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 m et i c a t i o n .

L
o on e W h ose co m p r eh en si on of Natur e an d H um an i ty
an g es so far b eyon d th e sci en ce an d
p h i l oso p h y of

M
E
u r o p e, t h at on ly th e b r oa d est -
m in d ed re
pr e se n t at i v es
)f ei t h er wi l l b e a le tob r ea l i se the e x i st e n ce of suc h

MM M
Jo wer s in an as t h ose b e co n st an t l y ex er ci ses —t o ,

TH E A HA T A KOOT B OO I
.

o se g r ac i ou s fr ien d sh ip h as gi v e n t he ter
pr esen t w ri

t it le to l
c ai m the a t t en t i on of t h e Eu op ean w o l d
r r ,

litt le vo l um e sou g h t a d o b t i e d
,
w it h p er m i ssi on n a n ,

e c t i o n at e l y d d i cat e d
e .

A . P . S INNET T .
 C O NT ENT S .

MN
PA G E

PR EF A C E To TH E A ER IC A ED IT IO N

M
INTR OD U C T ION

OC C UL TIS A ND IT s A DE P TS .

T H E TH E OS O C A L S OC E Y
PH I I T

F IR S T OC C U LT EXP ER IEN C ES
OC C U LT PH IL

M
T EA C H ING S O F OO YS PH

LA T ER OC OU LT PH ENO ENA

A P PEN D IX
PR EFA C E TO TH E A M ER I CA N EDI T I ON .

I VENTU R E to thi nk that this volume has ao

quired an import ance that did not attach to it at
first n ow that subsequent experience has enabled
,

me t o follow it up with a mo re elaborate philosoph

ical treatise In the later wor k I have endeavored
.

t o set for th the gene r al outlines Of that kn owledge

M
concer n ing the higher myster ies of Nature which the
foll owing pages describe as possessed by the Indian
“
ahatmas o r Adept Br oth ers To that later
,
”
.

wor k the reader whose att ention may be arrested

by the story told here must Of cou rse be referred ;
but meanwhile the present intr o ducti o n t o the sub
,

ec t may be recommended t o public notice n o w in a

j
more confi dent t on e than that which I was justifi ed
in taking up when it was first put forward At that
.

time the experiences I felt impelled t o relate em

bodied n o absolute promise of the systematic teach
in g accor ded t o me afterwards . C ertainly tho se
exper iences in themselves appeared t o me t o claim
telling .They seemed by far t oo remar kable t o
be left buried unfruitfu ll y in the consciousness Of
the few perso ns co ncerned with them .It was true
they elucidated n o great p r inciples of science they
mer ely suggested that for s ome of the abnorm al
pheno mena whi ch have arrested publi c at tention dur
x PR EFA CE T O TH E A M
E R IC A N EDI TION

ing the last few years a mor e scientific explanation

than those usual ly assigned might be possible They .

affor ded if n o t absolute pr o of at least an over

, ,

whelming assumption that livi n g men might actu

,

ally develop facul ties qual ifi ed t o operate fr eely on

that superior plane of Natur e beyond the reach o f
the physical senses which had been general ly sup
posed accessible only t o the spirits of the dead But .

al l was still shad o wy and ill defi n ed -

The story I .

had t o tell revealed a magni fi cent possibil ity rather

than a defi nite prospect It woul d still perhaps
.
, ,

have been an interesting stor y even if the curt ain

,

h ad gone down up o n the situation as I left it when

these pages we r e first put together but it wo ul d ,

have been nothi ng then compared t o what it has

,

since become

M
.

No w the position in which the subject stands has

altogether changed The tentative communicati ons
.

addr essed t o me by my ahatma Correspondent in

the fir st instance have paved the way for a long se
ries of still more instructive a n d val uable letters .

Assisted in other ways as well my comprehension of

,

occul t philosophy advanced so far during the t w o

years foll owing the first appear ance of this volume ,

that I was enabled t o publish a more impo rtant

statemen t definin g the outlin es of that teachi n g
, ,

and exhibiting in a con n ected an d intelligible shape

the great esoteric theo r y Of human evo lutio n o n this
earth ( an d o f the co smogon y on which it depends )
with which the A depts deal The Opening whi ch
.

pr esented itself t o me in 1 880 proved in fact n o , ,

passing advent ur e but the beginning o f a new intel

,

lectual life Attr acted t o it as I was at the ti m e I

.
,
 PR EF A CE TO TH E A M
E R ICA N E DITION

was certainly far then from divining the magnitude

o f the results destined t o fl ow from it But n o w
.

that the pr opo r tions of the revelation I ha ve thus

been happily instrumental in procuring for the ser
vice Of my rea der s have become appar ent I revert ,

to the introductor y epis o de Of the undertaking with

the certain assurance that I shall be engaging n o

M
o n e wh o will spare me his attention in any waste

Of time .

I am bold enough t o say this because the ahat

mas or great philosophi c al teachers of Asia into
, ,

som e relations with whom I was enabled t o come

under the circumstances described in the fo llowin g
narrative have n ow sur rendered t o the outer world
,

so much of the spiritual science they have hitherto

jeal ously g uarded that the whole framework Of

,

their stupendous doctrine has grown intelli gible .

Fr agments of esoteric t ruth of that science of su

er ph ysi cal nature whi ch the Adepts explore have
p
been thrown ou t into the world at large fr om time
t o time before n ow but in puzzli ng and unatt ractive
,

disguises The esoteric do ctrin e is n o new system

.

o f belief but o n the cont r a r y can be discerned n o w

, , ,

as lur king in a good deal of Old K abalis tic and Or i

ental liter at ure that very few o rdinary readers could
,

have made sense o f without the help of the keys n o w

put in their hands But n o w at last the subject has
.

emerged into the clear daylight of modern thi n king ,

and the central principle Of the sublime esote r ic

doctr ine stands plainly revealed as on e which h ar
monizes in absolute perfection wi th the preparator y
conceptions o f Natur e that have been der ived by
physical science fro m the o bservation and refl ectio n
x u PR EF A CE TO TH E A M ER ICA N ED ITIOIV .

o fthe cur rent century Bi o logy is th e latest an d

.
, ,

in some respects the greatest Of the physical sci

,
'

en ce s an d as the corol ary the complement ,

the ,

crown of the science o f L ife we are n ow fur n ished

, ,

by the teachi ng tha t has come t o us from the East ,

with the scien ce o f spirit ual evolution Without .

this it may n o w be seen by those who appreciate the

necessity of this doctrine the manifest inherent
, ,

self evidence Of it when it is once fair ly understood

-
,

without it the doctr ine of physical evolution is a

li bel on Natur e a caricat ure o f her grandest pur
,

poses The great idea t o which I am n ow referring

.

exh ibits the human soul as a continuous entity sub

M
,

ect t o an individual evoluti o n o f vast duration and

j ,

developing on the Spiritual plane of existence as a ,

resul t of its successive ret ur ns t o Earth life ount .

ing always upward it h as p a ssed through the lower

,

manifestations of the animal kingdom and can never ,

again rever t t o them ; but as regards the future it ,

wil l n ot merely pass thro ugh a purpo seless succes

sion Of human lives like those going on around us .

It will advance and expand in its individual p r og

ress towards perfect io n p awl p a ssu wi th that gen
,

er al improvem ent of physical t ypes on Earth which

is st ill going forwar d though the sho r t views o f
,

human natur e aff or ded us by mere histor ic Observa

tio n may n ot render this pr ocess of improvemen t as
perceptible t o uninitiated intelligen ce as it beco mes
t o the psychic discernment Of the Adept .

TO comprehend the way the work goes on we have ,

t o contemplate the Oper ations o f Natu r e on othe r

planes besides those cogn izable t o the physical senses .

A n d it so on becomes appar ent that the physical life

 P R EF A CE TO TH E A M
ER ICA N ED I TIOIV . x iii

of the Earth is only on e process of the long series

over whi ch the evolution o f humanity extends But .

and this is on e Of the most admirably scientifi c

and ethi cal ly beautiful of the ideas brought ou t by
occul t study the physical l ife of the Earth is
shown t o be n o incoher ent episode in the ex pe r i
e n ces Of a human soul n o f utile incident in the
,

course of a spiritual evolution the major portion Of

,

whi ch is accom plished in higher spheres o f being .

It is inseparably blended al ong its whole course with

the spiritual growth of the soul The Earth is.

shown t o be n o cosm i c railway carriage whi ch we

enter for the purpose of accomplishi ng a more or
less laborious journey and the discomforts of which
,

we may carelessly forget when we are able t o jump

o u t of it on reaching o ur destination It is the .

home of our race for a long time to come if n ot ,

for eternity and it is ou r int erest as well as our

, ,

duty t o embellish and impr o ve and ennoble it

, In .

’
my Father s house says the ol d symbolical text
”
, ,

are many mansions and in this pl anetar y ho use

”
,

of human ity there are many more states of exist

ence than the physical state Some of these states
.

may be far more enjoyable for that matter than

, ,

the physical state as this is at present and the e so

t er i c doctrine shows us that the duration of the
higher spiritual states when each individual Eg o
,

passes each time into these is enormously more pr o

,

longed than its physical states but both kin ds of ,

existence are equally necessary in the whole scheme

of things.

A ll these views and the vast mass of explanatory

,

detail which has since been furnished to the in

x iv PR EF A CE T O TH E A M ER ICA N ED I T/0 1V
.

q u i r er s of the Theosophi cal S ociety , were still unde

v e l o e d fo r those of us w h o were pursuing the clue
p
aff orded by my experiences o f 1 8 80 when the pr es ,

ent bo o k was wr itt en But I refer t o them here

.

bec ause I want very b r iefly t o indicate the direction

which our l at er inquiries took when ou r attention

M
,

having been arrested by the strange and start l in g

pheno mena here described it dawned upon us by
,

degrees that the intellectual inst ruction the ahat

mas coul d give us if they wou ld would be en or
, ,

m o u sl
y more interesting than even the exhibition o f
their abnormal powers The same co nsider ations I
.

'

h Op e w il fo llow in due order in the case Of re a ders

,

whom this volume may have the good fort u ne t o at

tract It has been sometimes argued in my hearing
.

that it would have been better if the author s of this

great new movement of spir it ual thought new fo r
us though so ol d in on e sense —which theosophy
,

embodies had fur nished us with the re sul ts o f their

philoso phical thinking without impairin g the pure
dign ity o f that exalted scheme by mingli ng it in the
fi rst instance with sensational displays Of t h au m at u r

M
g i c skill. I am n o t inclined myself t o quarrel wi th

the o r der in which events were actually unfolded .

ir acles it is quite true are il lo gical g uarantees for

, ,

theolo gical do gma ; but the manifest possessio n of

.

gr eat facul ties and power s in o ther planes o f Natu re

than tho se o n which or dinar y conclu sio ns concern
ing her processes are for med does certainl y a ff o rd

M
,

a pr esum ption that persons so endowed may gather

observations o n tho se higher planes which it is well

wor th our while t o c o r r el a te with o ur own ean .

while I do n o t put fo r ward the nar rative of occ ul t

 P R EF A C E TO TH E A M
ER ICA N EDITION xv

phenomena o f whi ch this volume largely consists as

, ,

a statement which in itself constitutes a foundation

for the very stupendous edifi ce Of doctrines which
later Opport unities enabled me to construct But I .

know that the experiences I record in thi s book were

neither futile n or fruitless in their eff ects on my ow n
development and in anticipatio n of events that may
contribute in n o small degree in a near f utu re t o
, ,

give a great impetus to theosophic specul ation in

America I venture to recommend this book with
,

special urgency to the Amer ican public in the hope ,

that a refl ection on their minds of the in fl uence pro

du c ed on my own by the incidents described may
, ,

ser ve t o attract a good many fresh explorers into the

paths of study and medi tation in which I believe
,

mysel f t o have gained such inestimable advantage .

I have n ot found much t o al ter in the original

text Of this book though I am glad to take adv an
,

tage of this opportun i ty t o append some notes here

and there and amplify some passages But impor
,
.

tant additions t o its contents have been made from

time to time and n o w especial ly I am anxious t o
,

call the attention o f American readers to the latest

o f these which will be found in an appendix
,
It is .

possible that in America some persons to whom the ,

existence of theosophy as a new school of thought

is n ot altogether strange may have heard of it es
,

e ci all y in conn action w ith a correspondence whi ch

p
has attracted a good deal of attention in the spir itu

M
al i st ic press The disc u ssion t o which I refer has
.

borne reference to a manifest identity of lang uage

t raced between a certain passage in one o f m y a
’
hatma teacher s letter s and a similar passage in an
xv i P R EF A CE TO TH E A M
ER ICA N ED ITIOIV
.

addr ess deli vered a few year s ago by an American

lecturer The explanation I am n ow enabled t o give
.

of the c u rious ci r cumstances under whi ch this state

o f things a r ose ,constitutes in itself I venture t o

,

think n o t me r ely a complete refutation of some un

,

friendly theories which wer e started t o account fo r

M
it but als o afi or ds a very i n teresting contribution t o
,

ou r acquai n tanceship with the ways and faculties o f

the ahatmas .
T H E O C C U LT W O R LD .

INT R OD U C T I ON .

T H ER E is a school of Philosophy still in existen ce

Of which moder n culture has lost sight G limpses .

of it are discer n ible in the an cie n t philosophies

with which al l educ ated men are familiar but these ,

ar e h ardly more intelligible than fragments of for

gotten sculpture — less so for we comprehen d the

, ,

huma n form and can gi ve im aginary limbs to a

,

torso ; but we can give n o imagi n ary me anin g to

the truth comin g down to us fro m Pl ato or
Pyth agoras poi n ti n g for those who hold the clue
, ,

to their sign ifi can ce to the secret knowle dge o f the

,

an cient wo r l d Side lights nevertheless m ay

.
, ,

enable u s to decipher such l an guage and a very ,

rich intellectual reward o ffers itself to perso n s who

a r e willi n g to at tempt the investigati o n .

Fo r strange as the statement will appear at firs t

,

sig h t modern metaphysics and to a large exte n t

, ,

modern physical science have been gropin g for

,

centuries blindly after knowledge which occult

philosophy has enjoyed i n full me asure all the while .

Owi n g to a trai n of for tunate circumstances I h ave ,

1 [ 1]
2 TH E OCC UL T W OR LD .

come to kn ow th at this is the c ase ; I have com e

into some co n tact wi th persons who are heirs of a
gre ater kn owledge concerni n g the mysteries of
N ature an d hum an ity th an m o dern culture h as yet
evolved ; an d my present wish is to sketch the ou t
l i n es of this knowledge to record with exactitude
,

the experimen tal proofs I have Obtai n ed that occult

scie n ce i n vests its adepts with a control of n atural '

forces superior to that enjoyed by ph ysi c ist s o f the

ordinary type and the grou n ds there are for
,

besto wi n g the most respectful co n sideration on the

theories en tertained by occult science concerning
t h e constitution and destinies of the human soul .

Of c o u r se people i n the pres en t day will be slo w to

M
believe that any knowledge worth considering can
be foun d outside the bright focus of W estern
cul ture
. odern science has accomplished grand
results by the Ope n m ethod Of investiga tion and ,

is very impatient of the theory that persons who

e v er attained to real knowle dge either in sciences
,

o r me t aph y sics could h ave been conten t to hide

M
,

their ligh t under a bushel So the tendency has

.

been to conceive that occul t ph ilosophers of old

Egypti an priests C haldean
,
agi Essenes G n ostics
, , ,

theurgic Neo Platonists an d the rest—w h o kept

M
-
,

their knowledge secret must have adopted that

,

pol icy to conceal the fact that they knew very little .

ystery can only have bee n loved by charlatan s

who wished to mystify The conclusion is p ardon
.

able from the modern point of v iew but it has given

,

ri se to an impression in the popul ar mi n d that

the ancie n t mysti cs h ave actu ally been turn ed
in side out an d found to know very littl e This
,
.
 M
IN TR O D U C TION .
3

impression is absolutely erroneous e n of science

.

in former ages worked i n secret and instead of ,

publ i shing their disco v eries taught them in secret

,

to carefully selected pupils Their motives for .

adopting that policy are readily intelligible e ven if ,

the merits o f the policy may see m still Open to

discussion At al l events their teaching has n ot
.
,

been forgotten ; i t has been transmitted by secret

init iation to men of our own time and while its ,

me t hods and its practical ach i evements remain

secrets i n their hands i t is Ope n to any patient and
,

earnest student of the questi on to satisfy himself

th at these m ethods are o f supreme e ic acy and ,

these achieve m ents far mo r e admirable than any

yet standing to the credit of modern science .

For the secrecy i n which these operati o n s have .

been shrouded has never disguised their existence ,

and it is o n ly in our own time tha t t his has bee n

forgotten Formerly at great public ceremo n ies
.
,

the initiates displ ayed the powers with which

their knowledge o f n atural laws in v ested them .

We carelessl y assume that the n arratives Of such

displays describe performan ces o f magic : we have
decided th at there is n o such thi n g as m agic there ,

fore the narrati v es must have been false the pe r sons ,

who m they refer to impostors But supposing th at

,
.

m agic of Ol d w as simply the science o f mag i of

, , ,

learned men there i s n o magic in the modern

, ,

sense left i n the matter And supposing that such

,
.

science— even in ancie n t times alre ady the product

o f long ages of study— had gone in some directions

further than our much younger modern science has

yet reached it is reason able to conclude that som e
,
 TH E OCC U L T W OR L D .

displays in connection with ancient myste ries may

have been strictly scienti fi c experiments th ou g h ,

they sound like diSpl ays of m agic and would l oo k

,

like displays of m agic for u s now if they could

be repeated .

On th at hypothesis modern sagacity applyi n g

modern knowle dge to the subject of ancient m ys
t e r ies may be mere l y modern folly evolving erro
,

n e o u s conclusions from modern ignorance .

B u t there is no n eed to construct hypotheses in

the matter The facts ar e accessible if they are
.

sought for in the right way and the facts are these
,

The wisdom of the ancient world— science and

religion commi n gled physics an d me t aphysics com
,

b i n e d— w as a reality and it still survives

,
It is .

that which wi ll be spoken of i n t hese pages as

Occult Philosophy . It was already a complete
system of k n owledge th at h ad been cultivated i n
secret and han ded down to initiates for ages before
, ,

i t s professors performed experiments i n public to

i m press the popul ar mi n d in Egypt and G reece .

Adepts Of occultism in the present day are capable

o f performi n g similar experiments and of exhibiting
,

results that prove the m imme asurably further

advance d than ordinary moder n science in a com
prehension of the forces of Nature Furthermore .
,

they inherit from their great predecessors a scienc e

M
which deals not merely with physics but with the ,

constitution and capa cities of the human soul and

M
spirit
. oder n science h as discovered the ci r cu
lation of the blood ; occult science understands the
circulation of the life pri n cipl e
-
. odern physiology
deals with the body only ; occultism with the sou l
 IN TR OD UC TION .
5

as well—not as t h e subject of vague r eligiou ,

rhapsodies ; but it is an actual entity with properties ,

that can be examined in combin ation with or apart ,

from those of the body

,
.

It is chiefly in the East that occultism is still

kept u p— in India and in adjacen t countries It is .

in India that I have encou ntered it ; and this little

volume is written to describe the experiences I
ha v e enjoyed and to retai l the knowledge I have
,

acquired .

M y n arrative of events must be preceded

some further general explanations or it would be
b y
,
,

unintelligible The identity Of occultism as pr ac

.

t i sed in al l ages must be kept in view to accou n t

, ,

for the m agnitude of its organi z atio n and for the ,

astoundi ng discovery th at secluded Oriental s may

u n derstand more about electricity than Faraday ,

more about physics than Tyndall The culture of

.

Europe h as been developed by Europeans for them

selves withi n the last few hundred years The .

culture of occultists is the growth of vast periods

lon g anterior to these when civilization inhabited
,

the East And during a career which has carried

.

occultism in the domain Of physic al science

far beyond the point we have reached physical ,

science has merely been an object for occultism Of

secondary importance It s main strength has been
.

devoted to metaphysical inquiry and to the latent

,

psychological faculties in m an faculties which in

, ,

their development enable the occultist to obtain

,
6 TH E OCC UL T W OR LD .

’
actual experimental knowledge concern i n g the soul s
condition of extra corporeal existence There is
-
.

thus something more than a mere arch aeological

i n terest in the ide n ti fi cation of the occult system
with the doctrines of the initiated organizations in all
’
ages of the world s history and w e are presented by
,

t his identification with the key to the philosophy of

religious developmen t Occultism is not merely an
.

isolated discovery showing humanity to be possessed

of certain powers over Nature which the narrower
,

study of Nature from the merely materialistic

standpoint has failed to develop ; it is an illumina
tion cast over all previous spiritual speculation
worth anythin g of a kind which knits together
,

some apparently divergent systems It is to spiri .

tual philosophy much what San scrit w as found to

be to comparative philology ; it is a common stock
of philosophical roots Judaism C hristianity Budd
.
, ,

h i sm and the Egyptian theology are thus brought

i nto one family of ideas Occultism as it is no

M
.
,

n e w invention,
is no specific sect but the professors
,

of no sect can afford to dispense with the sidel ights

’
it throws upon the conception of Nature and an s
destinies which they may have been induced by
their own specific faith to form ; occultism in fact , ,

must be recogn ized by any one who will take the

trouble to put before his mind clearly the problems
with which it deals as a study of the most s u blim e
,

importanc e to every man who cares to live a life

worthy of his human rank in creation and who ,

can real ize the bearing on ethics of certain know

ledge concernin g his own survival after death It .

is on e t hing to follow t h e lead of a hazy impression

 IN TR O D U C TION

that a life beyond the grave if there is one may b e

, ,

somehow be n efited by abstinence fro m wrong doing -

on this side ; it will clearly be another to realize if ,

that can be shown to be the case that the life

,

beyond the grave m ust with the certainty Of a sum

,

t o t al built up of a series of plus and minus quan

t i ties be the fin al expression of the use made of
,

Opportu n ities in this

.

I have said that the startling importance of occult

knowledge turns on the manner in which it affords
exact and experimental knowledge concerning
S piritual things which under all other systems must

remain the subject of speculati on or blind religious

faith It may be f urther asserted that occultism
.

shows that the harmony an d smooth continuity Of

N ature observable in physics extend to those
Operations o f Nature that are concerned with the
phenomena of metaphysical existence .

Before approaching an exposition of the con

elusions concerni ng the nature of man that occult
philosophy has reached it may be worth while to
,

meet an objection that may perhaps be raised by the

reader on the threshold of the subject How is it .

that conclusions of such great weight have been kept

the secret property of a j ealous body of initiates ?
Is it n ot a law of progress that truth asserts itself
an d courts the free air and light ? Is it reasonabl e
to suppose that the greatest of all truths—the
fundamental basis of truth concerning man an d
Nature —should be afraid to sh o w itsel f ? With what
object could the ancient professors of or p r ofi ci en t s
,

in occult philosophy keep the pric eless treasur es of

,

t heir researches to the m selves ?

B TH E OC C U L T W OR LD .

Now it is no business of mine to defe n d t h e

,

extreme tenacity with which the pr ofi cien t s in

occultism have hitherto not only shut ou t the world
from the knowle dge of their knowledge but have ,

al most left it in ignorance that such knowledge exists )

It is enough here to point out that it would be foolish
to shut our eyes to a revelation that may now be
partially conceded merely because we are piqued at
,

the behaviour Of those who have been in a position

to make it before but have not chosen to do so
,
.

Nor would it be wiser to say that the reticence of the

occultists so far discredits anything we may now be
told about their acquirements When the sun is .

actually shining it is no use to say tha t its light

is discredited by the behaviour Of the barometer
yesterday I have to deal in discussing the acquire
.
,

ments of occultism with facts that have actually

,

taken place and nothing can discredit what is

,

known to be tr u e NO doubt it will be worth while

.

later on to examine the motives which have rendered

the occul tists of all ages so profoundly reserved .

A n d there may be more to say in justification of the

course that has been pursued than is visible at
the fi rst glance Indeed the reader w ill not go
.
,

far in an examination of the nature of the powers

which pr ofi cien t s in occultism actually possess with ,

o ut seeing that i t is supremely desirable to keep

back the practical exercise of such powers from t h e
world at large But it is one thing to deny man
.

k ind gen erally th e key which unlocks the m ystery

Of occult power ; it is another to withhold the fact

that there is a mystery to un lock However the .

,

further di scussion of that question here would b e

 IN TR OD UC TION .
9

pr emature Enough for the present to take n ote

.

of the fact that secrecy after all is not complete

M
if external students of the subject are enabled to
l earn as much about the mysteries as I shall have
to tell . anifestly there is a great deal more
,

behin d but at all events a great deal i s to be

, , ,

learned by inquirers who wil l set to work in the ri ght

way and that which may now be learned is no
,

new revelati on at last capriciously extended to t h e

outer world for the first time .

In former periods of history a great deal more

,

has been known about the nature of occultism by

the world at large than is known at this moment to
the modern West The bigotry of modern civiliza
.

tion an d n ot the jealousy of the occultist is t O

, ,

blame if the European races are at this moment

more gen erally ignorant of the exte n t to which
psychological research has been c arri ed than the ,

Egyptian populace in the past or the people of ,

India in the present day As regards the latter

.
,

amongst whom the truth of the theory just sug

gested can easily be put to the test you will fi nd ,

the great majority of Hindoos perfectly convi n ced

Of the tr uth of the main statements which I am
about to put forward They do not generally or
.

readily talk about such subjects with Europeans ,

because these are so prone to stupid derision of

views they do not understand or believe in already .

Th e Indian native is very timid in presence of such

r idicule. But it does not aff ect in the slightest
degree the beliefs which rest in his own mind on t h e
fundamental teaching he will always have received ,

an d in man cases on Odds and ends of experienc es

y
[0 TH E OCC UL T W OR LD .

he may himself have had The Hindoos are thus

.

well aware as a bo dy of the fact that there are

, ,

persons who by entire devotion to certain modes

Of life acquire unusual powers i n the nature
of such as European s would very erroneously call
supernatural They are quite familiar wit h the notion
.

that such persons live secl uded lives and are inac ,

cessible to ordinary curiosity and that they are no n e

M
,

the less approachable by fi t and determined candi

dates for admissio n to occult training Ask any .

cultivated Hindoo if he h as ever hea r d of ahatmas

and Y og V idya or occult science and it is a h undred,

to one that you will find he has— and unless ,

he happens to be one of the hybrid products Of

Anglo Indian U ni versities that he fully believes in
-
,

the reality of the powers ascribed to Yoga It does .

n ot follow that he will at once say Yes to a ”

European as king the ques t ion He will probably .

say just the reverse from the apprehensio n I have

sp o an of above but push your questio n s home and
,

y ou will discover the truth as I did,

for example , ,

i n the case of a very intelligent English speaking -

native vakeel in an influential position and i n con

stant relations with high European O cial s last year
"

i .
,

At first my new acquaintance met my inquiries as

to whether he knew an yt hi n g about these subjects
w ith a wooden look of complete ignorance and an ,

explicit denial of any knowledge as to what I meant

at all It was not till the second ti me I saw him
.

in private at my own house that by degrees it grew

, ,

upon him that I wasin earnest and knew somethin g

,

about Yoga myself and the n he quietly opened out

,

his real though t s on t h e sub j ect, and show ed m e

 INTR OD U C TIOIV . n

that he k new not only perfectl y well what I meant

all alon g but was stocked with information con
,

cernin g occurrences and phenomena of an occult or

apparently supernatural order many Of which had ,

been observed in his own family and some by

himself .

The point of all this is that Europeans are not

justified in attributing to the jealousy of the
occultists the absolute and entire ignorance of al l
that concerns them which pervades the modern
society of the West The West has been occupied .

with t h e business of material progress to the ex

elusion of ph ysch ol ogi cal development Perhaps it .

has done best for the world in confinin g itself to

its specialty but however this may b e it has only
, ,

itself to blame if its concentration of purpose has

led to something li ke retrogression in another branch
of development .

J acol li ot a French writer who has de al t at

, ,

great len gth with various phases of Spiritism in

the East was told by one who must have been an
,

adept to judge by the language used : You have“

studied physical Nature and you have obtai ned ,

through the laws of Nature marvellous resul ts

steam electricity & c &c
,
For twenty thousand
,
. .

years or more we have studied the intellectu al

forces ; we have discovered their l aws and we obtain , ,

by making them act alone or in concert with

matter phenomena still more astonishing than your
,

J acoll i ot adds :
”
own . W e have seen things such
“

as one does not describe for fear of making his

readers doubt h is in tell igen ce b ut still we
”
h av e see n th em .
12 TH E OC C UL T W OR LD .

Occult phenomena must n ot be confused with the

phenomena of spiritualism The latter whatever
.
,

they may be are manifestations which mediums can

,

neither control n or understand in a scientific sense .

The former are achievements o f a conscious liv ,

ing operator comprehending the laws with which he

works . If these achievements appear miraculous ,
’
that is the fault of the Observer s ignorance The .

S piritualist knows perfectly wel l in spite o f ignorant

,

mockery on the part of outsiders content to laugh

without knowing what the y are laughing at that ,

all kinds of occurrences distinctly outside the range

o f physical causation do constantly take place for
inquirers who hunt them with su l eien t diligence .

But he has never been able to do more than frame

hypotheses in respect to the hidden laws of Nature
by virtue of whi ch they have been pr o duced He .

has taken up a certain hyp othesis f a u t e de m i eu a} in

t h e fi rst instance and working always o n this idea
, ,

has constructed such an elaborate edi fice o f theory

r ound the facts that he is very reluctant t o tolerate

the interposition of a new hypothesis which will oblige

h i m t o revise his conclusions in some ve r y important
particulars There will be no way o f avoiding this
.

ne c essity however if he belongs to the order o f i n

, ,

u i r e r s who care rather t o be sure they have laid

q
hold of the truth than t o fortify a doctrine they have
espoused fo r better or for worse .

Broadly speaking there is scarcely one o f the

,

phenomena o f spiritualism that adepts in occul tism

cannot reproduce by the force of their own wi ll ,
 IN TR OD UC TION
. i s

supplemented by a comprehension of the resources

o f Nature . As will be seen when I come to a
direct narrative of my own experiences I have seen ,

some of the most familiar phenomena of spiritualis m

produced b y purely human age n cy The o l d original.

spirit rap which introduced the mightier phenomena

-

of Spiritu alis m has been m anifested for my e difi ca

tion in a cou n tless variety of ways and under ,

conditions w hich render the hypothesis of any

spiritual agency in the m atter whol ly preposterous .

I have seen flowers fall from the blan k ceiling of a

room unde r circumstan ces that ga v e me a practical
a ssurance that n o spiritual agency was at work ,

thou gh in a m anner as absolutely supernatural “ ”

i n the sense o f being produced without the ai d of

.

an m at e r i al appliances as any of the flor al S howers

y ,

by which some spiritual mediums are attended 1 .

hav e over an d over ag ain recei v ed d i rect writing ,

produced on paper i n se aled en v e l opes o f m y own ,

which w as cre ated o r precipitated by a living human

correspondent I h ave informati o n which though
.
, ,

secon d han d is very trustworthy of a great variety

-
, ,

of other familiar S piritu al phenomen a produced in

the same way by hum an adepts in occultism But .

i t is not my present task to m ake w ar on spiritu alism .

T h e announce m ents I have to make will indeed be , ,

prob ably received more readily among spiritualists

th an in the outer circles o f the ordinary world for ,

the spiritu ali sts ar e at all events aw are from their ,

ow n
'
exp erie n ce that the orthodox scien ce of the
,

day does n ot k n ow the last word concerni n g mi n d

a n d matter ,
w h ile the ortho dox outsider stup i dly

clings to a denial of facts when these are of a

14 TH E OC C UL T W OR LD .

na ture which he foresees himself u n able to explai n .

A s the facts of Spiritu alism though accessible to

,

any honest m an who goes in search of them are ,

n o t of a ki n d which anyone can carry about and

”
fli n g i n the faces of pragmatic sceptics these ,

l atter are enabled to keep u p their professions of

incredulity without the foolish n ess of their position
being obvio us t o e ach other pl ain as it is to the
,
“

i n iti ated
.
”
However although in this way the
,

or din ary scientific mi n d will be relucta n t to admi t

either the trustworthiness o f my testimony o r the
conceivability of my explanations it may all ay some ,

hostile prejudices t o make clear at the outset that

occul t science deals with n o guess work concerning -

the post mortem in tervention of human beings in the

-

a fi a ir s o f this world .It s methods are as precise and ,

its mental discipl ine as rigid as those of the labora

, r

tory or the university lecture room Wedding with

-
.

theosophic research S piritualism itself m ight guard

,

itsel f fro m all tho se hasty inferences which have

d o ne so much to turn large sections o f the cultivated
people against it and if they will but take the
,

t r ouble to approach the subject from the point of

view o f o ccult science students o f physical Nature
,

will be enabled at last to handle the p h en om en a o f

spi r itu a lism freely to consider them apart from the
,

the o ries t o which they have premat urely given rise ;

and thus relieve d o f the repugnance they feel for
them at present t o bring them w ithin the area of
,

that which they at last will willingly recognise as

true scienti fic generalisations .
 O CC U L T IS M AN D ITS A D E PT S .

The powers with wh ich occultism invests its adepts

inclu de to begin with a con trol over various forces
, ,

in Nature which ordi n ary science knows nothing

about an d by means of which an adept can hold
,

co n vers ation with any other adept whatever intervals ,

’
on the earth s surface may lie between them .

This psychologic al telegraphy is wholly independent

of all mechanical condition s or appliances whatever 1
.

And the cl airvoyan t faculties of the adept are so

perfect and complete th at t hey amount to a species
o f omniscie n ce as regards mu n dane affairs Th e .

body is the prison of the soul for ordinary mortals .

We c an see merely what comes before its w indows

we can take cognisance only of what is brought within
its b ars But the adept has found the key of his
.

prison and can emerge from it a t pleasure It is .

no lo n ger a prison for him — merely a d w elling .

In other words the adept can project his soul out

,

of h is body to any pl ace he pleases with the

rap idity of thought .

The whole edifice of occultism from basement to

roof is so utterly strange to ordinary conceptions th at
it is di l oul t to know how to begin an expl anation of
"

its conte n ts How coul d one describe a cal cu l at

.

ing mach ine to an audience unfamiliar with the

1 S ee A ppen d ix B .
1 6 TIIE OC C UL T W OR LD .

S implest mechanical co n trivances an d kn owi n g

n o thing of arithmetic ? A n d t h e highly cultured
cl asses of m o dern Europe as regards the achieve
,

me n ts o f occul t is m are i n spite of the perfection o f

, ,

their literary schol arship an d the exq uisite precision

o f their attainments in their o w n departments of
sc i e n ce i n the position as regards occultism of
,

k n o wing n othi n g abo ut the A B C of t h e subject ,

nothi n g about the c apacities of the soul at all as

di sti n gu i shed from t h e c ap aci t ies o f b ody and soul
combined The occultists for ages ha v e devoted
.

themselves to that study chiefly ; they h ave aecom

l i sh e d results i n co n n exion with it which a r e ab eo
p
l u t el y bewilderi n g in their m ag n ifi cen c e but '

sud denly introduced to some o f these t h e prosaic ,

in t ellige n ce is s t aggered an d fee l s i n a world of

miracle an d encha n tment On ch arts th a t Sh o w
.

the stre am of history the natio n s all intermingle

,

more or le ss except the C hi n ese an d th at is shown

, ,

comi n g down i n a Single river without effluents

an d without br an ches from o u t of the clouds o f
time . S u ppose th at civilized Eu r Ope h ad n ot
come i nto contac t with t h e C hin ese till latel y an d ,

supp ose th at the C hin amen very much brighter ,

i n i n tellige n ce th an they re ally ar e had de v eloped ,

so m e bran ch of physical science to the point it

actually h as re ached with us ; suppose th at
p articu l ar bra n ch h ad been entirely n eglected wit h
us the surprise we Should feel at taking up the
,

C hi n ese discoveries in thei r refi n ed de v elopment

without h av in g gr adu ally grown famili ar w ith their
s m all beg in n i n gs would b e very great Now th is .

is ex actly t h e Situ atio n as regards occul t science The .

 OC C UL TIS M A ND I T S A D EP T S . I7

occultists have been a race apart from an earlier

period than we can fathom— not a sep arate race
physically not a uniform race physically at all nor
, ,

a nation in any se n se of the word but a continuous ,

association of men of the highest intelli gence linked

together by a bond stronger than any other tie of
which mankind has experience and carrying on w ith,

a perfect continuity of purpose the studies and

tradition s and mysteries of self—
development handed
down to them by their predecessors All this time .

the stream of ci v ilization on the foremost waves of

,

which the culture of modern Europe is floating has ,

been wholly and absolutely neglectful of the on e

study with which the occultists have been solely
engaged . What wonder that t he two lines of
civilization have diverged SO far apart that their
forms are n ow entirely unlike each other It .

remains to be seen whether this attempt to r ein t r o ~

duce t h e long estranged cousins will be tolerated or

-

treated as an impudent a ttempt to pass off an

impostor as a relation .

I have said that the occultist can project his soul

from his body A S an incidental discovery it will
.
,

be observed he has thus ascertained beyond all

,

Shadow of doubt that he really h as got a soul A .

comparison of myths h as sometimes been called the

science of religion If there can really b e a science
.

of religion it must necessarily be occultism On .

the surface perhaps it may not be obvious that

, ,

religious truth must necessari ly open out more

completely to the soul as temporari ly loosened from
the body than to the soul as takin g cognisance of
,

ideas through the medium of t h e physical sens es .

18 TH E OCC UL T W OR LD .

But to ascend into a realm of immateriality where ,

cognition becomes a process of pure perception

while the intellectual faculties are in full play and
centred in the immaterial man must manifestly ,

be conducive to an enlarged comprehension of

religious truth .

I have j ust spoken of the immaterial man as “

distin guished from the body of the physical senses ;

but so complex is the statement I have to make
,
.

that I must n o soon er indu ce the reader to tolerate

the phrase than I must reject it for the future as
inaccurate Occult
. philosophy has ascertained
that the inner ethereal self which is the man as ,

distinguished from his body is itself the envelope of ,

something more ethereal still—is itself in a subtl e ,

sense of the term material ,

.

The majority of civilized people believe that m an

has a soul which will somehow survive the disso l u
tion of the body ; but they have to confess that
they do not kn ow very much about it A goo d .

many of the most highly civi lized have grave ,

doubts on the subject an d some think that research es

,

in physics which have suggested the notion that

even thought may be a mode of motion tend to ,

establish the strong probability of the hypothesis

that when the life of the body is destroy ed nothing
else survives Occult philosophy does not speculate
.

about the matter at all ; it knows the state of the

facts .

St Paul who was an occultist speaks of man

.
, ,

as constituted of body soul and S pirit ,

The ,
.

distinction is on e that h ardly fits in with t h e

theory that when a man dies his soul is translated
,
 OCC U L TIS M A ND I TS A D EP T S . 1
9

to heaven or hel l for ever W hat then becomes .

’
of the spirit and what i s the spirit as difl er en t from
,

the soul on th e ordinary hypothesis ? Orthodox

,

thinkers work out each some theory on t h e subject

for himself Either that the soul is the seat of the
.

emotions and the spirit of the intellectual faculties ,

o r v i ce ver sd
f
N 0 one can put such conjectures
.

on a solid foundation not even on the basis of an

,

alleged revelation But St Paul was not indulging

. .

in v ague fancies when he made use of the expres

sion quoted The spirit he was referring to m ay
.

be described as the soul of the soul With that .

for the moment we ne ed not be concerned The .

important point which occultism brings out is that

the soul of man while something enormously
,

subtler and more ethereal and more lasting than

the body is itself a m a ter i a l reality Not material
,
.

as chemistry understands matter but as physical ,

science en bl oc might understan d it if the t en t acu l ab

of each branch of science were to grow more
sensitive and were to work more in harmony It .

is no denial of the materiality of any hypothetical

substance to say that one cannot determine its
atomic weight and its a n i t ies The ether that
"

.
‘

transmits light is held to be material by anyone

who holds it to exist at all but there i s a gulf of ,

di ff erence between it and the thinnest of the gases .

You do not always approach a scientifi c tr uth from

the same direction You may perceive some
directly ; you have to infer others indirectl y ; but
these latter may not on that account be the less
certain. The materiality of ether is inferabl e
from the behaviour of light : the materiality of t h e
20 TH E OC C U L T W OR LD .

soul may be inferable from its subject ion to forces

A mesmeri c influence is a force emanati n g from
certain physical characteristics of the mesmerist .

It impinges on the soul of the subject at a distance

and produces an effect perceptible to him demo n ,

st r ab l e to others Of course this is an illustration

.

and n o proof I must set forth as well as I am

.

able—and that can but be very imperfectly t h e - fi

discoveries of occultism without at first attempting

the establishment by proof of each part of these
disco v eries Further on I shall be abl e to prove
.
,

some p ar ts at any rate and others will then be

,

recognized as indirectly established too , .

The soul is material and inheres in the,

ordinarily more grossly materi al body ; a n d it is

this condition of things which enables the occultist
to S peak posi t ively on the subject for he can ,

satisfy himself at on e coup that there is such a

thing as a soul and th at it is material in its nature
, ,

by diss ociating it from the body under some con

di t i on s and restoring it again
,
The occultist can
.

even do this sometimes with other souls ; his

primary achievement however is to do so with his
, ,

own When I say that the occultist kn ow s he has

.

a soul I refer to this power He knows it just .

as another man knows he has a great coat He .

can put it from him and render it ma n ifest as

,

something separate from himself But remember .

that to him when the separation is effected l i e is

, ,

the soul and the thing put off is the body And .

this is to attain nothing less than absolute certainty

about the great problem of survival after death .

The adept does not rely on faith or on metaphysical,

 OCC UL TIS M A ND I T S A D EP T S . 21

speculation in regard to the possibilities of his

,

existence apart from the body He experi ences .

such an existence whenever he pleases and altho ugh ,

it may be allowed that the m ore art of em ancipating

himself temporarily from the body would n ot
necessarily inform him concerning hi s ultimate
destinies after that emancipation shoul d be final at
death it gives him at all events exact knowledge
, , ,

concerning the conditions under which he will st art

on his journey in the next world While his body .

lives his soul is so to speak a captive balloon

, , ,

(though with a very long elastic and imponderable ,

.

cable) C aptive ascents wil l n ot necessarily tell

.

him whether the bal loon will fl oat when at last the
machinery below breaks up an d he fin ds himself ,

altogether adrift ; but it is something to be an

a eron aut already before the journey begin s and to
‘

, ,

kn ow de fi nitely as I said before that there are

, ,

such things as balloons for certain emergencies to

, ,

sail in .

There would be infinite grandeur in the faculty

I have described alone supposing that were the end
,

of adeptship : but instead of being the end it is ,

more like the beginning The seemingly magic .

feats w h ich the adepts in occultism have the power

t o perform are accomplishe d I am given to
, ,

u nderstand by means of familiarity with a force in

,

nature which is referred to in Sanscrit writings as

a lca e
. Western science h as done much in dis
covering some of the properties and powers of
electricity Occult scien ce ages before had done
.
, ,

much more in discovering the properties and

”
powers of a kae In The C oming Race the late
“
.
,
22 TH E OC C U L T W OR LD .

Lord Lytton whose conn exion with occultism

,

appears to have been closer than the world general ly

h as yet realized gives a fantastic and i maginative

,

accoun t of the wonders achieved in the world to

which his hero pen etrates by means of V ril In ,
.

writing of V ril L ord Lytton has clearly been poet

,

ising a kae The C o ming R ace is described as a

.
“ ”

people entirely unlike adepts in many essential

particulars —as a complete nation for one thin g , ,

o f men and women all equally handling the powers ,

even from childhood which—or some of which ,

a m ong others not described— the adepts have con

quered This is a mere fairy tale founded on the‘

-
.
,

achievements of occultism But no one who h as .

made a study of the latter can fail to see can fai l ,

to recognise with a conviction amounting to cer

tainty that the author of The C oming Race
,
“ ”

must have been familiar with the l eading ideas of

occultism perhaps with a great deal more The
, .

’
same evidence is afforded by L ord Lyt t on s other

M
novels of mystery Zanoni and The Strange
,
“ ”
,
“

Story . In
”
Zan oni the sublime personage in the
,
”

background j
e n o ur is
, intended plainly to be
,
a
great adept of Eastern occultism exactly like those ,

o f whom I have to speak It is di fificu l t to kno w .

why in this case where L ord Lytton has manifestly

M
,

inte n ded to adhere much more closely to the real

facts of occultism than in The C oming R ace he ,
”

should have represented j

e n ou r as a soli t ary
survivor of the R osicruci an fraternity The guar .

dian s of occult science are content to b e a small

body as compared with the tremendous importance
of the knowledge which they sav e from perishin g ,
 OC C UL TIS M A ND I TS A D EP T S . 23

but they have never allowed their numbers to

diminish to the extent of being in any danger of
ceasi n g to exist as an organized body on earth It .

is di ffi cult again to understand why L ord Lytton ,

havi ng learned so much as he certainly did S hould ,

have been content to use up his information merely

as an ornament of fi ction ins tead of giving it to the
,

world in a form which should cl ai m more serious

consideration At all events prosaic people will
.
,

argue to that effect ; but it is not impossi ble that

L ord Lytton himself had become through long ,

study of the subject so permeated with the love

,

of mystery which inheres in the occult mind

apparently that he preferred to throw out h is
,

information in a veile d and mys tic shape so that it ,

would be intelligible to readers in sympathy with

himself and would blow unnoticed past the com
,

m o n l ac e
p understanding without awakening t h e
angry rejection which these pages for example , ,

if they are destined to attract any notice at all ,

will assuredly encounter at the hands of bigots i n

science religion and the great philosophy of t h e
, ,

commonplace .

A ka e be it then understood is a force for which

, ,

we have no name and in reference to which we

,

have no experience to guide us to a conception of

its nature On e can only grasp at the idea t e
.

quired by conceivin g that i t is as much more po

tent subtle and extraordinary an agent than elec
, ,

t r i ci t y as electricity is superior in subtlety and

,
"

variegated e i ci en cy to steam It is through his .

acquaintance with t h e properties of this force that ,

the adept can accompli sh the physical phenomena,

24 TH E 0 0 0 UL T W OR LD .

which I shall presently be able to show are within

his reach b esides others of far gr eate r m ag n i fi
,

cence .

Who are the adepts who handl e the tremendous

forces of which I S peak ? There is reason to belie v e
that such adepts have existed in all historic ages ,

and there are su ch adepts in India at this moment ,

or in adjacent countries The identity of the .

kn owledge they have inherited with that of ancient ,

initiates in occultism foll o ws i rresistibly from an ,

examination of the views they hold and the fe c a l

ties they exercise The conclusion h as to be worked .

out from a mass of literary evidence and it will be ,

enough to state it for the moment pointing out the ,

proper channels of research in the matter after

wards For the present let u s c onsider the position

M
.

o f the adepts as they n ow exist or t o use the desi

g , ,

nation more generall y employed in India o f the ,

1 ”
ahatm a s .

They constitute a Brotherhood or S ecret Ass o ,

c i at i o n whi ch r am ifi es all over the East but the

, ,

pri ncip al seat o f which for the present I gathe r

t o be in Tibet But India ha s n ot yet been de
.

se r t e d by the adepts and from that country they ,

still receive m an y recru its For the great fraternity .

is at once the least and the most exclusive organ

iz at ion in the world an d fresh recruits from an y ,

race or countr y are welcome provided they possess ,

the needed qualifications The door as I have .

,

been told by one who is himself an adept is always

M M
,

Open to the right man who knocks but the road ,

1 ah at m a ! G r e at Sou l , or G r ea t S p ir it , d iv d f
er e r om a ke an d

A tm a .
 OCC UL TIS M A ND [ IS A D EP T S . 25

that h as to be travelled before the door is reached

i s one which n one but very determined travellers
can hope to pass It is manifestly impossible that
.

I can describe its perils in any but very general

terms but it is not necessary to have learned any
,

secrets of initiation to un derstand the character of

the train ing through which a neophyte must pass
before he attains the di gn ity of a profi cient in
occultism The adept is not made : he becomes
.
,

as I have been constantly assured and the process ,

of becoming is mainly in his own hands .

Never I believe in less than seven years from

, ,

the time at which a candidate for initiation is

accepted as a probationer is he ever admitted to the
,

very first of the ordeals whatever they may be which

, ,

bar t h e way to the e ar liest decrees of occultism ,

an d there i s n o security for him that the seven

years may not be extended ad l i bi tu m c has .

r

no security that he will ever be admitted to any

initiation whatever No r is thi s appalling u n cer
.

tainty which would alone deter most Europeans

, ,

however keen upon the subj ect intellectually from ,

attemptin g to advance themsel v es into the domain

, ,

o f occultism maintained from the mere caprice of

,

a despotic society coquetting so to S peak with the

, , ,

eag er n ess of its wooers Th e trials through which

.

t h e neophyte h as to pass are no fantastic mockeries ,

or mimicries of awful peril Nor do I take it

.
, ,

are t hey artificial barriers set up by the masters of

occultism to try the nerve of their pupils as a
, ,

ridin g master might put up fences in h is school

-
.

It is inherent in the nature of the science that has

t o be explored that its r evelations shall st agger the
,
26 TH E OCC UL T W OR LD .

reason and try t h e most resolute courage It is in .

’
his own interest that the candidat e s character and
fi x i ty of purpose and perhaps his physical an d
,

men tal attrib utes are tested an d watched with

,

infi nite care and patience in the first instance before ,

he is allowed to take the fi n al pl un ge into the sea

of strange experie n ces through which he must s wi m
with the strength of his own right arm or perish ,
.

A S to what may be the nature of the trials that

a wait h i m during the period of his development it ,

will b e obvious that I can have no accurate know

ledge and conjectures based on fragmentary revela
,

tions picked up here and there are not worth

recording but as for the nature of the life led by
,

the mere candidate for admission as a neophyte i t

will be equally plai n that no secret is involved .

The ultimate development of the adept requires

amongst other things a life of absolute physical
p u rity and the candidate must from the beginning
, , ,

g ve practical evidence of his willingness to adop t

i
this He must that is to say for all the years of
.
, ,

his probation be perfectly chaste perfectly abste

, ,

m i o u s e d indi ff erent to physical luxury of every

,

sor t This regimen does n o t involve any fantastic

.

discipli ne or obtrusive asceticism nor withdrawal ,

fro m the world There woul d be nothing to pre

.

vent a gentleman in ordina ry society from being in

s o me of the preliminary stages of training for occult
candidature without anybody about h im being the
wiser For true occul tism the sublime achievement
.
,

of the real adept is n o t attained through the loath

,

some asceticism of the ordi nary Indian fakeer the ,

y og i of the woods and wilds whose dirt ac cum ul ates

,
 OC C UL TIS M A ND ITS A D EP TS . 27

wi th his sanctity—Of the fanatic wh o fastens iron

hooks into his fl esh o r holds up an ar m until it is
,

withered An imperfect knowledge of some of t h e

.

external facts of Indian occultism wil l often lead to

a misunderstanding on this point .

Y oy c idy a is the Indian name for occ ul t science ,

and it is easy to learn a good deal more than is

worth learning about the practices of some mis
gui ded enthusiasts who culti v ate some of its inferior
branches by means of mere physical exercises Pro p .

erly speaking this physical development is c al l ed

,

H a t t a yoy while the loftier sort which is approached

, ,

by the discipli ne of the mind and which leads to the

,

high altitudes of occul tism is called R ag a yoy N0

, .

person whom a real occultist would ever think of as

an adept has acquired his powers by means of the
,

laborious and puerile exercises of the H a tt a I

do not mean to say that these inferior exercises are

M
al together futile They do invest the person who
.

pursues them with some abnorm al faculties and pow

ers. any treatises have been written to describe
them and many people who have lived in Indi a w ill
,

be able t o relate curious experiences they have had

with pr ofi cien t s in thi s extraordinary craft I do n ot .

wish to fill these pages with tales of wonder that I

have had no means of sifting or it would be easy to,

collect examples ; but the point to insist on here is

that no story anyone can have heard or read whi ch
seems to put an ignoble or petty or low minded as
, ,
-

I
’

p ec t on ndian yog eez sm can have any application to

the ethereal yog eei sm which is cal led R ag a yog an d ,

which leads to the awful heights of true adeptship .

 TH E TH EOS OP I C A L S OC IE TY
.

S ECR ET as the occult organization has always

remained there is a good deal more to be learned
,

concerni ng the philosophical views which it h as

pres e rved or acquired than m i ght be supposed at
,

the fi rst glance As my own experience when fully

.

described will Show the great adepts of occultism

,

themselves have no repugnance to the dissemination

of their religious philosophy so far as a world u n

trained as ours is in pure psychological investiga t ion

can profit by such teaching Nor even are they
.

unconquerably averse to the occasional manifestation

of those superior powers over the forces of Nature
to which their extraordinary researches have led
them The many apparently miraculous phenomena
.

which I have witnessed through occult agency

could n ever ha v e been exhibited if the general rule
which precludes the Brothers from the exhibition of
their powers to uninitiated persons were absolute .

As a general rule indeed the display of any occul t

, ,

p henomenon for the purpose of exciting the wonder

an d admiration of beholders is strictly forbidden .

A n d i n deed I Should imagine that such prohibition

is absolute if there is no higher purpose involved .

But it is plain that with a purely philanthropic

desire to spread the credit of a philosophical syste m
 TH E TH E OS OP H ICA L S OCIE T 3 '
. 29

which is ennobling in its character the Brothers m ay ,

sometimes wisely permit the display of abnormal

phenomena when the minds to which such an appeal
is made may be likely to rise from the ap preciation
of the wonder to a be fi tti n g respect for the philosophy
which it accredits And the history of the Theo
.

sophical Society has been an expansion of this idea .

That history has been a chequered one because the ,

phenomen a t hat have been displayed have often

failed of their e ff ect have sometimes become the
,

subject of a premature pub licity and have brought ,

down on the study of occult philosophy as regarded

from the poin t of view of the outer world and on ,

the devoted persons who have been chiefly identi fi ed

with its encouragement by means of the The o
sophical Society a great deal of stupid ridicule and
,

some malevolent persecution It may be asked why .

the Brothers if they are really the great and all

,

powerful persons I represent them have permitted ,

indiscretions of the kind referred to but the inquiry ,

is not so embarrassi n g as it may seem at the first

glance If the picture of the Brothers th at I h ave
.

e ndeavoured to present to the reader has been

appreciated rightly it w ill Show them less accurately
,

qualified in spite of their powers than persons of

, ,

lesser occult development to carry on any u n der

,

taking which invol ves direct relations with a multi

l i ci t y of ordinary peop l e in the common place
p
-

world I gather the primary purpose of the

.

Brotherhood to be something very unlike the task

I am engaged in for example at this moment— the
, ,

endeavour to convince the public generally that

there re ally ar e faculties latent in human i ty capable
30 TH E OCC UL T W OR LD .

of such extraordinary development that th ey carry ,

us at a bound to an immense distance beyond t h e

dreams of physical science in reference to the com
prehension of Nature and at the same time aff ord
,

us positive testimony concerni n g the constitution

and destinies of the human soul That is a task on .

which it is reasonable to suppose the Brothers would

c ast a sympathetic glance but it will be obviou s on
,
’
a moment s reflection th at their primary duty must
,

be to keep alive the actuality of that knowledge ,

and of those powers concernin g which I am merely

giving some Shadowy account If the Brothers .

were to employ themselves on the large rough ,

business of h acking away a t the incredulity of a

stolid multitude at the acrimonious incredulity of
,

the m aterialistic phalan x at the terrified and i n dig

,

nant incredulity of the orthodox religious world it ,

’

is conceivable that they might p r op ter c i ta m c i c en de

-

er der e ca u sas— suff er the occult science itself to

p
decay for the sake of persuading mankind that it
did really exist Of course it might be suggested
.

that division of labour might be possible in occultism

as in everything e l se and that some adepts qualified
,

for the work might be told off for the purpose of

breaki n g down the incredulity of modern science ,

while the others would carry on the primary duties

of their career in their own beloved seclusion But .

a su e st i on of this kind however practical it may

gg ,

sound to a practical world would probably presen t

,

itself as eminently unpractical to the true mystic .

To begi n with an aspirant for occult honours does

,

n ot go through the trem endous and prolonged eff ort

r equired to win him success , in order at t h e en d of

 TH E THE O SOPHICA L S OCIE T Y .
31

all things to embrace a life in the midst of the

ordinary world which on the hypothesis of his success
,

in occultism must necessar ily be repugnant to h i m in

the extreme Probably there is not one real adept who
.

does n ot look with gre ater aversion and repugnance

on any life excep t a life of seclusion than we of the
,

outer world would look on the notion of being

buried alive in a remote mountain fastn ess where
no foot or voice from the outer world could pene
trate I shall very soon be able to show that the
.

love of seclusion inherent in adeptship does not

, ,

imply a mind vacant of the knowledge of E uropean

culture and man n ers It is on the contrary com
.
, ,

p at i ble with an amount of European c ul ture and

experien ce that people acqu ai n ted merely with the
commonplace as pects of Eastern life will be sur
prised to find possible in the case of a man of
Oriental birth . Now the imaginary adept told off
,

on the suggestion I am examining to show the ,

scientific world that there are realms of knowledge it

has not yet explored and faculties attainable to
man that it has not yet dreamed of possessing ,

would have to be either appointed to discharge that

duty or to volun teer for it In the one case we
,
.

have to assume that the occult fraternity is despotic

in its treatment of its members in a manner which
all my observation leads me to bel ieve it cert ainly
is not ; in the other we have to suppose some adept
,

making a voluntary sacrifice of what he regards as

not only the most agreeable but also the higher
life—for what ? for the sake of accomplishing a
tas k which he does not regard as of very great
i mportan ce —relatively at any rate to that other
, ,
32 TH E 0 6 0 UL T W OR LD .

task in which he may take a par t t h e pe r pet uation

~

and perhaps the de v elopment of the great science

itself But I do not care to follow the argument
.

any further because it will come on for special

,

treatment in a diff erent way presently Enough .

for the moment to indicate that there are con sidera

tions against the adoption of that method of per
su asion which as far as the judgment of ordinary
,

people would go would seem the best s u ited to the

,

introduction of occult truths to modern intelligence .

A n d these considerations appear to have prompte d

the acceptance by the Brothers of the Theosophical
,

Society as a more or less imperfect but still t h e , .

best av ailable agency for the performance of a piece

of work in which withou t being actually prepared
, ,

to enter on it themselves they nevertheless take a

,
.

cordial interest
And wh at are the peculiar conditions which
render the Theosophical Society the organization
,

and m an agement of which have been faulty i n many

M
ways the best agency hitherto available for the
,

propagatio n of occult tr uths The zeal and quali

fi c at i o n s of its founder adame Blavatsky gi v e the
, ,

explanation requi red .It is obvious that to give

any countenance or support at all to a society con
cerned with the promulgation of occult philosophy ,

it was necessary for the Brothers to be in occult

communication with it in some way or other For .

it must be remembered that though it may seem to

us a very amazing and impossible thing to sit still at
home and impress our thoughts upon the mind of a
distant friend by an eff ort of will a Brother living
,

in an unknown Himalayan retreat is not on ly able

 TH E TH E OS OP H ICA L S OCIE T Y .
33

to converse as fre ely as he likes with any of his

friends who are initiates like himself in whatever ,

part of the world they may happen to be but would ,

find any other modes of communication such as ,

those with which the crawling faculties of the outer

world have to be content simply intolerable in
,

their tedium and in e i cacy Besides he must t o

”

,
.
,

be able to afford assistance to any society havi n g its

Sphere of operations among people in the world be ,

able to hear from it with the same facility that he

can send communications to it So there must be
.

an initiate at the other end of the l ine Finally .

,

the occul t ru les evidently require this last named -

condition or what amounts to the same thing

M
, ,

forbid arrangements which can only be avoided on

this condition .

Now ,
adame Blavatsky is an initiate—is an
adept to the extent of possessing this magni ficent
power of psychological telegr aphy with her occult
friends That she has stopped short of that further
.

development in adeptship that would have tided her

right over the boundary between this and the occult
world altogether is the circumstance which has
,

rendered her assumption of the task with which the

Theosophical Society is concerned compatible with
the considerations pointed out above as Operating
to prevent the assumption of such a duty by a full
adept As regards the supremely essential charac
.

t er ist i c she has in fact been exactly suited to the

, , ,

emergen cy How it came to pass that her occult

.

tr ai n ing carried her as far as it did and no further ,

is a question into which it is f ruitless to inquire ,

because the answer would mani festly entai l expl ana

2*
34 TH E OCC UL T W OR LD .

tions which would impinge too cl osely on the

secrets of initiation which are never disclosed un der
any circumstan ces whatever After all she is a .

woman — though her powerful mind widely if erra

, ,

tically cultivated and perfectly dauntless courage

,

proved among other ways on the battle fi el d but -

,

more than by any bravery wi th bullets by her ,

occult initiation renders the name co n noting what

, ,

it ordinarily does rather absurd in application to

,

her —,
an d this has perhaps barred her from t h e
, ,

highest degrees in occultism that she might other

wise have attained At all events aft er a co u rse of
.
,

occult study carried on for seven years in a i m al ayan

M
s

retreat, and crowning a devotion to occul t pursuits

extending over fi v e and thirty or forty ye ars
- -
,

adame Blavatsky reappeared in the world dazed , ,

as she met ordinary people going about in common .

place benighted ignorance concerning the wonders of

,

occult science at the mere thought of the stupendous

,

gulf of experience that separated her from them .

She could hardly at first bear to associate with

them for thin ki n g of all she knew that they did not
,

know an d t hat she was bound not to reveal Any .

one can understand the burden of a great secret b u t ,

the burden of such a secret as occultism and the ,

burden of great powers only conferred on condition

that their exercise should be very strictly circu m
scribed by rule must have been trying indeed
, .

C ircumstances —or to put the matter more

plainly the guidance of friends from whom though
, ,

she had left the m behind in the Hi m alayas on her

return to Europe she w as no lon ger in danger of
,

separation as we understand the term induced h er

, ,
 TH E TH E OS OP H ICA L S OCIE T Y .
35

to visit America, and there assisted b y some other,

persons whose interest in the subj ect was kindled

by occasional manifestations of her extraordinary
powers and n otably by C olonel Olcott its life
, ,

devoted President she founded t he Theosophical

,

Society the objects of which as originally defined

, , ,

were to explore the latent psychological powers of

man and the ancient Oriental literature in which
,

the clue to these may be hidden and in which the ,

'
philosophy o f occult sc ience may be partly discovered .

The Society t ook root readily in America while

M
,

branches were also formed in England and else

where ; but leaving these to take care of themselves
, ,

adame Blavatsky ultimately returned to India to ,

establish the Society there among the natives ,

from whose natural hereditary sympathies with

mysticism it was reasonable to expect an ardent
sympathy with a psychological enterprise which not
only appealed to their in tuitive belief in the reality
’

of m dy a but also to their best patriotism by

, ,

exhibiting India as the fountain head of the highest -

if the least known and the most secluded culture

in the world .

Here however began the practical blunders in

M
, ,

the man agement of the Theosophical Society which

led to the incidents referred to above as having ,

give n it so far a chequered career

, ,
adame .

B l a v at z ky to begin with was wholly unfamiliar

, ,

with the everyday side of Indian life her previous ,

visits having brought her only into contact with

groups of people utterly unconnected with the
c urrent social system and characteristics of the
c ountry . Nor could she hav e undertaken a worse
36 TH E OCC U L T W OR LD .

preparation for Indian life than that supplied by a

residence of some years in the U nited States .

This sent her out to India unfurnished with the

recommendations which she could readily have
obtained if she h ad spent the time j ust referred to
,

in England and left her unprovided with informa

,

tion it was highly impo rtant for her to possess c on

M
cerning the tr ue character of the British rul ing
classes o f India and their relations with the people .

The consequence was that m e Blavatsky o n her .

,

fi rst ar rival in India ad o pted an attitude of obtrusive

,

sympathy with the natives of the soil as compared

with the Europeans seeking their society in a manner
,

which coupled with the fact that she made none o f

,

the usual advances to European society and with her ,

manifestly R ussian name had the eff ect not u n

,

naturally of rendering her su sp ecte t o the rather

clumsy org anization which in India attempts to
combin e with sun dry others the functions of a

M
, ,

political police These suspicions it is true were

.
, ,

allayed almost as soon as they were conceived but ,

not before adame B l av at z ky had been made for a

short time the object of an esp i on age so awkward
th at it became grossly obvious to herself and roused
her in dignation to fever heat To a more phlegmatic
.

n ature the incident would have been little more

M
than amusin g but all accidents combined to de
,

v el o
p trouble . A R ussia n by birth though ,

n aturaliz ed in the U nited States adame B l av at z ky

,

is prob ably more sensitive than an English woman

less experienced in political espionage would be to
 TH E TH E OS OP H ICA L S OCIE T Y .
37

t he insult involved in being taken for a spy Then .

the inner consciousness of having for enthusiasm in ,

the purely intellectual or spiritual ente r p r ise to

which she h ad devoted her life ren ounced the p l ace
,

i n society t o which her distinguished birth an d

family naturally entitled her probably intensifi ed
,

the bitterness of her indignatio n at finding the ,

sacrifice not only unappreciated but turned again st

,

her and regarded as j ustifying a foul suspicion

, .

At all events the circumstances acting on an ex

,

citable temperament led her to make public protests

which caused it to be widely known by natives as
well as by Europeans that she had been looked at
,

askance by G overnment authoriti es And this idea .

for a time impeded the success of her work .

Nothing can be done in India without a European

impulse in the beginnin g at all events it handicaps ,

any enterprise frightfully to be without such an

impulse if n ative co operation is required Not that
-
.

the Theosophical Society failed to get members

M
.

The natives were flattered at the attitude towards

them taken up by their new European friends
“ ”
,

as adame Blavatsky and C olonel Olcott were no

doubt generally regarded in spite of their American
nationality and showed a sh allow eagerness to b e
,

come Theosophists But their ardour did not

. ,

always prove durable and in some few cases they

MM
,

showed a lamentable want of earnestness by break

ing away from the Society altogether
ean while,
adame Blavatsky began to make
f riends amongst the Europeans and in 1 8 80 visited
,

Simla where she began late in the day to approach

,

her work from the right direction Again however, .

,
33 TH E 0 6 6 U L T W OR LD .

so m e mistakes were made which have retarded fil e

establishment of the Theosop h ical Society as far as ,

India is concerned on the digni fi ed fo o ti n g t hat it

,

ought to occupy A great many wonderful pheno

.

mena were man ifested in the presence at various

times of a great many people ; but proper safe
gu ards were not taken to avert the g r eat dan ger
th at must always attend such a method of r eco m
mending occul t science to public notice It is .

beyo n d dispute that phenomena exhibited under

,

thoroughly satisfactory conditions to persons intel

l ig en t enough to comprehend their signi fi cance ,

create an effect in awakening a thirst for the study

of occult philosophy that n o other appeal can
produce But it is equally true though at the first
.
,

glance this may not be so apparent that to minds ,

quite unprepared by previous training to grasp the

Operation of occult forces the most perfectly unim
,

p each ab l e phenomenon will be received rather as

an insu lt to the understanding than as a proof of the
operation of occult power This is especially the
.

case with persons of merel y average intelligence ,

whose faculties cann ot stand the shock of a sudden

appe al to an entirely new set of ideas The strain .

is too great ; the new ch ain of reaso n ing breaks ,

and the commonplace observer of abnormal occur

r e n ce s reverts to his original frame of stolid
incredulity perfectl y unaware o f the fact that a
,

revel ation of priceless intellectual importance has

been o ff ered to him and has been misunderstood .

Nothing is commoner than to hear people say : I

’
can t believe in the reality of a phenomen al occ ur
rence unless I see it for myself Show it me and
.
 M
TH E Tfi E C S OP H /CA L S O CIE T Y
.
39

I shall believe in it b u t not till then :

, any

people who sa y th i s are q uite mistaken as to what

they would believe if the occurrence were shown to
them I have over and over again seen phenomena
.

of an absolutely genuine nature pass b efore the

eyes of people unused to i nvestigating occurrences
of the kind and leave no impression behind beyond
,

an i rritated conviction that they were somehow

M
being taken in Just this happen e d in some con
.

sp i cu ou s instances at Simla and it is needless to say

,

that many as were the phenomena that adame

Blavatsky produce d or was instrumental in p r o
,

du ci n g durin g the visit to which I am referring

, ,

the number of people in the place who had no oppor

t u n i t y of seei n g them was considerably greater
than that of the witnesses And for these as a .
,

rule the whole series of incidents presented itself

,

simply as an imposition It was nothing to the .

p urpose for the holders of this theory that there

w as a glaring absence from the whole business of
any motive for imposture that a considerable ,

grou p of persons whose testimony and capacity

would never have been impugned had any other
matter been under discussion were emphatic in ,

their decl arations as to the complete reality of the

phenomena that had been displayed The common .

place min d could not assimilate t he idea that it

was face to face with a new revel ati o n in Natur e ,

and any hypothesis no matter how absurd and illo

M
,

i cal in its details was preferable for the majorit y

g ,

to the simple grandeur of the truth .

On the whole there f ore as

,
adame Blavatsky
,

became a celebrity in India her relations with ,

40 TH E OCC UL T W OR LD .

European society were intensified She made .

many friends and secured some ardent converts to

,

a belief in the reality of occult powers ; but she

became the innocent object of bitter animosity on
the part of some other acquaintances who unable , ,

to as similate what they saw in her presence took ,

up an attitude of disbelief which deepened into ,

positive enmity as the whole subject became en v e

loped in a clou d of more or less excited con
t r ov er sy

M
.

And it is needless to say that many of the news

papers made g r eat capital out of the whole situation
’
ri di cul ing adame B l av at sky s dupes and twisting

M
,

e very bit of inform ation that came out about her

phenomena into the most ludicrous shape it

M
could be made to assume ocker y of that sort
.

w as naturally expected by English friends who

avowed their belief in the reality of adame
’
B l av at sky s powers and probably never gave one
,
’
of them a moment s serious annoyance But for .

the over sensitive and e xc itable person chiefly con

-

cerned they were indescribably tormenting and ,

eventually it grew doubtful whether her patience

would s tand the strain put upon it ; whether she
would not relinquish altogether the ungrateful task
of inducing the world at large to accept the good
gifts which she had devoted her life to o ff ering
them Happil y so far no catastrophe has ensued ;
.
, ,

but no hi story of C olumbus in chains for discover

ing a new world or G alileo in prison for an
,

n ou n cin
g the true principles of astronomy is more ,

remarkable for those who know all the bearin gs of

t h e situation in India as regards the Theosophi cal
,
 M
TH E TH E OS OP H ICA L S OCIE T Y
.
41

Society than the sight of

,
adam Blavatsky ,

slandered and ri diculed by most of the Anglo

Indian papers and spoken of as a charlatan by the
,

common p lace crowd i n return for havin g freely

,

offered them some of the wonderful fruits—as much

as the rules of the great occ ult association permit

her to offer—of the life— long struggle in which she

has conquered her extraordinary knowledge .

In spite of all this meanwhile the Theosophical

, ,

Soci ety rem ai ns the one organ i zation which sup

plies to inquirers who thirst for occult knowledge
a lin k of communication however slight wi th t h e
, ,

g reat frater n ity in t h e bac k ground which tak es

an i n terest in i t s ro r ess, an d is acc essibl e t o its
p g
fo an der .
 FIRS T OCC ULT EXPERIENC E S .

IT h as been through my connection with the The o

sophical Society and my acquai ntance with adame
Blavatsky that I have Obtained experiences in
M
M
connection with occultism which have prompted
,

me to undertake my present task The first pro .

b l em I had to solve was whether adame Blavatsky

really did as I heard possess the power of pr d
, ,

du cin g abnormal pheno m ena And it may oe

.

i m agined that on the assumption of the reali ty of

,

her phenomena nothing would have been si m pl ea

,

than to obtain such satisfaction when once I h ad

formed her acquaintance It is however an illu s
.
, ,

t r at i on of the embarr as sments which surroun d al r

inquiries of this nature—embarrassments with
which so many people grow impatient to the end ,

that they cast inquiry altogether as ide and rem ain

M
wholly ignorant of the truth for the rest of thei r
lives — that although on the first occ asion of m y
’
making adame B l av at sky s acquain tance sh e
became a guest at my house at Allahabad and
remained there for six weeks the harvest of sati s
,

faction I was enabled to obtai n during this time

was exceedingly small Of course I heard a great
.

deal from her duri ng the time mentioned about

occultis m and the Brothers but while she was
,
 F IR S T OC C UL T EXP ER IENC ES .
43

most anxious that I should understand the s i tuation

thorough l y an d I was most anxious to get at the
,

truth the di i c u l t ies to be overcome were almost

“"

insuperable For the Brothers as already de

.
,

scribed have an unconquerable objection to showing

,

Off .That the perso n who wishes them to show off

is an earnest seeker of truth and not governed by ,

mere idle curiosity is nothing to the purpose ,

.

They do n ot want to attract candidates for initia

tion by an exhibition of wonders Wonders .

have a very spirit stirring effect on the history of

-

every religion founded on miracles but oc ,

cultism is not a pu r suit which people can safely

take up in obedience to the impulse of enthusi asm
created by witnessing a display of extraordinary
power There is no absolute rule to forbid the
.

exhibition of powers in presence of the outsider ;

but it is clearly di sapproved of by the higher
authorities of occultism on principle and it is ,

practic ally impossible for less exalted pr ofi ci en t s to

M
go against this disapproval It was only the very .

slightest of all imaginable phenomena that during ,

her fi rst visit to my house adame Blavatsky w as ,

thus permitted to exhibit freely She was allowed .

to show that raps like those which spiritualists

“ ”

attribute to spirit agency could be produced at ,

will This was somethin g and f a u te de m i eu x we

.
,

paid gre at attention to raps .

Spiritualists are aware that when groups of

people sit round a table and put their hands u pon
it they will if a medium be present generally
, ,
“ ”
,

hear little knocks which respond to questions and

spell out mess ages The large outer circle of
.
44 TH E OC C UL T W OR LD .

persons who do n ot believe in spiritualism are fain

t o imagine that all the millio n s who do are duped ,

as regards this impressio n It must sometimes be .

t roublesome for them to account for the wide de

v el o m e n t
p o f the delusion but any theory they , ,

think is preferable to admitting t h e possibility that

,

the spirits of deceased persons can communicat e in

th is way ; or if they take the scienti fi c view of the
,

matter that a physical effect however sli ght can be

, , ,

produced without a physical cause Such person s .

ought to welcome the explan ations I am now

giving tending as these do to show that the
,

theory of univers al self deception as regards S pirit

-

rapping which must be rather an awkward theory

,

for an y one but a ludicrously co n cei t ed objector

to hold is n ot the only one by means of which the
,

asse rted facts of spiritualism — those with which we

are n ow dealing at all events— can be reconciled
with a reluctance to accept the Spiritual hypo

M
thesis as the expl anation .

Now I soon found out not only that raps would

,

alw ays come at a table at which ad ame Blavatsky

sat with the view of obtaini n g such results but ,

that all conceivable hypotheses of fraud in the

mat ter were rapidly disposed of by a comparison of
the v arious experiments we were able to make To .

begin with there was no n ecessity for other people

,

to sit at the table at all We could work with .

any t able u nder any circumstances or without a ,

t able at all A window pane would do equally

.
-

well or the w all or any door or anything what

, , ,

ever which could give out a sound if hit A half .

glass door put ajar was at o n ce seen to be a very

 M
F IR S T OC C UL T EXP ER IENC ES .
45

good instru ment to choose because it was easy to ,

stand opposite adame Blavatsky in this case to ,

see her bare hands or hand ( without any rings )

resting motionless on the pane and to hear the ,

little ticks come plainly as if made with the point

,

of a pencil or with the sound of electric sparks

passing from one knob of an electri cal apparatus
to another Another very satisfactory way of

M
.

obtaining the raps— one frequently employed

in t h ee v en in g—was to set down a large glass clock
shade on the hearthrug and get adame Blavatsky
, ,

after removing al l rings from her hands and sitting ,

well clear of the shade so that no part of her dress

touched it to lay her hands on it Putting a lamp
,
.

on the ground opposite and sitting down on the ,

hearthrug one could see the under surfaces of the

,

hands resting on the glass and still under these ,

perfectly satisfactory conditions the raps would

M
come clear and distinct on the sonorous surfac e
, ,

of the shade .

’
It was out of adame B l av at sky s power to give
an exact explanation as to how these raps were
produced Every effort of occult power is con
.

n ect e d with some secre t or other and slight r e , ,

garded in the light of phenomena as the raps were , ,

they were physical effects produced by an cfi or t of

will and the manner in which the will can be
,

trained to produce physical effects may be too

uniform as regards great and small phenomena to be
, ,

made in acc r dan ce with the rules of occultism the

p
subject of exact expl anations to uninitiated persons .

But the fact that the raps were obedient to th e will

w as readily put beyond dispute i n this way amongst ,
46 TH E OCC UL T W OR LD .

others : working with the window pane or the -

cl ocksh ade I would ask to have a n ame spelled out

, ,

m entioning one at random Then I would call over

.

the alphabet and at the right letters the raps would

,

come Or I would ask for a definite n umber of

M
.

raps and they would come Or for series of raps

,
.

in some defined rhythmical progression and they ,

woul d come Nor was this all

. adame B l avatsky.

would sometimes put her hands or one only on , ,

’
someone else s head and make the raps come
, ,

audibly to an attentive listener and perceptibly to

the person touched who would feel each little shock
,

exactly as if he were taking sparks off the conduc t or

of an electrical machine .

At a l ater stage of my inquiries I obtained raps

M
under better circums t ances agai n than these
namely without cont act betwee n the object on
,

which they were produced and adame B l av at sky’ s

hands at all This was at Simla in the summer of

M
.

last year but I may as well anticipate a

l ittle as far as the raps are concerned At Simla .

adame Blavatsky used to produce the raps on a

little table set in the midst o f an attentive group ,

with no on e touching it at all After starting it .

,

o r charging it with some infl uence by resting her

hands on it for a few moments she would hold one ,

about a foot above it and make mesmeric passes at

it at each of which the tabl e would yield the

M
,

familiar sound Nor was this done only at our

.

o w n house with our own tables The same thing .

’
woul d be don e at friends houses to which adame ,

Blavatsky accompanied us A n d a further develop

.

ment of the head experiment was this : It was

 FIR S T o cc UL T EXPER IENCES .
47

fo und to be possible for several persons to feel the

M
sam e rap simultaneously Four or five persons used
.

sometimes to put their hands in a pile one on ,

another on a table ; then adame Bla v atsky would

put hers on the top of the pile and cause a curr ent ,

o f whatever it is which produces the sound to pass

,

through the whole series of hands felt by each ,

simultaneously and record itself in a rap On the

,

table beneat h Any one who has ever taken part

.

in forming such a pile of hands m u st feel as to some

of the hypotheses concernin g the raps that have

M
been put for ward in the Indian papers by determined
sceptics—hard headed persons not to be taken in
-

to the effect that the raps ar e produced by adame

’
B l av at sky s th umb nails or by the cracking of some
-

joint—that such hypotheses are rather idiotic

M
.

S u mming up the argument in language which I

u sed in a letter w ritten at the time it stands as ,

follows ; “
adame Blavatsky puts her hands on a
table and raps are heard on it Some w iseacre .

suggests she does it with her t humb nails ; she puts

-

o nly one hand on the table ; the raps comes still .

D oes she conceal any artifice under her hand ? She

lifts her hand from the table altogether and merely ,

holding it in the air above the raps still come

,
.

H a s she done anything to the table 2 She puts her

hand on a window pane on a picture frame on a
-
, ,

dozen di ff erent places about the room in succession ,

and from each in turn come the mysterious raps .

Is the house where she stays with her own parti

cu l ar friends about her prepared all over ? She
goes to half a dozen other houses at Simla and pro
duces raps at them all D o the raps really com e
.
48 TH E OCC UL T W OR LD .

from somewhere else than where they seem to come

from— are they perhaps ventriloquism ? She puts
her hand on your head and from the m otionless
,

fi ngers you feel something which resembles a minute

ser ies of electric shocks and an atten tive listener
,
'

beside you wi ll hear them producing little raps on

your skull Are you telling a lie when you say

M
. ,

you fe el the sh ocks ? Half a dozen people put

their han ds one on the other in a pile on the table ;
adame Blavatsky puts hers on the top of all and ,

each person feels the little throbs pass through and ,

hears them record themselves in faint raps on the

table on which the pile of hands is resting When .

a person has seen all these experiments many times

M
,

as I have what impression do you think is m ade on

M
,

his mind by a person who says There is nothing

,
‘

in raps but conjuri n g— askelyne and C ooke can

do them for £ 1 0 a night askelyne and C ooke
cannot do them for £ 1 0 a n ight nor for ten lakhs

M
a night under the circumstances I describe .
”

The raps even as I heard them during the first

visit that adame Blavatsky paid us at A l lahabad ,

gave me a complete assurance that she was in posses

sion of some faculties of an abnormal character .

And this assurance lent a credibility that would n ot

,

other wise have belon ged to them to one or two

,

phenomena of a different kind which also occurred

at that time the co n ditions of which w ere not com
,

l et e enough to make them worth recording here

p .

But it was mortifying to approach no nearer to

absolute certitude concerning the questions in which
W e were really interested— namely whether there
,

did indeed exist men with the wonderful powe rs

 FIR S T OCC UL T EXP ER IENCES .
49

ascribed to the adepts and whether in this way it

,

was possible for human creatures to obtain positive

M
k nowledge concerning t h e ch ar ast er ist ics of their
own spiritual nature It must be remem bered that
.

adame Blavatsky was preaching no speci fi c doctrine

on this subject What she told us about the adepts
.

and her own ini tiation was elicited by questions .

Theosophy in which she did seek to interest al l her

,

friends did not proclaim any specific belie f on the

,

subject It simply recommended the theory that

.

humanity shou ld be regarded as a Universal Brother

hood in which each person should study the truth
as regards spiritual things freed from the p r eposses
,

sions of an y specific religious dogma But although .

her attitude as regards the whole subject put her

, ,

under no moral obligation to prove the reality Of

occultism her conversation and her book
, Isis U n ,
“

”
veiled disclosed a view of things which one naturally
,

desired to explore further and it was tantalizing to

feel that sh e coul d and yet could not give us the
, ,

fin al proofs we so much desired to have that her ,

occult trai n ing really had invested her with powers

over material things of a kind which if one could ,

but feel sure they were actually in her possession ,

would utterly shatter the primary foundations of

materialistic philosophy .

On e conviction we felt had been fully attained .

This was the conviction of her own good faith It .

is disagreeable merely to recognize that this can b e

impugned ; but this has been done in Indiana so reck
lessly and cruelly by people who take up an attitude
of hostility to the views with which she is identified ,

th at it would be afl e ct at i on to pass the question by .

3
50 TH E OC C U L T W OR L D .

On the other hand it would be too great a con ces

M
,

sion t o an ignoble attack to go minutely over the

evidence of her honesty of character with which
my intim acy with adame Blavatsky has gradu ally
supplied me At various times she has been a
.

guest of ours for periods now amountin g in all to

more than three mo n ths out of nearly two years To .

an
y im parti al inte l ligence it will be manifest that ,

under these circumstances I must have been able to

,

form a better Opinion concerning her real character

th an can possibly be derived from the crude observa
tions of persons who have perhaps met her once or
twice I am n ot of course attributing any scientific
.
, ,

v alue to this sort of testimony as accrediting the

abnorm al ch aracter of phenomena she may be con
cerned in producin g With such a mighty problem
.

at stake as the trustworthiness of the fundamental

theories of modern physical science it is impossible
,

to pro ceed by an y other but scie n tifi c modes of

investigation In any experiments I have tried I
.

have always been careful to exclude not merely the ,

probability but t h e possibility of trickery and where

,

it has been impossible to secure the proper conditions ,

I have not allowed the results of the experiment to

enter into t h e sum total of my conclusions But in .
,

its place it seems only right—only a slight attempt

,

to redress the scandalous wrong which as far as ,

mere i n sult and sl ander can do a wro n g has been ,

done to a very high mi n ded and perfectly honour

M
-

able woman— to record the cert ai n ty at which in

progress of time both my wife and myself arrived ,

that adame Blava t sky is a lady of absolutely u p

right natur e who has sacrificed not merely ran k
, ,
 FIR S T OC C U L T E XP ER IENCES .
5:

an d fortune , but all thought of personal welfare or

comfort in any shape from enthusi asm for occult
,

studies in the first instance and latterly for the ,

special t ask she has taken in hand as an initiate

in if relatively a h u mble member of the great
, ,

occult fraternity—the direction of the Theosophical

Society

M
.

Besides the production of the raps one other

phenomenon h ad been conceded to us during

M
’
adame B l av at sky s fi rst visit We had gone with .

her to Benares for a few days and were stayi ng at ,

a house lent to us by the aharajah of V iz ian a

gram— a big bare comfortless abode as judged by
, ,

European stan dar ds— i n the central hall of which

we were sitting one evening after dinner Suddenly .

three or four fl o w er s—cut roses— fell in the midst of

u s— just as such things sometimes fall in the dark

at spiri tual sé ances But in this case there were

.

several lamps and candles in the room The ceil .

ing of the hall consisted simply of the solid bare , ,

painted rafters and boards th at supported the fl at

M
cement roof of the building The pheno m enon was .

so wholly unexpected—as unexpected I am given to ,

understand by adame Blavatsky sitting in an arm

, ,

ch air reading at the time as by the rest of u s

,

that it lost some of the effect it would otherwise

have had on our minds If one could have bee n
.

told a moment beforehand now some flowers are “

going to fall so that we could have looked up and

”
,

seen them suddenly appear in the air above our

heads then the impressive effect of an incident so
,

violently out of the common order of things woul d

have b een very great Even as it was the inci dent
.
,
52 TIIE OCC U L T W OR LD .

has always remained for those who witnessed i t on e

o f the stages on their road to a conviction of the

reality of occult powers P ersons to whom it is

.

merely related cannot be expected to rely upon i t

to an y great extent They will naturally ask
.

v arious questions as to the construction of the room ,

who inhabited the house &c and even when all

,
.
,

these questions had been answered as they truth ,

fully could be i n a manner which would shut out

an
y hypothesis by means of which the fall of the
flowers could be e xplainable by any con j u ring trick ,

there would still be an uncomforta b le suspicion left

’
in the questioner s mind as to the completen ess of
the explanation given It might hardly have been
.

worth while to bri n g the incident on to the present

M
record at all but for the Opportunity it affords me
,

o f pointing out that t h e phenomena produced i n

’
adame B l av at sky s presence need not necessarily
be of her producing .

C oming now to details in connection w ith some

o f the larger mysteries of occultism I am oppressed ,

by the di i cul t y of leading up to a statem ent of

w hat I k n ow n ow to be facts— as absolute facts as
C haring C ross—which shall nevertheless be gradual
, ,

enough n ot to shock the understanding of people

absolutely unused to an y but the ordinary grooves
of tho u ght as regards physi cal phenomena None .

the less is it true that any Brother as the adepts

“
,
”

in occultism are familiarl y referred to who may ,

have been seized with the impulse to bestow on our

party at Benares the little surprise described above ,

may have been i n Thibet or in the South of India ,

o r anywhere els e in the world at the time an d

, yet
 FIR S T OCC UL T EXP ER IENCES : 53

ust as able to mak e the roses f al l as if he had been

j
i n the room with us I have spoken already of
.

’
the adept s power of being present in spirit as “ ”

we should say i n astral body as an occultist

“ ”
,

would say at any distant place in the fl ash of a

,

mome n t at will .So present he can exercise in ,

that distan t pl ace some of the psychological powers

which he possesses as completely as he can exercise
,

them in physical body wherever he may actually

be as we unde r stan d the expression
,
I am not .

pretending to give an explanation of how he p r o

duces this or that result nor for a mo m ent hinting
,

that I know . I am recording merely the certain

fact that v arious occult results have been aecom
l i sh e d in my presence and explaining as much
p

M
,

about them as I have been able to find out But at .

all events it has lon g since become quite plain to

me th at wherever adame Blavatsky is there the
, ,

Brothers wherever they m ay be can and constantly

, ,

do produce phenomena of the most overwhelming

sort with the production of which she herself has
,

little or nothing to do In reference indeed to

.
, ,

any phenomenon occurring in her presence it must ,

be remembered that one can never have any exact

k n owledge as to how far her own powers may have
been employed or how far she may have been
,

helped or whether she has not been quite u n

,
”

i n fl u e n t i al i n the production of the result Precise .

expl anations of this kind are quite contrary to t h e

rules of occultism— which it must always be ,

remembered is not tryin g to convince the world of

,

its existence In th i s volume I am trying to con

.

Vince the world of its exi st ence b u t that is another ,

54 TH E OC C UL T W OR LD

matter altogether Anyone who wishes to k now

.

how the truth really stands cari only take up t h e

position of a seeker of truth e is not a j udge.
H

before whom occultis m comes to plead for cre di

b i l ity
. It is useless therefore to quarrel with the
, ,

observation s we ar e en abled to make on the ground

that they are not of the kind one would best like
to make Th e question is whether they yield data
.

o n w hich conclusions m ay safely rest .

And another consideration cl ai ms treatment in

connexi on with the character of the observations
which so far I have been en abled to make— that is
, ,

to say in connexion with any search for proof of

,

occult power as regards physical phenomena which

but for such agency would be miraculous I can .

foresee that in spite of the abject stupidity of the

,

remark many people will urge that the force of the

,

experiments with which I have had to deal is

vitiated because they relate to phenomena which
have a certain superficial resemblance to conj uring
tricks Of course this ensues from the fact that
.

conjuri n g tricks all aim at achievin g a certai n

superficial resemblance to occult phenomena L et .

any reader whatever his present frame of mind on

,

the subject may be assume for a moment that h e

,

h as seen reas on to conceive that there m ay be an

occult fratern ity in existence wielding strange
powers over n atural forces as yet unknown to
ordin ary humanity ; that this fraternity is bound
by rules which cramp the manifestation of these
powers but do n ot absolutely prohibit it ; and then
,

let him propose some comp aratively small but

scientifically convincing tests which he could ask to
 FIR S T OC C UL T EXPER IENCES .
55

have conceded t o him as a proof of the reality of

so m e part at all events of these powers : it will
, ,

be found that it is impossible to propose an y such

test that does not bear a certai n superfici al r e
semblance to a conj uring trick B u t this will not
.

necess arily i mpair the v alue of the test for people

capable of dealing with those characteristics of ex
er n n e n t s that are not superfi cial
p .

The gulf of di fference which is really to be

observed lying between any o f the occult phenomena
I shall have to describe presently and a conjuring
tri ck which might imitate it is due to the fact that
,

the conditions would b e utterly unlike The con

M
.

juror wou l d work i n his own stage or in a prepared

,

room The most remarkable of the phenomen a I

.

have had in the presence of adame Blavat sky

have taken place aw ay out of doors in fortuitously

M
chosen places in the woods and on the hills The .

conj uror i s assisted by any required number a t

con feder ates behin d his scenes adame Blavatsky

.

co m es a stranger to S imla an d is a guest in my

,

own house under my own observation duri n g the

M
, ,

whole of her visit The conjuror is paid to incur

.

the expenses of accompl ishing this or that deception

o f the senses
. adame Blavatsky is what I hav e
,

already explained a lady of honourable character

, ,

instrumental in helping her friends— at their earnest

desire wherever phenome n a are produced at all— to
see some m anifestation of the powers in the ac
q u i si t i on of which (instead of earning money by
them as the con j uror does with h is) she has sacri
fi ced everything the world generally holds dear
station , and so forth immeasurably above that to
,
 LD

M
56 TH E OCC UL T W OR .

wh ich any con j u ror or any impostor could aspire .

Pursuing adame Blavatsky with injurious sus

i ci o n s persons w h o resen t the occul t hypothesis

M
p ,

will constantly forget the dictates of common sense

in overlooking these consi derations .

About the beginning of September 1 880 adame

, ,

Bla v atsky came to S i mla as our guest and in the ,

course of the following six weeks various phenomen a

occurred which became the talk of all Anglo India
,
-

fo r a time and gave rise to Some excited feeling on

,

the part of person s w h o warmly espoused the theory

that they must be the result of imposture It soon .

became apparent to us that whatever might have

been the nature of the restrictions which operated
the previous winter at Allahabad to prevent our
guest from displaying more than the very least of
her powers these restrictions were now less opera
,

tive than before We were soon introduced to a

M
.

phen omenon we had not been treated to previously .

By some modification of the force employed to

produce the sou n d of raps on any object adame ,

Blavatsky can produce in the air without the inter

,

m ediation of any solid object whatever the sound of ,

a silvery bell— sometimes a chime or little run of

th ree or four bells on differen t notes We had .

often heard about these bells but had never heard

,

them produced before They were pro duced for us

.

for the first time one evening after dinner while we

were still sitting round the table several times in
,

succession in the air over our heads and in one ,

instance instead of t h e single bell sound there c ame

-

one of the chimes of which I speak Later on I .

 F IR S T OC C UL T EXP ER IENCES .
7

M
heard them on scores of occasions and in all sorts
of different places — i n the open air and at diff erent
houses where adame Blav atsky went from time
to time . As before with the raps there i s no ,

hypothesis in the case of the bells which can be

framed by an adherent of the imposture theory
w hich does not break down on a comparison of the

diff erent occasions and con ditions under which I

have heard them produced Indeed the theory .
,

of imposture is one which in the m atter of the

bells h as only one narrow conjec ture to rest on .

U nlike the sound of a rap which in the ordinary ,

way could be produced by many different methods

— so that to be sure an given example of such a
, y
sound is not produced by ordin ary means one has ,

to procure its repetition under a great variety

of con ditions— the sound of a bell can only be
made physically in a few ways You must have
, ,
.

a h el l or some sonorous object in the nature of a

,

bell to make it with Now when sitting in a well

,
.
,

lighted room and attentively watching you get the

, ,

sound of a bell up above your heads where there is

no physical bell to yield i t —what are the hypothese s
which can attribute the result to trickery ? Is the
sound really produced outside the room altogether
by some agent or apparatus in another ? First of
all no rational person who had heard this sou n d
would advance that theory b ecause the sound itself
,

is incompatible with the idea It is never l oud .

at least I have never hear d it very loud— but it i s

always clear and distinct to a remark able extent .

If you lightly st ri k e t h e edge of a thi n claret gl

55 TH E OC C U L T W OR LD .

wi th a knife you m ay get a sou n d which it would

0

be di cult t o persu ad e any o n e h ad come fro m

a n other room but t h e occult bell sou n d is like th at -
,

only purer an d cl earer wi t h n o sub sound of jarri n g

,
-

in it wh atever Indepe n dently o f this I h ave as

.
, ,

I say heard the sou n d i n the open air produce d

,

up in the sky in the s t illness of evenin g In room s .

i t h as not alw ays been o v erhe ad but sometimes do w n ,

on the g r oun d amongst the feet of a group o f

pe r sons listenin g fo r it Agai n on one occ as ion.
, ,

when it h ad bee n produced two or three times in

’
the drawi n g room o f a friend s house where we had
-

all been di n i n g on e ge n tlemen o f the party went

,

b ack to the dining ro o m two rooms off to g e t a

-
,

fi n ger glass with which t o make sound fo r the

occult bells to repe at— a familiar form of the e x pe r i

M
ment While by himself i n the dini n g roo m he
.
-

he ard on e of the bell sounds produced near him -

,

th ough adame Blavatsky had rem ain ed in the

drawing— room This example of the phe n omenon

M
.

s atisf actorily disposed of the theory absurd i n itself ,

f
or perso n s who frequently heard the bells in all

m anner of places th at ad ame Blavatsky c arried

,

some apparatus about her with which to produce

M
the sound As for the n otio n of confederacy that
.
,

is disposed of by the fact that I have repe atedly

heard the sounds when o u t walking beside adame
’
B l av at sky s jampan with no other person near us
b u t the j amp anees carryi n g it .

The bell sounds are n ot mere sportive illustra

-

tions of the properties of the currents which are set

in action to produce them Th ey serve the direc t,
.
 F IR S T OC C UL T EXPER IENCES .
59

practical purpose amon g occultists of a telegraphi c

cal l b el l
~
. It appears that when train ed occultists
are concerned so that the mysterious magnetic
,

connection whatever it m ay be which enables the m

, ,

to communicate ideas is once established they can ,

produce the bell sou n ds at any distance in the

M
-

neighbourhood of the fellow initiate whose a t ten -

tion they wish to attract I have repeatedly he ard

.

adame Blavatsky cal l ed in this way when o u r

M
,

o wn little party being alone some evening we ,

have all been quietly reading A little ting would

.
“ ”

suddenly sound and adame Blavatsky would get

,

up and go to her room to attend to whatever occult

busin ess may have been the motive of her sum
mons A very pretty illustration of the sound as
.
,

thus produced by some brother initiate at a distan c e -

,

was aff orded o n e evenin g under these circumstances .

A lady a guest at another house in Simla had bee n

M
, ,
’
dining with us when about el e v en o clock I received
,

a note from her host enclosi n g a letter w h ic n he

,

asked me to get adame Blavatsky to send o n by

occult means to a certain member of the great
fraternity to whom both he and I had been writi n g .

I shall explain the circumstances of this co r r e

s on de n c e more fully later on We were all anxious
p .

to know at once— before the lady with us th at

M
evening retur ned up the hill so that she could take
,

back word to her host—whether the letter could b e

sent ; but adame Blavatsky declared that her o w n
powers would not enable her to perform the fe at .

The ques t ion was whether a certain person a half ,

!

develop ed brother then in the neighbo urhood of

 M
60 TH E OC C UL T W OR LD .

Simla, would give the necessary help adame .

Blavatsky said she would see i f she could fi nd “

him and taking the letter i n her hands sh e went

”
,
.

out into the vera n dah where we all followed her

,
.

L eaning on the balustrade and looking over the

,

wide sweep of the Simla vall ey she remained for a,

few minutes perfectly motionless and silent as we ,

all were ; and the night w as far enough advanced

for all commonplace sounds to have set t led down

M
,

so that the stillness was perfect Suddenly in the .

,

air before us there sounded the clear note of an

,

occult bell
-
All right cried
.
“
adame he wil l
”
, ,
“

take it . And duly taken the letter was shortly

”

afterwards But the phenomenon involved in its

.

tran smission will be better introduced to the reader

in con n ection with other examples .

I come now to a series of incidents which

exhibit occult power in a more striking light than
any of those ye t described To a scien t ifi c mind
.
,

indeed the production of sounds by means of a

,

force unknown to ordinary science should be as

clear a proof that the power in question is a power ,

as the more sensational phenomena which h av e to

do with the transmissio n of solid objects by occult
agency The sound can only reach o ur car s by the
.

vibration of air and to set up the smallest undu

,

lation of air as the effect of a thought wil l appear

to the ordinary understanding as no less out
rageous an impossibility th an the uprooting of a tree
in a similar way Still there are degrees in w on
.

der ful n ess which the feelings recogniz e ev en if such

distinctions are irrational .
 F IR S T OC C UL T EXPER IENC ES .
6!

The first incident of the kind whic h I now take

u
p is not one which would in itself be a complete
proof of an ything for an outsider I describe it .

rather for the benefit of readers who may be either ,

through spiritualistic experiences or in any other

way already alive to t h e possibility of phenomena

M
,

as such and interested rather in experiments which

,

m ay throw light on the i r genesis th an in mere

M
texts . anage d a little better the occurr ence now
,

to be dealt with would have been a beautiful test ;

but adame Blavatsky left to herself in such
,

matters is alw ays the worst devisor of tests ima

,

g i n ab l e U.tterly out of sympathy with the positive

an d incredulous temperament ; engaged all her life

in the development amongst Asiatic mysti cs of

the creative rather than the critical faculties she ,

never can follow the intricate suspicions with which

the European observer approaches the consideration
of the marvellous in its simplest forms The mar .

v el l ous ,
in forms so stupendously marvellous that
they almost elude the grasp of ordinary con cep ~

tion s has been the daily food of her life for a great
,

number of years an d it is easy to realize that for

, ,

her the jealous distru st with which ordinary people

,

hunt round the slightest manifestation of occul t

force to find any loophole through which a sus
i ci on of fraud may creep as no less tiresome and
p ,

stupid then the ordin ary person conceives the too

M
,

cr edulous spirit to be .

About the end of September my wife went one

afternoon with adame Blavatsky to the top of a
n eighbouring hi ll They were onl y accompan ied by
.
 M
62 TH E O CC UL T W OR LD .

one other friend I was n ot present myself on this

.

occasion While there ad ame Blavatsky asked my

M
.

’
wife in a joki n g way what was her heart s desire
, , .

She said at random and on the spur o f the moment ,

to get a note from one of the Brothers adame .

Blavatsky took from her pocket a piece of blank

pink paper that had been torn off a note received
that day Folding this up into a small comp ass
.

she took it to t h e edge of the hill held it up f o r a

,

moment or two between her hands and returned

sayi n g that it was gone She presently after com
.
,

m u n i cat in
g mentally by her o w n occult methods

with the distant Brothe r said he as ked where my

,

wife would have the letter At first she said she .

should like it to come fluttering down into her lap ,

but some conversation e n sued as to whether this

would be the best way to get it and ultimately it ,

was decided that she should fi nd it i n a certain tree

M
.

Here of course a mistake was made which opens

, , ,

the door to t h e suspicions of resolutely disbelieving

persons It will be supposed that adame Blavatsky
.

had some reasons of her own for wishing the tree

chosen For readers w h o favour that conjecture after
.

all that has gone before it is only necessary to

M
,

repeat that the present story is being told not as a

proof but as an i nci dent
,
.

At first adame Blavatsky seems to have made a

m istake as to the desc ri ption of the tree which the

distant Brother was indic ating as th at in which he

was going to put the note and with some trouble

M
,

my wife scramb le d on to the lower branch of a bare

an d leafless trunk on which nothing c ould be f ound .

adame then agai n got into communication with

 F IR S T OC C UL T EXP ER IENCES .
3

M
the Brother an d ascertained h ex m is take Into .

another tree at a little distance whi ch neither ,

adame nor the one other person present had ap

pre ached my wife now climbed a few feet an d
,

looked all round among the branches At first sh e .

saw nothing but the n turning back her head with

, ,

out moving from the position she had t aken 11 ]

she saw on a twig immediately before her face
where a moment previously there had b een nothin g
but leaves— a little pink note This was stuck on
.

to the stalk of a leaf that had been qu ite freshly

torn off for the stalk was still green and moist
,

not withered as it would h ave bee n if the leaf had

been torn off for any length of time The note .

was found to contain these few words : I have “

been asked to leave a n ote here for vou W hat

M
.

can I do for you It was sign ed b y some Thibetan

characters The pink paper on which it w as written
.

appeared to be the same which adame Blavatsky

had taken blank from her pocket shortly before .

How was it transmitted first to the Brother who

wrote upon it and then back agai n to the top of our
hill ? n o t to speak of the mystery of its attachment
to the tree in the way descri b ed S O far as I can
.

frame conjectures on this subject it would be pre ,

mature to set them forth in detail till I have gon e

more fully into the facts observed It is no use to .

discuss the way the wings of fl yin g fi sh are made -

for people who will not bel ieve in the reality of

flyin g fi sh at all an d refuse to accept phenomena
-
,
’
less gu aranteed by orthodoxy than Pharaoh s
chariot wheels .

I com e n ow to the incidents of a very remark abl e

64 YH E OC C U L T W OR LD .

day . The day b ef ore I should expl ain we started

, ,

on a little expedition which turned out a co up m a n qu e ,

though but fo r so m e tiresome mish a ps it m ig h t have

M
, ,

led we afterwards had re aso n to think to some very

, ,

interesting results We mistook our w ay to a place

.

o f which adame Blavatsky h ad received an i m

pe r fect description — o r a description she imperfectly

understood— in an occult conversation with one of

the Brothers t h en actually passing through Si m l a .

H ad we gone the right way that day we might have

h ad the good fortune of meeting h im for he st ayed .

o n e n ight at a certain old Thibet a n temple or rest ,

house su ch as is often found about the Himalay as

M
, ,

an d which the blind apathy o f commonplace English

people le ads them to regard as of no p articul ar

in t e r e st or im p ortance .adame Bla vatsky was
wh ol l y unacquainted with Simla an d the account

M
,

she gave us oi: the place she wanted to go to led us

to think she meant a different place We started .
,

and for a lo n g time adame declared that we must

be going i n the right direction because she felt
certain currents After wards it appeared that the
.

road to the place we were maki n g for an d to that ,

for which we ought to h a ve made were coincident

M
,

for a considerable distance ; b ut a slight divergence

at one point carried us into a wholly wrong system
of hill— paths Eventually adame utterly lost her
.

scent : we tried b ack ; we who knew Simla dis

cussed its topography and wondered w here it could

M
be she wanted to get to but al l to no purpose
,
.

W e lau n ched ourselves dow n a hill side where -

adame declared she once more felt the missing

c urren t ; but occult currents may flow wher e travel '
 F IR S T OC C UL T EXP ER IENCES . 65

lers cannot pass and when we attempted this descent

,

I kne w the case was desperate After a while the

.

expe dition had to be abandoned and we went home

M
,

much disappointed .

Why some one may ask could n ot the omniscient

, ,

Brother feel that a dame was going wrong an d ,

direct us properly in time ? I say thi s question

will be asked because I know from experience th at
,

peo ple unused to the subject wi ll not bear in mind

the relations of the Brothers to such inquirers as
ourselves In this case for example the situation
.
, ,

was n ot one i n which the Brother in question was

anxiously waiting to prove his existence to a j ury of
intelligent E n glishmen We can learn so little
.

about the daily life of an adept in occultism that ,

we who are uninitiated can tell very lit tle about the
interests that really engage his attention ; but we
can find out this much — that his attention is con
st an t l
y engaged on interests connected with his own
work an d the gratification of the curiosity concern
,

ing occult matters of persons who are not regular

students of occultism forms n o part of that work at
all On the contrary unless under very exceptional
.
,

conditions he is even forbidden to make any con

M
,

cessions whatever to such curiosity In the cas e in .

point the course of events may probably have been

something Of this kind z— adame Blavatsky per
cei v ed by her own occult t e n t acu l se that one of her

illustrious friends was in the neighbourhood She .

immediately—having a sincere desire to oblige us

m a
y have asked him whether she might bring us to
se e him . Probably he would regard any such request
v ery much as the astronomer royal might regard
66 TH E OC C UL T W OR LD .

the request of a friend to bri n g a party of ladies to

M
look throu gh h is telescopes ; but n one the less he
might say to please his half fl edg ed brother i n
,
-
“ ”

occ u ltism ,
adame Bl a vatsky V ery well bring
,
“
,

them if you like : I am in such and such a place

,
.

And then he would go o n with his work remember ,

ing afterwards that the intended visit had never

been p aid and perhaps turning an occult perception
,

in the direction of the circumstances to ascertain

what had happened .

If o w e v er this may have been the expedition as

,

first planned broke down It w a not with the h Ope

.
s

of seeing t h e Bro ther but on the general principle of

,

h Opin g for something to turn up that we arranged to

,

go for a picnic the following day in another di r ection ,

which as the first road h ad failed we concluded to be

, ,

p robably the one we ought to h a ve take n previously .

We set out at the appointed time next morning .

We were originally to have been a party of six but ,

a seventh person joined us just before we started .

After going down the hill for some hours a pl ace

w as chosen in the wood near the upper waterfall
for our breakfast : the b askets that had been brought
with us were unpacked and as usual at an Indian
, ,

picnic the servants at a little distance lighted a fi re

,

a n d set to work to make tea and co ff ee C oncerning .

this some joki n g arose over the fact that we had

M
o n e c up and saucer too few on account of the
,

se v enth person who joined us at starting and some

M
,

one l aughingly asked ad a me Blav atsky to create

another cup and saucer There was no set pur pose
.

in the proposal at fi rst but when ada m e Bla v atsky

,

said it woul d be very difficult b u t that if we l iked

,
 UL T EXP ER IENCES

M
FIR S T OCC . 67

she wou ld try attention was of course a t once

,

arrested . adame Blavatsky as usual hel d mental , ,

con versation with one of the Brothers an d the r ,

.

wandered a little abou t in the immediate neigh

b ou r h oo d of where we were sitting—t hat is to say ,

within a radius of half a dozen to a dozen yards

- -

from ou r picnic cloth— I closely following waiting ,

to see what would happen Then she marked a .

spot on the ground and called to on e of the gentle

,

men of the party to bring a kn ife to dig with The .

place chosen was the edge of a little l pe covered

with thick weeds and grass and shrubby under
growth . The gentl eman with the knife— l e t us
call him X as I shall have to refer to him
afterwards — tore up these in the fi rst place with
so m e difli cu l t y as the roots were tough and closely
,

interlaced C utting the n into the matted roots and

.

earth with the knife and pulling away the debr i s

,

with his hands he came at last on the edge of some

, ,

thing white which turned out as it w as completely

, ,

excavated to be the required cup A correspond

,
.

i n g saucer was also found after a little more dig

gin g Both Objects were in among the roots which
.

spread everywhere through the ground so that it ,

seemed as if the roots were growing round them .

The cup and saucer both corresponded exactly as ,

regards their pattern with those that had been

,

brought to the picnic and constituted a seventh

,
.

cup and saucer when brought back to where we

were to have breakfast I may as well add at .

once that afterwards when we got home my wife

, ,

questioned our princi pal khitmutgar as to how

many cups and saucers o f th at p articular kin d we
68 TH E OC C UL T W OR LD .

possesse d In the progress of years as the set was

.
,

an old set some had been broken but the man at

, ,

once said that nine teacups were left When .

collected and counted th at number was found to be

right without reckoning the excavated cup That
,
.

made t en and as regards the pattern it was one of

, ,

a some w h at peculiar kind bought a good many ,

years previously i n L ondon and which assuredly ,

could n ever have bee n matched in Simla .

Now t h e notion that human beings can create

,

material objects b y the exercise of mere psycho

logic al power will of cou rs e be revolting to the
,

understandings of people to whom this whole sub .

jcet is altogether stran ge It is not making the .

idea muc h more acceptable to say that the cup and

saucer appe ar in this case t o have been doubled “

rather than created The doubling o f objects seems

.

merely another kind of creation — cre ation according

to a pattern However the f acts the occurrences
.
, ,

of the morning I have described were at all events ,

exactly as I have related them I have been care .

ful as to the strict and minute tr uthfulness of every

detail If t h e phenomenon was not what it ap
.

e ar e d to b e — a most wonderful display of a power

p
of wh i ch the modern scientific world has no c o m
prehensi on whatever—it was of course an elaborate

M
, ,

fraud That supposition however setting aside the

.
, ,

moral impossibility from any poi n t of view of

assumin g adame Blavatsky capable of participa
tion in such an imposture will only bear to be ,

talked of vaguely As a way o u t of the d ilemma it

.

will n ot serve an y person of ordinary i n telligence

who i s aware of the facts or who trusts my state ,
 F IR S T OC C UL T EXPER IENCES . 69

ment of them Th e cup and saucer were assuredly

.

dug up in the way I describe If they were not

.

deposited there by occult agency they must have ,

been buried there beforehand Now I have de .

,

scri bed the character Of the ground from which

they were dug up ; assuredly that had been undis
t u r b e d for years by the character of the vegetation
upon it But it may be urged that from some
.

other part of the sloping ground a sort of tunnel

may have been excavated in the first instance
through which the cup and saucer could have been
thrust into the place where they were found No w .

this theory is barely tenable as regards its physical

possibility If the tunnel had been big enough for
.

the purpose it would have left traces which were

not perceptible on the ground— which were not
e ven discoverable when the ground was searched

shortly afterwards with a view to that hypothesis .

But the truth is that the theory of previous burial

is morally untenable in view of the fact that the ’

demand for the cu p an d saucer—of all the myriad

things that might have been asked for— could never
have been foreseen It arose out of circumstances
.

themselves the sport of the moment If no extra .

person had j oined us at the last moment the

number of cups and saucers packed up by the
“

servants would have been su cient for our need s ,

an d no attention would have been drawn to them .

It was by the servants without the knowledge of

,

any guest that the cu ps taken were chosen from

,

others th at might just as e asily have been taken .

Had the bu rial fraud been r eal fy perpetrated i t

would have been necess ary to co n strain us to choos e
70 TH E OC C U L T W OR LD .

th e ex act spot we did actually choose for the picnic

wit h a view to the previous preparations but the ex a ct ,
’
spo t on which the ladies jamp ans were deposited was
chosen by myself in concert W i th the gen tleman
referred to above as X and it w as within a fe w
yards of this spot that the cup was found Thus .
,

le aving the other absurdities of the fraud hypothesis

M
out o f sight who could be the agents employed to
,

deposit the cup and s aucer in the ground and ,

when did they perform the Operation ? ad ame

Blavatsky was under our roof the whole time fro m
the previous evenin g when the picnic w as deter
t er m i n e d on to the moment of starting The one .

personal ser v ant she had with her a Bo m bay boy ,

and a perfect stranger t o Siml a w as co n stantly ,

about the house the previous evening an d from the ,

first awakening o f the household in the morning

and as it h appened he spoke to my own be arer in
the middle of the night fo r I had been annoyed by

M
,

a loft door which h ad been left unfas tened an d was ,

slamming in the wind and called up servants to

,

shut it . adame Blavatsky it appears thus ,

awakened had sent her servant who always slept

, ,

within call to inquire what was the matter C olonel

,
.

Olcott the President of the Theosophical Society

, ,

also a guest of ours at the time o f which I am

speaking was certainly with us all the eveni n g from
,

the period of our return from the abortive expedi

tion of the after n oo n an d w as also presen t at the
,

start To imagine th at he spent the n ight i n going

.

four or five miles down a di cult [rit u al th rough "

forest paths di icu l t to find to bury a cup and

‘

saucer of a kind that we were n ot likely to tak e in

 F IR S T OC C UL T EXP ER IENCES .
7x

a place we were not likely to go to in order that ,

in the exceedingly remote cont ingency of its being

required for the perpetration of a hoax it might be
there would certainly be a somewhat extravagant
,

conjecture A n other consideration— the de stination

.

for which we were m aking can be approache d by

M
two roads from Opposite ends of the upper horseshoe
of h ills on which Simla stands It w as Open to us .

to select either path and certainly neither

,
adame
Blavatsky nor C olonel Olcott had any share in the
selection of that actually taken Had we taken the .

other we should n ever have come to the spot where

,

we actually p i cn i ced .

The hypothesis of fraud in this aff air is as I have ,

said a defiance of common sense when worked out in

,

any imagi n able way The extravagance of this

.

explanation will moreover be seen to heighten as

, ,

my n arrative proceeds and as the incident just

,

related is compared with others wh i ch took place

later But I have not yet done with the incidents
.

of the cup —morning

M
.

The gentleman called X had been a good

de al with us during t he week or two that had
’
already elapsed since adame Bl av at sky s arrival .

Like many of our friends he had been greatly ,

impressed with much he had seen in her presence .

He h ad especi ally come to the con clusion that the

Theosophic al Society in which she was in terested
, ,

w as exerting a good influence with the n atives a ,

view which he had expresse d more than once in

warm lan guage in my pre sence He had declared .

his intention of j oi n in g this Soci ety as I had done

myself Now when the cup an d saucer were foun d
.
,
 72 TH E OCC UL T W OR LD .

most of us who were present X ,

among t h e
number were g reatly impressed and in the con
, ,

versation that ensued the idea arose that X

might formally become a member of the Society
then and there I should not have taken part in
.

this suggestion —I believe I originated it — i f X

had not in cool blood decided as I understood to
, ,

30m the Society ; in itself

,
moreover a step which ,

invol ved no resp onsibilities whatever and simply ,

indicated sympathy with the pursuit of occult k n ow

ledge and a general adhesion to broad philan
t h r op h i e doctrines of brotherly sentimen t s towards all
humanity irrespective of race and creed
,
This h as .

to be explained in view of some little annoyances

whi ch followed .

The proposal that X sh ould then and there

formally join the Society was one with which he
was quite ready to fall in But some documents
.

were requi red— a formal diploma the gift of which

,

to a new member should follow his initiation i n to

c ertai n l i ttle masonic forms of recognition ade pt c d -

in the Society How coul d we get a diplom a ?

M
.

Of course for the group then present a di culty of

this sort w as merely another opportu n ity for th e
’
exercise of adam e s powers C ould she get a

M
.

diploma brought to us by magic ? After an“ ”

occult conversation with the Brother who had then

interested himself in our proceedings adame told
,

us that the diploma would be forthcoming She .

described the appearance it would present a roll —

of paper wound roun d w ith an immense quantity
of stri n g an d then bound up in the leaves of a
,

creeping plan t . W e should fi n d it about i n t h e

 FIR S T O C C UL T E XPER IENCES .

W oo d whe re we were and we could all look for it

, ,

but it would be X for whom it was inten de d ,

wh o would find it Thus it fell out We all searched

. .

about in the undergrowth or in the trees wherever ,

fancy prompted us to look an d it was X who

,

found the roll done up as described

,
.

We had had our bre akfast by this time X .

was formally initiated a member of the society

“ ”

by C olonel Olcott and after a time we shifted ou r

,

quarters t o a lower place in the wood where there

M
was the little Thibetan temple or rest house which ,
-
,

the Brother who had been pass i n g through Simla

a ccording to what adame Blavatsky told u s— h ad

M
passed the previous night We amused ourselves .

by examining the little building inside and out ,

bathing i n the good magneti sm as adame ”

,

Blavatsky expressed it and then lying on the grass

, ,

outside i t occurred to someone that we wanted more

,

coff ee The servants were told to prepare some but

.
,

it appeared that they had used up all our water The .

wat er to be found in the streams near Simla is not of

a kind to be used for purposes of this sort and fo r a ,

p i cnic clean fi ltere d water is always taken out in

,

bottles It appears that all the bottles in our baskets

.

had been exhausted T his report was promptly veri

.

fi e d by the servants by the exhibition of the empty

bottles The only thi n g to be done was to send to
.

a bre wery the nearest building about a mile ofl and

, , ,

as k for water I wrote a pencil note and a coolie went

.

off with the empty bottles Ti me passed and the cooli e

.
,

returned to our great disgust without the water

, ,
.

There had been no European left at the brewery

that day (i t w as Sunday ) to receive the note, and
74 TIIE OC C UL T W OR LD .

the coolie had stupidly plodded back with the empty

bott les u n der his ar m inste ad of asking about and
,

fi n ding someone able to supply the re q uired water .

At this time our party was a little dispersed

M
.

X and one of the other gentlemen had

wandered off No one of the remainder of the
.

party was expecti n g fresh phe n omena when ad ame ,

suddenl y g o t up went over to the baskets a dozen

, ,

or twenty a rds o fl picked out a bottle —one of

y ,

those I believe which had been brought back by

, ,

the coolie empty—and came back to us holding it

under the fold of her dress L aughingly producing
.

it it was found to be full of water Just like .

a conjuring trick will some one say ? Just

,

like except for the conditions

,
Fo r such a .

co n j u ri n g t r ick the conjurer defi nes the thing to

,

be done In our case the want of water was as

.

unforeseeable in the first instance as the want of

the cup an d saucer The accident that lef t the
.

brewery deserted by its Europeans an d the further ,

accident that the coolie sent up for water should

have been so ab n or m ally stupid even for a coolie as
to come b ack without because there happe n ed to
,

be no European to take my note were accidents ,

but for which the opportu nity for obt ai n i ng the

water by occult agency could not have arisen .

And those accidents supervened on the fundamental

accident i m probable in itsel f th at ou r serv an ts
, ,
"

should ha v e sent us out insu cie n t l y supplied .

That any bottle of water could h a ve been l eft

u n n oticed at the bottom of the baskets is a sug
gestio n that I can hardly imagine any one present
putting forward for the servants had b ee n f ou n d
,
 FIR S T OC C UL T EXP ER IENCES .
75

fault with for not bringi n g eno u gh ; they h ad just

before had the b askets completely emptied out and ,

we had not submitted to the situation till we had

M
been fully satisfi ed th at there really w as no more
water l eft Furthermore I t asted the w ater in the
.
,

bottle adame Blavatsky pro duce d and it w as not ,

water of the same kind as that which came from

ou r own fi lters It was an eart hy t asting water
.
-
,

unlike that of the modern Simla supply but ,

equally unlike I may add though in a different

, ,

way the offe nsive an d discoloured water of the only

,

stream flowing through those woods .

o w was it brought ? The how of course in

r

, ,

all these cases is the great mystery which I am

unable to explain except in general terms ; but the
impossibility of understan ding the way adepts
man ipulate matter is one thing ; the impossibility
of denying that they do manipulate it in a manner
whic h Western ignorance would describe as m ir acu ‘

l e n s is another . The f act i s there whether we can

expl ain it or not Th e rough popular saying that
.
,

you can n ot argue t h e hind l eg off a cow embodies ,

a sound reflection which our prudent sceptics in

matters of the kind with which I am n o w de aling
are too apt to overlook You cannot argue aw ay
.

a fact by contending that by the lights in you r

mind it ought to be something diff erent from what
it is Still less can you argue away a m ass of
.

facts l ike those I am n e w recording by a series of

extravagant and contradictory hypotheses about e ach
in turn What the determi n ed disbeliever so often
.

overlooks is that the sceptic i s m which may show an

acuteness of mind up to a certain point reveals a ,
.
76 TH E OC C UL T W OR LD .

deficient intelligence when adhered to in face of

certain kinds of evidence .

I remember when the phonogr aph w as first

invented a scientific o cer i n t h e service of the
,
i

Indian G overnment sent me an article he had

written on the e arliest accounts received of the
instrument— to prove that the story must be a
hoax because the instrument described was
,

scientifi cally impossible e had worked out the

.

times of vibrations required to reproduce the

sounds and so on and very intelligen t ly argued
,

that the alleged resul t was unattainable But .

when pho n ographs in due time were imported into

India he did n o t continue to say they were i m
,

possible and that there must b e a man shut u p in

,

each machine e v en though there did not seem to

,

be room That last is the attitude of the self

.

complacent people who get over the diffi culty

about the causation of occult and spiritual pheno
mena by denying in face of the palp able experience
,

of thousands— in face of the testimony in shelves

ful of books that they do not read— that any such
phenomena take place at all .

X I should add here afterwards chan ged

, ,

his mind about the satisfactory character of the cup

phenomena an d said he thought it vitiated as a
,

scienti fi c proof by the interposition of the theory

that the cup and saucer m i ght have been thrust up
into their places by mean s of a tunnel cut from a
lower part of the bank I have discussed tha t
.

hypothesis already an d mention the fac t of X

,
’
s

c hange of opinion which does not affect any of the

,

circumstances I have narrated merely t o avoid the ,

 F IR S T OC C U L T E XPER IENCES .
77

chance that readers who may have heard or read

,

about the Simla phenomenon in other pages might ,

think I was treating the change of Opinion in

question as something which it was worth while to
disguise .And indeed the convictions which I
, ,

ultimately attained were themselves the result of

accumulated experiences I have yet to relate so ,

that I cannot tell how far my own certainty con

cerni n g the reality of occult power rests on any one
e xample that I have seen .

It was on the evening of the day of the cup

phenomen on that there occurred an incident destine d
to become the subject of very wi de discussion in all
the Anglo Indian papers This was the celebrated
-
.

“
brooch incident The facts were related at the
.
”

time in a little statement drawn up for publication ,

and signed by the nine persons who witnessed it .

This statement will be laid before the reader directly ,

but as the comments to which it gave rise sho wed

that it was too meagre to convey a full and accurate
idea of what occurred I will describe the course ,

of events a little more fully In doing this I may .

,

use n ames with a certain freedom as these were al l ,

appended to the published document

MM
.

We that is my wife and myself with our guests

, , ,

had gone up the h ill to dine in accordance with

M
,

previous engagements with r and rs

,
Hume . . .

We dined a party of eleven at a round table and

, , ,

ad ame Blav atsky si t ti n g next our host tired an d

M
, ,

out of spirits as it happened was unusually silent ,

.

D uri n g the beginning of dinner she scarcely said a

word ,
r ume conversing chiefly with the l ady
.

on hi s other hand It is a common trick at Indian

.
78 TIIE OCC U L T W OR LD .

dinner tables to have little metal pl at ew ar m er s with

-

hot water before each guest o n which each plate ,

served remains while i n use Such pl at e w ar m e rs

M
.

were used on the evening I am desc r ibing and over

M
,

hers — l n an interval during which plates had been

removed— a dame Bla v atsky was absently warmi n g
her han ds No w the productio n of
.
,
adame Bla
’
v at sk
y s raps and bell sounds we h ad noticed some
-

times seemed easier an d the efl e ct s better whe n her

hands h ad bee n warmed in this way ; so some one ,

seeing her engaged in warmin g them asked her

M
,

some question hinting in an indirect w ay at phe

,

m omena I was very far from expecting anythi n g

.

of the kind that evening and adame Blavatsky ,

w as equally far from intending to do anything her

self or from expecting any display at the h ands of
one of the Brothers So merely in mockery when .
, ,

asked why she was warming her hands she enjoined ,

us all to warm our hands too and see what would

M
happen Some of the people present actually did
.

so a few joking words p as sing among them Then

M
,
.

r s H u me ra ised a l i t t l e laugh by holding up her

.

han ds and sayin g But I have warmed my hands

,
“
,

what next ? Now adame Blavatsky as I have

”
,

s aid w as n o t in a mood for any occult perfor

,

m an c es at all but it appears from what I learned

,

af t erwards that just at this moment or immediately ,

before she suddenly perceived b y those occult

,

faculties of which mankind at l arge h ave no kno w

l e dge that one of the Brothers was presen t in
,
“

”
astral body invisible to the rest of us in the room .

It w as followi n g his indications therefore that she , ,

acted i n what followed ; of course no one k new at

 F IR S T OC C UL T EXP ER IEIVCES .
79

th e time tha t she had received any impulse in the

M
matter external to herself W hat took pl ace as

M
.

regards the surface of things was simply this

When rs Hume said what I have set down above

M
.
,

and when the little laugh e n sued adame Blavatsky ,

put out her hand across the one person sitti n g

between herself and rs Hume and took one of
.

’
that lady s hands saying Well then do you wish
, ,
“
,

for anything i n particular ? or as the lawyers say ”

M
,
“
words to that effect I c annot repeat the precise
.
”

sentences spoken nor can I say now exactly what

,

r s Hume first replied before she quite understood

.

the situation ; but this was made clear in a v ery

few min u tes Some of the other people present
.

catching this first explained ,

Think of somethin g ,
“

you would like to have brought to you ; anythi n g

you like n ot w anted for any mere worldly motive ;
i s there an ything you can think of that will be very

M
di cult to get ? Remarks of this sort were the
"
”

only kind that were made in the short interval that

elapsed between the remark by r s Hume about .

ha v ing warmed her hands and the in dication by her

of the thing she had thou ght of She said then .

that she had thought of something that would do .

Wh at was it ? A n old brooch that her mother had

given her long ag o and that she had lost .

Now when this brooch which w as ultimately

M
, ,

recovered by occult age n cy as the rest of my story ,

will show came to be talked about people said

, ,

Of course adame Blavatsky led up the conversa

tio n to the particular thin g she had arr anged before
han d to produce I have described a l l the con
.
”

versati on which too k place on this sub j ect before ,

 80 TH E OC C UL T W OR LD .

the brooch was named There was n o conversation .

about the brooch or any ot h er thing of the kind

whatever Fi ve minutes before the b r e e ch w as
.

named there had been no idea in the mind of any

,

person present that any phenomenon in the nature

M
of finding any lost article or of any other kin d , ,

indeed was going to be performed Nor while

,
.

rs ume was going over in her min d the things

.

she might ask for did she speak any word indicating ,

the direction her thoughts were taking .

From the point of the story now reached the

narrative p u blished at the ti m e tells it almost as
fully as it need be told and at all events with a , , ,

simplicity that will assist the reader in grasping all

the facts— so I reprint it here in full

M
.

MM
at

MMMMMM M On
Si m la
Su n d ay ,

t h er e w er e p r esen t
th e 3r d of

d
Oct o
at
b er
i n n er
, at

r
r

an d
. H um e s

rs
’
h ou se
H um e,

M M
. .
,

r an d rs Si n n ett , rs Go d o r n r F H og g C ap t ai n

M
. . . .
,

P J . . ai t an l d . r . B eat son ,
r . Da v i d so n , Co lon el O l cot t ,

an d a dam e B l av at sky ost of t h e p er so n s p r e sen t h a in g v

M
.
_

r e cen t ly seen m an y r e m ar k ab l e o cc u r r en ces in a d am e

MM
B l av at sky
’
p resen ce , c on
s ve r sat i on t ur n e d on l t p h en o
oc c u

a d am e Bl a v at sk
m e n a, an d i n t h e c our se of t h is y ask e d
rs . H um e if t h er e w a s an y t h i n g sh e p ar t i cu l ar l y w i sh e d

for . rs . H um e at fi rst h esit at e d , b ut in a sh or t t im e sai d

t h er e w as som e t h i n g sh e w oul d p ar t i c u l ar l y l i k e to ha ve

M
b rough t h er ,
n am e ly , a sm a ll ar t i c e o f l j e w e ll ery t h at sh e

f or m er l y p ossessed b u t h ad g i v en aw ay t o a p er so n w h o

M
,

h ad al l o w e d i t t o p ass o u t of h er p ossession a d am e

M
.

Bl a v at sky t h en sai d i f sh e w oul d fi x t h e i m ag e of t h e ar t i c l e

i n q u est i o n v er y d e fi n it el y on h er m in d sh e ad am e , ,

Bl av at sk y w oul d en d eav ou r t o p r ocur e i t

,
r s H um e t h en . .

sai d t h at sh e v i v i d ly r em em b er e d t h e ar t i cl e an d d e sc r i b e d ,

i t as an O l d f ash i on ed b r east b r ooch set r oun d w i t h p ear l s

- -
,

W i t h g l ass at t h e fr on t an d t h e b ac k m ad e t o c on t ai n h ai r , .

S h e t h en on b ei n g ask ed dr ew a r oug h sk et ch OI t h e b r eech

, , .
M
FIRS T OC C U L T EXPERIENCES .
81

a d am e Bl a v at sk y t h e n w rap p e d up a co in at t ac h e d t o h er
w at c h -ch ai n t w o C i g ar et t e p ap er s, an d p u t i t i n h er
in d r ess ,

M
a n d sai d t h at sh e h op e th e d
r ooch m i g h t b e o t ai n e b b d in th e
c ou r se of th e e v en i n g . A t th e l
c ose of d i n n er sh e sai d to
r . H um e t h at
t h e p ap er in w h i ch the co m h ad b ee n

w r a pp e d w as g on e A it t . l l e l at er in t h e d r aw in g r oom sh e
, ,

sai d t h at the b r o oc h w ou l d n o t b e b r o u g h t i n t o t h e h o u se ,

b u t t h at i t m u st be l o o k e d fo r in t h e gar d en an d t h en as

M
,

th e p a r t y w en t ou t a cco m p an y i n g h er , sh e sai d sh e h ad
l v oy a n t l y
c air seen th e b r e e ch a f ll
i n to a st ar - sh ap e d b ed of

fl o w er s r . . H um e l e d t h e w ay t o su c h a b ed i n a di st an t

p ar t of th e g ar de n A p r ol on ge d an d car e u l f sea r c h w as

M
.

m a de w ith l an t ern s , an d e v en t u a ll y a sm a ll p ap e r p ac k et ,

c on si st in g of t w o C i g ar et t e p ap er s, w as f ou n d am o n g st th e

M
l ea v es b y r s Sin n et t Th i s b ein g op en ed o n t h e sp o t w as
. .

f ou n d t o c on t ai n a b r oo ch ex ac t l y co rr esp on d i n g t o t h e

M M
p r e vi ou s d e sc r i p t i o n a n d w h i ch rs H u m e i d e n t i fi e d as

M
.
,

t h at w h i ch sh e h ad o r ig in a ll y l ost Non e of t h e p ar t y

M
.
,

e x c ep t r an d rs H u m e
. h a d e v e r seen o r h ear d o f t h e
.
,

b r ooch . r . H um e h ad n ot th ou gh t of it f or years .

rs H um e h ad ne v er sp o k en of it t o an y on e si n c e sh e

M
.

p ar t e d
w i t h i t , n or h ad sh e, f or o n g , e en t h ou g h t of i t l v .

Sh e h er se st at e lf
a t er i t w a s d
o u n , t h at i t w as o n
, w h enf f d ly
a d am e as k ed h er w h et h er t h er e w as an yt h i n g sh e w ou ld

M
l ik e t o h a ve ,
t h at t h e r em em b r a n ce o f t h is b r o och ,
t h e g if t
of h er m o t h er , fl ash ed ac r o ss h er m in d

M
.

rs . H um e is n ot a sp i r i t u a l i st ,
an d u p t o th e t im e of

th e o ccu rr en ce de sc r i b ed w as n o b e l i v er e ei t h e r in o ccu lt
ad a
’
p h en o m en a or in m e B l av at sky s p ow e r s . Th e co n

v i ct i o n of
p r esen t w as, t h at t h e o c cu rr en ce w as o f an
al l

M
b l
a so u t e y u n im p e ach al e ch a r a ct er a s an e i en ce o f t h e bl ,
vd
t r u t h o f t h e p o ssi i i t y o f occu t p h en om en a bl
Th e r ooc h i s l b

M M
.

un q u est i on a b ly th e on e w h ich rs . H um e l ost . Ev e n su p

p o sin g w h i ch is p r act ica y i m p o ssi ll b l t h at t h e t c l l t

e, ar i e, os

M
,

m on t h s e or e b f r s H um e e er h ear
. v d of ad am e Bl a v at sk y ,

an d b e ar i n g l et t er s or
no o t h er i n d ic at i on o f or ig i n al o w n er

M
sh ip , cou l d h a v e p assed in a n at u r al
_
w ay i n t o da e
a m

B l av at sky
’
p o ssessi on , e
s v en t h en sh e c ou ld n ot p o sib l y
s

ha ve f or eseen t h at i t w ou ld be as k ed f or , an d rs . H um e

h er sel f h ad n ot aiv en it a t h o u gh t f o r m on t h s.

4*
82 TH E OC C U L T W OR LD .

M M M
Th is n arr at i v e, r ea d ov e r t o t h e p ar t y , i s sig n e d by
A

F D
R E
M
.

.
O HU
HU E
A
.

R H ose
.

. .
E
.

.
A L ICE
P J
W
.

M
G OR DON
IT L A ND
. A
DA ID S ON
. V
.

.
.

A P S INNET T
. . . ST U A R T B EA T SON .

PA TIENC E SINNETT .

Itis needless to state that when this narrative

was published the nine persons above mentioned
were assailed with torrents of ridicul e the eff ect of ,

which however has not bee n in any single case to

, ,

modify in the smallest degree the conviction which

, ,

their signatures attested at the time that the inci ,

dent related was a perfectly conclusive proof of the

reality of occult power Fl oo ds of more or less .

imbecile criticism have been directed to show that

M
the whole performance must have been a trick and
for many persons in India it is now n o doubt an , ,

established explanation that Hume was

M
rs .

adroitly led u p to ask for the particular article

produced by a quantity of preli minary talk about a
,

feat which adame Blavatsky specially went to the

M
house to perform A further established Opinion .

with a certain section o f the Indian p u b l ic is that ,

the brooch which it appears r s Hu me gave to .

her daughter and which her daughter lost, must

M
,

have been got from that you n g lady about a

year previously when she passed through Bombay
, ,

where adame Blavatsky was living on her way to

M
,
’
England The young lady s testimony to the eff ect
.

th at she lost the brooch before she went to Bombay ,

or ever saw adame Bl avatsky is a little feature of ,

this hypothesis whi c h its co n tented framers do not

care to inqui re in to Nor do pe rsons who thi nk .
 F IRS T O C C UL T EXP ER IENCES .

M
83

M
the fact that the brooch once belonged to rs .

’
Hume s d aughter and th at this young lady once
,

saw ad ame Blavatsky at Bombay su fficiently ,

”
“
suspicious to wipe out the eif ect of the whole
i n cide n t as describe d above—ever attempt as far “

a s I have discerned to trace o u t a coherent chain

,

of events as illu m inated by th eir su spi ci ou s or to ,

’
co m pare these with the circumstances of the brooch s
actu al recovery No care however to arran ge the
.
, ,

circumstan ces of an occult de m onstration so that

the possibility of fraud and delusion m ay real l y be
"

excluded is su i cie n t to exclude the imputation of

,

this afterwards by peopl e for whom any arg ument ,

however illogical really is good e n ough to attack a ,

strange idea with .

As regards the witn esses of the brooch pheno

menon the conditions were so perfect that when
they were spe cul ating as to the objections which
might be raised by the p ublic when the story should

M
come to be told they did n o t foresee either of the

M
,

objections actually raised afterwards — the leading up

in conversation theory and the theory about ,
iss
Hume ha v i n g put adame Blavatsky in possessio n
o f the brooch They knew that there had been no

M
.

previous conversation at all about the brooch or any

other proposed feat that the idea about getti n g

M
,

something r s Hume should ask for arose all in a

.
,

moment an d that al m ost immedi ately afterwards

, ,

the brooch was n amed As for iss Hume having .

unconsciousl y contributed to the production of the

phenome n on it did not occur to the witn esses th at
,

this would be suggested bec ause they did n o t foresee,

that any one cou l d b e so foolis h as to shut their

84 TH E OCC U L T W OR LD .

eyes to the importan t circ u m stances to co n centrate ,

their atte n tion entirely on one of quite m inor i m

M
portance As the statement i t self s ays even sa p
.
,

posing which is practically impossible that the

, ,
’
brooch could have p assed i nto adame B l av at sky s
posse ssion in a n atural w ay she could not possi b ly
,

h ave foresee n that it wo uld have been asked for .

The only co n jectures the witn esses coul d fr ame to

explain beforeh and the tolerably certain result that
the public at l arge would refuse to be convinced by
the brooch incident were that they might be r e
,

garded as misstating the facts and omittin g some

M
which the superior in t elligence of their critics — as
their critics would regard the matter— would see to
upset the significan ce of the rest or th at r s Hu m e ,
.

must be a co n federate Now this last co n jecture

.
, ,

which will no doubt occur to re aders i n England ,

h ad only to be stated to be for the other persons

M
, ,

concerned in t h e incide n t on e of the most am u sing

,

resul ts to which it could give rise We al l kne w .

r s Hume to be as little predisposed towards any

.

such a conspiracy as she w as morally incapable of

the wrong doi n g it would involve
-
.

At o n e stage of the proceedi n gs moreover we , ,

had considered the question as to the extent to

M
which t h e conditions of t h e phenomenon were s atis
factory It h ad often happened that faults h ad
.

’
eve n tually been found with adame B l av atsky s
phenomena by reason of some oversight in the
conditions that had not been thought of at first .

On e of our friends therefore o n the occasion I am

, ,

describi n g had suggested after we rose from the

, ,

di n ner table that before going any further t h e

-
,
 FIRST OC C UL T EXPE RIENCES . 85

company ge n erally should be asked whether if the ,

brooc h could be produced that would under the ,

circumstances be a satisfactory proof of occult

agency in the matter W e c arefully reviewed the
.

ma n ner in which the situ atio n had been developed .

and we al l came to the co n clusion that the test

M
w ould be absolutely complete and that on this ,

occ asion there w as no we ak place in the chain o f

the arg ument Then it was that adame Blavatsky
.

s aid t h e b r e e ch would be brought to the garden an d ,

that we c ould go o u t and se arch for it .

An interesting circumstance fo r those who had

already w atched some of the other phen omena I
have described was this : The brooch as stated ,

above w as found wrapped up in two cigarette

M
,

papers an d these when ex amined in a full l ght in

, ,
i

t h e house were f ou n d still to bear the m ark of the

,
’
coin attached to a dame Bl av at z ky s w atch ch ain ,

which had been wrapped up i n t hem before they

departed on their mysterious er r a n d They were .

thus identified for people who had got over the

m

first stupendous di c u i t y o f believing i n the pos

i

si b il i t
y of tra n sporting material objects by occult
agency as the sam e p apers that had been see n by

us at the dinner table -

.

The occult tran smission of objects to a dist an cc

n o t bei n g m agic
“
as W estern re aders understand
,
”

th e wor d is susceptible o f some parti al exp l an ation

,

even fo r or dinary readers for whom the means by

,

whic h the fo r ces employed are manipulated must

rem ain entirely m ysterious It is not contended .

th at the currents which are made use of convey the

'

bodies tran smitted in a solid m ass just as they exist

86 THE OCC UL T W OR LD .

for the senses The body to be tran smitted is sup

.
, ,

posed first to be disi n tegrat ed conveyed o n the ,

currents in i n fi n i t ely minute particles an d then ,

reintegrated at its destination In the case of t h e .

brooch the first thing to be done must h ave bee n

,

to find i t This however would simp l y be a feat

.
, ,

o f cl airvoyance —the scent of the obj ect so t o ,

spe ak being t aken up from the person who spoke o f

,

it and had once possessed i t — and there is no clair

voyance of which the western world has any know
ledge comparable i h its vi v id intensity to the
,

clairvoya n ce of an adept in occultism It s resting .

place thus discovered the disintegration process

,

would come into play and the object desired woul d

,

b e conveyed to the pl ace where the adept eng aged

with it would choose t o h ave it deposited The .

part played in the phenomenon by the cigarette

M
papers would be this : In order th at we mig h t be
able to fi n d the brooch it w as necessary to con n ect
,

it by an occult scent with ad ame Blavatsky The .

cig arette papers which she always carried about

,

W i th her were thus impregn ated with her magnetism

, ,

and taken fro m her by the Brother left an occult ,

trail behin d them Wrapped round the brooch the y

M
.
,

conducted this trail to the required spot .

The magnetizatio n o f the cigarette papers always

with her enabled adame Blava tsky t o perfor m a
,

little fe at W i th them which w as found by everyone

for who m it was done an exceedingly complete bit
of evide n ce ; though here ag ain the superficial
resemblance of the experiment to a conjuring trick
misled the intelligence of ordinary perso n s who
read about the i n cidents referred t o i n the news
 F IRST OC C UL T EXPERIENCES . 87

papers The f eat i tsel f m ay be most conveni ently

. .

di sc u ssed by the q uotation of three le t ters which

appeared in the P i on eer of the 2 3r d of October
'

M
an d were as follows

SIR , —Th e ac coun t of th e discov er y of rs. H um

’
e s

b r o och l l ed for t h sev er al l ett er s an d m an y q uest i on s

h as ca

M
,

h av e b een ask ed som e of w h ich I m ay an sw er on a f u t u r e

,

o ccasi on b u t I t h i n k i t on l y r ig h t t o fir st c on t ri b u t e f u r t h er
,

t e st i m on y t o t h e occ u l t p ow e r s p ossessed b y ad am e

Bl av at sky In t h u s co m in g b ef or e t h e p u b l ic on e m u st b e
.
,

p r ep ar e d d
f or r i i c u l e b u t i t i s a w e ap o n w h ic h we who

M
,

k n ow so m et h i n g of t h ese m att er s c an we ll aff o r d to d esp ise .

On Th u r s d ay l ast , at a bo l k I w as
ut ha l f p ast
-
t en
’
o c oc ,

sit t i n g i n ad am e B l av a t sky s r o om c o n v e r si n g W i t h h er
’
,

a n d i n a casu al w ay a sk e d h er i f sh e w ou l d b e a b l e t o sen d

m e a n y t h i n g b y occu l t m ean s w h en I r et u r n e d t o m y h om e .

Sh e sai d No ; an d ex pl a in ed t o m e so m e of t h e l aw s u n d er
“

w h i ch sh e act s on e b ein g t h a t sh e m u st kn o w t h e p l ace an d

h av e b een t h ere—t h e m or e r ecen t l y t h e b e tt er —in o r d er t o
,

e st ab l ish a m ag n et i c c u rr en t Sh e t h en r e co l l ect ed t h at sh e
.

h ad b een so m ew h er e t h at m or n i g a n d af t er a m om en t s
'
n ,

r efl e ct i on r em e m b er e d w h o se h o u se i t w as sh e h ad v i sit e d
*
.

Sh e sai d sh e cou l d sen d a c ig ar et t e t h er e if I w o u l d g o a t ,

o n ce t o v er if y t h e f act I o f cou r se co n se n t ed I m u st
. , , .

h er e m en t i on t h at I h ad seen h er do t h is k in d of t h in g on ce

bef o re an d th e r easo n sh e v
g i es f o r sen i n g ciga r ettes i s d ,

t h at t h e p ap er an d to bacco b y l
ei n g a w a s a o u t h e r
p er so n ,b
ar e l
h i gh y m ag n et i e , z d
for e m or e am en a b l e t o h er
an d t h er e

p ow er , w h i ch sh e m ost em p h a t i cal l y d e cl ar es i s n o t su p er

n at ur a l b u t m e re l y t h e m n if est a t ion o f l aw s u n k n ow n t o
,
a

us . To con t in u e m y st or y Sh e t oo k ou t a C i g a r et t e p ap er
.

an d sl o w l t or e ofi a c or n er as z ig z ag a s p ossi b l e I n eV e r
y ,

t ak i n g m y eyes of n er h an d s S h e g a v e m e t h e c om er
. ,

w h i c h 1 at o n ce p u t i n t o an en v e l op e an d i t n e v er l e f t m y ,

p ossessi on I d ec a Sh e de th e ci g ar et t e w ith th e

M
can l re . m a

T h i s h o u se at w h i ch t h e c ig ar e t t e w as fou n d was r . Om ’ ’
en t a l .

He i s q u i te W l i l i n g t h a t t hi s sh o u ld
b e st a t e d
88 THE OC C UL T W OR LD .

r em a n i d er t h e p ap e r
of . Sh e t h en sai d sh e w ou ld t ry an

e x p e r im en t w h i ch m ig h t n ot su c c ee d , b ut th e f ai l u r e w ou ld
be o f n o c on se q u en c e w it h m e . Sh e t h en m ost ce r t a i n ly p ut
t h at c ig ar e t t e i n t o t h e fi r e, an d I saw it b u rn , an d I st ar t e d
at o n ce t o th e g en t e m an l ’
s h o u se , sc ar ce ly a ble to b e l ie ve
t h a t I sh o u ld fi n d in t h e p l ace in d icat d e b y h er t h e c o u n t er

p a rt o f t h e c ig ar et t e p ap er I h ad w i t h m e ; b u t su r e en o u g h

t h er e i t w as an d i n t h e p r esen ce of t h e g e n t e m an
, ,
l an d h is
wi fe ,
I Op e d ne ou t th e c i g a r et t e an d f ou n d y m p i ece co r n e r

fi t t e d e x act l y . It w o u ld be l
u se ess to t r y a n d ex p l a i n an y
t h e ory i n c on n ect i on w i t h t h e se p h en o m en a an d i t w o u l
,
be d
u n rea o n a s ble to e x p ec t an y o n e t o e ie b l ve in t h em ,
u n ess l
t h ei r o wn e xp er i en ce h ad p r o v ed t he p ossi i i t y o f bl su c h

w on d er s . A ll o n e as k s or e xp ec t s i s ,
t h at a f ew o f t h e m or e

ll
i n t e i g en t m em b er s o f th e co m m u n it y m ay be l ed t o l oo k
i n to th e v ast am ou n t of evi d en ce n ow a ccu m u a t e l d of th e

p h en om en a k
t a in g p l ace al l o v er Eu r op e an d A m er i c a . It
seem s a p it y t h at t h e j
m a or i t y sh ou ld b e in su c h u t t er

i g n o r an ce fact s ; i t is w i t h in t h e p o w er
of t h ese o f an y on e

v i sit i n g En g l an d t o con v i n ce h i m sel f of t h ei r t r u t h .

“
A L IC E GOR DON .

MM
“
Si R —I
v e b een ask ed t o gi v e an accou n t of a cir cu m
,
ha
st an ce w h i ch t oo k p l a ee i m y p r e sen ce o n t h e 13 t h i n s t an t n .

On t h e e v en i n g o f t h at day I w a s sit t i n g a l o n e w i t h ad am e

M
Bl av at sky an d C o l on e l Ol cot t in t h e dr aw in g r o o m o f r -
.

S i n n ett s h ou se i n S i m l a A f t er som e c on v e r sat io n

’
on

M
.

v ari ou s m at t er s a d am e Bl a v at sky sai d sh e w o u l d l i k e t o

,

t ry an e x p er i m en t in a m an n e r w h ich h ad b e en su g e st e
g dt o

h er by r . Sin n et t . S h e t h er e f o r e t oo k t w o
, , c ig ar et t e p ap e r s
fr om h e r p o c k et an d m ar k e o n e ach o f t h em a d n um er o fb

M
p a ra e ll l l
i n e s i n p en c i l
Sh e t h e n t o re a p i ece o ff t h e en d o f
.

e ac h p aper acr oss t h e i n es, an d g a e t h em t o m e l

A t t h at v .

tim e a d am e Bl a v at sk y w as si t t i n g l
c o se to m e, an d I in
t en t l y w at ch e d he b ei g o t o e t h a
r d
p r o c e e i n g s, m y ey es n n m r n

t w o f eet f r om d ec l i ed t o l et e m a k
h er h an s Sh e d . n m r or

t ea t h e p ap er s a l l eg i g t h at i f h a d l d b y ot h e s t h ey w o l d
r . n n e r u

b ecom i b ed w i t h t h i p e so al m agn et ism w h i ch w o ul d

e m u e r r n ,
 FIRST OC C UL T EXPERIENCES .
9

co u n t er act h er own . H ow e v er , th e t o r n p ie ces w e r e h a n e d d

di r ec t ly to m e, an d I cou ld n ot o bs veer an y o p p o r t u n i t fo r y
th e su b st it u t i on p a p er s b y s e i g h t
of o t h er l of h an d . Th e
g e n u i n en ess or o t h er w i se o f t h e p h en o m en a a f t er w a r d s pr e

M
se n t e da p p ear s t o r e st o n t h i s p o in t Th e t o r n . o ff p iece s of t h e

p ap er r em a i n e i n d m y ll
c o se ofd l ef t h a d n u n ti l th e c o n c u si o n

t h e ex p e r im e n t Of t h e l ar g er p ie ces ad a m e Bl a v at sk
.
y
m ad e t w o c ig a r et t e s g i v i n g t h e fi r st t o m e t o h o l d w h i l e t h e

M
,

o t h er w a s b e i g m a d e u p I scr ut in i z e d t h is c ig a r e t t e v e r y
n .

a t t en t i v e l y i n o r d er t o b e ab l e t o r ec g n i z e i t af t er w ar d s
,
o .

T h e c ig ar e t t es b ei n g fi n ish ed ad am e Bl a v at sk y st o o d up , ,

an d t o o k t h em b et w een h er h an d s w h ich sh e r u bbed t o ,

g et h er .A f t er ab o u t t w en t y or t h i r t y sec on d s t h e gr at i n g ,

n o i se o f t h e p ap er a t fi r st d i st i n ct l y a u d i b l e c ease d
, Sh e t h e n ,
.

sai d th e cu r r e n t * i s p assi n g r o u n d t h is en d of th e room , an d

I ca n on ly sen d t h e m som e wh e r e n ea r h er e . A m o m en t a t er f
w ar ds h e s sa id on e h ad fa ll en on t h e p i an o , t h e o t h e r n ear

tha t b ac k t
r e . A s I sat on a so a f w i th m y b ck t
a o the wa ll
t h e p ia n o w a s op p osi t e, an d the b r ac ket , su p p o r t i n g a few

p ieces o f c h i n a w as t o t h e r ig h t b e t w e en it an d th e d oor

M
.
, ,

B o t h w er e i n u i ew acr oss t h e f ll v r a t h er n ar r o w r o o m . Th e
t op of t h e p i an o w as co v er ed l es of m u sic b o o k s an d
w ith p i ,

i t w as am o n g t h ese a d a m e Bl a v a t sk y t h o u g h t a c ig ar et t e

w ou ld be f ou n d . Th e b o o k s w e re r e m o v ed o n e b y o n e b y , ,

m ysel f , b ut w i t h ou t see i n g a n y t h in g . I t h en o p en e d th e

p i an o a n d o u n
,
f d a cig ar e t t e o n a n a r r o w sh e lf i n side i t . T h is
cig ar et t e I t o o k ou t a n d r e cog n i z ed as t h e on e I h ad h e ld in
m y h an d . Th e o t h er w as fo un d in a co v ered c up on th e
b r ac k et B ot h ci g ar e t t es w er e st i l l d am p w h e r e t h ey h ad

M
.

b een m o i st e n e d at the e d g es in th e p r oc e ss o f m an u ac t u r e f .

I too k th e c ig ar e t t es to a t bl ea ,
w i t h ou t p er m it t i n g t h em to
b e t o u ch e d or e v en seen by a da m e Bl a v at sk y an d C o l on e l
Ol c ot t . On b ei ng u n ro l l ed an d sm o o t h e d ou t , th e t or n ,
j ag g e d e d ges w er e f ou n d to fi t e x ac t ly t o t h e p ieces t h at I
h ad al l t h i s t im e r et ai n e d in m y h an d . T h e p en c i l m ar ks

* Th e t h e or y is t h at a cur r en t of wh at can on l y be ll d
ca e

m ag n e t i sm , can be m a d e to co n v y bj
e o e ct s, pre v i ou s ly di ssi p at e d by
th e sa m e f o r ce , to an y d i sta n ce , an d in sp i te of th e i n ter v en t i on

of an y am oun t of m att er .
90 TH E 0 6 6 UL T W OR LD .

l
a so c o r r esp o n d ed It w ou l d f
t h e r e or e a pp ear t h at t h e p ap er s

M
.

w er e act u a ll y th e sam e as t h o se I h ad see n t or n . B oth th e

p ap er s ar e st il l in m y p ossessi on . It m ay be a dd ed t h at
C o on el l Ol co tt sat n ear m e w i th h is b ack to a d am e

M
Bl av at sk y d u r i n g the e xp er i m en t, an d did n ot m o ve ti ll it
w as c on cl u d ed .

P J . . A IT A ND ,
L Cap ta i n .

y our
Si R ,

l
c o u m n s,
—
W it h
on
f
r e er en ce

th e su
t o th e
bj ec t of M
c or r esp on

a d am e
de n ce

B l av at sky
n ow
’
fi l l in g
s r ec e n t

M
m an i f est at io n s ,
it m ay i n t er est y ou r r ea de rs if I r ec o r d a

st r i k in g i n ci den t w h i ch t oo k p l ace l ast w ee k in y p r e se n c e

m .

I h ad oc ca si on to ca ll on a da m e, an d in the c ou r se of o ur

i n t er i ew v sh e t or e o ff a cor n er fr o m a e ig ar et t e p ap er , ask in g
m e to ho ld th e sam e , w h ic h I di d . W i t h t h e r em ai n de r

of th e p ap er sh e p r ep ar e d a c ig ar e t t e in the or di n ar y

m an n e r , an d in a fe w m o m en t s c a u se dt h is c ig ar et t e t o dis

M
app ear f r om h er h an ds W e w e e
. r si t t i n g at t h e t i m e i n t h e

d r aw i n g - r o o m . I i qu i d if i t
n re w er e l i k el y to find t h is
c ig ar e t t e ag ai n ,
an d a f t er a sh or t p au se a da m e re q u est e d
m e to ac c o m p an y h er in t o t h e d in i n g r oom
-
,
w h er e t h e c ig a

r et t e w ou ld be f ou n d on t h e t op o f a c u r t a i n h an g i n g o e r v
t h e w in d o w B y ea . m ns o f a ta bl
e an d a ch ai r p ace t h er eo n , l d
I w as e b l e d w it h so
na d iffi c l t y t ch d t k e d ow m e u o r ea an a n a

cig a tt e f o
re t h e p l ace i d icat e d
r m T h is g a et t e I op e ed n . Ci r n ,

a d fo
n d t h e p pe t o c
un p o d e x ct l y w i t h t h t I h d
a r or r e s n a a a

see a f w m i
n t es b f o e i t h e d aw i g oo m
e nu Th at i s t o
e r n r n - r .

say t h e co
,
e p i ce w h i c h I h ad
rn r-e t ai e d i em y p o sessi o
,
r n n s n ,

fi t t ed ex c t l y i t o t h e j gg ed edg es o f t h e t o
a n p p i a rn a er n

wh i h t h e t o b c o h d b ee
c o l l edac To t h b t o f ay b e l ie f n r . e es m ,

t h e t est w as a s c om p l et e an d f
sat i s ac t o r y as an y t est c an be .

I r e f r ai n f r om g i in gv m y o p in io n as t o t h e c au se s w h i ch p r o
du ced t h e eff ec t , f e e l in g su r e t h at you r r ea de s r w h o tak e an

in t er est i n t h ese p h e n om en a w i ll f
p r e er ex er ci sin g t h ei r ow n

j u d gm en t in t h e m at t er . I m er e ly gi v e y ou an u n v ar n i sh e d
st a t em en t of w h at I sa w . I m ay be p er m i t t e t o add I am d
n o t a m em b er of t h e Th e osop h ist Soci ety , n or , so far as I
 FIRST OC C UL T EXPERIENCES .
9!

k n ow am I bi asse d in favour o f o cc u lt sc i e n ce , a l t h ou g h a

M
,

w ar m sy m z
p at h i e r w it h t h e p ro c ai m l e d ob j ect s of t h e S o ci e t y
o v er l l l
w h i ch C o on e O cot t p r esi es d .

“
CH A R LES FR A N C IS A SS Y .

Of
course anyone famili ar with conjuring will
,

be aware that an imitation of this trick can be “ ”

arranged by a perso n gifted with a little sleigh t of

hand Y ou take two pieces of paper an d te ar off
.
,

a corner of bo th together so that the jags of both ,

ar e the same You m ake a cigarette with on e

.

piece and put it in the place where you m e an to

,

h ave it ultimately found You then hold the other .

piece underne ath the o n e you te ar in presence of

the spectator slip in on e of the alre ady torn corne rs
,

into his h and i n ste ad of that he sees yo u tear ,

m ake y our cigarette with the other p art of the

original piece dispose of th at an yhow you please
, ,

and al low the prepared cigarette to be found

M
.

Other variations of the system m ay be readily

im agined and for persons who h ave not actu al l y
,

see n adame Bl a v atsky do o n e Of her cigarette

fea ts it may be useless to point ou t th at she does

n ot do them as a conjuror would and th at the ,

specta t or if he is g if t cd with ordi n ary commo n

,
-

sense can n ever have the faintest shadow o f a doubt

,

about the corner given to h i m being the corner

torn off—a cert ai n ty which the pencil marks u pon -

it drawn before his eyes would enhan ce if that

, , ,

were n ecessary However as I say though e x p e

.
, ,
~

ricuce shows me th at the outsider is prone to regard

t h e little cigarette phenomenon as suspicious “
,

it h as never failed to be regarded as convi n cing by

the m ost acute people amo n g those who have
92 TH E OCC UL T W OR LD .

wit n essed it . With al l phenomena however , ,

stupidity on the p art of the Observer will defe at

any attempt to reac h his understanding no matter ,

how perfect the t ests s u pplied .

I realize this more ful ly now than at the time of

which I am wri t ing Then I w as chiefly anxio us
.

to get experiments arranged which should b e

M
really complete in their details and leave no
Opening for the sugges t ion eve n of im post ure It .

was an uphill struggle first because adame

,

Blavatsky was intractable and excitable as an ex

p er im e n t al ist and herself no more than t h e reci
,

p i en t of favours f r om the Brothers in reference

to the greater phenomena And it seemed to me
.

conceivable that the Brothers might themselves not

always re alize precisely the frame of mind in which
person s of Europe an traini n g approached the co n
sideration o f such miracles as these with which we
were dealing so that they did not always make
,

suffi cient allowance for the n ece ssity of ren dering

their test phenome n a quite perfect and unassailable
in all minor details I knew of course that they

M
,
.
,

were not primaril y anxious to convince the common

place world of anything whatever ; b u t still t h ey
frequently did assist adame Blavatsky to produ c e
phenomena that had n o other motive except the pro
duction of an effect on the minds of people belonging
to the outer world ; and it seemed to me that under
these circumstances they might just as well do

M
something th at would leave no room for the i m pu
t at ion even of an y trickery .

On e day therefore I asked

, ,
adame Bla v atsky
whether if I wrote a lett er to on e o f the Brothers
 FIRS T OC C UL T EXP ER IENCES .
3

expl aining my views she coul d get it delivered for

,

me I h ardly thought this w as probable as I knew

.
,

how very unapproachable the Brothers generally

are but as she said that at any rate she woul d try ,

I wrote a letter addressi n g it

,
to the Unknown “

”
Brother and gave it to her to see if an y resu lt
,

would ensue It was a happy inspiration th at

.

i n duced m e to do this for ou t of that smal l begi n

,

ning has arisen the most interesting correspondence

in which I have ever been privileged to engage— a
correspondence which I am happy to say still
, ,

promises to con t inue an d the existence of whi ch

, ,

more than any experiences of phenomena which I

h ave had though the most wonderful of these are
,
’
yet to be described is the m i son d étr e of this little
,

book .

The idea I had specially in my mind when I

wrote the letter above referred to was that of all ,

test phenomen a one could wish for the best would ,

be the production in our presence in India of a

’
copy of the L ondon Ti m es of that day s date With .

such a piece of evidence in my han d I argued I , ,

would u n dertake to convert everybody i n Simla

who w as capable of linking two ideas together to ,

a belief in the possibility of ob t ai n i n g by occult

agency physic al results which were beyond the
control of ordinary science I am sor ry th at I .

have not kept copies of the letter itself n or of m y

own s ubsequent letters as they would have helped
,

to elucidate the replies i n a con venie n t w ay ; but I

did not at the time foresee the developments to
which they would give rise and after al l the , ,

interest of the corresp ondence turn s almost entirely

94 TH E OC C UL T W OR LD .

on the letters I received : only i n a very sm al l

M
degree on those I sent .

A day or t wo el apsed before I heard anything

of the fate o f my letter but adame Bla v a t sky
,

then informed me tha t I w as to have an answer I .

afterwards le arned that she had n ot bee n able at

fi rst to find a Bro ther willi n g to receive the com
m u n i cat i on Those whom she fi rst applied to
.

decline d to be troubled with the matter At last .

her psychological telegraph brou ght h er a favour

able answer from on e of the Brothers with whom
she had n o t for some time been in communic atio n .

He would take the letter an d reply to it .

Hearin g this I at once regretted that I had n ot

,

wri tten at greater l e n gth arguing my view o f the

,

required concession more fully I w r ote ag ain .

,

therefore without wai tin g for the actual receipt of

,

the expected letter .

A day or two af t er I found gn e eve n in g on my

writing table the first letter sent me by my new
-

correspondent I may here explain what I learn ed

. .
,

after w ards that he was a n ative of the Pun j ab who

,

was attracted to occult studies from his e arliest

.

b o yhood . He w as sent to Europe while still a

youth at the i ntervention of a rel ative—himself an
occultis t—to be educated in Western kn owledge ,

an d since then h as been fully initi ated i n the

gre ater knowle dge of the Eas t Fro m the self .

complacent point of view of the or din a ry European

th is will see m a stran ge revers al o f the proper order

M M
of things but I nee d not stop to examine that
,

co nsideration n o w .

c o r respondent is known t o me as the ahatma

y
 M
F IR S T OC C UL T EXPER IENC ES .
95

1
Ko ot H o om i This is his Tibetan ystic name
—
.

o cc ul tists it woul d seem ta kin g new nam es o n

,

initiati o n—a practice whi ch has n o d oubt given rise

,

t o simila r custom s which we fi n d pe r pet u ated here

and there in ceremonies o f the Roman C athol ic
c hurch

M
.

The lett er I received began i n m edi a s r es about , ,

the phenomenon I h ad p r o fessed Precisely .

”
,

the ahatma wr ote because the test o f the

,

L ondo n newspaper would close the mouths of t h e

sceptics it was in admissible
”
,
See it in what .

li ght you wi ll the world is yet in its first stage

,

of disenthralment hence unprepared .

V ery true we work by n at ural not supernatural , ,

means and laws But as on the on e hand sci en ce

.

would fi nd itself u n able in its present state to , ,

account for the wonders given in its name an d on ,

the other the ignorant masses would still be left to

view the phenomeno n in the light of a miracle ,

everyone who would t h us be made a wit n ess to the

occurrence would be thrown off h is balance and ,

the result would be deplorable Believe me it would .

be so especially for yoursel f who originated the idea , ,

and for the devoted woman who so foolishly r ushes

into t h e W i de open door leading to notoriety This
,
.

door though Opened by so friend l y a hand as yours

would prove very soo n a trap—and a fatal one
, ,

indeed for her

,
A n d such is not surely your
.

object W ere we to accede to your desires

kn ow you really what con sequences would follo w
in the t rail of success ? The inexorable shadow
which follows all human i n novatio n s moves on yet ,

r ew are t h ey who are eve r co n scious of its app o a c h

r

1 d
S ee A ppe n i x C .
9a 71 m OCC UL T W OR L D

and dange r W hat are then they to expect w ho

s
.
, ,

wo uld O ffer t h e world an i n n ovatio n which owing

to human ig n orance if believed in will surely be
, ,

attrib ute to those dark agencies the two thirds -

of humanity believe in a n d dread as yet ?

The success of an atte m pt of such a kind as the
one you propose mus t be calculated and b ased
upon a thorough kno wledge of the people around
you . It depends e n tirely upon the soci al and
moral conditions of the people in th ir beari n g on e

these deepest and most mysterious questions which

can stir the human mind—the deifi c powers in man
and the possibilities contain ed in Nature How .

man y even of your best friends of those w h o sur ,

rou n d you are more than superficially interested in

,

these abst ruse problems ? You could count them

upon the fingers of your right hand Your race .

boas ts of having liberated in their cent u ry the

genius so long imprisoned in the narrow v ase of
dogmatism and intolerance—the genius of know
ledge wisdom and free thought It says that in
, ,
.
,

their turn ignorant prejudice and religious bigotry

, ,

bottled up li ke the wicked dj m of old and se al ed ,

by the Solomons of science rest at the bottom o f ,

the sea and can never escaping to the surface

, ,

again reign over the world as in the days of

,

old : that the public mind is quite free in short , ,

and ready to accept any demonstrated truth .

A y but is it verily so
,
my resp ected friend ?,

Experiment al knowledge does not quite date from

1 66 2 when Bacon R obert Boyle and the Bishop
, , ,

of C hester tran sformed under the royal charte r

‘ ’
their invisible college i nto a socie t y for the pr o
 F IR S T 0 6 0 UL T EXP ER IE NCES .
97

motion o f exper i mental science Ages before the .

Royal Society found itself b ecoming a reality upon

’
the plan of the Prophetic Scheme an innate ,

l ongi n g for the hidden a p assionate love for and

, ,

the st udy of Nature had led men in every genera

, ,

tion to try and fathom her secrets deeper than their

'

n eighbours did R om a a n te R om u l u m f m t is an
.

a xiom taught us in your E n glish schools .

The Vm l of the Com i n g R a ce was the common pro ~

perty of races now extinct A n d as the very .

existence of those gigantic ancestors of ours is now

questioned though i n the Him a vats on the v ery ,

t err it o ry belo n ging to y o u we h ave a cave full

,

o f the skeleton s of these gi ants — an d th ei r h u ge

frames when found are inv ar ia bly regarded as
, ,

isolated freaks of Nature— so the W e] or a kas as we ,

call it is looked upon as an impossibil i ty —a myth

,
.

And without a thorough knowle dge of a ka s— its

combinations an d properties how can scien ce hope ,

to accou n t for such phenomena ? W e doubt n o t

but the men of your scie n ce are open to conviction ;”

yet facts must be fi rst demonstrated to them ; they

mus t first have become their own property have

M
,

proved amenable to thei r modes of investigation ,

b efore yo u find them re ady to admit them as facts .

'

If you b u t look i n to the preface to t h e i cr ogr ap h ca

’
y ou W i l l fi n d i n H ookes,
suggestions that the ,

intimate relations of objects were of less accou n t

in his eyes than their exte r nal operation on the
’
senses and Newton s fine discoveries found in him
,

their greatest oppon ent Th e modern H o oke se s

.

ar e many Like this learn ed b u t ign or an t m an of

.

old your modern men of scie n ce are less anxious to

,

5
98 TH E 0 0 0 UL T W OR L D .

suggest a physic al connection of facts which might

unlock for the m many an occult force in Nature as ,

to pro v ide a convenient classification of scientific

experiments so that t h e m ost essen tial quality of a
,

hypothesis is not that it should be tr u e but only

, ,

l a u si b l e in the i r Opi n ion

p ,
.

“
So far for science —a s much as we k n ow o f it .

As for hum an n ature in general it is the same n o w

as it was a million of y ears ago Prejudice based .
,

upo n sel fi shness a general unwill i n gness to give up

,

an established order of things for n e w modes of life

and th ought— and occult study requires all th at and

much more— pride and stubbor n resistan ce to truth ,

if i t but upsets t heir previous notions of things

such are the characteristics of your age
What then would be the res u lts o f the most
, ,

astounding phenomen a supposing we consented to

h ave them produced ? However successfu l danger ,

wou ld be growing propor t ionately w ith success .

No choice would soon remain but to go on ever ,

cr escen do or to fall in this endless struggle with

,

prej udice and ignorance killed b y your ow n weapons

, .

Test after test would be required an d would have to ,

be furnished ; every subsequent phenomenon ex

e ct e d to be more marvellous than the preceding
p
on e . Your daily remark is that one cannot be ,

expected to b elieve unless he becomes an eye— wit

ness W ould the lifetime of a man su i ce to satisfy
.

the whole world of sceptics ? It may be an easy

matter to increase the origi n al number of believers
at Simla to hundreds and thousands Bu t what of .

the hundre ds of million s of those who could not b e

m ade eye witness es The ignorant, un able t o grapple
-
 F IR S T OC C U L ? EXP ER IENCES
"

.
99

with the i n visib l e operators m ight some day vent ,

their rage on the visi b le agents at work t h e higher

an d educated cl asses would go on disbelievi n g as ,

ever teari n g you to shre ds as before In common

, .

with many you blame us for o u r great secr esy

, .

Ye t we know something of human n a t ure for the ,

e xperience of long centuries — a

y ages has taught , ,

us And we kn ow that so lon g as science h as any

.

thing to learn and a shadow of religious dogmatism

,
’
lingers in the he ar t s of the multitudes the world s ,

prejudices have to be conquered step by step not at ,

a rush . A s ho ary antiquity had more than on e

Socrates so the dim future will gi v e birth t o more
,

than one martyr En fr an ch ish cd Science co n temp

.

t u ou sl y turned away her face from the C opernican

Opi n i on ren ewi n g the theories of A ristarchus
Sam i us who afii r m et h that the earth m o v et h
,
‘

’
circularly about her own centre v ears before the ,

C hurch so u ght to sacri fi ce G alileo as a h ol ocau st to

the Bible The ablest mat hematician at the C ourt
.

of Edward V I R obert R ecorde w as left to starve

.
, ,

in j ail by his colleagues who laughed at his Castle ,

o
f K n ow l ed e
g declaring
,
his discoveries vain phan
t asi e s A l l this is old history you will thi n k . .

V erily so b u t the chronicles of o ur modern d ays do

,

n ot diff er very essentially from their pre decessors .

A nd we have but to be ar in mind the recent per

secu t i o n s of mediums in England the burning o f ,

supposed witches and sorcerers in South America ,

R ussia and the frontiers of Sp ai n t o assure our

, ,

selves that the only salvation of the genuine pro

fi ci en t in occult sciences lies in the scepticism of
th e publi c : th e charlatans an d t h e j ugglers ar e t h e
[ 00 TH E OC C UL T W OR LD .

natural shields of the adepts The pu b lic s afety is .

only ensured by o u r keeping secret t n e te r rible

weapons which might o t herwise be used agai nst it ,

an d wh i ch as you have been told become deadly in

, ,

the hands of the W icked and selfi sh .

”

The remain der of the letter is concerne d chiefly

with perso n al matters and need not be here r e ,
~

pr oduced I shal l o f course throughout my quota

.
, ,

tions fr om letters leave o u t passages which specially

, ,

addressed t o mysel f have n o immedi ate bearing on

,

the pu blic argument The reader must be careful

.

to remember however as I n o w most unequivocally

, ,

a r m that I shall in no case a l t er on e syllable of

,

the passages ac tually quoted It is important t o .

make thi s declaration very e m phaticall y because the ,

more my readers may be acquainted with India the

M
,

less they will be willing t o believe except o n the ,

most positive testimo ny that the letters from the ,

ahatma as I n ow publish them have been written

, ,

by a native o f India That such is the fact h o w

.
,

ever is beyond dispute

, .

I replied to the letter above quoted at some

length argui n g if I remember rightly that the
, ,

European m ind was less hopelessly intractable than

K oot H oo m i represent ed it His second let t er w as .

as follows
We will be at cross purposes in our corr esp on
dence until it has been made entirely plain th at
occu lt science h as its own methods of research as ,

fixed and arbitrary as the methods of its antithesis ,

physical science are in their way

,
If the latter .

has its dicta so also have the former ; and he who

,
 F IRST OC C UL T EXP E R IENCES . 10 !

would cross t h e boundary of the unsee n world can

no more prescribe how he will proceed th an the ,

traveller who tries to penetrate to the inner su b t er

’
r an e an recesses of L H assa the Blessed c ould show
the way to his gu i de The mysteries n ever were .
,

n ever can be put within the reach of the general

,

public n ot at least until th at longed for day when

, , ,
-

our religious philosophy becomes universal At no .

time h ave more than a sc arcely appreciable m i n ority

’
of men possessed Nature s secret though multitudes ,

have witnessed the practical evidences of the possi

b ilit y of their possession The adept is the rare .

e l o r escen ce o f a generation of inquirers ; and to

become one h e must obey the inward impu lse of
,

his soul irrespecti ve of the prudential con siderations

M
,

o f worldly science or sagacity Your desire is to .

be brought to communicate with one of us directly ,

wi thout the agen cy o f either adame Blavatsky or

an
y medium Your
. idea would be as I un derstand ,

it to obtain such commu n i cations either by letters

, , ,

as the present on e or by audible words so as to be

, ,

gui ded by on e of us in the management and prin ,

ci p all y in the instru ction of the Society You seek .

all this and yet as you say yourself hitherto you

, , ,

h ave not foun d eu iei en t reasons to even give up

"

your m o des of life directly hostile to such modes of

,

comm u nication This is hardly reasonable He

. .

w h o would lift up hi gh the banner of m ysticism and

procl aim its reign near at hand must give the ex
a mple to others He m u st be the first to change
.

his modes of life and regar di n g the stu dy of the

, ,

occu lt m ysteries as the upper step in t h e ladder of

k nowle dge must loudly proclaim it such despite
, ,
1 02 TH E O CC UL T W ORLD

exact scie ce and the oppositi on of society

n The .
‘

’
ki n gdom of Heaven is obtained by force say the ,

C hristi an mystics It is but with armed ha n d and

M
.
,

ready to either conquer or per ish that the modern ,

mystic can hope to achieve his object .

“
y first answer covered I believe most
,
o f the ,

quest ions contained in your second and even third

letter Having then expressed therein my Opi n ion
.
, ,

th at the worl d in general w as u n ripe for an y t oo

staggering proof o f occult power there b u t remains ,

to deal with the isolated indivi dual s who seek like

M
,

yourself to penetr ate behi n d the veil of m atter into

,

t h e world of primal causes—i e we need only con . .

,

sider n ow t h e cases of yourself and r .

1 should here e xplain that one of my friends at

Simla deeply interested with me in the p r ogress of

M
,
’
this investigation h ad on reading Koot H o om i s
, ,

fi rst letter to me ad dressed my corresponde n t h im

,

self . ore favourably circumstanced th an I for ,

such an enterprise he h ad even proposed to make

,

a complete sacrifice of his other pursuits to p as ,

s

away into an y distant seclusion w hich might be

appointed for t h é purpose where he might if ao
’

, ,

ce pt e d as a pupil i n occultism learn enough to ‘

return to the world armed w i t h powers which would

enable h i m to dem onstrate the realities of spiritual
de v el opment an d the errors of modern materialism ,

and then devote his life to the t ask of combati n g

modern incredulity and leading men to a practical
comprehension o f a bett er life I resume the let .

ter
This gentleman al so has done me the great
honour t o address me by name offering t o me a ,
 FIRST OC C UL T EXPE R IENCES .

fe w questions and stati n g the conditions upon

,

which he would b e willi n g to work for us seriously .

B u t your motives and aspirations being of di a metri

c al ly Opposite character and he n ce leadi n g to dif
,

fer e n t re sults I mus t reply t o each of yo u sep a

,

r at e l
y .

“
The first and chief consideration in determinin g
us to accept or reject y our off er lies in the inner
m otive which propels you to see k our instruction
an d in a cert ain
,
sense our guidan ce ; the latter in
,

al l cases u n der reserve as I understan d i t and

, ,

therefore remaining a question independen t of aught

else Now what ar e your motives ? I may try
.
,

to define them in their gene r al aspects leavi ng ,

details f or further co n sideration They are .

The desire to see positive and unimpeachable proofs

that there really are forces in Nature of which
science knows nothing ; ( 2) The hope to appro
r i at e them some da —the sooner the better fo r
p y ,

you do not like to wait—se as to enable yourself ;

( a ) to demonstra t e their existence t o a few chosen
Western minds ; (6) to contemplate f uture life as
an objective reality built upon the rock of know
ledge not of faith ; an d (c) to fin ally le arn —
,
most
important this among al l your moti v es perhaps
, , ,

though the most occult an d the bes t guarded—t h e

whole truth about ou r lodges and oursel es ; to get v

in short, the positive assurance that the Brothe rs ‘

,

of whom everyone hears so much and sees so little ,

are r eal entitie s not fictions of a disordered hallu

, ,

eluated brai n Such viewed i n their best light

.
, ,

appear to us your motives for addressing me And .

i n the same spirit do I answer them hoping that ,

10 4 TH E O CC UL T W OR LD .

my sincerity will n o t be i n terp r eted in a wrong

way or attributed to a n ything l ike an unfriendly
, ,

S pirit .

To our min ds then these motives sincere an d

, , ,

worthy of every serious consideration from t h e

worldly stand point appe ar selfi sh ( Yo u have t o
,
.

pardon me what yo u might view as crudeness of

langu age, if your desire is that w h ich you really
profess—to le arn truth an d get i n struction from us
w h o belong to quite a different world from the
o n e you move in They are selfish because you
) .
,

must be aware that t h e chief object of the Theo

sophical Society is n ot so muc h t o gratify in dividual
aspirations as to serve our fellow men and the real -
,
’
value of this term sel fi sh which may jar upon
‘
,

your c ar h as a peculiar significance with us which

,

it can not h ave with yo u ; therefore to begin w ith , ,

you must not accept it otherw ise than in the former

sense Perhaps you will better appreciate ou r
.

mean i n g when told th at in ou r view the h ighest

a spi r atio n s for t h e welfare o f humanity become
tainted with selfi sh n ess if in t h e mind of the , ,

philanthrop ist there lurks the sh adow of a desire

,

for self b e n e fi t or a tenden cy to do injustice even

-
, ,

where t hese exist unconsciously t o himself Yet .

ou h av e ever discussed but to put down the ide a

y , ,

o f a U ni v ers al Brotherhood questioned its useful

,

ness and advised to remo del the Theosophical

,

Society on the pri n ciple of a college for the special

study of occultism .

“
H aving disposed of per onal motives let u s s
,

analyze your terms fo r helping u s to do pu b l ic

good Broadly st ated these terms are —fi rst that an
.
, ,
 F IRST OC C UL T EXPER IENCES . 05

i ndependent A n glo In di an Theosophic al Society

shall be founded through your kind services in the ,

management of which neither of our p resent r epr e

sen t at i v es sh all have an voice an d second that
y ,

on e of us shal l take the new body under his ‘

’
patronage be in free and direct commu n ication
,
‘

’
with its leaders and afford them direct proof that ,
‘

he really possessed that superior knowledge of the

forces of N ature an d t h e attrib u tes of the human
soul which would inspire them with proper con
’
fi den ce in his leadership I have copied your own .

words so as to avoid i naccu racy in defi ning the

positi o n .

“
From your point of view therefore those terms , ,

may seem so very reasonable as to provoke no

dissent and indeed a maj ority of your countrymen
, , ,

—if not o f Europeans— might share that Opi n ion .

Wh at will you say can be more reasonable than

, ,

to ask that that teacher anxious to disseminate his

knowledge an d pupil off ering him to do so should

M
, ,

be brought face to face and the one give the ex ,

er im en t al proof to the other that his instructio n s

p
were correct ? an of the world living in and in , ,

M
* Ih th e a b se n ce of m y o wn l ett e r , t o wh i ch th is i s a r ep ly , th e
d
re a er m igh t t h in k f r om th is sen t e n c e t h a t I h ad b een d by
an i m at e

so m e u n f ri en dly l g f th
f ee in or e r ep r esen ta t i v es ref err e d to — d a am e

B l v t ky
a a s an d C l l Ol tto on e co Th i s is f ar fr om h ay i n
g b een

M
.

t h e case ; b u , t k ly l iv t
e en a e o m i sta k es wh i c h h ad b e en d p
m a e u

t o t h e t i m e of , wh i ch I am w ri t in g , in th e m an ag em en t of th e

T h eoso p h i ca l S o ciet y ,
r . an d m y lf
se w er e d
un er th e im

p ression t h at b e tt er l
p u l i c r esu t s m ig h t b e o t ai n e
b b d by c om m e n c i n g

v d
‘

op erat i on s de n ovo, an d t a ki n g , o u r se l es, t h e ir ect i on of th e m e asu r e s

w hi c h m igh t be em p o lyd e to r e com m en d th e st u dy of occu lt i sm to

the m o d ern wo r ld . Th i s b el i e f on o ur p art w as c o-e xi st en t in b oth

cases W i th a w arm fr i e n d sh i p b a se d on t h e p urest est eem for b oth

th e p erso n s m en t i on e d .
 06 TH E OCC UL T W OR LD .

full sympathy with it you are undoubtedly right

, .

But the men of this o t her world of ou rs untutored ,

i n your modes o f thought and who fi nd it very hard

,

a t times to follow and appreciate the latter can ,

hardly be blamed for n o t responding as heartily to

your suggestio n s as i n your opinion they deserve .

The first and most important of our objections is to

be found in our r u l es True we have our schools
.
,
’
and teachers ou r neophytes and sh ab e r on s (superior
,
‘

adepts) and the door is always opened to the ri ght

M
m an who knocks And we invariably welcome the
.

new comer ; only i n ste ad of going over to h i m he

, ,

has to come to us . ore than that unless he has ,

reached that point i n the p ath of occultis m from

which return is impossible by his having irrevocably
pledged himself to our Association we never—ex ,

cept in cases of utmost moment— visit him or even

cross the threshold of his door in visible appearance .

Is any of you so eager for k n owle dge and the

b en efi cen t powers it co n fers as to be re ady to leave
,

your world and come into ours ? Then let him

co m e but he must not think to return until the
,

seal of the mysteries has locked his lips even against

t h e chances o f his own weakness or indiscretion .

L et h i m come by all means as the pupil to the

m aster and without co n ditions or let him wait as
, , ,

so many o t hers have and be satisfied with such

,

crumbs of knowledge as may fall in his w ay

M M
.

“
And supposing you were thus to come as ,

two of your own countrymen have already— as

adame B did an d r O will— supposi n g you
. . .

were to abandon all for the truth ; to toil wearily

for years up the hard steep road not daunted by
, ,
 FIR S T OC C UL T EXP ER IENCES . 10 7

obstacles firm under every temptation ; were to

,

faithfully keep within your heart the secrets en

trusted to you as a trial had worked with al l your
energi es and u n sel fi shl y to spread the truth and

M
provoke men to correct thin king and a correct l ife

M
-
would you consider i t just if after all your , ,

e fforts we were to grant t o

,
adame B or .
,
’
r .O as outsiders the terms y ou n ow as k f o r
.
‘

yourselves Of these t w o persons one has al ready

.
,

given three fourths of a life the other six ye ars o f

-
,
’
manhood s prime to us and both will so labour to,

the close of their days ; though ever working for

their merited reward yet never demanding it n or
, ,

murmuring when disappoi n ted Eve n though they .

respectively could accomplish far less then they do ,

would it not be a palpable injustice to ignore them

in an i m portant field of Theosophical effor t ?
In gratitude is not among our vices nor do we ,

imagine you would w ish to advise it .

“
Neither o f them has the least inclination to
i nterfere with the management of the contemplated
Anglo Indian Branch n or dictate its o i ce r s But
"
-
,
.

the n e w Society if formed at all must though

, , ,

bearing a distinctive title of its own be in fact a , , ,

bra n ch of t h e parent body as is the British ,

Theosophical Society at London and contribute to ,

i t s vitality and u sefulness by promoting its leading

idea of a U niversal Brotherhood an d in oth er ,

practicable ways .

“
Badly as the phenomena may have been shown ,

t here have still been as yourself admit certai n ones

, ,

that are unimpeachable The raps on the table .

‘

’
when no one touches it and t h e bell soun ds in ,
‘
1 08 TH E OC C UL T W OR LD .

’
the air have you say alway s bee n regarded as
, , ,

s atisfactory &c &c Fr om this you re aso n that

,
. .
,

good test phe n omen a m ay e asily be multiplied a d ‘

n — i n an
'
’
cn
fi n l tn m
f
S o they.ca
y place where our
m agnetic and other conditions are constantly
offered an d whe r e we do not have to act with and
,

through an enfeebled fem ale body in which as we , ,

m ight say a vit al cyclo n e is ragi n g much o f the

,

time But i m perfect as may be our visible agent

.
,

yet she is the best available at present an d her ,

phen omen a h ave fo r about h alf a century astonished

an d baffled some o f the cleverest minds of the age

M
.

Tw o three little notes which I n ex t received

or

fr om the ahat m a h ad re ference to an incident I

must now describe the perfection of wh i ch as a test
,

phe n ome n on appe ars to me more complete th an tha t

o f an
y other I have yet descri b ed I t is worth .

n otice b the bye th at altho u gh the circumstances

y
- -
, ,

o f this incide n t were related in the Indian papers

at the time the h appy company o f scoff ers who
,

fl ooded the Press w ith their simple comments on the

brooch pheno m enon never cared to discuss t h e ,
“

pillow incident .
”

A cc m o pan ie d by o u r guests we went to h ave ,

l u n ch on e day o n the t op of a n e ighbo u ring hill .

The n ight before I h ad had re aso n to think that ,

my correspondent Koot oomi had been in what

, , ,

for the purpose of the present expl an ation I may ,

c all subjective commu n ication with me I do not .

go into any details bec ause it is unnecessary t o ,

trouble the ge n eral reader with im pressio n s of that

sort After discussing the subj ect in t h e morn ing
.
,
 F IR S T OC C U L T EXP ER IENC ES 109

I found on the hall table a note fr o m Koot H oo m i

-
,

in w hich he promised to gi v e me someth in g o n the

hill which should be a token of his (astral) prese n ce
near me the previous night

M
.

We went to our destin ation camped down on ,

the top of the hill and were engaged on our lunch

, ,

when adame Blavatsky said Koot H oom i was

asking where we would like to find the object he
was going to send me L et it be un derstood th at

M
.

up to this moment there had been no con v ersation

in regard to the phenomenon I was expecting The .

usual suggestion will perh aps be made th at adame

M
, ,

Blavatsky led up to the choice I actually made

“ ”
.

The fact of the matter was simply th at in the midst

of altogether other talk a dame Blavatsky pricked
u her ears on heari ng h e r occult voice — at o n ce
p
told me what was the question asked and did n ot ,

contribute to the selection made b y one single

remark on the subject In fact there was no
.
,

general discussion and it w as by an absolutel y

,

spontaneous choice of my own that I said after a ,

little reflection inside that cushion pointi n g to

,
“
,

one ag ain st wh ich one of the ladies present w as

leaning I had n o sooner u ttere d the words than

M
.

my wife cried out Oh n o let it be i n side mine ”

M
, , ,

or words to that effect I said very wel l in si de “

M
, ,
.

’
my wife s cushi o n ; adame Blavatsky asked the .

ahatma by her o w n methods if that wo uld do and ,

received an i rm at i v e reply y liberty of choice

.

as regards the place where the o b ject should b e

fou n d was th us absol ute an d unfettered by condi
tions
. The most natural choice for me to have
made un der the circumstances and havin g regard ,
so TH E OC C U L T W OR LD .

to our previous experie n ces would have been up ,

some p artic ular tree or buri ed in a p articular spot

,

of the grou n d ; but the insi de of a sew n u p cushion -

,

fortuitously chosen on the spur of a mome n t struck ,

me as my eye happened to fall upon the cushion I

,

mentioned first as a particularly good place ; an d

,
’
when I had started the idea of a cushion my wi fe s ,

amendment to the original proposal was really an

improvement for the p articular cushion then selected
,

had never been for a moment out of her own pos

session all the morning It was her usual jampan .

cushion ; she had been leaning against it all the

way from home and was le aning against it still as
, ,

her j amp an had been carri ed right up to the t op of

the hill and she had contin ued to occupy it The
,
.

cushion itself was very firmly made of wors t ed

work an d velve t and had been in our possession
,

for years It always remained when we were at

.
,

home i n the drawing room in a conspicuous corner

,
-
,

o f a certain sofa whe n ce when my wife we n t out it

, ,

would be taken to her jamp an and again brought

in on her return .

When the cushion was agreed to my wife was told

M
,

to put it under her rug an d she di d this with her ,

o w n hands inside her jampan

,
It may have been .

there about a minute when adame Blavatsky s aid

,

we could set to work to cut it open I did this .

with a penkn ife and it w as a work of some time as

, ,

t h e cushion was very securely sewn all round an d very ,

st rongly so that it had to be cut Op en almost stitc h

,

by stitch a n d no tearing was possible When on e si de

,
.

of the cover was completely ripped up we found that ,

t h e feath ers of the cushion were enclosed in a separate

 F IR S T OC C UL T EXP E R IE NC ES . II I

inn er case also sewn round all the edges There was
, .

nothing to be fou n d between the inner cushio n and t h e

outer case so we proceeded to rip up t h e inner cushion ;
and this done my wife searched amon g the feathers
, .

The first thing she foun d w as a little three !

cornered note addressed to me in the n ow familiar

M
,

handwri tin g of my occult corresponde nt It ran .

as follows
’
D EA R B R O TH ER This brooch No 2 is
‘
Y , ,
.
,

placed in th is very strange place simply to sho w

M
,

you how very easily a real phenomenon is produced ,

and how still eas i er it is to suspect its genuineness .

ake of it what you like even to classing me wit h ,

confederates .

”
“
The di i cu l ty you spoke of last night wi th respec t
to the interch an ge of our letters I will try to ,

remove . On e of our pupils will shortly visit

Lahore and the N W P ; an d an address wi ll b e
. . .

sent to you which you can always use ; unless ,

indeed you really would prefer corresponding through

—pillows ! Ple ase to remark that the present is n ot
,

dated from a L odge but from a Kashmere valley ,

.
”

While I was reading this note my wife dis ,

covered by further search among the feathers the

, ,

brooch referred to on e of her ow n a very old and

, ,

very familiar brooch which she generally left on

her dressing table when it was not in u se
-
It .

would have been impossible to invent or imagine a

proof of occult power i n the nature of mechanical ,

proofs more irresistible and convincing than

,

this incident was for us who had personal know

ledge of the v arious circums tan ces described Th e .

whole forc e an d sig n ifi can ce to us of t h e bro och

[ 12 TH E OCC UL T W OR LD .

thus returned hinged on to my subj ec tive

,

impressions of the previous night The reaso n for .

selecting the brooch as a thi n g to give us dated

M
,

no earlier than then On the hypothesis therefore

.
, ,

idiotic hypothesis as it would b e on all grounds ,

that the cushion must have been got at by adame

Blav atsky it must have bee n got at si n ce I spoke

M
,

of my impressions that morning shortly after ,

bre akfast ; but from the time o f get t in g up that

morn i n g adame Blavatsky had hardly been out of
,

our sight and had been si t ting with my wife in

,

the drawi n g room She had been doing this b y the

-
.
,
-

bye against the grain for she had writi n g which

, ,

she wanted to do in her own room but she had ,

been told by her voices to go and sit in the

drawing room with m y wife that morni n g and h ad
-
,

done so grumbling at the interruption of her work

, ,

and wholly u n able to discern any motive for the

order The motive was afterwards clear enough an d

M
.
,

had reference to the intended phenomenon It .

was desirable that we should have no a r r ier e

en sée in our minds as to what a dame Blavatsky
p
might possibly have been doing during the
morn ing in the event of the inciden t taking such a
,

turn as to make that a factor in determining its

genuineness Of course if the selection of the pillo w
.
,

could have been foreseen it would have been u n ,

necessary to vi ctimize our old L ady as we ,

generally called her The presence of the famous pil low

.

itself with my wife all t h e mornin g in the drawin g

,

room would have been enough But perfect liberty

,
.

of choi ce w as to be left to me i n selecting a cacfi e

for the brooch ; and the pillo w can have been i n
 FIR S T OCC UL T EXP ER IENCES . 1 13

’
n obody mind any more than in my own before
s
, ,

hand .

The language of the note given above embodied

many little points which had a meani n g for us .

All through it bore indirect refere n ce to the

,

conversation that had taken place at our dinner

table the previous even ing I had been talking of .

the littl e traces here an d there which the lo n g

letters from Koot H oom i bore showing in spite of ,

their splendid mastery over the language and the

vi gour of their style a turn or two of expression
,

that an Engl i hman would not have made use of ;

s

for example in the form of address which in the

, ,

two letters already quoted had been ti n ged with

Orientalism But wh at shoul d he have written 2
“ ”

M
.

somebody asked and I had said ,

under similar ,
“

circumstances an Englishman would probably have

written simply “
y dear Brother
°
Then the .
”

allusion to the Kashmir V alley as the place from

which the letter was written i n stead of from a

M
,

L odge was an allu sion to the same conversa t ion ;

,

and the underlinin g of the k w as an other as “ ”

,

adam e Blavatsky had been sayi n g that Koot

’
H o o m i s spelling of Skepticism with a k was
“ ” “ ”

not an American ism in his case but due to a ,

philological whim of his .

The incidents of the day were not quite over ,

even when the brooch was found ; for that even

i n g after we had gone home there fell from my
, ,

napkin after I had unfolded it at dinner a little

, ,

note too private an d personal to be reprinted fully

, ,

but part of which I am impel led to quote for the

-
,

sake of t h e allusion it contai ns, to occul t m odn s

1 14 TH E OC C UL T W OR LD .

er an di I
must expl ain that before star ting for

M
o
p .
,

the hill I had penned a few lines of than ks for t h e

,

promise contained in the note then received as des

cri b ed .This note I gave to adame Blavatsky to ,

despatch by occ ult methods if she had an oppe r

M
t un ity And she c arried it in her hand as she and
.

my wife wen t on i n advance in jampan s along the , ,

Simla all n ot finding an opportun ity until about

,

half way to our destination

-
Then she got rid of
.

th e note occultism only knows how

,
This circum .

stance had been spoken of at the picnic ; and as I

was openi ng the note found in the pillow someon e ,

su ggested that it would perhaps be found to con

, ,

tai n an answer to my note j ust sent It did not .

contain any all usion t o this, as the reader wi ll be

alr eady aware .

The note I received at dinn er time said — A -

“

few wor ds more Why should you have felt dis

.

appointed at not receiving a direct reply to your

last note It w as received in my room about half a
.

minute after the currents for the production of the

pillow dale had been set ready an d in full play
, , .

And there was no necessity for an answer .

It seemed to bri n g one in imagination one ste p

nearer a re alization of the state of the facts to hear
the currents employed to accomplish what woul d
”

have been a miracle for all the science of Europe ,

spoken of thus familiarly .

A miracle for all the science of Europe an d as ,

hard a fact for us nevertheless as the room in which

, ,

we sat W e k new th at the phen ome n on we had

.

seen was a won derful re ality ; that the thou ght

p ow er of a man in K ashmir had picked up a
 FIR S T OC C UL T EXPER IEIVCES . 115

material obj ect from a table in Simla and disi m , ,

t eg r at in g it by some process of which Western

science does n ot yet dream h ad passed it through ,

other matter and had there restored it to its origin al

,

solidarity the dispersed particles resumi n g their

,

precise places as before and reconstituting the ,

obj ect dow n to every line or scratch upon its sur

face (B y the b y it bore some scratches when i t
.
- -
,

emerged from the pillow wh ich it never bore before

— the initials of our friend ) A nd we knew that .

writte n notes on t angible paper had been fl ashing

backwards and forwards that day between ou r
frie n d an d ourselves thou gh hundreds of miles of
,

Himalayan mountai n s intervened between us an d ,

had been fl as hi n g b ackw ards and forwards with the

speed of electricity And yet we knew that an im
.

penetrable wall built up of its own prejudice and

,

obstinacy of its learned ig n oran ce and polished

,

dulness was established round the minds of seien

,

t i fi c men in the West as a body across which we

, ,

should never be able to c arry our facts an d ou r ex

eri e n ce And i t i s with a greater sense of Opp r e s
p .

sio n than people who have never been in a similar

position will realize that I now te l l the story I have
,

to tell and know all the while that th e solemn ac

,

curacy of its minutest de tail the utte r t r uthfulness ,

of every syllable in this record is little better than

incense to my own conscienc e —that the scientific
,

minds of the West with which of all cultiv ted minds a

my own has hitherto been most in sympathy will be ,

closed to my testimony most hopelessly Though one .

should rise from the dead 85 0 It is the old story ,

. .

It is the old story at al l eve n ts as regards t h e

,
1 16 TH E OC C UL T W OR LD .

crashing results on opin ion which suc h evidence as

th at I have been givi n g ought to have The smile
,
.

of incredulity which thinks itself so wise and

is so foolish the suspicions which flatter them
,

selves they are so cunning and are really the ,

fruit of so m uch dulness will gle am over these ,

pages and wither all their meaning— for the readers

,

who smile But I suppo se that Koot H oom i is not

.

only right in declaring the world unripe as yet for

too staggering a proof of occult power but also i n ,

t akin g a friendly i n terest as i t will be seen presently

,

th at he does i n the little book I am wri ting as one

, ,

of the infl u ences which bit by bit may sap the

foundations of dogm atism and st upidity on which ,

science which thinks itself so liberal h as latterly

M
, ,

become so firmly rooted .

The n ext letter—the third long one that I r e -

cei v e d from the ahatma reached me shortly after,

my return for the cold weather to Allahabad But I .

received one communic ation from him— a telegram

-
before its arrival on the day Of my own return to
,

All ahabad This telegram of n o great i mportance

.
,

as regards its contents which were little more than

,

an expression of thanks for some letters I had

written i n the papers w as never t heless of great
, , ,

interest indirectly affordi n g me as it ultimately did

, , ,

evidence of a kind which could appe al to other

’
minds besides my own that Koot H oom i s letters
,

were not as some ingeniou s perso n s may have been

M
,

inclined to imagine— in spite of vario u s mechanical

di cu l t ics in the way of the theory— the work of
“

adame Blavatsky Eor me k n owi n g her as inti

.
,

mately as I did th e inhere n t evidence of t h e

,
 F IR S T OC C UL T EXP ER IENCES .
m 7

style w as enough to make the suggestion that she

migh t have written them a me i e a b surdity And ,
.
,

i f it is urged that the authoress of Isis U nve i led “ ”

has certainly a command of language which re n ders

it di cu l t to say what she could not write the
m

answer is simple In the production of this book

.

she was so largely helped by the Brothers that ,

great portion s of it are not really her work at all .

She never makes any disguise of this fact though it ,

is o n e of a kind which it is useless for her to pro

claim to the world at large as it would be perfectly ,

unintelligible except to persons who knew something

,

of the external facts at all events of occultism Koot

, ,
.

’
o om i s letters as I say are perfectly unlike her own
, ,

style But in reference to some of them receivi n g

.
, ,

them as I did while she w as in the house wi t h

m e it was not mechanically possible th at she
,

might have been the wri ter Now the telegram I .

,

received at Allahabad which w as wired t o me from

M
,

J b elum was in reply specially to a le t ter I a ddressed

,

to Koot H oom i just before le avi n g Siml a an d enclosed ,

to adame Blavatsky who had started some d ays ,

previously an d was then at A m r it su r She received

,
.

the letter wit h its e n closure at A m r i t su r on the

, ,

2 7 t h of Oct ober as I c ame to know not merely

, ,

from knowing when I sent it but positively by ,

means of the envelope which she retu rn ed to me at

A llahabad by direction of Koot H oom i n ot in the ,

least knowi n g why he wished it sent to me I did .

not at first see wh at on earth w as the use of the old

M
envelope to me but I put it away an d afterwards
,
’
obtained the clue to the idea i n Koot H oom i s mi n d
when adame Bla v atsky wrote m e w ord that h e
1 18 TH E OCC UL T W OR LD .

wanted me to obtai n the original of the Jhe l um

telegram Through the agency of a frie n d connected
.

with the admi ni stratio n of the telegraph department ,

I w as enabled eventually to obtain a sight of the

original of the telegram—a message of abo u t twenty
words ; an d t h en I saw the meaning of the envelope
, .

’
The message was in Koot H oom i s own handwritin g ,

and it was an answer fro m Jh el u m to a let t er

M
which the delivery post m ark on the en v elope showed
-

to have been delivered at A m r itsur on the same day

the message was sent adame Blavatsky assuredly
.

was herself at A m r it sur on that date seeing large ,

n umbers of people there in connection wi th the work

o f the Theosophical Society and the handwriti n g of

,
’
Koot H oom i s letters nevertheless appea rs on a tele
, ,
“

gram undeniably handed in at the Jb e l u m o ce on

’
that date So although some of Koot H oo m i s
.
,

letters passed through her hands to me she is proved ,

not to be their writer as she is certainl y not the

,

producer of their handwritin g .

Koot H oom i was probably himself actually at or

M
n ear J b elum at the time as he came down in to the
,

midst of the world for a few days under peculiar ,

circumstances to see adame Blavatsky : the letter

M
,

I received at Allahabad shortly after my return

explained this .

adame Blavatsky had been deeply hurt by the

behaviour of some incredul ous persons at S imla
whom she had met at ou r house and elsewhere wh o , ,

being unable to assimilate the experience they had

had of her phenomena got b y degrees i n to that
, ,

hostile frame of mind which is one of the phases of

feeling I am now used to seeing developed Pe r .
 F IR S T OC C UL T EXPE R IENC ES . 1 19

fec t l y unable to show how the phenomena can be

the r esult of fraud but thin king that because they
, ,

do not under stand them they must be fraudulent

, ,

people of a certain temperament become possessed

with the spirit which animated persecution by reli
g ions authorities in the infancy of physical science .

And by a piece of bad luck a gentlem an who was

, ,

thus affected was annoyed at a trifling indiscretion on

the par t of C olonel Olcott who in a letter to on e
, ,

of the Bombay papers quoted some expressions h e

M
,

had made use of in praise of the Theosophical

Society and its good influence on the natives .

All the irritation thus set up work ed on adam e ,

’
B l av at sky s excitable te mperament to an extent
which only those who know her will be able to
’
imagine The allusions in Koot H oom i s lette r will
.

now be understood A fter some reference to impor

.

tant business with which he had been concerned

since writi ng to me last Koo t oomi went on
,
H

“
You see then that we have weightier matters
, ,

than sm al l societies to think about ; yet the Theo

sophical Society must not be n eglected The affair .

has taken an impu l se which if not well guided , ,

‘

might beget very evi l issues R ecall to mind the .

avalanches of your admired Alps and remember ,

that at fi rst their mass is small and their momentu m

,

little A trite comparison you may say but I can

.
, ,

not thin k of a better illustration when viewin g the

gradual aggregation of trifling events growing into
a menacin g destiny for the Theosophical Society .

It came quite forcibly upon me the other day as I

was coming down the defi l es of Kon e n l un —Kara
k oru m y ou call th em—an d saw an avalanch e tumble .
1 20 TH E OCC UL T W OR LD .

I h ad gone personally to our chief and was

crossing over t o Lh adak on my way home What .

oth er speculations might have followed I can not

say But just as I w as takin g advantage of the
.

a wful stillness which u sually follows such cataclysms ,

to get a clearer vi ew of the prese n t situation an d ,

’
the disposition of the mystics at Simla I was ‘
,

rudely recalled to my senses A familiar voice as .

,
’
shrill as the one a t tributed to S ar aswat i s pea
cock — which if we may credit tradition frightened
, ,

o ff the K ing of the Nagas — shouted al o n g t h e

currents Koot H oom i com e quicker and ,

help me ! an d in her exciteme n t forgot she was

”
, ,

speaking English I must say th at the

. old ‘

’ ’
Lady s telegrams do strike one like stones from a
catapult .

What could I do but come A rgument thro u gh .

space with one who was in cold despair and in a

state of moral chaos was useless So I de t ermined
,
.

to em erge from a seclusion of many years an d spe n d

M
,

some time with her to comfort her as well as I

could But o u r friend is not on e to c ause her mi n d
.

to refl ect the philosopical resignation of arc u s

Aurelius The Fates n ever wrote that she could

.

say It is a roy al thing when o n e is doin g good

’
to hear evil spoken of himself I had come for a .

fe w days but now fi n d that I myself cannot e n dure

,

for any length of time the stifling magnetism even

of m
y own cou n trymen I have seen some . of our
proud old Sikhs d r unk and staggering over the
marble pavement of their sacred temple I have .

heard an English speaking V akil decl aim agai n st

-

Yoy t ya an d Theosophy as a delusion and a lie,

 FIR S T OC C UL T EXP ER IENC ES . 12 1

declari n g that Eng lish science had emancipate d

them from such degrading superstitions and saying ,

that it was an insult to India to maint ain that the

dirty Yogees and S u n u yasis knew anythin g about
the mysteries of Nature or that any living man can , ,

or ever could perform any phenomena I turn my ,

.

face homeward to morrow -

.

I have telegraphed you my thanks for

your obliging compliance with my wishes in the
mat ter you allude to in your letter of the 2 4t h
R eceived at A m r i t su r on the 2 7t h at 2 P
I got your letter about thi rty miles beyond B aw n l
, ,
. M .

Pi n der five minutes later and had an ackn o w l edg

,

me n t wired to you from Jhelum at 4 P

same afternoon Ou r modes of accelerated delivery
on the
.
,

. M .

an d quick communications are not then as you

*
, ,

will see to be despised by the Western world or

M
, ,

n ot e
M an

of
y ol d

t h e p erf ect
d
In i an s,
ly
an d som e b k
bl
oo s

i n com p r eh en si e w ay n ew s of e e n t s t r an sp i ri n g
b
a ou t th e In i an d
v
ut i n y , ta k e

at a d i st an ce wou l d som e t i m es b e fou n t o h a e p e n et r at e t h e n a t i ed v d v

bz a aa r s bf it e or e d h ad r each e by
t h e Europ e an s a t su ch p ace s the l
q ik t
u c es fm ean s ti
o th d p l Th xp l t
com m u n i ca on at ei r is osa e e an a ion

I h v a e b i f een d i th t th B th
n orm e , whs w ax t
e ro e r s, o er e an i ou s o

sa v t h B i ti h p w
e e r st th t t i o er g di g i t a b tt g v
a m e, re ar n as a e er o er n

m en t f I di t h
or n y ayt f
an t iv
an l th t s s em ld t k it o na e ru e a co u a e s

pl ace , w q i k t di t i b t i f
ere u c o ti b y th i
s r w u e th d n or m a on e r o n m e o s

wh en th i ld p t t q t p p l x i t
s c ou o era e t o d di ui e g o u ar e c em e n an scou r a e

ne w i i g
r s n Th s .ti t th t
e sen t d th
m en th i ta an i m a e em en , an m a e s

th em t lls i d th ,
i flan f th
e Thn p h i l S i ty i
u en ce I di i
o e eo so ca oc e n n a s

on e wh i h t h c G v t w
e ld d wi ly t
o ern m en t ou d o se o coun en an ce an

su pp t or Th
.
pi e di t d g i t i t f d
sus c1on s i
re c e th fi t a a ns s ou n er s n e rs

i t
n s a n ce , i d t d m s th y w
i r ec e w x as bl gh
e b t w
er e , ere e cusa e e n ou ,
u no

th t th
a h e t c f th
ar ac er wh l v
o t i b tt
e d t d it
o e m o em en s e er un er s o o ,

w ld b
ou w ll f e th e ffi f th
or B it i h G v
e o cers t i oI di e r s o er n m e n n n a

wh o h v a y e pp t an i ty f th
o ki d t d wh t v t h y
or un o e n , o o a e er e can

to w d ar h wi g t h i
s s o y p t h y wi th t h p
n e r s m t f th
a S oci t y e r om o ers o e e ,

wh o t
m us ,i ly h v
n ecessar a ph il l ta k t
,
a ep fo wi t h o t s h
n u s o er rm u uc

m an if ta ti n s f y pat h y
es o o s m .

6
122 TH E OC C UL T W OR LD .

e ven the Ayran English speaking and skeptical -

vaki l s

M
.

I could n ot ask a more j udicial frame of mind

i n an ally than that in which you are begi n n ing
to find yourself y brothe
. r
y o u have already ,

changed your attitude toward us in a distinct de

gree Wh at is to prevent a perfect mutual under
.

st anding one day ? It is not possible that

there should be much more at best than a b en ev o
lent neutral ity shown by your people towards ours .

There is so very minute a point of contact between

the two civilizations they respectively represent that ,

one might almost say they could not touch at all .

Nor would they but for the few—shall I say eccen

tri es t—who like you dre am better and bolder
,
'

, ,

dreams than the rest and provoking thought bring

, , ,
”
the two together by their own admirable audacity .

The letter before me at present is occupi ed so

much with matters personal to myself that I can ,

only make quotations here and there ; but these

are speci ally interesting as i n vesting wi t h an air
,

of reality subjects which are generally treated in

vague and pompous language Koot H oo m i w as .

anxious to g uard me from ideal izi n g the Brothers

too m uch on the strengt h of my admiration for their
marvellous powers .

“
Are you certain he writes that the pleasant
“
,
”
,

impression you n ow may have from our cor r espon

de n ce would not i n stantly be destroyed u pon seeing
me And which of our holy s/zal er on s has had the

M
.

benefit of e v en the little university e ducation and

i n kling of Europe an man ners that h as fallen to my
share An insta n ce : I desired adame Bl avatsky to
.
 F IR S T OC C UL T EXPER IENCES . 123

select amon g the two or three A ryian Pu n j ab ees

,

who study Y og V idya and ar e natural mystics one ,

whom without disclosing myself to him too much

, ,

I could designate as an age n t between yourself an d

us and whom I was anxious to despatch to you
,

with a letter of introduction and have h i m to speak ,

to you of Yoga and its practical eff ects This young .

gentleman who is as pure as purity itself whose aspi

, ,

rations and thoughts are of the m ost spiritual eu ,

nobling kind and who merely through self exertion

, ,
-
,

is able to penetrate into the region s of the formless

world— this young m an is not fit for a drawing
room Having explained to him that the greatest
.

good m ight res ult for his country if he helped you

M
to organize a branch of English mystics by proving ,

to them practically to what wonderful results led

the study of Yog adame Blavatsky asked him in
, ,

gu arded and very del icate terms to change his

M
,

dress and tur ban before starting for Allahabad ;

for—though she di d not give him this reason—they
were very dirty and slovenly You are to tell r . .

Sinnett she said that you bring him a letter from

, ,

t h e Brother with whom he corresponds

,
but if he
asks you anything either of h i m or the other
Brothers answer him simply and truthfully that
,

you are not allowed to expatiate upon the subject .

Speak of Yog and prove to him what powers you

M
,

have attained This you n g man who had consented

.
,

wrote later on the following curious letter

’
‘
adame he said you who preach the highest
, ,
‘

standard of morality of truthfulness &c you would

, ,
.
,

have me play the part of an impostor You ask .

m e to chan g e my cloth es at t h e ris k of giving a

124 TH E OC C UL T W OR LD .

false idea of my personality and mystifying the

gentleman you send me to Here is an
"

illustration of the di cu l t ies under which we have

to labour Powerless to send you a neophyte
.

before you have pledged yoursel f to us we have to ,

either keep back or despatch to you one who at ,

best would shock if not inspire you at once with

, , ,

disgust .
”

The presen t letter yields only little more that it

seems desirable to quote In a gu ar de d way Koot .
,

H o o m i said that as often as it was practicable to

communicate with me whether by letters
,
“

( i n or out of pillows ) or personal visits i n astral

form it will be done But remember he added

,
.
”
, ,
“
that Simla is feet higher than Allahabad ,

and the di i cu l t ies to be surmounted at the latter

ar e tremendous To the ordinary mind feats of
”
.
,
“
m agic ar e hardly distinguish able by degrees of
”

di i cul t y and the little hi n t contained in the last

,

sentence may thus help to show that magical as ,

the phenomena of the Br others appear (as soon as

M
the dull witted hypothesis of fraud is abandoned)
-
,

they are magic of a kin d which is amenable to its o w n

l aws . ost of the bodies in N ature were elements ,

in the infancy of chemistry ; but in turn the n u m

ber is reduced by deeper and deeper researches into
the law of combina t i ons— and so with magic To .

ride the clouds in a basket or send messages under ,

the sea would have been m agic in on e ag e of the

,

world but becomes the commonpl ace of the n ext

, .

The S i ml a phenomena ar e m agic for the m ajority of

this generation but psychological telegraphy itself
,

may become if not the property of m an ki n d a few

,
 FIR S T OC C UL T EXP ER IENC ES . 12
5

generation s he n ce a fac t of science as undeniable as

,

the di ffere n tial calculus and known to be attainable

,
'

by i ts own appropria te students That it is easier .

to accomplish it and cognate achieveme n ts in cer ,

tain strata of the atmosphere rather than in others ,

is already a practical suggestion which tends to drag

it down from the realms of magic ; or as the same ,

idea might be differently expressed to lift it towards ,

the region of exact science .

I am here enabled to insert the greater part of a

letter addressed by Koot IIoo m i to the friend
referred to in a former passage as having opened ,

up a correspondence with him in reference to the

idea which he con templated under certain condi
tions of devoting himself entirely to the pursuit of
,

occultism This letter throws a great deal of light

.

upon some of the metaphysical conceptions of the

occultists and their metaphysics be it remembered
, , ,

are a great deal more than abstract speculation .

D EA R SIR — Availing of the first moments of

leisure to formally answer your letter of the 1 7th
ultimo I will now report the result of my confer
,

ence with our chiefs upon the proposition therein

contai n ed trying at the same time to answer all
,

your questions .

“
I am first to than k you on behal f of the whole
section of our fraternity that is especially interested
in the welfare of In dia for an off er of help whose i m
portance an d sincerity no one can doubt Tracing our .

lineage through the vicissitudes of Indian civilization

from a remote past we have a love for our mother
,

land no d ee p and passion ate that it has survived

126 TH E OC C UL T W OR LD .

even the bro adening an d cosmopoli t anizin g (pardon

me if that is not an English word ) effect of our
studies in the l aws o f Nature And so I an d .
,

every other Indian patriot feel the stro n gest grati,

tude for every kind word or deed that is given in

her behalf .

“
Im agine then that sin ce we are all co n v ince d
, ,

th at the degradation o f India is l argely due to the

suffocation of her ancient spiritu ality a n d that ,

wh atever helps to restore that higher standard of

thou ght and morals must be regener atin g in nat ional
,

force every one of us would naturally an d without

,

urgi n g be disposed to push forward a society who se

,

proposed formation is under deb ate especially if it ,

really is meant t o become a society unt ainted by

sel fi sh motive and whose object is the revival of
,

ancien t science and tendency to rehabilitate o u r

, ,
’
country in the world s estimatio n Take this for .

granted without further asseverations But you .

know as any m an who has re ad history that

, ,

patrio t s m ay burst their hearts in vain if circum

stances are against them Sometimes it has hap .

pened that no human power not even the fury and ,

force of the loftiest patriotism has been able to ,

bend an iron destiny aside from its fi xed course ,

and nations have gone ou t like torches dropped

into the water in the engulfing bl ackness of ruin .

’
Thus we who have the sense of our country s fall
, ,

though not th e power to lift her up at once cannot

.

do as we would either as to general affairs or this

particular on e And with the readiness but not
.
,

the right to meet your adv an ces more th an h alf

way we are forced to say that the idea e n tertai n ed
,
 M
F IR S T OC C UL T E XPER IENCES . 127

by r Sinnett and yourself is impracticable in

.

part. It is in a word impossible for myself or

, ,

any Brother or eve n an advanced neophyte to be

, ,

specially assigned and set apart as the g uiding

spirit or chief of the Anglo Indian branch -
We .

know it would be a good thing to have yo u and a

fe w of your coll eagues regularly instructed and
shown the phenomena and their rational e For .

tho u gh non e but you few would be convinced still i t ,

would be a decided gain to have even a few English

men of fi rst class ab ility enlisted as students of
,
-
,

Asi atic Psychology We are aw are of all this and

.
,

much more ; hence we do not refuse to correspond

with and otherwise help you in v arious ways B u t
,
.

what we do refuse is to take an y other respo n sibility

,

upo n ourselves th an this periodical correspondence

and assistance wi th our advice and as occasion , ,

fa v ours such tangible possibly visible proofs as wou ld

, , , ,

satisfy you of our presen ce and interest To guide .

“

you we will n ot con sen t However much we may

.

b e able to do yet we can promise only to give you

,

the full measure of your deserts D eserve much .

,

and w e will prove honest debtors ; little and you ,

need only expect a compensating return This is .

’
not a mere text taken from a schoolboy s copybook ,

though it sounds so but on ly t h e clumsy stateme n t of

,

the law of our order and we cannot transcen d it

,
.

Utterly unacquainted with Western especially En g ,

lish modes of thought an d action were we to

, ,

meddle in an org aniz ation of such a kind you ,

woul d fi n d all your fi xed habits and traditions i n

cess antly clashi n g if not with the new aspirations
,

themselves at least with their modes of realizatio n

,
12 8 TH E OC C UL T W OR LD .

M
as s uggested by us You could not get unanimous
.

co n sent to go even the length you m ight yourself .

I have asked r Si n n ett to draft a pl an embodying

.

your joint ideas fo r submission to o u r chiefs this ,

seemin g the shortest w ay to a mutu al agreement .

’
Under our guidance your branch could not live
‘
,

you not being men to be guided at al l in that sense .

H e n ce the society would be a premature birth and

a failure looki n g as incongruous as a Paris D au
,

mont drawn by a team of Indian y aks or camels .

Y o u ask us to teach you true science— t h e occult

aspect of the known side of N ature ; an d this yo u
think can be as easily done as asked You do not .

see m to realize the treme n dous di i cu l t ie s in the

"

way of impartin g e v en the rudiments of ou r scie n ce

to those who h av e bee n t rained in the famili ar me
t h o ds o f yours . You do n o t see that the m ore you
have of the one the less capable you are of in st i n c
t i v el y comprehending the other for a m an can only
,

t hink in his worn groo v es and unless he has the

,

cour age to fill up t hese an d m ake new ones for

,

himself he must perforce tra vel on the old lin es

,
.

A llo w me a few instances In conformity with

.

exact science you would defi ne but one cosmic

e n ergy and see no difference between the energy
,

expended by the traveller who pushes aside the

bush that obstructs his path and the scien tific ex
,

e r i m en t e r who expends an equal a m ount of energy

p
in setting a pe n dulum i n motion We do ; for we .

k n ow there is a world of difference between the two .

The one uselessly dissipates and scatters force the ,

other concentrates and stores it And here ple as e .

understan d that I do n ot refer to the relative utility

 F IR S T OC C UL T EXPER IENC ES . 1 29

of the two as one m i ght imagine but om y to t h e

, ,

fact that in the one c as e there is but brute force

flu n g out wi thout any transmutation of that brute
energy into the higher poten t ial form of sp i ritual
dynamics and in the other there is just that
, .

Please do not consider me vaguely metaphysical .

The idea I wish to convey is that the result of the

highest intellection in the scientifically occupied
brain is the evolution of a sublimated form of spiri
tual energy which in the cosmic action is produc
, , ,

tive of illimitable results ; while the automatically

acting brain holds or stores up in itself only a cer
, ,

tain q uantum of brute force that is unfruitful of

benefit for the individual or humanity The human .

brain is a n exhaustless generator of the most refined

quality of cosmic force out of the low br ute energy ,

of Nature ; and the complete adept has made him

self a centre from wh ich irradiate potentialities
that beget correlations upon correlations through
[ Eons of time to come This is the key to t h e
.

mystery of his being able to project into and ma

t er i al iz e in the vi sible world the forms that his
imagination has constructed out of inert cosmic
matter in the invisible world The adept does not
.

create anything new but only utilizes and m an ip u

,

lates materials which Nature has in store around

him and material which throughout eter nities
, , ,

has passed through all the forms He has but .

to choose the one he wants and recall it into,

obj ective existence Would not this sound to

.

’ ’
one of your learned biologists like a madman s
‘

dream ?
Y ou say there are few branches of science with
1 30 TH E OCC UL T W OR LD .

which you do not possess more or less acquaintance ,

and that you believe you are doing a certai n

amount of good h aving acquired the position to do
,

this by long years of study D oub t less you do ;

.

b u t will you permi t me to sketch for you still more

clearly the difference between the mo de s o f physical
( called exact often out of mere compliment ) an d

M
metaphysical sciences The latter as you know
.
, ,

being incapable of verification before mixed

audiences is classed by
,
r Tyndall wi t h the
.

fictions of poetry The realistic science of fact on

.

the other hand is utterly prosaic Now for us .

, ,

poor unknown philanthropists no fact of either of

,

these sciences is interesti n g except in the degree of

its potentiality of moral results and in the r atio of
,

its usefulness to mankind And what in its proud

.
,

isolation can be more utterly in differen t to e v ery

M
,

one and everything or more bound to nothin g

,

but the selfish requisites for its advan cement then ,

this materialistic scien ce of fact ? a

y I ask then ,

what have the laws of Faraday Tyndall or

M
, ,

others to do with philanthropy in their abstract rela

tions with humanity viewed as an intelligent whole ?
,

What care they for an as an isolated atom of

this great an d harmonious whole even though they ,

may be sometimes of practical use to h i m ? C osmic

energy is something eternal and incessant ; matter
is indestructible : and there stand the scientific facts .

D oubt them and you are an ignor amus ; den y

,

them a dang erous lunatic a bigot ; pretend to i m

, ,
f

prove u pon the theories eu impertinent ch arlatan

-
.

A n d yet even these scien tific facts never suggested

any proof to t h e world of experimenters that
 F IRST O CC UL T EXPERIENCES .
3!

Nature consciously prefers that matter should be

indestructible under organic rather than inorganic
forms and that she works slowly b u t incessantly
,

towards the real ization of this object— t h o evo

l u t io n of conscious life out of inert materi al .

Hence their ignorance about the scattering and

,

c oncretion of cosmic energy in its metaphysical

’
aspects their di v ision about D arwin s theories their
, ,

uncertainty about the degree of conscious life in

separate elements and as a necessity the scornful
, , ,

rejection of every phenomenon outside their own

stated conditions and the very idea of worlds of
,

semi intelligent if not intellectual forces at work in

-

hidden corners of Nature To give you another

.

practical illustration— w e see a vast difference

between the two qualities of two equal amounts of
energy expended by t w o m en of whom on e let us, ,

suppose is on h is way to his daily quiet work and

, ,

another on his way to denounce a fellow creature -

at the police stat ion while the m en of science see

-
,

none ; and w e— n ot they see a specific difference

-

between the energy in the motion of the wind and

that of a revol v ing wheel And why ? Because.

every thought of man upon being evolved passes

into the inner w orld an d beco m es an active entity
,

by associating itself co alescing we might term it

, ,

with an elemental— that is to say with one of the ,

semi— intell igent forces of the kingdoms It sur

vives as an active intell igence—a creature of the
.

mi n d s begettin g— for a longer or shorter period

’

proportionate with the original intensity of the

cerebral action which generated it Thus a good
.
,

thought is perpetuate d as an active b en efi cen t ,

( 32 TH E O CC UL T W OR LD .

power an evil on e as a m al efi ce n t demon A n d so

, .

m an is continually peopli n g his current in space

with a world of his own crowded with the offsprings ,

of his fancies desires impulses and passions ; a

, , ,

curren t which r e acts upon any sensitive or nervous

-

organiz ation which comes in co n tact with it in ,

proportion to its dyn amic intensity The Buddhist .

’
calls this his Skan dh a the Hin du gives it the
’
name of Karma ‘
The adept evolves these
.

shapes consciously ; other men throw them off

unconsciously The adept to be successful and
.
,

preserve his power must dwell in solitude and , ,

more or less within his own soul Still less does .

exact science perceive that while the buildi ng ant ,

the busy bee the n idifaci en t bird accumulates e ach

, ,

i n its own humble way as much cosmic energy

in its potential form as a H aydn a Plato or a , ,

plou ghman turning his furrow in theirs ; t h e ,

hunter who kills game for his pleasure or profi t or ,

the positivist who applies his intellect to proving

that X are wastin g and scattering
z

energy no less than the tiger which springs u pon

its prey They all rob Nature instead of enriching
.

her and will all in the degree of their intelligence

, , ,

find themselves accountable .

“
Exact experimental science has nothing to do
with morality virtue ph il an t h r opy t h e r efor c can
, ,
m

make no claim upon our help u ntil it blends itself

wi t h metaphysic s Being but a cold classification
.

of facts outside man and existing before and after ,

him her domain of usefulness ceases for us at the

,

outer boundary of these facts ; and whatever the

inferences and results for human ity from the
 FIRS T OC C UL T EXPERIENCES .
33

m aterials acquired by her method she little cares

,
.

Therefore as our sphere lies entirely outside hers

,
’
as far as the path of Ur an u s is outside the Earth s
—w e distinctly refuse to be broken on any wheel of
her construction Heat is but a mode of motion
.

t o her and motion developes heat but why the

, ,

mechanical motion of the revolving wheel should

be metaphysically of a higher value than the heat
into which it is gradually transformed she has yet
to discover The philosophical and tran scendental
.

( hence absurd) notion of the medi aeval Theosophists

that the final progress of h u man labour aided by the ,

incessan t discoveries of man must one day culmi

,

’
n ate in a process which in imitation of the Sun s
,

e nergy— i n i t s capacity as a direct motor— shall

result in the evolution of nutritious food out of
inorganic matter is unthinkable for men of science
,
.

Were the sun the great nourishing father of our

,

planetary system to hatch granite chickens out of

,

a boulder under test conditions t o—

‘ ’
morrow they ,

( the men of science) would accept it as a scientific

fact without wasting a regret that the fowls were
not ali v e so as to feed the hu n gry and the starving .

But let a sh a ber on cross the Him alayas in a time

of famine and multiply sacks of rice for the perish
ing multitudes— as he could— an d your magistrates
and collectors would p r ob al l y lodge him in j ail t a
m ake him confess wh at gran ary he had rob b ed .

This is exact science and your realistic world And °

though as you say you are impressed by the vast

, ,
’
extent of the world s ignorance on every sub j ect ,

which you pertine n tl y design ate as a few palpable ‘

facts coll ected an d roughly generalized an d a ,

1 34 TH E OCC UL T W OR L D .

’
technical j argo n invented to hide man s ignorance
’
o f al l that lies behind these facts and though you ,

speak of your faith in the infinite possibilities of

Nature yet you are content to spend your life in a
,

work which aids only that same exact science .

Of your several questions we will first discuss if ,

you please the one relating to the presumed failure

,
’
of the Fraternity to leave any mark upon the‘

’
history of the world They ought you think to
.
, ,

have been able with their extraordinary advantages

, ,

to have gathered into their schools a considerable

‘

portion of the more enlighte n ed minds of every

’
race . How do you know they have made no such
m ark ? A r e you acquainted with their eff orts suc ,

cesses and failu res ?

,
ave you any dock upon
which to arraig n them ? ow could your world
collect proofs of the doings of men who have sedu
l ou sl y kept closed every possible door of approach
by which the inquisitive could spy upon them ?
The prime condition of their success was that they
should never be supervised or obstructed What they .

have done they know ; all that those outside their

circle could perceive w as results the causes of whic h ,

were masked from vie w To account for these .

resul t s men have in diff ere n t ages invented theories

, , ,

of the interposition of gods special providences , ,

fates the benign or hostile influen ce of the stars

,
.

There never was a time withi n or before the so

called historical period when our predecessors were
’
not m oulding events and making history the ‘
,

facts of whi ch were subsequently and invariably

distorted by histori ans to suit contemporary pre
j udices Are you quite sure that the visible heroic
.
 FIRST O CC UL T EXP ER IENCES . 13
5

fi gures in the successive dramas were not often

b u t their puppets ? We never pretended to be
able to draw nations in the m ass to this or that
’
crisi s in spite of the general drift of the world s
cosmic relatio n s The cycles must run their rounds
. .

Periods of m ental and moral light and darkness

succeed each other as day does night The major .

an d minor yugas must be accomplished according

to the established order of thi n gs And we borne .

,

along on the mighty tide can only modi fy and ,

direct some of its minor currents If we had the .

powers of the imaginary Personal G od and the uni ,

versal and immutable laws were but toys to play with ,

then indeed might w e h av e created conditions that

'

, ,

would have turned this earth into an arcadia fo r

lofty souls But having to deal with an immutable
.

l a w being ourselves its creat ures we have had to

, ,

do what we could and rest thankful There have

,
.

been times when a considerable portion of e n

‘
_

’
lightened minds were taught in ou r schools

M
.

Such times there were in India Persia Egypt , , ,

Greece a nd R ome But as I remarked in a letter

,
.
,
m

to r Sinnett the adept is the e or escen ce of his

.
,

age and comparatively few ever appear in a single

,

century Earth is the battle ground of moral no

.
-

less than of physical forces and the boisterousness ,

of an imal passion under the stimulus of the rude

,

energies of the lower group of etheric agents always ,

tends to quench spiri tuality What else could one .

expect of men so nearly related to the lower ki ng

dom from which they evolved ? T r ue also our ,

numbers are j ust n ow diminishing but this is ,

bec ause as I have said we are of t h e human race

, , ,
c3 6 TH E 0 0 0 UL T W OR LD
.

subject to its cyclic impulse and powerless to tur n ,

that back upon itself C an you t u rn the G unga

.

or t h e Bramaputra back to its sources ; can yo u

e ven dam it so that its piled u p waters will not -

overflow the banks ? No b u t you may draw the

stream part ly into canals and utilize its hydraulic ,

power for the good of mankind So we .

,

who cannot st0 p the world from going in i ts

destined direction are yet able to divert some part
,

of its energy into useful channels Think of us as .

demi gods and my explanation will n ot satisfy you ;

-
,

view us as simple men—perhaps a little wiser as the

result of special study—and it ought to answer your
objection .

“ ‘
W hat good you say
’
is to be attained fo r
, ,
‘

my fellows and myself (the two are inseparable ) by

’
these occult sciences ? When the natives see th at
an interest is taken by the English and even by ,

some high 0 cial s l n India i n their ancestral science ,

and philosophies they will themselves take open ly

,

to their study A n d when they come to realize

.

’
that the old divin e phenomena were not miracles
‘
,

but scientific eff ects superstition will abate Thus

,
.
,

the greatest evil that now oppresses and retards the

reviv al of Indian civilization will in time di sappear .

The present tendency of education is to make them

materialistic and root out spirituality With a .

proper understanding of what their ancestors meant

by their writings and teachings education would ,

become a blessing whereas now it is often a curse

,
.

At present the non educated as much as the learned

-
,

natives regard the English as too prejudiced because

, ,

of th eir C hristian religion and modern scienc e to ,

 FIRST O CC UL T EXPE RIENCES . 1 37

car e to understand them or their traditions They .

mutually hate and mistrust each other This .

ch anged attitude towards the older philosophy would

M
,

influence the native princes and wealthy men to

endow normal school s for the education of pundits ;
and old SS hitherto buried out of the reach of
.
,

the Europe ans would again come to light an d with

, ,

them the key to much of that which was hidden for

ages from the po ular understanding for which your
p ,

skeptical S an scri t ist s do not care which your r e ,

li g iou s missionaries do not dar e to understand ,

.

Science would gain much humanity e v erything,

.

U nder the stimulus of the Anglo Indian Th e oso -

p h i c al Society we m ight in time see another golden

,

age of Sanscrit literature .

“
If we look at C eylon we shall see the m os t .

scholarly priests combinin g under the lead of the

,

Theosophical Society in a new exegesis of Buddhistic

,

philosophy and at G alle on the 1 5t h of September

,

a secular Theosoph i cal School for the teaching of

Singhalese youth opened with an attendance of
,

over three hundred scholars ; an example about to

be imitated at three other points i n that isl and .

If the Theosophic al Society as at present con

,
‘

’ ’
stituted has indeed no real vitality and yet in
,
‘
,

its modest way has done so much practical good ,

how much greater results might n ot be anticipated

from a body organized upon the better plan you
could suggest ?
Th e same causes that are materializing the Hindu
min d are equally aff ecti n g all Western th o ught .

Education enthron es skepticism but imprisons ,

S piritu ality
. You can do i m mense good by helping
138 TH E OCC UL T W OR LD .

to give the Western nations a secure basis upon

which to reconstruct their crumbling faith And .

what they need is the evidenc e that Asiatic psycho

logy alone supplies G ive this and you will confer
.
,

happiness o f mi n d on th ousands The era of blind .

fai t h is gone ; that of inquiry is here Inquiry .

th at only unmasks error withou t discovering any ,

t h ing upon which the soul can build will but make ,

iconoclasts Iconoclasm from its very destructive

.
,

n ess can give nothing ; it can only raze But man

,
.

cannot rest satisfied with bare negation A gn ost i .

ci sm is but a temporary halt This is the moment .

to guide the recurrent impulse which must soon

come and which will push the age to wards extrem e
,

a theism or drag it b ack to extreme sacerdotalism

, ,

if it is not led to the primitive soul satisfying philo -

sophy of t h e Aryans He who observes wh at is

.

going on to day on the one ha n d among the

-
,

C atholics who are bree di n g miracles as f as t as the

,

white ants do their young on the other among the ,

free thinkers who are converting by masses into

~

, , ,

Agnostics— will see the drift of things The age i .

s

revelling at a de b auch of phen omena The s ame .

marvels that the spiritualists quote in opposition to

the dogmas of eternal perdition and atonement the ,

C atholics swarm to witness as proof of their faith in

miracles The skeptics make game of both All
. .

are blind and there is no one to lead them You .

and your colleagues may help to furnish the materials

for a needed universal religious philosophy ; one
impregnable to scientific assault because itself the ,

finality of absolute science and a religion that is ,

indeed worthy of the name since i t includ es t h e

 FIRST OC C UL T EXPERIENCES . 1 39

relations of man physical t o man psychical and o ,

the two to all that is above and below them I: .

not this worth a slight sacrifi ce ? And if after ,

reflectio n you should decide to enter this n e w

,

career let it be known that your society is no

,

miracle mongering or banqueting club nor specially

-
,

given to the study of phenomenalism It s chief .

aim is to extirpate current superstitions and skep t i

ci sm ,
and from long se aled ancient fountai n s to
-

draw the proof that man m ay sh ape his own future

destiny and know for a certainty that he can live
,
’
hereafter if he only wills and that all phenomena
, ,
‘

are but manifestations of natural law to try to ,

comprehend which is the duty of every intelligen t

being .
”

I have hitherto said nothing of the circumstances

under which these vari ous letters reached my h ands
nor in comparison with the intrinsic interest of the
,

ideas they embody can the phenomenal conditions

,

under which some of them were delivered be r e ,

garded as otherwise than of secondary interest for

readers who appreciate their philosophy B ut every .

bit of evidence which helps to exhibi t the nature of

the powers which the adepts exercise is worth atten ,
~

tion while the rationale of such powers is still hid

,

den from the world The fact of their existen ce

.

can o n ly be established by the accumulation of such

evidence as long as we are unable to prove their

M
,

possibility by d p r i m analysis of the latent capaci

ties i n m an .

y friend to whom the last letter was addressed

wrote a long reply an d subsequently an additional
,

letter for Koot B oomi which he forwarded to m e, ,

 UL T LD

M
1 40 TH E OC C W OR .

asking me to read and then seal it up and send or

‘

give it to adame B l av at z ky for transmission she ,

being expected at about that ti m e at my house at

Allahabad on her way down country from A m r i t su r
and Lahore where as I ha v e already indi cated she

M
, , ,

had stayed for some little time after our household

broke up for the season at Simla I did as desired .
,

and gave the letter to adame B l avatsky after ,

gumming and sealing the stout envelope in which

it was forwarded That evening a few hours after

M
,
.

wards ou returning home to dinner I found that

, ,

the letter had gone and had come back again ,

.

adame Blavatsky told me that she had been talk

ing to a visitor in her own room and had been ,

fingering a blue pencil 0 11 her writing table without -

noticing what she was doing when she suddenly ,

noticed that the paper on which she was scribbling

was my letter that the addressee had duly taken
possession of by his own meth o ds an hour or two
, ,

before She found that she had while taking about

.
,

something else unconsciously written on the euve

,

lope the words which it then bore R ead and r e ,

“

turned with than ks and a few commentaries Please

,
.

open I examined the envelope carefully an d it

.
,

was absolutely i n t act its very c omplete fastenin gs

,

havi n g remained j ust as I arranged them Slitting .

it open I found the letter which it had contained

,

when I sent it and another from Koot H oom i t o

,

me cri ticizing the former with the help of a succes

,

sion of pencil figures that referred to p ar t icu l a

passages in the original letter — another illustration
of the p as sage of matter through matter which for , ,

thousands of people who have had pe rson al e x pe ri ~

 F IRST OC C UL T EXPERIENCES . x4 :

ence of it in Spiritualism is as certain a fact of

,

nature as the rising of the sun and which I have

,

now not only encou ntered at spiritu al sécm ces but '
, ,

as this record will have shown on many qccasi on s

,

when there is no motive for suspecting any other

agency than that of living beings with faculties of
whi ch we may all possess the undeveloped germ s ,

though it is only in their case that knowledge has

brought these to phenomenal fruition .

Sceptical critics putti n g aside the coll ateral

M
,

beari n g of all the previous phenomena I have de

scribed and dealing with this letter incident by
,

itself alone will perhaps say—C f course

,
adame
Blavatsky had ample time to open the envelope by
such means as the mediums who profess to get
answers to sealed letters from the spirit world
are in the habit of employing But fi rstly the
.
, ,

Jhelum telegram proof and the in herent evidence of

,

the whole correspondence show that the letters

M
,

which come to me in that which I recognize as

’
Koot H o om i s han dwriting are not the work of
,

adame Blavatsky at all events ; secondly let the

, ,

incident I have j ust descr ibed be compared with

another i il ust r at ion of an exactly similar incident
which occurred shortly afterwards under different
circumstance s Koot B oomi had sent me a letter
addressed to my friend to read and forward on .

On the sub j ect of this letter before sending it I

had occasion to make a communication to Koo t

M
B oomi. I wrote a note t o him fastened it up in
,

an ordinary adhesive envelope and gave it to

,

adam e Blavatsky She put it in her pocket

.
,

we nt in to h er own r oo m , which Opene d ou t of t h e

1 42 TH E O CC UL T W OR LD .

drawingroom and came out agai n al m ost instantly

,
.

C ertainly she had not bee n away thi r ty seconds .

She s aid he had taken it at once Then sh e

“ ”
.

followed me back throu gh the ho use to my o ce

m

room spoke for a few minutes i n the adj oinin g

,

room to my wife and returni n g into my 0 i ce l ay

, , ,

down on a couch I went on with my work and

.
,

perhaps ten min utes elapsed perhaps less Sud ,

.

’ ”
de n l y she got up There s your letter she said
.
“
, ,

pointing to the pillow from which she had lifted

her head ; and there lay the letter I had just
written in tact as regards i t s appearance
,
b ut ,
’
with Koot H oom i s name on the outside scored
out and mine written over it A fter a thorough .

examination I slit the envelop e an d found inside , ,

on the fl y leaf of my note the answer I required i n

M
-
,
’
Koot H oom i s han dwriting Now except for the .
,

thirty seconds during which she retired to her ow n

room ,
adame Blavatsky had not been out of m y
’
sight except for a minute or two i n my wife s room
, ,

d u ring the short interval which elapsed between the

delivery of the letter by me to her and its return to
me as described And during this interval no one
.

else had come into my room The incident was as .

ab solute and complete a mechan ical proof of ab n or

mal power exercised to produce the result as any
concei vable test could have yielded Except by .

declaring that I c annot be describing it correctly ,

t h e m ost resolute partisan of the commonplace will

be unable seriously to dispute t h e force of this ih

eident He may take r efuge in idiotic ridicule or
.
,

h e may declare that I am misrepresenting the facts .

A s r egards t h e latt er hyp othesis I can only pl e dge

 FIRS T OC C UL T EXPE RIENCES .
3

my word as I do h er eb v to the exact accuracy of

,

the statement .

In one or two cases I have got back answers from

Koot H oom i to my letters in my own envelopes ,

these remaining in t act as addressed to him but with ,

the address changed and my letter gone from the

,

inside his reply having taken its place

,
In two or .

three cases I have found shor t messages from Koot

H oom i written across the blank parts of letters fro m
other persons coming to me through the post the
, ,

writers in these cases bei n g assuredly un aware of

the additions so made to their epistles .

Of course I have asked Koot B oomi for an ex

plan ation of these little phenomena but it is easier
,

for me to ask than for him to answer partly because

,

the forces which the adepts bring to bear upon

matter to achieve abnormal results are of a kind ,

which ordinary science knows so little about that

we of the outer world are not prepared for such ex
planatio n s ; and partly because the manipulation of
the forces employed has to do sometimes with secrets
, ,

of initiation which an occultist must not reveal .

However in reference to the subject before us I

, ,

received on one occasion this hint as an explan a

tion.

Besides bear in mind that these my

,

letters are not written but i m p r essed or precipitated

, , ,

and then all mistakes corrected .

”

Of course I wanted to kn ow more about such

precipitation ; was it a process which followed
thought more rapidly than any with which we were
famili ar ? And as regards letters received did the ,

m ean in g of these penetrate the u nderstanding of an

1 44 TH E OC C UL T W OR LD .

occult recipient at once or were they read in the

,

ordinary way ?
Of course I have to read every word you write ”
,

Koot H oom i replied othe r wise I would make a fine

,

mess of it And whether it be through m y physical

.

or spiri tual eyes the time required for it is practically

,

the same As much may be said of my repl i es ; for

.

whether I precipitate or dictate them or write my

an swers myself the diff erence in time saved is very
,

minute . I have to think it o v er to photograph ,

every word and sentence carefully in my brain b e ,

fore i t can be repeated by precipitation As t h e .

fixing on chemically prepared su rfaces of the images

formed by the camera requi res a previous arrange
men t within the focus of the object to be r epr e
sented for otherwise —as often found in bad photo
,

graphs— the legs of the sit ter might appear out of

all proporti on with the head and so on —so we have ,

to first arrange ou r se n tences and impress every

letter to appear on paper in our minds before it b e
comes fit to be read For the present it is a ll I can
.

tell you W hen sci ence will have learned more about
.

the mystery of the lithophyl ( or litho b i b l i on ) and -

,

h ow the impress of leaves comes origi nally to take

place on stones then I will be able to make you better
,

understand the process But you must know an d

.

remember one thing—we but foll ow and servilely

copy Nature in her works .

In another letter Koot B oom i e x patiates more

"

ful ly on the di i cul t y of making occult explanatio ns

intelligible to minds trained on l y in modern science .

“
Only th e progress one makes in t he study of
ar can e k n owl e dge from i ts r udi m en tal e le m en t s
 FIRST OC C UL T EXPE RIENCES . 14 5

brings him gradually to understand our meaning .

Only thus and not otherwise does it strengthening

, , ,

and refining those mysterious links of sym pathy

between intelligent men — the temporarily isolated
fragments of the univers al soul an d the cosmic soul

M
,

itself— bring them into full rapport Once this .

established then only will those awakened symp athies

,

serve indeed to connect a n with —what f or the

, , ,

want of a European scientific word more competent

to express the idea I am again compelled to
,

describe as that energetic chain which binds to

gether the material an d i m material kosmos—Past ,

Present and Future and quicken his perceptions

, ,

so as to clearly grasp n ot merely all things of

M
matter but of spirit also I feel even irritated at
,
.

havin g to use these three clumsy wor ds— Past ,

Present and Future

,
iserable concepts of the
.

objective phases of the subjective whole they ar e ,

about as ill adapted for the purpose as an axe for ,

fine carving Oh my poor disappointed fri en d that

.
, ,

you were already so far adv anced on TH E PA TH that

this simple transmission of ide as should n ot be
e n cumbered by the conditions of matter the union ,

o f your mind with ours prevented by its in duced

incapabilities Such is u n fortunately the inherited
.

and self acquired g rossness of the Western mind

-
,

an d so greatly hav e the very phrases expressive of

modern thoughts been devel oped in the line of

practical materialism that it is now next to i m
,

possible either for them to comprehend or for us to

,

express in their own languages anything of that

delicate seemingly ide al m achinery of the occult
, ,

k osmos To some little extent that facul ty can be

.
( 46 TH E OCC U L T W OR LD .

acqu i re d by the European s through study an d m e

— ’
ditation b u t that s al l And here is the bar which
, .

has hitherto prevented a convi cti on of the t h eoso

hi cal truths from gaining currency among W estern
p
nations— caused theos o phical study to be cast asid e
as useless and fantastic by Western philosophers .

How shall I teach you to read and write or even ,

comprehend a language of which no alphabet

palpa b le or words audible to you have yet been
invented ow could the phenomena of our
.
r

modern electrical science be explain ed to s ay a - e

G reek philosopher of the days of Ptolemy were he ,

su ddenly recalled to life —with such an unbridged

hiatus in discovery as would exist between h is and
our age ? Would not the very technic al terms be
to him an unintelligible j argon an abracadabra of ,

meaningless sounds and t h e very instr uments and

,

apparatuses used but miraculous monst rosities ?

A nd suppose for one instan t I were to describe to
you the lines of those colour rays that l i e beyond
the so called visible spe ct r u m —rays invisible to all
- fl

but a very few even among us ; to expl ain h ow we

can find in space any one of the so call ed subjective -

or a cci den t al colours—the com p l em en t ( to speak

mathematically ) m or eov er of (m y oth er gf/ven col ou r
’

of a di efi r om a tce b od
y ( which alone sounds like an
absurdity) could you comprehend do you think , ,

their optical effect or even my meaning ? And

,

since you see them not such rays—nor can know

-

them nor have you any n ames for them as yet in

,

science if I were to tell you

, without ‘

moving fr om your writing desk try search for and

-
, ,

produce before your eyes the whole solar spectru m

 FIRST O CC UL T EXPERIENCES . 1 47

decomposed in to four teen prismatic colours (seven

b eing complementary ) as it is but wi th the help of
that occult light that you can see me from a dis
tance as I see you what think you would be
-

your answer ? What would you have to reply ?

Would you not be l ikely enough to retort by tel l i n g
me that as there never were but se ven (now three)
primary colours which moreover have never yet
, ,

by any known physical process been seen decom

posed further than the seven prismatic hues my ,

invitation was as unscientific as it w as absurd ?

Adding that my offer to search for an imaginary
solar complement b eing no compliment to your
,

knowledge of physical scie n c —l had better ,

perhaps go and search for my mythical dichromatic

,
’
an d solar pairs in Thibet for modern science
‘
,

has hitherto been unable to bring under any theory

even so simple a phenomenon as the colours of all
such dichromatic bodies And yet truth knows
these colours are ob j ective enough .

So you see the insurmountable di i cu l t ies i n

“

the way of obtaining not only a bsol u te but even,

primary knowledge in Occult Science for on e ,

situated as you are How could you make yourself

.

understood com m a n d in fact those semi intelli gent

, ,
-

Forces whose means of communicating wit h us are

,

not through spoken words but through sounds and

,

colours in correlations between the vibrations of

the two ? For sound light and colour are the
, ,

main factors i n forming those grades of intelligences

M
,

these beings of whose very existence you have no

conception nor are you allowed to believe in them
,

Atheists an d C hristians aterialists and Spiritualists,

,
1 48 TH E OC C UL T W OR LD .

all bringing for ward their respective arguments

against such a belief— Science obj ecting stronger
than either of these to such a degrading su p erst i
tion .

Thus because they cannot with one leap over the

,

boundary walls attain to the pinnacles of Eternity

because w e cannot take a savage from the centre of
Africa and make h i m compreh end at once the Prin
’ ’
cipia of Newton or the Sociology of Herbert ,
‘

Spencer or make an unlettered child write a new

,

Iliad in old Achaian Greek or an ordinary painter ,

depict scenes in Saturn or sketch the inhabitants of ,

Arcturus—becau se of al l thi s ou r eer y ex i sten ce l

i s den i ed Yes for this reas on are believers in

.
,

us pronounced impostors and fools and t h e very ,

science which leads to the highest goal of t h e

highest kn owledge to the real tasting of the Tree
,

of L ife and Wisd om—is scouted as a wild flight of

imagination .
”

The followin g passage occurs in another letter ,

but it adheres naturally enough to the extrac t just

concluded .

The truths and mysteries of occultism constitute ,

indeed a body of the highest spiritual importance

, ,

at once profound and practical for the world at

large Ye t it is not as an addition to the tangled
.

mass of theory or S pecul ation that they are being

given to you but for their practical bearin g on the
,

interests of mankind The terms U n sci e n t ifi c

.
,

Impossible al l u cin at i on
,
Imposture ha se hitherto , ,

been used in a very loose careless way as im pl m g , ,

'

ln the occult phenomena something either m yst e

r i ous and abnormal or a premeditate d i m post ure
, .
 FIRST OCC UL T EXPERIENCES .
49

And this is why our chiefs h ave determined to

shed upon a few recipient minds more light
upon the subject and to prove to them that such
,

manifestations are as reducible to law as the

simplest phen omena in the physical un i verse The .

’
wiseacres say the age of miracles is past ; but
,
‘

’
we answer it never existed
,
‘
While not u m .

paralleled o r without their counterpart in u niver

sal history these phenomena must and w i l l come
,

with an overpowering infl uence upon the world of

skeptics and bigots They h av e to prove both
.

destructive and constructive— destructive in t h e

M
pernicious errors of the past in the old creeds an d ,

superstition s which s uffocate in their poisonous

embrace like the exican wee d n igh all mankind ;
, ,

but constructive of new institutions of a genuin e ,

practical Brotherhood of Humanity where al l will ,

become co workers of Nature will work for the

-
,

good of mankind wi th and thr ou gh the higher

,

l a n eta r y s i r i ts the o n ly spirits we believe in

p p , .

Phenomenal elements previously u n thought of ,

undreamed of will soon begin manifesting them

,

selves day by day with constantly augmented force ,

and disclose at last the secrets of their mysterious

workings Plato was right 1 Ideas rul e the world ;
. .

’
and as men s minds will receive new i deas laying ,

aside the old and effete the world wi ll advance

, ,

mighty revolutions wi ll spring from them creeds ,

an d even powers will crumble before their onward

march cr ushed by their 1rr esist i b l e force It will

,
.

b e just as impossible to resist their influence when

the time comes as to stay the progress of the tide .

But all this will come gradually on, and before it

1 d
S e e A ppen ix D .
1 50 TH E OCC UL T W OR LD .

comes we have a duty set before us : that of sweeping

away as muc h as possible the dross left to us by our
pi ous forefathers New ideas have to be pl an ted on
.

clean p l aces for these ideas touch upon the most

,

momentous subjects It is n ot physical phenomena

.
,

but these universal ideas that we study ; as to com ,

prehend the former we have first to understand the

,
’
latter They touch man s true position in the uni
.

verse in relation to his previous and future births ,

his origin and ultimate destiny ; the relation of the

mortal to the i m mortal of the temporary to the ,

eternal of the finite to the infinite ; ide as larger

, ,

grander mo e comprehensive recognizing the eternal

,
r
,

reign of immutable law un changing and unchange ,

able in regard to which there is only an ET ER NA L

,

Now : while to uninitiated mortals time is past or

M
,

future as related to their finite existence on this

,

m ateri al speck of dirt This is wh at we study and

.

what many h ave solved ean while be ing

.
,

human I have to rest I took no sleep for over

,
.

”
six t y hours .

’
Here are a few lines from Koot o om i s hand r

i n a letter not addressed to me It fal ] s conveni ently . .

into the present series of extracts .

Be it as it m ay we are conten t t o live as we do

, ,

unknown and undisturbed b y a civiliz ation which

rests so exclusively upon i n tellect Nor do we feel .

in any way concerned about the revival of our

M
ancient ar t and high civiliz ation for these are as ,

sure to come back in their time and in a higher ,

form as the Plesiosau rus and the egatherium in

,

theirs W e hav e the weakness to believe in ever

.
~

re current cycles an d hope to quick en the r esu r r ec

,
 IRST
F OCC UL T EXPERIENCES . 1 51

tion of wha t is past and gone We could not

.

impede it even if we would The new civilization

,
.

will be but the child of the old one and we have ,

but to leave the etern al law to take its o wn course ,

to have our dead ones come out of their graves ;

yet we are certainly anxious to hasten the welcome
event Fear n ot al t hou g h we do clin g super
.
,
‘

’
st i t i o u sl
y to the relics of the past our knowledge
,

will not pass away fro m the sight of man It is .

’
‘
the gif t of the gods and the most precious relic
,

of all . The keepers of the sacred light did not

safely cross so many ages but to find the m selves
wrecked on the rocks of modern skep t icism Ou r .

pilots are too experie n ced sailors to allow u s to fear

any such disaster W e will always find volunteers
.

to replace the tired sentries and the world b ad as

, ,

it is in its present state of transitory perio d can ,

yet furnish us with a few men now and then .

”

Turning back to my own correspondence and to ,

the latest letter I received from Koot H oom i

before leaving In dia on the trip home during
which I am writin g these pages I read ,
“
I hope that at least you will understand that

M
we ( or most of us) are far from being the heartless
morally dried— u
p mummies some would fancy us
e n ou r is very well where he i s—as an
to be .
j
ideal character of a thrillin g in many respects ,

truthful story Yet believe me few of us would

.
, ,

care to pl ay the part in life of a desiccated pan sy

between the leaves of a volume of solemn poetry .

’ ’
We may not be quite the boys to quote
‘
s

irreverent expression when speaking of us yet none ,

’
of ou r degree ar e like th e stern hero o f Bulwer s
1 52 TH E OC C U L T W OR LD .

roman ce W hile the facilities of observation se

.

cured to some of us by our condition certainly give ,

a greater breadth of vie w a more pronounced and ,

impartial a more widely spread humaneness— for

,

answering Addison we might j ustly maintain that

,

i t i s the business of m agic to humanize our

‘ “ ”

natures with comp assion for the whole mankind -

as all living beings instead of concentrati n g and

M
,

l imiting our aff ections to one predilected race— yet

few of us (except such as have attained the fi nal
negation of oksha) can so far enfranchise oursel v es
from the influence of our earthly connection as to be
u n susceptible in various degrees to the higher
pleasures emotions and interests of the common
, ,

run of humanity Of course the greater the pro

.

gress towards deliv eran ce the less this will be the ,

case until to crown all human an d purely individual

, , ,

personal feeli n gs blood ties and friendship patriotism

,
-
,

and race predilection will all give way to become

,

blended into one universal feelin g the only true ,

and holy the onl y unselfi sh and eternal one—L ove

, ,

an Immense L ove for hu man ity as a whole For it .

is humanity whi ch is the great orphan the only ,

disinherited one upon this e arth my friend And ,

.

it is the duty of every man who is capable of an

unsel fi sh impulse to do something however little , ,

for its welfare It reminds me of the old fable of

.

the war between the body and its members ; here ,

’
too each limb of this huge orphan fatherless an d
, ,

motherless selfishly cares but for itself The body

,
.
,

uncared for su ff ers etern ally whether the limbs are

,

at war or at rest It s su ffering and ago n y never

.

cease ; and who can bl ame i t —as your materialistic

 FIRST O CC UL T E XPERIENCES .
53

philosophers do— if in this everl as tin g isolation and

,

neglect it has evolved gods unto whom it ever

,
‘

’
cries for help but is not heard
,
Thus .

Si n c e t h e r e i s h o p e for m an on ly in m an ,

I w ou ld n ot l et one c ry w hom I cou ld sav e.

Yet I confess that I individually am not yet exempt

from some of the terrestrial attachments I am .

still attracted toward some men more than towar ds

others and philanthropy as preached by our great
,

Patron
t h e S v i o ur o f t h e w o l d
a r ,

Th e teach er o f Ni r v a a d t h e L aw
an n

h as never killed in me either individual preferences

of friendship love for my next of kin or the arde n t
, ,

feeling of patriotism for the country in which I was

last materially i n dividualized .
”

I had aske d Koot H oom i how far I was at

liberty to use his letters in the preparation of this
volume and a few lines after the p assage just

M
, ,

quoted he says
,

I lay no restri ctions upon your maki n g use of

anything I may have written to you or r .

having full confidence in your tact and judgment as

to what should be printe d and how it should be ,

presented I must on ly ask you

. and then
he goes on to indicate one letter which he wishes me
to withhold . As to the rest I relinqui sh
“
,
”
it to the manglin g tooth of criticism .

*
7
 T EA C H INGS OF OCC ULT P r
ILOS OPH Y
.

As a ir m ed more than once already Occult

" ”

Philosophy in various countries and through

differen t periods has remained substantially the
same At di ff eren t times an d pl aces very diff erent
.

mythologic al e or escen ces have been thrown off for

m

the servi ce o f the populace ; but underlying each ,

popular reli gio n the religious knowledge of the

,

i n itiated min ority has been identical Of course .

,

the modern Western conception of what is right in

such m atters will be outraged by the mere idea of
a religion which is kept as the p r operty of the few ,

while a false religion

“
as modern phr as eology
,
”

would put it is served out to the common people

,
.

However before this feeling i s permitted to land us

,

i n too uncompromising disapprov al of the anci ent

hiders of the truth it may be well to determine
,

h o w far it is due to any i n telligent conviction that

the common herd would be benefited by teachi n g ,

which must be in its nature too refined and

subtle for popular comprehension and how f ar the ,

feeling referred to may be due to an acquired habit

,

of looking on religion as something which it is im

portant to profess irrespective of understandi n g it
,
.

’
No doubt assuming that a man s etern al welfare
,

l e pen ds upon hi s declaration irrespective of com

z ,
 TEA CHING S OF OCC UL T L
P H I OS OP H Y .

p rehension ,
of the right faith among
,
all the faiths
he might have picked out from the lucky bag of
birth and destiny— then it would be the sovereig n
duty of persons conscious of possessin g such a faith
to proclaim it from the house— tops But on the.
,

other hypothesis that it cannot pro fi t any man to

,

mutter a formula o f words without attaching sense

to i t and that cr ude intelligences can only be ap
,

r o ach e d by crude sketc h es of religious ideas there

p ,

is more to be advanced on beh alf of the ancient

policy of reserve than seems at first sight obvi ous .

C ertainly the relation s of the populace and the

initi ates look susceptible of modi fi cation in the
,

European world of the present day The populace .

,

in the sense of the public at large including the ,

finest intellects of the age are at least as well able as

,

those of an y special cl ass to comprehend meta

physical ideas These finer intellects dominate
.

public thought so that no great ideas can triumph

,

among the n ations of Europe without their aid ,

while their aid can only be secured in the open

m arket of intellectual competition Thus it ensues
.

that the bare notion of an esoteric science superior

to that offered in public to the scientific world ,

strikes the modern Western mind as an absurdity .

With which very natural feeling it is only necessary

at present here to fight so far as to ask people not
,

to be illogical in its application ; that is to say not ,

to assume that because it would n ever occur to a

modern European coming into possession of a new
truth to make a secret of it and disclose it,

o nly to a fraternity under pledges of reserve there ,

fore such an idea could never have occ u rred t o

1 56 TH E OC C U L T W OR LD .

an Egyptian priest or an 1 n t el l ect ual giant of the

civilization which overspread India according to ,

some not unreasonable hyp otheses before Egypt ,

began to be a seat of learning and art The secret .

society syste m was as n atural indeed to the an cient

, ,

m an of science as the public system is in our own

,

country an d time Nor is the difference one of

.

ti m e and fashion merely It hinges o n to the great

.

difference that is to be discerned in the essence of

the pursuits in which learned men engage now as ,

compared with those they were con cerned with i n

former ages We have belonged to the material
.

progress epoch and the watchword of material

,

progress has always been publicity The initiates.

of ancient psychology belonged to the spiritual age ,

and the watchword of subj ecti v e development has

always been secrecy Whether in both cases the
.

watchword is dictated by necessities of the situation

is a question on which discussion might be possible ;
but at all events these refl ections are enough to
, ,

show th at it would be unwise to dogm atize too con

fi den t l y on the character of the philosophy and the
philosophers who could be content to hoard their
wisdom and supply the crowd with a religio n
adapted rather to the understandi n g of its recipien ts
than to t h e etern al verities .

It is impossible now to form a con ject ure as to

the date or time at which occult philosophy began
to take the shape in which we find it now But .

though it may be reasonably guessed that the last ,

two or three thousand years have not passed over

the devoted initiates who have held and transmitted
it du ring t hat time without their having con tributed
,
 TEA CHING S OF OCC UL T L
P H I OS OPH Y . 1 57

something towards its development the proficiency ,

of initiates belonging to the earliest periods with

which history deals appears to have been already
,

so far advanced and so nearly as wonderful as the

,

proficiency of initiates in the present day that we ,

must assign a very great an tiquity to the earliest

begin n ings of occult knowledge on this earth .

Indeed the question can n ot be raised without

bri n gin g u s in contact with considerations that
hi n t at absolutely startling conclusions in this
respect .

But apart from specific ar ch m ol ogi cal specul ations

, ,

it h as been pointed out that a philosophy so pro “

found a moral code so ennobling and practical

, ,

results so conclusive and so uniform ly demonstrable ,

are not the growth of a generation o r even a single ,

epoch . Fact must have been piled upon fact ,

deduction u pon deduction science have begotten

,

science and myriads of the brightest human intel

,

lects have reflected upon the laws of Nature before ,

this ancient doctrine had taken concre t e shape .

The proofs of this identity of fundamental doctrine

in the old religions are found in the prev alence
of a system of initiation ; in the secret sacerdotal

castes who had the guardianship of mystical words

,

of power and a public display of a phenomen al

,

control over natural forces i n dicating association

with pi eter human beings Every approach to the
' -
.

mysteries of all these nations was guarded with the

,

same jealous care an d in all the penalty of death

,

was inflicted upon all ini t i ates of any degree who

divulged the secrets entr usted to them The book .
”

j ust quoted shows this to have been the case W i th

 M M
x58 TH E O CC UL T W OR LD .

the Eleusi n ian and Bacchic ysteries among t h e

C haldean agi an d the Egyptian Hierophan t s The .

H indu book of Brahminic al ceremonies the Agr u “

,

shada Par iksh ai contains the same law which

,
”
,

ra ear s also to have been adopted by the Essenes

pp ,

the G nostics and the Theurgic Neo Platonists

,
-
.

Freemasonry has copied the old formula though ,

’
its r a ison d étr e has expired here with the expiration
fro m among freem asons of the occult philosophy
on which their forms and ceremonies are shaped
to a larger extent than they generally conceive .

Eviden ces of the identity spoken of may be traced

i n t h e vows formulas rites and doctrines of vari
, , ,

ous ancient faiths and it is a r m ed by those whom

,
1

I believe qualified to speak with authority as to the

fact that not only is their memory still preserved
,
“

in India ; but also that the secret association is

M
”
still ali ve and as active as ever
,
.

As I have now in support of the views just

,

expressed to make some quotations from

,
adame
’
B l av at sky s great book Isis Unveiled ,
it is
“
,
”

necessary to give certain explanatio n s concerning

the genesis of that work for w h 1 ch the reader who
,

has followed my narrative of occult experiences

through the preceding pages will be better prepared

M
,

than he would have been previously I have shown .

how throughout the most ordinary incidents of h er

,

dail y life ,
adame Blavatsky is constantly i n com
m u n i cat i on by means of the syste m of psychological
,

telegraphy that the initiates employ with her ,

superior Brothers in occultism This state of the

“
.

facts once realized it wil l be easy to understand that

,
”
in compiling such a work as Isis whic h em ,
 TEA CHING S OF OCC UL T L
P H I OS OP H Y . 1 59

bodies a complete expl an ation of all that can be

M
told about occultism to the outer world she would ,

not be left exclusi v ely to her own resources The .

truth which adame Blavatsky would be the last

person in the world to wish disguised is that the ,

assistance she derived from the Brothers by occult ,

agency throughout the composition of her book

, ,

w as so abundant an d continuous that she is not so

much the author of Isis as one of a group of
“ ”

coll a b or a t eu r s by whom it was actually produced

,
.

I am given to understand that she set to work on

Isis without knowing anything about the magni
”

tude of the task she was undertaking She began .

writing to dictation —the passages thus written not

now standing first in the completed volumes—i n
complian ce with the desire of her occult friends an d ,

without k nowing whether the composition on wh ich

she was engaged would turn out an a rticle for a
newspaper or an essay for a magazine or a work of
, ,

larger dimensions But on and on it grew Before

. .

going very far of course she came to understand

, ,

what she was about ; and fairly launched on her

task she in turn con tributed a good deal from her
,

own natural brain .But the Brothers appear

always to have been at work with her not merely ,

dictating through her brain as at first but some ,

times employin g those methods of precipitation ”

of which I have myse l f been favoured with some

examples and by m eans of which quantities of

,

actual manuscript in other handwritings than her

own were produced whil e she sl ept In the morn .

ing she would sometimes get up and find as much

as thirt
y s li ps added to t h e manuscr ipt sh e had left
[ 60 TH E O CC UL T W OR LD .

on her table over night Th e book Isis is in fact

-
.
“

as great a phenomenon — apart from the nature

“

of its contents —as any of those I have described .

The faults of the book obvious to the general

,

reader will be thus explained as well as the extra

, ,

ordinary value i t possesses for those who may be

an xious to explore as far as possible the myste r ies
of occultism The deifi c powers which the Brothers
.

e n joy can not protect a literary work which is the

j oint production of several— even amo n g their
minds fro m the confusion of arrangement to which
,

such a mode of composition inevitably gives rise .

And besides confusion of arrangement the book ,

exhibits a heterogeneous variety of diff erent styles ,

which mars its dignity as a li terary work and mus t ,

prove bo t h irritating and puzzling to the ordinary

reader But for those who possess the key to this
.

irregularity of form it is an advantage rather than

,

otherwise It will enable an acute reader to ac

.

count for some minor incongruities of statement

occurring i n different parts of the book Beyond .

this it will enable h i m to recognize the voice as it ,

were of the diff erent authors as they take up the

M
,

parable in turn .

The book was written —as regards its physical

production— at New York where adame Blavatsky
,

was utterly unprovided with books of reference It .

teems however with references to books of all sorts

, , ,

i n cluding many of a very unusual character and ,

with quotations the exactitude of which may easily be

verified at the great European libraries as foot notes ,
-

supply the number of the pages, from which t h e

passages tak en are quote d .
 R E CEN T O CC UL T P H ENO M ENA . 16 1

I may now go on to collect some passages from

Isis ,
the object of which is to show the unity of
the esoteric philosophy underlying various ancient
religions and the peculiar value which attaches for
,

students of that philosophy to pure Buddhism a , ,

system which of all those presented to the world

.
,

appears to supply us with occult philosophy in its

le as t adu lterate d shape Of course the reader will .
,

guard himself from running away with the idea that

Buddhism as explained by writers who are not oc
,

cultists can be accepted as an embodiment of their

,

vi ews For example one of the leadin g ideas of

.
,

Buddhism as interpreted by Western scholars is that ,

Nirvana amounts to annihilation It is possible .

that W estern scholars may be right in saying that

the explanation of Nirvana supplied by exoteric “ ”

Buddhism leads to this conclusion ; but that at all ,

O

e vents is n o t the occult doctrine

,
.

“
Nirvana it is stated in Isis
,
”
means the “
,
” “

certitude of personal immortality in sp i r i t not in ,

sou l which as a finite emanation m u st certainly dis

, , ,

integrate its particles a compound of human sen ,

sat i on s passio n s and yearning fer some objective

, ,

kind of existence before the immortal Spirit of the

,

Ego is quite freed and henceforth secure again st ,

transmigration in any form And how can man reach .

’
that state so long as the U p a dan a that state of ‘

lon ging for life more life does not disappear from
, ,

the sen tient being from the A h an car a clothed how

, ,
’
ever in a sublimated body ? It is the U padan a
,
‘

or the intense desire that produces will and it is ,

will which develops force and the latter generates ,

matter or an ob j ect having form Thus the disem

,
.
1 62 TH E O CC UL T W OR LD .

bodied Ego through this sole undying desire in him

, ,

unconsciously furnishes the conditions of his suc

c essi v e self procreations in various forms which
-
,
’
depend on h i s mental state and Karma the good ,
‘
,

or bad deeds of his preceding existence commonly ,

’
called merit and demerit
‘
There is a world
‘
.

of suggestive metaphysical thought i n this pass age ,

which will serve at once to j u stify the view pro

pounded j ust now as regards the reach of Buddh
i st i c philosophy as viewed from the occult sta n d
point .

The misunderstanding abo ut the meaning of

Nirvana is so general in the West that before
”
,

going on with expl anation s of the philosophy which

this same misunderstanding h as improperly dis
c redited i t will be well to consider the following
,

e l ucidation also :
“ Annih ilation means with the Buddhistical
philoso phy only a dispersion o f matter in whatever ,

form or semblance of form it may be ; for every

thing that bears a Shape was cre ated and thus m u st

M
,

sooner or later perish i e change that Shape ; there

,
. .
,

fore as somethi n g temporary though seeming to be

, ,
’
permanent it is but an illusion
,
aya ; for as ,
‘

eternity has neither begi nning n or end the more or ,

less prolo n ged duratio n of some particular form

p asses as it were
,
like an instantaneous
,
flash of
lightni n g Before we have the time to realize
.

that we have seen it it h as gone and p assed away

,

for ever ; hence even our astral bodies pure ether , ,

are but illusion s of matter so long as they retain

their terrestri al outline The latter changes says .
,

the Buddhist according to the merits or demerits

,
 TEA CIIING S OF O CC UL T P IIIL OS OP II Y 163

of the person du r ing his lifetime and this is ,

metempsychosis When the spiritual e n tity breaks

.

l o ose for ever from every particle of matter then ,

only it enters upon the eternal and unchan geable

’
‘
Nirvana He exists in Spirit in n oth i n g; as a

M
,
.

form a shape a se m b l an ce he is completely anni

, , ,

h il at e d and thus will di e no more ; for spirit alone

,
’
is no ‘
aya but the only reality in an illusionary
,

universe of ever passi n g forms -

To accuse
Buddhistical philosophy of rejecting a Supreme
—
Being G od and the ,
soul s immortality— of
’

,
—
Atheism in short on the ground that Nirvana ’ ‘

’
means annihilation and S v ab h av at is not a person
,
‘
,

but nothing is S imply absurd The En (or Aym)

, .

of the Jewish En soph also means n i hi l or nothing , ,

that which is not (gu O a d n os) b ut no one h as ever ,

ventured to twit the J ews with atheism In both .

cases the real meaning of the term n oth i n g carries

with it the idea that G o d is n ot a thi n g not a con ,

crete or visible bein g to which a name expressive of

a n y ob j ect kn own to us on earth may be applied
with propriety .
”

Again Nirvana is the world of ca u se in which

M
all deceptive effects or illusions of our senses dis
’
appear Nirvana is the highest attainable sphere
‘
.

The secret doctrines of the agi of the pre

V edic Buddhists of the hierophan ts of the Egyptian
Thoth or Hermes were—w e find it laid down in
,

Isis — identical from the begin n ing an identity that

”
,

applies equally to the secret doctrines of the adepts

of whatever age or nationality including the C haldean ,

Kabal ists and the Jewish Naz ar s When we use .

“

the word Buddhists we do not mean to imply by

,
l 64 TH E O CC UL T W OR LD .

it either the exoteric B u ddhism instituted by th e

followers of G autama Buddha or the modern ,

Buddhistic rel igion but the secret philosophy of

,

Sakyamuni which in its essence is cert ainly iden

, , ,

tical with the ancient wisdom religion of the s anc -

t u ar y— the pre V edic B r ah m an i sn

-
The schism of .

Zoroaster as it is called is a direct proof of it : for

, ,

it was no schism strictly speaking but merely a

, ,

p artially public exposition of strictly monotheistic

religious tr u ths hitherto taught only in the sanc
t u ar ies an d that he had le arned fro m the Brahmans
,
.

Zoroaster the primeval institutor o f sun wo r ship

,
-
,

cannot be c alled the founder of the d ualistic system ,

neither w as he the first to teach the un ity of G o d ,

for he taught but what he had learned himself fro m

the Brahmans A n d that Zar at h r u st a an d his fol

MM
,
.

lowers the Zoroastrians had been settled in India ,

before they immigrated into P ersia is also proved ,

by ax u ller Th at the Zoroastrians and their

M
‘
.

’
ancestors started from India he says duri n g the ‘

M
.
,

V aidic period can be proved as distinctly as that

,

the inhabitants o f assilia started from G reece .

any of the gods of the Zoroastrians come

out as mere reflections and deflections of the
’
gods of the V eda .

If now we can prove and we ban do so on the

, , ,
’
evidence of the Kabala and the oldest traditions o f ,

the wisdom religion the philosophy of the old sanc

-
,

t u ar i es that all these gods whether of the Z or oas

, ,

t r ian s or of the Veda are but so many personated,

occult powers of Nature the faithful servants of the

adepts of secret wisdom —
,

m ag ic we are on secure
r ound
g .
 M
TEA CHING S OF O C C UL T L
P H I OS OP H Y . 165

Thus whether we say that K abalism and G n os

,

t i ci sm proceeded from asde an ism or Zoroastrianism ,

it is all the s ame unless we meant t h e exoteric

,

worship which we do n ot Likewise and in this

, .
,
’
sense we m ay echo Ki n g the author of the G nostics
,
‘
,

and several other arch ae ologists and maintain that ,

both the former proceeded from B u ddh i sm at once ,

the simplest and most satisfying of philosophies an d ,

which resulted in one of the purest religio n s in the

world . B u t whether among the Essenes or
the N eo platonists or again among the inn umerable
-
,

struggling sects born but to die the same doctrines , ,

identical in substan ce and S pirit if not always in ,

form are encountered By B u ddh i sm therefore

, .
, ,

we mean that religion signifying l iterally the doc

trine of wisdom an d which by many ages antedates

M
,

the metaphysical philosophy of Siddhartha Sakya

muni .

odern C hristianity has of course diverged widely

, ,

from its own original philosophy but the identity ,

of this with the original philosoph y of all religions

is maintained in Isis in the course of an interest
“ ”

ing argument .

L uke who w as a physician is design ated in

, ,

t h e Syriac texts as A sa i d the Essai an or Essene ,

.

J osephus and Philo J u daeu s have su fifici en t l y de

scribed this sect to leave n o doubt in our mind th at
the Nazarene R eformer after having received his ,

education i n their dwellings in the desert and bei n g ,

duly in itiated in the mysteries preferred the free an d ,

independent life of a wanderin g Naz ar i a and so sepa ,

rated or i n a z ar en i z ed h im sel f from them thus b ecom

, , , ,

in g a travelli n g Th er apeu t e, or Nazaria a healer ,

.
1 66 TH E O CC UL T W OR LD .

In his discourses and sermo n s Jesus always spoke

in parables and used met aphors with his audience
,
.

This h abit w as again that of the Essen ian s and

the N az ar en es ; the G alileans who dwelt in cities ,

and v i l lages were never known to use such allego

,

r i cal lan guage Indeed some of h is disciples being

.
, ,

G alile ans as well as himself felt even surprised t o ,

fi nd him using with the people such a form of

expressio n Why speakest thou unto them i n
.
‘

’
parables ? they often inquired Because it is .
‘

given unto yo u to know the mysteries of the king

’
dom of He aven ; but to t h em it is not given was ,

the reply wh ich was that of an ini tiate There

M
.
,

fore I Speak u n to them in p arables because they

, ,

seeing see n o t and hearin g they hear n o t neither

, , , ,
’
do they u n derstand oreover we fi nd J esus

M
.
,

expressing his thoughts in sentences which

are purely Pyth agorean when during the Sermon , ,

o n the ount he says G ive ye n o t that which is ‘

, ,

sacred to the dogs neither cast ye your pe arls before

,

swine ; for the swin e will tread them under their

M
’
feet and the dogs will turn and rend you
,
Pr o .

’
f ossor A Wilder the editor of Taylor s Eleu si n ian
.
,

ysteries observes a like dispositio n on the part

”

,
‘

of Jesus an d Paul to classify thei r doctrines as

esoteric and exoteric— the mysteries of the Kingdom
of G od for the apostles and parables for the multi ,
’
tude . We speak wisdom says Paul amo n g
‘
, ,
‘

’ ’
them th at ar e p ery ect or initiated In the Ele u
‘
,
‘
.

sinian and other mysteries the participants were

always divided in two classes the n eop hy tes and ,

the p erf ect The narr ative of t h e Apostle Paul

.

in his Second Epistle to the C orinthians has struc k ,

 TEA CIIING S OF O CC UL T PH I L OS OP H Y
. 16 7

several scholars well versed in the des c riptions of

the mystical rites of the initiation given by some
classes as alludin g most undoubtedly to the final
Ep op t ei a I know a certain man— whether in body
‘

or outside of body I know not G o d knoweth— who

was rapt into Paradise and heard things in efl ab l e,
’
which it i s not lawful for a man to repeat These .

wor ds have rarely so far as we know bee n regarded

, ,

by comme n tators as an allusion to the b eat ifi c

visions of an initiated seer ; b u t the phraseology is
unequivocal These thin gs which i t is not lawful
.

to repe at are hi n ted at in the same words and the

, ,

reason assigned for it is the s ame as th at which we

fi nd repeatedly expressed b y Plato Proclus J am , ,

b l i c h u s Herodotus and other classics

, ,
We speak .
‘

’
wisdom only amon g them th at ar e perfect says ,

Paul the pl ain and undeniable translation of the

sentence being : We speak of the profounder or
‘

fin al esoteric doctrines of the myster ies (which are

denominated wisdom ) only among t hem who are ,

initiated So in relation to the man who w as rapt

.

into Paradise— and who was evidentl y Paul him

self — the C hristi an word Paradise having replaced

M
that of Elysium .
”

The fi nal purposes of occult philosophy is to

Show what an was is and will be ,
That which
,
.

survives as an individuality says Isis after the

,
”
,

death of the body is the actual soul which Plato in , ,

the Ti m wu s an d G or gi a s c alls th e mortal soul ; for ,

according to the Hermeti c doctri ne it throws off ,

the more material particles at every progressive

change into a higher sphere T h e astral spirit
is a faithful duplicate of the body in a physical and
168 TH E O CC UL T W OR LD .

S piritual sense The D ivine the highest immortal

.
,

spirit can be neither punished nor rewarded To

,
.

main t ain such a doctrine would be at the sa m e time

absurd and blasphemous ; for it is not merely a
flame lit at the central and unextinguishable
fountain of light but actually a portion of it an d
,

o f identical essence It assures immortality to the

.

individual astral being in proportion to the willi ng

ness of the latter to receive it So long as the .

double man—i e the man of flesh and Spirit

. .
,

keeps within the limits of the law of S piritual con

t in u i t y so long as the divine spark lingers in him ,

however faintly he is on the road to an im m or

,

tality in the future state But those who resign .

themselves to a materialistic ex i stence shutting out ,

the divi ne radi ance shed by their spirit at the ,

beginning of their e arthl y pilgrimage and stifling ,

the warning voice of that faithful sentry the con

science which serves as a focus for t h e light in the
,

soul— su ch beings as these having left behind ,

conscience and spirit and crossed the bound aries of

,

matter will o f necessity have t o follo w its laws

, , ,
.
”

Again : The secret doctrine teaches that m an

“
,

if he wins immortality will remain for ever t h e

,

trinity that he is in life and will continue so ,

throughout all the spheres The astral body which

.
,

in this life is covered by a gross physic al envelope ,

becomes when relieved of that covering by the pr o

,

cess of corporeal death in its turn the shell of ,

another and more ethereal body This begins .

developing from the moment of death and becomes ,

perfected when the astral body of the earthly form

finally separa tes from it .
”
 TEA CH ING S OF O CC UL T PH I L OS OP H Y 1 69

The passages quoted when read by the light of

,

the explanations I have given will enable the ,

reader if so i n clined to take up Isis in a compre

, ,
“ ”

hen ding spirit and fi nd his way to the ri ch vein s of

,

precious metal which are burie d in its pages But .

neither in Isis nor in an y other book on occult

“ ”

philosophy which has been or seems likely to be

written yet awhile must anyone hope to obtain a
,

cut and dried straightforward and perfectly clear

- -
, ,

account of the mysteries of birth death and the , ,

future At fi rst in pursuin g studies of this kind

.
, ,

one is irritated at the di i cu l t y of getting at what the

occultists really believe as regards the f u ture state the ,

nature of the life to come and its general m i se en scen e

,
.

The well known religion s have very precise views

on these subjects further rendered pr actic al by the
,

assurance some of them give that qualified persons ,

commissioned by churches to perform the duty can ,

shunt departing soul s on to the right or the wrong

lines in accordance with consideration received
, .

Theories of that kind have at any r ate the merit of

simplicity and intelligibility but they are not , ,

perhaps satisfactory to t h e mind as regards their

,

details After a very little investigation of the

.

matter the student of occult philosophy will realize

,

that on that path of knowledge he will cert ainly

m eet with no con ceptions likely to outrage his
purest idealization of G od and the life to come .

He will soon feel that the scheme of ideas he is

expl ori n g is lofty and dignified to the utmost
limits that the human un derstanding can reach But .

it will remain vague and he will seek for explicit

,

st atements o n this or that poin t until by degrees ,

1 70 TH E O CC UL T W OR LD .

he realizes that the absol ute truth about the origin

and destinies of the human soul may be too subtle
an d intricate to be possibly expressible in straight

forw ard language Perfectly cle ar i deas may be

.

attai n able for t h e purified minds of advanced

scholars in occultism who by entire devotion of
, ,

every faculty to th e pursuit and prolonged assimila

tio n of such i de as come at length to understand
,

them with the aid of peculiar intellectual powers

speci ally expanded for the purpose ; but it does not
at all follow th at with the best will in the world
such persons must necessarily be able to draw up
an occult creed which should bring the whole
theory of the u n iverse into the compass of a dozen
lines The study of occultism eve n by men of the
.
,

world en gaged i n ordinary pursuits as well may

, ,

re ad ily enlarge and purify the understanding to ,

the extent of arming the mind so to speak with , ,

tests that will detect absurdity in any erroneous

religious hypotheses ; but the absolute structure of
occult belief is something which from its n ature , ,

can only be built up slowly in the mind of each

intellectual architect And I imagine that a v ery
.

vivid perception o f this on their part explains the

reluctance of occultists even to attempt the straight
forward explanation o f their doctrines They know .

th at re ally vital plants of knowledge so to speak , ,

’
must grow u p from the germ in each man s mind ,

and c annot be tran splanted into the strange soil of

an u ntrained understanding in a complete state of

mature growth They are ready enough to supply

.

seed but every man must grow his o w n tree o f

,

knowle dge for himself A S the adept hi m sel f is not

.
 TEA CHING S OF O CC UL T P IIIL OS OP H Y. 1 71

made but becomes so —in a minor degree the

, , ,

person who merely aspires to comprehe n d the ade p t

and his views of things must develop such compre
h e n si on for himself by thinking out rudimentary
,

ideas to their legitimate conclusions .

These considerations fit in with and do some ,

thing towards elucid ating the reserve of occultism

, ,

an d they further suggest an explanation of what

will at once seem puzzling to a reader of Isis who ,
"

takes it up by the light of the present n arrative If .

great parts of the book as I have asserted are

, ,

really the work of actu al adepts who know of their

,

own knowledge what is the actual truth about

m any of the mysteries discussed why have they ,

not said plainly what they meant instead of beating ,

about the bush and suggesting arguments derived

,

from this or that ordinary source from literary or ,

historical evidence from abstract speculation con

,

cerning the harmonies of Nature ? The answer

seems to be firstly that they could not well write
, , ,
“
We know that so and so is the fact without ”
,

being asked How do you know

,
—and it is mani
fest l y impossible that they could reply to this
question without going into details that it would ,

be unlawful as a Biblical writer would say to

“ ”
, ,

disclose or without proposing to guarantee their

,

testimon y by manifestions of powers which it

would be obviously impracticable for them to keep
always at hand for t h e satisfaction of each r eader

of the book in turn Secondly I imagine that in

.
, ,

accordance with the invariable prin ciple of trying

less to teach than to encourage sponta n eous develop ,

ment, they have aimed in Isis rather at producin g

“ ”
,
1 72 TH E O CC UL T W OR LD .

’
an effect on the reader s mind than at S hooting in,

a store of previously accumulated facts They have .

shown that Theosophy or Occ ult Philosophy is no

, ,
’
new candidate for the world s attention but is ,

re ally a restatement of pri n ciples which have been

recog n ized from the very infancy of mankind The .

historic sequence which establishes this vie w is

distinctly traced through the successive evol utions
of the philosophical schools in a manner which it is
,

impossible for me to attempt i n a work of these

dimension s an d the theory l aid down is ill ustr ated
,

with abundant accounts of the experimental dem on

st r at i o n s of occult power ascribed to various
thaumaturgists The authors of Isis have express
.
“
,
”

l y refrained fro m saying more than might conceiv ably

be said by a writer who was n o t an adept s upposing ,

him to have access to all the literature of the

subject and an enlightened comprehension of its
meani n g .

But once realize the real position of the authors

or inspirers of Isis and the value of any argument
“
,

on which you fi nd the m launched is enha n ced

enormously above the level of the relatively
commonplace consideratio n s advan ced on its behalf .

The adepts may not choose to bring forward other

than exoteri c evidence in favour of any particul ar
thesis they wish to support but if they wish to sup
,

port it that fact alone will be of enormous

,

signi fi c ance for any reader w h o in indirect ways , ,

has reached a comprehension of the authority wi th

whic h they are entitl ed to Speak .
 L A TER OCCU L T PHENO M ENA .
1

I CA NNOT let a secon d edition of this book appear

without recording some at least of the expe r iences, ,

which have befallen me since its preparation The .

most important of these in deed are concern ed with , ,

fragmentar y instr uction I have been privileged to r e

c e i v e from the Brothers in reference to the great

truths of cosmology which their spiritual insight has

enabled them t o penetrate But the exposition even .

of the little relatively that I have learned on this

, ,

head would exact a more elaborate treatise than I

2
can attempt at pr esent And the purpose of t h e
. .

pr esent volume is t o expound the outer facts of t h e

sit uation rather than t o analyze a system of philos
o h
p y . This is n ot enti r ely inaccessible to exote r ic

students apar t from what may be regarded as direct

,

revelation from the Brothers Though almost al l .

existing occult literature is i m at t r act iv e in its fo rm ,

and rendered purposely obscure by the use of an

elaborate sym b o logy it does contain a great deal of
,

information that can be distilled from the mass by

the application of S ic ien t patience S o me indus
"

I .

tr ions students of that literat u re have proved this .

W hether the masters of occul t philosophy will ult i

1 Added t o th e secon d E gl i h dit i n
n s e o .

2 S b eq
u s uen t ly p u bl h d E t i B
is e as so er c uddh i sm .
1 74 TH E OCC UL T W OR LD .

M
mately consent to the complete exposition in plain
language of the state o f the facts regarding the
S piritual constitution of an remains t o be seen
, .

C ertainly even if they are still reticent in a way that

,

n o o r dinary observe r can comprehend they are more ,

disposed t o be communicative at this moment than

they have been for a long time past .

But the fi r st thing to do is to dissipate as much as

po ssible the dogged disbelief that encrusts the West
e r n mind as to the existence o f any abnormal pers o ns

w h o can be regarded as masters o f Tr u e Phil o sophy

distinguished fro m all the specul atio ns that have
to rmented the world — and as to the abno rmal na
ture of their facul ties I have endeavored al r eady
.

t o poi n t o u t plainly but may as well he r e emphasize

,

the reason why I dwell u p o n the phenomena which

,

exhibit these faculties R ightly rega rded these are

.
,

the credentials of the spiritual teaching which their

authors supply Firstly indeed i n t h em sel v es ab
.
, ,

nor mal phenomena accom plished by the W i ll power -

o f living men must be intensely i n teresting fo r eve r y

o n e endowed with an honest l o ve o f science They .

o pen o u t n e w scie n ti fi c h o rizons It is as certain as

.

’
the sun s next r ising that the fo rward pressure o f
scientifi c disco very advan c ing slowly as it does in
,

its o wn grooves wil l ultimately and probably at no

, ,

very distant date introduce the o r dinary wor ld t o

,

s o me o f the super ior scientifi c knowledge alr eady e n

joyed by the masters o f occultism Facul ties will .

be acquired by exote r ic investigatio n that will bring

the outworks o f science a step o r two near er the
comprehension o f som e of the phenomena I have de
scribed in the present volume And meanwhile it .
 LA TER O C C UL T P H ENO M ENA . 1 75

seems to me very interesting to get a glimpse befo re

hand of achievements which we should probably find
engaging th e eager attention of a future generation ,

if we really could as Tennyson suggests

,

l
s eep t h r ou g h t er m s of m igh t yw ars,

A nd wa ke on sci en c e g r o wn t o m ore,

On secret s of the b r ain , t h e st a rs

A s wi ld a s a u g h t of f iyl
a r or e .

But even superior t o their scientific interest is the

importance o f the lesson conveyed by occul t phenom
ena when these distinctly place their autho rs in a
,

commanding position of i ntellectual superior ity as

compared with the wo rld at l arge They show mo st .

un de n iably that these men have gone far ahead o f

their contemporaries in a comprehension of Natur e

as exempli fi ed in this world that they have acqui r ed
the power of cognizing events by other means than
the material senses ; that while their bodies are at
o n e place their perceptions may be at anothe r
,
and ,

that they have consequently solved the great prob

lem as t o whether t h e Ego of man is a something
distinc t fr om his perishable fr ame From all other .

teachers we can but fi nd ou t what has been thought

probable in reference to the soul or Spirit of man
from them we can fin d o ut what is the fact ; and if
that is n ot a sublime subject of inquiry su rely it ,

wo uld be di l ou l t to say what is But we cann o t

”

read poetry til l we have learned the alphabet ; an d ,

if the com binations b a h a and so o n are found t o be

-
,

i n su fi e r ab l y tr ivial and uninteresting the fastidi o us ,

person wh o objects t o such foo lishn ess will cer tai n ly

”
never be able to read the Idylls of the King .

S o I retu rn from the clouds to my patient record

1 76 TH E O CC UL T W OR LD .

o phenomena and t o the incidents which have con

f ,

fi rmed the experiences and conclusions set forth in

the previous chapter o f this book since my ret urn to ,

India

M
.

The very fi rst in cident which t oo k place was in the

nature of a pleasant greeting from my revered friend ,

Koo t H oo m i I had writ ten t o hi m ( per adame

.

Blavatsky of course ) shortly before leaving L ondon

, ,

and had expected t o find a letter from him awaiting

my arrival at Bombay But no such letter had been .

received as I found when I reached the h eadqu ar

,

te rs of the Theosophical S ociety where I had ar ,

ranged to stay for a few days befor e going on t o my

destination up country I got in late at night and

M
.
,

nothi n g rema rkable happened then The fo llowing .

morning after breakfast I was sitting talking with

, ,

adame Blavatsky in the room that had been al

lotted to me We were sittin g at diff erent sides of
.

a large square table in the middle of the room and

M
,

the fu ll daylight was shining There was n o on e .

else in the room S udden ly do wn upon the table

.
,

before me but t o my right hand adame Blavatsky

, ,

being t o my l eft there fell a thi ck letter It fell

, .

o u t o f nothing so t o speak ; it was materialized

”
, ,

or reintegrated in the air before my eyes It was .

’
Koo t H oo m i s expected r eply a deeply interesting ,

lett er partly concerned with private matters and

,

replies t o questions of mine and partly with some ,

large though as yet shadowy revelations of occul t

, ,

philosophy the fir st sketch o f this that I had r e

,

ce iv ed No w of course I know what some readers

.
, ,

will say t o this ( wi th a self sat isfi ed smile ) wires -

,
”
springs concealed apparatus and so forth ; but first
, ,
 L A TE R OC C UL T PH ENO M ENA . 1 77

al l the suggesti o n would have been grotesquely ah

surd to any o n e wh o had been present and sec o ndl y ,

it is unnecessa r y t o argue ab o ut o bjections of this sort

all over again a b i n i ti o ever y time There we r e n o
.

mor e wires and springs about the r oom I am n ow r e

ferr ing t o than ab o ut the breezy hill tops at Siml a
,
-
,

whe r e som e of o u r ea r lier pheno m ena to ok place I .

may add moreover that some mo nths later an occult

, ,

n o te was dropped befo re a friend of mi n e a Bengal ,

civilia n wh o has b ecome an active mem be r o f the

,

Theosophical S ocie t y at a dak bungalow in the

,

nor th of India a n d t hat later again at the hea d ,

quar ters of t h e T h eo s o phical Society at B o mbay a ,

letter was dro pped acc o rding t o a previous promise

, ,

out in t h e ope n ai r in the presence of six or seven

witnesses .

'

For some time the gift o f the letter from Koot

B oomi in the way I have desc r ibed was the only
phenomenon accorded t o m e and although my c or
, ,

resp o ndence co n tin ued I was n ot enco uraged t o ex

,

ect any fur t h er displays of ab n o r mal power The

p .

higher author ities of the o ccult wo rld indeed had , ,

by this time put a very muc h more str in gen t pr obi

b it ion upon such manifestations than had been in
o perati o n the p r evi o us summer at S imla The efl ect .

o f the manifestati o n s then acc o r ded was n o t co n sid

ered t o have been satisfactory on the whole A .

good deal o f acrimonio u s discussion and bad feeling

had ensued and I imagine that this was conceived
to outweigh i n its injur i o us effect on the progr ess o f
,

the Theosophical move m en t the good efi ect of the

,
‘

phenomena on the few persons wh o appr eciated them .

W hen I went up t o S im l a in August 1 881 the re , ,

12
I78 TH E C C C UL T W OR LD .

fore I had no expectati o n of further events of an

,

unusu al nature Nor have I any stream of anecdo tes

.

t o relate which will bear comparison with those de

rived from the experience o f the previo us year But .

n o ne the less was the progr ess o f a certain u n dert ak

ing in which I became c o ncerned the establi sh !

ment of a S imla branch of the Theosophical S ocie ty

intersper sed with little incidents of a phenomenal

M
nature When this S ociety was formed many letters

M
.
,

passed between Koot H o om i and our selves whi c h

wer e n o t in every case tr an smitted th rough adame
Blavatsky In on e case fo r example
.
, r Hume , .
,

wh o became president for the fi r st year o f the new

S ociety —the Siml a E c lectic Theos o phi a l S ociety c

as it was decided it shoul d be c all ed —got a note

,

from Koot H oom i inside a letter received through

the post from a person who lly unconn ected with ou r
o ccult pursuits w h o was writing to him in connection
,

with some municipal business I myself d r essing

.
,

for the evening have found an exp ected letter in my

,

coat pocket an d on another occasi o n under my pil

-
,

lo w i n the mo rning On o n e occasion havi n g just

M
.
,

received a letter by the m a il fr om England which

contain ed matt er in which I thought she woul d be
’
i n terested I went up t o adame B l av at sky s writ
,

ing r oo m and re ad it t o her As I read it a few

-
.
,

lines of writing comment upon what I was reading

, ,

wer e formed o n a sheet of blank paper which lay b e

fo re her She actually saw the writing form itself
.
,

a n d called t o m e pointi n g t o the paper where it lay

There I reco gnized Ko ot H o om i s hand —and his

.
,
’

thought fo r the comment was t o the efl ect Did n t

, ,
’

I te l l o u so ?
”
a n d refe r r ed b ac k t o something he
y
had said in a p r evio us letter .
 L A TER OC C UL T PH E NO M
ENA .
1 79

B y-the -b y, it may be as well to info r m the reader

that during the whole o f the vi sit t o S imla o f which ,

I am n o w speaking fo r several mo nths before it and

, ,

un til seve r al m onths later C olonel Olcott was in

,

C eyl o n where he was engaged in a very successful

M
,

le ctur in g tour on behalf of the Theos o phi cal Society ,

in r efere n c e t o s o me o f the phen omena whic h o c

c urred at Simla in 1 8 80 when both h e and ad ame

M
,

Blavatsky were pr esent Il l natured and in cr e du

.
-

l o us peo ple when it would be glaringly absur d

ab o ut s om e particular pheno m eno n to say that a
da m e Blavatsky had d o ne it by trickery of her own
used t o be fo nd o f suggesting that the wi re puller -

must be C o lonel Olcott In so me Of the newspaper

.

criticisms o f the fi r st edition of this bo o k even it

M
, ,

has been suggested that C o lonel Olcott must be the

writer of the letters that I in no cently asc ribe to Koot
H o om i , adame Blavatsky mer ely manipulating their
presentation But inasmuch as all thr ough the au
.

tumu o f 1 881 while C o lonel Olc o tt was at C eylon

,

and I at S im l a the letters continued to come alter

, ,

nating day by day so metimes with the letters we

wrote my c r itics in future must acknowledge that
, , ,

this hyp o thesi s is played ou t .

F o r me myself — as I think it wi ll al so be fo r my
appreciative readers the m o st inter estin g fact con
n ect e d with my Simla experience o f 1 8 81 was this

D ur ing the pe r iod in question I g ot into relati o ns

with on e other of the Brothers besides Koot H oo m i
,
.

It cam e t o pass that in the progress of his o wn de

v e l o m e n t it was necessary for Koot H o o m i t o retire
p
for a period o f th r ee months into absolute seclusion
as regards n o t merely the body —which in the case
,
 TH E O CC UL T W OR LD .

of an Adept may be secluded in the remotest c o r ner

o f the ea r th with o ut that a r r a n gement che c ki n g the

a c tivity of his astr al i n terco u r se with m an kin d

”

but as regards the whole pote n t Eg o with whom we

had deal in gs U nder these cir cum stances on e of the
.

Bro thers with W ho m K o ot H oo m i was especiall y as

so ci at e d agr eed r a the r reluctantly at first t o pay
, ,

attention t o the Sim la E clectic S o c iety and keep us ,

’
go ing du r ing K oot H oom i s absen ce with a c o ur se o f
instruction in occult philos o phy The cha n ge whi ch .

came o ver the character o f ou r c o rresp o n de n ce when

o u r new master to o k us in hand was ve r y re m a r k

able Eve r y letter that emanated from Koot H o om i

.

had continued t o bear the i m pr ess of his gently m e l l if

l u o u s style He would wr ite half a page at any time
.

rather tha n r u n the least risk o f letting a b r ief o r

’
car eless phrase hurt anyb o dy s feelin gs His hand .

wr iting t oo was al ways ve r y legi b le and regular

, , .

Ou r new master tr eated us v e r y di fferently : he de

c l a r e d hi m self al most unac quaint ed with ou r lan
guage an d wr o te a very rugged ha n d which it was
,

s om etim es di i cu l t t o decipher He did n o t h eat .

about the bush with us at all If we wr ote o u t an .

essay on som e o ccult ideas we had picked up an d ,

sen t it t o h im askin g if it was right it wo ul d s om e

, ,

ti m es co m e back w ith a heavy r ed line scored thr o ugh

it and No wr itten o n the m a r gin
, On o n e occa .

sio n on e of us had written C a n you clear my con

,

c e t ion s about so a n d so ? The ann o tatio n found

”

p
in the margin when the paper was retu r ned was

M
,
’
H o w can I clear what yo u h a ve n t g ot ! an d so

on . But with al l this we made pro gr ess un der

an d by degr ees the c o r r esp o n de n c e which ,
 LA TER O CC UL T P H ENO M ENA . 181

began on his side with brief n o tes scrawled in the

,

r o ughest m anner o n bits o f coa r se Thibetan paper ,

expanded into considerable letters so metim e s And .

it must h e understood that while his rough and a h

rupt ways fo rmed an a m using co ntrast wi th the ten
der gen tleness o f Koo t H o om i there was nothing i n
,

these t o i m pede the gro wth o f o u r attach m en t t o him

as we began t o feel o u r selves toler ated by him as
pupils a little mor e willi n gly than at fi rst So m e o f .

my reader s I am sure will realize what I mean by

, ,

attach m ent in this case I use a c o l o rless wo r d

”
.

deliber ately t o avoid the pa r ade of feelings whic h

might n o t be generally unde r stood ; but I can assur e
them that in the c o u r se o f pro lo nged r ela tio n s
even though me r ely of the epist o lar y kind with a
personage w h o tho ugh a man like the r est o f us as
,

regards his natural place in creation is elevated so ,

far above ordinar y men as t o po ssess some attr ibutes

M
commonly c o nsidered di v i n e feelings ar e engender ed
,

which are t o o deep t o be lightly or easily described

M
.

It was by quite r ece n tly that a little man i

fe st at ion o f fo r ce was give n fo r my gratifi cati o n the ,

impor tance of which turned o n the fact that adame

Blavatsky was en ti r ely u n in fl u en t ial in its p r o duc

M
tio n an d eight hun dred miles away a t the time For
,
.

the fi r st thr ee m o nths o f my ac quai n ta n c e with h i m ,

had r igidly adhered t o the principle he laid

do w n whe n he agr eed t o c o r respo nd with the Sim la
’
E c le c tic S o ciety du r ing K oo t H oom i s retir ement .

He wo uld c o r respond w ith us but would pe r form n o

,

phenomen a whatever This narrative is so much

.

engaged with phenomena that I cann o t t oo c on

st an t l
y remi n d the re a de r th a t these incide n ts were
 1 82 TH E O CC UL T W OR LD .

scattered over a l o n g per iod o f time and that as a ,

rule n o thing is mo r e pro foundl y distasteful to the

gr eat adepts than the pro duction o f wonde r s in the
outside wor ld Or dina r y c r iti c s o f these when they
.
,

have been thus ex c eption ally acc o r ded will co n ,

st an t l
y argue But
, why di d n o t the Br o thers do so

and so dide r en t l y ? then the incident woul d have

been much m o r e c onvincing I repeat that the
.

Br o thers in pr o ducin g abn o rmal phenomena n ow and

,

then are n o t tryi ng t o pro ve their existence t o an

,

intelli gent jur y o f Englishm en They are simply

.

letting their existence beco m e per ceptible t o pers o ns

w ith a natur al gr avitation towards spi r it u ality a n d
mysticism It is n o t t o o much t o say that all the
.

while they ar e sc r upul o usly a v oi di n g the deliver y of

di r ect proof o f a n atur e c alcul ated t o satisfy the c om
m on l a ce mi n d F o r the p r ese n t at all events they
p .
, ,

prefer that the crass materialistic Phi listines o f the

,

sensual sel fi sh wo r ld should co n tinue to cherish the

,

c o nv icti o n that the Br othe r s are myths They

“
.

reveal themselves ther efo re by sign s and hints which

, ,

a r e only likely t o be compr ehended by people with

some spi r itu al insight o r affi nity True the appear .

ance of this b o o k is per m itted by them —n o page ,

o f it woul d have been written if a wo r d fr o m Koo t

H o om i had indicated dis appr ova l on hi s part ,

a n d the phen o menal occu r r ences herein recorded are

really in many cases a bs olutely complete an d ir r esi s

tible p r oofs f o r m e and therefo re for any on e wh o is
,

capable o f un derstanding that I am tell ing the exact

truth But the B r o ther s I i m agine k n ow quite
.
, ,

well that l a r ge as the revelatio n has been it may

, ,

safely be passed befor e the eyes o f the public at

 LA TE R O CC UL T M
PH ENO ENA . 1 83

large just because the her d wh o se convictions they

,

do n o t wish to reach can be r elied up o n t o reject it

, .

The sit u ation may remind the reader of the f ar ceu r

who undert oo k to stand o n W a terloo Br idge with a
hundred real sovereigns o n a tray o fl er in g t o sell
,

them for a shi lling apiece and wh o wagered that he

,

would so stand for an hour without getting rid o f his

stock He relied on the st upidity of the passers—
. by ,

wh o would th ink the m selves t o o clever t o be taken

in So with this little boo k It contains a straight
. .

forward statement of abs o lute tr uths which if peo , ,

ple could only believe the m woul d revolutionize the

,

wo rld ; and the statement is fo r tifi ed by unimpe ac h

able c r edenti al s But the bul k of mankind wil l b e
.

bli nded t o this conditio n o f things by their own van

ity and inability t o assi m ilate super material istic -

ideas and none will be serio u sly affected b ut those

,

w h o are quali fi ed to bene fi t by comprehending .

Reade r s o f the latte r cl ass wil l readily appreciate

the way the phenomena tha t I have had t o record
have thus fo ll o wed in the track of my o w n gro wing
co n victio ns con fi r m i n g these as they have in t u r n
,

been inferentiall y c onstructed rather tha n pr o v ok

,

ing and enforcing them in the fi rst instan ce And

M
.

this has been em phatically the case wi th the on e or

t w o phen o m ena that h a v e latte r ly been ac corded by
It was in fr iendship and ki n dness that

M
these were given long after all idea o f con fi rmin g my
,

belief in the Brother s w a s wholly superfl uou s a n d

ou t o f date. ca m e indeed t o wish t hat I
shoul d have the satisfaction o f seeing hi m ( in the
astr al body o f co u r se ) and wo uld ha ve arr an ged fo r
,

this in B o mbay in J a n uary whe n I we n t do wn th ere

, ,
1 84 TH E O CC UL T W OR LD .

fo r a day t o m eet my wife wh o was retu r ning from

M
,

England h ad the atmospher ical and other c o nditions

,

just at that perio d per mitted it But unfor tunately .

,

for me these were n o t favorable

,
As wrote
.

in o n e o f several litt le no tes I received from hi m dur

ing that day and the fo llowing mo rning before my ,

departure from the headqua r ter s o f the Theoso phical

S ociety where I was staying even they the Broth
, , ,

e r s could n o t
,
wo r k miracles and tho ugh t o the
or dinary spectato r there may be but little di fference
between a miracle and any on e of the pheno mena
that the B r o ther s do so metimes accomplish these ,

latter a r e really r esults achieved by the manipul ati o n

M
o f nat u ral laws and fo rces a n d a r e subject t o o h
,

st acl es whi ch are sometimes p r acticall y insupe r able .

But as it happened was enabled t o sho w

,

himself t o on e member of the S imla Eclectic Society ,

who happened t o be at B ombay a day o r t w o before

M
my visit The figure was clear ly v isible for a few
.

m o ments and the face disti nctly recognized by my

,

friend w h o had p r evi ously see n a po r tr a it of

,

Then it passed a c ro ss the o pen door o f an in n e r

roo m in which it h ad a ppear ed in a dir ection whe r e
,

there was n o exit ; and when my fr iend w h o had

M
,

started fo rwar d in its pu r suit enter ed the inner ,

r o o m it was n o l onger t o be seen On t wo or three

,
.

other o cc asions pr evi ously had made his as

M
,

tral fi gur e visible t o o ther pers o n s about the head

quarters o f the S o ciety where the c onstant presen c e
,

of adame Blavatsky and o n e o r t w o o ther pers o ns

of highly sympathetic ma g netism the purity o f life ,

o f all habituall y resident there and the c o nstant in,

fl u en ces poured in by the Br o the r s themselves ren ,

 LA TER O CC UL T M
PIIENO ENA . 1 85

der the pr oductio n of phenomen a immeasurably easier

than elsewhere

M
.

And this brings m e b ack to certain incidents

which took place r ec e n tly at my o wn ho use at Alla
habad when as I have al r eady stated
, , adame Bla ,

v at sk he r self was eight hundred miles o ff at B

y om ,

bay C o lo nel Olc o tt then on his way t o C a lcutta

.
, ,

was stayi n g with us fo r a day o r t w o in passing .

He was accompanied b y a young native mystic ,

a r dently aspiring t o be accepted by the Bro thers as

a ch el a o r pupil and the magnetism thus b r ought t o
, ,

the ho use established conditions which fo r a short

time render ed s ome manifestati o ns possible R e .

turning h ome o n e evening sho rtly before dinne r I ,

fo und t wo o r three telegrams awaiti n g me enclo sed ,

in the usual way in envelopes securely faste n ed b e

,

fore being sent o u t from the telegr aph 0 cc The “

M
.

messages were all fr o m o rdinary p eo pl e o n co mmon ,

pl a ce business ; but inside on e o f the envel o pes I

fo un d a little fo lded n o te fr om The mer e
fa c t tha t it h a d been thus tr a n sfused by occult meth
o ds inside the cl o sed e n vel o pe w a s a phenomenon in

itself of c o urse ( like ma n y of the same kind that I

,

ha ve desc r ibed befo r e ) ; but I n eed n o t dwell o n

this po int as the fe a t that had been pe r formed an d
, ,

o f which the n o te ga v e me info r m a tion was even

M
,

m o r e obvi o usly wo n de r ful The n o te made me sear ch

.

in my writing r oo m fo r a fr agment of a plaster bas

-

r elief that had just tr anspor ted i n stantane

o u sl
y f r o m B o m bay In sti n ct t o o k m e at once t o the
.

pla c e where I felt that it was most likely I shoul d

find the thing which had been brought th e d r awe r
o f my w r iting t a ble ex c lusively devo ted t o occul t
-
,
 n

M
1 86 TH E O CC UL T W OR LD .

correspondence ; and there acco rdingly I found a , ,

’
b r oken corn er from a plaster slab with s sig ,

nature marked up o n it e I telegraphe d at once t o

M
B o mbay t o ask whether anythi ng special had just
,

happened and next day received back wo rd that

,

had smashed a certain plaster portr ait and ,

had carried off a piece In due c o ur se of time I r e

.

c eiv e d a minute statement fro m Bombay attested by ,

the si gnatures o f seven persons in al l whi ch was as

M
, ,

regards all essential points as fol lows ,

At about seven in the evening the following

M
persons ( fi ve are enumerated including adame ,

Blavatsky) we r e seated at the dining table at t ea -

, ,

’
in adame Bl av at sky s veranda opposite the door
in the red sc r een separating her fi r st wr it ing roo m -

fr o m the l o ng ver anda The t wo halves o f the

.

writin g r oo m we r e wide open and the din i ng table

- -

M
, ,

being ab o ut t wo feet fr om the door we coul d all see ,

plainly everything in the r oo m A bout five o r seven .

minutes after ada m e Blavatsky gave a star t We

, .

al l beg a n t o watch She then l o o ked all roun d h e r

.
,

a n d said What is he goi n g t o do

, and repeate d
the same twice or thr ice without l o okin g at o r refer

M
rin g to any o f us We al l suddenly heard a kno ck
—a loud noise as of something fal ling and b r eaking
.

,
’
behin d the d o or of ad am e B l a v at sky s w r itin g
r o om , when there was n o t a soul ther e at the time .

A still lo uder noise was hea r d and we al l rushed in , .

The room was e m pty and silent ; b u t jus t behind the

red c o tton do o r where we had heard the noise we
, ,

fo u nd fallen o n the gr ound a Paris plaster mould ,

repr esenti n g a po r trait b r oken i n to sever al pieces

,
.

After ca r efully pi c ki n g the pie c es up t o the s m allest

 LA TER O CC UL T PH ENO M ENA . 1 87

fra gments and exami ning it we found the nail on

, , ,

which the moul d had h ung for nea r ly eighteen

months strong as ever in the wal l The ir on wire
, .

loop of the portrait was perfectly intact an d n ot even

M
,

bent W e spre ad the pieces o n the table and tried

.
,

t o arrange the m thinkin g they coul d be glued as , ,

adame Blavatsky seemed very much anno yed as ,

the mould was the wo rk of o n e of her friends in New

York W e foun d that on e piece nearly square and
.
,

of about t wo i nches in the right corner o f the mould

M
, ,

was wanting We we n t i n to the r oo m a n d searched

.

fo r it but co u ld n o t find it Shortly afterwards

M
, .
,

adame Blavatsky suddenl y arose and went into her

room shutting the door after her In a minute she
, .

called r in and sho wed t o him a small piece

.
,

o f paper We all saw and read it afterwards It

. .

was in the same handwr iting in which some of us

M
have received previo us com m un icatio ns and the same ,

familiar initi a ls It to ld us that the missing piece .

was taken by the B r o ther who m r Sin nett c alls .

’
the Illustr ious t o Alla habad and that she sho uld
1
, ,
’
c ol l ec t an d carefully prese r ve the re m aini n g pieces .

The statement goes after this into some further

detail s which are unimportant as regards the gener al

M
,

M
fl

1 “
y i ll u st r i ous f r ie n d ”
, w as t h e e x pr ession I or igi n a ll y us e d in
ap p lic at i on to th e B r ot h er Ih a v e h e r e ca ll de an d i t g ot sh or t en e d
f
a t er w a r d s in t o t h e p se u o n d y m gi v en in t h e st at em en t . It is i c u t d ffi l
so m e t im es to k
n o w w h at t o ca ll t h e B r o t h e r s, e ven wh en on e k w no s

t h eir r ea l n am es. Th e l ess t h ese are p rom i sc uou sl ) h an r

dl de th e b tte er ,

for v ar i ous r ea so n s, a m o n g w h i c h i s t h e pr o o u n fd an n o y an c e w h ic h i t

gi ve s t h e ir r ea l di l
sc i p es if su ch n am es g e t i n t o r e f q uen t a n d di sres pec t

f t K
’
fu l use am on g scof e r s. I r eg r et n ow tha t oo H oo m i s n am e, so

ar d
ly ven t en er a e t d by al l w ho h a v b
e een tru ly bj su ect t o h is in fl ue n c e,

Sh ld ve
ou e r ha v b
e ee n a ll o we d to a ppear i
n f ll u in t h e t ext of t he

b oo k .
 O CC UL T LD

M
1 88 TH E W OR .

reader and is sign ed by the four native friends w h o

,

wer e with adam e Blavatsky at the time the plaster

por trait was br o ken A postscr ipt signed by three
.
,

other persons adds that these three cam e in shor tly

,

after the actual b r eakage and fo und the rest o f the ,

par ty trying t o ar r ange the fragments on the table

M
.

It will be unde r stood of course but I may as we l l , ,

explicitly state that the evening t o which the above

,

na r r ative r elates was the same on which I fo und r .

’
s note i n side m telegram at A l lahab ad and
y ,

the missing piece of the cast in my d r awer ; and no

appreciable tim e appea r s t o have elapsed between
the breakage o f the cast a t Bom bay an d the delive r y
o f the piece at All ahabad fo r tho ugh I did n o t n o te ,

the exact minute at which I fo und the fr agme n t

and indeed it m ay have been alr eady in m y d r awer
, ,

fo r some little time befo r e I ca m e h o m e the time

certainly between se v en and eight p r o b ably ab o ut ,

half past seven or a qu a r ter t o eight A n d ther e is

- .

’
near ly half an hour s diffe r ence o f l o ngi tude between
Bom bay an d All aha bad so that seven at Bombay ,

would be near ly h a lf past at Allahabad Eviden tly - .

,

ther efore the plaste r fr agm e n t weighin g t w o o r

, ,

three o unces was reall y brought fro m B ombay t o

,
‘

Allahabad t o all intents and purp o ses i n st an t a:

, ,

n eo u sl
y That i
. t was veritably t h e actual piece miss
‘

ing fr o m the cast br o ken at Bombay was pr oved a

few days later for a l l the r e m ai n ing pieces at B om
,

bay we r e c arefully pa c ked u p an d sent t o m e a n d ,

the fr a ctu r ed edges o f my f r agm ent fi tted e xactly

into th o se o f the d e fe c t ive c o r ner so that I was e n ,

abled t o a r r a n g e the pie c e s all t ogether aga in an d

complete t h e c t a s .
 LA TE R O CC UL T PH ENO M ENA .
1 89

The shrewd reade r o f the class o f persons w h o

wo uld never have been taken in by the man w h o

sold s o vereigns o n Waterloo Bridge will laugh at
the whole story A lump o f plaster o f Paris sen t a
.

distan ce of eight hundr ed miles across India in the

wink of an eye by the will power o f somebody He a ven
-

knows wher e at the time pro bably in Thibet l The

shr ewd per so n could n o t manage the feat hi m self so ,

he is co n vi n ced that no body else c o uld and that the ,

event never occur red R a ther believe that the seven

.

witnesses at Bombay and the present wr iter are tell

ing a pack o f lies than that there can be any on e
living in the wor ld w h o kn ows secr ets o f Nature and ,

can empl oy forces o f Nature th a t shrewd pe r s on s of

the Ti m es reading Jo lly Bank ho liday three penny
-
,
“ -
,
-

’
b u s young man type kno w nothing about S ome
”
.

fr iends o f mine criticising the first edition of this

,

book have found fault with me for n ot adopting a

,

mor e respectful and c o ncili a to r y tone towar ds scienti

fi c scepticism when co n f r o n ting the world with allega
tions o f the kind these pages contain But I fail t o .

see any motive fo r hypoc r isy in the matter A gr eat .

number of intel ligent people in these days ar e shak

in g themselves fr ee at once fr o m the fetters o f ma
t er i al i sm forged by m ode r n science an d the entangled
super stiti o n o f ec c lesiastics r eso lved that the C hur ch
,

he r self with all h e r mu m m e r ies shall fail t o make

, ,

them ir r eligious ; th a t science itself with all its co n ,

ceit shall n o t blin d the m

, t o the possibilities o f Na
ture These ar e the people w h o will un der stand m y
.

nar r ative and the sublimity of the revelati o n s it em

b o dies But all people wh o hav e been either th o r
.

oughl y enslaved by do ma o r tho r o ughly mate r ialized

g ,
1 90 TH E O CC UL T W OR LD .

by modern science have finally l o st some facul ties

, ,

and will be un able t o app r ehend facts that do n o t

fit in wi th their prec o nceived ideas They wi ll mis .

take their o w n i n tell ectual defi ciencies fo r in her ent

impossibility of occur r en c e o n the part of the fact
descr ibed ; they will be very rude in tho ught and
speech towar ds per sons o f supe r ior intuition wh o do ,

find the m selves able t o believe and in a cert ain ,

sense t o understand ; and it seems t o me that the

,

ti m e has come for letting the comm onplace scoffe r s

realize plainly that in the estimation of their more
enlightened contem por ar ies they do i n deed seem a
B oeotian her d i n which the better educated and the
lesser educ ated — the o r thodox savant and the city
,

cler k — difi er mer ely in degr ee a n d n ot in kind .

The morning after the occurrence of the incident

just detail ed B R,
the you n g native a spir
ant for ch el a ship who h ad accompanied C olonel
-
,

Olcott and was staying at my house gave me a note

, ,

fr om Koot B oomi which he fo und under his pillow

,

in the mo r nin g On e which I had written t o Koot

.

H oom i a n d had given t o B

,
R the pr evio us
day had been taken he told me at night befor e he
, , , ,

slept The n o te fr o m Ko o t H o om i w a s a sho rt o n e

.
,

in the course o f which he said To fo r ce phen om ena

,

in the presence of diffi culties magnetic and other is

forbidden as st r ictly as for a bank ca shier t o disbur se
m o ney whi c h is only entr usted t o h im Even t o do .

this much for you so far fr om the headquarte r s wo uld

be i m possible but fo r the magnetisms O and
B R have b r o ught with them an d Icoul d
do n o m o r e Not fully realizing the fo rc e o f the
.

fi nal w o r ds i n this pa ss age an d m o r e st r uck by a

,
 LA TER O CC UL T PH ENO M ENA . 1 91

previous passage in whi ch Koot H oom i wrote

, It
is easy for us t o g ive phenomen al proofs when we
have necessary c o ndit ions I wrote next day sug ,

g e st in
g on e or t wo things which I thought might be

M
done t o take additional advantage of the c o nditions
presented by the introduction into my house of avail
able magnetis m difl er en t fr om that of adame

M
Blavatsky wh o had been so much however absur dly
, , ,

suspected of imposing on me I gave thi s n ote t o .

B R o n the evening o f the i 3t h of arch

the plaster fragment incident had taken place on
the 1 1t h — and on the m o rning of the 14t h I r e
c ei v e d a few words fr o m K oot H o o m i simply sayi ng ,

that what I proposed was impossible , and that he

would write more ful ly through Bombay W hen in .

due time I so heard from him I lear ned that the ,

limited facilities of the moment had been exhausted ,

and that my suggestions coul d n ot be c o mplied with ;

but the importance o f the explanatio ns I have just

M
been giving turns on the fact that I did after all , ,

exchange lett e r s with K oo t H o om i at an i n terval o f

a few ho urs at a time when adame Blavatsky was
,

at the other side of In dia .

The account I have just been giving of the instan

t an eo u s t r ansmission o f the plaster of Par is fr agm e n t
fr o m Bo m bay t o Allahabad fo r m s a fitting prelude
to a r emarkable se r ies o f incide n ts I have next t o r e
cor d The st o ry n o w t o be told has al r eady been
.

made public in In dia having been ful ly related in

,

1
Psyc hic No tes a per io dical te m po rarily b r ought
”
,

ou t a t C alcutta with the o bje c t especia l ly o f reco r d

,

ing incidents connected with the spiritu al istic medi

1 New ton Co .
, Ca l c u t ta .
1 92

u m ship o f M TH E O CC UL T

Eglinto n wh o stayed for some months

r .
,

at C alcutta durin g the past cold season The inc i

W OR LD .

dent was hardly addressed t o the outside world ;

rathe r t o spirituali sts w h o while infinitely clo ser t o a
,

comprehension of occultism tha n people still wr apped

in the da r kness o f o rtho do x incredulit y about all ,

super material phenom ena are neve r theless t o a lar ge

-
,

exten t inclined t o put a purely spiritu al i stic explan a

tio n o n a l l such phenomena In this way it had .

c ome t o pass that ma n y spiritualists in India were

M
inclined t o suppose that we who believed in the
B r others were in some way misled by extr ao r dina r y

M
m e diu m sh ip o n the par t o f adame Blavatsky .

And at fi r st the spirit guides who spoke thr o ugh

M
r . Eglinton confirmed this V ie w But a very r e .

markable change came ove r thei r utter an c es at l ast .

Shor tly befor e r Egli n t on s depart ure from C al

.
’

outta they declar ed their full knowledge o f the

,

B r other ho od n aming the Ill ust rious by that des

M
,

ig n a t ion and declaring that they had been appointed

,

t o wo rk in concert wi th the Brothe r s then c efo r th

M
.

On this aspect o f a d ai r s r Eglinton left India in

, .

the stea m shi p Veg a sailing fr o m C alcutta I believe

, , ,

on the l 6 t h o f ar ch A few days late r on the mor n

M
.
,

i n g of the 2 4t h at Allahabad I received a letter

, ,

fr o m K oot H o o m i in which he told me that he was

,

going t o visit r Eglinton o n board the Veg a a t

M
.

sea con vince him thor oughly as t o the existence of

,

the Br others an d if successful in doin g this no tify

,

the fact i m mediately t o ce r tain frien ds of r Egli n .

’
ton s at C alcutta The letter had bee n wr itten a
.

day o r t wo before and the night between the l t

,

and 2 2n d was mentio n ed as the period when the as

 LA TER OC C UL T PH ENO M
ENA . 1 93

tral visit would be paid Now the ful l explanation

.

o f all the circum stances under which this startling

programme was car ried ou t will take som e little time ,

but the narr ative wi l l be the more easily fol lo wed if

M
I fi rst describe the outline o f what to o k place in a
few wor ds The promised visit was a c tu a l l y p ai d
.
,

and n ot only that but a letter written by r Eglin .

t on at sea o n the 24t h describin g it — and giving in

his adhesi o n to a belief in the Brother s fully and
completel y was tr ansported instan taneously that
same evening t o Bombay where it w as dropped ,

out of nothin g like the first letter I received o n

my return to India) before seve r al wit nesses by
them identi fi ed and tied up with cards written o n by

M
them at the time then t aken away again and a few
m o ments later d r o pped down cards from B o mbay ,

and all among r Egli n t on s fr iends at C a l cu t t a

,
.
’

wh o had been told beforehand t o expect a com m uni

cation fro m the Br others at that time All t h e inci .

dents of this series ar e authent icated by witnesses and

do c um ents and there is n o rati o nal escape for any
, ,

on e w h o l o oks into the evidence from the necessity ,

o f a dmitt ing that the va r ious pheno m ena as I have

just described them have a ctually been accom plished ,

“
impossible as ordin ary scien c e will declar e them

M M
.

F or the details o f the va r i o us incidents o f the

se r ies I may refer the reader to the account pub
,

l i sh e d in P sych i c Not es of arch 30 by r s G or

M
.
,

don wife o f C olonel W Gordon of C alcutt a and

,
.
, ,

authenticated with h er sign ature .

C olonel Olcott r s Gordo n explains in the ear

, .

’
lier part of her statement which for brevity s sake I
,

condense had just arr ived at C alcutta on a visit to

,
 M
1 94 TH E O C C UL T W OR LD .

C o lonel Gor don and herself . A letter had come

from adame Blavatsky
dd B o b y t h e 1 9 th
at e m a , t el l i n g us t h at som e t hi n
g w a s go i n g
to b e d e d exp on i , an r e ss n
g t h e e ar n e st h ope t h at sh e w o u l d
n t be
o q i dt a it re u re o ss s , a s sh e h a d h a d e n o u h
g a b u se a b ou t

ph e n om en a. B e for e t h i s l e t t er w a s b gh t b y t h e p ost pe o n ,
r ou

C o l o n e l Ol co t t h a d t ol d m e t h at h e h a d h a d an i n t i m a t i o n i n
the ni
gh t fr om h i s C h oh a n ( t e ac h e r ) t h a t K . H .
1
h ad b ee n to
the Vega a n d se e n Eg l i n t o n . Th i s w a s at a b ou t ei h
g t
’
o c oc l k
on Th ur s d y a m or n i n
g , t h e 2 3 r d A fe w h ou r s l a t e r a t el e gr a m ,

M M
.

d a te d at B o m b ay , 2 2 n d day , 2 1 h ou r s 9 m i n u te s, t h at i s, say
9 m in u t e s p a st 9 R on W e n es . d d a
y ve n i n g c a m e t o m e fr om
e ,

a d am e l a a t sk y , t o t h i s e f e c t
B v f K H j u t gon e to Vega
. . s .
’

T h i s t e l e gr a m c am e as a d el a
ye d ’
m e ssa
ge , a n d w as p osted t o
m e f r om C al c u t t a, wh ich acc o un t s for i t s n o t r e ac h i n
g m e u n t il

M
m i dd a
y on Th u r s dy a . It c or r o b o r at e d , as wi ll be se e n ,
the

m e ssa
ge of th e pr e v iou s n igh t t o Co l on el Ol c o t t We th en

M
.

f el t h op ef l of get t in g t h e l et t e r b y o cc l t m e a s fr om r
u u n .

Eg l i n t o n A t el e gr a m l at er o n T h u r sd ay a sk e d u s t o fix a
.

t im e for a si t t i n g so w e n am e d 9 o cl o c k ad r a s t i
’
e on F i m r

M
, ,

day 24 t h ,
A t t h is h o
. w e t h r ee C o l on e l Ol cot t C o l o n e l
ur ,

Go d on an d m y sel f sat i n t h e r oom wh ich h a d b e en ocen

r ,

i ed b y E g l i n ton r. W e h a d a go o d l i gh t a n d sa t w i t h
p .
,

o u r ch a ir s pl a c e d t o f o r m a t r i a n gl e o f w h ich t h e a p e x w a s t o ,

t h e n or t h In a fe w m i n u t e s C o l o n e l Ol c o t t sa w o t sid e t h e
.
u

O e n w i n d ow t h e t w o B r o th e r s w h o se n a m e s ar e b est k o w n n
p
t o u s a n d t o l d u s so
,
h e saw t h e p a ss t o a n o t h e r w i n d o w m ,

t h e gl a ss d oo r s o f w h i ch w e r e c l ose d H e sa w o n e o f t h e m .

o i t h i s h a n d t o w ar d s t h e a ir o v e r m y h e a d a n d I fe l t so m e
n
p ,

t h i g a t t h e sam e m o e n t f a l l st r a igh t d o w n fr o m a bo v e on t o
n m

m sh o u l d er a n d sa w i t f a l l a t m y f ee t i n t h e d ir e ct ion t owa r ds
y ,

t h e t w o ge n t l e m e n I k n e w i t w o u l d b e t h e l e t t e r b u t for t h e
. ,

m o m e n t I w a s so a n x i o u s t o se e t h e B o t h e r s t h at I did n ot r

p i c k u
p w h a t h ad f a l l en C ol o n e l G or d o n a n d C ol o n el Ol c o t t
.

b ot h saw an d h e ar d t h e l e t t e fal l C ol on el Ol c ot t h ad t r n e d r . u

hi s h e ad fr o m t h e w in d ow for a m o m en t to see wh at t h e
‘
B r o t h er ’
w a s p oi n t i n g a t , an d so n o t i ce d t h e l et t e r f al l i n g

M
,

1 W e h ad g o t i n t o t h e h a i t b at t h i s t im e o f u si n g t h ese i n it ia l s fo r
t he
’
ah a t m a s n a m e
 L A TER OC C UL T P H ENO M ENA . 19
5

fr o m a po in t a fe e t fr o m t h e ce il i n g W h e n h e l oo k e d
b out t wo .

a ai n t h e t w o B r o t h er s h a d v a n i sh e d
g .

Th er e i s n o v e r a n d ah o u t sid e an d t h e wi n d o w i s se v eral
“

M M
,

feet f r o m t h e gr o u n d .

I n o w t u r n e d a n d pic k e d u p w h a t h ad f all e n o n m e a n d ,

fou n d Egl i n t o n d d o thd

’
a l et t er i n r. s h a n w r i t in g , at e n e

M
Veg a t h e 2 4 t h a m essage fr o m a d am e B l v at sky d t d t
a , a e a

B o m b ay t h e 2 4 t h , wr i t t e n on the b cka s of t h r ee of v i sit i g

h er n

c ar d s al so a l a r ger c ar d , su c h a s r . Egli n t o n h a d a p ac k t e

o f, a n d u se d at h is d w as t h e t o
’
sea n c es . On t h i s l a t t er car , u s,

w ll k
e w h-
d w i t i g f K H a d f w wor d i t h e h d
no n an r n o . .
,
n a e s n an

B o th t i de
’
w it i g o f t h
r n th e w h o w a w it h h i
e o r r er , s m ou s ou r

wi d w ch i f A l l t h e se c d
’
n d w h i C ol o e l Ol co t t
o , an o s n s e . ar s

a d th e let t
n w t h e ad e d t oge t h e w i t h a pi ece of b l
er er e r r . ue

se w i g ilk nW pe e d t h e l e t t e c
s . ef l ly b y li t t in g p
o n r ar e u , s u

on e id we
s w t h t so e o e h d
e , as sa de t h e fl ap i a m n a m a on n

pe n c i l t h r ee Lat i n c r o sse s, an d so we k e pt t h em i n t ac t for

M
i de n ti fi c a t ion Th e l e t t er i s as fo l l o ws

MM
.

S . S . Vega , F id ay
r , 24 t h ar ch , 1 882 .

Y D EA R G O R DO N R S
y ho. of t i
ph ,
A t l st a o ur ur r um

h as co m e A ft e t h e y b ttl w h v h d at t h e b
r m an k a es e a e a r ea

fast t ab l e e g d i g K H y st bb
’
-
r x i t ce
ar n d .
p . s e s en , an m u o r n se e

t i e i sm t h e wo d f l p w d b y t h e B th ”
as t o p n er u o er s o sse sse ro er s,

I ha v e b ee f ce d t n co p l t e b l i f i
or t h e ir b i g l i v i g
o a m e e e n e n n

di st i n c t pe r so n s, a n d ju i n pr o po r t io n t o m y
st sce pt ic i sm w il l
o p i n io n r e s pe c t i n
be m
yfi r m u n a l l er a b l e
g t h em I am n o t al

M
.

lowe d t o tel l yo u all I kn ow , b ut K . H . app ear ed to m e in

p e r so n t wo d a
ys a go , an d w h at h e t o ld m e d um fo u n d e d m e.

M
Pe r h a ps a d am e B . wi l h a l ve al r e a dy c o m m u n icat e d the f ac t
of K . H .
’
s a
pp e ar a n ce t o y ou . Th e “
Il l u st r i ou s i s u n c e r t ai n
w h e t h er t h i s c an b e t ak e n t o a d a m e or n ot, b u t h e w i ll t r y ,

M
n ot wi t h st a n di
g t h enm an
y i d ffi l t ie cu s in th e w ay If h e oe s
. d
n ot I sh a l l post i t w h e n I ar r i ve at
po r t I sh al l r ea t h is t o d

M
.

r s. B a n d ask h er t o m ar k t h e e n v el ope b u t wh a te ver

happ en s, yo u ar e r e q u e st e d by K . H . to k eep t h i s l e t te r a pr o
fo u n d se cr e t un ti l you h e ar r om h i m t h ou gh f
a am e d . A
st o r m of o
pp o si t i o n i s ce r t a i n t o b e r a i se , a n d sh e h a s h ad d so

m u ch to bea r t h a t i t i s h ar d sh e sh o u ld h av e m or e .
’
Th e n
1 96 TH E OC C UL T W OR LD .

M
fo llow som e re m ar k s a b ou t h i s h eal t h a n d t h e t r ou l b e w h i ch is

M
t ak i n g h i m h o m e an d t h e l e t te r e n d s
,
.

In h er n o t e on d am e B l a at ky
th e t h r ee v i si t i n g c ar ds a v s

M M
say s H ad q a t e e ch 2 4 t h u Th e e ca d a d c t e t
r r s, ar . s r s n on n s

t o cer t i fy t y d o b t e t h
o m t t h e t t a h e d l et t e
u a dd ers ed t a a c r r ss o

M
r s Go d . by r Egl i t o w j t b o gh t t o
on r. f th e
n n as us r u m e r om

Veg a , w i t h an o t h e r l e t t er fr om h im se lf to m e, w hic h I k eep .

K H t el l s m e he sa w r Egl in t o n an d h ad a t al k w it h h i m

M M
. . .
,

l on g an d con v in c i n g e n o u gh to m a ke h im a b el ie v er in t h e
“
B r oth e r s a s act u al l iv in g b ei n gs for t h e r e st of h i s n at u r al
,
”
,

li fe . r E l in t o n w r i t e s t o m e
g . T h e l e t t er wh i ch I e n c l o se

i s goin g t o b e t ak en t o r s G t h r o u gh your i n fl u e n ce You . . .

wi ll r e c ei v e i t w h e r e v er you ar e a n d w i l l for w ar d i t t o h e r i n ,

o r d i n ar y c o u r se You w i l l l e ar n w i t h sat i sfac t i o n o f m y com

.

e t e c on v er sion t o a b e l ie f i n t h e B a n d I h a ve n o
’
l r o t h er s
p ,

d ou b t K H h as a l r eady t ol d you h ow h e appear e d t o m e t w o

. .

n igh t s a go ,
”
&c . K . H t ol d
. m e al l . He d o e s n ot , h ow
e v er , w an t for w arm e to d t h e l e t t er i n “
or di n ar
y c our se,
”
as

it wou l d d e fe at t h e o bj e c t , b ut c o m m an d s m e t o w r i t e t h i s an d

sen d it o ff w i t h o u t d e l ay so th at i t wou ld r eac h a ll at

, yo u

M
H owr ah t o -n igh t , t h e 2 4 t h . I do so . H P B l a v at skv
. . .
’

“
Th e h a n w r i t i n g d on t h e se c ar ds a n d si n at ur e
g ar e
pe r
fec t l y w el l k n o w n t o u s Th at on t h e l ar ger c ar d ( fr om
. r .

Egl i n t o n s pac k e t ) at t a ch e d w as e a si l y r e c o gn i z ed as co m in g
’

fr o m K oot H oom i C o l o n e l G or d o n a n d I k n o w h i s w r i t i n g
.

a s w e l l a s o ur o w n it i s so d i st i n c t l y d iffer e n t from an y o t h er
I h a v e e v e se e n t h a t am o n g t h o u sa n d s I c o u l d se l ec t it
r , He .

sa s
y W i ll iam Egl in t o n t h ou gh t t h e m an i fe st at io n c oul d o n l y
,

b e pr o d u c e d t h r o u gh H P B a s a m e d iu m .an d t h a t t h e
. .
“ ”
,

p o w er w o u l d b e c m e e x h a st e d at B om b ay
o W e d e c id e d
u .

o t h e r w i se Le t t h i s b e a pr oo f t o a ll t h a t t h e sp ir i t of l iv in g
.

m a n h a s a s m u ch
po t en t i a l i t y i n it ( an d o f t e n m or e ) a s a di s
e m b o d ie d so u l H e w as an x iou s t o test her h e o f t e n d o u b t e d ;
.
,

tw o n igh t s ago h e h a d t h e r e q u ir e d p r oo f a n d w i ll d o u b t n o
m or e . B u t h e is a goo d youn g m an , b ri
gh t , h on e st , an d t r ue
as d
gol w h e n o n ce con v i n c e d .

Thi s c ar w a s t ake n fr o m h i s stock t o

d d ay . Le t i t b e an

a dd it ion al pr oo f of h i s wo n d f e r ul m e d ium shi p . K . H .

’
 L A TE R OC C UL T PH ENO M ENA . 1 97

Th i s is w r it t e n i n bl ue i n k, a n d ac r o ss i t i s w r it t en i n r ed

in k a fe w w o r d f s r om t h e o t h er B r ot h er
’
( Colo n e l Ol eo tt ’
s

C h o l an or c h i e f) . Th i s i n t er e st i n g a n d w o n de f r ul
ph e n o m en on

is n ot b d
p u l i sh e w i t h t h e i d ea t h at an y o n e w h o i s u n ac q ua i n t e d
w i t h t h e ph e n o m e n a o f s
p ir i t u al i sm w ill ac c e
pt i t . B ut I
wr i t e fo r t h e m i l io n s of l l
s i r i t u a i st s, a n d
p a l so t h at a r e c or d
m a d
y b e m a e o f su c h an i n t er e st i n g e x pe r i m e n t W ho kn ow s .

b u t t h at i t m a y p a ss o n t o a ge n e r a t i o n w h ich w i ll b e e n l igh t
en e d e n o u gh to a c ce
pt su c h w on de rs

A p o stscript adds that since the above statement

was wr itten a paper had been r eceived fr om B o m bay
, ,

signed by seven witnesses wh o saw the letter arr ive

ther e fr o m the Veg a .

As I began by saying this phenomenon was ad ,

’

dressed mor e t o spi r itualists than t o the outer wo r ld ,

because its great value fo r the expe r ie n ced obse r ver

M
o f phen o mena turns on the utterly un m ediumistic
character of the events Apar t fr o m the testim o ny .

Egl in t on s o wn lette r t o the efi ect that he an

’
of r .
,

experienced medium was quite convinced that the ,

interview he h ad with his occult visita nt was n o t an

intervi ew with such spirits as he had been used ”

M
to we have the three cor ner e d character of the inci
,
-

dent t o detach it a l togethe r fr om mediumship either

o n his part o r o n that o f adame Blavatsky .

C ertam there have b een cases in which u n der

the in fl uence o r mediumship the agencies of the or di
nary spir itual s e a n ce have t r ansported lett ers half
’

acr oss the globe A con clusively authenticated case

.

in which an u n finished letter w as thus b r o ught fr om

Lo ndon t o C alcutta will have attr acted the attentio n
o f al l persons who have their understanding awak

ened t o the importance of these matters and who ,

read what is curr e n tly published ab o ut them quite ,

1 98 TH E OC C UL T W OR LD .

recently But every S piritualist wil l recognize that

.

the transpor t o f a letter fr om a ship at sea t o B om

bay and then from Bombay to C alcutta with a
, ,

de fi nite object in view and in accordance with a

,

prearranged and preanno unced plan is somethi ng ,

quite outside the experience of mediumship .

Will the efi or t made and the expenditu r e of force ,

whatever may have been requi r ed t o accomplish the

wonder ful feat thu s recorded be repaid by pr o po r
,

t ion at el y satisfacto r y effects on the spiri t uali stic

wor ld ? There has been a great deal written lately
in England about the antago nism between spiritu al
”

ism and theosophy and an impression has arisen in

,

some way that the two cu l t es are incompatible No w .

,

the phen o mena and the exper iences o f spiri t u alism

are facts and nothing can be incompatible with facts
,
.

But the o sophy b r ings on the scene new interpreta

tio ns of those facts it is true and sometimes these
, ,

p r o ve very unwelcome to spi r itualists long habit

u at ed t o their o wn inter pr etation Hence such
.
,

spiritualists are n o w an d then disposed t o resist the

new teaching al together and hold o u t against a b e
,

lief that there can be anywhere in existence men

entitled t o advance it This is consequently the im
.

p o rtant question to settle before we advance into the

region of metaphysical subtleties L et spi r itualists
.

once realize that the Brothers do exist an d what sort,

of people they are and a great step will have been

,

accomplished No t all at once is it t o be expected

.

that the spiritual world will c o nsent to revise its

conclusions by occult doctrines It is only by pro
.

longed intercourse with the Brothers that a con v i c

tion grows up in the mind that as regards sp irit ual
 LA TER OC C UL T PH ENOM ENA . 1 99

science they can n o t be in error At fi rst let spirit

.
,

u al i st s think the m in er r o r if they please but a t all

even ts it will be unworthy o f their elevated pos ition
above the B oeotian herd if they deny the evidence o f
phenomenal facts if they hold towards occul tism the
at titude whic h the crass sceptic o f the mere L ankes
ter type occupies towar ds spiritualism itself S o I .

cannot but ho pe that the co r uscation of phenomena

c o nnected with the origin and adventures o f the let
ter wr itten o n board the Veg a may have fl ashed ou t
o f the da r kness t o some good purpose showing the ,

spir itualistic world quite plainl y that the great

Br o ther t o whom this work is dedicated is at all ,

eve n ts a living m a n with fa culties and powers of

, ,

that entirely abn o rmal kind which spi r itualists have

hitherto conceived to inhere merely in beings belong
ing t o a superior scheme of existence .

For my part I am glad to say that I n o t only

,

kn o w him t o be a li v ing man by reason of al l the

c i r cumstances detailed in this volume but I am n o w ,

enabled t o r ealize his featur es and appearance by

means of t wo p o r tr aits whic h have been conceded t o
,

me under very remar kable co n ditions It was l o ng .

a wish o f mine to possess a port r ait of my revered

friend ; and s o me time ago he half p r omised that
s o me time or other he would give me o n e No w i n .
,

asking an adept fo r his portrait the object desired is

,

n o t a photograph but a picture p r oduced by a certain

,

occult process which I have n o t yet had occasion t o

describe but with which I had l o ng been familiar by
,

hearsay I had heard for example fr om C olonel

.
, ,

Olc ott o f one of the circumstanc es under which hi s

,

own o r iginal convictions about the reali t ies of occult

 M
2 00 TH E OC C UL T W OR LD .

power were formed man y years ago in New York ,

before he had actual ly entered on the path a .

”

dame Blavatsky on that occasio n h ad told him to

bring her a piece of paper which he would be cer
t ai n l y able to identify in order that she might get a
,

portrait precipitated upon it W e cannot o f c o urse.

, ,

by the light of 0 r din ar y kn o wledge form any c o njee

‘
"

ture about the det ails of the process employed ; but

just as an adept can as I have had so many pr oofs
, ,

prec ipitate writing in closed en v elopes and on the ,

pages of uncut pamphlets so he can precipitate color

,

in such a way as t o form a pi c ture In the case o f

M
.

which C o lonel Olcott told me he took ho me a pie c e

of not e paper from a club in New York — a pie c e
-

bearing a club stamp and gave this to a d a me

Blavatsky S he put it between the sheets of blotting
.

paper o n her writing table rubbed her hand over the

-
,

outside of the pad and then in a few moments the

,

marked paper was given back t o him with a c om

l et e picture upon it representi n g an Indian fakir in
p
a state o f sa m a dhl A n d the ar tistic execution o f
f
.

this drawing was conceived by a r tists to whom C olo

nel Olcott afterwards showed it t o be so good tha t
they compared it t o the works of ol d masters whom
they specially adored and a i r m e d that as an artistic
c uri o sity it was unique and priceless Now in aspir

M
.

ing t o have a portrait of Ko ot H oom i of course I ,

was wishing for a precipit ated picture and it would ,

seem that just befo re a recent visit adame B l a vat

sky paid t o Allahabad s o mething must have been
,

said t o h er ab o ut a possibility that this wish of mine

might be gratified Fo r the day she came she asked
.

me t o give her a piece o f thi ck white paper and mark

 LA TER OC C UL T PH ENO M ENA . 20 1

it This she would leave in her sc r ap book and there

.
-
,

was reason t o hope that a certain hi ghly advan ced

’
ch el a o r pupil o f K oot H oo m i s n o t
, ,
a full adept ,

himself as yet but far o n the road t o that condition

, ,

woul d do what was necessary t o pr oduce the portrait .

Nothing happened that day n or that night The .

scrap boo k r emained lying o n a table in the dr a wing

-

room and was occasionally inspected The following

,
.

mo rning it was looked into by my wife and my sheet ,

o f paper was found to be still blank Still the scrap .

book lay i n full view on the drawing roo m table At -

.

hal f past eleven we went to br eakfast ; the dining

-

room as is o ften the case in Indian bungalows only

M
, ,

being separated from the drawing room by an arch -

way and c ur tains whi ch were dr awn aside Whi le

,
.

we we r e at br eakfa st adame Blavatsky suddenly

showed by the signs with which all who know her
,

are familia r that o n e of her occult frie n ds was near

, .

It was the ckel a to whom I have abo v e refe r red .

S he got up thin ki ng she m i ght be requir ed t o go to

,

her room but the astral visitor she said waved her , ,

back and she returned to the table After breakfast

, .

we l o oked into the scr ap book and on my marked

-
,

sheet of paper which had been seen blank by my

,

wife an h o u r or t wo befo re was a precipitated pr ofi le

,

portrait The face itself was left white with o nly

.
,

a few touches wi thin the limits o f the space it o c

c u i ed ; but the r est o f the paper all r o und it was
p
covered with cl o udy blue shading Sli ght as the .

method was by which the r esul t was produced the ,

outline of the face was perfectly well de fi n e d and its -

,

expr ession as vividly rendered as woul d have been

possible with a fi nished picture .
 02

M TH E OC C UL T
At fi rst adame Blavatsky w a s dissatis fi ed with
the sketch Knowing the o r igin al per s o nally she
.
W OR LD .

could appr eciate its deficiencies ; but though I shoul d

M
have welcomed a more fi nished p o rtr ait I was su ffi ,

c ie n t l y pleased with the o n e I had thus r eceived t o

be reluctant that adame Blavatsky sho uld try any

M
exper im en t with it herself with the view o f improv

M
ing it fo r fear it wo uld b e spoilt In the cour se o f
,
.

the c o nversation ,
put hi m self in c om m un ic a
tio n with adame Blavatsky an d said that he wo ul d
,

do a portr ait himself on an o ther piece of paper

M
.

There was n o questio n in this case o f a test phe “

n e menou ; so after I had procured and given t o

adame Blavatsky a ( marked ) piece of Br istol

M
b o ar d it was put away in the scrap book an d taken
,
-
,

t o h e r room whe r e free from the c o n fusing cross

, ,

magnetisms of the drawing room -

would be

M
,

better able t o operate .

No w it will be understood that neither the pro

du c er of the sketc h I had received n o r in

M
,

the natur al state is an ar tist Talking over the

, .

wh o le subject o f these occul t pictures I ascertained ,

fro m adame Blavatsky that the supremely remar k

able r esults have been obtained by those of the adepts
whose occult science as regar ds this particular pr o
cess has been superadded t o ordinar y artistic t r ai n
ing But entirely without this the adept can pr o duc e
.
,

a resul t which for all o rdinary cr itics looks like the

, ,

wor k of an artist by m erely realizing very clear ly in

,

his imagination the result he wishes t o pr oduce and ,

then pr ecipitatin g the color ing matter in accordance

with that c o nceptio n .

In the cou r se o f about an hour fr o m the time at

 LA TER OC C UL T PH ENO M
ENA . 203

M
which she took away the piece o f Bristo l board or
the time may have been less — w e were n o t watching
it
, adame Blavatsky bro ught it me back with an
other portrait again a profil e though mor e elaborately
, ,

d o ne Both portraits were obviously of the same

.

face and nothing let me say at once can exceed the

, , ,

purity and lofty tenderness of its expression Of .

course it bears n o mar k of age Koot H o om i by .

,

the mere years of his life is only a man o f what we

,

call m iddl e age ; but the adept s physicall y simple ’

and re fined existence leaves n o tr ace of its passage ;

and while our faces rapidl y wear ou t after forty
strained withered and burned up by the passion s t o
, ,

which all ordi nary lives are mo re or less exposed

MM
the adept age for pe r iods o f time that I can har dl y
,

venture t o define remains appa r ently the perfection

,
’
o f early maturity . adame B l a v at sky s
special guardian still as I judge by a port rait of h im
,

that I have seen though I do n ot yet p o ssess o n e in

, ,

the absolute prime of manhood has been her occult ,

guar dian from the time she was a child ; and n o w

she is an old lady He never lo oked she tell s me
.
, ,

any difi e r en t from what he l o oks n o w .

I have now brought up to date the record of all

external facts con nected with the revelations I have
been pri vi leged t o make The door leading to oc
.

cult kn owledge is still ajar and it is still permissible

,

fo r explorers from the outer world to make go od

their fo oting across the th resho ld This condition of .

things is due to exceptional circumstances at present ,

and may n ot contin ue long It s continuance may .

largely depend upon the extent to which the world

at large man i fests an appreciati on of the o ppor t u
204 TH E 06 C UL T W OR LD .

it y ff ered S o me r eader s wh o are interested

n ow o

M
n . ,

but slow t o per ceive what practical a ction they can

take may ask what they can do t o show appr eciation
,

o f the opportunity y reply

. will be m o delled

on the famous injunction o f Sir R o bert Peel

R egister register registe r
, ,
Take the fir st steps
towards making a resp o nse to the o fi er which e m a
nates from the occult wor ld r egister register reg , ,

ister ; in other wor ds join the Theosoph ical Society

,

the o n e and only association which at present is

linked by any recognized bond of union with the
B r otherhood o f Adepts in Thibet There i s a Theo .

sophical S ociety in L ond o n as there ar e other ,

bran ches in Paris an d Amer ica as well as in In dia ,

.

If there is as yet but little fo r these branches t o do ,

that fact does n ot vitiate their importance After a .

voter h as registered there is n ot much fo r h i m to do

,

for the mom ent The mere gr owth of branches o f

.

the Theosophical S oc iety as associati o ns o f people

,

who realize the sublimit y of adeptship and have ,

been able t o feel that the sto ry to ld in this little

book and m or e full y if more obscur ely in man y
, , ,

gr eater volumes o f o ccult learning is absolutely tr ue ,

true n ot as shadowy religious truths or orth o

,
“

dox speculations are held t o be true by their vo ta

ries but tr ue as the L ondon Post Offi c e Dir ec
,
-

tor y is true as the Parliamentary repor ts peo ple

read in the mo r ni n g are true ; the mere enrolment
o f such people in a society under co n ditions which

may enable them sometim es t o meet and talk the sit

u at io n over if they do n o more may actually effect ,

a material result as regards the extent t o which the

auth o rities o f the occult world will permit the fur
 LA TER OC C UL T M
PH ENO ENA . 20
5

th er revelation of the sublime knowledge they po s

sess R emem ber that knowledge is real knowledge
.
,

o f other wo r lds and o ther states of existence —n ot

vague conject u re about hell and heaven and purga

tor y but precise knowledge of other wor lds going on
,

at this moment the condition and natur e of which

,

the adepts can cognize as we can the condition and

,

nature of a strange town we may visit These worlds .

are linked with ou r own and o ur lives with the lives

,

they support and will the further acquaintance with

the few men on earth who are in a position t o tell us
more about them be superciliously rejected by the
advance guard of the civilized wo rld the educated ,

classes of England ? Surely n o inconsiderable group

will t h e su i cien t l y spiritualized t o comprehend the
value of the present o pportunity an d su i cien t l y
,

practical t o follow the advice already quoted and ,

register register register

, , .
 A PPEND IX .

A .
( See Page

LA T ER acqu ai n t an ce w it h t h e su ect h as bj o n e m u ch t o d
sh ow m e t h at t h e r e se r v e h i t h e r t o m a i n t ai n e b y t h e m ast er sd
of o c cu l t sc ie n c e w as i n e it a ev bl
It i s u se e ss t o off er an y
. l
m an i n f or m a t i o n fa c u l t ie s ar e n o t su ffi cie n t ly e x
w h ich h i s
p a n de d t o r e ce i v e d d
On l y a fe w h u n r e y ea r s a go t h e ph y si
.

c al sc ie n c e t h at h as b
e e n a sor e b b d
b y t h e l ast t w o o r t h r ee
d d b
ge n e r at i o n s w i t h a v i i ty w ou l h a v e ee n u n w e l c o m e a n d de
sp i se d . q
Ti ll u it e r ece n t l y t h e se r i o u s c o n t e m pl at ion o f p sy o

c h ic p h e n o m e n a w ou l d b
h a v e e e n r e se n t e a s a r e l ap se i n t o d
su p er st i t io n No m an c an i n v e st igat e c au se s t i l l h e i s w i ll i n g
.

b
t o o se r v e fa c t s, a n d i t w a s o n ly t h e o t h e r day t h a t a i s osi
p d
b d
t io n t o o ser v e f a c t s l y i n g ou t si e t h e o m a i n o f ph y sic a l c au d
sa t i o n w o u l d d
h a v e a l ie n a t e an y pr e m a t ur e l y e v e l o pe e n t h u d d
si a st fr om t h e sy m p a t h ie s o f a l l h i s c o n t e m
p or ar ie s Th e l igh t .

d d
o f m er e w or l ly w i s o m m ay t h u s v i n ic a t e t h e r e t i c e n c e o f t h e d
fe w an d se c l u e c u st o i an s o f t h e h i gh e r k n o w l e
d d d d
ge , b u t
wi t h far gr e a t e r p r ec i si o n i s t h e ir pol i cy v i n ic a t e w h e n w i t h d d
t h e ir ow n h e l p w e c o m e a t l ast t o c o m pr e h e n t h e sc i e n t i fi c d
l a w o f h u m an i n t e l l e c t u al e v e l o pm e n td Th e p r o gr e ss o f t h e
.

w or l d d
i s n o t r o ll i n g o n u n er t h e ir ect io n o f l i n d ch a n ce b d .

d
Pr ope l l e t h ou gh i t i s b y t h e c o l l e c t i v e im pu l se s o f i n i v i u a l d d
e n er
gy , it a v a n c e s i n a e fi n e pa t h , a n d t h e k n o w l e ge , t h e
d d d d
d i sco v e r i e s, t h e spi r i t u a l t e a c h i n g, w h ic h r e a k s u p o n t h e w o r l b d
d
a t e ac h st a ge o f i t s a v a n c e m e n t , i s pr e c i se l
y pr opor t i o n e d
t o t h e r e c e p t i v i t y o f m an k i n a t t h at d
per i o o f i t s e v o l u t i o n d .

T h e r e v e l a t i on o f o c c u l t t r u t h goi n g o n i n t h e w or l j u st n o w d
i n m a n y w ay s an d u n e r v ar i o u s a spec t s — t h o u gh a s I m o st
d
em b d
ph a t ic a ll y e l ie v e , u n e r n o n e m or e u n e u i v o c a lly or sa t i s q
d
fa c t or il y t h a n i n t h e c a se o f t h e ir e c t t e a c h i n g o f occ u l t sci
e n c e I a m i n st r u m e n t a l i n b
g g t o pu l ic n o t ice
r i n in i s th e b —
l e gi t im a t e i n h e r i t an c e of t h i s ge n e r a t i on , an d t h e goo i t m a y d
d d
do i n t h e w o r l n o w c o u l n ot h a v e e en o n e o n l y a fe w de b d
d
c a e s a go .It i s u se l e ss t o t r y t o t a k e a ph ot o gr aph ic pic t ur e
u pon a n o n -se n sit i z e d
p l at e ; i t i s u sel e ss t o pr e se n t t h e su t l e b
co n ce t i o n s o f s i r i t u a l sc ie n ce t o m in s o n w h i ch n o
p p p d
sy ch ic

d
col l o ion h a s pr e v i o u sl y een b
e o si t e
p d
Th e Esot er ic st u y d . d
 A P P END IX .

i n w h i ch som e o f u s c o n n ec t e
w i th t h e Th eo so p h i ca S oc i e t d l y
v b v d d
h a e ee n pr i i l e ge , ur i n g t h e l a st t w o o r t h r e e ye a r s, t o e n
f d
gage , h a s so e f ec t u all y i spe e t h e i sc o n t e n t we fi r st e t a t ll d d f l
j l
t h e e a o u sy t h a t h ad w i t h h e l t h i s t e ac h i n g r o m t h e w o r sod f ld
l z
o n g , t h a t w e r e c o n i e t h e m e ssa e w e a r e n o w co m m i ssi o n e
g g d
to c on v ey as a dd r e sse d so fa r o n l y t o t h e m o st h ighl y a d
v an c e d a n d i n t u it i ve m in d s o f o u r t im e W e ar e b u t e gi n n i n g
. b
to d d
pu t f o r w a r a o c t r i n e l
w h i ch w i l o n l y b e appr e c ia t e i n i t s d
f ull sign i fica n c e l a t e r o n .
—J un e

B .
( S e e Page
It i s i n t er est i n Dg t o b se v e t h at i n acco d
o r , r an ce w i t h p r e ic d
t io n s m a d e to m e wh Ib g
en t o w ite th e
O
an r on e se su bj e c t s, the
d aw n of p syc h ic t t h h b g n t o b ig h t
ru as e u r en our sky fr o m
se v er al d ir e c t io n s a t o n ce T h e p sych o lo gic al t el e gr aph y h er e
.

r e f e r e d t o w a s q u i t e u n h e ar d o f i
r t h e w o l d at l ar g e i n 1 8 80 n r .
b
B u t fo r t h e l ast ye ar or t w o t h e Psyc h ic R e se ar ch S o c ie t y m
d b
Lo n o n h a s ee n spec i a ll y e n ga ge o n a l o n g se r ie s o f e x pe r i d
m e n t s i n w h a t i t c a ll s t h o u gh t t r a n sf e r e n c e , t h e ph e n o m e n a
”

o f w h ic h c o n t a i n t h e
g e r m s of t h e a e p t s
’
p sy c h i c t e l e r a h
g p d .

If a n y o n e st i l l d b
o u t s t h a t t h o ugh t i m p i e ssi o n s r e a l l y c a n b e

c on v e e
y d d
fr o m o n e m i n t o a n o t h e r , wi t h o u t t h e aid o f spee c h
o r a n y sig n o r c o m m u n i c a t io n w h a t e v er h a v i n g t o do w i t h t h e

p q
h y sica l se n se s , h e i s u n a c ua i n t e w i t h t h e i e su l t o f sc i e n t i fi c d
q
i n u ir y i n t h a t irec t io nd Th e t r a n sac t io n s o f t h e soc i e t y r e
.

d b d
fe r r e t o pu t t h e r oa f ac t j u st n ot e e yo n t h e r e a ch of d b d
d
i n c r e u l i t y t h a t c a n a n y l o n g e r b e r e ga r e a s i n t e ll i e n t
g d d .

C .
( Se e Pa ge

It i s t oo l a t e i n t h e da y n o w , w h e n se v er al e it i on s of t h i s d

b oo k h a v e al r e a y p a sse
b
ser v e a o u t t h i s n a m e
M
d d
t h r o u gh t h e pr e ss, t o aff e c t a n y r e
B ut i n t r u t h I gr e a t ly r e gr e t n o w
.

d
t h a t I e v e r p e r m it t e i t t o e c o m e p u l ic pr o pe r t y b
A l l o ver b .

d
In i a t h e di sc ip l e s of t h e B r o t h e r s r e gar t h eir ’
a st er s n a m e s d
d
w i t h t h e t e n e r e st po ssi l e r e s pe c t b
Th e fr ee a n d e a sy cr i t ic i sm .

t o w h ic h t h i s oo k h a s n a t u r a l l y een su j ect si n ce i t s fi r st a p
b b b
p e ar a n c e h a s o f t e n een asso c i at e b w it h m or e o r l e ss di sr e d
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co m u n i c a t i on s a
m
g m c

a ff o d e d e v e r y o n e h o n e st ly d e si r ou s o f c o
r
pr e h n d i n g t h e m e

t r u t h o f t h e m a t t e r a ll n c e ssar y i n fo r a t i o n

M
, In t h e De c e m
e m .

b e r n u m b e r o f t h e Th eo op hi st r S u bb a R o w p u t for w ar d
s , .

a v e y c a t io r ly w o d e d a t ic l h i t in g m e r e ly a t t h e a c t a l
u us r r e, n u

e x p l a a t i on o f t h e i d e t i t y o f t h e p a s
n
ge s c i t e d b y
n Kid sa r .

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,
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p l a gi i z e d se t e c e s t h e o bj c t o f w h ic h w a s t o sh o w t h a t

M
ar n n , e

M
i t r t h w e m i gh t h a v e d iv i e d f r o u se lv e s i f w e h a d b e e n
n u n o r ,

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r n u i g t h a t o e m ist a k e h ad b ee n
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s m

m ad e a d that th e
,
n ah a t m a c o l d n o t h a v e i t e n d e d t o w r it e u n

t h e se n t e n c e s j u st as t h e y st o o d T h e h i t c o n v eye d b y . n r.

Su bb R o w w a s a s f o l l o w s
a

Th f f e r e ore f lp l f t h p g d it
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g t ly bl
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ig f th
n or a n c e l l b wh
o i t
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o f p pit t i
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g d t th p d d i ”
ar o g e assa e un er i sc u ss o n .

Th e Theosop hist i n w h i ch t h i s ar t ic e appe ar e

sa m e con l d
t ai n e d a e t t e r r o m l e n er a
g f
o r an i n r e l
py t o G ar i o u s s ir
p l v
i t u a l i st ic a t t a c k s o n t h e T h e o so h ic al o si t io n , a n d i n t h e
p p
c o u r se o f h i s r e m a r k s h e r e e r r e to the i l e in ci e n t f d K dd d
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H ppily w h v b
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ri ly x pl d t ; b t l l t h t w
e ai n e o us
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t
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na c a on o e c e a. ou our
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as e r it hi h u bl f ll w t ph t g ph d p b
er m us s um e o o er s o o o ra an u

l h t h Th p l t t h
is in e e o so
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p i
e scr a whi h w h l s s o n o u s , scr a s n c o e
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an uo a on m a r s ar e e ac e an o i er a e
—t h p b
,

d tly t t d i th l ’
an c o n se t l l t i pt i
ld g t t d t
ien om i e n e c i e a s c um sy r a n sc r on e u
h w e ou e ig h t
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M
m o ern sc i e n c e k i i p n am e i , an
ph ta as c m r ess o n as oo as a o o

g ph f
ra t lly x p
o m en a d t h g h t di t t d f
e r esse di t ou s c a e rom a s a n ce.
”

A o t h o r t w o af te r t h e a
m n e ar an c e o f t h e e fr a m e n t ar
p p g y s

h i t s I r ec e i v e d a n o t e f o m t h e ah a t m a r e l i e v i
g m e o f al l
n , r n
r e st i c t io n s
r
pr e v i o u sl y i m po se d o n t h e f l l l e t t e r o f e x p l a a u n
ti o nh e h ad p e v i o sl y se n t m e r Th e su bj e c t b y t h a t t i e
u .
, m ,

h ow e v er se e m e d t o h a v e l o st i t s i n t e e st for all
, pe o n i n r rs s

M
E g l an d w h o se o pi i o I v a l e d
n W i th i n t h e Lo d o Th e o
n ns u . n n

S op h i c l S o c i e t y n w
a l e a dy a l ar ge a d g o w i n g bo dy t h e
, o a r n r ,
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e c n m r a e ,

an d th e n o t i on t h a t t he ah a t m a , w h o h a d i n spi r e d t h e t e ac h
2 12 TH E O CC UL T W OR LD .

i n gs o f Esot er i c B u h ism dd pl agi ar i e , c o ul

fr o m d h ve a z d
a s i r i t u a l i st ic l e c t u r e , a s so
p a b sur on e fa c e o f t h i n s t h a t
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no a
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an
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i spo se , t h e r e o r e , t o t r e a t d f

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t h e su spi ci o n s so m e c r i t ic s h a d e n t e r t a i n e w i t h t h e r e sp ec t d
t h at wo u ld v b
h a e e e n i n o e i n a n y a pp e a l r o m m e t o t h e v lv d f
p u bl i l
c t o i st e n t o w h a t w o u ld v b
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f l dd f

M
a n d a st r an e of t h e ah a t m a
e n ce g y p o st po n e e en ce .

No w , h o w e e r , t h a t t h i s n e w e it io n o f t h e Occu l t W o r l
v d d
q d
i s r e ui r e , t h e r e i s a n o bv
i o u s pr o pr i e t i n t h e co u r se I n o w y
t a ke . Th e n e w e t t e r r o m t h e l f
a h a t m a c o n st i t u t e s i n i t se lf
l
a c o r r e c t i o n o f t h e e t t e r r o m w h ic h I u o t e o n f a e s 1 01 — 1 0 2, q
p g

M
f
a n d ap ar t r o m t h e i n t e r e st o f t h e e x
p a n a t io n i t ur n i sh e s i n l f
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y v
lv
i n t h e m se e s a u a e a n d su gge st i e v l bl v .

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Th e l e t t e r i n u e st io n , w r i t e s t h e a h at m a , r e er r i n
g to f
t h e c o m m u n ic a t i o n I o r igi n a y r ec e i e , wa s r a m e ll by m e v d f d
w h i e o n a o u r n ey a n d o n h o r se a c k
l j It w a s ic t a t e m e n t a b . d d lly
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i n t h e i r e c t io n o f a n d p r e c i p i t a t e b y a o u n g c h e l a n o t y e t d y
e x e r t at t h is
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ps ch ic c h e m i st r y , a n d w h o h a d t o y
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of it , . lf
f d
t h e r e o r e , w a s o m i t t e , a n d t h e o t h e r h a l m o r e or l e ss i s t or t e f d d
b y t h e ar t i st
‘ ’
W h e n a sk e
. d by
h im a t t h e t i m e w h e t h er I
w ou ld l oo k o e r a n d c o r r e c t i t , I a n sw e r e
v i m pr u e n t y, I d d l
f
c o n e ss l
A n yh o w w i l do , m y b o y ; i t i s o f n o gr e a t i m
o u sk i p a fe w w or s d lyv d
’
r t a n ce if I
p o y w as
ph y sic a l ery t ir e .

d f
b y a r i e o f o r t y - e igh t h o ur s c o n se c u t i e , an d ( ph y sic a v ly lly
a ai n ) h a l
g a sl e e f
p . B
e si es t h i s, I h a d v e r i md p o r t an t u si y b
n e ss t o a t t e n d
t o psyc h ic a l y , a n d t h e r e o r e i t t e r e m a in e l of f l l d
d v W h e n I a w o ke I ou n it h a d a i f d

M
m e to e o t e t o t h a t l e t t er .

r ea dy b ee n se n t o n , an d a s I w a s n o t t h e n a n t i ci pa t i n g i t s p u b
l ic a t io n , I n e e r g a e i t r om t h a t t i m e a t h o u gh t No w I h a d
v v f .

n e er e ok e
v v d l K dd v
’
sp i r it u a r i l e s ph y si o gn o m y , n e e r h a d
.

d
h e ar o f h i s e x i st e n c e , w a s n o t aw a r e o f h i s n am e H a i n g, . v
o win d
g t o o ur c or r e s po n e n c e , an d yo u r Sim l a su r r o u n i n g s d
f d f
a n d r ie n s, e l t i n t e r e st e d
i n t h e i n t e e c t u a pr ogr e ss of t h e ll l

M
l d
Ph e n o m e n a i st s, I h ad ir e c t e m y a t t e n t ion , so m e t w o m on t h s d
v
pr e i o u s, t o t h e gr e a t a n n u a l ca m pi n g m o e m e n t o f t h e A m e r v
i ca n S pir i t u a i st s i n ar i o u s ir e c t io n s , a m o n g o t h er s t o La k e
l v d
or o u n t P e a sa n t l S om e o f t h e c u r i o u s i e as a n d se n t e n c e s
. d
r e r e se n t i n
p t h e e n e r a l h o e s a n d a sp ir a t io n s o f t h e A m e r ic a n
g g p
l
S pi r i t u a i st s r e m a i n e i m pr e sse d
o n m y m e m o r y, an d I r e d
m em ber e on d
y t h e se i l
e as a nd e t ac h e dse n t e n c e s
q u it e d d
a ar t
p r om f t h e
p e r so n a i t i e s o f t h o se w h o h ar o r el or
p ro b d
n o u n c e d th em H e n c e m y e n t ir e i g n o r a n c e o f t h e l e c t ur e r
.

v
wh o m I h a e i n n o ce n t y e r au e , as i t w o u l l d f a
ppe ar a n d d d d ,

wh o r ai ses th e h u e a n d c r y Ye t h a d I i c t a t e m y l e t t e r i n
. d d
f
t h e or m i t n o w a pp e a r s i n p r i n t , i t w o u c e r t ai n l o ok su s ld ly
p i c i o u s , an d h o w e e r fa r v
r o m wh at is
ge n era
y f c a le p a ia
g ll l d l
 A PPEND I X . 2 13

r i sm ,
b
y e t i n t h e a se n ce o f a n y i n v e r t e c om m a s i t w ou l l ay a d d
fo u n a t io n for c en su r e B u t I did n o th in g o f t h e k i n , a s t h e
d . d
o r i in al i m pr e ssio n n o w
g b
e fo r e m e c l e a r l
y sh o w s A nd e fo r e . b
I pr o c e e d
a n y f u r t h e r I m u st g i v e yo u so m e e x p l an a t ion of

d
t h i s m o e o f p r e c i pit at i on .

Th e r ec e n t e x pe r i m e n t s o f t h e Psyc h i c R e se ar ch Soc ie t y w i l l
d
h e l p yo u gr e at l y t o c o m pr e h e n t h e r a t io n al e o f t h is m e n t a l
t e l e gr aph y b
Yo u h a v e o ser v e i n t h e j o u r n al o f t h a t o y
. d b d
h o w t h o u gh t t r a n sfe r e n c e i s c u m u l a t i v e l y e ffe c t e T h e i m a ge d .

of t h e
g e o m e t r ic a l o r o t h er fi g u r e w h i c h t h e ac t i v e r a in h a s b
d d
h a d i m pr e sse u po n it i s gr a u al ly i m p r i n t e u p o n t h e r e c ip ie n t d
b r a i n of t h e
p b
a ssi v e su j e c t , as t h e se r ie s of r e pr o u c t io n s i ll u s d
t r a t e d i n t h e c u t s sh o w Tw o f a c t or s a r e n e e e t o p r o u c e a d d d
—
.

p e r f e c t an d i n st a n t a n e o u s m e n t a l t e l egr aph y c l o se c o n e e n

t r a t i o n i n t h e ope r a t o r a n d c om p l e t e r e c e p t i v e p a ssi v i t y i n t h e
d
r e a er su j ec t b G d b
i v e n a ist ur a n c e o f e i t h e r c o n i t i o n , a n d
. d
t h e r e su l t i s p r o p or t i o n a t e ly i m pe r f e c t Th e r e a er .oe s n o t d d
se e t h e i m a ge a s i n t h e t e l e gr a ph e r s
’
b
r a i n , b u t a s a r i si n g i n

h is ow n . W h e n t h e l at t e r s t h o ugh t w an er s, t h e psyc h ic c ur
’
d
ren t b ec om es r o k e n , t h e co m m u n ic at io n
b i sj o i n t e a n d i n oo d d
h er e n t . In a c a se su ch a s m i n e t h e c h e a h a d, as i t w e r e , t o l
p i c k u p w h a t h e co u l d
f r o m t h e c u r r e n t I w a s se n in g h i m , d
a n d, a s a o v e r e m ar k e ,
b pat ch t h e r ok e n i t s t oge t h e r a s e st
d b b b
h e m i gh t . Do n o t yo u se e t h e sam e t h i n g i n o r i n a r y m e s d
m e r i sm t h e m e ga i m pr e sse p d
u on t h e su j ec t s i m a i n a
’
g b
t io n b y t h e o p e r a t or e c o m in b
g n o w st r o n ge r , n o w fe e l e r , a s t h e b
l a t t er k ee ps t h e i n t e n e d d
i ll u si v e i m a ge m or e or l e ss st e a d
b
il y e for e h i s o w n f a n c y A n d h o w o f t e n t h e c l a ir vo y a n t s r e
.

pr oa ch t h e m agn e t i z er for t a k i n g t h ei r t h o ugh t s off t h e su j ec t b

u n der c o n si e r a t i o n d A n d t h e m e sm er ic h e a l e r w i ll a l w ays
.

h e ar yo u w i t n e ss t h at if h e pe r m it s h i m se lf t o t h i n k of a n y
t h i n g b u t t h e v i t al c u r r e n t h e i s p o u r i n g i n t o h i s p a t i e n t , h e i s
a t o n ce co m pe l l e d b
t o e i t h e r e st a l i sh t h e c u r r e n t a f r e sh or st e p
t h e t r ea t m e n t S o I, i n t h i s i n st a n c e , h a v i n g a t t h e m o m e n t
.

d
m o r e v i v i ly i n m d
y m i n t h e p sy ch ic i a g n o sis o f c ur r e n t Spi r d

M
i t u a l ist i c t h o u gh t , of w h ic h t h e L a k e Pl e a sa n t spee ch w a s o n e
m ar k e d sy m d
p t o m , u n w i t t i n g l y t r a n sfe r r e t h a t r e m i n i sce n c e
d
m o r e v i v i ly t h a n m
y o w n r e m ar k s u pon it a’ n d e uc t i o n s d d
t h e r e fr o m S o t o say , t h e e s oi le
p d
v ic t im s d Ki d
—
. r .

d l e s u t t er an c e s c a m e o u t as a h igh l igh t , a n d w e r e m o r e
’

( fi r st i n t h e c h e l a s r a i n , an d t h e n c e
d b
’
l
sh ar p y ph o t o g r a p h e ,

on t h e
p a er
p b
e fo r e h i m , a d b
o u l e pr o c e ss, a n d o n e far m or e

d i ffi c u l t t h a n t h o u gh t r e a i n g si m p ly) , w h i l e t h e r e st , m y r e
d
m ar k s t h e r e u o n a n d ar u m e n t s
p g
—
as I n o w fi n d, a r e h a r l
y d
b q b d
v isi l e a n d u i t e l ur r e o n t h e or igin al scr ap s efor e m e Pu t b .

i n t o a m e sm e r i c su j e c t s h a n a sh e e t of a n k p ap er , t e ll h i m
b d b
’

it c o n t a i n s a c er t a i n c h a p t er o f so m e ook t h at you h a v e r e a , b d
co n ce n t r a t e y o u r t h o u g h t s u po n t h e w or s, a n d se e h o w d pr o
—
v i de d t h at h e h a s h i m se lf n o t r ea t h e ch ap t e r , b u t o n l y t a k e s
d
2 14 TH E O CC UL T WOR L D .

it r om you r m em o r y , h i s r e a i n g w il l r e fl e c t your o w n m o r e or
f d
vvd v
l e ss i i su cce ssi e r e c o l e c t i on s o f yo u r a u t h o r s a n g uage l ’
l .

T h e sam e a s t o t h e pr e c ipi t a t i o n t h e ch e a of t h e t r a n s e r r e by l f d
t h o u gh t u p o n ( o r r a t h e r i n t o ) p a p e r If t h e m e n t a p i c t u r e . l
r e ce i e v d f l v bl
b e e e b e , h i s i si e r e pr o u c t io n o f i t m u st c o r r e d

M
s on d
p . A n d t h e m o r e so i n
p r o po r t io n t o t h e c o se n e ss o f a t l
t e n t i o n h e gi e s v
H e m i gh t . w er e h e b u t m e r e a p e r son o f ly
d
t h e t r u e m e i u m i s t i c t e m pe r a m e n t b e em p o e h is l y d by
a s a so r t o f p sy c h i c
ast e r pr i n t i n g m a ch i n e ( pr o du c i n g
d
l i t h o gr a ph e o r p syc h o gr a p h e d i m p r e ssio n s o f w h a t t h e o pe r a
d v
t o r h a d i h m i n ; h i s n e r e sy st e m t h e m a c h i n e , h i s n e r v e au r a
t h e pr i n t i n g fl u i , t h e c o or s r aw n r o m t h a t e x h a u st e ss s t o r e
d l d f l
h ou se o f p igm e n t s ( a s o f e er y t h i n g e se ) t h e a ka sa v B ut th e l .

d
m e i u m a n d t h e ch e a a r e l d
i a m e t r ic a y i ssi m i ar , a n d t h e l a t ll d l
l
t er a c t s c o n sc i o u s y , e x c e p t u n er e x c e p t io n a c ir c u m st a n c e s, d l
d ur in d v
e e l o p m e n t n o t n e c e s sar u on h ere y d ll
E
to we p .

“
V e ll , a s soo n a s I h e ar o f t h e ch a n e , t h e c om m o t i o n
g d
am on g m y d f d
e e n e r s h a in
g r e ac h e v
m e a c r o ss t h e e t e r n a l d
sn o w s, I o r e r e d d v
a n i n e st i a t i o n i n t o t h e o r i i n a
g g se r a s o f l
t h e i m pr e ssio n A t t h e fi r st g l a n c e I sa w t h a t i t w a s
. th e
l
o n l y a n d m o s t gu i t y p a r t , t h e po o r b o y h a i n g y on e b u t t h a t v d
w h i ch h e w a s t o ld v
H a i n g n o w r e st o r e t h e c h ar a c t er s a n d
. d
t h e l i n es o m i t t e an d d
ur r e e on
y bl db
h o pe o f r e c o gn i t i o n b y d
an
y o n e b u t t h e i r o r i gi n a e o er l v lv
t o t h e ir pr i m i t i e c o l o r a n d , v
p l a ce s , I n o w fi n d m y l e t t e r r e a i n g u i te i ff er e n t l , a s
y ydou q d
w i ll o se r e b v
T u r n i n g t o t h e Oc c u t W o r , t h e copy se n t
.
’
l ld
b y you , t o t h e p a ge c i t e , I w a s st r u c k , u po n car e ul l y r e a d f d
d
i n g i t , b y t h e gr e a t i sc r e pa n cy e t w e e n t h e se n t e n c e s, a g ap , b
so t o say , o f i e a s d
e t w ee n
p ar t 1 an d b p ar t 2 , t h e l
p g a i ar i e z d
p o r t i o n so c a e T ll d
h e r e see m s n o c o n n e c t io n at a ll
. et w e e n b
t h e t w o ; fo r W h at h a s i n e e th e d d
e t e r m i n a t i o n o f o ur c h i e s d f
( t o pr o e t o a sk e p t i c al w o r t h at ph sic a l ph e n o m e n a’ ar e as
v ld y
d
r e u ci e bl y
t o l a w a s a n t h i n g e se ) t o do w i t h P a t o s i e a s l l d
w h i ch r u e th e l w o r ,
’
o r
‘
Pr a c t i c a ldr o t h e r h oo of H u m a n lB d ,

ity ’
. f y
I e ar t h a t i t i s o u r p e r so n a r i e n sh i p a l o n e fo r t h e lf d
w r i t er t h a t h a s in e bl d d
yo u t o t h e i scr e pa n cy a n d i sco u d d r

d b v v l

M
n e e t i o n o f i e as i n t h i s a o r t i e pr e c i pi t a t io n e e n u n t i n o w .

Ot h e r w i se y o u c o u n ot h a e ai e ld v f l d
t o per c e i e t h a t so m e v
t h i n g w as w r o n g on t h a t p a ge , t h a t t h e r e w a s a g a r i n g e e c t l d f
i n t h e c o n n e c t i on or e o e r , I h a e t o
.
p e a
gv ui t
y t o ah v l d l
I h a e n e e r so m u ch a s l oo k e
v v d
'

o t h e r si n at m
y l et t e r s i n
pr i n t , u n t il t h e day o f t h e or c e i n e st ig a t i o n f
I h ad r e a d v . d
on ly y o u r o w n o r i gi n a m a t t e r , e e i n l
g it a o s s o f t i m e t o g o f l l
v
o e r m y h ur r i e db
i t s a n d sc r a p s o f t h o u gh t B ut n o w I h a e . v
t o a sk y ou t o r e a d
t h e passa ge s a s t h e w o r ig i n a dic y l ly
t a t e d b y m e , a n d m a k e t h e c o m par i so n w i t h t h e Oc c u t l
W or l ’
d b f
e or e y o u I i n c o se t h e co py er a t i m r o m t h e l v b f
r e st o r e d d l
fr a gm e n t s u n e r i n i n g i n r e d t h e o m it t e se n t e n c e s
, d
for ea sier c o m par iso n .
 A PP E ND I X
. 21
5

Ph e n o m e n al l v
p r e i o u s y u n t h o ugh t of
e em e n t s l
wi i scl o se a t a st t h e se c r et s o f t h e ir m y st e r i o u s w or k i n g s
ll d l .

l
P at o w as r i gh t to r ea d/n il ever y el em en t of sp ec u l a t io n wh ic h
S o c r a tes h a d di sc a r ded Th e p r ob l em s of u n i ve r sa l b ein g a r e
.

n o t u n a tt a in a b l e, or wor thl ess i

f a tta in ed B u t th e l atter ca n b e .

sol ved on l y b y m a st er in g th os e el em en ts th a t a r e n ow l oom i n

g on
t he h or iz on s of th e p r of a n e E ven th e Sp ir itu a l ists , with the ir
.

m ist a ken , g r o tes u el y

q p er ver t ed v i ews a n d n oti on s, a r e h a il y z
r ea l iz i n
g th e n ew S i t u a ti o n T hey p r op h esy a n d t h eir p r op h e
—
.

c i es a r e n ot a l wa s w i t hou t a of i n t u i
y pa i n t of tr u th i n them
t i on a l p r e visio n , so to say H ea r som e of them r easser ti n g th e
.

o l d , old ax i om th a t d l’
i e a s r u e t h e w o r , a n d a s m e n s m i n ds ld ’

v d
r e c e i e n e w i e a s, l a i n d
y g asi e t h e o l d a n d e ff e t e , t h e w o r d l
will a dv
a n c e, m i h t v l
g y r e o u t io n s will Spr i n g r o m t h e m ; i n sti l a f
d
tion s, a ye, a n d e ven cr e e s an d po w er s, th ey m ay a dd, w i l l
crum e bl b f
e or e t h e i r o n w ar m ar c h , c r u sh e d t h e ir o w n i n d by
b f
h er en t f or ce, n ot th e ir r e si st i l e o r c e o f t h e n e w i e a s o er ed d
b y th e Sp ir itu a l ists Ye s, th ey a r e b oth r ight an d wr on g
. t wi . ll
b e ‘ ust as i m po ssi e t o r e si st t h e i r i n fl ue n c e wh e n t h e t i m e
j bl
c o m e s a s t o st a t h e p r o gr e s s o f t h e t i e — t o b e su r e
y d B ut .

wh a t th e Sp ir itu a l is ts f ai l to p er ce i ve , I see a n d th eir sp i r its t o ,

exp l a i n
( the l a tter kn o win g n o m or e tha n wha t they ca n j in d in
th e b r a in s of th e f or m er ) is th a t a l l th is w i l c o m e gr a ua y o n , l d ll
a n d tha t b f
e o r e i t c om e s t hey, a s wel l us ou r sel ves h a e a l l a v
du t y to p e rj b r m , a task se t e o r e u s — t h at o f sw e e pi n g a w a
,

b f y
a s m u ch as b d
p o ssi l e t h e r o ss l ef t t o u s b y o u r pio u s o r e f
f a t h er s Ne w i e as h a e t o b e pl an t e o n c e an pl ac e s, fo r
. d v d l
d
t h e se i e a s t o u ch u po n t h e m o st m o m e n t o u s su ec t s It i s bj .

n ot
p h y
si c a p hl e n o m e n a , or th e a en cy c a l l ed Sp ir i t u a l i sm , b u t
g
v l d
t h e se u n i e r sa i e a s t h a t w e h a ve p r e cisely to s t u y ; th e n o u d
m en on , n ot t h e p h en om en on : fo r t o c om pr e h e n t h e l a t ter w e d
v
h a e fi r st t o u n e r st an d d
t h e f or m er Th e y do t o u c h m a n s
.
’

v
t r ue po si t ion i n t h e u n i e r se, t o b e sur e , b u t o n l y i n r e a t io n t o l
h i s f u tu r e n o t p r e c i o u s i r t h s b
It i s n ot p h ys ic a l p hen om e n a ,
.

h o wever won derf u l , th a t ca n ever exp l a in t o m a n h i s o r igi n , l et

a l on e h i s u t i m a t e l d y
e st i n , or a s o n e of t h em exp r esses it , t h e

l
r e a t i o n o f t h e m o r t al t o t h e i m m o r t a l , o f t h e t em po r a r y t o t h e
e t e r n a l , o f t h e fi n i t e t o t h e i n fi n i t e , St e They ta l k ver y g l ibl y
.

of wh a t th ey r ega r d a s n e w idea s , l
a r g e r , m o r e ge n e r a , g r a n e r , l d
m or e c o m
p
’
v
r e h e n si e , a n d a t t h e sa m e tim e t hey r ec og n i e i n z
l b
st ea d o i t h e e t e r n a r e ig n o f i m m u t a l e l a w , th e u n i ver sa l r eig n
l a w a s the exp r ess io n of a D i vi n e wil l F or g etf u l of t he i r
o
f .

ea r l i er b el ief s, a n d th a t
‘
i t r ep e n t ed th e Lor d th a t h e h a d m a de
’
m a n , l h cs e wou l d b e h il osop h er s a n d r e or m er s wo u ld im p r ess
p
-
f
f the sa id D i vin e will is
‘
u on th ei r h ea r e r s tha t th e ex r ession o
p p
u n ch a n i n
g g a n d u n ch a n g ea b l e , i n r e a r
g t o w h i c h t hd e r e i s on l y

an Et e r n al N ow , wh i e t o m o r t a s l l Y m e is d
[ u n in i t i a t e
] t i p a st

or f
u t u r e as r e a t e l d
t o t h e i r fi n i t e e x i s t e n c e o n t h is m a t e r i a l
’
p l a n e, o
f w h i c h t h e kn o w a s l itt l e a s o
y f th e ir sp ir it u a l sp h e r es
2 16 TH E O C C UL T W OR L D .

M
a spec k of di rt th ey ha v e m l a tter , l i ke o u r own ea r th, a
a de the

fu t u r e l if e tha t th e tr u e p h il osop her wou ld r a ther a void tha n

c ou r t B u t I dr e a m wi t h m y eyes op en
. A t a ll e ve n ts, th is is .

r iv i l eg ed tea chi n g of t h e ir o wn ost o th ese i de a s a r e

n ot a n
y p f .

t a ken p iecem ea l f r om P l a t o a n d t he A l ex a n dr ia n p h il osop h er s .

d
It i s wh at w e a l l st u y, a n d w h at m a n y h a e sol e , e t c , e t c v v d . .

Th i s i s t h e t r ue c opy o f t h e o r igi n a l o c u m e n t a s n o w r e d
st or e — dth e ‘
R o se t t a st o n e ’
of t h e i l e i n ci e n t A nd K dd d .

n o w , if
yo u h a e u n er st oo v m d d
y e x pl a n a t i o n s a o u t t h e p r o b
v
ce ss , a s gi e n i n a fe w w o r s u r t h er ac k , d f b d
y o u n e e n ot a sk
m e h o w i t c am e t o
p a ss t h at , t h ough so m e wh at i sc o n n ec t e , d d
t h e se n t e n ce s t r an sc r i e b d
b y t h e ch el a a r e m o st t h o se t h a t ly
a r e n o w c o n si e r e a s p a g i ar i e , w h i e t h e m i ssi n g i n k s a r e
d d l z d l l
pr ec i sel y t h o se ph r a se s t h at w o u l h a e sh o w n t h e p assa ge s d v
l
w e r e si m p y r em i n i sc e n c e s , i f n o t u o t at i o n s t h e key -n ot e q —
ar ou n w h ich c a m e g r o u pi n g m y o w n r e fl e c t i o n s o n t h at m o r n
d
in g F or t h e fi r st t i m e i n m y i e I h a d p a i a ser i o u s a t t e n
. lf d
t i o n t o t h e u t t e r a n c e s o f t h e p oe t ic a l ‘ m e ia o f t h e so-call e d d
‘
i n spi r a t i o n a
’
l
or a t o r
y of t h e E n
g i l
sh - A m e r i c an l e c t u r e r s, i t s

q lu a it
y a n d l i m i t a t io n s I w a s st r u c k w i t h a l l t h i s r i ia n t
. b ll
b u t e m pt y e r i a ge , an d r e co gn i e for t h e fi r st t i m e ul y i t s
v b z d f l
p er n i c i o u s i n t e l l ec t u a l t e n e n c
y d
It w a s t h e ir gr o ss a n d n u
.

sa o r v d
y m at e r i al i sm , h i i n g c l u m si y u n e r i t s sh a o w y sp i r i t u a l l d d
v la i , t h a t a t t r ac t e m d
y t h ou gh t s a t t h e t im e W h il e i c t a t i n g . d
t h e se n t e n ce s uote q a sm all d por t i o n of t h e m a n y I h ad
—

M
b ee n
p on er i n d
g o e r for so m e v a
y s d
i t w a s t h o se i e a s t h a t d
w er e t h r o w n o u t en r e l ief t h e m o st , e a i n ou t m
g y o w n par e n l v
t h e t ic al r e m ar k s t o i sa ppe ar i n t h e p r e ci pi t at io n ”
d .

d l
I n e e o n y a dd a fe w w o r s o f a po l ogy t o dr i l e fo r . K dd
m d l
y acc i e n t al n e g e c t of h i s or ig i n a c o m m u n i c at i o n o n t h i s l
su bj
ect a dd
r e sse d
t o m e i n In i a d
W h e n h i s e t t er a o e . l b v
q uot e d
ap e a r e
p d
i n Ligh t , I h a d n o r e c o e c t ion w h at e e r o f ll v
v
h a i n g r e ce i e v d
an y e t t er rom l f
h i m w h i e i n In i a ; b u t l d
l
w it h i n t h e ast fe w m on t h s go i n g o er , i n Lo n o n , a n d v d
sor t i n
g pa per s r o u gh t a c k en m asse r om In i a , Ih a e t ur n e
b b f d v d
u f
p t h e or go t t e n n o t e W h il e i n In i a , a n d t h e e i t or o f a
. d d
d ly
ai n e w s a er , m
p p d
y c o r r e sp o n e n ce w a s su ch t h a t e t t e r s r e l
q u ir i n d
g n o i m m e ia t e a c t i o n o n m y par t w o u i n e it a y ld v bl
so m e t i m e s b e d
pu t a si e a t er a h a st y g a n ce , a n d w o u f un l ld
f o r t u n a t el
y so m e t im e s e sca pe a t t e n t i o n a t er w ar s A n d a ter f d . f
o o k , I r e ce i e b v d l q

M
t h e a ppe ar a n c e o f t h i s et t e r s o f i n u i r
y of
v a r io u s k i n s d f a l l p a r t s o f t h e wo r ld
, w h ic h I was t o o
r om

f
o t e n pr e e n t e v d ll
b y o t h er c a s o n m y t i m e r o m a n sw e r i n as I
g f
ld
sh o u h a e w i sh e v d
W i t h t h e t o n e a n d spir i t i n wh ic h
.
r .

K dd l
i e m a e h is d er v y
n a t u r a i n u ir l
I h a e n o au t t o fi n d q y v f l
v b q
w h a t e e r , a n d i f h i s su se u e n t l e t t er t o Li h t e t r a e so m e
g b y d
d i sp o si t io n o n h i s p ar t t o co n st r u c t u n a or a e h
ypo t h e se s f v bl
on t h e b
a si s o f t h e l l
p ar al e pa ssa ge s, e e n t h i s se c o n et ter v dl
wo u h ar l y i n it se h a e u st i fi e so m e o f t h e i n ig n an t r o
ld d lf v j d d
p
 A PPEND I X . m y

test s u lt im at ely p b l i u sh e d on th e o t h e r si de . Th e spir i t u al ist s

p u r sa n , e a
g g er i se i ze
n c i e n t w h i ch se em e
to on t
ano c as t d d
d d
iscr e i t on t h e Th e o so ph i c a l t e a ch i n gs b y w h ic h t h e ir ie w s v
b
h a d ee n so se r i o u sl y c o m p r o m i se , w e r e r e spo n si l e fo r h a n d b d
li n g t h e i K dd l
e i n ci e n t
”
i n su ch a w ay a s t o pr o o k e t h e
d v
v eh e m e n t r e o i n er s j d
o f som e T h e o sop h i c al c o r r e sp o n e n t s d
w r i t i n g i n t h e c ol u m n s o f ig ht a n d e se w h e r e L
In c o n si e r a l . d
v l
t i o n , h o w e er , of t h e e x p a n at io n s t o w h ic h i t h as e e n t u a v lly
g i v f
e n r i se , a n d o f t h e ur t h e r i n sigh t t h u s a f o r e u s i n t o so m e f d d
d
i n t e r e st i n g e t ai l s c o n n e c t e w i t h t h e m e t h o s u n er w h ic h d d d
d ’
d
a n a e pt s c or r e sp o n e n c e m ay so m e t im e s b e c o n u c t e , t h e d d
l d d
w h o e i n c i e n t n e e n o t a t oge t h er b e r e gr e t t e l d .

l
Th e r e a t i o n s w i t h t h e Oc c u t W o r l ”
t h at I h a e een l d v b
f or t u n a t e e n o u gh t o e st a i sh h a e so gr e a t y e x pan ebl ur i n v
g l d dd
t h e fe w ye a r s t h a t h a e e a p se v
si n c e t h i s l
o u m e w as w r i t t e nd v l
t h at I m u f ok ,
d E so t e r i c d b
“
st r e er m
y r e a er s t o m y sec o n o

B dd u h i sm , for a n a cco un t of t h e ir l a t er e e o pm e n t
”
It m ay d v l .

l v
b e w or t h w h i e , h o w e e r , a s ir e c t y co n n e c t e w i t h t h e m a i n d l d
p p l
u r o se o f t h i s e ar ie r n a r r a t i e , t o i n se r t h e r e so m e p a per s I v
w r o te q
ui te r ece n t ly b
fo r su m i ssi on t o Th e oso ph i c a l a u i e n ce s d
d q
i n Lo n on o n t h e m a i n u e s t i o n i sc u sse i n t h i s o u m e , t h e d d v l
e x i st e n c e a n d so u r c e s o f k n o w e g e a t t h e c o m m a n of t h e l d d
d
a ept s vd
Th e e i e n ce on t h i s su e ct h a s l o n g si n c e o v e r sh a d
. bj
ow e d l d
i n i t s am p it u e an d c om p e t e n e ss t h e pr el im i n ar y t e s l
t i m o n y af or e f d d
b y m y o w n e x p e r ie n c e s i n In i a I su m m e d . d
vd
u p so m e o f t h i s l at er e i e n ce o n o n e o f t h e o c c asio n s u s t r e j
f er r e d
t o , as o l lo w s f
b
A l l per son s w h o ecom e i n t e r e st e in a n y of t h e t ea ch in g s w h ich h a e d v
f oun d
t h e i r w a y ou t i n t o t h e w or ld
t h r o u g h t h e i n t er m e ia t i o n o f t h e d
Th eoso ph ica S oci et l y
v er v soon t ur n t o t h e san c t io n s on w h i c h t h e se
t ea c h in g s r e st .

d l
No w t h e o r t h o o x occ u t r ep h i t h er to g i en t o in u ir er s as t o t h e ly v q
au t h en t i c i t y
o f a n y sm a ll
st a t e m e n t s i n o c cu t sc ien ce t h at h a e h i t h e r t o l v
b f
ee n p u t or t h , h a s si m p ee n t h i s ly b
A scer t ai n fo r o u r se ”
Th a t y lf .

l d
is t o say , ea t h e p u r e S p i r it ua l lf
i e , c u t i a t e t h e i n n er ac u t ies, an d l v f l
d ll
b y e g r e es t h ese w i b e aw a e n e a n d e e o pe t o t h e e x t e n t o f euk d d vl d
a b i n g y o u t o pr o e N
l a t u r e for b our se y
B ut t h a t a ic e i s n o t o f a lf . dv
k din b l
w h i c h g r eat n u m er s o f peo p e h a e e er ee n r ea y t o t a e , an d v v b d k
k ld
h en ce n o w e g e con c er n i n g t h e t r u t h s o f oc c u t sc ien ce h as r e m a in e l d
in t h e h an s o f a fe w d .

d
A n e w e pa r t u r e h as n o w ee n t a en b k
C er t ai n pr ofi cien t s i n occ u t . l
sc i e n ce h a e v b k
r o en t h r o u g h t h e o l d r est r i ct ion s o f t h e i r or er , an d h a e d v
su dd lyen fl d
l e t o ut a o o o f st a t em en t s i n t o t h e w or t og e t h er w it h so m e ld ,

f b f l
in or m a t i on co n cer n in g t h e at t r i u t es an d ac u t i es t h e h a e t h em se es y v lv
q d
ac u i r e , a n d by y v l
m ean s o f w h ic h t h e h a e ear n e w h at t h e n o w t e d y ll
u s.

M
It i v y w id l
s er g iz d t h t t h t hi g i i t
e y r eco n ti g e d h a e eac n s n er es n an co e
r en t d v an p p t d by
e en l gi b t v y w i q
su or e i t an a o es, u e er ne n u i r er n ur n

m us t k wh t as w a h v th t th p
a ssu r an c e f whe c anthi a e a e er son s r om om s

t hi g
e ac n t i p it i
em a n a e s a r e t t i hn a t p pl
os on o asc er a n so m u c . os eo e,

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t o o ta i n a dee p in s ig h t i t y f th g
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y
w a s r ec u r r i n g , a n d w h i c h m u st g o on r ecu r r i n g a s o n g as n e w co m er s
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o f t h e Th eoso ph i ca l
S oci e t Fo r y .

m an y of u s i t h a s l
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i st e n c e of ps c h o og ica A e pt s seem s so pr o a e t h a t t h e a ssur a n c es
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o f t h e ea i n g re prese n t a t i e s o f t h e S oc i e t d d ly
i n In i a ar e r ea i d acc ept e ;
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b u t fo r o t h er s a g a i n , t h e ex i st e n ce o f t h e B r o t h e r s m u st r st b e est a b
by l
l i sh e d l q v l vd
a t og e t h e r p a i n a n d un e u i oca e i en c e bf ll e or e i t w i seem
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w o r t h w h i e t o pa y a t t e n t io n t o t h e r e po r t so m e of u s m ay m a e as t o k
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t h e speC i fi c o c t r i n e t h e y t each .

v vd q
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ly d l
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fa r a s i t is co n cer n e dW d
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n ia n t e ac h in g s, c a n b e en g a g e Of .

co u r se , I am n o t g o i n g t o t r o u bl l
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t o r e ie w t h e wh o e case a s i t n o w st an s, e r d v y ly g r ea t
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e n ar g e an d st ren t h en e as i t h a s ee n ur i n g t h e ast t w o e ar s
g .

vd b
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.

v
h a e t h e g e n er al b d bl f
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a h a t m as or A e t s a r e so m e w h e r e i n e x ist en ce ;
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dly
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t h e sp eC i fi c e i e n c e w h ic h sh o w s t h a t t h e ea e r s of t h e

X
,

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de pt s .

l bl f
A s t o t h e g e n er a b o dv o f e ie , i t w o ul d dly har b e t o o m u c h t o say

M
l
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er y w i e -
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a r ea s o f spa ce an d t i m e , ca n r a r e ly d d v lv d f
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—

M
a s h a v n i g h ad n ob f
a sis o f act . v
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p ap e r i n t h e Th eosop h ist o f
l v ly d
a y , 1 882 , o n som e r e a t i e l d b k
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lv v d y d

M
t h e i e s o f a r io u s S a dh u s,” a n ot h er w o r for sa i n t o g ee , o r A
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. In t h i s a r t ic e a i s t is
v v v
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bl f v b d
t h a t e i e i n t h e pe r son s h a i n g t h e p o w er s n o w a scr i e t o t h e B i o t h
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S u c h peo p e, of co ur se, a r e i m m e a su ra e ow t h e
y l k k
p s c h o o g ic a l r a n o f t h ose w h om w e spea of as B r o t h er s, b u t t h e fac
y
u l t i es t h e possess, som e t i m es, w i ll b e e n ou g h t o co n v m c e a n y on e w h o
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st u i e s t h e e i en c e con cern in g t h em t h at i i n g m e n can ac u i re p o w e r s
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r e g ar e as su p er h u m a n .

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v f d
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t h ei r w ay i n t o A n g o In ian o fl i C i a l r ec o r s Th e R e por t of
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a n En g ish R e s i e n t a t t h e c o u r t o f R u n ee t S in h d j b g e sc r i es h o w h e w a s
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d— k I k
,

d bl
co n se n t , for a c on si e r a e p er i o si x w ee s, v
t h i n , b u t I h a e n ot
g o t t h e r epor t a t h andj q
u st n o w t o d l u o t e in et a i d lv a n d em e r g e a i e,
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p .

a m an w o u ld ,
o f c o ur s e b e da n
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of a er i n er io r t v pc b u t ,

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a n t ag e o f l e in
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 A PP E ND I X . 2i
9

a ut h en t ica t e d
it g oes as A g a in , u p t o w it hi n a fe w ear s ag o , a
far as . y
v y
er l
h i g h y s pii i t ua l i z ed asce t ic a n d g ift ed see r w as i i n g a t A g r a, lv
w h er e h e t au g h t a g r o u p o f i sc i p e s, a n d d l
t h e i r o w n st a t em e n t h a s by
f q
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a m on g st t h e m S i n ce h i s eat h Th i s e en t i t se d . v lf
f l l d
w as a n e f or t o f w i l ac co m p ish e a t a n a ppo m t e d t i m e I h a e h ea r a . v d
g oodd ea a o ut h im l b f
ro m on e o f h is pr i n ci pa o ow er s, a cu t i a t e an d l f ll l v d
l
h ig h y r es pec t e n a t i e d v Gv fi
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uir y f y
t o b e og ee s o f t h e i n e r i o r t pe , m e n w h o h a e t r a in e t h e i r i n n e r v d
g y
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. l q f
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t h e r e a r e s u c h , t h o ug h t h e y lv i e in c o m p e t e sec us ion Th e g e n era l l l .

v ag u e, i n e n i t e dfi bl f f
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ac t , p a es t h e w ay t o t h e i n ui r i t h w h ic h q yW
w e are m or e i m m e i a t e d ly d
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ll l
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i v e a m o n g st t h e c o m m u n it a t a r g e , n or m a e y l k
k n own t h e f d
ac t o f t h e i r a e pt s h i p t o an y b u t t h e ir o w n r eg u a r ac l ly
c e pt ed p u pi s l .

No w t h e e i e n ce o n t h i s po in t i i es it s e as o o ws
vd dvd lf f ll
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,

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ot h in t h e esh a n d o u t o f t h e e sh , w h o fl
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v
S econ dl y, Th e ev nde ii c e o f t h ose w h o h a e seen t h em i n t h e ast r a l
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seen .

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de n c e as t o t h ei r e x ist e n ce .

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.

t r ust d l v k
a a m e B a a t s y , h er t e st i m on y
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S h e h a s i e am o n g t h e A e pt s for m a n
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r o m Th i e t a t e r b f
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. d l v b
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l
c o n c usio n t h a t h e r st at e m en t s co n c e rn in
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a n d t h e c o n c usio n t h a t sh e i s w h at som e A m er ican en e m ies h a e ca l e v l d
h e r , “ t h e c h a m pio n i m po st o r o f t h e ag e ” [ a m a wa re o f t h e t h eor y
l
w h ic h so m e S pir it ua i st s e n t er t a i n t o t h e effe ct t h at sh e m ay b e a m e
d i a m con t r o e ll d b
spi r i t s w h o m s h e m is t a es fo r k lv
i i n g m e n , b u t t h is
t h eor yca n o n e he ly ld by
peo p e w h o ar e l q
u i t e i n at t en t i e t o n in e v
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t e n t h s of t h e st a t em e n t s sh e m a es, n o t t o s pea y et of t h e t es t im on o f k y
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H o w c a n sh e h a e i e u n er t h e r oo of cer t a in per so n s i n
. d f
b v y
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l a t ion s g o in g a o ut t h e b usm e ss o f t h e i r a i y i es, i n st r uc t i n g h er d l lv by
l
s ow d eg rees i n t h e v
a st sc i e n ce t o w hi c h s h e i s dv d
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b
a sur d S h e i s ei t h er spea i n g a se
. k fl ly ll
w h en sh e te s u s t h a t s h e h as so
lv d
i e am on g t h em , o r t h e A e pt s w h o t aug h t h er a re i i n g m en d lv Th e .

Sp i r i t u a is t s
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d l
i s u i t u po n b l
k
t h e st a t e m en t sh e m a es, t h a t t h e A e pt s a pea r t o h e r i n t h e ast r a l d
f or m w h e n sh e i s a t a i s t a n ce r o m d
t h em f p
t h ey h ad n e e r a ppea r e. v d
t o h er in a n y o t h er o r m , t h e r e w o ul f d
b e r o o m t o ar g ue t h e m a t t e r r om f
’
t h e S pi r it ua ist s po in t o f l v
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 2 20 TH E OC C UL T WO RL D
st a n ces aga in . B ut h er a st ra l v i S i t o rs a re i d en t i ca l in
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a n d st u i e am on g st d d A t i n t er a s, as I h a e
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sa i , sh e h as e en e n a b e to go bl d ac b k
ag a i n a n d se e t h em i n t h e e sh fl .

l
H er a st ra c om m u n ica t i o n W
i t h t h em m e re ly fi ll
s u p t h e g a p of h er p er
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son a i n t er co ur se w i t h t h em , w h i c h h as ex t e n e o er a dd v o n g ser ies of l
v y ll d k

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'
ears .
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o u t t he l i v m
g r ea l i t o f o ur n ea r e st r e a t io n s, l
l lv
o f t h e peop e w e i e am on g st m o st i n t i m a t e y
, a s s p o se t h a t
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l v ky
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m i st a en i n escr i in g t h e d b r o t h e rs as i in
g lv
m en .Ei t h er s h e m u st b e r i g h t , or sh e h as co n sc m usl y een w e a i n g b v
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e r a n d g i e n t o e x agg e r a t i o n w i l n o m o re m eet t h e l i cu t d ffi l y
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t h a n t h e S pi r i t u a ist s h po t h e s i s y Pa r e aw a a s m uc h as o n i e r om
. y lk f

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a a m e B l a v a t sky s st at e m en t o n acco un t 0 possi e e x bl
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of r eS i du al
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h oo d . A n d e en if d v ’
a a m e Bl a v a t sky s t est i m o n st o o a on e , w ey d l
sh ou l d v d f f l lf
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y k y b
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v
of t h e m os t ex t r a ag a n t t h a t c o u ld d
b e e n t er t a i n e fi A t r st , w h e n w e i n
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v b dv f b
h a e ee n a n a e n t u r er r o m t h e eg in n i n g ” vd
W e pr o e t h is con j ee
.

v f ly l d
t ur e , a s I h a e u l e x p a i n e f
i n m y pr e ac e t o t h e secon d d e i t io n o f
the l ld f f
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l f d b d
h er r e at i o n s a n d aff ec t io n at e r ie n s, ca m e a un a n t a ss ur a n c es o f h er
l d
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l f sh e h a d n o t g i e n u p h er i e t o Occ u t i sm sh e
. l
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m ig h t h a e s e n t i t i n
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u x ur am o n g h er o w n p eo l f
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m em er of t h e ar ist oc r a t ic c a ss .

l y b
Di ffi c u t a s t h e h pot h esi s o f h er i m po st ur e t h us ecom es, w e n ex t fi n d
fl bl f l l
it i n ag r a n t i n co m pa t i i it y w it h a l l t h e ac t s o f Co on e Ol c o t t ’s i e lf .

d bl
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m a st i l l t h i n k w i t h r i l K dd
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b oa st is n o t v y d ly der wi e d v ld
i ff u se o er t h e wor dly
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w ou ld ll f st i l v
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t h e u est ion h a s e en
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m ot e t h e d l y
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ly
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w ou l r ea dy b e r ea t o a c ce pt .

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c en t l y , ca n h ardl d
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 A PPEND IX . 22 5

a l tern at iv h y p t h e t v i
o w i t h l l t h e p l i ev i d e
eses a ar an c e g a a n n c e co n c er n i n
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n a o o net th g - l t on SC l eS o n o e en era s r ea m
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ress an th f a f th i
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en ce o or d n ar di y e ou r en er or n ar m en .
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ra n n a s, u assum n a a as
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s, a h v a t th e e n s,l i th t a e com e o e co n c us on a som e
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or rese n a on o e or , o e
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r r es s d l iv k i d t h t h w h i h h v t lly
e, a n co n c us e n an ose c a e a c ua
b f i h d ? I t h i k th
een u rn s e
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on o e a n t t c xp t t h t ou e n a ur a o e ec a a
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g d ra ually b i t d d B y t h h yp t h i w
e n ro u ce . iv t h e b t j t o es s e co n ce e em u us
co m i g t th
n o l i t h t t i d i bl t t h
e co n c u s o n a i ki d t l g
s es ra e o eac m an n a ar e
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on s l i a s h it h t r ua v y d x l iv ly t
sc e n c e er o con e e e c us e o
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n a on . e er n e s or o e or a e
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an y w y wh t v a a eIt h b f d i v i bl l w f h
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ress th t a som e sm all p t g f k i d w ill l w y
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or n s e w it h f t he t t b t p p t
a ur e so m e o d pt h ip a ri u es ro er o a e s ,

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ti es o f th l t l if f t h l t l it t l p k of evi d
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j t t h t y b fl t i g b t Of p
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sd d p hi b t w
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u e can ea s un er s a n o e e ,
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rs m a n s c an e, y h l h v
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h is s id i t e, ig h t bm th t l t d g
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an a m os l ifi d an er o us r us o - ua e as

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i dv d i it l k w l dg wit h w h i h t h w ld t l g i y t
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m o v d b y d t h wh e t l i t i t w ld l d t h m i t t h
e e on ose os n a ura ns nc s ou ea e n o e
o cc u l t l if This pp e . t a lly t h v b t h
ears ac ua i g whi h
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t h A d pt h v p
e e s a dd f e r ocee d thi e
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ll d l y—h l h y t b
o s a as e an sa n n o on e e r so n a m o n s ose o u er
, p ,
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s u ent wh h v b
s, o a e een ca e a bl d t y c e a s, as e een en a e o sa
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tidpt
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p n e rson a no e e e no s a a ou an o e
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O th n the o h d p tt i g t g th th v i
er an , u n tt o d v l ti
e er e ar ous sc a er e re e a on s
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ro er s d i t ib t d c g t v i
a e e en s r u e am o n s ar o u s
eo pl i e n d i b l g i g t t h Th ph l S i t y
n a e on n o e h b
eo s o i ca oc e ,
so m uc ca n e
ear n e d b t t h e A d pt t p t i v y t g p i t i i g d
a ou e s as o u us n a er s ro n os on n re ar
t e ti
o s ti g t h i
m a n l ifi t i e r f ua p k i g w it h ca on s fid or s th y ea n con en ce as e
d o a b t th t l t f N t
ou e a c ua ac s o th p ph y i l p l a ur e o n Th e su er s ca an e . ese
tt d v l ti if i g i wh t h bf y b e
—
sca er e re e a yon s m g r eason n n a as on e e or e m a
ac ce p t d e h v b a b k e een
p d th w ro b t i f g t d
en u an ro n a ou n ra m en s e
s ig dl y i
ne ,
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 2 26 TH E 0 C C UL T W OR L D .

f llu c on vi d pt h ip ft
ct io n con cer n i n g t i A e t f t s bl e
a er a cer a n a m oun o ro u
s p t i pi i g t g t h
en n ec n t h di j i t d p o e f B t wh t h p
er e s o n e r o o s. u en is r o c ess
i s acc o m pl i h d w sp v d d w it h
e e a re t i bl ro k f k w l dg
i e a ce r a n oc o no e e co n
cer n n i g t h A d pt e t f wh h l g e s, o u f o t ic i ly g w
ar e i n e r e n c es m u s n ece ssar ro .

W fi d t b g i wi th t h t t h y d
e n ,
o e n
q ,
v lly a
p th p w
e o f
un e ui oc a ossess e o er o

co g in zm g v t d f t
e en s t h p hy
an l pl ac s f k on w l dg w it he s1e a an e o no e e
wh i h w c f l by t h
e ar e a m i i ar , th th o t d wi t h t h
er m ea n s an o se co n n e c e e
fi v e sen ses. W fi d l th t t h y
e n q v lly p
a so a th p w
e un e ui oca ossess e o er

g f b di g t di t t pl
'

o f em e r th i p p
n rom d pp
e r ro er o es a n i a ea r i n a s an a ces n
m or e o r th ess l t p t
e er e ath f wh i h
coun er t ly g i
ar s er eo c ar e n o on a en c es
f or p d ro g i puci n i th
m b t h b it t i
r ess on s on o f th t er s, bi g u a a on s or e im e e n
o f t h A d pt e w eth i ki g p i
s
’
o i pl
n d th
n i th
n l
r nc if t h e s, an us n e m se v es, e

p ro o f w t f th d en no t ti
ur f th f t th t
er , em o n s r a h on s o li e ac a a u m an so u s

som e t h i g q it i d pn d t fb i
u e n e tt en den v o t ra n Id m a er a n n er e cen r es. o
no t t p s o w t no t i t
o e n um er a e Th d f vi dn s an ces . t b e r eco r o e en ce m us e
di ssom a e t d f it p l ti
ro m i g
s m an i t l k th p
u a on t b t th
n ar u m en s i e e r esen ,
u e
r e co r d b d t d
s are a un ibl fan l l wh wi l l t k t h t o bl
an access e f
or a o a e e r u e o
e x am i i th
n n N w i f w k w t h t t h A d pt
em . o , e l no
p t a e e
’
s sou can ass a
hi s o w d n ti i t t h t t t i w h i h it p
is cr e on n o a pt iv f
s a e lti n i c s er ce e acu es ar e h
dp d t f p l
e en en o hi
co r it i
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m ac g th t hn er y , h ld b s no sur r sm a e s ou e
en a bl d t e k f h w k wl d g a g t
o m a e, o is o n t t no t e e, r ea m an y s a em en s c o n

c ern n i g f Nt
r ocesse s h g f
o b y d y k w l dg t h t
a u r e, r eac in ar on an
pt i d by
e no e e a
can b e 0 a ne ph y i l b v ti
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A d pt e t ts
’
t th t
s a e m en t i th pl a t b id t h i
ce r a n oth er an e s, es es s ea r , are c on
c ern e d w i t h t h g wt h f t h g t p f h e ro o it y f w h i h w f
e r ea cro o um a n o c e or m
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a i f
a n ce Th A d pt
as a c o n ec u r e o r n e r en ce . e e s
t ll
e th t
us a t f th
o n ce o u b dy t h y fi d t h y o e g iz
o v t e n e c an co n e e en s o n
som e o th pl t er w ll i
a n e s as di t t p t f e as w n Th i i s an t ar s o ou r o n. s s no
th e x pt i l b l f f
e ce on a x pt i lly g iz d i di vi d l w h
e ie o an e ce on a or an e n ua , o

m a y b g d d by d
e re arbt e h ll i t d ; t h ou i
e r s as af uc n a e er e s no r oom or
d b t i g t h f t t h t it i t h
ou n e ac a t t ti s y of e c on cur r en id bl e es m on a con s er a
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as t h f t t h t th g
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u a n g r on ,
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er e or e a r ue n e u . o is o a e s ar
s p t
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es can ascer a n o lv if w a k ac f or u rse es, e m a e u se o a
l
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it w, ld t b t h w g t
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b l i v it b t
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er ec It i
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tr ue th t i a g d t th n re d it i
ar f th
o th pl
e co n t on pt o e o er an e s ou r acce an ce
o f t h A d pt e t te ts
’
t b g v
s a e m en d by i p
m us i e o er n e o ur m r ess on s con cer n
i g th b
n e fid on af th i i t ti es o i t ll i g e r t h t th y h v
n en on d n e n us a e a e m a e
h d h b v ti S f it i f i f wi t h
yi g w h t t h y b li t b t —w h t h y
su c an su c o ser a tt
on s . o ar s a m a er o n e r en ce us
wh t h e t h A d pt
er e e s ar e sa n a e e ev e o e r ue en e
s ep ak f t h o pt y h i f pl t t w h i h t h
e se e n ar c a n o th b l g an e s o c e ear e on s or
i
c o n sc ou s ly d l d i g wi t h ig e u n l f t t
us t wh i h t h y k
a r m ar o e o w s a em en s c e no
t b f l
o e I t h i k it
a se . b h w i n v i t y f w y t h t th l t
c an e s o n n a ar e o a s a e a
ter su pp i t i ios b d B t on s a xh t i v x i t i
su r . u f it
an e b d au s e e am na on o s a sur
ity w l d b ou id bl t k i it lf F t h
e a con s er a e as t th np it i se or e m om en e os on

M
.

I am d v i g t t bl i h i
en ea or n o whi h d es a t d p
s d p th
s one c oe s n o e en u on e
q t i w h t h t h A d pt
u es on e er t ll i g e i e f s ar e t t h pl e n t u s, n r e er e n c e o e a n e s,
wh t th y k
a w t b t
e no ot h i g wh i h t h y k
e r ue , o r som e w t b t n c e no o e u n r ue .

y p t p it i
r e se n i th t t ll os on v t t h A d pt t h
s a a . a lv k w e en s e e s e m se es no
wh t i ta s i th r ue tt n d t h t p it i
e m a i t w i ll b
er , a n b vd i t a os on ,
e o ser e ,
s no
vit i t d b t h f t t h t y t w t h i
a e e ac a t
, as t p pi l
e , e, bl e r m os recen u s, ar e un a e
t f ll w
o o o th i f t t p
in e r d p t t h e xp i
oo s e s an t o wh i h t h ir
re ea e er m en s n c e
te ac hi g n t r es s.
Th e t isam e f i g
ra n y b e ppl i d t t h wh l b dy oi
o r eason n m a a e o e o e o
teac h i g wh i h t h e Th
n c
ph i l S i t y i w
eo so d i
ca d v
oc e s no co n cer n e n en ea o r.
i g t
n i l t
o ass m i a e . A off d w to t h s i it i t d w ld i t
ere no ly e un n a e or ,
c an o n
 A PP END I X . 2 27

ta k th fe e f orm set of o t at a t t h it y sA d th t em en s o n t f au or . n a sor o

t t
s a em en s no t i t whi h i on e t g bl t c th d
s m os t th a r ee a e o o ur m e o s or o e
A d pt
e s
’
a uah b it l th d f t h i g F th i m e o s o h eac i l l b n . or ere s no c em ca a or a
t y i
or E g l d whe e t h
n n an yt f tr hi g i e s g i dly
s em fi d
o eac n s m or e r i con ne
t th d
o e t f th l
i r ec i o n o w xp i
e t th
ear n er s o th t
’
yt
n e e r m en s, an a s am e s s em
i s a d pt d w i t h
o e lt h l f l l w g th g l
occu c e as o f i it i t i
o m e re u ar co u r se o n a on
S t p by t p
e s e th g l
, as h l a i t ld t h t
e re u ar c h d eh th f s o a suc an su c is e a
t e,
i n g d t
re ar th i oe y t i f Nt
e nn r mh i h w h w t
s er es o
ppl y a u r e, e s s o n o o a
hi s w o d v l pi g f l t i t t h d i t b v t i f h f t
n e e o n ac u es o e r ec o ser a on o su c ac s,
B t th u d v l pi g f l t i
ose e e o ny w it h t h a cu
p t d
es c ar r t w h le em , as om e ou a i
a g o, f h pw r es v N t wh i h
o er s o er o ly b a ur e t t d t th c c an n e e n ru s e o ose
f ro m wh t h A d pt t k t h
om e e g iz d p l d g
s a e I t hi g
e r ec o t n e e es . n e ac n ou
id th y t yi g t d w t h A d pt t d p t f
l t h d —w
s er s as e ar e r n o o no , th i e e s m us e ar r om e r
o w h b it
n a ua m e t d p t if w
o s, wi h t e m us d t d e ar , e s o un er s an
wh t th y a e w i ll i g t
ar e t h f n h b it
o l th d f i q i y
e ac ,
r om o ur a ua m e o s o n u r .

W e m us t p d su s en l d our df p f f h t tusu a em an t d or r oo o e ac s a em en m a e,
i tn urn it i as dv d W s a t
an ce t p vi i
. lt ti e m us h r es our ro s on a r us n eac
t t
s a em en t b dg
on ou r l vi t i w h i h
roa e n er a b ti fi d
c on l g c on c can e sa s e a on
f il li
am i ar f d n es o t t th t
e m on s r a i on , h t h A d pt s t i ly a su c m e n as e e cer a n
ex i t s v t h o g h we
, e en u t V it t h t pl
c an n o th t th y is t em a ea su re, a e m us
un d t d er s a n o an bl k f N t
en rm ou s l w t id t h oc o g fa ur e s
’
a s ou s e e r an e o
th ose w h i h t h ph y i l c e g iz s ca th t i y t t
sen ses co t th y n e, a n an s a em en e
m a k t e th y
o us t b i e p m usti t k ow b e l t ly w h t h t h t
n a os1 on o n a so u e e er a
t t
s a em en t i o i t t
s r s no r ue .
Th i h f l ly
s m uc l iz d t h t t h i t h t h i q
u r ea e ,
e i t ru b s a eac n ui r er n urn e
ti fi d p l iz t i f t h
’

com es sa s e p ,
w it h h i
am a ssu f sth t r ea a on o e ca se so ar , a
r eas on v lt g i t th
re o s a ti a ns th t th A d pt
e b
no g g d i
on a e e s ca n e en a e n
th i p e r t
r esentt pt t a vy
em f th o wco n k w l dg t t h
e som e o ei r o n no e e o e
w ld t l g i
or a ar y th e th
n an th p o t g d f it h It y b
er an e ur e s oo a . m a e con
c ul d d th t w wh h v
e a e t th
o a l i t h t th i t h i g i
e com e o e con c u s on a e r eac n s
a l t th t b
o e er pt d
o e acce i g l g i v t d py i d p
e , ar e re ar n a ar e n er e r am u on a
sm a 1b aseB t th l gi l t u gt h fe o p it i
ca i t
s r en p i d by o ou r os on s no im a re

M
.

th i s obj ti ec I on b h fh k w l dg i f ran c o f u m an no e e, er en c es
d t h b v d ft
. n ev e l n ar
t f wh i h th y A d v
'
t r an scen e o ser e w s ou o i th c e ro . n e en n e
m os t x t e i
ac f ll
sc en c e o th i h ld t
a , a p v d if eor em y lt s e o e ro e an a er
n at i v h y p t h
e i i f o d
es s x i ti
s o un t b i ,
ti
on e l am vna on , o e rra on a . or eo er ,
th d t i v f l g l t ti y iz th v l es f
m on d y
r ec o n e a ue o ar
e oc r n e e en o e
g a es sec on
e v id wh
en ce i th ere t f th
n t i i p
e n a ur e o ml th t p i e case i y s m oss e a r m ar

e vid e en c b f th
can ei g Th t i
or comx tly t h t t f t h
n . a i s e ac e s a e o e ca se n
re g d t th p
ar o t tt
e pt t b id g t h g lf t h t
resen a em p to th r h e l e u a se a r a es e sc oo
o f ph y i l s ca h f r esear c th h l f p i it l k w l dg A l g
r om e sc oo o s r ua no e e . s on
as W f t hi
e o id w s s j t ifi d d b t i g wh t h t h w
e er e us e in y wh ou n e er ere a s an er e
o n ear th h thi g
suc a h l f p i t l k wl d g i t y h v
n as a sc oo o s ri ua no e e, m a a e
b h dly w t h w h il t wo y
ee n ar or lv wit h t h t y f g t f
e o rr ou r se es e s ra ra m en s o
it ts hi
aac wh i hn w d th e b k l
c no ani b ly i t ll ig ibl h p
n ro e oose n are n e es a es .

B t t d
u o t th on xi t e e f h h l
s en ce w i oq iv l t su c lly t
a sc oo no s e u a en r ea o
d i g t t h il f
,

d b ti
ou th n t t t b
e s a em en t th b l i Oi a ou e ne u a n r on , a cc or n o e us

t ti
ra on dd d j t w It
a uce us ly i f no . i tt ti can t th
on ar se r om na en on o e
f t f th w h l
ac s o e th
o e c a se w t d fas l t ese n o t t k s an ,
- r om re u c an ce o a e
th t t
a bl t
r ou x i th
e o e tham gh lne w h h t i llese t f h dg
or ou y ,
ic s ,
as a sor o e e,
se p t
ara es th Th e h l S i ty f
eoso th i ca g l oc e ity i th e r om e e n er a com m u n n

m id t f w h i h t t d R g d d i t h e l i gh t f lt b i
— b t l wh i h
s
a s an o
o p
s ac e
c i is

p d i th c
an e .

f th l y h l
c o r r es on
e ar
s, t the
e
n
n
e case o
o
e
an occu
a -c e a,
arr er ,
o
r ea lly i d l wh i h h v t b
se r ou s o r ea s d by t h g l h l
c a e o e c r osse e re u ar c e a,
th e n e cess it y f t k g t h i t o a bl in h dly b s g d d r ou h dg
e can ar e re ar e as a e e
t h t i t i d iffi
a s lt t t v cu A d o ra th ther se id t h . l n w lth
on e o er s e er e i es a ea
o f i f n ti
or m a i g th
on con c ern n y t i f N t w h h l ly l ig h t e m s er es o a ur e ic c e ar s
u p v t as gi re f th p t
on s o df t e h it h t as h ddi tt l d k
an u ure er o s r ou e n o a ar
n ess f i t i l i t ll ig
or cr ca n d the p v f
e th
en c es, a n f t tw thy re or o er s o u n r us or
con je t c ur e . F t h os wh or th e g hl y g i t t ho o n ce tt d b
or o u o n o e m a er , an o
2 28 TH E OC C UL T W OR LD .

l v v f d d
t a i n a com p et e m ast e r o er al l t h e con si er a t ion s I h a e
p ut o rwar ,
b v ly x y
w h o t h us o t a i n f u l c o n ic t i on t h e B r ot h er s c e rt a in e i st , t h at t h e
q d W l f
m u st b e a c u a in t e b N b d
i t h t h e a ct ua ac t s a o u t a t ure eh i n an d b e
y d
on lf y dy vy d bl bl k
t h is i e , t h at t h e a r e n o w r ea t o c on e a co n si e r a e oc
k ld
of t h e i r d l d
n o w e g e t o u s, an d t h at i t i s r i ic u o u s t o ist r u st t h e ir b o n a
d
des i n — o in
g t h i s, l
for a l l su c h t r u e Th eoso p h i st s o f t h e Th eoso ph ica
dW l
oc ie t y , n o t h i n g , a t p re sen t , con n ec t e i t h s ir it u a succ ess i s com par a
p
dy v d
b l e i n i m por t an c e w it h t h e st u of t h e ast oct r in e n ow in pr oce ss o f
dlv y
e i er d
i n t o o ur h a n s
 EA S T ER N T H OUG H T .

T H E B HA G A VA D- G I
TA
Or , T H E S A C R E LA Y T ran sl a t e d D .
,
w i t h In tr o d uct ion an d Notes ,

b O
y J H N DA V IES 8 vo gi l t t o p, .
,

JOS EPH C OOK .

OR IE NT . W it h Pre l udes on C ur r en t E ven ts By JOSEPH

. C OOK .

l 2m o,

ON EN S L t
C T T ec ur es , Pa l est i n e, Egypt , an d t h e F u t u r e o f Isla m
A dv d T h gh t i
an ce ou n In ia ; d Ke sh u b Chun de r S en an d t h e Th e ist ic
In ia ; W om an s W o r k fo r W om an in A si a ; apan , t h e
S oc i e t i e s o f d ’
J
S el R e o r m e H e r m i t Nat ion ; A u st ralia , t h e Pacifi c Ocean , an d In
f
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f d
t ern at i on al R e o rm f .

M
T H E W OR KS OF EDWAR D FITZ G ER A LD .

MM
d
In c l u in g T r a n sl at ion s fr o m t h e Per sian of Jam i O a K h ayyam
,
m r
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an d ot h er s E ite . d d by . K ENN E Y . In t wo v o l u m es 8v o ,
.

JA ES FR EE A N C LA R KE .

TEN
o ogl y By
C h u r ch
G R

.
EA T R E IG I

of
the
t he
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ON S
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.

Disci p l es B ost on
M M
Pa r t I .

JA ES F R EE A N C LA R KE Past o r o f t h e
W i t h an In dex C r own 8v o
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A n Essay in C o m par at iv e T h e
,

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ha lf cal f ,

C O N EN T TS : Et h n ic an d C at h ol ic R e ig io n s ; C on l f u ci u s an d t he
C h in ese ; B r ah m a n ism ; B udd h i sm or t h e Pr ot est an t i sm of the Ea st

M
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Z or oast er an d t h e Z en d A vest a The G d o s of Egy pt ; Th e God s of

G reece ; T h e R el igion of R om e ; T h e T eu t on i c an d S can d in v i a an

R e l igi on ; T h e Jew ish R e li gion ; o h am m e d an d Is l am ; Th e Ten

R elig ion s an d C h ri st ian it y .

Dr Cl a r
. ke v
h as h ere gi en u s an ou t li n e of t h e h isto r y of ea ch of th e r e l ig ion s

th a t h a v x e e e r t ed t h e m ost i n fl u en ce i n spac e an d t im e . A b k oo o f con su m

m a t e m eri t a n d su r p assm g in te rest . We ca n n o t e xpr e ss too st r on gl y ou r adm m i

t i on t h e p a t i en t a n d t h o r ou g h st u
of ,
the dy d
j u i c ia l y
i m par t ia l i t , t h e ca t h o li c an d

lo v i n g spi r i t , m an if este d in t h e w h o l e wor k . Ch m n a n R eg u

-
t t er (B ost on ) .

T EN
By t h e R e
ca lf
G R EA T
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RE
. M M
LIG ION S Par t II C om par ison of all
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JA ES F R EE A N CLA R KE Cr own 8v o
.

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R e l ig ion s
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C O N TEN T S : In tr o du ct ion —De c ript io an d C l assificat ion ; S pecial

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s n

M
Ty pes Vari a tions ; O igin an d Devel opm en t of al l R el ig ion s ; Th e
r

Id ea of G od in all R el ig ion s A n i m ism Po ly t h eis P t h eism : , m ,

an

Idea of Go d in all R e li gion s Di t h e ism T ri t h e i m an d o o t h eism : , s ,

n

T h e So u l an d i t s Tr an sm ig r at ion s in all R elig ion s ; Th e Or ig in of ,

 M
Pr a yer an d W o r sh ip in al l l
R e igi on s ; Inspi r at io n an d A r t in al l R e
l ig io n s ; Et h ics in al l R e l d
ig io n s ; I e a of a F u t u r e S t a t e in al l R e
l ig ion s ; Th e F u t u r e R e ig ion l of an kin d ; A ppen di x .

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t h e A st ron om er Poet of Pe rsia R en .

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T TS : an ; The
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H u m a n T ide -W ave ; T h e Pr og r ess o f H u m a n it y B u dd h a ; Ni r van a ;
Th e U n i verse ; Th e Doct r in e R e v ewed i .

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t h e Fo u r t h En g ish Edit io n W ith l . an In t ro d u c t io n w r it t e n fo r t h is

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4 PA R K ST .
, B O S TO N ; 11 EA S T S EV EN T EEN T H S T .
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