teric w i s d o m ; m e n , w h o
( 1.) T h o s e w h o a r e in p o s s e s s io n o f it a re n o t ig n o r a n t
w o u ld b e w illin g to g u id e a n d h e lp th e m to reach th e tru e
of th e “ art of d o m in a tin g over th e so -c a lle d fo rces o f
a n d h id d en m e a n in g , and to su p p ly th e m w ith th e m is s in g
N a tu r e .” The au th or confesses th a t ho and h is asso­
l i n k s t h a t h a v e r e s u lt e d in s u c h p a in f u l g a p s a s to l e a v e th o
c ia te s are ig n o r a n t o f t h e sa id art.
m e a n in g m e a n in g le ss, a n d to create in th e m in d of th e
(2 .) T h o se w h o are a c q u a in te d w ith th e M ig h ty L aw
p e r p le x e d stu d e n t d o u b ts th a t have fin a lly to cu lm in a te
e m b o d ied in th e “ L o st W o r d ” w ill never a ffirm t h a t t h e
in a t h o r o u g h u n b e l i e f in h is o w n r e lig io n . W ho knows but
“ In fin ite M onad receiv es an in flu x o f en erg y from th e
t h e y m a y fin d s o m e o f t h e i r o w n c o - r e l i g i o n i s t s , w h o , a l o o f
P la n eta ry S p ir its” as stated b y th e author.
fro m t h e w o rld , h a v e to th is day preserved th e g lo rio u s
(3.) The a u t h o r ’s a ssertio n about t h e flo w o f e n e r g y
truths of th eir once m ig h ty relig io n , and who, h id d en
from so la r a n g e ls s h o w s t h a t he is not a c q u a in te d w ith
in th e recesses of so lita ry m o u n ta in s and unknow n sile n t
th e real so u rce o f c r e a tiv e e n e r g y in d ic a te d b y t h e N a m e .
c a v e s , a r e s t i l l i n p o s s e s s i o n o f, a n d e x e r c i s i n g m i g h t y p o w e r s ,
H ere ends M r . O x l e y ’s r ep ly to m y c riticism s. H e
t h e h e irlo o m o f th e a n c ie n t Magi. T h at th e Mobeds w ero
th en p ro ceed s to e x p la in th e d o ctrin es of H ie r o so p h y . I
Yogis, and th a t th ey to o had once th e pow er of m a k in g
s h a l l e x a m i n e t h e a u t h o r ’s t h e o r i e s i n th e c o n tin u a tio n o f
t h e m s e lv e s s im u lt a n e o u s ly v is ib le a t d ifferen t p la ces, th o u g h
th is a r ticle w h ic h w ill ap p ea r in th e n e x t issu e of th e
t h e l a t t e r m a y h a v e b e e n h u n d r e d s o f m i l e s a p a r t , is s o m e ­
TuuosoriusT. th in g , wc aro to ld , in our scr ip tu r es; as a lso th at th ey
c o u ld heal th e sick and w ork th at w h ich w o u ld now
(To be continued.)
a p p e a r to u s m ir a c u lo u s. A l l th is w a s co n sid ered as facts
b u t t w o o r th r e e c e n t u r ie s b a c k , ns a n y r e a d e r o f o ld b o o k s
(m o stly P ersia n ) knows w e ll and w ill not d isb eliev e
T H E O S O P H Y AN D TH E AVESTA.
a priori u n l e s s h i s m i n d is ir r e t r i e v a b l y b i a s s e d b y m odern
BY A PARSI F.T.S. secu la r e d u c a tio n . T h e story ab ou t th e jibbed a n d Em peror
A k b a r a n d o f t h e l a t t e r ’s c o n v e r s i o n , i s a n h i s t o r i c a l f a c t , s o
I t is n o w n e a r l y f o u r y e a r s t h a t t h e T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y
w e ll k n o w n a s to r e q u ir e n o m o r e proofs a t t h i s la t e hour.
has esta b lish e d itse lf am ongst us. D u r in g th is short
p erio d a la r g e n u m b e r o f le c tu r e s h a v e b e e n d e liv e r ed by B u t as th e m od ern Parsi w ill never fa il to ask for a
t h e P r e s i d e n t in v a r io u s p a r ts o f T n d ia, a s w e ll a s in Bom ­ c o rr o b o r a tio n , a n d t h a t b e fo r e w c in sist upon th e resu lts
bay. M a n y o f th ese le c tu r e s rev ea l a sp irit a k in to th at w e h ave to sh ow th e e x isten ce and r ea lity of th e causes
w h ic h is t o b e f o u n d in t h e o ld e r r elig io n s of th e E ast,
th a t u n d e rlie su ch p h e n o m e n a l pow ers in m an, c a lle d in
e sp ecia lly th e V e d ic an d th e Z cn d ic . L eavin g a sid e th e
form er, I w ish to p o in t o u t. b y an in sta n ce or tw o, th e
our days— jugglery, I w i l l f ir s t o f all q u o te s i d e b y s i d e th e

s im ila r ity a n d c lo se r e s e m b la n c e w h ich th e d o ctrin es of tw o p a ssa g e s referrin g to th e s ep te n a r y » atu re o f m a n as I

t h e o ld Z e n d ic lit e r a tu r e , a s far a s t h e y a r e n o w p r e s e r v e d , fin d t h e m in o u r s c r ip tu r e s a n d th e F r a g m en ts.
a p p e a r to b ea r to th e te a c h in g s of th e Founders of th e
S o c ie ty as c o n v e v e d to u s th r o u g h th e ir le c tu r e s a n d th eir S u b - d iv isio n s o f s e p t e n a r y m a n S u b - d i v i s i o n o f s e p te n n ry
c h ie f organ, th e T h e o s o p h is t . a c c o r d in g to th e O c cu ltists. m a n nccordins t.n Yasna
( c h a p . 54, para. 1).
O f course, a s tu d e n t o f th e Arm!a w o u ld s e e a t a g la n c e
3
h o w e v e r y p r e c e p t a n d d o g m a t a u g h t in t h e s e sa cr e d scr ip ­
1 . T li e P h y s i c a l hody, c o m - 1. T a n b a s — i.e., b o d y
t u r e s a re corrob orated , n a y , r efle cted ns it w ere, in ih e
posed w h o lly n f m u t t e r in its ( t h e s el f ) flint c o n sists o f
p a m p h le t s w h ic h are so e x t e n s iv e ly p u b lis h e d a n d c ir cu la te d
g r o s s e s t auil m o s t ta n g i b l e form , b ones ( 4 ) — y o s s e s t form of
b y th e S o c ie ty . A t th e sa m e tim e, any o rd in a ry P a rsi,
m u tte r.
w h ile r e c itin g h is d a ily Niyashes, Gehs a n d Yashts, p ro v id ed
lie y ie ld s t o t h e c u r io s ity o f lo o k i n g in t o t h e m e a n in g s of
w h a t h e r e c ite s, w ill also, o n ly w i t h a little m ore ex ertio n ,
p erceiv e h o w th e sam e id ea s, o n ly c lo th e d iu a m ore 2. T h e V i t a l p r i n c i p l e — (o r 2 . U shtan (t.— V i t a l h e a t
in te llig ib le a n d c o m p r e h e n s iv e g a r b , a re r efle cted in th ese J i v - a t m a ).— n fo rm o f force, ( o r force ).
p a m p h lets. M y o n ly ob iect, th erefo re, in w ritin g th is is i n d e s tr u c t ib l e a n d w h e n d is c o n ­
to g iv e t h o s e , w h o a r e in t e r e s t e d in t h e r e v iv a l o f t h e o ld n e c t e d witli one s e t o f atom s,
Z en d p h ilo so p h y , th e b e n e fit of sh a rin g in th e p lea su re b e c o m in g a t t r a c t e d i m m e d ia t e l y
w h ich it h a s b e e n m y lo t to en joy a lm o st a ccid en ta lly . b y others.
 6 te n a c ity to a n d s u s ta in s th e n erv es. O th ers ex p la in it as
3. T h e A stral b od y (Linga- 3. Keherptts— A iiria l form , t h a t q u a l i t y i n a m a n o f r a n k a n d p o s i t i o n w d iicli m a k e s
sharira\ com posed of h ig h ly tlie n ir y m o u ld , ( P r . ) Kalcb. h im p e r ce iv e th e resu lt of cu rta in even ts (causes), a n d
ethcrialized m utter ; in i t s th u s h elp s h im in b e in g prepared to m eet th em . T h is
liu bit u al p a s s i v e s t a t o , t h e p e r fe ct ,
m e a n i n g is s u g g e s t i v e , t h o u g h w e t r a n s l a t e i t a s k n o w l e d g e
but v e r y s h a d o w y d u p li c a t e o f
or fo re-k n o w led g e rather, w ith th e greatest d iffid en ce.
tli e b o d y ; i l s a c t i v i t y , c o n s o l i ­
T h e e ig h t h w o r d is q u i t e clea r. T h a t in w a rd fe e lin g w h ich
dation and form dep en d in g
t o l l s a m a n th at, h e k n o w s t h i s o r th a t , t h a t h e h a s o r c a n d o
e n t i r e l y o n t h e Knma rupn.
c e r ta in t h i n g s — is p e r c e p t io n a n d c o n s c io u s n e s s . I t is t h e
4. T lie A stra l sh a p e (Kama- 4. Tevl'ltis — W ill, or
r it p t i) or b o d y o f d esire, a p rin ­ w h e r e sen tie n t c o n scio u sn ess in n e r co n v ic tio n , k n o w le d g e an d its p o ssessio n . T h e n in th
cip le defin in g th e configu ration is f i n n e d , a ls o fo r e -k n o w l e d g e . w o r d is a g a in o n e w h ic h lias r e t a in e d it s m e a n i n g a n d h a s
o f -------- 8 bet'ii in u s e u p to t li e present day. The reader w ill at
5. Tho nn im nl or p h ysical it. Baodhas (in Sa n sk rit o n c e r e c o g n is e t h a t it is t h e o rig in of th e m odern word
in tellig en ce o r con sciou sn ess or Boodlii )— B o d y o f p h ysical Hawaii. I t i.s ( m e t a p h o r i c a l l y ) th e k in g , th e co n scio u s
E g o , a n a l o g o u s to , t h o u g h pro­ con sciou sn ess, p ercep tion by m otor or agent in m an. It is th at so m eth in g w h ich
p o r t i o n a l l y h i g h e r iu d e g r e e t h a n tliQ s e n s e s o r t h e a n i m a l s o u l . d e p e n d s u p o n a n d is b e n e fit tc d o r in ju red b y t h e fo r e g o in g
the reason, in stin ct, memory, a ttrib u tes. W o say depends upon, because its progress
im a g in a tio n , A c ., e x i s t i n g iu th e
e n t i r e l y c o n s is t s in t h e d ev elo p m en t of th ose attrib u tes.
h ig h er a nim als. <)
I f th ey are n e g le c te d , it b e c o m e s w ea k an d d eg en era tin g ,
6. T h e H ig h e r or Sp iritu al 6. TTrvanem (P r Bawaii) an d d isa p p ea rs. If th e y a sce n d on th e m oral an d sp iritu a l
i n t e l l i g e n c e o r c o n s c i o u s n e s s , or •— S o u l, th at w h ich g ets its
sca le, it g a in s stren gth and v ig o u r and becom es m oro
s p i r i t u a l E g o , in w h i c h m a i n l y rew ard or p u n ish m en t after
b le n d e d th a n e v e r to t l i e D i v i n c E s s e n c e — th e s e v e n th p r in ­
resides th e s e n s e o f c o n s c io u s n e s s death.
in th a p e r f e c t m a n , th o u g h th e cip le. But how docs it Ijceo n ie a ttracted tow ard its
lo w er d im m e r a n im a l c o n s c io u s ­ m onad? T h e t e n t h w 'o r d an sw 'ers t h e q u e s t io n . T h is is
n e s s c o - e x i s t s in N o . 5 . 10 th e D iv in e essence in m an. But th is is o n ly th e irre­
7. T h e S p ir it— an em anation 7 . Frarashemor Farohttr sp o n sib le m in ister (th is c o m p le te s th e m etap h or). The
fr o m t h e a b s o l u t e ; u n c r e a t e d ; — S p irit (th e g u id in g en erg y , r e a l m a s t e r is t h e k i n g , th e sp iritu a l so u l. It m u st have
eternal ; a state rather th an u w h ich i.s w ith every m an, th e w illin g n ess an d p o w er to see and fo llo w th e course
being. is a b s o lu t e ly ind i'pend eiit, and, p o in ted out by th e pure sp irit. The v i z i r ’s b u sin ess
w ith o u t m ix in g w ith any is o n ly to rep resen t a p o in t ol a ttra ctio n , to w a rd s w h ich
w o rld ly o b jiet, leads man th e k in g sh o u ld tu rn . It is for th e k in g to se e an d act
lo j io o d . Th<; spark of
a cco rd in g ly for th o g lo r y of h i s o w n self. T h e m in ister
d i v i n i t y in e v e r y b e i n g ) .
or sp irit can n e ith er co m p el nor c o n str a in . It in sp ires
a n d e le c t iif ie s in t o a c t io n ; b u t to b e n e fit b y th e in s p ir a tio n ,
T h e a b o v e is g i v e n in tlie Avesta a.s f o l l o w s :—
to tak e ad van tage of it, is le ft, to th e o jitio n of th e
A v esta . s p ir itu a l so u l.
i 2 3 4 r> If, t h e n , t h e Avcsl'i c o n ta in s such a p assage, it m u st
fa irly be a d m itte d th at, its w riters knew ' th e w lio lo

G 7 8 9 10 11 d o ctr in e c o n c e r n in g sp iritu a l m an. W e cannot suppose

th at t h e an cien t, M a z d ia sn ia n s , t h e Maiji, w ro te th is short
p a ssa g e, w ith o u t in fer r in g fio m it, a t t h e s a m e tim e, th at
12 13 14 15 ' IU 17
th ey w ere th o ro u g h ly co n v ersa n t w ith th e w h o le of th o
£l*! *V n i< **U
o ccu lt th eory about m an. And it lo o k s very stran ge
18 19
in d e e d , th a t m o d e r n T h e o s o p h is ts sh o u ld n o w p rea ch to us
th e v ery sa m e d o ctrin es th a t 'Hittat have been known aud
TRANSLATION. t a u g h t th ousan d:; o f y e a r s a g o by th o M a z d ia sn ia n s,— th o
12 13 15 14 passage is q u oted from one of tlieir o ld est w r itin g s.
W e d e c la r e a n il p o sitiv e ly m a k e k n o w n th is (th at) w e And sin ce th ey propound th e very sam e id e a s, th e
11 i 2 3 m e a n i n g o f w h i c h lias w e ll n ig h b e e n lo st,ev e n to ou r m o st
offer (ou r) en tire prop erty (w h ich is) t h e b o d y ( t h o self lea r n e d M obeds, t h e y o u g h t to b e cred ited at le a st w ith
4 5 (j 7 s o m e p o ssessio n of a k n o w led g e, th e key to w h ic h has
co n sistin g of) b o n es , v it a l h eat, a iiria l fo r m , k n o w led g e, b e e n r e v e a le d to t h e m , a n d lo s t to us, a n d w liich o p e n s th e

8 9 . 10 17 door to th e m e a n in g of th ose h ith e rto in e x p lica b le

c o n scio u sn ess, soul and sp irit to th e p r o sp eio u s, s e n t e n c e s a n d d o c t r i n e s in o u r o ld w r itin g s, about w h ic h

- 18 19 10 w c a r e still, a n d w ill g o o n , g r o p in g in t h o d a r k , u n le s s we

tr u th -c o h e r e n t (an d) p u re G a th a s (p rayers). lis te n t o w hat, t h e y h a v e to te ll us a b o u t th e m .

T o s h o w t h a t t h e a b o v e is not a so lita ry in sta n ce, but
T h e o r d i n a r y G u j a r a t h i t r a n s l a t i o n d i f f e r s f r o m S p i e g e l ’s,
th a t th e A v e sta c o n ta in s th is id e a in m a n y oth er p la ces,
and th is h itter d iffers very slig h tly iro m what is here
f w ill g i v e a n o t h e r para, w h ic h c o n ta in s t h e s a m e d o c tr in e
g iv en . Y et in th e p resent tra n sla tio n th ere has been
th ough in a m o r e c o n d e n s e d f o r m t h a n t h e o n e j u s t g i v e n .
m a d e n o a d d it io n to, o r o m is s io n fr o m , t li e o rig in a l w ord­
L e t t h e Parsi r e a d e r tu rn to Yasna, c h a p t e r 2(3, a n d read
in g o f th o Z e n d te x t. T lie g r a m m a tica l co n str u c tio n a lso
t h e G t h p a r a , w h i c h r u n s a s f o l l o w s :—
has b een p reserv ed in tact. T h e o n ly d iffe re n c e , th erefo re,
I 2 3 4 5 tf
b etw een th e current tr a n sla tio n s and th e one hero
g iv en is th at ours is in accordance w ith th e m odern Ih

c o rrectio n s o f p h ilo lo g ic a l research w h ich m ake it m ore 7 8 1) 10 11

in tellig ib le , a n d th e id e a p erfect'y clea r to th e reader. ^ 1^:4
T h e w o r d s (3), (4) a n d (5) n e e d no fu rth er e x p la n a tio n . 12 13 14 15 10 17
T hey represent th e p u rely p h y sica l p art o f m an : m atter (S q i^ a t I j t t - f - W M * / ct % ' A .
a n d t h a t fo r c e w h i c h k e e p s t h i s m a t t e r in co h e sio n for a 14 9 10 II 12
fix ed p e r io d o f tim e . T h e s ix t h w o r d a lso lia s c o m e d o w n to We p ra ise th e life, k n ow led ge, c o n scio u sn ess, soul and
u s w i t h o u t u n d e r g o i n g a n y c h a n g e in t h o m e a n i n g . I t. s 13 1 2 3 5 4 '
th e m odern P ersia n w ord kaleb, w h ich m e a n s a m o u ld , a s p i r i t o f t l i e first in r e l ig io n , t h e first h e a r e r s an d teach ers
s h a p e in t o w h i c h a t h i n g is c a st, to tak e a certain io r m 7 8 15
and featu res. T h e n e x t w ord, th e s e v e n t h , is one about (le a r n e r s), th e h o ly m e n a n d h o ly w om en who w ere th e
w h ic h t h e r e is a g r e a t d if fe r e n c e o f o p in io n . I t is by som o 17 10 0
c a lled stren gth , d u ra b ility , i.e., th at pow er w h ic h g iv e s p r o t e c t o r s o f p u r i t y h e r e (in t h i s w o rld ),
 H e r e th e w h o le m a n is s p o k e n o f a s com posed of five IF y lS I T ‘‘S P IR IT S '’ OR W H A T ?
p a r t s , a s u n d e r :—
TiY A PE R T M /E X E D T I I E O S O P rilS T .

is
T h e p h y s ic a l body. T h e facts, w h ic h I am g o in g to d escrib e, h a p p e n e d a
9
T h e vifnl P r i n c i p l e . s h o r t t i m e a g o in o n r f a m ily . A s I am u n a b le to a c c o u n t
1. A/n tm — E x is te n c e ,
T h e A stra l Body. for t h e m m y s e lf , a n d a s it is o n ly , I th in k , e x p la in a b le on
L i f e . I f includes
p sy c h o lo g ic a l p r in cip les, I sen d th em for p u b lica tio n in
10 th e T h eo so ph ist , an d b e g th a t so m e ex p la n a tio n w ill be
2. D a c n a m — K n o w- 4. T h e A stral s h a p e or b o d y k in d ly g iv en of th em in t h e E d ito r's N ote as was often
lodge. o f desire. d o n e b e fo r e for c o r r e s p o n d e n t s .
11 A n ie c e o f m in e, m y younger s i s t e r ’s d a u g h t e r , w hose
:i. Bctodhas— C o n s c i ­ f>. T h e A n i m a l o r p h y s ic a l m o t h e r had d ied w h e n s h e w as o n ly fou r days old , was
ousness. i n t e l l i g e n c e o r c o n s c io u s ­ b r o u g h t u p u n til t h e a g e o f fifteen b y her grand-paren ts.
n e ss o r E g o . O w in g to her a ffectio n a te and sy m p a th etic n atu re and
12
a l s o t o h e r b e i n g t h e first, a n d o n l y ch ild of her m oth er
4. V rw a n c m ■— Soul. C. T h e H i g h e r o r S p i r i tu a l
s h e w a s g r e a t l y b e lo v e d b y all h e r r e l a t iv e s a n d v e r y m u c h
i n te l li g e n c e o r c o n sc io u s­
atta ch ed fo o n e o f h e r m a te r n a l au n ts. T h is young g irl
ness, o r S p i r i t u a l E g o .
w as su d d en ly sn atch ed a w a y from t h is w o rld , h a r d ly a fter
13
r>. Frawas/iem— Spirit 7. T h e S p i r i t. a fe w h o u r s o f illn ess, 011 t h e 2 5 th o f th e last m o n th .
S o far b a c k as th e n ig h ts of th e 27th and 28th of

In th is d escrip tio n th e first trip le group, viz. th e bones F e b r u a r y la st, I h a d a p e c u lia r d r e a m w h ic h , I t h in k , is in

for t h e c r o s s m a tte r ), tlio v ita l force w h ich keeps th em so m e w a y or o th er c o n n e c te d w ith her d eath . In th ose

togeth er, and th e eth eria l b o d y are i n c l u d e d in one and d a y s it w a s m y h a b it, th e first th in g on risin g in th e

ca lled E x is t e n c e , L if e . The second part stan d s for th e m o rn in g , to n o te d o w n my dream s as m uch as I th en

fourth p r in cip le o f th e sep ten ary m an, as d e n o tin g th e rem em bered th em ; and I fin d t h e e n t r y o f t h a t m o r n in g

c o n fig u ra tio n o f h is k n o w led g e or d e sir e s.* T hen th e in th e fo llo w in g w o r d s :—

th ree, c o n scio u sn ess (or a n im a l so u l), (sp iritu a l) soul “ D r e a m t o f th e d eath of a young ch ild . K new th at

and th e pure S p irit arc th e sam e as iu th o first m o t h e r w a s c r y i n g for it ; t h a t it w a s her you n gest. Saw

q u oted passage. W h y are th e s e fou r m e n t io n e d as d is tin c t fa th e r a lso sa d .”

from each o th e r an d not c o n so lid a ted l i k e t h e first p a r t ?

I p a id 110 a t t e n t i o n to th is at th e tim e and h a d , in fact,
q u ite forgotten th e dream . O n ly la t e ly in tu rn in g over
T h e sacred w r itin g s e x p la in th is b y s a y in g th a t on d e a th th e
t h e p a g e s o f t h e b o o k in w h ich I n ote d ow n such th in g s
first of th ese fiv e p a r ts d isa p p ea r s nnd p erish es sooner
as I co n sid er m y s te r io u s and o ccu lt, I cam e across th is
o r l a t e r i n t h e e a r t h ’s a t m o s p h e r e . T h e gross elem en ta ry
en try.
m a t t e r ( t h o s h e l l ) h a s t o r u n w i t h i n t h o e a r t h ’s a t t r a c t i o n ;
A g a in , th e n ig h t p r e c e d in g h er d e a th (a t th a t tim e she
so th e Ahum s e p a r a t e s fr o m t h e h i g h e r p o r t io n s a n d is lo st.
w a s w ell an d h ea rty ) I d rea m t of th e d eath of a young
The second (i.e., th e fourth of th e sep ten ary group)
g i r l i n m y f a t h e r ’s house and in my s i s t e r ’s b ed-room ;
r em a in s, b u t n o t w ith th e sp ir itu a l seu l. It c o n tin u e s to
and th a t a n u m b e r o f th e fem a le servants had c o m e to sec
h o ld its p la c e in t h e vast sto r eh o u se o f t h e u n iv erse. And
h er after th e b o d y nad been laid out. The dream was
i t is t h is s e c o n d D a w am w h i c h sta n d s b efore th e (sp iritu a l)
r ea lise d . A fte r h er d eath , w h en I reached my f a t h e r ’s
s o u l in t h e fo r m o f a b e a u t if u l m a i d e n or an n g ly l i n g . -]*
hou se. I saw th e a b o v e s c c n e a s d escrib ed . O n th e n ig h t
T h a t w h ich b rin g s th is Daev am w ith in th e sip h t of tb e
f o llo w in g , a b o u t 4 a .m ., I had a m ost m y ste r io u s dream
(sp iritu a l) sou l is th e th ird part (i.e. th e fifth of th e
in w h ic h m y l a t e n i e c e a n d m y y o u n g e s t b r o t h e r a t N a i n i -
sep ten a ry group), th e Baodhas. O r in oth er w ords th e
T al w ere c h iefly concerned. But before th e dream was
(s p ir itu a l) so u l h a s w it h i t or in it, t h e t r u e c o n scio u sn ess
c o m p le te d I w a s a r o u sed b y a te leg r a m . I t was from m y
b y w h i c h i t c a n v i e w t h e d e e d s w h i c h it s u b j e c t e d itse lf to,
father, s a y in g th a t m y n iece w as very il l a n d a sk in g me
c ith e r A c tiv e ly or p a s s iv e ly d u r in g its p h y sic a l career. So
to com o. In th e e x c ite m e n t and w a k in g u p I forgot th is
th is co n scio u sn ess, th is pow er or fa cu lty w h ic h b rin g s
d rea m a lto g eth er. M y sisters h a d b e e n d r e a m in g , in th eir
th e reco llectio n is a l w a y s w ith , in oth er w o rd s, is a part
tu rn , t h a t th e y w e r e p a r tin g w ith th e ir d e c e a se d n ie c e , on
and parcel o fth e soul itse lf; h e n c e , its n o t m ix in g w ith
m o re th an one o cca sio n ; o f s e e in g h e r o ff to E n g la n d —
any o th e r p art, a n d hence its e x iste n c e after th o p h y sica l
a lso o f s e e in g for s o m e t im e tw o h e a lt h y a n d one sick ly
d eath o f m a n .j
in fa n t, th e n tw o h e a lth y girls an d a sick ly boy, and th en
se e in g m o a p p ea r and te llin g th e m th e m ea n in g of th eir
• Modem science also teaches thnt certain characteristics of features dream , th e in terp reta tio n of w h ich th ey forgot upon
indicate tbe possession of certain qualities in ft man. Tbe whnlo science a ’v a k e n i n g . B e s id e s h a v in g c o n tin u a lly such bad dream s,
of physiognomy is founded on it. One can predict Iho disposition of a
man from his features, i e ., tho features develop in accordance with th ey had a fe e lin g of o p p ressio n and sadness, and an
tbe idiosyncrasies, qualities and vice*, knowledge or (ho ignoranco of man. in te n se lo n g in g o f le a v in g th e h o u se and e v en th e sta tio n ,
+ This is ft fundamental dogma of tho Parsi roligion, which I propose to a n d o f g o in g a n y w h e r e ra th er th a n stay a t h o m e . One of
treat upon, on some othor occasion, m y broth ers a t A gra, and a n iece at C a lcu tta , had also
J Our Brother has but to look info the oldest sacred books of China— d r e a m s o f t h i s n a t u r e b e f o r e m y n i e c e ’s t r a n s l a t i o n .
nam ely Tiik Yl King, or Booh o f Changes (translated by Jmiics Lcgge) A ll th e s e fo r eb o d in g s c u lm in a te d iu h er d eath and th at
written 1,200 B. 0., to find that same Septenary division of man mentioned in o f a n o th e r y o u n g g ir l— a c o u s in — a fter a v e r y sh o r t illn ess,
that system of Divination. Zhin<jy which is translated corrcctly enough
th o u g h b o th w ere str o n g and h ea lth y . A nd now rem a in s
* essence ’ is the moro subtle and pnro part of m atter—tho grosser form of
o n ly th e little sick ly boy of my s i s t e r ’s dream , w hose
the elementary ether ; K h i —or f spirit’ is tho breath, still material but
purer than the zhing and is made of the finer and more active form of other f e a t u r e s a r e i d e n t i c a l w i t h t h o s e o f m y b r o t h e r ’s youngest
In tho h f u n , or soul (a n im u s ) tho K h i predominates, nnd the zhing ( or z in g ) c h ild . M y sister saw th em d i s t i n c t l y in h e r d r e a m s .
in tho pho or animal soul. At death tho hw un for spiritual sonl) wanders A b o u t th e tim e w h en m y n ie c e w a s fa llin g , b efo re d e a th ,
away, ascending, nnd tho pho (tho root of the Tibetan word Pha-hat,) descends in t o a s ta te o f u n c o n s c io u s n e s s , a fig u re o f a m a n w a s se e n
and is changed into a ghostly shado fthc S h e l l D r , Medhurst thinks that b y m y sisters to cross th e doorw ay le a d in g to another
**tho K irei Sha vsu ('See Theology o f the Chinese pp. 10-12,) arc “ tho expand* room , w h ic h fig u re m y s is te r s r e c o g n ise d at th e tim e as
ing and contracting principles of human lifo” ! Tho K tc ti S h a n s are broupht
th a t o f a b r o th e r o f ours, now dead for som e years, my
About by the dissolution of tho human frame—and consist f tho expanding
and ascending S h a n which rambles about in space, and of the contracted d y in g n iece ca llin g o u t a t th e sa m e tim e: “ T ell sister,
and shrivelled Aim, which reverts to earth nnd nonentity. Therefore, tbe I am c o m in g ,” th en a little lo u d er : “ I a m c o m in g , sister,
JCvei is tho physical body; tho S h a n is the vital principle; tho K v e iS h a n . c o m in g ; w a it a little w h ile .”*
th« linga-sariram, or the vital soul ; Z h in g the 4th principle or Kama fiupa, tho
# Our correspondent does not explain whoso “ sister” was thus addressed.
cssonce of will ; p h o ('the animal soul^ ; K h i tho spiritual soul ; and Hwxtn Not a sistor of tho dyin*- young lady, since ho tells us that- sbo was
tbe pure spirit—tho seven principles of our occult doctrine!—Ed, “ the first and only child of her mothor.”—E d.
 A fte r t h e fu n era l, a t a b o u t 11 o ’c l o c k at n ig h t, I was A FEW REMARKS THEREON.
arou sed b y in y y o u n g e s t s i s t e r ’s v o ice who, ie c lin g very The strict adherence to our d u ty as an O c cu ltist,
sick , h a d ca lle d for m e . S h e appeared as one en tran ced. w h ile it sa tisfies a few of our fello w -stu d e n ts, m a teria lly
S h e a sk ed m e to h o ld h er h a n d s a n d to sit b y h e r b ed -sid e. d e tr a c ts, in th e o p in io n of our sp ir itu a listica lly -in clin ed
A b o u t t h r e e in t h e m o r n i n g , t h e fit s e e m e d to w e a r away, fr ie n d s, fr o m t h e v a lu e o f o u r ed ito r ia l n o t e s a n d e x p la n a ­
and I w e n t to ta k e s o m e rest. But I c o u ld not sleep . tio n s. The la tter fin d th at our theories w ill not bear
T h e r e w a s a s o u n d in m y r ig h t e a r as th o u g h som e one co m p a r iso n w ith th ose upon sim ila r phenom ena of th e
w a s w h is p e r in g or m a k in g ' a n effort to speak to m e. I S p iritu a lists. T h ey charge us w ith th e d o u b le crim e of
tried to c a tc h t h e w o rd s, to u n d e r s ta n d th e m e a n in g — bu t b e in g n o t o n ly p erso n a lly u n satisfied w ith th eir e x p la n a ­
w ith n o effect. T h is s t a t e la s te d for about ten m in u te s, tio n s a b o u t sp ir itu a l c o m m u n ic a tio n s, and w ith refu sin g
p erh ap s m oro. A t a b o u t th e sa m e tim e, m y oth er sister to in fer th e “ s p ir it” presence from th e m any w on d erfu l
h ea rd f o o t - s t e p s in t h e a d j o in in g r o o m . phenom ena we a c k n o w le d g e as g e n u in e, but also w ith
O n Ih e fo llo w in g n ig h t I w a s a g a in ca lled a t about II, le a d in g ou r read ers in to heresy a n d error, r e g a r d in g such.
as a g a in m y sister w as fe e lin g bad a n d had c a lled for in c. W e a r e n o t c o n t e n t , t h e y r e p r o a c h f u lly te ll us, to h u m b ly
M y m o t h e r a n d in y oth er sister who w ere sleep in g on a c k n o w le d g e facts, a n d a c c e p t th e te s tim o n y o f th e agen ts
co u ch es on ea ch sid e o f h e r bed, w ere both m y sterio u sly a t w ork b e h in d th e phenom enal effects w h ich crow d th e
aw akened. M y m other heard m y deceased n ie c e to llin g r ec o r d s o f m o d e m s p ir itu a lis m , b lit iu o u r p r id e w o s e e k to
h e r , in h e r n a t u r a l v o ic e , t o t u r n r o u n d a n d s e e h o w E l l e n p en etrate in to u n fa th o m a b le m y ste r ies to not o n ly
.w a s ; a n d m y e ld e r s is t e r w a s a r o u s e d b y s o m e o n e c a llin g a scerta in th e n a tu r e o f th e rela tio n s b etw een cause and
her by her nam e. O n r isin g , s h e sa w our younger sister effect, or, i n oth er w ords— b etw een m ed iu m and pheno­
lo o k in g very stran ge. S h e ad d ressed h er b u t receiv ed 110 m e n a ,— b u t even to fath om m y ster ies th at spirits
answ er; sh o o k and sp o k e to her, b u t to n o p u rp o se. The th e m s e lv e s co n fess th eir in a b ility to e x p la in . Too m uch
o n ly r ep ly s h e g o t w a s a n in j u n c tio n to c a ll m e . W hen I sp e c u la tio n o n cer ta in s u b je c ts len d s t h e m in d in to a sea
cam e, she to ld me to catch h o ld of her, and to tell o f e rro r,— t h i n k o u r E u r o p e a n u n d A m e r i c a n sp iritu a listic
“ G r a n n y ” to g o h o m e . I co m p lied w ith h er req uest, and frien d s,— a n d it is s u r e to la n d u s “ in region s o f F a lsity .”
sh e rem a in ed q u iet, b u t ev id en tly in a tr a n c e -lik e state, I f m e n w o u ld le a v e o ff sp e cu la tin g , an d w o u ld s im p ly s tick
w h ic h la ste d till a b o u t t h r e e in th e m o rn in g . On th at, to fuel, tru th w o u ld be m ore rea d ily a tta in e d in each
n ig h t ab ou t 2- o 0 , my n ie c e was d istin ctly seen by her and e v e r y case.
gran d fath er, sta n d in g , c lo th e d in her usual dress. The For th e sake of th o se of our frien d s who have
v isio n w a s e v a n e s c e n t, y e t s e e n fo r s o m e tim e , s t a n d in g b y m ade of sp iritu a lism a new “ R e v e la t io n ” a “ g lo rio u s
h im . M y o th er sister felt h er h a n d s g e n tly strok ed , and f a it h ,” a s t h e y c a ll it, w e fe e l r e a lly sorry to be fo rced to
s a w first a b r i g h t s p e c k o f l i g h t a b o v e h e r h a n d , a n d t h e n hurt th eir fe elin g s by our “ b la n k d e n ia l.” But tru th
h e r d e c e a s e d n i e c e ’s h a n d g e n t l y p l a c e d o v e r i t . W h ile I s ta n d s h i g h e r in o u r o p in io n t h a n any e a rth ly c o n sid era ­
w a s s e a te d in th e room , 1 sa w th r e e or fou r tim e s t h e bust t i o n e v e r w i l l ; a u d , i t is t r u t h — a t l e a s t we so regard it
o f m y sister , w h o w a s r e c lin in g a t t h e t im e , a s t h o u g h in a — th a t c o m p e ls u s to a n s w e r th o se, w h o c o m e to u s for an
h a lo o f lig h t. T h is cir cle o f lig h t w o u ld r e m a in fo r a s h o r t e x p la n a tio n , a c c o r d in g to th e te a c h in g s o f o c cu ltism , in ste a d
tim e , t h e n v a n ish a w a y , th en return a g a in . S o m etim e s o f te llin g t h e m , a s S p ir itu a lis ts w ou ld , t h a t su c h p h e n o m e n a
th e w h o le room , at o th ers o n ly h a lf o f it, w o u ld becom e a r e a ll p r o d u c e d b y d is e m b o d ie d m o rta ls, or sp irits. To
s u d d e n ly b r ig h tly lit up, as w ith m a n y lig h ts. I a lso sa w a scerta in th e la w s accord in g to w h ich p sy c h o -p h y sio ­
a b r ig h t lig h t iu th e s h a p e o f a cross th r o u g h th e o p e n in g lo g ic a l m a n ife sta tio n s tak e p la ce from a sp iritu a listic
o f th e door lea d in g in to th e next room . A fter lo o k in g s t a n d - p o i n t is , n o d o u b t , a g r a t i f y i n g k in d o f k n o w led g e;
a tten tiv e ly a t it for s o m e t im e , I w e n t in to th e adjacent but w e, O ccu ltists, are not sa tisfied w ith o n ly th is. W e
room to a ssu r e m y s e lf t h a t th e se r v a n ts h a d n o t le ft a la m p seek to learn p rim a l, as w e ll as secondary, causes ; to
b u r n in g in it, b u t f o u n d n o t h i n g b u t d a r k n e s s in it. My fa th o m th e real, not app arent, n a tu re of th at pow er th at
sister s a w a ls o a n u m b e r o f l i g h t s in t h e r o o m , m o v i n g lik e perform s su ch strange, seemingly su p ern a tu ra l o p era tio n s;
so m a n y s p a r k s , f r o m p l a c e t o p l a c e . a n d , w e th in k , w e h a v e s u c c e e d e d in u n ra v e llin g som e of
N e x t day, as reco m m en d ed by ou r d octor, we le ft th e i t s m y s t e r i e s a n d in e x p l a i n i n g m u c h o f t h e h i t h e r t o u n e x ­
p lace a n d c a m e to A lla h a b a d . On th e first n ig h t here, p la in ed . H e n c e o u r c o n v ic tio n th a t th e F orce, w h ich th e
my youngest sister fell a g a in about th e sam e hour of S p iritu a lists v iew as a th in k in g , in t e llig e n t P rin cip le, a
elev en at n ig h t, in to her usual tr a n c e — in w h ich she p ow er, th a t can n e v e r be m a n ife sted o u tsid e th e m a g n etic
c o n t in u e d u n t il a b o u t t e n in t h e m o r n in g ot th e fo llo w in g aura of a sen sitiv e, is often er a b lin d energy th an th e
day. T h e effects th e n g ra d u a lly w o re o ff a n d n o t h in g h a s co n scio u s p r o d u ctio n of a n y b ein g s or sp ir its ; and , also ,
h a p p e n e d sin ce. About th ree in th e m o r n in g she sa id th a t th is F o r c e can b e rep la ced b y th e co n scio u s w ill of a
she saw her deceased n iece dressed up iu lu m in o u s liv in g m a n , o n e o f th o se in itia tes, as a few m a y y e t be fou n d
g a r m e n ts an d had receiv ed a m essage from her. In th e in th e E a st. W e cannot be con ten t w ith th e ea sy -g o in g
m o rn in g w h en she had recovered irom her tra n ce-state, th e o r y o f r etu r n in g sp irits. W e h a v e s e e n to o m u c h for it.
sh e h a d a l t o g e t h e r f o r g o t t e n it. A n d , s in c e w e arc th o r o u g h ly c o n v in ced th a t n ea rly every­
th in g in co n n e c tio n w ith th is m y sterio u s a g e n t— “ th e
W hat I w o u ld lik e to learn is— to w hat causes can
such effects be a ttrib u ted , and in what w ay can th e A stral S erp en t” of E lip h a s L ev i— had been d isc o v er e d

p h en o m e n a be e x p la in ed 1 T h e sister w h o b e c a m e su b ject a g e s ago, h o w e v e r little k n o w led g e of it we m ay c la im

to tr a n c e , w a s th e first i n o u r f a m i l y who ta u g h t us th e p e r so n a lly , y e t w e k n o w su fficien tly , w e th in k , to j u d g e on

effects of W lL L -FO JtC E , about w h ich I had spoken to th e w h o le co rrectly of its in flu e n c e u p on , a n d d ir e c t rela­

C o lo n e l O lc o tt, w h e n t h e P r e s i d e n t w a s h e r e last. tio n s w ith , th e corporeal m a c h in es c a lle d mediums ; as

a lso o f its in te r -c o r r e la tio n s w ith t h e a u r a o f e v e r y person
A ll o f th e above are— facts w ith o u t any exaggeration
p r e s e n t in th e s& m e e -r o o m . M oreover, w e m a in ta in th at
or c u rta ilin g , a s corro b o ra ted by all concerned in it, to
it lo o k s far m o r e r e a s o n a b le to fo llo w t h e u n ifo r m te a c h in g
w h o m I h a v e r e a d it. Any e x p la n a tio n , w h ich you m ay
u p on th is su b je c t o f one sch o o l, th an to be h o p elessly
give, w ill b e t h a n k f u l l y r e c e iv e d .
g r o p in g for t r u t h in t h e d a r k , w it h o u r in t e l l e c t s litera lly
I h a v e no o b jec tio n to a n y t h in g 1 m a y w r ite , a p p e a r in g rent asunder by th e th o u sa n d and one co n flictin g
over m y o w n s i g n a t u r e ; b u t as my sisters do not w ish “ tea ch in g s” of th e supposed d en iz e n s of th e “ S p irit-
th eir n a m e s to a p p e a r in m a g a z in e s , I b e g t h a t in p u b l i s h ­ W o r ld .”
in g th is n a r r a tiv e y o u w ill k in d ly a llo w it to a p p e a r u n d e r H a d o u r c o r r e s p o n d e n t a s k e d — for u n e x p la n a t io n o f t h e
a nom de plume. 1 append to th is m y fu ll nam e nnd w eird p h e n o m e n a th a t h a v e j u s t o c cu rr e d in h is fa m ily — •
add ress, a n d y o u a r e a t lib e r t y t o g i v e i t to any one who on e possessed practically o f th at k n ow led ge, h e w o u ld , n o
m a y d e s i r e t o k n o w it. d o u b t, h a v e r e c e iv e d a p e r fe c tly correct in fo r m a tio n as to
Allahabad, August 21, 1882. what really took place, and how the phenomena have come
to pass ( t h a t . i.s t o s a y , if t l i c a d o p t I in <
1 fou n d " w o r th liis B u t a f t e r d e a t h — w h i c h is t h e b ir t h o f t h o s p ir it u a l e n t it y
w h i l e to u n d e r g o a m e n t a l l y p a in fu l p ro cess, a n d sn lb to in t o t h e w orld o r c o n d i t i o n o f e ffects, f h e la t t e r I a v in g n o w
d iv u lg e th e w h o le tru th to th o p u b lic). W h ile now, ho b e c o m e f o r it a w o r ld o f causes— th e astral e n tity m u st be
lia s to b e c o n t e n t w ith a l o w g e n e r a litie s . M e c a n tell h im g iv e n tim e to e v o lu tc and m a tu re a shadow y b ra in o f its
for a c e r t a i n t y w lia t i.tvjus vol., b u t wo cannot u n d ertak e o w n b efore it c a n b e g i n to a c t in d e p e n d e n t ly . W hatever
to say w h at it r e a l l y icas, s i n c e sim ila r effects m ay be its s u b s e q u e n t fate, a n d w h a te v e r h a p p e n s in tlic m ean­
p r o d u ce d b y a h u n d r e d v a rio u s c a u ses. w h ile, no a ctio n of its can b e regarded as a r esu lt o f a
We w ill not tou ch upon th e q u estio n of fo reb o d in g c o n s c io u s , i n t e l l i g e n t w ill, n o m o r e t h a n w e w o u ld h o ld a n y
d ream s, s in ce th e e x iste n c e o f su ch is proved to n il but g e s t u r e s o f a n e w l y - b o r n i n f a n t for a c t i o n s r esu ltin g from
in c u r a b l e s c e p t ic s , a n d is e a s ily a c c o u n t e d for b y e v e r y o n e a d e t e r m in e d a n d c o n s c io u s d esire.
w h o b e lie v e s a n d k n o w s th a t in s id e h is b o d y o f flesh , th e T h u s, sin ce th e d e c e a s e d y o u n g Indy lo st all co n scio u s­
g r o s s e n v e l o p e , t h e r e is t h e r e a l, g e n e r a l l y i n v i s i b l e , b o d y of n e ss s o m e tim e b efore d e a th , an d th at, b e in g so y o u n g and
e th e r ia l e le m e n ts, th e E go, th a t w a tc h e s an d n e v e r sleep s. so b elo v ed in h e r fa m ily , s h e co u ld h a rd ly , w h en d y in g ,
The facts a.s d e s c r i b e d seem cer ta in ly ns th o u g h th ey h a v e h e r t h o u g h ts o ccu p ied by a n y th in g b u t th ose around
b e lo n g e d to th a t cla ss o f p h e n o m e n a w h ich aro regarded h e r ;— th o u g h ts in v o lu n ta ry , a n d p erh a p s u n co n n ected , as
as “ s p ir itu a l,” an d w h ich occur, under o rd in a ry c ir cu m ­ th ose, o f a d r e a m , but s t ill in a d irect sequence to her
s t a n c e s , o n l y w h e r e th er e , a r e o n e o r m o r e m e d i u m s in t h e h a b itu a l th ou gh ts and fe elin g s— ev ery fa cu lty o f hers,
fa m ily . T h e r eg u la r and p e r io d ic a l tr a n c e -lits, w h ic h our p a ra ly zed so su d d en ly, an d severed, d u rin g its fu ll v ig o u r
c o r r e s p o n d e n t s r ela tiv e had su d d en ly becom e s u h |e e t to and a c tiv it y , fro m its n a tu r a l m ed iu m — th e b od y— m u st
for s e v e r a l c o n s e c u t iv e n ig h ts , w o u ld p o in t to th at in d v ns h a v e le ft its a str a l im p r e s s in e v e r y n o o k a n d c o r n e r o f th e
b e i n g th e c a u se , th e p r in cip a l g e n e r a t o r o f t h e p h e n o m e n a . h o u se w h e r e s h e had liv ed so lo n g and w here she d ied .
B u t, sin c e w c k n o w n o th in g of cith er her p re v io u s state H ence, it m ay have been but th e “ a stra l” echo of her
of h ea lth , and la ck fu rth er d e ta ils th at m ig h t g i v e .an v o ice, d ir e c te d b y h e r la st th o u g h t and draw n m a g n eti­
a d d itio n a l c lu e to th e m y s te r y , our exp la.n n t.io ii m u st, be c a lly to h e r u n cle , th e w riter, t h a t s o u n d e d in b is “ rig h t
regarded ns a sim p le su g g e stio n . Though th e O c c u ltists oar, as th o u g h s o m e o n e w a s w h is p e r in g ” or t r y in g to s p e a k
reject, on th o w h o le, th e th eory of d ise m b o d ied Egos to h im ; and th e sam e astral ccho of “ her natural
m a n ife stin g after death , y e t th e y a d m it o f certa in p o ssib i­ v o ice” th at to ld h is m other “ to tu rn ro u n d .” H er
lities of a real s p i r i t ’s presence, or a p p a ritio n , eith er appearance to her gran d fath er “ in her usucd dress”
p reced in g or d irectly fo llo w in g p h y sica l d eath , espe­ show s ns th at it was her astral r efle ctio n on th e
c ia lly w hen th e latter was sudden as in th e ease of a t m o s p h e r ic w a v e s t h a t lie s a w ; o th er w ise h e w o u ld h a v e
th e w r i t e r ’s n iece. W c nre ta u g h t by th ose, in whom h a rd ly seen a real ju st d ise m b o d ied sp irit in such an
we have fu ll co n fid en ces th at, in such ra p id cases a t t ire. T h e p resen ce o f th e “ u sual d ress” fo rm in g p art o f an
o f d isso lu tio n , th e body m ay bo q u ite dead, and b u ried , a p p a r itio n — w ere th o latter, a v o lu n ta ry , conscious act of
and yet th e b rn in — t h o u g h its fu n c tio n s nre stop p ed — th e lib er a te d E g o — w o u ld have n a tu ra lly n ecessita ted a
m ay preserve a la te n t spark of w ill or d esire, p r e v io u s c o n c e p tio n in t h e p la n s o f th e la tter, th e c r e a tio n ,
con n ected w ith som e p r e d o m in a tin g feelin g in life so to sny, o f th a t g a r m e n t b y th e sp irit— (u n le ss wc have
w h ic h w ill h a v e th e e ffect of th r o w in g in to o b jectiv ity , of a lso to b e lie v e iu co n scio u s ghosts and in d ep en d e n t
th r u stin g , so to sav, in to a certa in m a g n etic current of a p p a ritio n s of w e a rin g a p p a re l? ) before it co u ld appear
a ttra ctio n th e astral Ego or do/iprlgangf.r of t.he dead a lo n g wit.h its owner. And th is w o u ld be a pre­
b o d ) ’. W henever, wc a re to ld , d eath i.s b rou gh t, on by d e te r m in e d act of v o litio n d ifficu lt to suppose iu a
su ffo c a tio n , a p o p le x y , c o n c u s sio n o f th e b ra in , h e m o r r h a g e , still d a z e d h u m a .n “ so u l” ju st cscaped from rts p rison .
or s o m e such ch an ge, “ t h e tr ip o d o f lif e ”— ns th o (Ireek s E ven m any of th e m ore advanced S p iritu a lists a d m it
c a l l e d i t — t h e h e a r t , (.lie l u n g s a n d 1l i e b rain , th e fu nda­ to-d ay th a t, w lia tev er its subsequent career, th e freed
m ental b a sis upon w h ich a n im a l-life i.s e r e c t e d — is s p irit can never rea lize th e great ch a n g e, at lea st for
s im u lt a n e o u s ly a ffec te d in its th r e e p arts; th e lu n g s nnd several te r restria l days. N o tw ith sta n d in g th e above wo
h eart, th e organs th e m ost in tim a te ly a sso cia ted in t. he k n o w w ell th a t w c sh a ll b e n o t o n ly la u g h e d to scorn by
c ir c u la tio n o f tb e b lo o d , b e c o m in g in a ctiv e, a n d th e b lo o d s c ie n t if ic m e n a s b y a ll th e u n scicu titic scep tics, b u t also
not b e in g su fficien tly a era ted on account of th is sudden g iv e ag a in offen ce to S p iritu a lists. T h e y w o u ld h a v e u s
in a c tiv ity , th e la tte r often b ecom es th e cause of p u ttin g say : “ I t w as th e sp irit o f yo u r d e p a r te d n ie c e , her v o ice,
a sudden stop to th e fu n ctio n s of th e b rain , and so a n d r e a l p r e s e n c e , & c.”; a n d t h e n r e s t o n o u r l a u r e ls w i t h ­
t e r m i n a t e life. o u t a n y fu rth er a tte m p t a t a n y th in g lik e a proof, or an
T herefore, before p ro n o u n c in g upon th e v a lu e of an e x p la n a tio n . I f th e present one is fou n d in su ffic ie n t, let
a p p a ritio n , an O c c u ltis t h a s a lw a y s to a scerta in w heth er th e S p iritu a lists an d scep tics offer a b etter one and let
c o m p le te d eath w a s b r o u g h t on by, or p r im a r ily d u e to th e im p a rtia l ju d g e s d ecid e. M ea n w h ile, w e w o u ld ask th e
d eath of th e lu n g s, th e h eart, or th e b ra in . B ut of all f o r m e r — it i t w a s a l l p r o d u c e d b y t h e co n scio u s sp irit of
th ese th e la tter— on a c c o u n t o f its d o u b le fu n ctio n s— th e th e deceased, w h y h a v e a ll su c h m a n ife sta tio n s sto p p e d , as
sp iritu a l and th e p h y s i c a l — is th o m ost ten a cio u s. As soon as th e fa m ily h ad left th e sta tio n and com e to
cessa tio n of b rea th in g and o f th e p u lse, stop p age of th e A lla h a b a d ? Is it th a t th e spirit d e te r m in e d to com e no
heart, co ld n ess and p a len ess of t h e su rfa ce, a film o n th e m o re, or th a t th e m e d iu m s in th e fa m ily had su d d en ly
e y e, a n d th e rig id ity o f th e jo in ts arc 110 sure in d ica tio n s l o s t t h e ir p o w e r , or is i t s i m p l y b e c a u s e , a s t h e w r it e r p u t s
of real p h y sica l d e a th ; and, as th e facies Jlippocratica has it, “ th e effects then wore off\ and nothing has happened
d eceiv ed m ore th a n o n e ex p erien ced p ra ctitio n er; so, e v e n since” ?
c o m p lete p h y s ic a l d e a t h is n o in d ica tio n th a t th o in n er ­ W i t h regard to s c e p tic s ou r a n s w e r is still m ore easy.
m ost spiritual life o f th e b ra in is eq u a lly dead. The I t is n o lo n g e r a q u e s t i o n w it h a n y s a n e m a n w h eth er such
a ctiv ity of th e m in d r em a in s to th e la s t ; and th e fin a l th in g s do and do not happen ; bu t o n ly what is th e
physical fu n ctio n o f th e b ra in in c o n n e c tio n w ith som e real c a u s e t h a t u n d e r lie s s u c h a b n o r m a l effects. H e r e is a
f e e lin g , o r p a s sio n m a y im p a r t, for a ll o u r p h y s io lo g i s t s c a n case, w h ic h no sce p tic — u n less he d e n ie s th e occurrence
sa y to th e contrary, a k in d o f posl-wortcm e n e r g y t o th e o f th e w h o le story a priori — w ill b e ev er a b le to ex p la in
b e w ild e r e d astral E go, and th u s cause it t o c o n tin u e its o th erw ise, b u t on o n e of th e tw o th eo r ie s— th a t o f th e
d y n a m ic seem in g ly c o n s c i o u s a c t i o n e v e n for a few days O c cu ltists an d S p iritu a lists. A case, in w h ic h a w h ole
a fter death . The im p u lse im p a rted by th e still liv in g f a m i l y o f r e s p e c t a b l e p e r s o n s o f v a r i o u s a g e s t e s t i f i e s to, a s
b r a in d ie s o u t lo n g a fter t h a t b ra in h a s c e a s e d its fu n c tio n s e y e-w itn esses. T h is c a n n o lo n g e r b e a t t r i b u t e d to a c a se
for ever. D u r i n g life t h e a s tr a l E g o is d e p e n d e n t on , a n d o f iso la ted h a llu c in a tio n . And in th e presence of th e
q u i t e s u b s e r v i e n t to, t h e w i l l o f t h e p h y s i c a l b r a in . It fr e q u e n t o c cu rr e n c e o f su c h cases, e v e r y so b er m a n ought
a cts a u to m a tica lly , an d a cco rd in g to h o w th e w ires are b e ­ to p r o te s t a g a in s t t h e irra tio n a l p r o c e e d in g s of th o se who
in g pulled by cither our trained or untrained thought, condemn without seeing, deny without a hearing, and
 a b u se th ose, w h o h a v e b o th seen and heard, for p u ttin g w ith th e p ro p o sitio n th at th e b ra in fu rn ish es tho
fa ith in t h o ir o w n e y e s a n d ears. A V e h a v e t h o u s a n d s u p o n m ech a n ism of th ou gh t, he asserts th at th ere can be no
th ou san d s of testim o n ies c o rn in g from in tellig en t, valid q u e s t io n a t all t h a t it w o r k s o f it s e lf as it w ere,— “ th a t it
persons, th a t such th in g s do occur a n d — very fr eq u en tly . h as an a u to m a tic pow er, ju st as tlie sensory cen tres and
If th e senses of th ose persons are not to he trusted, t h e sp in a l cord h a v e a n a u t o m a tic p o w e r o f th eir o w n .” He
th e n w h a t e lse can b e tru sted I W h a t b e tter te s t o f tru th d ecla res, h o w e v e r , t h a t it o r ig in a te s in t h e p r e v io u s h a b it.
have w e? H ow can w e be sure o f a n y th in g we hear, or T h ere can be 110 d o u b t w h a t e v e r , lie te lls us, th at a very
e v e n o u rselv es see ? H o w are t h e m o s t o r d in a r y affa irs o f la r g e p a r t o f o u r m e n t a l a c t iv it y c o n s is t s of th is a u t o m a t ic
life to b e c o n d u c te d an d relied upon ? As a m e sm e riz e r a c tio n o f t h e b ra in , a c c o r d in g to th e m ode in w h ic h we
r e m a r k e d t o a s c e p t i c — “ I f t h e r u l e 1, w h i c h t h e o b j e c t o r s t o have tra in ed it to a c tio n . The w ill g iv es th e im p u lse
m e s m e r ic p h e n o m e n a p e r sist in a p p ly in g to th e m , w e r e to in t h e first i n s t a n c e and keeps b efore th e m in d all th e
b e en forced u n iv e r s a lly , a ll t h e b u s i n e s s o f lif e m ust com e t h o u g h t s w h i c h i t c a n i m m e d i a t e l y l a y h o Id of, or w h ich
to a sta n d .” Indeed, no m an co u ld put fa ith in any a sso cia tio n su g g e sts , th a t bear upon th e sub ject. T hese
a ssertio n o f a n y oth er m an ; th e a d m in istr a tio n o f ju stic e th o u g h ts, how ever, do not conduct im m ed ia tely to an
i t s e l f m u s t fa il, b e c a u s c e v i d e n c e w o u ld b e c o m e im p o s s ib le , issu e, b u t req u ir e to w o r k th e m s e lv e s out. T h e sen so riu n i,
a n d t h e w h o le w o r ld w o u ld g o u p s id e d o w n . T herefore, an d or g r o u p o f n e r v e -g a n g lia o f sp ecia l sen sa tio n , w h ic h h a v e
s in ce s c ie n c e w ill h a v e n o th in g to do w ith su ch abnorm al t h e i r p la c e a t t h e b a s e o f tlie b ra in , and d istin ct from it,
p h e n o m e n a , t h e g r e a t b a ttle in c o n s e q u e n c e o f t l i e d is p u te m ay be in a state o f in a c tio n a ll th e w h ile , or p erh ap s
a s to th e c a u s e s u n d e rly in g th em , b etw een natural and o th e r w is e occu p ied .
un n atu ral th eo ries, m ust be fou ght out b etw een th e T h is p e c u lia r a c tiv ity of th e b ra in th o u g h a u to m a tic ,
O ccu ltists and th e S p iritu a lists a lo n e. L et each of us D r . C a r p e n t e r d o e s n o t c o n s i d e r to b e s p o n t a n e o u s , o r th e
sh o w our facts an d g iv e o u r e x p la n a tio n s ; an d le t th o s e — resu lt of any p ecu lia r in sp ira tio n . I l i s t h e o r y is s i m p l y
who are n e ith e r O c cu ltists, S p iritu a lists, nor scep tics— th a t th e cerebrum , h a v in g b een shaped, so to speak, iu
d ecid e b e tw e e n th e c o n te s ta n t p a itie s. I t is not enough a c co r d a n ce w ith o u r o r d in a r y p r o c e sse s o f m e n t a l a c tiv ity ,
th a t all s h o u ld k n o w t h a t such th in g s do happen. The h a v in g g r o w n to t h e k in d of w ork th a t w e aro accu stom ed
w o rld m u st le a r n at la st— u n d er th e p en a lty o f fa llin g to set it to e x e c u t e , c a n g o o n a n d w o r k for itself. U n­
b ack to s u p e r s titio u s b e lie fs, in th e arch e n e m y o f m a n — th e co n scio u s C ereb ra tio n is d e fin ed by h im a cco rd in g ly as
b ib lica l d e v il— w h y su c h p h e n o m e n a d o so h a p p e n , a n d to “ th e u n co n scio u s o p era tio n o f t h e b r a in in b a l a n c i n g for
w h a t c a u se or c a u s e s th e y are to b e attrib u ted . W e call itse lf all th e v a rio u s c o n s id e r a t io n s — in p u ttin g a ll iu
for in q u ir y , not for b li n d c r e d e n c e . A n d — u n til in q u ir y ord er, so to s p e a k , in w o r k i n g o u t t h e r esu lt.” T h is con­
h a s e s ta b lis h e d s c ie n tific a lly a n d b e y o n d a n y d o u b t t h a t tlio c lu sio n , he d ecla res, w ill be th e r esu lta n t o f th e w h o le
p r o d u cin g cause at w ork b eh in d th e v e il of o b jectiv e p r ev io u s tra in in g and d isc ip lin in g of our m in d s. H e
m a t t e r is w h a t t h e S p i r i t u a l i s t s p r o c la im it to be, n a m ely a cco r d in g ly d e s ig n a te s it as th e C o m m o n S e n se.
d is e m b o d ie d , h u m a n s p ir its — w e b e g to a s se r t t h e r ig h t of
“ 1 b e lie v e ,” he says, “ th at it is th e ea rn est h a b it of
th e T h e o so p h ists, w h e th e r th e y b e O c c u ltists, scep tics, or
l o o k i n g a t a s u b j e c t fr o m first p r in c ip le s , lo o k i n g h o n estly
n eith er, but sim p ly searchers after tr u th — to m a in ta in
an d ste a d ily a t th e T ru e and th e R ig h t, w h ich g iv e s th e
th e ir a ttitu d e o f n e u tra lity r n d e v e n o f m o d e s t scep ticism ,
m in d th a t d irectio n th a t u ltim a te ly overcom es th e force
w ith o u t risk in g for it to fin d th em selv es cru cified by'
o f th ese early p reju d ices an d th e s e early a sso cia tio n s, and
b o th p arties.
b rin g s us in to th a t co n d itio n w h ich a p p ro a ch es th e n ea rest
of a n y th in g th at 1 th in k we have th e o p p o rtu n ity of
w i t n e s s i n g in o u r e a r t h l y lif e t o t h a t D i r e c t I n s i g h t w h i c h
M IND, TH O U G H T A N D C E R E B R A TIO N . m a n y ot u s b e l i e v e w ill b e t h e c o n d i t i o n of our m in d s in
t h a t fu t u r e s t a t e in w h ic h t h e y are released from all th o
J3Y PROFESSOR ALEXANDER WILDER, F.T.S. tr a m m els o f our corporeal ex isten ce .”

T h e e n d e a v o u r o f th e a b le s t w riters on P h y s io lo g y as w e ll E arn est von H artm an n , th e author of The. Philosophy

' ns P h ilo s o p h y , h a s a lw a y s c u lm in a te d in th e r e c o g n itio n o f of the Unconscious, has g iv en to th is su b ject a grea ter
em p h a sis. H e d ecla res th at co n scio u sn ess h as its o rig in
an u lte r io r p r in c ip le or fa c u lty w h ic h e x c e e d s o u r scien tific
in th e cereb ral o r g a n is m o f m a n . I t is n o t a fix ed state,
m eth o d s. I t is a p r i v a t e p o te n c y o f life w ith in or b e h in d
but a process, a p erp etu al change and b e c o m in g . Its
o u r c o m m o n p h en o m e n a l e x isten ce, w h ich is regarded as a n t e c e d e n t s a re im p e n e t r a b le to itse lf, and we can o n ly
a cco u n tin g for what was o th erw ise u n ex p la in a b le. It hope to reso lv e th e p ro b lem in d ir e c tly . T here is no
corresponds w ith every fact, sa tisfies every q u estio n , is S u p rem e B ein g , b u t an o m n ip r ese n t A V ill a n d In tellect,
a llied b y th e m o s t in t im a te rela tio n s to t h e w h o le o rd er o f a c tin g u n c o n s c io u s ly in in s e p a r a b le u n io n w ith e a c h o th er,
th e u n iv erse, a n d is u r g e n tly in v o k ed in extrem e em er­ — one a b so lu te su b je c tiv ity , a pow er o p era tin g 011 all
gency. O u r sen se -p e r c ep tio n is em p lo y ed w ith what is u n co n sc io u s fu n ctio n s, h u m a n , a n im a l and v e g eta b le. It
extern al and o b jectiv e, w h ile th is fa c u lty appears to is t h e fa s h io n for a ll w r ite r s o f t l i e m o d e r n sc h o o l to d e c r y
tr a n scen d c o m m o n c o n scio u sn ess, and in d eed to be d is­ m e ta p h y s ic s ; y e t w ith a cu rio u s in c o n sis te n c y th ey seem
s o c i a t e d fr o m it. v ery g e n e ra lly to h a v e a m e ta p h y sic o f th eir ow n . H art­

N u m e r o u s d esig n a tio n s h a v e been in v en ted to denote m ann is a c o n s p i c u o u s ex a m p le. He e m p lo y s th e m ost

th is o ccu lt p r in cip le o f our nature. M a u d sle y term s it th e ab stru se and u n co n scio n a b le m eta p h y sica l s u b tilitie s to
p reco n scio u s a ctio n of th e m in d , a m e n t a l p o w e r w h ic h is ex p la in and d efen d liis p r o p o sitio n s. He d efin es th e
o rg a n ized b efo re th e s u p e r v e n tio n o f c o n scio u sn ess. A g a ssiz essen ce o f co n scio u sn ess as co n sistin g o f a b rea k in g apart
d e scr ib e s it as a su p erio r p o w e r w h ic h co n tro ls our b etter o f th e u n io n b e tw e e n th e I n te lle c t a u d t h e W ill. Percep­
n atu re, an d a cts th ro u g h us w ith o u t c o n scio u sn ess of our tio n is fo rced upon th e m in d , th u s sep a ra tin g and
own. S c h e llin g d e n o m in a te s it u n c o n sc io u s k n o w le d g e , a e m a n c i p a t i n g it fro m t h e w ill, anti e n r b lin g it to revolt
c a p a c ity for k n o w l e d g e a b o v e or b e h i n d c o n s c io u s n e s s , and and even to su b ject th e w ill to its own la w s. The
h ig h er th a n th e u n d e rsta n d in g . - I t is a ls o ver}' com m on a sto n ish m en t o f th e w ill at th is, “ th e sen sation caused
to s ty le it r efle x a c tio n o f t h e b ra in , and a u to m a tic b ra in - b y th e a p p a r itio n o f t l i e I d e a in th e b o so m o f th e U ncon­
work, a b r a iu -a ctiv ity w ith o u t th ou gh t, but au a c tiv ity scio u s— th a t is co n scio u sn ess.” In b r ief: “ th e U n con -'
n ev erth eless, w h ich m a y su b seq u en tly be reproduced iu
scio n s Thought does not reco g n ize a sep a ra tio n b e tw e e n
c o n n ectio n w ith c o n s c io u sn e s s or th o u g h t, or w liich m ay,
th e form a n d th e c o n te n ts of th e k n ow led ge, th e subject
w ith o u t b e in g reproduced, m o d ify subsequent k in d red
a n d th e o b jec t in th e act of th in k in g . It is j u s t here
m e n t a l a c tio n or t h o u g h t in t lie s a m e m in d .
D r. W illia m B. C a r p e n te r h a s fo r m u la te d it a c co rd in g ly th a t th e su b je c t an d th e ob ject are in tim a te ly id e n tic a l, or

U nder thg title o f U nconscio us C erebr a tio n , B egin n in g rather, th a t n o th in g d istin g u ish es th em absolutely, since
t h e y are n o t y e t r ise n out of tlieir c o n d itio n of o r ig in a l where is it. ? Is not the distant, the dead, whom 1 love and sor­
n o n -d iffe re n c e .” row for, iibrk, in the genuine spiritual sense, as really u.s the
T h i s p r o p o s i t i o n o f D r . H a r t m a n n i s :i cu rio u s illu stra ­
table I now write on? Space i.s a mode of our sense, so is time;
(this I only half understand); •<« aro—we know not w hat--light
tio n o f th e p e c u lia r a g r e e m e n t often a tta in ed by persons sparkles floating in the ether of Divinity ! So that this .solid
h o ld in g sen tim e n ts d ia m etrica lly o p p o site. T h is w riter, world after all is but an air imago, our mu i.s the only reality,
w h o is u s u a lly r e p r e s e n te d as d en y in g a Suprem e B ein g and all is Godlike or (Jod.”
a n d th e im m o rta lity o f t h e h u m a n so u l, is in p e r f e c t rap­
port in h is ex p r essio n s w ith th e ex trcin cst M y stic who
•surpasses all oth ers in th eosop h ic co n cep tio n . E ach TABLE OP CONTENTS.
d e cla res th at th e person who r ea lly knows does not
c o g n iz e th e fact o f k n o w in g , because such k n o w led g e is .... . . . . P*fre.
i.lie Education Commission Stand-Point of Theism ... i :j
s u b je c tiv e ; a n d , th erefore, m a y n o t b e c o n te m p la te d as a u at Poona ............................. 1 Correspondence -
o b j e c t w liic h is in a c e r t a i n s e n s e a p a r t f r o m us. It w o u ld Fragments of Occult Truth. 2 An Alluring Promise ... ie
b e w h o l e s o m e l'or u s t o l e a r n f r o m th is to be ju st tow ard The Birth and Growth of the Can a Man live without
each oth er, g e n e ro u sly c o n sid e rin g th at d iffe re n c e of
Philharmonic Academy of Food I ... ................ 16
C a lc u tta ............................. u The Vibratory Harmonics
o p iu io n is a d iv erse v iew of tru th and no w arrant or The Origin of the Gospels of Smell ................ 17
o c c a s io n for a n im o s it y , p r o s c r ip t io n or d isresp ect. As th e aud the Bishop of Bombay. 0 Idolatry in the Vedas ... 18
riv ers, h o w e v e r m u c h t h e y arc a t v a r ia n c e in th e d ir e c tio n O b s e r v a t i o n s o n t li r The Philosophy of Spirit ... 18
of th eir currents, all m eet in th e ocean, so a ll fa ith s, “ Pauchakon.'’ ................ 9 Theosophy and the A vesta... 20
“ The Perfect Way” ... 10 Was it “ Spirits” or what ? 22
p h ilo so p h ie s and d estin ies, we m ay co n fid en tly b eliev e,
The Hindu Theory of Music 11 Mind, Thought and Cerebra­
c o n v e r g e in t h e D i v i n i t y . . Anthropomorphism ... 12 tion ................ ... 20
The d e scrip tio n p resented by D r. C arp en ter agrees Superiority of Hinduism
to othor Existing Reli­
a f t e r a m a n n e r w it h fa c ts in m y o w n exp erien ce. I have
gions : as viewed from the
b e e n u t t e r lv a t a loss for w ords and ile a s o il im p o rta n t
o c ca sio n s, and th ey cam e forth o u a s u d d e n a t th e c ritica l
■ SPECIAL NOT]CHS.
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M anager,
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own d'fii, not hooked to any ollici. The rtasou is, man is
spirit. Invisible influences run through sucioly. and make it. a mys­
terious whole full of life aiid inscrutable activity and capabilities.
Our individual existence is mystery ; our social still more. Printed ut tho In d u s tr ia l Press by Burjorjec Cursctjeo, Printer, and
‘ N o t h i n g c im a c t b u t w h e r e i t is !’ T r u e — i f y o u w i l l — o n l y
published by tho Theosophical Society at Breach Candy, Bombay,
 S U P PL E ME N T

TO

THE THEOSOPHIST-
V ol. 4. No, 1, BOMBAY. OCTOBER, 1882. No. ,17

T H E W O R K IN CEYLON. le c tu r e b y th o C o lo n el, w h ic h is s p o k e n ex-tempore and

Our la test a d v ic e s from C o lo n el O lco tt w ere from w ith o u t notes, a n d in terp reted , s e n te n c e b y sen te n c e, in to
th e S in h a le se la n g u a g e. A p r i n t e d b l a n k f o r m is t h e n l a i d
B a tim u lle, a sm a ll h a m let in th e C e y lo n ju n g le , som e
tw e n ty - fiv e m ile s fro m G a lle. H e w a s li v i n g in h is .t r a v e ll- upon th e ta b le and those, who w ish to su b scrib e to th e

in g -ca r t— th a t in g e n io u s co n stru ctio n o f h is w h ic h excites N a tio n a l Fund for fo u n d in g sch o o ls and p r in tin g and

the w onder of th e u n so p h istic a te d n a tiv es. A t W a lla w e , c ir cu la tin g B u d d h istic books and oth er litera ry m atter,

w h e r e h e le c t u r e d t h e d a y b efo re, h e w a s in c lo s e p r o x im i t y c o m e fo rw a rd , a n d t h e ir n a m e s are r e g iste r e d for p u b lic a tio n

to th e ju n g ly retreats of th e w ild e lep h a n t, cheeta and in t h e w e e k l y v e r n a c u la r j o u r n a l — t h e Sarasavi Sandaresa

w ild boar, but was not m o lested . H e d escrib es th e — w h ic h is is s u e d a t C o lo m b o b y o u r lo cal B r a n c h at th at

country as c h a r m in g iu an artistic sense, th e la n d sca p e p la ce. The aggregate su b scrip tio n is often , th ou gh not

c o m p r is in g w o o d e d h ills, a w in d in g v a lle y p f p a d d y -field s, a lw a y s, a la rg e am ou n t. It has been as h ig h as

and a tro p ica l lu x u ria n c e ol v eg eta b le form s and tin ts R s. 2 ,0 0 0 in o n e d a y , a n d a s lo w as Rs 5, a ll d e p e n d i n g

m e e tin g th e e y e a t e v e r y sid e. T h e d is tr ic t, a n d , in fact, u p o n th o c o m p a r a tiv e p o v e r ty o f t h e lo c a lity , t h e in te r e st

all C e y l o n h ith erto v is it e d , is p a r a d is a ic a l ly verdant and s h o w n b y th o s e n io r p riest, and th e p a in s tak en by th e

refresh in g to th e sig h t, a la n d o f p erp etu al sp rin g , ra th er v illa g e headm en to canvass from h o u se to h o u se before

th a n o f s u m m e r , for tlie t e m p e r a t u r e s t a n d s a t a n a v e r a g e o f t h e C o l o n e l ’s a r r i v a l . T h e w on d er o f w on d ers to tlie ih o st

about 81° F a ll, th e year round. Our co lle a g u e h a s m ore i n t e l l i g e n t a m o n g o u r S in h a le s e c o lle a g u e s is t h a t C o lo n e l

th a n o n c e h i s regret, t h a t o u r f r i e n d s in t h e c o u n t r i e s o f t h e O l c o t t is a b le to c o lle c t a n y t h i n g a t all for s o h i g h a n o b je c t

W e s t c o u ld n o t d r o p in u p o n h i m a n y d a y w h e n h i s l e c t u r e as n a tio n a l e d u c a tio n and relig io u s reform , from a p eo p le

is b e i n g g i v e n , a n d w i t n e s s t h e p ic tu re sq u e scene. U su a lly so illitera te in th e m a ss a n d so u tte r ly u n a c c u s to m e d to
h e s p e a k s in s id e t h e p r e c in c ts o f t e m p le s , w h e r e t h e y lia v o th is so rt o f u n selfish c o m b in a tio n . M r. G o o n eratn e, th e

prepared a pandal, or p rea ch in g stan d , m a d e o f a fram e­ d i s t i n g u i s h e d G a l l e M u d a l i y a r o f t h e G o v e r n o r ’s G a t e , s a y s

w ork o f u n d ressed a r ee a n -p a lm tim b e r, w ith a th a tc h in g o f t h a t t h e r e is n o t a m a n in all C e y lo n , n a t i v e or E u rop ea n ,

p a lm -le a v e s, a n d d e c o r a tio n s o f flo w ers, clu sters of young w h o c o u ld g e t t h e S in h a le s e to su b scr ib e on e-ten th part

k in g - c o c o a n u t s (co lo u r, a m ix t u r e o f c r e a m a n d u m b e r s h a d ­ of w hat th ey a ie g iv in g in response t o C o l o n e l O l c o t t ’s

in g in to e a c h o th e r ), H ags a n d g a y c l o t h s ; or in t h e t e m p l e a p p e a ls. T h e a p p e a r a n c e o f t h e S in h a le s e p e o p le is s tr ik in g

dliarmasala (p rea ch in g -h a ll), if th ere he one. A pro­ to W estern eyes. T h e y are o f a brow n c o lo u r lik e th e
c essio n of p eo p le w ith flags, to m -to m and p ip e-p la y ers, H in d u s o f th eir ow n parent stock ; o f good statu re; and
co stu m ed sw ord an d sm a ll-stiek d an cers, an d Yakdeherullc o ften h a n d so m e — th o w o m e n fr e q u e n tly v ery p retty. O u t­
— d e v il-d a n cers w ea rin g huge grotesq u e m ask s and fan ­ s id e th e tow n s th e m e n w e a r n o c lo th in g e x c e p t a cloth
ta stica l c o s t u m e s — m e e t h im a m ile or so down th e road, (sarama) e n w r a p p e d a b o u t th e lo w e r p o rtio n o f t h e body,
and esco rt h im to th e te m p le or o th e r le c tu r in g p la ce. The and co n fin ed b y a b e l t o r w a i s t - s t r i n g ; th e ir h a ir is w o rn
first t h i n g , in order, is a lw a y s th e “ ta k in g o f P a n sil,” or lon g, tw is te d in to a “ G r e cia n -k n o t” at th e back of th e
recita tio n o f th e fiv e o b lig a tio n s t h a t e v e r y B u d d h is t ta k e s head ; and a “ round" co m b , su ch as sch o o l-g irls w ear, is
upon h im self, viz., to a b sta in from t a k i n g life, fr o m stea l­ w orn. T h e w o m e n h a v e , b e s id e t h e c lo th , a D u tch short-
in g, from u n la w fu l s en su a l gra tifica tio n , from fa lseh o o d , ja c k e t, or s p e n c e r o f w h it e ca lico or m u slin , a n d lo n g p in s
and from th e u s e o f in t o x ic a t in g beverages and stu p efy in g th ru st th rou gh th e knot of t h e i r h air. B o tli sex es, as a
drugs. The p riest in to n e s th e words in P a li, a n d th o ru le, a r e b a r e fo o t.
p eo p le repeat each p le d g e in con cert. N ext com es a On th e 3rd of Septem ber, th e sets of tru st-d eed s by
b rief address from th e s e n io r p riest, r e c o m m e n d in g th e w h ic h C o lo n e l O lc o tt, a s p rin cip a l creator o f th e S in h a le s e
p eo p le to support C o lo n el O l e o t t ’s ob ject. T hen th e N a tio n a l B u d d h is tic F u n d , o rg a n ized n B o a rd o f T r u ste e s
 a n d a n i n d e p e n d e n t . B o a r d o f M a n a g e r s o f t l i c T ru st., in tin; “ B R A N D S P L U C K E D FRO M T IIE B U R N I N G ”.
S o u th ern P ro v in ce ot' C ey lo n , w ere sig n ed , sea led and
Statement, show ing the num ber o f B oys in the Theo.iophioal Society's
r e c o r d e d i n t l i c R e g i s t r a r ’s O f f i c e n t G a l l e . On th e sam e B n d d h is t H igh School at O'olte, a d m itte d d u rin g the fir s t m onth.
d a y , C o lo n e l O lc o t t tr a n sfe r re d , to t h e c r e d it o f t h e T r u s t e r s ,

1
Total j
th e en tire sum a m o u n tin g ’ to about R s. fl,0 0 0 , he has From what School. VI. IV. lit. II. I. Remark.1'.
v-
c o llected in th e S o u th ern P r o v in ce th u s far; nnd all

;
m o n ies th en ceforth co llected w ill be d e p o site d in th eir Gallo Ccntrnl ... 1 i 1 1 1 0 Government.
jo in t nam es, Mt. CVilvnrv............. 2 7 S 0 8 31 62 Uonmn Catholic.
Richmond Hill ... 3 o 1 8 13 28 Wesleyfiu.
Rounn Vi.stn ............. 1 ■t 1 1 •1 14 25 Churcli of Engl.i nd
TH E COLOM BO BR A N C H .
Mazalla ............. 2 0 0 6 31 •13 Wesleyan.
L ife lias been in fu sed in to th e branch b y th e v isit of
Dnnzcrinra ............. ... 1 8 9 r.mklliist.
th e P resid en t-F o u n d er. The m em bers are v a rio u sly
M nterem bo............ 1 s) 6 WeBleynn.
o ccu p icd in co lle ctin g th e u n p a id su b scrip tio n s to th e
N a t i o n a l F u n d c o lle c t e d b y C o lo n e l O lc o t t in t h e W estern
Mnkitluwa _ ... ...
China garden ... .. 1 1 Buddhist;.
P r o v in ce la st year, in o r g a n is in g th e new p r i n t i n g o ffice,

a t w h ich th e Sandciresa n e w s p a p e r a n d all sorts of tracts

Totno-ada M> ... 1 ... 3 4 Wesleyan.
a n d p a m p h le ts arc to b e p rin ted ; a n d o th er good w orks. Pilame ... ... ... ... 1 ... I 1
T h e P resid en t, M r. A n d r e w P ereira., and new S ecretary, Miliddmvn ... >ti 2 o 2
M r . C . ,P. G o o n c w a r d e n e , a, m o s t e s t i m a b l e a n d sy ste m a tic Wesleytin.
Wnlnhnnduwn... ... ... 1 0 1-1 21
g e n tle m a n and a tr u e T h e o so p h ist, w ith th e co -o p era tio n
o f oth er m em bers, are d o in g- a ll th at t h e y can, to m a k e
Tnlpo ... ... t>- ... 1 1 o

t h e B ra n ch g iv e a g o o d a c co u n t o f its e lf d u rin g th e cu rren t

Tloromhorc ... ... ... O
O 3 3

year.
Ruddhist-- TemplcM ... .. SO 90
Out>stations ... 1 .. 1 1 3
T o t a Ij ................... 17 Ji) 14 218 305
GALLE T H E O S O P H IC A L -B U D D H T S T SCHOOL.

E d . N o t e . — A m i no w , liow do tlic M ission a ries o f v a r io u s

C h r i s t i n a seels like to tiiul tlie ab o v e Official S t a te m e n t bended
“ R l M N P S I’LL’CKHI) l1'! OM TIIH li UltN INT.,” IIS I llOJ often liend
(FOR PUISLIC INFORMATION). tlie ir s i n t e n i e n ts s h o w in g l.lie n u m b e r o f lienlhen c h ild r e n and
a d u lt s co n verted b}’ tin ni ? F o r , if th e y linvo the right. (o i-o
(1) “ T he T t i e o s o i ’I i i c a l S o c ie t y of G a lle ” w ill, r e g a r d tlie ir ('(inverts, llie B u d d h i s t s a n d the H i n d u s h a v e a fnr
c o n s id e r in g th e lo cal d e m a n d s, o p e n on th e 1 5 th S e p t e m b e r b e t t e r right. lo r e t u r n the compliment., co n sid erin g t h e y n re in
tlieir o w n u n l iv e c o u n t r y nnd that, th e y n e v er w o uld go o u t o f
in sta n t, a n English School, (w ith V e r n a c u la r In stru ctio n )
t h e i r w a y to tra v e l t o C h r i s t i a n Ir i k Is to jireiich t h e i r religion.
a t t h e S o c i e t y ’s O f f i c e , w h i c h i s h e l d i n the. large u p stair
s e a - v ie w b u ild in g a t P e ttig a la w a tta , G a lle.

( 2) T h is S c h o o l sh a ll b e opened in strict accordance

Om.
w ith th e G o v e r n m e n t S c h o o l r eg u la tio n s, m a n a g e d d ir e c tly
by th e S o c ie ty 's P resid en t and ta u g h t b y a s ta ff o f efficien t “ O U R A R Y A N F O R E F A T H E R S’ SO C IE T Y ”

and ex p erien ced T eachers. (T IN N E V E L L Y ).

(•>) S u b j e c t s o f in s tr u c tio n a r c t h o s e p r e s c r ib e d for th e

“ jVa cha Vidya, Samo Band huh’’
G o v e r n m e n t E x a m in a tio n s in ten d e d to prep are c a n d id a tes
in d u e course. (I n a u g u r a te d on th e 0 0 th o f V a isa k a , C h a itra b h a m , K a li
E ra 4 9 8 1 — c o r r e sp o n d in g to 1 1t h J u n e , .1882).
(4) T h is e s t a b lis h m e n t offers a s o u n d s e c u la r e d u c a t io n
in E n g l i s h , S i n h a l e s e , M a t h e m a t i c s , & c., t o c h i l d r e n o f all
T h e form al in a u g u r a tio n o f th is S o c ie ty was celeb rated
n a tio n s and creeds, and esp ecia lly endeavours to school at th e H in d u C o lle g e , V ira ra g h a v a p u ra .in — t h e v e r y p la c e
p u p ils w ho, by a tten d in g o th er sch o o ls, prosecute stu d ies w h e r e C o lo n e l O lc o tt d e liv e r e d la st year, to a la r g e H in d u
p a r tly a g a in s t th e ir co n scien ce. aiid icu cc, h is e la b o ra te and a d m ira b le le c tu r e on “ T h e
C iv iliz a tio n th at In d ia N e e d s.” M.R.Ry. S. R a m a sw a m ier,
(ii) S c h o o l fe e s w ill b e d e m a n d e d o n ly fro m su c h boys B .A ., F .T .S ., D is tr ic t R eg istra r, w a s u n a n im o u s ly v o ted to th e
a s c a n p a y ; a n d all o r p h a n s a n d r e a l ly p o o r ch ild ren , are c h a ir. A fte r th e o b jects o f th e S o ciety , as p u b lish ed on
t a u g h t free. p age 4 of th e S upplem en t t o t h e J u ly N u m b e r o f V o l. I II .

F o llo w in g arc th e charges of m o n th ly fees for V I . a n d

o f fh e T h eo so ph ist , w e r e r e a d b y th e S ecretary, M.R.Ry.
S. N a r a y a n a sn m i I y e r A v erg a l, o n e o f th e m e m b e r s g a v e a
V . Standards at 50 cen ts; IV . and III. Standards at 30
fin e address. A m ost a b le and e x h a u stiv e in a u g u r a l
cen ts; and II. a n d I. S ta n d a r d s a t 25 c en ts each. ad d ress b y th e C h a irm a n term in a ted th e p r o ceed in g s o f th e
day.
No fees whatever w ill he exacted for this year from all
T h e co n sid era tio n s th a t g a v e an im p e tu s to th e fo rm a ­
jmpils entering this School before the close of the current
tio n of th e S o c ie ty m a y b e th u s s u m m a r i s e d :—
month.
T h e m e m b e r s w e r e c o n s id e r in g w ith g r e a t eagerness as

G. C. A. J ayasekara, to th e b e s t way of m a n ifestin g tlieir s j m p a t b y w ith tb e

ob jects of th e T h e o so p h ic a l S o c ie ty , and th eir sin cere
President, Theosophical Society. a p p recia tio n and a p p ro b a tio n o f th e sin cere a n d u n selfish
efforts e v in c e d b y its tw o F o u n d e r s, e v e r s in c o tb e ir advent,
G a lle, 1st Septem ber, 1880. to th is la n d o f t h e A r y a s . W e had a lso to v in d ic a te th e
 m e m o r y o f ou r forefath ers— th o s e s a g e s w h o, in tlie hoary sq u a b b les, w e are lo sin g sig h t o f th e grand com m on cause
past w hen other co u n tries w ere o n ly a b o u t to e n te r th e o f N a tio n a l A d v a n c e m e n t. I t is o n t h e c o m m o n p la tfo r m o f

first s t a g e o f c i v i l i z a t i o n , n a y , w h e n very few , if any, be­ “ T h e o s o p h y ” o n ly , th a t o u r d ifferen ces b e in g m in im ise d ,

sid es A ryavarta, had th e le a st c o n cep tio n of a n y th in g w e can , w it h o u t fear o f fa ilu re, j o i n t l y w o r k for o u r m u tu a l
a p p ro a ch in g tho true type of civilization — had m ade th em ­ b e n e fit a n d h a p p in ess. The tw o Founders do n o t cla im

se lv e s an e v e r g lo rio u s n a m e a n d fa m e b y th eir profou nd eith er superhum an k n ow led ge, a ch iev em en ts in sorcery,

k n o w le d g e o f S cien ces, A r ts an d R e lig io n . I n th e sca le o f or in s p ir it u a l phenom ena. T hey do n o t profess to lea d

so cia l, in te lle c tu a l, m o r a l a n d sp iritu a l d ev elo p m en t, th ey t h e ir b e lie v e r s on to th e p a t h s o f H e a v e n o f in n o c e n t b liss anti

h a d a tta in e d th e h ig h e s t id e a l o f p e r fe c tio n — w ith v e ry few h a rp -p la y in g . N o r do th e y th rea ten th eir o p p o n e n ts w ith

e q u a l, an d n o n e su p erio r, to th em . W lm t, th e m oderns th e revenge of a ty ra n n ica l and b lo o d -th irsty d e ity th a t

b o a s t o f as d e v e lo p m e n t s , d is c o v e r ie s a n d i n v e n t i o n s in a r ts can doom th em a t h is w ill a n d p le a su r e to a n e te r n a l H e ll.

and scien ces, are b u t r e -d is c o v e r ie s and rep ro d u ctio n s of T h e y s im p ly s h o w u s t h e w a y t h a t w ill, if w e a c c e p t it, le a d

what was known in th ose days of old even to th e t o o u r r e©

g e n e r a tio n a n d m ateria l a d v a n c e m e n t.
lo w est chandala. A n d w h at are w e bu t th e d egraded sons As th ese tw o n o b le p h ila n th ro p ists c o n tin u e to
of a onco n o b le and w o rld -civ ilizin g n a tio n ! E ven in g iv e a stro n g h e lp in g hand to th e d ifferen t
th is K ali Yiiga can yet be fou n d , in th e caves am i r e lig io n s o f th is c o u n tr y , torn to shreds by th e c u n n in g
so litu d es o f m o u n ta in s, and forests, som e few rem nants m isc o n str u c tio n s a n d m isin terp retation s of th e zealou s
of th ose great m en, in th e person s of Y o g is. a n d d e e p C h ristia n P a d ris, th e la tter spared no p a in s to
But even th ese rare r ep re sen ta tiv e s of th e M ig h ty m is r e p r e s e n t a n d lo w e r th e m in th e estim a tio n of tlieir
P a st p u rp o sely and stu d io u sly, th ough for no reason of r e s p e c tiv e fo llo w ers. B u t, t h e s e c h a r g e s w ere, o n e a n d all,
je a lo u sy , k e e p th e m s e lv e s e n tir e ly a lo o f from th e profan e. p r o v e d to b e fa lse and g r o u n d less. The th an k s ol th e
F o r, th is o u r a g e — o n e so -c a lle d o f s c ie n tific a c u te n e s s and sy m p a th ise r s w ith th e tw o F o u n d ers are la r g e ly due to
s w e e p i n g n e g a t i o n — is a n a g e w hen our very sen ses are th eir lin eo n scien tio u s critics; for, h a d i t n o t b e e n i o r th e
d ou b ted, and sight i t s e l f is o f t e n lo o k e d u p o n a.s g u i l t y of d ir e c t a n d u t t e r ly fa lse c h a r g e s a g a in s t th e resp ecta b ility
o p tica l d elu sio n . B u t th e happy, d eserv in g few are not and so cia l p o sitio n th at th e Founders h eld in th eir
refused th e p r iv ile g e o f in itia tio n in to th e secret sa n ctified r e s p e c tiv e c o u n tr ie s, t h e real facts w o u ld n e v e r h a v e been
lo re, w h e n in d efa tig a b ly sou gh t. T h e cause why such m a d e so p u b lic .
fa v o u r s a r e s o r a re ly s h o w n b y o u r a d e p t s , is n o t t h a t t h e r e
“ T h e w h o le T ru th a b o u t th e T h eo so p h ica l S o c ie ty and
are n o m o re h o ly or great Y o g is, b u t th at th ere are so
its F o u n d e r s ” is n o w so w e ll k n o w n to t h e E n g lish -sp e a k ­
very few m en w orth y o f r ec e iv in g th eir favours, th an
in g and rig h t-m in d ed H in d u s th a t th e y can no lo n g e r be
w h ic h , th e r e are n o h ig h e r for o n o who knows w hat th ey
im p o se d upon by th e d issim u la tin g ad vocates of th e
confer.
N azarenc P ro p h et's creed. B u t s o m e ot th o se y e t, who do
T h e t r u t h is t h a t “ W e s t e r n Civilization” is b u t a r a p id n o t u n d erstan d E n g lish , are still la b o u rin g under m is­
rec e d in g to th o se days, w h e n , h a v in g reached th e apex co n cep tio n s, w h ile th ere are oth ers who are to ta lly
ig n o r a n t o f th e e x iste n c e o f such a S o c ie ty , an d th e real
o f its c iv iliz a tio n , o u r c o u n tr y w a s a t th e head o f a ll th e
g o o d its F o u n d e r s a r e d o in g to o u r c o u n tr y .
n a tio n s. It has b een u n d e rg o in g g r a d u a lly th e process o f
d e g e n e r a t io n for m a n y c e n t u r ie s , a u d n o w t h a t t h e a p e x o f I t is c h ie f ly for t h e w id e d i s s e m i n a t i o n o f t h e r e s u l t s of
t h e s ta g e o f m o r a l a n d s p ir itu a l r o tte n n e s s is a lm o s t r e a c h e d , t h e T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y ’s r e s e a r c h e s , a n d t h e v in d ica tio n
w e m u s t n o t allow ' i t to g o a n y fu rth er. T h e d w arfed an d o f its f o u n d e r s ’ ch a r a cter s th a t “ O u r A ryan F o refath ers’
d egen erate sons of A ryavarta h ave passed th ro u g h every S o c ie ty ” w as form ed. Our oth er m o tiv es, as im p ortan t
p lia sis of d eg ra d a tio n . They have even gone to th e as th e a fo resa id , w ill be m ore fu lly u n d erstood by a
le n g t h o f a d o p t in g E u r o p e a n d r e ss in p la ce of th e w ell- perusal of th e m otto and th e ob jects of th e S o c ie ty ,
a d a p ted , s im p le a n d c o n v e n ie n t n a tio n a l c lo th in g o f th eir a lr e a d y a n n o u n c e d .
fo refa th ers. T h e y h a v e ta k en to stro n g E u r o p e a n d rin k s L ik e a ll o th e r g o o d u n d e r ta k in g s , o u rs h a s n o t r e m a in e d
in stea d o f w ater, th o p la in d rin k of nature. T hey are free fr o m t h e a t t a c k s of d ecryin g and e v er-d isp a ra g in g
n ow a ssu m in g an affected, h a u gh ty, ca reless dem eanour, en e m ie s. W c w ere n o t spared our share of sca n d a lo u s
in ste a d of th eir w on ted ex p ressio n of sim p licity and an d u n d eserv ed reproach and o b lo q u y . S u ffic e it to say
m od esty. T h e sacred V e d a s are n o w sp o k e n o f as tush and here th a t th o se, w ith w h o se feelin g s onr ob jects d id . not
nonsense. I s th is d ep lo ra b le a n d m o r tify in g s ta te o f th in g s h a r m o n is e , w e r e n o t s lo w in r e m a r k in g th at our attem p t
to b e a llo w e d to co n tin u e ? S h o u ld A ryarvarta still go w as U to p ia n , a u d no b e tte r th a n a c h ild ish d ream .
o n b e w a i l i n g in s e c r e t h e r lo s t g r a n d e u r ? L et us not be
A carefu l e x a m in a tio n o f th e r e su lt o f M issio n a ry w ork
c o w ed d o w n or d a u n te d b y a n y o b sta cles, sin c e th ere m ay
in In d ia w ill show th at th e T in n e v e lly D istrict has
still b e f o u n d to s u r v iv e in o u r c o u n t r y som e M ahatm as
s u p p l i e d m o r e c o n v e r t s t h a n a n y o t h e r p l a c e in In d ia . A.
w h o m a y in sp ir e h e r s o n s to h a s te n to th e h e lp o f th eir
fu r th e r c a refu l e n q u ir y w ill s h o w t h a t th e so n ic k -n a m e d
d y in g m o th e rla n d !
helly Christians a re a ll fo u n d a m o n g t h e illiterate Sudras,
W h e n a tr u e p a trio tic sp irit m o v e s u s ; w h e n we get th e th e to d d y-d raw ers, and P a ria h s (o rig in a lly sla v es), and
firm d eterm in a tio n to go deep in to th e stu d y of th e t h a t t h e s e form t h e g r e a t m a jo rity . T h is m u st n a tu ra lly
a c h ie v e m e n ts o f tlie a n c ie n ts , to n o tic e th e p r e se n t d e g r a d e d lea d to th e in feren ce th at th e M issio n a r ie s in v a ria b ly
co n d itio n of our country, and reso lv e to spare no en trap th e m o s t ig n oran t and u n cu ltu r e d cla sse s as th e
efforts to c o n tr ib u te to w a r d s a r e v iv a l of h e r g lo r y ; w hen ea siest and fittest v ic tim s upon w h ic h th ey can w ork
s u c h a f e e lin g t a k e s a firm h o ld o f t h e h e a r t s o f a n a t io n , its m isc h ie f m ost, e ffe c tu a lly ; th e resu lt v a ry in g accord­
r e g e n e r a tio n m a y in v a r ia b ly b e sa id to have begun. The in g to th e nature and q u a lifica tio n s of th e persons
a d v e n t o f T h e o s o p h y h a s la id th is s t e p p in g s to n e . Im p elled so caught in th eir snare. T lie illiter a te becom es
b y c e r t a i n M a HATH As, t h e t w o Founders o f th a t S o c ie ty a c tu a lly converted , w h ile th e so -ca lled ed u ca ted H in d u
have set out ou th eir arduous and h ero ic task . T hey youth is m ade to often lo se b e lie f iu h is own
preach no new r elig io n , th ey fa v o u r n o p a rticu la r creed, r elig io n , a n d t h e o r th o d o x is m isin fo rm ed . T hese P ad ris
nor do th ey en terta in th e rem o test id ea of d estr o y in g a im at n o th in g less th an e ra d ica tin g our so cia l and
a n y of th e e sta b lish e d r elig io n s. T h e i r m is s o n is s i m p l y to r elig io u s p rin cip les, by so w in g d isco rd am ong o u rselv es.
show th a t 110 r e l i g i o n is u t t e r l y d e v o i d o f truths, and th at S u c h o f o u r m e n a s a re d e ser te r s to W e s t e r n in flu e n c e arc
ours esp ecia lly te e m s w ith p ro fo u n d v erities sig n ifica n tly m o r e u n s y m p a th e tic w ith ou r v iew s th an th e C h ristia n s
h id d en , as t h e y m a y b e from s k im m in g b ig o tr y , in to lera n ce th em se lv e s.
a n d h y p o crisy ; a n d th a t th e s a m e ete rn a l truths u n d erlie Am ong m en of th is cla ss, th ose th at know E n g lish ,
th e d ifferen t r e lig io n s o f o u r c o u n tr y , m a n y a n d a p p a r e n tly are, u n d e r th e a u sp ic e s o f th e T h eo so p h ica l p u b lica tio n s,
co n flictin g , a s t h e y a u d th e ir e x te r n a l r ite s a n d observances n ow g a in in g b e lie f and b e g i n n i n g to b e c o n v in c e d of th e
m ay be. A m id st our d isg ra cefu l and p etty secta ria n p reciou s tru th s im b e d d e d in our scrip tu res. But th e
orth od ox, av Iio are j e a l o u s o f a ll w h o do not. b e lo n g to
t h e i r c l a s s , a r o f a r f r o m b e l i e v i n g t h a t tho, eso teric truths A n d l i k e t h e i n e s s e n t i a l s u m m e r a ir,
in th o V e d a s can be u n d erstood by tlio so -c a lle d Mien- O r li.ke t h e m o o n l i g h t b r o o d i n g o n t h o sen ,
chchhas, w h ile any am ount of lab ou r to co n v in ce O r l i k o a h a p p y d r e a m o n e y e l i d s fair,
th em by m ere w ords— th a t th e T h e o so p h ic a l S o cie ty is I lin g ered o n h er b o so m lo v in g ly :
a c tu a lly w o r k in g for our g o o d — is p r a c tic a lly fu tile. It A n d m a n y a sh a jie o f w o n d e r a n d d e lig h t
is for t h e m t h a t o u r a t t e m p t s a t t r a n s la t io n and p u b lica ­ L e a p t from th a t m y s tic u n io n in to lig h t!
tio n o f b ook s, p a m p h le ts an d tracts, are in te n d e d . .

A lth o u g h onr ob jects m a y seem im p o ss ib le o f r ea lisa tio n 8

a t t h e lirst g l a n c e , w e a r e n o t l a c k i n g in c o u r a g e t o w ork I a m t h e L if e o f life, t h e S o u l o f sou l,
for th e ir a t t a i n m e n t ; for, th e T h co so p h ica l S o cie ty has I a m th e u n se e n G od felt everyw here !
su b sta n tia ted th e tru th th at “ N o th in g is im p o ssib le O ’e r l i v i n g t h i n g s I h o l d s u p r e m e c o n t r o l ,
u n d e r t h e S u n , ” i f o n l y s o u g h t fo r in th e r ig h t d irectio n . A n d in m y p r e s e n c e D e a t h fo r g e ts d esp a ir,
T h is d irectio n is t h e one tlia t lia s been and m ay from A n d r is e s fr o m h i s a s h e s : fr o m m e flow
tim e to tim e be su g g e ste d by th e T h eo so p h ica l S o c ie ty S t r e a m s of d e l i g h t to w a t e r field s o f w o e !
a n d its affilia ted b o d ies.

In c o n clu sio n , I, in th e n a m e o f o n r S o c ie ty , b e g to s ta te !)
th at our A sso c ia tio n cannot but prosper nnder th e
M o tio n an d c h a n g e are b u t th e v ie w le ss w in g s
sy m p a th y a n d p atron age o f th e T h e o so p h ic a l S o c ie ty and W i t h w h i c h c r e a t i o n p l u m e s i t s u p w a r d flight. ;
all the right-minded JJindus, N am asto.
A n d d e a th is t h e d ark c lift w h e n c e w h o s o sp r in g s
Is n en rcr to t h e fo u n ta in o f m y lig h t.
T. S. V . M , 0 . A. T . S.
L ie b e s t o b ta in s it w h o is m o st lik e m e ,—
B u t t h e n h e is n o m o r e , b u t I a m b e !

10
H Y M N TO B E AMU.
M v voice, s o u n d s l i k o a t r u m p e t in t h e e a r
] O f sa in ts a n d p r o p h ets in t h e so litu d e
O f m o u n t a in s or o f t h e ir o w n h e a r ts : t h e fear
T h e m is t w h ich h id E te r n ity from sig h t
O f flesh a n d m a t t e r d a r e n o m o re in t r u d e
O f its o w n s h a d o w , w h ic h w a s lik e a v eil
W h e r e v e r I a s s e r t m y p o w e r d i v i n e :—
T h e m o r n in g clo u d s Aveave f r o m t h e b e a m s o f l i g h t , T h e realm s o f p u rity are e v e r m in e!
R o lle d slo w a w a y , A vhen fro m t h e fa r th e s t p a lo
O f th in g s w h ic h lo n g had v a n ish ed in to n o u g h t,
11
I sp r a n g in to e x is t e n c e lik e a th o u g h t I
1 Am T hat I A m ! M o rta l, a sk no m ore!
T h o u , too, lik e m e im m o r ta l a n d e tern e,
M a y ’s t g r o p e t h y w a . y u n t o t h a t s e c r e t d o o r ,
A n d w ith m e s p r a n g a ll t h a t h a s life fr o m life : W h e n c e w h o so en ters n e v e r m a y return
F o r a s tr a n g e lo n g i n g se iz e d u p o n m y b ra in , T o tell t h e ta le o f t h e d e e p m y s te r y
A p a s s i o n l i k e t h e p o e t ’s, w h e n t h e s t r i f e O f m i g h t y F a t e , w h i c h is N e c e s s i t y !
O f ru sh in g th o u g h ts e x h a u sts h im w ith th e ir p a in .
P a n t i n g I g a s p e d for b r e a th , a n d in t h a t p a u s e ,
S. J. P a d s h a h ,
T h e u n iv e r s e r ec e iv e d its c h a n g e le s s la w s !
F ello w , T h e o so p h ic a l S o c ie ty .

:!

A n d in t h a t p a u s e I b u r s t t h e c h r y sa lis,
W h i c h lo c k e d m y b e in g , ns c lo u d s lo ck t h e d e w , ^Personal Items-
A n J a s t h e d e w d o e s w ith a tea rfu l k iss
F i l l t h e e a r t h ’s h e a r t w i t h s o f t n e s s , a n d r e n e w
M e. G r e g o r is E d ir e w m h ie , F .T .S ., S ecretary of th e
H e r flo w e r s ’ b lu s h e s , s o m y s p ir it fell
G a lle ( C e y lo n ) T h e o s o p h ie n l S o c ie t y , is o n e of th e m ost
U p o n t h e w o rld w ith a r e v iv in g s p e ll !
u n s e lf is h ly in d e f a t ig a b l e officers w e lia v e ever seen. H e
is s p a r in g n o p a in s t o c o n t r i b u t e to w a rd s th e success of
4
C o l o n e l O l c o t t ’s c a n v a s s o f t h e G a l l e D i s t r i c t t h i s y e a r .
S t a r s , s u n s a n d p l a n e t s o p e ’d t h e i r d r e a m - d a z e d v i s i o n ,
U n t o t h ’ a w a k e n in g lig h t, in s o le m n w o n d e r ;
T h e c a p tiv e w in d s rushed fro m tlie ir a ir -b o u n d priso n ,
T o m e e t t h e s e a - w a v e s Avhic.h l e a p e d u p i n t h u n d e r ; In c o n n ectio n w ith th e sa m e w ork m u c h p r a ise is due
E a rth a n d th e o cea n h e a v e d w ith life n e w -b o r n , to M r. T h o m a s de S ilv a A rn a ra su riy a , F .T .S ,, of U nna-
W ith th e n ew daw n of a G reat C y c l e ’s m o r n ! w atan a. A t each of C o lo n el O l c o t t ’s lectu res, w ith th e
p rep a ra tio n s for w h ic h he has o ccu p ied h im se lf, th e
s u b s c r ip tio n for t h e S in h a le se N a tio n a l Fund has been
A n ti as th e n io u n ta in -sn o w s p e r p etu a lly , la r g e a n d a lm o s t t h e w h o le o f it p a id d o w n in cash o n th e
A l l u r e d b y t h e s u n ’s a r d o u r , w i n d t h e i r w a y , sp ot.
T h r o u g h s t r e a m s a n d rivers, to t h e f a r t h e s t sea,
T ill th e s a m e p o w er, w h ic h led th e ir s te p s a stray.
D r y u p th e ir fa llin g tea rs, a n d so resto re M r . S im o n P e r e ir a A b aya w arden e, F .T .S ., h a s b e e n
T h e crrants, h e a r t-w h o le , to th e ir h o m e s o n c c m o r e : e le c t e d C h a ir m a n , an d M r. D . C. P. W e e r a k o o n , F .T .S ., S e c ­
retary o f th e B o a rd o f T r u ste e s o f th e S in h a le se N a tio n a l'
G B u d d h istic Fund in th e Sou th ern P ro v in ce of C e y lo n .
The m o n ies are d e p o site d in th e G a lle B ranch of th e
E ’e n t h u s , d i s s o l v e d b y L o v e D i v i n e , m y s p i r i t
C h a r te r e d M e r c a n tile B a n k o f In d ia , L o n d o n a n d C h in a .
F l o w e d , p e n e t r a t i n g N a t u r e ’s h e a r t ; a n d s h e
F o r th w ith b e c a m e lik o w h a t s h e d id in h er it,
I m m o r t a l a n d e n d u r i n g e ’e n l i k e m o I T h e B o a rd of M a n a g e rs o f th e s a m e F u n d h a v e chosen
A n d from h er I r e c e iv e d w h a t I h a d g iv e n , M r. D . 0 . D . S . G o o n e s e k a r a , F .T .S -, C h a ir m a n , a n d , M r.
A nd we were in tertw ined lik e earth and heaven ! G reg o ris E d ir e w e r e , F .T .S .. S ecretary.
 M r. W illiiu n Q . J u d g e , J o in t R e co rd in g Secretary of i n a d v e r t e n t l y h a v e c r e p t in , in r ev isin g th e m an u scrip t,
o u r S o c ie ty , h a s r e c e n tly ru iu r u e d to N e w Y o r k from S o u th c o u ld , w e th in k , b e e lim in a te d by a carefu l reader, <*.nd
A m e r ic a , -w here h e lia s a la r g e i n t e r e s t in s ilv e r m in e s . th e “ errors,” th at “ PI. X .” speaks of, are r ea lly no
errors a t all, u n le s s t h e y b e th e p r o d u c t o f t h e ig n o r a n c e o f
th e reader. “ Isis U n v e ile d ” w as n e v e r m e a n t to g iv e a n y ­
th in g lik e a sy ste m a tic ex p o sitio n of th e H erm etic
O u r fa ith fu l frien d , M rs. H o l l i s B illin g , F .T .S ., has gone P h ilo so p h y in any p art, and, as it suffices to s t im u la t e
from N e w Y o r k t o L o n d o n for a v i s i t o f a few m on th s to e n q u ir y , it s u c c e e d s in its object. The reader of it, not
r ec u p er a te h er h ea lth . b e in g in p o ssessio n o f m o s t of th e k n o w led g e in connec­
tio n w ith th e several p o in ts n o tic e d th erein , is lik ely
to observe see m in g d isc r e p a n c ie s and errors w h ich

The B aron and B aroness Von Vay, F F .T .S ., have sh o u ld not, how ever, m isle a d h im in to su p p o sin g th at

returned to tlieir ch a r m in g estate at G o n o b itz , S ty ria , t h o b o o k is fu ll o f ir r e c o n c ila b le s t a t e m e n t s ; a n d , th e r e fo r e ,

a fte r p a s s in g s o m e m o n th s a t t h e A u s tr ia n ca p ita l. n o t w o r th y ot carefu l stu d y,

A s to t h e “ B ro th e rs,” “ H . X .” states th at lie “ d is­

tin c tly h o ld s th a t, k n o w in g w h a t th e y do, it is a bin ou

UlIifojsojrliiral Cliorrecipxtniieiu'c. th eir part n ot to c o m m u n ica te to th e w o r ld a ll th e
k n o w led g e th ey p o ssess.” W e sh o u ld lik e to know
“ H . X . ’s ” d e f i n i t i o n o f t h e w o r d s m . T h e w ord ord in arily
“ H. X .” A N D T H E “ B R O T H E R S”
m e a n s a tran sgression o f th e D iv in e la w , and, as “ H . X .”
cred its th e B rothers, and th em o n ly , w ith “ p o ssessin g
th e h ig h e s t k n o w led g e,” h e m u st con ced e th a t th ey ought
TO THE SECRETARY AT THK HEAD-QUARTERS. to know m uch b etter what is and w hat is not sin.
C o n s iste n tly w ith th is o p in io n w e w o u ld expect “ H. X .”
........... W e h a v e r e a d w i t h m o r e th an usual in terest th e
T h k o s o p iu s t f o r t h e c u r r e n t m o n t h . It is to be d eeply- to h o ld it a s in in w e ll- t o - d o p e r so n s n o t to g iv e away to

r e g r e t t e d “ H . X . ” s h o u ld w r ite in t h e t o n e h e h a s chosen t h e w o r ld a ll t h e ir ric h e s, a fte r k e e p i n g j u s t su fficien t for

t o d o ........... 1 a m to ld a h o u s e h o ld e r (grihastha) can be a th eir w a n ts.
p ro b a tio n a ry th o u gh not an “ accepted” c h e la . It so,
p erh a p s m a n y m o r e T h e o s o p h is ts w o u ld lik e to a sp ire ibr As “ H. X . ” is not in p o ssessio n of all th e facts

t h e p o sitio n . co n cern in g th e B rothers, and th e h e ig h t, d epth, and

n a t u r e o f t h e i r k n o w l e d g e , i t is c e r t a i n ly p r e m a t u r e o n h is
W ith b e s t fr a te iL a l c o m p lim e n ts , 1 r em a in ,
part to assert th a t th e B rothers “ care n o th in g about
Y ours m o s t fra tern a lly , c o m p le te a c c u r a c y ” or t h a t th e y are “ u n a b le to a n sw er th e
B is h e n L a l l , M .A ., a r g u m e n ts o f tlieir q u estio n ers.” If th is p h ilo so p h y , so
e a g e r l y c a l l e d f o r b y “ H . X . , :’ i s m e r e l y t o s e r v e t h e r e a d e r
P r e sid e n t o f th e R o h ilc u n d T h e o so p h ic a l S o ciety .
o f it a s t h e T h e o r y or s p e c u la tio n o f a s e t o f reclu ses, it w o u ld
b e s c a r c e l y w o r t h h a v i n g ; b u t , i f i t is r ea lly to serve to
B a reilly , 9 th S e p te m b e r , 1 8 8 2 .
c h a n g e o u r fa lse n o tio n s o f th in g s and put an im p erfect
k n o w l e d g e o n a co rrect b a sis, th en m u st th ose, who ask
for t h a t k n o w le d g e , striv e, a s far a s p o ssib le, to ra ise th e
to n e o f m o r a lity — r ig h t th o u g h t, w ord, and s p e e c h — for
11 .
t h a t is t h e k e y t o h i g h e r k n o w l e d g e . W e s t e r n civ iliza tio n
a im s sim p ly at in tellec tu a l d ev elo p m en t, and m oral
I r e g r e t o u r B r o t h e r s o f t h e ........... S o c i e t y d o not under­
p r o g r e s s is w ith it o f se c o n d a r y c o n s id e r a tio n . H e r e itis th e
s ta n d th e ir p o sitio n . “ H . X . ’s ” l e t t e r i s n o t w r i t t e n in a
reverse, and th e m ere d esire to g ra tify th e in tellec t is
g o o d sp irit. H e ta k e s u p o n h im se lf to ju d g e as to what
th e r e fo r e n o t e a s ily c o m p lie d w ith . I t s e e m s to u s t h a t w h e n
k n o w le d g e sh o u ld b e g iv e n to th e p u b lic by th e M a h a tm a s
a sin cere an d c o n so lid a ted effort is m ade to g iv e m oral
and what is their d u t y ! T h e r e is so m e th in g in t h e very
p r o g r ess its r ig h t p la c e in m o d e r n civ iliza tio n , th e know­
c o n s titu tio n o f th e W e ste r n s, w h ic h m a k e s th e m not very
led ge, th a t “ H . X .” says is p a in fu lly d o led out, w ill be
fit r e c ip ie n t s of s u c h fa v o u r s a n d s u c h k n o w l e d g e a s have
im p a rted faster th an at present. Im p a tien ce raises
b een vou ch safed to th em . The E asterns have a great
u n n e ce ssa r y o b sta cles an d n o one, w h o e a rn estly seeks to
a d v a n ta g e in th is r csp eet over th e ir W e s t e r n B ro th ers.
g a in s o m e t h in g o f th is h ig h e r k n o w led g e, o u g h t now and

W it h b e st w ish e s a n d k in d regards, a g a in , b y c o n ju rin g u p v a rio u s d ou b ts, to th in k o f c lo sin g

th eir c o n n e c tio n w ith th e B ro th e rs to w h o m wc certa in ly
Y o u r s s in c e r e ly a n il fra tern a lly , f e e l t h a n k f u l for e v e n th e little th ey have im p a rted to
us. W e h a v e e v e r y r e a s o n to t a k e a h o p e f u l v ie w o f th is
K i s iiu n L a l l , B . A . ,
c o n n e c t io n w it h t h e B r o t h e r s ot w h o m it b e h o v e s u s to s p e a k
P r e sid e n t o f th e C h o h a n T h eo so p h ica l S o c ie ty . a lw a y s w ith resp ect. “ I I . X . ” is , w e b e l i e v e , t h e a u t h o r o f t h e
first n u m b e r o f t h e H i n t s o n E s o t e r i c T h e o s o p h y ; if so, h is
C aw npore, O th Septem ber, 1882. own w ritin g tea ch es us in som e m easure to be p a tien t
an d p erseverin g. W e certa in ly a d m ire h is honest and
o u t s p o k e n v i e w s g i v e n o u t i u h i s l e t t e r w h i c h , h o w e v e r , is
lik e ly to m is le a d h is rea d ers in s o m e resp ects. H e is in
III. a p o s itio n to in s p ir e us w ith co n fid en ce and urge us ou
to great perseveran ce ; and, th erefore, any little d is­
TO TIIE EDITOR OF THE “ THEOSOPHIST.” a p p o i n t m e n t , t h a t h e m i g h t s h o w , is lik e ly to h a v e undue
in flu en ce. W i t h a ll r e s p e c t, th e r e fo r e , for “ H . X . , ” w e s a y
M adam e, a g a in ,— t h e r e is n o rea so n to d e sp o n d . ’

In th e last n u m b e r of th e T h e o s o p h is t, “ H . X .,” a
N a y r o ji D o r a b ji K h a n d a l a v a l a , B . A . L - L .B .,
“ l a y d i s c i p l e , ” s t a t e s t h a t “ ‘ I s i s U n v e i l e d ’— f o r a l l b u t t h e
a d e p t s a n d c h e la s — t e e m s w i t h w h a t a r e p r a c t ic a lly errors.” P r e sid e n t o f th e P o o n a T h e o so p h ic a l S o ciety .
T h i s s t a t e m e n t , h o w e v e r , is l i k e l y to m i s l e a d a n d d i s h e a r t e n
mauy a reader of "Isis.” Some of the mistakes that may 20 th September, 1882,
 IV . 87 C. R a m a R a o 47 N . P a r t Ii a s a r:i t h i
88 K . K a stu ri R a n g a ch a ria i A y a ie n g a r

TO THK EDITOR OK THK *' Til KO,SOPHIST.” 89 A. N arayon 48 ( S ig n a t u r e in T a m il)

40 A . S rin iv a s R o w 49 C h in te k u m u r p r a sa d
M adam e, 41 A . C h in ch ia h 50 K isou ri. S i n g h
42 R. P artim sarad i 51 D. Soobba Rao

In th o T h e o s o p h is t f o r S e p t e m b e r , w o f i n d a l e t t e r f r o m 48 K e g se w c h u n d L a id •52 T . R u n g a C l i a r l u

“ H . X .,” c o n d e m n in g o u tr ig h t tlie c o n d u c t o f th e M a h a tm a s 4t T. if. Itajiu r. 53 C. P a r tlia sa r a d y P illy

in , w h a t w c c o n s id e r to be, tlie m o s t im p io u s term s. W c, 4:") M . S u b b a r a y a d u 54 V . K . R u n g a C lia r lu
a s tr u e H in d u s , a n d n o t as T h e o s o p liis ts , feel it o u r d u t y to 4 (! C. V e n k a ta k ristn ia li 55 C. U . S u b b a R a v
p r o t e s t a g a i n s t liis s t a t e m e n t s w h ic h a re n o t v erifia b le. N ello re, J9 S e p tem b e r, 1 8 8
“ H . X . ” c o n d e m n s t h e m for t h e s i m p l e r e a s o n t h a t th o s e
g r e a t B e in g s, w h o k n o w b e tte r th an a n y p erson liv in g , h a v e
n o t all a t o n c e r e v e a le d to th e p u b lic t h e secret k n o w led g e To THE KDITOK OF THE “ THKOSOPHIST".
th e y possess. T h is o n ly show s how im p a tie n t and h asty jMADAME,
“ H . X . ” is . H e does not see, b e i n g a E u r o p e a n , in w h a t I h a v e t o s a y a w o r d a b o u t “ H . X . ’s ” l e t t e r i n t h e T h e o s o -
v e n e ra tio n w c, H in d u s, h o ld th o se e m in e n t B ein g s, n o tw ith ­ i’) LIST l o r Septem ber. It show s th at “ H . X .” is not in
sta n d in g th a t w e are th o r o u g h ly a w a re o f th e te d io u s and th at fram e of m in d w h ich is a b so lu tely necessary for a
tir e so m e tria ls a d isc ip le has to pass th ro u g h , b efore he c h e la . Sish Bhav is a sine qua non for a ll upadesh. If
is p e r m it t e d in i t ia t io n in t o t h e m y s t e r ie s o f N a t u r e . “ H. X .” has not th e h u m b le sp irit of a C h e la and,
The. v e r y S a n sk r it w o rd “ S u s h r u s h a ” im p o rts th e id ea w ith h is lim ite d k n ow led ge, ta k es upon h im se lf to
o f im p lic it o b e isa n c e to th e orders o f th e M a h a tm a s, w it h ­ ju d ge of what is r ig h t anti rea so n a b le for t h e adepts
out g o in g in to th e q u estio n of th eir r ea so n a b len ess or to do, lie does not u n d erstan d h is p o sitio n . R ea lly 1
a p p ro p ria ten ess. stan d a sto n ish e d to sec th at th e Brothers have con­
I n a lm o st ev ery P u ran a, w c read of th e d iscip le b e in g descended to con fer in e stim a b le an d ex ce p tio n a l fav o u rs
m a .d e to u n d e r g o a ll m a n n e r o f h a r d s h ip for y e a r s t o g e t h e r , o n a l a y C h e l a w h o , w h a t e v e r h is l it e r a r y a c q u i r e m e n t s be,
a n d t h e n — (if th e G uru is th o ro u g h ly sa tisfied w ith th e h a s t h e a u d a c it y to t h i n k h e is q u a lifie d to r e c e iv e a ll th e
c o n d u c t o f t h e d is c ip le d u r in g t h e p e r io d o f tr i.il)— o n ly th e n h ig h e s t k n o w l e d g e t h e M a ste r s p ossess, w h o is so i m p a t ie n t
is h e t a u g h t w h a t h e is y e a r n in g after. T h is “ S u sh ru slia ,” as to t h in k h e can s w a llo w it a li a t o n e drau gh t, and who
is te r m e d b y “ H . X.’’ s l a v i s h , w h ile w e c o n s id e r it a great can be so u n g ra tefu l a n d d isr esp e c tfu l (from an O rien ta l
b o o n conferred u p o n us to w a rd s our S p iritu a l im p ro v e ­ p o in t of v ie w ) to th o se, w h o se “ sla v e ” a u Asiatic would,
m en t. E v en a fter years of “ S u sh r u sh a ,” s o m e tim e s we consider a great honour to be, although every body cannot
se e th a t th e d iscip les aro n o t b le sse d w ith th e k n o w led g e ea sily h a v e th a t p r iv ile g e .
a fter w h ic h th e y are s e e k i n g ; a n d e v e n t h e n a d is c ip le is
Y o u r s fa ith fu lly ,
n o t p e r m i t t e d to sp e a k d isresp ectfu lly o f h is M aster. If,
P.
th erefore, th e m a tte r sta n d s th u s w ith th e H in d u s th em ­
s e lv e s w h o h a v e a r ig h t to d e m a n d o f t h e ir M asters such
p o w e r s a s t h e y p o s s e s s , h o w c a n a E u r o p e a n l i k e “ H . X . ”—
w h o s e h a b its o f life fr o m t h e b e g in n in g , a n d w h o s e m e n t a l
a n d m oral tr a in in g arc d ia m etrica lly o p p o se d to th o se o f th e
H i n d u s — e x p e c t to b e led in t o s e c r e t k n o w l e d g e w i t h i n s u c h T H E N E LL O R E T H E O SO P H IC A L
a sh ort sp a c e o f tim e a s h e h a s h a d th e g o o d lu ck to com e SO C IE T Y .
u n d e r t h e u o t ic e o f t h e B r o lh e r s . W h i l e s o ,“ H . X . ” h a s rea lly ,
b y h isp r e m a tu rc p r o to sta g a in stjth e c o n d u ct o f th e M ah a tm a s, It is w ith deep and sin cere sorrow th at I
a n d b y t h e e x p r e ssio n s w h ich h e h a s a p p lie d to th e m , g iv e n
h a v e to rep o rt th e d e a th o f our w orth y P r e si­
o ffen ce to m a n y a tru e H in d u m in d . H e , in stea d o f b e in g
dent, M.R.Ry. R am asw am i N a id u G a in , on
gratefu l to th em for th ose very crum bs of k n o w led g e
th e 9th in sta n t. H o was su fferin g from a
g ran ted by th em m o s t g r a c io u sly to h im , fin d s fa u lt w ith
th em a n d c a lls th em “ sin fu l” creatu res' T h is, in our c a r b u n c le w h ic h p r o v e d fa ta l. I n h is d e a th th e
o p in io n , is rea lly v e ry “ sin fu l” of “ H . X .” B ranch lo ses its c h ie f p illa r, as he was an
ardent and m ost d evoted T h e o so p h ist. H is
W e b e g to rem a in , loss to u s c a n u o t b e e a sily r ep la ced . N ow th at

M adam e, h e h a s le ft us, m a y h is so u l r e s t in peace!

Y o u r s v e r y tru ly .
R. C asava P il la y ,

S ecretary.
1 J. R ungiah N aidu 20 C. S e slia d r i R n o
S eptem ber 17, 1882.
2 R a m a in o h a n S in g h 21 V. Varad a r n y o o l o o
8 S. B a d ra eh ella m N n ia d o o .
4 T. K r ish n a sa w m y N a id u 22 V. V enkoba Rao
o G . S u b b ia h 23 D . V en k a tra m ia h
Sad new s in d eed , both for th e P iesid e n t-
G M . R a m ia li P illa y 24 L). S u b h a R o w
7 T . V . N a rra in R a o 25 Founder and th e C orresp on d in g Secretary.
K . S r e er a in ien g a r
8 L. V en k atu n b b a R ow 2(5 V. S e e th a R a m ia li On th eir la st annual tou r th is sp rin g , few
9 N . V asu dew R ow 27 N . K r is t n a m a C lia rlu have show n to th em m ore g en u in e k in d n ess,
10 N . V e e r a r a g h a v a C lia rlu 28 D o e r c a ta N a ra y a n ia h . s y m p a th y and h o sp ita lity th a n our la m e n ted
.11 B . L o liia h N a id u 29 P, M a llik lia rja u u R o w B rother. T h is y ea r s e e m s a fatal one in d ee d ,
12 N. A u b ra m a n ia A iy a r 80 K. S rin iv sa C hary
as on e a fter an o th er, so m e of our best T lico -
13 C. Su bbarow . : ; l 13. V . S u k l i o B i d d i
s o p h ists h a v e b e e n p a s s in g a w a y .— E d.
14 K . Seshachari A . Pi n n ey A d iy a
15 C. N a r a y a n a ia h A. A d in a ra y a u ia h
10 V. N a d h a m in i A iy a n g a r 84 C. V . M ia p p e n M o o d y
.17 R a i n c h a n dr.'i R a o 3o S. P rib ria h
18 K. B h im a R ao 3G M. V eld R a ta K r istn a
Printed nt tho In d u s tr ia l 7Vc,w by Burjorjeo Cursotjee, Printer, ami
10 (S ig n a tu r e in T a m il) Rao
published by the Thegaoyliical Society at Breach Candy, Bombay,
 /Ocreativ
^com m ons
A ttrib u tio n -N o n C o m m e rc ia l-S h a re A lik e 3 . 0 U n p o r te d

Y o u are free:

to S h a r e — l o c o p y , d is trib u t e a n d t r a n s m it t h e w o r k

to R e m ix — to ad ap t th e w o rk

©
U n d e r th e f o llo w in g c o n d it io n s :

CD
A t t rib u t io n — Y o u m u s t a ttrib u te t h e w o r k in t h e m a n n e r s p e c if ie d b y t h e a u t h o r
o r l i c e n s o r ( b u t n o t in a n y w a y t h a t s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e y e n d o r s e y o u o r y o u r u s e o f
th e w o r k ) .

N o n c o m m e r c ia l — Y o u m a y n o t u s e t h is w o r k f o r c o m m e r c i a l p u r p o s e s .

S h a r e A lik e — I f y o u alter, t r a n s f o r m , o r b u ild u p o n t h is w o r k , y o u m a y d istrib u te

© th e r e s u lt in g w o r k o n l y u n d e r t h e s a m e o r s im ila r l i c e n s e t o t h is o n e .

W ith th e u n d e r s t a n d in g that:

W a i v e r — A n y o f th e a b o v e c o n d it io n s c a n b e w a i v e d if y o u g e t p e r m i s s i o n f r o m th e c o p y r ig h t
h o ld e r.

P u b lic D o m a in — W h e r e t h e w o r k o r a n y o f its e le m e n t s is in t h e p u b l i c d o m a i n u n d e r
a p p lic a b le law , t h a t s t a t u s is in n o w a y a ff e c t e d b y t h e lic e n se .

O th e r R ig h t s — I n n o w a y a r e a n y o f t h e f o llo w in g r ig h t s a ff e c t e d b y t h e lic e n se :

• Y o u r fa ir d e a lin g o r f a i r u s e rig h ts , o r o t h e r a p p lic a b le c o p y r i g h t e x c e p t i o n s a n d

lim itations;

• T h e a u t h o r 's m o r a l rig h ts;

• R i g h t s o t h e r p e r s o n s m a y h a v e e ith e r in t h e w o r k its e lf o r in h o w t h e w o r k is u s e d , s u c h
a s p u b l i c i t y o r p r i v a c y rig h ts.

N o t ic o — F o r a n y r e u s e o r d istrib u tio n , y o u m u s t m a k e c le a r to o t h e r s th e l i c e n s e t e r m s o f
th is w o r k . T h e b e s t w a y t o d o t h is is w it h a lin k t o t h is w e b p a g e .
 A MONTHLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO ORIENTAL PHILOSOPHY, ART, LITERATURE AND OCCULTISM : EMBRACING
MESMERISM, SPIRITUALISM, AND OTHER SECRET SCIENCES.

th e w h o le s u b je c t w ith h im , g a v e h im m in u t e in fo rm a tio n
H fu rF T q r f c r < m « * « r : I
as to w h a t h e m u s t b e p rep ared to encounter and over­
co m e, a n d to ld h im th a t h e m u s t now choose for h im se lf
THERE IS NO RELIGION HIGHER THAN TllllTIl.
a n d a b id e by h is c h o ic e : if h e had th e r ig h t s t u f f in
[ I'u u u ty motto o f the M a h a ra ja h s u f JScnares.] h im , su ccess a n d th e h ig h e s t h o n o u rs w ere w ith in h is reach ;
if h e had not, h e w o u ld w r e t c h e d l y fail a n d h is fa ilu r e be
a s c r ib e d to a b lin d e g o t i s m th a t w o u ld not or co u ld not
The E d ito rs d isclaim responsibility fu r opinions expressed by con­ ca lc u la te ch an ces. The earnest young fello w pondered
tributors ill their articles, with some o f which they agree, with others lu n g a n d e a r n e s t ly ; and, at last, w ith au e x p ressio n of
not. G reat la titu d e is allowed to correspondents, a n d they alone are d e te r m in e d p u rp o se th a t co u ld n o t b e m is ta k en , h e sa id —
accountable for ■what they w rite. The jo u r n a l is offered as a vehicle “ I th in k I had b etter go ; I m il g o !” H e w en t and here
fur the wide d issem ination o f facts a n d opinions connected with the in P r o fe sso r W illia m s ’ o w n w ord s w c h a v e a sta tem en t of
A sia tic religions, philosophies a n d sciences. A l l who have a n y th in g t h e r e s u l t — a r e s u l t o f w h i c h w e a r e p r o u d :— •
w o r t h telling are m ade welcome, a n d not interfered with. L c jie ted
[TO THE EMTOK oi'’ THE “ TIMES OF INDIA,”]
JhSti. are not returned.
S ir,— T h e ea se, w ith w h ic h P a n d it S h yam aji K rish n a

V arm a (w h o c a m e to E n g la n d , as is g e n e r a l l y known, at
SPECIAL NOTICE TO CORRESPONDENTS. my r ec o m m en d a tio n ) passed h is second e x a m in a tio n
(M o d e ra tio n s) at th e c u d o f th e O xford s u m m e r te rm , and
Adverting to articles and correspondence th e sch o la rlik e p ro ficien cy , d isp la y e d by h in t in G reek
dedined for the pages of the T h e o s o p h i s t , we a n d L a t i n l i t e r a t u r e , is a n i n t e r e s t i n g proof of th e clo se

would call the attention of intending contri­ r e la tio n s h ip b e t w e e n t h e cla ssica l la n g u a g e s o f I n d ia and

butors to the following instructions . th o se of E urope. T h e P a n d it w as q u ite u n a cq u a in ted w ith

G r e e k a n il L a t in w h e n he arrived in E n g la n d , and yet

(/.'! N o anonym ous docum ents will be accepted fo r insertion, even
p a s s e d h i s f i r s t e x a m i n a t i o n a f t e r l i t t l e m o r e t h a n a y e a r ’s
though they m ay be signed l' a Theosophist.’ ^
i f f . ) A n y contributor not desiring his nam e to be m ade public, study. A n oth er in tere stin g p o in t con n ected w ith h is
should give 'the necessary in tim a tio n tu the E d ito r when fo rw a rd in g seco n d e x a m in a tio n is th a t, a lth o u g h n u t a C h ristia n , h e
his contribution. _ . . ,
s e le c te d as o n e of h is su b jects th e fou r G o sp els in th e
(III -) Contributors are requested to fo r w a r d their articles in tlfi
early p a rt o f the mouth, so as to allow the E d ito r p le n ty o f tune fo r o r i g i n a l G r e e k , arid p a s s e d a h ig h ly cred ita b le ex a m in a ­
correction a n d disposal in the p a g e s o f the liiEOBOl’i n s i . t i o n , b o t h itr t h e t e x t a n d s u b j e c t m a t t e r , s h o w i n g by h is
(IV.) A l l correspondence to be on one side o f the p a p e r only,
a n s w e r s , w r i t t e n a n d oral, a b e t t e r a c q u a i n t a n c e w ith th e
leaving clear spaces between lines a n d with a a i d e itta ig in .
fa c ts o f C h r is tia n it y t h a n is c o m m o n ly fo u n d even am ong

th e y o u n g m e n w h o p rofess C h ristia n ity . T h is is t h e first

OUR 1'AiVDlT A T OXFORD. in sta n ce on record o f a n o n -C h r istia n stu d e n t su ccessfu lly

s u r m o u n t in g d iffic u lties, w h ic h to A s ia tic m in d s , n u r t u r e d
P r o fe s so r M o n ie r W illia m s lia s p a id so h ig h a trib u te in a w h o lly d iffe r e n t r e lig io u s a tm o sp h er e , have h ith e rto
to our clev er young B rother, P a n d it S h yam aji C r islm a -
a p p ea r e d in su p er a b le . T h e P a n d it w ill p ro b a b ly p ass h is
vanna, F .T .S ., th at we reproduce it v e rb a tim for th e
th ird e x a m in a t io n n e x t te r m , w h e n h e w ill b e a llo w e d to
g ra tifica tio n o f h is fello w T h e o so p h ists th rou gh ou t th e
w o rld . I t w ill n o t b e a m is s to m e n t io n an in c id e n t c o n n e c t­ ta k e u p S a n s k r it as o n e o f h is su b jects. H e w ill th en be
e d w i t h P a n d i t S h y a m a j i ’s d ep artu re for E n g la n d , now q u a lifie d for h is B .A . d e g r e e .
th a t h is sp le n d id success has th o ro u g h ly v in d ic a te d th e
I f I a m a s k e d w h e t h e r it is o p e n to o th er y o u n g In d ia n
w isd o m of th at step . H e was a fa v o u rite p u p il of
S a n s k r it s c h o la r s to e n t e r o n a sim ila r career w ith any
D a y a n a n d S w a m i, aud, a ctin g as h is a m a n u en sis in th e
early c o rresp o n d en ce of th e S w a m i w ith t h e lo u n d e r s of p ro sp ect o f sim ila r su ccess, I answ er yes, p ro v id ed th ey
th e T h e o so p h ic a l S o c ie ty , c a m e in to clo se a n d a ffectio n a te p o s s e s s f o u r q u a l i f i c a t i o n s :— 1. S u fficien t e n lig h te n m e n t
p erso n a l r ela tio n s w ith o u rselv es. H e c o n su lted us about to b e s u p e r io r to t h e p r e ju d ic e s o f caste. 2. - E nergy and
a c c e p tin g P rofessor W illia m s ’ in v ita tio n to O xford, a n d at
pow ers of a p p lic a tio n c o m b in ed w ith fair ab ilities. 3.
first w e d id n o t e n c o u r a g e th e id e a , a s w c fo r e s a w t h e v a s t
S u f f i c i e n t l y s t r o n g h e a l t h to r e s is t t h e c o ld and dam p of
w o rk t h a t h a d to b e d o n e tor t h e H i n d u s , a n d f e lt t h a t h e
sh o u ld r a th e r d e v o t e h is e n e r g i e s to t h e m th a n g r a sp after an E n g lish w in ter. 4. R ela tio n s or frien d s a b le and
th e v a in d istin c tio n s o f title s aud degrees. But S h yam aji w i l l i n g t u r e n d e r p e c u n i a r y a i d , — Y o u r s , & e .,
“ fe lt a ca ll,” a s t h e r e v iv a lis t s sa y , t o m a k e th e a ca d em ic
p lu n g e, a n d d e te r m in e d th a t g o h e w o u ld ; y e t h e w a n te d M o n ie k W il l ia m s ,

to take our good wishes. Cornel Olcott finally wept over Oxford, August I.

1
 in te r m e d ia r y c a se w h ic h co u ld ex p la in th e c o n d itio n of
E l i p h a s L e v i ’s “ u s e l e s s p o r t i o n ” o f m a n k in d after death .
[ T h e following l e t t e r s t a le s nn e m b a r r a s s m e n t w liic h m ay It appears to m e also th a t th er e c o u ld b e o n ly tw o cases
v e r y likely h a v e o c c u rr e d to o t h e r r e a d e r s o f th e passages — (I .) e ith e r th e sp irit c o n tin u es its c o n n e c tio n ,
q u o t e d , besides o u r c o r re s p o n d e n t . — E d .] or ( 2) it severs its co n n ectio n . W hat, th en , is m eant
b y t h e " u s e l e s s port io n of m a n k in d ” who, you su ggest,

OCCULT I'TUIi.MICXTH AND THK BOOK OF KHIU-TK. arc a n n ih ila ted b y th e m illio n s A rc th ey a co m b in a tio n
o f le ss th a n se v e n p r in c ip les { T hat, c a n n o t be, for even
TO TIIK K D tT O lt OK TI IH “ T n E O S O P l I l S T . ' ’
th e very w ick ed and d ep ra v ed h a v e t h e m all. W h at, th en ,
In tlic a rticle on “ D ea th ” by tlie late. E l i p h a s L evi> b e c o m e s o f t h e f o u r t h , fifth , s i x t h a n d seventh p rin cip les
p r i n t e d i n t h e O c t o b e r n u m b e r o f t h e T h e o s o i ’ I i . i s t , v o l . I I I ., in t h e c a s e o f t l i e s o - c a lle d “ useless portion of mankind ?”
page 13, tlie w riter sa y s th at " to b e im m o rta l in good, T h e “ F r a g m e n t s ” a g a in tell u s th a t, in th e case of th e
one m ust id en tity o n e self w ith G od ; to be im m o rta l in w ic k e d , t h e fo u r t h a n d fifth p r in c ip le s arc s im p ly d i s i n t e g r a t ­
ev il, w ith S a ta n . T h e se are th e tw o p o les o f th e w o rld o f ed a fte r lo n g a g e s, w h i l e in y o u r a b o v e q u o te d n o t e y o u say
between these two poles vegetate and. die without
S o u ls; t h a t th e “ w ic k e d w ill s e e k a series o f liv es as co u seio u s,
remembrance the useless portion of mankind.” I n y o u r d e fin ite e x is t e n c e s o r b e in g s ,” an d a g a in in t h e n o t e to th e
e x p la n a to r y n o te on th is passage you q u ote th e book of w o r d “ H e l l ” v o n w r i t e t h a t i t is “ a w o r ld o f n e a r l y a b s o l u t e
K h iu -te, w h ich says th at “ to force o n eself upon tlie 'mailer, and o n e p reced in g th e la st one in th e ‘ circle of
c u r r e n t o f im m o r ta lity , or ra th e r to secure f o r o n e s e l f a,n n e c e s s ity ’ from w h ic h th ere is no r ed em p tio n , for th ere
endless scries of re-births as conscious in d iv id u a lities, one reign s absolute d a r k n ess.” T h e s e tw o n o te s s e e m to su g g e st
m u s t b e c o m e a. c o - w o r k e r w i t h n a t u r e , e i t h e r for r/ood or th a t, in t h e case of th e depraved, th e fou rth and fifth
for bad, in h e r w o r k o f c r e a tio n a n d r e p r o d u c tio n or in t h a t p r in cip les are born a g a in in in ferio r w o rld s aud have <*.
o f d estru ctio n . It is b u t t h e useless drones w h ic h slie g e ts scries o f c o n s c io u s e x iste n c e s .
r id of, v io le n tly e je ctin g th em and m a k in g th em p erish The “ F r a g m e n t s ” are a d m itte d ly th e p ro d u ctio n o f tlie
b y t h e m illio n s as self-co n scio u s e n titie s. T h u s w h ile th e “ B r o t h e r s , ’’ a n d w h a t I co u ld gath er from th em after a
good an d p u re striv e to rea c h N irvan a, th e w ick ed w ill c a r e f u l p e r u s a l s e e m s a p p a r e n t l y not. t o accord w ith vour
s e e k , o n t.he c o n t r a r y , a s c r i e s o f l i v e s a s c o n s c i o u s , d e f i n i t e n otes q u oted above. E v id en tly t h e i c is a g a p s o m e w h e r e ,
e x is t e n c e s or b e in g s, p r e fe rr in g to b e e v e r su fferin g u n d er and , as th e “ u se less p o rtio n o f m a n k in d ” h a v e b e e n so far
t h e la w o f retrib u tiv e ju stice rath er th an g iv e up tlieir n o ticed , a m o re e x h a u s tiv e e x p la n a tio n o f th em after th e
liv e s as p o rtio n s of th e in teg ra l u n iv ersa l w h o le. B ein g m eth od o ftlie seven p rin cip les is needed to m ake your
w e ll aw are th a t th ey can never hope to reach th e fin al o th e r w is e lea rn ed n o te accord w ith th e “ F r a g m e n ts.” I
r e s t in p u re s p ir it or Nirvana, th ey clin g to life in any m ig h t m e n tio n a g a in th at at every step th e words
fo r m ia t lic r th a n g i v e u p t h a t ‘ d e s ir e for life,’ or Tavha, “ m atter” and “ sp ir it” con fou n d th e m a jo rity of your
w h ic h cau ses a n e w a g g reg a tio n of Ska.ndas, or in d iv id u a ­ r ea d er s, a n d it is h i g h l y im p o r t a n t a n d n e c e s s a r y t h a t t h e s e
lity to b e r e - b o r n ....................................... T h e r e are th o ro u g h ly tw o w o r d s b e sa tisfa c to r ily e x p la in e d so th at th e average
w ic k e d or d e p r a v e d m e n , yet, a s h ig h ly in tellectu a l and reader m ig h t u n d ersta n d w h erein lies th e d iffe re n c e
a c u te ly spiritual for e v il, as th ose who are sp iritu a l for b e tw e e n th e tw o ; w h a t is m eant, by m atter em a n a tin g
good. The et/oft of th ese m ay escape th e la w of fin al fro m sp irit, a n d w h e th e r s p ir it d o es n o t b e c o m e l i m i t e d to
d e s t r u c t i o n ot a n n i h i l a t i o n for ages to c o m e ................................ th a t e x t e n t b y th e e m a n a t io n o f m a tte r th erefrom .
H eat and c o ld arc th e tw o ‘ p o le s,’ i. e., good and ev il,
spirit and ■mailer. N atu re spues th e ‘ lu k e w a r m ’ or Y o u r s fa ith fu lly an d fra tern a lly ,
‘ th e u seless p o r tio n of m a n k in d ’ o u t of her m ou th , i.e.,
N. D. K.------, F.T.8,
a n n ih ila tes th em .” In th e very sam e num ber in w h ich
th e s e lin es occur w e h a v e th e “ F r a g m e n t s o f O ccu lt T ru th ,”
and we lea rn th en ce th at th ere are seven e n titie s or
T h e a p p a r e n t d is c r e p a n c y b e t w e e n th o tw ostateiltieiits,
p rin cip les c o n stitu tin g a hum an b ein g . W hen d eath
th a t our co rresp o n d en t q u otes, d ocs not in volve any real
o c c u r s , t h e first t h r e e p r in c ip le s (<. e., th e body, th e v ita l
c o n t r a d i c t i o n a t all, n o r is t h e r e a “ g a p ” in th e e x p la n a ­
e n e r g y , a n d astral b o d y ) are d issip a te d ; a u d w ith regard
tio n . The co n fu sio n a r ise s from th e u n fa n iilia rity of
to th e rem a in in g fou r p rin cip les “ one of two th in g s
o r d in a r y t h in k e r s , u n u s e d to O c c u lt id eas, w ith t h e d is t in c ­
o ccu rs.” I f th e S p iritu a l E go (six th p r in c ip le) has been
tio n b e tw e e n th e personal and in d iv id u a l en tities in
in life m a te r ia l iu its te n d e n c ie s , th e n a t d e a th it c o n tin u e s
M an. R eferen ce has been m ade fo th is d istin ctio n in
to c lin g b lin d ly to t h e lo w e r e le m e n t s o f its la te c o m b in a ­
tio n , a u d t h e tr u e s p ir it sev ers its e lf from th e s e and passes
m odern O c c u lt w ritin g very freq u en tly , a n d in Inis itse lf
w h e r e th e e x p la n a t io n s o f a h u n d r e d m y s te r ie s lie b u t h a lf
a w a y e l s e w h e r e , w h e n t h e S p i r i t u a l E g o is a ls o d issip a ted
b u r ie d ,— t h e y w e r e a lt o g e t h e r b u r ie d in earlier w orks on
a n d c ea se s to e x ist. U n d e r such cir cu m sta n c es o n ly tw o
O ccu lt p h i l o s o p h y ,— .on ly w a itin g for th e a p p lica tio n of
e n t i t i e s ( t h e f o u r t h a n d f i f t h , i. e . , K a m a . R u p a a n d P h y s i c a l
in tellig en ce g u id ed b y a little O ccu lt k n o w led g e to com e
Ego) are le ft, and th e shells tak e lo n g p erio d s to d is­
o u t in to th e lig h t o f day. W hen Isis w as w ritten , it was
in teg ra te.
c o n c e iv e d b y th o se ,— fro m w h o m th e im p u lse , w liich d ir e c te d
O n th e o th er hand, if th e te n d en cie s of th e ego have
its p r e p a r a tio n , c a m e ,— t h a t th e tim e w as n o t r ip e for tlie
b e e n tow a rd s th in g s sp iritu a l, it w ill clin g to th e sp irit,
e x p lic it d e cla ra tio n o f a g r e a t m a n y tru th s w h ich th e y are
a n d w ith th is p a ss in to th e a d j o in in g World of Effects, a n d n o w w i l l i n g to im p a r t in p la in la n g u a g e . S o th e readers of
th e r e e v o lv e o u t o f itse lf b y t h e s p ir it's a id a n e w ego, to
th a t b o o k w ere su p p lied rath er w ith h in ts, sk etch es, and
b e re-b o rn (after a b r ie f p erio d o f fr e e d o m and en joym en t)
a d u m b r a t i o n s o f t h e p h i l o s o p h y to w h i c h it related, th an
in th e n e x t h ig h e r o b jec tiv e w o rld o f ca u ses.
w ith m eth o d ica l ex p o sitio n s. Thus in reference to th e
T h e “ F r a g m e n t s ” te a c h th a t, a p a r t from th e ca ses o f th e p r e s e n t id ea t h e d iffe re n c e b etw een personal and in d iv i­
h ig h e r adepts, th ere are tw o co n d itio n s —F irst., t h a t in dual id e n tity is su ggested , if not fu lly s e t forth a t page
w h ic h th e S p ir it is o b lig e d to sever its c o n n e c tio n ; and, 3 1 5 , v o l. I. T here it, i s stated as th e v iew of certain
secondly, th a t in w h ich th e S p irit is a b le to co n tin u e its p h ilo so p h e rs, w ith w h o m , it is easy to see, th e w riter
c o n n e c t io n w it h th e fo u rth , fifth a n d six th p r in c ip les. In c o n c u r s :— “ M a n a n d S o u l h a d t o c o n q u e r t h e i r i m m o r t a l i t y
e ith e r c a se th e fou rth and fifth p rin cip les are d issip a ted by a sc e n d in g tow ard s th e U n it y w ith w h ich , if su ccessfu l,
a f t e r a l o n g e r o r a s h o r t e r p e r i o d , a n d , in t h e case of th e t h e y w e r e fin a lly lin k ed . The in d iv id u a lisa tio n of M an
sp iritu a l-m in d ed , th e S p iritu a l E g o u n d erg o es a scries of after d ea th d e p e n d ed on t h e sp irit, not on h is soul and
? i.sc e n d in g b ir t h s , w h i l e in th e case of th e depraved no body. A lth o u g h th e w ord p erso n a lity , in th e sense* in
S p ir itu a l E g o rem a in s a n d th ere is s i m p l y d isin teg ra tio n w h ic h it is u s u a lly u n d e rsto o d , is a n a b su rd ity , if a p p lied
o f t h e fo u rth a n d fifth p r in c ip le s a ft e r i m m e n s e p e r io d s of litera lly to our im m o rta l essence, still th e la tt e r , is a
time, T he “ F ragm ents” do not seem to admit of a t h i r d or distinct entity, immortal and eternal p e r se,” And a
 l i t t l e l a t e r o n :— “ A p e r s o n m ay lm v e won h is im m o rta l
o fte n in t h e fu tu r e am ong b etter c ircu m sta n c es, both on
life, and r em a in th e sam e inner self lie was on earth
t h is e a r t h a n d in s u p e r io r p la n e t s .
th ro u g h o u t e tern ity , b u t th is does not im p ly n ecessa rily
N o w , m o s t p e o p le w ill be b u t to o a p t to feel th a t u n s a tis ­
t h a t h e m u s t r e m a in t h e M r. S m i t h o r M r. B r o w n lie w a s on
factory as th e c ir cu m sta n c e s m a y b e , w h ic h c o n stitu te th eir
ea rth .”
present p erso n a lities, th ese are after all themselves— “ a
A fu ll c o n sid era tio n of th ese id ea s w ill so lv e th e p o o r t h i n g , S i r , b u t m i n e o w n , ”— a n d t h a t t h e i n n e r s p i r i t u a l
em b a rra ssm en t in w h ic h o u r c o r r e sp o n d e n tisp la c e d . E lip h a s m on ad s, o f w h ic h th e y are but very d im ly c o n scio u s, by
L evi is ta lk in g about p erso n a lities— th e “ F ragm ents” th e tim e th e y are u n ited w ith en tirely d ifferen t sets of
a b o u t in d iv id u a lities. N ow , as regards th e p erso n a lities, cir cu m sta n c es in new b irth s, w ill be oth er p e o p le a lto ­
t h e “ u s c l e s s p o r t i o n o l m a n k i n d ” to w liie li E l i p l i a s L e v i refers, g e t h e r in w h o s e fa te th ey cannot tak e any in terest. I 11
is t h e g r e a t b u lk th e r e o f. The permanent p reserv a tio n o f a t r u t h w h e n t h e t i m e c o m e s th e y w ill fin d t h e fa te o f th o s e
p e r so n a l id e n t ity b e y o n d d e a th is a v e r y rare a c h ie v e m e n t , p eo p le p ro fo u n d ly in terestin g , as m uch so as th ey fin d
a c c o m p lish e d o n ly by th ose w ho w rest her secrets from th eir o w n fa tes now . B u t p assin g over th is b ra n ch o f th o
N atu re, and con trol th eir own su p er-m a teria l d ev elo p ­ s u b je c t, t h e r e is s t i l l s o m e co n so la tio n for w eak b reth ren
m ent. In h is fa v o u rite sy m b o lica l way E lip h a s L evi w h o fin d t h e n o t io n o f q u i t t i n g th eir present p erso n a lity
in d ic a te s th e p eo p le who co n triv e to do th is as th o se a t t h e e n d o f tlie ir p r e s e n t liv e s to o g lo o m y to be borne.
w lm are im m o rta l in good by id e n tifica tio n w ith God, E l i p h a s L e v i ’s ex p o sitio n o f th e d octrin e is a very b rief
or im m o rta l in e v il by id en tifica tio n w ith Satan, o n e,— as reg a rd s t h e p a ssa g e q u o te d — and it p a s se s over a
lh a t is to say, th e p reserv a tio n of personal id e n tity great deal w h ich , from th e p o in t o f v iew we are now
beyond d eath (or rath er, le t u s say, far b e y o n d death , re­ e n g a g e d w it h , is o f v e r y g r e a t im p o r t a n c e . I n t a l k i n g about
s e r v in g for t h e m o m e n t an ex p la n a tio n o f th e d istin ctio n ) im m o rta lity th e great O ccu ltist is t h i n k i n g of th e vast
is a c c o m p lis h e d o n ly b y a d e p t s a n d so r c e r e r s— t h e o n e class str etch es o f tim e over w h ich th e p erso n a lity of th e adept
h a v in g a c q u ired t h e suprem e secret k n o w led g e by h o ly a n d th e sorcerer m a y b e m a d e to e x te n d . W hen he speaks
m eth o d s, and w ith b e n e v o le n t m o tiv es ; th e o th er h a v in g o f a n n ih ila t io n a ft e r t h is life, h e ig n o r e s a c e r ta in in terv a l,
a cq u ired it b}r u n h o ly m e th o d s, a n d for b a se m o t iv e s . But w h ich m a y p erh a p s b e n o t w o rth c o n sid erin g in reference
th a t w h ic h c o n s titu te s th e in n er self, th e purer p o rtio n s to th e e n o rm o u s w h o le o f ex isten ce, but w h ic h none th e
of t h e ea rth ly personal soul u n ite d w ith th e sp iritu a l less is v e r y w e l l w o r t h t h e a t t e n t i o n of p eo p le who clin g
p rin cip les a n d c o n s titu tin g th e essen tia l in d iv id u a lity , is to th e little fragm en t of th eir life exp erien ce w h ich
e n s u r e d a p e r p e t u a t i o n o f life in n e w b ir t h s w heth er tlie e m b o d ies th e p erso n a lity o f w h ich w e h a v e b e e n ta lk in g .
p erson , w h o se e a r th ly s u r r o u n d in g s are its p r e s e n t h a b ita t, I t h a s b e e n e x p la in e d , in m o r e t h a n o n e p a p e r p u b lis h e d
b e c o m e s e n d u e d w itli t h e h ig h e r k n o w l e d g e , or rem a in s a in th is m a g a z in e d u rin g th e la st few m on th s, th at th e
p l a i n o r d in a r y m a n a ll h i s life. p a s sa g e o f fh e sp iritu a l m onad in to a re-b irth does not
im m e d ia te ly fo llo w its relea se fro m th e flesh ly body la st
I b is d o ctrin e c a n n o t b e treated as one w h ich fa lls in
at, o n c e w i t h th e v iew of th in g s en te r ta in e d by p eo p le
in h a b ited here. In th e Kama-Iohci, or a tm o sp h ere of th is
earth, th e sep a ra tio n of th e tw o groups of eth erea l
w h o se co n cep tio n s o f im m o rta lity h a v e b e e n corrup ted by
th e ig n o b le te a c h in g of m odern churches. Few exoteric p r in cip les tak es p la c e , and in th e vast m a jo rity of
cases in w h ic h th e la te p e r so n a lity ,.— t h e fifth p r in c ip le
r e l i g i o n s a s k t h e i r d e v o t e e s to l if t t h e i r im a g in a tio n s above
th e c o n cep tio n th a t life beyond th e grave is a sort of y ie ld s up so m e th in g w h ic h is su scep tib le of perpe­

p i o l o n g a t i o n o t lif e o n t h i s s i d e of it. T h e y a r e encouraged tu a tio n and of u n io n w ith th e six th ,— th e sp iritu a l-

to b e liev e th a t th ro u g h “ e te rn ity ,” if th ey are good in m o n a d th u s r e ta in in g co n scio u sn ess o f its la te p erso n a lity

t h i s life, t h e y w i l l l i v e 011 i n som e lu x u rio u s 1- l e a v e n ju st for th e tim e b e in g passes in to th e state d e scr ib e d as

as th ey w o u ld b e liv in g if tr a n s p o r te d to som e d ista n t Devachan, w here it le a d s, for very lo n g p erio d s

cou n try, m ir a cu lo u sly p rotected th ere from d isea se and in d eed as com pared w ith th o se of life on th is earth,

d e c a y , m id c o n t in u in g for ever th e “ M r. S m ith or M r. an e x isten ce of th e m ost u n a llo y ed sa tisfa ctio n an d

B row n th e y m a y h a v e b een p rev io u s to em ig r a tio n . The co n scio u s e n jo y m en t. O f course th is s t a t e is not one of

c o n c e p t io n is j u s t a s absurd, w h e n c lo sely t h o u g h t out, as a ctiv ity nor of ex citin g con trasts b etw een p a in and

t h e c o n c e p tio n t h a t for t h e m e r its or t h e sin s o f t h is b r ief p le a su r e, p u r s u it a n d a c h ie v e m e n t, lik e th e s ta te o f p h y sic a l

life -b u t a m o m e n t in t h e course of e te rn ity — th ey w ill life:, b u t i t i s o n e i n w h i c h t h e p e r s o n a l i t y o f w h i c h w e a r e

b e a b le to s e c u r e in f in it e b liss, or in c u r t h e u t m o s t h orrors s p e a k i n g is p e r p e t u a t e d , a s far a s t h a t is c o m p a tib le w ith

of p e r p e t u a l p u n is h m e n t . E nds and m eans, causes and th e n o n -p erp etu a tio n of th a t w h ich has been p a in fu l in

e f f e c t s , m u s t b e k e p t in d u e p r o p o r t i o n t o one another in its e x p e rien ce . I t is from th is state th at th e sp iritu a l

t h e w o i l d s of s p i r i t a s in t h e w o r l d s of fle s h . I t is n o n s e n s e m onad is r e -b o r n in t o t h e n e x t a c tiv e life, and from th e

f'°i. a m a , ) h a s n o t first r e n d e r e d h is p e r s o n a lit y s o m e ­ date of th at r e-b irth th e o ld p erso n a lity is done w ith .

th in g a lto g eth er abnorm al to co n ceiv e th at it can be But for a n y im a g in a tio n , w h ic h fin d s th e co n cep tio n of
ra tio n a lly th o u g h t o f as s u r v iv in g for ever. It w o u ld be r e-b irtli and n e w p e r so n a lity u n co m fo rta b le, th e d o ctrin e
fo lly to w is h e v e n t h a t it co u ld b e so p e r p e tu a t e d , for, h o w of Devachan — a n d t h e s e “ d o c tr in e s,” b e it r e m e m b e r e d , are
co u ld hum an b ein g s of ig n o b le , m isera b le life, w hese s ta te m e n ts o f scien tific fa c t w h ic h A d e p ts h a v e a sce r ta in e d

p e r s o n a lit y is m e r e l y a c o n g e r i e s of w retch ed and so rd id to bo as real as th e stars th o u g h as far out of reach for

m e m o r ie s , b e h a p p y in fin d in g th eir m isery stereotyp ed m o s t o f u s,— t h e d o c tr in e o f JJevachan, w e say, w ill fu rn ish
for a ll c o m i n g tim e , a n d in p erp etu a l con trast w ith th e p e o p le w h o c a n n o t g i v e u p t h e ir e a r th life m e m o r i e s all a t
su p erio r p erso n a lities of oth er such stereo ty p es. Tho o nce,-— w i t h a s o f t p l a c e t o f a ll u p o n .
m e m o iy of every personal life, i n d e e d , is im p erish a b lv
p ie seiv ed in th e m y ste r io u s records o f each ex isten ce , and
t.he i m m o r t a l i n d i v i d u a l s p i r i t u a l e n t i t y w i l l o n e d a y , — b u t T H E " '1IIFA)SOPHISTS'' I M A G E I N THE
in a fu tu r e so rem ote th at it is h a n ily w orth th in k in g
“ H IRR O IC
^ b o u t m u c h a t p r e s e n t ,— b e a b l e to lo o k b a c k u p o n it, a s u p o n
one of th e pages in th e vast book o f liv es w h ich he F r o m a very lo n g an d k in d ly a p p recia tiv e n o tice of our
w ill by th a t tim e h a v e co m p iled . B u t le t us com e back m a g a z in e , w h ic h a p p e a r e d in th e Indian Alirror of 29th
lio m th e s e v e ry tr a n s c e n d e n ta l r efle ctio n s to th e d estin ie s A u g u s t , a n d for w h ic h t h e E d it o r h a s o u r w a r m th a n k s , w c
m ore im m ed ia te ly im p en d in g over th e g r e a t m a jo rity of are t e m p te d to q u o te th e fo llo w in g paragraphs, as th ey
us whom E lip h a s L evi so u n civ illy speaks o f as “ th e se r v e a s a n a n s w e r to t h e h o s tile w riters of E n g la n d and
A m e r ic a , w h o h a v e b e e n e x u l t i n g o v e r t h e s u p p o s e d loss b y
u se less p o rtio n of m a n k i n d ”— u s e l e s s o n ly , be it re­
o u r S o c i e t y o f t h e e s t e e m a n d a f f e c t i o n o f t h e H i n d u s :—
m em bered, as regards our sp ecia l present con geries of
“ O ne of th e m ost in te r e stin g jo u rn a ls of th e day, w h ich
c a ith ly c iic u m s ta n c e s — n o t as regard s th e inner-self w h i c h h a s a n e s p e c ia l i n t e r e s t for H i n d u s w h o fe e l a r ea l lo v e for
is d e s t i n e d t o a c t i v e e n j o y m e n t o f life a n d e x p e r ie n c e very th e ir co u n try , its relig io n , litera tu re, and scie n c e s, is t h e
 T h e o so p h ist , p u b lish e d at Bom bay. It i.s e d ite d w ith Q. By what is th is want of rig h t d iscrim in a tio n
g r e a t a b i l i t y b y M a d a m e H . I'. B l a v a t s k y . W e have be­ produced ?
fo r e u s tlio n u m b e r s for J u l y and A u gu st, 1882. B esid es A. B y i g n o r a n c e (arifn^T)-
T h eo so p h ists, the p u b lic a t io n h a s a s p e c ia l in t e r e s t for t h e
Q. Is ig n o ra n ce p rod u ced b y a n y th in g ?
gen eral reader on accou n t o f th e va riety o f m a tter it con­ A. N o , b y n o th in g . Ignorance is w ith o u t b e g in n in g
ta in s. T h e s u b s c r ip tio n is o n ly R s. 8 p er a n n u m ; and th e a n d in e ffa b le b y rea so n o f its b ein g th e in ter m in g lin g of
s u b scr ib er g e ts m ore th an h is m o n ey 's w orth . . . The
t h e r e a l (fffi ) a n d t h e u n r e a l (3TfT?T ).* I t is a s o m e t h i n g
T h e o s o p h is t is a tr u e fr ie n d of th e In d ia n p eo p le, and
e m b o d y i n g t h e t h r e e q u alities* !' a n d is s a id to be opposed
n o less so of tlic B e n g a lis. . . . U nder
to W isd o m in a s m u c h a s it produces th e concept “ I am
tlio h e a d in g o f “Sw am i D a y a n a n d ’s C h a r g e s , " i n t h e E x t r a
ig n o r a n t.” T h e S r u ti says, “ (Ignorance) is t h e p o w e r ot
S u p p l e m e n t t o t h e T i i k o k o p i -i i s t f o r J u l y , 1 8 8 2 . e x t e n d i n g
t h e D e i t y a n d is e n s h r o u d e d b y its o w n q u a lit ie s .”!
over 18 pages, we fin d a m ost co m p le te and m a .steily
T h e o rig in o f p a in can th u s be tra ced to ig n o ra n ce and
d e fe n c e o f th o F o u n d e r s a g a in st t h e charsjes b rou gh t, a g a in s t
i 1 - . ® i t w ill n o t c e a s e u n t i l i g n o r a n c e is e n t i r e l y d i s p e l l e d , w h i c h
th em by Sw am i D ayanand. T h e p a p e r .sh ou ld b e ca re-
w ill b e o n ly w h en th e id e n tity of th e S e lf w ith B rahm a
i ii Liy read and d ig e ste d by a ll who took a d e lig h t iu
(th e U n iv e r sa l S p i r i t ) is f u ll y rea lized .(| A n ticip a tin g th e
m a k in g a p a ra d e o f t h e S w a m i's c h a r g e s ...............................................
c o n te n tio n th a t th e e te r n a l acts (i.e., th o se e n jo in ed b y th e
“ A m a g a z in e , w h ic h h a s s u c c e e d e d , a n d is t r y in g to d o so
V ed a s,) arc proper nnd w o u ld th erefo re lea d to th e
m uch good to us, c er ta in ly deserves th e m ost u n stin ted
d e str u c tio n o f ig n o r a n c e , it is sa id t h a t ig n o ra n ce cannot
support of our c o m m u n ity , esp ec ia lly as it is r ep lete
b e d isp elled by Karina. T hen—
w ith so m uch th at is both a ttra ctiv e, and in ter e stin g
beyond th e run of o rd in a ry p u b lica tio n s of th e Q. W h a t c o m e s o f su c h acts ? _

cla ss. . . . . .
A. C o n flict of W isd o m and Karma. T h erefore it
is c le a r t h a t I g n o r a n c e c a n o r d y b e r e m o v e d b y W i s d o m .
“ F r o m th is n u m b e r w e le a r n th at th e Parent S o cicty
h a s fou nd ed a M edal of H o n o u r to be aw arded to th e
Q. H o w can th is W is d o m b e a c q u ir e d ?
‘ N a tiv e au th or of th e best o r ig in a l essay upon any
A. B y d isc u ssio n — b y d isc u ssin g as to th e n atu re of

su b ject con n ected w ith th e a n c ie n t r elig io n s, p h ilo ­ S p irit an d N o t-sp ir it. _

so p h ies, or scien ces; p r elcrcn ce b ein g g iv e n (in th e

0.
v W h o are w o r th*
y* o f e n O
gaO
g inO
g i n s u c h d its_c u s s*i o n ?

D ep a rtm en t of S cien co ), oth er th in g s b e in g eq u a l, to

A. T l lo se w h o h a v e a c q u ir e d t h e fou r q u a lific a tio n s.

th e O ccu lt or m y stica l branch of scien ce as known Q. W h a t are th e fou r q u a lifica tio n s ?

and p ra ctised by th e a n c ie n ts.’ If th is c o m p e titio n is

A. (1), T rue d iscrim in a tio n of perm anent and im ­
p e r m a n e n t th in g s. (2), In d ifferen ce to th e en jo y m en t of
fr e e ly a n d fu lly e n te r e d in to , w e h a v e n o d o u b t t h a t m u c h
th o f r u i t s o f o n e ’s a c t i o n s both here a n d h ereafter. (3),
o f t h e n e g le c te d k n o w le d g e o f our fo re fa th ers w ill, in tim o ,
be b r o u g h t to th e lig h t o f d a y .”
P ossession of Sama a n d t h e o t h e r five q u a lit ie s . (4), An
in ten se d esire of b e co m in g lib era ted (from m a teria l
e x isten ce ). _
(I.) Q. W h a t is t h e r ig h t d is c r im in a tio n o f p e r m a n e n t
D IS C R I M I N A T I O N OF S P I R I T A N D NOT- and im p erm a n en t th in g s ? _
SP1RTT. A. C e rta in ty as to th e M aterial U n iv erse b e in g false,
a n d illu s iv e a m i B r a h m a b e in g th e o n ly r ea lity .
(Translated from the original Sanskrit, of Sanlara Acharya.)
(2.) I n d i f f e r e n c e t o t h e e n j o y m e n t ot t h e f r u i t s o f one s
p.v M o n r N K E jr. c i i a t t k r .i e k , f .t . s .
a ctio n s in th is w o rld is to havo th e sam e am ount of
[ A n ap o lo g y is s c a rc e ly ne ede d for u n d e r t a k i n g a t r a n s la t io n d isin clin a tio n for th e en joym en t o f w o rld ly ob jects of
o f S ftn k a rn A c l m r y a ’s c ele b ra te d S y n o p s is o f V e d n n t is m d esire (such as g a r la n d of flo w ers, sa n d a lw o o d paste,
e n ti t le d “ A tm am U tnn V i v e k a h . ” T h i s little trea tise, w ith in a w om en and th e lik e) beyond th o se a b so lu tely necessary
sm all compass, fully se ts f orth llio scope nnd p u r p o s e o f the fo r t h e p r e s e r v a t i o n o f l i f e , n s o n e h a s fo r v o m i t e d fo o d , &c.
V e d a n t a p h ilo s o p h y . I t h a s been a m a t t e r o f no lit t le w o n d e r, T he sam e am ou n t of d isin clin a tio n to en joym en t in th e
c o n sid e rin g t h e a u th o r s h i p o f t h is p a m p h l e t a nd i ts o w n so ciety o f R a m b h a , U r v a si an d o th er celestia l nym phs in
i n tr i n s i c m e rits, tlm t a t r a n s la tio n o f i t h a s n o t a lr e a d y been th e h ig h er spheres of life b eg in n in g w ith Svavga lolca
e x e c u te d by some c o m p e t e n t scholar. T h e p r e s e n t tra n s la tio n ,
an d e n d in g w ith Brahma. loka..§ _
t h o u g h p re te n d in g to no sc h o lars h ip , is d u t if u l l y l ite r a l e x c e p t,
(3.) Q. W h a t are th o six q u a lities b eg in n in g w ith
h o w e v e r , t h e omission o f a fe w lines r e l a t i n g to t h e e ty m o l o g y
Sam a ?
o f t! ie w o r d s (f ia r ira ) and ( D e lia ) ami one o r tw o o t h e r
A. Sama, damn, vparati, titihnhd, samadhana a n d
t h i n g s w h ic h , t h o u g h i n t e r e s t i n g in t h e m s e l v e s , h a v e no direct,
h e a r i n g on th e m ain s u b j e c t o f t r e a t m e n t . S o m e o t h e r p assages sraddha.
in th e t e x t liave also, fo r tlio c o n v e n ie n c e o f r e a d e rs , been
Sama i s t h e r e p r e s s i o n o f t h e i n w a r d s e n s e c a l l e d
re m o v e d to a n a p p e n d i x a t t h e e n d .— T k .] Manas, i.e., n o t a l l o w i n g i t t o e n g a g e i n a n y o t h e r t h i n g
b u t Sravana ( l i s t e n i n g to- w h a t t h e s a g e s s a y a b o u t t h e
N o t h i n g is S p i r i t w h i c h c a n b e p e r ce iv e d b y th e sen ses.
sp irit), Manana (r e flectin g on it), Nididhyaaana
T o o n e p ossessed o f r ig h t d iscrim in a tio n , th e S p irit is lik e
(m ed ita tin g on th e sam e). Dama i s t h e r e p r e s s i o n o f t h e
a th in g p ercep tib le. T h is r ig h t d iscrim in a tio n o f S p irit
extern al sen ses.
a n d N o t - s p i r i t is s e t fo r th in m i l l i o n s o f t r e a t is e s .
Q. W h a t are th e extern al sen ses ?
The d isc rim in a tio n of S p irit and N o t-sp irit is g iv e n
( b e l o w ) :—
A. T h e five o r g a n s o f p e r c e p tio n and th e fiv e b o d ily
o r g a n s for t h e p e r fo r m a n c e o f e x t e r n a l acts. R estra in in g
Q. W h e n c e c o m e s p a in to t h e S p ir i t ?
th e s e from all o th e r th in g s but mnvana a n d t h e r e s t — is
A. B y reason o f its t a k in g a b o d y . It is sa id in th e
S r u t i * : “ N o t iu t h is (s t a t e o f e x i s t e n c e ) is t h e r e c e s s a tio n
dama.
o f p le a su r e nn d p a in o f a liv in g th in g p o ssessed o f a b o d y .” * T h is word, as used in Vaidant ir. works, is generally mis­
Q. B y w h a t is p r o d u c e d th is t a k in g o f a b o d y ? understood. I t does not, mean the negation of e v e r y th in g ;
A. B y Karm a, f it m eans “ t h a t which does no t e x h ib it t h e T r u t h , ” th e “ illusory.”
Q. W h y d o e s it b e c o m e so b y K arm a ? frrqPT ^ 3 w q - r r t 'T n w H im |
A. B y d esire a n d th e r est (i. e., t h e p a s s i o n s . ) A d h i k a r a n a Mala (note)— T h .
t S a tva (goodness), lia ja s (foulness) and T am as (darkness) are the
Q. B y w h a t are d e sire a n d th e r est p r o d u c e d ?
th ree qualities.
A. B y e g o ism f W ’W R : ) .
+ Chan dog ya U p a nish a t. —Tit.
Q. B y w h a t a g a in is e g o is m p r o d u c e d ? || T his po rtion lias been condensed from the original.— Tn.
A. B y w a n t o f r ig h t d iscrim in a tio n .
5 These, it is supposed, include t h e whole range of R u p a loka
(the world of forms) i n Bu ddh istic esoteric philosophy.— Tit.
• Chan dog ya U p a n i s h a t. — Tit.
t T h is word, it is im possible to t r a n s la t e . I t m e a n s th e doing IT T hese t e r m s will be more fully explained iu the a p p en ­
pf a th in g for th e a tt a in m e n t of a u object of w orldly de sire,—Tit. d ix .— Tn,
 Uparati is th e ab stain in g on principle from engaging in
any of tlie act.s and ceremonies enjoined by th e shastras.
O therw ise, it is th e state of th e m ind which is always
engaged in Sravana and th e rest, w ith o u t ever diverging
from them.
Titikxha (literally th e desire to leave) is th e bearing
w ith indifference all opposites (sueli as pleasure and pain,
h e a t and cold, &c.). O therw ise, it is th e show ing of for­
bearance to a person one is capable of punishing.
W h en ev er a mind,’ engaged in Sravana and th e rest,
O O ^ t’
w anders to any worldly object ot desire, and, finding it
worthless, re tu rn s to the perform ance of th e th ree exercises
— such re tu rn in g is called saniadhana,
Sraddha is an intensely strong faith in th e u tterances of
one’s guru an d of th e V edanta philosophy.
(4.) A n intense desire for liberatio n is called vium iib-
sh atvam.
Those who possess these four qualifications, are worthy
of engaging in discussions as to the n a tu re of S p irit and
N ot-spirit, and, like Brahm acharins, they have no o th er duty
(but such discussion). I t is not, however, a t all im proper
for householders to engage in such d iscussions; but, on the
contrary, such a course is h ighly m eritorious. F o r it is
said :— W hoever, w ith due reverence, engages in th e discus­
sion of subjects tre a te d of in Vedanta philosophy and does
proper service to his guru, reaps happy fruits. Discussion
as to th e n a tu re of S p irit and N o t-sp irit is therefore a
duty, 1 c a p a b le of, a r e t h e r e in his ease no e x t e n u a t i n g c irc u m s ta n c e s to
(To be continued.)
--------- ----------- A-
JS S U I C I D E A C R IM E / in s t a n c e s o f w o r th le s s a n d p e rn ic io u s lives, c a r r ie d ou to the
T h e w r i t e r in the L o n d o n S p ir itu a list fo r N o v e m b e r , ivlio
calls th e “ F r a g m e n t s o f O c c u l t T r u t h ” s p e c u la ti o n - s p i n n i n g ,
can h a r d ly , I t h in k , a p p l y t h a t e p i t h e t to F ra g m e n t No. 3, so
cau tio u sly is t h e h y p o t h e s is c o n c e r n in g su ic id e a d v a n c e d
th e re in . V i e w e d in its g e n e ra l a sp e c t, t h e h y p o t h e s is seem s
so u n d eno u g h , satisfies o u r in s tin c ts o f t h e M o ra l L a w o f th e
U n i v o r s e , and fits in w i t h o u r o r d i n a r y idea s as w e ll as w i t h
tho se wo h a v e d e r iv e d from sc ience. T li e in fe re n c e d r a w n from
t h e tw o cases cited, viz., t h a t o f tho selfish su ic id e 011 t h e 0110
hand, a n d o f t h e unselfish su ic id e 011 t h e o th e r, is t h a t, a l t h o u g h
th e a fte r- s la te s m ay v a r y , t h e r e s u l t is i n v a ria b ly bad, th e
v a ria tio n c o n sisting only in t h e d e g r e e o f p u n i s h m e n t . I t
a p p e a r s to m e t h a t , i n a r r i v i n g n t th is c onclusion, t h e w r i t e r
co u ld no t h a v e h a d in liis m i n d ’s e y e all t h e possible cases o f
suicide, w h i c h do o r m a y occur. F o r I m a in ta in thnt. in som e
cases self-sacrifice is n o t o nly justifiab le, b u t also m o ra lly desirable,
and t h a t th e r e s u lt o f su c h self-sacrifice c a n n o t p ossibly be bad.
I will p u t one case, p e r h a p s t h e r a r e s t o f all r a r e cases, b u t not
n e ce ssa rily on t h a t a c c o u n t a p u r e ly h y p o t h e t i c a l one, fo r I
k n o w a t lea st one m an , in w h o m I a m in te re s te d , w h o is
a c t u a t e d w i t h feelin gs, not d is s im ila r to th es e I shall n o w
describe, a n d w h o w o u l d be d e e p ly t h a n k f u l for a n y a d d itio n a l
l ig h t that, could be t h r o w n 011 th is d a r k l y m y s t e r i o u s su b j e c t .—
( S e o Editor's N ote 1.)
S u p p o s e , t h e n , tlm t a n in d iv id u a l, w h o m 1 shall call M ., ta k e s
to t h i n k i n g long nnd d e e p on t h e v e x e d q u e s t io n s o f th e
m y s t e r i e s o f e a r t h ly e x is te n c e , its a im s, a n d tho h i g h e s t du tio s
of m an. T o a ssist his th o u g h ts , lie t u r n s to p h ilosop hic a l w o r k s :
n o ta b l y those d e aling w i t h th e su b l i m e te a c h i n g s o f B u d d h u .
U l t i m a t e l y b e a r riv e s nt t h e conclusion t h a t t h e f i k s t a n d
o n l y aim o f e x is te n c e is to be use fu l to o u r fellow m en ; t h a t
fail n r e in th is c o n s t it u t e s his o w n w o rth le s s n e s s a s a s e n t i e n t h u m a n
bein g, a n d t h a t by c o n ti n u i n g a life o f w o r t h l e s s n e s s h e sim p ly
d issip a te s t h e e n e r g y w h i c h h e h olds in t r u s t , a n d w h ic h , so
h o l d in g , h e h a s 110 r i g h t to f r i t t e r a w a y . I I o t r ie s to be useful,
b u t — m is e r a b ly a n d d e p lo r a b ly fails. W h a t t h e n is his re m e d y ?
R e m e m b e r th e r o is h e r e “ 110 se a o f t r o u b le s ” to “ t a k e a r m s
a g a i n s t ,” no o u t r a g e d h u m a n law to d r e a d , 110 d e s e rv e d e a r t h l y
p u n i s h m e n t to escape ; in fact, t h e r e is 110 m o ra l c o w a r d i c o w h a t ­
e ver in volved in th e self-sacrifice. M. si in ply p u t s a n e n d to an
c x is tc n c o w h i c h is useless, a n d w h i c h t h e r e f o r e fails o f its ow n
p r i m a r y p u r p o se . I s h is a c t n ot j u s t if i a b le ? O r m u s t h e also
be th e victim o f t h n t t r a n s f o r m a ti o n in to spook a n d pisacha,
a g a i n s t w h i c h F rag m en t No. 3 u t t e r s i ts d r e a d w a r n i n g ? (2.)
P e r h a p s , M. m ny se c u re a t th e next, b i r th m o re favo urable
c o n d itio n s, a n d t h u s be b e t t e r a b le to w o rk out, th e purpose of
licing. W e ll, h e can s c a rc e ly be w o r s e ; for, in addition to his
b e in g i n s p ir e d b y a l a u d a b le m o tiv e to m a k e w a y for one who
m i g h t be m o r e se rvice able , I10 h a s not, in th is p a r t i c u l a r case,
been g u i l t y o f a n y m o r a l t u r p i t u d e . (3 .)
B u t I h a v e n o t done. I g o a ste p f u r t l i e r a n d say t h a t M. i3
n o t only useless, b u t p ositive ly m ischievou s. T o his i n c a p a c ity
t o do good, he finds t h a t he a dds a so m e w h a t restless d i s p o s i ­
tion w h ic h is p e r p e t u a l l y u r g i n g him on to make an effort to do
good. M. m a k e s t h e effort.— he w ould be u t t e r l y u n w o r t h y t h e
n a m e o f m an i f h e did n o t m ak e i t — a nd d isc o v e r s t h a t his
in c a p a c i ty m ost g e n e r a ll y leads him into e r r o r s w hic h c o n v e r t
t h e possible good in to a c t u a l evil ; that., on a c c o u n t of his
n a tu r e , b i r th , a n d e d u ca tio n , a very l a r g e n u m b e r o f men
becom o in v o lv e d in t h e efleets o f his m is ta k e n zeal, nnd t h a t the
w o rld at, l a rg e suffers m o re from his e x is te n c e t h a n o therw ise.
N o w , if, a f te r a r r i v i n g a t such results, M. se e k s to c a r r y o u t
t h e i r logical conclusion, viz., t h a t b e in g m o r a l l y b o u n d to
d im in ish t h e woes to w h ic h s e n t i e n t beings on e a r t h a r e subject,
h e s h o u ld d e s t r o y him self, a n d by t h a t m e a n s do t h e o nly good
ho is capablo o f ; is t h e r e , I ask, a n y m oral g u i lt inv olv ed in the
net o f a n ti c i p a t i n g d e a t h in s u c h a ease ? I, for one, sh ould
c e r t a i n l y say not. N n y , m o re, I m ain tain , s u b j e c t o f course to
c o rre c tio n by s u p e r i o r k n o w le d g e , t h a t M. is n ot only justified
i n m a k i n g a w a y w i t h himself, b u t t h a t ho w ould bo a villain if
h e did not, a t once a n d u n h e s i ta t in g l y , p u t an e n d to ft life, not
o n ly useless, b u t p o s itiv e ly perniciou s. (-1 .)
M, m a y be in e r r o r ; b u t s u p p o s in g b o d i e s c h e r i s h i n g tbo h a p p y
de lu s io n t h a t in d e a t h is all the good, in life all t h e evil he i.s
plea d s t r o n g l y in his fav our, a n d h e lp to a v e r t a fall into t h a t
h o r r i b l e a b y s s w i t h w h i c h y o u r r e a d e r s h a v e been frig h to n e d {
( 5 ') . . ,
M . ’s, I r e p e n t, is no h y p o t h e t i c a l case. H i s t o r y t e e m s w ith
b i tt e r end to t h e ru i n o f nations. L ook a t the a u t h o r s of the
F r e n c h R e v o lu t i o n , b u r n i n g w ith as a r d e n t a love for th e i r f’e llow-
m e n as e v e r fired t h e h u m a n b re ast ; look a t th e m c rim son w ith
in n o c e n t blood, b r i n g i n g u n u t te r a b l e disa sters on t h e i r c o u n tr y
in L i b e r t y ’s snered n a m e ! a p p a r e n t l y h o w s t r o n g ! in ronlity
h o w pitifu lly w e a k ! W lm t a woeful result.of in c a p a c ity has been
t h e i r s ? C o u ld t h e y b u t h a v e seen with M .’s eyes, w ou ld th e y not
h a v e b e en his p r o t o t y p e s ? Blessed, indeed, h a d it been lor
F r a n c e , if t h e y h a d a n ti c ip a te d M. ?
A g a i n , look a t G e o r g e I I I . o f E n g la n d , a w e ll- m e a n in g , y e t
nn in c a p a b le S o v e r e ig n , who, a l t e r r e ig n i n g fo r a n u m b e r o f years,
left his c o u n t r y d i s t r a c t e d and im p o v e rish e d by foreign w ars,
to rn by i n te r n a l dissensions, a n d s e p a ra te d from a k i n d r e d
ra c e a c ro ss tlie A t l a n t i c , w ith th e lib ertie s o f his su b je cts
t r a m p l e d u n d e r foot, a n d v i rtu e p r o s titu te d in th e C a b in e t, in
P a r l i a m e n t a n d ou t h e H u s t i n g s . H i s c o rre sp o n d e n c e w ith
L o r d N o r t h a n d o t h e r s a b u n d a n t l y p ro v e s t h a t to his self-
suilic icncy, w e l l- m e a n i n g t h o u g h it be, m u s t be t rac ed th e cala­
m itie s o f G r e a t l i r i t a i n a n d I rela n d , c a lam itie s from tho effects
o f w h i c h th e U n i t e d K in g d o m has n o t y e t fully re co v e red . H a p p y
h a d it been for E n g l a n d if th is r u l e r had , like M., seen the
use lessne ss o f h is life and n i p p e d il, as IM. might, do, in th e bud
o f its p e r n ic io u s c a r e e r !
AN IN Q U IR E R .
KDITOlt’.S XOTKS.
(1.) “ I n q u i r e r ” is n o t a n O c c u l t i s t , h e n c e h i s a s s e r t i o n
t h a t i n s o m e e a s e s s u i e i d o is n o t o n l y j u s t i f i a b l e , b u t a ls o
m o rally d esirab le.” N o m o r e t h a n m u r d e r , is i t e v e r
j u s t if i a b le , h o w e v e r d e s i r a b l e it m a y s o m e ti m e s a p p e a r .
T h e O c c u ltis t, w ho looks a t t h e o rig in a n d th e u ltim a te
e n d o f t h in g s , t e a c h e s t h a t t h e i n d i v i d u a l — w ho affirm s t h a t
a n y m a n , u n d e r w h a t s o e v e r c i r c u m s t a n c e s , is c a l l e d t o p u t
a u e n d t o l ii s l if e , — is g u i l t y o f a s g r e a t , a n o f f e n c e a n d o f
as p e rn ic io u s a piece of so p h istry , as th e n a tio n t h a t
a s s u m e s a r i g h t t o k i l l in w a r t h o u s a n d s o f i n n o c e n t p e o p l e
u n d e r t h o p r e t e x t o f a v e n g i n g t h e w r o n g clo ne t o o ne. All
s u c h r e a s o n i n g s a r e t h e f r u i t s o f A v u lija m i s t a k e n for
p h ilo s o p h y a n d w isdom . O u r f r i e n d is c e r t a i n l y w r o n g i n
t h i n k i n g t h a t t h e w r i t e r o f Frar/ruriils a r r i v e d a t h i s
c o n c l u s i o n s o n l y b e c a u s e h e f a i l e d t o k e e p b e f o r e liis m i n d ’s
e y e a ll t h e p o s s ib le eases o f su icides. T h e re su lt, in one
s e n s e , is c e r t a i n l y i n v a r i a b l e ; a n d t h e r e is b u t o n e g e n e r a l
 la w o r r u le for a ll s u ic id e s . B u t, it is j u s t because “ tb e (5.) “ I n q u i r e r ” a s k s w h e t h e r h is “M .” m u s t also b e v ic t im
a fter-st,at.es” v a r y ad-infivitnm, t h a t i t i s a s e r r o n e o u s t o i n f e r o f th at tra n sfo rm a tio n in to spook and pisacha ! J u d g in g
t h a t t h i s v a r i a t i o n cortsisis only in the degree of punishment. b y th e d e lin ea tio n g iv e n o fh is c h a r a c t e r , b y liis f r ie n d , w e
I f t l i e r e s u l t , w i l l b e in every cane t b e n e c e s s i t y o f l i v i n g s h o u ld sa y th a t, o f a ll suimles , he is th e m ost lik ely to
o u t t b e a p p o in te d p erio d o f s e n t ie n t e x is t e n c e , we do not becom e a sean ce-room spook. G u iltless “ of any m oral
se e w h e n c e “ In q u irer” h as d e r iv ed h is n o tio n th a t “ tb e tu rp itu d e,” lie m ay w ell be. B u t, s in ce h e is a fflicted
r e s u l t is i n v a r i a b l y b a d . ” T b e resu lt is fu ll of dangers; w ith a “ r estless d is p o sitio n w h ic h is p erp etu a lly u rg in g
b u t t h e r e is h o p e for c e r t a i n s u ic id e s , and even in m any h im on to make cm effort to do g o o d ”— h e r e , o n e a r i h ,
cases A liKWAltl) i f LIFE WAS SAC'RIFK'KI) TO SAVE OTHER th ere is no reason wc k n o w of, w h y l i e s h o u l d l o s e th at
l iv e s and thnt there was no othev alternative for it. L et u n fo r tu n a te d isp o sitio n (u nfortun ate because of th e con­
h im read para. 7, p a g e 3 1 3 , in t ii e S e p t e m b e r T llE O SuriU ST , s t a n t f a il u r e ) — in t h e Kama Loka. A “ m ista k en z ea l” is
a n d r eflect. O f co u rse, tlie q u e s t io n is s im p ly g en era lised su re to lea d h im on tow ard v a rio u s m ed iu m s. A ttracted
b y th e w riter. T o t r e a t e x h a u s t i v e l y of a ll a n d e v e r y c a so b y t b e s tr o n g m a g n e t ic d esire o f se n sitiv e s a n d sp iritu a lists,

o f su icid e an d th eir a fter -sta te s w o u ld req u ire a sh e lf of “ M .” w ill p r o b a b ly fee) “ m o ra lly b o u n d to d im in ish th e
v o lu m e s from th e B ritish M u seu m 's L ib ra ry , not our w oes to w h ich th ese sen tien t b ein g s (m ed iu m s and

Fragments. b e lie v e r s ) a re s u b j e c t o n e a r th ,” and sh a ll o n c e m o r e destroy,

n o t o n ly h im se lf, b u t h is “ a ffin ities” th e m e d iu m s .
( 2.) N o m a n , w e rep eat, h a s a rig lit to put an end to
liis e x is t e n c e s i m p ly b e c a u s e it is u se less. As w ell argue
tb e n e c essity of in c itin g to su ic id e a ll th e in c u r ­
a b le in v a lid s and c rip p les who are a con stan t
T H O U G H T S U P O N T H E R ELIG IOUS P R O B L E M
source of m isery to th e ir fa m ilies ; an d p rca ch th e m oral
b e a u t y o f t h a t la w a m o n g s o m e o f t h e s a v a g e tr ib e s o f t h e OF A F I R S T CA USE *
Sou th Sea Isla n d e rs, in o b e d ien ce to w h ic h tb e y p u t to
death , w ith w a rlik e h on ours, th eir o ld m en and w om en. BY L. A. SANDERS, F.T.S.
T h e in sta n ce ch o sen b y “ In q u irer” is not a happy one.
T h e r e is a v a s t d if f e r e n c e b e t w e e n t h e m a n w h o p a r t s w i t h Our in tellec t is a force o f W ill, its h ig h e s t , su b tlest
h is life in s h e e r d i s g u s t a t c o n s t a n t fa ilu r e to d o good, out force, h a v in g t h e p o w e r to com m and a ll upon earth (as
o f d e sp a ir o f e v e r b e in g u se fu l, or e v e n o u t o f d rea d to do W i l l b e c o m e s i n t e l l e c t u a l in t h e a d e p t), w h ile , in r e m a in in g
in ju r y to h is fe llo w -m e n b y r e m a in in g a l i v e ; a n d o n e who N a t u r e , it is u n c o n s c io u s a n il w ith o u t in t e lle c t.
g iv e s it u p v o lu n ta r ily to sa v e th e liv e s c ith e r c o m m itted T im e h a s th e n o tio n s past and fu ture, b eg in n in g and
to h is ch arge or dear to h im . O n e is a h a l f in sa n e m is ­ en d , b u t th e s e n o tio n s b e lo n g a lto g e th e r to in te lle c t a lo n e ;
a n th r o p e — th e oth er, a hero and a m artyr. One tales th ere is no su b je c tiv e T im e . T in e began+ w ith th e
a w a y b is life, t h e o t h e r offers i t in sa cr ifice to p h ila n th ro p y a w a k en in g o f in tellec t in N a t u r e , a n d i t s n o t i o n s , past, a n d
and to h is du ty. Tbe ca p ta in who rem a in s a lo n e on fu tu re, are th e p la n u p o n w h ic h ou r in tellec t m u st- th in k ;
b oard o f a sin k in g sh ip ; tb e m a n w h o g iv e s up h is p la ce tim e produces th e n ec essity for a p p reh en d in g ca u sa lity ,
in a boat th at will n o t b o ld all, i n favou r of younger and i.e., c h a n g e s in su ccessio n . N o w , c h a n g e s in s u c c e s s i o n a n d
w ea k er b e in g s ; tb e p h y sicia n , th e sister o f c h a rity , a n d
ete rn ity are h eterogen eou s. The f ir s t are iu T im e, as
n u rse w h o stir n o t fro m tb e b e d -s id e o f p a tien ts d y in g of
T i m e is in I n te lle c t. E t e r n i t y is a w ord w h i c h w e use in
a n in fe c tio u s fev er ; tb e m a n o f scie n c e w h o w a s te s h is life
o r d e r t o d e s i g n a t e t h a t w h i c h is n o t T im e. It is o n ly a
in b ra in -w o rk and fa tig u e and knows lie is s o w a s t i n g it w ord, n o t e v e n a n o tio n ; w e th in k n o t h i n g b y it, because,
a n d y e t is o ffe r in g it d a y a fter d a y and n ig h t after n ig h t
w hen w e attem p t to a n a l y s e it, we are a lw a y s forced to
in order to d isco v er s o m e g r e a t la w o f t h e u n iv er se, th e
d isco v ery of w h ich m ay b rin g iu its r esu lts so m e great im a g in e so m e th in g in th e way of a lo n g , lo n g T im e , a
b oon to m a n k in d ; th e m o th e r th a t th ro w s h er se lf before T im e w ith o u t end; and but prove by th at, th at for
t h e w ild b e a st, t h a t a tta c k s h e r ch ild ren , to screen a n d g iv e E te r n ity , w e b a v e n o a d e q u a te c o n c e p t in o u r in tellec t. W e
th em th e tim e to f l y ; all th ese are not suicides. T lio
can th in k o n ly of T im e . C a u sa lity , b e g in n in g , end, past_
im p u lse w h ic h p ro m p ts th e m th u s to con tra ven e t h e first
f u t u r e — a r e n o t i o n s o f T i m e , a n d in T i m e a r c t h e s t r u c t u r e s ,
g r e a t la w o f a n im a t e d n a t u r e — t h e first in s t in c t iv e im p u ls e
o f w h ich is to preserve lif e — is g r a n d a n d n o b le . And, t h e p la n u p o n w h ic h ou r in tellec t m u st operate. In tellect

t h o u g h a ll t h e s e will have to liv e in th e K am a Loka began and w ill end lik e tim e, lik e ca u sa lity , lik e p ast,
t h e i r a p p o in t e d lif e te r m , t h e y a r e y e t a d m ir e d b y all, a n d lik e fu tu re, w hen in tellect ends itself. E tern ity b elo n g s
th e ir m e m o r y w ill liv e h o n o u r ed am ong th e liv in g fo ra to N ir v a n a , w h ic h h a s n a u g h t to d o w it h a ll th ese things
s t i l l l o n g e r p e r io d . W e all w i s h t h a t , u p o n s i m i l a r o c c a s io n s ,
a ll th ese n o tio n s. A first cause is u n th in k a b le and
w e m a y h a v e c o u r a g e so to d ie. N o t so, s u r e ly in t b e c a se
of th e m an in stan ced b y “ In q u ire r .” N o tw ith sta n d in g cannot e x ist beyond N atu re, beyond us, because oyr

h is a sse r tio n t h a t “ th e r e is n o m oral co w a rd ice w h a te v e r in t e lle c t itse lf, w h e n tr y in g to im a g in e it, a cts after th e
in v o lv ed ” in such self-sacrifice— we c a ll it d e cid ed ly la w o f c a u s a lity , its o w n form , b e c a u s e ou r in tellec t m akes
“ m o r a l c o w a r d ic e ” a n d r e f u s e it t h e n a m e o f sacrifice.
th e b eg in n in g and th ere is n o th in g else, as m atter is
(3 a n d 4.) T h e r e is fa r m o r e c o u r a g e to liv e th a n to d ie
c a u sa lity .
in m o s t cases. I f “ M . ’’ f e e l s t h a t h e i s “ p o s i t i v e l y m i s c h i e v ­
o u s,” le t h im r etire to a j u n g le , a d e s e r t isla n d ; or, what W e see and th in k nature such, because we o u r selv e s
is still b etter, to a ca v e or hut near som e b ig c it y ; and a r o N a t u r e a n d o u r in te lle c t, is a ls o N a t u r e ; n o t s o m e t h i n g
th e n , w h ile liv in g th e life o f a h e r m it, a life w h ic h w o u ld
a p a rt, lo o k in g u p o u s o m e t h in g else.
p reclu d e th e very p o ssib ility o f d o in g m is c h ie f to a n y one,
work, in one w ay or t h e o th er , for t h e p o o r , t h e s ta r v in g , B y a t t e m p t in g to th in k a first cause, we try to think
t h e a fflicted . If he does th at, no on e can “ b ecom e in ­ our intellect. M a t t e r is force, is in tellec t, is ca u sa lity , is
v o lv e d in t h e e ffe c ts o f h i s m i s t a k e n z e a l,” w hereas, if bo
w ill, a circle, a n d we o u rselv es are will. The tim e for
h a s tb e slig h te st ta len t, b e can b e n efit m any by sim p le
m anual la b o u r ca rried on in as c o m p le te a so litu d e an d p h i l o s o p h y h a s c o m e , t h e t i m e for t h i n k i n g is h e r e , a n d t h e

silen ce as can be com m anded under th e c ircu m sta n ces. a b o v e are b ro a d h in t s for frien d s,

A n y th in g is b e tt e r — e v e n b e in g ca lled a crazy p h ila n ­

B orneo, J u ly , 1 8 8 2 .
th ro p ist— th a n co m m ittin g suicide, th e m ost d a sta rd ly
a n d c o w a r d ly o f all a c tio n s, u n le s s t h e felo de se is resort­

e d to , in a fit o f in s a n it y . * Soe TH EO SO FfliR T, April, 1SS2. | hi each worM-cyelc.—Ed,

S U P E R I O R I T Y OF H I N D U I S M TO O T H E R is m e n t io n e d in t h e V e d a n t by th e word ‘ H e ’— o f H i m

E X IS T IN G R E L I G I O N S : A S V I E W E D FROM w h a t m o re sh a ll I te ll you, my b elo v ed ? H e is to be

c o n te m p la te d , H e is to be w orsh ipp ed . H is w orsh ip is
T IIE S T A N D -P O I N T OF TH E ISM .
easy. W i t h o u t H i s w o r s h ip th e r e c o u ld bo no sa lv a tio n .”
(Continued from the October Number.) A g a in —
BY B A B U B A J N A H A IN' B O S K
^ T R fR 'rrf TfCfST R T ffr^ : |
President of the A d i Jh a h m o Samv.j.
(T ra n sla te d into E n g lish by the A u th o r.) ti U ' T i f ( R W r (tst spt: h

“I only haml on, I cannot create new things, I believe in the ancionts ^rcre5
Hi l r r R r s < r r i T f a ^*rrqR ^ng^R ^: |
and, therefore, I love them.”—Confucius.
JT rerffcft: q r f^ r tr a ^ r c t ^ : II
In o n e p la c e o f th e M a h a n ir v a n T a n tra , th e d u tie s o f a
knower o fth e One T rue G od are b e a u tifu lly d escrib ed . iTf 5 ^ R r w ^ jt-cti I
T h e god S h iv a is rep resen ted as sa y in g to h is b elo v ed
^TcTTctTF i f T *qTcT W S T I ? ? l1 fcT II
consort, P a r v a ti :—
5T 'T C rR IjfV cT R rr I ^
cspnt faR*frr%^T: I
sT cT ft ^ f q c q r r ir i
rfcT f l l ^ T R I

q R iT R R ^ r i ||

sfiaT »rcfcr ft*ric*n u ^ R rq i^ r jtw trt 1

^ 5Tl c f R e r ^ R ^ q ^ II
wsTOf: ll f “ H e w h o e m b r a c es th is relig io n (th e r elig io n o f th e O n e
T rue God) sh o u ld be tru th fu l, of w e ll-su b d u e d senses,
R fsq ^ R r f k i w R f f r w r u ^ : I
d e v o te d to th e good of oth ers, w ith o u t hatred, w ith o u t
TrcnraTcT: f l f o r e S t ? r c W c. * ^ || m a lic e , w it h o u t p rid e, w e ll-m e a n in g , k in d , pu re-h earted

JT3_:
C\ ir^q-
SO^q^rqT *r r r :
f
ry 'I
a n d d e v o te d to th e serv ice o f
w h a t is p le a s in g to th e m .
h is
H e sh o u ld often
paren ts, a lw a y s
hear of
doinrr
God,
^ fscw tw r t : tfqpscq ftqwcT: ll h e sh o u ld o ften th in k of God ; he sh o u ld often search’

stanffefr I after G od.

h a v e firm n ess
H e sh o u ld b e o f
of m in d . H e
a w ell-reg iila led
sh o u ld th in k th at
heart,
God
and
is
m rt tpfsRci ^ 3TRrr% II .a lw a y s present b e f o r e ^h im . H e sh o u ld not u tter any
fa lseh o o d , n or t h in k o f in ju r in g oth ers. H e w ho has been
c f^ q t^ r sriT fr ^ I
*N in itia te d in to th e k n o w le d g e o f th e O n e T ru e G od, sh o u ld
flcTS 3f3TcT II refrain from a d u lte ry . A t th e b e g in n in g o f every act, he
sh o u ld p r o n o u n c e t h e w ord s ' O m T a t S a t,’ i.e., ‘ God is
«tct sc?rrfcr i
•n 'S »S »s C rea to r a n d P r e s e r v e r a n d D e s tr o y e r . l i e o n ly rea lly e x is te th .’
«iraT II A fte r h a v in g d o n e e a tin g , d r in k in g , or an y o th er act, he
sh o u ld say, ‘ Brainharpa'iui-niattu’ i.e., ‘ T h i s I m a k e over
*Rr^>T *r qc^ : I to G o d .’ T h a t b y w h i c h t h e w o r ld is w e l l - g u i d e d , t h a t is t h e
^ 7#^ srer pT% rt II e t e r n a l r e l ig io n , t h a t is t h e r elig io n o f t h e know er o f th e
'O C *\
O n e T r u e G o d .”
it t v p r r s# ^ rcff-sr't t f w ' i i t q^Tnrrcr | A g a in —
*"s C\ •% >•% >*
q#<T ar^ r: wj£ qsqr% q^r n ^ rriT i t r ^ t m i
w ,\v JTcq- f a r
t
m i w i
'C l C. a w r sR n
fc p a - to r*"s *tct
*X
^ s iq ^ f f o r : ll 'T5FT 1
q^rnr f%g?R ®R»riT | A # 11
t V : tp q ; H ^ r ^ w f s R r srriT cr ^ r a ^ r | |
0^ V3 N3 3T H rcfr qr w r r n i i
6 'O • *
“ 0 G od d ess ! of H im who has a p p o in te d th e e and m e T 5 m q -^ r ^ R ^T5T R U T ^ r r R ^ r : n
for t h e g o o d of th e u n iv er se, 1 .shall te ll t li e e so t h a t t h e
" fn _ t h e _ w o r s h ip of God, p u rity of speech, body
w o r ld m a y b e b e n e fit te d , i f o n e d o g o o d to t h e w o rld , God,
and m in d is r eq u ir e d . I 11 h is w orsh ip th ero is 110
t h e lo rd a n d th e sou l o f th e w o rld , b y w h o m t h e w o r ld is
in v o c a t i o n or t h r o w in g a w a y in t o w a te r (as iu t h e c a se w it h
s u p p o r t e d , is p le a s e d . H e is o n e o n ly , t h e o n ly r e a lity , t h e
id ols). A t all t im e s a n d all p la ces one sh o u ld w 'orsln p
t r u t h , w i t h o u t a s e c o n d , s u p e r io r to all, t h e a ll- m a n i f e s t , th e
H im . O n e sh o u ld ad o re H im w ith a pure heart a fter
all-p erfect. H e is t r u t h it s e lf , i n t e l l i g e n c e it s e lf , a n d f e l i c i t y
h a v i n g b a t h e d , o r w i t h o u t d o i n g so, a f t e r h a v i n g t a k e n h is
itse lf. H e i s w ith o u t form , u n s u p p o r te d , im m u ta b le , w ith o u t
m e a l, or b e fo r e d o in g so.”
sorrow , d ev o id o f m a te r ia l q u a lities, a ll-w itn essin g , th e
A g a in —
s o u l o f all, t h e a ll-seer, everyw here present. H e is th e
h id d e n in all th in g s, o m n ip iesen t and e tern a l. H e »TC*TPT8?T 3T3*TTTI*5ff *T f W |
e n a b le th th e s en se s to m a n ife st th eir pow ers, but H e is
r w i n
h im s e lf d ev o id o f th e sen ses. H e is beyond th e w o rld ,
b u t t h e c a u s e o f th e w o rld . H e is beyond th e reach of “ I u th is relig io n th er e are 110 s c r u p l e s about what ig t o
speech or m in d . That o m n isc ie n t God knows all, but b e e a t e n o r n o t t o b e e a t e n , a b o u t w h a t is t o b e r e j e c t e d or
n on e k n ow s H im . The w h o le u n iv er se e x iste th as in d is­ accepted . T h e r e is no ru le about a u sp icio u s hours, or

p u ta b le tru th , su p p orted b y H im . T h e s e d iffe ren t ob jects a b o u t p la c e o f w o r sh ip .”

A g a in —
e x ist as tr u e th ro u g h h is tr u th fu ln e ss. 0 great G oddess !
w e h a v e b een created b y th a t cau se of e x isten ce s. H e is
irr« # *r% jft^ iR f^ r itr qr^r% ?r i
t h e c a u s e o f all, t h e o n e o n ly G o d . L ien sin g o f h im as 'o 1
th e C reator an d th e Suprem e 011 account of h is h a v in g ? frq iT ^ f t l c^ F 5 f R ^ R * R I!
c r e a t e d t h is w o r ld . T h r o u g h w h o s e fear t h e w in d b lo w e th ,
fq?rrfq ^ rar qr§f% ^ |
th e sun sh in e th , th e trees b lo sso m in th e forest, tim e
tim etb , d e a th k illetb , a n d fear m a k e tU men afra id ; who
 “ (.) g r e a t g o d d e s s r esp e c tin g in itia tio n in to th e know­ can be com pared to th e In d ia n O cean. As th ere arc
le d g e of (J o d , t l i e i e i.s n o r e g a r d o f p e r s o n s . T lie sp iritu a l m a teria l g e m s w ith o u t n u m b e r in th e In d ia n O cean, so
lo n e lie r sh o u ld in itia te w ith o u t nny such regard. T lie th er e are sp iritu a l g e m s w ith o u t num ber in H in d u ism .
l a t h e r c a n i n i t i a t e Ids s o n , th e broth er h is broth er, th e The H in d u needs not go anyw here e lse for r elig io u s
h u s b a n d h i s w i f e , I,ho u n cle h is neph ew , and th e grand­ k n o w led g e. I q u o te b elo w w h a t o u r v e n e r a b le P resid e n t*
f a th e r h is g r a n d -so n .” h a s s a id o n t h i s s u b j e c t in o n e o f h i s w o r k s : — ■
1 h ave show n above th e esp ecia l su p erio rity of Jnan- “ A m an need not be of a p a rticu la r n a tio n or
k a n d a , or h ig h e r H in d u is m ( Sresklha Adhikaru,), to oth er of a p a rtic u la r country iu order to be a knowcr
r elig io n s aftcr h a v in g sh o w n th e su p e r io rity of H in d u ism or speaker of B rahm a or th e One T rue God.
in g e n e ra l. W h ile tr e a tin g o f th e su p e r io rity of H in d u ­ A B r a h m o o f a n y c o u n t r y h a s a r ig h t to in s t r u c t th o se of
ism in g e n e r a l , I s h o w e d t h a t ta k in g th e sp irit of even a n o t h e r in t h e k n o w l e d g e of G o d . W e have, how ever, au
t h a t p o r t i o n o f H i n d u i s m , w h i c h is c a l l e d t h e l o w e r r e l i g i o n esp ecia l lig h t to th e j e w e ls o f tru th c o m m u n ic a te d b y th e
( A'anist/itt Adhtkara), it i s s u p e r i o r t o o t h e r r e l i g i o n s . T h is speakers of God who flo u rish ed in a n c ien t In d ia . In
s u p e r i o r i t y i s ,h o w e v e r , m o s t c o n s p i c u o u s in t h e J>/aiikamla m a t t e r o f r e lig io n , w e a r e r ich in paternal w e a lth ; th at
or th e Srcxhlhii■Adhikaru. W h o e v e r reads th e S lo k a s q u o ted w e a l t h is t h e b e s t t h a t we possess ; w e have got it iu
a b o v e , w ill c le a r ly p e r c e iv e from t h e m t h a t t h e a s c e n t fr o m a b u n d a n c e from ou r fo refa th ers; w e n eed n o t b e g it from
th e r elig io n o f Jnn n k jin d a, esp ec ia lly th e relig io n of th e a n y o th e r n a tio n . I n d i a is t h e p r im e v a l s e a t of r elig io n .
V c d a n t or U p a n i s h a d to B ra h m o ism , is very ensy. The N o oth er country, no oth er n atio n has a relig io n so
S lo k a s p la in ly sh ow h ow n e a r is B r a h m o i s m t o H in d u ism , a n c ie n t ns th at o ftlie V eila s. The first relig io n th at
and how ea sily has th e la tter been d e v e lo p e d in to th e appeared in th e w o rld was th e V e d ic relig io n . In tlie
form er. H in d u ism , th ro u g h gradual im p ro v e m e n t, has d im ly a n c ie n t p e r io d w h e n th e V e d ic S u k ta s issu ed from
becom o IIrahm oism . B ra h m o ism is u n iv ersa l and tu i- th e sim p le an d pu re lie a its o f th e R ish is of In d ia , oth er
sce ta r ia n r elig io n , b e c a u se its tru th s are com m on Lo a ll lan d s w ere w rapped in th e darkness of ig n o r a n c e .
r e l i g i o n s , a n d it: a d m i t s m e n o f n l l n a t i o n s a n d r a c e s w i t h i n P oetical num bers first took r ise in In d ia . And th is
its p a le .* H in d u ism has, by p ro g ressiv e d e v e lo p m e n t, s a c r e d in v e n t io n o f m a n w a s first offered to th e feet of
a s s u m e d in B r a h m o i s m a f o r m w h ic h is p e r f e c t ly ca th o lic. H im w h o a w a rd s th e fru its o f our r e lig io u s acts. G oil h a s
B u t, becau se, B ra h m o ism is u n iv ersa l and u n secta ria n m ad e In d ia th e g rea t m in e of relig io n , and even up to
r e l i g io n , d o e s it n e c e s s a r i l y fo llo w t h n t it is n o t H i n d u i s m ? t h i s t im o t h e j e w e l s it c o n t a in s h a v e n o t been exh au sted .
S u p p ose 1 saw a m an nam ed R am chandra, w hen he was T h e H i m a l a y a s a r e n o l e s s I n d i a ’s , t h e In d ia n O cean and
b u t fiv e y e a r s o ld. N o w , th at, h e h a s r e a c h e d h i s t h i r t i e t h th e G anges are no less hers, th a n are th e V edas, th e
year, and , w ith th e la p se o f years, h is form a n d a s p e c t h a v e U p a n ish a d s, an d th e P u ran as. N ow here was th e sub ject
u n d e r g o n e c o n s id e r a b le c h a n g e — d o e s it fo llo w th at he is o f relig io n m o re c u ltiv a te d th an in In d ia . T lie In d ia n s
n o t t h e s a m e .R a m ch a n d ra still w h o m 1 saw th irty years are b y n a tu r e lo v e r s o f r elig io n . T h e y v iew r elig io n in a
ago ? The H in d u ism o ftlie ago of th e R ig -V ed a has, by m ore serio u s lig h t th an any oth er n a tio n . N ow here is
m ea n s of gradual im p ro v em en t and co rrectio n , becom e to b e s e e n silc h r e g a r d for relig io n — such dcpeudcnee on
B ra h m o ism . D o e s it fo llo w , th e r e fo r e , t h a t it is n o lo n g e r G od. Do what th ey w ill, b u ild a hou se, or jo u r n e y to
H in d u ism ? J t is ju s t a s t ru e to s a y th at B ra h m o ism is a n y p la c e , t h e y m u s t first t a k e t h e n a m e o f H i m o n w h o m
H i n d u i s m f o r t,he. r e a s o n t h a t t h e l a t t e r l i a s b e e n g r a d u a l l y a ll s u c c e s s d e p e n d s , b e fo r e d o in g th e sam e. E ven w hen
d e v e lo p e d in to th e form er, an d th at, th er e fo r e, th e form er th ey w rite a com m on letter, th ey do not forget God.
is th e h ig h e s t d e v e lo p e d form o f t l i e la tter , as it w o u ld be T h e y c o m m e n c e it w ith h is n a m e. T hose n a tio n s w hose
to say th a t B ra m h o ism is u n i v e r s a l r e l i g i o n , fo r t h e r e a s o n m in d s are n o t so d e e p ly im b u e d w ith relig io u s feelin g s
t h a t its t r u t h s a re c o m m o n to a ll r elig io n s, and th at it c a n n o t u n d e r sta n d th e s e th in g s. T h is r e l ig io u s s p ir it lias
a d m i t s m e n o f all n a t i o n s a n d races w ith in its pa le. A c o m e d o w n from t h e e a r lie s t p erio d o f t l i e V e d ic relig io n .
B r a h m o or 1 1 in d u T l i e i s t h a s a s m uch r ig h t to ca ll h is O n e p a r tic u la r n a tio n h a s w o n c eleb rity in one p a rticu la r
relig io n th e h ig h est d e v elo p ed form of H in d u ism as a t h i n g — o n e i n w a r , a n o t h e r in c o m m e r c e , a th ir d in art, a n d
C h r is tia n or M a h o m e d a n T lie is t h a s to c a ll h is t h e h ig h e s t a fo u rth in r elig io n . In d ia , if it h as n o th in g e lse to boast
d e v e lo p e d form o f C h r is tia n it y or M a h o m e d a n ism . That of, h a s y e t a s u p e r i o r i t y in relig io n and m o ra lity above
very k n o w led g e and w orsh ip of B rahm a, w liich , from t h e r e st o f t h e w o rld . T h e su p e r io r m o d e s ty an d c h a s tity
a n c ie n t, t im e s , w e r e c o n fin e d to t h e le a r n e d , is now b e in g o f ou r In d ia n w om en w ill a m p ly testily to th is fact.
p r e a c h e d to, a n d p r o p a g a t e d a m o n g , t h e m a s s in a purer W e n e e d g o to o t h e r n a t io n s for a sounder k n o w led g e of
shape. I n d a y s o f o ld, t h e U p a n i s h a d s w e r e stu d ied o n ly p o litic s , of arts, o f c o m m e r c e , o f m ilita ry scien ce, but we
b y t h e R i s h i s w h o liv e d in fo r e sts, w h e n c e th ese tr e a tises n e e d g o to n o n a tio n for r e lig io u s a n d m oral in str u c tio n .”
o b ta in ed th e n a m e oi Ara nyaka. but now are th ey read T h e c o m p r e h e n siv e n e s s a n d su p erio rity o f H in d u is m are
b y all 'I T h e n , in t h o s e d a y s w h e n e d u c a t io n was not at b e a u tifu lly d escrib ed in t h e a b o v e w ords o f our P resid en t.
a ll d iffu sed a m o n g th e p e o p le a n d s o c ie ty was e n v e lo p e d I th in k th a t th e cir cu m sta n c es o f o th er n a t i o n ’s te a ch in g
by th e d en se g lo o m o f p ro fo u n d ig n o ra n ce, th e g e n e ra lity r elig io n to H in d u s lo o k s v e ry m uch lik e p u ttin g on th e
o f m e n co u ld n o t c o m p r e h e n d th e fo r m le ss B rahm a and a irs of a g r a n d -u n cle before a g ra n d -u n ele. If we
th e R is h is ju stly a p p r e h e n d e d th a t th e k n o w le d g e of th e co n sid er th e ch a ra cter of H in d u is m , we are led lo th in k
O n e T r u e (Jod w o u l d b e c o r r u p t e d a n il a ,b u sed b y ig n o r a n t th at th is relig io n w ill never p erish . A s lo n g as In d ia
m e n , u n a b le to grasp th e s a m e if it b e im p a r te d to th em . w ill ex ist, so lo n g w ill H in d u ism e x ist. M any p eo p le
B u t th ose days have gone by. N ow , as th e lig h t of say th at H in d u ism w ill p erish . T h e ir a ssertio n
k n o w l e d g e is b e in g d iffu s e d a m o n g a ll ranks of so ciety , is u n fou n d ed . W ho can d estroy th is relig io n ? The
th ere is no cause for such a p p reh en sio n . N ow th e B u d d h i s t s t r ie d t o d e s t r o y it, b u t t h e y w ere u n su ccessfu l.
fa c ilitie s h a v e v e ry m u c h in c r e a se d for r a isin g th e m en The M ahom edans m a d e e v e r y a t t e m p t to d o so, b u t th ey
w h o a r e in t h e K am dhn Adhikarnox lo w e r stn g e o f relig io n w ere not a b le to shake it in th e le a st. The C h ristia n
to th e h ig h er b y m en u s of in str u c tio n . It has, th e ie fo r e , m is s io n a r ie s h a v e c o m e to p r o p a g a te th e ir relig io n in th is
b e c o m e i n c u m b e n t u p o n nil B r a h m o s o r H i n d u T h e i s t s t o c o u n t r y , b u t , s e e i n g t h e s t r e n g t h of H i n d u i s m , h a v e c o m m e n ­
i n s t r u c t t h e m a s s in t h e k n o w l e d g e o f t h e O n e T rue G od. ced to so u n d a retreat. In a speech la tely d e liv ered by
O n c o n s id e r a tio n it w ill a p p e a r t h a t H in d u ism is, lik e D r . D u f f in S c o tla n d , h e sa id t h a t I n d ia n p h ilo s o p h y is so
th e ocean, a grea t sto re-h o u se o f g em s. In th is resp ect it co m p r e h e n siv e, th a t cou n terp arts o f all s y s te m s o f E u r o ­
p e a n p h i l o s o p h y a r e to b e f o u n d i n it. S u rely it m ust be
';> Tho rnt.holicity of l4i*nlinioi.«in hns been dwelt upon at Inrire in my ex trem ely d ifficu lt to con vert such an in te llig e n t n a tio n
senw'Ji <m the clmrnctcrislics of JirnhtnoiMn (fcu U. ft J3nscV Jtnlfri/on or
Scrmi'its-, V«i) J ) I delivered the jihovo .sermon Fome tweniy years ntro. to C h ristia n ity . H in d u ism is lik e an elep h a n t. The
"When I sent it from Jf idiui i>oro to Calcutta for publication ill the Talwa*
M h u > i I ’u f i i / . u (theorem of lhe ^di JJrahmo Somaj). I annexed to ifc
Slmstrio authorities for niv views and opinions. But the Editor of the * Bibu Dobemlranoth Tagore who was Prosident of th« meeting in wliwj>
journal in question could not publish them for want of fpacc, this lcoture was Jelivored, ’
fo llo w e r s o f o th e r r e lig io n s a tta c k it lik e gn ats, but th ey w e a k ; o n e ca n n e v e r b e c o m e g r e a t b y m e a n s o f im ita tio n .
fly o f f w h e n it o n c e s h a k e s its b o d y . As lo n g as th e say­ O u r n a t io n is v e r y fo n d o f im ita tio n . T hey are so fon d
in g , “ G o d is tr u t h itself, w isd o m itself, a n d in fin ity itse lf,” of im ita tio n th at, if th e C h in ese becom e our ru lers
la sts, so lo n g w ill H i n d u i s m last. As lo n g as th e sa y in g , to-d ay, th ey w o u ld keep a p ig -ta il to-m orrow . But
“ H e is t h e b e s t a m o n g t h e k n o w e r s o f G o d w h o s e am use­ does what I say a p p ly to a ll H in d u s ? A re th ere
m e n t is G od, w h o se en joym en t is G od. and w ho p erfo rin s not hundreds and th ou san d s of m en in In d ia who
g o o d w o r k s , ” is r e g a r d e d in I n d i a a s t h e b e s t d e s c r i p t i o n c f are averse to s erv ile im ita tio n of oth er n a tio n s ? If
th e tru e knower o f G od , so lo n g w ill H in d u ism la st. As th er e be no su ch n o b le-h ea rted m en in I n d ia , le t it be
l o n g a s tlie s a y in g s , “ H e r ea lly s e e t h w h o s e e t h o t h e r b e in g s w ash ed a w a y by th e In d ia n O cean, let it b e o b lite ra ted
in th e lig h t o f h im se lf,” “ O n e sh o u ld n o t do to o th er s w h a t fro m t h e m a p o f t h e w o r ld ; t h e la tt e r w o u ld lo se n o th in g
is h u rtfu l to h im se lf,” w ill b e w e lc o m e d by th e p e o p le of by th e cata stro p h e. W e are n ot N e w Z elan d b a rb a ria n s,
I n d ia , so lo n g w ill H i n d u i s m last. A s lo n g a s H in d u is m w ill th at, p u ttin g 011 h a t a n d co a t, w e w ill in o n e d a y b e t u r n e d
la st, so lo n g w ill th e H i n d u n a m e la st. W e c a n n e v e r fo r sa k e in to E n g lis h m e n . T h is w o u ld be th e a c t o f a sla v e. W e
th e n a m e of H in d u . W h a t fon d a n d c h a r m in g a sso c ia tio n s are n o t sla v es. W e have o
" o t s t a<m i n<a i n us. Th
_
e H in d u
are con n ected w ith th e w ord “ H in d u ” ! W hen we pro­ r a c e h a s s till g o t s u f f i c ie n t s t a m i n a in t h e m w h ic h w o u ld
nou n ce th e w ord “ H in d u ” th e v e n e ra b le fig u res of th e e n a b le th e m to rise b y d in t of in d e p e n d e n t e x e r tio n . The
p r im itiv e A ryans, who d w e lt on th e b a n k s o f th e riv er H i n d u n a t io n is s u r e t o im p r o v e t h e m s e l v e s and becom e
S a ra sw a ti, appear b efore o u r v isio n , w h o, p er ce iv in g th e r iv a ls o f o t h e r c i v iliz e d n a t i o n s in c o u r s e o f t im e . R e lig io u s
in t im a te rela tio n b etw een m an and God, sa id , “ T h o u art a n d m o r a l c iv iliz a t io n is t r u e civ iliza tio n . That civ iliz a ­
our fath er, th o u art our m o th e r.” “ T h o u art our trien d , tio n has not yet daw ned upon th e earth. W e can
our fath er, th e greatest am ong fa th ers.” “ S w e e t is th y r ea so n a b ly h o p e th a t th e H in d u n a tio n , by r e-a tta in in g
frien d sh ip , sw eet th y g u id a n c e.” “ T h o u art ours an d w e its a n c ie n t relig io u s a n d m oral c iv iliza tio n , yea by a tta in ­
th in e. ’ W hen w e pronounce th e w ord “ H in d u ,” th e in g a g rea ter r elig io u s and m oral c iv iliza tio n th a n th e
v e n e r a b le fig u re o f th e llish i T ittira appears before our s a m e , w ill s t a n d a s t h e b e s t a n d t h e f o r e m o s t o f all n a t io n s
v is io n , w h o sa id : “ H e w h o k n o w s t h e S u p r e m e God who 011 t h e earth. W e h a v e lo st p o litica l freed om . S h a ll wo
is t r u t h its e lf, w is d o m its e lf, a n d in f in it y i t s e l f a s s e a t e d in h a v e to lo se so cia l fr e e d o m a lso ? T h e great poet H om er
th e b e s t o f all sp a ces, th e h e a r t, e n jo y e th a ll fru itio n w ith sa y s : “ T h e d a y a m a n b e c o m e s a sla v e, h e lo s e s h a lf h is
th e a ll-in te llig e n t G o d .” W hen wo pronounce th e w ord m a n h o o d .” I f in th is w a y w e b e c o m e d e p e n d e n t 011 oth ers
“ H in d u ” th e v en era b le fig u re ot tlie llish i M andukya in e v e r y resp ect, sh a ll w e b e e v e r a b le to sta n d u p ag a in '!
a p p e a r s b e f o r e o u r v i s i o n , w h o s a i d : ‘' G o d is a ll- t r a n q u il, C a n th e m in d reta in its str en g th at su ch sla v ish depend­
a ll-g o o d a n d w ith o u t a seco n d .” W hen w e pronounce th e ence ? I f th e m in d lo se its str en g th , how can we effect
w c r l “ H in d u ,” th e v e n e r a b le fig u re o f V y a s , w h o s a i d : “ O i e our ow n im p ro v em en t ? S h a ll th e H in d u race be e x tin ­
s h o u ld n o t d o to o t h e r s w h a t is hu rtfu l to h im se lf,” pre­ g u ish e d b y b e c o m in g su b ject to fo reig n ers in every
sen ts itse lf to our m in d in t h e r e v e r e d a r r a y o f t h e god- p o ssib le r e s p e c t ? I can never b eliev e so. T h is 1 hope
d e v o t e d a s c e tic , t h e t i g e r - s k in , a n d t h e m a t t e d h air. W hen t h a t , a s t h e H i n d u n a t i o n w a s o n c e r e n o w n e d in t h e w o rld
w e pronou nce th e w ord “ H in d u ,” th e v e n e r a b le fig u re of for k n o w l e d g e , w is d o m , c iv iliz a tio n , a n d r elig io n , it w ill
th e g e n tle , b u t sp irito d , V a s is th a a p p e a r s b efo re o u r v isio n , ag a in b e c o m e r e n o w n e d for th e sa m e . M i l t o n s a y s in o n e
w h o sa id : “ T h e w o r d s o f a ch ild , i f r e a s o n a b le , a re a c c e p t ­ p la ce w ith referen ce to h is o w n n a tio n : “ M e th iu k s, 1 see
a b le , b u t w h a t is u n r e a s o n a b l e s h o u l d b e s p u r n e d a s grass in m y m in d a n o b le and p u issa n t n a tio n r o u sin g h erself
ev en if u ttered by th e god, B ra h m a , h im self.” W hen we lik e a stro n g m a n a fter slee p a n d sh a k in g her in v in cib le
p r o n o u n c e th e w ord “ H in d u ,” th e w ise, p la c id a s p e c t o f th e lock s ; u ieth in k s, I see her as an ea g le m ew in g her
b r o w n -co m p lex io n ed , h a n d so m e H a m a , brow n as th e fresh m ig h ty y o u th an d k in d lin g h er u n d a zzled ey es at th e lu ll
Durva grass, a p p ea r s b e fo r e o u r v isio n , w h o su ffered in fin ite m id -d a y b ea m .” L ik e w is e I ca n sa y w ith resp ect to th e
h a r d s h ip in t h e w ild e r n e s s for f o u r t e e n y e a r s for t h e s a k e o f H in d u n a tio n : “ I see b efore me th e m ig h ty H in d u
f u l f i l l i n g t h e p r o m i s e h e m a d e to h i s f a t h e r a n d e x h ib ite d n a tio n r isin g from sle e p an d sh a k in g th e Kunchtla* o f th e
in h im self th e best e x a m p le of tru th fu ln ess a n d self­ hero, s e ttin g its e lf to ru n th e race of im p r o v e m e n t w ith
r estr a in t. W hen we pronounce th e w ord “ H in d u ,” th e e n e r g y o fa g o d . I see before m e t h e H i n d u n a tio n ren ew ­
Y u d h isth ir presents h im se lf b efore our v isio n , in g its y o u t h a n d a g a in a d o r n in g th e w orld w ith th e lig h t
w h o se n a m e h a s b e c o m e a lm o st synonym ous w ith v irtu e o f k n o w le d g e , c iv iliz a tio n a n d r elig io n . I see b efore me
in In d ia . W hen we pronounce th e w ord “ H in d u ,” th e its r e n o w n a n d g lo r y a g a in fillin g th e ea rth from one end
fig u re o f t h a t e x tr a o r d in a r y m a n * a p p e a r s b efore u s who, o f it to t h e o th er.” I co n c lu d e m y le c tu r e w ith sin g in g
te llin g t h e m e a n s o f h is own d e str u c tio n to J u d h isth ir , t h e g l o r y o f I n d i a w i t h a h e a r t f u l l o f h o p e :—
sh o w ed u n c o m m o n m a g n a n im it y o f m in d , a n d who, from
Y e sons o f I n d ! h e r g l o r y sing
a m id s t th e to r tu r e s o f h is b ed o f arrow s, g a v e en d le ss a n d
W i l h h e a r t s r e s p o n s i v e to t h e s t r i n g .
p riceless r e lig io u s a n d m o r a l in s tr u c tio n to th e Pandavas.
W l i a t hind b e n e a t h t h e sun lik e I n d i a g l e a m s ?
W h e n w e p ron ou n ce th e w ord “ H in d u ,” th e h ig h -so u led W l i u t m o u n t is l ik e h e r M o u n t o f S n o w ?
royal sa in t, J a n a k a , p r e se n ts h im se lf to our m in d s, who, I l e r s a r e t h e k i n d e s t soil, tlie p u r e s t s t r e a m s
fo r a m in u te , w as n o t d iv e r te d from in tim a te co m m u n io n A u d m in e s w h e r e r a r e s t j e w e l s g low .
w ith G od, th o u g h p a y in g th e m in u te s t a tt e n tio n to w o r ld ly G l o r y be to I m l !
a ffa irs. W hen we pronounce th e w ord “ H in d u ,” we G l o r y lio ! to I m l !
r em em b e r P u ru ra v a , w ho, on b e in g b r o u g h t c a p tiv e b efore G l o r y sin«: o f I n d !
A le x a n d e r , a n d 011 b e in g a s k e d b y h im h o w h e lik ed to b e W i t h a fe arless h e a rt,
trea ted , rep lied , “ L ik e a K in g .” H ow c h a r m in g is th e W i t h u m a s t e r ’s a r t,
H in d u n am e ! Can we ever forsak e it ? T h is nam e G lo ry sing o f l u d !
possesses m a g ic a l power. By m ean a o f th is nam e all
2.
S u r p a s s i n g f a ir a n d e lm s te nrc I n d i a ’s d a m e s :
H in d u s w ill be bound by th e tie of b ro th erh ood . By
W h e r e a r e t h e ’q n a ls to b e fou nd
m e a n s o f th is nam e, th e B en g a li, th e H in d u sth a n i, th e
O f Situ, S a v i t r i , th o s e lioly nam es,
P u n ja b i, th e R a jp u t, th e M a h r a tta , th e M a d ra si, in short
F o r m a t c h l e s s c o n s t a n c y r c u o w n ’d ?
all H in d u s , w ill be of o n e heart. The a sp ir a tio n s of a ll
G l o r y bo to I n d !
w ill b e t h e s a m e ; t h e y w ill a ll m a k e u n it e d effort for t h e G l o r y I10 ! to I n d !
a tta in m e n t o f a ll k in d s o f fr e ed o m . W e sh o u ld not, th er e ­ G l o r y sing o f I n d !
fore, f o r s a k e t h e n a m e o f H i n d u a s l o n g a s th e la st drop W i t h a fe a r l e s s he a r t,
o f A r y a n b lo o d runs in o u r v ein s. S h a ll w e, fo rsa k in g W i t h a m a s t e r ’s a r t
th e H in d u n a m e an d t h e H in d u r e lig io n , h a v e r ec o u r se to G lo ry sing o f In d !
sla v ish im ita tio n o f o th e r n a tio n s ? I m it a t io n m a k e s m a il
* An or nam en t for tho car, worn by ancient Hindus, and still done so by
• BUialima. those oi th e N ortU w u uud Soutbvru p a rts of India.
 G L E A N IN G S F R O M E L I P H A S L E V I *
E xtra c ts fr o m the In tro d u c tio n lo the
B e f o r e om- vision I n din's sa g e s g r e a t
DOC1ME DE LA JIAUTE MAGIE.
Yiisistlia. G on lam , A t r i pass,
A n d bards, j e w e l s of licr fallen s ta te , T h r o u g h th e v e il o f a ll th e h ie r a tic a n d m y s tic a lleg o ries
Have V a h n ik , V y a s a n d K a lid a s. o f a n c ie n t d o ctrin es, th ro u g h th e g lo o m a n d fa n ta stic tria ls
o f a ll th e in itia tio n s, b e n e a th th e sea ls o f a ll sacred w r itin g s ,
G lo ry be to I n d !
a m id st th e ru in s of N in e v e h or T h eb es, on th e tim e w orn
G l o r y Iio ! to I n d !
fragm en ts of th e O ld W o rld tem p les, an d th e m u tila ted
G l o r y sing o f I n d ! faces of th o A ssy r ia n or E g y p tia n sphynx, in th e
W illi n fearless h e a rt, m o n str o u s or w o n d ro u s p a in tin g s th at tra n sla te to th e
W ith a m a s te r 's art, I n d ia n b e lie v e r th e sacred pages o f th e V edas, in th e
G lo r y of Ind ! s tr a n g e e m b le m s o f o u r o ld b o o k s o n a lc h e m y , an d in tb e
c er e m o n ies o f a d m issio n p ra ctised in a ll secret so cieties,
■J. o n e c a tc h e s g lim p s e s o f a d o c tr in e , everyw here th e sam e
an d e v e r y w h e r e s tu d io u sly con cealed .
T h e hind o f h e ro e s sh e — oh ! w h e r e a re t h e y ?
O c c u lt p h ilo so p h y s e e m s to h a v o b e e n everyw here, th e
S u b j e c t i o n b r o u g h t on sable n i g h t ;
n u r s e or g o d - m o t h e r o f a ll r e lig io n s , t h e s e c r e t le v e r o f a ll
T h o u g h d e e p th e gloom , will il. for e v e r st a y ? i n t e l l e c t u a l forces, t h e k e y o f a ll d iv i n e m y s t e r ie s , a n d t h e
T h e r is in g sun m u s t c h e e r tho s ig h t. a b so lu te q u e e n of so cie ty , in th ose ages w hen it was
G lory b e to I n d ! e x c lu s iv e ly restricted to th e e d u c a tio n o f th e p r ie sts and
G l o r y ho ! to I nil ! k in g s. . . . . . . .
G l o r y s in g o f Ind ! N e v er th ele ss at th e baae of m a g ic th ere is science.,
W itli a fearless h e a rt, as at th o b a se o f C h r istia n ity th ere is lo v e ; an d in th e
W illi n m a s t e r ’s a r t, s y m b o ls o f th e E v a n g el, w e see th e in carn ate W ord , adored
G l o r y sing o f Ind. in in fa n c y b y th e th r e e M a g i, le d b y a star (th o tern ary
and th e sig n o f th e m icro co sm ) and r eceiv in g from th em
G o ld , I n c e n s e a n d M y r r h ;*|' a n o t h e r m y sterio u s tern a ry
u n d e r w h o s e e m b le m s a re a lleg o rica lly rep resen ted som e
K o m c m b o r ’s t th o u n o t B liim a n d A r j u n g r e a t,
T h e valiant, P r i t l i u a n d th e rest, o f th e p r o fo u n d e st sec r e ts of th e K ab ala.
T h e sla y s o f Ind , th e w ic k ed Y a v a n ’s d read, • • • • •
T h e te n d e r frien d s to m e n d i s t r e s t ? S tr a n g e fact ; th ere e x ist a m o n g st th e sacred books of
th e C h ristia n s tw o w o rk s th at th e in fa llib le church has
G.lory be to I n d !
never p reten d ed to u n d erstan d , an d n e v e r a ttem p ts to
G l o r y lio ! to I n d !
G l o r y sin g o f I n d ! e x p la in : th e p r o p h ec y o f E ze c h ie l and th e A p o ca ly p se;
W i l h a, fearless h e a rt, tw o K a b a lis tic c la v ic u le s, r e se r v e d w ith o u t d o u b t in h e a v e n
, A7ith a m a s t e r ’s a rt, for t h e c o m m e n t s o f t h e R o y a l M agi ; works clo sed w ith
G l o r y s in g o f I n d ! s e v e n s e a ls for th e fa it h fu l b e lie v e r s, b u t p e r fe c tly c le a r to
e v e r y in fid el in itia te d in th e O c c u lt S c ie n c e s.
G.
T h e r e is y e t another book. . . . T h is book, m ore
a n c ic n t p erh a p s th a n th a t o f E n o ch , has n ev er b e e n tra n s­
W h y lea rest th o u , 0 c ra v e n ! c o u r a g e ta k e ;
T l ns r i g h te o u s c a u s e does
. . vic.l’ry
. grace ; l a t e d , a n d i t is w r i t t e n t h r o u g h o u t in p r i m i t i v e characters
lough w e a k , k n o w union th e e will p o w ’rful m ak o ; an d on d e ta c h e d lea v es lik e th e ta b lets o f t h e a n cien ts.

W h a t fear to c h e e r o u r m o t h e r ’s face ? . . . I t is t r u ly a s t r a n g e a n d m o n u m e n t a l w o r k , s i m p l e
a n d str o n g as th e a r ch itectu re o f th e P yram id s and dur­
G l o r y bo to I n d !
a b le c o n seq u e n tly as th ese; a w ork th at sum s up a ll
G l o r y lio ! to In d !
G lory s i n g o f I nit ! scien ces, and of w h ic h th e in fin ite co m b in a tio n s can
W i l h a tea rle ss heart., s o lv e all p r o b le m s ; a b o o k w h ic h sp e a k s by e n g e n d e rin g
W i l h a m a s t e r ’s art, th ou gh t, and th at in sp ires and reg u la tes a ll p o ssib le
G l o r y sing o f l u d ! co n cep tio n s. . . . .
W e h a v e sa id t h a t t h e ch u r c h , w h o s e sp ecia l a ttrib u te
G l o r y lie to I n d ! is th e c u s to d y o f th e keys, does not p reten d to possess
G l o r y ho ! to I n d ! th o se o f th e A p o c a ly p se or th e v isio n s of E zech iel. For
G lory s in g o f I n d ! th e C h ristia n s and iu th eir o p in io n th e scie n tific and
W i t h a feailess he art, m a g ica l c la v ic u le s o f S o lo m o n are lo st. I t is, how ever,
W i t h a m a s t e r ’s art,
certa in th a t in th e d o m a in o f in tellig en ce , g o v ern ed by th e
G l o r y s i n g o f I n d !Jf
W o r d , n o th in g w r itte n is lo st. O n ly th o se th in g s w h ich

T in i j; _s n. m e n c e a s e t o k n o w of, c e a s e t o e x i s t for t h e m a t any rate

as a poten cy ; and th ey sin k back in to th e l'eg io n of
en ig m a s an d m y steries. M oreover, th e a n tip a th y of or
* T h is song, originally composed in Bengali b y one of tho friends e v e n o p e n w a r w a g e d b y t h e official c h u r c h a g a i n s t every­
of tho writer, is sun g a t th e H i n d u Mela or th e a n n u a l N a tio n a l th in g w h ich fa lls w ith in th e range of m a g ic, w h ich
G a th e rin g a t Calc utta . T h e Banga D ars/tana, t h e best of th e is a sort o f personal aud u n fe tte r e d p r ie sth o o d , s p r in g s
v e rn ac u la r mana/.ines of Bengal, review ing his “ Supe rio rity of
fr o m n e c e s s a r y c a u s e s w h ic h are e v e n in h e r e n t in t h e s o c ia l
H i n d u i s m . ’' savs w i t h rcfcrcnce to th is solig : “ L e t (lowers aud
sw eet scents bo showered oil th e poll of th e composer of t h is song !
L e t this g r e a t song be sung in every p a r t of I n d i a ! L e t it be * B rillia n t a n d e p igram m atic a writer, a n d profound an Occultist,
echoed in tlio caves oftlio Him alaya ! L e t it be w hispered th rou gh as was th e A b b e C o nsta nt ( b e tte r k n o w n b y his nom-dc-pluvie of
ev ery tree on t.he ba n k s of the Ganges, Y a m a u a , Iiultia, N e r m u d a E lip h a s LeviJ, the great bulk of liis w ritin g s would, we fear, do
a n d G odavcry ! Let, it resound in th e solemn roav of the eastern little e ith e r to in te res t or instruct, our readers. Still th ere a re passages
a n d th e western (tho A r a b aud B e n g al ) S e a s! L e t th e chords of in liis w ritin g s so p r e g n a n t w ith a h ig h e r m ean ing t h a t i t se ems to
t h e heavls of the tw o hun dre d millions of In dia be at in unison to us t h a t it m ig h t be well to reproduce, from tim e to time, in th e
t h i s song.” 'flic w rite r e n te rta in s a fond hope t h a t ttiis song would T i i s o s o i ’h i s t , tran s la tio n s of some of these. To I n d ia n readers a t any
i n course of tim e come to be reckoned ivatha n a tion a l song of India, rate, t h e y will open a n e n tirely new vista.
a u d be tra n s la te d iuto every ve rn ac ula r dialect spoken in th is vast f According to t h e Kabalists, t h e three K in g s or Jfagl were
con tinent. T ho writer th in k s i t necessary- to in form the re ader white, black a n d brown. T h e white presented gold, tlie sy m bol of
t h a t tin* original of th is song iu th e Bengali edition of his Life a u d L ig h t. T h e Black presented m yrrh, th e symbol of Death and
“ S u periority of H in d u ism ,” is m uch su p e rio r to the tra n s la tio n N i g h t ; a n d the Brow n p re sen te d th e frankincense, the sy m bol of
given above, a lth o u g h h e p re su m es t h a t he will find th e l a t t e r to bo D ivinity a n d of th e dogm a which reconciles the antagonistic du a d s
a close a u d spirited one. of the Universe.—Iiitxwl, p. 98.
h ie r a r c h ica l c o n s titu tio n o f tlie C h ristia n p riesth o o d . Tho earth to th e oth er, see, lik e A p o llo n iu s, what passes 011
C hurch ig n o res m a g ic, because she m u st ig n o r e it, th e o th er sid e o f th e g lo b e, heal or strik e at a d ista n ce
or p e r ish . . . . . a n d g iv e to a w ord or s e n tim e n t, a w o rld -w id e echo nnd
T h e T e m p la r s, d id th o y r e a lly w o r s h ip B a p h o m e t ? . . . in flu en ce. T h is a g e n t of w h ich g lim p s e s arc afford ed in
W hat th en was th is secret and p o w erfu l a sso cia tio n th e m a n ip u la tio n s o f th e d iscip les o f M esm er i.s p r e c i s e l y
w h ich im p er ille d c h u r c h a n d sta te , th o m e m b e r s o f w h ic h w h a t th e A dopts of th e M id d le A ges d e sig n a ted th e
w ero th u s sla u g h ter e d w ith o u t a h e a r in g ? J u d g e n o th in g p rim a ry su b stan ce of th e G reat W ork . W ith th e
lig h tly , th o y w ere g u ilty o f a great they allowed
crim e ; G n o s t ic s t h i s w a s t h e fiery b o d y o f t h e llo ly G h ost, and
iho profane to look into the sanctuary of the ancient it w as th is w h ic h w as w o rsh ip p ed in th e secret r ites of
i n i t i a t io n ; t h e y p l u c k e d o n c e m o r e , a n d d i v i d e d a m o n g s t t h e S a b b a th , or th e T e m p la r s u n d e r t h e h ie r o g ly p h ic form
t h e m s e l v e s to b e c o m e m a s t e r s o f t h e w o rld , th e fru its of o f B a p h o m e t, or th o H e r m a p h r o d ite g o a t o f M cn d e s.*
th o k n o w led g e (la soiencc) of good and e v il. T lie
sen ten ce th at condem n s th em has a h ig h er source th an T l i e k e y t o a ll m a g ic a l a lle g o r ie s is to b e fo u n d in th e
e v e n tlie trib u n a ls o f th e P o p e or K in g P h ilip le B el. “ On le a v e s or cards, to w h ic h w o h a v e referred and w h ich we
t h o d a y t h a t tlio u s lia lt e a t o f t h a t fru it, t h o n s lia lt su rely b e lie v e to h a v e b e e n th e w ork of H erm es. A round th is
ilio ,” s a id G o d h im s e lf, a s w e s e e i n t h e book of G en esis. w o r k w h ich m a y be c a lled th e k ey-ston e of th o arch of
e v e r y t e m p le o f O c c u lt scio n co , in n u m e r a b le le g e n d s clu ster,
V es, th e r e e x is t s a fo r m id a b le s e c r et, th e rev e la tio n of p a r t ia l t r a n s la t io n s of, or c o m m e n t a r ie s , e t e r n a lly renew ed
w h ic h h a s a lr e a d y o v e r t h r o w n o n e w o r ld as is a ttested b y u n d e r a th o u s a n d d iffe r e n t form s, 011 th o great tru th . At
th o r elig io u s tr a d itio n s o f E g y p t,* e p ito m iz e d s y m b o lic a lly tim e s t h e s e in g e n io u s fa b les group th em selv es h a rm o n i­
b y M oses a t th o b e g in n in g o f G en esis. T h is s e c r e t c o n sti- o u sly to g e th e r fo r m in g a grand ep ic p o em , w h ic h g iv e s its
tn to s th o fa ta l k n o w le d g e (science) of good and e v il, and c h a r a c t e r t.o a n e n tir e epoch, w ith o u t th e crow d b ein g
i t s r e s u l t , w h e n d i v u l g e d , is d e a t h . M oses rep resen ts it ab le to e x p la in h o w or w h y th is is so. It is th u s th at
u n d e r th e fig u re o f a tr e e w h ic h is i n the m iddle of th e th e m yth of th e F lee c e o f G o ld sum s up, w h ile v eilin g
t e r r e s tr ia l P a r a d is e , a n d w h i c h is c lo s e to, n a y , w h ic h h o ld s th e m , th e h e r m e tic an d m a g ica l d o g m a s of O rpheus, and
b y its roots to tlie tr e e o f life ; t h e fo u r m y s t e r io u s riv ers i f w e o r d y tu r n b a c k a s far a s th o m y s tic a l p o e s y o f G r e ec e ,
r is e a t t h e f o o t o f t h is t r e e , w h ic h is g u a r d e d b y t h e s w o r d it is sa n ctu a ries of Egypt and In d ia over­
o f fire a n d b y t h e f o u r f o r m s o f th e B ib lic a l sphynx, th o p o w e r us, as it w e re , w ith th eir p ro fu sio n and lea v e ns
c h eru b im of E ze c h ie l. H ere I m ust p au se, I fear th at b e w ild e r e d w here to choose in th e m id st, of so
I h a v e a lr e a d y sa id to o m u c h . m uch w e a lth , and th at we are im p a tie n t to speak of
Y e s , th ero e x ists a d o g m a , u n iq u e , u n iv ersa l, im p e r is h ­ th e le g e n d of T h e b e s ’,'“ u i a t terrib le sy n th esis of all
a b le, s tr o n g a s t h e s u p r e m e r ea so n , sim p le as all th at is dogm a, present, p a st''a n d fu ture, th at, so to speak,
great, in tellig ib le a s is ev ery th in g u n iv er sa lly and abso­ in fin ite fa b le w liic h , lik e t h e g o d of O rpheus, tou ch es th e
l u t e l y tr u e , a n d t h is d o g m a h a s b e e n t h e f a t h e r o f a ll o th e r s . tw o ends of th e cycle of hum an life. Ilo w passin g
Y es, th ere does e x ist a k n o w led g e w h ic h con fers upon stran ge ! The seven gates of T hebes, d efen d ed and
m a n p rero g a tiv es an d p o w e r s a p p a re n tly su p e r h u m a n . a tta c k e d b y s e v e n c h iefs w h o h a v e sw orn u p o n th e b lood
o f v ictim s, sig n ify p r e cise ly th e sam e as th e seven sea ls
T lie philosopher’s stone, th e universal m edicine, th e o f th e sacred book , e x p la in ed b y sev e n g e n ii and atta ck ed
transm utation of m etals, th e quadrature of th e circle, and b y a s e v e n - h e a d e d m o n ster, a fter it h a s b e e n opened by a
th e secret of perpetual m otion, are therefore n either L a m b liv in g , th o u g h im m o la t e d , in t h e a lle g o r ic a l R e v ela ­
m ystifications of science nor dream s of folly ; they are tio n o f S t. d o li 11 ! T h e m y s t e r i o u s o r ig in o f C E dipu s, fo u n d
expressions, which m ust be understood in tlieir true sig n i­ h a n g in g lik e a b lee d in g fru it on a tree of O yth eron ,
fication, and which represent th e different bearings of reca lls th e sy m b o ls o f M oses and th e sto ries of G en esis.
one and th e sam e secret, th e different aspects of one and H e fig h ts a g a in st h is fa th er and k ills h im w ith o u t
th e sam e operation, w hich may be d esign ated in more k n o w in g h im ; dread proph ecy of th e b lin d e m a n cip a tio n
general term s as th e G hkat W ouk . o f reason, w ith o u t scie n c e ; th en h e c o m e s to tlie sphynx,
T h e r e e x is t s in n a t u r e a force far m ore p o w erfu l th an th e sp h y n x , the s y m b o l o f sy m b o ls, e te rn a l e n ig m a to th o
steam , b y th e h elp of w h ich a sin g le m an, c a p a b le of c o m m o n herd, p ed esta l o f g ra n ite to th e scien ce of sages,
g r a sp in g it an d k n o w in g h o w to d irect it, m ig h t change th e d e v o u r in g an d sile n t m o n s t e r w h ic h in its u n c h a n g in g
t h e e n tir e fa c e o f t h e w o rld . T h is force w a s k n o w n to th e form e x p r e s s e s tlie u n iq u e d o g m a o f th e great u n iv ersa l
a n c ie n ts; it e x is t s in a n u n iv e r s a l a gen t, of w h ich e q u i­ m y ste r y .' H o w d o e s th e tetrad c h a n g e in to th e bm ad and
lib riu m is t h e f u n d a m e n t a l la w , a n d t h e d ir e c t io n o f w h ic h e x p la in i t s e l f in t h e triad ? I n o th e r w ords, m ore e m b le ­
p e r ta in s to th e g r e a t sec r et o f tr a n s c e n d e n ta l m a g ic . By m a t ic a n d m o r e p op u lar^ w h a t a n im a l h a s fo u r f e e t i n t.h e
d irectin g th is a g e n t one can c h a n g e e v en th e order o f th e m o rn in g , tw o a t noon an d th ree in th e e v en in g ? P h ilo ­
season s, p ro d u ce iu th e d a rk est n ig h t th e appearances of so p h ic a lly sp e a k in g , h o w d o es th e d o g m a o f th e e le m en ta ry
d a y , c o r r e s p o n d in o n e i n s t a n t fr o m o n o e x t r e m i t y o f th is forces p r o d u ce th e d u a lism of Z oroaster, and sum itse lf
u p in t h e T r ia d of P ythagoras and P la to ? f W h a t is th e
• S ee Plato’s History of the Atlantis as given by lhe priests of Sais to in n e r m o s t sig n ifica tio n (raison derniire) o l t h e s e a l l e g o r i e s
his great ancestor Solon, the Ath enean law-giver. and nu m bers, what t . h e k e y w o r d (dernier nwlj o f a l l
Atlantis, the submerged continent, and the land of the “ Kn owled ge of sy m b o lism s ? (lid ip u s rep lies w ith one sim p le terrib le
Good and E v il ” (especially the latter) par excellence, and inhabited by
the fourth race of men (we are the fifth ) who ar e credited in th £ Topol- Vuh w ord, w h ic h k ills th e sphynx and m akes th e guesser of
(the b o ok of the G u a t e m a l a n s ) with sight unlimited and “ who knew all t h e r id d le k in g of T hebes; th e answ er to th e riddle is,
things at once.*' E liphas Levi refers to the secret tradition, among M A N ! U n h a p p y m o rta l, h e sa w to o m uch, but not. s u f f i ­
Occultists, about the great struggle that took place, in those far away pre­
historic days of Atlantis, between the “ Sons of G o d ”— the initiated c ie n tly clearly, and soon he m u st e x p ia te h is fa ta l but
Adepts of Sham-bha-la (once a fair island in the inlaid Sea of the T ib eta n im p e r fe c t c la irv o y a n ce, by a self-in flicted b lin d n ess, and
plateau, now as fair a land, an oasis surrounded by barre n deserts and
salt lak es )— and the Atlantians, the wicked magicians of T hevetat. (See * W l m t w a s in r e a l i t y t h a t m u c h m a l i g n e d a n d sti l l m o r e d r e a d e d
Isis, Vol. T. p p . 5 8 9 *9 4 ). It is a well established belief am ong the Eastern g o at, t h a t Bn))liornet r e g a r d e d e v e n n o w b y t h e H o m a n C a th o l i c s
and especially the Mongolian and T ib e ta n Occultists that towar d 4he end
a s S a t a n , th o ( J r a n d M a s t e r of t h e “ W i t c h e s S a b b a t h , ” t h e c e n t r a l
of every race, when m an kin d read ies its apex of kno wledge in that cycle,
dividing into two distinct classes it branches off-—one as the “ Sons of f ig u re of t h e i r n o c t u r n a l o rgies ? W h y , s i m p l y P a n o r N a t i i u k .
L ig h t” and the other as the “ Sons of D ar k n ess ,” or initiated Adepts + ijv “ the dogma of elementary forces” Eliphas Levi means “ spirit”
and natural-born magicians or— mediums. T o w ard the very close of the and “ matter,” allogorizcd by Zoroaster, for tho common herd, into
race, as their mixed progeny furnishes the first pioneers of a new and Ormazd and Ahriman, tho prototypo of tho Christian “ Cod” and “ Oovil
a higher race, there com es the last and supreme struggle during which the
and epitomized nnd summed up In' the philosophy of Occult-. Sciencc in
the “ ’Human Triad” (llody, Soul, Spirit—-the two poles and tlio “ middlo
“ Sons of D ark n ess” are usually ex term inated by some great cataclysm of nature” of man), the perfect v>icrocosii).of tho Onf. Universal Macrocosm
n ature—by either fire or water . Atlantis was subm erged, hencc the inference or Universe. In tho K h o r d a h - A oe&ta the Zoroastrian th u d ism- is controdiet-
th at that portion of the m ank ind of the fifth race which will be composed od : —“ Who art thou, 0 fair being V' inquires tlie disembodied .soul of
of “ natural-born magicians” will be exterm inated at the future great ono who stands at tho gates of its Paradise. “ I am. 0 Soul, thy good
cataclysm by-—fire» aud pure actions . , . thy law, thy angel, a n d t h y ( t a d ”
d isa tm ca r in t h e m i d s t o f a sto r m , a s m u s t d isa p p ea r a ll s y m b o l o f tim e an d o f e v il. B oth c o m m it th e crim e th at
c iv iliza tio n s w h ich puess, w ith o u t u n d e rsta n d in g its in t h e o ld t i m e s , P r o m e t h e u s , a n d in t h e C h r i s t i a n l e g e n d ,
e n tir e b ea r in g an d m y ste r v , tlie answ er to th e s p h y n x ’s L u cifer, h a v e to e x p ia te , th e o n e d e liv e r e d th e o th er sub­
rid d le. A l l is s y m b o l i c a n d t r a n s c e n d e n t a l in t h is g i g a n t i c je c te d b y H e r c u le s an d b y th e S a v io u r.
E n ic o f H u m a n d e stin v . T h e tw o h o stile b roth ers express The great m a g ica l secret is th erefore th e la m p and
th e. s e c o n d p a r t o f t h e great m ystery d iv in e ly co m p le te d th e dagger of Psyche, th e a p p le of E ve, t h e s a c r e d fire
b y t h e sa crifice o f A n t i g o n e ; t h e n t h e w a r, t h o last war ; sto lo n b y P r o m e th e u s , an d th e b u rn in g s c e p te r o f L u cifer,
t h e h o stile b roth ers k illed one by th e oth er ; C apaneus b u t it is a l s o t h e h o l y c r o s s o f t h e R edeem er. To know
k il le d b v th e l i g h t n i n g h e d efied , A m p h i r a u s d e v o u r e d by e n o u g h o f i t t o d i v u l g e o r m i s u s e it, is to d e s e r v e a l l p u n i s h ­
t h e E arth, nre e q u a lly a lle g o r ie s w h ic h b y th e ir tru th and m e n ts ; to k n o w it as it sh o u ld h e k n o w n , in use and hide if
g r a n d e u r fill w i t h a s t o n i s h m e n t a l l w h o r e a l i z o t h e i r t r i p l e i s to b e M a s t e i o f t h e A b s o l u t e . *
H ie r a tic sig n ifica tio n . A ll is com prehended in one word, and in one w ord
o f fou r le tte r s ; it is t h o T etragram of th e H ebrew s, th o
T h e sa cred b o o k of a n c ie n t in itia tio n w a s n o t ig n o r e d b y A z o t o f th e a lc h e m ists, th e T h o t of th e g ip sey s, and th e
H o m e r ; w h o tr a c e s t h e p la n and th e le a d in g fig u res on Taro of th e K a b a lists. T h is word expressed in so m any
tlie sh ield o f A ch illes, w ith m in u t e p recisio n . But th e words means God for the common herd, m an for tb e
gra cefu l fictio n s o f H o m e r seem to m ake us soon forgot P h ilo so p h er, and g iv e s to A d ep ts th e cro w n in g w ord of
t h e s im p le a n d a b stra ct tr u th s o f p r im itiv e r elig io n . M an h u m a n scien ce an d th e k e y to d iv in e pow er, but he a lo n e
tu rn s to th o form and leaves in o b liv io n th o id e a ; th e k n o w s h o w t o u s e it, w h o realizes th e n ecessity of never
s ig n s as t h e v in c r e a se in num ber lo o se th eir pow er, and r e v e a l i n g it. I f (E d ip u s, in stea d of c a u sin g th e s p h y n x to
m a g ic h e r s e lf a t th is p erio d g r o w s c o r r u p t and sin k s, w ith d ie, h a d ta m e d and harnessed her to h is c h a rio t w hen
th e so r c e r e r so fT lie ssn .lv . in to th o m ost profan e en ch an t­ e n te r in g T h eb es, ho w o u ld h a v e b e e n k in g w ith o u t in cest,
m ents. T h e crim e o f (E d ip u s h a s b o r n e its fru its o f D e a th , w ith o u t c a la m ities, w ith o u t e x ile . H ad Psycho by sub­
an d th e s cie n c e o f G ood a n d E v il ra ises e v il to a sa cr ile g io u s m issio n and caresses p ersu ad ed L o v e to reveal h im se lf to
O n d -sh ip . M en tired o f th e lig h t h id e th e m se lv e s in tlie h e r , s h e n e e d n e v e r h a v e lost, h im . Love is one of th o
shadow of th e b o d ily su b stan ce; th o dream of th e v o id m y th o lo g ica l im a g es oi th e great secret and th e great
t in t , O o d fills s e e m s s o o n t o t h e m g r e a t e r t h a n Cfod h im ­ agen t, b ecau se he ex p resses a t th e sam e tim e nu actio u
self, a n d H e l l is c r e a t e d . a n d a p a ssio n , a v o id a n d a fu ln e ss , an arro w and a w o u n d .

W h e n in t h i s w o r k w e m a k e u se o f th o se sacred w ords, I n it ia t e s o u g h t to u n d e r s ta n d m e ; and o n a c c o u n t o f th e

C od , H e a v e n , H e ll, le t it be u n d e r s t o o d o n c e for a ll th at v u lg a r o n e m u st n o t sa y too m u ch .

th e m o a n in g w o atta ch to th em is as d istin ct from th at

accep ted by th e o u tsid e w o rld , as is t h e i n i t i a t i o n fr o m T h o B i b l e w it h a ll t h e a lle g o r ie s it c o n ta in s , e x p r e s s e s o n l y

co m m on th ou gh t. F o r n s G o d is th o A zot of th o sages, v e ry im p er fe c tly and o b s c u r ely th e relig io u s scie n c e o f th e

t h e e ffic ie n t a n d fin al p r in c ip lo o f t h o G r e a t W o r k .*
H ebrew s. T h e b ook o f w h ich w e havo sp o k e n au d w hose
h ie r a tic fig u res w c s h a ll la ter e x p la in , th is b ook ca lled b y
W illia m P o s te l th o G en esis of Enoch, certa in ly ex isted
L e t us retu rn to t h e fa b le of (E d ip u s. T h e crim e o f th e
K in g of Thebes lies not in h a v in g un d erstood th e before M oses a n d t h e prophets, w hose d o ctrin e, id e n tic a l

sphynx, but in h a v in g d estroyed th e rod (le fidau = iu e sse n tia ls w ith th a t o f th e a n c ie n t E g y p tia n s, had also

fla il) of T hebes, w ith o u t b ein g su fficien tly pure to its e x o te r ic is m a n d its veils. W hen M oses spoke to th e

c o m p le te th e e x p ia tio n in tb e nam e of its p e o p le ; soon

th e p la g u e avenges th e d eath of th e sphynx, and th e * In th o C hristia n I n te n d , th o “ Redeemer*' is tho “ I n i t i a t o r ” who offers
his life in sacrifice fo r th e privilogo of teaching; his disci ples somo gre a t
K in g of T h e b e s, forced to a b d ica te, sa crifices h im se lf to tr u t h s He, who unrid-ilos tho C hri sti a n sp hynx, “ becom es th o M as te r of
tin terrib le m a n e s o f th e m on ster w h ich is m ore liv in g t h e A bso lu te ” for the sinr>plo reason t h a t the g r e a t e s t m y s te r y of a ll tho
a n c i e n t in it i a t i o n s , —past . p r e s e n t and f u t u r o —is m ado plain a n d divulged
an d d e v o u r in g th a n e v e r n o w t h a t it h as p a sse d from th e t o him. T hos e who a c c e p t th e a ll e gory literally, will re m a in blind all
realm s o f F o r m in to th o se o f th e Id ea. (E d ip u s h a s seen t h e i r life a nd tho se, who div ulg e i t to the i g n o r a n t masses, deso rve
p u n i s h m e n t fo r tlieir w a n t of dis cretio n in s ee k in g to “ food pips with
w lia t, m a n is, a n d h e tears out h is eyes so as to a v o id p e a r ls . ” T h o TTTnos'-rirrsT,—rend bur. by th e in te ll ig e n t who, whon th e y
see in g w h a t G od is .f H e h as d iv u lg e d o n e -h a lf o f th e great u n d e r s t a n d it, prove t h a t t h e y d ese rv e as mu ch of th o s ec re t k now te dgo
ns enn be giv en t h o m , —is p e r m i t t e d to thro w o u t a hint. Le t him , who
m a g ic secret, an d to sa v e h is p e o p le he m ust carry w ith would fnthom th e m y s t e r y of th o alle gory of both S p h y n x a n d Cros9,
h im to e x ile a n d to th e g r a v e t h e o th e r h a lf o f th e terrib lo s t u d y th o mo de s of in it ia tio n of th o Egyptians* Chftldoans. a n c i e n t Jo w s,
H in dus . &e And t h e n ho will find w h a t th e word “ A to n e m e n t” —fa r
s ecret,. o ld e r t h a n C h r is tia n ity — m e a n t, ns also “ tho R ap tism of B lo o d .’ At th o
A f t e r t h e co lo ssa l fa b le of (E d ip u s we m eet w ith th e l a s t m o m e n t of tho S u p r e m o Init ia ti on, w he n tho I n i t i a t o r had divulsrod
th o la st m y s te rio u s word, e i t h e r t h e H i e r o p h a n t or th o “ new ly-born, ”
gracefu l p o e m o f P sy ch o , o f w h ich A p u le u s is c e r t a i n l y not the worthier o f the tiro, had to die, sineo two Ado pts of ty u a l power m u s t
th e in v en to r. The great m a g ica l secret here reappears n o t livo. a u d he, who is perfect, lias uo ro om on e a r t h Eliphas Lovi h in ts
a t t h e m y s t e r v in his volu m es w ith o u t e x p la in in g it Y e t ho s p e a k s of
u n d e r th o g u is e o f th e m y s te r io u s m a rria g e b e tw e e n a G od Moses who d ie s —m y s te rio u s ly d is a p p e a rs from th e to p of M o u n t Hisgah
and a fe e b le g irl a b a n d o n e d , a lo n e a n d n a c k e d , o n a rock. a f t e r ho h a d “ laid his h a n d s ” u p o n th o in i t i a t e d Aaron, of J e s u s who
dies fo r tlio disoiplc “ whom bo lo ved,” J o h n th o a u th o r of th o Apocalypse,
Psvche m u st rem a in ig n o ra n t of th e secret o f h er id ea l a n d of. J o h n th e B a p t i s t —tlie la s t of th o real N asars of th o Old 'lesta*
R o y a lty , an d if s h e lo o k s a t her hu sban d she lo ses liim .+ m o n t (soo Inis, Vol If ., p. 132>. who, in t h e incomplete, c o n tr a d ic to r y and
t o r t u r e d Gospel a c c o u n ts , is tnndc to die la te r thro ugh H o ro d ia a d i* whim,
A p u leu s here g iv e s a co m m en ta ry on, and an in terp re­ an d , in th o scrret. K aba lisric d o c u m e n ts of tho N a bath oa ns. to offer himself
ta tio n o f th e a lle g o r ies o f M oses, b u t th e E lo h im o f Israel as a n e x p i a t o r y vic tim a f t e r ‘‘ b a p tiz in g ’ (i.e . in itia tin g ^ his ^chose n
Kueecssor in th e m v s ti c J o r d a n . I u these d o c u m e n ts , a f t e r th e in itiatio n,
a n d th e g o d s o f A p u le u s , d id n o t b o th eq u a lly issu e from
A b a , th o F a th e r, bo comc s th o Son, and th o Son succeods th e F a t h e r a n d b e ­
th e sa n ctu a ries of M e m p h is a n d Thebes ? Psyche is th e come s Fatlh r a n d Son, a t th o sam e time, in s p ir e d b y So p h ia Acha inoth
siste r o f E v e , or ra th er E v e sp iritu a lize d . B o th d esire to ( s e cr et wisdom) t r a n s f o r m e d la to r on in to th o H oly Ghost. B u t th is
succ ess or of J o h n tho B a p t is t was n o t Josu s, th o Nazarones say. B ut of
k n o w a n d f o r f e it i n n o c e n c e to g a i n t h e h o n o u r o f t h e tria l. th is anon. T o th is d a y , th o init ia ti on beyond th o H im a la yas is followed
B o th deserve to descend in to H e ll,— th e one to b rin g b y tem porary d e a t h ( f r o m t h re o to six m o n th s ) of th e disciple, o fte n t h a t
of th o I n i t i a t o r ; b u t th o Buddhis ts do n o t spill blood, fo r ^
th e n c e th e o ld b o x o f P a n d o r a , t h e o th e r t h e r e to s e e k a n il h o r r o r of it, k n o w in g t h a t blood a t t r a c t s “ evil pow ers .” A t th o in it ia ti o n
th e r e to c ru sh t h e h e a d o f th o old serpent, w h ic h is th e of th o C hh in na m asta . T a n t r i k a s f f r o m M i n n a “ s e v e r e d ” n nd manta
“ h e a d ” — th o G oddess C h h in n a m a s ta b e in g r e p r e s e n t e d wilh a d o c ap ita te d
h e a d ; , / h o T u n tr ik Sh/istrtts say t h a t , as soon as tlio _ A de pt hns re a c h e d
* Tlio Seventh Sfcato of m a f t o r — Life. Th o F ire and Light of th o “ Ast ral th o h i g h e s t d e g re e of p e rfe c ti on, ho has to in itia te his successo r a n d die,
V ir g in " mny bo s tu d ie d b y t h e H in dus in t h e Firo n n d L i g h t of Akasa. ofYerincr his blood as a n a t o n e m e n t fo r t h e sins of his bro th e rs . H e mus t
“ c u t otT his own h e a d w it h tho r i g h t ha nd, hold in g it in t h e l o f t . ’
+ . . . “ to nvoid seeintr w h a t G od is” —-i.e., seoinsr t h a t G od is b u t T h r e e s tr o a m s of blood g u s h o u t from tho he ad le ss t r u n k . Ono of those
nian a n d virr - w h e n lie is n o t th o “ lin in g” of God - t l i e Devil. W e is d ire c te d into the month of th e d e c a p i t a t e d head ('* . . . . niy blood
knovv of m a n y who p r e f e r v o lu n ta ry a n d life-long blin dnoss to pla in , s o b e r is d rin k i n d e e d ” —th e i n j u n c tio n in J o h n t h a t so s h ocke d t h e disciples^ ;
t r u t h and fact. t h e o th o r is d i r e c t e d to w a rd ih o o a rth as a n offering of tho pure, sinlo«s
blood to m o t h e r E a r t h ; and th e th ir d gush es tow ard heav en as a witness
J Cupid, tlio find, is th e s e v e n th principle or the B ra hn i o f the
for th o saerilico of “ s elf -i m m o la ti o n .” Now, th is has a p rofound Occult
V e d an tin , a n d Psvche is its vehicle, th e six th or sp iritu a l soul. As significance which is know n only to tlic in it ia te d ; n o th in g like t r u t h is
soon as she feels herself d i s tin c t from h e r “ consort” — a n d sees e ’fp b'i ned b y th e C h ri sti a n dogm a , a n d in m orfe ctly as tl e y ha ve defined,
h i m —she loses him. S t u d y t h e “ H e resy of I n d i v id u a l it y ’'— nnd th o q w n i iw p h 'fd “ A u th o rs of tho P o fe c t IP«»/” rovcal t h e t r u t h f a r n e a r e r
you will und erstan d. t h a n any of t h e C h ris ti a n c o m m e n ta t o rs .
 p eo p le, sa y s a lleg o rica lly th e sacred book, lie put a v e il M e r it o f t h e s e c o n d a n d first g r a d e is a tta in a b le o n ly by
o v e r h is face, b u t h o r e m o v e d t h is v e il w h e n ho spoke to apprenticeship to Gurus, i lea v e th e verses w ith o u t
G o d .* . . . . a n y e x p la n a t io n in o r d e r t h a t ou r F ello w s m ay co n trib u to
T h e s e b o o k s w e r e o n ly w r itte n to p r e se r v e tr a d itio n , an d t o th o T riE O S oi'iiiS T t h e r e s u lt o f t h e ir s t u d i e s w it h P a n d it s ,
t h e y w o r e w r it t e n in s y m b o ls u n i n t e l l i g i b l e to t h e p ro fa n e. C h ela s, an d A d e p ts . T h o s u b j e c t is in e x h a u stib le an d a ll
B esid e s th e P en ta teu ch and th e p oetry of th e P roph ets c o m p r e h e n s iv e , a n d w ill h e lp to d iscrim in a te b etw een th e
w ere o n ly e le m e n ta r y w orks of d o ctrin e, eth ic s and d ifferen t ra n k s a n d b ra n ch es o f th e In itia tes and o ccu lt
lit u r g y ; th e tru e secret and tra d itio n a l P h ilo so p h y was lo r e r e s p e c tiv e ly . They aro but nominal T h e o so p h ists
n o t w r itte n till la te r a n d u n d e r v e ils still less tran sp aren t. w h o are n o t disciplined in tlio t h ir d g r a d e of Love, H ope,
It is th u s th at a second B ib le o r ig in a ted , unknown or a n d C h a rity . T h e In tern a l R eg u la tio n of th e senses and
rath er uncom prehended by C h r istia n s; a c o llectio n , say th e nervous system w h ic h ch a ra cterises th e second grade
th e y , o f m o n str o u s a b su r d ities (an d o n th is p o in t b eliev ers w ill th e n rep la ce t h e E x te r n a l R e g u la tio n . T h e m e n o f th e
and u n b e lie v er s c o n fo u n d e d in a com m on ig n oran ce are F irst or H ig h e s t g ra d e are a law unto themselves and must
at o n e ); a m on u m en t, say w e, in w h ich is c o llected th e not be criticised or im ita te d by th e ig n o ra n t an d im p a tien t
m o s t s u b lim e efforts a n d im a g in in g s to w h ic h th e g en ii C h e la or R eform er. S r i S a n k a r a C 'hariar is a l l e g e d to
< • • •
o f p h ilo s o p h y a n d relig io n h a v e ever a tta in ed ; a trea su re h a v e liv e d w ith a w id o w p rin cess, in “ parakayam
surrounded b y th orn s; a d ia m o n d co n cea led in a coarse A r j u n a is a c c u s e d o f h a v i n g m a r r ie d a w id o w , a n d K r is h n a
d u l l s t o n e ;— o u r r e a d e r s w i l l h a v e a l r e a d y g u e s s e d t h a t w e to have had a th ou san d w iv e s.* T hese e x a m p le s are
refer to th e T a lm u d . u n s u ite d to a n d m is in t e r p r e te d a n d ill-fo llo w e d by T h e o s o ­
p h ists o f th e th ird a n d so co n d g r a d e s a n d a fortiori b y tlio
One is stru ck w ith a d m ira tio n on p e n e tr a tin g in to th e u n in itia ted .
s a n c tu a r y o f t h e K a b a la w ith a d o c tr in e so lo g ic a l, so sim p le ,
and at th e sam e tim e so a b so lu te. The necessary u n io n
of sig n s and id ea s, th e co n secra tio n o f th e m ost fu n d a­ (E 0 r r c s p o it 1) t n c t.
m e n ta l r ea lities by th e p r im itiv e c h a r a c te r s ; th e trin ity
o f w ords, le tte r s and nu m bers; a p h ilo so p h y sim p le as IS IT A “ S IN ” TO W IT H H O L D C E R T A IN
th e a lp h a b et, p rofou nd and in fin ite as th e w ord; KNOW LEDGE ?
th eorem s m ore co m p le te and lu m in o u s th an th o se of
TO T I I E ED1T OK O F TIIIS “ T I I lC O S O r ill S T . ”
P y th agoras ; a th eo lo g y on e can su m u p o n o n e ’s f i n g e r s ;
Iii y o u r issu e o f S e p t e m b e r last, in a d i s p u t a t i o u s letter
an in fin ity w h ic h m a y b e h e ld in t h e h o l l o w o f a b a b y ’s
sign e d “ I I . X . , ” t h e writer,-— w h o feels e v id e n t ly t h e necessity
h a n d ; ten cy p h ers, tw e n ty - tw o le tters, a tria n g le, a square,
o f fin din g a b o n e to p ic k w ith som e one and s h o w s d e te r m i n e d
an d a circle c o m p le t e t h o e le m e n ts o f th o K a b a la . T hey
f ig h t,— g i v e s o u t, a s liis pe rsonal op inio n, t h a t “ it is a sin
are th e fu n d a m e n ta l p rin cip les o f t h e w r itte n W o r d ; th e
0 1 1 tlie ir ( t h e B r o t h e r s ’) p a r t not to c o m m u n i c a te to t h e w o rld
r e fle c tio n o f t h e s p o k e n W o r d , w h ic h c r e a t e d t h e w o rld . all t h e k n o w l e d g e t h e y p o ss ets.”
A ll tr u ly d o g m a tic relig io n s have issu ed from and
I m p r u d e n t a n d h i g h l y d e f y i n g w o r d s . — A p ro p o s i t io n s h o w ­
r e tu r n to t h e K a b a l a ; a ll t h a t is s c ie n t ific o r g r a n d in t h e
i n g p la in ly in t h e w r i t e r a far l a r g e r p e r c e n t a g e o f eg o tistica l
relig io u s dream s of a ll th e illuminaii, Jacob B oehm e, selfishness th a n o f p r a c t ic a l b e n ev o len c e for h u m a n i t y . I n its
Sw edenborg, S a i n t M a r t i n , & c., has been borrow ed from p r e s e n t u n s e t tl e d , c h a o tic c o n d itio n o f m o r a l i t y — or r a t h e r o f
t h e K a b a l a ; a ll m a s o n ic a s s o c ia t io n s o w e t o it t h e ir s e c r e ts im m o r a lity I s h o u ld s a y — th e g if t o f su c h k n o w l e d g e would
and th eir sy m b o ls. The K a b a la con secrates a lo n e th e p r o v e s i m p ly m u r d e r o u s . V i e w e d from t h e side o f mori'l
a llia n ce o f th e u n iv ersa l R ea so n a n d th o d iv in e W o r d ; it d a n g e r , it is as t h o u g h h e u r g e d u p o n a s c h o o l - m a s t e r tlio
e sta b lish e s b y th e co u n ter p o iso o f t w o forces, o p p o s e d in n e c e s s i t y o f i m p a r t i n g to his c r o w d of u r c h i n s — a g e d r e s ­
appearance, th e etern al b a la n ce of ex isten ce ; it a lo n e p e c t i v e l y from five to f ifte e n — e v e r y se c re t o f p h y sio lo g y h a r d ly
r ec o n ciles reason w ith fa ith , pow er w ith lib er ty , sc ie n c e k n o w n to t h e i r f a th e r s ; an d. r e g a r d e d from th e a s p e c t o f ph ysic al
w ith m ystery ; it h o ld s th e k ey s o f thfe p r e s e n t , t h e p a s t , p eril, t h e d e m a n d is e q u a l t o a n a d v ic e to leave, w ith a tribe
a n d th e fu tu re. o f sa v a g e island ers, a w h o le a rsen a l o f n itr o - g ly c e rin e e x p lo s iv e s ,
J e n t r u s t i n g t h e a b o r ig i n e s w i t h t h e s to ra g e, h a n d li n g , and
--------- ---------- >- t r a n s p o r t a t i o n o f t h e d e s t r u c t i v e m a te ria ls .
I h a v o n o t t h e h o n o u r of k n o w i n g m u c h a b o u t t h e B r o t h e r *
T H E T H R E E G R A D E S OF A N C I E N T A d e p t s ; b u t I b eliev e in A d e p t s , a n d in the p o w e r s excrcixed
TH E O SO PH ISTS. by such persons. S till, little a s I m ay k n o w o f t h e i r system ,
I k n o w e n o u g h to a p p r o v e o f it m o s t u ne q u iv o c ally , and,
BY A SANKARIAH, F.T.S. e spe cially o f t h e i r r e s e r v e a n d cau tio u sn es s, for w h ic h I feel
v e r y g r a te f u l.
I h o ld for m y s e l f a n d for t h e K e r a la and oth er siiha-
B u t a few y e a r s since. it w a s a se rio u s q u e stio n , w i t h som e o f
sramams u n d e r m y g u id a n c e th a t th e m e r its o f reg istered
o u r m e n o f science, w h e t h e r th e y o u g h t not to k e ep b ack som e
or u n reg istered , a n c ie n t or m odern T h eo so p h ists are of
o f tlie ir d isc o v e rie s from t h e k n o w l e d g e o f the vu lg ar, lest a
t h r e e g r a d e s i n t h e f o l l o w i n g v e r s e s o f M a n u :—
p o r t io n o f m a n k i n d sho uld t u rn m o st o f its deadly se c re ts into
L o w e s t or T h ir d D e g re e or G r a d e . w e a p o n s t o be used for pe rsonal m o tive s a g a i n s t t h e i r fellow-
“ Rishi Y n jn a m D e v a Y a jn a m , meu. I t w a s r u m o u r e d that. F a r a d a y h i m s e l f h a d an idea t h a t
B liu t a Y n j n a m elm S n r v a d a ; i t w ould be b e t t e r “ i f t h e se c re t o f the d e co m p o sitio n o f w a t e r
N r i Y a j n a m f i t r i Y a j n mi cha, w e r e n o t d isc overe d, ns th e pow er, so g a in e d , m i g h t not be
Y a t h a S u k t i r 11a h a p a y e t . ” w ise ly u s e d .” A n d w h o o f n s would d a r e d i s p u t e th e fact t h a t
S eco n d D e g r e e . a p o w e r, r e q u i r i n g skill n n d nil e n o r m o u s s e lf- re s tra in t nnd
a b n e g a ti o n for its be n e fic e n t u s e , — a n a r t w ith as m u c h
“ E t a n e k e m a lia Y n j n a n , p o t e n t i a l i ty for evil a s for good in it— o u g h t n e v e r to b e placed
Y a j n a S n s tra vido J n n a h ; a t th e disposal o f the first com er, s in c e t h e l a tte r , in th e p r e se n t
A n i lim n u n n s Sntiitum,
loose s t a te o f m o r a l s o f o u r S o c ie ty , w ou ld be sure, in seven
I n d r i y e s li u e v a J u h v a t i . ” cases o u t o f ten , to a p p l y it to som e bad o r selfish p u r p o s e s ?
F ir s t or H ig h e s t D eg ree or G r a d e o f A d e p ts . F r o m t h e d i s c o v e r y of c h lo r o f o rm d o w n to t h a t o f d y n a m ite ,
“ Jn a n e n aiv a A paro V ipra, t h e r e w a s m o re m is u s e t h a u use o f both, a n d m o re terrible
Y a j n n t y e t a i r M a k h a is snd£ ; c r im e s w e r e c o m m i tt e d , th a n beneficent r e s u l ts achiev e d, by
J n u n a m u l a m K r i y n m esliam , t h e i r help. T h u s , i t could be easily s h o w n that, even w ith
P a s y a n t o J n a n u e h n k sliu s lia .” r e g a r d to p o p u l a r science, c e r t a i n scientific se c re ts placed in the

A ll T h e o so p h ic a l tea ch in g and p ra ctice can only be • Theso examples aro “ unsuited’’ because those are not historical J nets,
b u t allegorical fictions tliat arc accepted literally but by the ignorant. No
in ex p la n a tio n or iu r ea lisa tio n of th ose m erits. adept—while one nt an y rate,—hns ever ‘ 1 lived with a iriiloiv (or no widow)
princess” ; nor hau ho married an y one ; least of all, t h * adept had. sin.'o the
• Or Uis Seventh Principlo. world’s evolution, eveu one, iet alone a “ thousand wives.” —El).
h n n d s o f e r / / m e n , p r o v e a n y t h i n g but, beneficial o r t e n d i n g to
t h e a m e l io r a ti o n o f m a n k in d . “ I h o l d , ” sa y s “ I I . X . , ”
“ t h n t b e n m a n nn . A d e p t o r w h a t not, all t h e k n o w l e d g e , ho
possesses, h e h o ld s sim p ly in t r u s t for liis fe llo w m e n .” I n
t r u s t , fr om w ho m Y— if I m ay a sk th e q u e s t io n . A s well m a i n t a i n
t h a t a self-m ade capitalist.— one, w h o toile d nil h is life, w o r k e d
h a r d at. th e p rice and sacrifice of e v e r y c o m f o r t , one, w h o d e n ie d
t o h i m s e l f rest, and r e cre atio n , for y e a r s, to m a k e a c e r t a i n f o r­
t u n e , — t h a t lie too holds e v e ry p e n n y , so a c c u m u l a t e d by h im a t
tlie s w c n t o f his brow , “ pimply, in (l ust, fo r his fe llo w m e n that
110 m o re , th a n w i t h t.he A d e p t , does it, rest, wit,li^ h i m t.o choose
t h o s e w h om ho w o u ld he lp ; b u t t h a t , u n les s ho t h r o w s , out. of
tlio w i n d o w , his capital, coin by coin, for iv c r o w d o f sc o u n d r e ls
n.s w ell as d e s e rv in g m en , to pick it, up, h a m u s t be h e ld as a
r e cre an t, to h i s d u t y and c h a r g e d w i t h — S i n . S t r a n g e lo g ic a n d
us s t r a n g o a r e v u ls io n o f feeling, if “ I I . X . , ” ns I believe, o f th e
S e p t e m b e r L e t t e r in th e T i i i c o s o p i i i s t , is id e n tic a l w i t h t h e
“ I I . X . ” of “ H i n t s on E s o t e r i c T h e o s o p h y . ” I f so, t h e n his
id e a s must, h a v e been slig h tly modified sin c e t h e p u b lic a ti o n of
t h e l a t t e r ? F o r , I find in “ H i n t s , ” on p a g e 38, t h e f o llo w ing :—
“ I do not t h in k t h a t a n y one will d i s p u t e t h a t , in t h e p r e se n t
s t a te of m a n k in d , a n d esp ecia lly m a n k in d in the E a st, in which, as
t h e y th em se lv es ad m it, t h e A d e p t s , as a body, a re m o s t especially
interested , a n y public a p p ea ran c e a n d m in is tr y of t h e B ro th ers
would produce incalculable h a rm , would give b i r t h t o a new crop
of baneful su perstitions, w ould diso rga niz e Society, d i s t u r b tho
whole course of public affairs, and n o t i m p r o b a b ly e x tin g u ish finally
t h a t small BnoTiiERiiooD, in whose sole c u sto dy r e m a in s t h e se c re t
knowledge of th e universe.”
S in c e t h e B r o t u e r s a n d t h e i r k n o w l k p g f , nro in se p a ra b le ,
n n d t h a t t h e a p p e a r a n c e o f Ihe f o r m e r minus t h e l a t t e r w o uld
c r e a t e no im p re ss io n w h a t e v e r , th e q u o t a t i o n a n s w e r s v e r y well
th o q u e s t io n in h a n d . A t , a n y rate, b e in g a d m i t t e d us th o sole
p r o p r i e t o r s a n d c u s t o d ia n s o f th e G » e a t K n o w l e d g e , w h a t is
t h e use. a f te r h a v i n g w r i t te n tho se lin es, to u p s e t t h e w h o le
r e a s o n i n g by h a v i n g it, follo w ed w i t h s u c h a v e r y cross, n n d, in m y
h u m b l e o p in io n , u n d ig n ifie d , s p i t e l u l , nnd u n p h i lo s o p h ic a l
letter ?
I f it i.s h a r d to re co nc ile o n e s e lf e v en w i t h t h e i d e a o f p o p u l a r
e x o t c r i c sc ien c e m a k i n g o v e r e v e r y o n e o f its m a n y d e a d ly
d i s c o v e rie s t o th e b r u t a l maspes, nnd t h u s f u r n i s h i n g e v e r y
u n p r i n c i p l e d rascal, w h o w o u l d l e a r n t h e m , w i t h a d a n g e r o u s
w e a p o n , h o w in u eh m o r e c a u t i o n o u g h t to be use d in tlio m a t t e r
o f Occult, p o w e r s o f n a t u r e ? E v e r y one, ou t h e c o n t r a r y , o u g h t
to feel d e e p ly t h a n k f u l to tho c u s t o d ia n s th e r e o f , for k e e p i n g
t h e i r s e c r e t s o u t of th e m is c h i e v o u s r e a c h o f t h e w i c k e d w orld.
I m a g i n e th e p o w e r o f firin g a ir o r w a t e r d is c o v e r e d a n d m ado
p u b lic for t h e e x c e ll e n t m o ti v e o f f u r n i s h i n g c h e a p fuel to th e
p o o r a n d t h u s b e c o m in g t h e p r o p e r t y o f a w o rld, in w h i c h ,
a c c o r d in g to t h e sa tiric al s t a ti s t i c s f u r n i s h e d b y T h e S pectator,
e v e r y o n e m a n in a t h o u s a n d is n c r y p t o - l u n a t i c ! T h e p o w e r o f
v i b r a t i o n , for in stan c e, is a m o n g t h e m o s t m a r v e l l o u s in it*
p o t e n t i a l i t y f o r tho p r o d u c ti o n o f v a r i o u s p h e n o m e n a , nnd nt
t h e snm o t i m e , t h e m o s t t e r r i b l e a s n d e s t r u c t i v e n g e n t, in O c c u l t
S c ie n c e . W i t h th is p o w e r n t o n e ’s disposa l, t h e v r i l o f th e
“ C o m i n g K n e e ” b e c o m e s a r e a l it y , nnd an a r m y o f m e n can be
k ille d b y a c h ild ns easily nnd a s r a p i d l y a s t h o u g h l i g h t n i n g
h a d t h r e a d e d t h r o u g h each m a n . T h e c o c k - n n d - b u ll s to ry ,
g i v e n h y a N e w Y o r k r e p o r t e r , o f a m a n w h o affirm ed ho could
fiddle n b r i d g e d o w n , aud , b e in g l a u g h e d a t fo r h i s p r e s u m p ti o n ,
6e t h is fiddle to a c c o r d w i t h t h e k e y o f t h e b r i d g e a n d c a m e so
d a n g e r o u s l y n e a r s u c c e e d in g in h is w o r k o f d e s t r u c t i o n ns to
c o n v in c e th o scoffers o f th e d a n g e r o u s p o t e n t i a l i t y t h a t lies
d o r m a n t in v i b r a t i o n and o f his a b il i ty to do w h a t h e said — is to
one, a c q u a i n t e d w i t h t h e O c c u l t S c ie n c e s , s o m e t h i n g t h e o r e t i ­
cally a n d p r a c t ic a ll y possible. T h e d i s i n t e g r a t i o n o f b ri c k a n d
m o r t a r , s t o n e a n d m arblo, wood a n d e v en iron wit.hin a definite
a r e a in to m i n u t e s t dust,, is a d i s c o v e r y c o n te m p la te d b y e x a c t
sc ienc e a n d c e r t a i n l y w ith in th o l im i ts o f its h o p e s a n d possibi­
lities . I m a g i n e th e n , i f y o u enn, f e ro c io u s S o c ia lists nn d
F r e n c h petroleuses a n d com m u n ards c o m i n g i n t o t h e possession
o f such easy m eans o f g ettin g rid o f th e ir h e re d ita ry enem y—
tho p r o p r i e t o r a n d h o u s e -b o ld e r ,— nnd n o t n v n ilin g t h e m s e l v e s
of th o o p p o r t u n i t y to d e s t r o y w h o l e s q u a r e s a n d e v e n c ities—
o t h e r p e o p le s ’ p r o p e r t y !
B u t , I will s u p p o s e t h a t , f o r s o m e m y s t e r i o u s re a s o n s o f t h e i r
o w n , t h e A d e p t - B r o t h e r s c o n s e n t to d e p a r t from t h e i r tim o-
h o n o n r e d a nd wise policy o f silence, a n d t h a t , s m a r t i n g u n d e r
“ H . X . ’s ” r e b u k e , t h e y g i v e o u t n i l — or, a t least, some t h i n g s
— t h a t th e y k n o w , nnd o f w h ic h science is y e t i g n o r a n t . W h a t
w ill tho p rob a ble r e s u l t be ? W i t h o u t g o i n g to t h e t r o u b le o f
i n v e n t i n g n e w o b je c tio n s a g a i n s t t h e a d v is a b i l i t y o f Buch a
p r e m a tt i r o t r u s t in t h e a m ia b le civ iliz ed world w h ic h boasts o f n
S a l v a t i o n A r m y a t o ne pole and o f a L o u is e M ichel and N i h i li s t s
a t t h e o t h e r — I will s i m p ly cite, from t h e sa m e “ H i n t s , ” th e
o b j e c t io n s m a d e b y “ II . X . ” h i m s e l f on pag es 38 nnd 40. E vi­
d e n t l y t h e irascible w r i t e r o f th o S e p t e m b e r I.cttcr forgot, all ho
h a d said in h is p r e v io u s a r g u m e n t s in “ H i n t s ” :—•
“ Once let it be generally known and believed t h n t th ere oxistod
m e n w ho . . knew all a b o u t death, &c„ . . and n e ith e r walls
o f a d a m a n t n o r trip le g ales of brass, n e ith e r oceans no r t h e snowy
r a nges shooting u p miles high into t h e intense inane, could keep
th es e k n o w e rs from t h e overwhelm in g rush of h u m an beings, m ad ,
— for all violent s p ir itu a l up surging s become a sort of m adness—
m ad , I say, w ith t h e in te n se resolve to learn a n d h ave proof of all
t h e y were t a u g h t . U n d e r such conditions, ad ep tsh ip m u s t cease
to e x ist.” . . .
H a s o u r frien d “ II. X .” a lre a d y re a c h e d h i m s e l f such a
p s y c h o lo g ic a l s t a te o f “ a s p iritu a l u p s u r g i n g " as abov e described ;
a n d h a s h e also b ecom e re so lv e d “ to learn and h a v e p r o o f o f all
t h a t lie w a s t a u g h t ” ? 11, w ou ld seem so. W ere the A D K rT -
B r o t i i e r s i n c lin e d to a n s w e r h im , th e y m i g h t easily d o so in his
o w n w ords. W e r e t h e y to giv e th e w orld a l l t h e y k n o w , their
p e n a l t y , ns “ I I . X . ” tells us, w ould be that, t h e i r a d e p t s h i p w ould
“ c e a se to e x i s t ” ; a n d , w e r e th e y to g i v e out. b u t a portion , then
w e nre told a g a i n by t h e sa m e a u t h o r ( “ H i n t s , ” p a g e 4 0 , ) th a t
i h e y w o u ld find—
“ th e inevitable uselessness of a n y a tte m p ts on th e ir p a r t to deal
d ir e c tly with people n o t spiritually purified. T hough one w en t to
t h e m from the dead th e y would not believe. I f a B r o t h e r were to
visit a n o rd in a r y m an a dozen times, would he believe? I f the
B r o t h e r came in t h e flesh he would thin k him an im postor ; if he
c am e in his astral form . . . he (the mail) would persuade himself it
w a s a t r ic k of his own fancy, or of some one r is e ’s devising. No,
t h e mass of m a n k in d , even th e m ass of tho more highly educated
T h eosophists. . . possess that .-piritual sense or insight which alone
r e n d e r s conviction possible, still only in a p otential or d o rm a n t
s ta te . . . W hy sh ould t h e y (tho B r o t h e r s ) waste time a n d powers,
. . . over w h a t fr om th e n a tu ro of th e conditions m u s t be a n all
b u t, if not u tte rly , fru itle ss toil ? ”
W h i c h t h e n — tho “ H i n t s ” o r t h e “ L e t t e r ” — c o n ta in s th e
r e al o p inion o f “ II. X . ” ? F o r b o th cannot a g ree . l li e y are
e n ti r e l y a n d d i a m e t r i c a l l y opposed iu sp irit as in feeling. A n d
t h i s a lim its o f a s u s p ic i o n t h a t p e r h a p s tin* B r o t h e r s a i e not so
v e r y w r o n g , a f te r all, in h o ld in g th e complainant, a t itrm s len gth,
nn d tr y in g h i m b e fo re th e v entrust, him w i t h l u r t h e r se c ie ts .
N o t w i t h s t n n d i n g b is g r e a t a b il i ty as a com roversia list and d e b ater,
H. X . ” m a y n o t h a v e q u i t e re ac h ed h i m s e l f t h a t st.ato o f
“ sp i r i tu a l se nse o r i n s i g h t wliich alone re n d o is c onv ic tio n
po ssib le ,” a n d s l i o w s u s u n e r r i n g l y t h r o u g h t h a t s p i r i tu a l se n se
t h e fitness or u n fitn e ss o f th in g s . I f he is, as t h e r e se e m s no
r e aso n to d o u b t, a s e n s i b l e a n d e a r n e s t nimi, th e n h i s f iis t d u t y
w o u l d be to set t h e example! and to be t h e first, to follow out tho
r u l e s laid n u t b y h i m so g r a p h ic a lly in H i n t s o n E s o t e r i c
T n r c o s o r n y , a n d await-, w ith patien ce, fo r f u r t h e r d e v elo p m en ts.
I f , on t h e o t h e r h a n d , h e fears, lest, o w i n g to th e incom p leten e ss
o f t l i e “ s k e t c h e s ” g i v e n out. by him so far in t h e I ' r a o m e n t s , the
r e a l i t y o f th o few facts he h a s “ su c c ee d ed in e x t r a c t i n g from
th e m is d o u b te d , t h e n , w h a t r i g h t h a d lie t.o ru s h , w i t h such
facts, in to p r i n t, a t all, be fo re h a v i n g a ssu re d h i m s e l f o f the
t r u l y p h ilo s o p h ic a l c h a r a c t e r o f those facts ? B u t , e v e n now,
t h e dissatisfied g e n tl e m a n c ould easily m end m a t t e r s . L e t him
conduct, his l it e r a r y e x p e r i m e n t s apart, and k e e p t h e r e s u lts to
h im self, u n til h e sha ll h a v e e it h e r r e d u c e d t h e m w i t h in th e
n a t u r a l b o u n d s o f science and p h ilo s o p h y , a n d t h u s r e n d e re d
th e m in te llig ib le , d e fin ite, and u n a n sw e r a b le , o r sh o w tlieii
p h i lo s o p h y p u b l ic l y to t h e w o rld to be no b e t t e r t h a n a fallacy.
B u t , so lo n g a s t h i s is n o t done, I , for one, hold t h a t “ II. X .
h a s s h o w n no to k e n o f possessing t h e v e ry first, re q u is ite s
d e m a n d e d in a candidate, for O c c u l t i s m , n a m e ly , t h e p h ilo s o ­
p h ic a l spirit, u n d a u n t e d by a n y tria l o r d i s a p p o i n t m e n t : th e cool
a n d se ttle d j u d g m e n t that, k n o w s no w a v e r i n g ; a u d that, keen,
critic a l sense-— r a t h e r t h a n k n o w l e d g e o f t.he n a t u r e o f eso teric
t r u t h a n d its r e la ti o n s — so n e c e s s a r y for t h e a c c u r a t e g r a s p i n g
o f h id d en tr u th s . I n s h o r t , “ I I . X . ” h a s d one n o th in g , so far,
w h i c h sh o u ld w a r r a n t h i m in d em anding, as h e does, from the
B r o t h e r s th e whole t r u t h , or, j u s t i f y a n y tru o O c c u l t i s t in
affo rd in g h im t h e full c onfidcnce a n d c o-op era tio n h e so lo u d ly
calls for.
AV entw orth H i l l , O c t o b e r . A.

T H E “ C O N T R A D IC T IO N S O F T H E B IB L E ”
AND
T IIE R A W A L P IN D I M IS S IO N SC H O O L.
H a v i n g giv en room in o u r S e p t e m b e r n u m b e r ( s e e p. 3 0 4 )
to a l e t t e r from a H i n d u c o rre s p o n d e n t , b e lo n g i n g to a M ission
School, w h o accused liis S u p e r i n t e n d e n t , t h e R e v d . N ------- o f
n b u t e o f p o w e r , we se n t a c o p y o f tlia t n u m b e r to t h e p n rty
e h a r g e d o f t h e offence, in o r d e r to g i v e him a c h a n c e o f r e p l y i n g
to t h e a cc usa tion . W e lm v c now his r e p l y a n d w e p r i n t it
verbatim . A t t h e sa m e tim e, we h a v e also r e c e iv e d a n o t h e r
l e t t e r from t h e p laintiff’, w h ie h we p u b lis h a lo n g s id e w i t h t h a t
o f th e Revd. g e n tl e m a n . W e r e g r e t o u r i n a b i l it y to c o m p l y
w ith t h e r e q u e s t o f t h e latter. “ In ease L a k s h m a n se n d s y o u
nny m o r e c o c k - a n d -b u ll stories, please f a v o u r m e w i t h a s i g h t of
th e m before p u t t i n g t h e m into p rin t, a s t h e y m a y b e i m p r o v e d
by a n e x p la n a t i o n from m e ”— w r ite s to u s t h e R e v d . C. B .
N ew ton. W e a n s w e r : W e h a v e no r i g h t to b e tr a y t h e
confidence o f a c o r re s p o n d e n t, e v en t h o u g h h e m a y bo p r o v e d
to h a v e e x a g g e r a t e d tho offence. W e a r e g l a d for t h e R e v d .
g e n tl e m a n ’s s a k e t h a t it sh o u ld be so, a n d s o r r y for t h e y o u n g
m an t h a t h e sh ou ld h a v e found it n e ce ssa ry t o e x a g g e r a t e . *
W i t h all t h a t, we c a n n o t r e m a in satisfied w i t h t h e e x p la n a t i o n s
g iv e n by t h e R e v d . M r . N e w t o n . T h e m a in p o in t is n ot w h e t h e r
h e h a s confiscate d t h e b o o k — a n o th e r p e r s o n ’s p r o p e r t y —
b ru t a l l y or politely ; but, r a t h e r , w h e t h e r h e h a d a n y r i g h t to
do so a t all, since L a k s h m a n S i n g h was n o t a C h r i s t ia n ; a n d
th e M issio n Schools, e s p e c ia lly t h e A m e r ic a n , h a v e 110 r i g h t to
b reak t h e p ro m is es o f r e li g i o u s n e u t r a l i t y g i v e n to t h e H i n d u s
und M u s s u lm a n s by t h e G o v e r n m e n t t h a t g i v e s th e m s h e lte r
a n d hosp itality . A n d , i f L a k s h m a n S i n g h p r o v e s t h a t h e h a s
been e x p e l l e d fro m th e school for 110 g r e a t e r c r i m e t h a n a p p e a l ­
ing to p u b lic o p inion to decid e up on th e leg a lity o f su c h forced
pro se ly tism , a n d for re fu s in g to sign a n u n t r u t h f u l s t a t e m e n t to
save his p r o s p e c ts o f e d uca tion from r u in , th e n , we d o u b t w h e t h e r
th o R e v d . Air. N e w t o n will t h e r e b y s t r e n g t h e n m u e h c i t h e r h is
ow n case o r t h a t o f th e re lig io n h e w o u ld e n fo rc e u pon h is
p u p i ls by m e a n s t h a t no one w ou ld v e n t u r e to call a l t o g e t h e r
fair. A n d sin ce o u r R e v d . c o r r e s p o n d e n t does u s th o h o n o u r
of a c k n o w l e d g in g t h a t w e m a i n t a i n c e r t a i n p r i n c i p l e s , su c h as
t r u th f u l n e s s a n d fair-play, iu c o m m o n w i t h h im self, w e w o uld fain
a sk h i m in t h e n a m e o f t h a t t r u th f u l n e s s , w h e t h e r h e w o u ld
liave e v e r cu red to confiscate, as p r o m p tl y as he h a s t h e “ S e lf­
c o n tr a d ic tio n s o f t h e Bib le,” som e o f t h e m is s i o n a r y w o r k s
t h a t t e a r d o w n , abuse , a n d re v ile t h e go d s o f t h e H i n d u s , a u d
t h e o t h e r so -called *' h e a t h e n ” religion s V A n d i f n o t, is it n o t
fo rcing t h e p o o r y o u t h s o f In d i a , w h o h a v e 110 o t h e r m e a n s o f
b e in g e d u c a te d , to p a y r a t h e r too d e a r l y for t h a t e d u ca tio n ,
if t h e y h a v e to o b ta in i t a t th e p ric e o f t h e i r a n c e s t r a l fa ith , o r
be t u r n e d o u t for se e k in g to lea rn t h e t r u t h a b o u t a religion
w liic h t h e y a r e a sk e d to p r e fe r to t h e i r ow n a n d w h ic h
y e t is re p re se n te d to th e m b u t from o n e o f its a sp e cts, n a m e ly ,
t h e m is sio n a ry side ? W e call it n e i t h e r fa ir n o r g e n e r o u s ; n o r
y e t c h a rita b le . T r u e c h a r i ty n e i t h e r a s k s n o r does it
e x p e c t its r e w a r d ; a n d , view ed fro m th is sta n d - p o in t , t h e free
m ission sc h ools m u s t a p p e a r to e v e r y u n p r e j u d i c e d pe rso n 110
b e t t e r t h a n ill-d isg u ise d t r a p s for th e u n s o p h i s t i c a t e d “ h e a t h e n s , ”
a n d t h e m is s io n a rie s th em se lv es a s g u i lt y all r o u n d o f false
p re te n ce s. F a r m o r e r e sp ec tab le a p p e a r to us e v en t h e
lud ic rou s S a l v a t i o n is ts w h o , i f t h e y m a s q u e r a d e in O r i e n ta l
costumes, do n o t a t lea st d isg u ise t h e i r re a l a im s a n d objects,
nnd have, a t a n y r a te , t h e m e r i t o f sin c e rity , h o w e v e r b r u t a l l y
e x p re ss e d . T h e r e f o r e we m a in ta in w h a t w e h a v e said be fore :
th o a c t o f w h i c h t h e Revd. N e w t o n a n d tlio tw o sc h o o l­
m a s te rs s t a n d a c c u se d of, is — A u u s e o k P o w e r .
1.
TO T lIE ED ITO R o r TIIE “ T H E O S O P H IS T .”
1 r e ce iv e d a cop y of t h e m a g a z in e a b o v e n u m e d (fo r
S e p t e m b e r) d a y before y e s te rd a y , and p r e s u m e y o u se n t it. I
th u n k you cord ially for do in g so, as it g iv e s m e t h e o p p o r t u n i t y
o f r e p ly in g 10 an a r ti c l e w h ic h c once rns m y s e l f a n d t h e te a c h e r s
of th e Mission Sch ool in th is place.
Y o u aud I do n o t a g r e e in o u r r e lig io u s belief, b u t t h e r e a re
c ertain p rin c ip le s w e m a i n t a i n in comrnou, s u c h a s t r u t h f u l ­
ness a n d fair piny.
I t r u s t t h ere fo re y o u will h a v e t h e g o odn e ss to g i v e th e sa m e
pu b lic ity to tlio r e p ly t h a t y o u h a v e to t h e c h a r g e s it is d e ­
signed to refute.
* Well, if he has, bettor let him go (ind defand Uimaelf,
T h e enclosed s t a t e m e n t will sh o w y o u t h a t y o u h a v o been
im p osed up on, a n d h a v e b e en m a d e th e m ea ns of, u n w i t t i n g l y
p r o p a g a t i n g a fiction fo u n d e d on a ve ry th in s u b s t r a t u m of fact
— a s t o r y w h i c h is in a lm o s t e v e r y p a r t i c u l a r , as false a s it is
in ju rio u s.
I n y o u r e d ito ria l d e n u n c i a t i o n o f m y s u p p o s e d c on duct, y o u
h a v e m y full s y m p a t h y . T h e t e r m s “ b r u t a l a buse o f p o w e r”
a n d “ r o b b e r y ” a r e a little s t r o n g , b u t p e r h a p s n o t too s t r o n g for
t h e i n iq u ito u s p r o c e e d in g s d e sc rib e d , i f they h a d occurred :
b u t t h e y d id n o t o ccur.
T h e case ns r e g a r d s t h e lad L a k s h m a n is a g g r a v a te d b y t h a
fa ct t h a t h e h a s for som e m o n t h s p a st been in r e c e ip t o f a
sc h o la rs h ip from t h e school to enable h i m to p u r s u e h is
studies. A p a r t o f t h is a llo w a n c e h e se e m s to h a v e been
s p e n d in g in t h e p u r c h a s e o f bo oks d e sig n e d to c o n t r o v e r t t h e
p rin c ip le s on w h i c h t h e school is e stab lish e d .
I a m Y o u r s faithfully ,
C. B . N ew ton ,
S u p e r i n t e n d e n t , Mission S chool.
A m e r i c a n M issio n, R a w a l P i n d i , S e p t . 13, 1882.
S tatement.
R a w a l P i n d i M i s s i o n S c h o o l , S e p t. 13, 1882.
T h i s m o r n i n g I asse m b le d tho w h o l e school, a n d in t h e
p re se n c e o f all, c allcd upo n L a k s h m a n S in g h , a p u p il o f t h o
5 t h class, H i g h S chool, to pay s t r i c t a tt e n t i o n , a nd e i t h e r contra-*
d i e t o r c o r r o b o r a t e w h a t I s h o u ld n a r r a t e in r e f e r e n c e to t h o
book “ C o n t r a d i c ti o n s o f t h e B i b le .”
T h e facts I t h e n p ro c e e d e d t o n a r r a t e aro as follows :—
L a k s h m a n S i n g h h a v i n g o rd e re d t h e boo k in q u e stio n , and e x ­
p e c t i n g h i m s e l f to be a b s e n t a t t h e tim e o f its a r r i v a l, r e q u e s t e d
t h e S e c o n d M a s t e r to t a k e i t from th e p o st m an , a n d se n d it to
h i m by one o f his class m ate s.
T h e S e c o n d M a s t e r r e c e iv e d t h e b o ok a s d ir e c te d , a n d , w h e n
h e fo u n d o u t its c h a r a c t e r, * c o n s u l te d t h e H e a d M a s t e r b y w h o s e
a d v ic e I10 b r o u g h t it to me.
T h e n e x t m o r n i n g I called L a k s h m a n S i n g h aside, and t o ld
h im I h a d his book. I said I w as s o r r y h e w as so a n x io u s to s e e
t h e B ib le falsified, a n d w o u l d r a t h e r n o t h a v e h i m re ad a book
w h ic h , from his c o m p a r a t i v e i g n o r a n c e o f th e Bible, m i g h t
m isle a d h im , b u t t h a t since h e h a d b o u g h t t h e book, a n d it w as
h is p r o p e r t y , I did n o t feel t h a t I h a d a n y right, to w i t h h o ld it
f ro m h im ; a n d th e r e f o re , J w o u ld g iv e il lo him, b u t, b e fo re
d o in g so, w o u ld lik e to r e a d it w i t h h im , so t h a t w i t h t h e
poison, I m i g h t s u p p l y a n a n tid o te . H e assented w ith o u t
h e s ita tio n o r d e m u r , a n d a t m y i n v it a ti o n cam e to m y ho use,
w h e r e w e re a d a few p a g e s a s a g re e d . I t w as m y i n t e n t i o n to
t a k e several d a y s to it, a n d g o t h r o u g h t h e whole, b u t h e fre e ly
e x p r e s s e d h i m s e l f a s sa tisfied t h a t t h e a p p a r e n t c o n tr a d ic t io n s
w e r o n o t real ones, a n d said f u r t h e r t h a t it w as “ w a h i y a t , ”
“ n o n se n se t h a t h e w o u ld n o t h a v e se n t fo r t h e book i f h e h a d
k n o w n its c h a r a c t e r , a n d t h a t h e d id n o t c a r e now to h a v e it a t
all. A l l th is c a m e from h i m w i t h an a i r o f p e r fe c t s i n c e r i t y a n d
w i t h o u t a n y p r o m p t i n g on m y p a r t. I re p lie d t h a t I w o u ld bo
g la d to k e e p it since h e wa.s w i l li n g , a u d w o uld p a y h i m w h a t ­
e v e r e x p e n s e h e h ad i n c u r r e d . T h i s , h o w e v e r , h e said w a s n o t
n e c e s s a r y , a s it w a s a sm a ll s u m .
T h e fo re g o in g n a r r a t i v e w a s fully c o r ro b o r a t e d by L a k s h m a n
S i n g h , ite m b y item , in t h e p r e se n c e o f t h e t e a c h e r s a n d p u p ils
o f th e school.
1 t h e n r e a d a lo u d a u d t r a n s l a t e d in to I l i n d u s t a u i , t h e l e t t e r
in th e T h e o s o p h i s t , t o g e t h e r w i t h t h e c o m m e n ts o f t h e E d i t o r ,
and, h a v in g d o n e so, a s k e d L a k s h m a n S i n g h w h o h a d w r i t t e n
t h e l e tte r . H e said h e did n o t k n o w . I t h e n se n t for w r i t i n g
m a t rials a n d told h im to w ri t o t h a t s t a t e m e n t d ow n, a n d a t t a c h
h i s s i g n a tu r e . H o h e ld ba ck. I said, “ I do n o t w i s h y o u t o
w r i t e it i f it is n o t t r u e ; i f i t is t r u e , w h y d o y o u h e s i ta t e ? ”
H o st e p p e d f o r w a r d , t o o k up t h e pen, h e s i ta t e d , laid it d o w n
a g a i n a n d c onfessed t h a t h e h a d w r i t te n t h e l e tte r .
I finally a sk e d h i m w h y h e h a d r e p r e s e n t e d h i m s e l f a s a
te a c h e r in t h e sc hool. l i e r e p lie d t h a t h e h a d n e v e r do ne so
iu a n y o f tho l e t t e r s h e h u d w r i t t e n to B o m b a y , a n d t h a t i t
m u s t h a v e b e en a m i s t a k e n in ference.
C . B. N e w t o n ,
Super inleudenX.
• Ilow did tlio Second Master come to know of tlio conUuts of the packot '<'
Was lie authorised to ojion it ? Or is ho possessed of any dairvotjti»S'
facuHiea Ed. pro tan.
 T h e a b o v e s t a t e m e n t , i s c o r r e c t to o u r c e r t a i n kn ow led ge,
w e w e r e p r e se n t w h e n th e e x a m in a t io n o f L itk sh n iu n S in g h took
placc.
1. I I . D. G h o s e, H d . M a s t e r. o. B a d ar-u d -d in l i d . M oul­
2. B. N . Bando, 2n d M a ste r. vi, M a ste r .
3. S u n d e r S in g h , 3 rd M uster. 6. G o l a b Siii^li, M a ste r .
4. II. C. Sen, 4th Master. 7. L n k h a S i n g h , M a ste r.
( F o l l o w th e s i g n a tu r e s o f 10 p u p i ls o f tlie 5 t h class.)
II.
TO TIIH EDITOR OF TIIE “ TIT EOS Or niST.”
I m» a s t u d e n t b u t n o t n t e a c h e r as p u b l is h e d b y m i s t a k e
M y l e t t e r to th e T iiE O S < 'r n isT h a s been t h e c a u s e o f m u c h
e x c i t e m e n t a m o n g t h e Christian.--, e sp e c ia lly so in t h e case of
th e Revd. M r. N e w t o n , o u r S u p e r i n t e n d e n t . B u t , b efore I
pro c ee d to tell y o u tlie r e s u lt o f t h e p u b l ic a ti o n o f m y l e tte r in
y o u r j o u r n a l , I m u s t say a few w o r d s b y w a y o f i n tr o d u c t i o n .
A few d a y s a f t e r I h a d sent, t h e l e t t e r to y o u r M a n a g e r , t h e
I l e v d . Mr. N e w t o n a sk e d m e to c o m e to his place. H e would ,
h e snid, a d m i n i s t e r to m e t h e “ a n t i d o t e to t h e poison”
( w h ic h I h a d se n t for to A m e r ic a , viz., — “ S e l f - C o n tr a d i c t io n s
o f t h e B ib le .” ) in th e w o rd s o f M r. N e w t o n a n d th e tw o C h r i s t ia n
m a s te r s , — t h e book w h i c h Bai] N a t h B a n d o , t h e 2nd m a s te r ,
a n d II. D. G h o s h , t h e H e a d M a s t e r, did n o t allow m e to see, b u t
t a k i n g it fro m t h e p o s t p e o n g a v e it to th e R e v d . N e w t o n .
A c c o r d i n g l y I w e n t to his house, w h e n , instead o f g i v in g m e t h e
a n tid o te , he p o in te d o u t c e rta in c o n tra d ic tio n s m e n tio n e d in tho
book, and w h i c h h e e x p la i n e d a w a y a t t h a t tim o to m y sa tis fac ­
t io n . I t was v e r y k i n d o f th e R e v d . M r. N e w t o n to g i v e m e
t h e nnt.idoto before I had been allo w ed lo p a r t a k e o f t h e poison,
viz., to see th e book w h ic h be lo n g e d to mo, b u t w a s w i t h
M r . N e w to n . T h e result, w as t h a t I was p e r s u a d e d b y his
a r g u m e n t s a t th a t tim e to allow h im to re ta in t h e w o r k in his
p ossession. B u t th is fact, I a m su re , does n o t h e l p M r. N e w t o n
to e x p la i n t h e b e h a v i o u r o f th e 2 n d M a s t e r in d e p r i v i n g m e o f
m y ow n le g i t im a te p r o p e r t y a n d w h i c h fro m t h e first th e y h a d
no r i g h t to re ta in a g a i n s t m y will.
A n d now to th e m e m o r a b l e i n c id e n t t h a t to o k p la c e a f t e r th e
receipt, o f a c o p y o f th e T h e o s o p h i s t b y t h e R e v d . N e w t o n .
I t h a p p e n e d that, t h e R e v d . g e n t l e m a n f e lt s t u n g to t h e q u ic k
to find t h in g s pu b lis h ed w h ic h he n e v e r d re a m e d w o u ld g e t
a bro ad. O n th e 13th i n s t a n t he cam e to t h e school, a n d , c o lle c tin g
all t h e s t u d e n t s a n d te a c h e r s , h e offered m e c e r t a i n q u e s t io n s lo
w h i c h I re p lie d ; but, as th es e q u e s t io n s w e r e few and isolated,
t h e y did n o t elicit Iroin m e all the facts o f th e s to ry . H aving
d o n e t h is by w a v of s t r e n g t h e n i n g his case, ho re ad m y p u b l is h ­
ed l e t t e r a n d a sk e d m e i f I h a d w r i t t e n it. I a d m i t t e d h a v in g
s e n t th e l e t t e r to th e M a n a g e r .
A f t e r g i v i n g e x p re s s io n to m u c h r i g h t e o u s i n d ig n a t io n a n d
e n la r g in g upo n t h e sin of e x p o s i n g w h a t t h e y h a d d o n e in t h e
m a t t e r of m y book, th e Revd. g e n tl e m a n s u s p e n d e d h is j u d g ­
m e n t for o n e d a y . T h e result, is t h a t ho h a s n o w s u s p e n d e d
m e from the school for o ne m o n t h , a f te r w h i c h 1 shall be
p e r m i t t e d to jo in on c o ndition o f m y a c k n o w l e d g i n g in w r i t in g
t h a t all t h a t 1 had w r i t t e n in m y l e t t e r to tho T i i e o s o i 'I U S T
w a s false. A s th is is a t h i n g w h i c h I c a n n o t a n d will n o t do
a t a n y price , th e R e v d . g e n t l e m a n ’s s e n t e n c e a m o u n t s to m y
e x p u ls io n from Ihe sc hool a l t o g e t h e r .
T h i s is t h e w a y in w h i c h t h e y (tlie m is sio n a rie s) seek to p u t a
stop to t h e e x p r e s s i o n o f a n y h o n e s t o p inion in I n d i a , lam
n o t sorry for th e re su lt, b u t I c a n n o t h e lp v e ry m u c h r e g r e t ­
t i n g t h a t p e op le sh o u ld tra v e l a cro ss h a l f t h e g lo be to p r e a c h to
u s “ h e a t h e n s ” o f I n d i a t h e p ri n c i p l e s o f a re lig io n w h i c h t h e y
t h e m s e l v e s fail to follow in p ractice. I t is su c h m en w h o
a r e n e v e r tired o f r e p e a t i n g — “ B lessed nro t h e m e e k for t h e y
will i n h e r i t t h e e a r t h , ” b u t w h o find t h e p r e c e p t so difficult to
p ra c tis o in life.
I am told t h n t th e R e v d . g e n tl e m a n h a s w r i t t e n y o u a l o n g
l e t t e r for p u b lic a tio n a n d h a s g o t it sig ne d by a lm o s t all the
t e a c h e r s a n d H few s tu d e n ts . A s I a-n i g n o r a n t of t h e c o n te n t s
o f tlie le tte r, I can o n ly b less t h e R e v d . g e n tl e m a n for his
k i n d de cision in m y ease. T h o u g h it h a s a lm o s t r u i n e d all
iny p ro s p e c ts o f ed u ca tio n , a n d th ouirh I h a v e su s ta in e d such u
h e a v y loss a t his h a n ds, y e t. I, a h e a t h e n o f I n d ia , will a lw a y s
c o n tin u e a w e l l- w is h e r to t h e m a n w h o h a s been t h e cause o f
Iny r u i n .— I a m y o u r m o s t o b e d ie n t s e r v a n t ,
L a k s i i j l &n S in g h .
Siiid p u ri G a te , R a w a l P in d c e , S e p t e m b e r 1 7 , 1 8 8 2 .
as “ PSYCHOLOGY OF IH E L A M P .”
“ JIumanum est errant’ is n o t sufficiently im pressed on th e
m in d s of those who pre sum e t o judgo of t h in g s which th e y least
u n d e rstan d , a n d who, inflicting upou t h e public t h e i r crude
criticisms as so m a n y d t m o n s tr a l e d tr u th s , nevertheless brag
of bein g sincere searchers a f te r t r u t h . S u c h persons being
p re-em inently superficial, do n o t possess t h e required energy
to p a tie n tly explore in to t h e very depths of thiu gs ; b ut
a f te r hovering over t h e surface which couceals the kernel, t h e y
walk oft' w ith th e impression t h a t it is all a shell. O h ! t h a t such
persons will n o t keep t h e i r (such) convictions to them selves ! T h ere
is one a d van tage , th ough, of m ee tin g with th e i r like in Society.
T h e i r very a w k w a rd n e s s a n d b unglin g teud to stre n g th e n t h e t r u t h -
searching m in d s of serious a n d honest souls. To them is d u e th e
c redit for m a k i n g our p a r t y strong , ou r opinious strouger, a u d our
discoveries of t r u t h s —strongest.
W h y a re some people of M adras (vide Philosophic Inquirer
of M adras, S e p te m b e r 10, 1882,) against the “ Theosophy
of Colonel Olcott ?” I f t h e y were Theosophists, w ould th e y
n o t be only j u s t sw im m in g on t h e surface I W e would
offer th e m the following : I f they scientifically p r e s e n t i n th e ir
reply au explanation of t h e m ysteries, then we will p a r t with
Colonel O lcott’s T heo s o p h is m for the Theosophy of some of his
M a d r a s opponents. W e s t a r t with a simile so t h a t th e y m a y elcarly
co m prehend it.
A h.rop c o nta in s some oil, t h e oil feeds the wick, somebody lights
th e wick, a n d th ere is a b r i g h t tlame. W hen it is extin guished , the
flame goes out, followed b y a sm oky tr a in em anating from t h e still
b u r n i n g wick (b u rn in g w i t h o u t flame). T his b u r n in g ceases next,
followed by a n o th e r s h o rt expiration of grey gas, leaving a c h arre d
wick, a n d oil (if it was n o t a lto ge th e r consumed). H o w m a n y
principles are involved in t h is “ philo soph y”—th e origin of “ K a rm a
th e re la tion s be tw ee n “ K a r m a ” and tlie in dep e ndent actions of
“ E g o sh ip t h e cause of s p irit-a n d -m atte r m i x t u r e ; a u d the
hoBt of o th e r q u e stio ns su b o rd in a te to this.
C am p K ib b a u h alli, M ysore Province, Septem ber 18, 1882,
II.
I n th e foregoing article, two different cases have been noticed)
a n d th es e m ig h t now w i t h ad v an tag e be a little expanded. I t is
no new t h i n g t h a t I say. T h e question is m erely viewed from
a n o th e r side, and, as such, m a y help to refresh t h e m em ories of our
re aders a u d T heosophists.
Case 1.— I f th e flame is n o t suddenly extinguished, i t will
c on tinu e u n til all th e oil is consumed, and th e wick is in such a
condition now t h a t it is n o t fit to hold a ny more oil ; a n d will
reject i t if a n y m ore is po u re d in. T he flame, left u n d istu rb e d
b y e xtern al agency, will c onsum e th e wick, a n d w hen flitting
away, will have left b e h in d b u t a rag b u r n t to sooty shreds.
T h is m ay be com pared t o a n a tu r a l death of old age. T h e a fte r­
effects a re e vidently the em an atio ns, or accumulations in space—th e
result of th e a t t a c h m e n t o f t h e flame to the congeries o f hemp,
oil, wick, &c. W’hilo alive, th e colour, size, brightness, &c., of th e flame
a n d its after-effects m u st clearly vary according to local a n d
a tm o sph eric conditions ; a n d so th e affinities t h a t a h u m a n e n ti t y
creates for itself. 1 shall n o t here speculate further, b u t consider
a t once
Case 2.—This, if th e flame is sudd enly extinguished. A certain
effort, a c u r r e n t of a ir is re qu ire d, first to bend the flame, compress
its size and finally lo dissever its connection with th e wick. To
p ut i t plainly, th e flame “ stru ggles.” W h a t is left behin d, iu th is
ease, is a s tr o n g e r wick, capable of su s ta in in g a flame,
a nd as capable of g e tt i n g sa t u r a t e d w ith oil. A i t e r th e flanio
is blown o u t a n d disappears, followed b y its trail of gas,
t h e glare still lingers a n d w i t h proportion ate energy i t still
c ontinues to d ra w oil, u n t il finally t h e glare also disappears, leav­
ing b e h in d a u imperfectly consumed wick and oil. N o tice here,
t h a t while th e glare still lingers, the smallest sp a r k b r o u g h t in
c o n ta ct with it, is eagerly a nd easily c augh t up, which is no t so iu
case 1. T h is case 2 applies to u n tim e ly or accidental d e a th ; when,
n o t w i th s ta n d i n g bodily d e ath , t h e Bhut principles survive, some of
which obsess sensitive h u m a n subjects. Of th e different k ind s of
Iihuts, a n d t h e conditions which m ust d e te rm in e th e i r lingering
on t h is e a rth , o r going elsewhere, I a m n o t prepared to
speak of j u s t now, as t h e subject is still hazy and confused in
m y m in d . Still g ra nd problem s rise a u d can be solved with
“ the lig ht of th e la m p ,” before us. May n o t its philo sophy be as
a p tly applied to m a n ? W i t h o u t the flame, th e lam p a n d its
a p p u r te n a n c e s are of no nsc, a n d bo th la m p and its a p p u rte n an c e s
al'e indispensable fo r th e flame to m anifest itself. So m a y not
“ Spirit, Soul a n d M a t t e r ” be indispensable to a n d u n th in k a b le w ith­
o ut each o t h e r ? T h a t it is more t h a n th a t, much more complicated
a n d subtile, does n o t pre clude the comparison which has been made
only to m ake it com prehensib le to o u r criticizing friends of Madras,
w ho th in k of a p p ly in g th e t e s ts of gases to w ha teve r ou r s ta te s ma}r
be a t a n d a f te r the crisis of d e a t h ! W h y should n o t even this
com parison become suggestive a n d comprehensible ? H o w can it be
denied {dogmatic denia l is n o t a scientific negation) t h a t w hen the
flame is ex tin g u ish e d t h e r e will ahvaj's be following a t ra n s fo rm a ­
tion of th e flame into gases and t h a t th e re d glare will su rv iv e for
some tim e after. I f we a re n o t fitted to su d de n ly become O ccultists
a u d A de pta i n t h i s lifo w h i l e a s y e t t h e f l a m e of o u r l i f e - l a m p is
brightly burning within us, and that we are unable at will to light
aud to extinguish our Smil-wioks, still tlio philosophy stands true,
.and ultimately we •‘ may” bettor perceive the realities ; ulti­
mately, 1 say, for only nt, and after “ death”—aftpr the flame ia
gone, in the language of onr sim ile—that we will have to admit
and subscribe to the reality of the independent existence of gases
and glare, if not of the charred wick.
Is it true lliat the already “ discovered” laws of nature
m u st apply to the yet “ undiscovered” laws ? Mow can wo
prove this assertion before wo Icimw how to apply and
make these laws dovetail together, and learn whether
they agree or not ; and what is more, before we have ourselves
discovered theso “ undiscovered” laws ! For aught wo know
there may be other laws, more general and comprehensive,
to which the already “ discovered” laws are subservient ; and it is
in this spirit that we should be “ credulous” instead of remaining
unscien tifica lly sceptical. 1 am a mere tyro, but yet my soul’s
gates are not shut to receive truth wherever it may be found,
and whatever source it may come from. You may call the
residuo after the Spirit departs this frame, a ghost, a vapor, the
reliquio or anything you will. That, does not interfere with the
idea that it exists. And utterly ignorant of its nature, and the
laws hy which it abides, aud lacking patience and tho ability
to investigate them for ourselves, to say that there cannot bo
possibly a kernel, only because wo cannot break the shell and
see its inside, is revolting to eommon-sonse. Let “ Free inquiry
without prejudice” be our motto, lest we should be nailed to one
fixed point, and doomed squirrel-like' to be ever turning round
the same circumference, within a given radius.
In all ages aud at all times we tind the current of ignorant
opinion setting itself against new facts, and counter-running the
torrent of progress to which finally it has to succumb. Every new
fact discovered had at some time been cried down as “ Humbug,”
ai.d every science had to contend, at first, against such universal
denunciation. Only read “ Isis U nveiled” for instance. The
Philosophy of Mesmerism, even Mesmerism itself, is for many still
a " Humbug.” Why ? Because the)/ do not know what it is ; and the
Occultism of some Theosophists is “ Collusion,” Why ? Because
they cannot e xp 'a iii it otherwise. We hope that the Theosophists,
and their Founders, will only be the more incited to work in their
labour of love by meeting wii h such an opposition, such unmerited
and unjust treatment at the hands of .some Madras<-e /'Vt’c-thiukers
nnd ihat in the end they will be able to write “ Tekel” on all
“ Humbugs.” If it cau he proved that 1 havo said anything wrong,
1 am open to correction even by my friends the /Vue-thinkers,
Therefore do I boldly sign my name in full.
A. G o v i n d a C i i a r l u ,
Assistant Engineer, Mysore State Railway.
Camp Tiptur, Mysore Province, September 14, 1882.
ID O L A T R Y IN T H E VEDAS.
TO THIS E D I T O Il O F T H E “ TIIEO S OP IIIST.”
With reference to tho requisition of the correspondent of the
Arya, published in tho last number of ihe T h e o s o p h i s t , I quote
below that portion of the Shiikha of Yejur Veda which comprises
the sentence under consideration, to enable him to interpret it.
Besides this quotation, nothing need bo said in reply to him. For,
in my previous article on tho subject, I have asked whether the
Swamiji considered the sentence as a portion of tho Yajur Veda
besides pr< posing two other questions. 1 have, indeed, a strong
inclination to submit a more lengthened reply ; but I check that
inelina <on, and would reserve my remarks until the discussion
arrives at ft stage actually calling for them, because whatever is
inopportunely said is also inappropriate, aud, of consequence,
undeserving of a space iu the columns of tho journal, for which
legitimate demand is so large.
The quotation runs thus :—
Srq 31R r <T ?Cq: | * ^ 3 7
R tq is c T : | ft
I ff^r jfr qrer 3?rkt
*r3iic i H er facFRr sprd
s i^r : \ a? I >r:ipni
NO Ni
^ ^R w i W r - sw
^ ET‘^ # R3TI qcT # ® r *Fi 5T T O
<rwr t ^ R R R ^ r
^I'cTcrr w * r r f-irfcr rrRflift l stpjtrri
sri^ r q i^ r q R ifr itf^ R ir sr f
u P fa tif *T R ^ r
jp u q ft s w n Your most obediently,
VS
* The sentence uudcr eonsidoratioa,
y
A s to the advertisement by Mr. Matlmradas Lowji, alluded to in
the article under reply and in the note which you havo kindly
appended thereto, 1 promise to undertake the task as soon as his
acceptance of my proposal is communicated to me through tho
T U E O S O I ’IIIST.
In connection with this .subject, allow me to say that, after satis­
fying Mr. Matlmradas Lowji that idolatry is sanctioned by the
Shastras, 1 would proceed to show, with some system, that it ii
supported by the Vedas, aud, further, that the S u p erio r H in d u
Id o la tr y i.s but philosophic, and its practice thoroughly wholesome,
and highly beneficial m several ways.
Yours fraternally,
October 11, 1882. D., F.T.S.
A N A TION AL FU N D
FOIl
T IIE STU D Y OF SA N SKRIT.
TO T IIK E D I T O R O l ’ T I I E “ T I I E O S O P I I I S T . ”
I subjoin copy of my letters to the Viceroy and tho President of
the Educational Commission, and beg to urge upon all our Theoso-
phists this golden opportunity of taking charge of the education of
tlieir countrymen, and acquiring tlieir legitimate influenco with the
Government and the nation. I have requested the Educational
Committee, i.e., the Theosophists, ofthe Hindu Sabha, to take charge
with me of the Madras Presidency College in terms of my recom­
mendation to the Government Education Commission, and I eipect
Local Branches and other associatious to similarly take charge of
other Colleges and Schools. This move and the scheme of Local
Self-Government, and my intention to move tho University Senate
to patronize Sanscrit Literature moro than is done at present, will
relieve “ Re-awakened India” of having a distinct National Fund
raised by subscriptions. I protest against any one conducting a
School who has no faith iu Soul and Spiritual Progress.
A. SA NK AR IAH , F.M .U., F.T.S.,
President Founder, Hindu Sabha.
Trichoor, September 2, 1882. •
To the P rivate S ectujtartc to IT. E. the Viceroy.
D eau Sin,
I have your kind reply to my letter on the national grievance of
closing educational and official distinctions to the Vernacular-
educated natives of India. Probably the enclosed copy of my
letter to the public will make my meaning clearer. It is two years
since the Middle School Test superseded the general Test Examina­
tion in this Presidency, and therefore even Vernacular examinations
for clerkships are not held. Supposing such examinations to
exist, I may yet say that preference under the existing spirit of
exercising patronage will be given to those who pass only in
English. Surely it is demanding Utopian loyalty aud contentment
ou the part of 250 millions of the Aryan race with a literature
Vedic, Scientific and Puranic, with kingdoms in the past and in
the present administered by Kings, l)ewans aud Judges not
educated in English (i'oorneah of Mysore did not know Jinglish,
and Rajah Sir Dinkar Row, K.C.S.I., does not know it), to ask
them to be content wilh Vernacular clerkships. Are persons fit only
to be Vernacular clerks lit under the most highly appreciated
Resolution of the Vice-Empress to be entrusted with local self­
3RcT government? 1 am a Bachelor of Arts, a Fellow of an University
f t ir q -- aud tho Naib Dewan of u state. My colleagues in the Sabha
aiv. Graduates, Deputy Collectors, Sub-J udges, &c. The Sabha is
i sw'Rf open only to English educated Hindus ; for, with the advice of
my friends, Civilians, Missionaries, and Military Officers, 1 have
come to the conclusion that English should bo the common
language of all Provincial and imperial associations iu India,
sn
1 sr ff'i:
s*, but that it should serve in regard to the Vernacular Literature the
same purpose whieh the Latin did in enriching European Litera­
ture. Sanskrit will continue to supply all words, and English,
Historical, Legal, and Scientific m atter. Tho exclusivo patronage
*11% I of English educated natives aud indirectly teaching them to des-
piso the Vernaculars and Vernacular scholars are neither iu tho
wtfer interests of the people nor in those of tho British Government,
which is a God-send to India. It will be an ever memorable stroke
* r R R cr <t r of statesmanship if University honors are thrown open to the
^ 3^ Vernacular Scholar, and official appointments up to Rs 500. •
I beg you will be good enough to lay this and the previous letter
before His Excelleucy, and favour with commands
A. S axkahiah, F.T.S.,
President .Fournier, Hindu Sabha,
 T rio h o o r , 1st S e p t e m b e r , 1882. t h i n g emli wed w ith v o r t e x m otio n. II<> t h in k s t h e a to m s compos-
W on in*; th e U n i v e r s e to b e s o m a n v w h irlp o o ls in a v a st ocean.* Ill
A. S a n k a h i a h , E sq ., B .A ., F . M . U . ,
M a x w e l l ami R a n k in s w e find th e m e n g a g e d in m ath e m a tic a l
P r e s i d e n t F o u n d e r of t h e P a r e n t l i i n d u S ab lia, . . . <*
r e s e a rc h e s c o n c e r n in g t h is v o rtex m otion. I e a r n e s t ly h o p e for
To t h e t im e w h e n th is t h e o r y c o n c e r n in g mnt t e r will be u n iversally
T h e I I o : ; . AV. W . H i j n t e h , C . I . E . , L . L . D .,
acknow ledged. W h e n if, is a cc e p te d , o u r m atter will be re g a rd e d
P re s i d e n t , of t h e E d u c a t i o n C o m m i s s i o n .
w h a t it is— a morlc o f motion. T h e n th e th e o rie s o f N e w t 11
3 i r !— I b eg to s u b m i t f o r c o n s i d e r a t i o n t h e fo l lo w in g p r o p o s i ­
a n d Y o u n g c o n c e r n i n g lig h t will be reconciled ; nmi I t h i n k
tio n s :— niodei'n sc ie n c e sliall h a v o ve ry lit I le difficulty then in r e c o g -
1. T h a t a k n o w l e d g e of E n g l i s h bo n o l o n g e r m a d e i n pr a c tic e u i s i n g t h e p o ss ib i l it y of O c c u l t p h e n o m e n a.
i n d i s p e n s a b l e for a d m i s s i o n t o a t all e v e n t s t h e L o w e r G r a d e * o f
Y o u rs , <$<*.,
P u b l i c S erv ice. _
K r is iin a d iia n M uK E im .
■I. T h a t a rra n g e m e n ts be m ade a t oncc f o r closing such
Government, i l i g u Schools and C o lleges a.s a r e n o t r e q u i r e d (e . g. P lead er.
Calicut, the si.uueut.s o f which will be a b so rb e d into the 1'algiiaut E a n k i p o r e , S e p t e m b e r 23, 18S2.
i i i » h School o r th e Z a m o r i n ’s Colleges o r Mission Schools).
is. T h a t ev e r y e n c o u r a g e m e n t bo g i v e n t o a n y P r o v i n c i a l A s s o ­
c i a t i o n ot g e n t l e m e n w h o will h o l d t h e m s e l v e s r e s p o n s i b l e for IS E N E R G Y ALSO “ M A T T E R ?”
m a i n t a i n i n g s u c h co lleges a s a r e st ill n e e d e d («. g , t h e P r o ­
v i n c i a l College a t Com UaConuiu) o n a f o o t i n g c o n s o n a n t w i t h TO T I I E E D I T O R OF T I I E “ T l IE O S O l’I U S T . ”
n a t i o n a l p r i n c i p le s a n d fe e l i n g s ,— in p a r t i c u l a r t h a t t h e p r e s e n t T h e w o rd E n e r g y anil its cot re la tio n s a re in c o n s t a n t use,
n e t o u t l a y o n e a c h s u c h co lleg e be h a n d e d o v e r l o r a t e r m o f
a n d th e re f o r e it se e m s to m e of great, im p o rta n c e t h n t its e x h a u s t ­
y e a r s t o t h e b o d y u n d e r t a k i n g to m a i n t a i n it, a n d t h a t t h i s g r a n t
be g r a d u a l.y r e d u c e d u n t i l a t l h e c u d of fifteen y e a r s t h e College ive definition w i t h a p t illu s t ra ti o n s sh ould a p p e a r iu tho
co m e s u n d e r tlie o p e r a t i o n o f t h e o r d i n a r y C r a n t - i n - A i d C o d e ; T h e o s o p h is t .
t h a t i t will be c o m p e t e n t fo r t h e m a n a g i n g b o d y t o a p p l y , w h a t ­ B y th e w a y . I tuny as w e l l. r e m a rk th at,ife le et.ric ity , i s n d m i t l e d
e v e r i t m a y sa ve, a l t e r t h e p r o p e r m a i n t e n a n c e of t h e college, lo by scientific m en as m a t t e r . )' tliei 0 se e m s Iiit.lo or 110 room for
t h e otleriii>’ o f t h e r e w a r d s for t r a n s l a t i o n s a u d o r i g i n a l p u b l i c a ­ d o u b l in g e n erg y to be lik e w ise m a t t e r . B u t th en t h e q n e - ti o n
t i o n s of s c ie n lilic a n d o t h e r w o r k s, a i u l g e n e r a l l y l o r t h e arises, w h e t h e r t h e r e is a c e rta in fixed q u a n t i t y of it in ench m a n
e n c o u r a g e m e n t of t h e I ^r/iacufar le a r n i n g .
a n d ea-pnbleof’ d e v e l o p m e n t . I f t-o. ho w fares o u r e n e r g y w h e n
4. T n a t t h e la r g e s u m s a v e d (<t) at o w e b y t h e r e m o v a l o f t h e
G o v e r n m e n t Institutions t h a t a r e n o t r e q u i r e d , (l>) a t the e n d o f fifte e n i t . i s a p p l i e d to so m e n oble u n d e r t a k i n g without, a n y su ccess ? Is
jcvrs b y tlie r e d u c t i o n of e x p e n d i t u r e 0 1 1 t h e r e m a i n i n g colleges, a n d it, in su c h eases d i m i n i s h e d in q u a n t i t y , and th e n p p lie r b e com es
t h e sc ale of g r u n t s - m - a i d , be h e l d as a s a c r e d t r u s t t o be d i s ­ n loser? I sh ould t h i n k th at t h o u g h e n e r g y in su c h cases
p e n s e d f o r t h e e n c o u r a g e m e n t o f t h e VernaciUor l e a r n i n g , a n d t h e m a y be d im i n i s h e d , y e t th e n oble idea o r m otive, t h e h e a v e n - b o r n
tliiiu siou of k n o w l e d g e by m o a n s o f t h e Vcnw.ew.ars, a n d t h a t will t h a t d i r e c te d ami e x e r l e d it., sh o u ld live and b e a r fru its in
p a t r i o t i c so c ietie s s u c h a s t h e H i n d u S a b h a be h a b i t u a l l y c o n s u l te d a c c o r d a n c e w i t h its i n t e n s i t y . t B u t th is a g a i n b r i n g s us
a s t o t h e m o d e of a p p l y i n g th is J v n J . _ _
i n d ire c t l y to a n o t h e r a b s t r a c t q u e s tio n . Can n n y one h a v e ail
0 T h e enclosed p a p e r s w ilt g ive y o u a fa ir i d e a of tl i e c o n s t i t u ­
t i o n a n d p t r w n i id of t h e H i n d u S a b h a c o m p r e h e n d i n g all t h e
a c ti v e l y useful e xiste nce, without, a n y o r only a nom inal e n e r g y
d i s t r i c t s , c as tes a n d s e c t s , o c c u p a t i o n s a n d t r a d e s of t h e M a d r a s in him ? I shall feel v e r y g r a te f u l to th o g e n t l e m a n w h o will
P residency.
t a k e t h e t r o u b le o f s o l v i n g t h e a bov e.
1 have the h o n o u r t o be, Sir, Y o u r s o b e d ie n tly ,
N. W. P. R-
Your m ost h u m b le a n d o b edient se rv an t,
(Sd.) A. S a n k a r i a h .
EX TR A C T FROM A LETTER OF A N ENQUTRER.

“ I f y o u will k i n d l y e x c u s o me, I wish to point o u t t h a t y o u r

t h e o r y of f u t u r i t y is 110 w h e r e c le arly e x p la in e d in tlio “ F e w
FORCE AND MATTER. W o r d s to L a d i e s d e s i r in g to jo in t h e T h e o s o p h ic a l S o c i e t y . ” I t
to tiie Enncm o r tup. “ rn r.o so rn iS T .” is r e fe r re d to in se v e ra l places, but. n o t fully e x p la i n e d a n y w h e r e .
I n one plac e y o u sa y ‘ t h e tra v e ll e r leaves y o u r h o sp ita b le
I n fin a rticle , iu th e S e p t e m b e r n u m b e r o f t h e 1 HHOSOrillST, d o o r : I10 passes in to th e w o r l d . ’ W lm t is lh e w orld into w h i c h
h e a d e d “ Is E le c t r i c i t y mnl.ler o r force ?" I find t h a t l.lic w r i t e r t h e d e a d m o r ta l pnsses a n d ever tra vels ? S o m e o f tho
co n sid ers i t mi e stablishe d fact in Science, t h a t E l e c t r i c i t y is not t r a v e ll e r s , y o u s a y , d ie by t h e road-side, o t h e r s p a ss 011 in to
m a i l e r . I am s o rr y to see tliiit y o u n g s t u d e n t s o f sc ienc e oi tho i m m o r t a l i t y nnd so m e sink in to no th in g n e ss . T h e s e tliree§
p r e s e n t <T<>noration a re bold e n o u g h to h a z a r d o p in io n s o f t h e i r s sta te s a f te r d e a t h i e q u i r e , I t h in k , a c le a r e r e x p l a n a t i o n t h a n I
in a jo u r n a l of w o r l d w i d e c irc u la t io n l ik e th e T h e o s o p h i s t . find in th o bo ok.
W o u ld il. n ot be m o r e p r u d e n t lo t h o r o u g h l y s t u d y a s u b je c t “ 1 ehow ed tho I l i n d e e tra n s la tio n o f t h e R u l e s a n d o f th o
b e f o re p a ssing r e m a r k s on it ? F r o m w h a t I find in t h e a rticle , I ‘ F e w W o r d s , & c.,’ to som e Pandit*, nnd t h e y se e m e d to
t h i n k tlio w r i t e r h a s n o t sufficiently r e a d tlio s u b j e c t of E le c t r i c i t y . a p p r e c ia t e t h e p r e c e p ts ; b u t, like myself, t h e y failed to c o m p r e ­
M o d e r n .science h a s n e v e r .=0 boldly e x p r e s s e d t h a t “ e le c t r i c i t y h e n d t h e T h e o r y o f f u t u r i t y a nd e t e r n i t y for t h e dend.
was n o t m a t t e r . ” C e r t a i n l y Micro is great, d iv is io n o f o p inio n as T h e t h e o r y t h a t th o soul h a s t.o trave l from w o rld lo w o r ld nnd
r e g a r d s the. m oote d point, b u t t h e w e ig h t o f a r g u m e n t s in fa v our e x is te n c e to e x is te n c e a n d to fare ill o r well a c c ording to a c t s
o H h e t h e o ry tli.it e le c t r i c i t y is m a t t e r is m u c h s t r o n g e r th a n t h a t done in each w..rld, r e q u ir e s so m e t h i n g in the slmpo o f p r o o f o r
u r i - e d i n f a v o u r o f its b e in g sim p ly force. W hat, a re l hose a r g u ­ r e co g n iz e d a u t h o r i t y ( l ik e tlie V e d a o r t h e Bible & e.) 011 w h ic h
m e n ts, I need not, e n u m e r a t e h e r e . B u t I in v ito t h e a t t e n t i o n i t is"" f o u n d e d . I n o t h e r r e s p e c ts th e “ W o r d s ’' se e m to bo
o f the’ w r i t e r o f th e a r ti c l e in t h e S e p t e m b e r T h i s o s o i m i i s t a d m i r a b l y s u i t e d for t h e g u i d a n c e of ladies.”
fo t h e vo lum es ou E l e c t r i c i t y b y P r o f e s s o r M a x w e l l, Hie
g r e a t m a t h e m a ti c ia n nnd t h e tir s t a u t h o r i t y 011 t h e s u b je c t
o f e le c t r i c i t y . E le c t r i c i t y ha s no w b e c o m e a s u b j e c t of
m a t h e m a ti c s , n n d , w e hope, will be soon a c c u r a t e l y defined. EXTRACT FROM T I I E R E P L Y TO T I I E AMOVE,
T h e o u t c o m e o f tho co n clu sio n s o f M a x w e l l, w h o has
P u rp o se ly , in th is b ook , no d eta ils as to C osm ogony or
t r e a te d t h e su b je c t m a t h e m a t i c a l l y a u d w ith t h e g r e a t e s t
O ccu lt P h ilo so p h y aro g iv en . T hese w ill be o b ta in ed
care, is th a t e le c t r i c i t y is m atter , and c anno t be motion.
la te r from o th er p u b lic a tio n s o f th e S o c ie ty . 1 have 110
I w o uld ad v i s e o u r fr ie n d ,th e w r i t e r o f lh e said a rticle , to p o n d e r
theory as to th e fu tu re statu, but a lik e in th e H in d u ,
w e ll, fo r a c e rta in le n g th o f tim e, 011 the s u b j e c t o f “ W h a t is F o r c e
B u d d h i s t a n d T ib e t a n S c r ip tu r e s , t h e fa cts of th at fu tu re
ami w h a t is M a t t e r ” before ho v e n t u r e s a g a i n to w r i t e 011 th e
(a scerta in ed b y th e sa m o p rocess b y w h ich A d ep ts in th e
s u b je c t. H o w o u ld also do w e ll to re a d in th is c o n n e d ion
H e r b e r t S p e n c e r ’s first P rin c ip le s a ud T h o m s o n ’s T h e o ry o f p r e se n t d ay verify th e m ) a r e c le a r ly s e t forth .

f l a tt e r . * Such is precisely tbo doctrino of Eastern Esotono Scionco it) rognrd to

A c c o r d i n g |.o S p e n c e r , o u r e x p e r i e n c e o f force is t h n t w h i c h
gives us t h e id e a o f 11u1tt.f r, spa c e a n d lim e . I limy say t h a t tho
i d e a o f F o r c e is th e U n ity , a u d o u r id e a s o f lim e , space, a n d m a t t e r
— i h e T r i n i t y of m o d ern science.
T h o m s o n , o u b o f th e best scientific, p h i lo s o p h e r s o f t h e ngo, p e r ­
c e i v e s iu nn a t o m o f m a t t e r a p o r t i o n o f s o m o A l l - P e r v a d i n g s o m e ­
Cosmogony —Ki>.
■f* It is not yet so admitted by them. Thoy cnll it Fore, but wc unablo
to prove it is not matter, nor to show us wha.it, i s —En.
J Onr correspondent evidently loaves oub »fbis speculation t h e doctrine
of “ Karma ”—Eo.
§ Or two, as dying and sinking into nothingness, in this case, probably
pfer to the sam« cU o of event.
 There are d ifferen ces in d e ta ils in th e sch o o ls, fa lse h o o d s. I d isa g r ee w ith th e m on m a n y p o in ts ; I th in k
p rin cip a lly due to th e lig h t in w h ich God (an en tity th a t, c u t o ff from t h e w o rld , t h e y a r e c o n tin u a lly w r o n g in
w h o lly b ey o n d theprasp of our fin ite in tellec ts, th o u g h th e ir m o d e s o f a ctio n , au d I th in k th eir a n tiq u a ted s y s te m —
r e v e a l e d to e a c h a n d a ll in g l i m p s e s ) is r e g a r d e d — b u t, as m o r o th a n fiv e t h o u s a n d y e a r s old , b y e v e r y fo ssil lin k of
to t h e m a in fu els, t h e r e is r ea lly no d iffe re n c e ; nay, th e w h o se c la im s th e y are irrev o ca b ly b o u n d ,— a p u re a n a c h r o ­
scru p u lo u sly co n cea led , as in d ee d th e y are in m o s t H i n d u n ism , w h ic h , b y its in te r n a l u n s u ita b ility for th e present
S c r i p t u r e s , y o u w ill fin d t l i e s a m e fa cts in th e B ib le, in age, goes far tow ards n e u tra lizin g and n u llify in g th e
t h e Z e n d a v e s t a a n d in t h e books of C on fu ciu s an d a g a in p r a c tic a l v a lu e o f th e p r ic e less k n o w le d g e o f w h ic h t h e y are
in th ose of th e M ahom edan D iw a n s. For th ere is but th e cu sto d ia n s. B u t I can no m ore b elie v e th a t th e y are
one truth and one relig io n , a n d all th e creeds of th e a s e t o f h a b it u a l liars, th a n I c o u ld b e lie v e th at you or
w o rld , w orth y th e nam e, a lik e of th e p resent and th e o th er s o f m y frien d s w ere h a b itu a l t h ie v e s or m u rd erers.
p a s t, a re b u t o ff-sh o o ts from t h e o n e p r im e v a l R e lig io n . S e c o n d ly , y o u m a v b e d isp o sed to b e lie v e , b e c a u se th ey
I have even now a book on O ccu lt P h ilo so p h y , at lea st g i v e p r a c t i c a l d e m o n s t r a t i o n s ( r a r e l y , n o d o u b t , a n d o n l y to
a s k e t c h o f t h is , in h a n d , b a s e d on th e te a c h in g s of th e th ose v ery sin cere an d very m uch in earn est, but still
B rothers. T lie y of course fo llo w ch iefly th e Book of m o s t o f u s h a v e h a d t h e m ) first t h a t t h e y possess pow ers
K h iu -te, but th ere is c o m p a ra tiv ely little d iffe re n c e of d e a lin g w ith a n d m a n ip u la tin g th e p h y sica l e lem en ts,
b e tw e e n w h a t th e y tea ch an d w hat a groat V e d a n tist lik e th at even in t h e l i g h t o f m o d e r n s c i e n c e s e e m m ira c u lo u s,
our b roth er S u b b a R o w o f M adras accep ts, and what my and secon d th a t th ey can sep arate th eir so u ls (or w h a t ­
d e a r o ld P a r a m a l ia n s a p r e a c h e s a s t h e A d w a i t a P h i l o s o p h y e v e r y o n p l e a s e t o c a l l it, itKama rupa, rniunus,
is th e
of th e U p a n ish a d s. bi.uldhi a n d atma) f r o m t h e i r b o d i e s (sthula a n d line/a
I am sen d in g you a little p a m p h let, “ F ragm en ts of sariram a n d Pran, viz. v i t a l e s s e n c e , t h e jiva lm a o f tuiue
O c c u lt T r u t h ” N o . I l l , a n d th is, ta k e n a lo n g w ith N o s . I. b u t n o t o f t h e V e d a n t i s t s ) a n d , le a v in g t h e s e la t t e r iu one
n n d II, fo r m e r ly s e n t y o u , w ill c o n v e y to y o u , in cid en ta lly , p la c e , a p p e a r in another, m a ter ia liz in g th eir in eo ip o rea l
som o c o n c ep tio n s of what we a r e t a u g h t a b o u t t h i s life, parts.
w h e n c e w e r e a c h it, a n d w h i t h e r w e proceed. I f y o u w ill T h ir d ly , y o u m a y b e in clin ed to b e l i e v e by d isco v erin g
road t h e s e c a re fu lly , y o u w ill u n d e r s ta n d so m ew h a t of th e t h a t all th e y te a c h o f c o sm o g o n y , o f th e w orld and of th e
q u e s tio n — a n d if y o u m e d it a te on th is, b e lie v e m e m a tte r s u n iv e r s e , w h ile it goes far beyond th is, yet h a rm o n izes
w ill g r o w clea rer. But r em em b e r o n e th in g — th o p u rely w ith e v e r y th in g rev ea led by th e m ost advanced m odern
carnal m an can n o m o re u n d e rsta n d sp ir itu a l th in g s, put p h y sica l scie n c e , th o u g h it can b e p ro v ed to h a v e been on
th em b efore h im a s clea rly y o u m a y , th a n th o m an, b lin d r e c o r d fo r a t l e a s t 3 , 0 0 0 y e a r s in t h o sacred books of th e
from b irth , can u n d e r s ta n d lig h t, rea so n w ith hint, as you E ast.
w ill. To u n d erstan d and r ea lly grasp sp ir itu a l truths, B u t fin a lly , a n d n o t to w e a r y y o u w ith a m u lt ip l ic it y o f
you m ust m ed ita te on th em . Y ou m ust tu rn your argum ents, you must b e lie v e it if you o n ce really go iu to
th o u jlits in w a rd s, y o n m u s t o p e n t*>e e y e s o f y o u r so u l, if th e m a tter, b e c a u se th e y teach you how you m ay grow
y o u a r e lit a ll t o u n d e r s t a n d a n d r e a l iz e t h e S p i r i t u a l S u n , u p to b e lik e t h e m s e l v e s (or some of th em , for th e very
th e g r e a t S p irit, th e A tnia from w h ic h our Ahtia is d e r i v e d h ig h e s t are t h e rare p ea rls th at th e ocean of h u m a n ity
a m i to w h ic h it r e t u r n s . y i e l d s o n c e a t m o s t in a c e n t u r y ; in d e e d o f th e very very
B u t a f t e r a ll, y o u w ill sny p e r h a p s , w h a t if th ese sam e h ig h est, th e la st till now was T sonkapa in th e 15 th
te a c h in g s be fou n d in all th e creeds of th e w o rld , C e n tu r y ) an d h o w y o u m a y g ra d u a lly v erify for y o u r self
why need th ey therefore be tru e ? W hy m ay not one all t h e m o r e im p o r t,a n t sp iritu a l fa cts th at im m ed ia te ly
h a v e c o p ie d from t h e oth ers '! H in d u ism goes bark in to concern you in t h is life. T h e w a y is l o n g a n d w eary th e
th e t w ilig h t o f th e h u m a n ra ce— B u d d h is m a n d its T ib e ta n d ifficu lties, th e sa crifices m a n y an d g rea t, b u t there is th e
form s and C o n fu cia n ism are b u t off-sh oots from th is. road c le a r ly p o in te d o u t, every few s ^ J s a l o n g w h ic h in cre-ise
E g y p t to o k it from I n d ia , an d so d id M e s o p o t a m ia , B a ctria , y o u r p u r v ie w an d esta b lish s o m e p o rtio n of th eir tea ch ­
C h a ld ea ; th e Jew s from Egypt and C h a ld ea , and th e i n g s ; a n il , in t h e fa c e o f t h i s , i t b e c o m e s i m p o s s i b l e for a n y
G r e e k s a n d R o m a n s from E g y p t, a n d M ahom et from th e one, w h o p erso n a lly in v e stig a te s tlie q u estio n , to doubt
flo a tin g tr a d itio n s th at su r v iv ed th e d estr u c tio n of th a t th e te a c h in g s o f th e B ro thers , (w h ich in d eed o n ly
A lex a n d ria (o n ce th e h ead q u arters of th e O ccy ltism or r e p r o d u c e w h a t a ll t h e S a c r e d Books of all n a tio n s have
W isd o m R e lig io n of th e w o r ld ) and th e su p p ressio n of t a u g h t fro m b e fo r e t h e d a w n o f t h e H is to r ic a l p er io d ,) aro
th e E ssenes, G u o s'ie s and oth er sects of M y stics (all i n t h e m a i n c o r r e c t , in reejard lo all those ijneslions which
see d lin g s of th e old C h a ld eo -In d ia n O c c u ltism ) som e of it is possible for them to verily practically. G o o i s i n s c r u t ­
w h o se k n o w le d g e still s u r v iv e s w ith th e D ruses. W hat a b le ! th e A b so lu te and th e In fin ite are beyond th e
i f t h e o ld H i n d u s , s u b tle - m in d e d , e v o lv e d th is w ondrous g r a sp o f th e fin ite a n d th e c o n d itio n e d ; a n d h e n c e on th is
w e b o u t o f t h e i r o w n in n e r c o n s c i o u s n e s s a n d a ll t h e o t h e r s p o in t th e sc h o o ls h a v e e v e r d iffered, a n d o n th is p o in t no
o n ly c o p ie d , borrow ed, and sto le from th em ? W hat m an n e e d a c c e p t a n y o n e s c h o o l ’s t e a c h i n g s in p referen ce
guarantee have wo th at th e ea rly H in d u s w ere rig h t? to t h o s e o f a n o t h e r — it is b e y o n d e v e n O c c u lt S c ie n c e .
And, a fortiori, w lia t s e c u r it y for th o tr u t h o f th a t v ersio n H. X.
of th eir te a c h in g s, w h ich has flo a ted d o w n to us, o u t o f
th e d im c a v e r n s o f th e p ast, o n t h e d e b r is lo a d ed str e a m of E d i t o r ' s N o t k :— Ami if “ b e y o n d ev en Occult, S c ie n c e ” —
tim e ? t.lie A d o p ts o f w h i c h a r e a d m i t t e d by t h e w r i t e r h i m s e l f to be able
The answ er is p la in and c o n clu siv e. T here is th is to “ s e p a ra t e t h e i r souls IVom t h e i r b o dies” nml “ m a t e r i a li z in g
a b s o lu t e s e c u r it y t h a t a ll t h e lea d in g facts of th e fu tu re tlie ir in c o r p o r e a l p a r ts , ” to t r a v e l in those sp i r i tu a l s p h e re s ,
and th e past h ave been v erified by liv in g A d ep ts, eith er that, bourne “ Irom w h i c h no ( u n i n i t i a t e d ) trav( Her r e t u r n s , ” —
b y th eir personal o b serv a tio n , w a tch in g tlie progress of w i t h i n w h o s e “ ■;riisp” t h e n , is t h a t “ i n s c r u ta b l e ” (Jod to bo
th o se p o rtio n s o f m o rta l m en th at su r v iv e th e decease o f f o u n d ? A s a logical infere n ce , it is tho se A d e p t s — once wc believe
th e ir b o d ies, or b y a n d a t th e t im e o f th e ir u n io n w ith th e in th em — w h o o u ” h t to bo to o u r m in d t h e besl. in f o rm e d u p o n
U n iv e r s a l I n t e llig e n c e , w h e n t h e ir s p ir its a re, for t h e t im e , t h e su b je c t, a n d to w h o m wo o u g h t to t u r n for in f orm a tio n.
in h a b itin g w h a t m a y b e ca lled th e r e g io n o f O m n is c ie n c e .
T h e m o ro so s in c e “ II. X . ” h i m s e l f a d m i t s t h a t he ‘‘ c an no
m o r e bc lie vo t h a t t h e y a r o a se t o f h a b it u a l l ia r s ” th a n lie
B u t how can y o u be sure th a t th ese m en have done and
co u ld b elieve n n y o f h i s frien d s “ h a b itu a l th ie v e s nml m u r d e r e r s
do th is ?
a n d tho P. k o t u k u s , w h o te a c h him , told h im repeatedly,
F irst you m ay presum o it, because th ey so lem n ly
t h a t th e y k n e w nothin g o f a D e i ty called b y t h e th e i s t s the
a s s u r e us t h a t it is so, an d it is i n c o n c e i v a b l e th at m e n —
“ C r e a t o r a n d l o v in g P a t h o r o f all h u m a n i t y . ” A n d if e v e n ' ril tC Y ,
w ho have u tte rly g iv e n up th e w orld , in d eed have put th e Bito xillU ts, d e c l a r e to h a v e no k n o w l e d g e , n ot e v en iho
th e m se lv e s o u t o f th e p o ssib ility o f fa m ilia rly a sso cia tin g r e m o t e s t c o n c e p ti o n , o f e i t h e r a personal or im p e rso n a l G o d , but.
w ith th e w o rld , a n d w h o so w h o le e x te r n a l liv e s are spent on ly o f n o x K A i . i . - l ' i i i i Y A D i N G P r i n c i c l h ; a n d since, us c o rre c tl y
i n l a b o u r i n g f o r o t h e r s , —- s h o u l d t e l l u s a i m l e s s l y a s e r i e s o f r e m a r k e d by “ I I. X . ” — “ th e a b s o l u te ;md ih e Infinite a r c b e yo nd
the grasp of tlio finite nnd tl)e conditioned”— is it not. fur moro b e 'o r e , we have n o th in g to co m p la in a g a in st “ M. A.
lio n e t to confess thnt wo know absolutely nnthinsr o f tlmt, God, ( O x o n ) ” p e r s o n a lly , for h e is a m e d iu m and sees ch in gs
and even less blasphemous— in the very improbable case thnt, such b u t th r o u g h a g la ss d a rk ly .
ft God should exist mid j e t remain unknown to nil and absolutely ’ M o h in i M . C h a tter ji, F .T .S . "')
beyond any possible human proof— ihan to eo ou in vestin g it or R a m a S o u r in d r o G a rg v a , F .T .S . | CllELAS W H O
liim with imaginary attributes (finite attributes in som ething N o b in K . B a n e rjo a , F .T .S . }> KNOW THEIR
in fin ite ! !) anil then im posing that being. created by human S. [X in n sw a tn ier, F .T .S . I M a s t e ii S. ■
fancy, 011 tlio millions of the oi polfoi and threaten them with
D a r b h a g ir i N a th , F .T .S . J
lii'll and damnation unless they do believe in that somethin'; o f
w hich 110 one can know absolutely anything !— ( E d it o ii D a r je elin g , O cto b er 17, 1882.
pro tem.)

FR A G M E N T S OF OCCULT T R U T H .
"M. A. ( O X O N ) " A N D T H E “ B R O T H E R S .”
No. V.
TO TIIK EDITOR OF THE " TIIEOSONIIST.”
THE EVOLUTION OF MAN— CONTINUED.
D ear M adam e a n d S is t e r ,
W h e n w e c o m e to e x a m in e th e e v o lu tio n n f m a n on ou r
own p la n et, th e ex n la ,n a tio n has to he draw n n u t. nn a
W e, som e of th e H in d u F e llo w s of th e T h eo so p h ica l
la r g e r s ca le th an th at w liic h served for a sk etch of t. he
S o c ie ty nnd Chelas who read “ L ig h t,” have rem arked,
w h o le cosm ogony. Our career on th e p reced in g Ja n ets
w ith fe e lin g s of deep regret and su rp rise, th e h o stile
of th e d escen d in g series is for t h e p r e s e n t o v » r a n d d o n e
a tt itu d e th a t o n e o f its b e s t c o n tr ib u to r s, a n d , as we had
w ith . F ew of us know enough o f our liv e s th ere to be
r e a s o n s to b e lie v e , o n e o f ou r C h r is tia n b roth ers— “ M. A.
cu rio u s ab ou t, d e ta ils. But here, th e phenom ena o u tlie
( O x o n ) ” * — has, for s o m e tim e past, tak en u p a g a in st our
w o rld n b o u t u s. a n d t h e p e r io d w e a r e p assu irr t h r o u g h , a r e
M a s te r s , “t h e ADEPT-BnoTiiERs”as l i e c h o o s e s t o c a l l t h e m ,
all ro n lo te w ith in ter e st. Our w ish w o n M h e t o get, e x ­
i n h i s “ N o t e s h y t h k W a y ,” w h i c h h a v e w o n o u r g r e a t e s t
p la n a tio n s of th e co n d itio n s out of w h ich th ese have
esteem and sy m p a th y by th eir a b le advocacy of th in g s
o r ig in a ted , and of th e r e s u l t s t o w h i c h t h e y a ’- e te n d in g ,
sp iritu a l in th ese hard m a ter ia listic days. W e H in d u s
that sh o u ld be as en la rg ed an d precise as onr k n o w le d g e
a re ta u g h t in o u r Shastras th at even to lera b ly advanced
of th e actu al present. But in tru th an ex n la n n tio n on
s tu d e n ts o f O c c u lt P h ilo so p h y arc lia b le to b e d e c e iv e d by
t h a t s ca le o f th e phenom ena im m ed ia te ly p reced in g in d
derns or dcvatas (e le m e n ta l sp irits), and th is afford s th e
im m ed ia telv fo llo w in g our p r e se n t, life, w o u l d r e q u ir e an
o n ly e x p la n a tio n o f t h e g r e a t in c o n s is te n c y in th e v isio n s
e x h a u stiv e k n o w led g e of a,1 1 natural la w s nnd o p e ra tio n s
o f d ifferen t m e d iu m s a n d seers. T ruth can be but one,
lv in g o u tsid e th e p h y sica l g ro u n we have grow n fa n v ln ,r
an d th e se a p p a re n t d iv e r g e n c es are b u t d istu rb in g effects
w ith . A nd th e ex p o sitio n o f th is k n o w le d g e w o n ’d in v o lv e
produ ced b y th ese elem en ta ls ; and one of th e p rin cip a l
t h e c o m p l e t e d e v e l o p m e n t o f s c i e n c e s t.ho v » r v a l p h a b e t . o f
o b j e c t s o f a ll O c c u l t i s t s is to tra in th e w il l in such a
w h ic h is h id d en f r o m t h e w o r l d a.s v e t . I n s h o r t , it, i s n o
m a n n e r as to b e a b le to w ith s ta n d th e d is tu r b in g in flu e n c e
less im p o ssib le to com nrehend all N a t u r e ’s d e ta il--th e
o f t h e s e w e ir d v isito r s, a n d to c o m e face to face w it h liv in g
i n f i n i t e l v l i t t l e — c o m n ip te l v. a s i t i s to f a t h o m t h e i n f l n : f e l y
truth. A s for our b roth er “ M. A . (O x o n ),” s in c e he is
great. B u t, ju st, a s th e p r in c ip le s nf e v o lu tio n c a rried on
k n o w n as a g r e a t m ed iu m , as such h is w i l l -p o w e r m ust
th r o u g h th e s e r ie s o f w o rld s, o f w h ich our pH net is one,
b e p e r fe c tly p a ssiv e, and so w e can e a sily u n d e r sta n d how
have been fou n d su sce p tib le o f an c v d -in itin n w h ich , if
m uch m o r e , t h a n a n y o t h e r S p i r i t u a l i s t , is h e s u b j e c t to all
n o t m i n u t e , is s u f f i c i e n t l y d e f i n i t e to h e i n t e l l i g i b l e , ' o ' t is
sorts o f d is tu r b in g in flu e n c e s. T h i s is t h e r e a s o n w h y o n ly
p o ssib le now to s k e t c h t h e p r o c e s s o f e v o l u t i o n carried o n
rep eated acts of gross in ju stic e to our M asters (the
in t h e c a s e o f th is sin g le p la n et. The area of n atu re to
H im a la y a n B k o th e r s) on th e part of “ M. A. ( O x o n ) ”—
be d e a lt w ith is le ss enorm ous, and th erefore a
h a s in d u c ed u s to p u t in th is w o r d o f P r o te s t.
treatm en t of its phenom ena, down to a co rr e sp o n d in g
In “ L ig h t” of S ep tem b er 23, “ M . A . ( O x o n ) ” q u otes lev el o f d efa il, g iv e s u s a clo se r in s ig h t in to th e process
w ith a p p ro b a tio n , from th e review of M r. S i n n e t t ’s The under in v e stig a tio n .
Occult World in th e Journal of Science, th e fo llo w in g A n d a s tr ik in g illu stra tio n o f th e u n ifo r m itie s o f N a t u r e
w o r d s :— is brought out bv th e fir st, g l a n c e at, t b e O c c u lt. d o e*-rine
“ T ill so m e fnof.-hnld o f th is k i n d is g iv e n us, it is useless to in reference to th e d ev elo p m en t, of M an on th e F a r th .
bid us jo in t h o T h e o s o p h n a l S o c iety o r chjinire o u r ‘ m o d e o f The o u tlin e of th e d e s i g n i s t h e s a m e a.s t h e o u tlin e o f
life.’ T e a c h i n g s , so indefinite, we a r e c o m p e l le d to re je c t , no t th e m o re c o m p r e h e n s iv e d esig n co v erin g t h e w h o le c h a in
in deed ‘ s u p e r c i l i o u s l y ’ b u t s a d l y . ”
of w o rld s. The in n er d e ta ils of th is w o rld , as r e g a r d s
And, a fe w lin e s b efo re, lie sa y s in persona propria :— its u n its o f co n str u c tio n , are t h e s a m e as th e in n er d eta ils
“ B ut, a f t e r all. i t is t h e c r e a ti o n o f c r o c k e r y a n d t h e d i s ­ of th e la r g e r o r g a n is m o f w h ic h th is w orld i t s e lf is a ur n't .
p la c e m e n t o f f u r n i t u r e t h a t m a k e m o s t i m p r e s s io n on th e T h a t is t o s a y , t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f h m r . a n i t v o n t h i s earth
averago Philistine.” is a c c o m p lis h e d b y m e a n s o f s u c c e s s iv e w a v e s of d e v e lo p ­
H e r e w e m u s t co n fess, to n o sm a ll su rp rise, to d isc o v er m e n t, w h ic h c o rr e sp o n d to th e su ccessiv e w o rld s in th e
“ th o a v e ra g e P h ilis tin e ” u n d e r th e m a sk o f “M . A . (O x o n ).” g r e a t pi a n e ta r v c h a i n . The g r e a t tid e o f h u m a n life, b e
F o r t h e v a lu e o f t h e t e a c h i n g is h e r e m a d e to d ep en d on it r e m e m b e r e d , — for th a t has been a lr o a d v set forth —

th o stra n g en ess o f th e p h e n o m e n a and n o t on th e p e c u lia r sw eeps round th e w h o le circle of w o rh ls in su ccessiv e

character o f th em . But to th e really scien tific m in d a w aves. T hese p rim a ry g ro w th s of h u m a n ity m av he

s tr a w is n o t m e r ely a str a w w h en it show s th o w ay th e c o n v e n ie n tly sp o k en o f as R ounds. W e m u st not fo rg et

w in d b lo w s. B u t , a s f o r a P e t e r B e l l , o f c o a r s e :— t h a t th e in d iv id u a l u n its, c o n s titu tin g each rou n d in tu rn ,

are id e n tic a lly th e sa m e as regards th eir h ig h e r p rin cip les,
A primro.«e b y a r i v e r ’s b r i m
th at is, th at th e in d iv id u a litie s on th e earth d u rin g
A y e ll o w p r i m r o s e is to liim
A n d ’tin n o t h i n ' m o r o . . . . R o u n d 1, c o m e b a ck a g a in after c o m p le tin g th eir tra v e ls
round th e w h o le series o f w o rld s and co n stitu te round
I f B e n ja m in F r a n k lin w a ite d for som e such fo o t-b o ld
2, and so on. But th e p o in t to w h ic h sn ecia l a tte n tio n
b efo re d r a w in g h is co n c lu sio n s, t h e S c ie n c e o f E lectricity
sh o u ld be draw n h e r e is th a t t h e in d iv id u a l u n i t h a v in g
w o u ld have still been in its in fa n cy . B u t, as we sa id
a r r i v e d a t a n y g i v e n p l a n e t o f t h e s e r i e s , in th e course of
any g iv en R ound, does n o t m erely to u ch th a t p la n et, a n d
* “ M A ('O x o n J” was a Theosophist since the very formation of tho p iss 011 to th e n ext. B efore p a ssin g on, h e h a s to liv e
Society; and bo has never resigned. Nevertheless, we hnvo reasons to th r o u g h a series o f races on tin t, p la n et. Anri th is fact
doubt, to our prreat regret, whother he could or even would consent to beiug
eg ar<Ud as a Theosophist a t presen t.—Ed, su ggests th e o u tlin e of th e fa b ric w h ic h w ill p r e se n tly
 d e v e lo p itse lf iu th e r e a d e r ’s m in d aud ex h ib it th at th o u g h t, illo g ica l W e ste r n th eo lo g ia n s are apt to regard
sim ila r ity of d esig n on th e part of th e one w o rld as su ch n u m b e r in g as n on sen se. Now we at present liv in g
c o m p a r e d w ith th e w h o le series to w h ich a tten tio n has o n t h is e a r t h — t h e g r e a t b u l k o f h u m a n i t y t h a t is to say,
a lrea d y been draw n. A s th e c o m p le to s c h e m e o f N a tu r e fo r t h e r e a re e x c e p t i o n a l c a s e s t o b e co n sid e re d la te r — are
t h a t w e b e l o u g to, is w o r k e d o u t b y m e a n s of a series of n o w g o in g th ro u g h th e fifth race of our present fou rth
Rounds sw e ep in g th rou gh all t h e w o rld s, so tlie d e v e l o p ­ round. And yet th e e v o lu tio n o f th a t fifth race began
m e n t o f h u m a n i t y o n e a c h w o r ld is w o r k e d o u t b y a s e r i e s about a m illio n o f years ago. In a very in ter estin g
of races d e v e lo p e d w ith in th e lim its of each w o rld iu v o lu m e of W estern S cien ce, P rofessor J a n ie s G e ik ie ,
tu rn . w ritin g o f “ The G reat le e A g e ,” is good enough to
It is tim e n o w to m a k e th e w o r k in g o f th is la w clearer pu sh back th e o rig in of m an on earth to in terg la cia l
b y c o m in g to th e a c tu a l fig u res w h ic h h a v e to d o w ith th e epochs in a way w liieli expands th e b ib lica l five
e v o lu tio n o f o u r d o c tr in e . I t w o u ld h a v e been p rein a tu ro or six th ousan d years in to so m e th in g over 100 , 000 .
to b e g in w ith th e m , b u t as soon as th e id ea o f a system T h e b o o k is n o t a t h a n d a s I w rite, a n d I forget th e e x a c t
o f w o r ld s in a c h a in , a n d o f lif e e v o l u t i o n o n e a c h th ron gh fig u res r ea c h e d . B u t w h a t is th is ca lc u la tio n b esid e th e
a series o f r e-b ir th s, is sa tisfa cto rily g r a sp ed , t h e fu rth er fa c ts o f th e case as r ev ea led by O ccu lt S c ie n c e ? W ill
e x a m in a t io n of th e la w s at w o rk w ill b e g rea tly fa cilita ted th o reader, in c o n sid era tio n of th e fact th a t tb e p resen t
b y p recise reference to th e a ctu a l n u m b e r o f w o rld s a n d c o sm o g o n y d o es n o t p rofess to w ork w ith etern ity , nervo
th e actu al num ber of rounds and races, r eq u ired to h im s e lf to d e a l w ith e s t im a te s th a t do c o n c ern th e m s e lv e s
a c co m p lish th o w h o le purpose of th e system . F o r th e w ith m illio n s o f years, a n d even count such m illio n s by
w h o l o d u r a t io n o f t h e s y s t e m is a s c e r t a i n l y l i m i t e d in t im e , c o n sid era b le n u m b ers ?
b e it rem em b ered , as th e life o f a s in g le m an. P ro b a b ly E a c h race o f th e s e v e n w h ich g o to m a k e up a H ound,
not lim it e d to a n y d e fin ite n u m b e r o f y e a r s s e t ir r e v o c a b ly i. e., w h ic h a re e v o lv e d on t h e E a r th in su ccessio n d u rin g
from th e c o m m e n c e m e n t, b u t th a t w h ich h a s a b e g in n in g , its o c cu p a tio n by one of tb e great w aves of h u m a n ity
progresses on .vard to w a rd s an end. The life o f a m an, p assin g round th e p la n eta ry ch a in , is it s e lf s u b je c t to
le a v in g a c cid en ts q u ite o u t of th e acco u n t, i3 a te r m in a b le su b d iv isio n . W e r e th is n o t th e ease, th e a c tiv e ex isten ces
p erio d , and th o life o f a w o r ld s y s t e m le a d s u p t o a fin al o f e a c h h u m a n u n i t w o u ld b e i n d e e d f e w a n d far b e t w e e n .
co n su m m a tio n . The v a st-p e r io d s of tim e, concerned in W ith in th e lim its of each race th ere are seven sub-
th e life of a w orld sy ste m , d a z z le th e im a g in a tio n as a d iv isio n a l races, a n d a g a in w ith in t h e lim its of each sub­
ru le but still th ey are m e a s u r a b le : th e y are d iv isib le d iv isio n th e r e are se v e n b ra n ch races, ' l h r o n g h all th ese
in to su b -p erio d s of v a rio u s k iu d s, and th ese have a races each in d iv id u a l hum an u n it m u s t p a ss d u r in g h is
d e fin ite n u m b er. . s t a y o n E a r t h e a c h t i m e lie a r r iv e s th ere on a Round of
By w lia t p ro p h etic in stin ct S h a k esp ea r p itch ed upon progress th rou gh th e p la n eta ry sy sten i. On r eflectio n
seven as th e num ber w h ic h su ite d h is fa n ta stic th is n e c e ssity sh o u ld n o t ap p a l tlio m in d so m uch as a
cla ssifica tio n of th e ages of m an is a q u estio n w ith h v p o th esis w h ich w o u ld p ro v id e for few er in ca r n a tio n s.
w h ic h w e n eed n o t b e m u c h concerned, b u t certain it is F or, h o w e v e r m a n y liv es each in d iv id u a l u n it m ay pass
th a t h e co u ld n o t h a v e m a d e a m o re fe lic ito u s ch o ice. In th rou gh w h ile on E a rth d u r in g a R o u n d , b e th eir n u m b e r s
p erio d s o f s e v e n s t h e e v o lu tio n o f th e races o f m a n m a y bo f e w o r m a n y , h e c a n n o t p a s s o n — e x c e p t in rare c a s e s to h e
traced and th e actu al num ber of th e o b j e c t iv e w o rld s, n o tice d h erea fter— u n til th e tim e c o n ie s for t h e R o u n d -
w h ich c o n stitu te our s y ste m an d o f w h ic h th e ea rth is o n e , w ave to sw eep forw ard , and as tb e in terv a l of tim e
is seven a lso . R em em ber th e O c c u lt S c ie n tists know o ccu p ie d b y th e s ta y o f a R o u n d -w a v e on E arth m ay bo
t h i s a s a fa ct, j u s t a s t h e P h y s ic a l S c i e n t i s t s k n o w for a fact r o u g h ly c o n je c tu r e d from th e fact th at our present fifth
th a t th o s p e c t r u m c o n s ists o f s e v e n c o lo u rs, a u d t h e m u s ic a l race, b y n o m e a n s w o r k e d th r o u g h y e t, b e g a n a m illio n o f
sca le of sev e n to n es. T h e re are sev en k in g d o m s o f nature, y e a r s a g o , i t is h i g h l y d e s i r a b l e th at N atu re sh o u ld fin d
not th ree as m odern scien ce has im p er fe c tly c la ssified for each of us som e o ccu p a tio n w h e r e -w ith to p ass th e
th em . M a u b e lo n g s to a k in g d o m d is tin c t ly s e p a r a te from tim e. E ven by th e ca lcu la tio n a lrea d y foresh a d o w ed it
t h a t o f t h e a n im a ls , i n c lu d in g b e in g s in a h ig h er state of w ill b e s e e n th a t th e t im e s p e n t by each in d iv id u a l u n it
o r g a n iza tio n th a n th a t w h ich m a n h o o d h a s fa m ilia r ise d us in p h y s ic a l life, c a n o n l y b e a s m a ll fra ctio n of th e w h o le
w ith , as y e t ; a n d b elo w th e m in era l k in g d o m th ere are t im e h e h a 3 to g e t th r o u g h b etw een h is a rrival on E arth
th ree oth ers w h ic h scien ce in t b e W est knows n o th in g a n d h is d e p a r tu r e for th e next p la n et. The la r g e r part
a b o u t; b u t th is branch of th e su b je c t m a y be s e t a s id e for o f th e tim e — as w e reckon d u r a t i o n o f t i m e — is o b v io u sly
th e present. I t is m e n t io n e d m e r e l y to show th e regu­ th e r e f o r e s p e n t in t h o s e s u b j e c t i v e co n d itio n s o f e x iste n c e
la r d e s c e n t o f t h e d iv is io n , in N a t u r e . w h ic h b e lo n g to t h e “ W o r ld o f e ffe c ts ” or sp ir itu a l E a rth
M a n — r e tu r n in g to t h e k in g d o m w o a re m o s t in terested a tta ch ed to th e p h y sica l E arth on w h ic h our o b jectiv e
i n — is e v o l v e d in a series of Rounds (p ro g ressio n s round e x is t e n c e is p a sse d .
t h e s e r ie s o f w o rld s) a n d s e v e n o f th e s e r o u n d s h a v e to be T h e n a tu r e o f e x is te n c e on th e sp iritu a l E arth m u s t be
a c c o m p lish e d b efore tlie d e s tin ie s ot o u r s y ste m are w o rk ed c o n sid ered pari-passtt w ith th e n a tu re o f th a t passed on th e
out. The round w h ich is at present g o in g on is th e p h y s ic a l E a r t h a lo n e d e a l t w it h in t h e above e n u m era tio n
fou rth. T here are co n sid era tio n s o f th e utm ost p o ssib le o f race in c a r n a tio n s. W e m u s t n ev .'r fo r g e t t h a t b etw een
in terest con n ected w ith p recise k n ow led ge on th ese ea ch p h y sic a l e x is t e n c e th e in d iv id u a l u n it p a sses th ro u g h
p o in t s , b e c a u s e e a c h R o u n d is a s i t w e r e sp e c ia lly a llo tted a p e r io d o f e x i s t e n c e in t h e c o r r e s p o n d in g s p ir it u a l w o rld .
to th o p r e d o m in a n c e o f o n e o f t h e s e v e n p r in c ip le s in m an , And it is because th e co n d itio n s of th at ex isten ce are
a n d in t h e r e g u la r o r d e r o f t h e ir upward g ra d a tio n . But d e f i n e d b y t h e u s e t h a t l i a s b e e n nu>.de o f t h e o p p o r t u n i t i e s
h e r e a g a in is a r e a lm o f in q u ir y t h a t for th e present can in t h e n e x t p r e c e d i n g p h y s ic a l e x i s t e n c e t h a t t h e s p ir itu a l
o n ly b e g l a n c e d at. E n r t h is o f t e n s p o k e n o f in O c c u lt w r i t i n g a s t h e W o r ld of
An in d iv id u a l u n it, a r r iv in g on a p la n et for th e first E ffects. The e a r t h i t s e l f is its co rresp o n d in g W o rld of
t im e in t h e c o u r se o f a r o u n d , h a s to w o rk th rou gh seven C auses.
races on th a t p la n e t b efore h e p a sses on to th e n ext, and T h a t w h ic h p a sses in to tb e W o r ld o f E ffe c ts a fter an in ­
each of th o se races o c cu p ie s th e earth for a lo n g tim e. c a r n a t i o n in t h e W o r l d o f C a u s e s , h a s b e e n d e s c r i b e d in t h e
Our o ld -fa sh io n ed sp e cu la tio n s a b o u t tim e and etern ity , “ F r a g m e n t s o f O c c u l t T r u t h ” r e l a t i n g t.o t l i e s e v e n p r i n c i p l e s
su g g e ste d b y th e m isty relig io u s s y ste m s o f th e W e st, h a v e o f M an. T h e in d iv id u a l u n it or sp iritu a l m o n a d ca n n o t b u t
brought 011 a cu rio u s h a b it of m in d in c o n n e c tio n w ith p a ss in to t h e s p ir itu a l c o n d itio n , b u t, as a lr e a d y ex p la in ed ,
p ro b lem s b e a rin g on th e a c tu a l d u ra tio n of such p e r io d s. t h e e x t e n t — to w h ic h th e p e r so n a lity , j u s t d is s o lv e d , p a sses
W c can ta lk g lib ly of e te rn ity , and g o in g to th e t h e r e w i t h it,— is d e p e n d a n t o n t h e q u a lific a tio n s o f such
oth er end of tb e sca le, we are not shocked by a p e r s o n a l i t y , — o n t h e u s e , t h a t is to sa y , w h ic h t h e p e r s o n in
few th o u sa n d years, b u t d ir e c tly years are n u m b e r e d w ith q u e s t i o n h a s m a d e o f h is o p p o r t u n it ie s in life. Thus th e
p recisio n in groups w h ic h lie in in ter v e n in g region s of p e r io d to b e s p e n t iu t h e W o rld of E ffe c ts,— e n o r m o u sly
l o ig e r in e a c h c a s e t h a n t h e lif e w h i c h h a s p a v o d tlie way a t a ll e v e n t s , w ith a n y such in ten sity as to render th eir
lo r e x i s t e n c e th ere,— c o rr e sp o n d s to th e “ H erea fter” or character app arent. O n th e o th er hand, th e p o ssib ility of
.H e a v e n of v u lg a r T h e o lo g y . And h e r e it is in t e r e s t i n g to dual c o n scio u sn ess in life for ono person is n o t b e v o n d
d ig r e ss for a m o m e n t to ta k e n o t e o f t h e r e la tiv e scope of th e range of o rd in a ry im a g in a tio n ; an d by d w e llin g
V u lg a r T h e o lo g y a n d o fO c e u lt S cie n c e . T h e narrow p u rv iew on th e n o tio n it, is not d ifficu lt to rea lise th e way in
o f t h e f o r m e r d e a l s m e r e l y w i t h o u r p h y s i c a l l i f e a m i i t-3 c o n ­ w h ich one hum an in d iv id u a l, as >ve know h in t in life,
s e q u e n c e s in t h e lif e to c o m e . F o r w a n t of k n o w i n g b e tte r , m ay d ivid o up in to tw o c o n scio u s in d iv id u a ls at d e a th ,
t h e o lo g y c o n c e iv e s th a t t h e e n t it y c o n c e r n e d h a d ils b e g in ­ n e i t h e r o f w h ic h is in a n y w a y a n e w in v e n t io n , w h ile e a c h
n i n g in t h i s p h y s i c a l lif e , a n d , f r o m t h e s a m e d i s a b i l i t i e s in is d i s t i n c t l y c o n s c i o u s (s o far a s it s c o n s c i o u s n e s s is d i s t i n c t
t h e o t h e r d i r e c t i o n , it c o n c e i v e s t h a t , t h e e n s u i n g sp iritu a l a t a ll) o f id e n t it y w ith t h e la te p h y sic a lly liv in g e n tit y .
l i f e w i l l n e v e r .sto p . And th is p a ir of e x isten ce s w h ich is A correct a p p recia tio n of all th is serves a d o u b le
show n b y th e m ere d e m e n t s o f O c c u lt S c ie n c e th a t w e arc p u r p o s e ; i t s o l v e s o n c e for all th o s e a p p a r e n t l y c o n f l i c t i n g
n o w u n f o l d i n g , to co n stitu te a p a r t o n ly of th e e n t i t y ’s
passages in occu lt w r itin g w h ich seem a t d iffe re n t tim e s
e x p e r ie n c e d u r in g its c o n n e c tio n w ith a b r a n c h race, w h ich to a ttrib u te such d ifferen t d e stin ies to th o hum an
is o n e o f s e v e n b e l o n g i n g t o a s u b d i v i s i o i i a l r a ce , i t s e l f o n e e n tity and e n a b les one to com prehend th e general
of seven b e lo n g in g to a m a in raco, itse lf on e of seven schem e of hum an e v o lu tio n and th e w h o le vast
b e lo n g in g to th e o c cu p a tio n of E a rth by on e of th e seven p h a n ta sm a g o r ia o f e x iste n c e th ro u g h w h ich th e endur­
R o iu id -w a v e s o f h u m a n ity w h ic h h a v e ea ch t o o c c u p y i t in in g p rin cip les w h ich c o n stitu te our h ig h er in d iv i­
turn b efore its fu n ctio n s in nature are c o n c lu d e d — th is d u a lity are p assin g, w h ile r em a in in g e q u a lly prep ared to
m i c r o s c o p i c m o l e c u l e o f t li e w h o l e s t r u c t u r e is w h a t c o m m o n in v estig a te th e sid e paths o f su p e r-m a teria l d e v e lo p m e n t
th e o lo g y treats us more th a n t h e w h o le for it is supposed a lo n g w h ic h th e in t e r m e d ia te p rin cip les of ou r n a tu r e m ay
to co v er e tern ity . tra v el, a fter q u ittin g th e m o st tr a n sito r y p rin cip les th at
T h e reader m u st hero be w arned a g a in st on e c o n c lu sio n a re b u ilt u p to s e r v e th e ir b r ie f p u rp o se from th e p h y sica l
to w h ic h t h e a b o v e e x p l a n a t i o n s — p e r f e c t ly a c c u r a t e as far e le m e n ts o f th e earth. And in th e phenom ena of dual
as th e y g o , h u t n o t y e t c o v er in g th e w h o le g r o u n d — m ig h t c o n s c io n s n c s s lie s th e c lu e to th a t m y ste r y on w h ich th e
lead h im . H e w ill not g e t a t th e e x a c t n u m b e r o f liv e s an co n tin u ity o f otir h ig h er ex isten ce depends. For m any
in d i v i d u a l e n t i t y h a s to le a d ou t h e E a r t h in t h e c o u r s e o f p e o p le it m u s t r e m a in ir ra tio n a l to say th at any person
its o c cu p a tio n b y o n e R o u n d , if h e m e r e ly r a ises seven lo n o w liv in g , w ith h is r e c o lle c tio n s b o u n d e d by th e yea rs of
its th ird p o w e r . T h e r e is a m y s te r y h e r e w h ich th e great h i s c h i l d h o o d , is t h e s a m e p e r s o n a s s o m e o n e of q u ite a
tea ch ers of O c c u lt S c ie n c e have not vet
t h o u g h t fit to nov el n a tio n a lity an d ep och w h o liv e d th ousan ds of years
. * ^
d isc lo se to th e la ity . If o n e e x iste n c e o n ly w ere passed in a g o , o r t h e s a m e t h a t w ill r e a p p e a r a fter a s im ila r la p s e o f
each branch race th e to ta l n u m b e r w o id d o b v io u sly be S 43. tim e u n d er som e en tir ely new co n d itio n s in th e fu tu re.
B u t t h e a c t u a l n u m b e r is m o r e t h a n th a t., th o u g h n o th in g B u t o n e o f h i s e l e m e n t s o f d u a l c o n s c i o u s n e s s i s th e . s a m e ,
a p p ro a c h in g th e n u m b e r th a t w o u ld b e g o t at if wc sup­ arid t h e o t h e r e l e m e n t is o n l y a t e m p o r a r y e fflo rescen ce o f
p o sed se v e n sep a ra te in c a r n a tio n s fo ta k e p la c o in each t h e first. T h e fe e lin g " Tam J ” is t h e sam e th rou gh th e
b ra n c h race. T h e e x p la n a t io n h in g e s on to s o m e m y s t e r ie s t h r e e l i v e s m id t h r o u g h all t h e h u n d r e d s ; fo r th a t feelin g
• i• » ®
o f d e t a il in r e f e r e n c e to w h ic h i t is t h o u g h t p r e m a t u r e to is m o r e d e e p l y s e a t e d than t h e f e e l i n g “ T a m .Jo h n S m i t h ,
co n v e y in fo rm a tio n a t p resen t. so liitrh , so heavy, w ith such and such prop erty aud
rela tio n s.” I s it i n c o n c e i v a b l e , — a s a n o t i o n in t h e m i n d , —
The m eth o d ica l la w w h ich ca rries each and every
t h a t J o h n S m ith , in h e r it in g th e g ift o f T it h o n u s , c h a n g in c
in d iv id u a l hum an e n tity th ro u g h th e vast e v o lu tio n a r y . . . . ’ O O
h is m i n e from t im e to tim e , m a r r y in g afresh every oth er
process th u s sk etch ed o u t — is in no way in co m p a tib le
g e n e r a t i o n o r so, l o s i n g p r o p e r t y h ere, c o m i n g i n t o p o s s e s s i o n
w ith th a t lia b ilit y to f a ll away in to abnorm al d e stin ie s
o f p ro p erty th ere, a n d g e t t in g in terested as tim e goes on
or u ltim a te a n n ih ila tio n w h ich m enaces th e pursonal
in v e r y v a rio u s p u rsu its, m ig h t u tterly forg et iu a few
e n titie s of p eo p le who c u ltiv a te very ig n o b le
th ousan d years a ll cir cu m sta n c es con n ected w ith th e
a ffin ities. The d istrib u tio n of th o seven p rin cip les
p r e s e n t life o f J o h n S m i t h , j u s t a s if t h e i n c i d e n t s o f th at
a t d eath sh o w s th a t clea rly enough, b u t, v ie w ed in th e
iife for h im h a d n e v e r tak en p la ce ? And yet th e Ego
lig h t of th ese fu rth er e x p la n a tio n s a b o u t ev o lu tio n , th e
w o u ld b e th e sa m e. I f t h i s is c o n c e i v a b l e i n t h o im a g in a ­
s itu a t io n m a y b e b e tt e r rea lised . Tho perm anent e n tity
tio n , what can be in co n ceiv a b le in th e in d iv id u a l c o n ­
is t h a t w h ic h liv e s t h r o u g h th o w h o le s e r ie s of liv e s, not
tin u ity of an intermittent life in te r r u p te d a n d renew ed at
o n ly th ro u g h th e races b e lo n g in g to th e present Round-
r e g u la r in te r v a ls , a n d v a ried w ith p a s s a g e s th r o u g h a p u r e r
■ w avc o n E a r t h , b u t a lso th r o u g h th ose of oth er Round-
c o n d itio n o f e x isten ce.
w a v e s a n d o t h e r w o rld s. B r o a d l y s p e a k i n g , i t w i l l in due
tim e,— th o u g h at som e in c o n c e iv a b ly d ista n t fu tu re as
m e a s u r e d in y e a r s ,— r e c o v e r a r e c o lle c tio n o f a ll t h o s e liv e s,
■ w h ic h w i l l s e e m as day in t h e p a s t to us. B u t th e a stral
M . LE B o n h a s b e e n m a k i n g a series of very im p o r ­
d ross, c a st off a t e a ch p a s s n g o j n t o t h e W o r ld o f E ffe c ts, h a s
ta n t e x p e r im e n t s on p u tr e fa c tio n , w ith regard to its effect
a m ore or less co n scio u s e x iste n c e of its ow n , w h ich is
q u it e s e p a r a t e from t h a t o f t h e s p ir itu a l e n t it y fro m w h ic h o n l i v i n g a n i m a l s in g e n e r a l , a u d o n m a n k in d in p a r tic u la r .
it h as j u s t b een d isu n ite d . T h e in ten sity o f th is co n sci­ A m o n g o th e r r esu lts, h e h a s proved th at th o very sm a ll
o u s n e s s v a r i e s v e r y g r e a t l y : f r o m a b s o l u t e z e r o in t l i e c a s e q u a n tity of p rodu cts of advanced p u trefa ctio n , necessary
o f a p e r so n w h o s e life has been so su p r e m e ly good and
to k i l l a n a n i m a l b y s i m p l e m i x t u r e w i t h air, p r o v e s th ese
sp iritu a l th a t h e h a s e n g e n d e r e d n o lo w a ffin ities, to fu ll
v o la tile a lk a lo id s to be ex trem ely p o iso n o u s. M. le Bon
co n scio u sn ess in th e ease of en tire a b so rp tio n by th e
a s t r a l p r i n c i p l e s o f a l l t h e e x p i r i n g l i f e ’s r eco llectio n s a n d h a s a s c e r ta in e d t h a t th e s e aro so to m a n . T h e exp erim en ts
a ffin ities. T h o d e s t i n y o f t h e a s tr a l r cliq u r c in e i t h e r c a s e ex p la in th e ev ils a risin g from b o d ies lo n g b u ried , and
lia s b e e n t h e s u b j e c t o f a b u n d a n t d iscu ssio n of la te , but prove th at th e atm osp h ere of cem eteries (contrary to
th e p o in t to w h ic h a tt e n tio n m ay be sp e c ia lly ca lled now
w h a t h as b e e n affirm ed on th e score of th ere b ein O
c few
is th e m y s te r y of d u a l c o n scio u sn ess on th e com prehen­
m icro b es p resen t) m a y b e very dan gerou s. T h i s is, i n d e e d ,
sio n o f w h ic h t h e c o m p r e h e n s io n o f t h e actu al course of
e v e n ts m u st d e p e n d . O c c u lt p u p ils arc ta u g h t t 3 rea lise th e a la r m in g , a n d sh o u ld b e a strong argum ent in favou r of
p o ssib ility of d u al co n scio u sn ess b y p ra ctica lly d e v e lo p in g th e c o m p u lso ry in t-e d u c tio n o f crem a tio n , or som e oth er
it d u r in g life, e x e rc is in g t h e in n e r c la ir v o y a n t fa c u lt ie s on sa n ita ry m e th o d o f d is p o s in g o f th e dead, rath er th an by
o n e s e t o f o b s e r v a tio n s or id eas and th e p h y sica l senses bu ry in g - t h e m a n d c a u s in g p o sitiv e danger to th e liv in g .
■with t h e i r a p p r o p r i a t e i n t e l l e c t u a l f a c u l t i e s o n a n o t h e r s e t A c c o r d i n g t o M . l e B o n ’s theory th e com m on p r a c tice of
o f o b serv a tio n s or id e a s a t th e s a m e tim e , b u t to o rd in a ry v i s i t i n g c e m e t e r i e s a n d gra v e -y a r d s o u g h t to b e d is c o u r a g e d
p e o p le t h e d o u b le p e r c e p t io n s r a rely c o m e b y N a tu r e , not, as m u c h us p o ssib le .— The Pioneer. September 23, 1882.
 j i i' b i e lu s. w e add ress, b u t th e E d ito r o f th e
regarded h im a s r a th e r a d isc re e t,
Arya. W o h a d a l w a y s
truthful, a n d i n t e l l i g e n t
y o u n g m an. H e n c e — o u r sin cere an d ra th er am used sur­
T H E AU.YA p rise. C o n ced in g to h im w illin g ly th e sa id q u a lities,
AND ITS wo arc co m p elled to suspect th at lie has su d d en ly
tu rn ed an enem y to h is great Patron. O th erw ise,
“ O U T ST A T IO N ” C O R R E SP O N D E N C E .
how sh o u ld he p e r m it such an aw kw ard and dangerous
T h e r e e x is t s a cla ss o f in « n — a m o n g th e great v a riety q u estio n to bo revived in th e c o lu m n s o f h is m o n t h ly ?
c o m p o sin g ijenus homo — w ho, by th eir m odes of th ou gh t U n w illi n g to su sp ec t liis own g o o d fa ith , we arc v a in ly
a n d a ctio n , h a v e to he v ie w e d as a d is tin c t g r o u p , a sp e ci­ see k in g for a p la u sib le m o tiv e th a t co u ld h a v e m a d e h im
m e n e n tir e ly suigeneris. W e w o u ld b o ttle an d la b el th em d e p a r t fro m p r u d e n t p o licy . It cannot be th at he ju m p ed
a s th o “ [n d ia ru b b er,” or “ E la s tic m e n .” T h o s e in d iv id u a ls, at th e o p p o rtu n ity of g iv in g a h it to a slee p in g rival
w henever d efeated , w ill n eith er h id e th eir d im in ish e d th rou gh th e hand o f an a n o n y m o u s c o r r e s p o n d e n t , for he
h e a d s, n o r w ill th ey h o n estly a d m it th at, w h ich , to a ll is too in te llig e n t to bo ig n o r a n t o f th e fact th a t abn so
o th e r s , is a n a c c o m p lis h e d a n d a n u n d e n i a b l e f a c t : n a m e ly , f r o m c e r t a i n q u a r t e r s is t h e h i g h e s t p r a is e . Tlr6’ abuse and
t h a t in t h e affra y , w h a t e v e r its n a t u r e , t h e y h a v e c o m o o u t hate but what vjefcar.
second best. On th e con trary, p r u d en tly a llo w in g a
A V h a t is t h o T h e o s o p h i s t m ore, in d e e d , “ th a n a series
c e r ta in p e r io d o f t im e to e la p s e b e t w e e n th e event and a
o f s t o r ie s o f B l m t s , J i n s , & c.” ? T h i s s e n t e n c e a lo n e afford s
fresh a t t a c k — a p e r io d su fficie n t, a s t h e y c r a ltily ca lcu la te,
us th e correct sta n d a rd of th e in tellig en ce o f th e “ O u t-
t o s w e e p a w a y f r o m p e o p l e ’s m i n d s t h e c o i r e c t r e m e m b r a n c e
S T A T IO N ” rrilic. W e ll, we r ep ly th at, e v e n w e r e it so, th e
o f d e ta ils — th e y w ill p o u n c e m o s t u n e x p e c t e d ly u p o n th e ir
T lIE O S O P irrS T w o u ld h ave y e t th at great a d v a n ta g e over
ex -a n ta g o n ist and try to c r a c k h is h e a d . T hey w ill, once
th e Arya (esp ecia lly in its October garb) th at it can
m ore, im p o se u p on th e p u b lic an a b so lu tely fa lse account a p p ea r on th e d r a w in g -ro o m ta b le o f th e h ig h e s t and m ost
o f fa cts, a n d fe e l p l a c i d l y c o n f i d e n t t h a t t h e y have w h ite­
resp ecta b le European fa m ilies, as w ell as in th e hands
w ash ed th em selv es in th e sig h t of som e w ea k -m in d ed of th e m ost in n o ce n t A ry-m m a id en or boy, w ith o u t
fo o ls.
a n y fear o f s h o c k in g th e m o d e s ty o f e ith e r . W e are sorry
Such is e v id en tly th e m a lig n a n t pu rp ose of “ An to o b s e r v e t h i s n o w d e p a r t u r e in t h e A rya. T h e d isg u stin g
O u tsta tio n A ryan C orrespondent " in th e O ctob er a n d in d e c e n t w o rd in g o f th e a r ticles— “ A y u r V eda ON
n u m b e r of th e Arya — a pu rpose th at co u ld be fo rm ed H ealth” and “ P h y s io l o g ic a l Y oga ok T antra
on ly by a m in d o rig in a lly and esse n tia lly clastic, aud P h i l o s o p h y ” — is a m p l y s u f f i c i e n t to m ake any journal
executed by an in te lle c t n a tu ra lly narrow , an d a m ode ot lo s e all th o se s u b s c r ib e r s w h o h a v e a n y sein e of decency,
r e a s o n in g e n f e e b le d a n d c o n t r a c t e d b y b ail e d u c a t io n . at any rate am ong resp e c ta b le n a tiv e fa m ilies and
I t is s u f f ic ie n t to r e e d th e first p a r a of “ A SUMM ARY E uropeans. E ven p u rely m e d ic a l w orks and jo u rn a ls,
R e v ie w un (?) E xtra S upplem ent (sir) to thk T iieo so - w h e n o rf.-red to th e general p u b lic, a v o id such sincere
P II I S T F O R J uly ,” t o s m i l e il l sin cere p ity at th e puny p h r a s e o l o g y , a n d , for t h e s a k o o f t h a t s a m e decency, g iv e
efforts o f th a t u n lu c k y ad vocate of a cause perdue. W e c e r t u n w o r d s in G reek or L a tin . W e are a fra id th at,
ca n n o t h e lp a d m irin g , th o u g h , th e su b lim e c o o ln css w ith u n less our c o lle a g u e p ru d en tly veils in fu tu re th e naked
w h ich he opens th e fire from h is p o p g u n , in th e first h id eo iu n c ss of h is term s “ in th e o b sc u r itie s of som e
p a r a :— “ l u rep ly to C o lo n el O l e o t i ’s d efen ce a g a in st lea rn ed to n g u e ,” th e P ostal a u th o iitics m ig h t be under
S w am iji D a y a n a n d S a r a s w a t i ’s charges I (an d icho arc th e p a in fu l n e c e s s ity o f in te r fe r in g w ith th e free c ircu la ­
you, B a b u “ S i r O r a c l e ?” ) c a n i n n o w a y s e e t h a t i n a n y o n o tio n o f h is in s p ir e d o r g a n . W hy our m odest and p io u s
6i n g l e in sta n c e d o e s rhe C o lo n el p ro v e th a t th ose charges frien d , th e E d ito r of th e Arya, sh o u ld have su d d en ly
are n o t w ell fo u n d e d a n d p e r fe c tly c o rrect.” begun v y in g iu o b sc e n itie s aud im m o d e s t te r m s w ith th e
v e n e r a b l e p i o t) h e t o f I s r a e l , i l o s e a h — is an oth er psycho­
And f o r t h w i t h o u r b r a v e V o l u n t e e r , for “ F o r l o r n H o p e , ”
lo g ica l m y s te r y t h a t n o O c c u ltis t co u ld ev er u n d e r t a k e to
R ets o u t , — i n t h e v e r y f a c e ol' facts and S w a m i ’s s u icid a l
au tograp hs engraved from h is o rig in a l le tte r s and u n rid d le .

p u b lis h e d in t h e July Supplement , — t o p r o v e t h a t w h i t e is

b la ck au d vice versa. “ A S u m m a r y R e v ie w ” b e i n g , of
course, u n w o r th y o f a ser io u s r ev iew , or even a p a ssin g
T H E A SIA N C R A D L E -L A N D ,
n o t ic e in t h e T h e o s o p h is t , w e w r i t e t h e s e f e w lin es w ith
q u ite a d ifferen t ob ject th an th at o f a n sw er in g th e un­ If th e in t e llig e n t A s ia tic w o u ld n o t s e e h im s e lf p u t to
known “ 1.” in d ee d , no sane m a n ,— a c q u a in te d w ith slia m o by h a v in g to lea rn from Europeans e v er y th in g
S w a m i ’s m a n y p u b l i c and e m p h a tic d e n ia ls th at he had w o r th k n o w in g a b o u t h is fo r e fa th er s a n d th e ir c o u n tries,
e v e r b e lo n g e d to or p e r m it t e d h is n a m e to be en tered as ho m u st b estir h im se lf. If h e s le e p s a lit t le lo n g e r lie w ill
a m e m b e r oi th e T h e o s o p h ic a l S o c ie ty ,— co u ld undertake, h a v e to b l u s h to fin d t h a t , w h i l e h is la zy in d ifferen ce has
a fter r e a d in g t h e sa id July Supplement, to express but in su lted th e m em ory of th e ancestral p aren ts of th e
one v iew upon th e q u estio n . In th e presence o f —(a) w o r l d ’s p e o p l e s a n d l a n g u a g e s , t h e i r w h i t e d escen d an ts of
S w a m i ’s a u t o g r a p h l e t t e r a u th o r izin g C o lo n el O lc o tt to th e W e st are p a y in g th em th e reveren ce w h ich th ey had
r e p r e s e n t a n d a c t for h im iu e v e r y m e e t i n g o f th e Coun­ th e b e s t r ig h t to expect from In d ia . The w ork of M r.
cil of th e S o c ie ty ; ( b) h is lette r a c k n o w le d g in g th e A . H . K e a n e , * j u s t p u b l i s h e d , is, a s i t w o u ld seem from
r e c e ip t a n d a c c e p t a n c e o f a D i p l o m a from N e w Y o r k , w h ic h t h e r e v ie w s , a m ost, v a lu a b le c o n t r ib u t io n to c o n t e m p o r a r y
m ak e? h im n ecessa rily a F e llo w , he h a v in g kept th at litera tu re. It is a m ir r o r o f e v e r y e s s e n t i a l f a c t a b o u t t h e
D ip lo m a for n e a r ly tw o y e a r s b e fo r e sen d in g it back, or, p h y sica l g e o g ra p h y , th e fau n a and Hora, th e com m erce
iu o t h e r w ords, r e s ig n in g ; a n d (c) M r s . A . G o r d o n ’s l e t t e r and in h a b ita n ts of th e vast p o rtio n of tb e ea rth ca lled
te s tify in g to th o fact th at sh e was in itia te d by Swam i A sia. So a d m ira b ly condensed is its sty le th at, says
Dayanand Sarasw ati at B enares, so m e th in g p la in ly Nature, “ e v e r y w o r d is p r e g n a n t w i t h m e a n i n g , a n d c o u ld
sh o w in g th at Swam i ■
must have been himself initiated n o t be o m itted w it h o u t in ju r y to th e r ea d er.” If it has
b e fo r e lie c o u ld i n i t i a t e a n y o n e e ls e , h e n c e t h a th e was a a b lem ish , it is in b ein g “ c d ilc d by S ir R. T e m p l e ” — a
“ F e l l o w ’ ’;— i n t h e p r e s e n c e o f t h e s e t h r e e f a c t s ; i. lo n c , we c o n cessio n Lo t h a t s p i r i t o f m o d e m t o a d y i s m w h ic h w o u ld
say, w h o b u t an enen y o f S w a m i w o u l d c a r e t o r e v i v e in t h e lea v e even H erseh ell or H u x ley in th e lo b b y u n til
p u b lic m em o ry th e reco llectio n o f h i s e x p o su r e and of h is “ presented” by a c o u r t b u t ferlly to Q u e e n P o p u la rity .
ir u itle s s a tt e m p ts “ to c o g th e d ice and shave tr u th ,” as H in d u s m a y e s t im a t e th e fe e lin g o f th e W e s t w ith resp ect
M r. A r t e n i u s W a r d w o u ld s a y ? t o t h e ir m o t h e r la n d fr o m t h is p a s s a g e in Nature’s rev iew
T hus, it is not th e lu ck less “ O u t s t a t io n Corre­ o f th e b o o k in q u e s tio n : “ To th e stu d en t of m a n k in d
s p o n d e n t ” — w h o , it i h i s l a m e w o u l d - b e r e v i e w , o n l y o u t w i t s
llim se lf, a n d “ s h o o t in g at a p ig e o n k ills b u t a c r o w ”— th a t * 4 sia . 15)' A. II. Koajio, ^omlou : JiJw. Stanford, 1832.
th e in ter e st o f A sia i,s g r e a t e r than tlia t of any of th e m o r e : in o n e w h o c l a i m s p u b l i c l y — a n d m akes no secrofc
o t h e r c o n t i n e n t s o f t h e w o rld . H ere was th e first hom e o f b e i n g in d i r e c t a n d c o n s t a n t c o m m u n i c a t i o n w ith , and
of th e races who have ch iefly in flu e n c e d th e course of t h e m o u t h p i e c e of, “ I m p e r a t o r ”— a high Spirit — s u c h a,
h u m a n p r o g r e s s ; h ers th e early civ ilisa tio n s of A ccad, of p o lic y p r o v e s s im p ly su ic id a l. F or, w h o w ill dare deny—
C h in a , a n d o f P h o en icia g r e w u p a n d d e v e lo p e d ; h ere th o n o t a n y m a n of s c i e n c e , a t a n y r a te , o r t h o sam e Journal
g r e a t em p ir e s o f a n tiq u ity rose o n e u p o n th e o th er; and of Science— t h a t “ M . A . ( O x o n ’s ) ” c l a i m s are cer ta in ly n o
here was the prim aval sourer of those germs of thought and m o r e — (an d s tr ic t lo g ic ia n s as w ell as an im p a rtia l ju ry
art that have produced the philosophies, the sciences and m ay any fa r less) — d e m o n s t r a b l e a c c o r d in g to th e la w s o f
the arts nf our own dag. I t i s a m o n g t h o m u l t i t u d i n o u s in d u c tiv e scien cp , or e v e n ju d ic ia l e v id e n c e th a n our c l a i m s
tr ib e s a n d n a tio n s o f A sia, too, th at we can best stu d y to nn a c q u a in ta n c e a n d in te r c o u r se w ith liv in g B ro th ers.
th at v a riety of la n g u a g es , of m anners, and of cu stom s R e a lly ou r frien d o u g h t to a b sta in from t h r o w i n g p e b b les
w h ic h h a v e en a b led th e m odern in q u irer to lift a little i n t o h i s n e a r e s t n e i g h b o u r ’s p r e m i s e s . I n b o t h “ M . A . ( O x o n ’s i)”
th e v eil th at covers th o b e g in n in g s o f c iv ilisa tio n , and a u d m y case, t h e o b j e c t o f p r o o f— so difficu lt o f d e m o n s t r a ­
there are even some who believe th%t the great central t i o n — is t h e real, p a lp a b le, and u n d en ia b le ex isten ce of
plateau o f Tibrt before it was raised to its present eleva­ “ S p i r i t s ’’ a n d “ B roth ers;” tlieir resp ectiv e c la im s (or
tion was the primer,va.l cradle of m ankind, the spot where ra th er th o se m a d e b y o u rselv es, th eir h u m b le m o u th p ie c e s ,
tho anthropoid ajw became the still speechless man. It is on th e ir b e h a lf) to su p e r io r k n o w le d g e an d p o w er s, appear­
jyossitde that our young and therefore arrogant Western i n g b u t o f s e c o n d a r y i m p o r t a n c e in th is w h o lesa le d e n ia l
civilisation has yet much to learn from the old culture of by th e scep tica l “ P h ilistin e s” of th eir very b ein g .
the East. . .” R e v ie w s are in ter e stin g , n o t m erely because th e y sh o w w h at
o u r fr ie n d s a n d e n e m ie s t h in k o f us, b u t a lso b e c a u s e th e y
I t is n o t o f t e n t h a t m o r e t r u t h is c o m p r e s s e d w i t h i n a
afford u s a safe e s t im a t e o f w h a t o p in io n o u r c r itic s h o ld
b r ie f space th an is c o n ta in e d in t h e s e n t e n c e s we havo
of th em se lv es. Such is t h e d o u b le b e n e fit I d e r iv e d b y a
ita liciz e d . V e rily wc m a y p r o g n o stic a te th e daw n of a
b etter day for A sia and th e w o rld , w hen th e eso teric
p e r u s a l o f “ M . A . ( O x o n ’s ) ” n o t e o n t h e r e v i e w o f t h e Occidt
r e c o r d s o f p rim a3val m an sh a ll be read by th e m odern
World by th e Jo u rnal o f Science. N o t o n ly do I p e rceiv e
th e correctn ess (to a c er ta in exten t) of th o criticism of
stu d en t. In its fu ll lig h t th o clo u d s of error and
orth od ox exact scie n c o ,— th o u g h fe e lin g as sure th at
su p erstitio u s b ig o try , w h ic h have so lo n g obscured th e
n e ith er th o d isco v ery o f a n e w p la n et or m in era l w o u ld
u n d e r s t a n d i n g o f t h e W e s t e r n w o rld , w ill b e d is p e r s e d , a n d
sa tisfy h e r sc e p tic s— b u t m ore th an e v er d o I le a r n th at
A sia be fin a lly recogn ized as th e source of not o n ly
i t is id le to e x p e c t a n y t h i n g lik o fa irn ess even from th e
p h ilo s o p h y , s c ie n c o a n d art, b u t o f r e l ig io n as w ell. L et
m o s t in t e l l i g e n t a n d fr ie n d ly critics, o n c e t h a t t h e ir m in d s
u s h o p e th a t in t h is m o s t n e c e s s a r y a n d p r o fita b le r e s e a r c h
arc b ia sed a n d p r e ju d ice d by a series o f m isco n cep tio n s.
a fter p r im itiv e tru th , th e b r ig h t m in d s o f A sia w ill tak e
W ith “ M . A . ( O x o n ’s ) ” k i n d p e r m i s s i o n , I w i l l , i n m y t u r n ,
t h e c o n s p i c u o u s p a r t for w h i c h t l i e i r in h er ited in tellectu a l
r ev iew h is str a n g e r e v ie w . T h e r e a lr e a d y a p p e a r s in th e
a p t itu d e so w e ll q u a lifie s th em .
p r e s e n t is s u e a n o t h e r le t te r s ig n e d b y fiv e of th e Chelas
of our venerated Ma s t e r s a g a i n s t a ser ie s o f criticism s
fro m th e sam e pen, d irected a g a in st th em , in Light.
OCCULT AND SWRITUAL PHENOMENA T hey p e r ce iv e in th is a ttitu d e o f h o stility sim p ly th o

IN THE LIGHT OF MODERN SCIENCE. “ effect o f m e d iu m s h ip ” a n d su sp ec t “ Im p e r a to r ” o f b e in g

n o b e tte r th a n an E le m e n ta l S p irit, b u t I p rotest a g a in st
BV II. P. BLAVATSKY. th is m isc o n cep tio n and w o u ld never p erm it m y self

I h a v e j u s t receiv ed Light ,— th o a b le st o f th e S p iritu a l personally to th r o w s u sp ic io n or slu r e ith e r u p o n " M. A .

p erio d ica ls of E n g la n d ,— of S e p tem b er 23, fin d read its ( O x o n ’s ) ” p e r s o n a l g o o d f a i t h o r t h a t o f h i s “ c o n t r o l , ” a s h e

“N otes by t h e W a y ,” c o n t r i b u t e d by “ M .A . (O x o n ) ” w ith co n sta n tly d o es w ith regard to our " B r o t h e r s ,” a n d t h e

a n u n u su a l in terest. S o g r e a t w a s t h e la tt e r in d e e d , t h a t it w riter o f th o p r e se n t. I w ill c o n te n t m y self, th en , w ith

m akes m e d e p a r t for once from my ed ito ria l im p e r so n ­ sim p ly q u o tin g from h is review and p o in tin g out h is

a lity and a n sw er th e “ N o t e s ’* o v e r m y o w n s i g n a t u r e . str a n g e a ttitu d e. H e s a y s :—

N ot fu rther back th a n a y e a r ago, esp ecia lly if I had T h e J o u r n a l o f Science h a s n o w c o m p le te d a c a n d i d a n d

r o a d t h o s e n o t e s in th e parched and sco r c h in g p la in s of t e m p e r a t e n o tic e o f Mr. S i n n e t t ’s Occult W o rld . T li c w r i t e r
In d ia , I m ig h t h a v e d e e p ly r e se n te d tlieir u n fr ie n d ly tone. de als w i t h t h e e v id e n c e s o f e x t r a o r d i n a r y po w e r, suoli a s tho
B u t now from a n a lt i t u d e o f o v e r 8 ,0 0 0 fe e t a b o v e t h e se a c r e a tio n o f t h e c u p a n d sn u c e r a t h i tn l a hy M a d a m e IMnvntsky,
lev el, h a v in g j u s t e n jo y ed th e p r iv ile g e o f p a ssin g 4 8 h o u rs f a i i i j , a n d in a ju d ic i a l spirit,. H o c o n sid e r s tlnit th o n a r r a t i v e
in t h e c o m p a n y o f th o s e m u c h d ou b ted B ro thers o f ours, m u s t bo a c c e p t e d a s a r e c o i d s u b s ta n t ia l ly noeiiraie o f a re al
and certain of our T h eo so p h ists, m oreover, who crossed o c c u r r e n c e . I l o p u t s a sid e th e su p p o s itio n o f an e la b o r a t e
over to S ik h im and m ade tlieir person al a c q u a in ta n c e , f ra u d a s “ l ite r a lly b r i s t li n g w i t h difficulties,” a u d a r r i v e s a t th e
r e p r e se n tin g a d d itio n a l legal e v id e n c e in fa v o u r of m y conclusion tlia t “ t h e c u p a n d s a u c e r w e re p r o d u c 'd in t h e e a r t h
c la im s,— I a m r a th e r in c lin e d to fe e l a m u s e d th a n o th e r w is e .
w h e r e found, h y a n a g e n c y to us in co nceivable.” T i n s is a
s t a r t l i n g concession w h e n it is co nsid ered from w h n t q u a r t e r it
Indeed, I fin d th at n eith er th at very u n fr ien d ly
conies. W o a r e so a c c u s t o m e d to find th e in e x p l i c a b le o r the
ton e assum ed for som e tim e past a g a in st m y s e lf in th e u n e x p l a i n e d t r e a te d b y open science as tho im po ssible , e s p e c i ­
“ N o t e s , ” n o r e v e n t h e i n c e s s a n t t h r u s t s in t h o d ir e c t io n o f a lly in th o ea<e o f psy c h ic a l ph e n o m e n a, t h a t t h i s c a n d id consi­
th e B r o th e r s, arc ca p a b le of ru fflin g my present d e r a t io n o f a n a n te c e d e n tl y in c r e d ib le s t a te m e n t is a s s t a r t l i n g
p la c id ity . Y e t, I c o n fess th a t, c o m in g a s th e y do from one, as it is w elcom e.
who n eith er h im self, nor h is “ Im p era to r” (for whom , I
S o far th is sounds p retty fr ie n d ly , even th ou gh th e
b e lie v e , h e m u s t feel as m uch reverence as I do for our
a d m issio n of “ M. A . (O xon )” a llo w s as good a h a n d le
P rotectors an d M a ste r s,) has ever been spoken o f in a
a g a in s t sp ir itu a listic p h e n o m e n a as it d o e s to th o s e o f th e
m o c k in g or c o n te m p tu o u s to n e nor e v e n in an u n frien d ly
O ccu ltists. B u t soon th e to n e ch a n g es a n d th e p ro b a b le
way in our jo u r n a l— docs see m ra th er sta rtlin g . A t any
g e n u in en ess of th e phenom ena b e in g conceded, th eir
rate, “ M. A . ( O x o n ’s ) ” present a ttitu d e is rath er m ore
nature is t a k e n to ta sk .
dangerous for h im self, and th e cause lie rep resen ts and
“ I entirely appreciate,” says “ M . A . (0x011),'’ “ the words
la b o u r s fo r s o z e a lo u s ly , th a n i t is for t h e B r o th e r s or e v e n
o f the R eview er when ho points out that such feats, so liko
m y o w n h u m b l e self, s in c e , in d e e d , h is h e a r t y a p p r o b a t io n o f
mere jugglery, aro, by no means, tlio b'-st evidence of
th e in im ic a l c riticism th a t clo ses th e rev iew of Mr. S i n n e t t ’s
superior know ledge. “ Suppose tbe Brotherhood wero to say,
Occult World in a 'S c ie u t ific p a p e r h e q u otes from , seem s ‘ Point your telescope to such and such a spot in the
d irected far m o r e a g a i n s t S p i r i t u a l p h e n o m e n a in g en era l, heavens, you will find a planet as y et unknown to you, hav­
and m e d i u m s a n d “ S p i r i t s ” in p a r t ic u la r , t h a n it is a g a i n s t ing such and such elem ents,’ or ‘ Dig into the earth in such
Occult Science and its great living Professors. I wjjl say & place aud y ou w ill Aud a mineral coutaiaiu^ a nsctoj new to
 y o u r scicnce : i ts a to m i c w e i g h t, its specific g r a v i t y , &c., a r e so
LES O R I GINES.
ami so.’ S u c h o r s im ila r proofs, n o t o f s u p e r i o r p o w e r b u t of
h i g h e r hnoivledge, w ould n u t i n c re a s e a n y m a n ’s facilities for
A BIR d ’s -EYE VIEW.
e v il-d o in g .” B a th e r , I m a y a d d , w o u ld t h e y in cre ase th e sto re
of h u m a n kn o w le d g e, a n d p ro v e i n c o n t e s t a b l y t h e p re se n c e BY l ’ESTANJEK DORABJEE KHANDALEWALLA, Jf.T.S.
a m o n g us o f som e beings w ise r a n d m o re b e n e fic e n t t h a n we.
B u t , as t h e B e v ie w e r poin ts out, w e se a rc h iu vain for a n y su c h
O u r s o la r s y s t e m , w i t h a ll t h e sta rs w h ic h c o m p o s e it, is
e v id e n c e . ‘' T i l l som e foot-bold o f t h is k in d is g i v e n us, it is
useless to bid us j o in the T heoi-oph ical S u c i e t y o r c h a n g e o u r but a p o in t in im m en sity . F o llo w in g th e h yp oth esis of
‘ m o d e o f I lie.’ T e a c h i n g s so indefinite w e a r e c o m p e lle d to L a P l a c e to w h ic h n o t h i n g h a s y e t g i v e n t h e lie, t h e s e s ta r s
re je c t , not. indeed ‘ su p e r c i l i o u s l y ,’ b u t s a d l y . ” I t is im possible t h e m s e lv e s w e r e b u t o n e s in g le w h o le. It w as an im m en se
to find a n y reason able fault w i t h s u c h an a t t i t u d e . I t is t r u e
t h a t th e A d e p t B r o t h e r s pose as m e n r e l u c t a n t to open th e
ndbultuse, such as one sees even y e t in th e in fin ity of
heavens, and w h ic h a re p r o b a b ly so m a n y s u n s in f o r m a ­
d o o r o f k n o w l e d g e to a n y b u t th e m o s t patient, a n d p e r s i s t e n t
a p p e a l ma</<- b y o n e wlu> h a s p ro v e d h i m s e l f a w o r t h y p o stulant. tio n . L ittle b y little our 'aebuleuse con cen trated u p o n it­
T h a t is mi a t t i t u d e in c o m p a tib le w i t h so m e s te p s lately tak e n . self h e a t a n d l i g h t in o n e p o w e r fu l fo c u s , b u t le ft h e r e a n d
Too much o r too little has been sa id in their n a m e , a n d the th ere m a sses ol c o sm ic m a tte r in its c o u r se t h r o u g h sp a ce,
resu lt is bew ild erm en t a n d confusion." ■ w h ic h form ed th e p la n ets. T hese la tter in testim o n y

S u c h is th e s e n te n c e p a ssed o n th e B r o t h e r s , or ra th er th ereo f rev o lv e in th e o rb it of th e sun, of w h ich

on m y self, th e ir h u m b le d isc ip le . Now what w o u ld th e th ey are an em a n a tio n . T h e g l o b e w e in h a b i t is t h e n b u t

a v e r a g e s c e p t ic — w h o b e lie v e s in n e it h e r “ i m p e r a t o r , ” n o r a p a r ticle ot th e sun, w h ic h b e c o m e s e x tin c t in c o o lin g ,

th e “ B r o t h e r s ,” an d w h o regards ju st as m uch “ M. A. en v e lo p in g i t s e l f in a gaseous ocean th e atm osp h ere, a

( O x o n ) ” a s H . P . B l a v a t s k y in th e lig h t o f a h a llu cin a ted liq u id ocean th e sea, a n d a so lid c r u st th e earth, w hose

lu n a tic w h e n n o t a w ilfu l im p o sto r ,— w lm t w o u ld a s c e p tic c u lm in a tin g p o in ts e m e rg e ab ove th e w aves.

sa y to th is ? O u tsid e th e b eliev ers in S p iritu a lism and A n i m a l lif e a w o k e a t first fr o m t h e b o s o m o f t h e w a te r s ,

O c c u lt is m — a h a n d fu l a s c o m p a r e d to th e b u lk of m an­ w h e r e it w a s r e p r e s e n t e d from epochs th e m ost a n cien t,
k in d — a n y a v e ra g e sce p tic w o u ld sim p ly la u g h a t such a th a t is to say, th er e h a v e b e e n th o u sa n d s o f a g e s th ro u g h
c r itic ism w h e n it e m a n a t e s fro m a w ell k n o w n S p iritu a list, th e in ter m e d ia te sp e cie s o f th e a n im a l an d th e v e g e ta b le
a m e d iu m w h o h im s e lf cla im s a personal co m m u n ica tio n k in g d o m s lik e th e co ra ls a n d th e sponges ; th en com e
w ith a “ h ig h sp irit” an d m any m in o r ones. Can th e th e m o llu sk s, th e c ru sta ce a n s and t h e first fis h e s . A t th e
S p iritu a lists p o in t to any of th eir phenom ena of a s a m e t i m e t h e algae a n d t h e fu c i took b irth in w a te r s less
“ h ig h e r ” c h a r a cter th a n th o few trilles k in d ly s h o w n to th e d e e p ,t h e a ir s a t u r a t e d w it h c a r b o n ic a cid a n d a z o t e d e v e l o p ­
a u th or of th e Occult World'1. H a v e th eir m e d iu m s, th e ed ou h a lf s u b m e r g e d g r o u n d s a v ig o ro u s v e g e ta tio n , w h ere
h ig h e s t , t h e b e s t o f t h e m , lo r t h e la s t fo r ty a n d o d d years arb o rescen t ferns a n d c a la m ites p red o m in a te d , th e d eb ris
o f th e ir a c tiv ity , m a d e a n y o n e s in g le d is c o v e r y th a t w o u ld o f w h ic h are y e t to b e s e e n in t h e m i n e s o f t h e a n t h r a c i t e
b en efit h u m a n ity or even scien ce ? A re th e c o n tra d ic­ and th e p it-co a l. T h e first in t h e order of e x iste n c e are
tory, c o n flictin g b its of p h ilo so p h y k a le id o sc o p ic a lly t h e s im p le o r g a n is m s , b o th in ih e a n im a l a n d th e v e g e t a b le
ex h ib ite d by “ S p ir its” th ro u g h m e d iu m s, o n e w h it h ig h er k in g d o m s. B u t t i m e s p e d , c y c le s ro lled , a n d th e w ork of
t h a n t h a t c o n t a i n e d e v e n in t h e fe w s t r a y le t t e r s p u b l i s h e d creation p u rsu ed itse lf; old b e in g s w e re tra n sfo rm ed in to
in th e Occult World ? H as even “ I m p e r a t o r ’’ proved n e w , or new ones w ere created . The o r g a n ism b e c a m e
h i m s e l f in h is t e a c h in g s a n y h ig h e r o r m o r e p h ilo so p h ic a l co m p le x , fu n c tio n s w e re m u ltip lie d , an d life took d ecid ed
or lea r n e d th a n K o o t-H o o m i, a n d h a s h e ever con sen ted p o sse ssio n of th e earth , th e sea and th o a ir w h e r e it
to a p p e a r b efo re th e “ a v e r a g e P h i li s t i n e ” or to g iv e an b lo o m e d in a v a r ie t y o f fo r m s, m o r e rich a n d e n e r g e tic in
u n d o u b t e d d e m o n str a tio n o f h is p er so n a l reality except, its m e a n s of a c tio n . A t la st m a n a p p ea r e d on th e sce n e ,
p e r h a p s, in th e presence of th e very, very le w ,— a t any a n d for o u r e a r th a t le a s t “ G o d ” r e ste d .
r a te b y far fe w e r th a n th o s e w h o p e r s o n a lly k n o w o u r B r o ­
t h e r s ;— o r f i n a l l y , h a s e v e n he, “ I m p e r a to r ,” th a t “ g rea t Thus g o in g up th e sca le to w a rd s a m ore C om p lete life

and w ise sp irit” who ought as such to be far m ore a p p ea rs to h a v e b e e n th e la w of th e p h y s i c a l w o r ld , a s it

pow erfu l and lea r n e d in tlie m y ste r ies of u n d isco v e r ed has been la ter on of th e in tellec tu a l w o rld . In th e

p la n ets and m in er a ls th an th e h ig h est A d e p t-O c cu ltist geo lo g ica l epochs n atu re m o d ifies th e o rg a n ism and by

liv in g ,— if th e s p ir itu a lis tic th e o r y b e tru e,— h a s e v e n he, consequence th e fu n ctio n s, and d e v e lo p s th ose in stin cts

1 a sk , e v e r b e n e fite d th e w o r ld o f scien ce or th e p rofan e w h i c h a r e t h e first l i g h t o f i n t e l l i g e n c e . In t h e h isto rica l

p u b lic , or e v e n h is o w n m e d iu m , by any great d isc o v er y , epochs, c iv iliz a tio n m o d ifie s th e socia l o rd er and d ev e lo p s

w h ic h , “ in c r e a sin g t h e store of hum an k n o w led g e,” has th e fa cu lties. In th e first case progress is m a r k e d by

p ro v ed h im th e r e b y — a b e in g “ w iser a n d m o r e b e n e fic e n t” c h a n g e o f fo rm s, in t h o s e c o n d , b y c h a n g e o f id e a s.

t h a n w e “ a n d t h e B r o t h e k S?” “ M . A . ( O x o n ’s ) ” r e v i e w i s A t what ep o ch th e n d o es m a n a p p ea r on earth 1 i t i ‘j

th erefo re a d o u b le -e d g e d sw o rd . W h ile try in g w ith one hut tw en ty or th irty years th a t u n e x p e c te d d isco v eries
sid e of it to h it lh e B rothers and th e O c c u ltists, h a v e e x p lo d e d a ll t h e o ld s y s te m s o f ch ro n o lo g y , a n d m a n
ho sim p ly cuts, and very b a d ly too, h im se lf and h im se lf en ters th e list of th e geo lo g ica l ev o lu tio n s o f our
sp ir itu a lism w ith th e oth er. P a ra jih ra sin g th e w ords o f th e g lo b e. The flin ts and bows cut in to hatch ets, k n iv es,
R e v ie w e r and of “ M. A . (O xon )” 1 w ill clo se my rem arks n e e d le s , sp e a r a n d a r r o w - p o in t s ; th e b o n es o f la r g e a n im a ls
w ith th e fo llo w in g : broken for th e sake o f th e n o u r is h in g m a rro w '; th e m a s s
“ T ill so m e fo o t-h o ld o f th is k in d is g i v e n u s,” it is use­ o f sh e lls a n d th e d e b r is of r e p a s t ; th e cin d ers o f an a n t e ­
le ss to extol th e “ S p irits” and “ M ed iu m s” above th e d ilu v ia n lie a r th ; th e d e sig n s traced u p o n o m o p la te s and
“ B rothers” a n d th e ir O c c u ltis ts . The a ttitu d e of th e chests, r e p r e s e n ta tio n s o f a n im a ls w h ich h a v e d isa p p ea red
form er is tru ly “ in c o m p a tib le ” w ith th eir fo rty y ea rs of to -d a y , or h a v e b e e n tr a n sp la n te d to r e m o t e p la ces, oth er
ardent a c tiv ity , and no resu lts w h a t e v e r ; an d , w h ile we t h a n t h o s e t h e y t h e n t h e r e i n h a b i t e d ; in s h o r t, t h e h u m a n
a ll k n o w w h a t t h e “ S p i r i t s ” h a v e h ith erto been c a p a b le d e b r is fo u n d in th e d e p o ts o f th e q u a r tc r n a r y epoch, and
of, n o S p i r i t u a l i s t i s y e t i n a p o s i t i o n to say what b en efit th e traces of hum an in d u str y b e lie v e d to have been
m a y or m a y n o l b e fa ll th e w orld th r o u g h tlie “ B r o t h e r s ,” e s t a b lis h e d u p to t h e te r tia r y p erio d , p r o v e t h a t m a n liv e d
s in ce th ey have but h a rd ly appeared on th e h o r iz o n . a t a tim e w h en our c o n tin en t had n e ith er th e fau n a, th e
P a tie n c e, p a tien ce, go o d frien d s, a n d critics. “ B ew ild er­ Hora, th e c lim a te, nor th e co n fig u ra tio n th at th ey have
m e n t' a n d c o n fu sio n ” are far m o r e o n y o u r sid e th a n th ey tod ay. O n th e steep s of th e L ebanon as in t h e grottoes
a r e o n o u r s a u d —tjui vivra verm ! o f P e r ig o r d , in t h e v a lle y s o f t h e H im a la y a s as in th o se
o ft lie P y ren ees, on th e banks o ftlie M isso u ri as on th ose
T een d a ria , n ea r D a r jilin g in th e H im a la y a s,
o f th e S o m m e , p r im itiv e m a n sh o w s liim se lf w ith th e sa m e
O ctob er 23, w eapons, th e sam e cu stom s, th o sam o savage and
p r e c a r io u s life w h ic h c e r ta in tr ib e s o f A fr ic a , o f A u s tr a lia , TA B LE OF CONTENTS.
and o f th e N ew W o rld reta in to our clay. The fu tu re
PflgO. l’ago.
k i n g o f th e w o rld w a s b u t a p r o d u c t th o m ost m isera b le. O u r P a n d i t a t Oxford . 27 th e B ible ” a u d t h e
T h u s t h e s c ie n c e b o rn o f to - d a y lia s p u t b a c k t h e b ir th of D e ath a u d I m m o r t a l i t y . .. •28 Hawal I ’indi Mission
h u m a n i t y to a p eriod w h ic h is lo s t in th e n ig h t of tim e. Tlie “ T h e o s o p h is t’s ” Im age School . .. ... . .. 41
It is th e ago of ston o th at can bo d iv id ed in to several in th e “ M i r r o r . ” ... 29 Psychology of the L am p ... 42
Discrim ination of S p i r i t a u d I d olatry in t h e Vedas . .. 43
p e r i o d s , e a c h o f w h i c h is in a d v a n c e o f t h e one th a t goes N ot-Spirit ... ... 30 A N atio nal F u n d for the
b efore. T h e y c o m m e n c e from s to n e s g r o ssly tra n sform ed I s Suicide a Crime 1 ... 31 Stu d y of S a n s k r i t ... 43
in to im p le m en ts and arm s, and from caverns ser v in g as T h o u g h ts u p on th e Religious Force and M a t t e r . .. 44
refuge to th ose a rtistica lly w orked and p o lish e d , to P ro b le m of a F i r s t Cause. 32 Is E nergy also “ M a t te r I” 44
S u p e rio rity of Hinduism E x tr a c t from a l e t t e r of
th e p o tte rie s fa sh io n ed by hand and ornam ented,
to o th e r E x i s t i n g Reli­ an E nqu irer . .. ... 44
to th e citts lacuislrea or h a b ita tio n s on p iles, in sh o r t, to g ion s : as view ed from tho “ M. A. ( O x o n )” a u d t h e
th e d o lm en s, th e m enhhs, th e a llecs couvertes, th o se S t a n d - p o in t of T h e is m ... 33 “ B ro thers” ... . .. 4(5
p reten d ed m o n u m en ts of D ru id ica l art th at one m eets Gleaning s from E l i p h a s EYagmeuts of O ccult T r u t h . 4G
Levi ... ... ... 36 Reviews —
w i t h in F r a n c e a u d in E n g la n d .
T h e T h ree G ra des of A n c ie n t T h e A r y a a u d its “ Out-
A r e a ll m e n d e s c e n d e d from a sin g le c o u p le ? Y es, if T heo s o p h is ts ... . .. 39 s ta tiou ” C o rre sp o n d ­
Correspondence - ' ence . .. ... ... 49
u n it y o f s p e c i e s o w e s to h e d e c id e d b y t h e o n ly co n sid era ­
Im it a “ S i n ” to w ith h o ld T he Asian C ra d le -la n d ... 49
t io n o f f e c u n d it y o f u n io n s b e t w e e n a ll t h e v a r ie t ie s o f t h e C e rta in Knowledge ! ... 39 Occult a n d S p i r i t u a l
h u m a n k in d . B u t p h y sio lo g y an d th e s c ie n c e o f la n g u a g e s T h e “ C o n trad ic tio n s o f Phenomena r ,, . .. 50
e sta b lis h m a n y great, d iffe r e n c e s b e t w e e n t h e h u m a n races L es Oriidues . .. ... 51
from th e G reek s, who hayc served as m odel to A p o llo
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General’s Ollice, Colombo : Don Tiirothy Karunaratne, Kandy. China :
Kelly ami Walsh, Shanghai. •
born o f to-d av. A re not p a leo n to lo g y and c o m p a ra tiv e
p h ilo lo g y b u t g ro w th s o f y esterd a y ? T h e y o n ly r a ise b u t
a c o rn er o f t h e v e il w h ic h h id e s p h y sic a l c r e a tio n and th e Printed at the In d u s tr ia l I ’ress by Burjorjec Cursetjoe, Printer, and
o r ig in of c iv ilisa tio n s. published by tho Theosophical Society at Breach Candy, Bombay.
 SnPPLEMEN T

TO

THE THEOSOPHIST-
V o l . 4. N o . 2, BO M BAY, N O V E M B E R 1882. No. 38

-___J .... ....................--- --------:t.------:----------

T H E IN D IV ID U A L IT Y OF B R A N C H E S. lia s in th e past, to b e h o n e s t and outspok en , w h eth er in

d ealin g w ith th e su b tle m e ta p h y s ic a l d e lu s io n s o f A sia tic
I t s e e m s d e s ir a b le to p o in t o u t to th e m em bers of a ll fa ith s, or w ith th e cruder m isco n cep tio n s of sp iritu a l
B ra n ch es of th e T h eo so p h ica l S o c ie ty th at, how ever clo se tilin g s w h ic h h a v e b e e n c r y s ta llise d in th e cu rio u s creed
m ay be th e bonds of B ro th erly u n io n and sy m p a th y w h ich m odern E uropean churches are p lea sed to call
u n itin g th em to th e P a r e n t B o d y an d to on e another, th e C h ristia n ity .
great pu rposes of our u n d e rta k in g w ill be served rath er B u t w h ile th is jou rn al and th e Parent T h e o so p h ic a l
th a n im p e d e d b y th e d e v e lo p m e n t o f v ery d istin ct in d iv i­ S o c ie ty m u s t th u s m a in ta in a strictly im p a rtia l a ttitu d e ,—
d u a lity on th e part o f each group o f T h e o so p h ists, w h ich both by reason of th e p rin cip les rep resen ted and th e
possesses a sep arate o rg a n isa tio n . The p ro p riety of e q u a l d u t y o w e d to T h e o s o p h is t s o f all v a r ie tie s o f s e c ta r ia n
em p h a sisin g th is id ea a rises p a r tly from th e fact th at in clin a tio n , th ere is room , w ith in th e broad fo ld of
a lm o st all m en are m ore or less u n d e r th e d o m in io n o f T heosophy for th ose very v a rieties out of w h ich th e
s o m e lin o 'erin e s e c ta r ia n p r o cliv ities. O f course tin s co n sid e ra tio n s w e w ish to put forw ard have arisen , A
O O I • 1•
j o u r n a l can n e v e r d e fe n d or c o u n t e n a n c e secta ria n p r o c li­ k n o w led ge co n cern in g sp iritu a l and D iv in e th in g s is
v ities. I t h a s b r a v e d m a n y e n m i t i e s in t u r n b y a ssa ilin g su r ely a tta in a b le w ith m u c h g r e a te r p recisio n th an com ­
first o n e h a rd a n d fa s t creed, and th en another. It has m on p la ce m odern p h ilo so p h y dream s o f ; it has been
r e p e a te d ly p u b lis h e d criticism s u n fa v o u r a b le to V e d a n tis m , a t t a i n e d b y g r e a t T h c o s o p h i s t s in a ll a g e s ; it is r e c o r d e d
B u d d h ism , H in d u is m , and C h r istia n ity , in th eir v a r io u s in a h u n d r e d en ig m a tic v o lu m es, th e co m p reh en sio n of
o r th o d o x form s. I t a p p e a r e d for m o r e th an a year w ith w h i c h e x a c t s t h o c a r e a u d e ffo r t w h i c h in d u e t i m e it w ill
an a d v e r tis e m e n t in im ic a l to th at of th e Veda Bhasliya so w e ll r e w a r d , a n d t h e p u r s u i t o f t h is k n o w l e d g e is o n e o f
and r ep re sen tin g th e v ie w s of th e B enares V ed an tin s. th e great a im s of th e T h eo so p h ica l S o ciety . In such
I t h as la tely a d v ertised A n ti-C h r istia n tracts, th e sa le of p u r s u it , m e n m a y c o m e in to jo in us from a ll fo u r co rn er s
w h ic h , p e r m i t t e d a t t h i s O ffice, w a s so r a p id t li a t t h e r e w e r e o f t.he c o m p a s s o f t h o u g h t . N o th in g in th eir co n n ex io n
soon no m ore left to a d v ertise. In d o in g all th is , it has w ith any fa ith can d isq u a lify th em , if th at co n n ex io n
fa ith fu lly w ork ed on th e p rin cip le th a t h asty critics have h a s n o t b e c o m e h a rd en ed in to th e one th in g of w h ich a
r eg a r d e d its p o lic y as c o n tr a v e n in g , viz., th e p r in cip le of tru e T h eo so p h ist m ay be in to lera n t,— in to lera n ce. And
t h e f u n d a m e n t a l u n i t y o f all g r e a t relig io n s, to w h ich , in another great a im of th e T h eo so p h ica l S o ciety has
th e h ig h e s t d e v e lo p m e n t o f liis p e r c e p tio n s , e v e r y stu d en t been to show how th e p u rsu it even of th e h ig h est
o f r elig io u s p h ilo so p h y m u s t rise. F or, th e reco g n itio n of p h ilo so p h ica l k n o w led g e m ust itself, to be su ccessfu l,
t h e fact, t h a t a ll a r e f u n d a m e n t a l l y id e n t ic a l, b rin g s w ith lie w edded w ith th e w ish to do good to th e w h o le
it a rea lisa tio n o f th e sad tr u th tlia t all are su p erficia lly fa m ily of m a n k in d . As a m ere in tellec tu a l lu xu ry,
erron eou s. A b so lu te ly p u re th e o s o p h y m u s t b e a n ta g o n istic, s o u g h t for in a selfish sp irit, sp iritu a l k n o w led g e itse lf
-— w i t h i n t h e l i m i t s o f th at en la rg ed to le r a n c e w h ic h its m u s t n ecessa rily b e fu tile an d u n p ro g ressiv o . T h is is a
stu d y in c u lca tes,— to e v e r y d iffe re n tia te d creed. N or, in g r e a t m y s tic tru th , and o u t o f t h e fu ll k n ow led ge th ereof
d ea lin g p ra ctica lly w ith any sp ecia l d isto r tio n of tru e on th e p a r t o f th o s e from w h o m th e T h e o so p h ic a l S o c ie ty
p h ilo so p h y w h ic h th is or t h a t o r g a n is e d r e lig io n m a y h a v o r e c e iv e d its creative im p u lse, has arisen th at p rim a ry
b e e n g u i l t y of, i s i t a l w a y s p o ssib le or d esira b le to w rap w a tc h w o r d o f ou r A s s o c ia tio n — “ U n iv e r sa l B ro th erh o o d .”
u]> such criticism in e la b o r a te p h r a s e s d e s tin e d to fla tte r B rotherhood w o u ld b e in d e e d far s h o r t o f u n iv er sa lity if
tiie sen sib ilitie s of p e o p le who m ay be w edded to th e it s h u t m e n o u t for d if fe r e n c e s o f c reed , and lien ee it is
sp e cia l d isto r tio n u n d e r n o tice. A s far as t h is jou rn al is n o t an u n fo r tu n a te c o n d itio n o f th e S o c i e t y ’s e x i s t e n c e —
c o n c e r n e d th e r e fo r e , it w ill c o n t i n u e in th e fu tu re, as it it js an a b so lu te n ecessity of its grow th and h e a lth y
 tic a l w o r k in e d u c a t i o n a n d to d e s c r ib e its e lf a c co r d in g ly .
d e v e l o p m e n t t h a t it s m e m b e r s s h o u ld e n t e r t a i n a ll m a n n e r
O n e im p o r ta n t bran ch o f th e S o c ie ty a lrea d y h a s a sp ecia l
o f d iv erg en t v iew s. T hrough th e outer cru st of each
d e s i g n a t i o n in t h e l i n e o f s u c h a cla ssifica tio n as is hero
m a n ’s fa ith , th e earnest T h eo so p h ist w ill u n d o u b ted ly
su ggested , and is w id ely known as th e S im la E clectic
p e n e tr a te , if he persevere to th e p rim a ry rock on w h ich
T h eo so p h ica l S o ciety , a d esig n a tio n w h ich im p lie s th at
w e a ll s ta n d ; a n d s o m e T h e o s o p h is t s , so p e n e t r a t in g , w ill
th is branch m akes a c h o ic e , as reg a rd s its p r a c tic a l w o rk ,
com e to h a v o n o ra g o f p r e fe r e n c o le ft for th e p a rticu la r
a m o n g th e v a r io u s o b jects and u n d erta k in g s w ith w h ic h
e x o t e r i c e fflo rescen ce o f r e lig io n in w h ic h h e m a y happen
t h o Pm ,ren t S o c i c t y h a s b e e n i d e n t i f i e d , a n d h a s an in d iv i­
to h a v e been o rig in a lly n u rtured . On th e oth er hand,
som e th in k ers, real th in k e r s and th o ro u g h ly b en eficen t
d u a l i t y o f it s o w n ,— t h o u g h n o t h i n g enn b e le ss dilettante
o r f a s t i d i o u s t h a n i t s p r i n c i p l e s , for th e p r im a r y q u a lifica ­
seekers of tru th , w ill reta in such p referen ces to th e
tio n for m em b ersh ip of th at branch is th a t all p e r s o n s
very end, p referen ces w h ich le a d th em to su b lim a te
s e e k in g a d m issio n s h a ll b o o u tsp o k e n , fea rless a n d z e a lo u s
and id ea lise rath er th an cast off th e costum e of
w orkers on b eh a lf of th o T h eo so p h ica l S o c iety a t la rg e,
th o u g h t in w h ich th ey have been ed u cated and
a n d , in t h e w ords of th e sp e c ia l o b lig a tio n , u n d e r t a k e to
to w h ic h t h e y m a y b e e n d e a r e d b y m a n y fond a sso c ia tio n s.
m a k e a d e s i r e for t h e i r o w n m oral im p ro v e m e n t and th e
S o m e o f t h o s e , w h o , for p r a c tic a l w o r k in t h e w o r ld , m a y b e
good of th eir fello w creatu res " th e g u id in g p rin ci­
reckoned perhaps am ong our b est T h e o so p h ists, clin g in
p les of th o ir liv e s.” Tt is w o r t h w h ile, in p assin g, to
th is w a y to certain a sp e cts o f r e lig io n a n d m u s t b e cre d ite d
c a ll th e a tten tio n of In d ia n B ranches g e n e ra lly to th e
w ith w h a t h ave b een sp o k e n o f a b o v e as sec ta r ia n p ro cli­
fact th at th is ex ce p tio n a l energy on b e h a lf o f th e good
v ities.
w ork we are a ll engaged in, has been e x h ib ited by
The object of th ose who d irect th e a ffairs of a branch w h ich , th ou gh not e x clu siv ely of E uropean
th e Parent S o c ie ty sh o u ld c er ta in ly not bo h o stile c o n stitu tio n , w as n e v e r th e le ss of European o rig in . It is
to any such sen tim e n t. On th e con trary, th ere is no a m o n g th e p e o p le of th is c o u n tr y th a t th e g o o d to b e d o n e
reason why a m an sh o u ld not lo v e T ru th and in th e lo n g r u n h y t h e T h e o s o p h ic a l S o c ie ty w ill m a in ly b e
th erefo re be a su ita b le c a n d id a te for m e m b er sh ip w rou gh t; and it is r ea so n a b le th at th is sh o u ld be th e
in our S o c ic ty ,— th ere is n o reason why ho sh o u ld c a s e w h e n t h e S o c i e t y , e v e n a s f o u n d e d in N e w Y ork, had
n o t b e h e a r tily d esiro u s o f d o in g good in h is g en era tio n , i t s r o o ts in t h i s c o u n t r y a ll t h e w h ile . B u t still it sh o u ld
a n d s o in o n e f o r m o r a n o t h e r r e a l i s e o u r l o a d i n g a s p i r a t i o n s t i m u l a t e I n d i a n z e a l in t h e w h o l e u n d e r t a k i n g t o o b s e r v e
to w a r d s U n iv e r sa l B ro th e rh o o d ,— m e r e ly because ho a lso th a t th e b ran ch , w h ic h h as m o s t o f an A n g lo -T n d in n co lo u r­
lo v e s th o a sso cia tio n s w h ich attach th em se lv e s to th o in g , is h e a r t ily r e s p o n s i v e to t h e p h ilo so p h ica l b en e fits it
relig io n o f h is f a m ily a n d race. I t is a fu ll r ec o g n itio n o f h as receiv ed th ro u g h th e in str u m en ta lity of th e Parent
th is w h ic h o rig in a lly p r o m p te d th e fo rm a tio n o f B ranches S o c i e t v , a n d s e c o n d to n o n e in z e a l for t h e c a u s e w h i c h t h a t
h a v in g so m e sp ecia l relig io u s d e n o m in a tio n , and it is a P a r e n t S o c ie ty e m b o d ies.
co n v ictio n now, th at tliese co n sid e ra tio n s ought not
A n d it m ay be regarded as sp ecia lly usefu l at th is
m erely to be recogn ised but d w e lt upon and str o n g ly
m om ent in strik in g th e k ey-n ote of w lm t seem s now
recom m ended to t h e a t t e n t io n o f all B r a n c h e s to t h o c a se
r eq u ir e d ,— th o g r ea ter in d iv id u a lisa tio n o f branches. In
o f w h i c h t h e y m a y h a v o n n y k i n d o f a p p l i c a t i o n , th at, has
th is address th o id ea has been th row n forw ard in a
p r o m p te d th e p resen t address. T h e r e is n o t h i n g p r e j u d ic ia l
rou gh state. W c tru st th a t ifc m ay be th e su b ject of
t o T h e o s o p h y a t a ll in th e m a in ten a n ce bv any B ranch,
co n sid era tio n an d su g g e stio n 011 th e part o f th e b ra n d ies
d is p o s e d to s u c h p r e fe r e n c e s , o f a s p e c ific re lig io u s d e n o m i ­
g e n e r a l l y in t h e c o u r s e of th e e n su in g m o n th .
n a tio n . It is im p o ssib le th at any b ig o t, be he H in d u ,
V e d a n tin , C h ristia n , or w h a t y o u p lea se, can e v e r b e m o v e d
in t h e s p ir it to e n t e r t h is S o c io t y a t all, so th e r e is n o r o o m
fo r a p p r e h e n d i n g t h a t a n y s u c h b r a n c h e s , h o w e v e r d e f in it e ly
T H E R O C H E ST ER (1J. S . A . ) T H E O S O P H I C A L
th ey m ay d escrib e th em selv es as em a n a tin g from th e
b o so m o f a n y g iv e n fa it h ,— w ill sin a g a in s t t h a t to le r a n c e SO C IE T Y .
w h ic h is tlio one sine qua non of T h eo so p h ie a sp ir a tio n .
B u t w ith o u t b e in g in to le ra n t o f o th e r fa ith s, p e o p le, w ith P rofessor A. L. R aw son, L L .D ., F .T .S ., as d eleg a ted
t h e t e n d e r p r e fe r e n c e s s p o k e n of a b o v e , w ill p r e fe r to w o rk r ep resen ta tiv e o f M ajor G eneral A. D ou b lod ay, A c tin g
under th e in sp ir a tio n o f h a b itu a l and c o n g en ia l id ea s P resid en t of th e (N ew Y ork) T h e o so p h ic a l S o ciety ,
ev en a t th e ta sk o f p h ilo so p h ic in q u iry ,— or a t all even ts
o r g a n ized at R o c h e s t e r , N . Y ., on th e 27th of J u ly , th e
th ey m ay so p refer and in th at case it sh o u ld not bo
lo ca l b r a n c h for w h ich a charter had been d u ly issu ed
su p p o sed th a t T h e o so p h ie p rin cip les are opp osed to such
in c lin a tio n s. from t h e B o m b a y Ilca d -q iia rters. A new form o f ritu al

Thus we r e tu r n to th e p o in t from w h ic h w e started : for in i t i a t i o n s w a s u s e d for t h e first t im e on th is o cca sio n .

th e d e sira b ility th at B ranches sh o u ld in m ost cases be P r o f e s s o r R a w s o n r e p o r t s th ;.t t h is n e w group of T heoso­
so m e th in g b esid e s a b it c u t o u t o f th o m a in fa b ric of (lie p h ists in c lu d e s “ som e very su b sta n tia l th in k e r s aud
T h eo so p h ica l S o c ic ty . Of course th ere is no d e fin ite w orkers, of both s e x e s ; a m o n g th em M r. W . B . S h e l l e y , a
o b lig a tio n on a n y B ra n ch to c h o o se a. s p e c i a l d esig n a tio n g e n tle m a n o f very resp ecta b le so cia l p o s itio n , M rs, C a b le s ,
a n d g iv e its e lf a sp ecia l c o lo u r in g o f e v e n t h e m o s t g e n tle a lad y who possesses certain stra n g e p sy ch ica l pow ers,
and d ilu te d secta ria n o p in io n . It m ay be th at som e w h ic h she accou n ts for by a r a tio n a l in terp reta tio n of
B ranches w ill r eso lu tely adhere to th e p rim a ry id ea n a tu r a l la w , an d J u d g e S h u a r t, w h o h a s o c c u p ie d th e h ig h ly
of th e Parent S o c ie ty and w ill refrain from a d o p tin g h o n o ra b le sta tio n o f S u rr o g a te of th e county, th ese past
any sp ecia l d esig n a tio n . And w h ile som o m ay prefer six te e n y e a rs.” “ I m ig h t,” says P rofessor R aw son, "m ake
to be known as th e B u d d h ist or H in d u T h eo so p h ica l e q u a lly go o d m e n tio n o f th e o th er m e m b er s o f th e B ra n ch .
S o ciety o f su ch and such a p la ce, or even th e C h ristia n T ln »y, e a c h a n d all, h a v e a p r o f o u n d r e g a r d fo r t h e F o u n d e r s
T h e o so p h ic a l S o c ie ty in th e case of W estern branches, o f t h e T h e o s o p h ic a l S o c ie ty , a n d w e r e c h a r m e d to h e a r m y
oth ers w ill perhaps prefer to ta k e a d esig n a tio n w h ic h rela tio n o f th e in c id e n ts w h ic h occu rred d u r in g my v isits
m a y e m p h a se a sp ecia l c o lo u rin g o u tsid e r elig io u s m a tte r s a t t h e cra d le of th e Parent S o c ie ty before you left for
a ltogeth er. T h u s it m ig h t be p o ssib le to im a g in e th at In d ia . V iv id and p lea sa n t m em o ries of th at hom e of
a branch m ig h t, if th e te n d e n c y of a m a jo rity a m c n g its d e v o te d s t u d e n t s e n a b le m e to d isp e l m a n y fa lse rum ours
m e m b e r s s e t d e c id e d ly in t h a t d ir e c t io n , e l e c t to c a ll i t s e lf th at h a v e b e e n s e t a flo a t b y u n p rin cip led e n e m ie s in ten t
th e S cien tific T h e o so p h ic a l S o ciety o f such and such a 011 m is c h ie f to t h e F o u n d e r s an d th e S o c ie ty . . . .
p la ce, or a g a in e ls e w h e r e another d ep artm en t o f e n q u iry The charter issu e d from Bom bay and co u n ter sig n e d by
a n d effort, t h a t w o u ld s till be fa irly T h e o so p h ic a l, m ig h t G e n e r a l D o u b l e d a y , w a s d e l i v e r e d o v e r b y m e to M r, S h e l l e y
le a d a n o th e r b ra n ch to id e n tify it s e lf s p e c ia lly w ith prac­ as th e P r e sid e n t o f th e b ran ch S o cio ty .”
 T H E SIM L A E C L E C T IC T H E O SO P H IC A L W e have co p ie d th is w ell-m ea n t n ote, not to h elp
SO C IE T Y . v in d ic a te o u r s e lv e s from th e a sp e rsio n s o f o u r sla n d erer—
for th a t w a s n o t w orth th e tr o u b le — b u t to sh o w our un­
W e h a v e r ec e iv e d t h e fo llo w in g rep ort from o n e of th e known frien d t h a t h is k in d w o r d s h a v e reached us at th e
o f f i c e r s o f t h i s S o c i e t y :— o th e r sid e o f t h e g lo b e , a n d th at we are not u n g ra tefu l.
In a n o th er le tte r to th e Truth Seeker, from a U ta h corre­
“ O n th e 7th o f O ctob er a m e e t i n g of th is branch was
s p o n d e n t ., M r. F r i n k is m e n t i o n e d a s “ a m an o f co n sid er­
h e ld a t S im la for th e tr a n sa ctio n o f r o u tin e b u sin ess,
ab le scien tific a c q u ir e m e n t s ’’ : to w h ich m ay now w ith
t w e lv e m o n th s h a v in g e la p se d s in c e t h e S o c ie ty w a s form ed ,
p ro p riety be ad d ed , “ an d a stro n g sen se o f ju stic e .”
and th e ru les r eq u irin g t h e annual e le ctio n o f officers.
In th e sam e paper for J u ly 15, was a le tte r from
The o u tg o in g P resid en t, M r. A. 0. H um e, -d eliv ered
a n o t h e r c o r r e s p o n d e n t , a M r. D . R. B u rt, in w h ich th o
a b r ie f address and proposed as o f f ic e r s for th e en su in g
w r it e r s a y s h e fe e ls g r e a t ly o b lig e d to M r. B en n ett for a
year—
l o n g a n d a b l e n o t i c e o f M r . S i n n e t t ’s Occult World, o f th e
Mr A . P. S in n e tt, President ; rela tio n s b e tw e e n o u r S o c ie ty and th e “ G r e a t T ea ch ers of
C o l o n e l W . G o r d o n , Vice-President ; th e S n o w y R a n g e o f th e H im a v a t,” and o f th o se m y steri­

M r . E . F e r n , Secretary. ous phenom ena and “ su b tle forces of n ature th at are

b e in g in v e s tig a te d b y C o lo n e l O lco tt, M adam e B la v a tsk y ,
“ T h is list h a v in g b e e n u n a n im o u s ly a g r e e d to, th e m e e t ­
a n d th e astral B ro th ers. I w a s su rp r ise d a t see in g r a th e r
in g b r o k e u p .”
s e v e r e a n d u n k i n d c r i t i c i s m o n M r . B e n n e t t ’s c o m m u n i c a ­
tio n in c o n n e c tio n w ith th is su b ject iu M r. C h a i n e y ’s
This World o f A p ril 15. . . W e co n sid er it a broad
a s s u m p t io n for any m an to say what forces are not in
K IN D W O R D S FROM ST R A N G E R FR IE N D S.
n a t u r e or s e t l i m i t s to h e r p o ssib ilities. I have had an
e x p e r ie n c e w ith p h e n o m e n a o f a n a tu r e p a r a lle l w ith so m e
A m o u g t h e w o r st s p e c im e n s o f t h e d is r e p u ta b le cla ss of
o f th e in c id en ts rela ted by M r. B en n ett, and co u ld our
A m e r ic a n jo u r n a ls, is a tr u c u le n t w e e k l y o r g a n of S p iri­
critic have shared w ith m e, he w o u ld never havo
tu a lism , w h o se n a m e we w ill not d ig n ify by g iv in g it
c h a ra cterized th e c o m m u n ic a tio n as ‘ ru b b ish .’ ”
p u b licity in th ese pages. Its E d ito r, once a m an of
r e p u ta b le character, h a s g o n e m ad a p p a ren tly , and tak en
t h e p la ce o f c h a m p io n of d ish o n est
b e h o o f h e d e fa m e s a u d a b u s e s all h o n e s t
m e d iu m s, in
S p iritu a lists
w hose
and
fltnsoruil Ite m s-
oth ers w h o denounce th em . H e has lo n g p a id us th e
c o m p lin io n t o f tr a d u cin g u s in su ch v io le n t term s as to C o lo n e l H . S . O lc o tt is expected back at th e H ead­
p r o v o k e th e s y m p a th y o f m a n y w h o w o u ld o th e r w is e have quarters ab ou t th e 2n d in sta n t, as a lr e a d y announced.
h a d n o i n t e r e s t in u s or o u r m o v e m e n t . W e fin d in M r. T h e p r o g r a m m e o f h is n e x t I n d ia n to u r, w h ich w ill th en
B e n n e t t ’s Truth Seeker for A ugust 5, am ong th e le tte r s be settle d , w ill d u ly app ear in th e T h e o so p h ist . The
fro m liis su b s c r ib e r s , oue from a M r. W . R. F rin k , of in v ita tio n s , a lr e a d y r e c e iv e d , w ill, o f co u rse, r ec e iv e th e d u e
D u b u q u e , in w h ic h , a f t e r q u o t i n g fro m t h e w r e t c h e d p a p e r c o n s id e r a t io n o f tiie P r e s i d e n t F o u n d e r , in d r a w in g u p th e
a b o v e in d ica ted , an a b u siv e p a ra g ra p h to th e effect th at program m e. By th e tim e th is issu e reaches our
th e Founders of th e T h e o so p h ic a l S o c ie ty had been S u b scrib ers, th e C o lo n el w ill have a lread y reached
“ k ic k e d o u t o f In d ia by th e B rahm an p o n tiff [m ea n in g Bom bay.
P a n d it D a y a n a n d !] as b e in g u n w orth y of h is to le r a tio n ,”
h e r e m a r k s t o M r . B e n n e t t :— “ T h e . a b o v e y o u p erso n a lly W e are so rr y t o h e a r o f t h e d e a th o f M r. K. G. D esh-
k n o w to b e fa lse a n d d efam atory; and what adds to th e m u k li, th e son of Rao Bahadur G o p a l rao H ari D csh-
m e n d a c i t y o f t h e e d ito r , i t is c o p ie d fr o m a p a p e r w h ic h he m n k li, F .T .S .,, V ic e - P r e s id e n t o f o u r S o c ie ty an d P r e sid e n t
affects to d esp ise for its d u p lic it y a n d fa ls e h o o d . Now I of th e B o m b a y B ranch. R a o B a h a d u r D e sln n u k h becam o
h a v e ca refu lly read e v e r y T h e o s o p h is t th a t h a s b e e n p u b ­ a F e llo w , w h ile th e F o u n d e r s w ero yet in A m erica , nnd
lis h e d s in c e C o lo n e l O lc o tt a n d M a d a m e B la v a t s k y w e n t to h a s a lw a y s r e m a in e d a frien d , a n d tr u e to th o C a u se. W e,
I n d ia , a n d I fa il to s e e t h a t th ey are b e in g lik e ly to be th e r e fo r e , t a k e th is o p p o r tu n ity o f e x p r e s s in g our profou nd
k ick ed out of In d ia , b u t, on th e oth er hand, th ey have s y m p a t h y for h i m in h is p r e s e n t b e r e a v e m e n t .
b e e n receiv ed w ith o p e n arm s by th e ed u cated .and in ­
tellig en t H in d u s. N o tw ith sta n d in g th e slig h t k ick s M r . 1). M . B e n n e t t has sa fely reached hom e after h is
a d m in iste re d b y th e e d ito r o f . . . and th e R ev. Josep h v o y a g e a r o u n d t h e w o rld . A f t e r l e a v in g C e y lo n , lie w e n t
C o o k , th e ir p o p u la r ity is in c re a sin g . via J a v a , t h e S tr a its S e tt le m e n ts , C h in a , a u d th e S a n d w ic h
I sla n d s, to S a n F r a n c is c o ; th en ce, b y th e A m erica n tra n s­
“ As to th eir attem p t to su p p la n t S p iritu a lism , I
h a v e se e n n o t h in g o f t h e k in d in th e ir p u b lish ed speeches
co n tin en ta l r a ilw a y — a trip in itse lf of .'>,000 m i l e s — to
N ew Y ork. A t e v e r y s ta g e o f h is la n d -jo u r n e y , h e r ec e iv ­
or w ritin g s. T hey d iffer from t h e S p i r i t u a l i s t s in r e g a r d
ed w arm w e lco m es, p u b lic a n d p riv a te, fr o m th e host of
to th e forces th at produce th e so -ca lled sp iritu a l pheno­
F r e e th in k e r s , to w h o m liis t r e a t m e n t b y t h e b i g o t s a n d h is
m en a , w h ic h th e y h a v e a p e r fe c tr ig h tto d o u n tii S p iritu a lism
p lu c k y a n d self-r esp e c tfu l c o n d u c t u n d er p ersecu tio n , h a v e
p r o v e s it s e lf m o r e in fa llib le t h a n it is a t p r e se n t.
e n d e a r ed h im . P u b lic r e c e p tio n s, p ie -n ie p a rties, s p e e c h e s ,
a d d r e s s e s o f w e lc o m e , p o e m s , p r iv a te so irees, a u d , la stly , a
“ A s to th e d iffic u lty b e t w e e n D y a n a n d S a r a s w a ti S w a m i
banquet at N ew Y o rk w ere th e p ra ctica l responses o f h is
and th e Founders of th e T h e o so p h ic a l S o ciety , it is b u t
n u m e r o u s a d m ir e r s to th e sla n d ers o f M r. Cook and h is
slig h t, as I u n d ersta n d it. The lea rn ed P a n d it felt
s y m p a th e t ic e u lo g ists.
a g g riev ed because th e T h e o so p h ists receiv e in to th o ir
S o c ie ty o rth o d o x B r a h m a n s in ste a d o f co n fin in g a d m issio n s
to th e S w a m i ’s o w n s e c t . B esid e s, th e S w a m i has a d m it­ “ H. X .” A N D T H E “ B R O T H E R S .”
ted th a t th e O ccu lt p o w ers o fM a d a m e B la v a ts k y are Y o g a , THE PROTEST OF THE ADHI lillOUTKJ IjllRATRU TIIEOSO-
w h ic h th e ed ito r o f . . . w e l l k n o w s , if , a s h e s a y s , h e h a s PIIICAL SOCfKTY Ol' iiEUH AMI'ORE, RENGAT..
‘ c a r e f u lly f o ll o w e d t h e ir d o i n g s in t h a t la n d o f p riestcra ft, TO THE EDITOR OK THE “ THEOSOPH [S T /’
In d ia .’ A n d su rely th e p resen t a ttitu d e of th e S p iritu a l D ear M adam e,
papers and S p iritu a lists tow ard each oth er and tow ard
W e , th e u n d ersig n ed , th e m e m b er s o f th e A d h i B h o u tic
th e ir m e d iu m s w ill fu lly w a r r a n t t h e c o n c lu s io n t h a t th ey
B h ratru T h eo so p h ic a l S o c ie ty o f B er h a m p o r e, are g rea tlv
are co n tr o lle d by s u p e r -h u m a n , e le m e n ta r y , or e a rth -b o u n d
p a in ed a t th e to n e o f your co rresp on d en t “ H . X . ’s ” letter
sp irits ra th er th a n b e n e fic e n t h u m a n sp irits.
p u b lish e d in t h e la s t ( S e p t e m b e r ) N u m b e r o f t h e T heoso-
« W. R. F r i n k .” PlUST, I t i s r a t h e r s u r p r i s i n g t h a t o n e , s o w e l l e d u c a t e d a n d
seem in g ly so w ell a c q u a in ted w ith th e H o ly H im a la y a n h o w is it t h a t e v e n t h e y , t h o s e E u r o p e a n s , d o n o t g i v e o u t
B rotherhood, co u ld th in k of u sin g such u n b eco m in g to th eir c o u n tr y m e n even so m uch, or so little , as our
la n g u a g e tow ard s th em . W o beg, th er efo re, to g iv e e x ­ A sia tic A d epts ? T h is o n e fact o u g h t to sa tisfy “ H . X .”
p ressio n to ou r en tir e s y m p a th y w ith th e p ro tests p u b lis h ­ an d oth ers lik e h im self, th a t th e r e is a very good reason
ed (w h ich som e of us have a lr e a d y sign ed ) an d th e re­ for it. T h o w h o le to n e o f h is le tte r b e tr a y s a n u tter la ck
m a r k s m a d e b y y o u r s e lf in t h e e d ito r ia l n o te . o f p a tie n c e , a h a u g h t y s p ir it o f reb ellio n q u ite in c o m p a tib le
That even a person of so h ig h an ed u ca tio n aud in ­ w ith Chelaship, and fe e lin g s of irreveren ce p o sitiv ely
t e l l i g e n c e d id n o t h e s it a t e to a llo w h is fe e lin g 's to h a v e t h e r e v o ltin g to th e H in d u m in d .
b e t t e r o f h is rea so n is a p r o o f o f t h e oft-rep eated rem ark T h e very arrangem ent of th e th ree courses of th e
. . . ^ , • • • i • t
t h a t t h e t i m e for p u b lic ly t e a c h in g O c c u lt P h ilo s o p h y has “ t r a d it io n a l f o r m u la ” s h o w s in w h a t d irectio n th e w in d
not yet c o m o — esp ecia lly for th e E uropeans. b lo w s. A H in d u w o u ld h a v e m ade th e second h is first,
H o m e o f t h e a r g u m e n t s u sed , are, to sa y t h e le a st, r a th e r a n d n e v e r t h o u g h t o f w r itin g th e la tter u n le s s lie h a p p e n e d
cu rio u s th an a p p ro p ria te. B ecause “ no u n -in itia te can to b e as c h a n g e fu l as a w ea tlie r-co ck . As C o lo n el O lc o tt
. . . in fer th erefrem th at he u n d erstan d s th e real rem arked in h is M adras le c tu r e , our m otto sh o u ld be
.m ea n in g ”, tlie d e d u ctio n is th at “ Isis Unveiled teem s “ W h a t go o d can w c d o ” a n d not “ W hat good can we
w ith w h a t are p r a c tic a lly errors” to all but th e adepts I g a in .” The la tte r fo llo w s th e form er as a se q u e n c e .
W e w o u l d l i k e t o h a v e t.he s t a n d a r d o f j u d g m e n t of th ese A c c o r d i n g to o u r H i n d u t e a c h i n g , five e n e m i e s ( r e s id in g
la y ju d g es. in e v e r y m an) have to be overcom e before lie can be
I t is h in te d th a t “ in to sa y in g s purposely dark and in itia te d ; viz., Kama, Krodha, Lobha, Moha, Mada
misleading . . . a num ber of d i s t i n c t errors w e r e i n ­ (L u st,, A n g e r , G reed, Ign oran ce and V a n ity ). The la st
tr o d u ce d ” b y y o u r se lf a n d C o lo n e l O lco tt, in consequence n a m e d ( V a n i t y ) is t h e s m a l l e s t or l o w e s t ; w h ile L u s t is t h e
of your im p erfect k n o w led g e o f E n g lish at th e tim e of h ig h e s t v ic e . T h e to n e o f th o le tte r b etra y s th a t, in th e
w ritin g th e book; b u t, im m ed ia te ly after, it i s a d d e d :— case of th o w riter, th e b a ttle, even w ith v a n ity (th e
“ if I am correct in th e a b o v e i t is b e s t to sa y so p la in ly sm a llest, o f t l i e in d w e lle r s ), h a s n o t y e t been com m enced.
o n c e for a ll ! . . . ” W h e n o n e is n o t sure of th e so H a d it, b e e n o t h e r w i s e , we w o u ld have been spared th e
c a llc d errors and-purposely misleading sentences, it ill b e ­ p a in fu l s ig h t o f s e e in g our revered M ahatmas brought
com es h im to ask th e au th o rs to a d m it th eir e x isten ce, d o w n so often rnd so d isg ra cefu lly to fig u re in p u b lic
e sp ecia lly w h e n m o r e th a n o n ce it was a lr e a d y d istin ctly co n tro v ersies, com pared w ith th o m odern European,
affirm ed in th e T h e o s o p h is t t h a t th ero i* no essen tia l m e n t i o n e d in c o n n e c t i o n w i t h “ c e r t a i n l i n e s ” o f k n o w l e d g e ,
d ifferen ce b e tw e e n th e te a c h in g s o f th e B r o t h e r s a s g iv e n and critic ize d as “ acco rd in g to European v ie w s.” A ll
in Isis and as o c ca sio n a lly g iv e n o u t n o w in th e jo u rn a l, t h is is n e it h e r “ ju st” nor “ g e n e ro u s.” S o lo n g as th is
e x c e p t t h a t , in t h e fo r m e r , w e fin d m e r e l y th e o u tlin e of v a n ity is not d isc a rd ed and th e so ca lled “ E uropean
th e P h ilo so p h y , w h ile, in th e T i l E O S O l ’l U S T , d eta ils are v i e w s ” v a l u e d a t t h e i r p r o p e r p r i c e , it, i s b u t j u s t th at th e
ca refu lly e n te r ed up on. B rothers sh o u ld not part w ith m ore k n o w led g e
Y our lea r n e d c o r r e s p o n d e n t fin d s fa u lt w it h t h e A d e p t than can be sa fely tru sted in to such hands.
BROTHERS fo r n o t t e a c h i n g h i m all th e y k n o w , an d a t th e W hat has been th e resu lt of th is m odern E uropean
sa m e tim e h e co n fesses t h a t— “ W e r eceiv e c erta in in s tr u c ­ standard o f ju d g m e n t ? H ow is pow er b ein g u tiliz ed in
tio n s, a n d portions, of w h a t w e are ta u gh t, w e reproduce every D ep artm en t or B ranch of p h y sic a l k n o w le d g e ? A
a s o c c a s i o n d e m a n d s . ’' A n d if th ey, th e “ LAY c h e l a s ,” re­ g la n c e a t H is t o r y w ill show us th at th e energy of th e
produce but portions, and not all t h a t is g i v e n th em , why civ ilized w o rld is m a in ly d irected to p e r fe ctin g and
sh o u ld not th e sam e rig h t be conceded to th e A dept m u ltip ly in g w e a p o n s fo r t h e d e s tr u c tio n o f h u m a n life on
B rothers ? I s it, b e c a u s e th ey th in k th em se lv e s b etter one hand, and, on th e oth er, to th e creation and th e
ju d ges in such m atters t h a n t h e MAHATMAS ! A re th ey m u ltip lica tio n of hum an needs and tlieir g ra tifica tio n .
p rep ared to d e n y th e tru th o f th e rem ark th a t “ th e tim e It is not c erta in ly to th e p r o te c tio n of hum an life
lia s not com o for g iv in g m o re th a n stra y g lim p se s of th e and th e r ed u c tio n of th e w an ts of th e c iv ilized w o rld
tr u th to th e w o rld ” ? If so, we beg to in v ite “ H . X . ’s t h a t P h y s ic a l S c ie n c c is d ir ec tin g her a tten tio n . N eed
a tt e n tio n to th e t r e a t m e n t he h im se lf h as r ec e iv e d a t th e we r em in d th e reader th at, in th is respect, th ere is
h a n d s o f e d u c a t e d E n g l i s h m e n in t h e A n g l o - I n d i a n p a p e r s ; an enorm ous defference b etw een th e a n cie n t In d ia n
to t h e a b l e p refa.ee to the second Edition of the Occult and th e m o d ern W estern civ iliza tio n an d im p r o v e m e n ts ?
W o r ld ; and even to th e v ile in sin u a tio n s a g a in st th e The ob ject of th e first was to ward off u n tim e ly
character of A n g lo -In d ia n L a d y -T h e o so p h ists u n b lu sh in g ly d ea th , to rcd u cc th e su m of hum an s la u g h te r — w ith th e
p u b lish e d in th e Englishman., in c o n n e c t i o n w i t h c e r t a i n v iew of a v o id in g fu tu re su fferin g — an d to reduce
phenom ena. h u m a n n e e d s to th e narrow est lim its p o ssib le. It is an
“ H . X .” a s k s in a d ic ta to ria l ton e why th e B rothers a b so lu te tru ism th at, w hen both sid es are a rm ed w ith
do not tea ch h im at once all th ey know, after k e e p in g weapons of equal force, th eir rela tiv e pow er, in th e
b ack su ch th in g s as w o u ld in v e st th e p u p ils w ith o ccu lt a b str a c t, is n o t a f f e c t e d in t h e le a st, w h ile th e m u ltip lie d
pow ers. B u t h ow does h e k n o w th at such a m easure is d e str u c tiv e p o w e r o f th e im p ro v e d en g in e s of d estr u c tio n
p r a c t i c a b l e a n d t h a t it, w o u ld not be k e e p in g back th e r esu lts in greater lo ss of life on b oth sid e s th a n w o u ld
very kernel of th e scien ce tau gh t? In th e H ints on o th erw ise h a v e b e e n t h e case. A n d still, m o d e r n c iv iliz a ­
Esoteric Theosophy (p a g e 2 9 ) it is p la in ly stated th at, if t i o n , — t h o u g h f u l l y a l i v e t o t h a t f a c t — is d a i l y e n c o u r a g i n g
o n e en d o f th e ch a in w ere p u t in to our hands, so m e of us e v e r y w a y s a n d m e a n s for a still g r e a t e r sa cr ifice o f h u m a n
are in te llig e n t enough to w ork out th e w h o le, even in life, w ith o u t, for a m om en t, g iv in g a th ou gh t to th e
sp ite o f th e B r o t h e r s. H a s “ II. X .” fo rg o tten th e d iffi­ e n o r m ity o f th e sin a n d c rim e. W e c^ ase to w o n d e r w hen
c u lt i e s t h a t s t a n d iu t h e w a y o f t l i e B rothers ? If not, w o c o m e to co n sid e r th e d irectio n o f th e current of th e so
h o w c a n l i e c a l l i t a s i n — ( b o l d l a n g u a g e !)— a n d r e p r i m a n d ca lled c iv ilized p u b lic th o u g h t of m odern ‘‘i m e s . B u ilt,
th em in p r in t? To say th at th e B rothers h o ld a ll as th e w h o le fa b ric is, o n t h e f o u n d a t i o n o f e g o t i s m and
k n o w led g e o n ly in trust for th e w o rld is what we can self-in terest, it c a n n o t b e o th er w ise. If, o n th e con trary,
n e v e r a g r ee w ith . I t w o u ld h a v e b e e n p e r h a p s b etter to th e b a sis w ere s e lf-d e n ia l, t h e n th e v e r y g r o o v e o f th in k in g
a d d — “ for t h e d e s e r v in g fe w .” w o u ld have been d iffe re n t. A n im a l b r u ta l force w o u ld
“ H. X .” is aw are th at th ere have been in sta n ces of h a v e y ield ed before ch a rity an d sp iritu a l lo v e ; p rid e and
E n g lish m en and Europeans r isin g to h ig h ad ep tsh ip . c o n c e it w o u ld m a k e r o o m for g r a t it u d e a n d s in c e r it y ; a u d
There is even- one noiv, to o u r c e r ta in k n o w le d g e , in T ib e t. “ H. X .” w o u ld not h a v e ca lled , as in d isc r e e tly as h e has,
H o w is it th en th at even th ey ,— n o tw ith sta n d in g th eir our su b m issio n and th e s u b o r d in a tio n o f o u r w ill to t h a t
p rev io u s W estern tra in in g a n d e d u c a tio n ,— after h a v in g of w iser and u n selfish m en, “ sla v ish ,” but w o u ld have
co n q u ered th e ir in n a te d islik e o f s u b o r d in a tin g th eir w ill r ea lized t h e w is d o m o f th e p r o v isio n . In stea d o f cu rb in g
to th at of th eir Gurus and rea ch in g th e sam e pow ers— h is in d ep en d e n c e of th ou gh t, th e ru les o f th o O r d e r —
as “ H . X .’ o u g h t to be a w a r e — m a k e it an essen tia l con­ sity for secrecy th a n ever ? Indeed it is m ore th a u
d itio n ib r th e p u p il to possess. L ik e a w ise fa th er a p p a r e n t n o w t h a t h is d e v o tio n an d a d h e r e n c e to th e c a u s e
h e s ita tin g to tru st a b o x o f m a tc h e s in to t h e hands o f liis are n o t y e t fu lly d e te r m in e d . I n m o r e th a n o n e p la c e , th e
in fa n t, or w h o g iv e s it o n ly on co n d itio n th at th e ch ild la n g u a g e e m p lo y e d is th a t o f a c a lc u la tin g p o liticia n and
sh a ll not u se 'it e x c e p t u n d er h is d irectio n and w ith h is h is fin al d e c is io n m a y y e t b e m o d ifie d b y c o n s i d e r a t i o n s ot
p e r m issio n ,— th o O rder havo th eir own w ise ru les in ­ p erso n a l c o n v e n ie n c e a n d com fort ra th er th a n a n u n selfish
ten d ed to guard a g a in st a ll m isu se of th e terrib le one. H ow can he, in such w a v e rin g and h e sita tin g a
k n o w led g e w h ich con fers such pow ers on m a n a n d for m o o d , sec u r e th e c o n fid en ce of th e B rotherhood w hose
w h ic h th ey are a lo n e r esp o n sib le. H ow can “ 11. X ., " r u l e i s — “ F o r g e t s e l f for o t h e r s a n d t h e r e a r e t h o s e w h o w i l l
m e r e ly on th e s tr en g th o f h is own con jectu res, deny th e look a fter y o u r s elf.” F o r tu n a te ly , n o t all th e E uropeans
B rothers th is rig h t of ju d g m en t, and, a fter d r a g g in g are as h a u g h ty a n d as in tra cta b le as “ H. X .” who does
th em b efore th e p u b lic g a ze, ta lk so lig h tly of th em , m ore harm th a n g o o d to ou r sm a ll g r o u p o f c a n d id a te s for
in s te a d o f a c k n o w le d g in g h is g r a t i t u d e for t h e o p e n in g o f chelaship. W e know of oth er Europeans who, w ith o u t
h is sp iritu a l s i g h t — is m ore th an w e can u n d e r s ta n d or s u r r e n d e r in g th e ir w ill or b eco m in g slavish, are b elo v ed
a llo w to p a ss w ith o u t p r o te s t a n d n o tice . b y o u r h o ly M a h a t m a s for t h e ir s in c e r e a n d w a r m d e v o t io n
U n til “ H . X .” show s h im s e lf r ea lly d eserv in g of th e to th e ir p e r s o n a litie s a n d to th e cause of T ru th . M ay
k n o w led g e lie c r a v e s for, it b e e o m c s h i m lit t l e to c o m p la i n THEY s h o w e r t h e i r b le s s in g s on a ll s u c h p a tien t, d evoted
o f h is slo w p r o g r ess : m u c h le ss to ta lk so d isr esp e c tfu lly stu d en ts! T h e so c a lle d “ sla v ish ” su b o rd in a tio n of our
of th e ways of persons a d m itted ly su p erio r to h im in w ill to th a t o f o u r M asters— m en a d m itte d ly so v a stly
k n ow led ge, and so im m ea su r a b ly p u r e r a n d h o li e r in life. s u p e r io r to u s in k n o w l e d g e , in t e lle c t , a n d sp ir itu a l p o w ers,
Is it b e c o m in g on h is p art, we ask, to cast on onr h o ly a n d , th er e fo r e, b e tt e r a b le to g u id e u s to w a r d th e coveted
B rothers a sp ersio n s of th e fo llo w in g k in d : “ W hen g o a l — is s i m p l y a n outcom e (a n e c e s s a r y c o n s e q u e n c e ) of
u n a b le to a n s w e r y o u r a r g u m e n ts , th e y c a lm ly rep ly th at our c o n fid en ce in and d e v o tio n to th em , it is never
th e ir ru les d o n o t a d m it o f th is or th a t.” A w r iter,— w h o , dem anded by th e m w h o co n fer on u s su ch b lessed favou rs,
b u t a few lin es back, d ecla res th at ho w o u ld be sa tisfied b u t v o lu n ta rily su rren d ered by th e p u p il h im self, o f liis
w i t h O nly so m uch of th e “ k n o w led g e w h ie h w o u ld not o w n free w ill a u d ch o ice , a n d o u t o f a j u s t a p p recia tio n o f
in v o lv e con ferrin g on p eo p le u n w orth y . . . o ccu lt th e ir resp o n sib ilities an d a s e lf - c o n s c io u s n e s s of o u r ig n o r ­
pow ers . . . a b n o r m a l p o w e r s o \ ’e r t h e i r f e l l o w s ” . . . a n c e an d c o n s e q u e n t in a b ility to a lw a y s form co rrect j u d g ­
and who turns round th e next m om ent and, because m ents. T h e in t e l le c t u a l v ir tu e s , on w h ic h “ II. X . ” p r id e s
fu rth e r in s ig h t in to such pow ers is refused, brands th at so m u c h , ca n a v a il a p u p il but little in O ccu lt S cien ces,
honest and s tr a ig h tfo rw a rd refusal as u n fa ir aud t h o u g h it m a y h e lp h im o n to a c e r ta in ex ten t in h is ac­
“ rep u lsiv e” to h im ,— tra n sc en d s, to say th e le a st, th e q u isitio n o f t h e k n o w led g e and pow ers.
b o u n d a r ie s of fair c r i t ic is m and fa lls in t o v u lg a r d e n u n c i a ­ ( 1.) (Signed in the original P rotest) .R ai Bahadur
tio n , esp ec ia lly w hen he h i m s e l f is c o n s tr a in e d to a d m it N o b in K r ish n a B anerjea, P resid en t o f th e
th a t, after all, t h e r e m ay rea lly be som e good ground s A . B . B. T . S.
fo r su c h a p o lic y on t h e ir p art, a n d “ w h ich , if known to (2) T elo k (Jh an d N a lia r, F . T . S.
us, m i g h t w h o lly c h a n g e o u r v erd ict, a n d so it m a y w e ll b e (3) T h a n S in g B o y u d , F. T . S.
th at th ey are rig h t a n d w e wrong.” M o r e o v e r , we fa il to (4) G irish O h u u d e r B h o tta ch a rjee , F . T. S.
see w hy, if th is “ p o s it io n ” is so repulsive t o “ II. X .,” lie (5) K a ila s C h u n d ro S h a w , F . T. S.
d o e s n o t “ clo se h is c o n n e c tio n w ith ” our M A lla tm a .s for (<i) D in a N a th G a n g o o l y , F . T . S ., (Utah Gourt and
good. S u re ly , they c o u ld n e v e r b e th e losers th e r e b y ; a n d Govt. Pleader.)
a ll s u c h th r e a ts m u s t fin d t h e m as seren e as th e ele p h a n t (7) S h a u tc o n ie M ook h erjec, F. T. S.
o f th e fa b le w h o m th e m osq u ito hoped to fr ig h ten w ith («) R e k h a l d a s T a r a filar, F . T . S .
liis b u zzin g ! Our fratern al regard an il esteem for our (!') S l i y a n i a C l. u r n B li a t t a , F . T . S ., (Pleader.)
b roth er, “ H . X .,” c o m p els us to a d d iess h im a ferven t (10) J y o tir m o y a B anerjea, F . T. S.
req uest th a t h e w ill b e less h asty in h is u tteran ces and (1 1 ) N a fa r D as, F . T. S.
m o r e r esp e c tfu l to h is s u p e r io r s in k n o w led g e and p u rity ( 12) K usum V ila s R a y c h a u d h u r i, F . T. S.
o f life, in fu tu r e . W e are fu lly aw are th at E n g lish m en do (13) P a tiia m B anerjee, F. T. S.
n o t lik e to s u b o r d in a te th e ir w ill to th a t o f a n y o th e r m a n (14) B in d ii B a sh in i D eb i, F . T. S.
liv iu " . It is ch a ra cteristic of v a n ity and p r id e and (15) S h u k a d a S u n d a r i D e b i, F. T. S.
co m m en d a b le but from th e European sta n d -p o in t. B u t,
in s u c h a ease, w h y h a v e a n y th in g to do w ith our Asiatic
M ahatmas a t all i W hy not be con ten t w ith W estern
k n o w led g e ? We H in d u s can all answ er t h a t it is n o t
THEY w h o s e e k in t e r c o u r s e w i t h a n d o ffe r t h e i r s e r v ic e s to T H E PO O N A T H E O SO P H IC A L
t h e w h it e fo reig n er. N on e but a E uropean— and of th ese
SO C IE T Y .
very few in d e e d — w ill th ru st h im se lf u n in v ited in to
a n o t h e r m a n ’s h o u s e , a n d th en abuso r o u n d ly h is h o s t for
I t is w ith deep regret th at we have to
not p erm ittin g h im to open and pry in to all th e se c r e t
d ra w ers a n d clo sets o f h is o w n h o u se. T h e p resen t a ttitu d e announce th e u n tim ely death , on th e 10 t h
o f “ I L X ,” a m o u n ts ju s t to th a t, lie ,— who w o u ld b lu sh in stan t, o f R ao B a h a d u r G op al G o v in d P h a ta k ,
a t th e m ere id e a o f rea d in g , w ith o u t p e rm issio n , another
F irst-c la ss S u b -J u d g e of th e p la ce, who had
m a n ’s letter,— demands, as a c o n q u e r o r ’s r ig h t, th a t th e
la te ly jo in ed th e T h e o so p h ic a l S o c ie ty , and
M ahatmas sh o u ld open b efore h im all th eir secret
k n o w led g e, w h eth er he is w o r th y or not of th e sacred ’ becom e a m em ber <>f o u r branch, lie had
tru st. _ a lik in g for T h e o s o p h ic a l s tu d ie s and show ed
O n e w o rd m o r e b e fo r e w e c lo se. T h e u n d o u b te d le a r n in g
a d e sire to p ro m o te th e iu tercsts o f th e S o c ie ty .
a n d in t e llig e n c e o f “ H . X .,” if h e o n ly r efle cts upon what
lie h a s don e, o u g h t to e n a b le h im to see th e m oral effect W e h a v e lo s t in h i m a n e x c e l l e n t b r o th er .
o f h is p r e s e n t a t t it u d e an d th e great harm he has been
d o i n g to t h e w o rld . W ill not th e B r o t h e r s be m ore th a u N a v ro ji D o r a b ji K handa [, v a e a ,
ev er ju stified , h erea fter, in su sp ectin g th e p ro fessio n of
P r e s id e n t o f th e P o o n a T h eo . S o ciety .
d ev o tio n of m en of “ H . X .” typ e w ho can c h a n g e th eiv
fro n t so s u d d e n ly ? D o not h is d e n u n c ia tio n s nm l s w e e p ­ P oon a, O ctob er 11, 1882.
in g ch arges ju stify th e B r o t h e r s ’ great c ircu m sp ectio n
in rospect of him ? Does it not also show a g r e a t e r neces­ mmm m
 a d v e r t i s e m e n t s .

HARRIS AND LAWRENCE, JUST PUBLISHED.

OCULISTS AND OPTICIANS,

THE
C A L C U T T A M A G A Z IN E
20, RAM PAR T ROW , Foil
NEXT THE ORIENTAL BA NK , JU L Y .
BOMBAY. BRIMMING OVER WITH GOOD READING.
C o n t e n t s .
E G IST E R E IJ P R O P R IE T O R S o f tlic L U C U L E N T
E a n d M E T R I C A L S P E C T A C L E S , w h i c h n re u se d in all A u n t H a t t y ’s G h o s t S t o r y — B y D i c k e n ’s A d v i c e to his Son.
O P H T H A L M I C I 1 0 S P I T \ I , S , a n d p r e s c r i b e d liy all S U R ­ E d i t h J a n o W in te rb o llin in . G o Forw ard.
G EO N O C U L IS T S . F o r th e c o n v e n i e n c e o f M o fussil r e s i ­ B i d d y O ’L e a r y — B y E d i t h J a n e P r in c ip le .
d e n t s w h o a r o nim ble to v i s i t u s , wo w ill, on a p p l i c a t i o n , fo r w a r d W i n te r b o t h a m . Influence o f L it e r a t u r e .
a s e t o f o u r p a t e n t M E T R I C A L T E S T S G L A S S E S for self- F low ers. T h e D h o b ie a n d S t e a m - l n u n d r y .
iittin g . A p p l i c a n t s m u s t g iv e a B o m b a y r e f e r e n c e , o r f o r w a r d Change. N e w In v e n ti o n s .
a d e p o sit o f Rs. 10, w h ic h will lie r e f u n d e d 011 t h e r e t u r n o f the T h e E n d o f t h e W o r ld . Miss K a t e Field.
T e s i t Glasses. T h e P o e t ’s C o r n e r . R e m e d y for D i p t h e r i n .
Artificial H U M AN E Y E S in ALL SH A PES and COLOURS. Hope. G ratitud e.
L o v e l y B lossom s. A Rhapsody.
~ ~ N E W E D IT IO N —P R I C E REDUCED.
T h e W a y to L ive. T h o F a m il y F r ie n d .
T h e I n d i a n R e tr o s p e c t. K e e p i n g F a i th .
PEOPLE FROM THE OTHER WORLD.
E x cessiv e A n x ie ty . Before M a r r i a g e .
B y H . S . O lc o tt .
P o lite n e s s . Affection.
Containing full and illustrative descriptions of tlia wonderful
seances held by the Author with the Eddvs, Holmeses, and Mrs. T h e T r i a l s o f B e a u ty . G em s o f T h o u g h t.
Compton. In fine English Cloth, tastefully bound, Rupees 4 ; In O n e ’s Life. W it and H u m o u r.
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thing hero that absolutely demands au investigation by tho professed moil
of scionco......The U o.rlfonl T im i's.” The Manager, Calcutta Magazine,
(Apply tn the Manager of the T h k o s o i ’i i i s t . ) 49, DhurnmtMah Street, Calcutta.
A weekly journal published at Calcutta every Tuesday evening,
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G REAT A M E R IC A N H O USES:
w e lcom o so long as t h e y a r o n o t p e r so n a l or a b u s iv e . .
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o f T h r e e G u i n e a s e ach , for th e best e ssa y s fo r a n d a g a i n s t Company, Selling Agents for 2*> of the largest Cotton and Woollen
M aterialism , B uddhism , A nglo-Israelitism , S p iritu a lism and Mills in America. T. P. Ilow ell & Co., Manufacturers of Leather.
C h r i s t i a n i t y ; as well as F r e e T r a d e , P r o t e c t i o n , E d u c a t i o n a n d
k i n d r e d sub je cts, t a k i n g t h e o p p o site sid e o f e a c h qu e stio ii 011 T h e a b o v e firm s a r e t h e la r g e s t a n d m o s t n o t e d o f th e ir
a l t e r n a t e m o n th s , a n d a l t h o u g h w e c o m m e n c c a s u sm all p a p e r , resp e c tiv e c la sses in A m e r ica . M essrs. M. P a u a clia n d
should success a t t e n d o n r efforts, a r r a n g e m e n t s w ill b e made, t o a n d C o m p a n y a lso r e p r e s e n t T h e P h ila d e lp h ia a n d R ead­
e n la rg e o u r sp a c e w i t h o u t i n c r e a s in g th e price. in g Coal and Iron C om pany, H on. John B. G ow eu, P r e s ;
“ T h e D e b a t e r ” will be e s s e n t ia l ly t h o u g h t f u l iu its to n e , a n d and th e D c Y o e M a n u fa ctu r in g Com pany, p ro p rieto rs of
so t h a t class o f so ciety w h o “ n e v e r t h i n k ” aro n o t e x p e c t e d to t h e c e le b r a t e d “ B r i l l i a n t ” K e r o s i n e O il.
p a tr o n ise it. I n fo r m a tio n a b o u t A m e r ic a n m a n u fa c tu r e d a rticles w ill
“ 1 lead where reason points the way, be g iv e n , g ra tu ito u sly , to resp ecta b le a p p lic a n ts upon
And bow to no dogmatic sway,
N or ask men blindly to obey.” r eceip t of stam p s for retu rn p ostage. A m e r ica n goods
P u b l i s h i n g O ffice, 3 8 S y d n e y A r c u d e , S y d u e y , A u s t r a l ia . judeated for from the manufacturers ou commission,
 /Ocreativ
^com m ons
A ttrib u tio n -N o n C o m m e rc ia l-S h a re A lik e 3 . 0 U n p o r te d

Y o u are free:

to S h a r e — l o c o p y , d is trib u t e a n d t r a n s m it t h e w o r k

to R e m ix — to ad ap t th e w o rk

©
U n d e r th e f o llo w in g c o n d it io n s :

CD
A t t rib u t io n — Y o u m u s t a ttrib u te t h e w o r k in t h e m a n n e r s p e c if ie d b y t h e a u t h o r
o r l i c e n s o r ( b u t n o t in a n y w a y t h a t s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e y e n d o r s e y o u o r y o u r u s e o f
th e w o r k ) .

N o n c o m m e r c ia l — Y o u m a y n o t u s e t h is w o r k f o r c o m m e r c i a l p u r p o s e s .

S h a r e A lik e — I f y o u alter, t r a n s f o r m , o r b u ild u p o n t h is w o r k , y o u m a y d istrib u te

© th e r e s u lt in g w o r k o n l y u n d e r t h e s a m e o r s im ila r l i c e n s e t o t h is o n e .

W ith th e u n d e r s t a n d in g that:

W a i v e r — A n y o f th e a b o v e c o n d it io n s c a n b e w a i v e d if y o u g e t p e r m i s s i o n f r o m th e c o p y r ig h t
h o ld e r.

P u b lic D o m a in — W h e r e t h e w o r k o r a n y o f its e le m e n t s is in t h e p u b l i c d o m a i n u n d e r
a p p lic a b le law , t h a t s t a t u s is in n o w a y a ff e c t e d b y t h e lic e n se .

O th e r R ig h t s — I n n o w a y a r e a n y o f t h e f o llo w in g r ig h t s a ff e c t e d b y t h e lic e n se :

• Y o u r fa ir d e a lin g o r f a i r u s e rig h ts , o r o t h e r a p p lic a b le c o p y r i g h t e x c e p t i o n s a n d

lim itations;

• T h e a u t h o r 's m o r a l rig h ts;

• R i g h t s o t h e r p e r s o n s m a y h a v e e ith e r in t h e w o r k its e lf o r in h o w t h e w o r k is u s e d , s u c h
a s p u b l i c i t y o r p r i v a c y rig h ts.

N o t ic o — F o r a n y r e u s e o r d istrib u tio n , y o u m u s t m a k e c le a r to o t h e r s th e l i c e n s e t e r m s o f
th is w o r k . T h e b e s t w a y t o d o t h is is w it h a lin k t o t h is w e b p a g e .
 A MONTHLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO ORIENTAL PHILOSOPHY, ART, LITERATURE AND OCCULTISM : EMBRACING
MESMERISM, SPIRITUALISM, AND OTHER SECRET SCIENCES.

M a d ra s : o th e r w is e it w ill b e still p u b lish e d at Bom bay

i d : I
B u t th is d oes n o t concern our su b scrib ers, w hose co p ies
THERE 13 NO RELIGION HIGHER THAN TRUTH. w ill b e s e n t p u n c tu a lly , as h ith erto . All correspondence
[ F am motto o f the M a h a r a ja h s of Jlenares.]
and postal matter, intended to reach us or any officer or
other person attached to the Headquarters staff, after
January 1, should be addressed to “ A dyar, M adras’’
SP E C IA L N O T IC E TO C O R R ESPO N D E N TS. instead of Breach Candy, Bombay.
I f o u r fo reig n m e m b e r s w ill c o n su lt th e m ap of In d ia
Adverting to articles and correspondence
and com pare it w ith a list o f o u r A sia tic B r a n d ie s , tb e y
destined for the pages of the T h e o s o p h i s t , we w ill fin d t h a t to t h e W e s t of th e 7 7 t h d e g r e e o f lo n gitu d e

would call the attention of intending contri­ E. of G r e e n w ic h — w h ic h passes th ro u g h a lm o st th e

butors to the following instructions :— cen tre of th e I n d ia n P e n in s u la — w e h a v e b u t te n A sia tic

b ran ch so cieties, v iz ., T rich u r (M a la b a r C oast), Bom bay,
(I.~\ N o anoni/m ous docum ents w ill be accepted fo r insertion, even
B aroda, B h a v n a g a r , P o o n a , J e y p o r e , L a h o r e, R a w a l P in d i,
l/u>uyh they m a y be sig n ed “ a Theosophist.’
a n d S im la (tw o ) ; to tlie E a s t o f th e lin e w e h a v e tw en ty-
( I f . ) A n y contributor nol desiring his nam e to be m ade p u b lic t
se v e n ,* v iz ., C e y lo n (eig h t), Java, T in n e v e lly , M adras,
should give the necessary in tim a tio n to the E d ito r w hen fo rw a rd in g
N e llo r e, G u n tu r, C a lc u tta (tw o), B erh a m p o re, K ish n agh n r,
his c o ntribution.
(Ill-) C ontributors are requested to fo r w a r d their articles in the D a r je e lin g , B lia g a lp u r, J a in a lp u r, M n d d eh p o o ra li, A lla h a ­
e a r l y p a rt o f the month, so as to allow the E d ito r p le n ty o f tim e fo r bad, B a reilly , C aw npore, Lucknow (tw o), aud M eeru t.
correction a n d disposal in the p a g e s o f the T j i e o s o p i i i s t . B esid es th ese, oth ers are fo rm in g in E astern In d ia ,
( I V. ) A ll correspondence to be on one side o f the p a p e r only, and, in tim e, our o p era tio n s w ill exten d to oth er
leaving clear spaces bet ween lines a n d with a w tde m argin.
co u n tries to th e E astw ard. It is, th erefore, m ore
co n v en ien t and e co n o m ic a l to be at M adras th an at
B o m b a y , b oth as regards th e e x ec u tiv e w ork o ftlie S o c ie ty
The E d ito rs d isc la im re sp o n sib ility f o r opinions expressed by con­
and th e p ra ctica l b u sin e ss o f p u b lish in g th is m a g a zin e. A ll
tributors in their articles, w ith some o f which they agree, w ith others
not. G reat la titu d e is allow ed to correspondents, a n d they alone are p e r s o n s , w h e t h e r a m i c a b l y d is p o s e d to o u r w o r k or n o t , w ill

accountable for w hat they w rite. The jo u r n a l is offered as a vehicle c o n c ed e th a t a h a p p ie r m o m e n t co u ld n o t h a v e b e e n c h o sen

for the w ide dissem in a tio n o f fa cts a n d opin io n s connected w ith the for th e r e m o v a l o f th e H e a d q u a r te r s from B o m b a y . Tho
A sia tic religions, philosophies a n d sciences, A ll who have a n y th in g
s tr o n g o p p o sitio n a lw a y s in se p a r a b le from su c h un dertak­
worth tellin g are m ade welcome, a n d not in terfered w ith. Rejected
in g s as th is o f ours and w h ich we had of course to
M S S . are not retu rn ed . . O
en cou n ter, has n o t sim p ly su b sid ed of itse lf, but been
su ccessfu lly v a n q u is h e d an d v ir tu a lly cru sh ed . E ven th o
in g e n u ity o f u n p r in c ip le d e n e m ie s an d sla n d erers can no
R E M O V A L OF H E A D Q U A R T E R S .
m o r e a v a il. W e h a v e o u t liv e d a ll th a t, a n d tlie n u m b e r o f
T lie grow th of th o T h e o so p h ic a l S o c ie ty aucl now our sy m p a th isers has been stea d ily in crea sin g sin c e our
g e o g ra p h ic a l d istrib u tio n o f its w o r k c o m p e l t h e rem oval a rrival in February, 1879. W ith som e of our e a r l i e 1'
of th e A sia tic H e a d q u a rter s to a p o in t on th e E a st coast o f frien d s w h o h a v e sto o d tru e to th e C a u se th ro u g h a ll its
In d ia . W h e n th e F o u n d e r s v is ite d , fo r t h e lir st tim e , B e n g a l v icissitu d es, we are very sorry to p art, even th o u g h
a n d M adras, th is year, a fter n ea rly fou r y e a r s ’ r e sid e n c e a t it b e b u t th e b rea k in g u p o f n e ig h b o u r sh ip ; b u t, ev ery
Bom bay, a v iew of th e country and clo se a cq u a in ta n ce year, w e sh a ll v isit Bom bay at th e tim e of our annual
w ith th e p e o p le show ed th em th e e x p ed ien cy of an to u r, as w e ll as o th e r p a r ts o f I n d ia . A u d as regards th e
im m e d ia te tran sfer of th e H eadqu arters. A c co r d in g ly in terco u rse b e tw e e n th e sev era l B ra n ch es an d th e F o u n d ers,
after c o m p le tin g th e tou r o f th o se tw o P r e sid e n c ies in J u n e it w ill m a k e no d itle re n c e w h eth er our o fficial resid en ce
la st, th ey arranged to tak e up a resid e n c e at M adras. b e a t o n e sid e or th e oth er of th e G . I. P . I t is a sa tis­
T h ith er th e H eadqu arters e sta b lish m e n t w ill be re­ fa c tio n lo r u s t h a t w c are c a rry in g to ou r new hom e th e
m oved in th e la st days of D ecem ber, and th e January g o o d w is h e s ot'so c o n s id e r a b le a body of B om bay frien d s-
nu m ber of th e T h e o s o p h is t (w h ich w ill be brought out B u t , a s t h e p r o v e r b s a y s , “ N o t h i n g s u c c e e d s l i k e s u c c e s s 1”

b efore th e 1s t p ro x im o ) w ill be th e la st issu ed at

Bom bay, if s a tisfa cto ry arran gem en ts can be m ade at • Uy to November 15.
1
 s h e d i n t h e n e i g h b o u r h o o d t o c lear t l i e i r m a s t e r s ’ g oods, s t e p lip t o
t h e S o c i e t y ’s office d a i l y a n d p a y t h e fees d u e . T h e m e r c h a n t s a n d
“ 'T w e r e all a.s go o d t o c as e o ne b e a s t o f g r ie f, m u c c a d m n s h a v e a u t h o r i s e d t h e S ociety t o d e v o t e t h o a m o u n t t h u s
A.s s i t a u d w a t c h t h e s o r r o w s of t h e w orld , co llected t o t h e m a i n t e n a n c e of t h e p r o p o s e d H o s p i t a l for A n i m a l s ; to
I u y o n d e r c a v e r n s w i t h tlic p r i e s t s w h o p r a y . e n g a g i n g a s u fficien t n u m b e r of a g e n t s t o s u p p r e s s all s o r t s of
c r u e l t i e s ; t o p r o v i d i n g w a t e r - t r o u g h s in t h e c i t y w h e r e t h e y m a y
“ U n t o t h e d u m b lip s of liis flock h e l e n t b e n e e d e d ; a n d Lo e s t a b l i s h i n g b r a n c h e s of t h e S o c ie ty in s u c h
S a d p l e a d i n g words, s h o w i n g h o w m a n , w h o p r a y s t o w n s i n t h e P r e s i d e n c y a s t h e C o m m i t t e e of t h e S o ciety m a y
F o r m e r c y to t h e g o d s , is m erciless, d e e m p r o p e r . T h i s is a s a t is f a c t o r y b e g i n n i n g ; b u t t h e r e v e n u e
B e in g as g o d s to th o se d e r i v a b l e f r o m t h i s s o u r c e is n o t c o n s id e re d su fficien t t o e n a b l e
tlie S o c i e t y t o carry' o u t all t h e p r o p o s e d m e a s u r e s ; a n d we a r e
| A rno ld's L ig h t o f A s ia ] to l d t h a t t h e local G o v e r n m e n t h a s s p o n t a n e o u s l y offered t o co­
o p e r a t e w i t h t h e S o c ie ty i n t h i s i n s t a n c e , by o ffe ring t o e s t a b l i s h a
A certain F e llo w and C o u n cillo r of our S o cicty and v e t e r i n a r y college in c o n n e c t i o n w i t h t h e p r o p o se d h o s p i t a l f o r t h e
m em ber ol' th e Bom bay B ranch is e n g a g e d in a n o b le p u r p o s e o f t r a i n i n g a n u m b e r of y o u n g m e n in v e t e r i n a r y sc ien ce.
w ork, w h ic h reflects honour upon us all. M r. K avasji A P a r s e e g e n t l e m a n , w e a r e f u r t h e r i n f o rm e d , h a s offered to c o n t r i ­
M. S h roff, a Parsi g e n tle m a n a m o n g th e m ost p u b lic- b u t e a l a r g e s u m f o r t h e pu rch ase , o f t h e g r o u n d a n d t h e e r e c t i o n
o f t h e n e c e s s a r y b u i l d i n g s f o r t h e h o s p i t a l .”— [B om bay Gazette.]
sp irited an d in t e llig e n t o f h i s in d e fa tig a b le ra ce, is k n o w n
in E n g la n d as a co lle a g u e and frien d of th e la te
p h ila n th ro p ic M iss M ary C a rp e n te r , a n d in A m e r ic a as a “ A n i n f l u e n t i a l m e e t i n g of n a t i v e c o t t o n m e r c h a n t s ■was h e l d
y e s t e r d a y a f t e r n o o n a t P e t i t H o u s e i n t h e F o r t , for t h e c o n s i d e r a t i o n
lectu rer upon F ire W o rsh ip . At B o m b a y h is n a m e h as
a n d a d o p t i o n o f m e a s u r e s f o r tl i e f u r t h e r a n c e of t h e e s t a b l i s h m e n t
b e e n lo n g id e n tified w ith m ovem ents of p u b lic im p o rt­ o f a h o s p i t a l f o r t h e m e d i c a l t r e a t m e n t o f t e m p o r a r i l y d i s a b le d
ance, am ong th em th at of P r ev en tio n of C r u e lty to a n i m a l s . The, h o s p i t a l is to be l o c a t e d so m e w h e r e n e a r C h i n e l i -
A n i m a l s , o f t h o lo c a l. S o c i c t y d e v o t e d t o w h i c h w o r k h e is p oo gly , w h e r e is s i t u a t e d a v a l u a b l e pa r c e l of l a n d w h i c h h a s b e e n
p r e s e n t e d b y a m u n i f i c e n t P a r s e e m i l l o w n e r of t h i s c i t y , M r .
Secretary. There have lo n g been such p r a isew o r th y
D i n s h a w M a n o c k j e e P e t i t , fo r t h e p u r p o s e s of t h e h o s p i t a l . I n
b o d ies in K uropc an d A m e r ica , b u t, c u r io u sly en ou gh , our a d d i t i o n t o t h i s , t h e s a m e g e n t l e m a n h a s p r o m i s e d t h e S o c i e t y for
Parsi c o llea g u e has d ev ised a new featu re in th eir t h e P r e v e n t i o n of C r u e l t y to A n i m a l s , by' w h o m t h e i n s t i t u t i o n w ill
a d m in istr a tio n novfcr yet th ou gh t of by th e m oro b e w o r k e d , f u n d s t o e r c c t s u i t a b l e h o s p i t a l a c c o m m o d a t i o n on t h e
a b o v e p ie c e of g r o u n d . M r . D i n s h a w M a n o c k j e e P e t i t , w h o w a s
exp erien ced W estern p h ila n th ro p ists, and w h ic h v a stly
u n a n im o u sly v o ted to th e chair, sugge sted the levy of a p o u n d of
en la r g e s th e sco p e o f th eir u sefu ln ess. T h e B o m b a y d a ily c o t t o n p e r e a c h c a n d y so ld as a m e a n s of p r o v i d i n g f u n d s f o r t h e
p ap ers h a v e n o tice d Iho s ch em e a p p ro v in g ly , a n d from th e m a i n t e n a n c e of t h e h o s p i t a l . M r , K . M. Shroff, h o n o r a r y s e c r e t a r y
Gazelle o f.J u ly 22, and Times of India o f N o v e m b e r 0, to t h e S. P . C. A . , ' a p p e a l e d to t h e s y m p a t h y of t h e a s s e m b l e d
g e n t l e m e n , a u d a d d u c e d a n u m b e r o f f a c ts a n d a r g u m e n t s t o p r o v e
w e c o p y in f u l l t.he e x t r a c t s w h i c h f o l l o w , i n t h e h o p e t h a t
t h a t s u c h a n i n s t i t u t i o n w a s a lo n g - f e l t d e s i d e r a t u m i n a l a r g e c i t y
th e y m a y in c ite h u m a n ita ria n s e ls e w h e r e to im ita to th is l i k e B o m b a y . M r . S h r o f f s r e m a r k s w e r e re c e iv e d b y t h e m e e t i n g
m o s t l a u d a b l e e x a m p l e :— w ith g r e a t ap p ro v a l, se v e ra l of th e m e m b e rs en d o rsin g a n d
“ W e a r e g l a d to h e a r t h a t t h e r e is g o o d p r o s p e c t of a h o s p i t a l s u p p o r t i n g t h e m s u b s e q u e n t l y . I t w as t h e n u n a n i m o u s l y r e s o l v e d ,
fo r a n im a ls being estab lish ed in B o m b a y a t a u e a r l y d a t e . T h e a f t e r a b r i e f c o n s u l t a t i o n , t h a t f u r t h e r c o n s i d e r a t i o n of t h e q u o s t i o n
S o ciety fo r t h e P r e v e n t i o n of C r u e l t y t o A n i m a l s h a s b e e n in e x i s t ­ be a d jo u rn e d u n til S u n d a y , th e 26th in s ta n t, to en ab le th e c o tto n
en ce i n t h i s c i t y f o r t h e Inst se v en y e a r s , a n d h a s u n d o u b t e d l y m e r c h a n t s , s o m e of w h o m w e r e u n a v o i d a b l y a b s e n t , t o a g r e e to th o
d o n e m u c h good w o r k . P u t th e p re v e n tiv e sy ste m a t p re se n t t e r m s p r o p o s e d . I n t h e m e a n t i m e , M r. S h ro f f w as r e q u e s t e d t o
fo llo w e d , M i'.'S hro U' h a s d i s c o v e r e d f ro m h i s e x p e r i e n c e a s S e c r e ­ p r i n t a n d c i r c u l a t e co p ies of t h e d r a f t d eed . A g e n e r a l w i s h w a s
t a r y of t h e S o ciety , is n o t w i t h o u t d r a w b a c k s . A s w o r k e d a t p r e s e n t , e x p r e s s e d t h a t m o r e H i n d u m e m b e r s m i g h t be i n t r o d u c e d on t o
t h e m e t h o d is b riefly t h is. T h r e e o r f o u r i n s p e c t o rs , o r a g e n t s , t h e m a n a g i n g c o m m i t t e e o f t h e S. P. 0 . A. t h a n h a s h i t h e r t o b e e n
e m p l o y e d liy t h e S o ciety, go a b o u t iu llie t o w n f r o m 7 t o 10 a .m . , t h e case. M r . S h r o f f r e p l i e d t o t h i s c o m p l a i n t b y s t a t i n g t h a t i t
a n d w h e n e v e r they' see a n y a n i m a l , h o r s e o r b u l l o c k , t h a t is u n f i t for w a s n o f a u l t o f t h e S o c i e t y t h a t m o r e H i n d u m e m b e r s w ero
w ork, t h e y h a n d o v e r t b e d r i v e r of t h e a n i m a l t o t h e n e a r e s t p o l i c e ­ n o t t o bo f o u n d o n t h e m a n a g i n g b o a r d ; in fact, it w a s t h e f a u l t of
m a n , w h o t a k e s t h e ofl'ender a u d t b e a n i m a l to e i t h e r of t b e t w o t h e p a r t i e s t h e m s e l v e s , w h o t o o k v e r y l i t t l e i n t e r e s t iu o t h e r w a y s
P re sid e n c y M a g istra te s’ C ourts. T h e an im a ls t h u s g a th e r e d t o ­ t h a n b y c o n t r i b u t i n g h a n d s o m e l y to t h e S o c ie ty ’s i n c o m e . M r.
n-other a r e m a d e to s t a n d in a r o w f o r t h e i n s p e c t i o n of t h e m a g i s ­ S h r o f f t o o k t b i s o p p o r t u n i t y of e u lo g izin g t h e e n e r g y a n d d e e p
t r a t e as lie. e n t e r s t h e C o u r t , f i n e s v a r y i n g f ro m t w o to t e n R u p e e s , i n t e r e s t d i s p l a y e d i n t h e S o c i e t y ’s cau se by su c h r e p r e s e n t a t i v e m e n
a c c o r d i n g to t h e i n t e n s i t y of t h e c r u e l t y , a r c inflicted , o n t h e p a y ­ as t h e l i o n . J u s t i c e B a y le y , M r . D i n s h a w M a n o c k j e e P e t i t , M r .
m e n t of w h i c h t b e o w n e r s a r o a l l o w e d t o t a k e a w a y t h e i r a n i m a l s . H e n r y C l e v e la n d , S i r F r a n k S o u t e r , &c. M r . S h r o f f r e m a r k e d t h a t
I n m o s t cases t h e c a r t m e n a r e p o o r peop le who, w i t h t h e i r f a m ilie s , t h e i n f u s i o n of a s i m i l a r a r d e n t s p i r i t b y h i s n a t i v e b r e t h r e n i n t o
s u b s i s t 0 1 1 w h a t t b e y e a r n b y p l y i n g t h e i r v eh icles. S u p p o s e a t h e ca u s e of t h e S o c i e t y w o u l d be h e a r t i l y w elcom ed , n o t o n l y b y
c a r t t n n n is lined b e c a u s e liis p a i r of b u llo c k s is u n f i t for w o rk . T h e h im se lf , b u t by h is fellow w o r k e r s . N o s e g a y s a n d r o s e w a t e r li a v i u
p a y m e n t of t h e fine sivoeps a w a v his w a g e s f o r a c o u p l e o f d a y s , a n d been d istrib u te d , th e m e e tin g se p a ra te d a fte r according th e usu a g
if h e r e f r a i n s f r o m p u t t i n g his ox en to b is c a r t u n t i l s u c h t i m e v o te of t h a n k s t o t h e C h a i r m a n . ” — [Tim es o f I n d i a ]
a.s t b e n e c e s s a r y re lie f is o b t a i n e d , t h e r e is s t a r v a t i o n s t a r i n g
U n le s s w c m ista k e, p o ste r ity w ill offer a m ore la stin g !
h i m s e l f , h is f a m i l y a n d h i s b u l l o c k s i u t b e face. H e conse­
q u e n t l y is u n m i n d f u l of t h e su f f e rin g s of h i s d u m b c o m p a n i o n s , a n d hom age to tlie nam es of M r. D in sh a w M an ock jee, M r.
a f t e r p a y i n g t h e line, [nits t h e m to w o r k a g a i n a t o n ce for t h e S h roff, a n d th eir co llea g u es th an “ nosegays and rose-
p u r p o .su 'o f g a i n i n g his livelih o od . T h e c.artin an o n c e fined, falls w a ter.” F o r a v e r y g r e a t b o d y o f p e o p le in th ese A sia tic
iu to th e clutches of the same, or other, a g e n t o v e r a n d o v er again. c o u n t r ie s h a v e in t h e ir n a t u r e s a n in b r e d t e n d e r c o m p a s s io n
I n s t a n c e s b a v e b e e n g l e a n e d f r o m t h e d i a r i e s of t h e a g e n t s s h o w i n g
for th e brute crea tio n ; and lo n g b efore th e London
t h a t t h e s a m e c a r t m a n h a s b e e n fined t h r e e o r f o u r t i m e s fo r t h e
sam e anim als b earing th e sa m e m a r k s of cru e lty . A c a r tm a n can n o t S. P. C. A . arose, th ere ex isted in a H in d u qu arter of
t a k e liis a n i m a l w h e n w a n t i n g c u r a t i v e t r e a t m e n t to a n y of t h e Bom bay, a refuge for a n im a ls ca lled " P in jr a p o l,” w h e r e
E u r o p e a n o r n a t i v e v e t e r i n a r y e s t a b l i s h m e n t s in t h e city , a s t h e e v e n th e flea s a n d b u g s are fed on th e b o d ies o f liv in g
v e r y h e a v y a d m i s s i o n fee fo rb i d s it. T h i s s t a t e o f a f fa ir s p u t s t h e
m e n w h o h ire t h e m s e lv e s out for th is cu rio u s serv ice at
p o o r peop lo iu a sa d p l i g h t . P r o p e r l y s p e a k i n g , t h e a c t i o n of t h e
S o c ie ty , w i t h o u t a f f o r d i n g t h e n e c e s s a ry m e a n s of a l l e v i a t i n g t h e so m u ch per n i g h t ! I t is a c o m m o n th in g for n H in d u
p a i n s a n d c r u e l t i e s inflicted on t h e a n i m a l s , be c o m e s a p o w e r f u l m erchant or sp e cu la to r to vow th at i f lie s u c c e e d s in a
i n s t r u m e n t f o r in f li c t i n g m i s e r y on poor, half-ch ul. h a l f - s t a r v i n g c e r ta in v e n t u r e h e w ill b u y so m a n y c a ttle , s h e e p or o th e r
c r e a t u r e s . M r. S h r o f f s u g g e s t s t h a t m e a s u r e s s h o u l d b e t a k e n t o
a n im a ls doom ed to th o sh am b les, and send th em to
c h a n g e t h e p l a n o f w ork, by e s t a b l i s h i n g u n d e r t h e a u s p i c e s o f t h e
S o c i e t y a largo h o s p i t a l t o w h ic h o w n e r s o f d i s e a s e d c a t t l e , i n s t e a d P i n j r a p o l to b e k e p t a t fe e d for t h e rest of th eir natural
of b e i n g s u b j e c t e d to fines, m a y be p e r s u a d e d t o t a k e t l i e i r a n i m a l s liv e s. B u t t h o u g h P in j r a p o l is r i c h l y endow ed, h a v in g a
f o r c u r a t i v e t r e a t m e n t . E f f o r t s h a v o b e e n m a d e t o r a ise t h e r e v e n u e of, w e b e l i e v e , m o r e t h a n a l a k h o f n q ^ e e s a n n u a l l y ,
necessary fu n d s by p u b l i c s u b s c r i p t i o n . A t a u i n f lu e n ti a l its in t e r n a l m a n a g e m e n t le a v e s m u c h to b e d e sire d . T h is,
m e e t i n g of g r a i n a n d se ed m e r c h a n t s h e l d a t t h e M a u d v i - b u n d e r
under th e in tellig en t su p e r v isio n of M r. S h ro ff, is m ost
i n A p r i l last., r e s o l u t i o n s w ere u n a n i m o u s l y c a r r ie d t o t h e effect
t h a t e a c h n a t i v e m e r c h a n t d e a l i n g in g r a i n a n d se ed s s h o u l d c o n ­ l ik e ly to b e a v o id e d in t h e p r o p o s e d A n im a l H o s p it a l, a n d
t r i b u t e to t h e f u n d s of t h e S o c i e t y tw o a n n a s f o r e v e r y 100 b a g s a s w e r e m a r k e d a b o v e , it is a c a u s e o f h o n o u r a b le p r k le to
im p o rted by h im in to B o m b a y . A n u m b e r of m u e c a d u m s co n n e c t­ every m em ber of our S o ciety th at so B u d d h a -lik e a
ed w i t h t h e local firm s h a v e a ls o a g r e e d lo a u t h o r i s e t h e S o c i e t y to
p r a c tic a l c h a r ity s h o u ld h a v e b e e n set afoot b y our Parsi
collect o n e a n n a on e v e r y UH) bags of g r a i n a n d se e d s e x p o r t e d .
I n p u r s u a n c e of t h i s a r r a n g e m e n t , a n ollice w as o p e n e d o n t h e co lle a g u e nnd broth er. W e hope th ese lin es m ay com o
1st of M a y last a t W a r e e - b u n d c r , for t h e c o l l e c t i o n of t h e fees. A l l under th e eye of M r. H enry B ergh, th e A m e r ica n
t h e m e r c h a n t s ’ m e n , w h e n t h e y go to t h e U . I . 1’, R a i l w a y g o o d s - zo o p h ile,
 R E L IG IO U S E D U C A T IO N IN IN D IA . c o n t r ib u t e d lo c a lly a n d for th is sp e c ia l object. T hey aro
n o m o r e S t a t e sch o o ls th a n m y horses are syces' horses
BY A. 0 . HUME, F.T.S.
b e c a u se T fu rn ish th e syces w ith th e fu n d s to p ro v id e th o
req u isite food and b e d d in g , and pay th em w ages for
O w in g to a v a r ie ty o f c ir cu m sta n c es w e ll-k n o w n to a ll
te n d in O
g and c le a n in O
g th o se horses.
in t e r e s t e d in t h e s u b je c t, t h e p r e s e n t is r e a lly a n d t r u ly a
A n d t h e t r u e a t t i t u d e o f o u r G o v e r n m e n t in regard to
p r e g n a n t p erio d , b i g w it h th e fu tu r e fa te o f e d u c a t io n in
In d ia . t h e s e s c h o o l s i s — “ w c d o n ’t teach C h ristia n ity iu th ese
s c h o o ls for s e v e r a l rea so n s. I n t h e first p la c e , m o s t o f us
T w en ty -six years ago, w hen, in U pper In d ia , little
d o n ’t c a r e m u c h a b o u t th is rath er o ld -fa sh io n ed a rticle.
c o m p a r a t iv e ly b a d b e e n d o n e in th e w a y of e d u c a tio n for
I n t h e s e c o n d p la c e , t h e n a t iv e s are a q u e e r lo t, a n d r e a lly
t h e m a s se s , I w a s a b le to fou n d several hundred v illa g e
th o u g h th ey do stan d a great d eal (an d up to a certa in
sch o o ls (such as la ter have been e sta b lish ed in every
p o in t are tru ly a p ea c e-a t-.m y -p ric e p eo p le) w e are by no
d is t r ic t ,) a n d t o o p e n a H i g h S c h o o l , w liic h in t h o s e days
afford ed a g o o d se c u la r m id d le -c la s s e d u c a tio n to b etw een
m e a n s sure th at th ey would stan d th is. And th ird ly ,
b e c a u s e o u r v ir tu o u s p ro fessio n s o f e n tir e im p a rtia lity in
th r e e h u n d r e d a n d fo u r h u n d r e d b o y s ; a n d still, I b e lie v e ,
r e l ig io u s m a t t e r s g r e a t l y s t r e n g t h e n o u r p o s it io n in m a t t e r s
b o ld s its o w n fa irly w ith sim ila r in stitu tio n s e sta b lish e d
la ter b y G o v e r n m e n t. F o r m a n y years, d esp ite th e d is­
o f far m o r e v ita l im p o r t a n c e . But w c h a v e g o t th e en tire
ed u c a tio n o f t h e c o u n try in to our hands by our v illa g e
t r a c tio n s o f t h e M u t in y , I d e v o t e d a ll in y e n e r g i e s to p o p u la r
sch o o ls ; w e h a v e sta m p e d o u t th e g r e a t b u lk o f in d ig e n ­
ed u ca tio n , a n d p ro b a b ly no one o u tsid e th e E d u ca tio n a l
o u s e d u c a t i o n , and i f we don’t teach Christianiti/, (it any
D ep artm en t, and not m any in sid e it, ever, d u rin g th e
c o u r se o f o n ly five or s ix y e a r s , b a d such a m p le opp ortu­
rate, we tale care that no other religion is taught.”*
n it ie s for o b s e r v in g th e p ra ctica l effects of our secu la r T h is p o sitio n I m a in ta in to b e a sh a m and a fraud . As
system o f e d u c a tio n , as m y self. reg a rd s sch o o ls a n d c o lle g e s m a in ta in e d o u t o f th e g en era l
A zealot, to c o m m e n c e w ith , in th e fa ith th a t know ­ reven u es, a verbal d efen ce o f t h e sy stem m ay be set up ;
le d g e is stren gth , and in ten se ly im p re sse d w ith th e b u t as regard s th e v illa g e or p rim a ry sch o o ls p a id for by
co n v ictio n th at m ental c u ltu re in all form s could be a lo ca l cess, w h e r e e v e r y v illa g e t h a t b e n e f it s from a sch o o l,
n o th in "
D b u t a n u n m i x e d b e n e f i t ,' I ©
u 'r e w f i r s t t o d o u b t t h i s e v e r y v illa g e in t h e c ir c le or nuh/ua pays for more th an
d ic tu m , a n d , la ter, g r a d u a lly c a m e to r e a liz e th a t, ia a t h e b e n e f i t s i t r e c e iv e s (a p o r tio n o f its p aym en ts b ein g ,
s t a t e of s o c i e t y s u c h a s t h a t f o r m e d b y th e m asses here, w it h q u e s t io n a b le p r o p r ie ty , a b s o r b e d for P r o v in cia l edu­
in tellec tu a l cu ltu re, u n less a c co m p a n ie d hand in hand c a tio n a l p u rp o ses), no d efen ce is p o ssib le, and th e o n ly
w ith m oral d e v e lo p m e n t, must u n a v o id a b ly , in th e lo n g ju stifica tio n is th at co n ta in ed iu th e o ld sa y in g — Vcc
run, p rove an u n m ix e d ev il. victis !
I s a w c le a r ly e n o u g h t h a t i n h e r e n t in h u m a n n a t u r e la y
What else is possible? Tn n in ety -n in e out of every
h u n d r e d p r im a r y sch o o ls, t h e g r ea t m a jo rity o f th o boys
th e tw o o p p o sin g p rin cip les— n o t o n ly th e p r in cip le of
e v il, of w h ic h s o m e c r e e d s m a k e s o m u c h in t h e i r d o c t r in o
o f o r ig in a l sin , b u t a lso t h e p r in c ip le o f g o o d , a n d th at in * If Mr. Humo lmd had the Mission Reports before him ho could hnve
m a n y cases th is la tter sp o n ta n eo u sly elf'ectcd a m oral scarcely caught tho spiritof their policy better thau in tho present expressions,
Dr. Christloib in his “ Eoreign Missions of Protestantism” [London, 1880]
d ev elo p m en t pari passu w ith th e m en ta l c u ltu re effected says that tho Government Schools in India “ by rooting out a mass of
b y our sec u la r ed u ca tio n . B u t I saw th at our system , so heathen projudico . . . must prepare the way for Christianity, i»ut it is
fa r 'fr o m f a v o u r in g or s m o o t h i n g t h e w a y for t h is , o p e r a te d
a circumstance in tho highest decree to be deplored that, by the influenco of
rationalistic teachers, a spirit decidedly Anti-Christian is now prevalent,
d is t in c t ly to im p e d e it ; a n d in 18GG, ten years after I and scepticism towards eccr// form o f positive nli<jion d u rctl// promoted. . . Aud
first t o o k u p S t a t e e d u c a t io n , and b efore 1 fin a lly d is­ if I judge rightly, the .short sighfedness of this system, which, by preserving
a certain neutrality in matters of religion, beek.s- -vainly, however—to keep
c o n n e c t e d m y s e l f from it, I p r o p o u n d e d in a t i m i d , h e s i t a t ­ things smooth, is calling forth in ever increasing numbers, voices of dissent
in g w a y , for 1 d id n o t th e n s e e th in g s so c le a r ly as I now in India and Emrland. For in its education policy the Government. is
im p a rtia l neither to Christianity nor to Hinduism, but, at the t.cpenxe. o f
do, th e d o ctrin e which I n o w d e s ir e to reassert. both, favours scepticism, which believes only in human science.” lie calls tlio
Goverumont’s policy “ a soe-saw system iu schools and churches,” and
I w a s w e ll s n u b b e d a t t h e t i m e for m y s u g g e s t io n s , and scolds Lord Lytton for having, when Viceroy, subscribed Ks. 500 to tho
su ch p e r h a p s w ill be th e o n ly ta n g ib le resu lt of th eir Golden 'Temple at Amritsar, ami Sir lliehard Temple for attending a Gan*
p iti festival at Bombay, Higher Education ho denounces: li W hat In d ia
reitera tio n , b u t I have passed beyond th e stage w here n*edn is not so much academies as C hristian elementary schools." Aud the'
a p p a r e n t fa ilu re d is c o u r a g e s ; I k n o w n o w t h a t th e rig h t it ilh-s aro hi*, not ours, though we might well havo italicised them to show
t r i u m p h s in t h e l o n g r u n , a n d t h a t , th erefo re, if I havo
tho Hindus whatsortof Missionary games aro being played behind the screens.
Dr. ('hristlcil* favours “ insisting that iu tho selection of teachers for tho J! igh
s e iz e d on a n y tru th , th a t a t a n y rate must liv e on, com o Schools, more attention be paid to th* possession of real Christian convic­
o f m e w lm t m a y ; w h ile , if I a m w ro n g , none can d esire tion, in order that scientific instruction may be givon ou at least a Christian
basis.” {Op. cit. pp. 179 to ]8‘i). Tho author cited is the learned and
a n ea rlier or deeper grave for my m isc o n c ep tio n s than famous Professor of Theology and University Preacher, in Bonn Univer­
m y se lf. sity. Turning to Ceylon we find tho same padrUtical “ neutrality” observed
by tho Government as regards religious education, M'he Kandy Convention
N ow th e d o ctrin e th a t I p ro p o u n d ed , and to w h ich I of 1815 under which Groat Britain tookover the supremo authority pre­
a g a in d e sir e to reca ll a tten tio n , was th at th e Standard viously enjoyed by tho Kandyan Kings, specially stipulated that tho
religion of Buddha should ho protected and preserved. But iu 1817,
G o v e r n m e n t P r o fessio n of R elig io u s im p a rtia lity , w here advantage was taken of an abortive insurrectionary one at* in which it was
S t a t e e d u c a t i o n g e n e r a l l y is c o n c e r n e d , i s a g i g a n t i c s h a m ; charged that ono or moro Buddhist priest* were compromised, to abolish
this clause of the Treaty, and a policy of ,£ neutrality” was taken up.
and w here v illa g e sch o o ls and p r im a ry ed u ca tio n are Tho result has been disastrous in one way to tho public moials, since tho
c o n c er n e d , a g ig a n t ic fraud to b o o t. sovereign power formerly exercised by the King of Kandy to disrobe or
unfrock derelict priests, has not been wielded by the British authorities, and
F o r t h e s e v illa g e s ch o o ls are in no sen se of th e w ord many priests, ospeeially iu tho up-country, havo fallen into disreputable
S ta te sch o o ls— b u t p e o p le s ’ sch o o ls. N ot o id y is th eir praotieos which react very injuriously upon tho public morals. In iho
Government Vernacular schools tho Chri.Mianisod school-books, specially
coat le v ie d fro m t h e p e o p le , from v illa g e to v illa g e , by a prepared by the Missionaries, to undermine ami.stamp out “ heathen
cess ad hoc, b u t, a lth o u g h of recent years th is cost is Buddhism,” aro used to this very day, although a Special Commission havo
been nominally at work during the past jijlrcn i/tars upon a new act of
le v ied by la w nolens i-olens, th is la w co u ld n e v e r h a v e c o m e non-reliyions school-books. This state of things is the very causo of
in to o p era tio n had not a certa in num ber of zea lo u s our Society’s educational labours in Ceylon. To mark still more
offensively tha sham neutrality iu religious matters, grants-in-aid of
C o llectors, m o r e th au tw e n ty -fiv e years ago, by ex tra ­ Buddhist schools established under the influence of our Society, for the
ord in a ry efforts, and as th e resu lt of th eir personal education of Buddhist children under the auspices of committees of their
own faith, lmve been refused in three instances the present year, because
in flu e n c e (in d a y s w h e n th is w as a real pow er) succeeded the;/ were w ith in three, m iles o f nnother [Missionary] G rw nt-tn-aol school!
in p e r s u a d in g th e p e o p le o f th eir d istr ic ts to pay volun­ Every influence—social, journalistic, and other, acems employed to hindor
tarily, a s a free g ift to a g o o d c a u s e , t h a t c e ss w h i c h m a n y
the resuscitation of Buddhism and forco Christianised school education upon
tho peoplo. But tho Padris’ Plot will not succeed : mark o m 1 words -it will
years la ter G o vern m en t, o w in g to th e precedent th u s Notsuccood. The Dutch authorities resorted tosevoroaud arbitrary measures
e sta b lish e d , fou n d its e lf s tr o n g e n o u g h to im p o se , u n iv er ­ to compel the Buddhists to renounce their faith ;—measures affecting the
legitimacy of thoir children, tho tenure of their property, and their right to
sa lly , a s a compulsory cess. testify. Thoy filled the Island with hypocrites, that is all. When the Eng­
S o all t h e s e v illa g e sc h o o ls a re p u rely p e o p le s’ sch o o ls, lish succeeded tho Dutch, tho sham structure of Ollieial Christianity crumbled
to dust. The MissionarioB aro now trying to oll'eet by secret eunuim; what
every fa r th in g o f th eir co st b e in g d e fr a y e d from th e fu n d s the Dutch failpi.l to get by opon force. They will not succeed.—Kl>. Tillios,
 are e ith e r H in d u s or M a h o m ed a n s. In H in d u p erg u n n a lis, th e ir cla im , t h e fla tte s t p o ssib le refusal n e c e ssa r ily a w a its
t a p p a h s , & c., t h e r e m a y b e 2 o r 3 p e r c e n t , o f t h e sch o la rs th em . I f six m illio n s ask , th e y are p u t o ff w ith p ro m ises
w h o are M a h o m e ta n s and vice versa. T h e r a r e s t t i l i n g is o f co n sid erin g th e q u estio n ; b u t if six ty m illio n s scream
a v i l l a g e s c h o o l in w liic h t h e r e is a n y t h i n g l i k e a n a p p r o a c h a n d s h o u t a n d s w e a r t h e y w ill h a v e it, th ey get it, and
t o a n e q u a li t y in num bers in th e ch ild re n r ep re sen tin g t h e r e ’s an end of it. Good g overn m en ts lik e th a t of
t h e t w o fa ith s. G reat B rita in are always on the side of large majorities.
I n th e H in d u sch o o ls th e boys sh o u ld be reg u la rly N ow e v e r sin c e th is E d u c a tio n C o m m issio n c o m m e n c e d
t a u g h t t e x t s o u t o f t h e S h a s t r a s , a n d in th e M ahom edan its sittin g s, I have been r eceiv in g le tte r s in q u ir in g
sch o o ls te x ts out of th e K oran and its c o m m e n ta rie s, w h eth er n o th in g can be done tow ard s b le n d in g som e
i n c u l c a t i n g p u r it y o f life, a t r u e e s t i m a t i o n of th e th in g s m o r a l a n d s p ir it u a l e l e m e n t in th e ed u ca tio n , w h ic h , by
o f t h is w o r ld , a n d a n e a r n e s t a s p ir a t io n for t h o s e o f a b e t t e r r ea so n o f t h e S t a t e s u p p o r ts it r e c e iv e s, is c ru sh in g out,
life. In e ith e r case th e tw o or th r e e ch ild ren d ifferin g in for t h e m a s s e s a t a n y ra te , a ll oth er ed u ca tio n . T h is is
c reed from th e b u lk o f th e ir sclio o l-fello w s sh o u ld , u n less m y r e p l y :— I t r e s t s e n tirely w ith th e p eo p le to d ec id e
t h o ir p a r e n t s s p e c ia l ly so d e s ir e it, be exem pt from th is w h a t s h a ll a n d sh a ll n o t be. If a su fficien t num ber of
p a rticu la r b ran ch o f tu itio n . I n th e rare cases in w h ic h t h e m a re s u ffic ie n tly in e a r n e s t, a n d speak up su fficien tly
b o th c r e e d s a re fa irly r e p r e s e n te d , e th ic s s h o u ld b e t a u g h t stro n g ly and lo u d ly a b o u t th e m atter, beforo th is H ig h
to b o th s e ts o f ch ild re n b y professors o f th e ir own fa ith s C o m m iss io n sh a ll
from te x t s d r a w n from tlie ir r e s p e c tiv e sacred w r itin g s. “ Close i t s b r i g h t eye a n d cu rb i t s high career,”—
T h e r e is a b s o l u t e l y n o p r a c t i c a l d ifficu lty in v o lv ed , so th e n th a t d isg r a ce to us, th a t curse to th e country, a
far as th e p e o p le th em se lv e s are concerned. T here arc s o u l l e s s m a t e r i a l i s t i c e d u c a t i o n , m a y b e r e p l a c e d b y w h a t is
d ozen s o f lea rn ed an d g o o d H in d u s an d M a h o m e d a n s who a lik e a g lo r y an d a b le s s in g — a n e d u c a tio n in w h ic h m in d
co u ld a n d w o u ld p repare g ra tu ito u sly th e n ecessary te x t ­ and soul are d ev elo p ed pari 2>assu.
book s; b o o k s to w h o s e m o r a lity n o C h r is tia n co u ld tak e I t is a m e r e c a se o f .a sk in g a n d h a v in g , k n o c k i n g a n d its
1 • • « ®
e x c e p t io n , a n d to w h o s e te a c h in g s no H in d u or M aho­ b e i n g o p o u e d ,—-provided t h a t a s u f f i c i e n t n u m b e r a s k a n d
m etan (though p o ssib ly h o ld in g th em incomplete as t h a t t lie k n o c k i n g is r e a l ly lo u d .
a v o id in g secta ria n d o g m a s) w o u ld object.
B u t h ith e rto ou r G o v e r n m e n t, d e sp ite th e lib era lity aud E d i t o r ' s N o t e . — T h e v a riou s I n d i a n b r a n c h e s h a v e often
b r o a d -m in d e d n e ss o f m a n y o f its in d iv id u a l m em bers, has d e m a n d e d that, som e a c t i v e w o rk shall be a s s i g n e d t h e m by t h e
a lw a y s c o lle c tiv e ly b o o n to o b ig o ted , or too m uch a fra id P a r e n t S o c i e t y : let t h e m see h e re one fluid w id e e n o u g h to
o f E x e t e r H a ll, to a c t h o n e s tly in th is m a tte r . A c o n sid er­
o c c u p y all t h e i r t im e a n d ta le n ts . T l i e i r first w o r k s h o u ld bo
to h ead n m o v e m e n t in t h e i r r e s p e c t iv e d i s t r ic t s for t h e spread,
a b l e p o r tio n h u g t h e m s e l v e s in t h e b e l i e f t h a t o u r p r e s e n t
a m o n g th e i r o w n people, o f religio us e d u ca tio n o f t h e i r ow n k in d .
system is a t a n y r a t e d e s t r u c t i v e , a n d is t h u s p a v in g th o
I n t h is noble u n d e r t a k i n g tho s e r v ic e s o f tlie ir m o s t lea rned
w a y for C h r is t ia n it y (an absurd d e lu sio n to w h ic h th e
p a n d i t s s h o u ld l>e e n li s t e d to c o -o p e ra te w ith su c h A n g l o - I n d i a n
p ra ctica l r e s u lts sh o u ld h a v e lo n g s in ce o p e n e d th e ir eyes), frien d s o f I n d i a as M r. I [n in e ami o t h e r s w h o h a v e t h e m o r a l
w h ile th e rem a in d er s im p ly h a v e n ot th e co u ra g e to face w e l f a re o f th e p e ople a t h e a r t . What, o u r P r e s i d e n t lins se t tho
t h e o u tc r ie s of b i g o t s a b o u t “ p r o p a g a t in g fa lse r elig io n s,” m e m b e rs o f t h e C o lo m b o a n d G a l le b r a n c h e s to d oing, o u g h t to
" d e n y in g th e ir L o r d ,” a n t all th e s im ila r p h r a se s, of w h ic h b e ta k e n iu h a n d by all o u r I n d ia n b ra n c h e s ; a n d i f t h e y will
a ll c h u r c h e s e v e r k e e p a largo a ssortm en t, on hand, a lik e a d d to th is a th o r o u g h p r o m o ti o n o f the, st udy o f m e s m e r i s m and
fo r retail a n d w h o le s a le d e a lin g s . o t h e r e l e m e n t a r y b r a n c h e s o f p sy c h ic science, g r e a t i n te r e s t would
I f it. b o s a i d n o w , a s i t o n c e b e f o r e w as, " M r . — ■— d e l i ­
bo a w a k e n e d iu the c o n t e n t s o f tlieir r e s p e c tiv e sa c re d books.
I u c o n n ec tio n wil.h M r. H u m e ’s p a p e r we g l a d l y g i v e plac e to
b era tely proposes th a t w e sh o u ld aban d on th e p o sitio n of
a M i n u t e a d d re ss e d to Dr. H u n t e r ’s E d u c a t i o n C om m issio n,
relig io n s n e u tr a lity a s su m e d by th e w isd o m of our pre­
w h ile fit M a d r a s , by o u r e s te e m e d b r o t h e r a u d c o lle ag ue , Mr. P .
decessors, an d heretofore c o n sisten tly m a in ta in e d by our­
S r c e n e v a s r o w , J u d g e o f t.he Sm all C a u se C o u r t , a n d a V i c e ­
selv es, an d (r e p r ese n ta tiv es of a Christian G overn m en t, P r e s i d e n t o f tho M a d r a s T h eo s o p h ic al S o c ie ty ; a c o p y o f w hic h
p r a y i n g w e e k l y in o u r c h u r c h e s t h a t a ll m e n m a y be led h e has k i n d ly se n t us. I t is g r a t i f y i n g to n o te t h e a g r e e m e n t
to th e True Faith) sh o u ld o p e n ly tea ch in our sch o o ls b e tw e e n t h e s e tw o e m i n e n t T h e o s o p h is ts as r e g a r d s th e m oral
t h o s e fa lse r e lig io n s to w h ic h t h is u n h a p p y country ow es au d re lig io n s t r a i n i n g o f N n tiv o y o u t h :—
its d eep d e g ra d a tio n .” I f th is, o r w o r d s lo th is e ffect., be
O l ’. S E I i V A T l O N S OP P. S Ji EK NE V. V S liOW , OP M A O I tA S , ON TIIE
now urged, I r ep ly — (I) th a t th e p o sitio n of G overn­
m e n t, so far fro m b e i n g in ed u ca tio n a l m atters, one of EX ISTIN G SVSTE.M OP E D I , C A T I O N - IN THU U0V1CUNMENT

strict n eu tra lity , is one of u n b en d in g and u n v a ry in g , SC1IOOI.S.

th o u g h v e ile d , o p p o sitio n to a ll I n d i a ’s n a tio n a l fa ith s ;
T he course of instru ction adopte d in th e G o v e rn m e n t schools has
( 2 ) t h a t t h e p r i m a r y s c h o o ls , all o v e r t h e E m p ir e , are iu
reference principally to tlie Intellec tua l liranch, a n d leaves little or
n o s e n se S t a t e sch o o ls, b u t e s s e n tia lly th e p e o p le s ’ sc h o o ls;
no sco|ie for th e re m a in in g t h r e e b r a n d i e s of Education, namely,
( 3 ) t h a t t h e r e is n o s u c h t h i n g a s a fa ls e o r a t r u e r e lig io n ,
Physical, Moral and Religious. I beg to notice some of the evil
en masse, relig io n b e in g a th in g e n tir e ly b etw een an
tend encies of t h is system , a n d to submit, proposals which in my
in d iv id u a l soul and th e iJivinc, a n d b e in g tru e or fa lse in
h u m b le opinion are calculated to remove th e m to a g re a t extent.
e v e r y in d iv id u a l case p r e cise ly to t h e exten t and in th e
d e g r e e to w h ich th e fo rm er h a r m o n iz e s or d isc o rd s w ith /Is to P h y s ic a l Education.
t h e la tt e r ; an d (4) th a t, as r eg a r d s d e g r a d a tio n , in every N o lim it being assigned to the age of the c an d id ate s a p p e a r in g
tru e sen se of th e word, fu lly as m uch d e g ra d a tio n is for the several exam inatio ns, every little boy aspires, na tu ra lly
enough, to passing them, a t th e first available op portunity, with the
to b e m e t w it h a m o n g s t t h e p o p u la t io n s o f (say) W o r c e s t e r ­
view of reachin g th e final goal, tlie 1!. A e xam ination, as rapid ly as
sh ire a n d L a n ca sh ire as a m o n g st th o se o f th e M eerut and tho R u les will a dm it. T his desire of going thro ugh various ex­
C a w n p o r e d istricts. a m ina tions in ra pid .succession is enhanced hy the restriction i m ­
B u t w h a t is t o b e d o n e ? S im p ly in sist u p o n e x p lo d in g
posed by th e G o v e rn m e n t a g ain st the admission of persons of
more t h a n tw enty-live years of age into the public service, Coven­
th is v en era b le sh a m . W it h a ll its fa u lts our G o v e r n m e n t a n te d or U ncovenauted. Hence all physical comforts are disre gard ­
h a s s o m e m e r its , o r it w o u ld not be here, and am ongst ed to an u n d u e e x t e n t ; a g y m nasium (if th ere bo one available) is
t h e s e (lik e th e u n ju s t j u d g e o f th e N ew T estam en t who, never th o u g h t of ; and the whole t.iine a n d energy of the stu d e n t
th o u g h a v e rse to b o th e r h im se lf, y e t, w h e n g r e a t ly im p o r­ aro devoted to th e s t u d y of the books prescribed fo r th e e x am in a ­
tion. T he re su lt is t h a t when a boy arrives a t the end of his
t u n e d b y t h e p o o r w id o w , d id a t la s t as a le ss e r e v il o f t h e
school-studies, he discovers himself in a weak and em aciated condi­
tw o , a rise a n d d o her ju stice) our G overnm ent has th e tion, incapable of e it h e r bodily o r mental exertion. I t would be
m e r it o f a lw a y s y ie ld in g to a ju s t d e m a n d , if only it be a g r e a t boon if a g y m n a s iu m could be attached to each school ; b u t
su fficien tly lo n g a n d lo u d ly u rg ed ! tin s is im possible on vario us grounds. T h e abolition of the
O r d e r of G o v e r n m e n t aforesaid, and the im position of a condition
I t is a m e r e q u e s t i o n o f p e r t i n a c i t y a n d v e h e m e n c e . If t h a t no boy shall a p p e a r for a n y exam ination u n til a fte r lie is If?
s ix p e o p le ask m ild ly , n o m atter for w h at, or how ju st ye ars of age, am] for the 1!. A, e x am in atio n u n til after he is 2 |,
will I t h i n k t e n d to remove t h is evil. I t is a m a t t e r for considera­
tion w h e t h e r such restrictions as to age would not aflect pre judicia l­
ly those poor classes of students, who m ay he n a tu r a ll y anx iou s to
pass an exam inatio n as early as possible, in ord e r to secure some
em p lo y m en t for their livelihood. B u t I s u b m i t th e pre servation of
h e a lth is necessary no t only fo r t h e rich, b u t for the poor also,
I n d e e d I a m inclined to th in k that it is the poor, r a t h e r t h a n the
rich, who suffer by such a h u rr i e d course of stu dy, for th is simple
reason t h a t th e form er can not c o m m a n d the nourishment, which is
w ith in th e reach of the latter.
A s to I n t e l l e c t u a l E d u c a tio n .
T h e In te lle c ts 'll education im p a rted in t h e G o v e r n m e n t school
is a l)ou t all t h a t can be desired. I t is th is which absorbs th e
whole tim e a n d a tt e n ti o n of th e m a s te r and th e pup ils ; and if in
a n y re sp ec t it need s improvement., it will no d o u b t be effected by
th e Commission. B u t I may a d d t h a t the lim ita tio n s of the age of
th e can d id ate s appearing for exam inations as above suggested will
have t h e additional advantage of g ivin g th e m m ore tim e a n d energy
for th e developm ent of t h e i r intellectual p ow ers a n d capacities.
T h e g reat influence w hich physical h e a lth is capablo of exercising
over m e n ’s m in d s can h a rd ly be ex ag gerated.
As to Moral aud Religions Education.
T h e G o v e r n m e n t having, in t h e L egislative a n d E xec utiv e
D e p a r tm e n ts, declared t h e i r rig h t to d irec t a n d control public
in stru ctio n, a n d accepted th e obligation of i m p a r t in g e du ca­
tion to t h e i r subjects, one g r e a t problem is solved ; a n d th e only
questio n is, how b est th is recognized d u t y is to be perfo rm ed. I t is,
in m y h u m b le opinion, a g re a t m istake to suppose t h a t t h is most
i m p o r t a n t obligation is completely discharged by th e S ta te pro ­
v iding a n agency, h ow e v er perfect a n d stron g, for t h e e n lig h te n ­
m e n t a n d in stru ctio n of th e Intellect alone.. M a n k in d has of late
been bowing the k nee a little too m u c h before Intellect, more
especially successful Intellec t. B u t we shou ld n o t lose sig h t of tlie
fa ct t h a t “ In tellec t is n ot a power, b u t an i n s t r u m e n t .” as M r.
H e r b e r t Spe nc er says, Intellect, I w ould add, i.s t h e h a nd m a id of
M o ra lity ; b y itself it serves no appreciable purpose a n d no d e sir­
able end ; b u t is capable of producing im m e nse good when allied to
a n d controlled by Moral faculties. For, M orality concerns m a n ­
k in d in all t h e i r relatio ns with each other, a n d it is a link which
connects t h e R u l e r with th e ruled. Indeed, I hold t h a t tho S ta te
is a necessary condition of m an's moral n a tu r e ; for rig h ts aro
re quisite to t h e existence of m e n ’s du tie s a n d virtue s, aud G o v e rn ­
m e n t is necessary for the existence of those rights- So t h a t th e S ta te
can h a rd ly be deem ed to have done its d u t y completely, unless it i n ­
cludes a sy ste m atic teaching of M o ra lity in th e educational -studies.
B u t M orality alone does no t suffice for life. D isu n ited w ith
Religion, M o r a lity inay f°r a tim e subsist, as flowers re ta in th e ir
scent a n d colour even after th e y have been plucked ; b u t a tim e will
sooner o r l a t e r come when th is will fail. T h e m ost complete m oral
cu lture of ind iv id u a ls is t h a t which is connected w ith t h e i r religious
culture. Religion h a s iu all ages a n d n atio ns been an i n m o r t a n t
e lem ent in the fo rm atio n of m a n ’s moral character ; a n d Religion
ou g h t to be t h e basis upo n which all national I n s t i t u t i o n s rest.
T h e S ta te recognises t h is g re at fact ; a n d th o sacred T itle bo rne
by H e r M ajesty th e Queen-E m press is, “ T h e D e fen d e r of F a i t h . ”
A n d yet we see t h a t M orality and Religion are excluded from the
curriculum of th e stu d ie s observed iu t h e G o v e rn m e n t schools ; and
t h is we a re led to believe is th e result of th e religious n e u tr a li t y of
Governm ent. Owing to this policy, i t is said, t h e Government, is
p u t to th e necessity of se p a ra tin g t.he In tellec tu a l elem ents of e d u ­
cation from its Moral a n d Religious p ortions ; a n d to prom ote t h e
fo rm er u n d e r t h e i r direct m anagem ent, leaving th e l a t t e r u tte rly
un c are d f o r .
B u t T beg leave to sta te t h a t such separa tion is impossible ; a n d
t h a t it has never been successfully effected. E v e n m a t t e r s which
m ay be regarded as h a v in g an in te res t for inte lle ct only, inevitably
lead us to h ig her education, which h a s a religious interest. T h e
s t u d y of th e Material world leads to q u e stio n s re spec tin g th e
way in which it was created a n d governed ; and t h e s t u d y of
h u m a n history leads to questions re sp ec tin g th e P ro vide n tia l h istory
of t h e W orld . T h e g re a t w rite rs on h is to ry a u d philosophy
have been obliged to touch u pon m a t t e r s w h ic h vita lly affect
Religion. Professor Bain, while professing to give to t h e world
a moral science founded 011 principles irrespective of Religion,
feels th e necessity of giving a long s u m m a r y of t h e T heories of
th e Material world, held by Berkeley, I ln m e , Reid, S tu a r t,
H a m ilto n , J . S. Milt and others, a n d an equally long re sum e of
th e views of P la to , Aristotle, Descartes, A rn a u ld , K a n t a n d a host
of others, as to t h e origin of K now le dge, E x p erien c e a n d I n t u i ­
tion ;—su bjects which affect t h e Deity, m a t t e r a ud spirit, a n d
which the learned A u t h o r e x h o rts u s to lay aside iu disc ussing
m a t t e r s connected w ith M ental and M o ra l Science ! I t is t h u s
clear t h a t it is n o t possible to se para te e duca tion into tw o parts,
religious a nd secular, as t h e y are popu larly un derstoo d ; a nd to
teach th e l a tte r portion in d ep e n d en t of the form er. T h e religious
portion m u st of necessity be re ferred to, even if it be fo r no
o th e r purpose t h a n t h a t of r e fu tin g religion. T h is is exactly
w hat lias been done by th e n um erous w r ite r s 011 philosophy a u d
o th e r subjects. Many of the books used iu t h e schools are
pe rvade d hy a tone which to say th e least is n ot favourable to
th e cause of Religion ; a n d th e in ev itab le result is t h a t t h e boys
who are m ade to s t u d y such works, have le a r n t to disregard
Religion ; b re ak u p t h e trad itio n a l beliefs ; and declare t h a t
Religion has been explo ded b y science, and t h a t m o rality should
bo founded 011 a theistic principles! T he ultim ate consequences of
such Godless ed ucatio n c a n n o t b u t be mischievous to the c o u n try
an d to the State. I am n o t one of those who condem n freedom
of th o u g h t even in religious m a t t e r s ; but. w h a t I d e p rec ate is
th e syste m b y which the I n d ia n you th grows sceptical over
religious subjects, n o t afte r a due and im partia l in vestigation,
b u t sim p ly by his coining into contact incidentally with passages
which a re irreligious in th e ir ten den cy . T h e result could not
have been otherw ise, seeing t h a t the s t u d e n t is denied t h e a d ­
vantage of religious instru ctio n on the one h a n d , a n d is com ­
pelled to read aud d igest works which h a v e ail a the istic ring
a bou t th e m 011 th e other.
Surely, a sy stem w hich encourages such a s t a te of th in g s m u st
needs be rectified. I t may be said t h a t t h e re m e d y is in the
h a n d s of tho people them selves, who m ay i m p a r t to th e i r youth
such religious in stru ctio n as t h e y m ay consider to be essential.
B u t th is is not q u ite possible.
I n these d ays, t h e children a rc se n t to school as soon as they
are ablo to talk, a n d m ove a b o u t freely ; and they spen d a n u m ­
be r of years in school, until in fact t h e y are passed out as full
blown P>. A . ’s o r some such tiling. W h a t e v e r items of knowledge
t h e y pick u p ; w h a t e v e r ideas th e y form ; a n d w h a t e v e r associa­
tio n s th e y contract, are all done in the' school, a n d n o thing outside.
T h e i r whole time a n d a tte n tio n being devoted to school books, th ey
fall very little u n d e r w h a t is called t h e home influence : and th e ir
pa ren ts and g u a rd ia n s feel n a tu ra lly disinclined to d is tu r b
progress of a sta te of tilings which th e y them selves have b r oug ht
about. T h e un fa v o u ra b le impressions which th e children receive
in th e school for a series of years a t th e early p a r t of t h e i r a"-e,
si t rleep in t h e i r he a rts, and e x ert a v e ry dem oralizin g inflllt!|lce
upon th e m in after-life, to the prejudice of them selves, am) 0f
those who come in tlieir way.
Will G o v e r n m e n t tole rate such sta te of thin gs ! Will it still
pe rsist in a policy, which excludes Religion from th e State education,
b u t encourages s o m e th in g which is anti-religious, th o u g h in the
m ost ind ire ct m a n n e r i C a n all th is be tho re su lt of th e policy of
religious n e u tr a li t y 1
Im p o ssib le! T h e policy of th e S tate in th e m a t t e r of Religion in
I n d i a is m ost b e autifully enunciated in the Proclam ation issued to
th e people when the Queen assum ed th e direc t g o v e rnm e nt of this
country,* I l e r M ajesty was graciously pleased to declare : —
“ F i r m ly relyin g Ourselves 011 the t r u t h of O hiristia nity , and
acknowledging w ith g r a ti t u d e t h e solace of Religion, We disclaim
alike t h e ri g h t a u d d e sire to impose o u r convictions on a n y of
our subjects. W c declare it to be O u r Royal will a n d pleasure t h a t
none be in anywise favou red, none molested or disquieted, b y reason
of th e ir religious faith or observances ; b u t t h a t all shall alike enjoy
th e equal a n d im p a r tia l p ro tec tio n of the L a w ; a n d W e distinctly
charge a n d enjoin upon all those who m ay be in a u th o r i t y u n d e r U s
t h a t th e y a b stain from all interference with th e religious belief or
w orship of a n y of O u r su b je cts 011 pain of O u r hig hest displeasure.”
T h is is th e t r u e in te r p r e t a ti o n of th e n e u tra l Religious policy of
G o v e rn m en t. As religious cu lture consists in w h a t passes in m e n ’s
own souls, t h is policy m e a n s a n d directs t h a t th e S ta te shall not
assum e a n e m pire over m e n ’s consciences, and t h a t m en should be
left free from c o n s t r a i n t on t h e p a r t of th e S ta te as to th e prosecu­
tion of t h e i r religious culture. B u t when we see t h a t both the
Sovereign a n d t h e su b je cts (or to speak more strictly an ove rw helm ­
ing m a jo r ity of t h e subjects) a re those who reeogui.se the solace of
Religion, t h e r e seems to be n o th in g in the policy of religious n e u tr a ­
lity which would p re v e n t G o v e rn m e n t from pro viding a competent
m a c h in e ry for i m p a r t in g religious instruction, a n d leave it open to
th e people to avail th em se lv es of th e same as b e st t h e y choose.
Indeed, it seems to m e t h a t it is th e d u t y of G o v e r n m e n t to m ake
such provision for th e benefit of its subjects.
H e r e th e question arises as to th e p a rtic u la r Religion for the tea ch­
ing of which the G o v e r n m e n t sh ould provide au agency, considering
t h a t t h e r e are so m any different forms in which Religion is practised
b y m a n k in d .
I propose to solve th is question in the sa m e way iu which th e
questio n of tea ch in g n u m ero u s o t h e r branches of k nowledge is solved.
As th ere a rc variations iu th e several prevailing doctrines of
Religion, so th e r e are differences in th e theories of sciences also.
A s for instance, in Psychology t h e r e is a g re at div ers ity of opinion
a m o n g th e philosophers as to t h e very s t a n d a r d of m orality . Tho
Se n tim e n ta l theory, th e Intellectual th eo ry , th e Sovereign A u thority,
th e Self-interest, Utility, a n d several o t h e r sy s te m s a re deliberately
p u t forward by th e i r respectiv e a d h ere n ts . I n Physical science,
th ere are sim ilar v ariations of views on t h e m ost i m p o r t a n t subjects.
A s to Light, we h a v e th e E m a n atio n thoory, t h e U n d u la to r y
th eory, a n d th e Diffusion theory, all differing from one ano ther.
T h e Germ th eo ry, including protoplasm , r a d ia n t m atter, aud
sp o n ta n eo u s gen eratio n, is still unsettled. T h e forms in which
the Evolu tion t h e o ry is pre sente d to th e world are too n um erou s
to be counte d on ou r fingers. A G e rm an philosopher is said to
be b u sy in try in g t o u p s e t th e views of a host of o th e r Scientists
b y show ing t h a t t h e E a r t h is sta tio n a ry ; while a philosopher in
E n g la n d is p re p arin g a denial of the law s of gravitation, a t t r i b u t ­
ing m otion to a species of M aguctisui. M i. Crookes, th e e m inen t
 E n g l i s h physicist., h a v i n g , in t h e c o u rse o f h is s t u d y of t h e m en t, th e n th e only o th e r a lte rn a tiv e w hich th e y m ig h t adopt
p h e n o m e n a of s p i r i t u a l i s m , b een led to m a k e n u m e r o u s i m p o r t ­ w o u l d b e t o w i t h d r a w f ro m t h e p o s i t i o n of b e i n g a d i r e c t
a n t d isc o v e rie s in t h e a r e n a o f N a t u r e , is n o w e n g a g e d in e x h i b i t ­ e d u c a t o r , a n d l e a v e t h e field to i n d e p e n d e n t b o d i e s , w h o w o u ld
i n g e x p e r i m e n t s u p o n a p e c u lia r s t a t e o f M a t t e r , w h i c h h e calls b e fre e t o t e a c h R e li g i o n a n d M o r a l i t y f o u n d e d 0 1 1 R e li g i o n ;
r a d i a n t m a t t e r , a lia s t h e f o u r t h c o n d i t i o n o f m a t t e r ; t h e t h e o r y of b u t t h i s c o u r s e w o u l d t h r o w t h e w h o le r e s p o n s i b i l i t y of i m p a r t i n g
w h i c h P ro f e s s o r ZiiMlncr p r o p o u n d s v e r y f u l l y iu h i s w o r k on e d u c a t i o n u p o n t h e peop le, w h o a r e n o t y e t prepared to im dor-
Triinaci'nJi'.ntal Physics, a n d p r o v e s t h a t M<Utcr cun puss through t a k e it. I t is t h e r e f o r e e a r n e s t l y h o p e d t h a t t h e G o v e r n m e n t
m a t t e r ; t h u s affe cting t h e c o r n e r s t o n e o f t h e h i t h e r t o p r e v a i l i n g
will t h e m s e l v e s t a k e s o m e a c t i v e m e a s u r e s o n t h e s u b j e c t p r o p o s e d ,
s y s t e m of cosm ic p h ilo so p h y . a s i t is c l e a r t h a t t h o p r e s e n t s y s t e m of i g n o r i n g th o se m o s t
I f t h e ex i s te n c e of so m a n y a n d so v a r i e d t h e o r i e s in a l m o s t all i m p o r t a n t b r a n c h e s of e d u c a t i o n is f r a u g h t w i t h d a n g e r t o t h e
i m p o r t a n t s u b j e c t s c o n n e c t e d w i t h t h e p h y s i c a l s c i e n c e is n o t c o n ­ social f a b r i c ; a n d 1 1 0 w e l l - w i s h e r o f h is c o u n t r y , w h o se es t h o
s i d e r e d to be a s u l l i c i e n t g r o u n d f o r t h e e x c l u s i o n of sc i e n c e f r o m i n c r e a s i n g g r o w t h of s c e p t i c i s m a n d a t h e i s m , a u d t h e c o n s e q u e n t
t h e c o u r s e of p u b l i c i n s t r u c t i o n ; a u d if t h e ( i o v e r n m e n t f o u n d i t lo o se n in g o f Lhe s a c r e d b o n d s of M o r a l i t y , can fail to w i s h t h a t
c o n v e n i e n t t o e s t a b l i s h c h a i r s of P r o f e s s o r s h i p s f o r t e a c h i n g th o so m o r e m e d y m a y b e s p e e d i l y p r o v i d e d .
s a m e , — w h y , I b e g l e a v e t o ask, s h o u l d M o r a l i t y a n d R eligion be
e x c l u d e d f ro m t h e e d u c a t i o n a l s t u d i e s , a u d w h y s h o u l d a n y (C o p y )
d i l l i c u l t y b e a n t i c i p a t e d in t h e a p p o i n t m e n t of P r o f e s s o r s of R e li g i o n (Signed; r . S R E E N E V A S RO W .
on t h e sc orn of ils p r e s e n t i n g d if fe r e n t d o c t r i n e s a n d s e c t s in a s i m i l a r M a d r a s , 10th O c t o b e r 1882.
w a v ? T h e P r o f e s s o r s of Religion c a n well affo rd to d o w h a t t h e P r o ­
f e s s o r o f P h y s i c a l s c i e n c e is now d o i n g ; n a m e l y , — h e t a k e s u p s o m e
T e x t - b o o k on a n y g i v e n s u b j e c t ; a n d i n s t r u c t s h is p u p i l s t h e r e i n ,
e x p lain in g the different theories a n d views a t p r o p e r places.
T H E M A G IC AL E V O C A T IO N OF A P O L L O N I U S
W h a t is t h e r e to p r e v e n t a P ro f e s s o r o f R e li g i o n f r o m a d o p t i n g
s u c h cou rse ? I t i.s n o t r e q u i r e d t h a t m a t t e r s of r i t u a l s a n d OF TYA N A .
c e r e m o n ia ls, o r o t h e r m i n o r d e t a i l s s h o u l d bo t a u g h t i n t h e
school : a n d i f t h e s e a r e e x c l u d e d , as of n e c e s s i t y t h e y must, A CHAPTER TRANSLATED BY Till? EDITOR, FROM ELIPHAS LEVI.*
b e, t h e c o u rse of p u b l i c i n s t r u c t i o n on t h e s u b j e c t of R e li g i o n
W e h a v e a lr e a d y sa id th at in tlie A stral L ig h t, th e
w o u ld be co n fined t o t h o s e b r o a d p r i n c i p l e s wliich a r e c o m m o n
to all r e l ig io n is ts, e x c e p t as to d o c t r i n a l o r s e c t a r i a n q u e s t i o n s , im a g es of person s and th in g s are preserved . I t is also in
w h i c h m a y b e c o n v e n i e n t l y d e a l t w i t h g r a d u a l l y a c c o r d i n g as th is lig h t th a t can b e e v o k e d th e form s of th o se who are
t h e s t u d e n t sh o w s p r o g r e s s i n liis s t u d i e s . n o lo n g e r in o u r w o r ld , a n d it is by its m eans th a t are
P u t as i t is n o t a l w a y s p o s s i b l e to s e c u r e t h e s e r v i c e s of o ne
effected th o m y s te r ie s o f n e c ro m a n c y w h ich a r e a s real as
P r o f e s s o r who is w ell v e r s e d in t h e s y s t e m s a n d i n t r i c a c i e s of all
t h e p r e v a i l i n g f o r m s of R e lig io n ; as i t is f u r t h e r m o r e n e c e s s a r y th e y are d e n ie d .
t h a t t h e r e s h o u l d b e a d i v isio n of l a b o u r ; a n d as, m o r e es pecially, T h e C a b a l is ts, w h o have spoken of th e sp irit-w o rld s,
i t is h i g h l y n e c e s s a ry t h a t t h e G o v e r n m e n t s h o u l d b e k e p t free h a v e s im p ly related w h a t th e y h a v e seen in th eir evoca­
fro m b e i n g s u s p e c t e d of f a v o u r i n g a p e r s o n o f o n e R e lig io n in
tio n s.
p r e fe re n c e to .ano th er, ifc is a d v i s a b l e t h a t G o v e r n m e n t s h o u l d
e s t a b l is h c h a i r s o f P r o f e s s o r s h i p for e a c h o ne of t h e p r i n c i p a l E lip h a s L e v i Z a lied (th ese H ebrew nam es tra n sla ted
p r e v a i l i n g R e ligions in t h e i r C o lleg es ; s u c h as C hiristiauity, aro : A lp h o n s e L o u is C o n s ta n t), w h o w r ite s th is b ook , h a s
M u h a m m a d a n i s m , a n d H i n d u i s m in M a d r a s ; t h e P .u d d h i s m a n d evoked and h e has seen.
Z o r o a s t r i a n i s m b e i n g a d d e d in t h e o t h e r P re s i d e n c i e s . W h a t e v e r L e t u s fir s t t e l l w liat, t h e m a s t e r s h a v e w r i t t e n of th eir
m a y b e t h e s u b - d i v i s i o n s o f each o f t h e s e s e v e ra l r e l i g io n s , t h e y
v is io n s or i n t u i t i o n s in w h a t t h e y call t h e l i g h t o f g lo r y .
n r e all b u i l t o n o n e a u d t h e s a m e f o u n d a t i o n ; a s f o r i n sta n c e ,
s p e a k i n g of H i n d u i s m , I beg to s t a t e t h a t t h e V edas , S m r i t i s , W e read iu t h e H e b r e w b o o k , “ T h e R e v o l u t i o n of th e
a n d P u r a n a s , a r e all t h e .same for a ll t h e n u m e r o u s s u b - d i v i s i o n s of S o u ls,” th a t th e r e are so u ls o f th ree k in d s ; th e d a u g h te r s
H i n d u i s m : ev en t h e c o m m e n t a r i e s a r e t h e s a m e for all, e x c e p t of A d a m , th e d a u g h te r s o f th e a n g e ls, an d th e d au gh ters
in c e r t a i n p a r t s w h e r e d o c t r i n a l a n d s e c t a r i a n dif fe r e n c e s a r i s e .
o f sin . T h e r e a r o also,, a c c o r d i n g t o t h e s a m e b o o k , th ree
It, is t h e r e f o r e q u i t e p ossible f o r t h e H i n d u P r o f e s s o r to t a k e
u p fo r h i s t e x t o n e b o ok w h i c h is co m m o n t o all, s u c h as k in d s o f sp irits : c a p tiv e sp irits, w a n d erin g sp irits, and
l i h a g a v a t - G i t a , o r V i s h n u r u r a n a ; a n d t e a c h h i s clas s, e x p l a i n i n g free sp irits. S o u ls arc s e n t in c o u p le s. T here are, how­
a w a y t h e d o c t r i n a l d iffe ren ces a s t h e y arise. I a m s u r e t h a t t h e ever, s o u ls o f m e n w h ic h arc b o rn sin g le, a n d w h o s e m a te s
s a m e c o u rse m a y m o s t c o n v e n i e n t l y be a d o p t e d b y t h e P ro f es so r s are h e ld ca p tiv e by L iltli and N ;m n ah, th e queens of
of C h r i s t i a n i t y , M u h a m m a d a n i s m a n d so f o rth .
S try g is th e s e are t h e so u ls w h ic h h a v e to m ake fu tu re
U n d e r these circum stances, I beg to propose t h a t G o v e r n m e n t
sh o u l d reco g n ise t h e d u t y of t e a c h i n g R e li g i o n a n d M o r a l i t y e x p ia t i o n s for t h e i r r a s h n e s s , in a s s u m in g a v o w o f c e lib a c y .
f o u n d e d 0 1 1 R e li gio n, in t h e i r schools, a n d a p p o i n t P ro f e s s o r s of F o r ex a m p le , w h e n a m a n ren ou n ces from c h ild h o o d th e
s e v e r a l d e n o m i n a t i o n s iu e a c h College. l o v e of w o m a n , h e m a k e s t h e s p o u s e w h o w a s d e s t i n e d for
I s u b m i t t h a t t h e a p p o i n t m e n t of s u c h P r o f e s s o r s n eed n o t
h im th e sla v e of th e dem ons of lu st. S o u ls grow and
a d d m u c h to t h e financial a l l o t m e n t s a n n u a l l y m a d e to t h e D e p a r t ­
m e n t of E d u c a t i o n . T h e r e is h a r d l y a n y j u s t i f i c a t i o n f o r t h e m u l t i p l y in h e a v e n a s w e ll as b o d ies upon earth. The
G o v e r n m e n t to i n d e n t u p o n E n g l a n d o r G e r m a n y f o r S a n s c r i t i m m a c u l a t e s o u l s a r e tin ; o ffsp rin g of th e u n io n of th o
P r o f e s s o r s t o b e e m p l o y e d in t h e I n d i a n C o lleg es 0 1 1 a s a l a r y r a n g i n g a n g els. _ _
f r o m R u p e e s 5 00 to R u p e e s 750 p e r m e n s e m . H a p p i l y , I n d i a c a n
N o t h in g can e n te r in to H e a v e n , e x c e p t th a t w h ic h is of
boast, o f S a n s c r i t P u n d i t s , w h o s e s e rv ic e s as P r o f e s s o r s o f L i t e r a ­
t u r e a n d R e li gio n m a y be eas ily se cu re d a t a sm all d e cen t H eaven. A fter d eath , th en , th e d iv in e sp irit w h ic h
m o n th ly or yearly honorarium . A n d I m ay v e n tu re to add th a t a n im a te d th e m a n , retu rn s a lo n e to H eaven, and le a v e s
M u h a m m a d a n M a ulavis a n d C h ristia n Priests m a y w ith equal u p o n ea rth a n d in th e a tm o sp h e r e tw o corpses. O n e terres-
f a c ility be e n g a g e d to s e r v e t h e p u b l i c in t h i s g oo d c a u s e o f tia l a n d e le m e n ta r y ; th o o th er, a eria l and sid erea l ; th e
R e lig io u s i n s t r u c t i o n . T h e co st of t h e w h o l e s t a f f of P ro f e s so r s
o n e lifeless a lrea d y , t h e o th e r still a n im a te d by th e u n iv e r ­
o f Relig ion , b e i n g t h u s m i n i m is e d , m a y b e s l i g h t l y m o r e t h a n t h e
s a v i n g w h i c h m a y b e effected b y t h e d i s c o n t i n u a n c e o f e x p e n s i v e sa l m o v e m e n t o f th e so u l o f th e w o rld (A stral lig h t), but
P r o f e s s o r s of S a n s c r i t from o t h e r c o u n t r i e s . T h e se rv i c e s o f t h e d e s tin e d to d ie g r a d u a lly , a b sorb ed by th e A stral pow ers
V e r n a c u l a r P ro fes so rs a n d m a s te r s , a l r e a d y e m p l o y e d i n o u r w h ich p r o d u ce d it. The e a rth ly corpse is v is ib le : th o
Colleges, m a y be u t i l i s e d i n t e a c h i n g R e li g i o n w h e r e v e r s u c h
o th e r is in v is ib le to t h e e y e s o f th e tc r rcstia l and liv in g
co u rse w o u l d b e po ssib le.
W h e n a l l t h i s is do n e, I h u m b l y r e c o m m e n d , a s a n a d d i t i o n a l b od y, a n d c a n n o t b e p er ce iv e d e x c e p t b y th e in flu en ces of
e n c o u r a g e m e n t t o t h e s t u d y o f R e li g ion , t h a t G o v e r n m e n t s h o u l d th e A stral or tra n slu cid lig h t, w h ic h c o m m u n ic a te s its
e s t a b l is h D e g r e e s of h o n o u r i n T h e o l o g y , a n d c o n f e r t h e m 0 11 im p re s sio n s to t h e n e r v o u s system , and th u s effects th e
p e r s o n s p r o d u c i n g C e rtif ic a te s of p r o fi c i e n c y in M o r a l i t y a n d
o r g a n o f s ig h t, so a s to n ia k o it see th o form s w h ic h are
R e li g i o n f r o m a n y o n e o f t h e r e c o g n i s e d C h u r c h e s . T h e r e will
b e l i t t le o r 1 1 0 d if fic u lty in a s c e r t a i n i n g t h e e x i s t e n c e o f s e v e ra l p r e s e r v e d , a n d t h e w o r d s w h ic h a rc w r it t e n in t h e b o o k o f
C h r i s t i a n C h u r c h e s c a p a b l e o f g r a n t i n g s u c h C e rt i f ic a t e s , n o r of v it a l life.
t h e I l i n d u ,1fattamn, w h o a r e s u p p o r t e d l a r g e l y b y t h e S t a t e , a n d W h e n a m a n h a s liv e d w ell, th e a str a l corpse or sp irit
w h o w ould o n l y be t o o g l a d t o receiv e a m a r k of r e c o g n i t i o n a t ev a p o r a te s lik e a p u re in c e n se, as it m ou n ts to w a rd s th e
t h e h a n d s of G o v e r n m e n t b y s e r v i n g t h e m i n t h i s r e s p e c t. A n d
h i g h e r r e g i o n s ; b u t, i f m a n h a s li v e d in crim e, h is astral
I believ e t h e r e m a y b e so m e s u c h i n s t i t u t i o n s a m o n g t h e M a h a m -
m a d a n s also, w h o m a y be w i l l i n g to a s s i s t th o G o v e r n m e n t in b od y, w h ic h h o ld s h im p riso n er, seeks a g a in th e ob jects
c o n f e r r i n g t h e p ro p o se d d e g r e e s . of p assion s, a n d d e sire s to resum e its course o f life. It
S o t h a t , on t h e whole, I e x p e c t t h a t t h e c a u s e o f M o r a l i t y a n d to r m e n t s t h e d r e a m s o f y o u n g g ir ls, b a th e s in th e steam
Re lig io n will be b a s e d 0 11 a f i rm e r f o o t in g , a n d be t h e s o u rce o f
b l e s s i n g to all, if t h e p r o p o s a l s I h a v e v e n t u r e d t o s u b m i t s h o u l d * From “ Dopmo ot Uituol do la ITaulo
m e e t w i t h t h e a p p r o v a l of t h e A u t h o r i t i e s . S h o u l d t h o s e p r o ­ f A word appliod by tho Valngininns nnd Orientals to certain kind of
p o sa ls n o t c o m m e n d t h e m s e l v e s t o t h e a p p r o v a l o f t h e G o v e r n ­ unprocessed, elementary spirits,—E d .
o f s p ilt b lo o d , and hovers nbout th e p la ces 'w h e r e th e b e c k o n e d to m e to ta k e a s e a t b e s id e her, a t th e s a m e tim e
p l e a s u r e s o f i t s life flitted b y ; it w a t c h e s c o n t in u a lly o v e r s h o w i n g m e t h e o t h e r h a l f o f t h e card w h ic h I h ail r e c e iv e d .
th e treasu res w h ich it possessed and c o n c e a le d ; it ex­ T h e fo o tm a n clo sed th o door, th e c a rria g e ro lled away;
h a u s t s i t s e l f in u n h a p p y efforts to m a k e for it s e lf m a teria l a n d t h e la d y h a v i n g ra ise d h e r v eil 1 [jcrceircil a person
organs and liv e everm ore. But th e stars attract and w hose eyes w ere sp a rk lin g and ex trem ely p ie rc in g iu
a b so r b it ; it fe e ls its in t e llig e n c e w e a k e n in g , its m em ory ex p ressio n . “ S ir ,” sa id sh e to m o, w ith a very stron g
is g r a d u a ll y lost, a ll its b e i n g d is s o lv e s . . . its o ld v ices E n g lish accent, “ I k n o w t h a t th e la w of secrecy is very
a p p e a r to it as in c a r n a tio n s, and pursue it under m on­ rig o r o u s a m o n g ad ep ts; a frien d of S ir B n lw e r L ytton ,
strous sh a p e s ; th ey a tta ck and d evou r. . . T he unhappy who has seen you, knows th at ex p erim en ts have been
w retch th u s lo ses su c ce ssiv e ly a ll th e m em bers w h ich req uested o f you, and th at you have refused to sa tisfy
serv ed its s in fu l a p p e tite s ; th e n it d ie s a seco n d tim e an d th eir cu rio sity . Perhaps you have not th e necessary
for e v er, b e c a u s e it th en lo ses its p e r so n a lity and its t h i n g s : I w is h to s h o w you a co m p le te m a g ic c a b in e t;
m em ory. S o u ls, w h ich arc d estin ed to liv e, but w h ich b u t I d e m a n d o f y o u in a d v a n c e th e m o s t in v io la b le secrecy.
a r e n o t y e t e n t ir e ly p u rified , r e m a in for a lo n g e r or s h o r te r I f y o u do n o t g iv o th is p ro m ise u p on y o u r h o n o u r I sh a ll
t im e c a p tiv e s in t h e A stra l bod y, w here th ey are refin e d ord er t h e c o a c h m a n to r e c o n d u c t y o u to your h o u se .” I
b y th e o d ic lig h t w h ic h s e e k s to a ssim ila te th e m to itse lf p r o m is e d w h a t w a s r eq u ired , a n d I show my fid elity in
a n d d isso lv e. I t is to rid th em se lv e s o f th is body th at m e n tio n in g n e ith e r th e n a m e, th e q u a lity , n or t h e resid en ce
su ffe r in g so u ls so m etim es, en ter th e b o d ies of liv in g o f t h is la d y , w h o m 1 soon recogn ized as an in itia te , not
p e r s o n s , a n d r e m a in t h e r e for a w h i l e in a s t a t e w h ic h th e p r e c i s e ly o f th o first d e g r e e , b u t o f a v e r y h ig h one. W e
C a b a lis ts c a ll E m b r y o n ic . h a d s e v e ia l lo n g c o n v e r s a tio n s, in t h e cou rse o f w h ic h she
T h e s e are th e a erial p h a n to m s evoked by necrom ancy. c o n s ta n tly in s is te d u p o n th e n e c e s s ity o f p ra ctica l ex p eri­
T h e s e a r e t h e la rv a ;, s u b s t a n c e s d e a d o r d y i n g , w i t h w h i c h m e n ts to c o m p le te in itia tio n . S h e s h o w e d m e a co llectio n
o n e p la c e s h im s e lf in r a p p o rt; o r d in a r ily t h e y c a n n o t s p e a k of m a g ica l robes and in stru m en ts, even le n t me som o
e x c e p t b y th e r in g in g in o u r cars, p r o d u c e d b y th e n e r v o u s cu rio u s b o o k s th a t I n e e d e d ; in sh o r t, s h e d e c id e d to try
q u iv er in g of w h ic h 1 have spoken, and u su a lly rea so n in g at her h o u se th e ex p erim en t of a co m p le te e v o ca tio n , for
o n ly as th e y reflect u p o n ou r th o u g h ts or d rea m s. w h ich I prepared m y self d u rin g tw en ty-on e days, by
B u t to s e c t h e s e s tr a n g e fo rm s o n e m u s t p u t h im s e lf in t scru p u lo u sly o b serv in g th e p ra ctices in d ica ted in th e
a n e x c e p tio n a l c o n d itio n , p a r ta k in g a t once of slee p and X lllth chapter o ft h e “ R itu a l.”
d eath ; t h a t is t o sa)', one m ust m a g n etize h im self and A l l w a s r e a d y b y t h e 2 -ltli o f J u l y ; our purpose w as to
r ea ch a k in d o f lu cid a n d w a k e fu l s o m n a m b u lis m . N ecro­ ev o k e th e p h an tom of th e D iv in e A p o llo n iu s and in terr o ­
m a n cy , th en , o b ta in s real r esu lts, and th e ev o ca tio n s of g a te h im a s to t w o se c r e ts, o f w h ie h one concerned m y se lf
m a g ic arc c a p a b le o f p r o d u c in g v e r ita b le a p p a r itio n s . W e and th e oth er in ter e sted th is la d y . She had at first
h a v e sa id th a t in t h e g r e a t m a g ic a l agen t, w h ic h is th e in te n d e d to a ssist at th e e v o ca tio n , w ith an in tim a te
A s t r a l lig h t, are p r e se r v e d a ll th e im p re ssio n s of th in g s, f r i e n d ; b u t a t t h e l a s t m o m e n t , t h i s l a d y ’s courage fa iled ,
a ll th e im a g e s form ed , c ith e r by th eir rays or by th eir and, as th ree person s or one are strictly req u ir e d for
r efle ctio n s ; it is in t h i s l i g h t t h a t o u r dream s appear to m a g ic a l rites, I w as le ft a lo n e. The ca b in et p repared for
u s, i t is t h is lig h t w h ic h i n t o x ic a t e s t h e i n s a n e a n d sw eeps th e e v o ca tio n was arranged in th e sm a ll tow er, fou r
a w a y th eir e n feeb led ju d gm en t in to th e p u rsu it of th e c o n c a v e m ir r o r s w e r e p r o p e r ly d isp o se d , and th ere was a
m o s t fa n ta stic p h a n to m s. T o s e e w i t h o u t illu s io n s in t h is sort o f a lta r, w h o s e w h it e m a r b le to p was surrounded by
lig h t it is n e c e s s a r y t o push a sid e th e reflectio n s by a a ch a in o f m a g n e tiz e d iron . U pon th e w h ite m a r b le w as
p o w e r f u l effort o f t h e w ill, a n d draw to o n eself o n ly th e ch iselled a n d g ild e d th e sig n o f th e P en tagram ; and th e
rays. T o d r e a m w a k in g is to s e e in th e A str a l l ig h t ; and s a m e s ig n w a s tr a c e d in d if f e r e n t c o lo u r s u p o n a fr e sh w h i t e
t h e o r g ie s of th e w itc h e s S a b b a th , d escrib ed by so- m a n y la m b sk in , w h ich was spread under th e altar. In th e
s o r c e r e r s u p o n t h e ir c r im in a l tria ls, d id n o t p r e s e n t th em ­ c e n t r e o f t h e m a r b le slab , t h e r e w a s a lit t le b r a z ie r o f co p p er,
s e lv e s to th e m in a n y oth er m anner. O ften th e prepara­ co n ta in in g charcoal of elm and la u rel wood; another
tio n s an d th e su b sta n ces e m p lo y e d to a r r iv e a t t h is r esu lt b r a z ie r w a s p la c e d b e fo r e m e , o n a trip o d . I w a s c lo th e d in
w e r e h o rr ib le , a s w e h a v e s e e n in t h e c h a p te r s d e v o te d to a w h ite robe, s o m e th in g lik e th o se used by our C a th o lic
th e R i t u a l ; b u t t h e resu lts w e r e n e v e r d o u b tfu l. T h in g s of p r ie sts, b u t lo n g e r a n d m o r e fu ll, and 1 wore upon my
th e m o s t a b o m in a b le , fa n ta stic, a n d im p o ss ib le d escrip tio n head a crow n of v e rb en a le a v e s in ter w o v e n in a g o ld e n
w ere seen, b eard and tou ch ed . ch a in . I n o n e h a n d I h eld a n a k e d sw ord, a n d in another
I n th e sp r in g o f th e y ea r 1 8 5 4 , I w ent to London to th e R itu a l. I lig h te d th e tw o fires, w ith th e su b stan ces
esca p o from c erta in fa m ily tr o u b les and g iv e m y se lf up, r e q u i s i t e a n d p r e p a r e d , a n d I b e g a n a t first in a l o w v o ic e ,
w ith o u t in ter r u p tio n , to scie n c e . I h a d in tro d u cto ry letters th en lo u d er by degrees, th e in v o c a tio n s of th e R itu a l.
to e m in e n t p e r so n s in te r e ste d in su p ern a tu ral m a n ifesta ­ T h e s m o k e sp rea d , th e fla m e flick ered and m ad e to d a n ce
tio n s. I saw sev era l, an d fo u n d in th em , c o m b in ed w ith a ll t h e o b j e c ts it l ig h t e d , t h e n w e n t out. T h e s m o k e rose
m u ch p o liten ess, a g r ea t deal o f in d iffe r e n c e or fr iv o lity . w h ite a n d slo w from t h e m a r b le altar. It seem ed to me
I m m e d ia t e ly t h e y d e m a n d e d o f m e m ira cles, as th e y w o u ld as if I had d etected a slig h t shock of earthqu ake, my
o f a ch a rla ta n . I w a s a lit tle d is c o u r a g e d , for to tell th e ea rs r a n g a n d m y h e a r t b e a t ra p id ly. I added som e tw ig s
tr u t h , far fr o m b e i n g d is p o s e d to in i t ia t e oth ers in to th e a m i p e r f u m e s to t h e b ra ziers, a n d w h e n t h e fla m e rose, I
m y s te r ie s o f cerem o n ia l m a g ic, I h a v e a lw a y s dreaded for saw d istin ctly , b efore th e altar, a hum an fig u re, la r g e r
m y s e lf th e illu sio n s aud fa tig u e s th ereo f; b esid es, th ese th a n life size , w h ich decom posed and m e lte d away. I
c er e m o n ies d e m a n d m a teria ls at o n ce e x p e n siv e an d hard r e - c o m m e n c e d t h o e v o c a t i o n s , a n d p la c e d m y s e l f in a c ir c le
to c o lle ct to g eth er. I, th er e fo r e, b u r ie d m y s e lf in t h e s tu d y w h ich 1 h a d tr a c e d in a d v a n c e o f th e cerem ony b etw een
of t h e H i g h C a b a la , a n d t h o u g h t n o m o r e of th e E n g lish t h e a lta r a n d th e trip o d ; I saw th en th e d ish of th e
a d e p ts u n til o n e day, u p o n e n te r in g m y lo d g in g , I fo u n d a m ir r o r fa c in g m e , a n d b e h in d th e a lta r b e c a m e illu m in a te d
n o te w ith in y address. T h is n o te c o n ta in e d th e h a lf of a by degrees, and a w h itish form th ere d ev elo p ed itself,
card, c u t in tw o, an d u p o n w h ic h I rec o g n ize d , at once, th e e n la r g in g a n d s e e m in g to a p p ro a c h lit tle b y little . I c a lled
c h a r a c t e r o f S o l o m o n ’s S e a l a n d a v e r y s m a l l b i t of paper, th re e tim e s u p o n A p o llo n iu s, a t th e sa m e tim e c lo sin g m y
u p o n w h ic h w a s w r i t t e n in p e n cil : “ T o -m o rro w , a t th ree eyes ; and, w h en 1 r e-o p o n c d th e m , a m a n w as before m e,
o ’c l o c k , b e f o r e W e s t m i n s t e r A b b e y , t h e o t h e r h a lf of th is c o m p le te ly e n v e lo p e d in a sh r o u d , w h ich seem ed to me
card w ill be p resented y o u .” I w ent to th is sin g u la r rath er g ra y th a n w h it e ; h is face w as th in , sad and beard­
ren dezvous. A c a r r ia g e w a s stan d in g" a t t h e p la c e . I h eld le ss , w h i c h d id n o t s e e m to c o n v e y to m e t h e id e a w h ic h I
in m y h a n d , w ith see m in g in d ifferen ce, m y h a lf of th e had p re v io u sly form ed o f A p o llo n iu s. I exp erien ced a
card ; a s e r v a n t a p p r o a c h e d , a n d o p e n iu g t h e ca rr ia g e door, s e n s a tio n o f e x tr a o r d in a r y co ld , a n d w hen 1 opened my
m a d e m e a sig n . In th e c a rria g e was a la d y in b la ck , m o u t h to q u e s t io n t h e p h a n t o m , it w a s im p o s s ib le for me
>vhose b o n n e t was covered w ith a very th ick v e il; she to a r tic u la te a so u n d , I th en p u t m y han d u p on th e sig n
 o f Ib c P e n ta g r a m , and I d irected to w a rd s liim tlie p o in t w e re in te n d e d lo d e c c iv e t h e superficial render. F o r c e d b y au
o f t l i e s w o r d , c o m m a n d i n g l i i m m e n t a l ] ) ' b y t h a t .sign , not ir re s is tib le i in p i i h e to w r i t e wliat. lie k n o w , b u t fearin g to be
to frig h ten me b li t, to obey. Then th e form becam e d a n g e r o u s l y e x p l i c i t , in tb is instanc e, as e v e r y w h e r e t h r o u g h ­
c o n f u s e d , a ,m l s u d d e n l y d i s a p p e a r e d . I com m anded it, to
o u t bis works, b e m a g nifies u n i m p o r t a n t d e ta ils a n d slurs over
t h in g s o f {rrenter m o m e n t . T r u e , O r ie n ta l O c c u l t i s t s need no
reappear; u p o n w h ich 1 felt p a ss n e a r m e , lik e a b reath,
p re p a ra ti o n , no c o s t u m e s , a p p a r a tu s , c o ro n e ts o r w a r- lik e
and s o m e th in g h a v in g to u ch ed th e hand w h ich tou ch ed
w e a p o n s ; for th es e a p p e r t a i n lo th e J e w i s h Ivnbaln, w hich
Ihe sw ord, 1 felt my arm in sta n tly stiffem d , as far
bears ihe sa m e re la tio n to its sim p le C ha lde an p r o t o t y p e a s th e
as th e sh o u ld er. J th ou gh t I u n d erstood th a t th is c e re m o n io u s o b se r v a n c e s o f th e R o m is h C h u r c h , lo th e sim p le
sw ord offen d ed th e sp ir it, and J p lan ted it by th e w o r s h ip of Cbri.-l Mid bis apostle s. I n the b a u d s o f t h e t r u e
p o in t in th e c ircle near m e. The hum an fig u re a d e p t s o f (be Kast, a s im p le w and o f bamboo, w ilh snveii joints,
th en re-appeared , but I felt such a w eakness in my s u p p l e m e n t e d by ( h e i r ineffable wisdom and in d o m ita b le w ill­
lim b s, an d su ch a s u d d e n e x h a u s tio n s e iz e b o ld o f m e , th a t p ow er, suffices to e v o k e s p i r i t s and pro d u c e th e m ir a c l e s a u t h e n ­
I t o o k a c o u p le o f s t e p s t o seat, m y s e lf . A s soon as 1 was tic a te d by t b e te s ti m o n y of a c loud of u n p r e ju d i c e d w itn e s se s.
in m y ch a ir, I fe ll in a p r o fo u n d s lu m b e r , a c co m p a n ied by A t t h is se a n ce o f L e v i ’s, u p o n th e r e - a p p e a r a n c e o f th e
d r e a m s , o f w h ic h , u p o n r e t u r n in g to m y s e lf , 1 had o n ly a p h a n to m , t h e d a r in g i n v e s ti g a to r saw and h e a r d t h i n g s w h i c h , in
v a g u e and con fu sed r em em b ra n ce. F or several days my h i s a c c o u n t o f the first, tria l, a r e ■wholly s u p p r e s s e d , a n d iu t h a t
arm w as s tiff an d p ain fu l. T h e a p p a ritio n had n o t sp o k e n o f (lie o t h e r s m e r e l y h i n t e d nt. W e k n o w th is fro m a u t h o r i t i e s
to m e , b u t it s e e m e d th at th e q u estio n s w h ich T w ish ed
n o t to b e q u e stio n e d .
t o a s k it, a n s w e r e d t h e m s e l v e s in m y m in d . To th at of
t h e la d y , an in t e r io r v o ic e rep lied in m e, “ D e a d !” (it
T H E “ (N O N )-M A G IC A L ” M IR R O R S O F JA P A N .
concerned a m an of whom she w ish e d to have som e
in tellig en ce.) A s to m y s e lf I w ish ed to k n o w , if r ec o n c ilia ­ 15V IiA liO N F. ]>K T K N G N A G K L L, F.T.S.
tio n a n d p ard on w o u ld b e p o ssib le b etw een tw o person s, In an a rticle w h ic h a p p ea r e d in th e “ T h k o s o p h is t ” o f
of w hom I th o u g h t, a n d th e s a m e in te r io r echo p itile ssly th e m o n th o f A u g u st, 1 8 8 2 , M r. W . R . F r in k o f S a lt Lake
• i
a n s w e r e d , “ D e a d !’’ C ity , U . S . A m e r ic a , a s k s th e e x p la n a tio n o f th e Japanese
I relate th ese facts ex a ctly as th ey happened, not l i n g i c m irro rs ; h e r e w it h is w h a t I h a v e fo u n d in a p a m p h ­
fo rcin g th e m u p o n t b e fa ith of any one. The cffeet of l e t p u b l i s h e d a t A m s t e r d a m :—
t h is first e x p e r i m e n t u p o n m e w a s s o m e t h i n g i n e x p l ic a b le . “ T hese m ir r o r s a rc c u r io u s b e c a u s e w h e n a ra y o f s u n ­
I w a s n o l o n g e r t h e s a m e m a n ....................................................... lig h t r eflected b y th eir su rface is receiv ed on a w h ite
I t w ic e r e p e a t e d , in t b e c o u r s e o f a f e w d a y s , th e sam e screen, o n e s e e s in t h e fig u r e w h ic h a p p e a r s t h e r e t h e r e ­
ex p erim en t. The result, o f th ese tw o oth er ev o ca tio n s p r o d u c t io n o f t h e fo r m s in r e l ie f p la c e d a t t h e b a c k o f t h e
w a s to rev e a l to m e tw o C a b a lis tic secrets, w h ic h m ig h t, if m irro r. .
t h e y w e r e k n o w n b y e v e r y o n e , c h a n g e in a s h o r t t i m e t h e “ For a l o n g t i m e , n o o n e w a s a b le to fin d o u t to what
f o u n d a t i o n s a ,m l l a w s o f t l i e w h o l e o f S o ciety . . . . 1 cause th ese sin g u la r effects w ere due ; and several
w ill n o t e x p la in b y w h a t p h y sio lo g ica l la w s, I saw and h y p o th esis w ere p u b lis h e d in t h e ' A n n a le s de C h iin ie et
to u ch ed ; 1 s im p ly assert, t h a t I d id s e e and tou ch , th at d e P h y s i q u e ’ for t h e m o n t h o f M a y 1 8 8 0 . T here are tw o
I sa w c lea rly a n d d is tin c tly , w it h o u t d r e a m in g , and th at k in d s of th ese m irro rs; o n e of w h ic h m u s t b e h e a t e d in
is e n o u g h to p r o v e t h e e ffica cy o f m a g ic c e r e m o n ie s . . . . ord er to o b ta in th e r eq u ired effect, w h ile for th e oth er
I w ill not c lo se th is chapter w ith o u t n o ticin g th e t h is p r e c a u t i o n is n o t n e e d e d .
cu rio u s b eliefs of certa in C a b a lists, who d istin g u ish “ B er tin a n d D u b o s q tried to reproduce th ese m irro rs,
apparent from real d eath , and th in k th a t th e y seld o m a n d for t h is p u r p o se e m p lo y e d o rd in a ry b ro n ze, th e su rfa ce
occur sim u lta n e o u sly . A c c o r d in g to tlie ir sto ry , t h e g r e a t ­ o f w h ic h (after b e in g p o lish e d ) was covered w ith n ic k e l.
est part of person s b u ried are a liv e, and m an y o th ers, T h e s e m ir r o r s b e i n g h e a t e d g iv e a v e ry d is tin c t reproduc­
w hom w e th in k liv in g , are in fact dead. In cu ra b le in ­ tio n o f th e fig u res m a d e o n th eir backs, but lo se a lm o st
s a n ity , for in sta n ce, w o u ld be, a cco r d in g to t h e m , an in ­ e n tir e ly th is pow er w hen left to co o l. Som e Rom an
c o m p le te b u t real dea th , w h ich lea v es tlie ea rth ly body characters en g ra v ed on th e back of a Japanese m irro r,
under th e ex clu siv e in stin ctiv e con trol of th e a str a l or b e sid e so m e C h in e se characters in relief, appear in th e
s i d e r e a l bod}'. W hen th e h u m a n soul ex p erien ces a shock p ro jected im a g e as b la ck , b u t t h e C h in ese ones in w h ite
to o v io le n t for it to bear, it w o u ld sep arate itse lf from as u su a l. S o m e p l a t e s s i l v e r e d a n d o t h e r s c o v e r e d [ r o l l e d ?]
th e body and leave in its p la c e t h e a n i m a l s o u l, or, in w ith s ilv e r d id n o t g iv e th e d e sire d resu lt, because th o
oth er w ords, th e astral b o d y ; w h ic h m a k e s o f th e h u m a n su rface cannot be su fficien tly p o lish ed . As it is very
w r e c k s o m e t h i n g in one. s e n s e less liv in g th an even an d iffic u lt to h e a t t h e s e m ir r o r s e q u a lly a ll o v er, B e r t i n and
a n im a l. D e a d p erso n s o f th is k in d can b e e a sily ra co g u iz- D u b o s q tr ie d if b y m e a n s o f a str o n g p r e ssu r e it w o u ld be
ed b y t h e c o m p le te e x tin c tio n o f th e affectio n a l a n d m oral p o ssib le to o b ta in th e necessary d ep ressio n s. The tru e
sen ses ; th ey arc r .o t bad, th ey are n o t g o o d ; th e y are e x p la n a tio n o f th e s e e m in g ly m a g ic a l p h e n o m e n o n is th at
dead. T h e se b ein g s, w h o are th e p o iso n o u s m u shroom s i t is o w i n g to t h e m e t a l b e i n g v e r y t h in , a n d in t h e p o l i s h i n g
of th e h u m a n sp ecies, absorb as m u ch as th e y can o f th e som e very slig h t d ep r e ssio n s a ie in v isib le to th e naked
v ita lity o f th e liv in g ; th at is why th eir approach para­ eye, p ro d u ced , w h ic h c h a n g e th e m o d e o f refraction o f t h e
ly zes th e sou l, and sends a c h ill to th e heart. T hese so la r Tays a n d t r a c e i n t h e p rojected im a g e th e th ick est
c o r p s e - lik e b e in g s p r o v e a ll th a t h a s e v e r b e e n sa id of th e p arts (C h in e se ch aracters) o f th a t w h ich is on th e back
v a m p ire s, th o se d read fu l c r e a tu r e s w h o rise a t n ig h t and o f t h e m irro r.
s u c k th e b lo o d from th e h e a lth y b o d ie s o f s le e p in g p erso n s. “ F in a lly , D ubosq m ade a copper box, of w h ic h th e
A r e th e r e n o t s o m e b e in g s in w h o s e p r e s e n c e o n e fe e ls less m ir r o r f o r m e d t h e lid , w h i l e b y m e a n s o f a fo rcin g pum p
i n t e l lig e n t , less good, often even less h on est? D oes not a n d a g u t t a - p e r c h a p i p e a ir w a s c o n c e n t r a t e d in it. U n d e r
t h e i r a p p r o a c h q u e n c h all f a it h and en th u sia sm , and do a p ressure of tw o atm osp h eres one o b ta in s w ith th e
th ey not b in d y o u to th e m by your w eaknesses, and en ­ J a p a n e s e m ir r o r s a n d th e ir im ita tio n s r eflected fig u res as
s la v e y o u b y y o u r ev il in clin a tio n s, an d m a k e you gradu­ c lea r as th o s e o b t a in e d b y t h e a id of h e a t. T h e r e s u lt is s t ill
a lly lo s e a ll m o r a l s e n s e in a c o n s t a n t to r tu r e ? m o r e s tr ik in g w h e n th e fig u re s e n g r a v e d on th e back ar ®
T hese arc th e dead w hom w e ta k e for liv in g p e r so n s ; su r r o u n d e d b y fig u res in r elief ; th e engraved ones are
t h e s e a rc t h e v a m p ir e s w h o m w e m i s t a k e for f r ie n d s ! t h e n r ep ro d u c ed in b la c k a n d th o se in r e lie f in w h ite. A
s t r o n g l i g h t is a b s o l u t e l y r e q u ir e d , s u c h a s t h e l i g h t o f th e
s u n or t h a t o f b u r n i n g c a lc iu m ; g a s l i g h t is to o w e a k .”
K n r r o n ’s N o t e ..— S o little is k n o w n in m o d e r n t im e s o f
A n c i tn l . M a g i c , its inclining, liistor}’, c a p a b ilitie s , lit e r a t u r e , T h i s is a f a i t h f u l t r a n s l a t i o n o f t h e a r t i c l e I h a v e fou n d
m ’epis, nnd result.0, tlmt. we en n n o t nllow w h a t p r e c e d e s to g o a n d I h a s te n to p la c e it a t your d isp o sa l to use as you
o u t , w i l l i o u t n few w o rd s o f e x p la n a t i o n . T h e c e r e m o n i e s mid th in k b est.
p a r a p h e r n a l i a so m in u t e l y d e sc rib e d by L e v i , a r e c a lc u la te d und Isla n d of Ja v a , N o v e m b e r 1882,
 T H E U TT E R A N C E S OF R A M A L I N G A M P I L L A I . e v e r y w a y ns y o u h a v e d o n e a n d n o n e s o f a i t h f u l a s }-ou a r e to
his causc. F o r y o u a r e I th in k th e o n ly o n e pcrlm ps th a t e v e n
The c o m m u n ic a tio n from an esteem ed b roth er, Mi-. n o w d e c l i n e s to q u i t t h e v e r y q u a r t e r s t h a t o n c e w i t n e s s e d the
V ela y u d a m M u d a llia r, F .T .S ., T a m il P a n d it in t h e M adras i a m e o f ' t h i s r< m a r k a b l e m a n . H a v i n g spent besid es, th e w h o lo
P r e sid e n c y C o lleg e, w h ic h a p p e a r e d in th e T h k o s o i 'I - u s t o f y o u r t i m e , b o t h d a y a n d n ig h t* b y t h e s i d e o f t l i e m a n , n o o n e
fo r J u l y la st, h a s b e e n e x c e p t e d to b y M r. N . C h id a m b a r a m a p p e a r s in m y e y e s b e t t e r f i t t e d t h a n y o u r s e l f to g i v e a c o rr e c t
Iyer, o f T riv a d i, M adras P resid en cy, who sends us h is a c c o u n t o f t h a t m a n ’s v i e w s a n d a i m s .
c r itic ism s th ereu p o n , to g e th e r w ith a jo in t rep ly to certain I th erefore w ish to draw your a tten tion to (h e fo llo w in g
q u e s t i o n s o f liis a d d r e s s e d to a w e l l - k n o w n Chela, or p u p il, p o i n t s , a n d I h a v e to o g r e a t c o n f i d e n c e in y o u r s t r i c t a d h e r e n c e
o f th e la te R a m a lin g a m S w a m i. T h e g e n tle m a n says, in to t h e c a u s e o f t r u t h to do u bt, fo r a m o m e n t t h a t y o u w i l l w r i t e
a n y t h i n g b u t w h a t is w h o l l y t r u e . ”
a p r i v a t e n o t e to us, t h a t h e h a s “ t h e g r e a t e s t resj^ ect for
I t is n o t d e s i r a b l e t h a t a n y t h i n g w h i c h is not. w h o lly tr u e ,
t h e A d e p t B r o th e r s , for t h e F o u n d e r s of t h e T h e o so p h ic a l
a n d w h i c h is n o t t h e w h o l e t r u t h , s h o u l d b e p u b l i s h e d t o u c h i n g
S o c i e t y , a n d for R a m a lin g a m h im self, w h o w as 110 d o u b t a
th o m e m o r y o f a g r e a t num.
great m an in h is own w a y .” H e fu lly b eliev es in tlie
Y o u r s siu cerely ,
ex isten ce of th e B rothers, and a p p recia tes th e w ork
N. C hidam ba ram I y k i i .
done by our S o c ie ty “ in so far as it ten d s to
To V e n k a te s a I y e r , V ad alu r, S. A r c o t D istrict.
aw aken in th e m in d s of th e H in d u s a respect
GREAT LIGJ1T OF MERCY.
fo r th e w isd o m and le a r n in g s of th eir e m in e n t
an c e sto rs.” So far, w e l l ; b u t h a v in g th u s w reathed h is Questions asked by N. Chidambaram Iyer, and replies
ra p ier w ith flo w e r s lie th en m a k es a lu n g e w ith it at thereto by the Members of the Shculantha Samarasa Sudha
t h e F o u n d e r s ’ r ib s. “ B u t, I d o n o t a t a ll a p p r o v e / ’ sa y s Sanmarf/a hatya Dharma Sabha of Uttaragnanasitti-
he, “ e ith e r th eir indirect attempts to spread B u d d h ism purauam, otherwise known as Vadalur or Parvatheepuram,
in t h e la n d o f t h e H i n d u s , or t h e a p a t h y w ith w h ic h th e in the District of South Arcot i n the Madras Presidency.
e lite of th e H in d u c o m m u n ity v ie w th e e v il th a t Q. 1. D id y o u r G u ru say th a t b efore lo n g th e eso ter ic
th r e a te n s to ser io u sly in ju re th e relig io n of th eir fore­ m e a n in g o f th e V e d a s a n d S h a str a s w o u ld be r ev e a le d by
fa th e rs.” T h is — if w e m a y be pardoned th e lib erty of M a h a t m a s in t h e N o r t h to f o r e ig n e r s ?
s a y in g s o — is r h e to r ic a l n o n s e n s e . T h e p u b lic d isco u rses A. O u r G u r u sa id t h a t p e o p le in th e N o r t h w e r e m o r e
a n d p r iv a t e c o n v e r s a t io n s o f C o lo n e l O l c o t t in In d ia w ill 01 t h o d o x th an th ose in th e S ou th , and th erefo re m ore
be sc r u tin ise d in v a in for th e slig h te st e v id e n c e upon c o r r ig ib le , a n d t h a t h e h a d b e e n s e n t d o w n b y G o d for th e
w h ic h tlio c h a r g e of B u d d h istic p r o p a g a n d ism co u ld be p u r p o se o f e v a n g e liz in g m e n p o s se s sin g a b la ck (ign oran t)
based. T h a t w o r k is co n fin ed to C ey lo n . H is addresses m in d w ith a w h ite (clea n ) b od y. Vide note (a.)
to H in d u s h a v e so fa ith fu lly m ir r o r ed th e relig io u s and ^Q . 2. D id he say th at th e fa ta l in flu e n c e s of th e
m oral s e n tim e n t s and a sp ira tio n s o f th e p e o p le , th a t th ey K a liy u g w o u ld b e n e u tr a liz e d in a b o u t 10 years?
h a v e b e e n v o lu n ta rily tra n sla ted b y H in d u s in to v a rio u s A. H e sa id t h a t th e tim o w as clo se a t h a n d w h en God
I n d ia n v ern a cu la rs, p u b lis h e d b y th e m a t th eir own cost, w o u ld ap p ea r 011 e a r t h an d p la y 011 it; th a t as m en had
an d circu la ted a ll over th e P e n in su la . T hey have-— as c e a s e d to lo v e v ir tu e , t h e y , as w ell as a n im a ls, w o u ld su ffer
a b u n d a n t p u b lish e d n a tiv e te stim o n y p roves— stim u la ted in n u m e r a b le m ise ries w liich , how ever, w o u ld soon be
a fe r v id lo v e for I n d i a a n d h e r g lo rio u s A ryan p ast, and r e m o v e d b y G o d , b y w h o s e p o w e r a ll m e n w o u l d b e b r o u g h t
b e g u n to r e v iv e th e ta s te for S a n s k r it litera tu re. As for u n d e r t h e s w a y o f h is b le s s e d r eig n , (b.) °
t h e t o n e o f th is m a g a z in e , i t s p e a k s for itse lf. Take th e _ Q. 8. D id h e n o t b e lie v e in a p e r so n a l G o d , esp ecia lly
t h ir t y - n in e n u m b e r s t h u s far is s u e d , a n d c o u n t t h e a rticles iu S iva., a n d d o e s lie n o t refer in h is w orks to G od as
u p on B u d d h ism in c o m p a r is o n w it h t h o s e u p o n H i n d u i s m , h a v in g a p p ea red b efore h im in a j j h y s i c a l s h a p e ?
an d it w ill be fou n d th a t w h ile co n fessed ly an eso teric A, H e n e v e r sa id th e r e w as no p erso n a l G o d .* H e sa id
B u d d h ist, y e t th e E d ito r h a s tak en great p a in s to av o id th ere w as b u t on e G od ; th at th at God possessed all th e
a n y t h i n g w h ic h m i g h t lo o k l ik e a n I n d ia n p r o p a g a n d is m ot a t t r ib u t e s e v e r a s s ig n e d to h im b y m a n in w o r d or t h o u g h t ,
th a t p h ilo so p h y . F o r tw o y e a rs ou r C o lo m b o B ra n ch has a n d m a n y o th e r a tt r ib u te s ; th a t th e w o r ld was governed
b een p u b lish in g a w e e k ly p ap er— th e Sarasavi Sandaresa— b y person s ch osen by H im for th e purpose, and th at lie
in a d v o c a c y o f B u d d h i s m , y e t w e h a v e ca refu lly a b sta in ed w a s o n e o f th e c h o s e n few . (c.)
from q u o tin g its a r ticles le st we m ig h t depart from our Q. 4. A fte r h e h a d g o n e in to S a n ia d h i a n d th e doors
ru le of strict im p a rtia lity . No, th is charge m ust bo o f th o r o o m w e r e c lo se d by h is orders, w a s t h e r o o m o p e n e d
a scr ib e d to t h a t orth od ox p reju d ice w h ic h , under every a n d th o p la c e e x a m in e d a y e a r la ter ! Y o u to ld m e th a t
p h a se o f relig io n , b e g e ts in to le r a n c e a n d ru n s in to p e r se c u ­ t h o C o lle c t o r of S o u t h A r c o t a n d a m e m b e r o f t h e M a d r a s
tio n . I t m a y a m u s e o u r critic to learn t h a t s o m e n a r r o w ­ R e v e n u e B oard a t on e tim e ask ed p e rm issio n of y o u r self
m in d e d B u d d h is t b ig o t s in C e y lo n regard C o lo n el O lco tt a n d o th er s in charge of th o room to ojjen it, and th at
as sc h e m in g to b rea k dow n orth od ox B u d d h ism by gradu­ p e r m issio n w as refused . W hen w as th is > W a s it b efore
a lly in tr o d u c in g H in d u id e a s a b o u t t h e S o u l, a n d ho was or a fter th e ex p ir a tio n o f a y e a r from th e 3 0 th January,
p u b lic ly ca lled to account because we use th e m y stic 1 8 7 4 , w h e n y o u r G u r u e n te r e d on h is S a n ia d h i ?
sy lla b le O m 011 o u t S o c i e t y d o c u m e n t s and c a ll o u r selv e s _ A. _ H e sa id t h a t if h is fo llo w ers sh o u ld at any tim o
T /ieo -so p h ists ! S o, too, an e m in e n t M u ssa lm a n g e n tle m a n f i n d h i m a p p a r e n t l y l i f e l e s s , t h e y s h o u l d r io t, t h i n k i n g h im
am ong our F e llo w s w as sou n d ly rated by h is still m ore to b e d ea d , e ith e r bu rn or bury h im . One day in th o
d istin g u ish e d b roth er, b eca u se lie had jo in ed a body of m o n t h o f J a n u a r y , 1<S 74 , w e f o u n d t h a t t h e b r e a t h i n g had
p erson s b a n d ed to g e th e r to A r y a n ise Isla m ! ” stopped, and for fou r days we c o n tin u ed to pay our
F o l lo w in g is th e c o r r e s p o n d e n c e s e n t u s b y M r. C h id a m ­ c u s to m a r y le s p e c t s to h im . AV e t h e n f o u n d it necessary
b a r a m ; t o g e t h e r w it h t h e r e j o in d e r o f M r. V e l a y u d h a m , to to c lo se t h e d o o rs o w in g to so m e d istu rb a n c e s e t 011 f o o t by
whom we su b m itted it for com m ent. It scarcely proves s o m e o f h is fo llo w ers. T hen fo llo w ed som e fu rth er d is­
t h e f o r m e r ’s c a s e , b u t s t i l l , d e s p i t e i t s l e n g t h , w e m a k e p l a c e tu r b a n c e b y th e p o lice . S o m e th r e e m o n th s after, o n th e
fo r i t to g i v e b o t h s id e s t h e c h a n c e t o b e h e a r d .— E d . r e c e ip t o f t h e p o lice o c cu rr e n c e r ep o rt, M r. J. H . G a rstin
th e th en C o llecto r of S ou th A rcot, and M r. G eorge
B an b u ry, th e th en M em b er o f th e R e v e n u e B oard, v isited
THK CORRESPONDENCE.
t h e s p o t a n d a s k e d for p e r m is s io n to o p e n t h e d oors, w h ic h
T h iv a d i, J u ly 27, 1882.
“ M y d e a r f r ie tn l ,
* If ho hail believed in a personal God would bo not havo so declared 't
Since tho above article wns put in typo Mr, Chindambaram has kindly sent
A c e r t a i n g e n t l e m a n lia s r e c e n t l y p u b l i s h e d c c r t a i n s t a t e m e n t s us for inspection nn original copy of a Tamil handbill (Notice) issued by
liumalingam about 10 years ago, together with his (Mr. C’s) English
nbout y o u r celeb ra ted G u r u Ilainiilingam P illu i w h ic h I am rendering of the samo We Iind upon a careful examination of the Tamil
s l o w t o b e l i e v e n s b e i n g w h o l l y c o r r e c t , n iu l w h i c h I k n o w what seems unquestionable evidence that the famous riadhu believed, in the
is n o t t h e w h o l e t r u t h a b o u t t h e n u m . O ft lie n u m e ro u s discip les God of the Adwnitecs, L e , a non-personal Universal Essenco ; and that the
wonders he promised to his followers wore only tg by enj >yed by feiddhas
o f t h e n i a u th(,Te is u o u e w h o h a s m a d e s u g h f e a r f u l s a c r i f i c e s in vr Yogie.— Ei>. T. >
%
■was, h o w e v e r , refused, iin d tlic g e n tle m e n vent away T h e tru th o f th is w ill b e c o m e apparent w hen th e m atter
e v id e n tly sa tisfied w ith our c o n d u c t. O n t h e oOt. li m o n t h is fu lly a n a ly z e d a n d e x a m in e d . ( i.)
w e fou n d th e lo ck op en ed . A c e r ta in b o ld m an en tered Q. 10. W ith what object was tlia t huge b u ild in g
th e room a n d reported th at lie fou n d th e body of our e r e c t e d a t a c o s t o f o v e r h a l f a la . k h o f r u p e e s ? W ith w h at
G uru. Wc lucre not prepared to credit his word. H e sub­ object w as th at huge b la n k book got up w h ich is still
(d.)
s e q u e n t ly d ie d after su fferin g m a n y m iseries, p reserv ed u n d e r lo ck a n d k ey ? (j)
Q. 5. D i d h e s a y that, a fter g o in g in to Sam adhi he A. A s th e b u ild in g is o f s e r v ic e in th e e lu c id a tio n of
w o u l d g o t o E u r o p e or A m e r i c a in h is p h y sica l or astral th o se p rin cip les th a t th ro w lig h t on th e N a tu r e o f G od, th e
b o d y an d w ork th ere ? D id lie say tlia t persons from o b sta c le s in th e way of see in g H im and th e m eans of
R u s s ia a n d A m e r ic a w o u ld c o m e a n d p rea ch in In d ia th e o v e r c o m in g th e s e , it r e s e m b le s a m a p or p la n . A g a in , our
d o c t r in e o f U n iv e r s a l B r o t h e r h o o d w h i c h h o w n s lo r c c d to G u r u to ld u s t h a t o n e d a y w e s h o u ld fin d th e b la n k 'b o o k
g i v e u p for w a n t o f s u p p o r t ? fu lly w r itte n u p , t h a t t h e w r itin g sh o u ld be v ie w e d as th e
Sam nrasa V eda of th e Sabha, and th at th e Sum m um
A. H e sa id th a t E u r o p e a n s w o u ld tr y to ta k e p o sse ssio n
Bonu4
m o f life and th e m eans of a tta in inO
g it w o u ld be
o f t h e V a d a lu r D h a r m a s a la , b u t w ill n o t e v e n t u a ll y d o so ;
m e n t i o n e d in it.
that God meant to take him to countries where while men
live, as Europe and America) that rumov-m ivo-nhl roach The above, we have to remark, will not be clear and
us that he w as seen in those countries; thnt though this satisfactory to those that do not deeply go into tha sxdijeet.
will certainly be true, n o a t t e m p t s h o u l d b e m a d e t o f i n d Y enkatksa. I ver.
h im o u t, a n d t h a t it w as h is w ish th a t h is fo llo w ers sh o u ld A. S a h a p a th t, G ijrU k k a l.
n o t q u it th e D h a r m a s a la a t V a d a lu r.
S. N avana R edm an.
H e a lso sa id t h a t b e fo r e th e a d v e n t o f O o d th ere w o u ld
2 0 th A v a n i, C b itb r a b a n u .
b o w i t n e s s e d c e r ta in m ir a c le s o n e a r th a n d t h a t a ll sh o u ld
n o t b e su rp rised a t or d e c e iv e d b y th e m , (e.)
Q, 6. D id n ot you r G uru p red ict, as certaiu A stro­ NOTES BY N. CHIDAMBARAM.
n o m e r s h a v e sin c e don e, th at in th e course of som e 20
(a) Q u e stio n No. 1 is p la i n enough. F rom th e rep ly
years, th e g r e a t e r p a r t o f m a n k in d w o u ld b e c a rried away
it d o e s n o t a p p e a r t h a t R a m a l i n g a m P i 1Ini e v e r sa id th at
by d eath , and th at a ctu ated by a d esire to avert th is
“ th e eso teric m e a n in g o f th e V e d a s and o th e r sacred books
c a la m ity h e w a s e n d e a v o u r in g hard to sooth e th e w rath
of th e E a st w o u ld be rev ea led by th e M ah atm as in th e
o f th e A lm ig h ty ? In fact w a s not th is th e m a in a im
N o r th to fo r eig n ers,” as stated by P a n d it V ela y u d u m
o f h is life a n d o f th e S a b lia s ta rted b y h im ?
M u d a llia r.— ( V id e p a g e s 2 4 3 an d 2 4 4 o f th e la st J u l y issu e
A. The m a in object of our G uru w a.s, t h a t a l l m en of th e T h e o ,s o p h i s t .)
sh o u ld en joy th e b le ssin g s he h im se lf en joyed . We
(b) T h is sounds not u n lik e th e expected advent of
fin d t h a t h is p r a y e r to th e A lm ig h ty was to th e effect
C h rist b y t h e C h ristia n s. I dou bt w h eth er th e F ou n d ers
th at he sh o u ld b e th e m ea n s o f im p a rtin g such b lessin g s
o f th e T h e o so p h ic a l S o c ie ty or th e A d ep t B rothers th em ­
to t h e w o rld a t large. The a im of th e Sabha is th a t
selv e s at all share in som e such ex p e cta tio n .
every one sh o u ld try h is best to fin d out truth and
I t is not im p ro b a b le th at th e P a n d it h im se lf, ju d g in g
a c t a cco rd in g ly , (f.) fr o m t h e s i g n s o f t h e t im e , w a s led to t h e o p in io n w h i c h h e
Q 7. W h a t w a s h is o b je c t in a d v is in g h is fo llo w e r s to ascrib es to h is G uru. [H ere fo llo w som e irrelev a n t
b u r y th e d ea d b o d ies of tlieir rela tio n s ? rem arks by th e w riter w h ich , b e in g b a sed upon fla g ra n t
A. I t s h o u ld n o t b e su p p o s e d t h a t to o n e th at had th e m isin fo rm a tio n as to our S o c ie ty and, m oreover, couched
p o w e r to r a ise th e dead b u rn in g w o u ld m ake th o task in o b j e c t io n a b le la n g u a g e , a r e o m i t t e d . — E d. T.
m o r e d iffic u lt th a n b u r y in g . I t is a sin in ns to destroy ( c) 'P h is a n d r e p l y to q u estio n No. 2 do not seem to
th e b o d y created b y God. Learned m en say th at even i n d i c a t e t h a t i n R a m a l i n g a m P i l l a i ’s o p i n i o n , “ w hat m en
w h e r e lif e is e x t i n c t th e life p rin c ip le never le a v e s th e c a ll G o d is in fa c t th e p rin cip le of U n iv ersa l lo v e w h ic h
body, and th at th erefore to burn such body w o u ld be p ro d u ces an d su sta in s p erfect harm ony and eq u ilib riu m
m urder. B esid e s, as th e natural w ish is th at th e dead t h r o u g h o u t a ll N a t u r e , ” a s s t a t e d b y t h e T a m i l P a n d it .
s h o u ld r e t u r n t o l i f e i n th eir id e n tic a l b o d ies, it is not
(d) F r o m t h i s it is e v id e n t th a t i t is n o t tru e th a t th e
p r o p e r to d e s tr o y such b o d ies. B esid e s, we know th at
“ d oor w a s lo c k e d by h is ord ers,” as stated b y th e P a n d it,
certa in great m en, after th ey en ter ou th eir S a m a d h i,
nor “ th e o n ly o p e n in g w a lle d u p .” I t is also c lea r th at
r e m a in w it h t h e ir b o d ie s for a lo n g tim e. W e have seen
t h e p la c e w a s n o t “ o p e n e d a n d e x a m in e d a y e a r la te r ,” b u t
th a t th e b o d ie s o f persons who w ere c o n sid ered to be
fu lly 30 m on th s la ter, nor is it tru e th at “ th ere was
o r d in a r y m e n , r e m a in e d free fr o m d e c a y after b u ria l ; a n d
n o t h i n g to b e s e e n b u t a v a c a n t ro o m ,” for t h e r e w as th e
a s i t is d if fic u lt to fin d o u t t h e real e x c e lle n c e a n d v irtu e
body of R a m a lin g a m P illa i as reported by th e o n ly
o f c e r t a i n p e r s o n s , it is a lw a y s s a fe a n d a d v i s a b l e to bury
ey e-w itn ess th a t had th e co u ra g e to e n ter th e room and
th e dead as a general ru le, (g.) e x a m i n e it, t h o u g h t h i s is d i s c r e d i t e d b y t h o s e th at chose
Q. 8. W a s n o t y o u r G u r u s e r io u s w h e n h e sa id in th e to r em a in w ith o u t.
N o t ic e circu la te d by h im th at th o se th at freq u en t h is
(e) Q u e stio n No. 5 is p lain enough. It does not
S a b h a w o u ld w itn e s s th e p h e n o m e n a o f th e d ea d r e tu r n in g
a p p ea r from th e rep ly to it th a t R a m a lin g a m P illa i ev er “ e x ­
to life a n d of th e old b e c o m in g y o u n g ? Y o u w ill r e m e m ­
c la im e d t l i a t t h e t i m e i s n o t far o ff w h e n p e r s o n s fr o m R u s s ia
b e r h a v in g g iv e n m e a T a m il co p y of th e-N o tic e for tr a n s ­
an d A m e r ic a w ill c o m e to I n d ia a n d p r e a ch th e d o c tr in e of
la tio n in to E n g lish .
U n iv ersa l B ro th erh o o d .” N a y , m o r e ; th e la st s e n te n c e o f
A. To witness th e p h e n o m e n a m e n tio n e d iu th e N o tice t h e r e p ly , i f i t m e a n s a n y t h i n g a t all, w o u l d s e e m to show
ut th e tim e of th eir actu al occurrence, tw o th in g s are t h a t t h e S a b h a is n o t p r e p a r e d t o “ a p p recia te th e grand
n e c e s s a r y — 1 s t, B o d y (or lo n g life) ; 2 n d , C e r t a in [lo w ers. T o t r u t h s ” p r e a ch ed b y fo reig n ers, nor are th ey in c lin ed to
p o s s e s s t h e s e i t is n e c e s s a r y to p r a y to t h e A l m i g h t y . The attach any im p o rta n c e, a g reeab ly to th e in s tr u c tio n s of
N o t i c e in q u e s t i o n w a s is s u e d for t h e purpose of aw aken­ th e ir G u ru , to th e “ m a n y w o n d e r s w o r k e d b y t h e B ro th ers
in g in m e n a desire to acquire th e sa id r eq u isites. (//.) w h o liv e in th e N o r th .”
Q. 0. W as your G uru a b e lie v e r in a fu tu re b irth }. (f) Q u e stio n s N o . 6 to N o . 10 w ere s u g g e ste d to m e by
W a s it n o t th e o p in io n o f y o u r G u i u th a t w hen, a m a n d ies v a rio u s d isc u ssio n s w h ic h I h ad w ith V en k atesa Iyer, th e
ev er y th in g in h im d ies w ith h im , and th a t N irv a n a or m o s t im p o rta n t C h ela o f R a m a lin g a m P illa i, iu fact one
M o k sh a c o n s is t s in t h e p r e s e r v a t io n o f th is p h y sica l b od y o f t h e v e r y fe w t h a t e v e n n o w str ictly a d h er e to th e in str u c ­
fro m d is s o lu tio n ? tio n o f th e G uru, a n d w ho, u n lik e th e T a m il P a n d it, g a v e
A. T here is a fu tu r e b irth . To one t h a t h a s l e a r n e d to uj) y e a r s a g o h is lu c r a t iv e p r o fe s sio n as a p r a c titio n er at a
preserve h is b o d y from d is s o lu t io n t h e r e is no fu tu r e b irth . m o f u s s il b a r a n d n o w r e s id e s a t V a d a lu r, Q u e stio n No, G
is p la in e n o u g h ; still a d ir e c t r e p ly to it lia s n o t b e e n v o u c h ­ I t w as w r itte n th a t R a m a lin g a m P illa i sa id t h a t th o se
safed . T h e rep ly, h o w e v e r , s h o w s t h a t R a m a lin g a m w a s a w h o are ca p a b le o f b e in g m e m b e r s o f th e Sangam ex ist
firm b e l i e v e r in a p e r s o n a l G od and th at ho w an ted to in t h e N o rth . T h a t th is statem en t i.s true, V en k atesa
a ssu m e th e p o sitio n o f a S a v io u r o f m a n k in d . I y e r (t h e so -c a lle d c h ie f C h e la , by th e critic) a n d t h e r e s t
(g) H e r e is a c le a r h i n t t h a t R a m a l i n g a m P i l l a i e n t e r ­ a d m it. I s it a m i s t a k e to s a y t h a t M a h a t m a s a r e t h e o n l y
ta in ed th e C h ristia n n o tio n o f th e p o ssib ility o f th e resur­ fit p e r s o n s to e x p la in and reveal th e V ed as and Sh astras,
rectio n o f th e dead. W h ile R a m a lin g a m was for b u ria l, w h e n o n c e t h e i r e x i s t e n c e is a d m i t t e d ?
t h e m e m b e is o f tlie T h e o s o p h ic a l S o c ie ty are, I b e lie v e , in I t is n o w h e r e p o in t e d o u t in t h e P a n d i t ’s sk etch th at
fa v o u r o f c re m a tio n . R a m a lin g a m P i lla i e v e r sa id t h a t t h e r e is n o t a P ersonal
(h) T h e r e is a c le a r m en tio n m ade here of th at one God. H ere m ay be a d d u c e d in favou r of th e sta tem en t
tilin g w ith w h ic h R a m a lin g a m P i l l a i ’s m e m o r y i s in sep ar­ “ T h a t w h a t m e n c a ll ‘ G o d ’ is, in fact, th e p rin cip le of
a b ly c o n n e c te d in th e e y e s o f t h o s e th a t kn ow a n y th in g of U n iv ersa l L o v e,” a sta n za from “ T h ir u m a n th ira m ” b y
h i m , v iz ., h i s p r o m i s e t o r a is e t h e d e a d . T o s p e a k of R a m a - “ T h ir u m u la r ” o n e o f th e S iv e in a ta A c lia r y a s, a n d w h o liv e d
lin g a m a n d to o m it h is a v o w e d p o w e r s to r a is e t h e d e a d , is for 3 ,0 0 0 y ea rs.
to d escrib e t h e fig u re o f “ P o ly p h e m u s w ith h is e y e o u t.” “ T h u ig n o ran t sa y t h a t Love and B ra h m a m a re different. N o n e
I a m p r o m p t e d t o r e m a r k t h a t o f a l l t h e P a n d i t ’s o m i s s i o n s kno w how love becomes B ra h m a m . A f t e r kn ow ing t h a t l o v e is
in p u b lis h in g a tru e v ersio n o f R a m a lin g a m P i l l a i ’s life Bralim aia one becom es absorbed in love and B r a h m a m .”
th is s e e m s to b e t h e m o st se r io u s an d o b jec tio n a b le . T h i s is a lso show n in R a m a lin g a m P i l l a i ’s w o r k s , v i z . ,
(i) I cannot suppose for a m om ent th at tlie T heo­ “ A r u l p e r u m j o t h i A k a v a l , ” &c. N o t h i n g r n o v e is s a id in th e
s o p h ic a l S o c i e t y a t all e n te r ta in th e o p in io n th a t one can sk etch ab o u t a personal G od.
w h o lly e s c a p e p a y i n g t h e fin a l d e b t to N a t u r e .
Q u e stio n 5 — “ Y o u a r e n o t f i t t o b e c o m e .......................................
(j) A s th e 1 3 th s e n t e n c e is n o t c le a r I m a y b e a llo w e d
u p o n th is co u n try .” (P . 2 2 4 , TiiKOSOPHrsT, J u ly n u m b e r .)
t o s t a t e h e r e w h a t t h e p o p u l a r n o t i o n is o n t h e s u b j e c t , v iz.,
N . C. m ig h t have m e a n t to c a ll a n error. T h a t t h i s is a
t h a t tlie b u ild in g w a s e r e c te d for th e p u rp o se o f r eceiv in g
fact V e n k a te s a Iy e r an d oth ers a d m it ; th o u g h n o t in th e
G od w hen h e m a k es h is advent.
v e r y s a m e w o r d s, y e t in o t h e r w o r d s. S a b a p a th y G u r u k a l,
Y o u w ill th u s note th a t th ere are several im p o rta n t who sig n s N. C . ’s c riticism also sig n s th e certificate
p o in ts in c o n n e c tio n w it h t b e life o f R a m a lin g a m P illa i, of a p p e n d e d to th e T a m il p a m p h l e t p u b l i s h e d b y t h e P an d it^
w h ic h n o t th e le a st m en tio n is m ade by th e P a n d it in
If th o sta tem en t th at th e door was c lo sed by
h is a c c o u n t o f t h e sa m e . F a r from th e v ie w s o f R a m a lin ­
th e orders of R a m a lin g a m P illa i be u n tru e, and th at
gam P illa i b e in g “ id e n tic a lly th ose of th e T h e o so p n ic a l
it was clo sed (4) fou r days after, w ith o u t h is
S o c ie t y ,” y o u w ill o b s e r v e t h a t th e r e is n o t one im p o rta n t
orders, be tru e, co u ld th ese (V en k a ta Iyer and
p o in t about w h ic h both p a r tie s w o u ld m u tu a lly shake
oth ers) th e c h ie f C liela s, do what was not ordered
h an ds; or o n e c o m m o n ground except perhaps as to th e
b y th eir G u ru ? L e t w ise read ers ju d g e . I f it b e a n error
o b n o x io u s d istin ctio n s of caste in w liieli R a m a lin g a m
to have . s a id th at th e door of th e Sam adhi room was
P illa i w as n a tu r a lly m u c h in terested for t h is p la in rea so n ,
opened 12 m ou th s after, w hen it was DO m o n t h s after,
v iz ., t h a t h e o c c u p ie d , t h o u g h b y t h e a c c i d e n t o f b ir th , t h e
th e P a n d it n eed o n ly rem ark th at h e was not present at
lo w est round of th e la d d er, or, in oth er w ords, he was
V a d a lu r and th at he o n ly w rote what he had heard.
a Sudra, In co n clu sio n , I sh a ll also lea v e th e readers
That th e rem a in s of lta m a lin g a m P illa i w ere fou n d
“ to d raw th e ir o w n in fer e n c e s from th e fa c ts” as y o u h a v e
b y th e d a r in g fe llo w w h o en tered th e S a m a d h i room , even
d o n e.*
V en k a tesa I y e r h im s e lf d o es n o t b eliev e.
N. C h id am b aram Iy er. I t is s a id t h a t t h e P a n d i t h a s m a d e m any o m issio n s in
T riv a d i, S e p t e m b e r 24, 1 8 8 2 . h is sk e tc h o f th e life o f R a m n lin g a m P illa i w h ic h C h id a m ­
baram Iyer and V en k atesa Iyer h in t a t by a series of
q u estio n s a n d a n sw ers. (C an o m issio n s be c o n sid ered as
. REJOINDER OF PANDIT VELAYUDAM.f
e r r o r s ?)
T h e I y e r sa y s t h a t th e r e w e re n u m e r o u s errors an d o m is ­ A s th e le c tu r e s o f R a m a lin g a m P illa i w e r e o f a scien tific
s io n s in t h e lif e o f R a m a l i n g a m P illa i as sk etch ed by th e nature, th e P a n d it in ter p r e tin g th eir m e a n in g in a
T a m il P a n d it. N o w h ere does th e au th or o f th e criticism , scien tific lig h t, w rote h is sk etch . H e does not, lik e
N . C h i d a m b a r a m I y e r , s a y w l i a t t h e e r r o r is. T h e c r i t i c i s m , o th e r s , g i v e a f a b u lo u s m e a n i n g to w h a t h a s b e e n said . If
s e e m s to b e fu ll o f ir r ele v a n t q u e s tio n s a n d a n sw ers. th is (th e fa b u lo u s m e a n in g ) bo th e real m e a n in g of th e
S u p p o sin g th at he m eans th e passage “ 1 need s a y in g s w e sh a ll r ejo ic e to s e e th em fu lfilled .
h a rd ly rem ark th a t th ese p rin cip les are id en tica lly N . C h id a m b a r a m Iy er says, “ I h a v e th e g r e a te s t resp ect
th ose of th e T h eo so p h ica l S o c ie ty ” to be an error, fo r t h e A d e p t B r o t h e r s (M ahatm as), a n d for R a m a lin g a m
the m e a n in g o f tlie phrase “ Sam arasa V eda Sam narga P illa i h im s e lf w h o w as n o d o u b t a great m an in h is own
S a n g a in ,” as u n d erstood from th e w orks of R am a­ w a y .” And yet fu rth er w rites : th ere is not one p o in t
lin g a m P illa i, an d th e p r im a r y o b je c ts o f t h e T h e o s o p h ic a l a b o u t w h ic h b o th p a rties co u ld m u tu a lly shake hand3 a3
S o c ie ty , as g iv e n in th e ru le book of th e S o c iety (o n on com m on ground, except perhaps in th e im p ro p riety
p a g e 5), s h o w to a n y m a n o f o r d in a r y c o m m o n sense, how w h ic h b oth p erceiv ed “ in th e o b n o x io u s d istin ctio n of
th e p rin cip les of both th e S o cieties m a y b e co n sid ered c a ste in w h ic h R a m a lin g a m P illa i w as m u c h i n t e r e s t e d for
id en tica l. th e p la in reason, v iz ., th at he o ccu p ied th ro u g h th e
Sam arasa V ed a San m arga San gam is a so ciety form ed accid en t of b irth th e lo w est round of th e la d d e r or,
to propagate a fe e lin g of B rotherh ood and so cia l u n ity i n o t h e r w o r d s , h e w a s a S u d r a .'”
a m o n g all m a n k in d w ith o u t d is tin c t io n o f c a s te or creed, N o t o n ly R a m a lin g a m P illa i and th e Founders of th e
a s e n j o in e d in t h e V e d a s a n d A g a m a m s , a n d to lo o k after
T h e o so p h ic a l S o c ie ty , b u t a lso th e U p an ish ad s and th e
t h e w e ll b e in g a n d h a p p in e s s o f all l iv in g o b jec ts, w it h o u t
w o r k s o f t h e R i s l i i s m i m e d b y N . C ., a n d t h o s e of Sankara-
d o in g th e slig h te st harm ; k n o w in g th a t th e n a tu re o f th e
charya, th e G u ru o f th e p resen t B ra h m in s, im p ly th a t th o
S u p r e m e P o w e r is to p e r v a d e a ll life aud to in sep a r a b ly
d istin ctio n o f c a s t e is n o t h i n g b u t t r iv ia l p r e ju d ic e .
c o n n e c t its e lf w ith t h e S o u l.
“ O ! Precio us ! H e who has seen you is divine aud fin ds d i v i u i t y
W h a t N . C h id a m b a r a m Iyer m eans by th e Q u e stio n 1 ( P ush B rahm em o) in e v e ry th in g he sees, such as grass, trees, &c.”
ca n n o t ea sily b e seen .
Such is th e m e a n in g of a stan za of R a m a lin g a m
P illa i. But why sh o u ld V en k atesa Iyer be c a lle d th e
• C e rta in ly t l i e y w i l l, a n d p n r li a i> s s o m e m a y f a i l t o n g r e o w i t l i our C h ie f C h ela ( W h ile th ere is no one to object to h is
c o rresp o n d en t. W o s h o u ld sny t h is w a s m o r e Uwm p r o b a b l e . — E d. T.
b e in g c a lle d e v e n th e C h ie fe st, th o P a n d it does not at all
t Freoly' rendered into Enelish by ('{. Subbinh Chetty Onru, F.T.S., who
speaks in the third person.— T- say, nor p r e su m e to s a y , th at h e is th e o n ly C h e la of
R. P.’s. I t m ay here be asked bow long it is since
V en k a te sa I y e r became a Sani;«si.
(for) T. V e l a y u d a m M u d a l l i a h , F.T.S.,
Tamil P a n d it of Presidency College.
Madras, October 30, 1882.
E d i t o r ’s N o t e .— The m a tte r m u st slop h e r e ; nt least
u n til we can see some b e tte r ronsons th an a t present to
continue it. T he facts are all in and th e reader can ju d g e
which p a rty is nenrest. right.
T I I E C H I E F M I S S I O N O F T H E T ll E O S O T I U C A L
S O C IE T Y .
BY M. I). C lfA T T K lU T .
The I n d ia n Spectator (Bombay) of the 12t,li instant,
of which a copy has reached my hand, rem arks :—
“ W h a te v e r its cavillers mny say, th e r e is one pood the
Thcosophic m ovem ent is doing in India, for which th e prom o­
ters must, bo given full credit. W e re fe r to the g row in g spirit,
of friendliness betw een E uro p ea n s nnd natives. T h e notable
instances th n t could be named a r e a w ell-known E nglish jou rn al­
ist and an equally w ell-known Anglo-Indian official, now
retired. T h e change in (lie tone, if not the policy, of t.lie
P io n e e r is tr u ly gratifying, and that, ch ange is generally a tt r i­
b u ted to the teachings o f T heosophy. Without, accepting the
miraculous achievements of the H im alayan B ro th e r s or of thoir
representatives, one m i g h t be justified in saying th a t the incident
above referred to is in itself a miracle o f w hich any agency,
h um an or super-human, might, well lie. proud ! O f M r. A. 0 .
H u m e we cannot say w ith ce rta in ty th a t his public utterances
nre en tirely due to a sudden impulse from w ithout. B u t th ere
is Iittlo doubt th a t his generous instincts have been utilised of
late w ith excellent, effect, l i e is one o f the la rg e st contributors
to contem porary Indian literature, and w h a te v e r proceeds fi om
him has a peculiar value for tho educated native reader. Il is
re c e n t appeal to the people to be u p and doing, to prove, thetn-
fclves w o rth y o f the political boon offered them hy a righteous
G o ve rn m en t, is one of those fervent and inspiring utterances
which go straight, to th e heart of tho nation. W ith the help
and co-oporation o f th e i r Anglo-Indian fellow-subject?, tho
natives o f In dia will n ot take lo ng to be instructed in the
practical business of self-government. A n d th e success o f this
magnificent politienl e x p e rim e n t will have, to be. credited, in
ho w e v e r small n degree, to th e account o f a m ov em en t which,
th ou gh scrupulously abstaining from politics, lias hud, if not a
direct, yet a distinct influence, on the moral and mental education
o f tho people. W it h all its foibles and vagaries the Theosophic
Association is stre n g th e n in g bro therly love b etw een nations,
and th n t in itself is w ork to be grateful for.”
I t is very gratifying to note this change in th e tone
of a journ al which, if I mistake not, was bitterly opposed
to th e Theosophical Society a year or two ago. I t has
always occurred to me, a silent observer of all t h a t has
passed during th e last four years th a t the F o unders of this
Society have been in In d ia — th a t th ey could do the
greatest a m ount of good to our country if th ey could b u t
succeed in th e ir professed object of brin ging togeth er the
rulers and the ruled on th e common platform of an united
intellectual Brotherhood. M any have not like me, I
am afraid, watched very anxiously th e progress of this
association in its researches in Science or Occultism, since
th e generality of mankind for whom we have to work
very naturally care b u t little abo ut these subjects. So
far as these results, however, have been m ade public, we
have every reason to hope and believe th a t there is much
more of t r u th u nd erlying them than is a p p a re n t to ordi­
nary sceptical eyes. B ut, however, great may be this truth,
we are told th a t it is not within th e easy reach of all, nor is
it of any great use on this earth. W h e n our tu rn comes to
pass into th e next world, if there should be one, we shall,
I believe, not e n te r it w itho ut being furnished with the
necessary conditions to live in it. W e have therefore to
th in k of the present and m ake th e best of this life. I
have always th ou gh t it th e highest d u ty of man to serve
his fellow-men, and if there is a ju s t God, he cannot b u t
be pleased with whatsoever we may do to ameliorate the
lot of H u m a n ity . I f th ere should be a future life, th e
good we may thus do here cannot b u t serve us in the h ere­
after. And if there should be none, our good works will
ever be handed down from generation to generation nnd
our m emory ever remain imperishable. Thus, either way,
im m o rta lity necessarily awaits an unselfish and a p ra c ti­
cal p hilanthropist and a patriot. But this is evidently a
digression. A genuine philanthropist works w ithout
the least interested motive ; he lives for others, he works
for others, he dies for others. And such evidently seem
to be the noble aspirations o f t h e Founders of th e Tlieo-
sophical Society. Since the tim e they came h ere they
have been ill-treated by some of our foolish and ungrateful
countrym en, n otw ithstanding th e ir professions, t h a t they
had come here to live and die with us. Happily, however,
events have proved th e tr u th of their professions, and the
opposition is gradually dying a natural death. The slow
b u t steady change in th e tone of the Pioneer towards the
natives proves to our c o u n tr y m e n th a to u rfrie n d s m e a n tre a l
work, have gone a t it in righ t earnest, and th a t in convinc­
ing the ju d g m ent and w inning th e sympathies of influential
A nglo-Indians for us, th ey were wiser than we. I
am assured by certain of my friends th a t since join in g the
Society they have m arked a g reat change in th e a ttitu d e
oft,lie Anglo-Indian m em bers towards them. T he W esterns
have th u s been gradually ta u g h t to respect our nation for
th e ir past ancestral glory, and the greatness and splendour
of their mother-country, and perhaps for th e hope th a t
those capabilities, intellectual, moral and spiritual,
of the Aryans, though inert, may y et be r e ­
awakened in th e ir now unworthy descendants. At
th e same tim e th e N atives are being t a u g h t to
respect th e W esterns for th e ir present progress and for
th e ir growing desire to know more and more of our
national sciences and philosophies, as praised in recent
noble utterances of Professor Max Miiller, Dr. H u n tre ,
Mr. H u m e and others. T he feelings of both Asiatics and
W esterns have thus been so far modified as to pave the
way for th a t closer attraction which m ay draw th em to ­
gether to stand at last upon th e platform of Brotherhood.
The g reatest service ever done yet by the Pioneer to this
cause of Brotherhood, is th e article entitled “ The Indo-
B ritish N ation,” wliich was copied all over In d ia by all the
N ative papers, and which has been a ttrib u te d — how
ju stly let Europeans say— to th e influence of the new
theosophical ideas th a t are affecting A nglo-Indian
thought. But, while H in d u s m ust concede t h a t th e
Founders of this movement have stuck to th e ir original
policy, and are still carrying on their self-imposed d u ty to
us, w ith ou t one selfish th o u g h t of recompense, w h a t can
we say for ourselves ? W hen I seriously consider this
point, I regret very much to find th a t we have n o t done
a thousandth p a r t of w hat we ought. Some of our coun­
trym en seemed to have ignorantly expected th a t for
simply joining the Thcosophical Society they had th e rig h t
to claim a gift of psychic powers, or at least to be givea
ad ep t teachers, or Gurus, who would take them in
hand as C h e l a s ! W i th these absurd anticipations of
Sidhis and miracle-working in th e ir behalf, they
have grudgingly paid th e prescribed small entrance fee;
and, losing soon th e ir illusion, have sunk into apathy or
changed into actual enemies, plotters and defamers.
Happily, however, th ere have been comparatively few of
th e la tte r class ; th e larger nu m b e r seem to have merely
k e p t aloof and allowed our friends to fight their battle
single-handed. Now t h a t the Theosophical Society has
won success and the worst of the struggle seems to be over,
we may expect to see these faint hearts reviving into a
factitious enthusiasm and plum ing themselves upon the
dates of th e ir diplomas. B u t it m ust not be understood
by either th e Theosophists or ourselves th a t th e full
mission of th e Society is y e t completely achieved. T he field
is a very large one and requires extensive effort. The various
concreteprejudicesofthe a g e a re to be conquered, th e various
nationalities nre to he ta u g h t to respect each other,
religious bigotry and dogmatic intolerance are to be van­
quished. Then only will tlie entire dream of Theosophy
be realised, and a re-united In d ia offer to th e world the
sublim e spectacle of one family bound in the ties of
U niversal Brotherhood. I know these ideas are utopian
to some people; b u t th e above-mentioned and many more
results which we have already witnessed with wondering eyes
du rin g th e last few years, appeal to our sense of shame nnd
tell u sn o tto let these strangers work on, as th e y have h ith e r ­
to, done— alone. Certainly, all of us cannot ta k e an active
p a r t in the work, b u t it would be j u s t to expect a moral
support a t least. My own mind is now fully made up ; and
if th e application for membership, which I have sent in,
be favourably received, our W estern friends will find a tleast
one H ind u who will esteem it no less a privilege th a n duty
to share in tlieir sacred— and as I regard it, most im po rt­
a n t work— th e spiritual and moral regeneration of our
motherland. L e t others chase after S id d h a s if they will, I
am for th e e n lig h te n m e n t of m y people in w hat concerns
th eir individual and social welfare.
Bengal, N o vem b er 17, 1882.
L E T T E R S O N TH EO SO PH Y: TH E SE C R E T
D O C T R IN E .
BY A LAY CHELA.
Few experiences lying ab o u t th e threshold of occult
studies are more perplexing and torm e ntin g th a n those
which have to do with th e policy of the B rothers as to
w hat shall and w hat shall not be revealed to th e outer
world. In fact it is only by stud ents at th e same tim e
tenacious and patient,— continuously anxious to g e t a t
tlie tr u th s of occult, philosophy, b u t cool enough to bide
th e ir tim e when obstacles come in th e way, th a t what
looks a t first sigh t like a grudging and miserly policy in
this m a tte r on th e p a rt of our illustrious teachers can be
endured. Most men persist in ju d g in g all situations by
th e light of th e ir own knowledge an d conceptions, and
certainly by reference to standards of righ t and wrong
w ith which modern civilisation is familiar a p u n g e n t indict­
m en t may be framed against the holder of philosophical
truth. They are regarded by th e ir critics as keeping
guard over their intellectual possessions, declaring
“ we have won this knowledge with strenuous
effort and a t th e cost of sacrifice and suffering :
we will not m ake a present of it to luxurious idlers who
have done nothing to deserve it.” Most critics of the
Theosophical Society and its publications, have fastened
on this obvious idea and have denounced th e policy of the
B r o t h e r s as “ selfish” and “ unreasonable.” I t has been
argued th a t as regards occult poivers th e necessity for
keeping back all secrets which would enable unconscien-
tious people to do mischief, m ight be granted, b u t th a t no
corresponding motives could dictate th e reservation of
occult philosophical truth.
I have lately come to perceive certain considera­
tions on this subject which have generally been
overlo ok ed; and it seems desirable to p u t them for­
ward a t once. Especially as a very considerable block
of occult philosophical teaching is now before tlie world,
and as those who appreciate its value best, will sometimes
be inclined to protest all the more emphatically against
th e ta r liness with which it has been served out and the
curious precautions with which its fu rth e r develop­
m en t is even now surrounded.
In a nutshell, th e explanation of th e tim id policy
displayed, is th a t the B r o t h e r s are fully assured th a t the
disclosure ot th a t actual t ru th abou t th e origin of the
W oild and of H u m an ity,— of the laws which govern their
existence and th e destinies to which they are moving on
which constitutes th e secret doctrine.— is calculated to
have a very momentous effect on th e welfare of mankind.
G reat results ensue from small beginnings and th e seeds
of kuowledgo now being sown in the world may ultimately
bear a prodigious harvest. Wc, who are present merely
a t th e sowing, may not realise th e magnitude and
im portance of th e im pulse we aie concerned in
giving, b u t th a t impulse will roll on, and a few genera­
tions hence will be productive of tremendous conse­
quences one way or the other. Fo r occult philosophy
is no shadowy system of speculation like any of th e
hundred philosophies with which the minds of m en have
been overwhelmed ; it is the positive Truth, and by the
time enough of it is let out, it will be seen to be so by
thousands of the greatest men who may th e n be living m
th e world. W h a t will bo the consequence '! T h e first
effect on th e minds of all who come t.o u nderstand it,^ is
terribly iconoclastic. I t drives out before it everything
else in the shape of religious belief. I t leaves no room
for any conceptions belonging even to th e ground-work or
foundation of ordinary religious faith. And what becomes
th e n of all rules of right and wrong, of all sanctions for
morality ? Most assuredly there are higher rules of right
and wrong thrilling through every fibre of occult philoso­
phy really, than any which common place theologies can
teach ; far more cogent sanctions for morality than can bo
derived at second-hand from the distorted doctrines of
exoteric religions; b u t a complete transfer of th e sanction,
will be a process involving th e greatest possible danger
for m a n kind a t th e time. Bigots of all denominations
will laugh a t th e idc''. of such a transfer being seriously
considered. The orthodox Christian, confident in the
thousands of churches overshadowing ali western lands ;
of the enormous force engaged in the m aintenance and
propagation of the faith, with the Pope and the Protestan t
hierarchy in alliance for this broad purpose, with tho
countless clergy of all sects, and the fiery Salvation A rmy
bringing up tiie rear, will th in k th a t tlie E a rth itself is
more likely to crumble into physical ruins than the
irresistible authority of Religion to bo driven back. They
are all counting however w ithout th e progress of en lig h t­
enment. T h e most absurd religions die h a r d ; b u t when
th e intellectual classic definitively reject them, they die,
with throes of terrible agony, may be, and perhaps, like
Samson in the Temple, b u t they cannot perm anently outlive
a conviction t h a t they are false among the leading minds
of th e age. J u s t what has been said of C hristian ity may
be said of Mahomedanism and Brahininism. Little or no
risk is run while occult literature aims merely at p u ttin g
a reasonable construction on perverted tenets,— it show­
ing people t h a t tr u th may lurk behind even the strongest
tlieologic fictions. A nd th e lover of orthodoxy in either
of the cases instanced may welcome th e explanation with
complacency. F o r him also, as for the Christian, th e faith
which he professes, sanctioned by what looks like a
considerable a n tiq u ity to the very limited vision of
uninitiated historians, and supported by the atta c h m e nt ot
millions grown old in its service and careful to educate
th e ir children in th e convictions th a t have served th e ir
turn,— is founded on a rock which has its base in the
foundations of th e World. Frag m entary teachings of
occult philosophy seem at first to he no more than
annotations on the canonical doctrine. They may even
embellish it with graceful interpretations of its symbolism,
parts of which may have seemed to require apology when
ignorantly tak en a t th o foot of the letter. B u t this is
merely th e beginning of the attack. If occult, philosophy
gets before th e world with a n ything resembling complete­
ness it will so command the assent ol earnest students th a t
for them nothing else of t h a t nature will remain standing.
And the earnest students in such cases m ust multiply.
They are m ultiplying now, even, merely on the strength
of the little t h a t has been revealed. T rue a.s y e t—.for some
tim e to come,— th e study will be as it were the whim of
a few ; b u t “ those who know,” know among other
things th at, give it fair play, and it m ust become the
subject of enthusiasm with all advanced thinkers. And
what is to happen when th e world is divided into two
camps,— the whole forces of intellectuality and culture on
the one side, those of ignorance and superstitious fanaticism
 on tlie o t h e r ! W i t h such a war as t h a t im pending th e
adepts who will be conscious th a t they prepared th e lists
and armed th e combatants, will require some b e tte r
justification for tlieir policy before tlieir own consciences
th a n th e reflection th a t in the be ginning people accused
them of selfishness, and of keeping a miserly guard over
th e ir knowledge and so goaded them with this ta u nt, th a t
th e y were induced to set th e ball rolling.
T here is no question, be it understood, as to th e relative
m erits of the moral sanctions t h a t are afforded by oc.cnlt
philosophy, and those which are distilled from the worn
out m aterials of existing creeds. If th e world could
conceivably be sh u n te d a t one coup from th e one code of
morals to th e other, th e world would be g reatly th e b e tte r
for the change. B u t the change cannot be m ade all a t
once, and th e transition is most dangerous. On th e other
hand it is no less dangerous to take no steps in th e direc­
tion of th a t transition. F o r though existing religions may
be a g re a t power— th e Pope ruling still over millions of
consciences if n ot over towns and states, the nam e of the
P ro ph et being still a word to conjure with in war, th e
forces of Brahminical custom holding countless millions in
willing subjection,— in spite of all this th e old religions
are sapped and past th e ir prime. T h e y aro in process
of decay, for they are losing their hold on the educated
fninority ; it is still the case th a t in all countries th e camps
of orthodoxy include large num bers of men distinguished
by intellect'and culture, b u t one by one th e ir num bers are
diminishing. Five and tw enty years only, in Europe, have
made a prodigious change. Books are w ritten now th a t
p a s s a l m o s t as m atters of course which would have been
impossible no fu rth e r back than th a t. N o fu rth er back,
books thrilled society with surprise and excitement, which
the intellectual world would now ignore as embodying
th e feeblest commonplaces. The old creeds in fact are
slowly losing th e ir hold upon m ankind,— more slowly in
th e more deliberately moving E a s t th a n in Europe, b u t
even here by degrees also,— and a tim e will come,
w h ether occult philosophy is given o ut to ta k e th eir
place or not,— when they will no longer afford even
such faulty sanctions for moral conduct and right, as
they have supplied in tim es gone by. Therefore it is
plain th a t som ething must, bo given out to ta k e their
place, and hence th e determ inations of which this move­
m e n t in which we are engaged is one of th e undulations,
— these very words some of th e foremost froth upon the
advancing wave.
B u t surely when som ething which m u st be done, is yet
very dangerous in the doing th e persons who control the
operations in progress may be excused for exercising th e
u tm o st caution. Readers of th e T h e o s o p h i s t will be
aware how b itterly our adept “ B r o t h e r s ” have been criti­
cised for choosing to ta k e th e ir own tim e and methods
in the task of partially com m unicating th eir knowledge to
th e world. H e re in In d ia these criticisms have been in ­
dignantly resented by th e passionate loyalty to th e
M ahatmas th a t is so widely spread among Hindoos.— re ­
sented more by instinct th an reason, in some cases per­
haps, though in others no doubt as a consequence of a
full appreciation of all th a t is being now explained and of
other considerations beside. But in Europe such criticisms
will have seemed hard to answer. T h e answer is
really embodied however impeifeetly in th e views of th e
situation now set forth. W e ordinary mortals in the
world, work as men travelling by th e light of a lantern in
an unknow n country. W e see b u t a little way to the
right and left, only a little way behind even. B u t th e
adepts work as men travelling by daylight with the
fu rth e r advantage of being able a t will to get up in a
balloon and survey vast expanses of lake and plain and
forest.
The choice of tim e and m ethods for communicating
occult knowledge to th e world necessarily includes the
choice of interm ediary agents. H ence tho double set of
misconceptions, in In d ia and Europe, each a d apted to th e
land of its origin. In In d ia where knowledge of the
B rothers’ existence and reverence for th e ir attributes is
widely diffused, it is natural th a t persons who may be
chosen for th e ir serviceability rather than for their
merits, as the recipients of their direct teaching,
should be regarded with a feeling resembling jealousy.
In Eu rop e tb e difficulty of getting into any sort of
relations with the fountain-head of Eastern philosophy,
is regarded as due to an exasperating exclusiveness
011 the p a rt of th e adepts in th a t philosophy, which
renders it practically worth no mail’s while to devote
him self to the task of soliciting their instruction.
B u t n e ith e r feeling is reasonable when considered in
tho light of th e explanations now put forward. The Brothers
can oonsider none b u t public interests in th e largest sense
of the words, in throwing out th e first experim ental flashes
of occult revelation into th e world. ' They can only employ
agents on whom they can rely, for doing the work as they
may wish it done,— or a t all events in no m anner which
may be widely otherwise. Or they can only protect the
task on which th e y are concerned in another way. They
may consent sometimes to a. very much more direct mode
of instruction th a n th a t provided through interm ediary
agants for th e world a t large, in the cases of organised
societies solemnly pledged to secresy, for the tim e being
a t all events, in regard to the teaching to be conveyed to
them. In reference to such societies the Brothers need not
be on th e watch to sec th a t the teaching is not worked
up for th e service of the world in a way they would
consider, for any reasons of their own, likely to be injurious
to final results or dangerous. Different m en will
assimilate th e philosophy to bo unfolded, in different ways:
forsom eit will be too iconoclastic altogether, and its fu rth e r
p u rsu it after a certain point is reached, unwelcome. Such
persons e ntering too hastily on th e path of exploration,
will be able to drop oft from the un dertaking whenever
th ey like, if thoroughly pledged to secrecy in th e first
instance w itho ut being a source of em barrassm ent after­
wards, as regards the steady prosecution of th e work in
hand by o ther more resolute or less sensitive, labourers.
I t may be t h a t in some such societies, if any should bo
formed in which occult philosophy may be secretly
studied, some oftlio members will be as well fitted as or
b ette r th an any other persons employed elsewhere to p u t
th e teachings in shape for publication, b u t in th a t case it
is to be presum ed t h a t special qualifications will eventually
m ak e themselves apparent. The meaning and good sense
of th e restrictions provisionally imposed meanwhile, will
be plain enough to any im partial person an reflection,
even though th eir novelty and strangeness may be n little
resented a t th e first glance.
M A T T E R A N D FO RC E, FRO M T H E H IN D U
S T A N D P O IN T .
BY MOHTNI MOHUN CHATTERJEE, F.T.S.
T here is a comical side of everything, and modern
science is certainly no exception to this general rule.
L ike Bombastes Furioso it has hung up its dogmatic boots
and sent forth a challenge to all comers with such ridicul­
ous pompousness, t h a t it forces a smile to th e lips of even
th e most superficial stu d e n t of our ancient philosophy,
which alone enables us to take a true estimate of the
Falstaffian valour of this would-be Cnesar of thought.
I t is from this philosophy th a t we learn th e tru e ■worth of
th e villainous men in buckram in th e shape of exploded
superstitions th a t science claims to have slain. T h e most
comical p a r t of th e whole is, perhaps, th e bold assurance
with which it tries, when pressed hard by an adversary,
to ta k e refuge behind its own fanciful laws of war which
rem inds us of a certain fencer in Moliere. T he whole
existence of modern science is a reductio a d absu rd u m of
these laws— th e so-called “ scientific m ethod”; still, if you
m a ke a m anly a tte m p t to take down th e worn-out boots
and m ake th e highw ay safe for peaceful travellers, Bom ­
bastes will frighten th em off by his unearthly yells.
 A n a tte m p t was a short while ago made in these
columns by “ A Theosophist” to establish, with a flourish
of trum pets, some scientific idol, p atched up by him, with
no great skill or design, on th e ruined reputation of Colonel
Olcott as a scientist. B u t th e gods of th e Philistines have
fallen down in the presence of J e h o v a h ’s A rk. The reply
to it by “ A nother Theosophist,” contained iu th e same
nu m b er of this journal, is q u ite conclusive to all im par­
tial minds. The addition of a few remarks, from th e
H in d u point of view, to th a t exhaustive dissertation, will
not, it is hoped, be entirely o u t of place.
I f there is one th in g more than an other which m arks
the singularly unique position of modern science, it is its
bu rning affection for P ro te a n expressions. “ M a tte r” and
“ Force” are perhaps two of th e commonest scientific
term s ; b u t even the greatest of our m odern European
P u n d its are not capable of clearly expressing the ideas
these two words arc in ten ded to convey. I t would p e r­
haps not be an inaccurate representation of th e position of
science to say t h a t to it “ M a t t e r ” is th a t which can
resist “ F o r c e , ” an d “ F o r c e ” is th a t which can act upon
“ M a t t e r . ” One waggishly disjiosed m ig ht quote P u n ch
in this connection— “ W h a t is Mind ? No matter.
W h a t is M a tte r ? N ev er inind.” But in sober
earnest we are here brought face to face with this
dilem m a :— Force either is or is not. Matter. I f th e first
branch of the alternative be true, th e n there is an end of
th e question, and th e scientist deserves b u t little th ank s
for having made such a desperate a tte m p t to create
confusion. Supposing the other branch of it to be true,
le t us see to what conclusion such a supposition necessarily
loads. Two thin gs which are essentially different from
each o ther cannot, as is ta u g h t by our philosophy, have
any m u tu a l relation. I t may safely be assumed no
scientist would ever dream of predicating such a th in g of
M a tte r and Force, and it is therefore a bun da n tly clear th a t
M a tte r and Force are not essentially different ; b u t
still they may differ in one sense ; and no do ubt they do
so, as th e earthenw are pot differs from th e earth and not as
N a u g h t from A u gh t. This difference is merely th e result
of a conscious en tity th in k in g in time. I t is for this reason
t h a t we cannot conceive of th e existence of an ything
beyond the One and th e Only One. I t would be quite out of
place to dwell here a t length upon th e various steps by
which th e m ind of man atta in s to this complete S y nthetic
U n ity ; it would be q u ite enough for our purpose to refer
all inquirers who are wedded to th e W estern school of
th o u g h t to tlie greatest of E uro pe’s modern philosophers
and one who nearly hits upon th e T r u t h — E m m an uel
K an t. 1 need scarcely say th a t the “ empiric” scientists,
as he calls them, have not y e t been able to dislodge him
from any single position ever ta k e n by him.
Again, it will be seen, as our a ncient philosophers
taught, th a t an effect m ust have existed iu its cause, for
th a t which was not can never be. To hold otherwise is
to hold th a t a relationship m ay exist betw een a th in g and
its contrary : or, in other words, it is to build upon tlio
foundation of a miracle— which no doubt Science would
be th e very first to reject with scorn. Now, it is a b u n ­
dantly clear t h a t M a tte r generates Force, and, therefore,
th e la tte r can never be w ith ou t th e former, and is in fact
one of the conditions in which the former exists. Science,
for reasons best known to itself, has chosen to designate
a particular condition of th e Universal Substance (the
M a t t e r of Occult Science) by th e nam e of m a tte r p a r
excellence and ano th er of its conditions by force. This
will be rendered clearer from th e following consideration.
A w eight is raised to a certain height, and th e difference
of condition thus brought abo ut is called “ potential
e n e r g y t h e weight falls down and th e differenco
of condition in falling is “ kinetic energy.” T his perhaps
renders th e subject as plain as it is capable of being made.
I t may, however, here be argued t h a t this difference of
condition shows the presence of a differentiating agent. B u t
certainly th is agent is not a separate eutity ; it is that
eternal law of which the Universal Substance itself is the
embodim ent.
I I O W A “ C H E L A " F O U N D H I S “ G U R U ."*
(Being Extracts from a private letter to Damoilar K. Mavalankar (
Joint-Recording Secretary of the Theosophical Society.)
. . . W h e n we m et last a t Bombay I told you w hat
had happened to me a t Tinnevelly. My health having
been disturbed by official work and worry, I applied for leave
on medical certificate and it was duly granted. One day in
S e p te m b e r last, while I was reading in my room, I was
ordered by th e audible voice of my blessed Guru, M----------
Maharsi, to leave all and proceed immediately to Bombay,
whence I had to go in search of M adame Blavatsky
wherever I could find h e r aud follow her w herever she
went. W ith o u t losing a moment, I closed up all my affairs
and left th e station. For the tones of th a t voice are to me
th e divinist sound in n a tu re ; its commands imperative.
1 travelled in my ascetic robes. Arrived at Bombay,
I found Madame Blavatsky gone, and learned through
you th a t she had left a few days b e fo re ; th a t she was very
ill ; an d that, beyond th e fact th a t she had left the placo
very suddenly with a Chela, you knew nothing of her
whereabouts. And now, I m ust tell you w hat happened
to me after I had left you.
Really not knowing w hither I had best go, I took a
th ro ug h ticket to Calcutta ; but, on reaching Allahabad,
I heard th e sam e well-known voice directing me to go to
Berhampore. A t Azimgunge, in the train, I met, most
p ro v id en tia lly I may say, with some Babus (I did not then
know they were also Theosophists since I had never seen
any of them), who were also iu search of Madame Blavatsky.
Some had traced her to Dinapore, b u t lost her track and
w e n t back to Berhampore. They knew, they said, she was
going to T ib e t and wanted to throw themselves at the feet
of th e M ahatm as to p e rm it them to accompany her. At
last, as I was told, they received from her a note, inform­
ing them to come if they so desired it, b u t th a t she herself
was prohibited from going to T ibet ju s t now. She was
to remain, she said, in the vicinity of Darjeeling and
would see th e B r o t h e r s on the Sikk him Territory, where
th ey would not be allowed to follow her . . . Brother Nobin,
the President of the Adlii Bhoutie B h ra tru Theosophical
Society, would not tell me where Madame Blavatsky
was, or perhaps did not then know it himself. Y et he and
others had risked all in the hope of seeing th e Mahatmas.
On th e 23rd a t last, I was brought by N obin Babu from
C alcutta to Chandernagore where I found Madame Blavatsky,
ready to start, five m inutes after, w ith the train.
A tall, dark-looking hairy Chela (not C h un de r Cusho), b ut
a T ibetan I suppose by his dress, whom I m et after I had
crossed th e river with her in a boat, told me th a t I had
come too late, th a t Madame Blavatsky had already seen
th e M ahatm as aud th a t lie had brought her back. H e would
not listen to my supplications to ta k e me with him, saying
he had no oth e r orders th an what he had already
executed, nam ely— to take her about 25 miles, beyond
a certain place he named to me and th a t he was now going
to see her safe to the station, and return. T he Bengalee
brother-Theosophists had also traced aud followed her,
arriving a t the station half an hour later. They crossed
th e river from Chandernagore to a small railway station
on th e opposite side. W h en the train arrived, she got
into the carriage, upon e ntering which I found the C hela!
Aud, before even her own tilings could be placed in the
van, th e train, against all regulations aud before the bell
was run g— started off, leaving Nobin Babu, the Bengalees
and her servant, behind. Only one Babu and the wife aud
d a u g h te r of an o th e r— all Theosophists and candidates for
C helaship— had tim e to get. in. 1 myself had barely the
tim e to j u m p in, into the last carriage. All her things—
w ith th e exception of her box containing th e Theosophical
correspondence— were left behind together with her
w 1’u b lisb e d by perm ission,
 servant. Vet, even tl ie persons th a t w ent by th e same a solitary h u t a few yards from the roadside. To it j
train with her, did not roach Darjeeling. B abu Nobiu directed my steps in th e hope of finding a lodging. The
Banerjee, with tho servant., arrived five days la te r ; and rude door was locked. T h e cabin was u n ten an ted a t the
they who bad time to take tlieir seats, were left five or six time. I examined it on all-sides and found an aperture on
stations behind, owing to ano th er unforeseen accident (?) the western side. I t was small indeed, b u t sufficient for
a t an o th e r further place, reaching D arjeeling also a few days me to j u m p through. I t had a small sh u tte r and a wooden
later ! I t requires no great stretch of imagination to know bolt. By a strange coincidence of circumstances the hill-
t h a t Madame Blavatsky lmd been or was, perhaps, being lnan had forgotten to fasten it on the inside when he locked
again taken to the B r o t h e r s , who, for some good reasons the door ! Of course, after what has subsequently tra n s­
best known to them, did not want us to be following and pired I now, through the eye of faith, see the protecting
watching her. Two o f t h e Mahatmas, I had learned for a hand of my G u r u everywhere around me. U pon g e ttin g
certainty, were in th e neighbourhood of British territory ; inside I found the room communicated, by a small door­
and one of th em wa.s seen and recognised— by a person I way, w ith ano th e r ap artm en t, the two occupying the
need not name he re — as a high C h i'tu l/n of Tibet. whole space of this sylvan mansion. I lay down, con­
T he first, days of her arrival Madame Blavatsky was c entrating my every th o u g h t upon my G uru as usual,
living a t the house of a Bengalee gentlem an, a T h eo ­ and soon fell into a profound sleep. Before I went
sophist; was refusing to see any one ; and preparing, as I to rest, I had secured th e door of th e other room and
thought, to go again somewhere on th e borders of Tibet. the single window'. I t may have been betw een ten and
To all our im portunities wc could g e t only this answer eleven, or perha.ps a little later, th a t I awoke and heard
from her : th a t we had no business lo flick lo and follow sounds of footsteps in th e adjoining room. I could plainly
her. th a t she did not want ns, aud th a t she had no right distinguish two or th re e people talking to gether in a
to disturb the .Mahatmas, with all sorts of questions th a t dialect t h a t to m e was no b e tte r th an gibberish. Now, I
concerned only th e questioners, lor they knew th e ir own cannot recall th e same w ith ou t a shudder. A t any
business best.. In despair, I delermined, conic what m ig h t* m o m ent th ey m ight have entered from the other room
to cross the frontier which is about a dozen miles from and m urdered me for my money. H ad they m istaken me
here, and find t.he .Mahatmas, or— D i e . 1 never stopped for a burglar th e same fate awaited me. These and
to th in k th a t what I was going to u n d e rta k e would be similar th o ug hts crowded into my brain in an inconceiv­
regarded as the rash act of a lunatic, I neither spoke nor ably short period. B u t m y h eart did not pa lpitate with
did I understand ono word of either Bengalee, Urdu, fear, nor did I for one m o m e n t th in k of the possibly tragi­
or Nepaulese, nor of the Bhootan, or T ibetan languages. cal chances of the th in g ! I know not what secret influence
I bad no permission, no “ pass” from the S ikkhim Rajah, held me fast, b u t nothing could p u t me o ut or m ake me
and yet was decided to penetrate into the h e a rt of an in­ fear; I was perfectly calm. Although 1 lay awake and
dependent S ta te where, if any thing happened, the Anglo- staring into darkness for upwards of two hours, and even
Indian officials would n o t— if even they could— protect me, paced tbe room softly and slowly, w ithout m aking any
since I would have crossed over w itho ut tlieir noise, to see if I could m ake my escape, in case of need,
permission. B u t .1 never even gave t h a t a thought, b u t back to the forest, by the same way I had effected my
was bent upon one engrossing i d e a — to find and see entrance into th e h u t— no fear, I repeat, or any such feeling
my Guru. W ith o u t breathing a word of my intentions to ever entered my heart. I recomposed myself to rest.
any one, one morning, namely, October y, I set o u t in A fter a sound sleep, undistu rbed by any dream, I woke
search of tho Mahatma. J had an umbrella, and a pilgrim ’s and found it was j u s t dawning. Then I hastily p u t oil
staff for sole weapons, with a few rupees iu my purse. I wore my boots, and cautiously g o t o u t of th e b u t through the
the yellow garb and cap. W henever I was tired on th e same window. I could Jiear the snoring of the owners of
road, my costume easily procured for me for a small sum a the b u t in the o th e r room. B u t I lost no tim e and gained
pony to ride. The same afternoon I reached th e banks of th e path to S ik k h im (tbe city) and held on my way with
the R u ng it River, which forms the boundary between the unflagged zeal. F ro m th e inmost recesses of my h e a rt
British and S ikkhim territories. I tried to cross it by I th a n k ed my revered G u r u for the protection lie had
th e aerial suspension bridge constructed of canes, b u t it vouchsafed m e during th e night. W h a t prevented tiie
swayed to and fro to such an extent, th at I, wdio have never owners of the h u t from pen etrating to the second room ?
known in my life, what hardship was could not stand it. 1 W h a t k e p t me in th e same serene and calm spirit, as if
crossed the river by the ferry-boat and this even not I were in a room of iny own house ? W h a t could
without much danger and difficulty. T h a t whole afternoon possibly m ak e me sleep so soundly under such circum­
I travelled on foot, penetratin g further an d furth er into tho stances,— enormous, dark forests on all sides abounding
heart o f t h e S ik k h im te m to iy , along a narrow foot-path. I in wild beasts, and a party of cut-throats— as most of the
cannot now say how many miles I travelled before dusk, b u t Sikkhim ese are said to be— in th e n ext room with an easy
I am sure it was not less th an tw enty or twenty-five miles. and rude door between th e m and me ?
Throughout, I saw nothing b u t im penetrable jun gles and W hen it became q u ite light, I wended my way on
forests on all sides of me, relieved at very long intervals by th ro u g h hills and dales. R iding or walking th e paths,
solitary huts belonging to the m ountain population. A t I followed are not a p leasant journ ey for any man, unless
dusk 1 began to search around me for a place to rest in a t he be, I suppose, as deeply engrossed in th o u g h t as I was
night. I m et on th e road, in the afternoon, a leopard aud th e n myself, and q u ite oblivious to anyth in g affecting
a wild e a t ; and I am astonished now to th in k how I should th e body. I have cultivated the power of m ental concen­
have felt 110 fear then nor tried to ru n away. Throughout, tration to such a degree of late that, on m any an occasion,
some secret influence supported me. F e a r or anxiety I liave been able to m ake myself quite oblivious of any ­
never once entered my mind. Perhaps in iny h e a rt there th in g around m e when m y mind was wholly b en t upon
was room for no other feeling but an intense anxiety to the one object of m y life, as several of my friends will
find my G u ru . When it was just g e ttin g dark, I espied testify ; b u t never to such an e x te nt as in this instance.
I t was, I think, between eight and nine A . M . and I was
• Tcall tit© c s p e c i n l a t t e n t i o n o f c e r t a i n o f m y a n x i o u s c o r r e s p o n d e n t s
t o t h i s e x p r e s s i o n , n m l i n f a c t t o M r . R a m a s w a m i e r ’s w h o l e a d v o n t u r e . It
following th e road to th e tow n of S ikkhim whence, I was
will s h o w t h e m a n y g r u m b l e r s a n d s c e p t ic s w h o h a v e b e e n n o m p l a i n i n g to assured by th e people I m e t on the road, I could crdss
m o bo bitt er ly t h a t t h o U r o t h o r s h a v o give!) t h e m n o s ig n o f t h e ir e x i s t e n c e ,
w h a t s o r t o f s p ir it it is w h i o h d r a w s i h e A d e p t s to a u a s p i r a n t . T h o t o o
over to T ib et easily in my p ilgrim ’s garb, when I suddenly
c o m m o n n o t i o n s , t h a t t h e m e r e j o i n i n g o f o u r S o c i e t y g i v e s a n y r iy h t to saw a solitary horseman galloping towards me from the
o c cu lt in str u c tio n , a n d t h a t a n in e r t s e n t i m e n t a l d e s ir e fo r lig h t s h o u l d b e opposite direction. From his tall stature and the, eiperfc
r e w a r d e d , nriso f r o m t h e l a m e n t a b l e i g n o r a n c e w liic h n o w p r e v a ils w i t h
r e s p e c t to t h e l a w s o f m y s t i c a l t r a i n i n g O u r u s t h e r e a r o n o w , a s t h e r o way he m anaged th e animal, I th o u g h t he was sdtrie
h a v e a l w a y s b e e n in t h e p a s t ; a n d n o w a s h e r e t o f o r e , t h e t r u o C h o i a c a n m ilitary officer of th e S ik k h im Rajah. Now, I tho ug ht,
f in d a m o n g t h e m o n e w h o wii t t a U o h i m u n d e r h is eare> if lik e o u r T i n n e v e l l y
I i r o t h e r h o h as d e t e r m i n e d * ' t o l i n d t h e M a h a tm a s o r - d i e T ’ — I ) , h . am I caug ht ! H e will ask me for m y pass aud what
JIavlcuikar, • business I have ou tbe independent territory uf fSiJikJjiip,
 and, perhaps, have me arrested a n d — sent back, if not
worse. B u t— as he approached me, lie reined the steed.
I looked a t and recognised him instantly . . . I was in
the awful presence of him, of the same Mahatma, my own
revered G u ru whom I had seen before in his astral body,
on the balcony of th e Theosophical H ead q u a rte rs !* I t
was he, the “ f i im a h y a n B r o t h e r ” of th e ever m em or­
able nig ht of December last, who had so kindly dropped
a le tte r in answer to one I had given in a sealed envelope
to Madame Blavatsky—whom I had never for one m om ent
d u rin g th e interval lost sig h t of—b u t an h o u r or so be ­
fore ! T h e very same in sta n t saw m e prostrated on the
ground a t liis feet. I arose a t his com m and and, leisurely
looking into his face, I forgot myself entirely in th e con­
tem plation of the image I knew so well, h a v in g seen his
po rtra it (the one in Colonel Olcott’s possession) a num ber
of times. I knew not w hat to say : joy and reverence
tied my tongue. T he majesty vof liis countenance, which
seemed to m e to be tho im personation of power and
thought, held me ra p t in awe. I was a t last face
to face with “ the M a h a tm a of th e H im a v a t” and he
was 110 myth, no “ creation of the imagination of a
m e d iu m ,” as some sceptics suggested. I t was no night
d ream ; it is between nine and te n o’clock of th e forenoon.
There is th e sun shining and silently witnessing th e
scene from above. I see H i m before me in flesh and
b lo o d ; and he speaks to m e in accents of kindness and
gentleness. W liat more do I want ? My excess of h a p p i­
ness made me dumb. N or was it until a few mom ents
later th a t I was drawn to u tte r a few words, encouraged
by his gentle tone and speech. His complexion is not as
fair as th a t of M ahatm a Koot H o o m i ; b u t never have I
seen a countenance so handsome, a stature so tall and so
majestic. As iu his portrait, he wears a sh ort black beard,
and long black hair hanging down to his b r e a s t ; only his
dress was different. Instead of a white, loose robe lie
wore a yellow m antle lined w ith fur, and, on his head,
instead of a pagri, a yellow Tib etan felt cap, as I have seen
some Bhootanese wear in this country. W h e n th e first
m om ents of rapture and surprise were over and I calmly
comprehended th e situation, I had a long ta lk with him.
H e told me to go no further, for I would come to grief.
H e said I should wait patiently if I wanted to become an
accepted C hela; th a t many were those who offered th e m ­
selves as candidates, b u t t h a t only a very few were found
w o r t h y ; none were rejected— b u t all of th e m tried, and
most found to fail signally, especially------- a n d -------. Some,
instead of being accepted and pledged this year, were now
throw n off for a y e a r ............................ l l i e Mahatma,
I found, speaks very little English— or a t least it so
seemed to m e—aud spoke to m e i n m y m o th er-to n g u e—
T a m il. H e told uie th a t if the C hohan pe rm itte d Mdme.
B. to go to Pari-jong next year, th e n I could come with
her. . . . The Bengalee Theosophists who followed
th e “ U p a sik a” (Madame Blavatsky) would see t h a t she
was righ t in trying to dissuade th e m from following her
now. I asked the blessed M ahatm a w heth er I could tell
w hat I saw and heard to others. H e replied in th e affir­
mative, and th a t moreover I would do well to write to you
and describe all......................
I m ust impress upon your m ind th e whole situation
au d ask you to keep well in view th a t w hat I saw was not
th e mere “ appearance” only, th e astral body of the
M ahatma, as we saw him at Bombay, b u t the living man,
in h is own physical body, l i e was pleased to say when I
offered my farewell n a m a s k a r a m s (prostration) th a t lie
approached the B ritish Territory to see the Upasika. . .
Before be left me, two more m en came on horseback,
his atte n d a n ts I suppose, probably Chelas, for they were
dressed like lama-gylongs, and both, like himself, with
long hair streaming down their backs. They followed
th e Mahatma, as he left, a t a gentle trot. F o r over
un hour I stood gazing a t th e place t h a t lie had j u s t
'■* 1 re fe r th e ro a d e r to M r. R au m sw am ier’s l e tte r in H in t* ott Exoteric
Thto3uukij, p p . 7 - anil 73, f e r a e le a re r c o m p re h e n sio n o f th e h ig h ly Im p o r­
ta n t o ircum staiic^ ^9 refer* ^ Mi
quitted, and then, I slowly retraced my steps. Now it
was th a t I found for th e first time th a t my long boots
had pinched mo in m y leg in several places, th a t I had
eaten n o th in g since th e day before, and th a t I was too
w e a k to walk further. My whole body was aching in
every limb. A t a little distance I saw petty traders with
country ponies, taking burden. I hired one of these
animals. I11 the afternoon I came to the R u n g it River
and crossed it. A bath in its cool waters renovated me.
I purchased some fruits in th e only bazar there and ate
th e m heartily. I took another horse im mediately and
reached D arjeeling late in the evening. I could neither
eat, nor sit, nor stand. Evey part of m y body was aching.
My absence had seemingly alarmed Madame Blavatsky.
S he scolded me for my rash and mad a tte m p t to try to go
to T ib e t afte r th is fashion. W hen I entered th e house I
found w ith M adame Blavatsky, Babu P a rb a ti C hurn Roy,
D e p u ty Collector of S e ttlem e n ts and S u p e rin te n d en t of
D earah Survey, an d his Assistant, Babu K a n ty Bhushan
Sen, both members of our Society. A t th e ir prayer and
Madame Blavatsky’s command, I recounted all t h a t had
happened to me, reserving of course my private conversa­
tion with th e Mahatma. . . They were all, to say the least,
astounded ! .............................A fter all, she will not go
this y e a r to T ibet ; for which I am sure she does not care,
since she saw our Masters, th u s effecting h e r only object.
B u t we, u nfortunate people ! W e lose our only chance of
going and offering our worship to th e “ Himalayan
B ro th e rs’' who— I k n o w — will not soon cross over to B ri­
tish territory, if ever again.
I w rite to you this letter, my dearest Brother, in order
to show how rig h t we were in protesting against
“ H . X .’s” le tte r in th e T i i b o s o p h i s t . T h e ways of the
M ahatm as may appear, to our lim ited vision, strange and
unjust, even cruel— as in th e case of our Brothers
here, th e Bengalee Babus, some of whom are now
laid up with cold and fever and perhaps m urm uring
against th e B r o t h m is , forgetting th a t they never asked
or personally p e rm itte d th e m to come, b u t th a t they had
themselves acted very rashly...................................................
A nd now th a t 1 have seen the M ahatm a in th e flesh,
and heard his living voice, let 110 one dare say to me th a t
th e B r o t h Kits do not exist. Come now w hatever will, death
has 110 fear for me, nor the vengeance of enemies; for w hat I
know, i K n o w !
You will please show this to Colonel Olcott who first
opened m y eyes to th e G uana M arga, and who will be
happyto hear of th e success (more th a n I deserve) th a t
has a ttended me. I shall give him details in person.
S. R a m a s w a m i k u , F.T.S.
Darjeeling, October 7,188:2.
T IM E , S P A C E , A N D E T E R N I T Y .
[ W e find a review in the N o t e s isy t h e W at b y “ M. A.
(O x o n )” o f u book, often liienlineil, but rarely seen by au y
on e— “ T h e S tars nml the E a r t h ”— which is so e x c e llen t th a t we
republish it in full.—-E d .]
This little book,* which I remember long ago— years
before Mr. Crookes first mentioned it to S erjeant Cox
and m e — has always appeared to contain arguments
and th o u g h ts which a Spiritualist should sympathise with.
S erjeant Cox, being th u s introduced to it, employed some
of them a t th e close of his “ Introd uction to Psychology,”
* u Thi Stan and the Earth" L o n . I o n : B a llie ro , T i n d a l l , a n d C o x , 188 0 .
It m a y b o a l s o o r d e r e d t h r o u g h t h e M a n a g e r o f t h e Tiiteoa. P r i c e Its. 1*4. Its
a u t h o r n h i p h a s , w o b e l ie v e , n e v e r b e e n d is clo s e d . F r o m M r Ballitfre
h i m s e l f w e h a d , w h e n p u r c h a s i n g a c o p y o f t h o o r ig in a l e dit io n, s o m e
t h ir t y y e a r s a g o , t h e s t o r y o f its p u b l ic a t io n . O n e d a y M r . B a l l i 6r c r e c e i v ­
e d b y p o s t t h e M S S o f t h is little w o r k , w i t h a b a n k - n o t e fo r £ 5 0 a n d
a letter o f a f e w lin e* w i t h o u t s ig n a t u r e , to t h e effect t h a t this s u m w a s
s e n t to d e f r a y I h e c o s ta o f p u b l ic a t io n . M r . It. A . P r o c t o r , t h o a s t r o n o ­
m e r , s p e a k s m o s t h i g h l y o f it iu a r e c e n t p u b l i c a t i o n a n d , in fa ct , it h a s
a l w a y s b e e n r e c o g n i s e d a.s o n e o f t h o a b l e s t e s s a y s i n c o n t e m p o r a n e o u s )
literature. Uoua M* A. (Qxvu) »u#pect ita author if—ISd. Tueos.
 b u t be lias by no means exhausted or even fully stated the
curious speculations contained in those sixty little pages.
W e are so accustomed to take th in g s as we see them,
acccpting surface explanations, t h a t m any of us have
carricd the same method into our dealings with th e super-
sensuous phenomena of which we know so little. I t may
be well to reflect th a t sometimes things are dem onstrably
n o t what they seem. Some elem entary considerations
will show this. L ight travels a t t h e ra te of about
200,000 miles in a second. The sun, therefore, being 92J
millions of miles distant, has risen eigh t m in u te s before it
becomes visible to us. I t takes fifty four m inutes for a
ray to comc to us from J u p ite r ; two hours from U ra n u s ;
and no less than twelve years from t h a t glorious sta r Vega in
th e Lyre. This calculation m ight be indefinitely prolonged,
till the mind refused to take in th e facts : e.g., from a star
of third m agnitude a ray of light takes th irty years to
roach us, and from ono of the seventh, 180 years, while
from one of the tw elfth m agnitude, perceptible only
through a very good telescope, the ray which meets th e
eye has left the star 4,000 years ago. N othing, then, is
more sure than th a t wc do n o t see a n y sta r as it is. Vega
appears to our eye as it was twelve years and more ago,
and, for a u g h t we know to tho contrary, its light may havo
been finally quenched before th e child of ten years old,
who wonders a t its glory, first drew th e b re a th of life.
Reverse these considerations, and see w hat views are
opened out. Imagine the universe peopled with beings
like ourselves, gifted with the requisite power of vision,
or a sufficiently good telescope. W h a t would happ en ?
An observer ou th e sun would see this e a rth as it was
eight m inutes before. An observer in V ega would see
w hat occurred more than tw elve years before ;
and a denizen of a twelfth magnitude sta r m ig h t now be
gazing on the palmy days of Memphis, and be tracing tho
adventures of A braham and Lot. So, then, Omniscience
and Omnipresence are one a n d th e same thing. Only
postulate an intelligent observer placed a t every point in
space— om nipresent— and ho would see a t a glance all
tha t ever occurred ; lie would be Oinuiscient. The
extension of space is identical with t h a t of time. A
hum an being capable of being transm itted thro ugh space—
i. c., delivered from th e prison-house of tho body— m ig ht
see from one fixed star Galileo before the Inquisition ;
from another St. A ugustine as lie b ro ug ht B ritain into
relation with th e highest civilisation of th a t far-off epoch ;
from another the B attle of Waterloo, and from y e t another
the pomp and splendour of Solomon in all his glory.
T he universe preserves an im perishable record of the
past, and is in very tru th the scroll of th e book of God’s
remembrance. I t is not alone ou th e floor of th e secret
chamber th a t the blood-stain of m u rd e r is indelibly fixed,
but the hideous details are photographed with faultless
accuracy aud imperishable p erm anence ou th e e th e r of
Space.
Carry ou this tho ught. L e t our observer w ith infinite
power of vision be placed on a star of the twelfth m a g ni­
tude. H e sees before him th e history of A braham . L e t
him be moved rapidly forward with such speed th a t in
an hour he conies to th e distance from th e earth a t which
th e sun in fixed. Im agine this, and you will have this u n ­
questionable result. Your observer has had before his
eye the entire history o ftlie world from th a t d istan t time
till eight minutes ago, and he has seen it all in an hour.
H e has lived this 4,000 years in a single hour. I n a n ­
n ih ila tin g the o r d in a r y conditions o f Space yon have also
hilled the lim ita tio n s o f 'l ime. Iu ouc hour he has lived
4,000 years; aud if for the hour you su bstitute a second, in
that flash of tim e he would have sum m ed u p the events
of forty centuries. That, with the h ig c ra n d more developed
Spirits, “ a thousand years are as one day” m ay be con­
ceivably, a literal truth. A nd what seem to us to be the
indisputable facts of time and space may be demonstrably
false conceptions, belonging only to an elem entary state of
being.
These sublime conceptions are susceptible of further
application. Im a gine th a t th e light, and with it th e re­
flection of some earthly occurrence, arrives a t a star in
tw enty years, and t h a t our observer mounts to the same
star in tw enty years and one day, starting, say, a t the
m om ent when a particu lar rose began to bloom. H e will
find there an imago of this rose as it was before it began
to blossom, a n d if he were endowed with infinite powers
of sight and observation, he would have had tim e a n d
means of stud ying for tw enty years the changes which
occurred to th a t rose in a single day. So we have
a microscope for tim e : as the lens enlarges a thousand
tim es th e space a tiny object occupies, so here we have a
means of enlarging a m om entary occurrence to th e m agni­
tude of a century.
N or is it difficult to show by a single consideration how
absolutely fictitious are our conceptions of time. Im a gine
th a t from this m o m ent th e course of the stars a n d our
earth becomes twice as rapid as before. T he y ear is six
m onths ; th e day twelve hours ; th e normal d uratio n of life
half three-score and ten years. T h e hands of th e clock
would travel twice as fast ; all th e processes of n a tu r e
would proceed with double rapidity. How should we be
affected by th e change? W e should have known none. Our
thirty-five years would pass as the seventy did ; ou r days
would be as full of busy idleness or strenuous toil ; our
n ig h t’s rest would not be perceptibly diminished. W e
should be to all outw ard seeming as we were. A sim ilar
result would follow if tlie period and processes of life
were accelerated a million times, or if they were reduced
to the smallest conceivable point. There may be in th e
m inutest globule of water a microscopic animalcule whose
ideas on these m atters are as lofty, and as misguided, as
our own. F o r w hether any space of tim e is w hat we
call long or short, depends solely upon our standard of
comparison and m easurem ent. Compared with t h a t endless
duration which we call eternity, th e question is not
susceptible of answer. T im e is not necessary for th e
origination or existence of an idea, but only for its com­
munication. T he idea exists as independently of tim e as
th e entire history of th e world does. "T im e is only the
rh yth m o f the world’s h isto ry.’’
A nd w hat of space ? As, in reference to eternity,
finite tim e vanishes, so in reference to endless space,
th e entire created universe is an inappreciable point.
Reduce th e standard s of m easurem ent in the same
way as we reduce th e standards of time, and a similar
result follows. I f our solar system were, in all its in*
finite details, suddenly contracted to th e size of a globule
of water, or a grain of sand, we should move a n d exist
w ith th e same freedom from restraint, and be absolutely
unconscious th a t any change had taken place. U nless we
had a standard of comparison we should be in blissful
ignorance, though our s ta tu r e were b u t th e decillionth of
an inch, and our world were of microscopic m agnitude.
Tim e and Space are hu m a n conceptions, m ethods of
contem plation incident to our present state of existence ;
an d no more in herently true th a n is the h um a n conception
of life as necessarily consisting of conception, growth,
decay and death. I t m ay be said in reference to these
methods of dealing w ith Tim e and Space, th a t we have only
narrowed th e m down to an infinitely small point, and
have not really got rid of them . Scientifically it m ay be
replied th at, iu its strictest sense, th e idea of the infinitely
small is the same as the idea of nothing. As
long as som ething more th an nothing remains we m u s t
continue to divide it. T he end is only reached w hen wo
have got to th a t which is no further divisible, i.e., " a
point w ithout parts aud m agnitude.”
B u t it is possible by a simple illustration still m ore
completely to b ring home to th e m ind th e fact tha t
Space, as far as it is within the scope of our senses, does
not exist iii th e expanded and varied forms which we see
around us, b u t th a t these are d epend ent on our hum an
methods of perception. W e are familiar w ith th e magic
la n te rn , I t is so c o n s tru c te d th a t a p ic tu r e p a in te d ia
colours on glass is thrown upon a lens, which has tb e B rahm . Iu tho L ahore p am p h let [B y S a b h a p a ty Sw am i : out of
p rin t] ono of th e d raw in g s show s a sphere of silv ery lig h t
property of refracting all rays th a t fall on its surface, and
aro u n d th e Y o g i n ’s head. In th is are p ictu red th e h eav en ly
focussing th e m in a single point. T hrough this point they orbs, a n d an o u tlin e m ap of th e E a r th 's c o n tin e n ts. T h e m ean in g
pass and expand the picture, diverging from one another of th is is th at w hen his S elf-E v o lu tio n is p erfeo tecf, th e Y o g in
as much as they previously converged. Now, given perfect can see th ro u g h th e pure A kasa (A stral lig h t, o r E th er) all th at
lenses, and a perfectly smooth surface on which th e picture concerns th e orbs of space, a s w ell a s all th at is t r a n s p i r i n g upon
our g lo b e. The a n c ie n ts rep re se n te d th eir sa in ts th u s w ith a
is to be cast, if the lantern be b ro ug ht so near to the rad ian t n im b u s , a n d th o Idea wa*S b o r r o w e d from th e m by C h ristian
surface th a t the focus falls on it, th e light would appear p a in te rs a n d sc u lp to rs.”
as a single distinct m inu te b rig h t point. Y e t th a t tiny
speck of light contains th e whole of th e picture with all
its details of form and c o lo u r; an d th e w ithdrawal of the
lantern will cause these to become visible to our im per­ T H E YO G A P H I L O S O P H Y *
fect senses. They are then 110 less in th e point of light
T his is th e work alluded to and quoted from iu the
th a n in the expanded picture, b u t our eyes are not con­
above editorial remarks. T he late Rev. Dr. Ballentyne
structed to see them. T h e surface has become a point :
was one of th e most distinguished among Sanscrit scholars
t h a t point contains all th e varied, distinct parts of the
of his day, and liis translation of Patanjali’s S u tra s— long out
surface;an d it results th a t th e differences which appear by
of p r in t— is highly esteemed by all students of Indian
th e separation and juxtapo sitio n of the com ponent parts
philosophy. H e died before completing the work, and it
do not require space as absolutely necessary to th e ir exist­
was finished by P a n d it Govind Shastri Deva. T h e revived
ence, b u t th a t one single, indivisible point may contain
interest iu Sanscrit literatu re among educated Hindus,
th e m all. Only when we w ant to see th e m we must
very greatly due to th e labours of th e Theosophical
expand our point into a surface.
Society, and especially th e growing desire to learn some­
These considerations, which pretend only to be conceiv­
th in g as to th e m eans by which certitud e about spiritual
ably possible, i. e., not contrary to tho laws of thought,
t r u t h m ay be obtained, have induced our b rother Mr.
are, I think, interesting from the point of view of an
T nkarain to bring out th e present volume und er tlio
observant Spiritualist. T h e y lead up directly to Zollner's
auspices of our Bombay Branch. H e and his collaborators
conception of a F o u r th Dimension in Space. T hey are
have done a real service to th e ir countrymen ; and our only
calculated to m ake us pause before we explain all the
reg ret is th a t th e work will soon run out of print, as b u t a
mysterious p henom ena of Spiritualism by wliat is called
small edition was printed, and it is not stereotyped.
“ rude common-sense”— a most unsafe and treacherous
guide in such matters. Already we see reason to distrust T he leading idea of Patan jali’s philosophy is, th a t all
th e evidence of our senses in m a tte rs of daily life. How thin gs result from tb e action of spirit upon m atter ; tha t
shall they pilot 11s safely in th e m idst of new and u n ­ the universe arose from the leflection of spirit upou m atter
imagined difficulties when th e average experience of in a visible form ; as contradistinguished from th e atomic
m a nk in d is traversed and contradicted, as in th e tying of theory of th e N y a y a and Vaish^shika schools, and th a t of
k n o ts 011 an endless cord, and in defiance of ordinary laws the S a n k h y a which affirms th a t m a tte r possesses in itself
th a t govern m atter, recorded, am ong m any o th e r observers, the power of assum ing all m ann er of forms. B u t most
by Zolluer in his " T ranscendental Physics”? In dealing Ind ian philosophies .agree th a t m a tte r and tliat force which
w ith th e phenom ena th a t m eet us on th e very threshold moves it (Spirit ?) aro eternal. Patanjali, in common
of an investigation into m ediumship, it is surely well t h a t with other teachers of th e E ast and West, holds that
we use “ common-sense” guardedly, pondering how it iu a world of ever-shifting phenom ena arising from a
treats us even when we watch th e sun rising and setting, hidden cause, th e bodily senses, which themselves are but
and wondering by how much all marvels would be d im i­ the in stru m e n ts of a concealed apprehending conscious­
nished, and m ost problems be solved, if we had b u t mas- ness, cannot distinguish th e real from tb e unreal. They
fered th e g reat problem of all, Know thyself. aie the easy dupes of delusion ; and he who tru s ts to thoir
M. A. ( O x o n .)
guidance is like th e blind man led by tlio blind. Truth
can only be seen by th a t which is independent of external
E d i t o r '* N o t e . — H e re a g a in , th eso su b lim e W e ste rn co n cep tio n s appearances— Spirit. “ S p irit is omnipresent, unchange­
of T im e, Spaco an d E te rn ity have been lo n g a n tic ip a te d by th e able, everlasting, undivided, and Wisdom itself.” False
p rofound A ryan p h ilo so p h e rs. The facu lties ( S id d h is ) of ideas “ are destroyed by examining th a t which is not
D h u v a n a d nya nam Ch a n d re tam v y iih a dnyanam Spirit, and from this examination will result the know­
a n d D / ii ' u v e tatg ati d n y a n a m ( “ V^T cTjrfrT- ledge of Spirit. Clear knowledge of S pirit arises from
ffU P J ), w h ic h arise in a n ascetic (Y o g i) d u rin g th e pro g ress of Yoga, or abstraction of mind ; and this leads to liberation ;
h is in te rio r d e v e lo p m e n t (seo P a t a n j a l i ’s “ Yoga A p h o rism s” ju st b u t not im mediately, for discriminating Wisdom is neces­
p u b lish e d iu E n g lish tra n sla tio n b y th e Bom bay B ranch, T heoso- sary . . . E rro r is removed, first, by doubts respect­
p h ieal Society), e n a b le h im to acq u ire in tim ate k n o w led g e of ing th e reality of our conceptions, and then by more certain
re s p e c tiv e ly th e “ S e v e n W o r ld s ,” o r s p h e re s o f b e in g , o f t h e fo rm s
of th e s ta r s a n d o f th e ir m o tio n s, b y c o n c e n tra tin g h is in te rio r
knowledge.” Dr. W a rd ably summarizes P a ta u ja li’s
c o n scio u sn ess u p o u th e S u n , th e M o o n , a n d th e P o le -star. D r. B a llan - doctrines [ View of the Hist. Lit. an d Myth, of the
t y n o ’s t r a n s l a t i o n i s t h u s c r i t i c i z e d iu th e P reface to th e w ork in Hindus, Ed. of 1818, p. 228] and the reader will find his
q u e stio n : (i T h e r e a r o o p p r e s s i o n s ru n n in g th ro u g h o u t th e w h ale para, quoted in th e present volume, where it is followed
w o r k o f P n tiU ijali w h ich 110 re a d e r c o u ld c o m p re h e n d w ith o u t th e
by the late (and now deeply lamented) Thomas Taylor’s
frie n d ly h e lp of M esm eric s tu d y .” For in stan ce, th e w ords
•v » still more able Summary of Patanjali Sutra. The Yogi
H y ® ' . , . ( D h ru v e n is h c h a l e . . . k r it a passes th ro u g h four principal stages in the course of his
{ ja n y a m a s y a ) , t r a n s l a t e d hy D r. B allau ty n e as “ perform s h is
psychic self-development— (a) H e learns th e rules of
re s tra in t w ith regard to th e P o la r-sta r” co n v ey 110 m eaning. How
c o u ld one u n d erstan d w hat is im p lie d in th e vague w ords? B ut
Y o g a ; (b) acquires perfect knowledge, i.e., complete
if th o id ea be conceived th at th is rea lly m eans th e con centration em ancipation from tho delusive influences of th e external
of th o u g h t upon th e p o in t iu th e heavens o ccu p ied by th e S tar, senses; (c) employs this knowledge practically, and
w ith su ch in te n sity th a t th e th in k e r can tra n sfe r h is co n scio u s­ overcomes th e material influence o f th e prim ary elements ;
n e ss to t h a t s ta n d in g -p o in t of o b se rv a tio n , t h e n wo m a y easily
im d erstau d how he c o u ld g a th e r w ith in th e sw eep of h is sp iritu al
(id ) destroys all consciousness of personality and indivi­
tig h t a ll of our u niverse th at lies b e tw e en th at sta r and our duality 3 T ^ K ( ahankdra), and thus frees the soul from
E a rth . S o as reg a rd s o th e r p o in ts of co n c en tratio n . T h e Y ogin
m u s t learn to c o m p ress h is w hole s e n tie n t con scio u sn ess in to a * T h e Y o g a P h ilo s o p h y : B e i n g t h e t e x t o f P a t a n j a l i , w i t h B l io j a -
c h o se n s p o t, o r u p o n a c e rta in p iece o f in fo r m a tio n he d esires. R a j a h ’a C o m m e n t a r y . A. r e p r i n t o f t h e E n g lish tra n sla tio n of th e
O u ts id e t h a t sp o t, o r a p a r t fro m t h a t s u b je c t h e m u st, for th e ab ove, b y th e la te D r. B a lle n ty n e a u d G o v in d S h a s tri D eva, to w h ieh
m o m e n t, feel n o e x isten ce . . . . W hen th is grand c y cle of a re a d d e d e x tra c ts fro m v a rio u s a u th o rs. W ith au in tro d u c tio n by
p sy c h ic e v o lu tio n h a s b e e n c o m p le te d , h e is free and M aster. C o l o n e l H e n r y S . O l c o t t , & c., & c. The w hole ed ited by T ulcaruin
T h e n c e fo rth n e ith e r m atter, tim e n o r space can o b s tru c t his T a tia , R T S. ( B o m b a y : P u b l i s h e d b y t h e B o m b a y B r a n c h , T h e o s j-
(ju est a f t e r th e H ig h e s t k n o w led g e. H e know s B rahm — he is p h ic a l S o c ie ty , 1882.)
 m atter. I t is claimed by the Yogin th a t he acquires
innumerable transcendental powers as his self-develop­
m en t proceeds, aud Mr. Taylor enum erates the following
twenty-five :— (1) Knowledge of past, present and future
things ; (2) by fixing his mind on words, knowledge of
universal sciences; (3) by th e same on the lines in his
hands, knowledge of his former states of existence; (4)
on th e hearts of others, knowledge of th e ir th o u g h t s ; (5)
on his own person, invisibility of fo r m ; ((>) oil his own
actions, knowledge of their future consequences; (7) on
compassion and sympathy, a feeling of beneficence to all
b e in g s ; (S) on strength, perfect streng th ; (9) on the
Sun, the power, like it, of viewing all things ; (10) on tiie
M oon,know ledge of astronom y; (11) on th e Polar-star,
knowledge of th e constellations; (12) on the h e art and
stomach, knowledge of a n a to m y ; (13) oil the bottom of
the throat, freedom from hunger and t h i r s t ; (14) on tlie
nerve in th e throat, called ( K u n n i) rigidity of
p o stu re ; (15) on the universality of (Manas) k now ­
ledge of all invisible objects; (IG) on th e seat of the
mind, knowledge of the thoughts past, present and future
of himself .and o t h e r s ; (17) on the state of a Yogi when
emancipated, knowledge and sight of th e spirit un-
tissociated with matter. In th e last chapter th e state of
K a iva lya or emancipation during life is described. This
is the Jiva n M u k ti of which all pious H in d u s dream. I t
is th e highest state possible preceding actual re­
absorption into Parabrahma. I n this state the Yogi
is said to a tta in tho remaining eig ht transcendental
pow ers:— (18) the power of e n te rin g a living or dead
body and causing it to act as if it were its own— a
power to bo used, of course, only in qu est of useful know ­
ledge, or to do or cause to be done some act of beneficence to
h u m a n i t y ; (19) extreme lig h t n e s s ; (20) resplendent
brilliancy; (21) the power of hearing sound, however
distant, even from the other worlds, or spheres ; (22) of
transform ing himself into each and all of the five elements ;
(23) of passing and pe netrating anywhere ; (24) of chang­
ing tlie course of N a tu re ; (25) of final liberation.
W e have quoted these at length to whet the curiosity of
students of psychology and show w hat pleasure awaits
them in studying this unique and useful volume, and
applying its contents as a key to read m any a riddle offered
in the mythology, folk-lore, legends and sacred scriptures
of various peoples of ancient and modern times. O ur chief
regret is t h a t so small an edition (500 copies) was printed,
for it m u st soon be exhausted, to th e disappointm ent of
m any distant readers. As elsewhere stated in th e present
n u m b er of our magazine and often before, we do not recom­
m end Yoga, especially H atha-Y oga practice to amateurs,
nor even to would-be proficients after th e y have passed
th e age of boyhood or girlhood a t which, under ancient
usage, they came under th e care of th e venerated Adept
G uru. B u t nevertheless, we recommend th e reading of
Mr. T u ka rdm ’s compilation for th e light it m ust throw
npon psychological problems th a t are now actively engaging
tlie atte n tio n of W estern science. A nd certainly no
library of S piritualist or Theosophist can afford to be w ith ­
out a copy.
A F R E E T H I N K E R I N P A L E S T I N E .*
O f Mr. B e n n e tt’s abilities as a w riter wc have already
had occasion to speak ; so th a t we need only say th a t his
p re s e n t volume is in liis characteristically quaint, strong,
aggressive, an d not over-polished style. W e have Bhoja
Iliya’s word for it t h a t " all commentators are perverters
of th e m eaning of their a u th o r s ;” so, bearing th a t in
mind, we shall not risk a hard earned repu tation for
fairness by going into any very extended notice of a
work which is a t once interesting and instructive beyond
almost any upon Palestine th a t we have iead. Critics
too often criticize books w itho ut ta k in g the trouble
to read them, b u t we have read this one of Mr. B e n n e tt’s
* Tlio Bool' o f the Chronicles o f (he Pilgrim s in the L and o f Yah»:eh.
T), M. J)ennott. (N. Y. 1832.)
from the first word to tlie last. H e w ent to Palestine
w ith two distinct ideas to carry out, viz., to see the
country, and to tell the t ru th about it. To do the latter
w ithout fear or favour, to expose exaggerations of the old
fairy stories abo ut its ancient inhabitants, th e ir rulers and
the momentous events located there, required no little solid
pluck ; and our a u th o r ’s sincerity and moral courage will
not be doubted by any one who follows his narrative and
ponders his suggestive criticisms. The ideas of the
pettiness of this so over-lauded land, in olden times as
well as now, and the impossibility of many things having
happened th e re th a t we are asked to believe in, force
themselves continually upon th e mind. I t is a missionary
book iu th e strictest sense of being calculated to do
missionary work— against Christianity. F reethinkers, then,
will prize it as highly as the great mass of Christians will
hate it and loathe its-author.
P R O C E E D I N G S O F T H E S O C IE T Y F O R
PSY C H IC A L RESEARCH.
The first n u m b e r of th e jo u rn a l of this new Society is
full of interesting m a tte r and indicates th a t our sister asso­
ciation will do good work in a field where such service was
sorely needed. O u r friendly interest in its operations has
been already declared (Thko, s o p h i s t , July), w ithout reserve,
and we need only re p e a t th a t our Society is ready and
willing to carry o ut any line of psychic research in In d ia or
Ceylon th a t th e S. P. R. may indicate. T he more so th a t
some of our ablest men of th e British Theosophical Society
have become mem bers of the new body. T he roll of its
officers and Council contains some nam es great in
science; such as Mr. H e n ry Sidgwick, of C am bridg e;
Professor Balfour Stew art, F.R.S., of Owens College, M an­
ch ester; Professor W. F. Barrett, F.R.S.E., of Trinity Col­
lege, D ublin ; I)r. L ockhart Robertson ; Rev. W. Stainton-
Moses, M. A. (O x o n ) ; Mr. C. C. M assey; D r. Wyld, &c., &c.
T he present n u m b e r of the journal is occupied with
th e inaugural address of President Sidgwick— a calm,
dignified and able p a p e r — and reports of experim ents in
T h oug ht-reading by Professors I i Stew art and Barrett,
Messrs. E d m u n d Gurney, F. W. H. Myers, and Rev. A. M.
C reery; a list of th e Society’s members an d associates;
and its constitution and rules. Those who can read the
significance of coincidences will please m ake note of the
fact t h a t th e Society’s first general m eeting was held— as,
seven years earlier, th a t of th e Theosophical Socioty
had been— on th e seventeenth of th e m onth ; in July, th e
seventh m outh of the y e a r ; and th a t the members n u m b er
seventy-five. Omen faustum .
E P I L E P S Y A N D M E D IU M S H I P .
HY M. I,R P O C T E U R F O R T IN .
For the instruction of Theosophists I give the follow"
ing extracts from the m anuscript of a work whose pu blica­
tion is postponed from a conviction th a t its appearance a t
the present ju n c tu r e will be premature.
I n 1809, a family living a t Sceaux, near Paris, was made
acquainted with the phenom ena of table-turning by one of
my friends. T he experim ent so well succeeded, th a t every
evening was devoted to th e subject, and th e souls of the
deceased were evoked through th e agency of a table ; the
little circle of friends counted seven individuals. T he
children of this family wore also seven in n u m b e r ;— six
boys, of whom th e eldest was fourteen, and a little girl of
seven years. T he children, carried away by a spirit of
curiosity, resolved th a t they too would try table-turning,
and took th e precaution of selecting as th e ir “ s&mce-
rooin” an a p p a r tm e n t on the ground-floor little frequented,*
so th a t they m ig ht not be discovered by their p arents nor
otherwise disturbed. T hey formed the circle, th e ir hands
were placed upon th e table ; th e ir chaffing wns at its height,
By * A. Iftunclry-room, where a wood-fire had been built in the fire-place to dry
th p room nfter tho usual week’s work had been finished.
 when one of the boys rose and said, “ 1 am going to evoke
the soid of Francois !”— th e family gardener, who had
recently died. A second time th e soul was called, The
spectre appeared. T he fu rniture was m o m l by some
invisible power, the burning brands leapt of themselves
o u t of the fire-place. The children seized with terror, fied
to th e farthest extrem ity of the garden............. Tlie whole
house was alarmed ; th e fire, altho ug h limited to the
room, did its work— everything in it wa.s b u rn t except the
table which remained in t a c t ; on its rim beingexam incd there
was found engraved upon it th e figure Seven, as though
w ith a brand of fire- T he eldest boy became very ill.
T he n ext day at 7 P . M . the little girl also had a crisis,
which recurred on th e succeeding days at the same hour.
Dr. M------, a learned Professor of Pathology and
M em ber of th e Academy of Medicine, was called in. His
diagnosis was un hesitatingly made. H e pronounced it a
case of epilepsy possessing all th e symptoms of incura­
bility. (Dr. M------ , was th u s decided in his diagnosis
because th e child was of an extrem e delicacy of co nstitu­
tion, and consequently could not offer a sufficient organic
resistance to support the crisis. N eed I add th a t she was
tre a te d upon th e systeni of tonics ?)
I determ ined at last to a tte m p t th e cure m yself By
m v advice we formed a circle of seven persons around the
table which the children had used. W e had scarcely taken
our places when th e table, with a leap aud twirl, turned
itself upside down and came down to th e iloor, where it
began to t u j n of itself with g re at rapidity, producing at
the same tim e a rh ythm ic noise with a corresponding echo
in tho ceiling. I t whirled and whirled a.s thou gh ru nning
on a pivot. A so u l came to com municate with us. We
questioned it after th e usual method, which consists in
asking for raps to be m ade in th e table at th e call of
letters of tho alphabet. T he conversation was a.s follows :—
“ W ho are you X’ “ Tho grand-father of Madame X.”
“ Are you happy ?” “ My soul is iu a concentric circle, in
a space between th e E a r th and th e Moon ; I am learning
there th e conditions of my im m ortality.” “ Row do you
explain the presenco of your soul in two places a t once ?”
“ I t is only with the h u m a n phantom that you
communicate.’’ “ How can we cure our poor little girl <”
“ By keeping her for twenty-one days far away from this
fatal place, b urning th e table, and scattering th e ashes a t
the extreme end of the orchard.”
A fter this stance (seven days later) tho nurse-maid runs
into th e house in a great fright and sh rie k in g ; she had
j u s t seen a t th e spot where th e ashes of tho b u r n t table
had been scattered, th e spectre of the g a r d e n e r ; the d e ­
scription of him given by her, left no doubt, w hatever in
our minds of his identity.
A nd now what conclusions m u s t we draw from this
strange circum stance? In th e first place, observe the
repetition of the num ber seven : T here were seven child­
ren. I t was ou the 7 th of July, th e seventh m onth of the
year, th a t th e phenomenon occurred. Al, seven o’clock iu
th e evening we seven persons began our circle. T he little
girl was seven years old, her crisis lasted tw enty-one days.
T h e n um b e r of the house was No. l i . The gardener
died on th e 7th of J u n e preceding, in a tit of epilepsy (he
was an epileptic) ; this should be noted since lie was a
sleep-walker, b u t with S a tu rn in a bad aspect ; therefore
his spectre b u rn t into th e table th e n u m b e r seven, which
is a S aturn in e figure. This was his s e a l ; in ano th e r
epoch it would have been called th e mark of th e devil’s
claw. To complete our notes let us add th a t b u t th ree of
the boys saw tho phantom and all three were sleep­
walkers. T he grand-father who com m unicated with us was,
as the family legend affirms, a clairvoyant. In the actual
state of our present knowledge, we would say th a t to a
strange combination of influences, dates, and of clairvoyant
subjects, this succession of p henom ena m u st be a ttributed.
S e c o n d E x a m p l e . fluence of Saturn), and by a certain process they can be
In 1874, the Baron de W ---------- belonging to the
German aristocracy, was a psychographic (writing) and
typtologieal medium. One evening iu a company, where
I was present, he was requested to evoke, by means of the
table, a certain soid nam ed to him by the master of the
house. A t the very first manifestation, which consisted
of three strong blows resounding in the centre of tho
table, the m edium was seized with a fearful epileptiform
attack. N o te th a t this was in his case an entirely u n ­
precedented circumstance, b u t the evoked person died o f
epilepsy. 1 th in k thnt, to professional readers a t least, it
will be interesting i f f add certain remarks upon epilepsy
and crisis of th a t sort in general. I will divide crinkles
| Our learned contributor, the distinguished occultist,
here uses a w ord— crisiiu/ues— not iu the Dictionary, but
fo rm e d after the precedent in “ M aniac " one subject to
m ania ; and iinpli/in<j one who is liable to epileptic
paroxysm s, or crisis.— AWJ into two classes. I u th e first
class I include all individuals whose crises are not very
strikingly epileptiform such as demonomania, hysteria,
etc. These erisiaes in th e absence of morbid lesions,
w h ether acquired or hereditary, belong to a variety of seers
(or clairvoyants). W hen th e peculiarity lias reached its
highest degree of traiismissibility, the subjects are corres­
pondingly disturbed by a revolt of th e nervous system,
and by a prostration of their physical and psychical
powers. T h e ir cerebral activity and the manifestations
of lucidity are subjected to sudden terrestrial and plane­
ta ry influences ; these persons are to be m e t among persons
of irregular lives. I n the second class may be included
individuals who, despite th e ir epileptic or epileptiform
crisis, always keep possession of their seership and intelli­
gence. Thoir powerful synergy could not be exhausted
by excess of passions ; they have in themselves occult
powers which constitute them a variety ap art from
ordinary beings as regards physiology. W e find them
sometimes occupying the highest places in the State. F o r
example, I m ight commence by citing Hercules and Saul,
and, passing by the twelve Oaisars, end with the throe
Napoleons, etc. To aid my arg u m e n t I will show certain
agreem ents betw een the definitions of modern and tradi­
tional science, tre a tin g epilepsy in its bearing upon the
symptoms which distinguish our subjects from each
other. E p ile p sy . Morbus Sacer; Morbus Com itialis;
Ooinitia ; (Jonimices (public assemblies of the Romans,
which were im m ediately adjourned when any one fell iu
an epileptic fit, to avert the disasters of which this event
was the forebo ding ; this measure of public order was
[according to tradition] justified and based upon ancient
science now forgotten by our epoch) ; Sacred Sickness,
Divine Distemper, H oly Plague,FallingSickness, Herculean
Malady, Lunatic Malady, ctc. etc. Epilepsy is hereditary ;
seership also. E pilepsy may be brought on by violent
emotions ; our subjects also fall, in the second stago, when
und er emotional disturbances. Epilepsy is more common
•among O women than am ong O men ’; th e same i.s ,th ,e case
with our subjects. Epilepsy affects th e y o u n g ; it is also
among young persons th a t seership most manifests itself.
(The Bible a ttrib u te s visions to young persons, dreams to
old men.) In epilepsy the paroxysms are influenced
by the moon and by t e m p e r a tu r e ; our subjects
are similarly affected. A pathognomonica) character of
epilepsy is th a t it, m ay be communicated to bystanders ;
th e same has been observed in epidemics of seership.
Epilepsy presents tho same visible .symptoms as in our
subjects called som nambules— the eye fixed aud convulsed
in the orbit, the pupil not dilating under th e influence of
a strong light. The epileptic rem embers nothing of his
p a ro x y s m ; our subjects forget wliat happened in the
second stage of theirs. Epilepsy, in its scientific classifica­
tion, presents th e psychic form, characterized by halluci­
nations, visions, etc. T h e ancient Pythoness delivered
her oracles during such crisis (Pythic fury) ; we have
noticed th e same phenomenon. In our classification of
subjects I can select the S aturuian (thoso under the in­
converted into P y lh ia 1. This class of subjects evoke
tlio dead and reproduce in themselves all the phases of
th e death-agony of th e dead person (difficult, breat dug,
interrupted circulation, collapsus, death-rattle, cold sweat, n e s s ; it is t h e i n d iv i d u a li ty w h i c h fee ls “ I AM*’ n o t t h a p e r s o n a li t y ,
coma, and d e a t h ) ; those are tho very signs and symptoms w hich 110 m o r e feels, of it s e lf , I am, th an does th e su it of clo th e s

which indicate t i n last extrem e of the opileptic paroxysm. i n w h i c h i t is a r r a y e d .

N o w t h e r e .are m a n y g o o d m e n w h o b eliev e in a P ersonal God,
T h e epileptic p a tie n t has durin g his paroxysm the thu m b a r a d ia n t, glo rified m a n , w ith h e a d a u d b o d y a n d lim b s ; a n d t h e y
clenched in upon the palm of the hand and covered with draw p ic tu re s of h im (th o se w h o h a v e h a u n te d th e g a lle rie s of
tb e fingers, tho index alone left free and often rigid— the E u ro p e o n ly k n o w w h a t g lo rio u s id ea liz a tio n s of th e “ hum an form
sym ptom especially common with females ; so also a great d iv in e ” th is b e lie f h a s in sp ire d ), a n d th e y a ttr ib u te to h im hum an
fee lin g s, anger, r e p e n t a n c e a n d th o lik e, and th ey p ictu re h im to
many epilcptical psychics have tho th u m b clenched into tho
th em selv es, a n d love h im a s a v e r i t a b l e " F a t h e r w h o is in H ea v e n .”
palm of th o h a n d , but only covered with the last two fingers, P u t th ere are o th ers (w h o c a n n o t accep t th ese co n cep tio n s w h ic h to
th e index and middle finger remaining extended. This, you t h e m scorn d e r o g a t o r y to t h e I n f i n it e a n d A b s o lu te ) w h o b e lie v e in a n
know, makes the most, potonfc of magical signs.* Im personal G od. They h old th at God is not a m ere m ag n ifid e

E lim inating then tho causes, organic or induced, would m an ; th at he lias 110 form or runsoN A , at any rate th at we can
conceive, th at h o is a sp irit, a ll p e r v a d i n g , all s u s t a i n i n g , n e ith e r
not the opileptic bo merely a subject, (“o r producing pheno­ liab le to an g er, rep en tan ce or change, an d hence p a n ic (hav ing
mena ; b u t doranged in his especial physiology by causes alw ay s know n from all ete rn ity w hat w as rig h t aud th ere-
which may be m ultiple ? f ire w h a t he w illed ), alw ay s w o rk in g th ro u g h im m u ta b le law s.

Paris, France, N ovem ber 1882. M a n y of theso (b u t b y 110 n v aa n s a ll) h o ld fu rth er th at he is not
c o n s c io u s o r in t e l l i g e n t ,
in o u n sense of th o w ord, b ecau so b o th
th ese te rm s im p ly d u a lity , a n e n tity to co g n ize a n d a th in g to b e
c o g n iz e d , w h e re a s ITo is A l l i n A ll a u d in H im , we and a ll th in g s,
m o v e a n d liv e a n d h a v e o u r b e i n g , b u t s t i l l t h a t H e is A l l c o n s c i o u s ­
n e s s a n d a ll i n te llig e n c e . T h e b e lie v e rs th e re fo re in an Im personal
G od are som e of th em T h e ists, som e P a n th eists, b u t can b y 110 m eans
A P E R S O N A L A N D A N I M P E R S O N A L OOI). tru ly be d e sig n a ted A th eists.

V a rio u s re m a rk s th a t I liav e n o ticed in th e A rya lead m e to L a s tl y t h e r e a r e t h e so c a lle d a th e is ts , w lio s a y th e } ' b e lie v ®

b e l i e v e t l i a t , a s is s o c o m m o n l y t.ho c a s e , d i f f e r e n c e s i n i n t e r p r e t a ­ in 110 G o d , P e r s o n a l o r I m p e r s o n a l , w h o a f f i r m t h a t t h e u n i v e r s e
t io n s o f te r m s , a ro l e a d in g t o a p p a re n t a n t a g o n i s m s b o t w e e n p e r s o n s is an in fin ite ag g re g a tio n of su b sta n c e , in its u n d iffe re n tia ted
w h o se v iew s a re in re a lity iden tical. c o n d itio n , n e ith e r conscious nor in te llig en t, e x p a n d in g and
A tta c k s aro m ad e ou th o se w h o d en y th e e x iste n ce of a P e rso n a l c o n tra c tin g by th e in h eren t law s of its own b ein g , and su b je c t
G od, a n d w e a re to ld t h a t su c h persons, e v e n th e b e lie v in g in nn in accordance w ith th ese to a lte rn a te p erio d s of day and n ig h t,
Im p e rso n a l G od, aro in rea lity A th eists. a c tiv ity and re s t; who m ain tain th at d u rin g such p erio d s of
N o w t h i s is s im p ly , in m y h u m b l e o p in io n , a m ista k e , resu ltin g a c tiv ity in accordance still w ith these in h eren t law s, all th in g s
fro m differen ces in th e sig n ific a tio n s a tta c h ed by d ifferen t p ersons hum an a n d d i v i n e d i f f e r e n t i a t e o u t of, a n d are ev o lv ed from , th is
to th e te rm s P e rso n a l a n d Im p e rso n a l G od. p rim a l a ll-p erv a d in g su b sta n c e , to d isin tig rate, once m oro, in to it
L e t m e a t th e o u tse t, h o w e v e r, ex p la in , t h a t I a m n o t h e re seek in g as th e n ig h t of rest supervenes.
t o d e f e n d t h e I ' n E o s o i ’H l S T o r y o u r s e l f ; y o u a r e q u i t e a b l e t o d e f e n d T hese c a ll t h e m s e l v e s A t h e i s t s ; a n d i f t h e r e be s u c h , th ey pro­
y ourself, a n d I a m in 110 w ay em p o w ered or c o m p e te n t to ex press b ab ly have th e best rig h t to assum e th e title, but I confess th a t
y o u r view s 01 those o fth e H im a la y a n B ro th erh o o d w hose re p re se n ta ­ I d o u b t w h e th e r e v e n th e s e are rea lly A th e is ts . <
tiv e y o u are, as to th e n a tu r e o f th o F irst C ause— nor do I d e sire I n th e first p lac e , w h e n t h e y t a l k of law s, th ey o verlook, it
to e n te r in to a n y c o n tro v e rsy w ith any m an ; I d e sire to liv e iu seem s lo m e, th e fact, th at a law p o stu la te s a law -giver— a w ill
peace an d b ro th e rly love w ith a ll m en ; I have m y own v iew s, at any rate th at has im p ressed a course of a c tio n — a u d so it
w h ic h satisfy m y h e a d a n d h e a rt, in w h ich I firm ly b e lie v e , and seem s to m e th at, ad m ittin g au in h ere n t law , th o y c a n n o t log ically
w liic h I h o p e all o t h e r m e n w ill r e s p e c t in m o ; a n d I d o not doubt escape a w ill th at o rig in a te d th> it l a w , a n d such a w ill in such a
th at o th ers who differ fro m m e have eq u a lly seized tho view s case m u st b e w hat m an k in d u n d erstan d s as G od.
t h a t sa tisfy th e ir h e a d s a n d h e a rts , are e q u a lly ju stifie d in h o ld in g
B u t in th e second place, th o u g h th ey deny th is p rim a ry w ill»
th e s o a n d h a v e a n e q u a l c la im o n m e to r e s p e c t th e s e th o ir view s.
the}' d o not really d e n y all G ods. For th ey say th at in accord­
L o o k in g r o u n d th e u n iv e r s e n o th in g so s tro n g ly im p re ss e s m e, as
an ce w ith th e in h e r e n t law s, d ev elo p , not o n l y a ll w e se e .and
t h e s y s t e m o f d i v i s i o n o f l a b o u r w h i c h p e r v a d e s it. P ractical resu lts
know, b u t in c r e d ib ly a n d in c o n c e iv e a b ly h ig h e r s p ir itu a l b ein g s,
n e v e r sp rin g fro m so lita ry causes ; th ey are ever th e resu lta n ts of
who g u id e a n d d irect a ll th in g s in th e v isib le u n iv erse, and to
th e m ore or less d iv erg en t effects of an in ex tric a b le p lex u s of
w hoso p o w e r a n d lovo aro due a ll t h e b e a u ti e s aud w o n d e rs o f th o
div erse causes. I t is f r o m c o n t r a s t s , t h a t a ll th e jo y s and b e a u tie s
w o rld th at so im p re s s ns w ith a sense o f d esig n .*
o f t h e w o r ld a ris e ; it is f ro m t h e e q u i l i b r i u m of a n ta g o n istic forces
So th en , th o u g h th ey m a y c all these, D h y a u C h o h a n s o r E lo h im ,
th a t th e U n iv erse su b sists. A ll p ro g re ss sp rin g s from d ifference ;
th ese e x a lte d sp iritu a l b e in g s are rea lly th eir G ods, and th ey are
a ll e v o lu tio n is t h e r e s u l t o f d iff e re n tia tio n ; a s in t h e g r o a t, so in th e
P o ly th e ists rath er th an A th eists. O n ly it m ust be rem em bored
little ; as a b o v e , so b e lo w ; a s in th e p h y sic a l, so in th e sp iritu a l ; as
th at these, th eir G ods, are n e ith e r in fin ite nor ab so lu te. They
in th e v isib le so in th e u n s e e n u n iv e rs e .
are fin ite ; b illio n s 011 b illio n s of years ns th ey su b sist, th ey pass
H o w , th e n , can m e n fail to see t h a t d iffe re n c e s o f o p in io n on n u t t e r s
in to n a n - e x is t e n c e ( b u t w h e t h e r in to n o n - b e in g o r n o t t h e h o ld ers
s p ir itu a l aro p arts of th e necessary m ech au ism of th e sp iritu al
of those ten ets are not ag reed) w ith th e c lo se of th e great day,
o rg a n ism th a t ev e ry w h e re u n d erlies (as th e bo n es u n d erlie th e flesh
and th ey are c o n d itio n ed by th e e te rn a l inherent law of th e
a n d sk in ) th e p h y sic a l o r v isib le w orld 1 Ilo w can th ey fin d fau lt
in fin ite s u b s ta n c e o n e o f w h o se d e v e lo p m e n ts th o y aro .
w ith o th e rs for h o ld in g view s d ifferent fro m th e ir ow n? How fail to
W hy, t h e y h a v e p r e f e r e d fin ite a n d co n d itio n ed Gods to ono
rea lize th a t those o th ers are as tru ly w o rk in g in h arm o n y w ith tho
In fin ite a n d A b s o lu te God is c le a r. On th o fo rm e r hypoth esis, th o
p erv ad in g d e sig n o r law of th e A lt, as th em selv es? N i g h t is as
o rig in o f ev il, th e e x is t e n c e o f s i n a n d s u f f e r i n g offer 110 d iffic u lty ;
n e e d f u l to o u r m u n d a n e e c o n o m y a s d a y ; s h a ll t h e n ig h t, rev ile tho
th e Gods do th eir best ; but th ere aro law s of o p p o site p o larity ,
d a y , f o r its g lare, its n o ise , its h e a t, o r th e d a y r e p r o a c h th o n i g h t for
o f a n ta g o n istic o p p o sites, to w hich th e universe ow es its o rig in ,
its d u s k y stilln e ss !
and w ith it th ey th em se lv e s, w h ich are above th em aud w h ieh
S o th e n it is n o s p ir it o f fin d in g f a u lt w ith th o so who d iffer fro m
th ey are p o w e rle ss t o c o n t r o l, a lth o u g h th ey can larg ely m o d ify
m e , b u t o n ly in th o hope of c learin g aw ay im ag in ary differen ces
th eir resu lts. They do th eir b e s t ; if th e r e still rem a in m ise ry
( w h i c h b e in g u n re a l w o r k h a r m , n o t g o o d a s re a l d iffe re n c e s do), t h a t
nnd ev il, it is because not b e in g o m n ip o te n t, th ey cannot cure
I d esire to sa y a few w ords as to b e lie f in a Personal God, in au
w ith o u t m ed icin e, cannot m a k e lig h t a p p a re n t w ith o u t d ark n ess.
I m p e r s o n a l G o d a n d in N o - G o d .
W h y , to o , t h o y d e n y th e p rim a l W ill as g iv iu g w ith to th e so-
The th ree b eliefs are very differen t and pace our b reth ren of
c a lle d i n h e r e n t l a w s is a ls o c le a r. So long as th eso nre b l i n d law s,
th e A rya , who seem to th in k d ifferen tly , th e b e lie v e r in au
self-ex istin g , 110 o n e is r e s p o n s ib le for a ll th e sin and so rrow and
Im personal God is n o t o n ly 110 A th e is t, b u t a c tu a lly in m a n y cases
Buffering t h a t th ese law s en ta il. B ut a d m it th e W ill, th e n th is as
h o ld s th e e x a ct te n e ts of th e U p a n ish ad s.
(e x h yp o th ese) O m n ip o te n t becom es r e s p o n s ib le f o r a ll t h e ev il t h a t
I t is in th e m e a n in g of th e w o rd Person th at th e m isc o n c ep tio n
ev o lv e s fro m its b eh ests and co u ld not therefore a p p a re n tly be
o rig in ates.
p e rfe c tly ben eficen t. W h ic h e v e r w ay we, tu rn , th en th ere are
T he A rya says, “ By perso n al we u n d erstan d th e a ttrib u te of
d ifficu ltie s. N o so lu tio n of th e fu n d am e n ta l p ro b le m of th e
b e i n g a n i n d i v i d u a l — t h e e s s e n c e o f p e r s o n a l i t y is c o n s c i o u s n e s s — t h o
u n iv e r s e t h a t iu all th e s e th o u s a n d s o f t h o u s a n d s y ears th e m in d of
k n o w led g e of th e fact th at I am .” B ut th is, if th e w rite r w ill
m a n h a s b e e n a b l e e v o lv e is a l t o g e t h e r u n i m p e a c h a b l e .
pardon m y so sa y in g , is really not a ten ab le p o sitio n . P erso n Jt,
L e t u s tlieu each tak e th e so lu tio n th at best su its our m en tal
o r a m .o sk r e f e r s o n l y t o t h e m a s k o f fle sh a n d b lo o d a n d b o n e s and
and sp iritu a l c o n stitu tio n , a n d let us leave our n e ig h b o u rs an
th e a s so c ia te d p o w e rs t h a t conceal, th o sp irit, soul or w h atev er it
eq ual freedom o f c h o ic e ; let u s n o v c r h e s ita te to sta te and defend
p le a s e s m e n t o call t h a t p o r ti o n o f t h e h u m a n e n t i t y w liich s u r v i v e s
o u r o w n v iew s a n d oppose th o se o th e r v iew s t h a t we th in k w rong,
th e d isso lu tio n of th e p h y sic a l b o d y . F o r m ate ria lists, w h o b e lie v e
b u t l e t u s d o all t h i s a s w e w o u l d defend our own and oppose our
t h a t w ith th is la tte r th e e n tire m a n perishes, it m ay be correct to
s a y t h a t t h e e s se n c e o f p e r s o n a lity is conscio u sn ess, but c e rta in ly ,
o p p o n e n t ’s gam e at chess, w ith 110 m ore fee lin g ag ain st our
o p p o n e n ts t h a n w o h a v e a g a in s t a n a d v e rs a ry a t t h a t no b le g am e.
n o V e d a n t is t c o u ld e v e r s a y t h is if h e re a lly u n d e r s to o d w h a t
A b o v e a ll l e t u s r e m e m b e r t h a t i u t h i s p r e s e n t life, t h e h i g h
p e rs o n a lity sig n ified . The essence o f in d iv id u a lit y i s c o n s c i o u s ­
th eo re tic a l q u e s tio n s o f P erso n al, Im p e rso n a l, a n d N o-G od, are of
• S o o E l i p h a s L e v i ' s D og m e a t R i t u a l de I a I ln n t e M a g i c — t l i o I l l u s t r a ­
tio n o n p . 102 vol. I , s h o w s it.— E o . ' * R eference is lio r o m a d o to tho T ib etan A rh ats.— o u r M asters.— E n
 less concern to 11s than our own everyday life about the right
conduct of which 110 similar difficulties exist.
T h at wc should all try to love our neighbours as ourselves, th a t
we should forgive our enemies, th a t we should do good to those
who do evil to us, th at we should value purity of life, tr u th and
goodness far above wealth or place or personal enjoyment,—these
are tru th s admitted ubique, semper et ab omnibus, and surely these
furnish a wide enough platform on which wo can all, whether
Brahmins, Christians, Theosophists, A ryans or what not, meet and
labour iu one universal loving Brotherhood.
H. X.
E dit ou’s N otk—With “ II. X.’s” permission we will answer this
letter in the Jan uary, or at latest in the February number.
T H E U T I L I T Y O F A SANS.
A s an in qu irer after tru th , I should be highly obliged if you
or nny contributor to y o u r esteemed jou rn al would favour 1110
w ith his opinion 011 the following points :—
1. I t is inculcated iu Y oga S hastras th a t lie w ho intends to
acquire nny Y o ga S id d h i should, as a rulo, sit in one o f th e
postures prescribed by th a t S h a stra and should bend liis
th o u g h ts on S eesh a N a g — practices w hich save the b eginner
from diseases arising from cold and heat.
B eing unable to u n d e rs ta n d the real meaning of the above, I
wish to know th e benefits forthcom ing from the use of such
po stures and thin k in g of S c e sh a N a g , the K ing o f Serpents.
2. T h a t those who are m ere beginners should not disclose
the natu re of the V idhces th ey are practising. I f th ey do so,
th e y are a p t to suffer a total loss of th eir powers.
T h o u g h unable to assign an y specific reason for it, I havo
ex perienced it myself' on one occasion. M y story ru ns th us :—-
A fte r completing m y College education I devoted iny timo
to a cq uiring a knowledge o f A strology, R u m m a l S h a s tr a ,
M a n tr a mid T a n tr a S h a stra s. Ono day while sitting in the
house o f n friend, I chanced to m eet a religious m endicant who,
seeing m y g reat desire of learning Ilu m m a l S h a stra , advised mo
to give up its study and to devote my soul and heart to m as te r­
ing n V idhce ; which, w hen mastered, will enable ils possessor
to foretell futu re events more easily than by the stud y of a
Ilu m m a l.
I followed his advice, and iu about ono y ea r acquired some
proficiency in portending fu tu re ev en ts; but iu the meantim e, I
u nfo rtu na te ly disclosed the m y stery to one o f iny friends, a
K a sh m iri B rahm an of L u ck no w , and a man o f m y caste. T h is
disclosure deprived me of wliat I had gained d u rin g one y e a r’s
h a r d stu dy nnd m y friend, who was a mere beginner, did not
gain nnything thereby.
N o w I would like to receive some satisfactory explanation of
the abovemeutioued facts.
P u n d it U d i t N a r a in S o u r o m C iia c k b a st.
Chnf.rn, Ilazaribstgh, S ep tem b e r 20 th, 1882.
( R e p ly to th e q u e stio n s.)
Tlio questions asked by P u n d it U d it N arain a re —■
1. T h e use and benefits arising from the practice of the
different sorts o f A s h u n s (A s a n s ) or postures o f the body des­
cribed in th e Y oga Shastras ?
2. T h o reason why the efficacy of M a n tra s or V idhecs
Buffers by communication to others ?
W it h regard to the first question the object o f A sh un s, e. g.,
P u d m a s a n or S id h a s a n seems to be to retain mid converge
tho forces of electricity and m agnetism existing in tho h um a n
body w ith n view to concentrate the mind. T h e legs aud the
lm nds are in almost all these A sans required to "be placed in
positions m ost favourable to lhe retention of thoso forces.
T h e se forces nro generally com m unicated by tho ex trem ities of
th e hand and the legs, aud the principal point common to all these
A sh u n s is to place them so as to keep tho body stra ig h t— to stop
or close up the outlets o f the body such as the ears, tho
nostrils, &e. T h ese postures tend to dim inish the waste o f the
tissues, and at the same time assist in g enerating and retaining
more mngnetical force or energy iu the h um a n system. T h e y
are o f considerable use to beginners, as the body is th ereb y
rendered im pervious to external atm ospheric influences o f cold
aud heat, chiefly by reason of the m agnetism generated aud
retained in the system, aud the regulation o f tlio acts o f inhala­
tion und exhalation which th ey necessitate. T h is is not the
fit placo to en ter into any analysis of the different attitudes
nnd postures o f the body described iu th e Y o ga philosophy of
Patanjali or G h ere d o S a n h ita or the Siva S anhita. The
in q uirer is referred to theso books for fu r th e r inform ation.
J l e bus only to satisfy him self us to w h e th e r the rem ark s mado
nbovo aro not applicable to most of these A sh& .sitns. to
brooding over the K in g o f Serpents the utility of the in jun c­
tion lies in its tendency towards concentration. Brooding over
any th in g else, c. g ., th e ti() o f th e nose as directed in some books,
m ig ht have th e same effect. P re fe ren ce is perhaps giv en to
the K in g o f Serpents, because S iva , the founder o f the Y oga
systems, is said to have serpents over his head aud around his
neck.
W it h regard to the second question. T h e T a n tr a S h a s tr a s
abound iu prohibitions to disclose the Mantras or V idhces laid
down therein excep t to persons qualified to receive them . T h o
reason of this prohibition seems to me to avoid the d a n g e r and
injury which m ig ht h app en to people generally if unscrupulous
persons were to h av e it iu their power to tu rn them to th eir
own purposes to th e d etrim en t of thoir neighbours.
T h e a r t o f p ro gn osticating th e future know n to the ancient
H in d u s is an a r t w hich is not known to m a n y ; and those that
know it, are alw ays re lu c ta n t to teach it to tlieir ow n children
o v e n ; in consequence o f the strict prohibitions iu the S h astras
against com m unicating the rules to others. W hy there should
be such prohibitions is a question which is not answered in
tho Shastras ; bu t th e fact th at there are such prohibitions is
known to most o f us. T h ose who believe iu the efficiency of
M a n tr a s or V idhees are unable to explain their m o d u s o p era n d i,
aud until this is know n or explained it is impossible to e x ­
plain tho prohibitions. I f M antras act th ro ug h the vibrations
caused iu the atm osph ere by tho sound o f the words or syllables
comprising th e m — the mode of u ttering th em must be au
im p o rta n t factor iu th e production of th e vibrations. These
vibrations differ according to the nature of tho sounds. I 11
teaching others, tho teacher generally gets accustom ed to
pronounce th e words and syllables of the M a n tra s iu a m anner
iu which they should not be pronounced, 1 . t\, he vitiates their
correct accentuation by tryin g to im part it to an oth er person, and
ns every sound caused by au effort in pronouncing tlio m a n tra s
produces n vibration or waves iu the atm osphere a t the placo
iu which they are so pronounced— these vibrations having no
other object but th a t o f teaching another, are useless in them ­
selves. E v e r y act o f repetition w ith ou t any corresponding
necessity for it, is injurious, because it is iu itself calculated
to produce no effect whatsoever, bu t if, involves at the same time
loss o f pow er or potentiality. I t is therefore probable th at
prohibitions against th e communication o f M a n tra s and
V idhecs owe tlieir origin ( 1 ) to the necessity of keeping the
m a n tra s a secret ; ( 2 ) to the tendency of such communication
to nflect their pronunciation nnd therefore the corresponding
vibrations o f the atm osphere ; (3) to the desirability th a t none
b u t thoso who nre able to un derstan d and pronounce them
correctly should know them.
K a le k M o u l i n D a ss,
V akeel of the H ig h C ourt, Calcutta.
Darjeeling, September 29, 1882.
MAHATMAS, VISIBLE AND INVISIBLE.
In the Supplement to the T h e o s o p i i l s t for October1,
under the head “ Ii. X.” and the “ Brothers” I rind that
in tlie letter No. IV., 5."> gentlemen of Nellore say that:—
“ Iu almost every Purana, we read of the disciple being
made to undergo all maimer of hardship for years together,
and then (if the Ouru be thoroughly satisfied with the
conduct of the disciple during the period of trial) only theu
is he taught what lie is yearning after.”
I would be very thankful to these gentlemen to point
out to 111c the passages they refer to ; as I wish to satisfy
my miiul 011 the point—siuoc as I am 'not a H i n d u ,
and therefore not conversant with such passages. As far
as I have made myself acquainted with Hindu philosophy,
I iiave come across passages which refer o n ly to Gurus or
Mahatmas whom the chela or disciple can see with
his physical eyes, and of whose existences there can be no
doubt whatever, and not as to Mahatmas of whose
existence the chelii or disciple (if I may so express it)
o n ly comes to know 011 second-hand evidence.
I may as well tell you that I am a Theosophist of the
second class described in the Fragments of Occult Truth
No. 1„ as :—“ Students of various philosophies, searchers
al'tor ta ith , wheiicesovvoi' it may uouje. They neither
 believe nor disbelieve in spirits. They ;irc open to
conviction in any way, but -will accept nothing on. second­
hand testimony."
H.O. N n n . K T T ,
Vice-President, Prayag Thcosopliical Societ}^.
Benares, October (>, 1882.
A CHELA'S REPLY.
leave tlie above to be answered by one of tho Clielas
c seen, in company w ith five other person?, in D ecem ber last at
who signed the first P r o t i o s t . — E l).]
Tlic above letter appears to me as though it. were w ritten
w ith borrowed ideas and wilh a view (;o raise a new issue by
p u ttin g into the m ouths of l.hc H indu gentlemen who protested
(page 0, October Supplement, of the T i i h o s o i ’i i i s t ) expressions
wliieli they have not used. Ila d the w riter routined him self to tlie
text, ([noted by liim viz. “ In almost, every Piirnna wc read o f (.lie
disciple bein';; made to undergo all m anner of hardsh ip for years
together, and th e n — [if the G u ru he th oroughly satisfied with
the conduct, of the disciple during the period of the t r i a l ] — only
then is he tn ug ht w h at lie i.s yearning after.” A reference to Ihe
well known trial o f U pam anyu (in the M a i i a h ii a k a t o ) was all
tlmt was necessary to m eet this case. B u t our esteemed B rother,
I am afraid, under the p re te x t o f ignorance, in troduced an entirely
new issue not even justified by “ ]l. X . ’s” letter, iu whose
footsteps tho above letter m akes him tread, though in a rath er
original manner. T h e object of “ II. X . ” is to denounce th e
15noTiinus for their unwillingness and slowness to imparl, their
knowledge, and for exacting the Sitsrusha* th a t they do from
tlieir disciples. O u r brother, Mr. N iblctt, how ever, adm its the
claim provided the G uru is personally know n to, nnd seen by the
Chela with “ liis physical e y e s’’. I t is this, th a t I consider as alto­
g ether a n e w issue. B u t to reply to it : I find necessary lo first
ascertain w h at tlie w riter means by “ G u r u .” T his title admits
of various interpretations. (1) W he n a person retires from tho
world and becomes a sannyasi (l-’aribrnjncum) he has, accord­
ing to tho ll iu d u Sashtras, aud the practice observed to this
very day (as may be easily verified by a simple refcrcnco to the
first sannyasi met) to be initiated by any o th er sanuyasi
o f the o rder he has selected. T h en he drops his
old name, taking a new one— he commences his pilgrimages.
T h is formal I n i t i a t o u is called in ordinary parlancc a “ G u r u ”
and he can certainly be seen aud talked w ith , and this is
the G u r u probably o f which t h e w i i l e r has read iu the Shastras.
B u t the real G u ru ( M a h a t m a ) whom even the above “ I n i t i a ­
to r” has never seen and is him self in search of, is
never seen, nor will th e probationary C hela be ever
allowed to meet him until tbe d ay o f that real, solemn
initiation, which has to bo won by long years o f labour aud toil.
E v e n when by some ha pp y circumstances the first initiator
happens to be the real “ G u r u ” so eagerly so u g h t for, even then,
i t is only toward the cud of the last initiation that, he reveals
h im s e lf in his tru e character to tho Chela. U n til th en he
never divulges his secret to any one, mid is no thin g more than
nn ordinary sannyasi iu the sig ht o f the disciples. I t is at
this stage that the eyes of the C hela are opened. H e becomes
a dwija, a twice born, as initiation is considered equal to a new
birth. G lance into tlio R a m a y a n a . When was V alm iki
initialed ? Was it not, after GQ,0U0 years (m etaphorically
speaking) that ho had sp ent in repeating “ M a r a ” ? Did
N a ra d a and others disclose them selves to him when ho was a
hig h w ay robber-—R a tn a k a i ? Head the c h a p te r on Sadhtt
Sanyyam in the B i i a o a v a t , und you will liiul there all that
you requiro to know w ith reference to the troubles and
hard ship s th at have to be undergone to secure sueli a blessed
personal acquaintance with, and a sigh t of one’s G urn.
I do not, quite understand what is m ean t by the w riter when
lie speaks of “ G u ru s and M ahatm as whom th e Chela or
disciple can see. . . aud of whose existence th ere can be no
doubt w hatever, and not Mahal mas of whose existenco . . .
lie comes to know on second h a n d evidence"
H e would be a curious Chela indeed, w ho would doubt
the existence of his G u r u ! W ho thou accepted him as a Chela ?
W as it a non-existent M ahatm a ? Before concluding, 1 may also
n o t i c e here another m istake of the writer. T h e H in d u g en tle ­
m e n of Nellore who protested, had not certainly iu mind the
H im alayan Brothers alone, but evidently spoke of M ahatmas iu
general.
* fjervile Q b cilieu cc,
Since I speak in my own name nnd answ er but. for myself, I
need not infringe upon the rights o f other Clielas who are a t
liberty to eith er reply, each for himself, or collectively, if they
think proper. B u t, in o rder to set tho w riter’s doubts at rest
and also to show that, perhaps, the old restrictions nro gradually
giving aw ay before the prevailing scepticism of tho age, I here
solemnly declare, that, tho ug h I had offered m yself a y e a r ago
as a Chela w ith o u t the slightest hope of seeing w ith my bodily
eves my G u ru for a num ber of years, I yet, was blessed with the
privilege o f meeting and recognising him b ut a few days ago.*
On account, of his g re a t resemblance to a figure I had
Bombay, w hrec ho appeared to us on our balcony ;
aud moreover, to a portrait, iu Colonel O lco tt’s possession
wliieli I have repeatedly seen— I knew him instantly, w hen I
saw .him ap pear on horseback before me, as I had strayed into
Sikhim, with the intention o f crossing over to Tibet. N o t only
did I sec him and t s v o o f l i i s clielas with him, before me for
over two hours in th e full blaze of a forenoon sun, but
I had likewise a long conversation with him . I havo mado
g re a t sacrifices which I need not, mention here, b u t 1 am now
am ply rew arded for them. So will any one be . who has F a i t h
ami knows how to abide one’s time.
A fte r this, it would seem hu t natural th at w henever I h ear
a doubter or a scoffer d eny ing the existence o f our H im alay an
Mahatmas, I should simply smilo in pity, aud re g a rd tho
doubter as a poor deluded sceptic, indeed !
S. R amaswamier , F.T.S.
Camp, Himalayas, near D arjiling, 15th October, 1882.
SliV lS R A L S E R I O U S Q U E S T IO N S .
lu studying the Fragments of Occult T ruth Nos. 1 to 3, the follow­
ing diflioulties have come in my way ; aud if you would kindly assist
me out of them 1 shall be very thankful.
From wliat source has matter come to exist ! Is it eternal and
self-existing or does it depend oil something else? Is matter aud
Akasa tbe same !
lu the Buddhist Catechism by Colonel Oleott, answer to Q- 113
is given as follows :— “ Buddha taught that two things arc eternal
viz., ‘ Akasa’ and ‘ Nirvana.’ ” Would it be correct to say tha
Akasa and Nirvana are distinct in themselves in the sense th a t
neither of them has proceeded from the other.
Does Akasa go to make up the physical m a n ; a ud is it th e
total obliteration of Akasa th a t frees the seventh principle iu man
and helps it to reach the state of perfect rest (Nirvana) I Or,
Does the .sixth principle iu man alone a ttain perfect rest
(Nirvana) and the seventh principle return to its parent source '!
If “ tbe sense of individuality in Spirit cannot exist without
combination with m atter,” th en it seems to me th a t matter must
a t t a i n Nirvana and that the “ emanation from the Absolute” (if
the Absolute be something higher than Nirvana) cannot re tu rn
to its parent source.
Win) reaps the benefit or otherwise of the Karina, the material
principles in mao or tbe Spirit I ■
What is the object of the Creation (I use the word Creation
for want of a better term, aud not iu the ordinary sense of its
having a Creator) of the vast stary heavens aud of our planet.
H ave these come into existences through mere accident or with
a definite object !
I t is ditlicult to believe th a t these states of existences have
continued and arc to last to the end of time without any object ;
but on the other hand, my reasoning faculties cannot penetrate so
deep as to find out the object. I t is puerile to th ink th a t
God sits making mail as a potter liis Vessels,—some to satisfy his
propensity for vengeance and some to siug liis praises.
II. N u u .h tt,
Vice-President, Prayag Theosophical Society.
Benares, Oct. 20, 1882.
K i h t o k ’s N o t e . —Whati.s here asked in a few paragraphs, has
been discussed through enough volumes to fill some miles of
libiary-shelves. If our correspondent wilt follow us through tbe
coming volumes of our magazine he will doubtless find a good
deal of thoughtful writing upon the mooted topics. We shrink
from pronouncing the e.v cathedra judgments asked of us, fur,
after all, our opinions are bu t our own aud we claim for them
no intrinsic authority. As to the second and sixth questions of
Mr. Niblett, we refer him to the New Edition (14th thousand) of
Colonel Olcott’s “ Buddhist Cataclysm,” just out, iu which will
he found highly valuable and suggestive addenda to the First
Edition as regards Karma, Personality, Individuality, Re-birth,
and other matters th a t have long been debated by Buddhistic
commentators, aud in the treatm ent of which our colleague
advances some new ideas.
r „ _ " ’‘‘ ~~ ■ - - - -, , ,.
* Xlie writer’s advonturcs nro elsewhere described,—Jiu.
 s e e p tic al m isa n th ro p y th ese a n d o th e r sim ilar re s u lts m a y w ell
THE ADI BRAIIMO SAMAJ. a p p a e l t o y o u r c o r r e s p o n d e n t ’s s y m p a t h y o u i n y b e h a l f , a n d s e c u r e m e
W h ile I ag ree w ith B a b u Raj N a ra in B ose in h is ap p reciatio n t h a t e a rly in v ita tio n to S im la o r C a lc u tta , I so e a rn e s tly lo n g for.
of H in d u ism and repeat w ith him “ W o. can never forsake th e
T o c o n v in ce your correspondent th at I am in ea rn e st, I send
n a m e o f H in d u " I a m u n a b l e t o u n d e r s t a n d h i s d e f e n c e o f B n d n n o i s i n .
you in y a d d re ss, so th at lie m ay fin d o u t for h im se lf w h o m h e is
I d o n o t k n o w h o w t o r e c o n c i l e h i s o w n s t a t e m e n t s :— ( a ) “ H i n d u i s m
io h a v e a s h is ‘ C h e l a .’
th ro u g h g rad u a l im p ro v e m e n t a n d p ro g ressiv e d e v e lo p m e n t h as B. J. P.
becom e B rah m o ism . T h e H in d u ism o f t h e a g e o f t h e T !ig V e d a h a s
by m e a n s of g rad u al im p ro v e m e n t a n d c o rrectio n b eco m e B rahm o­
i s m . ” A n d ( b) “ W h e n w e p r o n o u n c e t h e w o r d ‘ H i n d u ’ th e vener­
a b le fig u res of R is h is a n d sa g es a p p e a r w h o p e rc e iv e d th e in tim a te
P RO F. IIA E C K E L ON L A W A N D M IR A C L E .
rela tio n b etw een m a n a n d G o d . I see b efore m e th e H in d u n a tio n
r i s i n g f r o m s le e p , r e n e w i n g i t s y o u t h , ” & e., & c. I b e g , a s P r e s i d e n t From a translation of Prof. Haeckel’s lecture at a recent
of th e H in d u S a b h a , to be in stru c te d by th e P resid en t of th e Adi meeting of German Naturalists and Physicians (N a tu re ,
B r a h m o S a n i a j a s t o w h o im p r o v e d , d e v e lo p e d a n d corrected H in d u ­
is m in t o B r a h m o i s m .
They m u s t be, 1 suppose, g re a te r liish is
Sept. 28) wc copy tlie following paragraphs. Tlieir bold
a n d sages th a n h ave been th e fo u n d ers of H in d u ism . B efore th e ir
affirmation on behalf of the highest scientific authorities,
nam es and th eir g reatn ess are m ade known it is id le to talk of tlie “ Oneness of Nature and God,” and the inviolable
of B rah m o ism iu th e above stra in ; a n d of th e rig h t of th e B ra h m o s supremacy of Natural Law, will please none so much as
t o p r e a c h a n d i n s t r u c t , I v o t e f o r s t a t e m e n t (6 ), a n d r e p u d i a t e (a ). our Buddhist and Vedantic friends, whose belief is so
A l l t h a t I g a t h e r o f a B r a h m o is t h a t he a p p r e c ia t e s tlie M ana- antagonistic to all supernaturalism :—
k a n d a or S re s h ta A d h ik a ru of H in d u is m acco rd in g to th e teach in g
o f th e R ish is— b u t s o d o all H in d u s a u d P a n d its. Iu fact it is a “ The pmified knowledge of the world in the present day
t r u is m th a t th e S resh ta A d h ik ara is hig h er th an th e K a n ish tlia knows that natural revelation alone which in the book
A d h ik ara! As I c lassified T h e o so p h ists in th e N ovem ber
of nature lies open to every one and which every unpre­
m ag azin e, a B rahm o who w ish es to b en efit by th e “ M ana-
kanda” is f i t for in itia tio n as th e T h ir d G rad e T h e o s o p h is t
judiced man with sound senses and sound reason can
or th e B ra h m a n o f th e land. I f a n y m a n c a n c a ll h i m s e lf a B rahm o learn out of it. From this is derived that purest monistic
or B rahm an, “ a know er or speaker of B rah m a” as Babu D. T agore form of faith which attains its climax in tlie conviction of
w o u l d h a v e it, t h e r e m a y b e in th e sam e w ay a M issio n ary Sam aj the unity of (Jod and Nature and wliich has long ago found
b e f ir s t
of B ish is ! A d m issio n to
d e se rv e d b y a H i n d u o r a n y o t h e r m a n .
th e S resh th a
T he
A d h ik ara m ust
c a n d id a te m ust be
its most complete expression in the confessions of our
a p p r o v e d o f m e n a l r e a d y i u i t , a n d a d m it t e d b y m e n c o m p e te n t to
greatest poets and thinkers, Goethe and Lessing, at their
in itia te. T h e a d m i t t e d o a n d i d a t e is m o r e a S t u d e n t t h a n a T e a c h e r ; bead. That Charles Darwin, too, was penetrated by this
a u d a r e a l T e a c h e r is a m a n o f k n o w l e d g e , p o w e r a n d o f p r a c t i c a l l y religion of nature, and did not acknowledge a particular
d e m o n stra b le m erit, a c tiv ely so u g h t b y th e p u p ils ra th e r th a n se ek ­
ehurch-coiifession, is patent to every man who knows his
ing them .
works...........................
W e h a v e e n o u g h of h o llo w tru m p e ts am i sa lv a tio n arm ies, and
w a n t g e n tle m e n w ho a re p ractical p h ilo s o p h e rs and u n o ste n ta tio u s Only in law-regulated society can man acquire the true
b e n e fa c to rs. M y b e st a d v ice to th e A d i B r a h m o S a m aj, w h o a re so and full culturo oftlie higher human life. That, however, is
fu ll of n e w m a r r ia g e r ite s a n d p o litic a l a s p ir a tio n s , is t o s ty le t h e m ­ only possible when the natural instinct of self-preserva­
se lv e s t h e I l i n d u S a b h a fo r th e s e w o rld ly or sem i-w o rld ly purposes,
and m ake a T h e o so p h ic a l B ranch S ociety for th e Jn fm ak am lam .
tion, Egoism, is restricted and corrected by consideration
A lay asso c ia tio n ca llin g th em se lv e s “ K now ers of B ra h m a ,” and for society, by Altruism. The higher man raises himself
a s s e r t i n g “ r ig h t s t o p r e a c h a n d i n s t r u c t , ” is c e r t a i n l y n o t a co m p li­ 011 the ladder of culture, the greater are the sacrifices
m e n t to 'ilin d u is m or th e H in d u n atio n a lity . I am in ig n o ran ce of which he must make to society, for tlie interests of the
B rahm a and w ant
C h ela B ro th e r
to
“If. X . ”
get at th e
w h o fin d s th e
kno w in g , and sy m p a th ise
K n o w e rs ra th e r c au tio u s
w ith
and
latter shape themselves evermore to the advantage of the
reticeu t. B u t h e r e a r e B r a h m o s k n o w in g B r a h m a a n d g l o r y i n g in
individual at the same time ;just as, reversely, the regulated
t h e ir r ig h t s to s p e a k o f h im I M y" s u s p ic io n is t h a t B r a h m o i s m is community thrives the better the more the wants of its
m erely d e a d -le tte r H in d u is m in cap ab le of a d ju s tin g th e J n a n a -k a n d a members are satisfied. It is therefore quite a simple
w ith th e K a r m a - k a n d a a n d N iy a m a A eliaram w ith Y og. necessity which elevates a sound equilibrium between
M y o b je c t i n w r i t i n g t h e s e c ritic is m s is to e lic it i n f o r m a t io n w h ic h Egoism and Altruism into the first- requirement of natural
w o u ld m a k e th e B ra h m o s b e tte r app reciated by th e H in d u s and
th e T h e o so p h ists— a p a rt fro m m e re book -k n o w led g e.
ethics.
A . S a n k a r i a i i , B .A ., F .T .S , The greatest enemies of mankind have ever been, down
P r e s id e n t F o u n d e r , H i n d u S a b lia . to the present day, ignoranco and superstition ; their
greatest benefactors, 011 the other hand, the lofty intellec­
E u i t o h ’ b N o t e .— W e p u b lish th e above letter, lea v in g o u r res­
p e c te d frien d , B a b u R aj N a r a in B ose, o r a n y o th er B rahm o of liis
tual heroes who with the sword of tlieir free spirit have
C h u rc h , to se n d a rep ly , w h ic h w ill d u ly a p p e a r iu th ese 0011111111.-;. valiantly contended with those enemies. Among these
T h e T hkosopiust is a l w a y s o p e n f o r a f r e e d i s c u s s i o n . venerable intellectual warriors stand at the head, Darwin,
Goethe, and Lamarck, in a line with Newton, Kepplor, and
“ AN A LL U R IN G P R O M IS E .” Copernicus. These great thinkers of nature by devoting
tlieir rich intellectual gifts, in the teeth of all opposition,
T w o m o u th s h a v e e la p s e d sin ce th e p u b lic a tio n of m y letter, a n d
t o m y r e g r e t a n d d i s a p p o i n t m e n t , “ I I. X . ” 1ms n o t y e t c o n d e s c e n d e d
to the discovery of the most sublime natural truths, have
t o n o tic e t h e p r o p o s a l c o n ta i n e d in it. P o ssib ly h e th in k s I a m not become true saviors of need)' mankind, and possess a far
s e rio u s ; if so, le t m e d i s a b u s e h i m of th is illu ssio n . N ot o n ly am higher degree of Christian love than the Hcribes and
I se rio u s in m y p ro p o sa l, b u t I a m w a itin g fo r its acceptance w ith Pharisees who are always bearing this phrase in their mouth
a ll e a r n e s tn e s s o f w h i c h “ I I . X . ” c a n n o t p o s s ib ly h a v e a n y id e a . It
w ill h a rd ly b e f a ir fo r y o u r c o rr e s p o n d e n t to ra ise h o p es, it m a y b e,
and the opposite in tlieir heart.
in feeble h e a rts, a n d th e n s c u ttle o u t of h is o w n o iler, w h e n h e se es How little, 011 the other hand, blind belief in miracles
one h a v in g th e h ard ih o o d to c lose, and clo se c h e e rfu lly , w ith it. and the dominion of orthodoxy is in a position to manifest
“ H . X .” does n o t k n o w w h at d re a m s h is co rresp o n d en ce h as in sp ired
in m e. To be th e m aster of a u c h a il am ount of o ccu lt lore as
true philanthropy is sufficiently testified, not only by the
p r o m in e n t m e m b e rs lik e “ II. X . ” of th e S im la E c le c tic T h e o s o p h ic a l whole history of the middle ages, but also by the intolerant
S ociety h av e g a th e re d d u rin g e ig h te e n long m o n th s ; to be and fanatic procedure of the militant church in our days.
p ro m is e d all t h a t iu a sin g le w e e k , o r a s 1 h a v e m o d ifie d it, in fo u r Or must we not look with deep shame 011 those orthodox
w e e k s , is s o m e th in g t h a t h a s h a rd ly
m y im a g in atio n . If
h a d its e q u a l in c a p tiv a tin g
“ H . X . ’s ” o f f e r h a s f o u n d o n e t o b e e n a m o u r e d
Christians who, in our day, again express tlieir Christian
w ith it to th e e x te n t of e m b ra c in g it h e a r t a n d so u l, th e u ltim a te
love by the persecution of those of other faith and by blind
re s u lt of it can hard ly be less g r a tify in g to “ Ii. X .” h im se lf. To hatred of race ? And here in Eisenach, the sacred place
p re v e n t a m a n from b e in g d riv e n th ro u g h sheer d esp air in to th e where Martin Luther delivered us from the gloomy him
a rm s of M a te ria lism o r A g n o stic ism , to s p a re h im t h e co ld , dreary, of adherence to the letter, did not a troop of so-called
h e a r t l e s s life o f o n e w h o h a s f a i l e d t o f in d h i s ( J o d , o r to trace th e
h a n d of a C r e a to r iu th e o rg a n is m w i t h w h i c h h e is s u r r o u n d e d ; to
Lutherans venture some years ago to try anew to bend
sn a tc h h im fro m th e m isa n th ro p ic tu n d e n c y of one forced to gape science under that yoke i
011 th e th ro e s o f su ffe rin g h u m a n ity w ith o u t th e slig h te st c a p acity Against this presumption 011 the part of a tyrannical and
to m itig a te or heal th em ; to g ive a relig io n no b ler far th an any
ex istin g to o n e w h o h a s b een y e t a s tra n g e r lo “ its m e d ic in a l a t t e n ­
selfish priesthood it will to-dav be permitted us to protest
tio n to o u r m e n ta l b lo tc h e s a n d r u n n in g so re s to in fu se s w e e tn e ss
011 the same spot where JitiO years ago the great Reformer
p n d g eu tlen ess iuto a tem p er th a t is f a s t degenerating into w llw u s, of the church kindled the %!it of free inquiry, As true
 Protestants wc shall rise up against every attempt to force T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S.
independent reason again under the yoke of superstition,
no matter whether the attempt be mado by a church’ Pnge age.
scct or a pathologic spiritism. R em o v al of H e a d q u a rte rs ... 53 A F reeth in k er in P ales
T h e P o o r J!i-nten ........................ 4 tin e ... ... ... 72
Happily wo are entitled to regard- these mediaeval R e lig io u s E d u c a t i o n in I n d i a . 55 P ro c e e d in g s o f th e S ociety
relapses as but transitory aberrations wliich will have no T h o M ag ical E v o c a tio n of for P sy c h ic a l R e se a rc h . 72
abidingeftcct. Tho immeasurable practical importance of A p o llo n iu s o f T y a n a
T he “ (N o n )-M a g ica r M ir­
... 58 E p ile p sy a n d M e d iu m s h ip . 72
C orrespondence—
the natural scienccs for our modern culture-life is now so rors of J a p a n ... ... GO A Personal an d an Im p e r­
generally recognised, that no scction of it can any longer T he U tteran ces of R a m a lin ­ sonal G od ......................... 74
dispense with it. No power in the world is able again g a m P illa i ........................ (11 T h e U tility o f A sa n s ... 73
to roll backwards the immense progress to which wo The C h ief M is s io n of th o M ah atm as, V isib le and

owe our railways and steamers, telegraphy and photo­ T h e o so p h ic a l S o ciety ... 04 In v isib le ........................ 75
L e tte rs on T h e o so p h y ; th e A C h e l a ’s H e p l y ........................ 7o
graphy, and the thousand indispensable discoveries of S ecret D o ctrin e ... ... (if) S ev eral S e rio u s Q u e stio n s. 7G
physic and chemistry. M a tte r a n d Force, fro m th e T he Adi liralim o Sam aj 77
^ Just as little, too, will any power in the world succeed H in d u S ta n d p o in t ... GO “ A n A llu rin g P ro m ise” 77
Ilo w A “ C h e la ,” F o u n d ilis P ro f. H a e c k e l o n Law and
in destroying the theoretic achievements which a,re “ G u r u ” * ........................................... 07 M iracle. ... ... ...
inseparably bound up with those practical successes of R ev iew s— T h e S e v e n th A n n iv e rs a r y o f
modern scicnce. Among those theories we must assign T im e, S pace, an d E te rn ity 0!) th o T h eo so p h ical S ociety
The Y o g a P h ilo so p h y 71
tbe first place to the development doctrine of Lamarck,
Goethe, and Darwin. For by it alone aro we authorised S P EC IA L NOTICES.
firmly to establish that comprehensive oneness of our
theory of Nature in which every phenomenon appears as I t is now evident tlm t tho T nrc osonnsT offers to advertisers unusual ad­
but efflux of one and the same all-comprehensive law vantages in circulation. Wo bnvo already subscribers in every p a r t of
Indin, in Ceylon, Burmah, China, an d on the Persian Gulf. Our paper
of nature. The great law of tho conservation of force also goes to Great Britain ami Ire land, Prance, Spain, Holland, Germany,
thereby finds its universal application, embracing also Norway, li m i ta r y , , Greeco, Russia, Australasia, South Africa, tbo W est
Judies, and North an d South America. The following very moder ate rates
those biological provinces which hitherto appeared closed havo been adopted :
to it.”
A d v e r t is i n g R ates .
A t this same Eisenach m eeting Professor Haeckel made
public an im po rtant letter from Mr. Darw in upon t i r s t insertion......................](i lines and u nder.1 Rupee.
th e subject of religion, showing b u t too plainly th a t lie For each additional l i n o ...................................... 1 Alina.
was a F re e -think e r iu the strongest sense of th a t abused
word. This letter was most unfairly suppressed by, not Spaco is charged for n t the l a t e of 12 lines to tho inch. Special arra nge­
ments can bo mado for large advertisements, and for longer and fixed
merely the Christian organs in England, b u t oven by periods. For furth er information and contracts for advertising, apply to
N ature, the presum ed d e a r mirror of modern science,
and th e warm panegyrist of Mr. Darwin. 'I’his fact being Messhs. COOPER & Co., M eadow S thkf.t , F oiit , B o m b a y ;
m ade known to Professor Haeckel by Dr. Edward Aveling, 1’iiuruiEToit, LXDUSTIUAL I'llliliH, 3, U ujimum S tiieet , F oiit , B o m b a y ;
of London, the Professor, iu a le tte r of date Jen a, Nth M anaceii , TH EOSOPHIST, B reach C andy , B o m b a y ;
October, 1882, m akes this biting criticism iqxni British
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 SUPPLEMENT
THE THEOSOPHIST-
V ol. 4. No. 3.
AN IN D IA N N A TIO N A L F U N D .
Our venerable friend ami brother, Mrry. P. Iyaloo Naidoo
Gnroo, Retired Deputy Collector of Arni,— one of the most
estimable native gentlemen we have met in India—-sends us tho
following- memo, containing rules for “ foiming a company aud
thereby raising necessary funds for training young men iu
Europe or America in the useful arts aud sciences for the
bonefit of India.” This memo, was called out by tho reports
of our sixth Anniversary Meeting, on which occasion Colonel
Olcott made, in'his annual address, somo reference to a
“ National Fund” to bo raised in India by voluntary subscrip­
tions, lectures, &c. W e shall be happy to receive the opinions
of as many as possible of our experienced and patriotic brothers
mid friends upon Mr. Iyaloo Naidoo’s plan. W e have all along
been endeavouring to do our duty to India as best wo could,
evcu while wo were distrusted, and our work impeded by the
Natives themselves ; and now that the darkest clouds are swept
away from our horizon, if we could got any further valuable
hints or suggestions as to the most effectual way of accomplish­
ing our object, we shall be happy to accept ftnJ work upon
theui.— Ei>.
MEMORANDUM.
B Y M . P . IY A L O O N A ID O O , O A U O O , F .T .S .
( Retired Deputy Collector o f A rn i.)
T h e circumstances that- necessitate th e sending of young
men from this country to Europe or America for practical
education in the arts an d sciences, so deficient a t present
in our country, are well known am ong educated Natives.
T hey are so well and so forcibly described in the
“ A p p e a l” by th e Poona Sarvajanik Sabha, published iu the
D nyan Prakash of th e 22nd December, 1881, t h a t they
need not be repeated here. B u t I will try to suggest an
evidently feasible plan, by which th e necessary funds can
easily be raised for the purpose of gaining th e object in
view. . cation in India, and th e n to send th e m to Europe or
1. I t is proposed th a t a fund of 10 (ten) lacs of Rupees
shall be raised by means of a C om pany called, say
“ N ation al Benefit J o i n t Stock Company, Lim ited,” the
capital to be divided into 10,000 (ten thousand) shares at
Rs. 100 per share.
2. The money thus raised to be invested for fifty
years in th e Government Securities of f o u r p er cent.
loan, and th e annual interest of Rs. 40,000 can be utilized
by having it distributed among com petent In d ia n youths
TO
BO M BA Y , D E C E M B E R , 1882. No. 39
as a loan intended to induce and help th em to train th e m ­
selves in different trades and professions, in Europe and
America, after some preliminary education in India.
D. N o portion of tho fund (ten lacs of Rupees) shall
be spent by the Company on any a c c o u n t; b u t tho whole
of it shall continue in Governm ent Securities for th e abovo
period of 50 years.
4. T h e Com pany shall carry on tlieir operations for the
benefit of th e natives of In d ia by means of an Executive
C om m ittee consisting of o or 7 Members, and a Secretary
selected from am ong tlie shareholders and located at
Madras, Calcutta, or any o th er place th a t may be settled
upon by a majority of th e shareholders.
5. T h e Executive Com m ittee th u s appointed shall
have power to utilize th e a m ounts of interest realised
from the Governm ent Securities, and of th e compound
interest th a t can accrue therefrom eventually.
(i. T h e Executive Com m ittee shall invito young men
from am ong th e N atives, w itho ut distinction of caste or
creed, to go to E uro pe or A m erica for qualifying them ­
selves in the useful arts and sciences, for different trades,
as noted f u rth e r on in th e appendix ; and shall receive
applications from such young men, accompanied by certi­
ficates granted by a com petent medical officer selected
by th e Executive Com m ittee, showing t h a t th e applicant
is in a sound sta te of health, and is free from any
constitutional disease.
7. T h e age of th e youths going to Europo or America
for education shall not be above 20 years.
8. T h e C om m ittee shall also have power to invite and
receive applications, accompanied by proper medical
certificates, from those parents of boys aged 7 years or
more, who are willing to give th e ir sons prelim inary edu ­
A m erica to complete it by qualifying th e m in any of tho
trades as specified below.
9. The C om m ittee shall select such of the applicants
as m ay be found com petent in every respect, to qualify
th em se lv e s by preliminary education, already received! or
h e re a fte r to be received in India, and by final tra in in g in
America or Eu rop e in the trades specified, and to benefit
In d ia by re tu rn in g to, and utilizing, and spreading theiy
arts and professions in their native country.
 10. Tlie Committee, if unanimons, shall have th e
power to reject th e applications of such boys and youths,
or those of the parents of such boys and youths, as they
m ay th in k unfit for some plausible cause or reason for
gaining th e object in view ; and w itho ut assigning or
divulging tho said reason.
11. To the applicants approved, tho Com m ittee shall
lend money to m eet th e ir travelling expenses to, nud
education in th e countries selected by them, u n d e r the
conditions and within th e limits specified below.
12. Five youths shall be selected to study for profes­
sion No. 1 (see appendix), and one for each of the other
professions from No. 2 to No. G. A sum not exceeding
Rs. 1,500 shall in th e aggregate be lent to tho 10 youths
so selected ; tho m ax im u m to he disbursed to each of
them monthly, exceeding in no case Rs. 150 a m onth.
13. About 20 youths shall be selected for the other
branches of trade from No. 7 to No. 17, who shall receive
loans monthly in various proportions and according to
th e ir circumstances and w a n ts; th e sum not to exceed in
m axim um Rs. 100 m o nthly to each of them , to m eet
tlieir educational wants and daily necessities durin g their
stay in the foreign lands.
14. The Com m ittee shall bo invested w ith power to
continue (or discontinue) th e ir loan to th e stu d e n t so p r e ­
paring in foreign lands for a term of 5 or 7 years, th e
continuation of th e stipend being left a t th e ir discretion,
and according to the requirem ents an d progress of th e
stipendiary.
15. T he parents or guardians of th e boys selected for
prelim inary education in India, prior to th e ir starting for
Europe or America, shall receive from th e C om m ittee a
T nensualloanofRs.10orRs.15 during th e stay of their sons
or wards in In d ia and, a t th e tim e of the de p a rture of tho
latter, the sums a t the rate specified under Rules 12 and
IS for th e ir education, apprenticeship, and m aintenance in
th e foreign land or lands.
16. T h e lives of th e boys and youths receiving loan
from the Com m ittee for th e above purposes, shall be
insured in some tru stw o rthy Insurance Company, in order
to avoid losses from casual deaths.
17. T he C om m ittee shall enter into previous arran ge­
m e n t with, and p u t themselves in communication with,
official authorities such as Consuls or A g e n t s ; with
Bankers, respectable public Bodies and Societies, in
Europe aud America ; and e n te r into agreem ent with
various Sabhas in Iu d ia for the purpose of m aking such bye-
laws and arrangem ents as may be well calculated to
secure the health, good behaviour, and proper education
of tho youths during their stay in the said Foreign
countries, and to prevent the waste of th e money len t to
th em by the Com m ittee.
18. T he youths and th e ir parents or guardians shall
be required to execnte Bonds in th e presence of the
head m en of th e ir respective castes, legally binding them
on th e ir honour.—
A. To return to In d ia after completing th e ir studies
and apprenticeship in E urope or A m erica and utilize
their skill and profession in the ir own country.
B. To repay the said Loan in m o nthly instalm ents,
each to represent no less th a n one-fourth of their
monthly professional income, on th e ir commencing
th eir respective avocations in India.
C. To continue abroad, under th e p enalty of having his
monthly allowance and all fu rth e r help stopped, in the
same religion which the youth professed durin g the
execution of the Bond.
D. To conform to th e bye-laws m ade by th e Executive
C om ittee for th e guidance of th e youths and for th e
proper ex pend iture of the money le n t to them.
E. To pay an I n te r e s t at 9 or 12 per cent on th e loan
u ntil liquidation.
F. To pay 5 tim es the a m o u n t of the sum lent (the
p are n t or friend going for th e m as a security) as a
forfeiture and fine in case th e youths should fail to
conform to the conditions A, B, C, or D, or to proceed,
as originally settled upon, to the Foreign countries for
training themselves finally in their respective capa­
cities and trades.
10. T he money sp e n t for insuring th e lives of tho
youths and boys shall form part of the loan repayable
und er the Bond.
20. The death of any youth or boy, prior to th e re p a y ­
m ent of th e loan or of any portion of it to tho Company
or their Executive Com mittee, shall absolve his parents
and other heirs from any liability to its D ebt and shall
entitle the Company or th e ir Executive Com m ittee to re­
cover th e insured sum from th e Insurance Company.
A ny balance, th a t m ay remain after paying their loan with
interest from the insured sum, shall be paid to tho
parents or other legal heirs of the deceased.
21. The death of a youth after the repaym ent of the
entire loan and in terest to the Company or their
Executive Com m ittee shall entitle his parents or other
heirs to recover the insured sum from th e Insurance
Company.
22. T he operations of th e Executive C om m ittee shall
for the first 5 or 7 years be limited to training T H I R T Y
youths in Europe or A merica as prescribed in R ules 12
and 13 and to giving prelim inary education to T W E N T Y
boys in India.
2.3. As tho refunds of loans made to th e stipendiaries
can in part begin from the sixth year after sending th e first
group to Eu rop e or America, the Committee can gradually
extend their operations by sending as m any young men to
th e Foreign lands or training as many boys in In d ia as
the funds a t th e ir disposal will permit.
24. T he C om m ittee can also be invested w ith power,
when they have sufficient funds, to g ra n t scholarships
varying from Rs. 5 to Rs. 10 a month to com petent young
men t h a t are training themselves in p u b lic schools o f arts
a n d sciences in I n d ia . T he num ber of scholarships thus
given cannot exceed 100 a year.*
25. T he operation of the company shall come to a
close on th e 50th anniversary of the " National Benefit
Jo in t Stock C om pany” and the several sums of th e shares
forming th e 10 lacs of Rupees invested, in Government
Securities shall be re fu n d e d to the respective share­
holders or to th e ir legal heirs with h a lf th e profits
acquired.
2G. Tlie oilier h a lf o f the profits acquired sliall form a
p erm a n e n t fund to be invested in Governm ent Securities
or in landed property to be held from any fu rth er liability
to the claim s o f the then late shareholders.
27. The interest or profits accruing from th e invest­
ments made (vide R ule 26) shall be p e rm a n en tly appro­
priated for the spread and im provem ent of arts and
sciences in In d ia und er such Rules and conditions as may
be settled in a general m eeting of the th e n late share­
holders.
A it e n d ix .
The different trades referred in th e paragraph 6 of the
memo, arc :— (1) Covenanted service ; (2) Law ; (3) Medical
Service ; (4) Engineering service ; (5) Educational service;
(G) Military service; (7) Naval service ; (8) W e a v e rs; (0)
Railway work; (10) Machinists’ work; (11) Carpenters (12)
Sm iths of different kind ; (13) Dyers of different colours;
(14) Glass and P o t-m a k e rs; (15) M ining ; (1G) Mechanics
of other kinds ; (17) F in e Arts, &c.
NOTE nv COLONEL OLCOTT.
The above m em orandum of Mr. Iyaloo Naidoo having
been subm itted to me for an opinion, I find its general
provisions unobjectionable, and will be glad to have the
m atter discussed by th e Indian public. I would, however,
* 40 ScliolnrBlii]is a t Rs. D each monthly Rs. 200
30 Do. at „ 7 Do. „ 2L0
30 Do. at ,, 10 Do. „ 300
Monthly Rs. 710
lay stress upon one point verbally comm unicated by mo
to tbe Secretary of the Poona Sarvajanik Sabha, throngh a
young native sent to consult m e ; and subsequently
embodied in a lecture I delivered before the M eerut
Association. I t is t h i s : T h a t the greatest care should
be taken to send 110 youth abroad to learn a profession, or
th e mechanic arts or trades, who had not from his earliest
years shown a peculiar aptitude for the profession or art to
le learned. I t would be absurd to the last degree to send
a H in d u boy to learn and trade in America who had not
discovered great natural mechanical talents ; tho energy
spent would be as good as thrown away, and th e boy no
doub t be ruined for any useful career. I have m et in
In d ia only two or th ree young men whom I would take
th e responsibility of sending, if it lay w ith me. Still
I have m ade no particular research into th e subject.
Those who may read the p resen t papers are particularly
notified th a t at present I will not consent to receive even
one rupee’s subscription to th e proposed N ational Eund.
My position is clearly defined in my late A n nual Address,
and I shall not swerve from it. W h e n Mr. Tyaloo Naidoo’s
Company is fully organized, th e shares ready for allot­
ment, and Trustees chosen in whom th e H in d u com m u­
nity an d I have entire confidence, 1 shall be ready to take
up the work of raising the money. B u t not before. And,
furthermore, I shall not accept a rupee for any personal
services I may render.
H u n k y S. O l c o t t .
Bombay, November, 1882.
T H E S IN G H A L E S E N A TIO N A L F U N D .
O u r Society has reason to be highly satisfied w ith the
results of th e P resident F o u n d e r’s canvas of the year
1882, in th e Galle D istrict of the So uthern Province of
Ceylon. The failure of coffee cultivation which, beggaring
th e European planters, has reacted upon tho whole
population of the Island ; the low prices of cocoanut ami
Citronella oils, coir fibre a n d cinnamon, to say nothing
of gems— for which there has been scarce any sale during
th e past six m onths ; the m a k in g of Colombo, instead of
Galle, the port of call for th e great passenger lines of
steam ers— all these have made th e Sinhalese-people
feel very, very poor. So disheartened are they, our ability
to report a large increase of cash collections for the
N ational B uddhist F u n d over those of 1881 is 110 less
surprising th an gratifying. Colonel Olcott gave his first
lecture of th e Galle course on th e 29th J u l y ; th e sixti/-
fo u rth , and last, on th e 23rd October. T he average
subscriptions exceeded Rs. 120 p e r lecture, th e cash pay ­
m ents Rs. 100. The gross cash collection was Rs. (i,807'09
as against Rs. 4,595 34 in th e preceding year. H e spent
forty-seven of the eighty-seven days of th e season in his
travelling-cart ; the rest of th e tim e a t onr Galle H e a d ­
quarters, whence daily excursions were made to villages
w ithin th e town gravets a t which lectures had been
arranged for. H e desires th a t th e members of our Society,
in all countries, should be made acquainted with the fact
th a t Mr. Crcgoris Ed re were, the Secretary of our Galle
Branch, m erits especial praise for his tireless exertions to
carry out th e season’s programme, and t h a t honorable
mention should also be made of G. C. A. Jayasekara. Esq.,
(Proctor) Pres ; Simon P erera Abeyawardeene, Esq., Vice
P i •es.; D. O. Goonesekara, Esq., (Proctor), Thomas DeSilva
Ainarasuria, Esq., P. E . Ponnam perum a, Esq., Don Elias
Amerisirri Jayasinha, Esq., and E m anis deSilva Ouneso-
kara, Esq., Councilors, for valuable aid. O th e r gentlem en
m ig h t be named, b u t these above noted were particularly
distinguishable. B ulatgam a H am d ru , and Seelawan.sa
H am d ru were most zealous am ong priests. N e x t year
the President-Founder will canvas th e Matara and
H a m b a n to ta District, with H e a d q u a rte rs a t Matara.
Following arc the official documents of the season :—
J O I N T A C R E E M E N T C O N S T I T U T I N G T H E I ! H A R O O F T R U S T E E S
F O R T H E S O U T H E R N P R O V I N C E .
• [No. 2801.]
( 'eylon S ta m p D uty
One Rupee.
T o a Li. t o w h o m t h e s e P r e s e n t s s h a l l c o m e ,
Colonel H e n ry Steel Olcott, President of the Theoso­
phical Society, of the first part, and Simon Perera
Aba.yawardena of Galle, Emanis de Silva Gunesekara
of llatgama, Don Charles Philip W cerekoon of Galle,
and Don Elias Am cre-Sirri Jayasinha, A tte p a ttu Aratchy
of Nagoda, m em bers of the Galle Param aw ignanartha
B auddha Sam agam a of th e second part, hereinafter called
th e T rustees— send greeting : Whereas a Fund called
the “ S i n h a l e s e N a t i o n a l B u d d h i s t i c F u n d ” has been
created by Colonel H e n ry Steel Oocott, President of the
Theosophical Society, for an d 011 behvlf of th e Galle
Param aw ig anartha B aud dh a Samagama, being© a Branch
» 1 1 » • O '
ot the B ud dh ist Section of th e Theosophical Society, for
monies raised and to be raised by himself, assisted by
members of the Param aw ign an artha B auddha Samagama,
and others, from collections, subscriptions, donations,
legacies, the profit 011 sales of publications, and from other
sources. And, Whereas, the sum of Rupees two thousand
two hundred and twelve and cents eighty-four, raised as
aforesaid, h ath been transferred into the names of the
said T rustees of fhe second p a rt hereto, and doth now
stand in th e ir jo in t names in th e books k e p t a t the Galle
Branch of the Chartered Mercantile Bank of India, London
and China for th e sole use and benefit of th e said Fund.
Now t h e s e p r e s e n t s w i t n e s s th a t they the said
Simon P e rera Abayawardene of Galle, Emanis de Silva
G u nesekara of Ratgam m a, Don Charles Philip Weerekoon
of Galle and Don Elias Amaresirri Jayasinha, A ttepattu
A ratchy of Nagoda, do, and each of them for himself sever­
ally and respectively and for his successors in office doth
by these presents acknowledge, testify and declare th a t as
well th e said sum of Rupees two thousand two hundred
and twelve and cents eighty-four as also all further and
other sum s which shall a t any tim e or times hereafter be
transferred into th e ir joint names for th e benefit of the
said “ Sinhalese N ational Buddhistic F u n d ” shall be at all
tim es hereafter deemed and taken to be the property of
and belonging to the said F und, and th at th e same shall,
from time to time, as the same shall be so transferred,
stand and remain in the jo in t names of the said Trustees
and be held by them together with all dividends, interests
and yearly or other income and proceeds thereof res­
pectively arising therefrom. I n trust only, and to aud for
th e sole use and benefit and advantage of the said “ Sinha­
lese N ational B uddhistic Fund ,” and to and for no other
use, tr u s t or purpose whatsoever. A nd it is hereby fur­
th e r declared by all th e parties hereto th a t th e Trustees
of the said F u n d shall be four in number. T h a t the
Trustees, as aforesaid shall collect or cause to be collected,
at moderate and reasonable cost, fill unpaid subscriptions,
donations or other sums promised for the said F u n d and
im mediately deposit the nett proceeds of the same in the
aforesaid Bank to the joint credit of all the Trustees ;
which said moneys shall hereafter be held subject to th e
rules and restrictions herein provided for.
T h a t th e moneys aforesaid and their increment shall
be deposited in the Galle Branch of the Chartered M er­
cantile Bank of India, London and China or other solvent
B anking corporation, as collected, and the increment
only shall be drawn for disbursement upon warrants or
drafts presented to the said Trustees or their successors
in office, and signed by the Chairman, Treasurer and
Secretary of a ceitain Board of Managers of th e said
F u n d (which said Board of Managers is simultaneously
organized under a separate agreem ent between th e said
Colonel H e nry Steel Olcott and other persons named in
the said agreement) and countersigned by the said Colonel
H e n ry Steel Olcott, liis successors in office, or legal
representatives approved by the Galle Para m a w ign an a rth a
B auddha Samagama. The Trustees when recommended
by vote of a majority of tho Board of Managers after a
proper assessment and enquiry into th e title of the
property offered to bo hypothecated, may invest tho
principal of the said F u n d on good security of primary
mortgage of productive immovable property, if situate
within the four gravets of Colombo to tho e xte nt of ono
half the estimated value of property, or on mortgage of
like property situate within tlic four gravets of Gallo to
th e extent of one-third of tlio estim ated value of the
property. I n the event, of tho T rustees refusing to make
a loan when recommended by tho Managers as aforesaid,
tho m a tte r shall be referred to th e sole arbitration of
E dm und Rowland G unaratna Esquire, F.T.S., Mudaliyar
of H is Excellency the Governor’s Gate, who is hereby
chosen Honorary A rb itrator for such em ergent cases and
whose decision shall be final. T h a t no more than Rupees
one thousand shall be loaned on any one piece of property ;
and interest a t th e rate of ten per centum per ann um
shall be levied on all loans; and if default be made in the
pay m en t of interest for th e space of three months then
interest shall be reckoned and levied a t th e rate of
twelve per centum p e r annu m from such date and tho
loan shall be called in ; T h a t in case of th e death of a i ^
Trustee or his disqualification by reason of liis incapacity,
unwillingness, neglect, or inability to act, or apostacy from
Buddhism to any other religion, th e afoiosaid Colonel
H enry Steel Olcott, his successors in office, or legal
representatives as above, shall app oint a T ru stee in liis
stead, 011 th e nomination of the Galle P aram aw ign anarth a
Bauddha Samagama, should the Society be then in
existence, or if not, then the said H e n ry Steel Olcott
shall in connection with the said Board of Managers fill
th e vacancy or vacancies under the general advice ami
counsel of th e Com m ittee of Priests, named in the in stru ­
m en t above described; and as soon as the said Colonel
H e n ry Steel Olcott, his successors in office or legal
representatives, shall have as above nom inated or a p p o in t­
ed any oth e r person or persons to become T rustee or
T rustees in th e ir or any of th e ir place or stead, th e n the
person or persons in whom th e said tru st moneys, funds
and securities shall then be vested, shall with all con­
venient speed, transfer and assign th e same in such m anner
and so as th a t tlio same may be legally and effectually vested
in such new Trustee or Trustees jo intly with th e continu­
ing Trustees, upon th e same trusts as aro herein before re ­
declared concerning the same. A nd every such new
Trustee so to be appointed as aforesaid, shall act or assist in
th e execution of th e trusts of these presents as fully and
effectually, and shall have such and th e same powers to
all intents and purposes whatsoever, as if lie had been
originally app ointed as T rustee and been p a rty to these
presents. T h a t th e said Colonel H e n r y Steel Olcott, as
the principal creator of the said F u n d , shall have full
power, and it shall be his duty to adopt such precautions
as from time to tim e may seem necessary, to protect the
money subscribed by the public from embezzlement or
mal-administration, to preserve the good character of the
Society, and to realize th e object for which the fund is collected.
In w i t n e s s whereof the said Colonel H en ry Steel
Olcott, Simon Perera Abayawardeno, Em anis de Silva
Gunasekara, Don Charles Philip W eerckon, and D on Elias
Amcresirri Ja y a sin h a do set th e ir hands to th re e of the
same tenor as these presents, a t Galle, this third day of
September, in the year one thousand eight hun dred and
eighty-two.— Witnesses to th e signatures of
(Signed) H. S. Olcott, (Seal)
,, Simon Perera, ( „ )
„ E m anis de Silva, ( „ )
„ D. C- P. Woerkeoon, ( „ )
„ D. E. A. Sirri, ( „ )
D. Dahanayake.'
D. C. L. Goonewardena.
1), Samarawikrama, N . P.
I, Dionissius Sam arawikrama, of Galle, Notary Public,
do hereby certify and a tte st tliat lie foregoing Instrumerit
having been read over by Colonel H. S. Olcott, Simon
Perera and I). C. P. Weerakoon, and having been read over
and explained by me th e said N otary to th e said E m anis do
S i l v a Goonasekera, and Don Elins Amarasiri Jayasinha,
who are known to mo, in tho presence of Messrs D. D a h a ­
nayake and D. C. L. Goonawardena, the subscribing
witnesses thereto, both of whom arc known to me, tho
same was signed by the aforesaid parties and also by tho
said witnesses, in my presence and in th e presence of ono
another, all being p resent a t the same time, on this 3rd
day of S e ptem ber 1882, at Galupadda.
I fu rther certify and a tte st tha t the duplicate of this
deed bears stam ps of Rs. 10, the original being on a stam p
of Re. 1. _
(Signed) D. Sam arawikram a,
N otary Public.
D ated 3rd S e p te m b e r 1882.
/D . S a m a ra A
J w ick rn m a, ]
\ Notar y r u b - /
\ l i e Gallo. /
J O I N ' ] ' A G R E E M E N T C O N S T S T I T U T T N G T T T E B O A t t D O F
M A N A G E R S .
[No. 2,800.]
A r t i c l e s o f A o r e k m k n t m a d e a n d e n t e r e d i n t o
h e t wColonel H e n ry Steel Olcott, P resident of the
h k n
Theosophical Socicty, party of the first part, and Gerald
Carolus A m arasirew ardhana Jayasekara of Galle, Don
Ovinis Goonesekara of Dadalla, Charles A m ardus de Silva
of R atgam m a, Gregoris Edreweere, Sinnotchy Perera
Aboyewardhana, both of Galle, Don Hendrick Madenaika
of Baddcgama, P au l Edw ard Ponnam perum a, Samuel
S u d rik k a Jayawickrama, Don Dines Subasingha, all of
Galle, Don Adrian Ahvis W ick rem c ra tna of TCatu-
kurunda, Ettiligoda Y'idanegamage Don Marshal do
Silva of (falle, Don Bastiau de Silva Jaysekere,
Police Officer of Madampe, Thomas de Silva Amara-
suria of Unewatana, ICumerawadu N ikoris de Silva
of Pitiwella, and Columbe Mohanderange Arnolis de Silva-,
of Galle, members of the Param aw ig nanartha Bauddha
Samagama, parties of the second part, all representing
w hat is know n as th e B udd hist Section of the Theoso-
pliieal Socicty— for the adm inistration of a certain fund
nam ed “ T h e Singhalese N atio nal B uddhistic F u n d ”
within the S outhern Province of the Island of Ceylon.
Whereas a Fu n d has been and is hereby created in the
Southern Province of Ceylon, for th e promotion of tho
B uddhist religion and the diffusion of useful knowledge
among th e Singhalese people:
T H E S E P R E S E N T S W I T N E S S , AS F O L L O W :
I.— T he title of this F u n d shall be “ T he Sinhalese
N ational B uddhistic F u n d .”
I I . — T h e Board of Managers shall be nominated a n n u ­
ally by a C om m ittee of em inent priests of the S outhern
Province. Provided th a t tho nominations be made within
fourteen days after tho demand is made upon them by the
aforesaid Society. T he following is a list of such em inent
Priests :— Aturoliya Kirtisreo Sumangala, H ig h P rie st of
Matara, and H a m b a n a to tta B ulatgam a D ham ina Lankara
Sirisumanetissa Malia Tcrunnanse, K a tu k u ro n d a S id d lia tta
Tcrunnansc, Tangalle Param akavi Tilleka Sresumenctissa
Terunnanse, H igh Priest, A m bagahapiteya Aria Alankara
W imelesaretissa Ganachargea Terunnanse, Dodandowa
Piyaratnatissa Terunnanse, G ettem an na S id dh a tta T erun ­
nanse, H ickedu w a Sumangala, H igh Priest of A dam ’s
P eak aiid Galle Corlo, Angngodda Madankera Terunnanse,
W elitera S u g a ta Sasena Dhagga W in ay ach ary aD h am m al-
an kara Terunnanse, Potuwilla Indajoty Terunnanse,
M atara W cm elesara Terunnanse, A m begahaw atta Inda-
sabawarrana Sam i Terunnanse, K allegana Seela W ansa
Teruiiiianse.
I I I . —T h e aforesaid F u n d shall be cieated out of moneys
realized from subscriptions, donations, legacies, the profits
011 sale of publications, and o ther sources.
IV.— No part of the principal thus realized shall be
expended, but only th e annual increment as reported by the
Board of Trustees, created hy a certain deed of tru st bear­
ing even date with These Presents, aiul executed by them
th e said Trustees, and tlie said H enry Steel Olcott-.
V.— No more th a n the income for any one year shall
be appropriated within t h a t year. Should any u n e x p e n ­
ded surplus rem ain a t the end of any year, th e same shall
be credited on the next year’s account to tlie following
objects, v i z :— Educational, L iterary and Miscellaneous,
in the proportions as hereinafter named.
VI.— Of each y e a r’s income one-half share sliall be set
aside for grants-in-aid of Schools ; one-fourth for publica­
tions of various kinds ; one fourth for worthy objects of a
miscellaneous character, promotive of the interest of
B uddhism ; the surplus shall be divided in ratio.
V II.— T he income available for appropriation in any
year shall be understood to mean th e n e tt income, after
deducting th e necessary expenses of its collection. T he
fund available for investm ent by the Trustees shall be the
nett sum of collections for all sources, after deducting the
actual costs of collection, such as stationery, printing,
discounts, postage, travelling expenses, wages, and other
usual and lawful charges.
V I I I.— No appropriation of money shall be made for
any religious sectarian object as such, b u t only in its
character of a national object, and as bearing upon the
interests of Buddhism ; nor shall any locality, w hether
within or w ith out the So uthern Province, be favoured,
merely as such locality, with appropriations above any
other locality in whatever province ; b ut its claims shall
only be considered in their relation to Sinhalese national
interests, an d to the welfare of th e religion of Buddha.
T he F u n d shall be regarded as a sacred tr u s t accepted on
behalf of th e Sinhalese nation and th e ir religion, and it is
agreed between the parties aforesaid th a t in its adm inis­
tration merely sectional, social and sectarian claims shall
be made subordinate to the general guild.
IX .— T h e responsibilities of adm inistration sliall be
th u s divided : (a) The parties of the second part, who are
hereby constituted a “ Board of Managers,” shall have
exclusive power to select the objects upon which the
income is to be expended, and to vote the app ro p ria tio n s;
(6) the party of th e first p a r t being ex-officio President of
th e whole B uddhist Section and thus representing the
combined interests of both piiesthood and laity, should
have the po'wer to approve or disapprove of proposed grants
of money, and thus validate or invalidate the w arrants
drawn in pay m ent of the same. I n case he should dis­
approve of any appropriation, he shall re tu rn th e paper
w ith his objections, in writing, to th e Board of Managers.
Should th e Board ‘ insist upon th e grant, th e papers
shall be endorsed and sent back to th e party of the first
part. I f be should still disapprove, he shall report the
case to the Secretary of th e Galle P a ram aw ignanartha
B u d d h a S a m a g a m a ; and th a t Society shall appoint a
Com m ittee of Appeal, comprising th irteen members, neither
of whom shall be a Manager or Trustee, and their decision
shall be final. Should the proposed g ra n t be by them
sustained, the party of the first j>art shall, upon penalty of
disqualification, countersign the w arran t upon th e Board
of Trustees, drawn by the Board of Managers, l i e shall
also be th e arbitrator in all disputes or disagreements,
either between members of the Board of Managers, or
between th e members oftlie Board of Trustees, or between
th e members of th e said Param aw ignanartha Bauddha
Samagama, and his decision shall be final.
X.— The Board of Managers shall be thus constituted
and conducted: (a) The present members shall hold office
for th e term of one calendar year from th e date of these
presents, or for a further term or terms ii re-elccted; (b)
Should any vacancy occur, a new 'm em ber shall be selected
to fill th e same by the party who appointed the retiring
m e m b e r; and in ease he should have been appointed by
a Priest or by the said Colonel I le n r y Steel Olcott, then
the nam e ot the new appointee shall by the Secretary of
th e Board be subm itted to th e Galle Param aw ignanartha
Bauddhij Samagama, for ratification by vote a t its next
regular m e e t i n g ; (c) Their successors in office shall be
annually nom inated in each case by th e original appoint­
ing power, subject to confirmation by' th e said Galle Para-
m aw 'ignanartbaBauddhaSainagam a, a t a regular m eeting :
(d) Five members shall be a quorum for transaction of
business a t any m e e t i n g ; but no m ee tin g shall be held
unless a p r in te d or written notice shall have been sent, by
post or messenger, to every mem ber oftlie Board a t least ten
days previously ; (e) All questions before the Board shall
be decided by a majority of votes. I n case of a tic the
m a tte r shall be referred to the party of the first p a rt for
decision without appeal ; ( / ) No m em ber of th e Board
shall receive any compensation for his services as such
member, nor have any pecuniary interest direct or remote
in any g ran t of money. Should it be discovered th a t this
rule has been evaded or violated, th e offender shall be at
once expelled from the Board, and disgraced and ex­
pelled from th e Theosophical Society. H e shall be
regarded as an out-cast whom no honorable m an can
associate with. Disqualification will be caused by (1)
death, (2) incurable illness, (3) insanity', (4) perm anent
removal of residence from the Island, (">) by a just convic­
tion on any felonious charge, (0) neglect of duty, including
absence from th re e consecutive meetings of the Board
w ithout valid excuse, (7) maladministration, (8) apostacy
from B udd hism to an o th e r religion ; (y) the Officers of
the Board to be chosen by' the members from among their
own number, shall be a Chairman, Secretary and Treasurer.
T he C hairm an shall preside at oil meetings and generally
look after the business of the Board. Should lie absent
himself from a meeting, any other m em ber may be
elected temporary Chairman. T he Secretary shall have
charge of the correspondence, notices of meetings, and
the official books and papers. The T reasu rer shall keep
an account of th e state of the three several sub-funds
above specified, viz:— the Educational, Literary and Mis­
cellaneous, and always have ready for th e information of
the Board au accurate exhibit of the approjm ations to
date, and the unexpended credit balances with the T rus­
tees. H e sliall also draw and disburse all petty cash
items of expense, such as postage, stationery, &c., inciden­
tal to office work ; (/<) The Board shall make at
least once annually a report upon its transactions during
the year, to the party o f tlie first part, who shall commu­
nicate the same with the reports from other provinces to
the public ; (i) No sum g r e a te r than Rs. -30 (fifty Itupees)
shall be voted a t any m eeting except upon the favorable
report of the sub-comm ittee of the Board, to whom the
m a tte r had been referred by th e Chairman at least one
week previously; (/) Applications for grunts o f any kind
m ust be mado in writing and be favorably endorsed by
tw'o Managers before they can even be considered: should
the vote thereupon be favorable, th e Secretary of the
Board shall draw a warrant upon the Trustees for the
am ou nt voted, in favor of the applicant, sign it, and pro­
cure the signatures of the Chairman nnd T reasurer of the
Board. T he w arrant with accompanying papers shall then
be referred to the party o f tlie first part for exam in atio n;
and upon his countersigning the w arrant and returning
it to the Secretary of the Board, the la tte r shall number
aud register it., and then forward it to th e payee to obtain
paym ent from th e Trustees.
X I.— Every' new member, before taking his seat,
iu the Board, sliall sign a document similar to these pre­
sents and bind himself to abide by and enforce the Bye-
Laws and Rules adopted by the Board for the goovern-
m e n t of its proceedings and th e responsibility of its
members,
(tiee puye 7 for continuation.)
 o f A S E R I E S o f L E C T U R E S delivered by Colonel II. S. O l c o t t , in tb e Southern Province of Ceylon, in
of ilic S I N H A L E S E N A T I O N A L B U D D H I S T I C E U N D , and of collections made, from 29th J u ly to 23rd
obe 1882 :— 87 days.

^O tn
s Subscriptions.
Place of Jji'cturo. Parties assisting.
o
* 2 ried t;ed. Paid.

29 Dondra Head... ... ... ... ... i Galle Buddhist Theosophical Society )
30 Do.............................................................. 9 119 80 94 H5
>) )> i
3 Mirisse ... ... ... ... ... 3 V ^ 1’ JJ 07 80* 07 80 i
4 Welligaine ... ... ... ... ... S. P. D.Theodori.s de Silva, N otary
4 308 14S 30S 14
7 Paratnananda Vihara . ... ... ... 0 Bulalgania JIahaTcrunan.se ... 214 0 1" 72 o il
8 Kolamba Walaiowa ... ... ... . (i K. Seclawansc Terunanse ... 29 74i 16 744
!) Vijiyanando Viliare ... .. ... ... ! Galle Buddhist Theos. Society ... 198 26^ 144 26 4
11) Miigalle. ... .. ... ... ... s Sinicin Perera Abeywardcne ... 694 06| 612 06 i
12 Kahnvella. ... ... ... ... ... G. C. A. Jayasekera .. ...
9 73 09 72 59
13 Maliamoilera ... ... ... ... ... 10 Medankara 'J’crunaii.sc... ... 14 63J 14 631
14 Kalnhagaana ... ... ... ... ... 11 1C. Seclawanse Terunan.se .. 43 60} 42 65
10 Cope Viliare ... ... .. ... ... 12 }) •• 01 98 >
r 41 23}
16 Wat.ar.aka Viliare ......................................... 13 M J» ••• 60 49 00 49 i
17 Haptigala ............................. ... 14 >1 ** 36 341 26 09i
19 Wcllipiliniodera ... ... ... ... 15 63 32J 23 32i
20 Heenpendella... ... ... ... ... Oyanwatte Ucwatta Tcrnaiise ... 22 0 25 148
Hi
21 Dadalla............... ... ... ... ... Kuliipa Saranande ,, ... 144 03 73 03
IT
22 Galwadugodde Viliare. ................ ... 18 liulatgaiua Malia ,, ... 12 0 00 83 50
28 Akiiieniana ... ... ... ... ... 19 Dhamiiiajoti „ ... 84 29 11 29
29 China G arden... ... ... ... ... K.. Seelawanse „ ... 12 }
20 12 2 1 2 5- 03
30 Ukwalriac Viliare ........................................ 47 161 30 16i
21 )) 5> •••
31 Dangedera ... ... ... ... ... 22 Galle Buddhist Tlico.s. Society ... 131 00 40 ...
i- 2 Umiwalooue ... .......................................... 23 Thomas de Silva Arnarasoa ... 247 26 247 25
0 Ilabaradua ................ ............................. 24 Galle Buddhist Theos. Socicty ... 90 33 92 78
7 Theosophical l [ a l l .......................................... 69 12 }
20 »» >> V V "• 12l 69
!) Ilatuwapiadigame .......................................... 2 (i Dccranande Tcrunansc... ... 190 12 1 190 12 1
10 Kataluwc ... ... ... ... ... 27 Don Adrian de Silva, Weerasooria 2 12 88 207 88
11 Kananke ............................. ................ •28 Galle Buddhist Theos. Society ... 9 9 07}
12 r,7i
Walawa,. ... ... .. ... ... 29 Paragoda Gunaratano Tcriinanse 40 46 29 40
13 Batimiille. ... ... ... ... ... 30 . 3) . 11 >, 33 13 24 88
14 Dorekc... ... ... ... .. ... 31 Galle Buddhist Theos. Society ... 8 44 7 44
l,r> Pilane ... ... ... ... ... ... 32 yy v »> •• • 0 40 0 40
17 Katchihawattc 'Viliare ............................. JitI >> V 15 » ••• 24 03 15 03
19 Meeripenna ... .. ... ... 34 :> n jj n 104 37 104 37
20 M a l a l a g a m a ................ ... ,. ... 30 M *> )) ••• 183 01 183 01
21 Ahaiigaine ... ... ... ... 3G ’1 ■i »» •• 46 031 46 03}
23 Majuwane ...................................................... 37 Daduwana Saranankara Tcrunansc 41 00 00
41
24 Cancganic ... ... ... ... ... 38 Upauanda Terunanse ... ... 10 0 091 65 60
20 liaddcgame ... ... ... ... ... 39 Suinangala „ ... ... 47 O0 41 31
ji HVllatoUa ... ... ............................. 40 Attadassi ,, ... ... 20 32i 20 20}
27 A g a lia ...................................................... ... 41 Vipassi „ ... ... 70 ,,, 40 12 }
28 Unanwitli.i ...................................................... 42 Medankara ,, ... ... 08 (iO 18 10
2 !) Nagoda ... .......................................... J3 iJou E. A. Jayosinghc Aratchy ... 20 2 11 202 11
30 Aluttiinayangodde ... ... ... ... 44 K. Seelawansec Tcriinanse ... 29 261 25 76}
1
Paranatanayangodde- ... ... ... 40 31 3! 31 ... 35 10 1 30 10 }
4 Mcepawclla ... ... ... ... ... 46 35 ... 83 20 68 ...
5 Vaduraniba ... ... ... ... ... 47 M ... 80 80 j 19 35}
C Kccmbia ... ... ... ... 48 Kondannc Terunanse... ... 30 661 20 66}
7 Balagodde ...................................................... 49 Ilawata ,, ... 70 691 66 76*
8 Tcllikade .. ... ... ... ... no Saranankara ,, Dopandron 106 00' 106 50
10 Pitewella. ... ... ... ... ... 01 Saridatissa „ Patu watte 48 18i 48 18 4
11 Uoosse ... ... ,. 02 K um ara Wadti Nicoris Aratchi .. 171 17 171 17
13 Katgama ................ ............................. 03 Kinanis de Silva Goonesekere ... 302 61 302 61
14 Dodandua ... ... ... ... ... 04 Piaratana Tissa Terunanse ... 203 203 ...
10 Pattuw atta ... ... ... ... ... 00 !’ 33 33 10 0 10 0 • ••
10 Kittangodde ... ... ... ... ... 06 ii 33 33 & Veragodde 110 12 115 12
17 llikkadmva ... ... ... ... ... 07 33 13 31 79 52 79 f>2
18 Tottagannnva... ... ... ... ... 08 33 31 3i 128 93 123 93
ID Tel watte ... 09 Anibagahawatte ,, [33 63 133 63
20 V a a r a g o d d e ............... ... 60 D. Dahanayake and J . A. Goonesekere 80 80 ...
20 Kahawa ... ,. ... . 61 ISaddagame Suinangala Terunanse 70 20 70 20
21 Akurala ... ... ... 02 D. O. L). S. Gooneskeri... 97 94 97 94
21 Madampe ................ ................ '. 63 » >) •* . .. 20 0 •. • 200 •••
23 Battapola .. ... . 64 N anansnda Tcrunan.se,,. ... ... 113 #, 113 ,,
lira, i rederica Cecelia Dia.s lllangakoon ... M atara ... ... ... 000 »• » 500 • t*
Mrs. J. L. Phillips Panditiiratus ... ... 00 50 **♦
]'/. R. Gooneratne, Esq...................................... Galle 200 •. • 50
Iheosophical Society’s Collection Book .. Galle Buddhist Theosophical Socicty ... 23 45 23 45
r 8 Ganagoddellft V ihnre.. ... ... ... 60 264 46
9 Ahungalle ................ ... ... 66 148 • •. 13 20
11 Bellapitimodera ... ... t ,, ... 67 223 00 44 00
12 Randobe, ... 68 ISO •• •
13 jjo . . .. .7. !!’. 09 340 . .. 200 ...
I -n
1

81 6,807 09
£

Balance subscription due......................... ........ ... 2,097 72

P s... 8,904 81 8,904 81

'le, 7 lh October, 1SSJ. G REG . E D R E W E R E ,
Secretary, Galle B.T.S,
 C o n s o l i d a t e d M e m o h a n d c m of Collections nnd Expenses of th e S o u th e rn Province N ational Buddhistic F un d,
from 29th J u ly to 28rd October, 18 82—87 days.

'l'otal amount of Subscription Pledged ... 8,081 36 Salaries—Clerk, Interpreter,B oy,and Peon. 167 57
Subscription, from Society’s Collection Travelling Expenses, 1881 ... ... 88 31
Book............... .. . ... ... 23 45 Do. do. 1882 ... ... 203 27 J
Donations ... ... ... ... 800 Postage, and Discount... ... ... 10 34
Cash paid from Subscriptions, Donations! Stationery and Printing, 1881, Rs. 95-07 ;
aiul Collection Book. ... ... ,, , ... 6,807 09 188-2, Its. 57-82 ... ... ... 152 89
A m o u n t due from Subscriptions anil Do­ Copying Deeds, Printing, and Stamps ... 39 25
nations ........ ... ... ... 2,097 72 Travelling C art Expenses, half share ... 204 57 i
Provisions fort-lie party travelling, 1881-82... 73 30 i
H ire of pair Bulls and Driver, 47 days ... 94 24'
Sundry Expenses, 1881-J882 ... ... 26 48i
1,060 24
Cash Deposited in tin: C. M. Bank to credit 1
of Trustees up to 25t.li October 18 8 2 ... ••• 5,707 85
Cash iu hand ... ... ... ... ... ... 39 ...
A m ount due from Subscriptions and 6,830 54
Donations ... ... ... ... ... ... 2,097 72

Rs... 8,904 81 8.904 811 U s.... 8,904 81

V alle, 27th October, 1882. G R E G . ED R E W E RE,
M e c r r t a r i/ , O a l l e l t . 7 \

G a i .l e B u d d h is t T iie o so v h ic a l S o c ie t y . the first part, and a m ajority ol the parties of th e second

26th October 1S82. p a rt or th e ir successors in Office.
W e do herby certify th a t Colonel H. S. Olcott has XV.— Should Boards similar to this be hereafter organi­
rendered a full and satisfactory account, with vouchers, of zed in oth e r Provinces in th e Island, this Board of the
all cash receipts and disbursements of th e National S outhern Province shall even' act in brotherly harmony
B uddh istic F u n d to date. w ith them , as w'ell as w ith the Board already organized in
C'. A. J a v a s e k a k a , th e W estern Province, giving them w hatever help th e ir
President, B.T.S. Province may require, and this Board can g ra n t ; anti
G iie o . E d k k w e u e , reciprocally ask from them help as the exigencies of the
Secy., Bd. of Managers, S o u th ern Province may demand.
Singhalese National Bud. Fund. In W itness whereof the)', tlie said H e n ry Steel Olcott,
Gerald Carolus Amercsiriwardliana Jayasekara, Don Ovinis
( C ontinued from 'pa<jc 5.) G unesekera, Charles A m ardus de Silva, Gregoris Edrewere,
Sinnotehy P ere ra Abeyawardhana-, H e ndrick Madcnaika,
XIT.-— Li case th e party of th e first p a rt should die Paul Edw ard Pom im perum a, Samuel S u drik ku Jaya-
or be otherwise disqualified or incapable to act, his powers wickrema, Don D enis Subesinha, Don Adrian Alwis
a n d functions u n d e r the agreem ent shall be transferred Wickremeratna-, Ettelegodde, Vidaim Gamege Don Marshal
to bis successors in the Presidency o ftlie B uddhist Section, tie Silva, Don Bastian de Silva Jayesekera, Thomas de
or to such other as may be selected by th e P a re n t Theoso­ Silva A m arasuria, K um eraw adu Nikoris de Silva, and
phical Socicty with th e approval of the m ajority of the Columbe M ohanderange Arnolis do Silva, have set their
Branch Societies in Ceylon embraced in th e aforesaid hands to th ree o f tl ie same tenor as these presents, on this
B u d d h ist Section, and it sliall be th e duty ot th e saitl third day of Septem ber, in the year one thousand eight
P a r e n t Society to mail a notice of such selection within hundred and eighty two.
th irty days after the death or ascertainm ent of th e dis­ W itness to all the o ther signatures except th a t of
qualification of th e party of th e first p a r t : failing in which
1). II. Madenaika.
th e vacancy may be temporarily filled by unanim ous vote (Signed) H. S. Olcott (seal)
of th e Branch Societies in Ceylon comprised ■within the G. C. A. Ja yasek era „
Biuldliist S e c tio n ; and in case th e said P a re n t Society 1). 0 . D. G unesekera „
shall n ot within one year have selected a person who is Chas. A. de Silva ,,
approved of by th e said B ranch Societies, th e n th e person Greg. Edrewere „
tem porarily selected by th e la tte r shall hold the. a p p o in t­
S. Perera „
m e n t du rin g good behaviour, subject to the provisions of P. E. de Silva „
I). C. L. Goonawardenc
th is agreement. Sam. S. Jayaw iekrem a „
D. D elianaika
X I I I . — T h e pa rty of the first part, as th e principal D. Dinncs „
1). Sania ra w i k rcn ia ,
creator of the Sinhalese N ation al Buddhistic F und, shall A. Alwis „
N.P.
liave full power, an d it shall be his du ty to adopt in con­ T. D. Silva „
ce rt with th e Galle P a ra m aw ign an artha B a u d d h a Sania- D . M . d e Silva „
gam a, such precautions as from tim e to tim e may 15. D. Silva „
seem necessary to protect th e money subscribed by C. Nicoris ,,
th e public from em bezzlem ent or mal-admiiiistration, to ( M. Arnolis „
preserve th e good character of the Society. an<l to realize
th e objects for which the fund is being collected. T he
W itnesses to the signature of
m a n a g e m e n t and direction o f tlie practical details for th e
collection oftlie subscriptions shall as heretofore be left to (Signed) 1). 11. M adanaika (seal)
bim. I n case paid assistance should be required, prefer­ (-’has. D. S. Wijcyasekcre.
ence shall be given to members of th e Galle Param aw igna- H . II. M. D. Siiva.
nartlia B a u d d h a Samagama, if such should be available. 1). Sam araw ikrem , N. P.
B u t in case th e said Socicty should not co-operate in the I, Dionysius Sam araw ickrem e, of Galle, N otary Public
aforesaid precautionary measures, th e n th e party of the do hereby certify and a tte s t th a t the foregoing Instrum ent
first p a rt shall have all the necessary powers to do or having been read over by Colonel H. S. Olcott, G. C. A.
causc to be done w hat is hereinabove described iu this Jayasekara, 1). O. Gunesekera, C. A. de Silva, G. Ldere-
clause. weera, S. P erera Abey wartlena, S. S. Ja.ywickreme,
XIV.-—T he term s of this In s tru m e n t may from tim e to Thom as de Silva Amarasuria, Columbe Mohendarange
tim e be modified by tho m utual consent of the party of Arnolis de Silva-, and read over and explained by me the
said N o tary to th e said Paul Edward P o n m a m p e ru m a ,
D on D enis Subesingha, Don A drian Alwis W ickrem eratne,
E tiligoda Vidanegamage Don Marshal de Silva, and Don
B astian de Silva Jayesekere, who are kno w n to me, in the
presence of Messrs. D. C. L. Goonewardenc, and Dalia-
naike, tbe subscribing witnesses thereto, both of whom
are know n to me, the same was signed by the aforesaid
p arties and also by the said witnesses, in my presence and
in the presence of one another, all being presen t a t the
same time, on the third day of S e p te m b e r 1882, a t
Galapiadde.
I fu rth e r certify and a tte s t th a t this In s tru m e n t having
been read over and explained by me, th e said Notary, to
the said H e n d ric k Madanaike, who is known to me, in the
presence of Charles Dias Scnew ickrem e Wijeyasckerc
a n d H oluw agoda Runage Marshal de Silva, both of Galle,
th e subscribing witnesses, thereto, both of whom are
known to me, the same was signed by th e said H endrick
M adanaike and also by the said witnesses, in my presence
and in th e presence of one another, all being present a t
the same time, on th e th ird day. of S e p te m b e r 1882, a t
Kaluwelle.
I further certify and a tte s t t h a t th e duplicate of this
Deed bears stam ps of R upees two and cents fifty, which
were supplied by th e parties aforesaid.
(Signed) D. S amahawiokr AMA,
N o ta ry Public.
D ated, third Septem ber, 1882.
/ D S am araA
/ wickrnma, \
\N o tnry Pub-/
lie, Gallo. /
Iteim al Items-
Mr. T h o m a s Perera Abeyawardene, of our Galle Branch
arrived a t Bom bay in the P. & 0 . S te a m e r Bokhara on
the 4th ultim o and is stopping a t the H ead-quarters. H is
purpose is to m ake a tour in India, visiting among other
places th e sacrcd B uddhist shrines of B u d d h a Gya and
Kapilavastu.
B abu Mohini M. Chatterji, A ssistant Secretary of the
Bengal Theosophical Society, has been visiting liis relative
th e venerable D ebendra N a th Tagore, a t D eb ra Dun, whom
H in d u s of all castes hold in reverence for his exalted worth.
Mr. Tookaram Tatya, Councillor of the Bombay T h eo ­
sophical Society, who first studied Mesmerism und er
our P resident-Founder and has since largely added to his
knowledge by reading, lias for some months been healing
th e sick every morning before going to his place of busi­
ness. H e has effected m any curcs an d finds his mesmeric
powers increasing by practice. H is benevolent exam ple
is commended to com petent members of all our Branches
for imitation.
Mr. Jo h n H. Judge, A c tin g Recording Secretary of the
N ew York (Parent) Society, has written for five new
charters for American branches in process of organisation.
H is brother, Mr. William, Q, Jud ge, one of th e Founders,
who recently returned from Venezuela S. A., has gone to
Mexico on silver mining business. H e will avail of the
opportunity to m ake certain an tiqu arian researches
interesting to occultists, in a p art of th e country which is
alluded to in “ Isis Unveiled.”
Babu Balai Chund Mullik, Assistant Secretary o f t h e
Bengal Theosophical Society, is convalescent from aii
attack of hemorrhage from th e lungs, induced by an ill-
advised a tte m p t to practise certain austerities prescribed
in Bhaktiyoga. O ur worthy and much esteemed young
brother, who is not of a very robust constitution, as it
would seem, was advised against this a tte m p t by tbe
Founders of the Socicty, whom he consulted while they
were at Calcutta. H is wish to acquire spiritual wisdom
was however too ardent for restraint, and he made the
venture which has tu rn e d out so badly. A n additional
reason for regret t h a t it should have been attem pted, is
found in th e fact t h a t some u ltra orthodox Bengalis who
are opposed to our Society, have cited this case as a warn­
ing against jo in in g us ; whereas from the first the Founders
have always warned th e public against the dangerous
practice of H a th a -Y o g a in all its forms, while the advocates
of th a t system have invariably been the orthodox th e m ­
selves ! O th e r esteemed members who are likewise
occupied with th e same austerities, despite onr most earnest
protests, arc ru n n in g a similar risk. H atha-Y oga if begu n
later than the te n th year of life, is a t best a perilous ex­
perim ent ; even for such as are of sound bodv and mind.
W e 1lave a le tte r from Balai Babu expressing his
regrets ; b u t the harm was done already.
T h ou gh not a Fellow of our Society, y et th e courteous
a ttitu d e of R ajah Sir T. Madhava Row towards th e
Founders on th e occasion of th e ir ivcent visit to Baroda,
and his k indly in te re st in our work, compel us to express
th e pleasure with which we have read a highly compli­
m en tary article upon th a t em inent M ahrntta statesm an,
which has appeared iu the London T im e s and is now
going th e rounds of th e V ernacular Press. In his “ B. A.
and B. L.” lecture a t Madras, Colonel Olcott expressed th e
hope th a t the university graduates of In d ia m ig h t form
themselves into a Socicty for the moral and spiritual
regeneration of th e H indus, under the leadership of this
g re at man. Now th a t he has probably re tire d from
political life and se ttle d a t Madras, is it impossible to see
this hope realised ? I f the Rajah would b u t co-operate
in this direction with his no less honoured cousin, Dewan
B ahad ur R. Rngoonat.li Row, President of th e Madras
Thcosophical Socicty, w hat a bligh t era would dawn for
In d ia ! In w hat other way could tlieir long lives of d istin ­
guished public service be so honourably crowned ?
Rawal Shri Huirysiiigji Roopsiugji, ofSihor, Kathiawar,
Secretary of the Saoiaslitr Theosophical Society, writes
Colonel O lco tt:— “ You m u st remember th a t when I last
visited H e ad q u a rters you kindly showed me how to m ag­
netise water for curative purposes. Being successful I lolfow-
ed it up by reading several works on Mesmerism. I a i n now
glad to inform you th a t I have cured nearly 150 cases of
sorts. I want to know w hether I should continue to
mesmerise an d w he the r it is good for one’s health to do
so.” H e was answered th a t a mesmerist’s health does not
suffer from th e exercise of th e healing power if he is
strictly temperate, leads a moral life, eats moderately of
digestible food, bathes often, and takes enough exercise to
keep his blood circulating freely. W hen we b u t th in k of
the incalculable sum of suffering' among invalids in this
country, and of the case with which a h ealthy and strong-
willed m an may cure them mesmcrically, it seems a sham e
th a t so few Thcosophists arc devoting themselves to this
beneficent hum anitarian work. >
Lieut. S tu a r t B. Beatson, F.T.S., X ltli Bengal Lancersf
has returned from Egypt, w hither he went as au attache o
th e Commanding, General’s Staff and rejoined his regi
m ental station a t U m balla.
Mr. T. H e rb e rt W righ t, F.T.S., of the P. W. D., went
home on furlough, on th e 21st ultimo., by the new French
line to Marseilles. T he cabin accomodations of these
ships are unequalled as regards the comfort of passengers,
we are told.
OUR N EW BRANCHES.
A B ranch of th e Thcosophical Society was formed on
5th N ovem ber a t D arjiling u nder the name of th e
K a n c ha njun ga Theosophical Society with the following
office-bearers :—
Babu D in a n a th Majumdar, President.
„ C h a tra d h a r Ghosh, Secretary & Treasurer.
A B ran ch— th e N u d d e a Theosophical Society— was
formed a t K ishnanagar, N uddea, on the 3rd November
with the following office-bearers :—
B a b u B raja N a th Mukerji, P resident.
„ T arsh ad a Banerji, Secretary <l' Treasurer.
 T b e Bhagulpore Tbeosophical Society was formed by
M.R.Ry. Ramaswamier 011 th e 7 tb N o vem ber with the
•following office-bearers :—
Babu Parvaticharan Mukerji, P re sid e n t.
„ T arapada Gliosal, Secretary.
The Jam alpore Theosophical Society was formed by
t h e same Brother on th e 14th N ov e m b e r with th e follow­
in g office-bearers :—
Babu Ramchaiuli'a Ghatteiji, President.
„ Deno N ath Roy, Secretary.
„ Rajcoomar Roy, /lss/*. Secretary.
Tho Arrali Theosophical Society was fonned by the
same B rothe r on th e 17th N ovem ber with th e following
office-bearers :—
Babu Oliunder N arain Singh, P resident.
„ D w ark a N a th B attacharya,
Secy. $ Treasurer.
The Gya Theosophical Society was formed by the same
B rother on th e 21st N ovem ber w ith th e following office­
bearers :—
B abu Rajkisson, Narayan, President.
„ M a th u ra n a tu Dhar,
Secreta ry Treasurer.
T H E POST N U B IL A LU X T H E O S O P H IC A L
S O C IE T Y .
f T H E H A G U E , H O L L A N D ) .
To Col. H. S. O l c o t t , of Bombay.
President, Thcosophical Society.
D ear Sir and Brother,
A t a m eeting of our Society held last night, th e follow­
ing officers were elected for th e ensuing year :
P r e s id e n t: E dw ard Brooke Bonn ; Vice P resid en t :
David Adolphe Constans A rtz ; L ib ra ria n ,: Helene
W illielmina Offilie A rtz ; Secretary a n d Treasurer : A n ­
thony Lodewyte George Offermans ; Secretary f o r Foreign
Correspondence : Adelberth de Bourbon.
U n d e r Rule V III. of th e P a r e n t Society’s Revised Bye-
Laws for 1882, we have to ask your sanction for the
confirmation of our election of the President.
W e have also to request y ou r confirmation of our
Resolution to elect sister H elena van Stolk as an H o n o ­
rary Member of this Branch, iu honour of our much
la m ented Brother, Thom as Van Stolk, our late President.
A fter receiving your sanction to th e 2)resent report, we
hope to send you a detailed report of our work here.
W e remain, most fraternally yours,
D. S. C. A r t y ,
Vice-President.
A .
Secretary, for Foreign Correspondence.
T he Resolutions of the P. N. L contained in th e above
■report are sanctioned by the P re sid e n t F oun der in Council.
H ead-quarters, Bombay, N ov em ber 17, 1882,
D a . M O D A K K .
Joint-R ecord in g Secretary,
T H E N U D D E A T H E O S O P H I C A L S O C IE T Y .
(S E C R E T A R Y 'S R E P O R T .)
A Branch of th e Theosophical Society to be known as
“ T he N u d d e a Theosophical Society” was formed a t
K ish n a g lm r on th e 3rd instant, in th e presence of and
w ith th e assistance of Mme. H . P. Blavatsky. Eighteen
fellows were th a t evening a d m itted into th e Society, and
organized th e new Branch. T h e following officers were then
elected for th e ensuing year :
P re sid e n t: B a b u Braj N a th M u k e rji; V ice-P residents:
B abu Girindra N a th Chatterjee, and B a b u Sre c k a n ta
M u k e rji: Secretary a nd 'Treasurer: Babu T a ra p ad a
Banerji.
A t the next meeting, however, Babu Braj N a th Mukerji
expressed his inability to hold th e office of the President,
as lie was n ot a p e rm a n e n t resident of K islmaghur.
Babu Cally C h a m L ah ity was consequently elected u n ­
animously, in liis stead.
T he fellows of this Branch earnestly hope t h a t th e
P are n t Society will be pleased to give us the necessary in­
structions and help us in th e a tta in m e n t of the noble
objects with wliich all Branches have been formed.
A copy of th e Bye-Laws, as soon as framed and adopted,
will b j sen t for th e confirmation of the P re sid e n t-F o u n d e r
in Council.
T arapada B anerji
Secretary.
Ki.shnaghur N ovem ber 0, 1882.
T h e proceedings of th e above Report have been sanc­
tioned by the P resid e n t-F o u n d e r in Council.
D amodar K. M avalankar,
Jo in t Recording Secietary
Theosophical Society.
H eadquarters, Bom bay N ovem ber 17th I8S2.
An account of num erous cures, by mesmerism, of p a ra ­
lysis and hem iphlegia (half-paralysis) made by the
P r e sid e n t-F o u n d er iu Coylon, and of th e excitem ent caused
thereby has appeared iu th e In d ia n M irror b u t too late
for us to copy in th e present number.
N e x t m o n th we hope to give an account, from a
Sinhalese correspondent, of the joyous reception given in
Ceylon to a portion of the Sopara relics of Lord Buddha,
kindly given to H. Sumangala, Thero, by the Governm ent
A W A R N 'IN G TO BROTHER TH EO SO P H ISTS.
I was initiated as a m em ber of th e Bengal Theosophical
Society iu April last. Since then I have been coining
more and more to appreciate th e m ajesty of the Occult
Sciences of the A ncient Sages, by reading your valuable
journal and various books. After th e departure ot th e
Founders from Calcutta, I was persuaded by some of the
disciples of a person who professes to be m aster in
Bhaktiyoga, to be ta u g h t its mysteries. I was initiated
as liis disciple a fte r a few days, though I objected to
become one so soon, because I th o u g h t myself ill-qualified
for it. B u t as I was u n de r his spell as it were for th e
tim e being, I could not much gainsay him. In this way
lie worked upon my sincerity and good faith and I com­
menced to practice B haktiyoga and pranayam . I con­
tinu ed this process for a b o u t three weeks, when 1 began
to lose faith in him, for liis being unable to answer some
of m y questions aud for some oth er reasons. D uring th e
latte r portion, of my training under him, I felt some
pains in th e lungs aud heart, and the action o f t h e latte r
D E B O U R R O N , oroan was much accelerated. I therefore left ofl practi­
cing the austerities. B u t th e evil had been done already.
A fte r ab o u t six weel's, I had hemorrhage fr o m the lungs
which considerably frightened me, a n d confined vie to bed fo r
twenty d,ays. I m ake the above statem en t because a rum our
M a y a I . A N K A ! ! , has got abroad th a t my hemorrhage lias som ething to do
with my connection with the Theosoophical Society.
T h ou gh I dislike notoriety I must, in justice, publicly
confess, once for all, th a t neither th e Theosophical Society
nor its Founders ever advised me to practice Bhaktiyoga ;
on the contray I rem em ber th a t Colonel Olcott, positively,
aud, if I m istake not, Mine. Blavatsky also, warned me
against i t ; the former pointing out to me a m utual
Bengali friend who was killing himself by the same
system. Moreover, a nu m b e r of th e members of our
Society were also warned not to a tte m p t H athayoga as
it was unsafe tor adults to begin it.
I t m ust also be said th a t my temporary G uru had no
connection w h atever with our Iheosophical movement.
B a l a i C jiand M u ll ic k .
21st November, 1882.
 A D V E R T I S E M E N T S .

THE DEBATER, j u s t r r m . i s i i K D .
THK
A W f.KKI.Y LlIIKRA], ONK-rKSXV NE\V8r.\J*KR, C A L C U T T A M A G A Z IN E
F O R T I I E F R E E D I S C U S S I O N O F A L L S U B JE C T S - Foi l

JU LY .
iNci.rniNC}
I i l M J I M I N G O Y K l l W I T H G O O D H E A D I N G .
F r e e T i a d e , Protection, Squatters, F r e e Selectors, C O N I 1! N T S .
E d u c a t io n , T r a d e , Def ence, Christianity, B u d d h ism ,
M a te r ia lis m , F ree lb o u g h t, Anglo-Isr aelitism , Spiri­ A u n t H a tty 's G h o s t Storj-— B y ! D ickon’s A d v ice to his Son.
tu alism , Ac., &c. E d ith Jn n o W in terb o lh a m . I Go Forward.
Biddy O ’L e n ry — 15y E d it h J a n e ; Principle.
<< r j l i i E D k u a t k h " will contain articles on both sides o f :il] W intcrbothnni. Influence of Literature.
<|iicslions, ami will, in fuel, lie simply fi debating cluli in F lo w ers. T h e Dhobie nnd Stonm-lniuulry.
p rin t for llie open discussion of :i11 topics o f inlerest, both Political Change. N ew Inventions.
nnd M etap h y sic a l— (lie ride being thnt. nil contributions nre T h e E n d o f Ihe World. Miss K ate Field.
w elcome so long ns the}’ nre not personal or nbusive. T h e P o e t ’s C orner. Remedy for D iptheria.
T h e E d it o r, ns E ditor, sets liis personality n side, nnd is Hope. G ratitude.
neutral. L o v ely Blossoms. A Rhapsody.
A ll Religious nnd Philosophical n rg u m cn ls nre especially T h e W ay (o Live. T h e Family Friend.
'The In dian Retrospect. K eeping Faith.
welcome, nnd it is proposed lo offer m o nthlv prizes, of the Tabic
E x cessive A nx iety . Before Mnrringe.
o f Tliree Guinens ench, for the best essnys for nnd ngninst
Materialism , B uddhism , Anglo-Is-rnelilism, Sp iritualism nnd Polileness. Affection.
T h e T ria ls of Beauty. G ems of Thought.
C h ris tian ity : as well ns F r e e Trndc, P rotection , E du catio n nnd
O n e’s Life. W it nnd H um our.
k in d re d subjects, inking the opposite side of ench rpicstion 011
nlternnte m o m h s, nnd nllhough we commence as it small pnper, H ome.
should success allend oui- elforts, nnniigcmcrits will be made lo (Hi- P r i c e , Re. 1. O u t - s t a t i o n re sid e n ts m ay send a ru p e e 's w o r th

enlarge ou r spnee ‘w ith o u t increasing (lie price. of h a lf-a n n a p o sta g e sta m p s in th eir letters to

“ T h e D e b a te r'’ will be essentially thoughtful in ils tone, nnd The Manager, Calcutta Magazine,
so thnt. clnss of sociely who “ n e v e n liiu k ” m e not expected to 4!>, Dhurrvmtolhth Slrn'l, (Wcv.tta.
patronise il.
“ 1 lead '.vhcre reason points Ihe wav.
A n d bow to no dog m atic sway.
11 I N D I T R A N S L A T 10 N
Nov ask men blindly to obey.”
Of
P u b lish in g Office, 3 8 S y dn ey Arende, Sydney, Auslrnlin.
( ' o l . O l c o t t ’s L k c t c p . i-:
ON
T h k P a s t , t i i k P keski NT a m i t h k F u t u r e o k I n d ia .
THE ANTI-CHRISTIAN.
F o r s a l e a t t h e Theosophist Office. Price, a n n a s th r e e
A M Q X TH LY JO l'H XAL p e r co p y , i n c l u s i v e o f Itulicm Postage.

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E D I T E D BY
M. PANACHAND & COMPANY,
K A L IPf! A SA N N A K A v V A l i l S l I A HA l>, F .A .C .S .,

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A nti-C hristian is published on tlie Inst day of
T iik
every month. Subscription— Rs. ” , in advance per niinum
in India, and 7s. Gd. in foreion countries including'
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“ Y e t, I h e d a u n t l e s s n n d f e a r le s s e d i t o r o f t h e n e w j o u r n a l a c t s en M n k e a d v a n c e s 011 n c c c * i > t c < l c o n s i g n m e n t s .
b o n s ir e , i n h i s w a y , n n d d e a l s w i t h h i s o p p o n e n t s h a n d s o m e l y . H o
n e ith e r b a c k b ite s n o r slan d ers th em b e h in d th eir backs but ch al­ SO L E E A ST IN D IA A G E N T S F O R T IIE F O L L O W IN G
lenges th em to m eet o p e n ly to d e b a te upon th e m eritts of tlieir
G P E A T A M E R IC A N H O U SES :
relig io n , w h ic h th ey w o u ld th ru st it n lc n s v o fe n s u p o n h i s c o u n t r y ­
m en. T ie m a n f u lly tells th e m i n the, w o r d s o f J o b : “ I f t h o u c a n s t T h e P ro v id e n c e T ool C o m p a n y , M a n u fa c tu re rs of S h ip C h a n d le ry
answ er m e, set th y w ords in order before m e, sta n d u p ”— b u t and H eavy H ardw are. V a le n tin e and Com pany, M a n u fa c tu re rs
in ste a d of sta n d in g u p and a n sw e rin g h is d irect accu sa tio n s, Ihe o f V a rn ish e s. B r e w s te r a n d C o m p a n y , (of B ro o m e St.) M anufac­
C h ristia n s , th o se a t least w ho have, m a d e a feeb le a tt e m p t a t a n s w e r ­ tu re rs of C arriages, th e fin e st in th e w orld. L ew is B ro th ers a iu l
ing— “ A serv an t of th e L o r d , 1' a n d som e o th er “ se rv a n ts,” have C o m p a n y , S ellin g A g e n ts fo r 25 of th e la rg e st C o tto n a n d W o o lle n
-po u red t o n c u ts o f p e rso n a l a b u s e so far, b u t h n v e n o t d isp ro v e d as M ills in A m e ric a . T. P. Ilo w ell & C o ., M a n u f a c tu r e r s o f L e a th e r .
y e t. on e sin g le a rg u m e n t. . . Its p eru sal is w o rth d o u b le th e
r m o u n t of its s u b s c rip tio n .” -
— Tin-: T h k c s o p i i i s t . A m u , 1882.
T he above firms are th e largest and most noted of th e ir
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respective classes in America. Messrs. M. Panachantl
— ])n. Ram L a s Sics ok H khham tokk. and Company also represent Tlie Philadelphia, and R e a d ­
“ W e h a il t h e a p p e a r a n c e of o u r b r o t h e r in t h e field .” ing Goal and Iron Company, Hon. Jo h n B. Gowen, P r e s ;
—Tiik P m i . o s o r m c Ixqunii'.i;. and the De Voe M anufacturing Company, proprietors of
E uropean and American freethinkers have spoken the celebrated “ Brilliant ” Kerosine Oil.
kindly of the journal. The following is from Dr. Richard Information about American m anufactured articles will
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a l l y o n t h e u n d e s i r n b l e n e s s o f C h r i s t i a n i t y f o r y o u r c o u n t r y m e n is
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i t s o w n s p h e r e a r e r e n d e r i n g i t i m p o s s i b l e . ’'
N E W H A N D B O O K O F D O SIM ETR IC M E D I­
— Rack N rM n p .n s? a r e a v a i l .u u . k .
C I N E . Price Rs. 6-4, inclusive of Ind ian Postage. Can
4 8 & 4!) B a lo rn m ) P. G A N C .U L I,
B o s e ’s g h a t R o a d 1
be had through th e M anager of the T iiF .o s o r m s T
C alcutta S. f M A > a o m «. w ithout any e x tra charge.
 /Ocreativ
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Attribution-NonCom m ercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported

Y o u are free:

to S h a r e — l o c o p y , d is trib u t e a n d t r a n s m it t h e w o r k

to R e m ix — to ad ap t th e w o rk

U n d e r th e f o llo w in g c o n d it io n s :

CD
A t t rib u t io n — Y o u m u s t a ttrib u te t h e w o r k in t h e m a n n e r s p e c if ie d b y t h e a u t h o r
o r l i c e n s o r ( b u t n o t in a n y w a y t h a t s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e y e n d o r s e y o u o r y o u r u s e o f
th e w o r k ) .

N o n c o m m e r c ia l — Y o u m a y n o t u s e t h is w o r k f o r c o m m e r c i a l p u r p o s e s .

©
S h a r e A lik e — I f y o u alter, t r a n s f o r m , o r b u ild u p o n t h is w o r k , y o u m a y d istrib u te
th e r e s u lt in g w o r k o n l y u n d e r t h e s a m e o r s im ila r l i c e n s e t o t h is o n e .

W ith th e u n d e r s t a n d in g that:

W a i v e r — A n y o f th e a b o v e c o n d it io n s c a n b e w a i v e d if y o u g e t p e r m i s s i o n f r o m th e c o p y r ig h t
h o ld e r.

P u b lic D o m a in — W h e r e t h e w o r k o r a n y o f its e le m e n t s is in t h e p u b l i c d o m a i n u n d e r
a p p lic a b le law , t h a t s t a t u s is in n o w a y a ff e c t e d b y t h e lic e n se .

O th e r R ig h t s — I n n o w a y a r e a n y o f t h e f o llo w in g r ig h t s a ff e c t e d b y t h e lic e n se :

• Y o u r fa ir d e a lin g o r f a i r u s e rig h ts , o r o t h e r a p p lic a b le c o p y r i g h t e x c e p t i o n s a n d

lim itations;

• T h e a u t h o r 's m o r a l rig h ts;

• R i g h t s o t h e r p e r s o n s m a y h a v e e ith e r in t h e w o r k its e lf o r in h o w t h e w o r k is u s e d , s u c h
a s p u b l i c i t y o r p r i v a c y rig h ts.

N o t ic o — F o r a n y r e u s e o r d istrib u tio n , y o u m u s t m a k e c le a r to o t h e r s th e l i c e n s e t e r m s o f
th is w o r k . T h e b e s t w a y t o d o t h is is w it h a lin k t o t h is w e b p a g e .
 A M O N T H L Y J O U R N A L D E V O T E D TO O R IE N T A L P H IL O S O P H Y , A R T , L IT E R A T U R E A N D O C C U L T I S M : E M B R A C IN G
• M E S M E R I S M , S P IR IT U A L IS M , A N D O T H E R S E C R E T SCIENCES.
V o l . 4. No, 4*. BOMBAY, JA N U A R Y , 1883.
*T?qTT
*^v
=rrf^fr i f r 21
THERE 13 NO RELIGION HIGHER TJIAN TRUTII.
[Fainilu motto of the Maharajahs of Benares]
S P E C I A L N O T I C E TO C O R R E S P O N D E N T S .
A d v e r tin g to a rtic le s and correspondence
d estin e d f o r the p a g e s o f the T h e o s o p h i s t , we
w o td d c a ll the a tte n tio n o f in te n d in g co n tri­
bu tors to the fo llo w in g in stru c tio n s :—
(/.'> No cinoni/mous documents will be accepted fo r insertion, even
though they m ay be signed “ Theosophist.”
(II.) A n y contributor not desiring his name to be made public,
should give the necessary intim ation to the E ditor whin forw arding
his contribution.
( I l l ) Contributors are requested to fo rw a rd their articles in the
early part o f the month, soas to allow the E ditor plenty o f time for
correction a n d disposal in the pages o f the TilliOsormsT.
(/K.) A ll correspondence to be written on one side o f the paper
only, leaving clear spaces between lines a n d a wide margin.
The E ditors disclaim responsibility fo r opinions expressed by con­
tributors in their articles, with some of which they agree, with others
not. Great latitude is allowed to correspondents, a n d they alone are
accountable for what they write. The jo u rn a l is offered as a vehicle
for the wide dissemination o f facts a n d opinions connected with tha
A siatic religions, philosophies a n d sciences. A ll who have anything
worth telling are made welcome, a n d not interfered with. Rejected
M SS. are not returned.
W R IT IN G F O R T IIE P R E S S .
The Boston (U. S. A.) T ra n scrip t, one of th e b rig htest
of American papers, recently gave some pith y advice to
its contributors which is even more needed in India. I f our
friends could b u t serve one week each a t the editorial desk
of this magazine, they would not be likely to again offend
as they now do in the preparation of manuscript. They
frequently quote paragraphs and verses from Sanscrit, Pali,
H indi, and Urdu, of which th e w ritin g is so slovenly and
the characters so indistinctly formed th a t th e y cannot be
made out and so are often— left out. Says the T ra n ­
script :—
I. W rite upon one side of tlio sheet only. W h y ? Because
it is often necessary lo cm tiie pages into “ ta kes” for tlio com-
positoi s, and this cannot be done vvlicu both sides nre w ritte n
upon.
II. W rite clearly and distinctly, being p articu la rly careful
in the mal,ter of proper mimes, and words Iron) foreign languages.
Wjiy ? JJecnueo you |u\vo no r i g h t fo usH cith e r ed itor or conw
N o. 40.
positor to waste his time puzzling out the results of your
selfishness.
III. D on’t w rite iu a microscopic hand. W hy ? Because
th e compositor has to read it across his case at a distance of
nearly two feet: also bcciuise the editor often w ants to make
additions and other changes.
IV . Don’t begin at the very top of the first page. W h y ?
b eca u se il’you have w ritten a head for y o u r article, the editor
will probably w ant to change it; and if you have not, which is
th e b etter way, he m ust write one. Besides, he wants room in
w hich lo w rite his instructions to ihe p rim e r a.s to the type to
be used, w here and when the proof is lo he sent, &e.
V. N ev er roll y ou r manuscript. W hy ? Because it maddens
and exasperates everyone who touches it-— editor, compositor,
ami proof-reader.
V I . Be brief. W h y ? Because people don’t read long stories.
T h e n u m b er of readers, which any two articles have, is in­
versely proportioned to the square of their respective length.
T h a t is, a half-column artic le is read by four times as many
people as one double th at length.
V I I . H av e fear o f the waste-basket constantly and steadily
before yo ur eyes. W hy ? Because it will save you n vast
am o u n t o f useless labour, to say nothing of' paper and postage.
V I I I . A lw ays w rite 3'our full name and address plainly at
th e end of your letter. W h y ? Because it will often happen
th a t the editor will want to comm unicate with you, and becauso
he needs to know the w rite r’s name as a guarantee of good
faith. I f you use a pseudonym or initials, write y o u r own
name and address below it; it will never be divulged.
M IN D , T H O U G H T A N D C E R E B R A T IO N .
BY P R O F . A L E X A N D E R W I L D E R , M.D., E.T.S.
( Continued from the October N um ber.)
I t is likewise observed th a t purposes which we have
formed, and other vivid mental impressions, are by no
m eans uprooted from the mind by being dropped or
dismissed out o f t h e active thought. W e awake a t the time
which we have set, and are reminded by a signal of the
m em ory th a t the appointed m oment has come to set
abou t som ething which we had proposed. I have been
roused from sleep to do a th in g which I had contemplated,
sometimes ap parently hearing a voice call m e for the
purpose, and have often been interrupted in th e current
of active th in k in g when awake by the intervening of the
occult memory.- I have also witnessed kindred pheno­
m ena in persons whose external sensibility and conscious­
ness had been suspended by an amesthetic. W hatever
had been previously expected or contemplated, the idea
or emotion uppermost would be exhibited in word or
action.
Pain, terror, anger, as well as ra p tu re and beatific
delight, were expressed as though actually experienced;
even a.s if there had been no interruption of the normal
C ondition. Y et th e patient, a few moments a f t e r w a r d ,
would rem em ber nothing of the matter, ami declare u n ­
qualifiedly th a t th ere had been 110 consciousness of any­
thin g th a t had occurred- Analogous experiences some­
times t a k e p l a c e w ith i n d i v i d u a l s in tho m e s m e r i c s t a te .
Many of the illusions of insane and other disordered
persons belong to the same category.
The existence of double consciousness indicates tho
source of many of the curious phenomena, not otherwise
easy to understand. "Persons have lived for years,” sny3
Dr. William Gregory, of Edinburgh, “in an alternation
of two consciousnesses, in the one of which they forget all
they have ever learned in the other.” Dr. liu.xley and
William B. Carpenter both substantially admit the same
thing. Epileptics have been known to finish, in a new
p a r o x y s m of their complaint, a sentence began in an attack
which had occurred days or weeks before. Maudsley re­
lates tlie case of a groom whose skull had been fractured
by the kick ofhis mare. A.s soon as the portion of bone
pressing on his brain was removed, three hours later, he
recovered his usual consciousness, and cried out an order
to the animal.
The absent-minded German professor will not be for­
gotten, who called at the door of his own house to iuquire
for himself, and walked away on beiug told that be was
not at home, forgetful that he was himself tlie man.
Soldiers on a march, messengers carrying despatches, and
individuals walking for a wager, sleep while in motion.
A person stunned will pick up his lint, go about bis
business, and perform various acts to which he has been
habituated.
Dr. John W. Draper his endeavoured to account
for the phenomena of double consciousness, by the
conjecture that it is a result of the double construction of
the brain, lie cites with approbation the treatise of Dr.
Wigan in support ofhis theory. Tlio hemispheres of the
brain, we are reminded, are distinct organisms, eacli having
the power to carry on its functions independently of
the other. Usually, however, they act simultaneously,
tiie superiority of the one compensating for the defects of
the other. Sometimes there is “ insubordination of one of
the hemispheres,” and thcro are, in consequence, two
distinct trains of thought anil two distinct utterances,
either at the same time, or in very rapid alternation. Each
of these, perhaps, will be perfectly consecutive and sane
by itself, but tlie two will be incongruous from being
mingled confusedly together. This condition, in its
exaggerated ionn, is regarded as insanity ; nevertheless,
it has been observed in the thinking operations of persons
■whose minds are considered as perfectly sound. When
one of the hemispheres was entirely disorganized, or had
been destroyed from external violence, the other appeared
to do the whole work acceptably. There are also numer­
ous examples of the independent action of both hemi­
spheres in instances where the individuals were in a state
of health. While engaged iu ordinary pursuits which
imply a continued mental occupation, we are occasionally
b e s e t with suggestions of a different kind. A strain of
music, or even a few notes, may be incessantly obtruding.
In our aircastle-building, we permit one hemisphere to act,
presenting fanciful illusions ; while the other witnesses
the operation and so lends itself to it.
In other eases, these conditions of double consciousness
h a v e alternated in a moro striking manner. Each hemi­
sphere of the brain continued its action for a period of
days or even weeks, and then relapsed in‘o a quiescent
condition. The other took its turn, and ran its own course,
after a similar manner. Instances where one of the hemi­
spheres had undergone deterioration or suffered lesion, so
that it has been reduced to an infantile condition, and
there is incapacity to make use of the impressions which
had been previously made 011 it, the individual will
alternately exhibit what has been aptly termed child-life
and mature-life I)r. Draper is of opinion that these
phenomena of alternate and double intellection can be
explained 011 no oilier principle. He is less decided, how­
ever, in regard to the explanation of tlio sentiment of
pre-existence iu the same way.
All the facts, however, cannot be thus met, Van
Helmont, by experiment upon himself with aconite, sus­
pended tlie action of the brain ; upon which consciousness
and perception appeared at the solar ganglion. This
indicates that the function of cerebration, orbrain-activity,
whether conscious or otherwise, does not account for all
the phenomena. The statement of Dr. Carpenter, that
“ mental changes may go 011 below the plane of conscious­
ness,” is but half the truth. There is no single plane of
consciousness but a plurality, and the nervous ganglia of
the sympathetic system have likewise their part and
allotment.
His assumption, that inventions and the various pheno­
mena that he depicts, are principally the resultants of the
previous action and discipline of the mind, is also faulty.
Idiots are by no means destitute of intellectual and moral
faculties and at times they display an independent spiri­
tual consciousness. Seager, of Berlin, reports that he has
had in his establishment indubitable cases of idiocy, in
which the head was small and mal-formed, yet in which
the results of education were so triumphant, that his
patients were ultimately able to go forth and mix with the
great world, exhibiting no mental infirmity that could be
detected. In one instance, a young man underwent the
rite of confirmation without being suspected by the priest
of any abnormality of mind. Dr. Bateman, consulting
physician to the Eastern Counties Asylum for Idiots in
England, expresses his undoubting belief that the idiot of
the lowest class has the germ of intellectual activity and
of moral responsibility. “ This germ,” lie confidently
declares, “ although possibly only permitted to bud here,
is destined hereafter to expand into a perfect flower, and
flourish perennially in another and a better state of
being.” It is manifest that in such case the budding,
expanding and flourishing perennially, are resultants of
other factors than those furnished by brain-protoplasm.
Dr. William H. Holcombe affirms that “consciousness
is the consequent of our finite, imperfect state.” This i3
substantially the doctrine of Aristotle, Spinosa and
Swedenborg. “ Our imperfection is the pledge,” says he,
“ of our immortality, our progress, our happiness, as well
as the ground of our consciousness itself,” Assuming the
substantial correctness of this proposition, we must
accept the corollary to it ; that if imperfection is
the basis oE actual consciousness, then that which
transcends consciousness must pertain to a higher
region. Indeed, Doctor Carpenter appears to have almost
conceded as much when he describes the condition which
approaches nearest to Direct Insight as resulting from
the earnest habit of looking at a subject from first prin­
ciples, looking honestly and steadily at the True and tho
Right. An individual can perceive principles only from
having their substance in himself; he knows nothing which
is totally foreign to his own nature. The insight which is
nearest approached by the earnest contemplation of the
True anti tho Right is 110 acquirement of an alien or
engrafted faculty, but the evolution of an energy innate
in us. It is art awakened memory of a knowledge heretofore
possessed. The attainment is supraconscious and truly
divine, but it is not cerebration. It is the self-recognition
of soul, enabling the individual to perceive the ideas
which it is sought to express by “ all the master-words of
the language—God, Immortality, Life, Love and
Duty.”
Dr. Oliver Wendell Holmes, treating of this grade o^
mental unfoldinent, seems to carry it, and very properly>
beyond the province of mere brain-action into the higher
department of the soul, “ The more we examine into
the secret mechanism of thought,” he declares, “ the more
we shall see that tbe automatic, unconscious action of tho
mind enters largely into all its processes.” Again in
Master Byles Gridley’s book it is asserted that “ the best
thought, like the most perfect digestion, is done uncon­
sciously.”
I11 different works he abounds with tentative ideas
which make 11s wish he had written more and done it
more unequivocally. The story E leie Venner is based on
the quasi-hereditary admixture of an ophidian element
with the whole nature of a human being, and the pre«
dominance of th a t quality over h er th onght, emotions aud
personal habitude. The vision of Myrtle Hazard is in
certain respects still more suggestive. W hile steadily
gazing upon a luminous figure of a cross, which be
suggests was an accidental product of decaying phosphore­
scent wood, she becomes ecstatic. Presently thero appear
before her th e figures of several of h er ancestors and with
them her own eidolon as thou gh she was in some way
outside of herself. They seem to address her and to
w ant to breathe the airof this world through the medium of
h er exterior shape, which was at the m om en t apparently
em pty o f her presence and theirs. Presently, she seems
to re tu rn into it, and then th e others to become p a rt of
her, one by one, by being lost in h e r life. She fools the
lonofintr
o o to live over th e life of h e r own father and mother,# ,
th e n the peculiar impulses of th e others, and finally i s m
some way made one w ith the purest n a tu re of them all.
Dr. Holmes suggests th e explanation th a t this was
“ probably one of those intuitions with objective projection
which sometimes come to im aginative young persons, es­
pecially girls, in certain exalted nervous conditions. He
carries th e idea further, and rem arks th a t “ the lives of our
progenitors a re ,a s we know, reproduced in different pro­
portions in ourselves, W hether they as in d iv id u a ls hnve
a n y consciousness o f it, is an other m atter.” This sta te m en t
almost appears to be a reflection of the proposition of
Mr. Frederick Harrison, th a t every hum an individuality,
though dissolved a t death, was transm uted into a moral
force, and capable of passing into and stim ulating the
brains of living men. This peculiar metaphysic is adapted
to th e concept of an unconscious' brain-actiori, and the
f u r th e r notion of “ a distinct correspondence between
every process of th o u g h t or of feeling and some corporeal
phenomenon.” B u t Dr. Holm es does not app ear to be
th u s lim ited in his prehension. H e gives a fuller scope to
heredity and even adm its th e possibility of a further
spiritual occupancy. I t is possible, lie suggests, lh a t our
progenitors do get a second as it were fractional life in us.
Some who have long been dead may enjoy a kind of
secondary and imperfect, yet self-conscious life in these
bodily tenements, which we are iu the h a b it of considering
exclusively our own. I t m igh t seem, th a t many of those
whose blood flows in our veins struggle for th e mastery,
and by and bye one or more get the predominance ; so that
we grow to be like father, or mother, or remoter ancestor,
or it may be th a t two or more are blended in us,
not to the exclusion however, of a special personality
of our own, about which these others are grouped.
“ We all do things awake and asleep which surprise us.
P erhap s we have co-tenants in this house we live in.*’
K a n t himself promulgated a similar idea. “ Perhaps
it will yet be p ro v ed /’ he says, “ th a t the hum an
soul, even in this life, is, by an indissoluble com­
munion, connected with all the immaterial natures of the
spirit-world, acting upon these and receiving impressions
from them .” Goethe unhesitatingly affirms it. “ Every
th oug ht,” says he, “ which bears fruit and has a sequel, is
inherent in no man, b u t has spiritual origin. T he higher
a man stands, the more is he standing und er the influence
of the demons. E verything flows into us, so far as we
are not it ourselves. In poetry there is decidedly some­
th in g demoniac (or spiritual), and particularly in the u n ­
conscious, in which intellect and reason all fall short, and
which therefore acts beyond all conception.”
Agasiz acknowledged this same psychological fact.
H e affirms th a t there are two sets or a double set of
m ental powers in the hum an organism, ossentially
different from each other- “ T he one,” ho says, “ mny be
designated as our ordinary conscious intelligence, the
other as a superior power which controls our b e tte r
n ature.” This la tte r he describes as “ acting through us
w ith ou t conscious action of our own.” Maudsley declares
th a t this is a mental power organized before the superven­
tion of consciousness. W h a te v e r he may imply by this,
the explanation followed up will carry us beyond the region
of simple physical existence.
W hen Dr. T a n n e r was prosecuting his world-famous
forty days’ fast a t Clarendon Hall, in the city of New
York, he was constantly atte n d e d by physicians who
persisted in asserting thnt his brain wns certain to give
way for want, of nourishment, and predicted th a t after
two or three weeks insanity or delirium would ensue.
Y e t on th e very last day of the fast, be exhibited no
essential mental deterioration, b u t was perfectly normal
so far as will and reasoning power were concerned. I was
present and observed him carefully with the in te n t of
being certain. I t has been officiously asserted in public
journals th a t 110 im portant fact was elicited or dem on­
strated bv Dr. T a n n e r’s experiment,, that Science had
gained absolutely nothing from it. T he Molten Calf of
Science bedizened with the new-dyed purple robe of
priestly arrogance, rejects every tru th which happens not
to agree with its assumptions or to be elicited by its
methods. I t can be no gainer, b u t is a sad loser from the
revelations of th e Fortv Days’ Fast. I do not see how it
could be otherwise. Knowledge, however, was greatly
served, which is a more excellent boon, enjoyed by those
who love truth for its own sake. Enough, too, was shown
by it to reveal the possibility of preserving the life of
P resident Garfield, if he had had medical attendants
modestly willing to profit, by such means of information.
Tho m aintaining of psychic and intellectual forces intact
when all material support was withdrawn from the body
and brain except water and air, and the peculiar influences
and vital emanations derived from those about, affords
evidence not easy to controvert th a t the hum an mind
exists and acts by virtue of an energy th a t exceeds m atter
and its conditions.
I do not care, however, a controversy with materialists,
T h ev are righ t to a certain decree, b u t they reason illu­
sively. T he induction of which they are often so boast­
ful is, to a g re a t degree, a barren nnd unproductive
method, incapable of t.he evolution of im portant truth.
T he divine faculty of ju d g in g rightly on imperfect
materials, transcends it altogether. T he inductive
method is a viewing of the ni«ht.-side of nature ; and they
who employ it exclusively are able onlv to see a dark
m a tte r sh u ttin g off all light and knowledge by its dense
gloom. W c may regard the subject, also 011 its upper side
where the sun shines and the b lig h t T ru th makes it all
luminous and clear. I t need give 110 embarrassment
because vital force, nerve-force and mind-force are cor­
related and thus mutually influence each other, as well as
being interchange ihle the one into the other. The
im p ortan t fact, as Mr. Payton Spence has so justly re­
marked, is the fact so clearly demonstrated by the pheno­
m ena of w hat has been termed Unconscious Cerebration,
“ th a t the unconscious (the sub-conscious and perhaps the
supra-conscious) modifies the conscious (human and animal),
and th it the two become blended into compound, states, thus
p ro c la im in g their sameness a n d kinship, and showing
th a t mind runs deeper into m atter than is generally
supposed.”
Scientific th o u g h t has supplemented these conclusions
by foreshadowing the hypothesis, th a t matter in its Inst
analysis m ust be resolved into force. “ W h at do we know
of an atom ap art from force?” demands Faraday. Mr.
Spenco directs our attention to the fact th a t m atter and
consciousness have th e relation of cause and effect. Thero
can be 110 such relation, be argues, except as they are the
same in th e ir ultimates. H ence m a tte r and conscious­
ness in their ultimates are the same ; and the modification
and the thing m od iied are, in the last analysis, rendered to
states of consciousness. “ Consciousness is the ultimate,
unitary, cosmical constituent.” One sole substance under­
lies the whole universe. T h a t substance is essential life,
comprising in it Power, Intelligence and Benevolence.
These alone are p e r m a n e n t; whatever is opposed to them
is transient, ephemeral and self-destructive.
W e ire a t the .superior pole of psvchic verity, and hence
in direct antipodes to the empirical reasoning, which has
seemed to be becoming popular, th a t would resolve the
 real world into a synthesis ofsensibles, and th e soul itself
into a consensus of the faculties which observation dis­
covers in th e human organism. T he omnipresence of
consciousness in its several forms, affords no rational basis
for tho theory th a t endeavours to eliminate it, and p e r­
sonality with it, from tlie S u p re m e Essence. W e cognise
th e entity of T hought behind all sense and organic
manifestation. Wc perceive th a t death does n ot ex­
tinguish human existence, and th a t w hat is beyond man and
th e universe, is neith er void, nor altog ether unknowable
or unessential.
There is no adequate justification for tlie plaint of
Schopenhauer, tha t it would have been bettor if the universe
bad never existed, nor for the more audacious affirmation
of H artm ann , th a t “ if God, previous to the creation, had
been aware of what he was doing, creation would have
been a crime.” T he energy which inspires and gives law
to nature, is not tlie dominion of the worst. Tho bad
cannot perpetu ate itself. The a p p a re n t disorder and even
misery into which we are born, have a benevolent purpose
in them.
H olm es formulates the idea which wo have arrived a t :
“ W e all have a double, who is wiser and b e tte r than we
aro, and who p uts thoughts into our heads, and words into
our m ouths.” The soul is th en to bo recognized as the
receptacle of tho thoughts, which are thus dissociated
from corporeal phenomena. T he double th a t originates
them, is th e p urer intelligence. This is the universal con­
sciousness im parted in a certain degree to each individual,
and nevertheless, after a m ann er common to all.
There is an ocean, so to express it, of pure reason, which
permeates and includes all living intelligences. I t is, as
Dickens expresses it, a sea th a t rolls round all tho world.
W e are all in it and pervaded by it through all our mind.
I t reveals itself whenever the conceit of knowledge which
proceed from ignorance, is dispelled. Tlic consciousness is
above our sense-perception, and hencc wliatever brain-
agency may bo associated with it, is wholly receptive, and
cannot properly bo deemed or denominated cerebration.
I t is the partak in g of the Universal Intelligence, as our
corporeal organism is a partak in g of the universal nature.
For it m a tte r has 110 obstruction, space 110 limit, time no
m easurem ent ; it transcends them all.
T here exists in the various ranks of modern society, a
solemn idleness which would make 11s refrain from all
meddlingO with such matters. A rrogating o D to itself tho
honoured title of experience, it would rest everything
upon the notion th a t theoretical shallowness is practical
excellence. I 11 this way a degenerate h u m a n ity is striv­
ing to subdue and overwhelm the true hum anity, in order
to bring it beneath the power of cultivated animalism,
which deems itself superior, and to suppress or pervert the
h igher instin c ts ; so th a t of all which has ever borne the
nam e of virtue, th e re shall bo nothing left b u t so-called
utilities which m ay also be applied to vicious ends. As
we become more skilful and scientific, it tends to make us
more . irrational. I t . would establish a . reign
. . ® of ignorance
® .
which is really bestiality. Its worship would be indeed
t h a t of brazen serpents and golden calves, w ith ou t any
veneration for the soul itself ; and men of science would
m inister a t the altars. To such a paralyzing, brutalizing
lethargy, it is a supreme d uty not to succumb. The true
soul is eager to know, to have th a t knowledge which is
possessing. This is th e highest service which can be
given to th e hum an race.
I t has been necessary and inevitable, to carry our su b­
je c t from n a tu re to metaphysics, from cerebration to the
supersensible, and from both th e infidelity of scientists
and the cant of tools, to th a t supra-consciousness which
transcends each alike. H e rb e rt Spencer has declared th a t
this consciousness of Absolute Being, cannot be suppressed
except by th e suppression of consciousness itself. The
thought, therefore, which cannot be found to have au
origin 011 the plane of the common conception, m ust be
traced beyond i t ; we must consent to let physiology be
transcended by teleology. All th a t is vital and valuable
to us, is concerned in so doing ; and questions of such
trem end ous importance, may not be left to sleep jq tbe
unknown.
C R IM E I N B E N G A L.
W e read in the Scientific American :—
“ Tho area of Bengal under British control is ab o u t th a t
of (Jreat B ritain and Ireland, with about th e same
n u m b e r of inhabitants. The population is m ade up
principally of native H ind us and the M ahomedan descend­
ants of th e ancient Mogul invaders.
“ In a lecture on w ha t tlie English have done for the
Indian people, delivered to the members of the Philoso­
phical Institution, Edinburgh, Dr. W. W. H u n te r, Director
General of Statistics to th e Government of India, said,
according to the London Tim es r e p o r t T h e r e was now
only about one-third of the crime iu Bengal th a t there
was in England. W hile tor each million persons in E n g ­
land and Wales th ere were 870 criminals always in jail,
in Bengal, where the police was very completely organized,
there wero not 800 convicts in jail for eacli million : and
while in England and Wales there were 340 women in
jail for each million of the female population, in Bengal
th ere wore less than 20 women in jail for each million°of
the female population’ !
“ A well-paid and highly disciplined polico, tho doctor
■said, now deals efficiently with the small a m o u n t of crime
in B e n g a l ; a happy state of things a ttributable to British
rule, if the British view of the case is to be accepted.
“ I t would be interesting to know how many of the
Bengal criminals are of European parentage; and why it is
th a t British rule a t home shows results so poor in com­
parison with India. Of course it would not do to suspect
th a t thoso benighted pagans and Mohamedans aro naturally
inclined to lead more wholesome and honest lives than
th e masses of Groat Britain, (/hristian civilization would
stand aghast at such a thought. Perhaps tho missionaries
who tell 11s so much abo ut the land where every prospect
pleases and only man is vile, may be able to m ake clear
puzzle.”
f A M Y S T E R IO U S R A C E .
W hile travelling from the landing place— on th e Madras
“ B uckingham C anal”—’to Nellore, we were m ade to
experience tho novel sensation of a transit of fifteen miles
in comfortable modern carriages each briskly dragged bv a
dozen of strong, merry men, whom we took for ordinary
H in du s of some of the lower or Pariah caste. The contrast
offered us by tho sight of these noisy, apparently well-
contented m en to our palankin-bearers, who had just
carried us for fifty-five miles across the sandy,hot plains that
stretch between Padagangam 011 the same canal and
G untoor— as affording relief—'was great. These palankin-
bearers, we wore told, were of the washerman’s caste, and had
hard times working nig h t and day, never having regular
hours for sleep, earning but a few pice a day, and when
the pir.e had tho good chance of being transformed into
annas, existing upon the luxury of a m ud-soup made out
of husks and damaged rice, and called by them
“ pepper-water." N aturally enough, we regarded our
hum a n carriage-stoeds as identical with the palankin-
bearers. W e were speedily disabused, being told by one
of our Brother m em bers— Mr. Kasava Pillai, Secretary to
our Nellore Theosophical Society— th a t the two classes
bad nothing in common. The former were low caste
Hindus, the la tte r— Y a n a d h is. The information received
about this tribe was so interesting, th a t we now give it to
our readers, as we th e n received it.
 WHO A R E T H E Y A N A D H IS ?
The word Yanadhi is a corruption of th e word A nathi’
(Aborigines), m eaning “ h a v in g no beginning.” Tho
Y anadhis live mostly in the Nellore District, Madras
Presidency, along th e coast. T h e y are divided into two
classes: (1) Gappala or Chulla, “ frog-eaters,” “ refuse
— ea te rs;” and (2) the Y anadhis proper, or the “ good
Yanadhis.” The first class lives, as a rale, separated irom
th e Sudra population of the district, and earns its living
by hard work. The Cappulu, are employed to drag carts
and cavviages in lieu of cattle, as horses are very scarce
and too expensive to m aintain in this district. T he second
class, or Yanadhis proper, live partly in villages and partly
in th e jungles, assisting th e farmers in tilling th e land,
as in all o ther agricultural occupations.
Y e t both classes are renowned for th e ir mysterious know­
ledge of the occult properties of nature, and are regarded
as practical magicians.
Both are fond of sport and great hu nters of rats and
bandicoots. Thev catcli the field-mouse by digging, and the
fish by using simply th e ir hands w ith ou t the usual
help of either angle or net. They belong to the Mongolian
race, thoir colour varying from light brown to a very dark
sepia shade. Tlieir dress consists of a piece of cloth to tu;
around th e head, and of ano th e r one togo round the
waist. They live in small circular huts ofaboi.it 8 feet in
diameter, having an entrance of about l i p. in width.
Before building the huts they describe large circles
round the place where th e huts are to be built,
m u tte rin g certain words of magic, which are supposed
to keep evil spirits, influences and snakes from
approaching their dwelling places. They p la n t round
their huts certain herbs believed to possess the virtue
of keeping off venomous reptiles. I t is really astonishing
to find in those little huts two dozens of persons living, for
a Yanadhi rarely has less than a dozen of children. Thoir
diet consists chiefly of rats, bandicoots, field mice, cangi,
guano, and little rice— even wild roots often forming p a rt of
th e ir food. Their diet, in a great measure, explains their
physical peculiarities. Field-mice account partly for' their
having so many children each. They live.to a good old age ;
and it is only very seldom th a t one sees a man with grey
hairs. This is attribu ted to th e starch in th e cangi they
daily drink, and the easy and careless lives they lead.
Their extraordinary m erit consists in th e intim ate
knowledge they possess o f t h e occult virtues of roots,green
herbs, and other plants. They can ex tract the virtue of these
plants, and neutralize th e most fatal poisons of venomous
reptiles; and even very ferocious cobras are seen to sink their
hoods before a certain green leaf. The names, identity and
th e knowledge of these plants they keep most secret. (Jases
of snake-bite
. . . have neverbeen heard of among O them,' ©though
th ey live in jungles and the most insecure places, whereas
death by snake-bite is common am ong the higher classes.
Devil possession is very seldom am ong their women. They
extract a most efficacious remedy, or ra th e r a decoction
from more than a hundred different roots, and it is said to
possess incalculable virtues for curing any malady.
I n cases of extreme urgency and fatal sickness they
consult tlieir seer (often one for 20 or 25 families), who
invokes their tutelary deity by sounding a drum, with a
woman singing to it, and with a fire in front. A fter an hour
or two he falls into a trance, or works himself into a state,
during which he can tell the cause of tho sickness, and
prescribe a certain secret remedy, which, when paid and
administered the patien t is cured. I t is supposed th a t the
spirit of the deceased, whose name they havo dishonoured,
o r th o deity whom they have neglected, tells th e m through
the medium of th e seer, why they were visited wifh the
calamity, exacts of them promise of good behaviour in
future, aud disappears after an advice. I t is not un-
frequently th a t men of high caste, such as Brahmins, havo
had recourse to th em for such information, and consulted
with them with advantage. The ten' <p'oies his h a ir and
lets no razor pass his head. T he Yanadhis shave their heads
with ih e sharp end of a glass piece. The ceremonies of
nam ing a child, marriage and journeys, and such other
things, are likewi.se consulted.
T h ey possess such an acute sense of smell, or ra th e r
sensitiveness, that, th ey can see where a bird they reqniro
is, or where the object, of tlieir game is hiding itself. They
aro employed as guards and watchmen for the rare power
th ey have in finding and tracing out a thief or a stranger
from his foot-marks. Suppose a stranger visited their
village at night, a Yanadhi could say th a t th e village
was visited by him (a stranger) by simply looking a t the
foot-steps.
r T H E B U D D H I S T C A T E C H ISM .
(ISY Y .......... Z ...........F T S .)
Colonel O lcott’s “ B uddhist Catechism ” hasnow reached
its 14th thousand. This well-deserved and rapid success
is in itself a sufficient proof of the want it supplied. That
up to this time a religion reckoning more followers thau any
o ther in the world should have been without a text book
for use in schools and colleges may perhaps be regarded as
curiously in harmony with some of its peculiarities. Eor
whereas in other religions we find either aggression,
bigotry, persecution or fanaticism— in some, all these evils
com bined— in Buddhism a philosophical calm seems to
pervade its teachers ami priests,- and their converts are
and ever have been made by appeals to the reason aided
by the example of a pure and highly moral life— not by
propagandist, tracts. Although the catechism was origin­
ally written for beginners aud for use in schools in
Coylon, its circulation among educated Europeans, both in
this and other countries, is hardly less desirable. For the
former purpose, th e lirst. edition was sufficient, and hardly
required the additions which now appear in the one just
published. But, for the benefit of the latter, the eighteen
n.idit.ioualquestions and answcis, together with the appen­
dix, will be. of great importance. They help, moreover, to
b ring moro into synthesis with one a n o th e r - the Buddhism
of Northern and Southern India. N ot tha t th ere is any
real discord between th e different schools ol Buddhistic
teaching. In this as in so many other ways the superiority
of this religion over all others is a p parent even on the
surface ; othor religions are divided and cut up into sects
and parties, the heads or leaders ot which are at w a r 'w ith
one another, th e ir supporters taking up the cause more or
less violently according to their lights. Buddhism, on the
other hand, alt,hough in some of its forms and ceremonies
it, has in course of time varied to suit, as it, were climate
or nationality, the priests of all denominations, whether
Tibetan, Sinhalese, Burmese, or Chinese, will agree on
th e great, questions of esoteric as well as orthodox
Buddhism. T h u s th e parts in this Catechism, whieh treats
more particularly of the philosophy, will be found to agree
with tiie views frequently put forth iu these pages, in spite
of the fact that, our teaching is from t.he Tibetan Buddhists,
while Colonel Olcott, in writing his excellent little book,
has been guided by II, Samangala, of th e Siamese
section of th e S outhern Buddhists of Ceylon, and High
Priest, of A d a m ’s Peak. This journal has been so olten
accused of abusing and traducing tho Christian religion that
we almost hesitate to speak on this tender subject,. But it
may be mentioned perhaps, w ithout offence, th a t it is not
th e teaching of Je sus Christ whieh has ever been laughed
at, st.ill h s s abused in these columns. Ilis moral code was
only less perfect than th a t of B uddha, and true Christians
and Buddhists, if they follow out the words of their
respective masters, m ig ht walk' together lo the end of tlieir
livei w ithout quarrelling. But wo maintain that the
attitude, life, and teaching, o f t h e Christian church a t the
present time and for centuries past is not nor has been
Christ,-like, nor can it bear comparison either in its past
actions or presen t results with the Buddhistic. Christians
have undoubtedly (never mind from what, causes) wandered
far away from th e ir true religion, while Buddhists are f o r
the most p art j u s t w hat they were from tlie first. Finally,
when wc review orthodox Buddhism from Colonel Olcott’s
Catechism,rand then Christianity, ns expounded in the
Catechism of the P rotestant Church, we cannot, help th in k ­
ing th a t an educated man unbiassed by any religion w h a t­
ever would, from all points of view, choose the Buddhistic
and discard tlie Christian. • nal, is only to be found in the library of the Vatican.
G L E A N IN G S F R O M E L E F U A S L E V I.
I IIT U E L D E LA H A U T E M AGIE .
C H A P T E R X IX .
t iie m a g iste r iu m of the sun . satisfactorily, th a t a man m ust be absolutely devoid of
W e have now reached that, nu m b er which in th e T arot is
m arked with the sign of th e Sun. The Decad of Pithagoras
and tho Triad multiplied by itself, united, signify wisdom
applied to the Absolute. I t is, therefore, of the Absolute
th a t we shall now speak.
To discover th e Absolute in the Infinite, in th e Indefinite
and in th e Finite, is the M ar/nuvi Opus of the wise, which
H erm es designates the work of the Sun.
To discover tho unshakeable foundations of th e true
religious faith, of Philosophic T ruth, and of the transform a­
tion of metals, this is th e whole search of Hermes, this
is th e Philosopher’s stone.
This stone is one and m ultiple ; it may be decomposed
by analysis, and recomposed by synthesis. Analysed it is
a powder, th e so-called powder of projection of the
alchemists. Prior to analysis, and after synthesis, it is
a stone.*
T he Philosopher’s stone, say the masters, ought not to
be exposed to the air or to the glances of th e profane ; it
must be hidden and k ept with care in th e most secret
recess of ones laboratory, and one should ever wear on one
the key of the place where it is sh u t up.
H e who possesses th e great secret is a tru e king, and
more than a king; for he is inaccessible to all fears and all
vain hopes. In all diseases, w hether of th e soul or
of the body, a single morsel detatchcd from the precious
stone, a single grain of the Divine Powder, suffices
to effect a cure. “ H e th a t hath ears to hear, let him hear,”
as said the Master.
T he Salt, th e S u lp h u r and the M ercury are b u t the
accessory elements, and the passive in stru m e n ts of the
M a g n u m Oj>ns. All depends, as we have said, on the
interior Magnes of Paracelsus. The work is entirely in the
projection,f and th e projection is perfectly accomplished by
th e intelligence effective and realizable from a single
word.
T here is only one im portant operation in the w o rk : this
consists in sublimation, which, according to Geber, is
nothing b u t the elevation of the dry th in g by means of
fire with adherence to its own vessel.
Whoso would arrive a t a knowledge of th e G reat Word,
and would possess the Great Secret, should after m e d ita t­
ing th e principles of our “ Dogma,” read with atten tion
th e works of the H erm etic Philosophers, and he will d o u b t­
less achieve his initiation as others have achieved th e irs;
b u t it is ncccssary to take, as a key to th e ir allegories, th e
unique Dogma of Herm es contained in his emerald table,
and to follow in classifying cognizances, and in directing the
operation, the order indicated in the Cabalistic A lphabet
of the Tarot, of which a complete aud absolute explana­
tion is given in the last chapter of this work.
• “ P r io r to Analysis" or “ a f to r s y n th e s is ” — th e stonb is no utono a t all,
b u t tho “ r o c k " — fo u n d a ti o n of a bsolu to k n o w le d g e —o u r s o v e n th p r i n ­
ciple.— E d .
+ In c on ne ctio n w ith tho “ p r o je c tio n , " wo would a dvis e o u r r e a d e r s to
tu r n to t h e “ El ixir of Life " in tbo March a nd April U882,) n u m b e rs of th e
T i i e o s o f u i s t . T ho “ i n t e r i o r M ag ne s " of P a ra c e l su s has a dunl m e a n in g . —
Ed.
A m ongst the rare and precious works, which
contain the mysteries of the G reat Secret, we
must reckon in th e first r a n k : “ The Chemical
P ath w ay” or “ M anual of Paracelsus” which contains all
the mysteries of the Occult Dynamics and of the most
secret Kabala. T his manuscript work, precious and origi­
Semlivogius took a copy which the Baron de Tschuddi
used in composing his H erm etic Catechism contained in
his work entitled, " L ' E t o i l e f l a m h o y a n t e ” (the F lam ing
Star). This Catechism which we indicate to all Cabalistic
sages as capable of taking the place of the incomparable
T reatise of Paracelsus, embraces all the tru e principles
of the ALarjnum Opus, and sets them forth so clearly and
th a t special intelligence, which grasps occult matters, who
cannot arrive a t the absolute tr u th aftor m editating duly
on it.
W e propose to give a suecint analysis of this, with a few
words of commentary.
Raymond Lully, one of th e great and sublime masters
of the science, has said, t h a t to make gold, one m ust first
have gold. N othing can be made out of nothing ; wealth
cannot be absolutely created ; one increases and m u lti­
plies it. A spirants to the science should, therefore, realize
t h a t they aro to expect from tlie Adept neither tricks of
conjuring.nor miracles. The Hermetic Science, like all
true sciences, is mathem atically demonstrable. Its results,
even material, are as exact as th a t of a properly construct­
ed equation.
The H erm etic Gold, is not only a true Dogma, a light
w ithout a shadow, a tru th without alloy of falsehood, it is
also a material gold, real, pure, and the most precious th a t
can be found in the mines of the earth.
But the Living G ild, thcs Living Sulphur, or th e truo
fire of th e philosophers m ust be found in the house of M er­
cury. The fire nourishes itself with a ir ; to express its
attractive and expansive power, one cannot give a better
illustration than th a t of the lightning, which is a t first
only a dry and terrestrial exhalation, united with a moist
vapour, b u t which by virtue of increasing its tension
(de s’exalter) tak in g on a fiery nature, acts on the humid
portions in herent in it, which it attracts and transm utes
to its own nature ; after which it precipitates itself with
rapidity towards the earth, where it is attracted by a fixed
n atu re similar to its own.
These words enigmatic in form, b u t clear as to th e
purport, explain exactly w hat the philosophers m ea n t by
their mercury fertilized (impregnated) by the s u l p h u r ; it
is the A z o t i t , th e universal magnetism ; the G reat Magic
A gent ; the Astral light, the light of life, fertilized by the
vital (animique) force, by the intellectual energy which
they compare to sulphur on account of its affinities with
the divine fire. As for th e salt, this is m a tte r absolute.
All th a t is m a tte r contains salt, and all salt can be
converted into pure gold by the combined action of
sulphur and mercury, which a t times act so rapidly th a t
th e transm utation may be effected in an instant or in ail
hour, w ithout fatigue to th e operater and almost without
expense, or in consequence of more unfavourable conditions
of the atmospheric media, the operation may require
several days, several months, aud at times even several
years.
As we have already said, there exist in N a tu re two
prim ary laws.* two essential laws, which produce in
counter balancing each other the universal equilibrium
of t h i n g s : th a t is fixity aud movement, analogous in
Philosophy to the tr u th and invention, and in absolute
conception to th e Necessity and the Liberty which are
th e Essencc nf God himself (1). T he H erm etic Philoso­
* Th is is i n c o rre c tly s t a t e d , a n d a p t to mis load tho bo giu ner. Elip has
Lovi ou g h t, w it h o u t riskin'? to divulgo moro t h a n p e r m itte d , to have
s a id : “ T h e r e exists in N a t u r e ono unive rsal Law with two p r im a r y m anifest-
intj laws as its a t t r i b u t e s — M otion a n d D ur ati on, T h e r o is b u t one e te r n a l
infinito u n c re a t e d L a w —t h e “ O n r L i f e ” of th o B u d d h is t A rh a ts , o r tho
Psimbrsihm of th o Vedantin*?— Adwnitns. — Ed.
( 1 ) Which tho vulgar hoi palloi call, “ God,” and w o—“ Etern al Prin­
ciple”—Ed.
 phers give th e name of fixed, to all th a t has weight, to all
th a t tends by its nature to central repose and imm obility;
they designate as volatile, all th a t more naturally and
willingly obeys the law of movement, and they form their
stone by analysis, th a t is to say, by the volatilization of the
fixed, and then by synthesis, t h a t is to say, by the fixation
oi the volatile, which they effect by applying to th e fixed,
which they call their salt, the sulphurated mercury, or the
light of life directed and rendered om nipotent by a secret
operation. Tims, they seize upon th e whole of N ature,
an d th e ir stone is found wherever th ere is salt, in other
words, no substance is foreign to th e M agnum Opus, and
one can change into gold even m atters th a t appear the
most despicable and vile, which is tru e in this sense, th a t
as we have said, all contain th e prim ary salt represented
in our emblems by the cubic stone itself, as one sees it in
th e frontispiece, symbolic and universal of the keys of
Basile Valentin.
To know how to ex tract out of all m a tte r th e pure salt
th a t is hidden in it is to have the secret of the stone. This ^ tions. W ith some they are of every day occurrence and
stone is then a saline stone th a t the 01), or universal as­
tral light decomposes or recomposes. I t is unique and
multiple, for it can be dissolved like ordinary salt, and
incorporate itself in other substances. Obtained by analysis,
it m ight be called the sublim ated universa l ; recovered by
synthesis, it is th e tru e panacea of th e ancients, w hether
of tlie soul or the body, and it has been called th e medicine
par excellence of the whole of N ature. W hen by complete
initiation one commands th e forces of th e universal agent,
one always has this' stone, at one’s com m ands; for tlie
extraction of the stone is then a simple and easy operation,
very distinct from th e metallic projection or realization.
This stone, iu its sublimed state, ought not to be left in
contact with th e atmospheric air, which m igh t partly
dissolve it or cause it to lose its virtue. Moreover, the
breathing (?) its emanations m ig h t not be free fiom danger.
Tho sage prefers to keep it in its natural envelopes,
assured th a t he can extract it by a single effort of his
will and a single application of th e universal a g en t to the
envelopes, which th e Cabalists call its shells.* I t i.s to
express hieroglyphically this law of prudence th a t they
give to th e ir mercury, personified in E g y p t by H erm anubis,
a dog’s head, and to th e ir sulphur, represented by Bapho-
m e t of th e Temple, or the prince of th e Sabbath, th a t
go at’s head th a t has bro ug ht so much opprobrium on the
occult associations of the middle ages.
A SPECTRAL WARNING.
A respectable American paper publishes a story of a
clairvoyant prevision of death. One M artin D clehaute,
employed in a steam saw-mill, saw, one n ig h t a t 10
o’clock, not far from his house, a m an on a white horse,
standing perfectly still and having his arm extended. H e
w ent to see who it was, when it vanished into air. H e
took this to be tbe foreboding of some evil to occur either
to himself or his family. H e told his wife all about his
vision, and on the next day would not go into the swamp
to cut logs as he had done before. On th e following day
he was sent for, b u t did not like to go on account of
having a presentim ent th a t som ething'w as to happen to
him on th a t day. However, he took his axe and went to
the chopping, and on finding nobody th e re he turned back
toward home. H e met, however, a Mr. Tancrede Mayex
by whom he was persuaded, despite a foreboding of disaster
to himself, to retu rn to th e jungle and assist in felling a
-T
* Uo who studies tlio septenary nature of m an an d readi tlie E h(xlr o f L ife
knows what this means. Tbe seventh principle, or rather the 7th nnd Cth ur
the spiritual Monad in one, is too sacred to ho projected or used hy the
adept for the satisfaction and curiosity of the vulgar The sage (the adept,)
keeps it iu its sholU, ( th e 5 other principles) and knowing ho can always
extract it hy a single effort of his will” by tho power of his knowledge, will
never exposo this “ atone’’ to tlie evil magnetic influences of tbo crowd.
Tho author uses the cautious phraseology of tlie Mediaeval Alchemists, and
no ono having ever ex *lained to the uninitiated public tb a t tho “ Word* is
no word, ami tho “ Stone” no stone, t b a t occult sciences arc sult’oringthercby
yudcr th o oppro b riu m ol n iw k o ry an d i^n o n v iig e --]^ .
tree. T he work was completed in safety and the tree fell,
b u t was cau gh t in th e bra n d ie s of another tree, and in
giving one more blow with the axe to free it, the tree
suddenly twisted around, th e roots struck the unfortunate
m an and mortally injured him. T he strangest fact is now
to be told. A t precisely 10 o’clock a.m., thirty-six hours
after Mr. D e le h a u te saw the before-mentioned vision, Mr.
A. E. Rabelais, seated on a white horse, stopped a t pre­
cisely the same spot and in the same a ttitud e w here Mr.
D. had seen th e vision, and gave Mrs. D. th e startling
information th a t her husband was very near killed, and
th en hastily rode of! in search of Dr. Culhitn. Dr. Cullmn
arrived, b u t the unfortunate man was beyond tbe reach
of medical skill and died a t sundown of th e same day.
This is one of those cases one constantly meets wilh, where
th e previsionary faculty of the mind catches th e coming
event, b u t vainly tries to compel the dull reason to take
warning. Almost every one, even those who are quite
ignorant of psychological science, hns had these premoni-
extend to th e most trifling events, though it is b u t rarely
th a t they are heeded. Prevision is a faculty as easy to
cultivate as memory, strange as the assertion may appear
to sciolists.
getters ter the (Editor.
{ C U R I O U S M E D IU M IS T I C P H E N O M E N A .
I doubt if any one has watched more closely, or with
greater interest your progress since leaving America than
I have ; I say progress, for in spite of all th a t has occurred
I see only progress. The plan t th a t obeys th e law of
magnetic polarity, and struggles toward the light, is only
rooted the deeper by the rude winds which seem bound to
uproot it. The T h e o s o p h i s t has fulfilled my expectations
a thousandfold, and in “ Fragm ents of Occult Science” aud
th e recent articles on “ The Elixir of Life,” I have been
able to get a little nearer the fountain head. I have ju st
now read and re-read the second edition of Mr. S in n e tt’s
“ Occult World,” and it is the closing chapter, and more
especially the account of the precipitated portraits, tha t
has determ ined me to write to you again. P a r t of my state­
m en t will I know interest y o u ; b u t to get a t it, I shall
have to deal w ith the personal equation, which, I trust, you
will pardon.
For m any years 1 have been a spiritualist in philosophy,
b u t w ithout affiliation. I have seen little of, and cared
little for the objective phases: regarding life as too short,
and then too precious to be spent in h u n tin g after that
which seemed to yield so little of c ertainty or satisfaction.
My mind entirely free from creeds, and my sympathies
large enough to embrace all men as real brothers, I aimed
® . . . . .
a t a h igher life, and found comfort in trying to relieve
pain, and make life a little happier to all around. I n this
condition I read “ Isis Unveiled,” and when ju s t before you
sailed for India, with simple courtesy but so much genu­
ine kindness you replied to my letters, as though I had
been an old friend instead of a stranger. I commenced a new
life, a period of rejuvenescence. I exchanged the passive­
ness of philosophy for an unquenchable thirst for the
higher knowledge which I plainly saw from “ Isis” had
never left th e world. In iny professional studies and
lectures f u r nearly tw enty years, physiology first and after­
wards psychology and mctaphysies, most interested me.
B u t I generally read between the lines, and often gained
from an autho r what he did not himself know. Though
; 7. my progress was very slow, I hope you will not think me
egotistic when I say, 1 found comparatively little to un­
learn ; I could see then as now th a t the tru th lay in a
certain direction, and felt sure th a t it did exist, though
quite as sure th a t I did not possess it. So far as I can see,
my m ind is wide open to truth, without fear or prejudice.
B u t to resum e my n a r r a tiv e : four years passed, during
lYhich I had read a great deal iu the line of Theosophy,
stinnil a ted l>y " /sis U n ve i l ed. ” Frequ en tly I would find
articles in the “ Theosophist,” j u s t irhat f i n , m / r d nut,
when iny soul seemed to bound into a higher al mosphore, all
a to n c e would come lilce a solid door the eheek : “ W hat
follow s here, wti <ir<’ not. /lenii.illrd /<> jv'ym/.” I know the
character of tho knowledge I wanted, and know where it e x ­
isted, and yet it was beyond my leach. I knew also tie;
terms on which it could only be received, anil knew (hat. I.
could comp/;/ with these terms,— silence and obseiu ity, w ith­
out selfishness— for I wanted knowledge only as power to
do good, so far as I could bo trusted with it. For tho
sake of this knowledge, J would have left all else, b u t for
wile and children, for whose sake I must and even
willingly forego all. This I knew would be a bar to a d e p t­
ship if there were none other, so ] have boon neither dis­
appointed nor ambitious in this direction. Still, iu this
condition of mind, I thought, th a t if I could only tind
a good medium, perhaps som ething m ight come to mo.
S tra ig h t way one crossed my path as though sent.
Fortified by the outlines of occult philosophy, for 1 had
been able to get no more, 1 attended his seances, and
sat quietly through th e “ materialisations.” h a l f a. score of
forms would w a l k o u t of an even in g: men, women anil
children. The " c a b in e t” was a curtain stretched across
the corner of the room. I have frequent-lv seen this
curtain held a lo f tb y o n c o f th e .s e forms so that (lie medium
could be distinctly seen sitt ing, apparent iy asleep, in his
chair. Again one of these female figures dressed in white
would walk half across the room in good light, then tu rn
and re-enter the curtain. A figure recognised as Epos
Sargent, and always nodding to the name, rind smiling
at the recognition, has repeatedly come out at, the edge
of the curtain, taken down a slate, covered both sides
with a written message, signed his name in full, and
then, holding still the slate, de-mat.crialisc iu full view
till only the head remained, apparently resting on the
floor, and then dropping the slate disappear altogether.
After I had attended one or two of these seances the
medium's “ control'’ said to me one evening: “ Doctor,
this is not w hat you want ; yon do not need this sort of a
thing. I must, talk with you privately.” ]lo certainly
read both my thoughts and wishes. O pp ortu nity was
presently granted me ; the medium coming to my ofiice
and alone with me entering a, private apartm ent, where
he a t once became entranced. Voice, features, everything
seemed changed. Said the control : Good afternoon,
D o ctor! l a m pleased to meet thee : 1 am. a living m an.
My name is Adam McCongal ; 1 lived in the South when
on earth, and died in 1812. j shall be glad to give you
any proof in my power of my identity, lie spoke of Mr.
Sargent and other deceased who had materialised as being
present. I have had many such conversations, received
many answers to questions and great satisfaction from this
" control,” this “ Old Ju d g e ,” as wc call him, who is as real
to me as any one in the form. Now, I u n d e r­
stand you to say, th a t in such cases th e intelligence is
absolutely the m e d iu m ’s own ;* and I commenced my
investigation on this hypothesis ; yet every fact so far, to
th e best of my judgm ent, falls on the other side of the
equation. In the reference in the “ Occult World,”
to Mr. .hglin ton’s control this identity of the
power manifested with the m edium is apparently
contradicted, and they are directed to work with th e
Brothers. B u t the strangest p a rt of my story is
to come, and I mu.st be brief as possible, h i a dark
room in the presence of many witnesses, on paper
mrked ior identification, sometimes in th e space of
thirteen m inutes, (never so iar as I know occupying more
than half an hour) while entranced, this medium' draws
free-hand life-sized portraits of persons living or dead for
years, whom he never saw. These portraits arc not doubt,
* Onr brother is mistaken, what we sny is, tliat no “ spirit'’ con
tell.'lo. or know anything tliat i.s absotn/eti/ unknown lo cither the
medium or one of the sitters. &Jopie “ shells” have a dim intelligence
pf tlieir own,-^Ei>,
but, of fiuesl quality as works of art. T he drawing is done
with crayons, the stippling equal to a steel engraving, and
in a portrait of myself, made a t the close of a series of
sittings with a select “ class,” every hair of t.he beard
seems drawn separately. One of my wife was drawn, two
we! ks ago. in a bi d-cham ber ef mv own house, only my
wife, children, and one friend present. My wife being
just, convalescent from a severe illness was dressed in a
wrapper. T h e room was totally dork, and yet, in the
space of half an hour, there was produced a perfect likc-
ness of my wife wearing a silk dress and laces she has not
had on for months, and which, she says, the medium never
saw7. T h e medium in his natural state cannot draw at oil,
and knows nothing of a rt ; and when awaking from liis
trance iu t.he above instance did not know he had a
picture, and came near ruining it with his soot.y hands.
At the beginning of one of theso sittings the “ Old J u d g e ”
takes control, and presently retires for the artist whom, he
says is tho veritable Titian, and certainly his work is such
as fo hardly do him discredit. W e are, moreover, informed
by the “ old judge” th a t this work will presently be done
in oil colors though in the dark as now, full life-sized
figures and large composite pictures by whieh the grandest,,
tru th s shall be ta u g h t t.o th e world ; for this objcct alone
has the grand old artist who worked many a century on
earth return ed after three hundred years, with his pencil.
I frustyoH will pardon my long letter, because, my desire
to let you know, th a t here in America is a phase of
occultism not unworthy the attention of even the “ Sons of
high.” What, difference is there between the “ old ju d g e ”
as here represented, and the Astral Sold of th e Brothers as
semi at distances from their physical body, except th a t the
la tte r has the physical body to which to return.
J . D. B u c k , M.D., F.T.S.,
D ean of Pulte Medical College.
Cincinnati, Sept. 1882.
E n i T O i t ’s N o t k Wlm t m ig h t lie said in nnsw er to onl'
c ‘>m!s[>0 inlciit is Hindi ; what, wc lmve time to say is little.
T h e more so, since his m u l in g in mesmeric nnd o ther bran dies
o f t h e literature of psychology, in connection with his profes­
sion, must have shown liim that, the waking m ed ium ’s ignorance
of' a r t is no conclusive proof'that in the somnambulic stme, how ­
ever induced, he m igh t not draw and [mint very skilfully. As
for the merit, of his pictures being so g re a t as to make them equal
to Titiiin's, of course none but a connoisseur would he compe­
te nt to pronounce upon. T h e fact of their bring executed in
t o I darkness has lit tle or no significance, since the somnambulist
works wilh (dosed or sightless eyes, and equally well iu the
dnrk as in the light. I f our Irietul will consult IJr. J a m e s
Es'lnile’s “ ISaturnI and Medical Clairvoyance” (London 1852,
II. linllierc) he will find quoted from the great. F ren ch
Kncyclopcdia,” the inlerei-tiiig cass of a j o u n g ecclesiastic,
reported I>y the A rchbishop of Bordeaux, who in the dead o f
might, and in perfect darkness wrote sermons and music. F ro m
the report of a C omm ittee of the Philosophical Society of
Lnucniine, a similar one ; and others, from other sources. In
H r H. B iodie’s “ Psychological Inquiries,” Macnish’s “ P h ilo ­
sophy ol S h o p ,” A bercrom b ie’s “ Intellectual P ow ers,” B rnid ’s
“ N eurypnology, or the Kationale of Sleep,” not to mention
late writers, aro also found many examples of the ex a lta ­
tion of the mental mid psychic powers iu the sonuiamI)uIic
slate. Somo o f these are quite sufficient to w arrant our
holding in reserve all opinions respecting tlio “ Old J u d g e ”
and “ T itia n ” of the < incinnnii medium. T his, in fact, has
been our issue with the Spiritualists from the beginning of o u r
thcosophical movement. O u r position is that in logic as ill
science we must alw ays proceed from the K n ow n to Iho U n ­
known ; in list, first eliminale every alternative theory of the
mediumistic phenomena, before we concede th a t they are o f
necessity altrilmtidile lo “ spii itujiP’ agencies. W estern
psychology is confessedly as yet but in the elenienlary and
lenliilive singe, and for that very reason we maintain that (lie
proofs of Ihe existence of adepts o f psychological science in the
ancient schools o f A siatic mysticism should be carcfullv uml
frankly examined,
 TH E P E R F E C T W AY.
W e are b u t too glad to clasp the hand of our Reviewer
and assure him of the cordial se n tim e n ts with which we
greet his recent explanation and recognition in the
T h e o s o p h i s t of October last. H e will, however, pardon us
a few com m ents on some of his observations respecting the
doctrine of the Perfect W ay, certain points of which he
m istakenly supposes to be in opposition to th a t of his
revered teachers.
First, we will beg leave to observe th a t we th in k our
Reviewer has not clearly grasped our definition of the dis­
tinction betw een the Anim a D iv in a aud the A n im a bruta.
I n its essential principle, of course, th e aniina divina, or
spiritual soul, is incapable of perfectionment, because it is
essential ; b u t according to th e instruction we havo
received, th e whole end of culture, experience and m ani­
fold rebirths, is no other th an th e exaltation and glorifica­
tion of this principle. To use a familiar analogy, we may
compare the spiritual soul to a flame, originally burning
dimly and uncertainly in a dark lantern, the dimness aud
uncertainty being caused, of course, not by any obscurity
in the flame itself, b u t by th e inferior quality of the oil
supplied, and th e uncleanly condition of tho lamp-glass.
B u t when oil of a refined and b e tte r kind is poured into
the receptacle, and th e glass cleansed, th e radiance of the
flame w ithin becomes steady and brilliant. This process
we have called the ‘ perfectionment and exaltation of the
sou l/ th a t is, of course, of the conditions u nd e r which it is
manifested. This is th e idea expressed in th e lines quoted
in our last letter.
1Wanderings of the spark which grown purged ilame.’
N ext, in regard to th e explanation now given by our
Reviewer of his declaration th a t ‘ N atu re never goes back
upon her own foot-steps,’ we .are gratified to find th a t
lie is entirely a t one with us. W e have been explicitly
ta u g h t in a fragm ent not y et published, th a t ' there are two
stream s or currents, an Ascending, and a Descending,’
and th a t ‘ retrogression does not occur by th e same current
ns th a t which draws upward and onward.’ W e therefore,
exactly endorse our Reviewer’s phrase— ‘The self-degraded
ego gets upon a wholly different ladder in a wholly
different world,’ understanding this word 1 world’ to signify
not a material planet (necessarily) b u t a new p la n e of
manifestation. A nd we subm it th a t on p. 47 of our book
will be found a passage wliich m ig ht surely have indicated
to our Reviewer th e identity of our doctrine w ith th a t lie
ha s receiv ed :—
‘ Man has a divine s p i r i t ; and so long as he is man,—
th a t is truly hum an,— he cannot redescend into th e body
of any creature in the sphere b e neath him . . . God
is not th e God of creeping t h i n g s ; b u t I m p u rity —
personified by the Hebrews as Baalzebub is th e ir God...
M an’s own wickedness is the creator of bis evil beasts.’ ”
Compare th e Bhagavat-G ita (xvi.).
To use a popular mode of speech, we m ight say ‘ there
are two creations,— one of Divine origin, the other the
product of tlie “ Fall.” ’
I t is, in fact, only by th e interaction of this law of
A scent and Retrogression operating inevitably and sys­
tematically in two different currents th a t the problems of
existence can be satisfactorily explained. B u t we u n d e r­
stood our Reviewer to deny altogether th e possibility of
retrogression, even while a d m ittin g th a t of extinction.
Thirdly, our phrase ‘ The C h u rc h ’ has been evidently
misapprehended. W c used th a t te rm aud have constantly
used it to designate, not th e corrupt orthodoxy of tho
day which has tisurped the title, b u t the interior, tru e
and divine Eeclesia, having the keys of th e mysteries of
God. A n d we would po int out to our Reviewer th a t it is
not by any means ‘ the same th in g ’ w heth er we have
‘ distilled mysticism’ from th e c urre nt Christianity, or
w hether we have restored to t h a t Christianity its ‘ original
and tr u e ’ meaning. I f our Roviewer will take the trouble
to study the dogmas of th e Catholic Church, — (not of the
P ro te sta n t sects)— he will find how marvellously from
behind every ono of those masks come forth the divine
features of truth, and how incontestably they exhibit
themselves as materialisations of spiritual doctrine. So
th a t with th e symbology of th e Catholic Church, the
student, having occult knowledge, may reconstruct the
whole fabric of th e mysteries, in tlieir due order and
m u tu a l relation, not as one may chip and chisel a statue
o u t of a shapeless block of marble, but as from a mould
prepared with skill one may cast a perfect work of art.
W e are profoundly convinced th a t the Theosophical
Society of Bombay* would exhibit both wisdom and learn ­
ing by accepting th e symbology of th e W est as it does th a t
of th e East, and thus adopting as its own the poetic and
beautiful types which the a rt and literature of E urope have
consecrated for th e past eighteen centuries. In their
esoteric significance all th e great religions of the world aro
one, and are bu ilt upon the same fundam ental truths
according to th e sains essential ideas. O ur Reviewer
repudiates, as he him self admits, the ' crude exoteric
notions’ of th e popular Ilin d u th eo lo gy ; yet he accepts
its esoteric meanings and regards th e m as constituting ail
expression of th e h igh est truth. W e ask him to believo
t h a t th e popular religion of Europe is capablo of precisely
th e same interpretatio n as th a t of H industan, and earnestly
invite him and th e Bombay Theosophical Society to
recognise th e equal claim of th e Catholic Church with tho
Buddhist, B rah m an and other Eastern Churches to the
possession of mystical tr u th and knowledge.
W e desire finally, to p u t our Reviewer right on a detail
which, though of no philosophical moment, concerns our
personal relations with himself. T h e phrase he cites at
th e close of his letter, and which lie finds so obnoxious,
was, assuredly, not intended to wound. B u t our Reviewer,
in his former paper, spoke so slightingly of women, and
used such term s to emphasize his depreciation that, having
in view, th e n a tu re and object of our whole work, wo felt
it impossible to pass such strictures by in silence. And
we desired to point out to our critic and to the readers of
th e T h e o s o p h i s t , th a t a high and p ure philosophy, far
from conducing to a low opinion of womanhood, or
a mean estim ate of the qualities and attrib utes it repre­
sents, does, on the contrary, restore th a t noblest office of
h u m an ity to its proper dignity and elevation; so th a t the
views held by any th in ke r on th e subject may as surely
serve to measure th e progress he has made in philosophy,
as th e status of a nation in civilisation may be gauged by
th e position it accords to its women. T he phrase quoted
from our le tter therefore, is no personal th ru st such as
our Reviewer has supposed, b u t is intended as an axiom
of universal application. B u t when he goes on to charge
th e doctrine of th e ‘ Per/cct Way with a tendency to
degrade women, we perceive th a t lie is in jest, and refrain
from treating seriously w hat is obviously a piece of banter.
T he vindication of th e earnestness of our recent remons­
trance in th e S e ptem b er nu m b er of the T h e o s o p h i s t
m u st be looked for in th e fact th at its condemnation of our
work was so sweeping, that, had we been strangers to the
book itself, we should, from the terms used, have con­
cluded it to be a production of little or no value, and
should certainly have been deterred from studying its
pages for ourselves. O ur Reviewer praised in general, it
is true, b u t blamed in detail, and th a t so severely— and as
we th in k we have shewn, so hastily,—-that he took away
w ith one hand more than he gave with th e other, and then
failed to estim ate th e force of his own language by the
same criterion t h a t he applied to ours.
W e have b u t to add th e expression of our sincere and
cordial adhesion to th e aims of the Bombay Theosophical
Society, and our earnest hope th a t noth in g may hereafter
* Our eminent correspondent*! mean, we suppose, the “ Parent
Theosophical Society,” aiucu th a t of Bombay is but a Branch ?—
Eu.
occur to divide its from its fraternal sympathy, or from “ H . X .” C H ID E D .
jiart.icijint.ion in the great and noble work it has set itself to
•accomplish. ........I have j u s t read “ H. X ’s.” letter in. the Septem ber
T h e WiHTi'iiis o f t h e ‘ P e r f e c t W a y . ’ T h e o s o f i i i s t ; and I th in k it a d u ty to state that, even
London, Nov. 10, 1S82. in this frivolous corner of materialistic England, I know
those who, at oncc and f o r e v e r , would decline being
E d it o r 's N otk.' — II. i s m o s t , a g r e e a b l e t o n s t o s e c our R ev iew er classed am ongst “ educated Europeans,” if th a t word is to
of th e “ P erfect W a y ” and th e w rite rs o ft,h a t rem ark ab le w ork be a synonym for arrogance and ing ratitu de !!— those
th u s c la sp in g hands and w av in g p a lm s of peace over each
who scarcely nam e those B l e s s e d o n e s save in th e m ental
o th e rs ’ heads. I h e frie n d ly d isc u ssio n of th o m eta p h y sic s of
t h e h o o k in q u e stio n h as elic ite d , ai a ll such d e b a te s m u st, th o
attitu d e of h im who, of old, was told to “ ta k e off his
fact th at deep th in k e rs upon t.he, n a tu re of ab so lu te tru th shoes” for th e ground was holy—those in whom all earthly
s c a r c e ly d iffer, s a v e a s to e x t e r n a l s . A s w as rem ark ed in “ Isis hopes and desires are fast merging into one infinite
U n v e ile d ,” th e relig io n s o f m en aro but p rism atic rays o f th o
longing— to be learners a t T h e i r feet...,
one o n ly T ru th . If' our good friends, th e P erfect W ay -farers,
w o u l d b u t I 'e a d t h e s e c o n d v o l u m e o f o u r w ork, th ey w o u ld fin d A M ember of th e B r it ish T h e o . S o c ie t y ,
th at we have all a lo n g b e e iy d ’ p recisely tlie ir o w n o p in io n U nit
th ero is a “ m y stic a l tru th and k n o w led g e d e e p ly u n d erly in g ” England, S e p t e m b e r 28, 1882.
R o m a n C a th o lic ism , w h ic h is i d e n t ie a l w i t l i A s i a t i c e so te rie ism ;
a n d th a t its s y m h o l o g y m a r k s t h e s a m e id ea s, o f te n u n d e r d u p lic a te
fig u re s. W e even w ent so far as to illu stra te w ith w o o d cu ts
Z O R O A S T R I A N M AHATM AS.
th e u in n ird a k o ab le d e riv a tio n of th e H ebrew Iv ab ala fro m th e
C h a ld e a n — th e a rc h a ic p aren t, of a ll later s y in b o l o g y — a n d th o In te rn a l and other evidence gathered from th e religious
K a b a l i s t i c n a t u r e o f n e a r l y all th e d o g m as o f th e R. 0. C hurch.
books of the Parsis po int to th e existence, to this day, of
I t goes w ith o u t sa y in g th at w e, in com m on w ith a ll A sia tic
T h e o s o p h is ts , co rd ia lly rec ip ro c a te th e a m ic a b le fee lin g s of th e
a small b a n d of Zoroastrian Adepts, or Mahatmas, blessed
w rite rs of th e “ P erfect W ay” for th e T h e o so p h ic a l S o ciety . w ith th e most miraculous powers. Cannot th e B r o t h e r s
J.u th is m om ent of su p rem e effort to refresh th e m oral n a tu ro of the F ir s t Section be requested to exercise th e ir clair.
and sa tisfy th e sp iritu a l y earn in g s o f m an k in d , a ll w orkers, in voyant powers with a view to ascertain th e existence and
w h atso ev er corner of th e field , ought to bo k n it to g eth e r in
pcale of these m en ?
frien d sh ip and f ra te r n ity o f feelin g . I t w o u ld be in d eed stra n g e
if any m is u n d e rs ta n d in g co u ld arise of so grave a n a tu ro as
A P ar si.
to a lie n a te from us th e s y m p a th ie s of th a t h ig h ly a d v a n c e d school
of m odern .E n g lish th o u g h t of w h ich our e ste e m e d co rres­ E d i t o r ’ s N o t e . — See th e T h e o s o p h i s t , vol. ii., p. 213, and
p o n d e n ts arc such in te lle c tu a l and fittin g rep re se n ta tiv e s. Colonel O lco tt’s lecture 011 “ T h e Spirit of th e Zoroastrian
Religion,” for broad hin ts, as to w here these men m a y perhaps
be found. T h e ro are some Parsis, who care for th e spiritual
T H E R A T I O N A L E O F F AS T S. rehabilitation of th e Mazdiasnian fnith, w*o are happy to
K n o w i n g t h e i n t e r e s t y o u t a k e i n O r i e n t a l p h i l o s o p h y , w i l l y o u know , and no d ou bt th e y will in time solve this riddle.
k i n d l y a l l o w m e t o a s k y o u o r a n y o f y o u r J i r o t h r e n , t h r o u g h A lready tho first step is taken in the formation of a P a rs i
y o t i r v i d e c i r c u l a t i n g j o u r n a l , c e r t a i n < p i e s t i o n s T h e 1
s o l u t i o n
A rch eo lo g ic al Society a t Bombay as su g ge sted iu Colonel
w h e r e o f w i l l t h r o w m u c h l i g h t u p o n s o m e o f t h o m y s t e r i o u s
c e r e m o n i e s p e r f o r m e d g e n e r a l l y , n o t o n l y a m o n g t h e H i n d u s b u t O lcott’s lecture.
a m o n g a ll t h e O r i e n t a l n a t i o n s . .It. i s a w e l l k n o w n f a c t t h a t t h e
H i n d u s , t h e M a h o n i e d a n s a n d t h e l i i a n a n C a t h o l i c C h r i s t i a n s o b s e r v e
f a s t s f o r c e r t a i n d a 3' s . T h e M a h o n i e d a n s d u r i n g t h o s e d a \ ’s d o
n o t e a t a n i m a l f o o d , a n d i f f. a m n o t m i s - i i i f o r i n e d , t h e C h r i s t i a n s ■ F U L L STO M AC H A N D M E N T A L LA B O U R .
d o t h e s a m e . ' T h e . H i n d u s , t o w h i c h c l a s s 1 h a v e t h e h o n o u r t o T he different kinds of organic action in a m a n ’s body
b e l o n g , d o n o t e a t c o w , b u t s u b s i s t t h e m s e l v e s o n f n i i t s , v e g e t a b l e s ,
a n d m i l k . W h a t p h i l o s o p h y is h i d d e n i n t h i s c u s t o m is a m y s t e r y
are accompanied by different kinds of slight undulations
n ot. o n l y t o m e , h u t t o m o s t , o f u s . O n c o n s u l t i n g a J S r a h m i i i I w a s (vibrations, rhythms). One organic action exercises in ­
i n f o r m e d t h a t w h e n t h e o l d U i s h i s t a u g h t u s t o a b s t a i n f r o m s o l i d fluence ou another organic action either directly or
f o o d t l ie v h a d s o m e m e d i c a l a d v a n t a g e i n v i e w . W h a t w a s t h a t remotely. The system of m an is in health when tb e
a d v a n t a g e ! C a n a n y o f y o u r r e a d e r s t h r o w s o m e f i g h t o n t h i s
rh ythm s of all the different organic actions are in perfect
s u b j e c t I
I rem ain , y o u rs o b ed ie n tly , harm ony with each other. W h en ev er there is any discord in
these different undulations we feel an uneasy sensation, and
II. IIA R D Y .
101, M alabar Ifill, October 1 i, 18S2.
such a discord being long continued produces an organic
d erangem ent or some functional d erangem ent called dis­
K o r r o a ’s N o t k . — T h e rationale o f f a s t s lie s o n t h e s u r f a c e . T f
ease.
t h e r e i . s 0110 t h i n g m o r e t h a n a n o t h e r w h i c h p a r a l y z e s t h e w i l l ­ One of the principal rh y th m s exhibited in th e system of
p o w e r iu m a n a n d t h e r e b y p a v e s t h e w a y t o p h y s i c a l a n d m o r a l m an is th a t of respiration. T he rhy th m of respira­
d e g r a d a t i o n it is i n t e m p e r a n c e in e a t i n g : " G l u t t o n y , o f s e v e n d e a d l y
tion is affected by the rhy th m s of tbe other organic actions.
s i n s t h e w o r s t . ” S w e d e n b o r g , a n a t u r a l - b o r n s e e r , i u ilis “ S t i n k
o f i n t e m p e r a n c e , ” tells b o w h i s s p i r i t f r i e n d s r e p r o v e d h i m Each function of th e brain as well as of th e body sends its
f o r a u a c c i d e n t a l e r r o r l e a d i n g t o o v e r - e a t i n g . I h e i n s t i t u t i o n o f rh ythm s to th e rh y th m of respirations, The r h y th m of
f a s t s g o e s b a n d i n h a n d w i t h t h e i n s t i t u t i o n o f f e a s t s . W h e n t o o respiration can be said to be composed of th e different
s e v e r e s t r a i n is m a d e 011 t h e v i t a l e n e r g i e s b y o v e r - t a x i n g t h e
rhy th m s of th e different functions in a m a n ’s body. W as
d i g e s t i v e m a c h i n e r y , t h e b e s t a n d o n l y r e m e d y is t o l e t it r e s t f o r
s o m e t i m e a u d r e c o u p it s elf a s m u c h a s p o s s i b l e . T h o e x h a u s t e d
th ere a tim e when a physician would have been able to
g r o u n d m u s t , b e a l l o w e d t o lie f a l l o w b e f o r e it c a n y i e l d a n o t h e r tell with m inute accuracy th e condition of a m a n s health
c r o p . F a s t s w e r e i n s t i t u t e d s i m p l y f o r t h e p u r p o s e o f c o r r e c t i n g by feeling the pulsations (rhythms) of his arteries.
t h e e v i l s o f o v e r - e a t i n g . T l i e t r u t h o f t h i s w i l l tie m a n i f e s t f r o m t h e Similarly if any one observes carefully th e tone an d
c o n s i d e r a t i o n t h a t t h e I’ u d d h i s t p r i e s t s h a v e n o i n s t i t u t i o n
o f f a s t s a m o n g t h e m , b u t a r o e n j o i n e d t o o b s e r v e t h e m e d i u m
rh ythm s of respiration, he will be able to read a m a n ’s
c o u r s e a n d t h u s t o “ f a s t ” d a i l y all tlieir life. A b o d y c l o g g e d conditions of health and feelings. Now„ every one who
w i t h a u o v e r s t u l t i n g o f f o o d , o f w h a t s o e v e r k i n d , is a l w a y s would tako th e trouble to examine the tone and
c r o w n e d w i t h a s t u p e f i e d b r a i n , a n d t i r e d n a t u r e d e m a n d s t h e rhythm s of his respiration a t th e tim e when his stomach is
r e p o s e o f s l e e p . T h e r o is a l s o a v a s t d i f l V a n c u b e t w e e n t h e p s y c h i c
full, and again a t a tim e when he is engaged iu intellectual
e f f e c t o f n i l .r o g o n i s e d f o o d , s u c h a s fle s h , a u d n o n - n i t r o g e n o u s
f o o d , s u c h a.s f r u i t s a n d g r e e n v e g e t a b l e s . C e r t a i n m e a t s , l i k e labour, would a t oncc discover th a t the time and rhy th m of
b e e f , a m i v e g e t a b l e s , l ik e b e a u s , l m v e a l w a y s b e e n i n t e r d i c t e d t o respiration in one case is totally different from t h a t in
s t u d e n t s o f o e. u l t i s m , n o t b e c a u s e c i t h e r o f t h e m w e r e m o r e o r le s s th e other. Moreover, wc all find it unpleasant to
h o l y t h a n o t h e i s , b u t b e c a u s e w h i l e p e r h a p s h i g h l y n u t r i t i o u s a n d
be engaged in intellectual labour when the stomach is full,
s u p p o r t i n g t o tlie b o d y , t h e i r m a g n e t i s m w a s d e a d e n i n g a n d
o b s t r u c t i v e t o t h e “ p s y c h i c m a n . ’'
which shows the discord existing between th e rh y th m s of
the function.
of. digestion
. .
and
.
the function of intellectual
i
labour. It is this discord which is the cause why men who do
much exercise their brains are so frequently found
dyspeptic'.
It is worthy of remark in this place that as a rule
persons wlio do much brain-work take a less quantity of
food than others.
I hope that my readers will think a little upon this
subject of the rhythm of respiration so that they may
apprehend tlie pertinency of wliat the Yoga prescribes
with respect to regulating the rhythm of respiration.
K r is h n a d h a n m u k e r j i
Bankipore, the 17th October, 1882.
-/■
KARMA.
1. We start with the supposition that the K a r m a (or
merit) theory is admitted, and that it explains all the
multifarious differences found between man and man, as
to the particular world lie is born in, the locality where
lie takes birth, his nationality, color, creed, status in
society, status in prosperity and physical, intellectual
and moral attainments, with their consequences and goal.
I might dilate upon this point to any length, but what
follows does not require it ; only that I wish parentheti­
cally to observe here that, when we hear others saying
“ my fate,” “ my destiny,” and “ my luck,” these arc synony­
mous with my K a r m a .
2. The question next suggesting itself is what is the
sphere of “ Karma/’—I am, what I am—the effect of my
actions iu my previous birth, and whatever I do I am
m a d e to do by my “ Karma,” every word that I utter,
every act that I perform, and every thought that my mind
thinks ? My “ Karma” is my leading string, and 1 am
incapable, therefore, of doing anything independent, of the
“ Karina” which rules me as a despot, or as expressed in
Sanscrit, I a m K a r m a d h i n a m . Thus, A l l that I a m lias
for its cause, my P tl r v a j a n m a K a r m a ; and, following the
reasoning in my previous birth, I must have been as
blind a slave of its previous Karina ; and, this carried
a d in finitum we are finally (suppose a, f i n a l i t y for an
instant) forced to admit that Karma existed before what is
now called “ I.”* The primal Karmas, then, of two different
individuals, say a maharaja and a scavenger, must have
been two (quite) different kinds, and there must have been
as many innumerable different kinds of Karmas as there
are kinds among men. I will not for the present go into the
question of the Karma of animals, vegetables, and inert
matter, for 1 should, have to sail on a shoreless ocean
without rudder or compass. If so, what is the origin of
Karma, how came the numberless species, and how
came the retailing of the “ I’s” (or Egos) under the
banners ot each of these species ? To answer at
least the last of these points, “ viz.” the reason
for the classification of “ I’s ” under separate Karma
leaders, I am obliged to introduce a dilemma, and we
might choose either of its two horns. It is, that in order
that an “ Ego” should get into the clutches of a particular
primal Karma, the “ Ego” must previously have been the
cause of Karina, which in turn became the “Ego’s” master;
and, therefore, that “ Ego” must have existed previous to
to any Karma. It was just stated that K a r m a preceded
altogether annihilated. “ I am” the effect of my previous
Karma, and still there is in me so much of the Ego left,
which can act independently for itself, and accumulate by
its acts all the causes that will produce effect at my next
birth ; and, with that birth and a few other manifestations
until tho end of that next birth, all the rest is left for the
Ego to do, which is, therefore, not included in ■ ‘‘he “ effect
total” of my Purvajanm a K arm a. I hope 1 have expressed
myself clearly, notwithstanding unavoidable repetitions;
and, I add, that tho question whether “ Karma or “Ego”
was original is similar to whether the bird or tho egg, the
seed or the plant or yet spirit or matter came first ? (N. B.
f .t .s . —the last simile should be understood in this way:—It may
be maintained “ Spirit” breathed Matter and created it
by its “ W I L L , ” or it may be extended that the essence or
the necessary result of a particular combination—mecha­
nical, chemical, magnetic—of .Matter is “ Spirit.”) At this
stage we will, then, suppose them as co-existent, and
subordinate one to the other. Can wc say that this
subordination, now of this, now of the other, is all produced
by chance ? Then all we see around us in rest also be
chance too;—the motions of the sun, and planets; the
fixed stars ; and nature’s Laws !! But these are regular
and unvarying; so are “ Karma” and “ I.” Tho next
question arises : a s s u m i n g of course that “ Ego” is the
primal originator of Karma, what makes the “Ego” create
that particular Karma rather than any other? Why
should my first Ego produce a Karma that will entitle
it to become a scavenger at its next birth rather than a
maharajah? There i.s the problem. W i l l you or any of
your correspondents lift it for me ? If anything would
induce me to become a Theosophist it is that you seem
to hold the keys to certain mysteries into which I may
be led, if only proper conditions are fullilled.
3. In this connection, 1 would ask, as one of your
contributors has already done, (1) why should hnve
“ Spirit” got itself entangled with gross matter, and
subject itself to endless suffering ? (2) Why should it
undergo the many trials that are attributed to the very
circumstance of tho entanglement, and laid at the door of
“ matter” which originated out of “ Spirit” and is sub­
ordinate to it? (3) It is held that “ bad” men gradually
lose their spirituality, and become more and more grossly
materialized, until t.he “Spirit” is “ annihilated” !
H a s matter, then, such a power over “ Spirit” ? We arc
for the present forced to lose sight of the fact (!) that
“ Spirit” breathed out matter, which (latter) is passively
acted upon by the former. Here is another side of the
puzzle.
4. In the same strain we might discuss the questions
concerning “ God” and “ Satan/’ and we might thus enter
into another and vaster field of doubt, and must and could
see the absurdities of the Religions which proclaim tho
doctrines of “ Hell” and “ Heaven.” But my present
subject is simply “ Karma.,” and, therefore I close after
inviting once more the attention of your readers and all
those interested in such subjects to an article, “Bad and
Good” published in the Madras P hilosophic Inquirer.
A. G o v i n d a C i i a r l u .
Camp Tiptur, Mysore Province, Scptr. 1882.
:
E d ito r ’s N o tr . — W e fear o u r c o rre sp o n d e n t, i.s lab o u rin g - under

Ego, and was holding “Ego” in subjection ever since v a rio u s m isco n cep tio n s,
v iew s of K arm a-- at its
A\r <^ \ v i l l n o t t o u c h u p o n
in cip ien t s ta g e — sin ce
liis
h is
very
id eas
o rig in a l
are his
eternity (the same as finality). Hence, the refreshing own, and he is as m uch e n title d to th e m a s a n y o n e else. Jiu t we
conclusion that this subject is a “ puzzle.” Let us, how­ - w i ll b rie fly answ er h is num bered q u e stio n s at tlie c lo se of Iho
ever, restrict the domain of Karma’s sphere, and allow letter.

“ Ego” some more privilege. I shall now state the case 1. S p irit got itself e n tan g led w ith gross m atter for th e sam e
thus :—It is true that “ what I am” is produced by r e a s o n t h a t lif e g e t s e n t a n g l e d w ith th e fe tu s m atter. It fo llo w ed

my previous Karma, not howover to the extent a law , a n d t h e r e f o r e c o u ld n o t h e lp t h e e n t a n g l e m e n t to occur.

that the power for the “ Ego” to assert itself again is 2. W e k n o w of no eastern
o rig in ated o u t of S p irit..”
p h ilo so p h y th a t tea c h e s
M a t t e r is a s e te r n a l a n d
th at " m a t t e 1-'
in d estru c tib le as
S p irit a n d o n e c a n n o t be m a d e c o g n iz an t to our senses w ith o u t the
o t h e r — e v e n t o o u r , t . h e h i g h e s t , s p i r i t u a l s e n s e . S p i r i t p e r se i s a n o n ­
* We a d m it n o th in g of tho k in d , for it w ould be very u u p h ilo - e n t it y a n d n u n -v x iile n e e . I t i s t h e n e g a t io n o f e v e r y a l l i r n m t i o n a i u l
so p liical.— E d , o f a il t h a t ' i s .
 3. No one ever held—ay far as we know—th a t S p irit could b e
annihilated under whatever circumstances. Spirit can get divorced o^
its manifested matter, its personality, in which case, it is the latter th e same string of causality th a t governs all n a tu re ; all
th a t is annihilated. N or do we believe th a t “ Spirit breathed out individuals composing hu m an kind react upon each other
M a tte r” ; b ut that, on the contrary, it is Matter which manifests
S p irit. Otherwise, it would be a puzzle indeed.
_ 4. Since we believe in neither “ God” nor “ S atan ” as personal­
ities or Entities, hence there is neither “ H eaven” nor “ Hell”
for us, in the vulgar generally accepted sense of tho terms. Hence
also—it would be a useless waste of time to discuss the question.
O C C U LT A C O U S T IC S .
I n your instructive and interesting note to th e article
headed, “ T haran a or Mesmerism,” published in the
T i i E O S O P i i t . S T for August, you say th a t tho H in d u Occultist
while practising Raja Yoga, hoars th e occult sounds as
e m anating from “ Moola A d haram .”
T hoar the occult sounds steadily and very clearly ; and
they constitute a powerful agency in concentrating my
mind. Ono of tho Upanishads, which specially tr e a t of
them, designates them (collectively) as B rahm a T a ra n ta ra
N a d a lia ; b u t I feel exceedingly anxious to know whether
th e venerable H im alayan A depts recognise this practice as a
mode of R aja Y o g a ; aud, if so, wliat are th e advantages,
physical, m ental and psychical, derivable from the hearing,
to its thoroughly m a tu re d state ? I, therefore, beg
to be enlightened on the subject-, as it is probable th a t
m any of our brethren would thankfully accept the
information above solicited.
“ A.” F. T. S.
15th A ug ust 1882.
E d i t o r ’s N o t e . — K n o w in g v e ry litlle (from the descrip­
tion given) of the naturo of tlia “ occult sounds” in question, we
are unable to class them w ith nny degree of c e rtain ty am ong tho
pract.iccs adopted by R aja Yoga. “ O ccult sounds”
o ccult or “ A stral L ig h t” aro certainly the earliest form of
innnifestations obtained by R aja Y o ga ; b u t w h e th e r in this p arti­
cular case it is tlie result of heredity or otherwise we of courso
ennnot decide from the scanty description given by our corres­
pondent. Many persons nrc born with th e faculty o f clairaudionce,
others w ith th a t of clairvoyance,— somo, w ith both.
SCH O PEN H A U ER A N D THEOSOPHY.
Effects follow causes w ith iron necessity ; besides, what
we w ithin our objective world call causes arc, properly
speaking, ouly the effects of previous effects, and so
upwards. Every so-called cause contains all issuing
effects, as it were, in a la te n t state.
T he objectivation of W ill in life consists of causality
producing succession of phenom ena and th e individualised
being, (Will to live as man) briugs into it, on becoming
objectivatcd, his acquired n a tu re — innate specific character.
W h a t wc commonly call character is noth in g more th an the
inborn nature manifesting itselfin course of time, according
to outward circumstances, upon which in th e progress of
lifetim e it reacts.
T he intrinsic structure, so to say, or tho m a n n e r of
being of th a t innate nature, is in itself not subject to the
law of causality or ra th e r of changes, being a n active
Force o f W ill, acting in a given state, w ith given
tendencies and qualities i n and u p o n th e world of
changes.
T h a t state, those tendencies and qualities, are tho
outcome of th e gestation after its K arm a of previous
existence. N o t always are th e outward opportunities or
inducem ents such as to favour the total unfolding of the
inborn character, be it good or bad, generally, th e
opportunities for fully revealing all tho la te n t qualities
fall short, or perm it only a feeble reaction, this we call
Fate, and our struggle (reacting) is e njoym ent or suffering
in objectivation— prosperity or adversity,
Meantime, opportunities are brought on or withheld at
and upon all n ature and reciprocally; b u t each according
to its specific being, so th a t tlio same causality pervades
the all, is b roug ht about and shaped by the all, is, in
fact, the a l l ; and W ill to Livo in the aggregate obtains
w hat it desired— objectivation, i. e., enjoym ent and suffer­
ing and guilt in its beings.. The sum total balances . . .
(perhaps ?)
Tho outcome of th e K a r m a of the previous state of
existence is th e aggregate of enjoyment and suffering of
th e actual one ; and, therefore, was d eterm ined by the
former, as effect of th a t cause. T h a t man, th e particle, is
not exem pt from this law on th e whole, is obvious. As
long as he lives, he objectivates his inborn nature
according to tlie opportunities, the inducements of the age,
and circumstances in which he is living. M any la te nt
qualities may perhaps only imperfectly find occasion to
reveal them selvos; or circumstances and his youthful
inexperience may alter, in course of Time, an d the
expressions in objectivation of his inborn nature
become more perfect ; however, in th a t case, his
n ature is not altered, b u t ho expresses more adequately
what is i n him, and, may be, when his n ature bends th a t
way, he may succeed by meditation to objectivate what
was unm anifested or stifled good in him, now reacting
upon th e formerly w a n tin g cause.
T h e la te n t good or th e la te nt wickedness in him is
drawn to the light by causality working from within and
w ithout him, and th e supply of th e la tte r above quality
exceeds the dem and.
I n this world of changes, everything is predeterm ined
to act an d re-act according to its being ; the law of
causality reigns suprem e ; as much as there is of good in
th e individual or in the aggregate may be elicited, and
to manifest itself, or also as much as there is in it of
nud wickedness, and the proportion is th e outcome of fore­
going objectivation. Still every man is responsible for
his own deeds and thoughts, under all circumstances,
and ignores often for how much for th e deeds of others
because he is th e W i l t , t o L i v e , is every m om ent what
lie desired to be, and every phase of th a t objectivation is
th e result of the specific, inner, unalterable nature, of.
th e quality of th a t Force which he objectivates as hum an
being reacting with its specific properties.
Iron causality regulates the cycles, past and p resent and
to come ; governs objectivation in all its phases, g re a t or
sm all; in this sense, everything is pre-determ ined, •
because objectivation is causality, is order, is chaos. .
“ By our deeds we learn to know w hat we are.” Our
deeds in objectivation have their results i n objectivation,
present or future, and we have to enjoy th e m or to suffer
from them ; and individually as well as more or less in our
species in Time, which forms a p a rt of objectivation ; but,
moreover, our individual Will to Live may have learned,
better, and the profits of t h a t lesson ‘w hen gathered
after death, will serve beyond Time, to hatch out after
gestation, a re-formed individual, to enjoy and to suffer
over again in objectivation, individually and with
aggregate nature.
D u rin g objectivation, th e individual is a Force o f W ill
tied to law, like electricity, gravitation, and all other
forces; death frees him, and his own desires, modified, or
perhaps not modified, by th e training undergone in Time,
remould his qualities accordingly beyond Time, for
succeeding objectivation as embodied W ill to Live, until
th e goal be attained for b e tte r or for worse ;— effects of
K arm a. _
The representation is interesting and often b e a u tifu l;
th e scenes are dramatic, often melodramatic, and command
th e most earnest a tte n tio n of th e spectator ; b u t the
players, who are the thing, and moreover defray th e
expenses of the representation, are wise when they desire
th e end. L. A. S a n d e r s , F. T. S.
Singapore, N ovem ber 1882.
 IN D IA N A G R IC U L T U R A L R EFO RM .
I n a former article I said th a t crops grown upon u n ­
m anured land diminish a t a very slow rate, if th e soil is
well ploughed every year. To give some idea of w hat the
r a te of diminution is, I will describe somo experim ents
m ade in England. Upon a piece of land well ploughed,
b u t not manured, wheat was grown every year from 18o2
to 1879.
F o r th e first 14 years, th e average yield was about 151-
bushels of grain and 14^ cwt. of straw annually. D u rin g
th e n ext 12 years, th e produce averaged 11 bushels of
grain and a b o u t 9 f cwt. of straw annually.
On two other plots of land, barley was sown in the samo
m ann er for 28 years. D urin g th e first 10 years, one plot
averaged 22$ and th e other 25 bushels of grain, per acrc.
I n th e succeeding 10 years, th e q u a n tity averaged 17 a
bushels in one plot and 8 | on th e other, p e r acre. These
20 years term inated in 1871, after which tim e a further
decrease in th e yield of grain took place annually. H o w ­
ever slowly u n m a n u re d land may deteriorate, its absolute
barrenness is only a question of timo, and long before
th a t tim e arrives th e crops will become so small th a t tho
cultivator must starve.
T he example of China and of some othor countries shows
t h a t if all th e m anu re obtained from th e men and animals
which eat th e food raised on a given tract of land could be
regularly re tu rn e d to it, the soil, with proper m a n a g e m e n t
would produce its crops year after year w ithout any
dim inution in fertility. In order to carry out this principle
fully, it is necessary to carry back to tbo country the
sewage of th e towns which draw th e ir food from it. T he
Only lands exempted from this necessity are those which
are annually overflowed by rivers from whose waters are
deposited quantities of finely divided soil mixed with
decomposed animal and vegetablo m atters.
I f the practice of m anu ring th e fields were to becomc
general in India, a g re at advance in th e well-being of the
ryot m ig ht be made by th e introduction of improved seeds ;
b u t with th e present system of cultivation these would
only hasten th e impoverishm ent of th e soil by tak in g
more out of it annually. (|)
I n addition to th e benefits m entioned in th e former
paper, as derivable from th e custom ot m a k in g hay, it is
evident that, in districts where pasture is plentiful, there
would be difficulty in collecting more th a n is required
for the cattle an d sheep in any one year. A large surplus
stock would th u s accumulate sufficient to keep th e animals
in good health during seasons of scarcity caused by failure
of the rains. I n this way th e ryot would be saved from
th e ruin to which he is now frequently a victim owing to
his oxen dying, and thus rendering him unable to cultivate
his fields unless he buy others with money borrowed a t an
enormous rate of interest.
A great loss of valuable food would be avoided if the
H in du cultivators could be induced to sell nu m b e rs of
cattle, quite useless from old age or lameness, which aro
now found in almost every village herd, and which live on
year after year eating food th a t is badly w anted for others.
Besides the injury sustained by th e owners, owing to
young growing animals and working oxen not having
enough to eat, it should be rem em bered t h a t there is no
real kindness in allowing old an d lame cattle to live.
They are often in pain, and during m any m onths of each
year are liable to suffer perpetual h u n g e r from the
difficulty they experience in walking over sufficient ground
to procure the grass they require. All this m igh t be
avoided by selling th em to Mussulmans and others who
eat the flesh of the ox.*
Considerable benefit would result if more care th a n
a t present were ta k e n in supplying cattle and sheep with
jmro water. They aro frequently allowed to drink from
swamps or stag nant pools into which the filth th a t
accumulates upon the ground close to a village is washed
during tho rains. The w ater from these places swarms with
worms, insects and various products of putrefaction which
cause such diseases as fevers and dysentery, and destroy
groat num bers of cattle every year.
To ono who, like myself, has lived for years amongst E n g '
lisli farmers, th e advice given both n o w a n d in my last
communication seems so simple as to be almost childish :
yet I know t h a t if it wero followed, th e comfort and happi­
ness of tho In d ia n agriculturist m ight be immensely
increased ; and th e re is no suggestion in it th a t could not
easily bo carried out in all districts which are not over­
populated. W h e n th e people have multiplied to such a
degree th a t tho earth has not sufficient pasture, there
is no remedy b u t emigration, and it really seems a pity
th a t they should starve as they do a t present, while th e re
aro thousands of square miles of unoccupied rich land in
Assam and Burm ah.
j . J . M E Y I U C K .
Norwich, Oth D ecem ber 1882.
T IIK V A C C I N A T I O N Q U E S T IO N IN SW IT Z E R ­
L A N D A N D I N T H E E N G L I S H P A R L IA M E N T .
I am indebted to some friend for a copy of the
Sep tem b er num ber of your able journal, T h e T h u o s o p h i s t ,
which, I observe, contains an im partial notice o f tlie aims
and objects of tho Vaccination fm /uiree anti H ealth
Review. Erom this notice, I infer th a t tho conductors of
th e T u e o s o i ’ U i s t are earnestly seeking th e tru th , and feel
no more fettered by the dogmas of medical orthodoxy than
they are bound by those of theological orthodoxy. I will,
therefore, w ith -y o u r permission venture to bring beforo
you one or two im p ortant incidents in th e now wide-
reaching agitation against state medicine.
On th e first of J a n u a r y last, at the instance of an active
medical propaganda, tho Swiss Federal Chambers passed
a Vaccination law of an unusually strin g e n t character.
The penalties which m ight be imposed upon recalcitrants
were as high as 2,000 francs and one y e a r’s imprisonment.
T he law was hailed by the loading medical jou rn als'iu
Europe as a g re a t victory for the advocates of the
Je n n e ria n rite, and a crushing blow to the anti-Vaccinators,
whoso second Inte rn a tion al Congress had b u t a short time
previously been held at Cologne. Forty delegates were
present, representing eight nationalities, Switzerland
having sent a distinguished delegate in Dr. A. Vogt, P ro­
fessor of H ygiene and Medicine a t Berne University.
The victors, however, counted w ithout their host, and their
triu m p h has been of b u t short duration. According to
the Swiss C onstitution th e people havo tho righ t of a
Referendum , or an appeal from th e decisions of the
Federal Chambers to the suffrage of the people, providing
30,000 signatures are obtained. Only ninety days from
th e date of the promulgation of tho law (on th e 14th
F ebruary) were allowed for this purpose,but the Swiss people
* T h i s , w e a r e a f r a i d , w i l l n e v e r m e e t w i t h t h e a p p r o b a t i o n o f
t h e m a s s e s o f H i n d u p o p u l a t i o n . W e r e t h e g o o d e x a m p l e f u r n i s h e d
b y o u r e x c e l l e n t b r o t h e r K . M . S h r o f f o f B o m b a y b u t f o l l o w e d b y
s o m e o f t h e p r i n c i p a l c it i e s a n d h o s p i t a l s f o r w i c k a n d o l d a n i m a l s
e s t a b l i s h e d o n t h e s a m e p r i n c i p l e t h e r e w o u l d b e n o n e e d f o r s u c h
a c r u e l m e a s u r e . F o r , a p a r t f r o m t h e r e l i g i o u s r e s t r i c t i o n s a g a i n s t
“ c o w - k i l l i n g , ” it is n o t v e g e t a r i a n I n d i a w h i c h c o u l d e v e r a d o p t
t h e o t h e r w i s e s o u n d a d v i c e , a n d c o n s e n t t o b e c o m e p a r l y t o t h e
v i l e p r a c t i c e o f b u t c h e r y . O f all t h e d i e t s v e g e t a r i a n i s m is c e r t a i n l y
t h e m o s t h e a l t h y , b o t h f o r p h y s i o l o g i c a l a n d s p i r i t u a l p u r p o s e s ;
a n d p e o p l e i n I n d i a s h o u l d r a t h e r t u r n t o t h e e a r n e s t a p p e a l m a d e
r e c e n t l y i n t h ePioneer b y M . A . O . I f n i n e , I 1' . T . S . a n d f o r m
“ v e g e t a r i a n ’' S o c i e t i e s , t h a n h e l p t o m u r d e r i n n o c e n t a n i m a l s . — J i n .
 had not forgotten tlieir traditions and previous struggles
for freedom, and were equal to the occasion. A despatch
from Bale has ju s t readied me, which states th a t not only
have thoy tho 30,000 signatures required, b u t th ey have
obtained a surplus of about 50,000 to 79,000 and upward in
all (the largest vote ever polled fora similar purpose), which
have been laid beforo the President of the Confederation.
T h e final vote was taken on the 1st of J u l y when tho
advocates of state medical coercion received a most
disastrous and crush ing defeat,, tho Vaccination Law
h *»’in,£r being rejected by a majority of 2.">.‘i,!)(hS, against
07,830 ! am idst the rejoicings of an em ancipated people.
I t will interest some of your readers to learn th a t
arran gem en ts aro in active progress for holding the third
In te rn a tio n a l Anti-Vaccination Congress a t Berlin in the
m onth of February. Many distinguished professors of
medicine and hygiene, statisticians, publicists and jurists
have already promised to be present, to take p a rt in th e
proceedings, and I v enture to hope th a t In d ia will not be
unrepresented. A m ong those who are interested in this
international movem ent against compulsory disease a r e :
Mr. H e r b e r t Spencer, Mr. I1'. VV. N ew man, E m eritus
Professor; Prof. Mayor of Cam bridge U n iv e rsity ; .Dr.
Fabius, Professor of Jurisprudence, A m s te r d a m ; Dr. G. F.
Kolb, Member Extraordinary of th e .Royal Statistical
Commission of Bavaria ; Dr. Em ory J. Coderre, Professor
of M ateria Medica, Victoria U niversity, M o n tr e a l ; Prof.
Moses Coit Tyler, of Cornell University, N ow York, Dr,
Robert Collyer, of Now York, aud Rector P. A. Siljcstrom r
of Sweden, Mr. P. A. Taylor, M. P. and m any ol!:ors. T he
grounds for th is opposition are th e accum ulation of
unimpeachable evidence, th a t while on tho one h and th e
municipal and national statistical re tu rn s from all
European S ta te s dem onstrate t h a t vaccination, both
hum anized and bovine, as practised for e ighty years, has
had no influence in either arresting or dim inishing small­
pox, it has on th e othor hand been th e means of inducing
a variety of frightful disorders, th ereb y greatly increasing
infant m ortality and deteriorating the public health. A
bill is now before the House of Commons for tho repeal
of tho compulsory clauses of tho Vaccination Act, which
has passed tho first reading by a m ajority of 40, on a
division, including tho Prim e Minister, Mr. W. E. Forster,
Sir William Harcourt, Lord Hart,ing ton, Sir Charles
Dilke, Mr P. A. Taylor and all t.he loading mem bers of the
Liberal party, tho opponents being chiefly H om e Rulers
and obstructionists. The second reading has been postponed
owing to obstruction to ordinary legislation caused by the
calamitous state of affairs in Ire lan d and Egypt.
Mr. C. II. TTopwood called atte n tio n in tho H ouse of
Commons to tho tragedy in Algiers, fifty-eight, young
m en of the F o u rth R egim ent of Zouaves having been
inoculated with tho most terrible of all diseases by
vaccination, as reported by certain Algerian, F re n c h and
English journals. T he P resident of th e Local G overnm ent
Board stated th a t he had directed a n o th e r application to
bo addressed to th e Foreign Office for fu rth e r details of
this painful disaster.
W il l ia m T e b b , F.R.G.S.,
7 A lbert Road, R e g e n t Park, London.
E d i t o r ’s N o t e . — T h e subject of compulsory V accination
deeply c o u c c rm tho people of India, who n u m b e r 25 kotis, and
by law are compelled, inulor sevcro penalties for refusal or
neglect, to bo vaccinated. Tlio letter from Mr. T ebb, th o
philanthropist, will lie read w ith in terest no doubt. W e give
it place therefore, altho ug h wo should not bo w illing to open
often our editorial doors to questions w hich aro alm ost outsido our
limits. T h o T iiE O sorm sx has to w ar upon another a n d even
worso form of inoculation— tlio empoisoning o f the H in d u
miiul w ith the views o f m o d ern scepticism.
S P I R I T U A L I S T I C B L A C K MAGIC.
[Certain allegations by a “ Caledonian Theosophist,” as
to the spread of immoral ideas and even practices, in
certain spiritualistic circles a t London, were printed in the
T h e o s o i m i i r t for A pril last, and indignantly denounced by
sundry correspondents in th e num ber for July. The
accuser was editorially called upon to m ake good his
charges, and by returning post he sent the following
communication. A t the time ofits arrival, the E dito r was
very ill, and shortly after went, under orders, to S ik kh im
to m eet certain of the B r o t h e r s . The m a tte r has thus
been unavoidably delayed. T he communication from Lon­
don to our correspondent, wc must say, p u ts a very grave
aspect upon th e case, and apparently warrants the position
taken up by th e latter, as well as our editorial strictures.
I t is, however, unfit for publication in these pages.
Readers of Des M ousseaux will find similar examples of
a u th e n tic a te d im moral relationships between mortals and
elementaries, narrated in bis “ Mcours ot P ratiq ues des
Demons,” and “ H a u ts Phenom enes de la Magic” (pp. 228
et. seq.) ; and other authors, among th e m th e Catholic
Fath ers, have discribed them. Recently a case in India,
where the victim was actually killed by his horrid syren,
and another in an adjacent country, where a most estimable
lady was sacrificed, have come to our knowledge. I t is a
terrible contingency for th e patrons of “ Spirit materialisa­
tion” to face, th a t too close intercourse with these moral
vampires of materialised “ guides,” may load to spiritual
ruin and even physical death. W ith this preface, we give
place to our correspondent’s letter.—Ed. T i i e o s . ]
I have j u s t received th e J u ly T l l E O R O P H l R T , and am
vexed to find th a t I have indirectly boon th e cause of
your having had so m uch troublo in replying to th e letters
from tiie British Theosophists. I write in order to catch
to-morrow’s mail, therefore my rem arks m ust be brief and
hurried.
W h y all this ru m p us about truth, simply because I
have w ritten a few sta te m e n ts about some practices I
knew ta k in g place am ongst the London Spiritualists, the
t r u t h of which I can vouch for? Truly, as you remark,
th e re can be b u t a small minority of strictly pure and
moral mediums, who by a prolonged course assist in the
development of those materialised unclean-creature guides
and angels. A lth oug h I am personally acquainted with
several mediums, at whose soancos such revolting occur­
rences have ta k en place, this is no reason why I should
drag their names before tho public, n eith er will I do so ;
b u t the enclosed letter from a thoroughly well-informed
and highly respected London S p iritu a list— a well-known
w riter upon Mesmerism and th e H e rm e tic Mysteries to
boot, and one from whom even Dr. G. W yld has personally
drawn inspiration— will sub stantiate at least to you, the
veracity of what I stated in a private letter to my H in d u
friend and brother. Mr. T ........T ..........namely, th a t m ateria­
lisation, “ circles are a curse ra th e r than a blessing ; th a t
such abominations tak e place not only in America, but
th a t in London also, Spiritualism has in m any cases
degenerated
o into Black Magic.”
o
I t is useless to argue the well-known fact th a t
materialisations and th e lower physical phenomena
engender immorality and inharmony in the minds of those
who attend such seances, and it is quite an anomaly to
term those spiritualists, whose only motive is a curiosity
to witness some of th e gross phenom ena engendered by
pisachas through tlis occult forces ; b u t when one
commences to live a truly spiritual life there comes a
power which most Mediums are ignorant of. I t is mere
waste of tim e loitered away in materialistic and other
phenomenal pursuits ; tim e —which should have been
employed in a steady onward spiritual progress in this
world of preparation. • .
 W h y disguise or hide those unp alatable tr u th s ? T here I S S U I C I D E A C R IM E i
certainly is no pleasure in repeating th e m o ther than the
satisfaction of having performed a duty, by calling a t t e n ­ Though th e editorial note in reply to my queries has
tion to facts which should receive th e m ost careful a tte n ­ cleared some difficulties, I can by no means pretend th a t
it is satisfactory. I t is argued th a t a man has as much
tion. W hen our President* knows and adm its such to be
righ t to p u t an end to liis existence—simply because it is
th e case, as proved by his own rem arks quoted by you
from L ight, it is b u t quite consistent t h a t he should useless— as he has to incite to suicide all th e incurable
prom inently warn Theosophists-Spiritualists of th e dangers invalids a n d cripples who are a constant source of misery
incurred. A m I then a simple minor fellow, such a gross to th e ir families. T his may or may not be th e case ; b u t
this much I shall certainly affirm th a t ail incurable invalid,
“ liar” and “ libeller'’ for sta tin g w h at I know to be
who finds himself powerless for good in this world, has no
the t r u t h ; b u t the spiritualisation of m an is neglected,
righ t to exist.* I f lie is simply physically a cripple, while
whilst th e materialisation of spirit is cultivated, and along
with th is w h a t have we,but self-constituted “ Jesus Christs,” his m ental energies aro of a n atu re to enable him to bene­
fit his fellew-men, th e n the conditions are altered and he
Eliases, J o h n the Baptists, Queen Esthers, &c., &c. ?
m u st continue to live even at tlie cost of personal suffering.
Those magnetic currents of th e generality of the
B u t such is evidently i n t “ M’s” case. H e is not a cripple,
E lem entaries p artake essentially of th e ir own base nature.
l i e lias no piercing agonies driving him to frenzy that
W h a t benefit accrues th e m from such physical seances ?
knows no relief b u t in death. H e th inks he can pull on
T rue Theosophy has nothing to do with such, quite the
tolerably well forhimsclftliough he suffers; th ere is th e com­
contrary, only if leading British Theosophists advocate tlie
mon lot of h u m an ity to console him. B u t what about those
scientific utility of this phase of Spiritualism, upon the
num erous creatures lie sees around him fall “ like leaves of
plea of “ a search for tru th ,” it will be like th e foolish
wintry w e a th e r ? ” T he sight of them, ami his own inability
school boy stirring with wind the clear w ater of the well,
to be useful drive him to despair. Disabused of every
in order to recover th e coin lost a t th e bottom.
kind of illusion w ith respect to his capacity, he has dis­
Spirito-Theosophists are so much prejudiced in their
covered th e landm ark of his u nderstanding beyond which
own conceit th a t tliey refuse to listen to th e teachings
he cannot proceed ; and this discovery would not justify
of .the very highest and best authorities who most u n ­
him to rem ain here on earth wasting his energies, and
questionably know , those professors of ancicnt wisdoni-
assimilating food th a t m ight perhaps sustain a man much
philosophy who for thousands of years have continuously
worthier to live. T his being “ M’s” case, I do not see what
devoted th e ir noble and self-sacrificing lives to the tru th s
makes it criminal in him to p u t an cud to his existence.
of such, and who so plainly exhort aspiring Members to
W h a t the result of th e action— 1 cannot call it crime— may
sh u n such intercourse. B u t none are so blind as those
be, I cannot pretend to know, not being an occultist ;
who will not see.
b u t this much is certain th a t the moral law which guides
Man can become from th e capacities of his higher
tho destinies of men, in order to be just, m ust be one th a t
divine origin capable of a far higher sphere of activity, as
should reward, and not punish, as tlie occultists would
well w ithout as w ithin himself, which not only gives him
insinuate, such an act of emancipation on “ M’s” part.
dominion over his own, b n t over surrounding nature. I may
‘ A n y th in g is butter,’ it is argued, ‘ than committing
herein observe th e case of my own sister whose morality
su icid e, the most dastardly, and cowardly of all actions,
has never been called in question, who, a few years ago
unless the fe lo de se is resorted to iu a fit of insanity.’
atten ded a circle conducted by one of the oldest of the
‘ A nything,’ I r e p ly ,‘ is b e tte r than leaving the place of
London mediums. T he result was, I am sorry to say,
your birth, with myriads of your fellow-men pining in all
t h a t th e aared
O relative,' b e i n O
g a sensitive,' in a few weeks
kinds of woes, for a desert or a ju n g le to indulge th e em an­
became a powerful medium, and was so m uch pestered
cipation of your soul.’ Why, where is th e difference bet­
during day as well as night, by th e visions and pranks of
ween th e two, between M, who makes away with himself
those “ spooks,” t h a t her life became an intolerance.
and your h e rm it of th e ju n g le ? Both leave th e ir country ;
Subsequently, I relieved h e r from such a Pandemonium.
both cast off worldly cares ; both DESTROY’ th e ir physical
H e r husband, son, and daughter, who live in this vicinity,
natures ; both desire the ‘ embodied joy’ of au untram meled
will substantiate my statem ents at any time, if necessary.
s p i r i t ; only one goes as far as to destroy with the substance,
A brother-in-law was placed in even a worse position. Then
its shadow which the o ther vainly strives to retain. Where
I have H. . . an d Randolph and th e ir “ spirit mothers,”
this so-called cowardly dastardliness lies, I fail to see, when
Forster &c., b u t alas there are too many cases to quote from.
the same th in g or wlnit conies to th e same th in g is exalted
I n conclusion I m ust herein remark, t h a t our British
into a merit. (Answers 4 and 5 will be examined another
Theosophical Society is in my hum ble opinion, a little too
time).
aristocratic. W h y not follow th e precepts of Gautama, as
well as those of Je su s Christ, viz., open th e door for the M’s arg um ents are not exhausted. H e gradually u n ­
poor, the ignorant, and th e hard-working, as well as for folds his views to his friends, reserving to himself the right,
th e affluent, th e learned, and the idle ? Such is not the if I u nderstand him rightly, to do away with himself w hen­
the case however, as to my certain knowledge a “ poor” ever he think s he has sufficiently examined his own a rg u ­
b u t “ honest”— aye and good-labouring man from Ireland, ments, and his own heart. Before taking such a grave
communicated w ith the Secretary about two years ago, step, he has done well to have his views examined and
regarding his admission, b u t poor Mr. P ......... ’s. le tte r how­ modified, if possible.
ever was—like in th e ir tu rn several other letters of the A n I n q u ir e h .
British Fellows to Swami D. Sarasw ati— never replied to
oven. _ ANSWER.
T l i e case w a s w id e ly d i f f e r e n t h o w e v e r w i t h t h e p a r e n t
[W e have asked a b r o llic r -'l'h e o s o p h is t, a n e s te e m e d p h y sic ia n
S o c ie t y , fo r h e n o t o n ly re c e i v e d h is d i p l o m a fro m B o m ­
to a n s w e r th e a b o v e .— E n .]
b a y , b u t w as n e v e r c h a r g e d a fee, a n d liis a n n u a l s u b s c r i p ­
t i o n for t h e T i i e o s o p i t i s t k i n d l y r e t u r n e d to h i m a n d T he E d ito r of the T h e o s o p h i s t has so cxhaustingly
f o r w a r d e d g ra tis. replied to the various points touching this question
H is merits were b e tte r understood in th e E ast than th a t nothing is left for me to answer to “ An In q u ire r’s”
nearer home, for. lette r about this subject. H is examples, I am sorry, are
Tlie rank is but the guinea stamp,
all unhappy ones, and his a rgum ents as lame as could be.
T h e man’s t h o g o w ’d f o r a ’ t h a t .
* A n d t h e a f l i r m a l i o n — w i t h a v e r y , v e r y f e w e x c e p t i o n s — w i l l b o
A C a l e d o n ia n T h e o s o p h is t . a s v e h e m e n t l y d e n i e d l i y e v e r y o c c u l t i s t , s p i r i t u a l i s t , a n d philo­
sopher, o n g r o u n d s < |u i U ' t h e r e v e r s e o f t h o s e b r o i m h t f o r w a r d b y
C h r i s t i a n s , i n “ g o d l e s s ” i i u d d h i s m s u i c i d e is a s h a t e f u l a n d a b s u r d ,
• D r . G . W y l d , P r e s i d e n t o f t h o “ JJritlah T h o o s a p h i c u l (So clo ty,” w h o
s i n c e u o o n o c a n e s e a p o r e b i r t h b y t a k i n g h i s life,-— E d .
s m c o t h o u h a s r o l i n n u i s h o d o H ic o,— E d ,
 U n d e r w hatever circumstances suicide is committed
it m u st be called a most cowardly and insane act. I
m ain tain th a t suicide is n either justifiable nor desirable,
th o u g h some so-called philosophers would lead us to
believe so. M.’s case which ‘' A n In q u ire r” m entions in
his le tte r is rather against th e doctrine t h a t suicide is
justifiable. Persons like M., I should say, are the very
ones, who can do much good to society. I u my
opinion he is the best and wisest man who tries to do
good to liis fellow creatures unselfishly, and actually feels
for the failure. Who can be a more true patriot th a n
he who is desirous to com mit suicide simply because
of his unsuccessful a tte m p ts to benefit his follow creatures ?
Should we not want such true patriots to work among us
j u s t now ? In this sinful world of ours I th in k th ere arc
only a small percentage of men like M. and none, should be
hopeless like him. H ope sustains the mind. Be hopeless and
you are a t onco a worthless fellow. Live and learn should be
our motto. But, if you end your existence w h a t example
do you sot to your follow m en for whose benefit you die au
unn atural death ? You say you die because you f a i l to do
good to socicty. B u t by such a cowardly act you
only set an example of impatience, restlessness, despair
and self-murder. T hu s unintentionally you set a very
unhealthy and mischievous example to those 'whom you
try to benefit. “ An I n q u ir e r ” says th a t all may secure
a t the next birth more favourable conditions and thus be
b e tter able to work out th e purpose of being. M.’s cowardly
act, I should say, can never be excused on this suppositious
ground. How can a soul im prove in th e n e x t world which
in its former existence was im pa tie n t with m istaken zeal of
earnestless. Tt is well-known to spiritualists th a t the
soul retains much of its vices and virtues after leaving its
shell, and who knows w hat may be its capacity in th e next
world, or rebirth ? Most probably the J 'a jo will (if w e ju d g e
from analogy) wait for sometime and again commit
suicide in the hope of securing a still more favourable life
in another n e x t world. Thus lie will go on continu­
ing comm itting suicide. Besides, m u rd e r should always
be considered a crime, and suicide is as m uch a m urder
as any other. In ju d g in g th e crime attached to it, wc
should enquire about th e religious creed of the Inquirer.
I f he docs not believe iu N ir v im u and th in k s th a t one
soul’s age is also only “ three scores and ten,” th e n of course
he may argue th a t the sooner lie dies e ither by n a tu ra l or
unn atural means the b e tte r for him. B u t if wc have faith
in N irv a n a , and believe tha t our Spirits aro im m ortal and
need progress, th en suicide as a m a tte r of course should
be considered not only a social crime and cowardly act, b u t
as something neither desirable nor justifiable.
B r o j k n d u a N a t h B
A llahabad, Nov. 21, 1SS2.
HO RO SCO PES AND ASTROLOGY.
A custom is prevalent a m ongst th e high classes of well
todo 1 lindus, from tim e immemorial to have horoscopes p r e ­
pared by pandits pretending to be versed in Astrology.
I n such documents all the p rom in en t future events per­
ta in in g to the life of a child arc embodied by th e so called
Astrologer, who of course is well r e m u n e ra ted for his
labor by tlio parents or guardians. This custom has been
carried out np to tho present time, llo w far th e events
th u s predicted happen to pass and to coincide actually
with facts throu gh ou t the length of a m a n ’s life, is not
easy to find out, as the ambiguous sentences and
technical term s used in the horseopes defeat, th e aim of
au inquirer for testing tr u th ; b u t on th e other hand they
lead the majority of credulous persons to form th e ir
staunch belief in the same.
A n othe r custom prevalent amongst H in d u s of the
better classes and mainly connected with th e above su b­
ject, is the rigid practice of resorting to calculations made
by village or city p an dits throu gh the said horoscopes of
th e “ R asbarg” of a couple intended to be wedded. The
consummation of marriage of the latter depends on the
various comparative connections with each others “ Ras-
bag,” said to be pointed out by such calculators. These
pretend to predict thereby th e future m u tu a l love and
happiness or woe of th e intended consortship ; and, un­
less they predict th e required bliss and harm ony in every
respect, the marriage of th e chosen couple (howsoever
agreeable in every o ther way to the feelings and good
sense of th e p arents and friends) cannot be allowed to
ta k e place. Nevertheless, and horoscopes notwithstanding,
such couples arc very often led to form disagreeable aud
unfortunate wedlocks.
B u t now as a different class of men is coming out of
schools and colleges im bued with "W estern th ou gh t
and new ideas, they often succeed, when discussing on
such subjects with pandits aud astrologers as described
above, to defeat th e m and convince th e public with
unanswerable arg u m e n ts th a t our astrologers are no
b e tte r than charlatans. They emphatically declare tha t
it is beyond the power of any hum an being to predict the
events of m a n ’s destiny in this world with any degree of
truthfulness.
The allegations of one pa rty and the denial of th e other
having created doubts in my mind as to th e truthfulness
of predictions, horoscopes, and astrological calculations of
" R asbarg” for consum m ation of marriages, in order to
relieve my m ind of this burden, I have th o u g h t expedient
to refer th e m a tte r to you. I now solicit th e kindness of
your taking the trouble to enlighten me with your personal
views on the subject.
The insertion of this letter, together with a reply in
an editorial note, in a com er of your highly esteemed
journal, will be confering a benefit upon the H in d u com­
m unity in general, and grantin g a source of relief to my­
self from th e dubious position which I occupy a t present.
K i n o o R o t , (A. R. R. Dept.)
Saharanpur, 28th October, 1882.
E t>tTon’s N ote .— Our answer is short nmi easy, since our
views upon the subject arc no secret, and havo been expressed a
number of limes in these columns. We believe in astrology as
we do in mesmerism and homeopathy. All the three are facts
nnd (ruths, when regarded ns sciences; but the samo may not
be said of either all the astrologers, all the mesmerists or every
liomeopntliist. We believo, in short, in astrology as n science ;
but disbelieve in most of its professors, who, unless they nre
a n k i u k r , trained in it in nccordanco with tho methods known for
L . M . S . F . T . S .
long ages to adepts and occultists, will, most of them, remain
for ever empiricists and often quacks.
T l i e complaint brought forward by our correspondent in
reference to the “ class of men coming out of schools aud
colleges,” who, having imbibed Western thought and new
ideas, declare that a correct prediction by means of astrology is
nn impossibility, is just in one sense, and ns wrong from another
standpoint. I t isju s t in so far ns a blank, a priori denial is
c o n c e r n e d , nnd wrong if we attribute the mischief only to
“ W estern thought and new idefls.” Even in the days of remote
antiquity when astrology and horoscopic predictions were
universally believed in, owning to thnt same class of quacks nnd
ignorant charlatans—n class which in every age sought but to
m a k e money out of the most sacred truths, were found men
of tho grentosr, intelligence, but knowing nothing of Hermetic
sciences, denouncing the augur and the abnormis sapiens whose
only aim was a mean desiro of, n real lust for gain. I t is moro
than lucky that the progress of education should have so far
enlightened the minds of the rising generations of India ns to
hinder ninny from being imposed upon by the numerous and
most pernicious nnd vulgnr superstitions, encouraged by the
venal lJrnhmans, and only to serve a mero selfish end of aura
sacra fames or trading iu most sacred things. For, if those
superstitions held their more modern forefathers in bonduge, the
same cannot be said o f the old Aryns. Everything iu this univorso
—progress nud civilization among the rest—moveB 114 regular
cycles. H e nce, now as well as then, everytliinjj; w ith a pretence
to science requ ires a system supported, at least by a semblance
of argu m en t, if it would entrap the unw ary. And this, we
m ust allow, native quackery has produced and supplied freely
in astrology ami horoscopy. O u r native astrologers have made
of a sacred science a despicable trade ; aud their clever baits so
well calculated to impose on minds even of a h ig h e r calibre than
the m ajority o f believers in bazaar horoscopc.rs lying in wait
on th e m a id a n s , have a far greate r ri g h t to pretend to have
become a re g u la r science than th eir modern astrology itself.
Unequivocal m a rk s o f the consanguinity of the latter with
quackery being discovered at every step, w h y wonder th a t
educated y o u th s coming out o f schools and colleges should
emphatically declare native modern astrology in In d ia —
w ith some ra r e exceptions— no b etter than a hu m bug ?
Y e t no more H in d u s than E uropeans have any r i g h t to declare
astrology und its predictions a fiction. Such a policy was
tried witli mesmerism, homeopathy and (so-called) spiritual
phenomena ; and now the men of science are beginning to feel
th at they may possibly come out of their affray w ith fa c t s with
an y th in g b u t flying colours and crowns of laurels on their
LUltL' A- CHELAS AND KNOW ERS.
I am ordered by our Masters to draw th e a ttention of our
influential Brother, A. Sankariah, of Cochin, to the fol­
lowing. In a le tte r to the Editor, in th e last Theosoi'HI.st
upon th e Adi Brahm o Somaj he o b se rv e s:— “ I
am in ignorance of B rahm a and w ant to get a t the
knowing, and sym pathise with Chela Iiro th er “ H . X.”,
who finds th e Knowers ra th e r cautious and reticent.”
Those “ Knowers” ( who are none o ther th a n our Mas­
ters) bid me say to Mr. Sankariah in the kindliest spirit,
th a t he should have made H. X / s title th a t of “ Lay
Chela”— quite a different relationship to them , th a n th a t of
Chela ; a n d — even th a t connection has been twice
already voluntarily broken by him, for the reasons above
specified. As, in th e Theosophical Society, th ere are
Active fellows and Corresponding fellows, th e latter,
defined in th e Rules to be “ persons of le arning and dis­
tinction who are willing to furnish information of interest
to the Society,” while th e former are actively occupied
w ith its work, so th e re is a distinction between
clicks learning un d e r our Masters. T h e re are Regular
Clielas—those who have “ tak en the v o w s/’ who are w ith ­
drawn from th e world and are personally in the company
of th e Mahatmas ; and “ Lay” and even “ semi-lay”
Clielas, who are wholly or partially iu the world, perhaps
m en of family, who have a sym pathy for th e adepts and
their science, b u t who are unable or not yet willing to take
lip the recluse life. T he “ K now ers” are always cautious as
to w hat they say, and when, and to whom. T heir habitual
reticence giadually lessens only towards tlio active, or
regular Clielas, as they develope th e ir h ig h e r selves and
become fit to be instructed. N o one could reasonably
expect th a t they should be unreserved w ith those who are
tied by no vow or promise, and are free not only to break
connection a t any m om ent with th e ir teachers, b u t even
to traduce and charge them with every iniquity before th e
world. W ith such, the ir relationship becomes more and
more confidential only as time proves th e correspondent’s
sincerity and loyal good f a i t h ; it may grow into close
confidence or into estrangement, according to deserts. A
foreigner unsym pathetic with our m ethods and im patient
of th e rules which have bound our order from tim e im m e ­
morial, may well be pardoned for wishing to ignore these
facts. B u t it does seem strange th a t a H in d u born, the
P r e s i d e n t of a H in d u Sabha, and moreover a man so
learned in our ancient lore— all of which our B rother S a n ­
kariah is— should so mistake th e laws of adeptship as to
publicly side with the im aginary grievances of a “ L a y ”
Chela, a n o n -H in d u . Great, beyond dispute, as his services
to the Theosophical Society have been, yet “ H. X.” has
always assumed and from the first, ra th e r th e a ttitu d e of
a debater th a n th a t of a Chela ; has ra th e r laid down the
law th au appeared anxious to learn or willing to wait until
he should have gained the full confidence of th e
,f Knowers." (By order.)
' TsoNa-KA U n -G w e n .
T H E T A N T R A S A N D T H E IR T E A C H IN G S.
I have the kind permission of Babu llaj N a ra in Bose to
publish th e following contained in a letter to iny address,
in your esteemed journal :—
“ T he T an tras are divided into three great classes : first,
th e S a k ta T a n t r a ; second, the Vaishnava T antras ; and
third, the B uddhist Tantras. T he Vaishnava T antras in te r ­
dict the use of flesh and wine. The names of the T a n tra s
are a legion; of the Tantras, the Mahauirvana T a n tra is th e
best. A lthough most of these tre at o fth e b lae k art, we should
learn from them the methods for controlling tho forces
of nature, which they teach without applying them to the
accomplishment of malicious purposes if at all they success­
fully teach th e same as they pretend. This would extend
the dominion and resources of science to an e x te nt not
dream t of in Europe. T he great principle which u nd e r­
lies th e T a n tra s is familiarisation with evil, so as to show
to th e world th a t it is no evil, b u t happiness in disguise ;
happiness arrising from th e moral conciousness of trium ph
over evil. T he God Shiva, the Grand Master of the
Tantric Masonhood, is the highest type of this
familiarization with, and mastery over evil. H e is repre­
sented as preferring tiger-skin to pompous dress, ashes to
chandana, m atted hair and serpents to beautiful locks, the
Smatsaua or cetnetry to spendid halls, poison to nectar and
B h u ta s or ghostly Elem entals for his menials to splendid
retinue.
“ Of all th e H in d u gods, he is most praiseworthy. H e is
indeed a glorious creation of th e R ishi’s brain. Shiva is
M ritunjaya or the conquerer of death. The right-m inded
man conquers the fear of death by the th o ugh t th a t it
serves a benevolent (shiva) purpose in the world. T h e god
Shiva exhibits in himself the highest example of th e strong
power of will. By will force we can convert even poison
into nectar. Shiva is th e grand personification of will-force
as well as of philanthropy. H e swallowed fiery poison so
t h a t the world may not be b u rn t by it. H e thereby
verified his name of Shiva or th e yood. The Bramacharics
aud A ghoipantlis carry the principle of familiarization
thewith, and mastery over, things evil to a sinful or revolting
excess. T hough there are many defects in th e T a n tra s
yet they are not w an ting in religious and moral teachings
of a superior order. T h e poet says “ There is a soul of
good in things evil.” Though T antrism or in other word
asceticism is a good principle, yet w hether its external
adoption is proper, is a m a tte r of question. Many pious
men th in k such adoption is im proper or unnecessary. The
persian poet Sadi says “ Be a Dervesh a t heart a nd p u t ou
an embroidered Cap.” Silbana Musra says :—
s r c f t 1 ^ 1 % ^ f ts n r tc r c : I
■'ii
ii
“ T he man who is a slave to the passions, practises
vice even while living in a forest. Restraining th e pas­
sions a t home is true a usterity ; To the man of subdued
passions who does not commit any ugly act, his home is
his herm itage.”
S asi B iiu siia n K um a h.
S ila p u r , Dec. 1882.
B e l l a u y is ju s t now suffering from a monkey nuisance.
A t a recent m eeting of th e Bellary Municipal Commis­
sioners th e following resolution was passed :— “ Resolved
t h a t as th e loose m onkeys iu the town have become
exceedingly troublesome by attacking women and children
carrying eatables and over-turning the tiles of the roofs
of houses in th e town, these animals be caught and sent
out into th e jungles, and tha t arrangem ents be made th at
monkeys may not receive any injury wdiile being seized.
The Commissioners vote a sum of Rs. 200 for m eeting the
ex penditure which may be incurred in carrying out this
resolution,”
 ID O L A T R Y .
. Discussions have often been raised w h e th e r Idolatry or
Moorti l'o o ja is allowed by the Vedas, th e sacred books
of the Aryans. B u t as yet no special m eaning is given
to th e term Idolatory or qfrTT^n. Can tlie worship of
Vishnu as performed by the present Aryans, or th e worship
of the three-eyed Shiva, or of the Thibetian L am a be
safely termed Idolatry ? I th in k not. B u t before
p u ttin g clown my opinion 0n th e subject. I m ust define as
accurately as I can, because defining accurately is th e task
of great philosophers. Then here is one explanation.
“ If a man or woman worships the S u p re m e Being through
an image, th in k in g all tlie time w hen worshipping th a t
he or she is worshiping the S uprem e Being and not
the stone, or when lie or she has k ep t th e image
to remind him or her of th e said S uprem e being,
or when lie or she thinks th a t the Su prem e Being
has entered th e image, he or she is said to worship
the Suprem e Being through an a g e n c y ; b u t he is not
w orshipping tho Id o l a n d th u s his or her worship can­
not be called idolatory.” Now, wc see th a t th e Aryans are
not Idolaters. If they arc, th e n I can safely say, there is
nothing like lion-idolworship. liven th e C hristians resort
to an agency while worshipping. I f they have no such
agency when worshipping, why do they kneel down and
uncover their head in the Church ? W h a t is an Id o l b u t a
bigger Church than the image ? W h a t fordo they look up
while praying ? W h y look a t the heavens ? Is God there
only ? Is he not everywhere ? H e is in every p a rt of space.
T hen why look up ? No special reason, b u t they do so be ­
cause their ancestors did so. They worship God through
th e agency of the sky, the Church, &c. and thus it can
conceived th a t all those nations are as much Idolaters
easily be as the poor inhabitants of Arya varta.
The present Aryan youths instead of th in k in g deeply
into questions of this kind, unlike th e ir ancestors of yore,
cling blindly to an}' man who starts a new thing. All their
zeal has been taken away by a defect in th e present
system of education. W h a t th a t defect is, one can easily
guess. L e t me ask the learned Swami D a y anu nd one of the
strictest so called non-idolaters— if lie employs any agency
while worshipping God. By agency t m ean any medium
w hether with or w ithout any shape. Let me ask if he looks
up while praying or has th e of beads. If he
employs no medium will lie be good enough to le t you know
through your journal how lie worships God ? By describing
his mode of worship the Swami will not only oblige our
Society, b u t the public at large. Because if I m istake not
th ere is none who worship w ithout using some medium or
another.
II. H ardy ,
Vice-President,
o f the The N ational Legend Investig ating
Society’s Hall.
Malabar Hill, 20th November 18S'.2.
(Continued from tho September nttmbcV of tho ° THEOSOPHiS't.*’)
E A S T I N D I A N M A T E R IA M E D IC A .
RY DU. PANDUR ANG GOPAL. F.T.S.
T he fifty compound groups of vegetable remedies
described by C haraka or Agnivesha, and introduced in our
article 011 this subject in the S e p tem ber number, represent
a group of drug's which he recognised by term s or
appellations connoting either their remote and special
action on th e nutritive or secretory functions of the bod}',
or their efficacy in relieving fixed symptoms and phen®-
jjicna which aro th e forerunners or actual indices of
grave disturbances, which our advancing knowledge of the
structures and functions of the system has helped to
localise with precision and accuracy.
These terms, therefore,, arc expressive of the p rom inent
and more sensible virtues resident in th e drugs, and aro
an advance in some measure on th e arrangem ent of the
classes of Sushruta, th u s comparing favourably with the
latest, b u t now ra th e r antiquated systems of European
Materia Medica, viz., those of Drs. Cullen, Y oung and
Murray. The term s denote an acquaintance with the
physiological action of those drugs, each group being
credited with a power on the organs or hum ours and
fluids of the body.
This classification is, indeed, so accurate, that, m aking
allowance for certain imperfections which m a y well be
deemed inseparable from all primitive efforts in the
determ ination of the action of vegetable juices on the
different parts and organs of the human frame, it would
not only bear repetition, b u t would afford considerable
historical in te re st to the stu d e n t of medicine a nd help him
in re-discovering th e real virtues of these sources of
medicine, and determ ining th e ir place in his present
a rm en tarium of useful remedies and appliances.
These classes are as follow :—
1. Vital restorants or nutritiv e tonics or remedies which
favour nutrition, and therefore prolong lif e ; examples—
the roots of tinospora cordifolia, liquoritia officinalis,
pliascolus mungo, and radiatus, &c.
2. Medicines which promote nutrition and increase
the bulk of the tissues generally, or, as we would sny,
articles of tru e food; they are lagenaria vulgaris (fruit),
tho sidas, gossypium sp., &c.
3. Medicines which th in the tissues and liquefy the
hum ours aud secretions (somewhat p arta king of the
n atu re of the ‘ altenuants’ of H i ppocrates); e.g.:— th e roots
of cyperus rotundas, alpinia nntans, acorus calamus, "atees”
or aconitum heterophyllum, picorrhiza kitrroo, th e two
varieties of plumbago, &c.
4. Purgatives or medicines which promote th e alvine
discharge, as the roots of ipomcea p u rg a n s, calotropis,
ric e n u s c o m m u n is, c r o to n p o ly a n d r u m , placlera decussata,
&c.
5. Lym ph-producers or those which promote union of
divided or fractured p a r t s ; as the juice of liq u o r itia
officinalis, and the aqueous extract of b ig n o n ia suaveo-
lens, and th e resinous exudations from ptero carpus
m a r s u p iu m (Indian kino), grislca tom entosa, b u c h a n a n ia
la tifo lia , &c.
G. Stomachics and partial digestives, e. g.— th e roots of
p ip e r longum , cliavika roxburgliii, plumbago rosea, zingiber
ofjicinalc, pim pcnella an isu in , melia azidaracta, etc.
7. Tonics or tone-givers— a class which is supposed
to im p art and increase th e streng th of tissues, b u t acting
in a m an ner different from th a t of class I . ; these are
asparagus tomcntosus, p h ysalis flexn o sa , helleborus niger,
th e sidas, d'c.
8. Cosmetics or those which im prove th e complexion
of the skin, and tin g e th e exc re tio n s; such as, pterocarpus
sa n ta lin u s (wood), the flowers of calysaccion longifolium ,
th e roots of andropogon acieulans, ruhia m anjista, hemi-
dism us indicus, sugar, &c.
!). Medicines which act on th e trachea and air-pass-
cigcs, such as th e root of andropogon saccharatum, p ip er
longum, vitis vinifera (fruit), myrica sapida (fruit),
solatium trilobatum (root) and S. Jacquemontia, &c.
10. Cordials aud appetisers, They are remedies which
produce an agreeable sensation in the tongue and fauces,
and when swallowed, a feeling of satiety ; e. g., the mango,
the fruit of crotolaria juncea, ru m e x garcinia p u r p u r e a
(fruit), and th e fruits of erozyphus punica granatum , etc.
11. Appetisers or drugs which remove anorexia and act
on the circulation of the lower bowels ; e.g., the roots of
zingiber, acorus or flagroot, cyperus rotundus, p ip e r longum,
plumbago, and th e fruits of embclia ribes and chavica
ro.vburghii, &c.
12. Remedies which cure haemorrhoids and act on the
circulation of th e lower bowels. These are the roots of
the hollarhena pubescens, cnglemcirmdos, plum bago,
 zin g ib e r officinale, aconilurn heteroph.yllvAn, ie r m in a lia
hebula, fa g o n ia m ysorensis, berberis sp., acorus calam us,
and chavica ro xb u rg ld i.
13. Skin alteratives, such as medicines yielded by
unspecified parts of acacia aroMea, te rm in a lia chebula, t.
cataphracta, c u rc u m a sp., a n a o a rd iu m occiclentale,
alsto n ia scholaris, •eatharto-carpus fistula, n e riu m
oclorum, em belia ribes and ja s m in u m auriculcita.
14. Insecticides or anthelm entics, yielded by m oringa
pterygosperm a, piper nig ru m , cabbage, embelia, vitex
nigundo, achryanthes aspera, Iribulus tcrrestris, brachy-
ra m p h u s sonchifolia, &c. •
15. Medicines which allay or correct tlie perverted
sensibility of th e skin and its diseases atten ded by itching-
such as prurigo. These are hw m atoryIon cam peachianum ,
ja ta m a n s i valerianus, p o n g a m ia glabra, catharto-carpus
fistu la , m elia azidaracta, w rightia pubescens, sinapis,
iquoritia officinale, berberis, and cyperus ro tu n d u s.
16. Medicines which havo been tran slated by all p re ­
vious writers as antidotes, and havo therefore been
erroneously believed to be curers, or neutralisers of snake
and o ther animal poisons. I believe no ground is discern­
ible in the writings of S u s ru ta and C haruka, who
preceded all th e medical writers of th e h abitable globe, to
w arran t such au inference. All t h a t could be expressed
by the terms often m et with in tlieir writings concerning
th e properties of the drugs which were first tried to
secure this very desirable result, can mean nothing fu rth er
th an purging the system of th e results of organic poison­
ing, w hether it depended on th e morbid changes in the
secretions, or th e ir sudden and fatal effects in suppressing
th e functions or vitality of the parts to which tho morbid
secretions were distributed. These are curcuma, ru b ia
cordifolia, aristolochia longa and ro tu n d a , ichuocarpus
frutesccns, sa n ta lu m album, strychnos potatorum, mim osa
sirissa, vitex Irifolia and cordia m yxa.
^ H O W TO K N O W T H E R E A L S E L F .
BY T H E LATE B l t A M H A O H A l t l B A W A .
T hree thousand five h nndredyears ago, all men believed
in ono common religion— the V edokta D harm a or th e
religion enjoined by the Vedas. T he highest duty or dharma
of every sensible man is to acquire wisdom and not to amass
m atter. Even a knowledge of and control over the laws
of n atu re is b u t nothing compared to th e actual experi­
ence or anoobhavic dm/an of the essence of the animal soul
— th e Param atm a. I t alone can solve the mystery of
th e incomprehensible universal delusion or m a ya , who
attains this experience and ever lives in the conviction th a t
all th e rest is false (unstable). Tlie materialistic science of
th e W est which is progressing gradually only to pull down
to-day the edifice they constructed yesterday, will never
be able to arrive a t a satisfactory solution. A yogi can
acquire omniscience, while the modorn wordly scientist
could effect no such tiling— not even after ages of diligent
researches. The one traces th e material and spiritual
delusion of the universe to its tru e central p o i n t ; the other,
in his hopeless researches, fails and falls off, baffled at
every step ; for, the very method adopted by him is not
commensurate with the m agnitude of th e object sought,
for. How can he hope to analyse th e external nature,
w ithout try in g to gain a mastery over his own Self, espe­
cially, as he himself admits t h a t m an is b u t a p a rt of
n a tu r e ? The yogi gradually disentangles himself from
the snares of maya-, as he progresses onward ; the
physicist is lost in tho mazes of his own experi­
ments, and he advances only to find th e web which he
has himself woven, more and more intricate. This may
appear absurd to m any ; b u t a tru e initiate in th e m yste­
ries of nature knows it well enough. Men understand
and accept ideas ju s t according to their receptivity. Tlie
W estern intellect which has begun to sprout (shoot forth)
is not yet ripe enough to como face to face w ith nature,
m uch less so w ithout the help of those who have for ages
been learning to lift up her veil. The teachings of the
Vedas only can ensure success, and before the atte m p t is
made, the eternal quietude of th e real self must be realized,
in contradistinction to the ever-active and disconsolate soul.
Thirty-five centuries ago, the Vedic religion was not so
powerless in effecting this object as now-a-days— and
why ? T he excellent system of classifying men accord­
ing to th e ir spiritual yearning has been abolished. For­
merly, th e caste of every one depended solely on his
tendencies for internal development ; b u t now an Aryan is
reckoned a B rahm in, Kshatrya, Vaisya or S udra accord­
ing to his b irth only. A B rahm in’s son is as much a
B rah m in as his father, whether he possesses necessary
qualifications for th e caste or not. Thus th e original
intention of th e founders of the Vedic religion is deplor­
ably lost sight of. Since men fit to be classed as Brah­
mans began to be selfishly excluded merely because of their
having been born in lower castes, and unworthy men
retained in th e higher castes, a confusion arose in tho
ranks of the Vedic mystics, which resulted a t last in the
degeneration of H in du s from esoterieism to exotericism,
T he confusion of castes gave rise to a religious and politi­
cal revolution the direful effects of which we see in the
world’s debased creeds.
ATO M S, M O L E C U L E S , A N D E T H E R W A V E S .
15Y J O H N T YNDAI.L, F.K.S.
[ W o take from tho N ovem ber N u m b e r (1) o f “ L o n g sm an ’a
M agazine” an article by Professor J o h n T yndall, the ra iso n d ’
(Ire of w hich the w rite r explains by an invitation from his
publishers w ith whom lie has “ now worked in harm ony for a
period of tw en ty years, to send some contribution to the first
n um b er of th eir new Magazine” 1 a d d in " thnt he “ could not
refuse them this proof of good-will.” T h e sh ort contribution
is so good and some of its points present such a striking bearing
upon th e practical te ac h in g s o f occult philosophy that wo
rep ro d u ce it in full.— E d . ]
Man is prone to idealisation. H e cannot accept as
final tho phenom ena of tho sensible world, b u t looks be­
h ind t h a t world into ano th er which rules the sensible one.
F rom th iste n d e n c y o f th e h u m a n mind systemsof mythology
and scientific theories have equally sprung. By the
former th e experiences of volition, passion, power, and
design, manifested am ong ourselves, wero transplanted
with the necessary modifications, into an unseen universe,
from which th e sway and potency of these magnified
h u m a n qualities were exerted. ‘ I n th e roar of thunder
and in the violence of th e sto nn was felt tho presence of
a shouter and furious strikers, and out of the rain was
created an I n d ra or giver of raiu.’ I t is substantially the
same with science, the principal force of which is expended
in endeavouring to rend the veil which seperates the
sensible world from an ultra-sensible one. In both cases
our materials, drawn from the world of the senses, are
modified by th e imagination to suit intellectual needs.
The ‘ first be ginnings’ of Lucretius were not objects of
sense, b u t they were suggested and illustrated by objects
of sense. The idea of atoms proved an early w ant on tho
p a rt of minds in p u rsu it of the knowledge of nature. I t
has never been relinquished, and in our own day it is
growing steadily in power and precision.
The union of bodies in fixed and multiple proportions
constitutes tho basis of modern atomic theory. The same
compound retains for ever, th e same elements, in an u n ­
alterable ratio. W e cannot produce pure water containing
one part, by weight, of hydrogen and nine of oxygen ; nor
can we produce it when the ratio is one to ten ; b u t we
can produce it from th e ratio of one to eight, aud from no
other. So also when w ater is decomposed hy the electric
current, the proportion, as regards volumes, is as fixed as
in the case of weights. Two volumes of hydrogen and one
of oxygen invariably go to the formation of water, H u m ­
ber and harmony,.as in the Pythagorean system, are every­
where dom inant in this under-world.*'
Following the discovery of fixed proportions wo have
th a t of m u ltip le proportions. F o r the same compound, as
above stated, the elementary factors are c on sta nt; b u t ono
elem entary body often unites with an o th e r so as to form
different compounds. W ater, for example, is an oxide of
hydrogen ; but a peroxide of tliat substance also exists,
containing exactly double th e q u an tity of oxygen. N itr o ­
gen also unites with oxygen in various ratios, b u t not in
all. The union takes place, not gradually and uniformly,
b u t by stops, a definite w eight of m a tte r being added at
each step. The larger combining q uan tities of oxygen are
th u s m ultipled of tho smaller ones. I t i.s th e same with
other combinations.
We remain th u s far in th e region of f a c t : why not rest to the air, is here ta k e n up by the strings. I t may be
there ? I t m ig ht as well bo asked why we do not, like
our poor relations of tin? woods and forests, rest content
with the facts of the sensible world.. In v irtue of our
mental idiosyncrasy, we dem and ?<’//.?/ bodies should com­
bine in m ultiple proportions, and the outcome and answer
of this question is th e atomic theory, T h e definite
weights of m a tte r above referred to rep resent th e weights
of atoms, indivisible by any force whieh chem istry lias
hitherto b roug ht to bear upon them. I f m a tte r were a
co n tin u u m — if it were not rounded off, so to say, into these
discrete atomic masses— the impassable breaches of con­
tinuity which th e law of multiple proportion reveals, could
not be accounted for. These atoms aro what Maxwell
finely calls 'tlio foundation stones o f t h e m aterial universe’
which, amid t h e wreck of composite m atter, ‘ rem ain u n ­
broken and unworn.’
A group of atoms drawn and held to geth er by w hat
chemists term affinity, is called a molecule, Tlio
ultim ate parts of all compound bodies are mole­
cules. A molecule of water, for example, consists of two
atoms of hydrogen, which grasp and are grasped by one
atom of oxygen. W h en water is converted into steam,
the distances between th e molecules are greatly anjsrmented,
b u t th e molecules themselves continue intact. W e must
not, however, picture th e constituent atom s of any mole­
cule as held so rigidly together as to re n d e r intestine
motion impossible. T he interlocked atom s have still liberty
of vibration, which may, u nder certain ciscumstances, be ­
come so intense as to shake th e molecule asunder. Most
molecules— probably all— a^e wrecked by intense heat, or
in other words by intense vibratory motion ; and many are
wrecked by a very m oderate h e a t of tho p rop er qualit}7;
Indeed, a weak force, which bears a suitablo relation to
th e constitution of th e molecule, can ,b y tim ely savings and tube, and let a concentrated beam of solar light be sent
accumulations accomplish w hat a stron g force out of rela­
tion fails to acheivo.
W e have here a glimps o fth e world in which th e physical
philosopher for th e most part, resides. Science has been
defined as ‘ organized common s e n s e ;’ by whom I have
forgotten; but, unless we stretch un du ly th e definition of
common sense, I th in k it is hardly applicable to this
world of molecules. I should be inclined to ascribe th e
creation of t h a t world to inspiration ra th e r th a n to w h at
is currently known as common sense. F o r the natural
history sciences the definition m ay s ta n d — h ardly for th e
physical and m athem atical sciences.
T he sensation of light is produced by a succession of
waves, whieh strike the retina in periodic in te rv a ls; and
such waves, im pinging on th e molecules of bodies, agitate
th e ir c o nstituen t atoms. These atoms are so small, and,
when grouped to molecules, are so tightly clasped together
th a t they aro capable of tremors equal in rapidity to those
of light and ra d ia n t heat. To a mind coming freshly to
these subjects, the nu m b ers with which scientific m en
here habitually deal m u st appear u tte rly fa n ta s tic a l; and
* This paragraph would be in its right place 111 the best text glass;
on Occult Doztrine. The latter ia baRed entirely upon numbers,
harmony and correspondences or affinities.—E d .
yet, to minds trained in the logic of science, they express
most sober and certain tru th . The constituent atoms of
molecules can vibrate to and fro millions of millions of
times in a second. Tho waves of light and of radiant
h e a t follow each o ther a t similar rates through the
luminiferous ether. F u rth e r, the atoms of different mole­
cules are hold tog ether with varying degrees of tightness
— they are tuned, as it were, to notes of different pitch.
Suppose, then, light-waves, or heat-waves, to impinge upon
an assemblage of such molecules, what may be expected
to occur ? Tho same as w hat occurs when a piano is
opened and sung into. The waves of sound select the
strings which respectively respond to th e m — the strings,
t h a t is to say, whose rates of vibration are th e same as
th eir own— and of the general series of strings these only
sound. T he vibratory motion of the voice, im p a rte d first
regarded as absorbed, eaoli s tring constituting itself thereby
a, new centre of motion. Tims also, as regards tlio
tig h tly locked atoms of molecules on which waves of light
or radiant heat impinge. Like the waves of sound ju s t
adverted to, the waves of e th e r select those atoms whose
periods of vibration synchronise with their own periods of
recurrence, and to such atoms deliver up their motion. I t
is thus th a t light and rad iant heat are absorbed.
And here the statem ent, though elementary, m u s t not
be omitted, th a t th e colours of the prismatic spectrum,
which are presented in an impure form 111 th e rainbow,
are due to different rates of atomic vibration in tlieir
source, the sun. F rom th e extreme red to the extreme
violet, between which are embraced all colours visible to
the 1m m an eye, th e rapidity of vibration steadily increases
the length of the waves of ether produced by these vibra­
tions diminishing in the same proportion. I say "'visible
to the hum an eye,’ because there may be eyes capable of
receiving visual impression from waves which do n o t affect
ours. There is a vast store of rays, or more correctly
waves, beyond the red, and also beyond the violet, which
are incom petent to excite our vision ; so th a t could the
whole length of the spectrum, visible and invisible, be
seen by the same eye, its length would be vastly a u g m e n t­
ed.
I have spoken of molecules being wrecked by a
m oderate a m o u n t of h e a t of the proper quality ; let us
examine this po in t for a moment. There is a liquid
called nitrite of am y l— frequently administered to patients
suffering from h e art disease. The liquid is volatile, and
its vapour is usally inhaled by the patient. Let a
q uan tity of this vapour be introduced into a wide glass
through the tube along its axis. Prior to th e e ntry of the
beam, the vapour is as invisible as the purest air. W hen
th e light enters, a bright cloud is immediately precipitated
on th e beam. This is entirely due to the waves of light,
which wreck th e n itrite of amyl molecules, the products
of decomposition forming innum erable liquid particles
which constitute the cloud. M any other gases and vapours
are acted upon in a similar manner. Now tho waves th a t
produce this decomposition aro by no means the most
powerful of those em itted by the sun. I t is, for example,
possible to g a th e r u p the ultra-red waves into a concentra­
ted beam, and to send it through th e vapour, like the
beam of light. B u t though possessing vastly greater
energy than th e light waves, they fail to produce decom ­
position. H ence th e justification of the sta te m e n t already
made, th a t a suitable relation must subsit between the
molecules and the waves of ether to render th e latter
effectual.
A very impressive illustration of the decomposing power
of th e waves of lig h t is here purposely chosen ; b u t the
processes of photography illustrate the same principle.
T he photographer, w ithou t fear, illuminates his develop­
ing room with light tra n sm itte d through red or yellovv
b u t he dares not use blue glass, for blue light would
decompose his chemicals. And y e t the waves ot red light
measured by the a m o u n t of energy which they carry, are
 immensely more powerful than the waves of blue. The by the combination of gases, in the severance of which it
blue rays are usually called chemical rays—a misleading had previously sacrificed its heat.
term; for, as Draper aud others have taught us, the rays ( to ho continued.)
that produce the grandest chemical effects in nature, by
decomposing the carbonic acid and water which form the
nutriment of plants, are not the blue ones. In regard, C A N TH E “ D O U BLE” M URDER?
however, to the salts of silver’ and many other compounds, [T li e story which follows wns w ritten hy tlie editor o f this
the blue rays are the most effectual. How is it then ninfjiizuic some years n<io at the request of ft literary friend in
that weak waves can produce effects which strong waves A m criea, and published in a leading jo u rn al o f N uw Y ork. It
are incompetent to produce ? This is a feature charac­ is rep rinte d because the events actually occurred, und they
possess a very deep interest, for the stu d en t of psychological
teristic of periodic motion. In the experiment of’singing
science. T h e y show in a marked degree the enormous poten­
into an open piano already referred to, it is the accord sub­ tiality o f the human will upon mesmeric subjects whoso wliolo
sisting between the vibrations of the voice aud those of being may be so imbued with an im parted intellectual precon­
the string that causes the latter to sound. Were this ception th at the “ double,” or m a ijn o i-n tp a , when projected
accord absent, the intensity of the voice might be quintu­ transeorporeally, will carry out the mesmerizer’s mandate with
pled without producing any response. But when voice and helpless subserviency. T h o fact tlmt a mortal wound may bo
string are identical in pitch, the successive impulses add inflicted upon the inner man without puncturing tlie epidermis
themselves together, and this addition renders them, in will be a novelty only to such readers as have not closely
the aggregate, powerful, though individually they may be examined tho records and noted the many proofs th at death may
weak. In some such fashion the periodic strokes of the resu lt from m any psychical causes besides the emotions whoso
smaller ether waves accumulate, till tlie atoms 011 which lethal pow er is universally conceded.— E d . :— ]
their timed impulses impinge are jerked asunder, and what One morning 111 1807 Eastern Europe was startled
we call chemical decomposition ensues. by news of the most horrifying description. Michael
Savart was the first to show the influence of musical Obrenoviteh, reigning Prince of Serbia, his aunt, the
sounds upon liquid jets, and I have now to describe an ex­ Princess Catherine, orKatinka as she was called, and her
periment belonging to this class, which bears upon the daughter had been murdered in broad day-light near
present question. From a screw-tap in my little Alpine Belgrade, in their own garden, the assassin or assassins
kitchen I permitted, an hour ago, a vein of water to des­ remaining unknown. Tlie Prince had received several
cend into a trough, so arranging the flow that the jet was bullet shots and stabs, and liis body was actually butcher­
steady and continuous from top to bottom. A slight ed ; the Princess was killed 011 the spot, her head smashed;
diminution of the orifice caused the continuous portion of and her young daughter, though still alive, was not expect­
the vein to shorten, the part further down resolving itself ed to survive. Tho circumstances are too recent to have
into drops. In my experiment, however, the vein, before been forgotten ; but in that part of the world, at that time,
it broke, was intersected by the bottom of the trough. the case created a delirium of excitement.
Shouting near the descending jet produced no sensible I 11 the Austrian dominions and those under the doubt­
effect upon it. The higher notes of tlie voice, however ful protectorate of Turkey, from Bucharest down to Trieste,
powerful, were also ineffectual. But when the voice was 110 high family felt secure. I11 those half-oriental coun­
lowered to about 130 vibrations a second, the feeblest utter­ tries every Monteechi has his Capuletti, and it was
ance of this note sufficed to shorten, by one-half, the con­ rumoured that the bloody deed was perpetrated by tlio
tinuous portion of the jet. The responsive drops ran Prince Kara-Gueorguevitch, an old pretender to the
along the vein, pattered against the trough, and scattered modest throne of Serbia, whose father had been wronged
a copious spray round their place ofiinpact. When the by the first Obrenoviteh. The members of this family
note ceased, the continuity and steadiness of the vein wore known to nourish the bitterest hatred towards one,
were immediately restored. Tlie formation of the drops whom they called an usurper, and “ the shepherd’s grand­
was here periodic; and when the vibrations of the note son.’’ For a time the official papers of Austria were
accurately synchronised with the periods of the drops, the filled with indignant denials uf the charge that the
waves of sound aided what Plateau has proved to be the treacherous deed had been done or procured by Kara-Gue-
natural tendency of the liquid cylinder to resolve itself into orguevitch or “ Tzei no-Gueorgey,” as he is usually called
spherules, and virtually decomposed the vein. in those parts. Several persons, innocent of the act, were,
I have stated, without proof, that where absorption as is usual in such eases, imprisoned, and the real murderers
occurs, tho motion of the ether-waves is taken up by the escaped justice. A young relative of the victim, greatly
constituent atoms of molecules. It is conceivable that beloved by liis people, a mere child, taken for the purpose
the ether-waves. in passing through an assemblage of from a sehocl in Paris, was brought over in ceremony to
molecules, might deliver up their motion to each molecule Belgrade, and proclaimed Hospodar of Serbia.* In tho
as a whole, leaving the relative positions of the constituent turmoil of political excitement the tragedy of Belgrade was
atoms unchanged. But the long series of reactions, re­ forgotten by all, but an old Serbian matron, who hail been
presented by the department of nitrite of amylvapour, does attached to the Obrenoviteh family, and who, like Rachel,
not favour this conception ; for, where the atoms animated would not be consoled for the death of her children. After
solely by a common motion, the molecules would not be the proclamation of the young Obrenoviteh, the nephew
decomposed. The fact of decomposition, then, goes to of the murdered man, she had sold out her property and
prove the atoms to be the seat of the absorption. They, disappeared, but not before taking a solemn vow’ 011 tho
in great part, take up the energy of the ether-waves, tombs of tlie victims to avenge their deaths.
whereby their union is served, and the building materials The writer of this truthful narrative had passed a few
of the molecules are scattered abroad. days at Belgrade, about three months before the horrid
Molecules differ in stability ; somo of them, though hit deed was perpetrated, and knew the Princess Katinka.
by waves of considerable force, and taking up the motions abroadwas
She
she
a kind, gentle and lazy crcature at home;
seemed a Parisian in manners and education.
of these waves, nevertheless hold their own with a tenacity As nearly all
which defiesdecomposition. And here, in passing, I may say are still living,the it
personages who will figure in this story
is but decent I should withhold their
that it would give me extreme pleasure to be able to point
to my researches iu confirmation of the solar theory recent­ names, and give only initials.
The old Serbian lady seldom left her house, going out
ly enunciated by my friend the President of the British
Assotiation. But though the experiments which I have of but to see the Princess occasionally. Crouched 011 a pile
made on the decomposition of vapours by light might be dress, pillows and carpeting, clad in the picturesque national
numbered by the thousand, I have, to my regret, encount­ she looked liko the Cumajan Sibyl in her days of
ered 110 fact which proves that free aqueous vapour is calm repose. Strange stories were whispered about her
decomposed by the solar rays, or that the sun is re-heated * M il i m , n o w K i n g o f S e r l t i u . — K d .
occult knowledge, and thrilling accounts circulated some­
times among the guests assembled round the fireside of
m y modest inn. O ur fat landlords’s m aiden a u n t cousin
had been troubled for sometime past by a wandering
vampire, and had been bled nearly to death by the
nocturnal visitor ; and while the efforts and exorcisms of
th e parish pope had been of no avail, the victim was
luckily delivered by G ospojaP. (or Mrs.P. **.*) who had
p u t to flight the disturbing ghost by merely shaking her fist
a t him, and s h a m i n g him in his own language. I t was at
Belgrade t h a t I learned for th e first tim e this highly in ­
teresting fact for philology, namely, t h a t spooks have a
language of th e ir own. The old lady, whom 1 will th en call
Gospoja P. *** was generally a tte n d e d by ano th er
personage destined to be th e principal actress in our tale
of horror. I t was a young gypsy girl from some p a r t of
Roumania, a b o u t fourteen years of age. W h e re she was
born and who she was, she seemed to know as little as
any one else. I was told she had been brought one day
by a p arty of strolling gypsies, and left in the yard of the
old lady : from which m o m ent she became a n inm ate of
th e house. She was nick-named “ the sleeping girl” as
she was said to be gifted with th e faculty of ap parently
dropping asleep wherever she stood, and speaking her
dreams aloud. T he girl’s h eathen nam e was Frosya.
A b o u t eighteen months after th e news of th e m urder
had reached Italy, where I was a t th e time, T was
travelling over the Banat, in a small waggon of my own,
hiring a horse whenever I needed it a fte r th e fashion of
this primitive, trusting country. I m et on my way an old
Fren ch m an, a scientist, travelling alone after my own
f a s h io n ; b u t with th a t difference th a t while he was
a pedestrian, I dominated th e road from th e eminence of
a throne of dry hay, in a joltin g waggon. 1 discovered
him one fine morning, slumbering in a wilderness of
shrubs and flowers, and had nearly passed over him, a b ­
sorbed, as I was, in th e contemplation of the surrounding
glorious scenery. T he acquaintance was soon made, no
great ceremony of m utual introduction being needed. I
had heard his name m entioned in circles interested in
mesmerism, and knew him to be a powerful a d e p t of the
school of D npotet.
“ I have found,” he remarked in th e course of the con­
versation, after I had made him share my seat of hay,
“ one of the most wonderful subjects iu this lovely
Thebaide. I have an a p p o in tm e n t to -nigh t with th e
family. They are seeking to unravel the mystery of a
m u rder by means of th e clairvoyance of th e g irl.............
She is w ond erfu l; very, very w o n d e rfu l!’’
“ W ho is she ?” I asked.
“ A R oum anian gypsy. She was brought up, it appears,
in the family of the Serbian reigning Princc, who reigns no
more, for he was very mysteriously murdered. Hol-la-a-h !
take care ! (liable, you will upset us over th e precipice!”
lie hurriedly exclaimed, unceremoniously snatching from
me th e reins, and giving th e horse a violent pull.
“ You do not mean th e Prince Obrenovitch ?” I asked
aghast.
“ Yes, I do ; and him precisely. To nig h t I have to be
there, hoping to close a series of seances by finally deve­
loping a most marvellous m anifestation of th e hidden
power of hu m an spirit, and you may come with me. I will
introduce you ; and, besides, you can help me as an in te r­
preter, for they do not speak F ren ch.” As I was p retty
sure th a t if the somnambula was Frosya the rest of the
family m ust be Gospoja P. *** I readily accepted.
A t sunset we were a t th e loot of the m ountain, leading to
th e old castle, as th e French man called th e place. I t
fully deserved the poetical name given it. There was a
rough bench in the depths of one of the shadowy retreats,
and as we stopped a t th e entrance of this poetical place,
and the Frenchm an was gallantly busying himself with
m y hoise, on the suspicious looking bridge which led
across the w ater to the entrance gate, I saw a tall figure
slowly rise from the bench and come towards us. I t was
my old friend Gospoja P , looking more pale
and more mysterious than ever. She exhibited no sur­
prise a t seeing me, b u t simply greeting me after the
Serbian fashion— with a triple kiss on both cheeks— she
took hold of my hand and led me straight to th e nest of
ivy. H a lf reclining on a small carpet spread on th e fall
grass, with h er back leaning against th e wnll, I recognized
our Frosya.
She was dressed in th e national costume of the
Yalachian women : a sort of gauze turban, intermingled
with various g uilt medals and beads on her head, white
sh irt with opened sleeves, and petticoats of variegated
colors. H e r face looked deadly pale, her eyes were closed,
and her countenance presented th a t stony, sphinx-like
look which characterizes in such a peculiar way th e en­
tranced clairovoyant somnambulas. I f it were not for the
heaving motion of her chest and bosom, ornam ented by
rows of like medals and necklaces, which feebly tinkled
a t every breath, one m igh t have thou gh t her dead, so
lifeless and corpse-like was h e r face. Tho Fren chm an
informed me th a t he had sent lier to sleep ju st as -we
were approaching the house, and th at she now7 was as he
had left her the previous night. H e then began busying
himself with the sujrt, as he called Frosya. Paying no
furth er attentio n to us, he shook her by th e hand,
then m aking a few rapid passes, stretched out h e r arm
and stiffened it. The arm as rigid as iron, remained in
th a t position. H e then closed all her fingers but one—
the middle finger— which he caused to point a t the
evening star, which tink led on the deep blue sky. Then
he turned round a.nd w ent over from right to left, throw ­
ing out sonic of his fluid here, again discharging it at
an other place, and busying himself with his invisible b u t
p oten t fluids, like a pa in te r with his brush when giving
th e last touches to a picture.
T he old lady who had silently watched him, with her
chin in h e r hand th e while, p u t out her thin, skeleton-
looking hand ou his arm and arrested it, as lie was pre­
paring him self to begin the regular mesmeric passes.
“ W ait,” she whispered, “ till the sta r is set, and the
n inth hour c o m p le te d ! T he Voordalaki are hovering
around, they may spoil th e influence.”
‘‘ W h a t does she say ?” inquired the mesmeriser, annoy­
ed a t her interference.
I explained to him th a t th e old lady feared th e pernicious
influences of th e Voordalaki.
“ Voordalaki ? W h a t ’s th a t the Voordalaki ?” exclaimed
the Frenchm an. L e t us be satisfied with Christian
spirits, if they honour us to n ig h t with a visit, and lose
no time, for th e Voordalaki.”
I glanced a t the Gospoja. She had become d eath ly pale,
and her brow was sternly k n itted over her flashing black eyes.
“ Tell him not to je s t a t this ho ur of th e n i g h t ! ” she
cried- “ H e does not know the country. Even this Holy
Church may fail to protect us, once th e Voordalaki
a ro u se d ...W h a t’s this ?” . . .pushing with her foota bundle of
herbs the botanizing mesmerizer had laid near on the
grass. She b ent over th e collection, and anxiously exa­
mined the contents of the bundle, after which she flung the
whole in the w ater to the great wrath of the Frenchmen.
“ I t m ust not be left here,” she firmly added ; “ these arc
the St. J o h n ’s plants, and they m ight a ttrac t th e “ wander­
ing ones.” ”
Meanwhile th e n ight had come, and the moon illum inat­
ed th e landscape with a pale ghastly light. T he nights
in the B anat are nearly as beautiful as in tbe East, and
the Frenchm an had to go on with his experim ents in the
open air, as th e pope of the Church had prohibited such
in his tower, which was used as the parsonage, for fear of
filling the holy precincts with the heretical devils of the
mesmerizer, which he rem arked he would be unable to
exorcise on account of tlieir being foreigners.
T he old gentlem an had thrown off his travelling blouse,
rolled u p his shirt sleeves, and now striking a theatrical
a ttitu d e began a regular process of mesmerization. U nder
his quivering fingers the odyle fluid actually seemed to
flash in the tw ilight. Frosya was placed w ith h e r figure
 facing th e moon, and every motion of the entranced girl
was discernable as in daylight. In a few miuute.s large
drops of perspiration appeared oil her brow, and slowly
rolled down her pale face, g litte rin g in the moon beams.
Then she moved uneasily about and began chanting a
low melody, to the words of which, the Gospoja, anxiously
bending over the unconscious girl, was listening with avidity
and trying to catch every syllable. W ith her thin finger
011 her lips, her eyes nearly sta rtin g from her sockets, her
frame motionless, the old lady seemed herself transfixed
into a sta tu e of attention. T he group was a remarkable
one, and I regretted I was not a painter. W h a t followed
was a scene worthy to figure in “ Macbeth.” At one side
th e slender girl, pale and corpse-like, w rithing u nder tho
invisible fluid of him, who for th e hour was h e r omnipo­
te n t m aster ; at the other, the old matron, who, burning
with h e r unquenched th irst of revenge, stood like the
picture of Nemesis, waiting for th e long expected name
of th e Princes’ murderer to be a t last pronounced...The
F re nchm anhim self seemed transfigured, his gray hair s ta n d ­
ing oil end, his bulky,clumsy form seeming as though it had
grown in a few minutes. All theatrical pretence was now
g o n e ; there remained b u t th e mesmerizer, aware of his
responsibility, unconscious himself of th e possible results,
studying and anxiously expecting. Suddenly Frosya, as
if lifted by some supernatural force, rose from her reclining
posture, and stood erect before us, motionless and still
again, waiting for th e m agnetic fluid to direct her. The
Frenchm an silently ta k in g the old lady’s hand, placed it
in th a t of th e somnambulist, and ordered h e r to p u t
herself en rapport with the Gospoja.
— “ W h a t sayest thou, my d a u g h te r V softly m urm ured
tho Serbian lad)'. “ Can your spirit seek o u ttlie murderers ?”
— “ Search and behold !” sternly commanded th e mes-
merizer, fixing liis gaze upon th e face of th e subject.
— “ I am on my way— I go,” faintly whispered Frosya,
her voice not seeming to come from herself, b u t from the
surrounding atmosphere.
A t this m om ent something so extraordinary took placo
th a t I doubt m y ability to describe it. A luminous
shadow, vapour-like, appeared closely surrounding the
girls’ body. A t first about an inch iu thickness, it
gradually expanded, an d gatherin g itself, suddenly seemed
to break off from the body altogether, and condense itself
into a kind of semi-solid vapour, which very soon assumed
the likeness of th e somnam bula herself. Flickering
about th e surface of the earth, tho form vacillated for
two or three seconds, th e n glided noiselessly towards the
river. I t disappeared like a mist, dissolved in the moon­
beams which seemed to absorb and imbibe it altogether !
I had followed th e scene with an intense attention. The
mysterious operation known in the E ast as the invocation
of the scin-lecca was taking place before my own eyes.
To doubt was impossible, and D u p o te t was rig ht in saying
th a t mesmerism was th e conscious magic of th e ancients,
and spiritualism th e unconscious effect of the same magic
upon certain organisms.
As soon as the vaporous double had soaked itself
through th e pores of th e girl, tlie Gospoja had by a rapid
motion of the hand which was left free, drawn from under
her pelisse something which looked most suspiciously like
a small stiletto, and placed it as rapidly in th e girl’s
bosom. The action was so quick th a t th e mesmerizer
absorbed in his work had not remarked it, as lie after­
wards told me. A few minutes elapsed in a dead silence.
W e seemed a group of petrified persons. Suddenly a
thrilling and transpiercing cry b u rst from the entranced
girl’s lips__ She b e n t forward, and snatching th e stiletto
from her bosom, plunged it furiously around her in the
air, as if pursuing imaginary foes. H e r m outh foamed,
and incoherent, wild exclamations broke fiom her lips
among which discordant sounds I discerned several times
two familiar Christian names of men. Tho mesmerizer
was so terrified th a t he lost all control over himself, and
instead of w ithdraw ing the fluid, he loaded the girl with
it still more.
“ T ak e care,” I exclaimed, “ s t o p ! , , . Y ou will kill her
or she will kill you !”— B u t the Frenchm an had u n w itting ­
ly raised subtile potencies of nature, over which he had no
control. Furiously tu rn in g round, th e girl struck a t him
a blow which would have killed him, had he not avoided
it by ju m p in g aside, receiving b u t a severe scratch on the
lig h t aim.
Tho poor man was panic-stricken. C lim bing with an
extraordinary agility for a man of his bulky form on the
wall over her he fixed himself on it astride, and g a th e ring
th e re m a n t of his will-power, sent in her direction a series
of passes. A t the second, the girl dropped the weapon
and remained motionless.
— “ W h a t are you about ?” hoarsely shouted th e mesmerizer
in French, seated like some monstrous night-goblin on
th e wall.— Answer me, I command you ?”
— “ I did— b u t what sh e — whom you ordered m e to obey
— commanded me to do,” answered the girl in French, to
my u tte r amazement.
“ W h a t did the old witch command you V '. . . irievereut-
ly asked he.
— “ To find th e m — who m urdered— kill th e m — I did so—
and the)' are no more !—A venged— avenged !! Theyare— ”
An exclamation of trium ph, a lo u d shout of infernal joy,
rang loud in th e a ir ; and awakening th e dogs of the neigh­
bouring villages a responsive howl of barking began from
that, m om en t like a ceaseless echo of the Gospoja’s cry.
“ I am avenged, I feel it, I know it !...My warning heart
tells me th a t the fiends are 110 more.”... And she fell panting
o n th e g r o u u d , draggingdown in her fall the girl, who
allowed h erself to be pulled down as if she were u log of
wood.
— “ I hope my subject did 110 further mischief to-night.
She is a dangerous as well as a very wonderful sub ject”—
said the Fre n c h m an .
W e parted. T h re e days after t h a t I was a t T — : and
as I was sittin g in th e dining-room of a restaurant waiting
for my lunch, I happened to pick up a newspaper. The
first lines 1 read ran thus :—
“ V i e n n a . 186—Two M y s t e r i o u s d e a t h s . — Last evening at
9-45 aa P. . . was about to retire, two of tlie gentlemen in waiting
suddenly exhibited great terror, as though they had seen a dread­
ful apparition. They screamed, staggered, and ran about the room
holding up their hands as if to ward off the blows of an unseen
weapon. They paid 110 attention to tho eager questions of their
master and suite ; but presently fell writhing upon the fluor, and
expired in great agony. Tlieir bodies exhibited 110 appearence of
apoplexy, nor any external marks of wounds ; b u t wonderful to
relate, there were numerous dark sports and long marks upon the
skin, aa though they were stabs and lashes made without puncturing
the cuticle. The autopsy revealed the fact th a t beneath each of these
mysterious discolorations there was a deposit of coagulated blood.
The greatest excitement prevails, and the faculty aro unable to
solve the m ystery....”
T H E S O P A l t A (B U D D H I S T ) R E L I C S I N CEY LO N.
Our readers will recollect th a t some months ago we
copied from th e Bombay papers an account of the finding
of certain precious relics of Lord Buddha a t Sopara,
Bombay Presidency. H. E. the Governor of Bombay in
Council most generously donated a portion of these relics
to H ik kad aw e. Sum angala Thero, High Priest of A d am ’s
Peak. A correspondent of the P ioneer writing from
Colombo 011 th e 31st October, gives th e following interest­
ing d e ta ils:—
A portion o f the Relies of Buddha, found by Mr. J . M. C am p ­
bell, C. S., in tho ruined dagoba at Sopara (S u p a r a k u P a tta n a ,)
near Hussein, Bombay Presidency, lias fallen into excellent
hands. A few weeks ago the G ov erno r of Bombay recoived,
throu gh the G o v ern o r of Ceylon, S ir Ja n ie s K. Longdeu,
K .C .M .G ., an application for the gift of some portion of these
unique aud valuable relics to the B u ddhist College at Colombo.
T ho applicant was tho learned and respected Sumniigala Thero,
I l ig h P riest o f A d a m ’s Peak, and Principal of Widyoduya
College— the one in question. T his was accompanied by a
favourable endorsem ent from the G overnor of Ceylon aa to the
h ig h repute of the H ig h P rie s t iu the island. T h e Bombay
G ov ern m en t vory properly acceded to tho re q u e s t w ithout
hesitation, and instructed the Secretary o f the Uoynl Asiatic
Society, Bombay Brunch, to send Sum angala a fragm ent of the
BuiUUm’sbegging-bow], seven of 300 goldeu flowers found witU
 tlie relies, nnd a portion ofnn odoriferous substance— seemingly T A B L E O F CONTENTS.
a p a sty compound of viirious spices and floral e x tr a c ts — with
Tage. Pago.
which (lie botlom of one of (lie enshrining coders b ad been
W riting for tlie, Press ... 79 Schopenhauer and Theosophy 90
spread. In due course these several articles were handed over Mind, Thought and Cere­ Indian Agricultural Reform. 91
to Sumnngala by the G o v e rn o r of Ceylon, to g e th er w ith an bration ... ... ... 79 The Vaccination Question iu
Crime iu Bengal ... ... 82 Switzerland and in the
official letter from the Bombay Government'., and one from the A Mysterious Racc... ... 82 English Parliament ... 91
famed Brahman, arehreologist, B hagw an Lall Indraji, l) r. B u r ­ The Buddhist Catechism ... 83 Spiritualistic Black Magic,., 92
Gleanimrs from K l c p h a s Is Suicide a Crime ? ... 93
gess’ collaborator, which endorsed tlio genuineness of the frag­ Levi ... ... ... 84 Horoscopes and Astrology... 94
ment, nml its accompaniment. T h e Ilig h l ’l'iest, u p o n receipt of the A Special W arn in g ... ... 85 Chelas and Knowcrs ... 95
Letters to the E ditor— The Tantras and t h e i r
coveted parcel, appointed tlie full moon day of O ctob er-N o vcm ber Curious Mediumistie P h e ­ Teachings... ... ... 95
for the opening of tho same, and exhibition o f the contents to the nomena... ... ... 85 Idolatry ............................. 96
public. Liberal Buddhist friends of the college made up a puise The Perfect Way ... 87 East Indian Materia Medica 90
The Rationale of Fasts ... 88 How to Know the lteal Self. 97
of £ 9 0 for decorating the b u ild in g and tb e O riental library
Zoroastrian M ahatmas .., 8S Atoms, Molecules, aud ether
a t t a c h e d t o Ihe i n s t i t u t i o n , the compound, and tbe approaches Full Stomach and Mental Waves ... ... ... 97
f r o m ihe h i g h road. Mr. dolin Robert D e S i l v a , F . i . S . , o f the Labour ... ... ... 88 Can the “ Double” M urder i 99
S urv e y o r G e n e ra l’s Oflicc, and the cleverest, artist, am ong tho Kurina ... ... ... 89 The Sopara (Buddhist) Belies
Sinhalese, furnished designs for three trium phal arches and nn Occult Acoustics ... ... 90 in Ceylon ... ... ... 101
arcade o f arches find trophies o f tlie colours of all uations. Ih e
coup d'iri.1 was v e r y fine and s t r i k i n g . A large lotus flower SPECIAL NOTICES.
mid tripod, in silver, placed i n s i d e a dagoba-shaped shrine in
crystal, had been provided in advance f o r the reception o f the I t is now evident t h a t the TllEOSorHlST offers to advertisers unusual ad­
relic, a n d the opening a u d privaate view t o o k place in th e vantages in circulation. W e have already subscribers in every p a r t of
India, in Ceylon, Burmah, China, an d on the Persian Gulf. Our paper
presence of Mr. IJope, the G o v e rn o r’s P riv n le S e c r e t a r y , the also goes to Great Britain a nd Ireland, Fiance, Spain, Holland, Germany,
Malia M udaliyar, or ranking native headman, who is also a tt a c h ­ Norway, Hu ngar y, Greece, Russia, Australasia, the Sandwich Islands,
ed to t h e G o v e rn o r’s i m m e d i a t e otlieial s l a tF ; Mr. C. B ruce, South Africa, tho West Indies, and North and South America. The following
very m od er ate rates have been adopted :
D irector of Public, Instruction ; Col. 11. S. Olcott, and two or three
Sinhalese gentlemen of influential position, l ’lie relic was then A d v er t is in g K ates.
removed to th e lower f l o o r of the library building, and, under
■vvatcli of the trustees of the college, and of a w ard er, bearing F irst inse rtion ........... 1C lines and un d er.............. 1 R u p e e .
one of the q uaintly p a i n t e d spears of t h e old K a n d y a n K ajah ’s For each additional l i n e ...........................................1 Anna.
gu ard s ; it w a s e x p o s e d t o p u b l i c , view from 1 lo 8 r . M . Some Space is chargcd for a t t h e rat6 of 12 lines to tho inch. Spccial ar ra nge­
thousands of visitors p a s s e d t h r o u g h the room, and enjoyed a ments can be made for large advertisements, and for longer and fixed
brilliant, illumination of t h e g r o u n d s . A t 9 r . M . , by request periods. For f u rth er information an d contracts for advertising, apply to
of the H ig h P riest, Colonel Olcott. made an address to u mons­ M ess r s . COOrER & Co., M eadow S treet , F ort , B ombay ;
te r audience, exp lanato ry of the history of the S o para find,
mid the transmission to Ceylon of the portion now on view. P ro p r ie t o r , INDUSTRIAL PRESS, 3, Hdjimum S t re e t , FottT, B ombay
P r i e s t M agiltuw atte, llie famous Buddhist, orator and champion, M an au e r , T HEOSOPHIST, A d t a r , M ad r as .
followed iu an oration of great, pow er and eloquence, which fini­ To SUBSCRIBERS.
shed the d ay ’s proceedings. T h e exhibition was to have
closed on the 3 i s t ultimo ; bu t a g re a t rain storm o f two d ays’ Tlie Subscription prico a t which th e TuEOSOI’llIST is published barely
covers cost—tho design in establishing t.he journal having been rather
duration h aving prevented the c o u n t r y peoplo from coming in, to reach a very wide circlo of readers, than to make a profit. We cannot
the. tnistees extended th e lime a couple of days. afford, thercforo. to send specimen copies free, nor to supply libraries, so­
T h o u g h but, a bit. of greyish baked clay, a pparently, this cieties, or individuals gratuitously. For the same reasomve wero obliged
to adopt tho plan, now universal in America, of requiring subscribers to
fragment, o f tin; veritable begging-bowl o f the “ world h on ou red” pay in advance, and of sto pping tbe paper at the end of the ter m paid for.
has naturally for B udd hists an inestimable value. I t s com­ Many years of practical experience have convinced W es tern publishers that
panion fragments, found by Mr. Campbell in th e golden b ox in this system of cash p a y m e n t is th e best and most sa tisfactcry to both
parties ; all respec table journals aro now conducted on this plan, and our
Sopara Stupa, are ignobly resting iu th e custody of C hristian own experience of four years endorses it.
unbelievers a t the Bombay T ow n ll a ll , b ut this one is to be Tho TllF.osoi’Ii 1 ST will ap p ear each month. The rates, for twelve num ­
honoured wilh a nobler fate. F o r eighteen or more centuries bers of not less th an 48 columns Royal 4to each of reading m atter, of
preserved in a dagoba, it is now to be shown, (it slated times, to columns in all, are as follows :—To Subscribers in any po rt of India,
Ceylon, Stra its Settlem en ts, China, Ja p an , and Australia, Rs. ii ; in Africa,
th e descendants in faith of lliose who welcomed to Ceylon Europe, and the United S tates, £ 1. Half-year (India, &c.) Rs. 5 ; Single
Mnhinda, the ascetic son of the g re a t A soka. Keposing upon a copies Rupee 1. Remittances in postal sta m p s must be a t th e ra te of anna.
silver lotus, in a crystal shrine ; il will be kept, in a fire proof 17 to the liupee to cover discount. The above rates include postages
safe, in n il up stair building lo be shortly erccted nt a cost of
A o name will be entered in the books or paper sent until the money is
remitted; and invariably ihe paper will be discontinued at the expiration
some £ 5 0 0 . O f this some. £ 1 0 0 has been subscribed already of the term subscribed fur. Remittance s should be made in Money-orders,
by A. P. D h a rm a Goonewaidhann, M ohandiram ; £ 5 0 by II. A. Uuudis, Bill cheques, ( or Treas ury bills if in registered letters J, and
mado payable only to tho 1’r o f h i e t o r s o f t h e T h e o s o i ' h i s t , Adyar,
F e rn a n d o ; £ 5 0 by C. M atthew : £ 5 by B. C. Cooray ; £ 5 B. S. Madras, India. Subscriptions commence with the Volume, .
Cooray and £ 1 0 by S ingho Appooham i. Il was originally intended
Subscribers wishing a p rin te d receipt for their remittances m u st send
to bury it under a new dagoba, I lie erection of which had been tam ps for return postage. Otherwise acknowledgments will be mado
planned ; b u t upon second thoughts, the altern ative plan was hrougli th e journal.
ndopted. Possession of (his relic elevates Su m a n g ala’s college
to an equality of religious im portance in Buddhistic regard with
th e D alnda M aligaua or T ooth shrine n t K an d y . Jn fnct, I
Cff" O n l y e i g h t N u m b e r s o f v o l . I b e i n g a v a i l a b l e , t h e c h a r g e row
them will be lis. 4-4. Subscribers for t h e Second Volume (Oct. 1880 to
have m e t some educated Sinhalese who consider this by far the September 1881) pay Rs. 6 only in I n d i a ; 11s. 7 in Ceylo n; Rs. 8 in the
m ore valuable relic of the two, since the alleged “ tooth” of S traits S ettlem en ts China, J a p a n , and A u stralia; and ±'1 in Africa,
Europe and tho U nited States.
B u d d h a resembles a toolh abo ut as little as th e Sridpada or
g ig a n tic “ foot-print of B u d d h a ” on top of A d a m ’s Beak, r e ­ A gents : London, Eng., B ern ard Quaritch, 16 Piccadilly, W. ; France, P. G'
sembles the impression of a foot. T h o B uddhists here are now Leymaric, 5, Rue Neuve des P etits Champs, PariB ; New York, Fowler
and Wells, 753, Broadway ; Boston, Mass, Colby and Rich, 9, Montgomery
a n tic ip a tin g that, o ther discoveries of frag m en ts o f B u d d h a ’s P l a c e ; Chicago, 111. J. C. Bundy, 92, L a S alle St. (American subscribers
bowl in oth er iincient stupas, indicated by the snme auth ority may also order their papers th rough W. Q. Ju d g e , Esq., 71 Broadway,
New Yor k.) Melbourne, W. H. Terry, Pub. Harbinger o f L ig h t; West
ns th a t which suggested Sopara, will y e t rew ard Ihe search of Indies, C. E Taylor, St. Thomas ; India : Thacker Spink and Company,
D r. Burgess, Mr. Campbell, or Pandit. Bhagwanlal. I also heard Booksellers, C a lc u tta ; Babu Nnrendro Nath Sen, In d ia n Jlirro r ollice, '24
an intelligent, man express the hope th a t llie Bombay G o v e rn ­ Mott’s Lane, Dhurrumtollah Street, C a lc utta; Bombay: Tookaram Tatya,
2 Church Gato St., F o rt ; Ceylon : Greg. Ederewcre, Gallo ; Jo h n Robert do
ment, seeing the great value that B ud dh ists place upon these Silva, Surveyor Gener al’s Ullice, Colombo : Lon T ii t c t b y Karunaratne,
relics, would present fragments to the K in g s of Siam and B urm a Kandy. China : Kelly an d W alsh, Shanghai.
nnd ihe E m p ero is of China and J a p a n ; seuding them not,, as
in the present, instance, pai cel post, b u t in a m ore dignified and
diplomatic fashion. K ilh cr ot those Sovereigns would no doubt Printed a t tho Industrial Press by Burjorjee Cursotjee, r r i l i t e i ' i and
gladly send special agent to Bombny to receive their presents. published by th© Theosophical Society a t Breach Candy, Bombay.
 SUPPLEMENT
TO
THE THEOSOPHIST-
V o l . 4. No. 4. BOM BAY, J A N U A R Y , 1 8 8 3 .
CEL 10BRATTON O F T H E S E V E N T H A N N I V E R ­
S A R Y O F T H E T H E O S O P H I C A L SO C IE T Y .
T he seventh Anniversary Celebration of our Society, at
Fram jee Cowasjee In stitu te , Bombay, on th e evening of
th e 7th December, was th e most successful and encourag­
ing ever held. T he audience, as is usual at all Theoso­
phical public meetings, overflowed th e hall, and the
enthusiasm was as m arked as heretofore. An unusual
dignity was given to the occasion by th e presence in the
chair of Mr. A . P. S innett, author of th e “ Occult W orld,”
whose private character and social influence are well-
known th roughout India. Besides the gentleman, who
represented the Sim ia Ecelectic Theosophical Society,
upon the platform sat the following gentlem en as delegates
from th e ir respective branches of the P a r e n t Society :
Babu Nobin K, Banarjee of Berhampore, Bengal, repre­
senting th e A d u i - B h o u t i c B u k a t u U Theosophical
Society; Dr. Arinas Chandra Banerji, L. M. S. of A llaha­
bad, representing th e P i t A Y A O A P s y c h i c ; B abu N orendra
N a th Sen, and B abu Moliini M. Chatterji, M. A . , B.L., of
Calcutta, of th e B e n g a l T.S. ; Rai Bishin Lall, M. A.,
Bareilly, N. W . P., of the R o h i l k h a n d T .S .; Pand it
Kesliav Sakharam Shastri, of th e B a h o d a T.S. ; M.R.Ry.
L. V enkata Varadarajulu Naidoo, of the M a d k a s T . S . ;
P u n d it Gopinath, E d itor of the M itm Vilasa, of Lahore,
representing the P u n j a b branches ; Rao B ah ad ur Gopal-
rao H u rry D eshm ukh, President, and Dr. Pand urang
Gopal, and Mr. K. M. Shroff, of th e Bom bay T. S . ; Rao
lJaliadur J. S. Gadgil, B.A., LL.B., of th e B a r o d a
T . S . ; M R .lly Ramaswamier, B .A . ; of the T i n n e v e l l y
T S ., P andit N itya n an da Misra, of the B h a g u l p o u e
(Bengal) T.S. ; Dr. Mohiiulra N a th Gangooly, of the
C h o h a n (Cawnpore) T.S. ; B abu Tirapada Banerji, M.A.,
B.L., of the N u d d e a (Bengal) T . S . ; Mr. Thom as Pereira
Abeyawardene, of Galle, Ceylon,, representing th e B u d ­
dhist Section of the T . S . ; Mr. Jam sedji, N. U nw alla of
S a o k a s h t r a (K atthiaw ar) T . S . ; and Mr. A b rah am D. E ze­
kiel, of the P o o n a T . S . ; th e Corresponding Secretary,
M adam e Blavatsky, th e J o i n t Recording Secretary, Mr.
D am odar K. Mavalankar, and, of course, th e P resid en t-
founder were also present. A ro un d th e H all were su s­
pended thirty-n in e m etal shields, p ain ted blue, upon which
were inscribed the names of the branches of our society
which have been founded iu Asia, since the arrival of
No. 40
th e founders in India, in the year 1870. This visual
rem in der to the Bombay public o f t h e ceaseless labours of
the founders, the spread of tho Theosophical cause made a
deep impression. B ehind the President-founder, a sepoy
held the beautiful banner, which has j u s t been worked for
th e Society by M adame Coulomb. I t is in carbuncle-
coloured Chinese satin, 5 8 by 77 inches in size, with
silken cords and tassels, the pole and cross-sticks of teak,
with gilded tips. Tho staff is surm ounted by a carved
brazen device, comprising of an Egyptian F a n entw ined
with a serpent-, (carved and enamelled to resemble nature),
which to gether form th e monogram “ T. S.” o f th e society,
and symbolize th e E gyptian and ancient Chaldean reli­
gions ; and an enclosing circle, typical of the Buddhist
chakras, which is, moreover, inscribed in red Pali charac­
ters, w ith tho celebrated su tta of Buddha, "Sabba ppapassa
a k a ru n u m , &c. T he central device embroidered upon the
b an n e r in iloss-silk gold-thread and beads, is th e six-
pointed star (S r i u m tn r a ) or interlocked black and white
triangles, forming th e “ seals” of Vishnu aud of Solomon,
which stand at once for the H in d u and Hebrew esoteric
philosophies, backed by the blazing Sun of Zoroastrianism.
Over all is th e monogram of the mystic symbol, Auir, in
Sanscrit ; and, iu the lower-half of the banner, the grand
m otto of the M aharajah of Benares—long since taken,
with His H igh ness’s kind permission, as the watchword of
this magazine. Thero is no Religion higher than Truth.)
Thus, in one symbolical composition are included
the emblems of all the ancient Asian faiths, and
typified th e catholic spirit of th e Theosophical Society—
whose initial letters appear again to the right and left of
th e central device. A round of loud applause broke from
th e crowded assemblage when th e b ann er was carried
upon th e platform beforo th e P re sid e n t founder, his
colleagues, and th e delegates.
Being in the hurly-burly of breaking u p of our Bombay
head-quarters and removing to Madras a t th e tim e of this
writing, we can give only an abstract of the proceedings
a t the'anniversary, and shall confine ourselves maiuly to
th e reports of th e Bombay dailies. Fo r once, they had
not even a word of malicious com m ent to make. The
Theosophical Society is growing “ respectable” very fast !
T he sjieeehes of th e delegates, which with the proceedings
are now being p u t into a pam phlet at Calcutta, were all
 dignified professions of loyalty to th e cause of Theosoph}7,
nud testimonies of the good th a t our m ovem ent has
already done in tho four quarters of India. T he delegates
were w ith ou t exception men of standing— some of a very
high one— in tlieir districts, and most m ade large sacri­
fices of tim e and money to come to this meeting. A
rough estim ate shows th a t in tlie aggregate th e ir railway
trav el to aud from the convention counts up to 45.720
miles.
Upon the motion of Rao B a h a d u r Gopalrao H u r r y D esh­
m u kh , seconded hy Mr. K. M. Shroff, Mr. S innett, Presi­
de n t of th e Simla Ecclectic Theosophical Society, was
elected Chairman of Ihe meeting, and upon tak in g his seat
was received ivit.li cheers and loud applause. T he Tim es
o f Iiiditi reports liis remarks as follows :—
“— The business we have before us this evening is the
celebration of th e .seventh iinniversary since the foundation
in New York, and the fourth th a t has been held since the
head-q uarters wero transferred to Bombay. W e have the
pleasure of welcoming a large n u m b e r of delegates from
various branches of the society scattered all over India,
and from each of them we hope to h e a r some account- of
the progress that has been made with the work of the
society in the places they represent. W e have also to
h ear from the President-founder, Colonel Olcott, a general
report on the progress of the whole society. T h a t this
report will be satisfactory in its nature, the aspect of this
m eeting affords us at starting good ground for hope. T he
sociely lias now been established in Bombay for nearly
four years, and has effectually lived down th e m isappre­
hension by which its earliest efforts were attended.
Many friends of the society were ind ig n a n t to find th a t
any misapprehensions were po ssible; b u t although I cer­
t a i n l y count myself among its warmest friends, I do not
see reason to be surprised a t th e developm ent of mistrust
and vague suspicion a t first.. T he public could hardly
fail to see ground for suspicion in th e aspect of this move­
m en t in the beginning. Two foreigners coming to set up
a large organisation in Jmlia could hardly expect to escape
suspicion a t the outset of their operations, nor to avoid
engendering among ordinary wordly-minded people an
impression t h a t they m u st have some p rivate ends to gain,
or some unexplained objects to serve. I n a measure the
natural uncertainty concerning their designs to which I
refer was shared a t first by th e constituted authorities ; b u t
to a much more limited extent, I th in k, th a n some e x ­
aggerated reports may have led some of you to imagine.
I t is the clear duty of constituted authorities in every
country to w'atch tlie proceedings of foreign visitors who
call public meeting and address th e people. A nd th e only
way by which such watchfulness can be carried out is by
means of the regular agents which constituted authorities
employ. Tn th e present case, however, I am confident
in saying th a t the attention, which th e founders of the
Theosophical Socicty excited, led, in an exceedingly short
time, to th e conclusion th a t th e ir a ttitu d e and objects
were altogether blameless, even if the philanthropic
fdreams by which they were anim ated m ig h t be vain and
chimerical. Gentlemen, it is from a mistrustful generation
and not. from alibcral-niinded Governm ent th a t the founders
of the, Theosophical Society have had to encounter opposition.
(Applause.) The founders of this society have come to
num ber many of their best friends am ongst th e represen­
tatives of authority, while among th e people, to whose wel-
are th e y have devoted their lives, they have encountered
much cheering support it is true, b u t some hostility and
opposition. This opposition seems to have sprung partly
from the inability, under which some persons find th e m ­
selves, to believe in a philanthropy th a t is perfectly pure-
hearted a t and in connection with which there are 110
personal objects t.o g ain,and partly from the sensitivedislike,
which so many of u.s e ntertain for any philosophical views
which can in any way bo constructed as hostile to our own
particular religious faith. Now, the Theosophical Society,
as a society, though in no sense of th e word an irreligious
society, is a society of 110 specific religion, One of th e
ends it has in view is to promote a searching investigation
into the original basis and foundations of all religions,
w ith th e idea ra th e r of justifying all th a n of overthrowing
any. B u t in th e magazine which is th e organ of the
society, and in speeches which have been made from time
to tim e by its representatives, criticisms have often been
p u t forward which have found fault w ith th e external
modern developments— now of one religion and now of
another. I n this way it has come to pass th a t th e devo­
tees of more th a n one religion have resented the u tte r ­
ances of various members of the society as indicating a
special hostility on th e p a rt of the society to their own
particular faith. B u t no impression can be more errone­
ous th an one which would picture the society as eith er the
champion or th e foe of any particular faith. T h a t of
which it is th e champion is Truth, some portion of
which underlies every religion which has ever won its
way in th e world : t h a t of which it is th e Foe, is
error, w ith which every religion after long use in the
world becomes more or less encrusted. B u t even
th is philosophical search for tr u th is hardly the primary
object of the society. T h a t object is promoted by the
philosophical search for tru th , as I hope directly to show,
th a t object itself is t h a t pressed in the foremost watch-
ward of th e society, Universal Brotherhood. (Cheers.)
Now universal brotherhood is not a new idea, and the
society is sometimes unfavourably criticised for taking it
as a watchword, on th e ground tha t it is too vague an idea to
be realized and to vast to be otherwise th a n Utopian. B u t
first of all it should be remembered in our favour tha t
there never was tim e or a country in which an effort iu
th e direction of establishing a feeling of Universal Bro-
therwood was more urg en tly needed th a n it is needed in
this country now (loud cheers) ; and secondly, we maintain
th a t th e Theosophical Society comes before the world with
a modification of th e old and hitherto unrealised idea,
which renders it less vague than it has been hitherto, if
not less vast, and certainly more practical. F o r hitherto
U niversal Brotherhood has been preached as th e brother­
hood of this or th a t religious denomination. Now we
Theosophists preach th e idea as divorced from all deno­
minational exclusiveness and as embracing all seekers for
t r u t h w hatever th e ir creed may be and of necessity w hat­
ever th e ir races. In this way the watchward of the
society in its application to In d ia may be translated
into an appeal to all well-wishers of India, to do good to
In d ia in th e way in which good most requires to be done,
— in th e way of pointing out fields of intellectual activity
in which th e cultivated men of all races which inhabit
In d ia may work together, and feel themselves brotherly
in mind, and thus iu the progress of time, as th e ir intellect
inspires th e ir sympathies, truly brotherly in feeling.
Gentlemen, there is only one way in which you can
bring to g e th e r races of people who differ from each other
in habits, tastes, and pursuits. Y ou must show each th a t
it really has som ething to gain from the other. N ot in
any ignoble sense of th e term , b u t in the sense in which
all men of real culture m u st necessarily gain from associa­
tion w ith each other. A merely philanthropic desire to
promote good feeling in In d ia for good feeling's sake is
merely equivalent to saying the th in g ought to be done;
b u t th e leaders of th e Theosophical Socicty have this
peculiarity as compared with all other philanthropists I
know of who have declared for the same good object, th a t
they go on to show how th e th ing can be done. They
have discovered the tru e channel thro ugh which sym pa­
thies may flow betw een Europeans aud Asiatics. T h a t
channel is philosophical study, in which th e two main
races which constitute th e Indo-British nation are the
complement of each other. T he Theosophical Society
shows European th in k e rs how the rich stores of ancient
Aryan philosophy contains, disguised perhaps by symbo-
logy— b u t none th e less intelligible when the symbo­
logy is in te rp re te d — th a t which I for one should call the
absolute t r u t h abou t spiritual things, and which at all
events, all intelligent stu dents m u st recognise as a most
 valuable contribution to th e purely speculative philoso­
phies of the West. L e t any E uropean of culture, of
any nationality, realize th e tru e esoteric m eaning of orien­
tal philosophies— and futhermore, by personal association
w ith cultivated natives of this country, let him realize the
g re a t flexibility and acuteness of perception which charac­
terises the Indian m ind in regard to philosophical ideas,
an d he will certainly find a bond of sym pathy w ith and a
motive of respect for India t h a t cannot fail to p u t him in
a new a ttitu d e of mind towards th e people of this country
generally. In the same way let the In d ia n philosopher
realize by working with th e European how much even his
own philosophy lias to gain by contact w ith t h e clear prac­
tical methods of th o u g h t which E uro pean science teaches,
and a reciprocal feeling of respect will be developed on
his p a r t—a respect not merely for the valuable, practical
every-day qualities of th e E uropean character with which
every one is familiar, b u t for th a t quality in th e E uropean
m ind which renders it in philosophical speculation, as I
have said before, th e com plement of th e other. T he chair­
man th en proceeded to give w hat he called th e secret
history of th e society, rem arking t h a t it did not primarily
devote itself to th e study of occult sciences, b u t its incep­
tion was most undeniably due to the Brotherhood of
Adepts. H e thoug ht th e tim e had come when the study
of occult sciences and th e good philanthropic idea which
gathered round th e knowledge m igh t be disclosed to peo­
ple who had an a rd en t sym pathy w ith t h a t kind of study.
And in order th a t th e work m igh t be accomplished they
th e A depts pitched upon one of th e few people h ere will­
ing to m ake such a complete sacrifice as a devotion to the
work involved. M adam e Blavatsky was, therefore, select­
ed for the work, and she chose as her associate Colonel
Olcott. The two founders were then b rought together
and launched 011 th e ir career. T he society was of an
occult origin. I t had from its com m encem ent th e desire
011 the p a r t of the brotherhood to do good to hum anity. H e
did not th in k there was any room for am biguity as to the
Theosophical Society which stood quite clearly before th e
w o rld ; its origin was clearly intelligible and its work was
clearly m arked out (loud applause). Looking a t the
m eeting he would defy anybody to dispute t h a t position,
(loud and prolonged applause.)
T he T reasu rer’s A nnual R e p o rt was th e n read by Mr-
D amodar. I t is as follows :—
Receipts. Exp enditu re.
From 1st Jan . to 4th From 1st J a n . to 4th
D e c . , 1882 :— Deo. 1882 *—
Admission F e o s ..........,... 4,163 0 IToadquartors Mainten*
Donations :— ance ...................... . ....... 4,571 8 0
T ukara m T a ty a F. T. S. Society's P rinting
100 Balai ; Ch&nd Mul- (333-12-0) Stationery
HcW F. T. S , 90 ........... 190 0 And Postage (316).....
Cash advanced by Madam Telegrams.........................
H. P. Blavatsky and Travelling expenses and
Col. H. S. Olcott.............4,552 15 cost of special missions
to Punjab, N . - W .- P ,
Ceylon, Sikkhim, and
e l s e w h e r e including1
j o u r n e y s of 40,052
m i l e s ..........................3,417
To tho Widow of a Theo­
sophist ................. ........
Fee refunded in Ceylon...
Total Rupoea... 8,905 1 5 ^ 8 T otal Rupees... 8,905 15
T h e T h e o so ph ic a l S o c ie t y .
T reasurer’s account from 1st J a n u a r y to 4th D ecem ber
1882 (inclusive).
E and O. E. Bombay, 4th D ecem ber 1882.
D amodar K . M avalankar,
Treasurer,
Audited by order of the General Council and found
correct.
JN o b in K. B a n e b ji. 1 ~ ...
S. Committee of Audit.
R am asw am ier. j th e n addressed in H ind e e stating th a t it was th e good
Mr. Damodar then read congratulatory telegrams just
received from H. H, the Thakore Saheb of Wadhwan,
Shree H u rrisin g ji Roopsingji, of Sihor, the Nellore Theoso­
phical Society, th e E dito r of the A rya (Lahore), and others.
Rao B a h ad u r Gopalrao H u rre e , as President of th e Bom­
bay Branch of th e T.S., th en addressed the delegates, the
Rao giving th em a hearty and brotherly welcome to Bom­
bay, and expressing the hope th a t the ties of personal regard
now formed m ight grow stronger and stronger, throug ho ut
th eir beloved motherland, and thousands more of h e r e d u ­
cated sons m ig ht un ite to improve the moral, spiritual and
intellectual condition of the people. The great aims of
Theosophy were three, namely, universal brotherhood,
inquiry into an d investigation of ancient science and
literature (particularly of India), and investigation into
th e mysterious powers of nature. The natives of India,
who are so much divided by sects and castes, ave in need
of a common brotherhood whieh m eant nothing more than
showing respect for each others prejudices, opinions, and
ideas. (Applause.)
“ Baboo Norendero N a th Sen, Editor of th e In d ia n ]\fir-
ror, being called upon by the chairman, addressed the
meeting. H e said th a t th e Calcutta branch which he
represented t h a t day had been only taking a leal out of
the book of Urbs p rim a in Indis. H e asked th e Indians
to shake off p etty provincial jealousy in m atters affecting
the best interests of th e country. (Cheers.) They had
received various proofs of a most incontrovertible charac­
te r of th e existence of the Himalayan brotherhood.
T h ere was no institution in all In d ia more useful
and cherishing higher and nobler objects thau th e Theo­
sophical Society, founded by men to whom they
were deeply indebted for an enormous sacrifice from the
purest and noblest motives. (Loud cheers.) Though
E uropean by birth they were Hindoos a t h e a rt (cheers)
and b e tte r Hindoos too th a u m any of th em present at
th e meeting. I t was formerly the tu rn of th e E ast to teach
th e W est, b u t now by a strange fatality th e position was
changed, and it was th e tu rn of th e West to teach the
■i • *
E ast (Loud applause). T he illustrious founders were
not adventurers, as some silly people called them . Let
them recall to mind th e glorious past of India, and let them
not be so unpatriotic and heartless as not to extend the
rig ht hand of fellowship and co-operate with th e ir labour of
love (Cheers.). Pie confidently and sincerely stated tha t
In d ia could not have b e tte r friends. H e was ashamed
of his countrymen who reviled and laughed a t th e founders
of th e order, knowing as they did so very little about them.
In d ia was not dead b u t asleep, and she required arousing.
As a hum ble jo urna list he devoted himself to th e good of
th e country, A,nd had with th a t object allied himself with
th e society which ta u g h t amongst other things brotherly
feeling, self-love, self-respect, independence, pu rity of cha­
racter, and lastly th e knowledge of th e secret forces of
649 12 0
157 9 0
n atu re unknow n to m odern science. There was no better
friend of th e natives th a n th e ir chairman, Mr. Sinnett,
(loud and prolonged applause). The natives of India, l'rom
th e m a n n er in which they were educated, were g e ttin g so
much Europeanised t h a t they were becoming a race of dark
2 8 E nglishm en altog eth er (Loud laughter). B u t happily
Theosophy had come to th e ir rescue. (Applause). Tho
100 0 0
10 0 0 Hindoos had no more idea of their sacred shastras than
the m a n in th e moon (Laughter). T h e educational
8
policy in In d ia had been a m istaken one which had iu the
long run done more harm than good. They had lost r e s ­
pect for th e ir ancestors and had also lost faitli in their
religion (Cheers).
T he Baboo having expressed a few more sentim ents as
to th e moral regeneration of India, resum ed his seat
am idst cheers.
Mr. L. Dorasawmy Naidoo, of Madras, next addressed
th e meeting, dwelling on the excellence of the aims and
objects of th e society.
P a n d it Gopinath, E dito r of the M ittra Vilasa of Lahore,
, .
fortune of India, where so many great people lived and
flourished th a t two such disinterested people should
a tte m p t to unfold th e beauties of th e shastras,
 Colonel Olcott then by request of th e C hairm an gave a
brief sum m ary of th e working of th e society. IIo said at
th e outset he would express the feeling which prevailed
th ro u g h o u t all Ariavarta, a feeling of g ratitu d e to the
g e n tle m an who occupied th e chair for his loyal devotion
to th e truth and his kindly sym pathy with th e ir u n fo rtu ­
n a te country (Cheers). T he society had been struggling
a ga inst g re a t difficulties, great misconceptions, and much
unkindness. B u t it was a proud day for th e m indeed t h a t
th e y could gather round them on th e platform m en from
th e four quarters of India, and oven from Ceylon, to testify,
each on behalf of the branch society which he represented
th e interest and affection inspired by Theosophy. They
nu m b e re d amongst th e ir members ju d g e s and journalists,
lawyers and a nu m b e r of successful m en in other walks of
life. H e could see th a t in the aggregate tho society had
been productive of much practical good already. P u ttin g
aside the sentim en tal idea of th e ties of brotherhood and
the investigation of occult sciences, th e la tte r of which
had no great attraction fo rm ally of them, the society had
fulfilled a good many of its objects. T h e speaker
th e n gave an account of th e schools tho society had
established in different parts of In d ia and tho
publications issued under th e ir auspices. I n Ceylon, lie
said, about a thousand children wore taken out of tho
missionaries’ hands ; and were placed u nder B h udd ist ins­
tructors. H e was happy to learn th a t a nobleman in
K ath iaw ar after learning mesmerism from him had been
practising the art, and had effected ab o u t 150 cures
(Applause). A nother gentlem an, Mr. K. M. Shroff, b e ­
longing to their society, had been actively engaged a t
Bombay causing a new hospital to be erected for the use
of sick and emaciated animals (Applause). Some of the
pro m in en t members of th e ir society in London had united
themselves with men like Professor Balfour Stewart, Prof.
Barrett, Mr. H e n ry Sedgwick and other m en of scientific
eminence to organise a Psychic Research Society. They
held tlieir last anniversary t h a t day in Bombay, and pro­
posed to shift their head-quarters to th e eastern coast, b e ­
cause their society having grewn large they required a place
from whence they could conviently and economically travel
all over In d ia and Ceylon. T he speaker iu conclusion
proposed to raise an Ind ian N atio nal F u n d for the prom o­
tion and revival of A ryan literature. H e officially wished
farewell and hoped t h a t th e y would work for m any years
for th e regeneration of I n d ia and the world (loud and
prolonged applause).
T he Chairm an here asked those who did not care to
hear the delegates to retire. Some g entlem en having left,
th e hall, the proceedings were resumed.
Mr. A. D. Ezekiel, of Poona, th e n addressed the m eeting
stating th a t Theosophy if carefully studied would lay bare
th e m erits and beauties of the Jew ish faith to which he
belonged.
Mr. Ja m se tje e Nowrojee Unvalla, M.A., of Bhownugger,
compared Theosophy w ith Philosophy in its various
bearings, and said th a t th e K a tty war branch of the society
was deeply indebted to th e founders aud sym pathised
w ith th e objects of th e society.
Mr. T. Pereira, of Ceylon, who was peculiarly dressed
a n d had a tortoise shell comb fixed in th e front of his
head, said th a t by the advent of T heosophists in his coun­
try, C hristianity had been checked and B ud dh ism revived.
H e saw wonderful cures effected by means of mesmerism
as practised by Colonel Olcott. P a tie n ts suffering from
paralysis who, came on tho crutch, w ent away after a few
m inu tes cured by mesmeric passes.
Mr. S. Ramaswamier, who said he came from T in n e ­
velly, informed th e m eeting th a t Colonel Olcott on tho
occasion of his visit to T innevelly was allowed to preach
in th e ir pagoda to which h ith e rto no stranger had been
admitted.
Rao Bahadoor Ja u a rd h u n Succaram Gadgil, of Baroda,
believed in the H im alayan M ajiaalmas. Somo of th e
members present a t th e meeting had been eye-witnesses,
and their reality could no longer be doubted.
P u n d it N ity a n u n d Misra of Bliagulporo, who was a
tall and stalwart-looking man, addressed the assembly in
th e S a n sk rit language. '
Dr. Aviuas C. Bannerjee, of Allahabad, was tlio next
speaker.
T h e Chairm an th e n intim ated th a t it was impossible to
carry out th e ir program m e th a t night. T here were m any
more delegates to address tho meeting, b u t as it had grown
late it was proposed th e ir speeches along w ith the others
delivered a t the m ee tin g should be printed and published
for the information of the members as well as th e public
in general.
Mr. K. M. Sliroff th en proposed a vote of th a n k s to the
Chairman, observing t h a t lie had shown an exemplary
moral courage by giving utterances to his views in con­
nection with tho society.
Tho C hairm an in re tu rn in g thanks observed th a t
the success of tho Sim la Eclectic Society, of which he was
the president, had completely changed the m ind of those
who wore hostile to th e Theosophical Society. M any men
wero now of opinion th a t th e occult science was a reality,
and th a t feeling he was aware was spreading widely, and
would eventually bring in an accession of E u ro pe a n m em ­
bers a t Simla. T he study of occult science had gained
ground in London, and it had only to be pushed on in this
country. T he g re a t society called the Society for Psychic
Research was nothing more than the Theosophical Society
minus its philanthropy.
T he C hairm an having formally thanked th e delegates,
th e m eeting separated a t 8-30 p. m. with cheers for every
body.
A N N U A L M E E T I N G O F T H E G E N E R A L C O U N C IL .
P u r s u a n t to notice, the A n nual M eeting of the G ene­
ral Council of th e Theosophical Society was held a t h ea d ­
quarters, Bombay, on W ednesday, the 6 th D ecem ber 1882.
T he P re side nt-F o und e r in th e Chair :—•
P r e s e n t :— Babu N o bin K. Banerji, Dr. Avinaschandra
Banerji, L .M .S-; B abu Mohini M Chatterji M.A., B .L . ;
Babu Bishen Lall, M .A .; P u n d it Keshov Sakharam Shas-
t r i ; Rao Bahadoor J. S. Gadgil, B.A., L.L.B. ; B a b u
N o rend ra N a th Sen ; M. R. Ry. S. Ramswamier, B.A ;
P u n d it N ity an a m d ra Misra ; Dr. Mohendra N a t t Ganxooly ;
Babu T arap ad a Banerji, M.A., B . L .; T u k a ra m Tatya, Esq ;
T. Pereira, Abeyawardene, Esq ; J. N. Unwallah, E s q ; M.A.
A. D. Ezekiel, Esq ; T he Corresponding Secretary ; The Pt.
Recording Secretary.
Office-bearers for th e ensuing year were elected. The
Rules an d Bye-laws of th e Society were discussed and
revised.
The Presid en t gave an account of his work in Ceylon
and th e m esm eric cures effected by him there.
I t was resolved t h a t th e head-quarters of th e Socioty
be fixed at Madras, u ntil fu rther change is found neces­
sary.
The T reasurer th e n subm itted his account from 1st J a n u ­
ary to th e 4 th D ecem ber 1882, which were referred to
B abu Nobin K. Banerji, D ep uty M agistrate and D epu ty
Collector of B e rh a m p u r (Bengal) and M.R.Ry., Ramaswa-
my B.A., D istrict R egistrar of Tinnevelly (Madras) for
audit, to bo read a t tho public anniversary m eeting at
F ra m ji Cowasji I n s t itu te on th e 7 th D ecem ber 1882, and
published after audit, in the T h e o s o p h i s t .
T h e P re sid e n t th e n m ade several confidential com­
munications to th e meeting, and th e Council adjourned
sin e die.
By th e Council,
D a m o d a r K. M a v l a n k a r ,
J t . Recording Secretary.
 THE “ K A N C H IN JH IN G A ”
S O C IE T Y .
A t a G eneral M eeting of Theosophists held on th e otli
N ovem ber 1882.
P resen t:
B abu Dino N ath M azum dar
„ Nabin Krisno B anerjee
„ Bidhu Bhushan Ghosh
„ B arada K a n t Chow dhary
T H E O S O PH IC A L (7) T h a t th e best th a n k s of tho Society are due to
Babu Nobin Krisno Banerjee, President B erham pur T heo­
sophical Society for his earnestness and sincere wish for
the progress of this Society.
(8) T h a t a copy of the above proceedings and those
of tho last meeting be forwarded to the P a r e n t Society for
imformation, and approval of the nom ination of office­
bearers and Byc-Laws, with a request for th e publication
of the la tte r in th e “ T h k o s o p i u s t . ”
G h h a t r a D i i o r g i i o s h ,

„ Ra j narain Bose Secretary K anchinjhinga T. S.

„ G hhatra D h a r Gose
„ Sunder Singli T H E K A N C H I N J I N G A T H E O S O P H I C A L S O C IE T Y .
„ Kalay Singh • or
„ S rinath C hatterjee
T h e P s y c i i o - S c i e n t i f i c B r o t h e r h o o d ,
„ Rajendro N a th Roy
(E S T A B L IS H E D AT D A IiJ E E L IN G , B E N G A L .)
Resolved and carried unanim ously :—■
N ovem ber 1882.
(1) T h a t the n am e of th e D arjeeling B ran ch Theoso­
phical Society should be “ K anchinjhinga Theosophical R u l e s a n d B y e - L a w s .

Society.” I. T he K anch in jh in ga Theosophical Society is a branch

(2) T h a t Babu Dino N a th M azum dar be th e President,
Babu Chliatra D h a r Gose be th e Secretary and Treasurer.
(3) T h a t the P resident or th e Secretary and two oftlie
Councillors should constitute a quorum to transact all
ordinary business.
(4) T h a t the Society will m e e t every fortnight on F r i ­
day evening from G-30 p.m. to 8-30 p.m., a t Rajbari.
A t a General M eeting held on F rid a y evening a t R a j­
b a ri on the 17tli N ov em b er 1882.
Present :
B abu Dino N a th M azumdar, P resident
„ G hhatra D har Gose, Secretary and T reasurer
„ R agendro N a th Roy
„ N abin Krisno Baneijee, President, B erham p ur
Theosophical Society
„ Barada K a u t Chowdhary
„ Kalay Singh
„ Su n d e r Singh
„ Bidhu B hushan Ghosh
„ R a jn a ra in Bose
„ S rin a th Chatterjee
„ l n d u B hushan Roy
„ Nil man i Dass
■„ N ilaran C h u n d e r M itte r
Read th e Resolution of th e last Meeting, and confirmed
by th e m em bers present.
Read the Rules and Bye-laws of th e B e rh a m p u r Thco-
sophical Society, and adopted as R ules and Bye-Laws of
th e “ K anchinjhinga Theosophical Society” w ith slight
additions and alterations.
Resolved and carried unanimously :—
(1) T h a t th e Pre sid e n t Founder, Colonel H. S. Olcott,
be invited to pay to this Society a visit w hen on his occa­
sional tour.
(2) T h a t Babu Rajendro N a t h Roy be elected as
A ssistant to th e Secretary.
(3) T h a t all th e correspondence of tho Society be
conducted by th e Secretary on b ehalf of, and in consulta­
tion with, th e President.
(4) T h a t th e P a r e n t Socioty be requested to g ran t a
“ Ch arter” to confirm the formation of K a nc h in jh in ga T h eo­
sophical Society.
(5) T h a t B abu Dino N a th Mazumdar, President, bo
nominated to represent this Socioty in th e general council.
G. C.
(6) T h a t the following mem bers be th e Councillors of
this Society for th e transaction of all ordinary business:—
(1) Su nd er Singh
(2) S rin a th C hatterjee
(3) R ajn arain Bose
(4) Bidhu B hushan Ghosh
and also th e office-bearers for th e tim e being.
of, and subject in every respect to, the Theosophical So­
ciety and Universal Brotherhood, which was founded at
N ew York, America, on th e 16th October 1875.
I I - T he K anchinjhinga Theosophical Society is found­
ed with tlie following three objects :—
((/,) To cultivate and disseminate feelings of love and
U niversal Brotherhood among its members in particular
and th e world in general. ;
(b) To promote the natural regeneration of the people
of In d ia by all legitim ate means. :
(c) To give countenance and support to the Parent
Theosophical Society by promoting its interests (vide pub­
lished aims and objects oftlie P a re n t Society) and assist­
ing tho Founders in th eir work both by word and deed.
I I I . All fellows m ust before being perm itted to join
th e branch, place themselves to endeavour, to th e best of
th eir ability, to live a life of temperance, purity and bro­
therly love.
IV. The Society shall a dm it as members, only persons
already fellows of' th e Theosophical Society.
V. T h e m em bers of the Branch recognize th e rig h t of
every sincere believer in any form of religion to be respeot-
ed in its enjoyment, and a dm it persons of either sex or any
religion to fellowship.
VI. N e ith e r th e aband on m ent of caste nor th e know­
ledge of English is requisite to join th e Branch. F o r the
convenience of such as do not understand English, lectures
will from tim e to time be delivered in B engaliaud Hindi
if necessary.
V II. rf h e officers of th e Society shall consist of a P re ­
sident, a Secretary, a T reasurer and Councillors whose
n u m b e r may vary from three to seven. T he officers shall
be ex-officio mem bers of the Council. T he President shall
also preside a t tho m eetings of the Council. '
V IIL Tho Council shall be empowered to tra n sa c t all
ordinary business connected with th e Society. I t may, if
unanimous, also remove any member of th e Society whose
conduct or life is manifestly inconsistent with the rules,
objects and dignity of the Society. If not unanimous the
question sliall be referred to the members, and decided by
a majority.
IX. Besides the Initiation Fee of rupees ten paid once
for all to the p arent Society, th e subscription of the
fellows to their own local Socicty— the Kanchingjhinga
Theosophical Society— shall be Re One per mensem. This
subscription is payable monthly in advance, and it will be
a ppropriated for th e pay m ent of rent, postage, stationery,
books, printing, &c. I t will, however, be optional for
any m em ber to pay more subscription th an the am ou nt
of Re one per mensem. Should any member, how­
ever be unable to pay tho above amount, the Council
will a t its discretion either reduce it or entirely except
such Fellow Irom th e payment, of subscription as the
 circumstances of tb e case may require I t will, how­
ever be optional and meritorious for any Fellow to pay
for any o th e r Member who rr.ay th u s be unable to
pay.
X. Those seeking to join th e Society m u st be re­
commended by a t least two Fellows. T hey m u s t pledge
themselves to obey th e rules of th e Society, to devote
themselves unselfishly to th e aims, and regard as secret
all its legitimate transactions and psychological or scientific
researches and experiments, except as permission to
divulge may be given by th e P re sid e n t or his tem porary
substitute.
X I. A n y member desiring to sever entirely his connec­
tion with the Society, may do so on signifying th e samo
in writing to th e P resid e n t; b u t such severance shall in no
way relieve him from the solemn engagem ents into which
he has entered to m aintain absolute secrecy as to all
m atters connected with th e Society, which have been
communicated to him with the intim ation t h a t they m u s t
n o t be revealed. A t least a m o n th ’s notice of resignation
must, however, be given before a m em b e r can cease his
connection with the Society, unless th e P re sid e n t and
Council should decide otherwise.
X II. The officers of the Society are elected annually
by b a l l o t ; the day of election being th e first S un day in
November, unless altered by the Council. Officers eligible
for re-election, subject in th e case of the President, to con­
firmation by the p arent Society. . gooly.
X I I I . Eudeavours will be made to form a good Read-
reading Room and Library a t the Society’s Rooms. D o n a ­
tions for this purpose from m em bers and friends will be
gratefully accepted, and acknowledged th ro ug h the p arent
Society's journal, the T H E O S O P H I S T .
X IV . T he ordinary meetings of th e Society shall be
held on F rid a y in each fortnight a t G-30 P.M.; the
Secretary being empowered to sum m on any extraordinary
meeting, if necessity for it arises.
XV. T he meetings of th e Society shall be held for
th e present a t th e Society’s residence Rajbari, D arjeeling
Bengal.
X V I. Any one who, for reasons t h a t m ay appear
satisfactory to the P resident and Council, may prefer to
k e e p his connection w ith th e Society a secret, shall be
perm itted to do so ; and no one, except tluj executive of
th e Society, has th e r ig h t to know th e names of all the
members. And should, by accident or any o th e r way,
oth e r Fellows come to know of th e m em bership of such
a person, th ey are bound to respect his secrecy.
X V II. T h e above rules are subject to revision by the
Branch as tim e and occasion may require ; b u t no Bye-
L aw shall ever be adopted th a t conflicts w ith rule X V I.
Should th e B ranch be not unanim ous as regards the
changes proposed, th e decision of the majority
will be adopted ; b u t a t such a m eeting a t least two-thirds
of th e m em bers of th e Branch, then residing in th e town
m u s t be present.
C hattre D horghos,
Secretary, K. T. S., for President.
P R O C E E D IN G S o f t h e F irst G en eral M e e tin g of
th e “ Ja m a lp u r T h e o so p h ic a l S o c ie ty ” h e ld on
S a t u r d a y t h e 8 th N o v e m r e r 1882 a t t h e p rem ises
o f B a b o o D i n o n a t h R o y a t 6 p . m.
P re se n t Baboo Dinonath Roy, Roy Coomar Roy, Raw
C h un der Chatterjee, Kally Bhuson Roy, D evendronath
Chatterjee, Troyluckhsnath Roy, J a r in g C hu rn Roy, Bono-
mally Gangooly and Sohodev D e ,
Baboo R a m chu nd er C h a tte rje e took th e Chair and
opened th e meeting.
I t was then resolved th a t the following Bye-Laws be
adopted for th e p re se n t for the guidance of the Society,
subject to revision, and forwarded to t h e m an a g e r " Theso-
phist,” for publication in th a t journal.
I.— T h e business of th e “ J a m a lp u r Theosophical
Society” shall be adm inistered by a M anaging Committee
consisting of th e President, the Secretary and the Assist­
an t Secretary, and five members of th e Committee, any
five m em bers to form a quorum, the C hairm an having a
casting vote.
II.— T he Branch Society will hold its general meeting at
least once a week on every Saturday.
I I I . — For th e purpose of meeting th e ordinary expenses
of the Society each m em ber shall be required to pay a
m inim um m on thly subscription of (4). T h e Managing
Com m ittee m ay ex em p t any member from p a y m e n t of this
subscription for good reasons.
IV.-^-The C om m ittee may ask for donations from the
mem bers w henever any necessity of such donations arises
i n the opinion of t h e Committee.
V. T he Secretary and Treasurer shall sub m it once a
m onth a s ta te m e n t of accounts for the inspection of the
Committee.
VI.— N o m e m b er shall be expelled from th e Society
unless decided upon by a t least two-thirds of the m em bers
in a general m e e tin g convened for the purpose.
T he M anaging Com m ittee shall consist of th e following
m em bers :—
The President, th e Secretary, the A ssistant Secretary,
Baboo Kally Bhuson Roy, Troyluckhsnath Roy, Devendro­
n ath Chatterjee, Sohodeo D ady and Bonomally G an­
(Sd.) D u r sh a n th R oy,
Secretary a n d Treasurer.
22nd November, 1882.
f to o u a l Ite m s-
A vacancy occuring in th e secretaryship of the Simla
Ecclectic Theosophical Society, it has been filled by th e
a p p o in tm e n t of Mr. W . Tilden of Simla.
A n em in ent Theosophist, and at th e same tim e one of
th e most respected, Rao B ahadur V inayak Janardan
K irtane, N aib-D ew n of Baroda was, according to the latest
accounts, recovering from a severe and long illness, which
was caused in a curious way. W hile playing at lawn-
tennis, he made a false stroke, and hit his left wrist a
s e v e r e blow with his b a t ; this caused a gathering with
suppuration, followed by high fever which placed for a time
his life in danger. None will rejoice more sincerely for his
recovery than his friends at the H ead-quarters.
O ur indefatigable brother, Mr. S. R a m a Swamier stop­
ped on his way home from our Convention, a t Sholapore,
and organised a new Branch with Mr. G angadhur A nant
B hat, as President. I t is our 40th Branch Society in
India.
T he N e l l o r e Theosophical Society has elected Mr. R.
Casava Pillay as P re sid e n t to fill the vacancy caused by
the death of our much lam ented friend and brother, Mr. M.
Ram asw am i Naidoo.
Babu N aik K. Banerjee, President of the A . B. B. F . S.
of Berhampore left Bombay on th e 17 th for Sikkhim.
H e was accompanied by Mr. T. Pereira, Abeyawardena, the
delegate from Ceylon; who will rejoin th e founders at
Madras, a fte r visiting Gya and other sacred B uddhist
shrines. '
On th e 17th ultimo, th e H ead-quarters E stablishment
a t Bombay was b ro ken up, and the Founders, accompanied
by Mr. and Mad : Colomb, Mr. D, K. Mavlankar, Mr.
" Deb,” and five of th e ir faithful H in d u servants left by
tra in for Madras. M. Dora Swami Naidoo, the delegate
from th e Madras Branch escorted the party.
 Babu N o re n d ra N a th Sen, Secretary of th e Bengal
Theosophical Society and its delegate a t the recent
Anniversary celebration a t Bombay, stopped on his way
home a t Bankipore, and organized a branch called the
“ B ehar Theosophical Society.” T h e officers are : Presi­
dent, Dr. Nundalal Ghose; Secretaries, B abus P . N . Sinha,
M. A., B, L., and Baldeo Lall, B. A. T h us a place h ith e rto
unfriendly to our cause lias been won over by a fair and
full exposition of its merits.
F. T. S.
B abu J a n a k i N a th Ghosal, of Calcutta, who is now
visiting his brother-in-law J u d g e Tagore, at Carwar,
telegraphs th e establishm ent of a B ranch a t t h a t place.
This makes th e forty-second (6 by 7) iu A sia u p to th e
tim e of our going to press.
T h e vacancy in the office of P resid ent of our Nellore
Branch, caused by the u ntim ely death of th e lamented
Mr. Ram aswmy Naidoo, lias been filled by th e election of
M.R.Ry. Casava Pillay for the unexpired term. M.R.Ry.,
V. Sesha Aiyar has been elected Secretary. T he elec­
tions are ratified by the President-Fou nd er in Council.
W O N D E R F U L M E S M E R IC C U R E S E F F E C T E D B Y
TH E P R E S ID E N T F O U N D E R OF TH E
T H E O S O P H IC A L SOCIETY, IN CEYLON.
TO T H E E D IT O R OF T I I E “ I N D I A N M IR R O R .”
S i r ,— F inding constant and appreciative notice taken of
t.he Theosophical Society and its m ovem ents in the
columns of the Indian Mirror, I m ake bold to send you a
somewhat meagre account of a few of the mesmeric cures
effected by Colonel Olcott, during his recent lecturing tour
in Ceylon, in the hope th a t it will be of interest to your
readers. Tlie subject of these cures has been th e th em e
of friendly and adverse comments in the public prints of
Ceylon. B u t tr u th always prevails, and th e Colonel has
earned th e w annest th a n k s of a portion of suffering
hum anity, although in his benevolence he would not
receive them. In all he cured about fifty cases of
paralysis and herniphligia during his stay, which are all
testified to by persons of great respectability and position
in th e island. A fter th e tirst cure was m ade a t Galle of a
confirmed paralytic of nine years’ standing, th e good Colonel
was almost mobbed by patients afflicted with every
description of desperate disease. Th ey came by hundreds,
and, of course, it was absolutely impossible for him to tre a t
more than a moiety. Most of those, whom he undertook,
— and such were only those whose disease was not
produced by im purity of blood, or by excessive use of
alcohol or opium, or by immorality— were cured by him
in a day or two. Some of the M em bers of th e Galle
Theosophical Society, with the help of th e Colonel’s
private Secretary, Mr. Gunesekhara, collected th e sta te ­
ments of many of th e patients cured, and had th em attested
by one or more of th e witnesses preseut on the occasion.
I append to this a few, out of a heap, of similar testi­
monies th a t are available. They will show the conspicu­
ous unselfishness and kindness of heart of our leader, and,
after reading them, you will not be surprised at the love
in which he is now held by my fellow-countrymen and
co-religionists, the Sinhalese Buddhists.
C e r t if ie d S t a t e m e n t s a s to C u k e s e f f e c t e d b y
C o l o n e l O l c o t t — C a s e o f K. K. C o r n e l i s Api>it.
Galle, 5th September, 1882.
I, K oditu w ak ku K anka n a n g e Cornelis A ppu , of the a t my trade, th a t of a goldsmith.
town of Galle, Ceylon, do hereby solemnly affirm th a t, in
the year 1873, having been exposed to a cold storm of
rain, I was partially paralyzed, and by degrees th e righ t
arm and leg became useless to me, and my m o u th was
drawn to th e left side. T he best medical talent, N a tiv e
and European, was employed for me, p.nd I obtained p a r ­
tial relief. B u t ever since, an d u n til th e 2 9 th day of
A u gu st ultimo, I had to get about w ith a stick, and could
do nothing with the righ t h an d or leg. On th a t day I
a tte n d e d a lecture of Colonel O lcott’s a t China Garden, a
D istrict of Galle, j u s t near my residence. After th e lec­
tu re I was introduced to him by Mr. Jayasekera, F.T.S.,
Proctor, D istrict Court, who informed h im of my pitiable
condition. T he Colonel looking a t me w ith a k in d and
steady gaze, took hold of m y paralyzed hand, and laying
liis both hands upon my right shoulder, said he wished
t h a t I should be healed. I felt a curious sensation in th e
arm — a throbbing and swelling, though for more th a n
eigh t years th e arm had been benumbed, and dead as it
were. H e m ade a n u m b e r of downward and circular
passes over th e arm, straightened out m y fingers, which
h a d been cramped and destorted, and th e n proceeded to
tr e a t my right leg a n d foot similarly. T h a t nig h t I felt
myself better. My m ind had for years been partially
stupefied by my disease, and my memory badly impaired,
b u t the n ext morning a weight seemed removed from my
brain, and my memory was as clear as before my sickness.
T h a t same evening I walked in 25 minutes, and without a
cane, from my residence to tho Theosophical Society’s
H ead-q uarters a t M a g a lle - -a distance of more than half a
mile, to pay reverence to my benefactor. I found Mr. Ja y a ­
sekera, Mr. Proctor, Gunasekara, and Mr. Simon Pereira
A bayawardena. Colonel Olcott would accept no th ank s
from me, saying he had done no more than a simple duty,
and t h a t my cure was no miracle whatever, b u t simply the
effect of mesmeric tre a tm e n t. H e th e n again placed liis
hands upon me, and surprisingly improved my physical
and m ental condition. I came to liim the n ext morning,
and twice since, each tim e being rubbed and stroked by
him.— I can now ju m p , run, and open and close my right
hand and use my r ig h t arm a t will. A medicine has been
given me, nor any lotion or decoction rubbed upon me,
nor have I been p u t into th e mesmeric sleep. I can only
express my wonder and gratitud e a t my apparently
miraculous cure. l a m well-known in Galle, and h u n ­
dreds can testify to my paralytic condition durin g these
last eight or nine years. I am signing this with my para­
lytic h a n d ; the first tim e I have held a pen since iny
sickness. (Signed.) K. K, C o r n e l l s .
(in Sinhalese Character).
I n th e presence of J . A. Gunasekar.
Don Luwis W ickram asinha M utuk um ara, Notary.
T h e undersigned have known the above named Cornelis
A ppu for m any years, aud we know th a t he had p ara­
lysis a n d unable to use one side of liis body. A nd we
certify th a t he was cured and also th a t it is being talked
about all over th e So uthern Province.
(Sd.) C. N. Dias, Inspector of Police ; D. D. D ’ Silva,
H . S. Jayanardana, Chas. W igesekera, D. W. K arunana-
yaka, D. A. De Silva, D. C. E. W ivakun, A. P. Caroji’s
Appu, D. C. W ijesuriya, W. C. Gunawarnaua, A,P., Guru-
senha, B. D. Silva Kanya, K. Sam arakun, S. W. G. Oberis
J . D. N. De Silva, G. H acknar, Maligoda Pitiye Gamagey
Luvis Silva, P. M. H . Silva, D avit Hami, and others.
S tatem ent o f D. A . W i j e s u r n d a u .
Galle, 9 th October 1882.
I, th e undersigned D. A. W ijesurendar o f N in iw a n -
godde, do hereby solemnly declare th a t I was laid up
with Paralysis for th e last five months, and I had no use
of my two arm s and legs, and they were altogether
helpless, and I had no one to carry me. After some days
I got my b rother to ta k e me to Colonel Olcott, and there I
was treated, an d by his first tr e a tm e n t I was realeased to
some extent, an d as soon as I was treated th e second time
I was restored to my perfect health, and resumed work
D. A . W i j e s u r e n d a r ,
In th e presence of
D. C. Abayaw ickraina Devonhamy,
Yours, &c.,
P. P erera A ueyw ardan.
M em ber o f the Galle Branch,
Theosophical Society,
 AN EVENING-PARTY IN HONOR OF M a d a m e
BLAVATSKY AND C o l . OLCOTT.
The members of tlio Bombay Branch of the Theoso­
phical Society gave an evening-party in honour of the
Founders of the Society before their depart,nre for Madras,
on Saturday tho "LGth instant in the Bungalow of the late
Mr. Hormusjee Pestonjee Battlivalla, at Khctwady. The
Bungalow and its entrance were tastefully lighted 011 the
occasion, and tho Hall was overcrowded beforo 8-.‘i0 r. M.,
when Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott arrived.
After ccrtain friends of the members, who wero also
invited were introduced to the guests of the evening,
Dr. Pandurang Gopall, one of tlic Vice-Presidents of the
Branch, read and presented on behalf of the Branch the
following address, making a few prefatory remarks expres­
sive ofthe sorrow felt by all the members in consequence
of the approaching removal of the Head-quaters to Madras,
and entertaining a hope that the distinguished Founders
would every now and then give them the benefit, of tlieir
company by a visit to Bombay during tlieir tour. The
address was drawn up by Mr. K. M. Shroff.
B o m b a y B r a n c h T j i e o s o p i i i c a i , S
B o m is a y , IO//1 December
M a d a m e II. P. B l a v a t s k y ,
C o l o n e l H. S . O l c o t t ,
Founders, Theosophical Society.
D e a r S i s t e r a n d B r o t h e r ,
On the eve of your departure for Madras, we, the mem­
bers of the Bombay Branch, beg most respectfully to
convey to you our heartfelt and sincere acknowledgment
for tbe belief it whieh the people of this Presidency in
general and we in particular have derived from your
exposition of the Eastern philosophies and religions during
the past four years. Although the exigencies of the
Society’s growing business make it necessary to remove
the Head-quarters to Madras, we assure you that the
enthusiasm for Theosophical studies and universal
Brotherhood which you have awakened in us will not die
out, but will be productive of much good in future. By
your editorial efforts and public lectures you have done
much to awaken in the hearts of the educated sons of
India a fervent desire for the study of their ancicnt
literature which has so long been neglected ; and though
you have never undervalued the system of Western
education for the people of India, which to a certain extent
is necessary for the material and political advancement of
the country, you have often justly impressed upon tho
minds of young meu the necessity of making investiga­
tions into the boundless treasures of Eastern learning as
the only means of checking that materialistic and atheistic
tendency engendered hy an educational system unaccom­
panied by any moral or religious instruction.
You have preached throughout the country temperance
aud universal brotherhood, and how far your attempts in
that direction have been successful during the brief
period of four years was perfectly manifest at the last
anniversary of the Parent Society, just held in Bombay,
when 011 one common platform brave hearts from Lahore
and Simla to Ceylon, from Calcutta to Kattiawar, from
Gujcrat and Allahabad—Parsees, Hindoos, Buddhists,
Jews, Mahomedans, and Europeans—assembled under tho
banner of Theosophy, and advocated the regeneration of
India, under the benign influence of the British rule.
Such a union of different communities, with all the
prejudices of sects, castes, and ci'eeds set aside, the
formation of one harmonious whole, and the combining
together for any national object, in short, a grand national
union, are indispensable for the moral resuscitation of
Hindoostan.
Your endeavours have been purely unselfish and dis­
interested, and they, therefore, entitle you to our warmest
sympathy and best respects. We shall most anxiously
•\Yatch your successful progress, and take au earnes
delight in tho accomplishment of the objects of your
mission, throughout the A r y a w a r t.
As a humble token of our sense of appreciation of your
labours of love, and as a keepsake from 11s, we beg most
respectfully to offer for your acceptance, on behalf of our
Branch,.anarticle of Indianmake, with a suitable inscription.
I 11 conclusion, with a sincere desire for the success of
the Theosophical Society,
We beg to subscribe ourselves,
Dear Sister and Brother,
----- - Yours fraternally
Colonel Olcott on behalf of himself and Madame
Blavatsky gave an appropiiate and touching reply. His
polished sentences full of admonition and warning were
listened to by tliose assembled, with delight and admira­
tion. Colonel Olcott has the rare gift of a happy and
impressive delivery, and he unquestionably wins the
hearts of his hearers when lie talks on his favourite subject
of theosophy, and when his feelings arc aroused for
the welfare ofthe people of Hindustan. He particularly
impressed upon his hearers—the members of the Bom­
bay Branch—the necessity of a combined action, and
concluded his observations with a wish that the Bombay
o c i c t y ,
Branch would show activity during his absence.
1882. Mr. S. S. Lawrence of Messrs. Harris and Lawrence,
then addressed the meeting, testifying to the good work
done by the Founders, and maintained that the Society
during its brief existence of four years in India could hold
its own against any other philanthropic Body in the
country. Mr. Lawrence held out hopes of increased
exertions ou the part of the members of the Bombay
Branch, and said he for one would not wonder, if, the
number of members increased by fresh admissions
during the absence of the Founders. The speaker
made some happy allusions to the lraternity of
Fremasions and his remarks elicited a felicitous explana­
tion from Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott who
gave their experiences of masons in general. Dr. Dudley
took up cudgels on behalf of the order he belonged to, and
thus some pleasant and desultory conversation ensued,
wliich was both edifying and amusing. Mr. K. M. Shroff
was then called upon to address a few words to tho Foun­
ders. He acknowledged their services for the welfare
of the people of India, and dwelt at length on the success
that had attended their efforts to bring together the
different classes of people and teaching them howto work
forthe common good. Heexhorted the members to bo up and
doing and said that the Bombay Branch was looked upon
as the chief centre of thcosophical movement, and conse­
quently there was a greater necessity for renewed
exertions 011 the part of members. He then made historical
allusions to grand movements having small beginnings
which gradually developed.
Mr. Martandrao and Mr. Dalvi also addressed the gather­
ing ; aud then tho whole party adjourned to an adjoining
room where light refreshments were provided for creature
comforts. Partial justice being done to the inner inau,
Coloner Olcott, together with Mr. Damodar, the Secretary
and a few members retired to a private room where the
ceremony of initiation was performed, as there were some
Hindoo and Parsee candidates for admission to the Society.
This being over, the party after some pleasant chitchat
separated at midnight. The distribution of flower garlands
and nosegays terminated the proceedings.
M a n a g e r ’s N o t i c e :—The special attention of all cor­
respondents is called to the fact that henceforth all postal
matter of every kind whatever, including money-orders,
must be addressed to A d y e u P . 0 . Madras. Exchanges
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to S h a r e — l o c o p y , d is trib u t e a n d t r a n s m it t h e w o r k

to R e m ix — to ad ap t th e w o rk

U n d e r th e f o llo w in g c o n d it io n s :

CD
A t t rib u t io n — Y o u m u s t a ttrib u te t h e w o r k in t h e m a n n e r s p e c if ie d b y t h e a u t h o r
o r l i c e n s o r ( b u t n o t in a n y w a y t h a t s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e y e n d o r s e y o u o r y o u r u s e o f
th e w o r k ) .

N o n c o m m e r c ia l — Y o u m a y n o t u s e t h is w o r k f o r c o m m e r c i a l p u r p o s e s .

©
S h a r e A lik e — I f y o u alter, t r a n s f o r m , o r b u ild u p o n t h is w o r k , y o u m a y d istrib u te
th e r e s u lt in g w o r k o n l y u n d e r t h e s a m e o r s im ila r l i c e n s e t o t h is o n e .

W ith th e u n d e r s t a n d in g that:

W a i v e r — A n y o f th e a b o v e c o n d it io n s c a n b e w a i v e d if y o u g e t p e r m i s s i o n f r o m th e c o p y r ig h t
h o ld e r.

P u b lic D o m a in — W h e r e t h e w o r k o r a n y o f its e le m e n t s is in t h e p u b l i c d o m a i n u n d e r
a p p lic a b le law , t h a t s t a t u s is in n o w a y a ff e c t e d b y t h e lic e n se .

O th e r R ig h t s — I n n o w a y a r e a n y o f t h e f o llo w in g r ig h t s a ff e c t e d b y t h e lic e n se :

• Y o u r fa ir d e a lin g o r f a i r u s e rig h ts , o r o t h e r a p p lic a b le c o p y r i g h t e x c e p t i o n s a n d

lim itations;

• T h e a u t h o r 's m o r a l rig h ts;

• R i g h t s o t h e r p e r s o n s m a y h a v e e ith e r in t h e w o r k its e lf o r in h o w t h e w o r k is u s e d , s u c h
a s p u b l i c i t y o r p r i v a c y rig h ts.

N o t ic o — F o r a n y r e u s e o r d istrib u tio n , y o u m u s t m a k e c le a r to o t h e r s th e l i c e n s e t e r m s o f
th is w o r k . T h e b e s t w a y t o d o t h is is w it h a lin k t o t h is w e b p a g e .
 A MONTHLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO ORIENTAL PHILOSOPHY, ART, LITERATURE AND OCCULTISM:
EMBRACING MESMERISM, SPIRITUALISM, AND OTHER SECRET SCIENCES.

■strgS" <66^ to London a n d B om bay. They appeared in our M agazine

T H E R E IS N O R E L I G I O N H I G H E R T H A N T R U T H .
[Family motto of the Maharajahs of Benares.~\
S P E C I A L N O T I C E TO C O R R E S P O N D E N T S ,
A dverting to articles and correspondence question of any o ther article, we would n ot have gone
destined f o r the pages o f the T h e o s o p h i s t , we concerns contributions d oubly valuable ow ing to th e
would call ihe attention o f intending contri­ nence of their w rite r— a most devoted a n d valued
butors to the follow ing instructions : —
( I .) No anonymous documents will le accepted fo r insertion,
tven though they may be signed “ A Theosophist."
(II) Any contributor not desiring his name to be made pub­ cal Press A ssociation, we find a few lines quoted from ou r
lic, should give the necessary intimation to the Editor when fo r­
warding Ms contribution.
( I l l ) Contributors are requested to forward their articles,
in the early part of the month, so as to allow the Editor plenty
of time fo r correction and disposal in the pages o f the T u k o s o -
piiist .
(IV-) All correspondence to be written on one side of the
paper only, leaving clear spaces between lines and a wide margin.
The Editors disclaim responsibility fo r opinions expressed by
contributors in their articles, with some of which they agree, with
others not. Great latitude is allfl'wed to correspondents, und
they alone are accountable for what they write. The journal is
offered as a vehicle for the wide dissemination of facts and
opinions connected with the Asiatic religions, philosophies and
sciences. A ll wlio have anything worth telling are made welcome,
and not interfered with, llejedcd M SS. are not returned.
M I S T A K E N N O T IO N S .
The Psychological Review , kindly tak in g notice of our
misguided journal, hns th e following in its N ovem b er
num ber. “ Tlie present num b er (of the T i i i s o s o p i i j s t for theological
A u g u s t 1882) is rich in in te re stin g m a tte r, which
w h e th e r one ugrees with it or not, is good reading. The
letters of ‘ A. P. S.,' orig in a lly contributed to ‘ L i q h t ’
are reproduced.” T he words in italics call for an e x p la ­
nation. “ A. P . S .’s” R eiters, w ritten a t the express
desire of his friend a n d Teacher, “ B r o th e r ” K o o t h o o m i
w ith a view to dissem inating esoteric A r h a t doctrines a n d
giving a corrector insight into the said a b stru se plnlo-
B0piTy ’ n07t . lf orig>nally contrib uted” eith er to L ig h t Society •, nor have we any m ore r ig h t as a F o u n d e r of thfit
o r the lheo so p h ist alone, b u t simultaneously s e n t to both,
three o r four weeks earlier th an in our E n glish c o n te m ­
porary, and were so tim e d as to avoid interference w ith
each other. Thus, since “ A . P . S .'s” Letters u n d e r
notice app eared in L ig h t nearly a t the same time as th e
Theosophist reached London, they could n o t have been
“ repro duced ” from th a t p a p e r (though, certainly, m u ch
of the L ig h t re a d in g is w o rth copying), b u t were p rin te d
from th e w riter’s original m anu scripts. H a d it been a
out of our way to c o n tra d ic t the s tatem ent. B u t since it
Bource of th e ir original em anation, and the litera ry emi­
Theo sop hist— we feel it o u r d u ty to notice an d co rre c t
th e misconception.
A nother an d still more curious m istake concerning our
p a p e r is found in th e samo excellent periodical. A m o n g
th e a d vertisem en ts of W orks pub lish ed by the P sychologi­
J o u r n a l’s review of “ T he Perfect W a y ,” and, afte r th e
title of our publication, an explan atory p a ren th e sis in
which ou r periodical is described as a — “ B u d dh ist
o rga n !” T his is a puzzle, indeed. A s every reader of
our M agazine knows, of all religions Buddhism has been
th e loast discussed in th e T h e o s o p h i s t , mainly from
reluctance to seem p artia l to our own faith, b u t in p a rt also
because B u d d h ism is b e in g m ore elucidated by W e s te rn
scholars th a n any o th e r a n cient religion and has th e re ­
fore least of all n e e d e d our help. T he N o rth e rn B u d ­
dhist, or esoteric A r h a t doctrine, has little in common
with popular, d og m atic Buddhism . I t is identical—
except in proper names— with the hidden tru th or esoteric
p a r t of A dwaitism , B ra h m a n ism , and every o th e r world-
faith of a n tiq u ity . I t is a grave mistake, therefore, and
a m isrepresentation of th e strictly impartial a t titu d e of
our p a p er to make it a p p e a r as tho organ of any sect. I t
is only the organ of T r u th as we can discover it. I t never
was, nor will it ever becom e,the advocate of any p articular
creed. In d e ed , its policy is ra th e r to demolish every
doym atic creed the world over. W e would su b stitu te for
them the one g re a t T ru th , w hich— wherever it is, m ust of
necessity be one— r a th e r than pa n de r to the superstitions
and b ig o try of sectarianism , which has ever been th e
g re a te s t curse and the source of most of the miseries in
this world of Sin and Evil. W e are ever as willing to
denounce th e defects of orthodox Buddhism as th o s e of
Christianity, of Hinduism, Parseeism , or of
any other so called “ world-religion.” The m otto of
our J o u r n a l “ T h e re is no Religion h igher th a n T r u th ,”
is quite sufficient, w e th in k, to put o u r policy outside
the possibility of d o u b t. If, o ur bein g personally an
adherent to th e A r h a t school be cited, we r e p e at again
th a t our private belief an d predilections have n o th in g to
do w hatever with our d u ty aa e d ito r of a Jou rnal, which
was established to re p re se n t in their tru e light the many
religious creeds of th e M em bers of the Theosophical
Society or iu oui1 official capaoifcy of Corresponding
Secretary— with which office we have been invested for
life—-to show greater partiality for one creed than for
another. This would be to act upon false pretences. Very
true, w e sincerely believe having found the Truth ; or
w hat is only, perhaps, all of the Truth that we can grasp;
bat so does every honest man with regard to h is religion
— whatever it may be. A n d since we havo never set
ourself up as infallible; nor allowed our conceit to puff out
our head with the idea that we had a commission, divine
or otherwise, to teach our fellow-men, or knew more
than they ; nor attempted a propaganda of o u r religion ;
but, on the contrary, have always advised people to
purify, and keep to, their own creed unless it should be­
come impossible for them to m ake it harmonize with what
they discovered of the Truth,— in which case it is but
simple honesty demanded by a decent sense of self-res­
pect to confess the change and avoid shamm ing loyalty to
defunct beliefs— we protest most emphatically against tho
P sych o lo g ical R e v ie w 's making our Magazine an organ
for Buddhist priests Or any other priests or pedants to
lay their tunes upon. A s well call it a R u s s ia n Journal
ecause of the nativity of its editor!
■♦-- * '
" A PERSONAL AND AN I M P E R S O N A L G O D .”
B y T . S ubba R o w , ( b . a ., b . l.) F . T . S . ■
A l e t t e r signed by H . X . has appeared in the Decem ­
ber issue of theTheosophist under the heading abotvemen-
tioned containing some observations on “ the Theoretical
Questions of Personal, Impersonal, nnd N o G o d .” Any
thing like an intelligent discussion of these questions is
beset with almost insurmountable difficulties; and it is
not likely that any one, who has not exactly defined to
himself what is knowable to m an and what is u n k n o w ­
able by a careful examination of the nature of man and
his latent powers, will ever be profited by devoting any
portion of his time to speculations concerning
these subjects. Jesus declared that nobody had
ever seen the father 5 B ud d ha was silent when he was
questioned about the nature of the Absolute and the
Infinite, and our Sankarachariar said that all that was
written on these questions only revealed the depth of
h um an ignorance. But mankind havo never ceased to
speculate on these questions. Thousands of oonflict-
ing hypotheses have como into existence by reason of
these speculations : disputantsjhave never ceased quarrel­
ling about them and the hum an race has divided itself
into hundreds of warring seotson account of their diffe­
rences of opinion in theoretical Metaphysics. If, as is
stated by R . X , differences of opinion on matters “ Spiri­
tual” are inevitable, there must be an irrepressible
desire in the human being to grapple desperately with
the unknowable and unknow n without know ing any­
thing about the real capabilities of his own powers. Th e
generality of the public (at least in this country) are
accustomed to associate every religious and social
movement with some particular belief regarding the
subject under consideration. In Ibeir opinion every
system of philosophy, science, or ethics which 'does not
inculcate some particular doctrine with respect to the
problems in question is necessarily imperfect. The
importance of every religious movement, the usefulness
of every association and the valuo of every philosophical
system is always estimated by them in connection with
such belief or doctrine. A n association, like the Theo-
sophical Society, composed of various religionists and
established for the purposes of religious and scientific
enquiry, is a novelty to them. Consequently, enquiries
are constantly being made regarding the views of the
founders of the Theosophical Society nnd our great
Teachers of the Him avat about the questions under
consideration. It is represented to them by some people
t h a t th e y a r e Nastikas. W h e n th e g r e a t m a ss qf th e
people are unaccustomed to philosophical enquiry and pre­
cise modes of thinking, the charge of Atheism is sufficient
to lower in their estimation any particular individual or
association. W h e n any m an’ s Atheism is condemned
almost without hearing no particular connotation is hard­
ly ever attached to the word ; but it is associated with
a large cluster of vices and deformities. Jfcis highly
desirable therefore to state to the public in clear langu­
age the doctrine of the Arhat philosophy regarding the
problem in question and point out snch misconceptions
as are likely to arise from a perusal of the letter under
review. Before proceeding further, I beg to inform m y
readers that in his letter H . X . speaks of the doctrine
under the heading of impersonal God and introduces
the Arliat doctrine under that of Atheism, It would
have been better if he had referred to these two sys­
tems of philosophy under their proper designations.
The general public have not yet accepted any o d o
definition of the so-called impersonal God, and
the word atheism, as above stated conveys but a very
vague idea. W ithout attempting, therefore, to ascer­
tain the significance of the same, I shall state the
general principles of the Adwaita and the Arhat doc­
trines on the subject under consideration and leave it to
m y readers to decide whether they indicate a belief in a
p e rso n a l or an im p e rso n a l God, or whether they amount
to Atheism.
I shall here request m y readers (suoh of them at least as
are not acquainted with the Cosmological theories of the
Idealistic thinkers of Europe) to examine John Stuart
Mill’s Cosmologicul theory as explained in his examina­
tion of Sir William Hamilton’s philosophy, before at­
tempting to understand the Adwaita doctrine ; and I beg
to inform them beforehand that in explaining the main
principles of the said doctrine, I am going to use, as
far as it is convenient to do so, the phraseology
adopted by English psychologists of the Idealistic
School of thought. In dealing with the phenomena
of our present plan of existence Jo h n Stnart Mill
ultimately came to the conclusion that matter or
the so called external phenomena are but the
creation of our mind ; they are the mere appearances of
a particular phase of our subjective self, and of our
thoughts, volitions, sensations and emotions which in
their totality constitute the basis of that E go . Matter
then is the permanent possibility of sensations ; and the
so called L a w s of matter are, properly speaking, the Law s
which govern the succession and co-existence of our
states of conciousness. Mill further holds that proper­
ly speaking there is no nominal E go . The very idea of
a mind existing separately as an entity distinct from
the states of consciousness which are supposed to inhere
in it, is in his opinion illusory, as the idea of an external
object which is supposed to be perceived by our senses.
'I’lius the ideas of mind and matter, of subject and
object, of the E g o and external world, are really evolved
from the aggregation of our mental states which are only
realities so far as w e are concerned.
The claim of our mental states or states of conscious­
ness is “ a double-headed monster” according to
Professor Bain, which has two distinct aspects, one objec­
tive nnd the other subjective. M r . Mill has paused here
confessing that psychological analysis did not go any
further, the.mysterious link which connects together the
train of our states of .consciousness and gives rise to our
Ahankaram in this condition of existence, still remains
an incomprehensible mystery to Western psychologists,
though its existence is but dimly perceived in the
subjective phenomena of memory and expectation.
O n tho other hand the great physicists of Europe are
gradually coming to the conclusion* that m ind is the
product of matter, or that it is one of the attributes ofmatter
in some of its conditions. It would appear, therefore, from
* Bee Tyndall’s Belfast Address.—S. Ri
 the speculations of Western psychologists that matter is
evolved from mind aud that m ind is evolved from matter.
These two propositions are apparently irreconcilable.
Mill and Tyndall have admitted thut W estern science is
yet unable to go deeper into the question. N or is it
likely to solve the mystery hereafter, unless it calls East­
ern occult science to its aid aud takes a more compre­
hensive view of the capabilities of the real subjective
self of man and the various aspects of the great objective
universe. Th e great Adwai'tee philosophers of ancient
Aryavarta have examined the relationship between
subject and object iu every condition of existence in this
solar system in which this differentiation is presented.
Just as a human being is composed of 7 principles,
differentiated matter in the solar system exists in 7
different conditions. These different states of matter
do not all come within the rauge of our present ob­
jective consciousness. But they can be objectively
perceived by the spiritual ego in m an. T o tlie liberated
spiritual mind, of man, or to the D hyan Cliohans, every
thing that is material in every condition of matter is an
object of perception. Further, P ra g n a or the capacity
of perception exists in 7 different aspects corresponding
to the 7 conditions of matter. Strictly speaking, there are
but 6 states of rnattor, the so called 7th state being the
aspect of Cosmic matter iu its original undifferentiated
condition. Similarly there are 6 states of differentiated
Pragna, the seventh state being a condition of perfect un­
consciousness. B y differentiated Pragna, I mean the con­
dition in which Pragna is split up iuto various states of
Consciousness. T h u s we have 6 states of consciousness,
either objective or subjective for the time b e i D g as the
case may be, and a state of perfect unconsciousness which
is the begiuning and the end of all conceivable states
of consciousness, corresponding to the states of differen­
tiated matter and its original undifferentiated basis which
is the beginning and the end of all Cosmic evolutions. It
will be easily seen that the existence of consciousness is
necessary for the differentiation between subject and
object. H ence these two phases are presented in G
different conditions, and in the last state there being no
consciousness asabovestated,thedifferentiation inquestion
ceases to exist. T h e number of these various conditions
is different iu some systems of philosophy. But whatever
may be the number of divisions, they all lie between per­
fect unconsciousness at one end of the line and our pre­
sent state of consciousness or B a h ir p r a g n a at the other
end. To understand the real nature of these different
states of consciousness, I ahull request my readers to
compare the consciousness of the ordinary man
with the consciousness of the astral man, and again
compare the latter with the consciousness of the
spiritual E g o in man. In these three conditions the
objective Universe is not tlio same. B ut the differ­
ence between the E g o and the non-Ego is common
to all these conditions. Consequently, admitting the
correctness of Mill’s reasoning as regards the subject and
object of our present plan of consciousness, the great
Adwa'itee thinkers of India have extended the same reason­
ing to other states of consciousness, and came to the con­
clusion that the various conditions of the E g o and the
Non-Ego were but the appearances of one and the same
entity— tho ultimate state of unconsciousness. This entity
is neither matter nor spirit; it is neither E g o nor non­
E g o ; and it is neither object nor subject. In the language
of H in d u philosophers it is the originul and eternal com­
bination of Purusha and Prakriti. A s the Adwai'tees hold
that an external object is merely the product of our
mental states, Prakriti is nothing more than illusion, and
Purush is the only reality ; it is the one existence which
remains eternal in this universe of Ideal. This entity
then is the Parabralimam of the Adwai'tees. E ven if
there were to be a personal G o d with any thing
like a material u p a d i (physical basis of whatever
form), ■from the stand-point of an Adwai'tee there
w ill b e aa m uch reason to doubt h is nominal
existence as there would be in the case of any
other object. In their opinion, a conscious G o d cannot
be the origin of the universe, as his E g o would be tho
elfect of a previous cause, if the word conscious conveya
but its ordinary meaning. Tliey cannot admit that the
grand total of all the states of consciousness in the
universe is their deity, as these states are constantly
changing and as cosmic idealism ceases during Pralaya.
There is ouly one permanent condition in the universe
which is the state of perfect Unconsciousness, bare c h id a -
k a s a m in fact.
W h e n m y readers once realize the fact that this
grand universe is in reality but a huge aggregation of
vurious states of consciousness, they will not be surpris­
ed to find that the ultimate state of unconsciousness
is considered as Parabrahinam by the Adwai'tees.
The idea of a G o d , Deity, Iswar, or an impersonal'God
[if consciousness is one of liis attributes] involves the
idea of E g o or non-Ego in some shape or other, and as
every conceivable E g o or non-Ego is evolved from this
primitive element [I use this word for want of a better
one] the oxistence of an extra-cosmic god possessing*
such attributes prior to this condition is absolutely inr
conceivable. T h oug h I have been speaking of this ele­
ment as the condition of unconsciousness, it is, properly
speaking, the c h id a k a s a m or c h in m a tr a of the H in d u
philosophers which contains within itself the potentiality
of every condition of “ ' Pragna, ” and which results aa
conciousness on the one hand and the objective universe
on the other,'by the operation of its latent c h ic h a k ti
[the power which generates thought] .
(T o be c o n tin u e d ).
-- ♦--- '
THE BUGBEARS OP S C IE N C E .
T h e fanaticism of blank negation is often more tena­
cious, more dangerous, and always far harder to deal with,
and to combat, than that of mere assumption. H ence—
as a result justly complained of— the gradual and steady
crumbling of old and time-honoured ideals; the daily
encroachment, and growing supremacy of the extreme
pliysico-materialistic* thought; and a stubborn oppo­
* T he expression “ physico-m aterialism,” as well as its p e n d a n t
“ spirito ’’ or “ metaphysico-m aterialism,” may be newly coined
words, b u t some such are rigorously necessary in a publication
like th e T heoso phist aud with its present non-Euglish editor. If th ey
are not clear enough, we hope U. C. M. or some oth er friend will
BU"rrest b etter. In one sense every Buddhist as well as every
Occultist, and oven most of the educated Spiritualists, are, strict,
ly speaking, Materialists. The whole question lies in th e u lti­
mate and scientific decision upon the natu re or essence of Foiick.
Shall we say th a t Force is—Spirit, o r th a t Spirit is—a force ? Ih
the la tte r physical or spiritual, M atter or S p i r i t ? If the latter
is som ething—it m u s t t e m aterial, otherwise it is b u t a pure ab­
straction, a no-thing. N o th in g which is capable of producing an
effect on any portion of th e physical,—objective or subjective—
Kosmos can be otherwise th a n material. M ind —whose enormous
potentiality is being discovered more and more with every day,
could produce n o effect were it not m a t e r i a l ; and believors in a
personal God, havo themsolves either to adm it th a t the deity in
doing its work has to use material force to produce a physical
effect, o r—to advocate miracle, which is an absurdity. As A. J .
Manley, of Minnesota, very truly observes in a le t t o r : —
“ Tt has ever been an im possibility with me to realize or com­
prehend au effect, which requires motion or force, as being
produced by “ no thin g.” The leaves of the forest are stirred by
th e gentlest breeze, and y et withhold th e breeze, and the leaves
cease to move. W hile gas continues to escape from th e tube,
apply th e m atc h and you will have a brilliant l i g h t ; c u t ofi th e
supply and th e wonderful phenomenon ceases. Place a m ag net
n ear a compass, and th e needle is a ttra c te d by it ; remove the
former and the needle will resume its norm al condition. By
will-power the mesmerist compels his subject to perform various
feats, b u t who becomes norm al again when the will is w ithdrawn.
“ I have observed in all physical phenomena, th a t when the
propelling force is w ithdrawn, tho ph eno m ena invariably cease.
F rom these facts, I infer th a t th e producing causes m u s t be
material, tho ug h we do not see them . Again, if these pheno«
mena were produced by “ n o t h i n g , ” it would be impossible to
withdraw the producing force» and the manifestations woulq,
sition to, and ignoring by, the major p o r tio n of Western a w k w ard fact, and tbe daily discoveries made in tbe
society, of those psychological facts and phenomena domain of invisible aud intangible matter, whose veil
advocated by tiie minority and proved by them as con­ is being more and more rent with every such new
clusively as a mathematical equation. Science, w e are discovery. T h e grim ideal is receding farther and
often told, is the necessary enemy of any and every farther; and the explorers into those regions where
metaphysical speculation, as a mode of questioning nature, matter which had been hitherto made subject to, and
a n d of occult phenomena under all their Protean forms ; within the scope of the mental perceptions of, our
hence— of M e s m e r i s m and H o m o e o p a t h y am ong the rest. p h y s ic a l brain escapes the control of both and loses
It is grossly unfair, we think, to lay the blame so its nam e— are also fast losing their footing. Indeed,
the high pedestal on which gross matter has hitherto
sweepingly at the door of genuine science. True science—
that is, knowledge without bigotry, prejudice, or egotism been elevated, is fairly breaking down. D a g o n ’s
feet are crumbling under the weight of n e w facts
■
— endeavours but to clear away all the rubbish accu­
daily gathered in by our scientific negators ; and while
mulated by generations of false priests and philosophers.
the fashionable idol has shown its feet of clay, and its
Sciolism— that is, superficial learning, vain, narrow-mind­
false priests their “ face of brass,” even H u x le y and
e d and selfishly bigoted— unable to discern fact from false
Tyndall, two of the greatest among our great m en of
appearances, like a dog barking at the moon, growls at
physical science, confess that they had dreamed a dream,
the approach of everything outside the limits of the
and found their Daniel (in M r . Crookes) to explain it by
narrow area of her action. True Science sternly enforces
demonstrating “ Radiant matter.” W ith in the last few
the discrimination of fact from hasty conclusion, and
years a mysterious correlation of words, a scientific
the true m an of science will hardly deny that, of
legerdemain shuffling and shifting of terms, has occurred
which the remotest possibility has once been demonstrat­
so quietly as to have hardly attracted the attention of the
ed to him. It is but the unworthy votaries of science,
uninitiated. If w e should personify Matter, we might say
those who abuse her name and authority and degrade
that it awoke one fine morning to find itself transformed
lier by m aking of her a shield behind which to give
into F o r c e . Thus, the stronghold of gross physical
free sway to their narrow preconceptions, w ho alone
matter was sapped at its very foundation ; and were M r.
ought to be held answerable for the su p p re ssio v e r i that
Tyndall thoroughly and unexceptionably honest,he ought
is so common. To such is it that applies the pungent
to have paraphrased by this time his celebrated Belfast
remark, recently m ade by a Germ an physician. “ he who
manifesto, an d say, " In F o r c e I find the promise and
rejects anything a p r io r i aud refuses it a fair trial, is
potency of every form of life.” From that time began
unworthy of the nam e of a m an of science; nay, even o f
the reign of Force and the foreshadowing of the gradual
t h a t o f a n honest m a n .” [ G , Jaeger.]
oblivion of M a t t e r , s o suddenly obliged to abdicate its
T h e remedy best calculated to cure an unprejudiced m an
supremacy. T h e Materialists have sileutly and unosten­
of science of a chronic disbelief, is the presentation to him
tatiously transformed themselves into Energists.
of those same nnwelcome facts he had hitherto denied
B ut the old fogies of Conservative Science will not be
in the name of exact science as in reconciliation with
so easily entreated into new ideas. H a v in g refused for
that science, and supported by the evidence of her own
years the nam e of Force to Matter, they now refuse to
unimpeachable laws. A good proof of this is afforded
recognize the presence of the former— even w hen legiti­
in the list of eminent m en who, if they have not alto­
mately recognized by m an y of their eminent colleagues,—
gether passed “ with arms and ba gg ag e ” to the “ ene­
in the phenomena k n o w n as Hypnotism , Mesmerism,
m y ’s” camp, have yet bravely stood up for, and defend­
and Homseopathy. T h e potentiality of Force is sought
ed the most phenomenal facts of modern spiritualism,
to be limited in accordance with old prejudices. W i t h ­
as soon as thoy had discovered them to be a scientific
out touching that group of manifestations too mysteri­
reality. It needs no close observer, but simply an
ous and abnormal to be easily assimilated by the majority
unbiassed mind, to perceive that stubborn, unintellectual
of the generally ignorant and always indifferent public,
scepticism, that knows no middle ground and is utterly
(though vouched for by those lights of Science, named
unamenable to compromise, is already 011 the wane.
Wallace, Crookes, Zollner, &c .,) we will only consider a
B uchner’s and Molescliott’s gross conceptions of matter,
few of the more easily verifiable, though equally rejected,
have found their natural successor in the ultra vagaries
facts. W e have in m ind the above-named branches of
of Positivism, so graphically dubbed by H u x le y as “ R o ­
psycho-physiological science, and shall see what several
m a n Catholicism minus Christianity,” aud the extreme
s a v a h ts — outside the Royal Society of London—
Positivists have now made room for the Agnostics. N e g a ­
have to say. W e propose to collect in these notes a few
tion and physico-materialism are the first twin progeny
of the observations of D r . Charcot, upon Hypnotifem— the
of young exact science. A s the matron grows in years
same old Mesmerism under its new n a m e ;— and upon
a n d wisdom, Saturn-like, she will find herself compelled
Homoeopathy, by the famous D r. Gustave Jaeger,
to devour her own children. Uncompromising physico-
together with certain arguments and remarks thereupon,
materialism is being driven to its last entrenchments.
b y competent and unbiassed French, Germ an and Russian
It sees its own ideal— if an insane desire to convert
observers. Here, one m ay see Mesmerism and Homoeo­
everything that exists within the area of our limited
pathy discussed and supported by the best medical and
v is ib le universe into something that can be seen, felt, critical authorities, and m ay find out how far both
tasted, smelt, measured, weighed and finally bottled
“ sciences” have already become entitled to recognition.
b y the aid of our physical senses m ay be called an
T o call an old fact b y a new name, does not change the
“ ideal” — vanishing like a mist before the light of
nature of that fact, any more than a new dress changes an
individual. Mesmerism, for being now called " H y p n o ­
n e v e r cease- Indeed, if such m anifestations ever existed, they
m u s t of necessity be perpetual.” tism,” and “ Electro-biology,” is none the less that same
C oncurring fully with tho above reasoning.it th u s becomes of th e animal magnetism hooted out from all the Academies of
u tm o s t necessity for us, and u n d er th e penalty of being constantly Medicine and Science at the beginning of our century.
accused of inconsistency, if not of flat contradictions, to make a The wonderful experiments recently produced in the
well m arked difference between those m a t e r i a l i s t s who, believing hospitals by the world-famous D r . Charcot, of Paris,
t h a t n oth in g can exist outside of m a t te r in however sublim ated
a state, th e la tte r yet believe in various subjective forces u n ­ and by Professor Heidenhain, in Germ any, must not
k n o w n to, only because as yet undiscovered by, science ; ran k remain u nkno w n to our readers any more than the new
sceptics and th ose t r a n s c e n d e n t a l i s t s who, mocking at the majesty method of testing the efficacy of Homoeopathy— called
of tr u th aud fact fly into the face of logic by sayiDg th a t “ nothing N e n r a la n a ly s is , invented by Prof. G . Jaeger, a dis­
is impossible to God th a t ho is an extra-cosmic deity who
created th e universe out of nothing, was never su bject to law, tinguished zoologist and physiologist of Stutgardt.
a n d can produce a m i r a c l e outside of all physical law and But are any of these sciences and facts strictly new ?
pheneyer it pleases him, &c,—Ed, W e th in k n o t, M e sm e rism a s w ell as D r. C h a rc o t’s
M etaloscopia and X ilo sc o p ia were k no w n to the ancients ;
but later on, with the first dawn of o u r civilization and
enlightenment were rejected by the wiseacres of those days
as something too mystical and impossible.* A a to
Homoeopathy, the possible existence of the law of s im ilia
s im ilib u s c u r a n tu r, had already occurred in the earliest
days of medicine. Hippocrates speaks of it, and later on
Paracelsus, Haller, and even Stalil with several other
renowned chemists of his time more 'than hinted at it,
since some of them have absolutely taught it and cured
several patients by its means. A s alchemy has become
chemistry, so mesmerism and homoeopathy with all the
rest will ultimately become the legitimate branches of
orthodox medicine. The experiments of D r . Charcot
with hysterical patients have almost revolutionized the
world of medicine. Hypnotism is a phenomenon that is
exercising all the thinking minds of the day, and is
expected by m any distinguished physicians— now that the
key-note has been so loudly struck by that distinguished
Parisian physician— to become in the near future a
science of the greatest importance for humanity. Th e
recent observations, in another direction, by Profes­
sor Heidenhain, in what he calls the “ telephonic experi­
ment,” is another proof of the gradual discovery and
acceptance of means hitherto part and parcel of the
occult sciences. T h e Professor shows tlmt by placing
one hand upon the left sid e of tlie brow, and the other
upon the occiput of the subject, the latter w hen suffi­
ciently hypnotized, will repeat words expressed by the
experimenter. This is a very old experiment. W hen
the H ig h L a m a of a Oollego of C helas in Tibet wants to
-force a pupil to sp e a k the tr u th , he places his hand
over the loft eye of the culprit and the other on his head,
and then— no power in the world is able to stop the
words from pouring forth from the lad’s lips. H e has
to give it out.' Does the L a m a hypnotize,' or mesmerize
him ? Truly, if all such facts have been so long rejected,
* To such “ impossible” facts, belong the p h e n o m e n a 0f H y p n o ­ or doubting the fact that the action of the 'vyill brings
tism, which have created such a new stir iu G ermany, Russia and
France, os well a3 tbe manifestations (b elonging to the same
kind) produced and observed by Dr. Charcot upon his hysterical
atients. W ith the la tte r phenomena we m u st class those induced
y the B O - c a l l e d m e t a l o s c o p y and x i l o s c o p y . U n d e r the former entifically recognized a fact. Iron, in the process of getting
aro m e a n t in medicine the now firmly established facts prov­
ing the characteristic influence on th e anim al organism of
various m etals and of the m agnet, th ro u g h their simple contact
with the skin of the p atie n t : each producing a different effect.
As to x il o s c o p y , it is tho name giyen to the same effects produced
by various kinds of woods, especially by the quinine bark.
l i e t a l o s c o p i a has already given birth to i l e t a l o t h e n r a p i a —the
science of using metals for curative means. The said “ impossi­
bilities” begin to be recognized as facts, though a Russian
medical En cy clop a ed ia does calls them ‘‘ mon strou s.” T h e same
fate awaits other branches of tho occult sciences of the ancients.
H ith e r to rejected,they now begin to b e —altho ug h still reluctantly
—accepted. Prof.. Ziggler of Geneva as well nigh proved the
influence of metals, of quinine an d of some p a rts of tho living
organism s (the ancient fascination of flowers) upon p lan ts and
trees. Tho p lan t named D r o s e r a , th e quasi invisible hairs of
which are endowed with partial motion, an d which was regarded
by Darwin as belonging to the insect-eating plants, is shown by
Z iggler as affected even at- a distance by anim al m agnetism as
well as by certain metals, by means of v arious conductors.
A n d a q u a rte r century ago M. Adolpbe Didier, the famous
F ren ch som nambule and authori reports th a t an acquaintance
of his m el with much success in th e experimental application of
th e mesmeric a u ra to flowers and fruits to promote th eir g row th,
oolor, flavour, and perfume. MisB 0 . L. H u n t, who quotes
this fact approvingly in her useful “ Com pendium of Mesmerio
Inform ation,” mentions (p. 180, foot-note) th a t th ere “ aro persons
who are unable to wear or handle flowers, as th ey begin to
w ither and droop directly, as th ou gh th e vitality of the plant
were being appropriated by tho wearer, instead of being sus­
tained. To corroborate which foregoing observations by W este rn
authorities, our B rahm in readers need only be rem inded of tho
im perative injunction of th eir ancient S u t r a s th a t if any one
Bhould even salute a Brahm in when on his way to th e riv er or
ta n k for his morning p u ja (devotions), h e m u s t a t once throw
away the flowers he is carry in g according to th e ritualistic
custom, return home an d procure fresh flowers. T h is simple
explanation being th a t th e magnetio c u r r e n t projected tow ards
h im by the salutor tain ts th e floral a u ra and m akes th e blossoms
no longer fit for th e mystical psychio ceremony of w hich th ey
t >re necessary accessories.— E d .
it is but on account of their close connection with occult
sciences,I w it h ^ M A a i c . Still accepted they are, however
reluctantly. D r . Riopel, of the United States, speaking
of Hypnotism, and confessing the subject to be “ so
replete with interest, that metaphysicians have strong
grounds for encouragement to continue their researches,”
concludes nevertheless his article with the following extra­
ordinary p a r a d o x : .
“ A'Subject, first b r o u g h t to lig ht by Gall, who desired to
establish th e fact th a t the organ of speech had a definite position
in the brain ; th en later by Marc Dax, and Bouillaud ; and still
later by Broca, and many other distinguished observers, hag
now come forward to b ru s h away th e mysteries of spiritualism
and its p reten ded relations to psychology u n d e r the name of
“ h y p n o tism .” — ( P h r e n o l . J o u r n . ) "
Th e “ pretended relations” seem to be a felicitous
remark and quite to the point. It is too late in the day
to try to exclude transcendental psychology from tha
field of science, or to separate the phenomena of tha
spiritualists irom it, however erroneous their orthodox
explanations m ay appear. T h e prejudice so widely ex­
tant in society against the claims of Spiritual phenomena,
Mesmerism, and Homoeopathy, is becoming too absurd
to give it here a serious notice, for it has fallen into
idiotic stubbornness. A n d the reason of it is simply this; a
long established regard for an opinion becomes at last
p, habit; the latter is as quickly transformed into a
conviction of its infallibility, aud very soou it becomes
for its advocate a dogm a. Let no profane hand dara
to touch it !
W h a t reasonable grounds are there, for instance, for
disputing the possible influence of tlie Will-impulses of
one organism over the actions of another organism,
without that will being expressed by either yrord or
gestures ? “ A r e not the phenomena of our will” :— asks a
well k no w n Russian writer— “ and its constant action
upon our own organism as great a puzzle as any to
Science ? A n d yet, who lias over thought of disputing
on certain changes in the economy of our physical
organism, or, that the influence of the nature of certain
substances upon that of others at a distance is not as sci­
magnetized, begins acting at a distance ; wires onca
prepared to conduct electric currents, begin to interact
at a distance ; all bodies heated to luminosity send forth
visible and invisible rays to enormous distances, and
so on. W h y then should not w i l l — an impulse and an
energy— have as m uch potentiality as heat or iron ?
Changes in the state of our organism can thus be proved
as scientifically to produce determined changes in ano­
ther organism.”
Still better reasons m ay be given. “ It is a well known
fact that force can be accumulated in a body and form
a store, so to say, of what is termed p o te n tia l energy ; to
wit, the heat and light given out by the process of com­
bustion of wood, coals, & c ., represent simply the emission
of energy brought dow n upon the earth by the solar
rays and absorbed, stored up by the plant during tha
process of its growth aud development. Gas of every
kind represents a reservoir of energy, which manifests
itself under the form of heat as soon as compressed, and
especially during the transformation of the gas into a
lluidic state.” T h e so-called “ Oanton-phosphorus (to the
practical application of which aro due the luminous clocks
which shine in darkness) has the property of absorbing
the light which it emits, later on, in darkness. M esm er­
ists assure us— and w e do not see any valid reason
w h y it should not be so— that in the same manner their
Will-impulses m ay be fixed upon any material object
which will absorb and store it until forced by the saina
will to emit it back from itself.”
B ut there are less intricate and purely scientific phe­
nomena requiring no hum an organism to experiment
upon ; experiments which, finding themselves within an
easy reach for verification, not only prove very forcibly
the existence of the mysterious force claimed by the
Mesmerists and practically utilized in the production of
every occult phenomenon by the adepts, but threaten to
upset absolutely and for ever to the last stone of that
Chinese wall of blank negation erected by physical
science against the invasion of the so-called occult
phenomena. W e mean Messrs. Crookes’ and Guitford’s
experiments with radiant matter, and that very ingenuous
instrument invented by the latter aud called the electri­
cal radiometer. A n y one w ho knows anything of them
can see how far they carry out and corroborate our asser­
tions. M r . Crookes in his observatiohs on molecular
activity in connection with the radiometer (the molecules
being set in motion by means of radiations producing
heat effects) makes the following discovery. The electric
rays— produced by an induction spark, the electricity
radiating from the negative pole and passing into a space
containing extremely rarefied gas— w hen focused upon
a strip of platinum melted it! T h e energy of the current
is thub transferred to a substance through what m ay be
fairly.called a va c u u m , and produces therein an intense
elevation of temperature, a heat capable of melting
metals. W h a t is the medium that transmits the energy*,
Bince there is nought in space bnt a little gas in its most
attenuated condition ? A n d how mncli, or rather how
little, w e see, is needed of that substance to make of it a
medium and cause it to resist the pressure of such an
enormous quantity of force or energy ? But here we see
quite the reverse of that which w e should expect to find;
Here, the transmission of force becomes only then pos­
sible w hen the quantity of the substance is reduced to
i t s m iiiim u m . Mechanics teach us that the quantity of
Energy is determined by the weight of the mass of the
B l l b s t a t i c e in motion, and the velocity of its motion ; and
with the decrease of the mass the velocity of the motion
fainst be considerably increased if we want to obtain the
fe&me effect. From this point of view, and before this
infinitesimally small quantity of attenuated gas, w e are
forced— to be enabled to explain the immensity of the
teffect— to realize a velocity of motion which transcends all
the limits of O u r conception. In M r . Crookes’ miniature
apparatus we find ourselves face to face with an infini­
tude as inconceivable to us as that which must exist in
the very depths of the Universe, H e re we have the infini­
tude of Velocity; there— the infinitude of spaco. Are
these two transcendent things spirit ? N o ; they are both
MaIttee ; only— at the opposite poles of the same Eter­
nity. '
(T o be co n tin u e d .)
■ ■
«
M A T T E R A N D IT S F O R C E S O R M O D E S OF
M O T IO N .
A R eply by H enry G. A t k in s o n , F . G . S .*
B a c o n , and Tyndall in our O w n day, seem to agree very
nearly with the ancient Philosopher Democritus, w hom
B acon designates the Father of Experimental Philosophy
And who for his zeal for science and knowledge, declared
that life Would i-atsher be the discoverer of o n e of the laws
of nature than possess the diadem of Persia.
Devhocrittis explained tho universe by means of space
and atoms,— the empty aud the full. Th e atoms, infinite
in iliimbbr, moving in infinito space, givo rise to infinite
worlds. Those atoms are eterniil, and they are -imperish­
able. There is no real creation and no real destruction;
nothing comes from nothing, and what is ultimate in
anything never ceases to b e ; What is called Creation is
merely'combination, What is called destruction is merely
* A “ Hf'p'.y” atad a Cortoboration : Seb ^Pheosopliist Vol. I i t . No. 12,
tirliolds l- ^“ lB,ElictHcity Fdrco or Ma'Cteirf” aud “ Wlidt ia Matter and
Force ?•’ £ d, ’'
separation. T h e quantity of matter in the world, and
consequently the quantity of force— for force is merely
matter in motion— Can neither be increased nor dimin­
ished, but must be ever the same, & c . Bacon in his
illustrative instance of induction takes heat for his
test, and his conclusion w as that heat is a mode of
motion. Sir W . Armstrong was the first among m en of
science to point this out as the right conclusion; since
which w e have hnd Tyndall’s fam 6 us work “ O n H eat as
A m ode of Motion.” All the other so-called forces are
but olianges in the modes of motion and interchangeable ;
as when a stone falls to the earth the motion, on being
arrested, goes off, so to speak, in the motion of heat.
This change of the mode of motion m ay be prettily
illustrated in marble works whei'e steam is the force used
oi-mode of motion of heat transferred ; in one plade you
have a dozen saws at work sawing a great block of mar­
ble intb slabs ; a little further on the force takes a circular
Course in the formation of a rosette ; again, We have a very
different motion in the polishing of the slabs of marble ;
then again, in running a bead or moulding & c . & c . H ence
Bacon refers to matter and its .''Principle of Motion” as
fundamental to all phenomena whatsoever, and warns
you of the danger of separating the motion or force
from the substance itself in which resides the power or
ability as its inmost nature, property or function. Lewes
in his “ Problems of Life aud M in d ,” ridicules the
idea “ of Forces playing about like Sprites amid
Atoms that are at once contradictorily indivisible and
infinitely divisible,” & c . Professor Flint in his learned
work 011 “ Anti-Theistic Theories,” after relating the
strangely contradictory views of force of the most emi­
nent scientists, says, Professor Balfour Stewart uies t h t
word force as m eaning “ that which changes the state of
a body, whether that state be one of rest or of motion.”
But Professor Barker means by it “ motion itself;” and
D r . Bastian understands by it “ a mode of motion.” If
all professors of natural philosophy would use the word
Force, and I m ay add the word Energy, in the same
definite, intelligible, and self-consistent w ay as Professors
Stewart and Tait,Clerk-Maxwell and SirWilliam Thomson,
a vast amount of mental confusion would speedily pass
away. In this reference, a perusal of Chap. 1TI of “ The
Uuseen Universo” cannot be too strongly recommended..
Prof. Flintgoeson to saythat “ It is much tobe regretted
that professional Critics and popular Writers should have
so generally gone to M r. Herbert Spencer’s chapter on
“ Th e Persistence of Force” for enlightenment as to the
subject on which it treats, although probably in no other
eight consecutive pages in the English language are there
so m any physical and metaphysical errors Combined. M any
of these persons, not having had their senses educated by
appropriate scientific instruction to discern between good
and evil in Such matters, have been Under the delusion
that iu perusing the chapter indicated, they were refresh­
ing thomselvCs with Wjlt6 r drawn froin the fountain of
pure truth, wlfeii they were really intoxicating themselves
with ‘ the wine of the fiorgias.’ The dreadful conse­
quences which have sdmetimes roSulted from this mistake
may be soon exemplified in the case of Physicus.” A
number of M r . Speiicer’s errors regarding Force are well
refuted by Professor Birks in his “ Modern Physical
Fatalism,” pp 159— 196. O n the natufe and relationship of
matter and force the throe following woi’ks are important:
H a r m s’ “ Philosophischo Einlcitung in die Encyklopeedie
derPhysiks ;” H u b ers’ " DieForschung nachderMaterie;”
and Dauriac s, “ D es Notions deMatiere et deForcedansles
Sciences do la Nature.” O f these works I kno w nothing,
but 1 think if in place of force and motion W e use thte
terms power and action, ive m ay better Comprehend and
refer the ability and results to matter itself.
H o te l de la G a te ,
ito iilo g n e-su r-M er, F'raiice.
, •
 THE B R A H M IN IC A L THREAD.
B y a S a r m a n . (P. T . S.)
' I. T iie general term for the investiture of tliis thread
is U p a n a y a n a ; and the invested is called U p a n ita , which
signifies brought or drawn near (to one’s Guru), i. e., it
is the symbol of the wearer’s privilege.
II. O n e of the names of this thread is Y a jn a - S u tr a .
Y a jn a means Brahma,or tlie Supreme Spirit, and S u tr a ,
the thread, or tie. Collectively, the compound word
signifies that which ties a m an to liis spirit or god. It
consists of three yarns twisted into one thread, and three
of such threads formed and knotted into a circle. Every
Theosophist knows what a circle signifies and it need not
be repeated here. , H e Will easily understand the rest
and the relation they have to mystic initiation. T h e
yarns signify the great principle of “ three in one, and
one in three,” thus :— T h e first trinity consists of A tm a ,
which comprises the three attributes of M anas, B u d d h i,
And A h a rik a ra : (the m ind, the intelligence, and the ego­
tism). The M a n a s, again, has the three qualities of S a tv a ,
R a ja , and 'T a m a : (goodness, foulness, and darkness).
B u d d h i lias the three attributes of P r a fja k s h a , U p a -
m iti and A n u m iti (perception, analogy and inference).
A h a n k a r a also has' three attributes, viz., J n a ta , J n e y a ,
in d J n a n (the knower, th<^ know n, and the knowledge).
II I . Another na,me’o:t the sacred thread is T r id a n d i.
T r i ‘means three, and ’D a n d a , chastisement, correction, or
conquest. This reminds the holder of the three great
“ corrections” or conquests he has to accomplish. These
are:— (1) the V aki/a S a n y a m a * ; (2) the M a n a S anyam a-,
and (y) the I n d r iy a ■(or D eha) S a n y a m a . V a k y a is speech,
i {ana, mind, and D eha (literally, body) or I n d r iy a , are
the passions. Th e three conquests therefore mean the
control over one’s speech, mind, and the passions.
This thread is also the reminder to the m an of his
secular duties, and its material varies, in consequence,
according to tlie occupation of the wearer. Thus, while
the thread of the Brahm ans is made of pure cotton, that
of the Ksliatriyas (the warriors) is composed of flax—
tlie bow-string material ; and that of Vaishyas (the
traders and cattle-breeders), of wool. From this it is
not to be inferred, that paste was originally meant to be
hereditary. In the ancient times, it depended on tho
qualities of the man. Irrespective of the caste of his
parents, a m an could, according to liis merit or otherwise,
raise or lower himself from one caste to another ; and
instances are not wanting in which a m an has elevated
himself to the position oj: the highest B rahm an (such as
Vishvamitra Rishi, Parasara,Vyasfi, ^atyakam ,and others)
from tlie'very lowest pf'the four castes. Thp sayings of
Y u d h is h th ir a , on. this subject, in reply to the questions
of tlie great serpent, in the A r a n n y a ' P a r v a of tho
Jd a h a -B h d ra ta , and of H a n u , on the sapie point, have
already appeared—-on page 235, of the Tmiosomns'r
jfor 'August 1882, in the valuable contribution by IJabu
Raj Narain Bose. Nothing further is therefore necessary
than to 'refer the reader to phe samp. R i g V eda makes no
mention of caste, and both a,nd, M a h a -B h a r a ta — the
fulcrums of Hinduisip— distinctly affirm that m a n c^n
translate himself frpm one caste to another by his merit,
irrespective of his parentage.
T h e day is fast apprpaching when the so-called B rah ­
mans will have to show cause, beforp the tribunal of the
A r y a n Risliis, w hy they shpuld not be divested of the
thread which they do not at all desprve and are degrading
by misuse, unless they should work to deserve the privi­
lege qf wearing it. T h en will be the time for people to
appreciate it. . . .
There are jnany examples of the highest distinctive
insignia being worn by the unworthy. T h e aristocracies
of Europe and Asia teem with such.
•Danda »n4 Sanyama are synonymous tefma.—A, S.
♦ mo/’ by liabu K. C. Sen.—(Ed.)
FKOM KESHUB BABU TO M AESTRO W AGN ER
v ia T H E S A L V A T I O N C A M P .
B u t a few days since the F r ie n d o f I n d ia a n d S ta te s ­
m a n gave room to the reflections of a reverential corres­
pondent, deploring the disrespectful familiarity with
which the average swash-buckler of the Salvation A r m y
speaks of his G o d . T h e reader was told that it—
“ is uot so easy to get over the shook caused by the very un­
ceremonious way ia which these men speak of the most sacred
things aud named, aud their free and easy manner of addressing
the Deity.”
N o doubt. But it is only as it should b e ; and in fact, it
could hardly have been expected otherwise. Familiarity
breeds contempt— with “ the most sacred things” equally
with the profane. W h a t with Gniteau, the pretended
dutiful son and agent of God, who claimed but to have
carried out his loving Father’s will in murdering in cold
blood President Garfield; and Keshub B abu, the Minis­
ter of tbe N e w Dispensation, w ho in marrying his
daughter to a popular, rich and highly cultured young
Rajah, gives us to understand that he only blindly followed
the verbal instructions received by him from God, there
is but a temperamental difference in the results of their
poimnon cause of action. T h e ajsthetic feelings of the
S ta te s m a n writer, therefore, ought to be quite as much,
if not more, ruffled by finding that the Almighty haa
been degraded in public print into tho kihtmatgar, ayah,
cook, treasurer, munshi, and even the b h is ti (water
carrier) of B a b u K . C. S e n ,* as by learning from the
American papers how, coquetting with his P a re n t under
the shadow of the gallows and with the rope around
his neck, Guiteau— innocent-babe !— crowed and lisped,
addressing his “ Father in H e a v e n ” as his “ G o d y ” and
“ Lordy.”
For years the combat has been deepening between
religion and science, priestcraft and lay radicalism; a
conflict which has now assumed a form which it would
never have taken but for priestly interference. The equili­
brating forces have been their intolerance, ignorance and
absurdity on the one hand, and the people’s progressive
combativeness, resulting in rank materialism, on the
other. A s remarked by soijiebody, the worst enemies of
religion in every age have been the Scribes (priests),
Pharisees (bigots), and Sadducees (materialists)— the
latter word being applied to any m an who is an anti-
pietaphysiciau. If theologians— Protestant casuists aa
■yyell as Jpsuits— had left the matter alone, abandon­
ing every m an to his own interpretation and inner
ligljt, material's111 and the bittpr anti-religious spirit
which no w reigns supreme am ong the better educat­
ed classes— could have npver gained the upper hand
as they now h aye. T h e priests embroiled the question
with their dead-letter, often insane interpretations en­
forced into infallible d ic ta ; and men of science, or the
so called philosophers, in their attempts to dispel the
obscurity and m ake away with every mystery altogether,
intensified the obfuscation. T h e “ distinguos” of the
former— which Pascal held up to so much ridicule,— and
Jlie physical, often grossly inatprialistic explanations of
the’ lattor, ruined every metaphysical truth. W h ile the
Pharisees were tampering with their respective Scrip­
tures, the Sadducpes wpre creating “ infidelity.” Such a
state of things is not likely to come to a speedy end, the
conflagration being ever fed with fresh fuel by both
sides. Notwithstanding the near clo.se of a century
justly regarded as the age of enlightenment, truth seems
to shine as far away as it ever did from the h oi p o llo i of
hum anity; and falsehood— rlupky all of. up, w hen it can be
ehown but simple error !— creeps out hideous and un­
a b a t e d in eyery shape and form from as mapy brains a,s
are capable of generating it. This oonflict be,tween Fact
and Superstition hasbrougty a third class of “ interpreters”
to the front— mystical dramatic authors. T h e latter are
*-Vide New Dispensation for 1881; Art : “ What God ia doing for
a decided improvement upon the former, in so far aa
they help to transform the crude anthropomorphic fictions
of fanatical religionists into poetical myths framed in the
world’s sacred legends. W o speak of the recent revivals
of the old Aryan and Greek religious dramas, respectively
in India and Europe ; of those public and private theatri­
cals called “ Mysteries,” dropped in the W e s t ever since
the Medisoval Ages, but now revived at Calcutta, Ober-
a m m e r g a U j and Bayreit. Unfortunately, from the sublime
to the ridiculous there is but one step. Thus, from
“ Parsifal” — the poetical n ew opera of W a g n e r , per­
formed for the firsttimein July last, at Bayreit (Bavaria),
before an audience of 1,500 people, composed of crowned
heads, tlieir scions and suite,— we tumble d ow n into the
Bengali " N e w Dispensation” Mystery. In the latter
r e lig io u s performance, the principal female part, that of
the “ mother-goddess,” is enacted by B a b u K . C. Sen.
T h e B ra h m o P u b lic O p in io n represents the inspired
minister as appearing on tlie stage clad in the traditional
sari, with anklets, armlets, nose-rings and jingling bangles;
dancing as though for dear life, and surrounded by a
cortege of disciples, one of w h o m had adorned his
person— as a sign of devotion and humility, we should
think— with a necklace of old shoes. Farce for farce,
our personal preference inclines toward " General” Booth
and " Major” Tucker, fencing on tho Salvation army stage
with “ M r .” Devil. A s a matter of aesthetics and choice,
w e prefer the imaginary smell of brimstone and fire to
the malodorous perfumes of old shoe-leather from the
cobbler’s shop. W h ile the n a iv e absurdities in the “ W a r
Cry” m ake 0110 laugh to tears, tho religious gush and
cant generally found in L ib e r ty a n d the N e w D isp e n sa tio n ,
provoke a sickening feeling of anger at such an abuse
of a hum an intellect mocking at the weaker intellects of
its loss favoured readers.
.. A n d now, to “ Parsifal,” tho now Christian opera-
drama of Maestro W a g n e r . From a musical stand-point,
it m ay be indeed “ tlie grandest philosophical conception
over issued from mortal brain.” A s to the subject and
•its philosophical importance, our readers will have to
judge for themselves.
A s tlie musical world is aware, Professor W a g n e r is
nnder the special patronage of the Bavarian K i n g — the
greatest m elo m a n ia c of Europe, who has spent millions
upon his eccentric protege for tho privilege of having him
all to himself. A t every first performance, the audience
is composed of the K i n g alone, his selfish majesty not
allowing evou a confidential chamberlain, or a member
of his own family to come in for a share of artistic
enjoyment. Parsifal is not the first, nor— as to the
subject of the drama upon which it is built— the best
opera that has been produced by the Maestro. Indeed,
it is childish in the extreme. W hy then did its libretto
alone, which appeared far in advance of its performance,
and could give no idea of its musical merits, attract
such an extraordinary concourse of nearly all the crowned
heads of E urop e? W e learn that, besides tlie old
Emperor Wilhelm , there were am ong other guests the
Grand Dukos of Russia, the Princes of Germany and
England, .and nearly all the potty sovereigns, the
K in g s and Queens of Sweden, D en m ark, Holland, Wiir-
temberg, & c . For the last forty years, W a g n e r has
fought tooth and nail with tlio conservative musjCal lights
bf Europe for the recognition and acceptaiicfe of! his new
style of operatic music— th e " music of the future,” as it is
Called. Yet his revolutionary ideas have hitherto found but
a partly responsive echo in tho W e s t . T h e author of “ Th e
Flying Dutch m an,” “ Rienzi,” “ ,Tannhauser,” arid "L o h e n ­
grin,” seemed doomeid to present failure, his interminable
apotheoses breaking the patienco alilco of the sanguine
Frehcliman and the phlegmatic Englishm an. This
string of failures culminated last year, at London, in the
gigantic fia sc o of liis “ Great T e t r a l o g y , the " R i n g des
N ib e lu n g e n .” But “ Parsifal” has no w saved tho
situation.
W h y ? T h e reason for it, we think, lies in the su b ject
chosen for the n ew opera. W hile “ Lohengrin,” “ Tann-
ljaiiser,” the “ R in g des N ib elu n g en /’ are productions
based on popular h ea th en myths, on Germ an legends
conceived in, and drawn from, the days of paganism and
m yth o lo g y, when Jupiter and Venus, Mars snd Diana,
were under their Teutonic names the tutelary gods of
Germania— “ Parsifal” is the hero around whom centre
the N e w Testament legends, accepted by the audience
as forming a portion of the jS’tfate-religions of Chris­
tendom. Th u s the mystery of the extraordinary succesB
lies in a nut-sbell. W h a t is our own fiction, must be,—
nay, is h i s t o r y ; that of our heathen neighbours, the
“ devil-worship” of the Gentiles,— fables. T h e subject-
matter of “ Parsifal” is the theatrical representation of
good and evil, in a supreme struggle : it is o u r universe,
saved through atonem ent; it is sin redeemed through
grace ; the triumph of faith nnd charity. All that is fan­
tastical in it, is m ixed up with, and built upon, (thus :say
the Christian papers)— the purest revelations of Christian
legends. W e will give a brief summary of .the subject.
T h e events of the drama occur in the dreary
solitude of the mountains of Spain, during the supre­
macy of the Saracen conquerors. Spain boasts of
the possession of the " Graal” — the cup in which Christ,
during the L^st Supper, is said to have performed the
mystery Of the Transubstantiation ; changing the bread
and wine into flesh and blood. Into this very cup, sayB
the legend, Joseph of Arimathea had also collected] the
blood that streamed from the wounds of the Saviour.
After a certain lapse of time the angels, who, by some
mysterious ways not mentioned in the pious tradition,
had got hold of the cup, presented it along with the
spear that had transpierced the side of the Crucified, to
a certain saint by the name of Titonrel. W it h a view ot
preserving the priceless relics, the Saint (who, being a
Saint, of course, had plenty of cosh) built a fortified
palace and founded the “ Order of the Knights of the
Holy G ra al;” recouping himself, for his trouble, by
proclaiming himself the K in g and High-Priest thereof.
Becoming advanced in age, this enterprising saint
abdicated in favour of his son A m fo rtu s; a detail,
proving, w e love to think, that the saint was possessed
besides the said genuine relics, of an equally genuine
legitimate tvife. Unfortunately the junior saint fell k
victim to the black art of a wicked magician named
Klingsor; and allowing the sacred spear to pass into
the hitter’s hands, he received therewith an incurable
wound. Henceforth and on to the end of the piece,
Amfortus becomes a moral and physical wreck.
This P rologue is followed by a long string of acts,
the sacred “ mystery” being full of miracles and alle­
gorical pictures. A ct I begins with the rising sun,
which sings a hym n to itself from behind a fringe of
aged oaks, which, after the manner of trees, join in
the chorus. T h e n comes a sacred lake with as sacred
a swan, which is w ounded by the arrow of Parsifal.
A t that period of the opera our hero is still an
innocent, irresponsible idiot, ignorant of the mission
planned for him by Providence. Later on, in the play,
he becomes the “ Comforter,” the second Messiah
and Saviour foretold by the Atonement. In Act II
w e see a vaulted hall, under whose dome light bat­
talions of winged and fingerless cherubs sing, and play
upon their golden harps. Then comes the mystic cere­
mony of knights at their supper-table. A t each boom
of a big bell, the holy knights pour dow n their throats
gigantic goblets of wine and eat big loaves of bread.
Voices from above are heard shouting: “ 'Jake and eat
ofthe bredd of life!— Take and drinkof my blood !” — the
second part of the injunction being religiously carried
out by the knight-monks. The ceremony comes next of
the opening of the relic-box, in which the (“ Graal” )
shines with a phosphoric light enough to dazzle the
pious Brotherhood, every member of which, under the
effect of that light, (or perchance of the wine) falls pros­
trate before the relic-box. 11 Graal” ia a cup, and yet a
singing and reasoning creature in tho miraculous legend.
Withal, it is a forgiving one; since, forgetting the crime
of Parsifal, who is guilty of the death of the sacred swan,
it chooses that man, simple in heart and unburdened
with intellect, as its weapon and agent to conquer Kling-
sor, the wicked sorcerer, and redeem the stolen spear.
H ence the supreme struggle between proud Intellect,
personified by the magician— the Spirit of Evil and D a r k ­
ness, and simple Faith— the embodiment of innocence,
with its absence of all intelligence, as personified by the
half-witted “ Parsifal,” chosen to represent the spirit of
Good and Light. Tbus, while the latter is armed for
the ensuing combat but with the weapon of blind Faith,
Klingsor, the sorcerer, selects as his ally Koondry, a fallen
w om an, accursed by G o d and the embodiment of lust and
vice. Strangely enough Koondry loves good — by nature
and in her sleep. But no sooner does she awake in
tho morning then she becomes awfully wicked. We
have personally known other persons w ho were very
good— when asleep.
T h e papers are full of descriptions given of the
enchanting scenes of the second act of Parsifal, which
represent the fairy gardeus and castle of the magician
Klingsor. From the top of his tall tower he sees
Parsifal arrayed as a knight approaching his domain
and— the wicked sorcerer is supposed to shew his great
intellect by disappearing from sight through the floor
of his room. The scene changes and one sees every
where but the enchanting gardens full of women, iu
the guise of— animated flowers- Parsifal cuts his way
through and meets Koondry. T h e n follows an unholy
ballet or nautch, of women-flowers, half-nude and in
flesh-ctfloured tights. T h e dances are meant as lures
of seduction, and Koondry— the most beautiful and
fascinating of those animated plants, is chief daughter
of the W ag n erian “ Mara.” But even her infernal powers
of seduction fail with the half-witted but b lin d ly believ­
in g knight. T h e ballot ends with Parsifal snatching
the holy spear out of the hands of Klingsor, who has
joined by that time in the general ta m a sh a , and making
with it over the whole unclean lot of the bewitched
nautches the sign of the cross. Thereupon, women-
flowera and Koondry, imps and sorcerer, all disappear
and vanish under ground, presumably into the tropical
regions of Christian Hell. After a short rest, between
two acts, during which time forty or fifty years are
supposed to elapse, Parsifal, armed with the holy
spear that travelled over the whole world, returns
as great a simpleton as ever— but a giant iu a
strength developed by his blind, unreasoning faith.
Once back on the territory of “ Graal,” he finds
the Order abolished, the knights dispersed, and Amfortus
as seedy as ever from the effects of his old wound.
“ Graal,” the communion cup, has hidden itself in the
vast coffers of the monastery of some inimical and rival
sect. Parsifal brings back the holy spear and heals there­
with on the homoeopathic principle of s im ilia sim ilib u ts
cu ra n tu r, the incurable wound of the old kiug-priest once
made by that same spear, by thrusting it into his other
side. A s a reward the king abdicates his throne and
priesthood in his favour. Then appears K o ondry again,
well stricken in years, we should say, if wo had to judge
of the effects of time according to natural law, but, as
fascinating and beautiful as ever, as we are asked to
believe by the Christian legend. She falls in love with
Parsifal, who does not fall in love with her, but allows her
to wash his feet and wipe them Magdalene-like with the
tresses of her long hair, and then proceeds to bap­
tize her. W h eth e r from the effects of this unexpected
ceremony or otherwise, Koondry dies immediately,
after throwing upon Parsifal a long look of love which
he heeds not, but recovers suddenly his lost wits 1
F a ith alone has performed all these miracles. T h e
“ Innocent” had by the sole strength of his piety,
saved the w orld; Evil is conquered by G o od. Such is tho
philosophico-moral subject of the new opera "which ia
preparing-~say the Germ an Christian papers— to revolu­
tionize the world and bring back the iufidela to
Christianity. Am en.
It was after reading in a dozen papers rapturous
acconnts of the new opera and laudatory hym ns to its
pious subject, that w e felt moved to give our candid
opinion thereupon. Very few people to the W e s tw a rd will
agree with us, yet there are some who, we hope at least,
will be able to discern in these remarks something more
serious than journalistic chaff upon the ludicrous events
of the day. A t the risk of being once more misunder­
stood, we will say that such a handling of the “ most
sacred truths” — for those for w hom those things and
names are tr u t h — is a sheer debasement, a sacrilege, and
a blasphemy. W hether presented in the poetical garb of
an operatic performance on the stage of a royal theatre,
with the scenic accessories of all the modern parapher­
nalia of European luxury and art and before an
audience of crowned heads ; or in the caricatured repre­
sentation of fair goddesses by old men, in H in do o
bungalows, and for the personal delectation of Rajahs
and Zemindars ; or again— ns done by the Salvationists-
before ignorant m obs— under the shape of grotesque
fights with the devil; such “ a free and easy m an n e r"
of treating subjects, to many holy and true, must appear
simply blasphemous harlequinades. T o them truth ia
dragged by its ow n votaries in the mire. Th u s far,
Pilate’s “ W h a t is truth ? ” has never been sufficiently
answered but to the satisfaction of narrow-minded
sectarians. Y e t, truth must be somewhere, and it must
be one, though all may not kno w it. Hence, though
every one ought to be permitted unmolested to search
for, and see it in his own light; a n d discuss ag freely
the respective merits of those many would-be tr u th s ,
called by the name of creeds and religions, without any
one taking offence at the freedom, we cannot help
showing a profound sympathy for the feelings of
“ Observer,” w ho has a few remarks upon the Salva­
tionists in the P io n eer of December 21. W e quote a
paragraph or two :— '
“ T h a t th is eccentric religious deformity will, sooner or later
vanish into th e am ple limbo of defunct fa n a ticism ^ is, of course,
a conclusion which need n ot be demonstrated for educated
people. B u t m eanwhile it m ig h t be well if applications for help
from th e leaders of this v u lg ar crusade were declined by thali
numerous class who are ready to subscribe money for an y
organization whose professed aim is to “ do good,” b u t who aro
too indifferent, or too indolent, to investigate tlio principles and
methods of such organization.
“A t one period in th e history of Christendom ono of th e cen tral
features in pu lpit teach ing was the presentation of S atan in
evory im aginable shape which could inspire terror.
‘‘ B ut, in prooess 01 time, in th e religious plays, S atan came to
be represented by th e clown. And th e association in th e popular
mind of th e gro tesque an d ridiculous with w hat liad once su g ­
gested awe and terro r, resu lted in widespread disbelief in the
reality of Satan’s existence. To what extent this scepticism was
an indication of th e emancipation of th e h um an mind from
ecclesiastical te rrorism need no t bo discussed here. B u t the
power of association of ideas in moulding belief is the point
emphasized by this reference.
“ A n d if the founder |of tho Christian religion is presented to
the im agination of the populace surrounded with the im ages of
th e modern music-hall, if crowds are roused up to emotional
display by means of a Bachanalian chorus which proclaim th a t
“ H e’s a jolly good Saviour,” and by C hristy M instrel manipula­
tions of the tam bourine and th e banjo, it does not need a vory
profound in s ig h t to forsee th a t the u tt e r degradation of th a t
sublime ideal which, a m id st all th e changes of beliefs and opini­
ons t h a t have convulsed C hristendom for eighteen h u nd red
years, still appears to th e view of the world’s b est men, unbeliev­
ing as well as believing, a spectacle of unapproachable moral
beauty, m u s t be the resu lt in tho case of those who are b ro u g h t
u nd er the action of such a demoralizing influence.”
These wise words apply thoroughly to the cases in hand.
If we are answered,— as many a time we have been answer­
ed— that notwithstanding all, the Salvationists as well
as the N e w Dispensationists are doinggood,since they help
to kindle the fast extinguishing fires of spirituality in
m an ’s heart, w e shall answer that it is not by fencing
and dancing in grotesque attire1 , thnt this spirituality
can ever be preserved ; nor is it by thrusting one’s own
special belief down a neighbour’s throat that he cari ever
be convinced of its truth. Sm oke also can dim the solar
rays, and it is well known tliut the most worthless mate­
rials, boldly kindled aud ehergel ic illy stirred, often
throw out the densest masses of murky vapour. Doubt
is inseparable from the constitution of m an’s reasoning
powers^ and few are tlie men who have never doubted,
whatever their sectarian belief; a good proof that few
aro qditei satisfied— say what they may to the contrary—
that it is th e ir creed find not that of their brother which
has g o t the whole truth. Truth is like the sun ; notwith­
standing that the blackest clouds may obscure it tempora­
rily, it is bound, ever nnd anon, to shine forth and dazzle
even the most blind, and the faintest beam of it is often
sufficient to dispel error and darkness. M e n have done
their best to veil every such beam and to replace it with
the false glare of error and fiction ; none more so than
bigoted, narrow-minded theologians and priests of every
faith, casuists and perverters through selfishness. It
ia against them, never against any religion, or the sincere
belief of any man in whatsoever he chooses, that we have
and do protest. A n d here we will take the opportunity
of answeting our innumerable detractors. 1
B y these we have been repeatedly called “ Nastika”
and dlh'cist. W e are guilty, in their opinion, of refusing
to gi^e a n a m e to t h a t which, w e feel sure, ought never
to have received a name ; nay— which cannot have an
appellation, since its nature or essence is absolutely in­
comprehensible to our hum an mind, its state and even
being, as absolutely'a blank, and entirely beyond the
possibility of >my proof— uuless simple and unphiloso-
phical assertions be such. W e are taken to task for
confessing our firm belief in an infinite, all-pervading
Principle, while refusing recognition of a personal G o d
with human attributes ; for advocating* an " abstrac­
tion,” nameless and devoid of any kn o w n qualities,
hence— passionless and inactive. . H o w far our enemies
are right in their definition of our belief, is something
w e may leave to some other occasion to confess or
deny. For the present we will limit ourself to declaring
that if denial of the existence of God ns believed in by
the Guiteau’s, Dispensatiouists and Salvationists, consti­
tutes a N a s tik a , then— we plead “ guilty” and proclaim
ourself publicly that kind of a t u e i s t . In the A Jeim
addressed by their respective1 devotees as " Father-God,
or God-Brahma, or God-Allab, or God-Jehovah in those
deities, iu a word, w ho, whether they inspire political
murders, or buy provisions iu tho Calcutta bazars, or fight
tho devil through female lieutenants to the sound of cym ­
bals and a base drum at 3(> shillings the week, or dem and
public worship and damn eternally those who do not accept
them we have neither faith nor respect for them ; nor do
we hesitate to express our full contempt for such figments
of ecclesiastical imagination. O n the other hand, no true
Vedantee, Adwaitee, nor genuine esoteric philosopher
or Buddhist, will ever call us N q stil,-a ,sin c e o n r belief does
not differ one iota from theirs. Except as to difference in
nnmes, upon whatever appellation all of these may hang their
bi liof, ouris isa philosophical conception of that which a truo
Adwaiteo would call “ Naruyaua.’’ It is that same Principle
which may be understood and realized but in our inner­
most thought, in solemn silence and in reverential awe.
It is but during such moments of illumination that m an
m ay hayfe a glimpse of it, as from and in the Eternity. It
broods in (not over) the Waters of Life, in the boundless
chaos of cosmic Ether as the manifested or t.he unmani-
fcsted universe— a P ara,m anu as it is called in the Upa-
nishadsi ever present i n the boundless ocean of cosmic
matter, e m b o d y in g , within self the latent design of the
• Which wo do not, nor ever will ; claiming b u t tho r i g h t equal
]y ivitli every other responsible or reasoning tinman being, to
b e l i e v e ii Tl'o t h i n k ptn pn ', and r i je c t tlio routine idem of
(.th-r
whole Universe. This Narayanais the7th principle of the
manifested Solar system. It is the ” Antaratma” , or the
latent spirit overy where present in the five tanmatras,
which in their admixture and unity constitute what is
called by Western occultists the preadatnite earth.
This principle or Paramanu, is located by the ancient
Rishis of India (as may be seeu in M a h a N a r a y a n u m of
T a i t t i r i y a Upanishad) in the centre of astral fire. Its name
of Narayana is given to it, because of its presence
in all the individual s p ir itu a l m o n a d s of the m ani­
fested solar system. This principle, is, in fact, the
Logos, and the one B a o of the Western Occultists and
Kabalists, and it is the Real aDd Sole deity to which
the ancient Rishis of Aryavarta addressed their prayers,
and directed their aspirations. If neither believers in a
butler-god, nor those who fight the battles of their
deity with Satan, nor yet the rut-running sectarians,
will ever be capable of understanding our meaning,
we have at least the consolation of knowing that it will
be perfectly clear to every le a rn ed Adwaitee. As to tho
u n le a rn e d ones, they had better join the “ Dwaitees, or
the Salvationists” who invoke their Fetish with the
clanging bell and the roll of kettle-drums.
THE P R IM E V A L RACE DOUBLE-SEXED*
B y A l e x a n d e r W i l d e r , m . d ., V i c e - P r e s t . T h e o s . S oc iety ,
N e w Y or k .
T u e proposition that the hum an race at one time were
so formed that m an and w om an constituted but a single
person, m ay, at first thought, impress the m ind as most
extraordinary. It will be supposed that the analogies of
the natural world tend to demonstrate the ideas as
absurd. T h e myriads and millions upon the earth of
hum an being, and their contemporaries of the animal and
vegetable creation, it may be thought, sustain the negative
view. Perhaps it is seemingly too absurd even to consider
•with patience. W e trust not; the world has spent much
of its youth in canvassing and supporting opinions far
less philosophical, far less rational, far less plausible, and
far more whimsical.
That a large part of tho vegetable creation exhibit the
phenomenon of bisexuality is patent to every one. In
the Liiinaan classification, all plants are so enumerated,
except tho monoecious and dioecious, and perhaps tlie
m e la n g e which the groat naturalist set apart as crypto-
gamons. These exceptions, it is palpable, by no means
include the superior families. “ Tho pumpkin, squash,
and cucumber, the maize-plant and some of our forest
trees are monoecious, having staminate flowers apart from
tho pistillate blossoms ; and others, like the hemp, L o m ­
bardy poplar, and ailanthus, have also duplicated bodies
one being male and the other female. But the great
majority, the grasses nnd cereals, fruit trees, and garden-
tlowers, all have the blossoms complete ; the germs, with
their styles, are beside the stamens as gallantly as
need be. A s the evidence of science indicates thnt plants
came into existence first, we can easily perceive that
this mode of formation, self-perpetuation, was the fresh
first thought of Omniscience.
In tho animal creation, the samo idea still retains a
placo. W e have our sciences of heterogenesis a n d p a rth e­
nogenesis, showing that the field is yet open. In insect
life, the moth generates a worm, and the worm becomes
a moth, as in the Mysteries the great secret was express­
ed — T a u r u s d raconem g e n u it, et T a u r u m draco. Tho
polyps, or coral-producing family, which, according to
Agassiz, has spent m any hundreds or thousands of
years, during the present geological period, in build­
ing out the peninsula of Florida from the main land,
has never distracted itself about family and connubial
questions. E ach individual is a part physically of
the entire house-hold, or ratlfer community, and
’ Tlii-i T V n y p u b l is h e d y ears a p o in th e r h r c n o l o n i c a l
J r . - / .1. . . . j -
 they produce their offspring from themselves like the
buds and ramifications of a tree. They have no family i (za ch a r va n q ko b eh ) created ho them, and blessed them,
jars, like those of husband aiid wife, parents and children, i and called their name A d a m in, the day when they were
nor trouble with the traditional mother-in-law or sister-in-.
law. They all grow up in the same way, 'budding side ■ 27 : “ God created (b a ra , brought forth) m an in h is image,
by side, or dividing, and, whilo so multiplying, remain
united together, so as to form a larger mass.
examples of household unity would have delighted the
ancient psalmist if he had kno w n much about polypods;
coral friendships are, indeed, “ like precious ointment” —
very adhesive. Nor is this mode of life all monotonous.
E ach species of polyp has its own peculiar mode of b u d ­
ding, branching, and ramifying, giving it as distinct an
appearance as exists upon different trees. The number
of theso different species is very great; and they all have
not only peculiar features and habits, but require different
positions in the sea. There are those which are only
found in shallow waters; others again in water two fathoms
d e e p ; others are never found in waters which are less than
five or six fathoms deep ; and others in waters at least
ten fathoms deop. ' T h e mere fact of the water being
more or less clear is enough either to foster tlieir growth
or cause their destruction. Glorious illustrations of tho
blessings of peace ! N o wars, no long viking expeditions,
no civil dissensions, no peril but from the olements. N ot
only families, but different races and species co-operate,
each complementing and supplementing the work of tlie
others. Though they make very slow progress,1only about
an inch in fourteen years, and taking six thousand years to
build a single reef of sixty feet high, these peaceful animals
have thus steadily persisted, each builder and race taking
its own turn, relieving each other when “ played out,’'
till the structure is complete. Thus they have con­
tributed tho territory for an entire State of the American
Union, and at the same tima have illustrated the modern
idea of co-operation.
Bees are somewhat in the same line. T h e queens and
workers are pretty independent. Th ey carry on the hive
very much as the coral animals do their buildings ; and
the queen, producing eggs in immense numbers, asks
little odds of any other. The aphids, or plant-1 ice,
keep house like Am azons, and virgin parents perpetuate
the race for ten successive generations.
T h e earlier traditions of the hum an race indicate a
period when bisexuality was an essential characteristic.
Plato, in tlie “ Banquet,” has preserved to us the discourse
of Aristophanes oil the subject. “ O u r nature of old was
not the same as it is now. It was a n d r o g y n o u s ; the form to signify the same thing. Evon the first chapter of the
and name partaking of and being common to both tlio
male and the female. Tho entire form 6 t‘ overy individual
was rounded, having the back and sides as in a circle, and
all the parts doubled. They walked as nowy upri glit,
whithersoever they pleased. Their bodies thus were
round, and the manner of their running was circular.
They were terrible in force and strength, and hud prodi­
gious ambition. H ence Zeus (Jove) divided each of them
into two, making them weaker • Apollo, under his
direction, closed up the skin.” W i t h the old Persians,
Meshia and Meshiune were but a single individual. They
also taught that man was the product of the Treo of Life,
growing in androgynous pairs, till they were separated at
a subsequent modification of the hum an form. The inha­
bitants of Madagascar say that the first m an wus created
from the earth and placed in a garden, free from the ills,
wants, and appetites of mundane life, and that he was
strictly forbidden to eat or drink. Th e Great E n em y ,
disguised as a shining angel, pretended to bring a
message from heaven, setting aside the prohibition. H e
then ate; a slight swelling appeared on his leg, and
enlarged to a tumor, which, finally bursting at the end of
six months, there emerged a beautiful girl, w ho became
at maturity the mother of the race.
The accounts given in the book of Genesis appear to
imply that man was created double-sexed. In the fifth
chapter it reads: “ This is the book of the generations
(Hebrew, fo lc d u th ) of A d a m : in the day that G o d crojted
man, in the likeness of G o d mado he him, male and female
created.” This passage is the copy and echo of Genesis i.
the image of G o d created he him, male and female
Such created he them .”
T h e rabbis, m any of them, agree with this idoa of the
legitimate m eaning of these texts. Eugibinus, am ong
Christian authors, and tho rabbis Samuel, Menasseh ben-
Israel, and Maimonides, especially, gave the weight of
their judgment iu favor of this interpretation. “ A d a m / ’
it was said, “ had two faces and one person, and from, the
beginning he was both mule and female— male on one:
side and female on the other ; but afterwards the parts
were separated.” T h e 139th psalm, by David, abounding
with references to creation and embryonic.life, was cited
iu evidence. T h e rabbi Jeremiah ben-Eleazer, on the
authority of tho fifth verse, “ T h o u h a st fa s h io n e d m e
b ehind a n d before ,” argued that the primeval form of
m ankind was androgynous.
Indeed, the phrase, “ i n the im a g e o f G o d ,” sustains
rather than controverts this sentiment. W aiv ing all
argument from the fact that the plural form a le im , and
the pronoun yg, are often used for G o d, with verbs in
the singular number, nevertheless the double sex, as an
essential attribute of the Deity, is a very early idea. Ifc
is evident that the “ male and female” condition, or male-
female, is implied as constituting the “ image ” and
“ likeness” of God. T h e ancients often depicted their
divinities in this form. “ Zeus is a male, Zeus is an
imrnoj'tal m aid,” is asserted in the Orphic h ym n,
which was chanted in the Mysteries. Metis, devoured
by Jupiter, Pallas-Athene emerging from .his head,
and the younger Bacchus inclosed in his thigh prior
to birth, were but symbolical expressions to denote this
female life. “ T h e Mighty Power became half male, half
female,” is the doctrine of the Hindoo Puranas. The E g y p ­
tians blended the goddess Neith with A m o n in the crea.’
tion ; as I la k m o h , or W is d o m is united with the Demiurge,
Jehovah, in the eighth chapter of the Proverbs of Solomon.
In tho Hermetic books intelligence is declared to be “ G o d
possessing tho double fecundity of the two sexes,"
M a n y of the H indoo images, in conformity with the
same idia, are half malo und half female, and have four
arms. Som e of the statues of Jupiter havo female breasts,
and representations of Venus-Aphrodite give her a beard
Apocalypse, tho personage appearing to John was “ girt
about the paps,” or m a sto i not the m a zo i or male breasts.
T h e Doity being thus constituted, his image and likeness,
very logically, should be with attributes of both the m an
and the w om an, “ neither male nor female, but both one.”
T h e name A d a m , or man, itsolf implies this double form
of existence. It is identical with A th a m a s or T hom as
(Tamil, T a m ), which is rendered by the Greek d id u m o s,
a twin. If, therefore, the first wom an was formed subse­
quently to the first man, she must, as a logical necessity,
bo “ taken out of m an.” Accordingly we read : “ A n d
tho Lord God caused a deop sleep to fall upon A d a m , and
ho slept ; and H e took one of his sides and closed up the
flesh instead thereof; and the side which tho Lord God
had takon from man, made H e a w om an.” T h e H e b re w
word here used is tzalci, which bears the translation
which we have given. It is easy to trace this legend in
Berosus, who says that T h a la tth (the Omoroca , or L a d y
of U rku), was the beginning of the creation. She was
was also Telita, the queen of the moon, as the first
wom an, A ise h , wus Isis.
Th e corollary of all this is, that the A d a m or twin-man
was male on one sido and female on the other; and that
one-half of him was removed to constitute E v e ; but
that tho complete m an consists of the sexes in one.
T h e two memorable tvvin-birtlis of Genesis, that of
Cain and Abel, and of Esau and Jacob, shadow the
spine idea. T h e nam e J le b d is the same as Eve, and
liis characteristics seem to be feminine. " Unto thee
shall be his desire,” said the Lord to Cain ; “ and thou
shalt rule over him.” T h e same language had been
uttered to E v e . “ Th y desire shall be to thy husband, and
he shall rule over thee.” So, too, the name Jacob signi­
fies a female— nakobeh being one form of the w ord, and
ya h o b another, from the same root. It was Isaac’s pur­
pose to place him under the rule of E s a u ; but when the
father waa circutnveuted it became necessary to give
Jacob the masculine name of Israel,
Godfrey Higgins suggests, in his A n a c a ly p s is , that
the Siamese twins represented the original androgynous
idea. There are similar instances on record of twins with
a Hgamentary union, and a single umbilicus. Th e analogy
of Esau and Jacob seems to have held good in their case ;
C hang was masculine and dominating, while E n g sub­
mitted and obeyed. (W h eth er their union was as vitul
as has been asserted, w e question. T h e liver appears to
have constituted it; but although fluids passed from one
body to the other, sensation did not. Chang had been
dead for hours before E n g perceived any disturbing
agency; and then it seems to have been only, or princi­
pally, alarm. If the ligament had been divided, and
some stimulant employed to distract tho attention and
reduce the sensibility of E n g for several days, it appears
to us that he might have now been alive. O f course we
believe that a bold but sagacious operator might have
separated them safely m an y years ago. But this dis­
cussion is foreign to oul present subject.)
Both the N e w Testament and the English common
law seem to accept this doctrine of the pristiiie bisexual
unity of the hum an race. Jesus, in reply to the caviling
question of the Sadducees concerning the future e x i s t ­
ence of those who die, declared, “ In the resurrection
they neither marry nor given in marriage, are but are as
the angels or sons of G o d .” This cannot m e&n that
they &re unsexed, or monks and nuns, as in a R o m an or
Thibetan convent. T o be like G o d and his angels, they
must be “ children of the resurrection.” T h e resurrection
life, or a n a sta s is, must be the complete reversing of the
foil or a p o sta sis , If m an began life in form as well as
spirit like God, the a le im , in the restitution of all things,
ho will resume that life as it was at the first.— ICor. x i.ll.
Indeed, the English law, “ the perfection of reason,”
perhaps unwittingly leads to tho same conclusion. “ A
husband and his wife constitute but one person, and that
person is the husband.” It is but this alternative, or
that of a common twin-life. “ A s it was in the beginning
so it ever shall be.”
W h e n Science becomes the complement of divine
revelation, the latter will disappear like a star in the
effulgence of the sun.
— » » .....
THE R E M IN IS C E N C E S OF A CHELA.
B y B h o l a D eva _ S ar m a .
I.
T n i manifestations of the impulse which now seems to
pervade the world embolden m e to a narrative of facts
which, however true and palpable they be for the writer
himself, are yet inconceivable to many. T h e general ten­
dency is to cry down all that is ancient as “ superstition,”
and any attempt at a revival of any of the archaic sub­
limities, whether in art, science, religion, or philosophy,
is consequently denounced as the ingenious devices of
ft lunatic or an impostor. Looking back into History, the
Btudent is struck with the similarity in procedure adopted
by the so-called leaders of society in all ages against
institutions whose express purpose was the study of an­
cient wisdom and the vindication of its importance. This
fact will become more evident about the close of the pre­
sent narrative. It seems never to have occurred to these
“ learned m en ” that if the heart of m a n has through all
ages yearned after something higher than this ordinary
transitory w orld; if, notwithstanding the persuasions,
torture, and the ridicule they have sought to shower
upon those w h o m they call enthusiasts and lunatics,
these latter have ever had the good fortune of being the
originators and ultimately supporters of scientific theories,
which were finally tested and adopted long after their
death,— that if this is the case there m ay possibly be
more underneath the mask of ancient religious than can
be seen at a superficial glance. Happily, however, the
m uch longed-for change in this arrogant attitude of the
so-called “ learned” m en is slowly but steadily taking
place, and much of the praise for this accomplishment
of a task which had so long baffled the efforts of some
of the greatest intellects, is due to theTheosophical Society—
an Association which has been patiently and perse-
yeringly working in our midst for the past four years. Th e
immediate effect of this success was, that persons, who
had waited till no w for a favourable opportunity to give
the world the benefit of their knowledge and experience,
are gradually relinquishing her reserve and coming to
the front. It is looking to this grand achievement that
I feel confident that m y humble contribution, with a view
of stimulating m y fellow and country men to earnestly
and zealously enquire into their respective religions and
benefiting them by m y experience— will not be entirely
futile. Before, however, I proceed with m y narrative, I
must ask m y readers to remember what they m ay them­
selves have heard of such interesting stories as the one
found in that excellent work — The Ilo sic ru cia n s, by H a r ­
grave Jennings.
T h e story is too long to be quoted here, nor does the
form in which it is presented by the author show it to be
so well authenticated as to justify its being brought for­
ward as historical instance. But the very fact that some­
times travellers find, in their solitary journeys, hermits
and hitherto utterly un kn o w n and strange men, inhabiting
subterranean places and caves whose existence itself is
u nkn o w n to the outside world but is found out only by
chance— this very fact, I say, is not of so rare an occur­
rence, in Asia, especially in India, as to need great strain
upou one’s credulity. I would therefore request my
readers to constantly bear these facts in mind in the
course of m y narrative, as m y ow n experiences have a
close connection with, and resemblance to, the subject of
Hargrave' Jenning’s story of the Countryman and tho
Rosicrucian.
II.
T h e instances herein given will, of course, to some
sound like a fiction, to others like the dream of an enthu­
siast, while a few will attribute all such cases to the
exaggerating fancy of au over-heated brain. M y narrative
is not meant for the all-denying sceptics, but for that class
which is steadily growing— a class which is neither
superstitious, bigoted, nor dogmatic, but is ever open to
truth and conviction, from whatsoever source and in
whatever manner they m ay come.
W e Indians are quite alive to the fact that all our sacred
books, allegories and traditions, are full of accounts which
are more or less reliable ; and that even those that have
the colouring of ignorant superstition about them, are a
mere external symbolism in clothing splendid truths
destined to remain impenetrable, but to the superficial
observer or a vulgar intelligence. Every H in d u is taught
from his early childhood to believe in the traditions about
the fight between the Suras (Gods) and the Asuras (Giants)
or (Devils), as every Christian, especially the R om an
Catholic and the Christian of the Eastern Church is made
to credit the great struggle betwoen the Archangel
Michael, and his host of angels and Satan or Lucifer and
his army of unclean spirits. Both regard, more or less,
their respective traditions as sacred truths and the heroes
thereof as living entities, although the thinking stu d e n t
knows the symbolical significations of the two, and is
well aware that they represent but the struggle of G ood
 and E v i l . All such beliefs were, therefore, m y rightful
inheritance; and being naturally of a religious turn of
mind, implicit faith in their truth became a sort of second'
nature with me. The Orthodox Pundits of our modern'
days also tel! us that all the se e m in g ly m ira c u lo u s accounts
w e have of the Great Y ogis, although strictly true as
events that occurred in the past ages, yet that, this power
is now lost, and no great Y o g i lives in these dark days of
K a l i Y u g . M y intuitions have always revolted against
such a preposterous assertion. If there wore Yogia once
w ho could achieve results commonly considered to be
miraculous; if again, that power could be acquired by any
one who underwent the necessary training and dis­
cipline ; and if again the said power was a se lf-a c q u is itio n ,
I could not be brought to perceive w h y there should be no
Y o g i living in our days. T h e laws of Nature, if im m u­
table, must always produce tho same results under the same
conditions. W h a t was practicable a thousand years ago
must be practicable now. Either all tho accounts of the
ancient Risliis are an entire fictions or the present wild
assertion about the impossibility of such personages ex­
isting and living in our o w n times, is but an outcome of
the false teaching of those who were too lazy or too
cowardly to undertake the training ond the discipline
required, themselves, and too jealous and conceited to
admit their acquirement by other people. To believe
that the L a w s of Nature are anything but immutable is
as absurd, unscientific and unphilosophical, as to be led on
to accept tho existence of a n I n fin ite Qod w ith fin ite
a ttr ib u te s. W h e n I speak of the L a w s of Naturo 1 do not
imply thereby that I believe in a Personal Creator. 1 am
born an Adwaitee, and besides that, m y personal beliefs are
utterly irrelevant to the story and do not concern tho
general reader. B y “ L a w ” I simply here mean “ any
observed order of the course of Nature.” Certain condi­
tions nre fouud to produce certain results, and the category
under which these full form that particular L a w of Nature.
A s to whether these results are due to any s e lf-e x is tin g
in h e re n t impulse, or whether this impulse is the working of
un e x tra cosm ical Deity, I leave it to the reader’s common
sense and scientific perceptions to decide for himself.
W e are at present concerned with finding out how far
man can obtain an experimental aud practical knowledge
of all surrounding nature, aud how fur he can utilize the
powers and control which he acquires in gaining that
knowledge, over the Forces of Nature, rather than with
the “ w hy,” tho “ whence,” and the “ whither,” of this
original impulse. Throughout all ages, tho Shcmites and
the Aryans have divided themselves into two distinct
groups, the former asserting the existence of an extra
cosmical God, the latter as vehemently denying it and
admitting of n o th in g o u tsid e the cosmos. The political
predominance of the followers of the former Faith over the
latter, has however gradually and slightly coloured the
belief of the Indian Aryans. The P a ra b ra h m a m of the
V edas and tho Z e rv a n a -a k a rn e of tho A v e sta , have had
the fate of En-Sopli, who was made to abdicate in favour
of Johovali. They are temporarily eclipsed by the I s h w a r
of tho V e d a n tin and the O rm a zd and the A h r im a n of the
n\odern Parseo. Tlie creative Impulse or Force is being
anthropomorphised into a fin i te p e rso n a l G od, and the
good and evil tendencies in nature aro metamorphosed
into living, personal entities, who guide the two currents
of force. The only Aryan faith which has never yet been
forced into a compromise iu this direction is the Buddhist,
although it lius begun to gradually deteriorate, in other
ways, from its pristine purity. But let him but go to the
bottom of every one of the current prevailing religions,
and the true student will find tho same basis one common
foundation upon which all religions are based. Theso
couvictions were gradually brought home to m y mind
during my researches, and the more I thought and brooded
over the subject, the moro forcibly did the belief grow upon
me, that there must be persons now living who could
expound all these truths, aud who were infinitely wiser
in knowledge and superior in power— since k n o w l e d g e
i s P o w e r — than even the best and wisest of our scientific
men. It will thus become clear how it could becomd
imperative for one who was led to such a point not to
remain long without taking some bold stop in that direc­
tion, and push his way' further and further into a research
of the claiins of some ancient sages to a superior k n o w ­
ledge and power.
(To be co n tin u ed .) '
— *-----
C IS - T IB E T A N RAMBLES.
B y C aptain A . B anon, F . T . S .
( C o n tin u e d f r o m the A u g u s t N u m b e r .)
In continuation of the narration of my wanderings in
the Himalayan regions (August number of the Theoso­
p h i s t ) — I wish here to correct a mistake : the three
people killed at N ilang were not Chinese Lam as, but
Cakpas ; or a class of thieves in Tibet. The hill people
call almost every Tibetan a Lam a, and so the mistake
arose. In the village of M u k b a , I came across ' an old
Bissahiri gentleman, who, as he was educated in Tibet,
is known by the name of Sukliam L a m a . H e is quite
a considerable m an for that part of the world, owning
some hundreds of goats and sheep, and a few thousand
rupees. Also he is a m an of the strictest probity and
veracity; and has traded over the greater part of North­
ern Tibet. H e told m e the following as witnessed by
himself in that country. H e was at a celebrated place
of pilgrimage, the name of which I have forgotten ;
behind it rose a beautiful conical peak, covered with
perpetual snow. O w in g to somo natural causes, that
peak broke, and a great part of its upper portion fell
olf. B y this landslip the cave was quite disfigured.
W h e n Sukliam “ L a m a ” arrived there in the summer
time, a great and genuine L a m a had been sum moned from
Southern Tibet to remedy the evil; and whilst there,
caused the snow to fall for seven consecutive days on the
peak, until it again became in outward shape, at least, a
perfect cone. Sukliam L a m a is a very public-spirited
man. H e built at his o w n expense a road from M u k b a to
Jangla,— a distance of five miles. These are the kind of
unobtrusive men, w h o m the Government should honor,
but never does. Another great traveller and trader in
M u k b a is Mulla R a m . This m an rescued two Govern­
ment surveyors in Tibet, from being clubbed to death as
spies, by liis great personal influence; but no more than
Sukliam L a m a has he ever been rewarded by Government.
Should any of m y readers wish to meet some great Tibetan
Lam as, I can tell them there are somo to be found in
that part of Bisaliir that borders on Tibet; and that they
can also meet there with m any Bissahiri traders, who
have travelled over a great part of Tibet, and who can tell
them m any wonders of that very wonderful country. M e a n ­
while I return to tlie people of the U pp er Bhagerutee,
whose superstitions and customs are very curious. They
believe that after death, the soul goes into the inferior
animal creation. W h e n an individuel dies, the house is
closed up completely for the n ig h t; and tho floor is
strewn over with ashes. N ext morning, the house ia
opened, and the ashes are carefully examined for
foot prints, and from these, they pretend to tell,
into what sort of animal or bird the soul of
the deceased lias entered.* Th e Hindoos of these
llill-tribes w ho have never come into contact with
Mahoniedans, have in their marriage relations a
curious mixture of polygamy and polyandry. All the
brothers have their wives and all the sisters their hus­
bands in common. Since the adveut of the British,
these peculiar customs are dying out iu K u m a o n and
G u rh w al; but tho Raja insists on their being preserved
in Tehri Garliwal. A n American Missionary, w h o m I
met on the banks of the Alakvanda, complained that ho
* T h e very same custom prevails to this day among the
aboriginal descendants of th e ancient Peruvians, and is described
by Dr. T schuddi in his N o v e l s i n P e r u . The coincidence is most
in terestin g to an thropologists.—E d ,
could not keep his Christian converts from these
peculiar practices. I have reason to suspect that at
a former epoch, these customs were observed by all
Hindoos ; and that they were gradually dropped after
the M nhom edan conquest. There aro two facts that
seem to point to, and prove, this conclusion ; one is that
D rau p a d i* was held in common by all the five Pandava
brother*, and the second, that there is no word for cousin
in the Hisdustani language. A m o n g the Hindoo hill
tribes, a first cousin is looked upon as a brother; and
intercourse between first cousins is deemed incestuous.
W i t h reference to an article, " Spiritualistic Black
M agic,” in the January number, I would ask whether
any of your readers are acquainted with Goojerat, in the
P u n ja b ? There is a shrine there, held in great respect
by married women, and which they visit, whenever they
liave causo to deplore their barrenness ; tho immediate
results of which visit, are, to say the least, strange. Some
ten months after a visit to the sliriue, they are brought
to bed of children— with heads like rats ! and these
children are called by the natives " S h ah Donlah K e
Chooablog.” I have seen these children myself ; and
thero is no mistaking tho ratdike head. N o w is “ Shah
Doulali,” a shell or some moro responsible and vicious
spook, who can materialise himself, sufficiently to “ over­
shadow” theso wom en ; and so produce their zooccphalic
progeny? Or w h a t? f
Another puzzle : the credit of the discovery of mes­
merism being generally given to a Germ an, born in
Meersburg (Baden), called Mesmer, upon reading a book
called R elig io G kem ici, the other day, written by Gcorgo
Wilson, F . It. S. E ., I have reason to doubt the state­
ment. In his Life of Robert Boyle, I find the following :
“ In 1663 he was brought into great public notice in con-
“ nexion with an Irish gentleman referred to by D r. Birch
“ as the famous M r. Valentine Greatraks, the Irish
“ Stroker. H e produced many marvellous cures, by
“ a process of manipulation, closely resembling
“ that produced by the animal mngnetists of the present
“ day. Greatraks (Grentorex ?) was an honest and
“ honorable man, and Boyle caine forward to attest the
■'reality of his cures. Th e celebrated astronomer F lam ­
* The latter fact is very suggestive, while the former, we believe,
proves nothing. D ra n p a d i—as known to those who are versed tion this to show what the Club is. I may say that my Essay
in the symbology of the Hindu sacred books— was no living
personage but sitnply a personification. She is Yoga-Maya (or
the illusion produced by the Yoga system) one of the properties
of tbe five elements personified by the Pandavas. The latter
may and most probably were historical personages ; but their
biography becoming, liko that of every other hero, strongly wound
up with the marvellous, is necessarily interwoven with fiction and
allegory, henro iu many parts of the sacred dramas, they aro
made to stand for the elements with their numerous illusionary
and occult effects. Knowing of th e present system of adoptship
it is safe to say th a t none of the true flishis were ever m arried —
nor could they have been, to deserve thn.t name. Yet there aro
modern pundits who, explaining tho Shastras in their own way,
insist that some of thoir Rishis were married nnd had sons
innumerable! a s though adoptship could ever be reached without
ono being a strict ISnihmacbnri ! As to polyandry, it still to somo
extent prevails am ong the Kandyans of Coylon.— E d .
■f O ur esteemed co rresp o n d en t’s query may bo nnswered in
th e most satisfactory way by a certain F rench a u th o r on Modern
Demonology culled t he Chevalier Gongpneau des Mousseaux, th an
whom we know of no other person or perso ns—with tho excep­
tion, perhaps, nf t.ho Salvationists—b e tte r acquainted nnd p osi­
tively familiar with tho Devil and his ways. H is knowledge of
th e prank s of tho Don Ju a n of the cloven foot seems in exhausti­
ble, and his rert,ilieat.es of proficiency come from the princes and
dignitaries of the modern Roman Catholic Church. B u t in
justice to a theologically much abused personago, we should
remind our readers th a t “ S atan ” hns a rival in th e fabrication
of monster's, to wit—nervous hallucination nnd prepossession.
T h e niodrrn psychologists have iu fact lieurologised th e devil
out of existence. Readers of Jsis Unveiled and o ther works will
rem em ber numerous examples of this mysterious parental
influence of tlio maternal fancy upon the corning offspring ; an
influence not confined to man, bu t equally observable among tho
lower animals. Tlio subject of Teratology (or the begetting of
monsters) is treated at lenyrth in tho first volume of I s is, am ong
th e illustrations those of chickens witli the heads of h aw ks, aud
squabs with thoso of p arro ts, being cited.—Ed.
“ steed went to Ireland to bo stroked by Greatraks, and
“ was benefited either by the stroking, or a subsequent
“ attack of sea sickness, or ns he thought, perhaps by
" b o t h .” So from the above, Mesmerism should have
been called Greatraksism,” and the credit of its inven­
tion (in Europe^ should be given to Ireland, instead of
to France.
----- •-----
I M E S M E R IS M A S A N A N E S T H E T IC .
O ur veteran contemporary, the B avne.r o f L ig h t,
quotes from the B o sto n J o u r n a l an account of a surgical
operation recently performed at the St. Louis (M o.), U .
S. A . Homseopathic Dispensary, of great interest to Indian
students of Mesmerism. 11 appears that an operation for
the extirpation of a large tumor from the face and neck
of a Negro patient was to be performed. Chloroform and
other failed to have any effect upon liis nerves, where­
upon one of tho surgeons tried Mesmerism. H e was
almost immediately rendered insensible of pain, and the
operation successfully performed after the lapse of a full
hour and a half. T h e J o u r n a l naturally adds, " the
operation is causing m uch comment in medical circles as
an improvement on the use of anaDsthetics. T h e m a n is
doing finely.” T h e noted experiments of the late D r .
Jam es Esdaile, Presidency Surgeon at Calcutta, settled
beyond the least doubt the supreme merits of mesmeric
anaesthesia in Surgery, and in time we shall see it
universally employed.
■ ♦ ■■
'/ A N IM A M U N D I.
[TnE following is tho very imperfect and brief summary of
a very elaborate paper on the L u m i n i f e h o d s E t h e r a n d i t s
W o r k i n g s — read by our brother, Dr. J. D. Unck, M . D .
U . S., in November last, before the “ Cincinnati Literary
Clnb.” W e extract it from the C incinnati Daily Qiizette, kind­
ly sent us by the esteemed Doctor, with a few words of ex­
planation by himself. “ I eucloso a slip,” he writes, “ full
of errors, as tho abstract was not made by myself nor did
I read the proof. I will only say that the “ Literary Club”
is composod of one hundred members (limited thereto), many
of the best inon in the State belong to it. Ex-President Hayes,
Ex-Governor Noyes, late U . S. Minister to France, Judge
Toft, present Minister of U . S. at Vienna, &c. I only men­
was very well received and elicitsd a good deal of interest,
comment, and private discussion. All this to show you tliat
the C a u s e lives here as well as in India.” W e ar e sorry that
our valued brother has not thought of sending us the origi­
nal paper. But, even as it stands, and notwithstanding the
many and evident errors of the reporter, it is tall of real in­
terest for the Theosophists, and we are glad to find the sub­
ject, if uot popular, at least listened to with real interest,—
Eu.]
The Universal Lnniiniferous E ther and its W orkings —
A Scientific Explanation o f Spectral Appearances, etc.
D r. J. D. Duck, on S a tu r d a y last, rend a very elaborate paper
before the Cincinnati L ite ra ry Club on the Anima Mundi, or
Universal Lntniniferous E th er- Whilo not showing th e skepti­
cism of tho majority of educated moderns as to th e reality of the
nlleged spectral appearances nnd other phenomena, Dr. Buck
does not reg ard them as su perna tura l, b u t as the results of
tho workings of th a t uniform underlying substance, called by
Newton Sensorium D e i —th e organ of divine sensation, and of
which light, electricity, galvanism , and perhaps also the m a g ­
netic power of iron aro probably only different exhibitions. This
fluid ether, or w hatever it may be called, acts everywhere as
matter, bu t also possesses properties diam etrically at variance
with m ateriality; for instance, it can pen etrate the most compact
bodies, and cause a thousand various altern ate operations of the
rem otest bodies upon each other. I t has been held, therefore,
th a t this e th e r is th e transition, from the visible to th e invisi­
ble world and th e medium between both. I t is widely conceded
th a t all motion, lil'e, and sensation iu th e brain and nerves of
m an proceed from a su b tle fluid.
Accepting this statem ent, th e Doctor claims th a t a continuous
chain of phenomena has run th r o u g h all history, and particularly
th ro u g h the history of all religious. F ro m th e earliest time the
phenomena bavo been studied by a few, who have tra n sm itted
orally to neophytes th e accum ulated wisdom of themselves and
their predecessors u n d e r injunctions to th e most profound se­
crecy, accompanied by th r e a ts of the severest p u nish m e nt of any
 disclosure. The initiated was perm itted to reveal his profoundesfc
secrets to bu t one before his death. All w ritten records were
purposely obscured. The phenomena embodied tho most occult-
forcos of nature, aud hence were weapons of good or evil accord­
ing to tlie spirit of those who used them. These phenom ena are
known in In d ia as black and white magic. Even in Bible times,
while there were colleges for the stu d y of these phenomena, and
it was permissible to consult a seeress or soothsayer, it was
com m anded that a witch should be p u t to death. T h e persecu­
tion of alleged witches and w izards in C hristendom made it
necessary for adepts to keep th e ir knowledge to themselves.
T hey g u a rd e d it with jealous care, and only after seven years of
probation, absolute physical purity, and the most rig id te m p e r­
ance, could one be received even to the lowest degree. Accord­
ing to P lntarcb, th e phythoness a t Delphi went raving mad or
died in convulsions if she sat ou th e tripod in bad tem p e r or
against her will. More than one medium or p h yth on ess of
modern tim e has suffered a like fate. In s a n ity an d suicide
are frequ ently tlie results of playing with th ese forces of n ature
011 th e p a r t of the ignorant or superstitious. The names of the
phenomena, variously called spiritualistic, hypnotic, vitapatliic,
eto., are a p t to lead persons astray. The K abbala calls the eth er
th e astral l i g h t ; th e Hindoos denominate it akasa. Ardraous,
Anima mundi, and Jaco b’s L add er are other names- Reichenbach
styles it odyle- I t operates th ro u g h the sense of touch. Whilo
th e oye and the ear are th e avenues of eight and hearing, the
o rg an of feeling, or ra th e r th e objective avenues are th e entire
surface of the body. The waves of feeling may be said to be ab ­
sorbed from the very air th ro u g h the innum erable nerves. The
sense may be capable of still higher developm ent, and becomes
in some cases unusually so. W h e n the will is do rm a n t conscious­
ness becomes passive, while the sensitiveness of the brain surface
m ay be increased as in th e delirium of fevers or in dreams.
Abeyance of will and passiveness are precisely what is required
of every medium, meBinerized person, o r som nambulist, so th a t
we liave iu phenom ena which accompany th eir condition nothing
im per natural, b u t th e exercise of a natural, and universal, function.
T ho magnetic subject is un der th e will of th e mesmerizer only
when ho wills to be. He is simply a sensitive, and th e molecular
vibrations ol bis brain respond to those of oth er brains like two
pianos tuned in unison. Man can pro ject liimself throu gh the
sense of feeling as th ro u g h the senses of hearing au d seeing. We
see and hear th ing s nt a distance, as th o u g h they were b ro u g h t
near, and the same may be tru e of to uch , an d thu s account for
those instances o‘f men’s “ doubles” being seen at a distance
from where they really are and for the many stories of ghosts and
Bpectres. The r h y th m or principle of equal vibration between
t h e body of man and external n a tu re may enable him to bring
into the realm of consciousnes the universe about him.
P lu ta rc h says the soul acquires the tendency an d inclination to
dissolve into the prophetic spirit for th e same reason as th e sight
does with respect to tho light, because the latter has a n atural
sy m p ath y for it. T he spirit of the oracle a t Delphi was believed
to-emanate from th e e a rth , generated therein by the sun and
filling the tem ple with a sweet perfume. This exhalation was
arrested by heavy rains, by lightning, and earth qu akes The
oracle of Orclimenos was silent a fter a visitation ot the plague.
A h au nted house iu TCuglund had an o th e r h au nted house 011 the
sam e spot before it. The seeress of P re v o rst had un unusually sen­
sitive tem peram ent, in conjunction with local traditions and
terrestrial emanations. Angeliqne Cottin was a kin d of elec tri­
fied phenomenon, causing a shuck to ull who touched lier, over*
tu r n in g tables, etc. The famous d ru m m e r of Tedw orth, anil
moro recent eases whore heavy w eights havo been moved w ith ­
o u t visible contact, are examples familiar to many.
Iu Dr. litiek’s opinion, these phenomona show th a t certain
persons are rem arkably developed in tho capacity to absorb and
concentrate enormous quantities of the most sub tle forces in
nature, l he result has olten been dangerous, perhaps fatal in
th e case ot' mediums, who have im agined th a t the dangerous
forces weio disembodied spirits. An adept is one who uses the
forces 'intelligently ; the medium one who uses th em blindly.
T h e re i s abu nd ant testimony to the existence of adepts to-day,
b ut they communicate tlieir secrets only to those who conform to
th eir requirem ents. The holy man who forbade Arabi Bey to
cut oil all the water in the E gyptian canal from Lhe Ifinglish may
be one of them, though probably not a high initiate. Tho adepts
bold not only th a t some forces of nature aro malignant, h ut th a t
they posses a low grade of intelligence, and when incited aud
encouraged are capable of incalculable mischief. The “ Biioi-imns”
do not deny the possibility of communion with departed h um an
epirits. They hold th a t no p ure spirit can re tu rn to earth, though
in the case of suicides and those suddenly cut off by accident such
r e t u r n is possible, though uncom m on.* A ttraction is according to
th e law of correspondence. Tho good seek tho good, and th e evil
th e evil. livery medium, therefore, sees his own reflection, and
unconsciously reveals his own soul th ro u g h tho law of natural
fttnnity or relation. Phenomena-hunl ing as a steady business is the
most profitless, if not the most demoralizing, business in which
a right-minded and intelligent man or woman can engage, cspeei-
A l l v OTnAfl *1 11/1.»»>«-<! m ill.
* N o t quite so,— E d ,
such occurrences are frauds. It is plain th a t those who com pre­
hend tho d ang er of these forces of nature should warn t h e i g n o ,
r a n t and superstitious, and refuse to divulge their secrets. T h e
above are the main points of Dr. B u ck ’s curiously in terestin g
paper, which many will be glad to learn, may hereafter a pp ear iu
p am p h le t form.
fetters fa tfrt OEbifor.
IS B R A H M O I S M TR U E H IN D U IS M ?
_ In your issue of December, Mr. A . Sankariab, B. A., Pre-
sident-Founder, Ilindu Sabha, of Madras, in a letter com­
menting 011 Baboo Raj Narain Bose’s “ Superiority of Hindu­
ism,” asks as to who improved, developed, and corrected
Hinduism into Brahmoism. The following sloka from the
M unduhupanishad will be a sufficient answer to his query:
“ The inferior knowledge is the RigVeda, Yagur Veda, Sam
Veda, Atharva Veda, Tikha (Pronunciation), Kalpa (Ritual)
Byakarna (Grammar), Nirukta (Yedaic Glossary), Chandas
(Versification), Jyotisli (Astronomy). The snperior knowledge
is that by which the U N D l i C A Y I N G (God) is known.” *
N o w from this sloka it is evident that we do not know
God by means of the Vedas only but something within us,
that is, intuition and reason. N ow it is this intuition and
reason which have led to the development and correction of
Hinduism. It can be satisfactorily shewn that Hinduism
is not a stereotyped religion, but has received continual im­
provements from the age of llig Veda to the time of the saint­
ly (to use Gol. Olcott’s phrase) ltam Moliun Roy. Will Mr,
Sankariah be good enough to produce liis authorities from
the Vedas for this assertion that a candidate must undergo
formal initiation before lie is allowed to receive B ra h m a jn U
or knowledge of God. W e can adduce numerous proofs
from tho Upanishads, which are the real Vedanta or the sum
and conclusion of the Vedas, and are the highest authority
for Hindus, that students, 011 simple application to a Rishi
for such knowledge with sam it or two slips of wood in his
hand, received instruction from him without initiation. Will
he also be good enough to give authorities for liis extraordi­
nary assertion that the Brahman of the land is a third-grade
Theosophist? No orthodox Hindu would say so. W e
Brahmos, believe that the truo Brahman is the knower of
God ; but the above assertion sounds very strange from the
lips of Mr. Sankariah, who is au orthodox Hindu, and who,
as such, should pay the highest honors to the Brahman of
the land. Mr. Sankariah says, “ Brahmoism is dead-letter.
Hinduism incapable of adjusting the Juana K anda with the
K a rm a K anda and Niyatnacharam with Yo»a ” W e say on
the contrary that Brahmoism is living Hinduism, sliowing
us the best method of affecting the above adjustment The
opinions of Brahmoism ou this point are embodied in the
followiug beautiful sloka.
“ The wise man doth not forsake the feet of God tho
giver of salvation though paying tho minutest attention to
worldly affairs Ihe dancer, though dancing and sinking
aocoidmg to the rules of dancing aud music, attends to
down ” 0 * water) 011 her head, to prevent its falling
Mr. Sankariali says that tho Adi Brahmo Samaj is
full ot new nmi nago rites.’ W e ask Mr. Sankarmh how
can any educated man, even if he be not a Brahrno, but has
only some regard for the law of truth engraved by Nature in
tho human breast, conscientiously worship, at the time of
marriage, idols and imaginary deities which he does not
believe in, and go through superstitious ceremonies in whoso
e hoacy lie has not the slightest cadence. This at once
shows that some reform is necs.sary in our marriage rites.
s 01 his taunt about the political aspirations of the Adi
Brahmo Soma, we beg to remark that he must be a strange
J». A . indeed it ho baa ^ofc im such aspirations.
Yours obediently,
____________________ A M E M B IOR O F T U B A D I B. S A M A J .
*lhe term “ Undeeaying’>may, or may not, have meant ‘i God”
aa turns],,ted by the writer, m the mind of the author of M un-■
dukupams:uid, but we have every reason for rlnnl 1
correctness of the meuni,... given X TXn ° J " .tlle
anywhero u personal god, and we believe sue! is the God of the
Brahmos— since 1. _he'
____________T • .s endowed
1.r -- with attributes in t h e m ^ es In
finite, lhe Uudecuj m g" means in t.lio U 1mnisl,!,ds— the
eternal unborn, uncreaied, infinite principle or (Jv - {<. T i l , ,
in abort, not Brahm which is quite another il.... . ‘ “
 A D W A IT A P H IL O S O P H Y .
[A s tho su b jo in ed letter, com es from su ch a learn ed so u rce, wa do n o t
feel justified iu co m m en tin g u p o n it ed ito ria lly , o u r p erso n a l know ledge
of th e A d w aita d o ctrin e being u n q u e stio n a b ly very m eagre w hen con­
t r a s te d w ith th a t of a P arain ah am sa, Y et w e fe lt a strong suspicion
t h a t; w h eth er owing to a m istran slatio n or au “ o rig in a l m isconception”
t h e r e w as ail e rro r w itli reg ard to T adpada, callod h e re in th e 8 th p rin c i­
p le . H en ce —the fo o t-n o te s hy o u r learned b r o th e r T. S ubba Ilo w , to
w hom w e tu rn e d over th e MS. for rep ly . W e know of no b e tte r a u th o ­
r i ty in I n d i a in an y th in g , c o n c e rn in g th e esotoricism o f th e A d w aita
p h ilo so p h y .—.ffii.j ■
The following few lines are from an In dian H e r m i t in the
Himalayas—and these convey a mere hint which may help to
eradicate by means of your valuable journal a very serious er r o r
which has been misleading tho W estern Philosophers for the past
(nearly) nineteen hundred y ea rs—we mean th e historical sense
in which th e Bible has been accepted by tho O rthodox Christians
of the day. W e are surprised to And th a t the modern spiritualists
in the W est havo ignored this very im p o rta n t subject and are
sittin g quite a p ath e tic—while th ey profess to have pledged
themselves to th e establishment of tr u th .
W e seo t h a t the British G overnment m akes now and then a
sudden and spasmodic effort to have th e E nglish version of the
Piiblo revised and corrected ; and still tlie good people of Chris­
tendom (wo mean th a t portion which is seeking after t r u t h —•
nnd not th e selfish and handsomely paid missionaries)—fail to
reap the fruit they so long for. Now and again we find some corres­
pondence on this subject in th e T iikosofhist , b u t it does not seem
to end in any tangible result. U p to this tim e we have been
reading and hearing of only the literal Bible, b u t no t a single 1
word of the esoteric Spirit to enliven it do we find therein. If
the Bible, as in te rp re te d by the bigoted missionaries, is really a
book of^ history, or even of m o ra lity ; then, it cannot be a hook of
divine insp iration ; hence b ut little fit to form the foundation of
S ta te religions. Unless a full view be tak en of th e Bible from
different stand-point?, it cannot bo decided w h eth er it be true
or not. We will try to pu t its credibility to a test by a few points
quoted from the New T estam ent, and se e :—
(1) W h e th e r che Bible speaks symbolically or literally, i. e.<
w hether tlie Bible is Theosophy or H istory P
( 2 ) —W h e th e r tbe guiding sta r which appeared to the wise men
from the East was really a star or only a m etaphor for something
h ig h e r and nobler ?
(3)—W h e th e r the powers ascribed to C h rist in the Bible were
physical, metaphysical, (Supersensuous p) or spiritual ?
(4) W h e th e r n g i j v a s n (seeker after tr u th nnd salvation) A enn
derive the sm allest benefit from the said Biblical history of tho
physical an d in carnate Christ p
5. W h a t is the proper time to practise tho teachings of tho
Bible ? and who are the persons most fit to study the New
T estam ent ?
These are th e tlie few points in which tho Bible o u g h t to be
examined.
On behalf of our sister Theosophy, we give onr personal solu­
tions upon tlio questions as above raised. W e call upon nil the
spiritually inclined, righ t-th in k in g , pious and im partial men nnd
1 heosophists th ro ug ho ut the four q u a rte rs of th e Globe to
j u d g e of, nnd to criticise, our answers, and to give th eir verdict
in the m atter. The subject is one of tho g reate st importance,
a n d if need be, will be decided by appealing even to th e verdict
o f the S p i r i t itself.
1.— As a book of llevelation the Bible can no t and o u g h t no*
to bo a book of history. . corresponds w ith th o s p iritu a l E go o r th e 6 tli p rin cip le of th e T h eo so ­
2. I t s utterances are almost entirely allegorical; and a spiritual
commentary is u rge ntly needed t,o make them acceptable to th e
students of Theosophy, V e d a n ta and th e New T estam ent if
properly understood, mean th e same th in g in th e abstract.
(3) T h e guiding sta r does by no means mean a real objectivo
s t a r ; such a version is quite ag ainst the laws of N a tu re , Reason
nnd Tbeosophy. Y ed antists regard this s ta r as P r a n a v a
or J i v a t m a , the witness soul or S a k s h i C h a i t a n y a . I t is the’
seventh principle of the Theosophists * Yoga-Acharyas, T a ntrilcas
Shaivas called ; it Brahrnnvidya or Mahavidya- + 'the
Mahom edan Theosophists believe nnd teach of th e existence
of this sta r before Creation, or before T d u s ( pe ac ock ) was pro.
(luced. Temples dedicated to this allegorical star are yet to
be found a m ong several nations of Asia ; and some g re at
theologians speak of this star as “ S pirit,” We hermits—
if any value be attached to o u r words—regard it as k u t a s l h a and
_ * S tric tly sp e ak in g P r a n a m is n o t .Tivatna or th e 7 th p rin cip lo
in m an I t rep re sen ts th e c o n d itio n or th e a fp e c t of th e 7 th p rin cip le
in th e h ig h e st S ta te of N irv a n a .— T. SimiiAitow. p u n c ip le
t T he 7 th p rin c .p ’e itself can n e v e r be c a lle d by e ith e r of th o se
n am es th o u g h it m ay be th e su b je c t of BiiivnMAViDVA oh ^M aha vi dy a ,_-
liable to be m erg ed into th e eigh th principle or Totpad,a* as
such. W e do not understand,how it can a pp ear a s a material su b ­
stance to some p articu la r persons (wise men) when it has existed
from th e un know n and u n k n o w a b l e time! How can it be pos­
s i b l e that a m aterial th in g unless C o m p e l l e d and then drawn back
by some livingforce should stop of itself as described in the Bible ?
W e are of opinion th a t th e star in question is nothing b u t spirit
and is identical w ith the entity meant in th e Revelation. I t is
as if it were a condensed spirit (viz. Soul) j and this sta r o u g h t to
be taken as the real Christ, the Saviour and the guide.
(4;—To call the powers ascribed to C hrist physical, or m eta­
physical, is sheer ignorance and an insult to Spirit. H ith e rto many
adopts have been seen and heard of, to possess ex trao rdinary
powers of various kinds, more marvellous, than those described
in the Bible j and these were all spiritual. The T antras, Y og a and
other A ryan occult w orks will tell how they can be acquired.
W e have already stated that, unless a spiritual comm entary is
added to tho Bible, it is worse than useless to a follower of
Tbeosophy; and no spiritual benefit whatever can ensure from it,
except perhaps the idea of an im aginary and external “ Heaven
and H e l l . ”
5,—T he Old T esta m en t is the Karam K anda j and th e New-
Testaraent, th e G ja iio K a n d a of Theosophy. Those only who have
prepared them selves after going th ro ug h the ro u tin e of the Old
Testam ent are entitled to practise thn Teachings of the New Testa­
m e n t ; and no t the school boys or the low castemen to whom it is
now a days offered by tbe missionaries. The former i ■e., buys aud
low castes, are not fit persons for it.
I n conclusion we earnestly request Mr, Oxley, who has been
so good as to tak e such a kind notice of th e B h 'a g a va tg ita , and
who is so eminently qualified for th e task ; and also appeal to the
fellows of the Theosophical Society who have spiritual g u ru s to
consult, and with whom th ey o u g h t to communicate on th e s u b ­
ject, to tn ke in hand this arduous task of in te rp re tin g the Bible
esoterically. For, n o th in g will b etter help the g ro w th of Theoso­
phy in both E ast and W est.
F irstly , we m ake au appeal to the “ C o m forter” (tho Holy
G host of the Bible) itself, to decide w hether th e Bible has an
allegorical, spiritual or r, literal dead-letter meaning. We may .
also rem ark hero th a t some of the Brothers whom we fiud occa­
sionally mentioned in T u b T iieosofhist, and whom wo bave th e .
pleasure of knowing by another name f would approve of our
plan if asked. But the sta r itself—our every day gu ide—has direct- .
ed us to write tbis. All th e seekers of tru th o u g h t to enquire into
this solemii subject, w ithout the least prejudice or bias. Millions
of g e neratio ns are in terested in this question; an d to solve it
for the good of h n m a n i t y should be th e aim of every true
Theosophist. J
lmoisa , P a t a v d e v i , l Yours fraternally,
12 th D e c e m b e r 1882.1 P A rA M A H A M S A S W A M I.
* Tho s ta te m e n t is n o t q u ite in accordance w ith th e d o ctrin es o f
A dw aita philosophy. I f th e s ta r in quostion is ta k e n to in d icate th e 7 th
p i'iuciple in m an as above s ta te d ,— it is n o t K u ta sth a fro m th e sta n d
p o in t of a real A dw aitee. A s is w ell know n to learnedA dw aitees a clear line
of d istin c tio n is d ra w n b etw een K utastha an d U ttam apurusha (otherw ise
called P aram atm a) in a w ell-know n sloka o f B h a g a v a tg ita
N ow if K u ta s th a m eans th o 7th p rin c ip le in m an ,
th o d istin c tio n th o s draw n w ill really be a d istin c tio n b etw een P aram at-
m a an d Je e v a tm a . T his d istin c tio n or s e p a ra tio n is denied by real
A dw aitees. H ence, as is c learly p o in te d o u t by S a n k a ra c h a ria r in h is
able C om m entary on tb e abo v e-m en tio n ed S lo k a , as w ell as in th e
o th e r p o rtio n s of h is “ B h a sh y am .” K u ta sth a is n o t th e 7 th p rin c i­
plo in m an. I t is m erely callod V ignanatm a by S an k arach ariar and
ph ists.
I t is ab su rd to say th a t th e “ T a tp a d a ” is th e 8 th p rin c ip le . N ow ,
th is T atpada is o ith e r id e n tic a l w ith th o 7 th principlo o r it is n o t. I f
i t is really id en tical w ith th e Tavm m pada of tlie M ahavakya, i t is
im posaiblo to u n d e rsta n d w h y i t should bo describ ed as th e Sth p rin c i­
ple. I f it is n o t, th o view s of th e learned H e rm it are opposed to th e
fu n d a m e n ta l d o c trin e of th e A dw aita philosophy a n d tho g ra n d tr u th
in d ic a te d by th o S am av ed a M a h av ak y am alluded to . I in v ite th e o re a t
P araniaham sa sw am i of A lm ora to ex p lain w hat he re a lly m eans.
T . SUBBA ROW .
^ f Not th a t o f *< rofinod ta n tr ik a s ” — we hope, as th e y w ere once called ?
T. S* R.
t Thoao w ho h av e a n y know ledge of th e “ B r o th e r s ” — a re well
a w a r o t h a t th e y h av e e v e r an d m ost em p h atically in sisted upon tho
eso teric in te rp re ta tio n of th e a n c ic n t S c rip tu rc s of ev ery g r e a t religion
“ Isis U n v e ile d ” by It. P . B lavatsky, is fu ll of th e real t n e n n in g - a s
in te rp re te d by th e K a b a lists—of th e Je w ish , a n d C hristian B ible. A nd
now, th e r e has ju s t been p u b lish e d t h a t w onderfully clever book
w ritte n by tw o E n g lish s e e rs — “ Tho P e rfe c t w a y ,” a w ork of w hich it
can bo tr u ly said th a t i t is moro in sp ire d th a n th e book it in te r p r e ts
B ut, w hy should th e learned Sw am i of Alm ora in sist up™ th e eso teric
in te rp re ta tio n of tho B ible alone w ith o u t an y conccru for th o V edas,
tlie T rip ita ka s a n d th e U panishads, a ll th re e f a r m ore im p o rta n t is
so m eth iu g we fail to com prehend,-—T. S , ’
 “ H . X .” A N D GOD P E R S O N A L A N D IM P E R S O N A L .
“ H . X .” in the above named article writes about tbe so-
called Atheists : “ In the first place while they £alk of laws,
they overlook, it seems to me, the fact that a law postulates a
law-giver— a will at any rate that has impressed a course of
action— and'so it seems to'me that admitting an inherent law,
they cannot logically esc-ipo a will that originated that law,
and such a will in such a case m ust be what mankind under­
stands as God;’’
If I am allowed to paraphrase this freely, it can be rendered,
thus :—
One of the fundamental laws of the Universe is that there
can be no law without a law-giver.
N o w , I find this assumption in Mill, if I am not mistaken,
in what is appropriately called bis ‘ Carpenter’s theory of the
Universe.’ Mr. Joseph Cook in his Boston lectures, and
subsequently at Bombay, uses the same argument; and
doubtless many men take this for an axiom, as I did only a
little whilo a^o. But on investigation I find it not true in
all cases. Their deduction from this is inconsistent with
the aTdom; and this delusion arises from’ tho fact that
human laws creat&l by human beings are confounded with
universal laws; and by analogy it is inferred, that those latter
also must have been created by a law-giver. I proceed to
show what, I believe, is an inconsistency in those who argue
in this fashion. Just on account of its inconsistency with
itself, the argument will not be clear, but may be intelligible
on reflection.
If, then, ‘ That there can be no law without a law-giver’
is a universal law, then, by this very law, which, to avoid
confusion of ideas, I shall call the L aw of laws, it must itself
have a law giver. This very (jiving of law implies that there
was a time when the law did not exist,— i. e., before the will
of the Giver ‘ impressed the conrse of action.’ If this is
admitted, then, there was a time when laws did not require
a law-giver ; and is it not possible to conceive they may have
existed then ? They may have, or they may not, but it is,
nt least, a possible conception. If, on the other hand, any
body would say that this ‘ giving’ does not imply any limit
of time (which is a very audacious suggestion, to say the
least,) even then he does not gain much by it. For, if the
law were eternal, it was co-eternal with the giver, it had no
b irth ; in fact, it was not given and there was no giver.
Having shown this difficulty in the way of accepting “ H ,
X .’s” hypothesis, I have only to remark that his idea of
‘ personal’ God is not without difficulties tome, which, how-
evt-r, I shall not mention now on account of the length of
this letter.
B. J. P.
THE N O B L E R ID E A OF L IF E .
I h e a d with much interest Yol II. of Isis Unveiled. The
other Volume I hopo to have soon. It is a most remarkable
book. You are quite right in saying : tbe illogical doctrine
of tho Atonement is tlie cause of much vice and wickedness.
I have felt this, ever since L was old enough to think; and
have its effects constantly before my eyes.
India, and the Hindu race, have been to me, for years,
deeply interesting subjects. W hen I read Mr. Muller’s
“ Origin and Growth of Itoligion,” . I felt the Brarnhans,
thousands years ago, had a nobler idea of life than modern
Christians.
In the Rawlinsou Collection of letters in the Bodleian
Library here, thero i.s one from a Jesuit who says he joined
the “ Society of Friends” (Quakers) at Bristol in 1680, was
a favourite preacher among them; and he said he knew of
other Jesuits in the same Society.
I saw in the T h e o s o p h i s t for September a letter from a
dissatisfied member ; it O c c u r r e d to me that some Jesuit may
have inspired it.
The age, I trust, is ready for truth. I cherish the hope
that you and your noble fellow workers will revolutionize the
religions world and make light shine where now ia darkness.
Oxford, E n g l a n d , )
October 12, 1882. / ^ Tif8 'tu" w“ the Bev‘ S6]lt,enianj since ho knew or suspected
A W I S E P A D R I- M Y S T IC .
[H had lately an opportunity of reading your excel­
a v in g
lent journal, I am induced to enclose an extract from the
Life of the late Rev. Lacroix of Calcutta. The Itev. gentle­
man was well known in Calcutta even to these days by
several, such as Rev. K . M . Banerjee, Rev. Macdonald and
Babu Pearichand Mittra, F. T. S.
M y object in sending the extract is merely to enable you
to cite instances of the belief in Spiritualism sometimes en­
tertained even by orthodox Christians iu India.
A B E N G A L I .]
ClIANDERNAGORE, )
93, Rue de B o e o , 2 2 nd M ay, 1 8 8 2 . )
E x t r a c t s .*
“ But lie went beyond this. He hailed every possible evi­
dence of the soul’s life after the body’s dissolution as so
much proof on the side of revelation and of right. H e was
a firm believer in apparitions. To him it wns no wild vagary
just within the verge, of possibility ; but an eminently seri-'
ous question to which he gave his gravest attention. Aware
that an apparition of the dead is a phenomenon (or an al­
leged phenomenon) of which the reality cannot be settled
affirmatively or negatively by speculation in the closet, he
used to examine witnesses and collect evidence, and the result
was, that after rejecting huge masses of what was purely the
growth of superstition, credulity or jugglery, there were still
thousands of well-accredited facts to prove that the dead
have appeared, and do still at times continue to appear to the
living. (-The belief was found every where. Scripture sus­
tained the doctrine ; history was full of it, nearly every
family had a story fonnded on it; every district had a h au n ted
place or house, and so my father accepted it. H e took Christ
at His word when ho said, “ with God all things are possi­
ble;” at the same time, ho often maintained that, holding
with Saint Paul the existence of a spiritual as well as a
natural body, thero is no presumption against the supposition
that after its final emancipation the spiritual body may some­
times shew itself to man. Tho following- story my father
believed as firmly as if he had had the evidence of his own
senses m its favor, because it occurred to a dear and valued
friend of his, a Missionary in South India. This friend
succeeded another Missionary who had died, leaving the
accounts of the mission in a state of hopeless complication,
and yet as he was an honest, upright man, it was not to be
supposed that he had embezzled the money for private pur­
poses. The only question was, what had become of the
missing seventy pounds ? or if they had not been expended,
where were they to bo found ? After spending several days
ir. trying to solve tho mystery, my father’s friend threw him­
self on the sofa, wearied both in mind and body ; sorely
tempted to say very hard things of his predecessor for having
given him such unnecessary trouble. This was in broad day­
light about three o’clock in the afternoon. After lyipg
awhile he distinctly saw the figure of a man dressed in clerical
habiliments rise as it were out of the ground, and p r o c e e d to
the table, where were lying a mass of papers and accounts
relative to the affairs of tho mission. Selecting one, the
spectre placed it uppermost, looked round at his astonished
successor, and immediately disappeared. On the open-page
was a memorandum stating that seventy pounds of the
mission money had been lent to a certain gentleman at
Madras at a high interest. The gentleman was applied to ;
lie acknowledged the debt, and refunded tho amount. This
story and others liko it had their influence on m y dear father;
ho set his house in order, years before lie was called to go;
and though his chief motive for this was to save trouble to
his family, yet I know that he also wished to a void aught
that m ight by any^ possibility drag his spirit downivards after
death, or detain it hovering round, the earth , ivhen earthly
things had passed aw ay.f Faets like these, even if allowed,
, , *® x tra e t B rief M em orials o f th e R ev. A lphonse F ra n g o is L acroix
M issionary of th e L ondon M issio n ary S ociety in C a lc u tta , by his son-
in -la w J o s e p h M ullens, a n d on e of h is (M r. L a c ro ix ’s) d au g h ters.
L o n d o n : 18o2. ' a
t Undoubtedly—in visions and dreams, as to tlio objective materializes
forms that appear in the seanoe-rooms, we do not doubt their occasional
genumeness, but will always reject the claim that they are the ‘‘Spirite”
of the deceased, whereas, they aro but their fcliells.—E d.
tho truth. The italics are ours,—£d»
m a y a p p e a r to som e trifling an d w ith o u t an end. To tlio sub-
jo o t of th is m e m o ir t h e y appeared in a very different light.
H o u s e d to h old w ith S in.they, t h a t w ith re g a rd to th e good
o nd which th e y m ay be supposed to a n sw e r, it w ould bo e nd
s u fh eien t if som etim es one of th ose n n h a p p y persons, who
lo o k in g th r o u g h the diin glass of in fid elity see n o t h i n g
b ey o ud th is lifo and th e narrow s p h e r e of m o r ta l existen ce,
s h o u ld , fro m tho w ell-established t r u t h of one su c h sto ry , be
led to a conclusion t h a t t h e r e a re more th in g s iu h e a v e n a n d
o a rt h th an are d ream ed of in his p h ilo s o p h y . A n d su rely
a f t e r th e heart-sickoni ig e x hib itio n we h ave had of the la te st
g r o w t h of heresy in E n g l a n d —a h e re s y t h a t d en ies th e possi­
b ility of miracles, and snblitnes th e passage of the Hod Sea
into the “ la titu d e of p o e tr y ,” every frien d of religion m ay bid
G od-specd to tlio en q u ir e r who pu sh es his rescnrclios into
region s w hence lie n ev er fails to b rin g us tid in g s of th e s o u l’s
im m o r ta lity a n d tiie reality of a f u t u r e life.
L e t i t n ot be snp po sed from tho above, t h a t my f a t h e r was
e it h e r s n p e r s titio u s or cre d u lo u s. T r u e h e used to read
largely on angelic influences, on dem onology, o n d r e a m s , a p ­
p aritions, a n im al m ag n etis m , trances, a n d clairv o y a n c e, all
thoso sn bjects t h a t form as it were th e b o u n d a ry betw een
o u r world a nd th e n ex t, b u t ho was sc r u p u lo u s ly careful to
a ccep t as t r u t h n o t h i n g t h a t was o pp >sed to th o te a c h in g s
of th e Bible, fo r ho believed in evil sp irits whose w ork i t w as,
if t h a t were possible, to deceivo th e v e ry elect. l i e was also
v e ry r e v e r e n t iii his research es ; hence h i s ' g r o a t d islik e to
th e sp irit r a p p i n g soirees of A m erica, a n d th e e x h ib itio n s of
clairvoyauco in E n g l a n d . ”
“ SE L F -C O N T R A D IC T IO N S O F T H E B IB L E .”
[ W e give ro om to th is letter, u n d e r th e d i s t i n c t p ro m ise
m a d e in it t h a t it will be th e “ las t.” W e sid e d a n d still side
w ith t h e Writer, w ere it b a t for th e reaso n t h a t in i n c h q u a r ­
rels b etw een m a s te r an d su b o r d in a te , th e l a t t e r , w h e th e r r i g h t
or w rong, is s u ' e to havo a lw ay s t h e w o rst in th e a (Tray.
M oreover, we a d h e r e to o u r first o pinion t h a t th e wliolo th i n g
w as a n a b u s e of p ow er.— E d . ]
I w rite th is l e t t e r only to m a k e m y s e lf free of th e c h a rg e s
la id by th e Rev. M issio n ary in tho T h e o s o p h i s t for N o v e m ­
b er. I t will bo m y las t le tte r.
I h a d resolved to w rite no more, of th o in jn stico I havo
lately i n c u r r e d a t th e h a n d s of th e R a w a l P in d e e M is­
sion a u t h o r it ie s ; b u t th o m i s re p r e s e n ta tio n s of facts by
th e Rev. N e w t o n compel me to p u b lish th e following.
T h e M issionary c h a rg e s mo w i t h h av in g e x a g g e r a t e d his p r o ­
ceedings in m y first l e t te r to th a T h e o s o p h i s t . I leave i t to
y o u r read ers to decide, w h e t h e r th e s e n te n c e , “ And he also
a f t e r th r e a te n i n g m e a n d prov ing by e v ery s o p h is tr y t h a t t h e
a u t h o r of th e book w as a wicked a n d im m o ra l m an, mado
variou s excuses for no t g iv in g th e book back to m e , ” is an
ex ag g e ratio n o r a tru e l a o t ; I have to ad d o n ly t h e follow ­
in g :
W h en tho second m a s te r h a d h a n d e d tho book to t h e Rev.
M issionary, tho l a t te r called mo into his p resence a n d a n g rily
a s k e d me, “ W h y d id y ou sen d for such a book ? D a r e y o u
see the B i b l e f a l s i f i e d . ?” etc. etc.* H e th e n tried to convince
m e t h a t its a n t h o r was an im m o ra l m a n as he h a d had ig n o ­
ble rep o rts a b o u t his c o n d u c t from a g e n tle m a n iu A m erica.
I on ly rep lied t h a t I h a d n o t h i n g to do w ith e it h e r tho
w ickedness or tho go odness of tho a u th o r . T h e book would
tell its own tale, a n d if it p ro v e d im m o r a l I w o uld to n e h it
no more. I then a sk e d for th e book, b u t ho said t h e book
was p o i s o n , and he would l e t mo hav e it to g e t h e r w ith au
a n ti d o te w henever I w o u ld como again.|- N in e o r te n days
• A n d w h y s h o u l d n o t a n o n - C h r i s t i a n h e s i t a t e to re a d o r s e n d f o r
s u c h n B i b l o — fo r w h i c h h e c a r e s ,as l i t t l e a s a C h r i s t i a n M is s io n a r y f o r
(ho S h a s t r a s — e v e n if f n h i j i r d p W o u l d t h o It e v. M r . N e w t o n fe e l a n y
s c i u p l e s to r e a d i n g t h o K o r a n o r t h e B h a » a v a t - G i t a in a c a r i c a t u r e ?
M o r e o v e r , t h e '* S e lf- c o n t r i u l i c t i o n s of tlio B ib le ” d o c s n o t c o n t a i n one
s in g lo w o r d o f c o m m e n t o r d i s r e s p e c t . I t is q u o t a t i o n s v e r b a t i m a n d
lite r a ti m f r o m t h e Bible . I f i t a n y o n e ’s fa u lt if t h o v a r i o u s p r o p h e t s
( t h e a l l e g e d a u t h o r s o f t h o b o o k s ) a l t h o u g h in s p i r e d , h a v e so u u f o r t u - M i s s i o n a r y , t h e Kev. M r . N e w t o n h a d on e y e to c o n v e r t i n g his he a th e n
n.i te ly c o n t r a d i c t e d t h e m s e l v e s in t h e i r s t a t e m e n t s ? — E d .
■j- I n o t h e r w o r d s t h e H e v e r e n d g e n t l e m a n c a l l e d n a m e s t h o B ib le
itsolf, w h i c h is n e i t h e r p in n s n o r s e e m l y , c o n s i d e r i n g h is p r o f e s s i o n . t o f t h e re li g io n offered h i m a s a s u b s t i t u t e f o r t h a t o f hi s a n c e s t o r s .
W e say aga in, e x c e p t o u t h e t i t l e p a g e a n d t h e h e a d i n g s o f pTias, t h e r e is
n o t o u e w o r d of c o m m e n t in t h e p a m p h l e t b y t h o c o m p i l e r — f o r i t s t r e e , v a lu e a r e f o u n d o u t ? T r u t h n e e d fe a r n o li g h t . I f , C h r i s t i a n i t y b e
a u t h o r s a re t h e npD9tles a n d B ib le p r o p h e t s . W h y t h e n “ t h e a n t i ­
d o t e ?” C an t h e R ev . _Mr. N e w t o n d e n y t h a t w h i c h is p r i n t e d b l a c k o n . O t h e r w i s e “ c o n v e r s i o n ” b e c o m e s v e r y m u c h lik e s e l l i n g d a m a g e d
w h i t e iu e v e r y B ib le ? — £<?, . g o o d s — in s o m e d a r k b a c k - r o o m c f a s h o p . —E d ,
allei1 I visited him . T h ero an d th e n he m ad e me confess th a
t r u t h of the following in w r i t i n g :
A. N a t u r e does n o t a d m it of “ H o w a n d W h y . ” *
B. T h e re a re a lw a y s exceptions to general rules, f
C. W o rk s of God are always t a u g h t in puraLles. J
As Ihe (by him te r m e d im m oral) book tre a te d of c o n t r a ­
d ic tio n s .in th e Bible, be rend to me a few of th em , asking ma
to observe t h a t th e y w ere no c o n tr a d ic t'o n s at all, as ev ery
one of th e m co uld be explained away by th e t hree p r i n c i p l e !
as above enun<;iated§, any objection to them bein g co nsid ered
by him as foolish on m y p a rt. Then an d several tim es a f t e r
I nbked fo r m y confiscated pam p hlet, b u t he would le t
me h a v e only th e price of it and never th e book itself. T h e
book is w ilh him u p to th is tim e. Consider th e n the v alu e
of his a ss ertio n to th e p u rp o s e t h a t h e k e p t th e book only
w ith m y consent !
T h e Uev. M issionary accuses mo in liis l e t te r t h a t I h ad
alw ays been b u y in g a n ti - c h r is t ia n works from a s c h o la rs h ip
which 1 was g e t t i n g from tho school.|| I am so rry t h a t
th es e w ords sh o n :d proceed fro m the m o u th of a R e v . M i s ­
sionary.
T h e M a n a g e r of th is J o u r n a l is well nwaro t h a t I s e n t
fo r th e book on th e 19th May la s t; on t h e o t h e r h a n d ,
th e Reverend know s as well t h a t it is only last J u l y t h a t
R u p e e s 2, th e r e m n a n t of a m n nieip al-sch olarsh ip, were g iv e n
to m e— against, m y will. W h e t h e r it behoves a m issio n a ry
to te rm t h a t p a ltry s i i r a a “ sch o larsh ip ,'’ a n d to say t h a t I
had been b u y in g a n ti - c h r is t ia n w orks from th ese 2 ru p e e s ,
I leave th e public to jn d g e . O u t of delicacy and a, feeling of
honor, I had refu sed to ncocpt th ose 2 ru pees since th e 1st
of Septem ber. T o e x plain how th e s i g n a t m e s of t.he w it­
nesses were ob tain ed , 1 m ay say t h a t first of nil th e s i g n a t u r e
of Baboo H a r r a D h a n G h osh a nd t h a t of Baij N a th B an do
prove no th in g , since th e y them selves were a t th e bottom of
a ll th is mischief. W h e n all th e te ic h e rs o f th o school a r d
th e .5th class s t u d e n t s w ere assembled, th e 2 nd m as te r o r d e r e d
t h e m to sign th e le t te r . A H i n d u teacher ohj' etcd to d o in g
SO unless lie was m a d e a c q u a in te d with its c o n te n ts . H e
read it and h a v in g sig n ed it, rem arked t h a t it e xp lain ed
b u t w h a t h a d h app ened th e o th e r day. T h e r e s t of th e
te a c h e rs signed it w ith o u t k n o w in g th e c o n te n ts of th e l e t te r .
P o o r fellows ! what, else co uld th ey do ?
A lm o s t all of th e 5 th class s t u d e n ts were sc lio larsh ip -
h olders a n d th e y d a r e d n o t o p po se the m e a s u r e a t th e r i s k o f
their stipend.
I t is n o t so m u c h th e a b u s i v e lan g u ag e used by th e Rev.
M issio nary p e rs o n ally a g a i n s t myself t h a t 1 object to, as th e
yoke u n d e r which all of m y f e l lo w -b re t h re n — be th e y H i n d u s
o r M u h a m m a d a n s —nre m a d e to s u f f e r —u n d e r the Missionary
School system . L a s tly 1 w ou ld r e q u e s t o u r liberal E n g li s h
G o v e rn m e n t, h a d I a voice in th e m a tte r , n o t to give g m n lB -
in - a id to these m ission schools.
O b e d ie n tly ,
LA K SH M A N SIN G H .
48, C o u r t S t r e e t , L a h o r e .
G R E E T IN G S TO T S O N G -K A U N - G H I E N .
I have read th o c o m m u n ic a t io n p u b li s h e d in the J a n u a r y
T h e o s o p h i s t “ U n d e r O r d e r s , ” n nd hasten to say t h a t m y
11 s y m p a t h y ” w ith H . X . h as b een on ly like m y s y m p a t h y
w ith any fellow -m an who has a j u s t a n d stro n g desire w h ich
he ca n n o t g ra tify . E a r be i t fro m me to d eprecate “ c a u tio n
und reticencc in th o k n o w in g ,” I n all the a n n a ls o f a d e p t ­
ship, none b u t tr ie d an d d ev o te d Clielas hnve been fa v o re d
w i t h tho h ig h e r sc crets of o ccultism . T he c o n d itio n s of
* S c ie nco, w e a r e a f r a i d , w o u l d d e m u r t o t h i s D i c t u m . — E d .
f P r o f o u n d v e r i t y ! — Ed.
t A g r e e d . B u t if o n e “ p a r a b l e ” s a y s w h i t e a n d t h e o t h e r — “ b l a c k , ”
in f a l l i b i l i t y b e i n g c l a i m e d f o r b o t h a t t h e p a m e l i m e , t h e n w e h a v e
a r i g h t to r e g a r d a n d p r o c la im t h a t a s a c o n t r a d i c t i o n . — E d .
$ W e w o u ld lik e to e n q u i r e w h e t h e r t h o R e v . M r . N e w t o n w a s n o t
n l l o m a n C a t h o lic a t s o m e e a r l i e r p e r i o d ?— E d .
|| A n d w h e r e ’s t h e off e n c e w e r e e v e n t h o c h a r g e t.rne ? I f , a s e v e r y
p n p i l s t o C h r i s t i a n i t y , h e w a s h i m s e l f , in Ii o u o u r b o u n d , to f u r n i s h
L a k s h m a n s i n g w itli m e a n s of a s c e r t a i n i n g t h e r e a l s u p e r i o r i t y a n d w o r t h
H o w c a n a t h i n g b e p r o v e d g o'- d , u n l e s s b o t h i t s o u t w a r d a n d i n w a r d
t r u e , i t o u g h t to w e lc o m o t h e s t r i c t e s t a n d e l o s e s t o f . i n v e s t i g a t i o n s ,
r e g u l a r s t u d e n t s h i p of cou rse c a n n o t be ma.lo to fit in w ith
tlio h u m o u r s of men, aud u n d e r the c ir c u m s ta n c e s of tlio ease,
H . X. has only to blam e him self for n o t m a k i n g th e progress
h e was anx iou s to m a k e . W h e n I go in to a prison o r a
ho spital, [ pity the c o nd ition of th e in m ates w ith o u t m orally
ap p ro v in g of t h e cause of tlie ir presonco th ere. So I give
and claim sy m p a th y on b e h alf of all im p riso n ed h u m an ity ,
w h e t h e r politically, socially, or m orally. C onceit,co in bativeness,
a m b i ti o n , avarice, crim in a l offences, Ac., a r e all, to m y h u m b l e
th i n k in g , only form s of I g n o r a n c e , a n d in the p re s e n t to p s y ­
t u r v y condition of th e w orld, I en n n o t too e a rn e s tl y solicit
th e re g u l a r Clielas (n o t to m en tio n t h e M a h a t m a s ) to i n t e r ­
fere to dispel th e ig no ran ce a n d c u r e its d isa strou s effects.
“ T h y will bo d o n e,” is no d o u b t t h e beat solicitation, b u t
“ K n o c k a n d th e door will o p e n ” is a p r e c e p t fo r th e
b eg in n e r.
T h e m esm eric cures effectod in Ceylon by Colonel O lcott
aro o f g r e a t im p o rta n c e to o r d i n a r y h u m a n i t y a n d to tho
th eo s o p h ie m o v e m e n t. I n d i a alone w an ts a score of Olcotts.
T ho lo w er ro u n d s of occult ism, in c l u d in g clairvoyance,
t h o u g h t - r e n d i n g and m n g n e tic healing , a re a tt e m p t e d to bo
clim bed by H in d u P riests called “ T h e B r a h m a n s ” before
“ th e y w ith d r a w fr o m tiie w orld to be re g u la r Clielas with
th o M a h a t m a s . ” B y som e f a t a li ty m ost B r a h m a n s dio
w i t h o u t re a c h in g even th e low er r o u n d s — an d I for one am
p r e p a r e d to re c o m m e n d to all H i n d u s to in te rb o a r d an d
i n t e r m a r r y w ith perso ns of th is lim ited proficiency as tr u e
B r a h m a n s , w h e th e r b o rn B ra h m a n s or not. T h e so-called
N a tio n a l In d i a n A sso ciatio n s to p ro m o te frie n d ly in te rc o u r se
b e tw e e n E u ro p e a n s a n d N a tiv e s w ith n e ed le -w o rk fo r w om en
a n d n a u te h or balls for m en, are a farce. B ra h m a n h o o d , as I
h av e above described it, in vo lv es a vegeta ble diet, co n tro l of
a n im a l im p ulses, a n d a belief in invisible forces or pow ers.
M y d u ties as P re s id e n t of th e H i n d u S a b h a for th e
A d j u s t m e n t an d Regulator! of th e w o rld ly a c tiv itie s of tho
H i n d u N a tio n will soon bo tr a n s fe r re d to o th e r s , an d I hope
a s a recluse to be a d m i tt e d to moro co nfiden tial relatio ns
w ith you an d t h e M ahatm as, an d to bo e n a b le d to set a n
ex am p le to H. X . of respectful, n a y im plicit, dev o tio n to th e
M usters of Occultism .
A . S A N K A R I A H , F. T. S.
^ ---------
PARACELSUS.
I n re g a rd to “ T h e o p h r a s t u s P a r a c e l s n s , ” whose n a m e a p ­
p ears from tim e to tim e in y o u r jo u r n a l in c o n n e c tio n w ith
H e r m e t ic a n d C abalistic m atters, I shall feel t h a n k f u l if y ou or
a n y o f y o u r c o n tr ib u t o r s could th r o w a n y li g h t on tho h is­
to r y of th is e c c e n tric genius. T h e span of his life c o m p rised
b u t 48 years, y e t d u r i n g tlm t c o m p a r a ti v e ly brief period he
h u d tra v e lle d in to th e E a s t a u d ove • a g r e a t p a rt o f E u ro p e,
pro s ec u tin g all th e whilo his s t u d ie s in physics, ch e m istry a n d
o ccu lt sciences, a u d w rit in g th o se w orks w hich have c au sed
him to be re g a r d e d as the f a t h e r of M odern C h e m istry . A
m y s te ry , how ever, h a n g s over th e l a t t e r p o rtio n o f his c a ree r
to w h ic h , as far a I a m a w a r e , 110 ono has e v e r fu rn ish e d a
sa tisfa c to ry solution. A lth o u g h n p to th e a g e of 25 his only
d r i n k h a d been w ater, th is re m a rk a b le m an, who was believed
b y m a n y of his co ntem p oraries to have possessed him self of
th e E li x ir Yitu;, t h e philo sop her’s sto n e , aud o th e r secrois of
th e E a s te r n A d e p ts , gave way d u r i n g th e c o n clu d in g y ea rs of
his life to excessive intem perance, anil finally closi-d his c he­
q u e re d e x is te n c e in tho Hospital of S e b a stia n a t S a lz b u r g iu
1541. I t is well k n o w n t h a t Pa race lsus, by his a n c m c i l n t o r y
m a n n e r a n d t h e a g g re s s iv e a t t i t u d e I10 a ss u m e d to w a rd s tho
scientists of his day, m ado n u m e r o u s enem ies who did all iu
t h e i r p ow er to sully his re p u ta tio n with t h e i r s l a n d e r s ; hence
no re lian ce can be placed 011 th e a c c o u n ts of Erastuw, Opori-
nus, an d o th e rs. N eve rthe less th i s lapse iu to d issipatio n, a ft e r
h e had passed his primo, has been a d m i tt e d even by his d e ­
fen ders, a n d is, to say th e least of it, s t r o n g ly inexplicable in
one w ho is considered to h a v e a d v a n c e d f a r in th e p a th of
o ccult w isd om a n d a tta in e d to a d e p ts h ip .*
* W o, w ho u n fo rtu n a te ly h av e learned a t o u r p erso n al exp en so
« asily m alev o le n t in sin u a tio n s anti calu m n y take ro o t, cun
b ro u g h t to b o liev e th * t th e g re a t P ara ee!au s w a s a drunkard.
a “ m y ste ry ” — an J we fo n d ly hope it w ill be e x p la in e d
N o g r e a t m a n ’s r e p u t a t i o n w as ever yet allow ed to rest
V o l t a i r e , P a i n e , a n d i n o u r o w u d a y s , L i t t r < 5 , a r o a l l e g e d 011 t l i e i r d e a t h ­
b e d s |t o lm v e s h o w n t h e w h ite f e a t h e r , t u r n e d t m i t u f s to tlie ir life -lo n g
oouvictiona, a n d to h av o d ied as o n ly cow ards can dio, recan tin g
o o n v ictio n s. S t. G e rm a in 'is ca lle d th e “ P rin co of Im p o sto rs,"
“ C & g l i o s t r o ” — a c h a r l a t a n . B u t w h o h a s e v e r p r o v e d t h a t P—
B ro w n in g , in his poem on th e su bject, by view in g th e m
from th e exoteric s t a n d - p o in t o f tiie work-a-day world, has
h a r d l y d on e ju s ti c e to t h e ' l o f t y aims of Paracelsus. A p a rt
from this, how ever, th e poem c o n ta in in g , as it does, noble
t h o u g h t s clo th e d in noble lan g u a g e , has j u s t l y been deem ed
by critics as one of th e finest p r o d u c t io n s of its a u th o r .
H e r e is au e x tr a c t from it w hich will c o m m e n d itself to
t h e m y s tic a lly m in d e d a m o n g y o u r r e a d e r s : —
“ T r u t h is w ith in ourselves ; it takes 110 rise
P r o m o u t w a r d th i n g s , w h a t e ’er you m a y believe.
T h e r e i.s an in m o st cen tre iu 11s all, ,
W h e r e t r u t h abides in fulness; an d a ro u n d ,
W a ll u po n wall, the gross flesh hems it in,
T h is p erfect, c lea r perception — which is t r u t h .
A battling a n d p e rv e r ti n g carnal mesh
B lin d s it, a n d m ak es all e r r o r : a n d , T o K n o w ,
R a t h e r c o n sists in o p e n in g ou t a way
. AV h ence th e im p ris o n e d s p len d o u r m ay escape,
Than in e ffec tin g en try fo r a lig h t
S u p p o se d to bo w i t h o u t . ”
H ydekauad, D kccan, ) N. T.
ls£ J u r y . 1883. J
THE P H IL O S O P H Y OP S P IR IT .
H ie r o so p h y , Theosophy a n d P sych o so p h ti .*
By T. S u b b a R o w , P. T. S .
. II.
I n continuation of m y article nn tlie 1 Philosophy of
Spirit,” published in the October issue of the TIn-0so p h ist,
I shall now examine Mr. Oxley’s notions of Theosophy
and Hierosophy. It is not easy to understand his defi­
nitions of the two systems of philosophy thus indicated ;
and no definite issue or issues can be raised regarding tho
important distinction between the said systems from tho
m eaning conveyed by these definitions. B ut he ha*
explained some of the important doctrines of theosophy
and hierosophy from his own stand-point for the purpose
of comparing the two systems. Th ou gh lie believes that
“ it will be admitted” that he has “ not either under or
over stated the case for theosophy,” I respectfully beg
to submit that he lias entirely misunderstood the main
doctrines inculcated by it.
T h e learned writer says that theosophists teach that in
the instance of wicked and depraved people, the spirit
proper at death takes its final departure. This statement
is certainly correct; but the conclusions drawn from it by
M r. Oxley are clearly illogical. If this doctrine is correct,
says the author, then it will necessarily follow that to all
intents and purposes to p l a i n John Brown “ life eternal
is out of the question.” H e then expresses liis sympathy
for pariahs, vagabonds, and other unfortunate poor people
and condemns the doctrine for its partiality to “ Rajahs,
Maharajahs, plutocrats, aristocrats,” &a. &c., andrich Brah­
mins, and its want of charity towards others who consti­
tute the greater portion of humanity. Here it is quite
clear that the fallacy in M r. Oxley’s argument consists
in the change of adjectives. From the main doctrine in
question it follows that “ life eternal is out of tlie question”
not to p la in John Brown, but to w icked and d epraved
John B r o w n ; and I can hardly see any reason why
the author should so bitterly lament the loss of im­
mortality so far as utterly wicked and depraved
natures are concerned. I do not think that my
learned opponent will be prepared to maintain that
all pariahs, vagabonds, and other poor people, are a\\
depraved and wicked, or that all Rajahs, Maharajahs,
how and other rich people are always virtuous. It is my
never be humble opinion that utterly wicked and depraved peoplo
T here is are in tho minority; aud loss of immortality to such
som o day.
u n d istu rb ed .
persons cannot seriously be made the ground of an ob­
jection to the Theosophical doctrine under consideration.
th o so •O w in g to a p re s s u re o f s ta n d in g m a tte r a n d o th e r re aso n s o v e r w h ich
and ■we h a d n o c o n t r o l , w o c o u l d n o t g i v e r o o m t o t h i s P a r t I I o f M r . T . S u b b a
Ed, R ow ’s Hevievv before now .
Properly speaking theosophy teaches not “ conditional
immortality,” as the author is pleased to state, but condi­
tional mortality if I may be permitted to use such a
phrase. According to theosophy, theroforo, annihilation
is not tho common lot of m ankind unless the learned
author is in a position to state that the greater portion
of the hum an race aro wicked and depraved— beyond
redemption. Theosophists have never stated, so far as I
k n o w , that adepts alone attain immortality. The condition
ultimately reached by ordinary men after going through
all the planetary rounds during countless num ber of ages
iu the gradually asconding order of material objectivo
existence is reached by the adept within a comparatively
shorter time, than required by the uninitiated. It is thus
but a question of time; but every hum an being, unless he
is utterly "w i c k e d and depraved,” m ay hope to reach
that state sooner or later according to his merits and
Karm a.
T h e corresponding hierosophic doctrine is not fully and
definitely stated in the article under review, but the views
of the author regarding the same m ay be gathered from
his treatise on the philosophy of spirit. Th ey m ay be
summarized as follows :—
(1.) Tho four discreeted degrees in the hum an being
“ called animal, human, angelic, and deific,” show that
every hum an being (however wicked and depraved) will
ultimately reach immortality.*
(2.) There is no re-birth in the material h um an form
there is no retrogression at any timo.
A n d there is this interesting passage in tho author’s
book :—
(3) “ T h e thread of life is broken up at the point where the East but without success.
it appoarcd to be broken oft by physical dissolution, and
every one will come into the use and enjoyment of his
or her own specific lifo, i whatever each one has loved
the most, ho or «he will enter into the spirit of it, not
nsing earthly material or organisms for tho samo but
spiritual substances, as distinct from matter as earth is
from atmospheric air ; thus the artist, musician, mechanic,
inventor, scientist, and philosopher will still continue
their occupations but in a spiritual m anner.”
N o w , as regards the first proposition, it is not easy to
understand how tho existence of four discreeted degrees
in a hum an being or any number of such degrees neces­
sarily leads to unconditional immortality. Such a
result may follow if deilic or angelic existence were quite
consistent with, or could reconcile itself to, a depraved
and wicked personality or individuality or tho recollec­
tion of such personality. T h e mere existence of an im­
mortal principle in man can never secure to him uncon­
ditional immortality unless he is in a position to purify
his nature, either through the regular course of initiations
or successive rc-birtlis in tho ordinary course of nature
according to the great cyclic L a w , and transfer tho
purest essence of liis individuality and tho recollection
of his past births and lives to his immortal A t m a and the
developed and purified spiritual E g o in which they
inhere.
Th e second proposition above stated is opposod to all
the ancient traditions of Eastern nations and the
teachings of all the Eastern adepts, and I do not think
that any passage in support of it can be found in Bha-
gavatgita.
The last statement above-quoted is certainly a very
extraordinary proposition; and I shall be very happy if
the author can point out any authority for it in the
Bhagavatgita or in the other portions of Mahabharata.
W hatever m ay be the nature of the purely ideal or
subjective existence experienced in Deva-chau after
death and before the next birth, it cannot bo held that
the artist or musician carries on his “ occupations’'
except, by way of ideation.
•Had Mr. Oxloy said instead—“ every human monad” wliich changes
its personalities and is in every new birth a new ‘‘ human being,” thon It would have been better if he had taken the pains to
would his statement have been unanswerable.
I shall now leave it to the readers of the Theoso­
phist to say whether this assertion is really “ based upon
foundations more substantial than mere fancies and
speculations.”
T h e second doctrine of Theosophy which M r , Oxley
notices in his article is that “ occult powers and esoteric
wisdom can only bo attained by the severest asceticism
and total abstention from the use of the sensual degrees
in nature in their physical aspect.” If this doctrine is
universally admitted, lie snys, physical embodiment
would be impossible. I can safely assure him that this
contingency is not likely to happen under the present
conditions of our planet; and I am unable to understand
h ow physical embodiment is desirable in itself. It yet
remains to be proved that “ occult powers and esoteric
wisdom ” can bo acquired from the teachings of hieroso-
p h y without the restrictions imposed byesotoric, theoso­
phy- .
Th e learned author further adds that under the condi*
tions above-mentioned “ tho powers of adopt life cannot be
perpetuated by hereditary descent.” H e evidently thinks,
that this fact discloses a very great defect in the theoso­
phical system. But w h y should adept life be perpetuated
necessarily by hereditary descent ? Occult wisdom has
been transmitted from Guru to disciple without any°
serious break of continuity during thousands of yearR in
the East. A n d there is no danger of adept life ceasing
to exist from want of transmission by hereditary descent.
N o r is it possible to bring into existence a race of
hierophants in w h o m occult knowledgo will be acquired
by birth without the necessity of special study or initia­
tion. T h e experiment was tried, I believe, long ago in
T h e author will be in a position to understand tho
nature of somo of the difficulties which are to be en­
countered in m aking any such experiment from a perusal
of Bulwer Lytton’s “ Zanoni,”
T h e world has yet to see whether " nnder tho sway of
Sohir Angels,” tho adepts trained under the system of
Ilierosophy, can retain their powers and knowledge after
having renounced “ asceticism, abstinence and celibacy,”
and transmit tho so-called “ adept life” to their de­
scendants.
Speaking of the attitude of Theosophists towards
spiritualism, M r. Oxley observes that they hold that tho
so-callod spiritualistic phenomena are dne to the “ inter­
vention of enlightened living men, but not disembodied
spirits.” I shall bo very glad if the learned author can
point out any foundation for this statement in tho
utterances of Theosophists, Strangely enough, he
says further ou thnt, iu the opinion of the Theosophists,
such phemomona are duo to “ wandering shells aud de­
caying rcliq u u r, of what was once a hum an being.” This
is no doubt true in tlio caso of some of the phenomena at
least: and the author should not presume to say that
any one of these phenomena has its real origin in tho
action of “ d ise m b o d ied liv in g conscious beings,” unless
he is fully prepared to state exactly who these mysterious
beings are, and demonstrate, by something weightier than
mere assumption tho fact of their real existence. H e is
entirely mistaken in snpposm g that tho m o d u s operand*
in the case of the so-called spiritualistio phenomena aro
precisely the samo as iu the phenomena produced by
Eastern adepts. H ow ever I do not mean to say any
thing further about this subject here as it has been
already fully discussed in the columns of the T h eo so p h ist
M r . Oxloy objects to my statement that “ the hum an
spirit (7th principle) has a dignity, power, and sacred­
ness which cannot be claimed by any other God, D ev a
or Angel of the H in d u Pantheon.” Although I had taken
care to inform m y readers that b y h u m a n s p ir it, I meant
the immortal and unborn 7th principle or A t m a in m an,
ho construed the expression to mean the spirit or life
principle in the h um an degree of his peculiar classification.
understand m y language before venturing to assert that
 m y statement was against the doctrine tauglit b y Krishna.
So far as I can see, his notions about the seven principles
in m a n so often mentioned in this journal, are utterly con­
fused and incorrect. A s the English language is deficient
in the technical phraseology required for expressing the
truths of Aryan philosophy and science, I am obliged to
use such English words as can be got to convey m y mean­
ing more or less approximately. B ut to preclude the
possibility of any misunderstanding on the part of m y
readers, I clearly intimated in the passage in question
that by hum an spirit I meant the 7 th principle in man.
This principle, I beg to submit, is not derived from any
angel (not even from Busiris) in the universe. It is
unborn and eternal according to the Buddhist and
H in d u philosophers. Th e knowledge of its own
S iv a r w p a m is the highest knowledge of self : and
according to the doctrines of the Adwaita school of Aryan
philosophy, to which I havo the honor to belong, there
is in reality no difference between this principle and
Paramatma.
M r. Oxley believes that the claims of tlie Spiritualists
have -virtually been admitted by the Theosophists, in as
much as in the opinion of the latter “ communications
m a y b e established with other spirits.” But tho learned
author fails to perceive that by the word “ Spirit”
Theosophists mean something quite different from the so-
called “ disembodied spirits” of the Spiritualists. Th e
belief in question does not therefore amount to any con­
cession to the claim of the Spiritualists as is supposed
by him.
Th e esteemed author then proceeds to explain some
of the important doctrines of Hierosopliy, which, he takes
particular care to add, are not to be considered “ by his
readers as mere” fancies and speculations. Hierosophists
seem to believe that the influx of life flows from the
“ Infinite m onad” mentioned by me in tlie first part of
m y review on “ the Philosophy of Spirit.” M r , Oxley’s
conception of this monad is not, then,' quite consistent
with the views of Eastern occultists. Properly speaking
this m onad or centre is not the source of cosmic energy in
any one of its forms, but it is tlie embodiment of
the great L a w which nature follows in her operations
Th e learned author then asserts that “ Esoteric Theoso­
phists” aiid their great leaders have admitted that there
is an “ influx” of energy from the planetary spirits to the
monad ubovementioned. Here again, I tun sorry to say,
M r . Oxley is misrepresenting the views of Theosophists
according to his own imagination. A n d tlie statement
itself is thoroughly unphilosophical. This transmission
of energy from the planetary spirits to the Great L a w
that governs the Universe, is inconceivable to every
ordinary mortal. It does not appear that the monad
referred to by M r . Oxley is a different entity from the
monad alluded to in m y article. H e himself says that it is
not so. T h en , the only conclusion to which I can come
under the circumstances of the case is, that M r . Oxley
has put forward these strange and groundless state­
ments about the action and reaction of cosmic energy
between the Infinite Monad and the planetary spirits
without having any clear aud definite ideas about these
entities. The truth of this statement will he confirmed
on examining his views about the nature of the work done
by the planetary spirits, Those spirits, it would appear,
“ detain 'myriads of elementals in tho spheres of interior
Nature, i e., the next plane of life immediately contiguous
to this;” and compel them iu the most tyrannical manner to
obey their commands and produce effects which are calcu­
lated to perpetuate their own peculiar qualities in the plane
of material existence. I confess I do not kno w anything
about tho beings wlio exercise such despotica) functions.
They are not the planetary spirits of theTheosophists; and
if they have any existence outside the region of M r.
Oxley's fancy, I beg to request he will be kind enough
to enlighten the public about the nature of these mysteri­
ous and dreadful tyrants. I can assure him that the ortho­
dox Brahmins, w hom he is so very unwilling to patronize,
have nothing to do with such planetary spirits; nor do
they know anything of them. I am really delighted to hear
from m y learned opponent that the Solar Angels are
fully prepared to fight for the liberty of bur unfortunate
elementals and put an end to this abominable tyranny
within a very short time ; and if, am ong other beautiful
and useful occupations, arts, and sciences that exist in
the world inhabited by these angels, (since w e are told
that, the artist, musician, mechanic, minister, scientist,
philosopher will ''still continue their occupations,” in this
world of spirit)— a Society for the prevention of Cruelty
to Animals will have its place along with other associations,
tha n the Solar Angels would surely -deserve to be nomi»
nated as its most honorary and honoured members.
T h e learned author concludes his interesting exposi*
tion of the principles of Hierosophy by proclaiming
to the world at large that “ under the sway of Solar
Angels, neither asceticism, abstinence, nor celibacy, as
such, will find place, but the perfection of life’s enjoy­
ment will ba found in the well regulated use of all the
faculties to which humanity is heir.”
Whether this novel systsm of philosophy and ethics ia
really “ rhapsodical and Utopian,” or not, the public
— especially the Indian— will have to decide. But I can
affirm without any fear of contradiction that this system
has not the slightest foundation in any thing that is
contained in the Bhagavatgita or in any other religions
or philosophical book of the Hindus. It is simply the
result of the author’s independent speculations and mnst
rest upon its own strength. In m y humble opinion it is
clearly erroneous and unphilosophic.d.
I shall now take leave of M r. Oxley and request him to
kindly excuse me for the adverse criticism contained in
m y articles. I shall be very glad if my strictures can
induce him to re-examine carefully the philosophy of spirit
contained in Bhugavatgita and scrutinize the reasons for
the conclusions arrived at by him in his book on the
fundamental questions of occult philosophy and ethics.
W it h his intuition and intelligence, he will no doubt be
in a position to open out for himself a way to understand
the mysteries of the Eastern arcane sciences,— if he only
avoids the temptation to leap to general conclusions from
insufficient data, and draw inferences prematurely before
the whole range of our ancient science and philosophy
is carefully explored by him.
I am very huppy to hear that my learned antagonist
has joined our Theosophical association, and I hope he
will henceforth w ork in fraternal concord with his
Eastern brothers for recovering the grand truths taught
by the ancient Hierophants, and promoting the cause
of Universal Brotherhood.
POST- MORTEM L IF E *
T h i s book before us is one of those from whose perusal
one turns with a feeling of profound respect for the
author, however m uch his views may differ from one’s own.
Every line, every word, bears the stamp of simple
honesty and absolute love of truth. O f course, nothing
need be said with respect to its intellectual quality, for
the venerable professor of Leipzig, who gave the world
his “ Ze n d Avesta, on tlie Things of Heaven, and the
Hereafter,” and liis “ Elements of Psychophysic,” could
write nothing that was not scholarly, original, and thought­
ful in a liigli degree. A n d in D r . W e r n e k k e he has found
a translator who, though himself a German, lias rendered
the text into English in a masterly manner. It would be
scarcely possiblo to epitomize philosophy into more
* On L ife after D eath. F ro m th e H erm an of G u sta v T lieodor F e c h n e r ;
p p . 95, 16mo» By H u g o W ern ek k e, lle a d M aster of W e im e r lioalachnlo,
( L o n d o n ; S am pson L ow , M a rsto u , S earle & lliv iu g to n , 1882).
compact and nervous sentences than these before us. If
wo cannot wholly agree with the author’s premises, it
must be conceded that his conclusions are stated with a
clearness and terse vigour that presents his thought to the
reader a$ translucent as crystal. F e c h n e r ’s proposition
is packed within tho opening paragraph :— ■
Man lives on earth not once, b u t th ree tim es : th e first stage
of his life is continual sle e p in g ; the second, sleeping and waking
by tu rn s ; the third, waking for ever.”
A n d thon he elaborates with care eacli of these three
abates, their relations and consequences. Io the first
stage, the antenatal:—
“ Man lives in the d a rk , alone ; in the second, he lives associ­
ated with, yet separated from, his fellow men; in a lig h t reflected
from the surface of th ing s ; in tho third, his life, interw oven with
th e life of other spirits, is a h ig h e r life in the H ig h e st of Spirits,
with th e power of looking to tho bottom of finite thin gs.
“ Iu th e first stage his body develops itself from its germ,
w orkin g out organs for the second ; iu the second stage bis mind
develops itself from its germ , working out organs for th e th ird ;
in the th ird th e divine g e rm develops itself, which lies hidden
in every h um a n mind, to direct him, th r o u g h in stin ct, th ro ug h
feeling and believing, to th e world beyond) which seems so dark
at present, bu t shall be lig ht as day hereafter.
“ The act of leaving th e first stag e for th e second we call
B irth ; th a t of leaving the second for the th ird , Death. O ur
way,from th e second to the th ird is not d a rk e r th a n our way
from th e first to sec o n d : one way leads us forth to see the world
o u tw a rd ly ; th e other, to see it inw a rd ly .”
W h e r e were these prime verities ever moro succinctly
stated than in this last paragraph ? A n d the whole book
is in this style. The H in d u reader will, of course, take
exception to the postulate that in the natural course of
development man passes his third or spirit stage of being
upon earth. To him the very idea of continued relation­
ship of the disembodied entity with this scene of physi­
cal activities is abhorrent. H e does indeed believe that
w e are born again and again, as tho result of K a r m a ;
but he clings fondly to the hope that by works of merit
and the practice of Y o g u m , the vicious Circle of Necessity
may be broken through and the perfect release of
M ok sh a be attained. Fechner’s is a philosophy of tri­
partite progression— from embryo to m an, from m an to
immortal spirit. In the third epoch, the disembodied
blend their being with the living. “ If you think of a dead
person earnestly and intensely, not only the thought of
him or her, but the d ea d 'person liim se lf, will bo in your
mind immediately. Y o u may inwardly conjure him, he
must, come to y o u ; you may hold him, he must stay with
you, if you only fix your thoughts upon him.” If this
were literally true, would it not be within the power of the
sorcerer or the selfish friend to enchain the dead to him,
and prevent his progress ? This is severe injustice, quite
opposed to the laws of both universal progress and K arm a.
A n d yet Fechner himself says, “ Full justice is done to
every man ; it consists in the totality of the consequences
of both good and evil actions.” That is K a r m a , and Karm a
is the one chief featnre in Hinduism and Buddhism which
m ake each, to our mind, so superior to Christianity, with
its doctrine of unpunished sin forgiven through vicari­
ous mediation.
This great thinker and philosopher had, unhappily
for our generation, already passed his eightieth birth­
day in 1881. If his useful life could only have beon pro­
longed until he could have become acquainted with esoteric
Arhat philosophy and found its striking merits, it would
have been a blessed thing for a public which needs more
than any thing else just now, competent guides to cor­
rect religious concepts. H o holds to the spiritualistic
theory that children dying ever so young go on develop­
ing to maturity iu the spirit world. “ I n the same
w ay,” says he, “ a child which has been alive only for
a moment, can never die again. Tho shortest moment
of conscious life produces a circle of actions around
it, just as tho briefest tone that seems gone in a
second, produces a similar circle which carries tho tono
into endless space, far beyond the persons standing by
to listen * * * Th e m ind of the child will develop itself
from that one conscious moment * * * but in a different
w ay from what it would have done when beginning from
a more developed state.” This is to say that, despite the
ovident law of progression by which each subsequent
stago of his own tripartite course developes out of,
and is the fruition of the next antecedent one, the day-old
babe may attain full maturity of intellect as well as
spirit, without having passed that round of nature’s
ladder whereon “ mind develops itself from its germ, w ork­
ing out organs” for the spiritual entity ! T h o u g h medi­
ums affirm this, it is hard to reconcile so evident an inter­
ruption of apparently universal law with either logic,
mathematics, or the conservation of energy. Asiatics
will rather hold to their ancient esoteric teaching,
that there are no exceptions to the necessity of passing
through, as well as into, each state of being before
entering the next, and that the baby entity must bo
reborn as m an, and have m an ’s full experience, before
passing on to the next point in the circle of rebirth.
A philosophy like that impairs in no degree the noble
idea of hum an destiny, while it does seem to agree with
the highest intuitions of justice and cosmic harmony,
more perfectly than an optimism which shows us nature
constantly fruiting her Tree of Life, whether its buds and
blossoms were perfected or not.
In a work published in 184*8, and called by him “ N ann a,
or the Soul-Life of Plants,” the venerable author was more
in harmony with Eastern thought, since we find embodi­
ed therein, a full conviction that there is hot an atom in
the universe but is possessed of soul. Indeed, in the
wordsof his able translatorhe began in that b o o k / 'a course
of investigation which soon led him from the convictions
that the organized beings inferior to m an have a soul,
do not only co n sist o f a body and soul, but rather are body
and soul in one, like m an himself, to the higher and grander
conviction that the beings superior to m an, the celestial
bodies, must likewise have an inward life underlying and
concomitant with, tlieir outward life; that, in fact, the
whole universe is alive, not a dead bulk, but an animated
being, a wonderful organism of the sublimest order.”
“ M il. I S A A C S .* ”
T h e subject of our present review is — a romance !
A curious production, some might say, to come to our
book table, and claim serious notice from a philosophical
magazine like this. But it has a connection, very pal­
pable and undeniable, with us, since the names of three
rhembers of our Society— M r. Sinnett, Colonel Olcott
and M ad a m e Blavatsky— -figure in it, and adepts and
the rules and aspirations of their fraternity have a large
share of the author’s attention. This is another proof
of the fatt that the Theosophical movement, like one of
those subterranean streams which the traveller finds iu
districts of magnesian and calcareous formation, is
running beneath the surface of contemporary thought,
and bursting out at the most unexpected points with
visible signs of its pent-up foroe. The scene of this
novel is India, and a good deal of its action transpires at
Simla. Its few pictures of H in d u daily life and charac­
ter, and of typical— in fact, in one or two cases, of
actual— Anglo-Indian personages, are vividly realistic,
There is no mistaking the fact that the story-teller
gathered his materials on the very spot, and has but
strung upon tho thread of his narrative the beads of
personal experience. Th e son of a great sculptor him ­
self, and the nephew of one of the brightest, cleverest and
most accomplished m en of modern eociety, ho displays
iu many a fine passage an artist's loving sense of the
* Mr. Isaacs s A Tale of Modern India. By F. Marion Crawford,
(London : Macmillan and Co., 1882J Price Rupees 3.
grand, the picturesque and tbe beautiful, an athlete’s
passion for exercise and sport, and a, fla n e u r ’s familiarity
with the hum an nature which blooms in tho hot-beds of
the gay world. Examples of the 6 rst-named talent are
the descriptions of Himalayan and sub-Himalayan scenery,
and moonlight effects ; ot the second, a tiger-hunt iu the
Terai, a pic-uic under canvas, hnd a polo-match; while
the signs of the third endowment show themselves in his
photographs of various personalities, some high, some
humble, that form his groups. M r. (Jrawford has made,
however, what we should call, a decided artistic blunder.
H is hero, Abdul Hafiz-ben-lzak, or, as commonly k n o w n ’
am ong Anglo-Indians, “ M r. Isaacs,” is a Persian by
birth, a M ahom m edan by creed, and the husband of
three wives. These superfluous creatures are but barely
introduced by allusion, yet their existence is admitted by
the hero, and as no crime is imputed to them, they
would seem to have every right to a peaceful existence
as the spouses of a lawful husband. Y e t their conjugal
claims are ignored, and their personalities shoved away
out of sight, because the author makes M r . Isaacs
to love apd be loved by a paragon of English
maidens; who, know ing of the domestic trirnurbi in
question, yet treats her lover like an unencumbered
bachelor, without a single blessed thought of the wrong
she does to Mesdames, the aforesaid three married ladies.
Th e utter superfluity of the latter as regards the interest
of the tale, causes the judicious reader to grieve that
they should liuve ever been evolved from tho author’s
cerebral ganglia, even to be kept behind a distant
'p u rd a h .
In hie remarks upon cataleptic trance, the projection
of the “ double,” thought-reading, clairvoyance, the
nobler aspects of esoteric Buddhism , the aspiration of
the true Adept aud Y o gi for knowledge, and their ab­
horrence of whatever smacks of ‘ Miracle,’ M r. C raw ­
ford shows an attentive, if not a profound, reading of
authorities. A s regards the highest point of adeptship,
he is as clearly wrong as was Bulwer when he so
gloriously depicted his Z a n o n i as yielding up pure
wisdom for the brighter prize of sexual love— we mean
of the love of man, as man, for w om an as the comple­
ment of his own nature. For the love of the adept
burns only for the highest of the highest—"that perfect
knowledge of Nature and its animating Principle, which
includes in itself every quality of both sexes, and so
can no more think as either m an or w om an, than the
right or the left lobe of one’s brniu can think of itself
apart from the whole entity of whieh it is a component.
Monosexual consciousness exists only on the lower
levels of psychic development; up above, the individual
becomes merged as to consciousness, in the Universal
Principle;— has "b e c o m e Brahma.” But it was less a
sin for our author to make his hero relinquish fortune
and the world’s caresses to become a Chela, in the hopo
of passing ajons of bliss with the enfranchised soul of
liis beloved one, than to put into the month of R a m L a l,
the adept “ Brother” — apparently a prentice attempt
to individualise M r . Sinnett’s now world-famed trans-
Himalayan correspondent— language about w om an’s
love and its effects that no adept would by any chance
ever use.
W h a t guerdon,” he makes him say, “ can
m an or heaven offer, higher than eternal communion
with the bright spirit [his sweetheart had just died]
that waits and watches for your com ing? W ith her—
you said it while she lived— was your life, your light,
and your love ; it is true ten-fold now, for with hor
is life eternal, light ethereal, love spiritual. Come,
brother, come with m e ! ” Quite the contrary: he
would have said that this prolongation of earthly ties
is possible, but that its natural result is to drag the
dreamer back into the Circle of Re-birth, to excite a
Trishna, or thirst for physical life, which enchains the
being from real emancipation from sorrow— the attain­
ment of the rest of Moksha, or Nirvana.- A n d that the
aspirant after adeptship must evolve out of his physical
nature a higher, more essential self which has no sorrows
because no affectional enslavements of a n y so rt.
If R a m Lal is an attempt at “ Brother” Koot Hoom i,
it is also and more a reminiscence of Althothas, the
teacher of D u m a s ’ Balsamo, or Mejuoor, the dessicated
preceptor of Zanoni. For Mr. Crawford makes him call
himself “ gray and loveless,” and say that he had
“ known youth and g la J n e ss o f h ea rt.” Th e animated
mummies w hom novelists love to make the types of
occult learning, doubtless had never any other feeling
than that of the btone or the salted herring; but the
real adepts— as we are reliably informed— are the most
happy of mankind, since their pleasures are connected
with the higher existence, which is cloudless and pangless.
Tb e earliest am ong the changes felt by the true Chela is a
sense Of unmixed joy to be rid of the carking cares of
common life, and to exist in the light of a supremely
great Ideal. Not that any true adept would say aught
against the naturaluess and sacredoess of pure sexual
relationships; but that, to become an adept, one must
expand the finite into the Infinite, the personal into the
Universal, m an into Parabrahra,— if one so choose to
desiguate that T h in g Unspeakable.
W e should nevertheless thank Mr. Crawford for oua
favour— ho helps to make our Brothers conceivable
hum an beings, instead of impossible creatures of the
imagination. R a m L a l walks, talks, eats, and— gracious
heavens !— rolls and smokes cigarettes. A n d this R a m
L a l is therefore a far more natural being than Zanoni, who
lived on air and got about, on the crupper of the lightning-
flush. Only a sensible writer could have made his adept
say : “ I am not omnipotent. I have very little more
p o w e r than you. Given certain conditions and I can pro­
duce certain results, palpable, visible, and appreciable to
all; but m y p ow er, as you know, is i t s e l f m ere ly the
kno w led g e o f the la w s o f n a tu re , which Western scientists,
in their wisdom, ignore.” A n d it was genuine appre­
ciation of a noble hum an ideal which prompted him to
call our revered teachers “ that small band of high
priests who, in all ages and nations and religions and
societies, have been the mediators between time and
eternity, to cheer and comfort the brokeu-hearted, to
rebuke him w ho would lose his own soul, to speed the
awakening spirit in its heavenward flight.” N o need to
question tho misuse of terms and misconception of
conditions of existence, when the sentiment is so true nnd
the effect so good upon a sceptical generation of sensu­
alists.
N o better proof needed, of the thorough, so to say,
in tu itio n a l comprehension by the author of some of the
most important limitations of even the highest adept­
ship, than the wise aud suggestive words put by him in
the mouth of R a m Lal.— “ W h y can you not save her
then ?” asks of him Paul Griggs, the narrator of the
tale, speaking of the dying girl, “ this friend Isaacs’ ”
first love.— “ I can replenish the oil in the lamp,” is the
adept’s answer, “ and while there is wick the lamp
shall burn— nay, eveu for hundreds of years. But
give me a lamp wherein the wick is consumed, and I
shall waste m y oil ; for it will not burn unless
there be tho fibre to carry it. So also is the body of
man. W h ile there is the flame of vitality and the essence
of life in his nerves and finer tissues, I will put blood
in his veins, and i f he m eet w ith no accident, he may live
to see hundreds of generations pass by him. B ut when
there is no vitality and no essence of life in a m a n ...........
though I fill his veins with blood, and cause his heart to
beat for a time, there is no spark in him— no firo, no
n e r v o u s strength. So is Miss W estonhaugh (the dying
girl) n o w — dead while yet breathing..... ....... ”
If, speaking of the author’s comprehension of adept
powers the adjective “ intuitional” is used, it is justified
to a degree, by w hat we learn of M r . Crawford from a M A G A Z I N E S FOR. H I N D U W O M E N .
private letter................ “ This book was written with mar­
W e have received a prospectus of Tamil and T elugu “ M aga­
vellous rapidity ; ............... it was begun and completed in zines for H in d u W om en,” This is a de sideratum long felt in
thirty-five days, without erasures or corrections.” In d ia. T he Jo u r n a ls will contain articles “ On M orality, House
hold E conom y, H y g ie n e and other p op ular Sciences, B iogra­
Theosophists who can afford to buy books should not
phies of em inent W om en of Indio and oth er countries. T reatm ent
fail to possess this one and put it on the shelf beside and Training of Children, Tales and Stories, Riddles, Songs an d
Z a n o n i and the S tra n g e S to r y , It is an intensely in­ other m a tter suited to the requirem ents of H indu ladies.” Re­
teresting fic tio n , based upon a few of the grandest ligious n eu trality will be strictly m aintained. W is h in g all
occult truths. success to such an u n d ertak in g , we recommend it to all en lig h t­
ened men and women of India for support. A pply to E . Bala-
sun daia Mudaliar, B. A,, 78 Sbanm'ugarayen Street, Madras.
THE V I O L I N .*
F all who interest themselves in the “ K i n g of
or
Instruments,” whether as musicians, litterateurs or A v e r y esteemed brother of Northern India sends the
manufacturers, M r. Peter Davidson’s compendious following paragraph from a private letter received by
little handbook is extremely valuable. T h e author’s him quite recently. T h e writer is not a Theosophist, and
name is well known to tho readers of this magazine as an our correspondent pointedly observes that it is a most
ardent moinber of onr Society, aud several contributions encouraging sign of the times that even outsiders speak
from him upon mystical subjects have appeared in our of our Society in this strain :—
columns. H e is one of the few modern writers upon
harmony who have seen and demonstrated the occult; “ I do not take any credit for versatility or w idth of sy m p a­
th y in t a k i n g so much interest in th e Society. I t s success is so
relationship between sound-vibrations and those other
rem arkablo th a t few people wlio keep them selves informed o£
molecular undulations in the Akasa, or Astral Light, w hat is passing arou nd th em , can afford to let it pass unnoticed.
which not only produce the effects of colour, and scent, Thoy must take np some position with regard to it, one way or
but are the basis of so-called magical phenomena. And th e other, I doubt w h e th e r any movement of this n a tu re had
without that intuitive sense of the uniformity of nature, g r e a t e r success am ong meu of intelligence and education either
in ancient or m odern tim e s .”
no writer can be said to understand music, let him be
ever so learned technically. It is the great merit of the
present work that it not only gives the most co m m o n ­
place details as to woods, varnishes, strings and shapes A N O T H E R N E W C O N T E M PO R A R Y .
of tho princely violin, with catalogues of famous makers
Some of our best members in N . W . P. have begun a
mid their gems, and miscellaneous anecdotes, humorous,
publication in Hindustani, of a monthly Magazine en­
historical and pathetic, but also many wise reflections
titled “ Satya Prakash.” W e predict for it a career
upon the theory and origin of sound. T h e present is
of success nnd usefulness. It will be devoted to
the fourth edition. M a y ifc have forty !
Oriental Literature, Science, Philosophy and Religions ;
upon all which subjects its projectors are competent to
A GRAMMAR O F M U S I C .+
write. A n intimate personal acquaintance with these
A a time when so much attention is being given in
t
gentlemen gives us every assurance that their new
India to a revival of interest in ancient Aryan musical magazine will exercise a strong influence for good, and
Rcience, the new edition of Dr. Callcott’s excellent we hope thnt it mny have a wide circulation through­
Gram m ar of Music ought to find many readers am ong
out India. The terms oE subscription will be found
Hindus. It was said of it by M r. W . Horsley, (Mus. stated in our Advertising columns,
Bac. Oxon) that “ no work of a similar extent, on
Musical Science, w as ever so popular” in Great Britain.
“ It is not possible to name a treatiso so copious in in­
formation, so rich in examples, and in which the expla­ H ifT h e M anager calls particular N otice to the fact
nations nre given in so masterly and so clear a manner.” that all M oney-orders m ust now be sent
]n this high encomium we largely concur, and would payable at A d y a r (Madras), India.
be glad to see the book circulate iu tho Bengal Phil­
harmonic A cadem y and Poona Gayan Sam aj. T h e price
— ouo shilling— brings it within the reach of all.
T A B L E OF C O N T E N T S .
Page. Page.
P U N D I T H E E R A N U N D 'S A LM AN AC FO R 1883.— P r e d ic ­
tio n s OP TIIE . WEATHER ; V OICE OF THE STARS, AND E ritE - M istaken Notions. 103 The Nobler Idea of Life...
... 119
VIE.BIS roll A STROLOGICA L FORECASTS, Etc. “ A Personal and an I m ­ A W ise Padri-Mystic ... 119
personal God ... 104 Self-Contradictions of the
...
Tliis is the only native Almanac p rin te d in E nglish. The D ugbears of Science. 105 Bible .... ... ... 120
I t purpo rts to be th e mouth-piece of tho g re a te s t astrologers Matter and its Forces ... 108 G reetings to Tsong Ka-Un
of P u n ja b ; and th is will in itself bo a sufficient g uarantee foi* The Brahminical Thread. 109 Ghien ... ... ... 120
the accuracy of its calculations and all those who are in terested in F rom K e sh u b Babu to Paracelsus... ... ... 121
restoring this b ran ch of ancient science—lo ng u nm eritedly Maestro W agner, 109 Reviews :—
...
derided by sceptics—to its pristine glory ■or a re engaged in The Primeval Race Double- The Philosophy of Spirit. 121
collating the E a ste rn and W estern astrology—are earnestly sexed ... ... 112 Post-Mortem Life.
... ... 123
requested to co-operate. T h e Reminiscences of a “ Air. Isaacs” ... ... 124
Chela ... ... 114. The Violin...
... ... ‘ 126
“ T H E T H E O S O P H IS T ” IN M ARATHI. Cis-Tibetan R am bles ' 115 A G ramm ar of Music ...
... 126
T he Proprietors of the “ Poona V ib h ar P ress ” have u nd ertak en Mesmerism as an Anaes­ P n n d it H eera JNund’s Al­
with o u r approval, to publish m o n th ly a M ab rath i edition of the th etic . ... 116 ... manac for 1883... ... 126
“ T heosophist,’' containing translations from our E n g lish journal. Anima Mnndi ... 116 “ The Theosophist” in Ma-
■
T h e M ah rath i jou rn al will be b ro u g h t ou t u n d e r able m an ag e­ L e tte rs to the E d ito r :— rath i ... .;. ... 126
m e n t, nnd its price will only be R s. 4 p e r a n n u m . In te n d in g Is Brahmoism tru e H in d u ­ Magazines for H indu Wo­
subscribers should kindly send th eir names to tho P rop rieto rs of ism ... ... 117... men ... ... 126
the Poona V i b b a r Press, at Poona. A d w aita Philosophy 118 Another New Contempo­
...
“ H. X .” and God Personal rary ... ... ... 126
* T h e V i o l i n : I t s con stru ctio n t h e o re tic a lly a n d p r a c t i c a l l y and Im personal, 119...
t r e a t e d ; i n c l u d i n g a n E p i t o m e o f the L i v e s o f the moet e m i n e n t A r tists ;
a D i c t i o n a r y o f V i o l i n majcer s, a n d L i s t s o f V i o l i n S a l e s , &c. By P.
Davidson. New Ed. (L o n d o n : F . P it m a n , 1882.) : Printed at the S c o ttis h P ress by G ra ves, C o o k so n and Co.,
and published by the T h e o s o p h ic a l S o c ie t y , at A dtak,
t D r. C a ll c o tt’s M u s i c a l . G r a m m a r . N o tatio n ; M elody ; H arm o n y ;
R h y th m , R ev ised b y T hom as W e stro p . (L o n d o n : F . P itm a n .) (Madras) I n d ia . r • : '
 S UPPLEMENT
THE THEOSOPHIST.
V ol. 4- No. 5. MADRAS,
T H E W E L C O M E TO MADRAS.
[F rom the Madras N a t i v e O p i n i o n we copy th e following
notice of the enthusiastic public welcome given to the Founders
and their H e ad-qu arte rs’ staff, by the leading N ative gentlem en
of Madras. Pachiappa’s Hall was crowded to overflowing, and
num bers, unable to gain admission, g ath e re d upon the v e ra n ­
d a h s and roofs of the adjacent buildings to see and hear. The
Chairman of tho occasion was a m em b er of th e Legislative C oun­
cil, Kajah th e Hon. Gajapati Rao, and two of th e Ju d g e s of tho
C ou rt of Small Causes, respectively moved a nd seconded tho
resolutions. The address to the Founders was loudly applauded
throughout, and the Hon. Chairman, tho two Ju dg es, and the
excellent P resident of P achiap pa’s Charities Committee, all
pledged them selves to second Col. Olcott’s efforts to found an
A ry an .Religious Society, as an a d ju n c t to th e Theosophical
Society, to found religious schools an d circulate A ryan
religious publications th ro u g h o u t I n d i a . A dd to this th e fact
th a t we find our new home at A d yar delightful in every respect,
and it will be seen th a t our new y e a r (and new cycle) begins
u nd er the brig h test auspices.]— E d .
Elsewhere, we { N a t i v e O p i n i o n ) publish a t le n g th th e Address
of Welcome, presented to Col. II. S, Olcott and Madam e H,
P . Blavatsky, by th e Theosophists of Madras. A lthough wo
have not been able to obtain a copy of tho full text of th e w o r­
thy Colonol’s reply, there is ono point which ho m entioned, and
which was most enthusiastically ta ken up by th e m eeting, upon
which we wish to offer a few remarks.
W hatever the Theosophical Society m ay or may not havo
done to commend itself to public su pp ort and sym pathy,—■
neither of which, by the way, it hns ever directly so ug ht to
obtain—one th in g is certain : and th a t is that, by means of
th is movement, the intelligent thin k in g section of the native
c om m u nity have, wherever a b ran ch of tho Society has been
established, fairly been roused to ta k e a g re ater in terest th an
heretofore in Sanscrit literature, philosophy, and science.
This is ce rtain ly a most satisfactory step in a much needed
direction ; a nd as we said already, th e T heosophists are to
bo co ngratulated on tlieir having been m a in ly in strum en tal
in its being taken, even if for nothing else.
Taking, as we do, th e very sincerest in terest in th e tr u e pro­
gress and welfare of o ur N ative C om m unity, an d cherishing,
as we also do, the most ard ent adm iration of the ancie nt Sanscrit
sages and their works, we most h eartily rejoice a t and welcome
any movement tending towards a revival of Sanscrit lenrning iu
its ancestral home.
H itherto tho great difficulty iu prom otin g a ta s to fo r, and study
of, Sanscrit has been how and where to begin. Tho style in
which this g ran dest of all languagos is le a r n t eith er by s tu d e n ts
at the U niversity or by the clerical sects (so to speak) of B r a h ­
mans in their Pathasalas are, neith er of them , Yery well suited,
T O
FEBRUARY, 1 883. No . 41.
if at all, to kindlo th a t enthusiastic love of learning for its own
sake, which alono can accomplish g reat things. T hen, too, it is
exceedingly difficult, if not almost utterly impossible, for children
to begin s tu d y in g Sanscrit a t a sufficiently early a g e, while a
still g re a te r difficulty is as to w h at subjects should be ta ken up.
A n o th e r g re a t reproach th a t has frequently been cast in tho
teeth of tho natives of In d ia is th a t th ey have no national (or
any other) system for the instruction of the y o u n g in the first
principlos of their national religion. This is true ; an d it is to be
g reatly reg re tted ; while, as Col. Olcott has fre qu ently pointed
out, it is mainly, if not entirely, owing to this w ant of in s tru c ­
tion in th eir own faith th a t so many H in du s have become con­
verted (or perverted) to Christianity and other foreign religions
causing th ereby no littlo social sorrow and trial, and cruelly sever­
ing tho most sacred of ties.
In h is address las t W ednesday evening, Colonel Olcott
proposed a plan (which, as wo said, wo were rejoiced to see, was
most cordially ta ken up by those present) whereby religious in­
struction to H indu children could be im parted regularly, and
whereby, also, bn im p etu s would be given to the stu dy of
Sanscrit. H is proposal was th a t a series of C atechisms and
Iteading-books should bo compiled, embodying th e fundam ental
principles of the H in d u moral and religions system, and co n tain ­
in g simple passages from (translations of) the Sanscrit classics,
and th a t special classes should bo formed for the instruction of
children out of books so prepared, similar to the ‘‘ Sunday school
classes ” in C hristian countrios. The idea is certainly a g ra n d
one, while it is also perfectly feasible; and, if it is taken up and
worked out iu a proper, persevering, spirit by those whose inte­
rest it is to sec th a t this is done, wo see no reason why Colonel
O lcott’s scheme should not be a splendid succcss, an d the
means of doing much substantial good to this co u ntry in more
ways than one.
Wo m u st not om it to mention th a t our pu blic-spirited fellow-
citizen, lla jah tho Honorable G u j p u t e b I I , v o , who presided at
P ach iap p a’s on tho occasion we are speaking of, has, w ith his
well-known g e nerosity and patriotism , come forward to identify
himself with this m ovem ent in favor of disseminating H in du
Religious In stru ctio n ; and has consented to bo the Chairman of
a Com m ittee to be convened for forwarding the said object, as
also to do all he can to help the necessary o p e ra tio n s..
I t only remains for us in concluding these observations, to
wish all such of o ur fellow countrym en as are concerned in so
praisew orthy an u n d e rta k in g , as th a t of seeking to have in struc­
tion in morals an d religion im parted to H in d u children, every
success; and to express a hope th a t they may be able to work
for tho cause in question heartily and well, so as to command
and deserve th a t success wiLh whioli the best friends and well-
wishers of th e country would fain see th eir present efforts duly
crowned.
 O F F IC IA L R E P O R T . K A R W A ll (B o m b a y P r e sid e n c y ).

I n a c c o r d a n c e w it h o u r s u g g e s t io n s c o n v e y e d in t lio S u p p le , A n official r e p o r t h n s b e e n r e c e iv e d from b ro th e r B a b u J .

G h o sa l, o f C a lcu tta , o f th o fo rm a tio n , on t h e 7th o f J a n u a ry , o f a
menb to t h o T h e o so p h ist for N o v e m b e r 1 882, o u “ t h e I n d iv id u a l­
B r a n c h S o c ic ty , k n o w n a s th o “ N o r t i i K a n a r a T h e o s o p h i c a l
i t y oE B r a n c h e s ,” t h e S e c r e ta r y o f th e “ P r a y a g T h e o s o p h ic a l S o c i e t y , ” a t K a r w a r , w h o se O ffice-b earers a re :—

S o c i e t y ,” A lla h a b a d , rep o rts u n d er d a te th o 1 s t u ltim o t h a t th e R ao B a h a d u r G o p a lra o V in a y a k B h a n a p , P r e s i d e n t .

B r a n c h h a s b een d e s ig n a t e d “ T h e P r a y a g P s y c h ic T h e o s o p h ic a l M r. S e sh a g ir i R a o V it h a l, V ic e -P r e s i d e n t .
S o c i e t y ,” a n d ,th a t t h e O ffice-b earers fo r 1 8 8 2 -8 3 are :— „ K . M . R agh aven d ra R ao , S e c r e ta ry .

I I . C. N i b l e t t , E s q ., P r e s i d e n t. ,, R a m ra o M a n g e s h a y o B h a t k a l, ylssi. S ecreta ry.

B a b u O p ra k a s C h an d ra M u k e r je e , V i c e - P r e s i d e n t ,
D r . A v in a s C h a n d ra B a n e r je e , S e c r e t a r y . TH E BOLARUM T H E O S O P H I C A L S O C IE T Y ;
on
THE P S Y C H O -S C IE N T IF IC BRO THERHOOD.
N EW BRANCH S O C IE T IE S . ( E s t a b l i s h e d at B o l a r u m , D e c c a n .)
AT HYDERABAD. D e c e m b e r 1882,
The “ H y d e r a b a d T n ro so rm cA L S o c ie ty ” w a s fo r m e d at R u les and B ye- L aws.
H y d e r a b a d , D e c c a n , b y o u r in d e fa tig a b le b r o th e r , M . R . R y . S. I. Tho B o la r u m T h e o s o p h ic a l S o c ie ty is a b r a n ch o f tha
R a m a sw a m ie r A v e r g a l, o n th e 1 7 th D e c e m b e r , w ith th e f o llo w ­ T h e o s o p h ic a l S o c ie t y an d U n iv e r s a l B r o th erh o o d , w h ic h w as
in g O ffice-b earers :— fo u n d e d a t N e w Y o r k , A m e r ic a , on tho 17th N o v e m b e r 1 87 5 ,
D o r a b je e D a s a b liy , E s q ., P r e s i d e n t . II. T h is S o c ie t y is c o n s t it u t e d w ith th e fo llo w in g th ree
B a b u G y a P ra sa d o , S ecreta ry. o b j c c t s :—
B a b u R a g h u n a th P r a sa d , A s s i s t a n t S e c r e t a r y .
(a ). T o p r o m o to th e m o ra l r e g e n e r a tio n of th e co m m u ­
n it y ; .
B O L A R U M (H . H . N iz a m ’s D o m in io n s ).
(i). T o c u lt iv a t e t h e f e e lin g s o f U n iv e r s a l B r o th e r h o o d j
“ The B o la ru m T iie o s o i'iiic a l S o ciety ” w a s fo r m e d b y th e
(c), T o p r o m o te t h e s t u d y of th e A n c ie n t A r y a n R e lig io n
sa m e b ro th e r on t h e 2 5 th D e c e m b o r w ith th e f o llo w in g O ffice­
a s far ns p r a c tic a b le ,
b e a r e r s :—■
III. T h e m e m b e r s m u s t , a fte r th e ir a d m is sio n to t h e B ra n ch
M . R . R y . V . B a la k is tn a h M o o d ly a r A v e r g a l, P r e s i d e n t .
S o c ie ty , lea d a life o f te m p e r a n c e , p u r ity an d b r o th e r ly lo v e .
,, T . V . G o p a u lsa m i P illa y , S e c r e t a r y a n d T r e a s u r e r .
IV . E v e r y c a n d id a te for a d m is sio n in to th e S o c ie t y m u s t b e
r e c o m m e n d e d b y tw o F e llo w s ,
SECUN DERABAD (H . H . N iz a m ’s D o m in io n s ).
V. l o m e e t th e c o n v e n ie n c e o f a ll m o m b ers, le o tu r e s w ill b e
" T h e S e c u n d e r a b a d T i i e o s o p i i i c a l S o c i e t y ” w as fo rm e d by
D ie sa m e b r o th e r on th e sa m e d a te , in s p ite o f t h e u n fa ir o p p o si- d e liv e r e d in t h e V e r n a c u la r , a tr a n sla tio n o f w h ich in to E n g lis h
w ill b e forw ard ed to t h e P a r e n t S o c ie ty , w h e n e v e r n e c e s s a r y .
oii o f so m e m a lic io u s ly in c lin e d m is c h ie f-d o e r s o f th o p la ce.
T h e O ffice-b ea rers are :— V I. T h o S o c ie t y w ill c o n s is t of a P r o sid o n t, a S e c r e ta r y an d

M, R . R y. M . E th e r a ju lu N a id u G aru , P r e s i d e n t . T r e a su r e r , an d M e m b e r s. I f th o c o n d u c t or lifo o f a n y o f th e

„ I. M . R a g o o n a y a k u lu N a id u G aru , V i c e - P r e s i d e n t . m e m b e r s be in c o n s is te n t w ith t h e r u le s , o b je c ts a n d d ig n it y oE
t h e S o c ie t y , a r e p o rt w ill b e m ade to t h e P a r e n t S o c ie t y fo r
„ C. K u p p u s w a m i A iy a r A v e r g a l, S ecr eta ry.
su c h a c tio n a s th o y m a y d e e m n e c e s s a r y to b e t a k e n .

B E L L A B .Y (M a d ra s P r e s id e n c y ) . V II. B e s id e s t h e in it i a t i o n f e e o f R u p e e s te n p a id o n c e fo r

“ T iie B e l l a r y T iiE osorm cA L S o c ie ty ” w a s f o r m e d b y th e a ll to t h e P a r e n t S o c ie t y , a su b s c r ip tio n o f R u p eo on o is p a y a b le

sa m e b r o th e r o n t h e 2 7 th D e c e m b e r , w it h t h e fo llo w in g Office* b y ea ch m e m b e r m o n t h ly in a d v a n c e to d e fr a y th e n e c e s sa r y

b earers e x p e n se s, th o s o w h o a re u n a b le to p a y b e in g e x e m p te d .

M. R , S y. A . S a b a p a th y M o o d ly a r A v e r g a l, P r e s i d e n t . V III. T h e o r d in a r y m e e t in g s w ill b e h e ld on ea ch a lte r n a te

„ C. E. R a n g a u a th u m M o o d la y a r A v e r g a l, S ecr eta ry. Sunday.
IX . T h e a b o v e R u le s a n d B y e -la w s aro s u b j e c t to m o d ific a tio n s
from tim e to t im e a s o c c a s io n a r is e s .
C H I N G L E P U T (M ad ras P r e s id e n c y ) .
V . B A L A K IS T N A H ,
“ T h e C n i N G L E r u T T i i e o s o t h i c a l S o c i e t y ” w a s fo rm e d b y th o
P r e s i d e n t , B o l a r u m T h e o so p h ic a l Society.
sa m e b r o th e r on th o 7 tli J a n u a r y w ith t h e fo llo w in g O ffice-b ea r­
A p p r o v e d b y th e P r e s id e n t -F o u n d e r in C o u n c il.
er s :—
DAM ODAR K. M AVALANKAR,
M . R . R y , R , V y t h in a t h a Iy e r A v e r g a l, P r e s i d e n t .
J o in t Recording Secretary,
„ C • K u p p u sw am i Iy er A v e r g a l. S e c r e ta ry and
H e a d Q uarters, A dyar,
Treasurer.
M adras.

O U D D A L O R E (M ad ras P r e s id e n c y ) ,
T H E C A W N P O R E C IIO IIA N T H E O S O P H IC A L S O C IE T Y .
** T h e C u d d a l o r e T n E o s o m i C A L S o c ie ty ” w a s fo rm ed by
Rules.
h im o n tb e 9 th J a n u a r y , w ith th e f o llo w in g O ffice-b ea rers :—■
I. T h is S o c ie t y is e s ta b lis h e d w ith t h e fo llo w in g o b j e c t s : —
M . R . R y , M . N a ta r a ja iy a r A v e r g a l, P r e s i d e n t .
(a ). T o in v e s t ig a t e t h e h id d e n m y s t e r ie s o f n a tu r e an d th e
„ A . Rama Row Avergal, S e c r e t a r y a n d T rea surer.
p sy c h ic a l p o w e r s la t e n t in m a n ;

(&). T o c u lt iv a t e a f e e lin g o f U n iv e r s a l B r o th erh o o d ;

M A D U R A (M adras Presidency).
(c), To p r o m o te th o m oral an d s p ir itu a l p r o g r e s s o f m an-
rLn E M a d u r a T n E o s o m i C A L S o c i e t y ” w as fo rm e d b y th e sarno
k in d .in g e n e r a l n nd o f i t s m e m b e r s in p a r tic u la r .
b ro th er on th e 1 0 th J a n u a r y , w ith t h e fo llo w in g O ffic e -b e a r e r s:__■
II. The S o c ie t y is o p e n to a ll w h o p r o m is e to le a d a lifo o£
M, R . R y , S . S u b r a m a n ia I y e r A v e r g a l, B . L-, P r e s i d e n t.
p u r ity , f o r w h ic h p u r p o s e e v e r y c a n d id a te h a s to m a k e a d e c la ­
ft V . C o o p o o sw a m y I y e r A v e r g a l, M . A .) S e c r e t a r y , r a tio n in th o p r e s c r ib e d fo r m .
 I I I . C a n d id a te s fo r a d m is sio n m u s t n o t be b e lo w t h e a » e o f
e ig h t e e n .
I V . A monthly subscription of Rupee one is payable by
each mem ber of the Society in addition to tha usual initiation
fee of Rupees ten. I n any exceptional case, the Society will
have power to excuse any m em b er from paying the fees.
V- Any mem ber found leading a life inconsistent with the
recognised principles of the Society, shall, iu the first instance, be
warned by the President, and, if after such warning, he does not
improve, it will be optional with the Sooiety by a vote of two-
th ird s of its members to suspend or expel him from the Society.
VI- T he Officers of the Society shall be a P res id en t and a
S e c r e t a r y who shall be elected, an nually or when necessary, by
a vote of m ajo rity of the members of the Society.
V I I . T h e Secretary will keep a record of the proceedings of
th e m eetings of the Society and shall also keep an account of its
funds. .
V I I I . P o u r mem bers at least shall constitute a quorum , and
in th e absence of any of the p erm anen t Officers of the Society, the
mem bers p rese n t shall appoint their own Officers for th e occasion.
I X . The ordinary meetings of the Society shall be held on
th e 7th, 17th and 27th of every month at such time and place
as may be found convenient by a m ajority of the members of the
Society; b u t the President shall have power to convene any
em e rg e n t m eeting when necessary.
X . A n y one who, for reasons th a t may appear satisfactory
to th e P resid ent, prefers to keep his connection with the Society
a secret, shall be perm itted to do so.
X I . T h e library of the Society shall be open also to outsiders
on p aym ent of an annual subscription of Rupees six in advance.
M OHENDRA NATH GANGULT,
C aw npore, ) the President of his Branch, “ is recovering, though ra th e r
15 th J a n u a r y 1883- j
RULES OF THE PRAYAG P SY C H IC
T H E O S O P H IC A L S O C IE T Y .
• E s t a b l i s h e d 6 t h N ov . 1881.
1. T h a t this Society be designated tlie Prayag P s y ­
chic Theosophical Society.
2. Every person, w ho is a Fellow of the Parent Theo­
sophical Society, shall be eligible for election by ballot as
a member of this branch; one black ball in seven to
exclude.
3. The subscription of the Fellows to cover the neces­
sary expenses of the Society, shall be a m inim um monthly
subscription of four Annas. It shall however be optional,
for any member, to pay a larger amount.
4. The Society shall be administered by Council of
seven including-the President, Vice-President and Secre­
tary as ex-officio members. Th e retiring Office-bearers
shall be members of tho Council for tlie ensuing year.
5. The Council shall bo empowered to transact all ordi­
nary business connected with the management of the
Society, Five members shall form a quorum.
6 . T h e President or, in his absence, the Vice-President
or the senior brother present, shall take the chair at tho
meeting of the Council as well as at tho ordinary meeting
of the Society.
7. Th e ordinary meeting of tho Society sliall be held
ou the 1st and 3rd Sunday of every mouth at such conve­
nient hour as the Council may direct. Th e Secretary is
empowered to summon an extraordinary meeting whenever
in the opinion of the President, or, iu his absence the
Vice-President, the necessity for it arises, or in tlie written
requisition of five members. In the latter case seven
days' previous notice must be given.
8 . Th e officers of the Society shall be elected annually
in the month of November.
“ 9. A n y member of the Society may be suspended by
tlie Council after due warning, aud if his conduct or
life is manifestly inconsistent with the rules, objects and
dignity of the Society, be expelled by a two-thirds vote of
the members.
ID. Th e above rules are subject to revision at the
annual general meeting convened for th e purpose with
the sanction of the Council, but ot no other time. Should
the members be not unanimous, at least two-thirds of the
members must vote in favour of the alteration.
personal $ t a .
O un i n d e f a t i g a b l e Brother,M r. K.M- S nu orr, a Vice-President
of the Bombay Theosophical Society, reports th a t his Branch
has selected for its L ib rary and rooms, a place on th e Kalbadevi
Hoad, near Messrs. A tm aram Sagoon and Company, where tho
r e g u l a r weekly m eetings of the Society will be held.
A few more Thesophisls, like our esteemed brother, Mr. Shroff,
will make any cause they identify themselves with, a glorious
success. We have therefore every hope an d confidence th at the
Bombay B ranch will ere long achieve m any practical results for
th e good of India, now th a t th e H e a d q u a r t e r s ' o f the P a ren t
Society have been removed from Bombay and the B ran ch thus
feels th e responsibility, like all other Branches th ro ug ho ut the
world, which rests upon it.
L . M . S. K a o B a h a d u r J a n a r d a n S a k u a i i a m G a d g i l , Vice-President of
th e Rewah Theosophical Society at Baroda, writes to say th at Bao
S ecr eta ry,
Bahadur Vinayakrao J a n a rd a n Kirtane, N aib Dewan of Baroda aud
slowly.” W e sincerely hope th a t tho p atient will soon get well.
B a b u J w a l a P r a s a d a , President of th e M eerut Theosophical
Society, is successfully practising Mesmerism. He recently cured
an in veterate eye disease of many years standing. The patient,
B abu P eary Lai, a copyist of the M eerut Munsiff’s Court, had
been hitherto, unsuccessfully, treated by several ablo doctors.
O ut of g ra titu d e to our brother, he has made a donation for the
L ib ra ry of th e above named B ranch, Lot it be remembered that,
unlike W estern professional Mesmerists, th e Theosophists in
In d ia who are practisin g mesmerism, arc curing diseases solely
out of a pure love for hu m an ity and receive no f e e s w hatever
for th eir services.
The Venerable P a rk e r Pillsbury, a charter m em ber of the
R ochester (U. S. A ) Theosophical Society, is engaged upon a
work which will embody liis personal recollections of the tremen­
dous stru g g le again st hum an slavery in America, th roughout
which he was one of th e foremost and most honoured leaders of
th e Abolition P arty . W h a t George Thompson -was In .England,
P illsbury aud Garrison were in America.
F ro m Mrs. J. W. Cables, Corresponding Secretary of th e
abovenamed B ranch, we have encouraging reports of the T heo ­
sophical work t h a t is in progress am ong the m em bers—all,
educated and in tellig ent persons, who are try in g their utm ost
to spread correct ideas w ith respect to Asiatic philosophy and
A ryan Sciencc th ro u g h o u t America.
O un b r o t h e r , M r . P. S r i n i v a s a
Row, J u d g e , S. C. C o u r t , a t
M a d r a s , recently visited the g re a t
Pagoda at Tinnevelly in com­
pany w ith the D istrict Munsiif of tho place an d one of the
pagoda priests, for the purpose of seeing the famous king-
cnccauut planted by th eB uddhist delegation from o u r Colombo
(Ceylon) branch, which accompanied Col, Olcott to th a t place iu
th e year 1881. The false report circulated by the Missionaries
t h a t it had been destroyed by ti e H indus as soon as Col. O lcott’s
back was tu rne d, will be’recolleeted. J u d g e Srinivasa ltow found
tho tree grow n to th e heig ht of a yard or more, with six ^large
leaves in the crown, and altogether v ery hea lth y an d vigorous,
W h e n th e tru n k lias becomo largo enough, a brass plate is
to be affixed to it to co m m em orate this in terestin g historical
event.
B y a curious oversight, in m ak in g u p the report on th e results
of Col. O leott’s Ceylon work of 1882, we omitted to mention an act
of g enerous liberality by Mr. D. Samarawikrama, N otary Public
of Galle. This gen tlem an , although not a B u d d h ist in religion,
declined to receive th e usual honorarium for his professioual
services in executing th e deeds un der which the boards of Trustees
and Managers of th e Singhalese National l<’uud aro constituted^
 tion, the world over. For whether in full agreement
M r . S a tn a r a w ilc r a m a 'd e s e r v e s a n a m p le r e w a r d f o r m a n y k i n d a c t s
with him or not, all will admit that he was a bold, brave
t h a t h e h a s d o n e in t h e p a s t a s o p p o r t u n i t y o ffe re d to b e n e f it
s o m e w o rth y o b je c t, thinker, the champion of free discussion, a hard-working,
kindly disposed, intellectually active, honest, religious
T h e Bombay compositors made certain errors in setting the agitator. One episode in his life, his imprisonment, which
figures in the consolidatedlMemorandnm of Receipts and E xp end i­ has been m ade the subject of reproach to him by the
tu r e s of the S. N. B. F u n d , as p ublished in tho December Christian majority, will be treasured in the memories of
Theosophist. They should be as follow : Receipts, (Total) Its.
Freethinkers as his best claim to their respect. For as
8,904-81; instead of Rs. 8,904-81i and tho totalling on tho
credit side should be Rs. 6,807-09, instead of Rs. 6,830-54. The time wipes out, the smirched record of the case, the men
Secretary of tho Board of Managers (Mr. Edrew ere) reports th a t who prosecuted him and the scheme by which he was
■with Mr. E. Gooneratna, Gate Mudliar’s, assistance, he has col­ haled to prison, will be despised, and as the fact that he
lected Rs 123-75, of a rre a rs subscriptions and in p etty sum s Rs- was m ade a scapegoat by a cabal of powerful bigots for
20. Of this Rs. 112-50, and Rs. 3-87 additional of in te re st on a loan
from tho F un d, have been deposited in ban k to th e credit of the whole infidel movement in America, will come out
th e Trustees. clearly, m any who are n o w prejudiced by the slanders of
persons like M r . Joseph Cook, will do justice to his
memory. M r . Bennett was a rough-and-tumble theo­
O n e of our correspondents th us describes his first a tt e m p t at
logical wrestler. H e struck from the shoulder straight]
m esm erism :—•
at the mark, without caring to pay compliments or pick
“ I took hold of th e han d of a boy of about 13 years of age,
looked steadily a t his oyes without w inking and stro ng ly w i l l e d the best phrases. There is therefore a flavor of coarseness
th a t ho should go to sleep. I n about 10 seconds, he fell back in his controversial writings, and a tone of scorn or bitter­
asleep, as th o u g h he were struck with lig htnin g. ness throughout. This seems a little strange at first sight,
‘‘ Ill abo ut 5 m inutes more, he answered some extraordinary since his youth was passed am ong the Shakers, the
questions which, to ju d g e from his limited education, he could quietest, most honest, prosaic, and inoffensive community
n ot have dono in his normal condition.” imaginable. But no doubt it was his very combativeness of1
“ Some of my sceptical frionds were th us b ro u g h t to conviction. nature which drove him out from their bosom to fight the
I have learned to cure various diseases, and this, in my opini­
world and win his footing: he had that in him which
on, seems to be more beneficial to hu m an ity th a n w asting time
in experim ents to arrive at somo exoteric results." revolted at the disciplinary restraints of the Shaker family
and he found his greatest happiness w hen in the thickest
of the battle. D uring his public career as a leader of the
W e learn th a t our b ro t h e r Babu B arada K a n ta M ajum dar is Freethought party lie was a prolific writer, and sent out
tr y in g to form a B ranch at Jessore. Ho would have worked h a rd ­ tract after tract, pamphlet after pamphlet, book after
er and succeeded in his a tte m p t, ere long, had it no t been for
book. It was a shower of sledge-hammer blows upon
th e heavy calamity th a t fell to his lo t— the loss of his eldest
the crest of Christian theology. H e was engaged iu
son.
numerous controversies with clergymen and others of
their party, a study of which gives the enquirer about all
Ouil b ro th e rs in Rohilkhand and O udh aro w orking in right that can be said for or against the Christian religion.
earn est, individually and collectively. In th es e districts, many Tho history of hislmemorable voyage around the world in
a tru e patrio t and ph ilanthrop ist is being g ath ered u nd er the
search of the truth about tlie creeds and practices of all the
b ann er of Theosophy.
nations, is fresh in the public mind. A n d the work is n
marvel of cheapness and full of interesting facts. His un­
expected and undesired appearance as a lecturer in Bom bay
M. R , B y, A. Govinda Charlu G aru no sooner joined our
Society, th a n ho began to show w hat he can do for our (cause. audjCeylon was forced upon him by unforeseen exigencies at
On tho n ig h t of the 15th I n s t a n t at T u m k u r he delivered a lec­ thoso points. His lecture at Galle and Colombo, contrasting
ture, in which lie began to disabuso th e public m ind of all their Buddhism with Christianity was so admired by our Singhalese
erroneous not ions on Theosophy. W e tr u s t th a t th ro u g h his exer­
brothers that they rendered it into their vernacular, and
tions, branches will soon sp rin g up iu the Mysore Province.
hundreds of copies are already circulated throughout the
Island. It was the good fortune of the founders of our
Society to aid liim to some extent in both India and Ceylon
B e g i n n e r s in tho field of Mesmerism would do well to emulate to m ake acquaintances and procure information pertinent
Mr. Tookaram T atya, Councillor of tho Bombay Theosophical
to his researches. H e stopped with us at Bom bay and in
Society. W ith in a comparatively short time he has attained
su ch considerable progress th a t he cures cases of hy steria,epilep­ Ceylon was tlio guost of our Fellows. Particulars of all
sy, leprosy, &c., of long standing. I n ono case, a complete those are given in Vol. Ill of the work above noted, andit
paralysis of half tho body was c u re d ; th e patient, who was is also thero stated that he joined our Society. N o w that he
b r o u g h t in a carriago and supported by two people, w alks somo is dead (but not gone, since he lives in his works) we shall
distance after five days’treatmerit. W e hope theso successes may
iuduco our brother. Mr. Je h a n g ir Curset.ji Je h a n g ir Tarachund, always look back to our intercourse with pleasure, and
so long an invalid, to commit himself unreservedly to Mr. Took- the good wishes w e had for him shall pass to tho faithful
ara m ’s care. wifo of whose devotion and self-sacrificing industry it
made him so evidently happy to speak. H e impressed
ns as being a thoroughly honest man, of decided
opinions, which he was conscientiously trying to propo
W n i i deep re g re t we record tlio death of Jour esteemed gate, and as one who in the prosecution of that work was
B ro th er and friend, M. R, Ry. K. V en k a ta n a ra s a y y a Garu,
F. T. S., Translator, District Court, Bellary. Ilis lovo for the rendy to undergo every necessary privation and run every
O ccu lt sciences, tho devotion and zeal with which he pro ­ risk. His untiring industry was shown in his utilising
moted th e objccts of our Society, as T elu gu A ssistant to the every moment in either the accumulation of material or
C o rresp on din g Secretary, had endeared him to every Theoso­ writing out his notes. Th e fact that while actually on
p h is t.
tour around the world, flitting from land to land, he con­
trived to write four volumes 8 voof about 900 pages each,
shows what a great literary worker he was. W e doubt if a
D E A T H O F D . M . B E N N E T T , F . T . S.
liko feat was ever previously accomplished' A n d though
W e had but just begun to roacl for our review of tlio thousands of sympathisers will mourn liim at the West,
third volumo of M r . Bennett’s A T r u th -se e k e r A r o u n d the we can assure them that if lie had lived but a few years
W o rld , when the Overland Mail brought us the news of longer, until the Asiatic peoplo had time to become
his death— on the 6 th of December, at the age of G4, after acquainted with him, there would have been tens of
an illness of less than a week. This event, which will be thousands among the H indus and Singhalese to bewail
so gladly hailed by all enemies of Freethought, will b e the him as a true friend snatched away when they needed
cause of sincere sorrow to everyfriend of religious agita­ him most. . -
 /Ocreativ
^com m ons
Attribution-NonCom m ercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported

Y o u are free:

to S h a r e — l o c o p y , d is trib u t e a n d t r a n s m it t h e w o r k

to R e m ix — to ad ap t th e w o rk

U n d e r th e f o llo w in g c o n d it io n s :

A t t rib u t io n — Y o u m u s t a ttrib u te t h e w o r k in t h e m a n n e r s p e c if ie d b y t h e a u t h o r

CD o r l i c e n s o r ( b u t n o t in a n y w a y t h a t s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e y e n d o r s e y o u o r y o u r u s e o f
th e w o r k ) .

N o n c o m m e r c ia l — Y o u m a y n o t u s e t h is w o r k f o r c o m m e r c i a l p u r p o s e s .

©
S h a r e A lik e — I f y o u alter, t r a n s f o r m , o r b u ild u p o n t h is w o r k , y o u m a y d istrib u te
th e r e s u lt in g w o r k o n l y u n d e r t h e s a m e o r s im ila r l i c e n s e t o t h is o n e .

W ith th e u n d e r s t a n d in g that:

W a i v e r — A n y o f th e a b o v e c o n d it io n s c a n b e w a i v e d if y o u g e t p e r m i s s i o n f r o m th e c o p y r ig h t
h o ld e r.

P u b lic D o m a in — W h e r e t h e w o r k o r a n y o f its e le m e n t s is in t h e p u b l i c d o m a i n u n d e r
a p p lic a b le law , t h a t s t a t u s is in n o w a y a ff e c t e d b y t h e lic e n se .

O th e r R ig h t s — I n n o w a y a r e a n y o f t h e f o llo w in g r ig h t s a ff e c t e d b y t h e lic e n se :

• Y o u r fa ir d e a lin g o r f a i r u s e rig h ts , o r o t h e r a p p lic a b le c o p y r i g h t e x c e p t i o n s a n d

lim itations;

• T h e a u t h o r 's m o r a l rig h ts;

• R i g h t s o t h e r p e r s o n s m a y h a v e e ith e r in t h e w o r k its e lf o r in h o w t h e w o r k is u s e d , s u c h
a s p u b l i c i t y o r p r i v a c y rig h ts.

N o t ic o — F o r a n y r e u s e o r d istrib u tio n , y o u m u s t m a k e c le a r to o t h e r s th e l i c e n s e t e r m s o f
th is w o r k . T h e b e s t w a y t o d o t h is is w it h a lin k t o t h is w e b p a g e .
 A MONTHLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO ORIENTAL PHILOSOPHY, ART, LITERATURE AND OCCULTISM:
EMBRACING MESMERISM, SPIRITUALISM, AND OTHER SECRET SCIENCES.

V ol. 4 . N o . 6 .

( T h eo so p h is t , vol. ii, page 139) to undeceive him in these

^Tr^TcT *TfRcT T O
T H E R E IS N O R E L I G I O N H I G H E R T H A N T R U T H .
[ F a m i l y m o tto o f th e M a h a r a j a h s o f B e n a r e s .]
S P E C IA L N O T IC E TO CORRESPONDENTS.
Adverting to articles and correspondence
destined f o r the pages o f the T h e o s o p h i s t , we
would call the attention o f intending contri­
butors to the following instructions : —
{ I .) N o anonymous documents w ill be accepted fo r insertion,
I
columns after reading his Sheldoni'in speech at the Oxford
University. But with an amnsing tenacity he clings to
his misconceptions, and has just repeated them to all E n g ­
land [F o r tn ig h tly R ev iew , Article: “ Indian Mysticism” ]
as though he had never been contradicted ! W e fear he
is himself past all remedy, and that he will go on speak­
ing and writing about our new “ s e c t” until he disappears
from view under the Great Extinguisher that snuffs out
every m a n ’s candle, sooner or later. Yet, as w e have a
character to preserve, we shall quote a paragraph or two
from his latest magazine article, that w e m ay once more
enter our protest both against the imputation that our
Society is in any sense a sect, and the still worse one
that it has any connection with, or is responsible in any
degree for, the vagaries of the Minister of the N e w
Dispensation, of Kailas and Calcutta.

even though they m ay be signed “ A Theosophist.”
{ II.) A n y contributor not desiring his name to be made p u b -
lie , should give ihe necessary intim ation to the E ditor when fo r ­
warding his contribution.
( I I I ■) Contributors are requested to forw a rd their articles,
in the early p a rt o f the month, so as to allow the E ditor plenty
o f time fo r correction and disposal in the pages o fth e T h e o s o -
I'HIST.
{ IV .) A ll correspondence to be w ritten on one side of the
paper only, leaving clear spaces between lines and a wide m argin.
The Editors disclaim responsibility fo r opinions expressed by
contributors in their articles, with some o f which they agree, with
others not. Great latitude is allowed to correspondents, and
they alone are accountable fo r ivhat they write. The journa l is
offered as a vehicle fo r the wide dissemination of facts and
opinions connected w ith the A siatic religions, 'philosophies and
sciences. A ll who have anything worth telling are made welcome,
and not interfered with. Hejected M S S . are not returned.
S IR R IC H A R D A N D T H E O S O P H Y , A G A IN .
I p the saying of the witty Sydney Smith, that you
cannot get a joke into a Caledonian head without
trepanning the skull be true, no less certain ia it that a
false idea once rooted in certain minds, cannot be dislodg­
ed without decapitation. O u r illustrious friend Sir Richard
Temple would seem to be of the latter class. W h ile at
B o m b ay he conceived the absurd notions that the Theo­
sophical Society and Brahmo Sam aj were somehow
interchangeable titles, and tliat the former was a religious
“ sect.” T h e President of our B o m b ay Branch, Rao
Bahadur Gopalrao Hnrree Deshm ukh, was a member of
his ow n Legislative Council, and would have told him
the facts; and w e took the earliest possible opportunity
Sir Richard says of “ that new school of Indian thought,'
which is the product of W estern civilization” :—
The N ativ es of th is school have many religious convictions o£
a negative kind, b u t less of a positive n atu re. T h e In dian name
assumed b y the most p ro m in ent am o ng them is “ B ra h m o ;”
so m e o f them h a ve a d o p t e d , a p p a r e n t l y f r o m T r a n s a t l a n t i c q u a rte r s,
th e d e s i g n a t i o n o f T h e o so p h ists —a n d b y the best E n g l i s h a u t h o r i t y
th ey a r e t e r m e d the H i n d u , r e l ig i o u s r e f o r m e r s . The originator was
Earn Mohun Roy, and th e best expounder now living is K eshub
C h u n d e r Sen, both of Calcutta. B u t ramifications of th is sect
and kindred sects m oving in a parallel direction, have spread,
th ro u g h o u t th e th ree Presidencies of Bengal, Madras,and Bombay.
The intellectual tendencies of th ese sects have been described in
the answ er to the preceding question ; and in quirers will ask
w h eth er th e religion of th ese people is at all likely to be th e re ­
ligion of th e fu ture in India.
On its negative side this religion renounces superstition, p a­
ganism) monstrosities, an d absurdities of all sorts. I t ab ju res
A theism and M ateria lism. I t repudiates Mahomedanism, B u d ­
dhism, an d H in d uism . I t reg ard s C h ristia nity not as a religion,
to be adopted, b u t as one of several ways leading to w ards pure
and ab strac t tr u th . I t looks tow ards th e Vedas and oth er ancient
writings, h an d ed down from the A ryan H ind us, as constituting
an oth er of th ese ways. I t holds th e m inds of its adherents as
O p e n m irrors ready to catch th e rays of tr u th whencesoever com­
ing. I t fails to find t h a t this tr u th has anyw here been finally and
definitely revealed. Then, on its positive side, it is Theism, inclu­
d in g faith in a S u p re m e Being, in the ab stract principles of r i g h t
and wrong, in the im m o rtality of the so’il, in the accountability
of m an kind d u r i n g a fu tu re state for good or evil done d u rin g
this life. T h e dictates of the conscience, the power of th e m oral
sense, are fully acknowledged. B u t th e re hangs about all tho
ten ets much of haziness, of dreaminess, and of mystieisra g e n e ­
rally. This faith is likely to become the religion of th e im mediate
fu tu re am ong th e educated classes of H in d u s, b u t will hardly
sup p lan t H ind uism am ong th e masses for a long tim e to come.
C h ristian ity has not as y et spread sufficiently to become an
actual power in the country. I t hardly possesses half a million oE
native adherents, b u t th a t num ber may, a t an ordinary rate of
progress, from conversion and n atural increm ent, be augmented
within a generation to so m ething betw een one and two millions.
W h e th e r th ere will be any ex trao rdinary accession from the
ra n k s of the H in d u Theists it is impossible to hazard a prediction.
Thero are very conflicting opinions with respect to Sir
Richard Temple’s abilities as a statesman, but all must
concede that no critic of the Theosophical Society has
ever equalled him in the talent for totally misconceiving
its n a tu re , o b je c ts , a n d aim s, H is p r e s e n t a rtic le s h a ll
have the prominent place it deserves in our scrap-book,
among the comical excerpts from contemporary period­
ical literature. What fresh surprise has he in store
for us ?
■ ■
IN RE ADWAITA PHILOSOPHY.
B y the S wami op A lm ora .
W i l l the Editor satisfy us by proving the assertion
that “ matter is as eternal and indestructible as spirit ?”
The assertion was made in the Editor’s note to a corres­
pondent’s letter on ‘ K a rm a ’ (Vide page 89 of the Theo­
sophist for January 1883). You should bear in mind that
we are speaking of matter and spirit beyond the present
developed form, or in the stage of perfect Lai/a*according
to Patanjali’s second and third Sutras, or, from the stand­
point of the Esoterio Theosophy. Could you kindly ex­
plain what is meant by S atla, S dm dn ya
and Param padam ) of the Aryan adepts,
Nirvana of the Budhas, and the Philosopher’s stone of
the votaries of other occult Philosophies ? As far as we
understand the Aryan Theosophy, when the M dh apralaya
takes place, matter is absorbed by, or dissolved into,
M ahat-tattw a ( an(l the same again into
P ralcrili, and the Prakiti finally into P u ru sh a or P aram ­
padam .
In the same way of the components of the mysterious
letter Om (xjp). A ( 3} ) is dissolved into U ( ^ ) iind
the raja part of U ( 3” ) into M ( lj^). You will thus
see that matter and force can both be layed (or dissolved)
ultimately into the Spirit which alone remains as “ True,”
and should be oalled Eternal—which term neither matter
nor force deserve—being liable to evolution from, and
dissolution into, Spirit— or the Absolute. As you are well
acquainted with the doctrines of the Adwaita Yedanta, it
is needless to write more on this subject.
We would, however, call your attention to page 99
of the same number of the Theosophist, and entreat you
to remove our doubt by establishing scientifically a
certain point. Who was it that died as stated in the article
u Can the Double murder ?” According to our belief man
exists in a three-fold way; 1st, externally; 2nd,internally;
and 3rd, spiritually. (1) By externally we mean in gross
body ( or Annamaya ( ). (2) The
internal fold is the astral body formed of the three
koshas or cases, viz. :—Pranamaya ( q'fOjipT Mana-
maya ( )>. an^ Yignyanmaya ( FTsTHVT ). (3)
The spiritual fold is tho Pragna state or Anandmaya
( 3TH’:? ’IPT ). Y ou sa y " * * * th a t
wound may be inflicted upon the inner man, &c. &c.”
Now what do you mean by the inner man here ? The
question to be settled is whether the double murdered
the double or treble. In our opinion the double murdered
the treble and not the double-t—and in no case the spiri­
tual—one. Our object in writing this is to ask you to
kindly ascertain what is the extent of a human will’s
influence—or in other words—Can the M a y a v i R u p a be
also annihilated by mesmeric force or the material body
only ?
A lm o ra , P a t a l d e v i , ”)
2Qth Ja n u a ry, 1883, J
E d i t o r ’ s N o t e . — To our utter amazement, we are called
upon to prove that matter ia indestructible ; at any rate, that
“ matter is as eternal and indestructible as Bpirit!” Though
* L aya, o r n s ta ts of ab so lu te d issolution, a n n i h i l a t i o n o f #11 flub-
tta n c e , — Ed.
tho question and proofs as to the eternity and indestructi­
bility of matter alone, might be safely left to the Royal
Society to answer, yet we are fnlly prepared to satisfy our
learned correspondent, and, with his permission, will answer
all his queries.
W e are asked to bear in mind that the entities in ques­
tion are “ matter and spirit beyond the present developed
form, or in the stage of perfect Laya.”
. W e are unable to understand what is really meant by “ spirit
beyond the present developed form.” The sentence presents no
sense to our mind, trained as it has been by onr great masters
to think of “ Spirit” as of something formless and entirely
beyond the ken of our sensnal perceptions, and, therefore,
not to be considered apart from, or independently of, cor­
poreal existence. U n i v e r s a l I n t e l l i g e n c e and the O n e L i f e
as we call it, conoeived of, apart from any physical organi­
zation, becomes vital essence, an energy or force ; and none
of these we believe can be considered as a distinct entity,
a substance, or, as having a being or even a form separate
from matter. Locke’s definition, that “ Spirit is a substance,
in which thinking, knowing, doubting and a power of moving
do subsist” — wonld hardly be accepted by the average
Vedantee, and would find itself absolutely rejected by every
true Adwaitee and Eastern Occultist. The latter would
answer that “ matter alone is a substance, in which think­
ing, knowing, doubting, and a power of moving, are
inherent, whether as a latent or aotive potentiality— and
whether that matter is in a differentiated, or an undifferen­
tiated state.
Thus, in our humble opinion, the something, or rather
the no-thing, called Spirit, has by itself, no form or forms in
either progressive orstationary “ states of d e v e lo p m e n t a n d
we say again that the expression is perfectly unintelligible to
every real Adwaitee. Even supposing that the qualifying
danse refers only to matter, the meaning conveyed by the ex*
pression “ matter and spirit beyond the present devoloped
form” is the same as conveyed by that of— “ matter and spirit
in the stage of perfect L a ya ” ? W e fail to see the
point made, or even any sense in such a sentence as
“ matter and spirit in the stage of perfect Laya," implying
as it does the possibility of spirit, a pure abstraction, being
dissolved and annihilated— we will not say— as matter—
since the latter in its primordial, cosmic state can be no
more annihilated or even dissolved than spirit— but as a
thing of matter having substance and form. Can a void be
annihilated P And wbat is pure, absolute spirit but the “ void”
of the ancient Greek philosophers P Well says Lucretius :
“ there can be no third thing besides body and void ; for if
it be to the smallest extent tangible— it is body ; if not,— it
is void.” And let it not be urged, on the strength of tbis
quotation, that, because we quote the words of a great
“ Atheist,” a materialist, as an authority, we are therefore
a materialist and an atheist (in the usual sense of both
terms) ourself. W e object to the very term “ materialism”
if it is to be made identioal with, or a synonym of “ corpo-
realism,” that is to say, an antithesis of, “ Spiritualism.” In
the light we, Occultists, regard matter, we are all material­
ists. But it does not at all stand to reason that because of
that., we should be, at tho same time, “ corporealists” deny­
ing in any sense or way the reality of the so oalled spiritual
a m o rta l existence, or of any being or beings, living on another plane
of life, in higher and far more perfect worlds than ours,
or having their being in states of which no untrained mind
can have the smallest conception, Hence our objection to
the idea and possibility of “ matter and spirit, in the stage
of perfect L a ya ” unless it can be shown that we have mis­
understood the latter word. Aocording to the doctrines of
the Arhat philosophy there are seven states of matter, the
7 th state being the sum total, the condition or aspect of
M u la p ra h riti*
Consequently the state
of cosmic matter beyond its
u present developed form” may mean any of the other
six states in which it exists ; aud hence it cannot r\e-
cessarily mean '* matter in a stage of perfect Laya.” In
what sense then, does the learned querist want us to in­
terpret the words “ matter” and “ spirit?” For, though
we are aware that there exist, even in the present age
of science and enlightenment, persons who, under the
pretext of religion, teach the ignorant masses that there
was a timo when matter did not exist (since it was created)
U n d iffe re n tia te d cosm ic m a tte r,
 implying thus that there will come a moment when it will be
annihilated, we have never yet met any one, whether atheist
or^deist, materialist or spiritualist, who would presume to
say that spirit— whether we call it “ void” or “ divine breath”
— can ever be a n n ih ila ted ; and if the word L aya means
annihilation, the very expression used by the respected Swami
involves an assumption that. “ spirit” can be destroyed in
course of time. In such a case, we are evidently called upon
to demonstrate that matter and spirit are eternal on the sup­
position that both have a period of “ L aya.” If we are to avoid
this extremely— awJcward conclusion, what is the purport of
the Swami’s questions ? Verily, it would have been better
if he had allowed us the privilege of interpreting our own
statements. Moreover, our learned opponent is not satisfied
■with merely giving us his own— begging his pardon— incom­
prehensible definition of matter and spirit, to enable us to
prove our “ assertion but we are asked to answer the ques­
tion “ according to Patanjali’s second and third Sutras, or,
from the stand-point of esoteric theosophy.” H o w or why
should Swam i think, or know, that we made the statement in
question on the authority of Patanjali’s treatise ? Or is
Patanjali’s philosophy identical with esoteric theosophy in
his opinion ? If not, why should our statement be sine
qua non proved only “ according” to that philosopher’s second
and third Sutras ? It would be just as reasonable to call
upon us to prove the proposition under consideration from
the stand-point of the Salvationists. A s it is almost hopeless
for us to understand his definition, or satisfy hia curiosity
under the extraordinary restrictions imposed, we shall with
the venerable Swami’s permission, interpret our “ assertion”
in our own way, and prove it agreeably to esoteric theosophy,
and we hope, in accordance with the Adwaita philosophy that
our correspondent knows so well.
Our “ assertion*’ then means the following: undifferent­
iated cosmic matter or M ulaprahriti, as it is called in Hindu
books, is uncreated and eternal. It would be impossible to prove
this assertion from a prio ri reasons, but its truth can be tested
by the ordinary inductive method. In every objective pheno­
menon perceived, either in the present plane of consciousness
or in'any other planerequiring the exercise of spiritual faculties,
there is but change of cosmic matter from one form to another.
There is not a single instance, or the remotest suspicion of
the annihilation of an atom of matter ever brought to light
either by Eastern adepts or Western scientists. W h e n the
common experience of generations of adepts in their own
spiritual or psychic field of observation, and of the ordinary
people in theirs— ( i . e., in the domain of physical science)
points to the conclusion that there never has been the utter
annihilation of a single material particle, we are justified,
we believe, in saying that matter is indestructible, though
it may change its forms and properties and appear in variona
degrees of differentiation. Hindu and Buddhist philosophers
have ages ago recognised the fact that P u n ish and P ra kriti
are eternal, co-existent, and not only correlative and inter­
dependent but positively one and the same thing for him who
can read between the lines. Every system of evolution com­
mences with postulating the existence of M ulaprahriti or
Tam as (primeval darkness). Leaving aside the great autho­
rity of Kapila on this subject, we may refer to the celebrated
Rik of Rigveda describing this Primeval Chaos, and using
such expressions as :—
“ Tama eva purasthath abhavath viswarupam.1’ and — “ Asa-
thwa itham agra A sith"* etc.—
scattered throughout the Veda and the Upanishads in
support of our assertion. All those great philosophers
of India who have added the ancient wisdom-religion
of Agasthya, Thoorwasa and other Rishia to tlie pure
Adwaita philosophy of Vasishta, Vyasa and Suka, have
recognized this fact. Goodapatha and Sankaracharya have
given expression to their views on the subject in their works,
and those views are in perfect accordance with th© doctrines
of the Arhat philosophy. The authority of the latter two great
philosophers will.we believe,be sufficient to show to the learned
Swami, since he is an Adwaitee, that our statement is correct.
And primeval cosmic matter, whethercalled Asath or Tamas,
or Prakriti or Sakti, is ever the same, and held to be eternal
by both Hindu and Arhat philosophers, while P urusha is
inconceivable, hence non-existent, save when manifesting
through Prakriti. In its undifferentiated condition, somo
* " P r im e v a l d a rk n e ss r e s u lte d aa t h e m a n ife ste d u a iv e rse ” an d
}' A sath o r P ra k riti e x is te d first.” — Ed.
A d w a ite e s r e f u s e to re c o g n is e i t a s m a tte r , p r o p e r ly so c a lle d .
N e v e r th e le s s th is e n t i t y is t h e i r P a ra b ra h m a m , w ith its d u a l
a sp ect o f P u ru s h a n d P ra k riti. I n th e i r o p in io n i t c a n b e
c a l l e d n e i t h e r ; h e n c e i n s o m e p a s s a g e s o f t h e Upanishads
w e f i n d t h e e x p r e s s i o n “ P R A K R iT i-Z ayara” m e n t i o n e d ; b u t i n
a ll s u c h p a s s a g e s t h e w o rd “ P r a k r i t i ” m e a n s , a s w e cam
p r o v e ,— matter in a stale of differentiation, w h i l e undifferentiated
c o s m ic m a t t e r i n c o n j u n c t i o n w i t h , o r r a t h e r i n i t s a s p e c t o f ,
latent s p i r i t is a l w a y s r e f e r r e d t o a s “ M a h - i s w a r a , ^ P u r u s h a ’
a n d “ P a r a m p a d a .” T h e d e s c rip tio n g iv e n b y o u r l e a r n e d
c o r re s p o n d e n t a n d th e v e ry w o rd s u se d b y h im w h en h e s a y s ,
“ w h e n t h e M a h a p r a l a y a t a k e s p l a c e m a t t e r i s absorbed b y , o e
dissolved i n t o , M ahat-tatwa , a n d t h e s a m e a g a i n i n t o P r a k r i t i ,
a n d t h e P r a k r i t i f i n a l l y i n t o Purusha o r P aram padam ”—
sh o w t h a t h e is e ith e r w a g in g a w a r o f w o rd s , o r
s e e k in g to d ra w u a o u t (w h e th e r f o r f r ie n d ly p u rp o s e s , o r
o t h e r w i s e , h e k n o w s h i m s e l f b e s t ;) f o r n e i t h e r t h e w o r d a
“ absorbed b y , ” o r “ dissolved i n t o , ” c a n m e a n annihilated.
W h y s h o u ld h e th e n u se a g a in s t h is o w n a r g u m e n t th e te r m
“ L a ya ,” s i n c e i f h e o n c e c a l l s h i m s e l f a n A d w a i t e e , h e m ust
k n o w th e d o c trin e , a n d th e re fo re u n d e rs ta n d th e v a rio u s
s e n s e s i n w h i c h s u c h s p e c if ic t e r m s a r e u s e d . T h u s , w o
s h a ll fe e l g r a te f u l to o u r le a r n e d c o r r e s p o n d e n t if h e c a n
q u o t e t o u s a f e w a u t h o r i t i e s i n s u p p o r t o f his s t a t e m e n t
a b o u t t h e d i s s o l u t i o n o f M ahat-latwa* a n d PraJcriti a t t h e
tim e o f M a h a p r a la y a . W e s h a ll th e n b e a b le to se e w h a t
t h e A r y a n p h ilo s o p h e rs re a lly m e a n t b y s u c h a n a s s e r tio n .
In reference to the real meaning of “ S a tta S a m a n ya and!
P a ra m p a d a \ of the Aryan adepts, Nirvana of the Buddhas
and the Philosopher’s stone,” their meanings are identical
in both the Aryan a n d Arhat secret doctrines, b a tta S a -
m anya sometimes means latent spirit. It also means
“ Guna S a m y a p a d h i or the undifferentiated condition of.
S a t w a g u n a , R a j aguna and Tamaguna.+ A s to P aram pada
and Nirvana, both mean the same thing. ®'rolrJ objective
point of view it is the condition of 1 urush-Prakriti as
above described ; from the subjective— it is a state of perfect
unconsciousness resulting as bare Chidahasam.
If the Swami is desirous to learn more about the “ Philo­
sopher's stone” of “ the votaries of other occult Philosophies”
then we may refer him to our foot-notes to the articles
“ G l e a n i n g s f r o m Eliphas Levi,” published in the January
number of the Theosophist and other snndry articles. If
the “ other Occult Philosophies” are worthy of their name,
then the doctrines taught in them must not differ save in the
names given to identical things. Truth is but one, and of
two different versions one must be necessarily false. W e are
not prepared to accept the interpretation given of the word
A um , since the above interpretation is not quite consistent
with the doctrines of the Adwaiteo Vedanta philosophy- W a
shall feel grateful nevertheless, if the learned Swami can
refer us to any great Adwaitee philosopher as an authority in
support of his explanation. _
N o less puzzling are his curions ideas^ about our supposed
meaning and views about the potentialities and nature of tho
human double.
The question is not “ whether the double murdered the
double or the treble,” for neither the “ double” nor the
higher ** treble” (if, as we suppose the 5th, 6 th and 7th
principles are meant) can be murdered by living man oi*
ghost. The fact we suppose to be that by the concentrated
energy of implacable hate [of Prince Obrenoviteh s foster­
mother against his assassin], and through the agency of tho
clairvoyant’s double, “ the silver cord of life was^ snapped
and the inner-man driven out of its physical covering. The
wound which destroyed life, i.e., broke up the relationship
between the Sthoolsariram, with its enforming Jiu, and those
other component parts of the entire personality, was inflict­
ed upon the lower “ treble” — if the Swami of Almora
must use the clumsy term, even in sarcasm without
first transpiercing the physical body. In a case of natural
death the citadel of life is captured, so to speak, only by
gradual approaches ; in deaths of violence it is taken with a
rush. If fright, or joy, or the lethal current of hatred
* M ahatA atw a c o rre sp o n d s to th e sp iritu a l L ig h t, or th o Sephira of
th e Je w ish K a b a lis ts.— E d . , . , .
+ L ite ra lly — the m ost sacred p la c e ; m ean s N irv an a or th e c o n d itio n o f
M oksha.— Ed.
$ Satw aguna— th e q u a lity of p assiv ity , o r ab sen ce of a n y cause o f
d is tu r b a n c e ; R d ja g u n a — th e q u a lity of a c tiv ity , or th a t w h ich indu ces
to action ; T a m a g u n a —th e q u a lity of ig norance, in a c tiv ity o f xneDtal
a u d spiritnfll fa c u ltie s a risin g from th a t ig n o ran ce.— E d.
"be the cause, the body will show no wound yet life bd
extinguished all the same. Sorcerers’ victims usually appeal?
as though killed by heart disease or apoplexy : chemical
analysis will afford no clue to the assassin’s method, nor the
surgeon be able to find a suspicious inark upon the surface
of the oadaver,
♦ -
MR. C O O K AT HOME.
A fter the globe, the Reverend
c ir c u m b lo v ia tin g
Joseph Cook has returned to his altars and his fires and
b egun to lecture upon his adventures am o n g the poor
heathen. In Framji Hall, B om bay, and the Royal
College, Colombo, he seemed a very impressive person­
ag e ; tho shake of his head was vertiginous to a degree,
arid his heels crashed upon the floor like the trip-hammer
of Vulcan. But in America he is seen without glamour,
as m any recently received newspapers show. From thd
B om bcty G azette we clip the following paragraph, takeit
from one of the most influential American newspapers,
■which is even less severe upon the reverend gentleman
than the leading journals of his own city of Bostori
A friend ia good enough to enclose u s ( B o m b a y Gazette)
& c u ttin g from the N e w Y o r k W o r l d of th e 22nd Ootober,
relative to th e Rev. Josep h Cook, who so recently made o ur
F n im je e Cowasjee I n s t i t u t e r in g with his eloquence. I t would
b e u n k in d to publish the extract without w arn ing thd ed itor of
t h e B o m b a y G u a r d i a n th a t he should carefully abstain from
read ing it. I t is very dangerous to be in th e way when the
A m erican leader-w riter “ slings ink .” W ith this w a rn in g we
give the cu ttin g :— All reasonable persons m u s t re g re t to see th a t
th e Rev. Jo se p h Cook has re tu rn ed from New Zealand n ot only
u nroaste d, b u t quite as raw as when he leFt his native shore.
H u m b o ld t’s reported and un kin d mention of B ayard Taylor as a
‘‘m an who had travelled furth er and seen less th a n any one he
liad ever met,” exactly fits th e Rev. Jo seph Cook. No one expectcd
t o find t h a t !Mr, Cook had made any acquaintance witb th e p r i n ­
ciples of science, or had arrived at an appreciation of his own
intellectual unfitness for any task which requires sound know ­
l e d g e and a respect for tr n th , du rin g his voyage around th e
world ; b u t it was not too much to hope th a t he m i g h t have a c ­
q u ir e d , by contact with polished races an d by th e sig ht of a
la r g e r horizon th an th a t he had been accustomed to, some sense
of his ow n insignificance and a.corresponding meitsnro of respect
fo r na m es honored in all lands. B u t th e homely proverb is
ju stified once more. A silken pu rs e is not to be made o ut of
certain kinds of material, (ind no sooner does th e Rev- Joseph
C oo k feel himself on solid g rou nd within s ig h t of his native
h e a th th a n ho takes up his parable a g a in s t H e rb e rt Spencer,
w hom ho calls a charlatan, and a g a in s t Professor Fiske, whom
lie reviles as b ut the echo of a charlatan. Mr. Cook m u s t not
m isu n d ersta n d this brief notice. The W o r l d notices him, no t
because his opinions on an ^ subject are of th e slightest im porthnce
t o serious people, b u t because being a h arleq uin, he is tolerable
only when he is ridiculous, and needs to be corrected w hen he
becomes im p ertin e n t.”
A t Bombay, M r . Cook, with malicious glee, flourished
before his sympathizing public an article frdm S c r ib n e r’s
M o n th ly , in which poor M r. Bennett’s character was in­
famously aspersed. This diatribe has been copied by
the editorial admirers of M r . Cook in m an y places. If
they would shew a desire to do even-handed justice, thoy
should copy also the abovo estimate of the noisy orator;
and, since M r . Cook delights in using American press
comments upon his opponents, w e recommend that he
too should strike a fair balance by printing on all his
future posters andhand-bills the following caridid certifi­
cate to his actual merit by not only his countrymen, but
also liis fellow towrismen. Says the W in s te d P ress —■
Mr. Cook commands hotice only as ho is pressed forward by
t h e pulpits in their defence ; b u t we find he is g e ttin g more
notice thhn we were aware of. So g e n e ra l is the unfavorable
c o m m e n t of the press in th e W est as well as th e E a s t upon this
lo ud -m outhed incarnation of arrogance an d scholarly pretence,
as to have attracted the attention of th e jou rn a ls of Boston,
Cook’s place of retidence. They are evidently ib d ig n an t th a t he
is regarded in other parts of the co un try as a representative
Bostonian, and spurn the “ soft im peach m ent.” P erhaps tho
iuost cbmpact and p u n g e n t th in g which any of tho Boston
p a p e rs has had to say of Jo is this by th e Boston P o s t : “ Whab
we object to in the th in g s said about Joseph Cook is th a t th ey
m ak e Boston responsible for h im ! ” This cleverness of sarcasm
could not well be excelled ; i t nearly tells tho whole story of how
Cook i s regarded where h e id best knoivh. Bosfcoh cherishes
beyond almost any o ther city in the World its really able men,
its E m ersons, Phillipses, Lowells, Holm ses, W alkers, Fields,
Hales, eto., to say noth ing of Longfellows, A lcotts, and others
whose g re a t names a re w ritten in her scroll of honor. If she
could possibly find an y th in g in th e b la ta n t Cook w orthy her,
regard, she would not be slow to proclaim it.
Verily “ a prophet is not without honor save in his
o wn country,”
THE SACRED TREE O F KtJM BUM.
T h i r t y -years ago, two daring Lazarist Mission­
s e v e n
aries w ho were attached to the R o m an Catholic Mission
establishment at Pekin, undertook the desperate feat of
penetrating as far as L ’hassa, to preach Christianity
am ong the benighted Buddhists. Their names were H u e
and G a b e t ; the narrative of their journeys shows them
to have been courageous arid enthusiastic to a fault.
This iriosfc interestirig volume of travel appeared at Paris
more than thirty years ago, and has since been transla­
ted twice into English arid, w e believe, other languages
as well. A s to its general merits we are not n o w con­
cerned, but will confine ourself to that portion— vol. ii.
$4 , of the American edition of 1852— -where the author,
. H u e , describes the wonderful “ Tree of ten thousand
Im ages” which they saw at the Lamaserai, or Monastery,
of Kutn B u m , or Kouri BoUmj as they spell it. M . H u e
tells us that the Tibetan legend affirms that when the
mother of Tsong-Ka-pa,the renowned Buddhist reformer,
devoted him to the religious life, and, according to custom
she “ cut off his hair and threw it away, a tree sprarig
up from it, which bore on every one of its leaves a Tibe­
tan character.” In Etazlitt’s translation (Lo n d on , 1856)
is a more literal (though, still, not exact) renderirig of
the original, and from it— pp. 324-6— we quote the fol­
lowing interesting particulars :—
. “ T h ere were upon each of the leaves well-formed T h ibetan
characters, all of a g reen colour, some d arker, some lig h ter th an
th e leaf itself. O u r first impression was a suspicion of fraud on
th e p a rt of the Lam as, but, after a minute-examination of every
detail, we could not discover the least deception. T he charac­
te rs all appeared to us portions of the leaf ithelf, equally w ith its
veins and nerves ; th e position was not th e santie in all; in one
leaf they would be a t the top of th e leaf, in another in th e
middle, in a third a t th e base, or at the side, th e y ou ng er leaves
represented the c haracters only in a partial State of formation i
T h e b a rk of th e tree a n d its branches, which resemble th a t of
th e plane-tree, are also covered with these characters. W heu
you rem ove a piece of old hark, the young bark under it exhibits
tho individual outlines of characters in a g erm inating state, and
w ha t is very sin gu lar, these new characters are not uu frequ ently
different from those which th ey replace.
“ T b e tre e of tho Ten thousand Im ages seemed to u s of g re a t
age. I t s tr un k, which th ree men could scarcely em brace w ith
outstretched arm s, is not more than eig ht feet high ; th e branches,
instead of shooting up, spread o ut in th e shape of a plume of
feathers and are extremely bushy ; few of them are dead. The
leaves are nlways green, and the wood, which is of a reddish tint,
has an exquisite odour som ething like cinnam on. T he L am as
informed us t h a t in su m m er towards th e eig hth moon, th e tree
produces h u g e red flowers of an extremely beautiful c haracter.”
Tho A b b e H u e himself puts the evidence with much
moro ardor. “ These letters,” he says, “ are pf their
kind, of su c h a p e r fe c tio n th a t the ty p e -fo u n d r ie s o f
D id o t c o n ta in n o th in g to excel th e m .” Let the reader
mark this, as we shall havo occasion to recur to it. A n d
ho saw on— or rather in— the leaves, not merely letters
but “ religious sentences,” self-printed by nature in the
chlorophyll, Starchy cells, and woody fibre ! Leaves, twigs,
branches, trunk— all bore tho wonderful writings on
their surfaces, outer and inner, layer upon layer, and no
two superposed characters identical. “ For do not fancy
that these superposed layers repeat tho same printing.
N o , quite the contrary ; for each lamina you lift presents
to view its distinct type. H o w , then, can you suspect
jugglery? I have d one m y best i n th a t d ire c tio n to d is ­
cover the s lig h te st trace of hum an trick, and m y baffled
m ind co uld n o t r e ta in th e slig h test su sp ic io n .” W h o
says this ? A devoted Christian missionary, who went
to Tibet expressly to prove Buddhism false a nd his own
creed true, and w ho would have eagerly seized upon the
smallest bit of evidence tliat he could have paraded
beforo tho natives in support of his case. H e saw and
describes other wonders in Tibet— which are carefully
suppressed in the American edition, but which by some
of his rabidly orthodox critics are ascribed to the devil.
Readers of I s is U nveiled, will find some of these wonders
described and discussed, especially in the first volum e;
where we have tried to show their reconciliation with
natural law.
Tho subject of tlie K u m B u m tree has been brought back
to our recollection by a review, in N a tu r e , Vol. xxvii,
p. 171, by M r. A . II. Ke a n e, of H e rr Kreitner’s just-
published Report of the Expedition to Tibet under Count
Szeclienyi, a Hungarian nobleman, in 1877-80. Th e
party made an excursion from Sining-fu to the monastery
of K u m B u m “ for the purpose of testing- H u e ’s extra­
ordinary account of the famous tree of B u d d h a .” Th ey
found “ neither image [of B ud d h a on the leaves], nor
letters, but a waggish smile playing around the corner
of tlie mouth of tho elderly priest escorting us. In
answer to our enquiries he informed us that a long time
ago, the tree real,1y producedle& vos with B u d d h a ’s image,
but that at present the miracle ivas o f ra re occurrence.
A fe w G o d -fa vo u red m e n alone were privileged to dis­
cover such leaves.” That is quite enough for this
witness : a Buddhist priest, whose religion teaches that
thero are no persons favoured by any G o d , that there is
no such being as a G o d who dispenses favours, and that
every man reaps what he has sown, nothing less and
nothing more— made to say such nonsense : this shows
what this explorer’s testimony is worth to his adored
sceptical science ! But it seems that oven tho waggishly-
smiling priest did tell them tliat good m en can and do
see tho marvellous leaf-letters, and so, in spite of himself,
H e rr Kreitner rather strengthens than weakens tho A b b e
H u e ’s narrative. H a d wo never personally been able to
verify the truth of the story, w e should have to admit
that the probabilities favor its acceptance, since the
loaves of tlie K u m B u m tree have been carried by pil­
grims to every corner of the Chinese Empire (even
H err Kreitner admits this), and if the thing were a
cheat, it would have been exposed without mercy by the
Chinese opponents of Buddhism, wlioso name is Legion.
Besides, nature offers m any corroborative analogies. Cer­
tain shells of the waters of the R e d Sea (?) are said to
have imprinted upon them the letters of the H e b re w
alphabet; upon certain locusts are to be seen certain of
the English alphabet; and in the T h eo so p h ist, vol. ii, p.
9 1 , an English correspondent translates from L ic h t
M eh r L ic h t an account, by Sheffer, of the strangely
distinct marking of some Germ an butterflies (F a im ’sa
A ta la n ta ) with tho numerals of tho year 1881. Th en
again, the cabinets of our modern Entomologists
teem with specimens which show that nature is continu­
ally producing am ong animals examples of tlie strangest
mimicry of vegetable growths— as, for instance, cater­
pillars which look like tree-bark, mosses and dead twigs,
insects that cannot be distinguished from green loaves,
&c . E ven the stripes of the tiger are mimicries of the
stalks of the jungle grasses in which he makes his lair.
All these separate instances go to form a case of proba­
ble fact as to the H u e story of the K u m B u m tree, since
they show that it is quite possible for nature herself
without miracle to produce vegetable growths in the
form of legible characters. This is also the view of
another correspondent of N a tu r e , a M r . W . T . Thiselton
Dyer, who, in the number of that solid periodical for
January 4th, after sum ming up the evidence, comes to
the conclusion that “ thero really was in H u e ’s time a
tree with markings on tlie leaves, which tho imagination
of the pious assimilated to Tibetan characters.” Pious
what ? H e should remember that w o have tlie testi­
mony, not from somo pious and credulous Tibetan
Buddhist, but from an avowed enemy of that faith,
M . H u e , w ho went to K u m B u m to show up the h u m ­
b ug, who did “ his best in that direction to discover the
slightest trace of hum an trick” but whose “ baffled
m ind could not retain the slightest suspicion.” So until
Herr Kreitner and M r. Dyer can show the candid A b b e ’s
motive to lie to tho disadvantage of his own religion,
we must dismiss him from the stand as an unimpeached
aud weighty witness. Yes, the letter-tree of Tibet is a
fact; aud moreover, the inscriptions in its leaf-celJs ami
fibres are in the S e n s a r , or sacred language used by tha
Adepts, and in their totality comprise the whole D h a r m a
o£ Buddhism and the history of the world. A s for any
fanciful resemblance to actual alphabetical characters,
the confession of H u e that they are so beautifully per­
fect, “ that the type foundries of Didot [a famous typo­
graphic establishment of Paris] contain nothing to excel
them,” settles that question most completely. A n d aa
for Kreitner's assertion that the tree is of the lilac
species, H u e ’s description of the colour and cinnamon­
like fragrance of its wood, and shape of its leaves, show
it to be without probability. Perhaps that waggish old
m onk kn e w common mesmerism and “ biologized” Count
Szecheriyi’s party into seeing and not seeing whatever
he pleased, as the late Prof. Bushel! m ade his Indian
subjects imagine whatever he wished them to see. N o w
and again one meets with such “ wags.”
-------------- 1 ------------ -
SHAM A S C E T IC IS M .
T he S u r y a P ra h a sh , of Surat, says that a H in d u
ascetic, in company with a few of his disciples, lias
receutly arrived at that placo. H e does not receive alms,
but only accepts drugs like g a n ja and sooka. H e does
not require any food. O n the wooden shoes that he
wears, and on the bench and on the planks of the cot
he sleeps upon, are fixed " s o m e hundreds and thou­
sands” of pointed nails. A large crowd of people,
am ong them being European ladies and gentleman, daily
assemble to witness the self-mposed iniliction. Tlio
ascetic appears to bo a very learned man.
Tlio I n d ia n M irro r in noticing the case, sententiously
remarks: “ Such is asceticism iu India. It is asceticism
in name only.” It is right; a S a d h u w ho uses ganja and
soolca— intoxicant drugs— is but a sham ascetic. Instead
of leading his followers to M oksha, he does but drag
them along1 with himself into tho ditch, notwithstanding
his walking and sleeping on spikes. A pretty business*
that, for a religious teacher !
♦ -
FRAGMENTS OF OCCULT TRUTH.
B y a L ay C iie l a .
^ No. V I .
D evachan.
I t was not possible to approach a consideration of
the states into which the higher hum an principles pass
at death, without first indicating the general framework
of the whole design which is worked out in the course of
the evolution of m an. Tho groat majority of the blun­
ders m ade by ordinary theological speculation on this
subject are due to ignorance of this general design..
People have been led to regard the present physical
life as the only one of its kind wliich a hum an soul is
called upon to pass through. They havo next found
themselves obliged to provide in H eav en or some sphere
of punishment for all the rest of eternity, as they aro
reluctant to contemplate tho notion of final annihilation
even for their mere personal entities,— unable to under­
stand that unless specially qualified for perpetuation,
they might tire of such entities in progress of milleniums.
Thus the H eav en of vulgar theology,— not to speak of
the Hell,— is a congeries of inconsistent conceptions as
fatally at war with each other as with the facts of tho
earth life thoy are supposed to supplement. Heaven
is treated as a place in which life is infinitely prolonged
_-an eternity which has a beginning but no end—
 and found enjoyable in the highest degree. B ut each
person is simply himself or herself as on earth iu a new
spiritual body, with recollection of the past life on earth,
and perception of the continued life in progress here for
the living friends and relatives left behind. N o w a
H e av en which constituted a watch tower from which the
occupants could still survey the miseries of the earth,
would really be a place of acute mental suffering for
its most sympathetic, unselfish and meritorious inhabi­
tants. If we invest them in imagination with such a
very limited range of sympathy that they could be
imagined as not caring about the spectacle of suffering
after the few persons to w hom they were immediately
attached, had died and joined them, still they would
have a very unhappy period of waiting to go through
before survivors reached the end of an often long and
toilsome existence below. A n d even this hypothesis
would be further vitiated by m aking Heaven most pain­
ful for occupants who were most unselfish and sympathe­
tic, whose reflected distress would thus continue on
behalf of the afflicted race of m ankind generally, even
after their personal kindred had been rescued by the
lapse of time. T h e only escape from this dilemma for
believers in a conventional Heaven, lies in the supposi­
tion that Heaven is not yet opened for business, so to
Bpeak, and that all people who have ever lived from
A d a m downwards are still lying in a death-like, annihila­
tion-like, trance, waiting for the resurrection at the
end of the world. [Th e resurrection by the bye has
an occult meaning which the present explanations m ay
help to elucidate, but of that more a n o n ]. W h i c h of
these hypotheses is most favoured by ordinary theology
w e do not pretend to say, but Heaven must be recognised
by that doctrine as either, opon or not open yet for the
reception of souls, and then one of the two lines of
speculation above roughly indicated must be followed.
N o n e the less, of course, would theology deny that
cither statement of the case was correct. N o statement
of auy case which ordinary theology favours, ever
is admitted to be correct by theologians if it is put in
plain language which convoys a definite conception.
N o w this brings us to a poiut of great importance in
regard to these fragmentary teachings. T h e statements
which have to be made are susceptible of being expressed
iu the plainest possible terms. T h e language of occult
philosophy may be as precise as that of physical science.
It lias not always been so, because a great deal of it has
been employed to disguise the statements put forward,
just as early astronomers would sometimes record
their discoveries by means of anagrams perfectly desti­
tute of meaning on tlie surface. But the obscurity of
occult writing has never been due to the cloudiness or
confusion of tlie ideas under treatment. Thoroughly
understood, all occult knowledge, within the range of
ordinary hum an understanding, can be presented to the
reader in language as lucid as a diamond, and no more
than the facets of the diamond, need the edges of its
separate assertions be blurred to m ake them fit.
Th e facts about the spiritual condition of life which for
each human individuality travelling round the great circle
of evolution, intervenes between every one of its sepa­
rate incarnations, are thus susceptible like the facts of
objective existence, with which these essays have chief­
ly hitherto been dealiug, of intelligible expression in
terms which need not provide by intentional obscurity
for any possible necessity of later withdrawal or qualifi­
cation. But; of course the conditions of lives which are
not objective are not so easily grasped as those which are
paralleled by our own, and statements which may be
perfectly definite as far as they go, may nevertheless
be incomplete. T h e world of effects is a strange and
unfamiliar territory for most of us, and untrained imagi­
nations might not follow a close description of its fea­
tures, However, there are living men, be it remembered,
to whom its territory is not unfamiliar to w hom ita
minutest details are no longer strange. From these the
information comes, which we are about to lay before the
reader.* Rejecting the unscientific name which has
become encrusted with too m any misconceptions to be
convenient, let us keep to tho oriental designation of
that regiou or state into which the higher principles of
hum an creatures pass at death. “ Devachan,” to begin
with, makes no offer of e t e r n a l accommodation to the finite
personalities of dying men.
It has already been explained thnt when the four
higher principles escape from the body, i. e., from tho
lower triad,— they divide in accordance with the affini­
ties that have been engendered in them during their
corporate life. T h e lower reliquicc remain in the K a m a
lolca or immediate vicinity or atmosphere of the earth,
and the higher two invested with a certain amount of
consciousness by having assimilated all which is adapted
to a superior state of existonce, from the 5th principle,
M a n a s, or ‘‘ animal” soul, pass into a temporary period
of oblivionf from which they are, so to speak, born into
“ Devachan.” N o w in Devachan, that which survives is
not merely the individual monad, which survives through
all the chancres of the whole evolutionary scheme, aud
flits from body to body, from planet to planet, and so
forth ;— that which survives in Devachan is the m an’s
own self-conscious personality,! under some restrictions
indeed, which we will come to directly, but still it is
the same personality as regards its higher feelings,
aspirations, affections, and even tastes as it was on earth.
Those feelings and tastes of coarse which were purely
sensual will drop off, but, to suggest a whole range of ideas
by means of one illustration, a soul in Devachan, if the
soul of a man who was passionately devoted to music
would be continuously enraptured by the sensations
music produces. Th e person whose happiness of the
higher sort on earth had been entirely centred in the
exercise of the affections will miss none, in Devachan
of those w h o m he or she loved. But, at once it will be
asked, if some of these nre not themselves fit for D ev a ­
chan, how then ? Th e answer is that does not matter.
For the person w ho loved them th ey w ill be there. It is
not necessary to say m uch more to give a clue to the
position. Devachan is a subjective state. It will seem as
real, as the chairs and tables round us ;— and remember
that above all things to the profound philosophy of
occultism, are the chairs and tables, and the whole o b ­
jective scenery of the world,— unreal and— merely transi­
tory delusions of sense. A s real as the realities of this
world to us, and even more so, will be the realities of
Devachan to those w ho go into that state.
N o w we fancy very few W estern thinkers at the first
glance will welcome this account of the heaven awaiting
them beyond the grave, but we are not weaving merely
pleasant fancies, we are describing natural facts, and to
say that a condition of things is unacceptable to the
imagination, is to say nothing in disproof of its actuality.
A s regards Devachan, however, a patient consideration of
the place in nature which it occupies will show that this
subjective isolation of each hum an unit is the only con­
dition which renders possible any thing which cnn be
described as a felicitous spiritual existence after death
for mankind at large, and “ Devachan” is as much
a purely and absolutely felicitous condition for all who
attain it as “ Avitchi” — is the reverse of it. There is no
inequality or injustice in the system; Devachan is by
no means the same thing for the good and the indifferent
alike, but it is not tt life of responsibility, and therefore
there is no logical place in it for suffering any more than
in “ Avitchi” there is any room for enjoyment or re p e n t­
* T he In fo rm atio n is su p p le m e n te d by a copious ap p en d ix w hich
please c o n s u lt.—Ed*
f Called iu No. 1 of Fragments “ gestation.”
% See Appendix A.— Perchance, tbo essenco” of self-conscioui
personality would be a more comprehensive term,—Ed.
 ance.* It is a life of effects, not of c a u s e s ; a life of being
paid your earnings, not of labouring for them. Therefore
it is impossible to be during that life cognizant of what
is going on on earth. U n d er the operation of such cog­
nition there would be no true happiness possible in the
state after death. But there is no true happiness possible,
people will say, in the state of monotonous isolation
now described ! The objection is merely raised from
the point of view of an imagination that canuot escape
from its present surroundiugs. To begin with, about
monotony : no one will complain of having experienced
monotony during tbe minute or moment or half hour as
it may have been of tbe greatest happiness he mny have
enjoyed in life. Most people have had some happy
moments at all events to look back to for the purpose
of this comparison, aud let ua take even one such minute
or moment, too short to be opeu to the least suspicion
of monotony, and imagine its sensations immensely
prolouged without any external eveuts in progress to
m ark the lapse of time. There is no room in such a
coudition of things for the conception of weariness. Th e
unalloyed unchangeable sensation of intense happiness
goes on and on, not for ever, because the causes which
have produced it are not infinite themselves, but for
very long periods of time until the efficient impulse has
exhausted itself. [See Appendix B.] As physical exis­
tence has its cumulative intensity from infancy to
prime, and its diminishing energy thenceforward to dotage
and death, so the dream-life of Devachan is lived
correspondentially. 'J’here is the first flutter of psychic
life, the attainment of prime, the gradual exhaustion
of force passing into conscious lethargy, semi-uncon­
sciousness, oblivion and— not death but birth ! birth into
another personality and the resumption of action which
daily begets new congeries of causes that must be
worked out in another term of Devachan.
“ It is not a reality then, it is a mere d r e a m /’ objectors
will urge ; the soul so bathed in a delusive sensation of
enjoyment which has no reality all the while is being
cheated by Nature, and must encounter a terrible shock
w h e n it wakes to its mistake.” But in the nature of
things, it never does or can wake. T h e w aking from
Devachan is its next birth into objective life, and the
draught of Lethe has then been taken. N or as regards
the isolation of each soul is there any consciousness of
isolation whatever; nor is there ever possibly a parting
from its chosen associates. Those associates are not in the
nature of companions w ho may wish to go away, of
friends w ho may tire of the friend that loves them even
if he or she does not tire of them. Love, the creating
force, has placed their living image before the. personal
eoul which craves for their presence, and that image
will never fly away [See Appendix C .]
There is a sense of unreality about the whole affair, to
some people, which is painful to their mind at first no doubt;
but this is certainly much more due to au imperfect grasp
of the natare of the existence described on the part of
people u 9ed merely to objective experiences, than to any
inherent demerits in the scheme of existence provided
for souls in their transition state in Devachan.
A n d we must remember that by the very nature
of the system described there are infinite varieties of
well-being in Devachan, suited to the infinite varieties of
merit in m ankind. If “ the next world” really wero the
objective Heaven which ordinary theology preaches,
there would be endless injustice and inaccuracy in its
operation. People to begin with would be either admitted
or excluded, and the differences of favour shown to
different guests within the all-favoured region, would
not sufficiently provide for differences of merit in this
* T he fine parable in L u k e about L azarus, tb o b eg g ar, tlio ric h m an, and we have little o r no c o n tro l, as w ell a s to th e u t te r van ity of th e
“ F a th e r A braham ,” w ou ld fall th ro n g h , w e aro a fra id , in th e liijht of
e so teric te a c h in g s. T he only im p o rta n t t r u th th o re in con tain ed is th e thore, w ith its fin e r sense of d isc rim in ativ e ju stice th a n ev er foond ou
s ta te m e n t about th e “ g reat g u lf fixed” betw oen D eviishan, a u d A vitclii,
aud th o e a rth , Soe L u k o xvi. v , 20— 3 0 .—E d.
life. B u t the real H e a v e n of our earth adjusts itself to
the needs and merits of each new arrival with unfailing
certainty. Not merely as regards the duration of the
blissful state which is determined by the causes engender­
ed during objective life, but as regards the intensity
and amplitude of the emotions which constitute that
blissful state, the H eaven of each person w h o attains
the really existent Heaven is precisely fitted to his
capacity for enjoying it. It is the creation of his o w n
aspirations and faculties. More than this it m ay be
impossible for the uninitiated comprehension to realize.
But this indication of its character is enough to show
how perfectly it falls into its appointed place in the
whole scheme of evolution [See A p p e n d ix £).]
Devachan being a condition of mere subjective enjoy­
ment, the duration and intensity of which is determined
by the merit and spirituality of the earth-life last past
there is no opportunity while the soul inhabits it, for the
punctual requital of evil deeds. But Nature does not
content herself with either forgiving sins in a free and
easy w ay, or dam ning sinners outright, like a lazy
master too indolent, rather than too good-natured, to
govern his household justly. T h e karma of evil, be it
great or small, is as certainly operative at the
appointed time as the karma of good. B ut the place of
its operation is not Devachan, but either a new rebirth, or
A v it.c h i — a state to be reached only in exceptional cases
and by exceptional natures.* The subject being of para­
mount importance it may be left for a separate Fragment
[See A p p e n d ix E ] , Generally, the re-birth into
objective existence is the event for which the
karma of evil patiently waits; and then, it irresisti­
bly asserts itself, not that the karma of good
exhaasts itself in Devachan leaving the unhappy monad
to develope a new consciousness with no material be­
yond the evil deeds of its last personality. T h e re-birth
will be qualified by the merit as well as the demerit
of the previous life, but (he Devachan existence is a
rosy sleep,— a peaceful night with dream 9 more vivid
than day, and imperishable for many centuries and ages,
as the loftiest mountains of the earth for the time aban­
doned.
It will be seen that the Devachan state is only one of
the conditions of existence which go to m ake up the
whole spiritual or relatively spiritual complement of our
earth life. Observers of spiritualistic phenomena would
never have been perplexed as they have been if there
were no other but the Devachan state to be dealt with.
For once in Devachan there is very little opportunity
for communication between a spirit, then wholly a b ­
sorbed in its own sensations and practically oblivious of
the earth left behind, and its former friends still living.
W h eth er gone before or yet remaining on earth those
friends, if the bond of affoction has been sufficiently
strong will be with the happy spirit still, to all intents
and purposes for him, and as happy blissful, innocent, as
the disembodied dreamer himself. It is possible, h o w ­
ever, for yet living persons to have visions of Devachan,
though such visions are rare, and only one-sided,— the
entities in Devachan, sighted by the earthly c la irv o y a n t
being quite unconscious themselves of undergoing such
observation. T h e spirit of the clairvoyant ascends into
the condition of Devachan in such rare visions, and thus
becomes subject to the vivid delusions of that existence.
It is under the impression that tbe spirits with wbich it is
in Devachanic bonds of sympathy have come dow n to
visit earth and itself, while the converse operation has
* W hile th e ordinary, com m on place s in n e r w ill reap th e fru its o f h is
evil deeds in a follow ing rein carn atio n , th e exceptional crim inal, th e —
bo to speak aristocrat o f sin has avitchi in p i'o sp jc t. M o st o f o o r
ev ery d ay tra n sg re ss io n s b e in g d u e r a th e r to circum stances ovor which
re q u e s t.— “ L ead us n o t in to te m p ta tio n ,” th e Law of lie trib u tio n i t
ea rth , to a ct alw ays u u e rrin g ly in producing effects s tr ic tly adeqaatiD g
th e ir real cau ses.
 really taken place. The clairvoyant’s spirit lias been
raised towards those in Devachan. Thus many oftlie
subjective spiritual communications— most of them when
the sensitives are pure-minded,— are real, though it is
most difficult for the uninitiated m edium to fix in his mind
the truo and correct pictures of what he sees and hears.
I n the samo way some of the phenomena called psycho-
graphy (though more rarely) are also real. Th e spirit
of the sensitive getting odylised, so to say, by lhe aura
of the spirit in the Devachan becomes for a few minutes
that departed peisonality, and writes in tlio handwrit­
ing of tho latter, in his language and in his thoughts as
they were during his lifetime. T h e two spirits become
blended in one, and the preponderance of one over the
other during such phenomena, determines the preponder­
ance of personality iu the characteristics exhibited. Thus,
it may incidentally be observed, what is called ra p p o rt,
is in plain fact, an identity of molecular vibration be­
tween the astral part of the incarnate m edium and the
astral part of the disiucarnate personality.
Meanwhile the average communicating “ spirit” of the
seance room is the denizen of that intervening region
between Earth-life and Devachan which has been already
referred to as K a m a lo ka . O n tho subject of “ shells”
or Elementaries, so m uch has been written of late that
this branch of the subject may be passed over lightly
now. T h e upper d u a d having won, in the struggle which
takes place after death in tlie K a m a loka between the
two sets of principles, the lowest of all with a reninant of
the 5th its more brutal memories and instincts alone
remaining, continues to roam the earth’s atmosphere for
a time— an empty shell though alive for a while to a
certain extent. A. word or two of explanation however
is required in reference to the complete two principled
being which remains in tho K a m a lo ka , when the upper
duad does no£. win in the struggle for possession of the
late personality. It might be imagined that such a beiDg
would be far more potent for the purposes of communica­
tion with still living people, than the shell, and so it might
be if it remained in “ K a m a loka,” but the fact is that
in such cases the surviving personality is promptly drawn
into the current of its future destinies and these havo
nothing to do. with this earth’s atmosphere or with D e v a ­
chan, but with that “ eighth sphere” of which occasional
mention will bo found in older occult writings. It will
have been unintelligible to ordinary readers hitherto w hy
it was called the “ eighth” sphere, but sinco the expla­
nation in tlieso Fragments of the 7 fold constitution of
our planetary system, the meaning will be clear enough.
The spheres of the cyclic process of evolution are seven in
number, but there is an eighth in connection with our
earth,— our earth being, it will be remembered, the turn­
in g point in the cyclic chain,— and this eighth sphere is
out of Circuit, a cu l de sax and the bourne from which
it may be truly said no traveller returns.
It will readily be guessed that the only sphere con­
nected with our manwantaric chain, which is lower than
our own, in the scale that has spirit at the top and
matter at the bottom, must itself be no less visible to the
eye and to optical instruments, than the earth itself,
and as the duties which this sphere has to perform in
our planetary system are immediately associated with
this earth, there is not much mystery left now in the
riddle of the eighth sphere, nor as to the place in the
sky where it may be sought. T h e conditions of existence
there, however, are topics on which the adepts are very
reserved in their communications to uninitiated pupils,
and concerning these we have for the present no further
information to give.
Onestatement though itisdefinitely made, viz, tliatsucli
a total degradation of a personality as may suffice to draw
it, after death, into tho attraction of the eighth sphere, is
of very, rare occurrence. From the vast majority of
lives there is something which the higher principles may
draw to themselves, something to redeem the page of
existence just passed from total destruction, and here it
must be remembered that the recollections of life in
Devachan very vivid as they are, as far as they go,
touch only those episodes in life which are productive of
the elevated sort of happiness of which alone Devachan
is qualified to take cognisance, whereas the life from
which for the time being the cream is thus skimm ed,
will be remembered eventually, in all its details quite
fully. That complete remembrance is only achieved by
the individual at the threshold of a far more exalted spiri­
tual state than that which we are now concerned with, and
which is attained far later on in the progress of the vast
cycles of evolution. E ach one of the long series of lives
that will have boen passed through will then be, as it
were, a page in a book to which the possessor can turn
back at pleasure,— even thoagh m any such pages will
then seem to him most likely, very dull reading, and
will not be frequently referred to. It is this revival
eventually of recollection concerning all tho long for­
gotten personalities that is really meant by the doctrine
of the Resurrection of which the modern prayer books
m ake so sad a hash. B ut w e have n 0 time at present to
stop and unravel the enigmas of symbolism as bear­
ing upon the teachings at present uuder conveyance
to the reader. It may be worthwhile to do this
as a separate undertaking at a later period, but
meanwhile to revert to the nnrrative of how the
facts stand, it may be explained that in the whole
book of pages,— when at last the “ resurrection”
has been accomplished, there will be no entirely
infamous pages; for even if any given spiritual indi­
viduality has occasionally during its passage through
this world been linked with personalities so deplorably,
aud desperately degraded that they have passed com­
pletely into the attraction of the lower vortex that spiri­
tual individuality in such cases will have retained in its
own affinities, no trace or taint of them. Those pages
will, as it were, have boen clearly torn out from the book.
A n d as at the end of the struggle after crossing the
K a m a lo ka the spiritual individuality will have passed
into the unconscious gestation state from which skip­
ping the Devachan state it will be directly reborn into
its next life of objective activity, all the self conscious­
ness connected with that existence will have passed into
the lower world, there eventually to “ perish everlasting­
ly ;” an expression of which as of so many more modern
theology has proved a faithless custodian, making pure
nonsense out of psycho-scientific facts.
A s already indicated, and as the common sense of the
matter would show thero are great varieties of states in
Devachan, and each personality drops into its befitting
place there. Thence consequently he emerges in his be­
fitting place in the world of Causes, this Earth or another
as the case may be, w hen his time for rebirth comes.
Coupled with survival of the affinities comprehensively
described as k a r m a — tho affinities both for good and
evil engendered by the previous life, this process will be
seen to accomplish nothing less than an explanation of
the problem which has always been regarded as so in­
comprehensible,— the inequalities of life. T h e condi­
tions on which we enter life are the consequences of
the use we have made of our last set of conditions.
Thoy do not impede the development of fresh lcarma,,
whatever they may be, for this will be generated by the
use we m ake of th e m in turn. N or is it to be supposed
that every event of a current life which bestows joy or
sorrow is old karma bearing fruit. M a n y may be the
immediate consequences of acts in the life to which they
belong— ready-money transactions with Nature, bo to
speak of which it may hardly be necessary to m ake
any entry in her books. But the great inequalities of
life as regards the start in it, which different hum an be­
ings make, is a manifest consequence of old karma, the
infinite varieties of which always keep up ft constant
supply of recruits for all the manifold varieties of hum an
condition.
 W e have spoken of the three conditions iu the world
of effects,— the state in which the principles liberated
from the body are still in K a m a loka, and physically in
the atmosphere of the earth, the state of Devachan and
the intervening state of gestation or preparation for the
latter. But the reader’s conceptions on the subject will
necessarily be vague without some indications as lo the
periods of time with which passage through these states is
concerned. Consciousness in tbe K a m a loka even is not
immediately reawakened after death. W h e n a mail dies,
his soul or fifth principle becomes unconscious and loses
all remembrance of things internal us well as external.
W h eth er his stay in K a m a loka has to last but a few
moments, hours, days, weeks, months or years, whether
he dies a natural or a violent death ; whether this occurs
in youth or age, and whether the ego has been good, bad
or indifferent, his consciousness leaves him as suddenly
as the.flaine leaves the wick when it is blown out. W h e n
life has retired from the last particle of the brain
matter, his perceptive faculties become extinct for ever,
and his spiritual powers of cognition and volition
become for the time being as extinct as the others.
His m a y a v i r u p a may be thrown iuto objectivity as in
the case of apparations after death, but uuless il is pro­
jected by a conscious or iutense desire to see or appear
to some one shooting through the dying brain, the ap­
parition will be simply automatic. Th e revival of consci­
ousness in K a m a loka is obviously, from what has been
already said —a phenomenon that depends on the charac­
teristic of the principles passing, unconsciously at the
moment, out of the dying body. It may become tole­
rably complete under circumstances by no means to be
desired, or it may be obliterated by a rapid passage into
the gestation state leading to Devachan. This gestation
state may be of very long duration in proportion to tlie
ego’s spiritual stamina, and Devachan accounts for the
remainder of the period between death and the next
physical rebirth. Tho whole period is of course of very
varying length in the case of different persons, but
rebirth in less than a thousand to fifteen hundred years
is spoken of as almost impossible, while the stay in
Devachan which rewards a very rich Karma, is somotimes
said to extend to enormous periods.
In conclusion it may be added that this is a mere
sketch of the state of things under examination, as
complete as the writer is in a position to make it at
present, but requiring a great deal of amplification as
regards details which will uo doubt become possible at
some future time. Meanwhile the outline, as far as it
goes, may be relied upou as correctly drawn.
— ♦---
A P P E N D IX TO “ D E V A C H A N .”
A p p e n d ix A.
I t m ay be worth the reader’s while to learn what
Colonel H . S. Olcott has to say in his Buddhist Cate­
chism (14th Thousand) of the intrinsic difference be­
tween “ individuality” and “ personality.” Since he wrote
not only under the approval of tlie H i g h Priest, but also
under the direct instruction of his Guru (Spiritual
Master), liis words will have weight for the student of
Occultism. This is what he says, in his A p p en d ix:—
“ U p o n reflection, I have substituted ‘ personality’
for ‘ individuality’ as written in the first edition. The
successive appearances upon one or m any earths, or
‘ descents into generation’ of the ta n h a ic a lly -co­
herent parts (Skandhas) of a certain being, are a suc­
cession of personalities. In each birth the p e r so n a lity
differs from that of the previous or next succeeding
birth. K a r m a , the dens ex m a ch in a , masks (or shall w e
Bay, reflects ?) itself now in the personality of a sage,
again as an artisan and so on throughout the string of
births. But though personalities ever shift, the one
line of life along which they are strung like beads rung
unbroken. ...........
“ It is ever th a t p a r tic u la r lin e, never any other. Ifc
is therefore individual, an individual vital undulation
which began in Nirvana or the subjective side of Nature,
as the light or heat undulation through tether began at
its dynamic source; is careering through the objective
side of Nature, under the impulse of K a r m a and the
creative direction of T a n h a ; and tends through m an y
cyclic changes back to Nirvana. M r. R h ys Davids
calls that which passes from personality to personality
along the individual chain, ‘ character’ or ‘ doin g .1
Since ‘ character’ is not a mere metaphysical abstraction
but the sum of one’s mental qualities and moral propen­
sities, would it not help to dispel what M r. Rhys Davids
calls, ‘ the desperate expedient of a mystery’ [ B u d d ­
h ism , p . 1 0 1 ] if w e regarded the life undulation as indi­
viduality and each of its series of natal manifestations as
a separate personality ? T h e perfected individual, Bud-
histically speaking, is a Buddha, I should say ; for a
Buddlia is but tlie rare flower of humanity, without the
least supernatural admixture. A n d as countless genera­
tions ( ‘ Four Asankheyyas and a hundred thousand
cycles.’ Fausboll and Rhys Davids’ B u d d h is t B ir th
S to ries, p . 13) are required to develope a m an into a
B uddha, and th e iro n w ill to become one ru n s th ro u g h o u t
a ll the successive b irth s, what shall wo call that which
thus wills and perseveres ? C ha ra cter ? or Individu­
ality ; an individuality but partly manifested in any one
birth, but built up of fragments from all the births ?
“ T h e denial of ‘ soul ’ by B u d d h a (see S a n y u tto N i-
Icaya, the Sutta Pitaka) points to the prevalent delusive
belief in an independent transmissible personality; an
entity that could move from birth to birth unchanged, or go
to a place or state where, as such perfect entity, it could
eternally enjoy or suffer. A n d what he shows is that the
‘ I am I ’ consciousness is, as regards permanency
logically impossible, since its elementary constituents
constantly change, and the ‘ I ’ of one birth differs from
the ‘ I ’ of every other birth. But everything that I
have found in Buddhism accords with the theory of a
gradual evolution of the perfect man, viz., a B u d d h a
through numberless natal experiences. A n d in the con­
sciousness of that person who at the end of a given chain
of beings attains Buddha-hood, or who succeeds in attain­
ing tlie fourth stage of D hyan a, or mystic self-develop­
ment, in any one of his births anterior to the final one,
the scenes of all these serial births are perceptible. In
the Jatakattahavannana, so well translated by M r . Rhys
Davids, an expression continually recurs which I think
rather supports such an idea, viz : ‘ Then the blessed
one m a d e m a n ife s t a n occurrence h id d e n by change o f
b ir th ,' or ' that which had been hidden by, & c .’ Early
Buddhism then, clearly held to a permanency of records
in the Akasa, and the potential capacity of man to read
the same w hen he has evoluted to the stage of true indi­
vidual E n l i g h t e n m e n t .” (pp. 5 4 — 57.)
A p p e n d ix B.
H a v in g been asked :— “ H o w then ? Is there no
change of occupation for souls in D evachan ? Is one
moment of earthly sensation only, selected for perpe­
tuation ? ” — our m a s t e r s reply in the negative. N o ;
D eva ch a n is no monotonous condition, in which some one
or even two or more moments of earthly sensations are
indefinitely perpetuated— stretched so to say, through­
out Eeons. For, this would be contrary to all analogies
and antagonistic to the law of cause and effect under
which results are proportioned to antecedent energies.
There are two fields of causal manifestations— the objec­
tive and subjective. T h e grosser energies— those which
operate in the denser condition of matter— manifest
. objectively in the next physical life, their outcome being
tho new personality of each birth marshaling within the
grand cycle of the evoluting individuality. It is but
the moral and spiritual activities that find their sphere
of effects in D eva ch a n . A n d thought and fancy being
limitless, h o w can it be argued for one moment that
3
there is any thing like monotony in the state of
D eva ch a n ? Few are the men whose lives were
so utterly destitute of feeling, love, or of a more
or less intense predilection for some one line of
thought as to be made nnfit for a proportionate period
of D evaclianic experience,— beyond their earthly
life. So, for instance, while the vices, physical and
sensual attractions, say, of a great philosopher, but a
bad friend, and a selfish m an— m a y result in the birth
of a new and still greater intellect, but at the
same time a most miserable m an, reaping the K a r m ic
effects of all the causes produced by the “ old ”
being and whose make-up was inevitable from the pre­
ponderating proclivities of that being in the preceding
birth, the interinodial period between the two physical
births can not be— in nature’s exquisitely well adjusted
laws— but a h ia tu s of unconsciousness. There can be no
such dreary blank as kindly promised, or rather implied
by Christian Protestant theology to the “ departed souls,”
which, between death and “ resurrection” have to hang
on in space, in mental catalepsy awaiting the “ D a y of
Judgm ent.” Causes produced by mental and spiritual
energy being far greater and more important than those
that are created by physical impulses— their effects have
to' be— for weal or woo— proportionately as great. Lives
ou this earth or other earths, affording no proper field
for such effects, and every labourer being entitled to his
own harvest— they have to expand in— cither D eva ch a n or
A v itc h i .* Bacon, for instance, w hom a poet called—
“ T he b rig h te s t, w isest, m eanest o f m a n k in d ”
■
— might re-appcar in his next incarnation as a greedy money-
gotter, with extraordinary intellectual capacities. But, h o w ­
ever great the latter, they would find no proper field in
which that particular line of thought pursued during his
previous life-time by the founder of modern philosophy could
reap all its dues. It would be but the astute lawyer, the
corrupt attorney-general, the ungrateful friend, and the
dishonest Lord-chancellor w ho might find, led on by his
K ar m a, a congenial now soil in the body of the m oney­
lender, and re-appear as a new Shylock. But where would
Bacon, the incomparable thinker, with w hom philosophical
inquiry upon the most profound problems of nature was
his “ first and last, and only love,” where would this
“ intellectual giant of his race” — once disrobed of his
lower nature— go to ? H a v e all the effects of that m agni­
ficent intellect to vanish and disappear ? Certainly not.
Thus his moral and spiritual qualities would also have to
find a field in which their energies could expand them­
selves. D evachan is such field. H e n c e — all the great
plans of moral reform, of intellectual research into abs­
tract principles of nature, all the divine, spiritual
aspirations that had so filled the brightest part of his life,
would, iu D evachan, come to fruition ; aud the abstract
entity, know n in the preceding birth as Francis Bacon,
and that m a y be know n in its subsequent re-incarnation
as a despised usurer— that Bacon’s own creation, his
Frankenstein, the son of his K a r m a — shall in the mean­
while occupy itself in this inner world, also of its ow n pre­
paration, iu enjoying the effects of the grand beneficial,
spiritual causes sown in life. It would live a purely and
spiritually conscious existence— a dream of realistic vivid­
ness— until K a r m a being satisfied in that direction and
the ripple of force reaching tho edge of its sub-cyclic
basin, the being should move into its next area of causes—
either in this same world or another according to his
stage of progression.. .Therefore, there is “ a change of
occupation,” a continual change— in D eva ch a n . For
that dream-life is but the fruition, the harvest time of
those psychic seedgerms dropped from the tree of phy­
sical existence in our moments of dream and hope ; fancy-
glimpses of bliss and happiness stifled in an ungrateful •
social soil, blooming in the rosy daw n of D evachan, and
ripening under its ever fructifyng sky. If m an had but
one single moment of ideal experience, not even then
* T h e lo w est s ta te s o£ D evachan in te rc h a in w ith th o s e of A vitchi,
could it be, as erroneously supposed, the indefinite pro­
longation of that “ single moment.” That one note
struck from the lyre of life would form the key-note of
the beings’ subjective state and work out into num ber­
less harmonic tones and semi-tones of psychic phantas­
magoria. There, all nnrealized hopes, aspirations,
dreams— become fully realized, and the dreams of the
objective become the realities of the subjective exist­
ence. A n d thero, behind the curtain of M a ya , its
vaporous and deceptive appearances are perceived by
the I n i t i a t e , w ho has learned the great secret how to
penetrate thus deep into the A r c a n a o p B e i n g ..........
A p p e n d ix C.
Objectors of that kind will be simply postulating an
incongruity : an intercourse of entities in D evachan
which applies only to the mutual relationship of physical
existence ! T w o sympathetic souls, both disembodied, will
each work out its ow n Devaclianic sensations, making
the other a sharer in its subjective bliss. This will bo
as real to them, naturally, as though both were yet on this
earth. Nevertheless, each is dissociated from the other
as regards personal or corporeal association. W h ile the
latter is the only of its kind that is recognized by our
earth experience as an a c tu a l intercourse, for the D eva-
chanee it would be not only some thing unreal but could
have no existence' for i t in any sense, not even as a
delusion : a physical body or even a M a y a v i-r u p a
remaining to its spiritual senses as invisible as it
is itself to the physical senses of those who loved
it best on earth. Th us even though one of the
“ sharers ” were alive and utterly unconscious of that
intercourse in his w aking state, still every dealing
with him would be to the D eoachanee an absolute
re a lity . A n d what a ctu a l companionship could there
ever be other than the purely idealistic one as above
described, between two subjective cutities which are not
oven as material as that etherial body-shadow— the
M a i/a v i-r u p a ? To object to this on the ground that one
is thus “ cheated by nature” and to call it “ a delusive
sensation of enjoyment which has no reality” is to show
oneself utterly nnfit to comprehend the conditions of
life and being outside of our material existence. For how
can the s a m e distinction be made in D eva ch a n — i. e. out­
side of the conditions of earth-life between what we call a
reality, and a factitious or an artificial counterfeit of the
same, in this, our world ? Th e same principle cannot apply
to the two sets of conditions. Is it conceivable that what
wo call a reality in our embodied, physical state will
exist under the same conditions as an actuality for a
disembodied entity ? O n earth, man is dual— in the
sense of being a thing of matter and a thing
of spirit; hence the natural distinction m ade by his
m ind— the analyst of his physical sensations and spiritual
perceptions— between an actuality and a fiction : though,
oven in this life the two groups of faculties are con­
stantly equilibrating each other, each group w hen domi­
nant seeing as fiction or delusion what the other believes
to be most real. But in D evachan our E g o has ceased
to be dualistic, in the above sense, and become a spiritual,
mental entity. That which was a fiction, a dream in
life, and which had its being but in the region of “ fancy”
becomes under the n ew conditions of existence— the only
possible re a lity . Thus, for us, to postulate the possibili­
ty of auy other reality for a Devaclianee is to maintain au
absurdity, a monstrous fallacy, an idea unphilosophical
to the last degree. T h e actual is that which is acted or
performed de fa c to : “ the reality of a thing is proved by
its actuality.” A n d the suppositious and artificial having
no possible oxistonce in that devachanio state, the logical
sequence is that every thing in it is actual and real. For,
again whether overshadowing the five principles during
the life of the personality, or entirely separated from the
grosser principles by the dissolution of the body— tho
sixth principle, or our “ Spiritual Soul,” has no sub­
stance,— -it is ever A r u p a ; nor is it confined to one
place witli a limited, horizon of perceptions around it.
T herefore w hether in or out of its m ortal body, it is ever
distinct, and free from its lim itations ; and if we call its
deva ch a n ic experiences “ a cheating- of n atu re ,” then we
should never be allowed to call “ reality” any of those
purely ab stract feelings th a t belong entirely to, and are
reflected and assim ilated by, our higher soul, such : f . i., as
an ideal perception of the beautiful, profound philanthropy,
love, &c., as well as every other purely spiritual sensa­
tion th a t during life fills our inner being w ith either
immense joy or pain.
A p p e n d ix D.
“ D evachan” is of course a sta te not a locality, as
m uch as “ Avitchi” — its antithesis [which please not to
confound with H e ll ] . Esoteric Buddhist philosophy has
three principal lokas so-called— namely (1) K a m a loka,
(2) R u p a - lo k a ; and (3) A r u p a lo k a ; or in their
literal translation and m eaning— [ 1 ] world of desires
or passions, of unsatisfied earthly cravings— the abode
of “ Shells” and Victims, of Elementaries and Suicides ;
[ 2 ] the world of Form s, i. e., of shadows more spiritual,
having form and objectivity but no substance ; and [3]
the fo rm le ss world, or rather the world of no-Forin, the
iucorporeal, since its denizens can have neither body,
shape, nor colour for us mortals, and in the sense that
we give to these terms. These are the three spheres of
ascending spirituality in which the several groups of
subjective and semi-subjective entities find their attrac­
tions. T h e time having not yet come to speak of the
latter two, w e will merely notice the first one, namely
the K am a-lolca. Thence it is, that all, but the remain­
ing shells, the suicides and the victims of premature vio­
lent deaths, go according to their attractions and powers
either into the D eva ch a n ic or the A v itc h i state, which
two states form the numberless sub-divisions of “ R u p a ”
and “ A rup a” lo k a s ; that is to say, that such states
not only vary in degree, or in their presentation to the
subject entity as regards form, colour, & c .,— but that
there is an infinite scale of such states, in their pro­
gressive spirituality and intensity of feeling ; from the
lowest in the R u p a , up to the highest and the most ex­
alted in the A r u p a -lo k a . The student must bear in
mind that p e rso n a lity is the synonym for limitation ;
and that the more selfish, the more contracted the
person’s ideas, the closer will he cling to the lower
spheres of being, the longer loiter on the plane of selfish
social intercourse.
A p p e n d ix E.
T o use an antiphrasis— “ Avitchi” is a state of the most
id e a l s p ir itu a l wickedness, something akin to the state of
Lucifer, so superbly described by Milton. N o t many
though, are there who can reach it, as the thoughtful
reader will perceive. A n d if it is urged that since there is
D evachan for nearly all; for the good, the bad, and the
indifferent, the ends of harmony and equilibrium are
frustrated, aud the law of Retribution and of impartial,
implacable Justice hardly met and satisfied by such a
comparative scarcity if not absence of its antithesis, then
the answer will show th a t it is not so. “ E v il is the
dark son of Earth (matter) and Good — the fair daughter
of H e av en ” (or Spirit) says the Chinese philosopher;
hence the place of puuishment for most of our sins is
the Earth— its birth place and play-gronnd. There is
moro apparent and relative, than actual evil even on
earth, and it is hot given to the hoi piolloi to reach the
fatal grandeur and eminence of a “ Satan” every day.
See foot-notes in art. “ Death,” by Eliphas Levi (Octo­
ber T heosophist, Vol. Ill,) the editorial answer to
the a r t : “ Death and Immortality” (Novem ber Theoso­
p h is t, p. 28) ; and the words nsed by the author, when
speaking of those who are immortal in good by identi­
fication with God (or G o od), and immortal in evil by
identification with Satan (Evil). Although tho
general rule applies but to “ Sorcerers/’ i. e, adepts
in Black M agic, real Initiates and sons of Evil, generally
kn o w n as “ the Brothers of the Shado w ,” yet there are
exceptions to that rule as to every other. Occasionally
m en reaching the apex of evil become “ unconscious”
sorcerers; they identify themselves with “ Satan ," and
then A v itc h i becomes tlieir Fate. H a p p y they are when
thereby they avoid a worse punishment— a loka from which
indeed, no traveller— either returns ol’, onco within its
dark precincts— pursues his journey !
- ♦ ■
UNDER THE SHADOW OF G R E A T N AM ES. •
T h e common vice of trying to palm off upon the world
the crude imaginings or rhapsodical concoctions of one’s
own braiu, by claiming their utterance as under divine
inspiration, prevails largely am ong our esteemed friends,
the Spiritualists. M an y clever persons known as “ trance
speakers” and “ inspirational writers” keep the thing up
at a lively rate, turning out oration after oration and
book after book as coming from the great dead, the
planetary spirits, and even from God. The great names
of antiquity are invoked to futlier feeble books, and no
sooner is it ku o w n that a prominent character is deceased
than some mediums pretend to be his telephones, to dis­
course platitudes before sympathetic audiences. Shakes­
peare’s imagination pictured to his mind the mighty
Caesar, turned to clay, being made “ to stop a hole to
keep tlie wind away” ; but had he made a forecast of
our M odern Spiritualism, he would have found an even
worse satire upon the imparmanency of human greatness,
in the prospect of the dead Caesar being forced to say
stupidities that, alive, he would not have tolerated iu
one of his foot-soldiers. Some of our more optimistic
friends of the spiritualistic party postulate a halcyon
time when mediumistie utterances will be judged accord­
ing to their intrinsic merit, like other oratorical and
literary productions, and it is to be hoped they m ay not
deceive themselves. T h e number of bright minds that
are occupying themselves with this great subject is
assuredly on the increase, and with such men as M . A .
(Oxo n), Mr. Massey, M r. Roden Noel, and others ot'
that class, spiritualistic literature is always being eniiched.
B ut at the same time we see no diminution as regards
bogus platform sermons chaining to come from Judge
Edm onds, Hobert Dale O w e n , Epes Sargent, and Profes­
sors H are and Mapes, or books ascribed to the inspiration
of Jehovah and his ancient Spirits. Onr poor M r Bennett,
of the T ru th -seeker, had scarcely had time to die before lie
was paraded as a spirit-control by an American medium.
The future has a gloomy look indeed to us when w e think
that, despite their best endeavours to the contrary, tho
Founders of the Theosophical Society are quite as liable as
either of the eminent gentlemen abovementioned-— with
all of whom the writer was personally acquainted, and
neither of w ho m , in all probability, ever communicated
one word that their alleged mediums attribute to them
— to an involuntary p o st-m o rtem recantation of their
most cherished and avowed ideas. W e have been
prompted to these remarks by a convincing demonstra­
tion, by tho R e lig io -P ln lo so p h ic a l Jo u r n a l, that a recent
" trance address” by our dear deceased friend, Epes
Sargent, through a certain medium, was a sheer fabri­
cation. A comparison of the same with M r . Sargent’s
last and greatest spiritualistic work, “ T h e Scientific
Basis of Spiritualism,” shows beyond question that he
could never have inspired any such mediumistie oration.
W h ile it is yet time, both the founders of the Theoso­
phical Society place upon record their solemn promise
thut they will let trance mediums severely alone after
they get to u the other side.” If after this, any of tho
talking fraternity take their names in vain, they hope
that at least their theosophical confreres will unearth
this paragraph and warn the trespassers off their astral
premises. So far as we have observed the best tranoo
speakers have been those who bragged least about their
controls. “ G ood wine needs do busb,” says the adage.
 (C o n tin u e d fr o m the last N u m b e r.)
“ A PERSONAL AN D AN I M P E R S O N A L G O D .”
B y T . S u b b a R o w , b . a . , b . l . , F . T . S.
B e f o r e proceeding to explain the definition of Pa.ra-
b ra h m a m with which m y last article closes, I beg to in­
form m y readers that in the opinion of A d w a ite e s, the
U p a n ish a d s and the B ra h m a su tra s fully support their
views on the subject. It is distinctly affirmed in the
U p a n ish a ds that P a ra b ra h m a m which is but the bare
potentiality of p r a g n a * is not an aspect of p r a g n a or ego
iu any shape and that it has neither life nor conscious­
ness. H . X . will be able to ascertain that such is really
tho case on examining the M u n d a k a and M a n d u k y a U p a ­
n ish a d s. The language used here and there in the U p a ­
nishads is apt to mislead one iuto the belief that such
language points to the existence of a conscious Isw a r.
But the necessity for such language will be perceived on
examining the following remarks.
From a close examination of Mill’s Cosmological theory
as explained in m y last article, it will be clearly seen that
it will be extremely difficult to account satisfactorily for
the generation of conscious states in any hum an being
from the stand-point of the said theory. It is generally
stated that sensations arise in us from the action of the
external objects around us : they are the effects of im ­
pressions made on our senses by the objective world in
which we exist. This is simple enough to an ordinary
mind, however difficult it may be to account for the trans­
formation of a cerebral nerve-current into a state of
consciousness.
But from the stand-point of Mill’s theory w e have no
proof of the existence of any external object ; even the
objective existence of our owu senses is not a matter
of certainty to us. H o w , then, are we to account for and
explain the origin of our mental states, if they are the
only entities existing in this world ? N o explanation is
really given by saying that one mental state gives rise
to another mental state as may be shown to a certain ex­
tent by the operation of the so called psychological
“ Laws of Association.” Western psychology honestly
admits that its analysis has not gone any further. It may
he inferred, however, from the said theory that there
would be no reason for saying that a material U p a d h i
(basis) is necessary for the existence of mind or states of
consciousness.
A s is already indicated in my last article, tho Aryan
psychologists have traced this current of mental states to
its source— the eternal C h in m a tra existing everywhere.
W h e n the time for evolution comes this germ of P r a g n a
unfolds itself and results ultimately as Cosm ic id e a tio n .
Cosmic ideas are the conceptions of all the conditions of
existence in the Cosmos existing in what m ay be called
the universal mind (the demiurgic mind of the W estern
Kabalists).
This C h in m a tra exists as it were at every geometrical
point of the infinite C hidahasam . This principle then has
two general aspects. Considered as something objective
it is the etern a l A s a th — M u la p r a k r iti or U ndifferen tia ted
Cosmic m a tte r. From a subjective point of view it may
be looked upon in two ways. It is C h id a h a sa m when
considered as the field of Cosmic ideation ; and it is
C h in m a tra when considered as the germ of Cosmic idea­
tion. These three aspects constitute the highest Trinity
of the Aryan A d w a itee philosophers. It will be readily
seen that the last mentioned aspect of the principle in
question is far more important to us than the other two
aspects ; for, w hen looked upon in this aspect the princi­
ple under consideration seems to embody within itself the
great L a w of Cosmic evolution. A n d therefore the
A d w a itee philosophers have chiefly considered it in this
light, and explained their cosmogony from a subjective
point of view. In doing so, however, they cannot avoid
the necessity of speaking of a universal mind (and this is
B ra h m a , the Creator) and its ideation. But, it ought not
to be inferred therefrom that this universal mind neces-
# Tlie p o w er or th e cap a c ity th a t g iv es rise to p ercep tio n .
sarily belongs to an Omnipresent living conscious Creator,
simply because in ordinary parlance a mind is always
spoken of in connection with a particular living being. It
cannot be contended that a material U p a d h i is indispensa­
ble for the existence of mind or mental states when the
objective universe itself is, so far as we are concerned,
the result of our states of consciousness. Expressions
implying tho existence of a conscious Is w a r which are to
be found here and there in the U p a n ish a d s should not
therefore be literally construed.
It now remains to be seen how A d w a ite e s account for
the origin of mental states in a particular individual.
Apparently tho mind of a particular hum an being is not
the Universal mind. Nevertheless Cosmic ideation is the
real source of the states of consciousness in every indivi­
dual. Cosmic ideation exists everywhere ; but when
placed under restrictions by a material U p a d h i it results
as the consciousness of the individual inhering in such
U p a d h i. Strictly speaking, an A d w a itee will not admit
the objective existence of this material U p a d h i. From
his stand-point it is M a y a or illusion which exists as a
necessary co n d itio n o f p ra g n a . But to avoid confusion, I
shall use the ordinary language ; and to enable m y read­
ers to grasp m y meaning clearly the following simile
may be adopted. Suppose a bright light is placed in the
centre with a curtain around it. The nature of the light
that penetrates through the curtain and becomes visible
to a person standing outside depends upon the nature of
the curtain. If several such curtains are thus successively
placed around the light, it will have to penetrate through
all of them : and a person standing outside will only
perceive as m uch light as is not intercepted by all the
curtains. T h e central light becomes dimmer and dimmer
as curtain after curtain is placed before the observer;
and as curtain after curtain is removed the light becomes
brighter and brighter until it reaches its natural brilli­
ancy. Similarly Universal mind or Cosmic ideation be­
comes more and more limited and modified by the various
U p a d h is of which a hum an being is composed ; and when
tlie action or influence of these various U p a d h is is succes­
sively controlled, the m ind of the individual hum an being
is placed en r a p p o rt with the Universal mind and his
ideation is lost in cosmic ideation.
A s I have already said these U p a d h is are strictly
speaking the conditions of the gradual development or
evolution of B a h ip ra .g n a — or consci6usness in the present
plane of our existence— from the original and eternal
C h in m a tra which is the 7th principle in man and the
P a ra b ra h m a m of the A d w a itee s.
This then is the purport of the A d w a ita philosophy on
the subject under consideration and it is, in m y humble
opinion, in harmony with the A r h a t doctrine relating to
the same subject. T h e latter doctrine postulates the
existence of Cosmic matter in an undifferentiated con­
dition throughout tlie infinite expanse of space. Space
and time are but its aspects and P u r u s h , the 7th princi­
ple of the Universe, has its latent life in this Ocean of
Cosmic matter. T h e doctrine in question explains
Cosmogony from an objective point of view. W h e n the
period of activity arrives, portions of the whole differen­
tiate according to the latent L a w . W h e n this differen­
tiation has commenced, the concealed W is d o m or latent
C liich a h ti acts in the universal mind and Cosmic energy
or I'o h a t forms the manifested universe in accordance
with the conceptions generated in the universal mind out
of the differentiated principles of Cosmic matter. This
manifested universe constitutes a solar system. W h e n
the period of p r a la y a comes, the process of differentiation
stops and cosmic ideation ceases to exist ; and at the
time of B r a h m a p r a la y a or M a h a p ra la y a the particles of
matter lose all differentiation and the matter that; exists
in the solar system returns to its original undifferentiated
condition. Th o latent design exists in the one unborn
eternal atom, the centre which exists every where and no
where ; and this is the one life that exists every where;
N o w , it will be easily seen that the undifferentiated
Cosmic matter, P u r u s h , and the o n e l i f e of tiie A r h a t
philosophers are the M u la p r a k r iti, G h id a ka sa m and
C h in m a tra of the A d w a itee philosophers. A s regards
Cosmogony, the A r h a t stand-point is objective, and the
A d w a ite e stand-point is subjective. T h e A r h a t Cos­
mogony accounts for the evolution of the manifested solar
system from undifferentiated Cosmic matter, and A d w a itee
Cosmogony accounts for the evolution of B a h ip r a g n a
from the original C h in m a tra . A s the different condi­
tions of differentiated Cosmic matter are but the
different aspects of the various conditions of p ra g n a , the
A d w a ite e Cosmogony is but the complement of the A r h a t
Cosm ogony. The eternal Principle is precisely the same
in both the systems and they agree in denying the exis­
tence of an extra-Cosmic God.
H. X . is pleased to inform his readers that the A r h a ts
call themselves A th e is ts . T h e y will bo justified in
doing so if th eism inculcates the existence of a conscious
G o d governing the Universe by his will-power. U nd er
such circumstance the A d w a itee s will come under the
same denomination. Atheism and theism are words of
doubtful import and until their meaning is definitely as­
certained, it would be better not to use them in connection
with any system of philosophy. T h e objections raised
by H . X . to the A r h a t doctrine, and the difficulties alluded
to in his article in connection with the said system of
philosophy, will be considered in m y next article.
N O T IC E .
T h e following mistakes have unfortunately crept in
into Part I of the article on “ A Personal and an I m ­
personal G o d ,’’published in the last month's issue of tho
T h eo so p h ist :—
Vage 1 0 4 ,c o la a in 2, p a ra 1Tlin e 13, F o r “ o f th e d o c trin e ," read “ of th e
A d w a ita d o c trin e .”
)> >> 3, 12, 4i p la n of e x is te n c e ,” read jdane
of ex isten ce,
>> H 23, nom inal ego " r e a d noum enal ego,
3 3, “ w hich a re only re a litie s,’*
>)
read w hich a r e lh d only realitie s.
)» >► 4 1, ‘ claim of o u r m e n ta l s ta te s ," read
chain of ou r m e n ta l sta te s.
105 1 20, “ s p iritu a l m ind of roan,” read
>1
s p iritu a l m onad of m an.
)) >) 47, “ B a h irp ra g u a ,” read B ah ip rag n a.
68, “ p]au of co n scio u sn ess,”
JI 1) )>
read plane of consciousness.
„ la s t b u t 6 , “ u n iv e rse of ideal,” read U n iv erse
, of Ideas,
M IS S IO N A R Y PR OG R ESS IN IN D IA .
F r o m the S ta te s m a n (Calcutta) w e copy the following
statistical summary of the progress of missions in India:—
T h e conclusion to be gath ered from some recently published
statistical tables for 1881 relating to P ro te s ta n t Missions in India,
Burm a, and Ceylon, is th a t missionary effort seems a t last to be
a ttain in g to some feeble grasp on these countries. This conclu­
sion seems to come out not so much from tb e small n u m b er of
Native C hristians even now given in th e returns, a s from th a
larger measure of success th a t has of late years atten d ed mission­
ary toil as compared with the fruits of th a t toil in tim ss more r e ­
mote. In 1851, according to th ese tables, th e n u m b e r of N ativ e
C hristians in In d ia was 91,092; in 1861 tbe n u m b e r bad riseu to
138,731 ; in 1871, to 224,250; and iu 1881 to 417,372. Tho rates
of increase per cent betw een these decades is 63, 61, and 86.
S om ething u n d e r half a million couverts, th e im partial will con­
fess, m u st be regarded as b ut a sm all result for all tb e labours
these many years of P ro te s ta n t missions in In dia. E ven a com­
plete half million am ong a people nu m b erin g over two hu nd red
and fifty millions m ig h t provoke tbe comparison of a drop in the
ocean. T h e decennial rate of increase is th e poin t in which
such satisfaction as the figures contain for th e well-wisher ot
missionary enterprise, m u s t be sought. A rate of increase which
progresses from 53 to 61 and 86 per c e n t m eans large figures
when applied to thousands and hu nd red s of thousands. If, for
example, the ratio is maintained for th e cu rre n t decade, the
P ro te s ta n t missions will be able to boast in 1891 of over a
million converts, and another generation m ay see th e native
convert recognized as a political factor.
Most progress in the way of conversion has been made ia
Madras. Indeed two-thirds of the converts are concentrated
iu th a t Presidency. I n 1881, out of the to tal of 417,372, the
Madras c ontingent n um bered 299,742 ; hav ing risen to th a t figure
from 160,955 in 1871. The people who ap pear to have the least
ta ste for C hristian doctrin e nre th e F u u jab ees ■, ia all th e broad
P u n ja b the P ro te s ta n t missions could m u ster in 1881 no mora
th a u 4,762 couverts. T he total Native Christian population u n d e r
charge of the missions in Ceylon, B u rm a and India iu 1881 ia
given a t 588,590, against 308,363 in 1871, 213,370 in 1861, and
102,951 in 1851. _ _ _
The missions had in In d ia in 1881, 569 mission stations, and a
staff of 586 foreign ordained missionaries, and 461 native mis­
sionaries. All these figures show an increase compared with tha
figures of the last decennial period. In 1871 the stations ara
given at 423, the foreign missionaries at 488, and native missiona­
ries at 225. The missions also counted 2,988, “ lay p reachers” in
1881, ag ainst 2,528 such agents in 1871- As the majority of th a
N ative Christians may be presumed to be in humble circum s­
tances as regards tbe goods of this world, it m ust be ta ken as
a stro ng proof of the general earnestness of their convictions
th a t th e 528-590,of them existing in India, Burma, and Ceylon, in
1881 c ontributed Rs. 2,28,517 towards th e support of their faith.
T h e above statistics are copied, not because they ara
trustworthy, but simply to show how our amiable friends,
the managing missionaries, utilise figures to m ake a good
showing at home. The S ta te s m a n concedes quite too
much in admitting even that “ missionary effort seems at
last to be attaining to some feeble grasp on these coun­
tries.” Feeble as it may have been in 1881, it is despite
natural increase and the recruitments from famine waifs
daily growingfeebler, for the H indo o educated class is
becoming more and more alive to the merits of their
ancient faiths, and using their influence intelligently to
m ake them k n o w n to the illiterate. T h e missionaries
have done much for H in d u Education,but their “ converts”
are, by their o w n admission, almost entirely confined to
the outcast and grossly ignorant classes. M a n y a holy,
sincere missionary li;is gone bravely to his death with tha
joy that fervid zeal imparts, and lakhs of kind Christian
hearts at home have lavishly given money to the cause ;
but in spite of all there is no hope that the day will
ever dsiwn w hen India will be christianized. The Census
of the Native States of Rajputana, taken in 1811, has
just been published. From it we find how the mission­
ary statistics have been prepared and how utterly mis­
leading they are. In the whole of Rajputana, oat of a
population of ten and a quarter millions, there are only
1,2 9 4 Christians, including 168 Europeans; “ a fact”
says the P io n e e r , “ which contrasts in rather an amusing
way with statements embodied in certain tables [those
quoted in the S ta te s m a n ’s article above] lately issued
under the auspices of the CalcuttaMissionary Conference.”
Th e Calcutta reverends aro deft hands at statistics, iu
proof of which we advise the curious to compare tho
figures given by the Rev. M r . Hastiein his edition of the
able work npon the "F o re ig n Missions of Protestantism,”
by Prof. Christlieb of B o n n University, Every item in
that book which tells against missions in general or
against M r . Hastie’s sect in particular, appeara to havo
been altered b y some one. T h e P io n eer remarks of tho
Calcutta Conference tables : “ According to that publi­
cation, there were no fewer than 919 Native co m m u n itie s
in Rajputana in 1881,— not to mention any that Rom an
Catholics m ay have set on foot ! A s a rule good peopla
interested in missionary enterprise in India innocently
accept as so m uch gospel the estimates missionaries ara
pleased to m ake as to the statistics of their triumphs,
and as nobody'cares to check them, they are not often
shown up with such startling effect as in the present case.
So dam aging an exposure could not be passed over ia
silence, and so the issue of the P io n eer for Fe b . 1 con-
tiaued the following editorial comment upon a protest
which h a d meanwhile been received :—
A correspondent explains th a t we have m ista k e n th e mis­
sionary statistics abo ut the n u m b er of C hristian co m m un ities ia
R ajp utana, as given in tb e tables lately issued at C alcutta u n d er
th e a u th o rity of the Missiouary Conference. O u r correspondent
s a y s :—“ H e (the w riter of our note) was probably led into this
mistake by noticing th e h eadin g at th e top of th e columns. T his
is entitled ‘ N ative C hristian Comm unities.’ B ut im m ediately
below, th e sub-heading gives N a t i v e C h r i s t i a n s in 1881. E v ery
p age of the book is th u s h e a d e d ........... ” and a very m islead ing
way of heading every page this seems to be, rem in d in g one of
the London linen d ra p e r’s system of ticketing goods Is. a yard in
large letters, w ith l l i i i . added ia sm all figures overshadow ed by
th e If,

Jc flrrs tv t[je <2Bbitor.
NO R E V E L A T IO N IN F A L L IB L E .
I t is w itli great, re g r e t t h a t I n o tice in th e A r y a for Fel>
r n a r y th e following p a ra g r a p h : —
“ Two B r a h m o G e n t l i s m k n : — B ab n Siris C h a n d r a Basu,
“ B. A., nnd L ala R a m k i s h e n ,m e m b e r s of th e B ra h m o Sainnj,
“ w h o signed th e a p p licatio n form s f o r mi-m bership of tho
“ L a h o r e A rya S am aj, on th e d ay of th e la s t an n iv e r sa ry , havo
“ b een d e c la re d ineligible by th e V ice -P resid e n t, L a la J e w a n
“ Das, so lo n g as the}7 w o u ld n o t, in co m m o n w ith oilier
“ F ello w s of tho S a m a j, a c c e p t th e V e d a s a s i n f a l l i b l e
“ R e vela tio n . ”*
R e sp e c tin g and a d m i r i n g Swanii D a y a n a n d , as wc all m ust,
n s a g e n tle m a n of g re a t le a r n in g , p ure life a n d noble aim s, it
c a n n o t b u t p a in all lovers of tlie T r u t h , w ho h av e e m a n c i­
p a te d th e m se lv e s f r o m 't h o f e t te r s of P rie s tc r a ft, to learn
t h a t a S o ciety ovor w hich he, D a y a n a n d , presides, a d o p ts as
a basic ten et, tho in f a llib ility of a n y w r i t t e n d o c u m e n ts .
Of all th e e rron eou s d o g m a s t h a t hav e sh o w e re d tlipir
curses on th o h ap less race of men, no ono h a s led to moro
d is a stro u s consequences and no one m ore m e r it s the r e p r o ­
b atio n of all who love t r u t h or th o ir fellow -inen, t h a n this
p ern icio ns and deceptive theory of th e i n f a l l i b i l i t y of sacred
books, bo th e y Bibles, K o ra n s , Vedas, o r w h a t not.
■ T h is d og m a is the evil soil o u t of w h ic h has ever s p r u n g
an d flourished t h a t m o n s tro u s an d poisonous g r o w th of P r i e s t­
craft, w h ic h h a s stained a n d sn llied every p a g e of H u m a n
H is t o r y w ith d e g ra d a tio n a n d m isery, w ith blood a n d fire.
W e r e th ei’efore th e good sw am i, ten-fold as learn ed and
as p u r e m ind ed as ho is, w ere his aim s a n h u n d r e d fold
n ob ler, h i g h e r a n d moro unselfish t h a n t h e y are, it w o u ld
still be th e sim p le d u ty of overy m a n , ho w ev er h u m b l o a u d
nn len rn ed , w ho h as a t leas t le a r n t from H i s t o r y th e t r u e
b e a ri n g a n d inevitable o u tc o m e of t h i s f a t a l Dogma., to
w ith s ta n d h im boldly when he a t t e m p t s to re in fo rc e it
w ith his g r e a t a u th o r it y , a n d tell him , plain ly , t h a t t h o u g h in
o th er m atters, ho m a y be as a God, in th is, h e is a li k e a t r a it o r
to th e c au se o f h u m a n i ty an d to th o h i g h e s t T r u t h ,
These a ro s tr o n g words, b n t w h a t w o rd s can be too stron g,
n a y w h a t w o rd s can be s t r o n g e n o n g h to co udcm n an
a t t e m p t to reirnpose upon m a n k i n d , t h a t g r e a t e s t c u rs e of
all p a st ages th o d o g m a of th e infallibility of w ritte n d o c u ­
m e n ts ? T h a t th e a t t e m p t is made in good f a ith , c an n o t a lter
th e position ; it w ill absolve tlio a g e n t fro m m oral resp o n si­
b ility , b u t i t c a n n o t absolve u s from th e d u t y of o p p osin g
h im and e x p o s i n g tho real c h a r a c t e r of his actio n . If, haply,
h a v in g co nv inced himself t h a t i t was an u n iv e r s a l panacea,
some S w a m i, good, pure, learned , s h o u ld , u n d e r som e fatal
delusion, set to work to mix w ith th e w a te rs of overy s tr e a m
an d well to w h ic h he was able to o b ta in access, som e su b ­
stance t h a t tho whole p a st experience of th e world had
proved to be a d e ad ly poison, could an y words be too stro n g
to re p ro b ate h is action, any w a rn in g , t.o all who m i g h t possi­
bly become his victims, too e m p h a t ic ? A n d, t h o u g h it were
b u t a poor lab ou rer, who saw a n d u n d e rs to o d w h a t was
b e in g w ro u g h t by th is g re a t learn ed and o th erw ise good m an,
c o u ld wo blaruo e v e n h i m for liftin g u p his h u m b lo
voice, to warn his fellows ?
B n t th e r e is no k n o w n poison of th e m in e ra l, vegeta ble or
a n im a l king do m s w h ich ever has, o r e v e r conld, w o rk snoh
wholesale d e s tru c tio n 011 the h u m a n ra c e as has this m en tal
poison, to w hich we owe h alf th e wars, h a lf th e sin and m isery,
and all the relig iou s persecutions, th o mapsacres, b u rn in g s,
to r tu r i n g s t h a t h a v e of tim es gone f a r to change this
ea rth ly paradiso, th is fair b r i g h t world, into a Hell ?
T h ere fore a n insignificant la b o u r e r as I a m i n th is g roa t
vine-yard, a n d u n w o r th y t h o ’ I m a y be, m o ra lly considered,
to loose tho latclicts of S w am i D a y a n a n d ’s shoes, I offer no
ap o lo g y fo r t h u s ra is in g m y h u m b le voice, a g a in s t th e p e r n i­
cious, th e d e a d ly dogma, w h ic h it w o u ld seem t h a t ho h as
i n t ro d u c e d as th o basis of his teac h in g s.
L e t ns first clea rly u n d e rs ta n d w h a t th is d o g m a m e a n s —■
In fa llib ility of t h e V e d a s (or a n t o th e r s c r i p t u r e s ) m ean s
n o t h i n g else, b u t t h e infallibility of th e p r i e s t , w h om each
la y m a n follow's. I t is n o t alon e fro m H is t o r y , a. p o s t e r i o r i ,
t h a t th is is e s t a b l i s h e d ; we can prove it, a p r i o r i fr o m th e
c o nditions of th e case.
N o m a t t e r h ow c le a rly a n y s c r i p t u r e m i g h t b e w ritte n ,
i t w ou ld alw ay s c o n ta in passages s u s c e p tib le of a t l e a s t tw o
*Tlie Italics are mine.—A, 0 , II,
in te r p r e ta ti o n s , a n d th e p r i e s t becom es th e a r b i t e r of w hich
of th e tw o sh o u ld be accopted. B u t as a m a t t e r of f a c t all
sacred s c rip tu re s, c o n ta in m u c h t h a t is th e reverse of clearly
w r i t t e n ; of m o s t of th e m before th e y becom e w id e ly a c k n o w ­
ledged as infallible, th e l a n g u a g e had ceased to be g e n e ra lly
Bpokcn or u n d e rs to o d ; in th e processes of re p e titio n an d r e p r o ­
duction an infin ite n u m b e r of variou s roadings hav e c r e p t i n ;
c o n tr a d ic tio n s an d d is crep an cies havo m a de th e ir a p p e ara n c e
in all p arts ; d o u b ts havo arisen as to w h a t po rtio n s a re really
a u t h e n t ic a n d w h a t h av e been a dd ed later, so t h a t even
a ss u m in g t h a t in some rem ote p a st an y sacred s c r ip tu r e
really was an infallible revelation, a t an y lo n g s u b s e q u e n t
period, w h a t is to be h e ld to be tho infallible revelation,
m u s t d ep en d u p o n t h e views held by a p a rtic u la r te a c h e r o r
p riest, or by a school or body or “ c h u r c h ” of such.
No m an, th erefo re, u n d e r s ta n d in g th e cond itio ns an d capa­
ble of re a s o n in g from thoso can fail to perceive t h a t th e
d o g m a of th o infallibility of any s c r ip tu r e necessarily leads
to sp iritu a l despotism , p rie s tly rule and p r i e s t- c r a f t— a n d
no m an who h a s s t u d ie d H i s t o r y to an y p u rp o s e can q u e s tio n
t h e fact, tliar, d e s p ite th e m y ria d s of learned, pious, pure,
and s a i n tl y m e n t h a t all p riestly bodies h av e co n ta in e d , h ie r ­
archical o rganizations a n d p rie sto ra ft h ave e n ta ile d moro
m isery 011 m a n k i n d t h a n all o th e r sources of sufferin g p u t
to g e th e r.
E v en, therefore , w ere i t certain t h a t an y s c r ip tu r e wa.s, afc
its first ap pe aran ce, an infallible revelation, it w o u ld be a
w ick ed th i n g n m v to p r e a c h it, as infallible, first b ec a u se ex ­
perience has d e m o n s tr a t e d th e in evitab ly fatal r e s u lts of su ch
p re ach in g s, an d second b ecause every h o n e s t sc h o la r k n o w s
th e im p o ssib ility , a ft e r th e lapse of a co u ple of th o u s a n d
years, of m a k in g a t all c e rta in w h at an y s c r i p t u r e o rig in a l­
ly c o n ta in e d , or w h a t its c o n te n ts (the w hole plan e of t h o u g h t
h a v i n g s h ifte d ) really signified.
I f th e n Sw am i D a y a n a n d is proaching th e V e d a s as a n i n ­
fa llib le revelatio n, he is, h o w e v e r good, p u re an d h ig h his
m o tives, d o in g a w icked t h i n g a n d h elp in g to refo rg e a n d
reim po se th e r u s ty f e t te r s of a now grow ling ly obsolete p r i e s t­
c r a f t ; a n d if h e is p r e a c h i n g his rem arkable, amplified ( a n d
I am b o u n d to say a f t e r s t u d y in g , th e o rig in als a n d literal
t r a n s la t io n s by e m i n e n t s c h o l a r s , E u ro p e a n a n d N ativ e, of
several passages, to m y v i e w , d i s t o r t e d ) tr a n s la tio n s as infallible
re v e la tio n , th e n he is c la i m i n g e it h e r e q u a lity w i t h th e
D ivin e S o u r c e w hence th e V ed as, as he tea c h es, s p r u n g , or
a f r e s h plcrmry in s p ira tio n from t h a t sou rce— a u d I fearlessly
ch allen ge him , e i t h e r to j u s ti f y th e evil d o g m a of infallible
r ev elatio n or to s u b s ta n ti a te his own p le n a r y in s p ira tio n .
L e t it bo clearly u n d e rs to o d t h a t I do n o t p re s u m e to
q u e stio n his s c h o l a r s h i p j I10 m a y or m a y n o t be th e g re a t e s t
liv in g V e d ic s c h o l a r ; b u t unless ho is i n s p i r e d , his in t e r p r e ­
ta t i o n s of th e V edas a r e only his o p in io n s , w hic h m a y be
r i g h t o r w r o n g , and w h ich m u s t like th e opinions of all h u m a n
beings, in clu d o s o m e erro r, a n d to a t t e m p t to affix tho seal of
infallib ility to a n y moro m o r t a l ’s opinions is s im p ly , to m y
notion b la s p h e m o u s.
B u t if ho claim s p le n a ry insp iration , w h ere is th e proof of
t.h is ? W h a t m i g h ty w orks h a s he w ro u g h t ? W h a t evidence
hfis h e given t h a t th r o u g h him th e Divine, a n d th e Divine o n l y
w ith no i n t e r m ix t u r e of mitral and e a rt h ly voiccs, is speaking ?
Thero are m a n y o th ers as learned, as earnest, as p u re of life aa
h im se lf who u tt e rl y r e p u d i a t e m u c h of his in te rp re ta tio n s ,
w h a t m ore reason is t h e r e fo r u s to a cce p t h im ns in s p ire d
r a t h e r th a n t h e s e ?
B u t, to pass on, it is f u r t h e r clearly d em o nstra ble to all who
care to s t u d y a n d c o n sid e r th e su bject, th a t n o S c rip tu re t h a t
we have in th e world can p o s s i b l y be an Infallible R ev elation .
F o r th e re ia no S c r i p tu r e , t h a t is n o t in m a n y passages
obscure, t h a t is n o t op en to n u m e r o u s diverse, if n o t
c o n tra d ic to ry , in te rp re ta tio n s , t h a t is n o t pervaded by v a ri­
ous roadings, t h a t does n o t involve discrepancies an d c o n tr a ­
dictio n s an d in re g a r d to th e significations of w h ic h th e w isest
a n d b est m en in all ages havo n o t p e rp e r tu a l ly disag re ed.
Now i t seem s to me self-evident, t h a t h a d a Divine O m n i­
p o te n t R u le r of th e u niv erse ever seen fit to p r o m u lg a t e to
th is w orld an i n f a l l i b l e R evelation, IIo would n ev er have do ne
H i s w o rk im p e r f e c tly ; th e r o would h a v e been no o b s c u r ity in
H i s w ords, 110 room fo r div erse i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s ; m e n w o uld
no more have been able to in tro d u c e vario u s readings, t h a n
to a lt e r th e e a r t h ’s o r b i t ; n o th i n g b u t h a rm o n y c o u ld have
prev ailed fr o m t h e first to t h e la s t l e t t e r ; an d las tly a n in ­
fallible re velatio n of t h e D ivino T r u t h m u s t be so c lea r t h a t
m e n c o u ld n o t alw a y s be differing a b o u t ifc ? F u r t h e r m o r e
it may bo reasonably argued that uo infallible revelation of
Divine truth would be of any uso to ns mortals ; for as such
a revelation mast oontaiu all truth, it would be incapable of
realization by limited und conditioned lmman intellects, and
it is therefore not only certain tbat no such revelatiou over
lias beon mado but incredible that it ever should bo mado.
Is there then no truth for us, no inspiration p On the
contrary, to overy pure thinking mind, those fragments of the
truth that it is able to reulizo und assimilate surely reach,
and, as for inspiration, overy pure and good man, speaking
from liis spiritual nature is more or less inspired. Hut all
this is very different from infallible revelation and plenary
inspiration,
If while, still, in “ this lifo of error, ignorance and strife,’’
it is permissible to hazard surmises, I would suy that Divine
Truth resides only with the Onk a n d Only; that each man
who develops and cultivates his spiritual nature, obtains, as
ho rises in tho scale of spiritual evolution, less aud less
distant and distorted views of that truth, (or of suoh portions
of it, as his still earthly nature and limitations admit
within his mental grasp) ; that this has been true in all ages
and is 60 to this day, and that consequently whilo 110 sacred
scriptures, which are all human products, are infallible revela­
tions, all are more or less of revelations of truth, all havo been
moro or less inspired, all contain, oven as wo road them,
much spiritual food of inestimable value, aud could we now
fully realize what their writers intended, would doubtless
yield far more of this.
But for each one of ns, the only infallible revelation is that
whieli reaches a man from his owu spiritual nature, and
which, as he ponders over tho scriptures or abstracts his
inner consciousness in meditation, suddenly flashes out tho
light of life upon tho dead words of some old text or
shadowy form of some waudering thought and wakes theso
thereafter into living truths and divine revolations—fo r him !
F o e h i m !— but by no means necessarily, or probably even,
for all other men ofeven his owu time, let alone of far distant
ages.
A d m i t t i n g th a t t r u th is in f in i te — and t h a t o u r m in d s a re
fin ite— t h a t n o t only is th e p o in t of view of e ach i n d i v id u a l
somewhat different from t h a t of even his n e i g h b o u r ’s, b u t
t h a t t h e s t a n d -p o in t of d iffe re n t n a tio n s and d itfe re u t ages
are w idely diiferont, how c a n an y re a lly wise, s p i rit u a ll y
m in d e d m an, c ontend t h a t any ScitlPTURii, leas t of all 0110
iivo th o u s a n d y e a rs old, can be a n infallible re v e la tio u to
m a n k i n d generally of th e p r e s e n t day .
It m ay be trite, at least it may faithfully reproduce some
■view of some portion of the truth, but it will be 110 revela­
tion, least of all an infallible ono, to any so placed that they
are no longer able to see that particular portion of the truth
or to see it from the direction in which it was originally
psychographed.
U n q u e s ti o n a b ly m a n y of tho p r i m a r y a n d h ig h e s t (a n d
th erefore as i t wore most d is ta n t ) tr u th s are so s i tu a t e d
t h a t 110 local differences of position, n o t even th e s tu p e n d o u s
sweep of th e w o rld of inte llect th r o u g h its o r b i t d u r i n g th e
la st five th o u s an d yea rs, can m a terially affect th e v ie w ,b u t w ith
th e g re a t m ass of se c o n d a r y t r u t h s it is w idely different, an d
w h a t fo u r or livo th o u s a n d y ears ago were “ s a v i n g ” t r u t h s ,
(sines a sa v in g t r u t h is ono t h a t th e s o u l ’s eye can see)
are m a n y of th e m now 110 lo ng er su c h , h a v in g s u n k below
th e m e n ta l horizon of tho ag e.
The highor each man raises himself spiritually the more
and more lie is able to grasp with Philosophic gaze tho
spiritual truths of the Past, aye und of tho Future, but to
preach to the work-a-day world of today, either Iho Gospel of
the dead Past or of tho unborn Future as an infallible
revelation, is not only to my mind wicked, as I have already
explained, but vanity and foolishness ; and even if the Vedas
or tho books of Genesis ever were (which I have shown that
they never conld have been) infallible revelations to the
generation in which they were produced they could not
possibly, from the conditions of thecase,be infallible revelations
for the men of today.
N o w all this is an absolute truth to me; I hnow it as a
certainty— but, it by 110 means follows, that it is a truth to
others, and if therefore you or others dispute it I shall bo
neither surprised nor vexed, though I shall be ready and anxi­
ous to defend m y position, which I havo now sketchily
outlined, against all comers, with a mass of arguments with
which I have not at present thought it expedient to troublo
you or bore your readers.*
Yours truly,
A. 0. H U M E .
L I G H T W A N T E D B Y A P A R S I.
D e a r M a d a m e , — You advocate all ancient fuiths and assert
that they are all founded 011 occult science. Your columns
bave, up to this time, largely expounded Vodanta aud B ud­
dhist philosophies. But Zoroastrianism has received no such
attention. Tho blame lies not with you, who havo done
more than your duty, but with the followers of tho faith.
The chargo imputed to them, however, is greatly extenuated,
wlieu we take into consideration the strong materialistic
influences with which Time has surrounded them.
Bo that as it may, I, for my part, am greatly perplexed.'
I have no cue to read between lines the little bit of Zoroas­
trian scriptures now extani. Occult science hinges on tlia
transmigration-of-souls theory, aud I have still to find out
whether tho idea was accepted or rejected by Our Blessed
Lord. I want also to know what Ahurmazd and Ahriman
really mean, as seen from tho stand-point of Occultism. This
latter thing you seem to understand, as is evident from a
foot-uote in the Theosophist of October last. I am eager to
know all your views 011 the point. An exhaustive treatment
of the subject will doubtless benefit the Parsis in general
and the litt lo band of your Parsi adherents In particular.
B o m b a y , \ i t h Jany. 1883. A N F. T. S.
E d i t o r ’s N o t e . — If our brother had been an nttentivo
render from the first, he would havo seen that some very ex-
celleut articles upon Zoroastrianism by Parsis, have appeared.
And our very first number contained an article— “ Cross and
Firo” — from which he ought to get important hints. More~
over Col. Olcott’s lecture at the Bombay Town Hall, last year,
(of which wo can spare a copy if our correspondent has
none) has been pronounced by Parsi scholars, including
priests, a very valuable criticism upon “ The Spirit of tlio
Zoroastrian Religion.1’ But, as our friend observes, it is only
tho laziness or indifference of his co-religionists (himself
included) thut has prevented a fuller exposition of the Masdi-
asnian faith in these pages.
-- ♦---
T H E “ B L E S S I N G " O F T I IE B R O T H E R S .
[ A c o r r e s p o n d e n t calls our attention to the paragraph 011
p. 66 of the pamphlet, H ints on Esoteric Theosophy, iu wliieli
a person not mentioned by namo is made to say ( hat ho came
out to India with us, but “ never heard a hint of the Brothers,”
until afterwards, and asks ns to explain. W e cannot identi­
fy tho person meant by tho anthor of the pamphlet, aud
hence conclude that he is purely imaginary— an eifigy set up
to hang au explanation upon. For nothing is moro certain
than that we spoko— too freely us they think — of the
“ B r o t h e r s ” and tlieir powers long before leaving America.
I 11 fact, Col. Olcott mentionod both in public lectures at N ew
York aud Boston in the hearing of large audiences. However,
let 11s set the question at rest once for all by re-publishing
from a London journal (tho Spiritualist, for June 28, 1878)
a most convincing testimony by an unimpeachablo witness.
The writer of the letter below was His Serene Highness tbe
late Prince Emil von Sayn-Wittgenstein, A . D . C. of His
Majesty the late Czar of Russia, and one of the earliest (and
moet earnestly interested) members of the Theosophical
Society. That a nobleman of such exalted rank should have
so openly acknowledged the protecting guardianship of our
B R O T H E R S , was certainly a proof of great moral courage,
* O ur learn ed co rre sp o n d en t o u g h t to feci sa ro th a t >ve would be tlio
last persou ill th e w orld to d is p u te th e r ig h t of an y m an to ex p re ss Ilia
opinion upon tlio s u b je c t in q u estio n ju s t in th e very sam e w ords ns
used by him above. Wo agreo w ith h im h e a r tily iu e v e ry th in g h e
sa y s of tho p o rn icio u s schem e of in fa l lib iity . B ut, u n less Mr. H u m e
h as e n tire ly fo rg o tte n t h a t th e F o u n d e rs of tho T h eo so p h ical S o ciety
h av o beon tho first victim s of Sw am i D a y a n a n d ’s b ig o try , an d th a t
Lo denounced an d tra d u c e d them m o st b itte rly p re c ise ly b ecau se th e y
ro fu sed to recognizo th o in fa llib ility w h e th e r of h im self o r of th e V tda
■—his foar th a t tho o d ito r m ay d isp u to liis p o sitio n w o u ld seem
uncalled for in d e e d .— E d .
while his known character for personal devotion to the truth
lends an especial weight to his testimony. It is the most
usual of thiugs for our Asiatic friends in writing to us to
bespeak the “ blessing” of the Mahatmas. This results
from the surviving tradition of such personal interpositions,
banded down from a hoary antiqnity. This letter of Prince
Wittgenstein ought to strike Europeans as a fact going to
Bbow that this inherited belief is not altogether baseless.
W c shall be more than satisfied if at the same time it does
not prompt many of them— and many others who are not
Europeans— to demand that the “ blessing” may also be ex­
tended to them. It is only too common for persons who
have never done one thing to entitle thom to the slightest
consideration by an adept, to put in a claim that their dis­
eases shall be miraculously cured, their fortunes bettered,
ox-their idle curiosity satisfied, as tho price of their allegiance
to the cause of Theosophy. Such persons were never taught,
or at least never heeded, the time-honoured maxim of Occult
Science, “ First Desorve, then Desire.— E d .]
P r in c e W it t g e n s t e in ' s L e t t e r .
To t h e E d i t o r o p t h e “ S p i r i t u a l i s t . ”
Allow me, for the sake of tliose w ho believe in spirit
predictions, to tell you a story about incidents which
happened to me last year, and about which I, for months
past, have wished to talk to you, without, till n o w , find­
ing time to do so. T h e narrative m ay perhaps be a
warning to some of the too credulous persons to w hom
every medial message is a gospel, and w ho too often
accept as true what are perhaps the lies of some light
spirit, or even the reflection of their own thoughts or
wishes. I believe that the fulfilment of a prediction is
such an exceptional thing that in general one ought to
set no faith in sach prophecies, but should avoid them
as much a9 possible, lest they have undue influence upon
our mind, faith, and free will.
A year and some months ago, while getting ready to
join our army on the Danube, I received first one letter,
and afterwards a few more from a very kind friend of
mine, and a powerful medium in America, beseeching
me, in very anxious words, not to go to the war, a spirit
having predicted that the campaign would be fatal to me,
and haviug ordered m y correspondent to write to m e the
following words : “ Beware of the war saddle ! It will
be your death, or worse still.”
I confess that these reiterated warnings were not
agreeable, especially w hen received at the moment of
starting upon such a journey; but I forced myself to
ilisbelievo them. M y cousin, the Baroness A d elm a V a y ,
to w hom I had written about the matter, encouraged me
in doing so, and I started.
N o w it seems that this prediction became kn o w n also
to some of m y Theosophical friends at N e w Y o rk , who
were indignant at it, and decided to do their utmost to
m ake it of no avail. A n d especially one of the leading
Brethren of the Society, utterly un kn o w n to m e, and re­
siding far away from America, promised, by the force of
his will, to shield me from every danger.*
T h e fact is, that during the wliolo campaign I did not
Bee one shot explode near me, aud that, so far as danger
waa concerned, I could just as well have remained at
Vevey. I was quite ashamed of myself, and sought
occasion, now and then, to hear at least once the familiar
roar and whistle which, in my younger years, were such
usual music to me. All in vain ! W h e n e v e r I was near
a scene of action the enemy’s fire ceased. I remember
having once, during the third bloody storming of Plevna
■with m y friend, your Colonel Wellesley, stolen away
from the Emperor’s staff, in order to ride down to a bat­
tery of ours, which was exchanging a tremendous fire
with the redoubt of Grivitsa. A s soon as we, after aban­
doning our horses further back in the brushwood, arrived
at the battery, the Turkish fire ceased as by enchant­
ment, to begin again only when w e left it half an hour
* The friend and favourite Brother of Choban Koot-Hoomi whom
liis Anglo-Indian correspondents have surnamed “ The illustrious.” Out that
yurt* wrote personally to the Prince.—
later, although our guns kept on blazing away at them
without interruption. I also tried twice to see some of
the bombarding of Giurgiewo, where all the windows
were broken, doors torn out, roofs broken down at the
Railway Station by the daily firing from Rustchuk. I
stopped there once a whole night, and another time half
a day, always in the hope of seeing something. A s long
as I was there the scene was as quiet as in times of peace,
nnd the firing recommenced as soon as I had left the
place. Som e dayB after m y last visit to Giurgiewo,
Colonel Wellesley passed it, and had part of his luggage
destroyed by a shell, which, breaking through the roof
into the gallery, tore to pieces two soldiers who were
standing near.
I cannot believe all this to have beeh the sole result of
chance. It was too regular, too positive to be explained
thus. It is, 1 am sure of it, magic, the more so as the
person who protected m e thus efficaciously is one of the
most powerful masters of the occult science professed
by the Theosophists.
I can relate, by w ay of contrast, the following fact,
which happened during the war on the D a n u be in 1854
nt the siege of Silistria. A very distinguished Engineer
General of ours, w ho led our approaches, was a faithful
Spiritualist, and believed every word which he wrote
dow n by the help of a psychograph as a genuine revela­
tion from superior spirits. N o w these spirits had pre­
dicted to him that he would return from the war unhurt,
and covered with fame aud glory. Th e result of this
was that he exposed himself openly, madly, to the
enemy’s fire, till at last a shot tore off bis leg, and he
died some weeks later. This is the faith we ought to
have in predictions, and I hope m y narrative m ay be
welcome to you, as a warning for m any.
Truly yours,
(Prince) E . W I T T G E N S T E I N , (F . T . S.)
V ev ey , S w it z e r l a n d ,
1 8 th J u n e 1878. j
I A N E X C E L L E N T M A G I C M IR l l O R .
[O the many kinds of divination glass or Magic-mirror
f
that have been devised, the one described by a theosophical
brother in the following note is among the best. It has tho
advantage over a goblet of water and other shining objects,
that the eye of the gazer is not fatigued by a large body of
white rays, whilo it possesses most of the good qualities of
the ancient concave black mirror of the East. W e recom­
mend a trial of it to tliose who are investigating this most
interesting field of “ conscious claii voyan.” If a “ caraffece”
is not available a clean, round, smooth inkstand filled with
ink will do. It is always difficult for beginners to distin­
guish between subjective mind-pietures seen by the untrained
seer or seeress and actual reflections from the akasa or
Astral light: only long practice makes perfect. Without
saying whether what our friend’s wife did see in her mir­
ror had or had not much importance, it will suffice to give
the general assurance that every member o f our lociety who
earnestly makes researches in every lawful branch of occult
science,, has the chance of help from not only “ chelas” bat
those who are higher than they. Provided, always that they
are themselves “ living the life” described in H ints on Esoteric
Theosophy. Experimenters must however always avoid exces­
sive taxation of the nervous system. A clairvoyant or
psychometer should never be forced to see longer than they
feel good for them nor what is distasteful. Violation of this
rale may entail most serious consequences— E d .]
H a v in g read a great deal about magic-mirrors, I
wanted to get ono, but not knowing where to procure it,
I thought of m aking one for myself. I took a smooth
glass goglet © (or cCCraffe) and filling it with black ink
sealed the mouth. Afterwards I m ade m y wife look
into it when in a short time she began to see whitish
clouds with white birds flying away. A few minutes later
she saw tho scene of a solitary place with trees, & c ., and
scene changing, there appeared a most beautiful fe­
male form, of surpassing whiteness with hands and feet un­
 covered. S he had a slight white covering over the body
and her long tresses of hair fell below her waist___She
was standing before a mirror,- and w hen asked to give-
some communication made some unintelligible gestures. I
told m y wife to give up the scene and look for something
else; w hen the scene changed and there appeared a
brilliant rainbow. N ext came the scene of a very pecu­
liar house, and on investigating the inside there appear­
ed an old m an with a long white beard. H is complexion
was as white as that of an European, and he had a
rod tapering cap on his head with a long white
gow n. H e was sitting on a little cushion in a con­
templative attitude. A mental question was put to
him as to w ho he was, w hen he pointed his forefinger
upwards. Afterwards it suggested itself to m e to ask
him to write his name in English characters. W h e n this
request was made, the scene changed. T h e n came a
flash of white light and on it rose in golden color the
following letters “ S a k h Breej lal.” T h e letters wore
in the running epistolary hand. I am not sure whether
m y wife read the first four letters quite right. “ Breej
lal” is a common nair^e am ong the K a r ja t H indus of
Upper India. After reading these letters, the whole of
the goblet seemed to have become enveloped with light
.and the seance, closed. H a lf an hour afterwards I asked
her to seo again when the same picture appeared. I
asked m y wife to question the old m an whether he could
give us some communication. N o distinct gesture was
made. W e waited for some time and at last asked him
again to write something for us, w hen the flood of white
came in again and then appeared the following words
“ D o n ’t disturb m e.” After such a message we closed
the seance. A g a in after some time m y wife looked into
the goblet, not wishing to see the old m an when there
came the scene of a jungle with an enormous troecovering
a small cave in which thero sat a Y o gi with a dhotee,
reading a largo book. H e was middle-aged, and some
brass pots wore lying about him. H o was sitting down in
a peculiar attitude and would not give his name or answer
any question. Across his forehead there was some white
sandal applied and in the middle was a red vertical mark
........ A t night we had another seance, and then m y wife
saw two large mountain peaks, half covered with snow, close
to each other. Between these two was an arched entrance,
and at first she could not get the scene of the interior.
After a while the interior became, a little accessible and
she began to sm e ll some nice scent as o f flo w ers. Th e first
room that she came across was full of books. In the next •
room, she saw a young m an sleeping. After a while tlie
young m an got up and showed that, he had a white shirt
ou. H e was asked kindly to write out his nam e and
there appeared the following words “ Jabhea.” H e was
then asked who he was, and he wrote “ Chela.” H e was
asked to give his Master’s name, but he shook his head.
H e was then requested to give some communication
when he wrote “ not n o w .” After that he was asked
whether he k n e w M a d a m e Blavatsky and he wrote “ yes.”
Here the seance closed. This is the first time m y wife had
a trial of a magic mirror and it was only for a day. I have
read a good deal of the pictures that are seen in magic
mirrors, but I have not read anywhere that intelligent
communications are written in the w ay we got them on
the goblet. Tho “ D o n ’t disturb m e ” completely aston­
ished u s; and I don’t k n o w how to account for such
writing. M y wife says that seeing in tho mirror is far
less fatiguing and more pleasant than psyehometry in
which the pictures are indistinct. This little description
of our gropings in the dark will amuse you for a few
minutes. W e never wished for any particular picture,
neither did we expcet. any of the communications. Perhaps
you kno w of such writing and how it occurs.
-- ♦---
[T he following le tte rs appeared recently in tlie P o o n a O b s e rv e r .
W ere it not for a few flagrant misconceptions in le tte r the. firBt
and whicb it seems alm ost liopeleas to dispel from th e m in d a of
the average public, it would not be worth noticing. But since a
Theosophist undertook the weary task, we republish it together
Tyith the answer.— -Ed.]
A W O R D W I T H T H E T H E O S O P H IS T S .
To The E d ito r o f the Poona Observer,
S ir ,— T he anxiety of the Theosophists to overturn all ex­
isting religions, and first of all and especially the Christian
religion, makes them not overscropulous in the means used.
Nothing could be more wild and absurd than their attempts
to identify Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul with the an­
cient adepts in Occultism. The Apostle of the Gentiles was
converted to Christianity by a miraculous event, while on
his way to Damascus. H e was then a fierce soldier and was
actively engaged in a cruel persecution of the Christians ; after
his conversion the whole course of his life was changed and
he became an ardent propagator of the new faith. It may
be said that he was au occultist when he wrote his epistles,
and that when caught up in Heaven and was shown things
that it was not lawful for men to mention, that he was sim­
ply in a state of self-induced mesmeric sleep and had released
his soul from his body, to roam for a time in the realms of
the spirit world ; but if so he manifestly saw and heard such
things which established his belief in doctrines which are
rejected by the Thibetan occultists, viz., a belief in a personal
deity and the divinity of Christ, &c. The attempts to prove
Christ an adept is absurd equally. Christ gave up his life
and took it again, raised the dead, and cured every descrip­
tion of malignant diseases by touch or word of mouth, and did
other great miracles, great, not because they were done on a
large scale, but from the nature of them. With regard to the
loaves and fishes— it does not matter whether five loaves
became five thousand or five loaves became six, miraculous
power was still required ; similarly, if a wine glass of water
could be converted into wine, it is equally the same as if a
large quantity of water had been changed and a large' com­
pany supplied with the wine. To support the Theory that
Christ and Saint Paul were adepts, the facts of their lives
must be ignored as well as the doctrines they are reported to
have taught.
Some Theosophists have probably recognized these difficul­
ties, and seem to think the easiest way of disposing them is to
deny that any suoh persons as Saint Paul and Christ ever
existed. Sensible people should ask themselves this question :
Are such Philosophers sale guides ?
ZERO.
*** W e th in k “ Z ero” has ra t h e r mistaken th e Theosophical
idea regarding; Christ. The Theosophists do not, as far as we
are aware, deny th e possibility of th e divinity of C h r i s t ; th e y
only assert th a t he was so perfect a man ub to have attained th e
highest possible form of earth ly ex iste n c e; in o th er words, some­
th in g so akin to the godhead, as to be indistinguishable from it.
A gain, “ Z ero ” m ay have beard th e fundam ental belief of th e
Theosophists is n o t h i n g i s im p o s s i b l e . Thus, to deny tho divinity
of th e Saviour would be to impeach their own watchword.— E d i t o r ,
F o o n a Observer.
(R eply by a Theosophist.)
A WORD W I T H “ Z E R O .”
In the Poona Observer of January 26, one “ Zero,’’
rushing to the defence of Christ aud Paul against the
“ Theosophists,” who neither individually nor collectively had
ever thought of attacking either, brings against that body
several charges. Whether the pseudonym means nn empty
cipher, as defined in dictionaries, or the point at which water
congeals, as shown by the Celsius and Reaumur thermome­
ters, since it is a question left to the option and intuitions of
the reader, I incline toward the first hypothesis as being more
suggestive of, and in harmony with, this Christian Don
Quixote fighting wind-mills. A Theosophist permits himself
to correct some of the very wild assertions of the Poona
Observer's correspondent.
H e charges the Theosophists with the following misdeeds :—
(a.) W ith a desire of overturning “ all existing religions...
especially the Christian,” and being, therefore, “ not over-
scrupulous in the means used
(6.) With wildness and absurdity in “ their attempts to
identify Jesus Christ and the Apostle Paul with the ancient
adepts in occultism
(c.) W ith denying, “ as some Theosophists do, that any
such persons as Saint^Paul and Christ ever existed.”
The rest of the letter, and especially his arguments in
refutation of tho above, being a tissue of unwarrantable and
 unhistorical assumptions, based on a personal aud blind belief
in his own special religion— hence no proof at all to any man
bat a Christian— are not fi matter for the serious consideration
of one who rejects, a 'priori, “ miracles” — something entirely
outsido of the laws of nature. Let “ Zero” remember that
between a phenomenon, however extraordinary, yet based on
such laws, and a miracle of the kind of those lie mentions as
a proof against the assumptions of the Theosophists, there is
an impassablo abyss, guarded on one hand by experimental
physical science and on the other by simple common sense.
A few words will explain oar attitudo, No Theosophist-
Occultist will ever deny the possibility of “ five loaves becom­
ing six loaves” and even “ five thousand.” In the first case
the phenomenon may be produced by what is known among
practical Kabalists as exosmosis, in the second, by throwing a
mesmeric m aya, a glamour, over tlio crowds. But no Theoso­
phist, save a beginner or a greenhorn (of those who take
things on blind faith and against the dictates of reason and
thus show themselves unfit for Occultism) will ever accept
as a fa c t either the resurrection of a really dead body, or tho
inoaruation of God in a pigeon or dove— for why should
Christians, in such case, langh at theSiamose white elephant?
— or “ an immaculate conception or agaiu the miracle of tho
“ ascension,” i. e., the actual elevation to, and disappearance
in, heaven, of a solid human body. W ith this short explana­
tion I will proceed to demolish the three specified charges—
the only points deserving a certain attention as calculated to
lead tho profane reader into very erroneous ideas about oar
Society in general.
(1.) W h a t right has “ Zero” to accuse so sweepingly “ tho
Theosophists” of “ unscrupulous means” ? Tbe first Theosophist
he meets with might answer tho charge by simply reminding
the accuser that in his “ Father’s house are many mansions
iu other words, that in the Parent Theosophical Society
there .are fifty-three Branches in India alone. Hence that
the Society being composed of thousands of members of
nearly every known nationality and creed, whose respective
religious beliefs are never interfered with ; and there being
In tbe ranks a number of as good Christians as “ Zero” ever
was (aye, even Clergymen) this “ Zero’s” charge against the
Theosophists as a body, is proved absurd and falls to the ground.
But even admitting that there are some Theosophists, who
in their desire of seeing their cause triumphant and seeking
to establish Theosophy, i. e., a Universal Brotherhood on a
firm basis, with a unanimous belief in that which they
believe to be tlio one Truth, should seek “ to overturn all
existing (dogmatic) religions and evon should deny the
very existence of Christ and Paul (which is not the case as
I will prove) ; why should such a policy be viewed, even in
such a case, as more nnscrupalous than the identical one
used, with a vengeance, by tho great body of bigoted
Christians in general and the Missionaries especially ?
Is “ Zero” prepared to affirm that there is one P a d ri in
India who would scruple “ to overturn every existing
religion” but his owu ? or would feel reluctant to deny the
existence of the Hindu gods ; or, to denounce in word aud
priut every other divine A vatar but that of Christ as a
“ myth or show himself shy to treat publicly, as well as
in private, Zoroaster and Krishna, Buddha and Mahomet,
with the long string of “ heathen” miracle-working Saviours
and Rishis, Prophets aud Yogis— as “ world impostors”
and jugglers ? W h e n a dominant religion produces an
Inquisition, and with its power on the wane, such writora
as tbe Revd. Mr. Hastie of Calcutta, who, taking advantage
of the natural timidity of a nation, of its lack of uuity and
solidarity of thought and action, insults it in its most sacred
beliefs; spits on its religion, and throws mud on the honour
of its women— then it behoves little indeed the votaries of
tbat religion to call those of other creeds— “ not over-scrupu­
lous in the means used.”
(2.) W e leave it to every impartial mind to judge
whether Jesus is not more honoured by the Theosophists,
who see in him, or the ideal ho embodies, a perfect adept,
(the highest of his epoch), a mortal being far above uniniti­
ated humanity, than he is by the Christians who have creatod
out of him an imperfect solar-god, a saviour and Avatar,
no better, and in more thau one detail lower, than some of the
Avatars who precoded him. No Theosophist, of thoso who
ever gave a thought to Christianity— for our‘! heathen” mem­
bers, of course, do not care one snap of their finger whether
Christ and Paul lived or not— ever denied the existence of
the Apostle who is au historical peraonage, Somo of us, a
few learned Christian mystics among onr Britisli Theosophists
included, deny but the Gospel Jesus— who is not an historical
personage— “ Zero” a n d padris notwithstanding,— but believe
in an ideal Christ. Others are inclined to see the real Jesus
in the adept mentioned in the oldest Talmudic as well as
some Christian books, and known as Jeshu Ben Panthera.*
They say that while the best authoritative evidence to the
existence of the Gospel Christ ever offered by the spasmodic
and desperate efforts of the Church to the crucial test of
critical analysis, is of the weakest kind and fenced all round
with difficulties, they find the solution of the problem in the
testimony of the Jews and even of Irenasus. They maintain
that this Jeshn (or Joshua), was the son of a woman
called Stada (alias Miriam) and of Panthera, a Roman soldier ;
that he lived from the year 120 to 70 B. C. f ; was a pupil
of Rabbi Joachim Ben Perachia, his grand uncle, with whom
during the persecution of the Jews by Alexander Jauneeus
(King of the Jews in 106 B . C.)J he fled to Alexandria,
where he was initiated iuto the Egyptian mysteries or magic,§
and that upon his return to Palestine being charged with
heresy and sorcery, he was tried, sentenced to death, and
hung on the tree n f in fa m y (Roman Cross) outside the city
of L u d or Lydda.j| This historical character (as historical
as any other) was a great adept. As to Paul, no one, I know
of, ever mistook, him for au adept, and (since his history is
pretty well known) least of all, our occultists. A simplo
tent-maker (not “ a fierce soldier,” as “ Zero” puts it),
he became first a persecutor of the Nazarenes, then a
convert aud an enthusiast. It is Paul who is the real
founder of Christianity, the Reformer of a little body, a nu­
cleus formed from the Essenes, the Nabatheans, the Therapeu-
tees, and other mystic brotherhoods (the Theosophical Socie­
ties of old Palestine),— and which was transformed over three
centuries Jater, namely, under Constantine, into “ Christians.”
Paul a visions from first to last point him out rather as a
m edium than an adept, sinco to make an adept requires
years of study, and preparation and a solemn initiation
under some competent Hierophant.
Charge the third, being logically refuted by the aforesaid
proofs showing the inconsistency of the first two accusations,
I might close the case and dismiss it altogether. And if
perchance, “ Zero” would persist in defending his Gospel
Christ against those who call him a myth built on the his­
torical Jeshu of Lydda, then I would fain ask him to explain
to us the following :—
(1). H o w is it that Philo Judaeus, the most accurate as
the most learned of the historians contemporary to the Jesus
of the Gospels ; a man whose birth auteceded and whose
death succeeded the birth and death of Jesus, respectively,
by ten and fifteen years; one who visited Jerusalem from
Alexandria, where he lived, several times during his long
career, aud who must havo come to Jerusalem but a few years
after the alleged crucifixion; an author, in short, who in
describing tbo various religious sects, societies and corpora­
tions of Palestine, takes the greatest care to omit none, even
of those hardly worth mentioning— how is it, I ask, that
Philo Judasus never so much as heard about a Jesus, a cruci­
fixion, or any other event that would connect it with the so
called fa ets of Thoological Christianity ?
(2.) W h y aro the sixteen famous lines of Josephus about
Christ, lines appearing like a patch on a whole garment, and
not bearing the slightest connection with either the preced­
ing subject or the lines that follow in the text, w hy are
these lines rejected by most of the Christian theologians
themselves ? The bare-faced forgery is attributed by "them
* E p ip h a n in s in his book a g a in s t H eresies (1 th c e n tu ry ) g ire a tho
g enealogy of Je su s , as follow s :—
Ja co b called P a n th e r a =
__________ I
M a ry = Jo se p h Cleophaa
Je su s .
_ (See M r, G erald M assey’s “ J e s u s and th e R e c o rd s of h is T im e ”
in th e A pril S p iritu a list, 1878.) ’
+ See “ Ironosas ag ain st H eresie s” (Book 2 , Cap. X X II. 6 ). I r o n i n g
po sitiv ely m ain tain s th a t Jo lm (of th e 4 tb G ospel) “ c o n re y e d h im ­
se lf th e in fo rm a tio n ,” a n d 11 a ll t h e E ld e rs confirm ed th e s t a te m e n t ”
th a t “ J e su s p reach ed fro m h is f o rtie th to h is fiftieth y e a r of a g e .”
t See th o “ B abylonian G e m a ra ” (T ra c t S a n h id rim , F o l. 107, a n d Sofa,
fol. 47).
§ See, Ib id F o l. 47.
|| See B abyl G em ara to th e M ishna of T ra c t Sabbath, V ol. 67— 104.
to E u s e b iu s , B ish o p of Coosarea, t h a t , “ prince of p a tr is t ic
lia rs ” a n d “ d is h o n est w r i t e r s , ” as h e is called b y B arou
B u nsen , N ie b u h r , Dr. L a rd n e r, an d several o th e r s ? A n d if
th e s e a u th o r it ie s are all w rong, a n d t h e lines a re n o t an i n t e r ­
p olation , as th e y th in k , ho w is it t h a l ’a le y h im se lf, a n
a u t h o r so an x io u s t h a t his “ E v id e n c e s of C h ris ti a n it y ” should
b e accepted, deplores a n d confesses t h a t “ ev id e n c e ” (in
J o s e p h u s ) as f a r from b e in g s a t is f a c to r y , a n d very difficult
o f acceptance. T h e more so, since J o s e p h u s , a f t e r he h a d
b y th e forger, t h u s been m a d e to v i r t u a l l y rocogniso in
J e s u s “ th e M essiah of th e J e w s ” a n d to sh o w such a re v eren ce
fo r J e s u s t h a t he hard ly d a re d to call h im a m a n —died , a t
th e a g e of e ig h ty , a stiff-necked, o r t h o d o x J e w , d is d a in fu lly
silent, if n o t e n tire ly i g n o r a n t, of th e a p p earan ce, th e crucifi­
x io n, o r any t h i n g c on n ecte d with t h a t Messiah !
H o w w ou ld “ Z e r o ” e x p la in the fact of t h e total silence
of th e “ M ish n a,” its e v id e n t ig no ran ce o f J e s u s an d th e
crucifixion ? T h e “ M i s h n a ,” founded by H ille l f o r ty y e ars
B.C., ed ite d a n d amplified (till a b o n t th e b e g in n in g of th e th ird
c e n tu r y of o u r e r a ) a t T ib erias, by th e S e a o f G alilee, th e
v e ry focus of th e d o in g s o f th e Biblical A p o stles a n d of
C h ris t’s m i r a c l e s ; t h e “ M ish n a ,” w h ic h c o n ta in s a n u n ­
b ro k en record of a ll the H e re s ia rc h s a n d rebels a g a i n s t th a
a u t h o r i t y of th e Je w is h S a n h e d rim , from th e y e a r 40 B. 0 .
to a b o u t 237 A. D. ; a d ia ry , iu short, of th e doings of
th e S y n a g o g u e a n d t h e H i s t o r y of th e P h arisees, th ose
sam e m en w ho a re accu sed of h a v in g p u t J e s u s to
d e a t h — ho w is it t h a t <n o t one of th e e m in e n t ltabb is, a u th o r s
of th e “ M ish n a,” seem s to h ave e ver h e a rd of Je s u s , o r
w h isp e r s a word iu th e defence of his s e c t ch a rg e d w ith
deicide, b u t is, in fact, a b so lu te ly sile n t as to th e g r e a t e v e n t ?
S tra n g e omissions of “ u nive rsally recognised fa c ts !”
C o n c e rn in g t h e e d ito ria l r e m a r k iu t h e P o o n a O b s e r v e r ,
I h a v e b u t a few- m o r e words to ad d. T h o se T h e o so ­
p h is ts w h o h av e s t u d ie d th e C hristian E cclesiastica l his­
to r y (?) an d li te r a tu re , a n d h av e read upon th e subject,
w ith t h e e xc eption of a few C h ristian s, d e n y m o s t e m p h a t i ­
c a l l y n o t only th e d iv in ity b u t even “ t h e p ossibility of
t h e d iv in ity of t h e Biblical C h r is t.” Q u ite t r u e : ‘‘ th e
fu n d a m e n ta l belief of th e T h e o s o p h is ts i s t h a t n o t h i n g i s
i m p o ss ib le -,'’ b u t only so f a r a s it does n o t clash w i t h
reason, o r claim a n y t h i n g m i r a c u l o u s , in th e the olo gic al
sense of tho w o rd . O th erw ise, once t h a t w e 'a d m i t J o s h u a ’s
p o w e r over th o course of th e su n, J o n a h ’s p le a s u re -trip
i n t o t h e belly of th e w h ale, or th e re s u rre c tio n to life of
t h e h a lf decayed body of L a z a ru s, I do n o t see w h y we sh o u ld
be m ad e to sto p t h e r e ? W h y in su c h a case an d u n d e r th e
p e n a lt y of in co nsisten cy , w e shou ld n o t p ro claim o u r firm
belief in H a n u m a n , th e m o n k e y - g o d , a n d his stra te g ic a l
capacities ; in th o A r h a t w ho m a d e M o u n t M eru rovolve on
th e tip of his fin g e r; or in th o a c tu a l.g e s t a ti o n of G a u t a m a
B u d d h a a n d h is su b s e q u e n t b ir th in th e s h a p e of a w h ite
e lep h a n t. W e T h eo so p h is ts a t least, w ith o u t “ im p e a c h in g
o u r w a tc h w o r d , ” beg to b e allowed to d r a w t h e line of
d em arcation a t t h a t point w h ere a p sy ch o -p h y sical p h e n o m e ­
non ceases to bo such a n d becomes a m o n s tro u s a b s u r d i t y — a
m i r a c l e , of w hieh we find so m a n y iu t h e Bible. A n d now
re p e a tin g “ Z e ro ’s ” words we too can s a y : — L et all “ sensible
peoplo” a s k th em selv es the q ue stio n : w h ic h — th o C h r is ti a n s
o r th e T he osop hists, a re th e m o re “ p h il o s o p h i c a l” a n d safer
“ g u id e s ” ?
T H E O S O P H IC A L U N IT .
----- +■-----
S A U F I ODE.
I n the T heoso phist for A u g u st 1382, thero appeared a short but
in te re stin g treatise on S u f i s m or Mahornedan Mysticism. I t was
Baid to be an extract from a p aper w ritten in the y ear 1811.
I beg to enclose the translation of an ode, from the Mystical
Dimau of Maulana Jalalu dd in Uurni, ia the hope th a t it will
prove interesting to your readers.
Says Doctor Duncan F o r b e s : The translation was m ade by
late friend, Professor F . Falconer of U n iversity College, an d
appeared in the A s i a t i c J o u r n a l about tw enty years ago. I t is a
genuine Sufi Ode, au d Mr, Falconer has adm irably succeeded in
seizing and transfusing th e spirit and sublim ity of the original into
liis E ng lish version. Sri William Jones himsolf could not havo
doue it in more excellent taste. The original, no doubt, could not
h ut have proceeded from the sp irit of an ad ept of the first water.
Y o ur V edantic friends will.ou reading this ode, acknowledge the
brotherhood of the Mahornedan Sufis. The song of Solomon, “ I am
the Bose of Sharon aud the Lily of the Valley” was also a Suffistic
effusion;
B amaciurah Guos?,
Baran J3ar,
1
I was ere a name had been named upon e a rth ;
E r e one trace yet existed of a u g h t th a t has birth ;
W hen the locks of th e Loved one streamed fo rth for a sign,
A n d Being was none, save th e presence Divine,
N am ed aud name were alike emanations from Me,
E re a u g h t th a t was “ I ” y et existed or “ W e ;"
E re th e veil of the flesh for Messiah was w r o u g h t ;
To th e Godhead I bowed in prostration of th o u g h t.
I measured intently, I pondered with heed,
( B u t all, fruitless my labour) th e Cross and its Ureed.
2
To the Pagod I rushed, and the Magian’s shrine
B u t my eye cau gh t no glimpse of a glory diviue,
T b e reins of research to the Kaabia I b en t;
W h ith e r hopefully th ro n g in g the old an d y ou ng went,
K a n d a h a r aud H e r a t searched I wistEully th ro ug h,
N o r above, n or beneath, carue the Loved one to view.
I toiled to the sum m it, wild, pathless, and lone,
Of the globe g ir d in g h a f bu t the n u h a had flown,
The seventh e arth I tr aversed, th e seventh heaven explored
B u t in n eith e r discerned I the C ou rt of the Lord.
. 3
I questioned th e pen and the T able t of fate,
B ut th e y w hispered not where he pavilions his state,
My vision I strained, b u t my God-scanning eye,
No trace th a t to godhead belongs could descry,
My glance I bent in w a rd ; w ithin my own breast,
Lo, the vainly so ug ht elsewhere the G odhead confessed ;
In the whirl of its tr a n s p o r t my spirit was tossed,
Till each a tom of sep arate being I lost;
Aud th e b rig h t sun of T a b re z —madder than he,
Or a wilder, the world h ath not seen nor shall see.
---«---
M e. IS A A C S .
Y o u r s o m e w h a t e n th u s ia s t ic re v iew of “ M r . I s a a c s ” in th e
c u r r e n t n u m b e r of t h e T h e o s o p h i s t h a v i n g a t t r a c t e d m y a t ­
ten tio n , I h a v e j u s t rise n f r o m a p e r u s a l of th e w o r k w ith , if
th e t r u t h m u s t be told , a fe e lin g of d is a p p o in tm e n t. I h a d
expected to find th e r i c h m a t e r i a l s of th e “ O c c u l t W o r l d , ” o r
th o s e priceless t r u t h s w h ic h y o u h a v e p u b lis h e d u n d e r t h e
m o d e s t n a m e of “ F r a g m e n t s ” w o v en into a th r i l l i n g ro m a n c e .
N o su c h t h i n g ! a n d y e t y o u elose y o u r fl a tte rin g notice of th e
novel w ith t h e s t a t e m e n t t h a t “ it is a n in te n se ly i n t e r e s t i n g
fiction, b a s e d u p o n a fe w of th e G r a n d e s t O c c u lt T r u t h s . ”
I confess, I h a v e fa ile d to find th es e t r u t h s in M r. C r a w f o r d ’s
pages. W h e r e a r e th ey , p lease ? Is it in tho Polo m a t c h ; iu
th e e x c itin g t i g e r h u n t ; in t h e m oo n -lit scene of S h e r e A l i ’s
lib e ra tio n ; in th e o u tr a g e o u s love of a p u re - m in d o d E n g l i s h
girl fo r a pro fessed fo llo w e r of I s l a m — “ a t r u e b e lie v e r” a n d
th o lo rd of t h r e e w ives,— in the p rosaic d e a th of t h a t sa m e
g irl fro m j u n g l e f e v e r ; in th e m ira c u lo u s s u s ta in i n g pow ers
of th e sim ple little b lock of “ M o nier” to w h ic h P a u l G rig g s
b ears su c h p le a s in g tes tim o n y ; or in t h e s u d d e n r e l i n q u i s h ­
m e n t b y A b d u l H afiz of t h e w o rld , w e a lth a n d M a h o m e d a n -
isin fo r th e ju n g l e , p o v e r t y a n d ad ep ts h ip , t h a t th e “ g r a n d
o ccu lt t r u t h s ” a r e to be fo un d. T h e re is in deed a li v in g
a d e p t in t h e ro m a n c e , i n t ro d u c e d a p p a r e n t l y fo r n o o t h e r
p u rp o s e t h a n to i m p a r t a n a ir of m y s te ry to in c id e n ts
s i n g u la r l y dev oid of a n y m y s t i c in tere st. A n d such a n a d e p t !
you a re p lease d to s a y t h a t I t a m L a l is a n “ a t t e m p t a t
i i r o t h e r K. I I . ” T h e a tt e m p t , if th e a u t h o r re a lly m e a n t it
as sneh, is to m y m in d , a s ig n a l fa ilure . I t is t r u e t h a t R a m
L a l in d u lg e s in m y s te rio u s exits a n d e n tran ces, orders relay*
of horses w ith u n a c c o u n t a b le d e sp a tc h , sends messages to a n d
fro w ith li g h t n i n g ra p i d it y , a n d spo rts in a s tra l form o n t h e
h e ig h t s of S im la, w hilo his b o d y lies asleep in a “ l a m a s e r y
in T h i b e t ; ” b u t b ey o n d th e s e m in o r points, th is fictitious
c re a tio n of M r. C r a w f o r d ’s im a g in a tio n a p p e a rs to m e to h a v e
n o th in g in c o m m o n w ith t h e liv in g ■c e n tr a l fig u re of M r.
S i n n e l t ’s w o n d e r f u l book. K. I L , as I u n d e r s t a n d h im , is
n o t m e r e l y a b u n d l e o f p h e n o m e n a ; R a m L a l, on th e o th e r
h a n d , is n o t h i n g else, a n d u tt e r l y fails to co nv ey to th e X’e a d e r
th e idea, so p r o m i n e n t in M r. S i n n e t t ’s book, of a u n io n of
k n o w le d g e w i t h pow er, b e y o n d o r d i n a r y h u m a n a t t a in m e n t.
A n d t h u s w h ile K . I I . s t a n d s im m e a s u r a b l y a p a r t fro m , a n d
to w e rs above, th o o t h e r p e rs o n a g e s of th e “ O c c u lt W o r l d , ”
ev e n y o u rs e lf in c lu d e d , R a m L a l does n o t rise m u c h , if a t all,
above the level of his c o m p a n io n s in M r. C r a w f o r d ’s sto ry , of
P a u l G rig g s , fo r e x am p le, of A b d u l Hafiz, o r of th e B r a h m i n
who, b y a m e r e effort of t h e will, a r r e s ts tho b u c k e t of w a t e r
in its u p w a r d course. I f K . II. w e r e n o t tho in te lle c tu a l a n d
m o r a l g i a n t t h a t h e is, h o l d i n g i n h is h a n d s tho k e y to th e
h id d e n secrets of n a t u r e , he w o u ld n o t be (b o t h h e a n d y o u
w ill p a r d o n 'm y s a y i n g it) m u c h b e t t e r tlia u a ju g g l e r , a u d
as a m e r e w o r k e r of p h e n o m e n a like R a m L a l h e w o u ld
h a r d l y c o m m a n d the re v e r e n tia l aw e w i t h w h ic h h e in s p ire s
as well th ose who, like you, h a v e seen h i m w i t h t h e eye of
flesh, as tho se who, like me, o n ly see h i m w ith t h e eye or
f a ith . T h e philosophy too of R a m L a l, w ith w h ic h th e ta lef
w in d s up, is h a r d l y of a piece w ith o c cu lt p h ilo so p h y as you
h a v e t a u g h t it. I n his exp ositio n of an a f t e r - s ta t e of c o n t i n u ­
ed iden tity, a n d of re u n i o n in th e re g io n s a bov e w i t h th ose
one has loved a n d lost, t h e r e is n o t a w o r d o r a s e n t im e n t
(b r o a d ly s p e a k in g ) to w hich on t h e one h a n d a C h ris tia n
m i n is te r m a y n o t respo nd w i t h a h e a r t y A m e n , b u t w hich
O c c u lt P h il o s o p h y will not, on th e o t h e r h a n d , r e j e c t u n h e s i­
t a t in g l y as a b s u r d a n d u n te n a b le .
A g a i n s t th e novel itself I h a v e n o t h i n g to say. I t is a
(■lever sto ry clev erly told, t h o u g h some of th e c h a r a c t e r s m i g h t
h a v e been m ore n a t u r a l or life-like ; a n d one m e ets, h e re a n d
th e re , with p assage s of re a l m e rit, especially th e d escrip tiv e
p assag es of H i m a l a y a n scen ery w h ich w ill w ell r e p a y p e ru s a l.
B u t to co m p are “ M r . I s a a c s ” w ith “ Z a n o n i " o r “ A S t r a n g e
S t o r y , ” especially th e fo r m e r, is to c le a rly u n d e r r a t e th e i n ­
trin sic w o rth of som e of th e g r a n d e s t co ncep tio ns of th e h u m a n
m in d . A n d y o u r s t a m p i n g M r. C r a w f o r d ’s w o r k w ith the
seal of y o u r a p p ro b a tio n , h o w e v e r q u a l i f i e d , b esid es g i v i n g it
a c h a r a c t e r w h ic h the a u t h o r him self is p e r h a p s f a r fro m
c la i m i n g for it, is c a lc u la te d to m islea d th e g e n e r a l r e a d e r , if,
w ith y o u r ed ito rial s an ctio n , he r u n s a w a y w ith th e notion
t h a t R a m L a l is th e p ro to ty p e of K . H ., a n d t h a t his u t t e r ­
ances a re based u p o n a “ few of the G r a n d e s t O c c u lt t r u t h s . ” *
B o m b a y , 12 th F e b r u a r y 188:!. A ***8111.
-- »---
1 )0 T H E R I S H I S E X I S T ?
F o llo w in g tho e x a m p le of th e P a rs i G e n tle m a n w h ose l e t te r
you p u b lish ed in th e T h e o s o p h i s t of J a n u a r y 1882, I a m i n ­
d u ced to e n q u ir e if th e r e a r e H i n d u M a h a t m a s a m o n g th e
H i m a l a y a n B r o t h e r s . B y th e te r m H i n d u , I m e a n a b e lie v e r in
V e d a s a n d tho G ods t h e y describe. I f t h e r e a re none, will
a n y B r o t h e r of th e 1st S e c ti o n f be so k i n d as to e n l i g h t e n the
H i n d u C o m m u n it y in g e n e ra l a n d t h e H i n d u T h eo so p h is ts
in p a r t i c u l a r w h e t h e r a n y I l i n d u R ish is of old still ex is t in
flesh a n d blood ? T h e a d e p t H i m a l a y a n B r o t h e r s h a v i n g e x ­
p lo red th e u n se e n u n iv e rse m u s t n ecessarily k n o w t h e R ish is
if th ey ex is t now. T ra d itio n says t h a t p a r t ic u l a r ly th e follow ­
in g seven are im m o r ta l, a t le a s t fo r t h e p r e s e n t k alp a.
A s h w a t h a m a , Bali, V y a s a , H a n u m a n , V ib h is a n a , K r i p a ,
Parasuram .
A H IN D U T H E O S O P H IS T .
E d i t o r ' s N o t e :—In I'eply to th e first question we nre hnppy to
inform onr correspondent th a t th ere are Mnhatmns am ong the
H im alayan B rothers who are H in d u s —i. e-, born of H in d u and
B rahmin p aren ts and who recognize th e e s o t e r i c m eanin g of the
Vedas and Lhe U panishads. They agree with K rishna, Buddha,
V yasa, Suka, Goudapalha and S a nk aracharya in considering th nt
the K a r m a k a n d a of tlie Vedas is of no im portance whatsoever so
far as m a n ’s spiritual progress is concerned. Onr questioner will do
well to rem em b er in this connection K ris h n a ’s celebrated advico
to A rjuna. “ The subject m a tter of th e Vedns is related lo the
three Gunas ; oh A rjuna, divest) thyself of these gunax” San
k a r a c h a r y a ’s uncom prom ising a tt it u d e towards Purw arnimnnsa
is too well known to require any special mention here.
A lth o u g h the Himalayan B ro thers adm it th e esoteric meaning
of th o Vedas and the Upanishads, they refuse to recognize ns
Gods, the powers and other spiritual entities m entioned in the
Vedas. The language used in the V edas is allegorical and this
fnct has been fu lly recognized by some of the g re a te st Indian
Philosophers. O u r correspondent will have to prove th a t th a
Vedas really “ describe Go ds” as they exist, before he can fairly
ask lis to declare w heth er o ur Masters believe in such gods. W e
very much douht if our correspondent is really prepared
to contend seriously, th a t A g n i has four ho rn s, th re e legs, two
heads, five hands and seven tongues as he is stated to possess in
th e Vedas ; or th a t I n d r a com m itted a d u ltery with G ou tam a ’s
wifo. W e beg to refer o u r learned correspondent to K u llu k a
B h a t t a ’s explanation of the la t te r m y th (and it is a mere m y th
in his opinion) and Patanjnli’s rem ark s on the profound esoteric
significance of th e four horns of Agni, in support of o u r assertion
th a t th e Vedas do not in reality describe nny gods as our
questioner has supposed.
I n reply to th e second question we are not prepared to say th a t
“ any H in du Rishis of old still exist iu flesh an d blood” altho ug h
♦ W e are so rry to sco M r. A * * * 8111 bo u n d e r r a tin g ,— th o u g h we
m a y h a r e , in his opinion, over ra te d — M r. Isa a c s. T h e re aro two of th e
“ g ra n d e st occiilt tr u th s ” in it, th o n g h r e '.th e r o n r critic , n o r ev en th e
a n th o r h im se lf, m ay be aw a re of th e m .— E d.
J No ohel* n eed an sw er th is , e x c e p t th e ed ito r. A . H . Ti
we have our own reasons to believe th a t some of th e g reat H in d u
A d epts of ancient times have been and are reincarnating th e m ­
selves occasionally in T ibet and T arta ry ; nor is it at all eftsy for
us to u n de rstan d how it can ever reasonably bo expected th a t our
H imalayan B roth ers should discover H in du Rishis “ iu flesh and
“ blood” in th e ir explorations in the “ [Juseen Universe,” since
astral” bodies are not usually made up of those earthly m a ­
terials.
The tradition alluded to by our correspondent is not literally
true; then , what connection is there between the seven personages*
named and the Hindu Rishis ? Though we are not called upon
to give an explanation of th e tradition in question from our own
stand point, we shall give a few hints which may enable our
readers to ascertain its real significance from w h at is contained in
llatnnyana and Maha Oharnta.
A s v a l h a m a has gained an i m m o r t a l i t y o f i n f a m y .
l ' a r a s u r a m a ’s cruelty made him immortal b ut he is not su p ­
posed to live in f l e s h and blood now; he is generally stated to
have some sort of existence in file though n o t necessarily in
w h at a Christian would call “ hell.”
B a l i is n o t a n in d ivid u al properly speaking. T h e principle
denoted by the name will be known when the esoteric meaning
of T h r i v i k r a m a A v a t a r is b e tte r comprehended.
V y a s a is i m m o r t a l i n h i s i n c a r n a t i o n s . L e t o u r respected
B ro ther count how many V yasas there have been from first to
last.
H a n u m a n was ne ith er a h um an being nor tl monkey : it' is one
of the powers of the 7th principle of man (Rama).
V i b h i s a n a , N o t a R akshasa really but the personification of S a t •
w a g n n a which is immortal.
K r i j i a ’s association with A swatham a will explain th e na tu re of
his immortality.___________________________________________ .
M Y V IS IT TO S T Y R IA *
Miss C a r o l i n e C o r n e r of London has given in a book­
let of some thirty pages a pleasant narration of her
visit, last summer,to the Styrian Mountain-home of the
Baron and Baroness Y a y de Vaya, both old members
and the former a Councillor of the Theosophical Society.
On e gets from the story a fresh and vivid picture of what
m u 9t be one of the most charming districts in Europe.
At the same time the details of hoine-life in the residence
of her host aud hostess preseut us with ampler proof, if
such were needed, that joy and peace sit by the hearth
where life is consecrated to works of beuificence, and the
chief pleasure is in filling each day with good deeds
and kind words- Tho Baroness A d e lm a V o n V a y is kn o w n
throughout Europe and America as a psychometer and
crystal reader of great endowment, amesmeric healer of the
sick poor, and a clever writer (in the Germ an lauguage)
upon psychological subjects. H e r family, as well as the
Jlaron’s, is one of very aristocratic relationships, but she
has everywhere the reputation of being the incarnation of
benevolent and unassuming kindness. H e r portrait in our
album ha'l quite prepared us to accept as literal Miss
Corner’s description of her face and character— “ a
beautiful and charming w om an— with a countenance
bearing with benevolence, cheerfulness, and intelligence
....... a veritable humanitarian, comforting the afflicted and
distressed. T h e peasant population maintain an impla­
cable faith in her power to alleviate pain. From far aud
near, they bring their sick for her tender ministration...
.......... It was touching to see this beautiful, high-born
lady tending some poor unfortunate creature, bent and
racked with pain........... T h e Baroness’s bright face is
ever a welcome eight in all the homestead of the poor­
est and lowliest in the district, and many lips breathe
blessings upon her forher goodness and charity.” Thanks,
Miss Corner, for enabling us to hold up beforo her
Asiatic brothers in Theosophy so sweet a portrait of
this tender sister of humanity.
---•---
T H E T R A V E LL IN G T R U T H S E E K E R *
T h e third volume of M r , Bennett’s Narrative of his
V oyage around the W o rld toinvestigate the preseut state ■
* My V isit to E ty rU by C aroline C o rn er. L ondon: (G. U urn a, 1882.)
L im p c lo th — A n n as tw elv e.
+ A T ru th s e e k e r A ro n n d th e W orld. Vol. I l l Y ork, D. M. B e n n ett,
1882.
 of religion, in aa interesting as its predecessors, and calls
for the same criticism. A fourth and conclading
Volume, with a general In d e x of the contents of the
whole series, is still to appear, but alas ! the busy pen
that wrote them will write no more. A s was remarked
in a previous notice, M r. Bennett’s style is more pungent
than cultivated ; a man of the people, he spoke like them
as well as for them, and those who regurd manner rather
than mutter, will often take a strong exception to his
style as the friends of Western religious orthodoxy will
to his ideas. But in a dishonest age like this,— an age of
shams and cheating semblances, the friends of truth
must relish un author like our poor, persecuted col­
league, whose manifest honesty and indignation quiver in
his every book. T h e present volumes of travel are cram­
m ed with quotations from the standard guide books of
all the countries he traversed, and hence are themselves
full of useful information about men and things, alto­
gether apart from the religious question. They are
therefore worthy of a place in every general library. To
the full extent of the circulation the book may attain,
Theosophy and its advocates will have the benefit
of great notoriety, since Mr. Bennett devotes no less
than eighty-seven pages of Vol. Ill to tho subject.
Though he wns an ardent Freethinker aud Secularist,
he yet discusses Occultism with a judicial caudour which
might be profitably imitated by his famous contempo­
raries of the N a tio n a l R e fo rm e r. In the hurry of his
brief stay at B om b ay, he was not able to get every thing
dow n correctly, and so it is not strange to find his chap­
ter upon Occultism containing some errors. But we
shall only point out a single one which might convey a
very wrong impression to outsiders. H e says (p. 94)
about admissions into the Theosophical Society : “ It
seems thut the desirability of every candidate for ad­
mission is referred to the Brothers, they approving of
some and rejecting others. M y case seems to have been
laid before them, and they decided favorably upon it.”
N o such general reference of applications has ever
been m ade, the Brothers leaving to tho Founders the
entire responsibility in such cases ; since it is we w ho
are building lip the Society under their auspices, not
they who are selecting its membership, with us as pas­
sive agents. If the latter were the fact, m any unfortu­
nate misjudgments of candidates would have been
avoided, aud much vexation and scandal spared.
Advice was indeed asked as to M r. Bennett’s admission,
simply because we foresaw what has since happened,
that whatever odium his bigoted persecutors hud contriv­
ed to cast upon him would have to be shared by us, and
this seemed an impolitic step for our young Society to
take. T h e result of thut appeal is above stated by Mr.
Bennett; w ho adds that the “ response was that I am an
honest, industrious man, and fully worthy to become a
member * * * * I hope their opinion ii well
founded.” It was so, as we have become more and
more satisfied ever since, and now uone regret him more
than his cautious friends of B o m b a y — now of Madras.
This is not the first instance in which our Masters have
looked into the heart of a candidate whom we might have
rejected, because of hisbeing under the world’s frown, and
bade us remember that w e ourselves wero not so blameless
when they accepted u s as to warrant our turning onr backs
upon any earnest yearner after truth. Thousands have
read with the thrill of sympathy the story of the adulter­
ous woman w hom Jesus is said to hare abstained from
condemning, when her accusers slunk away at the chal­
lenge he made to their own spotlessness from sin. The
history of our Society contains more than one example of
this identical loftiness of compassion having been shown
to unhappy candidates, by our spiritual Masters and
Exemplars, the M a h a t m a s .
— • ♦— ■
THE S P IR IT U A L R E F O R M A T I O N .*
A m ono the American leaders of the movement know n
as Modern Spiritualism, D r . S . B . Brittan has for thirty
years been one of the most conspicuous. A s early as
1851 or 52 he was editing a weekly journal called T he
S p ir i tu a l T eleg ra p h , and, previous even to that we believe
a magazine called T h e S h e k in a h . His T ele g ra p h was
especially noted as the leading organ of the then new
movement, and among its literary contributors were
some of the cleverest men of the day— Ju d g e E dm onds,
Profs. Hare, Th o m as L . Harris, Drs. Dexter and Gray,
Prof. J. J. Mapes, the agricultural chemist (and our Col.
Oloott’s preceptor), Senator Tallmadge, and others. In
this galaxy Dr. Brittan shone brightly, and since then,
through all the changes and phases through which that
chameleon-like movement has passed, his pen has been
employed in the same service. Three years ago the
idea was suggested that the friends of Spiritualism
should subscribe a fund to remunerate Dr. Brittan for
giving-his whole time to a propaganda of the movement
in the columns of the secular press in answer to the
frequent attacks which are always appearing, some
from competent but more from incompetent and preju­
diced critics. It was in time carried out, and D r . Brittan
has, first aud last, published many articles of a contro­
versial or didactic character, all beariug the marks of his
traineid literary skill and facility in pungent debate.
These articles have n o w been gathered into a sumptuous
volume of 500 pages, for a copy of which we are indebted
to the courtesy of the Author or his publishers, our
friends Messrs. Colby and Rich. T h e volume is e m ­
bellished with an admirable portrait on steel of D r. Brittan.
Since the above was put in type, tlie Am erica11
post has brought ns tho sad news of the death of this
gifted m an. D r . Brittan died on the 4th of January ulti­
mo, at his residence in N o w Y o r k city of pleuro-pneu-
monia, after an illness of but a few days. In person
ho was extremely handsome, and in manner suave and
well-bred. H e could ill be spared by his party, of
whose philosophical principles he was an eager and able
champion. T h e Spiritualists have left to them several
able writers, but D r . Brittan had a peculiar tnlont for
controversy and a happy faculty of wit and repartee
which can hardly be matched am o n g his surviving
colleagues. Personally, the writer of this notice regrets
his death, since his acquaintance with him dates back
thirty years ; and tho beginning of his friendly associ­
ation with the deceased and his then partner, M r.
Charles Partridge, m ay be said to mark the second im­
portant stage in his— the writer’s— psychological evolu­
tion. D r. Brittan was a Fellow of our Society though
never anything but an “ Orthodox” Spiritualist. W e
may note the coincidence that within a few weeks of
each other, two well-known journalists and authors,
am ong our members— M r . Bennett and D r. Brittan— died
suddenly and just after completing their most important
books.— H . S . 0 .
IN D IA N D R U G S *
T pamphlet before us comprises a list of some 350
iie
drugs that aro on sale in the Bom bay bazars and Chemists’
shops, with description of their physical characteristics
and the active principles of a few of the more important
ones. T h e compilation is by D r . W . D y m o c k , the
Medical Storekeeper with the Government of Bom bay,
and the 're-arrangement, revision and vernacular syno-
nomical identification by our worthy brother D r . P a n d u ­
rang Gopal, a well k n o w n officer of our B om bay Branch.
* T he B attle ground o f the S p ir itu a l R eform ation. B y S. B . B ritta n ,
M. D. (B oston :— C olby an d K ich— 1882),
t A C atalogue (R ev ised ) o f In d ia n D ra g s. B y W , D ym ook, B. A;
(A rra n g e d , rev ised , a n d c o rre c te d f o r In d ia n S y n o n y m s, B y P a n d u r a n g
G opal, G . G. M . C ). B om bay, 1883.
 THE SATTYA PRAKA8H.
The first num ber of the new monthly magazine, in
Hindi and U rd u , that has been established at Bareilly,
N . W . P ., by members of our local Branch and other
gentlemen, lias come to hand. It is a well printed aud
iuteresting journal, creditable to its projectors and
calculated to do good to India in various ways. It
should bo taken in by all friends of our Society in upper
India. Besides the usual Salutatory, the S a t t y a Prakasth
for January contains the following articles :— A r y v a rta:
Past and Present; Local Self-Government (Aryan) ; Th e
Study of Oriental L a n g u a g e s ; Correspondence; Th e
Elixir; Editorial Notes.
— ♦---
TH E GOSPEL OF TH E FU TU RE : OR TH E
“ R E V E L A T I O N ” O F (S T .) K E S H U B .
“ 11 (K esh u b C h u n d e r S en ), a se rv a n t of God, called to be a n ap o stle
of th o C h u r c h '....... ‘ hoard behind mo a g r e a t voice, ns of a tr u m p e t,
sayin g , w h a t th o u soest (n o t) w rite in a book nn d send i t n n to tho
seven c h n rc h e s w h ich arc in A sia ,’ a n d n n to tho se v e n ty tim e s seven
w hich n re in E oropo, A m erica, A u s tra lia an d A f r ic a ....... ‘ W rite th e
th in g s w hich th o u h a s t (n o t) seen, nnd th e th in g s w liich are (n o t), an d
th e th in g s w h ich shall (n o t) be h e re a fte r.’ ”
( E x t r a c t s f r o m th e B e n g a l V e r s io n o f th e P a t m o s R e v e la t io n .)
W o n de rs will never cease : the year 1883 opened with
two miraculous events at Calcutta. A n e w Messiah was
born unto the world to the great disgust of the Babu-
Sadduceo ; and the “ City of Palaces” aud of whiskey
dens awoke on N o w Y e a r ’s day to find itself, to its own
utter amazement and despite every geographical and
historical expectation, proclaimed as “ the holy city” and
“ th e m etropolis of Aryavarta.” But thus saith the Prophet
of the Patmos-Lily Ashrum , and the world must read,
whether it will or not. Tired, evidently, of waiting for a
star to leave its path, and of vainly expecting the ap­
pearance of the “ wise m en” of the W e s t (M r. J. Cook,
though bulky, being anything but wise) to proclaim and
crown him as K i n g of tho— B a b u Sannyasis, tho
“ meek and lowly” Minister took destiny into his own
hands and has n o w virtually announced himself one. In
the teeth of the nineteenth century, tho sober Sadharan
Brahmo Sam aj, and all tho p a d r is of whatever creed,
colour, and persuasion, the new Messiah of Hooglily has
now notified the world at largo of his own advent !
A n edict in tho manner of Papal— or shall we say
Irish ?— Bulls, appeared in the N e w D isp e n sa tio n E x tr a ­
o rd in a r y — which was extraordinary indeed in every
sense. Teem ing with sentences copied verbally from
the Christian Gospels ; written in the style of, and mi­
micking the phraseology attributed to, Christ, the said
document is a curious piece of religious fa n fa r o n n a d e to
puzzle and perplex tho future generations withal. This
of course but in tho case of a fresh miracle : that the said
edict should not die a deserved death— at the bottom of
the world’s wasto-paper basket. Y e t it is a curiosity
worthy of preservation. Indeed, since tho days of the
Encyclical Letter and tho Syllabus of Pope Pius I X in
18G 1-8, the precursors of the famous CEcnmonical Council,
no single document ever published, that we kno w of, has
contained so m any gratuitous assumptions, nor involv­
ed a more impudent claim to direct d iv in e intercourse !
Proceeding from (as yet) comparatively obscure iudivi-.
dual, instead of emanating from an autocratic Pope, it is
but the more striking. Theocratic Rom o, self-attributing
to herself universal power and authority over the whole
world— K in g s and Emperors included,— to be consistent
with herself, had to facethelaugh of the non-catholic world
by creating a dignitary wliomshecalled “ tho Vicar A p o s­
tolic of Tibet” — a country with not one single Christian
in it and which slams its door in the face of every foreign­
er that approaches it. W h y then, with such a prece­
dent, should not our saintly minister claim likewise autho­
rity and infallibility, even though those should never bo
recognized ? Is not he as much as any Pope “ the chosen
servant of G o d ,” having en p lu s , than the H o ly Father,
the rare privilege of holding daily and hourly intercourses
with the A lm ighty w ho talks to, and with him, Moses-
like, and “ face to face, and as a m an speaketh unto lii3
friend” ? A n d though adverse opinions— those of tho
Theosophists and Spiritualists, for instance— hold that
this “ A lm ig h ty ” — if the said intercourse is based on
some more solid ground than mere nervous delusion—
may be no better than some Pisacha-spirit masquerading
under false colours, yet the opinions are divided. A t
all events, that of the Minister’s friends and well wishers,
the Theosophists, as giving him the benefit of the doubt,
ought to bo more welcome to, hence better appreciated
by, K esh u b B a b u , than that of some profane Sadducees,
both white and dark, who openly attribute such claims
to “ divine intercourse” to ambition and imposture.
Meanwhile, on January 1, 1883, the readers of a few
pious Journals of Calcutta were staggered by the follow­
ing :
N ew Y ear ’s D ay .
J a n u a r y 1, 1 S S3 . . '
K E S H U B C H U N D E R S E N , n se rv an t of God, C A L L E D to be AN
A P O S T L E of T H E C H U R C H of T H E N E W D IS P E N S A T IO N ,
W H IC H IS IN T H E H O L Y C IT Y OF C A L C U T T A , th e M ETRO -
F O L IS O F A R Y A V A R T A .
To all th e g re n t n a tio n s in th e w orld and to th e chief relig io n s sects in
th e e a s t an d tho w est.
To th e follow ers of M oses, of Je su s, of B uddha, of ConfnciuB, of
Z o ro aster, of M ahom et, of N an ac , and to th e v arious b ran ch es of tho
H in d u C linrch. "
To th e sa in ts an d th e sages, th e bishops nnd th e eld ers, the m in iste rs
an d th e m issio n aries of all theBe religions bodies :
G race be n n to yon an d peace everlasting.
W h ereas se c ta ria n discord an d strife, schism s an d e n m itie s p rev ail in
o u r F a th e r ’s fam ily , c a u sin g m uch b itte rn e ss , an d u n h a p p in e s s, im ­
p u rity an d u n rig h te o u sn e ss, an d even w ar, carn ag e, a n d bloodshed. *
# * # #
I t h as p leased th e H oly God to send u n to th e w orld a m essag e of
peace and love, of h a rm o n y an d reconciliation.
T his N ew D isp e n satio n h a th H e, in boundless m ercy , v o u ch safe d to
us in th e E a st, an d W E H A V E B E EN CO M M A N D ED TO B E A R
W IT N E S S U N T O I T A M O N G T H E n atio n s O F T II E E A R T H .
T h u s sn ith tho L ord,— S e c ta ria n ism is an ab o m in atio n u n to m e and
unbrotherlincB s I will n o t to le ra te .* * * * *
A t su n d ry tim e s h av e I spokon T H R O U G H M Y P R O P H E T S , and
th o u g h m any an d vnrious m y dispensations, th e re is u n ity in them .
B u t th e follow ers of th ese, m y p rophets, h ave q u arre lled an d fo n g h t,
an d th e y h a te an d exclude each other.* * * * . *
T h ese w ords h n th th e L ord o u r God spoken u n to us, nnd H is new
gospel H e h a th re v e a le d n n to us, a gospel of exceeding joy.
T he C h u rch U n iv e rsa l h a th he a lre a d y p la n te d in th is lan d , an d
th e re in nre all p ro p h e ts nnd all sc rip tu re s h arm onized in b eau tifu l
sy n th e sis.
A nd th ese blessed tid in g s th e L oving F a th e r H A T H C H A R G E D M E
and m y b ro th e r-a p o s tle s to d e c la re u n to all th e n a tio n s of th e w orld, th a t
being of one blood th e y m ay also be of one fa ith an d rejo ice in one
L ord.
T h u s sh a ll all discord be over, sa ith th e L ord, an d peace shall reig n
on e a rth .
H um bly, th e re fo re , I e x h o rt yon, b re th re n , to a c c e p t th is n ew m essage
of nniversnl love.* * #
H a te not, b u t love ye one an o th er, an d be yo one in sp irit and iu
tr u th even as th e F a th e r is one.
Ail e rro rs an d im p u ritie s ye shall e B c h e w , in w h a t e v e r c h u r c h or
natio n th e y m ay be fonnd, b u t ye B h a l l h a te no sc rip tu re , no p r o p h e t , no
church. •
R enounce all m a n n e r of su p e rs titio n a n d erro r, infidelity a n d s c e p ti­
cism , vice an d se n su ality , an d bo ye p u re and p erfe ct.
E very sa in t, e v e ry p ro p h e t an d ev ery m a r ty r yo shall h o n o r a n d love
ns a m an of God.
G ath er yc th e w isdom of th e c a s t and th e w est, an d acce p t and
assim ilato th e ex am p les of th e sa in ts of all ages.* # # #
Belovod b re th re n , a c c e p t on r love and give ns yours, and le t th o east
an d th e w est w ith one h e a r t c e le b ra te th e ju b ilee of tho N ew D isp e n ­
sation.
L E T A S IA , E U R O P E , A F R IC A , A N D A M E R IC A W IT H D IV E R S E
IN S T R U M E N T S P R A IS E T H E N E W D IS P E N S A T IO N , an d sin g th e
F ath erh o o d of God a n d tho B rotherhood of M an.
“ T he E ditors of th e l e a d i n g jo u r n a l s i n E u r o p e an d A m erica, in In d ia,
A u stra lia , C hina an d .Tapan are re sp e c tfu lly req u ested to in s e rt th e
above E p istle in th e ir re sp e c tiv e p a p e rs.”
W e have culled the choicest flowers from this bouquet
of modest assumptions, and republished it nearly in toto
with its best passages immortalized in capitals, and
neither dem and nor expect thanks for it. W h e th e r the
four quarters of the globe are quite ready to " praise the
N e w Dispensation with diverse instruments” — street-organ
included we suppose— is yet a matter for doubt. But,
whether the future generations shall string on the name of
B a b u K esh u b Chunder Sen to those of Buddha, Zoroaster,
Jesus, and M ahom et, or not, no one will now be disposed to
deny that “ cheek takes cities by storm and grinds strong­
holds to powder." It is this same N ew D isp e n sa tio n (and
L ib e r ty ), be it remembered, which now issues the above
E p is tle , that denounced repeatedly in its columns the
claims of the Theosophists to an intercourse with the
liv in g , albeit mysterious, “ Brothers” w ho are but mor­
tals— as an im p o stu re a n d a f r a u d . Look upon th is
picture, and upon t h a t !
After the above was in type, the Indian world was again
staggered though the medium of dailies and weeklies
by another piece of extraordinary news. T h e minister
has announced his intention of circumnavigating the
globe and visiting Europe, America and Africa as an
apostle of the N e w Dispensation. So far the intention
canliardlybefoundfaultwith. But the B ab u affirms again
that he has received a divine commission from G o d him ­
self, to go. Forsooth, the visits of the Alm ighty to the
B abu aro fast becoming a matter of quite a common occur­
rence now ! “ G o d ” — goes “ to and fro in the earth and
walks np and down in it” after the manner of the rebellious
Son of G o d in Job. W e wonder whether it is the “ L o rd ”
w ho will defray B a b u K . C. S e n ’s travelling expenses
out of liis own private treasury; or, is the burden—
agreeably with the time-honoured policy of Churches in
general— to be left 011 the shoulders of the too confiding
believers in the new “ Seer” and “ Minister” ?
t ■
■ of occult philosophy speak of as “ The Brothers,” is as certain
A N E W T H E O S O P H IC A L S K IR M IS H .
W e are born under a lucky star. A n unknow n Cor­
respondent (of the P ioneer) who hails— or rather writes
— from Bundelkhand, making us share the honor of
being attacked and scoffed at by him in the goodly company
of “ Government” and of the “ meek and lowly” mis­
sionary, makes short work— as he imagines— of the gods
of Theosophy. M a n , he tells his readers,— has been
defined as a laughing animal and “ what without
the Government aud Theosophy would there be in India
to laugh at ?” W h a t indeed ? unless, perchance, that
some “ laughing animal” as personified by the satirical
correspondent. H e “ could not— ,” you kn o w , “ argue
with one who took Theosophy seriously ; or, w ho believ­
ed in the existence of Koot H o om i Lal S in g h .” H av in g
exhausted liis blunted arrows upon invulnerable Govern­
ment .and Theosophy, quite aa invulnerable he runs
a m uck am ong “ the modern missionary,” who, he says,
“ harmless and unheeded, stands a living parody on W i s ­
dom, at the corners of the streets, reviling, in bad H i n ­
dustani, a creed he does not understand.” T h e Padri
feels hurt, and gives the too jovial correspondent— in
plain English— the lie, in the same P ioneer. Indifferent
to his abuse, we would havo liardly noticed even such
impertinent remarks as “ tlie nursery conjuring tricks of
Theosophy,” but for the unnecessary fling by that same
Bundelkhand w it at one w hom we all revere. W ithal
vve feel rather grateful than otherwise for the attack,
since it called forth an immediate reply in the P io n eer by
its ex-editor, M r. Sinnett, thus shewing the scoffer that
Theosophy counts more of intelligent and highly cultured
men than Bundelkhand is ever likely to see within its
precincts. Feeling proud of our Vice-President’s reply,
w e now reproduce it in full.
T H E T H E O S O P H I C A L S O C IE T Y .
TO THE UD1T0R.
S i r ,— Your correspondent in Bundelkhand has mado a
gratuitously offensive attack on Theosophy, in revenge for
the rough treatment his former letter on the government of
Native States received at the hands of Mr. Ilume. H e has
acted, apparently, on that vague desire to be disagreeable by
insulting something his antagonist respects, which prompts
the lower classes, in a quarrel in this country, to abuse each
other’s female relations, however irrelevant such abuse may
be to the subject in hand. O f course Theosophists will be
perfectly careless as to whether your correspondent believes
or does not believe in the existence of a man whose inter­
course with them is in no way impeded by incredulity
in Bundelkhand. But your correspondent’s ignorance of all
that has passed in connection with the progress of the
Theosophical Society during the last two years has betrayed
him into the public expression, in a conceited tone, of con­
tempt for a movement which is not only one of the most ele­
vating and beneficent influences at present at work among
the people of this country, but is the subject of constant,
anxious, and respectful discussion in all psychological papers
at home, where a society, including men of the foremost in­
telligence in literature and professional life has been formed
to study the teachings received through that agency with
which your correspondent (and he is probably right there)
feels that he has so little in common. In justice, therefore, 1
trust that you will publish this protest 011 behalf of the many
readers of your paper who will be disgusted by the remarks
which have evoked it. Your columns are not the place in
which to vindicate the claims of Theosophy on the attention
of thoughtful philanthropists of all creeds, or to show why at
the present day, two years after the appearance of my book
on the subject, expressions of disbelief in the existence of the
revered friend with whose letters that book is chiefly filled,
are simply absurd. To appreciate the extent of such absur­
dity it is necessary to be acquainted with the subsequent lite­
rature of occult inquiry. A n d surely the readers of the
Pioneer will believe me when I say that in my opinion the
discussion of such questions in detail does not come within the
province of a political newspaper. But the uncalled for insult
to Theosophists which has now found its way into your
columns may certainly justify the acceptance of a few words
from me, to explain that the existence of those whom students
now as that of the Governor-General’s Agent in Bundelkhand
(and for the world at large a very much more important fact.)
This has been demonstrated by a flood of direct evidence
from persons who know them, in various pamphlets and
publications of the Theosophical Society, the head-quarters of
which have now been established at Adyar, Madras, where
the Theosophist , the monthly organ of the Society, is issued,
and where information on the subject should be sought by
any inquirers who may wish to treat a grave philosophical
investigation undeniably absorbing the interests of many
highly intellectual men, in a more appropriate spirit than that
which your correspondent exhibits.
A . P. S I N N E T T .
“ CAN THE D O U B L E M U R D E R ”— OR PR ODU C E
R E S U LT S ON T H E M A T E R IA L BODY.
(B y J ohn Y akker, H o n . F . T . S .)
I i i a v e been much interested by the well-told narrative
in tlie January number of the “ Theosophist,” and hope
the Editor will not be offended if I enquire whether all
the particulars are accurate relations of facts. Especi­
ally I would ask,— is the closing newspaper paragraph
a literal translation of what actually appeared, and were
the names given by the entranced Frosya those of the
N ew spaper extract ? T h e narrative, ordinarily speaking,
is past belief, but in m y own Mesmeric experiments
I have met with cases almost analogous, except that in
mine the action was inversely, that is upon the body of
the entranced. In the Belgrade case there may also
have been a predisposition to receive the action of the
“ double,” in the receptivity caused by a guilty consci­
ence.
M y entranced subject also had the faculty of project­
ing the soul and was punished with cancer, a subject of
wliich I practically k n e w nothing. I tested tlie truth
of the projection in some cases in England, and M ad a m
Blavatsky did m e tho honour to examine one of these
and verified it as an accurate description of certain
existing subterraneans in India. It was seldom that I
could see anything of the “ double” as I can only see,
hear, and feel in a limited degree, and this part of my
nature (self-induced) is more m.anifest at one time than
another, and I a m apt to attribute it to an uncertain
imagination.
Usually m y entranced subject would— unless in the
deepest of trances, in which case she would describe
herself as absent a long distance— use the pantomimic
action in kor body that she after related of her project-
 cd soul, exactly as described of Frosya. O n one of these @il°Tlie M anager calls particular N otice to the fact
occasions she stated that her spiritual body had been that all M oney-orders m ust now be sent
sprinkled with some essence, which it was said would
payable at A d y a r P. 0 . (Madras), India.
cause an eruption in 24 hours, and would bring away the
diseased matter of the blood— for (it was said) a surgi­
cal operation on the projected soul would read on the T A B L E OF C O N T E N T S .
material body;— I was astounded to find that the resultpre- I age. Page.
dicted actually took placc at the time, and the body exhal­ S ir R ich a rd a n d T heosophy A n E x cellen t M agic M irror. 142
ed an unknown aromatic perfume. O n another occasion ag ain ... ... ............ 127 A W ord w ith th e T heoso ­
as predicted, after a surgical operation, said to be made In ro A d w aita P h ilo so p h y ... 128 phists ... ... ... 143
M r. Cook n t H om o ... ... 130 A W ord w ith Z ero ... ... 143
upon the projected double raised about six inches, and T ho S a c re d T re e of K u m A Sufi Odo ... ... ... 145
in which the patient seemed to suffer great agony by B um ... ... ............ 130 M r. Isa a c s ... ... ... 145
cutting, a piece of hard tumour was brought away by the S ham A sceticism ... ... 131 R eview s :—
F ra g m e n ts of O ccnlt T ru th ... 131 Do tho R ishis E x ist ? ... ... 14G
throat, which I saw. Relations were often made regard­ A ppendix to D ev ach an ... 135 My V isit to S ty ria ... ... 14G
ing a root from “ Black Wilderness” said to be Indian, U n d e r tlie S hadow of G reat T ho T rav ellin g T ru th -se e k e r. 14G
which was burned and inhaled, bruised, and the juice N am es ... ... ... 137 The S p iritu al R efo rm atio n ... 147
A P e rso n a l a n d an Im p e rs o n ­ T he S a tty a P ra k a sh ... ... 148
drank or otherwise applied, and m y subject got entirely
al God ... ... ... 138 T he Gospel of th e F u tu re : or
well without the aid of the medical men. M issionary P ro g re ss in ln d ia . 139 tho “ R ev elatio n ” of (S t.)
It is noteworthy that iu m aking the passes the follow­ N o R evelation In fa llib le ... 14-0 K eshub ... ... ... 148
ing was the result. I made them slovenly and was in­ L e tte rs to th e E d it o r : A new T heosophical S k ir­
L ig h t w a n te d by a P a rsi ... 141 m ish ... ... ... 149
formed, with oue pass you send mo forward, with another T he B lessing of th e B ro th ers. 141 Can the double M u rd er ... 149
you drag me back again. I made too m any or too few, P rin c e W ittg e n s te in ’s L e tte r. 142 Colour an d Sound ... ... 150
and was told,— you send me away beyond where m y friends
are waiting, or you do not give me strength to go far
S P E C IA L N O T IC E S .
enough. All this is very apropos to what yon relate of
I t is now e v id e n t th a t th e TnEOSonnsT offers to a d v e rtise rs u n u sa l a d ­
the Frenchm an and Prosya. v an ta g e s in circu latio n . W e h ave already su b scrib ers in ev ery p a r t of
I am aware that this is quite as extraordinary as your In d ia, in C eylon, B nrm ah, C hina, an d on the P e rs ia n G ulf. O ur p a p e r
own relation, but I vouch for its entire truth, and made also goes to G re a t B rita in an d Ire la n d , F ran ce, S pain, H olland, G erm an y ,
N orw ay, H u n g a ry , G reece, R u ssia, A u stralasia, S o u th A frica , th o W est
at the time the most accurate records of all my experi­ In d ies, au d N o rth an d S o u th A m erica. T he follow ing v ery m o d erate ra te s
ments. h a v e b een adopted.
W lT IIIN Q T O N , NEAR M ANCH ESTER, A d v e r t is in g R a t e s .

J a n u a r y 17,1883. j F ir s t in s e rtio n ................16 lines and u n d e r ........ 1 R upee.

F o r each a d d itio n a l lin e .......................................... 1 A nna.
E d ito r’s Note :— W e assu re o u rle a rn e d c o rre sp o n d e n t th a t every w ord S pace is ch arg ed fo r a t th e r a te of 1 2 lines to th e inch. S pecial a rra n g e ­
of on r n a rra tiv e is tru e . . m e n t can be m ade fo r larg e ad v e rtise m e n t, an d fo r longer a n d fixed
periods. F o r fu rth e r in fo rm atio n a n d co n tracts fo r ad v ertisin g , a p p ly to
M e s s r s . C O O PE R & Co., M e a d o w S t r e e t , F o r t , B o m b a y ;
P r o p r i e t o r , I N D U S T R IA L P R E S S , 3 , H u m m u m S t r e e t , F o r t , B o m b a y ;
COLOUR AND SOUND. M a n a g e r , T H E O S O P H IS T , A d y a r , M a d r a s *

S o m e time ago Oberlientenant Scheffer communicated To S U B S C R IB E R S .

to L ic h t M eh r Lic.ht the remarkable fact that a child of
7 years, of a family kno w n to liim, “ at once learned
numbers by a most curious natural method. She always
distinguished them by their colours. E ach invariably
appears of its own certain colour to her, viz. : 1 ahvays
very white; 2, red, “ spotty red” she calls it ; 3, blue;
4, yellow ; 5, yellow ; G, black ; 7, yellow ; 8, black ;
10, blueish. These numbers are to her always the same,
though varying iu depth of shade.” T h e harmonious
relationship between sound and colour, and the mystical
properties of nnmbers, are ancient Aryan and pre-Aryan
discoveries. T h e subject comes to tlie front once more
in N a tu r e (Yol. 25, p. 339) j in aletter from M r. Karl
Pearson, w h o says :—
Some w eeks ago th e re a p p e a re d an acco u n t of a se ries of e x p e rim e n ts
conn ectin g colour an d s o u n d ; tiie follow ing p assag e from P ro f. Max
M uller’s C hips, ii. 104, m a y in te r e s t som e of y o u r r e a d e r s :— “ T lm t
P u rn ra v a s is a n in a p p ro p ria te n am e of a solnr hero re q u ire s h a rd ly an y
proof. P u rn ra v a s m e a n t th e sam e ns polondenko’s, endow ed w ith m uch
l ig h t ; fo r tho u g h ra v a is g e n e ra lly u se d of sound, y e t th e ro o t rn,
w hich m ean s orig in ally to cry , is also a p p lie d to colour, in th e senso of
a loud or c ry in g colour, i. e.y re d (cf. ru b e r, ru fu s , lith , ra n d a , O. H . G.
rd t, ru d h ira , e r u th r o s ; also S a n sc rit rav i, su n ).” T h e follow ing foot note
occu rs :— “ T h u s it is said R v. vi. 3, G, th e fire cries w ith lig h t, sokishft
r a r a p a t i ; th o tw o S p a rta n ch a rite s are called klotfl (kletfi. inelut&) and
p h a e n n a , i. e. clara, clear-shining. I n th e V eda th e risin g sun is said to
c ry lik e a n ew child (Rv. ix. 74, 1.)— I do n o t d e riv e ra v a s fro m rap ,
b n t I o nly q u o te ra p as illu stra tin g th e close co n n ectio n b etw een loud­
ness of sou n d a n d b rig h tn e ss of lig h t.” B oth G reek s a n d L a tin s seem
to h av e u sed th e sa m e w ords fo r colour an d s o u n d ; ef. lam pros, lenkos,
inilas, som p to s, ph aio s, &c.; clarns, fu scu s, can d id u s, Ac. P ro b a b ly
n o t only colour a n d so u n d , b u t sm ell, ta s te , a n d touch h a d in e a rly
tim e s th e like w ords to ex p ress d e g r e e ; ev en as w e find a s p e ra lingue
an d odor a s p e r ; a n d aa w e sa y “ a h a rsh ta s te ” an d “ a h a rs h sound.”
T a ste s an d sm ells will be fo u n d to B n g g o s t colours to th e m in d ex actly
• as sound do. I f th is be so, m ay n o t th is a p p a re n tly cu rio n s co n n ectio n
• be ex plainod a s a so rt of “ unco nscious philological m e m o r y ? ”
. K arl P ea rs o n .
Inner Temple, January 28.
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 S UPP LE MENT
T O
THE THEOSOPHIST.
V ol. 4. No. 6, MADRAS, MARCH,
T H E P R E S ID E N T -F O U N D E R ON H IS A N N U A L T O U R .
Col. H. S. O lco tt, P re s id e n t-F o u n d c r of tho T hcosophical Society,
lo ft fo r C a lc u tta by th e F re n c h S te a m e r of tho 17th F e b ru a ry .
A lth o u g h sh e w as ex p ected to sail on th e lG tli, y e t by a curious
coincidence (?) n u m b er seven a g a in asse rte d itse lf in th e w orking of onr
S ociety I F ro m C a lc u tta, th e P re sid e n t will v isit th e se v era l B r a n c h
S ocieties in B en g al an d m o st probably go to o th e r p a r ts of th a t P r e s i­
den cy , w h ere new B ran ch es aro in th e process of fo rm atio n . A n acco u n t
of h is w ork will d u ly a p p e a r in our n e x t.
A t th o tim e of o u r g oing to p ress, we a re inform od by te le g ra m
from o u r B ro th er M r. E. J . L opez of tho S im la “ E clectic T heosophical
S ocicty’*, th a t Col. O lcott re a c h e d C a lc u tta sa fe ly on tho ev en in g of
th e 2 0 th.
OUR B R A N C H E S .
T H E A N N IV E R S A R Y OP T H E
K R IS H N A T H E O SO PH IC A L SOCIETY,
{G untoor.)
I h av e th e h onor to su b m it th e follow ing re p o rt of th e 1 s t a n n iv e r­
sa ry of th e K rish n a T heosophical S ociety a t G untoor, celeb rated on tho
28 th of D ecem ber 1882.
M r. T h o lety P u ru s h o tta m a y y a w as voted to th e c h a i r ; an d th e P ro ­
ceed in g s co m m enced w ith th e P a n d it of tho B ra n c h re c itin g a Sluka))i
in p raise of Parabrahm am . Tlio ch airm an th e n called upon th e P re s i­
d e n t of tho B ran ch M r. S in g aravelu M oodelliar to read his re p o rt, of
w hich I giv e a sh o rt a b s tra c t. H e said th a t it w as th e T heosophist, th e able
organ of th e T h eo so p h ical S ociety, th a t first g a v e th o public of G untoor
in fo rm atio n re g a rd in g th e noblo objeeta an d w orking of th a t society,
au d m o n th a f te r m o n th , divulged th e scientific tr u th s of tho A ry au
philosophy an d w isdom an d aw ak e n ed in th e ir m in d s a deep love an d
v en eratio n for th o ir a n c e s to rs an d th e ir a n c e s tra l science an d philoso­
ph y . T h en tho ap p o aran co of M r. Sinnett*a pow erful an d w onderful w ork,
th e ‘ O ccult World*, w hich m ark e d a u epoch in tho h isto ry of tlio
T heosophical Society, g av e th om m ost co n v in cin g proofs of th e re a lity
of th o A ry a n O ccult science, w hich so h e ig h te n e d th o ir in te r e s t in tho
g ra n d m o v em en t se t on foot by th e re sp e c te d F o u n d ers, th a t th e y
reso lv ed upon fo rm in g a B ran ch a t G untoor, an d acco rd in g ly s e u t th em
a n in v ita tio n to G untoor. T h e F o u n d e rs, h a v in g firs t oponod
B ran ch es a t M ad ras an d N ellore, cam e to G u n to o r on th e lo th of
M ay 1882, w h ere th e y w ere received w ith a m o st e n th u s ia stic w elcom e.
T he K rish n a B ran ch w as th e n organised ou tho 17th of M ay. Tho
P re sid e n t th e u said t h a t u n d e r tho auspices of th o K rish n a B rau eh
th re e S a n sk rit Schools w ere opened ; one a t G untoor, a n o th e r a t
A m arav ati, an d tho th ird a t V innkonda. W ith a view to enco urage
fem ale ed u catio n , th e B ran ch opened also two G irls’ Schools u u d e r its
p atro n ag e, an d h ad in co n tem p latio n th e in tro d u c tio n in to th ese Schools
of sm all e le m e n ta ry tr e a tis e s on H indu M orals a n d R eligion. A fellow
of th e B ran ch , a n able T elu g u S cholar an d g ra d u a te , V avilala V asu d ev a
S a stry G aru, w as en g ag ed in tra n s la tin g in to T elu g u (som e) S a n sk rit
w orks an d a le ctu re d elivered by Col. O lcott, w hich would sh o rtly bo
p rin te d an d circu lated .
H av in g th u s briefly sk e tc h e d tho w o rk in g of tho B ran ch , tho
P re sid e n t d w elt a t som e le n g th upon th e g r e a t a m o u n t of good
th e T heo sop h ical S ociety w as doing an d th e w onderful revolution
it w as w o rk in g in th e m in d s of th e risin g g e n eratio n . H e said
th a t prev io u s to th e ad v e n t of T heosophy in In d ia , th e H iu d u s
h ad begun to a d m ire a n d alm o st w orship every th in g W estern a n d lost
all resp ec t fo r th e ir co u n try an d religion. T he so-called scientific th eo ry
of M aterialism th a t has been sw aying th e m ind of th e m odern scientific
w orld h av in g g rad u ally fo u n d its w ay in to In d ia , sowed tho seed of
scepticism ev ery w hore and rooted o ut all sp iritu a lity from th e land.
A n d th e den atio u alised H in d u s, in th e h eig h t of th e ir a d m ira tio n for,
an d th o ir p u erile im itatio n of, th e E u ro p ean m odes of th o u g h t
an d h ab its of lifo, b eg an sh am elessly to despise th e ir ow n n a tio n a lity
an d denounce H in d u relig io n a s a d eg rad in g su p e rs titio n a n d all
1 8 8 3. No. 42.
Yoga V id y a an idiotic illusion. S uch b ein g th e ex alted id ea e n te rta in e d
by th e H in d u s th e m se lv e s, tho C h ristia n P a d ri an d th e p rodigy of
m o d ern science se riously h eld th a t th e H in d u religion a n d philosophy ia
too ab su rd to deservo th e rc sp e c t of a n y civilized n a tio n in th is e n lig h t­
ened n in e te e n th c e n tu ry . B u t fo rtu n a te ly fo r In d ia an d fo r th e W orld,
th in g s took a d ilfo re n t tu rn . J u s t a t th is critic a l tim e, w hen th e la s t
sp a rk of sp iritu a l life w as ju s t becom ing e x tin c t in th is ven erab le land, tho
rev ered F o u n d ers cam e to In d ia an d estab lish ed a t B om bay th eT lieo so p h i-
cal S ociety on th e sublim e p rin cip le of U n iv eral B rotherhood an d religions
to leran ce, so th a t people of all shades of opinion an d beliefs, m en of all
ca ste s an d creed s w ith o u t d istin c tio n m ig h t u n ite in ono harm o n io u s
broth erh o o d a n d w ork fo r th e good an d w elfare of h u m a n ity in g e n e ra l.
T he socicty is th u s le a d in g m en lo th e long-sealed fo u n tain -h ead of th e
tru e A ry a n P hilosophy an d b y re c o n stru c tin g th e ir cru m b lin g fa ith is
g ra d u a lly en d eav o u rin g to e x tirp a te th e in creasin g m atcrialism ^ o f tho
p re s e n t age an d to ste m th e to rre n t of scepticism th a t is s p re a d ­
ing its ban efu l influence th ro u g h o u t th e le n g th und b re a d th of
tlic land. W hilo m odern science m a te ria lise d an d alm o st b r u ta ­
lised h u m a n n a tu ro , T heosophy, by estab lish in g tho re a lity of
O ccult science h as enabled a n d deified it. I t h as proved th a t m an
is n ot a m ore se n su al e a tin g an d d ig e stin g m ach in e b u t so m e th in g
p u re r an d nobler, w ith f a r h ig h e r a im s an d n obler asp iratio n s, con­
ta in in g an in n e r e th e re a l p rin c ip le w ith a p o te n tia lity of in fin ite
p rogression an d p erfe c tio n , capable, w hen free d from th is gross co v er of
m a tte r, of so arin g h ig h e r in to th e regions of in fin ite p u rity an d of e t e r ­
nal bliss an d b e a titu d e . B y p o in tin g o ut A ry an and o th e r E a ste rn
lite ra tu re a s tho rep o sito ry of all ocealt tr u th s , T heosophy h as a w a k e n ­
ed in th e m in d s of th e H in d u s a deep v en eratio n fo r th e ir an c e sto rs an d
th e ir sublim e lite ra tu re an d philosophy an d th u s enkindled a h a n k e r­
ing desire to se arc h its profound aud boundless dep th s. By p o in tin g out
In d ia, to all th e w orld, a s th e place w h ere all th e tre a su re s of occult
know ledge lie b u ried an d w hcro th e profound m y steries of N a tu re an d
of m an lie hidden, T heosophy is en listin g tho sy m p a th ie s n ot only of th e
H in d u s b u t of m a n y in all th e h ig h ly civilised n atio n s of th e w orld, an d
is c re a tin g a s tro n g im p re ssio n in th e ir m ind th a t th e H in d u relig io n is
a n em b o d im en t of so p u re a scicnce an d philosophy th a t it is cap ab le of
sa tisfy in g th e m oral an d sp iritu a l asp ira tio n s of all classes of m e n n o t
only in In d ia a n d A sia, b u t elsew here.
F o r th e in fo rm atio n of th a t po rtio n of th e audienco th a t w ere u n ­
a c q u a in te d w ith E n g lish , T . A n ja n c y u lu S a stry Guroo, a n o th e r fellow
of th e B ran ch , clearly ex p lain ed in T elu g u th e objects of th e Society
a n d in doing so h e s ta te d th e se v era l frivolous objections g e n e ra lly
ra ise d by tho o p p o n en ts of th e m o v em en t as w ell as by tliose ig n o ran t
of its aim s an d an sw e re d th e m one by one co n sisten tly w ith th e H in d u
S a stra s, w hich n eed n o t he d e ta ile d h ere as th e y will sh o rtly be p u b ­
lished in th e H in d u D o sab h im an i and o th e r T elugu journals.
T h e n e x t sp e a k e r w as R. S u ry a Row N aidu G aru, a councillor of tho
B ran ch . H e m ado a sh o rt b u t im p re ssiv e speech on th e p r in ­
ciple of U n iv e rsa l B ro th erh o o d an d show ed th a t th is object w as n e ith e r
U to p ian n o r u n a tta in a b le a s m an y th o u g h t. l i e said n o th in g
g av e him a g r e a te r p le a s u re th a n to ad d ress th e aud ien ce, com posed
as it w as of B rah m in s,V y asias, S u d ra s and o th ers b y the w ord ‘B rothers.*
T h ere w as a tim e when th a t sim ple b u t en d earin g te rm p ro v ed u
frie n d to s tra n g e rs in fo reig n lan d s an d a safeguard to v irtu o u s fem ales.
B u t tim es soon changed a n d w h erev er m en go th ey m eet w ith n o th in g
b u t d is tr u s t an d h a tre d . T h ey soe H u m a n ity sp lit up in to in n u m erab le
d ivisions an d tho tic s of m u tu a l affection c u t asu n d e r. In no co u n try
in th e w orld is su ch a sad s ta te of th in g s m ore g la rin g th a n in In d ia.
I t w as n o t n e c e ssa ry , ho said, in o rd er to c u ltiv a te b ro th e rly feelin g s
one should give up one’s caste an d religion. I t m ig h t be easily done
w ith o u t a n y such sacrifice. H e m entionod th e r e c e n t S alem rio ts as an
exam ple of th e absence of su ch a feeling. H o w ev er a tte m p ts w e re
b eing hero an d th e re m ad e by p h ila n th ro p ic g en tlem en to p ro m o te
goodly feelin g s am o n g th e i r fellow m en. A nd tho B ritish In d ia n
A ssociation, th e M a d ras C osm opolitan C lub and such o th e r S ocieties
w cro exam ples of su c h b en ev o len t a tte m p ts . B u t b ein g confined
to p a rtic u la r localitios, th e ir o p e ra tio n s w ere lim ite d . On th e o th o r
h an d tho T heosophical S o ciety w hich h as its origin in th e H im alay an
B rotherhood, offers a m nch w id er field of u se fu ln e ss th a n a n y of th e m .
I t n u m b ers am o n g its m em b ers, H in d u s, C h ristian s, M ahom edans,
 A siatics, E u ro p ean s, A m erican s an d A u stra lia n s. E v e ry H in d u , n ay
ev ery individual tlia t has tho w elfare of liis c o n n try an d of liis fellow m en
n t h e a rt, should join th e S ocicty a n d tr y to prom ote its noble objects.
Tho S e c re ta ry of th e B ranch m ade a few re m a rk s re g a rd in g th e th ird
nud th e m o st im p o rta n t object of th e T heosophical S ocicty, viz., th e explo­
rin g of th e hidden pow ers la te n t in m an . A s a n in tro d u c tio n to tho
s u b je c t he slig h tly to uched upon m odern M esm erism nnd show ed how,
b y developing clairv o y an t pow ers in a su b ject, a m e s m e ris t en ab les him
to p re d ic t th o fu tu re , (look back in to th o p a s t) d iagnose diseases, p r e ­
scrib e a p p ro p ria te rem ed ies 5 how by th e influence of h is O dylic force,
a p ractised o p e ra to r can en re d iseases given up by tlie m edical p ro fe s­
sion ; how M esm erism th ro w s lig h t on th e h e re to fo re d esp ised custom s
of H indu Y og is re so rtin g to b u rn in g g ro u n d s for m e d ita tio n , B rah m in s
s ittin g iso la te d a t d in n e r an d re fu s in g to bo seen by o th o r c a s te people ;
why e a tin g flesh is to be avoided and th o to u ch in g of fle sh -c a te rs f o r­
bidden ♦ how th e so-called su p e rs titio n s sucli a s “ th e influence of th e
evil e y e ,” Ac. are p e rfe c tly scientific. l i e also show ed iiow M esm erism
h as g iv e n a death -b lo w to M aterialism by p ro v in g th e fa c t of H u m an
soul b ein g an e n tity q u ite in d e p e n d e n t of th e body. H e th e n p o in ted
o u t t h a t in In d ia th e ro is a fa r g r e a te r scicn ce th a n m e sm e rism , viz.
th e occult scicnce, th e noble in h e rita n c e of th e g r e a t R ishis. F o r, while
m esm e rism en ab les one to d ev elo p e c la irv o y a n t p o w ers in a n o th e r in
a n in fe rio r d eg ree, o ccu ltism en ab les one to develop th e m in o n e’s own-
self in an e x tra o rd in a ry d eg ree. I t enables h im also to know n ot only
w h a t is p assin g in th is w orld b u t to so ar in to th e h ig h e r w o r ld s ; an d to
know th o se c re ts of th o u n iv erse, an d all tho p ro fo u n d m y ste rie s of N a ­
tu re an d H u m a n ity , a n d th e re b y to becom e ono w ith P a ra b ra h in a m .
T he stu d y of su ch a scicnce is one of th e o b jects of th e T heosophical
S ocicty a n d th o M a sters of such a sciencc aro th o o rig in a to rs of it.
T h ey o rig in a te d tlio socicty iu o rd e r to w ork o u t by its m e a n s th e m oral
a n d sp iritu a l re g e n e ra tio n of In d ia an d of th o w orld a t la rg e . A s th e y
hope to begin th is w ork th ro u g h th e H in d u s b e e x h o rte d th o au d ien ce
to prove w o rth y of th e ir a n c e s to rs by jo in g tliis m o v e m e n t a n d ta k in g
th e lead in effectin g th e s p iritu a l re g e n e ra tio n of th is sc ep tical and
m aterialised w orld.
T he P u n d it of th o B ran ch th e n re a d a p a p e r ou JCarma in S a n s c rit
a n d T eln g u .
W hen th is w as over, one of th e S a n sc rit P a n d its w ho w ere p r e s e n t on
th o occasion, h a v in g m isunderstood th e p rin c ip le s of th o S ociety, took
objectio n to som e of its te n e ts a n d a so m e w h at sp irite d d is­
cussion ensuod. B u t how ever th e real o b jects of tho S ocicty b eing
clearly ex p lain ed to th em , th e P u n d its u n an im o u sly d eclared th e objects
highly com m endable.
T he C h a irm an th en offored h is re m a rk s in a n elab o rato a n d elo­
q u e n t speech, a f te r w hich a b en ediction w as pronounced by th e S a n sc rit
P u n d it of th e B ran ch an d th o m eetin g w as b ro u g h t to a close by pro­
posing a voto of th a n k s to th e C h a irm an a n d to th o G en tlem en th a t
kindly hon o red th e occasion w ith th e ir p resence.
W ith b e s t reg ard s,
I am ,
Y o u rs F ra te rn a lly ,
J. PU RN A Y Y A ,
S e c re ta ry .
No. 15.
P ro ceed in g s of tho A n n iv e rsa ry M eeting of th e K rish n a T heosophical
Society, G u n tu r, hold on th e n ig h t of 27th D ecem b er 1882, C. C. V.
S ith n ram ay y a G aru, V ice-P resid en t, in th e chair.
* * *
3. Resolved th a t th e m an n g em en t of th e G irls’ Schools opened by
B hounagiri P a tta b h ira m a S a stri G aru be n n d e rta k c n by th e B ran ch an d
th a t cach School be ex am in ed ev ery fo rtn ig h t by th e re sid e n t m em bers
in tu rn s.
4. R esolved th a t a sum of Rs. 3 bo c o n trib u te d m o n th ly to tho
S a n sc rit School opened a t V in u k o ndah u n d e r th e p a tro n ag e of th e B ranch.
# #
G. R esolved th a t th e serv ices of K n p p a Y e n k a ta S a stri G arn, tho
M aster of th e S a n sc rit School opened b y th e B ran ch a t G u n tu r, be d is­
pensed w ith ....... a n d th a t K. L ak sh m in a ry a n a S a stri G aru bo app o in ted
in his stead on R u p ees 10 p e r m ensem if he is w illin g to a cce p t th e offer.
7. R esolved th a t th e collections of th e B ra n c h be d ep o site d in tho
P o st Office S av in g s B ank.
# #
10. R esolved th a t P a ra s N os. 6 an d 8 of tho R u les o rig in a lly fram ed
for th e ad m in istratio n of th e B ra n c h be a lte re d as follow s :—
P a ra . 6 . T he officers of tho B ran ch sh a ll bo a P re sid e n t, tw o V ice­
P re sid e n ts, a S ecretary , tw o A s s is ta n t S e c re ta rie s a n d elev en C oun­
cillors. O ne of th e tw o A ssista n t S e c re ta rie s is to h av o c h arg e of th e
L ib rary a n d th e o th e r of tho B ra n c h S o c ie ty 's F u n d s.
P a ra . 8 Tho follow ing p a r t of p ara. V I I I is to bo considered as
rep ealed :— “ H e shall also h a v e ................ th e C ouncil.”
# # * g ru e l in o ur passions, abilities, affections and desire—our envy,
13. R esolved th a t th e follow ing be ad d ed to th e m lo a.
R ule X V I . F iv e m em b ers sh a ll form a q u o ru m to com m ence b u si­
n e ss in th o o rd in a ry m e e tin g s of th o B ran ch .
# #
T ru e copy se n t fo r p u b licatio n in th o S u p p le m e n t to th e " Theoso-
p h is t.”
J. PURNA YYA,
- Secretary.
T H E BRO THERHOOD OF MAN.
E xtracts from the Anniversary Lecture•
By D r. R a m D as S e n , F. T . S.
[Following is a portion of a lecture deliverd nt tlie recent
anniversary of tlie Berhampore (Uengal) B ranch Theosophical
Society, by Dr. llam Das Sen, F . T. S., A u th o r of the A iti h a s i h
R a h a s y a (Historical Anecdotes)- Our learned Brother is tho
former correspondent of Prof. Max Aliiller and other Furopeati
philologists, and received his title of Doctor from a Germ an
University in recognition of his ability as an Oriental scholar.
W e select his address for reproduction in preference to others
delivered on the occasion, ono of which, th a t of our very esteemed
B rother D inanath Ganguli, was both able and interesting —
b e c a u s e its length doos not excced the limits of o ur space and
wo wero glad to show to educated H indus th a t an in te re st in
Theosophy is quite compatible with m uch w estern learn in".
E d .-] ”
Gentlemen, I do not wish to take up your valuable tim e with a
long lecture- I am going to remind you only about the glory of
ancient India,when Buddha Ghosh in hisD h an im ci p a d a explained
to his A ry an brotherhood the principle of S a k k y a M uni the
g reat moral guide to peace an d happiness. I t was th e aim of the
g reat M aster B u dd ha Deva to bind us in one chain of Universal
brotherhood. In tho Buddhistic Convocations held u n d er the
auspices of the g re a t monarchs of ancient In dia tlie S i h a v i r a s of
India, Greece, Uactria, Persia and China sat to g e th er as brothers
to inculcate tlie doctrines of th e g reat Master. T h ere was no
animosity or p riestly prejudice in thoso days, on th e score of
creed or caste. All sat to g e th e r as brothers iu meditation,
solemn and sacred, for doing good to h u m a n ity which was
regarded as a common cause. All fought for th e praletarian.
I t was a nohle age indeed. Like the y a t i s of old, the incompa­
rable master of the ninetentli century, A uguste Comte devoted
his noble life to the good of humanity. H is motto was ‘ L o v e ’ —
‘ O rder.’ ‘ P ro g r e ss’ nnd ‘ Live for otherp,’ H e passed his
solitary m om ents in m ed itating how to relieve th e sufferings
and promote tho good of hum anity. H u m an ity was his idol of
worship, he dedicated liis life to do good to others. Theosophy
ImS'the same basis of morality. I t s aim is to give us in one
chain of brotherhood,
Madame Blavatsky and Col. Olcott are also heroes of H u m a ­
nity , aud they have in this age of scepticism, unbelief and
selfishness opened our eyes to our chief good and ta u g h t us to
be h um ble—to love man and be happy, L et b rother Theoso­
phists heed their adm onitions and unite tog eth er iu one bond
aud make ou r lives sublime.
I cannot refrain from saying on an occasion like this a few,
words as to the n atu re of the soul, its fu tu re destiny an d our
duties iu respect to it.
F ro m C hem istry we learn th a t m a tte r is indeBtructible
Bodies chango their form, it is t r u e ; but the material element,
th e simple body is im perishable, and always to be found intact,
n otw ithstanding the changes it undergoes. If it is tru e in the
material world th a t noth ing is ever lost, it m u s t equally be truo
th a t neither is any th in g lost in the spiritual world, th a t only
transform ations ta k e place. We know th a t we are n o t only
material b u t spiritual beings, th a t we are not merely a mass of
m utter composed of earth, air, water, fire, &c., b u t th a t this
wondeiful composition of material elements is quickened, inform­
ed by something higher, nobler, sublim er, so m ething which we
feel is not material, to which we commonly give th e name
of Soul. This is not destroyed with death, b u t survives
# death, j u s t as material bodies change form b n t exist
nevertheless. I f th en we do not die o u trig h t with death,
if the soul exists after death, th e question we are confronted
with is an awful one. I t is th en a question, not of d ea th or
annihilations, bu t of progress th a t we have to deal with. The
soul enters another sphere of existenoe after the dissolution of the
material hody, and th a t sphere evidently m ust bo a h igh or low
# one, happy or miserable, according to the degree of advance­
ment, elevation, aud purification the soul in its previous exist­
ence has been nble to achieve. O ur wholo in terest th en
centres in Chis one q ue stio n —how we should regulate our life in
this world th a t we may be prepared aud fit for th a t higher state
of existence which is reserved for us P This has been the question
whioh has agitated the m inds of men from the rem otest ages.
B u t o ur d u ty seems clear en o u g h —to purify and elevate our
soul. Purification means th e removal of the grosser particles
th a t attach to a th in g otherwise clean. The im purities we
jealousy, lust, hatred , vanity and pride. These m u s t be cleared,
th ese m u st be eradicated like weeds in a garden, before th e soul
can be freed into its norm al condition, regain its native s tre n g th
*
and develop its latent powers. I t th e n behoves us while on
earth n o t to be e a rth e a r t h y —to live in the world, but,not be
worldly,— to enjoy th e th in g s of th e world, b u t n ot to le t
o ur hearts on them . W e should th ink , reflect deeply an d
constantly, an d be convinced of th e u t t e r nothingness
of all worldly possessions—of rich es—of p o m p —o£ f a m e —of
g lo ry—nny of life itself,' F o r th e y avail us n ot, they
stand us nob instead — th ey are a h ind ranc e—-an encum -
branoe to o u r purification. W e are as ib were bird s o f
passage h e re —destinod for a higher state of existenco ; and ou r
aim should bo to m ake e verythin g h ere su bservien t to t h a t
one end. O nr co nd uct in life should therefore be to p ratice
tru th , beneficence an d c h a rity —to look upon all m an kin d as
brethren, to love them, help them , au d do th e m all the good
we can.
“ Think not, speak not, wink not siu,
B u t in body pure and pure within.’’
I t is only t h u s th a t you can purify and elevate your soul and
render il fit to enjoy that higher existence which awaits it in the
ethereal spheres. For if your soul be vicious and corrupt, if
du rin g your terrestrial life you have been sunk in material inte­
rests, and exclusively given up to purely physical e njoym ents
which make you the fellow of th e animals ; if you have been
hard, your conscience d u m b ; your iustincts low and evil, you
will be condemned to recommence your lifo on e a rth again aud
again, where physical suffering and moral evil have tak en up
their abode, where happiness is unknow n and where h a p p in e s s
is the universal law-”— Louis Fignier.
To be learned, g reat or rich, is n ot given to a l l ; b u t to be
truth fu l, honest, and forgiving is denied to none. L et us th en
be up and doing. W orld and its caros have made slaves of us.
L et us shake off its baneful y o k e ; extend our hand of love to
all mankind, and do them all the good we can ; for we are
miserable, indeed. Our evil passions and propensities m u s t be
mortified and) to rn off from our h eart, and tru th , love and
benevolence au d self-denial m ust be planted iustead. W h e n
these take root, when these grow a nd flourish in luxuriance
and we have learnt th e luxury of doing good, we shall have
attained to peace an d happiness, and our mission here will have
been fulfilled. I have th us tried to explain briefly my views as to
the n atu re and destiny of tlia soul and our duties in life; b u t how
far I havo succeeded will be best ju d g e d by you.So now I conclude,
but) no t before I have wished you, Brethren a 1U pi >y New Y eah
undjwitb the advance of the New Y ear a steady advance in tha
path of rectitude, purity and peace.
0 it ant H a ll, B euuam pore, B en g a l,
Tho lsJ J a n u a r y , 1883.
t h e a d h i b h o u t ic b h r a t r u t h e o s o p h ic a l
S O C IE T Y .
The annual Executive Meeting of the A . B. B. Theosophi­
cal S o c ie ty berliampore, Bengal, was held 011 the 31st Decem­
ber 1882, at the Grant Hall.
The following account was audited and passed, viz :
P h esen t ;
Babu Dina Nath Ganguli, F. T. S.
,, Shyama Charan Bhatta, F. T. S.
„ Patiram Banerji, F. T. S.
„ Kusumvilas Ray Chaudhuri, F. T. S.
„ Kali Prasanna Mukerji, F. T. S.
,, Kamakshya Prasad Ganguli, F. T. S.
For tlie ensuing year the following officers were elected :
Babu Navin Krishna Banerji: President.
„ Dinanatli Gangul, President pro-tem (during
the absence of the President).
„ Dina Nath Ganguli : Secretary.
„ Kali Prasanna Mulkerji, Secretary, pro-tem.
,, Patiram Banerji : Treasurer.
The following members' wero elected for the Council:
• Babu Kamakshya Prasad Ganguli.
„ Nafardas Ray.
„ Shat Cowri Mukherji.
„ Shyamacharan Bhatta.
Resolved that the rules now in force be adopted for tlie
coming year with one or two slight additions and modifica­
tions.
K A L I P R 4 S A N N A M U K E R JI,
Secretary.
B O M B A Y B R A N C H OF T H E T H E O S O P H IC A L
S O C IE T Y .
At the special meeting of tlie Bombay Branch of the Theo­
sophical Socicty held on the 21st January 1883, the following
annual Report of the Secretary was read :—
The balance in the hands of the Treasurer on the 31st
December last was Rs. 283-6-0. The outstanding on the same
date was Rs. 324; since the above date Rs. 38 have been paid
up, thus reducing the outstanding balance to Rs. 286. Of this
Rs. 138-8-0 seem to be recoverable ; the remaining balance of
Rs. 147-8-0, which is irrecoverable, I would recommend to bo
written off as bad debt.
During the past year about 14 meetings were held (in ad­
dition to the weekly meetings for reading works on Psycho-,
logy) at which business more or less of a formal character
was transacted. Tw o lectures were given on Yedantism by
Mr. Gungadhur Keshew Athole. The President-Founder also
gave two lectures on Practical Mesmerism. Dr. Pandurang
Gopal gave a lecture, on the “ Relation ofMind andMatter” and
the definition of the so-called Psychic Forces. Mr. Tookaram
Tatia, one of the Councillors, reprinted Patanjali’s Sutras on
Yoga with their English translation which were out of print
for many years. His service in the matter has been acknow­
ledged by the President-Founder and will, it is hoped, be ap­
preciated by the public at large. A n event of great moment
both to some of the members individually and tho Branch
generally during the last year must be noticed, viz., the
departure of the Founders to Madras. During the time that
they were here, the Head Quarters were at our disposal for
holding our meetings, and were a help to us iu various ways.
B y their departure from this city, we are thrown on our own
resources, and the time has now arrived when our loyalty to
our C A U S E and our capabilities of individual development and
self-government will be truly tested.
It must be acknowledged that we have not yet succeeded
in placing our Branch on as satisfactory a footing as ono
could wish. Altliongh we are financially solvent, yet I think
wc have not yet devised means to provide intellectual food for
our members. This is I think because on the one hand some
members do not realize the principle that in giving1we receive,
and on the other that others expect a sudden development of
our aims and the realization of objects iu view. Those
members who arc intellectually gifted ought I think to instruct
their brother members in subjects of which they have made a
special study— be it physics or metaphysics. A n d it is a
source of satisfaction to us all that we have among us threo
or four members already who have made the physical sciences
their special study, and it is to be assumed that if they are
keenly sensible of their duty towards the Branch, they will be
able to take up such work with advantage to other members.
The example already set by Dr. Pandurang Gopal in this
direction ought to be followed by the other members. But
are we to study physical science here, some members would
say. The answer is, “ Yes.” Because we are engaged here not
in pursuit of partial truth but the whole truth. I think tho
principle the Founders wish on which we should work is that
of co-operation. As the bees leave their hive and go out in
different directions from flower to flower in pursuit of honey
and return with their treasures to their common house, so
should all the members work in different departments of
knowledge and bring the fruits of their labours to their
Branch for the benefit of us all. It must also be noticed that
most of the members are business men, and it is perhaps too
much to expect such work from them. As most of the mem­
bers are more learners than teachers, I leave it to you to
devise somo means by which their craving for such knowledge
can be satisfied. It cannot be denied that apart from those
who havo joined us with the object of satisfying an idle curio­
sity, most of us have joined the Branch with the object of
studying spiritual science. The hard and uncompromising
conditions exacted from those who are engaged in its study
you are well aware. Perhaps all of us arc not in a position
for the present to enter upon such a life. It is a reasonable
expectation, however,- that each member should have frequent
oppoi'tunity of being enlightened from time to time with
the theoretical explanations and views of thoso who
have made “ man” and “ nature” their study of a life­
time. It must be admitted that the subject of metaphysics
is very abstruse and has to be systematically taught, and
learnt, and there can be no doubt that it cannot be studied
thoroughly by one’s self. This will be plain to you if you
have read any one of the Nos. of “ Occult Fragments.” In
this department of knowledge explanations cx-catliedra regard­
ing one’s difficulties are invaluable. So long as the Founders
were here we had all the help we could wish in the matter
— occupicd as they were in the administrative work of the
Parent Society. As Vedantism, if properly understood, is
Occultism, I think if we engage a Pundit to study even its
bare words thoroughly, I think wc shall havo equipped some
of our members for prosecuting their studies in his direction
with advantage.
In conclusion I beg to state that after payment of the cost
of furniture, &c. (amounting to about Rs. 150) sanctioned by
you at the meeting held on the 7th instant, I am glad to state
that the Treasurer has still in his hands something like Rs. 200,
ont of which we may be enabled to lay the nucleus of a
Library, and as funds increase provide for the purchase of
scicntific apparatus, &c.
After the report was adopted, the following office-bearers
were elected for the current year :—
P resident.
Rao Bahadur Gopalrao Hari Deshmukh.
Vice-Presidents.
Mr. K . M . Shroif.
Dr. Pandurang Gopal.
Mr. Tookaram Tatya.
Councillors.
Mr. S. St. Lawrence.
Mr. Dinshaw Dorabji.
Dr. Vithalrao Pandurang Mhatre.
Mr. Nasserwanjce Coyaji.
Mr. Martandrao Babaji Nagnath.
Mr. Rastamji Nasscrwan ji Coyaji.
Mr. Dorabji Ilormasji Bharucha.
Secretary fy Treasurer.
Bal Nilaji Pitale.
B y order.
Bom h a t, \ B A L N IL A J I P IT A L E ,
31s£ January 1883. 3 Secretary Of Treasurer.
MADURA T H E O S O P H IC A L S O C IE T Y .
( B t e - L a w s .)
1. The objects of tho Madura Theosophical Society are :—
(1). To cultivate a feeling of Universal Brother­
hood.
(2). To favor the diffusion of Sanskrit Litera­
ture and Aryan Philosophy.
(3). To enforce, on the part of its members
especially, the leading of truthful, pure
and temperate lives.
(4). To cultivate and promote, as far as practi­
cable, a knowledge of tho hidden laws
of nature aud the latent capacities of
man.
2. This Socicty shall observe religious neutrality and ab­
stain from Sectarianism.
3. The Society shall consist of a President, a Secretary
and Treasurer, and members.
4. A n y Fellow of the Parent Society or of one of its
Branches may be admitted, as a member by the President.
5. Every candidate for admission to the Society must be
recommended by two Fellows.
G. The President and the Secretary shall in future be
clectcd for the term of one year in the month of December
by a majority of the Fellows. The President may be re­
elected with the sanction of the General Council obtained
before the expiration of the year.
7. Tho President and two other Fellows, or the Secretary Branch, as Vice-Presidents for the ensuing year. Dr. Kings­
and two other Fellows, or any flye Fellows shall constitute
a quorum in all cases,
8. Every member shall pay in advance a monthly sub­
scription of not less than half a rupee towards the expenses
of the Society. The Socicty may exempt from payment a
member who is unable to pay.
9. The Secretary shall keep a record of the proceedings of
the Society and an account of its funds. H e shall also corres­
pond on behalf of tho Society.
10. The members shall meet at least once a month on such
day and in such place as may be found convenient and noti­
fied by the Secretary.
11. A small library to begin with of the books recommend­
ed by the Parent Theosophical Society shall be formed out
of voluntary contributions by the members ; while some
periodicals, the “ Theosophist” among them, shall be sent for
out of the monthly subscriptions.
12. Each member shall select and study one of the books
thus got out, and at the meeting communicate to others, as
best he chooses, the portion he has studied, answering the
questions put by them in view to a proper understanding of
the subject.
13. Whoever infringes any of these bye-laws or the rules
of the Parent Society, shall be called upon by the President
to explain and defend himself. Should the President in Council
with the Fellows think that the conduct is blameable, it
shall be reported to the Parent Society for such action in the
matter as its Founders may deem fit.
14. The above bye-laws may be modified from time to
time as occasion arises with the conscnt of a majority of the
members.
15. A copy of the bye-laws or of any alterations therein
shall be sent to the Parent Society.
V. C O O P P O O S W A M Y ,
Secretary.
M adora, I k th February 1883.
T H E B E 1 IA R T H E O S O P H I C A L S O C IE T Y ( B a n k i p o r e ) .
R U L E S A N D BYE- LAWS.
I n addition to the Rules of the Parent Society, the follow­
ing special Byc-Laws have been adopted.
(1) The President shall preside in the ordinary meetings
of the Society, and discharge the ordinary duties of a Chair­
man. I 11 the absence of the President, the Vice-President
shall perform tho duties of the President.
(2) A meeting shall, under ordinary circumstances, bo
called once in every month.
(3) A n extraordinary meeting may be called by the Se­
cretary, with the consent of the President.
(4) N o resolution shall be passed, unless there be a
majority of votes for it, the minimum number being seven.
(5) The President, in case of a tie, shall have a casting
vote.
((5) * * * * * *
(7) Each member shall pay at least four annas a mont
in order to raise a fund to be placed at the disposal of the Sec­
retary, for the purpose of books and periodicals and for other
necessary expenses.
P U R N E N D R A N A R A Y A N S IN H A ,
Secretary.
Approved by the President-Founder.
D A M O D A R K. M A V A L A N K A R ,
)
H e a d Q r s ., A d y a b , Joint Recording Secretary,
27 th January 1883. ) Theosophical Society.
THE B R IT IS H T H E O S O P H I C A L S O C IE T Y .
Important changes have just occurred in our London Branch.
From a recent letter from our esteemed friend and Brother,
Mr. C. C. Massey, we learn that on Sunday the 7th January,
the annual election for officers resulted in the choice of Dr.
Anna Kingsford as President and Mr. Edward Maitland,
an eminent writer, and Dr. George W yld, late President of the
ford is perhaps the best person in England to liead a moral
and spiritual movement of the character of ours. Whether
considered as regards her practical knowledge of certain
branches of physical science, her personal elevation of cha­
racter, or her spiritual endowments, she is one to command uni­
versal respect. As to Mr. Edward Maitland it suffices to say that
he is fully worthy and competent to be her coadjutor; as thoso
who have read his “ The Soul, and how it found me,” will be
ready to confess. The two are the writer^ of the “ Perfect
W a y ”— that remarkable book which has attracted so much
attention in England, and was recently reviewed in these
columns. Dr. Kingsford and Mr. Maitland are in sympathy
with Asiatic thinkers, though the views of the philosophical
school which they are founding are not quite identical with
those of Indian occultists in all respects. A n d although their
movement is, like that of the Parent Socioty, but fairly
begun, it is already evident that it is destined to make a
distinct impression upon contemporary thought. The British
Theosophical Society will not, however, lose any part of its
eclectic and tolerant character in taking new officers, but will
continue to be, like its parent body, non-sectarian, the rally-
ing-centre of minds in search of archaic truth, the lens for its
conviction.
T I IE P A R I S ( F R A N C E ) T H E O S O P H IC A L S O C IE T Y .
O ur very valued friend and brother, Monsieur P. G.
Ley marie, reports that our Branch in Paris “ meets every
Sunday as usual at 30 Rue Jacob, at the house of M . Evette,
F. T. S. The usual routine is to begin with the reading of
translated extracts from the Theosophist, which are discussed
in a scientfic and philosophical spirit. Then M . T .— (an
eminent Engineer) who has discovered the key to some very
ancient oriental writings, gives translations which embrace
many rare and precious teachings in Philosophy, Ethics,
Science, and particularly Astronomy.” The work in question
is attributed to a Sage named Gautama, as it would seem a
predecessor of Sakya M uni— and our Paris colleague. M . T.
litmus that his author, many ages ago, “ knew the
Absides, the Motions of the Stars, tlie Precession of the Equi­
noxes, by the help of astronomical calculations as exact as thoso
of our days.” Then M . T. M . a noble savant of 87 years, a
Deputy in 184-8, brings us into the discussion of Keppler’s
immortal works, in which the geometrical plan which
pervades the entire universe, and its manifestations in all
beings as well as objects, are exemplified with the power of
a true revelator of Nature’s secrets.” Such is the lofty occu­
pation of one of our most dignified groups of theosophists iu
Europe. In this Sunday gathering of thoughtful and able
men (M . Camille Flammarion, the Astronomer, was at the
latest reported meeting, as was also the venerable Alphonso
Cahagnet)inay also be remarked the tendency of our theosophie
movement which, whatever else its opponents may charge it
with, must at least be conceded to elevate the mind of its,
supporters above the puerile inanities of humdrum life.
A N O T H E R T H E O S O P H I C A L S A N S C R IT SCHOOL.
A c o e k s p o n d e n t o f t h e I n d i a n M i r r e r , v/ritin g f r o m Bhangulpore
soys:—
You will, perhaps, be glad to hear of the Buccess which hoa
atteuded the scheme of the Theosophists at Bhaugulpore of
founding on Anglo Sanskrit School teaching up to the Entrance
C ourB e, but with a f u r m o r e extensive range in prospect for
Sanskrit learning. The School was opened, on the 5th instant,
with about a dozen 6tudents on its rolls. Tho number has since
swelled to about a dozen times as many, and the classes, eight
in all, from the highest to the lowest, have been put in working
order. BabuKunjalal Chucker Cutty, the late retired Head Master
of the Bunkurah Zilla School, hus k in d ly accepted the post of
Head Master to the i n s t i t u t i o n , aud lias been discharging his
duties to the satisfaction o f the students, aud ihe Managing Com­
mittee. Babu Mimindra Nath Singli, of Clmmpunagar, has set a
noble example of disinterested zeal for public good by offering
his valuable services gratis f o r one year as Honorary Second
Master, which th o Committee have gladly a n d thankfully accept­
ed. This gentleman has h im s e lf read up to th o 1!. A. standard
in the. Presidency College In the porformanco o f h is self-imposed
work, the Committee is glad to find iu him the high ability aud
devotedueSs of an experienced teacher.
Tlie School owes its existence to the entire support of Babu
Tej Narayan tho wealthy Zemindar, who, at his own cost, has
been providing it with the necossary furniture, books, and maps
among suudry other things, and has kindly come forward to
maintain it with ft subscription of Rs. 100,a month to be supple­
mented by a growing collection amount in schooling foes, the
rates of which in the several classes have been fixed at only one
li'ilf of those prevailing iu the Zillu School. Thy School ia called
after his name,“ Tej Narayan City School.”
T H E N U M B E R SEVEN. '
A friend In England, noticing the strange association of
the number 7 with events in the course of tho Theosophical
Society, calls our attention to tho fact that “ the late most
important meeting of our London Branch, at which' new
elements were introduced, and a President of great genius
and energy was elected, was held, quite undesignedly as
regards date, on tlio 7th of January. A n d giving numerical
values (according to order in the English Alphabet) to tha
letters of our President’s name, I find that by the well-known
method (called tlie St. Martin Theosophie arithmetic) of
dealing with sucli numbers, they sum up to 7. Thus :__
A n na = Doctor = 75 1
7 :1
Kingsford = 103 Kingsford = 103 8 6
= 7 i 178 = 16 = 7
“ From the occurrence of similar ‘ coincidences’ lately in
my experience, I have had occasion to pay great heed to
them, and havo satisfied myself beyond all doubt that thev
occur beyond the possibility of explanation by the ordinary
doctrine ot chances and probabilities.”
A P R A IS E W O R T H Y EXAM PLE.
_ B a b u A iia n tra m G hosh, D istrict M u n s if of A n ita h a v in g
« • I' .m 0 Stx r U*"p ,'L‘!Uu ,U?M -1UUl Hl>0ml s l , i r i t to tito
S in h a le se N a tio n a l B u d d h i s t ic F u n d , t h r o u g h C olonel O lc o tt
the sum of ten Rupees, 1 am instructed to announce the fact
through the Theosophist.
T am also to express the grateful interest felt by tho
Board of Managers m seeing this further proof of the kindlv
aud tolerant spirit awakened by our Theosophical Society in
all its members, irrespective of creed, caste or race.
Galle, Ckylon, \ q. E D R E W E R E ,
26th January 1883 J Sec. lid. Managers, iV. S. B. F . (S . P .)
PERSONAL IT E M S .
O n the 30th of January H . II. Daji Raj, F. T. S. Tliakoro
Saheb of Wadliwan, President of our Saorashtr Branch in
Kathiawai*, came to the Adyar Head-quarters on a visit to
the Founders. H e travelled incognito— that is, unofficially
and as a private gentleman— and so brought but fifteen
followers instead of .500, and did not take from the Madras
Government the Salute of nine guns to which ho is entitled
as a reigning Prince of a Native State, liis Highness was
met at the Railway Station by Colonel Olcott and tho princi­
pal officers and some members of the Madras Thcosophical
Society, who were all agreeably struck with his modest
deportment and high-bred manners and appearance. H o
leaves for a tour in Europe by a late Mail Steamer in March,
in course of which he will make large purchases for tho
new palace he is building at Wadliwan. W e bespeak for him
the polite attentions of our members throughout Europe.
O u r valued friend and brother, Munslii Bishen Lall, m. a.,
President of the Rohilkhand Theosophical Society, at
Bareilly, visited Chandausi, Moradabad, and one or two
other places, for the purpose of promoting the cause of Theo­
sophy by the formation of Branch Societies. H e already
telegraphs to us the establishment of a branch at M oradabad.
Further particulars will appear in our next. If those who,
complain of not being favoured by the “ B u o t i i k u s ” were to
turn a leaf out of our respected brother’s book, they would
undoubtedly serve themselves by unselfishly serving tho
cause of tho Society. Mere lip devotion is entirely useless ;
it is the practical work of a man, cither for the good or evil
of his fellowmen, that determines his future destiny. Thoso
therefore who wish to advance ou “ Tliu l’ATii” must lirst
acquire good Karina.
Our valued friends and members, Mrs. and Mr. Sinnett
now at Calcutta arc expected shortly to visit our new home.
Those who are acquainted with tlie early history of our
Socicty will remember that our distinguished friends havo
stood by our side and nobly helped us to win the battle. It
is to them that we owe a large share of the success of our
cause, Whorcycr they go our good wishes will always follow

them. They will most probably stop with us at our Head­
quarters for a few weeks before going to England.
M r. J. C. Williams p. t . s ., Collector and Magistrate of
Etah, formerly,of Saharanporc, goes on two years’ furlough
to E n g la n d . O n his way home, we hope to welcome and
receive him in Adyar, since wo heard that he will 6ail from
Madras.
TFrom n le tte r of M. B- R y. P . Iy a lu N aid a G a m , V ice P re sid e n t
of th o M a d ras T h eo so p h ical S ociety, wo p u b lish tho follow ing
E x tra c t, Ed.']
“ It is with extreme sorrow that I have to inform you
of the melancholy news that H . E . N awab Sir Salar Jung
Bahadur died hero last night. O n tlio night of tho 7th
Instant lie had some bad symptoms which turned out to
be cholera yesterday, and which ended his lifo on the
samo evening. H e leaves many thousands of friends and
people to mourn for his loss. His truthfulness, generosity,
tolerancc, forbearance, magnanimity, mildness and wisdom
were great and generally made a lasting impression on the
minds of those who had tho pleasure of conversing and
associating with him. His premature death is the chief
topic of conversation among the people, high and low and
will not bo so easily forgotten.” _______________________ __
O u r Colleague arid Brother of T h e Poona, O b server in his issue
o! F eb ru a ry 21, kindly republishes th e following w i t t y th r u s t
from an u nk no w n *' contem porary.
•* T u e o s o p u y — A contempornry says th a t the efforts being
made to establish a branch of the Theosophical Society a t Delhi
nre likely a t last to be crowned with success. A bout th irty
mem bers have signified their intention oo join the brotherhood,
nnd o requisition has been sent to the h ead-quarters of tho
Society, to deputo an enrolling m em ber to open the Branch. T h is
m u s t m ea n a collection o f Rs. 300 by w a y o f i n itia to r y f e e s .
T h e italics are ours. P ity th a t the unknow n w itsnapper
should have th us left his sentence incompleto. W ere he as t r u t h ­
fu l as he is jocular, he m ig h t well havo add ed—“ and, it m u s t
m e a n an expenditure for the P a r e n t Society of R upees 600, for
sending th a t e n ro llin g m e m b e r ;” let alone the sad fact th a t o ut
of 30 mem bers, half are sure to ovoid p ay m en t of th e small
fee by either pleading poverty or giving some o th e r reason
- o f t e n b u t a p retex t. W e invite th e attentio n of both the E d ito r
c f T he PoOnaObserver and his “ con tem po rary ” to p eruse th e yearly
accounts of our Society in the T heosophist, before c ra c k in g jokes
a t the T. S ’s expense.
AN ENEM Y TURNED BROTHER.
[C o l. O lc o tt hns received from one of tho W e s te rn S ta te s of
A m erica th e follow ing cordial le tte r, w hich is a s g ra tify in g to all of ns
a s it h a s b een to th o recip ien t. T h e w rite r— now, h a p p ily , a T heosophist
__;a a le a rn e d p h y sic ia n of G erm an b irth b u t long s e ttle d in th e U n ite d
S ta te s w h ere lio is know n an d a p p re c ia te d as a w r ite r upon philosophical
a n d sp iritu a listic to p ics. H u n d red s now inim ical to on r society w ould,
like th e p re s e n t co rresp o n d ent, be c o n v e rte d in to frie n d s if like him
th ey could b u t h a v e th e ch an ce to in fo rm th em se lv e s a b o u t th o fa c ts .
I n fa c t w e find, as tim e goes on, th a t th is ch an g e is a c tu a lly ta k in g
place in m a n y ab le m in d s. A nd am ong tho v in d icativ e ag en cies m u st
b e g iv en a ch ief place to M r . S in n e tt’s Occult W orld, th e circu latio n of
w h ich h as now ex ten d ed to probably o v ery E n g lish sp e ak in g c o u n try on
th e globe. I t will d o u b tless ch e e r our new W e s te rn frie n d to le a rn t h a t
o th e r an d p erh ap s f a r m ore ('Fragments of) Occult T ruths, d ro p p ed from
th o tab le of th o M a s t e r s , h av e b een g a th e re d in to M r . S in n e tt’s b ask et,
n n d m ay sh o rtly ap p e a r in tho form of a n o th e r volum o, E d .] :—
“ Som o months ago,being a little irritated, from reading
M r . S i n n e t t ’ s “ OccultW orld;” (abook,which I took up with
a great deal of expectation, and which gave m e th e n very
little satisfaction) I wrote to you, giving you and the
“ Brothers” a piece, o f m y m in d . I did not expect any
answer then ; believing that it would be entirely im­
material to you, whatever m y opinions might be in regard
to occult science. A s you however kindly answered m y
letter, showing an undeserved interest in m y instruction,
I consider it no w m y duty, to recant and apologize for
m y former opinions,
In fact, since reading the “ Hints on Esoteric Theoso­
ph y,” and especially since studying the “ Fragments of
Occult Truth ” in the “ Theosophist ” m y views havo
been oompletely revolutionised. M y faith in the re­
liability of spiritualism having been shaken some time
ago, partly by reading “ Isis Unveiled,” partly by a
careful review of m y own spiritualistic experiences, which
were not in every respect satisfactory, I was undecided
what to believe, and almost made up m y m ind to cease
investigating altogether, for the following reason.
It is self evident, that the all pervading intelligent
principle, which w e call “ G o d,” and of which every
individual spirit is only a part, must be infinitely wise,
and whatever exists, must therefore have been created
or evolved according to the highest principles of wisdom
and love. But if everything is made infinitely better,
than wo could m ake or wish it ourselves, then we may
safely put our trust in G o d, and wait with patience until
the Supreme Master of tlio Universe shall reveal to us
more of the sublime mysteries of nature. T o worry
about our future, would be equivalent with acknowled­
ging a suspicion, that the great architect might perhaps
have made some blunder after all, or with asserting,
that the egg can be wiser than the hen that laid it.
Although tho above reasoning must be correct, still
it did not satisfy the cravings of m y inquisitive m ind ;
but on further roflection I found, that m an even here
on earth is not condemned to perpetual ignorance in re­
gard to his future destiny, and that with intuition and
introspection as our aider, we aro certainly enabled
to learn a great deal, even without any extraneous assist­
ance.
I have carefully read the “ Fragments of Occult
Truth” , and it now looks as though those teachings
were not entirely new to me. It seems as if the sun had
suddenly risen over a well know n landscape, illuminating
with its glorious light those parts, which I had often
before beheld in tlie misty twilight of imperfect day. I
feel myself highly elevated by this knowledge. Although
as yet I have obtained but little light, yet from what
little I have received, it appears to m e, as if I, with open
eyes, were wandering am ong the blind, or as if from a
lofty attitude of spiritual elevation I were looking down
upon the ludicrous scuffles of children. I further feel,
that a spiritual link has been established between your
Society and m y humble self, and with confidence I look
for more light from tho same source. O f course I do not
expect, to be at once admitted into the inner chamber of
the temple. I do not even presume to expect to arrive
during this short life at a partial understanding of the
secret workings of nature; but from wliat glimpses I had
behind the veil, I have become convinced of the wisdom
and goodness of the source of life.
Th e doctrine of reincarnation or transmigration of souls,
upon which I used to look with horror and disgust,
appears to m e no w perfectly natural, beneficial 'and wise,
and I look forward to somo future period of existence, to
accomplish what cannot be accomplished in the present
condition.
I am anxious to learn ; yet there are m an y statements,
that must appear extravagant and absurd to the unini­
tiated. Neither can the founders of the Theosophical
Society become offended at the unbelief of the sceptic ;
because only tho credulous fool would swallow every
statement without masticating (understanding) the same,
and such a one would be only a poor acquisition to your
ranks.
There are m any questions I am tempted to ask; but as
this letter has already spun its length to an extent not
intended, and as your patience must have certain limits,
I will forbear at present, and wait a while, w hen perhaps
I shall know more and have less to ask.” * * *
 /Ocreativ
^com m ons
Attribution-NonCom m ercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported

Y o u are free:

to S h a r e — l o c o p y , d is trib u t e a n d t r a n s m it t h e w o r k

to R e m ix — to ad ap t th e w o rk

U n d e r th e f o llo w in g c o n d it io n s :

A t t rib u t io n — Y o u m u s t a ttrib u te t h e w o r k in t h e m a n n e r s p e c if ie d b y t h e a u t h o r

CD o r l i c e n s o r ( b u t n o t in a n y w a y t h a t s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e y e n d o r s e y o u o r y o u r u s e o f
th e w o r k ) .

N o n c o m m e r c ia l — Y o u m a y n o t u s e t h is w o r k f o r c o m m e r c i a l p u r p o s e s .

©
S h a r e A lik e — I f y o u alter, t r a n s f o r m , o r b u ild u p o n t h is w o r k , y o u m a y d istrib u te
th e r e s u lt in g w o r k o n l y u n d e r t h e s a m e o r s im ila r l i c e n s e t o t h is o n e .

W ith th e u n d e r s t a n d in g that:

W a i v e r — A n y o f th e a b o v e c o n d it io n s c a n b e w a i v e d if y o u g e t p e r m i s s i o n f r o m th e c o p y r ig h t
h o ld e r.

P u b lic D o m a in — W h e r e t h e w o r k o r a n y o f its e le m e n t s is in t h e p u b l i c d o m a i n u n d e r
a p p lic a b le law , t h a t s t a t u s is in n o w a y a ff e c t e d b y t h e lic e n se .

O th e r R ig h t s — I n n o w a y a r e a n y o f t h e f o llo w in g r ig h t s a ff e c t e d b y t h e lic e n se :

• Y o u r fa ir d e a lin g o r f a i r u s e rig h ts , o r o t h e r a p p lic a b le c o p y r i g h t e x c e p t i o n s a n d

lim itations;

• T h e a u t h o r 's m o r a l rig h ts;

• R i g h t s o t h e r p e r s o n s m a y h a v e e ith e r in t h e w o r k its e lf o r in h o w t h e w o r k is u s e d , s u c h
a s p u b l i c i t y o r p r i v a c y rig h ts.

N o t ic o — F o r a n y r e u s e o r d istrib u tio n , y o u m u s t m a k e c le a r to o t h e r s th e l i c e n s e t e r m s o f
th is w o r k . T h e b e s t w a y t o d o t h is is w it h a lin k t o t h is w e b p a g e .
 A MONTHLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO ORIENTAL PHILOSOPHY, ART, LITERATURE AND OCCULTISM:
EMBRACING MESMERISM, SPIRITUALISM , AND OTHER SECRET SCIENCES.
frerrcT to v r : I
T H E R E IS N O R E L I G I O N H I G H E R T H A N T R U T H .
[F a m ily m otto o f the M aharajahs o f B enares. ]
S P E C IA L N O T IC E T O C O R R E S P O N D E N T S .
Adverting to articles and correspondence
destined fo r the pages o f the T h e o s o p h i s t , we
would call the attention o f intending contri­
butors to the following instructions :—
( I .)No anonymous documents w ill be accepted fo r insertion,
even though they m ay he signed “ A Theosophist.”
{ II.) A n y contributor not desiring his name to he made piob*
lie, should give the necessary intim ation to the E ditor when fo r ­
warding his contribution.
{ I I I .) Contributors are requested to forw ard their articles,
in the early p art of the month, so as to allow the E ditor p lenty
o f tim e fo r correction and disposal in the pages o fth e T h e o s o -
p h is t . '
(IF .) A ll correspondence to be w ritten on one side of the
paper only, leaving clear spaces between lines and a iwide m argin.
The E ditors disclaim responsibility fo r opinions expressed by
contributors in their articles , with some o f ivhich they agree, with
ethers not. Great latitude is allowed to correspondents, and
they alone are accountable fo r what they write. The journal is
offered as a vehicle fo r the wide dissem ination o f fa cts and
opinions connected w ith the Asiatic religions, philosophies and
sciences, A ll ivho have anything worth telling are made welcome
and not interfered with. Rejected M S S . are not returned.
O LD A N D N E W M ETH O D S.
So rnuch information relating to the highest science
of Nature has lately been given out to the world through
those columns, that it is worth while at this stage of the
proceedings to call the reader’s attention to the w ay in
wliich n e w methods of dealing with spiritual truths
illuminate the old methods adopted by occult writers of
a former date. It will grow more and more apparent
to ptvt40ht9 of occult philosophy as time goes on, that
the explanations now in process of development were all
foreshadowed b y mystic writers of the earlier school.
Books tiiat h^ve hitherto Irritated impatient readers by
their almost hopeless obscurity, will already have grown
intelligible to a considerable extent, and m any of the
riddles they still present to the student will probably be
interpreted as time goes on. In this elucidation of
old standing enigmas there is a double interest for all
serious investigators of Nature. Firstly, the occult writings
of the obscure school gather fresh importance in modern
estimation as it is thus demonstrated that their obscurity
of style is not,— as unsympathetic critics m ay often have
been inclined to think,— a mere cover for obscurity of
thought; secondly, the recent teachings of which the
Theosophical Society and these pages have been the
channel, will be invested with all the more authority in
the eyes even of comparatively apathetic recipients as
it grows evident that they were familiar long ago to
advanced students of the mystic era.
T h e science in fact wliich is now being given out to
the world in clearly intelligible language for the first
time has been in possession of the elect few from time
immemorial. N ev er mind, for the moment, w hy that
science has hitherto been jealously hidden from m ankind
at large. There are plenty of reasons forthcoming in
justification of that reticence really, and it m ay not be
unreasonable to suggest that the world at large, to
which the elements of occult doctrine are n o w received
as something n e w and strange, almost too wonderful for
belief, should give credit to the exceptionally gifted
persons w ho have fathomed these mysteries and many
more besides, for having had some motives for the
policy they have pursued, which every body may not yet
be in a position to understand. But this is another
branch of the subject: the justification of Nature’s most
advanced explorers, in regard to the precautions they
have hitherto taken in reporting their discoveries, m ay be
remitted to a future period. W h a t we are concerned to
show for the present is, that though purposely veiled and
expressed in language which ordinary readers were not
expected to understand, the science in which all who
wish to learn m ay now be taught very freely was long
ago recorded in books to which we m ay now appeal for
the retrospective confirmation of the explanations now
given.
A n y one w ho will road Eliplias Levi’s writings after
thoroughly assimilating the ideas that havo been expound­
ed in our “ Fragm ents,” will find for himself abundant
illustrations of the coincidences to which we refer;
the obscure language at once breaking out into signi­
ficance by the light of the clear explanations given
under the now method; and M r. Hargrave Jennings’
“ Rosicrucians” will in the same w ay be invested with
new significance for readers w ho take it up with per­
ceptions sharpened by recent study of that science,
which, if the new method is persevered with long enough,
will hardly any longer deserve to be called “ mysticism.”
B ut for the purpose of these remarks, their purport m ay
best be illustrated b y reference to a passage in a later
work which will ultimately be seen, w hen it comes to be
fully understood, to have bridged over the chasm be­
tween the old and new methods, viz. “ Isis Unveiled.”
 If the reader will turn to p a ge 455 of tlie second
transformations again, m a y b e t a k e n to refer either to the
volume lie will find the following passage in exposition
cataclysms w h ic h intervene between the evolution of
of “ H i n d u ideas of c o sm og ony .”
the great root-races of earth in the course of one “ R o u n d ”
B e i t r e m o m b o r e d — 1, t h a t th e u n iv e r s e is n o t a s p o n ta n e o u s c re a tio n ,
period, or to the R o u n d s themselves a n d their intervening
b u t n n e v o lu tio n fr o m p r e - e x is te n t m a t t e r ; 2 , t h a t i t is o n ly o n e of a n
e n d le s s s e r ie s o f u n i v e r s e s ; 3, t h a t e t e r n i t y is p o in te d off in to g r a n d “ Obscurations.” H e r e we come upon the micro-macro-
c y c le s , i n e a c h o f w h ic h tw elve tr a n s f o r m a tio n s o f o u r w o rld o c c u r, cosmic principle again. B u t w e are not concerned at
fo llo w in g i t s p a r tia l d e s tr u c tio n b y fire a n d w a t e r a lte r n a te l y . So th a t
present w ith tho anticipation of future teachings or the
w h e n a n e w m in o r p e rio d s e ts in , th e e a r th is so c h a n g e d e v e n g e o lo g i­
c a lly a s to b e p ra c tic a lly a n e w w o rld ; 4, tl m t o f t h e s e tw e lv e tr a n s - repetition of those w h ic h have been already given out :
io r m a tio n s , th e e a r th a f te r e a c h o f tlio lir s t six is g r o s s e r , a n d e v e r y th in g merely with the interesting w a y in w hich any one w h o
o n it,—r-m n n in c lu d e d ,— m o re m a te r ia l, th a n a f t e r th e p r e c e d in g o n e : chooses m a y go_ b a c k , either to the relatively obscure
w h ile a f t e r e a c h o f th e re m a in in g s ix th e c o n tr a r y is tr u e , b o th e a r th n n d
m a n g ro w in g m o re a n d m o re re fin e d a n d s p ir itu a l w ith e a c h t e r r e s t r i a l expositions of Isis Unveiled or the m ore obscure disserta­
u h a n g o ; 5, t h a t w h e n th e a p e x o f th e c y c le is r e a c h e d , a g r a d u a l d is s o ­ tions of earlier occult works, and trace the identities of
lu tio n ta k e s p la c e , a n d e v e r y liv in g a n d o b je c tiv e fo r m is d e s t n ^ e d . thp Great Doctrine,— w hich the Theosophical Society,
B u t w h e n t h a t p o in t is re a c h e d h u m a n ity h a s b e co m o f itte d to liv e s u b ­
je c tiv e l y a s w e ll a s o b je c tiv e ly . A n d n o t h u m a n ity a lo n e , b u t a lso
faithful to the promise of its triple p ro g ra m m e , is e n g a g e d
a n im a ls , p la n ts n n d e v e r y a to m . A f t e r a tim e o f r e s t, s a y th e B u d ­ in bringin g to light.
d h is ts , w h e n a n e w w o rld b e c o m e s s e lf -fo r m e d , t h e a s t r a l s o u ls of
a n im a ls a n d o f all b e in g s, e x e e p t s u c h a s h a v e r e a c h e d th e h ig h e s t --- «---
N ir v a n a , w ill r e t u r n o n e a r t h a g a i n to e n d t h e i r c y c le s o f t r a n s f o r m a ­
tio n s a n d b e co m e m e n in t h e i r tu r n . A F L A T T E R IN G N O T IC K
W h o can have read tlie recent “ F r a g m e n t s ” without [ T h e following is an extract from the “ Administration
be in g in a position to see that this passage contains a Report of tho Bombay Government for 1881-82” upon
brief expose of the doctrine there elaborated with m u c h “ Books published,” and will interest our readers.— Ed.]
greater amplitude. Ifc really contains allusions to a ^ “ T h e native m in d is still profoundly affected b y the
great deal that has not yet been elaborated in the " F r a g ­ Veds a n d the Purans, a n d draws its religion a n d philoso­
m ents ; ” for the return “ to earth” ,— a n d to the chain p hy, its poetry a n d even its dramatic conceptions, from
of worlds of which the earth is one, of tlie astral souls that these fertile a n d imaginative sources; a n d the only
ha ve not in the preceding manwantara attained the h ig h ­ E n glish periodical w hich appears to enjoy an extensive
est Nirvana-, has to do w ith the destinies of individualities circulation a m o n g natives is the “ Theosophist,” w hich
(as distinguished from personalities) that are not launched deals in M es m e ris m a n d Spiritualism. N o b o o k on such
on the m ain stream of evolution with w hich the recent practical subjects as travels a n d voyagos or politics has
essays on the Evolution of M a n have been concerned. A n d been published, although the Sarvajanik S a b h a continues
the F ra g m e n t s have not yet dwelt at a n y length on the to interest itself in questions of administrative reform.
vast p h en o m e no n of Solar “ m an w a n ta ra s” a n d “ pralayas” T. here are a fe w publications m history a n d biography
as distinguishedfrom those of theseptenary chain of worlds relating to ancient tim es; and in fiction while the
to w hich our earth belongs. T h e sun, w h ic h is the centre M arathi w o r k w hich has been successful treats of the
of our system, is the centre of other systems too, a n d a time rascalities of a corrupt Sheristadar to a Collector, the
comes w h e n all these systems go into prala.ya together. Guzerathi w orks w h ic h have attracted most attention
Therefore the period of activity between two periods of rest have been satirical stories upon the m anners a n d extra­
w hich is a ma.ha or great cycle for one world only, is a vagances of reformed Parsis. 'R o m e o a n d .Juliet’ has
minor cycle for the solar system. T his leads to a super­ been translated into K a n ar e se . It is also noticeable that
ficial confusion of la ng ua ge sometimes in occult writing, the Guzerathis have been for some time past increasing
w hich, however, em bodies no confusion of thought a n d the n u m b e r of their publications, a n d ha ve n o w clearly
never n eed for an instant embarrass a reader w h o re­ passed the M arathas a n d also support three times the
m em bers the constant similitudes a u d resemblances con­ n u m b e r of periodicals.”
necting microcosms a n d m acrocosms. A g a i n , tho reader
--- «---
of tlie F ra g m e n ts will be puzzled at tlie reference in the
passage cited above to the twelve transformations of the 4_ TIIEOSOPITY AND M IR A C L E S *
planet. T w e lv e transformations will not at first seem to
B y G il b e r t E l l io t , E sq .
fit into the septenary divisions to w h ic h students of
occultism under the n e w m ethod have been accustomed. I n the Nineteenth Century of N o v e m b e r , below an
But the explanation simply is that the n e w m etho d is article h e a d e d M o d e r n Miracles, signed b y R ic h a r d F .
very frank a n d outspoken about a g o o d m a n y points 011 Clarke, S . J ., there is a note to the effect that a Protes­
w h ic h the old system has been very reserved a n d m yste­ tant lawyer, recently at R o m e , doubting concerning the
rious. T h e seventh form of all things has be en regarded character of an inquiry into miracles attributed to a saint
b y the older school of occult writers as too sacred to be proposed for canonisation, h a d submitted to h im b y one
written about. A h n ndred a n d one quotations m ig h t easily of the e x a m in in g Cardinals a set of papers containing
be put together to sh o w h o w profoundly they were im ­ some of the evidence on w hich the claim rested, with a
pressed w ith the septenary idea, a n d w h a t enormous im ­ request for a quasi legal opinion of their value as proof.
portance they attributed to the n u m b e r 7 in all its bear­ I n a few days the papers w ere returned with the rem ark
ings. T h ese quotations w o u ld serve, 011 the principle w e that if a n y evidence could prove a miracle that con­
{ire n o w pointing out, as foreshadowing the explanation of tained in the docum ents w a s sufficient. “ All that evi­
the F ra g m e n ts on the seven-fold constitution of m a n , the dence, caro mio,” w as the Cardinal’s reply, “ w e have
world, the system of w h ich it is a part a n d the system of rejected as inconclusive !” B u t the note admits that a
w hic h that is a part again. B u t just as the 7th principle in part only of the evidence ad d u ced was subm itted to the
m a n has been passed over silently b y som e occult writers lawyer, w h ic h , of itself, w as in his opinion proof of tho
w h o have referred to only six, so the twelve transform a­ miracles. T h e note is silent about the evidence on w h ic h
tions are the exoteric equivalent of fourteen.* A n d those the Cardinals rejected the claim. T h e m ain difficulty in
the w a y of ascertaining the truth about so-called miracles
* T h u s , in eso te ric B u d d h ism th e s e v e n k in d s o f W isd o m (B o d h -a n g a ) is not lack of evidence ; the cases are generally presented
live o fte n r e f e r r e d to a s six ; tlie s e v e n q u a litie s o r p r o p e r ti e s o f liv in g
b o d ies a ls o a s s ix ; w h ile o f th e s e v e n s t a t e s o f m a t t e r t h e e so te ric d o c ­ with attested facts that w ould prove the miracle, if it
tr i n e s a y s t h a t “ s t r i c t l y s p e a k in g th e ro a r e o n ly s ix s t a t e s , ” s in c o th e were not for other facts not a ddu ced , w hich prove that
7 th s ta t e is th o s u m to ta l, th e c o n d itio n o r a s p e c t o f a ll th e o th e r s ta t e s . the attested circumstances are explainable so as to sh o w
W h e n s p e a k in g o f th e “ six g lo rie s ” t h a t “ g l i t t e r o n th e in c o m p a ra b le
p e r s o n of B u d d h a ,” th e B o o k of K iu -te e x p la in s t h a t o n ly s ix a r e to b e the real nature of the extraordinary occurrence. T h u s,
m e n tio n e d , a s th e s tu d e n t (Y u -p o - s a h ) h a s to b e a r in m in d t h a t th e
xpventh g lo ry c a n b y n o m e a n s “ g l i t t e r ” s in c e “ i t is t h e g litte rin g * The L e a d e r. O n ly o r ig i n a l p o rtio n s a r e g iv e n fro m th i s a r tic le
i ts e lf .” T h is l a t t e r e x p la n a tio n is s u ffic ie n t to th ro w l i g h t o n a ll,— E d ♦ s in c e o u r s u b s c r ib e r s a r e w e ll a c q u a in te d w ith th e f a c ts c ite d .— E d .
tiie evidence w h ich M r . Clarke offers in his article especially such as the C h u rc h of R o m e has encouraged,
“ M o d e r n Miracles,” establishes tho truth of the very have wrested the original, simple, true idea symbolised
wonderful cures of diseases at L o u r d es w h ic h no k n o w n in the w ord miracle into a false complication, expressed
modical treatment can cure. T h e facts cannot be fairly as som ething b e y o n d nature.
denied. S o far M r . Clarke is perfectly right. B u t he A s to theso m e n . Before stating anything further
is hopelessly w r o n g in his deductions from the facts. H e about them , I m ust insist u p on obtaining w hat credit is
says :— “ O u r witnesses are not tho un ed ucated a n d the duo to m e in m y a rg um en t with M r . Clarke for admitting,
unlearned, bnt skilled witnesses ; w e do not dig up our as I do adm it, that miracles in the proper sense of the
testimony from the records of an uncritical age, but w e w ord, “ wonderful p h o n o m e n a ,” have occurred, are hap­
bring th em out into the full light of this nineteenth cen- p en in g , a n d will be observed throughout the history of
tnry, a n d w e challenge our opponents to a ddu ce a n y rea­ m an. It is not easy to hold a n infallible church to a n y
sonable hypothesis w hich they can pretond, with a n y consistent definite position. B u t I believe even the
show of truth, to substitute for our explanation of the Society of Jesus m ust adm it that infallibility of their
p hen o m ena. T h e y cannot d e n y the facts. T h e y can if C h u r c h rests m ainly 011 , a n d is at least proved b y , tho
they choose, talk about some yet undiscovered law of miracles done for a n d b y her. T h a t tho manifestations
nature, but the said law is one w hich will simply be a are supernatural, caused b y G o d , out of the course of
complete reversal of all h u m a n experience from the b e ­ nature, to m a k e m a n k in d believe in the infallibility of
gin n in g until n o w . T h e very supposition of such a law the C hu rch of R o m o , a n d so establish a n d preserve the
is an insult to the intelligence of their hearers. Who Christianity she teaches.
ever heard of an undiscovered law upsetting a n d destroy­ N o w I will, b y evidence just as worthy to be considered
ing laws tested b y the uniform experience of agos ?” proof as the R o m a n Catholic evidence I havo adm itted,
N o w w h a t do these conclusions am ount to, but that the prove that tho p h e n o m e n a claimed to be miraqlos by the
pretentious infallibility of the C hu rch of R o m e so satu­ C h u rch of R o m o , in its o w n sense of the world, aro
rates tho ininds of the votaries that oven a skilful Jesuit, caused naturally, a n d that tho causes are in operation
offering g o o d reason w ith one h a n d , cannot resist tho n o w , as indeed they always have been. A n d if I can do
habit of his m in d to give with the other h a n d such dole so, I m aintain that the C h u r c h of R o m e ’s claim to infalli­
of the k n o w le d g e of to-day as his Church permits. Roinaji bility m ust be held to b e disproved b y tho very sam e
Catholicism has never h a d , a n d never will have, the proofs she most relies on ; a n d this m ust apply to other
“ lucidity” w hich is so sweet in M r . M a t t h e w A r n o l d ’s conservative religious systems too.
nostrils. S h e k n o w s too well that to be abreast of tho I k n o w very well that I m ust have against m e a
science of her d a y w o uld be to stand b y her grave. M r. trem endous majority of tho best m inds of W e s t e r n civili­
Clarke asks, w h o ever heard of an undiscovered law np- sation w h e n I declare there is in existence a b o d y of
sotting a n d destroying laws tested b y the uniform experi­ m e n , call them a brotherhood, w h o aro in possession ol:
ence ot' ages ? A direct a nsw er to him is, the R o m a n k n o w le d g e far in advance of any thing w hich is k n o w n
Catholic C h u rc h . T h a t the earth is a sphere rotating on in E uro p e, a n d that in support of their claims thoy pro­
its axis round the sun w a s, as Galileo a n d G iord ano duce w onderful p h e n o m e n a , miscalled by ignorance
B r u n o ’s lives attest, once a discovery held b y tli^ C hu rch “ supernatural miracles,” a n d explain h o w the causes of
of R o m e to be false, because it upset a nd destroyed laws the p h e n o m e n a w o r k n aturally ; a ud that they ha ve oven
tested by the uniform experience of ages. All the more valuable k n o w le d g e capable of exact demonstration.
churches, all sorts of Conservatism, m eet great disco­ I leave this bare statement as it is. I will not e n cu m b e r
veries in this fashion. A n d w he n tho establishment of its force by talking of science a n d theology. B o th are, I
some great law of N a tu re is manifest, b y w a y towards k n o w , full of p o w er a n d usefulness. I proceed to narrato
equipoise they say, w e k n o w it. as simply a n d plainly as I can facts, w hich are b y no
I m a y n o w accept M r . Clarke’s challenge to adduce a m eans everywhere u n k n o w n , but w hich havo not, I think,
reasonable hypothesis to account naturally for the p h e ­ attracted the attention they deserve from the civilisation
n om en a at L o nrdes, w hieh, ho says, occur “ through w e live in. ■
this spring, sanctified as it is b y the presence of G o d ’s First, I will speak of w h a t is directly within m y o w n
Im m aculate M o th er. H i s supernatural p o w er is m an i­ k n o w le d g e , a n d that is very little. W h e n I went to
festing itself to tho w orld.” M y hypothesis is this. I In d ia early in 1 8 5 4 I w a s m u c h with a m a n w h o s e gifts
will not say thero is not supernatural power. B u t I assert as a linguist, close observer a n d thinker, and w ho se e x ­
that tho limits of natural power are certainly as yet u n ­ perience of the things of A s i a exceeded any th in g of the
k n o w n b y m a n , a n d are probably u n k n o w a b le b y tho k in d I have m et with d u rin g a career of nearly a quarter
h u m a n m in d. C o n cernin g the p h e n o m e n a at L ourdes, of a century in the B o m b a y branch of tho Ind ia n Civil
a n d similar occurrences elsewhere at m a n y places, a u d Service. H e told m e there were secrets in the E a st in
at all times of the earth’ s history, I liopo to show that the h a nd s of custodians, w h o g u a rd e d their k n o w le d g e
they are invariably the effect of natural causes, w h ich, with a patient reticence, as u n k n o w n to the people of
though k n o w u of but misunderstood b y the C h u r c h of E u r o p e as the hidden truths are to the keu of m o d e m
R o m e , are m u c h better a pprehended b y a b o d y of m e u science. I feel sure that iny indomitable informant—
in whose custody has been reposed for several thousand bold, industrious, m u c h trusted by the natives of In d ia
years before R o m a n Catholicism existed, at least so m u c h as he has b e e n — failed as entirely as I did while I w a s
of k n o w le d g e as can assign the p h e n o m e n a to their real in In d ia to obtain m o re than very faint traces of the
causes.* H e r e I will state that these m en w ould use the confraternity. S o also w a s tho case in regard to a
word miracle, m e a n in g som ething wonderful, not so m e­ B en g a l civilian, w h o h a d lived about 3 0 years in In d ia
thing b e y o n d or above nature, w h ieh is the m o a n in g a n d w h o m I m et in L o u d o n in 1800. This able m a n h ad,
the w o rd is used to express n o w that w r o n g notions, with exceptional advantages for observat 0 .1 , failed, as
others have, to do m oro than ascertain tho existence of
* L a s t y e a r , d u r in g C ol. O lc o tt’s to u r a t C o y lo n , a n a t t e m p t w a s m a d e tho Brothers, a n d that merely by hearsay.
by th e R o m a n C a th o lic p a d r is to in a u g u r a te a n o r a o f -m iracles b y
u ie a n s of a S in g h a le s e “ L o u rd e s .” J l f o u n ta in o r w e ll w a s d is c o v e re d , B u t within the last 10 years, it w a s desired b y one, at
“ s a n c tifie d b y th o a p p a r itio n o f th o l l o l y V ir g in ,” a n d th o la u io a n d a n y rate, of “ the Brothers” w h o was educated in the
th o b lin d , it w a s a lle g e d , re c o v e r e d th o ir h e a lth , b y d r in k i n g o f t h a t h o ly W e s t , to afford som e glim pses to that W e s t , n o w fast
w a te r . T h e n i t w a s t h a t C ol. O lc o tt p r o d n c c d s e v e r a l w o n d e rfu l c u re s
oi' old p a r a ly s is , in s ta n ta n e o u s ly , b y s im p le m e s m e r ic p a s s e s j a n d th u s sinking in a D e a d S e a of materialism, of those spiritual
p ro v e d t h a t t h e r e w e re s im p le m o rta ls w h o co u ld v ie w ith g o d a a n d g o d ­ truths of wliich tho Brothers aro tho keepers. T h is led
d e sse s in p ro d u c in g “ d iv in e ” m ir a c lc s , w ith o u t a n y i n t e r f e r e n c e of, on to the formation of tho “ Theosophical Society,”
o r c la im to, s u p e r n a tu r a l p o w e rs. 'P h is w a s d o n e b y th o d ir e c t o r d e r o f h is
iiAhTKtt, o n e o f th o “ m e u ” a llu d e d to b y th e a u th o r . T h e S in g h a le s e whoso head-quarters aro in In d ia , a n d for this year at
h e a rd no m o re o f th o v is its q ( th e V ir g in M a r y .— E d . M adras. The European leaders of the Society are
M a d a m e Blavatsky, a Russian lady of g o o d family, a n d s h o w w h y m e n leading blameless lives are de pe nd en t on
Colonel Olcott, an A m e r ic a n gentlem an well k n o w n in h im . If M r . C larke w ere to call “ T h e Brothers”
the U n it e d States a n d in India. diabolical m agicians, I w o u ld rem ind h im of the two first
W i t h regard to M a d a m e Blavatsky, it w a s difficult in verses of the 2 n d chapter of the G ospel according to
the last degree to find a n y person fitted to becom e a S t. M a t t h e w . B u t w h a t do the churches k n o w of the
m issionary in the cause. A d m it tin g unhesitatingly, as wise m e n w h o cam e from the E a s t to worship that Great
they always do, that M a d a m e Blavatsky is b y 110 m eans O n e , Jesus Christ, save that they were in existence then,
in all respects w h a t they should have desired, “ the saw his star in the B ast, a n d cam e to worship h im ? I
Brothers” yet affirm that she w a s on the whole the fittest cannot do better than en d this article b y q uoting from a
instrument available they could get to set the w o r k they Paris new spa p er :— “ For us, we do not hesitate to avow
h a d in view on foot. our conviction that the worst of hallucinations is that nf
Colonel Olcott’s connection with the m o v e m e n t h a p ­ those who imagine they have fathomed all the laws of
p e n e d because A m er ic a w a s chosen as its starting point, nature.”
as b e in g of all W e s t e r n countries the one w h e re , o w in g
---• ---.
to the w id e diffusion of spiritualistic experiences there,
materialism w a s most easy to deal with. H e r e I m ust T H E E IG H T E E N S ID D IIA S O F S O U T H E R N
em phasise that “ the Brothers” disapprove very m u c h
IN D IA .
of w h at has b e e n unfortunately miscalled Spiritualism. (Communicated.)
T h e y are familiar with the p h e n o m e n a , a n d k n o w well F o r the information of W e s t e r n people, I m a y say that
the natural causes w h ich produce them . T h eir first a “ S id d h a ” is a m a n w h o has developed his psychic
endeavours h a ve been directed to explaining the causes, nature to that degree w he re the Siddhis, or occult p o w er
a u d rectifying the confusion into w h ic h so-called spirit­ b y w hich so called ‘ miracles’ aro w rought, s h o w t h e m ­
ists h a ve fallen. selves. A d e p ts h ip ignores caste as a pre-requisite, though,
I a m obliged to introduce these explanatory details as m a y be easily conceded, it is m ore com m on ly attained
because, th o u g h M a d a m e Blavatsky a n d Colonel Olcott b y the class of m e n in w h o m there is a hereditary
a n d the Theosophical Society are as well k n o w n in In d ia capacity for h ig h intellectual labour a n d spiritual insight.
as the R o m a n Catholic C hu rch is, I ha ve to publish the H e n c e there ha ve always been m ore adepts a m o n g
facts in directions w here they are u n k n o w n ; a n d , as will B ra h m a n s than a n y other caste, though at the sam e time
be perceived, the curious assertions I a m m a k i n g m ust there have been from time to time m a n y a m o n g the lower
be m a d e clearly, a n d m ust rest 011 evidence as irrefutable social groups. I n such latter cases the law of individual
as that p ro v ing the p h e n o m e n a w h ic h R o m a n Catholicism differentiation asserts itself, in the former that of heredity.
w ro ngly declares are miracles. A n interesting illustration of this question isaffordedin the
* * * * * * following list of the eighteen most celebrated adepts of
Y o u r space will not permit to write in extenso tho evi­ Southern In d ia :— -
dence from w h ic h I could m a k e extracts. B ut any one 1. Agastya = Brahm an.
m a y test m y accuracy b y r ea d in g the notes at the foot 2. Pu lastya= B rahm an.
of p ages 8 3 a n d 8 6 of Hints on Esoteric Theosophy, No. 3. N a n di = B r a h m a n .
1 ; second edition, published at Calcutta in 1 8 8 2 .* 4. I (1ai k k a tta = E day a ( @ 6wi_ kjear. Includes cowherd
* * * * * * a n d shepherd.)
It m a y b e objected to these cases that the evidence 5. K a r u r S i d d h a = Barber.
cited is not such proof as is relied 011 in a court of law. 6. K o n g a n a = P a lin g a ca.ste ; a subdivision of tho
Becau se these witnesses a n d the actual facts are not low-caste people inhabiting the W e s t e r n G h a u ts , such as
dealt w ith from two points of view , a n d subm itted to the Malayarasus of the mountains lying round A g a s t y a
cross-examination. N o doubt this is so, a n d the objec­ p eak a n d the T o d a s of tho Nilgiris. T h e w o r d M alay a-
tion applies too to the evidence a d d u c e d in support of rasu m eans chief or k in g of the m ountain.
tho L o u r d es miracles a n d to the m ass of cases of similar 7. S a t t a m u n i = Shvniya, a subdivision of the w eaver
k in d . B u t considering h o w great is the m ass of occur­ caste.
rences claim ing to be miraculous, a n d well supported by 8. B h o g a = Potter.
a,ll sorts of testimony, it seems as if the a rg u m e n t for 9. S m idarananda=Retti(Q 'rtlip.. Probably a Chetti,
the total rejection of such narratives because the truth i. e., a V y s y a or Ileddi, a subdivision of the T e lu g u Sudras.)
of th em cannot be tried, say b y a ju d g e a n d jury, is not 10. M a t s y a = C h e m m a y y a n (QeiianmiuGm. T h e m e a n ­
worth m u c h . ing of this w o r d is not clear. A T a m il scholar suggests
V i e w i n g the whole case, w h ich is not at all confined that it m a y m ea n either a fisherman or a shoemaker.)
to the two instances I h ave cited, but w h ic h fills volumes 11. T i r u m u l a = V a l l u v a n (euen^aiek.) A caste above
of printed matter relating to matters of the sam e sort, I the Paraya.
m ust subm it there is m u c h reason for th in k in g that 12. P i n n a k k i s a = M a r a v a r . ( M a n y of the Zem indars
natural causes, hitherto very faintly ap p r eh e n d ed , exist, of the Districts of M a d u r a a n d Tinnevelly are of this
a n d h a ve sufficient potency to effect w h a t has b e e n attri­ caste.)
buted to supernatural a g e n c y . I ha ve stated that I do 13. K a l& n g i = Para"van (Fisherm an.)
not d e n y the possibility of a supernatural p o w er. But 14. Goraksliaka — K a v a r a E d a y a n (^mann(g)i_ujdT.
w hat p o w er h um a nity k n o w s of, a u d is ever likely to T e lu g u S h e p h e r d .)
k n o w , is natural, a n d n o n e tho less so on account of its 15. R o m a R ishi = K o r a v a n (either M a la K o r a van
potent subtlety. W h e n the h u m a n m in d has acquainted or N a tt u K o r a van.)
itself w ith nature a n d the m o d e s she assum es, it m a y 16. B r a h m a m u n i = B r a h m in .
possibly have reached a stage at w h ich it m a y conceive 17. A l u k a n n i S i d d h a = V e d a n (hunter caste.)
of so m eth in g above nature. N o doubt M r . Clarke a n d 18. C h a n d ik o s a = : V in d a r caste (eSeisn^ifeD^ii). T h e
the church of w hich he is a priest will call m e a u atheist, m e a n in g of this n a m e is not k n o w n .
a n d affirm that the R o m a n Catholic C h u r c h has full T h e above information I found it very difficult, though
cognisance of m agic a n d tho p ow ers of the D ev il. To not impossible, to get at. O n tho very day of m y return
this I a nsw er that, if there be G o d , I cannot b e without to this station I b e g u n m y enquiries a n d sent for several
him . A n d as to the latter potentiality, w h e n his exist­ learned T a m il scholars. E a c h a n d all of them fo un d it
ence h as be en established, it will still b e necessary to difficult to answ er m y questions a n d w a nte d time to get
at the required information. S o m e asked for a d a y o r two,
* H e r e fo llo w l e n g t h y e x tr a c ts , fr o m tlie “ H in ts o n E s o te r ic T h e o s o ­
p h y ” a n d fr o m t h e P s y c h ic N otes e d ite d la s t y e a r b y M rs , A . G o rd o n , others for a w e e k , ten days, a n d so on. T h e majority of
F* T . S ., a t C a lc u tta , them did not k ee p their p ro m ise; while those w h o did,
gave mere lists of names, w h ich , m oreover, differed from
erne another. T h e y could not even quote authorities in
support of their writings. In these degenerate days,
learning has gone d o w n so low that it is rare to find a
Pundit, either in Sanskrit or T a m il, w h o can give exact
information on a n y of the great questions of Philosophy,
Religion, Philology, a n d other sciences, treated of h y
our ancestors. H o w e v e r , som e of them furnished lists con­
taining only fourteen or fifteen nam es. I w as dissatisfied
w ith all these, because I could rely on none. I becam e e x ­
tremely anxious, a nd at last cam e to the conclusion that
the best w a y of arriving at a correct k n o w le d g e of the
facts w a n t e d , w as to gather all the available w orks of the
M a h a t m a s themselves, a n d to personally exa m in e them
w ith the aid of one or two Tam il scholars. Fortunately,
just at that time, I h a d to g o on official duty to a village,
eight miles from this place. T h e r e I learnt for the first
time that a tolerably large collection of the w orks of the
Siddhas w as in the possession of a Yaishnavite B r a h m in .
W h e n I spoke to h im about m y object, he said that it
was such a difficult thing that he w a n te d at least a
fortnight’s time to e x a m in e his books, if I could not
extend it to one m o nth . B u t m y past experience had
taught m e that it w a s worse than useless to trust to
these people, as they are generally either ignorant, or,
if learned, extremely lazy. Therefore, I told him that it
was not at all such a very difficult matter a n d offered
to search myself for the required information, if the
books were brought to m e , although iny k n o w le d g e of
Tam il is very poor. W i t h the assistance, how ever, of
the B ra h m in a n d another Tam il scholar, I b e g a n m y
researches. W e ex a m in ed several books for one whole
night a n d for tw o consecutive days more. I n the very
first or second w o r k (on medicine) I foun d a list of eigh ­
teen Siddhas w h ic h differed from those I already had.
This result be in g unsatisfactory to m e, I w en t on with
further research, until at last I found the list w hich I
have given in the present com m unication. It is given
by the great Agastya himself in one of his w o rks. I longer w aves.
have also been able to ascertain the castes of som e of
them. W e h a d to go through nearly thirty w orks, con­
taining m ore than twenty thousand stanzas, before w e
got even the little information given in this letter.
T h e nam es of other equally celebrated S id dh a s are also
extant, but they do not belong to the original eighteen.
It is supposed that this great brotherhood of the adepts
of Southern In d ia livo in the W e s t e r n G h a u t s on
a nd around A g a s t y a r P e a k under the presidency of Para-
m a G u r u (C h o h a n ) Agastya. A c c o r d in g to a T a m il w ork
they are said to n u m b er 9 kotis. Short accounts of som e
of the great Siddhas will be given in this journal from
time to time.
7th February, 1 8 8 3 . V. S. B.
--
ATOM S, M OLECULES, A N D ETHER- WAVES.
By J. T yndall , F . 11. S .
( Continued from the January N o .)
T he m em orable investigations of Leslie a n d R u m fo r d ,
a n d the subsequent classical researches of M elloni, dealt,
in tlic m ain, with the properties of radiant heat ; while
in m y investigations, radiant heat, instead of be in g re­
garded as an en d, w a s em ployed as a m eans of exploring
molecular condition. O n this score little could be said
until the gaseous form of matter w a s broug ht under the
dom inion of experiment. This w as first effected in 1 S 5 9 ,
w h e n it w a s proved that gases a n d vapours, notwith­
standing the opeii door w h ich the distances betw een
their molecules m ig h t be supposed to offer to the heat
wave3, were, in m a n y cases, able effectually to bar their
passage. It w a s then proved that while the elementary
gases a n d their m ixtures, including a m o n g the latter the
earth’s atmosphere, wero almost as pervious as a vacuum
to ordinary radiant heat, the co m po u nd gasea w e r e one
a n d all absorbers, som e of them takin g up with intense
avidity the motion of the ether-waves.
A single illustration will here suffice. L et a m ixture
of hy drogen a n d nitrogen in the proportion of three to
fourteen b y w eigh t, be enclosed in a space through w hich
are p assing the lieat-rays from an ordinary stove. The
gaseous m ixture offers no measurable im pedim ent to the
rays of heat. L e t the h y drogen a n d nitrogen n o w unite
to form the c o m p o u n d a m m o nia . A magical c h a n g e
instantly occurs. T h e n u m b e r of atoms present rem ains
unchanged. T h o transparency of the com pou nd is quite
equal to that of tlie m ixture prior to combination. No
c h a n ge is perceptible to the eye, but the keen vision of
experim ent soon detects the fact that the perfectly trans­
parent a n d highly attenuated a m m o n ia resembles pitch
or lam pblack iu its behaviour to the rays of heat.
T h e r e is probably boldness, if not rashness, in the
attempt to m a k e these ultra-sensible actions generally
intelligible, a n d I m a y have already transgressed the
limits b e y o n d w h ic h the writer of a familiar article c a n ­
not profitably go. T h e r e m a y , however, be a rem nant
of readers willing to acco m p a n y m e , a n d for their sakes
I proceed. A h u n d r e d co m po u nd s m ig h t bo n a m e d
w hich, like the a m m o n ia , are transparent to light, but
m ore or less opaque— often, indeed, intensely opaque—
to the rays of heat from obscure sources. N o w the dif­
ference betw een these latter rays a n d tlie light-raya is
purely a difference of period of vibration. T h e vibrations
in the case of light are m ore rapid, a u d the ether-waves
w hich they produce are shorter, than in the case of o b ­
scure heat. W h y then should the ultra-red waves be
intercepted b y bodies like a m m o n ia , while the m ore
rapidly-recurrent w aves of the whole visible spectrum are
allowed free transmission ? T h e answ er I hold to be
that, b y the act of chemical com bination, the vibrations
of the constituent atoms of the molecules are rendered
so sluggish as to synchronise with the motions of the
T h e y resem ble loaded piano-strings, or
slowly descend in g water-jets, requiring notes of low
pitch to set them in motion.
T h e influence of synchronism between the ' radiant’
a n d the ‘ absorbent’ is well s how n b y the behaviour of
carbonic acid gas. T o the com plex emission from our
heated stove, carbonic acid w o u ld be ono of the most
transparent of gases. F o r such waves olefiant gas, for
exam ple, w o u ld vastly transcend it in absorbing power.
B u t w h e n w e select a radiant with whoso w aves tlie
atoms of carbonic acid are in accord, the case is entirely
altered. S u c h a radiant is found in a carbonic oxide
flame, w h e re the radiating b o d y is really hot carbonic
acid. T o this special radiation carbonic acid is the most
opaque of gases.
A n d here w e find ourselves face to face with a question
of great delicacy a n d importance. B oth as a radiator,
a n d as au absorber, carbonic acid is, in general, a feeble
gas. It is beaten in this respect b y chloride of methyl,
ethylene, a m m o n ia , sulphurous acid, nitrous oxide, a nd
m arsh gas. C o m p a r e d with some of those gases, its b e ­
haviour in fact approaches that of elementary bodies. M a y
it not help to explain their neutrality f T h e doctrine is
n o w very generally accepted that atoms of the sam e k in d
m a y , like atoms of different kinds, group themselves to
molecules. Affinity exists between hy drogen a nd hy dro ­
g e n , a n d betw een chlorine a n d chlorine, as well as b e ­
tween hy d ro g en a n d chlorine. W e liavethus hom ogeneous
molecules as well as heterogeneous molecules, a n d the
neutrality so strikingly exhibited b y the elements m ay
be due to a quality of w h ic h carbonic acid furnishes a
partial illustration. T h e paired atoms of the elementary
molecules m a y be so out of accord with the periods of
tho ultra-red w aves— the vibrating periods of these atoms
m a y , for exam ple, be so rapid— as to disqualify them
both from emitting1 those waves, a n d from accepting
their energy. T h is w o u ld practically destroy their p ow er,
both as radiators a n d absorbers. I havo reason to k n o w
that a distinguished authority has for som e time enter­
tained this hypothesis.
W e m ust, however, refresh ourselves b y occasional con­
tact w ith the solid g r o u n d of experiment, a n d a n inte­
resting problem n o w lies before us awaiting experimental
solution. Suppose 2 0 0 m en to be scattered equably
throughout the length of Pall M all. B y timely swerving
n o w a n d then a runner from St. J a m e s ’s Palace to tlio
Athenaeum Clu b m ig h t be able to get through such a
crow d without m u c h hindrance. B u t supposing the m e n
to close up so as to form a dense file crossing Pall Mall
from north to south, such a barrier m ig h t seriously im ­
pede, or entirely stop, tho runner. Instead of a c row d of
m e n , let us im agine a colum n of molecules un de r small
pressure, thus resem bling the sparsely distributed crow d.
L e t 11s suppose the co lu m n to shorten, without ch a n ge
in tho quantity of matter, until tho molecnles are so
squeezed together as to resemble the closed file across
Pall M all. D u r i n g these charges of density, w ould the
action of the molecules upon a b e a m of heat passing
a m o n g thorn, at all resemble the action of the crow d
upon the runner ?
W e m ust answ er this question b y direct experim ent.
T o form our molecular crow d w e place, in the first
instance, a gas or vapour in a tube 3 8 inches long, the
ends of w h ich are closed w ith circular w in d o w s , air-tiglit,
but form ed of a substance w h ic h offers little or no o b ­
struction to the calorific waves. Calling the m easured
valne of a heat-beam passing through this tube 1 00, w e
carefully determine the proportionate part of this total
absorbed b y the molecules in the tube. W e then gather
recisely the sam e n u m b e r of molecules into a column
f 0 '8 inches long, the one column b e in g thus three a nd
a half times the length of the other. I n this case also
w e determine the quantity of radiant heat absorbed. By
tho depression of a barometric colum n, w e can easily and
exactly m easure out the proper quantities of the gaseous
body. It is obvious that J m ercury iucli of vapour,
in the long tube, w ould represent precisely the sam e
a m o u nt of matter— or, in other w ords, the sam e n u m b e r
of molecules— as 3^ inches in the short one ; while 2
inches of vapour iu the long tube w o uld be equivalent to
7 inches in the short one.
T h e experiments have been m a d e with the vapours of
two very volatile liquids, nam ely, sulphuric etlier a n d
hydride of amyl. T h e sources of radiant heat were, in
some cases, an incandescent lime cylinder, a n d in others
a spiral of platinum wire, heated to bright redness b y an
electric current. O n o or two of the m easurem ents will
suffice for the purposes of illustration. First then, as
regards the lime l ig h t : for 1 inch of pressure in the long
tube, the absorption was 1 8 '4 per cent, of the total
b e a m ; while for 3 '5 inches of pressure in the short tube,
the absorption w as 1 8 '8 per cent., or almost exactly
the sam e as the former. F o r 2 inches pressure, m ore­
over, in the lo n g tube, the absorption w as 2 5 ’7 per cent.;
while for 7 inches, in the short tube, it w a s 2 5 ’G per
cent, of the total b e a m . T h n s closely do the absorptions
in the two cases run together— thus emphatically do the
molecules assert their individuality. A s long as their
n u m b e r is unaltered, their action on radiant heat is
un ch a n g ed . Passin g from the lime-liglit to the incan­
descent spiral, the absorptions of the smaller equivalent
quantities, in the two tubes, were 2 3 -5 a n d 2 3 ’4 per cent.;
while the absorptions of tho larger equivalent quantities
were 3 2 -l a n d 3 2 '6 per cent, respectively. This con­
stancy of absorption, w h e n the density of a gas or vapour
is varied, I h ave called ‘ the conservation of molecular
action.’
B u t it m a y be u r g e d that the c h a n g e of density, in
these experiments, has not been carried far e n o u g h to
justify the enunciation of a law of molecular physics.
T h e condensation into less than one-third of the space
does not, it m a y be said, quite represent the close file of
m e n across Pall M all. L e t us therefore p ush matters
to extremes, a n d continue the condensation till the
vapour has been squeezed into a liquid. T o the pure
chan ge of density w e shall then have a d d e d the ch an ge
in the state of aggregation. T h e experiments here are
m ore easily described than e x e c u t e d ; nevertheless, by
sufficient training, scrupulous accuracy, a nd m inute atten­
tion to details, success m a y be ensured. K n o w i n g the
respective specific gravities, it is easy, b y calculation, to
determine the condensation requisite to reduce a colum n
of vapour of definite density a n d length to a layer of
liquid of definite thickness. L et tho vapour, for e x a m ­
ple, be that of sulphuric ether, a nd let it be introduced
into our 38-incli tube till a pressure of 7 ‘2 inches of
m ercury is obtained. O r let it be hydride of am yl, of
the.sam e length, a n d at a pressure of 6 '6 inches. Sup­
posing the colum n to shorten, the vapour w ould becom e
proportionally denser, a n d would, in each case, en d in
the production of a layer of liquid exactly 1 millimeter
in thickness.* Conversely, a layer of liquid ether, or of
hydride of am y l, of this thickness, were its molecules
freed from tho thrall of cohesion, would form a colum n
of vapour 3 8 inches long, at a pressure of 7 '2 inches in
the one case, a n d of G '6 inches in the other. I n passing
through the liquid layer, a beam of heat encounters the
sam e n u m b e r of molecules as in passing through the
vapour la y e r ; a n d our problem is to decide, b y experi­
m ent, w hether, in both cases, the molecule is not the
dom inant factor, or w hether its power is a u g m e n t e d ,
dim inished, or otherwise overridden b y the state of
aggregation .
U s i n g tho sources of heat before m entioned, a nd em ploy­
ing diatherm anous lenses, or silvered mirrors, to render
tho rays from those sources parallel, the absorption of ra­
diant heat w a s determ ined, first for the liquid layer, a u d
then for its equivalent Vaporous layer. A s b e fo re , a repre­
sentative experim ent or two will suffice for illustration.
When the substance w a s sulphuric ether, a n d the
source of radiant heat an incandescent platinum spiral,
the absorption b y the colum n of vapour W as fo u n d to be
6(5‘7 per cent, of the total b e a m . T h e absorption of the
equivalent liquid layer w a s next determ ined, a n d found
to be <>7*2 per cent. L iq u id a n d vapour, therefore, differ­
ed from each other only 0 '5 per cent. : in other words,
they wero practically identical in their action. The
radiation from the lime-light has a greater p o w er of
penetration through transparent substances than that
from tho spiral. I n the emission from both of these
sources w e have a mixture of obscure a ud luminous r a y s ;
but tho ratio of the latter to the former, in the lime-light,
is greater than in tho spiral; a n d , as the very m e a n in g
of transparency is porviousuoss to the luminous rays, the
emission in w hich these rays are predom inant m ust pass
m ost freely through transparent substances. Increased
transmission implies dim inished absorption ; a n d , accord­
ingly, the respective absorptions of ether vapour a n d
liquid ether, w h e n the lime-light was used, instead of b e ­
ing GG'7 a n d G 7 '2 per cent., were found to b e —
Vapour . . . 3 3 ’3 per cent.
L iq u id . . . 3 3 '3 ,, .
no difference w hatever b e in g observed be tw e en the two
states of aggregation. T h e sam e w as foun d true of
hydride of am yl.
This constancy a n d continuity of the action exerted on
the waves of heat w h e n the state of aggregation is c h a n g ­
ed, I have called ' the thermal continuity of liquids a n d
vapours.’ It is, I think, the strongest illustration hitherto
a d d u c e d of the conservation of molecular action.
T h u s , b y n e w m ethods of search, w e reach a result
w hich w a s long a g o enunciated on other grounds. W a t e r
is well k n o w n to b e one of the m ost opaque of liquids to
the w aves of obscure heat. B u t if the relation of liquids
to their vapours be that here s h a d o w e d fo rth ; if in both
* T h e m i l l i m e t e r ia ? j t h o f a n in c h .
cases tlie molecule asserts itself to be the do m in a n t
factor, then tlie dispersion of the water of our seas a n d
rivers, as invisible aqueous vapour in our atmosphere,
does not annul the action of the molecules on solar a n d
terrestrial heat. B o th are profoundly modified b y this
constituent; but as aqueous vapour is transparent, w h ich ,
as before explained, m ea n s pervious to the luminous
rays, a n d as the emission from the sun abou nds in such
rays, while from the earth’ s emission they are wholly
absent, the vapour-screen offers a far greater hindrance
to the outflow of heat from the earth towards space than
to the inflow from the sun towards the earth. T h e ele­
vation of our planet’s temperature is therefore a direct
consequence of the existence of aqueous vapour iu our
air. Flim sy as that g a rm e nt m a y appear, w ere it rem oved,
terrestrial life w ould probably perish through the conse­
quent refrigeration.
[ E d . N o t e . — W r i t i n g to M r . H . G . A tk inso n, F . Gr. S .,
(see his letter published in Philosophic Inquirer of M a r c h
4 th,) M r . Tyndall rem arks of the above paper (“ A t o m s ,
Molecules, a nd E th er W a v e s . ” ) “ The article in Lon g m an
I should certainly have thought too stiff to make its way
among Theosophists.” V erily, M r . T yndall w a s right in
preceding this rem ark with that other : “ W h e n a m a n puts
his pen to paper he k n o w s not whither his words m a y g o .”
T h e y have gone to the Theosophists w h o w o u ld respect­
fully enquire of that great m a n of science w h y he should
consider this, or any other of his articles “ too stiff” for
the Theosophists ? Since they n u m b er a m o n g their ranks
som e of his o w n colleagues— Fellows of the Royal Society—
as som e of the m ost em inent m e n of science in E u r o p e
a nd A m e r ic a , physicists, astronomers a n d naturalists,
w e are sorry to be com pelled to pronounce the rem ark as
unkind as it is unmerited. U n d o u b t e d ly M r . T y n da ll’s
k n o w le d g e is far higher than that of, a n d as unattainable
to, the average Theosophist. Y e t there are a fe w a m o n g
them , w h o m a y perhaps k n o w som ething entirely
u n k n o w n to the learned Professor, a n d w hich, if he could
look into it, he w ould certainly not reject.]
■ ♦ ■■ - m ore of dreary agony, a n d I saw myself as if standing
THE R E M IN IS C E N C E S OF A CHELA.
B y B h o i -a D eva S arma , F . T . S.
III.
( Continued from the February Number.J
B eforeI com m ence an account of m y adventures, it
will bo necessary to say a few words about m y early
education a nd character. I need say nothing concerning
the period prior to the celebration of m y thread cerem ony,
since it is of no consequence or interest. All H in d o o s
are aw are that the sacred investiture of the Brahminical
thread is perform ed at an early age. M y history, h o w ­
ever, m ust be gin w ith that period. T h e r e are only certain
m onths in a year a n d a few particular days fixed iu these
m onths by astrological calculations, on w h ic h this cere­
m o n y can b e perform ed. N o t ouly this : the horoscope
of the neophyte m ust be consulted, a nd it m ust be ascer­
tained w hich one of these days is favourable to him for
its performance. M y horoscope was accordingly s h o w n
to tho astrologers a n d a day appointed for m y becom in g
a twice-born, a n d real D w i ja £ ). All preparations
were m a d e , a n d w e were to go to our native to w n for that
purpose about two or three weeks before the great day
fixed for the cerem ony and a date w a s determ ined upon for
our departure from our tem porary residence to our
native place. Just four or five days before our leaving,
however, I w a s suddenly attacked one ev en ing with fever.
A n d here, I m ust rem ind the reader that although
throughout this publication the n am es of persons a n d
places are everywhere omitted for reasons too obvious to
need explanation, nevertheless, the incidents herein relat­
ed are all facts.
U ntil then I h a d never given a thought to religious
matters, bein g but a m ere boy. I n m y infancy, al­
t hough not extraordinarily strong, I h a d never h a d euch
n severe illness before. N otw ith sta n ding that the best
E u ro p ea n medical advice w a s resorted to, the disease
becam e worse every day . It baffled the skill of the
physicians a n d m y case w as proclaimed hopeless. By
degrees the fever g r e w so strong that on the seventh d a y
I be g a n to s h o w signs of unconsciousness a n d insensibility,
a n d on the ninth I w as entirely given up. A lt h o u g h to
all those around m e I appeared quite insensible, yet
internally I rem ained fully conscious. M y eyes were
closed ; but I s aw gro u p ed around m y b e d all m y relatives
with their sad countenances, a nd expecting every m o m en t
m y end. This m o m en t d r ew near. O n e b y one all the
ornam ents w ere stripped from m y bod y, a n d I felt that I
w a s being rem oved from m y bed to a blanket on the
floor— in accordance with the orthodox H i n d u custom
of thus rem oving a d y in g m a n nearer to his mother
Earth. T h e idea is, that a person lias to renounce
at the m o m e n t of his death the world and all its
comforts a n d to prepare himself for the next. T o an
educated a n d a philosophical m in d it will of course
seem ridiculous that a d y in g m a n should be thus m a d e to
formally renounce a w orld, that nolens volens he has to
leave, a n d like the fox in ^ E s o p ’s fable m a d e to pronounce
the grapes too sour. B u t a religious m in d understands
the cerem ony otherwise. N a k e d and bereft of all comfort
or luxury w e have been ushered into this world, a n d
n a k e d w e have to leave it. B e i n g m a d e to g o through
this formality of hoary antiquity, I k n e w that I w as
entirely given up , a n d heard the orders issued for the
preparations for m y bu rn in g .
I could see— though m y eyes w ere closed— and hear
all this. I knew that I w a s alive, a n d yet I w a s unable to
show any sign of life. I felt confused ; a n d w as seized
with terror. T h e idea of bein g b u rn ed alive, w as a
thought of horror unbearable and inexpressible. I tried
m y best to utter the n a m e of m y cousin and schoolmate,
but the preparations around m e s h o w ed plainly that I
h a d failed, a nd that 1 w a s considered dead. A m o m en t
beside m y b o d y or w hat I conceived to be m y o w n body.
T h e n a n instant of perfect blank and I felt as though there
w ere two “ I ’ s ” , each beside the b o d y that lay entirely stiff
a n d cold. O n e m ore short p a n g of agony, then as if some­
thing estranging itself from within and som ething else
entering the b od y followed b y a blank once more. What
w as this mystery I k n e w not, nor could I com prehend at
the time. W h e t h e r it w a s a dream , or the conjuration
of an over-exerted, feverish brain, or a reality, I could
not then determiue, a n d it w as a great puzzle for m e for
som e years to com e. D u r in g the process of these various
sensations, as also for som e time afterwards, I s aw stand­
ing beside m e a very tall m a n . I k n e w well that it was
no relation of m in e, nor h a d I seen him at any previous
time before. H e w a s taller than a n y m a n I then k n e w ,
although not quite as tall as some I have subsequently
seen. H e w a s nearly but not quite six feet in height, of
a m iddle size as to b u lk , a n d his complexion fair. H is
face w a s oval; a n d his long, dark w a v y hair streamed over
his broad shoulders. H e wore a long white robe, such
as I have seen the P u n ja b is wear, and round his h e a d
w a s twisted a snow-white cloth. T h e whiteness of his
dress w as dazzling, although it was extremely simple,
a n d the lustre w h ic h its whiteness shed w a s even more
impressive than the brightness of the full m o o n. H is
eyes seem ed to bo very peculiar and shining, especially the
right one. A s soon as the tem porary disturbance caused
b y w h a t seem ed m y dual personality h a d subsided, m y
whole attention was rivetted u p o n this extraordinary
personage. All around w a s perfect blank and I w a s lost
in his contemplation. I thought I could be h a p p y only
with h im and in his awe-inspiring presence. H e appeared
to fix his gaze u p o n m e , a u d to pass his haqds over m y
body from h e a d to foot without touching m e . a n d oc­
casionally hold liis h a n d s opposite m y eyes for a few
seconds. Th is process w as very soothing, a n d I b e g a n
very soon to feel that the pain in m y b o d y w a s gradually
subsiding as though melting under his strong gaze aud
the influence of liis m o v in g hands. T h e figure w a s thus
visible to m e for w h a t seem ed about ten minutes. But
as the process w as continued, .and I gradually begun to
recover m y consciousness, I b e g a n seeing tho figure m ore
a n d m ore hazily. Finally it disappeared like a flash and
I lost all consciousness !
IV .
It seems that I h a d been in a lethargic sleep. T h e
r en ew ed w a r m t h of iny b o d y soon s h o w ed to m y relatives
that I wns not dead, a n d the signs of resuscitation multi­
plying, I soon a w o k e . W h e n I enquired about the cause
of the fear w h ic h still dwelt upon the faces of those
around m e, they corroborated exactly w h a t I had seen,
nnd whsit I h ave described above in reference to the pre­
parations for the incineration,— with the exception of
the part co ncerning the “ Strange F i g u r e .” Nobody
ever s aw any stranger beside m y body, nor w;is any voice
heard b y any of them. Y e t “ T h e F i g u r e ” w as a reality
to m e . E v e r and rnion it flashed across m y m in d , a n d
to B e e it ngain becam e m y life’s resolve. C o m e w h a t m ay ;
see it I would a n d should. A curious ch a n g e cam e over
m e since that day. I w h o never k n e w w h a t religion, w a s,
becam e extremely pious, and m y only happiness w as in con­
templation a n d prayer. Y o u n g as I w a s, worldly
pleasures appeared to m e but as a vain s h o w ; luxuries
but the conceit of arrogance, a n d indulgence in sensual
iippetites but tho ambition of brutes. N o t h i n g could
satisfy m e — but to b « (done, to recite m y prayers, to
conteinphite a n d recall this “ Strange F i g u r e ,” with
w h o m m y life n o w seem ed to be interwoven. I felt as if
he were m y guardian D e v a w h o Imd banished m e from
his loka of light a n d joy for som e fault or other of m ine,
although in liis extrem e benevolence a n d charity he had
condescended to save m e from death to instil into m y
heart n e w a n d nobler feelings, a nd perchance to watch
over m y destiny !
( To be co n tin u e d .)
-------- » .
T IIE P O W E R TO H E A L .
I t is a striking com m entary upon the imperfection of
our m o dern systeni of medicine, that an almost unanim ous
scepticism prevails a m o n g physicians as to the p o w er of
healing the sick b y m esmeric m ethods. B y m ost tho
thing is declared impossible, a n d those w h o maintain
its r e a l i t y are set d o w n as little better than charlatans.
T h e majority are not satisfied w ith this exhibition of
potty spite : they do their best to intimidate a n d ostra­
cize the more can did minority. A n d they find moro than
willing allies in the theologians w h o stand for their es­
pecial prerogatives, a n d , while claiming to heal b y divine
commission, d e no u nce all lay mesmeric healers as either
h u m b u g s or sorcerers. It is sad d en iu g to read in the
Literature of m esm erism so m a n y plaintive protests
against the prejudiced injustice of the medical profession
towards such able scientists as G r e g o r y , A s h b u r n e r ,
Elliottson, a n d Y o n R e ichen ba ch. O n e cannot restrain
o n e’s indignation to see h o w an instinct of n arrow selfish­
ness carries professional m e n b e y o n d all bo u n ds a nd
warps the moral sense. T h e case of N e w t o n , the A m e r i ­
can healer, whose mesmeric cures are recorded b y
thousands a n d em brace exam ples of the m ost desperate
ailments instantaneously relieved, is striking. T h is m a n
has healed in public halls, in m a n y A m e r ic a n cities as
well as in L o u d o n , not scores, but hun dred s of sick people,
by the simplo laying on of hands. H i s p o w er w as so
great that he could b y a w o r d a n d a gesture dispel the
pains of everybody in the audience w h o stood up w h e n he
called u p o n those w h o w ere suffering from a n y pain to do
so. Sev enteen years a g o , he publicly Btated that h e h a d
u p to that time cured one h u n d r e d a n d fifty thousand
sick persons ; w h a t his present total is— for lie is still
curing— w e cannot say, but it m ust be larger than the
a ggregate of all the instantaneous cures effected b y all
the “ holy wells,” a n d shrines, a nd professed healers
within our historical period. A b o o k * b y M r . A . E . N e w ­
ton, a respectable gentlem an of Massachusetts, w h ich
appeared in the year 1 8 7 9 , contains the record of somo
thousands of cases w hich yielded to D r . N e w t o n ’B trem en­
dous psychopathic power. F r o m a public address of the
latter (see p. 113-14) w e learn that “ In healing there
m ust be faith on one side or the other. A healer should be
a person of great faith, great energy ; sympathetic and
k in d ; a m a n w h o is true to himself ; a m uscular m a n ,
w ith a fixed, positive a n d determined will. O n e possess­
ing a go o d share of these qualities will be successful.”
T h e discourse finished, he gave a practical illustration of
his healing p ow er. S a id h e : “ N o w I ask a n y in the
room that aro in pain to rise— only those w h o are in
acute pain.” A b o u t twenty rose, a nd the Doctor threw
his arm s forcibly forward a n d said, “ N o w your pain is
g o n e .” H e then “ requested those w hose pains were
cured to sit d o w n , a n d they all sat d o w n .” H i s p o w er
has been sometimes so superabundant that he h a d only
to touch a paralytic, a club-foot patient, a deaf or blind
person, to cure them on the spot, a nd there he has touch­
ed a nd healed 2 ,0 0 0 in one day. T h e C u r 6 D ’A r s , a
g o o d F r e n c h priest, w h o died in 1 8 5 9 , healed like N e w ­
ton for thirty years ; du rin g w hich period he h a d been
visited b y 2 0 ,0 0 0 patients, of all ranks, a n d from every
country in E u r o p e. D r . E n n em o s er , in his m ost inter­
esting “ History of M a g i c ,” tells about Gassner, a
R o m is h priest of the latter half of the 18th century, w h o
cured his thousands b y the following artifices. “ Ho
wore a scarlet cloak a n d on his n eck a silver chain. He
usually h a d in his room a w i n d o w on his left h a n d , a nd a
crucifix on his right. W i t h his face toward the patient,
he toucliod tho ailing part, * * * * calling on tho
n a m e of Jesus * * * *. E v e r y o n e that desired to
be healed must believe * * * covered the affected
part with his h a n d , a n d r u b b e d therewith vigorously both
head a n d n e c k .” I n our days the R o m a n Catholics have
revived the business of miraculous cures on a grand scale :
at Lourdes, Franco, is their holy well where hundreds of
cripples havo deposited their sticks a n d crutches as
tokens of their cures; the sam e thing is going on at the
parish church at K n o c k , Ireland, a n d last year there were
sym ptom s that the sam e trump-card w as to be played by
the fish-collecting priests of Colom bo, Ceylon. I n fact
the C h u rch of R o m e has always claimed a m onopoly a u d
m a d e the simple psychopathic law to play into their hands
as testimony in support of their theocratic infallibility.
T h a t useful compiler of valuable psychic facts, tlie C h e v a ­
lier G . D e s M o u s s e a u x , scrapes on this papal violineella
with great zeal. W i t h him all m esmeric healings are
effected by the devil. “ W h e n the m agnetic agent operates
upon the evils of the b o d y , experience proves as an in­
fallible truth, that it does not heal them without causing
acute pains, or without risk to life, w h ic h it often des­
troys I Its cures are exasperatingly brief ; perfect ones
aro the exception ; the evil that it expels from one organ
is often replaced in another organ b y an evil still more
desperate, a n d the sicknesses it dissipates are liable to
cruel relapses.” t H i s several volumes contaiii hundreds
of reports of cases in w h ic h the devil has s h o w n his
Satanic p o w er b y healing the sick a n d do in g all sorts of
wonders. A n d that w e m a y have the m ost unanswerable
proof that the m esm eric fluid has manifested itself simi­
larly iu all ages, he collects from the writings of the
ancient the testimonies w hich they have left on record.
# T h e “ M o d e rn U e th e sc la , o r T h e G ift o f I l e a l i n g R e s to re d .” E d ite d
by A . E . N e w to n . N e w Y o rk : N e w to n P u b . Co.
f “ L a M a g io a u X I X m e S ie c le .” p . 327. ( P a r i s : 1864, H e n r i P lo n ) .
N o t h in g could be m ore sarcastic than his arraignm ent of
the A c a d em ie s of Science a n d the medical profession for
tlieir stupid incredulity as to the occurrence of these
marvels. Verily this is a n author to be studied b y the
intelligent psychologist, h o w ever m u c h he m a y be dis­
posed to laugh at his Catholic bias a n d his blind resort
to the theory of a non-existent devil to explain a w a y the
beneficent pow er to heal disease w hich so m a n y philanthro­
pic m e n in all epochs h ave exercised. It is not in tho
least true either that m esmeric cures are im p erm anent or
that one disease disappears only to b e replaced b y a worse
one. If the operator be healthy a n d virtuous a n d k n o w s
his science well, his patients will b e effectually restored
to health in every instance w here his or lier o w n constitu­
tion is favourably disposed to receive the m esm eric aura.
And this leads us to rem ark that D r . New ton has not
sufficiently explained the curative action of faith nor
its relation to the mesmeriser’s healing p ow er. The
familiar analogy of the la w of electric a n d m agnetic
conduction m a k e s all plain. If a metallic b o d y charged
with-f-1'jlectricity be b r o u g h t into contact with a b o d y
negatively electrified, the -f-lluid is discharged from the
lirst into the second b o d y . T h e p h e n o m e n o n of thunder
a n d lightning is a n exam ple in point. W h e n two bodies
similarly electrified m eet they m utually repel each other.
A p p l y this to the h u m a n system. A person in health is
charged with positive vitality— pran, O d , A u r a , electro­
m agnetism , or w hatever else you prefer to call it : one in
ill-health is negatively ch a rged : the positive vitality, or
health element, m a y be discharged b y an effort of the
healer’s will into the reccptive nervous system of
the patient : they touch each other, the fluid passes,
equilibrium is restored in the sick m a n ’s system,
the miracle of healing is w rought, a n d the lame w alk,
the blind see, deaf hear, d u m b speak, a n d hum ours
of long standing vanish in a m o m e n t ! N o w , if b e ­
sides health, p o w er of will, k n o w le d g e of science, a n d
benevolent com passion on the healer’s part, there be also
faith, passivity, and the requisite attractive •polarity, on
that of the patient, the effect is the m ore rapid a n d
am a zin g . O r , if faith be lacking a n d still there be the
necessary polaric receptivity, the cure is still possible.
A n d , again, if there be iu tho patient alone a faith
supreme a n d unshakablo in the p o w er of a healer, of a
holy relic, of the touch of a shrine, of the waters of a
well, of a pilgrim age to a certain place a n d a bath in
some sacred river, of a n y given ceremonies, or repetition
of charm s or a n amulet w o rn about the n e c k — in either
of these or m a n y m ore agencies that m ig ht b e n a m e d , then
tiie patient will cure himself b y the sole p o w er of his pre­
disposed faith.* A n d this rallying- p o w e r of N a t u r e ’s
forces goes in ther medical books un der tho n a m e of Vis
* T l i a t e x c e l l e n t j o u r n a l , T h e T im e s o f C e y lo n , i n i t s n u m b e r f o r
F e b r u a r y 7 t h , p r i n t s t h o f o l l o w i n g f i 'c t s w h i c h i l l u s t r a t e t h e r e ­
c u p e r a t i v e p o w e r o f t h e i m a g i n a t i o n : “ I h a v e r e c e n t l y r e a d a il
a c c o u n t of w h a t is te r m e d a ‘ fa ith - c u r e ’ w h ic h to o k p la c e w ith
th e fa m o u s S ir H u m p h r e y D a v y w h e n q u ite a y o u n g m a n .
w u s a b o u t, lo o p e r a t e o n a p a r a l y t i c p a t i e n t w i t h o x y g e n g a s , —
' b u t b e f o r e b e g i n n i n g t h e i n h a l a t i o n , D a v y p la c e d a t h e r m o m e t e r
u n d e r t h e p a t i e n t ’s t o n g u e to r e c o r d h i s t e m p e r a t u r e . T h e m a n
w a s m u c h im p r e s s e d w ith l h i s n n d d e c l a r e d w ith m u c h e n t h u s i ­
a sm th a t h e w a s a lre a d y m u c h re lie v e d . S e e in g th e e x tr a o r d in a r y
i n f l u e n c e o f t h e m a n ’s i m u g i h a t i o n , D a v y d i d n o t h i n g m o r e t h a n
g ra v e ly p la c e th e th e r m o m e te r u n d e r h is to n g u e fro m d a y to d a y ,
a n d in a s h o r t t i m e h e r e p o r t e d h i m c u r e d ’. 1 c a n r e l a t e a p e r f e c t
f a i t h - c u r e o f a d e s p e r a t e c a s e o f d y s e n t e r y in o n e o f o u r p l a n t i n g
d i s t r i c t s , b y a m e d ic a l p r a c t i t i o n e r w e l l - k n o w n a t t h e tim e > D r ,
B a y lis , w h o p r a c t i s e d o n h is o w n a c c o u n t in t h e K a l l i b o k k e v a lle y
a n d K n u c k le s d is tr ic t. l i e h a d j u s t r e t u r n e d fro m a v is it to In d ia ,
h a v i n g l e f t h i s a s s i s t a n t in c h a r g e , a n d o n liis r e t u r n w n s m u c h
d i s t r e s s e d t o l e a r n t h a t a f a v o r i t e p a t i e n t o f h i s , t h e w if e o f a u
e s t a t e m a n a g e r , w a s d e s p e r a t e l y ill w i t h d y s e n t e r y a n d t i o t e x p e c t ­
e d to liv e m o r e t h a n a d a y o r tw o , b e i n g a l m o s t i n e x tr e m is .
S h e h a d b e en g r a d u a lly s in k in g u n d e r th e d e b ilita tin g e ffe c ts o f
th e t e r r i b le d is e a s e , a n d th e r e w a s n o th in g m o re to b e d o n e a s
t h e d o c t o r f o u n d t h e t r e a t m e n t t o h a v e b e e n a ll t h a t h e c o u l d
h u v e a d o p te d . W is h in g to seo th e p a tie n t b e fo re h e r d e a t h , h e a t
o n c e w e n t to th e e s ta te , a n d o n s e e in g h im s h e e x p r e s s e d g r e a t
p l e a s u r e , s a y i n g in f a i n t t u n e s s h e k n e w s h e s h o u l d r e c o v e r n o w
t h a t iio h a d c o m a t o a t t e n d h e r , u s s h e h a d s u c h c o m p l e t e c o n fi-
Medicatrix Natura: — the H e a lin g P o w e r of N atu re. It is
of suprem e importance that the one w h o attempts to heal
disease should have an absolute a n d implicit faith (a) in
his science ; (b) in himself. T o project from himself
the healing aura he m ust concentrate all his thought
for the m o m e n t upon his patient, a n d W i l l with iron
determination that the disease shall depart a n d a
healthy nervous circulation be re-established in the suf­
ferer’s system. It matters nothing w h a t m a y b e his
religious belief, nor w hether he invoke the n a m e of Jesus,
llam a, M a lio m m e d or B u d d h a ; he must believe in his
own power and science, a nd the invocation of the n a m e of
the founder of his particular sect, only helps to give him
the confidence requisite to ensure success. L as t year in
Ceylon, Col. Olcott healed m ore than fifty paralytics, in
each case using the n a m e of L o r d B u d d h a . B u t if he
had not h a d the k n o w le d g e he lias of m esmeric science,
a n d full confidence in his psychic p ow er a n d the revered
G u r u w h o se pupil he is, he m ight have vainly spoken his
simple religious formula to his patients. H e was treat­
ing Buddhists, a n d therefore the invocation of S a k y a
M u n i ’s n a m e w a s in their cases as necessary as w a s the
use of the n a m e of Jesus to P e re G assn er a n d the other
m a n y healers of the R o m i s h C h u r c h w h o have cured the
sick from time to time. A n d a further reason for his
using it was that the c u n n in g Jesuits of Colom bo were
preparing to convince the simple-minded Singhalese that
their n e w spring near K elanie h a d been e n d o w e d with
exceptionally miraculous healing powers b y the V ir g in
M ary.
T hoso w h o m a y , after reading our rem arks, feel a call
to heal the sick, should bear in m in d the fact that all the
curative m ag n e tis m that is forced b y their will into the
bodies of their patients, comas out of their own systems.
W h a t they have, they can g i v e ; no more. A n d as the
m aintenance of one’s o w n health is a prim e duty, they
should never attempt healing unless they have a surplus
of vitality to spare, over a n d above w ha t m a y be n eed ed
to carry themselves through their round of duties, a n d
k eep their systems well up to tone. Otherwise they
w ould soon break d o w n a n d becom e themselves invalids.
O n ly the other d a y a benevolent healer of L o n d o n died
from his im prudent waste of his vital forces. F o r the sam e
reason, healing should uot bo attempted to a n y extent
after one has passed m iddle lifo : the constitution has
not then the sam e recuperative capacity as in youth.
A s the old m a n cannot com pete with the fresh youth in
athletic contests, so ho can no m o re hope to rival h im in
healing the sick ; to attempt it is sheer folly ; to ask it of
h im simple ignorance a n d selfishness. W e m a k e those re­
flections because requests have be en m a d e from m a n y
quarters that Col. Olcott w ould visit them a n d publicly
heal the sick as he did in Ceylou. T o say nothing of
tho fact that he is n o w a m a n of past fifty years of ago,
a n d bu rd en ed with a w e ig h t of official duty that would
D avy
break d o w n a n y person, not sustained like him b y e x ­
ceptional influences, w e need only reflect that the suffer­
ing sick throughout I n d ia are n u m b e r e d by the tens of
thousands, a n d that for him to be himself k n o w n as
healer w o u ld b e to insure his b e in g m o b b e d a nd almost
torn to pieces in every city. I f in a small place like
d e n c e iu h im . A t h e r r e q u e s t h e r e m a i n e d in t h e h o u s e , b u t n o
c h a n g e in h e r m e d i c i n e w a s m a d o . S t r a n g e t o s a y s h e a t o n c e
b e g a n t o r e c o v e r , a u d u t t h o e n d o f a w e e k w a s a b l e to w a lk w ith
h i m in t h e g a r d e n .
“ S u c h w a s th e r e s u lt w ith th e p a tie n t. O u th e m in d o f th e
d o c t o r t h e c u r e h a d t h e e f f e c t o f c a u s i n g h i m to lo s e a ll c o n f i­
d e n c e in t h e e llic a c y o f m e d i c i n e ; h e a b a n d o n e d a l l o p a t h y a s a
d e l u s i o n , to o k t o h o m a a o p a t h y a s t h o o n l y t r u e p r a c t i c e , a n d
n e c e s s a r ily lo s t m a n y o f h is p a t i e n t s ; a n d e v e n tu a lly le f t th e
c o u n t r y a n d s e t t l e d in C a l i f o r n i a a s a f a r m e r , w h e r e lie w a s
d r o w n e d a fe w y e a r s a g o . T h e l a t e D r . B a y l i s w a s a m a r v e l l o u s l y
g i f t e d m a n in m a n y r e s p e c t s , b u t , l i k e m a n y o t h e r c l e v e r m e n ,
v e ry in ip a ls iv e . I l o w a s i n c l i n e d t o b e a b e l i e v e r in B u d d h i s m
a n d a c tu a lly n a m e d o n e o f h is c h ild r e n B u d d h a ."
Galle, oar H ead- Q uarter building w a s th ro n ge d b y two
a nd tlireo h u n d r e d patients a day, the road w a s crow ded
with carts, litters, a nd h o bblin g cripples, a n d the President
w as often unable to find time to get even a cup of tea
before 5 p . m . , what w o uld it be in our In d ia n cities, thoso
hives of population w h ere every street w o u ld pour out
its quota of invalids ? If like N e w t o n , h e h a d practised
healing all his life, a n d he could cure b y a touch the caso
w o u ld be different. A s it is, all lie can do is that w hich
lie has been doing, viz., to teach eligible m e m b e r s of tho
Theosophical Society tlio secrets of m esm eric p sycho­
pathy, on tho simple condition that it shall never be used
as a m o an s of pecuniary gain or to gratify a n y sinister
motive.
--- «---
B Y “ BELL, BOOK, AND C A N D L E .”
L ea v es from the N o te-book of a M is s io n a r y P r ie s t .
• N ot w ith the object of vindicating the Asiatic people
from a n y charge of superstition that m a y lie against
th e m , bnt only to s h o w that in 'W e s te r n countries under
all its boasted enlightenm ent, the self-samo belief in
dem o n iac obsession obtains as .am ong th em , w e havo
heretofore cited cases w h ic h have ap peared in'cu rren t
literature similar to the very curious ono w e n o w quote.
T h e narrativo is taken from tho Catholic Mirror, a most
conservative journal of the R o m is h C h u rc h in A m e r ic a ;
in fact, as it announces itself, “ Official O r g a n of tho
A rch bish o p of Baltim ore, Bishops of R i c h m o n d a n d
W i l m i n g t o n , a n d the Vicar-Apostolic of N o r t h Carolina.”
W h a t it admits is, therefore, not to bo co u g h e d d o w n or
put aside ; its voicc is that of authority. T h o strong
mediaeval flavour w h ic h pervades the present story adds
a greater zest to it. Its chief value to tho intelligent
psychologist is iu s h o w in g (a) that the p h e n o m e n o n of
so-called obsession survives to our day , despite scientific
progress; (h) that the possibility of overcom ing tho
abnorm al condition b y m oans of rituals a n d prayers
(mantrams) ij claimed b y tho C h u rc h to be truo ; (c) that
tho self-same abnorm al psycho-physiological sym ptom s
sho w themselves in Christian a n d heathen countries,
w here almost identical remedies are em p loyed. I n the
one caso tho p o w er of exorcism is claimed as a divino
gift from tho Christian g o d , a n d in tho other as co m in g
from tho g o d R a m a , conqueror of R a w a u ; that is all.
A n d if exorcism be iinpossiblo b y Ilin d u priests in
In d ia , ifc m ust bo equally impossible b y R o m is h priests
in C a n a d a or at R o m e . F o r Hysteria is tho obsossing
devil in both instances.
W e havo a certain respect for sceptics w h o laugh with
equal scorn at the credulity of phenomenalists w hether
inside or outside tlieir o w n Ch u rch . B u t our feeling is
quite tho reverse for thoso w h o , while m a k i n g m erry at
tho expense of all others for credulity, a.re ready to
swallow identical stories if alleged b y their o w n ecclesias­
tics to bo miraculous. T h e most staggering recitals of
occult phenom ena, that have been taken from ‘ heathen’
sources into our journal, do not sutpa.ss, if they equal,
the report of this missionary priest in tho elements of
credulity, blind faith, a n d impossibility; a n d yet, the
occultist will no more d e n y tho essential facts of this
case, than those of the others. W e will w a tch with a m u se d
curiosity the tone that will be a ssu m ed b y our critics in
sp e a k in g of this affair. T h e reader will bear in m in d
that henceforward it is the editor of the Catholic Mirror
w h o is telling the story. S u c h com m ents as w e m a y
have to m a k e will bo confined to the foot-notes :
.. .T h e following extraordinary narrative w a s related in
our ( C . M . ’s) presence some yea,rs ago b y a venerable a n d
w orth y priest, formerly attached to a diocese, bu t n o w a
m e m b e r of a religions o r d e r ; a n d it w a s subsequently
written out at our request with a view to publication.
W e though t it w o u ld prove edifying a n d instructive to
a largo n u m b e r of readers. T h e M S . has lain in our
desk for a long time ; for several reasons w o hesitated
about publishing it, a n d it is only after a critical investi­
gation, a n d consultation with persons whose ju d g m e n t
is entitled to the highest regard, that w o havo decided
to do so. T h e r e can be no doubt that cases of diaboli­
cal possession are sometimes m et with, a n d w e believe
this to be a g e n u in e one. T h e y are of frequent occur­
rence in missionary countries, and , though rare in Chris­
tian com munities, thero are, perhaps, m oro -instances
than most persons im agine. W e have heard of as m a n y
as eight woll-antheutica.tod cases in the U n i t e d States
alone ; ono of these, a m ost remarkable one, w a s m ention­
ed to us b y a B ish o p , w h o , if w e r em em ber rightly, w a s
himself the exorcist. A n o t h e r case that w e have in m in d ,
a n d w hich w e investigated som ew hat, occurred in a
Protestant family at the Bast, a nd resulted in the con­
version of all its m e m b e r s , ono of w h o m , w e believe, is
to becom o a priest.*— (Ed. Gath. Mirror.)
Many persons hardly - believe in the devil at all,
from believing so little in G o d . f A lt h o u g h the reality
of diabolical possessions is a truth w hich the H o l y S crip ­
ture a bu ndan tly establishes, there are m a n y w h o scout the
idea of devils b e in g permitted to be on this earth of ours.
T h e y call it a superstition, a n d have a w a y of their o w n
for explaining w hatever is related in tho L iv es of tho
Saints on this subject. S a ta n m a y be looked u p o n as a
m ere abstract idea, to bo taken as the personification of
evil, bu t this is not Catholic doctrine b y a n y m eans.
A r c h b is h o p V a u g h a n has said som ew here : “ A s m e n get
misty in thoir notions of tho God- m an, they becom o
v a g u e in their belief in h im whose p ow er that G o d cam e
to crush.” J T h a t there aro diseases k n o w n to scienco
with sym p tom s very similar to demoniacal possession,
there can be n o .doubt, a n d that they have sometimes
been m istaken for it is not surprising.........It is not neces­
sary to attribute to the agency of the devil w hatever is"
mysterious or p hen o m e na l, a n d that cannot imm ediately
bo accounted for otherwise. Catholics are guilty of no
such folly. I n cases of possession, tho C h u r c h proscribes
rules for determ ining their genuineness. T h e fact
that forms of exorcism have boen em p loyed b y tho
ministers of religion from the earliest ages of Christi­
anity, a u d that they are still retained in our Rituals, is
proof e n o u g h that tho C h u r c h believes that tho devil
can, a n d sometim es does, cxerciso p o w er on earth in a
palpable m a n n e r ; that cases of demoniacal possessions
have taken place in the past, a n d that they still occur.
It w as prophesied b y our blessed L o r d that tho casting
out of devils w o u ld be one of tho signs that shall follow
them that believe.------- §
I sailed from H a v r e on tho steamer Arago, F e b ru a r y ],
1 8 5 8 , en. route for tho A m e r ic a n mission a n d the State of
* J n s t b e fo re h is ln m e n te d d e a t h , Tiov. F a t h e r F in o t ti p r e p a r e d a fu ll
a c c o u n t of th e r e m a r k a b le W iz a r d C lip c a s o r e l a t e d in th e L ife of P r in c e
G a llitz in b y M iss B ro w n s o n .— E d . C. M .
+ W o th in k i t d u o to q n ito a n o th e r re a s o n . T h o s e e a p a b lo o f s in c e re ly
b e lio v in g in a j u s t a n d o m n ip o te n t d e ity a ro u n a b le to b e lie v e in a D e v il.
I f a n y th in g h a s b e e n c a l c u la te d to m a k e th o W e s te r n w o rld lo se all
fa ith in R e lig io n , i t is t h i s a b s u r d a n d c ru e l d o g m a w h ic h e n fo rc e s
u p o n a ll C h r is tia n s b e lie f in th e D e v il.— E d . T.
J A n d w h y c o n ld ho n o t h a v e e r n s h e d th o p o w e r o f th e D e v il w ith ­
o u t m o v in g fr o m h o a v c n ? W h y s h o u ld “ t h a t G o d ” h a v e h a d to “ c o m o ”
to o u r e a r t h ? H e v r a s n o t h e r e a lr e a d y , th e n , b e fo ro th o y e a r o n e ? So
th o ro w a s a t le a s t o n e e n t i r e g lo b e w h e ro God w a s n o t p r e s e n t, d e s p ito th e
c la im o f h is O m n ip r e s e n c e . A n d if h e c r e a t e d e v e r y th in g in th e h e a -.
v e ils a b o v e a s w e ll a s in th o e a r t h b e n e a th , w h y d id h e c r e a t e s n c h a
d e v i l ? — E d . T.
§ A n d t h o w o rd s , “ I n m y n a m e s h a ll th o y c a s t o u t d e v ils ” (M a rk x vi.
17-18) a r e fo llo w e d b y th e s e o th e r s — “ th o y s h a ll s p e a k w ith n e w to n g u e s ;
tiie y s h a ll ta k e n p s o r p e n ts ; a n d if th e y d r in k a n y d e a d ly t h i n g , it
s h a ll n o t h n r t th e m ; th o y s h a ll la y h a n d s o n th e s ic k a n d t h e y s h a ll
r e c o v e r .” T h is , is, w e a r o to ld , w h a t J e s u s p ro m is e d to “ th e m t h a t b e ­
lie v e .” H a v in g k n o w n C h r is tia n o rth o d o x e x o rc is e rs a n d m a n y o th e r
p e r s o n s w h o “ b e lie v e d ” m o s t s in c o r e ly , w o y e t h a v o n e v e r m e t o n e ,
le a s t of a ll a ■padri, w h o w o n ld c o n s o n t to c i t h e r d r in k a g la s s o f p o iso n ,
o r ta k e a c o b ra b y i t s t a il. W h y is th i s ? T h e “ c a s tin g o u t o f th e
d e v ils ” is o n ly o no o f t h e s ig n s t h a t s h o u ld “ fo llo w th e m t h a t b e lie v e .”
I s i t b e c a u s e f a ith is b u t o n e -fif th o f w h a t i t u s e d to be ?— E d . T.
 **** A r riv in g safely in N e w Y o r k , I proceeded directly
I w a s truly surprised at this narrative, seeing clearly
to the Arch bish o p , w h o appointed m e to give a mission that the devil m e a n t m e . I said that I w ould see the
in three F re n c h settlements. I reached at night, no one girl, but first I r e c o m m e n d e d myself to G o d b y kneeling
being aware of my arrival......... O n the following m o r n in g a d o w n a n d reciting the V e n i C r e a t o r .
m a n stopped m e on the street, a n d a sk e d m e very
(To be continued.)
politely if I w a s not a Catholic priest, a n d , u p o n m y
replying in tho affirmative, h e exclaim ed : --- *---

“ Oil, T I l l i N , IT IS TRUE— TOO TRUE : IT IS THE DEVIL !” FRAGMENTS OF OGGULT TRUTH.

In reply to m y request for a n explanation of this
strange expression, he said : “ O h , F a th er ! m y d a u g h ­
B y a L ay C hela.
ter has be en possessed b y the devil for m an y years; I
see it all n o w !” '
“ Y o u m ust not believe that so easily,” I replied. No. V II.
“ H o w can I (lonbt it,” he a n s w e r e d , “ w h e n only last
night she told m e that a f black coat’ h a d com e to--- ,
T he H uman L if e W ave.
a n d repeated it this m orning, s a y i n g : ' Y o u m ust g o ;
y o u will find h i m ; you m ust brin g h im . O h !’ said she P r e v i o u s essays will have given the reader a general
(or rather the devil), ‘ h o w foolish I have be en to take idea of the w a y in w h ic h the great evolutionary life-wave
possession of this girl ! N o w I shall suffer; he comes sweeps round a n d round the seven worlds w hich com pose
to torment a n d expel m e .’ + I w a s so struck b y the talk the planetary chain of w h ic h our earth is a part. Fur­
that I started m echanically rather than believing that I ther assistance m a y n o w be offered with the v ie w of
should- actually find you ; but n o w that y o u are here, e x p a n d in g this general idea, into a fuller com prehension
will you not kindly com e a n d ju d g e for yourself ? It is of the processes to w h ic h it relates. A n d no one a ddi­
only five miles distant : you can return again this ev en ­ tional chapter of the great story will do m ore towards
ing. I cam e 011 horseback, but I will saddle another rendering its character intelligible, than an explanation
horse while yon are ta kin g breakfast.” I assented. of certain p h e n o m e n a connected with the progress of
D u r i n g our ride ho acquainted m e with all the parti­ worlds, that m a y be conveniently called Obscurations.
culars of the case. Students of occult philosophy w h o enter on that
“ W h e n m y dau gh ter w a s threo years of a g e — she is pursuit with m in d s already abundantly furnished in other
n o w fifteen— she w en t, as w as her custom, to play with w ay s, are very liable to misinterpret its earlier state­
the child of a w id o w at a n eighbouring house ; tho w o m a n m ents. E v e r y thing cannot be said at once, a n d the
gave her som e toast a n d molasses ; w h e n she returned first broad explanations are apt to suggest conceptions
hom e, she com plained of uneasiness in the stom ach, a n d in regard to details w h ic h are most likely to be erro­
from that time forw ard becam e melancholy, a n d lost tho neous wtih the m ost active-minded a n d intelligent th ink ­
cheerfulness a n d g o o d health sho h a d previously enjoyed. ers. S u c h readers aro not content with s h a d o w y out­
S h e w as strange in her m o tio n s ; not positively ill, but lines even for a m o m e n t . Im a g in a tio n fills in the
always com plaining of a w eigh t on her stom ach. She picture, a n d if its w o r k is undisturbed for a n y length of
would not perform as usual little services about the time, the author will be surprised afterwards to find
house, but w o uld act iu an a w k w a r d a n d whimsical m a n ­ that later information is incompatible with that w h ic h lie
ner. S u c h lias be en tlie state of the child du rin g the h a d com e to regard as h a v i n g been distinctly taught in
past twelve years.” I learned later that the m other— the b e g i n n i n g .. N o w in these Fragments the writer’s
w h o , 011 one occasion, during the feast of the Purification effort is to convey tho information in such a w a y that
of the Blessed V ir g in , gav e the girl som e blessed tea to hasty w e e d grow ths of the m in d m a y be prevented as far
drink, w h e n suddenly she broke out in a rage, slapped as possible, but in this very effort it is necessary so m e­
her m other, a n d o x cla im e d: “ O h ! I a m fo u n d out— I times to run 011 quickly in advance, leaving details,—
m ust speak n o w ! but thou shalt p a y for it.” T h e n the even very important details to be p icked up during a
father, gently iuterposing, s aid : “ AVhat is t h a t? ” — second journey over the old g ro un d. S o n o w the reader
calling her by n a m e — “ you strike your m other !” m ust be g o o d e n o u g h to g o b a c k to the explanation given
“ It is not--- w h o is here, it is I , ” w a s the answ er, in iu F r a g m e n t I V . of the evolutionary progress through
a rough, hollow voice, a n d grow ling like a d o g . the whole planetary chain.
“ W h o art thou ?” said the father. S o m e fe w w ords w ere said even in that F r a g m e n t ,
“ I a m tho devil,” w as tho answ er, in similar tones. concerning the m a n n e r in w hich the life impulse passed
“ If thou art the cursed one,” replied the father, “ give on from planet to planet in “ rushes or gushes ; not b y an
the reason w h y thou hast taken possession of m y even continuous H o w .” N o w the course of evolution in
dau gh ter.” its earlier stages is so far continuous that the preparation
“ N o , ” said lie, “ I w o n ’ t. W h a t a fool I have been of several planets for the final tidal w a v e of hum anity m a y
to como here ! N o w I m ust be t o rm en ted ; he is c o m i n g ; b e g o in g 011 simultaneously. In d e e d the preparation of all
he is 011 the sea” (words w hich w ere not then un der­ the seven planets m a y , at one stage of the proceedings, be
stood. I w a s, indeed, on sea at that time, h a v in g e m ­ g o in g on simultaneously, bu t the important point to re­
ba rk ed at H a v r e as above m entioned, just the d a y pre­ m e m b e r is that the m ain w a v e of evolution,— the fore­
vious). F o r a m o n th she w as m ore or less in fits of most g r o w in g w a v e ,— cannot be in more than one place
rage. A b o u t the en d of F eb ru a r y she said again : “ H e at a time. T h o process goes on in the w a y w h ich m a y
has arrived at la^t, ho will com e soon.” W h e n asked n o w be described, a n d w hich the reader m a y b e the bet­
w h o m the m ea n t, she replied : “ H e that m ust expel m e ; ter ablo to follow, if he constructs cither on p aper or in
a nd thero shall be tw o.” S o m u c h I learned of tlie facts his o w n m in d a d ia g r a m consisting of seven circles (re­
that preceded ir.y arrival. T h e m other then repeated presenting tho worlds,) a rranged in a ring. Calling
w hat her h u s b a n d h a d already told m e about the girl’s th em A , B , C , & c ., it will be observed from w hat
reference to m e during the previous evening'. has been already stated that circle (or globe) I), stands
* O u r m c tiv o f o r t h e s u p p re s s io n o f n a m e s iu th i s r e la tio n w ill b e for our earth. Now the k i n g d o m s of N a tu re as
o b v io u s w h o n w o s t a t e t h a t m oB t, if n o t a ll, o f th o p e rs o n a a r e s till k n o w n to occultists,be it rem em bered , are seven in n um b er,
liv in g . H o w e v e r, n e i t h e r th o n a r r a to r , w h o is w e ll k n o w n to un, n o r th o
o th e r p r ie s t w h o w itn e s s e d t h e m a n if e s ta ti o n s , w o u ld o b je c t t o h a v o three, h a v in g to do with astral a n d elementary forces,
t h e i r n a m e s g iv e n if i t w e re th o u g h t e x p e d ie n t.— E d . C. M . preceding tho grosser material k in g d o m s in the order of
f N o w r e a lly t h a t m n s t h a v e b e e n a n id io tic d e v il! F o r lm d h e b u t their developm ent. K i n g d o m 1 evolves on globe A , a nd
k e p t q n ie t, 110 o n e , le a s t o f a ll th e n e w c o m e r, c o u ld h a v e e v e r fo u n d h im
o u t j h e n c e w o u ld n o t h a v e t u r n e d h im o u t o f h is c h o s e n m 'o n n so e .— passes on to B , as k i n g d o m 2 begins to evolve on A .
E d . T. Carry out this system a n d of course it will be seen that
k in g d o m 1 is evolving on globe G , while k in g d o m 7,
the h u m a n k i n g d o m , is evolving on globe A . But
now what h a p pe ns as k in g d o m 7 passes on to
globe B . T h e r e is no eighth k i n g d o m to e n g a g e the
activities of globe A . T h e great processes of evolution
have culminated in the final tide w a v e of h u m a n ity ,—
w h ich as it sweeps on, leaves a tem porary lethargy of
nature behind. W h e n the life w a v e goes on to B , in fact,
globe A passes for the time, into a state of obscuration.
This state is not one of decay, dissolution or any th in g
that can properly be called death. D e c a y itself, th o u g h
its aspect is apt to mislead tho m in d , is a condition of
activity in a certain direction, this consideration afford­
ing a clue to the m ea n in g of a great deal w h ich is other­
wise m eaningless, in that part of H i n d u m ytho logy w hich
relates to the deities presiding over destruction. The
obscuration of a world is a total suspension of its activity:
this does not m ea n that the m o m e n t the last h u m a n
m o n a d passes on from a n y given world, that world is
paralysed b y a n y convulsion, or subsides into the en ­
chanted trance of a Sleeping Palace. T h e anim al and
vegetable life goes on as before, for a time, but its cha­
racter be gins to recede instead of to advance. T h e groat
life-w;ave has left it a n d the animal a n d vegetable k i n g ­
dom s gradually return to tho condition in w hich they
were fo u n d w h e n the great life-wave first reached them .
B uorm ous periods of time are available for this
slow process b y w h ic h tho obscured world settles
into sleep, for it will be seen that obscuration in
each case lasts six tim es* as long as the period of
oach w o rld’s occupation b y tho h u m a n life-wave. T h a t is
to say, tho process w hich is accomplished as abov e des­
cribed in connexion w ith tho passage of the life-wave
from globe A to globe B , is repeated all along the chain.
W h e n the w a v e passes to C , B is left in obscuration as
well as A . T h e n D receives the life w a v e , a nd A , B , C
aro in obscuration. W h e n the w a v e roaches G , all the
preceding six worlds are in obscuration. M e a n w h ile the
life-wave passes on in a certain regular progression, the
symmetrical character of w hich is very satisfactory to
scientific instincts. T h e reader will be prepared to pick
up the idea at once, in view of the explanations already
given of the w a y iu w h ich hum anity evolves through
seven great races, during each round period on a pla­
net,— that is to say, during the occupation of such planet
by tho tidal w a v e of life. T h e fourth race is obviously
the middle race of tho series. A s soon as this m iddle
point is turned, a nd the evolution of the fifth race on
a n y given planet begins, the preparation for hum a nity
begins on the next. T h e evolution of the fifth race on
D for exam ple, is com m ensurate with the evolution, or
rather with the revival of the mineral k in g d o m on E , a nd
so on. T h a t is to say, the evolution of tho sixth race on
D , coincides with the revival of the vegetable k in g d o m
on E , the seventh race ou D , with the revival of the
animal k in g d o m on E , a nd then w h e n the last m o n a ds
of the seventh race on D , liave passed into the subjective
state or world of effects, the h u m a n period on E begins
a n d the 1st race begins its developm ent there. M ean­
while tho twilight period on the world preceding D , has
been deepening into tho night of obscuration in the sam e
progressive w a v , a nd obscuration there has definitely set
in w h e n the h u m a n period on D , is past its half w a y
point. B u t just as the heart of a m a n beats a n d res­
piration continues, no matter h o w p rofou nd liis sleep,
there are processes of vital action w h ic h g o on in the
resting-w orld even during the most profound depths of its
repose. A n d these preserve, in view of the next return
of tho h u m a n w a v e , tho results of the evolution that pre­
ceded its first arrival. R ecovery for the re a w a k e n in g
planet is a larger process than its subsidence into rest,
for it has to attain a higher degree of perfection against
* O r wo m a y s a y five tim e s , a llo w in g fo r th e lm lf p e rio d o f m o r n in g
w liich p re c e d e s a n d th e h a lf p e rio d o f e v e n in g w h ic h fo llo w s th e d a y of
fu ll a c tiv ity .
the return of the h u m a n life-wave, than that at w hich it
w a s left w h e n the w a v e last w en t o n w a r d from its shore.
B u t with every n o w beginning', N a tu re is infused with a
vigour of its o w n — the freshness of a m o rn in g ,— a n d tho
later obscuration period, w hich is a time of preparation
a n d hopefulness as it were, invosts evolution itself with a
n e w m o m e n t u m . B y the time the great life w ave returns,
all is ready for its reception.
In the first essay on this subject it was roughly indi­
cated, that the various worlds m a k in g up our planetary
chain were not all of the sam e materiality. P u tting tho
conception of spirit at the north pole of the circle a n d
that of matter at the south pole, the worlds of the descend­
in g arc vary in materiality a n d spirituality, like those of tho
ascending arc. 'Phis variation must n o w be considered
moro attentively if the reader wishes to realise the whole
processes of evolution m o re fully thau heretofore.
Besides the earth, w h ic h is at the lowest material
point, there are only two other worlds of our chain w hich
are visible to physical eyes,— the one behind a n d the ono
in adv an ce of it. T h e s e two worlds, as a matter of fact,
aro M a rs a n d M e r c u r y ,— M a r s bein g b e h in d a n d M erc ury
in advance of ns,— M a r s in a stato of entire obscuration
n o w as regards the h u m a n lil’e-wave, M e r c u r y just begin-
ing to prepare for its next h u m a n period.*
T h e tw o planets of onr chain that are be h in d M a r s ,
a n d the two that are in advance of M ercu ry , are not com ­
posed of an order of matter which telescopes can take
cognisance of. F o u r out of the seven are thus of au
etherial nature, w hich people w ho can only conceive matter
in its earthly form , will be inclined to call immaterial.
B u t they are not really immaterial at all. T h e y aro
simply in a finer state of materiality than tho Earth ,
but their finer state does not in any w a y defeat the uni­
formity of N a t u r e ’s design in regard to tho m ethods a nd
stages of their evolution. W i t h i n the scale of their subtle
“ invisibility,” the successive rounds a n d races of m a n k in d
pass through their stages of greater a n d less materiality
just as on this E a rt h ; but whoever would com preh end
th e m ,m u s t co m p reh en d this Earth first,a,nd w o rkou t their
delicate p h e n o m e n a b y eorrespondential inferences. Let
us return therefore to the consideration of tho great life-
wave, in its aspects on this planet.
Just as the chain of worlds treated as a. unity, has its
north a n d south, its spiritual a n d material polo,— w o rkin g
# J t m a y bo w o rth w h ilo h e ro to r e m a r k f o r t h e b e n e f it o f p e o p le w ho
m a y b e d is p o s e d , fr o m p h y s ic a l s c ie n c e r e a d in g , to o b je c t tlia t M e r c u r y is
to o n e a r th e S u n , n n d c o n s e q u e n tly to o h o t to be a s n ita b le p la c e o f h a b ita ­
tio n f o r M a n ,— t h n t in th e official r e p o r t of th e A stro n o m ic a l D e p a r tm e n t
o f th e U n ite d S ta te s o n th e r e c e n t “ M o u n t W h itn e y o b s e r v a tio n s ,”
s ta t e m e n ts w ill b e fo u n d t h a t m a y c h e c k to o c o n fid e n t c r itic is m s of
o c c u lt s c ic n c c a lo n g t h n t lin e . T h e r e p o r t in q u e s tio n w a s r e p u b lis h e d in
N a h m ?, a n d fo r th e m o s t p a r t , w ith in th o l a s t six m o n th s , in s o m e o f th o
I n d ia n n e w s p a p e r s . T h o r e s u lts o f t h e M o u n t W h itn e y o b s e r v a tio n s on
s e le c tiv e a b s o r p tio n of s o la r rayR s h o w e d , a c c o rd in g to th e official r e ­
p o r te r , t h a t it w o u ld n o lo n g e r b e im p o s s ib le to s u g g e s t th o c o n d itio n s
of a n a tm o s p h e r e w h ic h s h o u ld r e n d e r M e r c u r y h a b ita b le , a t th e one
e x tr e m e of th e s c a le , a u d S a t u r n a t t h e o th e r . W e h a v o no c o n c e rn
w ith S a tu r n a t p r e s e n t, n o r if w e h a d to e x p la in on o c c u lt p rin c ip le s
th o h a b ita b ility of M e r c u r y , s h o u ld w e s e t to w o rk w ith c a lc u la tio n s
a b o u t s e le c tiv e a b s o r p tio n . T h e f a c t is t h a t o r d in a r y s c ie n c e m o k e s
a t o n c e to o m u c h a n d to o l i t t l e o f th o S u n , a s th o s to re -h o u s o of fo reo
f o r th e s o la r s y s te m ,— to o m u c h in so f a r a s th e h e a t of p la n e ts hay
a g r e a t d e a l to d o w ith a n o t h e r in flu e n o q u ite d is tin c t f r o m t h e S u n ,
a n in flu e n c e w h ic h w ill n o t b e th o ro u g h ly u n d e rs to o d till m o ro is
k n o w n t h a n a t p r e s e n t a b o u t th e c o rre la tio n s o f h e a t a n d m a g n e tis m ,
a n d of th e m a g n e tic , m e te o r ic d u s t, w ith w h ic h in le r - p ln n o tn r y s p a c e is
p e rv a d e d . H o w e v e r i t is e n o u g h ,— to r e b u t a n y o b je c tio n t h a t m ig h t be
r a is e d a g a i n s t tlic e x p la n a tio n s n o w in p ro g re s s , fro m th e p o in t o f v ie w
o f lo y a l d e v o te e s of la s t y c a r ’R s c ie n c e ,— to p o in t o u t t h a t su ch
o b je c tio n s w o u ld b o a lr e a d y o u t o f d a t e . M d e rn s c ie n c e is v e r y p r o ­
g r e s s iv e ,— th is is o n e of its g r e a t e s t m e r its ,— b u t i t is n o t a m e rito r io u s
h a b it w ith m o d e rn s c ie n tis ts to th in k , a t e a c h Rtage of its p r o g r e s s , t h a t
a ll c o n c e p tio n s in c o m p a tib le w ith th e s ta g e r e a c h e d , m u s t n e c e s s a rily
be a b s u r d . I f th e p r e s e n t e s s a y h a d b e e n w r itt e n tw e lv e m o n th s ago,
a n d r e m e m b e r t h a t a s r e g a r d s th e in fo r m a tio n i t c o n ta in s i t m ig h t
h a v e b e e n w r i t t e n tw e lv e m illc n iu m s a g o ,— w o c o u ld h a v e said
n o th in g m o ro th a n th o s e n te n c e l a s t w r itt e n , h a d so m e o n e a r g u e d in
r e f e r e n c e to M e r c u r y , t h a t M r. P r o c to r h a d s u m m e d u p a ll t h a t co u ld
b e s a id o n th e q u e s tio n , a n d h a d g iv e n j u d g m e n t a g a i n s t its h a b ita b i­
lity . A s i t h a p p e n s .in th is m a t t e r , M o u n t W h itn e y h a s r is e n u p to
r e f u t e t h e 1 ’r o c to ria n j u d g m e n t,— r e f u ti n g i t b y w ro n g a r g u m e n ts
in d e e d , b u t b y a r g u m e n ts t h a t w ill be a c c e p ta b le in t h e Procfcoriaiv
a re n a . *
from spirituality d o w n th rou gh materiality, up to spiritual­
ity again,— so the rounds of m a n k in d constitute a similar
series w hich the chain of globes itself m ight b e taken to
symbolise. I n the evolution of m a n in fact, on a n y one
plane as cn all, there is a descendin g a n d an ascending
arc ; spirit, so to speak, transforming itself into matter, a nd
matter resolving itself into spirit. T h e lowest or most
material point in the cycle thus becom es the inverted
a p ex of physical intelligence, w h ich is the m a s k e d
manifestation of spiritual intelligence. E a c h round of
m a n k in d evolved on the d o w n w a r d arc (as each race of
each round if w e descend to the smaller mirror of the
cosmos) m ust thus b e more physically intelligent than
its predecessor, a n d each in the u p w a r d arc m ust be in­
vested w ith a m ore refined form of mentality co m m in g led
with greater spiritual intuitiveness. I n the first R o u n d
therefore w e find m a n , a relatively etherial b e in g c o m ­
pared even on earth with the state he has n o w attained
here, not intellectual but super-spiritual. L i k e the anim al
a n d vegetable shapes a ro u nd him , he inhabits an im m ense
but loosely organised b o d y . I n the second R o u n d he is
still gigantic a n d etherial, bu t g r o w in g firmer a n d m ora
condensed in b o d y — a m ore physical m a n , bu t still less
intelligent than spiritual. I n the third R o u n d h e has
developed a perfectly concrete a n d com pacted b o d y , at
first the form rather of a giant ape than of a true m a n ,
but w ith intelligence c o m in g m ore a n d 'm o r e into the as­
cendant. I n the last half of the third R o u n d his gigantic
stature decreases, his b o d y improves in texture, a n d he
begins to be a rational m a n . I n tlie fourth R o u n d intel­
lect, n o w fully developed, achieves enormous progress.
T h e d u m b races w ith w h ich the R o u n d begins, acquire
h u m a n speech as w o understand it. T h e world teems
with the results of intellectual activity a n d spiritual d e ­
cline. A t the half w a y point of the fourth R o u n d here, the
polar point of the whole seven-world period is passed.
F r o m this point onwards the spiritual ego begins its real
struggle w ith b o d y a n d m in d to manifest its trans­
cendental powers. I n the fifth R o u n d tho struggle
continues, but the transcendental faculties are
largely developed, th o u g h the struggle b etw een these
on the one h a n d , with physical intellect a n d propensity
is fiercer than ever, for the intellect of the fifth R o u n d
as well as its spirituality is a n advance on that of
fourth. I n the sixth R o u n d h u m a n it y attains a degree
of perfection both of b o d y a n d soul,— of intellect a n d
spirituality, w hich ordinary mortals of the present
epoch will not readily realise in their imaginations.
T h e most suprem e combinations of w is d o m , goodness
a n d transcendental enlightenm ent w h ic h the w orld has
ever seen or thought of, will represent the ordinary
type of m a n h o o d . T h o se faculties w hich n o w , in the rare
efflorescence of a generation, enable som e extraordinarily
gifted persons to explore tho mysteries of N a t u r e a n d
gather the k n o w le d g e of w hich som e crum bs are n o w
b e in g offered (through these writings a n d in other
ways) to the ordinary world, will then be the c o m m o n
a p an age of all. A s to w h a t the seventh R o u n d will bo
like, the most com m unicative occult teachers are solemnly
silent. M a n k i n d iu the seveutli R o u n d will b e som ething
altogether too god-like for m a n k in d in the fourth
llonnd to forecast its attributes.
D u r i n g the occupation of a n y planet b y the h u m a n life-
w ave, each individual m o n a d is inevitably incarnated
m an y times. Th is has be en partly explained already
in F r a g m e n t N o . V . I f one existence only b e passed b y
tho m o n a d in each of the b ra n ch races th ro u g h w h ic h
it must pass at least once, the total n u m b e r accom plished
during a R o u n d period on one planet, w o u ld be 3 1 3 ,— tlia
third p o w er of 7. B u t as a matter of fact each m o n a d is
incarnated twice in each of the branch races, a n d also
comes in,necessarily for s o m e few extraincarnations as well,
F o r reasons w h ich is not easy for the outsider to divine,-
tha possessors of occult k n o w le d g e are especially reluc­
tant to giye out numerical facts relating to cosm ogony,
though it is hard for the uninitiated to understand w h y
these should b e withheld. A t present, for exam ple, w o
shall not be able to state w h a t is the actual duration, in
years, of the R o u n d period. B u t a concession w h ic h only
those w h o have long been students of occultism b y the old
m etho d will fully appreciate, liasbeen m a d e about the n u m ­
bers with w h ic h w e are immediately concerned ; a n d this
concession is valuable at all events, as it helps to eluci­
date a n interesting fact connected with evolution, on the
threshold of w h ic h w e have n o w arrived. This fact is
that while the earth, for exam ple, is inhabited as at
present, b y fourth R o u n d hum anity, b y the w a v e of
h u m a n life, that is to say, on its fourth journey round the
circle of the worlds, there m a y be present a m o n g us some
fe w persons, fe w in relation to the total n u m b e r , w h o ,
properly s peakin g, b e lo n g to the fifth R o u n d . N o w , in
the sense of the term at present em ployed, it m ust not
be supposed that b y a n y miraculous process, any
individual unit has actually travelled round the
whole chain of worlds once m ore often than his com peers.
U n d e r the explanations just given as to the w a y the
tide-wave of hum a nity progresses, it will be seen that
this is impossible. H u m a n i t y has not yet p a id its fifth
visit even to the planet next in advance of our o w n . But
individual m o n a ds m a y outstrip their com panions as re­
gards their individual developm ent, a n d so b e c o m e e x ­
actly as m a n k in d generally will be w h e n the fifth R o u n d has
been fully evolved. A n d this m a y be accom plished in
two w ays. A m a n born as an ordinary fourth R o u n d m a n ,
m a y , b y processes of occult training, convert himself into
a m a n h a v in g all the attributes of a fifth R o u n d m a n and
so becom e w h a t w e m a y call an artificial fifth-Rounder.
B u t independently of all exertions m a d e b y m a n in his
present incarnation, a m a n m a y also be born a fifth-
R o u n d e r , th o u g h in the midst of fourth R o u n d hum anity,
b y virtue of the total n u m b e r of his previous incarnations.
If x stands for the norm al n u m b e r of incarnations
w hich in the course of nature a m o n a d m ust g o through
during a round period on one planet, a n d y for the m argin
of extra incarnations into w hich b y a strong desire for
physical life he m a y force himself during such a period,
then, as a matter of fact, 24-£ (x y y) m a y exceed 28.c ;
that is to say, in 3 J R o u n d s a m o n a d m a y have accom ­
plished as m a n y incarnations as an ordinary m o n a d w o uld
have accom plished in four complete R o u n d s . I n less than
3 i R o u n d s the result could not have been attained, so
that it is only n o w that w o have passed the half w a y
point of evolution on this half w a y planet, that the fiftli-
R o u n de rs are b e g in n in g to drop in.
It is not possible in the natnre of things that a m o n a d
can do m ore than outstrip his co m p a n io n s b y m o r e than one
Round. T h is consideration notwithstanding B a d d lia was
a sixth R o u n d m a n , but this fact has to do with a great
m ystery outside the limits of the present calculation.
E n o u g h for the m o m e n t to say that the evolution of a
B u d d h a relates to som ething m ore than mere incarna­
tions within the limits of one planetary chain.
Since large n u m b e r s of lives have been recognised in
the above calculations as following one another in the
successive incarnations of an individual m o n a d , it is im ­
portant here, with the view of averting misconceptions
to point out that the periods of time over w h ic h these
incarnations ran ge are so great that vast intervals sepa­
rate them , n um erou s as they are. A s stated aboye, w e
cannot just n o w givo the actual duration of the Round-
periods. N o r indeed could any figures be quoted as in­
dicating the duration of all Round-periods equally, for
these vary in length within very w id e limits. B u t here
is a simple fact w h ic h has been definitely stated on the
highest occult authority w e are concerned w ith. The
(resent rate of h u m a n ity , the present 5th race of the 4 t h
{lo u n d period, b e g a n to evolve about one million of years
ago . N o w it is not yot finished ; but supposing that a
million years h a d constituted the complete life of the
race, h o w w o u ld it havo been divided up for each in­
dividual m o n a d ? I n a race there m ust bo rather m ore than
1 00, a n d there can hardly be 1 2 0 incarnations for an in­
dividual m o n a d . B u t say even there havo been already
120 incarnations for m o n a d s in the present race already.
/Ynd say that the average life of each incarnation w a s a
century, even theu w e should only have 1 2 ,0 0 0 years out
op the million spent in physical existence, against 9 8 8 ,0 0 0
years spent in the subjective sphere, or there w o u ld be
ail average of m ore than 8 ,0 0 0 years betw een each incar­
nation.* Certainly these intervening periods are of very
variable length, but they cannot contract to any thing
loss than about 1 ,5 0 0 years, in any case,— leaviug out of
account of course the case of adepts w h o have placed t h e m ­
selves quite outside the operation of tlie ordinary law ,—
a n d 1 ,5 0 0 years if not a quite impossibly short, w o u ld be
an extraordinarily brief interval b e tw e en two rebirths.
' ----- ♦-----
77//■; G A V E O F T H E E C H O E S .
A S tra n g e B ut a T ru e S t o r y .t
In one of the distant governm ents of tlie
empire in a small town, on the very borders of Siberia,
a mysterious tragedy occurred som e twenty-five years ago.
- A b o u t six versts from the little tow n of P --- , fam ous
for the wild beauty of its scenery, a n d for the wealth of
its inhabitants— generally proprietors of m ines a n d iron
foundries— stood nu aristocratic m ansion. Its household
consisted of the master, a rich old bachelor, a n d his
brother, a w ido w er a n d the father of two sons a n d
three daughters. It w as k n o w n that the proprietor, M r .
(zvertzoff, h a d adopted his brother’s children, a n d , h a v in g
form ed an especial attachm ent for his eldest n e p h e w , N ic h o ­
las, h e h a d m a d e him the sole lieir to his num erous estates.
T i m e rolled on. T h e uncle w a s getting old, the n e p h e w
com in g of ago. D a y s a n d years h a d passed in m onoto­
nous serenity, w h e n , on the hitherto clear horizon of the
quiet family, appeared a cloud. O n an unlucky da y one
of the nieces took it into her liea,d to study the zither.
T h e instrument b e in g of purely Teutonic origin, a n d no
teacher for its speciality residing in the n eighbou rho od ,
the indulgent uncle sent to St. Petersbu rg for both.
After diligent research only one Professor could be
I’oun d willing to trust himself in such close proximity to
Siberia. It w a s an old G e r m a n artist, w h o , sharing
equally liis earthly affections betw een his instrument a nd
a pretty blonde daughter, w o u ld part with neither. Aud
thus it cam e to pass that, one fine m orn in g, the old P r o ­
fessor arrived at the m ansion with his music-box under
one arm a n d his fair M u n c h e n leaning o n the other.
F r o m that day , the little cloud b e g a n g r o w in g rapidly;
lor, every vibration of the melodious instrument foun d a
responsive echo in the old bachelor’s heart. M u s ic
a w a k en s love, they say, a n d the w o r k b e g u n b y the
siither w a s completed b y M u n c h e n ’s blue eyes. A t the
expiration of six m onths the niece h a d becom e a n expert
zither-player, a n d the uncle w as desperately in love.
O n e m o rn in g, gathering his adopted family around him ,
he em braced t h em all very tenderly, prom ised to r e m e m ­
ber them in his will, a n d w o u n d up b y declaring his inal­
terable resolution to m arry the blue-eyed M u n c h e n .
A fter w h ich he fell u p o n their necks a n d w e p t in silent
rapture. T h e family, understanding that they Were
cheated out of the inheritance, also w e p t ; bu t it w a s for
another cause. H a v i n g thus w ep t, they consoled t h e m ­
selves a n d tried their best to rejoice, for the old gentle­
m a n w a s sincerely beloved b y all. N o t all of them re­
joiced th o ugh . Nicholas, w h o h a d be en himself smitten
to the heart b y the pretty G e r m a n , a n d foun d himself
at once defrauded of his belle a n d his uncle’s m o n ey ,
neither rejoiced nor consoled himself, but disappeared
fur a whole day .
* S e e in th is c o n n e c tio n p a g e 35 o£ V o l. I o f I s is U n v e ile d , b e g in n in g
;tfc tlie In s t p a r a g r a p h o£ p a g e 3 4 .
f T h i s s to r y is g iv e n fr o m th o n a r r a t i v e o f a n e y e - w itn e s s , a R u s ­
s i a n • g e n tle m a n , .v e r y p io u s , a n d f u lly t r u s t w o r t h y .
Facts a r e c 6p ie d fr o m tlio, p o lic e re c o r d s o f P -------. T h o e y e - w itn e s s in
q u e stio n a t t r i b u t e s i t o f c o u rs e p a r t l y t o d iv in e i n t e r f e r e n c e a n d
p a r tly to th e E v il O n e .— E d , . ...........................
M ea n w h ile , M r . Izvertzoff h a d given orders to prepare
his travelling carriage for the following m orning. It was
whispered that he w as g o in g to the G o ve rn m e nt town, at
som e distance from there, with the intention of altering
his will. T h o u g h very wealthy, he h a d no superinten­
dent on his estate, but kept his books himself. The
sam e evening, after supper, lie was heard in his room
scolding angrily at his servant, w h o h a d been in his
service for over thirty years. This m a n , Iv a n , w as a
native of N o rthern A s ia , from Kam tcliatka. B ro u g h t
up by the family in the Christian religion, he was
thought very m u c h attached to his master. A few days
later, w h e n the first tragic circumstance I a m about to
relate, h a d bro ught all the Police force to the spot, it was
rem em b ered that Iv a n w as drunk on that n i g h t ; that
his master, w h o h a d a horror of this vice, h a d paternally
thrashed him a n d turned h im out of his room ; a n d that
Iv a n h a d been seen reeling out of the door a n d heard to
mutter threats.
Russian T h e r e w as on the vast dom ain of M r . Izvertzoff a
curious cavern, w h ic h excited the curiosity of all w h o
visited it. It exists to this day, a n d is well k n o w n
to every inhabitant of P . * * * A pine forest, w hich
begins nearly at the garden gate, climbs in steep terraces
up to a long range of rocky hills, w hich it covers with
a broad belt of impenetrable vegetation. T h e grotto lead­
in g to this place w h ic h is k n o w n as the “ C ave of the
E c h o e s ,” w as situated about half a mile from the m ansion,
from w hich it appeared as a small excavation in the hill
side, almost hidden by luxuriant plants, but not so as to
prevent a ny person entering it from bein g readily seen
from the terrace of the house. E n terin g the grotto, the
explorer finds at the rear a narrow cleft, havin g passed
w hich he em erges into a lofty cavern, feebly lighted
through fissures in a ceiling fifty feet high. T h e cavern
itself is im m ense, a n d could easily hold between two a n d
three thousand people. A part of it was then p aved with
flags,and often n se dinth e s um m eras aball-room b y picnic-
parties. O f an irregular oval, it gradually narrows into a
broad corridor, w h ic h runs for several miles under gro und,
intercepted here a n d there b y other cham bers, as large
a n d lofty as the ball-room, but, unlike the first, im ­
passable otherwise than in a boat, as they are always
full of water. T h ese natural basins have the reputation
of bein g unfathomable.
O n the m a r g in of the first of these, was a small plat­
form, with several m ossy rustic seats arranged on it, a n d
it is from this spot that all the phenom enal echoes are
heard in all their weirdness. A w o rd p ronounced in a
whisper or a sigh seems caught up b y endless m o ck in g
voices, a n d instead of dim inishing in volum e, as honest
echoes do, the sound grow s louder at every successive
repetition, until at last it bursts forth like the repercussion
of a pistol-shot, a n d recedes in a plaintive wail d o w n the
corridor.
O n tho evening in question M . Izvertzoff h a d m e n ­
tioned his intention to have a dancing party in this cave
011 his w e d d i n g day, w h ic h he h a d fixed for a n early date.
O n the following m o rn in g, while preparing for his de­
parture, he w as seen b y his family entering the grotto,
accom panied only b y the Siberian. H a l f a n hour later
Iv a n returned to tho m ansion for a snuff-box, w hich his
master h a d forgotten in his room, a n d went back with it
to the cave. A n hour later the whole house was startled
with his loud cries. Pale a n d dripping with water, I v a n
rushed in like a m a d m a n a n d declared that M . Izvertzoff
w as nowhere to be found in the cave. T h in k in g he had
fallen into the lake, h e h a d dived into the first basin in
search of him , a n d got nearly drow ned himself.
T h e day passed in vain attempts to find the body.
T h e Police filled the house, a n d louder than the rest in
_
his despair seem ed Nicholas, the n ep h ew , w h o had
M o re o v e r, th o returned h o m e only to receive the sad tidings.
. A dark suspicion fell upon Iv a n , the Siberian. He
h a d been struck b y liis master the night before, a n d had
 be en beard to swear revenge. H e h a d accom panied him
alone to the cave, a n d w h e n his room w a s searched, a
b o x full of rich family jewelry, k n o w n to have been care­
fully kept in M . Izvertzoff’s apartm ent, w a s foun d
. un der I v a n ’s be ddin g. V a in ly did the serf call G o d to
witness, that the b o x h a d be en given to him in charge
b y his master himself, just before they proceeded to the
cave ; that it w as the latter’s purpose to have the jewelry
reset, as he intended it for a w e d d i n g present for his
bride, a n d that he, Iv a n , w o u ld willingly give his o w n
life to recall that of his master, if he k n e w h im to be
dead. N o heed w a s paid to h im , how ever, a n d he w a s
arrested upon a charge of m urder. U n d e r the Russian
law a criminal cannot, at a n y rate, he could not in those
days, be sentenced for a crime, h o w e v er conclusive the
evidence, unless he confessed his guilt.
A fter a w e e k passed in useless search, the family
arrayed themselves in d e e p m o u r n i n g ; a n d , as the will as
originally d r a w n r em ain ed without a codicil, the whole
of the property passed into the h a n d s of the n e p h e w .
T h e old teacher a n d his dau ghter bore this sudden
reverse of fortune w ith true G er m an ic p h le g m , a n d pre­
pared to depart. T a k i n g his zither again under one
arm , h e w a s about to lead his M u n clien b y the other,
w h e n the n e p h e w stopped him b y offering himself instead
of his departed uncle. T h e ch a n g e w a s fo un d an agree­
able one, a n d , w ithout m u c h ado, the y o u n g people were
m arried.
T e n years rolled a w a y again, a n d we find the h a p p y
family at the b e g in n in g of 1 8 5 9 . T h e fair M u n clien h a d
becom e fat a nd vulgar. P r o m the day of the old m a n ’s
disappearance, N ich o las h a d been morose a n d retired in
his habits. M a n y w o n dered at the ch a n ge in h im ; for
n o w he w as never seen to smile. It seem ed as if his
only aim in life w a s to find out his uncle’s m urderer, or
rather to br in g I v a n to confess his guilt. B u t the m a n
still persisted that h e was innocent.
A n only son w a s born to the y o u n g couple, a n d a
strange child it w as. Sm all, delicate a n d ever ailing,
his frail life seem ed to h a n g b y a thread. W h e n his
features w ere in repose, his resem blance to his uncle was
so striking that the m em bers of the family often shrank
from him in terror. It w as the pale, shrivelled face of a
m an of sixty upon the shoulders of a child of nine years.
H e w a s never seen to either laugh or play ; but perched
in his h ig h chair, gravely sat, folding his arm s in a
w a y peculiar to the late M . Izvertzoff. H e often
rem ained so for hours, motionless a n d drowsy. H is
nurses were often seen furtively crossing themselves at
night, upon approaching him , a n d not one of them would
consent to sleep alone with h im in the nursery. H is
father’s behaviour towards h im w a s still m ore strange.
H e see m ed to love h im passionately, a n d at the sam e
time to hate h im bitterly. H e seldom em braced or
caressed the child, but w ould pass long hours w atching
him , with livid ch eek a n d staring eye, as h e sat quietly
in a corner, in his goblin-like, old fashioned w a y . The
child h ad never left the estate, a n d fe w outside the
family k n e w him .
A b o u t the m iddle of J uly , a tall H u n g a r i a n traveller,
preceded b y a great reputation for eccentricity, wealth
a n d mysterious powers, arrived at the to w n of P --- from
the N o r t h w h ere, it w a s said, he h a d resided for years.
H e settled in the little to w n in c o m p a n y w ith a Schainan
or N o rth Siberian m agician, ou w h o m he was said to e x ­
periment in m esm erism . H e gav e dinners a n d parties,
and invariably exhibited his S c h a m a n , of w h o m lie felt
very proud, for the a m u sem ent of his guests. O n e day
the notables of P --- m a d e an unexpected invasion of
the dom ains of N icholas Izvertzoff, a n d reqnested of him
the loan of his cave for an ev en ing entertainment.
N icholas consented w ith great reluctance, a n d with still
{'renter hesitancy w a s he prevailed upon to join the
party.
T h e first cavern a n d the platform besido the bottom ­
less lake glittered with lights. H u n d r e d s of flickering
candles a n d torches stuck in the clefts of the rocks,
illuminated the place, a n d drove the s hadow s from the
m ossy nooks a n d corners, w here they h a d been undis­
turbed for m a n y years. T h e stalactites on the walls
sparkled brightly, a n d the sleeping echoes w ere suddenly
a w a k e n e d , b y a confusion of joyous sounds of laughter
and conversation. The Scham an, w h o was never lost
sight of b y his friend a n d patron, sat in a corner,
entranced as usual. Crouched on a projecting rock,
about m id w a y be tw e en the entrance a n d the water, with
his lemon-yellow, wrinkled face, flat nose, a n d thin
beard, he looked m o re like a n ugly stone idol than a
h u m a n being. M a n y of the com pan y pressed round him
a n d received correct answers to their questions, the
H u n g a r i a n cheerfully subm itting his m esm erised ‘ subject’
to cross exam ination.
S u d d e n ly one of the party, a lady, rem arked that it
w a s in that very cave that old M . Izvertzoff h a d so u n ­
accountably disappeared ten years before. T h e foreigner
appeared interested, a n d desired to learn m ore of the
mysterious circumstances. Nicholas w a s sought in the
crow d a n d led beforo the eager group. H e w a s the host
a n d h e found it impossible to refuse the d e m a n d e d narra­
tive. H e repeated the sad tale in a trem bling voice,
with a pallid cheek a n d tears were seen to glitter in his
feverish eye. T h e c o m p a n y were greatly affected, and
encom ium s upon the behaviour of the loving n e p h e w in
hon ourin g the m e m o r y of his uncle a n d benefactor freely
circulated in sympathetic whispers. S u d d e n ly the voice
of Nicholas be c a m e ch ok ed , his eyes started from their
sockets, a n d , with a suppressed groan, he staggered back.
E v e r y eye in the crow d followed with curiosity his
h a g g a r d look as it rem ain ed riveted upon a w e a z e n littlo
face that p eeped fro m b ehind the back of the H u n g a r ia n .
“ W h e r e do you co m e from ? W h o bro ug h t you here
child ?” lisped out N icholas, as pale as death itself.
“ I w a s in b e d p a p a ; this m a n cam e to m e , a nd
bro ug ht m e here in his arm s, ” simply answ ere d the boy,
pointing to the S c h a m a n , beside w h o m he stood on tho
rock, a n d w h o , with his eyes closed, kept s w a y in g h im ­
self to a n d fro like a living p en dulu m .
“ T h a t is very strange, ” rem arked one of the guests,
“ for the m a n has never m o v e d from his place 1”
“ G o o d G o d ! w h a t a n extraordinary res em b la n c e !”
muttered a n old resident of the tow n, a friend of tho lost
m an.
“ Y o u lie, b o y !” fiercely exclaim ed the father, “ Go
to b e d , this is no place for y o u .”
C o m e , c o m e ,” interposed the H u n g a r i a n , with a
strange expression on his face, a n d encircling with his
a rm the slender, childish figure ; “ the little fellow has
seen the double of m y S cha in a n, w hich roams sometimes
far a w a y from his b o d y , a n d has m istaken the phantom
for the m a n himself. L e t him rem ain with us for a
while.”
A t these strange words the guests stared at each other
in m ute surprise, while som e piously m a d e the sign of
the cross spitting aside presum ably at the devil a n d Aw
works.
“ B y the b y e ,” continued the H u n g a r i a n , with a very
peculiar firmness of accent, a u d addressing the c o m ­
pany rather than a n y one in particular, “ w h y should w e
not try to unravel the mystery h a n g in g over that tragedy,
with the help of m y S c h a m a n ? Is the suspected party
still lying in prison ?.. . W h a t ? not confessed till n o w ?...
This is very strange indeed. B u t n o w w e will learn tho
truth in a fe w m inutes ! L e t all keep silent!” ...
H e then approached the T eh u ck tch en e, a n d im m edi­
ately b e g a n his perform ance without so m u c h as asking
the consent of the m aster of the place. T h e latter stood
rooted to the spot as if petrified with horror, a nd unable
to articulate a sound. E x c e p t by h im the suggestion was
m et with general approbation, a n d the IJoli£e M aster,
Col. S --- , ap proved of the idea very m u ch .
 “ L ad ie s a n d gentlem en ,” then said the m esm eriser in
a m ia b le tones, “ allow m e for this once to proceed
ot horwise than I generally do. I will em ploy the m eth o d
of native m agic. It is m o re appropriate to this wild
place, a n d far more effective as y ou will find, than our
JO tiropean m ode of mesmerisation.
W i t h o u t waiting for an a nsw er, he d r e w from a b a g
that never left his person, first, a small d r u m , a n d then
two little phials— one full of liquid, the other e m p ty . W i t h
the contents of the former he sprinkled the S c h a m a n ,
w h o fell to trembling a n d n o d d i n g m ore violently than
ever. T h e air w as filled with the perfum e of spicy odours
a n d the atmosphere itself seem ed to be com e clearer.
T h e n to the horror of those present, he quietly approach­
ed the T ibetan, a n d t a k in g a miniature stiletto from
his pocket, he p l u n g e d the sharp steel into the m a n ’s
forearm, a n d d r e w blood from it, w h ich he ca ug ht in his
em p ty vial. W h e n it w a s half filled he pressed the orifice
of the w o u n d w ith his t h u m b , a n d stopped the flow as
easily as if h e h a d corked a bottle, after w h ic h h e sprin­
kled the blood over the little b o y ’s h e a d . H e then sus­
p e n d e d the d r u m from his n e c k , a n d , with tw o ivory
d r u m sticks, w hich were covered with carved m a g ic signs
a nd letters, he b e g a n beating a sort of reveille, as he said,
to d r u m up the spirits.
T h e bystanders, half shocked a n d half terrified at those
extraordinary proceedings, eagerly cro w ded ro un d him ,
a n d for a fe w m o m en ts a d e a d silence reigned throughout
tho lofty cavern. Nicholas with his face livid a n d corpse­
like stood speechless as before. T h e m esm erizer had
placed himself betw een the S c h a m a n a n d the platform
w h e n he b e g a n slowly d r u m m i n g . T h e first notes were
muffled, a n d vibrated so softly in the air that they a w a k ­
ened no echo, but the S c h a m a n quickened his p en d u lu m
— like motion, a n d the child b e c a m e restless. The
d r u m m e r then b e g a n a low chant, slow, impressive, a nd
solemn.
A s the u n k n o w n w ords issued from his lips, tho flames
of the candles a n d torches w a v e re d a u d flickered until
they b e g a n dan cing in r ythm with the chant. A cold
w ind cam e w h e e zin g from the da rk corridors b e y o n d the
water, leaving a plaintive echo in its trail. T h e n a sort
of nebulous vapour see m in g to ooze from the rocky
g ro u n d a n d walls, gathered about the S c h a m a n a n d the
boy. A r o u n d the latter the aura w a s silvery a n d trans­
parent, but the cloud w h ic h enveloped the form er was
red a n d sinister. A p p r o a c h in g nearer tho platform, the
m agician beat a louder call on his d r u m , a n d this time the
echo caught it up with terrific effect! It revorberated
near a n d far, in iucessant peals ; one wail followed
another, louder a n d louder, until the th un dering roar
seem ed the chorus of a thousand d e m o n voices, rising
from the fathomless depths of the lake. T h e water itself,
whose surface, illuminated b y m a n y lights, h a d previously
been smooth as a sheet of glass, be ca m e suddenly agitat­
ed, as if a powerful g u sh of w i n d h a d swopt over its un-
rnfiled face.
A n o t h e r chant, a n d a roll of the d r u m , a n d the m o u n ­
tain trembled to its foundation with the canon-like peals
w hic h rolled through the d a r k a n d distant corridors.
T h e S c h a m a n ’s b o d y rose two yards in the air, a n d nod-
d iu g a n d sw aying, sat, self suspended, like an apparition.
B u t the transformation w h ic h n o w occurred in the boy
chilled ev ery o ne , as they speechlessly w atch ed the scene.
T h o silvery cloud about the b o y n o w seem ed to lift him
too, into the air ; but unlike the S c h a m a n , his feet never
left tho g r o u n d . T h e child b e g a n to g r o w as th o u g h tho
work of years w a s miraculously accom plished in a few
seconds. H e b e c a m e tall a n d large, a n d his senile fea­
tures grew older, in proportion with the b o d y . A few .
jnore seconds, a n d the youthful form h a d entirely dis­
appeared. It was totally absorbed in another individu­
ality, and, to the horror of those 'present who had been
familiar with his appearance, this individuality was old
M , Izvertzoff!
O n his tem ple w a s a largo, g a p in g w o u n d , from which
trickled great drops of blood. T h e p h a n t o m n o w m oved
directly in front of N icholas, w h o , w ith his hair standing
erect, ga ze d at his o w n son, transformed into his uncle
with the look of a m a d m a n . This sepulchral silence w a s
b r o k e n b y the H u n g a r i a n , w h o , addressing the child
p h a n t o m , a sk e d him , in solemn voice: —
“ I n the n a m e of the great M aster, H i m , w h o has
all p o w er , a n s w e r the truth, a n d nothing but the truth.
Restless spirit, hast thou been lost b y accident, or foully
m u rd er ed ?”
T h e spectre’s lips m o v e d , but it w a s the echo w hich
answ ered for them in lugubrious shouts : “ M u r d e r e d !
m u rd er ed ! mur-der-ed !”
“ W h e r e ? H o w ? B y w h o m ? ” asked the conjuror.
T h e apparition pointed a finger at Nicholas, a n d , without
rem oving its gaze or low ering its arm , retreated b a c k ­
w a r d slowly tow ard the lake. A t every step it took, the.
youn ger Izvertzoff, as if compelled b y som e irresistible
fascination, a d v an c ed a step toward it, until the p h a n to m
reached the lake, a n d the next m o m e n t w as seen gliding
on its surface. It' w as a fearful, ghostly scene !
W h e n he h a d com e to within two steps of the brink
of the watery abyss, a violent convulsion ran throu gh the
fram e of the guilty m a n . F lin g in g himself up o n his
knees, he clung to one of the rustic seats- with a des­
perate clutch, a n d , staring wildly, uttered a long pierc­
ing cry of a g o n y . T h e p hantom n o w rem ained motion­
less on the water, a n d b e n d in g its extended finger, slow­
ly be ck o ne d h im to com e. Crouched in abject terror, the
wretched m a n shrieked until the cavern ran g again a n d
again “ I did n o t .. no, I did not m urd er you ?” ...
T h e n c a m e a splash, a n d n o w it w a s the boy w h o was
in tlio dark water, struggling for his life, in the m iddle
of the lake, with the sam e motionless, stern apparition
brooding over h im .
“ P a p a ! p a p a ! S a ve m e I ...I a m d r o w n in g ,” . . .cried
the piteous little voice a m id the uproar of the m o c k in g
echoes.
“ M y boy !” shrieked Nicholas, in the accents of a
m aniac, springing to his feet ; “ M y boy ! S a v e him !
O h save h i m ! ........Y e s , I confess— I a m the m urderer.........
It is I w h o killed him !” A n o t h e r splash, a n d the p hanto m
disappeared. W i t h a cry of horror the co m p a n y rushed
towards the platform, but their feet were suddenly rooted
to the g r o n n d as they s aw a m id the swirling eddies, a
whitish shapeless m ass, holding tho m urderer a n d the
b o y in tight em brace a n d slowly, slowly sinking into the
bottomless lake...............
O n the m o rn in g after those occurrences, w h e n , after a
sleepless night, som e of the party visited the residence
of tho H u n g a r i a n gentlem an, they foun d it closed a n d
deserted. H e a n d the S c h a m a n h a d disappeared. M any
are a m o n g the older inhabitants of P --- w h o re m e m b e r
him , the police-master, Col. S --- d y in g a fe w years
since in the full assurance that the noble traveller w a s the
Devil. T o a d d to the general consternation, the Izvertzoff
m ansion took fire, a n d w a s completely destroyed on
that night. T h e A r c h b is h o p perform ed the cerem ony
of exorcism, but the locality is considered accursed to
this day. T h o G o v e r n m e n t investigated the facts, a n d —
ordered silence,
--- • —
P IC K IN G S F R O M O U R C O N T E M P O R A R IE S .
The Revue Spirite of Paris, for February, publishes a
communication from a m edium nam ed L . Cephas— which it
calls quite pertinently “ very original.” It is headed G a m b e t t a
N a p o l e o n and announces the stupendous news that the late
French Dictator was no other than Napoleon re-incarnated.
This re-incarnation having been predestined and preordained
by G o d and the Spirits, there was no fatality in Gambetta’s
death. The modern Tehengis K h a n had “ reflected and
repented” between his two lives and come to the conclusion
that the republic was after all the best form of government for
the French people. A n d n ow “ Gambetta has expiated a portion
of the sins of Napoleon.” If so, it hardly behooves Bonapar-
tists and the next of kin of the great Napoleon to go on rebel­
 ling against “ spirits” in trying to restore the lost Dynasty. The
best means of cutting the Gordian knot of France’s present
difficulties would be to convert all the N apoleonides and
their partisans to spiritism. W e offer this advice to the serious
consideration of our friends and brothers in France.
L e Bon sens, a Radical journal of Careassone, France, pub­
lishes another interesting communication from the same source,
it is a prophecy and emanates from the cerebral ganglia of
another medium and seer. W e translate it verbatim et I transferred from its long suffering back to that of the
liter a tim .
“ France has made a great loss, you sa y, in the persons o f
I two o f her sons. Bo not despair. Two others w i l l come iu ! bewailing in the In d ia n E va n gelical Review in tones sound­
\ their stead (reincarnations of the two departed ones, as we
understand) to replace them.
Alsace and L o rra in e w i l l be restored to us a fter a terrible
war which is going to take p la c e between G ermany and R u s s i a , 1 lectures, and invite missionaries to these lectures. They give
a war into which France w ill be dragged in. I t w i l l be fa v o u r ­
able to the a llie d arm ies. A u s tr ia w ill b e a t fir s t w ith P russia ;
but site w i l l soon forsake her; f o r 'Hungary and a l l the S la v o n i­
ans of that U m p ire tv ill compel her to it.
lie f u l l of hope, oh dear fr ie n d s.
(Signed) L e o n G a m d e t t a . ”
At this revelation, a spiritist present exclaimed, “ Oh, i f it
were true !"
Thereupon the “ Spirit” (of Gambetta) answered with great
animation :
“ I swear by the holy name o f God, in whom I had the m i s ­
fortu ne to disbelieve, that a ll w il l come to p a ss as I say.
Oh God o f Justice ! Thou w i l t not p e r m it that the monstrous
in iq u ity of the spoil o f such a beau tiful portion, o f m y France
should continue !— A d ie u .”
The world of “ Spirits” we see, is rife with politics. The
latter entering very little into our programme we will leave it
for what it is worth with this short remark, however, that it
does seem puzzling, why on the same principle of divine
equity, Lotliaire II, or Stanislas Leszczinski, or some other
respectable ghost whose life preceded the treaties of Munster
and ltyswick should not equally claim Alsace and Lorraine as
“ a beautiful portion of their Austria aud Germany?”
The Banner o f L i g h t and the II. P . Journal of the U . S. A.
notify us of the death of l)r. George Beard, the most fierce op­
ponent of spiritualism. The world of science loses an earnest
worker, and believers in “ spirit” communication acquire there­
by a new ally. W e prophesy that, as in the case of our much
lamented Brother, D . M . Bennett, Dr. Brittan and many other
illustrious departed, a week will not pass after his demise
that this uncompromising enemy of materialised and other
“ spirits” will come himself in that role and deliver pseudo
scientific lectures “ through the organism” of some inspira­
tional medium repenting of what he had done and recant­
ing all he had ever said against Spiritualism. Verily, bitter
is the thought of death, so long as there exists no law to pre­
vent in spired mediums from making any one’s spirit” say
platitudes that would liave forced the living man to out off
his tongue in despair rather than to utter them. W e invite
the reasonable spiritualist to ponder over th e po st-m o rtem ora­
tions of— the great D a r w i n — for instance.
T h e Indian W itness of Calcutta,after the manner of the majo­
rity of the professional modern witnesses in India who, to use
tho words of a native Judge, “for the consideration of fourannas
to ten rupees, will give evidence damaging enough to hang four
consecutive generations of innocent men”— is onco more at its
old slanders. Speaking of the “ Uhostology of the Theoso­
phists,” it calls it “ an imposture, which the average sceptic
thoroughly despises.” The In dia n Witness in saying this libs
as usual ; moreover it fathers upon the Thcosophists a belief
which is thoroughly its own. The Theosophist, unless he hap­
pens to be a rabid Spiritualist of the coarser kind, believes in
neither holy nor unholy ghost and ghosts. Moreover, what the
“ average sceptic thoroughly despises” is superstition, or, belief
in a supernatural religion full of divine and satanie miracles—•
precisely the position of our well-wisher the In d ia n W itn ess ;
and what the educated Sceptic lias a thorough contempt for,
— ono shared in this by every refined Christian— is the dis­
gusting cant and at the same time the backbiting propensity
of the half-educated prcaeher and missionary ; the noisy im­
pertinence of the religious snob and zealot of that class so
well represented by some Yankee orators ; and— tho mounte­
bank performances of half-witted fanatics throwing discredit
upon the religion they try to preach. All of these— spiteful
p a d r i s , Christian snobs, and irresponsible fanatics, aro the
subjects of the gushing reverence and respectful patronage
of the I n d ia n Witness__ What Theosophist under the circum­
stances but will prefer vilification to laudation at such hands
and in such a motley company !
♦ --
P I T Y T H E P O O R “ P R I N C I P A L S !”
T h e Thcosophical Socicty is at last relieved of half the
burden of its supposed iniquities, the said half being kindly
j “ Principals of Indian Colleges,” through the kind offices of
the local “ padris.” The Rev. T. Evans of Mongliyr is
ing suspiciously like an ugly denunciation the '‘ godlessness”
; of the hapless “ Principals.” Says, the Reverend “ Prinei-
pals of colleges occasionally advertise the giving of atheistical
missionaries an opportunity of defending Christianity. But
this shows that they are not only atheists, but very deter­
mined atheists. The department is a godless one : and it
persecutes Christianity in every way.”
Sad— if true. W e too invite missionaries to our theosophical
lectures, offering them to defend their respective sectarian
views and doctrines, by either meeting our lecturers 011 the
platform, or explaining them in the columns of our journal.
But they will do neither. They will not come out to
meet us publicly, nor will they have to say any thing in our
magazine, nor reciprocate the politeness. Our “ godly” friends
are prudent, and prefer having the field all to themselves,
wherein they can denounce the “ godless” theosophists with­
out any fear of being contradicted. Thus thoy have always
a backdoor opened, through which, in case of necessity, they
can quietly slip out “ dry from under a shower,” ami plead
ignorance of fa c ts whenever eaug'ht fibbing and distorting
truth about their opponents.
A H E A V Y CURSE.
As a specimen of condensed and concentrated episcopal ma­
lice, the following a n a t h h m a recently sent by the Pope to
■ various Bishops with orders to be read to tlieir parishioners,
and hurled by the Archbishop of Santander (Spain) against
spiritualists in general, and certain editors in his diocese espe­
cially— is truly edifying and Christian. The “ accursed
ones” are men whose only crime is to have dared to proclaim
tlieir preference for civil and religious liberty, over priestly
domination. Matching well those famons excerpts from the
bulls against liberals issued by the late Pope Pius IX , and
collated by Mr. Gladstone a few years ago, this latest inspira­
tion claimed to be received through the Holy Ghost merits a
prominent place among thorn. W e translate it verbatim from
the original, as found in the St. Petersburg Rebus, and dedi­
cate our translation to our good friends of the Society of
Jesus— that meek and all-forgiving ideal of every divino
and human virtue.
B uj .,l o f E x c o m m u n i c a t i o n .
“ May Almighty God and his holy saints curse the spiritual­
ists and thoir journals with the perpetual malediction launched
against tho Devil and his angels ! May they be accursed like
J udas the traitor, and J ulian the apostate ; and may they perish
like Nero. May the Lord judge them as lie judged Dathan
and Abiram anil command the earth to swallow them alive.
May thoy bo crushed and swept away from the face of the
earth and all memory of them disappear for ever and ever ;
and may they be seized with terrible death and hurled alive
thoy and their progeny into hell for damnation everlasting,
so as not to leave a seed of themselves upon tho surface of
the globe. May the few days that are yet in store for them
bo full of gall and bring 011 incessant disasters and unhappi­
ness to t h e a c c u r s e d o n e s . Lot them suffer hunger, thirst and
nakedness, and bo visited by every unclean disease and pain,
through wretched poverty and misery. Accursed be every
bit of thoir property and every blessing' and prayer instead of
bonetitting bo changed for them into a curse. Let them
be cursed everywhere aud at every hour ; cursed day and
night, sleeping and waking, in eating, in drinking and
during' fast ; cursed when thoy speak aud when they keep
silent ; cursed at home and abroad ; cursed 011 land and 011
water ; cursed from the top of thoir heads down to the soles
of their foot ! May tlieir eyes be blinded, thoir ears deaf,
thoir tongues dumb and rooted to their palates ! Cursed be
every member of their family and every limb of their body !
Lot them be cursed from to-day and for ever ! Lot light bo
changed for them into darkness before the face of the Creator,
on tlie great day of the last Judgment ! May their sepulchre
be that of dogs and asses ! May famished wolves prey upon
their corpses and may their eternal company be that of Satan
and his angels !”
W h o , after reading the above, would dare to deny that the
coming of Christ was a gigantic failure, and the claims of his
church and followers as gigantic a sham ? A wretched chance
the poor Theosophists would have if they should be cast upon
some island where this theocratic Boanerges enjoyed absolute
power !
-------» . various Societies, having accumulated on our hands, it will be
A C A S E OF C L A I R V O Y A N C E .
S om e tim e ag o , a cu rio u s case of c la irv o y a n c e h a p p e n e d
to a f r ie n d of m in e a t S h ib p o r c . I w ill n o t, in t h e le a st,
co lo r m y s to ry in o rd e r to in v ite th e a tte n tio n of y o u r n u m e r ­
o u s r e a d e r s , b u t g i v e t h e f a c t s i n ip s is s im a verba o f m y f r i e n d s .
On a moonlit nig'ht, my friend, who holds an enviable situa­
tion in the Postal Department, sat on the top of liis house.
He was very morose and sorrowful ; for a few days before he
had lost his father, and as a matter of fact, his death caused
the whole burden of the family to fall on his head. On this
particular night, he was absorbed in deep meditation, in com­
paring his happy past with the deplorable present and the
troublesome future. The gay nature, the beautiful landscapes,
the cloudless sky, and the bright moon could not make any
impression on him nor relieve him of his pain. While he
was thus ruminating from one melancholy thought to an­
other, he descried, at a distance, tho form of a human being.
Gentle readers, call it a form, a shadow, a phantom, or
any name you please, but the moving form was that of his
dead father. It was then on the road and on its way home.
It came to the gate of his house. The gate opened voluntarily
as if by im.gic. His father entered into the vestibule, bolted
the door, and proceeded to the inner house. For a while he
lost sight of him, but 011 a sudden he heard distinct and heavy
Foot-falls in the staircase. The door opened ajar, and his
dead father in living form, believe me, appeared before him
without any change in his appearance or color. My friend,
liko Hamlet, was taken by surprise. Ilia liair stood on end,
and for some time he lost the courage even to turn his face
towards him. A few moments after, he made a bold attempt
and looked full in the face of the apparition. The moon was
shining on his withered face, and there was not a shadow of
doubt in regard to his personality. There was an awful
silence reigning for some time. His father at last broke the
silence thus :— “ My dear boy, why are you so cowed down,
care-worn and crest-fallen ? W hy do you think of me so
often ? Take courage. I will shortly come to yon.” VVitli
these words he vanished in the air, like a phantom.
My friend who had very little hope of getting any child
after the birth of lii.s two daughters, however, soon perceived
the truth of his father’s words. The day of confinement was
not far off, and while every member of tho house was 011 the
tiptoe of expectation of seeing a male child, lo ! my friend
saw one evening a beautiful boy sleeping on his sofa. The
boy was pointed out to the females of the house, but to liis
mortification none could see anything but the clean aud white
bed itself. On the next day, it so happened that the same
sleeping boy first fell to the .sight of his consort, whose loud
exclamation soon brought a crowd of members around the
bed-stead. On this occasion, every one secured a full view' of
the slumbering child. On the third day, his eldest daughter
then about six years old, came across this child, and reported
the fact to her parents. While the thread of the narration
reached this point, liis daughter, who was standing by me,
corroborated her father’s statement by empha tically declaring,
“ yes, papa, I found a beautiful khoka sleeping in your bed.”
In due course his wife gave birth to a pretty male child,
who, when a year old, seemed to understand everything that
went around him. He could retain in his memory almost every
word that entered into his ear. He was as grave as Addison,
who was reported to have never spoken three sentences to­
gether in his whole life. The boy, unlike other boys of his
age, would not laugh or cry without reason. This boy is
now only three years old.
I hope these lines will draw the attention of tlie Theoso­
phists in India and the members of the Society for Psychical
Research, founded by Mr. Henry Sidgwick.
Yours, etc. H .
F a t i t a , C h i t t a g o n g , 28th F ebruary, 1883.
E d . N o te.— B o fo re a n y “ T h e o s o p h is t” g iv e s h is o p in io n on th e a b o v e , he
w ill s to p to e n q u ir e fo r t h a t o f t h e w r i t e r h im s e lf . W h a t d o e s h e m e a n ?
A ro w o to u n d e r s ta n d t h a t h is f r ie n d ’s f a t h e r h a s r e in c a r n a te d h im s e lf
in h is n e w ly -b o rn b a b o a n d t h a t th o “ b e a u t if u l b o y ” s e e n c la ir v o y a n tly
b y s e v e r a l p e rs o n a w a s t h e m a y a v i r u p a o f th o f u tu r e so n a n d th o
k a m a rw p a o f th e d o c e a s e d m a n ? B u t t h a t w o u ld p r e s e n t in s u p e r a b le
d iffic u ltie s fr o m t h e o c c u lt p o in t of v ie w , a n d a s to th e o r d in a r y s p i r i t u ­
a lis tic e x p la n a tio n n o s t r i c t T h e o s o p h is t w o u ld e v e r a c c e p t i t. R este d
s a m i r w h a t t h e S o c ie ty f o r P s y c h ic a l R e s e a r c h w ill h a v e to s a y .
-■ • ■
M YSTIC STO RIES.
[A number of M .S .S . relating to remarkableincidentswithin
the personal experience of the writers, mostly Fellows of our
convenient to lay them before the reader as a connected
series ; the more so, as the occurrences referred to, cover a
wide area of different nationalities, customs, and beliefs, and
may thus suggest interesting comparisons. N. B .— No story
will be published unless the name of the writer can be given
in full.— E d .]
----- *-----
M E 111, A D I M A T A .
B y H r s H i g h n e s s D a j i R a j , F. T. S . , T h a k o r e S a h e b o f
W adhwan.
T h e province of Kathiawar, of which my estate forms a
part, is perhaps one of the best adapted in India, to the study
of the Black Art, sorcery, or the malicious misuse of Occult
Power, since mediumship, or involuntary obsession, is very
rife there. The practitioners and subjects of occult thauma-
turgy frequently produce their phenomena in the presence of
a host of witnesses. Every household has thus its tale of
witnesses. I myself, although young in years and much ex­
perience, have seen like wonders on two occasions. According
to common local tradition, a distant relative of mine, who
died about fifty years ago, had learnt the black art, and pos­
sessed the “ powers” to a wonderful degree. While I was
studying in the Rajkumar College at Rajkot, a Mahomedan
servant of His Highness the Rajah of Loonawara, gave
ltawal Shree Jlurree SinghajceRoop Singlijoe, F. T. S. of Sihore,
and myself, an exhibition of his knowledge in this direction.
Along with a few other persons, we were one day seated in
a room, when the Mahomedan, accompanied by another young
man, came to us. He commenced beating and playing on a
peculiar tom-tom ; when the young man soon appeared like
one obsessed and began to jump and dance. After a while,
the Mahomedan stopped liis music and submitted to our ex­
amination a long spear. W e inspected it very carefully, and
after assuring ourselves that it was a good, sound, iron spear,
and a dangerous one to use, we returned it to him, after which
he at once ran it through the young man’s body. Tlie pro­
gramme having been previously explained to us, we felt more
dismayed than surprised at the spectacle ; and it was that
knowledge of his powers that prevented our being greatly
frightened at tlie act. I 11 a few seconds, he drew out the
spear from the transpierced young man, upon whom, 011 close
examination, we could not find a single scar left to mark the
wounded spot. Another case. Among my retainers there
i.s a sepoy who, 011 certain occasions and at certain times can,
for the brief duration of a second or two, cut off a part of his
tongue and taking it out of the mouth, show it on the palm
of his hand and then replace it back. W hen he re-opens his
mouth after a while, not a sign of the severance is observable.
Some doctors suggested that this was a case of healing by
the first intention V W hen I however asked for a practical
demonstration to substantiate their hypothesis, their inten­
tions failed them.
When I was a boy, an Arab Fakir from Bagdad came to
Wadhwan and showed the same feat of transpiercing human
flesh with perfect impunity. He thus ran through with the
sharp points of iron rods not only his own cheeks,
but also those of some persons who were sitting close
to him. This was done without a drop of blood being spilt.
Nor would this feat leave any other sign of the operation at
the wounded spot save a small puncture about the size of a
pin’s head for a month or two. The men so dealt with, as
they told us, were not actually hurt; but the fright, caused
by the sudden thrust of the sharp iron through both their
cheeks, was as amusing as the feat itself was instructive and
wonderful.
The story of the powers and achievements of my relative,
alluded to above, though very interesting, is too long to be
given along with the above. I will, therefore, reserve it for a
future number of the Journal.
 H IN D U D IV IN A T IO N .
B y N o b i n K . B a n n e u j i , F . T . S.
I n m y sckool-days I had the good fortune of witnessing
in our neighbourhood, in the suburbs of Calcutta, an instance
of the “ B atu Chalan” (cup in motion), a mode of divination
for the purpose of finding out lost or stolen articles. A rela­
tive of ours lost one day a certain article ; and as there
happened to be then a H in d u diviner close to our place,
he w a s sent for the next morning. A num ber of persons col­
lected to witness the phenomenon. T h e m an asked for a
brass-cup with a round bottom, and some earth from the
mouth of a mouse-hole. In Bengal, this earth is called Indur
Mattee. W h e n these objects were procured, the diviner placed
the-cup on a bed made of this earth. H e then put some
water and flour into, and m ade certain poojahs or incanta­
tions over it. After that, he asked one of the audience to
come forward and to cover the cup with the palm of
his right hand. O n e m an camo up and tried tho
experiment— but the cup would not move, ifo then called
for another person. A strongly built m an came for­
ward and repeated w hat thefirst had done. Tho cup
swayed a little from side to side and then started off at once,
dragging, after, irrepressibly as it seemed, the m an whoso
hand was as though rivetted to its top. Followed by the
lookers-on, the cup went on, not in a straight line, but spas­
modically, jum ping over drains, jungles, by-lanes, deserted
alleys and unfrequented paths. Som e few of us only could
follow the enchanted vessel in its entire transit. In tho
evening and during the next morning, however, w e learnt
that the cup had travelled in that strange fashion nearly six
miles before it came to the door of a house. There the diviner
stopped its movement and wont inside the house, alone. W h e n
he emerged out of it, taking our relative aside ho told him
that there was no need for him to k now w ho the thief was,
but that he ought to he satisfied with the recovery of tho
lost article, which would be brought back to him in the course
of the day. This as w e all learned was done, but how— no
one could ever learn.
Th e m an w h o held the cup, a near relative of the m a n w ho
had engaged the diviner, was so m uch broken do w n and
exhausted by the forced journey that he determined never more
to hold another cup.
--- • ---
THE BUGBEARS O F S C IE N C E .
H om a jo pa tiiy and M esm e rism . substance has be co m e , the m ore there is an increase of
( Continued from the February Num ber.)
Y ears since Ho m seo p aths b e g a n telling us that extrem e­
ly small doses of substance are required to produce
extremely im portant effects upon animal organism . T h e y
went so far as to m aintain that, with the decrease of tlio
dose w as obtained a proportionate increase of the effect.
T h e professors of this n e w heresy w ere regarded as
charlatans a n d deluded fools, a n d treated henceforward
as quacks.
Nevertheless, the instance in h a n d furnished b y M r .
Crookes’ experiments w ith radiant m atter a n d tho
electrical radiometer a n d n o w adm ittedly a fact in
m odern physical science, m ig ht well bo claimed b y
Homaeopatliy as a firm basis to stand u p on . Setting aside
such a complicated m achinery as h u m a n organism , the case
can be experimentally verified upon a n y inorganic s u b ­
stance. N o impartial thinker, moreover, w o u ld be pre­
pared, w e think, to d e n y a priori the effect of homaso-
patliic medicines. T h e trite a rg u m en t of the negator
— “ I do not understand it, therefore it cannot b e ” — is
w orn out thread-bare. “ A s th o u g h the infinite possibi­
lities of nature can be exhausted b y the shallow standard
of our p i g m y understanding 1” exclaims the author of
an article upon J a e g e r ’s Neuralanalysis a n d Hom oeopathy.
“ L et us leave aside,” h e a dds, “ our conceited pretensions
to understand every p h e n o m e n o n , a n d bear in m in d
that, if verification of a fact b y observation a n d experi­
m ent is the first requisite for its correct com prehension,
the next a n d m ost im portant requisite is the close study
by the help of those sam e experim ents a n d observation
of the various conditions u n d e r w h ich that fact is m a d e
to appear. It is only w h e n w e ha ve strictly complied
with this m e t h o d that we can ho p e — an d even that not
always— to b e b r o u g h t to correctly define a nd com pre­
h e n d it.”
W o will n o w collate together some of the best a rg u ­
m ents broug ht forward b y this a n d other impartial writers
to the defence of H om aeopathy a n d M esm e rism .
T h e foremost a n d m ost important factor for the dis­
covery a n d clear understanding of some given secret of
nature is— analogy. A d ap tation of a n e w p h e n o m e n o n
to p h e n o m e n a already discovered a n d investigated is the
first step towards its comprehension. A n d , the analogies
w e find a ro u nd us tend all to confirm instead of contra­
dicting the possibility of the great virtue claimed for the
infinitesimals in m edicinal doses. In d e e d , observation
shows in the great majority of cases that the more a
substance is reduced to its simplest form , the less it is
complicated, the m ore it is capable of storing energy ;
i. e., that it is precisely under such a condition that it
becom es the most active. T h e formation of water from
ice, steam out of water, is followed b y absorption of h e a t ;
steam appears here, so to say, as the reservoir of e n er g y ;
a n d the latter w h e n spent during the conversion of steam
back into w ater s how s itself capable of perform ing
m echanical w o r k , such as the m o v in g of h e av y masses,
&c. A chemist w o u ld tell us that in the majority of
cases, to impart energy to substance he has to spend
force. T h u s , for instance, in order to pass from steam
to its c o m p o u n d parts, h y d r o g en a n d o x y g en , far m ore
expenditure of energy is required than in the process of
the transformation of w ater into aqua3ous vapour, h y d ro ­
g e n a n d o x y g e n ap pearin g relatively as tremendous reser­
voirs of forces. T h is store asserts itself in the conversion
of that vapour into water, du rin g the com bination of
hy drogen with o x y g e n , either un der tho appearance of
heat-effect, 01* u n de r the shape of an explosion, i. e., the
motion of m asses. W hen w e turn to substances
chemically h o m o g en eo u s, or elementary substances so
called, w e find aga in that the greatest chemical activity
belongs to those elements that are the lightest in
w eigh t in order to obtain som e definite chemical
action. T h u s , if, in tho majority of cases it is o b ­
served that tho simpler Fa n d the m ore attenuated a
forces in it— then w h y , w e ask, should w o d e n y the saint
property or p h e n o m e n o n there, w h e re the m asses of s u b ­
stances o w in g to their m inuteness escape our direct obser­
vation a n d exact m easurem ent ? Shall w e forget that the
great a n d the little— are relative conceptions, a n d that in­
finitude is equally existent a n d equally unattainable b y our
senses w h e th e r it is 011 a large or on a small scale ?
A n d n o w , leaving aside all such argum ents that can be
tested only b y scientific rule, w e will turn to far simpler
evidence, the ono generally rejected, just because it is so
c o m m o n a n d within the reach of every o ne’s observation.
E v e r y person k n o w s liow little is required of certain odours
to be smelled b y all. T h u s , for instance, a piece of m use
will fill a great space with its odour, there being present,
in the atm osphere particles of that odoriferous substance
everywhere, without a decrease either in the b u lk or the
w eigh t of the piece b e in g in the least appreciable. W e
have 110 m ea n s , at a n y rate, of verifying such a decrease— if
there b e one. W e also all k n o w w ha t strong effects m a y
be produced u p o n certain sensitive organisms b y certain
smells, a n d that these m a y induce convulsions, swoons and
even a condition of dangerous com a. A n d if the possi­
bility of tho influence of infinitesimally small quantities of
certain odoriferous substances u p o n the olfactory nerve
n eed not b e questioned at this stage of scientific enquirv,
w h a t g r o u n d ha ve w e in d e n y in g the possibility of like
influence upon our nerves in general ? I n the one case
the impression received b y the nerves is followed b y a
full consciousness of that fact ; in the other it eludes the
testimony of our senses ; yet the fact of the presence of
such an influence m a y rem ain the sam e in both cases,
a n d though b e y o n d the reach of im m ediate consciousness,
it m a y be adm itted to assort itself in certain changes
taking place iu our organic functions without attributing
the latter— as our allopaths will often d o — to chance or
the effect of blind faith. E v e r y one can feel, .and becom e
cognizant of, the beatings of one’s heart, while the ver­
m icular motion of the intestines is felt b y no one ; but
w h o will d e n y for that, that the one motion has as great an
importance and as objective an existence as the other in
the life of an organic b e in g ? T h u s , the influence of
homoeopathic doses becom es perfectly admissible a n d
even probable ; a ud the cure of diseases b y occult
a g e n c y ,— m esmeric passes a n d the minutest doses of
mineral as well as vegetable substances— ought to bo
accepted as au ascertained a n d well verified fact for all
but the conservative a nd incurable apostles of negation.
T o an impartial observer it becom es evident that both
sides have to be taken to task. T h e hom eop athists—
for their entire rejection of the allopathic m etho ds— a n d
their opponents,— for shutting their eyes before facts,
and their unpardonable a 'priori negation of w h a t they arc
pleased to regard without verification a-s a q uackery a n d an
imposition. It becom es self-evident that the two m ethods
will find themselves happily co m bined at no distant future
iii the practice of m edicine. Physical a n d chemical pro­
cesses take place in every living organism , but the latter
are governed b y the .action of the nervous system to w h ic h
the first place in importance has to be conceded. It is
but w h e n a substance is introduced into the organism in
a greater or lesser considerable quantity that its direct,
gross, m echanical, or chemical effect will be m ad e
a p p a r e n t ; a n d then it acts rapidly a n d in an imm ediate
w a y , taking a part in that or in another process, acting
in it as it would act in a laboratory vessel, or as a knife
m ight act in the h a n d of a surgeon. I n m ost cases its
influence upon the nervous system acts only in an
indirect w a y . O w i n g to the smallest im p r u d e n ce an
allopathic dose while it restores to order one process,
will produce disorder in the functions of another. But
there is another m eans of influencing the course of vital
processes : indirectly, nevertheless very powerfully. This
m eans consists in the im m ediate, exceptional action upon
that w hich governs supremely those processes— nam ely
— ou our nerves. This is the m ethod of hoimcopathy. T h o
allopaths themselves have often to use m ea n s based
upon this h o m eo p a th ic m ethod, a n d then, they confess
to h a v in g h ad to act upon a purely empirical principle.
A s a case in h a n d w c m a y cite the following : the action
of quinine in an intermittent malarious fever will not bo
hom eopathicnl : en o ug h of that substance m ust be given
to poison, so to say, the blood to a degree that would
kill the malarian micro-organisms, that induce, through
their presence, the fever sym p tom s. But, in every case
w here quinine has to be administered as a tonic, then its
invigorating action has to be attributed rather to tho
ho m eo p a th ic than allopathic influence. Physicians will
then prescribe a dose w hich will be virtually h o m eo p a th ic ,
though they will not be ready to adm it it. T h u s , incom ­
plete a n d perhaps faulty in its details as the instance
given m a y be found upon strict analysis, it is yet believed
as proving that the incurable, a priori denial of the
effects of h o m eo p a th ic treatment, is less due to the u n ­
com prom ising rules based u p o n scientific data, than to a
loose examination of those data by m eans of their
analogies.
T h e recent a nd interesting experim ents b y the well
k n o w n Zoologist a nd Physiologist of Stuttgart, already
m entioned— Professor G . Ja eg e r— give a brilliant a n d
triumphant corroboration to the righteous claims of
h o m e o p a th y . I n the author’s opinion the results o b ­
tained b y h im b e in g am enable to a correct interpreta­
tion in figures, “ place, liommopathy at once as a branch of
medical science, based upon exact physiological data and
inferior in nothing to the allopathic methods.” Professor
Jaeger calls his o w n m eth o d Neuralanalysis. W e will
treat of it as em bo d ied b y him in a pam p hlet bearing the
e p ig r a p h : “ figures p r o v e ” ( Zahlen beweisen)— in our
next n u m b e r , m a k i n g extracts from the best reviews
of it, b y scientific m e n .
--- » ---
M E D IC A L M E S M E R ISM .
By B r o je n d r a N a th B a n e r je e , L . M . S ., F . T . S.
T h a t m esm erism should be an armamentarium of nil
physicians a nd surgeons is beyond doubt. B y the aid
of this natural force m a n y wonderful cures have been
m ade. I n In d ia D r . Esdaile first popularised it am ongst
the educated m e n . H e used to perform m ajor surgical
operations 011 patients mesmerised either b y himself or
his native assistants. Before the introduction of chloro­
form as au anesthetic, m esm erism was the sole reliable
m eans of anesthetisiug patients either suffering from
agonising paiu or u n d e rg o in g such gigantic surgical
operations, as amputation of thighs, & c . & c . T h ese are
facts a n d not theories. H u n d r e d s of learned and respect­
able m e n w ere witnesses to D r. Esdailo’s operations per­
formed at the H o o g h l y E m b a r h a Hospital. A m o n g tho
living witnesses I m a y m ention the n a m e of the R ev.
K . M . Banerjee. T h is is, however, not the plnce to prove
w h a t m esmerism is, though it is a matter of great regret
that m odern physicians have 110 faith in it. It is not (done
surprising but bewildering to m e h o w educated a u d
scientific m en can renounce scientific facts. M esm e rism
is n o w as m u c h of, arid as perfect a science as H y d r o s ­
tatics, D y n a m ic s or Electricity, and no longer the theory
of a few cracked-braiu unscientific m e n . Its existence has
over a n d over again been proved by such authorities as
D r . Gregory , Professor of Chem istry and M ateria Mediea,
in the E d i n b u r g h U nive rsity; Y o n Iteicheubach of G e r ­
m a n y , D r . Esdaile of Calcutta, D r . Elliotson of L o n d o n ,
D r . Charcot, the celebrated Neurologist of F r a n c e ; Ur.
Ileidenhain, Professor of Physiology in the University of
Leipzic ; a n d scores of other equally eminent educated and
scientific m e n . T h e most sworn antagonists to m esmerism
arc those w h o do not k n o w w h a t this force is. It seetna
very strange that educated m en should be led by the
hollow argum ents of persons thoroughly ignorant of the
existence of this natural force. M a n y w h o would denounce
m esmerism, will yet accept the terms “ animal m a g n e ­
tism” or "h y p n o t i s m .” D r . Braid, the celebrated surgeon
of M anchester, iliought that he discovered a n e w natural
force in his hypnotism . I adm it that hypnotism is not
m esm erism per se but is .a part a n d parcel of this force.
W hat is animal m agnetism ? N o th in g but m esm erism ,
pure a u d simple.
O f late the Paris correspondent of the Lancet found a
g o o d deal to ridicule about the m esmeric p h e n o m e n a pro­
d u ced b y M . M . Bichet a n d Duel ere. H e admits that
Professor Charcot a n d theso gentlem en proved the exist­
ence of this force, but still im pudently asks Qui bono ?
T h e subject of hypnotism has attracted the attention
in F ran ce of such an em inent physician as D r . Charcot,
but I a m sorry to note that no one has yet arrived at a
definite conclusion as to its uses. It has been admitted
ou all h a nd s that there is such a thing as hypnotism or
animal m agnetism , a n d these savants have practically
proved that by the m eans of this force sleep can be pro­
duced. B u t it is a matter of regret that D r. Charcot
asserts that this hypnotism or animal m agnetism is of no
earthly use to the medical m e n . A n d it is a real m y s ­
tery how this celebrated physician arrived at such an ano-
malons conclusion once that he had himself admitted that
there is such a force by w hich sleep can bo produced.
A dm itting that anim al m agnetism has no other use than
the production of sleep, w o u ld not this single fact lead
him to value it m ore than he does ? W o u l d it not be
infinitely better for suffering m a n k in d as well as for the
physicians to produce sleep in diseased persons w h e n
necessary without ha vin g to dr u g them ? H o w can Dr.
Chnrcot assert then that hypnotism or animal m agnetism
is of 110 earthly use to the physician ? H o w contradic­
tory in his o w n statements !
 L e a v in g aside foreign authors a n d foreign results, let
us see h o w w e A r y a n s practised ourselves m esm erism .
That it w a s in use in India from time im m em orial is
b e y o n d doubt or dispute. W h o a m o n g us does not k n o w
jhar foolc a n d m esmerised oil or w a t e r ? I u all cases
of pain a n d convulsive diseases jhar fooh is still the
p redom inant m ethod of treatment in this part of tbe
country. I n B en g a l too, m esm erised water ghee or oil
is used especially by country folks in cases of aphthous
sores in the m outh, sore throat a n d various other affec­
tions. W h a t do the Ojhas do w h e n they treat hysteric
patients ? C o m m o n people, even som e intelligent m e n ,
believe these Ojhas possessed of powers to drive a w a y spooks
w h o molest hysteric patients. These Ojhas are simply good
mesmerisers. H a v i n g mesmerised the patient suffering
from some nervous disease, they c o m m a n d mentally that the
patient should aay that he is visited by Ghoots, or that he
is ill on account of the spirit of som e dead relative or
neighbour troubling h i m ; a n d then that he should p e r ­
form some physictil feat, such as holding a ghura full of
water a n d h u n g by a piece of rope to his feet, a n d so on.
T h e patients say a n d perform exactly w h a t these Ojhas
mentally wish them to. Hysteric patients, I m ust say,
are completely cured b y them a n d such perm nnent
cures I must admit, are well n ig h impossible to the so-
called rational m eth o d of treatment. H o w these Ojhas
bring on the cures is only k n o w n to persons devoted to
the study of m esmerism.
C a n any living learned physician boast of a cure of
paralysis of 9 years' sta n ding ? It was in vain that I tried
to find out such a fact in the records of medical literature.
I ransacked 65 volumes of Braithwaito’ s Retrospect of
M edicine, but w as disappointed. Nevertheless, no sane
m an can possibly disbelieve that such a cure ivas perform ­
ed by Col. Olcott. T h e m a n is still living, a n d the cure
is attested by scores of most respectable p e o p le — his
friends a n d fellow citizens.
For the last eight m onths I have been trying m esm erism
on somo of m y patients. T h e most effective w a y of
mesmerising such as are suffering from intense pain is to
press the ball of the right or left t h u m b of the patient
with the ball of the right thum b of the operator, 1 have
succeeded in m esm erising patients in this w a y without
attracting the attention of either the sufferer or the
bystanders, I ask for the right h a n d to feel the pulse,
and after ascertaining its nature, I gently press the ball
of the t h u m b as described above. In this w a y I have
been able to relieve patients suffering from intense pain
very easily. A m o n g other cases I shall select a few just
to show the value of m esm erism aud the rapidity of cure
or relief effected.
Case N o . I . — B a b u S . C . C ., son of a very rich a n d res­
pectable m a n of this city, aged 18, excessively addicted
to spirituous liqnors, suffering from a trembling of the hands
and enlarged liver. I treated him in consultation with
m y friend D r . A v in n s C h u n d e r Bannerjee, P . T . S ., but
failed to do him any tangible go o d . M y friend Avinas
C h u n d e r suggested that mesmerism m ig ht succeed in
this case. T h e boy cam e into m y surgery one evening
nud I tried to mesmerise him by passes a n d fixed gaze.
1 was successful in m esm erising him iti less than five
minutes’ time. H e fell into u deep sleep and rem ained
like a corpse. I pricked through his body in several places
with a needle without giving him the slightest pain.
Fifteen miuutes later, I brought him to his senses b y
reverse passes, Tlmt night he slept soundly without the
help of chloral aud B ru m ids a n d looked better next
morning. O n the following day I m esm erised h im a
second time before his brothers a n d other relatives, in
about five m inutes. After a couple of days I w en t to seo
him with m y friend A v in as C h u n d e r , w h e n the patient
declared that I w o uld not be able to m esm erise him that
evening. I tried passes on him a n d — failed. In a b o u l;
half an hour I determined that I would mesmerise him .
H e persisted that he w o u ld not b e m esm erized, whereas
I persisted that he m ust fall into m esm eric com a. I tried
passes on h im for twenty minutes before I succeed­
ed in producing the desired effect. I n order to test tha
nature of his unconsciousness, A v in as C h u n d e r put a
lighted candle un der his fingers w hich were severely
burnt, bu t the patient rem ained quite unconscious. 1 <
Case I I . — B a b u T . P . M . , subject to hepatic colic since
a l o n g time. E v e r y k in d of narcotic failing to relievo
him he passes gall-stones. Hom oeopathic medicines
relieve h im in an hour or sometimes in a couple of h o urs.
O n c e he got such a very severe colic as though he w e r a
likely to die the next m o m en t. T h e best indicated
homoeopathic m edicine was given, but the patient w a s so
restless thnt I w as obliged to try m esm erism . Instead of
m a k i n g passes, I held his t h u m b as indicated before.
A s soon as I got hold of the t h u m b the patient be ca m e
convulsed a n d began g ro anin g like a d y in g m a n . I thought
it was the lust ol him , so I left off his t h u m b to e x a m in e
his heart a n d pulse. A s soon as his t h u m b was let free,
the patient exclaim ed tbat th o u g h thepain wasless acute,
yet som ething like a n electric shock w a s passing through
his h a n d to his heart a n d brain, a n d that it w as that shock
that m a d e him cry a n d groan. I again caught hold of his
t h u m b a n d he fell into a convulsive fit a second time.
T h is once I did not let g o the th u m b . In five minutes he
becam e free from all pain and fell into a deep sleep. I n
this w a y I m esm erised a nd relieved him from a n agonis­
in g paiu for three consecutive times, F o r the last three
m onths he has had no fit.
Case I I I . — T h e wife of a brother Theosophist wag
greatly suffering as she w a s about to miscarry iu her
third m onth of gestation. A medical friend of m in e
giving her seven full doses of chlorodyne without
a ny effect whatever I was asked b y our brother to stop
a n d watch the patient during thenight. A t 10 p. m . in or­
der to save trouble I tried m esm erism b y holding her
thum b. S h e k n e w n othin g of m y intention. I n a couple-
of m inutes she fell into a deep sleep. S h e perceived som e­
thing before she fell into it. After an hour she op en ed
her eyes a n d was free from pain.
Case I V . — A child w as suffering from severe convul­
sions a n d w as un der the treatment of m y friend Doctor
A v in a s C h a n d e r . A t 11 p. m . in the night I w a s called in
by him to see the child. W h e n I arrived I found a cele­
brated native physician w a t c h in g the patient. T h e parents
fearing that the fever w a s d u e to small-pox, ha d not a d ­
ministered the m ixture prescribed by m y friend. W i t h o u t
telling them w hat I w as g o in g to do, I caught hold of the
right t h u m b of the cbild a n d after a few minutes m e n ­
tally ordered him to sit up a nd ask for water. T h e child
w h o h a d not arisen for seven hours at once sat up a n d
asked to drink. H i s appearance c h a n g ed into a healthier
one, a n d since this time no more fits molested the little
sufferer.
Case V . — O n e night at 1 a . it. I was called to see a y o u n g
girl of 17 lying in a com atous state. A medical m an
w h o diagnosed the case as apoplexy h a d been in attend­
ance since 5 p . m . H e ga v e her to smell spirits of c a m ­
phor, Carbonate of A m m o n i a , & c ., without p roducing tho
least effect. H a v i n g no resources at ha n d , I caught
hold of her t h u m b a nd m esmerised her. A s soon as the
expression of her face b e g a n ch a n gin g, I k n e w that sha
had been m esm erised. I ordered her mentally to sit u p
a n d speak. Instantly she sat up and told m e that she w a s
all right. This was simply a case of hysteria.
A llahabad ,
17 Ih February 1883. j
W HENCE T H E N A M E “ L U N A T IC S ” ?
I t is w ell know n th a t th e m oon-beam s have a v ery p ern i­
cious influence ; an d rec en tly th is question became the subject
of a very anim ated discussion am ong some men of science in
G erm any. P hy sician s an d physiologists begin to perceive a t
last, th a t tho poets h ad led them into a trap . T hey w ill soon
find out, it is to Le hoped, th a t eastern lOeeultists had moro
rea l inform ation ab o u t the gen u in e ch a racter of onr treacher-
G
ous satellite) tlian the Western astronomers with all their big
telescopes. Indeed— “ fair D ia n a ,” the “ Queen of N ight,” she,
w ho in “ clouded majesty” —
“ ...u n v e ils h e r p e e r le s s lig h t,
n n d o’e r th e d a r k h e r s ilv e r m a n tle th r o w s .
•— is the worst— because sccret— enemy of her Snzerain, and
that Suzerain’s children vegetable and animal as well
as liuman. Without touching upon her occult and yet gene­
rally unknow n attributes and functions, w e have but lo
enumerate those that arc k n o w n to science and even the
profane.
Th e moon acts perniciously upon the mental and bodily
constitution of m en in more than one w ay. N o experienced
captain will allow his m en to sleep on deck during the full
moon. Lately it was proved beyond any doubt, by a long and
careful series of experiments, that no person— even one with
remarkably strong nerves— could sit, lie or sleep for any
length of time, in a room lit by moon-light without injury to
Lis health. Every observing housekeeper or butler knows that
provisions of any naturo will decay and spoil far more rapidly
in moon-light than they would in entire darkness. T h e theory
that the cause of this does not lie in the specific perniciousness
of the moon-bcams but in the well-known fact that all the
refrangible a nd reflected rays will act injuriously— is an ex­
ploded one. This hypothesis cannot cover the ground in our
case. Thus, in the year 1693, on January 21, during the
eclipse of the moon, thrice as m any sick people died on that
«lay than on the preceding and following days. L o rd Bacon used
to fall do w n senseless at the beginning of every lunar eclipse
iind returned to consciousness but w hen it was over. Charles
the V I , in 1399, became a lunatic at every n ew moon and at the
beginning of the full moon. T h e origin of a num ber of nervous
diseases was found to coincide with certain phases of the
moon, especially epilepsy and neuralgia— tho only cure for
which is, as w e k no w , the sun. After a discussion of m any
days, the wise men of G erm any came to no better conclusion
than the implicit confession tha t: “ T h o u g h it is a pretty well
established fact that there exists some mysterious and nefast
connection between the night luminary and most of the hum an
and even animal and vegetable diseases, yet wherein lies the
cause of such connection— w e are unable, at present, to
determine.”
O f course not. W h o of these great physicians and physiolo­
gists but knows since his boyhood that there was in old
Greece a widely-spread belief that the magicians, and especi­
ally tho enchanters and sorcerers of Thessaly, had an uncon­
trollable power over the moon, drawing her down from hea­
ven at will by the mere force of tlieir incantations and pro­
ducing thereby her eclipses ? B u t that is all they know unless
they add to it their conviction that the stupid superstition had
nothing at all in it at the bottom. Perhaps, they arc right, and
ignorance, in thoir case, m ay be bliss. B u t the occultists ought
not to forget, at any rate, that Isis of the Egyptians and the
Greeclan Diana or L u n a were identical. That both wear
the crescent on their heads or the cow’s horns, the latter the
symbol of the n ew moon. M ore than one profound mystery
of nature is securely shrouded by the “ veils” of Isis and
Diana, w ho were both the anthropomorphized symbols— or
Goddesses of nature, whose priests wore the greatest and
most powerful adepts of the lands that worshipped the two.
T h e fact alone, that the temple of D ia n a in Aricia was serv­
ed by a priest w ho had always to murder his predecessor, is
more than suggestive to a student of Occultism ; for it shows
him tliat in the temples of Diana the greatest as the most
reverenced of all the goddesses of R o m e and Greece— from
that of Ephesus, one of the seven wonders of the world,
down to the said temple of Aricia, the same mysterious ini­
tiations took place as in the sacred temples of tho Egyptian
Isis :— i. the initiator having unveiled the Goddess, or
shown the neophyte naked truth— had to die. W e refer the
reader to our foot-note on page 38 (col. 2) in the November
Theosophist of 1882. A r t.“ Gleanings from Eliphas Levi.”
--- ♦---
A S E E K E R A F T E R GOD.
I n sile n t tra n c e of v isio n ary th o u g h t,
Beneath a giant, pipal tree o’ergrown
W ith creepers whence small doves m ade mellow moan,
Rat like an image of brown marble wrought,
Motionless as a form of carven stone,
T h e aged eremite. T h e world was nonght
To, him, or the world’s doings, w h o but sought
Freedom from bonds of sense. Speechless, alone,
Uncomforted, full fifty years of heat,
A n d cold a nd rain he sitting there had braved,
Still brooding on the mysteries of birth, ’
A n d life and death. A tiger-skin for seat,
A bowl, a staff with figures quaintly graved,
W e r e all his portion of the gifts of earth. ’
II. C. I.
(Pioneer.)
_ DEATH W A R N IN G .
_ T i i e following communication by M r.
J. Sinclair is found
m the Decem ber num ber of the English Journal called
Knowledge, edited by the well-known astronomer M r
J lie hard A . Proctor.
A friend of mine (D r . Goodall Jones of Liverpool) related
to m e the following account of a case of premonition which
I thought might prove interesting as it is well authenticated.
T he names and dates D r . Jones will give if required.
^ H e called on a female patient one Sunday afternoon at three-
o'clock ; her husband met him at the door and said that he
was about to come for him, as the patient was worse and.
delirious. O n going upstairs the doctor found the poor
w o m an in a very excited state, asserting that her brother
(a Liverpool pilot) was drowning in the river, “ which,” said
the husband, “ is impossible as lie is out at sea to the best of
our knowledge.” T h e doctor did what he could to soothe his
patient, and left convinced that it was a case of ordinary
delirium; but in the next morning’s paper he read with sur­
prise the account of the pilot’s death by drowning in the river
on the previous afternoon at three o’clock.”
|U H e fo s,
A “ R e p ly to E x tr a S u p p lem en t to t h e T h e o s o p h is t”
o f J ol t 1 8 8 2 , being an Rm m ination of the defence of the
Theosophical Society against the charges brought against
it by S w a m i D a y a n u n d Saraswati.* liy P u n d it U m r a o
S in g h , a n A r y a of R u r k i .”
W e a c k n o w le d g e with pleasure the feeling of thought­
ful a n d well-meaning courtesy that p ro m p te d our Brothers
of the L a h o r e A r y a S a m a j to send to us this little
p am phlet. A ft e r perusing it, how ever, w e find it so full
of incorrect statements, blunders a n d especially of
omissions, that w e com e to the conclusion that it w as sent
to us for correction. B u t w e really lack time a nd space
for such a task. T h e only distinct impression left on
the m in d of one acquainted with the real facts of the sub­
ject treated therein is, that a gestation of the said
“ E x a m in a t io n ,” extending over just a nine-months’
period, resulted in a labour rem inding one of the m o u n ­
tain giv in g birth to a m ouse. N o t m u c h information,
whether in the shape of n o w facts or even presumptive
evidence, has been elicited du rin g this long preparation
of legal evidence, w e see. O n the other h a n d , the sam e
superb coolness as a dopted from the first in the ignoring
of facts proved b e y o n d the possibility of a doubt against
the accuser himself a n d over his o w n sig nature; the
sam e careful evasion of direct explanation a nd answers
to the charges m a d e in their turn b y the founders— are
as plentiful as one m a y w ish it. F r o m its first p a ge to
the last, the “ E x a m in a t io n ” furnishes us bu t with three
fresh items, n am ely — one of w hich is a refreshingly
ludicrous contradiction,— the S w a m i be in g s h o w n as no
Y o g i on p a g e 11, a n d represented as “ a real Y o g i ” on
p a g e 1 4 ;— another one— a direct misstatement based on
as direct a fabrication— to w i t : the letter written by
Col. Olcott from Jey p o re to S w a m i ;— -and a third— the
w e a v in g into the w h o le fabric of a personage that never
h a d , nor could ho ever have, any existence under actual
circumstances, i. e., a llussian Y o g i , of w h o m there never
w a s one within the precincts of that country.
T o charge M a d a m e Blavatsky with claiming to bo
possessed with Yoga powers herself is to tell a ludicrous
untruth— all her enem ies to the contrary. W h a t she
always claimed w a s , that she k n e w personally some very
* P u b l i s h e d b y th o L a h o re A r y a S a m a j,
 great Y o g i s ; w h o , upon rare occasions, assorted their
existence a n d powers through h e r ; a n d w h a t she n o w
claims is that the founder of the A r y a S a m a j after such
a n u m b e r of untruthful a n d malicious statements, has
lost all right to be included in that n u m b er .
C o s m o s , L e s M o n d e s , 13 a Parisian Hebdom adary Review of
Sciences a nd Arts, founded by M . L 1A b b e ,’ F . Moigno, and
published under his direction by another A b be, M . H . Valette;
who seems to be more deserving of the title of an occultist
than that of an Abbe. O n the whole it is a very interesting
W e e k ly full of scientific matter. A m o n g other branches of
sciences w e find in it archasology. T h e latter is of course
treated therein only as it should be, considering the clerical
dignity of its chief editor, i. e., with an eye toward finds of a
biblical nature and corroborating the events described in the
Mosaic books. T h e latter discovery in that direction— one
of a theoretico-hypothetical character so far— relates to
the ossified remains of P haroah’s army which, w e were taught,
had so ignobly perished in the lied Sea while pursuing
Moses— “ the friend of G o d.” A pretty long article by the A b b e
Moigno himself, supports on the authority of the pious Scotch
Astronomer Piazzi Sm yth...the absolute necessity of sending
scientific expeditions to E gy p t with a view of digging out from
the “ Bitter Laes” of the R e d Sea, the sorry remains of the
said Pharaoh’s army, which in the author’s opinion must
absolutely be there; though lie himself characterises tlie diffi­
culties of the enterprise as “ too supernatural that it should
succeed without a certain amount of divine intervention.”
W e do not see w h y the learned and pious editor of Cosmos
should despair. If, as he tells us, tlie A b b e Richard oneo
already sent by him, “ had not found at Galgal in the tomb of
Joshua (the Biblical athlete w ho stopped the course of tlie
S u n ) tlie silex or knives of stone hewn by G o d ’s order and
having been used for tlie circumcision of the children of
Israel” — then the success of the contemplated enterprize would
have been indeed jeopardised. But having luckily found such
stone knives, which, although differing in no w ay from other
stonc-implements of that peculiar age, in a tomb— one of a
million of other old tombs, and they proved to be the identical
knives they searched for— tho world of infidels is knocked
on its sceptical wretehed head and thoroughly upset with the
following bunch of undeniable and unanswerable proofs as a
clear and logical deduction from the happy find. (1) that the
Septuagint— the only book that seems to hint at some such
surgical instruments Curried with Joshua— is unquestionably
an inspired and infallible book ; (2) the knives found being
ike very knives mentioned and no other, it is thereby proved
that Joshua— really existed and was no m yth as some wicked
infidels have it ; hence (3) and finally, that this venerable
warrior had stopped tlie sun and thus prepared for the present
day “ the glorious triumph of our faith” in the words of the
author.
W e advise strongly, the promoters of the said pious ex­
pedition to insist upon search being m ade for the ossified, or
we should rather say now — petrified remains of the drowned
army. In a country where by the very nature of its soil
little if anything decays for long ages, the archaologists aro
sure to come across some skeletons ; in which case, as in that
of the above said “ knives,” and one skeleton being as good as
any other skeleton, what is to prevent the world of believers
to see in them “ the soldiers of Pharaoh’s arm y” ? T h u s true
archaology would be enriched, and true Faith more triumph­
ant than ever. H a s not the R o m a n Catholic Church in her
possession an authentic letter written by Jesus Christ to king
Agbarus in pigeon Latin ; and is not that letter sanctioned as
genuine by H is Holiness the Pope and shown to produce
j ‘ M iracles ” ?
TH E “ SATTYA P R A K A S H .”
A M o iiT U i.Y Journal in Hindi and U rd u , published by th°
Poliilkliand Patriotic Association at Bareilly. T h o January
N um ber is beforo us, and although we understand neither of
those languages, yot the “ Tnblo of Contents” promises tlio
issuo to bo very interesting. It is cditod by our worthy friend,
Rai Disken Lull, m. A., President of the Branch Theosophical
Society at liareilly, whose nam e and learning are a sufficient
guarantee uf tho Magazine being well conducted. T h e Sub­
Editor is Pandit Cheda Lai, B. A., tho Secretary of tho same
Branch Society. T h e list of contributors also shows that
almost all of them are Fellows of our Society, A journal
which is devoted to “ Oriental Literature, Science, Philosophy
and National Improvement” — ought surely to be extremely
popular and find a large number of subscribers. Hoping it well
wo greet its appearance and anticipate for it everv success.
_ “ T H E V O I C E O F I N D I A .'’
A v e r y original and, perhaps, as useful a Magazine in its
way and for general purposes as there is in all India. Though
entirely out of the line with which we are concerned, since ifc
is a purely political journal— it yet seems to us to answer
admirably thegreatest requirement of thecountry, containing
as it does “ a clear and truthful synopsis of what is said on all
important questions by tho Native Press throughout In d ia .”
Thus it represents a m oving panorama of the vernacular and
Anglo-Indian Journalism, which mnst and will be found ex­
tremely useful to the papers whose leading uttoranees it records
and to the general public who m ay be often glad to turn to,
and find out a para, which would have been otherwise lost for
ever. W e wish every success to our new colleague, and give
expression to this wish sincerely and earnestly, uot merely as
a phrase stereotyped for the conventional exchange of mutual
journalistic politeness. For w e love India and sympathize with
many of its races. A n d since hitherto, as expressed by a
correspondent quoted in tho Voice of India— those races,
because they speak “ in various and strange tongues, ” their
voice reached their distant rulers “ only as a confused m ur­
m ur,” and that now those races have a chance to be heard,
the new journal conveying “ the true wishes aud feelings of
the people” in a louder and clearer voico than their o w n —
henco ourwish for its success and prosperity. T h e VoiceofIndia
is of the size and shape and double-columned as our own jour­
nal. “ It is issued monthly in Bombay, and its prico is Rs.
10 per a nnum , payable in advance.”
“ SU G U N A B O D H I N I .”
W e have received the first number of the new and most
useful native Magazine of the Madras Presidency— called
Suguna Bodhini. It is a bi-monthly published iu the Tamil
language, intended “ to advance the cause of female edu­
cation and enlightenment, and to raise tho social and
moral status of Hindu w om en ” -— and wo feel confident that
it will accomplish excellent work in that direction. W e only
hope that other Presidencies, where Tamil is not spoken,
will follow the good example and lose no time in issuing
such journals in Mahratta, Bengalee, und Hindi. Ou r numerous
members of the Madras Presidency, who, under tho pretext
that it is too “ deep” and learned for them, do not, as a rule,
subscribe one in ten men to their o wn Theosophist, can havo
no such excuse for not patronizing the Suguna, Bodhini.
T he latter is not “ shooting over their heads” as a n ativo
Theosophist complained the other day. Intended for
nativo w om en, it is full of nseful and practical information,
calculated to feed their intellect and develope tlieir hi therto
neglected education. Every married Theosophist, if he m eans
to be true to the theosophical programme, ought to subscribe
to the nseful little journal.
f e t t e r s iff tjje ( M u r .
A P H IL O Z O O L A T ltlC APPEAL.
E m h o l d e n e d by tho philanthropic views of the Socicty in
all matters of humanity, I appeal in the name of the d u m b
millions of cows to all societies for the prevention of cruelty to
animals. D u rin g one half of the year when the fields are over­
grown with paddy, these creatures are penned in and fed very
meagrely. W h e n the harvest is over they are let loose to
feast on the roots of paddy and to pick up solitary bits of grass
here and there.
In former years every village liad waste lands called go
cJmrs or pastures ; but at present, Government, Zemindars,
and well-to-do ryots of one accord encroach on those lands.
Scarcely an acre is left to any village. This has brought
misery to the cattle belonging to the poor ryots. T h e
sickly and skeleton cows that are seen every day in every
village speak for themselves. It is a pitiable sight to look
at, but w ho cares for them ! O f late years both public and
Government are convinced of the impoverished state' of the
Indian ryots and are framing rules and regulations to
improve their condition. W h a t I want to impress on them
is that a cow and a pair of bullocks arc but a part and parcel
of tlie family of a peasant, without which, no peasant can
be termed one ; it is no luxury, but bare necessity to
keep cows to enable him to keep body and soul together, and
the miseries of these creatures go hand in hand with those
of the ryots.
lily personal opinion is that tlio accumulation of such a
n um ber of sickly animals in a placc contaminates the air,
and that it is no wonder w h y so m any dire diseases are
plaguing the country all over.
K n o w ye all that cows act as mothers to children, and
that bullocks are half hum an beings. T h e former are the
future hope of the land, and tho latter are the very bone
of the kingdom ; it ia for them I pray fora few acreB of
pasture-ground in every village throughout the land.
If the above subject is worthy your attention, you m ay act
with it as you deem proper. This has been troubling me
for a long time ; and now having expressed myself to the
proper authority, to those, w h o have taken in hand the
grand project of regenerating India, I feel a little consolation.
M y knowledge is confined to Bengalee only, so I wish to be
know n by the nam e of a— •
BENGALEE.
D O E S L A W R E Q U IR E A L E G IS L A T O R ?
A s I am running over tlie pages of M r . Mill’s Essay on
‘ Theism,’ I am agreeably surprised to discover a curious
mistake I had committed in attributing to the eminent
philosopher H . X . ’s opinion that ‘ a law necessarily requires
a legislator.’
Says M r. M il l :—
“ Tho argument is founded on a double meaning of the word
Law. A rule to which we feci it a duly to conform has in
common with laws commonly so called, the fiiet of claiming our
obedience, but it does not follow that the rule must originate,
like the laws of the land, in the will of a legislator or legislators
external to the mind,”
M r . Mill here compares the moral law to h um a n so-called
laws. A n d it is evident that liis argument m ay be extended
to all laws. H o w I came to commit the mistake, I cannot
recall to mind ; but, nevertheless, this mistake obviously does
not take away any thing from m y contention against II. X . ’s
assertion ; perhaps, it derives strength to find so eminent a
philosopher impressing the same fallacy,
B , J. P.
B o m b a y , February 21th, 1883.
THE F IN D IN G OF A GURU.
S ome time ago certain Pundits contended against the asser­
tion that a m an in search of knowledge has to undergo
any hardship ( i. e., training) for finding his G uru. They
k n o w of instances of disciples undergoing m uch hardship
after they had found the G u r u , but not before. Brother
R a m a Sw am ier gave a detailed reply to it, but it has not, I see,
yet satisfied them. T h e truth is that now-a-days the profes­
sional interpreters of the Shastcrs explain the books (o
the public in a very superficial manner, dealing more with
the rhetorical beauties of the language than with the
hidden meaning of the expressions. It serves to show their
personal learning and thus to secure them a notoriety. It is
not improbable that they are often quite ignorant themselves
of the real meaning.
T h e great Book of the Mahabharata is an Encyelopa'dia in
itself, and therefore every kind of information is contained in
it in some shapo or other. I will quote from it what I con­
sider to have a direct bearing on the subject at issue.
“ B y proper training of the mind and intelligence, the
disciple acquires one-fourtli; by obtaining a G u r u , one
half ; by increasing his treasure, three-fourths ; and by com­
paring notes with disciples of the same standing, he completes
his career.” (Mahabharata Sanat Sujata, Chapter X L ! II).
A g ain , “ W hosoever after finding his G u r u serves him
loyally obtains emancipation even in this life.” (Ibid).
Also, “ A s the Ishika (pen-eane) is separated from M u n ja
(husk or cover, allied to rice separated from the paddy) so
these disciples separate their souls from their bodies.” (Ibid).
T h e above lines give more than enough information. T h e
finding of one’s G u r u is not so easy as is usually imagined.
Indeed the action of the G u r u — assisting the Chela at the
third stage— is very limited ; and as soon as tho Chela finds liis
Gu ru and is accepted by him, he has accomplished half.
T h e preparatory discipline— the first quarter— must be passed
by the m an himself to procure him the adhicar (competency)
for discipleship entirely alone and unaided; and the second
quarter brings him to his G u r u in the end.
Sanat Sujata is one of the mystic books incorporated in
the U d y a g a Parva of the M A H A B H A R A T A .
B i i o w a n i i ’o r e , ) T. S.
21s t January 1883. J (A Chela.)
R E T R O G R E S S IO N IN R E - B IR T II.
I n his able review of M r . Oxley’s “ Philosophy of Spirit,”
concluded in the current num ber of your journal, M r. Subba
R o w criticising the author’s views of the hierosophic doctrine,
remarks :— •
“ The second proposition (there is no re-birth in the material
“ h u m a n form, there is no retrogression at any time) is opposed
“ to all the ancient traditions of Eastern nations and the teach-
“ ing of all the Eastern adepts.”
T h e italics are mine. T h e proposition is certainly not in
union with “ all the ancient traditions of Eastern nations,”
but is the portion of it which I have italicised (there is no
retrogression at any time), though certainly opposed to
ancient H i n d u traditions, really at variance with the “ teach­
ings of all the Eastern adepts” P Unless I am mistaken, you
have all along strenuously maintained it as one of the truths
of occult philosophy that rc-birtli in a lower state is impossible,
that there is no going back in the scale of existence, that
“ nature invariably shuts the door behind her; ” in other words,
that there is no retrogression. Exactly the proposition ad­
vanced by M r. 0 . and objected to by M r. S. R . !
W ill you or tho learned reviewer kindly explain this ?
H.
B o h h a t , 2 nd Dcecmber 1883.
E d i t o r ' s M o t e . — W o h a v e “ s t r e n u o u s ly m a in t a in e d ” a n d s t i l l m a in ­
t a i n t h a t t h e r e is " n o r e t r o g r e s s io n ” in t lie d e a d - lc t t e r t e n s e a s
t a u g h t b y e x o t e r ic H i n d u i s m — i. <?., t lia t t h e r e - b ir t h o f a m a n in t h e
physical f o r m o f n n a n i m a l w a s im p o s s ib le o n t h is e a r t h . B u t , w e
n e v e r a ffirm e d t h a t t h e r e w a s n o moral r e t r o g r e s s i o n , — e s p e c in lly
in t h e i n t e r p l a n e t a r y s p h e r e s ; a n d t h a t i s w h a t is c o m b a t e d b y
M r . T . S u b b a R o w , f o r M r . O x le y m e a n s ‘‘ r e t r o g r e s s io n ” in t h a t v e r y
s e n s e , w e b e lie v e ,
C H IR O M A N C Y .
A GOOD deal lias been already written in the Theosophist
about Astrology and Horology, but nothing has been yet
written about Chiromancy or Palmistry, either by you or by
any of your correspondents. M a y I venture to request you
or any of the readers of your valuable journal to satisfy m y
curiosity as to whether Chiromancy or Palmistry is based
upon scientific facts or whether it is a visionary art ?
Chiromancy is, as every body knows, the art or practice of
foretelling events or of telling tho fortune or disposition of a
person by inspecting the lines and lineaments of his hand.
T h e Hindoo Chiromancy is liko Astrology of a very remote
birth. Its claims as an exact sciencc have been enforced by
its professors as strenuously as the professors of Astrology
have been doing for the science or art of foretelling future
events by the position and aspects of the stars and the planets
in the celestial sphere. In the case of a m an, the lines and
the lineaments of his right hand aie inspected, while in the
case of a w o m a n the lines and lineaments of her left hand are
examined. The line beginning at within an inch or so from
the root of the little finger is said to be the line of life ; the
number of branches of this lino as also the cross lines, being-
considered cither as so m an y accidents, disease or great
dangers the person shall havo to pass through during the
course of his sentient life. So m uch for the line of life.
Secondly, a m an w ho has a discus on the palm of his right
hand and the form of a fish on the palm of the left, is
considered as very fortunate in a pecuniary point of view.
Similarly certain other lines are considered as predicting
the education or learning the individual will have acquired
in his earthly life. In sliprt, each line and lineament
is said to enable the professors of this art to foretell an
individual’s limit of life, wealth, learning, progeny, <tc. N o w
the lines and lineaments of the h um a n h a nd being, so to say
physiological things formed according to no definite laws, at
least from w hat appears to us, how can the lines and line­
aments be considered as the several means of predicting
things that might occur during the sentient existence of an
individual under the sun ?
W h a t reason can be given for inspecting a m a n ’s right
hand and a w o m a n ’s left one P W h y is a particular lino
denominated as the line of such or another thing P
D H A M E D IN A N A T H PA N D U R A N G , >
 A N C IE N T M ETALOSCOPY A N D X IL O SC O P Y . be adepts but would-be Clielas,for even Chelas shouldbeabove
I n going over your February N um ber, I came across two the political and worldly attachments which may fit a B . A .
kinds of treatment nam ed “ Metaloscopy and^iloscopy,” which but not a Brahm an. T h e Christian Baptism, through Apostolic
mean action of certain metals and w ood respectively, upon succession as the m ark of a man born again, is only a phase of
the animal organism by their simple contact with the patient’s Upadesam through adepts which constitutes the Bwija section
pkin. I believe these act by inducing certain favourable of the Hindus. I have no objection to your publishing this
changes in the animal organism, just as animal magnetism in the columns of the Theosophist with your comments for
does. Sucli treatment was practised successfully in India the consideration of Christians, Brahmos and “ B . A s .”
from a long time, though its action had not been rightly in­ A . S A N K A R I A H , F. T. S.
terpreted. A few examples of these would not be out of (Prest. Founder of the Hindu Sabha).
place here :— ■
E d i t o r ’s N o t e . — W e in v i t e t h e a b o v e n a m e d t h r e e c la ss e s , nam ely*
M etallic T r e a t m e n t . C h ris tia n s , B ra h m o s a n d “ B . As**, t o a n s w e r f o r th e m s e lv e s a n d in
d e fe n c e o f t h e i r r e s p e c tiv e p o s itio n s .
(a) In Bengal there is a kind of fever k n o w n as “ L u n a r
01' M oon fever,” on account of its exacerbation occurring
generally either at Full or N e w M oo n, attended with painful THE A D W A I T A P H I L O S O P H Y versus T H E
Bwelling either of scrotum, leg, or of both. These cases are S E M IT IC B IB L E .
very difficult to cure ; but I have seen these cases successfully T h e r e is an English expression, now growing into a proverb,
treated by an ignorant w om an with a simple metallic ring,
which says “ blood is thicker than water,” and the educated
generally of copper, ordered to be worn, by the patient 011
m ind is, more and more, turning again towards the A ry an
the big toe or to be appended in the string generally worn by faith to the weakening of the Semitic. Hence any really
natives above the hips. good examination and comparison of the Jewish Bible, with
( b) Hoemorrhage has been successfully treated by metallic the light of the A r y a n philosophy, cannot fail to be of interest
rings worn 011 the little finger. to us of the west. Heated discussions upon doctrinal points
( 0) Metallic bracelets (apparently of iron) cured m any a are of no value to any one, and only leave the minds of the
person affected with deranged m ind.’ ' disputants more bigoted in their ow n view than before.

W ood T reatment. I would therefore point out to our Oriental friends the
basis upon which sucli discussion should be conducted. It is
A wreath of certain kinds of wood-cliippings (k n o w n in these absolutely certain facts, on ancient evidence.
Bengal as Sufurzi M ala) being worn on neck cured m any
1. The Semitic Bible is Exoteric,— historical.
cases of malaria fever with or without enlarged spleen.
M ix ed T reatment. ^ 2. It is Esoteric,— moral and spiritual.

M a n y cases of hysteria are cured by wearing copper B y this I m ean that its various writers fixed upon certain
facts in the history of their race, and dressed up the fact or
amulets containing some roots.
the tradition to point a moral. It does not necessarily follow
M a n y cases proved successful under these treatments, even that every historical statement iu the Bible is an absolute
when ordinary medicine failed to do any good. M odern and indisputable fact. T h e writers compiled their books at a
scientific men of this country do not believe in the efficacy of comparatively late period, wcro evidently truthful, but may
these treatments. They are disposed to attribute their suc­ at times have been mistaken. Som e things wero evidently
cess, w hen unmistakable, to the blind faitli of the patients old-world myths, which were current as traditions in the
and not to the treatment. Instead of ridiculing these, if they Semitic family, and it would n o w be difficult to find out
investigate after these, they can certainly obtain more scien­ what amount of actual credibility they boar, whether as facts
tific knowledge. or symbols. Take, for example, the legends of the Garden
SASI B IIU S H U N KUMAR. of E den, the contest between Cain and Abel, the Flood, the
S ita pu r, j Acts of Joshua and of Sampson. Som e things, disgusting
2nd March 1883. ( in their nature, were published as examples. It is only to
the J e w that the historical aspect is no w of any value, and
hence the Western Christian is chiefly concerned with the
C H R IS T IA N S , B R A H M O S AND “ B. A s” . esoteric and spiritual interpretation, which the historical
I n the groove of established superstition Hindus are spending foundation was intended to bear. It m ay be that this is all
lots of time, and Rajahs thousands of rupees in mere worldly one with the A r y a n faith, w h e n w o reject the husk and ob­
pomp and vanities. Bat, alas! almost none intelligently makes tain the fruit, and in shewing this we have the way for tho
any sacrifice or exertion to recovcr or develope his intrinsic Universal religion.
merit. T h e reason is probably that ready proofs by observation Broadly speaking, the esoteric interpretation of the moral
and experiment are not available either of the evidence of such of the history, is the “ N e w Testament,” (though resource
merit or of the right w ay to recover and develope it. Records must also be had to the Cabala. Iu the time of Saul and
and the evidence of third parties are quoted for the belief and the Israelitisli Judges, w e find mention of the “ School of
practices of all communities, but practical verification alouo tho Prophets,” w hich without doubt was the equivalent
can set doubts at rest. Look at the Diocesan Conference of system of the Ary an Araliat and Y o g a wisdom, and it would
the Church of E ngland ventilating a mass of gibberish under not be impossible to follow this further, and shew that
the presidency of the Bishop of M adras— in order to bring Christianity originated in a branch of the Esoteric School.
into their fold the Non-conformists and the heathen ! M ust For instance the Christian Apostles (V ide Jude) acknow ­
they not show first that they have foith by their o w n conduct ledged the “ B ook of Enoch,” as a part of the ancient H e b r e w
and its value in their o w n happiness before preaching Canon. In it there is declaration of the Trinity, for it is
faith to others ? T h e life and merit of a good Christian or said, “ that in that day (time of Enoch) was the Son of M an
H in du is the best preaching possible. Priests and Missionaries “ proclaimed before the Lord of Spirits, aud his nam e in the
in the pay of others, prattling away their leisure in order to “ presence of tho Ancient of B a y s ;” but the “ N e w Testa­
hoodwink their employers, are a reproach to every religion;
ment” is again but the exoteric writings of the school, and
while Brahm ans learn, teach and practise, but never preach had its ow n esoteric interpretation in the earliest times.
offensively to outsiders and in the streets. That is, it only partially lifted tho veil.
However this m ay be, I am anxious to find out where the flaw H o w e v e r , m y o n l y o b j e c t n o w i s t o p o i n t o u t t h a t a l l
is in the learning and practice of the Brahm ans that they do e n q u i r y m u s t b e g r o u n d e d u p o n t h e a d m i s s s i o n o f a n
not command now-a-days the traditional respect and con­ h i s t o r i c a l b a s i s w i t h a n e s o t e r i c i n t e r p r e t a t i o n , a n d t h a t o n r
fidence, nay that they are neglecting them themselves. Soun d
A r y a n f r i e n d s m u s t u n d e r s t a n d t h i s b e f o r e t h e y c a n o b t a i n
philosophy and unerring method are now assumed, and the
a n y g o o d r e s u l t s .
flaw is ascribed to w ant of sincere and earnest application.
As I believe that Truth begets Devotion, I rather think that JOHN YARKER, F . S. Sc., H o n . F . T . S.
the Brahmans are not all right in their comprehension and W lT niN G TO N .
observances. B y Brahm ans I m ean only possible-adepts N ear M a n c h ester ,
and not Qod-hiiowyng men as the Brahm os would proclaim Feby 21, 1883.
themselveB to be. I should not even call them possible or would-
 TH E H IN D U Z O D IA C , : ||
OR
TH E D IS C O V E R Y OF TH E LOST KEY. “ T h e Siderinl revolution of a planet ends with tiie
BY fixed star Revati — whi ch m ark s the end of the
N . C I I I D A M B A R U M I Y E R , n. a ., f .t .s .
sign Pisces, *T[»T a nd the beginn ing of the sign Aries—
T i i e main object of this paper is to a nn oun ce to tbe
world the discovery of the exact position of tho fixed F r o m this it is apparent that the fixed Zodiac of
H i n d u Zodiac, or, in other w o rds, of the exact distance the heavens, com m ences from this Star and ends with
of tho real first point of Aries from the vernal eq u in o x — ■ the sa m e .
one of the two points w here the ecliptic cuts the equator. III. A g a in in the sam e book in the chapter he ad ed
This distance is k n o w n to the H i n d u Astronom ers as the
we find tho positions of the 27 Stars
Ayanam sam — '3T7T*TT5TlT^. Before co m in g to this im ­
along the Ecliptic givon from the Star w here, of
portant subject, I find it necessary to say a fe w words
to s h o w that the H i n d u Zodiac is fixed a o d not shifting course, the Zodiac, each of w hose signs contains 2^ of
in its position as was erroneously supposed b y M r . T , these stellar divisions, com m cnces.
S u b b a R o w .* H o confounds the shifting Z o d ia c t of the sTtrcw : : * * * *
western Astrologers with the fixed Z odiac of the H i n d u s .
2
A t p a g e 4 1 of tho Theoso >hist of N o v e m b e r 1 8 8 1 , M r . * * : ||
S u b b a R o w says: “ T h e H i n d u s w ere acquainted with „ Star ■STl^'TT is 8 from the first point of Aries
the precession of tho equinoxes as m a y be easily seen
from their w orks on A s t r o n o m y a n d from the A lm a n a cs „ „ is 2 0 „ „ „ „
published by the H i n d u Astronom ers. Consequently ,, „ 5 ’ItT^IT is 38 ,, ,, ,, ,,
they were fully aw a re of the fact that the constellations
in the various Zodiacal divisions were not fixed.” It is „ „ is 50 „ „ „
true that the H i n d u s were aware of the precession of the ,, ,, IS 03 ,, ,, rr ,,
equinoxes w h ich is stated to be at the rate^of 5 1 seconds * * * * *
a year according to Suriasidliauta— 60
is 0
seconds a year according to a w o r k entitled Grahala-
t1m« m a k i n g (afixod star) the first point of Aries.
ghavai n— , a nd 5 0 seconds a year according
IV . A g ain in chapter III of the Briliat Sam h ita
to tho wonderful discovery of \ aralia Miliira. B u t it is
^W ftcTr of V aralia M ihira w e find the follow.
w r o n g to suppose that the H i n d u Zodiac com m ences at
the vernal equinox, and that in the almanacs published iiig . t ^ t
b y tho H i n d u Astronom ers the_ positions of the planets 3 T f ^ TT i :^ j ^ 5 ‘rariT v m w i
are referred to such equinoxial point. 'The planetary posi­
tions aro all calculated with reference to the fixed first ll ( i )
point of Aries, w h ich is at present about 2 0 degrees to w T?rr^: * * * * ( 2)
the oast of tho vernal equinox. ^
I Th is can bo easily ascertained by a reference to aTq im sR W WTO *T[«TT I
the calendars published b y the H i n d u Astronom ers. T a k e , II ( 3 )
for instance, the C o m b a c o n u m A l m a n a c for the current
“ I n the old Sastras w e (V araham ih ira) find that at
year, C h itra b h an u . It will be found that while the sun
enters the vernal equinox as early a s at about 4 a . m . one t i m e the e-
> the S u n ’s soutliwnrd marcl1
on the night of tho 8th M e e n a corresponding to 20th c o m m e n c e d w h e n it reached the m iddle o f the fixed star
M a r c h 1 8 8 3 , it enters tho sign Aries ouly so late as at
a n d tho V Z f X m or the S u n ’s northward m arch
1 r. m . on the first M e s h a m next (vide next year s A lm a n a c )
corresponding to the 1 2th April 1 8 8 3 . T h e _ position of com m enced im m ed ia tely it reached # T ^ l (1 )
tho planets calculated from the fixed first point ()f Aries “ W h e r e a s , at present, tho former com m ences at the
i s k n o w n a s t h o N i r a y a n a s p h u t a m — d o £ t h e be gin n in g of (sign Cancer) a n d the latter at tho
p l a n e t s ; w h i l e t h o s a m e c a l c u l a t e d f r o m t h o m o v i n g v e r n a l
b e g in n in g of (sig n C apricornus) (2)
e q u i n o x i s k n o w n a s t h e S a y a n a s p h u t a m —
“ If the S u n s h o u l d ch a n ge his course (from south to
;_____ of the p la ne ts; in other words, the longitudes o£ the
north) before r e a c h i n g ^ be brings on evil on the
planets. T h a t the former is the only sphutam west a n d on the s o u t h ; if ho should chan ge Ins course
required both for the calculation of Nativities, a n d for
(from north to south) beforo reaching he brings
the observance of various religious rites, will be apparent
on evil on tho north a n d on the east. _ (3)
from even a superficial perusal of a n y w o r k on A stron om y ,
T h u s it will appear that the S u n ’s turning points are
Astrology a nd D h a r m a Shastra bearing on the subject.
I shall quote a few authorities. c not always the b e g in n in g of a nd SRSSJf - they

II. In chap. I . of the Suriasidhantam — m a y be b e y o n d these a n d as n o w with,n these, which will

not be the case if the first point of Aries be identical with
w e find _.
the V ernal E q u in o x . ^
* T h is a s s e r tio n h o w e v e r d o e s n o t in th o le a s t a l t e r th o m a m a r g u ­ V. A g a in in th e qSpFSf of
m e n t in t h e a r tic le a llu d e d to , a s th o i m a g in a r y fo r m a a s s ig n e d to th o
I r a F H f o th e author, after sta tin g that th e 'TSpRT cere­
m ony should b e perform ed im m ed iately after th e com­

I v e r s u c c e e d s in s h o w in g fr o m th e N a d ig ra n t.h a m s t h a t A s tr o lo g ic a l
m en cem en t of th e 3pT»T say^s

b 0 ta k e n to b e c o r r e c t. T g-Q B B A R O W . I'T ^ c T I
+ A t nnn'e 14 o f W illia m L illy 's I n t r o d u c t io n to Z a d k ie l ’ 8 w o rk o n R'fqFT I7IT II
A s tro lo g y w e fin d t h e fo llo w in g , “ -The fir s t s ig n A r ie s .
“ At one time the S u n ’s northw ard m arch com ­
Z o d ia c , its b e g in n in g b e in g t h a t s p o t ^ i n t h e h e a v e n s w e r
w h en c ro ssin g th e e q u a to r iu sp rin g . m e n c e d im m ediately it reached and its south-
tvard course lay betw een (tbe m iddle of) and W i t h o u t entering into the details of calculation, suf­
fice it to say that the first reading gives the annual
(the en d of) ’SR'JT; whereas at present, the Sun turns motion of the equinoctial point to be 5 4 ” , the second
its course without reaching a n d °Fi2°Fii” gives it to be 8 1 ” , a n d the third gives it to be 2 ’ 7” .
II. A c c o r d in O
g to otherwise known aa
V I. A g a i n in w e find
author of w e have the,
: |
aTPPT^f A W T I
< r c *ir r e ^ m r% n

“ T h e S a y a n a m onth is not a proper one (for a d o p ­ cTcwgrFn: ^ : ll

“ I n one K a l p a w hich consists of 4 ,3 2 0 ,0 0 0 ,0 0 0 years,
tion) ; therefore the Tithees— that fall within
the equinoctial point m ak e s 1 9 9 ,6 9 9 circuits of the
the N ir a y a n a m onths a nd no other are to be a d o p t e d ;” heavens” . This gives 5 9 ” as the annual rate of motion
M o r e authorities can b e cited to show that the H i n d u of the Equinoctial point.
first point of Aries a n d the Vernal E q u in o x are tw o dis­ III. A g ain JTOTSl^sjr the author of ----- says
tinct places apart from one another, over 2()°, a n d jtliut
that the Equinoctial point m oves westwards at the rate
the H i n d u Zodiac com m ences at the fixed star Revati.
of 6 0 ” a year. , ,
N o w I come to the m ain subject of this paper. It rei- IV . Lastly, V a r a h a m ih ir a says that this point m oves
fors to the final settlement of the A y a n a m s a question, so westwards at the rate of about 5 0 ” a year. Now
well k n o w n to the Astronomical world. T h e question in V araham ihira lived betw een 1 ,4 0 0 a n d 1,5 00 years ago.
its unsettled state continued to torment the scientific M o d e r n western astronomers say that the rate of retro­
instinct of the western as well as the eastern astronom er grade motion of the Equinoctial point is subject to nn
for several centuries. O n it d epend ed the success of the annual increment of -0 0 0 2 4 ” . This in 1 ,4 0 0 years gives
eastern astrological literature a n d which, in no small the increase as -Si.” S o that the rate of about 5U” as
measure, explains tlie errors astrologers so invariably fall ascertained b y V araham ihira over 1 ,4 0 0 years ago should,
into in tlieir predictions both on the subject of nativity at present, be 50-34” ; whereas western discovery gives
a nd on horary astrology— the two m ain departments of itas 5 0 -2 6 ” . T h e difference is, then, only •08 ” . Now
the science. T h e question is also popularly k n o w n as the w h o will not b o w , in m ute reverence, to the w isd o m a n d
M eeuam esliam question— So little w as this question solved sagacity of this great astronomer w h o , with w hat r o u g h
that tlie term M ee na m esh a in has com e to m ea n doubt a n d instruments he could construct for the purpose, w as able
uncertainty. F r o m w h a t 1 have written it will be evi­ to achieve as m u c h success in astronomical researches as
dent that in the H i n d u A lm a n a c s the positions of the the m odern scientific inen with nil their valuable teles­
planets are referred to the fixed star Revati. N o w those copes a nd sidereal clocks a n d with the records of past
that are interested in a healthy condition of the sciences observations are able to d o .
of eastern astrology a n d astronom y, will be filled with N o w to return again to the task on h a n d . I have al­
dismay a nd disappointment w h e n I inform them that the ready stated that this star Revati, w hich is of suchim m en se
star Revati w hich w as supposed to be in tho ecliptic has importimco to the H i n d u astronomer a u d astrologer, haa
now disappeared ! W h e r e has it gone ! It has not im pro­ s o m e h o w disappeared. A r e there no m eans of readily
bably receded into the dark a n d unfathom able abyss of finding out its position ? W e shall try.
endless space either b y som e unaccountable freak on its I. A s already stated V a r a h a m ih ir a says
o w u part, or, m ore probably, b y a vast nnd s a d d e n w it h ­
drawal of the solar system itself from the star. A t one fr r c f : I
extremity then of the little bit of increasing s p a c e k n o w n “ In m y time the S u n chan ges his course at the
as tho A y a n a m s a w e havo the star Revati. a nd at the first point of Cancer arid at the first point of Capricor-
other extremity w e h a ve the Vernal E q u in o x . A s will n u s.”
be shown further on, a correct k n o w le d g e of the I n other words, the V ernal E q u in o x was at ltevati in
A y a n a m sa plays no insignificant part in the preparation his time. N o w w e are not certain
of H i n d u A lm a n a cs. This tlien appears to b e a u appro­ (1) T h a t the Vernal E q u i n o x was exactly with the star
priate place to say a few w ords regarding the precession and not even a little to the east or a little to the west of
of the E q u ino xes. T h e precession w as k n o w n to the tho same.
ancient H i n d u Astronomers long, long before tbo time of (2 ) W e do not k n o w the precise year w h e n this line
Y a r a h a Mihira. w a s written— A n error of 12 years, for instance, will give
an error of 10 m inutes in the A y a n a m s a . It is therefore
I. I u the w 0 find the following readings
difficult to ascertain from tlio above w ha t the exact
regarding the precession of the E q u in o x e s :—
A y a n a m s a ia at present.
( 1 ) fa*! JTfcT spjpT II. A g a in , I havo already quoted a passage to sh o w
the position of each of the 27 stars (the *T[TTcr[^f of each
*\
group) along the Ecliptic from the star Revati.
(\ 2 »
) ^ *\ srt 3k*trJt
s3 *N w t o t h tfTsra: fSrear:
HI
* * * *
* * * *
N o w , as nearly all these stars, excepting Revati, are
( 3 )
n o w k n o w n and can be identified, a n d , as the exact posi­
* * * * tion of the Vernal E q u in o x too is k n o w n , one m ig ht sup­
H e r e the author supposes that the V er n a l E q u i n o x pose that b y subtracting from the actually observed dis­
oscillates on both sides of the star Revati— 2 7 ° on each tance of any one of these stars, its given distance from
Revati, the length of the A y a n a m s a can be found out
side ; a ^17 ( including its four divisions
(Note .— T h e stanza quoted above gives the polarlongitudes
an(l EFi[55 ) ia 4 ,3 2 0 ,0 0 0 yeurs. of tbo stars from llevati. Before subtracting these, as
T h e Stanzas therefore m e m stated above, it is necessary to convert them into the
In a Y u g a the Equinoctiul point oscillatos about the ordinary longitudes for the year). Unfortunately this
utar Revati according to the several readings. m ethod which ou g h t to be tho best and most satisfactory
(1) 3 0 x 2 0 = 6 0 0 timea, is found to fail ; for the m etho d ought to give us the sam e
(2 ) 30s = 900 „ A y a n a m s a , the longitudes of h o w m an y stars so ever are
(3) 30 „ taken into account. This, however, is not the case. T h e
 reason for this appears to be that either from som e d e ­ N o w to s u m u p these w e have the following lengths of
fect of observation or from som e other cause the several the A y a n a m s a on the 1st J a n u a r y 188-3 :
longitudes above given are only very r o u g h ones. ( 1) Bom bay A lm a n a c 18° 14' 2 0 '
I I I . N o w Bentley in his w o r k on A s t r o n o m y devotes (2) M adras
•,■2° 2' 3 9 "
m u c h attention to the A y a n a r a s a m question. A s stated (3) Com baconum S
in the previous para, he first calculated the several Aya- (t ) Benares 21° 58' 2 9 '
n an isas resulting by taking into account the longitude (5 ) Vakya 22° 4 1 ’ 4 v'
of each of the 27 stars, a n d then took the average length (6) Sidhanta „ ro° 4 6 ’ 1 5 '
of these, w h ich he considers to b e nearest to the correct N o w it is necessary to rem ark here that in the first
Ay anam sa. four almanacs the S a y a n as p h u ta m is first calculated
IV . A s Revati is stated to be on the ecliptic, the a n d the Nirayariasphutum is deduced from it,‘ by sub-
tracting the A y a n a m s a m therefrom T h e tables on which
translator of has fixed his choice on a
the calculations are based are of course very correct ;
certain star in Pisces k n o w n as the— Pisciu m , w hich
a n d not only the annual retrograde motion of the V erna l
h e considers ns the Revati of the H i n d u s , This star
E q u i n o x but the annual increment in the rate of its m o ­
h o w ever is not on the eccliptic, bat has a latitude of 10
tion is k n o w n ; bu t as it is not k n o w n where the star
minutes from it ; and its longitude n o w is 1 8 ° 1 4 ’ 2 0 ” .
Pevati is, tlie entire body of Nirayanaspliutam falls to
V. N o w placing implicit faith (a) in this discovery— as the ground.
h e w a s justified in do in g so in the absence of any
A g a in , although, according to the V a k y a and the Sid-
clue to the discovery of the lost star.— M r . K e r o Laksh-
hanta m ethods of calculation, the N irayanasphutam of
m a n a Chatrai, M . A . , Mathematical Professor of the D e c ­
the planets is obtained independently of the A y a n a m s a ,*
can College, has been publishing for the last 18 years an yet the tables iu the form in w hich they are being
almanac with the help of the correct m odern tables, ac­
n o w em ployed are, for w ant of certain corrections,! to
co rding to which the A y a n a m s a on the 1st January
be applied to thorn as required by em inent H i n d u astro­
1 8 8 3 is 18° 1 4 2 0 ." nom ers, at this distance of time very incorrect. Hence
V I. A g a in , the late M r . C . Pagunathachariar of tho also the N ir a y an a sp h u ta m given in these almanacs falls
M a d r as Observatory started a similar almanac * som e 1 ;] to the ground.
years ago, in w h ic h he has taken tho average length of N o w I shall proceed to st 'te what the correct A y a n a m ­
the different Ayanatnsas as adopted b y several H i n d u sa wns on the 1st Ja n u a r y 1883.
p.lraanac publishers. This length is on the 1st J a n u a r y It ranges betw een 2 0 ° 23’ 8” and £ 0 ° 2 5 ’ 2 . ” .
1 8 8 3 2 2° 2 ' 3 8", B y adopting the m e a n 2 0 ° 2 4 ’ 1 5 ” the m a x i m u m
V II. B r a h m a Sri Sun daresv ara Srauti, a nd Bra-Sri a m ou nt oE error will only be 1’ 7 ” (a). N o w the differ­
Venkatesvara Deckshitor. T h e best living astronomers of ence between this correct A y a n a m s a a n d the various
Southern India, h ave also been publishing a similar A y a n a m s a m s above given will be seen from the following :
alm anac for the last 7 years, a nd that for S o uthern In d ia
(1) B o m b a y 2 ° 9 ’ 5 y-
u n de r the auspices of Lo ca- G uru Sri Sankarachariar, of
Com baconam . In this almanac they have adopted tlie
average A y a n a m s a of the late M r . C . Ragunathachariar.
(50 M a d r a s
( •) Com baconum
(0 Benares
}
+ 1° 3 3 ’ 24”

+ 1° 3 4 ’ 14”
V III. A g a in B r a h m a Sri B a p u Devasastri of Benares (5) V a k y a + 2 ° 17’ 2 9 ”
lias also been publishing for several years a n almanac on 16 ) S id h a u t a + 0 " 2i’ 0 ”
the sim e principle in which w e find the A y a n a m s a ou the T o express the sam e in other w o r d s ; the A y a n a m s a m
1st J a n u a r y 1 £ 83 to be 2 1° £ 8 ’ 2 9 ." H e says* that he . error, as it affects the planetary motions in point of time
first calculated the Nirayanaspliutam of the planets (for given in the first four Alm anacs, will be found to be as
a given time) after the m ethod prescribed in such w orks follows :
bb the Surya-Sidhanta, a nd also noted d o w n the Sayana- M ad ras an d
B e n n re s
B om bay
P la n e ts . C om baconnm
sph u tam calculated with the help of tho correct m o dern (B e fo re .) ( A f t e r .)
( A f t e r .)
tables, a n d that, by subtracting tho former from the
latter, lie arrived at the correct A y n n a m s a . T his sounds d. ■ h r. d. h r. d. h r.
reasonable en o ug h . B u t onr friend the Sastri cannot for
Snn ... 2 5 1 16 1 14
one m o m en t assert thnt the tables as given in Surya
Sid h a n ta m can at all bo relied on as they have not been M oon ... ■■ 4 .. 3 3
corrected, as they ought to be, as will he s h o w n fur­
M n rs ... 4 3 3 3 3 ..
ther on.
IX . A lm a n a c s still continue to be published b y several M ercu ry ... >. 13 5» 10 )»
persons after tho V a k y a and Sid hnn ta m ethods of calcula­
J n p ite r ... 2G > 19 17 18 21
tion. A c c o r d in g to the former tlie A y a n a m s a m on the
first J a n u a r y 1 8 8 3 is 2 2 ° 41 4 4 " ; a n d according to the V enna ... 1 9 1 it >» 23
latter it is 2 0 ’ 4 6 ’ 1 5 ' {Note.— A cc o rdin g to the V a k y a
S a tu r n ... 64 16 48 23 46 20
School, in the year 4 1 4 of the Salivahana Kra, the V er n a l
E q u in o x w as at Kevati, a nd the annual motion assigned M ooti’a N o d e . 40 21 31 >» 29 16
to it was 0 0 ’ . A cc o rdin g to the S id h a u ta School the
V e r n a l E q u in o x w a s at Revati in the year 3 6 0 0 of the * T h e e r r o r in A y a n a m s a h o w e v e r a ffe c ts (1) th e r is in g a n d s e tt in g
K a li era, a nd the annual motion assigned to it w a s 5 4 ”). o f th e p la n e ts ; (2 ) T h e ir c o n ju n c tio n s ; (3 ) T h o aT]^

# T h e p u b lic a tio n is b e in g c o n tin u e d b y h is so n M r. C . R a g h a v a - (4 ) T h e I m a y r e m a r k h e re t h a t in t h e c a s e o f th e

C h a r ia r . o th e r a lm a n a c s t h e c a lc u la tio n s r e g a r d in g these a r e v e r y c o r r e c t i r r e s ­
( a ) . I n a n o te o f h is to M r. C . R a g o o n a th a e h a r ia r , F . R . A . S . of p e c tiv e of th e e r r o r in th o A y a n a m s a .
M a d ra s , M r. K o ro L a k s h m a n a C h a tr a i w r ite s 9 y e a r s a g o a s fo llo w s : f In we
“ T h e p o s itio n o f— P is c iu m is a s s u m e d to b e th o Z e r o o f t h e Z o d ia c .
T h u s th e lo n g itu d e o f P is c in m a t a n y tim e sh o w s th e p r e c e s s io n o f th e
sqF fcR F TW | faw
e q u in o x o r A y a n a m s a m F o r S h a k e r 170G th o
18° T -------A n d in th e T a b le s p u b lis h e d by h im e n t i t l e d th o
H e t h a t in c o r r e c tly c a l c u la te s is g u ilty o f th o Bin o f B r a h m a h a ty a ,
( p a g e 3 2 5 , l a s t lin e , c o lu m n s 1 a n d 2 , h e c a lls t h e m u r d e r o f a B ra h m in . T h e r e f o r e i t b e h o v e s th e A s tro n o m e r, to
t h e — P is c iu m o f th o W e s te r n A s t r o n o m e r s a s th e , s t a r R e v a ti o f th e n o te th o d a ily c u lm in a tio n o f a p \a n e t. a n d a s c e r ta in its la w o f m o tio n .
H in d u s . N o te :— T h iB is ad m u c h a s r e q u i r i n g t h e c o n s tr u c tio n of a n O b s e rv a to r y
f Vide P reface to his Pnnchangum . N ote ( a ) , — I a m t a k i n g s te p s to r e d u c e th is to a m in im u m .
 N o w while the above shows the only corrections to be
applied to the four almanacs m entioned in the table, the
corrections to be applied to tlie V a k y a a n d Sid h a n ta
Alm anacs cannot be so easily ascertained o w in g to the
incorrect tables that are b e in g em ployed in the calcula­
tion of the planetary motions.
This state of things sufficiently accounts in iny opinion
for the numerous failures in astrological predictions o b ­
servable in m o d e r n times, and , if 1 m ay be allowed to
speak the lang uage of ail orthodox H i n d u , also for the
fall— the ever-accelerating fall— of the sacerdotal order
from the em inence they at one time occupied in the p y r a ­
mid of H i n d u com m unity. F o r the Sastras say that w h e n
an enjoined religious rite is either not observed or o b ­
served at a n im proper hours it brings 011 evil a nd
misery, e. g.
-6TO S3 ’ |
“ H e w h o omits to perform S r a d h a on the anniver­
sary of the day of death will be born a chandala a crore-
of times.”
I sliall proceed to dispose of the one question w hich
now naturally engages the reader’ s attention, viz., h o w
did 1 discover the correct A y a n a m s a . I have discovered
this by a process aa so un d a n d aa satisfactory as any
employed in the discovery of som e of the sublimest truths
iii the w orld. I have only to ask the public to patiently
hear and then ju d g e . ■ the sam e h a d been calculated correctly with the help of
N o w this lands m e on one of the gold coasts in the
vast continent of A r y a n Literature. V e r y few of the
modern H i n d u s — a n d few er still of the so-called educat­
ed H in d u s — are aware of the existence of w hat are called
Nadi Grantham s— -- w hich contain a faithful
record of the lives of— -to the utter a m a ze m e n t of the
public I declare em phatically — all m m :— All m en that
ever lived, all m e n that are living, a n d all m e n that
will come into existence ! Sm ile not, reader, in derision
of what m ight appear to you at first sight to bo tho m a n
iu the m o o n. Is it possible one m ight ask that such a
work can exist— a w o r k w h ic h can afford space
for the names of a ll'm a n k in d ?* T h e In d ia n census w as
taken— thousands of h a n d s were at w o r k in t a k in g it, in
tabulating its results, and it took over two y ea r s; a n d
what w as the information tho volutniuous records could
supply us regarding each m a n . It is simply this :— his
age, caste, religion, profession a n d , I grant freely, in a d d i­
tion, whether ho w as married or single, a u d yet the w o r k
referred only to a particular time and to a particular
country. C a n then N a d i G ra n th a m s exist ? I reply e m ­
phatically that such a w o r k (1) cun exist a n d (2) does
exist. A fact puts d o w n a thousand texts. I k n o w from
personal experience of tho existence of o Nfidi G r a n ­
thams a n d 1 have heard of 5 more w orks. O f those that
I havo seen the Sf3'Trr:§f— a Sanskrit work, about 70
volumes of w hich are n o w in the possession of tw o per­
sons in Southern In d ia — by Sathyacliaiiar, the celebra­
ted Ilindu astronomer, is the best— perhaps 5J3T*Trr%
. C
excepted. I have taken m y life from it, aiul from ^
and the lives of m a n y friends both y o u n g a n d
old a ud of different districts have been similarly obtained.
As iny paper has already becom e too long, I do not,
on the present occasion, wish to explain on w hat princi­
ple the Nadi G r a u th a m s havo been prepared. L e t m e
therefore hasten to close m y article.
* A s th o w o rk in g s o f th o m ig h ty c u r r e n t o f L ife s w o o p in g t h r o u g h ­
out o u r p la n e ta r y c h a in h a v e b e e n th o ro u g h ly e x a m in e d b y t h o a n c i e n t
adepts, a n d a s tlie n u m b e r o f th e p la n e ta r y ro u n d s , t h e v a rio u s r a c e s ,a n d
sub*racos of h u m a n ity on e a c h p la n e t a n d th o n u m b e r o f in c a r n a tio n s
of overy s p ir itu a l m o n a d flo a tin g a lo n g t h e c a r r o n t o f life , w o re lo n g a g o
a sc e rta in e d w ith m a th e m a t ic a l p re c is io n , aa a lr e a d y in d ic a te d in th o
frag m e n ts of O ccult T r u th , it w o u ld n o t b e b e y o n d h u m a n p o w e r to
bring in to e x is te n c e a b o o k g iv in g a ll th e p a r tic u la r s w h ic h a K a d i
G ran th u m is s ta t e d to f u r n is h .— E d.
F r o m w h a t I ha ve stated already it will be clear at
once that the different A y a n a m s a m s adopted b y several
publishers of almanacs cannot each be correct. If any
one of them is considered to be the correct one, it is for
the publisher w h o adopts it to prove satisfactorily its
correctness. I have no d ou bt that M r . K e r o L a k s h m a n a
Chhatre a n d B r a h m a Sri B a p u D e y a Sastri will frankly
o w n that they ha ve no m eans of proving satisfactorily the
correctness of their A y a n a m s a m . A s for the other tw o
gentlem en, I can’ t suppose for a m om ent that they con­
sider their A y a n a m s a m as resting on a satisfactory basis
N o w ' I have to rem ark here *
(1) T h a t the D h r u v a N a d i contains a correct record of
the lives of m e n : ,
{•2) T h a t it gives the N ira y a u a sp h u t a m of all tlie planets
at the m o m e n t of birth of each individual.
. N o w as a horoscope constructed with the help of the
.correct m o dern tables contains tho only error already
pointed out, v:z., that resulting from an incorrect
A y a n a m s a m — a nd no other, m y attempt to find out m y
life in the said D h r u v a N a d i led m e to a portion of the
work which contained the lives of five or six persons of
which m in e w as one. I w e n t carefully over all of them •
and with littlo or no difficulty found out mine. I fo u n d
the N ira y au a sp h uta m of all the planets at the m o m e n t
of iny birth given in it; a n d as the S a y a n a s p h u t a m of
m odern tables, b y subtracting tho former sphutam o f
the S u n from its latter sphu tam I arrived at u certain
A y a n a m s a m : a n d w h a t w as m y surprise w h e n I dis­
covered that the A y a n a m s a m thus obtained from the
two sphutam s of the M o o n , M a r s , M ercu ry , Jupiter
V e n u s , Saturn, a n d tlie M o o n ’s nodes w as identically
the sam e ! This led m e to suspect that this m ust be the
correct A y a r a m s a m . T h is suspicion w as confirmed
w h e n I beforehand calculated with the help of this
A y a n a m s a m a n d of the correct m o d e r n tables the Niray-
anasphutam of the planets in several places, a n d fo un d
out ou op en in g the D h r u v a N a d i that tho sam e sphu tam s
were given in i t ! T o crow n all, the lives recorded in
the N a d i were found to be correct to even the minutest
details- '
All this then points to a period in tho annals of
In d ia ’s greatness w h e n Jothisha (Astrology) Sastra wascul-
tivated to a degree of perfection. W h a t a change do w e see
now! T h e science throve well in the Ind ian soil un der
the w arm snn-shine of the In d ia n rulers ; it beo-an to
lose its _ luxuriance un der the cold piercing blast of
A fg h a n in v a d e r s; and its ruin is n o w be in g°co m p lete d
under the colder blast of our Anglo- Saxon rulers : n n d
w hat ia most to bo deplored is that this ruin is being
brought about through In d ia ’s o w n children !
B o d e ’s discovery of the law of planetary distances
though empirical in its nature was accepted because
on application, it proved to be correct. I crave of the
astronomers of the west a n d the east, for a similar in­
dulgence to m y discovery of the A y a n a m s a m , whose
correctness m a y easily bo tested. I think the indulgence
ought m be granted the m ore readily, seeing that so
m a n y vain attempts have been m ad e by astronomers for
several centuries to arrive at anything like a satisfactory
solution of one of the most important problems of the
science, viz., tho discovery of tho correct A y a n a m sa m -
lo 1 the key w a s after all found stuck to the side of the
box itself!
T r ip li c a t e , 2ord January 1 8 8 3 . '
^ P . S .— I showed m y paper to B ra h m a S r e e Sundaresw ara
Srouthy, w h o is equally versed in the eastern a n d western
systems of A stron om y , a n d w h o w a s assisting the late
M r . C . Kagoonathachuriar for four years. H e admitted (1)
the necessity that existed for tho discovery of the correct
A y a n a m s a m ; (?) tho incorrectness of the A y a n a m s a m ,
adopted by the several A lm a n a c publishers ; aud (3) the
probability of the Ayanainsatn discovered b y m e bein g astronomers learned in the systems of eastern and west-
the correct o n e.* tern astronom y a u d in the Dhurinasastras a n d truined
H e further rem arked thnt in Southern In d ia nt lenst, in the M a d r a s Observatory.
uo A lm a n u c publisher would now boldly introduce the
correct A y u n a m s a m iu tlie Alm anac^ o w i n g to the diffi­ T A B L E OF C O N T E N T S .
ra g e . 1 age.
culty of overcom ing the prejudices of the people ; lor the
correction would iirst be felt iu tho case of the S u n as it O ld a n d N ow M e th o d s ... 151 M edical M o sm e rism ... 1 70
will affect tho Sam kram sina Punyaksila. A F l a t t e r i n g N o tic e ... ... 152 W h e n c e th o n a m e “ L u n a ­
T h e o s o p h y a u d M ira c le s ... 152 tic s ” ? ... 171
A s the present Rulers of British In d ia will tnke no T lie E i g h te e n S id d h a s of A S e e k e r A f te r G od ... 172
interest in the matter, several of m y fiiends are of S o u th e r n I n d ia ... ... 154 D e a th W a r n in g ... 172
opinion that ihe w o r k should bo un dertaken by A to m s , M oloculos, a n d E th e r* R e v ie w s :— ... 172
W aves ... ... ... 155 T h o “ S a t t y a P r a k a s h M ... 1 73
the enlightened Native Princes. In this view 1-peifeetly
The R o m iu is c e n c c a o f a “ T h o V oico o f lu d i a . ” ... 173
concur. F o r here is what R h a g a v a n G a r g a s >ys on the <>hola . . ... ... 157 “ S u g u n a B o d h in i ” ... 173
subject: T h o P o w o r to I l e a l ... ... 15 8 L e t t e r s to th o E d i t o r : — ... 173
B y “ B o ll, B o o k a n d C a n d le ” ICO A P h ilo z o o la tric A p p e a l ... 173
(1 ) snrtfqm r w *t*t : I F r a g m e n ts o f O c c u lt T r u t h .. 101 D oes L a w R e q u ir e a L e g is ­
T h e C av o o f th o E c h o e s .. 164 la to r ? ... 174
aw w r II P ic k in g s fr o m o n r C o n te m ­ T h e F in d in g of a G a r u ... 174
p o r a r ie s .. 100 R e tro g re s s io n in l t e - B i r t h . 174
(2) ^ ?r*n I P i t y th o P o o r “ P r i n c i ­ C h iro m a n c y ... ... 174
p a ls !” — .. 107 A n c ic n t M o ta lo s c o p y a n d
A H e a v y C u rs o .. 3 07 X ilo s c o p y ... . 175
A C ase of C la irv o y a n c o .. 1 68 C h ris tia n s , B ra h m o s a n d
M y s tic S to r ie s :— .. . 168 “ B. A h.” ..................... 175
M o h lad i M a ta .. . 168 T h o A d w a ita P h ilo s o p h y
(3) *tst: ^rw t^cTr l H in d u D iv in a tio n .. . 100 v e rsu s th o S e m itic B ib le . 175
T lie B u g b e a rs of S c ie n c e .. . 100 T h o H in d u Z o d iac ... 175
jtt ll
S P E C I A L N O T IC E S .
(4) ^ ^iNsrpnRr I Tt is n o w e v id e n t tlm t th e Tiikosopiiist o ffers to a d v e r tis e r s u n u s u a l
a d v a n ta g e s in c ir c u la tio n . W e h a v o a lr e a d y s u b s c r ib e r s in e v e r y p o r t
3 i«rdh ^iqoTr II of I n d ia , in C ey lo n , B irn m h , C h in a a n d on th e P e r s i a n G u lf. O u r p a p e r
a lso g o e s to G r e a t IJ rita in a n d I r e la n d , F r a n c e , S p a in , H o lla n d , G e r­
(5) i%R°T'r 1 m a n y , N o rw a y , H u n g a r y , G re e c e , R u ss ia , A u s t r a la s ia , S o u th A fric a ,
tlio W e s t I n d ie s , a n d N o r th a n d S o u th A m e ric a . T h o fo llo w in g v o ry
ll m o d e ra to r a t e s h a v o b e e n a d o p te d ,
A dv e r tisin g B ates.
h u d V a r a h a m i h i r a i s a l s o o f t h e s a m e o p i n i o n . F i r s t in s e r tio n ............10 lin e s a n d u n d e r .............. 1 R u p e e
F o r e a c h a d d itio n a l l i n e ................................................ 1 A n n a
(g ) ^ Jjqft: facTf S p a c e is c h a r g e d fo r a t th e r a to o f 12 lin o s to th o in c h . S p e c ia l a rra ? ig c -
m e n ts c an bo m a d e fo r la rg e a d v e r tis e m e n ts , n n d fo r lo n g e r a n d fixed
p e rio d s . F o r f u r t h e r in f o r m a tio n n n d c o n tr a c ts fo r a d v e r tis in g ,n p p ly to
Mkssrs C O O P E R & C o., M eadow Street, Fort, Bombay ;
Proprietor, IN D U S T R IA L P R K S S , 3, Hummum Street, Fort, Bombay*
Mkssrs G R A V E S , C O O K S O N A N D C o., Madras.
& ftcjjl M an ag er, THEOHOPH1ST, A dyau, M a d r a s ;
To S U B S C R IB E R S .
( J . ) A s t h e n i g h t i s w i t h o u t a l a m p , a n d t l i o s k y T h e S u b s c r ip tio n p ric e a t w h ic h th e TiiEO SorniST is p u b lis h e d b a re ly
w ith o u t th e s u n , s o is a p r i n c e w i t h o u t a n a s t r o n o m e r , c o v e rs c o s t —th e d e s ig n in e s ta b lis h in g th o jo u r n a l h a v in g b e en r a t h e r
to re a c h a v o ry w id e c irc le of r e a d e r s , t h a n to m a k e a p ro fit. W e c a n ­
a n d h e g r o p o s lii s w a y i n t h e d a r k .
n o t affo rd , th e r e f o r e , to s e n d s p e c im e n c o p ie s f r e e , n o r to s u p p ly Iib r a r io s,
(2.) If t h e r e should bo no astronomer, the Mulioor- s o c ie tie s , o r in d iv id u a ls g r a tu ito u s ly . F o r th e sa m e re a so n w e nro
tlias' tho Thithees, tho N akshatras, the R uthoos, the o b lig e d to a d o p t th o p la n , n o w u n iv e r s a l iu A m e ric a , o f r e q u ir i n g s u b ­
s c r ib e r s to p a y in a d v a n c e , a n d of s to p p in g th e p a p e r a t th o o n d o f th e
A y anas, a n d the lil-'o will go w r o n g . It therefore behoves
t e r m p a id fo r. M a n y y e a r s o f p r a c tic a l e x p e r ie n c e h a v o c o n v in c e d
a prince to Hud out a learned astronomer. _ W e s te r n p u b lis h e rs t h n t th is s y s te m o f c a s h p a y m e n t is th e b e s t a n d
(3.) H e that loves victory, fam e, wealth, enjoym ent m o s t s a ti s f a c to r y to b o th p a r tie s ; a n d a ll re s p e c ta b le jo u r n a ls a ro now
a n d renow n, ought not to live in a country devoid of a c o n d u c te d o n th is p la n .
T h o Theosophist w ill a p p e a r e a c h m o n th . T h o r a t e s f o r tw e lv o
go o d astronomer. n u m b e r s o f n o t less t h a n 4 3 c o lu m n s R o y al 4 to e a c h o f r e a d in g m a tte r ,
(4.) H e that k n o w s the H o r n , the Gnnitha, a n d tho nf 570 c o lu m n s iu a ll, a ro a s fo llo w s j— T o S u b s c rib e rs in a n y p n r t of
S a m h it h a Sastra?, de.-erves to be supported by the piinco I n d ia , C ey lo n , S tr a i ts S e ttle m e n ts , C h in a , J n p a n , a n d A u s tr a lia , R s. 8 5
in A fric a , E u r o p e , a n d th e U n ite d S ta te s , £ 1. I la lf - y e n r ( I n d ia , & c.,)
■who loves victory, • R s. 5 ; S in g le c o p ie s R u p e e 1. R e m itta n c e s in p o s ta l s ta m p s m u s t bo a t
(5 ) T h a t sorvice which aa astronomer can render to th e ra to o f a n n a s 17 to th e R u p e e to c o v e r d is c o u n t. T he alx>vo r a t e s
n prince cannot be effected by a thousand elephants and in c lu d e p o s ta g o . N o n a m e w ill be e n te re d in the books o r p a p e r sen t
u n t i l the m ow 'y is re m itte d ; a n d in v a r ia b ly th e p a p e r w ill be d i scon tin n e d
b y four thousand horses. a t th e e x p ira tio n nf the te rm su b sc rib e d fo r. R e m itta n c e s sh o u ld bo m a d o
’ ((3.) T h a t good which an astronomer can do to a in M o n e y - o rd e rs, ilu n d is , B ill, C h e q u e s , ( o r T r e a s u r y h ills if in r e g is te r e d
prince will not be done, to him by his father, m other, le tte r s ) , a n d m a d o p a y a b le o n ly to th e Proprietors of the Theosophist,
A dy ar P. 0 ., Madras, I n d ia . S u b s c r ip tio n s c o m m e n co w ith th e V o lu m e.
relations, a n d friends.
S u b s c r ib e r s w is h in g a p r in t e d r e c e i p t fo r t h e i r re m itta n c e s m u s t so n d
Therefore their H ig h n es s es , the M a h a K a ja s ot J ravan- s ta m p s fo r r o tu r n p o s ta g e .
core and Mysore, for instance, will do well to convene ( S ^ O n l y six Numbers of V o l. I being available, tiie cifaiige for
meetings for the purpose of ascertaining the correct th o m w ill be 11s. 3-4*. S u b s c r ib e r s f o r th e S e c o n d V o lu m e (O c t. 1880 to
S e p te m b e r 1 8 8 1 ) p n y R s. 6 o n ly in I n d i a ; Kb. 7 in C ey io n ; R s. 8 in
A y a n a m s a , a nd of testing the correctness of m y dis­ th o S t r a i t s S e ttle m e n ts , C h in a , J a p a n , a n d A u s tr n lia ; a n d £ 1 in A fric a ,
covery. T h e y will confer nn invaluable benefit oil the E u r o p e a n d th o U n ite d S ta te s .
country b y directing their Court astronom ers a n d A g e n ts : L o n d o n , E n g ., B e r n a r d Q n a r itc h , 15 P ic c a d illy , W .; F r a n c e ,
P . G. L o y m a r ie , 5, R u e N e u v e d e s P e t i t s C h a m p s, P a r is ; N e w Y o rk ,
alm anac publishers to introduce the A y a n a m s a corrrec- F o w le r a n d W e lls, 753, B r o a d w a y ; B o sto n , M ass, C o lb y a n d R ic h , 9,
tion in their almanacs. This will pave the w.iy for the M o n tg o m e ry P la c e 5 C h ic a g o , III. J . C. B a n d y , L a S a lle S t. A m e ric a n
eventual ndoption oftlio correction in the alm anacs p u b ­ s u b s c r ib e r s m a y a lso o r d e r t h e i r p a p e r s th r o u g h W . Q . J u d g e , E s q .,
71 B ro a d w a y , N e w Y o r k ; M e lb o u rn e , W . H . T e r r y , P u b . H a rb in g e r nf
lished in British*In(lia. _ b ig h t ; W e s t I n d ie s , C . K. T a y lo r , S t. T h o m n s ; I n d i a : T h a c k e r S p in k
I n connection with this subject I need hardly impress a n d C o m p a n y , B o o k se lle rs , C a l c u t t a ; B a b u N o re n d ro N a th S e n , In d ia n
on the m inds of theso a n d other Native Princes of M ir r o r Office. 2 4 M o tt’s L a n e , D h u r r n m to lla h S t r e e t , C a l c u t t a ; M e ssrs.
India, the importance of aving an Observatory iu the J o h n s o n a n d Co., 2 6 P o p h a in ’s B ro a d w a y , M a d r a s ; V e n k a ta V a ra d a -
r a jn ln N a id u , R a y a p e ttn , H ig h R o ad , M a d r a s ; C ey lo n : G re g . E d e re w e re ,
capital of each P r in c o nnd presided over by native G allo, J o h n R o b e r t d e S ilv a , S u r v e y o r G e n e r a l’s Office, C olo m b o : D o n
T im o th y K a r u n a r a tn e , K a n d y . C h in a : K e lly a n d W a ls h , S h a n g h a i.
* I m a y lic re a d d th n t S tin d a r e s w n r a S r o n th y w a s h im s e lf o f g r e a t h o lp
to m o in th e d is c o v e ry o f th e c o r r e c t A y a n a m s a m . _
E d ito r’s N ote.__ A fe w o f o n r E n r o p e a n B r o th e r T h e o s o p h is ts a ro Printed at tlie S c o t t i s h P r e s s by G r a v e s , C o o k s o n a n d Co.,
in v ite d to t e s t t h e a s s e r tio n o f o u r B r o th e r C h id a m b a r a m I y e r , b y nnd published by tho TtiEosonucAL S o c i e t y at A d y a r ,
f n r n is h in g to h im th o n e c e s s a ry in fo r m a tio n fo r tlie ir h o ro sc o p e s.
(Madras) I n d i a ,
 SUPPLEMENT
TO
THE THEOSOPHIST.
Vol. 4. No. 7. M A D R A S , A P R I L , 1 88 3.
C O L O N E L O L C O T T ’S L E C T U R E A T T H E T O W N
H A LL, CALCUTTA, O N “ TH E O SO PH Y A N D
B R O T H E R H O O D ,” . common destiny; moralists preach the doctriue of an univer­
On Saturday, the 3rd March 1883.
I n o w fulfil the promise m ade last year from this platform,
that I should again do myself the honor of addressing
you upon the subject with which the name of m y Society is
identified. U p o n that occasion we discussed the relationship
of Theosophy to Science and Religion, my argument being that
Religion bus no basis at all unless it be a scientific one; nnd
that Theosophy is that scientific basis. T o discover the true
connection between Religion and Science, it became necessary
for us to examine the pretensious of the latter in the light
of linman psychic development. Ou r position was that the
religious feeling is an experience of the inner self, and not of
that grosser envelope, or bulky shell upon which we hang our
costumes, and pin our crosses aud medals ; hence that no
science, however advocated or loudly praised, is worthy of
the name, which does not settle its accounts with those master
psychologists, the Aryan Rishis. I tried to show the imper­
fection of tbe Western method of Psychological induction
which employs but one set of factors, that of the five cor­
poral senses, hence excluding practical psychology, or experi­
mental research by the so-called Psyche itself. It is as
impossible for a modern philosopher to give us any correct
idea of religious aspiration or its limitations without repeat­
ing the transcendental experiences of the seer and the adept,
as for the astronomer to compute the rate of a star’s motion
•without the science of mathematics aud tho mathematical
instinct in himself. Yet our libraries are choked with books
written by authors w ho have squeezed language dry in dilat­
ing upon this theme without having had a day ’s or perhaps
a moment’s practical knowledge of. the innermost nature of
man. A u d the world is fall of persons who, being misled by
those same books, and no more practically enlightened than
their favorite authors, lay down the law to us in a dogmatic
fashion, that is enough to make Hildebrand turn in his grave
from envy ! Th e Theosophical Society is a protest against
this spirit. For science, its founders claim the whole cosmos,
seen and unseen, as a field of research ; for religion, a basis of
natural law, apart from all supernaturalism. Its platform is
no less opposed to that narrow-minded scepticism which for­
bids the study of occult science, than to the theological bias,
which condemns unheard the pretensions of every religion
but oue’s own to a share of truth. For intolerant vindictive­
ness we may fairly watch Professor Tyndall’s contemptuous
expression about modern spiritualism, with the exclamation
of the W a h a b i M ussulman* when he saw a fat H i n d u —
“ W h a t a log for hell-fire !” A n d the Theosophical Society,
in the interest of both science and religion, equally protests
against both. H o w can the world ever get at the truth if
this narrow intellectual bias is to go on unrebuked ?
W h a t possible chance is there for m an to live at peace
with man unless all educated people join together to protest
on behalf of hum an needs against the bigotry, the intolerance,
the creed, caste, and race hatreds which bar the w ay of social
* Bee M r. G . P»lgraYe’s J o a r a e y tlir o o s h Central a u d E astern A rabia,
Yol II, p, 370, ' A p a t h o f l i g h t . " .............
No. 43.
evolution p Sentimentalists talk of the brotherhood of
mankind, of the common origin of all peoples, and thus
sal heritage of Divine love, of the beauty of compassion, and
charity, and tolerance. But while their dulcet sounds ara
still vibrating in our ears, they give the lie to their profes­
sions by exhibitions of hatred,malice and all uncharitableness,
which stir up strife and m ake tbe guardian-angels of the raco
to turn away their faces in sorrowful despair. T h e Theoso­
phist knows w hy this is so. H e looks below the surfuco, and
traces out the causes of h um a n action. H e is not deceived
by hollow professions. Appearances he recognizes as but
the tricking vigils of M aya, behind which only can the truth
be found. To him creed is but a m ask, nationality but a
catchword of the m o m e n t ; that will be forgotten in due time,
as their cycles revolve, and the M ahakalpa spins out the
thread of its evolution, and works it into the web and woof of
eternity. T he sorrows, the momentary joys, the friendships,
and enmities of onr ephemeral existence are to him but
phantasmagoria ; for he knows that the only real existenco is
that outside the fog of matter, and, expecting nought but
deception in physical life, he keeps himself unruffled amid all
social storms. T h e secret is not hard to find. It was dis­
covered and taught us by Asiatic sages, long ages before tha
first page of modern history was written, or the first stona
was laid for the foundations of our proud modern empires.
It was they who discovered that man is a being of various
parts, or component principles ; that tliose lower ones w hich
pertain to the physical self, or sthala sarira, are born of gross
elements, and are torn asunder irremediably when the vita!
force, centripital, can no longer resist the power of the dis­
persive force, centrifugal; and that he who would be wisa
must pursue his researches with the faculties inherent ia tha
higher principles— Kamarupa, Manas, Buddhi, and Atma. Yon.
see theologians quarrelling bitterly over their dogmas and
theories; you see politician arrayed against politician, and
each humbugging the world aud himself with dishonesb
sophistries they call statesmanship ; you see one armed nation
slaughtering and subjugating another nation and taking its
territory by brute force ; but I challenge you to show m e ona
instance of bitterness and hatred between tho adepts of any
age, no matter how conflicting may be the exoteric creeds in
which they may have been born respectively. T be other
day a bigoted orthodox H i n d u asked me, if among the school
of M a h a t m a s our Society is in relations with, there were any
H in d u s — any orthodox Hin dus or nono but Buddhists. Ha
had not even the glimmering conception of the idea that tha
true adept is tho soul brother of every other adept, no matter
what bis race, or creed, or caste. There is an old Indiau
proverb, “ never enquire into the origin of Rishis or Rivers;”
and every H i n d u here knows that his Shastras com mand him
to reverence the true Siulhu, even though he be of sweeper
parentage and he himself a Brahmin.
I have taken the trouble to enquire into the caste of tha
18 chief Sadhua of Southern India, and flud that m any wer«
of very low extraction. These are types of the
“ D e a th le s s m in d s w h ic h le a v e w h e re th e y h a v e p a s s e d
 A n d in evolving their psychic powers, thoy rose high
above the level of conventional socialisms to m onntthe throne
of spiritual power. In that group of Him alayan adepts
mingle together in the affectionate relations of brotherhood
m en w h o followed out their search after divine truth by the
several ways known am ong H in dus, Bnddhists, Parsis,
Christians, and Mahomedans ; and with this example beforo
us to enforce their eclectic precepts, we, their hum ble dis­
ciples, build the platform of the Theosophical Society upon
the eternal rock of human brotherhood and kindly tolerance,
It would be most unfair if you should reckon us as tho
preachers of an Utopia. W e claim to be practical people,
bent upon accomplishing practioal results. W e are not
divine messengers, not inspired preachers, nor the lineal
descendants of l’aul or Plato in a messianic hierarchy ; wo
havo no cluireh to ask you into; no new scriptures to
promulgate by celestial commission. The idea that hntnan
naturo m ay be changed by one’s joining our Society, or that
by accepting our code of bye-laws, tho fixed law of sociolo­
gical evolution is to be sot aside, has nover entered our heads.
W o are but sowers of thought-seed, and it is taken
from the full granaries of Aryavarta. Sad, sad the days
w hen H in du s have to be told that thoy descend from the
Aryans, but are so unlike them that they have mistaken old
A ry an philosophy for somo new-fangled religion imported
from across the Atlantic Ocean ! There aro many who show
impatience, because, after four years of activity in India;
our Society has not provod its ability to usher in a new
Aryan Era. They forget that though we m ay propagate
anciont ideas, to have them accopted and lived up to
requires tho same Sociological Evolution as that of the
anciont authors of those ideas. One may oall himself Ca3sar
or Yudhishthira, yet resemble them in nothing save the name.
If tho law of national development within cycles be a fact—
as I firmly believo it is,— then it is vory easy to understand
w h y tlio Aryan stock should have spent its forco and readied
tho point whero we see it now. W e can comprehend tho
fact that having crossed the H i n d u K u s h as a conquering
force, and mado the nam e of Aryavarta the synonym of all
that is glorious, the conqnorors should havo been brought
in their turn under the yoke. For analogical examples, wo
need only look at the pages of History, and thenco we may
draw the lesson that when a nation’s karma is satisfied, and
tho fruits of past sins have all been reaped in bitter humilia­
tion, the turning point of the cycle is again passed, and in
its whirl the nation again evolves its rishis, philosophors,
scientists, artisans, and warriors. I do not wish to be what
Herbert Spencer calls “ blinded by a hypothesis, or carried
away by an enthusiasm.” I accept the cyclic hypothesis, not
because the rishis afiirrncd it, bnt because ifc seems corrobo­
rated by the experience of the ages. Modern philosophers
talk of evolution as though it, worked up an inclined plane.
U nd er this impression they placed the Aryan and Iranian
on the plane of amiable shepherd idiots, and the Englishman,
American, Frenchman, and German on the apex of tho
social pyramid, with nothing between their present glory
and the shining orbs of space. This is what ought to bo
called philosophic fudge ! Neither England, nor America,
nor aiiy other modern social evolution has produced tho
equal of Euclid, or Aristotle, or Plato, or Patanjali, or
Vedavyasa. W h e n it does, then let this age of sounding
theological brass and tinkling scientific cymbals talk of its
equality with the bye-gone days of Egypt and Aryavarta,
and with Egyptian and Aryan experience as its guide, look
forward to the day w hen its own direful karma will havo
to be worked out, and the finger of some future conqueror
be pointed to it in scorn as a fallen and sycophantic raco.
A n d meanwhile, what counsel should the philanthropist
give to the oppressed ? To sit in cold despair, boating their
breasts and weeping for tho grievous burdens of thoir
karmophal? To wait and hope for tho time when their
children’s children shall reap a full harvest of revenge ?
To bear supinely the reverses of fortune, nibbling the
crusts of sycophancy, and fawning for shameful favors?
No, nono of these ; but to learn tho lesson of History, and
realize that as tho weary body rests at night iu sleep and
awakes refreshed, so nations in the night of their obscuration,
m ay renew their moral and spiritual strength, recover tho
ground-lost by tho growth of debasing habits, and be ready
with the next cyclic daybreak, to begin a new life of
happiness and prosperity. Djelal-ed-Din, tho Sufi poet
w hen enraptured by the splendour of esoteric religious truth
could not think of himself as of any race, or creed, or
locality. So feels every true Theosophist; for w hen tho
Divine idea of human brotherhood takes possession of him,
aud the insignificance of worldly distinctions and differences
is clearly apprehended, he speaks what he has to say without
regard to his o w n nationality, or creed, or those of his
hearers.
Fifteen centuries ago, there arose in Alexandria, a school
of philosophy, founded by a true Theosophist. So kind was
its spirit, so wise its teachings, that Am m onius Saccas was
surnamcd Theodidaktos, or God-taught. They say he was
born of Christian parents, but his principles wero broader
than any sect, and the whole world claimed him for its own.
H e attempted a coalition of all sects, whether philosophical
or religious, for ho believed in the unity of truth, despite
the diversity of its manifestation. Creeds even so antago­
nistic externally as Paganism and Christianity wero still, he
maintained, fundamentally identical, and while ho would
removo the fables of the priests from Paganism , he would
also set aside as extraneous the comments and interpreta­
tions of Christ’s allegod doctrine by the Fathers of the
Church. H o would have evon go back to the fountain sourcos,
discover the primitive truth, restore all roligious systems to
their original purity, and, to crown all and m ake possiblo
this grand scheme of Theosophical research, he taught the
Brotherhood of man. In his age, as in the present, there
were groat souls who could rospond to this message of love
and tolerance, and mutual help. Then, as now, amid the
dance of worldliness and tho intoxicating dream of selfish
pleasure, thero were a minority of nobler hearts which
could fool oompassion for hum an sorrows, of nobler minds
which could grasp the divino truth of tho doctrino of
A m inomus, Athenagoras, Longinus, Plotinus,Origen, Porphyry,
Jamblichus, Sopater, Julian, Proclus, and many others, both
Pagans and Christians, adopted this doctrino and taught it.
Its influence sank deep into tho constitution of the nascent
Christianity, and despite tho Church’s bloody progress and
its surviving seot-hatreds, its sweet influence showers over
us after the lapso of fiftoen hundred years, like the faint yet
lingering perfume of a flower that yesterday bloomed in our
garden and died in our house. Is the time ripe fora revival
of this holy doctrino ? Look about you, and answer. Seo
India huddling crores of people divided into their hundreds
of social groups, with neither the desire nor the capacity for
union. See all Christendom armed to the teeth against
each other, marching, invading, murdering, conquering,
and giving tho lio to tho most sacred professions of tlieir
religion. See mon speaking the “ speoious names” which
“ loarnt in soft childhood’s unsuspeoiing hour, serve, as the
sophisms with which manhood dims bright reason’s ray,
and sanctifies the sword upraised to shed a brother’s inno­
cent blood.”
See the gentle spirit of religion gone, not only out of
western Christianity, but equally out of the ohl eastern faiths
wliich were based upon esoteric scienco and esoteric philoso­
phy. See these and answer. W e have gone from Presidenoy
to.Presidency, and among the thousands of educated Hindus
who have gathered about us, we havo sought for such as could
interpret to us, their forefather's religion. B ut few havo
responded, and were it not for our faith in tho immutable
order of Nature and its necessary evolutions, we should des­
pair of the moral and religious future of tho Indian people.
K n o w in g these, we do not despair, but shall hope on, and
work on while life lasts, leaving results to grow naturally
out of the causes now active. First among these recuperativo
agencies we place modern science ; not the official, dogmatic
science of the sciolists who theorize upon tho iinseon forces
from tlieir observations of physical phenomena, but that
truer soionco which experimentally studies the relations of
every ono of the seven component priuciplos of m an to the
corresponding conditions of matter. The most necessary thing
to-day i.s, in my opinion, to test Hinduism, Buddhism, and
Zoroastrianism by scientific methods, and, following the systom
of Am m onius, to strip away overy artificial covering from tho
original truth. The friends of those ancient cults can safely
consent to this qualitative analysis, for when the last o.tcres-
cenec has been eliminated a splendid residuum will be left.
This ooro of the heart of- each old religion will be found
identical with that of overy othor, and it has been called the
“ W isd o m Religion ” of antiquity, a religious belief resting
npon knowledge, not upon faith. If it be asked whether we
believe that, w he n found, it will reform the world, we should
 answer in tbe negative ; for no acceptance of any doctrine, no
subscription to any hypothesis, can violently change the rule
of grad a al social development. N o , to bring the H in du back
to the spiritual level of the Aryan, we must let Nature have
its course ; helping her by removing obstacles aud smoothing
the rough ways. W e cannot re-make the aduit whose edu­
cation is finished ; we must look to the child now at school.
O u those little ones aud the successive generations of children
to come after them, rest our hopes of an Aryan revival. W e
saw this in Ceylon as soon as wecam e there, and began opening
Bchools for Native-children, and the publication of religious
books. W e see the same necessity in India, and have begun
already to do something. A t Bhagalpore, Nellore, Guntoor,
Bareilly aud elsewhere, Sanskrit schools and classes have beeu
opened by branches of the Theosophical Society, and w e shall
open more as opportunity occurs. W e havo asked for no
endowments or popular subscriptions, though tbe movement
is a national one highly worthy of public support, but what
has been done, has been done by members and friends of
our Society, from a deep conviction'of the needs of the country.
T he other day, when we shifted our head-quarters from
Bom bay to Madras, and the Native community of the latter
town gave us a warm public welcome, I seized tho occasion
fo make a practical suggestion— I will make it to you now, and
it will be a happy day for Bengal, if your response shall be
as enthusiastic as was that of Madras. It was that all lovers
of Hinduism should join together to establish H in d u Sunday
schools, where classes of H i n d u boys would be taught the
sublime moralities of their ancestral religion, out of H in d u
catechisms and elementary books, to be compiled by compe­
tent hands. I would havo our best, most influential and
devoted H in d u gentlemen offer themselves as teachers of
classes in these religious schools, just as Christian gentlemen
of corresponding social consequence are seen cheerfully and
from strong conscientious motives, taking classes of children
in their Sunday schools, to instruct them in their faith. Is this
an impracticable, Utopian Bcheme ? If it be, then, indeed,
mny we confess that Hindus no longer care to 3ave their
hoary religion from debasement and extinction, and with
bowed heads, in Bhameful silence sit, while gibes and taunts
are cast in our faces, by the enemies of that religion. I have
lookod everywhere for the evidences that your children are
being properly taught Hinduism as a preparation and pre­
caution against the sceptical habit of mind that will grow
up in them when they go to School and College— I have not
found it, but I have heard from every side the complaint
that scepticism is rife, and that less and less interest is being
taken in religion- This is all w r o n g ; tho scepticism results
simply from ignorance, and the ignorance is due to culpable
parental neglect. Even tho most casual visitor to India
from the Western countries must be struck with the beautiful
unity of the H in d u family> It is something strange to us to see
several generations living together under one roof, in the old
patriarchal style, while the filial piety shown iu doing honour to a
parent’s memory, is a reproach to our own too frequent selfish
forgetfulness. But when I behold the fast increasing decadence
of interest in the grand Aryan faith, and see to what it is
due, and ho w easily it may be prevented, 1 cannot refrain
from saying that if a beginning be not now made, towards
giving H in d u boys and girls, equal facilities with Christian
children for elementary instruction in the national religion,
the negligent parents will take upon themselves a Karma-
p]tala so bad that they will have fco suffer for it grievously
in the future. N o, what we need is that a few of tho best
men iu Bengal aud each of tho other Presidencies should
unite to form a national committee, to found everywhere
throughout India free religious schools, and open religions
classes in H in d u secular schools, and to compile H in d u
moral and religious works of an elementary character for
the youth of both sexes. This will be the beginning of a
new ora, tho harbinger of a brighter day, the initiative of
a course of sociological evolution whose outcome would bo
the elevation of tho H in du nation to the old level upon
which its progenitors stood and worked out the problem of
human destiny. If wo can but see this work begun, then
shall the Founders of the Theosophical Society havo the
ample reward of know ing that Theosophy has brought a
blessing to the country of thoir adoption, and that, iu pro­
moting the study of Aryan Philosophy, it has contributed
to tho spread of the benign spirit of Brotherhood. It must
be confessed that there are difficulties iu the way of carrying
out our scheme. W h e n we began to compile a catechism of
Hinduism , the first question was what should be said about
G ° d ? . Should w e give the views of the Adwaitis, the
llwaitis, or the Vashishthadwaitis ? Should the child be'
taught to believe in an impersonal or a personal G o d ? 'T o
meet this, a first compilation was made, which carefully
^voided this question, while giving the broad principles of
H i n d u morality, and an idea of that universal Principle,
called Parabrahma. 'Phis was submitted for criticism to
an^ eminent representative of each of the three great
religions schools, and when their several commentaries
had been made, the M S S . wns recast. It has now
been sent to other Pandits, and there is ground for
hope, that after a time a non-sectarian catechetical work
will be agreed upon, which shall supply the greatest want of
the day am ong Hindus. It is, you will observe, vitally im ­
portant that the religious education should begin while the
young mind is receptive, and that the H i n d u child shall be
taught the first principles of that noble moral code which was
bequeathed to prosperity by the Aryan Sages. Let him onco
realise how perfect that is, how closely it is akin to the
teachings of science aud the needs of the hum an heart, and
you m ay without fear, allow him to run the risk of encounter
with the lay opponents of Hinduism and the interested
advocates of hostile faiths. A n d as the spirit of Hindu phi­
losophy is benignant and tolerant towards other person’s
beliefs, be assured that the more your child can bo made to
k now of it, the more neighbourly will he be with those who
do not worship at his shrine. “ It is,” says a respectable
Bengali writer* of our times, “ the principal doctrine of tho
H in d u religion that if a mau follows the religion in which he
believes to tho best of his power, he will be saved. All H i n ­
dus hold this belief.” To promote Hinduism is, therefore, to
secare guarantees of national peace and tranquillity. The
danger is that your children may know too littlo about it,
rather than too m uch. I have many H i n d u Brothers of the
diplomaed class who are orthodox under protest. A t home,
they will paint themselves with caste-marks in the most
artistic and decorative m an ner; but when they sally forth to
confront the Sahib logues or the Brahmos, the defiant llari-
mandir and avdaehandra shrinks away into the little pig­
mental dot or tilluclc that is just small enongh to escapc notice
and just large enough to save their orthodoxy! 1 know an
aged Brahmin of western India who, although a leading
officer of an anti-idolatrous society and a thundering speaker
on reform, yet worships at home in the family idol-room, and,
within hearing of bis family, calls upon R a m with pious
vehemence. This is arrant hn m b u g — the most contempti­
ble h u m b u g — since they are trying to deceive themselves.
“•T h e deluded,” says Sree Krishna, in the Gita, (C a p . I X )
“ despise me when invested with a hum an form, not under­
standing m y high existence, which is the lord-controlling
power of all things,— vain in their hopes, their actions, and
their knowledge ; devoid of reflection, and inclining to tho
deluded nature of tho asuras and rakshasas.” The H in d u gods
are sneered at by the University m an through ignorance of
their m e a n in g ; and for that ignorance his own father is
primarily responsible. Krishna calls himself the imperish­
able principle of all things ; but tho nam e he goes by in the
college laboratory is “ Force,” W ell, does the name alter tho
fact that there is an “ Imperishable Principle of all things;”
or the other, and most significant fact, that the Aryan philo­
sophers had discovered its existence ? Then why be ashamed,
0 , degenerate sons of those ancestors ? If your Hinduism is
true, study it, comprehend it, hold to it manfully, in defiance
of the whole world, as one clings to life in the hour of peril.
For by catching the sublime inspiration, that lurks beneath
these uncouth blocks of wood and these gigantic pillars of
Stone, you will find tho path to that “ supreme abode” from
whence those who attain it “ never return,” that “ invisible
eternal existence superior to this visible one which perishes
where all things perish.” t H e who can feel and catch
this subtle spirit will bo worthy of tho name of Theosophist,
since he will have got the essence of “ Divine W isd o m ,”
the vivifying soul of all true religions and bccome tho
Brother of all beings.
But I have not come to preach moral aphorisms. M y
message is to make you k n e w that tho Thcosophical Society
was organised especially to “ form the nucleus of a Universal
* B a b n l! a j N A rain Iio se . L e c tu r e on th e S u p e rio r ity of H in d u is m to
o th e r e x istin g re lig io n s .
•(• B h a g a y a t G ita , C ap. V I I I .
 Brotherhood of H um anity without distinction of race, creed,
or color ; to promote the study of Aryan and other Eastern
literature, religions and sciences, and vindicate its importance;
andtoinvestigatethehidden mysteriesof nature and the psychi­
cal powers latent in m an .” To have you know this, and per­
suade you to take part in our labours. It is nothing to us whe­
ther you aro European or Asiatic, English, H in d u or Armenian.
W e have no part in your quarrels, no share in your Karma. If
you are true inen, in the best sense of the w o r d ; ifyouarenot
benumbed by selfishness or pride, or bigotry, to the
claims of a world that is crnshed under a weight of
w oe— the result of ignoranee of natural law— then come
and work with us. W e shall not ask you to subscribo
to any creed of our m aking or following. W e shall not
try to take you out of your fixed social relation. W e
shall not do anything to you or ask you to do anything
with or for ns that will break your enste, or forfeit your
worldly interests. Neither of these; but only implore
you to lend your education, your talent, your exertions to
add a little to the sum of human knowledge and hum an
happiness. Arc you a merchant? Tliqn learn the sin and
the unprofitableness of unfair dealing. A lawyer ? Then
learn thnt ho who, by cunning and clever management,
obstructs the course of justice, shall reap a woeful retribu­
tion, though for a time he may flourish like the “ green-bay-
tree.” A theologian ? Then discover how tlio blind guide
w ho has not travelled a difficult road, leads the blind believer
into tho ditch of a common disaster. Are you a pnblic
servant ? The wise counsels of tho sages will teach you
t.liat a life spent in faithful service, adorned with daily inter­ Babu Kally Churn Ghose, Babu Rashbehari Ghose, D r. Guru-
vals of moral self-culture, will prepare for one a happy
futnre. Or, if you are a physician, you m ny soon acquire
a knowledge of vital force and its correlations from the
i'ShaHras your imported text-books and teachers ignore, that
will enable yon to conquer disease by laying your hands
n[ion the patient, as the bairagi subdues the crucl tiger and
makes him follow like a dog. In the ancient repositories
"f Aryan culture, there is a full reward for every delver
and none need come away unsatisfied. But whoever you may
be, or for whatsoever object you come to us, do not fancy
that you will be joining a class in science, theology, or
occultism, with ready made text-books and teachers. This
would be a great mistake. Y o u are asked to join us in tho
hope of doing some good, and of aiding us, yonr fellow
students, to realise the professed objects of our Socioty.
Theosophy is, like everything else, within the curriculum
of h um an knowledge,— he will learn most and accomplish
moBt, who hardest strives and longest perseveres. This
movement of onrs is spreading throughout the world—
Branches are springing up in different countries. Since we
lastmetin this'l'own Hall, twenty-twomorehave been organised
iu India alone. Th e false suspicions about us and our aims
are rapidly passing away ; every day our ranks are strengthen­
ed by the accession of valuable members. W e have won our
footing, and we mean to Iceep it. So it is not to take part
in a retreat, but in a victory, that wo invite you. . Como,
aspirant for divine wisdom, brother Theosophist, come and
taste the happiness of doing good. Y our country needs
your help— and the refreshment of yonr example of a noblo
life. W hether your motherland be great Albion, with its
flow of emerald green, and its littoral veils of foam ; or fair
I ’rancc, with its vine-gardens and its vices ; or Germania,
tho feennd wom b of warriors and the strong citadel of
modern thought; or nut brown India, from whoso cradling
bosom went forth the sciences and arts— the time is ripe for
your best endeavour. Over modern society hangs a pall of
darkness as to spiritual things; the sky is red with the
portents of strife, the dogs of war tug at their leashes,
science fails to unravel the tangled mystery of life, theology
cannot lift for us the veil before the future. There is but
one guide, and comforter, and friend on w h o m we can lean
with perfect confidence— Theosophy. T ho science of the
adepts, the inspiring energy of the rishis, the hand-maiden
of trnth, she has comfort for all, encouragement for all.
Fro m her internal fastnesses in the Him avat, she has de­
scended, in different epochs, to beg the thoughtful to walk
in the straight path of wisdom. She sat beside the
Chaldeans, when they read the stars; beside the mystics
of Babylonia and M em phis when they daringly crossed
tho threshhold of tho unknown. She companied with
the R om an N u m a , w hen he drew the . Jovian fire out
of tha depths of Ether, and with Porphyry and Proclus,
when they taught the Greeks, the nature of the Mysteries.
It was she whose magic touch has kindled the heart of every
European Alchemist and Rosicrucian and kept before Shakes­
peare, Shelley, Goethe, Schiller, and Dante, their visions of
the veiled spirit of nature. A n d she, too, it is who hovers
over the laboratories of H uxley and Tyndall to urge on tlieir
researches and deductions, though the fumes from their
furnaces hide her bright form from their sight. If Theosophy
prevailed throughout the world, there would be nniversal
Brotherhood, and we should see realized tho prophetic vision
of Shelley :—
“ A brighter morn awaits the human d a y ; when every
transfer of earth’s natural gifts shall be a commerce of good
words and works ; when poverty and wealth, the thirst of
fame, the fear of infamy, disease, and woe with its million
horrors and fierce hell, shall live but in the memory of
tim e.”
C O L O N E L O L C O T T ’S S E C O N D L E C T U R E
AT THE TOW N HALL.
Sats the Indian Mirror of 1 1th March 1883
“ Colonel Olcott’s lecture on ‘ Theosophy— A link between
the European and Native,’ at the T o w n Hall on Friday last
was a grand success. There was a large and respectable
gathering. A m o n g those present we noticed the H o u ’ble M r.
Justice Bomesh Chunder Mitter, I'rince Jehan Kadir, Rajah
Suttyanund Ghosal, N a w ab Abdul Lutif K h a n Bahadur, C., I.
E ., Babu A n na da Prasad Bannerji, Babn Mohendro Nath Bose1
Rai Bahadur, M r. T . D . Beighton, Dr. Nisikanta Chatterji,
das Bannerji, Babu Uajendra Nath Mitter, Pundit Taranath
Tarkavachaspati, B abu Baikantha Nath Bose, B abu Norendro
N ath Seo, Kajah Jogendra Natli R oy of Nattore, Pundit
Jibananda Yidyasagar, M r. Dliondo Shamrao Garud, Chief
Judge, Indore, Mr. Sakharam Gopal, Private Secretary lo
His Highness Maharajah Holkar, M r . J. Ghosal, D r. Ganga
Prosad Mnkerji, Babu Nobin Krishna Bannerji, M r. Krishna-
row W a su de v Alalye, B . A ., Private Secretary to His Highness
the First Prince of Indore, Babu Prern Chund Bural, Babu
Issur Chunder Chackerbutty, Babu Umakali Mukerji, Babu
Shrish Chunder Chowdhry, Babu Shital Chunder Mukerji,
B abu U m esh Chunder Bannerji, B abu Nagendra Nath Mullick,
and Babu Mohini M o h u n Chatterji. There was also a fair
sprinkling of European ladies.
“ Colonel Olcott rose amidst loud cheers, and delivered a
most impressive speech, which lasted over two hours, aud
was listened to all through with marked attention. It is
impossible to give anything like a fair idea of the lecture
in a notice like the present. T h e lecturer showed how
Theosophy had discovered the true channel for sympathy to
flow between the Europeans and Natives, how a proper
appreciation of each other by the true nations will be tho
means of bringing abont a glorious future for India. The
learned lecturer concluded by exhorting the H in d u s and
M ahom edans to take greater interest in the study of their
sacred writings than they had hitherto done.
“ A Tote of thanks was then proposed to the lecturer in a
few suitable words by the H o n ’blo M r . Justioe Romesb
Chunder Mitter, and seconded by Rajah Satyanund Ghosal,
and received with loud cheers and prolonged applause.
“ W e intend to publish a full [report of the speech in a
future issue.”
In the “ Correspondence” of the Indian Mirror of March
6th we read the following :
C U R E S E F F E C T E D B Y C O L O N E L O L C O T T IN
C A L C U T T A B Y M E S M E R IC PASSES.
TO TU B E D I T O R OF TI I E " I NDI AN M IR R O R .”
Sir,— As Colonel Olcott, President and Founder of the Theoso­
phical Society, will accept of no compensation, nor is he desirous
of receiving any thanks for^ the trouble he has taken in curing
tn y g r a n d E o n , Ashu Tosh J l y s a c k , I, in justice to myself,beg
to make a public acknowledgment of the same. The boy ih
question is now awed twelve years, lie has been suffering from
epilepsy for the last Fix or seven years. The best physician*,
Allopathic, Homoeopathic, and Native, have treated him, but
with no effect. The disease became latterly so violent that i n
one day and night ho had no less than sixty f i t s , and was unable
to get up or walk. In this state he w a s brought to Colonel
Olcott, who has now treated him for seven days. The bov has ro
much improved that he can run and walk without difficulty,
looks very lively, and appears perfectly healthy ; besides which
ho has had no fits daring this period, His appetite has returned,
costiveness is gone, be gets sound sleep, and is enjoying lifo OUR P R E S I D E N T ’S T O U R ..
like other boys for tbe first time in seven years. I consider from
the general appearance of tbe boy that the disease is gone, ar.d F o l l o w s the programme of Colonel H . S. Olcott’s projected
it is now only a question of bis more or less rapid convalescence, tour, in Bengal, as published by our Brother, Babu Norendro
T b e object of m y m aking tbis statement public is that m y Nath Sen, Secretary of the Bengal Branch of tbe Theoso­
countrymen, and especially members of the Theosophical Society, phical Society, in his paper, The Indian Mirror of March 6th: —
may know the great effect of mesmerism, in curing obstinate A rriv e s . P la c e . L e a v e i.
diseases like epilepsy which are beyond the power of medicine. I C a l c u t t a ... . ..1 2 th M a r c h ,
am now old enough having passed sixty, years and a retired 12 th M a r c h K is h n a g h u r ...14-th
servant of Governm ent after a service of 44 years ; and it is a joy 1 6 th D acca ... ...1 8 th
to me that a European gentleman like Colonel Olcott should be 20 th D a rjilin g . . . 22 nd
showing our countrymen tbe beauty of the Ary an system and our 2 3 rd It C a lo n tta ... ...2 4 th
duty to revere our Y o y is aud M u n is. 2 5 th »> B e r h a m p o re ...2 9 th
Yours, &c-, 31st >> B h a u g n lp o re ... 2 nd April
1st M arch 1883. SURJI KUA1AK BYSA CK. 2 n d A p r il J a m a lp o r e ... 4 th
5 th >♦ B an k u ra ... 7 th
8 th >> B a n k ip o r e . . . 11 th
THE SAM E. 11 t h Q ya ...
1) ...1 4 th
TO T H E E D I T O R 01' T H E “ I N DI A N M IR R0 B. .” A rra h ...
1 4 th >> . ..1 6 th
Sia,— T h e presence of Colonel Olcott in Calcutta has afforded 1 6 th >> D u m ra o n . ..1 8 th
us a long-needed opportunity to test the claims of m esm erism 1 8 th >> C a l c u tta ... ...-
as a curative potency. W e have attended at the Boitokkhana A n y a l t e r a t i o n in t h e s e d a te s w ill b e n o tif ie d h e r e a f t e r b y C o lo n e l
house of M aharajah Sir Jotendro M o h u n Tagore B ahadu r, K . C. O lc o tt h im s o lf .
S. I., the past 7 or 8 mornings, to see Colonel Olcott heal the sick
by the imposition of the hands. O u r experience has been of a
O n Saturday, M arch the 3rd, Colonel Olcott, President-
very striking nature. W e have seen him cure an epileptic boy
whose case had been given up in despair by his family after Founder of our Society, delivered his first lecture at the
resorting to every other known mode of treatment. T h e lad is T o w n Hall. T he subject chosen by hiux was “ T h e s o o p h y and
of respectable parentage, his father being the Deputy Magistrate, B ro th erhood.” It was published in tho same paper of
and can be seen at Paturiaghata, N o . 80, in the premises of M arch 3rd that “ by special request front seats would bo
B a b u Surji C n m a r Bysack. A Theosophist from Bhaugulpore, reserved’' aud “ tho nett proceeds to be given in charity.”
suffering from atrophy of the disc of the left eye, is having his
sight restored to him ; and other patients have been relieved of
different maladies. Hut a case which occurred this m orning is A M E E T IN G A T A D Y A R
of so remarkable a character as to prompt us to join in this FOB THE
letter for the information of your readers- A young Brahmin,
was brought by the relatives of the epileptic boy for treatment.
P R E S E N T A T IO N O F A S IL V E R GUP A N D TRAY
H e had a facial paralysis which prevented his closing his eyes,— TO T H E .
projecting his tongue, and swallowing liquids, in the usual way. FOUNDERS OF TH E T H E O S O P H IC A L S O C IE T Y
T h e paralysis of his tongue prevented his speaking without the
BY THE
greatest efforts. In our presence and that of other witnesses,
Colonel Olcott laid his hands upon him, pronounced the com m and M em bers op it s B om bay B ranch.
A r a m I l o ! m ade some passes over the head, eyes, face, and TnE address of our Brothers at B o m b a y to the
jaws, and in less than five minutes the patient wa3 cured. Th e F o un ders on the eve of the latter’s departure from that
scene which followed, affected the by standers to tears. For
place to M adras, published on page 8 of the Supplement
a moment the patient stood closing and opening his eyes and
thrusting out and withdrawing his tongue. A n d then, w hen the to the Theosophist for January last, m u st have been read
thought flashed upon him that he was cured, he burst, into a fit with interest b y our m e m b e r s.
of tears of joy and with exclamations of gratitude that touched T h e sentiments in the address, expressive of the
our hearts, flung himself on the ground at the Colonel’s feet, loyalty of onr B o m b a y B r a n c h to the cause of T heo so p h y
embracing his knees and pouring out expressions of the deepest
a u d their determination to assist its furtherance are no
thankfulness. Surely no one present can ever forget this dramatic
incident. doubt very gratifying. T h e expressions therein m ad o
Yours, &c., use of, are but the indicators of the feelings w h ic h our
S R I N A U T H T A G O llli. friends at B o m b a y entertain for the F ounders w h o ,
S H A U T C O R R Y M U K E R JI. whatever their shortcomings, are yet zealously a n d
N IV A R A N C H A N D R A M U K E R JI. earnestly w o r k in g for the I d e a , the promotion a n d
W h ile w e are going to Press, we find two more letters in propagation of w h ic h has been the chief en d a n d
the I n d i a n M ir r o r of the 21st Instant, on the same subject, aim of their life. It is but natural, therefore, that
which w e regret w e cannot copy, for want of space and time. the temporary separation, caused b y the rem oval of
our Head-Quarters to this place, should evoke an outburst
COLONEL O L C O T T ’S M A R V E L L O U S CURES. of those feelings in the- shape of an address and some
S ays an editorial in the Indian Mirror of March 7th :— other token of fraternal regard a n d esteem felt for the
T h e letters we published yesterday testifying to recent mar­ F o u n d er s b y their B o m b a y friends. T h e latter, there­
vellous cures of epilepsy and paralysis in Calcutta by Colonel fore, proposed in the “ A d d r e s s ” to offer for the accept­
Olcott, the President-Founder of the Theosophical Society, deserve ance of the Founders, “ an article of Indian m ake, with
and will have general attention. This city is classical ground
a suitable inscription,” as a token of their “ sense of a p ­
for mesmeric students tbe world over, for it was here that the
late eminent D r . Jam es Esdaile, Presidency Surgeon under preciation of your labour of love, a u d as a keepsake from
Lord Dalhousie, opened his Mesmeric Hospital under Govern­ us.” A s the article w as not then ready, its present­
ment auspices, and performed several hundred desperate surgical ation had to be deferred. It is, therefore, after w e
operations. A m o n g these, the extirpation of scrotal tumours, arrived here, that the M a dras Theosophical Society was
weighing above 100 lbs., while the patients were lying insensi­
specially requested b y their B o m b a y Brothers to present
ble in tho mesmeric coma, are famed in surgical annals. Th e
name of Dr. Esdaile is almost revered am ong those who interest on behalf of their Branch, to the Pounders, a silver enp
themselves in mesmerism, both on account of his high profes­ and tray of Ind ia n m ak e , specially designed for the
sional skill and personal character. Colonel Olcott is m aking for purpose. A m eeting w as accordingly convened on the
himself a reputatiou that in time may be equally to be envied,
evening of the 15th February, w hen M . R . Rij. P . Sree-
for his cures are extremely striking as scientific phenomena
and every one can bear testimony to bis entire disinterest­ nevas H o w P a n tu lu Garu, J u d g e of the Small Cause
edness of motive. Since his arrival in Calcutta there has Court, a n d one of the Vice-Presidents of the M adras
been a wonderful increase of interest am ong the Bengal B ranch, m ad e a short speech, on behalf of our Brothers
Theosophists. Th e meetings are largely atteuded, and new nt B o m b a y , and presented, in the n a m e of the latter, the
members keep flocking in. For their instruction, the President-
articles to the F o u n d ers. The Pretident-Founder,
Foundtr has at each meeting lectured upon Occult Science, and
given illustrative experiments to prove tbe power of mind over Col. Olcott, on behalf of M a d a tn e Blavatsky and himself,
matter. H e will deliver one more lecture at the T o w n Hall on m ad e a suitable reply. H i s speech was very impressive
the afternoon of Friday next, at 5 o’clock. T h e lecture will be and infused vigour a u d spirit into the audience. lie
an extemporaneous one. The subject will be “ Theosophy a link
gave a short sketch of the w o r k in g of the Theosophical
between Europeans and Natives.” O n next M on day morning
Colonel Olcott will leave the city on his Presidential tour
Society and thanked the B o m b a y brothers for the kind
through Bengal, a n d fraternal feelings which had actuated thtm. M . R . R y
1’ . S u b b a R o w G a r u , Secretary of the M a dras B r a n c h ,
then m a d e a f e w rem arks upon the subject of Occultism ,
w h ic h w e r e very interesting-and instructive, ilf. R- Ry.
G . M u t t u s w a n iy Chettyar G a r n , J u d g e of the Small
C a u s e C o u rt, and one of the Vice-Presidents of the
B r a n c h , also addressed the m eeting. After a few more
desultory speeches, tho m eeting -was dissolved.
T h e F o u n d e r s b e g to take this opportunity of express­
in g a g a in tlieir deep and sincere feeling of gratitude
for this n ew token of the fraternal regard entertained for
them by their Parsi and Marathi Brothers of B o m b a y .
Tlie article is of exquisite m a k e a nd bears tho following
inscription :—
P b e s f .n t k d
TO
COL. O LC O T T
AND
M A D A M E B LA V A T SK Y
BY TIIE
B ombay B ranch,
T IIE 0S 0P 1 U G A L S O C IE T Y .
It will ever rem ain in tho Head-Quartors H a ll as a
tok en of the appreciation of tlie h u m b le efforts of the
F o u n d e r s for t.he good of In d ia , alongside with the
beautiful Silver Plate presented to them by t h eR o h ilk h a n d
Theosophical Society— tho Bareilly Hraucli.
(B y Order)
DA M ODA R K. M AVALANKAR,
Recording Secretary of the
Parent Theosophical Society•
N E W BRANCHES.
ARYAN P A T R IO T IC T H E O S O P H IC A L
O o r indefatigable friencl and brother Munshi Bishen Lall,
M . A ., President of the llohilkhand Theosophical Society,
chose Aligarh ns his next field of operation. A Brunch has
been established there under the name of “ Aryan Patriotic
Theosophical Society, Aligarh.” Tlie office-bearers a re:—
P resident Munshi Govind Prasad, M . A. ; S e c r e t a r y , Lala
,
Damodar Das, B . A. ; J o i n t Secretary, Munshi liakhtawar
Lai, B. A . ; Treasurer, Ram a N ath Hay, Pandit.
Our esteemed brother intends going to Delhi, for further
active work. W e have only to assure him of our good wishes
for him and to refer him to our remarks iu the last N um ber
of our Journal.
After tho above was in type, we find in the Indian Mirror
of March 13th the following Telegraphic Intelligence :—
S pecial T elegram . particulars will appear in our next.
[From our own Correspondent.’]
D e u ii
Rai Bislicnlall dolegate duly inaugurated a Branch Theo-
sophical Society this day. Several brother Theosopliists
from Mirut were visitors. MunsilTs Pyarilal and Baij Nath
wero present. There was a public lecture in the T o w n llali.
S u b j e c t W h y am l a Theosophist nnd what shall unite
In d ia ? ” T h ere w a s great enthusiasm. Lala Madan Gopal, M .
A ., was elected President, Babu H e m Chunder Sen, L. M . S.,
Secretary, and Professor Nritya Gopal Bose, M . A., Joint-
Secretary.
THE RAJSHAHYE HARM ONY
S O C IE T Y .
B a b u K a l i P ra s a n n a M o o k e r j e e , P . T . S., Assistant E n g i­
neer at Beauleah, has applied for a Charter, authorising
the formation of a Branch Society at that place. A t two
other places where onr Brother was in service before being
transferred to Beauleah, he tried to form Branch Societies,
but unfortunately his stay there wns too short to allow him
sufficient time for tho purpose, especially as the people thero
were almost entirely ignorant of Theosophic ideas.
the seed sown by him has already developed in ono place ill
the formation of a Branch ; and as regards the other wo trust
that wo m ay soon hope to see it also turned into a strong
Theosophical centre.
The application has been granted.
THE L A D IE S ’ T H E O S O P H IC A L S O C IE T Y .
S r e em u tti S w a r n a K u m a r i D k v i G h o s a l ,F . T . S., formally
applies for a charter for the Ladies’ Theosophical Society at
Calcutta, as the requisite number of members required to
make a Branch, has been mado np by fresh accessions of
ladies to the cause of Theosophy. Mrs. Ghosal is the daugh­
ter of the venerablo and venerated Babu Devendro N ath
Tagore, now of Dhera Dun, the successor of Rajah R a m Moliuu
Itoy,— and tho wife of onr esteemed brother, Babu J. N .G h o sal,
who inaugurated the new Branch at Karwar, She is a
brilliantly well-educated lady, of great intellectual powers,
a well-known author, and accomplished in every way. The
office of the Secretary of the “ Ladies’ Theosophical Society,’'
of which Mrs. A . Gordon is President— an office with which
she has beon entrusted by her eo-workers in the field of
Theosophic labour— could have fallen on uo better person.
The example of female education set by our brothers of
Calcutta will, we trust, be followed more generally in India ;
and our hope is strengthened when we consider how much
Mrs. Ghosal has added to her accomplishments by means
of the education allowed her by her friends and relatives.
T H E B IIO W A N I T H E O S O P H IC A L S O C IE T Y .
To the President-Founder and Council of the Theosophical
Socicty. '
Tiie undersigned fellows and members of the “ Bengal
Theosophical Society,” representing that it is inconvenient for
them to attend the meetings of that body at Calcutta,a distance
of about five miles from their residence, and that tho inter­
ests of the cause will thereby be promoted, apply for permis­
sion to form a separate Branch to be k no w n as the “ B h o w ani
Theosophical Society” (Bhowanipore) and request that, if
approved, a charter m ay issno for the same.
NUFFER CHANDRA BHATTA
S O C IE T Y . (and several others).
T h e above application having been approved, a Charter
has been issued this day as requested. Thus with that of the
“ Ladies’ Theosophical Society” there will now be three
Branch Societies in Calcutta only.
I I ead- Q oartbrs of t h e -. B y order,
T n eosoi'hical S ociety, / D A M O D A R K. M A V A L A N K A R ,
A dyak, M adras, f Joint Recording Secretary.
\ltli March 1883. J
THE DACCA T IIE O S O P IIT C A L S O C IE T Y .
W R have just been informed by telegram of the formation
of a Branch Society at Dacca, during Col. Olcott’s visit to
that place. H e was the guest of B a b u Parbatti Charan
Roy, F T. S., Superintendent, Dcarrah Survey. Further
, the Wlh March, B a i i u P r a t a p N a r a i n S i n g i i , F . T , S . , Dcpnty Collector and
Deputy Magistiate of Bankoora, applies for a Charter authoris­
ing the formation of a Branch Society at Bankoora. The
application has been referred to the President. Founder, who
is expeoted to visit that station on his Bengal tour. Full
particulars will appear in onr next.
O F F IC IA L REPORTS.
THE S A T Y A M A R G A T H E O S O P H IC A L SO C IE T Y
(L U C K N O W ).
T H E O S O P H IC A L O n fhe 7th of M arch, the Sccrotary of the above Society
reports :—
“ W e have organised a system in virtue of which a series
of Lectures on Theosophical subjects will be delivered in the
city. M r. Sorabji J. Padshah, F. T. S., will deliver the first
lecture on ‘ Theosophy and its Progress,’ in tho T o w n Hall,
on the 10th instant. W o sincerely hope that a great deal of
good to our cause will result from this step.”
However
T IIE BOMBAY T H E O S O P H IC A L S O C IE T Y .
M r . M arta n d ra'o B a ba ji N ag n a tii, a Councillor of the above
Branch, writes that the Mem bers have now begun to take
more interest in the active work of the Society, and that the
meetings are more largely and more frequently attended thfin
 before. W o are thus very glad to learn that our absence
from that place has infused more vigour into our Brothers of
Bo m bay, tho sense of responsibility being devolved upon
(hem, instead of m aking them more apathetic, as is usually
ilie caso, elsewhere.
THE D E L H I T H E O S O P H IC A L S O C IE T Y .
O n tlio llth March, Munslii Bishen Lall, M . A ., President
of tlio R ohilkhand Theosophical Society, our zealous friend and
earnest co-worker, telegraphed the formation of a n ew Branch
Society at Delhi. A n account of liis public lecture at the
T o w n Hall and the proceedings of the Branch, w e hope to
givo in our next issue.
In conncction with this Branch, it m ay be mentioned, that
M r. W . I). Tilden, F. T . S., and Moonsliee M oshin Ali, F. T . S.,
had already been preparing the ground for the result now
accomplished. Th e former gentleman is a Theosophist of
nearly three years’ standing, and is at present the Secretary
of the Simla Eclectic Theosophical Society and tho President
pro tern of the Him alayan B ranch at Simla. T h e latter
gentleman is a Deputy Inspector of Police and joined us
while ho was at Simla, but is at present stationed at Delhi.
That persons of three different nationalities, viz, H in d u ,
M ahom edan, and European, should work in the samo direc­
tion for the formation of the Branch T. S., is a striking proof,
if any more were required, of the fact that, however Utopian
m ay seem the first object of our Socicty, it has yet succeeded
in developing in tho intelligent public mind that unselfish
and noble feeling of an united Intellectual Brotherhood,
■which is the key-note of all progress and real hum an
happiness !
A s Delhi has played an important part in Indian History,
we hope and trust that our new Branch will be one of the
chief factors in tlie Indian Theosophical problems.
T IIE B E N G A L T H E O S O P H IC A L S O C IE T Y ,
CALCUTTA.
I n answer to the public appeal m ade by tho Presidont-
Founder in course of his lecture at the Calcutta T o w n Hall,
a Sunday School has been started in that city for the
instruction of H in d u children in the principles of their faith.
O n Sunday the llth March, in tho presence of a deputation
of onr Fellows, headed by B a b u Norondro N ath Son, the
President-Founder, on behalf of the Theosophical Society,
declared the School open. There were 17 students (m ark
the number) on the roll. B a b u Mohini Moliun Chatterji
explained to them some slokas from the B hagavat Gita and
somo of tlio broad principles of Hinduism. T he students
seem to take m uch interest in their work.
THE P A R IS T H E O S O P H IC A L S O C IE T Y
R e p o u t s at the last meeting held,
February 18th, tlio pre­
sence, am ong other members, of the following' Fellows of the
local Branch Society :—
M . Camille Flammarion (Astronomer) ; Merss. Evette,
Bilieri, Tremeschini, Rauber, RosclU-Mallot; M . and M ine.
Leymarie ; M . A . Caliagnet (the well kno w n mystic writer) ;
Doctor T h urm an ; D r. Soudan, Dr. Ditson (of Albany, N . Y .)
Air. E d ward Maitland, the renowned author of the 1‘ilgrinis
and the Shrine and the Vice-President of the British Theoso­
phical Society; M a d a m e Emilie de Morsier, etc. ote.
The Secretary also reports that the translation of “ Isis
Unveiled” into French is almost entirely completed, and that
it will appear in a very short time.
IN IT IA T IO N S .
In reply to several officers of Branches, the President-
Foundcr directs m e to say that tlie President of a Branch
has authority to initiate candidates, but except in emergent
cases— such as the temporary presence of a candidate in the
place— the papers of all candidates in Asia must be forwarded
to head-quarters for approval and registration.
H ead Q u a r t e r s , -n
T iie o so piiic a i. S o c ie t y , / D A M O D A R K . M A V A L A N K A R ,
A dyar ( M adras) f Joint Uncording Secretary,
llth March, 1883. ■
> wife of M r. Joslii, one of the earliest Fellows of our Bombay
IJersointl |terns.
M u . 15. J. L o p e z , F. T. S., kindly telegraphed to us on the
llth instant the departure of Colonel Olcott from Calcutta
to Kishnag-hur, Dacca and Darjeeling, on his Bengal tour.
W e are informed by telegram that as soon as the President
Founder reached Kishnaghur, moro than twenty applications
from that place were received for admission into the Society.
B a b u Jwala P r a s a d S a n k h a d i i a b , Secretary to the Satya
Marga Theosophical Society (L u ck n o w ) went to M oradabad
during the College vacation. A t the request of a Brother
Theosophist, he delivered there three lectures on Theoso­
phical subjects, as a private m em ber of tlie movement.
W e arc very sorry to learn that our energetic Brother, R ai
Kishen Lall, B . A ., President of the “ Chohan Theosophical
Society” at Cawnpore, is suffering from chronic rheumatism.
H e is under the magnetic treatment of one of our best m e m ­
bers who has been of late working hard in the North for the
cause of Theosophy. R a i Kishen Lall is the brother of
Munslii Bislien Lall, M . A ., the President of tho Rohilkhand
Theosophical Society at Bareilly, whose devotion to tho cause
of our Society, as exhibited in his recent zealous and arduous
work at M oradabad, Aligarh, and Delhi, can be equalled only
by a very few of our members. W e sincerely hope that our
Cawnpore Brother will soon recover, under the mesmeric
treatment.
M r. A. P. S i n n e t t arrived safely at Madras by tho
steinner Verona ou March the 2nd, and was welcomed on the
Pier by M adam e Blavatsky and several prominent members
of the Madras Theosophical Socioty. H e will pass a month
ut Adyar, at tlie Theosophical H e a d Quarters, and has
arranged to sail for England on March the 30tli by the P.
and 0 . steamer Peshawar. It is hoped that he will return
to this country in November.
B a b u D e v e n d r a N a t i i D a s s , who, in the words of all tlio
native papers, “ distinguished himself both in the University
of Calcutta and that of Cambridgo, and lias been appointed
Professor of Sanscrit in the city of London College” is one
of tho first three H in d u gentlemen, who joined tho British
Theosophical Socicty in London in 1879. W e heartily wish
him every prosperity in life.
W K read iu the Indian Mirror's “ Special Telegrams”
from Aligliur at the date o£ February 28th, that
A select meeting was held under the auspices of Bharatvarshia
National Association this evening. It was resolved that an
Association of the graduates of the N . \V . P . and O u d h bo
established, and that H e r Majesty be memorialised to extend
the period of Lord Ripon’s Viceroyalty. Rai Bishen Lall, F .
T . S., Secretary to the Bareilly College Resuscitation Committee
(and President of tho Rohilkhand Theosophical Socioty), recom -
m ended the M ah om edan A . O . College, which lie iuspected
thoroughly by the kindness of Moulvi M ah o m ed Karim , Presi­
dent there, as tho model for the proposed liipon National Col­
lege, and dwelt on tho necessity of national union.
Tlie Aryan Patriotic Theosophical Society, Alighur Branch,
was inaugurated thereafter, and the affiliation of Sadharama-
subbha decided.
A M AHRATTA L A D Y ’S A D D R E S S .
U n d e r this title now appears in nearly every Indian paper
the welcome news of another Native lady, besides Pandita
llama Bai, to follow in the steps of that great Sanskrit
scholar and orator. Mrs. Anandi Bai Joslii is a Maliratta
lady who, like her prototype, and (w e are told) near rela­
tion, Pandita R a m a Bai, has risen so high in intellectual
development above her country-women as to appear p ub­
licly and deliver lectures for the benefit of her sex. Thus,
she is very likely to become one of the earliest pioneers in
ono of the grandest aud most needed reforms in India, that
of female education, and the enfranchisement of w o m an ;
her present comparative slavery in tho Zenana being a
pure anomaly, something quito foreign to old Aryan usages
and forcibly adopted with the conquest of India by the
Mussulmans. Mrs. Anandi Bai, we are happy to add, is the
 Theosophical Society, and a long trusted friend and brother.
W e have know n her personally and no one wishes her more
success and fortune in her bold enterprise than her friends
of the^ Theosophical Society. W e reprodace her speech as
found in the Indian Mirror :—
A n address wns delivered by M rs. A nandi Bai Joshi, a M ih-
ratta lady, on Saturday last, the 24th instant, at 4-30 i*. M- Tlio
m eeting t °°k place at the spacious hall of tho Serainpore College,
the Rev. M r, Summers, the Officiating Principal of the College,
in the chair. There Was a large gathering present on the
occasion.
I h e lecturer divided the subject into six parts, and dwelt upon
’®m one hy one very elaborately aud to the entire satisfaction
of her audience. She said :— '• I now address the ladies present
here, w ho will be the better judges of importance of female
medical assistance in In d ia ; the great deficiency of the present
day ju India is lady-doctors. I never consider this subject with-
° Uk , surprised tliat none of those Societies so laudably
established in India for the promotion of arts, sciences, and
female education, have ever thought of sending one of their
iemale mem bers into the most civilisod parts of tho world to
procure thorough medical knowledge in order to open a college
for the instruction of females iu medicine. T h e want of female
doctors in India is visible to every naked eye and keenly felt in
every quarter. Ladies,both European and Native, are naturally
averse to oxpose themselves in cases of emergency to the treat­
m ent by doctors of the other sox. Thero are some Knglish and
American lady-doctors in India who, being foreigners and differ­
ent in customs, manners, and language, liave not all of them
been of use to our wom en as they should be. A s it is very pos­
sible that H in d u ladies w ho love their country and her people
ak home with the natives of other countries, we, Indian
w om en, absolutely derive no benefit from foreign lady-doctors
wjtrfl become necessarily less useful than they are supposed to
be. Thoy, indeed, have the appearances of supplying the need,
but appearances are delusive. This subject is frequently dis­
cussed, and needs no more remarks from me. In m y humble
opinion, thero is a growing dem and for H in d u lady-doctors in
India, and I therefore volunteer.
Ladies and gentlemen, I do not say tliat there are no means
Jii India, but the difficulties that have presented themselves
during iny studies have been numerous indeed. There is one
College at Madras and midwifery classes have been opened in
all Presidencies, but the education imparled thoro is defective
uad not sufficient, ns the male doctors who take up the classes
are conservative, and to a certain degree jealous. I do not find
fault with them, but that is tho characteristic of the tnalo sox.”
She then Baid that it is very difficult for H in d u ladies to go to
school, or work about at their will in India. For people gene­
rally come near them, stare at them, or officiously ask such
questions as annoy them.
W c are happy to say that since the above was in type
Mrs. A n a n d i liai has joined our “ Ladies’ Theosophical
Society” in Calcutta.
' ! A LAUDABLE PROJEC T *
V Sim la, ‘28th January , 1883.
To '
R A I B I S I I E N L A L L , M . A . (F . T . S .)
Honorary Secretary,
Rohilkhand Institute,
M r d e a r F r ie n d ,
O w i n g perhaps to the 5-foot fall of snow w c have had
hero during tho last three days, which delayed our mails one
day, I have only just received your notice of the Public
meeting at Bareilly which must have taken place yesterday.
I am sorry for this, since I should have wished to say
through you to the meeting how truly I sympathized in the
objects it had in view, and how m uch I hoped that it would
not separate without placing those objects on a permanent
footing.
I have advocated the Ripon H o s p it a l here as one M e m o ­
rial to our present Viceroy. O n e proof that the people of
India do appreciate and feel grateful for the exertions whioli
he has made ou their behalf iu face of m uch opposition both
here and at home. A n d 1 still hope that w e shall have for
this institution several hundred subscribers from Rohilkhand,
of small sums it m ay be, but sufficient in num ber to show the
interest felt in that province as in others, in the first institu­
tion in India honoured by Lord Ripon s nam e and k n o w n to
be an object of deep personal interest to him and liis noble
consort. , Y o u can prove your possession of those capacities, which
But while I hope this for the institution with which I,
personally, am concerned, I am still more anxious to see several
thousands of liberal and large subscriptions for an institution
* F r o m th e A r y a D a r p a n .
which is now moro important to Rohilkhand and which may*
I believe, equally be m ade Memorial of him w h o m all, who
love India, desire to honour.
There ought to be no possible doubt about re-establishing
the Bareilly College. It is a suitable centre for high edu­
cation, aud it is to m y m ind at this juncture a matter of the
greatest importance to multiply such ccntres to the fullest
extent that the country will bear, i.e., can furnish youths to
I am unfortunately a comparatively poor man, and I can
ill-afford it, but if it will serve to stimulate the hundreds of
rich men in Rohilkhand titled and entitled to do their simple
duty to tlieir country aud their Province, I will give .Rs. 5,000
(five thousand) towards re-establishing a College, on the
understanding that it shall be a national and not State College
m anaged by a mixed Board of M ahom edans and Hindoos
(with or without ono or more European co-adjutors as may
from time to time seem best) and that while pupils of all creeds
are freely admitted on equal terms, arrangements shall be
made to give, as far as possible, to the youth of each great
religious persuasion, at least an hour's tuition daily in the
moral and religious codes of the faith to which they belong. A s
regards M ahom edans and Hindoos, I am sure that there
arc learned and pious Moulvis and Pandits w ho would gladly
come and teach their youthful co-religionists gratuitously,
and as regards Christians there are good Catholic Padris and
Protestant Missionaries w ho would joyously seize the oppor­
tunity of sowing the good seed.
If you amongst you can make proper arrangements, I
doubt not that Governm ent would transfer to you the Col­
lege buildings and fittings and a fair grant-in-aid, but I pre­
sume that you will require to raise a fund of at least ten
lakhs in order to place the College on a proper foundation,
and having done this you might, with every prospect of
success, solicit permission to designate it the Ripon College.
Hero would be, indeed, a memorial worthy of the honest,
upright statesman to w h o m wo owe so much.
N o doubt ten lakhs is a large sum, but you can easily raise
this if you choose, if tho province is worth anything, if your
Raceses and millionaires havo souls, if they can at all realize
tho duties that wealth and position entail on them ; if your
middle classes are not wholly selfish and will only one and
all contribute reasonable amounts— the thing will be eaSy.
Think how m any men in Rohilkhand are far wealthier than
I am : aud if I a stranger and a foreigner am willing to
make this sacrifice for the Province, how mncli more should
they, aye and every m an in Rohilkhand, m ake similar and
even greater sacrifice for their own country and their own
people, and to secure w hat will be a lasting blessing to
their sons and sons’ sons, “ nasalan bad nasalan” from genera­
tion to generation. -
M y dear friend, it is for you and your colleagues to work
the matter to a successful issue. T o organize committees
and bodies of delegates to send to every village, to collect
from every man.
There is not a well-to-do cultivator w h o will grudge liis
rupee, no zemindar w ho desires to maintain the respect of
his neighbours, and fellow caste men w h o will, w he n personally
addressed and properly instructed as to tho objects in view,
refuse his ten to one hundred rupees according to his means,
while as for the Raecses, unless Rohilkhand has altogether
deteriorated since m y time, you have but to ask, in the right
ivay to obtain. N o one of them with the least sense of self­
respect, who cares in fact anything for his izzat can possibly
hold aloof from such a project.
O f course it needs tact, organization, hard work, persever­
ance, but not half w hat it would need to govern the country.
N o w all you educated m en aspire, and to m y mind, most
reasonably and righteously, to govern the country: but before
you have the smallest chance of doing this, you must first
prove in small matters like the present that you possess the
capacity to organize and administer. All round this College
scheme is the best conceivable one for you ; you can confer
an inestimable and lasting blessing on your co-provincials,
you can testify before all the world the love and respect you
feel for Lord Ripon.
justify not only the measures he has actually taken but all
their natural corollaries.
Yours fraternally,
A. O. IIU M E .
 /Ocreativ
^com m ons
Attribution-NonCom m ercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported

Y o u are free:

to S h a r e — l o c o p y , d is trib u t e a n d t r a n s m it t h e w o r k

to R e m ix — to ad ap t th e w o rk

U n d e r th e f o llo w in g c o n d it io n s :

A t t rib u t io n — Y o u m u s t a ttrib u te t h e w o r k in t h e m a n n e r s p e c if ie d b y t h e a u t h o r

CD o r l i c e n s o r ( b u t n o t in a n y w a y t h a t s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e y e n d o r s e y o u o r y o u r u s e o f
th e w o r k ) .

N o n c o m m e r c ia l — Y o u m a y n o t u s e t h is w o r k f o r c o m m e r c i a l p u r p o s e s .

©
S h a r e A lik e — I f y o u alter, t r a n s f o r m , o r build u p o n t h is w o r k , y o u m a y d istrib u te
th e r e s u lt in g w o r k o n l y u n d e r t h e s a m e o r s im ila r l i c e n s e t o t h is o n e .

W ith th e u n d e r s t a n d in g that:

W a i v e r — A n y o f th e a b o v e c o n d it io n s c a n b e w a i v e d if y o u g e t p e r m i s s i o n f r o m th e c o p y r ig h t
h o ld e r.

P u b lic D o m a in — W h e r e t h e w o r k o r a n y o f its e le m e n t s is in t h e p u b l i c d o m a i n u n d e r
a p p lic a b le law , t h a t s t a t u s is in n o w a y a ff e c t e d b y t h e lic e n se .

O th e r R ig h t s — I n n o w a y a r e a n y o f t h e f o llo w in g r ig h t s a ff e c t e d b y t h e lic e n se :

• Y o u r fa ir d e a lin g o r f a i r u s e rig h ts , o r o t h e r a p p lic a b le c o p y r i g h t e x c e p t i o n s a n d

lim itations;

• T h e a u t h o r 's m o r a l rig h ts;

• R i g h t s o t h e r p e r s o n s m a y h a v e e ith e r in t h e w o r k its e lf o r in h o w t h e w o r k is u s e d , s u c h
a s p u b l i c i t y o r p r i v a c y rig h ts.

N o t ic o — F o r a n y r e u s e o r d istrib u tio n , y o u m u s t m a k e c le a r to o t h e r s th e l i c e n s e t e r m s o f
th is w o r k . T h e b e s t w a y t o d o t h is is w it h a lin k t o t h is w e b p a g e .
 A MONTHLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO ORIENTAL PHILOSOPHY, ART, LITERATURE AND OCCULTISM:
EMBRACING- MESMERISM, SPIRITUALISM, AND OTHER SECRET SCIENCES.
t o I
T H E R E IS N O R E L I G I O N H I G H E R T H A N T R U T H .
[ f ’u m ili/ m otto o f the M a h a r a ja h s o f B e n a re s . ]
TO THE “ D I S S A T I S F I E D .”
W e h ave belief in the fitness a n d usefulness of im par­
tial criticism, a n d , even at times, in that of a judicious
onslaught u p o n som e of the m a n y creeds a u d philoso­
phies, as w e h a ve in advocating the publication of all
such polemics. A n y sane m a n acquainted with h u m a n
nature, m ust see that this eternal “ taking on faith” of
the most absurdly conflicting d o g m a s in our a g e of
scientific progress will never do, that it is impossible
that it can last. O u r journal bein g devoted to the pre­
sentation of every creed in all its n a k e d truthfulness, a ud
resolved to favour n o ne in preference to another, its
columns are therefore open to writers of all a n d nearly
every creed k n o w n — at least on hear-say— to the civilized
world. T h u s there is som e chance for all, of getting,
b y co m paring notes, to the bottom of m ore than one
m ystery, a n d of eliminating a few truths out of this ju n ­
gle of m ore or less philosophical a n d metaphysical con­
cepts. W e have seen the folly of the system of favour­
itism a n d sectarianism to the exclusion of all other opi­
nions prevalent a m o n g most of the periodicals in I n d i a ;
a n d w e are resolved that in the m a n a g e m e n t of the Theoso-
phist the rule of religious impartiality shall be strictly
observed. W e form the circle of its contributors from
the ranks of H e a t h e n a n d Christian, of Materialists a n d
Spiritualists, Theists, Atheists a n d Polytheists, m e n of abi­
lity, in short, w herever to be foun d, without enquiring
into their faith a n d without the smallest preference
given to personal partialities or antipathies. Never­
theless, w e h ave not hitherto been able to satisfy all
our readers, nor, our correspondents either. I n the opi­
nion of the former, our columns a n d editorials w h ich are
expected to acquaint our subscribers with every new-fan­
gled doctrine, w ith the exposition of every religion old
or n e w for the necessity of comparison, has, at the sam e
time, to rem ain “ goody g o o d y ,” never treading upon the
toes of the creed under analysis, nor expressing an honest
opinion u p o n its professors. W i t h our contributors it is
still worse. W e are either to be deluged witli the r u b ­
bish that can find admission to the columns of no other
periodical, or stand accused of “ favouritism,” som ething
w e h ave altogether a n d strenuously avoided. T o those
contributors w h o m the present cap will fit, w e can answ er
but the following : “ G en tlem en , our M a g a z i n e is b y no
m eans intended to be a refuge for the destitute, an
omnium gatherum for those w h o have to satisfy a n old
g r u d g e ; nor is it a receptacle for a n y a n d every thing
which m a y not be able to find hospitality even in its o w n
sectarian journals. The Theosojihist does not take for its
fonndation-principle the, idea that because an. atheistical
article has been rejected b y a paper conducted b y a
tlieist, it m ust, therefore, fixid room in these impartial
colum ns, in order that justice be strictly dealt o u t ; but
it rather proceeds to h ave the M S S . h a n d e d to it for p u b ­
lication, opened, a n d carefully read before it can consent
to send it over to its printers. A n able article has never
sought admission into our p ages a n d be en rejected for
its advocating a n y of the religious doctrines or views to
w hich its conductor felt personally opposed. O n the
other h a n d , the editor has never hesitated to give any
J
one of the above said religions a n d doctrines its dues,
a u d speak out tho truth w hether it pleased a certain fac­
tion of its sectarian readers, or not. W e neither court
nor claim favour. N o r to satisfy the sentimental e m o ­
tions a n d susceptibilities of som e of our readers do w e
feel prepared to allow our columns to appear colourless,
least of all, for fear that our o w n house should be s h o w n
as ‘ also of glass.’ ”
. ' » ■■■- ‘ . ..
T IIE B U D D H I S T MOVEMENT IN ENGLAND.
T h e frequent publication of books on the subject, in
E n g l a n d , of recent years, has evidenced the strong inter­
est n o w felt b y the cultivated classes in the study of
B u d d h is m . T h a t this interest grow s rather than declines
is plainly indicated b y the following report of a m eeting
of the R o y a l Asiatic Society in L o n d o n , held quite
recently with distinguished people present, w hich w e
reprint from an E n g lis h paper :—
A t t h e l a s t m e e tin g of t h e R o y a l A s ia tic S o c ie ty , S ir B a r tle F r e r e ,
p r e s id e n t , in th e c h a ir , H is R o y a l H ig h n e s s th e D u k e o f C o n n a u g h t,
K . G -, S ir T h o m a s B ra s s e y , M . P ., a n d M r. C as'sels w e r e e le c te d r e s i ­
d e n t m e m b e rs , a n d H e r ( ? ) H ig h n e s s t h e M a h a ra n e e o f O o d e y p o re ,
L ie u te n a n t- C o lo n e l C . M a c le a n S m i th , n n d M r W . M. R a m s a y , n o n ­
r e s id e n t m e m b e r s . M r. A r t h u r L illie , M , R. A . S ., r e a d a p a p e r “ O n
th o B u d d h ism o f C e y lo n ,” in w h ic h h e c o m b a te d t h e id e a a d v a n c e d b y a
s c c tio n o f w r ite r s , h e a d e d b y M r. R h y s D a v id s, t h a t th e a n c i e n t b o o k s o f
C o y lo n te a c h n o th in g b u t a n n ih ila tio n , n o n -e x is te n c e o f t h e so u l, a n d
a th e is m , l i e c ite d t h e “ T e v ig g a S u t t a , ” in w h ic h B n d d h a is q u e s tio n e d
on th e s u b je c t o f t h a t u n io n w ith B ra h m a w h ic h i t w a s th e g r e a t o b je c t
o f t h e B r a h m in a s c e tio , in B u d d h a ’s d a y , to g a in . B u d d h a , in s te a d of
a n s w e r in g t h a t t h e S u p r e m e B r a h m a is n o n - e x is te n t, a n d t h a t th o s e w h o
s o u g h t u n io n w ith h im w o re u n w is e , p r o c la im e d d is tin c tly th o c o n tr a r y
p ro p o s itio n . M r- L illie t h e n u r g e d t h a t t h e c h a r g e s o f a n n ih ila tio n , & c„
b r o u g h t a g a i n s t B u d d h a b y M r. R h y s D a v id s w e ro f o u n d e d o n a n e r r o ­
n e o u s r e a d in g o f th o B u d d h is t id e a s a b o u t K a r m a a n d th e S k a n d a s .
T h e s e , h e s t a t e d , c e a s e jjo t o n th e d e a t h of t h e in d iv id u a l, b u t o n h is
a t t a i n i n g s p i r i t u a l a w a k o n m c n t. A p a s s a g e in th o B r a h m a ‘‘ J a l a S u t t a , ”
m u c h r e lie d o n b y M r. D a v id s, w a s th o n c o m p a re d w ith its c o n te x t, a n d
i t w a s s h o w n t h a t th e d o c tr in e o f th e a n n ih ila tio n o f h u m a n b e in g s w a s
p r o n o u n c e d a s h e r e tic a l a s t h a t o f f u t u r e c o n sc io u s e x is t e n c e . M r.
L illie , in c o n c lu s io n , e x p r e s s e d t h e o p in io n t h a t th e n o r t h e r n a n d
s o u th o r n s y s te m s s h o u ld b e c o m p a re d to g e th e r , a s b y th e s e m e a n s a lo n e ,
t h e a r c h a ic a n d t r u e B u d d h is m c o u ld b e d e ta c h e d f r o m its la t e r
a c c r e tio n .
T h is p a ra gra p h correctly indicates the antagonism
b etw een the views of the two great representatives of
B u d d h is m in m o d er n E n g lish literature. B o t h M r . Lillie
a n d M r . R h y s D a v id s have struggled to divine the real
m e a n in g of B u d d h is m from the exoteric books a n d papers
to w hich they h ave h a d access, an d , broadly speakin g, M r .
D a v id s has com e to the conclusion that B u d d h is m m ust
m e a n to teach annihilation a n d non-existence of the soul,
because it entirely ignores the idea of a personal G o d,
while M r . Lillie argues that because it certainly does
not teach annihilation, but, on the contrary, says a quantity
of things that directly l’elate to a continued existence of
the soul in other states of b e in g after this life, therefore
in reality it m u s t intend to preach a personal G o d ,
h ow ever little it m a y say on the subject.
O n these lines this very pretty controversy m a y g o on
for ever w ithout either party b e in g in the least d a n g er
of defeat at the hands of the other. M r . Lillie will never
d ig u p from B uddhist literature a n y declaration of the
existence of a personal G o d w ith w h ic h to crush M r .
D a v id s , a n d M r . D a v id s will never find chapter, a n d verse
for his theory about the nihilistic significance of B u d d h is t
doctrine w ith w hich to Crush M r . Lillie.
T h e futility of the a rg um en t turns on the g r o u n d ­
lessness of the assumption that the question about the e x ­
istence of a S u p re m e B e i n g in the sense of a n intelligent
entity, w hether w ith limbs a n d features or without, con­
sciously willing the U niverse to com e into shape a n d
activity out of n othing,— has a n y thing really to do with
the question w hether h u m a n souls ha ve a conscious sur­
vival after death. W e are n o w concerned, in these fe w
lines, merely w ith w h a t B u d d h i s m thinks,— not w ith the
tremendous questions involved themselves. A n d surely
M r . D a v i d s m ust see if he will look at the m atter in that
light, that B u d d h i s m cannot de ny this life, even on his
assum ption as to w h a t it thinks about the question of a
God. O n that assum ption the B u d d h is t believes that
without the a ge n c y of a G o d h u m a n physical life goes
0 1 1 : then w h y not h u m a n soul life also, on a different
plane of b e in g ? I n the sam e w a y surely M r . Lillie m ust
adm it that right as he certainly is in d e d u c in g from
B udd h ist scriptures the doctrine of continued existence
for the higher principles of M a n after his physical death,
that correct deduction affords h im no justification for
im puting to B u d d h a , theories about the S u p r e m e B r a h m a ,
w h ic h m ost assuredly he never held.
M e a n w h ile it is very pleasant to see em inent m e n in
Eu ro p e endeavouring to h a m m e r out the m e a n in g of
B u d d h is m , even th o u g h they m a y miss the correct inter­
pretation of several points at first. T h e only w a y iu
w h ich they will solve the problem s raised, will be b y
p a yin g attention to the direct teachings of the Secret
Doctrine w hich are n o w b e in g given out to the world
through the columns of this M a g a z i n e for the first time
iii the history of the subject. It is b y the application of
these teachings, as a k e y , to the exoteric B u d d h is t scrip­
tures that Oriental scholars will be enabled to unlock
their real treasures.
W e a c k n o w le d g e , w ith thanks, the receipt of M r .
Lillie’s “ B u d d h a a n d E a rly B u d d h i s m .” T h e subject
of the w o r k b e in g one to w h ic h the greatest interest is
attached, it w a s sent b y us for careful review to a B u d ­
dhist scholar, a gentlem an w h o has thoroughly studied
both the Southern a n d N orthern systems of B u d d h is m ,
a n d w h o is the m ost fitted person to give an impartial
view u p o n the v e x ed question that n o w divides such two
em inent scholars like M r . R h y s D a v id s a n d M r . Lillie.'
W e will not anticipate m u c h the opinions of tlio learned
pandit, b y say in g that those w h o think that the doctrines
of the L o r d B u d d h a do not form a system complete in
themselves, b u t are a modification of B r a h m a n i s m — m a k e
a singular mistake. T h e s e doctrines are not a modification
but rather the revelation of the real esoteric religion of
the B r a h m a n s , so jealously g u a rde d b y them from the
profane, a n d divulged b y the “ all-merciful, the com pa s­
sionate L o r d ,” for the benefit of all m e n . It is only the
study of Esoteric B u d d h i s m that can yield to scholars
the real tenets of that grandest of all faiths.
----- 1-----
M E D IC A L M A G N E T IS M A N D THE HEALER
M A G N E T IC . , ed it for the purpose of averting dangers a n d d a m a g e s
B y S eeta N ath G ho se .*
“ Health and Disease are but the two phases of
Magnetism only.”
T hat the health a n d the disease of h u m a n be in g s are
but the two phases of M a g n e t is m only, is one of the
O K in g ! It ia beneficial to lie down with the head placed eastward or
* Physician and Superintendent of the Electro-Medical Treatment Southward. The mau who .always lieB down with his head placed in
Booms. 50, Beadon Street, Calcutta, contrary directions, becomes diseased.— S. N . G . - .
greatest truths that ha ve hitherto unfortunately escaped
the notice of medical m e n of almost all countries. F o r
w a n t of this truth alone, im m en se quantities of drugs are
bro ug ht d o w n fro m the remotest recesses of the globe,
m an ufactured into tinctures, extracts, p ow ders, globules,
triturations, oils, plasters, a n d ointments, a n d are a d ­
ministered within a n d without the h u m a n bodies w h e n
indisposed, no m atter h o w ever unpleasant they m ig h t be
to the senses. T h is truth at first cam e to light from the
observations of som e of our In d ia n sages, a n d is n o w
m a k i n g w a y for us to discard henceforth all gross matter—
solid, liquid or gaseous— from the treatment of diseases
w h ic h our fram e is liable to. T h e dilatation of this truth
has laid the foundation of a n e w system of treatment
w h ic h I like to term M a gn e t o p a t h y or the M a g n e t ic
system of treatment of diseases.
Before proceeding to elucidate a n d illustrate the theory
of the M a g n e t ic system of treatment, it seem s necessary
to give the public a succinct account of the origin a n d
progress of the theory in m y m in d . W h i l e I w a s a boy,
I invariably fo u n d m y m other rebu k in g her children a n d
others of the household, w h o lay d o w n in their beds w ith
their heads placed towards the north. Gradually I also
cam e to k n o w that not only m y m other b u t old m e n
a n d matrons of almost every family Were generally in
the habit of o bserving the sam e rule. F o r a long time I
held this as a superstitious practice a n d did not therefore'
care m u c h about its observance. B u t w h e n in the course
of time I g r e w u p , I m et with two slokas in the A n h ika
Tuttwa, a part of our Smriti Shastra, enjoining the said
practice! F r o m that time forwards I ceased to look u p o n
it in the light I h a d view ed it at first, a n d b e g a n to
ponder on its mysterious import. T h e following are the
two slokas I fo u n d in the A n h ika Tuttwa.
(1) T h e m ost r e n o w n e d G u r g a R ishi (sage) says:— M a n
should lie d o w n w ith his h e ad placed eastward in his o w n
house, but if he long for lofagevity, should lie d o w n with
his h e a d placed southw ard . I n foreign places he m a y
lie d o w n w it h his h e a d placed even w estw ard , but never
a n d n ow hore should he lie d o w n with his h e a d placed
northw ard. (2) M a r k a n d a y a , one of the m u c h revered
H i n d o o sages, says :— M a n becom es learned b y lying
d o w n with his h e a d placed eastward, acquires strength
a n d longevity b y lying d o w n w ith his h e a d southward,
becom es troubled w ith distressing thoughts b y lying
d o w n w ith his h e a d placed westw ard, a n d brings upon
himself disease a n d death b y lying d o w n with his h e a d
placed n o rt h w a rd .*
F o r a long time m y m in d w as seriously e n g a g e d in
m editating u p o n the real objects of these two injunc­
tive slokas, as well as those of a fe w other time-honored
practices w h ich I fo u n d in v o g ue a m o n g s t m ost of our
countrym en. T h o se practices are as follow :— (1) Iro n
or copper rods are inserted at the tops of all temples.
(2) Mandulies (metallic cells) m a d e of either gold, silver,
copper or iron, are w o r n on the diseased parts of bodies.
(3) Seats m a d e of either silk, wool, K u s a grass or hairy
skins of deer a n d tiger, are used at the times of prayer.
A fter a continued course of meditation a n d experiments,
I cam e to the conclusion that all the practices m entioned
above ha ve great electrical a n d magnetical importance. It
vividly appeared to m e that the sages w h o b y laying d o w n
particular injunctions in the Shastras, b o u n d all m en of this
country to carry on those practices, were most probably
conversant with the science of Electricity a n d M a g n e t is m .
T h e y h a d not only an a m o u n t of fair k n o w le d g e of that
science, but facts com bine to prove that they wisely appli­
arising from thunderbolts a n d hail-stones, a n d for curing
the diseases of h u m a n bodies in a n easy w a y , a n d for pro­
* I have recently found another sloka. in Bishtiu Purana, a reliable
authority, which expreSBly corroborates the two slokas above quoted.
It iB thiB:—
; -
m o t in g the capability of h u m a n t o d y a n d m in d for prayer
pnd. T h is fact m a y be m a d e evident b y attaching tw o
a n d devotion. I then availed of the little k n o w le d g e I h a d
pieces of wire to the tw o en ds of that substance, a n d b y
acquired of the E u r o p e a n electrical science, to explain the
connecting a sensitive G alvanom eter with the other tw o
mysterious m e a n i n g s of the slokas . a n d praptices allud­
ends of those tw o wires. I n that case a spontaneous
ed to above, a n d after encountering m anifold difficulties
aefleption of the needle, w h ic h is placed within that
iu the w a y , w a s at last successful in accom plishing the
instrument, will prove the existence a n d w o r k in g of the
en d. T h e m ore I a dv an ced in m y investigations, the
elective current in question. T h is is technically called
m o re fully w a s I impressed w ith the electrical a n d mag-
a current of thermal electricity,
netical im portance of the sam e.
(3.) I f a long piece of silk-covered wire b e w o u n d up
I n the s u m m e r of the year 1 8 7 1 , at the request of
spirally ro un d a m agnetisable bod y, such as iron, a n d a
so m e of m y friends, I delivered tw o consecutive addresses
current, either Galvanic or T herm al, be m a d e to pass
at the N atio n al Society’s m eetings of Calcutta Training
along that wire, the iron becom es m agnetised a n d
Academ y’s H all, on the ideas I conceived about the
rem ains in that condition so long as the current of electri­
electrical a n d m agnetical importance of the said practices,
city continues to pass along that wire. T h e iron again
partially illustrated b y some simple electrical experi­
loses its m a g n e tis m as soon as the current of electricity
m ents. T h e m eetings were attended b y a large n u m b e r
ceases to flow. A piece of steel also can b e m agnetised
of educated gentlem en, w h o , b e in g satisfied with the e x ­
b y the sam e process. U n lik e iron, steel has the peculiar
planations I g av e, encouraged m e with requests to publish
property of retaining the m ag n e tis m w h e n once induced
t h e m in the form of a p am phlet. A ft e r w a r d s, w h e n in the
in it, even after the cessation of the current of electricity
year 1 8 7 2 I w a s e n g a g e d in editing the Tuttwa-bodhini
passing round it. A piece of steel thus m agnetised is
Pathrika, a respectable B e n g a li journal b e lo ng in g to the generally term ed a n artificial m ag n e t.
Calcutta A d i B r a m h o S o m a ], I did not lose the opportu­
^ (4.) T h e r e are som e substances w h ic h are naturally
nity of systematically w riting out those explanations in
highly m agnetic, such as cobalt, nickel, o x y g e n gas a n d
the form of essays a n d p ublishing them in the N o s . 351 ,
a fe w other substances. T h e earth w e live in, is also a
3 5 2 , 3 5 3 of the Journal of^l872, a n d N o . 3 6 5 of that of the
very great m ag netic b o d y . B u t although in c o m m o n
following year. T h e essays w ere illustrated b y four
la n g u a g e som e substances in nature are term ed m a g n e ­
en gra v e d plates, viz : (1) A tem ple with a n iron Trishool
tic, a n d som e non-magnetic, yet, strictly sp e a kin g, there
or a k in d of trident inserted into its steeple. (2) A n a k e d
is no substance on our globe w h ic h is entirely devoid of
m a n with a long trifurcated iron bar in his right h a n d ,
m agnetic properties. T h e opinion of the professors of
a n d a buffalo horn b u g le on his left shoulder, m a k i n g
tho science of m ag n e tis m is, that every substance in
in fact the picture of a silary or hailstone-preventer.
nature is m ore or less m a g n e tic .* T h e property of a highly
(3) A n asthmatic patient w ith a manduli (metallic cell)
m agnetic substance is generally m a d e evident b y its
w o r n on his chest. (4) A m a n lying d o w n on the surface
attracting pieces of iron towards it, while the m ag ne tic
of the northern sphere of the earth with his head placed
property of an apparently non-magnetic substance can
southw ard. T h e singularity of the explanations, c o m b in ­
be m a d e evident if it b e suspend ed freely be tw e en the
ed w ith the oddnoas of the plates, excited, as I learnt,
two opposite poles of tw o powerful m ag n e ts, w h e n the
laughter a n d ridicule a m o n g s t the ordinary readers, a n d
substance in question will place itself either axially or
applause a,nd admiration m in g le d with doubt, a m o n g s t
transversely b e tw e e n those poles. This is one of the
tho m o re intelligent class of readers.
proofs of the diffusion of m ag ne tism throughout nature.t
N o w instead of referring the readers to the p a ges of
(5.) A m a g n e t, w h e th e r natural or artificial, has two
that journal, it becom es necessary to give here the
poles, of w h ic h one is called the north pole a n d the other
substance of the explanations of the two slokas quoted
the south pole. S u s p e n d a long piece of m agnetised
above, w h ic h prom pted in m e the theory of m ag netic
steel horizontally b y a thread, a n d there will b e no diffi­
treatment of diseases. T h e explanations I g a v e of the
culty in recognising its poles. I n that case, that e n d of
other practices in that journal h a v in g very little c o n n e c­
it w h ic h turns towards the south pole of the earth is its
tion w ith the subject u n de r discussion, deserve no notice
north pole, a n d that e n d w h ic h turns towards the north
here.
pole of the earth is its south polo.J
I n order to enable those of m y readers w h o are not
(6.) If two pieces of bar m ag ne ts b e placed horizon­
acquainted with the elements of the science of Electricity
tally upon pivots close to each other, the north pole of tho
a n d M a g n e t is m , to co m p reh en d the explanations in
one will attract the south pole of the other, a n d the south
question, a few words relating to the production a n d the
pole of the one will attract the north pole of the other.
properties of Electricity a n d M a g n e t is m are necessary.
O n the other h a n d , the north pole of the one will repel
(1.) If a plate of zinc a n d a plate of copper b e partially the north pole of the other, a n d the south pole of the one
dip p ed into a glass cup containing diluted sulphuric acid, will repel the south pole of the other. T h e rule of attrac­
a n d tw o ends of a piece of copper wire be attached or tion a n d repulsion b e tw e e n m ag ne ts m a y be briefly laid
soldered to the tw o upper en ds of those tw o plates, a d o w n thus : dissimilar polos attract, while similar poles
current of electricity issuing from the chemical d e c o m p o ­ repel each other.
sition set up in the liquid, will pass along the wire from
(7.) W h e n a current of electricity passing alo ng an
the e n d soldered to the copper plate to the e n d soldered
insulated wire w o u n d up spirally round a piece of iron or
to the zinc plate. T h is is the simplest form of a galva­
steel, turns the sam e into a n artificial m ag n e t, the north
nic instrument. T h a t a current of electricity really passes
pole is form ed at that en d of it which lies towards the
alo ng the wire, can be felt b y the peculiar b u rn in g sen­
right h a n d side of the direction of the current, a n d the
sation pro duced, if on b r e a k in g the wire asu nd er at a n y
south pole is form ed at that end of it w h ic h lies tow ards
part, the two new ly form ed ends b e applied to the sides
its left h a n d side. A g a i n , w h e n one e n d of a piece of
of the tongue. S u c h a current of the electricity is
iron or steel is p ut into contact with a n y pole of a p o w er ­
technically term ed a galvanic current. T h e ends of the
ful m a g n e t , the whole piece of iron or steel becomes
tw o pieces of wire attached to the tw o plates of zinc a n d
m agnetised, a n d that e n d of it w hich lies in contact,
copper conducting the current of electricity, are also
technically called the poles of the instrument. T h e wire # Such is alao tlio axiom of occultism.— E d .
attached to the copper plate is called tho anode pole, + See chapter IV of the General Principles of Magnetical Science, by
while that attached to the zinc plate is called the cath­ Sir W- Snow Harris, F . R . S., &o.
J There is a great anomaly regarding the names of magnetic
ode pole. poles both in England and France. That pole of the compass needle
(2.) If one e n d of a substance (usually of the mineral which tarns towards the north pole of the earth is called north pole in
England but Bouth polq in France, so is the case with the other pole of
k in g d o m ) be heated a n d the other e n d m a d e cold, a cur­ the needle also, Afl the French denomination is the correct one we ari>
rent of electricity will flow from the hotter to the qolder in favor of it.
acquires a polarity contrary to that of the m agnetising
pole, wliile the distant end of the piece of iron or steel
necessarily acquires a polarity similar to the m agnetising
pole. S u p p o se A B to be a piece d b y those of the earth.
of iron lying in contact with the
m a g n e t C D , w hich has its north
pole at C a n d south pole at D . c is a m agnetisable object, th o u g h far inferior to iron or
N o w the piece of iron A B b e in g a d
m agnetised b y the contact, the e n d B acquires south
polarity a n d the end A in consequence acquires north
polarity.
(8.) T h e p o w er of a m a g n e t is most intense at its poles
a nd it is m o re a n d more feeble towards its centre. At
the centre of the m ag n e t, w hich is technically called the
m agnetic equator, the p o w er is altogether nil. Every
m ag n e t, either natural or artificial, has all the properties
of north polarity in tliat half of its length w h ic h ends in
the north pole a n d all the properties' of south polarity in
that half of its length w h ich ends in the south pole.
(9.) If two m agnets be arranged in a place in. such a
mainier that their dissimilar poles m a y be presented to,
or in contact with, each other, their powers w o u ld rem ain
unaltered On account of their attraction for each other.
Tlieir powers in this condition w o u ld not only be pre­
served, but would be a u g m e n t e d to som e extent. A g a i n ,
if two m agnets be arrang ed in such a m a n n e r that their
two similar poles m a y be presented to, or in contact with,
each other, their powers w o u ld be dim inished or rather
destroyed on account of their repulsion for each other.
M a g u e tis m is also destroyed w h e n a m agnetised b o d y is
superheated.
(10.) A l t h o u g h articles m a d e of iron a n d steel are easily
m agnetised either b y passing a n electric current round
them , or b y putting th em in contact w ith powerful
m agnets, yet the induction of m ag netism in them cannot
be m ad e to an unlimited extent. T h e r e is a limit b e y o n d
w hich no substance cau be m agnetised. T h o u g h by
applying powerful measures a little m ore m ag n e tis m m ay
be induced in a substance than w hat it is capable of retain­
ing, yet in a short time the superfluous quantity of
m agnetism disappears, leaving the substance in its normal
state. T h e capability of retaining the m agnetic p ow er
induced, varies with every article of iron or steel. It
is in direct ratio w ith the a m o u n t of tem per or hardness
of the b o d y of the article m agnetised.
(11.) T h e passage of a n electric current from one
object to another, can be entirely obstructed b y glass,
silk, shell-lac a n d similar other non-conducting substances.
W h il e the passage of m agnetic p o w er from one object to
another, cannot be intercepted b y a n y k in d of non-con­
ducting substauce yet found in our globe. It can pass
more or less through every substance w e are acquainted
with.
N o w , it w o uld be easy for every one to understand
clearly the m ea nin gs of the two slolcds quoted before.
A c c o r d in g to w h a t has been just n o w said, it is not very
difficult to conceive that the b o d y of the earth on w hich
w e live, is bein g always m agnetised b y a current of ther­
mal electricity produced by the sun. T h e earth b e in g a
round bo d y , w h e n its eastern part is heated b y the sun,
its western part rem ains cold. I n consequence, a current
of thermal electricity generated b y the sun, travols over
the surface of the earth from east to west. B y this cur­
rent of thermal electricity, the earth becom es m agnetised,
a n d its geographical north pole b e in g on the right-hand
side of the direction of the current, is m a d e the m a g n e ­
tic north pole, a u d its geographical south pole b e in g on
the left-liaud side of the sarno current, is m a d e the m a g ­
netic south pole. T h a t the earth is a great m a g n e t , re­
quires no proof m ore evident than that b y the attractive
and repulsive pow ers of its poles, the com pass needle in
whatever position it is placed, is invariably turned so as
to point out tho north a n d the south b y its two ends or
polos. I n the equatorial region of the earth, the com pass
needle stands horizontally on account of the equality of
attraction exerted on its poles b y those of the earth j but
in the polar region the needle stands obliquely, that is,
one en d is depressed a n d the other en d is elevated on ac­
count of the inequality of attraction exerted on its poles
S u c h a position of the needle in
polar regions is technically termed the dip of the needle.
It has been fo u n d b y experiments that the h u m a n b o d y
steel.* T h a t it is a m agnetisable object is a fact that can­
not be denied, for in addition to other causes, there is a'
larger percentage of iron in the blood circulating through­
out all the parts of the bod y.
N o w , as our feet are for the most part of the day ,
k ep t in close contact with the surface of that h u g e
m a g n e t — the earth— the whole h u m a n b o d y there­
fore becom es m agnetised. Further, as our feet are
m agnetised b y contact with the northern hem isphere
of the earth w h e re exist all the properties of north
polarity, south polarity is induced in our feet, a n d
north polarity, as a necessary consequence, is induced in
our head. I n infancy the palms of our h a n d s are used in
w a lk in g as m u c h as our feet, a nd even later on the palms
generally tend m ore towards the earth than towards the
sky. Consequently south polarity is induced in them as
it is in our feet. T h e above arrangem ent of poles in the
h u m a n b o d y is natural to it, a nd therefore conducive to
our health a n d happiness. T h e b o d y .enjoys perfect
health if the m agnetic polarity natural to it be preserved
unaltered, a n d it becom es subject to disease if that pola­
rity be in the least degree altered or its intensity dim i­
nished. .
A lt h o u g h the earth is the chief source w h e n ce the
m ag ne tism of the h u m a n b o d y is derived, yet it is no less
due to the action of o x y g e n . O x y g e n gas b e in g natu­
rally a g o o d m ag netic substance, a n d b e in g largely distri­
buted within a n d without the h u m a n b od y, helps the earth
a g o o d deal in m ag ne tisin g it.
T h o u g h every h u m a n b o d y is placed un der the sam e
conditions with regard to its m agnetisation, yet the in­
tensity a u d p erm an ance of the m agnetic polarity of one,
are not always equal to those of another. T h o se two
properties of h u m a n b o d y are generally in direct ratio to
the com pactness of its structure a n d the a m ou nt of iron
particles entering into its composition.
N o w , it is very easy to conceive that if you lie d o w n
with your h e a d placed southw ard a n d feet northw ard,
the south pole of the earth a n d your head, w hich is the
north pole of your b o d y , a n d the north pole of the earth
a n d your feet, w h ic h are tho two branches of the south
pole of your b o d y , b e in g in juxta-position, will attract each
other, a n d thus the polarity of the bod y natural to it will
b e preserved. W h i l e for the sam e reason, if y o u lie d o w n
with your h e a d placed northward a n d feet southward,
the similar poles of your b o d y a n d the earth, b e in g in
juxta-position, will repel each other, a n d thereby the n atu­
ral polarity of your b o d y will be destroyed or its intensity
dim in ished.t I n the former position, the polarity your
b o d y acquires du rin g the day b y standing, w a lk in g a n d
sitting on the g r o u n d , is preserved intact at night du rin g
sleep ; but in the latter position, the polarity w h ich your
b o d y acquires during- the d a y b y standing, w a lk in g , a n d
sitting on the g r o u n d , is altered at night during sleep.
N o w , as it has be en foun d b y experiment that the
preservation of natural m agnetic polarity is the cause of
* I t is o n e o f t h e g r e a t e r r o r s o f p h y s ic a l s c ie n c e to so a s s e r t ; a n d
o c c u lt s c ie n c e p r o v e s i t . — E d .
f T h o u g h B a r o n R e ic h e n b a c h r e c o m m e n d s s tr o n g ly tl\e c o n tr a r y
c o u rs e (x* e., to p la c e y o u r h e a d a lw a y s n o r th ) a n d th e in itia te d a d e p t s
g e n e r a l ly do so, y e t , s in c e t h e B a r o n ’s c o n c lu s io n s a r e b a s e d s o le ly u p o n
h is e x p e r ie n c e s w ith s ic k s e n s itiv e s — w h o se b o d ie s a r e in a s t a t e o f m a g ­
n e tic p e r t u r b a t i o n — a n d t h a t t h e p h y s ic a l o rg a n is m s o f a d e p ts , o w in g to
lo n g y e a r s o f p e c u l ia r p h y s io lo g ic a l tr a in in g , c a n in n o w a y b e c o m p a r e d
to th o s e o f th e a v e r a g e m o r t a ls (s e e E l i x i r of L ife ) — th e e x p la n a tio n
g iv e n b y th e d is tin g u is h e d a u t h o r is p e r f e c tly lo g ic a l a n d c le a r . B u t it
is o n ly in c a s e s o f p e r f e c t h e a l t h t h a t w e m u s t s le e p w ith o u r h e a d s
s o u th w a r d . T h e r e a r e a b n o r m a l te m p e r a m e n t s a n d c a s e s o f n e rv o u d
d is e a s e s w h e n t h e o p p o s ite is n e c e s s a r y . P e r f e c t k n o w le d g e o f t h e m a g ­
n e tic s t a t e o f h u m a n b o d ie s — a s t a t e w h ic h v a rie s in c e s s a n tly , c a n b o
a c q u i r e d o n ly b y t h e s u p p le m e n ta r y s t u d y of o c c u lt s c ie n c e in a d d itio n
t o th o p h y s ic a l.— E d , . .
health, a n d a n y alteration of that polarity is the cause of
disease, n o one will perhaps d e n y tlie validity of tlie
alohas w h ic h instruct us to lie d o w n w ith our heads placed
southward a n d never a n d n o w h e r e to lie d o w n w ith our
heads placed northward.
N o w , w h y in those two slokas, the eastern direction is
preferred to western, for placing the h e a d in lying d o w n ,
is explained thus :— It has been established b y experi­
ments in all w o r k s on medical electricity, that if a current
of electricity pass from one part of the b o d y to another,
it subdues all inflammations in that part of the b o d y w he re
itjenters into a n d produces som e inflammation in the part
of the b o d y w h e n c e it goes out. T his is the s u m a n d
substance of the tw o great principles of Anelectrotonus
a u d Gatelectrotonus, as they are technically called b y the
authors of m edical electricities.
N o w , iu lying d o w n w ith the h e a d placed eastward,
the current of thermal electricity w hich is constantly
passing over the surface of the earth from east to west,
passes through our b o d y also, from tlie h e ad to the feet,
a nd therefore subdues all inflammation present in the h e ad
where it m a k e s its entrance. A g a i n in lying d o w n with
the head placed w estw ard , the sam e current of electricity
passes through our b o d y from the feet to the h e a d , a n d
therefore produces som e k in d of inflammation in the h e a d
w hence it goes out. N o w , because a clear a n d healthy
head can easily acquire k n o w le d g e , a nd an inflam ed, or, in
other words, congested h e a d is always the laboratory of
vague a n d distressing thoughts, the venerable sage Mar-
kiuidaya w a s justified in saying that m a n becom es learn­
ed b y lying d o w n with his h e a d placed eastward a n d is
troubled with distressing thoughts b y lying d o w n w ith liis
h e ad placed w estw ard .
(To be continued).
--- «---
T IIE T R E E O F M E D IT A T IO N .
B y J. L a p , F . T . S.
(Extract from Yoga Vashishtha*J
R a m ji a sk e d Vaahislitji— “ B h u g w a n (G o d ) w h a t is
that peace-giving tree in the world forest un der w hoso
shade the deer w h ich w anders about will find rest ? W l i a t
sort of blossom, fruit, branches does it bear ? W h e r e is
the tree to be found ? K i n d l y tell m e all.”
“ R a m j i ” — answ ered Vashislitji— “ H e a r h o w the peace-
producing tree is planted. Its leaves, blossoms, branches,
& c ., all w ear the form of tranquillity. All m e n should plant
it to obtain M u k t i. I n o w tell y o u h o w it is planted.
W i l l a n d exercise beget this peace-producing tree of
meditation in tho land of the thinking principle in the
f o r e s t of M a h a t m a s . Its seed is renunciation, w h ic h is of
two sorts, resulting as it does from either pain a n d suffer­
ing,or from a pure a n d holy heart undisturbed b y desires.
T h e seed of renunciation should be s o w n in the land of
the thinking principle, w hich oug ht to be p lo u g h e d b y
will and watered b y the pure, sweet a n d affective c o m ­
pany of M a h a t m a s a n d study of spiritual science. The
rubbish of w ordly experience should be rem o ved from the
laud b y the sweep of practice. T h e lieat of the s u n ­
beam s of spirit-discriminatiou should be allowed to the
land. T h e land should be fenced in b y resoluteness. Y o u
should set on the m o u n d of devotion, charity a n d pilgrim ­
age, a n d protect tlie seed from b u r n in g bein g, p eck ed
hy the bird of w ordly desires and by the old o x of inclina­
tion, w h ic h will often try to effect an entrance into the
land. L e t contentm ent a n d its wife, happiness, bo th be
com panions of yonr w atch. T a k e care the seed is not
carriod a w a y into the gulf of wealth, children a n d w o m e n .
There are tw o m eans to preserve the seed, one
ordinary, a n d tlie other special. T h e ordinary m e a n s is
to w ea k e n the senses b y devotion, to com passionate the
poor, a n d to repeat a n d recite prayers. T h e special a n d
* W e b e g to d r a w t h e a tt o n t i o n o f t h e r e a d e r to th is : V a s is h tji— a. H ish i,
at ill a m o rta l m a n , is h e r e c a llc d “ G o d ” — “ B liu g w a n .” T h is is s u g g e s tiv e ,
a s i t sh o w s th© en o i’mouB m a r g in l e f t f o r t h e v a rio u s f a n c if u l in te r p r e *
iiktious b y s u b s e q u e n t c o m m e n ta t o r s o f th e 8 h a s t r a $ %— K d t
superior m ea n s is the c o m p a n y of M a h a t m a s , the study of
spiritual science, a n d the repetition, meditation a n d c o m ­
prehension of ‘ O m k a r ,’ called the ‘ P r a n a b J a p ,’ b e ­
cause the repetition takes place involuntarily with tha
breath. W h e n the seed is protected from all its above
enum erated enem ies, it then bursts open into the y o u n g
plant of meditation, w h ich , if watered b y the co m pan y of
M a h a t m a s a n d reflection in spiritual study, will increase
a n d e x p a n d d a y b y day. Excessive light is the sign of
the appearance of the plant. T h e seed will first put fortli
two leaves— (1) total renunciation of the world a n d all its
false pleasures; a n d (2) discrimination. Y o u will theu
see that the Shasters are right w h e n they say that only
the spirit is a reality a n d the world is all a false decep­
tion. R a m ji, y o u k n o w , that m o n k e y s get on a tree a n d
b reak a n d destroy it w h e n its branches are tender. So
there is fear in the b e g in n in g of this tree b e in g destroyed
b y the two m o n k e y s called Attraction a n d A v e r sio n .”
■ • —
THE CHOSEN “ VESSELS OF E L E C T IO N ” '
A f r i e n d l y correspondent “ 8 1 1 1 ,” has sent to us a
severe rebuke em b o d ie d in a long letter. R eceived after
the 20th of last m o n t h , it could not appear in our April
num ber. Better late than never. W e give ifc n o w tho
respectful a n d serious notice it deserves.
It is not very often that an editor is foun d ready to
publish remonstrances w hether to his personal address or
that of the policy pursued b y his publication. The
general reader b e in g little concerned with, and still less
interested in individual opinions about the conductors
of m agazines a n d papers h e subscribes to, the first duty
of an editor before the public is to remain entirely im ­
personal. T h u s , w h e n a correspondent takes exception to
this or that article or editorial, unless his objections have
a direct bearing u p on som e topic interesting the public
generally, the o p en in g of polemics on that account has
no raison d'etre. Offering on the w hole, w e think, such
a feature of general interest— at a n y rate in In d ia — w e
give room to, a n d a nsw er willingly “ 8 1 1 1 ’ s” protest.
O n ly our friend m ust p ardo n us if instead of publishing
his long letter in u n b r o k e u form w e prefer to give it,
so to say, piece-meal, quoting from it b y fragm ents a n d
as occasion requires. T h is is done for the following good
reasons :— Firstly, for the convenience of answ ering his
objections as they com e ; secondly, because to give all
w ould be tedious to the reader— m u c h in his protest b e ­
ing addressed rather to the individual called M a d a m a
Blavatsky a n d the F o u n d e r of the Theosophical Society
than the editor of the Theosophist ; a n d thirdly, because,
as already sh o w n , the above n a m e d three characters
th o u g h blend ed in one a n d sam e personage, have to keep
themselves entirely distinct from each other— the p er­
sonal feelings of the “ F o u n d e r ,” for instance, h a v in g no
right to encroach u p o n the duties of the impersonal
editor. W i t h these fe w preliminary rem arks w e proceed
to quote the first lines from “ 8 I l l ’ s” letter.
“ I n th e tw o la s t n u m b e r s o f t h e T h e o so p h ist, y o n h a v e ta k e n p o o r
B a b u K e s h u b C h u n d e r S e n s e v e r e ly to ta s k , a p p a r e n t l y f o r n o o th e r
r e a s o n th a n t h a t ho h a s t h e m is f o r t u n e to h o ld d iff e r e n t r e lig io u s
o p in io n s fro m y o u r o w n .”
Is our critic in a position to find throughout the
whole series of the four volumes of the Theosophist one
single passage in w h ic h there is one w o rd said against
a n y other p rom inent m e m b e r or teacher either of the
“ A d i ” or even the “ S a d h a ra n B r a h m o S a m a j or any
other mystic, w hether J e w is h , Christian, M a h o m e d a n or
Spiritualist ridiculed a n d laughed at, although each a n d
every one of the said personages holds opinions quits
different from our o w n ? I f not, then his o p en in g
r e m a r k — he m ust p ardo n us— is as illogical as it is
uncalled for. It w o u ld have be en only fair in the absence
of such proof that our critic should have sought for a
m ore likely, if not a m o re dignified reason for our taking
“ so severely to task” tho minister of the N e w Dispensa­
tion.
o
 A n d n o w , after quoting a few m ore sentences from nor the Teachers absolutely infallible— the comparison
“ 8 1 1 1 ’ s” letter, w e will, with his permission, s h o w to falls to the g r o u n d . O u r “ views” have to stand or fall
him the true reason w h y w e think it our du ty to criticize upon their o w n merit, since we claim neither divine reve­
the C alcutta “ Seer.” lation nor infallibility, a n d that no one of us regards
“ T h a t n a rro w -m in d e d s e c ta r ia n s , t r u e to t h e b ig o tr y o f t h e i r bis M A S T E R as an A lm i g h t y G o d . T h e following tirade
c r e e d , s h o u ld s n e o r a t a n d r e v ile h im (K e s h u b C . S e n .) is n o t to b e therefore, th o u g h very impressive, lacks entirely logic—
w o n d e re d a t ; b o t i t c a n n o t fa il to p a in y o n r f r i e n d s a n d a d m ir e r s to w e regret to say :—
fin d y o u d e s c e n d in g fro m th e lo fty p la tf o r m o n w h ic h y o u h a v e ta k e n
y o n r s ta n d , to sw e ll th e in s e n s a te c r y a g a i n s t th o d is tin g u is h e d B ra h m o . “ T o n w lio a d v o c a te th o w o n d e rs o f o c c n ltis m , n n d t h e in c re d ib ly la rg o
i l i s r e lig io n s v ie w s m a y b e p e c u lia r , w ild , i f y o n lik e , a n d m a y f a il to p o w e rs w h ic h a d o p ts h i p c o n f e r s ; y o u w h o b e lie v e in th e te m p o r a r y d is -
fin d u n iv e r s a l a c c e p ta n c e ; b u t th e th o ro u g h e a r n e s tn e s s a n d s in c e r i ty e n t h r a l m e n t o f th e s p i r i t fr o m its fle s h ly p ris o n , a n d in th e p o s s ib ility of
w h io h p e r v a d e h is a c t s a u d u tte r a n c e s a r e b e y o n d q u e s ti o n a n d c a n n o t i t s s o a r in g a lo f t in to n n k n o w n re g io n s to d r in k o f th e f o r b id d e n k n o w ­
b n t e n l i s t f o r liim a n d fo r th e c a u s e h e h a s e s p o u s e d t h e a p p r e c i a tiv e le d g e o f lif e a n d d e a t h a t f o u n ta in s in a c c e s s ib le b u t to th e fa v o re d fe w ;
s y m p a t h y o f a ll t r u e lo v e rs o f h u m a n ity . L e t o th e r s la u g h , if th e y y o n w h o b e lie v e in th e e x is te n c e o f M a h a tm a s , w h o , to c r e d it a ll t h a t is
w ill, a t h is s o -c a lle d e x tr a v a g a n c e s • i t ill-b e c o m e s y o u (p a rd o n m e ) to s a id o f th e m , a r e littl o s h o r t o f G ods in h u m a n fo r m ; is i t o p e n t o y o u ,
jo in t h e c h o ru s , h o ld in g a s y o u do, o n t h in g s b e y o n d m o r ta l k e n v ie w s to d o u b t t h a t th is m a n , so g o o d a n d g r e a t, so e te r n a lly w e d d e d to v ir t u e ,
w h ic h , to th o la rg e w o rld o n ts id e th o in flu e n c e o f y o u r te a c h in g s , a p p e a r a n d so a v o w e d a n e n e m y to v ic e , h a s re a lly s e e n a n d h e a r d t h e s ig h ts
e q u a lly e x tr a v a g a n t a n d f a n c if u l.” * a n d s o u n d s, w h ic h h o p u b lis h e s t o th e w o rld in s u c h e v id e n t good f a ith ?'»
T h e “ lofty platform” is very flattering, th o u g h our N o w it so h a p pens that w o do not in tho least doubt
m odesty urges us to regard it as a m irage developed that the B a b u “ really sees a n d hears the B ig h ts and
within the limitless area of our k in d “ friends a n d a d m i­ sounds,” nor that he publishes them in “ good faith.”
rers' ” fancy. B u t , supposing it h a d a n y independent “ T h e way to hell is paved with good intentions” says a
existence of its o w n , w e w ould far rather descend from very brutal nevertheless a very just proverb. E very
a n d a b a n d o n it for ever, than accept the passive role of a m e d iu m , n ay every delirious patient, really sees a n d hears
d u m b old idol, alike indifferent to the happiness as to the that which no one else near him does, a n d sees a n d hears
misery a n d woes of the surrou ndin g world. W e de­ it in “ g o o d faith.” B u t this is no reason w h y the world
cline the exalted position if w e have to secure it at the should be expected to receive the said sights a n d sounds
price of our freedom of thought a n d speech. Besides, as co m in g from G o d ; for in such case it w ould have to
not only the " large world outside” but even those w ith­ regard every lunatic hallucination as a divine revelation ;
in the influenco of our “ teachings,” (t h o u g h w e de ny or that w e should be b o u n d to preserve a solemn silence
ha v in g ever assum ed personally the duties of a teacher) upon the alleged “ revelations” and utter no criticism
are cordially welcom ed to their o w n opinions, b e in g as upon them u n de r the peualty of b e in g k ick ed off onr
m u c h at liberty to express them as a n y one else. T h o se "l o f t y platform .” T h e y too have to stand or fall upon
w h o regard our views as “ extravagant a n d fanciful” their o w n merits, and it is this merit that w e claim the
n eed lose no time over th em . T h e Theosophical Society right to criticize as freely as are our o w n views. L e t ifc
“ representing no religious creed, bein g entirely unsec­ b e well understood that w e neither quarrel with the per­
tarian a n d including professors of all faiths,” there is a sonal religious views of the B a b u nor doubt their “ ear­
vast choice in it for one w h o w o u ld learn som ething n e w nestness.” T h e “ distinguished B r a h m o ” — w h o by the
besides the merely personal fancies of one of its founders. w a y is no m ore a B r a h m o , being denounced a n d most
B u t , since the present question involves but the res­ vehem ently repudiated b y the Sa dha ra n B r a h m o s — has
ponsibility of the editor of this m ag azin e, perhaps, the as g o o d a right to publish his opinions as w e have to
" friends a n d adm irers” m a y derive somo consolation publish ours. B u t he has neither the right nor the com ­
in their “ pain” upon be in g assured that the said editor mission to denounce the views of all those w h o disagree
is only d o in g a duty in exposing and s h o w in g in its from him as “ imposture” a n d “ blasph em y against the
true light one of the most coolly im p u d en t a n d absurd holy ghost,” a n d that is precisely w h a t he is doing. W e
claims of this a g e— that of proclaim ing oneself, upon are asked : “ w h y not leave the poor persecuted Salvntion
one’ s o w n authority, and with no better warrant than A r m y a n d the gifted B a b u Missionary of Culcutta alone ?”
blind faith — the chosen vessel of election, tha direct W e answ er. L e t both leave their aggressive policy and
mouth-piece of G o d 1 O u r m ag azine w a s started with their insulting w a y s offorcing upon people their respective
the distinct a n d well defined policy as expressed in sectarian views, and w e promise never to pronounce their
the Rules of the Society : to uphold a n d advocate nam es. B u t so long as they will do it so long shall w e
only facts a nd T ru th , a n d nothing but the T ru th w h e n c e ­ denounce t h e m . In d e e d , t o a s k u s to “ leave alone” both
soever a n d from w hom soever it m a y com e. Its motto is K e s h u b a n d T u c k e r, is equivalent to expecting that w e
“ T h ere is no Religion higher than T ru th a n d it shall give up all search for truth n n d yield our tacit if
not expressed consent to the u n im p ed ed prop»gation of
" appeals for support to all w h o truly love their fellow­
w hat,— at any rate in one of the two cases un der consider­
m e n a n d desire the eradication of those hateful barriers
ation— must be hallucination if not direct imposition. Is
created by creed, etc.;” a n d , as no officer of the society,
“ 8 1 1 1 ” prepared to s h o w w h ich of the two, M a j o r
nor a n y m e m b e r , has the right to preach his own sectarian
T u c k e r or K e s h u b B a b u , is less “ good and great” ; a n d
views and beliefs,” so no oflicer or m e m b e r has the right
whether, it is the Salvationist or the Dispensationist w ho,
to ignore a nd pass over in silence such monstrous out­
though "eternally w e d d e d to virtue a ud so a v o w e d an
bursts of sectarian fanaticism as the N e w Y e a r's Procla­
en em y to vice,” bam boozles himself a nd public the m ost?
mation, by the self-assumed “ Apostle of G o d ” B a b u K ,
Suffice for us to k n o w that both, claiming to act under
C . S e n , the m o re so since the latter is one of the decla­
red enemies of the T . S . N o r is “ S i l l 's ” parallel between
the direct divine command of w h a t they proclaim the one
and sam e living God, preach at the sam e time two
K e s h u b C . S e n ’ s a nd our o w n views, a h a p p y one. Tlie
“ Minister” w o uld force his n e w sectarian doctrines— diametrically conflicting doctrines to have the right to
every one of w hich is evolved out of his o w n feverish brain denounce one of them , at any rate. B ehold, the " distin­
— as a direct revelation and a c o m m a n d to h im from G o d ; guished B a b u ” m a k i n g the pom pous announcem ent from
while our expositions belong to a doctrine as old as Calcutta that he, the chosen apostle of G o d , is c o m m a n d ­
the world. T h e y are simply the rendering in a more ed b y the A lm ig h t y to preach to the whole world the
truths of the N e w Dispensation ; a n d M a jo r T u c k e r pro­
clear a n d com prehensible la n g u a ge of the tenets of the
esoteric science as onco universally taught a n d practised ; claiming before the Court a n d Chief Justice “ that he
a nd w h ic h t h o u g h w e do claim to receive them from hn d received the D iv in e co m m a n d to preach in the streets
adapts a nd initiates, yet, as w e call neither the teaching, a n d lanes of B o m b a y , the G ospel.” W h o , of these two
paragons of virtue is labouring under a fit of religious
* W e ho ld Tio v iew s a t a ll o n a n y t h i n g “ b e y o n d m o r t a l k e n .” C la im in g enthusiasm, can “ 8 1 1 1 ” tell? or shall he defend them
th e p o s s e s s io n o f o u r f u ll s e n s e s , w e c a n n e ith e r p r o v e n o r d is p ro v e t h a t both, a n d say of M ajor T u c k e r also, thafcti is not open to
w h ic h is beyond th o k n o w le d g e o f m o r t a l m a n , le a v in g a ll s p e c u la tio n s
And th e o r ie s th e r e o n to e m o tio n a l e n t h u s i a s t s e n d o w e d w ith b lin d f a i t h us “ to doubt that this m a n so g o o d a nd great, etc.............
th n t creatcB s e lf-d e lu p io n a n d h a llu c in a tio n s ,— E d . has really seen a nd heard” — G o d c o m m a n d in g him to
 parade in m asquerade dresse3 in the streets and lanes of
Bom bay ?
T h e said accusation bein g flung at us, “ in the n a m e
of m a n y of our readers” it is time w e should answ er
them explicitly. B e i u g prepared to face the whole
world, a n d as convinced of the necessity a n d the u n ­
deniably go o d results of our M ission— a self— im posed
one and h a v in g naught to do with Divine c o m m a n d — as
the B a b u a n d tthe Salvationist M a jo r are of theirs, w e
are resolved to m eet every charge a n d answer every ac­
cusation. W e care little for the opinion of masses. Deter­
m ined to follow but ono voice— that of our conscience a nd
reason— w e will go on searching for truth, a n d fearlessly
analyzing a n d even laughin g at every thing that claims
to be divine truth notwithstanding thnt it is stam ped, for
all but the incurably blind, with every sign of falsifica­
tion. L e t the wily Christian Missionary w h o , while never
scrupling to insult the gods of the poor, the uneducated,
a nd especially the helpless “ heathen,” (conveniently for­
getting that from the strictly Christian stand-point B a b u
K . C. Ben is as m u c h of a heathen as any other idolater)
— carry h im high above the heads of his brethren— the
H in d u s . L e t him , w e say, encourage in his Christian
lectures a n d his missionary periodicals the vagaries ofthe
highly intellectual and cultured B a b u — simply, because
those vagaries are so strongly pep p ered— cot with
Christianity but only— with the n a m e of Jesus strung on
with those of D u r g a a n d Chaitauya. L e t him do so b y
all m eans 011 the very equivocal principle of Paul as
announced in Romans, ch ap , iii, v. 3 — 7 * w e shall
not follow the pernicious exam ple. W e will not serve
G o d (or Truth) a n d M a m m o n (the Lie) at the sam e time.
M ethinks, h a d not the “ saintly Minister” been allowed
once upon a time to interview the Q u e e n E m p r e s s , a n d
were he, iustead of b e in g the welcom e visitor to palaces
but a poor, u n k n o w n m a n , those sam e padris w o u ld not
find w ords of curse en o u g h in their vast encyclopedia of
clerical abuse to fling at the presumptious heathen w h o
would thus m ix in his religious parodies the sacred n a m e
of their Jesus 1
T h e n w h y should w e , w h o thirst a n d h u n g e r but for
truth, a n d claim n au g h t but our birth-riglit, that of every
biped— to thiuk for himself, w h y should w e alone, be
treated as an iconoclast for daring to lay a sacrilegious
h a nd u p o n tliose tinselled rags of h u m a n w o r k m a n s h ip
all called “ divine inspiration,” all mutually conflicting,
a u d w hether they be revealed a n d declared to the world
by a M o ses, a S t. A u g u s t in e , a L uther or a K e s h u b . Is
the latter, in the words of M a c a u la y defining S o u t h e y ’ s
opinion about toleration— the only one “ that everybody
is to tolerate, a n d he is to tolerate no b o d y ?” A n d w h y
should w e not be permitted to laugh at the thousands
of self-evident errors of the h u m a n brain ? M o st, if not
all, of them are the fruits of innate h u m a n selfishness,and
of that irrepressible ambition to rule over one’s fellow-
inen under the convenient— if self-delusive— m a s k of reli­
gious fervour. M o st decidedly we do advocate “ the w o n ­
ders of occultism,” i. e., the search into the hidden laws
of nature— advocating t h e m , therefore, as a science, based
upon experimental research a n d observation, not as a
kno w ledge to be acquired through “ divine in sp iration /’
direct revelation from G o d or any such supernatural
m eans. T h u s , w h e n w e are asked : —
“ A n d c a n y o u fin d n o n e b u t w o r d s o f r id ic u le f o r th e im p o s in g s p e c ­
ta c le o f th is f r a il h u m a n c r e a t u r e , (f o r th e b e s t o f n s a r e f r a il ) r a p t in
s ile n t c o m m u n io n w ith th o H o ly o f I f o lie s , le a d in g h u n d r e d s o f h is f e l ­
low m o r ta ls , b y th e h a n d , o u t o f t h e d a r k n e s s o f u n b e lie f w h ic h k ills ,
u n to th o s a v in g l ig h t o f F a i t h P”
— w e answ er most emphatically in the affirmative; —
and, true to the principles of T h eo s o p h y , w e certainly
fiud the pretentious claim supremely ridiculous ! W e
do not oppose the saintly procession of the “ hundreds of
his fellow mortals” b e in g led b y the B a b u b y the h a n d .
If he can really s h o w us that it is into light a n d not into
* “ L e t G od b e t r u e b u t e v e r y m a n a lia r ,” aa i t is w r i t t e n ( v e ra e 3 )—
“ F o r if th e ir r i t h o f G od h a t h m o re a b o u n d e d t h r o u g h m y lie u n t o h is
g lo ry , w h y th e n a m I a lso ju d g e d a s a s in n e r ? ” H o m a n s , C h. iii. (v . 7 .)
darkness tenfold intensified that he leads them — w e will
be the first to join the procession, but this is precisely
w ha t he can never do. H e n c e , w e prefer “ unbelief w h ich
kills” — (only credulity) to the “ saving light of F a ith ,”
which m a y save agreeably to methodist g u sh , but in re­
ality transforms people into idiots. W e take nothing on
faith, a nd would feel extremely mortified were any of our
Theosophists to accept the smallest p h e n o m e n o n on
second-hand evidence. T h e “ saving light of F a ith ”
is responsible for fifty millions of martyrs put to death
during the M id d le A g e s by the Christian Ch u rch . H u m a n
nature has hardly c h a n g e d since the days of the o p ­
ponents of Christ w h o ask ed h im for “ a sign.” W e too
w a n t a sign a n d a proof that the B a b u ’ s “ silent co m ­
m unio n with the H o ly of Holies” is not an effect of the
m o o n, or worse than that— a farce. W e invite “ S i l l ’ s”
attention to the B u b u ’ s last device— that of p ro v ing the
existence of G o d by conjuring tricks in his dramatic per­
formances : See further A r t (The Magic of the Neiv D is ­
pensation.) T h e w orld teems with prophets, a n d since
w e neither tolerate nor believe in them , it is as false as
it is unjust to say that w e —
“ a re so i n t o l e r a n t o f th i s g r e a t s e e r , B a b u K e s h u b a s to d is c r e d it
a ll h e s e e s b e y o n d t h e v e il, s im p ly b e c a u s e h is re v e la tio n s do n o t fit in
w ith y o u r (o u r ) n o tio n s o f th i n g s , o r p e r c h a n c e b e c a u s e y o u (w e ) w ill
h a v e n o p r o p h e ts o u ts id e th e p a le o f y o u r ( o u r ) s o c i e t y / ’
H a d “ 8 1 1 1 ” said that w e will have no prophets either
within or without “ the pale” of our society, then w o u ld the
sentence have a ring of truth in it. E v e r impartial,
w e reject both the old as the m o dern B a la a m , a n d
would as soon believe his ass talking Latin to us. W e
have no faith in divinely inspired prophets, but if “ 8 1 1 1 ”
has, he is welcom e to it. W e firmly believe in the reality
of clairvoyance, prevision a n d even spiritual illumination,
f r o m its highest degree of developm ent— as in adeptship,
d o w n to its lowest form — as found in m edium sh ip . B u t w e
as firmly discard the idea of infallibility. It is our inalter­
able conviction that there never w as such a thing as
an absolutely infallible prophet, not since the b e g in n in g of
our race, at any rate— not even a m o n g the highest
adepts, a limitation they are always the first to confess
to, a n d this is one of the reasons w h y our Society w a s
established. W e are all liable to err, all fallible ; hence no
religion, or sect, least of all one isolated individual h o w ever
superior to others, has a right to claim recognition for his
doctrines only, a n d reject all others on the fallacious a n d
arrogantclaim ,that he holds his particular tenets from G o d .
It is the greatest mistake to assert that because w e oppose
a n d criticize the N e w Dispensation — the latest folly, a n d
missionary or dogmatic Christianity— the earlier one,
w e , therefore, exhibit hostile feelings to B r a h m o is m a nd
the Christianity of Christ. B r a h m o ism proper, as taught
b y R a ja R a m M o h u n R o y , or the respected a n d venerable
B a b u D e b e n d r o n a t h T a g o r e , w e have never ridiculed or
deprecated, nor ever will. O u r correspondent has but to
refer to the earlier portion of the Theosophist to find a
corroboration in it of w hat w e say. N o r h a d w e ever one
w o rd to say against the pure ethics of the F o u n d e r of
Christianity, but only against the mutilation b y his pro­
fessed followers, of the great truths enunciated b y h i m ­
self. B u t then between the primitive B r a h m o is m of
R a ja h M o h u n R o y a n d the N e w Dispensation on the one
ha n d , a n d the said ethics of Christ a n d the political
gigantic s h a m n o w sailing under the false colours of
Christianity the world over on the other, with its per­
secution of free thought a n d its Salvation A r m ie s — there
is an impassable chasm w h ic h w e refuse to bridge,
“ ‘ Do u n to o th e rs, fy c .? a l t h o u g h a C h rist ia n tr u th , m a y b e s tu d ie d
a n d fo llo w e d b y o th e r s th a n C h r is tia n s w ith a d v a n t a g e — ”
— w e are sentenciously told. W e regret to find that our
critic only preaches but does not practise that saying,
at a n y rate not in the present case. W e m a y leave u n ­
noticed his m istake in calling it " a Christian truth”
(since it w as pronounced b y Confucius 6 0 0 B . C . a nd b y
others still earlier); bu t w e cannot pass in silence the
evident fact that he judges a n d co n dem ns before h a v i n g
thoroughly tested a n d exam ined. M oreover, “ 8 1 1 1 ” ,
does not seem to be aware that our articles against the
Calcutta Apostle were the legitimate results of the m ost
u n p ro v o ked a nd unmerited attacks u p on ourselves a n d our
Society— in the Liberal a n d still earlier in the defunct
S u n d a y Mirror. T h e B a b u w a s never called iu our jour*
nal “ a n impostor ” or an “ adventurer,” not even a “ pre­
tender and this m an, so good and great, so eternally wed­
ded to virtue claiming, perchance, to have received a
direct c o m m a n d from G o d to that effect— has not
scrupled in the least to d a u b us with such a n d even worse
appellations in his Liberal organ. L e t it not b e understood,
how ever, that our articles were written in a n y spirit of
retaliation a nd revenge un w o rth y of the cause w e advo­
cate for ; they were simply a n d entirely d u e to a direct
necessity of, a n d were penned in perfect accord with, the
declared policy of our Society a n d p a p e r : war to death
to every unproven h um an dogma, superstition, bigotry and
intolerance. O u r Society is a nucleus, around w h ic h
cluster only those wlio, besides appreciating the the­
oretical importance as the philosophical significance
of the Id e a of a strongly united intellectual Brotherhood,
are ready to carry out this idea practically: to concede
to others all that they w ould claim for them selves;
to regard as a brother any m a n , whether he bo white,
black or y ello w ; heathen or C h r i s t i a n , theist or atheist; to
sho w , at least, a n outw ard regard for the respective
religions not only of our m e m b e r s but of a n y m a n ; a n d ,
to protect, in case of n eed, the creeds of the former from
the unjust assault a n d persecution of other religionists.
Finally, never to preach to, or force u p on a n unwilling
ear our o w n personal, least of all sectarian, views. The
success of our mission depends u p o n the crushing d o w n ,
and tho complete extirpation of that spirit of intolerance.
A n d those w h o k n o w any thing of the N e w Dispensation
a n d its organ the Liberal — a m isnom er like the rest— ■
need not be rem inded of the disgusting spirit of d o g m a ­
tism upon w hich it is based. K e s h u b B a b u m a y proach
and b e —
“ doing all ho can to establish a universal brotherhood and to harmonize
the different scriptures of the world” —
— it is all in theory. I n practice, that Brotherhood exists
for him ouly within the small area of his followers; the
B r a h m o s of tlie S a d h a ra n S o m a j are there to tell, h o w
even they, theists a n d liis late co-religionists, have been
treated b y their self-appointed P o p e, for refusing to accept
liis dicta a n d bulls as the w o r d of G o d. Therefore, our
Brotherhood b e in g possible only w h e n m e n are gradually
m a d e to rise above any personal ambition a nd that narrow
m in d e d sectarianism that dwarfs tlie area of their m ental
vision, a nd k ee p in g m a n aloof from m a n gives birth only
to a host of Cains p o un cing upon the w e a k e r A b e ls — it
becomes the imperative duty of us, w h o are the professed
leaders a n d pioneers of the m ovem ent to sm ooth the path
for those w h o m a y succeed us in our w o r k . Tolerant for
every thing, in every other respect w e are uncom prom ising­
ly intolerant of— Intolerance a n d — aggression.
S u c h is our p r o g r a m m e a nd tho simple secret of our
apparent—
“ inconsistency which has appeared strango and unaccountable even
to your (our) warmest friends, t. e., that rejecting of the religion of Christ
alone as worthless, accepting evory other system under tho sun, as
doserviug of study.”
Tlie accusation bein g already a nsw ered, w e can only
express our regret that “ 8 1 1 1” should not have read Isis
Unveiled, half of w hich, at least, is devoted to explanations
in tho light of esoteric philosophy of the otherwise a bsurd
a n d meaningless texts in the Bible. N o r lias he, it seems,
appreciated the delicacy that forbade ns out of p u r a
regard for the feelings of our Christian m e m b e r s to au-'
topsize a n d dissect top m u c h the Gospels as often aa
w e do other Scrip tures; for while givin g us carte blanche
to expose Missionary dogm atic Christianity, they feel
pained w h e n ev er they find the n a m e of Christ h a n d le d
merely for literary a n d scientific purposes,
T h u s , w e see that it is our “ best friends” w h o oppose
a n d try the most to im p ed e the progress of our m ovem ent.
It is they who- rem ain the most blind to the necessity of
b reaking |the o utw ard shell that is represented b y the
d o g m a s of every religion, in order to get at its kernel—
the concealed t r u t h ; a n d w h o obstinately refuse to
understand that, unless the outward covering is rem oved,
no one can tell w hether the fruit is a healthy one, or b u t
a “ D e a d S ea fruit,” the apple of S o d o m , the outward a p ­
pearance of w h ic h is bright a nd attractive, while within
all is bitter rottenness a n d decay. Therefore, w h e n our
friend “ 8 1 1 1 ” assures us that both Colonel Olcott (or his
Society rather) a n d the B a b u “ are striving, although in
opposite directions, to reach the sam e goal,” i. e., U n i v e r ­
sal Brotherhood, it certainly only “ appears” to h im a n d
no m ore. F o r while our Society is open to every Bincere
honest m a n , regardless of his religion, the N e w D ispen ­
sation w o u ld view even a B r a h m o from another S a m a j
as an heretic, a n d never adm it him unless he subscribed
blindly to all and every decree of the “ M inister.” L e t us
bear in m in d that hardly a year a go , the S u n d a y Mirror
in an editorial, every line of which breathed bigotry a nd
intolerance, prided itself of its adhesion to blind faith in
the following strains : “ W e , the n e w Apostles, attach
very little w eigh t to the testimony of our reason, for rea­
son is fallible.” A n d again, “ W e did not care to consult
our intellect w h e n w e accepted tho N e w Dispensation.”
Evidently not, a n d this is perhaps the greatest truth ever
uttered in their organ. H a v i n g thus stigmatised the-
Nitesastra or the “ Science of R e a s o n ,” h o w can B a b u
K e s h u b b e said to pursue the sam e goal as a Society
w h ich takes n othin g on faith, bu t seeks for natural
causes to b e explained b y reason a u d science in every
p h e n o m e n o n in nature ?
“ W h a t is t r u t h ? ” w a s the passionate d e m a n d of a
R o m a n procurator on on eof them ost m om entous occasions
in history. A n d the Divine Person w h o stood before h im
m a d e no reply— unless indeed, silence contained the reply.
O ften a n d vainly h a d that d e m a n d been m a d e before—
often a n d vainly has it been m a d e since. N o one has yet
given a satisfactory answ er. ( Conflict between Religion and
Science, p. 201-2), A n d w e are asked to suppose it in the
ba n d s of a B a b u K e sliu b , or a M a jo r T u c k e r !
T h e n comes tlie P a r th e a n arrow :—
c< L ik e y o u r o w n C ol. O lc o tt, th o B ra h m o M is s io n a ry is a im in g a t
p ro v in g t h e ‘ c o m m o n f o u n d a tio n ’ o f a ll k n o w n re lig io u s s y s te m s 5 a n d
lie d o c s t h is i n a m o re c o m p r e h e n s iv e m a n n e r a n d in a m o re c a th o lic s p ir it
t h a n y o n ’*
■
— adds our severe critic. T h e “ catholic spirit’’ of tho
B a b u is n ew s indeed. W h ile his aim “ at proving the
c o m m o n foundation of all k n o w n religions” m a y be
admitted from the fact as given b y the D h a r m a Tattiva
(their recognized o r g a n ), that in tlieir tem ple “ o n a
table covered with red cloth are placed tlie four chief
Sliasters of the world— the Rig-veda, the Lalitavistar,
the Bible, a n d tho K u r a n ,” w e fail to see h o w or w h e n
such a reconciliation w a s ever achieved b y the B a b u .
W i t h the exception of m a k i n g the V e d a s “ d a n ce’’ with
the Bible, tho K u r a n w ith the Jatakas, a nd Moses with
Chaitanya, a n d D u r g a in the great “ mystic da n ce,” the
Quadrille of imperishable m em ory , w e are not aw a re that
the said reconciliation w a s ever demonstrated b y the
“ m ighty Prop het before the L o r d ,” A tree is never better
k n o w n than b y its fruits. W h e r e are the fruits of B a b u
K e sliu b ’ s constant “ interviews” a n d dialogues with G o d ?
Colonel Olcott has never h a d any such heavenly visits, nor
does lie boast of bein g divinely inspired; yet tbe living
fruits of his labour a n d untiring efforts are there in over
three score a n d ten of cripples cured, of deaf m e n restored
to hearing, of paralytics ha vin g the use of their hitherto
dead limbs, a n d of y o u n g children saved from the jaws of
death, aye, more than that— from years of ago n y. But
en o u g h of this lest w e should tire our readers’ patience.
A n d n o w w e m ust be permitted to conclude with the
following observations. It is not because w e reject
personally that m uch- abused term — “ G o d ” or that w e
ever claimed to possess the whole truth ourselves that
w e object to tlie claims of the holy Calcutta choregrapher w h ich , w ere it m ore th a n lip-doctrine, m ust necessarily
or those of M a j o r T u c k e r. N o r is it simply to carry deprive h im of his m ost urgent motive to study patiently
out our com bined duties of a Theosophist a n d the the laws of nature in order to conform to them — it
editor to w hom , this m agazine is entrusted that w e record enforces a stern feeling of responsibility to search out
their co m bined eccentricities e x p r es sin g our honest opi­ painfully the right path of evidence a n d to follow it, inex­
nion thereon. T h a t w hich forces us to Buch an express orably laying u p on m a n the responsibility of the future of
sion, is rather a kind of m o rb id s h a m e for the m oral his race. I f it be m ost certain, as it is, that all dis­
cowardice pf m a n k in d , for its w e a k n e s s — that w ea k n es s obedience of natural law , w hether physical or moral, is
w h ic h ever needs a prop a n d a screen, som ething to a v e n g e d inexorably in its consequences on earth, either
support, and at the same time to hide itself behind in upon the individual himself, or more often, p erhaps,
days of temptation and sin. It ig that w eakn ess that upon others— that the violated law cannot be bribed to
is the true creator of such abnorm al characters, the real stay its arm b y burnt-offerings nor placated b y prayers
cause that the recognition of such supornatural claims is — it is a harmful doctrine, as tending directly to u n de r­
yet considered possible in our century. H e n c e our m ine u n derstan din g a n d to w e a k e n will, to teach that
objection to those.self-made “ vessels of election” a n d “ of either prayer or sacrifice will obviate the consequences of
divine g r a c e .” W e Lave the greatest contempt for the w a n t of foresight or w a n t of self-discipline, or that
so-called “ m p d e r n prqpliets” pf race a n d tribal gods, that reliance on supernatural aid will m a k e a m e n d s for lack
remain themselves so far a n unproveii a n d unprovable of intelligent will. W e still pray half-heartedly in our
hypothesis. “ G o d ” is here but a pretext, but another n a m e churches, as our forefathers p rayed w ith their w h ole
for h u m a n S e l f i s h n e s s a n d Selfishness a n d A m b it io n hearts, w h e n w e are afflicted w ith a plague or pestilence,
have be en ever since the first d a w n of history the great­ that G o d will ‘ accept of a n atonem ent a n d c o m m a n d
est curses of H u m a n it y . Plenty w ere the avatars since tho destroying angel to cease from p u n i s h i n g a n d
the first m an looked up into e m p ty space for help, ipstead w h e n w e are suffering from, too m u c h rain, w e ask h im
of trying his own' intellect, and relying u p o n his o w n to send fine weather, ‘ although w e for our infirmities
omnipotent spirit. H a s a n y one pf those “ prophets” have worthily deserved a p lague of rain a n d w aters.’
ever benefitted m a n k in d , assuaged its social w r o n g s a n 4 Is there a person of sincere understanding w h o , uttering,
miseries, alleviated its inentul and physical woes, or that prayer, n o w believes it in his heart to be the suc­
lightened in any w a y for it the lieayy burden of life ? cessful w a y to stay a fever, p lague, or pestilence ? H e
N o ! O n the contrary, each of them has d u g for those w h o k n o w s well that, if it is to be answ ered, he m u s t clean
believed on him one m ore deep chasm w hich h u d to a w a y dirt, purify drains, disinfect houses, a n d put in
hitherto separate his ow n followers from their brothers, force those other sanitary measures w hich experience
the Apostles of some other rival prophet ; each cliasrn has proved to b e efficacious, a n d that the aid vouchsafed
w ea k e ning still more m a n k in d , breaking it up as a strong to the prayer will only b e given w h e n these are b y
unit into isolated w e a k units, dividing it into inimical themselves successful. H a d m e n gon e on believing, as
ever fighting factions. A n d thus it w e n t on until hum anity they once believed, that prayer w o u ld stay disease, they
is n o w absolutely honey-combed with such chasm s— • w o u ld never have learned a n d adopted sanitary m easures,
regular pit-falls for the w e a k in intellect, full of sectarian any m ore than the savage of Africa w h o prays to his
gall a n d bitterness, prolific of hatred, every group ever fetish to cure disease, does n o w . T o get rid of the
ready to pounce upon its neighbours to either exterminate notion of supernatural interposition w a s the essential
or drag them d o w n into its o w n pit-fall. W h o will fill u p condition of true k n o w le d g e a n d self-help in that
t h o s e accursed pits ? H o w m a n y are there of absolutely m atter.”
unsectarian, unselfish reformers, w h o h a v in g neither E v e r y intelligent, unbiassed m in d of any religion will
personal ambition, nor any other aim in view but tho endorse Prof. M a u d s l e y ’ s above definition of the true
practical good of m a n k in d , are ready to sacrifice t h e m ­ religion for h u m a n it y — wliich is taken from the Fort­
selves for the great a n d holy task ? A t ono end tho nightly Review. E v e r y bigoted sectarian of t h e m all
blood-handed anarchists, nihilists, the so-called socialists, will denounce it as the blasphem ous mouthing-s of infi­
and at the other— religious sectarian bigots, intolerant delity. T h e Theosophists of all the creeds, that is to
enthusiasts a n d dogmatists, each a n d every one of those say, every person in overy C h u rc h , w h o m a k e s personal
*n enem y to any m a n but his o w n co-workers. Yerily, efforts to attain the h ighe r k n o w le d g e , w h e th e r or not
it is easy to undergo any sacrifice and physical torture he calls himself such, or over k n o w s himself to b e of the
of limited duration to secure to one-self an eternity class so de no m ina ted, will take D r . M a u d s le y as a
of joy a nd bliss. It is still easier especially for an faithful interpreter of a great interior truth. A s for the
immortal G o d to die to save m a n k in d . M a n y were the B udd hists, clergy a n d laity will alike say that the s u b ­
so-called Saviours of H u m a n it y ,.a n d still more n u m e r ­ lime Doctrine of M erit could scarcely have be en better
ous the pretenders. B u t w here is ho w h o w o u ld dam n him ­ form ulated b y a W e s t e r n materialist.
self fo r ever to save m a n k in d at large ? W h e r e is that bein g
. » — •
w ho, in order to m a k e his fellow creatures h a p p y and
free on earth, w o uld consent to live and suffer hour after Z O R O A S T E R A N D H IS R E L IG IO N . .
hour, day after day , ffion up o n seon, a nd never die, never B y P e s t o n j i D o r a b j i K h a n d a l a v a l a , F . T . S.
get release from his nameless sufferings, until the groat
B a c t r i a n a a n d S o g d ia n a were the cradle of several
d a y of the M a h apralaya ? L e t such a m m appear; and
white tribes. T h e s e , under the n a m e of A r y a n s , em igrated
then w h e n he doeB a n d proves it, w e shall worship h im as
to the south-west towards the I n d u s , a n d under the n a m e
our Saviour, the G o d of god s, the only T r u e a n d L iviN a
of Iranians towards M e d i a a n d Persia. T h e cause of the
G o d .
separation of that great race was perhaps a religious
---♦-- -
schism, at least the M e d e s a n d the Persians carried in
M A T E R IA LIS M A N D IT S L E S S O N S . their n e w country a. doctrino profoundly different to w h at
“ D i s C L O s m a t o m a n t h e s t e r n a n d u n i f o r m r e i g n o f obtained later on the confines of the G a n g e s . T h e glory
l a \ y i n n a t u r e , e v e n i n t h e e v o l u t i o n a n d d e g e n e r a c y o f of this g r a n d religious reform attaches itself to the n a m e
h i s o w n n a t u r e , i t t a k e s f r o m h i m t h e c o m f o r t a b l e b u t of Zarathustra— S plendo ur of gold— better k n o w n under
d e m o r a l i z i n g d o c t r i n e t h a t h e , o r o t h e r s c a n e s c a p e t h o the liellenised form of Zoroaster. All authors of anti­
p e n a l t y o f h i s i g n o r a n c e , e r r o r , o r w r o n g - d o i n g s e i t h e r quity agree in giving a place to this high personage in
b y p e n i t e n c e o r p r a y e r , a n d h o l d s h i m t o t h e s t r i c t e s t the star-lit night of history. Pliny places him a thousand
a c c o u n t f o r t h e m . D i s c a r d i n g t h e n o t i o n t h a t t h o o b ­ years before M o se s : H e r m i p p u s , w h o translated his works
s e r v e d u n i f o r m i t y o f n a t u r e is but a u n iform ity o f se­ into Greek, carries h im as far b a c k as 5 0 0 0 years before
quence at, w ill — w h i c h m a y b e i n t e r r u p t e d w h e n e v e r i t s the fall of Tro y, E u d o x u s to 6 0 0 0 years before the death
i n t e r r u p t i o n i s e a r n e s t l y e n o u g h a s k e d f o r — a n o t i o n of Plato, a n d X a n t h u s of L y d i a to bu t six centuries
before D a r iu s I of the D y n a s ty of the A c h e m e n id e s.
M o d e r n Science, after the learned studies of E u g e n e Bur-
nouf a n d Spiegel of the original w o rks on Zoroas­
trianism, rescued b y Anquetil-Duperron, has arrived by a
series of proofs and deductions to the conclusion equally
form ulated by Spiegel a nd O p p e r t ; that is to say, that if
it is not possible to fix the precise date w h e n the founder
of tbe religion of dualism lived for w a n t of the elements
of precision, that date is certainly far remote, a n d that
probability points it to som ew here about 2 6 centuries
before Christ.
W e k n o w n o thing positive of the life of the great
Zoroaster— unless one of the illustrious M A S T E R S conde­
scended to enlighten us on the subject— except that he w a s
the author of that religious doctrine to w h ic h his n a m e is
attached. E v e n the place of his birth is a point in dis­
pute. B u t the theatre of his predictions a n d of the suc­
cess of his doctrines, is positively determined by the con­
cordance of testimony of the books of the A v esta, of
classic writers a n d of M u s su lm a n authors of the Orient.
T h is w a s Bactriana, then governed by K i n g H y s ta s p (in
Z o n d Vistasp, in Persian G ustasp ) son of A u r v a d a s p —
L o h r a s p — son of K a v a Ou(;rava (K a i K h o s h r u ), son of
K a v a O u s (K a i K a o u s ), son of K a v a K a v a t a (K a i K o b a d ) ,
founder of the dynasty of K y a n ia n s . T h e Persian
authors of the M id d le A g e s , last echoes of popular tradi­
tions a n d of m yths, attribute to Zoroaster a series of pro­
digies a n d of miracles without end. A t thirty he receiv­
ed ia person his mission from O r m u z d , w h o conversed
with him iu the cnve of a m ountain w here he lived re­
tired for twenty years. H e then presented himself at the
court of K i n g Hystasp, a n d b y force of miracles m ad e him
a convert. So o n all Bactria professed his religion, but
a part of the A r y a n population refused to a ck n o w le d g e
him . T h e reformer perished at last in a n invasion of the
Turanians, born enemies of this n e w worship w h o threw
themselves up o n Bactria, took the capital b y assault a nd
profaned the Fire Tem ples. B u t this is not the only
tradition that ran current in antiqnity. A political chief
n nd a religious legislator, Zoroaster, it is said, w a s liko
M oses. T h e reliable critic a n d historian T ro q u e Pom-
pey, w h o m w e k n o w through Justin, says that Zoroaster
governed the Bactrians after the death of H y s ta s p , a nd
at their head he preached the n e w religion, sw ord in hand ,
seeking to impose it on the A r y a n s by conquest.
T h e life of Zoroaster is thus enveloped in darkness
which will always rem ain impenetrable. But we know
this religious legislator of In in b y his work w hich is
g r a n d , noble a n d worthy of a profound admiration. T h o
doctrine of Zoroaster is without doubt the most puissant
effort of h u m a n m in d toward spiritualism a n d m e t a p h y ­
sical truths. It is pure m onotheism, a n d a lusty flight into
the region of eternal Truth. “ T r u e ,” says the soul-saving
a n d soul-saved missionary, “ but deprived of the light of
revelation, Zoroaster runs against the formidable problem
of the origin of ev il; here his ba rk founders a n d unable
to clear it, he falls ba ck up o n the fatal conception of
dualism.” *
T h e religion preached by the legislator of Bactria is
called M a zd e is m or universal science. It has be en revealed
by the “ excellent, pure a n d efficacious w o r d ” w hich Z o r o ­
aster transmitted to m e n and which is “ the G o o d L a w . ”
T h a t L a w is n a m e d Z er a Avesta, that is to say, “ law a n d re­
form ,” for Zoroaster has always presented his doctrine as
an im provem ent on w h a t existed with the A r y a n s of pri­
mitive ages before the invasion a n d the tyranny of Z o h a k .
T h e Z e n d Avesta, the ensemblo of writings constituting
the religious law of the M a z d e e n s a n d attributed to
Zoroaster, comprised at the time of the Sassanide k in g s —
the most fervent adepts w h o ever possessed that doctrine—
twenty-one Nacjkas or books. T h e greatest part of that
lolleotion perished in the infuriate persecution to w hich
eveiything connected w ith the former worship w a s s u b ­
* But so docs tho relig io n of tiie “ Boul-saving” m iB B io n a r y whose
would be explanations and childish fablefl to account for evil will never
be flcccpted by any philosophical or even cultured mind.— Ed,
jected b y the M u s sa lm a n s after the conquest of Persia.
T h e only book that has com e d o w n to us in all its in­
tegrity is the V id ae v a d a ta , “ the law against the de m o n s,”
in Persian V e n d i d a d . T h e Y a ^ n a a n d the Vespered aro
collections of fragm ents. T h e collection of the V e n d id a d ,
the Y a ^ n a and the Y e s p e r e d , constitutes the miscellany
called V en ded ad - S a di. A nother collection of fragments
forms a second miscellany k n o w n as the Yescht-Sadi.
H e r e is the whole debris of Zoroastrian w orks w h ic h has
com e to us in the original Z en d text. T h e B o u n d eh e sc h ;
or “ that wliich has been created from tho b e g in n in g ,”
translated in tho vulgar Pehlvi dialect, contains, as its
title implies, a co s m o g o n y w hich sheds great light upon
m a n y portions of the doctrine of the Z e n d documents.
T h e ideas w h ich it contains respecting the first of ancient
sciences, astronom y, a n d the first of arts, agriculture, reflect
un der this two-fold celestial a n d terrestrial relation the
intellectual condition of the mysterious lord of the M a g i ,
a sacerdotal corporation w hich w as to M e d ia a n d Persia
w h a t tho B ra h m in s ha ve been to India.
This debris of Z e n d A v esta , as it'is before us, does not
carry us farther b a c k than the a g e of the Sassanides,
w h e n the antique law of the M a zd e a n s w a s written in a
n e w alphabet a n d subm itted in consequence to the labour
of transcription like to w h a t Esdras did w ith the P e n ta ­
teuch. T h e text presents without doubt m a n y vestiges
of interpolation a n d of alteration. B u t the g r o u n d w o r k
and the essential parts point to a very h ig h antiquity.
T h e proof of it is even in the language. Z e n d , the antique
idiom of the Bactrians, one of the family of the Indo-
E u r o p e a n lang uages, carries us b a c k nearest to primitive
forms, m ore remote, for exam ple, than the cuneiform P e r ­
sian inscriptions of the Achem enides. It has been q ues­
tioned w hether these fragm ents are the w o r k of Zoroaster
himself. M o d e r n critics have been k n o w n to be scep­
tical as to whether the Gathas or chants placed at the
e n d of the Y a(jna have directly em anated from the cele­
brated legislator. T h e s e offer a character of archaism
a n d of simplicity g ra nd er than tli>it of the other pieces,
a n d w here all the fundam ental points of religion have
been clearly indicated.
T h e creation is the w o r k of A h o u r m a z d (O r m u z d ), the
sage spirit also called “ the saintly spirit.” Q p enta.
M a y n io u s , the principle of good represented by light, by
S u n , b y fire w h o m they call his son, is the veritable G o d
of the religion of Zoroaster. T h e legislator considered
him as single a n d sovereign master of all things. “ I
invoke a n d I celebrate b y praise;” says the Y a q n a , “ the
creator A h o u r m a z d a , luminous, resplendent, very grand
a n d very good, very perfect a n d very energetic, very
intelligent a n d very beautiful, em inent in purity, w h o
possesses the good science, source of pleasure, he w h o has
created us, form ed us, nourished us, he the most acco m ­
plished of all intelligent beings. Creator of all things,
O r m u z d himself is increate a n d eternal. H e accomplished
his w o r k of creation, in p ronouncing tho “ W o r d creator
w hich existed before every thing” — H o n o v e r. This famous
a n d antique prayer of 21 words has been thus conceived:
“ E v e n as the w o r d of the S u p r e m e will, so does the effect
exist because it proceeeds from truth. T h e creation of
w hat is good in thought or in action belongs in the world
to M a z d a and the reign belongs to A h o u r a w h o m his o w n
w ord has constituted the Destroyer of the w icked.”
B eh o ld a noblo doctrine, highly correct, w hich teaches
complete truth a n d tends directly to absolute m onotheism .
B u t the blessed Christian sees here a strange failure, a
brusque departure from the d o g m a of divine unity w hich
appears a necessary consequence of the conception of
Onnuzd. T h e problem of the origin of evil is the most
terrible of those posers to h u m a n intelligence which
m akes one reflect upon the first causes, and bewilders
reason most. “ Philosophy,” says he, “ given up to its ow n
forces, has always been impotent to solve it. T h e Jewish
a n d the Christian doctrine alone illuminated b y a ray from
on high, has the clue to it. This is the breaker a-head
w hich the religious conception of Zoroaster cannot steer
clear of.” K n o w i n g himself raised above physical p h e n o ­
m e n a , the contemplation of w h ic h h a d taken the lead
in the establishing of P a g a n religions, a n d h a d led
E g y p tia n s , Babylonians a n d A r y a n s to P a n th e ism ,
occupied first of all with moral a n d metaphysical order,
the reformer of Bactria could not fail to see before liis
spiritual eye as a m enacing a n d irreducible U n k n o w n , the
question of the origin and of the existence of Evil. H is
aspirations w ere very high, a n d highly moral for h im to
have accepted the monstrous solution in w hich were rolled
up the pantheistic systems on the b a n k s of the Nile a nd
the E up h rates, w hich Heraclitus r en ew ed later on a m o n g
the philosophers of Greece : the fundam ental identity of
contraries the G o o d a nd the Evil, different a nd opposed,
only in seem ing. It w a s equally impossible for h im to
adm it that the G o d he conceived to be eternally go o d ,
pure, just and perfect, h a d created Evil a nd h a d it
placed in the w orld. A supernatural aid alono could
have unriddled the difficult problem for Zoroaster, but
the succour failed him . Left to himself his thought
strayed on to the doctrine in the religion of old tribes,
that of the never-ending ever-beginning wrestle betw een
two rival principles, issues of the sam e source, with w h o m
antagonism rests, the existence a n d the continuance of
this universe. It w as above all in the p h en o m e n a of
physical order that the ancient A r y a n s had seen this
struggle, but b y a natural bent they h a d assimilated the
G o o d a n d the Evil. Zoroaster transported it in the
moral a n d metaphysical order, and it b e c a m e the base of
his system of Dualism . A s opposed to O r m u z d , the good
G o d and the principle of g o o d , he admits the existence of
an adverse principle (against w h o m O r m u z d has to w a g e
a continual w a r to preserve his em pire), a principle equal
to him in puissance a n d similar in nature “ the Evil
Spirit” Agra- M ainyous, in Persian A h r im a n . It is this
spirit w h o has created moral a n d material evil a n d death.
T h e creation has gone out of the hands of O r m u z d pure
a n d perfect as his own-self; it is A h r i m a n w h o perverts
it by bis fatal action, and w h o w o rks every day to pervert
a n d overthrow it, as he is the destroyer— P a u r o m a r k a — aa
well aa tlie Evil Spirit. A h r i m a n has been eternal in the
past as O r m u z d , he has h a d no be gin n in g jand proceeds from
no anterior essence.* B u t the moral instinct of Zoroaster has
not been able to determine to regard his strength as eter­
nal in tlie future, w h ich w o u ld have been a logical conse­
quence of the m a n n e r iu w hich he conceived it. That
being w h o has h » d no com m encem ent will have a n end.
A day will com e at the dissolution of ages w h e n three pro­
phets, issues of Zoroaster, Oukhsyal-erema, “ light increas­
ing,” Oukhsyal-ereta, '‘' truth increasing,” a n d A<;tvad-
erota, “ truth-existing,” will bring to the w orld the three
last books of the Zend- Avesta and convert all m en to
M a zd e is m ; then the evil will be definitely conquered a n d
annihilated, creation be com e pure as on the first day,
a nd A h r im a n disappear o S the face of the U niverse.
Is this the veritable doctrine of Zoroaster that one can
with certainty consider as orthodox M a z d e a n ? B u t liow
conciliate the existence of the two beings, absolute, equal
similar, co-eternal If D i d Zoroaster avoid the exam ination
of this n e w problem ? T h e n w h a t is the doctrine of the
Zarvanians ? Is it a veritable corruption of the primi­
tive d o g m a of Zoroaster ? D id it com m ence with A l e x ­
* V o ry n a tu r a lly , fo r A h r im a n i s — m a t t e r , th e b e g e t t e r o f a ll E v il,
a n d th e D e s tr o y e r , s in c e m a t t e r — e te r n a l p e r se a n d in d e s t r u c t i b l e —
h a v in g to e v e r c h a n g e fo r m d e s tro y s i t s u n its , w h ile O rm u z d o r S p i r i t —
re m a in s im m u ta b le in its a b s t r a c t U n i t y a n d a s a w h o le .--A M .
f N o th in g c a n h a v e “ no b e g in n in g a n d y e t h a v o a n e n d ” in th e
lite r a l s e n s e - T h i s is c o n tr a r y to a ll m e ta p h y s ic a l te a c h in g a n d lo g ic.
A h rim a n o r K vil “ h a d no b e g in n in g ,” b o c a u s e n o m o re th a n s p i r i t h a d
m a tte r a n y b e g in n in g . W e r e th e y “ tw o c o e te r n a l b e in g s” th is w o u ld
be a fa lla c y . H u t M a tt e r a n d S p ir it a r e o n o ,— th e f o r m e r a t th e lo w e r,
th e l a t t e r a t th o h ig h o r p o le o f He iny d iif e r o n tiu te d in d e g re e s —n o t in
th e ir e ss e n c e . A h rim a n “ w ill d is a p p e a r fro m th o fa c e o f th e u n iv e r s e ,"
w h e n “ c r e a tio n ” o r r a t h e r m a t t e r in its d ilf e r o n ti a lo d c o n d itio n , b e co m es
“ p u re a s on th e fir s t d a y ” - - i . e.» w h e n m a t t e r g r a d u a lly p u rifie d b e c o m e s
ouoe m o re u n d if f e r e n tia te d , o r r e t u r n s to its p r im itiv e c o n d i­
tion in th e 7 th s ta t e o f c o sm ic d is s o lu tio n ; a n d th i s ta k e s p la c e p e r io d i­
cally a t th o M u h a F r a lu y u s u r th e u u iv e rs u l d is s ip a tio n o f objective
m a tte r,
ander the Great a n d develope itself in the course of the
M id d le A g e s in contact with the M ussalm ans a n d the p a n ­
theistic sects that s w a r m e d in Persia, a doctrine px>w
p re­ professed by the Parsees, fag-end followers of the ideas
of the great Bactrian prophet ? This supposes anterior
to O r m u z d a n d to A h r i m a n , and above them both a unique
principle source of all “ T i m e illimitable” Zarvan- akarana
out of w hose b o s o m there shot out b y w a y of em anation
the two principles, w hich are to be absorbed a n e w one
day with the beings w h o poople the g lo b e.* T h is
monstrous (?) conception w hich would bring r o u n d
M a z d e is m to absolute P a n th e ism , which substitutes
emanation for creation, a n d w h ic h reduces O r m u z d to
the role of a dem iurge organizer of the universe
pre-existing in puissance, in the place of the r61e of
veritable creator, w h o assimilates the bein g in himself,
the divinity to increate mattor, to chaos supposed eternal,
w hich destroys all distinction in the moral order between
the g o o d a n d evil, emanates them both from the sam e
divine substance a n d destines them to be confounded
a n e w , b e in g distinct in appearance o n ly ; is it absolutely
contrary to the spirit of reform of Zoroaster? Is the
doctrine of the Z arvanians as B a ro n d ’ Eckstein a n d Op-
pert have said, the result of a n influence, of an adul­
terated infiltration of ideas of gross a n d materialistic pan­
theism of Chaldea in the religion of Zoroaster? Is it a3
some w o u ld m a k e us believe that a strange metaphysical
error in the veritable Zoroastrian doctrine permitted of
grafting easily u p on that strange conception? D i d not
Zoroaster understand that the notion of time necessarily
implied a limit ? H a s he confounded it with eternity ? f
Can any of your readers tell ?
(To be continued,) ■
.
B akoda, )
2 0 th March 1 8 8 3 . J
--- *---
ANOTHER “ F A K I R ’S P R O P H E C Y . ”
C o m m u n ic a t e d uy S ukuma H a l d a r , F . T . S.
T o those w h o ha ve a d o g g e d determination not to
learn or understand a truth, no a m ou nt of evidence is
convincing. T h is is ospecially the case in reference to
occult science a n d p h e n o m e n a . I recently came across
a book entitled “ Sport and Military Life in Western
In d ia,” b y Lt.-Colonel T . G . Fraser (an o d d place you
will no doubt think, to look for things occult), iu w hich I
found tho following rem arkable narrative of a fakir's
prediction, w h ic h I send y o u ; (1) because it is related by
a person w h o never heard a n d k n e w nothing of occultism
a n d w h o is described b y the author of the bo o k as “ of
unim peachable veracity, strong-minded, a n d as little
under the influence of m o rbid or superstitious credence
as a n y one he ever k n e w ; ” (2) because the author h i m ­
self is a trustworthy m a n if w e are to believe Colonel
G . B . Malleson, c. s. i., w h o speaks of h im as “ the
straightest m a n with w h o m it w as ever his good fortune
to com e in contact;” a n d (3) because it m a y have escaped
the observation of most of your readers.
I m a y be permitted to a d d that on page 2 4 8 of the
sam e w o r k an account will b e found of “ A miraculous
trance” perform ed at the Court of the Pa n jab ee L io n ,
w hich probably alludes to the sam e rem arkable Sam adhi
#A s b e y o n d B ra h m a , V is h n u a n d S iv a , th o “ C re a to r,” th e “ P r e s e r v e r ”
a n d tlie “ D e s tr o y e r ,” th e r e is P a r a b r a h m a m , so b e y o n d O rm u z d in h i t
“ d u a l c h a r a c t e r of A h o u r-m a z d a ” a n d A h r im a n , is p la c e d “ Z a r v a n -
a k a r a n a ” — th o “ o n o lifo ” o f th o B u d d h is ts , th o P a r a b r a h m a m o f th e
V e d a n ta A d w a ite e s , a n d th o K n - s o p h o f th o C h a ld e a n k a b a lis ts p la c e d
b e y o n d a n d a b o v e th e th r o e t r i n i t a r i a n g ro u p s o f th e n in e s e p h ir o th s .
S e p h ira , th e m o th e r o f a ll—-b e in g e x o te r ic a lly th e 1 0 th , b u t e s o te ric a lly
th o e s s e n c e of th o n in e . L o t u s r e m e m b e r th a t B in a h ( J e h o v a h ) is i n ­
c lu d e d in th e fir s t g ro u p y e t s ta n d s s e c o n d to C h o h m a o r w is d o m .— E d .
+ “ Z a r v a n - a k a r a n a ” lo o s e ly t r a n s l a t e d B o u n d le ss tim e , m e a n s n e v e r ­
th e le s s Eternity. I n o u r lim ite d la n g u a g e s w ith th e ir lim ita tio n s of
e x p re s s io n a n d a s lim ite d a d u r a tio n o f life, “ n o tio u o f tim e im p lie s
n e c e s s a r ily a lim it.” A d iffe re n c e o u g h t t o h e m a d e b e tw e e n ‘‘ a b s o lu te ’*
a n d “ a p p a r e n t ” tim e ; b e tw e e n d u r a tio u a n d E t e r n ity . T h u s i t is not
Z o r o a s te r w h o c o n fo u n d e d tim e w ith e te r n ity , b u t r a t h e r h is m o d e m
fo llo w e rs , w h o , in s te a d o f r e a d in g h is d o c trin e s iu Z e n d , r e a d a u d
i n t e r p r e t th o rn iu E n g l is h ,— E d ,
of a S a d h u , of which we read in Dr. McGregor’s “ History
of the Sikhs.” . for some time ;— and then he returned with a paper full of
' C a lc u tta , S. H A L D A R , F . T . S.
2 7 t h M a r c h 1883. J
' M b s . W --------------- ’S N A R R A T I V E .
“ O n a s u l t r y e v e n in g in A p ril I w a s s t a n d i n g a t tlie g a te - w a y o f th e
c o m p o u n d , w h e n a B ira g i o r H in d u m e n d ic a n t d e v o te e o f,m id d le ag o
w i t h h is p e rs o n a n d lo n g h a i r c o v e r e d w ith a sh C 6, p a s s e d m o a lo n g th e
p u b lic r o a d ; h o lo o k e d a t m e e a r n e s tly f o r a n i n s t a n t w ith o u t s to p p in g ,
h o w e v e r , o r m a r k in g m e b y a n y re c o g n itio n . O n p ro c e e d in g a fe w s te p s ,
a n d tu r n i n g ro u n d , h e s a id , * I n th e n a m e o f G od, i t is g iv e n to m e to
s a y w h a t w ill b e y o u r f a t e . ’ 1 c a lle d to a n o r d e r ly in th e c o m p o u n d , a n d
to ld h im to • g iv e th o m a n a ru p e o . ‘ N o !’ Baid th o m a n , ‘ I a s k fo r
n o th in g , b u t y o n r f a t e is o n y o n r fo r e - h e a d , a n d I. w ill, if y o u lik e , d is ­
c lo s e i t Jto y o u / ‘ I s u p p o s e / Baid I , la u g h in g , y o u g e t y o u r liv in g b y
d o in g s o / ‘ I c a n do ab o n ly ,’ o b s e r v e d h e , * to a fe w p e rs o n a , a n d y o u a re
o n o /. ‘ W e l l / Baid I , * b e g in . T e ll m o w h o I a m , a n d if y o u m a k e a m is ­
ta k e , I will h a v e y o u p u n i s h e d / ‘ Y o u a r e / s a id h e , ‘ th e w ife o f th o
G — — 1 S a h ib , y o u h a v e a so n a n d a d a u g h t e r / ‘ I h a d ,’ I r e m a r k e d , * b u t
] h a v e h ite ly l o s t 't h e f o r m e r / * N o / s a id th e m a n , ‘ ifc is a s I s a y / ‘ W ell
g o o n / ‘ Y o u a r e 'a b o u t to le a v e th is c o u n tr y a n d g o to youi* o w n /
(N o w I m u s t h e r e r e m a r k m y h u s b a n d h a d r e p e a t e d l y d e c la r e d h is i n ­
t e n tio n n e v e r a g a in to le a v e I n d ia .) ‘ A n d .w h e n is t h a t to b e ?’ ‘ Y e ry
s o o n / ' 1 S h a ll w o d r r iv e s a f e ?* * Y o u w ill, b u t f o u r te e n d a y s a f t e r y o u
leh-ve th i s lie w ill b e in t h e h a n d s o f G od !’ U p to thiB p o in t o f th e
d ia lo g u e I h a d lis te n e d lis tle s s ly to w h a t h a d p a s s e d , b u t n o w t h o r o u g h ­
ly r o u s e d a n d a la r m e d , I e x c la im e d , ‘ Y o u w r e tc h , w h a t h a v e y o u s a id ? f
‘ I t is h o t 1 / s a id th e m a n , ‘ b a t y o u r f a t e t h a t s p e a k s . 1 te ll y o u in
e ig h te e n d a y s y o n w ill bo o n b o a rd , a n d w ill h a v e e v e r y th in g h e r e s o ld ,
b u t o n e 'h o r s e / ‘ H e r e / I e x c la im e d , ‘ is th e s ta b l e w ith s e v e r a l h o rs e s ,
shoTf’m e th e o n e w o w o n ’t s e l l / R u n n in g h is e y o r a p id ly d o w n th e
lin e , ‘ t h a t o n e / p o in tin g to a g r e y . I t w a s a b i r t h - d a y p r e s e n t fr o m
t h e G -------1 g iv e n rhe tw o y e a r s b e fo re . ‘ W e l l / s a id I , a ffe c tin g to la u g h ,
' a s y o u k n o w so m u c h , te ll m o , s h a ll I g e t h o m e a n d s e e m y c h ild P’
‘ Y e s / s a id h e , ‘ y o u w ill s e e y o u r so n aB y o u a ro le a v in g th is , b u t s h a ll
n o t s p e a k t o h im ; h e w ill w a v e a c lo th a t a d is ta n c e . Y ou w ill a r r iv e
in E u r o p e , r e m a in t h e r e f o r a tim o , bufe y o u r tr o u b l e f o r m o n e y w ill
c o tn p e l.y o u r r e t u r n h e re , b u t y o u w ill a g a in go b a c k , a n d a f t o r a tim e
y o u r in o n o y w ill co m o a n d y o u w ill b e h a p p y / . ed poem.
“ E v o r y - th in g u p to th is p e rio d h a s o c c u r r e d e x a c tly a s th e m a n p r e ­
d ic te d . T h a t e v e n in g a s w o w e re h a v in g t e a , th e G -------1 w h o h a d so o f te n
e x p re s s e d h is d is lik o to liv in g in E n g l a n d a n d d e te r m in a tio n to liv e a n d
d ie in I n d ia , B u d d en ly e x c la im e d , ‘ W h a t s a y y o u to a t r i p h o m e ? I h a v o
s p o k e n to F ., a n d ho h a s p r o m is e d m e a p a s s a g e b y tiie -------if w e c a n
in a n a g o i t b y t h e -------, so I h a v e m a d e u p m y m in d t o i t . ”
“ I w a s so p a ra ly z e d t h a t t h e c u p f e ll fr o m m y h a n d . I g a z e d a t m y
h u s b a n d , b u t i t w a s to o t r u e . W ith in a m o n th a ll arraugom entB w e re
m a d e , e v e r y - th in g waB so ld , e x c e p t t h e g r e y A r a b h o rs e , w h ic h b e in g a
h i r t h - d a y g if t , w a s g iv e n t o -------. W e e m b a r k e d o n th e ------- o f M a rc h in p e r ­
f e c t h e a l th , a n d a s w e c le a r e d t h e lig h t- h o u s e , a b o a t w a s s e e n v a in ly
e n d e a v o u r in g to o v e r ta k e u s . W ith t h e g la s s w e c o u ld d is tin g u is h a
E u r o p e a n w a iv in g a h a n d k e r c h i e f ; i t p ro v e d a f to r w a r d s to h a v e b e e n
m y so n , w h o se d e a t h in t h e U p p e r P r o v in c e s h a d tw o m o n th s p r e v io u s ly
b e e n r e p o r t e d t o n s , a n d w h o m , c o u ld I t h e n h a v e re c o g n iz e d , I s h o u ld
in a m a n n e r h a v e b e e n p r e p a r e d f o r w h a t fo llo w e d . I n t e n d a y s m o re
th e G e n e r a l s u d d o n ly f e ll u p o n th e d e c k , w a s t a k e n to h is b e r t h , a n d
o n t h e f o u r t e e n t h d a y w a s, a s t h e m y s te r io u s m o n d ic a n t h a d p r e d ic te d ,
in t h e h a n d s o f G o d . I a r r iv e d a t h o m e s a f e ly , a n d i t r e m a in s to be
peon w h e th e r t h e r e s t w ill p ro v e t r u e . A t a ll e v e n t s y o u s e e h e ro I a m
b a c k a g a in in I n d i a to t r y a n d a r r a n g e m y m o n e y a f f a ir s , a n d th o d is ­
p u t e a b o u t t h e G -------’s w ill, f o r F ------- W ould n o t a d v a n c e m e a n y m o re
m o n e y .”
Observes Colonel Fraser :— 'S u c h w a s the story. It
speaks for itself. I shortly afterwards heard that m y
k in d friend M r s . W --- h a d left for E n g l a n d .’
B E A D IN G A S E A L E D E N V E L O P E .
By P. S e e e n a v a s s R ow , F. T. S.
B ein g a s k e d to w r i t e a n a c c o u n t o f w h a t I k n o w a b o u t
p e r s o n s w h o p r o f e s s to r e a d w h a t is w r i t t e n o n p a p e r s e n c lo s ­
e d in sealed e n v e lo p e s , I g iv e t h e f o llo w in g m o s t a u t h e n t i c
n a r r a tiv e , w ith o u t a w o r d o f c o m m e n t o r e x p la n a tio n as to
th e p h ilo so p h y of th e p h e n o m e n a .
Some years ago, a Brahmin astrologer named Venkata
Narasimla Josee, a ,native of the village of Periasamudram
in the Mysore provinces, came to the little town in the
Bellary District where I was then employed. He was a good
Sanscrit, Telugu and Canarese poet, and an excellent master
of Vedic.rituals ; knew the Hindu system of astronomy, and
professed to be an astrologer. Besides all this, he possessed
the power of reading what was contained in any sealed en­
velope, The process adopted for this purpose was simply
this W e wrote whatever we chose on a piece of paper ; en­
closed it in one, two or three envelopes, each properly gum­
med and sealed, and handed tho cover to the Astrologer. He
a&qd us.to name a figure between 1 and 9 ; and on its being
named, he retired with the envelope, to some secluded place
figures, and another paper containing a copy of what was on
tlie sealed paper— exactly, letter for letter and word for
word. I tried him often and many others did the same ;
and we were all satisfied that he was invariably accurate, and
that there was no deception whatsoever in the matter.
About this time, one Mr. Theyagaraja Mudalyar, a supervi­
sor in tho Public Works Department, an English scholar and
a good Sanscrit and Telugu poet, arrived at our place on his
periodical tour of inspection. Having heard about the
aforesaid Astrologer, he wanted to test him in a manner the
most satisfactory to himself. One morning handing to the
Astrologer a very indifferently gummed envelope, he said,
“ Here, Sir, take this letter home with you and come back to
mo with your copy in the afternoon.” This loose way of clo­
sing the envelope, and the permission given to the Astrologer
to take it home for several hours, surprised the Brahmin,
who said, “ I don’t want to go home. Seal the cover better,
and give me the use of some room here. I shall be ready
with my copy very soon.” “ No,” said tlie Mudalyar, “ tako
it as it is, and come back whenever you like. I have the
means of finding O u t the deception, if any be practised.”
So then the Astrologer went with the envelope ; and re­
turned to the Mudalyar’s place in the afternoon. Myself and
about twenty others were the Mudalyar’s guests according to
previous arrangement. The Astrologer then carefully hand­
ed the cover to the Mudalyar, desiring him to see if it was
all right. “ Don’t mind that,” the Mudalyar answered. “ ]
can find out the trick, if there be any. Produce your copy.”
The Astrologer thereupon presented to the Mudalyar a paper
on which four lines had been written in Telugu ; and stated
that this was a copy of the paper enclosed iu the Mudalyar’s
envelope. Those four lines formed a portion of an antiquat­
The Mudalyar read the paper once, then read it over again.
Extremo satisfaction beamed over his countenance, and he
sat mute for some seconds seemingly in utter astonishment. ;
But soon after, the expression of his face changing, he opened
the envelope and threw the enclosure down, jocularly saying
to the Astrologer, “ here, Sir, is the original of which you
have produced the copy.”
The paper was laying open on the carpet, and was quite
blank !! not a word, nor a letter on its clean surface.
This was a sad disappointment to all his admirers but; to
the Astrologer himself, it was a real thunderbolt. He picked
up the paper pensively, examined it on both sides, then
dashed it to the ground in fury ; and suddenly arising ex­
claimed, “ M y V id y a * is a delusion, and I am a liar !” The
subsequent attitude of the poor man was such that we became
afraid lest this great disappointment should drive him to
commit some desperate act. In fact he seemed determined to
drown himself in the well saying that he was dishonoured.
While we were trying to console him, the Mudalyar came
forward, got hold of his hands, and beseeched him to sit down
and be calmed and listen to his explanation, assuring him that
he was not a liar, and that his copy was perfectly accurate.
But the Astrologer would not be appeased ; he supposed that
all this was said simply to console him ; and he was cursing
himself and his fate most horribly. However in a few mi­
nutes, he became ealmer and listened to the Mudalyar’s ex­
planation, which was in substance as follows:—
“ The only sceptical way of accounting for this phenomenon,
is to suppose that the Astrologer opened the covers so dexter­
ously as to read their contents. Otherwise, there could be
no other way of his finding them out.— So” he said,— “ I wrote’
four lines of old poetry on a paper with nitrate of silver,
which will be invisible until it is exposed to light; and this
would have disclosed the Astrologer’s fraud, if he had tried
to find out the contents of the enclosed paper, by opening the
cover, however ingenuously. For, if he opened it and looked
at the paper, he would havo seen that it was blank, resealed
the covcr, and declared that the paper enveloped therein
bore no writing whatever ; or, if he had, by design or acci­
dent, exposed the paper to light, the writing would have
becomo black ; and he would have produced a copy of it, as
if it wero the result of his own Vidya ;— but in either case
and the writing remaining, his deception would have been
clear, and it would have been patent to all that he d id open
the envelope. But in the present case, the result proved
conclusively that the cover was not opened at all.”
• * S e c r e t k n o w le d g e , m a g ic ,— I'id,
 This explanation, whieh was satisfactory to many, was
nothing to the Astrologer. He was not acquainted with the
nitrate of Silver, or its properties. He wanted an ocular de­
monstration, and this was soon furnished to him. The paper
in question was taken to the open court-yard, and thero
exposed to the sun, when, lo ! letter after letter, and word
after word, began to come out ; and upon the whole writing
thus developed, it corresponded exactly with what the As­
trologer had produced as the copy of the original.
If the 'Astrologer was mad with grief at first, he now
became mad with joy. Tears of gratitude flowed from his
eyes, and he heaped praises on his Vidya and the Guru who
had imparted it to him. Of course his great skill in connec­
tion with this phenomenon was well rewarded by the Mu-
dalyar and all that were present; and from that day forth,
liis fame became still more widely spread and his V id y a was
no more doubted.
I am told that there are now several persons who are
skilled in sueli occult matters in the Mysore Provinces ; and
that a Brahmin gentleman now occupying one of the verna­
cular professorships in the Presidency College at Madras,
knows this V id y a to perfection ; and that lie even practised
it for several years with g'reat success.
M adras, | figures, that will remain when, putting together all the subse­
17th March 1883. j
----- «-----
THE BUGBEARS O F S C IE N C E .
(Continued f o r m the A p r i l Number.)
III.
Tub following is a summary of various reviews upon Dr.
Y®ger'a N eu ra lan a lysis in connection with homoeopathy.
The N e u ra la n a lysis is based upon the application of the
apparatus known among physicians as the chronoscope, whose
object it is to record the most infinitesimal intervals of time:*
one needle making from five to ton revolutions in a second,
i’ive revolutions are sufficient for a neuralanalytical experi­
ment. This needle can be instantaneously set in motion by
the interception of the galvanic current, and as instantane­
ously stopped by allowing its flaw again. So great is the
sensitiveness of the instrument, that a chronoscope with ten
revolutions in a second, is capable of calculating and record­
ing the time needed for a pistol ball in motion to cross the
space of one foot. The means used for this experiment is as
follows : during its transit, the ball, acting upon the wire,
shuts out the current, and a foot further on, it breaks another
wire, and thus stops the current altogether. During this
incredibly short space of time, the needle is already set in
motion and has crossed a certain portion of its circuit.
The Neuralanalysis consists in the measurement of that for
which astronomers have a term of their own, but Dr. Yceger
calls Nervenzeit— “ nerve-lime.”
If, while observing the moment of the appearance of some
signal, one had to record that moment by some given sign—
say by the bending of his tinger— then between the appear­
ance of the said signal and the bending of the finger, a
certain lapso of time will be needed in order that the impression
upon the nervous tissue of the eye should reach through the
optic nerve the brain, and thence expand itself along the
motory nerves to the muscles of the finger. It is this dura­
tion, or lapse that is called nerve-time. To calculate it by
means of the chronoscope, one has to carefully observe the
position of the needle ; and, never losing sight of it, to inter­
cept by a slow wave of the hand the galvanic current, and
thus set the needle in motion. As soon as the latter motion
is observed, the experimenter rapidly stops it hy liberating
(he current, and takes note again of the needle’s position.
The difference between the two positions will give the exact
nerve-time” in so many parts of a second. The duration of
“ nerve-time” depends firstly on the condition in which the
conduetibility of the nervous and muscular apparatus is at the
time : this condition being thoroughly independent of our
will. And secondly, it depends on the degree of intensity of
the attention and the force of the will impulse in the experi­
menter; the more energetic is the will or desire, the greater
the attention, the shorter will be tlio “ nervc-time.” To
mako the second condition easier— an exercise is necessary
by moans of whieh is developed a habit— known in physi­
ology as the law of eo-ordinative motions or of nearly simulta­
neous action. Then one single will-impulse will be sufficient
# S ncli aB th e d u r a tio n o f la m in o a s im p re s u io u s
th o e y e — fo r in sta n ce *
to produce two motions— the act of intercepting and that of
releasing the galvanic current. Of these two motions which
appeal* both at first as deliberate, the second will become
through exercise and habit involuntary, so to say instinctive,
and follow the first independently. Once the habit acquired,
the “ nerve-tiine” when calculated by the chronoscope
becomes very little dependent upon will, and indicates chiefly
the rapidity with wliich the exeitcment is spread along the
nerves and muscles.
Hitherto, only the mean quantity of “ nerve-time” was
generally paid attention to ; but Dr. Yceger remarked that it
was liable to considerable fluctuations, one rapidly succeed­
ing the other. For instance ; taking one hundred clironos-
copical measurements of “ nerve-time” one after the other
and at short intervals, say, every 10 or 20 seconds, we get
rows of figures, considerably differing from each other, the
changes in the quantity of those figures, i. e., the fluctuations
in tho duration of nervc-time being very characteristic. They
can be represented in accordance with a certain graphic me­
thod, by means of a curved line. The latter as showing the
results of all the measurements taken one after the other, Dr.
Yteger has called the “ detail-curve” (D etailku rve). Besides
this, he constructs another curved line, which shows those
quent observations ten by ten, the mean result is obtained out
of every decade. The latter result of ten observations he calls
Decandenziffer or the “ Decade figure.” Thus the N eural-
a n a ly tic a l curves give us a general view in figures of the
state of our nervous apparatus, in relation to the conductivity
of their excitation and the characteristic fluctuations of that
conductivity. Studying by this means the condition of the
nervous system, one can easily judge in what way, and to
what extent, it is acted upon by certain definite external and
internal influences, and, as their action under similar condi­
tions is invariable, then vice versa, very exact conclusions
can be arrived at by the characteristic state of the conducti­
vity of the nervous system as to the nature of those influences
that acted upon the nerves during the said chronoscopic
measurement.
The experiments of Yreger and his pupils show that the
aspect of the neuralanalytical curves,— which lie calls
“ psychogrammes”— changes, on the one hand, at every in­
fluence acting upon the organism from without, and on the
othor,— at everything that affects it from within, as, for
instance, pleasure, anger, fear, hunger or thirst, &c., &c.
Moreover, peculiar characteristic curves are formed, in cor­
respondence to every such influence or affect. On the other
hand one and the same person experimented upon under the
same conditions, gets each time, under the influence of some
definite substance introduced into liis organism, an identical
psycliograinme. The most interesting and important feature
of the n eu ralan alysis is found in the fact, that the choice of
the means resorted to for the introduction of various sub­
stances into the human organism, has no importance here
whatever : any volatile substance, taken within, will give the
same results when simply inhaled, it being quite immate­
rial whether it has or has not any odour.
In order that the experiments should always yield results
for purposes of comparison, it is strictly necessary to pay a
great attention to the food and drink of the person experi­
mented upon, to both his mental and physical states, as also
to the purity of the atmosphere in the room where the ex­
periments take place. The “ curves” will show immediately
whether the patient is in the same neu ra lan a lytical disposi­
tion with regai'd to all the conditions as he was during the
preceding experiments. No other instrument the world over
is better calculated to show the extreme sensitiveness of
human organism. Thus, for instance, as shown by Dr. Yeeger,
it is sufficient of one drop of spirit of wine spilled on a var­
nished table, that the smell of varnish filling the room should
alter considerably the psychograinmic figures and impede the
progress of the experiment.
There are several kinds of psyeliogrammes, the olfactory
one being called by him the osmogramme from the Greek
word osmosis, a form of molecular attraction. The osmo-
grammes are the most valuable as giving by far the greater
and clearer results. “ Even the metals”— says Ya’.ger—
“ show themselves sufficiently volatile, to yield most sugges-
tivo osinogrammes.” Besides whereas it is impossible to stop
at will the action of substances introduced in the stomach,
the action of a substance inhaled may be easily stopped. The
quantity of substance needed for an osmogramme is the laoat
u p o n th o r e t i n a of
trifling ; and leaving aside the enormous liomceoput? !<•. ',.i
tiong, the quantity has no real importance. T hus, for
instance, w h e n alcohol has to be inhaled, it makes no differ­
ence in the result obtained whether its surface covers an area
of one square inch or that of a large plate.
In the next number it is proposed to show the enormous
light that Yceger’s discoveries of this n e w application of the
chronoscope throws upon homoeopathy in general, and the
doubted efficacity of tho infinitesimal doses in countless
dilutions— especially.
--- *---
FRAGMENTS OF OCCULT T R U T IL
By a L ay C hela.
No. V III.
T he P rog ress of H u m a n it y .
T h e course of N a tu r e provides, as the reader will n o w
have seen, for the indefinite progress towards higher
phases of existence of all h u m a n entities. B u t no less
will it h ave been seen that b y e n d o w in g these entities as
they advance with ever-increasing faculties, a n d b y
constantly enlarging the scope of their activity nature
also furnishes each h u m a n entity with m ore a n d m ore
decisive opportunities of choosing betw een g o o d a n d evil.
I u the earlier rounds of hum a nity this privilege
selection is not well developed, a n d responsibility
action is correspondingly incomplete. T h e earlier rounds
of h um a nity iu fact do not invest the E g o w ith spiritual
responsibility at all in the large sense of the term w hich
w e are n o w approaching. T h e devaclianic periods
which follow each objective existence in turn dispose
fully of its merits, demerits, a n d the m ost deplorable
personality w h ic h the E g o during the first half of its
evolution can possibly develope is merely drop ped out of
the account as regards the larger un dertak in g, while tlie
erring personality itself pays its relatively brief penalty,
a n d troubles nature no more. B u t the second half of tlie
great evolutionary period is carried on on different prin­
ciples. T h e phases of existence w h ich are n o w co m in g
into view, cannot be entered upon b y the E g o without
positive merits of its o w n appropriate to the n e w develop­
m ent in p ro sp ect; it is not en o u g h that the n o w fully
responsible and highly gifted bein g w h ich m a n becom es,
at the great turning point of his career should float idly
on the stream of progress ; he m ust begin to s w im , if he
wishes to p ush his w a y forward.
D e b a r r e d b y the complexity of tho subject from
dealing w ith all its features simultaneously, our survey of
nature has so far contemplated the seven rounds of h u m a n
de v elo pm en t,w h ich constitute the whole planetary un der­
taking with w h ich w e are concerned as a continuous series
throughout w hich it is the natural destiny of hum anity
in general to pass. B u t it will be r e m e m b e r e d tliat
hum anity in the sixth round has been spoken of as so
highly developed that the sublim e faculties a n d attributes
of the highest adeptsliips are the c o m m o n a p a n a g e of all;
while in the seventh round the race has almost em erg e d
from hum anity into divinity. N o w every h u m a n b e in g
in this stage of developm ent will still be identified b y an
uninterrupted connexion, with all the personalities w hich
h ave been strung upon that thread of life from the b e ­
g in n in g of the great evolutionary process. Is it conceivable
that the character of such personalities, is of no conse­
quence in the long run, a n d that two god-like beings m ight
stand side b y side in the seventh ro u n d , developed, the
one from a long series of blameless a n d serviceable exist­
ences, the other from an equally long series of evil a n d
grovelling lines ! T h a t surely could not com e to pass,
a n d w e have to ask n o w h o w do w e find the congruities
of nature preserved com patibly with the appointed evolu­
tion of h u m a n ity to the higher forms of existence
w hich crown the edifice.
Just as childhood is irresponsible for its acts, the
earlier races of h u m a n ity are irresponsible for theirs ; but
there com es the period of full g row th, w h e n thecom pleto
developm ent of the faculties w h ic h enable the individu­
al m a n to choose betw een go od a n d evil, in the single
life with w h ic h he is for the m o m e n t concerned, enable
the continuous E g o also to m a k e its final selection.
T h a t period, that enorm ous period for nature, is in no
hurry to catch its creatu res in a trap in such a matter
as this,— is barely yet be ginn ing, a n d a complete round
period around tlie seven worlds will have to b e g o n e
through before it is over until tlie m iddle of the fifth
period is passed on this Earth, the great question— to
be or not to be for the future— is not irrevocably settled.
W e are c o m in g n o w into the possession of the faculties
w hich render m a n a fully responsible be in g, but w e h a ve
yet to em ploy those faculties during the maturity of
our Ego- hood in the m a n n e r w hich shall determ ine the
vast consequences hereafter.
It is du rin g tho first half of the fifth r o u n d that the
struggle principally takes place. Till then the ordi­
nary course of life m a y be a good or a b a d preparation
for the strugglo, bu t cannot fairly be described as the
struggle itself. A n d n o w w e have to e x a m in e the nature
of the struggle, so far merely spoken of as the selection
betw een go o d a n d evil. T h a t is in no w a y an inaccurate,
but it is an incomplete, definition.
T h e ever-recurring a n d ever-threatened conflict between
of
intellect a n d spirituality is the p h e n o m e n o n to be n o w
of
ex a m in ed , the c o m m o n place conceptions w hich these two
w ords denote m ust of course be e x p a n d e d to som e extent
before the occult conception is realised, for E u r o p ea n
habits of think ing are rather apt to set up in the m in d
an ignoble im a g e of spirituality as an attribute of the
character rather than of the m in d itself,— a pale goody-
goodinesshourof an attachm ent to religious ceremonialand
of devout aspirations, no matter to w h a t whimsical notions
of H e a v e n a n d Divinity iu w hich the "spiritually-minded”
person m a y have been brought up. Spirituality in the
occult sense has little or nothing to do with feeling
d e v o u t ; it hns to do w ith the capacity of the m in d for
assimilating k n o w le d g e at the fountain h e ad of k n o w le d g e
itself,— of absolute k n o w le d g e ,— instead of b y the circuit­
ous a nd laborious process of ratiocination.
T h e developm ent of pure intellect, the ratiocinative
faculty, has been the business of E u r o p e a n nations for
so long, a n d in this departm ent of h u m a n progress they
have achieved such magnificent triumphs that nothing
in occult philosophy will be less acceptable to E u r o p ea n
thinkers at first, a nd while the ideas at stake are im per­
fectly grasped, than tho first aspect of tlie occult theory
concerning intellect a n d spirituality,— but this does not
arise so m u c h from the under-tendency of occult science
to depreciate intellect as from the under-tendency of
m odern western speculation to depreciate spirituality.
Broadly s peakin g, so far western philosophy has h a d no
opportunity of appreciating spirituality; it has not been
m a d e acquainted with the range of the inner faculties of
m a n ; it lias merely grop ed blindly in tho direction of a ,
belief that such inner faculties existed, a nd K a n t himself,
the greatest m o d e r n exp on en t of that idea, does little
more than contend that there is such a faculty as intui­
tion,— if w e only find b o w to w ork with it.
T h o process of w o r k in g with it is occult science in its
highest aspect,— the cultivation of spirituality. The
cultivation of m ere p o w er over the forces of nature, the
investigation of som e of her subtler secrets as regards
the inner principles controlling physical results, is occult
science in its lowest aspects, a n d into that lower region
of its activity m ere physical science m a y , or even must,
gradually run up . B u t tho acquisition b y m ere intel­
lect- physical science in excelsis— of privileges which
are the proper a p an a g e s of spirituality, is one of tho
dangers of that struggle w h ic h decides the ultimate
destiny of the h u m a n E g o . F o r there is one thing which
intellectual processes do not help m a n k in d to realise, a n d .
 that ia the nature a n d suprem e excellence of spiritual thereof. B u t there are hints pointing in the direction of
existence. O n the contrary intellect arises out of such proof all around us if w e ha ve but the patience
physical causes,— the perfection of the physical brain,— to e x a m in e their true bearings. It is idle to say, in
a n d tends only to physical results,— the perfection of fact m erely for one thing, of the p h e n o m e n a of
material welfare. A lt h o u g h as a concession to “ w e a k clairvoyance,— crude a n d imperfect as those have
b r e t h r e n " a n d “ religion,” on w h ic h it looks with good- been w h ic h ha ve p u s h e d themselves on the atten­
h u m o u r e d contempt, m odern intellect does not con­ tion of the world— that there are no other avenues to
d e m n spirituality, it certainly treats the physical h u m a n consciousness but those of the five senses. Certainly in
life as the only serious business w ith w h ic h grave m e n , the ordinary world the clairvoyant faculty is an e x c e e d ­
or even earnest philanthrophists, can concern themselves. ingly rare one, bu t indicates the existence in m a n of a
B u t obviously if spiritual existence, vivid subjective potential faculty the nature of w hich, as inferred
consciousness, really does go on for periods greater than from its slightest manifestation, m ust obviously b e capa­
the periods of intellectual physical existence in the ratio ble in its highest developm ent of leading to a direct
as w e havo seen in discerning the D e v a c h a n ic condition, assimilation of k n o w le d g e independently of observation.
in the ratio of 8 2 to 1, at least then surely m a n ’s subjec­ O n e of the m ost em barrassing difficulties that besets the
tive existence is m ore important than his physical exist­ present attempt to translate the Esoteric Doctrine into
ence, a n d intellect in error w h e n all its efforts are bent plain lang uage, is d u e really to the fact that spiritual
on the amelioration of the physical existence. perceptiveness, apart from all ordinary processes b y w hich
k n o w le d g e is acquired, is a great a n d grand possibility
T h e s e considerations s h o w h o w the choice be tw e en
of h u m a n nature. It is b y that m e t h o d in the regular
good a n d evil,— w h ic h has to be m a d e by the h u m a n
course of occult training that adepts impart instruction
E g o in the course of the great struggle be tw e en intellect
to their pupils. T h e y a w a k e n the dorm ant sense in the
a n d spirituality— is not a m ere choice be tw e en ideas as
pupil, a n d through this they im b u e his m in d with a k n o w ­
plainly contrasted as wickedness a n d virtue. It is not
ledge that such a n d such a doctrine is the real truth.
so rough a question as that, w hether a m a n be w ic k e d or
T h e w hole schem e of evolution w hich the foregoing
virtuous, w h ich m ust really at the final critical turning
chapters have pourtrayed, infiltrates into the regular
point decide w h eth er he shall continue to live a n d
C h e la ’s m in d b y reason of the fact that he is m a d e to see
develope into h igh e r phases of existence or cease to live
the processes t a k in g place b y clairvoyant vision. There
altogether. T h e truth of the matter (if it is not im p r u ­
are no w ords used in his instruction at all. A n d adepts
dent at this state of our progress to brush the surface of
themselves, to w h o m the facts a n d processes of nature
a n e w mystery) that the question, to be or not to be, is
are familiar as our five fingers to us, find it difficult to
not settled b y reference to the question w hether a m a n
explain in a treatise w h ic h they cannot illustrate for us,
be w ick ed or virtuous at all. It will plainly b e seen
b y p roducing m ental pictures in our dorm ant sixth sense,
eventually that there m ust b e evil spirituality as well as
the co m ple x a n a to m y of the planetary system.
go o d spirituality. S o that the great question of conti­
n u ed existence turns altogether a n d of necessity on the Certainly, it is not to b e expected that m a n k in d as yet
question of spirituality as com pared w ith pliysicality. should be generally conscious of possessing the sixth
T h e point is not so m u c h “ shall a m a n live, is he good sense, for the day of its activity has not yet com e. Th is
en o u g h to be permitted to live a n y longer as,” “ can the consideration m a y serve to introduce a highly important
m e n live a n y longer in the higher levels of existence fact connected with evolution w h ic h has been passed
into w hich h um a nity m ust at last evolve.” H a s he over in silence till n o w . E a c h r o u n d in turn is devoted
qualified himself to live b y the cultivation of the durable to his perfection in m a n of the corresponding principle
portion of his nature ? I f not he has got to the en d of in its numerical order to its preparation for assimilation
his tether. T h e destiny w h ic h m ust befal him is ann i­ w ith the next. T h e earlier rounds have boen described
hilation, not necessarily suffering in a conscious existence as concerned with m a n in a s h a d o w y loosely organised,
but that dissolution that m ust befal the soul w h ich has unintelligent form. T h e fourth round in w hich w e are
wholly assimilated itself to matter— into the eighth sphere n o w e n g a g e d , is the ro un d in w h ic h the fourth principle,
of pure matter that E g o m ust descend, w h ic h is unfitted W i l l , Desire, is fully developed, a n d in w hich it is e n g a g ­
to g o on a n y further in the u p w a r d spiral path aro u nd ed in assimilating itself with the fifth principle. R e a so n ,
the planetary chain. Intelligence in the fifth roun d, the completely developed
R e ason , Intellect or soul, in w h ic h the E g o then resides,
T h is is the great m e a n in g of the occult doctrine that, m ust assimilate itself to the sixth principle, spirituality,
“ to be immortal in go o d , ohe m ust identify oneself with or give up the business of existence altogether.
G o d : to b e immortal in evil w ith S a ta n . T h e s e are
All readers of B h u d d is t literature are familiar with the
the two poles of the world of souls ; b e tw e e n these two
constant references m a d e there to the A r h a t ’s union of
poles vegetate a n d die without r e m em b ra n ce the useless
h iss o u l,w it h “ G o d . ” T h is ,in otherwords, is the premature
portion of m a n k i n d .” T h e enigm a, like all occult for­
developm ent of his sixth principle. H e forces himself
mulas, has a lesser application (fitting the microcosm
right up throu gh all the obstacles w hich im pede such an
as well as the m acro co sm ), a n d in its lesser significance
operation in the case of a fourth-round m an , into that
refers to D e v a c h a n a n d A vitchi, a n d the blank destiny of
stage of evolution w h ic h awaits the rest of h u m a n ity ,—
colourless personalities ; but in its more important bear­
or rather as m u c h of hum anity as m ay reach it in the
ing it relates to the final sorting out of hum a nity at tho
ordinary course of nature,— in the latter part of the fifth
m iddle of the great fifth round, the annihilation of the
round. A n d in d o in g this it will be observed he tides
utterly unspiritual E g o s a nd the passage o n w ar d of the
himself right over the great period of dan ger — the
others to be immortal in go o d or immortal in evil.
m iddle of the fifth round. T h a t is the stupendous achieve­
Precisely the sam e m e a n in g attaches to “ Revelations”
m e n t of the adept as regards his o w n personal interests.
(iii. 15-16) “ I w o u ld thou wert cold or h o t ; so then
H e has reached the further shore of the sea in w h ic h so
because thou art luk ew arm , a n d neither cold nor hot, I
m a n y of m a n k i n d will perish. H e waits there in a con­
will spue thee out of m y m o u t h .” Spirituality then is
tentm ent w h ic h people cannot even realise without somo
not devout aspiration; it is the highest k in d of intellec­
glim m erings of spirituality— of the sixth sense themselves
tion, that w h ic h takes cognisance of the w o r k in g of
for the arrival there of his future com panions. H e does
nature b y direct assimilation of the m in d w ith her h i g h ­
not wait in his physical b o d y ,— let m e hasten to a d d to
est principles. T h e objection w hich physical intelli­
avoid misconstruction— but w h e n at last privileged to
gence will bring against this view is that the m in d can
resign this, in a spiritual condition w h ic h w e have not yet
cognise noth in g except b y observation of p h e n o m e n a
endeavoured to describe.
and reasoning thereon. T h a t is the m is t a k e : it can,
a n d the existence of occult sicence is the highest proof --- —
 V IS IS IIT H A D W A IT A r H I L O S O P I I Y, Q. 9. Describe S u dd h a S a tiv a ?
A. It is entirely composed of S a tiv a Gana (quality of
F o r the last three and odd years that your Journal has
goodness) ; is of a permanent nature ; subjeet to
been in existence, there has never been any contribution pre­
I s w a r a ’s will ; and is found in-V aik u nt(h )a Loka.
senting consistently the philosophy of the Visishtadwaita.
Originated by Szi Ramanujacharya, it stands between the „ 10. Describe M isra S a tiv a ?
two extreme philosophies, respectively known as the Adwaita ,, ,, It is composed of all the Gunas, viz.— Sativa, Baja,
and tlie Dwaita ; and accepts all those passages in the Vedas and T am a ;* is a mask (a veil or mist) to man’s
which arc admitted by either in support of its own views. gnana and ananda (knowledge and bliss) ; produces
There arc many points, however, in the subjoined dialogue illusionary or false knowledge ; is permanent; is a
that both a Dwaitee and an Adwaitee would call into ques­ play thing to Isw ara (?) ; has form ; and is called
tion. Tlie authors of the dialogue promise to answer the I ’ra k r iti, A v id y a and M a ya :— P r a k r i ti , because it
objections of tlie devotees of cither sect. In the case of such has form and is therefore changeable. A v id y a ,
emergency, the readers of the Magazine and our Brothers because producing false knowledge. M a ya , for be­
in Theosophy, of tlie Madras Presidency, are referred to ing the canse of the wonderful objective Cosmos.
Srintan S. Partliasarathy Iyengar, F. T. S., residing in ,, 10B. Describe S a ti v a S tiny a ?
Ti'iplicane, Madras. ,, ,, Time, made up of seconds, &c.
,, 11. Describe the evolution of the objective cosmos out of
A. G O V I N D A C H A R L U , F. T. S. primordial matter (m u la p ra k r iti) ? ‘
,, ,, As follows : — M u l a p r a k r i ti , \ Maliat.,% A hankaram ,§
Subda tanmatram,\\ Spa rsa tan m atram ,**
C a t ec h ism of the V isistiia d w a ita P h ilo so ph y . V ayu (s),tt R u p a tan m atra m ,JJ Te/rt.s,§§ Rasa
Q. 1. W h a t is m a n ’s greatest aspiration P tanmatram,\\\\ A p a (s),1[1[ Gandha ta n m a tra m ,** *
A. Moksha (final em ancipation), called P n ru sh drth a (o b ­ r r i t h i v i , f f f and Permutations and combinations
ject of desire.) of these.
,, 2. W l ia t is Moksha ? ,, 12. What is the method of L a y a ? (Relapsation or absorp­
,, ,, E n jo y m e n t of Brahma* after disseverance or disen- tion.)
thraim ent from all materialf connection. ,, ,, Each of the differentiations merging back into its pre­
,, W h a t arc the m ea n s of attaining Moksha ? cedent cause, as P ritliu r relapsing into A p a (s), &c..
,, ,, D iv in e contemplation (B h a g a v a d -b h a k ti). * L a y a means the disappearance of all effects into
,, 4. W lia t is lilt n id i ? the ultimate cause. This is expressed by saying
,, ,, Gna.na (K n o w l e d g e or w is d o m ) of Iswara, continu­ that all effects attain the state of Aksharavastlia
ous, full of love, a n d c o m m in g lin g w ith no other (undifferentation) in M u la p ra k riti or Tamas, which
than Bra,lima. dwells in unison with P ara m atin a.
,, 5. W l ia t is it that reaches Moksha ? ,, 13. What do you mean by E kibhdva (oneness-like, assi­
,, J iv a tm a or Jivan. milation)?
„ (!. W h a t is the nature of J ivan ? ,, It means that T am as lies in Iswara in Sukshmdvastha,
„ ,, Jivan partakes of the nature of B ra h m a in w isd o m ; • (undeveloped cause), undistingnishable by name,
is subservient to B ra hm a a n d is an indivisible (spiri­ form, or division.
tual) particle (m o n a d ) ; can neither be created nor ,, 14. Are J i m , Iswara, M a y a , real existences (truths or
destroyed ; p e r se is changeless a n d has no form ; .realities)?
a n d yet distinct from Isu>ara,.X ,, ,, All the three are truc. +J+
7. W h a t is the nature of Isw a ra ? ,, 1 5. W h a t a r e c a u s e a n d e f f e c t ?
„ „ It lias no b ad but only good qualities,§ it is ever ,, Cause is Isw ara containing all Chilli and Achith in
lasting a n d universal w isd o m ; omnipotent, h a v in g Sukshm.dvastha. Effect is Isw ara containing them
truth as its principle a n d final purpose. It is the in Sth u ld vasth a. The combination of this trinity
universal M aster, omnipresent, h a v in g for its b ody (C hith, A ch ith and Isivara) is the U padana (mate­
c h e ta n a (an im a te) a n d a c lie ta n a (or inanim ate) . rials of construction) of the Jagath (cosmos). In
nature ; a n d it is quite distinct from J iv a n . effect, the characteristics of each are different,
,, S. Define A chit ? || (m atter). those of the one not obtaining for the others.
„ It is non-intelligent; of infinite fo r m s ; a n d is of ,, 1G. How ? Explain.
a triune aspect, viz., S u ddh a S a tiva , If M isra ,, ,, For example, take a cloth woven of three different-
S a tiva ,** a n d S a tiv a S n n y a . f t coloured threads, white, black, and red. The three
interwoven together make one harmonious whole,
* B r a h m a , P a r a b r a h m a , P a r a m a tm a , I s w a r a , B h a g a v a n ta , d e n o te th e
sm ile p rin c ip le :— A . G . (J. and still exist separately and having their own quali­
ties, whiteness, blackness and redness (B). In effect
t P r a k r iti lia s b e e n tr a n s l a t e d in to m a te r ia l f o r w a n t o f a b e t t e r te r m
(v id e d e fin itio n s o f P r a k r i t i f u r t h e r o n ) .— A . G . C. there cannot be such a thing as blackness in white,
J T h e m o n a d o r “ J i v a n ” b e in g “ d is tin c t f r o m I s iv a r a ” a n d y e t
and whiteness in black thread. (8). For Jagath,
c h o n g e le s s p e r se, n n e r e n to d a u d i n d e s t r u c tib le ,” i t m u s t b e fo r c ib ly the triune combination is Upadana, and there is no
a d m itte d , in s u c h ft c a s e , tlm t th e r e a re , n o t o n ly tivo b u t n u m b e rle s s interchangeableness or correlation among the three
d is tin c t e n titie s in o u r u n iv e rs o , t h a t a ro in fin ite , u n c r e a t e d , in d e s t r u c ­ functions, viz., the enjoying (Bhoktritwa=experi-
tib le a n d im m n ta b le ? I f n o ith e r h a s c r e a t e d t h o o th e r , t h e n th e y eneing) pertaining to J ivan (C h ith ), the enjoyed
a re , to s a y th e le a s t, o n a p a r , a n d b o th b e in g in fin ite , w e h a v e t h u s tw o
In fin ite s p lu s n u m b e r le s s f r a c t i o n s ? T h o id e a , if w e u n d e r s ta n d it
(Bhogjatwa) pertaining to P r a k r i t i (A chith) and
rig h tly ) s e e m s to u s s t i l l le s s p h ilo s o p h ic a l tlm n tl m t o f th e G od o f th e the dispensation or administration (N iy a n tritw a )
J e w s a n d C h r is tia n s w h o , in fin ite fin d o m n ip r e s e n t, p a s s e s e te r n i t i e s in pertaining to Iswara.
c re a tin g , o u t o f h im s e lf, s o u ls w h ic h , th o u g h c r e a t e d , b e c o m e im m o r ta l,
i, r., e te r n a l, a n d , h a v in g to bo p r e s e n t s o m e w h e re , m u s t e i t h e r c ro w d off * S < if /r n = Q u a llty o f u n a llo y e d g o o d n e s s a n d p u r it y .
I,lie O m n i| r e s e n t P r e s e n c e o r b o e o m e o n o w ith it, i. e„ lo s e t h e i r iu d i- B a j a — Q u a lity o f fo u ln e s s , a c tio n .
v id n a lilv lik o a le s s e r a b s o r b e d b y a la r g e r fla m e . A g a in , if J i v a n “ p a r ­
t a k e s o f th o n a tu r o o f B ra h m a in w is d o m ” a n d is a lso e te r n a l, in d e s ­ T a m a = Q u a l i t y o f d a r k n e s s , ig n o ra n c e .— A . G. C.
t r u c t i b l e a n d im m n ta b lo lik o t h e l a t t e r , t h e n iu w h a t r e s p e c t is i t i — P r im o r d ia l o r p rim a l c o sm ic m a t t e r . J ilfn /in f— S w e ll-
‘‘ d .is tin c t” fr o m B ra h m a ? — E d . T h eo so p h ist. in g o r b u lg in g . § A — B n d d in g o r g e rm in a t inn —c o n sc io u s in d i­
§ If " B r a h m a , P a ra b ra h m a , P a r a m a tm a , I s iv a r a , B h a g a v a n ta d e n o te v id u a liz a tio n . ||S w M a = P r i n c i p l e o f s o n n d ( a u d ib ilit y ) . lTA Jras»,=
nil th e s a m e p r in c ip le ,” a n d a r e a ll im m n ta b le , u n c r e a t e d , i n d e s t r u c t i ­ S p a c o . * #» S p rc rsa = P rin c ip le o f to u c h (ta n g ib ility ) . + + F a y u ( s j — A ir-
b le, o m n ip o te n t, o m n i p r e s e n t ; if a g a in it h a s “ t r u t h a s its p r in c ip le a n d J J K itp a = P r in e i p le o f f o r m ( v is ib ility ). § § T < y 'a s = L ig h t (in c lu d e *
final p u r p o s e ,” n n d if a t th e flam e tim o i t uh a s n o b a d b u t o n ly good q n a l i - j4 ;f m = f ir e ) . || || R a s a = P r i n c i p l o o f t a s t e ( g u s ta b ility ) , !TTM pa - (s ) =
w o b e g to h u m b ly e n q u ir e th e o rig in a n d t h e e x is t e n c e o f e v il in W a te r . * * * ( 7 a n r if t( i= P r in c ip le o f s m e ll ( o d o u r o u s n e s s ) . ftf/Vi'thm
th n t a ll- p e r v a d in g a n d a ll- p o w e r f u l g o o d n e ss , a c c o r d in g to th e V is ish ta - = E a r t h ( e a r t h y m a t t e r ) — A . G . C.
d n 'a ita I ’h ilo s o p b y .— E d . Theos. N o te .— S n c h is t h o c o s m o g o n y of th o n n iv e rs o a c c o rd in g to V e d an ta
|| A c h it hfts b e e n t r a n s l a t e d " m a t t e r ” ( v id e a n s w e r to Q u e s . 8 ) — P h ilo s o p h y . M u la p r a k r iti is th r o w n Out o f b a la n c e b y a p re d o m in a n c e
A .G . C- o f o n e o r th o o t h e r o f t h e t h r e e G u n a s, sa id to b e b r o u g h t a b o u t b y
I s iv a r a ,— M u la p r a k r iti is s e e d ; M a h a t its s w e llin g ; A h a n k a r a m its g e r ­
Suddha S a tii'a - P n r o m a t t e r . — A . G. C.
m in a tin g , & c .— A . G . C.
* # M is ra S n fiv c - I n ij iu r r m a t t e r . — A . G . C .
t t t T h is a n s w e r is in c o m p le te , h e n c e u n s a tis f a c to r y . W e w o u ld like
f t S 'ltiv a S i i « v n = Z e r o - m a t t e r — tim e m a d e u p o f m in u te d iv is io n s to k n o w in w h a t s e n s e is e a c h of th e s e t h r e e u n d e rs to o d to h a v e re a l
(Milled K a ta , K d s h ta , & c . H e ad Q u e s tio n 1 0 B a n d a n s w e r .— A . G. C . e x is te n c e ?— E d . T heos. 1
 Q 17. Are Jiva and Prakriti the body of Iswara ? A . 29 Iswara gives to JivQ.n organs (body), &c,}free-will, and
A Yes capability of knowledge, and a code explaining
,, 18. D o the terms used to designate the body (Sarira) w hat must be done, and what must be avoided.
denote also that which has the body (Sarin)? Jivan is dependent, but has still enough independ­
>» )i Yes. ence given him to execute the work entrusted
,, 19. ,, Give an example. into his hands. Iswara deals out reward or punish­
,, ,, W h e n w e say “ cow,” we do not m ean merely the m ent accordingly as Jivan uses the functions be is
co w ’s “ body,” but the cow as a living entity. endowed with, in conformity with S a ^r a s or not.
,, 20. „ B u t w hat do the following aphorisms m ean inthe (Consider the consequences of the use or abuse of
Vedantasara ? viz : power with which the king invests his prem ier).*
a.
Ayamatnia Brahma. Q . 30. Iswara being omnipresent, what is the m eaning of
b.
'l'hathwamasi. -Wotafta-attainment in other Lokas ?
c. Sarvam Khalvidam Brahma. A, A s soon as full-wjsdom ( Brahmagnana) is obtained, i.e
d. Aham, Brahmasmi. the state of complete illumination, Jivan shakes
e. Aham manus (li). off his Sthulasarira ; being blessed by Isivara
f. Brahmaveda Bralimaivachavathi, 8fc. 8fc. fyc. dwelling in his heart, it goes in Sukshma Sarira
„ ,, T h ey m ean this:— Parabrahma has Jiva for his b o d y ; to Sprdkrita Loka (non-material world) ; and drop­
he has Prakriti for his body ; Chit and Achit form­ ping Sukshma Sarira becomes Mukta (emancipat­
ing the body to the indweller, Iswara, as the pri- ed) .+
mum mobile* „ 31. H o w do you k n o w all this is true ? '
,, 21. Does Jivan get Moksha here, or what P ,, ,, Fro m Sdstras.
,, ,, After travelling by the paths of liijht (Archiradi)\ , ,, 32. W h a t is Sdstra ?
breaking through the circle of matter, and being „ ,, T h e Sacred Scriptures called “ Veda” % which is
welcomed by the four-faeed Brahma,% shaking oft' Anadi (h a d no beginning), Apanrusheya (non­
the Linya Sarira, entering Vaikunt(li)a Loka,§ h u m a n ), Nitya (unaffected by past, present, or
and assuming the same form as Iswara, it then future), and Nirdosha (pure).
enjoys Parabrahma.
Tum kur, *> A . G O V I N D A C I I A R L U , F. T. S.
,, 22. Is Mukta Jivan able to dwell in Vaikunt(h)a only or
30//i March 1883. j
can he go elsewhere P
E d i to r ’s N ote :— F o r v a r io u s r e a s o n s w o a r e u n a b le to p r i n t , a lo n g
„ |, It can do both under Isivara Itcha (will of Iswara).
■with t h e a b o v e tr a n s l a t i o n , i t s S a n s k r i t T e x t, I t m a y b e r e s e r v o d f o r
23. Are Jivas any fixed n um b er P f u t u r e u s e a n d p o r ti o n s o f i t p u b lis h e d a s o c c a s io n m a y r e q u ir e , to
,, ,, N o ; they are numberless. a n s w e r t h e p o s s ib le o b je c tio n s t h a t m a y b e b r o u g h t f o r w a r d b y o u r
24. H o w does conditioned existence (Sam sara) happen A d w a ite e a n d D w a ite e b r o th e r s . I n o n r h u m b le o p iu io n , s in c e t h e r e
c a n n o t b e b u t o n e a n d o n ly T r u th , t h e th o u s a n d a n d o n e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s
to Jiva ?
b y d if f e r e n t s e c ta r ia n s o f t h e s a m e a n d o n e t h i n g u re s im p ly t h e out*
,, Th ro u gh eternal companionship with Achit. w a r d a n d e v a n e s c e n t a p p e a r a n c e s o r a s p e c ts o f t h a t w h ic h is to o
25. H o w does the connection arise P d a z z lin g ( o r p e r c h a n c e to o d a r k a n d to o p ro f o u n d ) fo r m o r t a l e y e to
„ Through Karma. c o r r e c tly d is tin g u is h a n d d e s c rib e . A s a lr e a d y r e m a r k e d b y n s in Is is
,, 26. W h a t is Karm a ? U n v e ile d t h e m u l t it u d in o u s c r e e d s a n d f a ith s h a v o a ll b e e n d e riv e d
fr o m o n o p r im itiv e s o u rc c . T ruth s ta n d i n g a s th e o n o w h ite r a y of
,, ,, Iswara’s ordination or will.JJ
lig h t, it is d e c o m p o s e d b y t h o p r is m in to v a rio u s a n d e y e - d e c e iv in g
27. W h a t does Iswara ordain ? c o lo u rs o f t h e s o la r s p o e tr u m . C o m b in e d , t h e a g g r e g a t e o f a ll th o s o
„ „ “ Th o u be’st happy,” “ thou be’st u nhappy,” and so on. e n d le s s h u m a n i n t e r p r e t a t i o n s — s h o o ts a n d o ffsh o o ts — r e p r e s e n t o n o
28. W h y does Iswara so will ? e t e r n a l t r u t h ; s e p a r a te , t h e y a r c b u t s h a d e s o f h u m a n e r r o r a n d th o
,, „ O n account of the good and bad acts of Jivan P^f s ig n s o f h u m a n b lin d n e s s a n d im p e r f e c tio n . H o w e v e r, a ll s u c h p u b li­
c a tio n s a r c u s e f u l, s in c e t h e y fill th o a r e n a o f d is c u s s io n w ith n e w c o m ­
,, 21). Since Jivan is subservient to Iswara and Jivan is able
b a t a n t s a n d t h a t t r u t h c a n b o r e a c h e d a t b u t a f t e r t h e e x p lo sio n o f
only to do that which he is ordered to do, h o w can in n u m e r a b le o r r o r s . W e in v ito o u r D iuaitee a u d A d w a ite e B r o th e r s to
Isivara punish him P A n d h o w does Isivara point a n s w e r.
out, by means of Sdstras (L a w s or Institutes), ■ » - ■
what is good and what bad, to subordinate Jivan P
THEOSOPHY AND R E L IG IO U S R IO T S .
* A n d if f o r “ I s iv a r a ” w c s a y th o “ O n e Life,” o f t h e B u d d h ists* it
S o m e far-sighted and promising correspondent, anxious to
w ill c o m e to j u s t t h e s a m e th in g . T h o “ O n e L ife ’* o r “ P a r u b r a h m a ’*
is th o p r im u m m o b ile o f e v e r y a to m a n d is n o n - e x is te n t a p a r t fr o m it. penetrate the mystery of the recent Kotahene riot between
T a k e a w a y t h e c h it a n d a c h it, t h o g u n a s , &c., a u d I s w a r a w ill bo the Buddhists and the R o m a n Catholics to its very roots,
n o w h e re .— E d . Theos. makes a desperate attempt to connect it with “ Colonel Olcott
f A r c h ir a d i— 'Uhe illu m in a te d , e n lig h te n e d w a y , f u ll o f w isd o m , k n o w - and Theosop hy/’ T h e correspondent belongs to the Ceylon
i e d g e = T h e h e a v e n ly p a t h o p p o s e d t o t h a t le a d in g in to A v e rn u m ( B h iit-
Observer. Tel maitre, tel valet.
■nudi M a r g a )— A . C.
1 B r a h m a h e r e m e a n s d e m iu r g u s — t h e c r e a t iv e p r i m a r y e m a n a tio n A Heathen Em peror is said to have struck out
fr o m P a r a b r a h m a .— A> Q . C. from his life those days w hen he had failed to benefit
§ V a ik n n t()i)a L o k a = I s w a r a * s N ity a v ib h u ti c a llc d B h o g a v rib h u ti. N it- one hum an being, at the least.§ The Christian Editor of tho
y a v ib h u ti= V u i'm Q .n Q u ti \Q.stivigi fiiiQ.1 s ta te . M oksha B h o g a v r ib h u ti= l\e ix \ o r Ceylon Observer, as w e have but too well occasion to know ,
g e n u in e s t a t e . ( V u ik u n t{ h )a ) L ila v ib h 'u ti= S t& te o f im ita tio n , s h a m , o r
on that day w hen his paper will come out without containing
m im ic ry ( o u r p h e n o m e u a l w o r ld ) — A . G . C.
|J I n s u c h c a s e t h e V is is h ta d iu a ita p h ilo s o p h y e i t h e r te a c h e s t h a t m a n * P r e c is e ly a s in th e C h r is tia n C a te c h is m . I le n c o th e l a t t e r a s m u c h
is ir r e s p o n s ib le a n d t h a t a d e v o te e o f t h a t s e c t c a n n o m o r e a v e r t o r a s t h e fo r m e r , to t h e s t r i c t l y p h ilo s o p h ic a l m in d , a r o — u n p h ilo s o p h i-
c h a n g e h is f a t e th a n th e C h r is tia n P r e d e s tin a r ia n , o r t h a t h e c a n d o so c a l a n d illo g ic a l. F o r e i t h e r m a n is e n d o w e d w ith fre e -w ill a n d th o u
b y p r a y in g a u d t r y i n g t o p r o p i t i a t e Is-w ara ? I n t h e f ir s t c a s e Is w a r a h is K a r m a is h is o w n c r c a t io n a n d n o t a t a ll th e “ o r d in a tio n o r w ill”
b e c o m e s a n u n j u s t t y r a n t , iu t h e s e c o n d — a fic k le d e ity c a p a b lo of o f I s w a r a , o r h o is ir r e s p o n s ib le a n d b o th re w a r d a n d p u n is h m e n t b e ­
b e in g e n tr e a te d a n d o f c h a n g i n g h is m in d .— E d . T h eo s. c o m e u s e le s s a n d u n j u s t . — E d . T heos.
l i u t s in c e K a rin a is “ ls w a r a * s o rd iu a tio n o r w ill/* h o w c a n J iv a n bo
f “ E m a n c ip a te d ” th e n fr o m I s iv a ra a lso ? S in c o “ I s w a r a is d w e llin g
m a d e re s p o n s ib le f o r its a c ts P I s w a r a c r e a t in g o r w illin g th e K a rm a
in h is h e a r t a n d t h a t t h e h e a r t fo r m s a p o rtio n o f S th u l a S a r i r a w h ic h
o f e u e h m a n , a n d th e n p u n is h in g h im fo r its b a d n e s s , r e m in d s u s o f th e
h o h a s to “ s h a k e off” b e f o r e h o b e c o m e s e m a n c ip a te d a n d e n te r s in to
L o rd G od o f I s r a e l w h o c r e a t e s m a n ig n o r a n t, a llo w in g n o t a h a i r o f h is
t h e n o n - m a te r ia l w o rld , t h e r e is e v e r y re a s o n to b e lie v e t h a t I s w a r a is
h e a d to fa ll w ith o u t h is w ill, a n d th e n w h e n m a n s in s th r o u g h ig n o ru n e o
“ s h a k e n off” a t th e s a m e tim e a s S u k s h m a S a r ir a , a n d w ith a ll th o
a n d th e L e m p tu tio n o f G o d ’s c r e a t u r c — th e S e r p e n t, h e -is e t e r n a l l y
r e s t ? A t r u e V e d a n tin w o u ld s a y t h a t l s w a r a o r B rah-m a is “ P a r a ­
d a m n e d f o r it. W e s u s p e c t th e V is is h ta d iv a ita p h ilo s o p h y o f b e in g a s
b ra h m a p lu s M aya (o r ig n o ra n c e ).” — E d . Theos.
f u ll of in c o m p re h e n s ib le m y s te r ie s w h ic h I s w a r a “ lia s n o t so o r d a in e d ”
t h a t t h e y s h o u ld b e q u e s tio n e d — a s m is s io n a r y C h r is tia n ity its e lf . J T h a t is j u s t w h a t is d e n ie d b y m o s t o f th o P a n d its w h o a ro n o t
Q u e s tio n s a n d a n s w e r s fro m N o s. 2 4 to 27 a r e e n t i r e l y in c o m p r e h e n s ib le K i'fiisM adw aitis. T h e S d s tra s c a n b e r e g a r d e d id e u tic a l w ith th o V vdus
to o u r lim ite d c o n c e p tio n s . F i r s t o f a ll w e a ro to ld t h a t t h e c o n d itio n a l a s l i t t l e a s t h e m a n y h u n d r e d o f t h e c o n flic tin g c o m m e n ta r ie s u p o n th o
e x is te n c e o f J i v a n is “ th r o u g h i t s e t e r n a l c o m p a n io n s h ip w ith A c h it ** a G o sp e ls b y th o s o -c a lle d C h r is tia n F a t h e r s a ro id e u tic a l w ith t h e C h r is ­
s ta t e d u e to K a r m a , i, e., I s w a r a ’s “ o rd iu a tio n o r w ill j” a n d y o t f u r t h e r t i a n i t y o f C h r is t. T h e S d s tr a s u r e t h e r e p o s ito r y o f th o m a n y in d i­
on i t is s a id I s w a r a so w ills “ on a c c o u n t o f t h e g o o d a n d b a d a c t s o f v id u a l o p in io n s o f f a llib le m e n . A n d t h a t f a c t a lo n e t h a t t h e y d o c o n ­
Jiw i-n.” T h e s e tw o p ro p o s itio n s s e e m t o u s to b e e n tir e ly irr e c o n c ila b le . flic t in t h e i r e n d le s s a n d v a r io u s in t e r p r e t a t i o n s w ith e a c h o th e r , p ro v e
W h a t “ g o o d o r b a d a c t s ” J iv a n h a d to do, a n d in w h a t s t a t e o f e x is te n c e t h a t th e y m u s t a ls o c o n flic t w ith t h e s u b je c t th e y c o m m e n t n p o ii.
it w a s b e fo re I s w a r a o r d a in e d o r w ille d i t in to its c o n d itio n a l e x is to n e e , H e n c e — t h a t th e y a ro d i s t i n c t fr o m , a n d n o t in t h e l e a s t id e n tic a l w ith ,
a n d w h e th e r e v e n th o y e a c t s w e re n o t d u e to I s w a r a ’s “ o rd in a tio n /* a ro ithe V ed as.— E d . T heos. .
q u e s tio n s s till c lo u d e d w ith a p e r f o c t m y s te r y . W e h o p e , h o w e v e r , t h a t § “ L a C le m c u z a d i T i to ,” b y P . M e ta s ta s io .
o u r B r o th e r , t h e c o m p ile r o f t h e a b o v e C a te q h is m , w ill c le a r o u r d o u b ts “ P e r d u t o u n g io rn o e i d ic e
u p o u th e s o d e lic a te p o in ts .— E d . Theos, ■ . ; O v e f a t t o n o h a q u a lc u n fo lic e .”
 several lies and at least one libel, will swallow his ow n tongue
and thus die poisoned. “ It is argued,” writes his correspond­
ent,” that “ alarmed by the stoady if slow progress that
Christianity is m aking in the Island, and encouraged by the
presence (? )* of so called Theosophists, the Buddhists havo
rousod themselves from their torpor, and are inclined to bo
more aggressive than they have been for a long while, if
over.” A n d , it is represented that— “ a n e w and extraordi­
nary vigour was added to the revival (of Buddhism by the
priest Meguthuvatte) upon the arrival of Colonel Olcott in
Ceylon............ A good deal of enthusiasm was aroused
throughont the country, while a few educated m en w ho
suddenly remembored their faith in B uddhism , entored into
the spirit of the movement.” .
Quite true, so far, with that exception only that the “ revival
of B uddhism am ong educated m en ” has nothing to do w ha t­
ever with the riots. It is simply a dishonest insinuation.
W e propose to show tho true causes of this unfortunate
brawl ; aud none but a blind partizan or fanatic will deny the
statement. It is evident that the correspondent either knows
nothing of the “ movement,” or that bent upon mischief he
tries to throw suspicion upon a body of m en quite innocent
in the matter. M ore than t h a t ; had every m an am ong the
Buddhist and Christian rioteers belonged to the Theosophi­
cal Society (while there were few if any Theosophists in the
procession and none mixed in the riotf) the correspondent
would not have had the opportunity of writing the above
quoted words, since most likely no riot then could have
taken place, for reasons that will be shown at the end of tho
present article.
N o doubt it would have answered far more agreeably
the purposes of the Ceylon Observer, were every Buddhist
as every other “ heathen” the world over to forget for
ever his forefather’s faith, whether in B udd hism or any
other “ ism,” and thus open himself to the far more philoso­
phical and especially more comprehensible mysteries of
Christianity. Unfortunately for the Observer the palmy days
of heretic-roasting and thumb-screws are over. Religious
privileges are pretty evenly distributed am ong the British
subjects of the C r o w n ’s Colonies (at any rate thus saith the
law), their l'ospective creeds being left undisturbed, and every
one being allowed the choice as the untrammelled exercise of
his ow n religion. Christian Missionaries— if the said law and
the proclamation of the Queen Empress in 1858 are not a
farce— arc not granted any more religious privileges and
rights in the British Colonies as far as w e k n o w , than the
priests (subjects to Great Britain) of any other alien creed.
That fact—-perfectly well k no w n to all— that taking advan­
tage of the bigotry of some isolated Europeans, they neverthe­
less do obtain concessions that the heathen clergy do not, and
that carrying out their proselytism am ong H in d u s and B u d d ­
hists on principles that are often more than unfair, they have
fucceeded iu impressing a portion of the ignorant masses with
the false idea that it is the open wish of their rulers that they
should be all converted, does not affect at all the main ques­
tion of their real rights and privileges, which remain as
justly limited as before. To say here, as w e have often heard
it said, that “ might is right” is unfair, since in this case it
* While Col. Olcott left Ceylon six months ago, M m o . Blavatsky has
not visited it since August 1879.
+ There was one nearly killed, thongh, by somo wlcnown (?) Roman
Catholic blackguards and thiefs making of their religion a convenient
screen for plunder. This is wlmt the eon of that Theosophist— than
whom, there nover breathed a more inoffensive, kind, honest gentle­
man— writeB about the asaanlt in the papers.
Cinnam on G a rd e n s, March 26 th, 1883.
I regret to inform you that C.'olombo is the scene of a great riot
cAused by tho Homan Catholics and Buddhists.
Yosterday a “ Pinkatna” was taken from Borella to Itevd. Guuna-
aande’s Temple, whero a festival is taking place sinco February in com­
memoration of a new “ Vihare.”
Tho procession was composed of men, women and children, and num ­
bered over 10,000 (Buddhists). About a quarter of a mile from the
Temple (in the Roman Catholio quarters) showers of stoues, empty
bottles, Ac., were hurled at the procession by the Catholics, and the poor supporter in the Island is— The Ceylon Observer, W e m ay as an
Buddhists who were unarmed were severely assaulted. M y father
who did not entertain the slightest suspicion of his being assaulted
went forward with a few Police Inspectors to quiet both parties, but
unfortunately he got the worst of it. B e was dragged t(i the field ad­
joining tho road and was most unmercifully beaten with olubs and
other weapons and was plundered of all that he had on his person. He
Was brought home almost naked and senseless, when medical aid was
prooured and lie is now nnder the treatment of .Dr. Canberry........... ”
Yours, Ao.
P E T E S D ’ABEEW .
is simply priestly cunning that has the best of, and defeats
the ends of impartial justice and law. Unfortunately, in
every country under the sun the spirit of the law is easily
avoided, while its dead letter is as often m ade the weapon and
pretext for the perpetration of the most iniquitous deeds.
T o be brief and to define our m eaning clearly and at once,
w e shall put to our opponents the following direct questions :—
' 1. Does or does not the righteous British law protect
equally all its subjects, whether Heathen or Christian ?
2. W hile justly punishing a “ heathen” whenever the
latter insults the religious feelings of a Christian, shall or
shall it not also inflict the same punishment upon a Christian,
w h o grossly insults and ridicules tho faith of any of his
“ so called heathen” or “ pagan” fellow subject?
3. D o not Christian missionaries (these daily and in pub­
lic thoroughfares), lay bigots, and not only sectarian but even
political daily papers in the British Colonies use constantly
insulting and mocking words of Buddhist, H in d u , Mahom-
m edan and Parsi forms of faith, or do they never do so ?
4. A r e all the above nam ed personages liable to be
punished by law for it, or is that law enforced only with
regard to the “ heathen,” the teeming millions of India and
Ceylon ; and have the latter no protection or redress to hope
for from that righteous impartial law ?
W e vouchsafe to say that the answer to all those questions
(though of coursc they will never be answered) would be
clearly the following. “ T h e law is one for all. It protects
equally the Heathen and the Christian subjects, and gives po
more right to the missionary or lay Christian to insult the
religion of the Heathen, than to the latter to insult the creed
of the foi- mei\” A n d n ow , w e challenge the missionaries the
world over, as the editors of most of the daily and weekly
papers, whether conducted by bigoted or simply nominal
Christian editors, to deny that this law is defied and broken
daily and almost hourly. O f course suoh a denial would be im­
possible since taking as an instance this one Kotohena religious
row in Colombo alone, w e can quote from nearly every paper
in Ceylon and India the most insulting language used w hen
speaking of B uddhism . Arid yet of all the great religions of
the world, B udd hism is the only one which enforces upon its
devotees respect for all the alien creeds, “ H on o ur your ow n
faith, and do not slander that of others,” is a Buddhist maxiin,
and the edicts of K i n g Asok a are there to corroborate the
assertion. For centuries, the Christians and their missionaries
in Ceylon have daily insulted and reviled B uddhism
in every street and corner. They did so with impunity, and
taking advantage of the mild tolerance of the Singalese, their
lack of energy and detei’mination, and because B uddhism is
the least aggressive of all religions, as Christianity the most
aggrossive of all : more so than M ahom m edanism now, sinco
in this case “ m ight is right,” and that the latter feel sure to
come out second-best in every affray with the Europeans, Y et
w e doubt whether the^arfrt’s would have been allowed or even
dared to revile the religion of the “ pi-ophet” as forcibly as they
do Buddhism , were the Island populated by M a h o m m ed a n s
instead of being full of Buddhists. This detail alone, that the
census of 1882 shows that there are in Ceylon but 267,477
Christians (Europeans, Burghers arid Tamil converts included)
whereas the Singalese Buddhists count 1,698,070 souls, ought
to show, in view of the aforesaid insults, a good deal in
favour of the truly Christ-like patience, fortitude arid
forgiveness of all offence on the part of the Buddhists,
disclosing at the same timo the (as truly) unchristian, ag­
gressive, blood-thirsty, fierce and persecuting spirit of the so-
called Christians. Therefore, and without entering into the
useless question whether it was the Buddhist or Christian mol)
that was the aggressor, w e say fearlessly that the true cause
of the riot is to be sought in the ungenerous and unlawful
attitude of the Christian padris and bigots of Ceylon toward
Buddhist religion. Buddhists are mado of flesh and
blood, and their religion is as saered to them as Christi­
anity is to the Christians. Thus, it is the fanatical converts, w h o
are the true law-breakers in this case, and their recognized
illustration give here a few quotations from that sheet edit­
ed by the most bigoted baptist, thus showing it a regular hot­
bed where are daily sown the seeds of every possible religious
riot and sedition that m ay be expected in the future, not only
between Buddhists a n d Christians, but even am ong the
Protestants a n d the R o m a n Catholics.
(Ceylon Observer, A pril 2.)
... Government which recently nnitod with that of Ceylon in glorifying
ihe atheistic system of Buddhism by officially recognising the import. ,
 a n p e of s o m e r u b b is h y * r e m a in s o f t h e b e g g in g b o w l o f t h e s a g e w h o
t a u g h t “ tU oro is n o C r o a to r ,” a n d e x is te n c e is p e r aa an e v i l - etc, ..
(fo llo w v ilific a tio n s o f G o v e r n m e n t.)
. ( C ey lo n O b se rv e r, A p r il 4 .)
As wo aro going to press we hear, b u t w e c a n s c a rc e ly c re d it, the re­
port that Hr E. tho Governor has written or ordered to be written an
apologotic letter to the Buddhist Priest Mogathavatte on account of
liis procession having boen stopped! What next ? The news comes to
on from a gentloman who had seen the lotter.
Hore, H . E . tlie Governor” ia taken to task for acting as a
gontleman, and remembering that law has to deal with equal
impartiality iu tho case of a Buddhist as well as Chris­
tian priest. W o u l d The Gey Ion Observer find fault with G o ­
vernment for offering its apologies to a Baptist clergyman ?
(C e y lo n O bserver, M a rc h 3 1 .)
...... It was 'n consequonceof this priest’s scurrilous and blasphemous at­
tacks on Christiauity and all that the Christian holds to be good and
holy that tho Roman Catholics of Balangoda gave him a d r u b b in g on
Sunday last. It is Baid (is it proved ? l i d . ) that this man is a disciplo of
tho priest Megnthnvatte of Kotaheina sent forth in fact by him to attack
Christianity... Religious liberty is an incstimablo boon, but i f m e n w ill d e li­
b e ra te ly t u r n lib e rty in to lic e n se a n d a c t a s th is w re tc h e d p r ie s t is do in g ,
th e n th e lib e rty o f sttc h m e n m u s t be c u r ta ile d “ p ro bono p u b lic o j” or
a n e x citab le p e o p le m a y be la s h e d in to f tt r y , &c- &c.
W ise words these ; especially, if w e are shown that the sen­
tence covers all the ground applying to Christian priests and
missionaries as well.
T h e “ wretched” priest, if guilty of the said accusation,
merited his fate, though no one has the right to tako the law
into his o w n hands.
But w e beg permission to put some additional questions—
Shall not similar “ scurrilous attacks” upon B udd hism havo
to bo considored as “ blasphemous” w hen pronounced by a
Christian in the eyes of law ? A n d would not Buddhists
bo as justified (if there can be any justification for tho
“ L a w of L y n c h ” ) wero they to give “ a drubbing” to
a good Christian padri every time they would catch
him reviling their “ Lord B u d d h a , and all they hold to be
good and holy ?” T h e Buddhist priest is accused of be­
ing “ a disciple of the priest Meguttiwatte...sent forth by him
to attack Christianity.” T h e priest is in his own, though
conquered, country, defending his o w n creed that the just law
of his rulers protects against any assault, and has probably
done no more than this, were w e but to hear the other side.
Does not on the other hand, the horde of missionaries, w ho in­
vade this country, to which they, at least, (as most of them are
Americans and foreigners) have no conqueror’s right, “ attack”
Buddhism and Hin duism openly ? W e are not told whether
the R o m a n Catholic rowdies w ho gave the Buddhist priest
“ a drubbing” were punished for the assault or not. T hey
cortainly ought to ; and if not, may not such an impunity in­
cite the Bhuddhist mob to perhaps return the compliment ?
W h o is the aggressor and w ho the first to break the law,
onsuring to Buddhists theinviolabilityof their religious rights?
Surely not the Buddhists, but from the first the Missionaries
who aro ever fanning the latent spark of fanaticism in the
breast of their ignorant converts. T h e Buddhists w ho have
no right to assault or insult the devotees of any other faith, and
who would never think of doing it, have, never tholess,as good
a. right to preach and protect their ow n faith as the Christians
have— aye and a better one in Coylon, at any rate, if any of
them only remembers or knows anything of the Proclama­
tion of 1858 or that of 1815, M arch the 2nd,t in which Arti­
cle 5, distinctly states that— ■
“ T he relig io n of B uddha, professed by t ii e C u iees
INHA BITAN TS OE T U E S E P R O V I N C E S , IS DECLA RED I N V I O L A B L E , AND
ITS RIGHTS, MIN IS TE RS ', AND PLACES O F W O R S H IP , ARE
MAINTAINED AND P R O T E C T E D . ”
W e have not heard that this pledge has been ever with­
drawn or abolished. Thus, while admitting the profound
justness of tho correspondent’s words (the italics of which are
ours,)we permit ourselves to paraphrase the sentence and say
that if missionaries and bigots “ will deliberately turn liberty into
license and go on doing daily as the wretched” (Buddhist)
priest has done once (or perchance has not done it, at all) then
the liberty of such m en must be curtailed pro bono publico”
( i. e.,of the majority of 1,698,070 Buddhists as against a m ino­
rity of 267,477 Christians), or the masses of the people, were
• “ Rubbishy” because— Buddhist-relics. W e would stop to enquire
whether the brave correspondent would over think (or porhaps d a r e )
to speak of Christian relics, such as bits of the “ Holy cross” or evon
tho bones of some of tho Koman Catholic Saints— as “ rubbishy” in Homo
for instance p
+ Proclamation read by H . E . Lieut. Genl. Robert Brownrigg,
Governor in the Isle of Ceylon, acting in the name and od fyolmtf of hijj
Xijeaty George II I at the palace in the city of Kandy,
they as meek and humble as lambs, m ay be lashed into fury
some day, and -produce riots worse than the one under
notice at Colombo. ,
For further corroboration we invite the attention, of -whom
this m ay concern, to the issue of January 26, 1883, of the
^Moslem Friend. W e ask but to compare the utterances of
its M ussulman editor with those of the Christian editor of the
Ceylon Obsei'ver. W e.q u o te from it a sentence or two. ■
“ L a s t m o n th w h e n w e w e re in c o m p a n y w ith so m e o f o n r f r ie n d s a t
M a ta ra , w e h a p p e n e d to ro o d in t h e Q eylon O b sirv e r a n e d ito rin l c o n d e m n ­
ing^ o u r L o rd th o P r o p h e t, rid ic u lin g o n r re lig io n a n d in s u ltin g H ie
M a je s ty t h e S a l t a n . O no o f tlio h e a r e r s g ro w so in d ig n a n t a s t o g iv e
e x p re s s io n t o s e v e r e in v e c tiv e s a g a i n s t t h o e d ito r of th o Observer* a n d
w o h a d to p a c ify h im b y a d d r e s s in g t h e c o m p a n y a s f o llo w s :— ‘ D e a r
f r ie n d s , M r. F e r g u s o n is u n d o u b te d ly a g e n tle m a n (?) o f c o n s id e ra b le le a r n ­
in g a n d r e s e a r c h ,........ b a t o n th e s u b je c t o f re lig io n h e is n o th in g b u t a
f a n a tic a n d h is u t t e r a n c e s a r e n o t e n t i t l e d to a n y s e r io u s c o n s id e r a tio n ...
. ..H i s r e m a r k s o n o u r re lig io n , o f w h ic h h e ia ig n o r a n t, a r e th e r e f o r e n o t
w o r th y o f a n y n o tic e ..........”
W e ask any unprejudiced reader whether “ M r . Ferguson”
had not merited a “ drubbing” from the M ussulmans as well
as the hypothetical Buddhist priest from the R o m a n Catho­
lics ? All honour to the infidel non-Christian editor w ho
gives such a lesson of tolerance to the Baptist fanatic !
W e conclude with the following letter from “ another
correspondent”— giving the true version of theKotahene riot.
Since it is published in the Ceylon Observer and left uncontra­
dicted, w e have every reason to believe the account cor­
rect. Apparently the editor, notwithstanding his desire, could
not invalidate tho statements therein contained.
“ Y o u r a c c o u n t o f t h e r i o t a t K o ta h e n a is c o r r e c t a s f a r a s i t g o e s, b n t
i t is m a d e to a p p e a r fro m t h a t , t h a t t h e B u d d h is ts w e re t h e ag g ro s*
s o rs : a l ittl e m o r e t r o t h w h ic h h a s b e e n s u p p r e s s e d w ill s h o w t h a t th e
K o m a n C a th o lic s w o re th o a g g r e s s o r s . A t b e tw e e n 1^ a n d 2 o ’c lo c k o n
S u n d a y th o to c s in w a s s o u n d e d in t h r e e K o m a n C a th o lic c h u rc h e s , a n d
w ith in fifte e n m in u te s o f t h a t t h r e e B u d d h is t p r ie s ts w e re s e v e re ly
a s s a u lte d w ith c lu b s : G e o rg e S ilv a M u d a liy a r o f G re e n L o d g e w ill te s t if y
to th is , f o r b e g a v e r e f u g e t o th o p r ie s ts . A f t e r w a r d s n e a r ly 1 00 m e n
o r m o re w ith o ln b s a t t a c k e d e v e r y o n e th o y m e t in G re e n L o d g e S tr e e t:
h e n c e 2 0 w e re ta k e n to h o s p ita l. T h e s e K o m a n C a th o lic B co n n d rels,
fis h e rm e n fr o m M a tiv a l, g o t in to p r e m is e s a n d s t r u c k p e o p le . K o n a y
S a ra in , s o n o f t h e la te M ah a M u d a li y a r , w a s s e v e re ly a s s a u lte d w ith c lu b s
iu h is o w n g a rd e n j L a w re n c e , b r o t h e r o f t h e h e a d c le r k , C o lo n ia l O ffice,
w a s a s s a u lte d in h is o w n v e r a u d a h , th e t a v e r n w a s ro b b e d o f m o n e y ;
o th o r p o o p l e , in n o c e n t o f e v e r y th in g , w e ro c h ip p e d « A ll th i s to o k p la c o
lo n g lo n g b e fo re th o p in k a m a c a m e , a n d w h e n th e p in k a m a c a m e , th o
p ro c e s s io n a n d p o lic e w e re a t t a c k e d . W ith r e g a r d to the im a g e o f J e s u s
i t is a b a re fa ce d u n t r u t h : M a jo r T r a n c h e ll a n d th e I n s p e c t o r s w ill te s t i f y
to th is . C o u ld y o u b e lio v e f o r a m o m e n t t h a t th o s e g e n tle m e n w o n k l
b a v e e s c o r te d a p ro c e s s io n w i t h t h e s e e ffig ies ?*
F a u l t is f o u n d b e c a u s e y e s te r d a y p e o p le fr o m K o r a to la c a m e a r m e d .
W h y d id th e y d o so ? N o t to a t t a c k , b u t to d e f e n d th e m s e lv e s , f o r t h e i r
p r i e s t s w o re a s s a u lte d , t h o i r f r ie n d s m u r d e r e d , t h e i r p ro c e s s io n tu m b le d
in to fie ld s, t h e i r c a r t s b u r n t th e d a y b e fo re , a n d th e r e f o r e t h e y c a m e
p r e p a r e d to d e f e n d th e m s e lv e s . W a s i t r i g h t , a f t e r p e r m is s io n w a s g iv e n
b y th e a u th o r itie s , a n d s c o r e s o f p o u n d s s p e n t o n t h e p in k a m a , a n d
m ilo s u p o n m ile s w a lk e d b y t h e p o o r w o m e n a n d c h ild r e n , t o s to p th o
p ro c e s s io n ? W h y n o t h a r e ta k e n c h a r g e of th e a r m s a n d o th e r w eaponH
a n d s a fo ly e s c o r te d th e m to t h e W ih a r a ? H a s t h e R o m a n C a th o lic o n ly
p riv ile g e s ? T h e d c f e u c e o f I r i s h h o r r o r s a n d t h e r in g of t h e to c s in o re
th e s a m e . W h y d id n o t th e R o m a n C a th o lic p r ie s ts s t e p o u t a m o n g s t
th o c ro w d a n d q u e ll t h o i r p e o p le ’s d is tu r b a n c e ? C a n t h e R o m a n C a t h o ­
lic p r i e s t g o f o r t h n o w in to th e c o u n tr y w ith o u t t h e r is k o f b e in g
a s s a u lte d , a n d w h o k n o w s w h e t h e r P r o t e s t a n t m is s io n a r ie s m a y n o t b e
s im ila rly h a n d le d ?” ’
This settles the matter and w e can leave it to rest. The sworn
evidence of M ajor Tranchell, Acting Inspector General of
Police, shows also that it is not the Buddhists w h o were the
aggressors,t and n o w what is the moral to be deduced from, and
and
* A fa ls e r e p o r t w a s s p r e a d b y th e K om au C a th o lic s , t h a t th e B a d d h i s t
p ro c e s s io n c a r r ie d o n a s tio k t h e im a g e o f a c ru c ifie d m o n k e y *
TO BE t I n s u p p o r t o f o u r a s s e r tio n , w o g iv o tlie fo llo w in g e x t r a c t s fro m
M a jo r T r a n c h e ll's e v id e n c e , a s p u b lis h e d in th e B om bay G a z e tte of 7 th
A p ril :— “ I a m a c t in g I n s p e c t o r G e n e r a l o f P olice- I v e r b a lly a u t h o ­
r is e d th e p ro c e s s io n to c o m e t o K o ta h e n a t o t h e B u d d h is t T e m p le ......... -
H a v in g h e a r d t h a t o n a p r e v io u s o c ca sio n o ffen c e w a s ta k o n by th o
C a th o lic s a t im a g e s in a B u d d h is t p ro c e s s io n , I Bent S u p e r in t e n d e n t
H o lla n d to in s p e c t t h e p ro c e s s io n e r e i t s t a r t e d ........ C lose to th e tu r n i n g
u p t o S t. L u c ia ’s S tr o o t, I s a w a v e r y la r g e a n d e x c ite d m o b a rm e d w ith
b lu d g e o n s a n d s w o rd o f t h e s w o rd f is h ........ S e e in g a ll t h e m o b o x c ite d
u u d a ll a r m e d , I a p p r e h e n d e d v io le n c e . M o st o f th e m e n in th e c ro w d
h a d a w h ite c ro s s p a in te d o n t h e i r f o r e h e a d o r w a is t. I b e lie v e d th e m
to b e R o m a n C a t h o lic s ........ A b w o n e a r o d , a n n m b e r o f m e n (H. C a th o lic s )
a p p r o a c h e d to w a r d s u s d e te r m in e d to r e s is t u s , w ith y e lls , b lu d g e o n s a n d
a ll k in d s of t h i n g s ............. a n d , w o w o re m e t w ith a s h o w e r o f b r ic k b a ts
a n d s to n e s fr o m t h e o p p o s i n g p a r t y ........ M e a n tim e t h e B u d d h is t s fo r c e d :
t h r e o d o u b le b u llo c k c a r t s w ith p a r a p h e r n a l ia o n ..........T h e r o w e r e n o
m is s ile s in th e m . A s t h e c a r t s n e a r e d t h e C a th o lic s , a b o d y o f th e
l a t t e r r a n d o w n , s e iz e d t h e b u llo c k s , b e la b o u re d a n d k ille d :five of
th e m , a n d t h e c a r t s w e re d r a w n u p in ^ h e a p a n d s e t on fire . M e a n tim e
s h o w e rs o f b r i c k b a t s a n d s to n e s w e ro t h r o w n , ........ A d ju ta n t o f th e R.
D . P . ro d e u p a l i t t l e in a d v a n c e of th e tr o o p s w h e n th e C a th o lic s s e e in g
t h a t M ilita r y a s s is ta n c e w a s a t h a n d , g r a d u a lly d is p e r s e d ............. W h e n
I p a s s e d t h e B u d d h is t proceBsion t h e y h a d n o o ffe n s iv e w eapons in t h e i r
the conclusions to come to, after reading tlie dishonest hints
thrown out b y the C e ylo n O bserver, w h o would incriminate
Theosophy in the matter P Simply this. W h a t has happened
and threatens to happen any day is duo to the aggressive
policy, intolerance and bigotry of the Christian converts and
the absence of every effort on the part of their priests to
control their turbulent spirit. It is again and once more the
old but suggestive fable about tho “ Evil one” repeated ; tlie
devil w h o to defeat G o d aud thwart the ends of Justice and
of Right sows on earth the seeds of the thousand and one
conflicting religious sects ; tlie seeds sprouting and growing
into the strong weeds that must stifle finally m ankind, unless
speedily destroyed and annihilated. T o accuse the Theoso­
phical Society of the Colombo riot is as wise as to throw up ­
on it thp blame of the proposed dynamite horrors in London
under the laudable pretext that there are Irish gentlemen
am ong its members. T h e Socicty h a s no creed, and respects
and teaches, every member to respect all erceds, while honour­
ing and protecting his o w n above all others. It has Christians
as well as Hindus, and Freethinkers am ong its members in
Ceylon, though the great majority are certainly Buddhists.
Christian Fellows having the right to protect and defend
their faith, the Buddhists have the same right as also that
of aiming at “ the revival of B udd hism .” So strict are our
rules, that a member is threatened with immediate expulsion,
if being a T h e o so p h ist, he opposes or breaks the law of the
country he inhabits,* or preaches his own sectarian views to
the detriment of those of his fellow brothers.f W e invito
the C e y lo n O bserver to search am ong the thousands of Theoso­
phists to find any lawbreaker, criminal or even one avowedly
immoral m an am ong them— no one being able, of course, to
answer for the liypocritcs.
W e conclude by pointing out once more to the deadly re­
sults of sectarian fanaticism. A n d , w e assert, without fear
of being contradicted, that were all to become Theosophists,
there would be neither in India nor in Ceylon religious or
any other riots. Its members m a y a n d w i l l d e fe n d th e m se lv e s
a n d th e ir re sp e c tiv e r e lig io n s . Tliey will never be found the
aggressors in any such disgraceful disturbances.
h a n d s . T h e r e w a s a v e r y la rg e n u m b e r o f w o m e n , s e v e r a l h u n d re d s ,
in th e p ro c e s s io n . I t w a s a p e r f e c tly o r d e r ly p ro c e s s io n , g o in g in q u ite
a p r o p e r m a n n e r ” ........ I n liis c ro s s -e x a m in a tio n , t h e fo llo w in g f a c ts w e ro
d is c l o s e d :— “ T h e r e w e re g ir ls a n d w o m e n o f a ll a g e s . 1 w e n t r i g h t
t h r o u g h th e p ro c e s s io n fro m b e g in n in g to e n d . I lo o k e d a s w e ll a t
e v e r y th in g a s X c o u ld , a n d I s a w n o th in g o b je c tio n a b l e ........ B u d d h is ts
h a v e h a d I a m in fo r m e d a g e n e r a l p e r m it f o r a p ro c e s s io n in th e m o n th
o f M a rc h , b u t in m y m in d t h e r e w a s a d o u b t w h e th e r t h e y s h o u ld h a v e
it on G ood F r id a y a n d S a tu r d a y , a n d I s a w so m e le a d in g B u d d h is ts ,
a n d th e y a g r e e d n o t to h a v e a n y on th o s e d a y s , to a v o id a n n o y in g tlie
C a th o lic s . T h e y t h e n p re s s e d f o r o n e f o r E a s t e r S u n d a y ........ I c o n s u lt­
e d th e 11. C. B ish o p , w h o s a id t h e r e w o u ld n o t b e t h e s l i g h t e s t o b je c tio n
to t h e p ro c e s s io n o n E a s t e r S u n d a y . H e see m e d p le a s e d th a t th e B u d ­
d h is ts h a d d e fe rre d to th e m i n re s p e c t o f th e F r id a y a n d S a t u r d a y , a n d
seem ed a n x io u s , i f a n y th in g t h a t th ey s h o u ld h a v e i t on the S u n d a y «”
AU th is c le a r ly p ro v e s t h a t — (1 ). T h e a lle g e d im a g o o f a “ m o n k e y
on th e c ru c ifix ’* w a s a fa ls e p r e t e x t to a t t a c k t h e B u d d h i s t s ; ( 2 .) T h e
.B u d d h is ts h a d n o t th o r e m o te s t id e a t h a t t h e y w o u ld b e a s s a u lte d , a s
th e y w o u ld n o t in t h a t c a s e h a v e b r o u g h t t h e i r w o m e n o f w h o m th e r e
w e re “ s e v e r a l h u n d r e d s ” in th e p ro c e s s io n , a n d w o u ld n o t h a v e
com e a r m le s s n n d d e fe n c e le s s b u t w o u ld h a v o a s k e d t h e p r o te c tio n of
t h e A u th o r it ie s ; (3 ) T h e m a jo r ity ( t h e B u d d h is ts ) g a v e d e fe re n c e to
th e f e e lin g s o f a c o m p a r a tiv e ly v e r y s m a ll m in o r ity ( th e C a th o lic s ) a s
a c k n o w le d g e d b y t h e It. C. B ish o p h im s e lf b u t w e re t h e fir s t
v ic tim s of t h e i r g o o d n a t u r e ; (4 ). I t w a s l e f t to th o B u d d h is ts ,
th e G o d le ss H e a th e n s , to s e t a n e x a m p le to th o C h r is tia n s b y
a d h e r in g to th e a lle g e d te a c h in g o f C h r is t, v iz ., “ L o v o t h y n e ig h b o u r
a s t h y s e l f ; ” (5 ). T h e b lo o d -th irs tin e s s o f t h e C a th o lic s is e x e m p lifie d
in t h e i r k illin g t h o p o o r b u llo c k s w h o c e r t a i n l y h a d n o re s p o n s ib le
s h a r e in th o p r o c e s s s io n ; (G). T h e R o m a n C a th o lic B ish o p , a lth o u g h
a p p a r e n t ly s a tis fie d f o r t h e to le ra n t s p i r i t o f t h e B u d d h is ts , d id n o t ta k e
<a ro to c o n tro l th o in to le r a n t e n th u s i a s m o f h is “ c o n v e r ts ,” b y s e n d ­
in g so m e p r ie s ts o r g o in g im m e d ia te ly to t h e s p o t o f th o r i o t a n d
o r d e r in g th e m to d e s is t fro m s u c h d is g r a c e f u l a c t s ; (7 ) N e i t h e r th e
C a th o lic p r i e s t s , if a n y w e re n e a r th o s c c n e o f a c tio n , n o r th e la ity ,
s o m e o f w h o m w e ro th e ro a n d w h o w e re “ b e g g e d ” b y M a jo r T r a n c h e ll
to “ n s e t h e i r in flu e n c e w ith th e C a th o lic s ,” w o u ld d o i t. T h e s e f a c ts
p p e a k f o r th e m s e lv e s a n d n o f u r t h e r c o m m e n t is n e c e s s a r y .
• A r t . X I V . — A n y fe llo w c o n v ic tc d o f a n o ffen c e a g a i n s t t h e P e n a l
C od e o f t h e c o u n tr y h o in h a b its , s h a ll b e e x p e lle d jfr o m th o S o c ie ty .—
(R u le s of th e T. S .)
t A rt. V I .— N o o ffice r o f th e S o c ie ty , in h is c a p a c ity o f a n officer, n o r
a n y m e m b e r, h a s t h e r i g h t to p r e a c h h is o w n s e c ta r ia n v ie w s a n d be*
lie fs, o r d e p r e c a te t h e re lig io n o r re lig io n s o f o t h e r m e m b e r s t o o th o r
F e llo w s a ss e m b le d , e x c e p t w h e n th e m e e tin g c o n sis ts so lely o f h is c o -rc li-
g io n ists,— i R u le s of the T . S .)
T h e u n d e r lin e d s e n te n c e s h o w s t h a t in p r e a c h i n g B u d d h is m in C e y lo n ,C o l.
O lc o tt o n ly e x o rc is e s h is r i g h t , s in c e h e p re a c h e s i t to a m e e tin g i n t e n d ­
e d to c o n s is t s o le ly o f h is c o -re lig io n is ts . N o C h r is tia n s n re in v ite d
n o r n e e d th e y c o m e . N o o n o c a n a c c u s e t h e P r e s i d e n t o f p re a c h in g
B u d d h ism to H in d u s , o r a n y t h i n g b a t e th ic s w h e n t h e r e is a m ix e d
a s s e m b ly o f T h e o s o p liis ts o f d if f e r e n t f a i t h s . — E d .
A CURIOUS light has been thrown on the returns of con­
verts m ade by missionaries in so-called pagan countries. In
Hindostan a n um b er of. coolies were returned as Christians
because th e y “ e a t a n y th i n g /” It m ay be that omniverous-
iicss is a m ark of Christianity ; but if it is, it would be m uch
better for our H indoo friends to remain in their sin. A
6imple diet is far more moral and health-giving than omni­
vorousness, even if it is less Christian.— { T h e L i b e r a l .)
—- »' 1
T H E M A G IC O F T H E N E W D IS P E N S A T IO N .
( F r o m th e “ N e w D i s p e n s a t i o n A p r i l 1.)
“ T h e J u g g l e r w h o a p p e a r e d , o n T u e s d a y la s t, in th e l a s t s c e n e o f th o
N o w D is p e n s a tio n D r a m a , e x p la in e d th o d e e p e r p rin c ip le s o f t h e N e w
F a i t h a s t h e y h a d n e v e r b e o n e x p la in e d b e fo re . T h e r e w a s t h e m a g i­
c ia n w a iv in g h is m a g ic w a n d , u s in g h is m a g ic a l a p p a r a t u s , a n d p e r f o r m ­
in g w o n d e rfu l c o n ju r in g t r i c k s a m id e n th u s ia s tic c h e e r s . A n d y e t th e r e
w a s d e e p s p i r itn a lity in e v e r y w o rd t h a t w a s s a id , in e v e r y m a g ic a l f e a t
t h a t w a s p e r f o r m e d . I t w a s n o t a ju g g le r p la y in g tr i c k s , a lth o u g h t h a t
w a s o n t h e b o a r d s ; b u t i t w a s a tc a c h e r w h o t a u g h t w is d o m th r o u g h
a lle g o rie s a n d m e ta p h o r s . G r o a t p r o p h e ts a n d s e e r s h a v e s p o k e n in
p a ra b le s , b u t th is c lo w n is h -lo o k in g J u g g le r o f t h e N e w D is p e n s a tio n
e n a c te d p a r a b le s if w e m a y so s a y . H e k n e lt b e fo re a p l a n t a i n tre e ,
a n d h u m b ly e n t r e a t e d i t to r e v e a l t h e a u to g ra p h o f its L o r d a n d M a s te r ,
A n d t h e n h e c u t off a la r g e l e a f w ith a k n ife , a n d lo I t h e n a m e o f H a ri
w a s fo u n d in s c r ib e d th e r e o n . T h e t r u n k o f th o t r e e th e n y ie ld e d , u n d e r
tlie J u g g l e r ’s b id d in g , t h e n e c t a r n f G od’s love, th r o u g h a s m a ll p ip o ho
a t t a c h e d to i t, fir s t a s ro s e w a t e r a n d th e n a s s h e rb e t. G od is n o t o n ly
v is ib le , s a id h e , b u t H e a lw a y s s p e a k s th r o u g h n a t u r e , a n d t h e d e v o te e s
h e a r h im . L e t t h e c la m o u r o f p a s s io n s s u b sid e , a n d H is g o s p e l w ill be
h e a r d . A n d so i t w a s. T h e s w e e t h y m u “ I a m t h e H o ly S p i r i t ” w a s
c h a n t e d b e h in d t h e s c e n o , a n d th o a u d ie n c e lis te n e d r e v e r e n t l y . T h u s,
sa id t h e J u g g l e r , w ith a n a i r of tr iu m p h , G od c a n be s e e n a n d h e a r d ,
a n d H is lo v e t a s t e d b y e v e r y b e lie v e r to -d a y a s in d a y s of y o re . A
n u m b e r o f b e a d s a n d s to n e s of d iff e r e n t c o lo rs w e re e x h ib ite d a s r e p r e ­
s e n ti n g d if f e r e n t a s p e c ts o f f a i t h a n d p ie ty . T h e y w e re d is t i n c t a n d
s e p a r a t e fr o m e a c h o th e r , a n d k n e w n o c o m m o n b o n d . A s t r i n g w ag
n e e d e d to u n ite th e m in to a n e c k la c e . S u c h a s t r i n g w a s f u r n is h e d b y
th e N e w D is p e n s a tio n . T h e b e a d s a n d t h e p ie c e o f t h r e a d w e re th ro w n
in to a m a g ic b o x , a n d in s ta n ta n e o u s ly th e y c a m e o u t s t r u n g to g e th e r .
T h e s y m b o ls o f th e v a rio u s re lig io n s w e re th e n e x h ib ite d , s u c h a s th o
C h r is tia n ’s C ro ss, th o M a h o m e ta n ’s C re s c e n t, th o V odic 0 m , th o S a iv a ’s
T r id e n t a n d t h e V a is h n a v a ’s K h x m ti. T h e s e s ta n d a lo o f f r o m e a c h o th e r
in d e c id e d a n ta g o n is m a n d n e v e r c o a le s c e . I s i t n o t p o s s ib le to c o m b in e
a n d a m a lg a m a te t h e t r u t h s , w h ic h e a c h r e p r e s e n t s P B y d e x te ro u s
sh u fflin g th e s e s y m b o ls w e re in a n i n s t a n t m a d e in to o n e . M u sic s e r v e d
a s a n o th e r i l l u s tr a tio n o f th e u n i t y of th e N e w D is p e n s a tio n . D iffe re n t
m u s ic a l i n s t r u m e n t s p ro d u c e d if f e r e n t so u n d s, a n d w h e n s o u n d e d t o ­
g e t h e r w ith o u t m e th o d , t h e y p ro d u c e a m o s t d is a g r e e a b le c o n fu s io n of
ja r r i n g s o u n d s . B u t a s th o J u g g l e r g a v e t h e s ig n a l th o s e v e r y i n s t r u ­
m e n ts p la y e d in c o n c o rd a n d d is c o u r s e d s w e e t m u s ic . So th e v a rio u s
c r e e d s h a rm o n iz e , th o u g h a p p a r e n t ly d is c o r d a n t, a n d b e c o m e a s one
m n s ic u n d e r t h e in flu e n c e of t h e N e w D is p e n s a tio n . E i g h te e n c e n t u r ie s
a g o a s a c r e d b ird c a m e d o w n fr o m h e a v e n w ith g la d tid in g s . I t in s p ire d ,
m o v e d , a n d s a n c tif ie d th o u s a n d s f o r a tim e , b u t i t soon fo u n d a f o r m i­
d a b le fo e in h u m a n R e a s o n , a t w h o se h a n d s i t e v e n t u a lly fe ll a v ic tim .'
T h e g e n e r a l im p r e s s io n n o w is t h a t th e H o ly D ove is d e a d , a n d t h e r e is
n o in s p ir a tio n n o w . T h e J u g g l e r sh o w e d a d e a d b ird , a n d t h e n to th o
a s to n i s h m e n t o f a ll p r e s e n t a n d a m id lo u d c h e e rs a liv in g b ird d e s c e n d ­
e d fr o m a b o v e w ith a p ie c e o f p a p e r tie d ro u n d i ts n e c k , o n w h ic h w e re
in s c r ib e d th o fo llo w in g w o rd s ; N a v a B id h n a e r ja i, S a t y a D h a rm a
S a m a n v a ia .— “ V ic to r y to t h e N e w D is p e n s a tio n ; h a r m o n y o f a ll
re lig io n s .’*
T h e B r a h m o P u b li c O p in io n giving us an insight into,
and an explanation of, what otherwise m ay have been mis­
taken by m any “ innocents’’ for p u c k a “ miracles” produced
by the divine Visitor, w h o stands accused of calling daily upon
the minister of the N e w Dispensation— ventilates its just
wrath in tho following remarks :—
u O n th o ev o o f h is in to n d e d g r a d u a l r e t i r e m e n t fr o m p u b lic life, B ab u
K e s h u b C h n n d e r S e n s e e m s b e n t u p o n e x h ib itin g to th e w o rld a ll h is
a c c o m p lis h m e n ts . I t is s till r e m e m b e r e d b y th e f r ie n d s of h is sc h o o l­
b o y d a y s t h a t B a b u K e s h u b C h u n d e r S e n c o u ld s u c c e s s fu lly im ita te
so m e o f th o a r t s o f c e l o b r a te d ju g g le r s . B u t w ith th o g r o w th o f e a r ­
n e s t th o u g h t a n d m o ro s e r io u s o c c u p a tio n , th e s e g a y f r e a k s o f h is y o u th
w e re q u ie tly f o r g o tte n , a n d M r. S e n fo u n d h im s e lf h e a d in g q m to a differ-
r e n t m o v e m e n t. B u t n o w , a 6 if lie h a d n o th in g m o re s e rio u s t o do, he
•seem s b u s y w ith b e g u ilin g h im s e lf a n d th o p u b lic , w ith t h e b o y is h fe a ts
o f h is sch o o l d a y s . T h e m o s t r e c e n t a d d itio n to h is a lr e a d y n u m e ro u s
in v e n tio n s , h a s b e e n th e d is p la y of f e a t 6 of ju g g le r y , on t h e o c c a s io n of
t h e la s t p e r f o r m a n c e of th e N o w D is p e n s a tio n d r a m a .. .. T h e r e a d e r n e e d
o n ly b e to ld in a d d itio n , t h a t th e j u g g le r w a s B a b u K . 0 . S e n h im s e lf.
W e a r e s o r r y in d e e d t h a t t h e n a m e o f G od w a s t h u s m a d o th e s u b je c t
o f ju g g le r y , a n d t h a t r e lig io n w a s e v e r a s s o c ia te d w ith t h e a r t s of th e
m a g ic ia n ...S u r e ly h is id e a s o f t h e fitn e s s of th in g s , a n d h is r e v e r e n c e
f o r th e n a m e of re lig io n , m u s t h a v o h a d u n d e r g o n e a g r e a t c h a n g e be-
,fo re h e c o u ld d e s c c n d so lo w . A f t e r th i s w e p i t y M r. P . C. M oozoom -
d a r th e m o re , fo r h e h a s t a k e n u p o n h im s e lf a h o p e le s s t a s k , t h a t o f d e ­
fe n d in g a c h ic f w h o is a c t u a lly p la y in g d u c k s a n d d r a k e s w ith h is r e p u ­
ta tio n a s a m in is te r o f r e lig io n ,”
W h ile pitying tlio ruffled feelings of our grave contem­
porary— whose religious susceptibilities must have received
a terrible 6hock— we can neither sympathize with, nor yet
confess to any such sorrow on our part. Indeed, w e rather
 feel highly gratified with the n e w development. W i t h an eye
to future events w e already perceive that the hitherto unpre­
cedented m ode of worshipping, will soon find worthy imita­
tors and thus achieve the grandest results. There is hope
that following the good example, in another decade or so, half
of the population of India— M ussulm an dervishes and
Christian Salvationists helping-—will turn its temples, mosques
and churches into theatres and circuses, for purposes of
religious tamashas. Thus, the “ deeper principles of the new
faith” will be henceforth explained, indeed, “ as they had
never been explained before.” T h e n , the hoi polloi will be
“ taught divine wisdom” by padris— clioregraphers, whose
flying battalions on the light fantastic toe m ay be used for
the purpose of swiftly pursuing and catching sinners by their
coat-tails and head-locks, to be saved whether they will or n o t ;
and w e m ay hope to see “ p&dri-nautches,’’ “ padri-minstrels”
and “ pa&vis-jadoowallas.” T h e alliance and kind brotherly
help of tho Bhutan and Sikkim Dugpa-lamas, as that of the
Singhalese devil-dancers is strongly recommended in this case.
It is to be sought b y a all means, and their costumes, solemn
awe-inspiring masks of pigs’ and bullocks’ heads, and tuition
thankfully accepted and adopted. T h e signs of the times are
all there, and a most important religious reform in a near
future m ay be expected n o w with full confidence.
B u t there are other reasons w h y we should feel thankful to
the great Calcutta artist and deviser. O u t of the several
“ Reformers” of benighted India, one, at any rate, has now
condescended, with extremely laudable sincerity, to put aside
his canting role of “ G o d confabulating” seer, to appear—
if w e can credit the Brahmo Public Opinion's information, in
w hat seems to be his inborn character istics— those of a “ clown-
ish-looking juggler” w ho, from his scliool-boy days, “ could
successfully imitate some of the arts of celebrated jugglers.”
T hen , besides the fact that the world of theists cannot be too
thankful to B a b u K e sh u b C . Sen for trying to infuse into the
usual owl-like gravity of prayers and divine worship a
streak of innocent mirth, sport and frolic— drollery never
failing to attract more than irksome prosy solemnity— the
charming novelty of the thing should be also taken into con­
sideration. Enacting parables and “ performing wonderful
conjuring tricks” for the greater glory of God, is notan every­
day sight: and w e have n o w the explanation of the profound
sympathy shown to, and the passionate defence of, the pro­
cessional and professional Salvationists by the Calcutta
mystic. Melpomene and Terpsichore are sweet sisters to
Thalia of the m ask and shepherd’s crook, and our B a b u
seems to be bent on devoting all the nine Muses to the service
of God, including Erato, m ade so m uch of by K i n g Solomon.
True, it m ay be objected that the main idea— that of proving
that “ G o d can be seen and heard” by the help of bogus
phenomena and “ magical apparatus”— is not exactly novel;
in fact, that it is as old as the hills. B ut it bodes fair that
the “ N e w Faith” should follow so closely in the woll-trodden
paths of the “ old ones.” A n d even though— from the day, in
fact, that the first couple of R o m a n A u gurs had upou meeting
to plug their cheeks with their tongues to conceal laughter,
and do w n to our own times w hen the holy Neapolitan friars
are still entrusted with the. delicate operation of m ak ing
St. January’s blood boil and sing— the priests and servants
of G o d of nearly all other creeds have to call in occasionally
jugglery to their help to prove the existence of their respec­
tive deities,— this detracts nothing from B a b u K e s h u b ’s
glory, as a genuine inventor and a discoverer. T h e additional
and very sensational method adopted by him of boldly pro­
claiming tlic soi-disant divine miracles as simply conjuring
tricks, is as unusual as it is novel, and is as highly com m end­
able. W e take B a b u Kesliub under our protection, and recog­
nize him every right to dem and a patent from both the Lord
Bishop of Calcutta and the M aharajah of the Vallabacharyas.
In addition to all this he has shown liimsclf a true dem o­
crat and the protector as well as the benefactor of the
liumble and the poor. Th e strolling, naked jadoo-walla has
now every claim to the title of “ teacher, w h o imparts wisdom
through allegories and metaphors.” Thus, whenever w e wit­
ness from the secure depths of our verandah, a street juggler
offering his mongoos a dainty lunch off the head of a fore­
doomed cobra, and see further 011 the latter— though head­
less— resurrected to life in half an hour or so owing to the
miraculous influence of a m onkey’s skull placed on the behead­
ed trunk of the serpent, w c will bear in m ind “ the deep
spirituality” ...contained in this “ magical feat.” R e m e m b e r ­
ing the wise lesson that “ great prophets and seers have
spoken (and acted ?) in parables,” and that “ G o d always
speaks through nature” as his devotee, we will hear and under­
stand him the better owing to the great lesson taught through
the “ mongoos-cobra-monkey” trick, For the first time in our life,
w e will clearly perceive that the mongoos represents infalliblo
“ divine wisdom, or blind faith,” devouring and swallowing
up, like A a r o n ’s rod, “ H u m a n Reason” or “ fallible intellect”—
the latter, agreeably with the tenets of the N e w Dispensation
the devil’s gift, “ the formidable foe...at whose hands it (the
holy D o ve or Holy Ghost, which is the same thing) eventually
fell a victim.” The m onkey’s skull, of course, will rem ain'an
emblem of the active potentiality, in our sight, of that same
blind faith to resurrect dead animals and extract m oon­
beams out of cucumbers— in the allegorical and metaphorical
sense. Hence, our profound gratitude to the Minister w h o
through his inexhaustible arsenal of religio-mystical in­
ventions, has taught us a never-to-be forgotten lesson of
wisdom. Som e slight improvements in the programme
m ay, perhaps, be also respectfully suggested. Thus, for one,
the rose-water and sherbet meant to demonstrate practically
the ever-flowing “ nectar of G o d ’s love, through a small
pipe,”— first, in consideration to the drinking preferences of
Calcutta, “ the holy city of Aryavart,” and then as a fitter
emblem of one of the attributes of the “ M aker of all life” —
might be suggestfully replaced by genuine eau-de-vie, the
“ water of life” of the Frenchm an. Apart from this trifling
change, w e find little to criticize in the n ew departure, but
on the contrary venture to predict it the brightest future.
H is reform must in time prove fruitful in results, as in the
words of the Bishop of D u r h a m , commenting upon the Sal­
vation arm y : “ the exaltation of sensationalism into a system
is perilous in the extreme. W h e n the most solemn events...are
travestied, and the deity’s nam e profaned in parodies and
common songs— awe and reverence being the soul of the reli­
gious life— he, therefore, w ho degrades the chief objects of
religion by profane associations, strikes at the very root of that
religion.”
I d l e r s to tjje € b ifo r .
L IG H T WANTED.
I t is said in your m uch esteemed paper (vide “ T h e Brali-
minical Thread,” by a Sarm an, F. T. S .), the Theosophist for
February 1883, that the caste of the Hindoos was not meant
to be hereditary; but that they could raise themselves from
tho lowest to the highest castc by personal merit. B u t it is
alleged by m any a Pundit that, nowhere in the Hindoo
Shastras, which teem with ceremonies of all descriptions,
is it shown, w hat steps a Hindoo, having good qualities,
would take, that is, w hat ceremonies he would have to
perform for his raising himself from a low caste to become
a B ra hm a n in the Hindoo point of view. Will any of your
correspondents enlighten tlic public on the subject; and thus
pave the w a y for the raising of low caste m en ? This would, no
doubt, arouse a healthy competition am ong our people and
serve a good purpose ; for then every one would come to
value merit and participate in the general stimulus for
learning.
K . C. C H A T T E R J E E ,
D . P. W.
L a lit p o r e , March 4, 1883.
E X P L A N A T IO N WANTED.
The word “ L a y a ” (vide page 129, Theosophist for
M arch 1883) has been interpreted as “ annihilation.” In
Sanskrit “ L i ” is to melt, dissolve. T h e A lm ora Sw a m i, I
think, means by this word “ final absorption,” w h e n there
remains a “ U nity” (call as one m ay tliis “ U nity” as Mula-
prakriti or M ulapurush). In this “ U nity” is next differenti­
ated “ Pu rush” and “ Prakriti.” W h e t h e r existing in “ U nity”
or “ Duality,” there cannot be such a thing as annihilation of
course, nor “ creation out of nothing ; ” and thus, it must
m ean “ eternity.” B u t w hat brings on the difference—
‘ ‘ Purush and Prakriti” out of one homogeneous “ U nity”— is
incomprehensible to me.
A. G O V IN D A C H A R L U , F. T. S.
T u m k u r , 8 th March 1883,
E d i t o r 's N o t e . — And so it ia to the majority of readers— students of
esoteric Soienco excepted— perhaps.
 DEVACHAN.
W i l l y o u Jdn dly permit me a question ?
In Vol. 4, N o . 2, on page 29, I find, that in the state descri­
bed as Devachan the spiritual m onad leads for very long
periods an existence of unalloyed satisfaction aiid conscious
enjoyment, however without activity, without exciting con­
trasts between pain and pleasure, without pursuit and
achievement.
N o w , ho w can a conscious existence without activity or
pursuit be one of satisfaction or enjoyment ? W o u l d not
annihilation be preferable to such a state of indolence ? In
the Christian heaven there is at least the w aving of palm-
teaves and harping. A poor amusement indeed ; but better
than nothing f— Please explain.
H o p ing that m y inquisitiveness will give no offence.
G eorgetown, 1 I a m v e ry resp ec tfu lly ,
C olorado, > Y o u r obedient servant,
January, 31. > R- H A R T M A N N , i . T . S,
E d it o u ’s N o t e :— Our correspondent’s question has been already
nnticipated by the important appendices added to the recent
** Fragment” ou Devachan. To realise the conditions of spiritual
existence of any sort it is necessary to get above the plane of
merely physical perceptions. One cannot see the things of the
spirit with the eyes of the flesh, and one cannot successfully
appreciate subjective phenomena by help only of those intellectual
j eflections which appertain to the physical senses. “ H o w can a
conscious existence without activity or pursuit be one of satis­
faction or enjoyment ?” It would only emphasise the mistaken idea
which this question embodies if one were to ask instead, “ how
can a couscious existence without athletic sports and hunting be
one of enjoyment ?” The cravings of man’s animal or even
bodily human nature are not permanent in their character. The
d e m a n d s of the mind are different from those of the body.
physical life an ever recurring desire for change impresses our
imagination with the idea that there can be no continuity
of contentment, without variety of occupation and amuse­
ment. To realise completely the way in which, a single
vein of spiritual consciousness may continue for consider-
nble periods of time to engago the attention— not only
the contented, but the delighted attention,— of a spiritual
entity, is probably possible only for persons who already
in life have developed certain inner faculties, dormant iu
mankind at large. But meanwhile our present correspondent
may perhaps derive some satisfaction, from tlio fact,— as explained
in recent essays on the subject*— that one sort of variety is deve­
loped in Devachan in a very high degree; vis., the variety
which naturally grows out of the simple themes set in vibration
during life. Immense growths for example, of knowledge itself
are possible in Devaclmn,for tho spiritual ent ity which has begun
the “ pursuit" of such knowledge during life. Nothing can
happen to a spirit in Devachnn, the key-note of which has
not been struck during life ; the conditions of a subjeotive
existence are such that the importation of quite external impulses
nnd alien thoughts is impossible. But the seed of thought
once sown,— the current of thoughts once set going (the meta­
phor may freely be varied to suit any taste,)— and then its deve­
lopment, s in devachan may be infinite for the sixth sonse there, and
the sixth principle are our instructors, and in such society there
can be no isolation, as physical humanity understands the term.
The spiritual ego in fact, under the tuition of his own sixth
principle, need bo in no fear of being dull, and would be as,
likely to sigh for a doll’s house ora box of ninepins as for tho
harps ftnd palm-leaves of the mediaeval Heaven.
T H E S E V E N T E E N .R A Y E D S U N - D IS C .
[The following interesting letter was received by us from
Fresno, California. As it is a private one, we can give but ex­
tracts from it.— Ed.~]
E x p l o r i n g Copan and Qu in q ua 111 H on duras and Guatemala
last year, I had the good fortune to m ake a discovery, which
1 a m sure will interest you. A s you are aware, tlie most
prominent sculptured monuments in Copan consist of four,
sided columns of from 10 to 12 feet high. These columns
represent generally only on one side large sculptured person­
ages in high relief.
Th e other sides again contain ornaments and glyphic
inscriptions, hitherto not read or deciphered. O n e pillar
not previously described, however, contains only hieroglyphics
arranged on all sides. It seems to be a record perhaps of
laws, perhaps of historical events. This pillar is about 10
feet high, and the sides 3 and 4 feet wide respectively. B ut the
most remarkable is that this pillar w as covered by a cap in tho
shapeof a very lowtruncate pyramid. O n this pyramid was seen
a forced dead head of colossal dimensions and surrounding
ihe same was an expanded “ sun-disc,” crowning the very cap.
Tho rays of the sun-disc were distinctly marked. T h e simi­
larity of the same and the sun-discs common in the Egyptian
monuments w as so marked, that it immediately struck me
that the number of rays must be 17, the sacred number of
the Egyptian sun-disc. U p o n counting the rays they were
found to bo as cxpected— 17.
N o w is this a pure “ coincidence” or is it another link in
the broken and scattered chain, whose finding points toward
an ancient connection between the Central American peoples,
tho M ayas and other races, and the Egyptians by means of a_
connecting Atlantis ?
Another curiosity, naturally a 11 coincidence,” is worthy of
notice. O n e of these sculptured personages dressed in priestly
robes and holding in his hand a small square box, has his
legs above the sandals ornamented with the C r e s c e n t . Th e
same sign was used by the Rom ans to signify immortality
and similarly placed above the sandals.
Cannot your trans-Himalayan Brothers give us any clue
to these hieroglyphics inscribed on the Central Am erican
M onum ents ? O r have you no Psychometrists w h o could
decipher them psychometrically. If any one should be will­
ing to try to do so, I would send him a small portion of
one of the glyphs I have in m y possession, and m ay be some
good will come out of it. .
E. G.
E d it o r ’s N o t e . — Assuredly the discovery mentioned in the above
letter,— the pillar with its 17-rayed sun-disc,— points once more to
an ancient connexion between the central American peoples aud
the lost continent of Atlantis. The uniformity in the symbolical
meanings of American antiquities, and of antiquities connected
with “ tho wisdom religion” in Egypt or any other parts
of Europe or Asia where they may be observed, is cer­
tainly far more remarkable than would be agreeable to theorists
In
who wish to account for it by help of that hard-worked servant—
coincidence. It has been traced with great patience through
many different departments of archaeology by M r. Donnelly
in his recent “ Atlantis ; or the Antidiluvian World.” The
second part of the title of this volume, by the by, will not be
quite acceptable to students of the subject who approach it from
the side of occult science. The deluge is better lei'f alone until
cosmogony is more generally understood than at present.
There is 110 one deluge that can conveniently be taken as u
turning point in the world’s history,— with everything before
that antediluvian, and everything of later date— postdiluvian.
There have been many such deluges cutting the various raced
of mankind at tlie appointed time in their development,. The
situation has already been referred to in tho “ Fragments of Occult
Truth.” During the occupation of the Earth for one period by
the great tidal wave of humanity, seven great races are succes­
sively developed, their end being in every case marked by a
tremendous cataclym which changes the face of the earth in the
distribution of land and water. The present race of mankind, as
often stated, is the fifth race. The inhabitants of the great conti­
nent of Atlantis were the fourth race. W hen they were in their
prime, the European continent was not in existence as we know
it now, but none the less was there free communication between
Atlantis and such portions of ISiirope as did exist, and Egypt.
The ancient Egyptians themselves wero not an Atlantic colo­
ny. Mr. Donnelly is mistaken 011 that point, bnt the wisdom
Ileligion of the initiates was certainly identical and hence tho
identities of symbolical sculpture. This is what the “ Himalayan
Brothers” say, whether any of our psychometrists will see any
further,depends on the degree of their development, at any rate,
we accept the offer of our esteemed correspondent with thanks
and will cxpect the promised portion of the glypt, before we
venture to say anything further.
K U M A R IL A BHATTA.
I n tlie Editorial note in reply to a H in d u Theosophist’s
query, whether some Rishis of old do exist in the flesh and
blood, you pertinently ask him whether he is prepared to
accept literally the popular interpretation of—
(Ahalyaya jarah surapati rabhudatmatanayam ; praja natho,
& c . &c.,) wherein Indra is accused of adultery with Ahalya
and Braihma of attempting criminal violence on the person
of her own daughter ; and you refer him to Kam arila Bhatta
(not Kulluka Bhatta as the printer’s devils m ake you say).
For the edification of your readers, such as m ay not readily
lay hold of the passage alluded to, I beg to transcribe the
learned Bhatta’s rationalistic explanation of that mythical
tradition. The translation in English that follows is Jrom
the pen of D r . M a x Muller, and is taken from his history of
ancient Sanskrit Literature, p. 5 2 9 : — ■ • ' •
“ Prajapati, the lord of the creation, is the name of the sun ;
and he is called so, because he protects all creatures. H is
daughter TJshas is the da w n . A n d wfyen it is said that he
was in love witli her, this o n l y means, that at sun rise, the c a s e a s t o b e n ig h u n k n o w n . I f s c ie n c e in th e fa c o of D r. V a n O v e n
sun runs, after the da w n , the d a w n being at the same time g iv e s 17 e x a m p le s o f a g e e x c e e d in g 150, a n d D r. B a ile y in h is “ R e c o rd s
o f L o n g e v ity " — a fo w a s h ig h a s 1 7 0 — th e n i t d o e s n o t r e q u ir e a g r e a t
called the daughter of the sun, because she rises w h e n he
s t r e t c h o f “ c r e d u lity ” in a d m i t t i n g t h e p o s s ib ility of re a c h in g th r o u g h
approaches. In the same m anner, if it is said that Indra was a d e p t p o w e rs t h e d o u b le o f t h a t a g e . T h e r e f o r e , i f w e c la im t o know
the seducer of Ahalya, this does not imply that the god I n ­ t h a t s u c h a th in g is p o s s ib le , S a b h a p a ti S w a m i h a s p e r h a p s a n e q u a l
dra committed such a crime, but Indra means the sun, and r i g h t t o c la im t h a t Ije a lso know s t h a t som o e x c e p tio n a l m e n — (Ilis h is )
Ahalya (from Ahan and li) the night ; and as the night is liv o “ s e v e r a l th o u s a n d s y e a r s .” I t is a m a t t e r o f p e r s o n a l o p in io n —
a n d i t r e m a in s w ith th e p u b lic j u r y to d e c id e w h o o f u s is n e a r e r , th o
seduced and ruined by the sun of the morning, therefore is
tr u th . ’
Indra called the paramour of Ahalya. Kum arila Bhatta,
I have only to add, lived in Southern India several centuries
ago, and unlike D a y an a nd Saraswati S w a m i of our day, he ^AN OTH ER “ S P IR IT U A L ” P U ZZLE .
is respected and his expositions of Ptirva Mimansa accepted I p e e l that M r . Terry has been doing great service in
by the orthodox pundits. procuring for us the few crumbs from the Theosophical table
. A . B . F. T. S. whieh havo been dropped in his correspondence with you.
There are, I believe, m an y spiritualists like myself who find
A M USSULM AN KUM BUM TREE. that the spiritualistic theory does not afford explanation
A l l o w me to inform the public, through the m edium of
sufficient to cover all the phenomena with which w e havo
your esteemed journal, of the inscriptions just discovered become familiar, and w h o aro eagerly watching for the breeze
which will move us out of the dead calm into which w e have
upon the trunk of a tree in our vicinity.
drifted.
W e have a dispensary know n as Bulram pur Hospital. From
its south-western corner some hundred paces due west, there is T h e question of M edium ship is so important and often
a (chewl) tree on the left side of the road that leads to the presents so m an y difficulties, that I have ventured to ask your
city. It is hoary in appearance, as the leaves are n ow falling explanation of the following experience.
off, it has a trunk measuring about 9 inches in diameter, and Som e time since, m y neighbour died rather suddenly. I
it looks neither very old nor a sapling. k n e w little of him personally beyond chatting occasionally
This morning a news sprung up in the city, that some with him over the garden fence. H e was, I believe, a thorough­
supernatural agency h ad inscribed the holy nam e of ly upright conscientious m a n — an orthodox Christian, and one
M a h o m e d — the prophet, upon its bark. H a v in g read all who I suppose would have considered it a sin to have specu­
about the K u m B u m tree in the last issue of your journal, lated for a m oment outside his creed.
m y curiosity was already raised, and consequently I hurried Soon after his death for more than a week, I was subject to
to the place, which h ad already become crowded. Throngs of the most unpleasant sensations, experiencing great confusion
people, generally M ahom edans, and especially w om en, were and a difficulty in controlling m y thoughts even in business
coming in, kneeling before the tree, some kissing it, while matters. A t last I received through impression the fol­
others rubbing their foreheads against the letters. Garlands lowing communication from him.
were freely h un g upon the branches, and incensc continually “ D o I disturb you ? I will endeavour as far as possible to
burned upon the floor. It w as with difficulty that I could control m y feelings, but do remember that this n e w life is so
m ake m y w ay to the place and sufficiently near in order to strange, so perplexing to me, that I can hardly collect m y
read and examine the letters. thoughts. All m y surroundings are chaotic and formless,
T h e words are written in Persian character, and they whether this is owing to myself or not I cannot tell. Som e
read— (M o h a m m a d K a la m Bari) the word— Bari appears w ho seem to take an interest in m e tell m e that this
very clear in thick block type, the rest is rather obscure. T h e will pass away, as soon as I comprehend m y position. In the
trunk of the tree is of ash color and has got a smooth surface. meantime I seem to cling to you, of w h o m I k n e w so little in
T h e letters are all in bold relief and possess a brownish tint. I earth life, as the only certainty. Those w how ere nearest to me
have carefully examined the whole and it looks natural. on earth cannot think of m e as I am, and there is therefore no
T h o u g h one m ay call it the happy contrivance of some link to bind us. If m y influence depresses you, I will remove
“ Moojawir” (priest), yet I cannot entertain sucli a thought. it; but if you can bear it remember that you are helping to
H o w e v e r as the inscriptions has just this morning been dis­ sustain a brother w h o has not yet learnt to support himself.”
covered, I am unable to give a detailed account at present, A t the same time m y neighbour’s w idow called upon me,
but I hope I will be able to furnish further particulars and in course of conversation said, “ I have seen m y husband.
hereafter. • I was coming out of the dining room the day before yesterday
In the meantime I have written this, with a view to get it w he n I saw him in the passage; he seemed m uch disturbed
published in the next issue of your journal. and tried to speak and was evidently desirous of explaining
Youi's obediently, something to m e, having in his hand somo papers which he
HARDEVA BEHAREE. held towards m e ; however he could not succeed in m aking
L ucknow , 1 me understand and eventually disappeared. T h e next
38th March 1883. S morning’s post brought a letter from a person in the country
informing m e of business transactions between himself and
m y husband, of which I had not the slightest knowledge.”
DO T H E R IS H IS E X IS T P N o w in one instance the communicating intelligence seems
W it ii reference to a “ Hindu Theosophist'a” query and your perfectly incognizent of worldly affairs, and in the other to
reply thereto on page 146 of the M arch Theosophist whether evince great desire to give his wife information which it was
H in d u rishis of old do exist in flesh and blood, w hat say important she should possess. W h a t is the explanation, pre­
you to tho communication of the M adras Y o g i Sabhapati suming, of course, that the two manifestations were from the
S w a m i in the Theosophist of M arch 1880, Vol. I, p. 146 ? same source ?
Thus writes Sabhapati S w a m i: “ T h e founder of our A shrum , Yours truly,
v i z : His Holiness the Agastya Mooni, w ho died, according E. W . W .
to the common chronology, m an y thousand years ago, is still L e w is h a m K e n t , Sept. 1882.
living, with m any other rishis of his time.” T h e italics are
not mine.
A N O T H E R H IN D U T H E O S O P H IS T . Ed. Note.— This letter hasbeenneglectedforsometimeby rea­
son of more pressing claims on our attention. T h e case described
E ditor ’s N ote .— W e s a y t h a t ( a ) o u r c o r r e s p o n d e n t's q u o ta tio n is an illustration of spiritual communications of a class which
b e in g o n p a g e 1 4 6 h e m ig h t h a v e e a s ily g la n c e d o n p a g e 1-17 a n d f o u n d very naturally render empirical observers of such phenomena
(C o l. 1 .) th o fo llo w in g r e m a r k : “ I t is p r e s u m a b l y a lm o s t n e e d le s s , in reluctant to accept what is nevertheless their true explanation.
v ie w of th o p a r a g r a p h o n t h e o p e n in g p a g e , to r e m in d t h o r e a d e r t h a t
T h e “ communicating intelligence” is not really an intelli­
t h e E d ito r s o f t h e J o u r n a l a r e n o t re s p o n s ib le f o r a n y v ie w s o r s t a t e m e n t s
c o n ta in o d in c o m m u n ic a te d a r tic lo s , e t c .,” — ( E d i to r T h e o s o p h ist.) gence at all; it is partly a reflection of ideas in the m ind of
( b) t h a t S a b h a p a ti S w a m i is w e lc o m e to im a g in e a n d m a y b e lie v e t h a t the living m edium , partly a survival of impulses imparted to
th e m o o n ia m a d e o f g r e e n c h e e s e a n d p r o v e h im s o lf v e r y s in c e r e in h is the kam a rupa, or fourth principle of the deceased person,
b e lie f. B u t w h a t h a s t h a t t o do w ith th o E d i to r 's b e lie f u p o u th o s u b je c t? before the separation therefrom of the intelligence whieh
a n d ( c ) t h a t a ll th o H in d u s , p a s t, p r e s e n t a n d f u t u r e , to th e c o n tr a r y , really belonged to it in life. T h e long message imparted by
c o u ld n o t m a k e u s believe t h a t a m a n o f o u r p r e s e n t 5 th ra c o , a n d of th o
4 th c y c le R o u n d , c a n o r e v e r c o u ld liv e m o ro t h a n fr o m 3 0 0 to 4 0 0 y e a r s impression to our correspondent takes its form from his ow n
i n one body. W o b e lie v e in t h e l a t t e r , i. e., w e k n o w i t t o b o p o s sib le , th o u g h m ind. H is friend must have died thinking of him, however
h ig h ly im p ro b a b le in th e p r e s e n t s ta g e o f th e e v o lu tio n , a n d so r a r e a slight their acquaintance was during life. T h e true soul
o f t l i e d e a d m a n -went i t s o w n w a y h a v i n g t h e f o u r t h p r i n c i p l e ,
t h e a g e n t a n d i n s t r u m e n t o f i t s v o l i t i o n s d u r i n g l if e i m p r e s s e d
w i t h a n u n fu lfilled im p u lse to c o m m u n ic a te w i t h Our c o rre s­
p o n d e n t. T h o k a m a r u p a t h e n b lin d ly a n d u n c o n sc io u sly
a w a i t e d i t s o p p o r t u n i t y a n d p r e s s e d i n t h e d i r e c t i o n of i ts
fu lfilm en t. T h e vision se e n b y t h e w id o w w a s p r o v o k e d
b y a n o t h e r of t h e d e a d m a n ’s l a t t e r i m p u l s e s — p e r h a p s t h e
i 'e r y l a s t a n d s t r o n g e s t . T li e k a m a r u p a h a d so t o s p e a k ,
re c e iv e d its o rd e rs w h ic h i t c o u ld n o t h e lp fulfillin g .
A S U F I “ G H A Z A L ” OR ODE.
I NOTICE t h a t t h e T h e o so p h ist f o r l a s t m o n t h ( M a r c h )
c o n ta in s a tr a n s la t io n of a Sufi O de. P e r m i t m e to c o n tr i ­
b u te a n o th e r, w h ic h I h av e discovered in th e f o rg o tte n pages
o f a n I n d i a n p e r i o d i c a l , o n c e d e s e r v e d l y p o p u l a r , viz., Clies-
s o n a n d W o o d h a l l ’s B o m b a y M is c e lla n y ( V o l . I l l , p. 3 2 6 )
w h e re it o c cu rs in a n O rie n ta l tale e n title d “ B ism illah or
H a p p y D a y s i n C a s h m e r e . ” T h e n a m e o f t h e a u t h o r is n o t
g i v e n , b u t t h e s e n t i m e n t s e x p r e s s e d i n t h e v e r s e s a r e s u c h as
a b le t o S a y a n a S p h u t a m , — t h i s is a n o t h e r q u e s t i o n a l t o g e t h e r ;
b u t w h e t h e r H i n d u A s tro n o m e rs a n d A stro lo g e rs a d o p te d
a n d a r e still a d o p ti n g t h e f o r m e r (as I sta te d ) o r th e l a t t e r
as M r. S u b b a R o w th o u g h t.
B e s id e s , I s h o u l d l i k e t o k n o w w h e t h e r M r . S u b b a R o w
m e a n s to sta te t h a t S a y a n a c alcu la tio n s give, in his e x p e ri­
ence, m o re c o rre c t re su lts.
I n e v e r m e a n t to d e n y th e esoteric m e a n in g s h e a tta c h e s to
t h e n a m e s of t h e Z o d i a c a l si g n s . H e r e M r . S u b b a R o w is
i n h i s e l e m e n t , a n d i t is a q u e s t i o n w i t h w h i c h I h a v e n o t h i n g
t o do.
M tla p o rr, | Y o u r s o b e d ie n tly ,
5 th A p r il 1 8 8 3 . j N . C H I D A M B A R A M I Y E R , F . T . S.
P . 8 .— I h e r e w i t h s e n d y o u f o r i n s e r t i o n i n t h e n e x t i s s u e ,
a few ty p o g ra p h ic a l e rro rs (w ith th e ir corre c tio n s) o c c u r r in g
c h ie f ly i n t h e S a n s c r i t p o r t i o n of m y a r ti c l e .
' N . C.
ERRATA.

i
will b e e n d o r s e d b y a n y t r u e m y s t i c , w h e t h e r Y o g i o r Sufi.

Line from,
T h e p o e m w ill re ca ll to th e reflective amonp; y o u r re a d e rs

Column.
c e r t a i n p a s s a g e s i n t li e e x c e l l e n t p h i l o s o p h i c a l e s s a y s o n For. R ead.
o
t h e E l i x i r o f L if e , c o n t r i b u t e d t o t h e t h i r d v o l u m e o f y o u r bo
rt
M agazine. P-4
I am,
H yderabad, D eccan,") Y o u rs faith fu lly , . 176 2 9 a t ore N rv
2 5 th M a rch 18 8 3 . j E . N . T. (prat
J> 14 „ 8 8°
“ P a n t s th y s p irit to b e g ifte d
177 1 ■HOT
4 ,,
W i t h a d e a t h l e s s life ?
L e t it seek to be u p lifte d >> 5 „
O ’e r e a r t h ’s s t o r m a n d s t r i f e . STRat
» *■ 6 „
S p u r n its joys, its ties dissev er, 8 „
>>
Hopes and fears d iv e s t;
T h u s a s p i r e t o l iv e f o r e v e r , >5 2 7 »,
W
B e for ev er b l e s t !
2 1 „
F a ith a n d d o u b t leave f a r b e h in d th ee ; 38 „
>>
Cease to love o r h a t e :
L e t n o t T i m e ’s i l l u s i o n s b l i n d t h e e ; 178 1 8 below Pieciam Z eeta Piscinm
T h o u shall tim e o u td a te .
>> » 6 Shaker Shaka
M erg e th in e in d iv id u a l b e in g 5) j) 5 „ 18° is 18c
I n t h e E t e r n a l ’s l o v e ;
34 „ #
A l l t h i s s e n s u o u s n a t u r e f l e e in g , 55 )5 +
F o r p u r e b liss above.
J’ J* 4 „
E a r t h r e c e i v e s t li e se e d a n d g u a r d s i t , }5 2 8 „
T r u s t f u ll y i t dies ;
T h e n , w h a t t e e m i n g l if e r e w a r d s i t 179 2 30 „ Astrology Astrology andAstronom y
F o r s e lf - s a c rif ic e ! 1
180 15 above

W i t h g r e e n leaf a n d c lu s te r i n g b lo sso m ” >> 16 „

C lad, o r g o ld en f r u it,
>» 19 „
S e e i t f r o m e a r t h ’s c h e e r l e s s b o s o m •* Ji^rrr
E ver sunw ard s h o o t! 7 below nving having
» >>

T h u s , w h e n s e l f - a b a s e d , m a n ’s s p i r i t
PA R A B R A H M , D E F IN E D BY V E D A N T IN S.
F r o m each e a rth ly tie
R i s e s d i s e n t h r a l l e d , to i n h e r i t I b e g to c a l l t h e a t t e n t i o n o f t h o s e w h o a r e i n t e r e s t e d i n
I m m o r t a l i t y !” th e q u e stio n of “ P e rs o n a l, Im p e rs o n a l, o r N o G o d ,” to th e
follo w in g e x tra c t of a d ialo g u e in U r d u w h ic h took place
b e tw e e n m y s e lf a n d a S a n n y a s i ( B r a h m i n ascetic) a t L a h o r e
THE H IN D U Z O D IA C . R a i l w a y s t a t i o n o n t h e e v e n i n g o f t h e 3 r d I n s t a n t . H e is a
I n t h e N o v e m b e r ( 1 8 8 1 ) i s s u e o f T h e T h e o s o p h is t M r . C h e l a of a V e d a n t i n S a n n y a s i o f B e n a r e s k n o w n as S a n k a r -
S u b b a R o w s t a t e d t h a t tlie Z o d i a c o f t h e H i n d u s w a s n o t G i r i S w a m i . H e h a s s t u d i e d , h e s a i d , Gooroo G e eta a n d
fixed o w in g to th e p recession of t h e e q u in o x e s “ as m a y be U p a n ish a d s . H e r e f u s e d t o g i v e o u t h i s n a m e , o f c o u r s e f o r n o
easily seen fro m th eir w o rk s o n A s tro n o m y a n d fro m th e S a n n y a s i w ill e v e r g iv e it. .
a lm a n a c s p u b lis h ed by th e H in d u A s tro n o m e rs .” T h a t these Q. “ I s G o d k i n d ? .
w o r k s a n d p u b l i c a t i o n s , d i d n o t s u p p o r t M r . S u b b a R o w ’s A. P a r a m a t m a is t h e s a t ( e s s e n c e ) of e v e r y t h i n g a n d a l l
s t a te m e n t w a s c le arly pro v ed b y m e. I f M r. S u b b a R o w t h e r e s t is m i t h y a ( i l l u s i o n ) b r o u g h t o n b y i g n o r a n c e . .
w a n t s m o re proofs, I sh a ll give h im a score m o re . T h e r e is n o u g h t b u t P a r a b r a h m . T o w h o m o r t o
M r . S u b b a R o w no w s a y s t h a t u n t i l I s u c c e e d i n s h e w i n g w h a t th e n c a n it be k in d ?
( t h i s , of c o u r s e , I c a n d o a t a n y t i m e , b e c a u s e I k n o w w h e r e Q. Do you pray ?
th e books a re to be f o u n d ) “ fro m th e N a d i g r a n d h a m s t h a t A. To w h o m a m I to p r a y ? I do not, fo r I a m m y se lf .
A stro lo g ical calcu la tio n s a re c o rre c t only w h e n N i r a y a n a P a r a b r a h m . I o n l y c o n t e m p l a t e . C o n t e m p l a t i o n is
S p h u t a m is u s e d , t h e n h i s ( m y ) s t a t e m e n t t h a t a f i x e d Z o d i a c a state of m in d ?
s h o u ld fe e '( a n d n o t is P) t h e b a s i s o f o u r c a l c u l a t i o n s c a n b e * * * * . .

t a k e n t o b e c o r r e c t . ” T h i s is c u r i o u s . I n d e p e n d e n t l y o f t h e * * * *
c o r r e c t n e s s of N a d i g r a n d h a m s , t h e q u e s t i o n w a s , n o t a s M r . Q. A r e y o u t h e n a n a s tik a ( a t h e i s t ) ?
S u b b a R o w n o w sa y s , w h e t h e r N i r a y a n a S p h u t a m is p r e f e r ­ A. No.
 Q. A re you a M ussulm an or a C h ristia n ?
A. N eith er.
Q. W h a t r e l i g i o n d o y o u t h e n b e l o n g to ?
A. I a m a B u d d h i s t , t h a t is t o s a y , a V e d a n t i n o f S a n k a r a -
c h a r y a ’s s c h o o l . ”
I th r ic e q u e s t i o n e d w h e t h e r h e w a s a B u d d h i s t , a n d t o m y
u t t e r a m a z e m e n t h e th r ic e r e p l i e d i n t h e a f f i r m a t i v e . I am
m y se lf a s tric t o rthodox B r a h m i n a n d believe in one P e rs o n a l
G o d , d i s c a r d i n g t h e i d e a of t h e t h i r t y - t h r e e c r o r e s o f g o d s
R A M JI M A LL P A N D IT , ' l a t e d b y , h o m o g e n e o u s u n i v e r s a l s in c e r t a i n b r a i n s — e x c l u ­
C le r k i n th e lio h ilk h a n d ,
P a tr io t i c A s s o c ia tio n ’s Office.
( T r a v e llin g on d u t y iv ith th e P r e s i d e n t .)
S i a l k o t , 4 th A p r i l 1883.
T h e a b o v e s ta te m e n t to o k p lace in th e p re sen c e of a C h e la
fro m th e n o r t h w h o c orroborates th e sta te m e n t.
(R A I) B I S H E N L A L L , F . T . S.,
P r e s id e n t o f th e l i o h i l k h a n d T h e o s o p h ic a l S o c ie ty .
E d ito r 's N ote •—So trne is tlio claim th a t tliero is no difference w h a t­
ever betw een esotcric Buddhism and those V edantins who u nderstand
the correct meaning of S aukaracharya’s teachings,—tho advanced
A dw aitees—th a t the la tte r are spoken of throughout sonthern India a s—
P rachchhanna B ouddhas, —or 11 B uddhists in d isg u ise”—especially by
tho V isishtadw aitees.
R E L IG IO U S B R U T A L IT Y IN CEY LO N .
O c r d e a r f r i e n d a n d b r o t h e r , M r . W i l l i a m D ’A b r e w , F . T . S.,
o f C o lo m b o , h a s b e c o m e t h e v i c t i m of a r e c e n t a t t a c k by­
n a ti v e C a th o lics u p o n a peacoable B u d d h i s t procession, of
w h ic h I send you a n a c c o u n t, n u m b e rin g s e v e ra l t h o u s a n d
p e rso n s, som e h u n d r e d w o m e n a n d c h ild re n in clu d e d , as it w as
011 i ts w a y t o M e g i t t u w a t t e ’s t e m p l e a t K o t a h e i n a . U narm ed
n n d i n o f f e n s iv e , t h e y w e r e c a r r y i n g o f f e r i n g s o f f l o w e r s a n d
f r u i t s t o t h e s h r i n e w i t h n o i n t o n t i o n of i n j u r i n g o r i n s u l t i n g
anyone. S u d d e n ly an a n g r y m o b of C ath o lic fish erm en ,
a r m e d w i t h b l u d g e o n s , s a n d - b a g s , b o t t l e s fille d w i t h s a n d ,
b r i c k - b a t s , a n d f is h in g s p e a r s , f e ll u p o n t h e m w i t h c u r s e s a n d
s h o u t s , m a i m i n g a n d c u t t i n g t h e p i l g r i m s , k i l l i n g t h e o x o n in
-t h e i r c a r t s , a n d b u r n i n g t h e c a r t s t h e m s e l v e s a n d t h e i r c o n t e n t s .
N o C a t h o l i c p r i e s t s of t h e a d j a c e n t e l m re li e s i n t e r f e r e d
to sto p th is o u tra g e , w h e n c e i t m a y be in f e r r e d t h a t it was
n o t w h o lly disag reeab le to t h e m . T he B uddhists defended
th e m se lv e s as th ey b e st co u ld u n d e r t h e c ir c u m s ta n c e s , a n d
M r. W . D ’A b r e w , w h o is o n e o f t h e m o s t r e s p e c t e d a n d e n ­
lig h te n e d a m o n g S in g h a le se B u d d h ists, w e n t fo rw a rd w ith
s o m e p o l i c e m e n t o t r y to p a c i f y t h e r i o t e r s . H i s g o o d offices
w e r e so i l l - r e c e i v e d t h a t h e w a s k n o c k e d d o w n , d r a g g e d i n to
a n e ig h b o u r in g co m p o u n d , b e a te n in to in se n sib ility , a n d r o b ­
b e d of h i s v a lu a b l e s . T h e p o l ic e b e i n g p o w e r l e s s to s t o p t h e
f i g h t i n g , t h e m i l i t a r y w e r e c a l l e d o u t , a n d q u e l l e d t h e riot.
O f c o u r s e , t h e r e c a n b e b u t o n e r e s u l t to t h i s a f fa ir . W e
B u d d h i s t s will e v e r r e c o l l e c t t h i s p r a c t i c a l p r o o f o f t h e s a v n g o
i n t o l e r a n c e of C h r i s t i a n b i g o t r y f o r o t h e r r e l i g i o n s , a n d v a l u e
t h e m i l d a n d b e n e v o l e n t s p i r i t of o u r B u d d h i s m a ll t h e m o r e .
O n e s u c h b loo d y fact a s t h is does m o re to n u llify th e sw ee t
p l a t i t u d i n o u s p r e a c h i n g o f t h o C e ylon m i s s i o n a r i e s t h a n a ll
t h e e l o q u e n c e of M e g i t t u w a t t e , o u r s i l v e r - t o n g u e d o r a t o r a n d
B u d d h i s t ’s c h a m p i o n . A s r e g a r d s t h o a c t i o n o f G o v e r n m e n t ,
t h e n a i l h n s b e en h i t s q u a r e l y o n t li e h e a d , b y a E u r o p e a n
p l a n t e r c o r r e s p o n d e n t o f t h e T im e s o f C e y lo n , w h o s e l e t t e r
a p p e a r s in t h a t p a p e r f o r A p r i l 5 t h . H e s a y s :—
“ W e, u p h e re, ro a d in g of t h i n g s a f t e r t h e y h a v e t a k e n place,
a r e of opinion t h a t , h a d t h e Police a p p e a le d to t h e Catbo lio
P r i e s t h o o d a t t h e C a th e d r a l , t h e y m i g h t ha v e b een i n d u c e d to u se
tli e ir influence t o qu ell t h e rio t, by o r d e r i n g t b e R o m a n C a th o lic
crow d t o d isp e rse to t h e i r b o u se s, w h ic h t h e y would a s s u r e d l y
h a v e d o n e a t euch b i d d i n g . A g a in , we find t h e G o v e r n m e n t
otfieiuls c a llin g u p o n t h e B u d d h i s t P r i e s t , M i g a t t u w a t t e , to k e ep
bis fo llow ers q uiet, b u t it w a s e v i d e n t they w e re n o t t b e nggrea-
nors. W h y w ere n o t t h e c le r g y of t h e a g g r e s s i v e p a r t y called
u p o n t o t a k e som e ste p s ? I t is all very well fo r y o u r c o n t e m ­
p o r a r y to b ully t h e G o v e r n m e n t , for w liat it culls s u p p o r t of, and
s y m p a t h y w ith, t h e B u d d h i s t s , but. s u r e l y so lo n g a s t h e y c o n ­
d u c t t h e m s e l v e s w ith o r d e r a n d d e ce n ey , t h e y , w h o wero in t h is
islan d before th e C a tho lics c a m e to it, h a v e a r i g h t t o t h e free ex.
e rcise of t h e i r r e lig io u s c e re m o n ie s, a n d a p a r t of t h e i r c e r e m o ­
n ies is a “ P i n k a m a . ” I n m y opinion, t h e C a th o l i c s s h o u ld b ave
a heavy fine levied o n t h e i r place of w orship, a s t h e y w ere clearly
t h e a g g r e s s o rs . I t is t o be hop ed t h e c h ie f a c t o r s in t h e E a s i e r
S u n d a y t r a g e d y will m e e t w ith t h e i r d e s e rts , a n d t h a t t h e r e will
be uo q u e s t io n , ou t h e p a r t of t h e G o v e r n o r , iu a llo w in g t h e h e a ­
v iest p e n a l t y to be e n a c t e d "
T h e old f a b l e o f t b e w o l f e a t i n g t h e l a m b u n d e r p r e t e x t
t h a t i t w a s s o i l i n g t h e s t r e a m u p - c u r r e u t , is i n t h i s i n s t a n c e
c o rro b o ra ted .
C olombo , A p r i l 7 th 1 883. Y * * *
THE R E L IG IO N O F TH E FUTURE.
O c cu ltism t e a c h e s u s t h a t i d e a s b a s e d u p o n f u n d a m e n t a l
t r u t h s m o v e i n t h e e t e r n i t y i n a c ir c le , r e v o l v i n g a r o u n d a n d
f i l l i n g t h e s p a c e w i t h i n t h e c i r c u i t o f t h e l i m i t s a l l o t t e d to
o u r g lo b e a n d th e p l a n e t a r y o r so la r sy ste m . T h a t , n o t u n lik e
P l a t o ’s e t e r n a l , i m m u t a b l e e s se n c e s, t h e y p e r v a d e t h e s e n s i b l e
w orld, p e rm e a tin g th e w o rld of th o u g h t ; a n d , t h a t con­
t r a r y t o c h c m i c a l a ffin itie s, t h e y a r e a t t r a c t e d to , a n d a s s i m i ­
s i v e l y t h e p r o d u c t o f h u m a n m i n d , i ts t h o u g h t s a n d i n t u i t i o n .
T h a t i n t l i e i r p e r p e t u a l flow t h e y h a v e t h e i r p e r i o d s o f i n t e n ­
s i t y a n d a c t i v i t y , a s t h e i r d u r a t i o n s of m o r b i d i n a c t i v i t y .
D u r i n g t h e f o r m e r , a n d w h e n e v e r a s t r o n g i m p u l s e is i m ­
p a r t e d o n s o m e g i v e n p o i n t of t h e g l o b e t o o n e o f s u c h f u n d a ­
m e n t a l t r u t h s , a r id a c o m m u n i o n b e t w e e n k i n d r e d e t e r n a l
e s s e n c e s is s t r o n g l y e s t a b l i s h e d b e t w e e n a p h i l o s o p h e r ’s i n t e ­
r io r w o r ld of reflectio n a n d t h e e x te rio r p la n e of ideas, th e n ,
c o g n a te b r a in s a r e affected o n se v eral o th e r p o in ts, a n d id e n ti­
cal id ea s w ill be g e n e r a te d a n d expressio n g i v e n to th e m
o fte n in a lm o s t id e n tic a l term s.
T h e c o r r e c t n e s s of t h i s d o c t r i n e w a s o f t e n a s c e r t a i n e d b y
m o d e r n o c c u l t i s t s , a n d is o n c e m o r e s h o w n a s s o m e t h i n g a b o v e
a m ere p lau sib le co n jectu re, ju s t a t p resen t. A corresp o n d en t
o f o u r c o n t e m p o r a r y t h e I n d i a n M ir r o r , w r i t i n g f r o m I t a l y
( s e e i s s u e of M a r c h 31, 1 8 8 3 ) , t e l l s u s t h a t i t h a s b e e n h is
g ood fo rtu n e since h e c am e to F lo re n c e —
“ To m eet with a gentlem an from Philadelphia, in tho U nited StateB,
who has w ritten a work, entitled, ‘ The Religion of the F uture,’ w hich
is s till in m a n u sc rip t. This gentlem an, the author, was brought up as a
Quaker, but would not be considered orthodox by th a t body now. His
opinions have been modified so m aterially by his travels in England,
Germ any, and elsew here, as to m ake him quite heretical.’’
I t is t h e b r i e f s u m m a r y of t h e m a n u s c r i p t , o f “ t h e R e l i ­
g io n of th e F u t u r e ”— a s g iv e n b y t h e c o rre s p o n d e n t, t h a t
a ttra c te d o u r atten tio n . T h e n a m e of th e Q u a k e r g e n tl e m a n
is n o t m e n t i o n e d ; b u t h a d w e b e e n t o l d t h a t t h e w o r k w a s
w r i t te n b y o u r “ L a y C h e la ,” w ho, w ith r e g a r d to th e f u n d a ­
m e n t a l d o c t r i n e s e x p l a i n e d b y h i m , is t h e f a i t h f u l a m a n u e n s i s
o f o n e of t h e H i m a l a y a n M a st urs — w e w o u l d h a v e a c c e p t e d
it as a m a t t e r of fact. I t is m o s t p r o b a b l e t h a t w h e n t h e
“ R e l i g i o n of t h e F u t u r e ” is r e a d in i t s c o m p l e t e n e s s , t h e r e w ill
b e f o u n d m o r e t h a n o n e p a g e a n d c h a p t e r , p e r c h a n c e , t h a t will
a p p e a r to t h e c o r re c tly in fo rm e d o c c u ltis t as g r o te s q u e a n d
h e te ro d o x . Y e t t h o u g h i t m a y s i n i n i ts d e t a i l s , i t is p e r ­
f e c t l y c o r r e c t i n its e s s e n t i a l f e a t u r e s a s f a r a s w e u n d e r s t a n d
it in its p re s e n ta tio n . L e t o u r s t u d e n t s of o o c u l t sc i e n c e
judge.
“ The peculiar te n e t of ‘ The Religion of the F u tu re ’ is th a t M atter
and L ife are equally eternal an d in d estru ctib le ; th a t the U niversal
L ife is the Su p re m e Beinij, not necessarily O m nipotent, but of powers
infinitely transcending anything of which we have a conception on
e arth ; th a t m an, on becoming fitte d fo r absorption by m oral p u r ity , is
absorbed into th is U niversal L ife or Suprem e Being, being subject to f r e ­
q uent appearances on earth, u n til th a t m orul p u r ity is a tta in ed ; and
th a t the su m of all the experiences o f the noblest of a n im a ted beings, fro m
all p a rts o f the U niverse, is added constantly to the intelligence of the
U niversal L ife .’*
W e h a v e ita lic ize d t h e m o s t s t r i k in g p a ssa g es. R endered
in p la in l a n g u a g e a n d am p lified , t h e A r h a t e so te ric d o c trin e
t e a c h e s t h a t (1) “ M a t t e r a n d L ife a r e e q u a lly e te r n a l a n d
i n d e s t r u c t i b l c , ” fo i— t h e y a r o o n o a n d i d e n t i c a l ; t h e p u r e l y
s u b j e c t i v e — lie n e e ( f o r p h y s i c a l s c i e n c e ) u n p r o v a b l e a n d u n -
v e r i f i a b l e — m a t t e r b e c o m i n g tlie o n e life o r w h a t is g e n e r a l l y
t e r m e d “ S p i r i t . ” ( 2 ) T h e h y p o t h e t i c a l d e i t y ( o r G o d as
a p e rso n a l lie in g ) as so m e th in g u n a tta in a b le by, a n d in c o m p re ­
h e n s i b l e to, l o g i c a n d r e a s o n , b e i n g n e v e r s p e c u l a t e d u p o n o r
t a u g h t — s i n c e o c c u l t s c i c n c e t a k e s n o t h i n g on f a i t h , i t is c l a s s i ­
fied w i t h t h e h i g h e s t o f a b s t r a c t i o n s , a n d p e r c e i v e d a n d
a c c e p t e d i n w h a t w e c a l l “ U n i v u u s a l L i f e .” ( 3 ) O m n i p o t e n t
o nly t h r o u g h , a n d in c o n ju n c tio n w ith th e i m m u ta b le , e te r n a l
L a w s of N a t u r e w h i c h a r e t h u s t h e b a s i s u p o n w h i c h L if e
w o r k s , i t is n o t “ n e c e s s a r i l y O m n i p o t e n t , ” p e r se. ( 4 ) T h a t
m a n is a b s o r b e d i n t o , a n d b e c o m e s o n e w i t h , t h e U n i v e r s a l
L i f e , o r P a r a b r a l i m , o n l y a f t e r h o is e n t i r e l y p u r i f ie d , i. e.,
d i s e n t h r a l l e d f r o m m a t t e r a n d g o n e b e y o n d t h e s p h e r e of
s e n s e — is a d o c t r i n e r e c o g n i s e d a l i k e b y B u d d h i s t , H i n d u a n d
o t h e r o l d A s i a t i c p h i l o s o p h i e s ; a s a ls o ( 5 ) t h a t m a n is sub­
je c t to f r e q u e n t a p p e a r a n c e s o n e a r t h , ” u n til his d o u b le evo­
l u t i o n — m o r a l a n d p h y s i c a l — is a c h i e v e d t h r o u g h o u t t h e
sev e n R o u n d s a n d h e h a s r e a c h c d th e u l ti m a t e perfection.
T h e l a t t e r d o c t r i n e is c a r e f u l l y e x p l a i n e d b y “ L a y C h e l a ”
i n t h e l a t e r “ F r a g m e n t s of O c c u l t T r u t h . ” ( 6 ) a n d l a s t ,
‘■ t h e s u m of a ll t h e e x p e r i e n c e s ’ o f m a n f r o m a ll p a r t s of t h e
U n i v e r s e , “ is a d d e d c o n s t a n t l y t o t h e i n t e l l i g e n c e o f t h e U n i ­
v e r s a l L i f e ” — m e a n s s i m p l y t h i s f u n d a m e n t a l d o c t r i n e o f tlio
S e c r e t S c i e n c e : “ U n i v e r s a l I n t e l l i g e n c e , is t h e s u m t o t a l ,
o r t h e a g g r e g a t e of a ll t h e i n t e l l i g e n c e s , p a s t , p r e s e n t a n d
f u t u r e o f t h e u n i v e r s e , ” I t is t h e O c e a n o f I n t e l l i g e n c e
f o r m e d o f c o u n t l e s s d r o p s of i n t e l l i g e n c e s , w h i c h , p r o c e e d
f r o m , a n d r e t u r n t o it. I f t h e y w e r e a l l t a k e n o u t , t o t h e l a s t
d ro p , t h e r e w o u ld be no m o re O c e a n .” ( B oo k o f t iie A r h a t s ,
S e c t . I V , l e a f 3 9 ) . A f u r t h e r d e s c r i p t i o n o f t h e a u t h o r is
th u s g iv e n by th e correspondent.
“ I read his ‘ Religion of tho F u tu re ’ with very grent in terest. W ith­
out having any knowlorigo of w hat was being dono in C alcutta, in tho
roligious world, lie had made a study of Hinduism , of Buddhism, and
of C hristian ity , with a view to reconcile and harm onize them . Not
having any acquaintance with any of tho E astern languages, tho author
of ‘ The Religion of tho F u tu re ’ had been obliged to rely entirely upon
translations, but of theso ho had mado a careful and judicious use. Jlifl
adm iration for the philosophy of Hinduism is enlightened nnd ard en t.
H e gives nn a b stract of it in his work, and of tho life nnd teaching of
( l O t n m a Buddha., for whom all who study tho subject m ust have a pro­
found veneration.
“ Tho pocnliar ideas of the a u th o r nro procedfed by an intelligent and
appreciative review of the religious philosophy of Hinduism, of tho lifo
and teaching of G otam a Buddha, and of the life and teaching of Christ.
“ W ithout p n ttin g faith in the m odern m anifestations of spiritualism ,
th e a uthor of * Tbo Religion of tho F u tu re ’ thinks th ere is evidence in
m odern lifo th a t spirits take p a rt in hum an affairs—spirits both good
and bad.”
------- 0-------
D R A G G E D IN A G A IN !
T n E bisons, o r N o r t h A m e r ic a n buffaloes, w e a r e told, w h e n
m i g r a t i n g , t r a v e l i n v a s t s o l i d c o l u m n s o f t e n s of t h o u s a n d s ,
w h i c h i t is a l m o s t i m p o s s i b l e t o t u r n o r a r r e s t i n t h e i r p r o ­
gress, since th e r e a r w a r d m asses, p re ssin g m a d ly fo rw a rd ,
d r i v e t h e l e a d e r s on, w h e t h e r t h e y w i l l o r no. T h e i r r o a r i n g
is l i k e h o a r s e t h u n d e r , a n d w i d e t r a c t s of v i r g i n f o r e s t s , c u l ­
t i v a t e d p l a n t a t i o n s a n d , o f c o u r s e , m a n y a s o l i t a r y h u t of t h o
p r a ir ie h u n t s m a n a re s w e p t a w a y , g r o u n d to p o w d e r - d u s t by
th is liv in g avalan ch e .
T h e above p ictu re, w ith th e s u b s e q u e n t reflections t h e r e ­
u p o n , w a s su g g e ste d to us b y se e in g o u r n a m e s d r a g g e d in to
polem ics w i t h r e g a r d to n a tiv e v o lu n te e rs. A s a sim ile,
it g i v e s a f a i r i d e a o f t h e d i s s a t i s f i e d A n g l o - I n d i a n s i n t h e i r
p re s e n t sta te of fury. R o a r in g th em se lv es h o arse, th e y seem
t o p r e s s as m a d l y f o r w a r d a s a n y h e r d o f b i s o n s , d r i v i n g on
t h e i r lead ers. T h a t th e y s h o u ld u p s e t e v e ry t h i n g iu t h e i r
w a y , f r o m f o r e s t d o w n to h u t , o r, i n p l a i n e r w o r d s , f r o m t h e
w h o le B e n g a li p o p u la tio n d o w n to th e s o lita r y a n d h a r m le s s
B a b u , is o n l y a s i t s h o u l d b e e x p e c t e d , s i n c e t h e y n ro b l i n d l y
a n d h elp lessly d riv e n on b y th e ir f u r y e v e r since th e first im ­
p u lse w as given. T h i s is e a s y e n o u g h t o i m a g i n e . I t is less
e a s y t o c o m p r e h e n d , h o w e v e r , w h y so m o o f t h e m s h o u l d
a c t u a l l y g o o u t of t h e i r w a y t o a s s a u l t i n d i v i d u a l s t h a t h a v e
h o m o r e t h a n t h e m a n i n t h e m o o n , t o d o w i t h a n y o n e of
t h e m i n p a r t i c u l a r , a n d t h e i r p o l it i c a l s q u a b b l e s e s p e c i a l l y —
unless it be on th e b ro a d n e ce ssitaria n p rin cip le of th e
A m e r ic a n b o y w h o — u n a b le to sa tis fy h is sp ite a g a i n s t a
s t r o n g e r c o m r a d e — m a d e faces a t his sister. D u rin g the
w h o l e p e r i o d of o u r f o u r y e a r s ’ l i v i n g in I n d i a , n e i t h e r o u r
S o c i e t y , n o r i ts F o u n d e r s , n o r t h e J o u r n a l , h a d a n y t h i n g to
d o w h a t e v e r w i t h po lities . N a y , f e e l i n g a n i n n a t e a n d h o l y
h o r r o r f o r e v e r y t h i n g c o n n e c t e d w i t h it, w e h a v e a v o i d e d
th e su b je ct m ost stren u o u sly . E m p ire s m ig h t have fallen
d o w n a n d a risen a n e w d u r i n g t h a t in te r v a l, t h a t still o u r
J o u r n a l as ourselves w ould n o t h av e h eed ed th e c atas tro p h e
b u t g iv en e v e r o u r u n d iv id e d a tte n tio n to “ O c c u lt T r u t h s ”
n n d k in d re d m eta p h y sica l p ro b lem s. N e v erth e le ss, several
E u r o p e a n s a m o n g t h e d i s s a t is f ie d f a c t i o n o f A n g l o - I n d i a n s ,
a v ailed th em se lv es of t h e o p p o r t u n it y to c o n n e c t t h e h a p le ss
T h eo so p h ists w ith “ N a tiv e V o l u n t e e r s ,” a m efvem ent w ith
w h ich th e la tte r h a v e n ot th e least co n cern ; a n d , as a resu lt,
th e y h a v e u n d e r v a rio u s a n d fa n cifu l nom s d e p lu m e , b ra v e ly
in s u lte d th e m in the A n g lo -In d ia n p a p e rs. O f course th e
o b j e c t is s e l f - e v i d e n t . U n a b l e t o h i t M r . A . 0 . H u m e , l i k e
th e Y a n k e e b oy, th e y m a d e “ face s a t his s is te r ” in t h e t h e o ­
s o p h i c a l s e n s e o f t h e w o r d . T h e f i r s t s h o t h a v i n g b e e n fired
i n t h e P io n e e r b y a “ B a i l e y - G u a r d ” ( m a y t h e i d e a of f i n d i n g
o u t his r e a l c o r re c t n a m e b y h a v in g th e p s e u d o n y m a n a g ra m -
ttd n e v e r c r o s s t h e m i n d of t h e p o o r m a n ’s e n e m i e s \) w h o
d e c l i n e d “ t o b r e a k l a n e e s w i t h so d o u g h t y a c h a m p i o n of
V e g e t a r i a n i s m , T h e o s o p h y a n d B l a v a t s k y i s m ” — a h o s t of i m i ­
tato rs follow ed su it. A t t h e tim e w e w rite , th e c o n tr o v e r s y
a p p e a r s c lo s e d b y “ P s y c h o l o g i s t , ” i n t h e s a m e p a p e r . A
c o r r e s p o n d e n t of t h a t n a m e w o u l d m a k e t h e c r e d u l o u s p n b l i c
b e lie v e t h a t M r . A . 0 . H u m e , w h o , w i t h h i m , is t r a n s f o r m e d
i n t o “ t h e d a i n t y A r i e l . . . . . . of t h e r e a l m s o f t h e o s o p h y
o p e n e d b y ‘ t h e d e a r o l d l a d y ’— is n o w a m u s i n g h i m s e l f b y
p e r fo r m in g th e b id d in g of Col. O l c o t t , t h e Y a n k e e P r o s p e r o . ”
A la s, f o r th e q u ip s a n d c r a n k s of S y d n e y S m ith , t h a t t h e y
s h o u l d bo t h u s o u t r i v a l l e d a n d e c l i p s e d b y a n o b s c u r e
“ P s y c h o l o g i s t !” L i k e t h e F o s t o n o f t h e r e v e r e n d h u m o r i s t ,
n o tw ith s ta n d in g th e i r in te n d e d sourness, his w itticism s a re
r e a l l y “ t w e l v e m i l e s f r o m a l e m o n . ” M r . H u m e , w h o is k i n d
e n o u g h to c h a r a c te r is e t h e c lu m sy m issile s as “ good n a t u r e d
f u n , ” i n h i s a n s w e r i n t h e P io n e e r , re c t ifi e s t h e a b s u r d
a c c u s a t i o n , t h u s :—
I notioo th a t 11 Psychologist,” who very good naturcdly makes fan of
some of my ninny short com ings, speaks of me as nctiDg under jtbe
behests of Colonel O lcott nnd tla d a n ie B'avatsky. Now I have tho
greatest respect for theso two earnest and self-devoted philanthiopists,
but though a staunch supporter of the Theosopliical Society, which mny
y e t effect tho gran d est m oral and social reforms, I owe it, both to thfem
and to myself, to mako it clear th a t I am not speaking in these m atters
a t tho instigation of th a t very limited, if uugust, section of nativo
thought which they alone rep resen t.
W e s h o u l d h o p e n o t. I t w o u l d b e a m o s t d e s i r a b l e t h i n g
w e r e t h e “ B a i l e y - G u a r d s ” a n d “ P s y c h o l o g i s t s ” of t h o
P io n e e r t o c o n c e r n t h e m s e l v e s w i t h p e o p l e a n d t h i n g s t h e y
k n o w n o t h in g a b o u t a s little as “ t h e d e a r old l a d y ” a n d th e
“ Y a n k e e P r o s p e r o ” c o n c e r n t h e m s e l v e s w i t h t h e non-official
A n g lo - I n d ia n m o b a n d t h e i r undignified b ra w ls sa ilin g u n d e r
tho p o m p o u s n a m e o f— p o litical a g ita tio n .
. ------- *-------
THE T R IN IT Y O F R IG H T E O U S N E S S .
T h r e e o th e r v ictim s “ sm e llin g sw eet in th e n o strils of th e
L o r d !”
T h e n a m e s of Ju s tic e N o r th , th e R ev . D r. S. W a in w r ig h t,
a n d M r . A l e x a n d e r S c o t t , w i l l g o to p o s t e r i t y , i f C h r i s t e n d o m
h a s a n y d e c e n t s e n s e o f g r a t i t u d e l e f t i n it. T h e f i r s t n a m e d
is t h e r i g h t e o u s J u d g e w h o h a s j u s t s e n t e n c e d M e s s r s . G e o r g e
W . F oote, th e e d ito r, W . T . R a m s e y , th e p rin te r, a n d H . A.
K e m p , t h e p u b l i s h e r , o f t h e F r e e - th in k e r , to r a t h e r a long ­
t e r m o f i m p r i s o n m e n t , t h e “ t r i n i t y of U n r i g h t e o u s n e s s , ”
t h u s f in d in g a n a v e n g i n g N e m e s is iu t h e “ t r in i t y of R i g h t e ­
ousness.”
T o m o d e r a t e t h e z eal o f T o r q u e m a d a , t h e g r e a t I n q u i s i t o r ,
P o p e A l e x a n d e r V I h a d to n a m e f o u r a s s i s t a n t s t o h e l p a n d
c h e c k a t t h e sa m e tim e t h e p a ssio n of t h a t holy o g re f o r b u r n t
h u m a n flesh. T o m o d e r a t e t h e zeal of t h e J u s t i c e s N o r t h , t h e
p o w e rs t h a t be o v e r t h e m w ill h a v e to re p e a l m o re t h a n one
law , e a te n lo n ^ since by ra ts , b u t s t il l alive a n d c h e rish e d in th e
l a r g e m a g n a n i m o u s h e a r t s o f t li o s e w h o w o u l d c a ll t h e m s e l v e s
t h e f o l l o w e r s o f C h r i s t a n d t h e a v e n g e r s o f God, w h i l e f u l l of
t h e s p i r i t of T o r q u e m a d a , t h e y a r e r e a lly b u t th e h u m b le se r­
v a n t s o f h i m — w h o t e m p t e d t h e C r u c if i e d . T h e p a r a b l e a b o u t
t h e “ t a l e n t s ” i n w h i c h , — M r . J u s t i c e N o r t h p e r s o n i f ie d t h e
“ M a s te r ,” w h o “ re a p s w h e r e h e sow s not, a n d g a th e r s w h e re
h e h a s n o t s tr e w e d ,” w as re p re se n te d , w ith t h a t difference
only, t h a t M r. F o o te , “ th e u n p ro fita b le s e r v a n t ,” w a s n ot
a c c u s e d b y h i m of h i d i n g h i s L o r d ’s “ t a l e n t i n t h e e a r t h , ”
b u t of “ p r o s t i t u t i n g h i s t a l e n t s t o t h e w o r k o f t h e d e v i l . ”
T h e r e f o r e — “ t h o u w i c k e d a n d s l o t h f u l s e r v a n t , b e c a s t i n to
t h e b o t t o m l e s s p i t a n d o u t e r d a r k n e s s . ” T h e r e w a s a ls o
“ w e e p i n g a n d g n a s h i n g o f t e e t h ” — o n l y n o t in t h e b o t t o m l e s s
p i t, b u t o n t h e g a l l e r y — a n d w e h o p e , h ig h e r , if t h e r e b e s u c h
a n u p p e r story. T h e w o rd s a d d r e s s e d to th e rig h te o u s J u d g e
by the p riso n er a fte r sentence w as passed on h im (th e fa th e r
of a f a m i l y , w e h e a r , w h o s e f o r c e d a b s e n c e , a n d i n a b i l i t y t o
s u p p o r t th e m fo r o ne w h o le y e a r , w ill tell on th e po o r h o m e )
a r e m e m o r a b l e a n d m a y y e t b e c o m e h i s t o r ic a l. “ M y L ord,
I t h a n k y o u , i t is w o r t h y o f y o u r c r e e d , ” — s a i d M r . F o o t e .
A n d t h u s , o n c e m o r e is t h e p r o p h e c y fu l fil l e d : “ F o r u n t o
e v e r y o n e t h a t h a t l i s h a l l b e g i v e n , ........ b u t f r o m h i m t h a t
h a t h not, sh a ll be t a k e n a w a y ev en t h a t w h ic h h e h a t h . ”
T h e tria l w a s fo r b l a s p h e m y — a n elastic w o rd t h a t , c ap a b le
of b e in g s tr e tc h e d o u t ad in fin itu m * T h e C h ristm a s N u m ­
b e r o f t h e F r e e - th in k e r c o n t a i n s t h e g r a p h i c , t h o u g h , w e m u E t
* 11 W hnt is blasphem y ?” asks Col. R. Ingersoll in a recent lectnre —
" First, it is a geographical question. T here was a tim e when it was
blasphemy in Jerusnlotn to sny th a t C hrist was God. In this country
it is now blasphem y to say th a t ho is not. I t is blasphem y in Constan­
tinople to deny th a t Mahomet was the prophet of Qod ; it is blasphemy
here to sny th n t ho was. I t is a geographical queBtion, and yo'i cannot
te ll w hether you ere a blasphem er or not w ithout looking a t the map.
W hat is blasphem y ? I t is w h a t the m istake says about the fact. I t is
w hat last y ear’s leaf says a bout this y ear’s bud* I t is tbo la st cry of tha
defeated priest..B lasphem y is the little breastw ork behind which hypo--
crisy hides ; behind which m ental impotency feels safe. There is n o
blasphemy b u t the open avowal of your honest thought, and he w h o
speaks as he thinks blasphem es.”
s a y a l i t t l e to o p l a s t i c , i l l u s t r a t i o n o f t h e s o l e m n v i e w a l l o w e d
b y d iv in e g r a c e to M oses f ro m w i t h in th e “ c left o f th e
r o c k , ” a n d d e s c r i b e d w i t h s u c h c h a s t i t y of s t y l e i n E x o d u s
x x x i ii . v . 23. F a i l i n g t o c a t c h t h e s p i r i t o f t h e d i v i n e
a lle g o ry , t h e d e f e n d a n ts re p ro d u c e d too f a it h f u l ly t h e d e a d
l e t t e r pf t h e t e x t , a n d t h u s c o u l d h a r d l y f a i l t o c a t c h i t t h i s
t im e . T h e y w e r e g u i l t y of b a d t a s t e a n d v u l g a r i t y , a n d t h e y
c e r ta in ly d e s e rv e d to be t r ie d a n d se n te n c e d b y a j u r y o f—
./E sth etics. T h e j u r y of C h r is tia n s b y d e c l a r i n g th e m
“ g u ilty ” h a v e only th ro w n d is h o n o u r a n d rid icu le u p o n
t h e i r o w n h o ly B ible. T h e s e n te n c e fa lls h e a v i e r u p o n t h e
l a tte r t h a n u p o n th e prisoners. W e k n o w a C h ris tia n g e n tl e ­
m a n in I n d i a w h o , l i t t l e a c q u a i n t e d w i t h t h e O l d T e s t a m e n t ,
o f f e r e d a s o v e r e i g n f o r t h e C h r i s t m a s N u m b e r of t h e F r e e ­
th in k e r , i n o r d e r t o c o m p a r e t h e t w o , a n d w h o o t h e r w i s e
w o u ld h a v e n e v e r h e a r d of th e p u b lic a tio n .
H a v i n g d o n e w i t h N o . 1 of t h e “ T r i n i t y of R i g h t e o u s n e s s , ”
w e h a v e t o s p e a k of t h e s e c o n d a n d t h i r d p e r s o n a g e s o f t h e
sam e. R e v . D r. W a i n w r i g h t a n d M r. S c o tt a re re s p e c tiv e ly
t h e P r e s i d e n t a n d th e H o n o r a r y S e c r e t a r y of th e n e w l y e s ta ­
b lish ed “ Society fo r th e S u p p re s s io n of B la s p h e m o u s L it e ­
r a t u r e , ” a b o d y t h a t bodes f a ir to re v iv e t h e H o l y I n q u i s i ti o n
if, i n t h e c o u r s e of i t s e v o l u t i o n i t is n o t m a d e t o c o m e to
grief.
P r o te s ta n tis m re co g n izin g no sa in ts — no sta tu e s, th ere fo re,
w i t h g l o r i e s a r o u n d t h e h e a d s c a n b e e r e c t e d to t h e s e t h r e e
t r u l y g o o d m e n . N o r h a v e t h e y a n y c h a n c e of b e i n g c a n o ­
nized a f t e r p a ss in g t h r o u g h t h e u s u a l p rocess of beatification,
t li e p r o m o t e r o f f a i t h — p o p u l a r l y a n d l e g a l l y k n o w n i n R o m e
a s “ t h e d e v i l ’s a d v o c a t e , ” b e i n g s u r e t o r a i s e a ll p o s s ib l e o b j e c ­
t i o n s a g a i n s t t h e b e a t i f i c a t i o n of t h e t h r e e P r o t e s t a n t g e n t l e ­
m e n . I t is a g r e a t p i t y t h o u g h ; f o r , if a n y “ f r i e n d s of G o d ”
have ever d e s e r v e d s u c h h o n o u r s , i t is s u r e l y t h e y .
In d e e d , t h e y h a v e a ll t h e n e e d e d re q u isite s d e m a n d e d f o r it
b y t h e H o l y S e e , to v iz :— “ a g e n e r a l r e p u t a t i o n f o r s a n c t i t y ,
a n d su p e rn a tu ra l g ifts th e y h a v in g p e rfo rm e d th e tw o
p r e s c r i b e d o s t e n s i b l e m i r a c l e s — ( a ) t h a t of r e s u r r e c t i n g to
life a n o ld a n d o b s o l e te l a w f o r b l a s p h e m y , d e a d a s a d o o r
n a i l f o r o v e r h a l f a c e n t u r y ; a n d (b) t h a t o t h e r o n e — of
f o r c i n g t h e p r o u d , f r e e b o r n B r i t o n , w h o s e g r e a t e s t b o a s t is
liis a b s o l u t e l i b e r t y f r o m t h e s h a c k l e s o f m e n t a l a n d p h y s i c a l
s l a v e r y , t o p e r m i t i ts r e v i v a l a n d f o r t h w i t h t o se e i t t a k e n
a d v a n t a g e of a n d a b u s e d . A g a i n , t h e a c t o f d e v o t i o n s h o w n
t o t h e i r M a k e r , b y t h e s e t h r e e s a i n t l y c h a r a c t e r s , is f a r m o r e
m e r i t o r i o u s t h a n t h a t o f m a n y a g l o r if i e d s a i n t . S u r e l y t h e
m e r i t o f a l l o w i n g o n e ’s u n w a s h e d b o d y t o b e d e v o u r e d b y
v e r m i n f o r f i f ty c o n s e c u t i v e y e a r s , c a n n o t b e a r f o r o n e
m o m e n t c o m p a r i s o n w i t h t h a t o f a b a n d o n i n g o n e ’s f a i r
n a m e to t h e v u l t u r e s — c a l l e d C o n t e m p t a n d R i d i c u l e — of t h e
g e n e ra tio n s to com e ! L e t o n ly th e R e v . D r . W a i n w r i g h t
a n d his w o rth y S e c r e ta r y M r. A . S co tt, c a r r y o u t th e ir
th rea t, a u d th e th u n d e r in g p e als of la u g h te r t h a t w ill c on­
v u ls e a l l t h e e d u c a t e d c la s s e s o f E u r o p e a n d A m e r i c a w i l l
d e a f e n e v e r y b i g o t , a n d s i l e n c e f o r a l o n g t i m e , if n o t f o r e v e r ,
t h e c r o a k i n g s o u n d o f p s a l m - e l i a n t i i i g , a n d n a s a l s i n g i n g of
e v e r y S u n d a y s e r v i c e a n d M a ss . T h e a s to n is h e d q u e stio n ,
“ W h a t n e x t ? ” — m a d e b y e v e r y s a n e m a n w h o h a d h e a r d of
t h e r e v i v a l o f a n o l d l a w , of w h i c h d e c e n t p e o p le i n E n g l a n d
f e l t a l r e a d y a s h a m e d 2 5 0 y e a r s a g o , is a n s w e r e d b y t h e s e l f ­
c o n s t i t u t e d G o d ’s b o d y - g u a r d , M e s s r s . W a i n w r i g h t a n d S c o t t ,
in t h e f o l l o w i n g l i n e s p u b l i s h e d i n s e v e r a l d a i l y p a p e r s :—
“ We propose to g e t up cases, as our funds w ill a llo w ,
against P ro fesso r H u x le y , Dii. T yn dall, H e r b e r t Spencer,
Sw inburne, th e A u th o r op ‘ S u p ern a tu ra l R e lig io n ,’ th e
P ub lish ers of M i l l ’s M orley, th e E d ito r o f th e J e w is h
W o rld , D r . M artineau, and oth ers, w h o by th e ir w ritings
HAVE SOWN WIDESPREAD UN BELI EF, A N D , I N SOME C A S E S , RA N K
A theism , in cultivated families .”
A re wo d ream in g , or a w ak e ? Is th e above g ro tesq u e
d e f i a n c e <5f d i s g r a c e f u l o b s c u r a n t i s m t h r o w n i n t o t h e f a c e of
sc i e n c e a s of a ll t h e e n l i g h t e n e d p o r t i o n o f m a n k i n d , s o m e ­
th in g m o re serious th a n a n in d ec en t fa rce of p se u d o -co n ser­
v a t i s m , a n d is i t r e a l l y i n t e n d e d a s a b o n a -fid e t h r e a t ?
T h e se n ten c e p a sse d on th e e d ito rs a n d p u b lis h e rs of th e
F r e e - th in k e r g i v e s i t a n a i r o f p r o b a b i l i t y u n d r e a m t of i n
th is so-ealled ag e o f p r o g re s s a n d f r e e d o m o f t h o u g h t. In
o u r b e w i l d e r m e n t , w e r e a l l y d o n o t kno>v w h e t h e r i n
p e n n in g th ese r e m a r k s w e a r e c ro ssin g o r n o t th e (to
u s ) f o r b i d d e n b o u n d a r i e s of p o l it i c s . I n t h e s e d a y s of
g u d d e n s u r p r i s e s , w h e n n o o n e k n o w s w h a t is w h a t ,
w h i c h is w h i c h , a n d w h o is w h o , w e w o u l d n o t w o n d e r if,
l i k e M r . J o u r d a i n , w h o s p o k e a l l h i s , l if e p r o s e w i t h o u t
s u s p e c t i n g i t, w e w o r e t o l d t h a t o u r r e f l e c t i o n s a r e “ p o l i t i c a l ”
a n d a ls o b l a s p h e m o u s to b o o t . I t w o u l d , of c o u rs e , be a p r o ­
fo u n d h o n o r to s h a re p ro se c u tio n in th e d istin g u ish e d
c o m p a n y of M e s s r s . H u x l e y , T y n d a l l a n d H e r b e r t S p e n c e r .
Y e t — p r o h p u d o r ! a s s u r e d l y a s u b s c r i p t i o n o u g h t to b e
ra is e d to se c u re fo r th e sa id “ b o d y - g u a rd ” co m fo rtab le
q u a r te r s in so m e p l e a s a n t b u t s o lita r y place. F o r in s ta n c e
in o ne of th o se a s y lu m s w h ic h a r e g iv in g la te ly h o s p ita lity
t o so m a n y v i c t i m s of r e l i g i o u s f r e n z y — w h e n e v e r t h e y e s c a p e
g a llo w s— m o d ern i m i t a t o r s of A b r a h a m ’s s a c rif ic e , t h e
m u r d e r e r s of t h e i r s o n s a n d d a u g h t e r s w h o a l l e g e t o r e c e i v e
d i v i n e c o m m a n d s f r o m G o d to t h a t effect. A l r e a d y , a n o t h e r
old la w — a g a in s t p a lm is tr y — h a v in g b een d u g o u t fo r th e
e a s ie r p ro s e c u tio n of M r. S la d e th e m e d iu m , som e six y e a r s
sin c e , w i t h t h e r e v i v a l of t h e l a w f o r b l a s p h e m y E n g l a n d
m a y h o p e to b e c o m e e r e l o n g t h e w o r l d ’s t h e a t r e r e - e n a c t i n g
o n its c u l t u r e d a n d p o l i s h e d b o a r d s , a n d f o r t h e e d i f i c a t i o n o f
a l l E u r o p e , a n o t h e r s e r i e s of t h o s e m e d ia e v a l d r a m a s a n d
bloody tra g e d ie s of th e p a lm y d ay s t h a t preced ed K in g
W i l l i a m ’s v e t o of t h e w i t c h c r a f t a c t , s u c h a s w i t c h - b u r n i n g
a n d Q u a k e r - b r a n d i n g a n d f l o g g i n g a t t h e c a r t ’s t a i l . I n
o u r d a y s of re v iv a ls of e v e r y t h in g in g e n e ra l, a n d m o u ld y
a n t i q u i t i e s e s p e c i a l l y , i t is n o t so v e r y u n r e a s o n a b l e to e x p e c t
to se e r e p e a t e d t h e s c e n e s . t h a t i l l u s t r a t e d t h e r e i g n of
F r a n c i s I ., a p l e a s a n t p e r i o d d u r i n g t h e l a p s e of w h i c h
1 0 0 ,0 0 0 w i t c h e s w e r e b u r n e d a li v e . A n d w h a t , m o r e r e f r e s h ­
in g s ig h t fo r th e lib e rals of m e r r y old E n g l a n d th a n th e
c a r r y i n g o u t o f t h i s p r o g r a m m e , f o r i n s t a n c e :— A w h o l e
a r m y of m e d i u m s h a v i n g b e e n s u b j e c t e d to a c lo s e e x a m i n a ­
t i o n b y R e v . W a i n w r i g h t a n d Co., a n d f o u n d a l l m a r k e d
b y t h e d e v i l ’s h o r n — ( a s i g n t h a t e v e r y c a n d i d a t e t o s o r c e r y
bears d u rin g h is n o v itiate) a re sentenced by M r. Ju s tic e
N o r t h to p u b lic r o a s t in g on C h a r i n g C ross. Im p o s in g sp e c ­
tacle a n d s c e n e ry ! T h e h u g e piles of w ood a r e s u r r o u n d e d
a n d p r o t e c t e d b y a t r i p l e r o w of s o l d i e r s of t h e S a l v a t i o n a r m y
■— M r s . G e n e r a l B o o t h , a s C o m m a n d e r - i n - C h i e f o n t h e b a c k of
a u e le p h a n t ( t r o p h y of I n d i a ) , h e r b a n n e r w ith its o m in o u s
w ords “ B lood a n d F i r e ” u n fu rle d , a n d h e r d o u b le-e d g ed sw ord,
in th e sh a p e of a c r u x - a n s a t a a n d cross c o m b in e d , r e a d y to c u t
t h e e a r of a n y M a lc h u s w h o w o u ld d a re to in te rfe re . O r d e r s
r a p id ly pa sse d t h r o u g h tele p h o n es. H u g e electrical m a c h in e s
p r e p a r e d , a s t h e w o o d o f t h e p y r e s is t o b e k i n d l e d b y e l e c t r i c
lig h t, a n d , v e ry h u g e p h o n o g r a p h s in g r e a t s u p p ly ,— th e last
w o r d s o f m e d i u m s c o n f e s s i n g t o t h e i r a l l e g i a n c e to , a n d c o n ­
n e ctio n w i t h o ld H a r r y , h a v i n g to be r e c o r d e d a n d p r e s e r ­
v e d in t h e p h o n o g r a p h s a s e v i d e n c e f o r t h e f u t u r e g e n e r a t i o n s
of s c e p t i c s t o c o m e . L a r g e b a n d o f “ c e l e s ti a l m u s i c i a n s ” ,
g a t h e r e d f ro m t h e p a g o d a s of I n d i a a n d c o n v e rte d b y M a j o r
T u c k e r to C h r i s t i a n i t y , p l a y i n g t h e M a r c h f r o m W a g n e r ’s
O p era th e “ G r a a l” on th e d e a th of th e H o ly S w an . T h e
m o tle y c r o w d of m e d iu m s h a v in g b e en p u t to d e a t h a n d d is ­
p o s e d o f f o r b e lie v in g in , a n d eY ico u ra g in g t h e d e v i l ; n e x t
c o in e s a b a t c h o f t h e F e l l o w s o f t h e R o y a l S o c i e t y h e a d e d b y
M essrs. T y n d a ll, H u x le y , a n d H e r b e r t S p encer, se n ten c ed
f o r n o t b e lie v in g i n t h e h o r n y a n d c l o v e n - f o o t e d g e n t l e m a n .
I n c o n s i d e r a t i o n f o r t l i e i r s e r v i c e s a n d t h e i r sc ie n tif ic d i s ­
coveries, t h e y h a v i n g f u r n i s h e d th e m o d e r n H o ly I n q u is itio n
w i t h t e l e p h o n e s , e le c t r i c l i g h t , a iu l p h o n o g r a p h s , t h e s e n t e n c e
o f d e a t h p a s s e d o n t h e l e a r n e d p r i s o n e r s is c o m m u t e d t o o n e
m ore w o rth y of th is e n lig h te n e d age. T o prove t h a t R e li­
g io n h a s a lw a y s p ro c e e d e d h a n d in h a n d w i t h Science a n d
P r o g r e s s , t h o e r u d i t e b ls a p h e m e r s a r e s i m p l y “ f lo g g e d a n d
b r a n d e d a t t l i e c a r t ’s t a i l ” a n d s e n t h o m e w i t h a p a t e r n a l
a d m o n i t i o n f r o m C o m s t o c k , i n v i t e d f o r t h e o c ca sio n f r o m
A m e r i c a , liis t r a v e l l i n g e x p e n s e s b e i n g p a i d f r o m t h e M i s s i o n ­
a r y fu n d s, re p le n is h ed b y th e v o lu n ta ry co n trib u tio n s of all
t h e poor s e r v a n t g irls in a w e of e te rn a l d a m n a tio n . The
g l o o m y s c e n e c lo s es w i t h t h e “ D e a t h M a r c h o f S a u l . ” .........
W e confess o u r sh o rtc o m in g s. W e p re fe r b r u ta l sin c erity
a n d a f r a n k a v o w al of de sp o tism to s h a m p ro te s ta tio n s of
lib e rty , a n d — p h arisaism . W e w o u ld a th o u s a n d tim es
r a t h e r s u b m i t to t h e i r o n - b o u n d l i m i t a t i o n s of t h e R u s s i a n
p r e s s - l a w s , of c e n s o r s h i p , a n d a n h o n e s t l y o p e n s y s t e m o f
a u to c r a tis m , t h a n r i s k to t r u s t to th e t r e a c h e r o u s p ro m is e s
o f t l i e d e c e p t i v o f a t a m o r g a n a o f E n g l i s h so c ia l a n d r e l i ­
g i o u s l i b e r t y , a s e x e r c i s e d a t p r e s e n t . W h y j io t b e h o n e s t ,
a n d c o n f e s s a t o n e e , t h a t t h e f r c e b o r n E n g l i s h m a n is f r e e ,
o n l y so l o n g a s n o o l d l a w s , re liq u ic e of a n a g e of b a r b a r i s m ,
a r e d r a g g e d o u t to l ig h t as a w e a p o n a g a i n s t h im b y th e first
P e c k s n i i f - l i k o s c o u n d r e l w h o c h o o se s t o s a t i s f y h i s g r u d g e
a n d spite a g a in s t his b e tt e r ones ? A f t e r w h ic h , th is v a u n te d
f r e e d o m m a y bo s n u f f e d o u t u n d e r t h e e x t i n g u i s h e r l e f t b y
la w a t t h e s w e e t w ill a n d p le a s u r e of a n y p r e ju d ic e d o r bi-
g o te d j u d g e . F r e e d o m of t h o u g h t, f r e e d o m of sp e e ch , a n d T A B L E OF C O N TEN TS.
a l o n g w i t h i t so c ia l f r e e d o m , a r e s i m p l y d e l u s i o n s l i k e a ll Page. Page.
t h e r e s t ; th e w ill-o -th e w isps, th e p it-falls p r e p a r e d b y t h e old
g e n e r a tio n s to e n s n a re th e n e w ones, th e c re d u lo u s a n d t h e To the ** D issatisfied.” ... 181 L etters to the E ditor :—
in n o cen t. “ So far sh a lt th o u go a n d no f u r t h e r ! ” says th e The B uddhist M ovement in L ight W anted....................... 201
te r r ib le b u t ho n est g e n iu s of the R u ss ia n P re ss, p o in tin g o u t E ngland. ... ............ 181 E xplanation W anted........... 201
w i t h h is fin g er to th e b o u n d a r ie s p r e s c r ib e d b y c e n s o rs h ip ; Medical M agnetism and the D ev ac h a n * ............................ 202
w h i l e t h e E n g l i s h m a n w h o s i n g s so p r o u d l y ............ H ealer M agnetic................... 182 The Seventeen-R ayed Sun-
The Tree of M editation. ... 185 Dise. ... ... ... 202
“ B ritannia rnles the w aves, The Chosen “ Vessels of E lec­ K um arila Bhatta. ... ... 202
The B ritons never ne—ver, n-e-e-ve-er, will be slaves !” tion.” ... ... ... 185 A M ussulman K um bnm Ti ee 203
M aterialism and its Lessons 189 Do the Risbis Exist ? ... 203
— fin d s h i m s e l f b e f o r e h e h a s h a r d l y t i m e t o d r a w t h e l a s t Zoroaster and His Religion... 389 . A nother “ S piritual” Puzzle 203
note, in t h e t i g h t e m b ra c e of P u b lic O p in io n , th e boa-con- A nother “ F a k ir’s Prophecy.” 191 A Sufi “ Ghazal” or O de.... 204
s t r i c t o r l i k e M r s . G r u n d y ; w h o , a f t e r s q u e e z i n g b r e a t h o u t of Mystic Lore :— The Hindu Zodiac* ............ 204
h i m , c o o ll y t h r o w s h i m r i g h t i n t o t h e c l u t c h e s o f s o m e o t h e r Beading a Sealed Envelope. 192 Parabrahm , defined by V edan­
s u c h “ T r i n i t y o f R i g h t e o u s n e s s , ” t h a t m a y b e w a t c h i n g its The B ugbears of Science. ... 193 tins ... ... ........... 204
Fragm ents of Occult T rn th ... 194 Religious B rutality in Ceylon. 205
m a in c h a n c e f r o m t h e top of so m e o t h e r p ile of o b so le te a n d V isishthadw aita Philosophy. 196 The Religion of th e F uture. 205
l o n g - f o r g o t t e n , b u t s t i l l - e x i s t i n g l a w s ......... Theosophy and lleligious Riots. 197 Dragged in A gain ! ........... 206
T h u s , i t w o u l d a p p e a r t h a t P r o t e s t a n t E n g l a n d w h o l ia s I h e Magic of the New D is­ The T rinity of.R ighteousness. 20G
r e j e c t e d w i t h t h e r e s t of t h e H o m a n C a t h o l i c d o g m a s , l a w s pensation, ... ... i.. 200 Special Notice to C orrespon­
dents ... ... ............ 208
a n d u s a g e s , t h a t o f t h e I n d e x L i b r o r u m P r o h ib ito r u m a n d
E x p u r g a n d o r u m , a n d f i ll e d m i l e s o f c o l u m n s i n h e r n e w s ­
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C olon el sa id t h a t m e s m e r i s m h a d t h e p o w e r of g i v i n g s i g h t
to t h e b l i n d , h e a r i n g t o t h o deaf, a n d s p e e c h to t h e d u m b .
P e o p l e w e r e , t h e r e f o r e , on t h e t i p t o e o f e x p e c t a t i o n to seo
Home d i s e a s e s c u r e d w h i c h h a d baffl ed t h e p e r s i s t e n t e f fo rts
o f t h e s u r g e o n a n d t h e p h y s i c i a n to e f fe c t a r e c o v e r y . I t
w o u l d h a v e b e e n w o r t h w h i l e f o r o u r w o r t h y C o l o n e l to h a v o
c o n t i n u e d fo r so m o t i m e in t h o m e t r o p o l i s o f E a s t e r n B e n g a l ,
a n d p r a c t i c a l l y d e m o n s t r a t e d t h e efficacy o f t h e h e a l i n g a r t of
m esm erism .
“ A h y s t e r i c p a t i e n t a n d o n e a f f e c t e d w i t h a c o lic p a in fo r
years have been cured. A g i r l o f f o u r y e a r s , a fflicted w i t h
h a r d p aralysis, h a s been p a r tia lly reliev ed . B u t d i s e a s e s of
t h o f ir s t m im e d c la ss h a v e a t e n d e n c y to r e n e w t h e i r o n ­
s l a u g h t s u p o n t h e p a t i e n t s , a u d wo h a v e in t h e s e c a s e s no g u a ­
r a n t e e of a c e r t a i n i m m u n i t y f r o m t h e i r a t t a c k s f o r a ll t i m e
to come.
“ C o lo n e l O l c o t t a s s u r e d h is a i l i n g v i s i t o r s o n S n n d a y m o r n ­
i n g t ii a t t h e y s h o u l d r e s o r t to t h e lo c a l d o c t o r s w h o m h e
w o u ld in itia te in th e h ealin g se c re ts o f th e m e s m e ric a r t.
D octors P o re s N a th and K ally K u m a r have le a r n t fro m h im
t h o p o w e r s o f h e a l i n g f o r t h e b e n e f it o f t h e i r f e l l o w - t o w n s m e n .
l' A b o u t s i x t e e n p e r s o n s h a v e b e en a d m i t t e d t o t h e m e m b e r ­
s h i p of t h e T h o o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y . T h e f e e s f o r a d m i s s i o n ,
a m o u n t i n g to a b o u t r u p e e s o n e h u n d r e d a n d s i x t y , a s also
t h e fifty r u p e e s p a i d i u b e h a l f of t h e B a r L i b r a r y o f l ' a c c a ,
h a v e b e e n l e f t by h i m f o r t h e a i d o f t h e S u n d a y S c h o o ls w h i c h
ho w i s h e d to be e s t a b l i s h e d in D a c c a f o r t h e i n s t r u c t i o n of
H i n d u c h i l d r e n i n t h e p r i n c i p l e s of t h e A r y a n S h a s tr a s .
■ “ W h a t h a s c a u s e d C ol. O lc o tt to be r a is e d in u n i v e r s a l
e s t i m a t i o n , is t h e h i g h a n d e x e m p l a r y t o n e of m o r a l i t y , t a u g h t
by h is l e a r n e d d i s c o u r s e of F r i d a y n i g h t a n d t h e e a r n e s t e x ­
h o r t a t i o n m a d o b y h i m to H i n d u s t u d e n t s to d i v e d e e p i n t o
t h o i n v a l u a b l e t r e a s u r e s of tlio cla ssic al l i t e r a t u r e a n d p h i l o ­
s o p h y of t h e i r m o t h e r - l a n d . H e r e m a r k e d u p o n th o g r o w i n g
v ice of i n t e m p e r a n c e , a n d f a c e t i o n s l y o b s e r v e d t h a t t h e f i r s t
E u r o p e a n sh ip , m a n n e d b y P o r t u g u e s e a d v e n t u r e r s , t h a t a n ­
c h o r e d off t h e i s l a n d o f C e y lo n , h a d no d i s t i l l e r y t o p l a n t o n
t h e so il o£ t h e old A r y a n s , ”
T O
M AY, 1 8 8 3. N o . 44-
C o l o n e l H . S. O l c o t t , t h e P r e s i d e n t F o u n d e r of t h e T h e o s o ­
phical S o c iety , d eliv ered , by re q u est, a L e c tu r e a t th e “ D a r ­
j e e l i n g T o w n H a l l ” o u S a t u r d a y , t h e 2 4 t h M a r c h , a t 4 p. m.
S u b j e c t : — “ T H E O S O P H Y , A T R U E S C I E N C E , NOT A D E L U S I O N . ”
T h e I n d i a n M ir r o r o f A p r i l 4, s a y s :— “ C o l o n e l O l c o t t ,
P r e s id e n t of th e T h eo so p h ic al Society, r e t u r n e d to C a lc u t ta
on S u n d a y last, a f te r jv is itin g K r i s h n a g h u r , D acca, D a rjee lin g ,
J e s s o r e , a n d N a r a i l . H e w i l l lea vo a g a i n O u h i s p r e s i d e n t i a l
t o u r b y t h e E . I . R a i l w a y t h i s a f t e r n o o n . W e h e a r h e is
m u c h p r o s t r a t e d b y o v e r w o r k a n d h is f a t i g u i n g j o u r n e y i n
th is h o t w eath er.”
Col. O l c o t t f o r m e d t w o m o r o b r a n c h e s of o u r S o c i e t y a t
N a r a il. a n d J e s s o r e . T h o official r e p o r t s will be f o u n d in
a n o t h e r c o l u m n . H e lias of la te b e e n r e c e iv i n g s o m a n y i n ­
v i t a t i o n s f r o m d i f f e r e n t p a r t s o f B e n g a l to v i s i t t h o s e s t a t i o n s
a n d e s t a b l i s h B r a n c h S o c i e t i e s t h a t h e w a s o b l ig e d to a l t e r
h is p r o g r a m m e , p u b l i s h e d in o u r l a s t issu e . I n s t e a d of r e ­
t u r n i n g to C a l c u t t a , t h e r e f o r e , o n tlic I S t h of A p r i l , h e is e x ­
pected b a ck th e re on th e 3 0 th . S h o u ld no f u r t h e r a lt e r a ­
t io n s bo m a d o , wo e x p c c t o u r P r e s i d e n t b a c k a t t h e h e a d ­
q u a r t e r s by t h e t i m e t h i s n u m b e r r e a c h e s o u r S u b s c r i b e r s .
A f t e r t a k i n g t h e n e e d e d r e s t , h o w ill l e a v e f o r C e y lo n oil t h e
1 7 t h of M a y . F u r t h e r p a r t i c u l a r s of h i s B e n g a l w o r k a n d
t h e p r o g r a m m e of h i s S o u t h e r n I n d i a t o u r w ill a p p e a r iu o n r
nex t.
C O L O N E L O L C O T T ’S L E C T U R E S O N T H E O S O P H Y
A N D A R C H A IC R E L IG IO N S *
M a d r a s s e e m s d e s t i n e d to l e a d t h e v a n of t h e T h e o s o p h i c a l
m o v e m e n t in I n d i a . T h e M a d ra s T heoso p hical S oc iety can
c o n g r a t u l a t e i t s e l f u p o n t h e c o l l e c t i o n b y i ts A s s i s t a n t S e c r e ­
t a r y of th o v a l u a b l e l e c t u r e s o f C o lon el O l c o t t , w h i c h h a d
h i t h e r t o b e en s c a t t e r e d o v e r a m u l t i t u d e of p u b l i c a t i o n s , a n d
b e e n t h u s i n a c c e s s ib l e to a ll b u t t h e p a t i e n t s t u d e n t . T h is
p u b lic a tio n h a s s u p p lie d a lo n g -felt w an t by b r in g in g w ith in
t h e r e a c h o f a ll a v a s t m a s s o f i n f o r m a t i o n a b o u t T h e o s o p h i c a l
m a t t e r s , c a l c u l a t e d to bo o f i m m e n s e u se to t h e F e l l o w s o f t h e
T h eo so p h ical Socicty a n d o th o r h o n e st in q n irers, w hoso
n u m b e r s a r e d a i l y o n t h e i n c r e a s e . T h e “ b ill o f f a r e ” is v e r y
a t t r a c t i v e ; t h e p r e s e n t v o l u m e c o n t a i n s t h e f o l lo w in g l e c t u r e s
of t h e C o l o n e l :—
T h o T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y a n d i t s A im s,
The F o u rth A n n iv e rsary A ddress.
Theosophy and B uddhism .
T h e L i f e of B u d d h a a u d its L e s s o n s .
T h e O c c u l t S c ie n c e s .
S p iritu alism an d T heosophy.
In d ia : P a st, P resent, and F uture.
T h eosophy : I t s F r ie n d s a n d E nem ies.
T h e C ivilization t h a t I n d i a needs.
T h e S ix th A n n iv e rsa ry A ddress.
T h e S p ir it of the Z o r o a s tr ia n R eligio n .
T h e o s o p h y , t h e S c i e n t i f ic B a s i s of K e l ig i o u .
T h e c o m m o n f o u n d a t i o n o f all R e l i g i o n s .
Au A dd ress to I n d i a n G ra d u a te s.
* A collection of L ectures on Theosophy and A rchaic llelitj ions delivered
in India and Ceylon. By Colonel H, S, Olcott. Published by A. Theyaga
Kujier, F , T, S. M adras ; 1883. •
 T h e b o o k a l s o c o n t a i n s a n e x c e l l e n t a d d r e s s t.o L a d y T h e o ­ d e s i r e s f a m e , n o r e x p e c t s e v e n t h a n k s ; b u t d o e s a l l fo r th e
so p h ists by a n e m in e n t A n g lo -In d ia n T heosophist. i n s t r u c t i o n of h is S o c i e t y m e m b e r s a n d th o r e l i e f o f s u f f e r i n g .
F o r T h e o s o p h i s t s a n d t h e i r f r i e n d s t h e c o ll e c t io n is s i m p l y T h e w a s t e of v i t a l e n e r g y h e m a k e s to c u r e i n c u r a b l e c a s e s
i n v a l u a b l e , a n d w e h a v e n o h e s i t a t i o n in d e c l a r i n g n o T h e o ­ is s o m e t h i n g t r e m e n d o u s , a n d h o w a m a n of h is a d v a n c e d ago
s o p h i c a l l i b r a r y c o m p l e t e w i t h o u t it. A s t h e b o o k is v e r y can sta n d it seem s m arv e llo u s. I h a v e se e n h i m t r e a t , p e r ­
m o d e r a t e l y p r i c e d , w e v e n t u r o to p r e d i c t a l a r g e sa l e f o r i t , h a p s , t h i r t y o r f o r t y p a t i e n t s , b u t a f e w e x a m p l e s w ill snffice
( In d ia n M ir r o r ). t o g i v e y o u a n i d e a of all.
C ase N o . I . — S h e u b h a n j a n L a l l , a m i d d l e - a g e d a n oom ic,
P R O G R A M M E O F C O L O N E L O L C O T T ’S t h i n m a n , c a m e in a p a lh i f o r t h e c u r e o f a fixed p a i n j u s t
BENGAL TOUR. over h is r ig h t n ip p le . T h is pain was th e re su lt of a k i c k f r o m
his h o rse f o u r y e a r s ago, since w h ich tim e it has been in te n s e
C o l o n e l O lcott le ft C a lc u t ta o n W e d n e s d a y l a s t fo r
a n d c o n s t a n t . T h o p o o r m a n w a s so b a d t h a t h e c o u l d n o t
B e r h a m p o r e a n d o t h e r p l a c e s on h is T h e o s o p h i c a l t o u r . A
b re a th e freely, n o r h a d he s tre n g th to s ta n d u p fo r tr e a tm e n t.
l a r g e n u m b e r of T h e o s o p h i s t s w a i t e d a t t h e H o w r a h R a i l w a y
H e c o u l d n o t b e a r e v e n t h e b u r d e n of a l i g h t s t e t h e s c o p e
s t a t i o n t o se e h i m off. I n c o n s e q u e n c e of s e v e r a l n e w e n ­
w h e n I e x a m i n e d h is c h e s t . A fe w m i n u t e s ’ t r e a t m e n t c u r e d
g a g e m e n t s , h i s r e t u r n to C a l c u t t a f r o m E a s t B e n g a l w a s
h i m so r a d i c a l l y a n d c o m p l e t e l y t h a t h e f e lt n o p a i n e v e n
delay ed . T h i s h a s n e c e s s i t a t e d a f a r t h e r a l t e r a t i o n in t h e
w h e n t h e C o lo n el p e r c u s s e d o v e r t h e i n j u r e d p a r t , a n d m a d e
p r o g r a m m e o f h i s t o u r . T h e f o l l o w i n g is t h e p r e s e n t p r o ­
h i m b e n d f o r w a r d a n d b a c k w a r d s e v e r a l t i m e s a n d s i t o n his
g r a m m e :—
h e e l s a n d r a is e h i m s e l f q u i c k l y .
A rrive. Place. Leave. C a s e N o . I I . — B i s h e s a r D o ya l, a g e d 40, h e a l t h y l o o k i n g
C alcutta 4 th A pril. m a n , but, so d e a f ( s i n c e t h e l a s t 27 y e a r s ) t h a t h e c o u l d n o t
5 th A pril B e r h a m p o r e 8 t.h ,, h e a r a n y t h i n g w i t h o u t t h e a i d of i n s t r u m e n t s . A f t e r a fe w
9 t h ,, B h au g u lp o re l l t h ,, m i n u t e s ’ t r e a t m e n t h e r e g a i n e d h is s e n s e o f h e a r i n g , so m u c h
l l t h ,, Jam alpore 1 3 t h ,, t h a t h e c o u l d h e a r w o r d s i n a n o r d i n a r y v o i c e f r o m five
13th „ D um raon 1 5 t h ,, y a r d s ’ d istance.
15 t h A rrnh 17 t h ,, Case No. I l l — U s h r n f f A lly , su ffe rin g f r o m p a r tia l
1 7 t h ,, B an k ip o re 2 G th ,, d e a f n e s s , c o u l d h e a r f r o m o n l y a c u b i t ’s d i s t a n c e . A f t e r
. 20t.h „ Uya 22nd „ five m i n u t e s ’ t r e a t m e n t h e b e g a n to h e a r f r o m a d i s t a n c e of
2 3 r d ,, B ankura 2 5 t h ,, six y ards.
2 5th „ B nrdw an 27 th „ C a se N o . I V . — A M a h o m e d a n b o y , s u f f e r i n g f r o m c h r o n i c
2 7 t h ,, C hackdigi 2 9 t h ,, d y s e n t e r y s i n c e t h e l a s t t w o y e a r s . H e lias h a d a fix e d n n d
2 9 t h ,, C hinsnrah 30th „ c o n s t a n t p a i n o v e r t h e e p i g a s t r i c r e g io n . T h e p a i n e n t i r e l y
30th C alcutta ......... l e f t th e p o o r boy a f te r a co u p le of m in u te s’ t r e a tm e n t.
C a s e N o. V . — A b o y o f s i x t e e n s u f f e r i n g f r o m e p il e p s y
COL. O L C O T T ’S C U K E S I N B E H A R . d u r i n g th e last f o u r y e a rs. l i e looked d e v ia te d a n d v a ca n t.
[to TUB EDI TOR OF T H E “ I NDIAN MI RI t OE. ” ] W h e n ho w a s t a k e n to t h e C o l o n e l ’s r o o m f o r t r e a t m e n t , ho
S i r , — T h e u n d e r s i g n e d m e d i c a l p r a c t i t i o n e r h e r e b y c e r tif ie s w a s j u s t o n t h e p o i n t o f g e t t i n g a fit— t h e w e l l - k n o w n e p i l e p ­
t o h a v o b e e n p r e s e n t t h i s d a y a t t h e h o n s o o f J ia b n T e j t i c s h i v e r w a s m o u n t i n g h is l i m b s a n d h is e y e s w e r e b e c o m ­
N a r a i n , a n d w i t n e s s e d t h e f o l lo w in g c u r e s b y Col. O l c o t t :— i n g f i x e d . T h e fit w a s s t o p p e d t h e n a n d t h e r e , a n d a f t e r a
I. M rs . J o n e s , w ife o f M r . J . A . J o n e s , P e n s i o n e r a n d f e w m i n u t e s ’ t r e a t m e n t h o l o o k e d i n t e l l i g e n t a n d c h e e r f u l,
F o u r t h M a s t e r in t h e G o v e r n m e n t Z il l a l i S c h o o l , o f a m u s c u l a r a n d d e c l a r e d t h a t he w a s a ll r i g h t , i n t e l l i g e n c e b e a m i n g
r h e u m a tis m in th e d e lto id and s c a p u la r m u s c le s f ro m w hich in h is fa ca . I t r e m i n d e d o n o of s u n l i g h t b r e a k i n g t h r o u g h a
s h e h a d s u f f e r e d s i n c e A u g u s t las t. c l o u d . A t f i r s t h e c o u l d s c a r c e l y a n s w e r m y q u e s t i o n s or
II. B a b u K a li B u r M u k e rji, H e a d C le rk , C o m m iss io n e r's d e s c r i b e h i s d e s i r e , b u t s p e e c h n o w b e c a m e fl u e n t .
Office, of c h r o n i c c e p h a l a l g y , a n d m u s c u l a r r h e u m a t i s m iu t h e C ase N o . V I . — B oidya N a th B annerji, an e d u cated
clicst.. g e n t l e m a n , a P l e a d e r , J u d g e ’s C o u r t , B h a u g u l p o r e , h a d
III. M a h o m e d Ali, P l e a d e r in t h e J u d g e ’s C o u r t , M i d n a - been su ffe rin g from g lau c o m a (c h ro n ic ) a n d a tro p h y of both
p o r e , m u s c u l a r r h e u m a t i s m in t h e s h o u l d e r a n d r i g h t a r m , f r o m the optics diseased since th e last 7 years. H e was p e rfe c tly
w h i c h h e h a d s u f f e r e d one y e a r . ( T h i s e a s e w a s c u r e d a l m o s t b l i n d in t h e l e f t e y e , a n d w i t h t h e r i g h t c o u l d b a r e l y see l a rg e
in stantaneously. Col. O l c o t t m o d e o n l y se v e n p a s s e s f r o m objects n e a r by. T h e p u p i l s d i d n o t r e s p o n d to t h e s t i m u l u s
sh o n ld c r to a rm .) of t h e l ig h t . I I i s c a s e w a s d e c l a r e d i n c u r a b l e b y t w o of
I V . J a n k i :— C a s t e , R a j p u t ; o c c u p a t i o n , s h o p k e e p e r :— t h e b e s t o c c u l i s t s in I n d i a , v iz ., D r s . C a y l e y a n d R . C.
Of l u m b a g o of 8 § m o n t h s ’ s t a n d i n g . S a u n d e r s . B o i d y a N a t h B a b u p o s s e s s e s c e r t if i c a t e s f r o m U r .
Y. P r o b o d h B a l a , a g i r l of 11 y e a r s , w h o h a s s u f fe re d C a y le y t o t h i s effect. H e h a s h a d f o u r t e e n t r e a t m e n t s o n ly ,
from h e m ip h le g ia since h e r tirst y e a r. As h e r i n t e l l i g e n c e is a n d a t i n t e r v a l s s i n c e F e b r u a r y 2 5 t h l a s t. H e h a s p e r f e c t l y
obscured, and she could n o t give any help by intellectual r e g a i n e d s i g h t i n h i s l e f t eye, t h e r i g h t one is a ls o g e t t i n g
c o - o p e r a t i o n , o n e t r e a t m e n t w a s n o t e n o u g h to m a k e a b e t t e r . T h i s m o r n i n g h e c o u l d e v e n d i s c e r n t h e c o lo r
c o m p le te c u te. B u t a f t e r a fow m i n u t e s ’ t r e a t m e n t , s h e w a s o f flo w e rs g r o w i n g a t a d i s t a n c e o f 2 0 y a r d s . I a n d
e n a b l e d to r a is e h e r a r m t o f u l l l e n g t h , a n d s t r a i g h t e n e d h e r m y frien d , B a b u B e p in B e h a ry G u p ta , A s s is ta n t Surgeon,
leg, a n d b o r e h e r w e i g h t u p o n t lm t f o o t w h i c h h a d p r e v i o u s l y D u m r a o n , e j : a m i n e d h is e y e s y e s t e r d a y w i t h a u O p t h a l m o s -
been b en t under. cope. W e f o u n d t h a t t h e a t r o p h i e d d is c s w e r e b e c o m i n g
Y o u r s , &c., h e a l t h y , t h e s h r i v e l l e d b l o o d v e s s e l s a d m i t t i n g blood to
L A D P L E M O H U N G IIO R E , c i r c u l a t e i n a n d n o u r i s h i n g t h e d is c s . T o all i n t e n t s
BANOALroRl?, 1 M c d ic a l F r a r titiu n e r . a n d p u r p o s e s h e is c u r e d f o r e v e r , if l e f t to h i m s e l f .
10th A p r i l 1 8 8 3 . J N a t u r e w i l l d o t h e r e s t . H e c a n e a s il y w a l k a b o u t w i t h o u t
a n y o n e ’s h e l p a n d t h e g l a u c o m i c t e n s io n of t h e e y e b a ll is all
C U R E S E F F E C T E D BY C O L O N E L OLCOTT AT g o n e . 1 h o p o to s e n d y o u t h e o r i g in a l c e r t if i c a t e of D r .
DUMRAON AND ARRAU. C a y le y , w h i c h is n o w i n t h e J u d g e ’s C o u r t o f B h a u g u l p o r e .
O u r m e d i c a l b o o k s r e p o r t no s u c h ease, a n d e v e r y O p h t h a l m i o
S u rg e o n a m o n g y o u r re ad e rs will a d m i t th is enre to be u n ­
[ t o T H E E D I T O R OF TIIE ‘ 'INDIAN MIRROR.” ]
p r e c e d e n t e d . I p u t i t to m y p r o f e s s i o n a l b r e t h r e n w h e t h e r
S i n , — T h e w ord w o n d e r f u l is s c a rc e ly s t r o n g e n o u g h to c h a - t h e c u r e of t h i s o n e c a s e s h o u l d n o t i n d u c e t h e m t o lo o k i n t o
r i c t e r i s e t h e c u r e s t h a t C o lo n e l O l c o t t h a s b e e n e f f e c t i n g t h i s s u b j e c t o f m e s m e r i s m w h i c h , on p u r e sc ie n tific p r in c ip le s ,
w h ile on his p re s e n t to u r. T h o u g h som e peo p le, w h o h a v e e ffects s u c h s t a g g e r i n g m a r v e l s o f h e a l i n g . P r o f e s s o r H u x l e y
n o t b e e n e y e - w i t n e s s e s , m a y l a u g h , i t is y e t b u t t h e s i m p le j u s t l y d e s c r i b e d , i n t h e l a s t I n t e r n a t i o n a ! M e d i c a l C o n g re s s ,
f a c t t h a t c a s e s, g i v e n u p by l e a r n e d E u r o p e a n a n d N a t iv e h e l d i n L o n d o n , t h o h e a l i n g p o w e r o f a sc ien tific p h y s i c i a n ,
p h y s i c i a n s a s h o p e l e s s a n d i n c u r a b l e , h a v o b e e n c u re d b y w h e n h e c o m p a r e d h i m to a b l i n d m a n w i t h a s t i c k i n h i s
h i m as if b y m a g i o . A t D u m r a o n a n d A r r a h , w h e r e I h a v e h a n d to d r i v e h i s a n t a g o n i s t s b y b r a n d i s h i n g i t r i g h t a n d
been p a s s i n g a f e w d a y s , ho h a s r e l i e v e d a n d c u r e d a g o o d l e f t , b u t h i t t i n g o n l y a f e w . I h a v e m e n t i o n e d t h e n a m e s of
m a n y p a t i e n t s u n d e r m y o w n eye. T h e r e is n o t h i n g s e c r e t D r s . C a y l e y a u d S a u n d e r s in c o n n e c t i o n w i t h t h i s case, o n l y
a b o u t his m e th o d s. O n th e c o n tra ry , he e specially in v ite s b e c a u s e of m y r e s p e c t f o r t h o e m i n e n c e of t h e i r a u t h o r i t y ,
m e d i c a l m e n t o w a t c h h i s p r o c e s s e s a n d l e a r n t h e m , if so d i s ­ a n d t h e i m p o r t a n c e w h i c h t h e i r u n f a v o r a b l e official c e r t if i c a t e
posed, a s s c i e n t i f ic f a c t s . H e n eith er tak e s m o n ey , n o r g i v e s t o t h e c u r e w h i c h C o l. O l c o t t h a s rrtade in t h i s i n s t a n c e .
I have written mainly for tho eyes of my professional col­
leagues, anel none know bettor than they how safe I ara iu
challenging the Medical world to produce the record of a
duplicate to this case.
■ Yours, &c.,
BROJENDRA NATH BANNERJI, L. M. S.,
M e d ic a l P r a c titio n e r , A lla h a b a d .
Alilta i i , 18//t April 1883.
C O L . O L C O T T ’S W O N D E R F U L SUCCESS.
TO TIIE EDITOR OF TH E “ H A ST.”
Slli,
W i t h h i g h s e n tim e n ts of p le a su re a n d g r a t i t u d e to C olonel
O l c o tt , t h e P r e s i d e n t of t h e T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y , a n d t h e
z e a lo u s c h a m p i o n of H i n d u P h i l o s o p h y , I b e g t o i n f o r m t h e
p u b l i c of t h e w o n d e r f u l r e c o v e r y of B a b u S h o s h i M o h a n D a s s ,
a r e l a t i v e o f m i n e a n d a s t u d e n t o f t h e D a c c a C o l le g e , a n d
h i s w ife , f r o m t h e d is e a s e s w h i c h b a ffle d a ll s o r t s o f m e d i c a l
t r e a tm e n t h i th e r t o resorted.
B a b u S h o s h i M o h u n D ass h a d b een su fferin g fro m a n
a c u t e n e r v o u s p a i n o n t h e b a c k p a r t of liis h e a d f o r t h e l a s t
six m o n t h s , a n d h a d u n d e r g -o n e A l l e o p a t l i i c , H o m e o p a t h i c a n d
E l e c t r o p a t h i e t r e a t m e n t s t o n o effe c t. H i s p a i n r e c u r r e d
e v e r y d a y a t 12 a . m ., a n d c o n t i n u e d til l 12 o ’c lo c k n i g h t ; a n d
h i s w if e h a d b e e n s u f f e r i n g f r o m m a l a r i o u s f e v e r , e n l a r g e d
s p l e e n , a n d a p a i n o n t h e l e f t s i d e of h e r c h e s t a n d o n t h e
back, c o n se q u en t on th e fu n c tio n al d e ra n g e m e n t of th e h e a rt,
etc., Ac., f o r u p w a r d s of t w o y e a r s , a n d o n l y 18 d a y s a g o sh o
h a d b e e n a t t a c k e d w i t h h y s t e r i a , w i t h all t h e v i o l e n t s y m p t o m s
of t h e d e s e a s e . T h e fits r e c u r r e d 6 o r 7 t i m e s i n t h e d a y a n d
4 o r 5 tim e s in t h e n i g h t, a n d la s te d ev ery tim e on t h e a v e ra g e
m o r o t h e n 1 | h o u r s o r so. A t t h e t i m e of t h e fit s h e h a d
s p a s m s i n a ll t h e m u s c l e s o f h e r b o d y , v i o l e n t s h a k i n g of t h e
h e a d , t e a r i n g h a i r , b i t i n g h e r o w n a r m s , t o n g u e , f i n g e r s , &e.,
a n d p e r s o n s a r o u n d h e r , s c r e a m i n g , howling-, c r y i n g , &c.
T h e fit w a s so s t r o n g t h a t e v e n c h o l o r o f o r m f a i l e d t o g i v e r e ­
lief e v e n f o r a f e w m i n u t e s . S h e w a s p u t u n d e r th o t r e a t m e n t
of t h o H o m e o p a t h i c d o c t o r s , w h o s o t r e a t m e n t u n f o r t u n a t e l y
p r o d u c e d v e r y l i t t l e e f f e c t ; b u t y e s t e r d a y C ol. O l c o t t , t h e
f r i e n d of t h o s u f f e r e r , c o m p a s s i o n a t e l y v i s i t e d t l i c n i a t n i n e
a n d p e rfe c tly c u r e d t h e m w ith in 20 m in u te s b y h is w o n d e r ­
ful sk ilf ulnoss in M e sm e ris m . T h e jia tie n ts a r e n o w a ll r i g h t.
S h o s h i B a b u ’s w i f e , w h o w a s a l m o s t c o n f i n e d t o t h e b e d so
long, c a n n o w w a lk a b r o a d as a p e rfe c tly h e a l t h y w o m a n .
W e h a v e be en , f o r som e tim e, h e a r i n g fro m t h e n e w s ­
p a p e r s of Col. O l c o t t ’s r e p u t a t i o n a n d f a m e , of h i s w o n d e r f u l
a b i l i t y , a n d t h i s t i m e w e h a d t h e f o r t u n a t e o p p o r t u n i t y of s e e i n g
him in p e rso n a n d his w o n d e r f u l sk ilfu ln e ss in c u rin g 'd is e a s e s
to t h e g r e a t e s t a s t o n i s h m e n t of t h e b e h o l d e r s a n d t o t h e
h e a r t f e l t g r a t i t u d e of t h e p a t i e n t s c u r e d .
I n c o n c l u s i o n w o h e a r t i l y o f f e r o u r t h a n k s t o C ol. O l o o t t
a n d p r a y f o r h i s l o n g life a n d s o u n d h e a l t h .
PU R N A C H U N D R A SEN,
D ated D acca, ) 'P r a c titio n e r o f H o m c e p a th ic
the 1 8 th M a rc h 1 8 83. f M e d ic in e a n d S u r g e r y .
N o t e .— S u re ly o u r c o rre s p o n d e n t does n o t m e a n to say t h a t
m i r a c l e s a r e p o s s ib l e e v e n a t t h i s f a g - e n d o f t h e n i n e t e e n t h
century. I f not, th e n w h y th is a tte m p t a t a sc rib in g th ese
a ll e g e d c u r e s t o s u p e r n a t u r a l a g e n c i e s ?— S d , E a s t .
[M ir a b ile d i c t i t ! T h e e s t e e m e d e d i t o r o f t h o E a s t m u s t
su rely h a v e b e e n la b o u rin g n n d e r a biological h a llu c in a tio n
a t t h e t i m e o f p e n n i n g h i s — t o s a y t h e l e a s t — ill h u m o u r e d r e ­
m a r k . W h a t is t h e r e i n M r . P u m a C h u n d r a S e n ’s a b o v e
q u o t e d l e t t e r t o m a k e h i m s u s p e c t h i s c o r r e s p o n d e n t of
m a k i n g a n a t t e m p t t o a s c r i b e Col. O l c o t t ’s c u r e s t o “ s u p e r n a t u ­
ral a g en c ie s ? ” A r e t h e w o rd s— “ w o n d e r f u l r e c o v e r y ”— “ s k il­
f u l n e s s i n M e s m e r i s m , ” “ a b i l i t y , ” e tc . e tc . s y n o n y m s o f
“ s u p e r n a t u r a l a g e n c ie s ?” T h e T h e o s o p h is ts d o n o t, a s a
r u l e — l e a s t of a l l t h e P o u n d e r s — b e l i e v e i n , o r a t t r i b u t e , a n y
th in g w h a t s o e v e r to “ m ira c le ” o r su p e r n a tu r a lis m ; n o r do
t h e y e v e r a l l o w t h e i r m e m b e r s , if t h e y c a n h e l p it, to h a v e a n y
sucli s u p e r s t i t i o u s i d e a s “ a t t h i s f a g - e n d o f t h e n i n e t e e n t h c e n ­
t u r y . ” W e d o n o t fi n d i n t h e a b o v e q u o t e d l e t t e r o n e w o r d
re m in d in g in t h e re m o te s t w a y of a n y “ s u p e r s titio n .”
H a d M r. P u r n a C h u n d r a S e n , o r th e P r e s i d e n t F o u n d e r,
a tt r i b u te d h is c u r e s to t h e i n te r v e n tio n of G o d o r D iv in o
Providence, th e n w o u ld t h e ill-h u m o u re d r e m a r k h a v e
i n d e e d its ra iso n d ’etre. B u t w e s u s p e c t t h a t i t is j u s t
because of h is l e t t e r b e in g q u ite in n o c e n t of a n y su c h
g-ushy a l l u s i o n , — s o m e p e o p l e l a y i n g a l l a n d e v e r y t h i n g a t
tho d o o r of t h a t h y p o t h e t i c a l p r o v i d e n c e — t h a t t h e E d i t o r
of t h o E n s t w e n t o u t o f h i s w a y to s e n d a t h r u s t i n t o h i s
c o r r e s p o n d e n t . N o r a r e C o l o n e l O l e o t t ’s c u r e s l i k e l y t o e v e r
b e c o m e a n y les s b o n a -fid e a n d r e a l , f o r t h e i r b e i n g c a l l e d b y
a ll t h e e d i t o r s t h e w o r l d o v e r o n l y — “ a l l o g e d ” Lo u r e s .— E d it o r
T h e o s o p h is t.]
T h e Behav Herald, of Bankipore. says : —“ Colonel Oloott, who,
we u n de rstan d, on account of unavoidable circumstances, had to
change his original program m e) is expected here on or about the
22nd of th e c u r r e n t m o n t h . ”
C O L O N E L O L C O T T AT B E U II A M P O R E .
[FROM OUR OWN CORRESPONDENT.]
B e iu ia m po jie , the 16th April 1883.
C olonel H . S. O l c o t t , Presid e n t-F o u n d er of the Theosophical
Society, arrived here on T hursday, the 5th instant, and delivered
an eloquent lecture on th e evening of the following day.
The a rra n g e m e n ts for the lecture an d tho Colonel’s reception
wero in a r i g h t royal stylo.
T he m eeting was an open-air m eeting in th e prem ises of
B abu S riram D u t t of G h atb u n d a . The whole town attend ed,
and the audience, which comprised men of all ranks and grades,
n um bered nearly 3,000.
The su bject of the lecture was “ The present Degeneration of
In d i a ,” and “ Theosophy, th e Sole Means of R egeneration.” The
lecture was so elo quent and im pressive th a t it alm ost brought;
te ars to th e eyes of tho audience. I t is a g re a t pity th at there
was no short-hand re p o rter present.
Oil the'7th, the Colonel initiated seven new mem bers, and th e n
left for th e M ursh idab ad Palace en route to U haugnlpore.
D u rin g his stay of two days and-a-half only, the Colonel d e ­
m o nstrate d th e efficacy of h um a n m agnetism as a curative a g e n t
by healing a case of local paralysis, a case of hysteria, a case of
convulsions, and alfording more or less relief to several others.
You are awaro how reluctan t Lhe Colonel is to tr e a t diseases
b ro u g h t on by the indulgence in in ebriatin g drinks and drugs,
and venereal disorders. W e had practical dem onstrations of tho
cause of it. Some of tho p a tie n ts cured had concealed th e cause
of their suffering ; b u t tho ug h cured at t h e time, they liave since
had relapses, th u s showing th a t to eradicate the lu rk in g poison
from the system in these cases requires time an d len gth ened
tre a tm e n t. A lto g e th e r tho Colonel’s visit to this station was a
g re a t success ,—(Indian Mirror).
. The 17th April 1883.
Y o u are aware th a t this town was, for some time past, g rea tly
disturbed with a disgraceful daladali. A reconciliation was effect­
ed yesterday, and all parties attended w ith friendly feelings
th e invitation last n ig h t at th e M ah aran i’s Palace on tho occasion
of th e Unnaptima Pitjah. G re a t credit is due to Nusu Babu, tho
M aharani’s sister’s son, who is said to be the secret spring of this
move. Colonel O lcott’s late visit to th e station and the exertions
of th e Commissioner have had g re a t influence in bringiug about
this desirable reconciliation.
C O L O N E L O L C O T T AT D U M R A O N .
[ from OU It OWN CORRESPONDENT. ]
D omraon, the 18th April 1883.
C o l o n e l H . S. O l c o t t , P reside nt-F on n der of the Theosophical
Society, arriv ed here on Sunday, th e 15th instant, by lhe evening
p sssenger train, and was received enthusiastically. H e was lo d g ­
ed in the palatial garden-house of th e M aharajah of Dumraori.
T h e nex t day he delivered an eloquent lecture on “ the O bjects
of T heosophy,” iu the school compound. The m eeting was largely
atten ded , aud the well-known Sadhnrarn N ag ab aeha was in the
chair. T h e Colonel’* eloquent appeal to Lhe audiendo made such
impression, and th eir h e a rt swelled with Lhe righteous pride of
being Aryans, and descendants of such noble l'orelathers. Tho
lecture over, tho P resid en t rose, and publicly announced his de­
votion to Lhe cause of Theosophy. l i e pithily said th a t it was a
sad day for Rharulvarsha th a t a whiLe man from the palal should
en tre at the H in d u s to prize tlieir own treasure, which has been
spoiled, th r o u g h th e i r own negligence, by the foreigners.
Tho m eeting broke up with an eulogistic spcech by Rai Jai-
prakash Lall B ahadur, the Dewan.
Colonel Olcott, successfully treated some cases ot diabetes, rh e u ­
matism, deafness, an d some o ther complicated cases, and gave
instruction in mesmerism Lo the local A s s i s t a n t Surgeon. On
th e 17th, Colonel O lcott formed a B ranch of the Thcosophical
Society, and initiated fourteen Fellows, with S a dh ura m Naga-
baha as A c h a r y a ; Babu Devi P rasad, P resid en t; Dr. Jiepin Ee-
hari G upta, and B ukshi N a ra sin h a N arayan, V ice-Presidents;
and Babu P ra y a g Sinha, B. A., C. E-, Secretary. After visiting
his H ig h n e ss the M aharajah, he left for A rrah by the evening
passenger train .— (Indian Mirror).
 W H A T A R E W E C O M IN G T O ?
[ to TUB EDITOR I P THE ‘' I N D I A N MIRKOU, ” ]
S i r , —T hu t ho nest philanthropist, Colonel H enry S. Olcott
urged upon us m ost earnestly, in the course of a public lecture,
th e necessity of im partin g religious and moral instruction to
the youth of.our cou ntry—a necessity always pointed o ut to by
th o beBt friends of India, bu t nevertheless alw ays overlooked
nn d pooh-poohod. Will any body say t h ere is no room here lor
now religious schools and religions b ooks? Y e t is there any
activo movement, even in Calcutta, towards carryin g o ut the
beautiful scheme so clearly laid down by the good American
gentlem an ? High secular schools, learned god-less scholars, and
brilliant irreligious novels, we have enough and to spare. W h a t
is most needed at the present mom ent is th e se ttin g up of in ­
stitu tio ns for moral training where men of spiritual en lig h te n ­
m e n t should im p art instruction to y oung men and women
ou t of approved moral tcxt-books and religious catechisms. In
this connection somo would, perhaps, refer me to the Urahmo
Schools th a t wc have in Calcutta and elsewhere. B ut useful as
th ey are, these arc too few and too sectarian. Indeed, I sometimes
th in k th elirahm os have very wrongly made a sect of themselves.
T heir moral code docs no t contain a word th a t is not borrowed
from the original and p ure H indu Shastras. The very father of
th e Brahmo Somaj him self tells us most plainly :—“ Tho ground
■which I tcok in all my controversies, was not of opposition to
Brahm anism , b u t to a perversion of i t ; and I endeavoured to
Bhow th a t th e idolatry of the Brahmnns was contrary to the
practice of tlieir ancestors and the principles of the ancient books
and authorities which they profess to revere and obey." (Article
on lla m Mohun Roy iu the Calcutta lieview, Vol. IV ., p. 375.) It
-would certainly have been very fortunate for In d ia if the followers
of Ram Mohun Roy, instead of m aking a vain a tt e m p t to Ltart a
new religion, had begun a reform ation of the old one, calling th e m ­
selves P ro te sta n t Hindus. The success of such a move would ass u ­
redly have been immense. B u t this is a digression, Y o ung H indus
should bo ta u g h t to look back t.o the past of In d ia with g re ater re s ­
pect than they do at present. P e rh a p s ‘ Y oung Bengal’ will scout
the idea,—“ Y oung H indus who read Byron and V oltaire, play at
billiards, laugh at th e ir priests, patronizo missionaries and believo
no th in g ” (Max M uller’s Lectures 011 the Science of Language).
“ This is not worth reading to a young man of the 19Lh cen tury” ;
“ 0 , this is q u ite S hak esp eriim ” :*—such are the rem ark s which
theso men would oiler in speaking of the g re a t mastcr-picce of
Kalidasa, a work so highly prized by the greate st linguist tho
world lias c?er produced. Men, such a.s these, aie tho greatest
curse to our country, g re a te r even than the most iniquitous
of our foreign oppressors. N o punishm ent would ho too severe
for them. In the g eneration th a t cometh, let their name be
blotted out.
R ushing off to excesses in any direction is always fatal.
While in one direction tlio field is quito cliokod up with
lawyers, educationists, and medical pracLitioners, in another
direction it rem ains wholly uncultivated and b arren . This
is hardly as it should l>e. It cannot be too often repeated
t h a t tho tiino has come for young In d ian s to seek new spheres,
and traverse fresh grounds. They may yet lind am ple scope to
exercise their abilities in the vast field of agriculture, trade, com­
merce, and manufacture. A b etter plan to escape from tho lordly
frown of tho h aughty Anglo-Saxon, I cannot, th ink of. Wo havo
been deservedly tau nted with the name of idle th eorists. L e t us,
therefore, endeavour to be practical men ; and let our orators and
public spoakers talk less of politics, and more of the spiritual
aud physical re-gencration of our country. L e t au educational
institutio n he set up 011 tbe best E u rop ean model where as m uch
im portance should be a tta c h e ! to boat races, target-practices, and
athletic sports as to a sound literary, scientific, and religious
.scholarship. Once established under able m anagem ent, one suuh
institutio n would produce more practical r e s u lt than all the ex­
isting schools nnd colleges p u t together. A purely Nntive
institution of the kind, I indicate, docs not exist in any part, of
I n d i a ; b u t a little th o u g h t would at once convinco one of its
usefulness.
Yours. &c.,
. S. II.—F. T. S.
The Yith April 1883.
O F F IC IA L R E PO R T .
T h e E c lectic T h e o s o p h ic a l S o c ie ty .
I n t h e te m p o ra ry absenco f ro m I n d i a of M r. S in n e tt,
P r e s i d e n t o f tlio S i m la E c l e c t i c T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y , a ll
, c o m m u n i c a t i o n s in r e fe r e n c e t o t h a t b r a n c h s h o u l d bo ad*
d r e s s e d to C o lo n e l W . G o r d o n ( o f f i c i a t i n g P r e s i d e n t ) , C a l c u t t a .
I t is p r o b a b l e t h a t t h e E c l e c t ic S o c i e t y w ill d r o p t h e p r e s e n t
g e o g r a p h i c a l a d d i t i o n to i ts t i t l e b e f o r e l o n g , a n d m a k o
C a l c u t t a i t s l i e n d - q u a r t e r s . O 11 m a n y o c c a s i o n s a l r e a d y i t s
g r o w th h as been u n n e c e ssa rily c ra m p e d by th o o rg a n is a tio n
■which h a s c o n f in e d i t s o p e r a t i o n s to t h e b i l l s t a t i o n i n w h i c h
i t w a s o r i g i n a l l y f o u n d e d ; tlie t i m e h a s n o w c o m e f o r g i v i n g
it a m ore expansive c o n stitu tio n .
B n u I m u h r H .
T H E H O W R A H T H E O S O P H IC A L SO C IE T Y .
( C alcutta).
D ear S ir and B r o t h e r .
I b e g t o f o r w a r d t h e c o p y o f t h e p r o c e e d i n g s of t h e f o r m a ­
t i o n of a B r a n c h S o c i e t y h e l d b y t h e P r e s i d e n t F o u n d e r a t
C ol. G o r d o n ’s P l a c e , H o w r a h , o n t h e 7 t h M a r c h 1883.
I h a v e th e h o n o r to r e m a in ,
Sir,
Y o u r m o st ob ed ien t serv an t,
W ARM EST! C H A N D ER KUR,
H o n y . S e c y , to I L B . S .
H owrah, )
\ l t h A p r i l 18S3. j
A t a m e e t i n g of t h e T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y , p r e s i d e d b y th e
F o u n d e r P r e s i d e n t , C o l. H e n r y S. O l c o t t —
1. I t w a s m o v e d b y B a b o o R a m D o s s M a i t r a t h a t a B r a n c h
S ociety a t H o w r a h be fo rm e d ; seconded b y B aboo A n n o d a
P ra s a d C h a tte rje e. M otio n carried u n an im o u sly .
2. M o v e d b y B a b o o B e h a r y l a l M i t t e r t h a t t h i s S o c i e t y be
c alled H ow -rah T h eo so p h ic al S o c i e t y ; se c o n d ed b y B aboo
P r a m o t h a N a t h D oss, M . B. M otion c a rrie d .
3. T h e C h a i r m a n t h e n a p p o i n t e d M e s s r s . W a r m e s h C h e n -
d ul’ K u r , R a m D a ss M a i tr a ,P r a m o t h a N a t h D oss, a n d A n noda
P r a s a d C h a t t e r j e e t o f r a m e B y e - l a w s f o r t h e g u i d a n c e of the
Society. _
4. U p o n m o t i o n m a d e b y B a b o o R a m D o s s M a i t r a a n d
s e c o n d e d b y B a b o o A n n o d a P r a s a d C h a t t e l jo3, B a b o o B e h a r y ­
lal M itte r w a s a p p o in te d te m p o ra ry P re sid e n t, a n d Baboo
W a rm e s h C h a n d e r K u r th e Secretary.
5. T h e P r e s i d e n t F o u n d e r t h e n d e c l a r e d t h a t t h e B r a n c h
w o u ld be d u ly c h a rte re d .
T h e n th e m e e t in g a d jo u r n e d su b je c t to th e c all of t h e P r e ­
s i d e n t e le c t.
H owrah, 1 (S d .) H . S. O L C O T T ,
C o l . M. G o rd on' s H o u s e , > P r e s id e n t-F o u n d e r .
D a te d Ihe 1t h M a r c h 1 8 83 . J
T I I E D U M R .A O N T H E O S O P H I C A L S O C IE T Y .
W e h a v e j u s t b e e n i n f o r m e d b y t e l e g r a m of t h e f o r m a t i o n
of a n e w b r a n c h of o n r S o c i e t y a t D u m r a o n .
W e l e a r n from a t e l e g r a m , j u s t re c e iv e d , t h a t I l i s H i g h n e s s
t lic M a h a r a j a S a l io b o f D u r b h a n g a h a s sent, a n i n v i t a t i o n
by t e l e g r a m t o C 'd . O l c o t t to v i s i t h i m . T h o r e s u l t will be
d u l y r e p o r t e d iu t h i s j o u r n a l .
T IIE D A C C A T H E O S O P H IC A L SO C IE T Y .
A t a m c e t i n g o f m e m b e r s of t h e T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y , held
a t t b o h o u s e of B a b u l ’a r b a t i C h a r u n R o y , t h e P r e s i d e n t -
F o u n d e r i n t h e C h a ir , a n d B a b u G u r u C h a r u n B h a t t a c h a r y a
a c t i n g as S e c r e t a r y , i t w a s, u p o n m o t i o n of B a b u D i n a n a t h
S e n , s e c o n d e d by l i a b u K r i s n a C h a n d r a R oy.
R e s o l v e d : T h a t a b r a n c h o f t h o T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y be
form ed a t Dacca.
I . U n a n im o u s ly ad o p te d .
II. M o v e d b y B a b u K a l i K u m a r D a s n n d s e c o n d e d by
B abu P u r n a C h a n d r a B anerji T h a t t h e b r a n c h s h a l l be
k n o w n a s tlie D a c c a T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i c t y . U n a n im o u sly
c arried.
ITI. M o v e d by B a b n K a i l a s C b n n d r a S e n a n d s e c o n d e d hy
B a b u Aw ith B a n d h u M u llik .— T h a t a C o m m itte e consisting
Of t h e f o l lo w in g g e n t l e m e n b o a p p o i n t e d to d r a f t b y e - la w s.
B a b u s K r i s h n a C h a n d r a Ila y ,
• K n n ja B eliary B h a tta c h a ry a ,
P u r n a C h a n d ra B anerji,
K a l i K u m a r D as,
a n d t h a t m e a n w h i l e t h o B y e - la w s o f t h e P a r e n t S o c i e t y be
ado p ted .
IV , M o v ed b y B a b n K n n j a B e h a ry B L iattacharyya and
s e c o n d e d b y B a b u P o r e s h N a t h M u k h e r j i : — T h a t B a bu
K r i s h n a C h a n d r a R o y bo a p p o i n t e d a s P r e s i d e n t , B a b u D in a
N a t h S e n a s V i c e - P r e s i d e n t , B a b n K a l i K u m a r D a s as Secre­
t a r y , B a b u G n n i c h a r a n B h a t t a c h a r y a a s A s s i s t a n t S e c retary ,
a ii d B a b u P u m a C h a n d r a B a n e r j i a s T r e a s u r e r fo r t h e en­
su in g year.
V. U p o n m o t i o n i t w a s r e s o l v e d ; T h a t B a b u F n r b i t i
C h a r u n R o y , B a b u K r i s h n a C h a n d r a R o y , B a b u Anatli
B a n d h a M n l l i c k , B a b u P u r n a c l i a n d r a B a n e r j i , B a b u P oresh
N a th M a k k e rji, be a S ta n d in g C o m m ittee on L ib rary .
 V I. U p o n m otion, i t was re s o lv e d t h a t a vote o f t h a n k s
be g i v e n t o C ol. H . S, O l c o tt , t h e P r e s i d e n t - F o u n d e r o f t li e
T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c io ty , f o r h i s t a k i n g t h e t r o u b l e o f c o m i n g
o v e r to t h i s c it y to o r g a n i s e t h i s S o c i e t y .
T h e m e e tin g then adjo u rn ed .
GURU CHARAN BHATTACHARYA,
10(A M a r c h 1 8 8 3 . S e c r e ta r y .
(A p p ro v e d .) . e n t w ith th e rules, o b jects, a n d th e d ig n ity o f th e S o c iety ,sh all
( C h a r te r i s s u e d .)
H . S . O L C O T T , P t .- F ., T . S.
T H E J E S S O R E T H E O S O P H IC A L SO C IE T Y .
A t a m e e t i n g of t h e m e m b e i s of t h e T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y
h e ld t h i s e v e n i n g , t h e P r e s i d e n t - F o u n d e r b e i n g i n t h e c h a i r ,
it was m o v ed by B abu Jo g e n d ro N a th B id y ab h u s an t h a t a
B ru n c h of th e T h eo s o p h ic al S o c iety be fo rm e d a t th is place
u n d e r t h e t it l o o f “ J e s s o r e T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y . ” T h is
p r o p o s a l w a s s e c o n d e d b y B a b u B ro jo M o h a n R o y a n d c u r r i e d
u n a n im o u sly . I t w as fu rth e r proposed, seconded a n d carried
t h a t t h e B e n g a l i n a m e o f ' Jessore T a tw a Q y a n S a l h a " b e
g i v e n to i t as d e s c r i p t i v e of i t s a i m a n d o b j e c t .
R esolved, th a t B a b u s j o g e n d r o N a t h B id y a b h u s a n , B h o iru b
C h u n d e r C h a tte rje e O khoy C oom ar C how dry a n d P y a ri M ohan
G u h a be a p p o i n t e d a c o m m i t t e e t o f r a m e b y e - la w s f o r t h i s
B r a n c h S o c i e t y , a n d t h a t iu t h e m e a n t i m e t h e b y e - l a w s o f t h e
P a r e n t S o c iety be te m p o ra rily a d o p ted .
Resolved, th a t B a b u Jo g e n d ro N a ih B id y a b h u s a n be a p ­
p o in te d P re sid e n t, a n d t h a t B a b u s P y a ri M o h a n G u h a and
l la r a n C h u n d e r M u k e rji be a p p o in ted S e c retary and
T r e a s u r e r re sp ectiv ely .
R e s o l v e d , t h a t a c o p y o f t h e s e p r o c e e d i n g s b e s e n t to th o
R e c o r d i n g S e c r e t a r y f o r p u b l i c a t i o n iu t h e T h e o so p h ist.
( C h a r te r e d .)
P Y A R I M O H A N G U H A , F . T. S.
S e c r e ta r y to th e B r a n c h T . S o c ie ty , Jessore.
2 9 th M a r c h 1 8 8 3 . B e n g a l.
T H E N A R R A IL T H E O S O P H IC A L S O C IE T Y .
1. A t a m e e t i n g o f m e m b e r s o f t h e T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y
h e ld a t N a r r a i l , B e n g a l , o n t h e 3 0 t h d a y o f M a r c h 1 8 8 3 , t h e
P r e a id e n t-F o u n d e r, in th e C h air, it w as m o v ed by B a b u P u r u a
C h u n d r a M ookerjee and se c o n d ed b y B ab u K a li N a t h D h e e r
t h a t a b r a n c h be o r g a n i z e d u n d e r t h e t i t l e of “ N a r r a i l T h e o s o ­
p h ic a l S o c i e t y . ”
‘2 . U p o n m o t i o n of B a b u B r o j o N a t h B h a t t a c h a r y a a n d
s e c o n d e d b y B a b u P o o l i n B e h a r y Hoy, t h a t a C o m m i t t e e c o n ­
s i s t i n g o f t h r e e p e r s o n s b j a p p o i n t e d to d r a f t b y e - l a w s . T h o
C h a ir a p p o i n t e d a s m e m b e r s o f s u c h C o m m i t t e e B a b u s B r o j o
B h a tta c h a ry a , K ali N a t h D h u r a n d J o g e n d r a C h n n d r a M u llic k .
3. U p o n m o t i o n of B a b u P u r n a C h u n d r a B a s a c k a n d
tes o n d ed by B a b u K o ila s h C h u n d r a G hose, i t w a s resolved t h a t
tlie b y e - l a w s o f t h e P a r e n t S o c i e t y be t e m p o r a r i l y a d o p t e d .
4. T h e e l e c t i o n s of officers b e i n g in o r d e r , t h e f o l l o w i n g
g e n t l e m e n w e r e u n a n i m o u s l y e le c t e d :— P r e s i d e n t B a b u B r i jo
N a th B h a tta ch a ry a, Secretary, B ab u P u r n a C h n n d ra B asack.
T h e r e b e in g no f n r t h e r b u sin e ssbefore t h e m e e tin g th e
Society th e n a d jo u rn e d to m e e ta t th e c a ll ofth e President
e lect. _ ed th e m eeting.
T h e P re s id e n t-F o u n d e r declared tho B ra n c h duly o rg a n iz­
ed a n d o rd ered a C h a r te r to be issued b y th o P a r e n t Society.
( S ig n e d ) H . S. O L C O T T ,
( C h a rte r is s u e d .) ' P r e s id e n t.
t teste d
( S ig n e d ) N 1 B A R O N C H U N D R A M O O K I S R J E E ,
A c tin g S e c r e ta ry to th e P r e s id e n t-F o u n d e r .
( T r u e C opy.)
P U R N A C H A N D R A BOSAK,
All) A p r i l 1883. S e c r e ta r y .
THE CADDALORE T H E O S O P H IC A L S O C IE T Y .
T h e f o l l o w i n g r u l e s a n d b y e - la w s w e r e a d o p t e d a t t h e m e e t ­
i n g h e l d o n t h e 2 5 t h F e b r u a r y 1 883 .
1. T h e C a d d n lo r e T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y is e s t a b l i s h e d w i t h p h i c a l S o c i e t y b e f o r m e d u n d e r t h e n a m e of D u m r a o n T h e o ­
t h e f o l lo w in g o b j e c t s . — _ s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y o r A tm a - o l- K u r s h a S a d t i n i S a b h a .
( a ) T o c u l t i v a t e t h e f e e l i n g of u n i v e r s a l B r o t h e r h o o d .
( b) T o p r o m o t e t h e m o r a l w e l l - b e i n g a n d t h e s p i r i t u a l i n ­
t ere sts of o u r f e l l o w - m e n .
(c) T o e n c o u r a g e t h e s t u d y o f A r y a n a n d o t h e r E a s t e r n
L ite ratn re, R elig io n s a n d Sciences.
(d ) To co -o p era te w ith th e F o n n d e r s a n d P r o m o t e r s o l tha
P a re n t Society,
2. A ll p e r s o n s a p p r o v e d by t h e S o c i e t y c a n b e c o m e m e m ­
b e r s o f t h e s a m e a n d s h a l l p a y a n i n i t i a t i o n fee of R u p e e s t e n
u n l e s s e x e m p t e d f r o m p a y m e n t o u t h e r e c o m m e n d a t i o n of
th is S ociety.
3 . E v e r y m e m b e r s h a l l e n d e a v o u r to liv e a life of t e m p e r ­
a n c e , m o r a l i t y , a n d b r o t h e r l y love, a n d s h a l l be b o u n d b y all
th e rules of th e P a r e n t Society.
4. A n y m e m b e r c o n d u c t i n g h i m s e l f in a m a n n e r i n c o n s i s t ­
iu t h e f irs t i n s t a n c e , bo w a r n e d b y t h e S o c i e t y , a n d if s u c h
w a r n i n g be u n h e e d e d , be r e p o rte d to t h e P a r e n t Society.
5. T h e S o c i e t y s h a l l h a v e f o r t h e p r e s e n t , a P r e s i d e n t a n d
a S e c r e t a r y , w h o w ill a ls o be t h e T r e a s u r e r , a n d t h e y s h a l l b e
elected a n n u a lly .
6. T h e o r d i n a r y m e e t i n g s o f t h e S o c i e t y s h a l l be h e ld on
th e last S a t u r d a y of every m o n th .
7. F i v e m e m b e r s s h a l l f o r m a q u o r u m , a u d a ll q u e s t i o n s
s h a l l be d e c i d e d b y a m a j o r i t y .
8. E v e r y m e m b e r s h a l l p a y a m o n t h l y s u b s c r i p t i o n o f e i g h t
annas.
9. T h e S o c i e t y s h a l l h a v e p o w e r t o a d d , t o a m e n d , o r a n n u l
t h e s e a n d o t h e r r u l e s t h a t m a y f r o m t i m e to t i m e b e f r a m e d .
(S ig n ed ) M. N A T A R A JIE R ,
P r e s id e n t.
(T rue copy)
A. R A M A R A O ,
S e c r e ta r y .
(A p p r o v e d ).
S. H. OLCOTT,
P r e s id e n t.
N E L L O R E T H E O S O P H IC A L SO C IE T Y .
T h e f i r s t a n n i v e r s a r y o f t h o T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y , N e l lo r e ,
w a s h e ld a t t h o H i n d u S c h o o l p r e m i s e s in t h e a f t e r n o o n of
S u n d a y th e 8 th A p r il 1883. T ho proceedings c o m m e n ce d
w i t h P a n c h a n g a s r a v a n a m , i t b e i n g t h e T e l u g u N e w Y e a r ’s
day.
M r. K u p p n s a m i S a s tr u lu , D e p u ty I n s p e c to r o f Schools,
N e l lo r e R a n g e , h a v i n g b e e n v o t e d t o t h e C h a i r , t h e S e c r e t a r y
b riefly a d d r e s s e d t h o m e e t i n g as t o t h o o b j e c t s of t h e S o c i e t y
a n d th e w ork d o n e in c o n nexion w ith th e m , d u rin g th e p a st
year.
M r . A r a v a m u d u A y a n g a r , B . A . , F. T . S, t h e n f o l lo w e d i n
a g l o w i n g s p e e c h in T e l u g u , c l e a r l y e x p l a i n i n g t h e p u r p o s e s
o f th e S ociety, a n d c o n te n d in g th e pu b lic m isconceptions
a b o u t them .
T h e a d d r e s s w a s p r e c e d e d a n d fo llo w e d b y t h e c h a n t i n g of
S a n s c r it slo k a s in p raise of tho A lm ig h ty .
T h e C h a i r m a n t h e n b riefly r e v i e w e d t h e o p e r a t i o n s o f t h e
S o c i e t y , a n d w h i l e f e e l in g h i m s e l f d i s a p p o i n t e d a s r e g a r d s
som e m atters, g e n e ra lly expressed his satisfactio n as regards
th e w ork done. H o s p e c i a l l y c o m p l i m e n t e d t h e S o c i e t y on
th e j u s t a n d b y no m e a n s e x a g g e ra te d a c c o u n t re n d e r e d by it
to th e pu blic.
F l o w e r s , & c., b o i n g d i s t r i b u t e d , t h e p u b l i c m e e t i n g c a m e to
a close.
A m e e t i n g o f t h e m e m b e r s o f t h e S o c i e t y w a s t h e n h e ld ;
a n d t h e P r e s i d e n t , in a n a b l e a n d i n s t r u c t i v e s p e e c h , a d d r e s s ­
M a n y o c cu lt suggestions w ere th ro w n o ut
f o r t h e i n f o r m a t i o n a n d g u i d a n c e of t h e m e m b e r s .
T h e T r e a s u r e r p r e s e n t e d t h e f i n a n c ia l a c c o u n t o f th o
Society for th e p a s t y e a r, w h ic h w as approved.
T h e e le c t i o n of t h e o ffic e -b e a r e rs f o r t h e e n s u i n g y e a r was
t h e n p r o c e e d e d w i t h , o f w h o m a c o m p l e t e l i s t will be p u b l i s h ­
ed afte rw a rd s.
P. S E S H A A IY A R ,
S e c re ta ry .
14(/t A p r il 18 83.
A t a m e e t i n g of t h e m e m b e r s of t h e T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y
h e l d a t “ G a r d e n ” h o u s e o f M a h a r a j a o f D u m r a o n , t h e Pret-i-
d e n t - F o u n d e r in t h e c h a i r , o n T u e s d a y t h e 1 7 t h A p r i l 1883.
I t w'as u n a n i m o u s l y r e s o l v e d t h a t a B r a n c h of t h e T h e o s o ­
R e so lv e d : t h a t t h e f o llo w in g g e n tle m e n be a C o m m ittoo
t o d r a f t B y e - l a w s :—
D r. B ep in V e lia ri G apta,
B a b u D evi P rasad,
„ P ra y a g S inha,
B u k lislii N a ra s im h a N a ra y a n ,
M . O m r a o A li,
a n d t h a t m e a n w h i l e t h e B y e - l a w s o f t h e P a r e n t S o c i e t y be
enforced.
A n e l e c t i o n w a s t h e n h e l d f o r officers w i t h t b e f o l l o w i n g
r e s u l t :—
P r e s id e n t ............................ B a b u D e v i P r a s a d .
V ic e - P r e s id e n t ............................ D r . B e p i n V c h a r i G u p t a .
D o. ............................ B u k l i s h i N a r a s i m l i a N a r a y a n .
S e c r e t a r y ..................................... B a b u P r a y a g S i n l i a .
A s s t. S e cy , a n d T rea su re r. M . O m r a o A li.
A c h a r j a ........................................ S a d h u r a m N a g a l i a b a .
Som o a p p lic an ts b e in g u n a v o id ab ly a b sen t, th e P rc s id c n t-
F o u n d e r a u th o r i s e th e B r a n c h to a d m i t th e m w i t h o u t r e f e r ­
e n c e of p a p e r s t o H e a d - q u a r t e r . T h is sp ecial co m m issio n
ex p ire s a t th e e n d of 30 ( t h ir t y ) days.
T h o P rc sid e n t-F o u n d e r th e n declared th e B ra n c h d uly
org a n ised , a n d o rd e re d t h a t a c h a r t e r issue a c c o rd in g ly . T h e
m eetin g th e n a d jo u rn e d .
(S ig n ed ) I I . S. O L C O T T ,
P r e s i d e n t, T h e o s o p h ic a l S o c ie ty .
O M R A H A L I, '
A s s t. S e c r e t a r y a n d T r e a s u r e r .
A s we a r o g o i n g t o p r e s s , w e h a v e g r e a t p l e a s u r e in
a c k n o w l e d g i n g r e c e i p t of a t e l e g r a m f r o m t h e P r e s i d e n t -
F o u n d e r in fo rm in g ns o f a k in d d o n a tio n of a h u n d r e d
ru p e e s to o u r S o c ie ty , by I l is H ig h n e s s th e M a h a R a ja S a h e b
o f D n m ra o n . A t a tim e w h en a lm o s t th e e n tir e b u r d e n of the
S o c i e t y , bD th p e c u n i a r i l y a n d a s r e g a r d s i t s p r a c t i c a l w o r k ,
h as d e v o l v e d u p o n t h e t w o F o u n d e r s w h o h a v e p u t t h e i r
s h o u l d e r i n c e s s a n t l y t o t h o wheel a n d a r o w o r k i n g w i t h o u t a
m u r m u r , t h o p r e s e n t m a r k of a p p r e c i a t i o n o f t h e w o r k d o n o
b y t h e m w ill b e d o u b l y w e lco m e a n d c h e e r i n g t o o u r
e a r n e s t a u d d e v o te d m em b e rs w h o liave th o w illin g n e ss, b u t
n n f o r tu n a to ly n e i t h e r th e m ea n s n o r th e o p p o r tu n itie s , to
lig h te n th e b n rd e n of the over-w orked a n d th e ov er-tax ed
lead ers of o u r S o ciety .
DAMODAR M AVALANKAR,
M a n a g e r , T heo so p h ist.
TTIE D U R B H U N G A T H E O S O P H I C A L SO C IET Y ".
W h i l e g o i n g to p r e s s , wo a r c j u s t i n f o r m e d b y t e l e g r a m
t h a t H is H i g h n e s s th e M a h a R a j a S a h e b of D u r b h u n g a has
■joined o n r S o c i e t y a n d h a s k i n d l y a c c e p t e d a p l a c e o n o u r
G e n e ra l C ouncil.
T li c D u r b h u n g a T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y w a s o r g a n i z e d on
i h e 2 5 t h of A p r i l . D j t a i l s w ill a p p e a r i n o u r n e x t .
f l t r fi o n a I J f f i n ».
T h r o u g h o v e r s i g h t , t h e n a m o o f M . It. R y J . F urnayya
I \ i n t u l u G a r u , S e c r e t a r y to t h e K r i s h n a T h e o s o p h ical Society
a t G u n t u r , w a s i n s e r t e d in o u r R u l e s f o r 1 8 8 3 , fls[P resident.
I t is M . R . R y M. S i n g a r a v e l u M u d a l i j r G a r u , B . A ., w h o is
1he P r e s i d e n t o f t h a t B r a n c h .
T h o P r e s i d e n t - F o n n d e r is p l e a s e d t o n o m i n a t e M . R . Tty.
M. S i n g a r a v e l u M u d a l i a r G a r u , B A., P r e s i d e n t o f t h e G u n t u r
B r a n c h T. S., a C o u n c i l l o r o f t h e P a r e n t T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y ,
S a y s t h e I n d i a n M ir r o r T h e y o u n g T l i a k o r e D a j i r a j of
W a d h w a n , F . T . S . i n K a t t y w a r , is, l i k e t h e y o u n g T l i a k o r e of
M o r v i , p r e p a r i n g to v i s i t E n g l a n d iu i m i t a t i o n of h i s b r o t h e r
C hief of M orvi.
I^p°As we go to press,a telegram is received from Ilis
Highness l>y the Corresponding Secretary H. P, Blavat­
sky, notifying her of his departure by steamer on May
]st. We wish a happy voyage and every success to our
illustrious brother.
t: T h e llo n g -K o n y V a il j P r e s s d isclo ses t h a t M r . A . P . S i n n e t t ,
l a te E d i t o r of t h o P io n e e r , was f o r s o m e yearB e d i t o r o f t h a t
p a p e r . ’ 1 M r. S i n n e t t n e v e r m a d e a m y s t e r y o f i t we b e li e v e P
“ A C h i n e s e n e w s p a p e r , e n t i t l e d t h e C h in e s e A m e r ic a n , p n b *
1ishpd by A m e r i c a n s .a n d e d i t e d b y a M r . W i g g e h i n F o o , h a s
been s t a r t e d a t N e w Y o r k . I t is a w e e k l y p a p e r . W h e n s h a l l w e
see a N a tiv e of In d ia , or ra th e r a B en g ali, e d itin g a n e w s ­
p a p e r in N e w Y o r k l ik e h is C h i n e s e b r o t h e r ?'”•— I n d i a n M ir r o r ,
[ T h e p a p e r is e d i t e d b y M r . W a n g - C h i n - F o o , a n old
f r i e n d a n d b r o t h e r of o u r s , w h o m w e k n o w fcitiee 18 77, T h e
e d i t o r is a y o u n g m a n o f r e m a r k a b l e i n t e l l e c t u a l a n d ’o r a ­
t o r i c a l p o w e r s , w h o l e c t u r e d w i t h g r e a t s u c c e s s i n t h e west,
o f t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s for s e v e r a l y e a r s , a n d d e l i v e r e d a i e c t n r e
o r tw o i n N e w Y o r k w h e r e h e h a d g o n e to v i s i t t h e F o u n d e r s .
M r. W a n g -C h in -F o o h a s a p e rfe c t m a s te ry over th e E n g lish
l a n g u a g e w h i c h h e l e a r n e d i n a n i n c r e d i b l y s h o r t l i m e in
C a li f o r n i a . I l i s life a n d t h e r e a s o n s w h y h e h a d t o leave
C h i n a a r e q u i t e r o m a n t i c , — Ed.~\
W h i l e g o i n g t o P r e s s , w e a r e s o r r y to l e a r n t h a t M r. J . C.
W i l l i a m s , F . T . S., M a g i s t r a t e of E ta l i, t h e p l e a s u r e o f w h o s e
c o m p a n y w e e x p e c t e d h e r e f o r a few d a y s b e f o re h i s d e p a r t u r e
t o E n g l a n d , is u n a b l e t o c o m e to M a d r a s . H o w r i t e s . t o us
t h a t he h a s b e e n s u f f e r i n g f r o m t h e e ffe c ts o f c o n c u s s i o n on
t h e b r a in c a u s e d b y a s e v e r e fall f r o m h i s h o r s e . T h e d o c t o r s
a d v i s e h i m n o t t o s t o p a n y w h e r e b u t b e a s l o n g o n t h e se a
a s p o s s ib l e . H e i n t e n d s g o i n g to A u s t r a l i a , A m e r i c a a n d
E urope. W e h o p e o u r m e m b e r s in all t h e p l a c e s h e m a y
v i s i t, will g i v e h i m a h e a r t y w e l c o m e a n d t h a t h e m a y soon
r e c o v e r fr o m h i s illn e s s .
B a b u B a r o d a K a n t a M a j n m d a r , F . T. S . of N a l d a n g a , w r i t e s
t h a t a T h e o s o p h i c a l S c h o o l h a B been o p e n e d a t t h a t place
since M ay la s t, u n d e r h is auspices. H e f u r t h e r a d d s : —
“ T h e r e a re E n g lis h , B e n g ali a n d S a n s k r it classes u p to the
M a tric u la tio n s t a n d a r d of th e C a lc u tta U n iv e rs ity I have a
S u n d a y S c h o o l u n d e r m y o w n t u i t i o n , w h e r e H i n d u e th i c s
are ta u g h t. I h a v e a lre a d y secured tw e n ty boys a n d hope
t h e n n m b e r will be d o u b l e d in t w o o r t h r e e w e e k s . M y
desire to i m p a r t re lig io u s t r a i n i n g has n o t h i th e r t o m e t w ith
s u c c e s s f o r w a n t o f a n e l e m e n t a y t e x t b o o k , t h e i d e a o f w h ic h
w a s c o m m u n i c a t e d b y m e t o Col. O l c o t t w h e n h e v i s i t e d
C a l c u t t a in 1 8 8 2 . . . ”
T h i s is t h e s e c o n d e x a m p l e in B e n g a l o f o n e of o u r B r o t h e r
T h o o so p h ists u n d e r t a k i n g tho noble task of i m p a r t in g m o ra l
i n s t r u c t i o n lo t h e H i n d o o c h i l d r e n a n d t e a c h i n g t h e m t h e
p r i n c i p l e s of t h e i r f a i t h . W e h o p e t h e d i f fic u l ty in h i s w a y
will b e c l e a r e d b y t h e e a r l y p u b l i c a t i o n of a n u n s e c t a r i a n
H in d u C a te ch ism , as the one u n d e r c o n te m p la tio n by our
M ad ras B ro th e rs . T h e B e n g a lis havo a c tu a lly b e g u n th e w ork
o f t e a c h i n g , a n d t h o M a d r a s e e s will w e t r u s t bo n o t slow in
d o i n g t h e i r d u t y a n d f u l f i l l i n g t h e i r p r o m i s e t o Col. O lcott,
m a d e o n t h e evo o f h i s d e p a r t u r e f r o m t h i s t o w n , t h a t t h e
w o rk w o u ld be r e a d y a g a i n s t his r e tu r n .
W e r e a d i u t h o T r ib u n e of L a h o r e :—
T h o p a r t y d e p u t e d b y t h e A r y a n P a t r i o t i c A s s o c ia t io n fo
v i s i t t h e M a h a r a j a h of C a s h m e r e a r r i v e d a t J u m m u on F r i d a y
e v e n i n g b e f o r e t h e l a s t.
R ai B ish k n L al , F . T. S . , l ’u n d i t o f B a r e i l l y , w h o a r r i v e d in
J u m m u o n t h e 7tli i n s t a n t , w a i t e d n p o n H i s H i g h n e s s t h e
M a h a r a j a o n S a t u r d a y o v e n i n g l a s t at t h e T e m p l e of l i u g h o
N a t h D a s , a n d , w e a r o g l a d to h e a r , t h a t H i s H i g h n e s s t o o k
so m u c h i n t e r e s t in t h e d e p u t a t i o n t h a t h e w a s p le a s e d to
i n v i t e a ll t h e m e m b e r s a t o n c e t o a p r i v a t e ’i u t e r v i e w w h i c h
l a s t e d fo r a n h o u r a n d a h a l f , a m o n g t h o s e p r e s e n t b e in g t h e
H e ir A p p a ren t an d the Princes. Dewan A n a n t R a m , Prim e
M u s t e r , . a n d P u n d i t G a n e s h C h o w b e y , Bpoke h i g h l y a b o u t
P u n d i t B i s h e n S a h a i ’s a t t a i n m e n t s , a n d a s b e in g o n e o f t h e
l e a d i n g m e n in I n d i a d e v o t e d to t h e i n t e r e s t s of t h o c o u n t r y ,
a n d H i s H i g h n e s s , in o r d e r to s i g n i f y t b e p l e a s u r e h e f e l t in
m e e t i n g t h e d e p u t a t i o n — e s p e c ia lly D. N a t h B a w a j i — o fleied
t h e l a t t e r g e n t l e m a n a s e a t h i g h e r t h a n h is o w n o n a c c o u n t
o f h i s p r o B c i e n c y in t h e o c c n l t Eciences. H i s H i g h n e s s p r o ­
m i s e d to c o - o p e r a t e h e a r t i l y w i t h all p a t r i o t i c s c h e m e s t e n d i n g
t o w a r d s t h e r e - e s t a b l i s h m e n t of A r y a v a r t a ’s a n c i e n t g lo ry .
T h e P r i n c e s w e r e t h e n i n t r o d u c e d ; a f t e r w h i c h c e r e m o n y 11 >3
I t i g h n e - s n a r r a t e d s o m e o f h i s p e r s o n a l e x p e r i e n c e s in o c c u l t ­
ism . H i s H ig h n e s s , w e a r e f u r t h e r iu fo rm ed , in te n d s p a y in g
t h e d e p u t a t i o n a r e t u r n v i s i t in so m e a p a r t m e n t s clo se to t h e
P a l a c e , to w h i c h p l a c e H i s H i g h n e s s d e s i r e d t h e m to r e m o v e
f r o m t h e i r l o d g i n g s in t h e E u r o p e a n q u a r t e r s .
M r s . A n a n d b a y J o s l i i , F . T . S ., t h e w e l l - k n o w n M a h r a t f a
B r a h m i n l a d y , s a i l e d y e s t e r d a y b y S . S. C ity o f C a lc u tta for
N ew Y ork. S h e g o e s to A m e r i c a w i t h t h e o b j e c t o f s t u d y i n g
m ed icin e. W e h o p e t h a t p r o f i t i n g b y t h e g r a n d p r iv ile g e s
a n d f a c i l i t i e s a f fo r d e d t o w o m e n i n A m e r i c a , o u r b r a v e s i s t e r
m a y achieve t h e r e t h e g r e a t e s t suc c ess. M a y s h e r e t u r n fro m
t h a t o c ea n of F r e e d o m a n M. D ., h a v i n g m e a n w h i l e a v o i d e d
i t s t w o m o s t p r o m i n e n t s a n d - b u n k s : — T h e W o m e n ’s R i g h t
.Society a n d t h e Y o u n g M e n ’s C h r i s t i a n A s s o c i a t i o n , b o t h of
w h i c h c la s s e s l i k e t h e r o a r i n g lion in t h e d e s e r t s e e k i n g w h o m
h e m a y d e v o u r a r e e v e r on t h e w a t c h t o e n t i c e a t t h e i r a r r i v a l
th e in n o c e n t a n d th e unsuspecting. N o ticin g her dep artu re,
o u r c o n t e m p o r a r y o f L a h o r e , T h e T r ib u n e , m a k e s t h e f o l l o w i n g
e x trem ely j u s t rem arks upon o u r co u rag eo u s y o u n g s is te r:—
M rs. A n a n d a b a y Joslii, t h e w e l l - k n o w n M a h r a t t a l a d y ,
w ho w as th e o th er day lectu rin g a t the S eram p o re C ol­
leg e , i n B e n g a l , so e l o q u e n t l y i n E n g l i s h , s a i le d o n F r i d a y
b j f o r e l a s t, by o n e of t h e C ity L i n e S t e a m e r s f o r N e w
Y o r k on h e r i n t e n d e d visit a n d s t a y t h e r e t o s t u d y m e d i c i n e .
R e s i d e s b e i n g w e l l - e d u c a t e d t h i s N a t i v e l a d y is p o s s e s s e d of
no o r d i n a r y a m o u n t of m o r a l c o u r a g e . S h e is n o t a C h r i s t i a n
c o n v e r t , a s m a n y o f us m a y s u p p o s e , b u t a m a r r i e d H i n d u
l a d y w h o s e h u s b a n d is still liv i n g . B u t s h e g o e s a l o n e b e y o n d
t h e se a s 011 h e r m is s i o n , w h i l e h e r h u s b a u d r e m a i n s a t h o m e ,
b e i n g t h e o n l y s t a y a n d s u p p o r t o f liis p a r e u t s . S u c h c o u r a g e
is b u t v e r y r a r e , c o n s i d e r i n g t h a t h e r m i s s i o n is to r e m o v e a
n a t i o n a l w a n t — t h a t of H i n d u l a d y d o c t o r s — a n d t h e sa c ri fice s
a r e a l m o s t d r e a d f u l t o t h i n k of. N o t a w h it less, o r p e r h a p s
m o r e , t h a n t h a t o f P u n d i t a R a m a Rai, h e r e a r n e s t n e s s in s u c h
a p a t r i o t i c c a u s e s h o u l d , i t is t o be h o p e d , c o m m e n d i t s e l f
s t r o n g l v t o t h e l i b e r a l i s m m id c o n s c i e n t i o u s n e s s o f h e r f e ll o w
c o u n t r y m e n a n d so c ie ty t h a t s h e m a y n o t be d e c l a r e d a n o u t ­
c a s t by th e m on h e r re tu rn . B a c k w a r d P u n j a b , ala s, h a s n o t
g o t o n e s i n g l e m e m b e r o f h e r s e x w h o is c a p a b l e o f e v e n s y m ­
p a t h i s i n g w i t h h e r o b j e c t a s, w e believe, m a n y of h e r o w n
P r e s i d e n c y will ! So, w h i l e w e s i n c e r e l y w is h h e r e v e r y s u c ­
cess, we v e n t u r e t o t h i n k , t h a t s o m e of h e r s i s t e r s o f h e r ow n
P r e s i d e n c y , M a h r a t t a a u d l 'a r s e e , w h o a r e f a r a d v a n c e d iu
ed u ca tio n and e n lig h te n m e n t th a n th e m o st p ro ficien t b e tte r-
h a l f of t h e y o u n g B e n g a l , a d m i t t e d l y f o r e m o s t in t h e r a n k s o f
e d u c a t e d I n d i a , will follo w s u i t — a n d t h a t , t h e s o o n e r t h e
b e tte r.” _
K d . N o t e . — I t i.s w i t h a w e ll w a r r a n t e d p r i d e t h a t w e s a y
h e r e t h a t t h i s a c t o f c o u r a g e — w h ic h c a n h a r d l y b e a p p r e c i a t e d
by W e s t e r n p e o ple u n a c q u a i n t e d w ith t h e m ereile.s s c a s t e
s y s te m a n d Z e n a n a r u l e s of I n d i a — is v e r y m u c h d u e t o t h e
in f lu e n c e of M rs. J o s h i ’s h u s b a n d , o n e o f t h e m o s t l ib e r a l
m i n d e d a n d i n t e l l e c t u a l B r a h m i n s we k n o w o f, as o n e o f t h e
best frien d s and m e m b e rs of o u r society. W e a r e p ro u d
i n d e e d a t t h e t h o u g h t , t h a t t h e f irs t B r a h m i n la d y , w h o t h u s
becom es p ractically th e p io n e e r of th e g r e a t n a tio n a l m o v e ­
m e n t now s t i r r i n g p u b l i c o p i n io n in f a v o u r of t h e e d u c a t i o n
a n d c e r t a i n l e g i t i m a t e r i g h t s f o r t h e w o m e n o f I n d i a , — is a
F e l l o w of o u r s o c i e t y . W e c a n n o t r e c o m m e n d h e r to o w a r m l y
to t h e s y m p a t h i e s a n d b e s t f r a t e r n a l f e e l i u g s o f a ll o u r A m e r i ­
c a n T h e o s o p h i s t s , a n d h o p e a n d p r a y t h a t t h e y s h o u l d r e r.d e r
t h e p o o r a n d b r a v e y o u n g e x ile e v e r y s e r v i c e a n d h e l p h e r as
m u c h as i t is w i t h i n t h e i r p o w e r .
T his T im e s o f C e y lo n of F e b . 2 9 , h a s t h e f o l l o w i n g “ T h e
e x p e c t e d T h e o s o p h i s t , t h e c o m m a n d e r , M .l). A. C o u n t i e s , a r r i v e d
h e r e o n t b e l S t h i n s t a n t , b y t h e S . S. S h a m r o c k . In t h e e v e n i n g ,
it a p p e a rs , h e h a d a n i n t e r v i e w w i t h t h e P r i e s t , H S u m a n g a l a ,
a n d wa.s also p r e s e n t a t t h e f e s t i v a l in K o t a h e n a . H e w a s c o r­
di a l l y r e c e i v e d b y t h e C o l o m b o T h e o s o p h i s t s , a n d t h e r e w a s a
m e e t i n g , on t h e e v e n i n g of t h o 1 0 t h i n s t a n t , in t h o T h e o s o ­
p h ic a l H a l l , w h i c h w a s t a s t e f u l l y d e c o r a t e d . A n a d d r e s s i n
F r e n c h was r e a d by t h e P r e s i d e n t (o f t h e C o l o m b o T h e o s o p h i ­
c a l S o c i e t y , M r. A n d r e w P e r e i r a ) . T h e d is tin g u is h e d v isito r
is e x p e c t e d t o l e a v e t h i s fur S a i g o n on t h i s d a y . ”
[ M . Couv ines is w o r t h y o f e v e r y a t t e n t i o n f r o m o u r T h e o -
s o p h i s t s in e v e r y p a r t of t h e g l o b e . L i e u t e n a n t o f t l i e F r e n c h
N a v y 011 b o a r d of a M an-of-YVar, h e y e t tin d s t i m e to w o r k f o r
o n r S o c i e t y , a n d h e lp s on t h e g r e a t m o v e m e n t by w o r d n n d
p e n . H u is n o w b u s y in t r a n s l a t i n g t h e F r a g m e n ts o f O ccult
Truth i n t o F r e n c h , f o r t h e b e n e f i t o f t h o s e o f l i s b r o t h e r s iu
F r a n c e w h o d o n o t u n d e r s t a n d E n g l i s h . — 1?</.]
A S T R A N G E W O R D C O IN E D .
1) 1’. G e o r g e W i l d , V i c e - P r e s i d e n t of t h e B r i t i s h T . S.
w r i t i n g to L ig h t m a k e s t h e fo l lo w in g d e fin i t io n w h i c h h e sa y s
o n g l i t to be a d o p t e d by e v e r y S p i r i t u a l i s t .
“ S ilt,— I n y o u r l a s t i m p r e s s i o n t h e r e is a m i s p r i n t in c o n ­
n e c t i o n w ith y o u r r e m a r k s o n m y p a p e r on C l a i r v o y a n c e .
T h e t e r m c l a i r v o y a n c e s i g n i f ie s c l e a r s e e i n g , b u t t h a t m i g h t
s i g n i f y c l e a r m e n t a l , lo g ic a l, o r p h y s i c a l v isio n .
T h e t e r m t h e r e f o r e c o n v e y s 110 idea a s to w h a t is g e n e r a l l y
u n d e rsto o d by clairvoyance.
B y t h a t t e r m is m e a n t t h e p o w e r of t h e m i u d to see, i n d e ­
p e n d e n t l y of t h e p h y s i c a l o r g a n s o f v isio n .
I t h e r e f o r e d e s i g n a t e c l a i r v o y a n c e a s t h e A u t o - N o e t i c — th a t
is i n d e p e n d e n t o r s e l f - k n o w i n g a c t i o n o f t h e m i n d . ”
S P E C IA L T E L E G R A M S .
N . W . P. P A T R IO T IC A S S O C IA T IO N .
[/ROM A COlt tt ESP0N DENT.]
L ahore, 3lsZ March.
R a i B i s h e n L a l l , M. A . , P n n d i t G a i n d a n L a l l , B. A ., a n d
p a r ty , d e p u te d by tho N . W . P. P a t r io t i c A sso ciatio n , a rriv e d
here th is m o rn in g . P u n d i t G o p i N a t h , E d i t o r , M ittr a v ila s u ,
j o i n s t h e p a r t y t o s e c u r e c o - o p e r a t i o n o f t h e N a t i v e C h iefs fo r
C o lle g e , V i d y a l a s , j o u r n a l s , a n d o t h e r p u b l i c p r o j e c t s s e t ou
fo o t in th e N o r t h - W e s t e r n P ro v in c es. A P u b lic m ee tin g
t a k e s p l a c e in t h e S h a l a m a r G a r d e n s t o e s t a b l i s h a N a t i o n a l
A sso c ia tio n . T h e p a r ty a n n o u n c e s t h a t tw e lv e t h o u s a n d a n d
five h u n d r e a d r u p e e s h a v e a l r e a d y b e e n s u b s c r i b e d , a n d
s p o n t a n e o u s offers r e c e i v e d e v e r y w h e r e . A n u n i o n is l i k e l y
t o t a k e p lac e b e t w e e n t h e A r y a S a m a j a n d th o T h e o s o p h i c a l
S o c i e t y . P r o p o s a l s a r e u n d e r c o n s i d e r a t i o n — ( I n d i a n M irro r .)
E d . N o t e . — A “ r e - n n i o n " w o u l d be a m o r e a p p r o p r i a t e
t e r m to u s e , p e r h a p s . B u t , s i n c e i t t a k e s t w o to q u a r r e l , so it
l a k e s t w o to “ r e - u n i t e ” a n d o r g e t r e c o n c il e d , l e t t i n g all b y ­
g o n e s be b y - g o n e s . W e h a v e n o t b e e n c o n s u l t e d u p o n t h is
s u b j e c t . T h e r e f o r e , a n d b e f o r e f e e l i n g so a s s u r e d t h a t t h e r e
w ill be 110 o b j e c t i o n t o s u c h n e w u n i o n on t h e p a r t o f tlie
T h eo so p h ic al So ciety — the p u b l i c a t i o n o f Suc h u u t r u s t -
w o r t h y d o c u m e n t s a s t h e “ R e p l y to the e x tra S u p p le m e n t o f
the J u ly T h e o so p h ist, b y a I t o o r k e A r y a ” b e i n g r a t h e r i n t h e
w a y of t h e r e - n n i o n , t h a n o t h e r w i s e — i t is p r e m a t u r e t o p u b ­
l i s h t h e n e w s ( q u i t e f a ls e i n t h i s c a s e ) a n d w i t h s u c h a f l o u r i s h
of t r u m p e t s . — E d .
T H O U G H T S ON T H E M E T A P H Y S IC S
OF THEOSOPHY*
[ N o t h a v i n g h a d t i m e y e t t o p u b l i s h a r e v ie w of o u r B r o t h e r
S u u d a r a m I y e r ’s r e m a r k a b l e w o r k , we r e p u b l i s h n o w t h e
t h o u g h tf u l selec tio n s f ro m it by o u r B r o t h e r B a b u N a r e n d r o
N a t h S e n , e d i t o r of t h e I n d i a n M ir r o r . S i n c e w e a p p r o v e of
t h e m e n t i r e l y , w e c a n do 110 b e t t e r t h a n r e p r i n t a n d g i v e t h e m
h e r e t o o u r r e a d e r s . — E d . T h e o s.]
T h i s is in e v e r y w a y a r e m a r k a b l e p r o d u c t i o n . T h e a u t h o r ,
w e u n d e r s t a n d , is a h u m b l e s c h o o l - m a s t e r a t T i n n e v e l l y , in
t h e M a d r a s P r e s i d e n c y ; a n d i t iB a m a t t e r of s u r p r i s e t o find
h i m h a n d l i n g t h e E n g l i s h l a n g u a g e in a w a y w h i c h w o u l d
h a v e d o n e c r e d i t t o m a n y of o u r a b l e s t w r i t e r s , a n d n o t
to a few E u r o p e a n s o f e d u c a t i o n a n d c u l t u r e . B u t the
c o n t e n t s of t h e b o o k a r o still m o re s t a r t l i n g . “ A l t h o u g h , ”
a s s t a t e d in t h e p r e f a c e , l: n e i t h e r a u t h o r i t a t i v e n o r by a n y
m e a n s t h e l a s t w o rd t h a t h a s to be sa id 011 t h e v a s t q u e s t i o n ”
d e a l t w i t h , i t f u r n i s h e s v e r y h e a l t h y food f o r t h e t h o u g h t f u l .
T h o a u t h o r ' s o b j e c t is n o t h i n g s h o r t of s t a t i n g (lie b r o a d
o u tlin e s of th o V e d a n t i s m o f S a n k a r a c h a r y a in t h e lan g u a g e
o f m o d e r n sc ienc e, a n d s h o w i n g ho w i t lias a t t a i n e d t h e g o a l
w h i c h t h e a d v a n c e d g u a r d s o f m o d e r n s c ie n tif ic t h o u g h t a r e
str iv in g for. M r. S u n d a r a m I y e r ’s f a m i l i a r i t y w ith t h e p o s i ­
t i o n of m o d e r n sc i e n c e is e m i n e n t l y te s ti fi e d b y h i s r a t h e r
u n s tin te d q u o ta tio n s from H e r b e r t Speneer, S te w a r t, T a it,
T y n d a ll, H u x le y , E r n e s t H reckel, Je v o n s , a u d S to k e s. T h is
is ho w o u r a n t i . o r v e r y c o r r e c t l y e x h i b i t s t h e d e a d w all w h i c h
i m p e d e s t h e p r o g r e s s o f m o d e r n s c i e n c e iu v a r io u s d i r e c ­
t i o n s :— .
“ N o w , g e n t l e m e n , t h i s is t h e s u m to ta l of t h e k n o w l e d g e
a s lo t h e f o u n d a t i o n s o f N a t u r e p o ss e s se d b y t h e M o d e r n
W est. O f t h e d e t a i l s of t h e s u p e r s t r u c t u r e , i t k n o w s m u c h ,
a n d is f u s s i l y g r a n d o v e r i t s v a s t h e a p of i n sig n if ic a iie ie s ;
b n t of f ir s t p r i n c i p l e s a n d f i r s t c a u s e s i t is, a n d a d m i t s its e lf
t o be, p r o f o u n d l y i g n o r a n t . ' Y e t i t is w ith t h i s b a s e le s s
k n o w le d g e as a ke y t h a t th e M a te ria lis t boasts t h a t he
h a s u n l o c k e d a n d t h r o w n o p e n t h e p o r t a l s of N a t u r e ’s s a n c ­
t u a r y . T h e n a m e of t h i s p r i c e l e s s key is M y s t e r y . P r o p o u n d
a n y p r o b l e m i n v o l v i n g C o sm ic S e c r e t s , a n d Lhe s c i e n t i s t a t
onc e, w i t h c a l m s e l f - s a t i s f a c t i o n , m a k e s a g r a n d s h o w of
a p p ly in g th is d u m m y k e y , b u t as a fa c t leaves e v e r y th in g as
Theosophical M iscellanies. No. 1 , Thoughts on the M etaphysics of
Theosophy. By S. Sundaram Iy e r. No. 3. Issued under the authority
of the Theosophical Society. Calcutta. Printed by the Calcutta Central
P ress Co., Lim ited, 5, Council House Street. 1883.
clo sely s h u t ns i t h a s e v e r b e e n . A s k h i m w l i a t a n d h o w w a s
o u r U n i v e r s e d n r i n g t h e T r e - C o s m i c P e r i o d ? H o will a t o n c o
a n s w e r : ‘ I t is a M y s te r y .’ H o w c a m e t h e p r i m a l m a t t e r to
b e d i f f u s e d t h r o n g h t h e c o s m i c sp a c e ? ‘ M y s te r y .’ H o w
c o m e s m a t t e r to p o ss e s s I n e r t i a P 1 M y s te r y .' W h a t is t h e
c a u s e o f G r a v i t a t i o n P '■ M ystery.’ Of R e p u l s i o n ? ‘ M y s te r y ,'
H o w is t h e s i m u l t a n e o u s a c t i o n of A t t r a c t i o n a n d R e p u l s i o n
p o s s i b l e P ' M y s te r y .' W h a t is t h e g e n e s i s of L i f e ? 'M y s te r y .'
Of m i n d ? ‘ M y s te r y .' O f I n t e l l i g e n c e P ‘ M y s te r y .’ W h a t ?
‘ M y s te r y ’ h e r e ? ‘ M y s te r y ' t h e r o ? ‘ M y s te r y e v e r y w h e r e ?
O ! M y s t e r y ! T h o u a i t t r u l y O m n i p r e s e n t a n d A ll- S u ili-
c i e n t in t h e R e a l m of S c ie n c e .”
T h a t t h i s is n o t m e r e l y u p o n t h e a u t h o r i t y of o n r a u t h o r
will a p p e a r f r o m tlie f o l l o w i n g e x t r a c t f i o m o n e o f t h e i n t e l ­
l e c t u a l Csesars o f m o d e r n E u r o p e :—
“ T h e p a s s a g e f r o m t h e p h y s i c s o f tlie b r a i n to t h e c o r r e s ­
p o n d i n g f a c t s o f c o n s c io u s n e s s , is i n c o n c e i v a b l e a s a r e s u l t of
m e c h a n i c s . I d o n o t t h i n k t h e M a t e r i a l i s t i s e n t i t l e d to s a y
t h a t h is m o le c u la r g ro u p in g s and n o tio n s ex p la in every th in g .
J n r e a lity th e y e x p la in n o th in g . I f y o u a s k h i m w h e n c e is
t h is m a t t e r , w h o o r w h a t d i v i d e d ifc i n to m o le c u le s , w h o o r
w h a t i m p r e s s e d u p o n t h e m t h i s n e c e s s i t y of r u n n i n g i n t o o r ­
g a n i c f o r m s — he hns no answ er. S c ic n c e is m u te in re p ly to these
qu estio n s, . . • L e t u s l o w e r o u r h e a d s a n d a c k n o w l e d g e
ou r ig n o ran ce, p rie s t a n d philo so p h er, one a n d a ll.” — F ra g ­
m e n ts o f Scien ce, Vol. I I . , p . 8 6 et seq.
T h e a u t h o r t h e n p r o c e e d s to s u p p l e m e n t t h o t e a c h i n g s of
sc i e n c e b y t h e a n c i e n t p h i l o s o p h y o f t h e V e d a n t . is ts , w e c a n ­
n o t s a y w i t h u n i f o r m s n c c e s s . A m i d s t m u c h t h a t is r e a l ly
a b le a n d c o n v i n c i n g we c o m e a c r o s s n o t i n f r e q u e n t i n s t a n c e s
of i n a c c u r a c y a n d c r n d e n e s s , a n d in s o m e c a s e s of m i s n p p r e -
lie nsio n o f t h e p u r e M o n i s t i c p h i l o s o p h y o f S a n k a r a . Tho
a u t h o r t h u s s p e a k s of t h e H i n d u n n d B u d d h i s t d o c t r i n e s of
K u r i n a l e a d i n g to c o n t i n u e d m a t e r i a l e x i s t e n c e , o r r e - b i r t h a s
h e c a l l s it. W e w o u l d d r a w fo r i t t h e b e s t a t t e n t i o n s of th o
r e a d e r w h o m a y n o t e n d o r s e till t h e v i e w s s e t f o r t h , b u t will
s u r e l y fin d e n o u g h d e s e r v i n g m o r e t h a n a m o m e n t a r y a c ­
q u a i n t a n c e :—
“ T h is D o c t r i n c of P a l i n g e n e s i s t e a c h e s u s t h a t m a n m u s t
c o n t i n u e t o bo b o r n a n d r e - b o r n so l o n g a s h i s m i n d is d e v o t ­
ed to w o r l d l y affairs, t h a t is, a s l o n g a s i t is a f fe c te d b y d e ­
s ir e s , f e e l in g s , t h o u g h t , &c., h a v i n g f o r t h e i r o b j e c t t h e t h i n g s
o f t h i s t r a n s i t o r y life. I n o n r P h i l o s o p h y t h e s e d e s i r e s , feel­
i n g s , &c., a n d t h e d e e d s t o w h ic h t h e y g i v o r i s e , a r e s u m m e d
n p u n d e r th e title of K a r m a , n nd th e r e s u l ta n t r e -b ir th s an d
th e e x p e r i e n c e s ( t o o f n l l a la s ! of s o r r o w s , d i s a p p o i n t m e n t s ,
Ac., &c ) a t t e n d a n t u p o n t h o s e r e - b i r t l i s , a r e s t y l e d K a r m a n u -
b h a v a m . W h y m u s t a m a n e n t e r n p o n a f u t u r e e x i s t e n c e as
;i c o n s e q n e n c e o f his. K a r m a ? W h y , b e c a u s e , K a r m a is th o
s u m o f a s e r i e s of m a t e r i a l c a u s e s , i. e., t h e a c t i o n s o f a n i n ­
te rn a l m a te ria l entity, called th e S o u l. I s S o u l, t h e n , a
m a t e r i a l e x i s t e n c e ? Y e s ; for i t is a c o a l i t i o n o r e m b o d i m e n t
of t h e p a r t i c l e s of E t h e r , w h i c h , I t o l d y o n , a r e t h e u n i t s of
M a t t e r - T h e a c t i o n s of a m a t e r i a l e n t i t y c a n be a n d a r e p r o ­
d u c e d b y t h e m o t i o n s of a p o r t i o n , o r t h e w h ole , o f t h e c on-
s t i t n e n t s of t h a t e n t i t y . T h e m o ti o n s of c o n s t i t u e n t s p r e s u p ­
poses th e d is tu rb a n c e of th e c o n stitu tio n a l e q u ilib riu m ; an d
th is d is tu r b a n c e again p re su p p o se s a d is tu r b e r . T h e d is ­
t u r b e r in t h i s c a s e is t h e W i l l o r D e s i r e fo r e x i s t e n c e o r a t ­
t a c h m e n t to t h e o h j e c t s o r p l e a s u r e s of e a r t h l y life . U n d e r
t h e i n flu e n c e s o f t h e W i l l t h e p s y o h i c p a r t i c l e s m o v e , a n d a s
t h e s e m o v e , t h e y do, a c c o r d i n g t o t h e L a w o f P s y c h i c D y n a ­
m ic s, a t t r a c t C o sm ic M a t t e r f r o m t h e s u r r o u n d i n g s p a c e .
T h o C o sm ic M a t t e r t h u s a t t r a c t e d g e t s a s s i m i l a t e d i n t h e
P s y c h i c or S o u l ; a n d t li e P s y c h i c b e c o m e s d e n s e r a n d h e a v i e r
in c o n s t i t u t i o n a s t h a t M a t t e r a c c n m u l a t e s i n a u d a r o u n d it.
W h e n i t is d i s e m b o d i e d , i. e., w h e n i t is r i d of t h e g r o s s o a rn a l
b o d y b y t h e F o r c e of t h e P s y c h o - P h y s i c a l R e p u l s i o n , p o p u ­
l a r l y c a l l e d d e a t h , i t does, e x c e p t in r a r e c a s e s , g r a v i t a t e ,
t h o n g h n o t u n t i l i t h a s r e c e iv e d t h e r e w a r d of all i t s g o o d
d e e d s i n a s u b j e c t i v e w o r l d , t o w a r d s t h e s y m p a t h e t i c S o u l s of
s o m e c o u p le , w h o s e o f f s p r i n g i t b e c o m e s . T h u s it en ters
upon a n o th e r b irth . I f it a g a i n liv e s a w o r l d l y life in t h i s
b i r t h , i t will a g a i n b e r e - b o r n for t h e s a m e r e a s o n s .
“ T h u s t h e a w fu l W h e e l of R e -b irth s a n d R e - d e a th s will
r e v o lv e f o r i t so l o n g a s i t s liv e s c o n t i n u e to be c h a r a c t e r i z e d
b y a t t a c h m e n t to m a t e r i a ] n n d w o r d l y o b j e c t s , t h e g o o d r e s u l t s
of i ts K a r m a , b e i n g e x p e r i e n c e d in t h a t s u b j e c t i v e w o r l d o r
s t a t e iti w h i c h i t e x i s t s b e t w e e n d e a t h a n d r e - b i r t h , a n d t h e
evil in i ts r e - b i r t h a n d tlie c o n d i t i o n s a t t a c h i n g t o t h a t n e w
life. I n e e d n o t tell y o u t h a t all e a r t h l y l iv e s a r e i n e v i t a b l y
a t t e n d e d w i t h m u c h o f c a re , s o r r o w , a n d s u f f e r i n g , ' N o sc e n e
of H u m a n L if e , b u t t e e m s w i t h H u m a n W o e ! ’ T o e s c a p e
all t h i s , o u r o n l y r e s o u r c e is to p u t a s t o p to th o r e c u r r e n c e
of b irth s. B a t r e -b irth s or re -in c a rn a tio n s a re the u na v o id a b le
r e s u l t s of P s y c h i c A t t r a c t i o n , a n d P s y c h o - P h y s i c a l E v o l u t i o n •
th is A ttr a c tio n a n d th is E v o lu tio n aro th o u n a v o id a b le re su lts
of p s y c h o - p h y s i c a l o x i s t e n c o ; t h i s e x i s t e n c e is t h e u n a v o i d a b l e
r e s u l t of t h e a t t r a c t i o n , a c c u m u l a t i o n , a n d a s s i m i l a t i o n of
C o s m i c M a t t e r ; t h i s a t t r a c t i o n , &c., &c., a r e t h e u n a v o i d a b l o
r e s u l t s of t h e d y n a m i c e n e r g i e s o f t h e s o u l ; a n d t h e s e
d y n a m i c e n e r g i e s a r e t h e u n a v o i d a b l e e x e r c is e s o r a c t i v i t i e s
of th o W i l l o r D e s i r e f o r L if e . T h u s w e s e e t h a t t h e W il l of
m a n is t h e c a u s e o f h is r e - b i r t h s a n d r e - d e a t h s . I s not, th e n ,
th o b i r t h of m a n t h o p r o d u c t o f m e r o c i r c u m s t a n c e s ? I s i t
r e a l l y h i s W i l l t h a t d e t e r m i n e s h is b i r t h ? I n s e n t i e n t b e i n g s
a s w ell as s e n t i e n t b e i n g s , f r o m t h o l o w e s t o r d e r n p t o m a n ,
are m erely th o c r e a tu r e s of o ir c u m s ta n c e s ; b u t w h e n th e y
e v o lv e i n t o m a t u r e , r a t i o n a l , r e s p o n s i b l e m e n , t h e y n e e d do
lo n g er rem ain sim p le toys o r p u p p e ts of th e s u r r o u n d i n g in ­
f lu e n c e s a n d e l e m e n t s , f o r t h e y b e c o m e , to so m e e x t e n t , a b le
to i n flu e n c e a n d m o d i f y c i r c n m s t a n c o s a n d c o m m a n d a n d
co n tro l th e e le m e n ts by t h e i r in tellectu al po w ers, ( w h ic h are
o t h e r a n d m o r e i n te n s i f i e d f o r m s of t h e W i l l ) , e x e r c is e d n n d
u t i l i z e d in t h e o c c n l t o r m e c h a n i c a l way. T h i s t r u t h is a m p l y
e x e m p l if i e d by t h o v a r i o u s a r t s a n d m a n n e r s of life o f t h e
civ iliz ed m a n , a n d t h e o c c u l t p h e n o m e n a d i s p l a y e d b y a d e p t s .
“ W i t h t h e c e s s a t i o n o f t h e W ill, r e - i n c a r n a t i o n w i l l also
c ea se . R u t h o w t o s t o p t h e W i l l ? W i l l i s t h e c o n c o m i t a n t of
t h e D e siro f o r e x i s t e n c e ; a n d t h i s D e sire is t h e c o n c o m i t a n t
o f I g n o r a n c e o r A v v h ja of t h e re a l o r i g i n , a n d n a t u r e a n d
d e s t i n y of b e i n g . T h e f o l l o w i n g q u o t a t i o n m a y b e r e a d w i t h
i n t e r e s t : ‘ W h a t is evil t h a t afflicts m a n k i n d ?— I g n o r a n c e .
I t s e s s e n t ia l c o n c o m i t a n t s w e r e t h e c o n d i t i o n s o f s e n t i e n t
e x i s t e n c e . T h e e s s e n t i a l c o n c o m i t a n t o f t h i s is p e r s o n a l c o n ­
scio u sn ess, the e ssen tial o o n c o m ita n ts of th is a re a n a m e a n d
a f o r m . T h e e s s e n t i a l c o n c o m i t a n t o f t h e s e n s e of c o n t a c t is
s e n s a t i o n , t h e e s s e n t i a l c o n c o m i t a n t of w h i c h is d e s i r e , w h ic li
i n v a r i a b l y m a k e s m a n c l i n g to e x is te n c e . T h e e s s e n t i a l c o n ­
c o m i t a n t of e x i s t e n c e ’ is b i r t h , t h e e s s e n t ia l c o n c o m i t a n t s of
w h i c h a r e old a g e , d e a t h , s o r r o w , l a m e n t a t i o n , p a i n , m e l a n ­
c h o ly , d e B pair-’
“ T h o n g h t h o w o r l d t e e m s w i t h evil a n d m i s e r y , t h o n g h i ts
w o a r y w a y s , f a n n e d o n l y b y s ig h s , w a t e r e d o n l y w i t h t e a r s ,
l e a d a l i k e o v e r t h e b u r n i n g s a n d s of s u f f e r in g , a n d t h e f e ti d
s w a m p s o f s i n , y e t b y f a r t h e m a j o r i t y of h u m a n i t y , so f a r
f r o m g r o w i n g d i s g u s t e d w i t h m u n d a n e life, c li n g to i t w i t h
a n i r r e p r e s s i b l e d e s i r e t o liv e on. T h e y a r e w a l l o w i n g in t h o
m ire of c arn a lity , avarice, and w h a t n o t ; a re born again and
a g a i n in c o n s c q u e n c e o f t h e i r e a r t h - t e n d i n g K a r m a s ; a n d a r e
f a t e d to t a s t o a n d r e - t a s t e t h e b i t t e r f r u i t s o f l if e . ’'
W c c a n n o t d o b e t t e r t h a n c lo s e t h i s s o m e w h a t m e a g r e
n o t ic e o f a b o o k , w h i c h n o n e b u t a t r n e H i n d o o c o u l d h a v e
w r i t t e n a u d n o n e b u t a t r u e H i n d u w ill f u l l y a p p r e c i a t e , w i t h
t h e a u t h o r ’s p a t r i o t i c e x h o r t a t i o n to h i s c o u n t r y m e n , w h ic h
w e e a r n e s t l y r e c o m m e n d t h e m a ll to lay to h e a r t . :—
“ I t is u s e l e s s to p i le u p q u o t a t i o n s , o r I m i g h t c ite a u t h o r ­
ity a f t e r a u t h o r i t y in p r o o f o f t h e a n c i e n t g r a n d e u r o f I n d i a ,
b u t t h e f a c t s a r e n o w too w e ll k n o w n , a n d i g n o r a n c e a lo n e
c an d i s p u t e h e r p r o u d p o s i t i o n , a s M o t h e r n o t on ly o f n a t i o n s ,
b n t o f a l l t h o s o T r u t h s , a ll t h o s e S c i e n c e s a n d A r t s t h a t
e m b e l li s h life, a l l e v i a t e i t s s u f f e r i n g s , a n d g u i d e t h e S o u l to
‘ w h e r e b e y o n d t h e s e v o ic e s t h e r e is P e a c e !’ T h e A n c i e n t
A r y a v a r t a is n o w u n v e i l e d : C o m e d e a r B r o t h e r s , a n d g a ze
u p o n t h e d a z z l i n g s p l e n d o u r o f o n r b e lo v e d M o t h e r ! W h i c h
A r y a n o f I n d i a c a n c o n t e m p l a t e h e r a n c i e n t g l o r y a n d re­
n o w n w i t h o u t, f e e l in g p r o u d of h i s a n c e s t r y ; r e v e r e n c i n g t h e
m e m o r y of h i s f o r e f a t h e r s ; a n d s t r i v i n g , t h e n c e f o r t h , to
p r o v e , in t h o u g h t , w o r d a n d d e e d , t r u e a n d lo y al to t h e c o u n ­
t r y , t h e re li g i o n , t h e p h i l o s o p h y , a n d t h o m o r a l i t y of h i s g r e a t
a n c e s t o r s P A l a s ! t h e r e a r e t h i n g s t h a t m a y s till l a c e r a t e o n r
h e a r t s b r i m m i n g o v e r t h o n g h t h e s e no w be w i t h jo y , p a t r i o t ­
i s m , filial l o v e a n d g r a t i t u d e , a t t h e s i g h t of o u r b e lo v e d
N a t i v e l a n d , in all h e r u n v e i l e d g lo r ie s . H o w , ah ! h o w c an
w e a v o id f e e l i n g k e e n l y a n d b i t t e r l y , t h e d e n a t i o n a l i z a t i o n ,
d e m o r a l i z a t i o n , a n d g r o w i n g c o n t e m p t f o r a ll t h i n g s S p i r i tu a l
o f o u r M o d e r n Y o u t h ? W i t h b u t a s m a t t e r i n g o f E n g li s h ,
w i t h a k e e n s c e n t a n d f a n c y f o r e v e r y t h i n g f o r e i g n , a n d w ith
n o m o r e o r b e t t e r k n o w l e d g e of t h o S p e n c e r s , T y n d a l l s ,
B a i n s , H a j c k e l s , a n d t h e lik e , w h o s e d is c ip le s t h e y p ro f e s s to
be, t h a n t h e i r m e r e n a m e s ; o r w i t h a t m o s t u p a r r o t - l i k e
a c q u i s i t i o n o f a few p h r a s e s a n d d e f in i t i o n s c u ll e d f r o m t h e i r
w o r k s , imp< r f e o t l y u n d e r s t o o d , a n d a s i m p e r f e c t l y r e m e m b e r ­
e d , t h e y o u n g A r y a n o f t o - d a y e x u l t s i n a d o p t i n g foreign
 c o s t u m e , m a n n e r s , vices, &c., a n d s e e m s p r o u d of p r o v i n g
h i m s e l f a r e n e g a d e , a n d of p r o f e s s i n g h i m s e l f a r e n e g a d e , a n d
of p ro fessin g h i m s e l f a s c e p t i c o r a n a t h e i s t ! A lu s!
E n g lish e d u c a tio n in In d ia has n o w d e g e n e ra te d in to a sy ­
n o n y m f o r b o o ts, h a t s , t r o w s e r s , b e e f s t e a k s a n d b r a n d y - b o t t l e s ,
a g n o s t i c i s m a n d v ice , a t h e i s m a n d i n t o l e r a n c e ! A n d t h e s e m i s ­
e r a b l e c r e a t u r e s a r e i t s t r u l y c h a r a c t e r i s t i c f r u i t s ! I s t h i s to
c o n tin u e? L e t u s hope fo r b e tte r th in g s . L e t u s lea g u e to ­
g e t h e r a n d d e v o t e o u rs e l v e s to a l if e - l o n g c r u s a d e a g a i n s t t h e
g r o w i n g d e m o ra liz atio n and m ate ria lism of tho age. I f y ou a sk
w h a t w e , a m e r e h a n d f u l , a s i n g l e d r o p in t h e h u m a n o c e a n
o f t h i s vast, r e a l m , w e , u u k n o w n a n d f e e b l e , c a n p o s s i b l y
a c h i e v e , I r e p l y t h a t u o m a n is so w e a k o r so h u m b l e a s to
bo u n a b l e t o a i d b o t h d i r e c t l y a n d i n d i r e c t l y t h o c a u s e of t r u t h
a n d p r o g r e s s , a n d t h a t e v en if I Stood a l o n e —-I, a n o t h i n g ,
a u d a no o n e — I s h o n id y e t by no m e a n s d e sp a ir of acc o m ­
p l i s h i n g som e go od. B u t I d o n o t s t a n d a l o n e , — n a y 1 a m s u r -
r o n n d e d b y a c r o w d o f y o u , m y B r o t h e r s b o u n d by t h e s a c r e d
o b l i g a t i o n s o f o u r B r o t h e r h o o d t o b a t t l e si d e b y s i d e , f o r t h e
r i g h t , a n d f a r t h e r w e ( h a n d f u l a s y o u p h r a s e i t ) we e v e n d o
n o t s t a n d alo n e, b u t su p p o r te d b y , a n d lin k e d t o g e t h e r w i t h
th e g r e a t a n d g r o w in g p o w e r o f t h e T h eo so p h ic al Society, th e
l a te s t a n d b e st g if t to m a n k i n d of t h a t illa s trio u s B r o t h e r ­
h o o d of A d e p t s a l r e a d y so o f t e n r e f e r r e d t o . F o r g r e a t a s is
" th o d e b t t h a t w e ow e t o o u r d e a r f r i e n d s , M a d a m e B l a v a t s k y
a n d C o lo n e l O l c o t t , t h e B e lf - d e n y in g a n d d e v o t e d A p o s t l e s of
t h i s h o l y c a u s e , w e m u s t n e v e r f o r g e t t h a t i t is o u r o w n i l l u s ­
trio u s c o u n tr y m e n , th e M a h a tm a s , m o stly s p r a n g fro m th is
Bacred M o t h e r - I a u d , w h o a r e t h o r e a l o r i g i n a t o r s o f T h e o s o ­
p hy, w hich d esign ed a n d g u i d e d b y th e m , m u s t y e a r by y ear,
d e v e l o p till n o t o n l y a l l I n d i a b a t a l l m a n k i n d h a v e b e e n
m a d e p a r t i c i p a t o r s in t h e T r u t h . ”
TH E S IIY L O C K S OF LA H O RE .
. ( to a l l o u r m e m b e r s the w orld o v e r .)
“ M a n y a r e c a l l e d , b u t f e w c h o s e n ” — is a s a y i n g , t h a t , t o
o u r g r e a t re g re t, a p p lies to o u r S o c ie ty co llectiv ely , a n d to a
c e r ta in n u m b e r of its m e m b e r s in d iv id u a lly , to p e rfe c tio n .
N u m ero u s arc th e B ran ch es sp ru n g fro m th e P a r e n t tru n k ,
a n d s t i ll m o r e n u m e r o u s t h e F e l l o w s w h o h a v e b e e n a d m i t t e d
w i t h i n its fo ld . E v e r y m e m b e r h a d , u p o n e n t e r i n g it, d e c l a r e d
h i m s e l f o v e r h is o w n s i g n a t u r e — a s “ b e i n g i n s y m p a t h y w i t h
t h e o b j e c t s of t h e T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i c t y a n d a c q u a in te d w i t h
i t s r u l e s , ” r e p r e s e n t e d b y h i s t w o s p o n s o r s — ( “ f e l l o w s in g o o d
sta n d in g ” ) as a n in d iv id u a l w ho w o u ld be “ a w o rth y m e m ­
b e r ” of th e So ciety , a n d h a d p le d g e d h is so le m n w o r d o f h o n o r ,
to “ a b stain fro m doing a n y th in g t h a t m a y b rin g d iscred it u p o n
t h e S o c i e t y o r i t s officers.” T h e a b o v e q u o t e d s e n t e n c e s , a s
e v e r y o n e k n o w s , s t a n d p r i n t e d in t h e f o r m s o f t h e A p p lic a tio n
a n d t h e O b lig a tio n of t h e “ R u l e s ” of t h e S o c i e t y . B e s i d e s
th ese p ro m ises m a d e in th e p re sen c e of w itnesses, th e r e a ro
o t h e r o b lig a tio n s a s sa c re d , to w h i c h th e c a n d i d a t e b in d s
h im s e lf d u r i n g h is initiation, su ch, f o r in sta n c e , as th e re c o g ­
n i t i o n of t h e r i g h t o f e v e r y o t h e r T h e o s o p h i s t t o e v e r y p r i v i ­
le g e h e w o u l d h a v e f o r h i m s e l f , p r o m i s i n g t h a t t h e b e l i e f of
o t h e r m e m b e r s w i l l e n jo y so f a r a s h e is c o n c e r n e d , t h a t t o l e ­
r a t i o n a n d r e s p e c t “ w h i c h h e d e s i r e s , e a c h a n d o f a ll h i s
b r o t h e r - m e m b e r s to e x h ib it in r e g a r d to h is o w n f a i t h ”
- (O b je c ts o f th e S o c i e t y , ^ . 5 — 6 ) . T h e s e o b l i g a t i o n s , a n d m a n y
o th ers, a re c a re fu lly e x p la in ed to each c a n d id a te , e ith e r by
t h e P r e s i d e n t i n i t i a t o r h i m s e l f , h i s d e l e g a t e , o r b y l e t t e r s in
th e correspondence t h a t g e n era lly precedes th e form al accept­
a n c e of, a n d a d m i t t a n c e t o . f e l l o w s h i p o f e v e r y p r o p o s i n g
m e m b e r . N o T h e o s o p h i s t l ia s t h e r i g h t to p l e a d i g n o r a n c e
of t h e s e r u l e s , o r to s h o w d i s a p p o i n t m e n t a n d c o m p l a i n a f t e r
lie h a s o n c e j o i n e d t h e S o c i c t y — s i n c e e v e r y p o i n t is c a r e f u l l y
e x p l a i n e d t o h i m a n d h e is e x p r e s s l y t o l d e v e r y t h i n g th a t ho
h a s, a n d w h a t h e h a s n o t, t o e x p e c t . O n e o f t h e p o i n t s i n s i s t e d
u p o n t h e m o s t is, t h a t n o m a n w h o j o i n s t h e T h e o s o p h i c a l
b o d y , s i m p l y o u t o f c u r i o s i t y o r i n t h e h o p e of p e n e t r a t i n g
its a lle g ed m y sterie s, a n d sa tis fy h is t h i r s t fo r p h e n o m e n a ,
n e e d j o i n i t a t a l l ; a n d t h e c a n d i d a t e is e x p r e s s l y t o l d t h a t if
h e s e e k s a d m i t t a n c e i n t h o e x p e c t a t i o n of b e i n g t a u g h t b y
t h e F o u n d e r s t h e o c cu lt sciences, o r of se in g th e m p e r fo r m fo r
his benefit “ m ira c le s” a n d w o n d e rs, h e c an do no b e tt e r th a n
w ith d r a w his a p p lic a tio n a n d re n o u n c e fe llo w sh ip a t once,
s i n c e n i n e t i m e s o u t of t e n h e w i l l fi n d h i m s e l f d i s a p p o i n t e d .
I f in th e c o u rse of tim e , a n d a f t e r a c e r ta in p e rio d of p r o b a ­
t i o n h e i s f o u n d r e a l l y a s w o r t h y a s h e is w i l l i n g , t l i e n h o m a j / b o
p u t i n t h e w a y o f c o m in g in to c lo ser re la tio n s w i t h th e M a s t e r s ;
a n d , t h e l a t t e r w i l l i n g , h e m a y e v e n h o p e t o b e a c c e p t e d a s c h ela ,
i.e ., re ce iv e d , a s e ith e r a “ la y ,” a “ p r o b a ti o n a r y , ” a n d l a t e r o n a
“ r e g u l a r ” o r a c ce p te d c h e l a ; a l l t h i s d e p e n d i n g u p o n h i s f a m i l y
d u t i e s , so c i a l s t a t u s , a n d h i s m e n t a l a n d p h y s i c a l fitness. T h e
la tte r ch an ce b e in g v e ry r a re ly giv en , a n d m ost m en show in g
n o p r o p e r r e q u i s i t e s f o r i t — th e str o n g e s t d e sire , u n le s s p r o m p t­
ed by u t te r l y u n s e l f i s h m o tiv e s b e in g o f l i t t l e i f a n y use—
t h e S o c i e t y t a k e s t h e g r e a t e s t e a r e t o h a v e a ll t h i s c l e a r l y e x ­
p la in e d b e fo re h a n d , lest th e F e llo w a f te r jo in in g sh o u ld feel
d is a p p o in te d a n d re p e n t. E v e n in th is l a t t e r e m e r g e n c y a
c h a n e e is g i v e n t o h i m . H e m a y resign ; and, w h e n a p o o r
m a n ( t h e u s u a l fee i n t h i s c a s e a s i n s o m e o t h e r s , b e i n g v e r y
often re m itte d to th e a p p lic an t,) w h o h as n ev erth eless c o m p lied
w i t h t h e r u l e a n d p a i d h i s R s . 10, if h e c a n p r o v e t h a t f o r
one c au se o r a n o th e r he w a s w ittin g ly or u n w ittin g ly led in ­
t o e r r o r b y s o m e t o o z e a l o u s t h e o s o p h i s t , — h i s fe e is r e t u r n e d
t o h i m . T h e o n l y t h i n g t h a t r e m a i n s b i n d i n g u p o n , a n d is
c e r t a i n l y e x p e c t e d f r o m h i m , is t h a t h e s h a l l n o t r e v e a l t h o
“ s i g n s a n d p a s s w o r d s ” of t h e S o c i e t y ( R u l e s , p. 6, p a r a . 2) n o r
giv e o u t “ w h a tso e v e r in fo rm a tio n co n n ected w ith th e leg iti­
m a t e w o r k o r r e s e a r c h e s of t h e S o c i e t y , w a s c o m m u n i c a t e d t o
h i m , a s a m e m b e r of t h a t S o c i e t y , i n c o n f i d e n c e ” ( O b l i g a ti o n ) ,
to k e e p w h ic h , s e c re t a n d in v io la b le h e h a s p le d g e d hia
“ m o s t s o l e m n a n d s a c r e d P R O M i S E ” o v e r h i s o w n s i g n a t u r e , and.
r e p e a t e d i t v e r b a l l y d u r i n g h i s i n i t i a t i o n . A l l t h i s , of c o u r s e ,
h e h a s to “ f a i t h f u l l y k e e p s e c re t” u n d e r th e p e n a lty of b e in g
p r o c l a i m e d b y e v e r y h o n e s t m a n — a d is h o n e s t sc o u n d re l.
S u c h b e i n g t h e c a s e , a ll t h e F e l l o w s d u l y w a r n e d a n d t lio
lim its to t h e i r e x p e c ta tio n s c le a r ly d r a w n f o r t h e m , a d issa tis­
fied m e m b e r o f o u r S o c i e t y h a s t h e r i g h t t o q u i e t l y w i t h d r a w
f ro m t h e A sso c ia tio n b y r e s i g n in g h is fello w sh ip . I n no caso
h a s h e a n y ex cu se f o r p u b lic ly c o m p la in in g ; le a st of a ll h a s h o
a n y r i g h t t o c r i t i c i z e t h e p o l ic y o f t h e F o u n d e r s , a n d c o u n c i l ,
o r t o d e n o u n c e t h e m w h e t h e r o r a l l y o r i n p r i n t . B y so
d o in g h e b r e a k s t h e R u l e s a n d h is solem n p led g e , a n d h a s to
e x p e c t t o b e p r o c l a i m e d a s a d i s h o n e s t m a n t o a ll h i s F e l l o w
B ro th e rs ,— th e S o c iety h a v in g to be w a r n e d in good tim e of
i ts t r a i t o r s a n d t r a d u c e r s . A r t . X V ( p a g e 2 2 ) of t h e R u l e *
is e x p l i c i t u p o n t h i s p o i n t .
. “ A n y F e llo w , luho m a y be p ro v e d , to th e s a tis fa c tio n o f th e
C o u n c il, to h a ve s la n d e r e d a n y B r o th e r or S i s t e r T h e o s o p h is t,
or to h ave w r itte n or u tte r e d a n y ivords c a lc u la te d to i n ju r e su c h
i u a n y iv a y , w i l l be r e q u ir e d to s u b s ta n tia te th e c h a rg e s in v o lv ­
ed, or f a i l i n g to J o so, i n th e o p in io n o f th e m a j o r i t y o f thn
C o u n c il, w i l l be i n v ite d to re s ig n , or w i l l be e x p e lle d , as m a ij
seam good to th e P r e s id e n t i n C o u n c il, a n d th e n a m e o f the.
p e r s o n so r e s ig n in g or e x p e lle d s h a ll be p u b lis h e d i n th e J o u r ­
n a l o f th e S o c ie ty , a n d th e r e a fte r a l l B r a n c h e s w i l l be r e q u ir e d
to r e fu s e f e l l o w s h i p to th e p e r s o n th u s e x c lu d e d f r o m th e
S o c ie ty .” '
N o w o u r S ocicty, as w a s e x p la in e d even to th e o u tsid o
p u b lic re p e a te d ly , h a s one g e n e ra l, a n d sev eral— if n o t m in o r,
a t l e a s t les s p r o m i n e n t a i m s . T h e e a r n e s t p u r s u i t of o n o
o f t h e l a t t e r — o c c u l t s c i e n c e in t h i s c a s e — f a r f r o m b e i n g
r e g a r d e d a s t h e c o m m o n d u t y a n d t h e w o r k o f a ll, is l i m i t e d
f o r th e re a s o n s g iv e n a b o v e to a v e r y s m a ll f a c tio n o i
t h e S o c iety , its p u r s u i t r e s t in g w i t h t h e p e rso n a l t a s te s a n d
a s p i r a t i o n s of t h e m e m b e r s . A s t o t h e f o r m e r — t h e chief:
a i m s of t h e T h e o s o p h i c a l F r a t e r n i t y — i t is h a r d l y n e c e s ­
s a r y to r e m i n d a n y F e l l o w o f w h a t i t is. O u r f u n d a m e n ­
t a l o b j e c t is U n iv e r s a l B ro th e r h o o d , k i n d f e e l i n g s a n d
m o r a l h e l p p r o f e r r e d t o a ll a n d e v e r y B r o t h e r , w h a t e v e i:
h is c re e d a n d v iew s. B a s e d u p o n th e c o n v ictio n , t h a t
a B r o t h e r h o o d of a l l f a i t h , a n d d e n o m i n a t i o n s c o m p o s e d of
T h e ists a n d A th e is ts , C h r is tia n s a n d G en tiles t h r o u g h o u t t h o
w o r l d , m i g h t w i t h o u t a n y o n e s u r r e n d e r i n g liis p a r t i c u l a r
o pinion be u n i te d in to one s t r o n g S o c iety o r F r a t e r n i t y f o r
m u t u a l h e l p , a n d h a v i n g o n e a n d s a m e p u r p o s e i n v i e w — i. e.,
t h e r e l e n t l e s s , t h o u g h a t t li c s a m e t i m e c a l m a n d j u d i c i o u s
p u r s u i t of T r u t h w h e r e v e r f o u n d especially in R e lig io n a n d
S c i e n c e — i t is t h e f i r s t d u t y of o u r S o c i e t y a s a u n i t e d b o d y
t o e x t i r p a t e e v e r y w e e d t h a t o v e r g r o w s a n d stifle s t h a t t r u t h
w h ic h o n ly c an be one a n d e n tire. T h e b e st recognized w ay
t o m a k e b o t h t h e P s y c h o l o g i c a l a n d P h y s i c a l s c i e n c e s a s a ll
s e c ta ria n a n d d o g m a tic relig io n s y ie ld t h e i r re sp ec tiv e v e ri­
tie s , is i n c o n s t r u i n g t h e m t o t a k e t h e m i d d l e p a t h b e t w e e n
t h e e x t r e m e s of o p i n i o n . T h e m e n of s c i e n c e — e s p e c i a l l y t h o
e x t r e m e m a t e r i a l i s t s — b e i n g o f t e n as b i g o t e d i n t h e i r d e n i a l ,
a n d as in to le ra n t of c o n tra d ic tio n as th e th eo lo g ian s a re in
t h e i r s e l f - a s s e r t i o n s a n d a s s u m e d i n f a l l i b i l i t y , t h e r e is n o t
m u c h c h o i c e l e f t i n t h e t r e a t m e n t of, o r t h e a t t i t u d e t o b o
chosen to w a r d bo th . N e v erth e le ss, th e r e b e in g a n abyss
b e t w e e n t li c m e t h o d s a n d c l a i m s of s c i e n c e a n d r e l i g i o n , t h o
f o r m e r b e i n g b a s e d u p o n cjoso o b s e r v a t i o n , e x p e r i m e n t a n d
t h e m a th e m a tic a l d e m o n s tra tio n of w h a t it does k n o w a n d
( h e l a t t e r r e s t i n g m e r e l y u p on f a i t h o r a n t i - e m p i r i c a l o b s e r ­
v a tions a n d p e rs o n a l e m otional d e d u c tio n s th e re fro m , v e ry
n a tu r a lly — a n d th o u g h th e y h a v e to h e to le ra te d a n d o u t­
w a rd ly re sp e c te d on th e principles of m u tu a l in d u lg e n c e for
o u r re sp e c tiv e s h o rtc o m in g s a n d fa llib ility of h u m a n opin io n —
t h e r e l i g i o u s a n d v a r i o u s p e r s o n a l a n d s e c t a r i a n b e l i e f s of
o u r F ello w s c a n n o t y e t b e a lw a y s t a k e n in to c o n sid e ra tio n o r
e x a l t e d a b o v e p l a i n f a c t s a n d s c i e n t i f ic d e m o n s t r a t i o n s . I n
o t h e r w o r d s , r e a d y a s w e a l l m a y a n d m u s t b e to a v o i d h u r t ­
in g th e relig io u s fe elin g s a n d even th e p re ju d ic e s of o u r
b r o t h e r s , w e c a n n o t p r o m i s e t o b e e v e r f o r e g o i n g w h a t in o u r
h o n e s t c o n v i c t i o n s is t r u t h , l e s t w e s h o u l d i n a d v e r t i n g l y e x ­
p o se t h e e r r o r o f a b r o t h e r , m u c h a s i t m a y a p p e a r t o h i m
a lso t r u t h . *
T h e g re a te s t, as th e m ost m ischievous fe a tu re of f a n a ­
t i c i s m — t h e s y n o n y m i n m o s t c a s e s of i n s a n e c o n c e i t a n d a
se lfis h r e v e r e n c e f o r o n e ’s p e r s o n a l c o n c l u s i o n s a n d s e l f - a s s e r ­
t i o n s r e g a r d e d a s i n f a l l i b l e — is t h e f a n a t i c a l p e r s e c u t i o n o f
opinions a n d p e rso n s h o ld in g t h e m w h e n e v e r t h e y c la sh w ith
t h e p r e c o n c e i v e d v i e w s of t h e p e r s e c u t o r s . A n d , s i n c e t h e
la tte r h a v e a lw ay s p ro v e d a n im p e d im e n t to b o th p ro g re s s
a n d t r u t h , h e n c e — t h e T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y is p l e d g e d c o llc c -
tiv e ly to w a g e in ce ssan t w a r, c o m b a t a n d d e n o u n c e e v e ry
su o h o u t b u r s t o f b ig o tr y a n d in to le r a n c e — t h e m o s t fiendish,
i n j u r i o u s a n d d e g r a d i n g of a ll f e e l i n g s . T h u s o n l y c a n
t h o j e a l o u s y , h a t r e d a n d m u t u a l p e r s e c u t i o n a m o n g se c ts ,
w h ic h to th e d is tra c tio n of u n d e te r m i n e d y e t s e rio u s-m in d e d
p e o p le , a n d t h e s c a n d a l o f t h o s e w h o a c c e p t o n l y f a c t s u p o n a
s c ie n tif ic b a s i s n o w so p l e n t i f u l l y a b o u n d — b e g r a d u a l l y d e s ­
tr o y e d a n d , p e rh a p s , e x tin g u is h e d fo r ever.
H a s th e above p r o g r a m m e b een c a rrie d o u t as o rig in ally
in te n d e d b y e ith e r o u r B ra n c h e s o r in d iv id u al m e m b e rs ?
W i t h t h e e x c e p t i o n of a f e w s e l f - s a c r i f i c i n g d e v o t e d F e l l o w s , t r u e r e l i g i o u s v i e w s of t h e F o u n d e r s — w h o a r e , if a n y t h i n g ,
it c e rta in ly h a s n o t even b e e n a tte m p te d , since o u r b e st
“ a c t i v e ” f e l l o w s w h i l e c a r r y i n g o u t o n e p a r t of t h e p r e s c r i b ­
e d p r o g r a m m e , o n t h e p r i n c i p l e o f “ l iv e a n d l e t l i v e ” t h e y
y e t k e e p s ile n t (e v e n t h e e d ito rs of d a ilies a n d w e e k lie s )
before t h e m a n i f e s t a t io n s o f i n d iv id u a l a n d se c ta r ia n f a n a t i ­
c is m , a l l o w i n g e v e n s u c h v i o l e n t r e l i g i o u s r i o t s a s t h a t w h i c h S. H . A g n i h o t r i , — w h o s a y s i n h i s l e t t e r t h a t if t h e i d e a of
took r e c e n tly place a t C olom bo, b e tw e e n th e B u d d h i s t s a n d
th e R o m a n C ath o lics to p a ss u n n o tic e d . I n d e e d , t h e B ib lic a l
* Tims to our Brother, lirahmabadi S. N. Agnihotri, who comp'ained d e n o u n c i n g i t ) b u t i n d u t y b o u n d t o c r u s h it, a l t o g e t h e r . ”
that liis article “ Personal aud Impersonal God and the Founders of the
T. S.” directed against us was not published in our magazine, though it
was written in no “ spirit of hostility or malice,” we would say the
following: “ Were you uota member of the Theosophical Society, but a
simple religious opponent, your artiele would have been published. But
since you break iu the latter every prescribed rule of your Society,
which you have pledged yourself on your solemn word of honour to pro­
tect, abstaining from doing anything that may be prejudical to i t ; and
since, besides being sectarian nnd intolerant, it is as dogmatic and op­
posed to our policy as it can be, so long as you are a Fellow you have no
right to demand its insertion in its present form. What right have
you, for instance, to instigate one half of tho population (or even of the
Brotherhood) against tho other half ? Who gave you as a Theosophist
permission or commission to traduce, denounco and accnse your Brother
Members—the Buddhists, the Pantheists, the Adwaitees, and the Free­
thinkers and Atheists whose convictions are as honest and as sincero ns
your own iu the following strains :
"So far as their (the Founders) teachings are calculated to awake the
minds of onr countrymen towards the greatness of their forefathers,
and their old literature, so far as it proves to rouse in them tho neces­
sity and culture of moral principles...... so far, I say, let the whole India)
from Himalaya to Ciipe Comorin, appreciate and rejoice in, and be
thankful for, their teachings. But should they in their zeal, or rather
ovei-zeal, attempt, as the attompt is already being made, to uproot our
faith from tho very Being whom our Aryan forefathers, tho adepts of
the £cionco of Religion, declared the “ Life of Life” and Being of Beings,”
a person (?) tho source of all morality and gooduessj let them be critd
tininn by the whole people of this vast Peninsula.”
Tho “ whole people” will not heed the untheosophical instigation for the
flimp’e reason that most of them, w'ith the exception of the two hand-
fitlls of Brahmos and Aryas are either Polytheists, Pantheists, Jains, or
Adwaitoes, none of theso believing in ono “ Iswar” and in most cases
in that of tho Jains and Adwaitees—in no “ Iswar” at all. But what
rii^ht—we say—has tho writer to force upon or preach his own sectarian
views and beliefs, deprecating their religion or religions to other mem­
bers and Follows (Art V I of Rules) ?lf he wnnts to believe that tho
“ Life of Life” is a “person” he has every right to, nnd no one inter­
feres with, his belief. Why then should he interfero with that of
others? If the belief of many of his brother fellows conflicts with
his—anti he knew it before hand—why should ho have joined at all ?
And oncc he has voluntarily joined he has to conform to the regula­
tions and rules or—resign. Unless ho makes his choice, and abstains
iu future from such letters, he will havo no ono to blame if the Council
“ after dne warnings” pnnishes him for tho violation of this clause “ by
suspension or expulsion at the discretion of the President-Founder
aud General Council.” (Rales, A.rt. VI.) Oar rules must be wid they
shall bo respected,—Ed. '-
p a r a b l e of t h e s o w e r a n d t h e s e e d s a p p l i e s p e r f e c t l y i n t h e
case in h a n d . S o w n b r o a d c a s t , t h e s e e d s o f m e m b e r s h i p f e ll
in so m e ( h a p p ily fe w ) cases in to q u e e r places a n d b r o u g h t
f o r t h a s q u e e r f r u i t s . — •“ S o m e s e e d s f e l l b y t h e w a y - s i d e
a n d th e fo w ls ( o u r op p o n e n ts) c a m e a n d d e v o u re d t h e m
u p ” ; . . . s o m e “ f e ll u p o n s t o n y p l a c e s , ” a n d h a v i n g n o t d e e p ­
n e s s of e a r t h , f o r t h w i t h t h e y s p r u n g w i t h p r o m i s e a n d e n t h u s i ­
a sm , a n d as t h e y h a d n o r o o t in th e m , “ th e y w i t h e r e d
aw ay .”
N e v e rth e le ss , a n d w e m a y say th e y a re in th e m a jo rity , som e
of t h o “ s e e d s ” f a l l i n g i n t o r e a l l y g o o d g r o u n d , t h e y b r o u g h t
f o r th f r u i t “ so m e th irty -fo ld , som e sixty-fold a n d som e
h u ndred-fold.” S u c h m em b e rs are the p rid e a n d g lo ry of
t h e S ociety. A n d b e c a u se th e y a re t r u e a n d h o n e st, u n f l i n c h ­
i n g l y d e v o t e d a n d r e a d y t o d ie f o r t h a t w h i c h t h e y k n o w
to be t r u t h , — t h o u g h a s r e a l T h e o s o p h is ts t h e y n e i t h e r fo rce
n o r p ro c la im to u n w i l li n g e ars t h e i r f a ith a n d k n o w le d g e ,
th e y are h a te d a n d persecu ted by th e ir ow n b ro th er-m em b e rs
w h o h a v e r e m a i n e d a s b i g o t e d as b e f o re t h e y j o i n e d o u r
Society. T h e s e a r e t h e m e m b e rs b o rn fro m t h e seeds
t h a t “ f e ll a m o n g t h o r n s , a n d t h e t h o r n s s p r u n g u p a n d
ch o k ed t h e m ” — t h e t iio e n s o f b it t e r s ec ta r ia n is m and
BIGOTRY. ,
T h u s , s o m e of t h e L a h o r e m e m b e r s o f t h e l o c a l T h e o s o ­
p h ic a l S o c ie ty — we d o n o t e it h e r call o r c o n sid e r th e m as
T h eo so p h ists— those of t h e m a t a n y ra te , w h o a re a tta c h e d
to , o r c o n n e c t e d w i t h , t h e A r y a - S a m a j , e v e n b e f o r e t h e r u p t u r e
of t l i e i r b o d y w i t h t h e T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y , h a v e s h o w n u n ­
m is ta k a b le s ig n s of s t e a d y a n d a ctiv e o p p o sitio n n o t o n ly
t o w a r d t h e F o u n d e r s , b u t t o w a r d e v e r y f e l l o w of a n o t h e r
creed, w h e t h e r he w as o rth o d o x H in d u , a B ra h m o , a B u d d h is t,
o r a f r e e - t h i n k e r . W h y t h e y h a v e j o i n e d u s a t a l l is s t i ll a
m y s t e r y . I f w c a r c t o l d t h a t i t w a s d o n e i n i g n o r a n c e of t h e
e s o t e r i c B u d d h i s t s o r A d w a i t e e s w h i c h is a l l o n e — t h e n t h e y
w i l l b e a n s w e r e d th a t i t i s n o t tr u e , a n d o n t h e i r o w n c o n f e s ­
sions a n d a c c u sa tio n s. T h e y k n e w it th e n , as t h e y d o n o w ,
t h a t th e F o u n d e r s d isc ard e d e v ery idea of a p erso n a l god,
p recisely on th e p rin c ip le e n u n c ia te d b y o u r B r a h m o B ro th e r,
t h e p e r s o n a lity of g o d “ g o e s a g a i n s t y o u r ( o u r ) c o n v i c t i o n ,
y o u ( w e ) a r e n o t o n l y j u s t i f i e d i n d o i n g so, ( r e j e c t i n g a n d
T h e T h e o s o p h is ts of t h e A r y a S a m a j k n e w i t w e say, b e ca u se
t h e p r o o f is h e r e b e f o r e u s i n t h e f o o t - n o t e ( p a g e 3 ) of t h e
R e p l y to E x t r a S u p p l e m e n t o f th e “ T h e o s o p h is t,’’ w h i e h s t a t e s
c o m i c a l l y e n o u g h t h a t “ I n S e p t e m b e r 1880, w h e n a t M e e r u t ,
M m e . B l a v a t s k y , i n t h e p r e s e n c e o f . . . T h e o s o p h i s t s a n d a la rg e
n u m b e r o f A r y a g e n tle m e n , p o s i t i v e l y d e n i e d t h e e x i s t e n c e o f
(si p e r s o n a l, i f y o u p l e a s e ) g o d , o r a n y b l i n d f o r c e (P!) a s s h e
p l e a s e d t o n a m e it, a n d d e c l a r e d h e r s e l f a n a s t i c . .. ” &c.
P a ssin g u n n o ticed th is r a th e r confuscd a n d ju m b le d s ta te ­
m e n t (o f d e n y i n g in o n e b r e a t h a p e r s o n a l G o d a n d a b l i n d
F o r c e ) t h a t f a c t t h a t t h e A r y a S a m a j i s t s o f L a h o r e j o i n e d in
N o v e m b e r o f t h e s a m e y e a r , i. e., t w o m o n t h s a f t e r t h e sa id
d eclaratio n , p ro v e s conclusively t h a t th e y k n e w w h a t th ey
w e r e a b o u t . A s a ls o t h a t o t h e r f a c t , t h a t s i n c e t h e r u p t u r e
o n l y t w o o u t o f n e a r l y 2 0 S a m a j i s t s h a v e so f a r r e s i g n e d ,
sh o w in g p lain ly e n o u g h t h a t th e y do n o t m u c h m in d th e
p e r s o n a l o p i n i o n s of t h e F o u n d e r s ( a s e v e r y T h e o s o ­
p h i s t is i n d u t y b o u n d ) so l o n g a s t h a t b e l i e f i n t e r ­
f e r e s i n n o w a y w i t h t h e i r t li e i s t i e c r e e d . Y e t , r e m a i n ­
i n g T h e o s o p h i s t s i n n a m e , t h e y h a v e c o n s t a n t l y vilified
a n d tra d u c e d th e S ociety, th o M a ste r s a n d those w ho
b e l i e v e d a n d r e c o g n i z e d t h e l a t t e r — first b e h i n d t h e i r b a c k s ,
a n d n o w op e n ly a n d d e fia n tly a t pu b lic m e e tin g s a n d a sse m ­
b l ie s . N o w s i n c e n o T h e o s o p h i s t is a s k e d t o b e l i e v e i n a n y ­
t h i n g b e l i e v e d i n , o r p r o f e s s e d b y o t h e r m e m b e r s ; a n d s in c e
t h e T h e i s t s w o u l d b e i n f a r g r e a t e r d iffic u ltie s t o p r o v e c o n c l u ­
s i v e l y t h e e x i s t e n c e a n d p o w e r s of t h e i r p e r s o n a l G o d t h a n t h e
o c c u l t i s t s w o u l d if a s k e d t o d e m o n s t r a t e t h e a c t u a l e x i s t e n c e
a n d pow ers of th e ir M a h a tm a s ,— it becom es e v id en t t h a t such
a c o u r s e of a c t i o n , b e s i d e s b e i n g a g a i n s t t h e r u l e s a n d p o l ic y
of th e Society, sh o w s th e p re sen c e of a m alicio u s s p irit of in to ­
l e r a n c e a n d h a t r e d f o u n d b u t i n s e c t a r i a n b o d ie s . T h i s o d iu m
th c o lo g ic u m c u l m i n a t e d r e c e n t l y i n t h e f o l l o w i n g p r e t t y e x h i ­
b itio n , w e h e a r.
T h e P r e s id e n t of th e B a re illy , R o h ile n n d T heosophical
S o c i e t y , R a i B i s h e n L a l l , w h o w h s p a s s i n g t h r o u g h L a h o r e on
h i s w a y t o t h e n o r t h o n S o c i e t y ’s b u s i n e s s , s t o p p e d t h e r e f o r
a few days. H e w a s a c c o m p a n i e d b y a y o u n g c h e l a , w h o is a
R e c o g n iz e d p u p i l o f o n e of o u r M a s t e r s , a n d w h o l i v e d w i t h
h i m f o r s e v e r a l y e a r s . H e a r i n g of. t h i s t h e A r y a S o m a j i s t s ,
w h o w i l l h e a r of n o o t h e r G o d s a v e t h e i r I s w a r , a n d o f n o
o th e r p r o p h e t sa v e t h e i r M aharislii S w a m i D a y a n u n d , c o n ­
s p i r e d to d e f e a t t h e s e v e r a l T h e o s o p h i s t s , o f w h o m o n e a t l e a s t ,
n o t o n ly be lie v es in b u t p e rso n ally k n o w s his M a lia tm a . T h o
m i n o r R e ta ils o f t h e e v e n t w e d o n o t k n o w , n o r d o w e c a r e
to le a r n th e m . W h o e v e r w as th e first to e n te r ta in t h e b r illi­
a n t i d e a o f c h a l l e n g i n g to c h o p off, o r e v e n c u t h i s f i n g e r to
p r o v e th e e x is te n c e a n d p o w e rs of t h e M a h a t m a s , h a s o n l y
p r o v e d h i s u t t e r i n a b i l i t y t o p e r c e i v e t h e f i tn e s s o f t h i n g s .
I f — a t r u e T h eo so p h ist, his first d u t y w a s to s u p p o r t a n d p r o ­
t e c t t h e d i g n i t y of h i s S o c i e t y , b y n e v e r p e r m i t t i n g t h a t su c li
a n a b s u r d ta m a s h a s h o u l d p u b l i c l y t a k e p l a c e ; a n d i f o n e of
t h e bogus T h e o s o p h i s t s o f t h e A r y a S o m a j , h o w e v e r g r e a t h i s
p e r s o n a l i n c r e d u l i t y i n t h e r e a l i t y of t h e b e l i e f of h i s
b r o t h e r s — t li e d e v o t e e s of t h e M a h a t m a s , — h e h a d n o m o r e
l 'i g h t t o p r o p o s e s u c h a n e x p e r i m e n t t h a n w o u l d a n a n ti-
A r y a n T h e o s o p h is t to d e m a n d t h a t a n A r y a S a m a jis t sh o u ld
a l l o w t h e e x p e r i m e n t o f h a v i n g h i s h e a d c u t off, t o p r o v e t h e
e x i s t e n c e of h i s “ I s w a r ” a n d t h e p o w e r s o f h i s “ M a h a t m a ” —
D y a n u n d S w am i. I n short, as o u r ru le s fo rb id the p re a c h in g
of o n e ’s s p e c i a l c r e e d , so t h e y p r o h i b i t a n y c h a l l e n g e o f o n o
r e l i g i o n i s t t o a n o t h e r . N o t w i t h s t a n d i n g t h is , a n d t o o u r d i s ­
g u s t a n d su rp rise w e re a d th e fo llo w in g te le g ra m t h a t a p ­
p e a r e d i n t h e A m r i t a B a z a r P a tr ic a of A p r i l 5 t h .
( F r o m th e A m r i t a B a z a r P a tr ic a , A p r i l h th , 1 8 8 3 .)
W e h a v e rece iv e d th e fo llo w in g T e le g ra m , d a te d L ah o re,
A p r i l 3 r d :— •
R a i B i s l i e n L a l l , F . A . S . , F . T . S ., d e l i v e r e d a p u b l i c a d d r e s s
i n .S ik s h a s a b h a A n ja n i, P u n j a b prem ises. M o n s te r a tt e n d ­
ance. A b o u t one t h o u s a n d , p e r h a p s m ore. S u b je c t n atio n al
u n io n on basis of A r y a n p h ilo so p h y a n d n a tio n a l in te rests.
A n ad v an c ed C h e la fro m th e n o rth n a r ra te d p e rso n a l e x p eri­
ences in Y o g a v id y a oc cu ltism a n d co n se n te d to sh o w one te s t
p h e n o m e n o n . N o n e s u c c e e d e d i n c u t t i n g oft! h i s f i n g e r w e a r ­
i n g a n o c c u l t r i n g , t h o u g h o n e t r i e d h a r d w i t h a k n i f e . D o c t o r ’s
e x a m in a tio n s h o w e d n a t u r a l blood a n d bo n es. G r e a t e s t e n th u -
is a s m a n d r u s h . M e e t i n g e n d e d d i s o r d e r l y , f o r a l l a n x i o u s s e e ­
i n g m o r e m i r a c l e s . R e p r e s e n t a t i v e s f r o m d i f f e r e n t s o c ie tie s
a tte n d e d m eetin g . U n io n likely a m o n g a ll u n d e r th e o s o p h ie
banner.* F u r t h e r p a rticu la rs hereafte r.
W e h av e reaso n s to know how, a n d w h y it w as done b y th e
“ a d v a n c e d C h e l a . ” K n o w i n g t h e a v e r s i o n of h i s v e n e r a t e d
M a ste rs f o r all su c h e x h ib itio n s of E a tt a y o g a p h e n o m e n a ,
especially w h e n m a d e pu b licly , h e w o u ld h a v e n e v e r c o n s e n t­
ed to i t h a d n o t a n o th e r p e rso n , a b r o t h e r T h e o s o p h is t,
d e v o te d a n d tr u e , b u t r a t h e r too e n th u s ia stic , r i s k e d to h a v e
h i s o w n f i n g e r c h o p p e d off f o r t h e g r e a t e r g l o r y of t h e M a h a t ­
m as, w ho, a s h e believed, “ w o u ld n e v e r a llo w a t r u e fo llo w e r
of t h e i r s t o s u f f e r . ” E x p e c t i n g , a n d f u l l y c o n f i d e n t t h a t n o
m a n w o u l d ’s u c c e e d t o c u t h i m w h i l e h e w a s u n d e r t h e p r o ­
t e c t i o n of h i s M a s t e r , h e v e r y i m p r u d e n t l y v o l u n t e e r e d h i s
ow n finger. S e e in g th e d a n g e r e m in e n t, th e “ C h e la ” w h o h a d
b e tte r re aso n s t h a n h im to k n o w t h a t w h ile he h im s e lf w o u ld
a n d c o u l d n o t b e h u r t th e f i r s t tim e , h i s f e l l o w b r o t h e r w o u l d , f o r
h e h a d a s y e t b u t l i t t l e c l a i m u p o n t h e M a st e e s a n d w a s e v e n
i g n o r a n t o f t h e i r d i s l ik e t o s u c h e x h i b i t i o n s — p e r m i t t e d t h e
test p h e n o m e n o n as describ ed in th e te le g ra m . B u t th e u n b e lie ­
vers andscoffers w o u ld n o tr e s ts a tis f ie d w ith th e one e x p erim e n t.
As s ta te d in th e d isp a tc h th e y becam e d iso rd e rly . . . . “ a n ­
x i o u s t o se e m o r e m i r a c l e s . ” T h e y i n s i s t e d u p o n m a k i n g a
s e c o n d e x p e r i m e n t a n d p e r h a p s a t h i r d , if t h e C h e l a w o u l d o n l y
le t t h e m . T h e r e s u l t w a s , t h a t a t a p r i v a t e h o u s e t h e s a m e
B ro th e r h a v in g once m o re v o lu n te e re d his finger, a n d
de fie d h i s o p p o n e n t s t o c u t off a p i e c e a n d c a r r y i t a w a y , t h e
“ C h e l a ’-’ d e t e r m i n e d t h a t i f a n y o n e ’s b l o o d w a s t o b e sp i l t, i t
w o u l d n o t bo t h a t of h i s f r i e n d , s in c e t h i s f a c t w o u l d n e i t h e r
c h a n g e h i s b e li e f i n , Or k n o w l e d g e of, t h e p o w e r s o f t h e M a ­
h a t m a s , w h i l e h i s f r i e n d ’s h a n d m i g h t h a v e b e e n c r i p p l e d f o r
life. T h e r e f o r e h e p l a c e d h i s h a n d u p o n t h e c o v e r o f a p a m ­
ph le t, a n d s u r e of w h a t w a s i n s t o r e f o r h i m , i n v i t e d t h e L a ­
ho r e S h y j o c k s t o c u t . T h e y d i d so a n d c a r r ie d a w a y a s m a l l
p iece o f th e f in g e r i n t r i u m p h !
T h e C o u n c il a n d P re s id e n t w ill of course h a v e t h e m a t t e r
i n v e s ig a t e d . I f a n y m e m b e r of t h e T h e o s o p h ic a l S o c ie ty w ill
be f o u n d t o h a v e s i d e d w ith- t h o s e t h e i s t i c b u t c h e r s , h e w i l l
he e x p e l l e d a n d h i s n a m e p u b l i s h e d i n t h i s S u p p l e m e n t . T o
take a d v a n t a g e of t h e e n t h u s i a s m a n d c o n f i d e n c e p l a c e d i n
e ith e r G o d o r m o r t a l b y .a n y f e l l o w m a n — l e t a l o n e a b r o t h e r
T h e o s o p h i s t ^ ^ t o c u t a n d l a m e h i m — is d i s g u s t i n g i n t h e e x ­
trem e. B e s i d e s w h i c h i t i s a b s u r d , n o t t o u s e a s t i ll les s m i l d
* Tho answer to this last sentence please see in E ditor’s note follow­
ing “ Special T e le g ra m ” N, W. I’. Patriotic Association, ‘
ex p ressio n , since t h e e x p e r i m e n t p ro v e s n o th in g w h a t e v e r .
W e r e its su ccess o r n o n -su ccess to p ro v e a n y t h in g in su c h a n
e x p e r i m e n t , t h e n t h e w o r l d w o u l d h a v e t o t u r n a ll d u g p a s ,
s h a m a n s a n d s o r c e r e r s ; s i n c e i t is a r e c o g n i z e d f a c t t h a t s o m e
R e d -ca p L a m a s pub licly rip th e i r bow els open, ta k e th e m o u t,
a n d th e n h a v in g rep laced th e m , m ak e a few m esm e ric
p a s s e s o v e r t h e w o u n d a n d n o t e v e n a t r a c e o f t h e c u t is
l e f t . T h i s t h e y d o i n t h e n a m e of t h e i r “ D e v i l - G o d , ” a h i d -
d e o u s m o n s t e r w i t h h u n d r e d l e g s a n d a p i g ’s h e a d . W e i n ­
v ite th e A r y a S a m a jis ts to b e lie v e in t h e l a t t e r on t h e s a m e
p rin cip le. M o r e o v e r , w e r e g r e t t h a t t h e id e a of j u s t r e p r i ­
sals h a s n o t o c c u r r e d to o u r B r o th e r s . They o u g h t
t o h a v e o f f e r e d t h e i r o p p o n e n t s w h o b o a s t so l o u d l y of t h e i r
abso lu te fa ith in th e p o w e rs a n d k n o w le d g e of G od, to p ro v e
t h e a c t u a l i t y a n d p o w e r s of t h e i r I s w a r a n d S w a m i D a y a -
n u n d ’s t e a c h i n g s o n t h e s a m e p r a c t i c a l a n d e x p e r i m e n t a l d e ­
m onstration. W h e n , e ith e r a B ra h m o or a S a m a jis t w h o b o a stso f
p r o d u c i n g m i r a c u l o u s c u r e s i n t h e n a m e of, a n d “ t h r o u g h ” t h a
p o w e r of G od, co n sen ts to a llo w u s t h e e x p e rim e n t w ith a ra z o r
a n d defie s u s t o c u t o p e n h i s w i n d . p i p e ; a n d t h a t e v e r y e f f o r t
t o d r a w e v e n a d r o p o f b l o o d f a il s , t h e n w e p r o m i s e s o l e m n l y
t o b e c o m e a t h e i s t a n d r e c a n t a n d a b j u r e a ll o u r p a s t h e r e s i e s .
N o c rim e is t h e r e b y o f f e r e d . N e i t h e r t h e t h r o a t , n o r t h e h a n d
o r foot of t h e th eistic d ev o tee w ill r u n th e slig h te st risk, w a
p l e d g e o u r l if e a u d h o n o u r t o it. N o t r u e T h e o s o p h i s t w o u l d
e v er th in k of a v ailin g him self of th e a d v a n ta g e t h a t has been
so e a g e r l y s o u g h t f o r a n d t a k e n a t L a h o r e . N o tr u e T h e o s o ­
ph ist w o u ld e v er h a v e th e c ru elty of c a rry in g , M erchant-of-
V e n i c e - l i k e , n o t o n l y a p o u n d b u t e v e n a n a t o m off, h u m a n flesh,
ta k e n a w a y i n a p ie c e o f p a p e r . N o , w h a t w e o f f e r is n e i t h e r
cruel, n o r d a n g e ro u s . L e t a n y th e ist, w h e th e r B r a h m o o r A ry a ,
pub licly s u b m it h im self to th e above said ex p erim e n t ; let h im
a l l o w a n d d e f y a n y N a s tic a t o d r a w one d r o p , o n l y o n e s i n g l e
d r o p o u t o f a n y f l e s h y p a r t o f h i s b o d y h e w i l l h i m s e l f c h o o se .
I f no blood can be d r a w n — of course a fte r due m edical e xa­
m i n a t i o n — t h e n w e w i l l c o n f e s s o u r s e l v e s b e a t e n . W h o of
t h e m is w i l l i n g t o s t a k e h i s b e l i e f i n G o d a n d H i s m i r a c u l o u s
i n t e r v e n t i o n , u p o n t h e a p p e a r a n c e o r n o n - a p p e a r a n e e of a
d ro p of blood ? U n t i l t h e n w e p ro c la im p u b lic ly th e L a h o r e
e x p e r i m e n t e r ’s— b l o o d - t h i r s t y S l i y l o c k s , u n w o r t h y o f t h e
n a m e of m e n , l e a s t of a l l o f T h e o s o p h i s t s . S u e h a r e t h e f r u i t s
of s e c t a r i a n i s m a n d b i g o t r y . W e conclude b y r e m in d in g th e
m e m b e rs of t h e T h e o s o p h ic a l S o c iety r e s i d in g a t L a h o r e
o f c o u r s e w i t h s e v e r a l h o n o u r a b l e e x c e p t i o n s — of t h e f o l l o w ­
i n g r u le —
X I. T h e P a r e n t S o c i e t y , t h r o u g h tlie P r e s i d e n t - F o u u d e r ,
h a s t h e r i g h t to n u llif y a n y C h a r t e r w h e n su c h m a y a p p e a r
t o i t e x p e d i e n t , a n d t o d e c r e e t h e e x p u l s i o n of a n y F e l l o w , of
w h a t e v e r B r a n c h , f o r d i s g r a c e f u l c o n d u c t , o r t h e v i o l a t i o n ot
t h e b y e - l a w s o r r u l e s . T h e n a m e of t h e e x p e l l e d p e r s o n and.
t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e s o f h i s o ffen c e b e i n g r e p o r t e d t o a l l the.
B ra n c h e s, fe llo w sh ip w i t h h im as to S o c iety m a tte r s shall
c ea se . P r o v i d e d , n e v e r t h e l e s s , t h a t n o F e l l o w s h a l l b e e x p e l ­
led w ith o u t a n o p p o rtu n ity h a v in g b een g iv en h im for an
e x p la n atio n a n d defence. *
To
C olonel H. S. OLCOTT,
P .- F . , T. S .
We, the Members of the Beliar Theosophical Society,
beg to accord you a most hearty welcome to the chief
town of Beliar.
In the midst of various vicissitudes of fortune, India
was always looked with pride and consolation upon her
national literature. The first rays of Western science
seemed for a time to cover our S h a s tr a with the hue of
deception and untruth. But they have now stood the
trial of Western scrutiny aud Western criticism, and are
destined once more to take a lead in human thought and
researches. India will never forget that not a little of •
this revolutionary movement is due to the active exer­
tions of yourself and your noble colleague.
The elaborate rules laid down in the Yog philosophy,
the miuutest details about the pcaciiee and results of
Yog are either a deliberate hoax, unexcelled in magni­
tude by any other deception in the world, or there is a
nucleus of truth in them, though inaccessible by the light
* A fter the above was ip type we i-eceivod tlie official order of tho
President, founded iu connection w ith tlie Lahore Branch, which will
be found on the last colum n of this S u p p lem en t.— E d ,
 of Western science. Slowly and reluctantly, tlie Hindus
were being driven to the first conclusion; bnt your timely
advent-lias, by turning the current of national thought/’
saved them from such a national disaster.
Spiritual culture being at its lowest ebb, in this age
of materialism, its wonderful results were lost to the'
world, till psychic development was sought after, in that
land of light and liberty, to which you have the honor
to belong. The results achieved there are, however,
crudo and imperfect as compared with those attained in
this ancient land. But tlieir striking similarity has been
pointed out by yourself and your noble colleague.
Nothing can give greater satisfaction to the Indian mind
than to know that the modern scicnces of Mesmerism,
Spiritualism, Thought-Reading, Psycliometry, and others
of an alloyed nature are but imperfect forms of Indian
Occultism, w hich is the highest generalisation of all
psychic sciences. This has made fi strong appeal to our
national instincts, and has induced 113 , more than
anything else, to become members of the Theosophical
Society. Bankipore is the centre of intelligence in Behar,
and tlie outside educated community have shewn their
. willingness to become convinced of the truths of Theoso­
phy. We now once more, as Brothers, embrace you .and
most gladly offer ourselves to our brother’s service.
We are, dear Brother, fraternally yours,
Members of the Behar Theosophical Society.
{Follow signatures.)
THE LAH O RE B R A N C H AN D OTHER MATTERS.
The President-Founder has issued the following
official order :—
T i i e o s o h i i c a i , S o c i e t y , P r e s i d e n t ’s O f f ic e .
C am p P>ankijmr, 21-4-83.
I. It having become apparent that the interests of
tho cause to which the Theosophical Society is devoted,
will not bo promoted by tlie further continuance of tlie
Branch known as tho Punjab Universal Brotherhood and
Theosophical Society (Lahore), the Charter of- the said
Branch is, by virtue of the authority conferred upon tho
undersigned in Section IX of the Bye-Laws of 188-i,
horeby nullified, and tho Branch ceases to exist as such.
II. The officers of tho late Branch will be expected
to forward all official papers to tho Recording Secretary
and Treasurer, at Head-quarters, and the resignations of
all members who may wish to retire will be accepted
upon return of their diplomas. Other members will be
classed for the present as “ Fellows Unattached.”
III. The President-Founder, for the Parent Society,
repudiates all unauthorized attempts, by whomsoever
made, to implicate the Society, its Officers or General
Council, in any negociations for alliances with any Somaj,
Society or other organisation, or to pledge it to any
terms or conditions whatsoever, which have not been
officially ratified by the President-Founder in writing.
IV. The President-Founder is also in duty com­
pelled to deprecate as ill-advised, derogatory to tho
dignity of tho Society, and disrespectful to the revered
M a s t e r of Theosophical Science, every challenge or
acceptance of a challenge to exhibit psychical phenomena
before promiscuous audiences. He can but regard sucli
as a serious violation of the traditional law of secrecy
and of the sacredness of the relation between Guru and
Chela.
, V. And, lastly, members are strictly forbidden to
involve tho name of the Society as in support of or
opposition to any political movement whatever, in any
country or under any form of Government; the sphere of
the Society’s activity lying wholly outside that of political
agitation,
_ H. S. OLCOTT,
, P residen t, Theosophical Society.
A t t e s t :—•
N ivaban C handra M o o k e rji,
A cting P riva te Secretary,
C O L O N E L O L C O T T U P O N T H E L A T E RIOTS.
TO TI I E E D I T O R OF TI I E E X A M I N E R .
>S i r ,— T h o u g h I c a n n o t c o u n t upo n y o u r friendliness, I can —
Or o u g h t — u pon y o u r fa irn e ss, a n d I th e r e f o r e a sk p erm ission to
r e p ly to a r e c e n t a r tic le of yo ur^ upo n th e causes of t h e Kotuhem*
riots. Y o u t r a c e t h e p r e s e n t ill-feeling b e tw ee n th e B u d d h is ts
nn d H om a n C a th o lics to th e P a n a d u r e c o n tro v e rsy b etw een Migit-
t u w a t t e a n d t h e liev. D a v id Silva some y e a r s ago, f o r g e t t i n g thus
t h e l a t t e r w as a P r o t e s t a n t M in iste r and a lm o s t as m u c h oppoBed
to th o C a th o lics as M i g i t t u w a t t e h im self. T h a t t h a t a n d o t h e r
p u b lic d e b a t e s of t h e t im e insp ired t h e B u d d h i s t s w ith a
new a r d o u r for t h e i r re lig io n , and s t i rr e d u p a hostile feelin g
b e tw e e n t h e m as a b o d y a n d th e C h r i s t ia n a a s a b o d y , is
no d o u b t t h e fact. B u t if I mny j u d g e f r o m th o editoriul
u t t e r a n c e s of t h e C atholic M essenger a t t h e t im e when my
“ B u d d h i s t C a t e c h i s m ” a p p e a r e d , t h a t a n t a g o n i s m lmd tota lly
died away, a n d t h e r e was tho k in d lie st a n d m o st t o l e r a n t disposi­
tion b e tw ee n t h e m . As t h e M essenger is tho C a th o lic B isho p's
or g a n , y o u r s u r m i s e w ould seem scarcely c o rre c t. T lie sa m e o rg a n ,
111 s p e a k in g of m y la b o u r s to found B u d d h i s t schools, e xp ross thn
e n t i r e good w ishes of t h e C a th o lics fo r t h e m o v e m e n t as, if I
sh o uld su cceed, it w o u ld a n ta g o n i z e n o t t h e i r ih te r e s t s , b u t those
of t h e P r o t e s t a n t m is sio n arie s, w hom it c h a r g e d w ith fis'bing aftei‘
G o v e r n m e n t aid to h e lp t h e i r s e c ta ria n pro pa gand ist!! a n d n ot
to s p r e a d e d u c a tio n for i ts ow n sake. - W h a t 1 d i d or said did not,
th e r e fo r e , in t h e lea st t e n d to a w a k e n an' a n g r y fe elin g b e tw ee n
C a tholics a n d B u d d h i s t s . Y o u say t h a t “ t h e chief opposition
c a m e from t h e C a th o lic side, a n d also t h a t t h e c h ie f a t t a c k upon
Col. O lc o tt w as c o n d u c t e d in a Catholic n e w s p a p e r . ” Y ou aro
w r o n g : th e m o s t a b u siv e a tt a c k s , o rigin a l a n d selected, u p o n me
a p p e a r e d in y o u r P r o t e s t a n t e v e n in g c o n te m p o r a r y , a n d were
i g n o re d as s e d u lo u s ly as th o s e from e v e r y o t h e r q u a r t e r .
I have now been l e c t u ri n g in Ceylon t h r e e se asons, a n d I
c h a l l e n g e a n y bod y to c ite one w ord e ver by m e u t t e r e d t h a t is
c ir c u la t e d to pro vok e re p ris a ls by t h e B u d d h i s t s a g a i n s t those
w ho h a v e been d o i n g t h e i r u t m o s t to u u d e r ra i n e t h e i r anoestral
religion a n d p e r v e r t t h e i r c h il d r e n to a n o th e r . On t h e c o n tra r y
I havo e v e r y w h e r e s h o w n t h e p eaceablo a n d t o le r a n t sp i r i t of
B u d d h i s m , nn d u r g e d m y h e a re rs to live u p to t h e sa m e in every
p a rti c u l a r . I h a v e u r g e d t h e m to c r e a t e s n a tio n a l fund for th e
s u p p o r t of schools u n d e r B u d d h istic au spices, w h e r e t h e i r child ren
m i g h t h a v e in s t r u c t i o n u n d e r t e a c h e r s of tlie ir own fa ith . No
fair-inin dod m a n cun o b j e c t to this, c e rta in ly , no sec ta ria n, for
unless he b e a fa natic a l b ig o t h e m u s t realize t h a t people of o th e r
re lig io u s would n a tu r a ll y p r e f e r th e i r c h ild re n b r o u g h t up in
th e m , as he docs his ow u c h ild r e n in his.
N o , S i r : t h e a n t a g o n i s m t h a t is now sh o w in g its e lf n u i s t ba
t r a c e d b a ck t o t h e l i m e s of t b e P o r t u g u e s e a n d D u t c h rules,
w h e n — H i s t o r y te lls u s — t h e c ru e le s t, m o s t u n j u s t e n a c tm e n ts
w e re m a d e a g a i n s t t h e poor, u n o f f e n d i n g B u d d h i s t s , t h e i r p ries ts
were d r i v e n out, t h e i r s h r i n e s d e s tr o y e d , t h e le g i t im a c y of th e ir
c h ild r e n , u n l e s s b a p ti z e d , d e n ie d , a n d t h e i r t e n u r e of p r o p e rty
m a d e d e p e n d e n t up on t h e i r m ock a rq u ic s c c n c e in th e p a r a m o u n t
re lig io n . F r o m f a t h e r to son was t h u s h a n d e d down t h e convic­
tion t h a t t h e C h r i s t ia n p e o ple w e re a n u n j u s t people, a n d n o t h i n g
b u t t h e s p r e a d of E d u c a t i o n c an e v e r e r a d ic a te th e fe elin g of
h o s t i li t y . My work in C eylon will h e lp in t h a t d irec tio n , nnd to
sa y, as a s you h a s t il y d id , t h a t i t t e n d e d to p r o v o k e a n y such
r e li g i o u s conflict as t h a t a t K o t a h e n a , is a g r a v e in ju s ti c e .
I see in t h e C eylon p a p e r s t h a t a c e r ta in fa n a tic a l B u d d h i s t
p r i e s t a t B a la n g o d a h a s b e en p r e a c h i n g a g a i n s t C h r i s t ia n i ty in
t h e m o s t violent., ev en o b sc u r e , l a n g u a g e . I beljeve 1 k n o w the
perso n, a n d I also believe t h a t h e is t h e o nly one in t h e wholo
I s l a n d of th e sort, H e is re g a r d e d by t h e B u d d h i s t s t h e m s e lv e s
6s a l u n a tic , a n d 1 h a v e p e r s o n a l l y r e b u k e d h im in t h e s t r o n g e s t
t e r m s a t m y c o m m a n d l o r his d i s r e p u ta b l e b e h a v i o u r . I would
r a t h e r see B u d d h i s m c ollapse to m o r r o w t h a n s u r v i v e a t th o
expense of su c h a g r o s s p e r v e r s i o n of th e w h ole t e a c h i n g of its
fo u n d e r, a n d su c h a w r e t c h e d c o n t r a s t with H i s s t a in l e s s life.
A very c a r e f u l e x a m i n a t io n of t h e n e w s p a p e r a c c o u n ts of the
K o t a h e n a rio ts nnd of t h e t e s ti m o n y a t t h e i n q u e s t, has convin ced
m e t h a t t h e B u d d h i s t s w e r e n ot t h e a g g r e s s o r s ; a n d I th in k all
will a g r e e t h a t it w as m o s t u n f o r t u n a t e t h a t t h e C a th olic p riests
s h o u ld n o t havo u s e d t h e i r b o u n d le s s • influ ence w ith t h e i r
i g n o r a n t a n d f a n a tic a l p a r is h io n e r s t o p re v e n t th e a t t a c k up on a
body of m en , w o m e n a n d c h i l d r e n in a rc h in g in r e ligio us p r o ­
cession. I f y o u , Sir, a n d t h e c le rg y of all C h ristia n d e n o m in a tio n ?
will s e t t h e e x a m p l e of a g e n e r o u s to le r a n c e of o t h e r beliefs
t h a n y o u r ow n, a n d conoede to t h e B u d d h i s t s t h a t - p e a c e f u l
e n j o y m e n t of t h e i r a n c i e n t r e ligio us p riv ile g e s , w hich was
g u a r a n t e e d t h e m in t h e K a n d y a n C o n v e n tio n s of 1815 a n d 1817(F),
I t h i n k we sh a ll b e a r 1 1 0 . m ore of su c h bloody e m e n t e s a s t h a t
w h ic h h a s j u s t d i s g r a c e d Colom bo. A n d w h a t e v e r little influence
I o r th e T h e o s o p h ic a l S o c ie ty m ay possess, you may c o u n t u p o a
as p l e d g e d in a d v a n c e to su c h a policy.
I am, Sir,
Your obedient eervant,
HENEY S, OLCOTTi
B a n k i p u r , B u h a e , I n d I a, )
A p r i l 21 et, 1883.
 /Ocreativ
^com m ons
A ttrib u tio n -N o n C o m m e rc ia l-S h a re A lik e 3 . 0 U n p o r te d

Y o u are free:

to S h a r e — l o c o p y , d is trib u t e a n d t r a n s m it t h e w o r k

to R e m ix — to ad ap t th e w o rk

©
U n d e r th e f o llo w in g c o n d it io n s :

CD
A t t rib u t io n — Y o u m u s t a ttrib u te t h e w o r k in t h e m a n n e r s p e c if ie d b y t h e a u t h o r
o r l i c e n s o r ( b u t n o t in a n y w a y t h a t s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e y e n d o r s e y o u o r y o u r u s e o f
th e w o r k ) .

N o n c o m m e r c ia l — Y o u m a y n o t u s e t h is w o r k f o r c o m m e r c i a l p u r p o s e s .

S h a r e A lik e — I f y o u alter, t r a n s f o r m , o r b u ild u p o n t h is w o r k , y o u m a y d istrib u te

© th e r e s u lt in g w o r k o n l y u n d e r t h e s a m e o r s im ila r l i c e n s e t o t h is o n e .

W ith th e u n d e r s t a n d in g that:

W a i v e r — A n y o f th e a b o v e c o n d it io n s c a n b e w a i v e d if y o u g e t p e r m i s s i o n f r o m th e c o p y r ig h t
h o ld e r.

P u b lic D o m a in — W h e r e t h e w o r k o r a n y o f its e le m e n t s is in t h e p u b l i c d o m a i n u n d e r
a p p lic a b le law , t h a t s t a t u s is in n o w a y a ff e c t e d b y t h e lic e n se .

O th e r R ig h t s — I n n o w a y a r e a n y o f t h e f o llo w in g r ig h t s a ff e c t e d b y t h e lic e n se :

• Y o u r fa ir d e a lin g o r f a i r u s e rig h ts , o r o t h e r a p p lic a b le c o p y r i g h t e x c e p t i o n s a n d

lim itations;

• T h e a u t h o r 's m o r a l rig h ts;

• R i g h t s o t h e r p e r s o n s m a y h a v e e ith e r in t h e w o r k its e lf o r in h o w t h e w o r k is u s e d , s u c h
a s p u b l i c i t y o r p r i v a c y rig h ts.

N o t ic o — F o r a n y r e u s e o r d istrib u tio n , y o u m u s t m a k e c le a r to o t h e r s th e l i c e n s e t e r m s o f
th is w o r k . T h e b e s t w a y t o d o t h is is w it h a lin k t o t h is w e b p a g e .
 A MONTHLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO ORIENTAL PHILOSOPHY, ART, LITERATURE AND OCCULTISM:
EMBRACING MESMERISM, SPIRITUALISM, AND OTHER SECRET SCIENCES.
TO v r ; I
T H E R E TS N O R E L I G I O N H I G H E R T H A N T R U T H .
[Fam ily motto o f the M aharajahs o f B enares . ]
ELECTROSCOPE AND “ A S T R A L D O U B L E S ."
S ome Australian find American papers are very much
exercised with a new invention made by a Dr. Gnedra (?)
of Victoria (Australia), called the Electroscope. The
extraordinary achievements of the telephone ought to
have, by this time, farpiliarized people with the possibility
of every miraculous-like discovery and invention. Never­
theless, tins new appliance of electricity, if it proves true
to its promises, as—unless the whole story is a sale,—it
has already proved itself—will be reckoned as one among
the many, if not the most, marvellous inventions of the
age. It is claimed to be possible to convey by means
of electricity vibrations of light to not only hold converse
with one's most distant friends,—as already done by
means of t}ie telephone,—but actually to see them. We
are told by the R . P . Journal, which is responsible for
the story that:—
“ T h e tria l of t h i s w o n d e rfu l i n s t r u m e n t to o k pla c e a t M e l ­
b o u r n e on t h e 3 1 s t o? O c to b e r last, in th o p r e s e n c e ot' som e f o r t y
scientific a n d public m en , ond was a g r e a t success. S i t t i n g iu a
d a r k room , t h e y sa w p r o je o te d on a l a r g e d i s k of w h i t e b u r n i s h e d
m e ta l t h e race -co urse a t F l e m i n g t o n , w ith its m y r i a d h o s ts of
a ctive b e in g s . B a ch m i n u t e d e ta il stood o u t w ith p e r fe c t fidelity
t o th e o rig in a l, a n d a s t h e y looked a t t h e w o n d e r f u l p i c t u r e
t h r o u g h b in o c u l a r g las se s, i t was difficult to i m a g i n e t h a t t h e y
w ere n o t a c t u a l l y on t h e c o u r s e its elf a n d m o v in g a m o n g th o s e
w h ose a c tio n s t h e y qould so c o m p l e te ly s c a n .”
We are not told how many miles distant is Flemington
from Melbourne ; but were one in the moon and the other
ou earth, it would astonish us as little and would seem
as natural as though Flemington were in the same street
where the experiment is said to have taken place. Not
being informed so far of the principles of electricity act­
ed upon in this particular instance, we cannot compare
the means adopted for the projection of the a str a l “ hosts
of active beings” on the disk of burnished metal, with
those used by tho adepts and high Chelas to project the
reflections of themselves upon any givon point of space.
If one is purely electrical, the other is magneto-electrical;
but we suppose that, perhaps, with the exception of the
magnetic currents of the earth, the principles must be the
same. If the invention; aud its experiment are no fic­
tion—and we do not see why they should be—then science
is, indeed, on the verge of a partial discovery of adept
powers : we say advisingly “ partial” for, of course, physi­
cal science can never discover the part played in the
adept’s self-projection by her psychological sister w i l l ,
eveu though she were inclined to verify the actuality of
such powers. And yet having found out and admitted that
apace and even time could be annihilated by physical
apparatuses, we really do not see the great difficulty of
taking a step further aud admitting at least the possibili­
ty of psychological potencies in man ; potencies capable
of replacing successfully physical forces and using these
but as a basis of, and a complement for, objective manifes­
tations. The most serious impediment in the way of such
recognition is the complete ignorance of physical science
of all the potentialities contained in the astral light or aka-
sa. She admits the existence of ether, hypothetical though
it still remains for her, simply because were its actuality to
be rejected, the theories of light, heat and so many other
things would be nowhere, and that her most scientific
expositions would be upset. Why not admit on the same
principle the possibility of spectral apparitions, of tho
materializations of the spiritualists, of the double or tho
“ doppelgangers” of living persons, &c., rather than
encounter the tremendous difficulty of setting to naught
the collective evidence of the ages, aud that of 20 millions
of modern spiritualists, all eye-witnesses to various pheno­
mena who certify to their actuality. We would be glad ^
to learn whether the spectral appearances upon the disk,
cast any shadows ? This is a great point with the occul­
tists, many of whom can testify that the astral bodies of ^
living men— do not.
•-------*-------■
W ILL.
By L. A. S and eii s , F . T . S . .
........... “ S o r s d e V e n fa n c e a m i, r e v e ille s to i."
Itousseau.
( Schopenhauer's M otto.)
I t is w i t h t h e g r e a t e s t i n t e r e s t t h a t I r e a d t h o p r o f o u n d
a rticle b y T. S u b b a R o w , “ A P e rso n a l a n d a n Im p e rs o n a l
G o d , ” ( t o be c o n t i n u e d , i n t li e T h e o so p h ist o f F e b r u a r y A . C .)
— l o g i c a l l y a r r i v i n g a t a c o n d i t i o n of u n c o n s c i o u s n e s s , t h o u g h
c o n ta in in g th e p o te n tia lity of ev ery cond itio n of “ P r ^ g n a ,”
t h e o n ly p e r m a n e n t s ta te in tlie u n iv e rs e .
T h e t h e o r y o f t h e I d e a l i s t i c t h i n k e r J o h n S t u a r t M ill i.s
m e n t i o n e d i n c o n n e c t i o n , w h o is c e r t a i n l y t h e t y p e of
W e s t e r n Id e a lis tic p h ilo so p h y . .
B u t , t h e r e is a n o t h e r I d e a l i s t , a n o t h e r W e s t e r n t h i n k e r ,
w h o h a s e x p r e s s e d t h e s a m e l o n g b e f o r e J . S . M i l l iii o t h e r
w o rd s, b u t w i t h a c a n d i d r e fe re n c e to A s ia tic p hilo so p h y ,
a n d g iv e n th ese ideas a t t h e sa m e tim e a f a r m o re p a lp a b le
o b je c tiv ity , as f a r a s r e g a r d s o u r con scio u s w o rld .
P e r h a p s f o r t h e l a t t e r r e a s o n y o u r r e a d e r s m a y fi n d a n
i n t e r e s t i n h i s t h o u g h t s , w h i c h I a l l o w m y s e l f to r e n d e r as
f o l l o w s :—
“ T h e w o r l d is m y m e n t a l p e r c e p t i o n , ”— t h i s is a self-
e v id e n t t r u t h f o r e v e r y liv in g a n d d is c e r n in g b e in g , a lt h o u g h
m a n a l o n e c a n b r i n g i t i n t o a r e f l e c t i n g a b s t r a c t c o n s c io u s n e s s ,
a n d w h e n h e d o e s d o so, i n f a c t , t h e n p h i l o s o p h i c a l r e fl e c t i o n
h as b e g u n in him . T h e n a ls o i t b e c o m e s a c l e a r c e r t a i n t y
t o h i m , t h a t w h a t h e k n o w s is n o S u n , n o E a r t h , b u t o n ly
a n e y e t h a t se e s a S u n , a h a n d t h a t t o u c h e s a n E a r t h , t h a t
tlie s u r r o u n d i n g w o r l d is t h e r e o n l y a s a m e n t a l r e p r e s e n t a t i o n ,
i. e., a b s o l u t e l y i n r e l a t i o n t o s o m e t h i n g e ls e , w liie li s o m e ­
t h i n g e ls e is h i m s e l f . I f a n y t r u t h c a n b e p r o n o u n c e d a
p r i o r i , t h e n i t is t h i s o n e , t h e s t a t e m e n t o f t h a t f o r m o f a ll
p o s s ib l e a n d t h i n k a b l e e x p e r i e n c e s , m o r e u n i v e r s a l t h a n a ll
o t h e r s , m o r e so t h a n t i m e , s p a c e a n d c a u s a l i t y . A l l th o se ,
i n f a c t , p r e s u p p o s e a l r e a d y t h e f o r m e r ; i t is o n l y t h e d i v is io n
i n o b j e c t a n d s u b j e c t t h a t m a k e s p o s s ib l e a n d i m a g i n a b l e
p h e n o m e n a of w h a ts o e v e r . k in d , ab strac t o r intu itiv e, p u re
o r e m p i r i c a l . T h e r e f o r e , n o t r u t h is m o r e c e r t a i n , m o r e
i n d e p e n d e n t of a l l o t h e r s , o r r e q u i r i n g les s p r o o f t h a n t h a t
e v e r y t h i n g t h a t e x i s t s i n o u r p e r c e p t i o n ia o n l y O b j e c t in
r e la tio n to S u b je c t, th o p e r c e p tio n of t h a t w h ic h p e r c e i v e s :
i n a w o rd ,— o u r o w n m e n ta l representation.
“ A n d t h i s a p p l i e s a s m u c h to a l l P a s t a s t o t h e P r e s e n t ,
a n d a ll F u t u r e ; t o w h a t is m o s t d i s t a n t , a n d t o w h a t
is m o s t n e a r , b e c a u s e i t a p p l i e s t o t i m e a n d s p a c e t h e m ­
se lv es , i n w i i c h a l o n e t h e r e l a t i o n s c a n e x is t.
“ T h i s is b y n o m e a n s a n e w t r u t h . I t w a s a l r e a d y c o n ­
t a i n e d i n t h e s c e p ti c a l p r e m i s e s f r o m w h i c h D e s c a r t e s p r o ­
c e e d e d . B e r k e l e y , h o w e v e r , w a s t h e f i r s t to g i v e i t a n a b s o ­
l u te fo rm , a n d h as th e re b y d e se rv e d m u c h of philo so p h y ,
th o u g h his o t h e r d o c trin e s c a n n o t b e a r c riticism . T h e
p r i n c i p a l m i s t a k e o f K a n t w a s h is n e g l e c t o f t h i s a x i o m .
“ H oio lo n g a g o , h oioever, th is f u n d a m e n t a l t r u t h h a s been
a c k n o w le d g e d b y th e S a g e s o f I n d i a , a p p e a r in g a s th e f u n d a ­
m e n ta l p r i n c i p l e o f th e V e d a n ta p h i lo s o p h y , a sc rib e d to
V y a sa , is d e m o n s t r a t e d b y S i r W . J o n e s , i n liis w o r k “ O n
t h e P h i l o s o p h y o f t h e A s i a t i c s , ” ( A s ia tic R e s e a r c h e s, V o l . I V ,
p.164). T h e f u n d a m e n ta l te n e t of th e V e d a n t a school consisted
n o t i n d e n y i n g t h e e x i s t e n c e o f m a t t e r , t h a t is o f s o l i d i t y ,
im p e n e tr a b ility , a n d fig u re (to d e n y w h ic h w o u l d b e lu n a c y ) ,
b u t i n c o r r e c t i n g t h e p o p u l a r n o t i o n of it, a n d i n c o n t e n d i n g
t h a t it h a s n o essence i n d e p e n d e n t of m e n t a l p e r c e p tio n :
t h a t existence a n d p e rc e p tib ility a r e c o n v e rtib le te rm s .'
“ T h e s e w o r d s e x p r e s s s u f f i c ie n tl y t h e c o - e x i s t e n c e o f e m p i ­
rical re a lity w i t h tra n s c e n d e n ta l Id e alism .
“ T h u s o nly a n d fro m th is a spect of th e w o rld as m e n ta l
p e r c e p t i o n , c a n w e b e g i n t o c o n t e m p l a t e it. T h a t s u c h a
c o n te m p la tio n , h o w e v er, w i t h o u t a n y d e t r i m e n t to its t r u t h ,
is o n e - s i d e d , a n d t h e r e f o r e , t h e l^esult o f s o m e a r b i t r a r y a b :
s t r a c t i o n , is n e v e r t h e l e s s f e l t b y e v e r y b o d y a n d p r o v e d b y t h a t
i n t e r n a l r e v o l t , w i t h w h i c h o n e a c c e p t s t h e w o r l d a s o n e ’s
m e re m e n ta l perce p tio n , a n d of w h ic h , o n t h e o t h e r h a n d ,
one can y e t n e v e r e n tire ly r i d him self. L a t e r on, h o w e v e r,
w e w ill m a k e u p f o r t h o o n e - s i d e d n e s s of t h i s c o n s i d e r a t i o n ,
b y t h e e n u n c i a t i o n o f a t r u t h , n o t so d i r e c t l y c e r t a i n a s t h a t
on o f r o m w h i c h w e n o w p r o c e e d , b u t t h e o n l y o n e t o w h i c h
a p r o f o u n d e r i n q u i r y c a n l e a d ; s t i l l m o r e d i ff ic u l t a s a n
a b s t r a c t i o n , t h o d i v i s i o n o f w h a t is d i f f e r e n t , a n d t h e u n i o n o f
t h a t w h i c h is i d o n t i c a l ; a m o s t i m p o r t a n t t r u t h , w h i c h , if n o t
dism ay in g , y e t m u s t a p p e a r c ritic a l to e v e ry one, t h e fo llo w ­
i n g o n e i n f a c t ; t h a t w e c a n a s w e l l s a y , a n d m u s t s a y :—-
* T h e W orld is my W il l .’ ” *
W e m u s t b e g in to c o n sid e r n o t o n ly th e w o rld , b u t ev en
o u r o w n body as m e re p e rce p tio n . T h a t from w h ich w e are
n o w a b s t r a c t i n g s h a l l p r e s e n t l y c l e a r l y s h o w i t s e l f as W i l l ,
of w h i c h a l o n e t h e w o r l d i n i t s o t h e r a s p e c t c o n s i s t s , f o r
t h a t a s p e c t is i n o n e r e s p e c t e x c l u s i v e l y m e n t a l p e r c e p ­
t i o n , b u t o n t h e o t h e r a b s o l u t e l y w i l l !+
B o r n e o , 1 8M M a r c h 18 8 3 .
Editor’s Note.— For the benefit of thofie of onr readers in Inrlia, who,
although excellent Vcdantic scholars, may have never heard of A rthur
Schopenhauer and hie philosophy, it will be useful to s a y a few words
regarding this Germ an M ctaphysican, who is ranked by m nny among
the world’s g reat philosophers. Otherwise, the above tran sla ted fra g ­
ment, picked out by our brother, Mr. Sanders, for the sole purpose of
showing tho g reat id en tity of view, between the V edanta system — tho
archaic philosophy (wo beg Professor Max M u ller’s pardon) and tho
comparatively modern school of thought founded by Sohopenhauer,—
m ay appear unintelligible in its isolated form, A student of the G ottin­
gen and Berlin U niversities, a friend of Goethe and his disciple
initiated by him into the m ysteries of colour (Seo A. Schopenhauer’s
Essay Ucbcr Sehen and F arbcn, 1816,) he evoluted, so to say, into a
profoundly original th in k er w ithont any seem ing transaction, and
bronght his philosophical views into a full system before he was th irty .
Possessed of a large private fortuno, which enabled him to pursue and
develope his idoas uninterruptedly, he rem ained an independent thinker
and soon won for him self, on account of his strangely pessitim istic
view of the world, t.ho nam e of the “ m isanthropic sage.” The idea th a t
the present world is radically evil, is the only im portant point
in his system th a t differs from tho teachings of the V edanta.
According to liifl philosophical doctrines, the only th in g tru ly real,
original, m etaphysical and absolute, is w ill. The world of objects
consists simply of appearances ; of M aya or illusion—as the V edantins
have it. I t lies e n tirely in, and deponds on, our representation. Will
is th e “ thing in itself” of the K antian philosophy, “ the substratum of
all appearances and of nature herself. I t is totally different from , and
wholly independent of, cognition, can o x ist and m anifest itself w ithont
it, and actually does so in all naturo from anim al beings dow nw ard.”
N ot only the v oluntary actions of anim ated beings, bnt also tho organic
fram e of th eir bodies, its form and quality, tho vegetation of plants, and
• S e e Schopenhauer’s chief work Die w e lt als W ille u n d V erstellung .
Isis U nveiled, II. pp. 169 and 261.—L. A. S.
+ A n e n tity , h&iOever, th a t w ould be none o f either, b ut a n Object fo r
Use?/, to which K a n t’s “ D in g a n sich ” degenerated nndor his treatm en t,
is a phantasm , a nd its - recognition a wilUo-the w isp in “ p h ilo so p h y'1,
A rthur Schopenhauer (Vol. I, p. 3 -5 J edited in 1818, a t a period when
tbe knowledge of Sansdrit in E urope was very m eagre. Sehopenhauet’s
„ Objectivetion of W ill” throwB light upon the o th er side of tho
Huivcree,—L.^A. S* . comprohondod by tho in itia te d BrahminB alone.— T. S. R.
in the inorganic kingdom of nature, crystallization and every othor
original power which m anifests itself in physical and chemical pheno­
m ena, as well as g rav ity , are som ething outside of appearance and
identical with, w hat we find in ourselvoB and call— w ill. A n intuitive
rocognition of tho identity of will in all tho phenom ena separated by
individuation is th e source of justice, benevolence, and lo v e; while
from a non-recognition of its identity spring egotism, m alice, evil and
ignorance. This is tho doctrino of the Vodantic a vid y a (ignorance)
th a t m akes of S e lf an object distinct from P arabrahm , orCJniversal Will.
Individual soal, physical self, aro only imagined by ignorance and havo
no more re ality and existence than the objects seen in a dream . W ith
Schopenhauer it also results from this original identity of will in all its
phenomena, th a t tho rew ard of tho good and the punishm ent ’of tho
bad are not reservod to a fu tu re heaven or a fu tu re hell, bnt are ever
presen t (tho doctrine of K a rm a , when philosophically considered and
from its esoteric aspect). Of course tho philosophy of Schopenhauer
was radically a t variance w ith the system s of Scholling, Ile'gel,
H erbert and other contem poraries, and even with th a t of Fichte,
for a tim e liis m aster, and whose philosophical system while
studying under him, he openly trea te d with the g re a te st con­
tem pt. B ut this detracts in nothing from his own original and
profoundly philosophical though often too pessim istic viows. His
doctrines are m ostly in terestin g w’hen compared w ith those of the
V edanta of “ S unkaracharya’s” school, inasmuch they show the g reat
identity Of thought a rriving a t the same conclusions betw een m en of
two quite different epochs, and w ith over two milleninms betw een them .
When some of the m ightiest and m ost pazzling problems of being are
thus approxim ately solved a t different ages and by men entirely inde­
pendent of ono another, and th a t tho m ost philosophically profonnd
propositions, prem ises and conclusions arrived a t -by our best m odern
thinkers are found on com parison nearly, nnd very often entirely,
identical w ith thoso of older philosophers as enunciated by them thou*
snnds of years back, we mny be justified in regarding ** the heathen”
system s as the prim al and m ost puro sources of every subBequont
philosophical developm ent of thought.
♦ ■■■■■■
E SO T E R IC SP IR IT U A L IS M
T IIE L A W O F “ IN F L U X ” A N D “ E F F L U X .”
By W il l ia m Y eates,
Felloiv o f “ The B r i t i s h Theosophical S o c ie ty .”
[ I n g i v i n g r o o m t o t h e f o l l o w i n g c l e v e r p a p e r , i t is b u t j u s t
t h a t i ts s e v e r a l p o i n t s s h o u l d b e a n s w e r e d b y M r . T . S u b b a
R o w , a g a i n s t w h o m i t is d i r e c t e d , n o w a n d h e r e , a n d w i t h o u t
h a v i n g to p o s t p o n e t h e r e p l y f o r a n o t h e r m o n t h . M o s t o f
t h e f o o t - n o te s , t h e r e f o r e , a r e h i s . —
T h e O c t o b e r n u m b e r of t h e T h e o so p h ist f o r 1 8 8 2 c o n t a i n s
s t r i c t u r e s o n M r . W i l l i a m O x l e y ’s a r t i c l e ( i n t h e S e p t e m b e r
n u m b e r) by a re sp ec ted E a s te r n B ro th e r, M r. T. S u b b a R ow .
I n t h o l a t t e r , q u o t i n g f r o m t h e f o r m e r ’s w o r d s t o t h e effect
“ t h a t t h e r e c a n n o t b e a n y d i f f ic u l ty o r o b j e c t i o n ‘ t o a c c e p t ­
i n g a s n. p o s s i b i l i t y , t h a t t h e a c t u a l a u t h o r of t h e M a l i a b h n r a t a
s h o u ld p u t in, n o t a n o b jec tiv e , b u t a su b je c tiv e a p p e a ra n c e
i n L o n d o n , o r e l s e w h e r e , i f he choso so to do.' ” M r . S u b b a R o w
r e m a r k s :— “ Q u i t e t r u e ; b u t h e w i l l n e v e r choose t o d o s o . ”
A f t e r m a k i n g t h e a d m i s s i o n o f t h e p o s s i b i l i t y is t h e r e n o t
a n i n c o n s i s t e n c y i n a d d i n g t h e l a t t e r c la u s e , c o m i n g a s i t
does f ro m a d e f e n d e r of th e t r u e f a ith in O r th o d o x B r a h m in -
i s m ?* I t s o u n d s l i k e a c l a i m o n M r . R o w ’s p a r t , t o a p e r ­
fe c t k n o w le d g e of th e m o tiv e s w h ic h a c tu a te th e e x a lte d one.
O n w h a t g r o u n d s d o e s M r . R o w c l a i m h is r i g h t t o t h e k n o w ­
l e d g e a s t o w h a t t h e r e a l a u t h o r of t h e M a h a b h a r a t a “ c h o o se s
t o d o ” ?+
F r o m t h e B h a g a v a t G i t a , I l e a r n t h a t t h e o n e w h o ( i n ’a
c e r t a i n s t a t e ) is d e s c r i b e d a s t h e “ L o r d of a l l c r e a t e d b e i n g s , ”
u se d th is la n g u a g e , “ H a v i n g c o m m a n d o v e r m y n a tu r e , I
a m m a d e m a n ife s t b y m y ow n p o w e r : a n d as often as th e re
is a d e c l i n e o f v i r t u e , a n d a n i n s u r r e c t i o n o f v i c e a n d i n j u s ­
tice i n th e w o rld , I m a k e m y s e lf m a n i f e s t : a n d th u s I a p ­
p e a r f ro m a g e to a g e .” T h r o u g h t h u s t a k i n g c o m m a n d o v e r his
o w n n a tu r e , a n d a ll m e n , I h o ld t h a t fo r all p r a c tic a l p u rp o se s,
h e do e s c h o o s e “ a c h e la i n h u m a n f o r m i . e., o n e w h o t a k e s
o n t h e c l o t h i n g o f T h e S u n , b y m e a n s of t h e d i v i n e r a y i n
w h ich h e m ak es H im s e lf e v i d e n t : a n d m ore, th a t th e re are
c lie la s i n h u m a n f o r m , t h r o u g h w h o m t h e p o w e r s o f T h e
G r a n d S p i r i t ’s I d e n t i t y w i l l b e u n f o l d e d i n d u e o r d e r ; e v e n
a s i t h a s b e e n i n p a s t a g e s . W h a t is t r u e i n r e g a r d t o t h e
G r e a t O n e , is t r u e i n r e g a r d to s p i r i t s of l e s s e r d e g r e e ; w h o
a ls o c a n h a v e c h e l a s of a d e g r e e c o r r e s p o n d i n g w i t h t h e m .
* Onr esteem ed correspondent and bro th er is wrong here, f f e say
again—Mr. T. Subba Row is n o “ defender of the tra e faith in orthodox
B rahm anism ,” for the p re sen t “ orthodox Brahm anism ” is rather
heterodox th an orthodox. Our b ro th erM r. T .S ubba Row is ft true Vedan-
tic Adwaitee of the esoteric, henco genuine B rahm an faith and—
an occultist.— E d.
+ On the grounds of the genuine and authentic teachings of the
truo “ exalted one” him self, as correctly understood ; on the grounds of
the esoteric teaching of the “ real author of the M ahabharata,” rightly
■
 Acoording to The Theosophist, a Raja Yogee Brother Jjaa
the power to assume whatever form he pleases, and to com­
municate with spirits either in, or out of the body. Why
then should it be deemed incredible that one, such as un­
doubtedly was Vyasa, can take command of his own life and
nature in tho forms beneath him, tind assume the name of
“ Busiris,” in order to make himself manifest through a
medium.* Does not the greater include the less P
If I pass “ entirely under the dominion of my highest, or
seventh principle,” I can, while in that state, receive a com­
munication from spirits of that degree, and translate the sub­
s t a n c e to others ; just as a chela in human farm would do
with a message, or communication received from the Brothers.
The modes of manifestation may be diverse, but the same law
is operative in both instances; surely, then, Mr. Subba Row
must be mistaken in his assertion that “ Busiris has no chela
in human form.” For most certainly, He, who lias ascended
to such an altitude, has command over his own nature in all
those who subsist in the atomic life of his Spiritual Body : for
it is only such that he can command, or “ control.” Likewise
the Brothers themselves, they are able to command the un­
seen atoms who subsist within, or beneath, their own order ;
but can they so command the interior lives of life atoms
■which form the Spiritual Body of another or different order,
aud it may be, superior to their own ? Herein lies the dif­
ficulty of any attempt to mould the new order of the modern
S p i r i t u a l i s t i c Movement, according to the genius of the order
of Eastern Occultism. Before this can be accomplished,
command over the invisible heads of the Spirit Bands must
first bo obtained.
The inner Voice of the Angel of God speaks through the
intuitions to all men and women who belong to this order of
life, and who form the Body, Church, or system, telling each
one in their own order, the way to the Resurrection
of the life: (some partake of the life of more than one order)
and every one who perceives a ray of light, should follow it,
for it will lead them to the summit of the Mount to which
tlioy are called, whether it be that of a Planetary or Solar
order of Adeptship.t
As matter is within matter : spirit withiu spirit: atom
within atom : and as Influx is within Efflux : even so thero
are orders within orders of Intelligences, both of aPlanetary
and Solar nature. From these we derive our life, and
from them (mediately,) wo receive that which form the
higher qualities of our life. It matters little how the life
quality is divided in its descent, or ascent to the atom from
whence it came and returns ; the line may be extended until
the atom becomes invisible to the external man ; but invisi­
bility becomes visible in the lives of the whole body of atoms
who came out from that O N E which can never be divided into
less than one. Even so, it is possible for us to be induct­
ed into a perceptive knowledge of the direct presence of the
Angelic parents who gave us birth into the inmost quality
of their life, and in which we live, and move, and have our
being. By means of such outbirths, we partake of the dif­
ferentiations of every Father and Mother through whom we
came, besides that of our own, and these augmented quali­
ties will take eternity to unfold themselves ; and in view
of such a truth, there can be no place found for annihila­
tion ; inasmuch as the annihilation of one atomic quality
in the child’s life would be the annihilation of him
who gave it birth.J Can a part of God be destroyed
* For the sim ple reason th a t tlio alleged teachings and esoteric in te r­ nnd obliterates all tem porary form s, to evolve out of them the ono
pretations of “ B usiris” clash entirely with the teachings and in te r­
pretations of both V yasa and th e initiates of the esoterio school. Tho
“ Spirit” of V yasa cannot well contradict and w ithout giving any reasons
for it, the teachings of the la tte r w hen alive.—T. S. It.
+ I confess to m y inability to distinguish betw een tlie two kinds of
adeptship, called “ Solar” and “ P lan etary ,” since tlio term inology is not
in vogue among Asiatic Occultists, b u t belongs, m ost likely, to the new
W estern “ hierosophy.”—T. S. R.
I E astern esoteric philosophy denies tho theistic idea th a t “ tho
whole body of atom s” cam e out from some ‘‘ o n e atom ,” and teaches
th a t th ere is no difference between th e 7th principle of m an and th a t
of universal nature. “ Hence a child m ay be annihilated aa a persona­
lity , w hereas his 6th and 7th principles, th e one d iv in e m onad rem ain
unaffected by this disintegration of freed atom s of still p a rtic le d m a t­
te r known as “ Soul.” —T. S. R.
H “ A p a rt of God !” Before we venture to ta lk of a p a rt, wo ought to
make sure of the existence of the whole ; or a t least learn to know som e­
thing moro than-w e do of the Essence of th a t “ God” people a ie so
freely discussing about* The A dw aita philosophy teaches to boliove
in ono universal P rinciple it calls Parabrahm and to eschew idols.
Hence it rejects the idea of a personal God, w hother called by th e
latter nam e or. th a t o f ons atom tho F a th er and Creator of all other
a t o m s . — T. S. R.
In the universal life, I maintain, that not one single atom
can be lost.*
Creation is infinite, with an endless capacity for growth
and development. But jf only the Law of Efflux were opera­
tive there could be no improvement. Like produces Like, and
although there might be an endless procession of variations—
they ■would be but a mere repetition of the series of like to-
like again, and no improvement in the forms evolved from
the parent stock.f But with the Law of Influx in operation,
the forms are receptive of new and higher qualities, which
when evolved produce new and living forms of a higher
and more interior order. It is only the recognition of this
that can account for the development and manifestation of
new forms of life of all kinds. To produce these, it must
be evident that the germs of this new order of life were
begotten from above within the transformed soul; and in no
case is it a repetition from the “ old seed after its kind.”
Hence it is, that the new order of spiritual life appearing in
the West so diverse in its manifestation to that of the East,
is scarcely comprehended by the latter, in the light as I have
shown it. In the Hebrew Record we read that the young
Sampson “ as yet, knew not his strength.” Neither, ajSyet,
is the spiritual power of the child of the Occident kno^vn or
comprehended by his elder Brother of the Orient. Will
the Brothers of the Orient take kindly to the stripling, by
recognising him as tlie “ Heir of the Inheritance,” and send
down a little of the hoarded stores to nurture the new-born
life in the valley below ? .
The Theosophist admits that notwithstanding the vantage
ground of the possession of ancient stores of occult know­
ledge, the Oriental system has, from time to time, declined :
and in spite of repeated revivals at different epochs, every
effort to restore it to the traditional pristine glory of the
Golden Age has failed.J
Now assuming that one section of the Brothers succeed in
resuscitating their order on the old lines, what security can
we have that, at best, it would be but a sprouting out from
the decaying trunk of the old tree of knowledge : as is proved
by the history of the past.
The ancient Hindu, Braliminical, Buddhistic, Egyptian,
Hebrew or Arabic, Christian and Mahomedan systems are
mere variations from the same stock, and all of which were
best at their beginnings. How comes it, that notwithstanding
the more immediate presence, influence, and tutelage of the
Brothers to the Indian populations, that these confessedly
have become degraded, and have lost their own spirituality
and power.If
* “ Atom lost ?” No atom is over lost, b u t atom s combine in tran si­
tory groups which aro entities, w hich are atom ic congeries. So th a t if
ono personality is “ annihilated,” this ia but a breaking up of an atom ic
group, and the freed atom s aro draw n into new com binations—the 6th
and the 7th principle being of course excluded.—T. S. R.
+ “ C reation infinito.” For “ creation” road universe, and then tho
u ondless capacity for grow th and developm ent” would fit in b etter,
and there would be no contradiction to com m ent upon. As hero w ritte n
it roads—like a theological paradox. F or if the whole creation is
“ infinite” and thero is still in it au endless capacity for grow th and
devolpuient,” th en it becomes the antithesis of “ creation,” And if
tlio w riter m eans th a t eosmic m a tte r was created and infused w ith a
law of ‘‘ grow th and developm ent,” then cosmio m a tte r m ust havo been
created out of nothing which is scientifically absurd. ' ‘ Efflux” and
“ Influx” sound hero like words w ithout moaning. I t is In flu x th a t
brings into being everything, and ifc is E fflux th a t changes conditions
E tern a l R e a lity . —T. S. R.
J We beg to bo p erm itted to em phatically deny the statem en t.
N either the T heosophist — i.e., its editor nor any one of the Founders, has
ever adm itted anything of tho so rt about the “ Oriental System ” w h a t­
ever somo of its contributors m ay havo rem arked upon the subject. If
it has degenerated am ong its votaries in India (a fact due entirely to
tho cunning of its dead le tte r interp retatio n by the modern orthodox
Brahm in who has lost the key to it) it flourishes as high as ever in tho
H im alayan rotroats, in th e ashrum of the initiated Brahmin, and in
all tlio “ pristine glory of tho Golden Age.” — E d.
• The “ tutelage of tho B rothers to tho Indian populations” is a fancy
based on a m isconception. E ver sinco Buddhism with its esoteric in­
terpretations of tho V edas and o th er sacred books was driven out of tho
country by tho am bition and jealousy of the Brahm ins, the tru th s of eso-
torism began to fado out of tlie m emory of those populations until thero
now rem ains hardly ono B rahm in in ten thousand who nnderstands
tho Shastras a t all. H indus wero degraded for th e sam e reason th a t life
and spirit have gone out of C hristianity. Tho increase of w ealth-bred
sensuality, quenched spiritnal aspiration and intuition, plugged the ears
th a t once listened and shnt the eyes th a t once saw the teachers. And at
last by gradual deterioration of species, m ultiplications of war, and
increased scarcity of food-supply, tho prim e question became th a t of,a
struggle for life to th e obliteration of spiritual yearniugs.—T. S, R.
 W h a t o t h e r f a t e c a n b e f a l l us, a s a T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y , B y t h e s e i n t e r m e d i a t e s t h e m a s s of m a n k i n d r e c e i v e th e
i f t h e v e r y r o o t s o f o u r life, a s s u c h , d r a w t h e i r v i t a l i t y f r o m n e w o r d e r o f lif e u n c o n sc io u s ly a c c o r d i n g to t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e
a d e c a y i n g T r e e , w h o s e f r u i t s , l e a v e s , a n d b r a n c h e s a r e of d e e d s , b u t t h e d u a l a d e p t s w i l l r e c e i v e i t c o n s c io u s ly b y d i r e c t
“ efflux ” g r o w t h , a n d t h a t of a d e s c e n d i n g o r d e r ; i n a s m u c h a s i n f lu x . I n o r d e r t h a t n e w l if e - f o r m s m a y b e g e n e r a t e d , t h e
i t i g n o r e s t h e i n m o s t “ L a w o f I n f l u x ” f r o m t h e T r e e o f L if e n e w l i f e - f o r c e o f a h i g h e r a n d p u r e r o r d e r , m u s t i n f lo w i n to
of a n i n n e r c a u s a t i o n P A ll o u t g r o w t h s i n t h a t d i r e c t i o n m u s t , p r e p a r e d a to m s to re ceiv e th e sa m e b o th on th is a n d o th e r
of necessity, sooner o r la te r e x h a u s t th e ir v ita lity . e arth s.
I t is t h e n e w I n f l u x f r o m t h e G r a n d C e n t r a l S u n o f a ll H o w , e x c e p t t h r o u g h t h e D iv in e S o la r sta te of a . w e d d ed
e x is te n c e s , t h a t c a u s e s t h e s o u l to r i s e t o h i g h e r s t a t e s a n d p a i r , c a n t h i s h i g h e r a n d p u r e r life b e g e n e r a t e d P . W i t h t h i s
fo rm s of c o n s c io u s n e s s ; a n d by m e a n s of th is, th e n e w ly i n v i e w , i t c a n b e s e e n t h a t t h e ‘ B r o t h e r s ’— w i t h t h e i r c e li­
e v o lv ed s ta te s th e r e f r o m , fro m a n e w se ries of a s y s te m — on b a te c o n d itio n s of a d e p ts h ip — c a n n o t p o ssib ly b e g e t a h ig h e r,
a n a sc e n d in g scale w h ic h w ill n e v e r r e tr o g r a d e , a s h a v e do n e o r p u r e r , o r d e r o f l if e t h a n t h e i r o w n ; h e n c e i t fo llo w s t h a t
a n d do, t h e g r a d e s o f a p u r e l y P l a n e t a r y C y c l e o f i n c a r n a ­ a s y s t e m , b a s e d o n s u c h a p r i n c i p l e , c a n n o t p e r p e t u a t e i ts e l f .*
tio ns, w h o s e o c c u l t a t i o n s s h u t o u t t h e d i r e c t l i g h t o f t h e I t is a t t h e c u l m i n a t i o n of a s e v e n t h c y c l e — a s y m b o l of
G ran d E te rn a l S un. t h e C e l e s t i a l S u n - d a y — t h a t a n o t h e r R a y is s h o t f o r t h a c r o s s
T h e t e a c h i n g s of ‘ T h e o s o p h y ’ a p p e a r t o i m p l y t h a t t h e r e is t h e u n i v e r s a l E a r t h , a n d t h o s e w h o a r e p r e p a r e d t o r e c e iv e
l a t e n t p o w e r p o s s e s s e d o f s e lf - s u f fic ie n t e n e r g y , s u f f i c ie n t i n i ts i n f lu e n c e , a n d g i v e b i r t h , o r u l t i m a t i o n , to h i g h e r f o r m s of
i t s e l f f o r t h e e v o l v e m e n t o f a n e w s p e c ie s, w i t h o u t t h e i n t e r ­ life, u p o n t h e r e s p e c t i v e e a r t h s t h e y i n h a b i t , a c c o r d i n g t o i ts
v e n tio n of a still h i g h e r po w er. d e g r e e o f d e v e l o p m e n t i n t h e s e r i e s ; f o r as so a b l y s h o w n by
F o r i n s t a n c e , c a n t h i s a l l e g e d s e l f - s u f f ic i e n t e n e r g y f o r m a n t h e w r i t e r of “ F r a g m e n t s of O c cu lt T r u th , ” th e va rie d e a rth s
ob ject w ith o u t e x is tin g m ate ria ls ? C an it c rea te a th o u g h t o f a s y s t e m , a ll d i f f e r a s t o s t a t e s o f m e n t a l a n d s p i r i t u a l d e v e ­
o r a n i d e a o f a n e w f o r m , a b s o l u t e l y i n d e p e n d e n t of t h a t l o p m e n t : a n d y e t n o t o n e c o u l d s u f f e r d e p r i v a t i o n of t h i s
w h ic h com es in to th e m in d fro m th e ideal re a lm of b e in g ‘ C y c li c a c t i o n f r o m t h e ‘ G r a n d S u n , ’ w i t h o u t a ll t h e r e s t
f r o m w h e n c e a l l g e r m s a r e d e r i v e d ?* s u f f e r i n g f r o m s u c h loss t o a n y specific m e m b e r o f t h e S o l a r
fa m ily . H e r e co m es in t h e d istin c tio n a n d d iffere n ce b e tw e e n
I f it w e re p ossible to se v e r t h e lines of t h e s u b tile — b u t e x ­
t h e g u i d a n c e a n d t e a c h i n g of t h e P l a n e t a r y a n d S o l a r G u r u .
t e r n a l l y i n v i s i b l e — t h r e a d of lif e w h i c h e x t e n d s f r o m t h e
T h e o n e is t h e F o r e r u n n e r , a n d p r e p a r e s t h e w a y f o r t h e
P a r e n t T r e e of l if e i n t h e m i d s t o f t h e u n i v e r s a l G a r d e n t o
o t h e r ; a n d i t is t h e l a t e r o n e w h o le a d s h i s C h e l a s — b o t h
t h e e x te r n a l c ir c u m f e r e n c e of its p h y sic al m a n if e s ta tio n ; a n d
m ascu lin e a n d fem in in e b e y o n d th e T ree of K n o w led g e, even
t o m a i n t a i n s u c h s e v e r e d l iv e s i n v i t a l i t y : t h e n , I a d m i t , t h e
to th e T r e e of L ife its e l f .f
L a w of E fflux w o u l d b e a n a ll - s u f f i c i e n t c a u s e f o r t h e a p p e a r ­
I t is t h e le a T e s o f t h i s T r e e — t h e l i f e - g i v i n g p o w e r , w h i c h
a n c e a n d p e r p e t u a t i o n o f t h o s e n e w a n d h i g h e r f o r m s o f life
a r e t o be g i v e n f o r t h e “ h e a l i n g o f t h e n a t i o n s , ” a n d b y t h is
w h ic h h a v e b e e n ev o lv e d a n d m a n if e s te d a t d iffe re n t epochs.
m e a n s , t h e l o n g lo st, a n d n e g l e c t e d o n e s , w h i c h t h e O c c u l t
I f a n y o r d e r , — d e p e n d e n t so l e ly o n t h e t r a d i t i o n a l o b s e r ­ s y s t e m w o u l d h o p e l e s s l y c o n s i g n t o a n n i h i l a t i o n , a r e t o bo
vances of th o se w h o a g es ago d e riv e d t h e i r lig h t a t lirst a n d g a t h e r e d u p a n d u t i l i s e d b y t h e G r e a t E e o n o m i s e r ; so t h a t
seco n d h a n d f r o m t h e f o u n ta in of a ll lig h t ,— s h o u ld d e n y th e re shall be n o th in g lost ; a n d th u s th e fra g m e n ts of th e
u s th e p riv ileg e of u sin g th e ir stores of a n c ie n t e x p erim e n tal ( a p p a r e n tl y ) lo n g L o s t O r b sh a ll be co llected a n d fo rm a
know ledge, by in terp o sin g im practical b a rrie rs ; y e t no o rd e r s h i n i n g S u n t o e n l i g h t e n t h e s t i ll d e n s e r d a r k n e s s of t h e
c a n p r e v e n t o u r access to th e G r a n d F o u n t a i n of L i g h t a n d n e th e r realm s.
Love, w h e re w e m ay d rin k freely of th e w a te rs of L ife .f
I n th e ab o v e fe w h in ts , (f o r y o u r space w o u ld n o t p e r m it
I s n o t t h i s b e t t e r t h a n b e i n g c o n f in e d t o p a r t a k e o f a d e s c e n d ­
o f m o r e ) I h a v e s h o w n a u se f o r t h e e l e m e n t a l s , r e l iq u i a ’, e tc .,
i n g s t r e a m of w i s d o m , w h i c h s i l t s u p i t s o u t l e t s w i t h t h e
e tc ., w h i c h O c c u l t s c i e n c e d o e s a p p e a r t o r e c o g n i s e ; a n d d i d
s a n d s of a g e s , — l e a v i n g a p o r t i o n o f i t s s t r e n g t h a n d p o w e r
y o u r space p e rm it, I s h o u ld be g la d to sh o w th e necessity f o r
a t e v e r y s t a g e o f i t s d e s c e n t , u n t i l , a t l e n g t h , i t is l o s t i n t h e
t h e s e i n t h e f o r m a t i o n o f e a r t h s , a n d s u s t e n a n c e of l i f e - f o r m s
d e s e r t w a s t e , w h e r e so m a n y f a m i s h ; a n d w h o c a n n o t r e a c h
t h e r e o n , a n d t h e p ositio n th e y o c cu p y in th e K o s m o s ; b u t I
t h e p u r e r w a t e r h i g h e r u p t h o s t r e a m ? N o r is i t so w i t h
c o n te n t m y se lf w i t h t h is b a r e o u tline.
those sy ste m s w h ic h a r e on th e a s c e n d in g p la n e a n d o rd e r.
B y v i r t u e o f t h e i r b e i n g e v e r s u b j e c t t o t h e d i r e c t e n e r g y of M o d e rn sp iritu a lis m , w h e n v iew ed as a n en tirely n ew a n d
th e D iv in e S o la r ra y , th e y h a v e p o w e r to do t h a t w h ic h o th e r d i v e r s e ( f r o m a l l t h a t p r e c e d e d ) o r d e r o f life ,— w h i c h i n ­
system s n e v e r co u ld accom plish. s t e a d of b e i n g t h e b e s t a t i t s b e g i n n i n g , c o m m e n c e s a t Z e r o , —
is a f a c t o r w h i c h is o v e r l o o k e d i n t h i s r e s p e c t b y t h e
H o w c a n a sy ste m i m p a r t t h a t w h ic h it a d m its it does n o t
T h e o s o p h is t i n i t s r e s p o n s e t o M r . T e r r y , o f A u s t r a l i a — ( w h o
possess, viz., t h e d u a l s t a t e s o f a d e p t s h i p ? W h e r e t h e r e a r e
is a p e r s o n a l a c q u a i n t a n c e o f m y o w n ) a n d is h a r d l y s a t i s ­
n o fe m in in e a d e p ts in t h e o r d e r, i t m u s t u l ti m a t e ly y ie ld to
f a c to r y to th o se w h o a c c e p t t h e h i g h e r asp e cts of a m o re
t h a t d u a l p o w e r w h i c h is a b l e t o p o l a r i s e a n d p r e p a r e b o t h
a d v a n c e d sp iritu a lism . O c cu ltists say t h a t th e only safe a n d
m a le a n d fe m a le a to m s, f o r th e s ta te in w h ic h t h e y a r e fitted
r i g h t w a y in d e a lin g w i t h u n s e e n forces, en titie s, in te lli­
to be d r a w n u p in to th e 1C elestial M a r r i a g e .’ W h e n i n t r o ­
g e n c e s , o r w l i a t e v e r e lse, is a c c o r d i n g t o t h e ir m e t h o d : a n d
m itte d into th is sta te th ese w e d d e d a to m s a c t a n d re -a c t
t h a t to se e k f o r o r allo w ‘ C o n tr o ls ’ to u se t h e h u m a n o r g a n ­
u n t i l e v e r y q u a l i t y of t h e i r u n i t e d b e i n g r o t a t e s a n d v i b r a t e s
i s m is w r o n g , if n o t p o s i t i v e l y d a n g e r o u s t o t h e m o r a l s o f
u p a n d d o w n t h e se v e n s id e s of t h e r a y , u n t i l b e c o m i n g a ll
th o s e w h o p e r m i t i t ; b u t to m y v iew , t h e r i g h t o r w r o n g of
r a d i a n t w i t h l i g h t a n d h e a t i n t h e m s e l v e s , t h e y a r c a b l e to
t h i s d e p e n d s u p o n t h e u s e w e m a k e o f it, a n d w e m u s t n o t be
p r o j e c t t h e n e w b o r n g e r m s of a h i g h e r a n d p u r e r life i n t o
fo rg e tfu l, t h a t t h is “ C o n t r o ll i n g p o w e r a n d in flu en ce” so m e ­
th e souls of th o se b e n e a th th e m , w h o a r e d r a w n in to t h e sa m e
state, a n d w ho, in th e ir t u r n , m a y g iv e o u t t h e i r se v e ra l or another m ale or fem ale g e rm . E ven the Christian Bible, the young­
d e g r e e s o f l i g h t a n d h e a t , a n d life to a l l a r o u n d ; a n d so o n
est of the m any a tte m p ts to religions philosophy, teaches him th a t in
a d in jin itu m .% the resurrection the people “ neith er m arry nor are given in m arriage."
So th a t “ Celestial m arriage,” w hatever this m ay mean in m odem Eso-
* Most assuredly not. B nt this n e ith e r proves the existence of the terism , appears to be bnt a figure of Bpeech. Our readers m ight nlso be
one Atom, separated from and differentiated by, its nnity from all other benefited were they explained w hat is m eant by a ‘‘ Dr.nl Adept ”—
atoms, nor does it point to th e necessity of one. A t nny rote, even onr T. S. 11.
English Brother’s “ one atom ” or God can hardly create “ an object'* * Not necessarily. Onr critic seems to forget,—or perchance never
w ithout existent m aterials or m a tte r.— T. S, 11. knew,—th a t an adept lias m eans of inbreathing, into his chosen “ chela”
f Tlie “ Grand Fountain of L ight and Lovo” is a vory poetical m eta ­ besides his own •• high order of life,” to use liis own expression, th a t of
phor—and no more, when applied to nn nnproved abstraction. Wo one still higher than himself, i. e., of the highest Bhodisatwa living or
ad m it of such a fountain but not outside of, or independent from, p a st, dead, provided the purity of his owu life perm its to him the performance
present and fu tu re hum anity, (tho crown of the cvolntion on our globe) of the m ysterious assim ilation. B nt we can assure our brother, th a t
every individual atom of which is a drop of th a t “ 'W ater of Life” w ithout th a t ‘‘ celibate” mode of life, against which he seems to protest
th e agglom eration of tho drops of which form s th a t “ one Fountain*” — so strongly, no adept could ever roach such a degree of power. Sonls
T. S. tt. as well as spirits are sexless, and it is a g reat m istake to say th a t no
X Again an u n w arran ted assertion w hichever w ay we see it. T here “ m ale monad” (?) can incarnate in a female body or vice versd. Mental
nre “ fem ale” adepts in the Brotherhood, and of a very high order. and m oral ch aracteristics or idiosyncracies as m et daily in life contra­
'-Therefore, there being such, in fnct, the deductions draw n from a m is­ d ict the statem ent. I t is owing to previous K arm as th a t we discover
taken prem iss fall. A nd if our opponent had in m ind in wrritin g the so often m asculine tra its in weak fomale bodies and fem inine tenderness
above sentence, som ething m ore a b strac t and vague th a n a m ere nnd nervousness in strong m en.—T. S. R. . .
physical difference of sexes, th en he will allow m e perhaps, to tell him + Does our B rother, who speaks so often of tho “ Tree of Life” know
th a t our esoteric philosophy proves th a t outside of th e world of gross its real esoteric significance ? L et him provo it, by hinting a t the grand
m a tte r th ere is no such difference, th e la tte r itself occurring (even on m ystery, and if he does show his knowledge—th en verily will our
oar e arth ) as an accident due to gestation and not as a re su lt of such M ahatm as ie a t h is orders ! —T. S- R, .
times cornea with a resistless force and the sensitives are
completely helpless to withstand.*
Even the ‘ invocation’ of spiritual beings, if the modern
practice of Seance holding can be so called, which affords
conditions for spiritual manifestations,—is quite in confor­
mity with the rituals and ceremonials of the ancient Indian
system ; as, for instance, the S a m a V e d a says, “ Come,
O Father, a lo n g w i th th e s p i r i t s o f o u r f a t h e r s .”f If this
practice was observed, and formed an integral part of reli­
gious worship,—and if this was done under the aegis of the
Church itself in far back ages ; surely with our increase of
knowledge, and, we may hope, with improved morals, we may
now safely engage in it with safety to both sides, provided
the motives are pure and worthy. Are there not any adept
“ Brothers” of British or European extraction in sufficient
sympathy with tho efforts of their own countrymen to open
up a direct correspondence with those who are striving to
attain to a higher order of Life PJ
E ditor ' s N o t e .— Mr. T. Subba Row’s fall reply is left over for next
month,
------- ». ... ■■
THE MAHABHARATA IN ENGLISH.
[ I P e h a v e re c e iv e d a le tte r f r o m C a lc u tta , a s k in g u s to p u b ­
lis h th e fo llo w in g . W e do so w i t h p le a s u r e . N o t h in g m o re
beneficent or m o r e n e e d e d a t p r e s e n t th a n th e p u b l ic a t io n o f
su c h p r ic e le s s w o r k s.—
S e v e r a l persons of note, and personages even in high rank,
sympathising with the objects of the “ Datavya Bharat
Karyalya,”have from time to time recommended to me that the
Mahabharata, if translated into English, would, to quote the
bontimonts of the Right Honorable the Marquis of Harting-
ton, as conveyed to me in Mr. Rost’s letter of the 6th of
October, 1882, “ supply a want long felt and be a real
boon to the ever increasing band of students of Indian
history and archaeology.” These recommendations exactly
falling in with the views entertained by me from some time
past, have been taken into earnest consideration. The ancient
literature of India is our glorious inheritance. In his letter
to me Prof. Max Muller remarks, “ I expect the time will
come when every educated native will be as proud of his
Mahabharata and Ramayana as Germans are of their Nibe-
lunge, aud Greeks, even modern Greeks, of their Homer.”
The vanity is excusable, if it were only vanity, that per­
suades a Hindu to seek the means of placing this splendid
inheritance of his before the eyes of foreign nations, of
foreigners particularly, who from their culture are capable of
appreciating and understanding it. But such an endeavour,
if successful, may not satisfy vanity alone. It is really
fraught with results of the utmost importance to the cause
of historical and philological research, in fact, to the cause
of knowledge in all her principal departments.
I am fully persuaded that the usefulness of sucli a trans­
lation and its gratuitous distribution in Europe and America,
and in India also, chiefly in presidencies other than Bengal,
would recommend itself to the patriotism of my countrymen
without the need of any eloquent elaboration. It is impossi­
ble to suppose that the liberality of my countrymen could
have been exhausted by supporting the “ Bliarat Karyalya”
for a period of seven years only. The English translation
will cost, at a rough estimate, Rs. 1,00,000. After my ex­
perience of tiie liberality of my countrymen, this sum appa­
rently large though it be, seems to me to be a trifle. I pur­
pose therefore to publish an English translation of the
Mahabharata in monthly parts of 10 forms each, octavo,
demy, from April next.
* Exactly ; and since in this mad inrush of controls the poor sensitive
may ut any time bo knocked off his moral feet down the precipice of
spiritual degradation, why tamper with so dangerous a gift ? Adepts
never encounter a “ resistless force,” since adoptship means seZ/-control
first and then control over all forces of nature external to himself.—■
T. S. R.
f We invite our brother’s attention, iu reference to this quotation, to
what Manu says (IV. 123, &o.,) of this practice. The Sama Veda deal­
ing with the Spirits of the dead, he says that “ even the sound of it (the
Sama Veda) is impure."—T. S. R.
%This seoms hardly a fair question. Our corrospondout first as­
sumes that our adopts are of an inferior order, and neither living nor
capable of showing a way to “ a higher order of Lifo," and then despair­
ingly asks if there are no adepts to teach him. What talented boings
there may be in the “ Solar” and “ Planetary” ordors—we cannot say,
our experience having been confined to human adepts. But among
these, we shonld certainly say that on the terms stated there is not one
among our Brothers, whether of British or Asiatic extinction, wlio
would volunteer for the service.—T. S, R.
The present edition shall consist of 1,250 copies. 250 copies
are intended for distribution in India free of all charges,
among the gentry, the aristocracy, and reigning chiefs; 300
among Indian officials of the higher ranks ; 250 for distri­
bution out of India, chiefly among the s a v a n ts of Europe and
America, 200 copies must be reserved (as experience has
taught me) for making up losses caused to recipients by
negligence and transit. Tho remaining 250 copies shall be
charged for at Rs. 50 and Rs. 65 per copy (*) inclusive of
postal costs, Rs. 50 being payable by persons in India and
Rs. 65 by those in Europe and America. It is needless to
say that the selection of recipients shall, in regard to
the present publication, .rest entirely with the Karyalya.
Any person desirous of taking a copy, but whose name may
not be entered in the free list, may, if he likes, have his
name registered in the list of those to whom the aforesaid
250 copies are to be supplied for Rs. 50 or 65 a copy. In
case, however, of sheer inability on the part of these, copies
may even be supplied, as long as available, at Rs. 12 or Rs.
25 according as the address is Indian or foreign.
Since the fouudation of the “ Datavya Bharat Karyalya,”
not a single copy of any of its publications has ever been
parted with for price. The present departure, therefore,
from the Karyalya’s uniform practice, in regard to at least
250 copies of the projected publication, requires a word of
explanation. During the last seven years I have found a few
gentlemen evincing some reluctance in accepting in gift the
publications of the “ Bharata Karyalya,” although this latter
is no institution belonging to any private individual but is
rather a national concern supported by a nation’s patriotism.
Many of the persons evincing such delicacy are too important
to be overlooked in the distribution of our publications. It
is to meet their case especially that 250 copies of the propo-
posed translation are reserved. These gentlemen might
easily accept copies now, on payment which, as stated above,
is Rs. 50 in India and Rs. 65 out of India. So far as the
“ Bharata Karyalya,”however, is concerned, gentlemen taking
copies on payment of the above sums, without being looked
upon as purchasers, will be regarded as donors to the Karya-
lya.
With reference to the literary execution of the translation,
I'have received promises of help from several respectable
quarters. Professor Max Muller has already been kind
enough to transmit to me a manuscript translation of a con­
siderable portion of the ‘ A d i p a r v a .' He has further kindly
consented to revise and look over the translations I may be
enabled to forward to him. If it were open to me to criticise
my own wares, I could have unhesitatingly said that tho
literary execution of the projected work would not be found
fault with by the public. The writers' who have promised
me assistance are not unknown even in advanced literary
circles in the metropolis. But a specimen of their work
when placed before the public, would, I am assured, be more
convincing than any puffs I could skilfully put. The first
part will be issued by the beginning of April following.
(BABU) PRATAB CHANDRA ROY.
-----*-----
A F E W THOUGHTS O N SOM E W ISE WORDS
FROM A W IS E MAN.
In an article, ia the T a tw a B o d h in i P a t r i k a “ The
Essential Religion,” Babu Rajnarain Bose, the well known
Brahmo, prefacing it with a quotation from Ramohun
Roy’s Trust Deed of the Adi Brahmo Somaj, “ which is
an injunction, with regard to S trengthening the bonds o f
union between m en o f all religious persuasions, a n d creeds”
—makes the following- wise remarks.
“ W o sh o u ld r e g u l a t e o u r c o n d u c t by k e e p i n g a c o n s t a n t eye apon
t h e e s s e n t ia l s of re lig io n . W e a r e a p t to lose s i g h t of th e m in t h a
m i s t s of s e c ta r ia n p r e ju d ic e , p a r ti a l i ty a n d p a ssio n . W e a r e a p t
to fo rg e t th e m in t h e h e a t of re lig io u s discussion , in t h e d i s t r a c ­
tio n of p h ilo s o p h ic a l sp e c u la tio n , in t h e e x c i t e m e n t of religio ns
d e l i g h t a n d in t h e e n g r o s s m e n t of c e r e m o n i a l o b s e r v a n c e s . .. .W e
yxe so b e n t u p o n t h r u s t i n g o u r o w n p a r t i c u l a r o p inions on n o n ­
e s s e n tia l p o i n ts of re lig io n on o t h e r s t h a t we c o n s i d e r t h e m to be
e s s e n t ia l ly n e c e s s a r y fo r sa lv a t i o n . W e a r e a p t to f o r g e t t h a t
we o u r s e lv e s a r e n o t in fa llib le , t h a t o u r o w n o p inio ns on all s u b ­
j e c t s of h u m a n i n t e r e s t w e r e n o t e x a c tly t h e sa m e t w e n t y y e a r s
a g o a s t h e y a r e now, u o r will t h e y be e x a c tl y t h e sa m e t w e n t y
y e a r s a f t e r w a r d s a s t h e y a r e now. W e a r e a p t to f o r g e t t h a t all
t h o m e m b e r s of o u r o w n s e c t o r p a r t y , if t h e y f r a n k l y reveal t h e i r
* Those sums may be paid in two instalments during one year, the
first instalment being payable before names oau be registered.—P. O. B.
whole m in d s , d o n o t h o l d ex ac tly th e sa m e o p in io n s on nil s u b j e c t s “ We Should tolerate all religions, though at the same
c o n c e r n in g r e l i g i o n a s we do. W e a r e a p t to f o r g e t t h a t t h e time p r o p a g a tin g the religion which we consider to be
r e lig io u s o p i u io n s of m an a re s u b j e c t t o p r o g r e s s a n d t h e y will true ”—we are told. It is Our painful duty to analyze
h o t be t h e s a m e a c e n t u r y a f te r w a r d s a s t h e y aro now- W e ,
T h eists, h a v e a s m u c h r i g h t to say t h a t m en of o t h e r reli these words, and we begin by asking w h y should we ?
gion s, les s a d v a n c e d in religious k n o w l e d g e t h a n we nre , w:ll n o t Where is the necessity for imposing our Own personal
b e saved, a s T h e i s t s w ho will live c e n t u r i e s h e n ce will h a v e of views, our beliefs p r o tem, if we may use the expression,
Baying t h a t we, t h e p r e s e u t T h e ists, will n o t h a v e been sa v e d on upon other persons who, each and all must bef allowed
a c c o u n t of o u r e r r o r s . Fa llib le m an c a n n o t w i t h g ood g r a c e be
a d o g m a t i s t . W e s h o u ld bo m oro m in d f u l of p e r l o r r n i n g o u r
to possess—until the contrary is shown—as good a
religiou s a n d m o r a l d u t ie s a n d d r a w i n g m e n 's a t t e n t i o n to thoso faculty of discrimination aud judgment as we believe
d u tie s t h a n d o g m a t i c a l l y t h r u s t i n g o u r p a r t i c u l a r o p in io n s on ourselves to be endowed with ? We say belief p r o tem
p a r ti c u l a r p o i n t s of relig ious d o c tr in e u p o n o t h e r s . basing the expression upon the writer’s own confession.
L e a r n e d d i s s e r t a t i o n s on theology a n d c o n t r o v e r s i e s on t h e s u b ­ “ We are apt to forget,” he tells his readers, “ that we
je c t of re li g i o n a r e u seful in tlie ir ow n w a y , b u t t r u e re ligion ourselves are not in fallible, that our opinions . . . were not
beforo t h e L o r d d oes n o t consist in t h e m . I t c o n s i s t s in a m a n ’s exactly the same tw e n ty years ago as they are now, nor
“ V i s i t i u g t h e f a th e r le s s a n d t h e widow in t h e i r aflliction a n d
k e e p i n g h im s e lf u n s p o t t e d fr o m t h e w orld,” t h a t is, from vice.... w i l l they be exactly the same tw en ty years hence,” a n d “ th at
S o m e peoplo c o n sid e r processions, fe s t iv a l s a n d re li g i o u s m u sic all the members o f our own sect or p a r t y ...... do not
as t h e be-all a n d end-all of religion. T h e y a r e no d o u b t u s e f u l in hold exactly the same opin ions on all subjects concerning
t h o ir ow n way, b u t t h e y a r e n o t th e bo-a ll a n d e n d -all of re lig io n . religion as we d o .” Precisely. Then why not leave the
L if e is t h e be-all a n d end-all of r e li g i o n ....
mind of our brothers of other religions and creeds to
W e sho uld n o t o n ly r e g u l a t e o u r own c o n d u c t by a n eye t o t h e pursue its own natural course instead of forcibly divert­
e ss e n t ia l s of re lig io n , but, w hile p r o p a g a t in g t h e re ligion we p r o ­
fess, we s h o u l d d r a w m e n ’s a tt e n t i o n m ore to love of G od a n d ing it?—however gentle the persuasion—into a groove we
love of m a n t h a n d o c tr in a l p o in ts . W e a r e m o r a lly c u lp a b l e may ourselves abandon twenty years hence ? But, we
before G o d if wo lay g r e a t e r B tr e s B on t h e h u s k i n s t e a d of th e may be perhaps reminded by the esteemed writer that
k e r n e l of religion. in penning those sentences which we have underlined, he
t h e E s s e n t ia l R elig io n d oes n o t a d m i t of c h u r c h o r g a n iz a t i o n .referred but to the “ non-essential points”—Or sectarian
T h e r e can be no su c h sect as t h e E s s e n t ia l R e lig io n is ts . T h e dogmas, and not to what ho is pleased to call the “ essen­
E s s e n t ia l R eligion is n o t t h e e x clu siv e p r o p e r t y of a n y p a r t i c u l a r
se c t o r c h u r c h . I t is t h e c o m m o n p r o p e r t y of all s e c ts a n d tial” points of religion, viz.,—belief in God or theism.
c h u ro b es. 'i'ho m e m b e r s of all se c ts a n d c h u r c h e s B h o u l d r e ­ We answer by enquiring again, whether the latter tenet
—a tenet being something which has to rest upon its own
g u l a t e t h e i r c o n d u c t a c c o r d in g to its d i c t a t e s ............. B esides, a
intrinsic valuo and undeniable evidence—whether not­
n u m b e r of m en , b a n d e d t o g e t h e r a n d callin g t h e m s e l v e s E s s e n t ia l
Religion ists, m u s t have p a r t i c u l a r c o n ce p tio n of t h e D e ity a n d
fu t u r e s t a te a n d follow a p a r t i c u l a r m od e of w o rship ; T h is p a r t i ­
withstanding, until very lately its jwasi-universal accep-,
c u la r c o nce p tion a n d p a r t i c u l a r m od e of w o r s h ip w o u ld a t once tation,—this tenet is any better proven, or rests upon
d e te r m i u e t h e m a s a sect. T h e s e p a r t i c u l a r c o n c e p tio n s of G od any firmer foundation than any of the existing dogmas
and f u t u r e s t a t e a n d modes of w o rs h ip g iv e rise to re ligio us sects which are admitted by none but those who accept the
a m o n g m a n k i n d . E v e r y in d iv i d u a l m an c a n n o t av o id j o i n i n g a authority they proceed from ? Are not in this case, both
sect a c c o r d in g to his ow n p a r t i c u l a r c o n v ic tio n s .
tenet and dogmas, the “ essentials” as tho “ non-essen­
D ifferen ces of re ligion m u s t a lw a y s e x is t in t h e w o r ld .* T o tials,” simply the respeotive conclusions and the outcome
qu ote P a r k o r . . . . “ As m a n y m e n so m a n y th e o lo g ie s .” As
it is im po ssible to o b lite r a te differences of face a n d m a k e all faces of “ fallible minds?” And can it be maintained that
exactly re s e m b l e each o t h e r , so it is difficult to o b l i t e r a t e d i s t i n c ­ theism itself with its present crude ideas about an intelli­
t i o n s of religion. Differences of re lig io n havo a lw a y s e x is te d in gent personal deity a little better than a superhumanly
the w orld a n d will e xist as lo n g as it l a s ts . I t is im p o s s ib le to conscious big man—will not 20 years hence have reached
b r i n g ove r m en to o n e a n d tho s a m e religion. A c e rta in k i n g
re m a rk e d : “ I t is i m p o s sib le to m a k e all w a t c h e s g o e x a c tly
not only a broader and moro noble aspect, but even a de­
alike. H o w is it possible t o b r i n g o v e r all mon to m y o w n cided turning point which will lead humanity to a far higher
opinion ?” V a r i o u s flowers w ou ld a lw a y s e x is t in t h e g a r d e n of ideal in consequence oftlie scientific trnths itacquires daily
religion, e ac h h a v i n g a p e c u l i a r f r a g r a n c e of its own, T h e i s m and almost hourly ? It is froin a strictly agnostic platform
bein g t h e m o s t f r a g r a n t of th e m all. B e a r i n g t h i s ill m in d , we that we are now arguing, basing what we say merely upon
sh ould to le r a t e all re lig io n s, t h o u g h a t t h e sa m e t im e p r o p a g a t ­
i n g th e re lig io n w h ic h we c o n sid e r to be t r u e hy m e a n s of a r ­ tho writer’s own words. And we maintain that the major
g u m e n t a n d g e n tl e p e rsu as io n . W e sh ou ld t o le r a t e even s u c h premiss of his general proposition which may be thits
ngnostical religion s hb V e d a n t i s m a n d B u d d h i s m a s t h e y i n c u l c a t e formulated—“ a personal God is ,—while dogmas may 'or
tbo d o c tri n e of t h e existe nce of God, t h o u g h t h e followers of t h o s e may not be true”—being sinijdy admitted, never proven,
r e lig io n s believe H i m to be im p e rso n a l, t h e d o c tr i n e of tY oga o r
co m m u n io n w ith H i m t o which m e n m u s t bo im p e lle d by love o£‘
since the'existence of God in general was, is, and ever
God, a n d tho d o c tr i n e of love of m an o r m o ra lity . S o m e people will remain an unprovable proposition,his conclusions how­
Bpeak of B u d d h i s m as a n a t h e i s t i c a l r e ligion . E v e n if i t w e re t r u e ever correctly derived from the minor or second premiss
. t h a t B u d d h i s m is a sy s te m of p u re a th e i s m , w h ic h it iB n o t, t h e do not cover the whole ground. The syllogism is regu­
phrhso “ ath e istic al re lig io n ” c a n n o t a p p ly to it. T h o e x p r e s ­ lar and the reasoning, valid—only in the opinion o f the
sion “ a th e i s t ic a l r e l i g i o n ” is a c o n tr a d ic t io n in t e r m s . T h e r e
cau be no re lig io n if d ivorce d fro m God- L a t e r r e s e a r c h e s have theists. Tlie atheist as the agnostic will protest, having
p r o v e d ' t h a t B u d d h i s m is n o t w i t h o u t t h e idea of a God as was logic as well as reason on his side. He will say : Why
fo rm erly sup posed. + W e s h o u ld to le ra t e all re lig io n s. W e s h o u l d not accord to others that which you claim for yourselves ?
look npon all re lig io n s, e v e r y o n e of w h ic h c o n t a i n s g r e a t e r o r However weighty our arguments and gentle otir persua­
less t r u t h , as G o d hitn solf looks u p o n th e m , r e jo i c i n g in t h e
t f n t h which each o on tain s a n d a t t r i b u t i n g its e r r o r s to h u m a n
sion, no theist would fail to feel hurt were we to try our
im p e r f e c t io n ................................... ” hand in persuading him to throw away his theism and’
' 'These are asnoble and ascanciliatiugwordsas were ever accept the religion or philosophy “ which we consider
pronounced a:nong the Brahmos of India. They would to be true”—namely, “ godless” Buddhism, or highly
be calonlated to do a world of good, but for the common philosophical and logical agnosticism. As our esteemed’
doom of words of wisdom to become the “ voice crying in contemporary puts it,—“ it is impossible to obliterate dif­
the desert,” Yet even iu these kindly uttered sentences, ferences of face and miike all faces exactly resemble each'
so full of benevolence and good will to all men, wo oannot other.” Has the idea ever struck him that it is as diffi­
help, discerning (we fervently hope, that Babu Rajuarain cult to entirely obliterate innate differences of mental
Boso will pardon our honest sincerity) a ring of a cer­ perceptions and faculties; let alone to reconcile by bring­
tain sectarian, hence selfish feeling, ono against which our ing them under one standard the endless varieties of
Socioty is forced to fight so desperately. human nature and thought ? The latter may be forced
from its natural into an artificial- channel. But like a
* We bog to differ from thfs opinion of 'onr kind-friend.— E d, mask however securely stuck oii one’s face, and which1
is liable to be torn off by' the first strong glisli1of,wind*
f We believe it’s a great; m istake, due to the o n e sid ed inferences ,
artd precipitate conclneiona of' somo O rientalists like Mr. Lillie; the • that blows under, the convictions thus'■artificially
aafcbor-of B nddha and Early Baddhibmi,r An eiermtf, all-pflrvading inoculated are liable at any day to resume their1natu­
ptfpciplp is.flof.what is vulgsrly called “ Gpd.”— E d , : Theosi ral course—the new cloth put 'ujjcrh,:'tb’fe old gftrrneu't’
torn out, and—“ the rent made worse.” We are with His neigHbodr take bis revengethat lie must be enduring
those who think that as nature has never intended the’ because complaint is useless and weakness can only bring
process known in Horticulture as engrafting, so she has contempt j that he must be temperate, that his Health may
never meant that the ideas of one man should be inocu­ keep good and all liis appetites retain their acuteness; and,
lated witli those of any other man, since were it so she he is told that, if He serves his friends, His friends may serve
would liave—if really guided by intelligence—created all liim, if he defends His country, lie defends Himself, and
the faculties of human mind as all plants homogeneous, that by serving His God lie prepares for Himself ah eternal
which is not the case. Hence, aa no kind of plant can life of Happiness hereafter—so long, we say, as He acts'on
be induced to grow and thrive artificially upon another such principles virtue is no mrtoe,but verily £he culmination
plant which does not belong to the same natural order, of S e l f i s h n e s s . However sincere and ardent the faith of a
so no attempt toward engrafting our views and beliefs tlieist, unless, wliile conforming his life to what Hepleases to
on :individuals whose mental and intellectual capacities term divine laws, he gives precedence in His thoughts first to
differ from ours as one variety or species of plants differs the benefit that accrues from such a moral course of actions
from another variety—will ever be successful. The lo his brother, and then only thinks of Himself—He will
missionary efforts directed for several hundred years remain at best—a pious egotist ; and we do claim that
toward christianizing the natives of India, is a good belief in, and fear of God in man, is chiefly based upon,
instauce in hand and illustrates the inevitable failure fol­ develops and grows in exact proportion to liis selfishness,
lowing every such fallacious attempt. Vcry few among His fear of punishment and bad results only for Himself,
those natives upon whom tlie process of engrafting without the least concern for liis brother. We see daily thait
succeeded, have any real merit; while the tendency the theist, although defining morality as the conformity
of the great majority is to return to its original of Human actions to div in e laws, is not a tittle more moral
specific types, that of a true born pantheistic Hindu, tlian the average atheist or infidel who regards a moral life
clinging to his forefather’s caste and gods as a plant simply the duty of every honest right-thinking man with­
clings to its original genera. “ Love of God and love out giving a thought to any reward for it in after-life. The
of man is the essence of religion,” says Babu apparently discrepant fact that one who disbelieves in
Hajnarain Bose elsewhere, inviting men to withdraw His survival after death should, nevertheless, frame in
their attention from the liusk of religion—“ the non­ most cases His life in accordance with the Highest rules
essentials” and concentrate it upon the kernel—its essen­ of morality, is not as abnormal as it seems at first. The
tials. We doubt whether we will ever prove our love to atheist, knowing of but one existence is anxious to leave
man by depriving liim of a fundamental and essential the memory of liis life as unsullied as possible in the
prerogative, that of an untrammelled and entire liberty after-remembrances of His family and posterity, and in
of his thoughts and conscience. Moreover in saying, aa honour even ivith those yet unborn. In tlie words of the
tho author does further on— Greek Stoic—“ though all ourfellow-men were swept away",
“ N o t h i n g has d o n e so m u c h m is ch ie f to t h e w o rld a s r e lig io u s and not a mortal nor im m o r ta l eye were left to approve or
bipot ry a n d d o g m a t i s m on n o n -e sse n tia l p o i n ts of re lig io n ; condemn, should we not Here, within our breast, have
n o t h i n g h a s led so m u ch to bloody w ars a n d fiery p e r s e c u t io u s as a judge to dread, and a friend to conciliate?” No
t h e s u m o ........” more than theism is atheism congenite with man. Both
-r—lie turns the weapon of logic and fact against his own grow and develope in him together with his reasoning
argument. What religion, for instance, ever claimed powers, and become either fortified or weakened by
more than Christianity “ love of God and love of man”— reflection and deduction of evidence from facts. In
aye, “ love of all men as our brothers j” and yet where short both are entirely due to the degree of His emotional
is that creed that has ever surpassed it in blood-thirstiness nature, and man is no moro responsible for being an
and cruelty,, in intolerance to the damnation of all atheist than he is for becoming a tlieist. Both terms are
other religions 1 “ What crimes has it (Religion in entirely misunderstood. Many are called impious not for
general) not committed ?” exclaims Prof. Huxley having a worse but a different religion, from their-neigh­
quoting from Lucrecius, and—“ what cruelties,” he adds, bours says Epicurus. Maliomedans are stronger theists than
referring to Christianity—“ have been perpetrated in tho the Christians, yet they are called “ infidels” by tlie latter,
name of Him who said “ Love your enemies ; blessed are and many are the theosophists regarded as atheists, not
the peacemakers,” and so many other noble things.” Truly for the denying of the Deity but for thinking somewhat
this religion of Love and Charity is now built upon the peculiarly concerning this ever-to-be unknown Principle.
most gigantic holocaust of victims, the fruits of the unlaw­ As a living contrast to the atheist, stands tbe' theist
ful, sinful desire to bring over all men to one mode of think- believing in other lives or a lifo to come. Taught by his
iug, at any rate to one “ essential” point in their religion creed that prayer, repentance and offerings are capable
—belief in Christ. We admit and recognize fully that of obliterating sin in the sight of the “ all-forgiving,
it is the duty of every honest man to try to bring round by loving and merciful Father in Heaven,” he is given
“ argument and gentle persuasion” every man who every hope—the strength of which : grows in proportion
errs with respect to tlie “ essentials” of Universal ethics,, to the sincerity of liis faith—that his sins will be remitted
and the usually recognized standard of morality. But to him. Thus, the moral obstacle between the believer and
the' latter is the common property of a ll religions, as sin is very weak, if we view it from the standpoint of
of all the honest men, irrespective of tlieir beliefs. The linman nature. The more a child feels sure of His
principles of the true moral code, tried by tho standard parents love for him, the easier He feels it to break his
of right and justice, are recognized as fully, and followed father’s commands. Who will dare to deny that the
just as much by the honest atheist as by the honest chief, if riot tlie only cause of half the misery with which
theist, religion and piety having-, as can be proved by Christendom' is afflicted—especially in Europe, the
statistics, very little to do with the repression of vice stronghold of sin and crime—lies not so much witbi
and crime. A broad line has to be drawn between tlie' human depravity as with its belief in tlie goodriess and
external practice of one’s moral and social duties, and infinite mercy of " our Father in Heaven,” and especially
that of the real intrinsic virtue practised but for its own in the vicarious atonement ? Why should not men
sake'. Genuine morality does not rest with the profes­ imagine that they can drink of the cup of vice with
sion of any particular creed or faitli, lea&t of all witli be­ impunity—at any rate, in its results in the hereafter—
lief in gods or a God ; but it rather depends upon the when one half of the population is offered to purchase
degree of our own individual perceptions' of' its' direct absolution for its sins for a certain'paltry sum of money,
bearing upon human happiness'iii gener'al/ hence—upon and the othor Has but to have faith in- and place reliance
our owh personal weal. Biit even this .is surely not all. upon, Christ to secure a place in paradise—though he
‘‘ So long as man is taught and allowed to bel ieve that he inlist be a muf-derer, starting for it riglit from the gallows !
be just, that the1strong-handof law may not piinisH' hiiii, oiJ The'priblic sale of indulgences for tho perpetration-of
 crime on the one hand, and the assurance made by the But leaving aside things as dark to them as they are to
ministers of God that the consequences of the worst pf us, and viewing “ conversion” so called, but from its
sins may bo obliterated by God at his will and pleasure, practical aspect, we say that he, who under the dubious
on the other, are quite sufficient, we believe, to keep pretext that because something is tru th to h im it must be
crime and sin at the highest figure. He, who loves not truth also for every one else labours at the conversion of
virtue and good for their own sake and shuns not vice his neighbours, is simply engaged in the unholy work of
as vice, is sure to court the latter as a direct result of breeding and raising future Cains.
his pernicious belief. One ought to despise that virtue
which prudence and fear alone direct. Indeed, our “ love of man” ought to be strong enough
and sufficiently intuitional to stifle in us that spark of
We firmly believe, in the actuality, and the philoso­ selfishness which is the chief motor in our desire to forco
phical necessity of “ Karma/’ i. e., in that law of unavoid­ upon our brother and neighbour our own religiouB
able retribution, the not-to-be diverted effect of every opinions and views which we may “ consider (for tho
cause produced by us, reward as punishment in strict time being) to be true.” It is a grand thing to have a
conformity with our actions ; and we maintain that since worthy Ideal, but a still greater one to live up to it ;
no one can be made responsible for another man’s religi­ and where is that wise and infallible man who can show
ous beliefs with whom, aud with which, he is not in the least without fear of being mistaken to another man what or
concerned—that perpetual craving for the conversion of who should be liis ideal ? If, as the theist assures us—“ God
all men we meet to our own modes of thiukingand respec­ is all in all”—then must he be in every ideal—whatever
tive creeds becomes a highly reprehensible action. With its nature, if it neither clashes with recognized morality,
the exception of those abovementioned cases of the uni­ nor can it bo shown productive of bad results. Thus,
versally recognized code of morality, the furtherance whether this Ideal be God, the pursuit, of Truth, hu­
or neglect of which has a direct bearing upon human manity collectively, or, asJohn StuartMill has so eloquently
weal or woe, we have no right to be influencing our proved, simply our own country; and that in the name of
neighbours’ opinions upon purely transcendental and that ideal man not only works for it, but becomes better
unprovable questions, the speculations of our emotional himself, creating thereby an example of morality and
nature. Not because any of these respective beliefs are in goodness for others to follow, what matters it to his
any way injurious or bad perse; on the contrary, for every neighbour whether this ideal be a chimerical utopia,
ideal that serves us as a point of departure and a guiding an abstraction, or even an inanimate object in the shape
star in the path of goodness and purity, is to be eagerly of an idol, or a piece of clay ?
sought for, and as unswervingly followed; but pre­
cisely on account of those differences and endless variety Let us not meddle with the naturalbentof man’s religious
of human temperaments, so ably pointed out to us by or irreligious thought, any more than we should think of
the respected Brahmo gentleman in the lines as above meddling with his private thoughts, lest, by so doing we
quoted. For if, as he truly points out—none of us is should create more mischief than benefit, and deserve
infallible, and that “ the religious opinions of men are innocent thereby his curses. Were religions as harmless and as
subject to progress” (and change, as he adds), that them, we as the flowers with which the author compares
would not have one word to say against them.
progress being endless and quite likely to upset on Let every “ gardener” attend but his own plants with­
any day our strongest convictions of the day previous ; out forcing unasked his own variety upon those of other
and tliat as historically and daily proved “ nothing has
done so much mischief” as the great variety of conflict­ stood, people, and all will remain satisfied. As popularly under­
ing creeds and sects which have led but to bloody wars may well Theism has, doubtless, its own peculiar beauty, and
and persecutions, and the slaughter of ono portion of seem “ the most fragrant of flowers in the
garden
mankind by tho other, it becomes an evident and an atheist, however, of religions”—to the ardent theist. To the
undeniable fact that,by adding converts to those sects, we a prickly thistle ;itand may possibly appear no better than
the theist has no more right to
add but so many antagonists to fight and tear themselves
to pieces, if not now then at no distant future. And in this blame him for his horror opinion,
take him to task for his
of
than the atheist has to
atheism. For all its beauty
case we do become responsible for their actions. Pro- it is an ungrateful task to seek to engraft
pagandism and conversion are tho fruitful seeds sown tho thistle, sinco in nine cases out of ten thethe rose upon
rose will lose
for the perpetration of future crimes, the o d iu m theolo- its fragrance, and both plants their shapes to become a
gicum stirring up religious hatreds—which relate as much
monstrous hybrid. In the economy of nature
to the “ Essentials” as to the non-essentials of any reli­ thing is in its right place, has its special purpose, and the every­
gion—beiug the most fruitful as the most dangerous for same potentiality for good as for evil in various degrees
the peace of mankind. Iu Christendom, where at each —if we will but leave it to its natural course. The most
street-corner starvation cries for help : where pauperism, fragrant rose has often the sharpest thorns ; and it is
and its direct result vice and crime, fill the land with the flowers of tho thistle when pounded and made up
desolation—millions upon millions are annually spent
into an ointment
upon this unprofitable and sinful work of proselytism. cruel thorns the best. that will cure the wounds made by her
With that charming inconsistency which was ever the
characteristics of the Christian churches, the same Bishops In our humble opinion, the only “ Essentials” in the
who have opposed but a few. decades back the building Religion of Humanity are—virtue, morality, brotherly
of railways, on tho ground that it was an act of rebellion love, and kind sympathy with every living creature,
against God who willed that man should not go quite as whether human or animal. This is the common plat­
quick as the wind; and had opposed the introduction of form that our Society offers to all to stand upon ;
the telegraphy, saying that it was a tempting of Provi­ the most fundamental differences between religions
dence ; and oven the application of anaesthetics in obstetri­ and sects sinking into insignifiance before the mighty
cal cases, “ under the pretence,’'Prof. Draper tells us “that problem of reconciling humanity, of gathering all the
it was an impious attempt to escape from the curse denoun­ various races into one family, and of bringing them all to
ced against all women in Genesis iii. 16,” those same Bish­ a conviction of the utmost necessity in this world of sorrow
ops do not hesitate to meddle with the work of Provi­ to cultivate feelings of brotherly sympathy and tolerance,
dence when the “ heathen” are concerned. Surely if Pro­ if not actually of love. Having taken for our motto—
vidence liatli sodecreed that women should be left to suffer “ In these Fundamentals—unity ; in non-essentials—full
for the sin of Eve, then it must have also willed that a liberty ; in all things—charity,” we say to all collectively
man boru a heathen should be left one as—pre-ordained. and to every one individually— “ keep to your forefather’s
Are the missionaries wiser they think than their God, that religion, whatever it may be —if you feel attached to' it,
they should try to correct his mistakes ; and do they not Brother ; think with your own brains—if you have any ;
also rebel against Providence, and its mysterious ways ? be by all means yo u rse lf —whatever you are, unless you
 are really &bad man.. And remember above all, that a writings attributed to the Magi are all allegories^ fctf-'itf
wolf in his own skin is immeasurably more honest than thd is‘only under the garb of fable that wisdom is'ssif&''iH
same animal—under a sheep’s clothing.” the hands of the ignorant, and easily attainable^ fo; t'He'
' — ■ ■»------ . learned.” .•••>(
. . S U G G E S T IV E C O M PA R ISO N S. Now and then we find such passages quoted frojp
■ E x a m i n rao a few statistics to see how the morals of the In­ Hindu and Christian scriptures and explained in the
fidels compare with those of the Christians—who would, if T heosophist. To show that tho writings of the ‘ Zoroas,-'
they could, see the terms “ infidelity” and “ immorality” trian^ faith are no exception to this rule, I can do ha
adopted as synonyms—Mr. C. D. Wallace in the Truth- better than select the simple allegory of Ormazd aiid
s.eeker brings forward the following proofs wliich corroborate Ahriman, explained so ably and clearly by the great1
our assertions in the article that directly precedes this one. Mahornedan writer just mentioned. Says Mohsan Fani:-*— ’
“ In an official parliamentary report, in 1873, of the crimi­ “ It is well known th at they (the Magi) used to teach th at the. xowlcj,
nals in England and Wales, we find 146,146. Of the different had two architects, Yazdan and Ahriman / that in the beginning1th'q
religions of the people of those countries we find : former was alone in tho world, but tho thought of evil springing tip
, Churcli ofE n g la n d ............................................................. 6,932,935 in him, ifc gave birth to Ahriman ; (t. e. Spirit manifested itself ita, and
D issenters........................................... ................................... 7,235,159 through matter. Ed.) that, when Ahriman saw out of his • hiding
Catholics ........................................ ..........................................1,500,000 place tho splendour and dignity of Yazdan, he envied him and began to
• Jew s ............................................ ................................................................ 57,850 sow seods of discord and confusion in tho world j that hereupon Yazdaif
. In fid e ls.....................................,.............................. ...............7,000,000 created an army of angels to fight with Ahriman, and though he was
able to overpower the latter, he could not drive him entirely out of tho
j Crimes to the 100,000 of population :--- world ; and ' that their struggle ended in a sort of truce at the time, on
Catholics ....................... ............................................................................. 2,500 condition tlmt Ahriman may be allowed to remain in the world f o r 'a ’
Churcli of E n g la n d ................................................................................... 1,400 fixed period,, after which he should have to vacate-it, when the world
' D issenters..................................................................................................... 150 would become tlio seat of unalloyed goodness and happinqSH.” ; , .
Iniidols ................. :........................................... ...................... 5
This needs no comment. The same writer goes on :— : -, .
“ The great philosopher Jamasp explains the above fable by flaying:
• A “ History of Prostitution,” by William W. Sanger, M.D., that the world is the man in the universe, the microcosm within th6
New York City, gives the following questions and answers, macrocosm ;* th at Yazdan is the Ruh or Rawan, tho spirit (the 6th and
put to the fallen women of that city :— 7th principles); and Ahriman,—the animal soul of passions'(or the 5tla'
Question.—Were your parents Protestants, Catholics, or non-pro.- and 4th Tabiat-e-unaari) ; that the thought of evil springing1up in tho
ipiud i?f Yazdan denotes the tendency of man’s spirit to matter ,* fch^t-
fesscyrs ? tiie discord and tumult originated by Ahriman means the struggle of
' A . —Protestant- ........................................................ ............... 960
Catholics ....................... ............ ............................................ 970 passions for supremacy over the spirit in man—the struggle which
i N on-professors........................................................................... 63 : dragged down the spirit to this, its physical state ; that the creation' of
Q.—W ere you trained in any religion ? I f so, was it P ro te stan t or tho host of angels to oppose Ahriman denotes the attainment of purity
by the practice of virtue and the subjugation of tbe passions (animal
Catholic ?
A .-—P ro to stan t ........................................................................ 972 spirit) by abstinence ; that by the temporary peace between Y'azd^n
■ Catholic....................................................................................... 977 .
and Ahriman is meant to show that the passions (animal soul) cannot
( No religions train in g ............................................................. 51 be altogether eradicated at first from man, though they can be subdued
■ Q .—Do yon profess the same religion now ? by abstaining from extremes and turning to the path of moderation ;
A .—Profess religion as educated ...................................... 1,909 that the fixed period allowed to Ahriman in the world is the” predomi­
N on-professors....... ................................................................ 91 nance of passions in human beings, in all cases in infancy and bef9r c
maturity, and in some even in advanced age ; and finally that the.depar-
How much good has religion done these women ? ture of Ahriman from the world shows the total destruction of pas­
Ex-Governor Robinson read a paper last year at the State sions, brought on either by voluntary death produced upon oneself by
Liberal League meeting at Ottawa, as follows :— saluk, yogiam or by natural death, (or by tho temporary and periodical
Convicts in the Kansas p o nitentiary .................. 640 destruction of the physical universe) after which the purified spirit
. N um ber of those having Christian education aud obtains perfect goodness and happiness.”
atten d in g Sunday-school............. ................................ 440
- The whole maybe summed up briefly thus. In-the;
Not having C hristian p a ren ts but atte n d in g Sunday­
. school beginning the spirit of man was free and untrammelled
127
W ithout Sunday-school training but believing in tho
by any physical desire. As the material tendency grew
Bible inspiration and the dogmas of the Christian
. and expanded, it was dragged down from its spiritual
church .............................................................................
37
state of purity to the physical state in this world.
U ubeliovers .............................................................................
36
With the latter sprang up the thousand and one human
• 1 worked one year in the penitentiary of the State of Ohio desires. These desires raged within the physical man
(not as a convict, though), where there were, I think, some
fifteen hundred prisoners at that time. I found no Infidels; and struggled to overcome the spirit in its first embodied
but many good praying Christians who would steal every­ state when its power was yet too feeble to ascertain
thing they could get tlieir hands on, even the things out of itself. This was the period of the infancy of the world
my pockets.” and before its maturity. By degrees the spirit owing
. The above criminal statistics of America need no more to the practice of virtue and abstinence and a life of
comment than those of England. Figures are hard things to temperance succeeded in subduing its animal passions
deal with.—Ed. Theos. and rising superior to them, until it grew so strong as
< ’ - to be able to free itself completely (to drive away the
Ahriman) by either of the two ways, viz., by thg, prtic-
ORMAZD AN D A H R IM A N AN D TH E tice of yogism or by natural death.f .
A L L E G O R IC A L W R IT IN G S OF T H E A N C IE N T S . The Dabistan contains many other passages similarly
. By N. M. P., A P a k s i F. T. S. explained. In one place it is written that Zoroaster used
to say that in the higher world there is a boundless ap<j
T hat tlio learned men of the East in times of old unfathomable ocean, from the vapours of which is pro­
wrote allegorically is beyond questiou, and no proofs of duced a great mirage in this lower world ; so that there
it are noeded at this late stage of inquiry. The religious is in this lower world nothing, which does not depend
books of the Parsis, Hindus, Christians and many other for its existence upon that ocean in the higher world.
nations contain passages upon passages which have one This is interpreted by the author as follows : “ The
meaning for the profane and quite another for the
initiate. Such mode of writing was a necessity in thosei * This is why Ahura Mazda, in the Vendidad is constantly addressed
Zaratusht as “ Thou Holy one, maker of the Material World” or
days, and the stubborn opposition which the occultists by Ed.
met with from the ignorant masses, required that it man.— f The alogory will become still more clear if the reader studies with
should be so. The learned in the antiquity were few, and attention the latest Fragments of Occult Ti-utk—the esoteric Buddhisfci^
their first care was to' guard their knowledge from the cosmogony, the evolution of man through the septenary chain 6f worlds,
vulgar- gaze of the brutal atid the ignorant. Hence—the his gradual progress through “ Rounds” and Racfes, the latter perform­
method, so well suited for the purpose of hiding precious ing their cyclic course within the groat cycle and getting more anel
more purified as the turning point of the latter is passed. These art*
truths under' the garb'- of*childisli' tales, or allegories; fill ao many explanations of the great truths hidden under so many
As M-ohsan- Fani; the -author1of Dabistan, lias i t : ((the various allegories in the World-Scriptures of the oldefr races. Ed. ,
boundless ocean is the all-pervading essence,* the one
only thing in the universe, that is, And that is known to
the general masses by the word God. The mirage
reflects on earth the things (which are no better than a
maya, a delusion,) ideated in this ocean, and these things
liave no true roality, or existence of their own, but appear
to exist by the potency of the only R e a l it y , the one all-
pervading element.
Again, a story is told of Zoroaster by Prince Behman,
of Asfandiar, tho son of tho great King Gushtasp. Zoro­
aster has said : " I was given by my f a t h e r and m other
in the care of nurses to bo brought up in a land far
remote from my home. Here I passed many years till I
f o rg o t my parents and my home, when of a sudden the
recollection of both flashed across iny memory. So I
tried to get back, by the same route I had come, and
returned n a k e d to my native country, where I saw my
home and parents. But from there I came back to this
country of my adoption, for I had the coat o f h u m a n ity
on me, and had to do'so, lest it may be said that being
unable to make any progress here I abandoned my duty
and fled. I shall, therefore, stay here (in the country
of my adoption) nutil the coat is worn out, when I will
again join my parents in my native homo.” Behman of
Asfandiar explains that those words of Zoroaster
are allegorical. Tho home is the spiritual world. The
f a th e r is tho manifestation of tho spirit ; and the
m other, the form taken by tho manifestation, i. e.,
eternal indestructible matter. Tho nurses represent
tho material elements in man. The giving in the care o f
denotes birth upon tho earth. The fo rg e ttin g of homo
and parents is the result of incipient human life in its
very commencement on earth. The su dden recollection
of these is the attraction which always exists between
man and tho o n e e l e m e n t , between spirit as the isolated
spark in man, and the fountain head the universal
spirit. Tho p a t h by which ho had como down
and by which ho returned is m e d ita tio n . The idea
of nakedness is the separation of spirit from its physical
prison by tho help of knowledge or occultism. (This
is called khald-c-tala qdt-e-bada ni, that is, freeing the
spirit from the bonds of matter). The coining back to
the country of adoption shows the return of spirit into
the body after its spiritual flight, and its remaining
there till its period of earthly life is accomplished.
By progress is meant the acquirement of knowledge
and the practice of virtue. Lastly, the wearing out of
the coat of humanity is the dissolution of the physical
elements, caused by death, after which event the pure
spirit returns to its parents and real home.
From what has been said above it would appear that
thero is no lack of material to ponder over for the
zealous and ardent student of Zoroastrianism. No
doubt it may be urged as well as deplored, that the larger
and, by far, the more important portion of the Zend litera­
ture is lost or destroyed. Yet even the few books that
havo been spared to us by our iconoclastic enemies and
that great destroyer of things—-Time, may be studied
■with advantage. As time has buried them in oblivion,
time will also bring them back to light. The only thing
wanted is an earnest search into what remains of the
tince great religion. The study of its philosophy will in
its turn open wider fields for speculation and may give
tho clue to somo other works that are now unknown.
But tho present mental state of tlie Parsis is diametri­
cally opposed to any such sort of investigation into
religious questions. It is to be the more lamented as the
rising generation of Parsis shows with every year more
a greater lack of iuterest and faith in the old writings
bearing upon their religion. Books like the Desatir and
Dabistan aro left neglected, simply because there are so
lew who can understand and appreciate them at their
true value. In the face of such statements as made by
* “ Brahma natyam j a g a n mithya jivo brahmaiva naparat" (Chandoeva
V panishad, p . 41.)
some writers, for example, by the celebrated author of
Dabistan, who says at the end of liis chapter on the Parsi
religion, “ Such is the history of tho beliefs of tho Parsis
related in tho commencement of this famous book. In
this account nothing has been inserted, which has not
been read from their authentic books or heard from the
lips of the members of the community itself, for many
are the groundless things attributed to them by their
enemies;”—in the face of such statements, I say, made by
men of a different faith, these books are yet condemned
as the repositories of fabulous myths, of unscientific facts,
and absurd exaggerations. Their prejudiced minds
prevent our Parsis from studying patiently and carefully
the true meaning of the texts. Failing to perceive the
kernel at first sight, they throw away the shell as worth­
less, without examining its contents. Then again they
have grown thoroughly materialistic .and worldly, their
efforts being solely directed towards leading a comfort­
able aud easy life. Wordly enjoyments engross tlieir
whole attention and hardly leave any time for mental
and spiritual development. With every day they deviate
more and more from tho path of spirituality, and yield to
tho fatal attraction which drags them down deeper and
deeper into the vortex of materialism. May heavenly
truth enlighten them and bo their guide to lead thom out
from this perilous abyss !
To those of my Parsi brethren who, liko your corres­
pondent in the March number of tho Theosophist, are ear­
nest to do something for themselves and their religion,
I would venture to make a few suggestions. They
should, in my opinion, unito together without any loss
of time. A society may be formed, composed exclusive­
ly of Parsi Theosophists under tho supervision and
guidance of our Parent Society. The object of this
group should be, for the present, the study of all tho
surviving books of the Zoroastrian faith and of those of
other nations bearing upon it. A few members of our
Society ought, if they can do so without any inconveni­
ence to others, to disregard all earthly benefits and
devote themselves entirely to tho study of Zoroastrianism
in the light of occultism. For it i3 certain that if any
thing can be done to revive the now altogether dead
forms of our Religion, it must be done by means of tho
secret science. I am reminded of a book called
Bag-e-Tarsd, published some years ago in Gujerati. It
was written by one of tho descendants of the Dastura
of Broach. From a perusal of the book—though I must
confess the language is neither lucid nor clear—it appears
that the writer was a student of occultism, lie is of
opinion that Zoroastrianism as now understood and be­
lieved by the Parsis is altogether different from the true
spirit of the old religion, and that the study and practic-e
of occultism alone can remove the dark veil which has
fallen over its old writings. He has also pointed out
the means by which Zoroastrianism can be restored to
its former glory.
I may add that I shall be the first man to join any
such Society as above suggested, and. to add all my
humble efforts in furthering its object. I shall be very
glad to communicate on the subject with any one desirous
of doing so when letters can be sent to the care of this
journal.
------- » ..
SHOULD MEN CUT TH EIR IIA IR ?
By P ro fesso r A lexa n der M. D., F. T. S.
W il d e r ,
W h e t h e r the hair should be cut I could never quite
satisfy myself. As a physiological practice, I seriously
doubt the propriety. Every cutting is a wounding, and
thero is some sort of bleeding in cousequence, and waste
of vital force. I think that it will be found that long-
lived persons most frequently wear their hair long. The
cutting of hair stimulates to a new growth, to supply the
waste. Thus the energy required to maintain the vigor
of the body is drawn off to make good the wanton des­
truction, It is said, I know, that after the hair has grown
 to a c e rta in le n g th it loses its v ita lity a t th e e x tr e m ity
a n d sp lits o r “ boom s u p w h e t h e r t h i s w o u l d b e so if
th o h a ir s h o u ld n e v e r b e c u t, I w o u ld lik e to k n o w .
W h e n i t is c u t a flu id e x u d e s , a n d f o r m s a s c a r o r c i c a t r i x
a t each w o u n d e d e x tre m ity , in d ic a tin g th a t th e re h a s b e en
in ju ry . W o m e n a n d p riests h a v e g e n e ra lly w o rn lo n g
h a ir. I n e v e r c o u ld im a g in e w h y th is d is tin c tio n w as
m ade. T h e a n c ie n t p riest w as v e ry o ften u n se x e d or
d e v o te d to a v o w of celibacy, b u t ' I c a n n o t su rm ise
w h e th e r t h a t h a d a n y t h i n g to d o w i t h it. K in g s w ore
th e ir h a ir lo n g in im itatio n of S a m so n a n d th e g o ld en
sun-god M ith ras. I su sp ec t fro m th is t h a t th e first m e n
■ horn w e r e sla v e s a n d la b o r e r s ; t h a t f r e e d m e n w o re t h e i r
h a ir u n m u tila te d , as th e c ro w n o f p e rfe c t m a n h o o d a n d
m an lin ess. I f th is b e c o rre c t, th o n o w e ra of fre e d o m ,
w h e n it e v e r sh a ll d a w n , w ill b e c h a r a c t e r i z e d b y m e n
u n s h o r u a s w ell a s w o m e n u n p e r v e r t e d .
I w ish t h a t o u r sc ien c e a n d o u r c iv iliz atio n h a d b e tt e r
d e v ic es fo r p re s e rv in g th e in te g r ity of th e h a ir. B a ld n e ss
is a d e f o r m i t y , a u d p r e m a t u r e w h i t e n e s s a d e f e c t . If
th e h e a d w a s in h e a lth , a n d t h e b o d y in p r o p e r v ig o r , I
ftm c o n f i d e n t t h a t t h i s w o u l d n o t b o . I am ap p reh e n siv e
th a t o u r d ie te tic h a b its o ccasio n th e b le a c h in g of tho
h a i r ; t h o stiff, a r s e n i c - p r e p a r e d h a t is r e s p o n s i b l e fo r
m u ch of th e b a ld n e ss. O u r h a ts aro u n h e a lth y , fro m th o
tric k s of th o h a tte rs . I su p p o se th e re a re o th e r causes,
h ow ever. H e r e d i t y h a s its in flu en ce. C e rta in d iseases
w ith e r th o h a ir a t its ro o ts ; o th e r s lo w er t h e v ita lity of
t h e s k i n , a n d so d e p il a te t h e b o d y . I ack n o w led g e th a t
th e s h in g le d h e a d d is g u sts m e. I t c a n n o t b e w holesom e.
T h e m o s t s e n s i t i v e p a r t o f t h e h e a d is a t t h e b a c k w h e r e
th e n e c k jo in s. T h a t p la c e e x p o se d to u n u su a l h e a t o r
©old is l i a b l e t o r e c e i v e a n i n j u r y t h a t w i l l b e p e r m a n e n t ,
tf n o t f a t a l , i n a s h o r t p e r i o d . T h e w h o le h e a d w a n ts
p r o te c tio n ; a n d t h e h a i r affo rd s th is a s no o t h e r p r o t e c ­
tio n c a n . M en h a v e b e a rd s becau se th e y n eed th em ,
a n d i t is w i c k e d t o c u t t h e m off. N o g ro w th o r p a r t of
t h o b o d y is s u p e r f l u o u s , a n d w e o u g h t , a s c a n d i d a t e s f o r
h e a l t h a n d l o n g life, to p r e s e r v e o u r s e l v e s f r o m v io le n c e
o r m u tilatio n . I n t e g r i t y is t h e t r u e m a n l y s t a n d a r d . —
(P h rcn ol. Journal.)
Editor's Note.— Fashion— which has somehow succeeded in making
r o s p e c t a b i l i t y ” i t s q u e e r a l l y — f o r b i d s C h r i s t i a n c iv iliz e d s o c i e t y w e a r ­
ing th e ir h a ir lo n g a t th is p e rio d of o ur c e n tu ry . I n th is th o so-called
C h r is tia n c iv iliz a tio n ia g u i l t y o f i n c o n s i s t e n c y , a n d i t s c l e r g y o f dioros*
p e c t , s in c e JesiiH a n d liis A p o s t l e s a r o s h o w n t o h a v o w o r n l o n g h a i r —
• v e r y o n o o f t h e m e x c e p t l ’a n l . T h o N a z a r s o f t h o O ld T e s t a m e n t
n o v o r a l l o w e d t h e r a z o r t o t o u c h t h e i r h e a d . T h e A r y a n R i s h is , t h e Yogis,
t h e Sa d h o o s o f e v e r y k i n d w o r o a n d still w e a r t h e i r h a i r lo n g . T l ie
i n i t i a t e s o f T i b e t d o t h e s a m e . I n E u r o p e , t h o G r e e k a n d Huhisiun c l e r g y
alone, a lo n g w ith th o ir M ouks, h a v o p r e s e r v e d th o w ise habit, a u d th e
k i a g e r i t y o f s oin o of t h o l a s t n a m e d is p r o v e r b ia l.
---- «-----
. HOM EOPATHY AND nAR M O N Y.
B y K i u s h n a d i i a n M u k e r j i , F . T . S.
T h e w r ite r of tlio a rtic le in th e T h e o so p h ist of A p ril 1883,
* T h e B u g b e a r s of S c i e n c e , ” t r e a t i n g o f H o m e o p a t h y a n d
M e sm e ris m “ v e ry t r u ly sa y s t h a t th e fo r e m o s t a n d tlie m o s t
im p o r ta n t fa c to r for th e disco v ery a n d c le a r u n d e r s ta n d in g
of s o m e g i v ij n s e c r e t o f n a t u r e i s — . a n a lo g y . ”
I h a d f o r m e r l y n o f a i t h i n t h e e ffe c ts p r o d u c e d b y H o m e o ­
p a th ic tre a tm e n t, a n d c o n seq u en tly n e v e r th o u g h t it w o rth
w hile to try e x p e rim e n ts a c c o rd in g to t h a t m e th o d . But
o n e d a y s o m e t h r e e y e a r s a g o w h e n t h i n k i n g of t h e i n t e r f e r e n c e
of l i g h t .aiul s o u n d w a v e s , i t s t r u c k m e t h a t t h e r e is s o m e a n a ­
lo g y , t h o u g h a v e r y d i s t a n t o n e b e t w e e n , s u c h p h y s i c a l p h e ­
n o m e n a w i t h t h e p r i n c i p l e o f H o m e o p a t h y . W h e n w e see
t h a t tw o sim ila r lig h ts u n d e r c e rta in (? ) c irc u m s ta n c e s p r o ­
d u c e d a r k n e s s , i t is n o w o n d e r t h a t t h e c o m b i n e d a c t i o n of
tw o s im ila r s y m p to m s of u n e a s in e ss m a y d e s tr o y e a c h o t h e r .
T h i s t h o u g h t led m e t o s e a r c h f o r m o r e f a c t s a n a l o g o u s to
th o f a c t s i n H o m e o p a t h i c t r e a t m e n t .
W h e n a b e a m o f e l e c t r i c l i g h t is a l l o w e d t o p a s s t h r o u g h
■ p r i s m , a s p e c t r u m o f s e v e n c a n t i n u o u s c o l o r s is t h r o w n o n
ih e screen . T h e b e a m f ro m a s o d iu m flam e t h r o w s a y e llo w
a p e c tr u m on th e screen . T h e r e f o r e it m a y b e first of all e x ­
p e c t e d t h a t w h e n a s o d i u m f l a m e is i n t e r p o s e d b e t w e e n t h o
•Jectric flam e a n d th e p rism , t h e y e llo w ‘p a r t o f t h e s p e c ­
t r u m w ill bo in c r e a s e d i n in te n s ity . B u t s u c h is n o t t h o
case in fact. T h e in te n s ity of t h e y e llo w p a r t in s te a d of
b e in g in c re a s e d , t h e r e a p p e a r s a d a r k b a n d in th o place of
yello w on th e screen. L e t us n o w d ra w o u t the analogy
b e tw ee n th is e x p e rim e n ta l fa c t a n d th e principle of hom eo­
p ath ic cures.
A c e r ta in d r u g w h e n in tro d u c e d in to o u r sy ste m producoa
a c e r t a i n s y m p t o m of u n e a s in e s s ; a s a so d iu m flam e th ro w n
th e yello w sp e c tru m . S o i n o r d e r to d i m i n i s h t h e i n t e n s i t y
of th e y e llo w b a n d of th e s p e c tru m of electric lig h t, w e w ill
s u c c e e d i f w e i n t e r p o s e t h e s o d i u m fla m e b e t w e e n t h e e l e c t r i #
lig h t a n d th e prism . S o i n o r d e r t o d i m i n i s h t h o e ffe c t o f a
p a r t i c u l a r s y m p t o m o f a d i s e a s e , w e m a y e x p e c t t o be s u c c e s s ­
f u l if w e i n t r o d u c e d r u g w h i c h p r o d u c e s a s i m i l a r s y m p t o m
of un e asin e ss.
1 m u s t c o n f e s s t h a t t h i s a n a l o g y 13 n o t s u c h a o n e a 9 t o
s u g g e s t e x p la n a t i o n of all th e fa c ts c o n n e c to d w i t h th a
h o m e o p a th ic p rin c ip le of c u r i n g a disease. B u t th is a n d th »
p h e n o m e n o n o f in te r f e r e n c e of s o u n d a n d l i g h t w a v e s s u g ­
g e s t e d i n m y m i n d a w a v e t h e o r y o f d is e a s e s , a s t h e a b o v e
a n a l o g o u s p h e n o m e n a i n p h y s i c s a r e a ll e x p l a i n e d b y t h *
h e lp of t h e w a v e t h e o r y o f l i g h t a n d so u n d .
A n y m a n ife s ta tio n of o u r n e rv o u s o r o t h e r o rg a n ic actions
I t h i n k , is o f t h e n a t u r e o f a m u s i c a l t o n e . T h e r y t h m *
m a n i f e s t e d i n o u r n e r v o u s a u d o r g a n i c a c t i o n s s u p p o r t t h ia
v i e w . A s i n g l e m u s i c a l t o n e is c o m p o s e d o f a f u n d a m e n t a l
t o n e a n d i ts v a r i o u s h a r m o n i c s . T h e n u m b e r s o f v i b r a t i o n *
in th e h a r m o n i c to n e s b e a r to n u m b e r of v ib r a tio n s of th o
f u n d a m e n t a l t o n e t h e r a t i o of 2 ,3 4 5 , &c. T h e t o n e o f a musi,.
cal note seem s j a r r in g w h e n th ese n u m b e r of h a rm o n ics ar*
v e ry g re a t, as it g e n e ra lly h a p p en s t h a t som e of th e h a rm o n ic
to n e s a r e n o t in c o n c o rd w ith th o f u n d a m e n ta l to n e o r w i t h
each other.
I t can be m a th e m a tic a lly p ro v e d t h a t w hon a particle
t h r o u g h w h i c h a w a v e p a s s e s m o v i n g a l o n g a l in e r e t u r n s t o
i t s f o r m e r p o s i t i o n , t h e w a v e m a y b o r e s o l v e d i n t o se v e T a l
w a v e s , i. e., h a r m o n i c s w h o s e n u m b e r o f v i b r a t i o n s a r o i n t h o
r a t i o o f 1, 2, 3, 4, &c., 11 0 f r a c t i o n a l n u m b e r b e i n g a l l o w e d .
A n d a lso, t h a t w h e n t h e s i m p l e r is t h e f o r m of t h o f i g u r e
a l o n g w h i c h t h e p a r t i c l e m o v e s , t h e le s s is t h e n u m b e r o f t h o
harm onics. T h e m ore z ig zag th e course of a n y p article
t h r o u g h w h ic h th e w a v e p asses, t h e g r e a t e r th e n u m b e r of
harm onics.
W e a ll k n o w t h a t s y m m e tr y a n d sim p lic ity a ro tw o i n ­
g r e d i e n t f a c t o r s o f b e a u t y , a n d so w h e n t h e m o t i o n o f a n y
p a r t i c l e o f a s t r i n g s t r u n g t o p r o d u c e a n o t e is a l o n g a s y m ­
m e t r i c a n d s i m p l e f i g u r e t h e e a r is p l e a s e d .
N o w suppose t h a t tw o notes a re s tru n g . T o fin d w h e t h e r
th e y a re in c oncord o r discord, I th in k it m a y be fo u u d b y
t r a c in g t h e m o tio n of a n y p a rtic le u n d e r t h e c o m b in e d a ctio n
o f t h e t w o w a v e s , if t h e f i g u r e t h u s t r a c e d is n o t s y m m e t r i c a l
th e tw o n o te s a r e n o t in concord.
F r o m w h a t I h a v e sa id before I a m of o p in io n t h a t th e
cause of the p le a s a n t a n d u n p le a s a n t sen satio n in m n sica l
n o t e s is t h e n u m b e r o f h a r m o n i c s i n t h e w a v e t h a t r e a c h e s
o u r e a r, w h ic h w a v e m a y be a sim p le o r c o m p o u n d w a v e of
s e v e ra l m u sica l notes.
S u c h is t h e c a s e w i t h o u r n e r v o u s o r o t h e r o r g a n i c a c t i o n .
Pile r y t h i n s of a n y s u c h o r g a n i c a c t i o n m a y b e e i t h e r s i m p lo
o r com plex. W h e n we find t h a t a p e c u lia r s y m p to m p ro d u c e s
u n e asy se n sa tio n , we m a y sa y th e n t h a t th e n u m b e rs of h a r ­
m o n i c s i n t h e w a v e w h i c h is t h e c a u s e of t h a t p a r t i c u l a r
s y m p t o m , a r e v e r y g r e a t , a n d a r e s u c h a s a r o n o t iu h a r m o n y
w ith each other. W i n e , f o r i n s t a n c e , f i r s t o f a ll p r o d u c e s a
p l e a s a n t s e n s a t i o n , b u t a b i g d o s e p r o d u c e s a n u n e a s y sensfv*
tio n . I m a y e x p la in th is by s a y in g t h a t in b o th cases th o
f u n d a m e n t a l w a v e p r o d u c e d b y w i n e is t h e s a m e , b u t i n t h o
f i r s t c a s e t h e w a v e is n o t f u l l o f a v e r y g r e a t n u m b e r o f h a r ­
m onics, a n d a r e n o t in d isc o rd w ith e a c h o t h e r ; b u t in th o
second case th e n u m b e r of h a rm o n ics a ro g r e a t a u d a re d is­
cordant. J u s t a s w h e n a p e r s o n sin g s a n o te in m ild to n e it
a p p e a r s s w e e t , b u t t h e s a m e n o t e s u n g i n a v e r y s h r i l l v o ic e
is n o t p l e a s i n g . T h e s t r i n g of a n in s t r u m e n t s t r u n g v io le n tly
g e n e r a ll y p r o d u c e s .u n p l e a s a n t notes.
D i s e a s e s , I t h i n k , a r e t h e e ffe c ts o f a s u d d e n j e r k i n o u r s y s ­
tem , p r o d u c in g a w a v e fu ll of d is c o rd a n t h a rm o n ics. N o w
h o w t o s e l e c t a d r u g t o c u r e a d ise a s e .
F r o m t h o p r i n c i p l e o f s y n c h r o n o u s v i b r a t i o n s i t ia c l e a r
t h a t n o w a v e t h a t is n o t s y n c h r o n o u s w i t h t h o p e r i o d o f
v ib r a tio n of a n o te p r o d u c e d by a g i v e n p ip e c a n affect th a
m a s s of t h e a i r w i t h in t h e p ip e to rn a k o i t v ib r a te , S im ilarly
n d nlcrtjbiilo t l i a t 6iiii p r o d u c e fl. w a v e !h o u r s y s t e m s y n c h r o ­
nous w i t h t h e f u n d a m e n t a l w a v e t h a t is m a n i f e s t e d i n t h e
s y m p to m s of a disease, c a n d ir e c tly a c t o n s u c h a w a v e .
W h e n I c am e to th is co n clu sio n , I b e c a m e a firm a d h e r e n t
of h o m e o p a th ic principles.
H e r e I m u s t m ention a n o th e r a n a lo g y to s u p p o r t t h e
a d m i n i s t r a t i o n of h o m eo p a th ic m ed ic in e s in m in u te 'd o se s.
; T h e p h o t o g r a p h i c effect of t h e r a d i a t i o n , o n t h e s a l t s of
s i l v e r , is v e r y f e e b l e i n t h e r e d r a y s b l i t b e c o m e s v e r y p o w e r f u l
i n th e v io let ra y s. N o w t h e e n e r g y o f r a d i a t i o n of r e d r a y s
is m u c h g r e a t e r t h a n t h e e n e r g y o f v i o l e t r a y s . T h is show s
t h a t t h e p h o t o g r a p h i c effect is i n n o w a y p r o p o r t i o n a l t o t h e
en erg y of ra d ia tio n w h e n d ifferent k in d s of ra d ia tio n aro
c o n c e r n e d . M a x w e l l s u p p o s e s t h a t i t is p r o b a b l e t h a t w h e n
r a d i a t i o n p r o d u c e s p h o t o g r a p h i c effects, i t is n o t b y i ts e n e r g y
d o in g w o rk on th e chem ical c o m p o u n d , b u t r a th e r b y a
w e ll tim e d v i b r a t i o n o f t h e m o le c u le s d i s l o d g i n g t h e m f r o m
t h e p osition of a lm o s t in d iffe re n t e q u ilib r iu m in to w h ic h th e y
h a d " b een th ro w n by p rev io n s chem ical m a n ip u la tio n s a n d
e n a b l i n g t h e m t o r u s h t o g e t h e r a c c o r d i n g t o t h i s m o re p e r ­
m a n e n t a ffin itie s so a s t o f o r m s t a b l e r c o m p o u n d s . I n c a s e of
t h i s k i n d t h e e f fe c t is n o m o r e a d y n a m i c a l m e a s u r e of t h e
c a u s e t h a n tlie e f fe c t o f t h e f a l l o f a t r e e is a m e a s u r e ' o f t h e
e n e r g y o f t h e w i n d w h i c h u p r o o t e d it.
! A d r o p o f a s t r o n g t i n c t u r e m a y h a v e a g r e a t e r e n e r g y of
c h e m i c a l a c t i o n t h a n t h e d r o p of a d i l u t e d m e d i c i n e , b u t i n
a d m i n i s t e r i n g h o m e o p a t h i c m e d i c i n e s w e h a v e n o t so m u c h
to d o w ith t h e e n e r g y of t h e m e d ic in e as w i t h th e c h a r a c t e r of
t h e m e d i c i n e . W h a t w e , m u s t se e is t h a t t h e m e d i c i n e c a n p r o ­
duce a w a v e syn ch ro n o u s w ith th e fu n d a m e n ta l w a v e of th e
d i s e a s e ; so t h a t b y s e t t i n g w e l l t i m e d w a v e s t h e m e d i c i n o
■would g i v e w e l l t i m e d i m p u l s e s . I f a d r u g c a n p r o d u c e
fcertain s y m p t o m s o f d e r a n g e m e n t s s i m i l a r t o t h e s y m p t o m s
o f t h e d i s e a s e , i t is e x p e c t e d t h a t t h e s a m e d r u g w o u l d p r o d u c e
a W av e s y n c h r o n o u s w i t h t h e f u n d a m e n t a l w a v e o f t h e d i s ­
e a s e , a n d a s s u c h is t h e p r o p e r r e m e d y o f t h e d i s e a s e .
T h e m o r e f r e e t h e m o t i o n of t h e m o l e c u l e s o f t h e d r u g is,
t h a t is t h e m o r e d i l u t e d t h e m e d i c i n e is, t h e less is i t s p o s s i ­
b i l i t y of p r o d u c i n g j a r r i n g e ffe c ts , a n d so i t is b e t t e r t o u s e
■medicines i n a d i l u t e f o r m . T h e i n t e n s i t y of a s i n g l e w a v e
p r o d u c e d b y a d ilu te d m ed ic in e m a y be v e ry feeble, a n d c o n ­
s e q u e n t l y t h e m o m e n t u m of a s i n g l e i m p u l s e p r o d u c e d b y t h o
w aye m a y be v e r y sm all, b u t w e m u s t r e m e m b e r t h a t t h e
effe c t p r o d u c e d b y w e l l - t i m e d u n d u l a t i o n s is c u m u l a t i v e , a n d
t h a t .to w h i c h t h e i m p u l s e is g i v e n , h o w e v e r s m a l l t h e
m o m e n t u m o f a s i n g l e i m p u l s e is, a c q u i r e s a m o m e n t u m m a d e
n p o f c o u n t l e s s s m a l l m o m e n t a . T h e w e l l t i m e d f o o t s t e p s of
s o l d i e r s is k n o w n t o b e a b l e t o t h r o w d o w n a s u s p e n s i o n
bridge, o v e r w h ic h th e so ld iers pass. I n theory, th erefo re,
b e t t e r e ffe c ts a r e e x p e c t e d t o b e f o u n d w h e n h i g h l y d i l u t e d
m e d i c i n e s a r e u s e d i n s t e a d of s t r o n g o n e s . B u t in p ractice
i t is a m a t t e r of e x p e r i m e n t h o w f a r a m e d i c i n e o u g h t t o bo
d i l u t e d i n t h e c a s e of p a r t i c u l a r d is e a s e s .
T h e s t u d y of t h e f u n c t i o n s o f o u r n e r v o u s s y s t e m a n d its
CoAtrol o v e r e v e r y o t h e r o r g a n i s m , w i l l s h o w t h a t if w e
c a n k e e p t h a t s y s t e m h e a l t h y a ll t h e o t h e r s y s t e m s w i l l
n e ce ssa rily be lic a lU iy ; fo r th e n e rv o u s sy s te m b e in g th o
f i n e s t s t r u c t u r e , i t is t h e p r i n c i p a l s y s t e m of a d j u s t i n g r a p i d l y
th e i n te r n a l re la tio n s to th e e x te rn a l. I t is t o t h e a c t i o n o f
o u i' n e r v o u s sy ste m t h a t a disease, e v e n a n o r g a n ic d e r a n g e ­
m e n t , is g e n e r a l l y c u r e d e v e n w i t h o u t t h e a i d o f m e d i c i n e s .
S u c h .cu re s are k n o w n by the n am e ‘ cures by n a tu re .’ A u d
i t is v e r y t r u l y s a i d t h a t t h e a c t i o n o f h o m e o p a t h i c m e d i c i n e s
is t o a i d n a t u r e i n i ts e f fo rts t o c u r e .
. T h e s t u d y o f t h e f u n c t i o n s o f t h e n e r v o u s s y s t e m is
pected to th ro w lig h t on th e p rin cip le of h o m eo p a th ic cures.
. A s i n t h e p h y s i c a l k i n g d o m so i n t h e m o r a l , t h e i n t e l l e c t ­
u a l a n d t h e so c i a l k i n g d o m s ,
. M a n is a n i n d i v i d u a l p a r t i c l e t h r o u g h w h i c h t h e m o r a l ,
so c i a l a n d i n t e l l e c t u a l w a v e p a s s e s . M a n is h a p p y w h e n h e
m o v e s i n a s i m p le s y m m e t r i c f i g u r e , a n d is u n h a p p y w h e n
z i g z a g is, t h e courses t r a c e d b y h i s c y c l i c m o v e m e n t s .
N o w s u p p o s e i t is r e q u i r e d t o s m o o t h t h e z i g z a g c o u r s e ;
fin d o u t . t h e f u n d a m e n t a l c o u r s e a n d g i v e t i m e d i m p u l s e s
a l o n g t j i a t l i n e o f motion., a n d t h e n t h e r e w i l l b e n o
a n y j a r r i n g effect. T o d o o t h e r w i s e w o u l d b e a m e r e
n e c e s s a r y • w a s t e o f e n e r g y . B y c h a n c e i n s o m e c a s e s wo
rh a y b e s u c c e s s f u l,' a n d i n s o m e m a y d o m o r e h a r m t h a n
^o'od. '
B eaulia , ) '
T h e 9 th o f A p r i l 1 8 S 3 . )
• ; ' ' — » — ■ ■- ■ ■
T E E R E L IG IO N OF A GREAT STATESM AN , ?
W e c o p y tlie c o n c lu d in g p o r tio n of th e m a g n ific e n t lec tu re 1
d e l i v e r e d o n S u n d a y , F e b r u a r y 4, b y M r . F r e d e r i c k H a r r i s o n *
on “ L eon G a m b e tta ,” th e g re a te s t of th e m o d e m F re n c h ­
m e n . I t is n o t h o w e v e r , a n y t h i n g i n h i s p o l i t i c a l lif e — h o w <
e v e r r e m a r k a b l e t h e l a t t e r , t h a t w e a r e c o n c e rn e d w ith at.
p re sen t, b u t r a t h e r th e in fo rm a tio n fu rn is h e d to th e w o rld
b y o n e w h o w a s a p e rs o n a l f r ie n d of t h e la te s t a te s m a n — t h a t
i n t e r e s t s u s. T h i s p o i n t is m a d e d o u b l y s u g g e s t i v e By t h e
r e m a r k s of th e a b le le c tu re r, a n d m e rits c e rta in ly to be
q u o ted fo r th e benefit of o u r read ers. W e g ive th e c o n clu d ­
in g s e n te n c e s; ■ ' *
Lastly, Gambetta was tho one European statesman of this century,
who systematically and formally repudiated any kind of acceptance of
theology. His idea of a State Church was wrong in principle ; his
persecution of the Catholic orders was wrong in principle and in prac*
t i c e b n t about his formal rejection of all theology there could be no
doubt whatever. His life, his death, and his burial, all alike bore
witness of that. They saw here in Gambetta a new thing.' They saW
a statesman of the first rank in Europe who formally repudiated
theology in every shape j the first ruler of France in this century who
had chosen to rest his right to rule oh purely human sanctions. But
the soul of Gambetta was not the soul of tho scoffer. He had a
religion in his soul* though he had neither God nor saint> arid
that religion was France. His religious life like hie political life*
remains but a fragment and a hope. Both have closed at the
age of fourty-four. What a future he might have had if h e : had
lived to the age of a Thiers or a Guizot I Referring to his fune­
ral, the lecturer said it was one such as no Emperor ever had—a day
when all France helped to bury the one Frenchman who had Btood be«
fore Europe as Bismark and Gladstone alone of living men stand before
Europe to-day. From first to last in that vast throng there was no
emblem of Christ; no priest of God ; not one mutter of heaven; no
hollow appeal to the mockery of the resurrection j no thought but
for the great hnman loss and human sorrow. Surely this was something
to think over. I t was the first time in the hiBtory of Europe for a
foremost man to be laid to his rest; by a nation in grief without prieBl
or church prayer or hymn. “ Shall nny one,” concluded the lecturer,
“ say after this that theology is still a living thing ? S hall any oni
DOUBT BUT THAT TIIE RELIGION OF HUMANITY IS AT HAND V* - '
— - ♦----- .!
A M ODE O F D IV IN A T I O N AM ONG TIIE P A R S IS ,
B y J . N . U nwai,a, F . T . S .
N o w t h a t o u r w i d e l y c i r c u l a t e d j o u r n a l , T h e T h e o so p h ist>
h a s f i r m l y e s t a b l i s h e d i t s e l f a s a r e c o r d o f A r y a n l o r e in
a ll i ts p h a s e s — e s o t e r i c , e x o t e r i c , e t h n o l o g i c a l , a n t i q u a r i a n
a n d h isto ric a l, I b e g to s u g g e s t t h a t som e of its n u m e ro u s
r e a d e r s of a ll c a s t e s a n d c r e e d s s h o u l d t a k e u p t h e s u b j e c t o f
d iv in a tio n a n d describe th e m odes th e re o f to w h ic h th e ir
a tte n tio n m a y h a v e b e en d ire c te d in th e i r e xperiences o r m a y ­
be t h e i r s t u d i e s . T h e s u b j e c t i n a ll i ts n u m e r o u s r a m i f i c a ­
t i o n s is so i n t e r e s t i n g t o t h e s t u d e n t o f T h e o s o p h y a n d
O c c u l t i s m , t h a t a r e c o r d o f t h e s e a t t e m p t s of h u m a n i t y , h o w ­
s o e v e r e l a b o r a t e o r r u d e t o p e n e t r a t e t h e v e il o f I s i s a n d t 6
dive in to f u t u r it y , c a n n o t b u t be s u g g e stiv e as w ell a s p ro v o ­
c ativ e of s u b lim o t h o u g h t s w ith r e fe re n c e to t h e in finite
c a p a b i l i t i e s o f t h e h u m a n s o u l , a t l e a s t i n t h a t a c t i v e p h a s e of
i t c alled th e W ill o r W ill-p o w er. I a m a w a re t h a t on tw o
o r th r e e occasions som e m o d e s of D iv in a t i o n h a v e b e e n d e s­
c rib ed b y c o n trib u to rs, b u t I a m s u r e in th is v a st c o n tin e n t
of A r y a v a r t a alo n e th e r o a r e i n n u m e r a b l e s u c h m o d es
u n to u c h e d a n d u n d e s e rib e d , a n d a lit t le effort o n t h e p a rt
o f o b s e r v e r s i n t h i s v i r g i n f ie ld o f r e s e a r c h , I v e n t u r e t o s a y ,
c a n n o t b u t b e c r o w n e d w i t h su c c e s s . Som e th ere m a y 'b e
w h o p e r h a p s a r e d e t e r r e d f r o m e n t e r i n g t h i s field b e c a u s e
th e y t h in k t h a t som e of th e s e m o d es a re e x tre m e ly r u d e a n d
p e rh a p s ch ild ish . O thers th e re m ay be w ho p erhaps shrink
ex­
b a c k f r o m t h i s l a b o u r , b e c a u s e t h e m e t h o d s a d o p t e d a,re h i g h l y
e la b o ra te a n d u n m e a n i n g w i t h a ll t h e i r p a r a p h e r n a l i a of c e re ­
m o n ials a n d ritu a lis tic m u m m e rie s . B u t as I h av e a lread y
re m a r k e d , to a s t u d e n t i m b u e d w ith t h e d e sire of T h eo so ­
p h ic p u rsu its, th e y a re n o t o n ly in te re s tin g b u t suggestivo,
a n d c a n n o t b u t affo rd m a t e r i a ls fo r sp e c u la tio n a n d in ce n tiv e s
w h i c h too, a s w e k n o w , a r e e n c o u r a g e d a n d f o s t e r e d b y o u r
im m ortal G urus. .
A s m y first c o n tr ib u tio n o n th is su b je ct, I w ill d e sc rib e a
l o n gceerr t a i n m o d e o f D i v i n a t i o n p r a c t i s e d f o r a g e s a m o n g s t o u r
un­ Z o ro a s tria n b ro th ers , and, sh o w n m e late ly by a P a r s i lady
a n d h e r h u s b a n d in a ll its sim p le d e tails. . ,,
. I n t h e f i r s t p l a c e a .copy, o f t h e K h o r d e h A v e s t a , t h e s m a ll
b o o k o f A v e s t a p r a y e r s ; a K u s t i u s e d o r u n u s e d , t h e sarired
w o o l l e n , w o v e n c o r d , o f 72 t h r e a d s , w h i c h e v e r y P a r s i hff«
r o u n d h i s w a i s t a s ' one. o f t h e d i s t i n g u i s h i n g bado-es Hrs
f a i t h ; a lo n g k e y ; a sm a ll c e n s e r o r d h u p d a n w ith a feV
h o t c i n d e r s i n i t ; a n d a f e w p i n c h e s o f f r a n k i n c e n s e — theSe
are th e only m ate ria ls re q u ire d b y th o se t h a t co n su lt th is
s i m p l e o r a c l e . T h e K h o r d c h A v e s t a b o o k is f i r s t of a ll
o p e n e d a b o u t m i d w a y , t h e k e y is p l a c e d a c r o s s i t i n t h e
m i d d l e w i t h t h e t u b e l y i n g p a r a l l e l t o t h e l in e s , a n d t h e b o o k
is c lo s e d . T h e r i n g o r h a n d l e o f t h e k e y is t h e o n l y p o r t i o n of it
t h a t is l e f t o u t s i d e — s a y a b o u t a n i n c h o r h a l f a n i n c h , a n d so
p l a c e d t h a t i t s p l a n e is p a r a l l e l t o t h e p l a n e s of t h e l e a v e s of
t h e b o o k b u t n o t a t r i g h t an g le s to th e m . T h e sacred cord
is n o w w o u n d r o u n d a n d r o u n d t h e bo o k m id w a y , tw ic e o r
th ric e g o in g even t h ro u g h th e r i n g to m a k e th e book h o ld
t h e k e y t i g h t a n d fi r m b e t w e e n i t s p a g e s . T h e p e r s o n s
c o n s u l t i n g t h e o r a c l e — a l w a y s t w o — s i t t i n g f a c e t o fa c e
o p p o s i t e t o e a c h o t h e r , a n d p l a c i n g t h e m s e l v e s in a s d e v o u t
a n d p i o u s a f r a m e of m i n d a s p o s s ib l e , s u p p o r t a n d s u s p e n d
th e book b e tw ee n th e m w ith t h e tip s of t h e in d e x fingers
o f t h e i r r i g h t h a n d s , t h e n a i l s o n t h e u n d e r sid e , a n d t h e t i p s
a lm o st to u c h in g th e a n g le s fo rm e d b y th e c ircu m feren ce
of t h e r i n g a n d t h e s h a f t o f t h e k e y . E ith e r of th e m ta k e s
a p i n c h of t h e i n c e n s e , a n d w h i l s t h e is t h r o w i n g i t i n t o t h e
c en ser h e o r h is v is-a -v is p u t s t h e s u s p e n d e d b o o k a q u e stio n
in s u c h a m a i m e r a s t o e l i c i t a ‘y e s ’ o r a 1 n o . ’ T h u s , s u p p o s e
a n a r t i c l e is s t o l e n . T h e q u e s t i o n p u t m a y b e o f t h i s f o r m :—
I s t h a t stolen b y som e one in t h e h o u se o r b y a n o u tsid e r,
i f a n o u t s i d e r , f a ll, if n o t r e m a i n w h e r e you. a r e . I f i t f a ll s
i t w i l l t u r n r o u n d a q u a r t e r o f a c ir c le b e t w e e n t h e t i p s
o f t h e f i n g e r s , w h i c h r e m a i n fi x e d i n t h e s a m e p o s i t i o n i n
a s t r a i g h t lin e , a n d t h e r i n g w i t h t h e b o o k h a v i n g n o t h i n g
t o s u p p o r t it, f a l l s d o w n . I t is a g a i n p l a c e d i n i t s f o r m e r
p o s i t io n , a n d o t h e r q u e s t i o n s a r e a s k e d a s m a n y a s t h e
c o n s u l t e r s o r e v e n t h e i r f r i e n d s , ' t h a t a r e n e a r t h e m , c h o o se .
T h e o n l y p r e c a u t i o n is t h a t e a c h q u e s t i o n m u s t b e a c c o m ­
p a n i e d w i t h a p i n c h o f i n c e n s e t h r o w n i n t o t h e fire. I t is
a lw a y s to be r e m e m b e r e d t h a t t h e q n e stio n s a r e of t h is
g e n e r a l f o r m . “ I f i t is so a n d s o , f a l l , if n o t , r e m a i n w h e r e you.
a r e ; ” o r if i t is n o t so a n d so, f a ll , b u t i f so a n d so r e m a i n
w h ere yo u a re.” O f course a f te r th ese q u e stio n in g s th e cord
is u n w o u n d a n d t h e k e y is t a k e n o u t of t h e b o o k .
T h e l a d y a n d h e r h u s b a n d t e l l m e t h a t t h i s o r a c l e lia s
alw ay s p r o v e d itself infallible, a n d t h e y h a v e b e e n a b le to
find o u t b y its m e a n s t h e ir sto len a rtic le s, Ac. I w a s p r e ­
s e n t w h e n t h e o r a c l e w a s o n c e c o n s u l t e d a s t o t h e i r a b i l i t y to
g e t b a c k a f i v e - R u p e e - n o t e t h a t t h e h u s b a n d h a d lo st. T h e
o r a c l e s a i d “ n o ” t o it, a n d t h e n o t e w a s n e v e r a f t e r w a r d s
f o u n d , a l t h o u g h t h e y w e r e s t r e n u o u s i n t h e i r e f f o r t s t o fin d
i t o u t.
A b o u t th is tim e I h a d a c c id e n tally fo u n d o u t t h a t th is m ode
of div in atio n w as n ot u n k n o w n in E u ro p e. O n lo o k in g over a
book on p a r lo u r m a g ic b e lo n g i n g to a f r i e n d of m in e , c alled
T h e M a g i c i a n ’s O w n B o o k , 9 9 9 “ S t a r t l i n g T r i c k s , ” e d i t e d b y
W . 11. C r e m e r , I d i s c o v e r e d a l m o s t t h e s a m e m e t h o d i l l u s t r a t ­
e d in a w o o d -c u t. T h e book c o n su lted w as a n y book, a n d
th e k e y w a s p lac ed w ith th e s h a f t o r t u b e n o t p a ra lle l to
t h e l in e s a s a b o v e b u t a c r o s s a t r i g h t a n g l e s t o t h e m a n d
p a r a l l e l t o t h e b a c k of t h e b o o k , a n d t h e r e w a s n o i n c e n s e ;
th e sa e re d c o r d w a s in t h is case a piece of c o m m o n s t r i n g o r
thread.
I t h e r e f o r e a v a i l e d m y s e l f of t h e o p p o r t u n i t y a n d r e q u e s t e d
th e la d y to a sk t h e oracle w h e t h e r t h is m o d e of d iv in a tio n
w as p u r e ly Z o ro astrism o r E u r o p e a n . I t s a n s w e r , g iv e n w i t h -
o n t a n y eq u iv o c atio n , w as t h a t th is m e t h o d w as in o rig in
p u re ly Z o ro as trian .
I have given th e above d e ta ils for w h a t th e y a re w o rth ,
a n d I t r u s t t h a t a n y o n e o f y o u r r e a d e r s m a y t r y i t if h e
c hoo se s, if n o t . s e r i o u s l y , t h e n f o r c u r i o s i t y ’s s a k e . I h a v e n o
d o u b t t h a t m a n y will c r e d i t i t to t h a t m e a n in g le s s a g e n c y
c alled “ u n c o n sc io u s c e r e b r a t i o n ,” one of th o se v e r b a l s u b t e r ­
f u g e s w h i c h s e r v e a s a c l o a k t o t h e i g n o r a n c e o f s c o ffe rs
rid ic u lin g th e inexplicable in o c c u lt p h e n o m e n a .
-----»-----
TIIE E F F IC A O Y OF F U N E R A L C E R E M O N IE S.
To
T iie W h it e r of t iie “ O c c u l t F r a g m e n t s .”
D ear S ir and B r o t h e r ,
I n y o u r a r t i c l e o n “ D e v a c h a n ” y o u h a v e e x p l a i n e d .at
le n g th th e e n jo y m e n t t h a t th e S p ir itu a l E g o in c o m b in a tio n
w i t h t h e h i g h e r e s s e n c e of t h e f i f th p r i n c i p l e , f e e l s in a s o r t of
r o sy sle ep e x t e n d i n g o y e r a n e n o r m o u s p e r io d . T h e E g o t h a t
f a k e s i ts b i r t h in D e v a c h a n , a f t e r t h e p e r i o d of g e s t a t i o n , is
u n c o n s c io u s of w h a t p a s s e s h e r e o n e a r t h t o w h i c h i t c a n n o t
be a t t r a c t e d . I t is o n l y t h e s h e l l f o r m e d o f t h e f o u r t h a n d
th e l o w e r r e m n a n t of t h e fifth p r i n c i p l e t h a t r e m a i n s w a n d e r ­
i n g i n K a m a L o k a , a n d i t is t h i s re liq u ic e t h a t o f t e n m a k e s its
a p p e a r a n c e u n d e r c e r t a i n c o n d i t i o n s i n t h e S e a n c e r o o m of
th e S piritu alist. A l l t h i s h a s b e e n c l e a r l y t a u g h t in t h e
“ F r a g m e n t s ” w h i c h w ill h e l p t o d i s p e l m a n y a d o u b t . T h e
in fo rm a tio n h o w e v e r t h a t c o u ld be g a th e r e d fro m th e " F r a g ­
m e n t s ” d o e s n o t e x p l a i n h o w f a r t h e sh e ll m a d e u p of t h e 4 t h
a n d l o w e r 5 t h is c o n s c io u s of i ts p a s t e x is te n c e , a n d w h e t h e r
i t c o n s c io u s ly s u f f e r s f o r i ts p a s t m i s d e e d s i n a n y s h a p e . T o
t h e H i n d u s a n d P a r s e e s a g a i n i t is of tlie h i g h e s t i m p o r t a n c e
to k n o w w h e t h e r a n y o b seq u ial cerem onies a re of a n y t h e le a st
b e n e f i t t o t h i s s h e l l o r t o t h e E g o r e s t i n g in D e v a c h a n . E n ­
lig h te n e d reaso n re je cts th e id e a t h a t th e b lu n d e rin g cerem o n ial
a c t s p e r f o r m e d m e c h a n i c a l l y c o u l d b e of a n y a v a i l t o t h e d i s ­
e m b o d ied p o rtio n of m an , a n d y e t th e P a rse es a n d th e H in d u s
h a v e t o s p e n d l a r g e s u m s o f m o n e y f r o m y e a r t o y e a r to
alla y a s u p e rs titio u s d r e a d lest th e y m i g h t u n c o n sc io u s ly do
i n j u r y t o t h e d e p a r t e d s o u l. T h e f u n e r a l c e r e m o n i e s a r e a
r e a l c u r s e t o t h e P a r s e e , a n d t h e m i d d l e c la s s e s a r e g r o u n d
d o w n b y n e e d l e s s e x p e n s e s w h i c h lie h e a v y u p o n t h e m . T h e i r
c ivilization h a s b e en g r e a t ly r e ta r d e d by th is c r u s h i n g s u p e r ­
s t i ti o n . I t w ill t h e r e f o r e b e n o s m a l l b o o n t o l e a r n t h e o p i ­
n i o n of t h e O c c u l t i s t s a s t o h o w f a r m e n o n e a r t h c a n — if a t
a l l — b e n e f i t t h e f o u r r e m a i n i n g p r i n c i p l e s of a d e c e a s e d
p e r s o n . A t p a g e 1 7 9 o f t h e 4 t h v o l u m e of t h e T h e o so p h ist
M r. C h id a m b a r a m I y e r q u o te s a S h a s t r a w h ic h says t h a t “ h e
w h o o m i t s t o p e r f o r m S r a d h a o n t h e a n n i v e r s a r y of tlie d a y
of d e a t h w i l l b e b o r n a c h a n d a l a a c r o r e o f t i m e s . ” * T h i s is
e v i d e n t l y t h e w r i t i n g of a n u n i n i t i a t e d p r i e s t f w h o s c a rc e ly
k n e w a n y t h i n g a b o u t t h e t r u e d o c t r i n e of r e b i r t h s . B n t s e n ­
t e n c e s l ik e t h e s e s w a y t h e p o p u l a c e , a n d t h o u g h t f u l p e r s o n s
f o r w a n t o f a c o r r e c t k n o w l e d g e of t h e o c c u l t t e a c h i n g o n
th is p o in t a re th e m s e lv e s t ro u b le d w ith doubts.
T h i s s u b j e c t v e r y c o n v e n i e n t l y fa lls i n w i t h t h e s u b j e c t of
“ D e v a c h a n ” a n d th e p ro m ised article on “ A v itch i,” a n d I
s i n c e r e l y t r u s t y o u w ill b e g o o d e n o u g h to e n l a r g e u p o n t h i s
p o i n t a s i t is of t h e h i g h e s t m o m e n t to t h e A s i a t i c r a c e s to
k n o w w h a t th e ir f u n e ra l ccrem onies are really w o rth .
Y ours fraternally,
“ N. D. K.,” r. t . s.
Editor's Note. — T h e w r i t e r of t h e “ F r a g m e n t s ” h a v i n g
g o n e to E n g l a n d , s o m e t i m e h a s t o e la p s e of c o u r s e b e f o r e h e
c an a n s w e r t h e qu e stio n s. U n t i l t h e n a s a s t u d e n t of t h e
s a m e S c h o o l w e m a y , p e r h a p s , b e p e r m i t t e d to s a y a f e w
w o rd s u p o n th e subject.
I n e v e r y c o u n t r y , a s a m o n g a ll t h e p e o p le s of t h e w o r l d
f r o m t h e b e g i n n i n g of h i s t o r y , w e see t h a t s o m e k i n d of
b u r i a l is p e r f o r m e d — b u t t h a t v e r y f e w a m o n g t h e s o - c a lle d
sav ag e p rim itiv e races h a d or h av e a n y fu n e ra l rites o r c e re ­
m o n ie s . T h e w e ll-m e a n in g te n d e rn e s s fe lt b y us fo r th e
d e a d bodies of th o se w h o m w e loved o r re sp ec ted , m a y h a v e
s u g g e s t e d , a p a r t f r o m t h e e x p r e s s i o n of n a t u r a l g r i e f , s o m e
a d d i t i o n a l m a r k s of f a m i l y r e s p e c t f o r t h e m w h o h a d l e f t u s
fo r ever. B u t rite s a n d cerem onies as p re scrib e d b y o u r r e s ­
p e c t i v e C h u r c h e s a n d t h e i r t h e o l o g i a n s , a r e a n a f t e r t h o u g h t of
t h e p r i e s t , a n o u t g r o w t h o f t h e o l o g i c a l a n d c le r ic a l a m b i ­
t i o n , s e e k i n g t o i m p r e s s u p o n t h e l a i t y a s u p e r s t i t i o n , a w e ll-
p a y i n g a w e a n d d r e a d o f a p u n i s h m e n t of w h i c h t h e p r i e s t
h im self k n o w s n o th in g b e y o n d m e re sp e c u la tiv e a n d often
v e r y ill o g i c a l h y p o t h e s e s . T h e B ra h m in , th e Mobed, the
A u g u r , th e R a b b i, th e M oollali a n d th e P rie st, im pressed w ith
th e fa c t th a t th e ir physical w elfare d ep en d e d fa r m ore upo n
h i s p a r i s h i o n e e r s , w h e t h e r d e a d o r a liv e , t h a n t h o s p i r i t u a l w e l ­
fa re of th e l a t t e r on h is a lle g e d m e d ia to rs h ip be tw ee n m e n
a n d G od, fo u n d th e dev ic e e x p e d ie n t a n d good, a n d e v e r since
w o r k e d o n t h i s lin e . F u n e r a l r i t e s h a v e o r i g i n a t e d a m o n g t h e
t h e o c r a t i c a l l y g o v e r n e d n a t i o n s , s u c h as t h e a n c i e n t E g y p ­
tians, A ry a n s , a n d Je w s. I n te rw o v e n w ith, a n d c o n se c ra te d
b y tlie c e r e m o n i e s of t h e o l o g y , t h e s e r i te s h a v e b e e n a d o p t e d
b y t h e r e s p e c t i v e r e l i g i o n s of n e a r l y a ll t h e n a t i o n s , a n d a r e
p r e s e i 'v e d b y t h e m to t h i s d a y ; f o r w h i l e r e l i g i o n s d if f e r c o n si-
■ d e ra b ly a m o n g th em selv es, th e rite s often su rv iv in g th e
p e o p le a s t h e r e l i g i o n t o w h i c h t h e y o w e d t l i e i r o r i g i n h a v o
p a sse d fro m one p e o p le to a n o th e r. T h u s, for instance, th e
t h r e e f o l d s p r i n k l i n g w i t h e a r t h w i t h w h i c h t h e c l i r i s t i a u is
c o n s i g n e d to t h e t o m b , is h a n d e d d o w n to t h e w e s t e r n s f r o m
th e P a g a n , G re ek s a n d R o m a n s ; a n d m o d ern P a rse ism owes
a c o n s i d e r a b l e p o r t i o n of its p r e s c r i b e d f u n e r a l r i te s , w e
* T h e p u n i s h m e n t , o v e n if t r u e , w o n Id n o t be bo d r e a d f u l a f t e r a l l
in t h i s o u r a g e o f e n l i g h t e n m e n t , w h e n soci al e q u a l i t y a n d e d u c a t i o n is
l e v e l l i n g a l l t h e c a s t e s . — Ed.
t M o st a s s u r e d l y t h o t h r e a t d o e s n o t c o m o f r o m a n i n i t a t o d R i s h i . —
Ed,
 b e li e v e , t o t h e H i n d u s , m u c h i n th e 'ir p r e s e n t m o d e of w o r s h i p B u t as r e g a r d s th e rite s ob serv ed a fte r the fu n e ra l of the
b e i n g d u e to g r a f t s of H i n d u i s m . A b r a h a m a u d o t h e r P a t r i ­ c o r p s e , w e fi n d n o m o r e t h a n t h i s — a r e p e t i t i o n o f t h e i n j u n c ­
a r c h s "were b u r i e d w i t h o u t a n y r i te s , a n d e v c i l i r i L e v i t i c u s t i o n g i v e n i n t h e B o o k o f A b a d ( D e s a tir ) . “ A n A t h r a v a n . . .
( C h a p . x ix . u. 2 8 ) t h e I s r a e l i t e s a r c f o r b i d d e n t o “ m a k e a n y s h a l l s a y a l o u d t h e s e f i e n d - s m i t i n g w o r d s ;— Y a t h a a h u
c u t t i n g s i n t h e flesh, f o r t h e d e a d , n o r p r i n t a n y m a r k s ” u p o n v a i r y d — t h e r i c h e s o f V o h n - m a n o ( p a r a d i s e ; v o h u -m a n o o r
th em selv es. In the sam e m a n n e r th e oldest Z o ro as trian G o o d T h o u g l i t b e i n g t h e d o o r k e e p e r o f h e a v e n — se e Farr/.
b o o k s , t h e o l d a n d t h e n e w D e s a tir , w i t h t h e e x c e p t i o n o f a X I X , 3 1 ) — s h a ll b e g iv e n to h im w h o w o r k s in th is w o rld for
f e w a c t s of c h a r i t y ( t o t h e p o o r , n o t t o t h e M o b e d s ) a n d t h e M a z d a a n d w i e l d s a g r e e a b l y t o t h e w i l l of A h u r a t h e p o w e r
r e a d i n g of s a c r e d b o o k s, p r e s c r i b e n o s p e c i a l c e r e m o n i e s . h e g a v e t o h i m t o r e l i e v e t h e p o o r ( F a r g . V I I I , v. 1 9 - 4 9 ) .
W e find i n t h e B o o k of t h e P r o p h e t A b a d ( D e s a tir ) s i m p l y T h u s w h i l e a b r o g a t i n g t h e F e r s e n d a j i a n u s a g e of b u r n i n g
the f o l lo w in g : — t h e d e a d a m o n g t h e d e v o t e e s o f M a h - A b a d , Z e r d u s h t t h e 1 3 th
“ 154. A c o r p s e y o u m a y p l a c e i n a v a s e of a q u a - f o r t i a , o r ( o f t h e P e r s i a n p r o p h e t s ) w h o in tr o d u c e s m a n y i m p r o v e ­
c o n s i g n i t t o t h e fire, o r t o t h e e a r t h , ( w h e n c l e a n s e d o f i t s m e n ts a n d r e fo r m s y et, h e c o m m a n d s no o t h e r rite s t h a u
N a su or d e ad m a tte r .” ) ch arity .
A n d a gain:—
------- ♦-------
“ A t t h e b i r t h o f a c h i l d o r t h e d e a t h of a r e l a t i v e , r o a d t h e
N o sh , a n d g i v e s o m e t h i n g i n t h e r o a d of M a z d a m ( f o r O r m u z d ’s G A M B E T T A ’S E Y E A N D B R A I N .
sake, or in c h a r i ty . ) ”
in the face of her Parisian representatives was very
S cien ce
T h a t ’s all, a n d n o w h e r e w i l l o n e f in d i n t h e o l d e s t b o o k s
m uch exercised, if not offended, lately, by whnt is viewed as an
t h e i n j u n c t i o n of t h e c e r e m o n i e s n o w i n u s e , l e a s t o f a l l t h a t
unpardonable freak of n a t u r e —we are not sure th a t We o u ^ h t
of s p e n d i n g l a r g e s u m s o f m o n e y w h i c h o f t e n e n t a i l s r u i n u p o n
not to say disrespect—to the Academy of Sciences. I t had been
th e survivors. repeatedly declared th a t men of g reat intellectual powers were
always possessed of large brains. The brain of Cuvier, the great
N o r, fro m th e o c c u lt sta n d -p o in t, do su c h rite s b e n e fit in
French naturalist, weighed 1,829 g r a m —(over 60 oz.) th a t of
t h e l e a s t t h e d e p a r t e d so u l. T h e c o r r e c t c o m p r e h e n s i o n o f
Napoleon an ounce or two less, th at of Byron 1,400, and th at
t h e l a w o f K a r m a is e n t i r e l y o p p o s e d t o t h e i d e a . A s n o
of General SkobelefF —1,427 gram m es. Why should Gambetttt’s
p e r s o n ’s k a r m a c a n b e e i t h e r l i g h t e n e d o r o v e r b u r d e n e d w i t h
brain then, which had manifested one of the g re atest intellects
t h e g o o d o r b a d a c t i o n s o f t h e n e x t o f k i n of t h e d e p a r t e d o n e ,
of tho day—weigh less th a n 39 ounces, or 1,100 g ram m es ! The
e v e r y m a n h a v i n g h is K a r m a i n d e p e n d e n t a n d d i s t i n c t f r o m
g re a t a u th o rity D r. Broca, wns so disgusted th a t he is reported
t h a t of h is n e i g h b o u r — n o m o r e c a n t h e d e p a r t e d s o u l b e m a d e
to have viciously rem arked th a t had he been showii th e cerebral
organ of Ganibettn, w ithout knowing to whom it had belonged,
r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e d o i n g s of t h o s e i t l e f t b e h i n d . A s s o m e m a k e
he should have declared it to have filled the cranial cnvity of a
t h e c r e d u l o u s b e li e v e t h a t t h e f o u r p r i n c i p l e s m a y b e m a d e
woman of extremely ordinary capacities. This impolite fling nt
t o s u f f e r f r o m colics, if t h e s u r v i v o r s a t e i m m o d e r a t e l y o f s o m e
the fair sex by th e by, was uncalled for, since the quality of the
fru it. Z o ro a s tria n is m a n d H in d u is m h a v e w ise la w s — f a r
brain is more im p ortan t th an its q u an tity , and th a t Tiedemann
w i s e r t h a n t h o s e of t h e C h r i s t i a n s — f o r t h e d i s p o s a l o f t h e i r
and other anthropologists have shew n, th a t the female brain,
d e a d , b u t t h e i r s u p e r s t i t i o n s a r c s t i ll v e r y g r e a t . F o r w hile
though smaller th an th a t of the male, is far larger when com­
t h e i d e a t h a t t h e p r e s e n c e of t h e d e a d b r i n g s p o l l u t i o n
pared with th e size of the body. Any how there lay before the men
t o t h e l i v i n g is no b e t t e r t h a n a s u p e r s t i t i o n , u n w o r t h y
of scionce the b ra in -m a tte r of one of the g reatest orators living, of
a genius am on g th e m odern statesm en a n d —it weighed 42
of t h e e n l i g h t e n e d a g e w e l iv e in , t h e r e a l c a u s e of
g ram m es less than th a t of his female cook !
t h e r e l i g i o u s p r o h i b i t i o n t o h a n d l e to o c lo s e l y t h e d e a d
Doctor Ivanofsky, of St. P etersb u rg , undertakes to solve the
a n d to b u r y t h e m w i t h o u t f i r s t s u b j e c t i n g t h e b o d i e s t o t h e
m ystery.
d i s i n f e c t a n t p r o c e s s of e i t h e r fire, v u l t u r e s o r a q u a - fo r iis
I t is evident, be says in a le t te r to the N ovoye V rem ya
( t h e l a t t e r t h e p r e v a i l i n g m e t h o d of t h e P a r s i s i n d a y s of
th a t the w eight of th e brain, in its normal coudition, i. e„ free
o l d ) w a s a s b e n e f i c e n t i n i ts r e s u l t s a s i t w a s w i s e , s i n c e i t
from organic pathological ch a n g e s—has its im portance and
w as th e best a n d m ost necessary sa n ita ry p re ca u tio n ag ain st meaning. But —as Professor SyetchenoU has it in his work on
e p id e m ic s . T h e C h r i s t i a n s m i g h t d o w o r s e t h a n b o r r o w
“ The Keflex Actions of tho B rain” —even while adm ittin g th at
t h a t law fro m t h e “ P a g a n s ,” since no f u r t h e r t h a n a fewthe soul is not the prod uc t of the activity of the brain, yet, since
y ears b a ck , a w hole pro v in ce of R u s s ia w a s n e a rly d e­ in every ease, the brain is the organ of the soul,” that organ
must change its qu an tity and even quality iu accordance to the
p o p u l a t e d , i n c o n s e q u c n c e o f t h e c r o w d e d c o n d i t i o n o f i ts
b urial g rounds.
use and misuse it had been subjected to by the soul. Indeed
Too n u m e ro u s i n te r m e n ts w ith in a lim ited
when viewed in this light the men of science will find th at
sp a c e a n d a c o m p a r a t i v e l y s h o r t t i m e s a t u r a t e t h e e a r t h w i t h
relatively speaking G am b etta’s brain was not as light as it seemed
t h e p r o d u c t s of d e c o m p o s i t i o n t o s u c h a d e g r e e , a s t o m a k e
to Lheni, when weighed on their scales. The doctor goes fa r th e r,
i t i n c a p a b l c of f u r t h e r a b s o r b i n g t h e m , a n d t h e d e c o m p o ­
and nsserts that it can be proved th a t the said brain weighed no
s i t io n u n d e r s u c h a c o n d i t i o n b e i n g r e t a r d e d its p r o d u c t s e s c a p e
less than th a t of Byron and nearly equalled the brain of Skobeleff.
direc tly in to th e a tm o sp h e re, b ri n g in g on e p id e m ic diseases To prove his assertion, Dr, Ivanofsky reminds Lhe g entlem en
of the science and the profane public th a t to begin with
a n d p la g u e s. “ L e t th e d e a d b u r y t h e ir d e a d ” — w e re w ise
G am betta had but one eye (the left one) ; aud th a t as a direct
w o rd s t h o u g h to t h is d a y no th e o lo g ia n se e m s to h a v e u n d e r ­
stood t h e i r re a l a n d p ro fo u n d m e a n in g .
consequence the nervous ap paratus of the right, missing eye,
T h e r e w e r e no
designed by natu re for the reception, the transmission and the
fu n e ra l rite s o r cerem onies a t th e d e a th of e ith e r Z o ro aste r,
concentration of the rays of lig ht and th eir projection into space—
M o s es o r B u d d h a , b e y o n d t h e s i m p l e p u t t i n g o u t of t h e w a y
remained inactive for long years. Now this eye ap p a ra tu s is
of t h e l i v i n g t h e c o r p s e s of t h e m w h o h a d g o n e b e f o r e .
composed, as every one knows, of a r e tin a , o f the optic nerve a n d
T h o u g h n e i t h e r t h e D a b is ta n o r t h e D e s a tir c a n , s t r i c t l y
the optic centre i n the b ra in . I t s prolonged inactivity, that
covered a period of th irty years in his ease, m u st have unavoid­
s p e a k in g , be in c lu d e d in th e n u m b e r of o rth o d o x P a r s i b o o k s—
ably produced an atrophy of tho cerebral optical centre, which
t h e c o n t e n t s of b o t h of t h e s e if n o t t h e w o r k s t h e m s e l v e s
atrophy has naturally influenced g reatly the subsequent weight
a n t e c e d i n g by s e v e r a l m i l le n i u m s t h e o r d i n a n c e s i n t h e A v e s ta
as we h a v e n o w go od re aso n s to k n o w — w e y e t find t h e first of the braiu-m atter.
Leaving aside the retina and th a t portion of the optic nerve
c o m m and r e p u d ia te d b u t th e second c o rro b o ra te d in th e
which had to be severed d u rin g the w ithdrawal of th e brain from
l a t t e r . I n F a r g a r d V I I I ( V e r s e “ 7 4 ” 2 3 3 o f V e n d id a d )
th e cranial cavity, this atrophy of the optic cerebral centre of
A h u r a M a z d a ’s c o m m a n d : “ T h e y s h a l l k i l l t h e m a n t h a t
the rig h t side alone, tak in g into consideration its long duration,
b u r n s t h e c o r p s e , ” &c., is t h n s c o m m e n t e d u p o n — “ H e w h o
must have shown a deficit of 120 g ram m es at tho least in the
b u rn s N a sa (d e ad m a tte r) m u s t be k ille d ....B u rn in g N a saw eight of the brain. Besides this fact giving us already as the
absolute weight of G a ta b e tta ’s brain 1,220 instead of 1,100
f r o m t h e d e a d is a c a p i t a l c r i m e [ F a r g a r d I , 17 ( 6 3 ) ] f o r . . .
gram m es, we have to consider likewise Lhe deteriorating process
“ T h e re u p o n cam e A n g r a M ain y u , w ho c rea te d by his w itc h ­
of the illness th a t ended so fatally. As a well-known anatomist
c r a f t a s i n f o r w h i c h t h e r e is n o a t o n e m e n t , t h e (i m m e d i a te )
well rem arks : “ until more attention is paid to the condition of
b u r n i n g of c o rp se s .” * A h r i m a n b e i n g m a n ’s o w n i g n o r a n c o
the blood vessels an d to the qu antity of th e freely circulating
a n d s e l f is h n e s s . serous liquid, which soaks through the brain or its vesicles—
the w eighing of th e brain m a tte r will prove itself of very little
* Twelve hours a t least had to elapse between tho death of the p e r­ im portance.” T h u s tak in g into serious consideration G am betta’s
son and the burning or tho destruction by any other m eans of the corpse long illness and the localization of th e disease ; as also his long
of the (lead. This old law was equally forgotten by tho Brahm ins
as by the Z oroastrians. I t was not the act of burning tlia t w as for­ abstinence from food, or ra th e r the reg u lar starvation he suffered
bidden, but tho burning before tho corpse was em pty, viz., before the from, for days before his end, it will be found th a t his brain must
inner principles had th a t tim e to get entirely liberated. As the aqua have necessarily exhibited th e sym ptom s of the greatest want of
Jortis was thought possessed of an occult p roperty to th a t effect, henco blood in it. This then, if we rem e m be r still further th a t the
the prelim inary burning of the flesh by this m eans—w ith the Fersen- qu an tity of blood and serous liquid th a t had filled the brain and
daj inns. • vesicles,was neith e r ascertained nor weighed, would show an
 extra deficit of 200 g ra m m esi which, ac counting for its abnorm al
lig htness/w ill give us as the absolute w eight of G a m b e tta ’s brain
1,420 gram mes, viz., a few gram mes more th an th a t of B y ro n ’s
and a few g ram m es less th an the weight of Skobeleff’s b ra in .
T he decision upon th e worth of this scientific explanation is
left with those who have rriade the stud y of th e h um an brain
and eyo th e ir speciality. We simply publish the hypo thesis­
------ ♦-------
B Y “ B E L L , B O O K A N D C A N D L E .”
LEAVES PEOM THE NOTE BOOK OP A MISSIONAKY PRIEST.
(Continued from the last number.)
I th e n re turne d to----- , and wrote to tlie A rchbishop, in fo rm ­
ing him of th e facts in th e case. He replied th a t ho had already
heard of the girl, and th a t he had not th e least d oub t b u t th a t
it was a genuiue case of Satanio possession, giving me at the
same time full faculties to exorcise her, and advising me to fast
some time, to hear her confession, and a d m it her to the reception
of the E u c h a ris t; he also appointed ftev. F a t h e r ------, a well-
known missionary, to assist me.*
On the sixth of April, having closed my mission in--------- , I
returned t o ------— to open another. I first directed my step s to
the house of the girl.
I had w ritten to F a t h e r --------- to b e th ere on th e same day, b u t
as he had not arrived, I proceeded, at 7 o’clock in the evening; to
begin a preliminary exorcism; therefore, following the E itu a l, I
p u t on my surplice and stole, and began the in terrog atories as
follows:
“ Now thou knowest th at I have regular faculties, and th e r e ­
fore full power over th e e ; I command thee in th e name of Jesu s
C hrist to tell me when, where, how aud why thou h a st tak en
possession of this girl P”
“ I will not answ er,” said he,
“ W h y ?”
“ Thou h ast n ot properly commanded me-”
“ I command th e e,” said I, “ to respect th e priest who speaks
to thee in the name of God, and not to say thou b u t you."f
“ If thou dost no t like it,” answ ered th e evil one, “ thou may-
est go aw ay ; I have nothing to lose or to g a in ,” and th e girl
tu rn ed her face to the wall. I then commanded him in tlie name
of the Blessed V i r g i n ; the girl shook her head negatively ; of
several saints, bu t in vain. “ Thou m u st comm and m e by the
only word th a t can force me to obey.”
“ W hat is t h a t P ” I asked.
“ Guess it.”
“ If thou dost not tell me, I will curse thee !’’
“ Oh, don’t ! Must I speak ? then it is iu the name of the Catho­
lic Church” (grow ling.Jj _
“ I command thee, then, in the name of th e Catholic Church,
to tell me all th ings connected with this possession ; and bear in
mind th a t thou speakest to God, and th ou m u s t tell n a u g h t b u t
tho tr u t h . ” He spoke as follows :
“ I t was on the th ird S unday of Mny, in th e afternoon, twelve
years ago, at three o’clock, she was then th ree years of age ; she
was playing with th e child of th e ------, who was jealous of------ ,
th e sister of----- [th e possessed girl], because she was more sought
after than her own child, aud she gave her so m ething to eat
which was bewitched ; im m ediately oh h er eating it, we possess­
ed her, which we could not have done, however, had the Sign of
tho Cross been made either on th e child or on the food.*|f W e are
tw enty : I am the second, and the only one t h a t has a r i g h t to
speak ; my name is Behemoth ; th e first one is Isacaron, he is
here to watch m e ; and the th ird one is to repo rt to S atan w h i t
is going on, his name is Astoro ; th e 4 th , A bu ro ; 5th, Abaro ;
6th, J o n a s ; 7th, L u s k o ; 8th, Asai'o; 9th, A s ta r o ; 10th, Disacuro;
l l t h , Dabuno; 12th, D iscario ; 13th, Incario ; 14th, Beolzehub ;||
* We have seen this communication of the Archbishop’s.—Ed. G. M,
f The use of “ thou” in French, the language in which the answers
were made—the interrogatories being, of course, in Latin—expresses
familiarity or contempt.
| The “ Catholic Church,” then, we aro given to understand, is more
powerful, and more to be dreaded by the Devil than God Him self! !—-
Ed. Theosophist.
The custom of making tlie sign of the cross before taking food,
which is as old as tho Church—Tertullian mentions that it was never
omitted by tho early Christians—ought to be more generally observed
than it is. The motive of this pious act is evident.—Ed. O. M.
|| This was tho devil speaking in the well known caso of Nicolu.
Aubry. Some of these names will not bo new to those familiar with
tlie Old Testament.—Ed. C. M.
(Oh, poor and silly devil ! —A very su ggestive fact, indeed, th a t
none of th e names of th e demons and devils accepted by
Christian theology have any other th an a Jew ish rin g about
them. All the devils in th e C hristian Hell seem to be Jew s.
This is rath er flattering for the H eath en ,—H i n d u ; B u d d h is t and
Parsi. N otw ithstanding the countless myriads, th a t agreeably
to tiie Christian Churches m u st by th is time, have gone to Hell,
we do not find a sing le “ B ab u” or “ B hoy” a m o n g the obsess­
in g devils, while here we have even a “ Jon as.” Will the good
padris, please, explain ?—Ed. Theosophist.
15th, D'asaderi 16th, Basabel ; 17th, D as'alder; 18th, Balsacaber.
Now, thou m u s t ksk m e ,” said he, “ th e sign of m y ’going out;
un d er t h e exorcisms I am obliged to Acquaint th e exorcistS with
e v erythin g th a t concerns th e possession, and to tell the tr u th ;
h u t beyo'rtd that, I Say tohat I please, vi 'z.,‘lies. W e hate oxor-
'cistns, for we are Compelled to speak agHinSt ourselves, and to
reveal a ll.’'
I was then shown into th e next room, where she was in bed. At
m y entrance, she looked a t me sideways with cross eyes ; I ap­
proached and said : “ Good-day—— ; I am a Catholic priest ; as
you are ill, your father has b ro u g h t me to see yon. How do you
do ray child P” N o answ er. She continued looking in th e sam e
way. “ Are you not glad to see a priest !’’ In answer, I heard a
growling like th a t of a dog. J u s t then the fath er entered ; “ ----- ,”
said he, “ speak to th e priest.” ■
“ It is not she who is h e r e : it is I ,” was th e reply. Then,
stru ck hy the fr ig h tf u l glance of the girl, I determ in ed to ascer­
tain if it was really th e devil, by questioning him. Speaking in
L atin , I said : “ I comm and thee in the name of Jes u s C hrist to
tell me who th ou a r t !” I received no reply, b u t th e same croSs
look cbntinued, I repeated my question, w hereu po n a deep,
hoarse voice replied iu F re n c h : “ 1 am tho devil.”
“ Then I command thee to tell me who I am !” H e growled
again, and said : “ T hou a rt a black beast, a priest, coming to
to rm en t me.”
“ T hen if th ou knowest th a t I am a priest, th ou m u st obey m e.”
“ N ot at all,” he replied ; “ thou hast no faculties.”
“ I have,” I replied, tak in g them from m y pocket.
“ Thou dost n ot u n d e rs ta n d ,” said h e ; “ th ou m ust havo
special faculties from th e A rchb ish op .” *
Questioning him again, he said he would not a n sw e r me any*
th in g more.
“ Then,” said I, “ w h at is th e sign of th y going o u t ? ”
“ Thou m u st com m and me,” was tho reply.
“ Then I comm and thee to give the sign of thy going ou t,”
“ I t is vomiting : I m u s t go out as I came in.”
“ Then I command th ee to go o u t.”
“ Dost thou believe th a t I shall go out a t onceP far from ifc;
thou m ust fight hard and p r a y ; th ou a rt not y e t a t th
shall stay as long as I can, aud go out only when compelled to .”
“ W hen, then, shalfc th ou go o u t ?”
“ I don’t k n o w —b ut stop ! I will not say any m o re to night.’’
The girl then tu rn ed away, as if to sleep .f As I was expecting
F a th e r —1------, I discontinued the exorcism till the following day.
In the course of the evening, while I was conversing with the
family in th e sam e room, tho devil said to rao suddenly : “ To­
morrow thou wilt go to th e church to h e a r confessions, my good
friends will go also ; and I warn thee,” &c. I replied th a t I had
no advice to receive from him , and asked him w hat he meant by
his “ good f r i e n d s ; ” b u t I was obliged to pu t a stop to what he
went on to say.
The next m o r n in g I wont to the church, abo ut a mile distant,
to open the mission ; it was nearly full. I h eard confessions, said
Mass, preached, adm inistered Holy Communion, and th en r e t u r n ­
ed to th e house. W h e n d ra w in g n ear I heard the girl singing in
a very loud voice, and her m other told me tha t d u rin g Mass she
had been very much excited, singing all the tim e iu a loud, hoarse
voice, and at th e top of her head. 1 entered th e room where the
g irl was, and as soon as she saw me she said some! hing th a t filled
mo w ith su rp rise and horror.J I told him to stop, b ut he conti­
nued speaking for some time. F a t h e r ----- having now arrived,
we proceeded to a re g u la r exorcism.
W hile we were p rep arin g th e girl became furious ; she slapped
h er mother, and stru c k me also. As I was p u ttin g the stole about
he r neck, according to th e Ritual, something very rem arkable
took placb. Tho devil suddenly in terru p ted the prayers, saying
to me : “ Tell him to stop,” poiutiug a t F a th e r ----- , who was staud-
iug looking ou. '
“ W hat is th e m a tte r ?” I asked.
* Exorcisms do require special faculties iu this as well as most other
countries. Although thero is an order in the Church—that of exorcist,
tho third of the minor orders—the special office of which in the early
ages, when possessions were common, was to exorcise those possessed,
tho power is now restricted to priests. It is not exercised, however,
without special sanction from the Bishop. It was to express contempt
for the evil one that the power of exercising was conferred upon inferior
ministers.—Ed. C. If.
f Tho Ritual warns tho exorcist against the simulation of sleep as
one of tho subterfuges of tho demon.— Ed. C. M.
J The demon, or rather hystorical girl being a cldirooyanle repeated
to him what he had heard at confession.—Ed. T.
 “ H e is a c t i n g n g a in s t m e,” w a s t h e r e p ly . F a t h e r ------ wns only
p r a y i n g in te r io r ly .* T h e F a t h e r of t h e g ir l lo o k ed f r i g h t e n e d ,
an d p o i n t i n g to a n u p p e r c o r n e r of t h e room , e x c l a i m e d : “ Oh !”
W e all t u r n e d to w a r d s t h e po in t i n d i c a t e d ; t h e n , “ H a ! h a ! h a !”
sa id he, l a u g h i n g . 1 a s k e d him w h y he did t h a t . “ T o g ive you
d i s t r a c t i o n s , ” was t h e re p ly ; “ we a lw ays do t h a t w ith th o se who
n r e p ra y in g , to p r e v e n t t h e m from p r a y i n g w e ll.” F o r b i d d i n g
h i m t o d o t h i s a n y m o re I c o n tin u e d . “ T h o u m u s t n o t believe
t h a t t h o u sh a lt expel me by su c h p r a y e r s , ” Bnid h e ; “ th o u
t h i n k e s t of s o m e th i n g elso. T h o u m u s t p r a y b e t t e r t h a n t h a t . ”
T h e n I e xperienced how h a r d it is to exorcise. O n e m u s t p r a y
w i t h o u t d ist r a c t io n s , p r o n o u n c in g t h e w o rd s w ith recollection
a n d d evo tion , a n d n ot in a r e c i ta t iv e m a n n e r , t h a t t h e y m a y be
effectivo of w h a t they ex press. H e r e is a go od lesson on p r a y e r ,
if it do e s c o m e from t h e evil one.
A t t h e e n d of the exorcism I c o m m a n d e d h i m to go o u t. “ Y e s ,”
he said, “ I a m w illin g to g o : I muBt v o m it.” A b a sin was
brought, and
TIIE OI HL T R I E D TO VOMIT,
b n t w i t h o u t su c c ess. “ N o , I will n ot g o ! I am as s t r o n g as
t h o u . ” T h e n he g a v e a r e aso n for n o t d o i n g so.
“ I f it be so,” 1 said, “ a c u r s e b e upoii t h e u ! B u t I kn ow
t h e e for a liar : ob ey a n d g o ! ”
“ N o ; t h o u slm lt fig ht h a r d first,” h e said.
T h e girl t h o u g h sh e was q u ie t a t tim e s, still t h e devil was t h e r e
s p e a k i n g by him self, m u t t e r i n g t h i n g s bucIi as only an enetny of
God could u tter. Tlie b las p h em ies a n d o b sc e n ities u t t e r e d b j t h e
l ip s of t h e i n n o c e n t child, for Bhe was n o t h i n g else, nre too h o r r i ­
ble e v en to be h i n te d a t ; th e y were eclioes from hell t h a t would
be aG to und ing to t h e m o st u n r e s t r a i n e d d e b a u c h e e .
T h e b e st c o m p a rison of h e r c o u n te n a n c e nnd m a n n e r , w h e n
m o v e d hy tlie evil one, would be to t h a t of a wild b e a s t lo o kin g
nt you a n d s w a y in g his ho ad t o a n d fro, y e t n o t b e in g a b le to
to u c h you. T h e devil is v e r y fond of t a l k i n g . H e said t h a t it
w a s he who, w ith fifteen legions, t e m p t e d S t. M acarius, b u t failed
in his u n d e r t a k i n g ; also t h a t he was in possoBsion of L o u d u n , etc,
“ W h a t is t h y lik e n e ss P” w a s a sk e d .
“ W e havo ho rn s on on r heads, o u r h a n d s a re liko paws, o u r
fe et like o x e n ’s, and our h a ir like a h e d g e h o g 's . . . . ; we
a r e all black, a n d are a lw a y s q u a r r e l l i n g ; wo r e p o r t to S a t a u
a g a i n s t each o t h e r ; we w o u ld wisli to m a k e a n o t h e r he ll.”
I n r e p l y to t h e q ue stion as to w h e t h e r m a n y p r i e s t s w e re
da m n e d , h e said, “ N o : not very m a n y ,”
“ B u t t h e r e a re som e who g iv e p u b lic scandal, a u d St. C h r y s o s ­
to m says t h a t h e believes t h a t t h e r e is sca rc e ly one sa v e d .”
H e a n s w e re d : “ T h a t w as th o p e r s o n a l c o n v ic tio n of S a i n t
C h r y s o s to m . ”
(T o be c ontinued.) ■ w h a te v e r , o r a n s w e r e d th e q u e r ie s a s u s u a lly d o n e , by
----♦-----
S W A M I D A Y A N U N D — A F R E E TH IN K E R .
“ Oh Lord, protect me from my friends, and I will
myself take care of my enemies !”—was the daily pray­
er of a philosopher. We do not know whether our
irascible ex-ally will repeat the exclamation upon reading
the laudatory quotation of himself in The A r y a for May
(page 63). Probably not, for lie does not read English.
But we feel ready to wager a good deal, that were the
Swami as learned in the Queen’s English as he is in
Sanskrit—there would be a libel-suit brought by this
uncompromising theist against our indiscreet contem­
porary—the A r y a . So eager are our good friends of the
Lahore S a m a j to jump at the smallest straw that trem­
bles threatingly in the air in our direction, that, rather
than miss an opportunity of making ugly faces at the
Theosophists, they will re-publish equivocal compliments
to the address of tlieir Founder, and compromise their
own work and its leader. We offer a specimen.
T h e M a d r a s ------ has t h e fo llo w in g a b o u t o u r S w a m i j i :— “ W o
a r e g lad to learn t h a t S w a m i D a y a n a n d S a r a s w a ti is bu sily
e n g a g e d in e x p o sin g t h e m is le a d in g a n d d e g r a d i n g m y t h o l o g y
a n d th e m iso hief of t h o h e r e d i t a r y B r a h m i n s . I n sp ite of o n r
d i s a g r e e m e n t w ith D a y a n a n d S a ra s w a ti , we t h i n k t h a t lie
will do more good to I n d i a t h a n t h e p a n d e r i n g T h e o s o p h is ts can
e ver h o p e to do. I f In d ia h a d m ore o f suck m e n , F reeth o u g h t
m ould very e a sily spread over a ll I n d ia .”
* We aro inform ed by tho w riter tlia t the F a th e r was Rubseqnently
t old by tho domon tlia t lie shonld not bo w ithout a rew ard for his pains
—th a t he would m ake him “ aa blaok as a crow.” From a le tte r
rocoivcd from th is priest a short timo ago and w hich was among tho
documents placed in our hands with tho MS. of this narration, we m ake
the following o x tr a c t: ‘‘ Evor since, and up to this hour, B la n d e r , per-
soontion and m alignancios havo been tho even tenor of m y life. The
unfortunate C------has caused me m uch suffering by his loctures against
m y missions and mysolf, and another poor w rotch has beon doing like­
w ise—going ovor tho samo ground. T hen the P ro testan t papers here
havo attaokod m e outrageously.— E d. C. M.
We have underlined the sentence republished with
such an unsophisticated n aivete by the Swami’s chelas,
who do not seem to entertain the remotest conception
that they have thereby introduced their Guru in a new
light before the public:—that of a Freethinker. Wo
agree, however, entirely with the r e m ark . R e action
from crude anthropomorphism, is sure to bring in the
long run among the educated youth of India disgust, and
finally freethought. But there is something too charm­
ingly ludicrous in the idea that for the pleasure of
throwing into our teeth the epitliet of “ pandering Theo­
sophists,” they should thus be dishonouring in their own
organ the work of their “ Swamijee” and virtually ad­
mitting that his efforts are breeding no better than
freethought. Verily, foolish must be tliat bird that soils
its own nest ! ...............
Dear child of the Vedic lore; the uninitiated public
may now well w.onder, whether you are an organ of the
theistic A r y a s , or simply the servile copyist and advertiser
of the Madras Freethought. Now, really, we can never
show ourselves sufficiently thankful to the dear little in­
nocent, for the amusement it has afforded us with its un­
conscious self-immolation. We propose that Mr. Brad-
laugh’s Secular Societies should call for a vote of thanks
to the editors of the A r y a .
— - 4 -------
' Z O R O A ST R IA N ISM .
In the L ig h t o f O ccult P h il o s o p h y .
[ T h e fo llo w in g l e t t e r h a v in g b e e n s e n t to u s fro m
a P a r s i g e n t l e m a n , w e p u b li s h th e p a r a g r a p h s c o n ta i n in g
h is q u e r ie s seriatim, a s in t h e o r ig in a l, b u t s e p a r a t i n g th e m
w ith a v ie w o f m a k i n g o u r a n s w e r s m o re c o m p r e h e n s ib le .
T h is a r r a n g e m e n t , w e h o p e , w ill a lw a y s s im p lif y t h e w o rk ,
a n d h e lp t h e r e a d e r to a f a r c l e a r e r u n d e r s t a n d i n g of
b o th t h e q u e s t io n s a s k e d a n d t h e a n s w e r s g iv e n , t h a n ifc
W ould, h a d w e p u b li s h e d t h e l e t t e r w ith o u t a n y b r e a k
r e f e r r i n g t h e r e a d e r s to f o o t - n o te s .— E d .]
Will y o u or a n y of y o u r c o n t r i b u t o r s tell mo w h e t h e r Z o r o a s ­
tr ia n i s m , r e g a r d e d from t h e s t a n d - p o i n t of O c c u l t philo sop hy,
iB in its elf m o n o th e i s m , p a n th e i s m , p o ly th e i s m or a th e i s m ?
I h a v e n o t been a b le to a s c e r t a i n it from th e le a r n e d l e c t u r e of
Col. O l c o tt on t h e “ S p i r i t of Z o r o a s tr i a n i s m . ” -
The answer depends upon how the question is put. If
we are asked what is Zoroastrianism,—loosely and in­
differently referred to as Magianism, Mazdaism, Fire-
worship and Parseeism, then we answer— “ it is all that
which you say.” It is “ monotheism, pantheism, poly­
theism,” and even— 1“ atheism,” when placed in contra­
distinction to modern theism—its respective qualifica­
tions depending upon the epoch named. Thus, if we had
to describe broadly the origin of this religion from the
stand-point, and upon the authority of the Occult teach­
ings, we would call it by its original, primitive name, that
of Magianism. Locating its first development in those
vast regions which would have to be described as tho
whole area between the Persian Gulf and the Sea of
Okhotsk in its length, and that which stretches through
the unexplored deserts between the Altai and the-Hima-
layan mountains in its breadth,wo would place it back at
an epoch, undreamt of by modern science and, therefore,
rejected by all but the most speculative and daring anthro­
pologists. We have no right to give out in this journal tho
correct number of years or rather of ages upon ages, since
—according to the doctrines of the Secret Science—the
first seeds of Magianism were sown by the hand of the
B e i n g to whose duty it falls to rear, nurse and guide the
tottering steps of the renascent human races, that awake
anew to life ou every planet in its turn, after its perio­
dical " obscuration.” It goes as far back as the days of
our local M a n v a n ta r a , so that the seeds sown among tho
first “ root-raco” began sprouting in its infant brain,
grew up, and commencing to bear fruit toward the latter
part of the second race, developed fully during the
third* into -what is known among Occultists as the
“ Tree of Knowledge” and the “ Tree of Life”—the real
meaning of both having been, later on, so sadly disfigured
and misinterpreted by both Zoroastrians and Christians.
But we can inform our correspondent of the following ;
Magianisin, in the days of its full maturity and practice,t
and long ages before the first of the 12 great religions,
its direct offshoots—mentioned and feebly described by
Molisan Fani in the D a b ista n ,—ever saw light; and even
much anterior to the appearance of the first devotees of the
religion of Hush-ang, which, according to Sir W. Jones,
“ was long anterior to that of Zeratuslit (See A s ia t,
lies., vol. ii, pp. 48—49), the prophet of the modern
Parsis—that religion, as we can undeniably prove, was,
“ atheism.5’ At any rate, it would be so regarded now,
by those who call Kapila and Spinoza, Buddiia and
our Mahatmas, Brihaspati (of the Charvack) and the
modern Adwaitees, all alike, n a stik a s or atheists. Assu­
redly no doctrine about a 'personal God, a gigantic man and
no more—(though a number of so-called divine beings
were and are still recognised)—was ever taught by the
true Magi.J Hence Zoroaster—the seventh prophet
(according to the D e sa tir , whose compilers mixed up and
confused the 14 “ Zaro-Islitars,§ the high priests and
initiates of the Chaldean worship or Magian Hiero­
phants—the 13th)—would be regarded as an ath eist in
the modern sense of the word. All the Orientalists with
Haug at their head agree to say that in the oldest, or the
necond part of the Y a s n a , nothing is said or fixed of the
doctrine regarding God, nor of any theology.
T h e l e c t u re h a s e lu c id ated m a n y o b s c u r i ti e s a n d a b s u r d i t i e s in
i h e A v e s t a , fro m t h e s t a n d - p o i n t of O c c u l t p h ilo s o p h y . Bub
t h e y a r e b o few t h a t th e y o u t h s whom t h e Colonel took to t a s k ,
have, I a m con vin ced, b ecom e no wise r. C a n a n y o n e tell me
w h e t h e r tho Oolotiel m e a n t t h a t iu o r d e r to u n d e r s t a n d ' t l i e i r r e ­
ligion, th e P a rd e e y o u t h s s h o u ld s t u d y Y o g i s m a n d O c c u ltis m P
* One who has studied The F ragm ents of O ccult T ru th knows th a t our
preaent raco ia the fifth , and th a t wo have tw o moro to puss through
before wo reach onr end—on this planet.— Ed.
f “ Throughout tho Middle Ages nothing was known of Mazdianism,
but tho nam o of its fonnder, who from a Magus was converted into a
Magician, a m aster of the hiddon scioncos,” says Jam es D arm csteter,
who knows as m uch as his oxoteric scienco will porm it him of tho
fo rm o r;b u t being wholly ignorant of esoteric sciences, knows nothing
bf the la tte r at all and therefore blunders groatly. One could not bo
a Magha, a M agus-priest, w ithout being, a t the sam e time, w hat is now
known under the vulgar term of “ M agiciau.” B ut of this later ou.—
Ed.
X Let it not bo understood th a t we here speak of the “ Magi” in
goneral, w hether wo view them as one of tho Medean tribes (?) as some
O rientalists, (D arm eateter for one) relying upon a vague statem ent of
Herodotns believe >or a sacerdotal easto like the B rah m au s--as we m ain­
tain. We refer but to th eir initiatos. Tbe origin of th e B rahm ans and
Magi in th e night of tim e—is 'one, the secrot doctrine teaches us.
F irst, thoy w ere a hierarchy of adepts, of men profoundly versed iu physi­
cal and spiritual scieucesand occult knowledge, of various nationalities,
all celibates, and onlarging their num bers by the transm ission of their
knowledgo to voluntary neophytes. Then when their num bers became
too large to be contained in tho “ Airy&n&m vaejd,” the adepts scattorod
far and wide, and we can trace them establishing other hierarchies
on tho model of tho first iu every p a rt of the globe, each hierarchy
increasing, and iiually becoming so large, as to hav e.to re stric t ad7nis-
•ion ; the ‘‘ half a d ep ts” going back to the world, m arrying and laying
the first foundation of the “ left-h an d ” science or sorcery, the misuse
of tho Holy Knowledgo. In the third stago—th e m em bers of tho True
ones become with evory age more lim ited and secret, the admissions
beiug beset now w ith new difficulties. We begin to see the origin of the
Temple M ysteries. The hierarchy divides into two parts. The chosen
few, the h ierophants ,— th e im periuin in im perio —rem aining celibates,
tho exoteric priests m ake of m arriage a law, an a tte m p t to p erpetuate
adepts by hereditary descent, and fail sadly in it. Thus we tind
Brahm ans and Magi, Egyptian priests and Roman hierarchs and Augurs
enjoining m arried life and inventing religious clanses to prove its
ueCessity. No nood repeating and rem inding the reader of th a t which
iu left to his own knowledge of history, and liis intuitions. In our day
we find tho descendants, the heirs to th e old wisdom sc a ttere d all over
tho globe in small isolatod and unknown com m unities, whose objects aro
misunderstood, and whoso origin has been forgotton ; and only two re li­
gions, the result of tho teaching of thoso priests and hierophants of old.
The latter aro found in the sorry rem ains called respectively— B rahm ans
and D astnrs or Mobeds. B ut thero is still the nucleus left, albeit it be so
itrenuoasly denied, of th e heirs of tho prim itive Magi, of tho Yedic
Magha and the Greek M agos —tho p riests and gods of old, tho last of
whom m anifested openly and defiantly during the C hristian ora in the
person of Apollonius of Tyana.— E d.
5 See Isi* U m eiled , Yol. II, p. 1289,
Our President never meant that they should p r a c tise
“ Yogism.” All that he urged upon them was, that be­
fore they scoffed at tlieir own religion, of which they
knew so little, and became either modern agnostics or
out-and-out corporeal ists, they should study Zoroastrian­
ism as a philosophy, and in the light of esoteric
sciences—which alone could teach them the truth by
giving the correct version of the meaning of the various
emblems and symbolisms.
T h e le a rn e d Colonel said t h e P a r s e e s a re t h e h e i r s of t h e
C h a ld e a n lore, a n d t h a t t h e C h a ld e a n a n d t h e H e b r e w ICabnla
w o u ld t h r o w c o n s id e r a b le l i g h t on t h e m e a n i n g of t h e A v e sta .
Can a n y one tell m e w h e r e a n d in w h a t la n g u a g e t h e s e books a r e
to be fo und , a n d w h e t h e r t h e s e w o r k s a re n ot also so m u c h a lle g o ­
rical as t o r e q u ir e t h e a id of O c c u lt p h ilo s o p h y t o u n d e r s t a n d
t h e i r tr u o m e a n i n g P
The Lecturer stated a fact. More even than tlio
Brahmans, are the Parsees heirs to Chaldean wisdom,
since they are the.direct, though the latest, offshoots of
Aryan Magianism. The Occultists are very little con­
cerned with that apparent difficulty that the Magian
“ Chaldees” with all their priests and initiates, whether
of the Medes, the Scythians, or the Babylonians are
regarded by the Orientalists as of Semitic origin, while
the ancient Iranians are Aryans. The classification of
those nations into Turanians, Akkadians, Semites and
what not, is at best arbitrary. The word “ Chaldean”
does not refer merely to a native or an inhabitant of
Chaldea, but to “ Chaldeism,” the oldest science of astro­
logy and occultism. And in that sense the Zoroastrians
are the true heirs to Chaldean wisdom, “ the light
which sliineth in darkness,” though (modern) “ darkness
comprehended it not,” and the Parsees themselves
know nothing of it now. The Hebrew Kabala is but the’
loud echo of tho Chaldean ; an echo which passing
through the corridors of Time picked up in its transit all
kinds of alien sounds that got mixed up with the original
key-notes struck beyond the epochs known to the pre­
sent profane generations ; and thus it reached the later
student of Hebrew lore as a confused and somewhat
distorted voice. Yet, there is much to learn in it,
for him who has the patience and the perseverance
required, since first of all he would have to learn the
G em an tria, N otarico u and T h e m u r a * When speaking of
the Kabala, the Lecturer meant by it, the universal, not
any special, esoteric system, already adapted to a later
exoteric creed as is at present the Jewish secret science.
The word “ Kabala” is derived from a Hebrew root
meaning reception of knowledge ; and practically speak­
ing it refers to all the old systems handed down by oral
transmission, and is very nearly allied to the Sanscrit
“ Smriti” and “ Shruti,” and tlio Chaldaic “ Zend.”t
There would be little use for the Parsce or Hindu begin­
ner to study only tho Hebrew or even the Chaldean
Kabala, since tliose works upon them which are now
extent are written either in Hebrew or Latin. But thero
would be a great deal of truth unearthed were both to
apply themselves to the study of the identical knowledge
veiled nnder the exoteric symbolisms of both the Zend-
Avesta and the Brahmanical books. And this they can
do by forming themselves into a small society of intelli­
gent earnest students of symbolism, especially tho Zend
and Sanscrit scholars. They could get the esoteric mean­
ings and the names of the works needed from somo
advanced chelas of our Society.
* The Jew ish m ethods of exam ining tlio S criptures for tlieir hiddea
m eaning.— Ed.
f Of course, as found out by tho O rientalists, tho word Zend” does
not apply to any language w hether dead or living, and never belonged to
any of the languages or dialects of ancient Persia (Seo F arhang-i-Jehan -
giri, the Persian dictionary). I t m oans as in ono sonflc corrcctly stated
a com m entary or explanation,” but it also moans Chat which th©
O rientalists do not seem to have any idea about, viz., tho “ rendering of
tho esoteric into exotorio sentences,” tho voil used to concoal the correet
m eaning of the Z en-(d)-zar texts, tho sacerdotal languago in use among
th e initiates of archaic India. Found now in several undecipherable
inscriptions it is still used and studied unto this day in the secret
com m unities of the E astern adepts, and called by them —according to
the locality— Ztind-sar aud B ra h m a or Deva-Bashya* —E d .
 Tho Colonel recommends th e translating of p rayers. Docs because they are now muttered pai’rot-like, remaining-
he mean t h a t th e translations of prayers in th eir presen t state, incomprehensible to the great majority, that they have
■ will bettor en ligh ten the you ths? If not, th en does lie imply th at
th e meaning of tho whole Zend-A vesta can be made intelligible to be either correctly rendered, or, bringing on finally
and philosophical by the aid of a th orou gh Occultist P indilferenco and disgust, that they have to be abandoned
It is precisely wliat ho meant. By a con’ect transla­ very soon to utter oblivion. The word “ prayer” receiv­
tion or rathor a correct explanation of their liturgical ed its modern significance of a supplication to a Supreme
prayers, and a preliminary knowledge of the true mean­ or some inferior divine being, only when its once widely
ing of even a few of the most important symbolisms—■ known and real esoteric meaning had already become
generally those that appear tho most meaningless and clouded with an exoteric veil ; after which it soon dis­
absurd in the sight of the modern Zend scholars, as tho appeared enshrouded beneath the impenetrable shell of a
dog, e. g., which plays such an important part in Parsee badly digested anthropomorphism. The Magian knew not
ceremonies*—the “ Parsee youths” would acquire there­ of any S uprem e “ personal” individuality. He recognized
by the key to the true philosophy that underlies tlieir bnt Ahura—the “ lord”—tho 7th Principle in man,—and
" wretched superstitions and myths/’ as they are called ” prayed,” i. e., made efforts during the hours of medita­
by tho missionaries who would fain force upon the tion, to assimilate with, and merge, his other principles—
world their own instead. that are dependent on the physical body and ever under
Prayer 19 r e p u g n a n t to the principles of atheists. How then the sway of AngraMainyu (or matter)—into the only pure,
does the learned Colonel reconcile his advico to the Parsees to holy and eternal principle in him, his divine monad. To
throw b etter heart into th eir pray ers P Does he also mean th a t whom else could he pray ? Who was " Ormuzd” if not
Occult philosophy will ju stify tho prayers in Z end Avesta,
offered to tho sun, tho moon and alm ost all the supposed pure the chief S p e n ta M a in y u , the monad, our own god-
th in g s of the creation P If I10 th inks th a t tho fixing of a tte n tio n principle in us ? How can Parsees consider him now in
upon such objects is conducive to being freed from worldly the light of the “ one Supreme God” independent of
desires and tho u g h t? , does he th ink also th a t these views or man, since even in the sorry remnants of the sacred
prayers will be believed in ,o r acted upon, by th e present g e n e ­
ration ? books of Mazdianism there is enough to show that ho was
Colonel Olcott was never an atheist “ to our knowledge,” never so considered. They are full of his shortcomings,
but an esoteric Buddhist, rejecting a perso n a l God. Nor lack of power (during his dependent individuality in
was genuine prayer—i. e., the exercise of one’s intense connection with man), and his frequent failings. He is
will over events (commonly brought about by blind addressed as the “ maker of the m aterial world” in every
chance) to determine their direction—ever repugnant to question put to him by Zaratushtra. He invokes Vayu
him. Even prayers as commonly understood, are not (the Holy ghost of tlie Mazdeans), “ the god-conqueror of
“ repugnant” in his sight, but simply useless, when not light (or true knowledge and spiritual enlightenment), tho
absurd aud ridiculous as in tho case of prayers to either smiter of the fiends (passions) all made of light,”* for
stop or bring about rain, etc. By “ prayer” he means— help against Angra Mainyu ; and, at tho birth of
W i l l , the desire or command m agn etically expressed that Zaratushtra he entreats Ardvi-Sura Anahitaf that the
such and such a thing beneficent to ourselves or others newly born should not abandon but stand by him iu
should come to pass. The Sun, the moon and tho stars in his eternal struggles with Ahriman.
the Avest.a are all emblematical representations—tho Sun, (To be continued.')
especially—tho latter being the concrete and most appro­
priate emblem of tho one universal life-giving principle, T H E T A N T R A S .J
while the stars are part and parcel of the Occult sciences. B t T . S.
Yiina never “ prayed” bnt went to “ meet the sun” in T h e w o r d T a n t r a l i t e r a l l y s ig n ifie s s c ie n c e . T h e r e a r e t h r e e
tho vast space of heavens, and bringing down with him k i n d s of T a n t r a s ; t h e S a k t a , t h e V a i s h n a v a , a n d fclic B o n d h a .
“ the scienco of tho stars, pressed the earth with his O r d i n a r i l y a T a n t r i c a m e a n s a S a k t a ; a n d t h e p r e s e n t n o t e will
golden ring and forced (thereby) the ‘ Spenta Armaiti’ d e a l w i t h s o m e o f t h e b e l i e f s o f t h i s se c t. •
— (the genius of tho earth) to stretch asunder and to T h e “ M a h a N i r v a n a T a n t r a ” is t h e e a r l i e s t , a n d is r e g a r d ­
bear flocks and herds and men” (F a r g . II, 10). e d b y t h e T a n tr ik n s a s t h e m o s t i m p o r t a n t of all. A l l T a n t r i c
But since not every one knows in our day, “ the w o r k s a re s u p p o s e d to be t h e r e c o r d of c o n v e rsa tio n s h e ld
science of the stars,” nor are there many Zend scholars, b e tw e e n S h i v a a n d his c o n s o r t P a r v a ti . T h e w o rd S h i v a
tho best course to be pursued is to make at least a begin­ l i t e r a l l y si g n i f ie s “ P e a c e , ” a n d P a r v a t i t h a t w h i c h is g e n e r a t ­
ning by having the “ prayers” translated. Tho Lecturer, e d i n t h e m o u n t a i n s , g e n e r a l l y t h e s e a t of m e d i t a t i o n of S h i v a ,
or Yoga.
as far as we aro aware, did not mean to adviso auy one O n e of t h e c h i e f n a m e s o f S h i v a is M a h a - Y o g c c , a n d t h e r e ­
to believe in, or “ act upon,” the modern prayers in f o r e 'vVe c a n e a s i l y i n f e r w l i a t a n d w h o h i s c o n s o r t is.
their present liturgic, exoteric form. Bnt it is just T h i s M a h a - y o g e e ’s n a m e s a r e i n n u m e r a b l e . H e is c a l l e d
#Compnro tho so called “ Aid-a di an formnlm of exorcism ” of tlio “ B h o o t N a t h ” ( t h e l o r d of t h e g h o s t s ) , “ M r i t t y u n j o y ” ( c o n ­
earliest periods known to tlio O rientalists to which tho collection of q u e r o r of d e a t h ) , “ M a h a l - k a l a ” ( g r e a t T im e o r E te r n i ty ) ,
charms and am ulets belong— (in tru th very late periods)—w ith m ost “ M a h a D e v a ” ( t h e g r e a t G o d ) , &c. &c.
of the injunctions found in V endidad (Fargard X III ) concerning the
P a r v a t i to o h a s a s m a n y c o r r e s p o n d i n g f e m a l e n a m e s , silch
dog. I t seems alm ost incrediblo th a t oven tho dullest among the Zend
scholars should not perceive th a t verso 163, for instance (samo Far- a s M a h a k a l i , M a li a d c v i ( g r e a t g o d d e s s ) , P r a k r i t i ( N a t u r e ) ,
gurd) which says, 11 F or 110 house could subsist on tho e arth m ade by M a h a M a y a ( t h e g r e a t i l l u s i o n ) , S a k t i ( F o r c e o r e n e r g y ) , Ac.
A h u ra , (in this caso the ‘‘ house” —not tlio e arth —m ade by A hura) &c. &c.
h u t for thoso two dogs of mine, tho shepherd's dog and the house T h e T a n tr ik a s (th e n a m e of those w ho s tu d y the T a n tra s ,)
dog”—cannot re fe r really to theso anim als. The com m entary made
in it ( Saddar 31, H y d e 35) is absurd and ridiculous. I t is not, w o rs h ip p e rs of th is e n e rg y or S a k ti, th e h ig h e s t d eity,— a re
as it says, th at “ not a single head of cattlo would rem ain in existence als o c a l l e d Sa Jctya s.
bnt for tho dogs,”—bnt th a t all hum anity, endowed as it is w ith the
highest intellect among the intelligences of the anim al kingdom, would, * Y ast. XV., 3.
under tho leadership of A ngram ainyu, m utually destroy them selves + Hogging the pardon of our European Sanskritists and Zend
physically and spiritually, but for tho presence of tho “ dogs”—the two scholars, wo would ask them to tell, if they know, who was the Mazdean
highest spiritual principles. The dog VanghApara, (the hedgo hog, says goddess A rdvi-Sura Anflhita? Wo m aintain and enn prove w hat we say,
the eom m ontator !)“ tlio good creature th a t from m idnight (onr timo of th a t tho said personage implored by Ahura, and Sarasw ati (the Brahmini-
ignorance) till the sun is np (spiritual enlightenm ent) goes and kills cal goddess of Secret or Occult wisdom) are identical. W here is the
thonsands of tho crcatnrcs of tho evil sp irit” (Farg, X I I I . 1) is onr philosophy of tho Suprem o God, “ the om nipotent and omniscient-ALi.”
spiritual conscience. IIo who “ kills it” (stifles its voico w ithin himself) seeking for tlie help of his own creature P— F d.
Bhall not find his w ay over tho Cliinvat bridge (leading to paradise). J For reasons of th eir own, the A ryas or the “ reform ers,” as they
Then compare theso Sym bolisms w ith thoso of th e Akkadian talism ans. and the Brahm os call them selves, regard all the T a n tra s as the most
Even as tran slated by G. Sm ith, distorted as th ey aro, still the seven abominable works 011 sorcery th a t inculcnto imm orality. Somo of tho
dogs doscribcd—as tho “ blue,” tho “ yellow,” tlie “ spotted,” Ac., can T antric works aud com m entaries are certainly prohibited on acconnt of
be shown to havo all of them reference to the same seven hum an princi­ th eir dealing w ith 'necromancy (m odern Spiritualism ). B ut the m ean­
ples as classified by Occultism. The whole collection o ftlie “ formula) ing in the real old T a n tra s rem aining a dead letter to th e uninitiated
of exorcism ” so callcd, of tho Akkadians is fu ll of references to the H indus, very few can appreciate th e ir w orth. Somo of the “ W hite”
7 evil and tho 7 good spirits which are oar principles in th eir dual T antras, especially tho ono tre a te d upon in the presen t article, contain
»speot.— Ed, extrem ely im portant inform ation for the Occultists.—E d.
 I n tlieir co n v ersatio n s n e ith e r M a h a d e v a n o r P a r v a ti d e ­
sc r i b e t h e m s e l v e s a s t h e P a r a b r a h m a , b u t s i m p l y a s t r a v e l l e r s
b o u n d f o r t h a t g o a l. P a r a b r a h m is a l w a y s s p o k e n o f i n t h e
T a n t r a s as th e in d e s c r ib a b le A b s o lu te O n e ,— b e y o n d all a t t r i ­
b u tes a n d therefore, h a v in g no a t t r i b u t e s ; w hile M a h a d e v a
an d S akti represent the P u ru s h a (S pirit and M an), a n d P r a ­
k riti (W o m a n or U niversal N a tu re ). T h i s I c o n c e iv e is c l e a r
e n o u g h t o g i v e u s a n i n s i g h t i n t o t h e r e a l m e a n i n g of t h e
a lle g o ry .
I f w e p l a c e t h e f o u r l e t t e r s c, p , n , a ,— i n a d i a g r a m - l i k e
way, th u s—
and d ra w a horse-shoe c pole, n t h e n e g a tiv e , c
m a g n e t iu t h e m id d le , cent re a n d a the
a n d in w h ic h p w ill P | )) ™ a r m a t u r e ; t h e n p th e f a th e r c a n be often ascertain ed .
re p re s e n t th e p o sitiv e a w o u ld re p re se n t the
P u ru sh a, n the P ra k riti, c P a ra b ra h m , and a the Y oga
M a y a ( th e illu sio n w h ic h connects M a n w ith W o m a n , or
spirit w ith m atter.)
T h e c e n tre c h a s n e ith e r a ttra c tio n n o r rep u lsio n , it be in g
th e p o in t w h e r e all fo rce s a re e q u ilib r a te d a n d a t re st, w h ile
b o th t h e p o sitiv e a n d n e g a tiv e poles b eco m e m o re a n d m o re
d iffere n tia te d , a n d th e f u r t h e r t h e y a re re m o v e d fro m th e
c entre, th e s tro n g e r th e y becom e in th e ir a ttra c tio n a n d re p u l­
sio n , b e i n g t h e s t r o n g e s t a t t h e e x t r e m e e n d s . C o r r e c t l y s p e a k i n g
n e i t h e r t h e p o s i t i v e n o r t h e n e g a t i v e p o l e is t h e m a g n e t .
T h e y a re m e re ly th e c o n d itio n s of th e d iffe re n tia tio n a l p a r ti ­
c u la r p o in ts. I n t h e sa m e w a y n e i t h e r m a t t e r n o r s p ir it a re
s u b s ta n c e s , b u t c o n d itio n s of t h e cosm ic T o ta l ( P a r a b r a h m )
a t its t w o e x t r e m e t i e s — t h e m a n i f e s t e d a n d u n m a n i f e s t e d
universes.
A s in re fe re n c e to n o il-m a g n etised su b s ta n c e b o th th e
p o s i t i v e a n d n e g a t i v e p o l e s a c t a s a t t r a c t i v e s ( p o s i t i v e ) , so
P u r u s h a a n d P r a k r i t i occupy t h e sa m e p o sitio n w i t h r e g a r d
to m a i l , a n d a r e , t h e r e f o r e , c o n s t a n t l y i n t e r c h a n g i n g . Thus :
i n t h e o r d i n a r y r e p r e s e n t a t i o n w e se e K a l i s t a n d i n g o n
t h e c o rp se of S h i v a — s i g n if y in g T im e d o m in e e r i n g o v e r
sp a c e . T h i s is t h o i n v e r t e d E g y p t i a n T a u , a n d is o r d i n a r i l y
r e p r e s e n t e d b y ono s l a b of s t o n e s t a n d i n g p e r p e n d i c u l a r l y
o n a n o t h e r p l a c e d v e r t i c a l l y t h u s J . . I n t h e t r a g e d y of D a k s h a
Y a j n a t h e r e v e r s e of t h i s is s e e n i n S h i v a , w h o b e a r s o n h i s
h e a d t h e corpse of his c o n s o rt a n d t h e n t h e T a u s ta n d s t h u s T ,
a n d r e p r e s e n t s S h i v a ’s T r i d e n t . O n e t h i n g , h o w e v e r , is
w o r t h y o f n o t e . S h i v a is s a i d t o n e v e r a c t u a l l y d ie, t h o u g h
h e s o m e t i m e s b e c o m e s c o r p s e - l i k e ; w h i l e K a l i o f t e n d ie s , is
re b o rn , a n d w e d d e d each tim e to S h iv a , t h e l a t t e r r e p re s e n t­
i n g t h e i m m u t a b i l i t y of s p i r i t , a n d t h e p r o g r e s s t h r o u g h
v a r i o u s c o r r e l a t i o n s a n d c h a n g e s of m a t t e r . U ltim a te ly th ey
b e c o m e i n t e r m i n g l e d i n t o o n e a n d r e m a i n so a f t e r m a n y a
q u a r r e l a n d t e m p o r a r y a l i e n a t i o n . T h e n u m b e r of b i r t h s
a s s i g n e d t o K a l i - P r a k r i t i is g i v e n a t 1 0 8 .* T h i s is v e r y
s u g g e s t i v e t o t h e s t u d e n t s of O c c u l t i s m , I t s h o u l d a ls o bo
n o t i c e d t h a t t h e fi n a l u n i o n t a k e s p l a c e a f t e r t h e F e m a l e -
p o w e r h a s p a s s e d t h r o u g h t h e h o u s e o f D a k s h a — o n e of t h e
t e n P r a j a p a t i s k n o w n t o B u d d h i s t s a s t h e 10 D h y a n C h o h a n s
— w h i l e S h i v a is e n g a g e d i n p r o f o u n d Y o g a f o r t h e r e c o v e r y
of his lost consort.
T h e u n i o n d o e s n o t t a k e p l a c e a t t h e p o i n t o f t h e i ll u s i v e
a r m a t u r e ( Y o g ’a M a y a ) w h i c h is d i s p e r s e d l o n g b e f o r e , i. e.,
it disperses g r a d u a l ly w i t h th e g ro w th of e n li g h t e n m e n t ) b u t
t h r o u g h t h e a b s o l u t e k n o w l e d g e o f Y o g a w h i c h is a t t h e
c e n tre , t h e h ig h e s t p o in t w h e re b o th t h e p ositive a n d
n e g a t i v e f o r c e s a r e e q u i l i b r a t e d , a n d t h u s lo se t h e i r r e s p e c ­
t i v e s p e c i a l q u a l i t i e s , b e c o m i n g f i n a l l y d e v o i d of a l l a t t r i b u t e s . w ith th e w o rs h ip of S a k ti, th e u n iv e rs a l (fem a le ) L ife-pow er,
T h e a r m a t u r e b e i n g n o n - m a g n e t i c , i t is i n s e n s i b l e t o b o t h t h e
p o s i t i v e a n d t h e n e g a t i v e p o le s . H e n c e t h i s n e g a t i v e n e s s is
o f t e n c o n f o u n d e d w i t h t h a t of t h e n e g a t i v e p o l e w h i c h s t a n d s
for illu sio n .t
T h o l a t te r , it w ill be seen, d e p e n d e n tire ly o n t h e n e u tr a l
c e n t r e w h i e h is w i t h o u t a n y a t t r i b u t e s a n d w i t h o u t w h i c h
* The Hindus reckon Sapta Loka (seven spheres) and fourteen Manus k i n d o f w i n e , s p i r i t o r d r u g . V a m a c h a r e e s a n d V i r a c h a r e e s
(races) of men (seven physical and seven spiritual) on each. Taking
one birth to each it gives 7 X 14 = 98, If to this be added tho nine
grades of initiation (seven preliminary, two final, and tho tenth the con­
summation and the culmination of all, in which re-union of the unit
soul with the All-Soul takes place) wo get 108. Tho obligatory number
of grains of the rosaries used by the ascetics of all tho creeds and sects
of India refers to this calculation.
t The above explanation of the allegory, and its secret meaning being
found in the oldest works treating upon Aryan occultism, goes far to
prove that the ancient Aryas know as much as we, if not moro, of tho phy­
sical sciences as taught to-day; western science having reached the
present knowledge herself but very recently, comparatively speaking.—
Ed.
t h e y w o u ld n o t exist. T h u s w e g e t a s o l u t io n of t h e m y s t e r y
o f c o n scio u sn es b e in g p r o d u c e d b y , a n d fro m , u n c o n sc io u sn ess,
in te llig e n c e fro m no n -in tellig en ce, a n d q u a lity fro m n on­
q u a l i t y , c o n d i t i o n i n t h e c e n t r e b e c o m e s n ir v a n a o r c e s s a t i o n
of a ll d i s t u r b a n c e s a r i s i n g f r o m c o n n e c t i o n w i t h m a t t e r .
A n o t h e r v i e w of t h e T a n t r i c a s is t h a t t h e g e n e r a t i o n of
e v e r y t h i n g is d u e t o t h e a c t i o n of t w o p r i n c i p l e s , i. e., a
p ositive a n d a n e g a tiv e , a f a th e r a n d a m o th e r, o r a m a le a n d
a fe m a le e lem ent. T h i s is a w e l l k n o w n l a w o f O c c u l t i s m
a n d a d m i t t e d , i n o t h e r t e r m s , b y m o d e r n s c ie n c e .
I t is n o t a l w a y s e a s y t o d i s c o v e r t h e r e a l F a t h e r ; b u t n o t
so, i n t h e c a s e of t h e M o t h e r , a s t h e c o n n e c t i o n c a n e a s i l y b e
tra c e d a n d even te s tim o n y obtained. A g a in , fro m th e m o th e r
T h u s t h e f i r s t q u e s t i o n t o o ffer is— i n w h o s e o r i n w h a t
m a t r i x a r e w e b o r n p T h e r e p l y w i l l b e : i n t h e w o m b of
P r a k r i t i , N a t u r e , o r t h e s p i r i t - m a t t e r o f s p a c e — a ls o c a l l e d
t h e l if e - p r i n c i p l e . P r a k r i t i is t h e U n i v e r s a l M o t h e r i n w h o s e
m a t r i x e v e r y t h i n g is c o n c e i v e d , i n w h o s e a r m s a l l t h i n g s a n d
b e in g s a r e r e a r e d , a n d w i t h w h o s e m ilk t h e y a ll w e re fe d a n d
nursed.
T h e f a t h e r o r m a l e e l e m e n t t h o u g h o f t l i e s a m e s p e c ie s
w i t h t l i e m o t h e r , is y e t i n h i s a t t r i b u t e s t h e c o n t r a r y of m a n y
o f h e r q u a l i t i e s , b u t , a t t h e s a m e t i m e , is i n s e p a r a b l e f r o m h e r
— “ t h e t w a in b e in g one flesh.” T h is clu e le a d s u s to t h e
sp irit of tim e a n d d eath. H e n c e th e h u s b a n d of P ra k riti
is n a m e d “ M a h a K a l a ” ( t h e g r e a t t i m e ) , “ B lio o tn a th ”
( l o r d o f t h e d i s e m b o d i e d s p i r i t s ;) “ M r i t t y u n j o y ” ( c o n q u e r o r
of d e a t h ) , &c. &c. T h e s e w o r d s a r e s y n o n y m o u s w i t h d e a t h ,
w h i c h is i n s e p a r a b l e f r o m life.
I n e e d h a r d l y o b se rv e t h a t th e s e a r e e x o te ric expressions.
E Jso te ric ally l if e a n d d e a t h , g r o w t h a n d d e c a y , & c., a r e d i f ­
fe re n t p h ases of one a n d th e sam e tilin g o r principle. That
t i m e a n d s p a c e a r e 0 1 1 0 a n d t h e s a m e t h i n g , is a b l y s h o w n i n
t h e T h e o s o p h is t f o r M a r c h 1883. PIcnce, tr a c e d to t h e i r
c o n s titu e n ts o r u l ti m a t e essence, S h iv a a n d S h iv a n i h is c o n so rt
becom e one. H c n c e a ls o w h i l e t h e y h o l d i n t l i e a l l e g o r y
converse w ith each o th e r— so m e th in g w h ic h im plies su b se­
q u e n t s e p a r a t i o n a n d d u a l i t y — S h i v a a l w a y s p o i n t s to B r a h -
m a l o k a ( t h e c o n d i t i o n o f P a r a b r a h m a ) a s t h e o n e final g o a l
to w h i c h a ll t e n d s a n d i n w h i c h all b e e o m e — O n e A b s o l u t e .
T h e T a n tr ic w o rk s d e a l g re a tly , in a d d itio n to B r a h m a
Y o g a a n d o t h e r s w i t l i w h a t is c a l l e d “ M a n t r a Y o g a . ” T h e
l a t t e r is d i v i d e d i n t o s i x b r a n c h e s , v i z .,— M a r a n , U c l i a t a n ,
S tu m b h a n , V a sik a ra n , S an m o h an , a nd S a n tik a rm an . W ith
t h e e x c e p t i o n o f t h e l a s t , t h e f i r s t five a r e w h a t is k n o w n a s
b la c k m agic, a n d as s u c h a re in c lu d e d in th e M anava D h a rm a
( t h e o ld L a w ) of M a n u a n d t h e w o r k s o f o t h e r sag-es i n t h e
list of p ro h ib itio n s, t h e p ra c tic e of w h ic h , u n d e r t h e n a m e s
o f A b h is a r a n d M u la k a r m a s i s c l a s s c d w i t h c a p i t a l sin s
(U p a p a ta k a s).
T h e S a n ti K a r m a u (lite rally t h a t w h ich p ro cu res peace)
in ca n tatio n s a re th e on ly ones reco m m en d ed . T h e votaries
u s i n g t h e m h a v e t o l e a d p u r e a n d v i r t u o u s l iv e s , t o a b s t a i n
f r o m in f li c ti n g 1 t h e s l i g h t e s t i n j u r y o r s u f f e r i n g u p o n a n y a n i ­
m a t e d b e i n g , a n d n e v e r t o t o u c h a s i n g l e d r o p of s p i r i t u o u s
d r i n k , o r of a p a r t i c l e of a n y i n t o x i c a t i n g d r u g s .
T h e B r a h m a Y o g a is e s s e n t i a l l y t h o s a m e a s t h e R a j a Y o g a
a n d is s t r o n g l y r e c o m m e n d e d t o a l l T a n t r i k a s .
I t is s a i d t h a t s o m e of t h e T a n t r a s s a n c t i o n d r i n k i n g to a
c e r t a i n e x t e n t i u t h e p e r f o r m a n c e of c e r t a i n r i te s . T h e f a c t s
a r e t h e s e . T h e r e a r e 6 4 p r i n c i p a l T a n tr a s w h i c h d e a l c h ie f ly
in som e f o r m o r o th er. T h e re are o th e r T a n tra s w h ich d eal
b u t w ith th e w o rsh ip of P a ra b ra h m . “ M a h a N irv a n a T a n tr a ”
is t h e c h i e f w o r k a m o n g t h e l a t t e r c la ss . A l l T a n t r a s d i v i d e
i t s v o t a r i e s i n t o f o u r c la s s e s a c c o r d i u g t o t h e i r b e h a v i o u r .
T hese fo u r are, P a s v a c h a r, V a m a c h a r, V ira c lia r a n d D ibya-
char. T h e A c h a r b h e d a T a n t r a describes fu lly e v e r y th in g
c o n n e c t e d w i t h t h e s e A e h a r e e s . S u f f i c ie n t t o s a y h e r e , t h a t
P a s v a c h a re e s a n d D ib y a c lia rc e s h a v e n o th in g to do w ith a n y
p r o b a b ly w e re p e r m i t t e d i n d a y s of o ld so m e k i n d of d r i n k
n a m e d a s s p i r i t o r w i n e , b u t n o t h i n g l i k e t h e w i n e s , &e., s o ld
i n t h e e x c ise s h o p s . B e s i d e s , t h e a r t i c l e s m e n t i o n e d a s s u b ­
s titu te s fo r th e s e d rin k s c le a rly show t h a t th e y c o u ld n o t be
i n t o x i c a t i n g be vera g-es. T h u s : c o w s ’ m i l k i n a c o p p e r ve sse l,
o r m o lasses a n d g i n g e r in a c o p p e r vessel, o r c o c o a n u t w a t e r
i n a p e w t e r v e s s e l , &c. &c.
A g a i n , t h e s a m e A c h a r b h e d a T a n t r a sa y s , t h a t P a s v a c h a r
is t h e o n l y a c h a r c o n s o n a n t w i t h t h e V e d a s , a n d t h e M a h a
N irv a n d istin c tly says t h a t m a n can a tta in S id d h is (sp iritu al
p ow ers) by th e P a s v a c h a r o nly in th is K ali Y ug.
 B e f o r e a d e v o t e e c a n t a k e t o a n y o f t h o A c h a r a s h e h a s to ( 2 .) G o o d a n d b a d a r e r e l a t i v e id e a s . W h e t h e r w o r e c o g n i z e
b e b a p t i s e d e i t h e r w i t h w a t e r o r w i t h s o m e k i n d of s p i r i t , a n y t h i n g a s g o o d o r b a d , i t is i n d i s p u t a b l e t h a t b o t h m u s t be
a c c o r d i n g t o t h e A c h a r to w h i c h h e is t o bo i n i t i a t e d . T h i s i n t h e A l l - p e r v a d i n g — t h e P a r a b r a h m a . I f b a d is t h e n c o n s i ­
b a p t i s m c e r e m o n y is k n o w n b y t h e n a m e of A b h i s h e k a , a n d d e r e d t o b e i g n o r a n c e p r o c e e d i n g f r o m A h a n h a r a m , i. e., c o n ­
is p r o b a b l y t h e o r i g i n a l of t h e C h r i s t i a n b a p t i s m . s c io u s i n d i v i d u a l i t y ( J i v a ) — t h e p a r t of t h e w h o l e ( se e a b o v e )
T h e w e l l k n o w n T a n t r a s a y i n g :— “ P a n c h a M a k a r ” ( l i t e r ­ — t h e n g o o d c om es to be a p p lie d to th o w hole, t h e P a ra b ra h m a ,
a l l y t h e five M ’s ) w h i c h is c i t e d to s h o w t l i a t M a d y a ( o n e of i n t h e s a m e m a n n e r t h a t a l l c o n s c io u s n e s s m a y b e s a i d to p r o ­
t h o M ’s) m e a n s w i n e s a n d s p i r i t s is c a r e f u l l y e x p l a i n e d in t h e c e e d f r o m u n c o n s c i o u s n e s s b y r e a s o n of i ts d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n .
K u l a r n a v a T a n t r a ( V p a r t , 17 u l l a s ) — t h e v e r y b o o k w h i c h ( 3 .) J iv a , I s w a r a a n d M a y a a r e c o n s i d e r e d to be re a l, a ll t h e
tlio K o o l s ( t h e v o t a r i e s of d r i n k ) c i t e i n t h e i r s u p p o r t — to t h r e e i n t h i s l i g h t , i. e., as l o n g a s a n y t h i n g h a s e x i s t ­
signify q u ite d iffe re n t a n d h ig h e r th in g s . T h e e n q u i r e r s in e n c e , i t is r e a l o r t r u e , a l t h o u g h t h a t e x i s t e n c e m a y n o t l a s t
t h i s m a t t e r w i l l d o w e l l t o look f o r t h e r e a l m e a n i n g i n t h e fo r ever. T h e A d w a i t e e s a y s t h a t o n l y t h a t w h i c h is i m m u ­
w o rk in d ic a te d . t a b l e is t r u e , a n d a l l t h i n g s t e m p o r a r y a n d l ia b l e t o c h a n g e a r e
B erh a m po re, A p r il, 1883. i l l u s i o n a r y ; w h e r e a s t h o V is is h ta d w a ite e s a y s t h a t a s i m m u ­
t a b i l i t y is r e a l i n t h e e t e r n i t y , so m u t a b i l i t y is a ls o r e a l f o r
V ISISH T A D W A IT A P H IL O SO P H Y . tlio t i m e b e i n g , a n d so l o n g ' a s t h e r e is n o c h a n g e . M y o w n
i n f e r e n c e is t h a t a ll t h e d i f f ic u l ty h e r e lies i n t h e w o r d s , b l i t
By A. G ovinda C iia r l u , F . T. S.
t h a t t h e i d e a is o n e .*
I w is ii th e S a n sc rit tex t h a d been g iv en a lo n g w ith the
( 4 .) J iv a n is s a i d t o b e d e p e n d e n t a n d i n d e p e n d e n t , i n
E n g l i s h t r a n s l a t i o n of t h e V i s i s h t a d w a i t a P h i l o s o p h y p u b ­
t h e s a m e s e n s e t h a t a m i n i s t e r , a d e w a n , is i n d e p e n d e n t in
l i s h e d i n y o u r M a y n u m b e r , pa.ge 196, t h a t o u r b r o t h e r s m a y
e x e r c i s i n g a u t h o r i t y , a n d d e p e n d e n t o n h is k i n g f o r t h e b e s ­
b e i n a p o s i t i o n to d e t e c t a n y m i s t r a n s l a t i o n s b y m e of tlio
t o w a l of t h a t a u t h o r i t y . f T h i s a p p a r e n t c o n t r a d i c t i o n , m a n ’s
S a n s c r it d ialo g u e . I a lr e a d y confessed t h a t I w a s o n ly th e
S v a ta n t r y a a n d P a r a t a n tr y a w a s a n t i c i p a t e d i n n u m b e r 26,
tr a n s la to r, a n d a m n o t responsible fo r th e opinions ex p ressed
a n d w a s a n s w e r e d i n t h e 2 9 t h a r t . of t h e C a t e c h i s m . N o s . 24
in th e o r ig in a l te x t, th e a u th o r s of w h i c h a r e n a m e d in m y
t o 28 c e r t a i n l y s e e m f u l l of m y s t e r y , i n c o m p r e h e n s i b l e a n d
. las t article. W h ile th e C atech ism w as b e in g p re p are d , I
c o n tra d ic to ry . I m y se lf th o u g h t t h a t th e w hole a r g u m e n t
ra is e d m a n y q u estions m y self, b u t t h e a u th o r s a ssu re d m e
w a s m o v i n g i n a c irc le , a n d b e g g i n g ; a n d N o . 2 9 w a s t h e r e ­
t h a t a l l m y o b j e c t i o n s a s a ls o v a r i o u s o t h e r s h a d a l l b e e n s a t i s ­
fore in te n d e d to c le a r u p th e m y ste ry . A su b tile distin ctio n
fa c to rily a n s w e r e d in th e V i s i s h ta d w a ita w o rk s, a n d in S ri
is m a d e b e t w e e n I s w a r a ’s w i l l a n d J i v a ’s K a r m a ; Is w a r a 's
R a m a n u j a c h a r y a r ’s V e d a -B h a s h y a , a n d t h a t t h e o b j e c t of
will o r K a r m a b e in g th e e v e r-a e tiv e s ta te of t h e w h o le —
th e p r e s e n t C a te c h is m w a s to give th e p u b lic a concise id ea
th o P a ra b ra h m a a n d t h e J i v a ’s K a r m a b e i n g t h e p a r t i c u -
of t h i s p h i l o s o p h y .
l a r i s a t i o n ;— t h e o id e r c ir c l e m o v i n g , a n d s e t t i n g i t s i n n e r
A l t h o u g h I a m a V i s i s h t a d w a i t e e , I k n o w v e r y l i t t l e of
c ir c le s i n m o t i o n , e a c h p a r t i c u l a r c ir c l e h a v i n g w i t h t h e
t h a t p h ilo s o p h y m y self. I h a v e th is d a y r e q u e s te d o u r b r o t h e r
g e n e r a l m o tio n , its o w n in d iv id u a l w h ir l w i t h in t h e p a r e n t
S r i m a n P a r t h a s a r a d l i y I y e n g a r , F . T . S ., t o d e v o t e s o m e lei-
c ircle.
m ire t o e n l i g h t e n i n g h i s b r o t h e r s o n t h o s u b j e c t . M e a n w h i l e ,
I briefly a n s w e r th o o b jec tio n s ra is e d f r o m w h a t I w a s a b le ( 5 .) “ I s w a r a d w e llin g i n h is h e a r t” h a s i t s o w n specific
to m a k e o u t f r o m a h u r r i e d e x p l a n a t i o n g i v e n to m e b y t h e m e a n i n g ; b u t t h e s t a t e m e n t is n o t to b e u n d e r s t o o d to m e a n
a u t h o r s a t M e l k o t e :— t h a t I s w a r a d w e lls n o w h e re else. Q u e s t i o n 3 0 b e g i n s w i t h
( 1 .) P a r a b r a h m a b e i n g a n A l l - p e r v a d i n g p r i n c i p l e , i t s e l f “ I s w a r a b e in g o m n i p r e s e n t A n s w e r t o Q u e s t i o n 3 0 t h e r e ­
b e i n g t h e A l l , i s s t i ll c o n s i d e r e d a s a s e p a r a t e s u b s t a n c e f r o m f o r e d o e s n o t i n a n y w a y i m p l y s h a k i n g off Is w a r a . J iv a n
J iv a n , a l t h o u g h t h e f o r m e r c o n t a i n s t h e l a t t e r , i n t h e s a m e b e c o m i n g M u k ta is d e s c r i b e d a s p a s s i n g f r o m o n e s t a t e to
m a n n e r t l i a t w e t a l k of a p a r t a s s e p a r a t e f r o m t h e w h o l e of a n o t h e r a n d l i v i n g w i t h Is iv a r a i n t h e s t a t e o f M u k t i i n h is
w h i c h i t is a p a r t . * A p a r t is t h e r e f o r e o f t h e s a m e n a t u r e a s ( Is w a r a 's ) c o n d i t i o n c a l l e d .B h a g a v ib h u ti, ( r e a d n o t e on V a i-
t h e w h o l e , y e t its d i s t i n g u i s h i n g q u a l i f i c a t i o n is t h e f a c t of its k u n t( li)a L o k a N o . 21.
b e i n g a p a r t , v iz., t h e i n d i v i d u a l i z a t i o n , a n d d e p e n d e n c e on (0). P l e a s e i n s e r t t h e f o l l o w i n g c o r r e c t i o n s :—
t h e w h o l e . I n t h i s w a y is J iv a n c o n s i d e r e d i n r e l a t i o n w i t h , F o r :— Pi,ead :— •
a n d d i s t i n c t f r o m , P a r a b r a l i m .f M y o w n i n f e r e n c e is t l i a t “ S a tiv a ,” “ S a tv a ”
A d w a i t a a n d t h i s c o in c i d e , t h e f o r m e r c o n s i d e r i n g t h a t J iv a n “ G an a ” “ Q una”
is P a r a b r a h m a , m o d if i e d b y t h e l a t t e r i n t o “ J iv a n is a p a r t “ P r ith u r ” “ P r ith v i”
o n ly o f P a r a b r a h m a ” X C o n s i d e r e d i n t h i s m a n n e r , t h e r e is “ B h o g ja tn e a " “ Ilh o g g a tv a ”
o n e I n f i n i t e , m a d e u p of n u m b e r l e s s i n f i n i t e s . ^ “ B r a h m a iv a c h a v a ti” “ B r a J im a iv a b h a v a ti”
“ B h u tr n a d i M a r g a ” “ D h u m ra d i M a rg a ”
# We cannot conceivc of nn “ A ll-p erva d in g w h o le /' being separato “ B h o g a v r ib h u ti” “ B h o g a v ib h u ti”
from its part. Tho idea put forward by onr learned b ro th er is of conrso
the theistic, bnt not v ery philosophical doctriue which teaches the rota­ “ f inal s t a t e . A Loksha'' “ fi n a l s t a t e , M o k sh a
tion of man to God as tliat between father nnd child.— E d. “ G e n u i n e s t a t e . V a ik u n t a ” “ G e n u i n e s t a t e , V a ik u n t a ''
f Wonld it not be b e tte r and far moro philosophical to rosort; in such “ S p r a k r ita L o k a ” “ A p r a k in ta L o k a ”
a case, to the oft-repeated simile of the ocean ? If we suppose, for a
momont, infinity to bo a vast and an all-pervading ocean, wo can con­ ( 7 .) I p e rfe c tly a g re e w ith th e e d ito r in s a y in g t h a t t r u t h
ceive of tho individual existence of each of |tho drops composing th at s t a n d s as t h e o n e w h i t e r a y of l i g h t d e c o m p o s e d i n t o s e v e r a l
sea. All are aliko in essence, but their m a n ifesta tio n s m ay nnd do differ c o lo u r s i n t h e s p e c t r u m ; a n d I a d d t h a t t h e o n e w h i t e r a y
according to th eir snrrounding conditions. In tho same m anner, all is t r u e a s w e l l a s t h e d e c o m p o s e d c olors. T h i s is t h e T h e o s o ­
hum an in d iv id u a litie s, a lth o u g h alike in nature, y et differ in m a n ifesta ­ phic view . /
tions according to tho vehicles and the conditions through which thoy
E d. Note. —N ot qnito so, we are afraid. The eye-deceiving colours of
hnve to act. The Yogi, therefore, so fa r elevates his other principles, the spectrum being dism em bered and only illnsionary reflections of the
or let us call them vehicles, if preferred, as to facilitate tho m anifesta­ one and only ra y —cannot he true. At best, they re st upon a substratum
tion of his individuality in its original nature.— E d .
of tru th for which ono has often to dig too deeply to ever hope to reach
X We believe not. A tru e esoteric V edantic A dw aitee would say :
it w ithont the help of the esoteric key.— Ed.
A ha m eva P aram brahm , “ I am also P arabrahm a.” In its external
m anifestation J iv a n may be regarded as a distinct individuality—the
latter a m aya—in its essence or n ature Jivan is—P arabrahm , the con­ * We would like onr learned brother to point ont to ns one thing in
sciousness of the Param atm a m anifesting through, and existing solely in, the whole universe, from the sun and stars, down to man and the
the aggregated J iv a n s viowed collectively. A creek in the shore of tho sm allest atom , th a t is not undergoing somo change, w hether visible or
ocean is ono, so long only as the land it stretches upon is not redeemed. invisible, a t every sm allest fraction of tim e. Is it “ m an’s personal
Forced back, its w ater rebecoines tho ocean.— E d. individuality” —th a t which the B uddhists call attavada — “ delusion of
If Wo aro a t a loss to know w hat onr learned bro th er can moan by self”—th a t is a re a lity elsew here than in onr own M aya?— Ed.
Jiv an being “ dependent’* on the whole, unloss “ inseparable from ” f The comparison o f th e king and the dewan is m eaningless w ith
is m eant. If tho whole is “ a ll-pervading” and “ infinite,” all its parts reference to the subject illustrated. The power of conferring authority
m ust be indivisibly linked together. The idea of separation involves is a finite a ttrib u te , inapplicable to infinity. A b e tte r explanation of
the possibility of a vacunm —a portion of space or tim e where the the contradiction is therefore necessary, and we tr u s t our brother will
whole is supposed to be absent from some given point. H ence the ab­ g et it from his inspircrs.-—E d.
surdity of speaking of the p a rts of onelnfinitebeingalso infinite. To illus­ X This is indeed a “ su b tile distinction.” How can P arabrahm a bo
tra te geom etrically, suppose thero is an infinite lino, which has neither a ‘‘ the ever-active sta te of the wholo” when the only a ttrib u te —an abso­
beginning nor end. I ts p a rts cannot also be infinite, for when you say lutely negative ono—of P arabrahm a is passivity, unconsciousness, etc.,
“ parts,” they m ust h a v e a b eg in n ra g an d e n d ;o r,in o th e rw o rd s,th e y m ust And how can P arabrahm a, the one principle, the universal Essence or
bo finite, eithor a t ono or the other end, which is as evident a fallacy aa tho Totality be only a “ sta to of the w h o l e ” when it is itself the wiiolb,
to speak of an im m o rta l sonl which was a t some tim e created —thus im ­ and when even tho V edantic Dwaitees assert th at Isw ara is but a mere
plying a beginning to th a t which, if the word has any sense, is eternal. m anifestation of, and secondary to, Parabrahm a wliich ia the “ All-Par-
—E d . - vading” T otal P— E d,
 T IIE V IS IS I1 T R A D W A IT A G A T E G E IS M
D IS S E C T E D .*
B y A n A d w a it ee, P . T . S .
I n t h e l a t e s t ( M a y ) n u m b e r o f t h i s J o u r n a l , I fi n d a v e r y
in te restin g a rtic le h e a d e d “ V i s i s h t h a d w a it a P h ilo s o p h y ”
(by M r. A . G o v i n d a C l i a r l u , F . T . S ) . I t deserves th e m o st
cordial w e l c o m e a n d i ts a u t h o r o u r w a r m e s t t h a n k s , b e c a u s e
it o p e n s a n a v e n u e t o s o m e o f t h e n o b l e s t s p e c u l a t i o n s i n
p h ilo s o p h y . I n d e e d i t is n o t i m p r o b a b l e t h a t t h o a r t i c l e w i l l
en list t h e s y m p a t h i e s o f m a n y o f y o u r e d u c a t e d r e a d e r s , a n d
as it n o w s t a n d s , i t w i l l b e p r o v o c a t i v e of e l a b o r a t e d i s c u s s i o n .
D e ep ly i n t e r e s t e d i n t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e d e b a t e s u n t i l t h o
u l t i m a t e t r u t h o f t h e p h i l o s o p h y a d v o c a t e d is a r r i v e d a t , a n d
i n te n s e ly d e s i r o u s o f s e e i n g t h e C a t c c h i s m d u l y a p p r e c i a t e d
by t h e p u b l i c , I f e e l i r r e s i s t a b l y t e m p t e d t o p o i n t o u t t o o u r
r e s p e c t e d b r o t h e r t h e A u t h o r , t h o s e p o r t i o n s of h i s C a t e c h i s m
an d I n t r o d u c t i o n t h a t a r e c a lc u la te d to ra ise d o u b ts w i t h
r e g a r d to t h e i r m e a n i n g , a s w e l l a s t o n o t i c e t h e la c u m e a n d
little i n n a c c u r a c i e s i n t h e r e n d e r i n g I f in d i n it. H e n c e , I
w o u ld v e n t u r e t o s u g g e s t a f r e s h a r t i c l e m o r e c o m p l e t e a n d
consistent w i t h itself a n d m o re c o m p re h e n s ib le . F u r th e r , it
need h a r d l y b e sa id th a t, u n le s s p ro p o sitio n s a r e c le a rly
enunciated, t h e i r d e m o n s tra tio n s a n d in fere n ce s n m s t a lw ay s
appear u n sa tis fac to ry a n d confusing. I h a v e n o t i c e d m o s t of
th e p o in ts r e q u ir i n g rev isio n , a n d r e q u e s t t h a t t h is a r tic le bo
k i n d l y p u b l i s h e d i n a n e a r l y i s s u e of t h e J o u r n a l , so t h a t M r .
G o v i n d a C l i a r l u , F . T . S ., o r S r i i n a n S . P a r t h a s a r a t h y A i y e n -
ga r, F . T . S ., n a m e d i n t h e a r t i c l e i n q u e s t i o n , o r a n y o t h e r
e d u c a t e d b r o t h e r s a n d g e n t l e m e n s h a r i n g in t h e i r v i e w s m a y ,
w henever p r e p a r e d , p u b l i s h t h e i r e x p l a n a t i o n s .
( 1 .) I n his p r e lim in a r y r e m a r k s M r. G o v in d a C lia rlu
sa y s :— “ I t ( V is is h th a A ih v a i ta ) s t a n d s b e t w e e n t h e t w o
extre m e p h i l o s o p h i e s r e s p e c t i v e l y k n o w n a s A d w a it a a n d
D w a ita ." T h i s e x p r e s s i o n is v e r y d e f e c t i v e , a n d is, a t t h e
ve r y o u t s e t , a p t t o p u z z l e t h e r e a d e r . F o r t li o a u t h o r d o e s
n o t e x p l a i n w h y h e c a l l s t h e A d w a it a a n d t h e D w a ita “ e x ­
tr e m e p h i l o s o p h i e s , ” o r w h y i t is t h a t h e a s s i g n s a n i n t e r ­
m e d i a t e p l a c e t o t h e V is is h th a A d w a it a d o c t r i n e s .
( ‘2 .) I n t h e ‘2 n d a n d 2 1 s t a n s w e r s of t h e C a t e c h i s m , M u h sh a
is s a i d t o b e t h e l< e n j o y m e n t o f B r a h m a ” a f t e r d i s s e v e r a n c e
fro m a ll m a t e r i a l c o n n e c t i o n . B u t i n a t r e a t i s e o n t h e e n j o y ­
m e n t o f B r a h m a (M o k s h a ), s u c h a s h i s a r t i c l e c l a i m s t o be, a
full e x p l a n a t i o n a s t o how B r a h m a is e n jo y e d b y t h e J iv a n is
no t o n l y e s s e n t i a l b u t i n d i s p e n s a b l e ; a n d i t s o m i s s i o n is h i g h l y
d e p lo r a b le .
(3 .) T h o a n s w e r to t h e 4 t h q u e s t i o n is :— G n a n a [ k n o w ­
le d g e o r w i s d o m ( ? ) ] of Is w a r a , is c o n t i n u o u s , f u ll o f love,
a n d c o m m i n g l i n g w i t h n o o t h e r t h a n B r a h m a .” H e r e I a s s u r e
tlio C a t e c h i s t t h a t b o t h t h e A d w a ite e s a n d t h e D w a ite e s , w o u l d
view i t a s a g r e a t f a v o r if k i n d l y e x p l a i n e d b y i l l u s t r a t i o n s
or o t h e r w i s e , h o w m a n ’s ‘‘ k n o w l e d g e o r w i s d o m of I s w a r a ”
can co m m in g le w i t h B ra h m a . F o r, w ith o u t such a n e x p la n a ­
tion, t h e w o r d “ c o m m i n g l i n g ” c a n n o t p o s s ib l y c o n v o y t o t h e
r e a d e r ’s m i n d t h e a u t h o r ’s m e a n i n g , — if a n y .
( 4 .) T h e C a t e e l i i s t , w h o a s s e r t s ( i n t h e s i x t h a n s w e r ) t h a t
J iv a n p a r t a k e s o f t h o n a t u r e of B r a h m a , s h o u l d h a v e c l e a r l y
s t a t e d w h e t h e r J iv a n is a s i n f in ite a s Is w a r a . T h i s o m i s s i o n o n
his p a r t s e e m s t o h a v e le d t h e l e a r n e d E d i t o r to s u p p o s e t h a t
he m e a n t t h a t e a c h J iv a n w a s i n f in i t e . F o r m y p a r t , o n
r e ad in g a n s w e rs 6 a n d 23 to g e th e r, a n d c o n s id e r in g t h e w hole
c o n te x t , I t h i n k h i s d o c t r i n e is t h a t J iv a n s a r e n o t i n f i n i t e in
essence. H o w e v e r , t o m a k e u s c o m p r e h e n d t h e s a i d a n s w e r m o r e
c le a r l y , w e a r o i n n e e d of h i s i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f t h o w o r d
“ f o r m ” a s b y h i m u s e d , a n d if t h a t i u t r e p r e t a t i o n d o e s n o t
vary fro m t h a t of th e lex ic o g ra p h e rs, th e n I a s k for an illu s­
t r a t i o n s h o w i n g t h a t t h e n u m b e r l e s s J iv a n s , t h o u g h s p i r i t u a l tiv e , a n d w h e t h e r t h e r e e x i s t s a n y , a n d if so, w h a t c o s m o s of
a n d f o r m le s s , c a n y e t b e d i s t i n c t f r o m o n e a n o t h e r a u d f r o m
Isivn ra , a n d ( a c c o r d i n g t o a n s w e r N o . 17 ) c a n a ls o c o n s t i t u t e
tlie body of Isiv a ra .
( 5 .) T h o e x p r e s s i o n “ i n f in i t e f o r m s ” i n a n s w e r N o . 8 is
a m b i g u o u s . M r . G o v i n d a C l i a r l u will o b l i g e h i s r e a d e r s (o f
w hom I a m o ne) b y s t a ti n g w h e t h e r h e th e r e b y m e a n s infinite
n u m b er o f f o r m s , o r f o r m s of in fin i t e e x te n t a n d q u a n t it y ?
A g a i n , M r . G o v i n d a C l i a r l u i n t e r p r e t s S a tw a S iin y a ( a l l u d ­ L o k a , a n d t h e r e a s s u m e s t h o s a m e f o r m a s Is w a r a ( v i d e
ed to i n t h a t a n s w e r ) a s “ Z e r o ” - m a t t e r , a n d i n t h e 2 1 s t
a n s w e r h e a s s e r t s t h a t J iv a n w h e n t r a v e l l i n g t o V a ik u n th a
* Having invited onr Dwaiteo and AdwaiLue Brothers in our May t h e d i s e n t h r a l l e d o n e s . T h u s b o t h a r e o b j e c t i v e . I f i t b e said
number to uuswerMr. Govinda Cluvrlu’sCuteohisni, we received this flrst
shot from tlie camp of the Adwaitees. We would have preferred,
however, to aeo it s gued with its writer’s full name. Tt ia not fair to
liaro one of the cou.batanta masked, wliile tlie other showj honestly his
fiiC/O.—Ihdi
L o k a “ b r e a k s t h r o u g h t h e c ir c le o f m a t t e r . ” I h a v o t h e r e ­
f o r e t o a s k h i m w h e t h e r “ Z e r o - m a t t e r ” is a ls o b r o k e n t h r o u g h
b y t h e J i v a n , a n d if so, h o w i t is t h a t t h e e x i s t e n c e of t h e
f o u r - f a c e d B r a h m a w h o m t h e J iv a n m e e t s a f t e r p a s s i n g t h e
c ir c le o f m a t t e r , is c o m p u t e d b y d a y s a n d y e a r s ? A n d if M r.
G o v i n d a C l i a r l u s a y s t h a t T i m e e x i s t s e v e n b e y o n d t h e c ir c le
o f m a t t e r , w h y s h o u l d lie c a l l i t Z e r o m a tte r ? F u r t h e r , t h e
C a t e e l i i s t i n t h e s a m e a n s w e r r e p r e s e n t s t h a t S u d d h a S a t w a is
a n a sp e c t of A c h it o r m a t t e r , b u t in a n s w e r 9 he t r e a t s of it
a s a p o r t i o n o f m a t t e r , a n d p l a c e s t h a t p o r t i o n i n t h e V a ik u n ­
th a L o k a : h e is e a l l c d u p o n t o r e c o n c i l e t h i s ( a t a n y r a t e ,
se e m in g ) c o n tra d ic tio n .
( 6 .) T h e 9 t h a n s w e r i s — “ S u d d h a S a tw a is e n t i r e l y c o m ­
p o s e d o f S a t iv a O u n a ( q n a l i t y o f g o o d n e s s ) ; is of p e r m a n e n t
n a t u r e ; s u b j e c t t o I s w a r a ’s w i l l ; a n d is f o u n d i n V a ik u n t h a
L o k a .” T h i s a n s w e r is n o t q u i t e i n t e l l i g i b l e a u d g i v e s r i s e
to th e follo w in g d o u b ts: —
(a ) A q u a l i t y is u n i v e r s a l l y k n o w n a s b e i n g a l w a y s d e ­
p e n d e n t u p o n so m e e n tity ; a n d t h a t th e a u th o r of th e C a tc ­
c h i s m h o l d s t h o s a m e o p i n i o n is a p p a r e n t f r o m h i s a n s w e r
N o . 7, w h e r e i n h e s a y s , “ I t ( I s w a r a ) h a s n o b a d b u t o n l y g o o d
q u a l it i e s .” T h e n , t h e e x p r e s s i o n “ i t is e n t i r e l y com posed of
q u a l i t y o f g o o d n e s s , ” e x c l u d e s t h e n o t i o n o f t h e e x i s t e n c e of
a n y o t h e r t h a n t h e q u a l i t y i n t h e c o m p o s i t i o n , a n d is t h e r e ­
fore m ean in g less.
(b) I f it be g r a n te d t h a t q u a litie s can h a v e a n in d e p e n d e n t
existence, a n d t h a t th e y a lo n e c a n f o r m a c o m p o u n d e n tity ,
t h e n t h i s s u p p o s i t i o n c o n t r a d i c t s M r . G o v i n d a C h a r l u ’s
e x p l a n a t i o n i n h i s n o t e t o a n s w e r N o . 8 t h a t S u d d h a S a tiv a is
p u r e m a tte r .
(c) I f it c a n be su p p o sed t h a t b y th o expression in q u e s ­
t i o n t h e C a t e c h i s t m e a n t t h a t S u d d h a S a tiv a is c o m p o s e d o f
m a t t e r p o s s e s s i n g o n l y g o o d q u a l i t i e s , t h e n to s a y ( a s is d o n e
i n t h e a n s w e r u n d e r c o n s i d e r a t i o n ) t h a t i t ( s u c h m a t t e r ) is
f o u n d i n V a ik u n t h a L o k a , is t a n t a m o u n t t o t e a c h i n g t h e p u b ­
lic t h a t V a ik u n t h a L o k a is a r e g i o n o r s p a c e o c c u p i e d b y t h e
m a tte r of g o o d qu alitie s. B u t M r. G o v in d a C h a rlu a p p en d s
t o t h e 2 1 s t a n s w e r t h e n o t e “ V a ik u n th a L o k a — I s w a r a ’s
N i t y a v i b h u t i c a l l c d B o g a v ib h u li, N i t y a v i b h u t i — P e r m a n e n t ,
l a s t i n g , fin a l s ta te . ' * * * * * * ’’ T h e d e s c r i p t i o n of V a i­
k u n th a L o k a a s a s p a c c o r r e g i o n in o n e p a r t o f liis a r t i c l e ,
a n d as a s ta te in a n o t h e r p a r t, sh o w s t h a t a full a n d a c c u r a t e
d e f i n i t i o n of t h e V a ik u n t h a L o k a w h i c h is n o les s i m p o r t a n t
t h a n t h e d e f i n i t i o n of M o k s h a a l r e a d y a l l u d e d to, is n o t e v e n
a tte m p ted . I w o u ld th e re f o re re q u e s t M r. G o v in d a C h a r lu
t o s t a t e c l e a r l y w h e t h e r V a ik u n th a L o k a is a r e g i o n o r a s t a t e ,
a n d if so w h e r e i t is s i t u a t e d , w h e t h e r Is iv a r a is m o v i n g
a b o u t in t h a t r e g i o n o r s t a t e , o r h a s t h e r e i n a p a r t i c u l a r s e a t
d e d i c a t e d t o H i m , a n d h o w H e o c c u p i e s s u c h a s e a t. I f
V a ik u n th a L o k a is n e i t h e r a r e g i o n n o r a s t a t e , w l i a t else
is i t ? *
I f m y s u r m is e s f r o m t h e c o n te x t w o u ld be of a n y h e lp to
M r . G o v i n d a C l i a r l u o r S r i m a n P a r t h a s a r a t h y A i y e n g a r in
f u rn is h in g th e re q u isite ex p lan atio n , I w ould say th a t from
t h e 2 2 n d q u e s t i o n “ I s M u k ta J iv a n a b l e t o d w e l l in V a ik u n ­
th a o n l y , o r c a n i t g o e l s e w h e r e ? ” a n d f r o m t h e a n s w e r t h e r e ­
to, “ I t c a n d o b o t h u n d e r I s w a r a I tc h a ( w i l l of I s w a r a ”) , 1
p r e s u m e t h a t t h e C a t e e l i i s t a s s i g n s a d i s t i n c t r e g i o n to
V a ik u n th a L o k a .
( 7 .) I n t h o e l a b o r a t e r e p l y t o q u e s t i o n 10 t h e r e .are w o r d s
w h i c h , t h o u g h e l e g a n t , a r o a l m o s t m e a n i n g l e s s to a ll o t h e r s
s a v e p e r h a p s t h e V is is h th a d w a ite e s , u n l e s s i l l u s t r a t i o n s a r e
offered in e x p la n a tio n . S u c h aro th e w o r d s : “ illu sio n ary o r
f a l s e k n o w l e d g e ” a n d “ p l a y t h i n g s . ” F u r t h e r , to r e n d e r t h e
a n s w e r t h o r o u g h l y s a t i s f a c t o r y , a n e x p l a n a t i o n is n e c e s s a r y
a s to w h y t h e c o s m o s ( p r o d n c e d b y m a y a ) is s a i d t o b e objec­
t.he o p p o s i t e c h a r a c t e r , a c c o r d i n g t o t h e t e a c h i n g s o f t h e
V is is h th a d w a ita . T o f a c i l i t a t e t h e e x p l a n a t i o n a n d s a v e tin;
A u t h o r the tro u b le of offering a le n g th y e x p lan atio n , I w ould
p o i n t o u t t h a t if h e s a y s V a ik u n th a l o k a is o f t h e o p p o s i t e
c h a r a c t e r , h e w o u l d b e i n e r r o r a c c o r d i n g t o h i s o w n p h i lo s o ­
phy. F o r J iva n , a f t e r b r e a k i n g t h r o u g h t h e c i r c l e o f m a t t e r
is w e lc o m e d b y t h e f o u r - f a c e d B r a h m a , e n te rs t h e V a ik u n th a ,
a n s w e r 2 1 ) ; a n d f r o m t h i s , n o o t h e r d if f e r e n c e is p e r c e p t i ­
ble t h a n t h a t o u r c o s m o s is t h e o b j e c t of t h e s e n s e s o f t h e e n ­
t h r a l l e d m a n , a n d V a ik u n t h a L o k a is t h e o b j e c t of t h e s e n s e s of
t h a t o b j e c t i v e c o s m o s m o a n s s i m p l y i ll n s i o n of w h a t d o c s
n o t r e a l l y e x is t, t h e n on t h i s p o i n t t h e C a t e c h i s t is a p u r e
A d w a ite e , if I r i g h t l y u n d e r s t a n d t h e t e a c h i n g s o f A d w a ite e
p h i l o s o p h y i n r e s p e c t o t t h e c h a r a c t e r of o u r co sm o s.
 ( 8 .) I n M r . G o v i n d a C h a r l u ’s n o t e t o t l i e l l t . l i a n s w e r ,
A h a n lc a r a m i s i n t e r p r e t e d a s “ c o n s c i o u s i n d i v i d u a l i z a t i o n . ”
T li e w e l l k n o w n u s u a l a c c e p t a t i o n of t h e t o r i n s “ c o n s c i o u s ”
a n d “ in d iv id u a liz a tio n ,” if a p p lie d to th o p h ilo s o p h y in
q u e s t i o n , w o u l d o c c a sio n a h o r r i b l e c o n f u s i o n i n t li e s t u d y of
t h e le s s o n s c o n t a i n e d i n t h e C a t e c h i s m , f o r t h e f o l l o w i n g
r e a s o n s :—
( a .) A c c o rd in g to t h a t a c c e p ta tio n “ con sc io u s in d i­
v id u alizatio n ” m u s t signify t h a t th e d is tin c t in d iv id u a l
e n t i t y possesses t h e p o w e r of k n o w in g , o r a t a n y r a t e it
im plies t h e existence of in te llig e n c e in th e “ in d iv id u a liz a ­
t i o n . ” T h e n , a s t h e c o n s c i o u s n e s s is ( a c c o r d i n g to t h e
C a t e c h i s t ’s o w n s h o w i n g ) c o n f i n e d t o c o s m ic m a t t e r , a n d as
J iv a n b r e a k s t h r o u g h t h e c i r c l e of m a t t e r w h e n t r a v e l l i n g
t o V a ik u n th a , t h o s a i d J iv a n m u s t b e s t r i p p e d of t h e c o n s c i ­
o u s n e s s o r p o w e r of k n o w i n g a s s o o n a s i t o v e r s t e p s t h e
b o u n d a r y of m a t t e r , a n d is t h e r e b y d i s a b l e d t o p e r f o r m t h e
a c t s r e f e r r e d t o i n a n s w e r ‘2 1, viz., a p p r e c i a t i o n o f i t s w e l ­
c o m e b y t h e f o u r - f a c e d B r a h m a , s h a k i n g off t h e L i n g a s a r i r a ,
e n t e r i n g V a ik u n th a L o k a , a s s u m i n g s o m e f o r m , t h e r e , a n d
e n jo y in g P a ra b ra h m a .
( b .) I n t h e a n s w e r t o t h o 8 t h q u e s t i o n , m a t t e r ( A c l i it ) is
r e p r e s e n t e d a s b e i n g n o n - i n t e l l i g e n t ; b u t M is r a sa tw a ( i n t h e
s a m e a n s w e r ) is s a i d t o b e a f o r m of t h a t m a t t e r , w h i l e T a m a
is a c o m p o n e n t p a r t o f M is r a s a tw a ( v i d e a n s w e r 1 0 ) a n d
M u l a P r a k r i ti , w h i c h ( s e e a n s w e r 12) is a n o t h e r n a m e f o r
T a m a s , a ii d t h e p r i m o r d i a l c o s m ic m a t t e r , w h i c h i n t h e e v o l u ­
t i o n a r y p r o c e s s s w e l l s i n t o M a h a t a n d p r o d u c e s A h a n lca ra m , o r
c o n s c io u s i n d i v i d u a l i z a t i o n ; o r, i n o t h e r w o r d s , c o n s c io u s
'in d iv id u a liz a tio n w h ic h , a c c o r d iu g to its u s u a l c o n s tr u c tio n
a b o v e a l l u d e d to, is n o o t h e r t h a n in te llig e n c e , e x i s t s i n
m a t t e r ( A c h i t ) , w h i l e th a t m a t t e r is a l l e g e d to b e n o n - i n te l li ­
g e n t. T i m s , t h e a r g u m e n t o n t h i s p o i n t is s e l f - c o n t r a d i c t o r y .
I w o u l d t h e r e f o r e s u g g e s t t h a t t h e A u t h o r ’s s p e c ia l m e a n ­
i n g , i f a n y , of t h e e x p r e s s i o n “ c o n s c i o u s i n d i v i d u a l i z a t i o n ”
be g iv e n in t h e e x p la n a t o r y a rtic le n o w solicited.
F u r t h e r , w i t h a v ie w to o b v iate u n n e c e s s a r y c o r re s p o n d ­
ence, i t h e re becom es i n c u m b e n t u p o n m o to r e m a r k t h a t
s h o u l d M r . G o v i n d a C h a r i u o r a n y of h i s c o - r e l i g i o n i s t s a t t e m p t
to m e o t t h o a b o v e s t a t e d r e a s o n b y a s s e r t i n g t h a t a s s o o n
a s J iv a ii b r e a k s t h r o u g h t h e c ir c le o f m a t t e r J iv a n s o w n
w i s d o m , r e f e r r e d to i n t h e 6 tli a n s w e r h e l p s i t i n d o i n g t h o
a c t s of “ e n j o y i n g , ” &c. A c. a b o v e a l l u d e d to, t h e n t h e r e a d e r s
w o n l d a s k (1 ) w h e t h e r t h a t w i s d o m h a d e x i s t e d i n J iv a n o v en
b e f o r e i t b r o k e t h r o u g h t h o c ir c l e o f m a t t e r P ( 2 ) I f so,
w h a t is t h o p r o o f of s u c h e x i s t e n c e ? (3 ) I s t h a t “ w i s d o m ”
q u ite d is tin c t f ro m t h e co n scio u sn ess m e n tio n e d in M r.
G o v i n d a C h a r l u ’s n o t e t o a n s w e r 11 ? ( 4 ) I f so, c a n t h e r e
he “ w isd o m ” w i t h o u t co nsc io u sn ess ? a n d h o w ? (5 ) I f
J i v a n s , w h e r e i n t h e c o n s c i o u s n e s s e x is ts , a r o n a t u r a l ly d i s ­
t i n c t i n d i v i d u a l s a c c o r d i n g to t h e .V is ish th a d w a .it a, p h i l o s o p h y ,
w h y t h o u s h o u l d “ c o n s c io u s i n d i v i d u a l i z a t i o n ” h e h e l d a s
t h e c o n d i t i o n of a c e r t a i n s t a g e o f t h e e v o l u t i o n a r y p r o c e s s
of M u l a p r a k r i ti .
(9.) I n a n s w e r 12 M n la p r a h r iH o r T a m a s is s a i d t o d w e l l
iu u n i s o n w i t h P a r a m a tm a . T h i s a s s e r t i o n is a l l e g e d in
a n s w e r N o . 13 t o m e a n “ t h a t T a m a s lie s i n I s w a r a , i n
S u k sh m -a n a s ta ( u n d e v e l o p e d c a u s e ) , u n d i s t i n g u i s h a b l c b y
n a m e , f o r m o r d i v i s i o n . ” B o t h t h o s a i d a s s e r t i o n a n d its
e x p la n a tio n (above g iv e n ), considered to g e th e r o r se p a ra te ly
c o n t a i n t h e f o l l o w i n g t h r e e f l a w s :—
F ir s tly , t h e y a re l a m e n ta b ly in a d e q u a te to c o n v o y a n y c le a r
a n d d e f in i t e i d e a t o t h e r e a d e r ’s m i n d , s i n c e P a r a m a t m a is
a d m i t t e d to b e o m n i p r e s e n t ( v i d e a n s w e r 7 ) . T h e n t o s a y
s i m p l y t h a t M u l a p r a b r i t i d w e l l s i n u n i s o n w i t h P a r a m a tm a ,
m i g h t m e a n t h a t b o t h a r e of t h e s a m e s u b s t a n c e , g u a n t i t y
a u d q u a l i t y , i n w h i c h e a s e t h e a s s e r t i o n is s u i c i d a l , b e c a u s e
■ M u la p ra b riti a n d P a r a m a tm a m u s t b e h o l d to b e i d e n t i c a l —
a p o s i t i o n o p p o se d to V is is h th a d w a ita ; o r if h a r m o n y is m e a n t
b y “ u n i s o n , ” i t is i m p o s s i b le t o c o n c e i v e i n w h a t r e s p e c t
M u la p r a l- r iti ( w h i c h is i n a n i m a t e ) c a n h e i n h a r m o n y w i t h
P a r a m a tm a !
S e c o n d ly , t h e 1 2 t h a n d t h e 1 3 tli a n s w e r s s h o w t h a t t h e
C a t e c h i s t h a s a i m e d a t n o t h i n g l i k e s y s t e m , w i t h o u t w 'h ieh
j u s t i c e c a n n o t b e d o n e to a s u b j e c t so i m p o r t a n t a s t h e on o
u n d e r co n sid eratio n . F o r, those a n sw e rs a re a p p a re n tly
i n t e n d e d t o i n f o r m t h e p u b l i c of t h e m e t h o d s o f L a y a w h i c h
is i n t e r p r e t e d a s “ t h e d i s a p p e a r a n c e o f a l l e ffe c ts i n t o t h e
u ltim a te e anse.” B u t th e C a te ch is t in d e sc rib in g t h a t m e th o d
d o e s n o t g o b e y o n d “ T a m a s ” g i v e n a s a s y n o n y m of M u l a ­
p r a k r i t i, a n d t h i s T a m a s is c o n f i n e d t o M is r a sa tw a ( s e e
a n s w e r 10). B u t t h i s M is r a sa tio a is o n l y o n e of t h o t h r e e
a s p e c t s ” of m a t t e r fvidfe a n s w e r 8 ) ; a n d w i t h o u t a t t e m p t ­
in g an e x p la n a tio n as to w h a t becom es of th e o th e r tw o
“ a s p e c t s , ” viz., S u d d h a sa tw a a n d S a tw a s u n y a , h e c o n t e n t s
h i m s e l f w i t h a f f i r m i n g t h a t t h o T a m a s lie s i n Is w a r a .
T h i r d l y .— I n t h e 1 3 t h a f o r e s a i d a n s w e r t h e C a t e c h i s t s a y s
t h a t T a m a s lies i n Is w a r a . T h e n e x t e r n a l Is w a r a m u s t h e r o
b e c o n s i d e r e d a s t h o b o d y of i t s “ i n - d w e l l e r ” T a m a s , w h i l e ,
i u t h e 7 t h a n d 1 7 tli a n s w e r s J iv a a n d P r a k r i t i ( w h i c h l a t t e r
a d m i t t e d l y c o n t a i n s T a m a s ) a r e s a i d to b e t h e b o d y o f Isw a r a .
T h u s t h e r e is a n e w c o n t r a d i e t i o n c a l l i n g f o r a n e x p l a n a t i o n . I f
i t b e a t t e m p t e d t o e x p l a i n t h a t Is w a r a e x i s t s w i t h i n a n d w i t h ­
o u t J iv a a n d P r a k r i t i , t h e n t h e t e a c h i n g t h a t Is w a r a h a s a
b o d y is n o t q u i t e w a r r a n t e d , e s p e c i a l l y b e c a u s e a ll t h e t h r e e
a r e p e r m a n e n t a c c o r d i n g t o t h o V is is th t h a d w a i ta p h i l o s o p h y .
M o r e o v e r , n o t i c e t h a t t h e 1 7 tli a n s w e r , c o n s i d e r e d b y its elf,
w o u l d m e a n t h a t I s w a r a is o n l y c o - e x t e n s i v e a n d c o - p r e s e n t
w i t h J iv a a n d P r a k r i ti .
I w o u l d t h e r e f o r e e x p e c t a r e c t i f i c a t i o n o f t h e a b o v e flaws
from M r. G o v in d a C h a rlu .
(1 0 .) C e r t a i n l y , t h e 1 4 t h a n s w e r is a l m o s t a n a r b i t r a r y
asse rtio n , a u d th e re aso n s a n d a r g u m e n ts s u p p o rtin g it o u g h t
t o h a v e b e e n s t a t e d ( a s o b s e r v e d b y t h e r e s p e c t e d e d it o r ) .
( 1 1 .) T h e a n s w e r a n d e x p l a n a t i o n n u m b e r e d 16 ,w o u l d o nly
s h o w t h a t a w h o l e c a n c o n s i s t of s e v e r a l p a r t s o f d i f f e r e n t c o lo r s
a n d q u a l i t i e s ; b u t t h e r e is n o t h i n g i n i t to p r o v e t h a t J iv a n s
m u s t n e c e ssa rily be d i s t in c t f ro m P a ra m a tm a ( i f “ Isw a ra ”
m e a n s P a ra m a tm a ). T h e e x p l a n a t i o n t h e r e f o r e is of l i t t le
o r o f n o s e r v i c e h ere. F u r t h e r , i n c o n n e c t i o n w i t h t h i s e x a m ­
p le a n d t h e o t h e r p o r t io n s of th e article , w h e r e i n t h e w ord
I s w a r a is u s e d , I h a v e t o r e m a r k t h a t u n l e s s t h e a u t h o r
show s b y c o g e n t re aso n s a n d a d m itte d facts t h a t “ Isw a ra ”
c a n n o t b u t b e s y n o n y m o u s w i t h P a r a m a tm a , h e h a s n o r i g h t
t o a s k t h o r e a d e r s to t r e a t t h o s e t e r m s a s s y n o n y m o u s a n d
a cc ep t th e Y i s is h th a d w a ite e d o c trin es ba se d on t h a t supposi­
t io n .
(1 2.) T h e e x a m p l e N o . 19 h a s b e e n i n t r o d u c e d i n t o t h e
d i a l o g u e a p p a r e n t l y t o s h o w t h a t t h o a p h o r i s m s (a , b, c, d, e,
a n d f ) q u o te d u n d e r th e 20th q u e stio n d e n o te th e rea l ex­
isten ce of th e o b jec ts n a m e d ( w ith t h e ir “ in - d w e lle r ” Isw a r a ),
B u t w i t h o u t e x p r e s s in g m y o w n o p in io n u p o n th e a c c u r a c y
o r o t h e r w i s e o f t h a t d o c t r i n e (as i t is n o t t h o o b j e c t of m y
p r e s e n t a r t i c l e t o d o so!, I h a v o to o b s e r v e t h a t t h e e x a m p l e
of a “ c o w ” is b y n o m e a n s a d a p t e d t o t h e p u r p o s e . F o r t h e
a p h o r i s m (a ) “ A y a m a t m a B r a h m a ,” w h i c h m e a n s , th is a tm a
o r J i v a t m a is B r a h m a . ) is n o t f u l l y r e p r e s e n t e d b y t h e
u tte r a n c e of th e sin g le w o rd “ cow ” as p ro posed b y th e C a te ­
c h i s t ; a n d t h e d e m o n s t r a t i v e s e n s e o f “ A y a m " is e n t i r e l y
ig n o red . A b e t t e r s i m i l e c o n s t r u c t e d of h i s o w n w o r d s
w o u l d bo “ t h i s c o w is a l i v i n g e n t i t y , ” w h i c h w o u l d b e t o t a l l y
u n f a v o r a b l e t o V is is h th a d w a ita , S i m i l a r o b j e c t i o n s a r i s e a s t o
th e o th e r a p h o rism s quoted. T h e re fo ro to i llu s tr a te tho
V is is lith a d u m itic m e a n i n g s a s u i t a b l e e x a m p l e ( s i g n i f i c a n t of
t h e a f o r e s a i d d e m o n s t r a t i v e t e r m “ A y a m ”) s h o u l d b e s e l e c t ­
ed.
13. T h o w a n t o f a n e x p l a n a t i o n o f t h e w o r d s L i n g a s a r ir a
a n d “ e n j o y s ” is a g r o a t d e f e c t i n a n s w e r 21. F u r t h e r , i n
t h a t a n s w e r t h e C a t e c h i s t so ts f o r t h t h a t t h e J i v a a f t e r
e n t e r i n g V a ik u n t h a L o k a a s s u m e s t h e s a m e f o r m a s Is w a r a .
T h i s s t a t e m e n t , i t is n e e d l e s s t o s a y , n e c e s s a r i l y i m p l i e s t h a t
I s w a r a h a s a f o r m ; a n d i n a n s w e r N o . 10 h e s a y s , “ P r a k r i t i ,
b e c a u s e i t lia s f o r m a n d is t h e r e f o r e c h a n g e a b l e , ” w h i c h
a sse rtio n as n e c e s s a rily im p lie s t h a t all th in g s t h a t h a v e
form s are ch an g e ab le . T h e n th e above tw o im p lica tio n s
th o r o u g h ly ju s tify tho sy llo g ism — A ll th in g s t h a t h a v e fo rm s
a r e c h a n g e a b l e ; I s w a r a h a s a f o r m ; t h e r e f o r e Is iv a r a is
c h a n g e a b le . T h is a n o m a ly o u g h t to be se t a r i g h t if th e
C a t e c h i s t s till m a i n t a i n s t h a t Isiv a ra , a t e r m u s e d b y h i m a s a
s y n o n y m o f P a r a m a t m a , h a s a n y fo r m .
A g a in , if by s a y in g “ a f te r tr a v e llin g by th e p a th s of lig h t
(A r c h ir a d i) , b r e a k i n g t h r o u g h t h e c ir c le o f m a t t e r , ” in
a n s w e r N o . ‘2 1, h e m e a n s t h a t J iv a n e x t r i c a t e s i t s e l f -
f r o m t h e m a t t e r b e f o r e r e a c h i n g V a ik u n th a L o k a , t h e n t h e r e
a rises a c o n tr a d ic tio n b e tw ee n a n s w e r s 9 a n d 21, one assertin g
t h a t S u d d h a 8 a tm a, a n “ a s p e c f ’of m a t t e r , e x i s t s i n V a ilc u n th a
L o k a , t h e o t h e r , t h a t t h a t L o k a lies b eyond a ll m a t t e r .
(1 4 .) A n s w e r 3 0 w o u l d n o t be o f a n y g r e a t s e r v i c e t o t h e
r e a d e r s u n l e s s t h e C a t e c h i s t g a v e o u t h i s o w n o p i n i o n s a s to
w h a t t h e S u k s h m a S a r ir a , t h e S p r a k r ita L o k a , a n d t h e h e a r t
o f J iv a n a r e r e s p e c t i v e l y c o m p o s e d of. *.
( 1 5 .) I m u s t a s k f o r a n o t h e r f a v o r — a m o s t i m p o r t a n t one
— on b e h a lf of th e e d u c a te d w orld. I n s tr u c tio n s a r e a tte m p te d
i n t h e C a t e c h i s m ( s p e c i a l l y i n th o t h i r d a n s w e r ) a s t o t h e
m e a n s o f a t t a i n i n g M o k s h a , “ M a n ’s g r e a t e s t a s p i r a t i o n . ”
B u t t h a t a t t e m p t w o u l d be f r u i t l e s s if t h e d o u b t e x p r e s s e d
b e l o w be l e f t u n s o l v e d . F o r , t h o u g h t h e C a t e c h i s t t e a c h e s t h a t
d i v i n e c o n t e m p l a t i o n is t h e m e a n s o f t h e o b t a i u i n g of M oksha
 ( a n s w e r 3), t h a t d i v i n e c o n t e m p l a t i o n ia “ k n o w l e d g e o r
w i s d o m ” o f I s w a r a , c o n t i n u o u s , f u ll of love, a n d c o m ­
m in g lin g w ith no o th e r than B ra h m a : (a n sw e r 4 ) , ” — y e t
t h e C a t e c h i s t h a s n o t b e en p l e a s e d t o s t a t e w h a t a r o
t h e m e n u s o f a t t a i n i n g t h a t kn o w le d g e . l ) o t h e s e m e a n s
c o n sist in sim p ly rc citin g o r r e m e m b e r i n g th o w o rd s
o f t h e a n s w e r s 3 a n d 4, o r o f a n y s i m i l a r p a s s a g e s ? o r a r o
t h e y a ls o e f f e c te d b y a n y o t h e r m e n t a l e x e r t i o n s t h a n t h e
m e r e r e m e m b e r i n g of t h e sa i d w o r d s ? I f m e n t a l e x e r t i o n s
besides r e m e m b r a n c e a re n eed e d , w h a t a r e th o d e ta ils a n d
m o d e s of t h o s e e x e r t i o n s ?
(1(3 ) W e s h o u l d n o t lose e i g h t of t h e R i v e r V ir a ja w h i c h
is so c o n s p i c u o u s l y m e n t i o n e d in t h e p h i l o s o p h y u n d e r d i s ­
cussion. I t s c u r r e n t s e e m s r a t h e r too f o r c i b l e to b e e v e n
a r r e s t e d b y t h o C a t e c h i s t ’s d a m s , n e v e r t h e l e s s , i t o u g h t t o ba
m a d o t o flow m o r e e a s il y i n t o t h e r e a d e r ’s b r a i n . I h o p e M r .
G o v i n d a C h a r l u o r u n y of his c o - r e l i g i o n i s t s will m a k e u p
t h e d e f e c t b y a d d i n g to t h e n e x t C a t e c h i s m t h o f o l l o w i n g
q u e s t i o n s a n d a n s w e r s ) :—
Q. 3 3 . W h a t is V ir a ja N a d h i ?
„ 3 4 . O f w h a t s u b s t a n c e o r s u b s t a n c e s is i t c o m p o s e d
„ 3 5. I n w h i c h d i r e c t i o n d o e s i t flow ?
,, 3(3. I s i t s i t u a t e d o n t h i s sid e , o r t h a t s i d e o f V a i-
k u n th a L n k a ?
W h e n M r . G o v i n d a C h a r l u w i l l liavo p u b l i s h e d a n e x p l a n a ­
t o r y a r t i c l e o r a s u p p l e m e n t a r y C a t e c h i s m , * a n s w e r i n g to t h e
a b o v e r e m a r k s , t h e n t h e A d w a i t e c s w i l l bo i n a p o s i t i o n to
d i s c u s s m o r e closely t h e V is is h th a d w a ita P h i l o s o p h y , e s p e c i a l l y
if lik e t h o C a t e c h i s m u n d e r r e v i e w a n d c o r r e c t i o n t h o f r e s h
a r ti e l o e x p e c t e d fro m h i m o r h i s c o - r e l i g i o n i s t s l e a v e s r o o m
f o r a s m u o li d i s c u s s i o n a s t h i s on e.
CO SM ICA L R I N G S A N D R O U N D S . ^ w i l l soon.”
By A S tudent of O cc u ltism .
N o . Y I I o f t h e F r a g m e n t s r a is e s a d i f f ic u l ty f o r m e a n d
o t h e r s , w h i c h wo s h o u l d be g l a d to h a v e e x p l a i n e d .
A L a y D is c ip le s a y s —■
“ T h i s fact, is t h a t w h i l e t h e o a r t h , for e x a m p l e , is i n h a b i t ­
ed as a t p r e s e n t , b y F o u r t h R o u n d H u m a n i t y ....................
t h e r e m a y bo p r e s e n t a m o n g u s s o m e f e w p e r s o n s ...................
w h o , p r o p e r l y s p e a k i n g , b e l o n g to t h e F i f t h R o u n d . N o w in
t h e s e n s e of t h e t e r m a t p r e s e n t e m p l o y e d , i t m u s t n o t be
s u p p o s e d t h a t b y a n y m i r a c u l o u s pro cess, a n y i n d i v i d u a l
u n i t h a s a ctu ally tra v e lle d ro u n d th e w hole c h a in o f w o rld s
o n c e m o r e o f t e n t h a n h i s c o m p e e r s ...................t h i s is i m p o s s i ­
ble. H u m a n i t y h a s n o t y e t p a i d its 5 t h v i s i t e v e n t o t h e
P l a n e t n e x t in a d v a n c e of o u r o w n a n d h o t h e n p r o c e e d s to
e x p la in that, t h e s e 5 t h R o u n d m e n , a r e r e a lly o n ly 4 t h R o u n d
ones, w h o e i t h e r t h r o u g h a n a b n o r m a l n u m b e r o f i n c a r n a t i o n s ,
o r b y p ro c e s s e s o f O c c u l t T r a i n i n g h a v e r e a c h e d t h e s t a t u s ,
t h a t h u m a n i t y on bloc, c a n o n ly a t t a i n in its 5 t h R o u n d .
N o d o u b t his l a s t s e n t e n c e is o b s c u re. I t is n o t c l e a r f r o m
t h e s e n t e n c e i ts e lf w h a t h e m e a n s b y t h e “ p l a n e t n e x t iu
a d v a n c e of o n r o w n , ” b u t i t is p r e s u m a b l y t h e o n e to w h i c h
w e pass a f t e r l e a v i n g t h i s e a r t h , a n d if s o — “ 5 t h v i s i t " is p r o ­
b a b ly a m i s p r i n t £or f o u r t h v is it. I f so h i s v i e w is c l e a r
e n o u g h . I f n o t, a n d if b e re a lly m e a n s f t h v is it, a n d r e f e r s
to t h e P l a n e t n e x t befo re, o u r s in t h e c y c l e , t h e n t h i s is i n ­
c o n s i s t e n t w i t h h is e n t i r e e x p l a n a t i o n , w h i c h r e p r e s e n t s t h e
wholo o f h u m a n i t y , r u n n i n g i t s e n t i r e lo ca l c y c l e o f r o o t
ra c e s , w i t h t h e i r r a c e s a n d m i n o r r a c e s o n e a c h P l a n e t , o n
w h i c h o b s c u r a t i o n b e g in s to s e t in a s s o o n a s h u m a n i t y h a s
l e f t for t h o n e x t, a n d h e c le a r ly s a y s t h e h u m a n l if e - w a v e
c a n be o n only o n e P l a n e t a t a t im e , a n d t h a t w h e n i t r e a c h e s
t h e 7 th all t h o o t h e r 6 m u s t be in o b s c u r a t i o n .
A s 1 s a i d , if 5 t h v is it is a m i s p r i n t f o r 4 t h , a n d “ n e x t i n
a d v a n c e ” m e a n s a s it c e r t a i n l y o u g h t to m e a n t h a t P l a n e t
n e x t h i g h e r u p in th o scale t h a n E a r t h a n d to w h i c h we n e x t
p ro c ee d a f t e r q u i t t i n g E a r t h , t h e n t h e w h o l e of “ L a y C h e l a ’s ”
e x p o s i ti o n is i n te llig ib le a n d c o n s i s t e n t w ith itself.
l i n t t h e n i t is n o t c o n s i s t e n t w ith o t h e r t e a c h i n g s o f t h o
B r o t h e r s t h e m s e l v e s , F o r i n s t a n c e o n e of t h e s o w r i t i n g to
me says— _ lioundora, is a rogular and “ accepted (Jhela” of several years sta n d ­
“ A n d n o w a^ m a n w h e n c o m p l e t i n g h i s 7t.li r i n g ” (i. e.,
h a v i n g w o r k e d t h r o u g h h is 7 t h R o o t r a c e ) “ u p o n T l a n e t
A ” ( i. e., t h e f irst o f t h e cycle s e r i e s ) “ h a s h u t b e g u n h is f ir s t
on P l a n e t Z ; (i. e . , t h e la s t of t h o s e rie s ) a n d a s g lo b e A.
d i e s , w h e n h e lea v es i t for B, a n d so o n , e a c h P l a n e t — Z,
i n c l u d e d — f a ll i n g i n to i n e r t i o n a f t e r h is p a s s a g e ; a n d us h e
m u s t a ls o r o m a i n in t h o i n to r c y c l i c s p h e r e a f t e r Z , ( a a h e
h a s to d o b e t w e e n e v e r y t w o P l a n e t s ) u n t i l t h e i m p u l s e a g a i n
t h r i l l s t h e c h a i n o f w o r l d s i n t o r e n e w e d life f o r t h e n e x t
R o u n d — t h e c o n c l u s i o n is c l e a r ; t h e d i f f e r e n t i a t e d i n d i v i d n a l
h o w e v e r s w i f t h is e v o lu t i o n , c a u t h e r e f o r e be b u t o n e R o u n d
a h e a d o f h is k i n d * * * * * *
W e h a v e n o w m e n of t h e 5 t h R o n n d a m o n g us, b e c a u s e w o
a r e in t h e l a t t e r h a l f o f o u r s e p t e n a r y e a r t h r i n g ( i . e. in t h e
h i t t e r p a r t of t h o 5 t h R o o t ra ce ). W e r e w e iu t h e first h a l f
t h i s c o u ld n o t h a v e h a p p e n e d . T h e c o u n t l e s s m y r i a d s of
our 4 th Round H u m a n ity who have o utrun us and com ­
p l e t e d t h e i r s e v e n r i n g s o n Z h a v e h a d t i m e t o p a ss t h e i r
i n t e r c y e l i e p e r io d , b e g in t h e i r n e w R o u n d , r e - a p p e a r on g l o b e s
A , B, C, a n d r e a d i t h e e a r t h ( D ) ” .
F r o m t h i s i t is q u i t e c le a r , 1st, T h a t t h e w a v e of h u m a n i ­
t y m a y j u s t w h e n r e a c h i n g Z , be o n a ll t h e P l a n e t s a t t h a
s a m e t i m e ; a n d 2 n d , t h a t so m e a t a n y r a t e of t h e 5 th R o u n d
m e n o n e a r t h a r e n o r m a l 5 t h R o u n d e r s , w h o h a ve o u t ­
s t r i p p e d u s h e r e , b y a w h o le r o u n d o f t h e c y c l e ; a n d 3 r d ,
t h a t L a y C h e la w h o s a y s t h e g l o b e i m m e d ia t e l y p r e c e d i n g o u r 3
is in o b s c u r a t i o n is w r o n g , sin c o 5 t h R o u n d m e n a r e t h e r e a s
w ell a s on th e t w o p r e c e d i n g ones.
? A g a i n , in a n o t h e r p a s s a g e , t h e s a m e b r o t h e r sa y s : —
“ T h o o b s c u r a t i o n of t h o P l a n e t o n which a r e now e v o lu tin g
t h e ra c e s of t h e 5 t h R o n n d m e n , will o f c o u r s e bo b e h i n d t h e
few a v a n t c o u rie rs t h a t aro now h e r e . ” *
S h o w in g c learly t h a t th e 5 th R o u n d has a lre a d y c o m ­
m e n c e d , w h i c h w o u l d n o t bo p o s s ib le u n d e r L a y C h e l a ’s
e x p la n atio n s.
I t is q u i t e t r u e t h a t a n o t h e r b r o t h e r w r i t i n g s a y s o f m e n :
“ Ou th eir 5th H ound a f te r a p a rtial N irvana, w h e n t h e
g r a n d cyclo is r e a c h e d t h e y w ill be h e l d r e s p o n s ib le h e n c e ­
f o r t h in t h e i r d e s c e n t s f r o m s p h e r e t o s p h e r e , as t h e y w ill
h a v e to a p p e a r o n t h i s e a r t h as a s t i ll m o r e p e r f e c t a n d i n ­
t e l l e c t u a l race. T h is d o w n w a rd course has n o t y e t b e g u n , b u t
A c c o r d i n g to h i m , t h e r e f o r e , t h e 5 t h R o u n d hn s n o t y e t
b e g u n , b n t a s it soon will, h u m a n i t y of t h e 4 t h R o u n d m u s t ,
a t a n y r a t e so m o o f it, b e in its p a r t i a l N i r v a n a , a f t e r p a s s ­
i n g t h e l a s t p l a n e t of t h e c y c l e ; w h i c h is s t i l l e q u a l l y i m ­
p o s s ib le u n d e r L a y C h e l a ’s e x p l a n a t i o n s .
I c o n c l u d e t h a t L a y C h e l a m u s t h a v e m is c o n c e i v e d t h o
i n s t r u c t i o n s h e r e c e iv e d , a n d w e w h o h a v e s t u d i e d c a r e f u ll y
t h e o r i g in a l l e t t e r s f r o m s o m e of w h ich I h a v e q u o t e d , s h a l l
be g r a t e f u l i f y o u will c l e a r u p t h e q u e s t io n f o r us.
A s to t h e a p p a r e n t d i s c r e p a n c y b e t w e e n t h e s t a t e m e n t s o f
tho tw o b ro th e rs , I do n o t t h i n k we n e e d 'a t t a c h m u c h i m ­
p o r t a n c e lo i t , f o r t h e b r o t h e r l a s t q u o t e d is n o E n g l i s h
s c h o l a r a n d h a s t o u s e i m p e r f e e t i m p l e m e n t s fo r t h e tr a n s m is s io n ,
i n E n g l i s h o f h is v iew s , a n d is m o r e o v e r n o t i n c l i n e d ( i f I
m a y b e p e r m i t t e d to s a y s o ) to t a k e t h e t r o u b l e t o see t h a t
h is e n u n c i a t i o n s r e a c h u s i n a p e r f e c t l y a c c u r a t e f o r m , b u t
t h o b r o t h e r f ir s t q u o t e d is a s g o o d a n E n g l i s h s c h o l a r a s a n y
o f us, a n d s c r u p u l o u s l y c a r e f u l i n h is e n u n c i a t i o n , a n d w h e r e
L a y C h e l a ’s s t a t e m e n t s a r e d i s t i n c t l y a t v a r ia n c e w i t h t h e s e ,
a s t h e y se e m t o be in t h e p r e s e u t c as e, L a y C h e la , I c o n c l u d e ,
m u s t be w ro n g .f
B u t t h e r e m a y b e ( t h e r o o f t e n is in O ccult P h ilo s o p h y ) a
m o d o of r e c o n c i l i n g t h e s o a p p a r e n t d istin ctly c o n tra d ic ­
t o r y s t a t e m e n t s , a n d it is c h ie fly i n t h e hope of e lic itin g
t h is , if t h e r e b o s u c h a n d so g e t t i n g a r e a l ly f i r m h o ld o n
t h i s f u n d a m e n t a l q u e s t i o n of e v o lu t i o n t h a t I w r i t e on m y
o w n behalf a n d t h a t of o th e rs.
* We hope we will not bo accused of attooipting to reconcile entirely
tlio difficulty betweou tlio early and U tor teaching, by suggesting, ia
this particular instance, th at tlie word f a ll inserted betw een— “ The”
nud “ O bscuration”— m ight p e rln p i removo a portion of the apparent
contradiction. Having boen taught th at the earliest and latest races
of hum anity, evolutod and died out during, and with, th e dawn (or
end) and tlie tw ilight (or beginning) of evory Obscuration, we soe DO
contradiction in this particu lar scnLcnce, as qcoted.—Ed.
+ Wo believe not ; only th a t the 5 Rounders have several signifi­
cances. The “ S tudent of Occultism ” is only fairly entering upon
the p ath of difficulties and most trem endous problem s and need nor
as yet complain. Difficulty ( I ) : Lhe C h h la who instructed th e w ritet
or " L av O i i k l a ” —last, and gave him the new version about the 6 th
ing of the “ b ro th er” who “ is no English scholar.” Ou tlie other
hand tho latter is the very ijuru who taught us tho doctrine, and it
coincides certainly m ore with that of “ a student of occultisnii and a8
ho understands it than with its version as given now by “ L ay Chela.1'
Speaking but for ourselves lue know th a t (new version notw ithstanding, )
TiiKftK Alit: “ norm al” 5th Rounders, and we told "o repeatedly. But,
since tho instructor chosen to explain tho doctrine would not give out
the key to the problem , all wo could do was to submit. Evidently
our Masteus do not choose to givo out ull.— Ed.
 In support of the foregoing remarks I shall suggest
E d ito r 's N o te .— “ L a y C h e l a ” re c e iv e d f ro m a re g u la r n n d
certain difficulties in connection even with the theory
“ a c c e p t e d C h e l a ” t h e e x p la n a tio n s a u d i n s t r u c t i o n s t h a t led h i m
to d e velo p ill F ra g m e n t V I I t h e la s t t h e o r y o b j e c t e d to, a n d
accepted by your correspondent submitting them for his
m o sb d e c i d e d l y i t seem s t o cla sh w i t h p r e v i o u s notion s.
careful consideration.
U n d e r t h e s e c ir c u m s t a n c e s we do n o t feel ju s t if i e d in s t e p p i n g
(a.) According to this theory (see his quotation No. I.)
i n t o m a k e t h e two th e o r i e s a g r e e . N e v e r t h e l e s s , we h a v e no
the progress of the human life is precisely similar to
d o u b t t h a t both , how ev er d i s c r e p a n t t h e y m a y se e m now, w ould
that of the other kingdoms. This theory may be
b e f o u n d to a g re e c h a r m i n g l y t o g e t h e r , w e r e t h e “ S t u d e n t o£
O c c u l t i s m ” a n d th e “ L a y C h e la ” g iv e n t h e w hole d o c tr i n e a n d
briefly stated as follows : suppose A, B, C, D, E, F, G
e x p la i n e d t h e g r e a t d iffere nce s b e tw e e n t h e se v e n B o u n d s i n s t e a d
aro the 7 planets of our chain in their natural order.
of b e i n g t a u g h t so sp a sm o d ica lly , a n d r e c e iv i n g sm a ll s t r a y b i ts
Human life first manifests itself as the 1st race on planet
a t a t im e . B u t such is t b e will a n d p l e a s u r e of t h o s e w h o kn o w
A. When the 2nd race commences on A, the 1st race
b e t t e r t h a n we do as to w h a t it is fit to reveal, a n d w h a t h a s to be
k e p t b a c k f o r a t im e . A s m u c h a s (or p e r c h a n c e , from t h e little)
commences on B,and so on ; and lastly, when the 7th race
we k n o w of t b e d o c trin e, t h e tw o s t a t e m e n t s show n e i t h e r a
begins to evolve on A, the6tli, 5th, 4th, 3rd, 2nd and 1st
g a p n o r a flaw in it, ho w ever co nflictin g t h e y m a y seem . Tho
commence their life on the planets B, C, D, E, F, G, res­
“ a p p a r e n t , d i s t i n c t l y c o n tr a d ic t o r y s t a t e m e n t s ” a r e n o m o r o
pectively. Now it may be easily seen from the general
so t h a n w ou ld b e a d e s c rip tio n of a h u m a n b e in g e m a n a t i n g
character of the process of evolution, that nature provides
from tw o d i f f e r e n t sou rces, s n p p o s in g one t e a c h e r w ould say t h a t
“ tho b e in g c alled m a n c ra w ls 011 all fours,” . . . a n d t h e o t h e r t h a t
a definite number of stages for the descent of spirit
“ m an w a l k s e r e c t on his tw o fe et” a u d l a t e r 011 , t h a t — “ h e w a lk s
s u p p o r t e d on t h r e e le g s into matter and an equal number of steps for its
all t h e s e s t a te m e n t s , h o w e v e r co nflict­
gradual re-ascent and purification.
i n g for a b lin d m a n , w ould n e v e r t h e l e s s be p e r fe c tl y c o n s i s t e n t
The various number of incarnations in the successive
w ith t r u t h , a n d w o u l d n o t re q u ir e a n CEdipus to solve t b e riddle .
W h o of t h e “ L a y O'helas ” c a n say, w h e t h e r t h e r e is n o t a s m u c h
races of each planet are so many stages of descent or
d a n g e r f o r o u r M a s t e e s in g i v i n g o u t at once t h e whole d o c tri n e
ascent which the nature of that particular planet admits :
as t h e r e w as f o r t h e S p h y n x w ho h a d to pay for h e r i m p r u d e n c e
and the nature of the law of evolution seems to imply
w i t h d e a t h ? H o w e v e r it m a y be, i t is n o t for u s to g i v e t h e de -
that every differentiated spiritual monad should, save
. sire d e x p la n a tio n s , no r w o u ld we a cc ep t th o re sp o n sib ility e v en
under exceptional and extraordinary circumstances
if p e r m i t t e d . H a v i n g , t h e r e f o r e , s u b m i t t e d t h e a b o v e a r ti c l e to
a n o t h e r r e g u l a r a n d h i g h C h e la , we a p p e n d h e r e t o h i s a n s w e r .
(which again are very numerous in their turn) incarnate
U n f o r t u n a t e l y , in ste a d of c l e a r i n g th e horizo n, it o v e rc l o u d s it
w i t h fres h a n d f a r m o re t r e m e n d o u s difficulties.itself in all the races. The first differentiation of the
spiritual monad seems to take place on the first planet
Iii reply to tlie aforesaid note, I beg to state that it of the chain ; for, by its very constitution, it supplies
is impossible for me to give any satisfactory explana­ conditions for the first descent of spirit into matter. The
tion of tlie difficulties pointed out therein, until the theory under consideration supposes that when the 2nd
‘ ' B r o u t e r s ” are pleased to give a complete statement race of the first round begins to evolve on A, the first
of the whole doctrine regarding the progress of the race commences its career on B. Now two suppositions
human life-wave 011 our planetary Chain. The M a s t e r s are possible regarding the monads that begin to incar­
have as yet but indicated the general outlines of their nate in the first Race on B. F irst. They are the monads
theory as regards the subject iu question ; and it is not that have already incarnated on A in its first race, or
their intention to explain the whole teaching in all its they are newly evolved from the original source on B.
details at present. Thoso who are not their Regular It will easily be seen that the same alternatives are
Chelas cannot reasonably expect such explanations from presented in the case of the other planets and the other
them as have close connection with the secrets of initia­ rounds. If the first supposition is accepted, the in­
tion, especially as these explanations are to bo given ference seems to be inevitable that a particular number
out to the world. Thoso to whom the information em­ of monads incarnate themselves only in the first races of
bodied in the F ragm en ts lias been given, are expected to all the planets in all the rounds. If all the races in all
use their own intuitional powers and determine with more the planets have the same characteristics this inference
or less definiteness the details of the theory which are is proper; but such is not the case, and the difference in
not communicated to them. races must serve, thongh in a minor degree, the same
It will not be easy to understand the doctrine under purpose which is intended to be accomplished by the
consideration completely, until the nature of the Obscu­ difference in tho material constitution of the various
rations and the periods of duration of the different races planets of the chain. And besides, there is another
of the planets are clearly ascertained; and inasmuch as difficulty to be encountered on this supposition. If, as is
I am not in a position to divulge any thing about these supposed, the monads that have incarnated themselves
questions unless so ordered, I cannot offer any solution of on tho first planet moved on to B, the monads that begin
the difficulty pointed out. Nevertheless, I can state here their incarnations on the 1st planet in its second race,
that a planet may be said to be in a state of Obscuration must necessarily be such monads as are newly evolved.
when a small portion of it is inhabited. I will now proceed If the 1st race on the first planet has a definite use and
to notice tlie objections raised by your correspondent and purpose in the scheme, this conclusion must clearly be
the difficulties pointed out. wrong. And moreover, nothing is really gained by
I. I agree with the “ Student of Occultism” in supposing that some monads begin to incarnate them­
supposing that the “ 5th visit” is a misprint for "4th selves in the 2nd race of planet A,and that the remainder
visit” in the Fragment VII. This is evident and needs migrate to B.
110 explanation. Again, the general theory about the We shall arrive at conclusions equally unsatisfactory
progress of the human life-wave indicated in the said if the 2nd supposition above stated is accepted. Looking
article is, no doubt, a p p a re n tly inconsistent with what is at the general nature of the scheme, it will be unreason­
contained in the passages cited from the letters received able to suppose that a monad may commence its career
from the two M a s t e r s . Probably other passages con­ as a human being on any planet. And besides it will
tained in the letters received by “ Lay Chela” produced follow from this supposition that certain monads incar­
a different impression on his mind. Let us suppose, nate themselves on planet A only, some on B only, and
however, that neither theory contains the whole tru th so on. On either supposition, a portion of tho machinery
about the esoteric doctrine in question. It is certainly provided by nature becomes superfluous or useless.
much more complicated in its details than is generally Theso difficulties are not to be met with in “ Lay
supposed. The law of human progress is not as simple Chela’s” theory, but however after reading it with the
as is made to appear in “ Lay Chela’s” “ Essay,” and greatest care—I am not prepared to say that the said
the passages quoted by your correspondent. All that is theory is quite correct; least of all is it complete: the
yet to be thoroughly comprehended and digested by the Chela though, my colleague, could give only as f a r as
lay students of Occult Science with the help of the facts piermitted, and ought not to be blamed for it.
which the Brothers have revealed, before they are pleased (b). Just as a planet has its period of obscuration
to reveal more. or sleep, and as the whole solar system has its period
 of rest, the planetary chain also Must, by analogy,
have its time of inactivity. This supposition is
strengthened by the words contained in the passage
quoted by your correspondent to the effect that “ the
impulse again thrills the chain of worlds into renewed
life f o r the next ro u n d .” And, morover, the words above
referred to seem to imply that this period of inactivity
or sleep of the whole planetary chain would occur when
a rou nd is completed. If this supposition is correct, it
will be seen, by tracing the progress of the human “ life
wave” (wliich expression seems again to have been mis­
understood by “ Lay Chela”) from its commencement
up to the present time according to the theory under
consideration, that planet A is now in a state o f obscu­
ra tio n as its 7th race of the 4th Round has completed its
course when the 4th race of our planet has completed
its course; and it will be further seen that the 7th, 6th,
5tli, 4th, 3rd, and 2nd races of the 4th Round are running
their courses on planets B, C, D, E, F, G, respectively.
Thus, having seen that the 5th Round has not even com­
menced on the first planet, we are forced into the
conclusion that the 5th Rounders now appearing on
this plauet are not n orm al 5th rounders. Even if
the planet A had passed through its period of obscu­
ration, still there would be no 5th rounders on planets
B, C, D according to this theory. Consequently the
conclusions to be drawn from this theory are as much
opposed to the facts stated by the M a s t e r s as the theory
expounded by their “ Lay Chelas.” But, it would not be
quite clear according to their theory whether planet A
has passed through its period of obscuration. The 7th
race of the present Round was running its course on
planet A when the 4th race was flourishing on this
planet. If A had passed through its period of obscura-
ration, it must have done so in the interval between the
commencement of the 5tli race on this planet and the
present time. If so, there could not have been a period
of obscuration for the whole chain before the commence­
ment of the 5th Round, as is implied in the words cited
above.
(c.) There is another difficulty in the theory under
review, to which I beg to invite your correspondent's
attention, and one that I am permitted by my Master to
suggest to him. According to this theory the condition
of the planets will be as follows, when tho last planet of
the chain has the 7th race of the 4th rou nd on it. The
6tli, 5th, 4th, 3rd, 2nd and 1st races of the 5th round will
be running their courses on A, B, C, D, E, F. Now if the
teaching was correctly understood, it is difficult to see
what becomes of those that constitute the 7th race on
planet G at the end of its period of activity. If they
move on to A they must incarnate themselves in its 7tli
race of the 5th round without the necessity of going
through the other races of the said round; or if they
begin incarnating themselves in the 1st race of the 5th
round, we shall have to suppose that the 1st race of the
6th round will commence a second time on A when it
has the 7th race of the said round.
If they were to remain on G, it will be easily seen that
they will have to remain there till Mahapralaya, as the
same difficulty will have to be encountered at the end
of every race they get through.
Tho other difficulties connected with the theory in
question may be easily noticed by our “ Lay Chelas” if
they would only trace the progress of the current of
human life on the basis of the said theory. I merely
point out these difficulties to your correspondent in order
to show that the complete theory re gardin g the subject
under discussion is not yet explained by our M a s t e r s , and
that i t w oidd be pre m a tu re to d ra w definite inferences
fro m str a y passages contained in the letters received f r o m
them. I t is in m y opinion wrong to do so before a ll the
f a c t s given to him by the “ Brothers” are thoroughly
examined and sifted. No L a y Chela can ever hope to
have the whole secret doctrine revealed to him. Debarred
from regular initiation, he has either to get at the whole
truth through hia own intuitions or content himself
with waiting. We do not think that “ Lay Chela” is
completely wrong in saying that planet C is now in a
state of obscuration. We beg to inform our correspon­
dent that, in fact, the whole theory regarding the pre­
sent subject is very complicated. The law of evolution
in any one Round is never altogether similar to that of the
next Round ; the periods of activity of the different
rounds and races on different planets vary, and the
periods of obscuration on different planets are likewise
different; consequently it will be unwise to set up some
particular theory as the correct one before the whole
subject is carefully scrutinized. As I have already stated,
the M a s t e r s cannot reveal to the public the whole truth
as regards these rings and rounds, and your readers must
feel grateful to them for what little has already been given
for their guidance. They will always be prepared to
give such help and information as they can without in­
fringing the rules of secresy, to those who are anxious to
study the subject with earnest care and attention, but
they can do more. I cannot but think that the “ Lay
Chela” is rather imprudent in having made certain too
sweeping statements regarding the present subject as if
they were final and authoritative, knowing- as he well
does that the M a s t e r s have not yet given him the whole
doctrine. The doubts and difficulties herein noticed
can of course be satisfactorily explained by the light
of the real esoteric doctrine on the subject, and every
advanced Chela has it. But inasmuch as the sacred
numbers and figures are not to be given except to
Regular Chelas under initiation, we can help your corres­
pondent only by telling him wherein he is wrong, not by
giving out that which he has to find out for himself.
Even “ Lay Chela” must try to discover as much as
can for himself by using his intuitional and intellectual
faculties.
S. T. K * * * CHARY.
P o n d ic h e r y , May llth .
J d l m ia llje t t t o r .
S U B H U T I ’S S O P A R A R E L I C .
A s p r o m i s e d I p e n a f e w l in e s a b o u t t h e S o p a r a r e li c o f o u r
L o rd B u d d h a re c e iv e d b y S u b h u t i T e ru n n a n s e . I t w as car-
r ie d a b o u t a f o r tn ig h t ago fro m the F o r t t o W e lla w a tta T em ple
in a procession, th e n n m b e r of m e n t h a t a c c o m p a n ied b e in g
o v e r 1 0 ,0 0 0 . I t is s u p p o s e d t h a t t h e r e n e v e r o c c u r r e d su c li
a p i n k a m a i n C e y lo n . T h e l o n g l in e of B u d d h i s t p r i e s t s a ll
in silk en to g a s fo llo w ed th e p ro cessio n u n d e r a w h ite can o p y ,
a n d r e a l l y m a d e a s p l e n d i d a p p e a r a n c e . T h e r e li c is b e i n g
e x h i b i t e d to t h e p u b l i c n o w ; i t is p l a c e d o n a l o t u s f l o w e r m a d o
of g o l d ; b e s i d e i t a r e p l a c e d s e v e r a l i m a g e s o f B u d d h a ,
p r e s e n t s f r o m t h e K i n g s o f S i a m a n d B u r m a h to t h i s e d u c a t e d
priest.
A p a r t f r o m t h e s e is a l a r g e n u m b e r o f b o o k s a r r a n g e d o n
a tab le , w hose a u th o rs , th e le a d in g s a v a n ts of T h eo so p h y , havo
p re se n te d th e m to S u b h u ti.
P E T E R D ’A B R E W .
C olom bo , )
2 0 th M a r c h 1 8 83. j
THE N A D IG R A N D I1A M S.
M y l a p o r e , 13//i A p r il 1 8 6 3 .
I am n o w g e tt i n g le tte rs fro m E u ro p e a n s fro m v a rio u s
p l a c e s — f r o m O o t a c a m u n d , f r o m A g r a , f r o m G w a l i o r , &e.
O n e g e n t l e m a n w i s h e s to k n o w “ w h e t h e r t h e r e is a n y p r a c ­
t i c a l a d v a n t a g e t o bo g a i n e d f r o m h a v i n g o n e ’s h o r o s c o p e
d r a w n — w h e t h e r a s t r o l o g y t e a c h e s o n e w h a t d iffic u ltie s
a n d d a n g e i - s t o a v o i d a n d w h a t to f o l lo w a f t e r . ” A n o t h e r
sen d s to m e a co p y of h is h o ro sco p e ( w h ie h m u s t n e ce ssa rily
be a w ro n g one) a n d w ishes to be fu rn is h e d w ith “ a n y p a r ti ­
c u la rs c o n n ec te d w ith his past, p re sen t, a n d fu tu re th a t I
m i g h t b e a b l e to d i s c o v e r . ” A t h i r d g e n t l e m a n g i v e s t h e
t i m e a u d p l a c e o f h i s b i r t h — h u t h e do e s n o t m e n t i o n w h e t h e r
t h e t i m e is lo c a l ( i f n o t , o f w h a t p l a c e , ) a p p a r e n t , o r m e a n ;
n o r d o c s h e g i v e t h e l a t i t u d e a n d l o n g i t u d e of t h e p l a c e , a n d ,
w i s h e s to h a v e s e n t to h i m “ a s h o r t s k e t c h o f h i s life — p a s t ,

pre sen t a n d fu tu r e .” H a rd ly a day passes w ith o u t m y g e ttin g
som e lo tte r o r o t h e r on th e su b je c t f r o m m e n in h i g h po sitio n .
T h e l e t t e r s a r e a ll w r itte n i n a r e a lly g o o d a n d sin c e re sp irit.
1 a m i n d e e d h a p p y to find t h a t t h r o u g h t l i e c o l u m n s of y o u r
v a l u a b l e j o u r n a l so m u c h i n t e r e s t lias b e e n a w a k e n e d on. t h o
s u b j e c t of A s t r o l o g y . B o t h t o s a v e o t h e r s t h e t r o u b l e of
a d d r e s s i n g to m o s i m i l a r q u e s t i o n s o n tlio s u b j e c t , a n d m y s e l f
of r e tu r n i n g a lm o st th e sam e re p ly to each , I r e q u e s t y o u th a t
will p l e a s e p u b l i s h t h e f o l l o w i n g c x t r a c t f r o m m y a n s w e r t o t h e
O oty g e n tle m a n .
“ D e a r Sir.
“ I a m i n r e c c i p t of y o u r l e t t e r o f t h e 3 r d i n s t a n t . The
q n e s t i o n a s k e d is a n i m p o r t a n t o n e . I n r e p l y i n g t o i t I h a v o
o n ly to r e ly on o u r S h a s tr a s fo r m y s u p p o rt. V a r a lia A li-
h ir a says ;
“ A s t r o l o g y ( h o r o s c o p y ) t r e a t s o f t li o f r u i t s of o n e ’s g o o d
a n d b a d d e e d s ( K a r m a ) i n h i s p r e v i o u s b i r t h . ” K a r m a is o f
t w o k i n d s — t h e s t r o n g a n d t h e w e a k . T h e f o r m e r c a n n o t bo
cscapcd w hile the la tte r can, ju s t as th o co u rse of a G an g es
o r an A m azo n c a n n o t be a rre s te d w hile th a t of a sm all riv u le t
can. B u t h o w ? H e r e is w h a t t h e S h a s t r a s s a y :
“ S o m e b y m e d ic in e , som e b y g ift, so m e b y M a n t r a , so m e b y
fire c e r e m o n y ( l l o m a ) a n d s o m e b y w o r s h i p of D e v a ( G o d ? ) . ”
O f t h e s e o n l y t h e f irs t is b e i n g f o l l o w e d b y t h e m a j o r i t y of
m a n k i n d ; a n d w e k n o w t h a t w h i l e m e d i c i n e p r o v e s e f fe c tiv e
in som o cases, i t fa ils in o th e r s — p e r h a p s a c c o r d in g as th o
K a r m a is of t h e o n o s o r t o r t h e o t h e r . I n s u c h c a s e s i t is
w o r th w hile to tr y som e of th e o t h e r re m e d ie s ab o v e e n u m e r a ­
t e 1, a l l o f w h ic h h ave a n ocrAi.lt m e a n in g a n d n o t les s e ffec­
t i v e t h a n t h e first. F o r i t m u s t b e b o r n e fn m i n d t h a t t h o
a n c ie n t R isliis h a d a f a r d e e p e r in s i g h t iu to h u m a n n a t u r e —
th e fa te a n d fo rtu n es of th e h u m a n soul— th a n th e m o d ern
m e n o f sc ie n c e . I n t h e N a d i g r n . n d h a m s i t is c l e a r l y s t a t e d
w h a t p a r t i c u l a r r e m e d y o n e is t o f o l l o w i n p a r t i c u l a r c as es. I f
t h e e a s e s h o u l d b e a n i r r e m e d i a b l e o n e i h e f a c t is a ls o s t a t e d
in e q u a lly c le a r te rm s . W h ile t h e N a d i g r a n d h a m s g iv e a
d e ta ile d de sc rip tio n of th o m ed ic in e o r th e c e re m o n ie s to be
r e s o r t e d to i n c e r t a i n c as es, i n o t h e r s t h e y s i m p l y r e f e r u s t o
Suc h a m ! i n c h c e r e m o n i e s , n a m i n g t h e m b y t l i e i r w e l l - k n o w n
te c h n ic a l d e n o m in a tio n s. H e r o w e h a v e to follow th e d ire c tio n s
g i v e n i n w h a t is k n o w n t o a ll u s H i n d u s a.s t h e K a r m a v i p a k a
G raiu lliam . T h is w o r k co n sists of tw o p a r ts : p a r t I c o n ta in s
a c a t a l o g u e of b a d d e e d s ( K a r i n a ) w i t h t h e r e s u l t i n g h u m a n
s u f f e r i n g g i v e n o p p o s i t e to e a c h ; a n d p a r t I I t r e a t s o f t h e
re m e d ie s to be fo llo w ed to t h e i r m in u t e s t d e tails.
“ Tf y o u w i s h t o h a v e y o u r h o r o s c o p e d r a w n c o r r e c t l y y o u
w ill h a v e to le t m e k n o w t h e precise tim e a n d p lac e of y o u r
b i r t h — tho y e a r , m o u t h , d a t e ( a n d w e e k d a y if c o n v e n i e n t ,
t o t e s t t h e a c c u r a c y of t h e g i v e n d a t e ) , h o u r a n d m i n u t e ( s t a t ­
i n g w h e t h e r t h e t i m e g i v e n is l o c a l * — if n o t w h a t ?— a p p a ­
r e n t o r m e a n ) , a n d th o l a t i t u d e a n d l o n g i t u d e of t h e p l a c e .
T h e l a t t e r w ith r e fe re n c e to som o m e r i d i a n , s a y t h a t a t G r e e n ­
w i c h . A s r e g a r d s t h e N a d i g r a n d h a m s I h o p e t o be a b l e to
secure one before long for use a t m y convenience. * * *
Y o u r s , & e.”
W h e n I do get the N a d ig ra n d h a m s , especially th e D h r n v a -
N a d i, w h ic h c o n ta in s th e N i r a y a n a s p lm ta m of t h e s u n a n d
p l a n e ts a t tlie m o m e n t of b i r t h of each in d iv id u a l, I sh a ll
n o t i f y i t i u y o u r J o u r n a l , a n d I w i l l t h e n b e i n a p o s i t i o n to
s a t i s f y t h e c u r i o s i t y o f a-11 p e r s o n s . I th erefo re e arn e stly ask
the pu b lic to w a it l o r a few m o n th s . I m a y r e f e r t h e m to
t h e p e r s o n s w h o p o ss e s s t h e N a d i g r a n d h a m s ; b u t a s t h e s e
p erso n s aro g e n e r a lly i g n o r a n t m e n p o ssessin g n o in d e x to
th e w ork, I am a f ra id th e y m i g h t c o m m it m is ta k e s in h i tt i n g
c o r r e c t l y a t t h e life r e q u i r e d a n d t h u s b r i n g d i s c r e d i t o n t h e
w o r k itself. ^ was an alchem ist, or a learned m an of the lGth century.—Ed.
^ If, in th e m ean w h ile anybody, E u ro p e a n or N a tiv e , b orn
i n a n y p a r t of t h o g l o b e , s h o u l d l ik e t o h a v e s i m p l y h i s h o r o s ­
c o p e c o r r e c t l y d r a w n , t h a t is, t h e e x a c t p o s i t i o n s o f t h e p l a n e t s
a s c e r t a i n e d a n d t h e d i a g r a m s , A c ., I a m p r e p a r e d to
d o so a s s o o n a s I g o to m y s t a t i o n , T r i v a d i , T a n j o r e D i s t r i c t
( w h i c h w i l l be i n a b o u t a f o r t n i g h t ) , w h e r e I h a v e t h e T a b l e s
&c., r e q u i r e d f o r t h e p u r p o s e . T h e w o r k t a k e s i n t h e c a s e o f
e a c h h o r o s c o p e n e a r l y a d a y ’s t im e . I f a p p l i c a t i o n s s h o u l d
co n tin u e to com e to m e as th ey do a t p re se n t, I fe a r I shall
h a v e h a r d l y t i m e l e f t f o r a n y t h i n g e lse, u n l e s s I a s k m y
co lleag u es Y enkatosvara D e ek sh ita r a n d S u n d a re sv a ra
Tina point, m ust be carefully kept in m ind. Tho M adras Observa­
to ry is the only O bservatory in India. I ts tim e is observed in all the
Railway btations, a t least in tho M adras Presidency. This will not do
for astrological purposes except in Madras.
S r o u t h y , w h o a r e F o u n d e r s , e q u a l l y w i t h m e of t h e T r i v a d i
J a t i s t a n t r a S a b h a to assist m e on t h e m a tte r. I n w h ic h case
t h e a p p l i c a n t w i l l h a v e t o p a y a s m a l l fe e o f five R u p e e s f o r
each horoscope.
I .b e g to re m a in ,
T o u r m o st obed ien t serv an t,
N . C H E D U M B U R A M I Y E R , F . T . S.
E X P L A N A T IO N W A N TED .
I s h a l l feel h ig h ly o b lig e d if y o u will k in d ly in se rt in th e
c o l u m n s of T h e T h e o s o p h is t t h e m e a n i n g s a n d h i s t o r y o f t h e
t w o f o l l o w i n g n a m e s :— •
1. R u n i c a n d 2. A r n e S a k n u s s e m m .
I g u e ss t h e m e a n i n g s of th e first to b e — th e n a m e of a
lan g u a g e. O f th e second th e n a m e of a Professor or a le a rn e d
m a n of t h e 1 6 th c e n tu r y , a g r e a t a lc h em ist of t h e day.
I w a n t a r e g u l a r h is to ry of th e second expression.
“ A JU N IO R S T U D E N T .”
T b e v a n d r d h , 8 /h A p r i l 1883.
Editor’s N o te. — “ A Ju n io r S tudent” makes a rig h t guess in one
instance. T here is not m uch m ystery in tho adjective “ runic,”
though its noun “ R une” or (an Anglo-Saxon word) stood in days
of old for “ m y stery ,” and related to magical letters— as any Encyclo-
’p trd ia m ight havo told him . The, word runic relates both to the lan­
guage nnd the peculiar alphabet of tho ancient Norsem en ; and “ runes”
■was the nam e used to indicate the sixteen letters or characters of which
the la tte r was composed. Tt is of the rem otest antiquity, and the few
who wi re acquainted w ith the use of thoso peculiar m ark s—some old
stones bearing y e t inscriptions in the Runic character—w ere considered
ns g reat enchanters and m agicians, until the runes began to be used in
comm unication by w riting and th u s—their sacrcd and m ystic character
ivas lost by becoming vulgarized. Nevertheless, in some Occult books it
is distinctly stated th a t those letters received in their subsequent usage
a significance quite distinct from the original one, tlie la tte r rem aining
to this day a-m ystery and a secret w ith which the initiated descendants
of the Norsemen will not part. The various talism ans and charm s used
occasionally by tlie modern so-called “ w izards” and “ w itches” in
Iceland supposed to have inherited the secret science of old—are
covered generally w ith runic m arks and m ay bo easily deciphered by
those students to whom no ancient m ystery is one, they stndying
Occultism in its general or universal aspect.
As to tho other word or ra th e r nam e of which “ Junior Student”
w ants “ a reg u lar history”— itw dll bo more difficult to satisfy him since
no such nam e is to be found either in the catalogue of mediaeval
A lchem ists aud Rosicrucians, or in the long list of Occultists in
general, since Appolonins of T yana and down to tho clays of Eliphas Levi,
I t is m ost certainly not a European name, in its second half at
any ra te ; and if the nam e of Arn(S is to be occasionally m ot with, that
of " Sakunsem rn” h.-;s an E gyptian ra th e r than a W estern ring in it-
Thero was an “ A rn e ” (T hom as Ang-nstine), au English musical compo­
ser and the a uthor of “ Rule B ritannia” in the 18th century, and two
m en of the nam e of Socinns—in tlie lfith and 17th. B nt these were no
alchem ists bnt g re a t theologians, or ra th e r we should say anti-theo­
logians and infidels. Lcelius Socinns—the first—was tho friend of both
M elancthon and Calvin, though he denied the fundam ental doctrines of
popular C hristianity and m ade awray w ith the Trinity. Then camo
Fanstns Soc-imis—his nephew, and a g reat sceptic, the protegd of F.
dcMedici, grand dnke of Tuscany- This one openly m aintained th at
the T rinity is a pagan doctrine ; thnt C hrist was a created an inferior
being, and th n t there was neither personal God nor dovil. H is followers
were called the Socinians, but even this name answ ers vory little to
Saknnsem m.
H aving thus confessed our ignorance, wo can snggcst to “ Junior
S tu d en t” bnt one plan ; and th a t is, to seek for liis “ Saluinssem ” among
tlio E gyptian deities. “ A rne Ba.skenis” was the Greek nam e of Aroer i*
the elder Horns, “ Sakanaka” is tho m ystical appellation of a g re at fire,
which is m entioned in CLXVth C hapter of the Ritual of the Dead—
and m ay have, perchance, som ething to do with the alohem ist fire of
Saknussem . Then we have Salcasutn—the “ Eldest-born of the Sun
God,” one of the names of the planet S aturn in Chaldean Astronom y ; and
finally Samonlsamonken, the nam e of tho rebel king of Babylon, the
brother of Asanrbanip.il, king of A ssyria. H aving done onr best, we
can but advise our correspondent, to let ns know in w hat work he m et
w ith the name, as also his reasons for believing tlia t “ Saknussem ”
L I G H T 'S V E L O C IT Y .
I see. i n a n a r t i c l e i n t h e T h e o so p h ist o f D e c e m b e r 1882,
p a g e 70, t h e f o l l o w i n g s t a t e m e n t , h a v i n g r e f e r e n c e t o t h e
v elo city of lig h t.
“ T h e s u n b e in g 9 2 j m illio n s of m ile s d is ta n t, h a s risen
e i g h t m i n u t e s b e f o r e i t b e c o m e s v i s i b le t o u s . ”
Is it n o t m o re c o rre c t to sta te t h a t th e lig h t of th e su n
h a v i n g a l r e a d y r e a c h e d t h e e a r t h , i t s l i g h t h a s o n l y to t r a v e l
th e d istan c e of th e ho rizo n to th e sp e c ta to r a t su n rise ?
I a lw a y s u n d e r s to o d t h a t o w in g to r c fr a c tio n of l ig h t the
f i g u r e of t h e s u n w a s a p p a r e n t a b o v e t h e h o r i z o n b e f o r e i t
a c t u a l l y b e c a m e ex p o se d b y th e r e v o lu tio n of t h e e a r th .
Y ourS faith fu lly ,
D . M. S .
 : PERTINENT QUESTXOlirS. . ■
Will you or any of your readers enlighten mo on the following
points:— .i■
' ! 1. What is a T o g i P * :! • ;
. Can he bo classed with a Mahatma P ; ' ' •
3, Can Visvamitra, Valmiki, Vaeistha and . othor Rishis bo
classed with the Yogis aud the Mahatmas ? , ■ ,
' 4. Or with the Mahatmas only ?
5. Or with the Yogis only?
6. Did the Yogis know Occult Science ?
. 7- Is vegetarianism necessary for the study and development
of Occult Science ?
8. Did oar ilishis know Occult sciences ?
By throwing somo light on the above questions you will oblige.
* Yours truly,
Bombay, 30th April 1883.) II, N* VAKIL.
161, M a la b a u H i l l , j
W E EE PLY. . p u b l i s h e d i n t h e M a y T h e o so p h ist.
1. A Yogi iu India is a very elastic word. It now serves
generally to designate a very dirty, dung-covered and
naked individual, wlio never cuts nor combs his hair, covers
himself from forehead to heels with wet ashes, perforins
P r a n a y a m , without realizing its true meaning, and lives
upon alms. It is only occasionally that the name is applied
to one who is worthy of the appellation. The real meaning
however, of the word when analysed etymologically, will
show that its root is “ yug”—to j o i n —and thus will yield
its real significance. A real Yogi is a person who, having
entirely divorced himself from the world, its attractions
and pleasures, has succeeded after a more or less long
period of training, to re-unite his soul with the “ Univer­
sal Soul” or to “ join” with Parabrahm. If by the word
“ Yogi” our correspondent means the latter individual,
viz., one who has linked liis 7th and Gtli principles or
Atman and Boddhi and placed thereby his lower princi­
ples or Manas (the animal soul and the •personal ego) en
ra p p o rt with the Universal Principle, then—
2. He may be classed with the Mahatmas, since this
word means simply a “ great soul.” Therefore query—
o—is' an idle question to make. The Ilishis—at
any rate those who can be proved to have actually lived
(since many of those who aro mentioned under the above
designation are more or less mythical) were of course
“ Mahatmas,” in the broad sense of the word. The three
Rishis named by our questioner were historical personages
and were very high adepts entitled to be called Mahatmas.
4. They may be M a h a tm a s (whenever worthy of the
appellation), and whether married or celibates, while they
can be called—
5. “ Yogis”—only when remaining single, viz., after
devoting their lives to religious contemplation, asceticism
and—celibacy.
6. Thooretically every real Yogi knows more or less
the Occult sciences ; that is to say, he must understand
the secret and symbolical meaning of every pre­
scribed rite, as the correct significance of the allegories
contained in the Vedas and other sacred books. Practi­
cally, now-a-days very few, if any, of those Yogis whom
one meets with occasionally are familiar with occultism.
It depends upon their degree of intellectual development
and religious bigotry. A very saintly, sincere, yet
ignorantly pious ascetic, who has not penetrated far
beyond the husks of his philosophical doctrine would
tell you that no one in K a l i - Y u g is permitted to become
• ap ra c tic a l occultist; while an initiated Yogi has to be
an occultist; at any rate, he has to be sufficiently powerful
to produce all the m in o r phenomena (the ignorant would
still call even such m inor manifestation—“ miracles”) of
adeptship. The real Yogis, the heirs to the wisdom of
the Aryan Rishis, are not to be met, however, in the
world mixing with the profane and allowing themselves
to be known as Yogis. Happy are they to whom the whole
world is open, and who know it from tlieir inaccessible
ashnvnis ; while the world (with the exception of a very
few) knowing them not, denies their very existence.
But, it really is not a matter of great concern with them
whether people at large believe in, or even know of them.
' 7. The exposition of “ Occultism” in these columns
has been clear enough to show that it is tho Science by
the study and practice of which the student can becoma
a M a h a t m a . - The articles “ The Elixir of Life” and the
H in ts on Esoteric TKeosophy' are clear enough on this
po.ipt, They also explain scientifically th e necessity of
being a yegetarian for. the purposes of psychic develop­
ment. Read aud study, and you will find why Vegetari­
anism, Celibacy, and especially total abstinence from wine
and spirituous drink are strictly necessary for “ the
development of Occult knowledge”—see “ Hints on
Esoteric Theosophy,” No. 2. Question 8th being unneces­
sary in view of the aforesaid, we close the explanation.
H O W A M A N BECOM ES A H IN D U AN D A BRAHM AN.
I g l a d l y a n s w e r t l i e j q u e s t i o n of K . C. C h a t t e r j e e , D . P . W . ,
T h e p r i m a r y o b j e c t of
t h e H i n d u S a b h a is i n h i s w o r d s “ t o a r o u s e a h e a l t h y c o m ­
p e titio n a m o n g o u r peo ple a n d se rv e a g o o d p u rp o se .” A n y
m a n m a y b e a H i n d u b y r e s p e c t i n g t h e H i n d u so c i a l
o rg a n is a tio n a n d jo in in g a n y c aste w h o w o u ld ta k e h im or
b y fo rm in g a c a ste of his ow n. T h e p ro g re s s fro m c aste to
c as te d e p e n d s u p o n t h e h a b its a n d c u lt u r e of t h e m a n a ssim i­
l a tin g h im w i t h th e c a s te in to w h ic h h e seek s a dm ission .
I n d e e d v e r y l o w c a s t e m e n h a v e r i s e n a b o v e a ll c a s te s a n d
b e e n r e c o g n i z e d a s g o d s ( M a h a t m a s ) t o be w o r s h i p p e d b y
B r a h m a n s to o . Y i d u r a , b o r n of a S u d r a w a s t a u g h t t h e V e d a s
a lo n g w ith th e K s h a triy a -b o rn P a n d u a n d D h r ita r a s h tr a . T h e
d iffic u lties i n t h e w a y o f a d m i s s i o n a s F e l l o w s o f a n y c a s t e s
f o r m ea ls a n d i n t e r m a r r i a g e a r e tw o : (a) th e caste p eo p le
m u s t be co n v in c ed t h a t t h e n e w m e m b e r w ill fa ith fu lly re s ­
p e c t t h e r u l e s a n d o b s e r v a n c e s o f t h e c a s t e ; ([b.) t h e P r i e s t s
a n d L a y H e a d s of t h e c a s t e m u s t h o l d o r g a n i s e d s e s s io n s t o
d i s c u s s a n d d i s p o s e of a p p l i c a t i o n s . I hope th e H in d u S a b h a
a n d t h e U n i t e d H i n d u C h u r c h w i l l b e s u p p o r t e d b y a ll.
A . S A N K A R I A H , F . T . S .,
P r e s id e n t- F o u n d e r H i n d u S a b h a .
P S Y C IIO M E T R Y AND ARCHAEOLOGY.
Reading) i n t h e l a s t T h e o s o p h is t, t h a t t h e a p p l i c a t i o n of a
w r i t e r f r o m A m e r i c a i n t h e c a u s e of l o c a l A r c l ia s o l o g y , h a s
b e e n f a v o u r a b l y r e c e i v e d , I fe e l e m b o l d e n e d to a s k f r o m y o u
a s im ila r h elp .
Y o u m u s t h a v e o b s e r v e d , t h a t v e r y f e w of m y c o u n t r y m e n
s t u d y , m u c h les s t r y t o d i s c o v e r , t li e h i d d e n f a c t s o f a n t i ­
q u a ria n in te rest. I, w h o ta k e g r e a t in te re s t in such m a tte rs ,
h a v e b e e n e n c o u r a g e d b y local G o v e r n m e n t to c o n d u c t a
s e r i e s of arcliEeolog'ical r e s e a r c h e s t h r o u g h o u t t h e p r o v i n c e of
O u d h ; a n d d u r i n g t h e l a s t c a m p i n g s e a s o n , I h a v e s e e n so m o
p o r t i o n of it, a n d h a v e g a t h e r e d a g r e a t d e a l of i n f o r m a t i o n
a n d sketches. I a m n o w w ritin g m y report.
B u t g r e a t d iff ic u ltie s p r e s e n t t h e m s e l v e s i n m y p a t h . Of
t h e m a n y a n c i e n t m o u n d s , t h e r e m a i n s of t o w n s o r b u i l d i n g s
of a byg o n e age, I co u ld n o t g e t a n y in fo rm atio n , n o t even
th e ir nam es. S o m e tim e s I discover a f r a g m e n t of a n
i n s c r i p t i o n , w h i c h I c a n n o t [ r e a d , n o r c a n I h a v e m e a n s to
com p lete. O c c a s i o n a l l y m a s o n ’s m a r k s a r e f o u n d .
T h e a n t i q u a r i a n r e m a in s in O u d h m a y b e d iv id e d in to f o u r
c la s s e s : I. M o u n d s c o m p o s e d of b r o k e n b r i c k s ; I I . F o u n d a t i o n
w a l l s of o ld b u i l d i n g s ; I I I . B ro k e n sc u lp tu re s, w h ic h a re
of f a r s u p e r i o r w o r k m a n s h i p t o t h o s e of m o d e r n d a y s ; a n d
I V . C o i n s , f r a g m e n t a r y i n s c r i p t i o n , a n d o ld t ree s, c h ie f ly
b a n ia n a n d peep al.
N o w t h e g r e a t p r o b l e m is t o f i n d o u t w h o b u i l t t h e s t r u c ­
tu re s , w h a t t h e i r re la tio n w a s to o u r c o n tin e n ta l h isto ry , c o n ­
te m p o ran e o u s ev en ts a n d c h ro n o lo g y ; a n d w h a t w as th e ir
l o c a l h i s t o r y , p o l i t i c a l , s o c i a l , r e l i g i o u s , a n d t h e i r p o s i t i o n as
t o t h e fine a r t s .
T h o u t m o s t w e c a n i n f e r , w h e r e t r a d i t i o n is l o s t, is t h e i r
r e l i g i o u s a n d asstlie tic a t t a i n m e n t s a n d a p a r t i a l k n o w l e d g e
of t h o i r a r c h i t e c t u r e a s e v i d e n t f r o m e x h u m e d f o u n d a t i o n -
w alls. B e y o n d t h a t u n a s s is te d in te lle c t c a n n o t p e n e tra te .
N o w a r e t h e r o n o d a t a , b y w h i e h w e c a n fi n d o u t t h e a g e
of a n c ie n t trees, o r som e o ccu lt sy m p a th y , b y w h ic h we c a n
r e a d a n d c o m p le te f r a g m e n ta r y in sc rip tio n , o r a g a in psycho-
m e t r i c a l m o a n s , b y w h i c h w e c a n d i s c o v e r a rc lia jo lo g ie a l r e l i c s
o r records, t h a t a re h id d e n u n d e r th e a n cien t m ounds P
I h e a r , p s y c l i o m e t r y is a g r e a t a i d t o t h e arch a eo lo g ists. I f
so, h o w c a n I c u l t i v a t e i t ?
I f r e q u i r e d , I s h a l l b e h a p p y t o s e n d c o p ie s o r r a t h e r r o u g h
p e n c i l i m p r e s s i o n s o f f r a g m e n t a r y i n s c r i p t i o n s , &c., to y o u .
T h e g r e a t o b je c t of m y archaeological in v e s tig a tio n w ill be
t o f i n d o u t t h e g e o g r a p h y a n d h i s t o r y — social, p o l it i c a l , r e l i g i ­
o u s a n d t e s tl i e t i c , o f o u r a n c e s t o r s , i n t h e M a h a b l i a r a t ,
R a m a y a n , B u d d h is tic , a n d su b s eq u e n t d a r k ages.
• r O O R N A C H U N D R A M O O K H E R J I , F . T . S.
E d i t o r ’s N o t e . — I f o n r c o r te s p o n d e n t w e r e b u t to re a d care­
f u l l y P r o f e s s o r D e n t o n ’s S o u l o f T h in g s, he w o uld realise t h e
i m p o r t a n c e of tho science of f 's y c h o m e t r y a n d lea rn a t t h e sa m e
t i m e t h e m ode of proced ure. I t s u se fu ln e s s in archse ological
d is c o v e rie s and p u r s u i t s is im m e n se . T h a t w o r k d e s c rib e s m a n y
cases in w hich th e p s y c h o m e t h e r h a d b u t to h old a g a i n s t t h o
fo r e h e a d t h e f r a g m e n t of a s t o n e o r a n y o t h e r o b j e c t a n d h e
could a c c u r a t e ly describe th e b u i l d i n g a n d i t s i n h a b i t a n t s if th e
f r a g m e n t of sto n e h a d been c o n n e c te d w ith one ; of th e a n im a l if
t h e f r a g m e n t tf'as t h a t of a bon e of som e fossil a n im a l, etc., etc.
T h e o b j c c t is b u t th e m e d i u m w h ich p u t s t h e p s y c h o m e t e r en
ra p p o rt w i t h t h e m a g n e t ic a u r a of i ts s u r r o u n d i n g s . O nce
l a n d e d in t h e w orld of A k a s i c i m p re s s io n s , t h o b ook of N a t u r e
is o p e n e d a t e v e ry p a g e a n d t h e i m a g e s of all t h a t was, b e in g a s
t h o u g h p h o t o g r a p h e d o n tho e th e r ic w a v e s , t h e y b e c o m e p l a i n l y
visible to t h e p s y c h o m e te r. L i k e m a n y o t h e r f a cultie s, t h is o n e
is also i n h e r e n t a n d m u s t be d e v e lo p e d by p ra c t ic e a u d st u d y .
B u t it is easy.
W H A T IS A “ P E R A H E R A ?”
It is a g e n e r a l i d e a a m o n g t h e n o n - I 3 u d d h i s t i c p e o p le
t h a t a P e r a h e r a is n o t h i n g b u t a “ f a r c e ” o r “ m e r e n o n s e n s e ”
a s t h e y c a l l it, a n d t h e y s e e m t o t h i n k t h a t t h e B u d d h i s t s a r e
q u ite i g n o r a n t a n d u n c iv iliz ed in c a r r y i n g on s u c h “ n o n ­
s e n s e !” W h i c h is a g r e a t m i s t a k e . A P e r a h e r a h a s a t w o f o l d
a s p e c t :—
a. D u r i n g t h e tim e t h a t o u r L o r d B u d d h a p r e a c h e d his
d o c t r i n e , v a r i o u s c la s s e s o f p e o p l e t r a v e l l i n g t h o u s a n d s of
m il e s f r o m d i f f e r e n t q u a r t e r s o f I n d i a c a m e to h e a r H i s m o s t
ex cellen t teach in g s. F r o m t h e ric h e s t lo rd d o w n to th o
b e g g a r , a l l g a v e a n e a g e r e a r to h i m ; so g r a n d w a s H i s
d o c trin e, t h a t even enem ies w e n t t o g e t h e r p e a c e a b ly w ith o u t
t h e l e a s t n o t i o n of i l l - f e e l i n g . T h i s u n d o u b t e d l y b e i n g t h o
p r i m i t i v e i d e a of a P e r a h e r a , t h e S i n g h a l e s e B u d d h i s t s a r e
o b s e rv in g t h a t cu sto m , in r e p re s e n tin g th e d iffere n t n a tio n s
a n d c la s s e s of m e n , i n a P e r a h e r a ( p r o c e s s i o n ) , w i t h tho
a c c o m p a n im e n t of m usic.
T h e d a n c i n g - g i r l s , s o l d i e r s , v e d d a h s , s t a t e ofliccrs, &c., a r e
re p re s e n te d in a P e r a h e r a ; th e tw o e n em ies a re re p re se n te d
b y a c o b ra a n d a “ G u r u l l a , ” th e o ne b e in g t h e p r e y of th o
other.
b. A g a t h e r i n g of t h e r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s o f t h e m e n in
d i f f e r e n t r a n k s of life, s e r v e s a s a n i n c e n t i v e to t h o u n e d u c a t ­
e d to h e a r t h e d o c t r i n e of o u r L o r d B u d d h a , a n d t h u s t o
l e a d a g o o d l if e a n d o b t a i n b e t t e r b i r t h h e r e a f t e r .
A CEY LO N B U D D H IS T .
HOW TO B E C O M E A B R A H M IN .
Tn' t h e T h e o so p h ist f o r M a y , p a g e 2 0 1 , a c o r r e s p o n d e n t
( K . C. C h a t t e r j e e ) w r i t e s t o a s k h o w a m a n c a n r a i s e h i m ­
s e l f f r o m a lo w c a s t e t o b e c o m e a B r a h m i n . l i e i n s i n u a t e s
t h a t i n t h e S a r m a n s i t is l a i d d o w n t h a t c a s t e “ w a s n o t m e a n t
t o bo h e r e d i t a r y , ” b u t o m i t s t o a d d — u n l e s s t h e d e s c e n d a n t s
k e p t u p t h e d i s t i n c t i o n b y p r a c t i c e of t h e r u l e s l a i d d o w n
i n th o S h a s t r a s q u o t e d b y G u d h i s t h u r to t h e s e r p e n t , m e n ­
tio n e d in th e sam e letter.
I t is a s c ie n tif ic f a c t t h a t h e r e d i t y t r a n s m i t s q u a l i t i e s t o
d e s c e n d a n t s w h i c h , if k e p t u p , w i l l c o n t i n u e t o a n y l e n g t h of
t i m e , b u t if n o t k e p t u p a n d a l l o w e d t o d ie a w a y , w i l l d i s a p p e a r
a fte r a few gen eratio n s. T li e u n t a u g h t p u p of a w e l l b r e d
h o u n d w i l l r e j e c t b i r d flesh i n t u i t i v e l y f o r p e r h a p s a c o u p le
of g e n e r a t i o n s , a f t e r w h i c h , if t h e b r e e d i n g is n e g l e c t e d , i t
■will m a k e n o d i s t i n c t i o n of m e a t . T h e i n s t i t u t i o n of c a s t e
w a s f o u n d e d u p o n t h i s s c ie n tific p r i n c i p l e a n d n o t u p o n
t h e f a c t of w e a r i n g t h e t h r e a d , w h i c h is s i m p l y a n o u t w a r d
s i g n a n d t a l i s m a n . T h e o r i g i n a l p r a c t i c e o r b r e e d i n g lia s
loner b e e n n e g l e c t e d , a n d i t is a q u e s t i o n h o w m u c h o f i t is
s t i l l left.
I d o n o t q u i t e u n d e r s t a n d w h a t K . C. C. m e a n s b y a s k i n g
h o w a low caste can becom e a B r a h m i n . D o e s he m e a n m o ­
d e rn C lerk B ra h m in , P le ad e r B ra h m in , C h ristia n B ra h m in ?
Ac. &c., o r t h e a n c i e n t R i s h i B r a h m i n ? I f t h e f o r m e r , tlio
S h a s t r a s c a n n o t g i v e a r e p l y , b u t , i f t h e l a t t e r , w h i c h is t h o
B r a h m i n t a l k e d of in th o V e d a s a n d S h a s t r a s , th e a n s w e r to
K . C. C. is t o s e a r c h i n t h o S h a s t r a s h o w V e d a V y a s a ,
V i s i v a M i t l i r a a n d o t h e r s of l o w c a s t o o r i g i n h a d b e c a m e
B r a h m in - R is h is , a n d h e w ill k n o w t h e process.
B e r h a m p o re . T. S A B M A N .
1>. s . —If K. C. C. likes to take the trouble he should enquire and as­
certain how Parasurama, and after him Sankaracharya, raised hundreds
of men from lower castes to that of Brahmins in the Central and
outhern India, wh ose descendants now number legion.—T. S,
T H E SU M M U M BON UM OF H IN D U IS M AND
B U D D H IS M .
T h e f i r s t p o i n t of c r i t i c i s m o f t h e p a m p h l e t e n t i t l e d
“ A L e c t u r e o n t h e P e c u l i a r i t i e s of H i n d u L i t e r a t u r e , ” i n a
c e r t a i n n u m b e r of t h e T h e o so p h ist, is “ W e b e l i e v e t h e le c ­
t u r e r l a b o u r s u n d e r a m is c o n c e p t i o n , t h o u g h , w h e n h e s e e k s to
s h o w o n t h e a u t h o r i t y of P r o f e s s o r M a x M u l l e r t h a t N ir v a n a ,
a s c o n c e i v e d b y B u d d h a , c o r r e s p o n d s to t h e s t a t e of I s w a r a . ”
T h a t t h e s t a t e o f N i r v a n a , as c o n c e iv e d b y B u d d h a , c o r r e s ­
p o n d s to t h e s ta te of I s w a r a m a y be p r o v e d t h u s : (1 ). A f te r
t h e f o u r s t a g e s of m e d i t a t i o n a r e p a s s e d , B u d d h a e n t e r e d in to
t h e i n f i n i t y o f sp a c e ( V ir a ttu of S a m a r a s a V o d h a n t a S i d -
d h a n th u m , i n c lu d in g psychical m a g n e tis m a n d electricity),
t h e n i n t o t h e i n fi n i ty o f I n te llig e n c e ( E r a n i a k a r u p p a m ) ,
t h e n i n t o t h e re g io n o f n o th in g ( A v v i a k i r u t h a m ) , t h e n i n t o
c o m p l e t e r e s t ( I s w a r a ) , so t h a t N i r v a n a o r c o m p l e t e r e s t c o r ­
r e s p o n d s t o I s w a r a ; ( 2 ) . T h a t T h a th e r a s (c la s s if i e d p h e n o ­
m e n a ) e m a n a t e f r o m t h e A b s o l u t e N o u m e n o n , is a d o c t r i n e
c o m m o n to t h e H i n d u a n d t h e B u d d h i s t p h i l o s o p h i e s , so t h a t
N i r v a n a w o u ld logically d e n o te the a n n ih ila tio n o f the T h a th -
w a s ; n o w , t h e y a r e b l o w n out- i n I s w a r a , t h e r e f o r e , N i r ­
v a n a c o rre s p o n d s to I s w a r a .
T h e s e c o n d p o i n t o f c r i t i c i s m is “ B u d d h i s m p r o p e r o u g h t
n e v e r t o b e c la s s if i e d w i t h t h e g r o u p s of T h e i s t i c r e l i g i o n s ,
s i n c e i t is a p h i l o s o p h y e n t i r e l y a p a r t f r o m , a n d o p p o s e d t o
o th e r re lig io u s sy s te m s.” T o th is w e w o u ld r e p ly : (1). T h a t,
in a d d itio n to t h e d o c trin e s c o m m o n to H i n d u i s m a n d B u d ­
d h i s m e n u m e r a t e d b y P r o f e s s o r M a x M u l l e r i n p a g e 2 2 6 o f V o l.
I o f “ T h e C h i p s f r o m a? G e r m a n W o r k s h o p , ” w e h a v e s h e w n
t h a t N i r v a n a c o r r e s p o n d s t o t h e s t a t e of I s w a r a ; ( 2 ) . T h a t
th e differences d e v elo p ed in th e l a t e r fo rm s o f B u d d h is m a r e
d u e t o t h e h e a t of r e l i g i o u s c o n t r o v e r s y i n u n i n s p i r e d m e n ,
in a c c o r d a n c e w i t h t h e c o m p r e h e n s i v e l a w o f Y u g a D liu r m a ,
g e n e r a t i n g i n t e l l e c t u a l a n d s p i r i t u a l d e g e n e r a c y , so t h a t t h e
m e n t a l f a c u l t i e s o f t h e K a l i - y u g a i n d i v i d u a l so u l s , a s a
g e n e r a l m a n i f e s t a t i o n , a r e u n a b l e t o g e n e r a liz e a n d exp e rien c e
t h e s u b l i m e t r u t h s c o m m o n to t h e Vedas, to o o f t e n b u r i e d
u n d e r t h e r e p u l s i v e g a r b of u n i q u e t e c h n i c a l i t y a n d b e n e a t h
t h e s u p e r f i c i a l l a y e r of f i g u r a t i v e m a t e r i a l i s t i c p h r a s e o l o g y ;
( 3 ) . T h a t t h e d i s c r i m i n a t i o n of t h e K a r m a , B h a k t h i a n d
G n a n a K h a n d a s alo n e w o u ld e n ab le us to in s titu te a fa ir
c o m p a ris o n b e tw e e n re lig io u s sy stem s.
W e a v ail o u rse lv es of t h is o p p o r tu n ity to ex p ress th e g r a n d
c o n c l u s i o n a t w h i c h we. h a v e a r r i v e d r e g a r d i n g t h e f u n d a ­
m e n ta l t r u t h s c o m m o n to th e V e d a s a f te r a s t u d y a n d esote­
r i c c o n t e m p l a t i o n of five y e a r s — t h a t t h e V e d a s r e v e a l tw o
m o d e s o f o b t a i n i n g M u k t l i i , v iz., (1 ) S i d d h a n ta m c o n s i s t i n g
in t h e sxiccessive e x p e r i e n c e o f T h a t h w a s a n d N o u m e n o n , ( 2 ) .
V e d h a n tis m c o n s i s t i n g i n t h e s im u lta n e o u s e x p e r i e n c e of
T h a th w a s a n d N o u m e n o n , a n d t h a t experiencing th e E g o
o f B r a h m is e l u c i d a t e d b y t h e i l l u s t r a t i o n o f t h e k i n g
a w a k e n i n g to t h e c o n s c i o u s n e s s o f s e l f f r o m a d r e a m i n w h i c h
ho i d e n t i f i e d h i m s e l f w i t h a b e g g a r . “ T h e d e p t h s of S a t a n ”
of t h e J e w i s h V e d a c o r r e s p o n d i n g to t h e f o r m e r m o d e .
S. M.
M a d r a s , 5 t h M a y 1 883.
' -----*— —
P R O F E S S O R M A X M U L L E R ’S O P I N I O N W A N T E D .
T h e P s y c h o m e tr ic C ir c u la r is r e s p o n s i b l e f o r t h e f o l l o w ­
ing
“ One of the most interesting facts stated by tlie learnod Dr. Le Ran­
goon in his narrative of his investigations in the country of tlie Mayan,
both interesting and startling to Christians, is his statement that the
last words of J esus when expiring on the cross, “ Eloi, Eloi, lama sa-
bactliani”—are pure Maya vocables, having a very different meaning to
that attributed to thom by tho Evangelists, “ My God, My God, why
hast thou forsaken me ?”—who have tlms dono him an injustice, repre­
senting him in liis last moments as despairing and cowardly, traits alto­
gether foreign to his life. He evidently did not speak Hebrew when
dying, since the people around him did not understand what he said.
The true meaning of the Maya vocables,—Helo, Helo, Lamah, Zabac.
Ta, Ni"—is “ Now, Now, I am sinking; darkness covers my face.” Dr.
Lo Rangeon states that these vocables are so familiar to the Mayas of
Yucatan at tho present day, that they are in daily use amongst them,
and that should any ono uso these words in their presence, they would
at once show solicitude, and inquire what was the matter. This discovery
also gives something of a cluo to his education. Where conld he havo
become instructed in this language, not spoken in his day by any nation
in tho continent of Asia ? We find a hint towards an answer when we
come to examine the traces of this language in Egypt, in which country
he is stated to havo spent the earliest years of his life. I t is a well known
fact that persons who have disused for many years a language
acquired in youth havo uttered their dying words in tho language thus
familiar to their youthful mind, though so long disused,’*
Sinon e vero, e ben tro v a to ! :
 A N ATTEM PT A T A N E W CALENDAR.
W e r e c e i v e d f r o m t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s “ T li e P a i n e H a l l C a l e n ­
d a r , ” d a t e d 2 8 3 A . S. (A n n o S c ie n tic e ). I t is a n o r i g i n a l b u t
q u i t e j u s t i f i a b l e a t t e m p t ' f r o m t h e s t a n d p o i n t o f t h e m e n of
S c ie n c e a n d F r e e th i n k e r s to in tro d u c e a n e w c h ro n o lo g ic a l
e r a . T h e w h o le w o r ld of S cien c e f o llo w e d b y t h e p r e s e n t
a n d f u t u r e g e n e r a t i o n s of g r a d u a t e s , o u r I n d i a n “ B . A ’s . ”
a n d “ M . A ’s.” i n c l u d e d — o u g h t u n d e r t h e p e n a l t y o f i n c o n ­
siste n cy to le n d th em se lv es to its successful in tr o d u c tio n a n d
g e n e ra l acceptation. I t w o u ld be lik e w ise u se fu l to th o se
c o u n t l e s s m i l l i o n s of t h e s t e a d i l y c i v i l i z i n g t h o u g h s t i l l u n r e ­
g e n e r a t e d “ H e a t h e n s ” w h o a r e m a d e t o a d o p t t h e m e t h o d of
w r itin g B . 0 . a n d A . D. w hile re co g n izin g q u ite o th er
D o m in i t h a n t h e o n e v i r t u a l l y e n f o r c e d u p o n t h e m i n t h e i r
correspondence. C o n s i s t e n c y is n o t q u i t e t h e c h i e f c h a r a c ­
t e r i s t i c s o f o u r a g e , a n d i t is s o m e t h i n g t o seo t h e F r e e t h i n k e r s
m ak e a re a l b eg in n in g . W e p u b lish h ero th e proposed
C a le n d ar.
THE P A IN E H A LL CALENDAR.
( i t b e i n g f i r s t u t t e r e d t h e r e .)
A L i b e r a l , or F r e e T h o u g h t C a le n d a r .
Y E A ll OP SCIEN CE
( A n n o Scientia:)
283,
Wed.
Tlie following is an am ended and otherw ise improved copy of tho
P ream ble w ith which th e Resolution, on the front side of tins Calen­
dar, was offered to th e Society th erein m entioned :
W h e r e a s , The Christian “ Y ear of onr Lord 1G00” m arks very nearly
th e tim e when tho Copernican—our presen t scientific—system of A s­
tronom y becam e established, and which system fully 'proves the so-
called “ divine a u th o rity " of th e Bible to be false, bccauso th a t book
declares—among o ther n u tru th s—th a t the Sun stood still for a tim e a t
tho comm and of Joshaa,* when Science shows plainly th a t tho Sun
never appreciably moves at a l l , it being the E arth th a t does th e m ov­
ing j and,
W h e r e a s , The y e ar 1G00 is especially consecrated for all tim e to
Science and Liberalism , by its being the date whereon th a t noble
m artyr, Bruno, so heroically m et a m ost dreadful death a t the hands
of the Christians, in defenco of the F reethinker’s G reat Teacher, th a t
g re atest of a l l G reat Teachers, viz., Scienco ; and,
W h e r e a s , Scienco is undoubtedly the greatest benefactor tlia t m an­
kind has ever known, and is consequently entitled to the utm ost honor
th a t can—in reason—be bestowed upon it, both for its own w orth and
for tho sake of him, who first resisted to tiie death tlie Christian
efforts to suppress it, and in whose sublime devotion wc have, as Mr.
W akem an has so adm irably suggested, an em inently w orthy basis upon
which to found the Free T hought Calendar. 15c it therefore Resolved :
(S ee the Resolution above.)
Tho following is the P latfo rm of the In v estig ato r F re e T hought So­
ciety, and the m eans it uses to fu rth e r these ends aro F ree Debates
on all subjects, L ectures, &c, :
The objects of this Society tfre to advocate the use of Reason as the
Suprem e Guide and S tandard for m ankind in a l l things, to inculcate
the doing of R ight for tho R ig h t’s sake alone, and to labor to teach
people to believe in goodness enough to search out and follow it because
of its inherent w o rth and beauty, and not because of rew ards or
punishm ents e ith e r in this world or any o th e r; in brief, to work for tho
Ennoblem ent of H um anity, and th e ir salvation from tlio hells of ignor-
anoo, superstition, bigotry and all o ther evils.

Wed.

ri 0 1883.
Tue.
Sun.

1883. o J3 ’C -ta ^ !§ s a
c3 -0 ’C 03
a £< 00 E-t 02
N O T I C E .
Ja n i 2 3 4 5 C J u ly ... ll 2 3 4 5 6 7
7 8 9 10 11 12 13 8! 910 11 12 13 14
14 15 16 17 18 19,20 151617 18 19 20 21
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 IN D U ST R IJE N IH IL IM P O SSIB IL E .
29 30 31 29 30 31
1 1 2 3 4 “ I h e ld it ever,
Fob , 1 2 3 5I fi 7 8 9 10 11 V irtu e a n d k n o w le d g e w ero e n d o w m en ts g re a te r
4 5 6 7 8 910 12 13 14 15 16 1 7 18 T h a n n o b len e ss a u d ric h e s .”— S h a kesp ea re.
11 12 13 14 15 1617 19 20 21 22 23 24 25
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 26 27 28 29 30 31 “ I n f a it h a n d hope, tho w o rld w ill disa g ree ,
25 2fi 37 28 1 B u t a l l m a n k i n d ’s c o n c e r n is C h a r i t y . ” — 1 ’opa.
Mar . 1 2 3 2 a A. 5 6 7 8
4 5 6 7 8 9;io 9 1 0 1 1 12 13 14 15
11 12 13 14 15 1617 1617 18 19 20 21 22
18 19 20 21 22 23 2*1. 23 2425 26 27 28 29 MADRAS H IN D U C H A R IT Y H IG H SCHOOL.
25 26 27 28 29 30 31 30j...
( T o be e s ta b lis h e d on th e T a m i l N e iv Y e a r s d a y i n S o w c a rp e t,
.. 1 2 3 4 fi
Apr ... 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 M a d ra s.')
8 9 10 11 12 13 14 1 4 1 5 1 6 17 18 19 20 ( 8 A. M. t o 10 A. M.,
15 16 17 18 19 2021 21 22 23 24 25 20 27
?;?, 23 24 25 26 27 28 28 29 30 31 H o u r s of A t t e n d a n c e , , . < a n d 1 p. M. t o 4 i>. m .,
29 SO I 1 0 S (. o n e v e r y s c h o o l - d a y .
M ay. 1 2 3 4 5 4, fi A 7 8 9 in T h i s S c h o o l w ill c o n ta in th e M a tric u la tio n C lass a n d the
6 7 8 9 10 l l ' 12 111213 14 15 16 17
13 14 15 10*17 1819 o n e n e x t b e l o w it. W e l l - e x p e r i e n c e d G r a d u a t e s w i l l t a k e
1819 20 21 22 23 24
20 21 22 '23124 25 26 25 26 27,28 29 30 p a r t i n t h e t e a c h i n g of e v e r y s u b j e c t , i n c l u d i n g T a m i l a n d
27 2R 29 30;31 j 1 T e lu g u , th e o n ly v e r n a c u la r s t h a t w ill be t a u g h t h e re a t
June. 1 2 2 fi 7 f, p resent. A n h o u r e v e ry w e e k in oach section w ill be d e ­
3 4 5 6 7 8 9 9 10 U 12 13 1-1 15 v o te d to p u r e m o r a l in s tr u c tio n . O nly c a s te -llin d u boys who
10 11 12 13114 15 16 1617 1819 20 21 22 a r e r e a l ly d e s e r v i n g a n d p o o r w ill b e a d m i t t e d fre e . O ther
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 23 24 25 26 27 28 29
24 25 26 27 28 29 30 30311 c a s t e - H i n d u b o y s d e s i r o u s of a d m i s s i o n i n t o t h e S c h o o l m u s t
! 1 p a y th e fees c h a r g e d iu G o v e r n m e n t Schools. N o a d m is ­
s i o n s w i l l b e m a d e a f t e r t h e n o r m a l s t r e n g t h o f f i f ty is
O r ig in o f th is C a le n d a r . r e a c h e d in a C lass. N o n e w s e c ti o n w i l l b e f o r m e d u n t i l
In an article in the N. Y. T ru th Seeker of Oct. 29th, 1881, Mr. T. B. tw e n ty -fiv e bo y s a t l e a s t r e g is te r t h e i r n a m e s fo r it. Tho
W akem an, of New York, in roforring to tlio rom ark of D r. D raper—in w h o l e S c h o o l w i l l b e u n d e r t h e h o n o r a r y s u p e r i n t e n d e n c e of
th e Doctor’s famous book, “ The Conflict betw een .Religion and Scienco” M . R . R y . R . S i v a s a n k a r a P a n d i a h G a r u , E . A ., of P a t c h e -
—th a t possibly p osterity m ay unveil a sta tu e of Bruno “ under tho a p p a h ’s C o l le g e . C o n t r i b u t i o n s i n t h e s h a p e of m o n e y ,
domo of St. P e te r’s a t ltom e,” was moved to say, “ B ut would it not b o o k s , a p p a r a t u s , & c., f r o m c h a r i t a b l e p e r s o n s w i l l b e t h a n k ­
be a surer and a nobler m onum ent th an any ‘ enduring bronze’ could
evor be, to d a te the calendar of th e New B ra of Science and Man from f u lly re ce iv e d b y th e S u p e rin te n d e n t.
tlio y ear 1600 as its year One !” . M adras, j V. RA M A RAO,
This and other words in connection, in tlieir tu rn moved M r. Q. N. 26£7i. M a r c h 1 8 8 3 . j H o n o r a r y S e c r e ta r y .
Hill, of Boston, to offer in the Paine Memorial, on the 29tli of Jan u ary
1882, a resolution, of which the following is an am ended copy :
R esolved : T hat in everlasting com m em oration of th a t rise of Scienco T H E D IIA R M S ’ P A B E S II.
aud F re e T hought—the two best friends hum anity has over had— A s h o r t m o n th l y P a p e r , i n t h e fo rm of a le c tu re , in H i n d i ,
which began during th e 16th century of th e superstitious “ Y ear of our
L o r d a n d in p erp etu a l honor, also, of th e heroism of th a t glorious teacher on R e lig io n , M o ra lity , a n d S p iritu a l d e v e lo p m e n t, d e s ig n e d
of Reason and noble M a rty r for Science and Man, Giordano Bruno to im p ro v e th e c h a ra c te r of th e y o u th s of B h a r a t V a r s h a .
of Ita ly —so inhum anly burned a t th e stak e by the C hristians, a t Rome, T h e P a p e r c o m m e n c e s fro m M a rch , 1883. .
on th e 16th day of February, 1600, for proclaim ing scientific fa cts— A n n u a l s u b s c r i p t i o n , i n a d v a n c e , w i t h p o s t a g e , &c. H e . 1 - 4 ;
therefore, in fu tu re, all records and othor official docnm onts of the In-
vostigator Free Thought Society, of Boston, Mass., shall bear dato f o r T o w n s u b s c r i b e r , A n n a s 12.
from a Calendar, beginning on tho 1st day of Jan u ary , A. D., 1600; T o b e h a d of P u n d i t R a m a N a r a y a n a , I I , B a r e i l l y D l i a r m a -
thoreby plaeing our Society,—and all persons also adopting it ,— en tire ly ' S a b h a , M o h u lla G a n g a p u r , Bans B a r e illy ,' N o rth -W e st. P r o ­
out of th e bedeviling fog of the age of Bible faith w ith its “ Y ear of vinces.
Grace 1882,” and into the huniano light of tlie “ Age of R eason” and
YEAR OF SCIEN CE 282. * Joshua x—13,
 T A B L E OF CO N TEN TS.
[ E s t a b l i s h e d on th e 1 5 th F e b r u a r y , 1 8 8 3 .]
Page. Page
THE C A LC U TTA SCH O O L O F HOMOEOPATHY. Electroscope and “ Astral Visishtadwaita Philosophy... 228
Double.” ... ... ... 209 The Visislithadwaita Cate­
Will ... ... ............... 209 chism dissected ............... 229
Esoteric Spiritualism the Cosmical Uings and Rounds... 281
■ 45, B e n ia to ll a h L ane, ( C i t t C o lle g e P re m is e s .) Law of “ Influx” and Efflux. 210 Letters to the Editor :—
The Mahabharata in English. 213 Subhuti’s Sopara Relio ... 233
T his S c h o o l h a s b e e n e s ta b li s h e d t o m e e t a g r e a t w a n t f e lt A few Thoughts on some The Nadigrandhams ... 233
wise Words from a wise man 213 Explanation Wanted ... 234
a m o n g t h e m e d ic a l as w ell as th e g e n e r a l p u b lic . I ts o bject Suggestive Comparisons ... 217 Light’s Velocity ... ... 234
is t o d i s s e m i n a t e t h e P r i n c i p l e s a n d P r a c t i c e o f H o m c e p a t h i c Ormazd and Ahriman and Pertinent Questions ... 235
the Allegorical Writings How a Man becomes a
T herapeutics. T h e H o m o e o p a t h i c t r e a t m e n t is n o w r e c o g ­ of the Ancients. ........... 21i Hindu and a Brahman... 235
nised as t h a t of th e m ost a d v an c ed a n d ra tio n a l m o d e of Should Men cut their hair? ... 218 Psychometry and Archeeo-
Homeopathy and Harmony... 219 logy ... ... ... 235
T herapeutics. The Religion of n Groat What is a “ Perahera ?” 236
Statesman .................... 220 How to Become a Brahmin. 236
For the present, the following courses of lectures will bo A mode of divination among The Summum Bonum of
the Parsees ................... 220 Hinduism and Buddhism. 236
delivered:— The Efficacy of funeral Cere­ Professor Max Muller’s
monies ..................... 221 opinion wanted ... ... 236
“ P rin c ip le s a n d P ra c tic e o f M ed icin e,” b y M . M . Bose, E sq ., 222
Gambetta’s Eye and Brain... An attempt at a New Calen­
M. D., L.R.C.P., ( E d i n . ) , & c., o n e v e r y T h u r s d a y , a t 4 - 3 0 p .m. By “ Bell, Book and Candle.” 223 dar ............ ... ... 237
Swami Dayanund—a Free­ IndustricoNihil Impossible.., 237
“ M a te ria M edica a n d T h era p eu tics,” b y P . C. M ojum - thinker ............................. 224 Madras Hindu Charity High
Zoroastrianism ..................... 224 School ........................... 237
d a r , E s q . , L.M.S., o n e v e r y M o n d a y , a t 4 - 3 0 p .m . The T a n t r a s .............. ... 226 The Dharms’ Padesh... ... 237
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 SUPPLEMENT
TO
THE THEOSOPHIST.
V ol. 4, N o. 9. MADRAS, JU N E ,
A LEVY O F A R M S A G A IN S T TH EO SO PH Y.
A s n e a r l y e v e r y w h e r e e lse, w e h a v e a B r a n c h S o c i e t y i n
P a r i s : a h a n d f u l or so of m e m b e r s l o s t a m o n g t h o u s a n d s
of s p i r i t i s t s n n d s p i r i t u a l i s t s . S t r i c t l y a d h e r i n g t o o u r r u l e of
n o n - i n t e r f e r e n c e , w h e t h e r i n t h e r e l i g i o u s o r so c ial o p i n i o n s of
o u r F e l l o w s , t h e P a r e n t S o c i e t y h a s h i t h e r t o liv e d f o r five
y e a r s on t h e b e s t of t e r m s w i t h h e r F r e n c h p r o g e n y , t h o
s w e e t e s t ^ c c o r d r e i g n i n g a m o n g a ll t h e s i s t e r S o c i e t i e s . W e l l
a w a r e o f t h e s t r i c t a d h e r e n c e o f o n r P a r i s i a n m e m b e r s to t h e
d o c t r i n e s o f t h e A l l a n K a r d e c sc h o o l, a n d r e s p e c t i n g , a s u s n a l ,
t h e p r i v a t e o p i n io n s o f o u r b r e t h r e n , w e h a v e n e v e r g i v e n
c a u s e , b y w o rd o r d e e d , to o u r F r e n c h B r a n c h for t h o l e a s t
d i s s a t i s f a c t i o n . W e h a v e b e en o f t e n a s k e d b y s o m e of t h e m t o
e x p l a i n ' t h o d o c t r i n e s o f o c c u l t i s m , f o r fe w , t o o few of t h e m ,
u n d e r s t a n d i n g E n g l i s h , t h o y c o u ld n o t l e a r n o u r v i e w s , b y
r e a d i n g t h e i'h e o s o p h is t. B u t w e h a d i n v a r i a b l y a n d p r u ­
d en tly ab stain ed . T h e y h a d t h e i r d o c trin e s , as h ig h ly
p h i l o s o p h i c a l — f r o m t h e i r s t a n d p o i n t . — a s w e r e o u r s , a u d it
w a s u s e le s s t o s e e k to s u p e r s e d e t h e s e w i i h a. t e a c h i n g t h a t
it t a k e s y e a r s e v e n f o r a b o r n H i n d u to a s s i m i l a t e c o r r e c t l y .
T o e n t e r f u lly i n t o t h e s u b t i l e s p i r i t o f t h e e s o t e r i c t e a c h i n g
of S a k y a m u n i B u d d h a , S a n k a r a c h a r y a , a n d o t h e r s a g e s , r e ­
q u i r e s a l m o s t a life o f s t u d y . B u t s o m e of o u r F r e n c h B r o ­
th e rs in sisted , a n d there w ere those a m o n g th e m w ho, s p e a k ­
i n g E n g l i s h a n d r e a d i n g t h o T h e o so p h ist, a p p r e c i a t e d o u r d o c ­
t r i n e s a n d d e t e r m i n e d t o have s o m e of t h e F r a g m e n ts t r a n s ­
l a t e d . U n f u i ' t u n a t e l y o u r B r o t h e r , th o t r a n s l a t o r , se l e c te d
f o r h is f i r s t e x p e r i m e n t , N o . 1 of t h e s e r i e s of t h e F r a g -
n ien ts o f O ccult T r u th . T h o u g h th e th eo ry concerning
t h e n a t u r e of t h e “ r e t u r n i n g s p i r i t s ” is g i v e n t h e r e i n
c o r r e c t l y o n t h e who le, a n d t h e a r t i c l e i t s e l f is a d m i r a b l y
w r i t t e n , y e l t h i s F r a g m e n t is v e r y i n c o m p l e t e a n d q u i t e l i k e l y
to g i v e e r r o n e o u s i m p r e s s i o n s t o o n e e n t i r e l y u n a c q u a i n t e d
w i t h t h e O o e u i t l 'h i l o s o p h y . S o m e p o r tio n s of it, m o reo v e r,
— tw o sen ten c es a t a n y r a t e — a re c ap a b le of le a d in g the
u n i n i t i a t e d to v e r y m i s t a k e n c o n c l u s i o n s . T h i s , w e h a s t e n to
sa y , is w h o l l y d u e to t h e c a r e le s s n e s s , p r o b a b l y to t h e i g n o ­
r a n c e of t h o E n g l i s h l a n g u a g e , a n d p e r c h a n c e to a n u n w i l l ­
i n g n e s s o n t h e p a r t of t h e “ i n s p i r e r s ” of t h a t p a r t i c u l a r
F r a g m e n t to g i v e o u t m o r e of t h e d o c t r i n e t h a n w a s s t r i c t l y
n e c e s s a r y — r a t h e r t h a n t o a n y f a u l t o f t l i e s c r ib e . I t w a s
a f ir s t a t t e m p t , to a c q u a i n t t h e p u b l i c a t l a r g e w i t h a
p h ilo so p h y w h ic h had been fo r lo n g c e n tu r ie s h id d e n in th e
f a s t n e s s e s of t h e H i m a l a y a n m o u n t a i n s a n d in t h e s o u t h e r n
A s h r n m s , a n d i t was n o t s e t t l e d a t t h a t t i m e t h a t F r a g m e n t
N o. I s h o u l d b e f o l lo w e d by a r e g u l a r s e r i e s of. o t h e r F r a g ­
m e n ts . T h u s i t was, t h a t t h e s e c o n d o r v i t a l P r i n c i p l e in m a n
{ L ife ) is t h e r e i n n a m e d J iv a t m a i n s t e a d of J i v a , a n d l e f t t o
sta n d w i t h o u t the e x p la n a tio n t h a t t h e e so teric B u d d h is ts or
A r h a t s , r e c o g n i z i n g h u t o n e life, u b i q u i t o u s a n d o m n i p r e s e n t ,
call by t h e n a m e of J i v , ” t h e m a n ife s te d life, t h e 2 a d
p r i n c i p l e ; a n d by A tm a n o r J ic a im a n , t h e 7 t h p r i n c i p l e o r
■unm anifested life ; w h e r e a s t h e V e d a n t e e s g i v e t h e n a m e b u t
t o t h e 7 t h a n d i d e n t i f y i t w i t h P a r a m a tm a o r P a r a b r a h m .*
* See Kik-veda M antra (I. 101,20.) Sayanacharya, explaining it,
t-ays :—“ Th'a su p a ru a saijuja aakhaya sam anam vriksh a m parishatvajate,
Tatjor i any ah p i pj'.ahna svadv atlyan.as* nann anyo a b h ica ka site” tlio
two birds Boated on tbo same pepal tree, ono enjoying its f r u it and tlio
other passively looking on, are Jiv atu ian and Par.tinatinan, or th e d e ­
luded individual soul aud the Supreme soul, tlie individual buing identi­
cal with the Suprem e soul.
1 883. No . 45.
S u c h p h r a s e s a lso, a s t h e f o l l o w i n g ( s e e p a g e 19, col. 2,
T h e o so p h ist o f Oct. 1 8 8 1 ) h a v o b e en l e f t u n c o m m e n t e d : “ t h e
s p i r i t u a l e g o o r consciousness ....... i m m e d i a t e l y on t h e s e v e r ­
a n c e of s p i r i t is d i s s i p a t e d a n d c e a s e s t o e x i s t ........ t h e s p i r i t ­
u a l e go d i s a p p e a r s . ” F o r a n O c c u l t i s t t h i s w o u l d s i m p l y bo
a s i n of o m is s i o n , n o t o f c o m m i s s i o n . I t o u g h t to h a v e been
s a i d t h a t “ i m m e d i a t e l y on t h e s e v e r a n c e o f “ s p i r i t ” a n d
“ S p i r i t u a l s o n l ” ( i t s v e h ic l e ) f r o m M a n a s a n d K a m a R u p a
( 5 th a n d 4 th P r in c ip le s ) , th e s p i r i tu a l conscio u sn css (w hen
l e f t w i t h o u t i ts l e a v e n o r c e m e n t o f p e rso n a l c o n s c io u s n e s s
s u b s t r a c t e d b y i t f r o m t h e M a n a s ) .........ceases to e x ist u n t i l a
n e w r e b i r t h i n a n e w p e r s o n a l i t y , s i n c e 'pure S p i r i t c a n h a v e
no co n sc io u sn ess p e r s e * I t w ould have been ab su rd upon
i t s f a c e to s a y t h a t a n y t h i n g i m m o r t a l a n d p u r e l y s p i r i t u a l ,
a n y t h i n g t h a t is i d e n t i c a l w i t h , a n d of t h e s a m e e s s e n c e as
t h e P u r a m a tm a n o r t h e o n e L if e c a n “ d i s a p p e a r ” o r p e rish .
T h e O c cultist nnd th e V o d a n te e — especially th e h ig h ly p h ilo ­
sophical A d w a ite e — k n o w t h a t th e n e u tra l, sexless a n d
p a s s i v e P a r a m a tm a n a n d i ts r a y t h e J iv a tm a n w h i c h c a n ba
m a n i f e s t e d o n ly t h r o u g h i t s c o n n e c t i o n w i t h o b j e c t a n d fo r m ,
do e s n o t , n o r c a n i t “ d i s a p p e a r ” o r “ p e r i s h ” a s a t o t a l i t y ;
b u t t h a t b o t h t h e w o r d s r e l a t i n g t o t h e M a n a s o r a n ta h -h a ra n a ,
t h o s e o r g a n s of p e rso n a l c o n s c i o u s se n se w h i c h b e l o n g i n g
o n l y t o th o b o d y n r e q u i t e d i s t i n c t f r o m t h e s p i r i t u a l s o n l —•
m e a n n o m o r e t h a n t h e t e m p o r a r y w i t h d r a w a l of t h e r a y
fro m th e m a n ife s te d , b a ck in to th e u n m a n ife s te d , w orld ; a n d
t h a t t h i s so u l i n s h o r t , w h i c h is sa id to h a v e d i s a p p e a r e d a n d
p e r i s h e d , is n o t t h o e t e r n a l t o t a l I n d i v i d u a l i t y , b u t t h e t e m ­
p o r a r y p e r s o n a l i t y , o n e of t h e n u m b e r l e s s b e a d s s t r u n g o n t h e
r o s a r y , t h e l o n g t h r e a d of t h o m a n i f e s t e d l i v e s , f T h e o n l y
e s s e n t ia l a n d r e a l l y m i s l e a d i n g m i s t a k e in t h e F ra g m e n t
( n o n e a t a ll f o r t h e s p i r i t u a l i s t s w h o do n o t b e l i e v e i n r e ­
i n c a r n a t i o n , b u t a n i m p o r t a n t o n e fo r t h o S p i r i t i s t s , w h o do)
is t h e o n e t h a t o c c u r s on p a g e 19, c o l u m n 1, p a r a . 4, w h e r e
i t is s a i d t h a t t h e n e w (p e rso n a l) E g o is r e b o r n f r o m its
g e s t a t i o n “ i n t h e n e x t h i g h e r w o r l d o f c a u s e s s i m i l a r to t h is
p r e s e n t w o r l d of o u r s , ” t h u s - i m p l y i n g t h a t t h e I n d i v i d u a l o r
o n e E te r n a l E g o is b o r n on o n r e a r t h b n t o n c e , w h i c h is n o t
t h e c a s e a n d q u i t e t h o r e v e r s e ; f o r i t is t h e p e rso n a l E g o —
■wrongly b e li e v e d b y t h e S p i r i t i s t s to be r e i a e a r n a t e d w i t h
i t s p e r s o n a l c o n s c i o u s n e s s a n u m b e r of t im e s , t h a t a p p e a r s
u p o n th is e a r th b u t once, w hile th e I n d iv id u a l S p i r i tu a l
m o n a d w h i c h - —l i k e a u a c t o r who, a l t h o u g h a p p e a r i n g i n ,
a n d p e r s o n a t i n g e v e r y n i g h t a n e w c h a r a c t e r , is e v e r
t h e s a m e m a n , — is t h a t w h i c h a p p e a r s o n e a r t h t h r o u g h o u t
t h e c y cle in v a r i o u s p e r s o n a l i t i e s , t h e l a t t e r , o x c e p t i n t h o
c a s e of i n f a n t s a n d i d i o t s , n e v e r b e i n g b o r n tw ioo. S u c h
is t h e b e lie f o f t h o O c c u l t i s t s . I t is t h u s t h i s s e n t e n c e
alo n e w h ic h , p u t ti n g a ' w ro n g co lo u r ou t h e d o c tr i n o ,
c o u l d g i v e t h e S p i r i t i s t s a h a n d l e a g a i n s t n s , in t h e q u e s t i o n
o f r e - i n c a r n a t i o n s ; a u d t h e y w e re j u s t i f i e d in t h i n k i n g t h a t
w e d i d n o t b e li e v e a t a ll i n r e - b i r t h o n t h i s o a r t h .
* I t is tlio lato 'personality of the spiritual Kgo th a t disappears for the
tim o being, since soparated from tho self-consciousness residing in
M anas there is n e ith e r Devachan nor A vitchi for the “ Spiritual Indivi­
d uality.”
"I* Tha esotericism s of tb e B uddhists and Vedantoes, though one and
identic.il, som etim es differ iu th eir expressions. Thus w hat ive call
L im ja -sa rira M ie interior subtle body of the gross or the sukshm a of tha
S lhula-sarira, is called by the Vedantees tlie Kara'iia sarira or
ybod, th e inner rudim ent £ y or ethereal ornbryo of tha body.
 H o w e v e r i t m a y be, this one F ra g m en t h a v in g been t r a n s l a t ­
ed a s a n i s o l a t e d s p e c i m e n of t h e O c c u l t d o c t r i n e , a n d t h e
o th ers w h ic h e x p la in a n d th u s co m p le te it, r e m a in in g u n r e a d
a n d u n k n o w n w h e n i t a p p e a r e d p u b l i s h e d b y t h e S o c ie te
S c ie n tifiq u e d ' E tu d e s F sy ch o lo g iq n es c o n n e c t e d w i t h t h e R e v u e
S p ir itc a n d th e P a r is T h eo so p h ical S o ciety , it p r o d u c e d t h e
effcct, o f a b o m b b u r s t i n g in t h e c a m p o f t h e S p i r i t i s t s a u d
R e-in carn atio n ists.
T o begin w i t h , o n r f r i e n d s a t t r i b u t e d t h e F r a g m e n t t o t h e
pen of a “ S a v a n t Sannyasi,” an A d e p t of O c cu ltism , w hereas
id w a s w r i t t e n b y a p r i v a t e E n g l i s h g e n t l e m a n w h o , h o w e v e r
le a r n e d he m a y h a v e b e c o m e in t h e e s o t e r i c d o c t r i n e s i n c e , w a s
a t t h a t t i m e h e a r i n g o f i t for t h e first t i m e . T h e n t h e y c a lle d
" c o nferences” to d e b a te th e d readful h e resy. T he M arch
n u m b e r o f t h e B u lle tin , t h e o r g a n o f t h e S o c ie te S c ie n tifiq u e
a n n o u n c e d th e o p e n in g of the c ontroversy w ith in th e sa c re d
p r e c i n c t s o f t h o “ S o c i e t y of P s y c h o l o g i c a l S t u d i e s . ” A s its
A p r i l n u m b e r d e c l a r e s v e r y c o r r e c tl y , t h e t w o “ C o n f e r ­
e n c e s ” u p o n t h i s s u b j e c t “ h a v e n o t q u ite ( ? ) a t t a i n e d t h e o b ­
je c t a im e d at. T h ey w ere n o t c o n tro v ersial, since th e d e ­
f e n d e r s of S p i r i t i s m w e r e t h e o n l y o n e s p r e s e n t , ” T h e o s o p h y
w a s | r e p r e s e n t e d , i t s e e m s , b y D r . T h u r m a n , F . T . S., a lo n e , w h o
v e r y r e a s o n a b l y d e c l i n e d t o t a k e a n y p a r t in i t , b y s a y i n g
t h a t “ i t w o u l d b e i m p o s s i b l e to m a k e a n y o n e , u n p r e p a r e d
f o r i t b y a lo n g s t u d y , t o u n d e r s t a n d c o r r e c t l y t h e t h e o r i e s
Qf O c c u l t i s m ” ( w h i c h o u r F r e n c h f r i e n d s p e r s i s t in c a l l i n g
T h eo so p h ism , t h u s c o n f o u n d in g th e w h o le w ith o n e of its
p a rts ). E v ery o th e r m em bor of the P a risian g ro u p of the
T h eo so p h ical Society, h a v in g e q u ally refu sed by a n a lo g o u s
v e r b a l r e p li e s o r l e t t e r s to t a k e a n y p a r t i n i t s p r o c e e d i n g s ,
t h e o n l y g e n t l e m a n w h o o ff e r e d h i m s e l f , a s a re p re se n ta tive
of o u r Society, w as M. T rem esch in i, described as “ an a s tro n o ­
m e r , a c iv il e n g i n e e r , a n d a n e r u d i t e o r i e n t a l i s t , m e m b e r of
th e P a r is ia n T h eo so p h ic al S o c ie ty .” A n d v e rily , n e v e r w a s
T h eosophy b e tte r disfigured.
T h e r e is a m y s t e r y i n t h i s , w h i c h , n e v e r t h e l e s s , h a v i n g t h o
k e y t o it, w e s h a l l so lv e f o r t h e b e n e f i t o f a ll o u r m e m b e r s
a n d O c c u l t i s t s e s p e c i a l l y . T h e f a c t s a r e s i m p l y t h e s e : M.
T r e m e s c h i n i be lie ves h e h a s d i s c o v e r e d t h e g e n u in e , h i s t o r i ­
c ally a u th e n tic , a n d o n ly d iv in e T h e o s o p h y in ex isten ce.
C o n f u s i n g O c c u l t i s m w i t h T h e o s o p h y , he d e n o n n c e s o u r doc*
t r i n e s as “ a p h i l o s o p h y b o r n o u t c f s i m p l e a f fi r m a t i o n s , l a c k ­
i n g a n y sc ien tific s a n c t i o n , a n d f o u n d e d n o t on a n y a n c ie n t
d o c u m e n ts ..............but. n p o n d e g e n e r a t e d t h e o r i e s w h i c h g o b a c k
no f u r t h e r t h a n tlie M i d d l e A g e s o u r “ th e o s o p h y ” (o c o u lt-
ism h e m e a n s ) d o e s n o t e m a n a t e f r o m a n c i e n t B n d d h i s m a t
all, b u t f r o m t h o “ h y b r i d d o c t r i n e i s s u e d f r o m t h o C h a l ­
d eans.” H ow indeed, ask s t h e o ra to r, c an a n y one e v er re ­
g a r d a s e i t h e r h u m a n i t a r i a n o r s c i e n t i f ic a w o r k w h i c h
p r e a c h e s “ d e s p a i r i n g n i h i l i s m ..............t e l l i n g u s t h a t t h e b a s is
o f all m o r a l i t y — t h a t of t h e i m m o r t a l i t y o f t h e c o n sc ie n t I is
e s s e n t ia l ly false. (! ? ) ..............t h a t affirm s to u s t h a t t h e S p i r i ­
tu a l E g o w h i c h w a s d e b a r r e d f r o m r e a c h i n g i ts g o a l b y to o
m ate ria l tendencies, disa p p ea rs w ith o u t c a r r y in g a lo n g w ith
i t ono s in g le p a r ti c l e of i ts in d iv i d u a l c o n s c i o u s n e s s * a n d e n d s
b y f a ll i n g h a c k i n t o t b e r e g io n of p r i m e v a l c o s m ic m a t ­
t e r !..............a d o c t r i n e , t h a t a im s a t v o id .............. a n d a n n i h i l a ­
t io n , c a n o n l y h a v e i t s f o u n d a t i o n r e s t i n g o n e m p t i n e s s , ” etc.
N o w th ese m ay be very e lo q n en t a n d p ro fo u n d w o rd s, b u t
t h e y a r o s o m e t h i n g m o r e t h a n t h i s :— t h e y a r e v e r y m i s l e a d i n g
a n d fa lse. W e h a v e s h o w n u p o n w h a t t h e e r r o r s ( a b o u t o u r
d o c t r i n e s ) of t h e S p i r i t i s t s — w h o a r e i g n o r a n t o f E n g l i s h —
r e s t e d . B u t s u c h is n o t t h e c a s e o f M . T r e m e s c h i n i . He
k n o w s t h o E n g l i s h l a n g n a g e , r e a d s t h e T h e o s o p h is t, a n d h a s
h ad am p le tim e to p erce iv e how e rro n e o u s w e r e h is first c o n ­
c lu sion s. A n d if h e h a s , a n d p e r s i s t s , n e v e r t h e l e s s , i n h i s
e f fo rts to p r o v e o n r s y s t e m f a l s e , a n d t o p r o c l a i m h i s o w n t h e
o n l y d iv in e a n d t h e o n l y tr u e o n e ; a n d a s s u r e s t h o p u b l i c
t h a t h e p o ssesse s a u th e n tic a n d h is to r ic a l d o c u m e n t s t o t h a t
e ffe ct, t h e n w e a r e b o u n d t o e x a m i n e h i s d o c u m e n t a r y p r o o f s
a n d sco h o w f a r t h e y a r e e n t i t l e d t o b e a c c e p t e d a s s u c h .
H a v i n g d e m o l i s h e d t o h i s ow n s a t i s f a c t i o n t h e e s o t e i i o
p h ilo s o p h y of t h e A dw aitees a n d B u d d h i s t A r h a ts , he p ro ­
c e e d s to a c q u a i n t t h e S p i r i t i s t s w i t h h i s o w n “ T h e o s o p h y . ”
I n v i t i n g t h e a u d i e n c e t o fo llo w h i m “ t o a l i t t l e e x c u r s i o n
on th e d o m a in o f h i s t o r y ," h e a c q u a i n t s t h e m w i t h t h e f o llo w ­
i n g h is to r ic a l f a c t s . W e p r e s e r v e h i s s p e l l i n g .
* No such thing was ever said oven in Fragment No. I, in which P e r ­
sonal consciousness is the only one conccrned j the “ Spiritual Ego” ■ J The reader will plooso consult what Manu says of the communi­
or monad neither d isa p p e a rin g nor falling back into cosmic matter, cation with the dead (IV, 123 et seq) and his opinion that even the sound
tfhich can be Baid of Ala'nas, C h itta, personal A h a n h a ra , never of Atman of the Sama Veda is “ impure,” a -su ci —since, as Kulluka. explains it,
and Boddhi,—Ed. it associates with deceased persons.—E d.
“ T o w a r d t h e e n d o f t h o T r e t a Y o u g 6 ( t h e th ir d a g e a c ­
c o r d i n g t o t h e H i n d u c h r o n o l o g y ” ) ?!!..............a n “ a g e t h a t
g o e s b a c k t o 28,U 00 y e a r s ” * .............. l iv e d in I n d i a a p e r s o n a g e
w h o b y h i s g e n i n s , p r o f u n d i t y o f t h o u g h t , e t c . e tc . h a d f e w
e q u a l s a m o n g t h e p h i l o s o p h e r s o f t h e s u b s e q u e n t a g e s ..............
T h e n a m e of t h i s p e r s o n a g e is G o t o m o . A s t h e sa c re d books
o f I n d i a d e m o n s tr a te (! ? ) G o t o m o ( o f t h e T r e t a Y o u g o )
d e s c e n d e d f r o m a line o f s a g e s w h i c h g o e s b a c k to t h e V ed ic
p e r io d , a n d c o u n t s a m o n g its d i r e c t d e s c e n d a n t s t h e f a m o n s
G d t o m o S a k i a m o u n i t h e B u d d h a , w h o is w r o n g l y c o n f o u n d e d
b y s o m e p e r s o n s w i t h h i m ( t h e G 6 t o m o of T r e t a Y o u g 6 ) . O u t
o f a ll t h e w o r k s l e f t t o p o s t e r i t y b y t h i s p e r s o n a g e o f t h e
T r e t a Y o u g 6 , t h e m o s t r e m a r k a b le a re the N y a y o s (!?) w h ich
i s a t r e a t i s e u p o n lo g ic a n d t h e H i e r a t i c C ode o r “ I n s t i t u t e s
D i v in e ,” t h e d i v i n e s c i e n c e w h i c h r e p r e s e n t s t h e s y n t h e s i s of
h u m a n k n o w l e d g e , th e c o lle c tio n o f a l l th e tr u th s g a t h e r e d in
d u r i n g a l o n g s e r i e s o f c e n t u r i e s b y t h e c o n te m p la tiv e sages
t h e M o h a rs h y ( M a h a r i s h i s , p r o b a b l y ? ) e t c . e t c . e t c .......... “ T h i s
w o r k ( t h e H ie r a tic C o d e o f G o to m o ) f o r b i d d e n t o t h e p r o f a n e f
b y t h e e x p r e s s c o m m a n d o f i ts a n t h o r , was e n t r u s t e d t o t h e
c a r e o f t h e i n i t i a t e s of t h e t w o s n p e r i o r B r a h m i n i c a l c l a s s e s ”
.........b u t ..........“ a ll t h i s j e a l o n s c a r e h a s n o t p r e v e n t e d s o m e
c u n n i n g p r o f a n e s to p e n e t r a t e i n t o t h e s a n c tu m sa n c to ru m
a n d a b s t r a c t f r o m t h i s f a m o u s c o d e a f e w p a r tic le s , " — a s t h e
l e c t u r e r d e s c r i b e s it. T h e p a rtic le s m u s t h a v e g r o w n in t h e
h a n d s of o u r B r o t h e r i n t o a. w h o le c o d e , s i n c e h e t e l l s ' u s t h a c
i t is “ t h e s y n t h e s i s o f a l l t h e w o r l d ’s l e a r n i n g . ”
S u c h is t h e n a r r a t i v e c o p ie d a n d t r a n s l a t e d v e r b a tim , f r o m
M . T r e m e s c h i n i ’s p r i n t e d s p e e o h , a n d s u c h t h e p o w e r f u l foe of
o u r e s o t e r i c A r y a n - A r h a t D o c t r in e . A n d n o w w e w ill le a v e
to o u r B r a h m i n F e l l o w s — S h a s t r e e s a n d S a n s k r i t i s t s — t o j u d g e
of, a n d d e c i d e u p o n , t h e h i s t o r i c a l v a l u e a n d a u t h e n t i c i t y
c l a i m e d f o r t h e c o d e in p o s s e s s io n o f M . T r e m e s c h i n i ; we
b e g to d r a w t h e ir p a r ti c u l a r a tte n tio n to t h e follow ing
p o in ts:— .
( 1 . ) T h e d u r a t i o n o f D w a p n r a Y n g is s h o w n a s b u t 2 8 , 0 0 0
y e a r s " according to H i n d u C h ro n o lo g y .'’
(2 .) G a u t a m a R is h i, t h e w r i t e r of th e D h a r m a S a s t r a , of
t h e T r e t a - y u g , t h e c o n t e m p o r a r y of R a m a , is m a d e i d e n t i c a l
w ith G a u ta m a of th e N y a y a s .
( 3 .) I t is c l a i m e d f o r t h e f o r m e r t h a t h e h a s w r i t t e n a
c o m p lete E s o te r ic C ode w h o s e “ d iv in e d o c tr in e s ” a g re e w ith,
a u d c o r r o b o r a t e th o s o o f t h e S p i r i t i s t s w h o b e li e v e iu, a n d
e n c o u r a g e c o m m u n i c a t i o n w i t h b h u ts a n d p isa c h a s a n d call
th e m “ im m o rtal sp irits ,” of th e a n ce sto rs.” J
(4 .) G a n t a i n a B u d d h a is m a d e t h e d i r e o t d e s c e n d a n t o f
G a u t a m a R i s h i ; a n d h e w h o , d i s r e g a r d i n g !1 h i s a n c e s t o r ’s
p r o h i b i t i o n , m a d e p u b l i c t h e d o c t r i n e s o f h i s M a s t e r ” (s ic ).
H e “ did n o t h e s ita te to s u b m i t th is h ith e r to re sp e c te d w ork
to i n t e r p o l a t i o n s a n d a d a p t a t i o n s w h i c h h e f o u n d n e c e s s a r y , ”
w h i c h a m o u n t s t o s a y i n g t h a t B u d d h i s m is b u t t h e d i s f i g u r e d
code of G a u t a m a llishi.
W e l e a v e t h e a b o v e t o b e p o n d e r e d by t h e B r a h m i n
V e d a n te e s a n d th e e so te ric B u d d h ists. In o u r h u m b le o p in io n
t h i s “ G o t o m o ” of t h e “ T r o li l Y o u g o ” of M. T r e m e s c h i n i
is p o s s i b l y b u t a m o n s t r o u s fic tio n of liis b r a i n .
T he C o rre sp o n d in g S e c re ta ry of th e T h eo so p h ic al Society
a n d E d i t o r o f t h i s J o u r n a l h a s a l r e a d y s e n t a lo n g r e p l y t o
t h o P r e s i d e n t of t h e S o c ie te S c ie n tifiq u e d ’E tu d e s P sy ch o lo -
giques, M . F a n v e t y , in r e f u t a t i o n o f t h e u n g r a c i o u s r e m a r k s ,
p a i n f n l m i s r e p r e s e n t a t i o n s , a n d i n a c c u r a c i e s o f “ M. T r e m e s -
c h in i , a m e m b e r o f t h e T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y o f P a r i s . ” AU
t h o o t h e r s p e a k e r s w h o h u d a flin g a t T h e o s o p h y a t t h e s o
conferencos, b e in g n o m e m b e rs of o u r Society a n d bein g
* We invite tho attention of onr Brahmin Adwaitee and other
Hindn members to this new chronology. The Treta Yng has become
throngh such an historical handling the th ird instead of the second ago
and Dwapara Yug has dwindled clown from 864,000 years to 28,000 ! !
— E d.
t And so were the Vedas and all othor sacred books of the Brah­
mins. Bat whoio is this Code? Who has over heard of it? Except a
code of law preserved among 20 other codes beginning with th at of
Manu and ending with Parasara, no other Dbarma-Sastra written by
Gantama llishi was over heard of- And this small code though " w r i t­
ten in a d ear style.” has nothing occult or very mysterious in it, and
isregnrded as very inferior not only to that of Manu, but of several
others. They aro all extant, and have all been printed at Calcutta.
Colebrook and others treat of thom and the Orientalists ascribe them to
‘'various mythical sages.” But whoever their authors may be, thero
is nothing contained in thom abont Occultism.—Ed.
ignorant of our doctrines, are more excusable, although we
have never called meetings to discuss and ridicule their doo*
trines.
Our warmest Acknowledgments are due to thehighly talent­
ed and learned President, M. Ch. Fauvety for the complimen­
tary way in which he spoke of the humble efforts of the
Founders of our Society, and for the moderation of tone that
pervades the whole of his discourse while summing up the
discussions at the second conference.
From the above remarks let it not be understood that we
in any way deprecate honest enquiries and discussions, for
bigotry is surely no more a part of our creed than her
twin-sister—Infallibility. But when misrepresentations, in­
accuracies, nnd perversion of facts, are used against ns, we
venture to submit to the consideration of all our intelligent
members, whether even the proverbial patience of Harischan-
dra himself or his Jewish copy, Job, would not be required
to enable us to bear without urgent protest such a travesty of
the ancient Aryan Science,
(From our Contemporaries.)
NOTES ON OUR PRESIDENT’S BENGAL TOUR.
Ip Theosophy lias its roots in the rich subsoil of Aryan
Science, one would say it finds abundant nutriment there,
for the vine is fast enwrapping the trunk of the tree of
Anglo-Indian Empire. Up through the various grades of
public servants it has made its way, winning over one high
official after another, and turning them into interested allies
and friends. The tendrils of the vine are now in the Couucil
Chamber of the Viceroy, and the child may already be born
who shall see even a Governor-General wearing the palms of
“ Universal Brotherhood,” and a majority of his Councillors
enjoying the honorific title of “ F. T. S.” Colonel Olcott’s
visit to Diirbhanga, of which an account has just reached us,
was the greatest success of his present tour, since, besides,
forming a new branch of his Society, he accepted and admit­
ted as a Fellow no less a personage than H. H. the Maharajah
of Durbhanga himself. The Society thus gains at one stroke
a representative iu the Viceregal Council, one of the largest
and wealthiest Zemindars of Bengal, and the acknowledged
chief of the Maithal Brahmins. As for the Maharajah, he
gains what money could not buy nor social prestige secure of
themselves, the privilege of being au early sharer in the
merit of a work incomparably important to our country, and
pregnant with blessings to a spiritually anacmic world.
To Native Chiefs like this India has the clearest right to look
for leadership in every movement that promises anything
for the moral and spiritual regeneration of her people. Alas!
that so many are blind to their duty, and waste on vulgar
pleasures the money that should be applied to the revival of
Sanskrit literature, the purification of Hindu religion, and a
systematised enquiry into Aryan Science and Philosophy.—
Indian Mirror , April 29.
COLONEL OLCOTT AT JAMALPORE.
[ to THE E D I T O R OF T H E “ I N D I A N M I R R O R . ” ]
Sir,—On Thnrsday, the 19th instant, Colonel Olcott, the
President-Founder of the Theosophical Society of India,
delivered an address at tho Mechanics’ Institute Hall, Jamal-
pore, before a crowded audience, among whom were the elite
of Jamalpore, Monghyr, and Bhaugulpore, including the local
Europeans and Eurasians.
The address was deeply interesting, and it was fully appre.
ciated by all who had the power and will to do it.
Colonel Olcott dwelt at large on the importance of Uni­
versal Brotherhood, and preached thegreat virtues of tolerance,
kindness, and love of humanity, irrespective of caste, creed,
and color. He pointed out to us the degradation of the modern
Indians, the paramount importance of studying our own
national literature, and of devoting our lives to the culture
of Oriental science, philosophy, and religion. There was not
an eye that was not wet with tears—not a heart that was not
heavy with sorrow when the venerable lecturer laid before us
a sad picture of our present condition, and contrasted it with
the splendid ono of our forefathers.
From the beginning to the end, the audience seemed all at­
tention, and listened in profound silence to every word that
dropped from his lips. To us it seemed that thero was not a
syllable uttered in vain, not a word that seemed discordant
with the rest. In short, our expectations were fully realized,
and we would have departed with feelings of joy and satis­
faction, had not an unforeseen and unlucky incident occurred
which outraged the feelings of all present, and to which I
advert in the next paragraph.
A European, serving, perhaps, in one of tho local offices
attached to the East Indian Railway Company, a square-biiilt
diminutive creature, already conspicuous for his littleness,
stepped forth without any ceremony in the most interesting
part of the discourse, and asked a question on a subject having
no connection whatever with the lecture of the day. To this the
Colonel answered that his views and opinions had been fully
explained in tho foregoing part of his address, and if the
gentleman had heard and understood what had gone before,
he might have been spared the necessity of putting the same
question again. This either he did not understand or did not
choose to understand, and so put the same question once tnore
amid the hisses of those who understand better. Bnt this
jntermeddler was as unreasonable as any of the clowns of
Shakespeare. Tho Queen’s English forsook him more than
onco ; he stammered, he staggered, and at a great cost main­
tained his equilibrium. Seeing that even his vanity oould not
hold him up any longer in vain, he tried to mnster all his
mechanical knowledge to help him, nt least to leave some sort
of favorable impression on the minds of tho audienc6. Fain
would he envy the position of those around him who pitied
his condition.
At last, he resolved to draw the Colonel into a dialogue,
feeling his own weakness in point of language, in logic, and
sense. But the Colonel cast him off as a giant shakes off a
dwarf struggling to be his equal in size aud strength.
The discussion assumed a ludicrous character as the Colonel
stood upright like a tower of strength, and his crowing Anta­
gonist stood on tip toe, a veritable type of weakness. Verily,
no contest could be more unequal, nothing more disgusting to
au enlightened audience. Had he stood on the vantage of his
own ground, had he chosen to discuss something about the
philosophy of engine-driving or carriage-examining, his more
natural element, had he sought to display his courage and
eloquence before his inferior gods within the precincts of his
office-room, he might havo succeeded; but as it was, he met
with ignominious discomfiture.
Yours, &c.,
X.
Note.—Another eye-witness tells us that Colonel Olcott bore the in­
fliction of his low-bred interlocutor with the ntmost patience and sua­
vity until the latter used an offensive word in connection with Theoso­
phy, whon tnrning suddenly upon him ho said, with flashing eye: “ Un­
til this moment, Sir, I havo treated yon as though I had to do with a
gentleman ; bnt if you wish mo to regard you as somothing else, you
will find I shall know how to act.” That sufficed.—Ed.
THE STIR MADE IN BEHAR BY COLONEL OLCOTT’S
VISIT TO THAT PROVINCE.
( Beliar Herald.')
T he advent of Colonel Olcott amongst ns, which was eager­
ly looked forward to for sometime past, has tended to break
the' dull monotony of this littlo Peddlington of ours, and
thrown the place into a state of unwonted excitement.
That event has come and gone, but not so the consequences
of the visit. Even weeks beforo his arrival, people were
anxiously awaiting the expected visit and earnestly convers­
ing about it, and nothing was more disappointing to their
feelings than the several occasions on which it was put off
on account of unavoidable causes. His sayings and doings
elsewhere were eagerly read and freely commented upon days
before his coming. When the event actually took place, the
excitement becamo intense and general, and the feelings of
the educated classes came to be shared even by the mass of
the people. The Sadhu Salieb became an object of general
curiosity and wonder, and the doors of the house in which
the Colonel was staying came to be invaded, at all hours of
the day, by men of all ranks and classes of society, in such
numbers that even his imperturbable equanimity was some­
what raffled. Even now nothing is so much uppermost in
men’s thoughts as Colonel Olcott and Theosophy, mesmcric
cures, and occult powers. Even the burning question of
the day, the all-engrossing sub ject of the Criminal Procedure
Amendment Bill, has been somewhat thrown into the back­
ground by the events of tho last week. Nor is this excite­
ment confined to this city alone. A reference to the local
columns of the several looal journals of Behar will show that
it has bean shared more or less by the whole province, at
least by the places visited by the gallant Colouel on his
present proselytising tour.
 C O LO N EL OLCOTT AT SEARSOLE.
[ f r o m o u r ow n c o r r e s p o n d e n t .]
R a n i o u n g e , th e 2 9 th A p r i l 1 8 83 .
C olonel O l c o t t w a s in o n r m i d s t t h e o t h e r d a y , a n d w a s
t h e g u e s t o f t h e M a h a r a n i of S e a r s o l e . H e c a m e h e r e d i r e c t ­
ly f r o m D u r b h a n g a a t t h e i n v i t a t i o n o f K u m a r D a k h i n e s s a r
M a li, t h e y o u n g e s t so n o f tlie M a h a r a n i , w h o t e l e g r a p h e d to
t h e C olon el i n t i m a t i n g h i s w illin g n e s s to e s t a b l i s h a B r a n c h
S o c i e t y a t S e a r s o l e in c o n n e c t i o n w i t h t h o T h e o s o p h i c a l
S o c iety , of w h i c h t h e C o lo n e l is t h o w o r t h y f o u n d e r . E v e r y
a r r a n g e m e n t w a s m a d e to a c c o r d h i m a r e c e p t i o n , b e f i t t i n g
liis p o s i t i o n . D u r i n g his s h o r t s t a y h e r e , w liic h e x t e n d e d o v e r
t w o d a y s o n l y , p e o p lo f r o m d i f f e r e n t p n r t s of t h e c o n n t r y
c a m e i n t h r o n g s to a v a il t h e m s e l v e s o f t h e b e n e f i t o f h is
h e a l i n g p o w e r s , for w h i c h h e h a s b e c o m e w e l l - k n o w n . H ere
lie h a d b a r e l y a n y t i m e to t a k e in h a n d m o r e t h a n t w o c as es,
in ono o f w h i c h h e w a s t o a c e r t a i n e x t e n t s u c c e s s f u l . In
t h e o t h o r , h e s a i d t h e d i s e a s e b e i n g l o n g - s t a n d i n g , w ill o n ly
y ield to c o n tin u e d tr e a tm e n t. _ COL. O L C O T T A T B A N K IP O R E .
l i e d e l i v e r e d a n a d d r e s s a t t h e N o t M a n d i r c o m p o u n d of
t h e S e a r s o l e B a jb a ti, w h e r e a r r a n g e m e n t s w e r e m a d e b y t h e
M a n a g e r o f t h e S e a r s o le E s t a t e f o r t h e l a r g e m e e t i n g , w h i c h
w a s c o m p o s e d m a i n l y o f t h e elite of t h e c o m m u n i t y of b o t h
S e a rso le and R a nigunge.
T h o s p e e c h , w h i c h l a s t e d fo r a n h o u r in d e l i v e ry , w a s
l i s t e n o d t o w i t h g r e a t a t t e n t i o n , a n d t h e e x h o r t a t i o n s of t h e
C olon el f o r t h e r e v i v a l of t h o s t u d y o f t h e s a c r e d w r i t i n g s of
th is c o u n try p ro v o k e d e n th u s ia sm . A t t h e c o n c l u s i o n of t h e
s p e e c h , B a b u T r o y l a k y a N a t h B a n n e r j i , P l e a d e r , MnnsifE s
C ourt, R a n ig u n g e , ren d ered th e su b s ta n c o o i th e a d d re s s in to
B e n g a l i f o r t h e b e n e f i t of t h o s e w ho w e r e i g n o r a n t o f E n g l i s h .
A f t e r t h e l e c t u r o w a s o ver, t h e w o r t h y l e c t u r e r e s t a b l i s h e d
a B r a n c h o f t h e T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y a t t h is s t a t i o n . — I n d i a n
M ir r o r , 5 -5 -8 3 .
COLONEL OLCOTT AT BA N K U RA .
[ t o TUB EDITOR OF TUI? “ INDIAN MIRROR.” ]
S i r , — C o l o n e l O l c o t t , t h e P r e s i d e n t - F o u n d e r of t h e T h e o s o ­
p h i c a l S o c i e t y , r e a c h e d B a n k u r a on t h e m o r n i n g o f t h o 2 9 t h
A p r i l 1 8 83. T h a t d a y n o o n , t h e r e wa.s a m e e t i n g o f t h e
m e m b e r s of t h e B a n k u r a b r a n c h a t t h e p r e m i s e s of B a b u
P r o t a p N a r a y a n S i n g h , a t w hich Colonel O l c o t t p r e s i d e d .
C o lo n e l O l c o t t i n s t r u c t e d t h e S o c i e t y h o w to p r o c e e d , a n d
p r e s c r i b e d a c o u r s e o f s t u d y fo r l e a r n i n g m e s m e r i s m a n d t h e
o c c n l t s c i e n c e . H e a d v i s e d t h e m e m b e r s to d i v i d e i n t o se v e ra l
s u b - c o m m i t t e e s , a n d e a c h t a k e u p a sp e c ia l s u b j e c t f o r s t u d y
e x p e r i m e n t , a n d t h e n .to r e p o r t t h e r e s u l t t o t h e g e n e r a l
m e e t i n g a t t h e e n d of e v e r y m o n t h . O n t h e e v e n i n g of t h e
s a m e d a y , a n a d d r e s s w a s g i v e n t o t h e p u b l i c b y C o lo n e l
O l c o t t a t a b o u t 7. p. m. T h e r e w a s a l a r g e g a t h e r i n g of t h o
g e n tle m e n of th e statio n . N e x t m o r n in g th e ro was th e healing
of th e sick a n d invalid from m o r n in g to noon. I n som o
cases h e w a s s u c c e s s f u l ; in o t h e r s n o t . In the a ftern o o n the
m e m b e r s of t h e S o c i e t y a g a i n a s s e m b l e d , a n d C o lo n e l O l c o t t
u n d e r t o o k to m a g n e t i z e t h e r i n g s a n d p i p e s * t h a t w e r e
p r e s e n t e d t o h i m b y m a n y of t h e m e m b e r s . H e a ls o m a g n e ­
t iz e d s e v e r a l j a r s a n d vessels o f w a t e r . H e t h e n t a l k e d a b o u t
t h o M a h a tm a s , a n d t h e n e x p l a i n e d t h e w a y h o w t o m e s m e r i s e
others. T h r e e n e w m e m b e r s w e re i n i t i a t e d t h a t e v e n i n g .
Y o u r s , &c.,
X.
B a n k u r a , 2 n d M a y 1883.
T h o I n d i a n M ir r o r s a y s : —
W e a r e g l a d to l e a r n t h a t a H i n d u S u n d a y S c h o o l , l ik e t h e
o n e e s t a b l i s h e d a t C a l c u t t a to i m p a r t m o r a l i n s t r u c t i o n t o t h e
b oys, h a s b e en e s t a b l i s h e d a t B h a t i g u l p o r e .
COLONEL OLCOTT AT B A N K IP O R E .
A s a n n o u n c e d i n o u r l a s t, t h o u g h n o t q u i t e p u n c t u a l to t h o
d a t e , C o l o n e l O l c o t t a r r i v e d h e r o on t h e 1 9 t h f r o m A r r a h
a n d w as r e c e i v e d b y a n u m b e r o f h i s f r i e n d s a n d a d m i r e r s n t
tlio R a i l w a y s t a t i o n . H e p u t u p w i t h M r . S h u r f - u d - d i n ,
B a r r i s t o r - a t - L a w . F r o m tlie n e x t m o r n i n g , w e c o n ld se e a
s t r e a m of p e o p le p o u r i n g i n t o t h e p r o m i s e s . M a n y w e r e
a t t r a c t e d b y m e r e c u rio s it } ’, b u t a l a r g e n u m b o r o f m e n ,
* Jlamboo tubes to be used for mesmerising water.—Ed.
s u f f e r i n g f r o m a l m o s t a ll t h e i ll s t h a t flesh is h e ir to, went
f o r t h e p u r p o s e o f b e i n g m e s m e r i c a l l y c u r e d . M a n y w e r e , of
c o u r s e , d i s a p p o i n t e d , b u t a f e w h a d n o r e a s o n to b e o t h e r w i s e
t h a n g r a t e f u l t o t h e C o lo n el, a n d t h e r e p o r t o f t h o case
p u b l i s h e d b e lo w , is r e a l ly w o n d e r f u l , a n d p r o v e s t h a t t h e r e is
s o m e m a g n e t i c p o w e r in m a n w h i c h is c a p a b l e of b e i n g c o n ­
d u c t e d , b y m e a n s of c e r t a i n p a sse s of t h e b a u d to t h e b o d y of
a n o t h e r m a n , t o h e a l a n y m a l a d y t h a t h a s i t s o r i g i n in t h e
d e c r e a s e of t h e v i t a l f o r c e s . O n t h e e v e n i n g of t h e 20t.h t h e
C o lo n e l d e l i v e r e d a v e r y i n t e r e s t i n g l e c t u r e to a v e r y l a r g e
a u d i e n c e o n t h e o r i g i n a u d s c o p e of T h e o s o p h y . F o r t w o
s u c c e e d i n g e v e n i n g s h e was e n g a g e d iu i n i t i a t i n g ne w
m e m b e r s , to t h e n u m b e r of s o m e t h i r t y , i m p r e s s i n g u p o n
t h e m t h o e x c e l l e n c e s of T h e o s o p h y as a n o r g a n i s a t i o n f o r
t h e u n i v e r s a l g o o d o f m a n k i n d , a u d d e m o n s t r a t i n g by e x p e r i ­
m e n t t h e t r u t h o f t h e m e s m e r i c s y s t e m of t r e a t m e n t . T h e
Colonel l e f t y e s t e r d a y f o r D u r b h a u g a .— I n d i a n C h ro n ic le 2 3 rd
A p r il , 1 8 83 .
(Behar Ilerald .)
Col. O l c o t t , t h e P r e s i d e n t - F o u n d e r o f t h e T h e o s o p h i c a l S o ­
c ie t y , d e l i v e r e d a v e r y i n t e r e s t i n g a d d r e s s to t h e r e s i d e n t s of
t h i s c i t y o n t h e “ R e l a t i o n s o f H i n d u i s m to T h e o s o p h y , ” a t
t h e p r e m i s e s of t h e P a t n a C o lle g e , a t 7 p. m., o n F r i d a y , t h e
2 0 t h I n s t a n t . T h e l a r g e H a l l o f t h e C o lle g e w a s c r o w d e d to
s u f f o c a t i o n , a n d m a n y h a d t o k o e p s t a n d i n g f o r w a n t o f se a ts.
T h e r e w a s a l o u d a n d c o n t i n u e d c h e e r i n g as t h e l e c t u r e r was
u s h e r e d in , a n d n o n e p r e s e n t c o u l d fail to b e s t r u c k by hit*
i m p o s i n g a p p e a r a n c e a n d h is s i m p l e a n d u n o s t e n t a t i o u s N a ­
tiv e d r e s s , w h i c h c o m b i n e d to g iv e h i m t h e a i r of a v e n e r a b l e
R i s h i of o ld . I f B r o t h e r K n t H o o m i d o e s r e a l l y e x i s t , we
have an id e a t h a t he w o u ld look v e ry m u c h lik e w h a t C ol.
O l c o t t d i d o n t h e e v e n i n g in q u e s t i o n . M r . P r o t h e r o , o n e o f
t h e P r o f e s s o r s of t h e C o l l e g e , p r e s i d e d o n tlie o c c a s io n . W o
h o p e to be a b l e to p u b l i s h a b r i e f a b s t r a c t of t h e l e c t u r e ,
w h i c h o c c u p i e d a b o u t t h r e e q u a r t e r s of a n h o u r , in o u r n e x t
issue .
O n t h e d a y f o l lo w in g , t h a t is t h e 2 1 s t i n s t a n t , t h e r e w as a
m e e t i n g of t h e s t u d e n t s of tlie C o l le g e to r e c e iv e c e r t a i n p r a c ­
t ic a l a d v ic e a n d m o r a l i n s t r u c t i o n s w h i c h t h e g a l l a n t Colonel
g a v e t h e m . L a t e r o n in (.he e v e n i n g t h e r e w a s a sp e c ia l m e e t ­
in g of t h e B a n k i p o r e B r a n c h of t h e T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c ie ty . W e
a r o a ls o g i v e n to u n d e r s t a n d t h a t t h e v e n e r a b l e g e n t l e m a n
h a s b e en also t r y i n g h i s h a n d a t c e r t a i n m e s m e r i c c u r e s , b u t
w i t h w l m t s u c c e s s h a s n o t y e t t r a n s p i r e d ,— T h e I n d ia n M ir r o r ,
F r id a y , A p r il 27, 1 88 3.
COL. O L C O T T A T B H A Q U L P O R E .
(B e h a r H e r a ld .)
Col. O l c o tt . t h e F o u n d e r o f t h e T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y , w as,
w e u n d e r s t a n d on t h o s a m e a u t h o r i t y , a t B h a g u l p o r e l a t e ly .
H e w a s t h e guest, of B a b u T ej N a r a i n . T h e n a t i v e s of t h e
T o w n g a v e h i m a h e a r t y r e c e p t i o n . O n M o n d a y e v e n i n g ho
d e l i v e r e d a n a d d r e s s . O n T u e s d a y e v e n i n g h e v i s i t e d th e
S a n i t i S c in c h a ria i S a b h a . I t is a n i n s t i t u t i o n f o r t h e m o r a l
t r a i n i n g of b o y s in c o n n e c t i o n w i t h t h e loca l A r y a S a b h a .
D u r i n g h i s s t a y h e r e c e i v e d t h r e e a d d r e s s e s , o n e f r o m th e
lo ca l T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y , a n o t h e r f r o m t h e M e m b e r s o f th o
A r y a S a b h a , a n d a t h i r d fr o m t h e M e m b e r s of t h o “ S a n i t i
S a u c h a r in i S a b h a .”
H i s r e p li e s to t h e a d d r e s s e s w e r e v e r y e n c o u r a g i n g . He
u n i f o r m l y e x h o r t e d t h e p e o p le to s t u d y A r y n r P h i l o s o p h y a n d
t h e H i n d u S h a s t r a s , m a i n t a i n i n g t h a t t h e y w e r e th e v e r y b e s t
of t h e i r k i n d .
Note.—We, last month, copied from the Calcutta papers a report, by
Babu J.adli llohan Qliose, Medical 1’ract.itionor, of the enres marie by
Colonel Olcott on tlie first day of liis visit at Bhagaulpore. Tliat of tho
second (lay, and last, from tlie same competent observer is now sub­
joined. The almost instantaneous cure of Dr. Ladli Babu’s own blind­
ness in one eye is among the most striking psychopathic phenomena
on record. No wonder tho Finiple Hindus are beginning to regard our
President as a miracle-workcr despite liis vigorous denials.—Ed.
MORE CURES AT BHAUGALPORE.
T h e f o l l o w i n g c u r e s h a v e b e e n e f fe c te d t h i s d a y i n m y p r e ­
se n c e a n d t h a t of o t h e r s b y Col. O l c o t t :—
I. A l a d y m e m b e r of t h e f a m i l y o f B a b u P r o n o t h N a t h
M ookerjea, S c h o o l M a s t e r — of r h e u m a t i c p a i n s in the
c ia t ic s p l e e n s . A c u r e w a s c o m p l e t e l y e f fe c t e d w i t h i n a few
m in u te s.
 II. A l a d y m e m b e r of m y o w n f a m i l y — o f g a s t r i c p a i n
re su ltin g fro m in fla m m a tio n .
III. B a b u S h i b C l i u r n L a l l , A u c t i o n e e r — of d e a f n e s s : t h i s
w as a s u rp ris in g case ; w itb in a few m in u te s th e p a tie n t w as
m a d e to h e a r w o r d s sp o k e n in a n o r d i n a r y to n e a t a d is ta n c e
of 18 f e e t , t h o u g h a f e w m i n u t e s b e f o r e h e c o u l d n o t h e a r a t
t h e s h o r t e s t d i s t a n c e w i t h o u t a n e le v a t i o n o f t h e s p e a k e r ’s voice.
I V . B a b u B a d y a N a t h T a r a f d a r , a S c h o o l M a s t e r — of
r h e u m a ti c p a in s i n t h e su p ra co stal a n d f e m o r a l reg io n s.
V . B a b u T o r a P o d o G h o s s a l, M . A . , ‘2 n d M a s t e r G o v e r n ­
m e n t S ch o o l— of r h e u m a tis m in b o th th e knees.
V I. B a b u G irish C h a n d ra Roy, H e a d M aster, M o d h ep o o rah
— of s t i f f n e s s o f t h e j o in t .
V II. M y l i t t l e d a u g h t e r of a p a i n i n t h e j a w .
V III. The aged m o t h e r o f B a b u T e j N a r a y e n — of
d i m n e s s of s i g h t a n d n e u r a l g i c p a i n o f t h e leg .
IX . T h e s o n of H a k e e m G u d d a H o s i e n — of f l o a t i n g
sp e c k s b e fo re t h e sig h t. T h is w a s a v e r y p r e t t y case, the
c u re b e in g g ra d u a l, b u t th e w hole n o t occu p y in g m ore th a n
five o r t e n m i n u t e s .
X. A n d f in a lly , m y s e l f of b l i n d n e s s i n t h e l e f t ey e. M y
c lo s e s t f r i e n d s c o u l d n o t h a v e s u s p e c t e d t h i s i n f i r m i t y f o r
t h e r e w a s n o a p p a r e n t d i f f e r e n c e b e t w e e n t h e t w o e y es , y e t
f r o m b o y - h o o d o n e of t h e m h a s b e e n u s e l e s s t o m e . T h e
d i s e a s e w a s H y p e r m e tr o p ia , a n d D r s . C a y l e y a n d M a e n a m a r a ,
t h e f a m o u s o c u l i s t s of C a l c u t t a , w e r e o f o p i n io n , a f t e r e x a m i n a ­
t i o n , t h a t it w n s c o n g e n i t a l a n d c e r t a i n l y i n c u r a b l e . B u t t o - d a y ,
a f t e r a f e w m i n u t e s of s i m p l e m e s m e r i c . t r e a t m e n t — b y b r e a t h ­
i n g s t h r o u g h a s m a l l s i l v e r t u b e , C ol. O l e o t t h a s r e s t o r e d m y
sight. H e h a s m a d e m e c lo s e t h e r i g h t e y e , a n d w i t h m y
h i t h e r t o u seless le f t one, r e a d o r d i n a r y p r i n t ! M y feelin g s
m a y be b e tt e r im a g in e d th a n describ ed .
B h a u g a li'o re , ] LA D LI M OHUN GHOSE,
D a te d 1 1 t h A p r i l , 1 8 8 3. j M e d ic a l P r a c titio n e r .
C O LO N EL OLCOTT AT BANK1PORE.
( to t h e k d iio r of the Ind ia n m ir r o r.” )
’ S i r , — C o lo n e l O l c o t t ’s s h o r t s t a y a t B a u k i p o r c w a s t h e o c ­
c a s i o n of g r e a t c o m m o t i o n a m o n g a l l c la s s e s o f m e n . s t r e a m s
o f p e o p le p o u r e d in f r o m all side s, a t t r a c t e d b y t h e m i r a c u ­
l o u s c u r e s he w r o u g h t , a n d t h r o n g e d i n h u n d r e d s a t h is d o o r .
D u r i n g t h r e e d a y s , t h e C o lo n e l t r e a t e d s o m e t w e n t y c as es, a n d
in m an y in s ta n c e s m ad e an a lm o st in s ta n ta n e o u s cure. C a se s
of r h e u m a t i c p a i n , lie m ic ra n i a , p a i n i n t h e s h o u l d e r s a n d o t h e r
l o c a l a f f e c t i o n s e v e n of a v e ry l o n g s t a n d i n g ' , w e r e i n v a r i a b l y
cured. Bub th o m o s t m a r v e l l o u s i n s t a n c e s w e r o o f f e re d by a
e a s e of d e a f n e s s a n d a c o m p l i c a t e d c a s e o f g u t t u r a l p a r a l y s i s ,
l i a b u K u n j a B e h a r y G h o s e, a c o n t r a c t o r , h a d , l o r y e a r s p a s t ,
l o s t a l l p o w e r o f h e a r i n g i u h i s l e f t e a r . A f t e r a few m e s m e ­
r i c p a sse s, t h o B a b u c o u l d h e a r lo w w h i s p e r s , a t a d i s t a n c e
of t w e n t y fe e t . B u t t h e n e i : t c a s e wus still m o r e w o n d e r f u l ,
a n d d e s e r v e s t h e n a m e o f a m ir a c l e . T h e s u b j e c t , l a t e a M o-
h n r r i r in t h e F o u r j d a r i C o u r t , a n d a d i s t a n t r e l a t i o n of t h e
J u d g e ’s S h e r i s t a d a r , h a d i n M a r c h l a s t y e a r , b e e n afflicted
w i t h g u t t u r a l p a r a l y s i s , a n d c o u ld u t t e r o n l y i n a r t i c u l a t e
s o u n d s . H e h a d nlso l o s t u se of h i s r i g h t a r m , w h i c h c o u l d
n o t ra ise a n y w e ig h t, h o w e v er slight. I n five m i n u t e s , t h e
m a n g o t c u r e d , a n d c o u l d g i v e v e n t to h i s f e e l in g s , w h i c h h e
d i d , in a m o s t a f f e c t i n g m a n n e r . N o o n e a m o n g t h e s p e c t a ­
t o r s c o u ld fa il to ba d e e p l y a f fe c te d w i t h t h e s u c c e s s f u l s t r u g ­
gles of R a m K i s h e n L a i to s p e a k o n c e m o r e i n h i s lifo, a n d
w h e n t h e C olon el a s k e d h i m to r a is e a c h a i r , w h i c h h e d i d to
t h e h e i g h t o f h is b r e a s t , t h e s p e c t a t o r s b u r s t f o r t h i n t o s p o n ­
t a n e o u s c h e e r s , a n d b e a m s o f j o y s h o t t h r o u g h t h e e y es o f t h e
C o lo n el h i m s e l f . T h i s s c e n e w a s w i t n e s s e d b y s o m e o f t h e
m o s t r e s p e e f a b l e m e n of t h e s t a t i o n , w h o h a v e s i n c o b o r n e
t e s t i m o n y t o tlio m a r v e l l o u s c u r e i n t h e local p a p e r s .
T lia m e s m e r i c c n r c s w e r e s u p p l e m e n t e d b y a m o s t e l o q u e n t
a d d r e s s f r o m t h o C o lle ge p l a t f o r m i n w h i c h t h e C o l o n e l v e r y
a b ly s t a t e d t h e o b j e c t s of t h e T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y , a n d t h o
e d u c a t e d c o m m u n i t y , t o a m a n , r e s p o n d e d to h i s e l o q u e n t a p ­
peal. T h e r e is q u i t e a s t i r a m o n g t h o e d u c a t e d cla ss, a n d
t h o u g h m a n y h a v e n o t y e t j o i n e d t h e S o c i e t y , all feel d e e p l y
i n t e r e s t e d i n t h e p s y c h i c sc ie n c e s w h i c h n o w f o r m t h e i r g e n e ­
r a l t o p i c of c o n v e r s a t i o n . I b e g l e a v e t o a s k t h e g e n t l e m e n ,
w h o h a v e t h o u g h t p r o p e r t o s t a n d a lo o f f r o m o u r S o c i e t y ,
■whether i b i s p o s s ib l e f o r t h e m t o k e e p a liv o t h e i r p r e s e n t i n ­
te re s t in psychic researches, w ith o u t jo in in g som e o rg a n is e d
m o v e m e n t fo r t h e p u r p o s e . I d o n o t m e a n to s a y t h a t t h e y
should jo in th e T heosophical S ociety. L e t th e m org an ise
them selv es in to a se p a ra te Society for psychic research es.
C e r t a i n l y , i t d o e s n o t s p e a k well f o r t h e i r p r u d e n c e to l e t g o
s u c h a g o ld e n o p p o r t u n it y , w i t h o u t m o v in g th e m se lv e s to
som e p ra ctic a l end.
I n t h e m e e t i n g s o f t h e S o c i e t y , t h e C o lo n e l p r e f o r m e d s o m e
v e ry in te r e s tin g e x p e rim e n ts, a n d enlig h ten e d th e m e m b e rs
a b o u t t h e p rin c ip le s of m e sm e ric t r e a tm e n t a n d a b o u t th e
O c c u lt Sciences in g e n era l. T w e n ty -o n e n ew m e m b e rs w ere
a d m itte d iu to th e Society.
T o u r s , etc.
P U E N E N D R A N A R A Y A N S IN H A .
B a n k i p o i i e , th e 2 i t h A p r i l 1883.
T h e f o l l o w i n g c e r t if i c a t e o f a c u r e b y Col. O l c o t t i n t h e p r e ­
sen ce of a n u m b e r of g e n tle m e n , has been s e n t to th e In d ia n
C h ro n ic le f o r i n s e r t i o n :—
T h e u n d e r s i g n e d c e r t if i e s t h a t h e h a s j u s t b e e n r e s t o r e d t o
s p e e c h b y Col. O l c o t t a f t e r a m c s m e r i c t r e a t m e n t of n o t m o r e
t h a n five m i n n t e s , a n d a ls o h a d s t r e n g t h r e s t o r e d t o h i s r i g h t
a r m , w h i c h t h e n w a s so p o w e r l e s s t h a t h e c o u l d n o t l i f t a
p o u n d ’s w e i g h t . H e l o s t t h e p o w e r of a r t i c u l a t i n g w o r d s i n
t h e m o n t h of M a r c h 1 8 8 2 .
(Sd.) R A M K I S T E N L A L L .
A n d w itn e s se d by th o co u sin of th e p a tie n t.
T his w o n d e rfu l cu re w a s w r o u g h t in o u r presence as
d e s c r i b e d a b ove.
( S d . ) S o g h i B l n i s a n M a i t r o , A m j a d A li, J o g e s h C h a n d ^ r
B a n n e r j i , G o v i n d a C h a r a n , M . A., B . L ., A m i r H a i d a r ,
P l e a d e r , M o h e s N a r a y a n G u j a d h e r P r a s a d , P l e a d e r , J u d g e ’s
Court., S a g i v a n L ai, L a i V i h a r i Bose, H a r a n C h a n d r a M i t t r a ,
M . A ,, B a m a C h u n d e r M u k e r j i , B a n i N a t h B a n e r j i , G i r i j a
S e k h u r B annerji, H e m C h a n d er S in g h , A n n a d a C h aran
M u k e r j i , I s b w a r C h u n d e r G h o s e , B a l d e o L a i , B. A . , P u r -
n e n d r a N a r a i u S i n g h , M . A . , B. L.
(!t) it r U t w 1 1[ a u r It t fi.
THE SRARSOLE T H E O SO PH IC A L SO C IET Y .
A f t e r o u r f o r m s o f t h e l a s t i s s u e w e r e s t r u c k off, w e w e r e
i n f o r m e d b y t e l e g r a m o f t h o f o r m a t i o n of a B r a n c h o f o n r
S o c i e t y a t S e a r s o l c . T h e f o l l o w i n g is t h e official r e p o r t n o w
r e c e iv e d : —
At, a m e e t i n g of M e m b e r s of t h e T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y h e l d
a t S e a r s o l e , R a j b u t i , on t h e 2 8 t h of A p r i l 18 83, t h e P r e s i d e n t -
F o u n d e r in th e C h air, it was reso lv ed t h a t a B r a n c h of th e
Society, form ed a t Searsole u n d e r th e n a m e of th e Searsole
T h eo so p h ic al S ociety. _
U p o n m o tio n ,th e R u le s a n d B ye-law s of th e P a r e n t S o ciety
w ere tem p o ra rily a d o p te d .
U p o n m o t i o n , t h e f o l l o w i n g g e n t l e m e n w e r e e le c t e d officers
for the en su in g year.
P r e s id e n t ................................... K u m a r D a k s h i n e s a e r M a l i a .
V ic e - P r e s id e n t ....................... B a b u C h a n d r a M o h u m D a s .
S e c r e ta r y a n d T r e a s u r e r . . . B a b u K e d a r N a t h D e b .
T h e fo llo w in g g e n tle m e n w ere a p p o in te d a c o m m itte e to
d r a f t B ye-law s. 1Sab u s L ia d h a r a r n a n G h o s e , O b h o y C h u r n
M uk erjea a n d G o k u l B eh ari M itra.
A pproved II. S . O L C O T T .
S e a rso le, R a jiiu t i, )
th e 2 8 th A p r i l 1 8 8 3 . $
THE BURDW AN T H E O S O P H IC A L SO C IE T Y .
W e h a v e been in fo rm e d b y te le g ra m of th o fo rm atio n of a
n e w B r a n c h of t h o T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y a t B u r d w a n , w i t h
H i s E x c e l l e n c y t h e D e w a n S a h e b of t h e S t a t e a s i t s P r e s i d e n t ,
T h e f o l l o w i n g is t h e official r e p o r t
A t a M e e tin g of M e m b e r s of th e T h e o s o p h ic a l S o c iety
h e l d a t B u r d w a n o n t ii e 3 r d o f M a y 1 8 83, t h e P r e s i d e n t -
F o u n d e r i n t h e C h a i r , i t w a s m o v e d by B a b u M o h e n d r o L a i
G u p t a a n d s e c o n d e d b y B a b u N a l i n a k s h a B a s u , t h a t a lo c a l
b r a n c h be f o r m e d u n d e r t h e t i t l e of B u r d w a n T h e o s o p h i c a l
Society. U n a n im o u s ly c arried.
U p o n m o tio n it w a s reso lv ed t h a t th e B ye-law s o f th e
P a r e n t S o c i e t y bo p r o v i s i o n a l l y a d o p t e d , a n d t h a t L a l a B u n
B e h a r i K u r p u r , B a b u s S a t t y a K i n k a r S e n , l t a m n a r a y a n Du^ttt,
a n d N a l i n a k s h a B a s u , bo a C o m m i t t e e t o p r e p a r e B y e r la w s .
U p o n m o tio n t h e fo llo w in g M e m b ers w ere se le c te d to a c t
a s O ffice -b e are rs.
 P r e s id e n t— Lala Bnn BeYiari Karpnr ; V ic e -P r e s id e n t—
Baba Mohcndro Lall Gupta ; S e creta ry a n d T r e a s u r e r — Babu
.Ramna.rayan Dntta.
T hero b e in g no farth er b u s i n e s s , tlio Socicty th e n a d ­
journed.
A pproved :— H . S . O L C O T T .
A t t e s t :— N I V A R A N C H A N D R A M U K E R J I .
T H E M ID N A P O R E T H E O S O P H IC A L S O C IE T Y .
A t t h e t i m e of o u r g o i n g t o p r e s s , w e a r e i n f o r m e d , b y
t e l e g r a m , o f t h o f o r m a t i o n of a B r a n c h o f o u r S o c i e l y a t
M idnapore. T h e f o l l o w i n g is t h e official r e p o r t :— ■
1. A t a m o o t i n g o f m e m b e r s o f tlio T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y
b o l d a t M i d n a p o r e a t t h e h o u s e of R a j a h K a l l y P r o s a n n a
G u j o n d r a M o h a p a t r a of T o o r k a on t h o 1 7 t h d a y o f M a y 1883,
th e P r e s i d e n t- F o u n d e r in th e C h a ir , it w as m o v e d by B ab o o
B e p in B e h a r y D u t t a n d seco nd ed by B a b o o A t a l B e h a r y M oi-
t r a , t h a t a b r a n c h bo o r g a n i s e d n n d e r t h e t i t l e of t h o M i d n a -
po ro T h c o s o p h ic a l Socicty.
2. U p o n m o t i o n of B a b o o K a l l y P r o s a n n a M o o k c r j c a , s e ­
c o n d ed by Baboo G irish C h u n d e r M itter, a c o m m ittee c onsist­
i n g of t h o f o l l o w i n g m e m b e r s w a s a p p o i n t e d to d r a f t t h o
B y o - la w s.
B aboos H u r r y C h u r n R oy, R a je n d ro N a t h M ookcrjca,
G irish C h u n d e r M itte r, A ta l B eh ary M o itra, K a lly P ro s a n n a
M o o k e r j c a , G o s to B e h a r y D u t t , S h a r o d a p r n s a d C h a t t c r j c a .
3. U p o n m o t i o n of B a b o o S l i a r o d a . p r a s a d C h a t t e r j c a , s e ­
c o n d e d by B aboo U m e s C h u n d e r D utt; it w as resolved th a t
t h o B y e - l a w s o f t h e P a r e n t S o c i e t y bo t e m p o r a r i l y a d o p t e d .
4. T h o e l e c t i o n s of officers b e i n g i n o r d e r , t h e f o l l o w i n g
g o n t l c m c n w e r e u n a n i m o u s l y e le c t e d .
P r e s i d e n t ........................ B a b o o K a l l y P r o s a n n a M o o k c r j c a .
Vice-Presidcnt ....... ,, G irish C h in n ie r M itter.
S e c y , a n d T r e a s u re r, R a j e n d r a N a t h M o o k e r j c a .
T h e r e b e i n g n o f u r t h e r b u s i n e s s b e f o r o t h o m e e t i n g , th o
S o c i c t y t h e n a d j o u r n e d to m e e t a t t h e c a l l o f t h o P r e s i d e n t
elect.
T h e P r e s id e n t-F o u n d c r declared the B r a n c h d u ly org an ised
a n d o r d e r e d a C h a r t e r t o b e i s s u e d b y t h e P a r e n t S o c io ty .
A pproved.
IT. S. O L C O T T ,
F r e s id e n t-F o u n d e r .
A t t e s t :— J . G H O S A L ,
A c t i n g S e c r e ta r y .
THE M O R A D A B A D T H E O S O P H I C A L SO C IET Y .
W i t h p l e a s u r e a n d s a t i s f a c t i o n w e h a v e t o c o m m u n i c a t e to
o u r B r o t h e r T h e o s o p h i s t s t h e f a c t t h a t , w h i l e g o i n g to
p ress, w e a re in fo rm e d by te le g ra m of t h e e s ta b lis h m e n t of a
S a n s k r i t school b y o n r B r o t h e r s a t M o r a d a b a d . W i t h tho
p r o g r e s s of o n r w o r k , t h e n u m b e r of s c h o o l s is i n c r e a s i n g a u d
■we h a v o fo lo o k f o r w a r d to t h e d a y w h e n e v e r y o n e of o n r
fifty -n in e B ra n c h e s in I n d i a a lo n e c a n p o i n t t o a t l e a s t ono
sc h o o l s t a r t e d b y its e l f . T h e refo rm atio n a n d regeneration
of a c o u n t r y d e p e n d s l a r g e l y if n o t s o le ly u p o n t h e e d u c a t i o n
o f t l i e p e o p l e . T h o g r e a t e r , t h e r e f o r e , t h e n u m b e r of s u c h
i n s t i t u t i o n s w h e r e t h e d e s c e n d a n t s o f t h e A r y a n s s h a l l bo
t a n g l i t a l a n g u a g e w h ic h a t p r e s e n t conceals from t h e u n ­
e d u c a t e d t h o s u b l i m c s t t e a c h i n g s o f t h e a ncient. A r y a n lore,
p h i l o s o p h y , r e l i g i o n s , a n d sc ienc es, t h e b r i g h t e r w ill b e t h o
f u t u r e o f I n d i a a n d t h e n e a r e r w ill a p p r o a c h t h e d a y o f h e r
r e g e n e r a t i o n . W c c a n n o t a llo w t h i s o p p o r t u n i t y t o p a s s b y ,
w i t h o u t r e m a r k i n g t h a t i t is o n l y t h o s e of o u r B r a n c h e s w h i c h
a r e com posed of very few m e m b e rs a n d in t o w n s of se c o n d ­
ary im p o rtan o o , t h a t o u r B r o th e r s a re s h o w in g v ig o u r a n d
a c tiv ity . O ur b ig B ra n c h e s , w h ic h boast of la r g e r n u m b e r s
w o u l d d o w e ll t o p l u c k a le a f o u t of t h e b o o k o f t h o s e u p o n
w h i c h t h e y lo o k a s of v e r y l i t t l e i m p o r t a n c e , o w i n g lo t h e
m e m b e r s o f t h e l a t t e r b c n i g fe w a n d t h e p l a c e s o f v e r y l i t t lo
consequence. I t is w ork t h a t In dia, e x p e c t s f r o m h e r sons,
a n d n o t ivo rd s. W e h o p e to h a v e t h e p l e a s u r e of g i v i n g in
o n r n e x t n u m b e r t h o p a r t i c u l a r s of t h o S a n s k r i t s c h o o l n o w
s ta rte d a t M oradabad.
T H E C H A K D IG H I T H R O S O P H IC A L S O C IE T Y .
T h e l a t e s t t e l e g r a p h i c i n t e l l i g e n c e i n f o r m s na of tlio
f o rm a tio n of a B ra n ch T h eo so p h ic al S o c iety a t C h a k d ig h i
n n d e r t h e P r e s i d e n t s h i p o f B a b u L a l i t M o l i u n Sinlis* R o y i
F o l l o w s t h e official r e p o r t ;
A t a m e e tin g of m e m b e rs of th e T heoso p hical Society
held a t C h a k d ig h i on th e 4 t h o f M ay 1883, th e P resid en t-
F o n n d e r in th o C h air, i t w as m o v ed by B a b u Omes
C h a n d r a G h o s h a n d s e c o n d e d b y B a b u H u r r i s h Chandra- R a i
t h a t a local b r a n c h of t h e S o c i e t y be f o r m e d a t C h a k d i g h i
u n d e r t h e n a m e o f t h e C h a k d i g h i T h e o s o p h i c a l Soc io ty. U n a n ­
im o u sly c arried . .
U p o n m o tio n it w a s resolved t h a t th e B ye-law s of th e
P a r e n t S o c i e t y bo t e m p o r a r i l y a d o p t e d a n d Bating L a l i t
M o h o n R o y a S in h a , R a m R a m , C h a n d ra C h a tto p a d h ay ,
H r i d o y a N a t h C h a k r a v a r t i a n d K a l i D a s M u k e r j i be a C o m ­
m itte e to p re p a re B ye-law s.
U p o n m o t i o n t h o f o l l o w i n g m e m b e r s w e r e e le c t e d as Office­
b e a r e r s :—
P r e s id e n t — B a b u L a l i t M< lion R o y a S i n h a ,
V ic e -P r e s id e n t— B a lm H r i d o y a N a t h C h a k r a v a r t i .
S e c r e ta r y a n d T r e a s u r e r — B a b u A n n o d a 1’r o s a d B a sil,
L ib ra r ia n .— B u b u H u r r i s h C h a n d r a B ai.
There b e in g no f u r th e r business th e Socicty then a d ­
journed.
A pproved IT. S . O L C O T T . .
A ttest:— N I V A R AN C H A N D R A M U K IIO P A D H A Y A Y .
T H E C H I N S U R A 1 I T IT L O S O P H IC A L SO C IET Y .
T h e f o r m a t i o n o f t h o C h i n s n r a h T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y is
c o m m u n ic a te d to us by w ire. Babu K oylash C h u n d e r
M o o k e r j e e has b e e n e le c t e d P r e s i d e n t f o r t h e c u r r e n t y e ar.
H e r o is t h o oiticieil r e p o r t : —
A t a m e e t i n g o f m e m b e r s of t h e T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c ie ty h e ld
n t C h i n s u r a o n t.he (ith d a y o f M a y 1883, t h e P r e s i d e n t -
I ’o u n d e r iu t h e C h a i r , p e r m i s s i o n w a s a s k e d o f t h e P a r e n t
S o c i e t y t h r o u g h t h o P r e s i d c n t - F o u n d e r to e s t a b l i s h a b r a n c h
a t t h o a b o v e p la c e . T h e req u ire d perm issio n b e in g g ra n te d ,
B a b u K ailas C h a n d r a M u k e rji m oved a n d B ab u K u m o o d
L a l U e y s e c o n d e d a. r e s o l u t i o n t h a t t h e s a i d b r a n c h be k n o w n
as tho C h m s n r a T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c ie ly .
U p o n m o t i o n t h e P a r e n t S o c i e t y ’s r u l e s w e r e t e m p o r a r i l y
a d o p t e d a n d a C o m m i t t e e a p p o i n t e d to f r a m e B y e - l a w s w h i c h
w a s c o m p o s e d of t h o f o l l o w i n g m e m b e r s . B a b u s B a ik u n t - h a
N atii I ) u tta , B e h a r i Lal D h ar, N a n d o L al Pal, S e n io r, N a n d o
Jjttl P a l, J r . , J a d u b C h a n d r a R a y .
E l e c t i o n f o r officers w a s Lhen h e ld a n d t h e f o l l o w i n g w e re
u n a n i m o u s l y c h o se n .
P re sid e n t — lia b ti K a i l a s C h n n d r a M u k e r j i , M . B .
V ic e -P re sid e n t — B a b u N a n d o L al P a u l , S e n io r .
S e c re ta ry n n d T r e a s u r e r— B a b u K a l i C h a r a n D u t t a .
T h e r e b e in g no f u r t h e r business, th e S o ciety a d jo u rn e d
s u b j e c t t o t h e c all o f t h e P r e s i d e n t e lect.
A p p r o v e d : — I I . S. O L C O T T .
T IIE P R O C E E D IN G S O F T IIE M E E T IN G O F
M E M l ’E R S O F T H E T H E O S O P H I C A L
S O C IE T Y A T n U R B IIA N G A .
A t a m e e t i n g of m e m b e r s of t h e T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y h e l d
a t D a i b h a n g a on t h o 2 5 t h d a y o f A p r i l 1 8 8 3 , t h e P r e s i d e n t -
F o u n d c r ill t h e C h a i r , i t w a s m o v e d by
P a n d it L akshm i N a ra y a n and seconded by B abu B ra ja
M ohan P ra sa d —•
'T h a t a loca l b r a n c h of tlio S o c i e t y b e e s t a b l i s h e d u n d e r
th e n a m e of th e D a r b h a n g a T h eo s o p h ic al S o ciety .
'The m o t i o n w a s u n a n i m o u s l y c a r r i e d .
U p o n m o t i o n of B a b u K r i p a N a t h M a j u m d a r , s e c o n d e d by
B a b u P o u r u n C h a n d r a S o n , i t w a s r e s o l v e d t h a t t h e B y e - ln w s
of th e P a r e n t Socicty be tem p o rarily a d o p ted .
T h e e le c t i o n o f office rs b e i n g in o r d e r , t h o fo llo w in g
n u m b e r w e r e d u l y e le c t e d ,
P r e s id e n t ................................... T u n d i t L n k s h m i N a r a y a n .
Vice.-P r e s id e n t ........................ B .ib u K r i p a N a t h M a j u m d a r .
S e c r e ta ry a n d T r e a s u re r ... K a l i p a d a B a n d y o p a d h y a y .
C o M M ir m s on B t u - L aws :— P a n d i t L a k s h m i N a r a y a n , B a b a
K r i p n a t h M a j u m d a r , B a b u J n d u n a t h G o s w a m i , B a b u B r a ja -
m o h a n P r a s a d , B a b u B h u b a n 'Lal.
T h o P r e s i d c n t - F o u n d e r t h e n g a v e i n s t r u c t i o n t o th a
m e m b e r s r e s p e c t i n g t h e f o r m a t i o n o f c o m m i t t e e s a n d th e
o r g a n i s a t i o n of d u t i e s ; t h e r e b e i n g no f u r t h e r b u s i n e s s t h a
m e e t i n g w a s d is s o l v e d .
K A L IP A D A B A N D Y O PA D H Y A Y ,
DunnnANOA, )S e c r e t a r y , T h e o so p h ic a l S o c ie ty ,
th e 2 6 th A p r i l 1883. J D urbhanga•
A p p r o v e d : — H . S. O L C O T T ,
P re sid a n t-F o u n d e r ,
 THE R A JS H A H Y E H A R M O N Y T H E O S O P H IC A L
SO C IE T Y .
F o llo w in g a r e th e B y e -la w s p r o p o s e d for th e R a js h a h y o
H a r m o n y T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y t h n t lias b e e n e s t a b l i s h e d
a t B e a u l e a h on S u n d a y l a s t t h e 1 s t A p r i l 1 8 8 3.
T h e o b j e c t s of t h e S o c i e t y a r e :—
1. T o c u l t i v a t e t h e f e e l i n g s of u n i v e r s a l lo v e.
2. T o e n c o u r a g e t h e s t u d y o f t h e a n c i e n t A r y a n o r o t h e r
A s ia tic re lig io n s a n d philosophy.
3. T o s t i m u l a t e i n q u i r y i n t o t h e t r u t h s of o c c u l t i s m .
4. T o s t i m u l a t e t h e m e m b e r s t o o b s e r v e t h e i r so c i a l a n d
m o r a l d u ties.
B yelavvs.
( 1 . ) T h e S o c i e t y is to f o l lo w a ll t h e g e n e r a l r u l e s of t h e
P a r e n t S o c i e t y ; ( 2 ) T h e m e m b e r s a r o t.o l e a d a life of t e m ­
p e r a n c e a n d m o r a l i t y ; ( 3 ) E v e r y m e m b e r will bo r e q u i r e d to
p ay a d o n a tio n of a t least one R u p e e, a n d p a y a s u b s c rip ­
tio n o f a t l e a s t f o u r A n n a s a m o n t h , i n o r d e r t o m e e t t h e n e c e s ­
s a r y c u r r e n t e x p e n d i t u r e s of t h e B r a n c h S o c i e t y a n d f o r t h e
p u r c h a s e of b o o k s , Ac. (4 .) O r d i n a r y m e e t i n g s of t b e
S o c ie ty s h a l l b e h e l d o n c e a f o r t n i g h t a n d sp e c ia l m e e t i n g s
w h e n n e c e s s a r y . ( 5 .) T h o officers of tho S o c i e t y a r o to
c o n sist of one P re s id e n t, one S e c retary , a n d one T re a su re r.
I n t . n o t i r s t m e e t i n g t h a t w a s h e l d B a lm K a l i p r a s a n n a
M ookorjee w as elected P r e s id e n t, B u lu Sirish C h a n d r a R o y ,
S e c r e ta r y , a n d B ab u K r is h n a C h a n d r a S a rn ia B is w as, T re a su re r.
(S igned) S IR IS H CHANDRA ROY,
S e c r e ta ry .
B e a u l e a h R a jsh a h y is, ) 4 t h . — T h a t a s e l e c t C o m m i t t e e be a p p o i n t e d b y t h e P r e ­
&th A p r i l 1 8 83. J s i d e n t to f r a m e R u l e s , R e g u l a t i o n s , a n d B y e - l a w s f o r t h o
K A L I P R A S A N N A M U K E R J E E , F. T. S.
B yc-Law s approved as am ended.
U . S. O L C O T T ,
P . T. S .
T H E S A T Y A M A R C ,A S T H E O S O P H I C A L S O C I E T Y .
L a s t S u n d a y we h e ld a p u b l i c m e e t i n g in t h e J a l s a i T a h z i b
prem ises, w h e re b r o th e r J w a la P c r s h a d a d d ressed a very
a p p r e c i a t i v e a u d i e n e o o f a b o u t 2 0 0 m e n in E n g l i s h , a n d
b ro th e r R a ja B a h a d u r a n d a friend, P u n d i t Sham N arain
M a s l a d a n , i n U r d u , on t h e s u b j e c t “ W h y w e s h o u l d j o in
t h e T h e o s o p h i c a l S o e i e t y ? ’' T h e a d d r e s s e s wero e n t h u s i a s t i c a l l y
r e s p o n d e d to e v e r y n o w a u d t h e n w i t h l o u d c h e e r s . P u n d it
G u n g a d a t ' S h a s t r i , P r o f e s s o r o f S a n s k r i t in t h e C a n n i n g
C o lle g e , w a s in t h e C h a i r , a n d e x p r e s s e d h i s s y m p a t h y w i t h
t h e o b j e c t s o f o u r S o c ie ty . H e is a n old o p p o n e n t o f S w a i n i
D a y a n a n d S a ra sw a ti. B r o th e r H e m n a th , H e a d M a ste r a t
B a r a b a n k i , h a d c o m e t o L u c k n o w to a t t e n d t h o a b o v e m e t i n g .
Y o u rs fraternally,
J P R A N N A T H , F . T- S.,
P re sid e n t.
IjU C know , 14th A p r il 1 8 8 3.
QUEENSLAND (A U S T R A L A S IA ) T H E O S O P H IC A L
SO C IE T Y .
O n S u n d a y a f t e r n o o n , M a r c h 1 1 t h , 1 8 83 , a m e e tin g - of F e l ­
lo w s of th e T h eo s o p h ic al S o c ie ty w a s h e ld in th e P ro g re s s iv e
R e a d i n g R o o m , B r i s b a n e , f o r t h e p u r p o s e of f o r m i n g a b r a n c h
S ociety, in co n n ec tio n w ith th e P a r e n t S o c iety in I n d ia . M r.
G a v i n P e t t i g r e w , a s C h a i r m a n of t h o m e e t i n g , d e l i v e r e d a n
a p p ro p ria te address, a n d i t w as d e cid ed t h a t th e Society
s h o u l d b e f o r m e d . M r . C, H . H a r t m a n n of T o w s o m b a w a s
e le c t e d P r e s i d e n t , M r . W i l l i a m W i d d o p a n d M r . G a v i n P e t t i ­
g re w , V ic e - P re s id e n ts ; M r. Geo. S m i th , S e c r e ta r y , a n d M r.
J o s h u a B ailey , T r e a s u r e r . T w o g e n tl e m e n p r e s e n t p u t in
a p p l i c a t i o n s f o r f e l l o w s h i p , a n d t h e n e w S o c i e t y b i d s l'a ir to
r e a l i s e i ts o b j e c t s :— H a r b in g e r o f L i g h t , M e lb o u r n e , a u s tr a lia ,
•— f o r a p r i l 1 8 8 3. . e v e r y s i n c e r e b e l i e v e r i n a n y fo rm , o f r e l i g i o n to b e r e s p e c t e d
T H E K A T H IA W A R T H E O S O P H IC A L SO C IE T Y .
T h e S e c r e t a r y of t h e S o c iety h a v i n g a p p lie d f o r p e rm issio n
to h a v e i t s n a m e c h a n g e d f r o m “ S a o r a s h t e r ” t o “ K a t t y a -
w a r ” T h eo so p h ic al Society, t h e P r e s i d e n t- F o u n d e r in C o u n ­
c il l ia s g r a n t e d t h e a p p l i c a t i o n ,
T H E H IM A L A Y A N T H E O S O P H IC A L S O C IE T Y .
TO TIIE RECORDING SECRETARY.
& c. Sic. &c.
A dyau, M adras.
D ear S ir an d B rother,
J t g i v e s m e m u c h p l e a s u r e to r e p o r t f o r t h a i n f o r m a t i o n
of o u r P r e s M e r it- F o n n d e r t h a t a m o st sa tisfac to ry an d in te r ­
e s t i n g m e e t i n g of tlie H i m a l a y a n T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y t o o k
p l a c e a t m y h o u s e o n S a t u r d a y tlie 1 4 th d a y o f A p r i l 1 8 83 ,
f o r t h e e o m m e n c . mi n t of t h e b u s i n e s s o f t h e s e a s o n .
I t w as resolved : —
1 s t.— T h a t .Mr. W . D . T il d e n , Offg. P i e s i d e n t , s h o u l d b e
c o n firm ed in h is a p p o in tm e n t.
Air. C. P . H o g a n t o be V i c e - P r e s i d e n t ; B a b u K u n n e d
C h u n d e r M o o k e r j e e t o b e Si.ei-et.ary a n d L i b r a i i a n . T h e
a b o v e a p p o i n t m e n t s t o be s u b m i t t e d t o t h e l ’r< s i d e n t - F o u n d e r
f o r a p p i o v a l , c o n f i r m a t i o n a n d p u b l i c a t i o n in t h o n e x t
n u m b e r of t h e T h e o s o p h is t.
2 n d . — T h a t o n l y s u c h T h c o s o p h i s t s a s a r e w i l l i n g t o ba
v e r y e a r n e s t a n d a c t i v e in t.he p r o m o t i o n o f a ll t h e o b j e c t s ,
a i m s a n d g e n e r a l i n t e r e s t s of t h e P a r e n t S o c i e t y , s h o u l d bo
c o n s i d e r e d e li g i b le t o be e n r o l l e d in tliu H i m a l a y a n , a n d in
th is view th e So ciety sh o u ld be n a m e d “ T h e H i m a l a y a n
E s o t e r i c T h e o s o j . h i c a l S o c i e t y , ” so t h a t p e r s o n s n o t f u l f il l in g
t h e c o n d i t i o n s r e q u i r e d , s h o u l d be d e b a r r e d from n o m i n a t i o n
O r e n r o l l m e n t in t h i s b r a n c h of t h e P a r e n t S o c i e t y .
T h e a d d i t i o n o f t h e w o r d “ E s o t e r i c ” to t h e n a m e of t h e
S o c i e t y to b e r e f e r r e d to t h e P r e s i d e n t - F o u n d e r f o r a p p r o v a l
a n d sanction.
3 r d . — T h a t a f r e s h a p p lic a tio n be m a d o to H e a d Q u a r te r s
fo r a n e w C h a r t e r .
fu tu re conduct of business.
T li e m e e t i n g l a s t e d n e a r l y tw o h o u r s , a n d a f t e r a n i n t e r e s t ­
in g general c o n v e rsa tio n concluded w ith a vote of t h a n k s to
t h e P i e s i d e n t in t h e C h a i r .
I t was a r e m a r k a b le f a c t o b serv ed b y tho n a tiv e g e n tle m e n
p r e s e n t t h a t w i t h o u t , a n y i n t e n t i o n a l a r r a n g e m e n t fo r t h e
pu rp o se , 7 m e m b e rs h a d eom e to g e th e r (a lth o u g h m ore were
i n v i t e d ) to f o r m t h e q u o r u m oil t h o 7 th d a y of t h e w e e k , a n d
t h o 1 4 t h ( 2 2 7 ) d a y of t h e ? i h m o n t h o f t h e T h e o s o p h i c a l
J o u r n a l , a n d the 7 t h d a y o f t h e m oon
T h e m y stic n u m b e r se v e n th u s m a n ife s tin g itself a t every
phase was u n a n im o u sly accep ted as a good om en, a u g u rin g
w e ll f o r t h e f u t u r e s u c c e s s o f t h is b r a n c h S o c i e t y .
F r a te r n a lly yonrs,
w . b. T IL D E N , f . t . s -
S i m l a , IG lh A p r i l 1883.
A p p r o v e d : L e t n e w C h a r t e r issn e .
I I . S. O L C O T T , F . T . S .
T IIE S E C U N D E R A B A D T H E O S O P H IC A L SO C IE T Y .
P r o c e e d in g s o f a M e e tin g h e ld on th e 2 5 ih M a rc h 18 83. '
T h e S e c u n d e r a b a d T h eo so p h ical Society, e sta b lish e d o n t h e
2 3 r d D e c e m b e r , 1 8 8 2 , h a s t h e follo w in g- o b j e c t s a n d a i m s i n
view .
1. T o c u l t i v a t e a n d p r o m o t e tlio f e e l i n g o f u n i v e r s a l
b r o th e rh o o d to w a rd s o t h e r T h eo so p h ic al S ocieties a n d m a n ­
k in d a t large.
2. T o f o r w a r d b y a ll p r a c t i c a b l e m e a s u r e s , t h e m o r a l i t y
a n d s p i r i t u a l p r o g r e s s o f t h e p e oplo.
3. T o s t u d y a n d o t h e r w i s e e n c o u r a g e t li c r e v i v a l of
a n c i e n t A r y a n l i t e r a t u r e a n d s c ie n c e s .
4. T o a f f o r d e v e r y p o s s i b l e h e l p t o t h e P a r e n t S o c i e t y
a n d a d v o c a t e t h e c a u s e of t h e s a m e b o t h b y w o r d a n d d e e d .
I I . — A d m is s io n .
1. P e r s o n s of e i t h e r s e x , a n d o f a n y r e l i g i o n , w i l l b e a d ­
m i t t e d a s f e l l o w s o f t h i s b r a n e h of tlie S o c i e t y , p r o v i d e d t h e y a r e
of g o o d m o r a l c h a r a c t e r , p l e d g e t h e m s e l v e s to e n d e a v o u r t o t h e
b e s t o f t h e i r a b i l i t y to l e a d a lif e of t e m p e r a n c e , p u r i t y , a n d
b r o t h e r l y l o v e , a n d fo c o n f o r m t o t h e r u l e s o f t h e S o c ie ty .
2. T h o m e m b e r s of t h i s b r a n c h r e c o g n i z e t h e r i g h t of
in its e n jo y m e n t, a n d n e i t h e r t h e a b a n d o n m e n t of caste n o r
t h e k n o w l e d g e of E n g l i s h is r e q u i s i t e t o j o i n t h is b r a n c h .
3. A p p l i c a n t ,s o n b e i n g r e c o m m e n d e d as p o s s e s s i n g t h e •
q u a l i f i c a t i o n s a f o r e s a i d b y a t l e a s t t w o F e l l o w s of t h e T h e o s o ­
p h i c a l S o c i e t y , w ill b e a d m i t t e d a s m e m b e r s o n p a y m e n t of
G o v e r n m e n t R s . 10, w h i c h w i l l b e p a i d o n c e f o r a l l t o t h o
P a r e n t S ociety,
 S u c h a p p l i c a t i o n s s h a l l r e m a i n u n d e r t h o c o n s i d e r a t i o n of
t h e S o c i e t y f o r a p e r i o d of ono c a l e n d a r m o n t h ; a t t h e e x ­
p i r a t i o n o f w i n c h p e r i o d , if a p p r o v e d , to b e d u l y i n i t i a t e d b y th o
P r e s i d e n t i n a m e e t i n g of t h e S o c i e t y c o n v e n e d f o r t h e p u r -
poso : b u t t h e P r e s i d e n t sh a l l h a v o t h e p o w e r t o d i s p e n s e w i t h
t h i s p e r i o d of c a n d i d a t u r e if he d e e m s n e c e s s a r y , a s p r e s c r i b e d
i n t h e B y e - l a w s of t h e P a r e n t S o c i c t y .
• I I I .— M a n a g e m e n t o f tho A ff a i r s o f th e S o c ie ty .
S h a l l b o v e s t e d i n t h e h a n d s of a P r e s i d e n t , a S e c r e t a r y , a n d
t w o C o u n c i l l o r s . T h e P r e s i d e n t o r tlie V i c e - P r e s i d e n t s h a l l
p r e s i d e a t t h e m e e t i n g s of t h e C o u n c i l ; t h r e e M e m b e r s s h a l l
c o n stitu te a q u o ru m .
2. T h e officers of t h e S o c i e t y s h a l l b e e l e c t e d a n n u a l l y
f r o m a m o n g t h e M e m b e r s . R e t i r i n g office rs s h a l l b e e l i g i b le
f o r r e - e l e c t io n .
3. T h o S e c r e t a r y s h a l l k e e p r e c o r d s o f t h e p r o c e e d i n g s
a n d tra n s a c tio n s of th e S ocicty, a n d re a d th o sa m e a t th e
m o o t i n g s ; s u b m i t a n a n n u a l r e p o r t , r e p l y t o a ll official l e t t e r s
a n d c o r r e s p o n d i n c o n s u l t a t i o n w i t h tlio P r e s i d e n t w i t h i n d i ­
v iduals a n d o th o r S ocieties in s y m p a th y w ith th is ; a n d c o n ­
v e n e a ll m e e t i n g s of t h o C o u n c i l . H e s h a l l h a v o c h a r g e of
a ll m o n i e s b e l o n g i n g t o t h e S o c i e t y ; k e e p a c c o u n t s o f r e c e i p t s
a n d p a y m e n ts , a n d c a r r y on a ll m o n e y tr a n s a c tio n s , s u b je c t
to t h e a p p r o v a l of t h o C o u n c i l .
. I V .— F in a n c e o f th e S o c ie ty .
T h e m o n t h l y s u b s c r i p t i o n of tlio F e l l o w s s h a l l b e o n e R u p e e
p a y a b l e i n a d v a n c e , a n d s h a l l b e u s e d f o r t h e m a i n t e n a n c e of
th is b r a n c h of th e Society. , a s J o h n S t u a r t M ill a n d H e r b e r t S p e n c e r , is f a s t v e e r i n »
V .— P e r io d ic a l M e e tin g s .
- T h o . o r d i n a r y m e e t i n g s o f t h e S o c i e t y s h a l l bo h e l d w e e k l y
o n T h u r s d a y a t 7-30. p. s r . , th o S e c r e t a r y b e i n g c m p o w e r o d
to s u m m o n a n y e x t r a o r d i n a r y m e e t i n g w h e n e v e r , i n t h e o p i­
n i o n of t h e P r e s i d e n t , t h e n e c e s s i t y f o r i t a r is e s .
G e n era l.
. A n y m e m b e r of th e Society m a y bo w a r n e d o r su sp en d e d
b y t h e C o u n c i l , a n d if h i s c o n d u c t i n life is m a n i f e s t l y i n c o n ­
s i s t e n t w i t h t h e r u l e s , o b j e c t s a n d d i g n i t y of tlio S o c i e t y , lie
m a y be expelled by a tw o - th ir d s vo te of th e M em b ers.
C. K U P P U S W A M I A IY A R ,
S e c r e ta r y , T h c o . S o c ie ty , S e c u n d e ra b a d .
[ O u r B r o t h e r , B a b n N o r e n d r o N a t h , S e n ., F . T . S . o f t h e
I n d i a n M ir r o r , is a s t a u n c h d o f o n d e r o f t h o o a u s o w i t h w h i c h
ho lias a ll i e d h i m s e l f . T h e r o a p p e a r s a n e d i t o r i a l w h i c h is a
real s la u g h te r o l ( b j ) tho “ I n n o c e n ts a n d i n d e e d , w h o b u t nn
“ I n n o c e n t ” o f a n y k n o w l e d g e of o n r S o c i e t y c o u l d h a v e w r i t ­
te n t h a t d i l u t e s t u f f a b o u t T h e o s o p h y in t h e A p r i l N o . o f C a l­
cu tta R e v ie w ■.— M anager.']
M r . F i n k ’s l e t t e r o n T h e o s o p h v , p u b l i s h e d t h i s m o r n i n g in
o n r c o r r e s p o n d e n c e c o l u m n s , w ill b e f o u n d b o t h a m u s i n g a n d
i n s t r u c t i v e . O u r r e m a r k a s t o liis i n c a p a c i t y fo r g r a p p l i n g
w i t h n e w i d e a s u p o n t h e i r o w n m e r i t s , lie r e g a r d s a s a
“ p sy c h o l o g ic a l m y s t e r y . ” I t b e h o v e s n s n o w to u n v e i l t h i s
m y s t e r y a little . 'W h e t h e r l i k e a n h o n e s t c r it i c or o t h e r w i s e ,
w e h a d road h i s a r t i c l o w i t h c a r e , a n d f r o m i ts v e r y o p e n i n g
line wo m a d o th o d i s c o v e r y h e s p e a k s of.^ “ T h e o s o p h y o r
O c c u l t i s m , ” w r i t e s M r. F i n k , “ of w h i c h w e h e a r so m u c h a t
tlie p r e s e n t d a y , is on ly a r e v i v a l oE a p h i l o s o p h y w h i c h , u n ­
d e r th e sa m e namo, s p r a n g u p in th e second c e n tu r y a t
A l e x a n d r i a , a s a n o f f-sh o o t of N e o - P l a t o n i s m . ” W i t h o u t d i s ­
p u t i n g M r . F i n k ’s s t a t e m e n t r e g a r d i n g A l e x a n d r i a n T h e ­
o s o p h y , w e m a y be a l l o w e d to p o i n t o u t t h a t t h e “ T h e o s o p h y
of-w hich we h e a r so m u c h a t t.lio p r e s e n t d a y ” is n o t o c c u l t i s m
p u r e ar.d s i m p l e a s h e t h i n k s . I f A l e x a n d r i a n T h e o s o p h y ,
w as n o t h i n g b n t o c c u l t is m , t h o T h e o s o p h y of t h e p r e s e n t d a y
is in d e b t e d to i t f o r n o t h i n g b u t t h e n a m e . A n d t h e n , a g a i n ,
M r. F i n k m n s t n o t f o r g e t t h a t th e s tr e a m of o c c u ltis m ,
w h i c h h a s w a t e r e d m a n y d i s t a n t l a n d s , h a d i t s o r i g i n in t h e
c l o u d y h e i g h t s of a n c i e n t I n d i a , a u d th at, t h o u g h o c c a s i o n a l l y
l o s t u n d e r g r o u n d , i t h a s c o n t i n u e d its flow i n t h i s c o u n t r y to
th e p r e s e n t d ay . T h e T h eo so p h ic al S o c ie ty , n n les s w e are
griev o u sly m is ta k e n , n e v e r c laim ed a n y o rig in a lity on th e
h e a d o f o c c u l t i s m , w h i c h do es n o t fi n d i n i t a v o r y p r o m i n e n t
po sitio n . T h e only o r ig in a lity , w h ic h th e T h eo s o p h ic al
S o c i e t y c la im s , is t h a t i t h a s d i s c o v e r e d t h e t r u e c h a n n e l
t h r o u g h w h i c h s y m p a t h y m i g h t flow f r o m m a n t o m a n . T h e
T h e o s o p h ic a l S o c i e t y s e e k s t o e s t a b l i s h a B r o t h e r h o o d o f
h u m a n ity , f o u n d e d on th e wido a n d so u n d basis o f m u tu a l
to lc r a n c e . I t n e v e r b n s i e s i t s e l f i u e x a m i n i n g t h o s e t t i n g o f
a s in g le p l a n k in t h e r e l i g i o n s p l a t f o r m o f i ts m e m b e r s . T h g
fo l lo w in g e x t r a c t f r o m t h e R u l e s o f t h e S o c i e t y w i l l r e n d e r
th is c lo a r e r :— ■ . N n r o t t u m D a s s , a n d f o u r o th ers .
T h o S o c i e t y r e p r e s e n t s n o p a r t i c u l a r r e l i g i o u s c r e e d , ia
e n t i r e l y n n s e c t a r i a n , a n d i n c l u d e s p r o f e s s o r s o f a ll f a i t h s . It
o n l y c la i m s f r o m e a c h m e m b e r t h a t t o l e r a t i o n of t h e beliefs
of o t h e r s , w h i c h h e d e s i r e s e a c h a n d a ll -of h i s b r o t h e r -
m e m b e r s to e x h i b i t in r e g a r d to h is o w n f a i t h .
F r o m t h i s i t w ill be se e n t h a t e v e r y i n d i v i d u a l m e m b e r is
respo n sib le f o r his o w n re lig io u s op in io n s, th e Society as a
b o d y n e i t h e r a c c e p t i n g n o r r e j e c t i n g t h e m . T h i s M r. F i n k
f a i l e d to p e r c e iv e , a n d l o s t h i m s e l f i n h u n t i n g a f t e r t h e s h a d o w
of a n a m e . H i s c l a i m to h a v o “ c o n v i n c i n g l y s h o w n f r o m
h i s t o r y t h a t its (t.he S o c i e t y ’s) p r e t e n s i o n s to o r i g i n a l i t y w e ro
m ere m o o n s h in e ,” p la in ly in d ic a te s t h a t he has lu lle d h i m ­
se lf to r e s t in t h e l im b o of e r ro r s . I t m a y , h o w e v e r be
g r a n t e d , f o r t h e s a k e o f a r g u m e n t , t h a t “ t h e r e is n o t h i n g
n e w in T h e o s o p h y — n o t h i n g w h i c h h a d n o t se e n t h o l i g h t
b e f o r e , ” b u t wo fail to s e e h o w M r. F i n k m a k e s o n t t h a t
t h e y w e r e n o t n e w t o h i m . W h a t e v e r h i s p o s i t i o n of
T h e o s o p h i c a l id e a s m a y be, t h e y c e r t a i n l y l ie o u t s i d e t h e
g r o o v e of t h o u g h t to w h i c h h e is u s e d , a n d , a s s u c h , n e w
to h i m . A s a n o t h e r i n s t a n c e in p o i n t , w e m i g h t m e n t i o n
t h e t r e a t m e n t h e h a s a c c o r d e d to w h a t he c a l l s t h e “ V e d a n t a
p h i l o s o p h y . 1' On t h o a u t h o r i t y of C o u sin a n d C o l e b r o o k e
h e c o n s i d e r s tlie “ V e d a n t a p h i l o s o p h y ” “ fo o l is h ly i d e a l i s t i c , ”
b e c a u s o t h a t p h i l o s o p h y d e n ie s th o e x i s t e n c e of m a t t e r .
T h i s is of a pie c e w i t h t h e a t t e m p t o f s o m e S c o t t i s h
p h i lo s o p h e r s t o d e m o l i s h B e r k e l e y b y s t a m p i n g o n t h e
g r o u n d , B n t is i t too m u c h to e x p e c t M r . F i n k t o k n o w
t h a t m o d e r n W e s t e r n t h o u g h t , led by s u c h n o ri-co m p o o p s
r o u n d to t h a t s a m e “ f o o l i s h ” c o n c l u s i o n ? W e d o n o t
r e m e m b e r h a v i n g sa id a n y t h i n g “ d i s c o u r t e o u s ” o r “ offen­
s i v e ” i n o n r p r e v i o u s n o t i c e o f M r. F i n k ’s a r t i c l e in t h e
C a lc u tta R e v ie w . M r. F i n k ’s v a n i t y i n a y h a v e b e e n w o u n d e d .
B u t w e h a v o no h e l p f o r it. I t s h o u l d n o t b e f o r g o t t e n
u n d e r w h a t t r y i n g c i r c u m s t a n c e s o n e is p l a c e d w h e n o n e
f i n d s t h e s a c r c d w r i t i n g s o f o n e ’s n a t i o n t r e a t e d in s u c h a n
o f f - h a n d m a n n e r b y c r i t i c s w h o , to s a y t h e l e a s t , h a v e n o t
f u l ly q u a li f i e d t h e m s e l v e s f o r t h e t a s k . A s f o r M r . F i n k ’s
r e f e r e u c e to a p a m p h e t , e n t i t l e d “ T h o T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y
a n d i ts F o u n d e r s : A u h o n e s t i n q u i r y i n t o t h e i r a i m s a n d
p r o c e e d i n g s , ” we m a y b e a l l o w e d to p o i n t o u t t h a t t h i s
p a m p h l e t , i f wo a r e n o t m i s t a k e n , wns n o t p u t f o r t h b y o r u n ­
d e r t h e a u t h o r i t y o f t.he T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y , a n d i t is as
r e a s o n a b l e t o l o o k in i t f o r a c o r r e c t s t a t e m e n t o f t h e v i e w s
a n d o p i n i o n s of t h o S o c i e t y , a s i t w o u l d b e f o r o n e to s e e k to
s o lv e d i s p u t e d p o i n t s of t.he C h r i s t i a n f a i t h 011 t h e a u t h o r i t y
of t h e R e v e la tio n s o f th e A n ti-C U r is t. F r o m t h e s e n t e n c e
e x t r a c t e d f r o m t h e “ H i n t s on E s o t e r i c T h e o s o p h y , ” M r. F i n k
c o n s i d e r s “ i t r e a s o n a b l e to s u p p o s e t h a t J e s u s w as t h e P r i n c e
of T h e o s o p h i s t s . ” T h e r e a s o n a b l e c h a r a c t e r o f t h i s s u p p o s i t i o n ,
h o w e v e r , is n o t v e r y e a s y t o d i s c o v e r . W e , w h o c a n look a t
t h e t h i n g f r o m i n d e p e n d e n t p l a t f o r m , fa il to see h o w J e s u s
c a n bo r e g a r d e d a s t h e u n q u e s t i o n e d s u p e r i o r of S a k y a
M u n i , w h o s e a n o t h e r n a m e , i t is s a i d , is B u d d h a . I t is,
i n d e e d , g r a t i f y i n g t o find t h a t M r. F i n k r e c o g n i s e s t h e
d if f e r e n c e b e t w e e n a r g u m e n t n n d d o g m a t i c a s s e r t i o n . F o r , t o
s a y t h e t r u t h , h i s d i s c u s s i o n of t h e g e n e r a l o b j e c t s of t h e
T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c iety d i d n o t p r e p a r e u s f o r it.
M O R A D A B A D T H E O S O P H IC A L SO C IE T Y .
TO THE CORRESPONDING SECRETARY THEOSOPHICAL S O CI E T Y.
W e , th e u n d e r s ig n e d m e m b e r s of t h e T h eo so p h ic al Society,
m o s t h u m b l y a n d r e s p e c t f u l l y b e g t o b r i n g t o y o u r no tic e ,
t h a t a t a m e e tin g h e ld a t th e house of L alle B u lag i Bass,
P l e a d o r , F. T. S ., in p r e s e n c e o f F u n d i t B h a v a m S h a n k e r , it, h a s
b e e n u n a n i m o u s l y r e s o l v e d t h a t a B r a n c h s h o u l d be e s t a b l i s h ­
e d u n d e r t h e t it l o of “ A t m a B o d h T h e o s o p h i c a l Society,
M o r a d a b a d , ” w i t h t h e f o l l o w i n g officers. H e n e e w e beg th e
f a v o n r of y o n r k i n d l y g r a n t i n g u s a c h a r t e r a t a n e a r t y d a t e .
F o r t h e p re s e n t t h e R u le s an d B y e -L a w s of th e P a r e n t
T h eo so p h ic al S o c iety h a v e to be a d o p te d .
P r e s id e n t— B a b o o I s l i r i P r a s h a d .
V ic e -P r e s id e n t— B a b o o P a r s h o t t a m Dass.
S e c r e ta ry a n d T r e a s u r e r — N u r o t t a m D a s s .
Ish ri P rashad.
P a rs h o tta m Dass.
B u l a k e D a ss .
, P e r m a i s h w a r i L a h o i (L a te member
P r y a g P sy c h ic Tlieoso'phical S o c ic ty .) ■
Chirangi Lall.
A pproved H . S. O L C O T T , P , T . S .
 B E N G A L T H E O S O P H IC A L SO C IE T Y .
L a s t M o n d a y ev en in g , in tb e p re se n c e of a la r g e a n d d i s ­
tin g u ish e d a u d ie n c e , t h e Bengal T h e o s o p h ic a l S o c ie ty cele­
b r a t e d i ts f i r s t a n n i v e r s a r y . M o s t o f t h e l e a d e r s o f N a t i v e
so c i e t y w e r e i n a t t e n d a n c e , a n d t h e o c c a s i o n w a s a b r i l l i a n t
su c c e s s . S p a c e f a il s n s t h is m o r n i n g t o d o m o r e t h a n b a r e l y
m e n t i o n t h e c i r c u m s t a n c e of t h e m e e t i n g , b u t a f u l l r e p o r t
w ith t h e s p e e c h e s o f Dr. S a l z a r , B ab u s D ejendro N a th
T a g o r e , a n d N o r e n d r o N a t h S e n , t h e S e c r e t a r y ’s A n n u a l
R e p o r t , a n d a h i s t o r i c a l l e c t u r e o f C o l. O l c o t t on “ Dr. E s d a i l e
a n d M e s m e r i s m i n C a l c u t t a 36 y e a r s a g o , ” w ill be p u b l i s h e d
h e r e a f t e r ,— I n d i a n M ir o r .
C o l o n e i , O l c o t t sa ils t h i s m o r n i n g f o r M a d r a s i n t h e
F r e n c h M a il S t e a m e r S i b a r . A f t e r a s h o r t r e s t ho w i l l s t a r t
fo r t h e ' N o r t h - W e s t P rovinces a n d th e P u n ja b , w h e re an
official t o u r , e v e n l o n g e r t h a n t h e on o j u s t c o m p l e t e d in t h e
P r o v i n c e s , h a s b e e n a r r a n g e d f o r. M a n y o f t h o s e p r e s e u t a t
t h e A n n i v e r s a r y m e e t i n g In st n i g h t w e r e e v i d e n t l y m u c h
a f fe c te d a t h i s f a re w e l l. A f t e r t h e m e e t i n g w a s o v e r C o lo n e l
O l c o t t w as t r e a t e d t o a t h e o s o p h i c a l d i n n e r .— I n d i a n M i r r u t .
------- • -------
[R e u ie w o f H in ts on E so teric Theoeophy,
N o. 2 .— F ro m the I n d ia n M irror.']
T H E H IM A L A Y A N MAHATMAS.
can be no m is ta k e as to t h e fact t h a t T h e o s o p h y is
f r u c t i f y in g the g e r m s of a ne w a n d i m p o r t a n t l i t e r a t u r e . W i t h
half a n oye.we can see t b a t th e s i g n s a b o u n d t lia t we a r e a t la s t to
ha v e a n e x p e r i m e n t a l m e t a p h y s i c s as well as e x p e r i m e n t a l p h y s ic s .
I t is t h e g r e a t w e a k n e ss of o u r m o d e r n W e s te r n p h i lo s o p h y t h a t
it is la r g e ly a d e d u c t i o n f r o m m e a g r e facts. I t s g r e a t e s t a d m i r e r
a d m i t s i n n u m e r a b l e la c u n a , a n d a s o u r b io lo g is ts h a v e led u s
to th e o u t e r m o s t v e rge of p h y s ic s , a n d co nfess th e e x is te n c e t h e r e
of “ a n im p a ss a b le c h a s m , ” it is h a r d to see how, u n d e r m o d e rn
g u id a n c e , a n d in th e face of s t r o n g m o d e r n p re ju d ice , we arf
lik e ly to come to a n y t h i n g like c e r t i t u d e as to t h e m y s t e r y of
e x is te n c e w i t h o u t o t h e r h e lp s. T ho new school of ph ilo s o p h y
offers th e i n e s ti m a b l e a d v a n t a g e of b r i n g i n g u s face to face w ith
liv in g A d e p ts in e x p e r i m e n t a l p s y c h o lo g y ,— m e n who h a v in g
p ra ctic a lly p rov ed t h e n a tu r e of soul a n d t h e p o t e n t i a l i ty of sp irit,
“ can spen k with a u t h o r i t y , and n o t a s t h e S c r i b e s . ” T h e r o s te r
of t h e new m o v e m e n t a lr e a d y c o n ta in s t h e n a m e s of m en of
h i g h c a p a c ity in d iffere n t c o u n tries . A m o n g th o se in In d i a , u
p r o m in e n t place m u s t be g iv en to th e w ell-know n A n g l o - I n d i a n
p u b lic ist w ho has a d o p te d in his th e o s o p h ic a l w r i t i n g s th e
p se u d o -n am e of H X . I t h a s boen affirm ed a n d n o t d e n ie d t h a t
th e w r i t e r is no less a person t h a n t h e able a n d sc h o larly M r. A. O.
H u m e . B u t h o w e v e r t h i s m ay be, it is c e r t a i n t h a t t h e f u t u r e
h is to r ia n of T h eo so p h y will c ite his c o n t r i b u t i o n s to t h e c u r r e n t
l i t e r a t u r e of t h e su b je c t, as a m o n g its rtiost n o t a b l e d e v e l o p m e n t s .
S o m e m o n t h s ago , he p u t fo rth a p a m p h l e t , called “ H i n t s on
E s o t e r i c T h e o s o p h y , ” in w hic h w ere a r g u e d with signal a b i l i t y
tho q ue stions, “ I s T h e o s o p h y a C a p ita l D e lu sio n P"— “ Do tho
B r o t h e r s E x is t P” All t h a t c ould be said a g a i n s t t h e m o v e m e n t
was se t f o r t h a n d r e f u t e d . T h e sa m e i n d u s t r i o u s pen h a s now
givon u s a se cond p a m p h le t,* u n d e r th o sa m e t itle a c ornparisou
b e in g n o w m ad e be tw ee n S w e d e n b o r g a u d T h e o s o p h y . W e lm vs
n o t space to q u o t e as m uch a s would g iv e a c o m p r e h e n s iv e idea
of t h is r e m a r k a b l e brochwre. W e s h a ll, th e r e f o r e , confine o u r ­
selves to a few e x tr a c t s , lea ving t h e r e a d e r to p e r u s e t h e p a m
p h l e t h im self. T h e S w e d e n b o rg ia n side of t h e a r g u m e n t is
s u p p o r t e d by a c o r r e s p o n d e n t of H . X ., d e s i g n a t e d as H . R. Z .
H i s p o in t is t h a t if t h e B r o t h e r s a re liv in g m en , “ they a r e h igh
m e d i u m s u n d e r sp irit influ ence ; M a d a m e B l a v a t s k y is one of the
im a g in a tiv e , pe culin rly, c o n s t i t u t e d p e rso n s w h o b eco m e m e d i ­
u m s ; ” a n d in fa n c y in g t h a t s h e is iu re la ti o n s w ith A d e p ts, is
sim p ly “ doceived by tho sp i r i ts who c o m m u n i c a te d w ith ,a n d w rote
t h r o u g h h e r .” l i e finds in T h e o s o p h y n o t h i n g new, its d o c tr in e
of U n i v e r s a l B r o t h e r h o o d h a v i n g b e en a n t i c i p a t e d by C h r i s t ,
while, a t th e sa m o tim e, th o n e c e s s a r y c o ro llary of th e F a t h e i -
ho od of God ia ig n o r e d by t h e T h e o s o p h is ts . A n d “ insteiid of
l o o k iu g u p to t h e O n e G r e a t C re a to r , w i l li n g to receive fro m
H im t h e li;;ht a n d t r u t h , ” “ they tr y , vain ly e ver, to force th e m -
te lv e s in to H i s c o u nse ls or m y s t e r i e s by c li m b i n g u p so m e o t h e r
way.” All th es e po in ts H . X . m a s te r f u ll y c o m b a t s . T h e g i s t of
his a r g u m e n t s is t h a t by th e h e lp of t h e A d e p t s we m ay b u ild
ou r religion u p o n t h e solid rock of s c i e n c e ; th e A d e p t s have for
th o u s u n d s of y e a r s possessed “ t h e p o w e r of p e n e t r a t i n g in to th e
h i g h e r p lan e s, n o t w ith th e u n c e r t a i n s t e p s of t h e n a t u r a l [i.
nnt.rum ?d ] m ystic, b u t w ith t h e c e r t a i n t y of t h e skil led A d e p t ,
who kn o w s p re cise ly w h a t h e is d o i n g , w h e r e he is g o in g , a n d
th e scientific reaso ns of all he does, feels, a n d wills. ’ T h e a c c u ­
m u la t e d k n o w le d g e , t h u s a c q u i r e d in “ t h o u s a n d s of y e ars, has
t h u s c r e a t e d " a p o s itiv e science of t h e inv isib le u n i v e r s e * * *
based m us w id e uu e x p e r ie n c e as a u y p h y s i c a l science, a n d
• C a n be had a t tho Theosophist Office from the Manager, Adyar,
Madras.
in finitely m o r e r e li a b l e in i t s c o n s i s t e n t to ta l it y t h a n could pos
sibly be t h e g l e a n i n g s of a n y s o l i ta r y s e e r or p ro p h e t, h o w e v e r
g r e a t a n d w o r t h y . ” A h a r d slap, t h a t , a t S w e d e n b o r g , a n d ------.
“ M a d a m e B l a v a t s k y a n d Colonel O l c o tt a re b u t th e th eo s o p h ia
t e l e p h o n e s , ” it was t h e s e B r o t h e r s w h o t a u g h t ub t h e c o n s t i ­
t u t i o n of m a n . ” A s for t h e p r e t e n d e d m e d i u m s h i p of th o
B ro th ers, H. X. says:—
“ T h e A d e p t s a r e w h o lly n n l ik e a n y m e d i u m s I e v e r he ard
of. T o -d a y ono t r a v e l l i n g in I n d i a m e e ts you in th e flesh ; a few
m o n t h s l a te r, w h e n he ia i n G e r m a n y , C a s h m e r e , o r T h ib e t , h a
s u d d e n l y a p p e a r s be sid e y o u in a closed ro o m , in his a s t r a l form ,
on d g ives y o u in s t r u c t i o n s , or h e d ro p s a l e t t e r on y o u r t a b l e ,
a n d y o u r r e ply, as soon a s w r i t te n a n d ready, d i s a p p e a rs a n d d u l y
r e a c h e s h im , a n d t h a t , m in d , w hen t h o r e is no o t h e r person in
t h e h o u se k n o w in g a u y t h i n g of t h e m a t t e r , a n d w h e n poor
M a d a m e B l a v a t s k y a n d Colonel O lc o tt, th o se betes n o ires of the i n ­
c red u lo u s, a re b o th a t h o u s a n d m iles or m o re a w a y fro m w he re
yo u are, a n d ha ve, p e r h a p s , n e v e r even h e a r d of t h e p a r t i c u l a r
A d e p t d e » lin g w i t h y o u .”
As t o E e o t e r i o T h e o s o p h y , a n d th o p r o s p e c t of i ts b e in g th e
f u t u r e religion of t h e w o rld , or, a t all eventB, its sonl, h e says
“ E s o te ric T h e o s o p b y ( u s i n g t h e word in its b r o a d e s t sense)
a lon e r e ta in s t h e p o w e r of f u r n i s h i n g t h a t t a n g i b l e proof, that,
e x p e r i m e n t a l d e m o n s t r a t i o n of t h e ro o t d o c tr i n e s of all t r u e r e l i ­
gio n s, a n d E s o t e r i c T h e o s o p h y m u s t ,t h e r e f o r e , becom e t h e re lig io n
of the f u t u r e e it h e r in i ts o w n n a m e or u n d e r t h a t of one o r m ore of
t h e e x is ti n g r e lig io n s t h a t , i n c o r p o r a t i n g it w ith th e m s e l v e s , will
g a in a new lease of life, a n d b u r s t o u t f r c m t h e d e a d c h ry salis
shell of th e i r old errorB in to a b r i g h t e r a u d h i g h e r c are er.
“ I t was n o t in vain t h a t y o u r g r e a t se e r S w e d e n b o r g a d vised
m e n to s e a rc h for t h e lost w o rd am ongst the h iero p h a n ts o f T a r ta r y
a n d T h ib e t; it is a m o n g s t t h e s e a n d allied schools t h a t h a d a
c o m m o n ro o t w ith th e m t h a t , for a g es , it has lain co ncealed, and
T h e o s o p h y is t h e d o o rw a y t h a t t h e s e h i e r o p h a n t s a n d A d e p t s a re
now o p e n in g to all who, in s i n g l e n e s s a u d p u r i t y of h e a r t , y e a rn
fo r t h a t pre cious a n d all po w erfull d o c trin e, t h a t long lost w o r d . ”
“ T o mo t h e position is so clear, and so p r e g n a n t w ith th e m ost
m o m e n t o u s issues, t b a t 1 c a n n o t u n d e r s t a n d t h e w o r l d ’s c o m p a
r n t iv e in d iffe ren c e .”
A f t e r d e li n i n g relig ion a s b e in g ba se d u p o n tw o i d e a * —a life
b e y o n d t h e g r a v e , a n d t h e e xuct re q u it a l t h e r e of all goo d a u d
e v il d o n e h e r e , he r e m a r k s :—
“ T h e o s o p h y a lone po ss es se s a n d now offers t o all who will fit
t h e m s e l v e s to re ceive i t , a b s o l u te proof of b o th th e s e id ea s; a n d
y e t not o n ly t h e t h o u g h t l e s s m u l t i t u d e b u t t h o u g h t f u l re lig io u s
pe o p le like y o u r s e l f , e i t h e r affect to d i s r e g a r d it a lt o g e th e r , or
w i t h o u t a n y e n q u i r y c a l m ly s e t it down as sp i r i tu a l is m ! ”
T o t h e h a c k n e y e d o b je c tio n t h a t if t h e A d e p t s a r e possesse d of
t h i s scientific k n o w l e d g e , t h e y s h o u l d n o t k e e p i t secret, H . X .
p e r t i n e n t l y re jo in s t h a t t h e y would be culpable., indeed, * * * *
“ were t h e y to c o m m u n i c a t e ” t h e se c re t to a n y one, w i t h o u t full
a n d sufficient g u a r a n t e e s a g a i n s t t h e m is u s e of su c h t e rr i b l e p o w e r
a s O c c u lt S c ie n c e gives.
His correspondent, H .R .Z .h a v in g ra th e rch a lle n g ed the a u th e n ­
t ic ity of t h e K u t H u i n i l e t t e r s in M r, S i n n e t t ’ s “ O c c u lt W o r ld ,”
H . X . b r o a c h e s a n idea w h i c h will he a o c e p te d by all s t u d e n t s
of m e s m e r i s m — a n d w h ic h t h e r e c e n t s tu d ie s a t L o u d o n of tho
P s y c h i c K e s e a r c h S o c iety of P r o f e s s o r Balfo ur S t e w a r t on
T h o u g h t - R e a d i n g , fully s u p p o r t . T h e a u t h o r s a y s : —
" I se e y ou a r e ve ry i n c r e d u lo u s a b o u t K u t H u m i h a v in g w r i t te n
t b e l e t t e r s p u b l is h e d in t h e “ O c cu lt W o r d , ’’ and yo u c le nch as
y o u t h i n k t b e a r g u m e n t a g a i n s t t h e i r a u t h e n t i c i t y by s a y i n g t h a t
if a H i n d u re c lu se c ould w r i t e th e s o letters , t h e n J o h n s o n o r
F ieldin g m ig h t have w ritten th e Vedas. W ell, if J o h n s o n or
F i e l d i n g h a d b e en a h i g h A d e p t ,t h e y m i g h t j u s t as well h a v e w ri t ­
te n a n y S a n s k r i t w o r k as a n y E n g l i s h one, p ro v id ed only t h a t
t h e y had h a d a m o n g s t t h e i r disciples, u n i te d to t h e m by m a g n e ­
tic b a n d s, a n y good S a n s k r i t sc h olar. K u t H u m i , t h o u g h a fair
E n g l i s h s c h o l a r , e d u c a t e d in G e r m a n y a n d E n g la n d , a n d q u i t s
able to w r i t e go od E n g l i s h , would do u b tle ss , fro m w a n t of p r a r .
tico, h a v e f o u n d , a t a n y r a te a t first, some t ro u b le in w r i t in g to
u s h a d h e n o t been a b le to u se t h e b ra in s of o th e rs . A n d it is
n o t only in E n g l i s h t h a t h e c an w r ite like an E n g l i s h m a n ; he can
w r i t e in a n y a n d e v e r y l a n g u a g e k n o w n to any of h is r e g u l a r d i s ­
c ip le s as well as a u y of t h e m can, even t h o u g h he m ay n o t him self
kn o w in t h e o r d i n a r y se n se of t h e term one w o r d of t h a t l a n ­
g u a g e . F o r he f o r m u la t e s t h e ideas he d esires t o e x p re ss , im p r e s t-
es t h e m by t h e p o w e r of his will on the brain, of whoso services
lie avails h im s e lf , a n d t h e n re a d s off th e v erbal e x position t h a t
a ris e s from t h a t b ra in in re sp o n se to t h a t i m p r e s s io n , a n d h a s all
h e r e q u ire s . O f course, to e n a b le t h e A d e p t to u til i z e t h u s a n ­
o t h e r p e r s o n ’s bra in s, t h a t o t h e r m u s t h a v e been p lac ed in the
s t r i c t e s t m a g n e t i c re la tion w ith h im , a n d m u s t have becom e his
t r u e d isc ip le , as Colonel O lc o tt is, n o t m e re ly a lay pup il as I
w i s . * How o fte n in t h e c o m m e n c e m e n t of o u r c o rre sp o n d e n c e
w h e n K. H. h a d n o t for lo n g y e a r s h a d occasion to w rite E n g lish
h e did avail h im s e lf of O l c o t t ’s fa cultie s, was a p p a r e n t fro m t h e
f r e q u e n t A m e r ic a n i s m s t h a t a d o r n e d (or d isfigu red, t a k e y o u r
choioe) his l e t t e r s , b u t t h e s e p e culiaritie s have a lm o s t d i s a p p e a r ­
e d now t h a t fo r tw o y e a rs h e h a s been in c o n s t a u t c o rre sp o n d e n c e
ond d i r e c t i n te r c o u r s e w ith u s E n g l i s h . ”
* ( . ol. Olcott is not the disciple of Mahatma K u t-H u m i; h u Guru it
quito another “ Brother.”—E d,
 “ Setting, however, all this asido, these le tte r s simply are K.
H . ’s, and he having been for a time my immediate master teaching
me directly, I presum e 1 ought to know. Yon may set me down
as n lunatic or a liar, bnt the question no longer remains for me
on e in regard lo which I cun argue,"
[T in s paper was road at a meeting of th e Dacca Theosophical
Society, held on th e 28th April 1883, und forwarded by Ually
Coomar Dass, Secretary, Dacca Theosophical Society, to the
H ead-quarte rs, for publication in the Theosophist.—M a n a g e r .]
A D E S C R I P T I O N O F T H E T A N T R I K M Y S T IC R I T E S
A N D C E R E M O N I E S K N O W N A S “ S A V A S A D H A N A .”
B y K unja B. B hatta c d a rji.
Most of us must have heard many a time before this of tlie
Savasddhana, b u t beyond th a t it, means certain mystic rites in
which a dead body ia one of the first requisites, perhaps none of
ns knows more. Curious to learn how th e process was conducted,
I searched into the original T a n tra s to obtain an idea of it, and what
information I gath ered from four or five different m anu scrip ts,
1 have the honor to lay before you to - n ig h t for your instruction.
I do not pretend to have any insight into the esoteric significance
of these awfulj not to say repelling, ceremonies inculcated by tha
Tnntric mystics, but w hat I intend is simply to offer you a do-
tailed description of the process, knowing t h a t many of you
cannot read it in the original Sanscrit.
F ir s t, then, as to the proper place for conducting the cere­
monies. The Bhdvachiidamani, a T an trik work, says : “ A river-
bank, a bill, a solitary place, tho foot of a Bel tree, a place for
cremation, or a battlefield:” these are the proper places for the
ceremony. Then as to th e time. The eig h th or the fourteenth
n ig h t eith er of the bright or of the d a rk fortnight,, when the
newmoou falls on a Tuesday ; these are the propitiousjdays. Then
as to the requisites. The mystic should bring for an offering
cooked rice, and Ilesh. H e should also brin g with hi in iuccn.se
for burning, sesamnrn seeds, sacrificial g 'a s s , and m ustard seeds.
R etirin g then to some one of the abovementioned places, he
should seat himself with his face to the East, and perform th e
usual ceremony of oblation or Argliyaddna, after which, he
should sprinkle the earth abo ut him with w ater over which
has been chfiunted th e mystic syllable Om ; wliich is styled tho
Mool M untra and is alm ost invariably pronounced ut the com­
mencement of all mnr.tras, and which term ina tes alm ost all the
Mantras used in Tantrik rites. This done, he should worship his
Guru, Ganesha, Bntoolca, and Joginee, tu r n in g his face succes­
sively to th e East, West, N o rth and South. Then he is to write
out on the crou nd the following charm which is known by tho
name oF Virdngnna tlantra. Leaving out certain mj'Stic m ono­
syllables, to which 1 am powerless to a ttrib u te any meaning, th e
p urp o rt of the j!Ia.nt.ra is an exhortation addressed to the
Goddess Kaliha to remove all obstacles in th e way of the
Sadhaka or aspirant, after e xtraordinary powers. He is then to
repeat the following mantra thrice, and at the end of each in ­
cant at ion he is to throw a handful of flowers.* * * This m a n tra is
addressed to each and all classes of spiritual beings and elementals
th a t m igb t be hovering over tho spot and asks for th eir benedic­
tion and shelter. After this m,antra has been thrice repeated,
be should worship the presiding deity nf tlie Smasa.ua or C re m a ­
tion Ground, nnd oiler sacrifices to him, u tt e r i n g the following
formula,- * * He should then tie with a knot his vShikha or tbe tuft
of hr.ir worn on the crown, u tte rin g at the time th e mantra known
hy the namo of Aghora-mantra, after wliich he should place
his hand ever his breast and cry llalcsh»,,raksha,—all this being in*
tended as a delcnce a g a in s t all d ang ers. He should th en peri
form th e very m ystic ceremony of Bhutashuddhi. Some of you,
gentlemen, m ig h t wish to know w hat this means. B u t, this being
the most mystic of nil the mystical rites inculcated in the T a n tra s ,
and its process brin g described in language supremely mystic,
is quite impenetrable to the uninitiated, alth ou gh the degenerate
priest.-, or 1'vrohits of today perform the exoteric portion of this
n te , the superficial ceremonial p art of it, w ithout even so much
as suspecting the depth of its esoteric significance. B ut if you
wish it I can give you a description of the rite as I have
found it in tho Tantras. A fter sitting in the Dliyana posture!
with both tbe pulms upturned and placed on the iap one upon
the other, tbe mystic is to perform th a t exercise of respiration
known hy the mime of Pra.nayama, and to stir up the KundaKni
(which is a m ystic Force in the seventh principle in man P) to
pierce the six cycles (vital centres) of th e body, and to unite
with tb e Jivatma and thence tb blend with the P aram ateja, or
the Brightest of L ig h ts over the thousand-leafed lotus (the
tfciiversal E th e r ? ) . The m ystic th en effects the union of the
tw e n ty -fo u r Tatums or F ir s t Principles, whieh comprise the five
sense-orpai.s, th e five sense perceptions, th e five elem ents, the
five qualities of these, and Intellect, Personality, Mind and
N aturo with th at r a r a m a t e ja . Now, G entlem en, if you are in th6
dark to comprehend these instructions, you will see a denser
darkness in what, follows. These th in g s done, the mystic is
directed to concentrate his tb o u g h t tm the monosyllablo which is
called tbe Mdyabija or Illusion Principle, and which is said to be
of a sea,riot hue and located abo ut th e n a v e l ; and by the fire
produced by this th ou gh t-co ncen tration he is to burn the black
form within him with coppery hairs, th a t is full of all manner of
sins,—the body made of the to ta lity of his Karma (Linga sarira
or Astral body P). And th en by d iverting the cu rrent o f tis
thought, to the Heart,, where is tb e seat of tb e mantra called the
Badliu-bija or F em ale-principle, which is allegorically said to ba
of a yellow hue, he is to raise up a storm which will scatter, the
ashes of the burnt, pdpapurnsha. Once more he is directed to
change the spot of concentration and this time to carry it to the
head, where is the seat of the mantra, aud called the [ndividu-
ality-principle, said to be of a milky hue, and to deluge tlie
Universe with tbe llood of nectar th a t this concentration will
produce—a flood th a t will wash away the bones—th e last veBtiges
of the cremated sin-man- This th en is bhnta shuddlii,. To the
initiated it may be full of meaning, b u t to the ordinary reader it
appears as a strin g of incoherent delirious utteran ces. After
having carried o u t the process of bhuta shuddi, th e m ystic is
to meditate on the U niverse as pn e all pervading ocean of E th er
and himself as one wioh Tarini or the Universal Force, devoid
of all sym pathies, all a tt r i b u te s —one oure, .effulgent Deity. He
should then m editate upon a Hcarlet-hued Kjtus. floating on the
Ocean of ribhet, over it an o th e r lotus t>f mijky hue, "and above
all a third which bears a blue color. Over this th ird lo.tus let
him discern a sword bearing the mant.rn, which represents the
principle of Individuality as said before, and over .this sword
again the mystic should conceive himself as one with (Tarini.
This latter process is known as nyasa and "is no less, if not more
my stical than the preceding one. Iu fact this is only a necessary
com plem ent of tho other.
K After having finished these prelim inary rites, the Scldhaka
should approach the corpse which m u st lmve been selected by
A^hitn in advance for tb e ceremony according to the instructions
s? of tbo T antras. These mystic writings shew a preference
J for the bodies of such persons as have died of wounds
:5; inflicted by a club, a spear, or a sword ; persons drowned
t t.o death, or s t r a n g u la t e d ; or who have died of snake bite ; the
-,dead body of a chandal ; the 1 ody of some y ou ng , handsome and
^ g allan t soldier who has fallen fighting in tlie front of battle with*
^ o u t receding a single step. The mystic is enjoined to eschew the
i bodies of such as have comm itted suicide ; those of the female
a sex or of persons resem bling women in appearance ; of thoso
" who died of an infectious disease ; o ld and emaciated bodies ; the
v bodies of persons who had died ot famine, or bodies in a state of
putrefaction.
^ Having approached such a corpse, the mystic should besprinkle
it with w ater over which has been repeated the m an tra hun hat,
and then throw over it. three handfuls of flowers, repeating.every
time tho m an tra, and th en touch tbe corpse and p rostra te him ­
self before it in the p.wture of prandm, u tte rin g a t the time the
following invocations*... He should then wash the corpse chaunting
m antra and bathe it with scented water ru b b in g it by means of
a piece of cloth, lie should besmear it with sandal paste and
burn incense before it. H av in g done these th in g s he is to hold
it by the waist and carry it to tlie place of poojah. The mystic
is warned not to carry a body tainted with blood, as such n body
would ruin him. He should then spread sacrificial grass, or Kusa,
and form a bed for the corpse, fill its mouth with betel leaf
prepared with caroam um s, cloves, camphor, n u tm e g , catechu,
and ginger, and lav it on the K usa bed with the face downward.
This done be should carefully paint its back with sandal paste in
the form of a four-sided figure commencing from the shoulders
and going down to the waist. T here should be a vacant space
left iu the centre of the figure to which should open fou r p a s­
sages from four sides. Iu the centre should be inscribed the
inantra. Should the corpse oil a tte m p tin g to carry it show
signs of resistance, the Sadhalca shall spit on it aiid wash it over
again.
.. H avin g thu s prepared th e corpse, th e S adh aka is to sit cross
legged on the baok of it, a nd throw twigs g athered beforehand
from the branches of th e glornerous fig-tree to the ten points of
tho horizon, N., S., K., W., N. E., N. W., S. E., S. W., upwards
and downwards, invoking every time the particular deity presiding
over th a t region to accept his sacrifice, 1 will read to you the
m antras specified for e a ch * * *:—
1st—To Indra. H ere tho tw ig is th ro w n off. Then again
tak in g a handful of rice and meat,—
'2nd—To Bramha. Then, as before,
3 r d —To Bshana. T h en, &e. as before.
4 th—To Agni., T h en. Me, as before.
hth—To Jama. Then, &c. as before.
(>th—To Niriti. Then, &c. as before. .
7th—To Ananta. Then, as before.
8th—To Baruna, T h e n , ns before.
9/7i—To Bayoo. T h en, as before,
10th—To Iiuvera. T hen, as before. .
L astly , the Sadlm ka is to offer sacrifices to th e presiding deities
the (ii Jogiuoes, and also the Dakinees, tliose perhaps being ele-
* The test of the mantras is omitted for several reasons one of which
is tliat the}- aro not lit to be read by uninitiated Theosophist. Even
tlie sound of such mantras is impure and ditngorous- The loss our
Fellows have to do with necromancy and sorcery—the better.—Ed, .
mentals. H e s h o u l d t h e n post liis U t t a r a S a t h a k a o r second (to his h a n d s , a n d in a n o th e r th a t o f t h e g i f t s of v i t a l i z e d o r
Bpe'ak in t h o l a n g u a g e of du e l) to w a tch o v e r t h e t h i n g s for p oojah,
m esm erised w a te r m ad e b y him . I h a v e r e d u c e d v e s s e ls o f
and u t te r i n g t h e m a n t r a he should t a k e hia se a t on t h e b a ck of th e
corpse in t h e r e g u l a r r i d e r ’s style, a n d s p r e a d k u s a g r a s s u n d e r ­ a ll c a p a c i t i e s — g h u r r a s , lo ta h s, j a r s , b o t t l e s , e tc , — t o a n u n i ­
neath his leg s a n d h o ld tho h a irs of t h e d e ad b o d y a s a h o r s e ­ f o r m s t a n d a r d of t h e p i n t b o t t l e
man w ould t h e b r i d le . He. sh o u ld t h e n w o r s h ip his ( i n r u ,
Gunesha, a n d D e v i, a n d go on with all t h e o p e r a t io n s a s b efo re , CASES TREATED.
and r e p e a ti n g t h e a l r e a d y m e n t i o n e d ,th r o w s to n e s to t h e t e n p o in ts
ofthe horizon. H e s h o u ld th e n p r o n o u n c e hia Sanlca lp a or re s o l u ­ B y Passes. B y W ater.
tion in t h e fo llow ing m a n n e r : h e re he is to m e n tio n t h e m o n t h , C a lc u tta . .. ‘ 168 126
t h e d a r k or t h e b r i g h t h a lf aa it m ay be of t h e l u n a r m o n th , and
K rish n a g ar . .. 30 170
th e T ith i or t h e l u n a r d a y or so and so, so a n d so b e in g d e s i r o u s of
a s ig h t of such a n d su c h d e ity . ([ shall r e p e a t so a n d so m a n t r a for D acca ... 24 12
s u c h and su c h n u m b e r of times). He s h o u ld t h e n rise from his seat D a rjee lin g . .. 6 3
and move to t h e f r o n t of t h e corpse, a n d fix hia look 011 it a u d sa y :

CO
Jessore

0
. 10
“ 0 L ord of t h e de v as, f have r e s o rte d to y o u , ,M i g h t y one, c o m ­
ply w ilh m y p r a y e r a n d vou c hsa fe to m e t h e - S id d h i of t h e N arail . .. 20 3
lir a s or t h e fe a r le s s o n e s.” H e s h o u ld t h e n t i e t h e lu gs of th e B erham pur . .. 24 112
corpse t o g e t h e r w ith silken t h r e a d , u n d u n d e r n e a t h i ts fe et
draw a t r i a n g u l a r figure u t t e r i n g t h e follow ing m a n t r a : t h e B h a g u lp u r . .. 40 190
p u r p o r t of t h e m a n t r a b e in g v e r y n e a r l y t h e sa m e as t h a t of th e Jam alp u r . .. 15 55
one i m m e d ia t e l y p r e c e d in g . Gaya . .. 24 260
T h e S a d h a k a is t h e n to r e s u m e h is s e a t on t h e b a c k of t h e D um raon . .. 32 116
corpse w ith his le g s placed u p o n k u s a g ra ss s p r e a d on t h e
g ro u n d , a n d a f t e r d o i n g P r a n a y a m th ric e a n d fix ing t h e i m a g e of A rrah . .. 16 216
his U n r n in his crow n a n d of t h e D evi in his h e a r t, he sh o u ld B a n k ip u r . .. 25 108
firmly close h is lips, a n d a tt e n ti v e l y , s i le n tly a n d u n d a u n t e d l y D urbhanga . .. 15 130
go on w i t h his Japa. T h e r e a r e som e r u l e s a b o u t t h i s Japti , If
the mantra be a m o n o sy lla b ic one, it r e q u i r e s to be r e p e a te d ten Searsale ... 10 104
th o u s a n d tim e s, if d isy lla b ic e i g h t t h o u s a n d tim e s, if tr isylla bic , B ankurah . .. 20 220
six -thou sa nd tim e s. I f t h e m y s tic is t r o u b l e d w ith t e r r i b l e noise s B urdw an 16
. .. 80
or f e a r f u l s i g h t s let h i m s h u t his eyes a n d e a r s b y p u t t i n g a
ba n d a g e o v e r th e m . If w h e n m i d n i g h t pa sse s a w a y t h e m y s tic C h a k d ig h i . . . . 10 120
does n ot e v en t h e n o b s e rv e a n y t h i n g p a r t icu la r, le t h i m s t a n d C hinsura . .. 10 ; 60
up a n d movo seven s t e p s a n d t h e r e s c a t t e r se s a m u m a n d M id n ap u r ,. . . 12 160
m u s t a r d se e d s su c c essiv ely ou all sid e s w i t h a n i n c a n t a t io n of
th e follow ing m a n t r a , w h ic h is c alled t b e Jaya Durga Mantra-.
This is t h e m a n t r a : “ O m J D u rg a , h e lp ! h e lp I Oin ! O b Sesa- 557 2,255
m u m ! y o u a re t h e lord of all rite s, for you t h e y sacrifice t h e 557
cow, you a r e t b e g i v e r of H e a v e n to o n r F a t h e r s , y o u a r e the
defender of t h e m o rta ls , a n d of m y s e lf you a r e i h e r e m o v e r of G r a n d T o t a l . . .2 , 8 1 2
all o b sta c le s b r o u g h t 011 by evil s p i r i t s . ” T h e n t h e S a d h a k a is to
re tra ce his steps, a n d once m o re r e s u m e h is s e a t o n th o c ad a v e r,
l i e should n o t be f r i g h te n e d t h e lea st if t h e d e a d bod y show s A.s w e s p e n t r a r e l y m o r e t h a n t w o o r t h r e e d a y s i n a p l a c e ,
sig n s of m otion. I n tlie e v e n t, however, of a n y s u c h p h e n o m e n o n a n d t h e p a t i e n t s o f t e n flo c k e d i n f r o m t h e a d j a c e n t c o u n t r y
s u p e r v e n i n g a n d if voices be h e a rd d e m a n d i n g for sacrifice, t h e
m yslio is d ire c te d to u t t e r a sloka w hic h c a n be r e n d e r e d au d re tu rn e d h om e a fte r tre a tm e n t, th ere is n o m e a n s of
t h u s : “ L o r d ! if t h o u d e s i r e s t for som e sacrifice, a n e l e p h a n t o r a s c e r t a i n i n g th e p r o p o r tio n of a b so lu te c u r e s to tr e a tm e n ts .
or a n y t h i n g else, I will offer it to th ee 011 a n o t h e r day, h a v e t h e B u t i t m u s t h a v e b e e n l a r g e si n c e , i n t h e m a j o r i t y o f c a s e s,
plea sure to e x p r e s s t h y n a m e to m e.” S o s a y i n g t h e S a d h a k a
should go on w ilh his J a p a w i t h o u t b e i n g m o v ed b y fear. t a k in g th e w h o le to u r in to aoeount, th e p a tie n ts d e c lare d
T h e n iE t h e r e be h e a r d a sw eet celestial voice u t t e r i n g t h e nam o th e ir p ain s a n d diseases q u ite b ro k e n up. M any— th ough
of som e deity, th e m y s t ic sh o u ld call on t h o d e i t y t h r ic e tb s till s c a r c e l y a t i t h e o f t h e w h o l e — o f t h e m o s t a s t o u n d i n g
swear by t h e n a m e of t r u t h t h a t i t is no o t h e r b u t t h e D e ity
whose n a m e ha s been g iv en out. W h e n t h e D e ity is t h u s c u res, s u c h as of b lin d n e s s , d e afn e ss, d u m b n e s s , h y s t e r ia ,
sworn, t h e S a d h a k a s h o u ld a s k for t h e f r u i ti o n of his desires. epilepsy, p a ra ly sis, etc., h a v e b e e n r e p o r t e d t h r o u g h tho
H ut if t h e D eity re fu s es to sw e a r t h u s , he sh ould p a y 110 h e ed to
n e w s p a p e r s b y e y e - w i t n e s s e s ; b u t o n o w o u l d h a v e t o g o l ik e
it and g o o n with h i s J a p a ag ain , when e v e r y t h i n g will v a n is h
away. W h e n h o w e v e r th e D e ity sw e a rs in t h e m a n n e r m e n t i o n e d m y s e lf , w i t h t h e C o l o n e l d a y b y d a y a n d f r o m p l a c e to p l a c e
above, ho should s t a te his p r a y e r be fo re i t a n d o b t a i n i t s b lessin gs. to re alise t h e m a r v e llo u s e x h ib itio n h e h a s m a d e of r e s e r v e d
H a v i n g t h u s o b ta in e d th e f r u i ti o n of hi3 labors, t h e m y s t ic s h o u l d psychic pow er. A s you k n o w , he h a s a lw a y s said t h a t h is
leave off Japa, rise from his seat, a n d l e t g o his hold of t h e c a d a ­
o w n v i t a l s t r e n g t h , o v e r t a x e d a s i t is c o n s t a n t l y b y h i s c u r ­
ver’s h a ir. T h e n he should raise up th e c orpse, w ash it over, u n tie
the bond of its logs, d e s t r o y t h e m y stic fi g u r e d r a w n u n d e r n e a t h r e n t official w o r k , w o u l d n o t s t a n d s u c h a d r a i n w i t h o u t h e l p ,
its ieet, a n d t h r o w it in to w a t e r or i n te r it. T b e p o o ja h t h i n g s a n d t h a t ho h a s b e e n c o n s ta n tly h e lp e d b y his G u r u , w ith
also should be d e p o s ite d iu t h e w a t e r a n d t h e m y s t ic sh o u ld p e r ­
w hose p e rm issio n h e b e g a n t h e w o rk . I t w i l l p l e a s e a ll t r u e
form a b lu t i o n .
T h e o s o p l i i s t s t o l e a r n t h a t C o l. O l c o t t ’s P a r m a y ttr u [ T e a c h e r ’s
(T o be c o n tin u e d .')
T e a c h e r . — E d .] w a s a c t u a l l y s e e n t w i c c c l a i r v o y a n t l y w i t h i n
one w eek by one of th e b lin d patien ts, th e la tte r g e n tle ­
S T A T I S T I C S O F C O L . O L C O T T ’S B E N G A L T O U R . m a n g i v i n g so a c c u r a t e a d e s c r i p t i o n of t h i s e x a l t e d P e r s o n a g e
As a m a t t e r of i n te r e s t to m y se lf a n d b r o t h e r m e m b e rs , as — a b o u t w h o m h e h a d n e v e r p re v io u sly even h e a rd one w o rd
well as f o r i t s sc i e n t i f ic a n d o c c u l t b e a r i n g s , I h a v e c o m p i l e d from a n y b o d y — t h a t H e w a s in s ta n tly recognizable.
llie f o l l o w i n g s t a t i s t i c a l n o tes of th o m e s m e ric tr e a tm e n ts Not the least s trik in g a n d , f r o m t h e sc i e n t i f ic p o i n t of
g iv e n b y Col. O l c o t t t o t h e sic k , f r o m t h e 2 3 rd F e b r u a r y to v i e w , i m p o r t a n t f e a t u r e of t h e s e c u r e s is t h e f a c t t h a t o n t h e
Ihe 1 9 t h M a y , 1883. M y o p p o r t u n i t i e s f o r o b s e r v a t i o n h a v e t o u r Col. O l c o t t l i a s ' e a t e n n o t h i n g b u t v e g e t a b l e f o o d , a n d
been u n e q u a l l e d , s i n c e I h a v e t h r o u g h o u t t h e p e r i o d b e e n of t h a t w h a t w e H iu d u s w o u ld call a v e ry sm a ll q u a n tity .
c o n stan tly w ith o u r P r e s i d e n t in t h e c a p a c ity of his A c t in g H i s u s u a l d a l l y a l l o w a n c e ( f o r t h r e e m e a l s — a t 7 A. m ., n o o n ,
P riv a to S e c r e t a r y .* T h e ta b le re p re s e n ts in one c o lu m n t h e a n d 0 i\ m .) lia s b e e n 6 to 8 p o t a t o e s , 8 oz. g r e e n v e g e t a b l e s ,
n u m b e r of p a t i e n t s ( t h e y w e r e of b o t h s e x e s , a ll a g e s , c o n ­ 2 oz. m a c e a r o n i , 1 oz. v e r m i c e l l i , G slic e s b r e a d a n d b u t t e r ,
ditions of so c ia l life, a n d s e c t s ) u p o n w h o m lie a c t u a l l y l a i d a n d 3 c u p s t e a o r coffee. H e n e v e r t o u c h e s b e e r , w i n e , 0 1 *
s p i r i t s in a n y f o r m . H e r e t i r e d o r d i n a r i l y a t 11 o r m i d n i g h t ,
* Ami ft more indefatigable Secretary anil devoted friend it would_ a n d r o s e a t a b o u t 6 A. M. ; d i d n o t s l e e p i n t h e d a y t i m e ; a n d
Col, Olcott tplla us—havo been impoaaiblo to have found. Nivarau a l w a y s h a d a c o l d b a t h i n tlie H i n d u f a s h i o n [ p o u r i n g w a tex ’
Babn at liis own. coat and without tlie smalleaj; remuneration devoted
three months of hia valnablo time to the President’s advice. Ilia from a pot over th e b o d y .— E d ], N ever in tubs. Our
Karma will aettle the score.—Ed. •■’
t o u r ——t h a t is, n o t c o u n t i n g t h e C o l o n e l ’s v o y a g e t o a n d f r o b y
soft b e t w e e n M a d r a s a n d C a l c u t t a , 2 , 0 0 0 m i l e s — w a s s o m e t h i n g
ov e r 2,000 m ile s, a n d w as m a d e b y ra il, s te a m b o a t, b u d g o -
ro w (c a n a l-b o a t), h o rse-g h arry , elep h an ts, horses, p a la n k in ,
e tc ., a n d w a s c o m p l e t e d i n 5 7 d a y s ; t h e trav e l b e in g som e­
tim e s b y n ig h t, so m e tim es by da y , a n d th e average stop at
eac h place tw o c le a r d a y s besides frac tio n s. The P resid en t
d e l i v e r e d 27 l e c t u r e s , o r g a n i z e d 12 new B ra n ch e s of th e
T h eo so p h ic al S o c i e t y , v i s i t e d 13 old ones, and h eld d a ily
d i s c u s s i o n s o n p h i l o s o p h y a n d sc i e n c e w i t h h u n d r e d s of t h e
a b l e s t m e n in B e n g a l a n d B e h a r . A d d t o t h i s t h a t h e is 51
y e a r s of a g e a n d t h r o u g h o u t h a s e n j o y e d r o b u s t h e a l t h , a n d
o u r c o u n tr y m e n a s w ell as E u r o p e a n s c a n h a v e som e idea
of t h e a c t i v i t y a n d e n d u r a n c e of a te m p e ra te w hite m an
e v e n i n o u r t r o p i c a l c li m a t e , in t h e h o t t e s t s e a s o n of t h e y e a r .
O f eonrse, o u r T h e o s o p h is ts do n o t r e q u ir e to be to ld th at
h e h a s b e e n d o i n g t h i s s o r t of w o r k — e x c e p t t h e p s y c h o p a t h y
— for th e p a s t f o U r - a n d - a - h a l f y e a r s in I n d ia , w i t h o u t re c e iv in g
one a n n a of co m p en satio n , a n d w ith o u t a s k i n g for p raise or
g r a t i f i c a t i o n e x c e p t w h a t is d e r i v e d f r o m t h e d o i n g of w h a t
o n e con ceiv es a d u ty .
(S ig n ed ) N I V A R A N C H A N D R A M U K E R J E .
C alcu tta , 21st H ay 1883.
C o l . H. S. O l c o t t , P residen t F ou nd er of th e Theosophical S o ­
ciety, left C alcutta by the F re n c h Ste am er of the 22nd May and
arrived a t Madras on the 25ih ultimo. A fter stay in g here for some
time for rest, of which ho has the g re a te st need, he will bejjin his
next to ur iu the Bombay Presidency, the N. W . P . and the
P unjab.
C o l , W. G o r d o n , F. T. S., Member of tlie General Council and
D istrict S up erin ten den t of Police o t H ow rah, stopped at' M eerut
on his way to Simla. O nr M eerut “ B roth ers reg ret very much
t h a t the Secretary of the Liengul (Calcutta) Theosophical Society,
B roth er Mohun Mohni Chatterjeo sliouldnot have distinctly stated,
iii the notice sent to them abo ut Col. Gordon breaking his j o u r ­
ney at th a t station, th a t he would stop there for one day, H o w ­
ever, they managed to got up a decent room ready for thoir kind
visitor, felt much delighted with his p leasan t company, and now
express g reat satisfaction a t the result of the m eeting ” Colonel
Uordon joined our Society nearly three y ears ago and has ever
since been our t r u e friend.
A t the time of our going to press, wo learn from tho Bombay
newspapers, tho sad tidings th a t the Florin-Llubattino Steam er
Singapore which sailed from Bombay for Genoa, ou tho 1st of
May, was destroyed by fire. Our friend H is H igh ness the Tlinkore
Sabeb of W adhw an, F. T. S., was a passenger by the same
steamer. I t is, however, a g re a t relief and satisfaction to noto
th a t the passengers, of whom thero was a large n u m b e r on board,
were nil safely lauded. May th e powers th a t saved His H ig h n ess
from thiH im m inent danger, continue to watch over him so long as
be shall deserve it.
M r . G o r A L V i n a y e k J o s u i F. T. S , Post M aster of Serampore,
now on leave, paid us a visit a sh ort i.ime ago. He is the husband
of Mrs, Anandibai Joshi, the M a h r a tta lady who recently went
to America to study medicine, a fact referred to, with pleasure
and satisfaction, in these columns. Mr. Joshi is one of our oldest
members, having joined th e Socioty within two or th ree m on ths
o f the arrival of the F ounders in Ind ia, and a loyal Theosophist.
H e now travels on leave in the Madras Presidency, having a
g re a t tas te for seeing new sig hts and co m in g in contact w ith
various sorts of people. On liis way back to his station, we e x ­
pect to have th e pleasure of his company once more, Being one
of the very few who have put the theoretical problem of female
education into practice, Mr. Joshi deserves the respect of ev ery
true lover of In dia.
W erend in r.he Indian Mirror :—"A ccordin g to a P a tn a paper,,
the conversion of the M aharajah of D n rb h a n g a to Theosophy i’b
not an unexpected fact. Since sometime past His H ighness, it
ia said, was favorably inclined towards it, and had been a con-
ataut le a d e r of Theosophical lite ra tu re .”
Mn. J a m s h e d j i N. U n w a l l a , M. A„ A ssistant Secretary to the
Snorashtar Theoscpliical Society, is oh a sh ort visit to the H e a d ­
quarters. H e is one of the very few Pnrsis who are deeply i n t e r ­
ested in Zoroastria nism and takes an active p a rt in our work in
t h a t line. If a few more of his co-religionists were !to assist our
movement, as he does, we feel tha t b etter days Would shine upon
t h a t much neglected b u t glorious faitb.
W e have g r e a t p leasu re in hailing onr B rother Mr. K. M
Shroff, as a jo u r n a list, H e joined our Society while the F o u n ­
ders were yet in America, and has ever since been a t r u e
and loyal friend to th e cause. T hrou gh ou t all the vicissitndes of
the Society, he has exer ted his best to further th e movement w ith
which he has identified himself. W e therefore hail witb joy th e
news of the Jami Jamehed having passed i^to the hands of our
b ro th e r talented and esteemed.
O u r Madras well-wishers, who tried their best to prejudice Mr.
Bradlaugh and Mrs. Besant again st o ur Society, will be d e lig h t­
ed to learn no d o u b t th a t Mr- P. M urugesa Mudaliar, Mr. P.
R athnavalu M udaliar and Mr. R. Jaga nn ath iah have been elected
V ice-Presidents of tho National Secular Society of L on d o n .In stea d
of Mr. P. Mtirngosa M u daliar being removed from th a t office, he
was re-elected along w ith tw o others, who bave all been d ev o ted
m em bers of th e Society. The cause of tr u th m u s t always prevai 1
in the end. .
T h e example of onr M a h ratta lady-m em berA nanda BaiJoshi, who
left Calcutta the o th er day for America to stndy medicine,has been
followed im m ediately by P u n d ita Romabai who, w ith a s tu d e n t
from the P u n a F em ale Normal School and one malo a tt e n d a r t,
left for E ng lan d by the last mail. The Subodh Patrika, of B om ­
bay, says :—“ T hough her intention to visit E n g lan d was known,
t h e d eparture has been ra th e r sudden, and, it is feared, she is not
sufficiently well equipped for t.he hazardous travel.” A rd yet
adds the Indian Mirror the Ind ian ladies are tw itted with w a n t
of education and pro gress. O u r ladies obtain the B. A. d e g re e
of the C alcutta U niv ersity, and proceed to E ngland to prosecute
th eir studies. Still th e i r European sisters look down upon them .
O u r y o u n g B r o t h e r , P a n d i t S liy a m a ji K r i s h n a v a r m a , sends
u s t h e O x fo r d C h ro n ic le o f 5 t h M a y , c o n t a i n i n g a f u l l r e p o r t
of t h e l a y i n g o f t h e M e m o r i a l S t o n e o f t h e I n d i a n I n s t i t n t e
b y H . R . II. t h e P r i n c e of W a le s . I t appears th a t onr
S liy am a ji h a s w on, a n d m a in ta in s w ith d ig n ity a v e ry h ig h
p o sition a t O x fo rd U n iv e rsity . H e h a s t a k e n h i s B. A . w i t h
e a s e , a n d h a s b e e n a s s i s t i n g P r o f . M o n i e r W i l l i a m s so a b l y
a s to h a v e w o n t h e e n t i r e c o n f i d e n c e of t h a t g e n t l e m a n . H e
w a s p r e s e n te d to t h e P r i n c e of W a l e s a n d lu n c h e d w ith h im
i u c o m p a n y w i t h L o r d S a l i s b u r y a n d a h o s t o f o t h e r n o b le s ,
a n d m a n y m e n o f e m i n e n c e i n l i t e r a t u r e , sc i e n c e a n d t h e
arts. P a n d i t S h y a m a j i ’s s u c c e s s g i v e s d i s t i n c t i o n t o t h e
s t a t e o f K u t c h a n d t h e y o u n g R a o is n o d o u b t s e n s i b l e of t h e
fact.
O BITU AR Y .
It is our painful du ty to announce to our various Branches
th e prem atu re death of M. R,, Ry. G. Narasimhooloo Chetty
Garu, F . T. S., of H yderabad. H e was the son in-law of our
respected friend and m u c h beloved bro ther and a Councillor
of our Society, M. R. Ry. P. Iyaloo Naidno Garu, late Deputy
Collector of Arni. O u r Society has not a tr u e r friend
and supporter, or a moro loyal Theosophist than Mr. Naidu.
W e are th e more grieved ou his account sinco the unexpect­
ed death of his so n - in -iaw, our bro th e r G- Narasimhooloo, which
happened oil the 25th April, was preceded on the l l t h of
same month by th a t of his young widowed d aug h ter. The
news reached us iu both cases too late for publication in our
last issue. In the. name of all our Society we take this op­
portunity to send our hearfelt fraternal condolences to express
our warmest sy m p a th y with our respected bro ther in his great
bereavement. T h a t b rig h te r days may dawn upon him, and
th a t he m ay find iu his grandchildren all. th a t he lias lost
with the death of his son-in-law and d au g h ter, is the pro­
foundly sincere hope, and the t r u e s t desire of his grateful Bro­
thers and sy m pathizing friends.
H. S. OLCOTT,
President-Founder.
H . P. B L A V A T S K Y , Cor. Sec. of
The Theosophical Society.
M adras, A d ta r. I
May 7th, 1883. {
 /Ocreativ
^com m ons
A ttrib u tio n -N o n C o m m e rc ia l-S h a re A lik e 3 . 0 U n p o r te d

Y o u are free:

to S h a r e — l o c o p y , d is trib u t e a n d t r a n s m it t h e w o r k

to R e m ix — to ad ap t th e w o rk

©
U n d e r th e f o llo w in g c o n d it io n s :

CD
A t t rib u t io n — Y o u m u s t a ttrib u te t h e w o r k in t h e m a n n e r s p e c if ie d b y t h e a u t h o r
o r l i c e n s o r ( b u t n o t in a n y w a y t h a t s u g g e s t s t h a t t h e y e n d o r s e y o u o r y o u r u s e o f
th e w o r k ) .

N o n c o m m e r c ia l — Y o u m a y n o t u s e t h is w o r k f o r c o m m e r c i a l p u r p o s e s .

S h a r e A lik e — I f y o u alter, t r a n s f o r m , o r build u p o n t h is w o r k , y o u m a y d istrib u te

© th e r e s u lt in g w o r k o n l y u n d e r t h e s a m e o r s im ila r l i c e n s e t o t h is o n e .

W ith th e u n d e r s t a n d in g that:

W a i v e r — A n y o f th e a b o v e c o n d it io n s c a n b e w a i v e d if y o u g e t p e r m i s s i o n f r o m th e c o p y r ig h t
h o ld e r.

P u b lic D o m a in — W h e r e t h e w o r k o r a n y o f its e le m e n t s is in t h e p u b l i c d o m a i n u n d e r
a p p lic a b le law , t h a t s t a t u s is in n o w a y a ff e c t e d b y t h e lic e n se .

O th e r R ig h t s — I n n o w a y a r e a n y o f t h e f o llo w in g r ig h t s a ff e c t e d b y t h e lic e n se :

• Y o u r fa ir d e a lin g o r f a i r u s e rig h ts , o r o t h e r a p p lic a b le c o p y r i g h t e x c e p t i o n s a n d

lim itations;

• T h e a u t h o r 's m o r a l rig h ts;

• R i g h t s o t h e r p e r s o n s m a y h a v e e ith e r in t h e w o r k its e lf o r in h o w t h e w o r k is u s e d , s u c h
a s p u b l i c i t y o r p r i v a c y rig h ts.

N o t ic o — F o r a n y r e u s e o r d istrib u tio n , y o u m u s t m a k e c le a r to o t h e r s th e l i c e n s e t e r m s o f
th is w o r k . T h e b e s t w a y t o d o t h is is w it h a lin k t o t h is w e b p a g e .
 A MONTHLY JOURNAL DEYOTED TO ORIENTAL PHILOSOPHY, ART, LITERATURE AND OCCULTISM:
EMBRACING MESMERISM, SPIRITUALISM, AND OTHER SECRET SCIENCES.
' to
T H E R E IS N O R E L IG IO N H I G H E R T H A N T R U T H .
[ F a m i l y m o tto o f th e M a h a r a j a h s o f B e n a r e s . ]
T H E SO U L OF T H IN G S .
T e n years ago P ro fesso r W illia m D en to n , an A nglo-
A m erican G eologist a n d a m an of m a rk e d in tellectu al
cap acity, issued in co llab o ratio n w itli liis equally g ifte d
wife, a w ork in th re e volum es, b e a rin g tho title w hich,
heads th e p re se n t article. I t is a record of extensivo
researches into th e o rig in of th in g s visible, or th e w orld
noum enal. N o la b o ra to ry in stru m e n ts or processes
w ere em ployed in th is research ; th e re w as n e ith e r
furnace, n o r crucible, n o r flask, n o r chem ical, n o r lens
availed of, an d y e t th is book co n tain s fa c ts w ith resp ect
to tlie h id d e n h alf of n a tu re w hich equal, if th e y do
n o t outvie, in in te re s t an d su g g e stiv e im p o rtan ce any
discovery in th e science of objective p h en o m en a re ­
p o rte d to an y learn ed association. T h e research es of the
D entons have done especially m uch good to stu d e n ts of
A ry an science, for th e y lin k in w ith, an d g ive tho k ey to,
th e previously p u zzlin g m ysticism of th e A th a rv a V eda
and sub seq u en t w orks on occult science. T h e ag ency
em ployed w as P sy ch o m etry , an d P sy c h o m e try (soul-
m easuring) is a G reek w ord to ex p ress th e fa c u lty —•
n atu ral, b u t o rd in arily la te n t in us— by w hich th e inner-
self cognizes th e th in g s of th e sp iritu a l (or, if you please,
dynam ic) w orld of causes. T h is fa c u lty was stro n g in
M rs. D ento n , h e r son, an d m em bers of P ro f. D e n to n 's own
fam ily, an d th e two fo rm er especially developed th e ir
psycliom otrical pow ers to a m arvellous d eg ree. I f any
o b je c t—a le tte r, b it of clo th in g , fra g m e n t of stone or
o th e r m aterial from a b u ild in g , or of a geological speci­
m en, etc., w ere given th em to clasp in th e ir h a n d s or
hold a g a in st th e m iddle of th e ir fo re h e a d s,— an inch
above th e line of th e eyebrow s— th e y w ould a t once come
into sy m p ath y w itli th e A ka sa , o r soul, of th e p erso n or
th in g w ith whom or w hich th e o b je c t h ad been in re la ­
tions, an d describe th e sam e. S tep b y step , th e se re ­
searches proved th e tr u th of th e old A ry a n dogm a th a t
the A kasa (E th er) is tlie crad le an d g rav e of objec­
tive n a tu r e ; an d th a t it holds im p erisliab ly th e records of
e v e ry th in g th a t ever ex isted , every phen o m en o n tlia t ever
occurred in th e o u ter w orld. T h e h y p o th e sis of physical
science was th u s endorsed an d e n la rg e d , an d a b rid g e
of one span flung across th e <( n u fath o m ab le ch a sm ”
seen by tlio g re a t T y n d all to lie b etw een tho visible
and invisible w orlds. P rof. D en to n was n o t tlie m odern
discoverer of P sy c h o m e try ; th a t h o n o r is due to P ro f. J .
It. B uchanan, M. D-, an A m erican an th ro p o lo g ist of em i­
nence an d a fellow of our Society. I t is 0 11 0 of th e g re a t
merits of th is science th a t its research es m ay be carried
ou w ith o u t r is k to th e “ p a t i e n t / ' a u d w ith o u t th r o w in g
him or h er into th e sta te of M esm eric unconsciousness*
I “ A t first,” says P ro f. D en to n in his book,*
“ T b e s e n s i t i v e , o r p s y c h o m e t e r , is g e n e r a l l y a m e r e l y p a s s i v e
s p e c t a t o r , l i k e o n e w h o s i t s a n d o b s e r v e s a p a n o r a m a ; b u t in t i m e
b e b e c o m e s a b le to in flu e n c e th e v isio n s — to p a s s th e m a lo n g
ra p id ly , or re ta in t b e m lo n g e r fo r a close ex am in a tio n . T h e n tb a
p s y c h o m e te r , a t tim e s , d w e lls in t b a t p a s t w h o s e h is to r y seem a
t o b e c o n t a i n e d in t h e s p e c i m e n * * * A t l e a s t b e b e c o m e s r e l e a s ­
e d e v e n fro m th e sp e c im e n . A t w ill h e leav es th o ro o m , p a sse s
o u t in to t h e air, looks d o w n u p o n th o city , sees th e e a r t h b e n e a th
b irn l i k o a m a p , or, s a i l i n g st ill h i g h e r / b e h o l d s t h e r o u n d w o r l d
ro llin g in to d a r k n e s s o r s u n lig h t b en eath him . f ie d ro p s u p on
i s l a n d o r c o n t i n e n t , w a t c h e s t h e w ild t r i b e s of A f r i c a , e x p l o r e s t h a
d e s e r t i n t e r i o r o f A u s t r a l i a , o r s o l v e s t h e p r o b l e m of t h e e a r t h ’s
m y s t e r i o u s poles. H e can d o m o r e th a n th is : he b e c o m e s m a s te r
of th e ag e s . A t h is c o m m a n d th e p a s t of isla n d a n d c o n t i n e n t
c o m e u p l i k e g h o s t s f r o m t b e i n f i n i t e n i g h t , a n d I10 s e e s w h a b
th e y w ere a n d how th e y were, w h a t fo rm s te n a n te d th e m , a n d
m a r k s t h e i r first h u m a n v is ita n ts , se e in g th o g r o w t h of a c o n t i ­
n e n t , a n d its f r u i t a g e in h u m a n i t y , w ith in th e b o u n d a r y of a l ittle
• houi* * * * t h e u n i v e r s o s c a r c e l y h o l d s a s e c r e t t h a t t h e f r e e d
s p i r i t c a n n o t b e h o l d w i t h o p e n e y e .”
P ro f. D en to n estim ates th a t th e psychom etric fac u lty
is possessed b y a t le a st one w hite fem ale in ten, and ono
m an in tw en ty . D o u b tless th e p erc en ta g e would be even
g re a te r am ong A siatics.
T he P sy chom etor, as we have rem ark ed , does n o t liavo
to be m esm erised fo r th e exercise of th e pow er. H is eyes
should be closed, th e b e tte r to help c o n c en tratio n of
th o u g h t upon th e psychic observations. “ O th e rw ise /’
says P rof. D e n to n — ‘
h e a p p e a r s t o b e in a p e r f e c t l y n o r m a l c o n d i t i o n d u r i n g t h e
tim e , a u d c a n re a d ily n o tic e w liat ta k e s place in th e r o o m ;
f r e q u e n tl y la y in g d o w n t h e s p e c im e n , jo in in g in tb e c o n v e r s a tio n ,
o r d r a w i n g o b j e c t s s e e n a u d t h e n g o i n g on w i t h t b e e x a m i n a t i o n .
W h e n t b e s p e c i m e n is i n p o w d e r , it is m e r e l y n e c e s s a r y t o s t r o k e
t b e f o r e h e a d w i t h a s m u c h a s will c l i n g t o a d u m p f i n g e r ; a n d
w h e r e h e a v e n l y b o d i e s a r e e x a m i n e d t h e r a y s a r e a l l o w e d to
shine upon th e fo reh ead .”
T hus it will be seen th a t w ith a copy of P rof. D e n to n ’s
book in h an d , a co m m ittee of a B ran ch S ociety has th o
m eans of easily p u rsu in g resea rc h of th e m ost in te re stin g
an d profitable k in d into a dom ain w here n o t m erely th o
secrets of A ry a n h isto ry b u t of th e h isto ry of our p la n e t
and all its m u ta tio n s are reco rd ed iinperishably. Saya
P ro f. J . W . D ra p er, one of th e ab le st scientists and m o st
b rillia n t w rite rs who have ad o rn ed our p re se n t ag e :
“ A shadow n ev er falls upon a wall w ithout lea v in g
th ereu p o n a p e rm a n e n t tra c e — a tra c e w hich m ig h t b e
m ade visible b y re so rtin g to p ro p er processes. * * *
U pon tlie walls of our m ost p riv ate ap artm en ts, w hero
we th in k th e eye of in tru sio n is a lto g e th e r sh u t out and.
our re tire m e n t can n ev e r bo profaned, th e re e x ist tlio •
v estig es of all our acts, silhouettes of w h atev e r we havo
d o n e.” f i t is a c ru sh in g th o u g h t to w hoever has com m it­
ted secret crim e, th a t th e p ictu re of his deed and th a
v ery echoes of his w ords m ay be seen and h ea rd countless
years a fte r I10 has gone th e way of all flesh, and le ft a ■
* T h e S o ul o f T h i n g s ; ov P s y c h o m e t r i c R e s e a r c h e s a u d D is c o v e r ie s ,'
B y W i l l i u m D e n t o n . V o ls I , I I u u d I I I . P r i c e Its. 12-8-0 i n c l u d i n g p o s t '
ago. . ’ . '
t H isto r y of the Conflict b e tw e e n Iteligiou a n d Science, p, 133.
rep u tatio n fo r “ re sp e c ta b ility ” to his c h ild re n . To
m em bers of o u r S o ciety th e idea should com e hom e w ith
peculiar w e ig h t, since th ey live, act, sp eak a n d even th in k
u n d er th e o b serv atio n of those M a s t e r s from w hom no
secrets of n a tu re can be hidden if th e y choose to explore
h e r arcan a. T h e re have been several cases a m o n g us of
Belf-reform ation due m ainly to th e conviction of th is fa c t,
an d if th e resources of P sy eh o m etry w ere b u t su sp ected
g en e rally th e re w ould be m any m ore. F o r it is p ro v ed
th a t not only a re th e im ages of th e P a s t in “ th e fadeless
pictu re-g alleries of th e A k a sa ,” b u t also th e sounds of
p a st voices, even th e perfum es of a rch aic flowers, w ith e re d
ages ag o , a n d th e arom as of fru its th a t h u n g on trees
when m a n was b u t a m u m b lin g savage, a n d p o lar ice, a
milo th ic k , covered w h at a re now th e fa ire st countries
u n d er th e sun. W e have been th e m eans of p u ttin g
m ore th a n sev en ty copies of th e S o u l o f T h in g s in to c ir­
culation in In d ia a n d hope to p u t seven h u n d re d m ore.
A n d we also hope to be soon able to in tro d u c e to th e
acquaintance of o u r In d ia n friendg th o a u th o r him self,
who has ju s t com p leted a h ig h ly successful le c tu rin g sea­
son in A u stra lia a n d will ta k e In d ia on his w ay hom e to
A m erica. A m o n g his lectures was one on P sy eh o m etry ,
a condensed re p o rt of w hich we find in th e L iberal
(Sydney) of F e b ru a ry 10th, an d w hich we copy, as fol­
lows :—
: P r o f e s s o r D e n to n snid t h a t d u r i n g th e Inst 300 y e a r s t h e u n i v e r s e
h ad been e n la r g e d to o n r co m p reh en sio n m oro th a n a th o u s a n d ­
fold. l 'h e h e a v e n s h a d been e x p a n d e d , a n d G e o lo g y took in a g e s
on n g e s F u r t h e r b a c k , t o s e e k f o r t h e b e g i n n i n g o£ o u r p l a n e t , t h a n
it did 300 y e a r s ago. J u s t a s th e e x te r io r u n iv e r s e h a d e n la r g e d ,
so t h e i n t e r i o r u n i v e r s e of m a n h a d e n l a r g e d , a n d b e c o m e i n f i n i t e l y
g r a n d e r . T h e r e w ere h e a v e n ly bodies r e v o lv in g w ith in t h e m in d
of m a n , a n d t h i s u n i v e r s e of o u r s w a s t o b e e x p a n d e d , a s t h e i n t e ­
r io r one h a d boen b y t h e e x e r c is e of sc ien ce a n d in te lle c t. I f we
e x a m i n e t h e e y e o f a m a n w h o is l o o k i n g a t a l a n d s c a p e , we,4J>n
se e t h e p i c t u r o in m i n i a t u r e . N o w w e h a v e g e n e r a l l y s u p p o s e d
t h a t w h e n a m a n t u r n s h i s f a c e t o o n e s i d e t h e i m a g e is e n t i r e l y
e lim in a te d a n d c a n n o t be r e n e w o d . H e w as sa tisfie d t h a t t h i s
■was n o t c o r r e c t . S i r I s a a c N e w t o n , w h o s p e n t a g r e a t d e a l of h i s
tim e e x a m in in g th o su n , d e c la re d t h a t h e co uld see it d is tin c tly
w h e n e v e r ho t h o u g h t a b o u t i t , e v e n w h e n h e w a s i n b e d . T h e
le c tu r e r k n e w a g r e a t m a n y p e rso n s like th is. I f th e y w e re |h a n d -
1 iti pr o b j e c t s d u r i n g t h e d a y , p i c k i n g b e r r i e s o r g r a p e s , j u s t a s
noon as t h e i r e y e s w e r e c l o s e d a t n i g h c , t h o y c o u l d s e e t h e o b j e c t
w ith s t a r t l i n g viv id n ess. N ie b h u r , th e g r e a t D a n i s h tra v e lle r,
t a l k e d t o h i s f r i e n d s a f t e r h e w a s b l i n d of t h e b e a u t i f u l s c e n e s h e
h a d g a z e d u p o n in t h e e a s t. T h e y a s k e d h im how h e c o u ld d e ­
s c r i b e t h e m so m i n u t e l y , h e s a i d “ I c a n s e e t h e m a n d d e s c r i b e
t h e m a s no o t h e r m a n w i t h o u t t h i s c o u l d d o . ” W e r e a d of a
p a in te r w ho d r e w 300 a c c u r a te lik e n e s s e s in o n e y e a r ; on b e in g
ask ed how h e d id th is he rep lied , “ W h e n a m a n com es to m e
fo r his p o r tra it I look a t h im a n d d r a w for h a lf-a n -h o u r, a n d th e n
t e l l h i m t o g o a n d h e n e e d n o t c o m e b a c k t o s i t a g a i n p” N o w
h o w c o u l d h e f in is h t h e p o r t r a i t ? H e s a y s , “ W h e n I t o o k o u t
m y can v as an d w ished to proceed, I saw m y su b je c t a lth o u g h
h e w as n o t t h e r e ; t h u s s a v in g m e tr o u b le a n d p e r m i t t i n g m e to
m a k e a p e r fe c t lik en ess. B y th is m e a n s I fin ish ed a g r e a t m a n y
p o r t r a i t s i n a s h o r t ti m e , a n d s a v e d m o n e y f o r m y c h i l d r e n . ”
T h e s e p i c t u r e s of w h a t w e h a v e se en r e m a in in u s, a n d we o n ly
b e c o m o a w a r e o f t h i s w h e n w e a r e s i c k . T h u s w e f in d H u g h
M ille r r e la tin g , in his “ Schools a n d S c h o o lm a ste rs,” t h a t w h en
h e w a s a boy of f o u r te e n , h e saw a t E d in b u r g h a p la y w ith a
sin g u la r d r o p scene. Ho tells u s t h a t w h e n h e h a d a f e v e r v a rio u s
im a g e s b e g a n to p a s s beforo h im lik e t h e f ig u r e s in a n i t i n e r a n t
s h o w m a n ’s bo x . H o w a s w ell e n o u g h t o k n o w t h e y w e r e i d l e
u n r e a l i t i e s ; b u t , c u r i o u s t o k n o w if h i s w i l l w o u l d a f f e c t t h e m ,
h e w i s h e d f o r a d e a t h ’s h e a d ; i n s t e a d t h e r e c a m e a k e t t l e o n t h e
fire, t h a t o h a n g e d i n t o a c a t a r a c t w i t h w h i t e f o a m a n d b l u e w a t e r ,
n n d t h e n t h e w h o l e c a m e d a s h i n g d o w n i n t o o n e f r i g h t f u l s e a of
blood. T h e c a ta r a c t w a s in ev e ry d etail e x a c tly c o in c id e n t w ith th e
i n c a n t a t i o n s c e n e in t h e t h e a t r e a t E d i n b u r g h . H e f u r t h e r s a y s , “ I
s u s p e c t t h a t t h e r e ^ r e p r o v i n c e s in t h e m i n d t h a t p h y s i c i a n s h a v e
n o t v e n tu r e d in to .” I t was to e n lig h te n us op o n th e s e m y s te r io u s
c ab in ets th a t th e lectu rer cam e tb a t n ig h t. T h e re w as n o t a
b e g g a r u p o n t h e s t r e e t t h a t do e s n o t b e a r a w a y in h is m in d m o re
p i c t u r e s t h a n t h e b e s t g a lle rie s t h a t e x is t in t b e w o rld . T h e y
a r e as i n d e s tr u c t i b l e ns h is soul, a n d will e n d u r e f o r ever. B u t
t h i s w a s o n l y t h e f i r s t p a r t oE h i s s t o r y . N o t o n l y d i d w e d a g u ­
e r re o ty p e w h a t w e saw, b u t e v e r y th in g d o e s t h e s a m e t o e v e r y ­
th i n g t h a t is in i t s v ic in ity ,Y o u sit d o w n t o h a v e y o u r p h o t o g r a p h
taken b y t h e o l d p r o o e s s , T h e o p e r a t o r e a y g '• I h a v e g o t y o u
a n d y o u c a n g o . ” Y o u s a y , “ I^et m e h a v e a l o o k a t i t b e f o r e I
g o . ” “ N o , I c a n ’t ; t h e r e i s n o t h i n g t o b e s e e n . ” “ B u t d i d n ’t y o u
s a y y o u h a d g o t m e ? ” “ Y e s , b n t i t h a s t o b e d e v e l o p e d . ’* A n d
y oil-learn t h a t y o u r p o r tr a it m a y b e ta k e n a n d y e t n o t h i n g seen
of it. What man would have believed tbat a plate of metal could
c a r r y y o u r p h o to g r a p h w ith o u t b e in g visible ? T ak e a p en n y ; le t
i t lie on a p l a t e o f p o l i s h e d m e t a l f o r a l i t t l e t i m e , a n d t o ss i t off
a g a in . N o w b r e a t h e n p o n t h e p la te , a n d on im a g e of t h e p e n n y
will b e visible, P u t it a w a y fo r a y e a r a n d t h e g h o s t of th e p e n n y
w ill c o m e o u t w h e n b r e a t h e d u p o n . N o w h e w o u l d s h o w h o w t h e
i m a g e s of o t h e r t h i n g s c o u l d b e b r o u g h t o u t b y t h e s e n s i t i v e m i n d ,
a n d t h o g r a n d u n i v e r s e o f k n o w l e d g e r e v e a l e d t o t h e h u m a n so u l .
H e m a d e t h e d isc o v e ry th r o u g h p re v io u s discoveries m ad e by D r.
B u c h a n a n , w ho in h is t u r n w as led to t h is s tu d y b y a bish o p
o f t h e C h u r c h of E n g l a n d , w h o w a s h i m s e l f a s e n s i t i v e , o n d c o u l d
ta s te bross b y to u c h in g it w ith his finger. D r. B u ch an an th o u g h t
o th e r p eople m ig h t be sim ilarly c o n s titu te d , a n d b eg an to e x p e ­
r i m e n t w i t h h i s s t u d e n t s . S o m e of t h e m c o u l d te l l t h e d i f f e r e n t
m e t a l s w h i c h w e r e p u t i n t o t h e i r h a n d s w i t h o u t l e t t i n g t h e m se e
o r k n o w what, k i n d t h e y w e r e . T h e n h e t r i e d t h e m w i t h m e d i c a l
s u b s ta n c e s : w h e n it w as an e m e tic th e y could only k e e p fro m
v o m i t i n g b y t h r o w i n g it a w a y . T h o l e c t u r e r k n e w s o m e o f t h o s e
s t u d e n ts , now p r a c t i s i n g m e d ic in e in th e U n i t e d S ta te s . T h e y
c o u ld also d ia g n o s e a sick p e r s o n b y t a k i n g h is h a n d , a n d s u b s e ­
q u e n tly w rite o u t h is c h a r a c te r by t h e sam e m ea n s os co rre ctly
as a p h re n o lo g ist could do it. T h e n it was fo u n d t h a t w h e n a
perso n w ro te a l e tte r , he p e r m e a te d th e p a p e r w ith his in flu e n c e ;
a n d he k n e w m o r e t h a n t w e n t y p e o p le w ho could t a k e t h a t le tte r ,
place it to t h e ir fo re h e a d , close t h e i r eyes, a n d d e lin e a te th e c h a ­
r a c t e r of t h e i n d i v i d u a l w h o w r o t e i t . W h e n h e d e t e r m i n e d t o
te s t th e s e facts h e b e g a n a t h o m e. H e found t h a t his sis te r co uld
d e l i n e a t e t h o c h a r a c t e r of t h e w r i t e r s o f l e t t e r s w h i c h h e g a v e h e r ,
n a y , ev en see t h e i r p h y sic a l s u r r o u n d i n g s ; a n d , in t h e c ase of a
w e l l - k n o w n l a d y , p r e d i c t e d t h e b r e a k i n g of a n a b s c e s s o n t h e
lu n g s, w hich w as b o rn e o u t ex actly. W h a t en ab led th e sen sitiv e
to do th is P W h ile th e y w ere w r itin g n a tu r e w as d r a w in g th e ir
im a g e u p o n t h e l e tte r , a n d w h e n th e se n sitiv e g o t it, o u t c a m e th e
im a g e t h a t to ld th e story. H e was now d e te r m in e d to g o one ste p
f a r t h e r . I f l e t t e r s p h o t o g r a p h e d w h y n o t f o ss ils P H e w a s t h e n
i n t h e f o ss il l i n e , s o h e g a v e h i s s i s t e r a s p e c i m e n f r o m t h e c a r ­
b o n ife ro u s fo rm a tio n ; clo s in g h e r eyes, she d e s c rib e d th o se
sw a m p s a n d tre e s, w ith th e ir tu f te d head s a n d scaly t r u n k s
w i t h t h e g r e a t f r o g l i k e a n i m a l s t h a t e x i s t e d in t h a t a g e . T o h i s
in e x p re ssib le d e lig h t th e k e y to th e a g e s was in his h an d s. H o
concluded th a t n a tu r e h ad been p h o to g ra p h in g from th e very
f i r s t . T h e b l a c k i s l a n d s t h a t f l o a t e d u p o n t h e f ie ry se a, t h e g e l a -
tin o u s - d o ts , t h e first life on o u r p la n e t, u p t h r o u g h e v e r y th in g
t h a t flew o r s w a m , h a d b e e n p h o t o g r a p h e d b y n a t u r e . S i n c e t h a t
t i m e 10,0d 0 e x p e r i m e n t s h a d c o n f i r m e d t h e t h e o r y . I t w a s
b e c a u s e he h a d t h e f a c t s b e h i n d h im t h a t he c a m e to tell t h e m
t h e s e t r u th s . H e g o t fro m a m is s io n a ry a s p e c im e n of t h e lava
t h a t f l o w e d f r o m K i l a v a , i n H a w a i i , in 1818. H i s s i s t e r b y i t s
m e a n s d e s c r i b e d t h o b o i l i n g o c e a n , t h e c a t a r a c t o f m o l t e n lav a,
t h a t a l m o s t e q u a l l e d N i a g a r a i n size. A s m a l l f r a g m e n t of a
m e t e o r i t e t h a t fell i n P a i n e s v i l l e , O h i o , w a s g i v e n t o h i s w i f e ’s
m o th e r , a s e n s itiv e w h o d id n o t t h e n b eliev e in p s y s c h o m e tr y .
T h i s is w h o t s h e s a i d — “ I s e e m t o b e t r a v e l l i n g a w a y , a w a y ,
t h r o u g h n o t h i n g , r i g h t f o r w a r d . I se o w h u t l o o k s l i k e s t a r s a n d
m ist. I se e m to be ta k e n r i g h t u p ; th e o th e r sp e c im e n s to o k m e
d o w n .” H i s wife, i n d e p e n d e n t l y , g a v e a sim ila r d e s c rip tio n , b n t
s a w i t r e v o l v i n g , a n d i t s ta i l o f s p a r k s . H e t o o k s t e p s t o p r o v e
t h a t t h i s w a s n o t m i n d - r e a d i n g , b y w r a p p i n g t h e s p e c i m e n s in
p a p e r , s h a k i n g t h e m u p in a h a t, a n d a llo w in g t h e s e n sitiv e to
p ic k o n e o u t a n d d e s c r ib e it, w i t h o u t a n y o n e k n o w in g w h ic h it
w as. A m o n g th e m w e re a f r a g m e n t of b ric k fro m a n c ie n t R o m e,
a n t i m o n y f r o m B o r n e o , s i l v e r f r o m M e x i c o , b a s a l t f r o m F i n g a l ’g
C a v e. E a c h p la c e w as d e s c r ib e d c o r re c tly by th e s e n s itiv e in th e
m o s t m i n u t e d e ta il. A f r a g m e n t fro m t h e M o u n t o f O lives
b r o u g h t a d e s c r i p t i o n of J e r u s a l e m ; a n d o n e f r o m t h e G r e a t
P y r a m i d e n a b le d a y o u n g m a n of M e lb o u r n e to n a m e a n d d e ­
sc rib e it. T h e re w as a p r a c tic a l sid e to t h e q u e stio n . H i s w ife h a d ,
from a ch ip o f wood, d e s c rib e d a su ic id e ; th is w a s s u b s e q u e n t l y c o n ­
f i r m e d . F e m a l e s w e r e m o r e s e n s i t i v e t h a n m a l e s . T h e i n f l u e n c e of
eoplo w h o h a d liv e d in a h o u s e w o u ld r e m a i n in it, a n d could
E e sensed by w om en, w ho w ould d eclare th a t th e y could n ever
b e h a p p y in t h a t h o u se . T h e s e w era g e n e ra lly t h o u g h t to be
w o m e n ’s w h i m s . A n u m b e r o f e x p e r i m e n t s f r o m a f r a g m e n t of
K e n t ’s C a v e , f r a g m e n t s f r o m P o m p e i i a n d o t h e r p l a c e s , b r o u g h t
m in u te d escrip tio n s fro m th e sensitive. T h e le c tu re r co ncluded
b y d e c la r in g t h a t th e s e w e re sc ientific fa c ts w hich c ould be v e r i­
fied a t a n y t i m e . H e k n e w o f t h e i r t r u t h a s w e l l a s h e k n e w h e
lived. T h e s e fa o u ltie s b e lo n g e d to t h e s p ir it. W e a re n o t to
die a n d bo k io k ed in to a hole j w e o re m e n a n d w o m e n w ith
im m o r t a l s p ir its t h a t c a n r a n g e th e u n iv e r s e w h e n d e a t h shall
t a k e o a r bodies.
■ ♦ -
(iC o n c lu d e d fro m , o u r la s t.)
Z O R O A S T R IA N IS M
In the L ig h t of O ccult P h il o s o p h y .
T heoffers m ade b y A h u ra-M a zd a to Y im a (the first
m an) to receive in stru c tio n from him are rejected. (Farg.
I I — 17). W h y ?“ B ecause,” as he answ ers, “ I was n o t born,
I was n o t ta u g h t to b e th e p re ach er an d th e b e a re r of
th e law .” N o, ho w as n o t born, th o O ccult Science tells
us, fo r from w hom could he have been b o rn since he,w as
the Jirst m a n (let th e m o d ern an th ro p o lo g ists a n d physio- •
logiats explain if th e y can ). B u t lie w as evoluted fr o m a
pre-existing fo r m , a n d as such h a d no n e e d as y e t of tlie
laws an d te a c h in g s of his 7th P rin c ip le . T h e “ S u p re m e ”
an d th e “ A lm ig h ty ” rem ains satisfied ! H e m a k e sh im only
prom ise th a t he w ill ta k e care of his c re a tu re s a n d m ake
them h a p p y , w hich prom ise is fulfilled b y “ th e som of
V iv a n g h a t.” D o es n o t th is show th a t A h u ra-M azd a ia
som ething w h ich can be ex p lain ed a n d defined only b y
the O ccult D o c trin e ? A n d w isely does it ex p lain to us
th a t A h u ra is o u r own inner, tru ly p ersonal G od a n d th a t
he is our S p iritu a l lig h t and th e “ C reato r of th e m aterial
w orld” — i. e., th e a rc h ite c t an d sh a p e r of th e M icrocosm —
M an, w hen th e la tte r know s how to re s is t A n g ra-M ain y u ,
or K a m a ,— lu s t or m aterial d esires— b y re ly in g on
him who overshadow s him , th e A h u ra-M azd a or S p iritu a l
E ssence. T h e la tte r invokes “ V a y u ,” w ho, in th e M az-
dean occult sense, is th e U niversal, as h e is, th e I n d iv i­
dual, lig h t of m an. H e n c e his p ra y e r to “ V a y u ,” th a t
Z aratusH tra, th e b e in g w ho w ill te a c h tr u th to his follow ­
ers, should side w ith him , A h u ra , an d h elp h im to fig h t
A hrim an, w ith o u t w hich h elp even “ H e ” (our 7 th P rin c i­
ple) is pow erless to save m an fr o m h im s e lf; fo r A h rim an
is th e allego rical re p re se n ta tio n of th e low er h u m an p rin ­
ciples, as A h u ra-M azd a is th a t of th e h ig h e r. T h e n , th in k
of th e sym bolical alleg o ry in Y im a, th e re p re s e n ta tiv e of
th e first unborn hu m an race of th is, o u r F o u rth -R o u n d .*
I t is too sp iritu al, too u n ac q u a in te d w ith evil upon its
first re aw ak en in g to life, to b e y e t in n eed of th e tru th s
of th e sacred science, th e com m on fo u n d atio n of all th e
g re a t religio n s. H en ce “ th e g re a ts lie p h e rd ,” Y im a ,re fu se s
A h u ra ’s in stru c tio n s, for A h rim a n is so fa r pow erless over
th e innocence of infancy, irresp o n sib le an d unconscious
of m or^l a n d physical d a n g e r. H e “ k eep s (spiritual)
d ea th an d disease aw ay” fro m his people, a n d “ en larg es
th ree tim es th e e a r t h f o r th e root-race m u ltip lies an d
‘ ‘ shoots off sev en ty tim es seven b ra n c h ra c e s .” B u t Z ara-
tu s h tra accepts an d w orships A h u ra-M azd a in th e V en d id ad
an d elsew here, because th is p ro p h e t in th e g e n e ric sense
of the nam e is th e re p re se n ta tiv e of th e la tte r p o rtio n of
th e second race. A n d now le t th e P a rs e e m ath em atician s
calculate how lo n g ago lived th e fir s t Z a ra -Is h ta r, or
Z o ro aster ; a n d let th em stu d y th e real M azdaism , n o t th e
la te r excrescences w ith w hich it becam e overg ro w n
tliro u g h o n t th e cycles of th e a g es a n d races. W h ic h of
th e Z a ra tu slitra s was th e re a l law -g iv er of th e C h ald ean
M azdaism ? S u rely n o t he, to w hom A h u ra-M azd a says :
“ T he fa ir Y iipa . O holy Z a ra th u s tra , he w as th e firs tm o r-
ta l before thee, w ith whom I , A h u ra-M azd a, did converse,
whom I ta u g h t th e Jaw of A h u ra , the law o f Z a ra th u stra .”
(F arg. I I , 2), .T eaching th e law of Z a ra th u s tra to th e sam e
Z a ra th u stra , an d ag es b efore th a t Z a ra th u s tra w as b o rn,
rem inds one of M oses m ade to n a rra te in his “ P e n ta ­
te u c h ” h is own d eath an d b u rial. I n th e V endidad, if A h u ra
is " t h e C re a to r of th e m aterial toorld,” i.e ., th e M icrocosm
m an, Y im a, is th e real c reato r of th e e a rth . T h e re , h e is shown
— piaster of S p e n ta A rm a iti, th e gen iu s of th e e a rth , and
h e,b y th e pow er of his inn& teuntaught lig h t a n d know ledge,
sim ply for th e absence of A n g ra M ainyu— who com es la te r
on— forces “ th e e a rth to g ro w la rg e r a n d to b e a r flocks
and h e rd s an d m en at his w ill a nd tcish.” (Farg. I I , 11).
A hura-M azd a is also th e F a th e r of T istry a , th e ra in-
bestowing god (the 6 th P rin cip le) th a t fru ctifies the
p a rc h ed soil of th e 5 th a n d 4 th , an d h elp s th e m to b e a r
good fru it th ro u g h th e ir own ex ertio n s, i. e., b y ta s tin g
of H ao m a, th e tre e of e te rn a l life, th ro u g h sp iritu a l
en lig h te n m e n t. F in a lly an d u n d e n ia b ly A h u ra-M azd a
bein g called th e chief an d fa th e r of th e six “ A m esh a Spen-
tas”— or of th e six p rin cip les of w hich he is th e sev en th ,
th e question is settled . H e is “ A h u ra ” o r r a th e r A su ra —
th e “ liv in g s p irit in m an,” th e first of w hose 20 different
nam es he gives a s ' ‘A h m i,” “ l a m . ” I t w as to im p re ss upon
his audience th e full im p o rtan ce of th e re c o g n itio n of, and
reliance upon, (hence th a t of a d d re ssin g it in “ p ra y e r” )
this one God from w hom pro ceed a n d in w hom a re cen ­
* See F ra g m e a t B of O ccu lt T r u t h . — E d.-
tre d H u m a te,’ H u k h te , a n d H uvareshte,* th e sublim e con­
d ensation of all h u m an an d social law , th a t Colonel O lc o tt
recom m ended to th e “ P a rse e y o u th s,” the study of their
p ra y ers. I t is very lik ely , as D a rm e steter th in k s, th a t
“ H e ro d o tu s m ay have h e a rd th e M agi sing, in th e fifth
ce n tu ry B . C. th e very sam e g ath a s w hich are su n g now -
a-days b y th e M obeds in B om bay ;” b u t it is m ost u n ­
lik ely , th a t su n g as th e y are now, th e y are a n y th in g
b e tte r th a n th e “ sh ells” of th e old g a th a s, th e a n im a t­
in g sp irit h a v in g fled from th em , never to re tu rn unless
forcibly re ca lled b y th e re su rre c tin g p o te n tia lity of th a
“ O ccult S ciences.”
W i l l t h e l e a r n e d C o l o n e l b e b o k i n d a s t o s a y w h e t h e r in hia
opinion, it do es n o t a p p e a r t h a t t h e Z e n d a v e sta re p re se n ts t h e
g e n u i n e d icta tes of Z o r o a s t e r , o r t h a t i t c o n t a i n s e x t r e m e
m u tila tio n s and a d d itio n s m a d e b efore i t w as w ritte n a n d a fte r
it w as w r itte n ?
W e th in k we can, for th e Colonel’s opinions, are o u r’s
h a v in g stu d ied u n d e r th e sam e M aster an d k n o w in g th a t
h e sh ares in th e sam e view s, nam ely, th a t th e Z en davesta
re p re se n ts now only th e g e n e ra l system , th e dead le tte r ,
so to say, of th e d ictate s of Z o ro aster. I f th e O rie n talists
ag re e th a t th e b u lk of th e A v esta is pre-SaBsanian, n e v e r­
theless, th e y do n o t, n o r can th ey , fix a definite p e rio d
for its orig in .
A s well ex p ressed b y D a rm e ste te r, th e P a rse e “ sacred
books are th e ru in s of a relig io n .” T he A v e sta revised
a n d tra n sla te d in to P a h la v i b y A rd e sh ir B a b a g a n is n o t
th e A v e sta of m odern Parseeism , w ith its n u m b erless
in te rp o la tio n s a n d a rb itra ry com m entaries th a t lasted u n til
th e la st day s of tho S assanian d y n a sty ; nor was th e A v e sta
of A rd e sh ir id en tical w ith th a t w hich was b ro u g h t o u t an d
giv en to G u shtasp b y Z a ra -Is h ta r (the 13th p ro p h et o£
th e D esatir); n o r th a t of th e la tte r quite th e sam e as th e o ri­
g in a l Z end, a lth o u g h even th is one w as b u t th e exoteric
version of th e Z en-Z a ra doctrin es. A s show n by B urnouf,
th e P ah lav i version is found n ea rly in every case to w ander
stra n g e ly from th e tru e m eaning of th e o rig in al (?) Z end
te x t, w hile th a t “ tru e m e an in g ” w an d ered (or shall we
say— w as veiled?)as g re a tly from th e esoteric te x t.T h is,fo r
th e good reaso n th a t th e Z end te x t is sim ply a secret code
of c e rta in w ords an d expressions ag ree d upon by th e ori­
g in al com pilers, a n d th e key to w hich is b u t w ith th e
in itia te s. T h e W e s te rn scholars m ay s a y ; “ th e key to th e
A v e sta is n o t th e P ah lav i b u t th e V e d a s ;” b u t th e O ccul­
t i s t ’s an sw er is— “ a y e ; b u t th e key to th e V edas is th o
S e c re t D o c trin e ,” T h e form er a sse rt co rrectly enough
th a t, “ th e V ed as come from th e sam e source as th o
A v e s ta ;” th e stuslents of O ccultism a sk — “ Do you know
even th e A , Bj C, of th a t so u rc e ? ”
To show t h a t th e O ccultists a re ju stified in th o ir d isres­
pectful re m a rk , it suffices to give one instance. On p ag e
six of h is In tro d u ctio n I V ,'to P a r t 1 of th e Zend-A vesta
— th e V en d id a d , M r. J . D a rm e ste te r h as th e follow­
in g re m a rk : “ T h e A n c esto rs of th o In d o -Ira n ia n s h a d
b een led to speak o f seven worlds, th e S uprem e G od
w as o ften m ade sevenfold, as well as the ivorlds over w hich
he ruled. . . . T he seven w orlds becam e in P e rsia th a
seven K a r s h v a r e of th e e a rth : th e e a rth is divided in to
seven K a r s h v a b e , only one o f w hich is know n and accessi­
ble to m an , th e one on w hich we live, nam ely, ‘ h v a n i-
r a t h a w hich am ounts to saying th a t there are seven
earths.” T he la tte r b elief is a ttrib u te d , of course, to
ig n o ran ce an d su p e rstitio n . N o r do wc feel q u ite cer­
ta in th a t th is opinion will n o t be shared by th o se of our
re a d e rs w ho n e ith e r are Chelas nor have read th o
“ F ragm ents o f Occult T ru th .” B u t we leave it w ith th a
“ lay chelas” a n d o th e rs to ju d g e w h eth e r th is sevenfold
division (see F arg. X IX ) is n o t th e A , B, C, of th e
O ccult D o ctrines. T h e ag re em en t found betw een th e s ta te ­
m ents of P lu ta rc h an d A n q u e til’s tra n sla tio n of ih e Avesta,
o n l y s h o w s th e co rrectn ess of th e la tte r ; it does n o t a t
all prove th a t P lu ta rc h gave th e tru e version of th e secret
m ean in g of th e Z o ro astrian religion. W ell m ay S ir W .
J ones have exclaim ed th a t th e Avesta of A nquetil, so
* P u r i t y o f speech, p u r i t y of action, p n r i t y of t h o u g h t .
 full of silly tales, an d law s so a b su rd , could n o t be th e
w ork of such a sa g e lik e Z oro aster !
Tlie first Z a r a - ls lita r was a M edian, b o rn in R ae, say
th e G reeks, w ho place th e epoch in w hich he flourished
5, or 6,000 y ears before th e T ro jan w a r ; w hile acco rd in g
to th e te a c h in g s of th e S ecrct D o ctrin e th is “ lirs t” was
th e “ la s t” or Z a ra tu sh tra , (the 13tli of th e D csatir)
‘—th o u g h he was follow ed by one m o re Z u ru a a ta fa o r
S u ry d c h d ria (later, ow ing to a n a tu ra l c h a n g e of la n g u ag e
tran sfo rm e d into Z u ry aster an d a g a in in to Z a ra tu sh tra ,)
who lived in th e days of th e first G u sh tasp (not th e fa th e r
of D arius th o u g h , as im agined b y somo sch o lars).* Tho
la tte r is very im properly callod “ th e fo u n d e r” of m odern
M o n o th eistic Parseeism , for besides being^only a rev iv alist
nnd th e exp o n en t of th e m od ern ph ilo so p h y , he was th e
la s t to m ak e a d e sp e ra te a tte m p t a t th e re sto ra tio n of
p u re M agianism .- H e is kn o w n to have gone from Shiz,
to the M t. Z ebilan in th e cave, w h ith e r p ro ceed ed th e in i­
tia te s of th e M a g i; an d u p o n em e rg in g from it to have
re tu rn e d w ith th e Z en d A v e sta re -tra n s la te d once m ore
snid com m ented upon b y him self. T his o rig in al com ­
m e n ta ry , it is claim ed, ex ists till now a m o n g o th e r old
w orks in th e se c re t lib raries. B u t its copies— now in
th e possession of th e p ro fan e w orld, b e a r as m uch re ­
sem blance to it as th e C h ristia n ity of to -d ay to t h a t of
its F o u n d e r. A u d now, if wo are asked, as we havo
lioeii repeated ly , if th e re are in d eed m en in w hose pow er
it is to give th e co rrect version of tru e Z oroastrian ism ,
Ihen w hy do n o t th ey do so ?— W e answ er, “ becau se—
very few will believe it in this our a g e .” In s te a d of
benefiting m en th ey w ould b u t h u r t th e devo tees of
1hose tru th s. A n d as to g iv in g to th e w orld m oro in ­
form ation a b o u t th e locality know n as A iry an am Y aejo,
u-e need p o in t o u t b u t to th e sen ten ce in F a rg a rd I, ii^
w hich we find A h u ra M azd a say in g to S p ita m a “ th e
m ost b en ev o le n t” — th a t he h ad m ade every la n d ,— even
th o u g h it h ad no charm s w h a te v e r in it— d e a r to its
d w ellers, since o therw ise th e “ w hole liv in g w orld would
have invaded th e A iryanam Y aejo ’’ (v. 2 ) . t H en ce unable
to satisfy en tire ly our read ers, we can say b u t very little.
Jf our opinion can in an y w ay help our co rresp o n d en t,
avo are read y to share it w ith him an d say, th a t Z end
scholars a n d O rien talists n o tw ith sta n d in g , it is our belief
Unit uot only have the P e rsia n th eo lo g ian s of th e la tte r
p ortion of th e S assan ian d y n asty d isfig u red en tirely
th e ir sacred b ooks, b u t, th a t ow ing to th e p resen ce of th e
pharisaical elem ent an d th e R a b b is d u rin g th e p re-
C h ristian as w ell as p o st-C h ristia n periods in P e rs ia a n d
.Babylonia, th e y have borro w ed from th e Je w s a t le ast
ns m uch as th e la tte r have borro w ed from th e m . I f th e
sacred books of th e P h a rise e s owe th e ir an g elo lo g y a n d
o th e r speculations to th e B ab y lo n ian s, th e m odern A v esta
* I t is n o w tin e x p l o d e d t h e o r y t h a t s h o w e d K i n g V i s t a s p a — ( o r G a s -
ia s p ) a s id e n tic a l w ith th e f a t h e r o f D a riu s , h e n c e a s f lo u ris h in g 600
B . 0* V i s t a s p a w a s t h e l a s t o f t h e l i n e o f t h e K a i a n i a n p r i n c e s w h o r u l e d in
B a c t r i a n a ; a n d B a c tr ia n a w a s c o n q n e rc d b y th e A s s y r ia n s 1 2 0 0 B , 0 .
O u r e a rlie r Z e n d s c h o la rs a r e g u ilty o f m o re t h a n o n e s u c h g ro s s m is ­
t a k e . - T h u s l l y s t a s p e s is m a d e in H i s t o r y to c r u s h th e M a g i, a n d r e i n t r o ­
d u c e th e p a r e r e l i g i o n o f Z o r o a s te r , a s t h o n g h t h o s e w e r e t w o d i s t i n c t
r e l i g i o n s • a n d a t t h e s a m e t i m e a n i n s c r i p t i o n is f o u n d o n t h e t o m b o f
D a r i u s o r D a r a y a v n s h , s t a t i n g t h a t ho* ( t h e c r u s h e r o f M a g i a n i s m !)
w a s h im s e lf, “ te a c h e r a n d h ie r o p h a n t o f m a g i c / ’ o r M a g ia n is m I (S e o
l s i 3 U n v e i le d , V o l. I I , p p . 1 4 1 — 2 ) .
f W h y d o w e f in d Z o r o a s t e r i n t h e B u n d e h e s h o f f e r i n g a s a c r i f i c e in
“ I r f tn V e j ” — d i s t o r t e d n a m e f o r A iry & n d m V a e j o , a n d w h e r o o r w h a t
■was t h i s c o u n t r y ? T h o u g h s o m o O r i e n t a l i s t s c a l l i t “ n o r e a l c o u n t r y , ”
n n d o th e r s id e n tify i t w ith th e b a s in o f th e A ra s , th e l a t t e r h a s n o th in g
t o d o w i t h A iry & n ilm V a e j o . T h e l a s t Z a r a t n s t m a y h a v e c h o s e n , a n d h e
h a s s o c h o s e n , th o b a n k s o f t h e A r a s f o r t h e c r a d l e o f h i s n e w l y r e b o r n
re lig io n ; o n ly t h a t c ra d le r e c e iv e d a c h ild r e b o r n a n d s u c k le d e ls e w h e re ,
n a m e l y , i n A ir y a n a m V a e j o ( t h e t r u e “ s e o d o f t h e A r y a s , ” w h o w e r e
t h e n a ll t b a t w a s n o b le a u d t r u e ) w h ic h p l a c e is i d e n t i c a l w i t h t h e
f i h q m b a l ta h o f t h e H i n d u s a n d t h e A r l i a t s , a p l a c e n o w r e g a r d e d a l s o a s
m y th ic a l. I n F a rg a rd I I A h n r a M a z d a c a lls to g e th e r “ a m e e tin g o f
th e c e le s tia l g o d s ,” a n d , Y im a , th e fir s t m a n “ o f t h e e x c e lle n t m o r t a ls ,”
i n th o A iry A n A m V a e jo *—~u i n th e ftir ~ o ff l a n d s o f t h e r i s i n g s u n , ” s a y s
th e B ook o f N u m b er* of th e C h a ld e e s , w r itt e n o n th e E u p h r a te s . T hose
o f th e P a rs e e s w h o h a v e e a rs , l e t th e m h e a r, a n d — d r a w t h e i r i n f e r e n ­
c e s ; a u d , p e rc h a n c e . i t m a y b e a lso f o u n d t h a t th e B r a h m a n s w h o
e a \n e f r o m t h e N o r t h t o I n d i a b r i n g i n g w i t h t h e m a l l t h e l e a r n i n g o f
.s e c re t w is d o m , c a m e f r o m a p l a c e s t i l l m o r e u o r t t n v a r d t h a n l a k g
Hansarovftrrr-ii’ai
C om m entaries owe th e Jew s u n d eniably tlie ir an th ro p o ­
m orphic cre a to r, as well as th e ir crude notions about
H ea v en a n d H ell.
_ T h e l e a r n e d C o l o n e l w ill b o x l o i n g a g r e a t f a v o r t o t h e P a r s e e s ,
i f h e w ill c o n s e n t t o s a y w h a t lie t h i n k s of t h e f o l l o w i n g f r o m
t h e “ H i s t o r y of t h e C onflict b e t w e e n S c ie n c e a n d l t e l i g i o n ,” by
W . D raper ■
“ P e r s i a , a s is t h e c a s e w i t h a ll e m p i r e s o f l o n g d u r a t i o n , h a d
iissed t h r o u g h m a n y c h a n g e s o f r e l i g i o n . S h e h a d f o l lo w e d t h e
Sl o n o t h e i s m of Z o r o a s t e r ; h a d t h e n a c c e p t e d D u a l i s m , a n d e x ­
c h a n g e d t h a t fo r M a g ia n ism . A t th e tim e of M acedonian e x ­
pedition, sh e re c o g n iz e d one U n iv e rsa l In tellig en ce, th o C re a to r,
P r e s e r v e r a n d G o v e r n o r of all t h i n g s , th e m o s t holy essen ce
o f t r u t h , i h o g i v e r of a ll g o o d . H e w a s n o t t o b e r e p r e s e n t e d
b y a n y i m a g e o r a n y g r a v e n f o r m . ” ( P a g e 15).
“ I n t h e l a t t e r y e a r s of t h e e m p i r e , t h e p r i n c i p l e s o f M a g i a n i s m
h a d g r a d u a lly p r e v a ile d m o r e a n d m o re o v er t h o s e of Z o ro a s te r.
M a g i a n i s m w a s e s s e n t i a l l y a w o rsh ip o f t h e e l e m e n t s . O f t h e s e ,
fire w a s c o n s i d e r e d t h e m o s t w o r t h y r e p r e s e n t a t i v e of tl i e S u p r e m e
B e i n g . ” ( P a g e , 1 5 — 16.)
Colonel O lco tt w ould p ro b a b ly answ er t h a t P ro f.
D ra p e r was rig h t w ith re g a rd to th e m any phases th ro u g h
w hich th e g re a t relig io n of P e rsia — if we have to call it
th u s— h ad passed. B u t D ra p e r m entions by nam e only
M onotheism , D ualism , M agianism — a k in d of refined
Y isish tad w aitism — a n d F ire o r elem ent w orship, w here­
as he m ig h t havo en u m e rate d th e g ra d u a l ch an g es by th e
dozen. M oreover, he b eg in s his enum eration a t th e w rong
end. I f M onotheism has ever been the religion of th e
P arsees a t an y tim e, it is so now, n o t then, nam ely, in the
Z oro aster period.
T h e Z e n d A v esta, w ith so m e ex ceptions, co n tain s n o th in g
es s e n tia lly d iffe re n t f ro m w h a t th e V e d a s c o n ta in . T h e god?, t h e
r i t e s , t b e c e r e m o n i e s , t h e m o d e s of p r a y e r s , a n d t h e p r a y e r s
th e m s e lv e s , a r e b u t a reflex of tlie V e d a s . S u r e ly th e n w h e n
Z o r o a s t e r d i s s e n t e d f r o m t h e B r a h m a n s , it c o u l d n o t b e m e r e l y
to a d o p t t h e s a m e p a n t h e i s m o r p o l y t h e i s m i n a d i f f e r e n t -
l a n g u a g e . T h e t e a c h i n g of Z o r o a s t e r m u s t n e c e s s a r ily be so m e
t h i n g q u i t e d i f f e r e n t . S o m e m a y s a y h e d i s s e n t e d f r o m tl i e
idol w o rsh ip of th e B r a h m a n s ; b u t I t h i n k h isto ry can p r o v e
t h a t t h e B ra h m a n s w e r e i d o l a t o r s b e f o r e they le ft A r ia n a , D o e s
it n o t r a t h e r a p p e a r t h a t th e M a g ia n s w h o follow ed Z o r o a s t r i ­
a n is m , copied e v e r y t h i n g f r o m t h e i r close n e i g h b o u r s t h e B r a h ­
m a n s a n d m u d d le d it u p w ith th e c u r r e n t a n d easily re lia b le
n a m e o f Z o r o a s t e r , f o r g e t t i n g , p e r h a p s , u n d e r t h e s w a y of
a l t e r e d p o p u l a r s u p e r s t i t i o n s of t h e a g e , t h e t r u e t e a c h i n g of
Z o r o a s t e r . T h e l e a r n e d C o l o n e l o r y o u r s e l f , o r a n y of y o u r c o n ­
t r i b u t o r s , w h o s e l e a r n i n g is, I m a y s a y w i t h o u t f l a t t e r y , v e r y
e n v i a b l e , w ill bo d o i n g a g r e a t s e r v i c e to t h e P a r s e e s , if h e w ill
k i n d l y s a y w h a t h e t h i n k s , t h e t r u e t e a c h i n g of Z o r o a s t e r w a s .
E n o u g h is said, we believe, in our p re ced in g state m e n ts
to show w h a t we h o n e stly th in k of “ th e tru e teach in g
of Z o ro a ste r.” I t is only in such ra re n o n -litu rg ical f ra g ­
m en ts as th e H d d o kh t N o sk fo r in stan ce, th a t th e true
te a c h in g s of Z a ra tu s h tra S p itam a, or those of p rim itiv e
M agianism m ay be y e t found ; an d even th ese have to be
read as a sacred code to w hich a k ey has to be applied.
T h u s, every w ord in th e te n e ts g iv en in th e Ila d o h h t an d
re la tin g to th e fate of o u r soul a fte r d eath , has its occult
m eaning. I t is n o t c o rre c t to say even of th e la te r
versions of th e Z end A v e sta th a t its gods, p ray ers and
rite s are all “ b u t a reflex of th e V e d a s.” N e ith e r th e
B rah m an s, nor th e Z o ro astrian s have copied one from
th e other. W ith th e exception of th e word Zeruana in its
la te r m eaning of “ B o u n d less” tim e, in stead of th e " B o u n d ­
less” S p irit, th e “ O ne e te rn ity ,” explained in th e sense
of th e B rah m an ical chnkkra o r endless circle, th e re is
n o th in g borrow ed from th e V edas. B oth th e V edas and
th e Z en d -A v esta o rig in a tin g from th e sam e school, have
n a tu ra lly th e sam e sym bols only— very differently ex p lain ­
ed, still— h a v in g th e sam e esoteric significance. P rof.
M ax M uller, sp e a k in g of th e P arsee s, calls th em “ th e
d isin h erited sous of M a n u a n d , declares elsew here,
th a t th e Z o ro astrian s, and th e ir an cestors sta rte d from
In d ia d u rin g th e V a id ik period, “ w hich can be proved
as d istin c tly as th a t th e in h a b ita n ts of M assilia sta rte d
from G reece.” * W e c e rta in ly do u o t m ean to question
th e hypothesis, th o u g h as he gives it, it is still b u t a p e r­
sonal opinion. T he Z o ro a strian s have, undoubtedly,
-
* S e e Y d . I of “ C h i p s , ” p . 81,
 boon “ s e ttle d in In d ia b efo re th e y im m ig ra te d into
Persia*’ aa th e y h av e ag es la te r, re tu rn e d a g a in to A ry a ­
v a rta, w hen, th e y g o tin d eo d " u n d e rth e away of a lte re d
p o p u la r su p e rstitio n s, a n d fo rg o t th e tru o te a c h in g s
of Z o ro a ste r.” B u t th is th e o ry c u ts b o th ways. F o r, it,
n e ith e r pro v es th a t they have n o t e n te re d In d ia to g e th e r
an d a t th e sam e tim e as th e first B ra h m a n s who cam e
to it fro m th e fa r n o r t h ; n o r th a t th e la tte r h a d not
been " s e ttle d ” in P ersia, M edia, B abylonia an d elsew here
beforo th e y im m ig ra te d into th e la n d of th e S even R ivers.
B etw een Z o ro aster, th e prim eval in sticu to r of “ S u n ” wor­
ship, a n d Z a ra tu s h tra , th e prim eval e x p o u n d e r of tlie
occult p ro p e rtie s an d tra n sc e n d e n tal pow ers of th e divine
(P ro m eth o an ) F ire, th ere lies th e ab y ss of ag es. T he
la tte r was one of th e o arliest h ie ro p h a n ts, ono of th e first
A th ra v a n s (priests, or te a c h e rs of “ fire” ), w hile th e
Z o roaster of “ G u sh ta sp ” w as liv in g some 4,000 y ears
B .C . In d e e d , B unson places Z o ro a s te r a t B a k tria an d
th e em ig ratio n of th e B a k tria n s to th e In d u s a t 3784 B. C.
A nd th is Z o ro aster ta u g h t, n o t w h a t h e h a d learned
“ from ,” b u t w ith, tho B rahm ans, i. e., a t A iry an am V aejo
since w h at is id e n tic a l w ith B rah m an ieal sym bology is
found b u t in th e e a rlie r V edas, n o t in any of th e la to r
C oipm entaries, th a t it m ay be even said of th e V edas
themaolV 0 3 , th a t th o u g h com piled in th e lan d of th e
Seven Rivors, th e y e x iste d ag es beforo iu th e n o rth .
T hus if any one is to be blam ed fo r g e ttin g u n d e r
“ th e sw ay of a lte re d popu lar su p o rstitio n s” of th e B ra h ­
m ans, it is n o t th e Z o ro astrian s of th a t a g e , b u t indeed
H y stasp o s w ho, a fte r v isitin g “ th e B rah m an s of U p p er
In d ia ,” as A m m ianus tells us— a n d h a v in g boen in s tru c t­
ed by them , infu sed th o ir la te r rite s a n d ideas in to th e
alread y d isfig u red M agian w orship.
H a r g r a v e J e n n i n g s , a m y s t i c , h a s e u l o g i s e d f ire a s b e i n g t h e
b e s t s y m b o l o f w o r s h i p , b u t h e s a y s n o w h e r e t h a t t h e fire s y m
b o l, dii-t:Cbly w o r s h i p p e d in i t s o w n n a m e n n d n s 0110 o f t h e
cro ak ed e l e m e n t s , an is d o n e i n Z e n d - A v e s t a , is in a n y w a y d e f e n ­
s i b l e . T h o l e a r n e d C o l o n e l , in h i s l e c t u r e o n t h e S p i r i t of
Z o r o a s t r i a n i s m , d e f e n d * f i r e - w o r s h i p p e r s , b u t d o e s ho r e a l l y
u n d e rsta n d th em as offering d ire c t p r a y e r as above s ta te d P
F ire w o rsh ip is b o rro w e d fro m th e V edas.
W e th in k not. F ire w orship, o r r a th e r rev eren ce for
fire, was in th e rem ote ag es un iv ersal. F ire a n d w a te r are
th e elem ents iu wliich, as O ccult Scienco teach es, th e active
a n d passive p ro d u ctiv e pow er of th e u niverse a re re sp e c­
tively cen tred . S ay s H ip p o crates: (D ivite 1— 4) “ A ll liv ing
c re a tu re s . . . . anim als an d m en o rig in a te from tho two
Principles, d ifferin g in poten cy b u t a g re e in g in purpose. I
m ean F ire a n d W a te r. . . . F a th e rfiro g iv e s life to a llth in g s ,
b u t M o th er w ater nourish es th e m .” H a s o u r frien d who
Boems to hIiow such an e v id e n t scorn fo r th e em blem s of
fiis own religion, ever stu d ied th o se of o th e r people ? H as
ho ever boen told, th a t th e ro n ev er w as a relig io n b u t
paid reveren ce to th e S u n an d F ire as th e fitte s t em blom s
pf Life, h en c e — of th e life-g iv in g p r in c ip le ; n ay, th a t
th e re is n o t, oven a t p resen t, one sin g le creed ou our
g lobe (inclu d in g C h ristian ity ) b u t h a s p re se rv e d th is
reverence in its ritu alism , th o u g h th e em blem s w ith tim o
have boen ch an g ed a n d disfig u red ? T h e only essen tial
difference betw een tho m o d ern P a rs i M obeds au d th e
C h ristian C lergy lios in th is : th e dovotoos of tho fo rm er
b e in g profoundly a tta c h e d to th e ir old re lig io n ,— th o u g h
th ey m ay have fo rg o tte n its o rig in ,— have h o n estly
loft exoteric Z o ro astrian ism s ta n d in g bofore th e ju ry of
th e w orld, who ju d g e s on m ere a p p e a ra n c e s— unveiled in
its a p p a re n t n a k e d n e ss; wliilo C h ristia n theologians less
u nso p h isticated , lcopt porpeti^ally m o d ify in g C h ristia n ity
in oxact p ro p o rtio n as SGionce ad v a n c e d an d th e w orld
becam e m ore en lig h to n ed , u n til finally th o ir religion
now sta n d s u n d e r a th ic k , w ith al v ery insecure, m ask.
All tlie roligions from tho old V aidic, th e Z o ro astrian
and tho Je w ish creeds dow n to m odern C h ristia n ity , tho
illegitim ate an d re p u d ia te d p ro g e n y of th e lfist, sp ra n g
from archaic M agianism , or th e R elig io n b aso d upon th o
know lodge of O ccult n atu ro , called som etim es S ab aism —•
th e “ w orship” (?) pf th e S un, m oon, a n d sta rs. Seo
v rh ty te y e n P ow ell I f e r e d ith in h is “ CQrroapondenco
to u c h in g th e D ivine O rigin of th e C hristian R e lig io n ,”
w ith th e V icar of W h a p lo d e , says :—
“ \ 011r s a c r e d b o o k s , S i r , a r e r e p l e t e w i t h p h r a s e s u s e d in firq*
Wl il'rthip a m i w i t h n a r r a t i o n s of tl i u a p p e a r a n c e s of a firp - ^ o d .
I t way iid u f l a m e o f fire t h a t t h e J e w i s h D e i t y f i rs t a p p e n r e d t o
Moses. I t w a s us firo ho g a v e t h o law o n M o u n t S in a i : ' I t w a s
t h e G o d , t h a t a n s w e r e d a s fire, w o o w a s to b e Lhe t r u e g o d in t h o
eo i t e H l i r l J b e t w e e n liilij.i,, m id Lho P r o p h e t s o f 13at» 1. I t w h s Q3
fir e t h o s a m e G o d a n s w e r e d liis s e r v a n t D a v i d . T h e ' a l t a r p£
11iC'-'iiSG d i s p l a y e d t h i s fire. T h e s a m e fir e , w i t h i n c e n s e — a p e r ­
f u m e u s e d by h e a t h e n s in t h e i r w o r s n i p — w a s c a r r i e d h y t h a
p r i e s t s in t h e i r c e n s e r s ; a n d t i n s fir e o n c e m i r a c u l o u s l y k i l l e d
ot i.hem. All t h e b u r n t o f f e r i n g s ot" tlie J e w s , l i k e t h e r e o f
o t h e r n;*tion9, o r i g i n a t e d iu fire w t n v h i p , t h e w o r s h i p p e r s tsnp-
p u s i u g t h a t t h o G o d o f fire d e v o u r e d t h e i r s a crif ices a s f o o d ,
w h e t h e r ve^ei.ublo, o r a n i m a l , l m m a n or b e s t i a l . I n 4 a C h a r i o t o£
fir e , a m i h o r d e s of fire,* p r e c i s e l y li k e t h e h e a t h e n c h a r i o t a n d
h o r s e s of i h e S u n , E l i j a h w e n t u p to h e a v e n W e a r e t o l d thati
J e h o v a h w e n t b f o r e t h o J e w s ‘ a s a c o n s u m i n g f i r e a n d Wo
a r o H s s u i v d , n o t o n l y b y t l i e J e w , t h a t h i s J e h o v a h A l e i m is a
c o n s u m i n g fl,e “ jevon a j e a l o u s G o d ” (or, a s s o m e t r a n s l a t e t h e
l a t t e r e x p r e s s i o n , t l i e b u r n i n g G o d . . . ,) b u t a l s o b y
tlio C h r i s t i a n , t h a t I h e n s n r Z e u s (loue, Iavo, Jove, J u p ite r , &c.)
i s a c o n s u m i n g l i r e ! W e i i n d t l i a l t h o s a c r e d fire of J e h o v u h w a a
i n Z i o n , a d well us in t h e t e m p l e Vostii, o r M i n e r v a ( I sa . x s x i , 9),iwid
a a a s t i l l m o r e r e m a r k a b l e p r o o f o f t h e i d e n t i t y of t h e J e w i s h fire -
w o r s h i p , w iili i.hat o f l h e G e n t i l e s , we f in d th a t the fire o f J e h o ­
v a h , on the brazen a lta r, wan to be Ic y t a lw a ys b u r n in g — waa never
lo be allow ed to go out. ( Nev. vi. 1:5.) P r e c i s e l y i n l i k e m a n n e r
w u s t h e s a c r e d fir e k e p t ( j u r y i n g in t h e t e i n p l o o f D i a n a , a m o n g
t b o P e i siting. T h e M a g i of P e r s i a a n d C h a l d e a h a d t h e c a r e o£
p r e s e r v i n g t h i s h o l y fir e . I n t h e t e m p l e of C e r e s a n d oE
A p o l l o t h o s a c r e d fir e w a s a l w a y s k e p t b u r n i n g . T h e p r e s e r ­
v a t i o n of t h e fir e in tlio t e m p l e of M i n e r v a w a s e n t r u s t e d t o a
n u m b e r of y o u n g w o m e n , j u s t a s tlio v e s t a l V i r g i n s w e r e c h a r g e d
w i t h t h e p r e s e r v a t i o n of t h e s a c r e d fire iu t h e t e m p l e o f V e s t a
u n d e r p e n a l t y o f d e a t h , if t h o y a l l o w e d t h i s p r e c i o u s fire t o bo e x ­
t i n g u i s h e d . T h o c u s t o m o f p r e s e r v i n g t h e s a c r e d fire is m u c h
o ld e r th a n th e H e b re w m y th o lo g y . D io d o ru s S ic u lu s tells n s
t h a t it w as d e riv e d by th e R o m a n s from th e G reek s, a n d by th e m
f r o m t h e E g y p t i a n s ( w h o b o r r o w e d i t f r o m t h e l.'liuldees ). T h e r a
is v e r y l i t t l e d o n b t t h a t it is n e a r l y a s o ld a s S u n - w o r s h i p , a n d
t h a t fire w h e n w o r s h i p p e d w a s o r i g i n a l l y r e g a r d e d a s a n e m b l o r n
o f t h e S o l a r D e i t y . All d i e a n c i e n t s i m u g i r . e d . t h e g o d t o bo a
b o d y of fire. Uy all h i s w o r s h i p p e r s , h e w a s c o n s i d e r e d t o h a v e
e x i s t e d f r o m E t e r n i t y , a n d t o lnivo c r e a t e d , n o t o n l y a l l othet*
I> itn ino us b o d i e s b n t t h e w h o l e U n i v e r s e . H o w a s t h o u g h t t o b a
t h e f a t h e r of l i g h t s a u d l o h a v e all o t h e r l u m i n a r i e s , s u c h a s
tlio M o o n , s t a r s , a n d so on u n d e r h is c o n t r o l a n d g u i d a n c e . Aa
a c r e a t o r , h e w u s c a l l e d H e lio s D etniourgos, — the S u n -c rea to r or
the S o la r creator. I n t h e P s a l m s , a s well a s in o t h e r p a n s o£
t h e B ible, th o c re a tio n a n d g o v e r n m e n t of th e w o rld are a t t r i b u t e d
t o t h o S o l a r L)eity in a v a s t n u m b e r o f i n s t a n c e s w h i c h y o u w i l l
f in d in t h e s e q u e l ( V i d V o s s i u s , d e O r i g . e t P r o g . I d o l . lib. ii,
c. 5. B o c h a r t C a n a a n , l i b . ii, c. 5 ) a s G o v e r n o r o f t b e C e l e s t i a l
B odies, t h o u g h t by t h e a n c ie n ts inferior g o d s. T h e H e lio D e ity
o f t h e 13i b l e is c o n t i n u a l l y c a l l e d ‘ G o d o f H o s t s , ’ ‘ L o r d of H o s t s , ’
‘ L o r d G o d of H o s t s , ’ & c. Jeh o v a h T sa b a o th , A le i T sa b n o th ).
W h e r e v e r t h e Qod o f H o s ts is m e n t i o n e d in t b o H e b r e w B i b l e ,
th 'ir e can be no room for d o u b t t h a t tb e w r ite r m e a n t th e S im
( t h e L o r d of t l i o H o s t o f S t a r s ) W e o f t e n r e a d o f t h e lig h t,
glory, a n d sh in in g o f t h e G o d o f H o s t s , s u c h a s — “ O L o r d G o d oE
H o s ts , c a u s e th y face to s h in e ( P sa lm s Ix z x ).” — T h e R e p o u m e b ,
‘‘ D elot o n T h e ism ,’’ p p . 2 8 , 29.
W e invito our co rresp o n d e n t, if lie w a n ts to tra ce in
th e R itualism of m odern C h ristian th eo lo g y tho old F ire -
w o rsh ip — to road Tha llosicrucinns, by H a rg ra v e J on-
niiig.s, w ith m oro a tte n tio n th a n ho h ad h ith e rto done.
F ire is tho ossence of all activo pow er in n atu re . F ire
and w a te r aro th e eleinonts to wliich all o rg an ized ancl
anim atod b e in g s owe th e ir existence on our E a r th ,
a t any ra te , tlio sun is th e only visible an d undeniablo
C rea to r an d R e g e n e ra to r of life.
I f o n o s h o u l d t a k a a c u r s o r y g l a n c o t h r o u g h t h e S p i e g e l Bleofc
T r a n s l a t i o n o f Z e n d A v e s t a , h e will fin d t h a t t h o p o r t i o n s iu
l a n g u a g e s oLher t h a n Z e n d a r o m a r k e d in i t a l i c s , H e will a l s o find
t h a t in c o m m o n w i t h s e v e r a l o t h e r s , a l l t h e p e n i t e n t i a l p o r t i o n s ,
i n t h a A v e s t a , w i t h o u t e x c e p t i o n , a r o a l s o in i t a l i c s , i n d i c a t i n g t h a t
t h e p o r t i o n s a u d t h e d o c t r i n e lliey c o n t a i n , w e r e i n t r o d u c e d a t a
v e r y l u l e p e r i o d . W i l l Lho l o n r n e d C o l o n e l o r y o u r s e l f , o r a n y of
y o u r c o n t r i b u to r s ,k in d l y say w h a t Z o r o a s tr ia n is m looks like w h e n
d i v e s t e d of t h e d o c t r i n e of p e n i t e n c e p A n d w h e n f u r t h e r d i v o s t -
cd of all t h a t h a s been co p ied b y th o M a g ia n s from t h e V e d a s , I
think n o t h i n g w o r t h k n o w i n g r e m a i n s .
W o w ould p u t th e la s t sontence otliorwiso, and say
th a t “ div ested of its few rem aining non-liturgical fra g ­
m e n ts,” a u d a f e w F a rg a rd s a n d Y a sh ts explained esoteri*
cally, nothing worth know ing can be fo u n d in th e A vesta as
it sta n d s a t p re s e n t. P rodicus a n d som e of th e early
G nostics w ere th e la s t who had in th e ir possession some
of th e se c re t b ooks of Z oroaster. T lia t th o se “ se c re t”
books w ere n o t th e A vesta in its p re s e n t form , can be
roved .by tho n o n -attractiv en ess of its te x ts w hich
avo n o th in g in them , as ex plained now , to fascin ate th e
m y stic. P ro d icu s h ad th e secret code as well as th e key
to it. A few of th e a d e p ts of a n c ie n t M ag ian isin ex isted
a n d wero know n p u b lic ly in those d ay s, since C lem ent
A lex an d rin u s sp e a k s of those w ho follow th e heresy of
P rodicus a n d “ b o a st of p o ssessin g th e se c re t books of
Zoroaster.” (S tro m . I.)
Y o u h a v e o f te n sa id , n n d y o u r T h e o s o p h is t b r o t h e r s h a v e also
Baid, t h a t tl i e ( J h r i .s t i a n s live in a h o u s e ot’ g l a s s , :>.nd t h a t t h e
T h e o s o p h i s t s k n o w w h a t t h e C h r i s t i a n s u r e . 'L h e s u n e is sa id of
Zoroi iSt.imiiibui, H i n d u i s m , a n d B u d d h i s m , H u t w e a r e n e v e r t o l d
w n d t t h e Chritsi.iiius r e a l l y a r e o r w h a t t h e i r t r u e t e a c h i n g s h o u l d
b o. D o T h c o so |> h is l.s t h i n k that, s u c h f;ef:enil r e m a r k s w i t h
o u t t h o s l i g h t e s t a t t e m p t t o s u p p o r t t h e m b y p r o o f* b e l t e r t h a n
t h o s e f u r n i s h e d b y o r d i n a r y h i m o r i e s , will in a n y w a y .nerve a n y
p u r p o s e P If t h e arguments should be any other t h a n f o u n d e d u p ­
o n O c c u l t p h i l o s o p h y , t h o u ] t l i n k t.ho d i f f i c u l t . k r in y o n r w a y
s h o u l d p i o v o s i m i l a r to t h o s o t h a t h a v e b e s e t a u d d e t e r r e d t h e
C h r i s t i a n m i s s i o n a r i e s in T nd iu .
' T he follow ers of every one of th e p re se n t g re a t exoteric
relig io n s " l i v e in a house of g la ss.” T h e im p eachm ent
is p re tty w ell proved, we should say, by th e ir re sp ectiv e in ­
h a b ita n ts h a v in g n ig h b roken by th is tim e all th e w indow
panes of th e ir neighbo urs,w hohave re tu rn e d th e com plim ent.
I t is sufficient, we believe, to stu d y C h ristian ity , an d com­
p a re its h u n d re d s of m u tu ally conflicting an d d e stro y in g
sects, to find o u t w h a t th e y are, or r a th e r w h a t th e y aro
n o t ; for surely a tru e C h rist-lik e C h ristian is ra re r in our
d ay s th a n a w h ite crow . I t is n o t, how ever, in th e
colum ns of th is jo u rn a l th a t we can u u d e rta k o to show
all th a t “ th e y really a re ,” n o r have wo h ith e rto show n
any sig n s— w henever occasion p re se n te d itself— of lim it­
in g our ch arg es to “ g e n e ra l re m a rk s b u t, since tr u th is
v e ry u n p alatab le,an d as th ey a re show ing by th e ir actions
b e tte r, th a n we can ever do so in w ords, th e ir real m oral
sta n d a rd — we re g a rd it as a loss of tim e to be ever p re ­
se n tin g before tlie m a m irro r. I t is tlio ta sk u n d e rta k e n a n d
ca rried out in a m ost o xcellent way b y th e fre e -th in k e rs,
in whose c u rre n t lite ra tu re one can find e v e ry th in g ono
m ay desire in tho sh ape of proof. O ur busin ess is to
w innow by .the m eans of O ccult p h ilo so p h y th e g ra in
from the chaff, to show w h a t a th in g is n o t, a n d th u s
allow th e profane an o p p o rtu n ity to ju d g e fo r them selves
an d see w h at it is. . *
• T h e above nre t h e q u e s tio n s tlm t have been e m b a r ra s s in g m e
l o r m o n t h s , a n d I d o In-pe t h a t d i f f u s e t h o u g h t h e y a r e , y o u w ill
d o m e t h e f a v o r t o i n s e r t t h e m i n t h e n e x t i s s u e o f t b e Thtoso•
•phist. I f t h e y will o n l y s e r v e t o s t i r t h o P a r s e e s c h o l a r s ( u n f o r ­
t u n a t e l y I a m n o t a s c h o l a r } I s h a l l b e s a t is f ie d .
W e have done our b e st to satisfy our co rresp o n d en t.
T h e su b je c t is of a trem en d o u s in te re s t to every th in k in g
P a rse e , b u t he has to help h im se lf if he w ould learn m ore.
H is relig io n is n o t d ead y e t ; an d u n d er th e lifeless m ask
of m odern Z o ro astrian ism tho pulse of th e M agi of
old still b e a ts. W^o have en d eav o u red as briefly as
p ossible to g iv e a c o rre c t, th o u g h a very superficial, view
of the p u rp o rt a n d s p irit of tru e M ag ian ism . T h e re is
toot a sentence in th is for w liich a u th o rity c a n n o t be
show n.
•, —■■■■ •---------
H IE R O S O P H Y A N D T H E O S O m Y . , b o h i d d e n u n d e r tl i o c r u d e a l l e g o r y a g r e a t s c i e n t i f i c a n d o c c u l t t r u t h .
B y W it, mam Oxley, F. T. S.
' W h e n I wrote out my paper on tlie above subject, and
which was courteously inserted in the Theosophist, I did not
write, or send it in the spirit of antagonism , or with any
assumed air of the possession of superior knowledge ; b u t
simply to pu t forw ard thoughts which have been imparted to
me from time to time, and which to my view, a t least, appear
to follow in natural Rcqucncc, according to the “ Law of
Evolution, and Cyclic Development.”
• In dealing with w hat appears to be the difference between.
Hierosophic and Theosophic teachings, as to Re-birth, or Re­
incarnation, we should have to deal w ith what Theosophy,
tprms the “ Seventh principle” in m an, but which I liavo
te r m e d th e “ M a s te r a to m ,” t h a t in its d c sc e n t t h r o u g h v a n -
ous sp h e re s c lo th es itself w ith a co v e rin g d e riv ed , o r d ra w n ,
f ro m su b s ta n c e s p r o p e r to each sp h e re t h r o u g h w h ic h it d es­
cends u n til it u ltim a te s u p o n th e p h y sic al o r m u n d a n e plane
of consciousness. T h e q u e s tio n n o w co m es— Is t h a t “ se v e n th
p r i n c i p l e ” a n e n t i t y , i. e., i s i t a d i f f e r e n t i a t e d a t o m o f l i f e ?
T o w h i c h I r e p l y — -In a p p e a ra n c e — y e s . I n r e a l it y — -no. T h o
t e r m “ atom , o f life ” h a s a u a p p l i c a t i o n o n ly p e r m i s s ib l e o n th e
p l a n e of h u m a n t h o u g h t a n d c o n s c io u s n e s s . I t is r e l a t i v e , n o t
ab so lu te . If we m u st go back far enough, or deep enough, I
u r g e t h a t t h e r o is b u t o n e L ifo a n d o n e S u b s t a n c e ; a n d th at, all
w h i c h is, i s b u l j t h e p h e n o m e n o n o f d i f f e r e n t i a t i o n , w h i c h is
ceaseless, c h a n g in g , a n d e te rn a l.* P re c ise ly a t th e p o in ts w h e r e
th i s p h e n o m e n a l 'd i f f e r e n t i a t i o n c o m e s in, t h e r e t h e “ a t o m o f
lif e ” a p p e a r s ; a n d w e h o l d , t h a t t h i s specific a t o m , o n c e d if ­
f e r e n ti a t e d , a n d e n t e r i n g u p o n its cyclic r o u n d , a f t e r h a v i n g
a t t a i n e d a sp ecific c o n s c io u s n e s s o f its o w n o n t h e m u n d a n e ,
o r p h y sical, p lane, c a n n e v e r re -e n te r th e sa m e p la n e a g a in ;
a s t h e p u r p o s e is a c c o m p l i s h e d f o r w h i c h i t w a s so d i f f e r e n t i ­
a te d . B u t , t h i s “ m a s t e r a t o m ” in o r d e r to m a k e its e lf visible,
o r co g n is a b le , o n th e v a r io u s p la n e s in its d e s c e n t, a ttr a c t s
t o i t s e l f o th er a to m s, w h i c h f o r m i t s e n v e l o p e , o r c l o t h i n g :
a n d th ese a to m s, b y v i r t u e o f c o n t a c t — t e m p o r a r y a s i t i s —
im p r e g n a t e d w ith th e life q u a lity of th e m a s te r a to m , a n d
a c c o r d in g to t h e d e v e lo p m e n t in th e scale o f co n scio u sn ess,
co n scio u sn ess w hilo a s c e n d in g , u n c o n s c io u sn e s s w h ile d es­
c e n d i n g — so, c o n d i t i o n s a r e s u p p l i e d f o r p h e n o m e n a l e x ­
p re ss io n s o n th e in fin ite v a r ie ty of B e in g .f
I t h i n k a ll t h is , a n d m u c h m o r e , is c l e a r l y s h o w n i n th e
se ries of F r a g m e n t a r y T r u t h s , g iv e n fro m tim e to tim e by
th e M a h a tm a s , w ho, w ith a w isd o m th a t c a n n o t be gain said ;
i m p a r t so m n c h a s c a n b e a p p r e c i a t e d a n d n o m o r e . M y l a t e
visit to E g y p t b r o u g h t m e in to c o n ta c t w ith th e an cien t
E g y p t i a n d o c t r i n e o f m e te m p s y c h o s i s , w h i c h s e e m e d to
te a c h , t h a t th e soul, o r v iv ify in g p rin c ip le , a f te r le a v in g th e
b o d y , w as re -in c a rn a te d in lo w er a n d even a n im a l form s, a n d
t h a t i t riiu s t p a s s t h r o u g h e v e r y v a r i e t y of o r g a n i s e d life
fo rm s, u n til a t th e e n d of th r e e th o u s a n d y e a r s it w o u ld r e tu r n
a n d b e r e - u n i t c d w i t h t h e p h y s ic a l b o d y , w h i c h w a s so
c a rc fu lly p r e s e r v e d a n d m u m m ifie d u n d e r t h is id ea. T im e
h a s p r o v e d t h e f a l l a c y o f t h e d o c t r i n e , a s so m a n y m u m m i e s ,
n o w .in e x i s t e n c e , a r c c o n s i d e r a b l y o l d e r t h a n t h e 3 , 0 0 0 y e a r s ,
a n d t h e s o -c a llc d so n l h a s not r e t u r n e d to c la im its p h y sic a l
body. W e m u s t th e re fo re se e k fo r a n o th e r so lu tio n to an
a n c ie n t d o c trin e w h ic h , u n d o u b te d ly , h a d a n u n d e r l y i n g cone
of tru th . | •
I n o t i c e t h e E d i t o r ’s n o t e i n M a r c h n u m b e r o f t h e T h e o so p h ist ,
in re p ly to th e q u e r y r a is e d b y a c o r re s p o n d e n t X in re fe re n c e
to th e r e tro g r e s s io n of t h e “ s p ir itu a l s u r v iv a l” a f te r p h y sic a l
death. I a m R o m e w h a t a t a loss to u n d e r s t a n d t h e r e le v a n c y
T h i s is g o o d , o r th o d o x o c c u l t i s m a s i t n o w s t a n d s . O n ly w i t h o u r
c o r r e s p o n d e n t ’s p e r m i s s i o n , w e a r e o b l i g e d t o r e m i n d h im t h a t a c c o r d ­
i n g t o t h e O c c u l t d o c t r i n e t h o t e r m “ W a s t e r A t o m ’* is n o t a p p l i c a b l e t o
th o 7 t h p r i n c i p l e , t h o u g h i t c a n b e v e r y p r o p e r l y u s o d i n r e f e r e n c e t o
t h e 6 t h , t h e v e h i c l e o f s p i r i t , o r s p i r i t u a l s o u l. T h e v i e w s o f t h e o c c u l t i s t *
u p o n s p ir it a n d so n l m a y be s a id to a d o p t th o m id d lo g ro u n d b e tw e e n
th o t h e o r i e s o f H o s c o v ic h a n d H e l m h o l t z , o n t h o i n t i m a t e n a t u r e o f
m a t t e r . T lie 7 t h p r i n c i p l e , o r r a t h o r i t s e s s e n c e , b e l o n g s t o t h e s e v e n th
s t a t e o f m a t t e r , i . e., a s t a t e w h i c h m a y b e v i e w e d in o u r m u n d & n o
c o n c e p t i o n s , a s p u r e s p i r i t ; w h i l e t h e n a t u r e o f t h e s i x t h p r i n c i p l e , £>
n it a c e n tr e n f f o r t a l i k o i t s s p i r i t , a c e n t r e i n w h ic h t h o i d e a o f a l l s u b -
s t in c o d i s a p p e a r s a l t o g e t h e r , b u t a f lu i d ic o r r a t h e r e t h e r e a l " a t o m . ”
T h e f o r m e r is u n d if f e r e n tia te d , t h e l a t t e r — d if f e r e n tia te d m a t t e r ,
th o u g h i n i t s h i g h e s t a u d p u r e s t s t a t e , O n e — t h e l i f e t h a t a n i m a t e s t h e
a to m , th e o th e r th o v e h ic le t h a t c o n ta in s it .— E d . ■ -
+ T h i s is h e te r o d o x . I f b y “ M a s t o r a t o m ” t h e d i v i n e “ h u m a n m o n a d ”
is m e a n t t h e n , it r e m a i n s unconscioiiB o r r a t h e r irresponsible w h e t h e r
“ des c e n d in g '’ o r " a s c c n d i n g ” t h e c i r c l e o f s p h e r e s f o r 3 | xounds, a f t e r
w h i c h , so l o n g a s i t is u n ite d to p erso n alities i t r e m a i n s b o t h c o n s c i o u s
a n d re s p o n s ib le . — E d . ;
^ M r. O x le y w i l l p e r m i t u s t o c o r r e c t h i m . H e lo o k s a t t h e o b j e c t i v e
t e r r e s t r ia l a n d e m p ty s h e ll— th e “ m u m m y ,” a n d f o r g e ts t h a t th e r e m a y
W e a r e t a u g h t t h a t f o r il.OOO ycaiB a t l e a s t t h e “ i n n m m y ” n o t w i t h s t a n d .
i n g a l l t h e c h e m i c a l p r e p a r a t i o n s g o eB o n t h r o w i n g o ff t o t h e l a s t
in v i s i b lo a t o m s , w h i c h f r o m t h e h o u r o f d e a t h r e - e n t e r i n g t h e v a r i o u s
v o r tic e s o f b e i n g g o i n d e e d “ t h r o u g h e v e r y v a r i e t y o f o r g a n i z e d l i f e
f o r m s . ” B u t i t is n o t t h e s o n l, t h o 5fch, l e a s t o f a ll t h e ( jt h , p r i n c i p l e , b u t
t h o L'fe a to m s o f t h o j i v a t h e 2 n d p r i n c i p l e . A t t h e e n d o f t h e 3 ,0 0 0 y e a r s
s o m e t i m e s m o r e , a n d s o m e t i m e s l e s s , a f t e r e n d l e s s t r a n s m i g r a t i o n s a ll
t h e s e a t o m s a r e o n c e m o i o d r a w n t o g e t h e r , a n d a r e m a d e to f o r m t h e n ew ;
o u t e r c l o t h i n g o r t h e b o d y o f t h e s a m e m o n a d ( t h o r o a l s o u l) w h i c h h a d
a lr e a d y b e e n c o tlie d w ith tw o o r th r e e th o u s a n d s o f y e a r s b e fo re . E v e n
in t h o w o r s t c a s o t h a t o f t h e a n n i h i l a t i o n o f t h e c o n s c i o u s p e r s o n a l
P 'in c i p lo t h e m o n a d o r i n d i v i d u a l s o u l is e v e r t h e s a m e a s a r e a l s o t h e
a t o m s o f t h e lo w e r p r i n c i p l e s w h i c h r e g e n e r a t e d a n d r e n e w e d in t h i s e v e r
flo w in g r i v e r o f b e i n g a r e m a g n e t i c a l l y d r a w n t o g e t h e r o w i n g t o t h e i r
a f f in ty , a n d a re o n c e m o re re - in c a r n a te d to g e th e r. S u c h w as th e tm q
o c c u lt th e o r y o f th e E g y p tia n s .— E d .
of tho Editor’s note, who m ust know th a t “ m orality” is not rem em bered th a t h e w as v e n tila tin g his n o t over-kind
a substance—but a term used to express the quality of rem ark s upon th e w ro n g p erso n , since we had nothing to
a conscious entity in hum an form.* The real question Jo personally w ith th e replies. T h u s th e disagree­
involved is this : “ Does the life principle th a t escapes from m en t upon various topics in gen eral, an d th e ab->.
tho hum an body a t death, m aintain the consciousness e tru se te n e ts of esoteric A d w aita P hilosophy especially,
of its individuality,—not personality : and if so, does th at betw een th e “ A lm ora S w am i” an d M r. T. S u b b a Row ,
conscious individuality advance to higher, or more interior,
can in no w ay, o r w iW a n y deg ree of ju s'ice , b e laid by
states of being P To which we reply in the affirm ative.f
The revered Mahatmas know as well as I do, th a t th e form er a t th e dour of eith er th e “ fo re ig n ers w ho
overy spirit atom which is ultim ated into physical condi­ have come to In d ia fo r k n w led g e,” nor of “ W e ste rn
tions of existence is absolutely needful to fulfil the grand " T h e o so p h y ;” fo r, in th is p a rticu la r case h e has foijnd an
purposes of so called creation : and th a t viewing this from o p p o n en t (quite as learn e d , we love to th in k , as him self)
the interior plane of Being, a l l are equally good. There can­ in one of his own ra c e a n d co u n try — a real A dw aitee
not be such a thing as a m istake ; for no atom can be ulti­ B rahm in. To ta k e th erefo re to ta s k theosophy for it or
m ated w ithout a speific purpose to fu lfil; and th a t purpose is th e con d u cto r of th is m agazine, exp ressin g dissatisfaction
fulfilled by such atom becoming differentiated. Good and in such very s tro n g term s, does n o t show e ith e r th a t
evil ; righteous and wicked ; sinner and s a in t; are relative philosophical eq u an im ity , or ta c t an d d iscrim ination th a t
term s applicable only to the sensuous planes of consciousness. m ig h t be e x p ected from ono w ho has d ev o ted hia life
Nevertheless in the infantile state of hum anity a t large upon exclusively to m editation an d th e Y o g a P h ilo so p h y . If
this planet, tho educative process of the individuated atom
cannot bo accomplished, under present conditions, in other p ard o n ab le in a person who has to lead th a t so rt of life
mode, than the solf-eft’ort which is requisite to enable such w hich in th e w ords of M r. M ax M uller, quoted b y th e
atom to consciously progress in the scale of being. “ A lm o ra Sw am i” — (as an ad d itio n al h in t and a h it Vfe
suppose)— a life “ w ith te le g ram s, le tte rs , new spapers,
------•------
review s, p a m p h le ts and b o o k s” — it is q u ite u n p ard o n ­
TH E ALM O RA SW A M I able in a holy ascetic, who is never tro u b led w ith any
UPON th in g of th e so rt a u d g e ts, as we snspect, even h is ap p ro ­
P h il o s o p h y in G e n e r a l a n d o u r F a il in g s in P a r t ic u l a r . p ria te q u o tatio n s from E u ropean a u th o rs re a d y m ade for
him by his am anuenses und frien d s. B u t, since th e a rti­
I n o u r F e b ru a ry N u m b er (see p ag e 118) p refacing1 cle is ad d ressed iu th e form of a le tte r to th e ed ito r, th e
the v aluab le th o u g h som ew hat hazy c o n trib u tio n by the hum ble individual who holds th is office h asten s to aasuro
v enerable Sw am i of A lm o ra on “ A d w a ita P h ilo s o p h y /’ th e v en erab le Sw am i th a t beyond th e ir ap p allin g le n g th ,
we w rote th e follow ing ed ito rial lines :— his le tte rs have never given th e said e d ito r one m om ent
11 As the Hulijoincd letter come.i from hucIi n learned pource, of “ annoyance a n d tro u b le ,” as he seem s to im agine.
we do not feel justified in commenting upon il editorial I}'. Our In reference to a n o th e r personal ta u n t, we a g ree w ith
peruoual kno»'li'di*e <»f tlie Adwaita douLnne buini; unquestion­
ably meagre when contrasted witli tliat of a Pui'umulmnsu—henca him . I t is m oro th an likely th a t some (not all by any
TUB yoOT NOTES Br OUE LKAUNKU BltOTHKIt, 'i . SlIBBA liOW, TO m eans) V e d a u tists, such as th e m odern “ A ry a s” and som e
V11UM WK TUItNKD OVfc.ll TUB il. S. FOU llKi’LY.” D w aitees an d V isish tad w aitees— a fte r “ h ailin g W e st­
T his notice, we believe, was p lain eno u g h to screen us ern T heosophy w ith jo y ,” have en ded by co m p arin g ifc
th e re a fte r from an y such p ersonal re m a rk s as a re now “ to th e m ountain th a t gave b irth to a m ouse” — th e dia*
flung a t our head by th e holy ascetic of A lm ora in the en c h an tm e n t b ein g due to im n y and various reasons
aper th a t follows. Som e of those rh e to ric a l blossom s upon w hich it is needless to e n te r a t p re se n t. W e can
av iu g been left by us fo r th e purp o se of en liv en in g the only hope a n d tr u s t th a t th e lofty A lm orian m ountain,
otherw ise too m onotonous field of his philosuphical su b ­ chosen by our venerable friend as th e seat of his c o n te n t,
ject, th e read er m ay ju d g e for him self. W e say p latio n , m ay n o t b rin g fo rth some d ay , for In d ia, a n y ,
“ som e,1' for, h av in g to satisfy all o u r c o n trib u to rs, and w orse anim al th a n th e hum ble “ black m ouse.” T ru e
our sp ace b ein g lim ited, we can n o t co n sen t to crow d out we have come to learn in th is co u n try , an d we have
more in te re s tin g m a tte r to m ake room fo r ju s t 154 learn ed a good de d alread y . One fa c t, a m o n g several,
colum ns of quotutio n sp rafu sely m ixed w ith rep rim an d s and o th ers, nam ely, th a t th e learn ed ascetics c f modern-'
flings of an y co rresp o n d en t, even th o u g h th e la tte r be as In d ia havo w idely shot off from th e original m ark w hen
we Jearn from his own w ords, “ a m o d est h e rm it of th e com pared w ith th e Ilish is of old. S pinoza is q u o te d '
ju n g le .” . T h erefore, w ith all our p ro fo u n d re sp e ct for a g a in st us in his definition of m ethods of investig atio n .
our o p po n en t, we had to cu rta il hia too lo n g p a p e r O ur sa in tly critic fears th a t his venerable frien d s havo
considerably. W e propose, how ever, to show him hia follow ed th e lirst (or vulgar) m ethod. T h e proof
chief m istak e, an d th u s to b lu n t a few of th e m ost p o in ted w hich w ith him goes fa r to ju stify liis “ fe a r,” resta
sh afts in ten d ed to pierce th ro u g h th e p o in ts of th e ed ito ­ chiefly upon a fa lla c y and m istake of ours— (one happily
rial harness. . held by us iu com m on w ith n early all th e g re a t m en o j
science in E u rope, viz., our ignorant claim t h a t m a t t e r M
If, a fte r th e h um ble confession quoted above from our
i n d e s t r u c t i b l e , H E N C E e t e r n a l . W e will n o t u n d e rstan d
F e b ru a ry num b er, th e editorial reply th a t follow ed
his ideas, he says, because b ein g fond of absurdities, “ o u r
a n o th e r p a p e r from th e sam e ascetic, nam ely, th e “ I n
R e-A dw aita P h ilo so p h y ,” in th e M arch N u m b e r— was owu a b su rd ity would be exposed.” I f so, we p re fe r
indeed our ab su rd belief in th e in d estru ctib ility of m a tte r
utill tak en ns e m a n a tin g from one who lw d ju s t confessed
to any scientilic opinion u p holding the co n trary , sub»
her incom petency to hold a d isp u ta tio n w ith th e learn ed
m ittin g cheerfully, in this case, “ th e w eakness of ou.r
Swami upon A dw aita te n e ts— the fa u lt is not ours.-. T his
e rro r is th e m ore s tra n g e since tlio Sw am i liad been u n d e rsta n d in g to be lau g h ed a t” — even by au ascetic ia
clearly w arned th a t his p o in ts w ould be d isp u te d and “ th e s ta te of N irv ik a lp a .”
questions answ ered in fu tu re by o u r b ro th e r M r. T . S ubba.
W e feel very g ra te fu l to th e good Sw am i for hia
Row, a s learned in A dw aita philosophy as in tho esoteri-
ex p lan atio n of “ P ra n iiv a” . a n d o th e r k in d re d worda.
cism of th« sacred books of th e E a s t. T h erefo re w e , had
M r. S u b b a Row will no d o u b t profit by, a n d answ er them .
a rig h t to e x p ect th a t th e P a ra m a h a n sa w ould have
P ersonally, how ever, we respectfully decline to be ta u g h t
th e noble science by any o th e r m an, how ever learned ha
• U n a b l o t o fin d in t h o M a r c h n u m b o r t b o e e n t o n c o re fe rre d to , w o
d o n o t , k n o w w l i a t M r . O x le y is r e f e r r i n g t o . — E d . '’ m av be, th a n him who has originally u n d ertak e n tho
ta: k —nam ely, our owu M a s t e r : y et, as m any of our
t W e a r e s o r r y t o r o p l y in t h o n e g a t i v e . T h a t w h i c h m a i n t a i n s tl i o
c o n s c i o u s n e s s o f i t s i n d i v i d u a l i t y is t h o G th p r i n c i p l o i n c o n j u n c t i o n r e a le r s m ay well benefit by tho controversy, we will,
w i t h t h o 7 t h a n 1 t h e a p o r t i o n o f t h o 5 t h a n d i t s v o h i c l e t h e 4 t h , — th o * w ith his p erm ission, leave th e arena for th e p resen t to
tr ia d th u s c o n s ti tu ti n g th o c o n s c io u s m o n a d . L i f e a t o m s o r ‘‘ l i f o - ’ M ; S u b b a Row , a fa r a b le r co n troversialist th a n w e can
p r i n c i p l e ” ' (tl< e. J i v ) t h a t e s c a p e a a t d e a t h h a s n o c o n s c i o u s n e s s i n
i t a d i s i n t e g r a t e d c o n d i tio n ! n o r h a s t h i s a n y b e a r i n g u p o n t h o g ran d
e v e r hope to becom e. -
p u rp o e o s o f c re a tio n /* — E d . ------ » ■ .
 T H E S W A M I OF A LM O R A TO H I S O F F O N E N T S . and compose themselves for Nirvicalpa* ecstasy, will not be
“ We do not wage war o f words, but sim ply speak able to comprehend us, nor also those who confound P rakriti
and seek the truth.” w ith Purusha, or m atter with sp irit.f If by “ scientifically”
W e aro sorry to Bee th a t we havo been the cause of be m eant curiosity, then not only we, but the whole class of
som ething like irritation to you by our last letter, which philosophers from Thales to A uguste Comte are only hunters
perhaps was not suitable to the modesty of a herm it. of curiosity, and our respected friends more so, as for tliia
Therefore, we beg your pardon, if there was in it anything purpose only, they havecome from the other part of the world'
offensive to you, and, a t the same time, bog liberty to speak and pledged their lives and fortune on this. But to come to tho
tlio truth. Wo are always friendly to every ono, but p arti­ point, wo are not attracted by curiosity! O ur motives a,re not
cularly to the foreigners, who have come to Ind ia for shallow. W hatever we ask, wo ask for scientific purposes, and
knowledge. Wo aro friendly in tho spiritual senso of the for th a t only wo entreated you to kindly ascertain the extent
word, therefore, we m ust be taken as a roal friend and not of mesmeric force, whether it influences the outer man only, or
a flatterer, even if we say Boinothing disagreeable now and tho inner one too—you said “ * * * th at a mortal wound may
then...;Those who seek to find fault with us aud become hostile bo inflicted npon the inner man, &c. &c.” Now according to
to ils, are, we think, projudiccd and stubborn, and wo desire our knowledge the inner man means tho double, i. e., tho
them to acquire simplicity of heart and an unbiassed mind to Taijasha, pragna being the original or first, and the Anna-
enable them to understand us thoroughly.* We herm its aro a maya or tho Viswa, the third.]; To this third, we applied
nomadic class of people and gonerally pass our time in places the term treble, and we aro justified in doing so, in the same
far away from habitation, and do not much cultivate the way as you apply double to the Taijasha,—and we do not see
the language and idioms of the world, nor do we care much any harm in taking the gross ono as th ird ; but those who aro
for, these. To attack us about modes of our expressing fond of absurdities will not understand our i d e a s . W h y ,
our ideas is, therefore, only childish. O ur readers a::e becauso their own absurdity will bo exposed. We beg your
to 'td k e our idea only aud not our stylo. Because,— wo are pardon for this outspokenness.|| How can you, being a
neither an M. A., nor a 13. A .; neithor an Addison, nor a practical theosophist, say carelessly that; a m ortal wound
Johnson, nor a Macaulay, b u t simply a herm it of the jungle. may be inflicted upon the inner man, &c., &c., when in reality
• Let us now see w hat was tlio purport of our letter. Our the outer one was the victim. You evade our question in an off­
woi’ds were, “ you should bear in mind that, we are speaking hand m anner by saying th a t the question is not w hether the
of m atter aud spirit beyond tlio present developed form or in double m urdered the double or treb e. Now wo particularly
the state of prefect laya, according to P a ta n ja li’s 2nd and 3rd begged you to remove our doubts by establishing this fact
Sutras, or from the stand-point of the Esoteric Theosophy.” scientifically.§ Instead of complying with our request, you
How can this mean th a t we are asking you to answer the have been gracious enough to make th at a m atter of humor­
questions according to P atan jali’s 2nd and 3rd Sutras, we ous jokes, and try to make us ashamed of our question:
fail to understand. By the abovo sentences, we simply m eant W hen we say “ * * * tho double murdered, the treble
to Bhow our own stand-point whonco our enquiry commences. not tho double, and in no case the spiritual one,” then in this
We referred to P atan jali’s S utras, because we intended to sonse, by treble you should havo understood tho Annamaya,
show th a t our startin g point was in porfoct accord w ith the but instead of so doing you are disgusted with the sen­
true yoga, state, nirvikalpa, ecstasy, i. e., the Turya, state, tence ; not only this sentence, but also another one, in regard
and not with ordinary Jag rata, Sw apna and S ushupta (for to which you say, “ why should he then use against his own
the former, i. e., Turya, state of man is of real aw aking aud argum ent the term laya ?” How can we erase tho word out of
th e'latter illusory), while you havo boon pleasod to under­ * S u r e ly o u r ro s p o c tc d c o rre s p o n d e n t c a n n o t m e a n to conv oy
stand us as speaking of ordinary hum an states. Moreover, by t h o id o a t h a t i n p e n n i n g t h i s a n s w e r h e h a d “ c o m p o B o d ” h i m s e l f
lay,a, we never meant annihilation, as isassum od by you I t in t o t h o s t a t e o f N i r v i c a l p a : u n l e s s w e t a k o M o n ic r W i l l i a m s ’ d e f i n iti o n
is your own version th a t tho word laya means “ a state of o f t h o t e r m a n d b e a r i n m i n d t h a t i t is a s t a t o “ d e s t i t u t e o f a l l r e f l e c ­
t i o n . ” { S e e I n d i a n W is d o m , p a g o 1 2 2 , f o o t - n o t o 2 .) — E d .
absolute dissolution, annihilation of all substance,f &c.” Iu
some of the form er numbers of tho Theosophist the word laya t T o th is k in d t h r u s t w o a n s w o r th a t w e h a v e n o v o r c o n fo u n d e d P r a ­
waS,explained by you as merging, and in this num ber you k r i t i w i t h P u r u s h a a n y m o r o t h a n w o h a v e c o n f u s e d t h o n o r t h w itlj
t h e s o n t h P o lo . A s b o t h P o l e s b e l o n g t o t h e s a m e a n d o n o e a r t h , s o s p i r i t ‘
give .another meaning of i t . | Why, morely because you a n d m a t t e r , o r I ’n r n s h a a n d P r a k r i t i a r e t h o t w o e n d s t h a t lo s e t h e m -
require a handle to ridicule us. However, we forget all this, p e l v e s in t h e e t e r n i t y o f u n m a n i f o s t e d a n d t h o c y c l e s o f m a n i f e s t e d
anti beg to say, th a t according to A ryan adepts, by laya is m a tte r. B n t lik e so m o o f o u r d is tin g u is h e d w e s te r n m e ta p h y s ic ia n s ,
meant and understood “ absorption or transform ation of one o u r o p p o n e n t s e e m s to r e g a r d m a t t e r a n d e n o r g y a s tw o d is ti n c t th in g s ,
thing into another,” such as the river is absorbed or tran s­ w h e re a s th e E s o te r ic d o c trin o re c o g n iz e s b u t o n e s u b s t r a tu m fo r o v e ry
t h i n g v i s i b l e a s in v i s i b l o . — “ P u r n s h - I ’r a k r i t i ” a n d v i c e v e r s a . M o r o o v e r ^
formed, when it loses itself in the sea. I t is a process among w o m a y r e m in d th o g o o d S w a m i, t h a t o n o n e e d n o t bo a y o g e e to b e a
tliq A ryan occultists, by which they can (like the modern g o o d o c c u l t i s t , n o r a r o t h o r o m a n y y o g o e s in I n d i a w h o k n o w a n y t h ' n g
scientific Realists and Chomists as you understand them ), o f r e a l o c c u lt s o ie n c e s .— E d .
analyse tlio different component parts of a compound body, J I n R n ch c a s e , o n r r o s p e c t e d c r i t i o o n g h t t o c r i t i c i z e a n d c o r r o c t
and reduce them to their prim ary or original condition—and P r o f e s s o r M o n io r W i l l i a m s a n d o t h o r S a n s k r i t i s t s , w h o r o g a r d A v n a -
by-which they are not only able to ascertain w hat the sub- M a y a a s “ t h e c o v e r i n g s u p p o r t e d b y f o o d , i.e . , t h o c o r p o r e a l o r g r o s s
b o d y ” c a l l i n g i t t h o f o u r t h , w h ile w o n a m e i t a s t h e f i r s t s h e a t h o f
ntabce realty is, but they can also ponotrato into the m ystery K 6 s a . ( S e o p . 1 2 3 o f I n d i a n IFiscZom.) — E d . _
of its past and future, to make thomselvea certain about the IT W e lo a v o i t t o o u r r e a d e r s t o j u d g e w h ic h is t h o m o s t a b s u r d — 16
oau.se of-1ih e origin and term ination of the phenomenon, c o n s i d e r o u r p h y s i c a l b o d y a s t h o f i r s t , o r t o c a ll i t , a s t h e S w a m i doofi *
known ajs creation or dwaita in its present manifested t h o tr e b le o r t h e t h i r d ; t h o u g h o f c o u r s e t h e r e i s “ n o h a r m ” in
form. !-It. is o d d -th at o u r phrase “ present developed form ” c ith e r .— E d .
has cost you more than a column to comment on it.^f We || W e w i l l i n g l y f o r g i v o t h o i m p o l i t e r o m a r k u n d e r i t i g a r b o f “ o n t-
m ight heVe explain our m eaning. By this we simply meant p p o k o n n e s s .” W o b o g o u r r o s p e c t e d e o r r o s p o n d o n t t o b o a r i n m in d
t h o n g h t h a t i t is o n o t h i n g t o b e “ o u t s p o k e n , ” a n d q u i t e a n o t h e r o n o to
soul in. its Viswa, Taijasha, and Pragna, states, or, tho spirit b o r u d e .— E d .
in iits impure condition by contact with m atter and force,
i. e., in a state of duality. B ut, perhaps, nominal yogees, § I t is p r c o i s e l y b e c a u s e w e c l a i m t o k n o w s o m e t h i n g o f “ p r a c t i c a l ”
O o o u lti s m i n n d d i t i o n t o b e i n g a T h e o s o p h i s t t h a t w o a n s w e r w i t h o n t in
who are disturbed in head and heart, and cannot tranquillize t h e l e n a t “ e v a d i n g t h e q u e s t i o n ” t h a t a m o r t a l w o u n d m a y b o in f iio to d
“ n o t o n ly u p o n , b u t a l s o b y o n o ” i n n o r m a n u p o n a n o t h o r . T h i s is t h e
* Q u ite bo ; a n d th e r e f o r e , th is k in d d e s ire is f n l l y r o c i p r o c a t e d . —Ed.
A . D. 0 . o f C B o te rio m o s m e i i s m . T h e w o u n d is i n f l i c t e d b y n e i t h e r
+ T h e p r o o f - r e a d e r p l e a d s g u i l t y o f a n o m i s s io n . T h e n o n n ( s u b s t a n c e ) a r e a l d a g g e r o r a h a n d o f f le s h b o n e s a n d b lo o d , b n t s i m p l y b y — W i n .
o u g h t t o h a y o b e e n p r e c e d e d b y t h e v e r b — d i f f e r e n t i a t e d .— E d . I t is t h o i n t e n s e w ill o f t h e “ G o s p o j a ” t h a t g u i d e d t h o a s t r a l o r i n n e r
' £ .N o “ m e r g in g " o r a b s o r p tio n c a n ta k e p la c e w i th o u t d is s o lu tio n , a n d b o d y , th o M a y a v i- r u p a o f F r o z y a . I t is t h o p a s s i v o l y o b o d i e n t a c tio n
a n a b s o ln te a n n ih ila tio n o f th o p re v io u s fo rm . T h o la m p o f s u g a r o f t h e l a t t c r ’s “ d o n b l o ” t h a t s c a n n i n g s p a c o a n d m a t e r i a l o b s ta c le s ,
t h r o w n i n t o a c u p o f l i q u id m u s t b e d i s s o l v e d a n d i t s f o r m a n n i h i l a t e d f o ll o w e d t h o “ t r a i l ” o f , a n d f o u n d th o r e a l m u r d o r o r s . I t is a g n iri
J> e fp re i t c a n b o s a i d t o h a v o b e e n a b s o r b e d b y , a n d i n , t h e l i q u i d . I t ia t h a t W ill s h a p o d b y t h e i n c o s s a n t t h o u g h t o f t h o r e v e n g e r , t h a t in flic t*
a c o r r e la tio n lik o a n y o th e r in c h e m is tr y . Y e t in d e s tra o tib le m a tte r e d t h e i n t e r n a l w o u n d s w h i c h t h o u g h u n a b l e t o k i l l o r e v e n t o h n r t th o
c a n a s in t h e c a so o f s u g a r , o r a n y o th e r c h e m ic a l e lo m e n t , b e ro c a llo d in n o r m a n , y e t b y r e a c tio n o f th o in te r io r p h y s ic a l b o d y p ro v o d m o rta l
t o lif e a n d e y o n to it s p r o v io n s fo rm . T h e m o le c u le t h a t c a n n o t b e d i­ to th o l a t t e r . I f t h o f lu id o f t h o m e s m o r i z e r c a n o n r e , i t c a n a l 60 k ill.
v i d e d b y a n y p h y s i c a l m e a n s is d i v i d e d b y t h e u n i v e r s a l s o l v e n t a n d A n d n o w w o h a v e " e s t a b l i s h e d t h o f a c t o s s c i e n t i f i c a l l y ” — a s scien ce)
r e s o l v e d i n t o s o m e t h i n g e l s e . H e n c e — i t is , f o r t h o t i m e b e i n g , a t l e a s t , w h ic h g e n e r a lly d is b e lie v o s in a n d r e j e c ts su o h m o s m e ric p h e n o m e n a
■ a n n ih ila te d i p i t s f o r m . T h i s is s i m p l y a w a r o n w o r d s — £<2. w ill p o r m i t i t . F o r t h o s p w h o b e l i e v e in , a n d k n o w s o m e t h i n g o f,
i f I t is B till o d d e r t h a t a f e w f o o t - n o t e s s h o u l d h a v e c o s t t h e v e n e r * .m e s m e r i s m , t h i s w i l l b e p l a i n . A s t o t h o s e w h o d e n y i t t h e . e x p l a n a t i o n
a b le P a r a m a h a n s a o v e r 1 5 c o lu m n s o f ill d is g u is e d a b u s e , o u t o f w h ic h w ill a p p e a r t o t h e m a s a b s u r d b b a n y o t h e r p s y c h o l o g i c a l c l a im : Ofl
n u m b e r t h r o e o r f o u r c o l u m n s a r o g i v e n . T b a t w h i c h w a s ,8 u p p r.c sa e { l joattoh bo (lh t b e ^c laim s o f Y o g g i s j n w i t h itR b e a t i t u d e s o f £ a m a d b {
m a y b e ju d g e d b y w h a t r e m a in s .— E d , "’ p u d o t h e r jft^fcefli f o r t h e . m a t t e r o f t ^ a t . — E d ,
 Kosha (dictionary) ? I t would be b etter to understand us
by our own idea and not through y our own interpretations.
“ There are two m ethods of investigation,” says Spinoza,
“ the vulgar and the scientific. Tlie one starts from principles
which have been accepted w ithout exam ination, which are
not, therefore, clearly understood. The other starts from
principles clearly defined and accurately known. I t is the
latte r only which can lead to true know ledge.” W e fear,
our venerable friends have followed the first method, which
we shall try to prove by and bye. . . .
Before doing this, however, may we be perm itted to ask
an answ er to our question—Is spirit and m atter the same
th in g ? or w hether P rakriti, S hakti, and S p irit are the same
th ing ? Unless P rak riti be the same w ith spirit, how can the
form er be eternal, since two eternals cannot exist a t the same
time, and the belief in two eternals Is against tlie fundam en­
tal tru th s of the A dw aita Philosophy,* as embodied in the
aphorism ek meva dwitiyam. A nd m atter has attributes,
such as, color, form, sound, touch, sight, taste and smell ; but
the spirit has none. M atter is dead (jad), S pirit is living
(chaitanya) ; m atter is tem porary and subject to change, and
spirit is eternal; m atter is partial, and spirit is universal.f
B at w hat is temporary ? T hat which appears and exists for
a certain period of time, or th a t which has beginning and end.
A nd w hat is eternal ? E ternal means th a t which exists
throughout present, past, and future, and also in Jagrita,
Swapna, and Sushupta. Owing to these and various othor
causes m atter cannot be sp irit nor vice versd. If you say like
V ashishtha th at the sleeping particles of Chid (spirit) are
ignorantly called m atter, then we agree w ith you to a certain
e x te n t; but still how can they, for th a t reason, be called by
the erroneous and m isleading term matter w hich is inert and
spiritually non-existent. W hy do you not call a piece of
wood or stone spirit ?J Can you prove th e existence of m at­
ter in sound sleep Perhaps you will reply like tho Naya-
yiks th a t m atter exists w ith K arana in sleep, if so, where does
it exist in T urya ? You cannot prove th a t either m atter or
P rak riti exist in Turya. How then can m atter or P rak riti be
called eternal ? If m atter is merely a m anifestation of spirit,
why call it by the false namo of m atter instead of its own
name spirit ?|| Now having done w ith the effect, matter,
we come to its cause the M ula-Prakriti, which is also called
Avidya or ignorance, the m other of K arm a and the causc of
Bundlia. So long as this P ra k riti is not lay od. into spirit by
dissolving it into Satvaguna, there is no emancipation, M ukti
with P rak riti is no M ukti a t all. Beyond P rak riti is emanci­
pation. T'his is the conclusion of the whole of our A ryan Oc­
cultism. Let us now see w hat the Mimansa says. We make
a few quotations from the Sad-darshana-C hintanika or Studies
in Indian Philosophy, Vol. V. of 1881, No. 11, page 347§
Edited a t Bombay. * * *
I t is not our object, even if we could, to cite all
the A ryan books, but we would desire you and your
readers to read in continuation of our qntoations all the
numbers of tho sixth Volume of 1882 of the Suddarshana
C liintanika which will shew th a t not only Sankaracharya,
but also almost all the commentators and reform ers and other
great Rishis, not to speak of the Upanisads, havo rejected the
theory of the m atter being as eternal as spirit, by which you
are misled,** W e will now see w hat other schools of phi­
losophy say about th e P rakriti. By other schools we mean
the systems of P atanjali, B uddha and Jaina. Let our readers
remember th a t we aro speaking of the first class Boudhas,
* T h i s ia p r e c i s e l y t h o q u e s t i o n w e h a v o b e e n a s k i n g ; a n d a l s o tl ie
r e a s o n w h y , k n o w in g t h a t m a t t e r is in d e s tr u c tib le , a s a lso s p ir it o r
r a t h e r e iie r .jy — w o s a y w i t h a l l t h e e s o te r i c A d w a i t e e s t h a t m a t t e r a n d
s p i r i t a r e one. — E d .
f S e o M . S a b h a R o w ’s r e p l y . W h i l e w e m e a n c o s m i c , i n d e s t r n c t i b l o
m a t t o r , t h o S w a m i s p o a k s o f o b je c tiv e a n d d i f f e r e n t i a t e d m a t t e r ! — E d .
J B e c a u s e i t is n o t u s u a l t o c a ll t h e m b y s n c h a n a m e . N e v e rth e le s s ,
w o m a i n t a i n t h a t t h e r e i s in a p i e c e o f w o o d o r a s t o n e a s m u c h o f l a t e n t
s p i r i t o r l i f e a s t h o r e i s i n a w e a k — o ld h u m a n f o e t u s .— E d .
IT S o e M . T . S u b b a R o w 's r e p l y . — B<i.
|| F o r t h o B am e g o o d r o a s o n t h a t w o c a l l a c h a i r b y i t s “ f a l s e ” n a m o
o f c h a i r iu B te u d o f c a l l i n g i t b y t h a t o f t h o “ o a k ” o r a n y o t h e r w o o d o f
w h ic h i t w a s m a d o .— E d .
§ W e r e f o r th o r e a d e r to th e p a g e s o f th o a b o v e u a m e d e x c e lle n t.
M o n t h l y M a g a z i n e .— E d .
# * W e t h a n k t h o g o o d S w a m i f o r h is a d v i c o . W o h a v o r e a d n il th o
m o n th ly n u m b e rs o f th e S u d d a r s h a n a C h in ta n ik a w ith g r e a t a t te n t io n
u n til la te ly , a n d a d v o e a to d it z e a lo u s ly b o th in A m e r ic a u n d u p o n o u r
a r r i v a l h e r e . N o t w i t h s t a n d i n g a l l t l m t S a n k a r a c h a r y a m a y b o in a d e
to s a y i n t h o a b o v e n a m e d s t u d i e s , w o c l a i m t o k n o w t h a t h e s a id n o t h i n g
of th e k in d , u o t a t a n y r a t e in t h e s e n s e o o n v e y e d b y o u r o p p o n e n t. W e
le a v o t h o q u o s t i o u t o b e s e t t l e d b e t w e e n h i n t a n d - M r . S u b b a R o w .— E d .
who agreed w ith A ryans in many essential points, and,
particularly, as regards N irvana, though they disagree in re ­
gard to K riyakanda. The esteemed Editor of the Theosophist
seems to follow the doctrine of Madhyamica, i. e., middle class
Buddhists, or those who are followers of Sugata’s doctrines
of whom we shall speak afterwards.* We call our reader’s
attention to tlie summary, Vol. V I (1882), No. 2, page 106, of
the studies in Indian Philosophy-j- * * * * * * * *
We cite a few lines from S utra 24 and 25........ The Jainas
do not believe in the independent power known as delusion
to the Vedantists. The spirit is naturally knowing. I t is
omniscient. Its knowledge is covcrcd over and obscured by
an activity or karma. The perception of the spirit is also
obscured by karm a, &c., &c. The Boudhas believe th at pure
N irvana alone exists. N irvana is a transcendental condition.
I t is infinitude. I t is not subject to being acted upon.
N othing excels it. The great Rishis who are free from
all desire, describe it to be so. Besides the N irvana, karm a or
activity is also eternal.J Aided by ignorancc, activity
produces five elements and dcvelopes worldliness. These five
elements are form or Rupa, sensation or Vedana, perception or
Sangna, discrim ination or Samascar, and consciousncss or
V ijnana, virtue and contemplation, destroy the power of igno­
rance. A ctivity thus becomes impotent and N irvana is next
attained to.^f All these schools are described together in
this place, because tliey represent Indian pessimism, and th at
the reader may know their points of resemblance and
difference.
W e now come to your foot-note. “ Asat or P ra k riti existed
first, &c.” A brief reply to this is given somewhere in the
H istory of Philosophy. “ The pagans said ex-nihilo nihil.
The C hristian father altered it to ex-nihilo-omnia." Still let
us see w hat our A ryan Rishis say. We call your attention
to the verses from the second Book called Panch Mahabhuta
Viveka of Panchadasi, which speaks in accordance w ith
U panisads||....... You will please understand the verses accord­
ing to their commentary, now very ably translated into H indu.
M anduka Upanisad says, P rak ritis are of two kinds, A para
and P ara ; tlie form er produces Karma and the latter M ukti.
The one is Jad, the other Chaitanya. This is also the opinion
of B hagvat Gita, seventh chapter. M andukia K arika, third
chapter, and Prasna Upanisad also speak of Maya and
P ra k riti—please see the Upanisads with Sankara’s commen­
tary. Vasishta, Vyasa, A shtavakra and all great sages
recommend the divorcement of this illusive P rakriti, and no­
where in th eir works do we find any sentence which
says th at this illusive P rak riti is to be known with
God. If B rahm a can, in your opinion, be known through
P rakriti, then why not with all others but Tamasa
only ? According to Indian philosophy and the practical ex­
perience of herm its, this M ula Sakti or Avidya, as you under­
stand it, is not to be known in Brahm am . Because it is illusive
and false, moreover, it can be dissolved and made inactive.
I t loses itself in T urya when layaed, as the river into thp
ocean. B ut as long as you will bo ignorant of this process,
so long you have liberty to call it a protest of religion ; but
the thinking class, who understand this mysterious process,
will laugh at your weakness of understanding. As you have
purposely come to India for true esoteric knowledge, we
always pray for your success, aud entreat you to understand
* T h e “ e s te e m e d E d ito r ” f o llo w s b u tth o d o c tr in e s o f E s o te ric B u d d h ie m ,
w h ic h a r o n e a r l y i d e n t i c a l w itl i t h o s e o f t h e e s o t o r i c A d w a ite e s — t h e tr u e
fo llo w e rs o f S a n k a r a c h a r y a .— E d .
t W e r e f e r th e r e a d e r to th e abovenam ed v o lu m e of th e “ S tu d ie s
in I n d ia n P h ilo s o p h y .” — E d .
J A n d i f “ a c t i v i t y i s a ls o e t e r n a l y t h e n h o w c a n o u r p h i l s o p h i c a l a n t a ­
g o n i s t m a i n t a i n t h a t m a t t e r ie n o t bo ? C a n a c t i v i t y ( in t h o u s u a l s e n s e
o f th e w o rd ) w h e th e r p h y s ic a l o r m e n ta l, m a n if e s t its e lf o r e x is t w ith o u t,
o r o u ts id e o f, m a tte r , o r to b o p la in e r — o u ts id e o f a n y o n e o f its s e v e n
6 ta te s p A n d h o w a b o u t h is c o n t r a d i c t i n g h i m s e l f ? “ A c t i v i t y a ls o
e te r n a l.” T h e n t h e r e a r e a f t e r a l l txvo e t e r n a l s , h o w ? A n d h o j u s t
s a y in g t h a t “ tw o e t e r n a ls c a n n o t e x is t a t th o s a m e tim o ” (S e o
a b o v e ) .— E d *
U W o b e g t o d r a w o u r c o r r e s p o n d e n t ’s a t t e n t i o n t o t h e f a c t t h u t
h o is a g a i n c o n t r a d i c t i n g h i m s e l f . O r is i t t h e “ B o u d h a s ” ? B ut a
f e w l i n e s a b o v e h e d e c l a r e s “ a c t i v i t y .........c / m i a / ” a n d n o w lie n i a k e a
i t “ i m p o t e n t ” — i n o t h e r w o r d s k i l l s a n d a n n i h i l a t e s t h a t w h ic h
i s e t e r n a l !— E d . ■
|| T h e r e a d e r is i n v i t e d to t u r n to th e S a n s k r i t v e rs e s o f th e a lo v e n a m e d
w o r k , a s t h e a d d i t i o n a l q u o ta t io n s w o u ld a g a in r e q u i r e a t le a s t tw o
c o lu m n s . O u r m a g a z i n e a v o i d s a s m u c h a s p o s s i b le th e p u b l i c a t i o n o f
a n y t h i n g t h a t is n o t o r ig in a l m a t t e r .— E d .
us a little herm itically * We explained to you Pranava c o r r c c t a n d in p e r f e c t h a r m o n y w ith t h e i r o w n . T h e re a re n e a rly ne
m a n y in t e r p r e ta tio n s o f th e e s o te r ic m e a n in g of c e rta in w o rd s w e h a v e
nccording to tlie interpretation of Ram a Gita, a chapter of t o n s e a s t h e r o a r e y o g e e s a n d s a n n y a s i s o f v a r i o n s s e c t s in I n d i a . A
esoteric Ram ayana, b u t as you are not well acquainted with V i s i s h t a d w a i t a y o g i w ill c o n t e n d t h e c o r r e c t n e s s o f t h e m e a n i n g a s
tho laya theory, you could not accept it. I t does not, however, g iv e n b y a n A d w a ite e - a s c e tic , a n d a d e v o te e o f C h a ita n y a o r a Ilh a k ti-y o g e e
m atter much ; practical Vedantists have accepted it before. w ill n e v e r a c c e p t t h e i n t e r p r e t a t i o n o f t h e V e d a s o r i l h a g a v a d g i t a m aid e
We very gladly and without any apology quote a few lines b y a B rah m o o r a n A ry a . T h u s t r u t h i s e v e r y w h e r e a n d m a y b e s a id
to be n o w h e re . F o r n s i t is a b s o l u t e l y a n d s o le ly in t h e A r h a t e s o t e r i c
from Max M uller’s very able preface to “ The Sacred Book d o c t r i n e s ; a n d — w e r e m a i n f ir m i n o n r c o n v i c ti o n , a l l o n r o p p o n e n t s
of the E ast,” as it bears on our subject. “ This concentration b e i n g q u i t e a s f r e e a s o u r s e l v e s t o a d h e r e b y t h e i r o w n v ie w s . W e have
of thought, C hagrata or one pointedness, as the H indus called m e t in th e N . W . P . w ith a n e r n d i te P u n d it, a r e n o w n e d S a n s k r iti s t , t h e
it, is something to us almost unknown,—our minds are like m o s t le a r n e d a u t h o r i t y w ith , a n d a t th e h e a d o f th e V a is h n a v a s , a n d
kaleidoscopes of thoughts inconstant m otion; and to sh u t our re c o g n iz e d a s s n c li b y m a n y o th e r s ; a n d h e w a n te d n s to b e lie v e t h a t th o
c u lm in a tio n o f “ R a j-y o g a ” w a s th e p ra c tic a l a n d a b s o ln te p o w e rs it
mental eyes to every th in g else, while dwelling on one thought c o n f e r r e d u p o n t h e R a j - y o g e e o v e r a l l t h e f e m a l e s e x i n c r e a t i o n !!
only, lias become to most of us almost as impossible as to S h a ll w e b e l i e v e e v e r y e x p o n e n t o f t h e V e d a s , t h e S l i n s t r e e o f e v e r y s e c t ,
apprehend one musical note without harmonies. W ith the o n l y b e c a u s e lie m a y b e a n a u t h o r i t y t o t h o s e w h o b e l o n g t o t h e s a m e
lifo we are leading now, with telegrams, letters, newspapers, d e n o m i n a t i o n w i t h liim , o r s h a l l w e m a k e a j u d i c i o u s s e l e c t i o n , f o ll o w i n g
reviews, pam phlets nnd books even breaking iu upon us, it b u t t h e d i c t a t o s o f o n r r e a s o n , w h i c h t e l l s u s t h a t h e is m o s t r i g h t a n d
n e a r e r t o t r u t h , w h o d i v e r g e s t h o le s s f r o m lo g ic a n d — S c ie n c e ? T h e
has become impossible, or almost impossible, ever to arrive occult- p h i l o s o p h y w e s t u d y , n s e s p r e c i s e l y t h a t m e t h o d o f i n v e s t i g a t i o n
nt th at intensity of thought which the H indus m eant by w h i c h is t e r m e d b y S p i n o z a t h e “ s c ie n tif i c m e t h o d . ” I t s ta rts
Chagrata, aud th e attaintm ent of which was to them the in- f ro m , a n d p ro c e e d s o n ly o n “ p r in c ip le s c le a r ly d e fin e d a n d a c c n r a tc ly
despensable condition of all philosophical and religious specu­ k n o w n , ” a n d is t l i c r e f o r o “ t h e o n l y o n e ” w h ic h c a n le a d to t r u e
k n o w l e d g e . T h e r e f o r e , b y t h i s p h i l o s o p h y , a n d 110 o t h e r s h a l l w c a b id e .
lation. The loss may not be altogether on our side, yet our
A n d n o w w e m n s t l e a v e t h e v e n e r a b l e S w a m i a n d h i s v ie w s t o t h e d i s ­
loss it is, and if we see the Hindus, even in th eir compa­ s e c tin g k n ife o f M r. T . S n b b a R p w .
ratively monotonous life, adopting all kinds of contrivances
iu order to assist them in draw ing away tlieir thoughts from » ■
all disturbing impressions and to fix them 0 11 one subject only, P R A K R IT I A N D PU RU SH A.
we m ust not be satisfied with smiling at their simplicity but
try to appreciate the object they had in view.” B y T . S obba R ow .
Below nre the few verses on Laya P rak aran a from Siva T iie editorial a t th e h ead of th e article th a t precedes
Sanhita, which it is hoped will show you how you mistake w ill ex plain to th e lea rn e d H e rm it of A lm ora and the
our m eaning.f........... . rea d ers of th e Theosophist th e reason for m y hav in g
Nowhere throughout Yoga V asisht and B hagvat do we u n d e rta k e n to w rite th e follow ing lines in connection
find any statem ent which recommends this P ra k riti to be w ith th e co n tro v ersy raised by th e Sw am i as re g a rd s
known. On the contrary, every Aryan occultist, particularly P r a k r iti lay am (dissolution of P ra k riti).
K apila iii his lectures to Devhutce speaks against it. W ill I am really q u ite d e lig h te d to be inform ed by the res­
you be so kind as to point out to us the placcs where V asishta pected ascetic th a t his “ m otives are n o t shallow ,” and
Vyasa, Suka, and Sankaracharya have given expression to
th a t lie has raised th e p re se n t co ntroversy " for scientific
their views which agree w ith your doctrines of the A rliat
philosophy, otherwise, we m ight or m ight not, believe in your pu rp o se s.” B u t it is c e rta in ly a very d an g ero u s ta sk to
explanation. e n te r into co n tro v ersy w ith a d isp u tan t who, according
to liis own candid confession, is unable to give a clear
Purusha, according to Upanisads, is Swayam Prakasha, i. c.,
self-m anifesting; therefore cannot be dependant on P rakriti expression to his th o u g h ts, b u t who, nev erth eless, is p re­
only, for its manifestation. No Adwaitee will take Brahmam p a re d to declare th a t “ those who seek to find fa u lt w ith ”
with Prakriti or gun or duality. Their Brahmam is Purusha him “ and becom c hostile to ” him “ are prejudiced aiul
beyond the P rak riti, or in other words, A kshara. L atent spirit stu b b o rn .” P ro b a b ly if understood “ h erm itic ally ” and
is never referred (o as Maha Tswara. Please read the verse (we are called upon to co n stru e the Sw am y’s a rticle in
quoted below, which distinctly states th a t M aha Isw ara is the th is m anner) thoy m ay disclose some o ther m eaning, and
spirit beyond P r a lo iti when the latter is la.yed.% I sincerely hope th e y will. M eanw hile I tru s t he will
Void is a fictitious name to the A ryan Rishis, who knew the n o t bo pleased to consider me as e ith er “ p re ju d ic e d ”
omnipresence of the soul, and th at void they destroyed by fill­ or “ stu b b o rn ” if I v en tu re to defend the position tak en
ing it up. Moreover, there is 110 void in nature, vide the up by th o e d ito r of th is jo u rn al (who belongs to the
maxim “N ature hates Vacuum .” A t present wc desist to sam e school as I do) as re g a rd s the su bject in dispute.
answer your other points, till we have your reply to this. I will b e g in by resp ectfu lly inform ing the learned h e r­
As the subject is very serious and im portant, we en treat you m it th a t it is n o t childish “ to scrutinize an d tr y to
to discuss the point calmly and dispassionately ; w ithout this
mood of mind, one cannot penetrate into the esoteric philoso­ u n d e rsta n d th e w ording of a question before a tte m p tin g
phy of India. Your present opinions are not esoteric, they to answ er it.” N obody has found fa u lt w ith his style,
are rath er exoteric. nor lias any one th o u g h t of “ a tta c k in g ” him . On th e
SW AM I O F ALMORA. o th e r h a n d every a tte m p t w as m ade to w eed out the
A lmora , ) gram m atical e rro rs in his a rtic le (the foot-notes to w hich
22nd A pril 1883.) have provoked his anger) before it was p rin te d . B ut
E d . N o t e . — W o s i n c e r c l y r e g r e t t h a t s u c h s h o u l d b e t h e o p in i o n o f tlio controversies like th e p re se n t one can never come to any
S w a m i o f A lm o ra . H u t s iu c o w c k n o w n e i t h e r l i i m s c l f , n o r t h e r e l i g i o n satisfac to ry conclusion unless th e d isp u ta n ts clearly
o r s c h o o l o f p h i l o s o p h y lie b o lo n g s to , w e m a y p e r h a p s r e p e a t w i t h h im
“ I t d o e s n o t , h o w e v e r , m a t t e r m u c h ” w h e t h e r lie a g r e e s w i t h n s o r n o t,
u n d e rsta n d each o th e r. I claim th e rig h t to rem ark
f o r p r a c t i c a l ( e s o t e r i c a u d i n i t i a t e d ) V e d a n t i s t s h a v e f o u n d o n r o p in i o n s th a t in th e shape h is articles g en erally re ach ed the
Theosophist Office, it becam e n e x t to im possible to correct­
* Soo M r. T - S u b b a R o w 's r e p l y . W e t l i n n k a g a i n o u r k i n d a d v i s e r ly ascertain th e real m ean in g of th e “ idea” he trie d to
f o r t h e i n t e r e s t I10 d i s p l a y s in o u r s p i r i t u a l w e l f a r e , a n d r e f e r h i m i f convey, so long as th e la tte r found itself successfully
h e d e s i r e s t o l e a r n t h e c a u s e o f o u r r e f u s a l t o o n r n o t e a t t h o e n d o f h is
le tte r. W o c a n a l s o a s s u r e h im t l m t w o h a v o n e v e r a n d n o w h e r e ,
concealed u n d e r w h at he term s his “ sty le .” Philosophical
c a llo d L a y a “ a p r o t e s t o f r e l i g i o n ” .— E d . disp u ta tio n s a p p a re n tly form idable in th e ir appearance
+ H e a d e r r e f e r r e d t o t h e a b o v e m c n t i o n e d w o r k .— E d . have often been found to have th e ir o rig in in the various
J W e b o g to b e e x p la in e d th e h id d e n m e a n in g o f th i s r e a l ly in c o m ­ m eanings a tta c h e d to a single w ord ; an d it will b e no
p re h e n s ib le s e n te n c e . “ L a t e n t s p i r i t is n e v e r r e f e r r e d t o a s M a h a I s t v a . ex ag g e ratio n to say th a t innum erable creeds and sects
r a ,” ( a t o r m w e , a t a n y r a t e , n o v e r n s e d ,) w h ile t i i e S a n s k r i t v e r s e “ s t a t e s
havo arisen from d isp u te s ab o u t m ere w ords. U nder
t h a t M a h a I s w a r a is t b o s p i r i t b o y o n d P r a k r i t i , w h e n t h o l a t t e r is l a y e d . "
N o w d o e s th o lo a r n e d S w a m i m e a n to s a y t h a t th e s p i r i t b o y o n d d if f e r e n ti­ such circum stances, it m ay be hum bly su b m itted th a t it
a t e d m a t t e r i s a c t iv e ? I t c a n n o t m e a n a n y t h i n g e l s e , f o r o t h c r w i s o is extrem ely im p ro p er on the Sw am y’s p a rt to lose his
t h o t w o a s s u m p t i o n s w o n ld c o n t r a d i c t e a c h o t h e r m o s t a b s n r d l y a n d te m p er in sp ite of his N irv ik a lp a S a m a d h i as soon as an
w o u ld b o s u ic i d a l ; a n d i f h e d o c s m e a n t h a t w h i c h h o s a y s — v iz ., t h a t
M a h a I s w a r a ( i f t h e l a t t e r is i d e n t i f i e d h e r o w i t h P a r a b r a h m a ) , t h e s p i r i t a tte m p t is m ade to analyse his question au d ascertain its
b e y o n d P r a k r i t i b e c o m e s a c t iv e s i n c e i t is c a l l e d M a h a I s i v a r a , w h i c h i t real m eaning. E v e n now, a fte r so m uch discussion, it is
w o n ld n o t b o w e r e i t l a t e n t — t h o u , w o a r o s o r r y t o s a y t o t h e l e a r n e d n o t easy to see w h at th e e d ito r is called upon to prove ?
P a r a m a h a n s a t h a t h e d o c s n o t 'k n o w w h a t h e ta lk in g a b o u t, l i e is n o
E s o te r ic A d w a i t e e a n d — w o c lo s o t h e d i s c u s s i o n a s b e c o m i n g q u i t e
I f th e Sw am y h ad m erely ask ed th e ed ito r to explain moro
u s e le s s .— E d . fully th e assertio n co n tain ed in one of th e issues of this
jo u rn al to tlie eS ect th a t P r a k r iti co-exists e te rn a lly w ith
P u ru sh a, th e re w ould b e no confusion w h atev er. F ro iji
th e ex p lan atio n s g iv en in his article, itw o u ld how ever a p ­
p ear th a t th e le a rn e d h e rm it req u ires th e e d ito r to prove
th a t P ra k riti exists in Tureeya A vasth a ,* E v en th e n th e
question still rem ain s v ague an d u n certain . I sh all now
proceed to p o in t out clearly th e difficulty involved in th e
question a n d explain th e d o ctrin es of eso teric th eo so phy
on th e su b je c t u n d er consid eratio n , in o rd er to enable
th e Sw am y to see th a t th e difficulty is n o t m erely an
im a g in ary one created by th e e d ito r fo r th e purpose of
g iv in g “ evasive rep lies" to his questions a n d rid ic u lin g
him fo r h is b a d E n g lish ; b u t th a t tlie te a c h in g s of eso­
te ric science b ein g , I can assu re him , n e ith e r a b su rd a n d
illogical n o r as “ u n scientific” as he h as im ag in ed ,— one
lias to th o ro u g h ly u n d e rsta n d a n d assim ilate b efo re c ri­
tic isin g th em . L e t us tru s t th is m ay n o t becom e a h o p e­
less ta sk w itli re g a rd to our le a rn e d critic !
F o r th e purposes of th is co n tro v ersy , it m u st b e ex ­
plained th a t P r a k riti m ay b e looked upon from two
d istin ct stan d -p o in ts. I t m ay be looked upon e ith e r as
Mai/a w hen considered as tlie U padhi o f P arabrahm am or
as A vid ya w hen considered as th e U padhi oi J iv a tm a (7th
principle in m a n ) t A vid y a is ig n o ran ce o r illusion a risin g
from M aya, T h e te rm M aya th o u g h som etim es used as a
s y n o n y m fo r A vidya is p ro p e rly sp e a k in g ,a p p lic a b le to P r a ­
k riti only. T h e re is no difference b etw een P ra k riti, M aya
and S a k ti; an d th e a n c ie n t H in d u philoso p h ers m ade 1 10
d istinction w h atso ev er betw een M a tte r an d F o rc e . I n
su p p o rt of th ese assertio n s I m ay re fe r th e le a rn e d h e rm it
to “ S w etasw atara U p a n ish a d " an d its com m en tary by
S a n k ara ch a ry a . I n case we a d o p t th e four-fold division
of the A dw aitee philosophers, it will be clearly seen th a t
J a g r a ta J Swapna^f an d S u slm p ti A v asth as|| a re tlie
results of A vidya, an d th a t V ysw anara§ H ira n y a-
g arbha** an d S u t r a t m a t t a re th e m an ifestatio n s of
P arab rah m a m in M aya or P ra k riti. N ow I b e g to inform
tho learned h erm it th a t th e sta te m e n t m ade in th e Theo­
sophist re g a rd in g P r a k riti h as no connection w hatever
w ith A vidya. U n d iffe re n tia ted cosm ic m a tte r or M ula-
p ra k riti ete rn a lly co-exists w ith P u ru sh a , b u t th e re is
■Avidya L ayam in T ureey a A vasth a. T he E d ito r of th e
Theosophist has never m ain tain ed th a t A vidya, illusion or
ignorance, is etern al. W h y should, th e n , th e le a rn e d h e r­
m it req u ire the E d ito r to prove th a t w hich has n e v e r been
claim ed ? I can n o t help su sp e c tin g th a t th e e ru d ite Sw am y
is confou n d in g A v id y a w ith P ra k riti, th e effect w ith its
cause. I n d raw in g a d istin ctio n b etw een A v id y a and
P ra k riti, I am m erely follow ing th e a u th o rity of all the
g re a t A dw aitee philoso p h ers of A ry av arta. I t will be
sufficient for m e to re fe r th e Sw am y to his fav ourite
book of reference, th e first c h a p te r of P an cliad asi. If,
how ever, th e learn ed Sw am y is p re p a re d to say th a t
M ula P r a k r iti itself is n o t e te rn a l, I b e g to in fo rm him
th a t h is views a re clearly w ro n g a n d th a t his a rg u m e n ts
and liis L a ya p ra ka rn a , of w hich he is_ so v ery p ro u d , do
n o t prove tiie L a ya m of “ M u la p ra k riti,” w h atev er m ean­
in g ho m ay a tta c h to th e w ord “ L a y a ." B efore p ro ceed­
in g to notice liis a rg u m e n ts, I shall say a few w ords
a b o u t th e “ m u rd er b y th e d o u b le" w hich ap p e a rs so
very ridiculous to th is, our “ p ra c tic a l" Y ogi. T h e h e rm it
ia p ro b ab ly aw are of th e fa c t th a t, som etim es, a severe
m e n tal shock can cause d e a th w hen th e physical body
itself rem ains a p p a re n tly u n h u rt. A nd every p ra ctic al
* C o n d i t i o n o f t h e h i g h e s t S a m a d h i ( o r t r a n c e ) , o r a s e x p r e s s e d b y tlio
3 w a m i ‘‘ in s l e e p .”
f U p a d h i— v e h i c le .
J J a g r a ta — w a k in g s ta t e , o r a c o n d itio n o f e x t e r n a l p e r c e p tio n .
' I f S w a p n a — d r e a m y s t a t e , o r a c o n d i t i o n o f c l a ir v o y a n c e i n t h e a s t r a l
p la n e .
j| S u s h w p l i — a s t a t e o f e x t a s i s ; a n d A v a s t a s — s t a t e s o r c o n d i t i o n s o f
P ragna.
§ V y s w a n a r a — t l i e m a g n e t i c f iro t h a t p e r v a d e s t h e m a n i f e s t e d s o l a r
B y s te m — t l i o m o s t o b j e c t i v e a s p e c t o f t h e O ne L if e .
* * H ir a n y a g a r b h a — t h e o n e L ifo a s m a n if e s te d in th o p ia n o o f a s t r a l
L ig h t.
■ft S u t r u t m a — t h e E t e r n a l g e r m o f th e m a n ife s te d u n iv e rs e e x is tin g
in th o f ie ld o f M u l a p r a k r i t i ,
o ccultist know s th a t in several instan ces w hen d e a th ia
caused by recourse to “ b lack m a g ic ," th e v ic tim ’s p h y si­
cal body b ears no sign of in ju ry . In th e se cases th e
blow given, as it w ere, in th e first in sta n c e to th e 4 th
an d 5 th p rin cip les of m an w hich c o n stitu te his astral
body is im m ediately com m nnicated to his Sthoola-sari-
ram . A n d hence th e re is no a b su rd ity in say in g th a t
a w ound w hich proves m o rtal to th e v ictim 's S thoola-
sariram can be inflicted on liis a stra l body. T he Sw am y
how ever seem s to th in k th a t th e astra l body itself is th a
victim in th e E d ito r’s opinion. T here is 1 10 room w h a t­
ever fo r an y such m isapprehension in the article r e g a rd ­
in g th e su b ject in question ; an d I am very sorry th a t th e
h e rm it has th o u g h t it fit to abuse th e E d ito r u n d er th e
plea of o utspokenness, h a v in g him self carelessly m is­
und ersto o d th e co rre ct m ean in g . T he Sw am y is a t full
lib erty to call S th o o la sariram th e treble if lie is pleased
to do so ; b u t as th e U p a d h is are g en e rally nam ed Sam -
liarak ram a* th e tre b le w ould ordinarily b e ta k e n to
m ean K a ra n a s a rira m t a n d w hen th e Sw am y w as pleas­
ed to nam e them in a d ifferen t order, he o u g h t to have
ex pressed him self in less am biguous m anner. O ur cor­
re sp o n d e n t seem s to be very fond of stale rem ark s.
T h ere seem s h a rd ly a n y necessity for all his wise flings
ab o u t m odes of in v e stig a tio n in gen eral, w hen h e is not
fully p rep a red to show th a t our m ethod of in v estig atio n
is unscientific.
T he Sw aniy now com es fo rw ard w ith a n o th e r ques­
tion : w h e th e r m a tte r is identical w ith sp irit ? Our
learn ed h e rm it is alw ays re ad y to raise fresli issues w ith ­
out any cause fo r it. T h e real question is, w h eth er M ula­
p ra k riti is ete rn a l, a n d I fail to see th e necessity for
exam in in g th e n a tu re of its relationship to w hat is ordi­
narily called sp irit in d e cid in g w h eth e r it is etern al or
not. B u t if th e Sw am y insists upon m y g iv in g him a
definite answ er to his q uestion, I b e g to refer him to m y
article on “ P e rso n a l a n d Im p erso n al G od,” pub lish ed in
tlie Theosophist an d to S an k ara cliary a ’s com m entary on
th e 4 th p a ra ., of th e 1st c h a p te r of B rahm a S u tra s. In
tru th , P r a k r iti and P u ru slia are b u t th e two aspects of
th e sam a One R e a l i t y . A s our g re a t S an k a ra ch a ry a
tru ly observes a t th e close of his com m entary on th e
23rd S n tra of th e above m entioned P a d a , “ P a ra b ra h ­
m am is K a rta (P urusli), as th e re is 1 10 o th er A d h islita th a ,t
and P a ra b ra h m a m is P ra k riti, th e re b ein g no o th e r
U p ad a n am .” T his sen ten ce clearly indicates th o re la ­
tion betw een “ th e One L ife” a n d th e One E le m e n t” of
th e A rh a t philosophers. A fte r a sk in g us th is question,
and q u o tin g th e d o ctrin e s of th e A d w aita philosophy
against th e assu m p tio n th a t m a tte r is n o t sp irit, th e
learn ed Sw am y proceeds to show 0 11 liis own au th o rity
th a t m a tte r is not S p irit, in fact. If so, is th e Sw am y’s
do ctrin e co n sisten t w ith tlie do ctrin es of th e A dw aitee
philosophers ? O nr h e rm it p ro b ab ly th in k s th a t th e
quotation will n o t affect h is own statem en t, in as m uch
as he holds th a t m a tte r is not etern al. W h a t th en is th e
m eaning of th e statem ent- so often qu o ted by A dw aitees—
“ Sarvam K h a lv ith a m B ra h m a” ? 1 f an d w hat is m eant
by saying th a t B rahm am is th e U padanakarnam of th e
U niverse ? I t seem s to m e th a t th e Swam y has en tirely
m isunderstood th e A dw aitee d o ctrine reg ard in g th e re la ­
tion betw een P ra k riti a n d P urusha. I f confusion is to
be avoided, it is h ig h ly desirable th a t th e our c ritic should
inform us d istin ctly w h a t he m eans by “ m a tte r." I shall
now exam ine his arg u m en ts or ra th e r his assum ptions to
show th a t P ra k riti is n o t e tern a l in th e o rd er in w hich
th e y a re state d .
I. F o r certain reasons m a tte r is n o t S p i r i t ; S p irit
is e tern al an d th e re fo re m a tte r is n o t eternal.
* S a m h a r a k r a m a — o r d e r o f in v o lu tio n o r e v o lu tio n ro v c rs e d .
+ K a r a n a s a r i r a m — t h o g e r m o f A v i d y a ( i g n o r a n c e ) w h i c h is t h e c a n s e
o f re b irth ,
% A d ish ta th a — T h a t w h ic h i n h e r e s i n a n o t h e r p r i n c i p l e — th o a c t i v e
a g e n t w o rk in g in P r a k r iti.
■ff E v e r y t h i n g i n t h o u n i v e r s e ia B r a h m a ,
 In rep ly to th is a rg u m e n t I b o g to s ta te th a t tlio
m ajor p rem ise is w ro n g in itself, and does n o t affect n i l -
d ifferen tiated P ra k r iti as th e g ro u n d s on w hich it is based
are n o t ap p licab le to it for th e follow ing reaso n s :—
(a) M u lap rak riti has n o t th o a ttrib u te s e n u m erated ,
as th e said a ttrib u te s im ply d ifferen tiatio n a n d M ula­
p ra k riti is u ndifferentiated acco rd in g to our do ctrin es.
(b) M u lap rak riti is not d ead or ja d a m , as P u ru sh a —
th e one life— alw ays exists in it. I t is in fa c t C h itanya
deepta (sh in in g w ith life) as s ta te d in U tta ra T a p a n i
(see also G oudapatha Karilca.)
(c) M u la p ra k riti is n o t te m p o ra ry b u t ete rn a l.
(d) W h e n su b jected to c h a n g e it alw ays loses its
nam o, reassu m in g it a fte r re tu rn in g to its o rig in al u n ­
d iffe re n tia ted condition.
(e) I t is n o t p a rtia l b u t co-oxtensive w ith space.
(f) I t e te rn a lly exists in th e univ erse iu w h atev er
A vastha (stato or condition) a p a rtic u la r hu m an b e in g
may be.
A nd, m oreover, I deny th e v a lid ity of tho inference
draw n even if, for tlio sak e of a rg u m e n t, th e tr u th of tlie
prem ises be g ra n te d .
O ur Sw am y’s second a rg u m e n t is ex trem ely rid icu ­
lous. W h en sta te d briefly it sta n d s th u s :—
I I . T h o e x i s t e n c e o f m a t t e r is n o t k n o w n e i t h e r i n S n n liu p ti
o r Tureeya ( ’ ) A v a s t h a , a n d t h e r e f o r e m a t t e r is n o t e t e r n a l .
T his is en ough to convince me th a t th e Sw am y of
A lm ora know s as m uch a b o u t Tureeya A va sth a as of th e
features of th e m an in th e m oon. T he le a rn e d g e n tlem an
is in fa ct con fo u n d in g A v id y a w ith M aya. In d e e d , ho
says tlia t M u lap rak riti is A vidya, I shall be vory h ap py if
he can qu o te an y a u th o rity in su p p o rt of liis proposition.
I b e g to inform him ag ain th a t A v id y a lay am is not
necossarily followed by P r a k r iti lay am. I t is th e differ­
en tiation of M u la p ra k riti tlia t is th e causo of A v id y a or
ig n o ra n t doltision, an d w hen tlio d iffe re n tia ted cosmic
m a tte r re tu rn s to its o rig in al u n d iffe re n tia ted oondition
a t th e tim o of M ahap ralay a, A v id y a is com pletely g o t rid
of. C onsequently, M u la p ra k riti in ste a d of b e in g id en tical
witli A vid y a im plies tlie absence of A vidya. I t is the
h ig h e st sta te of non being— tho condition of N irv an a,
M ukti, th e re fo re , is beyond d ifferen tiated P r a k r iti and
beyond A vidya, b u t it expresses tho condition of undiffer­
entiated M u la p ra k riti. On re fe rrin g to U tta ra ta p a n i
and its co m m entary, tlie learn ed h erm it will be ablo
to seo th a t oven th e M ahacliitanayam a t tho cud
of Shoda sa n th u m in d icated b y A v ik alp a p ra n a v a is
spoken of as e x istin g in w hat is d escrib ed as " G im a
beejopadhi S a k ti via n d a lu m .” f T his is th e n earo st a p ­
proach to th e one undifferen tiated elem en t called M ula­
p ra k riti, I t will also be seen from th e p assag e above
referred to tb a t M u lap rak riti ex ists even in tlio h ig h est
stage of T u reey a A vastha, Tlio Sw am y is pleased to
ask us w hy we should call th is elem en t m a tte r if it is
b u t au a sp e c t of P u n ish . W e aro obliged to use th e
word m a tte r as we have no o th e r w ord in E n g lish to
indicate i n ; b u t if th e Sw am y m eans to o b ject to the
word P ra k riti b e in g applied to it, it w ill be equally
reasonable on my p a rt to o b ject to its b ein g called e ith e r
God, S p irit or P u n ish .
Our Sw am y’s le n g th y quotatio n s from S a d d arslian a
C h intanik a happily elim inated by th e E d ito r do n o t help
him m uch. If th e te rm A v y a k ta J is ap p lied to B rah m an
in stead of b ein g applied to “’th e P ra k riti of th e S a n k liy a s,”
how does it prove th a t u n d ifferen tiated P r a k r iti is n o t
eternal.? S an k arach ary a m erely says th a t A v id y a or
ig n orance can bo e x te rm in a te d ; b u t he says n o th in g
about th o lay a of M u lap rak riti. I t is u n n ecessary for
me to say a n y th in g ab ou t th e Sw am y’s view s re g a rd in g
Other system s of p hilosophy. I am only concerned w ith
* D r e a m ie s t) s lo o p , a n d — T u r e e y a A v a s t h a , o r t h o c o n d i t i o n o f i u t i m a t e
n n io n w i t h P a r a b r a h m — a s t a g e h i g h e r t h a n e x t a s i a .
f A c o n d i tio n o f P r a k r i t i w h e n i t h a s b u t t h o g o r m s o f t h e t h r e e
p n » n m R , v iz ., S a t w a , R a j a s , a n d T a m a s .
t A v y a k t a — T h e u n re v e a le d C a u se .
th e esoteric A rh a t philosophy and the A dw aita philosophy
as ta u g h t by S a n k a ra c h a ry a . T he rem aining quotations
from th e w orks of various au th o rs, contained in th e
Sw am y’s a rticle are, in my hum ble opinion, irrelevant.
T he C h ap te r on P a n ch a M ah ab h u tav iv ek a in Panchadasi
does n o t show th a t A sa l has n o t existed w ith S a t from
all ete rn ity . T his is th e first tim e I hear tliat the P ara-
vidya m en tio n ed in M anduka U panishad is a k in d of
P ra k riti as s ta te d by our learned herm it. I havo reason to
th in k th a t the e n tity in d icated by th e said P a ra v id y a is
P ara b ra h m a m . In conjunction with tho said e n t i t y '
S an k arach ary a spe ak s of undifferentiated P ra k riti as
“ A k asak h y am ak sliaram ” p erv ad in g it everyw here. O ur
o p ponent seem s to th in k th a t as every Y ogi is asked
to rise above th e influence of A vidya, it m ust necessarily
be assum ed th a t P ra k riti is n o t eternal in its undifferen­
tia te d condition. T his is as illogical as his o th e r a rg u ­
m ents. Illusion arises from differentiation o r, Dwai-
tab h av am as it is tech n ically c a lle d ; a n d absence of
differentiation, w h e th e r subjective or objective is th e N ir­
vana of A dw aita. I f th o Sw am y only pauses to consider
th e n a tu re of “ th is one elem e n t” in its dual aspect, he will
be able to see th a t it is b u t an aspect of P arab rah m am .
A ll tho a rg u m e n ts advanced by him seem to show th a t
he is lab o u rin g u n d er th e im pression th a t we are con­
te n d in g for tho porm anancy of this illusive m anifested
w orld. If th is M u la p ra k riti th a t I have a tte m p te d to
describe is n o t noticed in B rahm am acco rd in g to tho
“ p ractical experience of h e rm its,” all th a t I can say is
th a t th o ir experience is different from the experience of
S a n k ara ch ary a, V yasa, G oudapada a n d several o th er
R ishis. T he h e rm it is welcom e to “ lau g h at our w eak­
ness of u n d e rsta n d in g ” if it can in the least com fort him;
b u t m ere v itu p eratio n will b rin g him very little
bunefit if ho rushes into controversy w ith o u t clearly
u n d ersta n d in g th e su b ject u n d er disp u tatio n a n d w ith
w orthless a rg u m e n ts and irre lev a n t q u o tations as his
weapons.
T he E ditorjof th is jo u rn a l is, I th in k , p erfe ctly justified
in re je c tin g our h e rm it’s in te rp re ta tio n of P ra n a va , as it
is n o t quite co n sisten t w ith w hat is contained iu M andu-
kya, U tta ra ta p a n e a n d N a ra d a p a riv ra ja k a U p anishads
and o th e r au th o rita tiv e tre a tise s on tlio su b ject. I do
not th in k th a t th e th re e m an m s in P ra n a v a m ean m atter,
force and sp irit resp ectiv ely , as sta te d by th e Sw am y,
1 have seen several in te rp re ta tio n s of P ranava in various
b o o k s; b u t th is ex p lan atio n is e n tirely novel to me; and
I respoctfully su b m it th a t it is w rong, inasm uch as no
olear distinction is over draw n betw oen m a tte r an d force
in our an c ien t philosophical w orks. I f our Sw am y is
satisfied th a t R n m ag ita is a g re a t a u th o rity on E so terio
science I shall not a tte m p t to dep riv e him of his satis­
faction ; and as th e E so teric dootrino ta u g h t by S a n k a ra ­
chary a and o th e r g re a t V e d an tic w riters is alm ost iden­
tical w ith tho E sotoric A rh a t doctrine as far as it goes,
it is im possible fo r mo to e n u m e ra te all th e sim ilarities
betw een th o tw o system s for O n r h e rm it’s delectation :
b u t 1 shall be very ghid if ho can k in d ly p o in t o u t where
an d in what th e y differ.
I b eg also to inform him th a t it is im possible to th in k
of P u ru sh a except in conjunction w ith M ulap rak riti, since
P u ru sh a can ac t only through P ra k riti. In su p p o rt of
th ese views I m ay refe r him to S an k a rac h ary a’s Soundar-
y a lahari an d his com m entary on N am akam and Sw eta-
sw ataraupanisliad. I t is q u ite clear th a t an A d h ish ta th a
can nevor e x ist w ithout U p ad an am . If, as is state d by
S an k a ra ch a ry a, P u ru s h a is A d ish ta th a or K a rta , an d if
P ra k riti is U padanam , th e necessary co-existence of thoso
two asp e cts becom es in ev itab le. A s re g a rd s th e passage
q uoted from T a ittiriy a U p an ish ad , I havo to inform tho
h e r n r t th a t th e w ord P ra k riti th eroin m entioned m eans
differen tiated P r a k riti. N o t satisfied w ith th o abusive
la n g u ag e co n tain ed in th e body of his article and his
allusion to th e “ b lack m ouse,” (a passage o m itted th ere­
from fo rd o cen cy ’s sake,) o u rle a rn e d o p p o n e n th as th ought
it p ro p er to record an em p h atic declaration a t th e term i­
natio n of his a rtic le th a t th e E d ito r’s views are Exoteric
and n o t E soteric. U n d o u b ted ly , as fa r a9 th e y are
com m unicated to him th ro u g h th e m edium of thia
jo u rn al, th ey are e x o te ric ; fo r if really eso teric th e y
would n o t be th u s m ade public. B u t it ia a m a tte r of
very little consequence to th e p ro g re ss of th eo sophy
w h eth er tho Sw am y of A lm o ra co n sid ers th em eso teric or
exoteric, p rovided th ey a re reaso n ab le, a n d in h arm o n y
w ith th e doctrines of th e g r e a t te a c h e rs of a n c ie n t
A ry av arta .
------•------
“ O D O R IG E N ” A N D J I V A T M A *
By D h a r a n id a e K a u t h u m i, F . T . S.
I h a v e p e ru se d w ith m u ch in te re s t a n d care th e excel­
len t p a p e r re a d by D r. S alzer (F . T. S.) a t th e first a n n i­
v e rsa ry m e e tin g of th e B en g al T heo so p h ical S ociety. I t
w ould bo of im m ense a d v a n ta g e if th e te a c h in g s of th e
an c ien t philosophical schools of th is c o u n try are ex am in ­
ed in th e lig h t of m o d ern science, b y sc ie n tists, able to
b rin g to th e ir ta s k th e ra re qualification of an unbiassed
m ind, read y to follow tr u th , w h erev er she m ig h t lead.
D r. S alzer d eserves w ell of us in h a v in g p u b lic ly come
forw ard to show how th e re search es of o u r a n cesto rs
iuto tho m ysteries of n a tu re lie in advanco of th e fu rth e s t
confines of m o d em scientific th o u g h t. T h e re is a well-
know n S a n s k rit tre a tis e , w here m o st of tho deductions
of D r. Y a e g a r are a n tic ip a te d an d p ra c tic a lly ap p lied to
sexual selection in th e h u m an species. T h is su b je c t of
aura sem inalis finds a p r e tty full tre a tm e n t th e re . T he
connection b etw een w h a t D r. Y a e g a r calls “ o d o rig en ”
an d jivatrn a or p ra n a as it is differently called in differ­
en t system s of In d ia n p h ilo so p h y h as been w ell traced .
B u t his rem ark s on th is su b je c t, ab le as th e y no" d o u b t
are, call for a few o b serv atio n s from th e p o in t of view of
occult philosophy. Jivatrna has b een d escrib ed b y a tr u s t­
w o rth y a u th o rity as a “ form of force, in d e stru c tib le , and
w hen disconnected w ith one se t of atom s is im m ediately
a ttra c te d b y a n o th e r s e t.” D r. Salzer concludes from th is
th a t occult philosophy looks upon it as an a b s tra c t force
or force per se. B u t surely th is is b e n d in g too m uch to
th e P ro c ru stia n p hraseology of m odern science, a n d if
p o t p roperly g u a rd e d will lead to some m isap p reh en sion.
M a tte r in occult philosophy m eans existen ce in th e w id­
e st sense of th a t w ord. H ow ever m uch th e various form s
of ex isten ce, sucli as ph y sical,v ital, m en tal, sp iritu al, &c.,
differ from each o th er, th e y a re m u tu ally re la te d as b e ­
in g p a rts of th e O n e U n i v e r s a l E x i s t e n c e , th e P a ra b ra h ­
m a of th e Y e d a n tist. F o rc e is th e in h e re n t pow er or
capacity of P a ra b ra h m a , or th e “ M a tte r” of occultism , to
assum e different form s. T his pow er or cap acity is n o t a
sep ara te e n tity , b u t is th e tilin g itself in w hich it in ­
heres ; ju s t as th e th ree-an g led c h a ra c te r of a tria n g le is
n o th in g se p a ra te from th e tria n g le itself. F ro m th is it
will be a b u n d a n tly clear th a t a c c e p tin g th e nom en clature
•f occult science, ono can n o t sp eak of an a b s tra c t forco
w ithout b e in g g u ilty of a p alp ab le a b su rd ity . W h a t is
m ea n t by Jivatrna b ein g a “ form of force, & c.” is th a t it
is m a tte r in a state, in w hich it e x h ib its c e rta in p h e n o ­
m ena, n o t produced b y it in its sensuous s ta te , o r in o th e r
w ords, it is a p ro p e rty of m a tte r in a p a rtic u la r state,
co rresp o n d in g w ith p ro p e rtie s called u n d e r o rd in ary c ir­
cum stances h eat, electricity , &c., b y m odern scicnce, b u t
a t th e sam e tim e w ith o u t a n y co rrelatio n to th em . I t
m ig h t here be objected th a t if Jivatrna was n o t a force
p er se, in tho sense w hich m o d em science w ould a tta c h
to the p h ra se , th en how can it survive u n ch an g ed the
g ra n d ch a n g e called d eath , w hich th e p rotoplasm s, it in­
heres in, u n d erg o ; and even g ra n tin g th a t Jivatrna is m a t­
te r in a p a rtic u la r sta te , in w h at p a r t of th e b o d y shall
we locate it in th e te e th of th e fa c t th a t th e m ost careful
exam ination has n o t been successful in d e te c tin g it ?
Jivatrna, as h as a lre a d y b een sta te d , is su b tle supersen-
* J i v a t r n a a p p l i e s h e r e t o t l i o 2 n d p r i n c i p l e o f m a n r o f o r r o d t o in t h o
F r a g m e n ts o f O c c u lt T r u t h , N o . 4?, a n d n o t t h e 7 t h p r i n c i p l e o f t h e V e d a a -
te e s . I t o u g h t to b o p r o p e r ly c a llc d J iv a o r p r a n a (lif o ) .— E d ,
suous m a tte r, p e rm e a tin g th e en tire physical stru c tu re of
th e liv in g b ein g , an d w hen it is sep arated from such
stru c tu re life is said to becom e extin ct. I t is n o t rea so n ­
able th ere fo re to ex p ect it to be su b ject to detection by
tlie su rg eo n ’s k n ife. A p a rtic u la r set of conditions is
n ecessary fo r its connection w ith an anim al stru c tu re , and
w hen th o se conditions a re d istu rb ed , it is a ttr a c te d b y
o th e r b odies, p re s e n tin g snitable conditions. D r. Y ae-
g a r ’s “ o d o rig e n ” is n o t p erh a p s Jivatrna itself, b u t is one
of th e lin k s w hich co nnects it w ith th e physical b o d y ; it
seem s to bo m a tte r s ta n d in g betw een S th u la S a rira an d
Jivatrna,
------ «------ '
P R O F : E D A R D ’S N E W E L E O T R O -M A G N E T IC \
A P P A R A T U S F O R T H E T R E A T M E N T OF
D IS E A S E S . '
W e have to acknow ledge w ith th a n k s a sm all bro ch u re
in F re n c h from P ro fesso r E d a rd of P a ris g iv in g us a
sh o rt descrip tio n of th e new electro-m agnetic ap p a ra tu s
he has in v e n te d a n d p erfe cted fo r tho tre a tm e n t of a
v a rie ty of diseases w hich m o rtal flesh is heir to. F rom
w h at we h av e h e a rd of him from frie n d s re sid in g in
P a ris, and from th e notices th a t have occasionally ap p ea r­
ed in th e F re n c h p a p e rs— especially th e one published in
“ L a V ie D om estiq u e,” b y M. L . de Cazeneuve, we find
th a t th e in v e n to r h a s been very successful w ith his a p p a ­
ra tu s in allev iatin g hum an suffering. D iseases, such as
rh eu m atism , g o u t, asth m a, p alp itatio n s of th e h eart,
bro n ch itis, &c. &c., th a t were pronounced by m edical
m en as alm ost in cu rab le, have yielded before his electro­
m a g n e tic fric tio n n e u rs, th e like of w hich are n o t m any,
an d w hich can bo easily an d ad v an tag eo u sly used by the
p a tie n ts them selves even w ith o u t an y technical know ledge
of th e ir use. T h e y consist of b ru sh es (frictionneurs),
b elts a n d solos (semelles) to be w orn in tlio shoes, b race­
lets, &c., a n d are freo from those d an g e rs th a t are insepa­
rab le from th e use of th e m agneto -electric a p p aratu ses em ­
ployed a t p re se n t in th e ir p ractice b y m edical men who
have b u t lately b eg u n to le arn th a t “ E le c tric ity is L ife.”
T he “ F ric tio n n e u r” or B rush consists of a th in p late
of cork h av in g fo u r grooves into w hich are in se rte d as
m any b rass tu b es. T h ese have tlieir laminae of m ag n etised
iron an d are filled up w ith m ag n etic iron ore in pow der
w hich we shall refer to presen tly .
T he b e lts, solos, &c., are m ade of canvas, to w hich are
also a tta c h e d tu b es c o n tain in g th in m a g n e ts a n d th e iron
ore.
T he fric tio n n e u r is used, as its nam e im plies, as a brush
on th o affected p a rts , or it m ay be m erely applied th ere
as in th e case of im p aired digestion or p u lm onary affec­
tions, o r p a in in any p a rt of th e body. T h e electro ­
m ag n etic b elts, b rac e le ts and soles aro used w ith perfect
ease by th e p a tie n ts, of course in d irect c o n tac t w ith the
affected p a rts. T h e soles m ade of th in layers of cork are
to be placed w ithin th e shoes aud are an ex cellent antidote
fo r th a t inconvenient an d an n o y in g m alady— coldness of
th e feet. '
T hese co n triv an ces— th e re su lt of long stu d y au d in ­
num erab le e x p e rim e n ts— the m anipulation of tho m a g ­
netic ore is a se c re t w ith th e in v en to r—are a constant
reserv o ir of electricity im p artin g it to the nerves w here
it is w an tin g , and fav o u rin g an equal d istrib u tio n of th a t
su b tle'fo rc o in th o se p a rts where it has accum ulated to
an inconvenient e x te n t as in th e ease of h e a t or inflam ­
m ation. Thoso persons who are n o t good sailors and are
n o t blessed w ith “ dura ilia ” will bo g la d to learn th a t
M. E d a rd ’s b e lts are an in stan tan eo u s an d never-failing
cure fo r sea-sickness. N um erous w ell-au th en ticated and
verified in stan ces an d successful experim ents have been
reco rd ed of theso b e lts as charm s a g a in st th a t m alady
w hich, as we have h e ard , d eters m any a n a tiv e of In d ia ’
from p ro c ee d in g to E urope. W e also le arn th a t M.
E d a rd does n o t d iscard th e m esm eric cure of diseases, for
in th e tre a tm e n t of some of them w hich he personally
' su p erin ten d s, he supplem ents electro-m agnetism with.
 mesm erism , th e c o n c e n tra te d an d purified essence, so to
«poak, of tlie m a g n e tic forces of N a tu re in th e ir crude
and unrefined s ta te . • elevation of te m p e ra tu re nor oxydisation can destroy the
" E v e ry liv in g b o d y” — w rites M ons. C azenouve— “ is
an e le c tric a l an d maguefcical a p p a ra tu s w ith fu n ctio n s
un d er atm o sp h eric influence— tho reserv o ir of th e two
electricities. A m pere has proved it. . . T ho h a b itu a l
function of tho m uscles has to bo a ttr ib u te d to th e effect
produced by a c u rre n t th e fountain h e a d of w hich is none
o th e r than o u r w i l l . ”
Now “ M. E d a rd , a v eritab le h um an to rp illa , finds in
himself th e elem en ts w hich furn ish him w ith th e m eans of
producing a w ell re g u la te d vibration to th e d e g re e th a t is
needed, in th e a lre a d y v ib ra tin g o rg an ism a n d th e
m aterials w hich com pose his electro -m ag n etic a p p a ra ­
tu se s........” One can im agine the resu lts th a t can bo p ro ­
duced by th e in te llig e n t guidance o f th e m ag n eto -electric
cu rren ts. One of th e m ost curious of his ex p erim en ts is
th a t of th e so-called “ dry b a th — ” an invention of M r.
Edard.
A vast room in his house a t Passy (near P a ris), 22, P u e
D ubare, th a t any one can v isit, is d ev oted specially to this
operation. A large autom atical arm ch air, is th e chief
olectro-m agnetic a p p a ra tu s in th e ex p e rim e n t a n d of an
enorm ous power. T he p a tie n ts un d er tre a tm e n t aro
placed in i t ........ In su la te d b y fo u r g lass cups an d a th in
layer of g u tta p e rc h a from th o floor, th e arm c h a ir re sts on
a c arp et covering 1419 sh e a th s of canvas filled w ith
th e oxyidized ore of m ag n etic iron. T ho arm c h a ir fu r­
nished inside w ith a m echanism of 36 spools a n d a rm a ­
tu res of soft iron, finds itself a t a given m om en t u n d er th e
influence of a m ag n etic c u rre n t p ro d u ced by five elem ents
(the g re a t m odel of a “ G aiffo-pile” w ith a b asis of b i­
chrom ate of potassiu m ). T h e h e a t d ise n g a g e d b y tho
arm -ch air stro n g ly disposes th e p a tie n t to receive tho
special electro -atm o sp heric actio n p ro ceed in g from th e
d ise n g ag e m e n t of th e ozone* g e n e ra te d b y a pow erful
statical m achine of O ltz, p laced in sim ultaneous com ­
m unication w ith th e sh eath s th a t cover an a re a of 24
square m etres of th e floor. I n th is p a rtic u la r sta te of
chem ical activ ity , th e oxy g en acq u ires physiological p ro ­
perties th a t a c t d ire c tly upon tho o rg an ism in sur-
exciting its functions.
Ozone, as every one w ell k now s, ex ists w herev er th e re
is an activ e v eg etatio n , as in tho fields, th o fo re sts, etc.,
w hereas th e re is a con sid erab le dim in u tio n of it in tow ns.
T hus an artificial atm o sp h e re im p re g n a te d w ith oxygen
is b ein g cre a te d an d m u st a c t beneficially upon tho
p a tie n ts who are d y in g for th e n eed of i t . .. “ T h u s M r.
E d a rd b ath o s him self an d his p a tie n ts in th is life -resto r­
in g atm o sp h ere, s a tu ra te s him self w ith th o effluvia all
ch arged w ith ozone I an d th a n k s to th o re a c tiv e force
w ith w hich ho him self is endow ed, h e ex cites a sim ilar
reaction in his s u b je c t........”
" A n o th e r statical m achine of C arre, is som etim es
placed in com m unication w ith th e p a tie n t........ N o th in g
bo curious as to w itness M r. E d a r d ’s e x p e rim e n ts, d u rin g
tho ev enin g in d a rk . T h e w hole room a p p e a rs lite ra lly
on fire ; o p e ra to r a n d p a tie n t, a rm -c h a ir a n d floor, are
flashing w ith th o u sa n d s of b rillia n t sp a rk s. U n d e r M r.
E d a rd ’s hand, th e liv in g b a tte ry , th o h a ir of th o se p re se n t,
lik e lum inous rays seem m oved to an d fro by a g e n tle
b reeze, sta n d in g on en d an d b e in g low ered in tu rn , w hile
u n d e r th e feet of th e perso n s p re se n t m ove in lum inifer-
ous d o ts innum erable sp ark s an d c ra c k in g s c in tilla s ...”
T h e m a g n e tic iron ore used in his a p p a ra tu s is b ro u g h t
from M ad ag ascar, from N ap les, from th e b a n k s of th e
R hine, an d from tw o places in F ra n c e , P u y -en -V elay and
Boulac. B u t M. E d a rd accords p referen ce to tho ore
from th e last-m en tio n ed place, a lth o u g h it is ch a rg e d w ith
a quartzose sand re n d e rin g it difficult of p u rification.
I t is an estab lish ed fa c t in science th a t all m a g n etic
.iron, w h eth er artificial or n a tu ra l, loses its m ag n etism
when exposed to a v ery h ig h te m p e ra tu re or w hen m ore
• O i y g c n in nn active or h i g h ly electro-n e g ativ o atato, a s ex p lain ed b y
F arad ay .— Sd,
o r less oxydized. B u t M. E d a rd has found out a process
— the sec re t of w hich he keeps to him self— by which no
m agnetism of th e m ineral iu pow der th a t he uses in h ii
tubes, so th a t this p ro p e rty ren d e rs liis electro-m agnetic
appliances m ore e n d u rin g and valuable th an those which
we have seen a d v e rtise d elsew here.
W e conclude th is sh o rt notice of the P ro fesso r’s ap p li­
ances by d raw in g th e a tte n tio n of our read ers to an in te­
re stin g e x p erim en t d escrib ed by M. L . de Cazeneuve
m ade of tho vivifying efficacy of this m ag n etic m ineral
pow der. A n o ran g e tree 200 years old hav in g a g irth
of n early 18 feet was found to bo sluggish in g ro w th and
losing its v itality , p re sa g in g to ta l ruin an d d e a th . M.
E d a rd a d m in iste re d to it a dose of 250 g ra in s of hiu
pow der and in a sh o rt tim o th e tree g ra d u a lly resum ed
its original v ita lity , a n d recovered its norm al sta te of
v igour and fruitfulness. T his experim ent th u s establishes,
nay co rro b o rates, tho fa c t th a t anim al life an d p la n t
lifo aro identical in th e m ain a n d aro b u t differen t phase*
of th a t m ysterious V ital F orco th a t porvades an d vibrate*
th ro u g h o u t th e whole universe.
Wo would stro n g ly advise those of onr re ad e rs who
suffer from diseases p ronounced incurable by th e ir blessed,
learned physicians, w hose go d is allo p ath y and them selves
its p ro p h e ts, to try th e new a p p aratu ses. T hey are
extrem ely cheap au d can be had for a few rupees.
[Tho M an ag er of this Jo u rn a l will be m ost hap p y to re n ­
d e r services in th a t d irectio n to w hom soever m ay need
th em .]
--------- » . ..
K A R M A .
(A n A p p en d ix to F ragm ents o f Occult T ru th .)
W i t h reference to a te n e t in ono of th e F ra g m m ts o f
Occult T ru th , a re sp e c te d m em ber of our S ociety— N .
I). K .— w rites to enquire “ W h a t K a rm a propels th$
higher Ego in to the next b irth ,” when “ a highly depraved
perso n a lity is dropped o u t.”
A t th e o u tse t it m ay be well to re p e a t a g ain w hat has
been already so o ften sta te d , nam ely, th a t th e F ragm ents
b ein g b u t fra g m e n ta ry an d incomplete, m u st go on e x h i­
b itin g difficulties an d even apparent discrepancies until
the whole doctrino co n cern in g tho a fte r-sta te of th e Ego
is th o ro u g h ly m astered . B u t stu d e n ts w ith a tolerab le
am ount of in tu itiv e p erc ep tio n havo h a d enough of p h ilo ­
sophy given th em , to cnablo th e m ore advanced Ones to
w ork o u t m any a d etail : especially if th e y live th e lifo
w hich clears th e in n e r vision. Few of these can be given
in a publication th a t roaches tho o u tsid er as w ell as th e
stu d e n t of occultism . T h e re are secrets of in itia tio n th a t
it is im possible to com m unicate prom iscuously to th*
w orld a t largo, fo r it w ould am o u n t to th ro w in g m any n
m ind into a direful confusion, unless th e whole doctrino
is explained ; an d th is no a d e p t or even advanced neo­
p h y te would consent to do a t th is sta g e of th e teach in g .
B u t th is p a rtic u la r te n e t h a v in g been a lread y outlined,
thoro is no fu rth e r necessity of rem ain in g silent with
re g a rd to th is special d etail.
T he rea d ers of Ool. O lc o tt’s B u d d h ist Catechism may
woll recall here w ith a d v a n ta g e th e follow ing very su g ­
gestive passages (pages 54 an d 55) :—
“ ........In each b irth th e p ersonality differs from th a t of
th e previous o r n e x t succeeding b irth . K arm a, tho deu*
ex m achina, m asks (or shall wo say reflects ?) itself now
in tho perso n ality of a sage, ag ain as an a rtisa n , and so
on th ro u g h o u t th e strin g of b irth s. B u t th o u g h person­
alities ever sh ift, tho one line of life along w hich they
are s tru n g liko b ead s, ru n s u n b ro k e n ........”
A longside w ith tho above quotation should bo p u t tho
follow ing from th e F ragm ents o f Occult T ruth, No. 1 (Octo­
b e r Theosophist, V ol. I l l , N o. 1, p ag e 19, col. 2) :—
“ ........T he tim o will come, no d oubt, b u t m any step*
h ig h e r on th e lad der, w hen the E go will reg ain its con­
sciousness of all its p a s t sta g e s of e x isten ce ........”
 I f th e e n q u ire r will realise th e real m ean in g of these
two q u o ta tio n s, he will have th e k e y to a c o rre c t u n d e r­
sta n d in g of th e question as to w h a t K a rin a propels the
h ig h e r Ego in to th e n e x t b irth ,w h e n even tha*; of a h ig h ly
depraved p erso n a lity is d ro p p ed o u t, to g e th e r w ith th e
personal soul th a t weaved it out. I t will be clear from
these p a ssa g e s th a t the in d iv id u ality or th e sp iritu al
m onad is a th re a d upon w hich are s tru n g various p e rso n ­
alities. E a c h personality leaves its ow n— th e h ig h e r
sp iritu a l— im pressions upon th e divine Ego, th e consci­
ousness of w hich re tu rn s a t a certain s ta g e of its p ro ­
gress, oven th a t of th e h ig h ly d epraved soul th a t h a d to
perish in thp en d . T h e reason for it becom es self-evident,
if one reflects th a t how ever crim inal a n d lo st to every
glim m er of a h ig h e r feeling, no h um an soul is y e t born
u tte rly d ep rav ed , an d th a t th e re was a tim e d u rin g Iho
youth of th e sinful hum an p e rso n a lity w hen it had
w orked out som e k in d or o th e r of K a r m a ; a n d th a t it is
this th a t survives a n d form s th e basis of th e K a rm a to
come. To m ak e it clearer, le t us suppose th a t A lives to
th a t age when a p erson becom es an a d u lt an d b eg in s to
bloom fully into life. N o m an, h ow ever vicious his
n atu ral tendency, becom es so a t once. H e has h ad th e r e ­
fore tim e to evolve a K a rm a , how ever fa in t a n d in sig nifi­
can t. L e t us fu rth e r im agine th a t a t th e age of eig h tee n
or tw en ty A beg in s to give way to vice a n d th u s g ra d u ­
ally loses th e re m o te st connection w ith his h ig h e r p rin ci­
ple. A t th ir ty or say fo rty , he dies. N ow , tho p erso n ality
of A betw een fifteen an d tw en ty is as little th e p e rso n al­
ity of A from tw en ty to th ir ty , as th o u g h it w ere quito
a n o th e r m an. E ven th e p h y sio lo g ists divide th e physical
personality into stag es of seven, an d show m an c h a n g in g
atom s to th e la st, every seven years. T he sam e w ith th e
inner m an. T h e fifth p rin cip le of th e sensu al, h ig h ly
depraved m an, m ay an d will p erish, w hile tlio K a rm a of
his y o u th , th o u g h n o t s tro n g an d com plete eno u g h to
socure fo r him a bliss in Devachan an d union w ith liis
h ig h e r p rin c ip le — is y e t sufficiently o u tlin ed to allow the
m onad a g ra sp on it fo r tho n e x t re b irth . On th e o th er
h an d we are ta u g h t th a t it so h ap p en s som etim es th a t
the K a rm a of a p erso n ality is n o t fully w orked out in the
b irth th a t follows. L ife is m ade up of accid en ts, an d tho
p ersonality th a t becom es m ay be h in d e re d b y circum ­
stances from receiv in g th e full due its K a rm a is e n title d
to, w h e th er for good or fo r bad . B u t th e L aw of R e trib u ­
tion will n ev er allow itself to be c h e a te d b y b lin d chance.
T here is th e n a provision to be m ade, an d tho accounts
th a t could n o t b e s e ttle d in one b ir th will be sq u ared in
the succeeding one. Tho p o rtio n of th e su m -to tal w hich
could n o t be sum m ed up on one colum n is ca rrie d fo r­
w ard to th e follow ing. F o r v erily th e m any lives of ' Supplem ent on “ C h elaship.” P a c ts ot th e h ig h e st im por­
an individual m onad wero well co m p ared in th e F ra g ­
m ents to th e p a g e s of an acco u n t b o o k — t h e B o o k o p
L i f e or— L iv o s....
O ut of theso im pressions, th e n , w hich c o n stitu te th e
K arm a of th e y o u th , is evolved th e new p erso n ality .
O ur botanical frien d s m ay know th a t th e croton p la n t
evolves out of itself a n o th e r p la n t, w hen th o one a lre a d y
evolved dies o u t o r w ith ers aw ay. N a tu re m u st alw ays
p rogress, a n d each fresh a tte m p t is m ore successful th a n
th e previous one. T h is fresh evolution is d u e to tho
la te n t p o te n tia lity of life it has w ith in itself. In tho
sam e m ann er, a lth o u g h one p a rtic u la r p erso n ality m ay
be so fa r depraved as to be en tire ly disso ciated from tho
•p iritu a l m onad a n d go iuto th e eighth sp h ere, whero
annihilation is its lot, y e t tho im pressions of tho p re v i­
ous personalities upon tho h ig h e r Ego have in thom
p o te n tia lity e n o u g h to evolve a new physical E g o , liko
the croton p la n t. T h e connection betw een a m a n ’s
spiritual m onad an d th e succession of p h y sical E g o s w ith
w hich it is tem p o rarily associated, has been , some w here
in these colum ns, com pared to th e retro sp ectiv e glanco
of a m an on some p a st period of his e a rth ly existence.
W hile review ing ia his m em ory his w ork d ay b y day—■
those days on w hich he d id n o th in g of a n y im p o rtan ce
and passed idly aw ay, h a v in g le ft no im pression on his
iaind, m u st be, au d are to him , lik e a p e rfe c t b la n k . N o
consciousness th a t he h a d passed such days rem ains
there. I n th e sam e m an n er, th e Ego w hen a t th e end of
its long p ilg rim ag e will reg a in consciousness of those
perso n alities only w hich have m ade a sufficiently s tro n g
sp iritu a l, hence indelible, m ark on th e m onad, w hile th e
m em ory of th e conscions acts of th e p a rtic u la r d ep rav ed
p erso n ality w hich goes to the eig h th sphere will be e n tirely
o b literate d .
I t m ay th e n b e u rg e d w hat stim ulus is th e re fo r a
m an to be g o o d a n d p u re, if his spiritual m onad is a n y
how to p ro g re ss ? T his is no d o u b t a side issue b u t a
very im p o rta n t one. I t m u st n o t be discussed how ever
a t th is sta g e of our w ritin g .
' ----- ■»— ■■
“ E S O T E R I C B U D D H IS M .” .
w M !{; f ' R SlNNETT> F - T - s ., a u th o r of " th e O ccult
W o rld ,’ has in th e press of M essrs. T ru b u o r aud Co. a new
volum e of A siatic E so tericisin , to w hich he gives th o
above title , a n d w hich is d e stin ed to create a m uch
widei in te ie s t even th a n his o th e r w ork. I ts g re a t novel-'
ty consists in its being an exposition of c ertain te n e ts of
th e secret do ctrin o of T ib e ta n B u d d h ism — th a t of th e
A rliats w hich, as our rea d ers know , is b u t a n o th e r nam e
fo r the “ W o rld R elig io n ” or O ccult J)octrino u n d erly ­
in g all th e a n c ie n t fa ith s of m ankind. I t is th e key alike
to th e veiled la n g u a g e of th e P a rsi, H in d u , B u d d h ist,
B abylonian, E g y p tia n , H eb rew G recian, R om an, an d
all o th e r S c rip tu res. H o who m asters it p e rfec tly will
co m prehend tho essence of w hatsoever religion has been
evolved by h u m an ity as tho vehicle for its h ig h e st sp iri­
tu a l concepts. I t w ould bo ex a g g e ra tio n to say th a t th e
re a d e r of M r. S in n e tt’s two books m ay count upon find­
in g a n y th in g m ore th a n a glim pse a t this W isdom R eli­
gion, for ho is b u t a b e g in n e r in this b ra n ch of stu d y .
Y e t, a t th e sam e tim e, it m u st bo conceded th a t he has,
un der especially fav o u rin g circum stances, boon able to
g e t a c le a re r in sig h t into some po rtio n s of th is occult
philosophy, aud p e rm itte d to express it in p la in er term s
th a n any o th e r a u th o r of m odern tim es. Tlio w orld-w ide
circu latio n of th o “ O ccult AVorld” — of w hich th re e edi­
tio n s have been sold alre a d y — is a t once an evidence of
th e g e n eral in te re s t now fe lt in those su b jects, and a
g u a ra n te e of th e success w hich aw aits th e new, an d inoro
im p o rta n t, volum e. In a n o th e r place will be found th e
m a n a g e r’s an n o u n cem en t, to w hich in te n d in g p u rchasers
aro referred .
------ —
T h e s p e c i a l a t t e n t i o n of tho g e n eral read er as well
as of m em bers is callod to an im p o rta n t article in th e
tan ce to all who aspire to th e p ractical stu d y of occult
science aro th e re in given. A s th e provisions of crim inal
s ta tu te s have no te rro rs fo r th e virtuous, so th e w arning
contained in tho a rticle will n o t d a u n t th o se who feel
them selves equal to th e g re a t T rial,
-----— •
T H E S E P T E N A R Y P R IN C IP L E IN
E S O T E R IO IS M .
S i n c e tho p re se n t exposition of tho A rh a t esoteric
d o ctrin e was b e g u n , m any who had u o t acqu ain ted th e m ­
selves w ith th e occult basis of H indu philosophy havo
im agined tlia t th o tw o were in conflict. Som e of tho
m ore b ig o ted have openly ch arg ed tlie O ccultists of th o
T heosophical S ociety of p ro p a g a tin g ra n k B uddhistic
heresy; aud have even gone to th e le n g th of affirm ing th a t
th e whole T heosophic m ovem ent was b u t a m asked B ud­
dhistic p ro p a g an d a . W e wero ta u n te d by ig n o ra n t
B rahm ins an d learn ed E uro p ean s th a t our se p ten a ry
divisions of n a tu re and e v e ry th in g in it, including maii,
is a rb itra ry an d n o t en d o rsed by the oldest religious sys­
tem s of th e E ast.
F o rtu n a te ly , we h av e n o t been obliged to w ait long
for our p erfe ct vin d icatio n . I n tho follow ing num ber our
B ro th e r M r. T. S u b b a Row, B. A ., B. L ., confessedly a
lea rn e d O ccultist a n d rip e scholar, will lay before th e
public th ro u g h these colum ns e x tra c ts from o rig in al a rooi-M anu a t globe A a n d a .sefirZ-Manu a t globe G.
te x ts w hich unansw erab ly prove th a t all th e ro o t-ideas J u s t as each p la n e ta ry R o u n d com m ences w ith the
em bodied in th e F ragm ents series w ere e n te rta in e d by a p p earan ce of a “ R o o t— M an u ” (D yan Cholian) and
V y asa, th e g re a t in itia te d a d e p t an d R islii. T h e tru th s closes w ith a “ S eed -M an u ,” so a root and a Seed M anu
of th e A rh a t secret d o ctrin e a re th u s su b sta n tia te d by an ap p ear resp ectiv ely a t th e b e g in n in g and th e term ination
a u th o rity whose o rthodoxy no Ilin d u of w h atso ev er sect of the hum an p e rio d on any p artic u la r planet. I t will
will dare deny. T he passag es w ere b u t re c e n tly stu m b led be easily seen from th e fo reg o in g sta tem e n t th a t a
u p o n by M r. S u b b a Row in tho course of re a d in g upon M anu-antaric perio d m eans, as th e term im plies, tho
an o th e r s u b je c t; th u s affording us one m ore of those tim e between th e ap p earance of two M anus or D yan
s trik in g coincidenccs w hich b y some h a p p y chance have C h o lian s; an d h en ce a m inor M anuantara is the du ratio n of
of late boen so freq u en t. M eanw hile, it is p roposed to the seven races on any p a rtic u la r p la n e t, and a m ajor
throw a cursory glan ce a t th e V edas, tho U panishads, m a n v a n ta ra is th e p e rio d of one hum an roun'd along
th e Law -B ooks of M anu, a n d especially th e V ed an ta, and th e P la n e ta ry chain. M oreover, th a t, as it is said th a t
th u s show th a t th e y too prove th e claim . E ven in th e ir each of th e seven M anus creates 7 x 7 M anus, a n d th a t
crude exotericism th e ir affirm ation of th e seven-fold th e re are 49 ro o t-ra ce s on tlie seven p lan ets du rin g
division is g la rin g . P a ssa g e a fte r p assag e h in ts a t it. each R ound, th e n evory root-race has its M anu. Tho
A n d not only can th e m y sterio u s n u m b e r be found and p re sen t seventh M anu is called “ V aiv asv a ta” and stan d s
tra c e d on every p ag e of th e o ld est A ry a n Sacred S c rip ­ in th e ex o teric te x ts fo r th a t M anu who re p re sen ts in
tu re s, b u t in th e oldest books of Z o ro astrian ism as well ; In d ia th e B ab y lo n ian X isu s-tliru s and th e Je w ish N oah.
in th e roscued cylin d rical tile reco rd s of old B ab y lonia B u t in th e esoteric books we are told th a t M anu V aivas-
an d C haldea, in tho “ Book of th e D ead ” a n d th e R itu a l­ v a ta , th e p ro g e n ito r of o u r fifth race who saved it from
ism of a n c ie n t E g y p t a n d even in th e M osaic books— th e flood th a t n early e x te rm in a te d th e fo u rth (A tlantis) —
w ith o u t m en tio n in g th e S e c re t Jew ish w o rk s, such as th e is n o t th e sev enth M ann, m entioned in th e nom enclature
K abala. of th e R o o t— or prim itiv e M anus, b u t one of tho 49
W ith in tho narro w lim its of a m agazine a rtic le th e re “ em anated from th is “ ro o t” — M anu.”
can scarcely be found room en ough for b a re q u o tations, F o r c learer com prehension wo here giv e th e nam es of
w hich we m u st leave to s ta n d as lan d -m ark s a n d not th e 14 M anus in th e ir resp ectiv e o rd er a n d re la tio n to
even a tte m p t lo n g ex p lan atio n s. To really ta k e up the each R ound.
su b je ct req u ires m ore th a n m ere F ragm ents. I t is no
ex ag g e ra tio n to say th a t upon each of th e few h in ts now - , T>
s oun
a f 1 s t (R o o t) M a n u o n P la n e t A . — S w a y a m b h u v a ,
. ^ ( g e e (j j > ja n t l o n p l a n e t G .— S w a r o c h i ( o r ) S w a r o tiB h a ,
given iu th e cited Slokas a th ick volum e m ig h t be w ritten .
n i -d j J 2nd ( I t.) M . o n P la n e t A .— U tta m a .
2nd R onnd. ^ ^ ' ^
F ro m th e w ell-know n hym n To T im e, in th e A th a rv a - „ G .— T h a m n s a .
V ed a (X IX . 53.) o j -o j
3 rd E o n n d .
1 3 r d ( I i.)
j 3 rd ( g ) M
M. ,,
^
„ A .— I t a i v a t a .
,, G .— C h a c k c h n sk a *
“ T i m e , l i k e a b r i l l i a n t s t e e d w i t h seven r a y s , j, A .— V a i v a s v a t a ( o u r p r o g e n i t o r )
■ui. i) ,1 ) 4 t h (11.) M . „
F u l l of f e c u n d i t y , b e a r s a ll t h i n g s o n w a r d . 4 th K o n n d . 1 4 (.h ( g ) M _ h
,, G .— S a v a r n i .
, 5 5th (It.) M. „ ,, A .— D a k s h a S a v a r n i.
T i m e , l i k e a s e u e n - w h e e l e d , seu ert-n av ed c a r m o v e s on, 5 th R o n n d . j 6(.h ( g ) M ^ „ G*— B r a h m a S a v a r n i .
H i s r o l l i n g w h e e l s a r e a l l t h e w o r l d s , h i s ax lo
, J G th (R .) M . „ ,, A — D h a rm a S a v a rn i.
I s i m m o r t a l i t y ............. ” 6 th R o n n d . I 6 th ( g ) M ^
,, G — R u d ra S a v a rn i.
■—dow n to M anu “ th e first an d th e seventh m an ,” th e „ ,
7 th R o n n d .
J 7 t h ( I t.) M .
| 7(.h ( S ) M .
„
(>
„ A .— R o u c h y a .
„ G .— B h o u t y a .
V edas, th e U p an ish ad s, a n d all th e la te r system s of
philosophy teem w ith allusions to th is n u m b er. W h o V a iv a sv a ta th u s th o u g h sev e n th in th e order given, is
was M anu, th e son of S w ay am b h u v a ? T he se c re t doc­ th e p rim itiv e R o o t-M an u of our 4 th H um an W ave :—
trin e tells us th a t th is M anu was no m an b u t th e re p re ­ [th e re a d e r m u st alw ays rem em b er th a t M anu is
sen tatio n of tho first h um an races evolved w ith th e help n o t a m an b u t collective h u m a n ity ], w hile our V aivas­
of th e D liyan-C hohans {Devas) a t th e b e g in n in g of th e v a ta was b u t one of th e seven M inor M anus who aro
first R ound. B u t we a re to ld in his L aw s (B ook I . 80) -made to presid e over th e seven races of this our p lan et.
th a t th ere arc fourteen M anus' for every K a lp a or “ in terv al E ach of th ese has to becom e the w itness of one of tho
from croation to c re a tio n " (read in terv al from one m inor periodical a n d o v e r-rec u rrin g cataclysm s (by fire an d
“ P ra la y a ” to a n o th e r); a n d th a t “ in th e p re s e n t divine w a te r in tu rn ) th a t close th e cycle of every R oot-race.
age, th ere have boen as y e t seven M a n u s.” T h o se who A n d it is th is V a iv asv a ta,— th e H in d u ideal em bodim ent
know th a t th e re are seven rounds, of w hich we havo called resp ectiv ely X isu sth ru s, D eukalion, N o a h 'a n d by
passed th re e , an d are now in th e fo u rth ; an d w ho are o th e r nam es— who is th e alleg o rical m an who rescued
ta u g h t th a t th e re are seven daw ns a n d seven tw ilig h ts our race w hen n early th e w hole p o pulation of one hem is­
o r fou rteen M a n va n ta ra s ; tlla t a t th e b e g in n in g of phere perish ed by w ater, w hile th e o th e r hem isphere was
every R ou n d a n d a t tho en d an d on, an d betw een th e aw ak en in g from its tem p o ra ry obscuration.
p lan ets th e re is “ an aw ak en in g to illu sive Y\ie,” a n d “ an
aw ak en in g to real life,” an d th a t, m oreover, th e re are T he n u m b e r seven sta n d s pro m in en tly conspicuous in
“ root-M anns” an d w h at we have to clum sily tra n sla te even a cursory com parison of th e l l t h T ab le t of tho
as “ th e seed-M anus” — the seeds fo r the hu m a n races o f Iz d h u b a r L e g e n d s of th e C haldean account of the D eluge
tlie forthcom ing H ound (a n u ’s te ry d iv u lg ed , b u t to and th e so-called M osaic books. I n b o th the num ber
th o se who have p assed th e ir 3 rd d eg ree in in itiatio n ); seven plays a m o st p ro m in e n t p a rt. T he clean beasts are
th o se who have learn ed all th a t, will be b e tte r p re p a re d ta k e n b y sevens, th e fow ls by sevens a ls o ; in seven days,
to u n d ersta n d th e m eaning of th e follow ing. W o are it is prom ised N oah, to ra in upon th e ea rth ; thus he stayg
to ld in th e Sacred H in d u S c rijitu re s th a t “ T he first “ y e t o th e r seven d a y s,” an d ag ain seven days ; w hile in
M anu p ro d u ced six o th e r M anus, (seven p rim a ry M anus th e C haldean a c co u n t of th e D eluge, on tho seventh
in all) a n d th ese p roduced in th e ir tu rn each seven day th e ra in qu ieted . On th e seventh day th e dove
o th er M a n u s” — (B h rig u I. 61-03)* th e p ro d u c tio n of th e is sen t o u t ; b y sevens, X isu sth ru s ta k e s “ ju g s of
la tte r s ta n d in g in th e occult tre a tise s as 7 x 7 . T hus w ine” for th e a lta r, etc. W h y such coincidence ? A nd
it becom es cle a r th a t M anu— th e la s t one, th e p ro g e n ito r y e t we are to ld by, an d bound to believe in, th e E u ro ­
of our F o u rth R o u n d H u m an ity , m u st bo th e seventh, p ean o rie n ta lists, w hen p a ssin g ju d g m e n t alike upon the
since we aro on o u r fo u rth R o u n d , and th a t th e ro is a B abylonian and A ry a n chronology they call them “ ex­
tra v a g a n t an d fanciful !” N ev erth eless, while th ey give
# T h e f a c t t h a t M a im h i m s e l f is m a d o t o d e c l a r e t h a t h e w a s c r e a t e d us no ex p lanation of, nor havo th e y ever noticed, as far
b y V ira j a n d th e n p ro d u c e d th e te n P r a ja p a ti s , w h o a g a in p r o d u c e d as we knoWj tho s tra n g e ononess in th e to tals of the
s e v e n M a n u s , w h o in t h e i r t u r n g a v e b i r t h t o s e v e n o t h e r M a n u s ,
( M a n u , I , 3 3 -3 G ) r e l a t e s t o O th e r s t i l l e a r l i e r m y s t e r i e s , a n d i s a t t h e
S em itic, C haldean, and A r y a n H in d u chronology, the
B aino t i m o a b l i n d w i t h r e g a r d t o t h o d o c t r i n e o f th© S e p t e n a r y c h a i n « stu d e n ts of O ccult P h ilo so p h y find th e follow ing fact ex-
trem ely su g g e stiv e . W h ile tlie p erio d of th e re ig n of th e
10 B ab y lo n ian an ted ilu v ian k in g s is g iv e n as 432,000
years,* th e d u ra tio n of th e p o st-d ilu v ian K ali-y u g , is also
given as 432,000, w hile th e fo u r a g e s or th e divine M aha
yug, y ie ld in th e ir to ta lity 4,320,000 y e a rs. W h y sh ould
th ey , if fan cifu l an d “ e x tra v a g a n t,” g ive th e id e n tic al
fig ures, w hen n e ith e r th e A ry a n s n o r th e B abylonians
have su re ly borrow ed a n y th in g from each o th e r ! W e in ­
vite th e a tte n tio n of our o ccu ltists to th e th re e figures
g iv en 4 s ta n d in g fo r th e p e rfe c t sq u are 3 fo r th e tr ia d
(the seven universal & th e seven In d iv id u a l p rinciples)
a n d 2 th a sym bol of our illu sio n ary w o rld a fig u re ig n o re d
a n d re je c te d b y P y th a g o ra s. , please alw ays rem em b er, th a t th e M ahat or g re a t source
I t is in th e U panishads an d th e V edanta th o u g h , th a t
we have to look fo r th e b e st c o rro b o ra tio n s of th e occult
teach in g s. I n th e m ystical d o ctrin e th e R a h a sya , o r the
U panishads ; “ th e only Y e d a of all th o u g h tfu l H in d u s in
th e p re s e n t d a y ,” as M onier W illiam s is m ad e to con­
fess, every w ord, as its v ery nam e im plies, + h as a secret
m ean in g u n d e rly in g it. T h is m e a n in g can be fully re a ­
lized only b y h im who h as a full k now ledge of P ra n a , th e
O n e L i f e , “ th e n av e to w hich a re a tta c h e d th e seven
spokes of th e U n iv ersal W h e e l,” (H y m n to P ra n a ,
A th a rv a V ed a X I. 4 '.
E ven E u ro p ean O rie n ta lists a g re e th a t all th e sy stem s
in In d ia assig n to tho hu m an body : a, an e x te rio r or
gross body (sth u la -sa rira ) ; b, an in n e r o r shadow y
body (sukshm a) , o r linga-sarira, (the vehicle), th e two
cem ented w ith — c, life (jiv or ka rana-sarir a, “ causal
b o d y .” )J T h ese tlie o ccult system o r esotericism divides
into seven, fa rth e r a d d in g to th e se — kam a, m anas, buddhi
a n d atm an. Tlie N y a y a p h ilosophy w hen tre a tin g of
Pram eyas (by w hich th e o b jects an d su b je c ts of P ra m a
are to be co rrectly understood) in clu d es am o n g th e 12
th e seven “ ro o t p rin cip les.” (See I X th S u tra ) w hich are
1. soul (atm a n ),a n d 2 .its superio r s p irit J iv a tm a n : 3. body
(sa rira), 4 senses (in d riy a ), 5. a c tiv ity or will (p ra v ritti)
6. m ind ,(m a n a s), 7. In te lle c tio n (B u d d h i). T he seven
P a darthas (enquiries or p red icates of e x istin g th in g s) of
K an a d a in th e V aiseshikas, re fe r in th e o ccu lt d o ctrine
to th e seven q u alities or a ttrib u te s of th e seven principles.
T h u s : 1, su b stan ce (dr any a) — refers to body or sth u la-
sarira-, 2. Q u ality or p ro p e rty (g u n a ) to th e lifo p rin c i­
ple j i v ; 3. A ctio n or a c t (ka rm a n ) to th e L in g a sa rira ;
4. C om m unity or com m ingling of p ro p e rtie s (S a m a n y a )
to K a m a ru p a ; 5. P erso n ality or conscious in d iv id u a lity
(V isesha) to M anas ; 6. C o-inlierence or p e rp e tu a l in ti­
m ate relatio n (S a m u v a y a ) to B u d d h i, th e in sep arab le
vehicle of A tm a n ; 7, N o n -ex isten ce o r non-being in th e
sense of, an d as se p a ra te from o b je c tiv ity o r su b stan ce
(a bhava)— to th e h ig h e st m onad or A tm a n .
T hus w h e th e r we view th e O n e as tlie V ed ic P u ru slia or
B rahm am (neutral) th e “ a ll-e x p a n d in g essence or as th e
universal sp irit, th e “ lig h t of lig h ts ” (jyotisham jy o tih )
th e T o i’AL in d e p e n d e n t of all relatio n —-of th e U p a n ish a d s;
or as the P a ra m a tm a n of tlie V e d a n ta ; o r a g a in as K ana-
d a ’s A d rish ta “ th e u nseen F o rc e ,” o r divine a to m ; o r as
P ra k riti, th e “ etern ally e x istin g essence,” of K ap ila, we
find in all th e se im personal universal P rin cip les th e l a te n t
capability of evolving o u t of them selves “ six ra y s” (the
evolver b e in g th e seventh). T he th ird aphorism of tho
S a n k h ya -K a rik a , w hich says of P r a k r iti th a t it is tlie
“ ro o t an d su b stan ce of all th in g s ,” an d no production
b u t itself a p ro d u cer of “ seven th in g s w hich p ro d u c­
ed b y it, becom e also p ro d u c e rs” — lias a p u rely occult
m eaning.
* S o o “ B a b y l o n i a " b y G e o r g e .S ijiith . p . 3 6 . H e r e a g a in , aa w ith
t h o M a o s a a n d 1 0 P r a d j a p a t i s a n d t h e 1 0 S e p h i r o t h s j n t f i e l)o o k o f
h u m b e r s — iA e y d w in d l e d o w n t o s e v e n !;— E d .
+ U p a - n i s h a d m e a n s a c c o r d i n g t o B r a h m i n i c a l a u t h o r i t y '— “ t o p o n -
<quer i g n o r a n c e b y r e v e a l i n g t h e s e c r e t s p i r i t u a l k n o w l e d g e . ” A c c o r d ­
i n g t o M o n ie r W i l l i a m s — t h o t i t l e ig d e r i v e d f r o m t h e r o o t s a d v y ith
th e p r e p o s itio n s u p a a n d n i, a n d im p lie s “ s o m e th in g m y s tic a l t h a t
u n d e r lie s o r is b e n e a th t h e s u r f a p e .” — E d ,
X T h is K a r a n a Ts a r i r a i s o fte p . m i s t a k e n b y t h o u n i n i t i a t e d f o r L i n g a •
s a r i r a , a n d s i n c e i t is d e s c r i b e d a s t h e i n n e r r u d i m e n t a r y o r l a t e n t e m ­
b ry o o f t h e b o d y — c o n fo u n d e d w ith it. B u t th e O c c u ltis ts r e g a r d i t a s tlie
l i f e ( b o d y ) o r J i v , w h i c h d i s a p p e a r s a t d e a t h ; — is w i t h d r a w n — l e a v i n g
£ ho 1 ? a n d 3 r d p r i n c i p l e s t o d c s i n t i p r a t e f in d r e t u r n th e ir e le m e n ts .—
£d, . . ..
W b a t are th e “ p ro d u c e rs” evoluted from th is u n iv er­
sal root-principle,ifttZa-^>raA:n7i or undifferentiated p rim e ­
val coswncmatter, w hich evolves out of itself consciousness,
an d m ind, a n d is g e n e ra lly called “ P ra k riti” and am u-
lam m u la m , “ th e rootless ro o t,” a n d A -vy a kta , th e
“ unevolved evolver,” etc. ? T his prim ordial ta ttw a or
“ e te rn a lly e x istin g ‘ th a t,” th e unknow n essence, is
said to produce as a first producer 1. B u d d h i— “ in te l­
lect— ” w h e th e r we ap p ly the la tte r to th e 6 th m acrocos-
m ic or m icrocosm ic p rin cip le. T his first p roduced p ro ­
duces in its tu rn , (or is th e source of) A hankara, “ self­
consciousness” a n d m anas “ m in d .” T he rea d er will
of th ese tw o in te rn a l facu lties “ B u d d h i” per se can have
n e ith e r self-consciousness n o r m ind ; viz., th e 6 th princi­
ple in m an can p reserv e an essence of personal self­
consciousness or “ p ersonal in d iv iduality” only * by
ab so rb in g w ith in itse lf its own w aters, w hich have ru n
th ro u g h th a t fin ite f a c u lty ; for A ha n ka ra , th a t is th a
p ercep tio n of “ I , ” or th e sense of one’s personal in d i­
v id u ality , ju s tly re p re se n te d by th e te rm “ E g o-ism —
belongs to th e second o r ra th e r th e th ird production o u t
of th e seven, viz., to tlie 5 th principle, o r M anas. I t is
th e la tte r w hich draw s “ as th e w eb issues from th e
sp id e r” alo n g tlie th re a d of P ra k riti, th e “ ro o t prin cip le,”
th e fo u r follow ing su b tle elem entary p rinciples or p a rticle s
T anm atras, o u t of w hich th ird class ” tlie M aha-bhutas
or th e g ro ss e le m en ta ry principles, or ra th e r sarira
a n d rupas, a re evolved— th e karna, linga, jiv a and
sth u la sarira. Tho th re e gunas of “ P ra k r iti” — th e S a ttw a ,
R a ja s an d T am as (purity, p assionate activ ity , an d ig n o ­
rance o r d a rk n e ss,)— sp u n into a trip le stra n d e d cord or
“ ro p e,” p ass th ro u g h th e seven or ra th e r six, hum an
p rinciples. I t d ep en d s on th e 5 th — M anas or A h an cara
th e “ I ” — to th in th e g u n a, “ ro p e ,” in to one th re a d —
th e s a ttw a ; an d th u s by becom ing one w ith th e “ unevolv­
ed evolver,” w in im m o rtality or etern al conscious e x ist­
ence. O therw ise it w ill b e ag ain resolved in to its M aha-
bhutic essence; so lo n g a s th e trip le stra n d e d -ro p e isle ft u n ­
stra n d e d , th e sp irit (the divine m onad) is bound by th e
presence of th e g u n a s in th e principles “ like an anim al”
(p u ru sh a p a su ). T he sp irit, a tm a n or jiv atm a n (the 7tli
a n d 6 th principles) w h eth er of th e macro or m ic­
rocosm, th o u g h b o und by th ese g u n as d u rin g th e ob­
jective m an ifesta tio n of universe o r m an, is y e t nirgu-
na, i. e., en tirely free frojn them . O ut of th e th re e p ro ­
du cers o r evolvers, P r a k r iti, B u d d h i an d A hancara,
it is b u t th e la tte r t h a t can b e c a u g h t (when m an is
concerned) an d d e stro y e d w hen personal. T h e “ divine
m onad” is aguna (devoid of qualities), w hile P ra k riti
once th a t from passive M u la-p ra k riti it has becom e
a-vya kta (an active evolver) is gunavat— endow ed w ith
qualities. W ith th e la tte r — P u ru sh a or A tm an can have
n a u g h t to do (of course b e in g unable to perceive it ip
its gunavatic s t a t e ) ; w ith th e fo rm er— ov M u la -p ra kriti ov
u n d ifferep tia ted cosm ic essence it h as— since it is one
w ith it a n d iden tical.
T h e A tm a B o d d h i o r “ know ledge of soul,” a tra c t
w ritte n b y th e g re a t S an k arac h ary a, speaks d istin ctly of
th e seven p rin cip les in m an, (see 14th verse). T hey a ra
called th ere in th e five sh e a th s (pancha-kosa) in w liic h is
enclosed th e divine m onad — th e A tm a n and B oddhi, the
7th and Gtli p rin cip les, or th o individuated soul when
m ade d istin c t (th ro u g h avidya, m aya a n d th e gunas)
from th e suprem e soul— P arabrahm . T he 1st sh eath
called A n a n d a -m a ya , th e “ illusion of suprem e Vliss” — is
th e m anas o r fifth principle of tlie p c c u ltist3 , \yliep united
to B u d d h i; th e 2nd sh eath is V ijnana-m aya-lfosa, the case
o r “ enyelopo of self-delusion,” th o m anas w hen
self d eluded in to th e b elief of th e 'personal I , or ego,
w ith its vehicle. T he 3 rd — tlie M ano-m aya sh eath
com posed of “ illusionary m in d ” associated w ith the
o rg a n s of action an d w ill, is th e K am arupa an d Lingasa-
rira com bined, p ro d u c in g an illusive “ I ” or M ayavi-rupa.
T he 4 th sh e ath is called P rana-m aya, “ illjisionary life,”
our second life p rin cip le or jiv, whereixi resides life, thp
“ b re a th in g ” sh e a th . T he 5 th kosa is called A nn a -m a ya

or th e sh e a th S u p p o rted by food— o u r g ro ss m a teria l
body. A ll th e s e s h e a th s produce o th e r sm aller sh e a th s—
or six a ttr ib u te s o r qualities each, th e se v e n th b ein g
alw ays th6 root sh eath , and th e A tm a n ol* s p irit p a ssin g
th ro u g h all th e s e subtle eth ereal bodies like, a th re a d , is
called th e “ th re a d -so u l” or su tra tm a n . _ investigations the ordinary scientific method, which is not to
; W e m ay conclude w ith th e abo v e d em o n stratio n .
V erily th e E so te ric doctrin e m ay w ell b e called in its
tu rn the “ th re a d -d o c trin e ,” since, lik e S u tra trtia n or
P ranatm tm , it p asses th ro u g h , an d s trin g s to g e th e r all
th e an cien t philosophical religious System s) a n d w hat
is m ore,— reco n ciles an d explains th e m . F o r th o u g h
seem ing so u n lik e ex tern ally , th e y h av e b u t one fo u n ­
dation, a n d of th a t th e e x te n t, d e p th , b re a d th an d n a tu re
. are know n to th o se who have becom e, lik e th e “ W ise
.M en of th e E a s t,” a d e p ts in O ccult Science.
.M » - ■
S P I R I T I D E N T I T Y A N D ■R E G E N T S P E C U L A T IO N S .
(By “ M. A. (Oxon”) in L ig h t.)
T he question of spirit, identity is one extremely^difficult
to square w ith some of the m ost recent speculations, which
fclaim also to be some of th e most ancient, touching the
n ature of spirit and hum an individuality. Theosophists
denounce tlie use of the word “ spirit” by us as loose, inac­
curate, and, in fact, indefensible. They tell us th a t the so-
called spirits of the seance-room aie not really spirits, in any
proper sense of th a t misused word, but only shells, reliquite
of w hat were once individual men, w ith a survival of a
memory, refreshed from time to tim e by recourse to th a t
storehouse of all ages and of every event—the A stral Light.
Theso fragm ents of w liat were once m en are in no sense
spirits, and should rath er be called Ghosts (I suppose our
friends would say), being, indeed, shadowy and evanescent,
and on their* way to extinction. They are but the pale
reflection of th a t spirit, the inner principle, the tru e self,
which they no longer contain. I t is not th ere : it is ris e n j
or, perchance, has fallen to its own place.
So th a t when I say th a t tho sp irit of my friend, Epes
Sargent, for example, has com m unicated w ith me, I am not
accurate. I should rath er say—assum ing the whole story
not to bo delusion on my part, or personation on the p a rt of
some vain-glorious spook w ith a talen t for histrionics—th a t
certain external principles which had once belonged to th a t
entity, and had constituted p art of the composite being
which mado up his complete self, had given me from the
survival of eartli-recollections, some facts. These, they would
say, would be found to be probably unim portant, and, even
as volunteered evidence, only m oderately satisfactory. Such
communications they would regard as going no way towards
proof of the trem endous assumption which they were sup­
posed by Spiritualists to dem onstrate ; and, in. point of fact,
they would contend th a t when sifted, they threw upon the
average belief in the retu rn of departed spirits the gravest
doubt. They would tell me th a t in a short time I shall find
' my friend dropping out of my life, unless unfortunately he be
' earth-bound, und so an extremely undesirable companion.
He will get vaguer and vaguer, paler and more shadowy,
w ith less interest in me and my life, and less memory of
earth and all its concerns, until ho will die out—tliat ex­
ternal part of him th a t lias communicated w ith me here—
and I shall seek in vain for fu rth er messages.
This, on the best view of the case. But, far more proba­
bly, they would tell me th a t my friend never came near me ;
th a t his care for earth and its memories was extinct, an d
th a t he was, being w hat he was, reposing now prior to his
next incarnation. This is the assumption, and 110 am ount
of evidence shakes it, for ju st as the average man of science
says, “ 'I do not know where the flaw is, but I am sure there
‘is a flaw in your evidence,” so the Theosophist says, “ You aro
talking nonsens'?. I t is extremely unlikely th a t you are rig h t
in your suppositions. I t is not impossible, indeed, b u t very
unlikely, th a t a pure spirit should communicate w ith earth
in this way ; it does not descend here, b u t the medium rises
to its pure abode.” I t would be rude to say th a t the facts
are against such theories, and th a t when theories are opposed
by facts, they m ust give way sooner or later. This would
be so, no doubt, w ithin the domain of exact hum an know­
ledge, dr of speculation that is not entirely airy, But wq
are dealing here with som ething beyond the range of hum an
science, and we have, as yet, no exact standard of judgment.
W hen any one tells us th a t such and such things cannot be,
we have a rig h t to ask—why ? and even to suggest th at, in
these m atters, we are all comprehended , in one common
ignorance. A nd we have a right, further, to apply to our
theorise and then gather facts to support the bubble we have
blown, but to amass facts with laborious persistence until it
is passible to generalize from them w ith some show of
fairness. I t is early days yet to lim it us w ith theories, or at
least with a theory, to prescribe for our acceptance a rigid
dogma which is to be binding on us as a m atter of faith :
and I, at least, have found no theory th a t was not at open
variance w ith some ascertained fa c ts; none th a t did not
break down when tested ; none th a t was, in simple direct­
ness and applicability, any approach to the theory of tho
Spiritualist, and, for the m atter of that, of the spirits too.
B ut this is probably, because my facts square with th at
theory, and are not explained by any other th a t I have m et
with as yet. I ain, however, both re&dy and w illing to keep
a listening ear and an open m ind. ’
I have very recently had means of studying this question
of identity afresh, and of adding one more to the pile of facts
th a t I have accum ulated. The story th a t I am about to tell
is by no means w ithout its difficulties, and I do not record it
as one th at offers any definite solution of an abstruse problem.
B ut it has its interest, is instructive in its way, and has^the
m erit of being recorded w ith literal accuracy. I have changed
all names, because I should, probably, cause annoyance to
friends whom I have no Tight to annoy. W ith th a t excep­
tion the story is absolutely exact.
I t is necessary for me to be retrospective, in order to mako
myself intelligible. A bout ten years ago I received, in un­
broken sequence, extending over several years, a great num ­
ber of messages purporting to come from departed human
spirits. These spirits— I m ust use the word, for life is too
short for reiterated periphrases—found me a t first very
sceptical about thom and th eir concern witli me. I cross­
questioned them at great length, and did my best to pick a
flaw in th eir statem ents. These were of an ordinary auto­
biographical nature, involving m inute facts and dates—a
sort of skeleton map of their life on earth —and wero
given in various ways, by raps, by tilts, by autom atic w rit­
ing, by trance-speaking, and so forth. The various means
adopted were always adhered to, and I did not succeed in
detecting, as other less fortunate investigators unquestion­
ably have, organised fraud or even sporadic attem pts a t decep­
tion. A pplying the methods which I should apply to a caso
of mere hum an identity, I could detect no flaw. A nd I may
say, in a parenthesis, th a t I have a rig h t to claim from
this a positive result. W hen a story is told by a large
mass of witnesses,— where each is tested by such methods
• as man has found most suitable in his daily life, and whero
none breaks down, where no flaw is found, no lack Of
moral consciousness discovered, these witnesses have establish­
ed a title to our belief in their veracity. They maybe under a
delusion : or liko the Scotchm an’s grand-m other who had seen
a ghost, they may be dismissed as her grandson dismissed her,
“ My grand-m other does na ken it, puir auld body, but she’s
an awfu’ leer.” I, however, found 110 sign of the lie.
Among these invisible interlocutors of mine was one whom
I will call John Lilly. H e had communicated chiefly through
the table, and had selected for himself an extremely distinc­
tive sound. I t was quite unmistakable, and for m any years
it was a thoroughly fam iliar sound. Then it gradually died
out, and remained only as a memory : and even th a t became
faint, and I seldom recalled it. From this spirit, as from many
others, I received various items of autobiographical infor­
mation, facts, dates, and particulars which, since he was a
man of m ark, I was able to verify. They were exact in every
particular, so far as they were susceptible of verification.
Some were personal, and I did not find any record of them,
but when I did find any record, it corroborated the informa­
tion given me by Lilly.
Somo years had passed since Lilly had apparently dropped
out of my life. He had done what he had to do, and had
departed. This year a friend whom I had not seen for some
ten years invited me to stay with him for a few days. He had
settled in a new home, and was w ithin my reach. I, therefore,
w ent to dine w ith him and spend the night, I t was a dinner
.party, and I had little conversation with my friend before
retirin g for the night. I soon fell asleep, and was repeatedly
disturbed hy raps and noises which though I had not heard
 them for years, were very fam iliar to my ears. I was soon
wide awake, and satisfied iny self th a t I was not dreaming.
The raps were all over tho room, b u t I did not receive any
message by means of them . I was sleepy, and disinclined to
give myself trouble, though quite wide awake enough to be
Certain as to w hat was going on. Raps there were, no doubt,
and prom inent among them th a t peculiar sound which Lilly
had made liis own. I t was unm istakable, and I sat listening
to it until I grow tired, and fell asleep again wondering
w hat could possibly have brought th a t sound, so long absent,
there and then, in a house I had never before entered, and at
the dead of night. I t mingled w ith my dreams all night
through, but in tho m orning it was gone, and I thought no
more of it. - ■
A fter breakfast my friend shewed me round liis garden,
and pointed out to me w hat a curious old house it was th a t
Jie occupied. “ I t has its history, too,” he said, “ it was onco
occupied for some years by a m an whose name you may
know—John L illy !”
T here was the secret, then. I had by going to the old
house iu some way touched a chord of memory th a t brought
that spirit again into rapport w ith me, and liad caused him
to break the silence of years. I pondered deeply over tho
occurrence, and was disposed to think th a t I m ight have
heard of him in connection with the place, either from his
own communications or from some book in which I had
sought for their verification. I took pains to tu rn out the
records iu which I have preserved a detailed account of his
words and my verification of them. B u t I found no mention
w hatever of his connection w ith the place then inhabited
by my friend. O ther things were stated, b u t not th a t lie
had ever lived there. N or was there in the book which I
had consulted any mention of th a t special fact. I am quite
clear th at I w ent to his house totally ignorant of any con­
nection of his with it, and th a t th a t conncction had never
been brought to my notice at any antecedent period.
Now, there is here interesting m aterial for speculation.
I. W as th a t spirit, the individual John Lilly (as I have chosen
to call him) who had lived in th a t house ? W h at m aintained
the connection between him and it? And why did the fact
of my sleeping in a bedroom which had been his incite him
to disturb my repose by a noise wliich I should naturally
associate with his name ? Assuming th a t there was a good
reason for his first coming to mo (as I believe there was)
why, having lapsed into silence, did my going to his house
cause |him to break th a t silence ? H ad lie been present all
through those years, and mado 110 sign of late, because of the
reasons th at have kept others silent—reasons good and
sufficient—and was he now a t last moved to call my notice
once again ? Then why not speak or m ake some communi­
cation ? W as he unable to do more ? or was it not perm itted
to him ?
2. If this was b u t the external shell of the real John
Lilly, am I to conclude th a t his memory—or tlie memory of
his external principles— was stirred to activity by my visit ?
How then ? for th a t was not tho link th a t bound him to me,
nor was it in any way connected with his coming to me at all.
Was it a mere accident ? and would the same manifestations
of his presence have taken place anywhere else where I m ight
chance to be ? I cannot say this is impossible, nor even very
improbable : but it is rendered unlikely by the repeated cases
of connection between special places and special spirits that
I and others have frequently observed. This connection has,
indeed, been extremely notew orthy in my experience. Aud
since many and many a dccade has now elapsed since John
Lilly left this earth aud hundreds and hundreds of decades
since some others wlio have visited me, w hat am I to
conclude as to the g radual—the very g rad u al—extinction to
which these shells are being subjected ?
3. If a personating spirit has been posturing as John Lilly
all through these years, what a very rem arkable power of
acting, and w hat a very complete knowledge ot' liis p art th at
spirit m ust have ! The actor blacked from head to foot, tho
better to personate Othello, is not to be compared to this
thorough-going relic of w hat was once a man ! W hat m ust
he have been when complete !
Theso and various other questions th a t arise will receive
different answers from minds of different complexions.
Probably no answer th a t can be given in our present state of
ignorance will be so satisfactory as to command general
acceptance. B u t to one who has had such experience as I
have had of sim ilar occurrences tho explanation of the
Spiritualist will seem, I haye no doubt, the moat satisfactory,
and the least open to objection. The moro subtle Eastern
philosopher will apply th a t explanation which he derives, not
from his experience (for he shrinks from actuaf m iddling
with those whom he regards as w andering shades to bp
sedulously avoided), b u t from his philosophical speculations,
or from w hat he has taught himself to accept as tho knowledge
of those who can give him authoritative information. I do
not presume, here and now, to say anything on the grounds
of th a t belief which I find myself:—possibly from insufficient
means of inform ation—unable to share. B ut I ask permission
to point out th a t cases of fclie kind J have narrated, though
they do not occur in tho East, do occur here in the W est.
Tho Eastern Philosophy, when it does not pooh-pooh them ,
makes w hat is to me and to most of those who have actual
experience, a quite insufficient explanation of them. A ny
true philosophy m ust take account of them ; and I am not
rash enough to assert th a t th at Theosophy which is expound­
ed by minds so able has not its explanation at band. But
no merely academic disquisition on w hat philosophy pro­
pounds as theoretically probable, or even as demonstrable on
high m etaphysical principles, can get rid of even one assured
fact, however inexplicable may be its raison d'etre.
In so w riting I am desirous only of m aking one more
contribution to the study of a perplexing subject. W hile I
havo my own opinion, I am fa r from desiring to obtrude it,
and I tru st th at I can give im partial heed to tho opinions of
others.
[ E d it o r ’ s N o t e s on t h e s a m e .]
O f all the Spiritualists, “ M. A. (Oxon).” is the last to whose
argum ents wo would like to take exception, or whose ideap
we would try to combat, for he is a friend long and highly
esteemed. Y et wo m ust perforce join issues with him, sinco
we have the strongest conviction [we avoid saying knowledge
lest we should be called dogmatic] th at on some ppints he is
as thoroughly m istaken as any ordinary mortal unblessed with
his rem arkable power of discrimination. Besides our own
personal regard for him, there never was a believer entitled
to more serious and considerate hearing than the author of
“ Psyehograpliy,” “ S pirit Identity,” and other like most ex­
cellent works upon psychology. The task becomes the moro
difficult when 0 110 is rem inded of the fact th a t “ M. A. (O xon),”
is not a w riter merely advocating spiritualistic hypothesis
upon second-hand evidence; nor some enthusiastic supporter
of promiscuous “ spirit visitors ” and new phenomena, but tho
earnest recorder and careful annotator of his own personal
dealings with so-callcd “ Spirits,” over a series of many years.
B ut wo become braver when we think that, w ithout having
the presum ption of claim ing equal clearness of stylo or his
rem arkable ability in the laying out of that, which to him is
direct b u t to tho public still •presumptive evidence, we also
argue from personal experience ; and th at unlike the theory
he has wedded himself to, our doctrino is backed by tho
teachings of all tho philosophies of old, and moreover by tho
collective experience of men who have dovoted their lives tp
study tho occult side of nature. Thus, our. testimony may
also have some weight, a t any rate,—with unbiassed minds.
And wc say, th at in the eyes of the latter, our theory in ap ­
plicability to our facts, will—at least with regard to the “ John
Lilly ” case,—appear far more reasonable, and will clash less
w ith probability tliai^ would tho acceptance of tho common
spiritualistic theory.
To begin with, we aro constrained to point out that “ M. A.
(Oxon’s)” chief argum ent with regard to theosophy, is not
only palpably incorrect but extremely unfair in one sense.
H e tellsus th a t “ we (the spiritualists P) have a right to apply
to our investigations the ordinary scientific method, which is
not to theorise and then gather facts to support tho bubble wo
have blown, but to amass facts with laborious persistence
until it is possible to generalize from them, w ith some show
of fairness.” We rem ind him in reply th a t the spiritualistic
theory of the return of the departed spirits is as old as tho first
knocks a t Rochester, i. e., thirty-five years, and th at if any one
is to stand accused of having bloivn a bubble before there wero
facts enough to hang upon them one single straw, it is not
the Theosophists but precisely tho Spiritualists. We aro quito
aware th at it is not “ M. A. (Oxoii)” who was tho first to
give a, name to the agency behind the facts ; but liojyever un­
willing to accept the a prior theory—and in the case of tho
spiritualists “ a rigid dogma which is to be binding on us aa
a m atter of faith ” from first to last indeed—lie seems to
have accepted it, nevertheless, and now maintains and
defends from the slightest approach of any dissenting doc­
trine. If we are told th at lie does so on very good grounds,
having found no (theosophical occult) theory th a t was not at
open variance w ith some ascertained facts,” or “ th a t did not
break dow n when tested”—wo answ er th a t if such is lus ex­
perience, o u rs is quite the reverse. Besides, it is rath er dif­
ficult to.conceive how a theory can bo proved an axiomatic
tru th so long as only such facts as answ er our purpose aro
applied to it. “ M. A. (Oxon)” was never an occultist, and
kuows yet nothing of the means used to test the various sets
of phenomena—and the “ spirits” themselves for the m atter
of that. W hereas there is hardly a theosophist th a t lias
now turned an occultist but was a sp iritualist before, and
some of them as ardent and as uncom promising as “ M. A.
(O xon)” .himself. Colonel H. S. Olcott was one for about
a q u arter of a century ; and the w riter of this, who along
w ith all h er fam ily was bred and brought up in the belief of
returning “ souls” (the great orthodox church inclining to
class all of these with evil or “ dam ned” souls—m aking no
difference in tho theory) was even until some th irty yea,rs or-
so back far moro inclined—occult doctrines notw ithstanding—
toward the spiritualistic then the occultistic views. We
were a t one tim e as ardent a spiritualist as any. No one
clung more tenaciously, may more desperately, to the last
straw of th at hopeful and happy illusion, which promises
the bliss of eternal p e r s o n a l re-union w ith all those nearest
and dearest th a t one has lost—than did we. One year in
America during one of our visits to th a t country,
and a terrible p e r s o n a l ordeal, killed th a t vain hopo
and sottled o u r knowledge for ever. I t needed tlie death of
two porsons—tho most dearly beloved relatives—to bury for
ever tho sweet delusive dream. Wc have learned by experi­
ence since to p u t implicit faith in our teachers ; to discern
between objective sh e lls , men th a t wero — and subject ivc genuine
spirits ; between elementaries (victims of accident, and sui­
cides) and clemontals,—men th a t will be. A nd we think we
havo now learned even the difference between tlie “ Brothers
of the Light,” to use the graphic E astern expression, and tho
“ Brothers of the Shadow”—both in the supra and sub-
mundane spheres, as well as to recognise between the two
classes of the same name on our earthly plane. There are
Spirits and Spirits ; H igh Planetary Spirits (D hyan Cholians)
who have been human beings millions of ages since and
upon other besides our own planet, and there are the m a y a v ic
appearances of these, projected upon the intra-psychic screen
of our mediumistie hence confused, perceptions. There are
seers and there are mediums, as there are great men of
seienco and w illing and sincere, b u t ignorant tyros. And it is
unfair in “ M. A. (Oxon)” to represent the theosophists as
prescribing “ rigid dogmas ” and blind faith, especially when
a few lines higher he invalidates his accusation by p utting
in the mouths of his opponents, addressing the spiritualists,
th a t which represents the correct attitude of the form er :—
“ I t is extremely unlikely th a t you are rig h t in your supposi­
tions. I t is n o t im p o s s ib le , indeed, b u t very, unlikely “ Ac.
Ac.”—wo are made to say,—words conveying the very op­
posite of dogmatism.
B ut we must be now perm itted to analyze the cited case ;
to see w hether “ John Lilly” could not have performed all
th at is claimed for him while his m o n a d was in the Deva-
chanic or other states—from which th e r e is no c o m in g b ack on
e a r th , in our views, which indeed we force on no one who
prefers his own theory. W hy could not his s h e ll, which,
notw ithstanding Mr. Morse’s very w itty definition (though wit
is surely no proof) th a t it is “ something th a t walks about with
nothing inside it” have had all it had on earth to make up its
seeming personality, i. e., its illusive ego, w ith its grosser
personal consciousness, and memory, refreshed and reanim ated
into momentary activity a t every contact w ith a living
-.medium’s brain molecules ?* W hy could not th a t “ shell,”
: We ask, and though “ many and many a decade has now
elapsed since John Lilly left this earth ,” have communicated
for years (w ith “ M. A. (Oxon) ” though chiefly through the
table.” ? Spiritualists who lay such astress upon, and point with
such a trium ph to the Bible when corroborating w ith its stories
of angels and apparitions, the claimed m aterialization of spirits
ought not to lose sight of, and conveniently forget when
speaking of “ empty shells,” the “ Repliaim” of tho Jews—
* T h e m e d iu m o f te n n e e d n o t k n o w a n y t h in g o r h a v o e v e n h e a r d th o
n a m e o f h is “ S p ir it” v is ito r . H i s b r a i n i n t h i s c a e e p l a y s s i m p l y th o
p a r t o f a g a l v a r t i c b a t t e r y u p o n a d y i n g o r e v e n d e a d m n n ’e b o d y . — E d ,
which people their Sheol or Hades, Is not the literal mean­
ing of “ liephaim ” p i t h l e s s or “ empty” s h a d e s, and is not
the Sheol our Kamaloka ?
Nor does this fact clash with o u r theory, while it does
clash w ith th a t of the spiritualists. Besides it being far
more likely th a t a real, genuine disembodied spirit would
have avoided com municating “ through a table,” when he
had at his disposal a fine medium’s clairvoyance and spiritual
consciousness, how is it th at the fam iliar sound of his presence
“ died out” g r a d u a l l y and not abruptly, as m ight be the
case with a “ spirit” who had a real mission to perform,
who “ m eant business,” and went away honestly and openly
after having performed it ? Does not this g r a d u a l d y in g out
of tho alleged presence dovetail perfectly with our theory of
the gradual f a d i n g out of the shell ? W hy should an everlast­
ing semi-material, quite co n scio u s entity use such eccentric
ways ? And why, since “ John Lilly” was an old friend, and
m eant—if there was any one there to mean anything—to recall
himself to the memory of “ M. A. (Oxon)” why did he not
speak, or “ rap out,” honestly and say w hat he wanted,
instead of keeping our friend semi-awake and r e p e a te d ly d i s ­
tu r b in g h is sle e p b y r a p s a n d n o ise s at the risk of giving him
a bad head-ache ? “ W as he unable to do more ? or was it
not perm itted to him ?” asks the w riter. “ Perm itted!” and by
when or w hat, we wonder ? As well expect th a t the poisonous
particles th a t one is liable to catch in a room where a small­
pox patient died, th a t they should tell the name of him in
whom they were generated or explain their business. “ Jo h n
Lilly” had im pregnated with his emanations tho room for
years, and a p o r tio n at any rate of the personal consciousness
of a disembodid and even of a liv in g being lingers and will
linger for hundreds of decades on tho spot he identified
himself with, a good proof of its being found in many instances
th a t could be cited. In the apparition, for instance, for years
of the astral sim ulacrum of a titled lunatic in a room in
which he had been confined for nine years. Occasional wild
cries were heard in it—the servants recognizing the fam iliar
cry and the doctor testifying to it. under oath at the inquest
made in this case by the police in one of the capital cities of
Southern Russia. Whose simalacrum was it, and whose voice ?
Of tlie lunatic ? B ut the man had recovered and was a t that
time living again with his fam ily at Penza, the universal
theory becoming, of course under the handling of good Chris­
tians and clergy th a t it was the unholy tricks of the Evil
One. Moreover the ex-patient who had heard of the terrific
news of his own bodily appearance in the room where he had
raved for so m any years, insisted upon returning to the spot
and exposing the f r a u d of his enemies— as he called it. Tra-
yelling there, under protest of liis family and doctor, he
arrived, determ ined th a t he should pass the night in his
ancient room, and perm itting with great difficulty th at
his friend the said doctor should rem ain to keep him com­
pany. R e s u lt:— his own double was seen by himself and
doctor, the cries were heard louder than over, and when
at dawn the room was entered by the physician of the asylum
and inmates, M. C. * * was found once more a raving lunatic,
and liis friend in a deadly swoon. The case was officially
authenticated at the time and m ight be found in the police
records if searched, for as it happened between 1840 and 1850.
Now let us suppose th a t instead of recovering and leaving
the asylum, the man had died thore. W ho of the spiritualists
would ever doubt but th a t was his “ spirit” howling and his
M ayavirupa ” in p r o p r ia p e r s o n a there ? I t is on a number
of such instances, and our own personal experiences during
over forty years—ten of which were passed in a state very
like, if not entirely, th a t of mediumship, until by a
supreme effort of will and w ith the help of initiated friends,
we got rid of it th a t we speak so confidently. Yet our
experience is our own, and we would no more ask any one
to believe us on our word, than we would stake the faith of
our whole life on th a t of another person. There was no
“ personating spirit, posturing as Johu Lilly.” B ut there
probably was the elem entary shell of John Lilly,fading,perhaps
on the eve of being entirely faded out, yet capable of being
once more galvanized into producing audible sounds by tho
presence of one on whose organism it had been living for
several years. W hen this organism came, once more in con­
ta ct with the re liq u io e it proved like a galvanic shock to a dead
corpsc.
Nor is it rig h t to say th a t “ the more subtle Eastern philoso­
pher will apply the explanation which he derives, not from his
experience (for he shrinks from actual meddling with those
whom he regards os w andering shades.) . . . but from his
 philosophical speculations for the “ E astern philosopher”
docs nothing of the kind. I t is b u t the incipient “ philoso­
pher,” the as yet uninitiated student who is forbidden to
meddle with w andering shades, a m eddling which, to him, is
full of danger. The real philosopher studies the various
natures o£ these invisible agencies in the full possession of
his physical consciousness and senses, as much t h o u g h n o t a s
w e l l as in the still fuller consciousness of his s p i r i t u a l senses,
when he paralyzes his body, with its deceptive suggestions,
and puts it out of its power to impede the clearness of his
spiritual sight. “ And cases of the kin d ” (narrated by M. A.
(Oxon) .......do “ occur in the E ast” as m uch as, and more,
perhaps, than in the W est. B u t were it even so, tho
Christian kabalists have believed in, and given out the very
same doctrine on s h e l l s as we do now. If our friends will
refer to “ The I I I Book of Occult Phislosophy” by Cornelius
Agrippa, they will find him propounding just the very same
tenets. In the chapter “ W hat concerning m an after death ;
diverse opinions,” we find the following, given very fully
and explicilty in A grippa’s original m anuscripts, and very
cursorily by his translator, H enry Morlcy. Leaving out
what Trithem ius, H enry K unrath, Paracelsus and other
great Occultists, may have said on the subject, we will quote
a few lines from the translation in question made by a
sceptic :—“ Perceptions of the tru th exist in the opinions of
the ancients . . . . yet do the kabalists refuse the Doctrine
of Pythagoras * th a t souls which have become bestial
take bestial forms they say ; ou the contrary, th a t they re ­
tu rn to earth in hum an fram es.. . .Sometimes the souls of
tho wicked reanim ate their polluted corpses.. . .B ut when the
body returns earth to earth, the spirit returns to God. . . .a n d
t h i s s p i r i t i s t h e m i n d (the monad, the B u d d h i ) tlie p u r e
I n t e l l i g e n c e t h a t w a s in c a p a b l e o f s i n w h i l e i n t h e f l e s h , how­
ever sinned against by p a s s i o n s o f th e s o u l, and gross delu­
sions of the body. Then if the soul [ p e r s o n a l E g o , the M a n a s ')
has lived justly i t a c c o m p a n ie s th e m i n d , a n d s o u l a n d m i n d
to g e t h e r w o r k i n t h e w o r l d o f th e r i g h t e o u s . . . .B ut t h e s o u ls
t h a t h a v e d o n e e v i l , p a r t e d a f t e r d e a t h f r o m th e m i n d , w o n d e r
w i t h o u t i n t e l l i g e n c e (our shells) subject to all the wild dis­
tresses of unregulated passion, and by the affinity they have
acquired for the grossness of corporeal m atter, assimilate
themselves and condense as in a fog, m aterial particles, (m a­
terialise ?) through which they become sensible again of bodily
pain and discomfort. . . .souls after death (separated from
tlieir spiritual E g o , if you please) r e m e m b e r t h e p a s t , and
retain according to th eir nature more or less of attraction
towards the bodies they inhabited, o r o t h e r f l e s h a n d b lo o d
(the mediums, evidently). This is most tru e of souls whose
bodies are m iburied or were subject to violence (the suicides
and victims to accident; See F r a g m e n t s o f O c c u lt T r u t h ) ; . . . .
there are two kinds of necromancy— n e c y o m a n ti a , when a
corpse is anim ated ; s c y o m a n t ia , when only a s h a d e is sum ­
moned. B ut for the reunion of souls w ith bodies occult
knowledge is required.” . . . Again in next chapter : “ Now the
mind only is, by nature, divine, eternal ; the reason is airy,
durable ; the idolum, more corporeal, left to itself, perishes.”
W hich means as plain as it can mean th a t the “ m ind”
here standing for the 6th and 7th principles, A t m a n and
B u d d h i , or “ Spirit and Spiritual soul” or Intelligence, “ rea­
son” stands for th a t spiritual esscnee the portion of the p e r ­
s o n a l c o n s c io u s n e s s , or “ soul th a t accompanies the m ind”
( M a n a s following B u d d h i to Devachan). W h at A grippa calls
the “ idolum ” (the e id o lo n ) we call the astral shell, or the
" Elem entary.”
The above quotations, though strengthening our claims
will of course have no effect upon the spiritualists, and are
penned for the sole benefit of our Theosophists. Wc invite
moreover, their attention to the article directly, following—•
“ Spirit Idendity and Recent Speculations,” in the same num ­
ber of L i g h t (April 28th 1883)— “ A H aunted House” by J. C.
A charm ing, simple, unpretentiously told story, bearing every
m ark of sincerity and genuineness upon its facc. W hat do
we find in it ? a loving wife, a m other losing her husband iu
a house th a t was haunted before they had comc to live in it.
Loud noises and crashes w ithout any cause for them. Foot­
steps produced by invisible feet upon the stairs, and m yste­
rious voices, words proceeding from ghostly lips. The husband
—apparently a good and loving husband—is a passionate lover
of music. He dies. In the n ig h t following- liis death, the piano
begins softly playing. “ I recognized the m usic—it was the
* W h ich w as n e v e r p r o p e rl y u nd ersto od , f o r i t was Ml allegorical
Leaching like t h a t of th o B r a h m a n i e a l books,
last piece my husband had composed impromptu” writes the
widow. W ell and good. The kabalists reeognizo the possi­
bility of this, and give explanations for it. But that which
conies next, is not of so easy a solution on the spiritual th e ­
ory, unless we are asked to believe th at good men, loviiig
fathers, and tender husbands become heartless friends and
malicious spooks after th eir death.
In the words of the narrator, the relations were surprised
at the widow’s cheerfulness. They “ attributed it to w ant of
natural feeling, little thinking how full of gladness I was to
k n o w th a t there was a great hereafter, for his, new-born
radiant spirit.” Now whence that knowledge and w hat wero
the undeniable p r o o f s of th a t “ grand hereafter?”
F irst—“ a knock” after the funeral. B ut there had beeu
such knocks before in the house ! The children heard often
“ papa speak to them .” The children will always hear and
see, w hat their seniors will tell them t h e y hear and
see. The eldest boy was put to sleep in the room where his
parent had died w ithout however knowing it. “ In the night”
writes the widow, “ the boy frightened as all by a terrible
scream. They all found him sitting up in bed, pale with fright. .
Some one had touched him on his shoulder and awoke him.”
N ext night the same thing, “ some one touched him again.”
Third night the same in another room ; “ two or three
times he aroused the whole school, and when he was on a
visit during the holidays he also cried out in tho night .” A
friend oil a visit “ felt her bed-clothes pulled. The noises at
last affected her nervous system, and she left. . . w ithout any
stated reason. Soon after the servant was taken ill” owino-
to the ghostly visits and misbehaviour and—“ had to be sent
away.” So much in the experience of a boy whom his loving
father’s s p i r i t frightened nightly into fits, at the risk of
m aking an epileptic or an adiot of his son for the natural term
of his life. So much for the friends, servants and visitors of his
loving widow. Then one n ig h t...b u t we will let the bereaved
wife till her own tale. “ A fter the little ones were all asleep, in
the happy rest of infancy, I wandered over the house, peering
cautiously into every nook, half expecting to see a robber
concealcd ready to pounce out on inc. I was about to retiru
for the night, when I remembered that I had not looked iu
my deceased husband’s study. 1 lighted a candle, and taking
the latch-key I w ent in. All was q u ie t; but suddenly a breczo
seemed to sweep round the chamber, blew out my light, and
shut the door ! I stood for moment numbed with te r r o r ;
I felt my hair stand on end ;thc dampness of fear bathed my
forehead. I could not cry out, all power seemed gone, and
a throng of ghastly fancies tilled my brain ; reason itself
seemed to desert me. I fell on my knees aud asked tho
“ F ath er of S pirit ” to set me free. I then made for the
door, felt the lock, and in a moment was outside. It
shut with a bang !
“ I ran down to where my children were, and locking my­
self in lay down in my clothes. All was quiet for a time,
when I heard a noise like the sound of a gong strike against
the window bars ; then a rum bling, accompanied by knocks
and voices. My little boy awake and said “ W hat is that
noise ? ” I told him not to mind but go to sleep, which he
soon did. I then heard my husband’s voice call niy eldest
child by name and tell her to go to the railway station.
Then he said to me, “ Comc up here.” I answered him, and
said “ I cannot, I wish to live for my children’s sake.” Thu
doors all over the house slammed, and footsteps passed up
and down stairs, continuing till day break.”
Now we ask in the name of logic and reason whether thia
behaviour night after night, is more compatible with th a t
of the hum an and presumably good spirit of a husband and
father, or with th at of a half crazy s h e l l ! w hat sophistry
is required to excuse it in the former, and how natural tho
w hy’s of the phenomenal manifestations if the occult theory
be accepted ! The shell has no more to do w i t h t h e liber­
ated m o n a d of the good and pure man then would the shadow
of a man with the latte r’s body, could it be suddenly endowed
with speech and the faculty of repeating w hat it finds in
the people’s brain.
“ M. A. Oxon” closes, as seen above in liis article, with
the assurance th a t in w riting as he does he is only desirous
ofm aking one more contribution to the study of a perplexing
subject. “ He is far from desiring to obtrude his opinion.”
Yet, and at the same he devotes three and half columns to
proving th a t theosophie teachings are “ bubbles ” based
upon air, probably only because o u r facts, do not square with
h i s facts. We can assure our kind friend th a t the occultists aro
far leas desirous th an he cau ever be of obtruding their opi­
C
nion upon unw illing minds, or of criticizing those of other
people. B ut w here their theories are attacked, they answer
and can give as good facts as he can himself. Occult philo­
sophy rests upon the accumulated psychic facts of thousands
of years. Spiritualism is but thirty-five years old, and has
not as yet produced one recognized non-meduimistic adept.
fe ffe rs fcr % d e b ito r .
“ N O R E V E L A T IO N I N F A L L I B L E .”
M y frie n d M r. Jiw an Dass in th e A ry a fo r .June finds
fau lt w ith m y a rtic le en titled “ N o R ev elatio n in fallib le.”
Of me p e rso n a lly lie speaks in th e k in d e st te rm s —in
term s fa r h ig h e r, indeed, th an I could ere?’ liope to m erit,
b u t he condem ns m y arg u m en ts.
H e condem ns th em , b u t he does n o t, it seem s to me,
even a ttem p t to co n tro v ert th em . H e an d I are b o th
equally desirous of g e ttin g a t for ourselves an d k eeping
o th e rs to a rriv e a t th e tru th . N o single q u estio n affect­
in g R eligio n can be m ore im p o rta n t th a n th e one raised
in m y p a p e r, an d if m y views in re g a rd to it are w rong,
no g re a te r servico can be ren d ered to an y of us th a n the
p ro v in g th is a n d a t th e sam e tim e sho w in g us w h a t is
rig h t.
W ill M r. -Jiwan D ass k iu d ly , calm ly discuss th e su b ­
je c t— ta k e m y a rg u m e n ts, step by ste p , fa irly to pieces,
c o n tro v e rt any erroneous a rg u m e n ts an d c o rrect any
e rro rs an d th u s show us how an d w h erein we a re w rong ?
S urely h e re is a nodus vindice d ignus, w hich even the
Sw am iji m ig h t deign to sever for ns. U n til he o r some
of his follow ers do th is ; u n til th e y d isp ro v e o u r supposed
facts, expose o u r fallacies (if th e y b e such) an d m eet
a rg u m e n t fa irly b y a rg u m e n t, it is im possible fo r us to
ad m it th a t th e y have e ith e r a logical or ratio n al s ta n d ­
point— aud w ith o u t th is how can th e y hope to convince
o th e rs ?
T hey m ay p ersonally, like th e e a rn e st an d sincere
votaries of every creed, possess a d e e p -se a ted sentim ental
conviction of th e tr u th of w h a t th e y p rofess, b u t u n til
1hey can show th a t th is conviction is based upon facts
und reason, th e y can n o t ex p ect o th e rs t,o sh are th e ir
faith or sym pathize w hen th e y denounce as “ im m o ra l,”
views th a t th e y e ith e r can n o t or will n o t disprove.
Y o u rs obed ien tly ,
A. 0 . H U M E.
F R O M T H E O S O P H Y TO S H A K E S P E A R E .
[W e have received a very interesting letter fr o m M r. H enry
G. A tkinson,-now in Boulogne, F rance. /Is th is excellent
and most esteemed gentlem an seems to labour under
certain erroneous imjiression/s w ith regard to Theosophy
and its prom oters, he w ill pardon us if, in p u b lish in g
his rem arks tve explain to him his m ista kes.— E d.]
I fo rw ard ed th e (M a rc h ) Theosophist to P ro fesso r
T yndall as req u ested . . . I have show n y o u r re m a rk s in
the Jo u rn a l to several persons, an d we all feel su rp rised
th a t you should n o t h av e accep ted th e P ro fe sso r’s o b ser­
vation as a com plim ent,* lie not co n sid erin g th e article
(o be exactly in y our special line of en q u iries, as show ing
* A s f o u n d in M r. A t k i n s o n ’s l e t t e r , t o t h e P h i lo s o p h ic I n q u i r e r , t h o m a y e x p l a i n , p e r h a p s , w h y t h e o c c u l t i s t s u n i l n o t g i v e o n t t h e i r e v e n
w o r d s q u o t e d b y h im f r o m P r o f e s s o r T y n d a l l ’s n o t e w i t h r e g a r d t o
t h e T h c o s o p h i s t s d i d n o t s o « n d “ c o m p l i m e n t a r y ” in t h o l e a s t . If,
h o w e v e r , n o o f f e n s iv e m e a n i n g w a s i m p l i e d in t h o w o r d s " to o s t i f f , ” t h e
T h e o s o p h i s t s h a v e b a t t o a p o l o g iz e f o r t h e i r o b t n s e n e s s , a n d — t o f e e l
d e l ig h te d o f c o u rs e , to h a v e b e e n n o tic c d a t a l l b y th i s g r e a t m a n o f
s c ie n c e . T h e y h a v e a n e x c u se , h o w e v e r, fo r a n y e x c e ss o f s e n s itiv e n e s s ,
in t l i e r e c o l l e c t i o n o f a c e r t a i n o t h e r a n d s u p e r l a t i v e l y p n n g e n t r e m a r k
m a d e b y P r o f e s s o r T y n d a l l , a f e w y e a r s a g o , in h i s B e l f a s t a d d r e s s , i f
w c r e m e m b e r r ig h t ly . A n u n g e n e ro u s a d je c tiv e w h ic h w e m a y n o t
r e p e a t , w a s a d d e d t o a n d f lu n g b y h im , i n t h e f a c e o f s p i r i t u a l i s m i n t h a t
f a m o u s a d d r e s s . T h u s t h e T h e o s o p h i s t s w h o 'a r e a l m o s t o s h e t e r o d o x a s
t h e S p i r i t u a l i s t s , a n d i n c l u d i n g i n t h e i r r a n k s a n n m b e r o f v e r y w e ll
k n o w n p e rs o n s of t h a t f a ith h a d a c e rta in r ig h t to f e a r th e y m ig h t b e
c o m p lim e n te d in th o s a m e w a y . W e re P r o f e s s o r T y n d a ll a s im p le
m o r t a l , n o o n e w o u l d t a k e g r e a t n o ti c e o f h i s w o r d s . B e in g , w h a t h e
is, h o w o v e r , o n e o f t h e g r e a t e s t , i f n o t t h e g r e a t e s t m a n o f s c i e n c e in
K n ro p e , w h a t e v e r h o s a y s a b o u t n s i s o f t h e h i g h e s t c o n s e q u e n c e t o t h e
T h e o s o p h is ts w h o h o ld t r u e s c ie n c e a b o v e a l l in th i s w o rld o f e r r o r — E d
yo u r freedom an d b re a d th of view. W h y th e re should
be any m y stery in re sp ec t to m em bership and th e deeds
an d doings of yo u r m em bers, I cannot conceive ; it
rem inds one of P y th a g o ra s and his secret cave,* and
why you should consider m esm erism to be an occult and
sec re t science is beyond my com prehension.?- Can a n y o n e
science be m ore occult or secret th a n a n o th e r ?J I have
been m uch en g a g e d w ith m esm erism or anim al m ag n e­
tism ; b u t it n e v er o ccurred to me th a t th e re was an y
th in g p a rtic u la rly occult or secret about it. T hose w ords
w ould n o t a t any ra te equally apply to any science, from
astronom y to ch em istry and electricity, &c. O ur ob ject
should be to reduce “ w o nders” to plain th in g s, n o t to
inflate plain th in g s into w onders.If Of course, th e re is
in one sense m y stery a tta c h e d to all n a tu ra l actio u , and
from th e atom s to th e sun shining, and from th e su b ­
stance in m otion to its fe e lin g , th in k in g an d a p p re h e n d ­
in g ; and th e idea of a n o th e r person— called th e soul—
w ithin th e person visible, does n o t explain any th in g
m ore th a n th a t th e m em ory a n d sense of id e n tity is p e r­
p etu ally tra n sfe rre d by an anim al m agnetic rule to th e
new m a tte r w ith b o th m an, b ea st, b ird or fish. B u t th ero
is n o th in g m ore occult or secret a b o u t th a t th a n
ab o u t g ra v ita tio n , w h a t N ew ton would n o t a tte m p t to
account for, th e rule b e in g all to be know n or conceived
of it. P ro fesso r B lack ie in his h isto ry of m aterialism or
ath eism p ro n o u n c in g a g a in s t P ro fesso r T y n d all and m y­
self says, if all p h en o m en a w hatsoever, w ith B acon, is to
be re fe rred to m a tte r as th e com m on source of all, and as
old T im on of A th e n s in th e p lay — b egins his fam ous
u tte ra n c e w ith ‘ com m on m o th e r th o u ,’ w hilst he d ig s—
th e n T y n d all is r ig h t, he says, to fix a new definition to
m a tte r and it is th is. “ I f these sta te m e n ts sta rtle , it is
because m a tte r has been defined and m aligned by philo­
sophers a n d th eo lo g ian s w ho w ere equally unaw are th a t
it is a t b o tto m , esse n tially m ystical an d tra n sc e n d e n tal.” ||
* W c c a n f i s s u r e o u r e s t e e m e d c o r r e s p o n d e n t t h a t h e is q u i t e m is*
ta k e n . T h e r e is n o “ m y s t e r y ” i n e i t h e r t h e m e m b e r s h i p o r “ t h e d e e d s
a n d d o in g s ” o f o n r m e m b e r s a s T h e o s o p h is ts . W ith t h e e x c e p tio n o f
c e r ta in s im p le p a s s - w o r d s , e tc ., g iv e n a t th e tim e w h e n a c a n d id a te f o r
f e l l o w s h i p is r e c e i v e d i n t o t h o S o c i c t y , a n d a n e c e s s a r y c o n v e n i e n c e in
s o p o l y g l o t a n a s s o c i a t i o n a s o u r s , t h e r e is n o t h i n g s e c r e t i n i t , w h a t s o ­
e v e r, a n d if th e p a s s w o rd s a n d g r ip a r e n o t d iv u lg e d to th e g e n e ra l
p u b li c , i t is s i m p l y t o p r o t e c t o u r m e m b e r s f r o m b e i n g im p o s e d n p o n b y
s o m e u n p r i n c i p l e d t r a v e l l i n g o u t s i d e r s , w h o m i g h t o t h e r w i s e c l a im
h e lp fro m , a n d a b u s e t h e c o n f i d e n c e o f, t h e ‘‘ u n i v e r s a l B r o t h e r ­
h o o d ” n n d e r a p le a o f F e llo w s h ip . T h e r e is a s m a ll f r a c tio n in th e
S o c i e t y o f t h o s e w h o s tc id y t h o o c c u l t s c i e n c e s — a n d w h o s e n u m ­
b e r h a r d l y a m o u n t s t o | p e r c e n t o f t h o w h o le g r o u p o f F e llo w s * T h e s e
c e r t a i n l y h a v e t h e i r s e c r e t s a n d w ill n o t g i v e t h e m o u t. B n t i t is*
u n f a i r t o v i s i t t h o s in ( i f s in i t is ) o f t h e v e r y f e w u p o n t h o w h o le S o c i c t y
w h ic h i n I n d i a a n d C e y l o n a l o n e h a s a l r e a d y 6 7 B r a n c h S o c ie tie s *
a n d m o s t of w h o se F e llo w s n e v e r g a v e a th o u g h t e v e n to m e s m e r is m —
l e t a lo n e th e s e c r e t s c ic n c c s .— E d .
f A g a in M r . A t k i n s o n l a b o u r s u n d e r a n e r r o n e o u s i m p r e s s i o n . N o o n e
in o n r S o c i e t y c o n s i d e r s “ m e s m e r i s m p e r s e a n o c c u l t a n d s e c r e t,
s c i e n c e , ” t h o u g h i t is a n i m p o r t a n t f a c t o r in o c c u l t i s m ; l e a s t o f a l l h a s
o u r r r e s id e n t- F o u n d e r tr e a te d it a s a m y s te r y , fo r, a s o u r c o rre s p o n ­
d e n t m a y s e e f o r h im s e lf in th e S u p p le m e n ts o f o u r jo u r n a l f o r M a rc h ,
A p r i l , M a y , J u n e , a n d J u l y , w h i l e h e a l i n g tl i c s i c k o n h is t o u r i n t.h e
B e n g a l P r e s i d e n c y . C o l. O l c o t t m a d e i t a p o i n t t o t e a c h p u b l i c l y m e s ­
m e r is m to tlie r e s p e c t a b le m e d ic a l a n d o th e r m e m b e r s o f o n r v a rio u s
S o c ie tie s , a n d e v e n i n s t r n c t e d i n i t q u a l if ie d o u t s i d e r s . — E d .
J S o m e o f th e d is c o v e rie s o f c e r t a in s c ic n c e s — s u c h a s c h e m is tr y a n d
p h y s i c a l s c i e n c e — o u g h t t o h a v e b e e n k e p t “ o c c u l t , ” a t a n y r a t e . I t is
v e r y q u e s tio n a b le w h e th e r t h e s c c r e ts o f g u n p o w d e r, n itro -g ly c e rin e ,
d y n a m ite a n d th e lik e , h a v o m o re b e n e fitte d th a n w ro n g e d h u m a n ity ;
a t le a s t th e y o u g h t to h a v e b e e n w ith h e ld f r o m th e k n o w le d g e o f th e
ig n o r a n t a n d n n p r in c ip le d p o rtio n s o f m a n k in d . S u c h , a t le a s t, w as
t h o o p in i o n o f F a r a d a y , a n d s o m e o t h e r g r e a t m e n o f s c ie n c e - A n d t h i s
m o r e p e r ilo u s s e c r c ts p r o m is c u o u s ly .— E d.
Q u ite so ; a n d th e r e f o r e , th o le a d e r s o f th o S o c ie ty d o t h e ir b e s t to
u p r o o t s u p e r s tit io n a n d p r o v e to t h e i r m e m b e r s t h a t s in c e s u c h a th i n g
a s m ir a c le i s a n i m p o s s i b i l i t y a n d b e l i e f i n i t a n a b s u r d i t y , t h e m o s t
w o n d e rfu l p h e n o m e n a , i f g e n u in e , m u s t h a v e a n a t u r a l e x p la n a tio n ,
h o w e v e r o c c u lt th e a g e n c y b e h in d th e m m a y s e e m a t p r e s e n t .— E d .
j| P r o f e s s o r T y n d a l l w a s a n t i c i p a t e d i n h i s o p in i o n o n m a t t e r b y
m o s t o f th e g r e a t P liilo s o p e r a o f I n d ia . P e r h a p s M r . A t k i n s o n is n o t
a w a r e t h a t t h e E a s t e r n O c c u l t i s t s h o l d t h a t t h e r e is b u t o n e e l e m e n t in
t l i e u n i v e r s e — i n f i n i t e , u n c r e a t e d a n d i n d e s t r u c t i b l e — m a t t e r ; w h ic h
e l e m e n t m a n i f e s t s i t s e l f i n s e v e n s t a t e s — f o u r o f w h ic h a r e n o w k n o w n
t o m o d e rn s c ie n c e , a n d w h ic h in c lu d e th e s t a t e o f R a d ia n t m a tte r d is ­
c o v e r e d b y M r . C r o o k e s , a n d t h a t t h r e e a r e t o b e y e t d i s c o v e r e d i n tlie
W e s t. S p ir it is t h e h ig h e s t s t a t e o f t h a t m a t t e r th e y s a y , s in c e t h a t
w h i c h is n e i t h e r m a t t e r n o r a n y o f i t s a t t r i b u t e s i s — n o t h i n g . W e w o u ld
r e c o m m e n d in r e f e r e n c e to th i s q u e s tio n th e p e r u s a l o f a n a rtic le
h e a d e d “ W h a t i s F o r c e a n d w hafc i s M a t t e r p” i n t h e S e p t e m b e r N o .
o f t h e T h e o s o p h is t , 1 8 8 2 ,— E d s
 Y ou m ay call it occult if you please, b u t tlie sam e applies The g reat power for good which has attended the nam e
to all conditions an d to all enquiries, a n d from th e g ro w th of Jesus on this earth, * cannot be the work of mere chance;
of a b lad e of g rass to th e fo rm atio n of a com plex c o rre ­ nor, on the other hand, caused solely by the exaggerated
late d organ ism , does it n o t ? attributes ascribed to him by the false teachings of a design­
. . . . W e are now re d u c in g th e m arvellous into a ing and m istaken priesthood. May it not rath er be said
plain m a tte r. to be the result of the divine “ K arina” of a life devoted to
P ope in h is preface to his m ag n ificen t ed itio n of the service of his fellow men ?
And, again, would it be amiss to say th at it is the result also
S h ak esp ea re a f te r all his praise a n d fine criticism e x ­
of the w atchfulness of his uplifted Spirit since his death,
presses h is asto n ish m e n t in these w ords th is is p e r­ over the evolution of succeeding races ; and th at he has been
fectly a m a z in g from a m an of no ed u c a tio n o r e x p e ri­ still helpful to hum anity, so far as th a t is possible for one
ence of tho se g r e a t an d public scenes of life, w hich are who is now, I presume, in N irvana ?
usually th e su b je c t of his th o u g h ts ; so th a t he seem s to I would also ask (if such an enquiry be perm itted) w hat
have know n th e w o rld by in tu itio n , to h av e looked is the exact position given to Jesus, by the Mahatmas, in th e
th ro u g h hu m an n a tu re a t one g lance, an d to be th e only sacred order of adepts departed from the earth .f Do they
au th o r th a t g iv es g ro u n d for a very new opinion— th a t give him the same ran k as B uddha ? Did lie too obtain to
the ph ilo so p h er an d even tlie m an of th e w orld, m ay be the glory of the sixth Round by the same mysterious process
born as w ell as th e p o e t.” T h e sam e a sto n ish m e n t is as B uddha ? W ould Jesus now be term ed (by our Masters,
expressed by all th e g re a t w riters on S h a k e sp e a re for who absolutely hnow these facts, and whose reply, fo r me,
would be conclusive) a Dhyan Chohan, a Buddha, or a
300 years. B u t a sh o rt w hile ag o , lo a n d b ehold, in a
Planetary S pirit P A nd is he now, with beings of his order,
publication of B acon— “ Prom us, o r C ollection of fine interested or concerned at all with the progress of hum anity
T h o u g h ts an d S a y in g s— 1G80 e n trie s ,” a n d th e se in one on the earth ?J
form or o th er, are 4,400 tim es in tro d u c e d in to th e plays, If an answer to these questions be perm itted, it will be a
a proof positiv e th a t th e laborious g e n iu s B acon was tlie source of deep gratitude to your enquirer to have them con­
real a u th o r of th e play s, an d all th e su p e rn a tu ra l w onder sidered.
and m y stery is a t an end ! P o o r ig n o ra n t S h a k e sp e are I cannot close my letter w ithout some expression of the
never h a d a book in his possession, n e v e r w rote a line unbounded adm iration and gratitude which wells up in my
in his life ! heart in contemplation of the beautiful work of Koot Hoomi
T yndall is b e tte r in h e a lth , sleeps b e t t e r ; he is a for us W esterns ; who, b u t for his enlightened wisdom, would
laborious w o rk er an d a fine genius. have been left in the darkness of ignorance as regards the
treasures of knowledge in the keeping of the M ahatmas, and
V e ry sincerely, which they, wisely enough, have held heretofore looked up
H E N R Y J . A T K IN S O N . from m ankind. W ith the clear-seeings of a wisdom truly
M ay 10 th , 1883, divine, our brother Koot Hoomi has perceived the capacity
H otel de la G ak e , of some minds iu the W est, to receive this knowledge ; and
B o u lo g n e -S ur -M e r , F r a n c e .
with th at lovo for the “ great orphan” hum anity, which ho
has so eloquently expressed in his letters to Mr. Sinnett,
(“ Occult W orld”), he has bcnefieiently exerted himself to
T H E STA TU S O F JE S U S . turn in our direction the pure waters which flow from tho
only real fountain of T ruth on the whole earth. I trn st
I I nnull the teachings of the beneficent and sublime Wisdom that, w ith the power which, I presume, he possesses, of
-7—Religion now being given forth by th e blessed M ahatmas, scanning spiritaally a large portion of the minds of meu, he
one learns to place even the w orld’s G reat Ones in the lig h t has long ere this reaped a rew ard for his blessed work in tho
of Ti'uth ; w here the meretricious greatness caused to grow certainty th a t there are souls in the W est, now drinking in
up around them by the delusion of ignorance, and the en­ these holy w aters with the avidity of a lo n g thirst. He has
thusiasms of fanaticism, sink away into insignificance before bridged over the necessity for those cyclic Rounds which are
the glories of their true status,—the achievem ent, through a still the destiny ef his more plodding fellow-beings, and is
more rapid evolution, of souls who have gone in advance already glorified in his adeptship and by th a t beauty of a
of the plodding millions more laggard in the race. complete and perfectly rounded hum an nature which shines
In th a t light, the G reat Theurgist, upon whose life and forth through his letters ; but the greater glory of this noble
teachings the Christian Religion has been founded, becomes work for hum anity is to be added to it, and already its rays
one of a group of A vatars ; a Brotherhood deserving the
encompass him in the sight of his humble adm irers, and, so
dignity of being lifted to the rank of Gods and sublime in far as they can be, followers. One, at least, would lay at his
the com paratively isolated g ran d eu r of th a t divine exalta­ feet a tribute of grateful thanks, which E ternity itself will
tion. not suffice to exhaust.
Jesus had a message to give to the world as one of these
V ER A , F. T, S
divine souls, and it was like th a t of a “ son of God” descend­ E n g la n d , A p ril 30th, 1883.
ing to earth and becoming man to save man. F or Jesus
w a s a son of God, but not as the m ajority of Christians be­
* I l e a v e o n t o f q u e s t i o n t h e p e v t id io a a p r o f a n a t i o n o f h i s n a m e in
lieve him to have been. So also was B uddha ; and so also
( li e ir e v il a c t i o n s b y m a n y w h o c a l l t h e m s e l v e s C h r i s t i a n s .
are some now upon th e earth, who are giving forth their f T h e p o s i t i o n T hey g i v e t o J e s n s , a s f a r a s w o k n o w , is t h a t o f a
messages to save man. g r e a t a n d p n r e m a n , a r e f o r m e r w h o w o u ld f a i n h a v o l i v e d b u t w h o
To truly accept the teachings of Theosophy is to lose all h a d to d ie f o r t h a t w h ic h h e r e g a r d e d a s th e g r e a t e s t b ir t h .r ig h t o f
bigotry and sectarianism ; to feel th a t there is only one m a n — a b s o lu te L i b e r t y o f c o n s c i e n c e ; o f a n a d e p t w h o p r e a c h e d a
faith in which all men should be united ; to weed out re- u n i v e r s a l R e l i g i o n k n o w i n g o f , a n d h a v i n g n o o t h e r '* t e m p l e o f G o d ”
b u t m a n h i m s e l f ; t h a t o f a n o b l e T e a c h e r o f e s o t e r i c t r u t h s w h ic h h e
luctlessly the falsities which have overgrown the fundam en­ h a d n o t i m e g i v e n to h im t o e x p l a i n ; t h a t , o f a n i n i t i a t e w h o r e c o g n i z e d
tal tru th s of all religions ; to recognise th a t one unbroken n o d iffe re n c e — s a v e th e m o r a l o n e — b e tw e e n m e n ; w h o r e j e c t e d c a s t e ,
light shines out from a l l ; and th a t there should be no a u d d e s p is e d w e a lth ; a u d w h o p r e f e r r e d d e a th r a t h e r th a n to re v e a l
separation of the peoples of the earth into sects. th e s e c r e ts o f in itia tio n . A n d w h o , f i n a l l y , li v e d o v e r a c e n t u r y b e f o r u
So effectually has my mind been thus tutored w ithin the th e y e a r o f o u r v u lg a r , so c a lle d , C h r is ti a n e r a .
X W e d o n o t k n o w w h ic h o f t h e B u d d h a s o u r c o r r e s p o n d e n t is t l i i n k i g
paat four years, th at although I am more than ever im ­ o f , f o r t h e r e w e r e m a n y “ B u d d h a s ” ? T h e y r e c o g n i z e in h i m ono
pressed by the divine beauty, which throughout the greater o f th e “ E n l ig h te n e d ” h e n c e in th i s s e n s o a B u d d h a ; b u t th e y d o u o t
part of my life I attributed to Jesus as to God, yet in the r e c o g n i z e J e s u s a t a l l i n t h o C h r i s t o f t h e G o s p e ls . S u c h q u e s t i o n s ,
light of the knowledge I have derived from Theosophy, I h o w e v e r, c a n h a r d l y b e a n s w e r e d in a p u b lic jo u r n a l. O ur c o rre s­
cannot now rank him higher than Buddha. p o n d e n t s e e m s t o b e i g n o r a n t o f t h e f a c t , t h a t t h o n g h w e li v e i u T n d ia ,
s u r r o u n d e d b y 2 5 0 m illio n s o f h u m a n b e iu g s , w h o se d e v o tio n a n d
I do not think, however, although I may be m istaken, th a t r e v e r e n c e t o t h e i r r e s p e c t i v e a v a t a r s a n d g o d s is n o t lo s s i n t e n s e o r
Buddha can be so greatly beloved, by his followers, as is s iu c e ro th a n t h a t o f th e h a n d f u l o f C h r is tia n s w h o g ra c o th is e o n n t r y
Jesus,—or th at his name inspires so m uch enthusiasm and t o t h e i r S a v i o u r , y e t w liilo i t is d e e m e d r e s p e o t a b l e a n d l a w f u l t o l a u g h
devotion. The long procession of m artyrs, who we may say a t a n d a b u s e b y w o r d , a n d i n s u l t in p r i n t e v e r y o n e o f t h e g o d s o f o u r
died for the love of Jesus, is, so far as I know, unknown in h e a th e n B r o th e r s , t h a t jo u r n a l w h o w o u ld p r e s u m e to d e n y t h e G o d -
s h i p o f J e s u s a n d s p e a k o f h i m a s h o w o u ld o f B u d d h a o r C h r i s h n a ,
the history of Buddhism.* w o u ld i m m e d i a t e l y lo s o c a s t e a n d h a v e a h u e a n d c r y r a i s o d a g a i n s t
* “ T h e r e is o f t e n g r e a t e r m a r t y r d o m to li v e f o r t h e lo v o o f , w h e t h e r i t b y i t s C h r i s t i a n s u b s c r i b e r s . S u c h a r e C h r i s t i a n id e a s o f j u s t i c e a n d
>11a n o r a n id e a l , t h a n to d i e f o r i t is a m o t t o o f t h e M o h a tn ia B .— E d , " B ro th e r h o o d ,— E d .
 ,f U N D E R T I I E S H A D O W O F G R E A T N A M E S .”
I n tlie M arch issue of y o u r Jo u rn a l you p u b lish som e
re m ark s upon tra n c e u tte ra n c e s w hich w ere, you say,
p ro m p ted “ b y a convincing d e m o n stra tio n , b y th e
R eligio-P h ilo so p h ical Jo u rn a l, th a t a re c e n t tra n c e a d ­
d ress by our dear deceased frie n d E p e s S a rg e n t th ro u g h
a c ertain m edium was a sh eer fa b ric a tio n .” To th e o rd i­
n a ry read er these w ords b e a r b u t one in te rp re ta tio n ,
nam ely, th a t th e com m unication re fe rre d to w as a fo r­
g ery , an d I acco rd in g ly ad o p t th is, th o u g h if in te n d e d
to convey an y different m ean in g . I shall be p leased to
hear w h at it is. M y claim to ad d ress you on th e su b jec t
is b ased u p o n th e g ro u n d th a t fo r th e la s t seven y e ars I
have in tim a te ly k n ow n th e m edium , M r. G eo rg e S p rig g s,
in business, social, an d p riv a te life, have w atch ed th a
developm ent of his pow ers from th e first, an d have re ­
corded from p e rso n a l o bservation m uch of th e p henom ena
m anifested th ro u g h his m edium ship. H e is re fe rre d to
favorably b y M r. W . H . T e rry , F . T . S ., in P a r t I I of
“ F ra g m e n ts of O ccult T r u th ,” an d you m ay accep t m y
assurance, b a se d upon an in tim ate kno w led g e of his ch a­
ra cter, th a t he is in capable of th e a c t a ttrib u te d to him .
F u rth e r, it is needful fo r y o u r in fo rm atio n to sta te th a t
th e b rief m essag e w hich you have d ig n ified b y th e title s
“ a d d ress” an d “ o ra tio n ” was b u t one in a series of about
one h u n d re d an d six ty received from v ario u s p riv a te in ­
dividuals, m ostly perso n s who h a d liv ed in th is, or some
neig h b o u rin g c o lo n y ; th a t th e y w ere all received a t
private s ittin g s , th e only p erso n p re s e n t b eside th e
m edium b e in g M r. J o h n C arson, (long an d h onorably
know n in connection w ith th e S p iritu a listic M ovem ent,
and held in th e g re a te s t re sp e c t b y his fellow citizens for
his s tric t in te g rity , clear h ead ed n ess, an d o th e r ex cellent
qualities w hich have been m an ifested th ro u g h o u t a long
and useful career) who a c te d as am an u en sis ; th a t th ese
sittin g s w ere co n d u cted b y him w ith th e g re a te s t care in
re g a rd to n ecessary conditions for secu rin g accuracy, of
th e im portauco of w hich conditions lo n g ex p erien ce had
assu red him ; th a t only in a few in sta n c e s was a th ird
p a rty p re se n t ; th a t it was his h a b it d u rin g a s ittin g to
keep his m ind b la n k an d free from e x p e c ta tio n ; th a t
seldom or n ev er u n til th e conclusion of a m essag e did lie
g ain any in k lin g of th e nam e ; th a t th ese s ittin g s w ere
com m enced v ery sh o rtly a fto r th e m ed iu m ’s a rriv a l in
the colony ; th a t m essage a fte r m essage cam e, accom pa­
nied by nam es a n d p a rtic u la rs w hich b y th e v ery circu m ­
stances of th e case, re la tin g as th ey o ften d id to d ista n t
p a rts of A u stralasia, m u st have been fo re ig n to th e m ind
of tho m edium , an u tte r s tra n g e r to th e co u n try ; th a t in
m any cases th e p a rtic u la rs com m unicated w ere also u n ­
know n to th e ouly o th e r p erson p re se n t, M r. C arson, wlio
afterw ard s on iu q u iry found th em to b e co rrect ; tb a t
o u t of n in ety different persons who h a d com m unicated up
to A u g u st 1882 th e sm all p ro p o rtio n of fo u r w ere know n
to th e m edium , th ir ty to M r. C arson, w hile fifty-six w ere
unknow n to b o th , an d sixty-tw o com m unications had
been verified ; a n d th a t in th e usual course th is m essage,
accom panied b y th e nam e “ E p e s S a rg e n t” cam e along,
and was duly p u b lish ed as m any o th e rs w ith m ore
obscure nam es h a d b een before it. I h av e M r. C arson’s
assurance th a t th e sta te m e n ts above m ad e co n cern in g
t he m ethod a n d re su lts of th ese s ittin g s a re c o rre c t, b u t
iu addition, a t iny re q u e st, he h as a p p e n d e d a note
a tte s tin g th ereto .
N ow , tho E d ito r of th e R . P . Jo u rn a l, th o u g h in his
hostile criticism s he is n ev er rem a rk a b le fo r m oderation,
is y e t gracio u s enough to say, th a t “ becau se m uch of
t he p ro d u c t of tra n c e is n o t w hat it p u rp o rts to be, it
does n o t n ecessarily follow th a t th e sen sitiv e is d is­
honest.’’ A p p a re n tly , how ever, y o u r p h ilosophy h as no
room for an y o th e r a lte rn a tiv e to ab so lu te g en u in eness
th a n “ sheer fa b ric a tio n s.” P a rd o n m e if I su g g e st th a t
th e solution of th e pro b lem s em braced in th e se do­
m ains will scarcely b e h elp ed b y h a sty im p u tatio n s.
T here is no n ecessity fo r them . IE v e ry re a d e r of th is
JSpea S a rg e n t m essag e is a fte r a ll le ft free to exercise
his or h er ju d g m e n t upon th e points tre a te d of therein,
an d if it should b e found th a t a tran ce u tte ran ce differs
in various p o in ts from th e exp ressed an te m ortem opi­
nions of th e in d ividual w hose nam e accom panies it th a t
in th e first place does n o t n ecessarily disprove its
genuineness, since it m ay only in d icate a c h an g e in
opinion con seq u en t upon view ing m atters from a vastly
different sta n d p o in t, an d in any ev e n t only adds ano­
th e r fea tu re to an im p o rta n t psychological problem .
I feel sure th a t y o u r re g a rd for fair play will prom pt
you a t le a st to allow space w ithin yo u r pag es for this
p ro te s t a g a in s t yo u r decision.
Y ours &c.,
M e l b o u r n e , 12th A p r il 1883. A. J . SM A R T .
C lu th a ,
K ew , V ic t o b ia , 23rd A p r il 1883.
A . J . S m a r t , E s q .,
H a v in g called m y a tte n tio n to an article reflectin g on
th e c h a ra c te r of your frie n d M r. S p rig g s, pub lish ed in
th e Theosophist,* a n d show n me yo u r le tte r to the
E d ito r of th a t J o u rn a l in referen ce th e reto . W h ile I
should m uch p refe r th a t m y nam e had been re fe rred to
in less fla tte rin g term s, I can conscientiously confirm all
you say of M r. S p rig g s. H a v in g know n him in B rita in
a n d this c o u n try fo r th e la st four years, a n d for two
y ears of th a t tim e h a v in g h ad sittin g s w ith him , as a
rule, tw ice a w eek in m y office by ourselves. T he only
exceptions b e in g w hen one of iny sons, a m erch an t in
S ydney, an d o th e r th ree g en tlem en w ere a d m itte d , one
a t a tim e, tw o of th ese w ere clergym en.
A la rg e ex p erien ce w ith m edium s in th e U n ited
S ta te s, E u ro p e an d A u stra lia — and a caution— n a tu ra l
to those b o rn n o rth of th e T w eed, w ith a tra in in g of
several years of m y y o u th on th e b a n k s of th e M ohaw k
R iver, N . Y ., enables m e to sit w ith m edium s in such
fram e of m ind, as allows th e control if any to have full
an d free p lay , uninfluenced in any w ay by me never
a n tic ip a tin g o r h elp in g in th e sm allest degree, a n d
w ith M r. S p rig g s ra re ly m a k in g a rem a rk till all th a t was
to be w ritte n down was finished— in th is m an n er am ongst
th e nearly tw o h u n d re d m essages obtained. T hero were
m any from all so rts an d conditions of m en, women and
ch ildren g iv in g te s t of a know ledge of m a tte rs quite out
of tho reach of th e m edium or th e w riter.
A n d as fo r any desire to p arad e G rea t N am es, tho
ex-Policem au, th e B a k e r’s W ife , th e S h oem aker’s Child,
cam e as freely, an d w h at th e y h ad to say was ta k e n
down as fully a n d pub lish ed as readily, if of in te re st, as
th a t of any otlier b e tte r know n individual ; b u t as you
have said I seldom knew who w as co n tro llin g till a t the
conclusion th e nam e was given
B u t is it of th e slig h te st use to give any p a rticu la rs
of these sittin g s to th o se se t a g a in st them . I followed
tho au th o r of “ P eo p le from th e o th e r W o rld ” to the
F a rm H ouse in V e rin o n t, an d w hen afterw ard s I g o t his
book, I failed to see th a t he h ad m ade any th in g of
th e m a tte rs lie saw one w ay o r o th er. W h a t is m ost con­
vincing to one is q u ite th e reverse to an o th e r. A s an
in stan ce. A M elbourne clerg y m an who was unknow n to
m e, who h a d died w hile M r. S p rig g s an d th e w rite r w ere
in E n g la n d , cam e a n d gave me a m essage fo r his wife,
te llin g th e su b sta n ce of th e la st conversation h e had
w ith her w hen alone the la s t hour he was w ith her in
th e body, g iv in g his nam e, th e n u m ber and add ress of the
house he lived in (not th e one his fam ily w ere in a t this
tim e), w hen tlie m essage was ta k e n to his widow she
said “ T his is very stra n g e H ow could you know this ?
b u t I can n o t b elie v o th at any one can come b ack . I will
* \V e r e f e r t h e r e a d e r t o t h e M a r c h T h e o s o p h is t ( 1 8 8 3 , p . 1 3 7 ) a n d
l e a v e h i m t o j u d g e ■ w h e th e r t h e a r t i c l e U n d e r th e S h a d o w o f G re a t
N a m e s , ” r e fle c ts i n t h e l e a s t w a y o n t h e c h a r a c t e r o f .........M r. S p r i g g s ”
s in c e n o n a m e is m e n tio n e d . T h e S p i r i t u a l i s t i c J o u r n a l s h a v e o f te n
d r a g g e d in f n ll th e w e ll-k n o w n n a m e s o f c e r t a in T h e o s o p h is ts , a n d h a v e
r e p e a t e d l y d o n e m o r e t h a n r e fl e c t o n t h e i r p r i v a t e c h a r a c t e r — a n d t h e n
n s o f te n r e f u s e d to p u b li s h a r e c tif ic a tio n . W h y n o t h av e a d d ressed
t h e a b o v e l e t t e r s t o t h e R e lig i o P h i lo s o p h ic a l J o u r n a l f r o m w h i c h th $
r e m a r k s a g a i n s t t h e m e d i u m w e r e t a k e n p— E d ,
n o t a c c e p t tlie m essage.*’ T h e c le rg y m a n cam e a g a in
apologised to th e m e sse n g e r for th e recep tio n he h a d
received,an d said it w as only w h a t he m ig h t e x p e c t as he
had se t his fam ily an d c o n g re g a tio n a g a in s t all in v e sti­
g a tio n of s p irit com m union. '
B efo re closing I m ust ad d th a t M r. S p rig g s h as n ev er
ta k e n th e position of a p aid m edium , b u t has fu lly given
hia w onderful pow ers for th e g o o d of th e cause.
Y oura fa ith fu lly , ' im p lied in a n y one of th e m .
' . JO H N CARSON.
E d ito r 's N o te . — O u r l o v e f o r “ f a i r p l a y ” h a s n e v e r b e e n
d o u b t e d e v e n by those of o u r e n e m i e s w h o k n o w u s p e r s o n a l l y . N o r
is i t c o r r e c t t o s a y t h a t “ a p p a r e n t l y y o u r ( o u r ) p h i l o s o p h y h a s n o
room f o r a n y o t h e r a lte r n a tiv e to a b s o lu te g e n u in e n e s s th a n ‘ sh eer
fa b rica tio n for u n lik e sp iritu a lism , o u r p h ilo so p h y has th eo ries
t h a t c o v e r t h e g r o u n d a n d t h u s e x p l a i n m a n y a p p a re n t d e c e p t i o n s
o n t h e p a r t of m e d i u m s t h a t w o u l d o t h e r w i s e h a v e t o b e a t t r i b u t e d
to d ish o n e st fra u d . W e are sorry th a t o u r A u s tra lia n co rre sp o n ­
d e n t s h a d to p u t th e m s e lv e s to t h e tr o u b le of d e f e n d i n g th e
p riv ate c h a ra c te r of M r. S p rig g a , th e m ed iu m , since no one
t h o u g h t o f a ttaching h i m , n o r w a s h e e v e n m e n t i o n e d i n o u r
e d i t o r i a l b y n a m e . !i h e r e m a r k s i n i t w e r e a b s o l u t e l y i m p e r s o n a l
h en ce th e re w as no need for such an em p h a tic defence. H o w ev er,
to p r o v e t h a t we a r e n o t a lo n e fair, b u t e v e r r e a d y to re c o g n iz e
tru e m e rit au d give it an a d v e r tis e m e n t— we h av e p u b lish e d both
l e t t e r s v erb a tim e v e n w i t h t h e i r d i s c o u r t e o u s r e m a r k s . W e a r e
d e lig h te d to le a r n , a n d q u i t e r e a d y to believe, t h a t M r . S p r i g g a
is a m o s t h o n e s t g e n t l e m a n , w o r t h y o f t h e s t r o n g e s t e n c o m i u m s .
O u r s t r i c t u r e s w e r e a p p l i c a b l e t o a l a r g e c l a s s of m e d i u m s w h o
h av e fo r y ears been in flicting u po n th e w orld “ tra n c e ” ad d resses,
a rtic le s , p a m p h l e t s , books, a n d s c h e m e s of social r e fo r m , p r e t e n d ­
in g to e m a n a te fro m t h e g r e a t d e a d . M o d e r n S p i r i t u a l i s m is a
solem n a n d a m ig h t y q u e stio n , a n in flu e n ce w h ic h has no w p e r ­
m e a t e d t h e t h o u g h t of o u r a g e , a p r o b l e m w h i c h a t n o p r e v i o u s
tim e d u r in g th e p a s t th irty -tiv e y ears h a s occupied m o re able
m i n d s t h a n a t t h e p r e s e n t h o u r . I t is, h o w e v e r , w e i g h t e d d o w n
w i t h a m a s s of f a l s e a p p e a r a n c e s a n d u n t e n a b l e h y p o t h e s e s w h i c h
b r i n g r e p r o a c h u p o n it, b u t w h i o h w ill i n t i m e , w e b e l i e v e , y i e l d
t o m o r e c o r r e c t v i e w s of i t s p h e n o m e n a a s A s i a t i c p h i l o s o p h y , a n d
t h e f r u i t s of o c c u l t r e s e a r c h u p o n w h i c h i t r e s t s b e c o m e b e t t e r
know n. A m ong m ed iu m s who h ave u tte re d alleged co m m unications
f r o m t h e g r e a t d e p a r t e d t h e r e a r e t w o c l a s s e s , of w h o m o n e a r e
d e c e i v i n g , t h e o t h e r d e c e i v e d . I f t h e r e b e a t h i r d c l a s s of
m e d iu m s w ho h a v e in fa c t received th e ir in s p ir a tio n fro m g r e a t
s p i r i t s — t h e g r o u p is v e r y s m a l l , w e a r e p e r s u a d e d , i n c o m p a r i s o n
w i t h w h a t t h o f r i e n d s of m e d i u m s c l a i m . O u r T h e o s o p h i c a l d o c ­
t r i n e is t h a t o n e ia n e v e r s a f e i n a s c r i b i n g m e d i u m i s t i e c o m m u n i *
cations to a n y fo re ig n source u n til th e w o n d e rfu l in trin s ic c a p a ­
bilitie s of t h e h u m a n m in d i n c a r n a t e h a v e a ll b e e n t a k e n in to
a c c o u n t . S o , t o r e t u r n t o t h e c a s e iu p o i n t , w o w e r e p e r s u a d e d
ffo m a p erso n a l fam ilia rity w ith th e la te E p e s S a r g e n t , his q u a lity
of m i n d a u d w r i t i n g s , t h a t t h o m e s s a g e t h r o u g h M r , S p r i g g s w a s
not g e n u in e — n o t from S a r g o u t— b u t a “ fab rica tio n ” by so m e­
body o r so m e th in g . I t n ow w o u ld se e m t h a t w e m u s t look for
tho c u lp r it b e y o u d t h e g e n t l e m a n m e d iu m to hia “ c o n tr o l,” a
fa c t w e a r e g l a d to le a r n a u d to p u t u p o n reco rd .
THE P R IN C E CONVERT.
Office op tiie Republican.
F r e s n o , C a lif o r n ia , A p ril 12, 1883.
A llo w m e to c a ll y o u r a tte n tio n to t h e fo llo w in g n o tic e n o w
r u n n in g t h r o u g h all C h ristia n p a p e rs of U . S.
“ O n e o f t h e m o s t r e c e n t c o n v e r t s t o C h r i s t i a n i t y is P r i n o o
S a r d a n H e r m a n S i n g h , w h o is h e i r to o n e o f t h e r i c h e s t
p ro v in ces in N o r th e r n I n d ia . C o n v e rsio n in his case m e a n s
a m u c h g r e a t e r s a c r i f i c e t h a n is i n v o l v e d i n t h i s c o u n t r y ; f q r
S a r d a n H e r m a n S i n g h m u s t f o rf e it a ll c la im to h is w o r ld ly
e s t a t e s a n d b e c o m e a p o o r m a n . ” — Chicago Journal.
Is th e r e a n y t r u t h in it ? Y ours,
G U S T A V E IS E N .
E d i to r ’ s N o te — N e v e r l i e a r d o f s u c h a P r i n c e . T h o n a m e r e a d s lik e
t h a t o f a P u n j a b i D u t c h m a n . P e r h a p s lie i s r e l a t e d t o P r i n c e J a l r a a o f
K u g e n S u e ’s “ T h e W a n d e r i n g J o w ” ? I t m u s t b e a l i t t l e i n n o c e n t
r e p a r tie a, la M u n c h a u s e n , c o m i n g f r o m t h o g o o d M i s s i o n a r i e s . T h e y
a r o o f t e n c a u g h t f ib b i n g i n . t h i s w a y . W e k n o w o f S a n l a r l l a r b a n
S i n ^ h ,— H o n . I l a v b a n S a lia ia , o f A r r a h , a J a i n M e m b e r o f t h o V . R .
C o u n c il. U o t h o M i s s i o n a r i e s c l a i m h i m ? It' s o , l e t t h o A m e r i c a n
u d ito r a s k h im , th i s g e n t le m a n , w h a t h e t h i n k s o f th e p a d r is .
W H O IS A B R A H M IN ?
U n d er t h e h e a d in g “ L ig h t w a n te d ,” o n e of y o u r c o rre s­
p o n d e n t s i n t h e M a y N o . o f t h e Theosophist w a n t e d t o b o
i n f o r m e d w h e t h e r i n t h e Shastras a r e e n j o i n e d a n y c e r e m o ­
n i e s t o b e p e r f o r m e d b y “ a H i n d o o , h a v i n g g- oo d q u a l i t i e s , f o r
his r a i s i n g h i m s e l f f r o m a lo w c a s t e to b e c o m e a B r a h ­
m in fro m t h e H in d o o p o in t of v ie w .” A l t h o u g h a d m i t t i n g t h a t
t h e Shastras h a v e n o w h e r e c a t e g o r i c a l l y e n u m e r a t e d t h e
c crem o n io s w h ic h a lo w ca s te H in d o o m u s t p e r f o r m b e fo re ho
is a f l U l i a t e d b y t h o h i g h c u s t o B r a h x n i n f o r h i s p e r s o n a l
m e r i t , y e t I f i n d i n t h e Manu Sanhita a c e r t a i n e l o k a ,
a u t h o r i s i n g a S u d r a h a v i n g p e r s o n a l m e r i t to b e r a is e d to th p
s t a t u s o f a B r a h m i n , a n d t h e c o n v e r s e . T h u s t h e Sanhita a u t h o ­
rise s th e p ro m o tio n of a S u d r a to a B r a h m i n a n d th e d e g r a ­
d a tio n o f a B r a h m in to a S n d ra . E ls e w h e re in th e sam o
C o d e , a r e to b e f o u n d th e d istin c tiv e f e a tu re s of each of th o
four V arnas.
I n th e a b o v e slo k a s t h e p rofessions, p u r e a n d sim p le, of
e a c h o f t h e Varnas a r e p r e s c r i b e d . B u t t h e r e is n o h e r e d i t y
S o I d o n ’t s e e w h y a m a n f r o m
t h e lo w c a ste c a n n o t be ra is e d to b eco m e a B r a h m in p r o v id e d
h is q u a lific a tio n s e n title h i m to th e h ig h e r o rd e r. B e sid es
w e find in t h e M a h a b h a r a t a in s ta n c e s o f lo w c a s te m e n to
b e c o m e B r a h m i n s , n a y e v e n R i s h i s , e. </., V i s w a m i t r a , B a t s y a
S r a v a n a a n d h is p a r e n ts M a ta n g a R ish i (a C lia n d a l o rig i­
nally ). I n th e C h h a n d y o g y a U p a n is h a d , J a v a l, a n illeg iti­
m a t e so n , is r e p o r t e d to b e c o m e a B r a h m i n b y h i s p e r s o n a l
m erit. '
T h u s w e see in a n c i e n t I n d i a t h e c a ste s y s te m w a s n o t
m e a n t to be h e r e d i t a r y ,a n d a n y one, h o w e v e r lo w in th e sc ale
of S o ciety , co u ld b y d i n t of p e rso n a l m e r it a sc e n d to t h e to p ­
m ost ru n g jo f th e ladder. I t is u n f o r t u n a t e t h a t w e d e g e n e r a t e
A ry a n s h a v e lo st th e sp irit of th e L a w v a lu in g in o u r b lin d
zeal th e d e a d le tte r m o re t h a n it deserves.
B a r eil ly , ) S R I K H IR O D SARM A,
The \Qth May 1883. J A n uninitiated Theosophist. '
D E V A S D E F IN E D .
A F r e n c h edition of Colonel O lcott’s B u d d h ist C ate­
chism is in p re ss a t P a ris . T he T ran slatio n has been
m a d e b y M onsieur D . A . Courm es, P . T. S., of Toulon,
an officer of th e F re n c h N avy, an able sch o lar and
stu d e n t of O ccultism . C onceiving th a t it was b e st, iu
in tro d u c in g th e w ork to co n tin e n tal E u ro p e, th a t th ero
should be a fu ller definition of th e w ord “ D eva,” he has
req u e ste d Colonel O lco tt to ad d t h i s ; an d th e follow ing
no te for th e A p p en d ix was forw arded by th e la s t M ail :—■
“ T he w ord “ D eva” m ay be em ployed in e ith e r a re s­
tric te d or b ro a d e r sense : in th e form er case, i t w ould
-mean only th e bright (D iv , to shine) b ein g s of th e subjec­
tive side of n a tu re ; in th e o th er, it would include b o th tho
good and b a d . T h ese “ b e in g s” a re n o t all hum an souls
d is in c a rn a te ; n o r a ll sub-hum an en tities, evolved by
n a tu re in th e p ro g re ss of h e r lab o r to produce h u m an ity ;
b u t tliey are b o th . T he A siatics en u m erate countless
orders, races an d sub-races of them . T hey are tho
T h ro n es, P rin c ip a litie s an d P ow ers of th e B ib le ; tho
Y a k s h in i; P r e t a s ; B lm taa ; E lem e n tals (A suras, theso
a re said to be very m ischievous) ; th e V an a D evatas, or
H a m ad ray a d s ; th e Y a k sh a s, or G nom es, w hich g u ard
tre a su re s b u ried an d in m in e s ; &c., &c. H u m an o r
elem ental, good or b ad , b enevolent or cruel, g race fu l o r
m onstrous,— w h ate v er th e y are o r by w hatsoever narna
called, th e y a re as le g itim a te re su lts of tho e te rn al, cease­
lessly active law of evolution as th e p la n t or anim al ob­
scured and classified b y th e m odern philosopher. I f wo
w ere to a tte m p t to a rra n g e them along a g ra d u a te d scalo
of b ein g , we should havo to place th e elem ental sp irit
A su ra or Y a k sh in i a t th e Zero p o in t, a u d th e D h y an
C hohan, th e P la n e ta ry S p irit o r A n g e l— tlie ultirnato
developm ent of th e hum an e n tity before (as the H in d u s
w ould say) th e reunion of th e m onad w ith th e a l l , or
B n d d h istica lly sp e a k in g , the a tta in m e n t of P a ra n irv a n a
by th e p erfe cted A ra h a t— a t th e extrem e h ig h est degreo
on th e scale. T h e P h ilo so p h y of B uddhism th en , as ifc
ap p ears m ost plainly,, has no room fo r su p ern atu ralism
eith er in th e visible an d objective, or tho invisible au d
sub jectiv e side of th e U niverse. E very w h ere, a t every
sta g e, w h e th e r it be a question of th e n a tu re of ro c k o
m an, of m an o r D eva, it affirms th e re ig n of law and th r
unbroken sequence of cause an d effect.
------*------
E k r a t u m .— I n t h e s e c o n d p a r a g r a p h o f t h e f i r s t c o l u m n o n
p a g 'e 2 3 3 ( J u n e Theosophist) a n e r r o r o f t h e c o m p o s i t o r w a s
overlooked. T h e t e x t s h o u ld re a d “ w e sh a ll h a v e to s u p ­
pose t h a t th e firs t r a c e o f tlie 5 th R o u n d w ill c o m m e n c e a
s e c o n d t i m e o n A w h e n i t lia.s t h e 7 t h r a c e o f t h e . s a i d
R o u n d .” T h e p r i n t e r m a d e i t t h e sixth , i n p l a c e o f t h e fifth
round, ■
 B ^P^T ho f o llo w in g co rre ctio n s s h o u ld b e m a d e in th o
T h e o s o p h i s t f o r J u n e 1 8 8 3 , S u p p l e m e n t , p a g e 7, c o l u m n 2. T A B L E OP C O N T E N T S .
L in e 14 l<or B a b u K u n n e d C h a n d e s M o o k e r j e e , r e a d B a b u
K u m u d C h a n d o r M ookerjee. P age. P age.
L in e 4 2 — F o r 227, re a d 2 x 7 . T h e S o n l o f T h i n g s . ..
2 3 9 I T h o S e p t e n a r y P r i n c i p l e in
Z o ro a s tria n is m . .. ,, , 2 4 0 J . E s o to ric is m ... 253
I lie r o s o p h y a n d T h e o s o p h y
J l ij u i ^ ur Ji T h e A l m o r a S w a m i .. . ...
2 4 4 S p irit Id e n tity an d R e c e n t
245 S p e c u la tio n s .. . ,, 256
T h e S w a m i A lm o r a h a n d h is L e tte rs to th e E d ito r—
O p p o n e n ts ... .................... 246 “ N o R e v e l a t i o n I n f a l l i b l e ” ...
W H A T TO BAT. *
P ra k riti a n d P n rn sh a ...
200
2 4 8 F r o m T h e o s o p h y to S h ak es*
A s t o t h e l i v i n g m a n n o s u b j e c t is s o p r e s s i n g a s w h a t t o “ O d o rig e n ” a n d J i v a t m a . .. 251 p e a ro .. . ,,, 2GO
r a t a n d h o w t o g e t e n o u g h o f t h e r i g h t s o r t t o s u s t a i n l i fe , P r o f : E d a r d ’s N o w E l e c t r o ­
w e sh a ll first n o tice a m o n g th e b o o k s on o u r ta b le t h a t of D r. M a g n e tic A p p a r a tu s f o r
T h e S t a t u s o f J e s n s ... ... 2G1
T l ie P r i n c e C o n v e r t ................... 2G3
A n n a K in g s f o r d , now , h a p p ily , P re s id e n t of th e B r itis h T h e o ­ t h e T r e a t m e n t o f D is e a s e s * 2 5 1 W h o is a B r a h m i n ? ................... 263
K arm a ... , >t 2 5 2 D e v a s d e f in o d
so p h ical S o ciety . T h e g e n e ra l e stim a te , p re v io u sly ex p ressed ... 263
“ E s o te r io B u d d h is m ” 2 5 3 R e v ie w s —
i n t h e s e c o l u m n s , o f t h e h i g h m e r i t s o f t h i s l a d y ’s m i n d a n d
W h a t to E a t ... ... 264
c h a r a c te r , m a k e s it a lm o st su p e rflu o u s to sa y n o w t h a t w h a t ­
e v e r s h e w r i t e s is b o t h i n t e r e s t i n g a n d v a l u a b l e . H e r th esis
u p o n h u m a n foods a n d th o g e n e r a l th e o r y of a lim e n ta tio n , p r e ­
e m i n e n t l y c a lls f o r t h e s a m e r e m a r k s . I t is a t o n c e p r o f o u n d a s S P E C IA L N O T IC E S .
to m a t t e r a n d lu c id as to s ty le of p r e s e n ta tio n . A v e g e ta r ia n I t is n o w e v i d e n t t h a t t h e T n E o s o r n i S T o f f e r s t o a d v e r t i s e r s u n u s u a l
f r o m c o n v i c t i o n h e r s e l f , h e r a i m is t o p r o v e b y u n a n s w e r a b l e a d v a n ta g e s in c i r c u la t io n . W e h a v o a l r e a d y s u b s c r i b e r s in e v e r y p a r t
facts t h a t th e P y th a g o r e a n , o r n o n fle sh -e a tin g d iet, re c o m ­ o f I n d ia , in C e y lo n , B u r m a h , C h in a a n d o n th e P e r s ia n G u lf. O n r p a p e r
m e n d s itself a b o v e a n y o t h e r e q u a lly to t h e m a n of science, a lso g o e s to G r e a t B rita in a n d I r e la n d , F ra n c e , S p a in , H o lla n d , G e r ­
m a n y , N o rw a y , H u n g a r y , G re e c e , R u s s ia , A u s t r a la s i a , S o u th A fric a ,
lh e social re fo rm e r, th e m o ra lis t, a n d th e p h ilo so p h e r. D r.
th e W e s t I n d ie s , a n d N o r th a n d S o u th A m e ric a . T h e f o ll o w i n g v e r y
K i n g s f o r d is a n a p o s t l e o f k i n d n e s s t o m a n a n d b e a s t . She m o d e ra te r a te s h a v e b e e n a d o p te d .
opens h e r book w ith one of th e te n d e re st p assag es in E d w in
A r n o l d ’s L ig h t, o f A s i a , s h o w i n g t h e l o v i n g n a t u r e o f o u r A dvertising R ates.
i Suddha a n d h is D o c tr in e ; a n d t h u s strik e s th e k e y -n o te F i r s t i n s e r t i o n .............. 1 6 l i n e s a n d u n d e r ............... 1 R u p e e
o f h e r e n tire essay, as of h e r life -w o rk . E v e ry im p o rtan t F o r e a c h a d d i t i o n a l l i n e ................................................... 1 A n n a
p le a in fa v o r of flesh -eatin g sh e m e e ts w ith c o n tra d ic to ry S p a c e is c h a r g e d f o r a t t h e r a t e o f 1 2 l i n e s t o t h e i n c h . S p e c i a l a r r a n g e ­
t:iets. S h e m a k e s it c le a r as d a y t h a t in e v e ry p a r t of th e m e n t s c a n b e m a d e f o r l a r g e a d v e r t i s e m e n t s , a n d f o r l o n g e r a n d fix e d
■world, w h e t h e r a m o n g w h i t e o r c o l o r e d r a c e s , t h e u s e o f p e r i o d s . F o r f n r t l i o r i n f o r m a t i o n a n d c o n t r a c t s f o r a d v e r t i s i n g , a p p l y to
v e g e t a b l e f o o d is c o m p a t i b l e w i t h t h e d e v e l o p m e n t o f t h e Messrs. C O O P E R & C o ., Meadow S tr e e t, F o r t, Bombay ;
h ig h e s t possible n e rv o u s a n d m u s c u la r e n e rg y ; a t th e sa m e rRorRiETOR, I N D U S T R I A L r i i E S S , 3 , I-Iummcm S tr e e t, F o rt, Bombay,•
lim e p r o v in g t h a t it c o n d u c e s to th e m o s t p e rfe c t h e a lth , a n d M essrs. G U A .V E S , C O O K S O N A N D C o ., M adras,
r o b u s t in s e n s ib ility to m o rb ific in flu e n ces o f c lim a te a n d
M anager, T H E O S O P H I S T , A dyar, M adras,
occu p atio n . C o p io u s e x tra c ts fro m ta b le s of sta tistic s a n d
ch e m ic a l a n a ly s e s of fo o d -p ro d u c ts s u p p o r t h e r c la im t h a t in T o S U B S C R IB E R S .
g ra in s, v eg etab les, a n d fru its , a re n o t o n ly c o n ta in e d a ll th e T h o S u b s c r i p t i o n p r i c e a t w h ic h t h e T n E o s o r m s T is p u b l i s h e d b a r e l y
d e m e n t s n e c e s s a ry to n u t r it i o n a n d to th e p r o d u c tio n of fo rce c o v e rs c o s t— th o d o s ig n in e s ta b lis h in g th e jo u r n a l h a v in g b e e n r a t h e r
a n d h e a t, b u t also c o n ta in e d in p r o p o r tio n a te ly g r e a t e r q u a n ­ t o r e a c h a v e r y w id e c i r c l e o f r e a d e r s , t h a n t o m a k e a p r o f it . W e can­
tity th a n a re fo u n d in a n im al substances. S h e also sh o w s n o t a ffo rd , th e r e f o r e , to s e n d s p e c im e n c o p ie s f r e e , n o r to s n p p ly lib r a r ie s ,
s o c ie tie s , o r in d iv id u a ls g r a t u ito u s ly . F o r th e s a m e r e a s o n w e aro
l h a t “ n o t o nly a r e t h e n u tr itiv e a n d d y n a m ic v a lu e s of
o b li g e d t o a d o p t t h e p l a n , n o w u n i v e r s a l i n A m e r i c a , o f r e q u i r i n g s u b ­
v e g e ta b le foods, t a k e n in t h e i r to ta lity , g r e a t e r t h a n th o s o of s c r i b e r s t o p a y in a d v a n c e , a n d o f s t o p p i n g t h e p a p e r a t t h e e n d o f t h e
stuim al foods, t a k e n in t h e i r to ta lity , b u t t h a t th e f o rm e r te r m p a id fo r. M a n y y e a r s o f p r a c tic a l e x p e rie n c e h a v e c o n v in c o d
.co n tain , besides, a w h o le class of p rin c ip le s w h ic h do n o t W e s t e r n p n b l i s h c r s t h a t t h i s s y s t e m o f c a s h p a y m e n t is t h o b e s t a n d
.e x is t in th e c o m p o s itio n of t h e l a t t e r . ” T h e s e a r e “ t h e c a r b o ­ m o s t s a tis f a c to r y to b o th p a rtio s ; a n d a ll re s p e c ta b le jo u r n a ls a r e n o w
c o n d u c te d o n th i s p la n .
h y d ra te s, th o re la tiv e p lace of w h ic h in h u m a n a lim e n ta tio n
w e s h a l l p r e s e n t l y se e . A n d if t o v e g e t a b l e p r o d u c e p r o p e r , T h e T iieosophist w ill a p p e a r e a c h m o n t h . T h e r a t e s , f o r tw e l v e
a re ad d ed certain o th e r alim en ts, w hich, th o u g h of a n im a l n u m b e r s o f n o t le s s th a n 4 8 c o lu m n s R o y a l 4 to e a c h o f r o a d in g m a tte r ,
o r 5 7 6 c o l u m n s in a l l, a r e a s f o ll o w s :— T o S u b s c r i b e r s in a n y p a r t o f
o rig in , m ay , w ith o u t in co n sisten cy , be in tro d u c e d in to a P y t h a ­
I n d i a , C e y l o n , S t r a i t s S e t t l e m e n t s , C h in a , J a p a n , a n d A u s t r a l i a , R s . 8 ;
g o re a n [ W h y sh o u ld th e a u th o r n o t sa y H in d u , since P y t h a ­ in A f r i c a , E n r o p o , a n d t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s , £ 1. H a l f - y e a r ( I n d i a , A c .,)
g o r a s w a s t h e G’h c l a o f H i n d u t e a c h e r s ?— Ed.] r e g i m e n — ■ R s . 5 ; S i n g l e c o p i e s R u p e e 1. R e m i t t a n c e s in p o s t a l s t a m p s m u s t b e a t
nueh as m ilk , eggs, cream , b u tte r, a n d cheese. W e have at th e r a t e o f a n n a s i 7 to t h e R u p e e to c o v e r d is c o u n t. T h e ab o v e ra te s
o u r d isposition th e e n tir e r a n g e of th e v e r y s u b s ta n c e s w h ic h , in o l u d e p o s t a g e . N o n a m e w i l l b e e n t e r e d i n t h e b o o ks o r p a p e r s e n t
u n t i l th e m o n e y i s r e m i t t e d ; a n d i n v a r i a b l y th e p a p e r w i l l be d is c o n t in u e d
of all a lim e n ts k n o w n to m a n , a r e ric h e s t in n itro g e n a n d
a t th e e x p i r a t i o n o f th e t e r m s u b s c r i b e d f o r . R e m i t t a n c e s s h o u ld b e m a d e
liy d ro -carb o n s.” M rs. K in g s fo rd cites h e r o w n case as a n in M o n e y - o r d o r s , I l u n d i s , B il l, C h e q u e s , ( o r T r e a s u r y b il ls i f i n r e g i s t e r e d
e x am p le of th e v irtu e s of th e n a tu r a l d iet. S h e tells us l e t t e r s ) , a n d m a d e p a y a b l e only t o t h e P ro p rie to rs o f th e TnEOSopniST,
t h a t s h e n o t o n l y is b u r d e n e d w i t h a n h e r e d i t a r y t e n d e n c y A dyar P. O ., M adras, I n d i a . S u b s c r i p t i o n s c o m m e n c e w i t h t h e V o lu m e .
to p h th isis, b u t h a s b een a c tu a lly tr e a te d fo r a so m e w h a t
S u b s c rib e rs w is h in g a p r in to d re c o ip t f o r th e ir r e m itta n c e s m u s t sen d
s e v e r e m a n i f e s t a t i o n o f t h a t d i s e a s e , a n d is, b e s i d e s , o f a n s ta m p s f o r r e t u r n p o s ta g e .
e x tre m e ly se n sitiv e, a n d n e rv o u s te m p e r a m e n t. Y et, th a n k s
$ ^ ”O nly fo u r Numbers o f Ar o r,. 1 ruing a v a ila b le , tiie citarge fo r
to t h e “ s i m p l e , p u r e , a n d u n e x c i t i n g d i e t ” w h i c h f o r t e n
t h e m w ill b e I t s . 2 -4 . S u b s c r i b e r s f o r t h e S e c o n d V o lu m e ( O c t. 1 8 8 0 to
y e a r s s h e lias m a i n t a i n e d , s h e w a s a b l e t o u n d e r g o t h e g r e a t S e p t e m b e r 1 8 8 1 ) p a y R s . 6 o n l y in I n d i a ; R s . 7 i n C e y l o n ; R s . 8 in
fatig u es, m e n ta l a n d b o d ily , of t h e six y e a r s c o u rs e of s tu d y th o S tr a i t s S e tt le m e n ts , C h in a , J a p a n , a n d A u s t r a l i a ; a n d £ 1 in A fric a ,
f o r h e r M e d i c a l d e g r e e a t t h e c e l e b r a t e d Ecole de Medicine E u ro p e a n d th e U n ite d S ta te s .
of P a r is , a n d s u r m o u n t all th e e x c e p tio n a l d ifficulties o f h e r
A gents : L o n d o n , E n g . , B e r n a r d Q u a r i t c h , 15 P i c c a d i l l y , W .; F r a n c e ,
c a r e e r d u o to t h e p r e j u d i c e s a g a i n s t h e r o n a c c o u n t o f sex. P . G . L e y m a r i c , 5 , R u e N e n v e d e s 1’e t i t s C h a m p s , P a r i s ; N e w Y o rk ,
H e r b o o k , T h e P e r fe c t W a y i n D ie t, is so r e p l e t e w i t h v a l u a ­ F o w l e r a n d W e lls , 7 5 3 , B r o a d w a y ; B o s to n , M a s s , C o lb y a n d R ic h , 9,
b le in fo rm a tio n w h ic h it e sp ecially b e h o v e s H i n d u s to h a v e , M o n t g o m e r y P l a c e ; C h ic a g o , 111. J . C . B u n d y , L a S a l l e S t . A m e r i c a n
n o w t h a t t h e r e is a t e n d e n c y t o a d o p t t h e E u r o p e a n m e a t a s s u b s c r i b e r s m a y a l s o o r d e r t h o i r p a p e r s t h r o u g h W . Q . J u d g e , E s q .,
7 1 B r o a d w a y , N e w Y o r k ; M e lb o u rn e , W . I I . T e r r y , P u b . H a rb in g e r o f
w e ll a s th o W e s t e r n shoe, t h a t w e fe e l a t a loss to s e le c t a n y
L i g h t ; W e s t I n d i e s , C. E . T a y l o r , S t . T h o m a s ; I n d i a : T h a c k e r S p in k
one p o rtio n fo r q u o tatio n above a n o th e r. W e p r e f e r to a n d C o m p a n y , B o o k s e l l e r s , C a l c u t t a ; B a b u N o r e n d r o N a t h S e n , I n d ia n
re c o m m e n d o u r friends, an d p a r tic u la rly su c h as h a v e a n y M i r r o r O ffic e , 2 4 M o t t 's L a n e , D h u r r u m t o l l a h S t r e e t , C a l c u t t a ; M e s s r s .
d e s i r e to k n o w t h e sc ien tific r e a s o n s f o r t h e p r o h i b i t i o n , b y J o h n s o n a n d C o ., 2 6 P o p h a m ’s B r o a d w a y , M a d r a s ; V e n k a t a V a r a d a -
t h e S h a s tr a s , o f f le s h - e a tin g , to s u c h a s a s p i r e a f t e r p s y c h ic a l r a j u l u N a i d u , R a y a p e t t a , l l i g h R o a d , M a d r a s ; C e y lo n : G r e g . E d e r e w e r e
G a ll e , J o h n R o b e r t d o S ilv a , S u r v e y o r G e n e r a l ’s O ffic e , C o l o m b o : D o n
d e v e lo p m e n t, to g e t a u d , b e tte r , to r e a d a n d re fle c t u p o n t h e
T im o th y K a r n u a r a tn e , K a n d y . C h in a : K e lly a n d W a ls h , S h a n g h a i.
w ork. I t c a n b e h a d f o r 2 s., o r , c o u n t i n g e x c h a n g e a n d
p o s ta g e , R s 1 8 0, f o r w h i c h s u m t h e M a n a g e r o f t h e T h e o ­
s o p h i s t w ill u n d e r t a k e to p r o c u r e it, if d e s ire d .
P rin te d a t the Scottish Press by G rav es, Cookson and Co.,
* T h e P e r fe c t W a y i n D i e t : a T r e a t i s e a d v o c a t i n g a r e t u r n t o t h o and pub lished by th e T heosophicai, S o c ie ty at Adtap.,
N a tu r a l a n d A n c ie n t F o o d o f o u r R a c e . B y A n n a K in g s fo rd , D o c to r o f
M e d ic in e pf tlie F a c u l t y o f P a r i s ,
(M adras) In d ia ,
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T H E T H E O S O P H IS T .
V ol . 4 , N o . 1 0 . M A D R A S, JU L Y ,
THE F IR S T A N N IV E R S A R Y O F T H E BENGAL
T H E O S O P H IC A L S O C IE T Y .
T h e first a n n i v e r s a r y of tlie a b o v e S o c ie ty w a s c e le b r a te d
a t th e T o w n H a ll on M o n d ay , th e 21st in sta n t, in th e p resence
of a l a r g e a n d r e s p e c t a b l e a u d i e n c e . T h e h a l l w a s w e ll filled,
a n d a lm o s t e v e ry se ctio n of th e N a tiv e c o m m u n ity w a s
r e p r e s e n te d o n t h e occasion. T h e r e w a s a lso a f a i r s p r i n k l i n g
of E u r o p e a n s . T h e p r o c e e d i n g s w e r e c o n d u c t e d w i t h a n
o rd erlin ess, r a re ly m e t w ith a t o a r p u b lic g a th e r in g s . A m o n g
those p r e s e n t w e n o tic e d R a ja h N a r e n d r a K r i s h n a B a h a d u r ,
0 . C. D u tt, E sq ., B a b u K u n j a L a l B a n n e rji, R a i B a h a d u r ,
B a b u A n n a d a P ro s a d B a n n e rji, R a i B a h a d u r, B a b u S rish
C h u n d e r C h o w d h r y , B a b u Nuft'er C h u n d e r B h u t t o , R a i
B a h a d u r, B a b u N a b in C h a n d B u ral, B a b u A m a ro n d ra N a th
C h a tterji, B a b u M o h in i M o h u n R o y , P u n d i t J ib a n a n d a V i-
d y a s a g a r , B . A . , R e v . J . J . P o o l e , Babu J o g e n d r o C h u n d c r
G hosh, K u m a r D a k h in e s w a r M a lia h , M r. J. G hosal, B a b u
D ijen d ra N ath T agore, B a b u N o ro n d ro N a th Sen, B a b u
D e b e n d e r C h u n d e r G hosh, B a b u M o h in i M o h u n C h a tte rji,
R ev. J. E . P a y n e , B a b u K isso ry M o h u n R oy, B a b u Jo g g c sli
P ro k a sh G a n g u ly , B a b u N il K o m u l M u k e rji, B a b u B a ik u n -
t h a N a t h B o s e , B a b u S r i n a t h T a g o r e , B a b u N ursing C h u n d e r
D u tt, M r. H . A n d re w s, B a b u Isse n C h u n d e r M u k e rji, B a b u
J a d u b C liu n d e r G o ssam i, B a b u M u k u n d a D e b M u k e rji, B a b u
D ig u m b e r M o itra, L a la D eb P ro s a d , B a b u T ra ila k y a N a th
B isw as, B a b u P r i y a N a t h M u llic k , D r . S alzer, R e v . P . A .
S m ith , M r. W . R . S m ith , a n d M r. W o llerto n .
C o lo n el O lco tt, P r c s i d e n t - F o u n d c r of th e P a r e n t S o ciety ,
took th e ch air. T h e p ro ceed in g s w e re opened w ith a b e a u ti­
ful so n g b y som e of th e a b le s t m e m b e r s of th e B e n g a l
P h ilh a rm o n ic A cad em y , w h o w ere k in d ly d e p u te d b y R a ja h
S o u r e n d r o M o h u n T a g o re , M u s . D o e, C. I. E . a n d F . T . S.
T h e f o l l o w i n g l e t t e r f r o m B a b u P e a r y Chand M i t t r a , t h e
v e n e ra te d o u t-g o in g P re s id e n t of th e B e n g a l T h eo so p h ical
S o c i e t y , w a s r e a d :— • in g a la r g e p e r c e n t a g e o f o u r e d u c a t e d classes.
C a lc u tt a , The 2 1 st M ay 1 8 8 3 .
To C o l. H . S. O l c o t t .
M y d e a r B r o th e r ,— T h e se v e re s ic k n e ss w h ic h confines m e
to b e d , w ill, o f c o u r s e , p r e v e n t m y p e r s o n a l a t t e n d a n c e a t t h e
tirst a n n iv e rsa ry celeb ratio n of o u r B e n g a l T heosophical
S ocicty. B u t , a s y o u k n o w , a n d a s t h e t e s t i m o n y o f a l i f e ’s
s t u d i e s a n d w r i t i n g s p r o v e , m y s p i r i t is p r e s e n t w i t h y o u a n d
all w h o w o r k f o r th e m o r a l r e g e n e r a t i o n o f h u m a n i t y , a n d
th o s p re a d of s p iritu a l tr u th . H a d I n o t so fu ll a k n o w le d g e
of th e blessed activ ities w h ie h a w a it m a n b e y o n d th e V alley
of tlie S h a d o w , I c o u ld n o t, w i t h o u t a p a n g , fa c e th e c o n tin ­
g e n c y t h a t m y l a m p is f l i c k e r i n g i n i t s s o c k e t a t t h e v e r y t i m e
w h en y o u are b e g in n in g y o u r T heosophical w o rk in India.
W i t h all t h e a r d o u r of p e r f e c t s y m p a t h y , w o u l d I h a v e r e jo i­
ced to t a k e a p a r t in t h a t w o r k , a n d , if i t bo t r u e , a s I k n o w
i t is, t h a t t h o u g h d e a d i n t h e b o d y , m a n ’s s p i r i t m a y s t i l l
s h a re in t h e la b o r s h e lo v ed , t h e n b e lie v e m e , d e a r B r o th e r ,
t h a t th o u g h c o rp o re a lly se p a ra te d fro m y ou, m y soul sh a ll
still b e w i t h y o u i n a l l h o l y d e s ir e s , a s p i r a t i o n s , a n d g o o d
w orks, to th e en d . S o m a y G od g iv e us th e tr u e lig h t fo r
w h ic h w e seek, a n d t h e d e s ire to m a k e o u r lives, w h e t h e r
long o r sh o rt, b u t a n o ccasio n to p e r fe c t o u rse lv e s in h o lin ess
a n d w isdom .
Y o u r s a ffe c tio n a te ly ,
P eaky C iiand M ittra,
1 883. N o. 46-
L e tte rs w e re also re a d fro m R a ja h R a je n d r a N a r a y a n D e b
B a h a d u r, R a ja h S y a m a S a n k e r R oy B a h a d u r, a u d P rince
J e h a n K a d i r . — all F e l l o w s o f t h e P a r e n t T. S .
Babo Mohini M ohdn C h a t t e k j i , t h e A s s i s t a n t S e c r e t a r y
to th e B e n g al T h e o s o p h ic a l S o ciety , t h e n read th e fo llo w in g
a u n u a l r e p o r t o f t h e S o c i e t y :— ■ -
“ I n th e y e a r 1875, a sm a ll b u t d ev o ted b a n d o f v e ry
r e m a r k a b le p e rso n s w e re b r o u g h t t o g e t h e r in N e w Y o r k f o r
p liila n th ro p h ic p u rp o s e s a n d sc ien tific in v e stig a tio n s. Tho
T h e o so p h ic a l S o cicty ow es its o rig in to th e u n io n of th o se
good m en. T h e first r e g u l a r m e e tin g of t h e S ociety w as h e ld
a t N ew Y o rk on th o 1 7 th N o v em b er of th a t year. In th a
f o u r th y e a r of its e x iste n c e , th o T h co so p h ical S o ciety tr a n s ­
f e r r e d i t s field o f o p e r a t i o n t o I n d i a , a n d fix e d i t s h e a d - q u a r ­
ters a t Bom bay. T hat t h e F o u n d e r s o f t h e S o c i e t y s h o u l d , i n
a s tr a n g e laud, h ave to co n te n d a g a in s t o p p o sitio n a risin g
o u t o f th e b asen ess of false frie n d s f ro m w ith in a n d th e s u s ­
p icio n a u d je a lo u s y of e n e m ie s f ro m w ith o u t, w as p e rfe c tly
n atu ra l. I t is n o w o n d e r , t h e r e f o r e , t h a t t h e e a r l y h i s t o r y o f
t h e S o c ie ty in t h i s c o u n t r y w a s o n e of s t r a g g l e s — s t r u g g l e s ,
th e n a tu re of w h ic h o nly th o se w h o a re in tim a te ly asso c ia te d
w i t h t h e w o r k of t h e S o c ie ty w ill fu lly a p p re c ia te . H ard
fig h ts h ad to be fo u g h t, s tu b b o r n o b sta c le s h a d to be re m o v e d
a n d p e r s i s t e n t o p p o s itio n b o r n e d o w n to o b ta in a f o o t-h o ld .
B u t th e s to u t h e a rts w h ic h a n im a te d th e S o ciety , fo u g h t th a
b ttu le m a n fu lly , a n d a c h ie v e d a d ecisive v icto ry . T he S ociety
c o m m e n c in g its w o r k in th e B o m b a y P re sid e n c y , soon s p r e a d
over th e P u n ja b an d U p p e r In d ia. B engal, h o w e v e r, w as fo r
a lo n g t i m e le f t o u t in t h e cold. W h e n th e F o u n d e rs v isited
t h i s c i t y i n A p r i l 18 8 2 , t h e r e w a s in B e n g a l b u t o n e B r a n c h
T h e o s o p h ic a l S ociety, j u s t s tr u g g lin g in to lig h t a t B e rh a m ­
pore. B u t in th e c o u rse o f o n e sh o rt y e a r th e w hole P ro v in c a
f r o m D a r j i l i n g t o M i d n a p o r e a n d D a c c a t o D u m r a o n is d o t t e d
o v e r w ith B ra n c h S o cieties, to th e n u m b e r of 25 a n d e m b r a c ­
T h e success
o f t h e S o c i c t y i n B e n g a l is m a i n l y d n e t o t h e s t r e n g t h o f t h e
b a s e a t C a lc u tt a , w h e r e t h e B r a n c h S o c i e t y is n u m e r i c a l l y
se c o n d o n ly to o n e in tlie is la n d o f C e y lo n ,
“ T h e B r a n c h h e re , a t t h e first a n n iv e r s a r y of w h ic h w e a r a
n o w e x c h a n g in g felicita tio n s, w as e s ta b lis h e d on th e 1 7 th o f
A p r i l l a s t y e a r , b y th e e x e r t i o n s chiefly o f B a b u s P e a r y C h a n d
M ittr a a n d N o ro n d ro N a t h S en, w h o w o rth ily c o -o p e ra te d
w i t h C olon el O lc o tt, t h e P r e s i d e n t - F o u n d e r . T h e o rig in of
t h e S o c i e t y is d i r e c t l y t r a c e a b l e t o t h o l e c t u r e , d e l i v e r e d b y
C olonel O lc o tt last y e a r a t th is H a ll, T h e tim e se e m e d to b e
rip e fo r it, a n d a s soon a s t h e view s a n d p rin c ip le s o f t h e
Society b e c a m e k n o w n t h r o u g h th o m e d iu m o f t h a t le c tu r e ,
n u m b e r s b e g a n t o flock to t h e s t a n d a r d o f T h e o s o p h y . The
B e n g al T h eosophical S o ciety h as p u b lish e d th is le c tu re , a n d
h a s a l r e a d y d i s t r i b u t e d s o m a 3 , 0 0 0 c o p i e s , b u t s t i l l t h e r e is a
la rg e a u d g r o w in g d e m a n d for it in differen t p a r ts of th o
co u n try .
“ T h e Society, d u r in g th e y e a r, m e t ev ery f o rtn ig h t, a t N o .
2, B r i t i s h I m li a n S t r e e t , C a lc u tta . M any ex trao rd in ary m eet­
in g s w ere also h eld . S e v e ra l v e ry in te r e s tin g le c tu r e s w ero
d e liv e re d a t th o s e m e e tin g s, a m o n g w h ic h th e fo llo w in g aro
s p e c i a l l y w o r t h y o f n o t e :—
“ 1. On the Spiritual Training ■prevalent in Ancient India,
and the present state of Sanslcrit learning in the country. B y
P u u d it S a ty a b ra ta S am sram i.
 “ 2. A s e r ie s o f le c tu r e s o n V e d a n ta a n d Y ^ g a P h i l o s o p h y .
B y P u n d i t K eclar N atli V id y a v in o d nf B e n a re s .
“ 3. A s e r ie s o f le c tu r e s o n V e d a n ta a n d Y o g a Hy P u n d it
A d v a y a n a t i d u G o s s a m i , f o r s o m e t.ini-* 1’u n d i t o f t h o S o c i e t y .
“ E x p e r i m e n t s were also tr ie d a t th e m e e tin g s on M e s m e r ­
is m , P s y c h o m e t r y , a n d o t h e r c o g n a t e s u b j e c t s w ith s o m e s u c ­
cess. T h e I 'r e s i d e n t - F o u n d e r , b e s id e s t h e th rew p u b l i c lec­
t u r e s delivered a t th e T o w n H a ll, g a v e p ra c tic a l lesso n s
o n M e sm e rism as a h e a lin g a r t to th o m e m b e r s of th o
S o c ie ty , som e of w h o m , w e a re g la d to say, a re b e in n -
liin g to a c q u ire t h a t p o w e r of h e a lin g by M e s m e r is m w h ic h
C o lo n el O lc o tt d u r in g his P r e s id e n tia l t o u r i n B e n g a l n n d
1 3eh n r, h a s e x e r c i s e d f o r t h o b e n e f i t o f n e a r l y I?,0 0 0 p e r s o n s .
“ A S u n d a y S c h o o l w a s o p e n e d ou M a r c h 11, u n d e r th e
a u s p ic e s of th e T h e o so p h ic a l S o ciety , f o r t h e i n s t r u c t i o n of
H i n d u b o y s i n t h e p r i n c i p l e s o f t h e i r f a i t h . I t b e g a n w i t h 17
s t u d e n t s , b u t th e ir n u m b e r s h a v e sin c e in c r e a s e d to 4 2 . The
s t u d e n t s t o o k v e ry g r e a t in t e r e s t in t h e i r r e lig io u s s tu d ie s , as
is w itn e s s e d by th e a v e r a g e a t t e n d a n c e o f 2 7 on e a c h w o r k in g
day. T h o s e w h o h a d v i s i t e d t h e sc h o o l, s p o k e o f i t in t e r m s
o f praise. W e v e n t u r e to e n t e r t a i n g r e a t e x p e c t a t i o n s o f it
in th e fu tu ro . I t is t o b e s i n c e r e l y h o p e d t h a t s i m i l a r i n s t i ­
tu tio n s w o u ld m u ltip ly all o v e r th e c o u n tr y , a n d in sp ire o u r
r i s i n g g e n e r a t i o n w i t h s u c h lo fty m o r a l n o t io n s , a n d v e n e r ­
a tio n fo r t h e p a s t g lo rie s of th e ir a n c e sto rs a s m a y e ffe c tu a lly
s te m th e tid e of n a tio n a l d eg e n e ra tio n a n d m o ra l d e g ra d a tio n ,
w h e n c e all o n r w oe.
“ T h e finan cial p o s itio n of th e S o c i e t y d a r i n g t h e y e a r w as
q u ite sa tisfa c to ry . I t m u s t n o t be o m i t t e d to bo m e n t i o n e d
t h a t in ono r e sp e c t o u r B r a n c h w as e x c e p tio n a lly f o r t u n a t e .
D u r i n g th e y e a r M a d a m e B la v a ts k y visited th is c ity tw ice,
a n d C o l o n e l O l o o t t is s t i l l a m o n g s t u s o n h i s s e c o n d v i s i t . T o
t h i s f a c t t l i e a c t i v i t y o f o u r B r a n c h is m a i n l y d u e .
“ W o ta k e t h i s o p p o r t u n i t y to p u b lic ly p la c e u p o n re c o rd
o u r sen se of o b lig a tio n to M a h a ra ja h S ir J o te n d r a M o h n n
T a g o r e , K . C S . I., a n d liis d i s t i n g u i s h e d b r o t h e r , f o r t h e
g e n e r o u s h o s p i t a l i t y t h e y h a v e s h o w n to t h e F o u n d e r s a n d to
s u c h o t h e r f r i e n d s w h o h a v e t a k e n a k in d ly i n t e r e s t iu th e
T h e o s o p h ic a l m o v e m e n t m B e n g al.”
B a b u N o r e n d k o N a t i i S u n , K d ito r o f t h e I n d ia n M ir r o r ,
( 1 s t p ro te a n o f t h e B . T . S . ) t h e n r o s e a n d s a i d : —
G e n t l e m e n , — I t a f f o r d s m e p e c u l i a r p l e a s u r e to b e a b l e to
Bee t h e f i r s t a n n i v e r s a r y o f t h e l i e n g a l T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y
c e l e b r a t e d t h i s d a y , a s I h a v e a l w a y s t a k e n a, d e e p i n t e r e s t
i n l o c a l i s i n g a m o v e m e n t w h i c h , 1 b e l i e v e , is c a l c u l a t e d t o do
t h e g r e a te s t g o o d to In d ia . I to o k an a c tiv e p a r t in its f o u n ­
d a t i o n , a n d I a m g l a d to see t h a t b y its in f lu e n c e , m a n y o t h e r
B r a n c h e s h a r e s p r u n g u p f a s t in B e n g a l a n d in B e h a r . The
n u m b e r o f t h e s e B r a n c h e s , I b e l i o v e , e x c e e d s t h a t o f t.ho
B ra n c h e s in a n y o th e r P re sid en cy o r P ro v in c e of th e E m p ire .
O u r B r a n c h c o m p r is e s 130 m e m b e r s , t h e l a r g e s t n u m b e r p r o ­
b a b ly p o ssessed by a n y B r a n c h i n I n d ia , n e x t to th o C ey lo n
B ranch. C olonel O lc o tt h a s j u s t r e t u r n e d f ro m a n e x te n s iv e
c o u r s o o f t o u r s iu d i f f e r e n t p a r t s o f B e n g a l a n d B e h a r ; a n d
t h e in te r e s t c r e a te d b y h im , esp ecially in tlie l a t t e r P r o v in c e ,
w a s so g r o a t t h a t T h e o s o p h y h a d b e c o m e t h o s t a p l e t o p i c o f
c o n v e r s a t i o n a m o n g tlie p e o p le , a n d t h e e x c i t e m e n t , c a u s e d
b y t h e N a t i v e J u r i s d i c t i o n Bill, h a d d s v i n d l e d i n t o i n s i g n i f i ­
c a n c e — a t le a s t so i t w a s s ta te d b y th e l e a d i n g B a n k ip o r e
p a p e r — ;n t h e p re s e n c e of th o g r e a t T h e o so p h ic a l m o v e m e n t
w h i c h h e h a d h e lp o d in s t a r t i n g a m o n g all t h o e d u c a t e d classes.
I h o p e t h a t t h e t i m e is n o t f a r d i s t a n t w lio n e v e r y t o w n
a n d v illa g e of I n d i a w ill liav e a T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y , a n d
w h e n b o th E u r o p e a n s a u d N a tiv e s w ill be in d u c e d to ta k e a n
i n t e r e s t in T h e o s o p h y . F o r T h e o s o p h y s h o u ld be a s u b je c t
of as m u c h im p o rta n c e to th e N a tiv e s as to th e E u ro p e a n s .
C o n s i d e r i n g a l l t h e s i g n s o f t h e t i m e s , T h e o s o p h y is s u r e t o
m a k e h e a d in I n d i a , as in E u r o p e a n d in A m e r ic a . T h e e s t a b ­
lis h m e n t of th e B ritish P sy ch ic K e s e a rc h S o ciety , of w h ic h
8 0 m a n y d i s t i n g u i s h e d m o d e r n s a v a n ts a n d s c i e n t i s t s a r e
m e m b e r s , t h e in te re st t h a t h a s b e g u n to be t a k e n in t h e oc­
c u l t scienoes in G r e a t B ritain , th e re v iv a l of th e s tu d y o f th e
a n c ie n t lite ra tu r e a n d science o f I n d ia a m o n g th e I n d ia n
races, a n d t h e r e s e a r c h e s t h a t a r e b e i n g m a d e i n I n d i a a n d
in E u r o p e i n t o t h e t r u t h s o f t h e H i n d n S h a s tr a s , a r e c l e a r
i n d i c a t i o n s t h a t t h e g r o u n d is b e i n g m a d e r e a d y f o r t h e
c u ltiv atio n of T h eo so p h y . T h e r e is a s i m u l t a n e o u s w a v e o f
in te re st sp re a d in g o v e r In d ia , E u ro p e , a n d A m e ric a in resp ec t
to th is n e w sc ie n c e , w h ic h m a y b e called th e S cienoe o f S c i­
e n c e s . T h e B r i t i s h T h e o s o p h i c a l S o o i e t y i n L o n d o n is n o t t h o
l e a s t i n t e r e s t i n g B r a n c h o f t h e P a r e n t S o c i e t y . T o q u o t e it3
r u l e s , i t is “ f o u n d e d f o r t h e p u r p o s e o f d i s c o v e r i n g t h e n a t u r o
a n d p o w e rs of th e h u m a n soul a n d sp irit by in v e s tig a tio n a n d
ex p e rim e n t.” I t s o b j e c t is “ t o i n c r e a s e t h e a m o u n t o f h u m a n
h e a lth , g o o d n e ss, k n o w le d g e , w isd o m , a n d h a p p in e s s .” The
F e l l o w s o f t h e S o c i e t y “ p l e d g e t h e m s e l v e s t o e n d e a v o u r , to
t h e b e s t o f t h e i r p o w e r s , to liv e a life of t e m p e r a n c e , t r n t b ,
p u r ity , »n d b ro th e rly lo v e .” T h e Society te a c h e s th a t “ m an
is a t r i u n e b e i n g o f b o d y , s o u l , a n d s p i r i t , a n d tliat, i t is h i s
d u t y t o b i i n g h i s f o o d u n d e r s u b j e c t i o n t o t h e w ill o f G o d ,
a n d th o s e o n ly w h o a r e so in clin e d to believe a re s u ita b le
m e m b e rs of th e S o c ie ty ,” T h e m e m b e rs of th e B ritish T h e o ­
sophical S o ciety believe t h a t “ a d ie t e x c lu d in g alcohol a n d
t h " f l e s h o f a n i m a l s i s m o s t a d v a n t a g e o u s t o a T h e o s o p h i s t ’s
c u l t u r e / ’ b u t t h e y s a y t h a t “ t h e q u e s t i o n o f d i e t is m o d i f i e d
b y .c lim a te an d c o n s titu tio n .” A g a i n , w o a r o t o l d :— “ A s
t h e b o d y is p e r p e t u a l l y d e c a y i n g a n d b e i n g r e b u i l t , if th e
p r o p e r f o o d o n l y is t a k e n ........................... , t h e n t h e b o d y w i l l
g r a d u a l l y , in t h e c o u r s e of y e a r s , free itself fro m d ise a se , a n d
so b ecom e a p u r e r te m p le fo r th e H o ly S p ir it. B r itis h
T h e o s o p h y t h u s t e a c h e s t h a t t h e r e g e n e r a t i o n of s o u l n n d
b o d y is a p r o g r e s s i v e w o r k ; ‘ f i r s t t h e b l a d e ; t h e n t h e e a r ;
t h e n t h e f u l l c o r n in t h e e a r ; ’ t h e h i g h e s t a i m n n d h o p e b e ­
i n g to love a n d k n o w G o d ; a n d t h u s beco m e a so n of G o d
in re a lity .” I believe t h a t som e m e m b e rs of th e B ritish T h e o ­
s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y a r e p r a c t i s i n g v e g e t a r i a n i s m , w h i c h is b e i n g
a d o p te d also by m a n y in E u r o p e a u d A m erica, w h o a re o th e r
th a u T h e o so p h ists. 1 k n o w also o f E u r o p e a n la d ie s a n d g e n ­
t l e m e n in India., m e m b e r s o f th e T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c ie ty , w h o
h a v e t a k e n to th e s a m e p ra c tic e , a n d of o th e r s w h o a r e t r y in g
t o t a k e to it. T he p ro g ress of v egetarianism a n d th e s im u l­
ta n e o u s a d o p tio n in E u r o p e a n d A m e r ic a of t h e p ra c tic e of
c re m a tio n ,— both c u s to m s of th e a n c ie n t H i n d u s , — sh o w t h a t
th e w hite races a re g r a d u a lly b e c o m in g H in d n iz e d . I t is a
w e l l - k n o w n fnct. t h a t t h e w o r l d m o v e s i u c y c l e s ; a n d i t is
c lc a r t h a t w e a re n o w e n te r in g u p o n a new cycle w h ich
p r o m is e s to b r i n g a r e v iv a l of o u r a n c i e n t l i t e r a t u r e , a n d
sc ie n c e , a n d o f oil:1 a n c i e n t c u s t o m s , m o d if ie d , o f c o u r s e , b y
t h e s p i r i t o f t h e a g e . T h e t r u t h of w lr a t I s a y w ill be p r o v e d ,
as tim e passes on. I d o u o t w i s h a n i n c r e d u l o u s p u b l i c to
a c c e p t for t r u t h w h a te v o r th e T h e o so p h ic a l S o c ie ty a s s e r t s ;
w h a t w e w a n t is th at, the}’ s h o u l d w a t c h th e e v e n t s t h a t a r e
tra n sp irin g a ro u n d th e m , an d ju d g e for th e m se lv e s by in d e ­
p e n d e n t a n d u n p r e ju d ic e d in v e s tig a tio n w h e th e r th e facts
s ta te d a r e re a lly t r u e or n o t, I havo n o o b je c tio n to th e ir
la u g h i n g a t w h a t th e S o c ie ty te a c h e s ; b u t I sh o n ld like th e m
to la u g h a f te r th e y h a v e te ste d th e tr u th o f th e facts w h ieh
th e y n o w d o u b t w ith o u t a n y p revious in v estig atio n o r c o n si­
d eratio n . T h is N i n e t e e n t h C e n t u r y is p r e - e m i n e n t l y a n a g o
o f s c e p t i c i s m ; f o r p e o p l e a r e r e a d y e n o u g h t o b e l i e v e in
th in g s w h ic h a r e n o t tr u e , w h ile th e y w ith h o ld belief fro m
th in g s w h ich are tr u e . If only tw e n ty -fiv e y e a rs ago a n y
m a n h ad s p o k e n of th e p o ssib ility of c o n s tru c tin g a n d u sing
t h e t e l e p h o n e , i n v e n t e d by M r. E d is o n , h im se lf a T h e o s o p h is t,
a s a m e a n s o f e a s y a n d r a p i d c o m m u n i c a t i o n , lie w o u l d c e r ­
ta in ly h av e been p n t d o w n as an id io t o r a lu n a tic . B u t here
w e have th e telep h o n e a c tu a lly a t w ork a m o n g us. M odern
s c i e n c e , w h i c h h a s m a d e s o m a n y d i s c o v e r i e s , is s t i l l i n i t s
i n f a n c y , a n d w h i l e i t h a s u n e a r t h e d so m a n y s e c r e t s o f n a t u r e ,
it h a s still to find o u t t h e l a t e n t p o w e r s of m a n , w h o s e n a t u r o
a n d a ttr ib u te s a re still a m y s te r y to th e p ro fo u u d e s t h u m a n
w isdom . I a m c o n v i n c e d t h a t a ll w h o j o i n t h o T h e o s o p h i c a l
S o ciety w ill find a n e w w o r ld o p e n in g b e fo re a n d a r o u n d th e m ,
te e m i n g w i t h w o n d e r s , p e r h a p s , t h e h u m a n m i n d h a s n o w no
i d e a o f. W e c o n sid e r th o p o w er of ste a m , e lectric te le g ra p h ,
a n d th e te le p h o n e as m a r v e ls of m o d e r n sc ie n c e ; b u t th e y aro
sim p ly th o c r u d e d e v e lo p m e n ts of p o w e rs w h ic h a re still to
be m a n i f e s t e d in t h e i r f u l n e s s a n d m a t u r i t y . T h o u g h people
m a y n o t beliove it, I s h a ll n o t s h r i n k fro m a s s e r tin g t h a t I
h a v e m y se lf s e e n u n m is ta k a b le ev id e n c e s of p sy c h o lo g ic al
teleg rap h y . W h e n Dr, E s d a ile , 36 y e a r s a g o , b r o u g h t th e
p r a c t i c e o f M e s m e r i s m i n t o t h e a i d o f S u r g e r y in C a l c u t ( a , t h e
p u b lic a n d t h e m e d ic a l p ro fe s sio n , as C o lo n e l O lc o tt w ill p r o ­
bab ly tell y o n , d o u b t e d a n d la u g h e d a t M e sm e rism as a n i m ­
p o s s ib ility . A n d y e t M e s m e r i s m is a n u n d o u b t e d f a c t, w h i c h
no sa n e m a n c a n d isb e liev e . M o d e r n s c ie n c e , s u c h as i t is,
is m e r e c h i l d ’s p l a y c o m p a r e d w i t h t h e s c i e n c e w h i c h h a s
d isco v ered a n d illu s tra te d th e la te n t p o w e rs of m an . A n d it
is T h e o s o p h y w h ic h is a p r e p a r a t io n fo r t h e s t u d y of t h a t
science, a n d , in d e e d , t h e s c ie n c e itself. W h a t m a n is n o w
c a p a b l e o f d o i n g , is a s n o t h i n g t o w h a t h e w i l l h e r e a f t e r be
a b le to d o . I f p s y c h o lo g ic a l in v e s tig a tio n s a r e c o n d u c t e d in
a b e c o m in g s p i r i t , t r u t h w ill a lw a y s p r o v e to be s t r a n g e r t h a n
f i c t i o n . M o d e r n 6 c i e n c e , a s f a r a s i t is s u p p o s e d t o h a v e g o n e ,
h as, as y e t, failed to d isc o v er t h a t t h e in fin ite sp ace a ro u n d
n s w h i c h we k n o w as e t h e r , i s p e o p l e d by b e i n g s c a l l e d elo
 m e n ta ls a n d e le m e n ta rie s w h o d ifferen tly e x e rt b e n ig n a n t a n d
m a lig n a n t in flu e n ce o v e r m a n k i n d . T b e i d e a is n o t n e w . It
is c e r t a i n l y a s o ld a s M i l t o n w h o g a v e i t f o r m iu h is g r e a t
epic : —
M ill io n s o f s p i r i t u a l c r e a t u r e s w a l k t h e e a r t h ,
U n s e e n , b o t h w h i l e w e w a k e a u d w h ile w e s le e p .
I t is p r o b a b l y a s o l d a s t h e f i r s t g e n e r a t i o n o f t h e h u m a n
r a c e . T h o m ic r o s c o p e b a s d i s c o v e r e d a n i m a l c u l e in w a t e r ; b u t
h u m a n r e s e a r c h lias n o t s u c c e e d e d i n d i s c o v e r i n g t h a t w h i l e
m o s t a l o n e , w e a r e in a c r o w d o f u n s e e n b e i n g s a n d d i s e m b o ­
d ie d sp irits w h o w a tc h a n d affect e v e ry m o v e m e n t of o u r
b o d i e s — e v e r y t h o u g h t of o u r m i n d s . I t d o e s u o t s t a n d to
r e a s o n t h a t w h i l e t h e e a r t h is t e e m i n g w i t h m e n a n d a n i m a l s ,
a n d t h e w a t e r s a r e s w a r m i n g w i t h fish a n d t h e f i n n y tr ib e ,
t h e a i r a lo n e s h o u ld be u n p e o p l e d . I t is w i t h g r e a t t r u t h
t h a t S h a k e s p e a r e has told u s : —
T h e re a r e m a n y th in g s in h e a v e n a n d e a r th , H o ra tio ,
T h a t a r e u o t d r o a u i t o f in y o u r p h i l o s o p h y .
I n d i a is t h e w o n d e r - l a n d o n e a r t h , a s t h e c r a d l e o f t h e
o c c u l t sc ie n c e s ; a n d G r e a t B r i t a i n s h o u ld be p r o u d o f p o ss e s s­
in g th is c o u n try as p a rt of h er g re a t E m p ire. And yet
E n g l i s h m e n t a k e n o t th e le a s t tro u b lo o r i n t e r e s t in s t u d y i n g
t h e a n c i c n t l i t e r a tu r e a n d p h ilo s o p h y of t h e H i n d u s . I t is a
re m a rk a b le f a c t th a t w hile In d ia h as been u n d e r B ritish rulo
f o r n e a r l y a c e n t u r y a t i d - a - h a l f , t h e r u l i n g r a c e k n o w less o f
n s a n d p u r i n s t i t u t i o n s n o w t h a n a t first. T h e A s ia tic S o ciety
in B e n g al, w hich w as fo u n d e d by S ir W illia m J o n e s , re n d e r­
e d , u n d e r h is a u sp ices, e x c e lle n t s e r v ic e to I n d i a by s h o w in g
th e tru e v alu e of th e le a rn in g an d w isd o m of th o ancient
H in d u s. H a d i t been c o n d u c t e d i u t h e s a m e s p i r i t in w h i c h
it o rig in a te d , it w o u ld h a v e d o n e m u c h to m a k o th e H in d u
c h a r a c t e r m o r e i n t e l l i g i b le to, a n d b e t t e r a p p r e c i a t e d by o u r
E u ro p e a n fellow -subjects, a n d in d e e d , by th e E u r o p e a n races
gen erally . I t is m y e a r n e s t w i s h t h a t E u r o p e a n s s h o u l d
s t u d y o u r a n c i e n t l i t e r a t u r e a n d s c i e n c e ; a u d it is b y t h is
m e a n s a l o n e th at- w e c a n b e b e s t u n d e r s t o o d . T h e o s o p h y , iu
r e c o m m e n d i n g t h i s s t u d y , p T o m i s e s t o bn m u s t u s e f u l t o t h i s
c o u n try . W h ile o u r c o u n tr y m e n sh o u ld , as a m a tte r of course,
j o i n t h e S o c i e t y , w o s h o u l d be g l a d l o s e e i t d r a w t o g e t h e r a
l a r g o n u m b e r o f o u r E u r o p e a n f e l l o w - s u b j e c t s , w h o will t h u s
b e b r o u g h t, to l e a r n u n d s t u d y o u r re:il c h a r a c t e r a s a people,
a n d t o feel f o r u s t h a t l i e a r t - f e l t s y m p a t h y w i t h o u r s e n t i ­
m e n t s a n d a s p i r a t i o n s w h i c h i s so n e c e s s a r y t o t h e w e l f a r e
a n d p ro sp e rity of th is g r e a t E m p ir e . O f c o u r s e , i t w ill b e
too m u c h for a la rg e p r o p o rtio n of th e m to m a s te r o u r a n c ie n t
la n g u a g e in o r d e r to s tu d y o u r a n c i e n t lite r a tu r e a n d sc ie n c e ;
b u t E n g lish tra n sla tio n s of th e m o st im p o rta n t w o rk s are now
b e i n g m a d e , a n d t h e s e s h o u l d bo re;id by all w h o w i s h to
k n o w t h e p e o p l e a m o n g w h o m t h e y h a v e c o m e to live. I t is
to be r e g r e tt e d th a t w hile th e y hav o d o n e m u c h , a n d aro
d o i n g m o ro to d e v e lo p t h e m a t e r i a l re s o u r c e s o f I n d ia , t h e y
h a v e h a rd ly d o n e a n y t h i n g to ex p lo re a n d u tiliz e its in te lle c ­
tu al a n d m oral treasures. T h o b e s t f e a t u r e o f T h e o s o p h y is
t h a t it in c u lc a te s th o sp irit of U n iv e rs a l b r o th e r h o o d a m o n g
m e n , a s f o r m i n g p a r t o f t h e U n i v e r s a l L ife ; a u d if i t s p r e ­
c e p ts aro strictly a n d sin c erely a c te d u p o n , th o b o n d s of s y m ­
p a t h y b e t w e e n d i f f e r e n t r a c e s w ill bo d r a w n t o g e t h e r m o r e
c l o s e l y a n d i n s e p a r a b l y , a n d m a n w i l l f e e l f o r m a n us h e
sh o u ld do, w ith o u t th in k in g of color, c re e d o r ca ste , b u t
k n o w i n g a n d b e lie v in g t h a t th e y aro a lik e t n e c r e a t u r e s of
(Jod, a f t e r w h o s e im a g e m a n h a s b een m a d e . E v e ry m a n , as
ev o ry o th o r being, fo rm s a n in te g ra l p a r t of t h a t U n iv e r s a l
L if e w h ich p e rv a d e s a n d a n im a te s th e w hole c r e a tio n ; a n d
in s e e k i n g to i n j u r e e a c h o t h e r , w o o n l y offer v io le n c e to t h a t
l i f e w h i c h is t h e l i f e o f t h e w o r l d . I t is h a r d l y n e c e s s a r y t o
s a y t h a t n o d i s t i n c t i o n s o f r a c e c a n p o s s i b l y be m a d e in t h e
f u t u r e w o rld ; a n d , a s a m a t t e r o f fact, n o s u c h d i s t i n c t i o n s
a r e o b s e r v e d a m o n g t h o H i m a l a y a n B r o t h e r h o o d w h i c h is
c o m p o s e d o f a ll c a s t e s a n d r a c e s , T h i b e t a n s , T a r t a r s , M o n g o ­
lia n s , C hinese, Ja p a n e s e , S ia m e se , B u rm e s e , S in h alese , C opts,
G r e e k s , H u n g a r i a n s , E n g li s h m e n , B e n g a lis , S ik im e s e , A lad ras-
s i s , S i k h s , R a j p u t s , & c., & c ., a l l w o r k i n g t o g e t h e r h e a r t i l y
au d e a rn e s tly for th e com m on w elfare of h u m a n ity . I am su re
t h a t th o d iffe re n c e b e tw e e u t h e E u r o p e a n a n d t h e A sia tic w ill
b e h e l d to b e of l i t t l e m o m e n t w h e n it is c o n s i d e r e d t h a t a l l
r a c e s of m a n k i n d a r e d e riv e d f r o m t h e s a m e o rig in a l sto c k ,
a n d t h a t all re lig io n s in th e w o rld s p r i n g f ro m th e s a m e p r i­
m itiv e so u rc e . I f w e m a y t r u s t to m o d e r n re se a rc h , t h e h u m a n
race, w h e n i t left i ts c r a d le in C e n t r a l A sia , b e n t its c o u r s e
t o I n d ia , w h e n c e it s p r e a d g r a d u a lly o v e r A s ia , p a s s in g iuto
E g y p t, a n d , th u s , o n to E u r o p e . T h e H in d u s re p re se n t th e
o l d e r Branch o f ,t h e g r e a t A r y a u s t o c k ; a n d o u r E u r o p e a a
b r e t h r e n s h o u l d l o o k u p o n u s a s filled w i t h th o s a m e b lo o d ,
t h o u g h m a r k e d by a d iffe re n t color, a n d r e ta in in g m u c h of
tb e p rim itiv e h a b its a n d c u sto m s w h ic h w ere once c o m m o n
to b o th .
T h e o s o p h y also te a c h e s a n o th e r g r a n d d o c tr in e — t h e d o c ­
t r i n e o f k a r m a , i . e., t h a t a c c o r d i n g t o t h e m e r i t o r d e m e r i t o f
o u r w o r k , w e s h a l l be r e w a r d e d o r p u n i s h e d in t h i s , o r ip
th o n e x t e x iste n c e . I f t h i s t r u t h w h i c h is s o o b v i o n s , b e i m ­
p r e s s e d on t h e m i n d s a n d h e a r t s of us a ll, i t is i m p o s s ib le
t h a t w e can t h i n k , feel, o r a c t in a n y w ay t h a t c a n be h u r t f u l
to o u r fellow -m en. T h is d o c trin e em an ates from th e sa m e
d iv in e s o u rc e as t h e te a c h in g of C h rist th a t “ w h a te v e r
a m a n so w eth , t h a t sh a ll ho also r e a p .” I t is a g r e a t p r i n c i ­
p le of th e m o ral la w s w h ic h g o v e rn m a n k in d t h a t every bad
d e e d s h o u ld be fo llo w e d b y e v il c o n s e q u e n c e s to t h e m a n
w h o c o m m i t t e d i t ; a n d i f w e r e g u l a t e o u r l i v e s a c c o r d i n g to
t h is p rin cip le , w e s h ill p ro te c t o u rse lv e s m o s t c e rta in ly from
t h e ris k of p e r p e tr a tin g crim e. I t s h o u l d b e o u r c a r e so t o
d i i e c t o u r c o n d u c t t h a t w o sh o u ld d o w h a t e v e r w e do, fo r
o n rso lv c s a n d for o th e rs , fro m th e p u r e s t a n d n o b le s t m o tiv es,
— u n se lfish ly , d is in te re s te d ly a n d w ith o n t a n y ho p e o r pro sp ect
of earth ly rew ard . A g o o d d e e d c a r r ie s its o w n r e w a r d
w i t h i t , a n d t h e i n n e r s a t i s f a c t i o n o f a m a n ’s h e a r t .
B u t m o r e t h a n a n y t h i n g else, T h e o s o p h y to a c h e s p u r i ty o f
l i f o a s e s s e n t i a l t o t h e l ife a u d c h a r a c t e r o f a m a n , a n d t o t h o
a c q u is itio n o f o c c u lt p o w ers. T h e in n e r visio n of m a n , w h ic h
is m o r e p o w e r f u l t h a n t h e o u t e r v isio n , a n d w h i c h e n a b le s
h i m to forsi e t h i n g s , c a n n e v e r be c l e a r u n l e s s h is m i n d a n d
life b e p e r fe c tly p u r e . T h a t vision b e c o m e s c le a r e r as he
p r o g r e s s e s in p u r i t y . D e t e r m i n a t i o n o f w ill w ill b e o f no
a v a il in p r o d u c i n g p h e n o m e n a u n le s s it be a c c o m p a n i e d a n d
a s s i s t e d b y s a n c t i t y o f life .
A s for th e e x is te n c e of th e H im a la y a n B ro th e rs, m a n y
F e l l o w s of t h e T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c i e t y , i n c l u d i n g m y h u m b l e se lf,
h a v e h a d a m p l e p r o o f s o f it. M r . A . 0 . H u m e , in h i s “ H i n t s
on E so tc ric T heosophy, No. I I.,” ju s t publish ed , an d M r.
A. P. S in n e tt, th e a u th o r of th e “ O ccu lt W o iId ,” b ear u n ­
eq u iv o c a l te s tim o n y to t h e ir e x iste n ce. A b b e H u e a s testi­
f i e d b y h i m t o t h e O h c v a lie r dos M o u sse a u p a s g i v e n h i s e v i ­
d e n c e to t h e s a m e effe ct.
Bahu D ijunura N a t u T agore, A c h a r y a , A d i B r a h m o S o m a j ,
F . T. S- n e x t a d d r e s s e d t h e m e e t i n g , a n d s p o k e a s f o l l o w s : —
M r. P re s id e n t a n d G e n tle m e n ,— A t th is c eleb ratio n of th e
firs t a n n i v e r s a r y o f th o B e n g a l T h e o s o p h ic a l S o c ie ty , I rise,
in a c c o r d a n c e w ith t i m e - h o n o r e d c u s t o m , to a d d r e s s y o u a
few w ords. T h e f irs t a n d f o r e m o s t object, of o u r S o c ie ty , a s
m a y be f o u n d o n r e fe re n c e to its p u b l i s h e d “ R u le s a n d O b ­
j e c t s , ” is t l i o f o r m a t i o n o f t h e n u c l e u s o f a U n i v e r s a l B r o t h e r ­
hood of h u m a n i t y , ir r e s p e c tiv e o f color, creed , o r caste. T h e
id e a l o f B r o t h e r h o o d , h o w e v e r, d iffers in d i f f e r e n t m e n , b u t
T r u t h , i t is a t r u i s m t o s a y , c a n b e b u t o n e ; t h e r o c a n b e
b u t o n e c o r r e c t id e a l in th e w o rld , a n d ^ t h e m o r e w e realise
t h a t ideal, th e m o re we a p p r o a c h th e g r a n d a c c o m p lis h m e n t.
B r o t h e r h o o d , v i e w e d in its p r a c t i c a l a s p e c t s , a d m i t s o f t h r e e
d iv is io n s , n a m e ly , ( I ) a u th o r ita tiv e , (2) v isio n a ry , a n d (3)
scien tific. T h e tirs t o f t h e s e is b a s e d e n t i r e l y u p o n a u t h o r i t y .
T ho fo llo w ers of th is id e a l beco m e d e p riv e d of th e ir s ig h t b y
a c o n s ta n t co n fin e m e n t w ith in t h e gloom y sh a d e s of a u th o r ity .
W h e n , in c o u rse o f tim e , th e priso n b a rs aro b ro k e n , th e
s u d d e n ly lib e r a te d c a p tiv e , f ro m his lo n g u n f a m ilia r ity w ith
l i g h t , c a n h a r d l y o p e n h is e y e s to th e s p l e n d o u r o f t h e m i d ­
d a y su n , b u t in t r e m b lin g fe a r of r e v e r tin g to th e sa d lo t h e
h a s e s c a p e d , w i t h c lo s e d eyes, h o ld s f a s t to w h a t e v e r h e c a n
l a y liis h a n d s n p o n . T h i s p r o c e s s le n d s in t h i s c o u n t r y to a n
a tte m p t of tr a n s p la n tin g th o w e a th e r-d e fy in g o a k trees of
E n g l a n d to t h o l if e - g iv in g rice-field s of I n d ia . B u t, as it
o u g h t to h a v e b e e n fo re s e e n , t h e i r a t t e m p t s lead to u o g o o d
b u t la b o r lo st. S m a r ti n g u n d e r th is d isa p p o in tm e n t, th e y
c a s t a b o u t f o r f r e s h m u te r ia ls fro m all sid es, a n d p r o d u c e a n
u n d i g e s t e d m a s s w h i c h is e v e r y t h i n g a n d n o t h i n g . Thus
m e n puss fro m t h e a u t h o r i t a t i v e to tlie v is io n a r y s ta g e in
th e ir s e a rc h a f t e r th e id eal o f B r o th e r h o o d , a n d w e a v e o u t
f r o m t h e i r t e e m i n g b r a i n s , w h a t t h e y c o n s i d e r , f o r m s o£
s tr e n g th a n d b e a u ty , w h ich , n e v e rth e le ss, lik e g ia n ts of n u r ­
se ry tales, d isso lv e iu to th in a ir, o n b e in g s u rp rise d b y a ray
o f s u n - l i g h t . D i s c o n t e n t e d p e o p le o f th e l a s t- m e n tio n e d class
se e m to b e in p r e d o m i n a n c e in t h e e d u c a t e d p o r t io n o f th is
c o u n try . T h e y s e e m to f o r g e t t h a t a n “ i d e a l” is a v e ry t h i n
a e r i a l t h i n g , a n d i t is o n l y b y a l o n g c o u r s e o f f a m i l i a r i t y
t h a t it c a n b e e n d o w e d w i t h life a n d a n i m a t i o n . T he resu lt,
w h i c h i s t h u s b r o u g h t a b o u t , is m e r e d i s a p p o i n t m e n t . It
w i l l t h u s b e s e e n t h a t t h o d e s i r a b l e g o a l c a n bo r e a c h e d o n l y
b y t h e p u r s u i t of th e scien tific id e a l of B ro th e r h o o d , W h at­
ever is g o o d in t b e o th e r tw o id eals finds a p lace in th is, w i t h ­
o u t t h e d e f e c ts of e ith e r. L e t u s see w h a t th e sc ien tific id eal
o f B r o t h e r h o o d is. I t w ill b e s e e n o n a l i t t l o r e f l e c t i o n t h n t
B r o t h e r h o o d , a s p o p u l a r l y u n d e r s t o o d , is m e r e l y a s o r t o f
in te lle c tu a l s te n m -ro ile r w h ic h c r u s h e s o u t all life a n d in d i ­
v i d u a l i t y h y le v ellin g d o w n e v e r y t h i n g to a d e a d m o n o to n y .
I f t h a t w e r e 80, U n i v e r s a l B r o t h e r h o o d w o u l d b e a u n i v e r s a l
c u rsc , in s te a d of a u n iv e rsa l blessing. T h e re arc som e m e m ­
b e r s o f th e low est g r a d e of a n im a te d n a t u r e w h o s e b o d ily
s tr u c tu r o p r e s e n ts n o d iv e rsity w h a t e v e r ; h e a d , tail, m id d le ,
n u d e x t r e m i ti e s in th e m aro o n e u u d i s t i u g u i s h a b l e h e a p . T h e y
s u f f e r , i n c o n s e q u e n c e , 110 i n c o n v e n i e n c e w h a t s o e v e r i f p o r ­
tio n s of t h e m b e c u t off a u d s e p a r a te d f r o m t h e w hole, b u t
c o n t i n u e t o l i v e 011, i n s p i t e o f s u c h m n t i h i t i o n s . N ations
n n d so c ietie s a r e repenting- o v e ry d a y in b i t t e r te a r s th e ir
a d o p tio n of th o se u n d ev e\o p ed o r g a n is m s as th e ir m odel, l h e
h i s t o r y of th e F r e n c h re v o lu tio n s u p p lie s a n in s ta n c e in p o in t.
T h e e q a lite o f t h e R e v o l u t i o n i s t ! ! s o o n c h a n g e d i n t o a n a l l -
d o v o u r i n g m o n s t e r w h i c h filled a l l E u r o p e w i t h fire a u d b l o o d .
T h o b o d i l y e c o n o m y o f s u p e r i o r b e i n g s is q u i t e o f a d i f f e r e n t
ch aracter. H e a d , t r u n k , a r m s , lo g s, h a n d s , f e e t , h a v o t h e i r
d i s t i n c t i v e c h a r a c t e r w e l l - m a r k e d , n e v e r t h e l e s s t h e y a r e so
re la te d th a t th e y fo rm o ne h a rm o n io u s w h o le — none o f th e
m e m b e r s can su ffer o r g a in w i t h o u t affe ctin g its b ro th e r.
T h a t id e a l of B r o th e r h o o d w h ich c o r re s p o n d s w ith th is sc h e m e
o f p s y c h o l o g i c a l e c o n o m y , i s w h a t I h a v e v e n t u r e d t o c a ll
s c i e n t i f i c i d e a l , a n d i t is t h i s i d e a l t h a t t h e T h e o s o p h i c a l S o ­
c ie ty h a s s e t b e fo re its e lf to realize. F o l l o w e r s o f all th o
d iffe re n t relig io n s in th e w o rld c a n re ta in t h e i r p e c u lia r re li­
g i o u s beliefs, a n d still be c la s p e d in t h e b r o t h e r l y e m b r a c e of
T h e o s o p h y . H e re , u p o n th is p la tf o rm , w ill be l o u n d , 1 d a r e
6ay, r e p r e s e n t a t i v e s of e v e r so m a n y d if f e r e n t r e lig io n s p e a c e ­
fu lly fra te rn iz in g to g eth er. I t d o e s g o o d t o a rnsm t o b e h o l d
s n c h in sta n c e s of p ro g re s siv e h u m a n ity . T h o y in sp ire confi­
d e n c e fo r th e p re se n t, a n d w ell-g ro u n d e d h o p es fo r th e fu tu re .
Ou w h i c h e v e r s i d e w e c a s t o u r e y e s , w e a r e m e t w i t h h a r r o w ­
i n g s i g h t s of m e n , in t h e n a m e o f B r o t h e r h o o d , c o m b i n e d
t o g e t h e r fo r th o s l a u g h te r o f t h e i r f e llo w - m e n — tr ib e s , in t h e
t a m e h o ly n a m e , b a n d e d t o g e t h e r fo r t h e o p p r e s s io n o f trib e s,
a n d n a t i o n s f o r t h e o p p r e s s io n of n a t i o n s ; b u t t h e I'h e o so p h i-
cal Society has a p p e a re d a m o n g ns as th e h a rb in g e r of th o so
d a y s w h e n all lim ite d b r o th e rh o o d s s h a ll e x p a n d a n d to u c h
e ach other, a n d fo rm th o g ra n d B ro th e rh o o d of H u m a n ity
w h i c h , w i t h a ll i t s m e m b e r s r e p r e s e n t e d by v a r i o u s t r ib e s a n d
n a tio n s , s h a ll g i r d u p its loins, lik e o n e m a n , to f ig h t a g a i n s t
th e co m m o n fo e— th e b an d ed legions of se n su a lity , b r u ta lity ,
aud m a te ria lity . A s t h e r e is b u t o u e G o d i n t h e U n i \ e r s e ,
so th e r e w ill be b u t o u e B ro th e rh o o d on e a r th .
D u . L e o p o l d S a l z b r F . T . S . s p o k e a s f o l l o w s :—
G e n tle m e n ,— B e fo re a tte m p tin g to lay before y o u th e o b se r­
v a tio n s of D r . Y a e g e r of S t u t g a r t , r e g a r d in g th e i m p o r t a n t
p a r t o d o r a n t m a t t e r plays in liv in g o r g a n is m s ,, a n d es p e c ia lly
i n l i v i n g a n i m a l s , 1 fffiall q u o t e t o y o u a f e w w o r d s f r o m t h e
l a t e s t e d i t i o n o f U r . C a r p e n t e r ’s H u m a n P h y s i o l o g y , i u o r d e r
t o s h o w in w h a t s t a to sc ie n c e a l l o w e d t h o m a t t e r to r e m a i n
so la te as th o y e a r 1881.
“ O f th o n a tn r e of o d o ro u s e m a n a tio n ,” says o u r a u th o r ,
“ t h e p h y s i c a l p h i l o s o p h e r is so c o m p l e t e l y i g n o r a n t , t h a t t h o
p h y s i o l o g i s t c a n n o t be e x p e c t e d to g i v e a d e f i n i to a c c o u n t of
th e m o d e in w h ich th e y p ro d u c e se n so ry im p re ss io n s ; a lth o u g h
i t m a y bo s u r m i s e d t h a t t h e y c o n s i s t of p a r t i c l e s of e x t r e m e
m in u te n e s s , d iss o lv e d as i t w e ro in th e a i r , ” Y et th e m ost
delicate e x p e rim e n ts, c o n tin u e s D r. C a rp e n te r, “ h av e failed
to d isc o v e r a n y d i m i n u t io n in w e ig h t, in c e r ta in s u b s t a n c e s
(as m u sk ) th a t h ave been im p re g n a tin g a h u g e q u a n tity of
a i r w i t h t h e i r efflnvia f o r se v e ra l y e a r s . ”
I still q u o te C a r p e n t e r w h e n 1 t a j “ t h e i m p o r t a n c e o f tho
s e n s e o f Binell a m o n g m a n y o f t h e l o w e r a n i m a l s i n g u i d i n g
t h e m to t h e i r food, o r in g i v i n g t h e m w a r n i n g o f d a n g e r , a n d
o ls o in e x c i t i n g th e Bexual f e e lin g , is w ell k n o w n . T o m a n its
u t i l i t y is c o m p a r a tiv e ly s m a ll u n d e r o r d i n a r y c i r c u m s t a n c e s ;
b u t i t m a y be g r e a t l y in o reased w h e n o t h e r se n se s a r e d efi­
cien t. T h u s in t h e w e ll-k n o w n case o f J a m e s M itc h e ll, w h o
w a s b lin d , d eaf, a n d d u m b fro m his b ir th , it w a s th e p rin c i­
p a l m e a n s of d is tin g u is h in g persons, a n d en ab led h im a t once
to perceive th e e n tr a n c e o f a s tr a n g e r . A m o n g s t sa v a g e trib e s,
w h o s e senses a ro m o re c u ltiv a te d th a n th o s e of civ ilise d n a ­
t io n s, t h e s c e n t is a l m o s t a s a c u t e a s in t h e lo w e r m a m m a l i a ;
t h u s i t is a s s e r t e d b y H u m b o l d t t h a t t h e P e r u v i a n I n d i a n s
iu th e m id d le o f tlie n i g h t c a n d is tin g u is h th e d iffe re n t races,
w h e th e r E u ro p e a n , A m e ric a n , In d ia n , o r N e g ro , a n d th e A rab3
o f t h e g r e a t d e s e r t a r e s a i d t o b e able t o d i s t i n g u i s h t h e s m e l l
o f a fire t h i r t y m i l e s off.”
Y o u h a v e n o w h e a r d , g e n tle m e n , h o w i m p o r t a n t th e senso
o f s m e ll is in th e e c o n o m y of th o a n im a l k in g d o m , a u d h o w
li t t le e v en m e n of sc ie n c e k n o w w h a t to m a k e of it.
W it h so m u c h th e m o re p le a s a u t e x p e c ta tio n do we t u r n
n o w to P r o f o s s o r Y e a g e r , w h o t r e a t e d t h e s u b j e c t i u th e
s p ir it of a t r u e p h ilo s o p h e r .
B o t h t h e B e n s e of s m e l l a n d t a s t e a r e e s s e n t i a l l y c h e m i c a l
i u t h e i r n a t u r e a n d w i d e l y d i f f e r i n t h e r e s p e c t f r o m the**
se n se s of s ig h t, h e a r i n g a n d to u c h , w h ic h a re p u re ly p h y sic a l.
T h e i m p r e s s i o n c o n v e y e d t o u s b y s m e l l o r t a s t e is ow*iug t o
c e rta in m a te ria ls w h ic h e n te r o u r body, e n te r into th e very
m a s s of o u r blood. Y o u p e r c e i v e a r a y o f l i g h t o r a s o u n d __
a n a d e q u a t e i m p r e s s i o n is l e f t i n y o u r b r a i n , a n d t h e r o t h o
m a t t e r e n d s , a s f a r a s y o u r p h y s io lo g ic a l life is c o n c e r n e d .
I t is a l t o g e t h e r a u a f f a i r b e t w e e n t h e r e c e p t i v e , c o n d u c t i n g
n e r v e , a u d tlio i m p r e s s io n r e c e i v i n g b ra in . Y o u in h ale a n
o d o r o u s s u b s ta n c e , a u d th e w h o le of y o u r s y s te m h a s re c e iv ­
ed so m e th in g e ssen tial, h o w e v e r m in u te , v o latile, a n d d iffu ­
s i v e ; iu f a c t, it m a y be sa id , th o w hole of y o u r s y s te m h a s
r e c e i v e d i t b e c a n s o i t is v o l a t i l e a n d d i l l n s i v o . I n th is caso
th o s e n s o r iu m h a s m e re ly re c e iv e d th e im p re ssio n iu th e first
i n s ta n c e , t h e effe ct its e lf s p r e a d s all o v e r th e b o d y , a n d p r o ­
d u ces, o fte n e n o u g h , a g e n e r a l s e n s a tio n of e n jo y m e n t, w h ich
a s i n g l e r a y o f l i g h t , o r a s i n g l e s o u n d , a s s u e h , is n e v e r
c a p a b le of p r o d u c in g .
A n d n o w to P r o f e s s o r Y e a g e r . H e s ta rts fro m th e fact
w e l l - k n o w n iu m e d i c a l j u r i s p r u d e n c e , t h a t t h e blo o d o f a n
a n im a l w h e n tre a te d by sn lp h u ric , o r in d eed by a n y o th e r
d e c o m p o s in g acid , sm e lt lik e th e a n im a l itself f ro m w h ic h it
is t a k e n . T h i s h o l d s g o o d e v e n a f t e r t h e b l o o d h a s b e e n louo-
d ried . a
L e t u s s t a t e b e f o r e a l l w h a t is t o b e u n d e r s t o o d b y t h o
sm e ll of a c e rta in a n im a l. T h e r e is t h e p u r e , s p e c i f i c s m e l l
of t h e a n i m a l , i n h e r e n t in i t s fiesh, o r, a s w e s h a l l see h e r e ­
a f t e r , in c e r t a i n p o r t i o n s of i t s flesh. T h i s s m e ll is b e s t m a d e
u ia u ite s t, w h e n g e n t l y b o ilin g th e flesh in w a te r. T h e b ro tli
t h e r e b y o b t a i n e d c o n t a i n s t h e sp ecific ta s to a n d s m e ll of th o
a n im a l.— I call it specific, b e c a u s e every species, n a y e v e ry
v a r ie ty of sp e c ie s h a s its o w n p e c u lia r ta s te a n d sm e ll. T h in k
o f m u t t o n b r o t h , c h i c k e n b r o t h , f i s h b r o t h , & c., & e. I shall
c a ll t h i s s m e ll, t h e s p e c ific s c e n t of t h o a n i m a l . I need not
te ll y o u t h a t th o s c e n t of a n a n i m a l is q u i t e d if fe r e n t f r o m a ll
s u c h o d o u r s a s a r e g e n e r a to d w ith in its o rg a n is m , a lo n g
w i t h its v a r i o u s s c o r e t i o n s a n d e x c r e t i o n s : bile, g a s t r i c ju i c e ,
s w e a t , u r i n e , <feo. T h e s e o d o u r s a r e a g a i n d i f f e r e n t i n t h o
d i f f e r e n t B p o c ie s a n d v a r i e t i e s o f a n i m a l s . T he cu tan eo u s
e x h a la tio n o f th o g o a t, th e sh e ep , th e d o n k e y , w id e ly differ
fro m e a c h o t h e r ; a n d a s im ila r difference p r e v a ils w ith
r e g a r d to all t h e o t h e r effluvia o f th e s e a n im a ls. I n fact, a s
f a r as o lf a c t o r y e x p e r i e n c e go es, we m a y s a y t h a t th o o d o u r
of e a c h s e c r e t i o n a n d o f e a c h e x c r e t i o n o f a c e r t a i n s p e c i e s o f
a n i m a l s is p e c u l i a r t o i t s e l f , a n d c h a r a c t e r i s t i c a l l y d i f f e r e n t
in th e s i m ila r p r o d u c ts of a n o th e r specics.
B y a l t e r i n g th e food of a n a n im a l w e m a y c o n s id e ra b ly
a l t e r all t h e a b o v e m e n t i o n e d o d o u rs, sc e n ts, as w ell a s sm e lls ;
y o t e s s e n t i a l l y th e y w ill a l w a y s r e t a i n t h o i r sp e cific o d o r ife ­
ro u s ty p e. A l l t h i s is m a t t e r o f s t r i c t e x p e r i e n c e .
S t r o n g l y d iffu siv e a s all th o s e o d o r o u s s u b s t a n c e s a re , t h e y
p e r m e a te th e w hole o rg a n is m , a n d e a c h of th e m c o n tr ib u te s
its s h a r e t o w h a t in t h o a g g r e g r a t e c o n s t i t u t e s t h e B m ell o f
th e liv in g a n im a l. I t is a l t o g e t h e r a n e x o r c m e n t i t i o n s sm e ll
te m p e re d by th e s c e n t of th o an im a l. T h a t excrem eutitious
Binell w o s h a l l h e n c e f o r t h s i m p l y c a l l t h e s m e l l i n c o n t r a d i s ­
t i n c t i o n to t h e s c e n t o f t h e a n i m a l .
R e tu rn in g now , a fte r th is n o t v ery p leasant, b n t n e v e rth e ­
le ss n e c e s s a ry d ig re ss io n , to o u r s u b je c t, P ro f e s s o r Y e a g e r
fo u u d t h a t blood, tre a te d by a n acid, m a y e m it th e s c e n t o r
t h e s m e l l o f t h e a n i m a l , a c c o r d i n g a s t h e a c i d is w e a k o r
stro n g . A s t r o n g a e i d r a p i d l y d i s i n t e g r a t i n g t h e blood,
b r i n g s o u t t h e a n i m a l ’s sm e ll, a w e a k a c i d , t h e a n i m a l ’s s c e n t .
A s tra n g e vorifieation of th is s tra n g o fa c t, w h ic h P ro fesso r
Y e a g e r le av es q u i t e u n e x p l a i n e d , a n d w h i c h 1 c a n n o t e x p la in
n o w f o r w a n t o f t i m e , is t o b e f o u u d i n t h e a d v e r t i s e m e n t
colum n of o u r d a ily papers. M e s s r s . B a t h g a t e a n d C o., of
t h i 3 c i t y , a d v e r t i s e , a m o n g s t o t h e r t h i n g s , B r a n d ’s E s s e n c e
of B eef, a n d sa y , in reco m m en d atio n th ereo f— “ T h is
E s s e n c e c o n s is ts so le ly o f t h e . ju ic e o f th e finest m e a t,
e x t r a c t e d b y a g e n tle h e a t."
W e see th e n t h a t in e v e r y d r o p o f blood o f a c e r ta in spe-
cios o f a n i m a l s , a n d w e m a y a s w e ll s a y , in e a c h o f its b lo o d
c o rp u sc le s , a n d in tlie l a s t in s ta n c e , i n e a c h o f its m olecu les,
t h e re sp e c tiv e a n im a l s p e c ie s is fu lly r e p re s e n te d a s to its
o d o r a n t s p e c ia lity , n n d e r b o th a s p e c t s o f s c e 'J t a n d sm e ll.
 . "We h a v e t h e n o n t h e o n e s i d e t h e f a c t b e f o r e u s t h a t w h e r e v e r
w e m e e t in th e a n im a l k in g d o m w i t h d iffe re n c e of sh a p e ,
f o r m , a n d c o n s tr u c tio n , so d i f f e r e n t as to c o n s t i t u t e a class, a
. g e n u s or a fa m ily of its ow n, th e r e w o m e e t a t th e sa m e tim e
w i t h a d is t i n c t a n d sp ecific s c e n t a n d s m e ll.
O n th e o th e r h a n d we k n o w t h a t th e s e specific o d o u r s are
i n v a r i a b l y i n t e r w o v e n w i t h t h e v e r y l i f e - b l o o d of t h e a n i m a l .
' A n d l a s t l y , w e k n o w t h a t t h o s e s p e c i f i c o d o u r s c a n n o t bo
a c c o u n te d for by a n y a g e n ts, t a k e n u p in th e s h a p e of food,
f r o m th o o u te r w orld.
W e a r e th e n , d r i v e n to t h e c o n c lu s io n t h a t t h e y a r e p r o ­
p e r t i e s o f tlie in n e r a n i m a l , b u t t h e y , in o t h e r w o r d s , p e r t a i n
t o t h e specific p r o t o p l a s m o f t h e a n i m a l c o n c e r n e d .
A n d t h i s o u r c o n c l u s i o n a t t a i n s a l m o s t c e r t a i n t y w h e n wo
r e m e m b e r t h a t i t s t a n d s t h e c r u c i a l te s t, o f e x p e r i m e n t ; t h a t
w o n e e d on ly d e c o m p o s e th e b lo o d in o r d e r to find t h e r e w h a t
w c c o n t e n d to be a n e s s e n t i a l i n g r e d i e n t o f it .
I m u s t n o w s a y a f o w w o r d s in e x p l a n a t i o n o f t h e t e r m
p ro to p la sm . P r o t o p l a s m is a s o f t g e l a t i n o u s s u b s t a n c e t r a n s ­
p a r e n t a n d h o m o g e n e o u s , e asier se e n in la r g e p la n t- c e lls ; it
m a y bo c o m p a r e d t o t h e w h i t e o f e g g s . W h e n a t r e s t all
so rts of v ib rato ry , q u iv e rin g an d tre m b lin g m o v e m e n ts can
b e o b se rv ed , w ith in its m ass. I t fo rm s th e liv in g m a te ria l
i n a l l v e g e t a b l e a n d a n i m a l c e l l s , — i n f a c t i i is t h e o n l y p o r ­
tio n of th e b o d y w h ic h really does a ll th e vital w o r k . I t is
t h e fo rm a tiv e a g e n t for all liv in g tiss u e s. V ita l a c tiv ity , in
th e b ro a d e st sense of th e te rm , m a n ife sts its e lf in th e re v o ­
lu tio n of th e g e r m in to th e c o m p le te o r g a n is m re p e a tin g th o
t y p e of its p a r e n t s a n d in t h e s u b s e q u e n t m a i n t e n a n c e o f t h a t
o r g a n is m in its i n t e g r i t y ; a n d b o th th e s o f u n c tio n s a r o e x ­
c lu siv e ly c a r r ic d o u t by th e p r o to p la s m . O f c o u r s e , t h e r e is
a g o o d d e a l o f c h e m i c a l a n d m e c h a n i c a l w o r k d o n e in t h o
o r g a n i s m , b u t p r o t o p l a s m is t h e f o r m a t i v e A g e n t f o r a l l t h e
tissu es a n d stru ctu res.
O f tissu es an d s tru c tu r e s a lre a d y form ed, wo nm y fa irly
s a y t h a t t h e y h a v e p a s s e d o u t o f t h e r e a l m s o f l i f e ; i t is t h e y
t h a t a r e d e s tin e d to g r a d u a l d i s i n t e g r a t i o n a n d d e c a y in th o
c o u r s e o f l ifo ; i t is t h e y t h a t a r e o n t h e w a y o f b e i n g c a s t o u t
of th e o r g a n is m , w h e n th e y h av o once r u n t h r o u g h th e scale
o f r e t r o g r a d e m e t a m o r p h o s i s , a n d i t i s th-jy t h a t g i v e r i s o t o
w h a t w o h a v e c a l l e d t h e s m e ll o f t h e a n i m a l . W h a t liv e s in
t h e m is t h e p r o t o p l a s m .
I u t h e sh a p e of food th e o u t e r w o r ld s u p p lie s t h e o r g a n is m
w i t h all t h e m a t e r i a l s n e c e s s a r y f o r t h e b u i l d i n g u p of t h e
o o n s t a n tl y w a s t i n g o r g a n i c s t r u c t u r e s ; a n d , in t h e s h a p e of
lie a t, co nies f r o m t h e o u t e r w o r l d t h a t o t h e r e l e m e n t n e c e s ­
sa ry for stru c tu ra l changes, d ev elo p m en t a n d g ro w th — th e
e le m e n t of force. B u t th e ta s k of d ir e c tin g all th e o u tw a r d
m a te r ia ls to th e d e v e lo p m e n t a n d m a in te n a n c e of th e o r g a n ­
ism , in o t h e r w o rd s, th e ta s k of t h e d ir e c to r- g e n e r a l of th o
o rg a n ic e c o n o m y falls to th e p ro to p la sm .
N o w th is w o n d e rfu l su b sta n c e , c h e m ic a lly a n d p h y sic a lly
th e sa m e in tlie h ig h e s t a n im a l a n d in th e lo w e s t p la n t, h a s
b e e n all a lo n g th e p u zzle of th e biologist. H o w is i t t l i a t in
m a n p ro to p la sm w o rk s o u t h u m a n s tru c tu r e , in fo w l— fow l
s t r u c t u r e , <fcc., & c., w h i l e t h e p r o t o p l a s m i t s e l f a p p e a r s t o b o
uv e r y w h e r e th o s a m e ? To P ro fesso r Y a e g c r b elongs th e
g r e a t m e r it of h a v in g sh o w n us t h a t th e p ro to p la sm s of th e
vario u s species of p la n ts a n d a n im a ls a r e n o t th e s a m e ; t h a t
e a c h of t h e m c o n ta in s , m o r e o v e r, im b e d d e d in its m o lecu les,
o d o ra n t s u b s ta n c e s p e c u lia r to th e o n e species a n d n o t to th o
o ther.
T h a t, o n th o o th e r h a n d , th o se o d o ro u s su b s ta n c e s aro by
110 m e a n s i n a c t i v e b o d i e s , m a y b o i n f e r r e d f r o m t h e i r g r e a t
v o l a t i l i t y , k n o w n a s i t i s i n p h y s i c a l s c i e n c e t h a t v o l a t i l i t y is
o w in g to a sta te of a to m ic ac tiv ity . P re v o s t h as describ ed
tw o p h e n o m e n a t h a t a r e p r e s e n t e d b y o d o r o u s s u b s t a n c e s .
O n o is t h a t w h e n p l a c e d o n w a t e r t h e y b e g i n t o m o v e , a n d
t h o o t h e r i s t h a t a t h i n l a y e r o f w a t e r , e x t e n d e d 011 a p e r f e c t ­
ly c l e a n g l a s s p l a t e , r e t r a c t s w h e n s u c h a n o d o r o u s s u b s t a n c o
a s c a m p h o r is p l a c e d u p o n i t . M o n s ie u r L ig e o is h a s f u r t h e r
s h o w n t h a t t h e p a r t i c l e s o f a n o d o r o u s b o d y , p l a c e d 0 11 w a t e r ,
u n d e rg o a r a p id division a n d t h a t th e m o v e m e n ts of c a m ­
phor, o r of b enzoic a c id a re in h ib ite d , o r a lto g e th e r a rre s te d ,
if a n o d o r o u s S u b s ta n c e be b r o u g h t in to c o n t a c t w i t h th e
w a te r in w h ic h th e y a re m o v in g ,
S e e in g , t h e n , t h a t o d o r o u s s u b s t a n c e s , w h e n c o m i n g in
co n tact w i t h liq u id b o d ies, a s s u m e a p e c u lia r m o tio n , a n d
, im p a rt a t th e sa m e tim e m o tio n to t h e liq u id bod y , w e m a y
f a i r l y c o n c l u d e t h a t th e - s p e c i f i c f o r m a t i v e c a p a c i t y o f t h e
, p r o to p la s m , is o w in g , n o t to t h e p r o t o p l a s m its e lf , sin c e t h e
sum o is e v e r y w h e r e a l i k e , b u t to t h e i n h e r e n t , specifie, o d o r i ­
ferous s u b s ta n c e s . ’ h a r m o n y s u b s is tin g in tlic tw o i n d iv id u a ls c o n c e rn e d .
I s h a l l o n l y a d d t h a t P r o f e s s o r Y a e g e r ’s t h e o r y m a y b e
c a r r ie d f a r t h e r y et. E a c h m e ta l h a s also a c e r ta in ta s te a n d
o d o u r p e c u l i a r to i t s e l f ; in o t h o r w o r d s , t h e y a r e also e n d o w ­
ed w ith o d o rifero u s substances. A n d th is m a y h e lp u s to
e x p la in t h e fa c t t h a t each m e ta l, w h e n c ry sta llisin g o n t of a
liq u id so lu tio n , in v a ria b ly a ssu m es a d istin c t g e o m e tric a l
fo rm , by w h icli it m a y be d istin g u ish ed fro m a n y o th er.
C o m m o n sa lt, fo r in stan c e, in v a ria b ly c ry sta llise s i n c u b e s,
a l u m i n o c t o h e d r a , a n d so 011 .
P r o f e s s o r Y a c g ' e r ’s t h e o r y e x p l a i n s f a r t h e r t o u s t h a t o t h e r
g r e a t m y s t e r y of N a t u r o — t h e t r a n s m i s s i o n f r o m p a r e n t to
o ffs p rin g of th o m o rp h o lo g ic a l sp e ciality . T h is is a n o t h e r
p u z z l e o f t h e b i o l o g i s t . A V h a t is t h e r e i n t l i e e m b r y o n a l g e r m
t h a t ev o lv es o u t of th o m a te ria ls s to re d u p th e re in , a fram o
s i m i l a r t o t h e p a r e n t s ? I 11 o t h e r w o r d s , w h a t i s t h e r e t h a t
p re s id e s o v e r th e p re s e r v a tio n of th e species, w o r k i n g o u t th o
m in ia tu re d u p lic a te of th e p a r e n ts ’ c o n fig u ra tio n a n d c h a ra c ­
ter ? I t is t h e p r o t o p l a s m , n o d o u b t ; a n d t h o f e m a l o o v u m
c o n ta in s p ro to p la s m in a b u n d a n c e . B u t n e ith e r t h e p h y sic ist
n o r th e c h e m is t c a n d e te c t a n y d ifference b e tw e e n th e p rim o r­
d ial g e r m , s a y of t h e fo w l, a n d t h a t of a f e m a le of th e h u m a n
race.
I n a n s w e r to t h i s q u e s t io n ,— a q u e s t io n b e f o re w h i c h
science s ta n d s p e r p le x e d ,— w e n e e d o n ly r e m e m b e r w h a t h a s
b een sa id b efo re a b o u t th e p ro to p la sm ic scent. W e havo
s p o k e n b e f o r e of t h e specific s c e n t of t h e a n i m a l a s a w h o le .
W e k n o w , h o w e v e r, t h a t e v e ry o rg a n a n d tissu e in a g iv e n
a n im a l h a s a g a i n its p e c u li a r s c e n t a n d ta s te . T he scent and
t a s t e o f t h e l i v e r , s p l e e n , b r a i n , & c ., a r e q u i t e d i f f e r e n t i n
th e sam e an im al.
A n d i f o u r t h e o r y is c o r r e c t , t h e n i t c o u l d n o t b o o t h e r w i s e ;
e a c h o f t h e s e o r g a n s is d i f f e r e n t l y c o n s t r u c t e d , a n d a s v a r i e t y
of o r g a n i c s t r u c t u r e is s u p p o s e d to b e d e p e n d a n t u p o n t h e
v a r i e t y o f s c e n t, t h e r e m u s t n e c e s s a rily b e a specific c e r e b r a l
s c e n t , a s p e c i f i c s p l e n i t i c s c e n t , a s p e c i f i c h e p a t i c s c e n t , &e.
<£c. W h a t w e call, t h e n , t h e specific s c e n t of t h e liv in g
a n im a l m u s t, th e r e fo r e , be c o n s id e re d as th e a g g r e g a t e of all
th e d iffe re n t o rg a n ic sc e n ts w ith in its o rg a n ism .
W h e n w c se c t h a t a w e a k s o l u t i o n of s u l p h u r i c a c i d is
c a p a b l e of d i s e n g a g i n g f r o m th o b lo o d t h e s c e n t of th o
a n im a l, w e s h a ll t h e n b e a r iu m i n d t h a t th is o d o ro u s e m a n a ­
tio n c o n ta in s p a rtic le s of a ll th e sc e n ts p e c u lia r to each
t i s s u e a n d org>an o f t h e a n i m a l . W hen wo fu rth e r say
t h a t e a c h o r g a n in a l i v i n g a n i m a l d r a w s b y s e le c tiv e affin ity
fro m th e blo o d th o se m a te r ia ls w h ic h a rc n e c e ssa ry f o r its
su s te n a n c e , w c m u s t n o t f o rg e t t h a t e ach o rg a n d ra w s a t th o
s a m e t i m e b y a s i m i l a r s e le c tiv e a ffin ity th o specific o d o r o u s
s u b s ta n c e s re q u is ite fo r its c o n s tru c tiv e r e q u ire m e n ts .
W e h a v e n o w o n ly to su p p o se t h a t th e e m b ry o n a l g e r m
c o n ta in s , lik e th e blo o d itself, all th e o d o ro u s su b s ta n c e s p e r ­
t a in in g to th o v a rio u s tiss u e s a n d o rg a n s of t h e p a r e n t, a n d
w e s h a l l u n d e r s t a n d w h i c h is t h e m o v i n g p r i n c i p l e i n t h a
g e r m t h a t e v o lv es a n offsp rin g , s h a p e d in th o im a g e a n d a f te r
t h e lik e n e ss of th o p a re n ts.
I n p l a n t s it is th o b lo s s o m w h i c h is e n t r u s t e d w i t h t h o
fu n c tio n of re p ro d u c tio n , a n d th e odorous em an atio n s accom ­
p a n y in g t h a t p ro cess a re w e ll-k n o w n to you. T h e re is 's tro n g
re a so n to believe t h a t s o m e th in g sim ila r p re v a ils in th e caso
of a n i m a l s ; s o m e o f y o u w ill, n o d o u b t , h a v e h e a r d of w h a t
e m b r y o l o g i s t s c a l l t h e a u r a s e m in a lis . -
L e t u s n o w e n q u i r e w h a t t h e effects a r e of o d o u r s g e n e ­
r a te d in th e o u te r w o rld o n a n im a ls. T h e o d o ro u s im p re ssio n s
p r o d u c e d m a y be p le a s a n t o r u n p le a s a n t, p le a s a n t to t h e ono
a n d u n p l e a s a n t to t h e o t h e r a n im a l. W h a t is i t t h a t c o n s t i ­
tu te s th is sen satio n of p leasu re o r d isp le a su re P P ro fe sso r
Y a e g c r a n s w e r s i t i.s h a r m o n y o r d i s h a r m o n y w h i c h m a k e s
all th e d ifference. T lie o lfa c to ry o rg a n s of e a c h a n im a l aro
i m p r e g n a t e d b y its o w n specific s c e n t. W h e n e v e r t h e o d o r o u s
w a v e s o f a n o d o r a n t s u b s t a n c e h a r m o n i s e i u t h e i r v i b r 1! io n
w ith th e o d o ro u s w a v e s e m a n a tin g f r o m th e a n im a l, in o th e r
w o r d s w h e n e v e r t h e y fall in , a n d a g r e o w ith each o th e r , a n
a g r e e a b l e s e n s a t i o n is p r o d u c e d ; w h e n e v e r t h e r e v e r s e t a k e s
p l a c e , t h e s e n s a t i o n i s d i s a g r e e a b l e . I n t h i s w a y i t is t h a t t h o
o d o u r r e g u l a t e s t h e c h o i c e o f t h e f o o d 011 t h e p a r t o f t h o .
anim al. In a sim ila r w a y th o sy m p a th ie s a n d a n tip a th ie s
b e tw e e u th e v a rio u s a n im a ls a re re g u lated . F o r e v e ry in d iv i­
d u a l h a s n o t o n l y its specific b u t also its in d i v i d u a l s c e n t.
T h e s e l e c t i o n b e t w e e n t h e s e x e s , o r w h a t i n t h e c a s e Of t h o
h u m a n r a c e is c a l l e d lo v e , h a s its m a i n s p r i n g in t h e o d o r o u s
 L
ft
T h is i n d i v i d u a l s c e n t— a v a ria tio n of t h e specific o d o ro u s
ty p o — a l t e r s ( w i t h i n t h e lim its of i t s s p e c i a l i ty ,) w i t h a g e , w i t h
th e p a r t i c u l a r m o d e of o cc u p a tio n , w i t h t h e se x w i t h c e r t a in
p h y sio lo g ic a l c o n d itio n s a n d f u n c tio n s d u r i n g life, w i t h th e s ta te
o f h e a l t h , a n d la s t, b u t n o t least, w i t h t h e s t a te of o u r m i n d .
R e m e m b e r, p lease, t h a t o v ery tim e p ro to p la s m u n d e rg o e s
d i s in te g r a tio n , specific o d o u rs a r e s e t f re e . W c h a v e seen
h o w su lp h u ric acid , o r h e a t w h e n b o ilin g o r r o a s tin g m e a t,
b r i n g s o u t tlie s p e c ific a n i m a l o d o u r . B u t i t is a n e s t a b l is h e d
f a c t i n p h i l o s o h y , t h a t e v e r y p h y s i c a l o r m e n t a l o p e r a t i o n is
accom panied b y d isin te g ra tio n of tis s u e ; c o n seq u en tly w e
a rc en titled to sa y th a t w ith every em o tio n odours are
b ein g d is-en g ag ed . I t c an be sh o w n t h a t th e q u a lity of
th o s e o d o u r s d if fe r w i t h th e n a t u r e of th e e m o tio n . T im e fails
m e , h o w e v e r, to p u r s u e th e s u b je c t f u r t h e r ; I sh a ll, th e re fo re ,
c o n t e n t m y s e lf to d r a w s o m e c o n c lu s io n s f r o m P r o f e s s o r
Y a e g e r ’s t h e o r y w i t h r e g a r d t o T h e o s o p h y .
T h e p h e n o m e n a of m e s m e ric c u re s fin d th e ir fu ll e x p la n a ­
tio n in th e th e o r y ju s t e n u n c ia te d . F o r since th e c o n s tru c ­
tio n a n d p r e s e r v a tio n of t h e o rg a n is m , a n d of e v e r y o r g a n in
p a r t i c u l a r , is o w i n g t o s p e c i f i c s c e n t s ; w e m a y f a i r l y l o o k
u p o n d ise a se in g e n e r a l a s a d i s t u r b a n c e o f t h e specific s c e n t
of th e o rg a n ism , a n d u p o n disease of a p a r tic u la r o r g a n of
t h e b o d y , a s a d i s t u r b a n c e of t h e specific s c e n t p e r t a i n i n g to
th a t p articu lar organ. W e h a v e been h ith e rto in th e h a b it
o f h o ld in g th e p r o to p la s m re sp o n s ib le f o r a ll p h e n o m e n a of
d ise a se ; w e h a v e n o w co m e to le a r n t h a t w h a t a c ts in th e
p r o t o p la s m a r e t h e s c e n ts ; w e s h a ll, t h e r e f o r e , h a v e to lo o k
to t h e m a s t h e u l t i m a t e c a u s e o f m o r b i d p h e n o m e n a , I have
m e n tio n e d b efo re th e e x p e r im e n t of M o n s. L ig e o is, s h o w in g
th a t o d oriferous su b stan ces, w h e n b r o u g h t in c o n ta c t w ith
w a te r, m ove ; a n d t h a t th e m o tio n of one o d o rifero u s s u b ­
sta n c e m a y be in h ib ited , o r a rre ste d a lto g e th e r, by th e pre-
nence of a n o th e r odorous su b stan ce. E p id e m ic diseases, a n d
t h e zy m o tic diseases in p a r tic u la r, h a v e th e n m o s t lik e ly th e ir
o r i g i n in so m e local o d o u r s w h i c h i n h a b i t t h e a c t i o n of o u r
sp ecific o r g a n i c o d o u r s . I n th e case of h e r e d ita r y diseases,
i t is m o s t l ik e ly t h e t r a n s m i s s i o n o f m o r b i d sp e cific o d o u r s
f r o m p a r e n t t o o f f s p r i n g , t h a t is, t h e c a u s e o f t h e e v i l , k n o w ­
i n g a s w e d o t h a t i u d i s e a s e t h e n a t u r a l s p e c i f i c o d o u r is
alte re d , a n d m u st, th e re fo re , have been alte re d in th e diseased
p a ren t.
N o w com es th e m esm eriser. H e a p p ro a c h e s th e sick w ith
t h e s t r o n g d e te r m in a tio n to c u re h im . T h is d eterm in atio n ,
o r e ffo rt o f t h e w ill, is a b s o l u te ly n e c e s s a r y , a c c o r d i n g to t h e
a g r e e m e n t of all m esm e risers, fo r h is c u r a tiv e success, N o w
a n e f fo r t o f t h e w i l l is a m e n t a l o p e r a t i o n , a n d is t h e r e f o r e ,
a c c o m p a n ie d b y tissue d is in te g ra tio n . T h e effort b e in g
p u r e l y m e n t a l , w e m a y e a y i t is a c c o m p a n i e d b y d i s i n t e g r a ­
tio n of c e re b ra l a n d n e rv o u s tissu e. B u t d is in te g r a tio n of
o rg a n ic tissu o m ean s, as w e h a v e seen before, d is e n g a g e m e n t
o f specific s c e n ts ; t h e m e s m e r i s e r e m its , t h e n , d u r i n g h is
op eratio n , scents fro m h is o w n body. A n d a s t h e p a t i e n t ’s
B ufferings a r e su p p o s e d to o r ig in a te f r o m a d e fic ie n c y or
a l t e r a t i o n of h is o w n specific sc e n t, w e c a n w e ll see h o w th e
m e sm e rise r, b y his m esm eric, o r od o rifero u s e m a n a tio n s, m a y
su c c e e d to p u t h is p a tie n t to r ig h t. H e m a y su p p ly th e w a n t
of c e rta in o doriferous su b stan ces in th e p atien t, or he m a y
c o r re c t o th e rs b y h is o w n e m a n a tio n s , k n o w in g as w e do fro m
th e e x p e rim e n t of M ons. L ig e o is t h a t o d o r a n t m a t t e r do es
on o d o ran t a c t m a tter.
O ne r e m a rk m ore, a n d I h a v e d o n e. In T h eo so p h y w e aro
t o l d t h a t t h e l i v i n g b o d y is d i v i d e d i n t o t w o p a r t s :— •
1. T h e p h y s ic a l b o d y , c o m p o s e d w h o l ly o f m a t t e r in its
g ro ssest a n d m o s t ta n g ib le form .
2. T h e v i t a l p r i n c i p l e ( o r J i v - d t m a ) , a f o r m o f f o r c e , in d e s -:
tru c tib le , an d w h e n d isconnected w ith on e se t of ato m s
b e c o m in g a ttra c te d im m e d ia te ly b y o th ers.
N o w th is division, g e n e r a lly s p e a k in g , fu lly a g r e e s w ith
t h e t e a c h i n g s of science. I n eed o n ly re m in d y o u of w h a t I
h a v e s a id b efo re w ith r e g a r d to th e f o r m e d tissu e s a n d s t r u c ­
t u r e s o f t h e b o d y a n d its- f o r m a t i v e a g e n t , t h e p r o t o p l a s m .
F o r m e d s t r u c t u r e is c o n s id e r e d a s m a t e r i a l w h i c h h a s a l r e a d y
p a s s e d o u t o f t h e r e a l m s o f l i f e ; w h a t l i v e s i n i t is t h e p r o t o ­
plasm . S p f a r th e th e o so p h ic c o n c e p tio n f u lly a g re e s w ith
t h e r e s u l t of t h e la t e s t in v e s tig a tio n s o f m o d e r n science.
B u t w h e n w e a re to ld by the T heo so p h ist th a t th e vital
p r i n c i p le is i n d e s t r u c t i b l e , w e fe e l w e m o v e o n o e e u lt, i n c o m ­
p r e h e n s i b l e g r o u n d , f o r w e k n o w t h a t p r o t o p l a s m is a f t e r a ll
a s d e s tru c tib le a s th e b o d y itself. I t liv e s a s lo n g a s life
l a s ts , a u d , i t m a y b e s a i d , i t is t h e o n l y m a t e r i a l i n t h e b o d y
t h a t does liv e as lo n g as jife lasts, B u t i t d i e s w i t h t h e ces?
s a t io n o f life. I t is t r u e i t is c a p a b l e of a s o r t of r e s u s c i t a ­
tio n . F o r th a t v e ry d e a d p ro to p la sm , be it an im al o r v e g e ­
t a b le , t h a t v e r y d e a d p r o to p la s m , s e rv e s a g a i n a s o u r food,
a n d as t h e fo o d of a ll th e a n im a l w o rld , a n d t h u s h elp s to
re p a ir o u r c o n sta n tly w a s tin g econom y. B u t f o r all t h a t it
c o u ld h a r d l y b e s a i d to b e i n d e s t r u c t i b l e ; i t is a s s im ila b le ,
t h a t is to s a y , c a p a b l e o f r e - e n t e r i n g t h e d o m a i n o f life ,
t h r o u g h its b e in g ta k e n u p b y a liv in g bo d y . B u t such an '
e v e n tu a l ch a n c e does by no m e a n s c o n fer u p o n it th e a t t r i ­
b u te of in d e s tr u c tib ility ; fo r w e n eed o n ly leav e th e d ead
a n im a l o r p l a n t c o n ta in in g th e p ro to p la sm alo n e, a n d i t w ill
r o t a n d d e c a y , o rg a n s , tissu es, a n d p ro to p la sm a l to g e th e r .
T o o u r f a r t h e r p e rp le x ity th e T h e o so p h ist tells u s t h a t th o
v i t a l p r i n c i p le is n o t o n l y i n d e s t r u c t i b l e , b u t i t is a f o r m
of force, w h ic h , w h e n d is c o n n e c te d w ith o n e se t of a to m s,
becom es a ttr a c te d im m e d ia te ly b y o thers. T h e v ita l p rin c ip le
to th e T h e o s o p h is t w o u ld t h e n a p p e a r to be a s o r t of a b s t r a c t
f o rc e ; n o t a f o r c e i n h e r e n t in t h e l i v i n g p r o t o p l a s m — t h i s is
t h e s c i e n t i f i c c o n c e p t i o n — b u t a f o r c e p e r se , i n d e p e n d e n t
a l t o g e t h e r o f t h e m a t e r i a l w i t h w h i c h i t is c o n n e c t e d .
N o w I m u s t c o n fe ss s t h i s is a d o c tr in e w h i c h g r e a tly
stag g ered m e. I h a v e n o d ifficulty in a c c e p tin g th e s p ir it of
m a n as a n en tity , fo r th e p h e n o m e n a of ra tio n a tio n are
a l t o g e t h e r so w i d e ly d if fe r e n t f r o m all p h y s ic a l p h e n o m e n a ,
t h a t th e y c a n h a r d ly be e x p la in e d b y a n y of th e p h y sic a l
fo rc e s k n o w n to us. T h e m a te ria list, w h o tells us th a t
consciousness, se n sa tio n , th o u g h t, a n d th e s p o n ta n e o u s p o w e r
of t h e w ill, so p e c u l i a r t o m a n a n d to th e h i g h e r a n im a ls , a r o
a l t o g e t h e r so m a n y o u t c o m e s o f c e r t a i n c o n d i t i o n s o f m a t t e r
a n d n o t h i n g else, m a k e s a t b e s t m e r e l y a s u b je c tiv e s t a te m e n t.
H e c a n n o t h e l p a c k n o w l e d g i n g t h a t s p o n t a n e i t y is n o t o
q u ality of m a tte r. H e is t h e n d r iv e n to th e c o n te n tio n t h a t
w h a t w e b e l i e v e to b e s p o n t a n e o u s in u s , is a f t e r a ll a n u n ­
c o n s c io u s r e s u l t of e x te r n a l im p u ls e s only. H is co n ten tio n
re sts t h e n o n th e b a sis of h is o w n i n n e r ex p e rie n c e , o r w h a t
h e b eliev es to be su c h . T h i s c o n t e n t i o n o f h i s is, h o w e v e r ,
d i s p u t e d b y m a n y , w h o n o less a p p e a l to t h e i r o w n i n n e r
ex p e rie n c e , o r w h a t th e y believe to be t h e i r e x p e rie n c e . It
is t h e n a q u e s t i o n of i n n e r e x p e r i e n c e o f t h e o no p a r t y versu s
in n e r experience of th e o th er. A n d su c h b e in g th e case, th o
s c i e n t i f i c m a t e r i a l i s t is d r i v e n t o a d m i t t h a t h i s t h e o r y ,
h o w e v e r c o r r e c t i t m a y b e, r e s ts a f te r all o n su b je c tiv e
ex p erien ce, a n d c a n as su c h n o t c la im th e r a n k of po sitiv e
k n o w l e d g e . T h e r e is t h e n n o d iffic u lty in a c c e p t i n g t h e e n t i t y
of th e s p ir it in m a n th e m a te r ia lis tic a sse rtio n to t h e c o n tr a ry
n o tw ith sta n d in g . B u t t h e v i t a l f o r c e is e x c l u s i v e l y c o n c e r n e d
w i t h t h e c o n s t r u c ti o n of m a t t e r ; h e r e w e h a v e a r i g h t to
ex p e c t t h a t p h y sic a l a n d c h e m ic a l fo rces sh o u ld h o ld th e w hole
g r o u n d of a n e x p l a n a t i o n , if a n e x p l a n a t i o n is p o ss ib le a t a ll.
N o w , p h y sic a l a n d c h e m ic a l forces a r e n o e n titie s; th e y a r e
in v a ria b ly conn ected w ith m a tte r. I n f a c t, t h e y a r e so i n t i ­
m a te ly con n ected w ith m a tte r, th a t th ey can n e v e r be dissev er­
ed fro m it alto g e th e r. T h e e n e rg y of m a t t e r m a y be la te n t
o r p o te n t, a n d w h e n p o te n t, it m a y m a n if e s t itself in one fo rm
o r th e o th er, a c c o rd in g to th e c o n d itio n of its s u r r o u n d in g s ;
it m a y m a n ife s t itself in th e sh a p e of lig h t, h e a t, electricity ,
m a g n e tism , o r v ita lity ; b u t in one fo rm o r th e o th e r energy
c o n s t a n t l y i n h e r e s i n m a t t e r . T h e c o r r e l a t i o n o f f o r c e s is noflr
a w e l l - e s t a b l i s h e d , sc ie n tific f a c t, a n d i t is m o r e t h a n p l a u s ib l e
t h a t w h a t is c a l l e d t h e v i t a l p r i n c i p l e , o r t h e v i t a l f o r c e , f o r m a
a l i n k i n t h e c h a i n o f t h e o t h e r k n o w n p h y s i c a l f o r c e s , a n d is,
th erefo re, tr a n s m u ta b le in to a n y of th e m ; g r a n te d ev en th a t
t h e r e is s u c h a t h i n g a s a d i s t i n c t v i t a l f o r c e . T he tendency
o£ m o d e r n B i o l o g y i s t h e n t o d i s s a r d t h e n o t i o n o f a v i t a l
e n tity alto g eth er. I f v i t a l f o rc e is to b e i n d e s t r u c t i b l e , t h e n
s o a r e a l s o i n d e s t r u c t i b l e h e a t , l i g h t , e l e c t r i c i t y , & c. ; t h e y
a r e in d e s tr u c tib le in th is se n se, t h a t w h e n e v e r t h e ir re sp ec tiv e
m a n i f e s t a t i o n is s u s p e n d e d o r a r r e s t e d , t h e y m a k e t h e i r
a p p e a ra n c e in som e o th e r fo rm of fo rce ; a n d in th is very
sa m e sen se v ita l fo rce m a y be lo o k ed u p o n as in d e s tr u c tib le :
w h e n e v e r v i t a l m a n i f e s t a t i o n is a r r e s t e d , w h a t h a d b e e n
a c t i n g a s v i t a l f o rc e is t r a n s f o r m e d i n t o c h e m ic a l, e le c tr ic a l
fo r c e s , A c,, t a k i n g its p la c e .
B u t th e T h e o s o p h is t a p p e a r s to u n d e r s t a n d s o m e th in g qu ite
d i f f e r e n t f r o m w h a t I h a v e j u s t e x p l a i n e d , a n d w h a t is, as
f a r a s I u n d e r s t a n d , a f a i r r e p r e s e n t a t i o n o f t h e sp ie n tflc co n ­
ception of th e subject. T h e T h e o s o p h i s t tells u s t h a t t h e vital
p r i n c i p l e i s i n d e s t r u c t i b l e , a n d w h e n d i s c o n n e c t e d w i t h o ne
se t of a to m s b e c o m e s a ttr a c te d b y o th ers. H e th e n evidently
h o l d s t h a t , w h a t c o n s t i t u t e s t h e v i t a l p r i n c i p le is a p rin c ip le
q r f o r m o f f o r c e p e r se , a f o r m o f f o r c e w h i c h c a n l e a v e o n e
s e t of a to m s a n d g o o v e r a s s u c h tq a n o th e r se t, w ith o u t Icar-
 ing any substitute force behind. This, it m ust be said, is
simply irreconcileable w ith the scientific view on the subject
as hitherto understood.
By the aid of Professor Yaeger’s theory this difficulty can
be explained, I am happy to say, in a most satisfactory way.
The set of the vital principle, according to Professor
Y aeger’s theory, is not the protoplasm , but the odorant
m atter imbedded in it. A nd such being the case, the vital
principle, as far as it can be reached by the breaking up of its
anim ated protoplasm, is really indestrutible. You destroy
the protoplasm, by burning it, by treatin g it w ith suphuric
acid, or any other decomposing agent— the odoriferous sub­
stances far from being destroyed, become only so much tho
more.m anifest, they escape the moment protoplasmic destru­
ction or decomposition begins, carrying along w ith them ­
selves the vital psinciple, or w hat has been acting as such in
the protoplasm. And as they are volatile, they ' m ust soon
m eet with other protoplasm a congenial to their nature, and
set up there the same kind of vital activity as they have done
in th eir former habitat. They are, as the Theosophist rightly
teaches, indestructible, and when disconnected with one set
of atoms, they im mediately become attracted by others.
C O L O N E L O L C O T T ’S L E C T U R E O N “ D R . K S D A I L E
A N D M E S M E R IS M IN C A L C U T T A T H IR T Y -S IX
Y E A R S A G O ,' A T T H E F IR S T A N N IV E R S A R Y
' Ob' T H E B E N G A L T H E O S O P H I C A L S O C IE T Y ,
A T T H E T O W N H A L L , O N T H E 2 1 s t M A Y 1883.
The l u i e f t i m e r e m a i n i n g p r e v e n t s m y g o i n g , u s I h a v e t h e
s t r o n g d e s ire to , in to tlie s u b j e c t a n n o u n c e d us th e t h e m e o f
m y p resen t rem arks. F o r , a t t h e m o m e n t w h e n I h iiv o h a p ­
p ily r e c a lle d t h e a t t e n t i o n o f t h e I n d i a n w o rld to M e sm e rism ,
a f t e r a n i n t e r v a l o f i n d i f f e r e n c e l a s t i n g t h i r t y y e a r s , i t is m o s t
i m p o r t a n t t o b r i n g ont. t h e o l d r e c o r d o f t h e t r i u m p h s o f t h o
la t e D r . J a m e s E sd a ile , P r e s i d e n c y S u r g e o n a t C a lc u tta , to
p ro v e w h a t a boon he m a d e th e science to su fferin g h u m a n ity ,
a n d w h a t h i s s u c c e s s o r s of t h e p r e s e n t g e n e r a t i o n m a y d o if
th e y choose. B u t f o r t h e c o n s t a n t , u n r e m i t , t e n t official l a b o r
im p o sed up o n m e a s P r e s i d e n t of th e T h e o so p h ic a l S o ciety ,
I s h o u l d h a v e a l r e a d y c o m p i l e d f r o m t.he o f fi c i a l p a p e r s o f
G o v e r n m e n t th e h isto ry of th e r e m a rk a b le professional career
of D r. E sd aile. F o r m e, w ho have been an in terested s tu d e n t
o f p sy c h o lo g ic al science fo r m o re th a n t h i r t y y e a rs, th is w o u ld
h a v o b e e n a la b o r o f lo v e. A n d I h o p e a n d e x p e c t s till to
a c c o m p l i s h i t ; f o r t h o u g h I w a s n e v e r f o r t u n a t e e n o u g h to
p e r s o n a l l y m e e t h i m , y e t t h e t o n e o f D r . E s d a i l e ’s w r i t i n g s
gave m e a profound respect for a m an w ho m u st havo c o m ­
b in ed w ith ra re professional m e r it a m o ral co u ra g e of th e
h i g h e s t o r d e r T h e r e a re present, in t h i s a u d i e n c e g r e y - h e a d e d
m e n w h o w e r e E s d a i l e ’s h o s p i t a l a s s i s t a n t s o r p a t i e n t s i n 1 8 4 6 ,
’4 7 ; ’4 8 , ’4 9 , a n d ’5 0 , a n d t o t h e m I a p p e a l f o r s u p p o r t o f t h e
t r n t h o f m y e s t i m a t e o f liis c h a r a c t e r .
I h a v e h e re in m y h a n d a co p y of o n e of th e th r e a w o rk s
fro m h is pen. I t is e n title d “ N a t u r a l a n d M e sm e ric C la ir­
v o y a n c e ; w ith th e p ra c tic a l a p p lic a tio n of M e sm e rism to S u r ­
g e r y a n d M e d ic in e ,” a n d w a s p u b l i s h e d a t L o n d o n in 1852.
H i s f ir s t a n d m o s t i m p o r t a n t w o r k w a s c a l l e d M e s m e r i s m i n
I n d i a , b u t a s y e t I h a v e , n o t s u c c e e d e d in p r o c u r i n g a c o p y ,
d e s p i te m y b e s t e n d e a v o u r s h e r e a n d iu E n g l a n d . H is th ird
w o r k I h a v e h e r e : i t is o f p a m p h l e t s i z e , a n d r e l a t e s t o s o m e o f
th e d re a d fu l su rg ic a l o p eratio n s ho p erfo rm ed a t th e G o v e rn ­
m e n t H o s p ita l, C .ilcuttn, u p o n m e s m e ris e d p a tie n t s w h o w ere
m a d e in s e n s ib le to th e s l i g h t e s t p a in , o r e v e n c o n s c io u s n e s s
d u r in g th e several o p eratio n s. A colored p la te sh o w s us one
o f t l i e g i g a n t i c B crotal t u m o u r s e x t i r p a t e d by h i m ; its w e i g h t
w a s 1 0 3 l b s . a n d t h e v e r y t u m o u r i t s e l f is, I a m t o l d , s t i l l t o
b e se e n a t t h e M u s e u m o f t h e C a l c u t t a M e d ic a l College.
A s o u r s u b j e c t is a n h i s t o r i c a l r e t r o s p e c t o f t h e m e s m e r i c
s c i e n c e a t C a l c u t t a i n D r . E s d a i l e ’s t i m e , I s h a l l r e a d t o y o u
a few p a g e s from th is w o r k of h is to b r i n g th e p ic tu re o f th a t
p e rio d v iv id ly before y o u r m in d s. M y u l t e r i o r p u r p o s e is t o
sh o w y o u , a n d especially y o u , m y c o lle a g u e s o f th e T h e o s o ­
p h ical S ociety, h o w es se n tia lly base a re th o m e th o d s a lw a y s
re so rte d to by n n sp iritu a l m in d s to im p e d e th e sp re a d of
p sy c h o lo g ic al t r u th . W h a t E sd a ile suffered, ev ery o th e r
p i o n e e r of t h e t r u t h h a s h a d to s u f f e r ; a n d y o u , w h o p r o f e s s
dev o tio n to T h e o s o p h y , m u s t n o t im a g in e t h a t y o u sh a ll escape
th o tro u b le s t h a t h a v e th ic k e n e d a b o u t th e p a th of y o u r p re ­
decessors. I f y o u be tr u o m en , w o rth y to be c a lle d th e sons
c f th e A r y a n s a g e s, th e n , like N unnest d e B a lb o a , b u r n y o u r
s h i p s b e f o r e s t r i k i n g i n t o t h e j a n g l e o f l i f e ’s m y s t e r y , t h a t
y o u m n y n o t bo e v e n t e m p t e d to t u r n b a c k , a n d lik e c o w a r d s
lo c k s a f e ty in flig h t. T h e in te re st w h ic h y o u ' as H in d u s
h a v e i n t h e s c i e n c e o f M e s m e r i s m , I h a v e d w e l t u p o n i n p re>
v io u s a d d r e s s e s , a n d s h a ll r e c u r to la t e r in th e p r e s e n t d is -
c u r s e ; b u t n o w f o r E s d a i l e ’s p h o t o g r a p h o f C a l c u t t a h u m a n
n a tu re a gen eratio n ago. .
H o b e g a n h is m e s m e r i c e x p e r i m e n t s in t h e y e a r 1 8 4 5 a t t h e
E m a m b a r r a h H o s p i t a l a t H u glily, w h e r e h e so o n a r o u s e d th o
a t t e n t i o n a n d i n t e r e s t o f all I n d i a b y h is d a r i n g s u r g e r y . T h e
f i le s o f t h e Englishman f o r 1 8 4 6 a n d s u b s e q u e n t y e a r s c o n t a i n
m a n y ic p o r ts o f th ese cases by eyew itnesses of th e h ig h e s t
c r e d i b i l i t y , a l l a g r e e i n g t h a t D r E s d a i l e ’s p a t i e n t s w e r e o p e «
ra te d u p o n w h ile in a s ta te o f p erfe ct u n c o n s c io u sn e s s , a n d
t h a t o n e a n d a l l u p o n b e i n g a w a k e n e d d e c l a r e d t h a t t h e y hac[
f e lt n o p a in , n o r h a d a n y id e a of w h a t h a d h a p p e n e d to t h e m .
H e r e a r e s u c h c e r t i f i c a t e s f r o m M r . D\ W - S i m m s , C . E . ; t h e
R e v . A . E . L a C r io x , M is sio n a ry of th e L o n d o n M issionary
S o c ie ty ; M a jo r M . C orfield, 2 0 t h R e g i m e n t ; H , W . D en n y s,
A d j u t a n t , tfCith R e g i m e n t , N . I . ; T . R a t t r a y , L i e u t e n a n t , 6 4 t,h
R e g i m e n t , N . I . ; a u d J . (J. B r i g g s , L i e u t e n a n t , 4 C t h R e g i m e n t
N . I . ; th e R e v . M. H ill, L o n d o n M issio n ary S o c ie ty ; a n d
h e r e is a l e t t e r f r o m C o u n t d e G o r t z , c o p i e d f r o m t h e A llg e -
rneine Zeituvg , e x t r a c t s f r o m w h i c h I s h a l l r e a d . I t i s d a t e d
a t C a lc u tta , D e c e m b e r 2 6 th , 1846, a n d g iv es a v e ry clear idea
of th e c o n s u m m a te s k ill o f D r. E s d a ile as a S u r g e o n , a n d of
h is t r iu m p h a n t su c c e ss as a n e x p e rim e n ta l m e s m e ris t.—
Y o u little th in k w ith w h a t I sh a ll c o n c lu d e th is le tte r—
w ith a n a c c o u n t of M esm erism a n d su rg ical o p e ra tio n s ! Y ou
m u s t k n o w th a t th e y h ave here lately th o u g h t of ap p ly in g
th e full in se n sib ility c a u s e d by M e s m e rism for t h e p u rp o s e of
m a k i n g th e m o s t se v e re o p e r a tio n s painless.
“ D r . E s d a i l e , a s y e t a y o u n g p h y s i c i a n i n t h e C o m p a n y ’s
se rv ic e , h a s for r h e l a s t e i g h t e e n m o n t h s u s e d it in t h e t r e a t ­
m e n t of h is H i n d u a n d M a h o m e d a n p a t i e n t s , w h o , lik e th e
C h in e s e in C a n to n , d elay c o n s u ltin g th e E u ro p e a n d o c to rs till
th e ir cases becom e of th e m o st d esp era te d escrip tio n .
“ H is e x p e r im e n t c o m p le te ly succeeded ; he g a v e h im self
u p to it, a n d w o r k e d w o n d e r s ; a n d t h e r e u p o n t h e d o c t o r s
m a d e w a r u p o n h i m w i t h fire a n d s w o r d . B u t h e so g a i n e d
th e p u b lic co n fid en ce by h is o p en c o n d u c t a n d th e ab sen ce of
a ll c h a rla ta n ry , th a t th o G o v e rn m e n t fe lt co m p elled to su b ­
m it h is e x p e r im e n ts to a C o m m is sio n for p ra c tic a l d e m o n s tr a ­
tion. A C o m m issio n of d o cto rs, h a t i n g w itn e sse d h is ex p e ri­
m e n t s , d e e i l e d in h is f a v o r ; a n d f o r t h e l a s t t w o m o n t h s h o
h as been p laced at th e h e a d of a m esm e ric hospital, w h e re ha
p erfo rm s th e m o st d read fu l o p eratio n s w ith o u t the p atien ts
feeling th em . H o has perform ed u p w ard s of one h u n d red
o p e ra tio n s w ith o u t o n e d e a th o c cu rrin g , som e b ein g t h e rem o ­
v a l o f t u m o u r s f r o m 6 0 l b s . t o 10 0 l b s . i n w e i g h t . I n c o n s e ­
q u e n c e th e p o o r h e a th e n t h i n k it h e lp se n t fro m h e a v e n , a n d
r e gDa r d D r . E s d a i l e a s a n i n c a r n a t i o n o f V i s h n u .
“ W h a t p a r t i c u l a r l y p l e a s e s m e i n E s d a i l e is h i s c l e a r ,
so u n d , c o m m o n se n se ; fo r he m a k e s n o p re te n sio n s to c u re
all d ise a se s by M e s m e r is m . l i e is a d o c t o r , l i k e a n y o t h e r
d o c to r, a n d a bold o p e ra to r. H e only says : ‘ M y facts
pro v e t h a t I can p e rfo rm painless o p e ratio n s, a n d I o nly w ish
y o u , fo r th e sa k e of h u m a n ity , to a c k n o w le d g e th is sim p le
a n d in c o n te s ta b le f a c t . ’ H e h a s lo n g fo llo w ed t h is h o n o r ­
ab le c o n d u c t, a n d th e re fo re I hope it m ay b rin g him fam e an d
fo rtu n e.
“ I w a s v e r y k i n d l y r e c e i v e d b y h i m ; a n d lie m a y p e r h a p s
p re fe r th e o p in io n of nn u n p re ju d ic e d la y m a n to t h a t of a
p re ju d ic e d co lleag n o . I w e n t to see h is h o sp ita l, a s o n e m u s t
s e e t h e s e t h i n g s t o r e m o v e d i s b e l i e f , a n d t o bo a b l e t o r e p r o v e
it in o th e rs, a n d sa w m y se lf an o p eratio n p erfo rm e d , w h ich
f r o m t h e n a t u r e o f t h e c o m p l a i n t w n s m o s t b l o o d y ', d r e a d f u l
a n d pain fn l. T h o p a t i e n t n e v e r felt it, an d w as a w a k e n e d
f iv e m i n u t e s a f t e r a l l t h e b a n d a g e s h a d b e e n a p p l i e d , a n d
e p o k e to u s a ll u n c o n c e r n e d l y , fee lin g n o p a in in t h e w o u n d
till i t w a s s h o w n to h i m ; a n d i t w as o n l y t h e n t h a t h e s t a r t ­
e d , a n d p u t t i n g h is h a n d s t o g e t h e r t h a n k e d G o d t h a t his
c o m p lain t h ad boen rem oved. T h e t h in g pleased m e m u c h ,
e n d i t a p p e a r e d t o m e t o b e iiu i m m e n s e a d v a n c e . B esides
th o ch ief a d v a n ta g e gained, th e o th e r direct ad v a n ta g e s are
th e s e ; t h a t th e p a t i e n t d o e s n o t b ec o m e ex iniusted w ith fear
a n d p ain , a n d th a t th e su rg eo n can o p e ra te w ith g re a te st
case as if-ou a co rp se. I s h o u ld n ev er h a v e b een able to
w i t n e s s s u c h a n o p e r a t i o n if I h a d also b e e n o b lig e d to b e h o ld
th e sufferings of th e sick m an. B u t t h u s , it d id n o t excite
a n y d is a g r e e a b le f e e lin g s in m e , a n d I a m a t t h e s a m e t im e
h a p p y to b e ab le t o s p e a k o f tiie c a s e w i t h t h e w e i g h t of a n
ey e-w itn ess.”
 A s re g a r d s a v e r y im p o rta n t q u e stio n , w h e t h e r M e sm e rism
does n o t leave b e h in d it a n y n o x io u s in flu e n c e , a n d m a k e s an
after-cu re m o re d iffic u lt; I m ay observe th a t D r. E sd aile
m o s t c o n f id e n tly d e n ie s this, a n d p o i n t s to th e f a c t of “ o n e
h u n d r e d o p e r a t i o n s h a v in g been p e r f o r m e d w i t h o u t a d e a t h , ”
T h e f a m o o f h is s n c c e s s e s so o n led to h i s t r a n s f e r to C a l c u t t a .
G o v e r n m e n t o r d e rc d a M e sm eric C o m ru itte e o f p ro fe ssio n a l m e n
to w itn e s s h is a lle g e d painless o p e r a tio n s , a n d u p o n r e c e ip t
o f t h e ir r e p o rt, th e fo llo w in g o rd e r of t h e G o v e r n m e n t of B e n ­
g a l , o f d a t e 4 t h N o v e m b e r 1 8 4 6 , w a s g a z e t t e d :—
“ W ith th is v io w H is H o n o r h as d e te rm in e d , w ith th e sa n c ­
tio n of th o S u p r e m e G o v e r n m e n t , to p laco D r . E s d a i l e fo r
o n e y e a r in c h a r g e of a s m a ll e x p e r i m e n t a l h o s p ita l in so m o
f a v o r a b le s i t u a t i o n i n C a l c u t t a , in o r d e r t h a t h e m a y , a s r e ­
c o m m e n d e d by t h e C o m m itte e , e x te n d h is in v e s tig a tio n s to
th o a p p l i c a b i l i t y o f t h i s a lle g e d a g e n c y to all d e s c r i p t i o n s of
c a s e s, m e d i c a l a s w ell as s u r g i c a l , a n d a ll c la s s e s o f p a t i e n t s ,
E u r o p e a n a s w e ll a s N a t i v e . D r . E s d a i l e w ill b e d i r e c t e d to
e n c o u r a g e t h e r e s o r t to his h o s p i t a l o f all r e s p e c t a b l e p e r s o n s ,
e s p e c ia lly m e d ic a l a n d sc ien tific, w h e t h e r in o r o u t of t h e s e r ­
vice, w h o m a y b e d e s i r o u s o f s a t i s f y i n g t h e m s e l v e s o f th o
n a t u r e , a n d th o effect of h is e x p e r im e n ts , a n d H i s H o n o r w ill
n o m i n a t e , f r o m a m o n g t h e m e d i c a l officers o f t h e P r e s i d e n c y ,
‘ V isito rs’ w h o se d u t y it w ill be to v isit th e h o s p ita l f ro m tim o
f o t i m e , i n s p e c t D r . E s d a i l e ’s p r o c e e d i n g s , w i t h o u t e x e r c i s i n g
iin y in to rfe ro u c o , a n d o c c a s io n a lly , o r w lio u c a lle d on, r e p o r t
u p o n t h e m , t h r o u g h t h e M e d ic a l B o a r d , for t h e i n f o r m a t i o n
of G o v ern m en t. O n th e se re p o rts w ill m a in ly d e p e n d w h a t
f u r t h e r ste p s th o G o v e r n m e n t m a y d e e m it e x p e d ie n t to ta k o
in th e m a tte r.
“ I have th e h o n o r to b e, g e n tle m e n , y o u r m o st o bedient
se rv an t,
“ (S ig n ed ) F e e d . J a s . T T a lu d a y ,
“ S e c r e t a r y lo th e G o v e r n m e n t o f B e n g a l ”
S h o r tly a f te r th is, th e an resth etic p ro p e rtie s of e th e r w ero
discovered by m y c o u n try m en , D rs. M o rto u a n d C h arles T .
J a c k s o n , a n d its n s e w a s s u b s t i t u t e d f o r t h a t o f M e s m e r i s m
a s b ein g m o re u n iv e rsa lly p racticab le, th o u g h m o re d a n g e ro u s,
si n d n o m o r o e f f i c a c i o u s i n p r o d u c i n g a n a e s t h e s i a . O ne w ould
h a v e t h o u g h t — w o u ld he n o t ? — th a t th e m ed ical p ro fessio n
w o u l d h a v o h a ile d w i t h jo y so i m p o r t a n t a h e lp a s M e s m e r ­
i s m to m a k e t h e i r s in f a c t , a s in n a m e , th e “ H e a l i n g A r t . ”
O no w o u ld have fan cied t h a t th e m e re in stin c t of c o m p assio n
f o r a w o rld of sufferers w o u ld h a v e m ad e th e S u rg e o n s a u d
D o c t o r s m o s t e a g e r to s t u d y M e s m e r is m , a n d av ail o f its sa fe
n n d blessed h elp. P u t i t w a s n o t so . T h e books of D r.
E s d a ile show b y c ita tio n of d o c u m e n t a r y e v id e n c e t h a t his
c o lle a g u e s s e t u p o n h im w i t h c r u e l v io le n c e to b r e a k d o w n
h is g r o w in g fa m e , n n llify h is effort, a n d d e s tro y his carcer.
I f h e h a d b e e n o n e of y o u r l im p c r e a t u r e s w i t h o u t b a c k ­
bo n e, th e y w ould h a v e su c c e e d e d , b u t h e w a j a S c o tc h m a n ,
n m a n of steel, full o f th e b r a w n y s tu f f of w h ic h h e r o e s a r e
m a d o ; th e y m i g h t k ill h i m a n d w e lc o m o , if t h e y c o u ld , b u t
t h e r o li e s t o o d , a n d t h e r e h o s h o u l d s t a n d w i t h o u t b u d g i n g
n n in ch . T h r o u g h o u t all his p a g e s is t h e r i n g of a n h o n e s t
n a t u r e ; o n e r e a d s h i m b u t to r e s p e c t a n d lo v e h i m f o r a t r u e
m an. R e fe rrin g to th e b itte r o p p o sitio n a ro u s e d by h is
H u g h l y successes, he s a y s :— “ A fte r b e in g tho b est-ab u sed
m a n in th e w o rld * * * I w as soon as e x tra v a g a n tly
o v e r p ra is e d , m e r e ly for r e f u s i n g to b e b u l l i e d o u t of m y
aenses a n d u n d e rs ta n d in g , a n d fo r n o t b ein g a c o n stitu tio n a l
row ard. T h is app eal [he refe rs to h is p u b lis h e d m o n th ly
r e p o r t s o f liis c a s e s w h ic h s o a s t o u n d e d a n d c o n v i n c e d
th o p u b lic t h a t “ a t th e e n d of a y e a r, th e ro w a s n o t
fi p a p e r f r o m C a p e C o m o r i n t o t h e H i m a l a y a s t h a t d i d
n o t w i s h m e a n d M e s m e r i s m g o d - s p e e d ” ] t o t h o p e o p l e ’s
c o m m o n sense a n d n a tu r a l love of ju s tic e w a s e x tr e m e ly
d i s t a s t e f u l to m y p ro fe s sio n a l j u d g e s , a n d w a s d o n o u n e c d
n s u n p r e c e d e n te d , u n d ig n ifie d , u n p r o f e s s io n a l , o n l y w o r th y
o f a n a d v e r t i s i n g q u a c k , & c. H u t h a v in g no respcel for th e
preced en ts o f p re ju d ic e ; d esp isin g th e d ig n ity t h a t fears
p o llu tio n from th e contact oi v u lg a r facts ; p re fe rrin g th e
m o d e r a te in d e p e n d e n c e of th e p u b lic s e rv ic e to th e b e s t p r iv a te
p r a c t i c e in C a l c u t t a ; a n d b e l o n g i n g t o n o p r o f e s s i o n t h a t d o e s
n o t g la d ly re c e iv e t r u t h , I w a s a s in d iffe re n t to s u c h a t t a c k s
as to sp ittin g n p o n , o r s tr ik in g a t m y sh a d o w . A n o p p o sitio n
to t r u t h is as n e c e s s a ry f o r i t s a d v a n c e m e n t as a p a r l i a m e n t a r y
opposition is fo r good g o v e r n m e n t , a n d b u t f o r a b i t t e r a n d
b ig o tte d p r o fe s s io n a l o p p o s itio n , I s h o u l d n e v e r h a v e g o n e to
C a lc u tta a t a l l ; th e r e w o u ld h av e b een no C o m m itte e o r d e re d
to re p o rt u p o n m y m e s m e ric o p e ra tio n s b y th o G o v e rn m e n t
of I n d i a ; no e x p e rim e n ta l h o sp ita l w o u ld ev er h a v e been
esta b lish e d by th e G o v e r n m e n t ; no m e sm e ric hospital, su p ­
p o rte d by p u b lic su b s c rip tio n , w o u ld e v e r h a v e been h e a rd
o f ; a n d I s h o u l d n e v e r h a v o s u c c e e d e d in i n t r o d u c i n g M e s ­
m e ris m in to r e g u la r h o sp ita l p r a c tic e in C a lc u tta .” T here
y o u h a v e a c o m p le te p i c t u r e o f t h e m a n , a n d w ill n o t w o n d e r
th a t h e sh o u ld h av e ta k e n up th e s tu d y of M esm erism npon
r e a d i n g a b o u t i t s s u c c e s s e s i n E u r o p e , a n d so s p l e n d i d l y
p r o v e d in p r a c t i c e it s i n c a lc u la b le m e r i ts .
I fin d t h e i d e a o f t h e v a l u e o f a h e a l t h y o p p o s i t i o n to a n e w
t r u t h , n e a t l y w o r k e d o u t b y D r . E s d a ile in th is l i t t le w o r k of
h is. H e sa y s ( P re fa c e , v ii):— “ W i t h o u t th e u s u a l a llo w a n c e o f
in su lt, in ju ry , a n d m isrep resen tatio n heaped u p o n d isc o v erers
a n d refo rm ers, th e y w o u ld often be content w ith a k now ledge
of th e tr u th , a n d th e m e n ta l sa tisfa c tio n of h a v in g s o u g h t it
for its o w n ask e. B u t in s u l t a n d in ju stice a re th e sp u rs th a t
o v e rc o m e t h e i r n a t u r a l in d o le n e c a n d im p e l t h e m to d o m u c h
m o re t h a n th e y e v e r in te n d e d ; a n d a s th e b e s t v in d ic a tio n of
th e ir c h a ra c te rs a n d u n d e rs ta n d in g s , th ey se t a b o u t c o n v in ­
cin g o th e rs , w h ic h , by a n irre s istib le law of n a tu r o , th e y
m u s t succeed in d o in g a t la st.” T a k e th e s e w ise w o r d s to
h e a r t , g e n t l e m e n , o f tlio T h e o s o p h i c a l S o c ie ty , a n d l e t t h e m
c o m fo rt y o u w h e n m e n p e rs e c u te a n d revile y o u fo r y o u r
d ev o tio n to th e cause of t r u t h .
A l t h o u g h t r e a t i n g o f o t h e r t h i n g e a s w ell, t h e v o l u m e fro m
w h i e h w e h a v o b o e n q u o t i n g , is m a i n l y d e v o t e d t o t h e ' s u b j e c t
of clairvoyance,
C l a i r v o y a n c o is t h e i n n e r v i s i o n i n m a n ; i t i s t h e p o w e r of
s e e i n g w i t h o u t t h e h e l p o f p h y s ic a l ey e s ; i t is c a lle d in
H i n d u P u r a n a s t h e t h i r d e y e of S h i v a .
O u r a u th o r tak es u p th e im p re g n ab le position th a t N a tu ra
h e rs e lf o fte n sh o w s u s th e a b n o rm a l d e v e lo p m e n t of th ese
p sy c h ic p o w e rs of s ig h t, sm e ll, h e a rin g , ta s te , a n d t o u c h —
tl i o s p i r i t u a l c o u n t e r p a r t s o f t h e f iv e p h y s i c a l s e n s e s ; h e n c e
t h a t t h e r e is a n a t u r a l b a s is f o r b e lie f in t h e c la im o f th e
m e s m e ris ts t h a t th e y , by th r o w in g th e ir p a t i e n t in to a sim ila r
a b n o rm a l c o n d itio n , c a n d e v e lo p th e self-sam e p o w e rs w h ic h
in h e re in o u r c o m m o n n atu re. H e go es on to eite m a n y
e x a m p le s, ta k e n fro m m ed ical re c o rd s of v a rio u s c o u n tries,
n n d a d d s eases o b se rv e d b y D r. C h a lm e r s a n d h im se lf 'a t
C a lc u tta, A m o n g o t h e r e x a m p l e s , is t h a t o f t h e t r a n s f e r o f
t h e se n se s o f s i g h t a n d h e a r i n g to t h e p i t o f t h e s t o m a c h , t h e
tip s of th e fin g ers, a n d o t h e r p a r ts of th e b o dy. A n d in c o r ­
r o b o r a t i o n of o t h e r o b s e r v e r s , I s h a l l tell y o u a b o u t a c ase
o c c u rrin g u n d e r m y o w n ey es h e re a t C a lc u tta,
A t th e re q u e s t of m y b ro th e r, B a b u N o ro n d ro N a t h Sen,
I v i s i t e d r e c e n t l y a l a d y w h o w a s s u b j e c t t o h y s t e r i c fits.
I f o u n d h e r to h a v o d e v e lo p e d th e s e p s y s ic a l s e n s e s to an
e x tr a o rd in a r y degree. H e r sense of h e a rin g w as tra n sfe rre d
to th e p it of h e r sto m ac h . T h is I teste d by s to p p in g h e r e a rs
w i t h m y fingers, w h ile h e r h u s b a n d w h isp e red s o m e th in g
a t th e p it of h e r s to m a c h , w h ich sh e p erfe ctly u n d e rs to o d .
In th ese hy ste rical a tta c k s, a lth o u g h h e r eyes and ja w s are
t i g h t l y c lo s e d , y e t s h e w as a b le to r e a d th e c o n t e n t s of a
book by r u n n in g h e r fin g er o v e r th e lin es, a n d a f te r w a rd s
w r o t e t h e m on a s la te . I f a w o r d h a p p e n e d to bo m is s p e lt,
or a p o in t m isp la c e d , sho w o n ld d e ftly ru b th e le tte r o r th e
p o in t f ro m b e tw e e n th o o th e r le tte rs a n d c o r re c t it. T h is
w as n o t all. S h e w ould p ass h e r fo o t ac ro ss a lin e, a n d re a d
it a s fast a s w hen she p assed her fingers over it. (C ol.
O lc o tt also m e n t i o n e d th o ea s e of a g irl iu A m e r ic a , w h o , if a
b o o k w ere h eld b e h in d h er h e a d , co u ld re a d w ell.)
I n o th e r p u b lic a d d re s s e s in C a lc u tta I h a v e sh o w n t h e
n a tu r a l co n n ectio n b e tw e e n th e m o d e rn science of M e sm e rism
a n d t h e a n c i e n t B r a h m a o r G u p ta o r Y o g a V i d y a o f t h e
A ry a n s, a n d fro m lo y a lty to th e t r u t h I h av e n o t s h r u n k
f r o m t e s t i f y i n g in t h e m o s t u n q u a l i f ie d t e r m s to t h e f a c t t h a t
th o A ry a n s w ere th o m a s te rs o f th e m o d e rn d a b s te rs in th is
r u d i m e n ta r y b ra n c h o f t h e i r m a je s tic science of scien ces. I
h a v e c alled y o u r a t t e n t i o n o n th o so o t h e r o c ca sio n s to th e
f a c t t h a t Y o g a is s e lf - i n e s m e r i s a t i o n , t h e Y o g i m a k i n g h is o w n
p h y s i c a l b o d y t h e p a t i e n t , a n d h is c o n c e n t r a t e d w ill th o m e s ­
m erisin g o p erato r. A s t h e m e s m e r i s e r , a f t e r t h r o w i n g his
p a t i e n t ’s b o d y i n t o p r o f o u n d s l e e p , s h u t s i t s a v e n u e s o f s e n s e
a g a in s t ev ery im p re ssio n of th e e x te rn a l w o rld , a n d awukenS
t h e i r p sy c h ic c o u n t e r p a r ts to in te n s e s u s c e p tib ility to tho
th in g s of th o i n n e r o r p sy c h ic w o rld , so does th e d e v e ­
lo p ed Y o g i, p l u n g i n g h i s b o d y in to t h e d e a t h - l i k o c a t a ­
l e p s y o f s a m a d h i, a r o u s e a n d d e v e l o p h i s p s y c h i c s e n s e s t o
t h e i r f u l le s t , a n d — w h i c h t h o m e s m e r i c s l e e p e r d o e s n o t —;
k eep fu ll c o n tro l o v e r th o s e senses, so th a t th e y sh a ll n o t
d eceive h im .
 In a r e t u r n of th e m e sm e ric o p e r a tio n s , p e r fo r m e d by D r. before th is suprem e anodyne. T h e cure of nerv o u s head­
E s d a i l c a t t h e jail a n d c h a r i t y h o s p ita ls , H u g l i l y , a n d a t th e a c h e s i m m e d i a t e l y d e m o n s t r a t e d th e t r o t h of th is idea.
N a t i v e a n d M e s m e r i c H o s p i t a l s , C a l c u t t a , f r o m M a y 181-5 t o
“ III. T h e p r o d u c ti o n of in s e n s ib ility to artificial p a i u
M n y 1 8 17, 1 f i n d t h e f o l l o w i n g s t a t i s t i c s : —
co n v in ced m e t h a t th e m o st pain fu l su rg ic a l o p e ra tio n s m ig h t
A m p u ta tio n of th ig h ... ... ... 2 be p erfo rm o d w ith o u t th e k n o w le d g e pf th o p a t i e n t ; a n d e v e r
A m p u t a t i o n of log. . ... ... ... 1 sin c e th e n th is has been a daily m a tte r of course.
A m p u ta tio n of a rm ... ... ... o
“ IV . I h a d se en h ig h local in fla m m a tio n a n d s y m p a t h e t i c
A m p u ta t io n of b r e a s t ( o n o of 7 lbs., a n o t h e r of
f e v e r s u s p e n d e d d u r i n g t h e t r a n c e in m y f irs t p a t i e n t , a u d th o
1 0 lb s, w eight.) ... ... ... .. . 4