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This institution reserves the right to refuse to accept a copy order if, in its judgement, fulfillment of the order would involve violation of the copyright law. A UTHOR: TATYA, TUKARAM TITLE: A GUIDE TO THEOSOPHY PLACE: BOMBAY DATE: 1887 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES PRESERVATION DEPARTMENT BIBLIOGRAPHIC MimOFnUM TARr^i^j Master Negative # Original Material as Filmed - Existing Bibliographic Record I 212 T189 Tatya, Tukaram •..A guide to theosophy, containing select articles for the instructions of aspirants to the knowledge, of theosophy, ••• Published for the Bombay theosophical publication fund. By Tukaram Tatya. Bombay, 1887. 1 p. 1., ii p., 1 1., vi, 400 p. 21«n At head of title: Theosophical publication fund. 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One clings to earth, attracted by desire, The other rises \rp\\9.tdi"- Goethe, " The unknown is the ueful th'nix t^ know, That which we know is useless for our purp- io " ~-Cr<->^ihi PUBLISHED FOR THE BOMBAY THFOSOPHiC^ PUBLICATION FUND. . BY "/ TUKARAM TATYA *j.' f' BOMBAY : 1887 [A'! Bii/hts ^''Served.] An A) tt«lit^PM£4l'^^ I]Jw$tr|i(ii^^I litilirnlbn %m\k Columbia (initio wfftp mt^fCttpofl^rmgdrk LIBRARY GIVEN BY M'i •f I. r.^ t f iS ill 3^ * . • ». A G(J®B iWSrHEOSOPHY. * * ' a « • « • • « ' CONTA].N|??(?; m^X SkTjC'LES FOR THE INSTRUCTIONS OF ASPIRANTS TO THE KNOWLEDGE OF TMrn^npuv ' OF THEOSOPHY. " T,-, Two soul^<, alas ! are conscious in m}' breast, Eacli from ihe otlicr tries to separate. One dinars to earth, attracted by desire, TJie otiier rises upward '''—Goethe. " The unknown is the useful thing to know. That which we know is useless for our purpose ''—Goethe, •— K^»f«^S«i* PUBLISHED FOR THE BOMBAY THEOSOPHICAL PUBLICATION FUND. BY TUKARAM TATYA. BOMBAY. 18S7 [All Rights Reserved.] 'X* , .*V-^l**1''i, I ii i PREFACE ;;2 «s ./ ,4 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • « • • • ''■/ie^:f: ^ 2-1 -i^ BOMBAY : PRINTBB AT THE JOINT-STOCK PRINTING PRESS. TU'i Thcosophical Society showing wliat fh /f ^. "'"™''""'' "^ '^^ c'omplish and how far iroff". '''*^ "' ^'"^'"g ^ ac" i« domed to a dis 1 Sn!^^^^^^ ""T"" "f ""^"■«- ^ -*'- no definite creed or system of nh . ^^ f'^J*"^^' «««'^ty "^ ^"'oA ha, *ho„,h it is hopedVatTcrrrfirr oS n ^'t^- denial, as the case mav h. . T -''""'''''' ''' "P f'''" P^oof or f »"ought. That there is some hZl 1 ' , f f transcendental lWnga.1 systems of religionTndThirsXan^t^^^^^^^ ""'^'- systems are but varied •i.tipmnr. .f ■ **'^® various the same problem and i^ sowf T"-'"^ ''^ '^™^ ">' °"« -<» -d the universe. The ob tTthe S "T" "' '^^^'"^ '' -- out this basal germ of ZT\f- f"f ^ ' ''^^''""''''^^ >« *<> And and its practicflbrLro ';;;''" T^ ^''""' '^" appearances- of this search it is hord%h:;"^^^^^^^^ As the outcome and standard of condd/^MnX I''' ^ -overed a true guide order of nature a law o ind , , u '^"''"'" °" '^"^ "^^^^^ary with every other law '.^"^^^ P«rf««=* harmony afford at iL a p alti^Lrd^;^^^^^^ t '''"T °' ''^^"S^' ^^at wi J solution of all prSr If nf."^^^^ '^^P^^'^''^''^ ^^ «'e In other words the Zlt-"^"'? r""^'"' '' *'''''^'"»*" """d-" mle to think by ' ""' *' ""'^''"^ '^ ^"'^ *» '-e by and pa^"X^S\t::Xtrwifir2l^" "T - ^^^ to the comparison of its nv^noJ vu ' ^'P'""*^ '"e^erenj inthetime^ono:re1lTro;;::^ttmb:f^ T' T'-' of the Theosophist and will be ^eM^e^ k "".^ '" *^^ P^ ^- by the learned author M^ ? We^a'ltlf Tlldl " X. I ■~^*'T; ir PREFACE. As regards the philosophy, although not completed, it may be stated in broad ouUi {„ tj,, ^^^^ ^^ ^,^^ ^^^^ ^ The Idyll of the White Lotus." :_ " There arp three truths which are absolute, and which cannot be lost, but yet may remain silent for lack of speech " The soul of man is immortal, and its future is the future of » thing whose growth and splendour has no limit "The principle which gives life dwells in U.S,' and without us, is undying and eternally beneficent, is not hcaid or seen, or s^elt but IS perceived by the man who desires perception " Each man is his own absolute law-giver, the dispen.ser of glory or gloom to himself; the decreer of his life, his reward, his puni.:hment. tb. I 7 ''•"".'^J^vhieh are as great as is life itself, are as simple as the simplest mind of man. Feed the hungry with them " Those who are interested in the study of this philosopliy may read Mr. Sinnett's book, "The Occult World" and /L..,V 7.^2; Utter being ably summarized in Mrs. Sinnett's " The Pur.wse of Col. H. S. Oleott, President of the Theosophical Society ; the .eve,, volumes of tho 17.eosopMst, partly embodied in "Five ve.rs o Theosophy " ; " The Idyll of the AVhite Lotus " and "L tht on ,1 Path " both by M. C. ; " Ma-ic " br V H . ° r! " c^t TT- . r, . ' •'"''o'c oy t . Hartmann ; " Paradoxps of the Highest Sciences" by Eliphos Levi ; " The Mysteries of AlaS " 5k IT: ""P"''^"" ''^^ '^'^ ^-'^^ «f ^- Levi ; " PanS , V .. i TT ' " "''"'"''"'y " '^ '-'«- ">■ Bab^ Norendra '^TlSr otS?^ ""^ '^ - -^'^- - - -ater Zl, But above all the earnest student should study his own sacrc7 Object of Initiation 119 Strict Morality. The first step to divine wis- dom , , 125 Instructions to the aspir- ants of Divine wisdom. 133 Spiritual prooress. ..,.., 135 PAGE. Practical Hints to Theo- sophists. ..., , 141 Qualification for Chela- ship 155 When to expect spiritual help 165 Mahatmas , 167 Mahatmas and Chelas. ... 183 Relation between the Masters and Chelas. ... 187 The importance of the stu- dy of Sanscrit. 193 The O-ccult Sciences ;. 205 Musings on the True Theo- sophist's Path 211 Know Thyself. 215 Practical Instructions for students of occultism. 251 The constitution of Man. 267 Faith and Knowledge. ... 27^ Imagination 287 The power of Will • 295 Development of Will. ... 307 The twenty-two rules re-*, garding the will from Hermes.... 315 The Elixir of Life 319 Contemplation, 317 Concentration 359 Freedom 367 How to enter the path to Infinite life ,.... 37? t ir PREFACE. As regards the philosophy, although not completed, it may be ta ed m broad outline in the terms of the following quotation from The Idyll of the White Lotus." :— " There are three truths which are absolute, and which cannot be lost, but yet may remain silent for lack of speech "The soul of man is immortal, and its future is the future of » 1 thing whose growth and splendour has no limit "The principle which gives life dwells in us, 'and without us, is undymg and eternally beneficent, is not hea.d or ecen. or s^elt but IS perceived by the man who desires perception " Each man is his own absolute law-giver, the dispenser of glory or gloom to bmself ; the decreer of his life, his reward, his puniLent. th. . r ^'"^^Y' '""■' ''^ «'■"''' ^' ■' "f'' '^^'^'f' •'^■•e as simple as the simplest mind of man. Feed the hungry with them " Those who are interested in the study of this philosophy may rcaxl Mr Sinnett's books, "The Occult World" and IJ^ot^ncBlmLZ atter being ably summarized in Mrs. Sinnett's " The Purpo e of Col. H. S. Olcott, President of the Theosophical Society ; the sevei. volumes of the rW;,^,-.^ partly embodied in "Fiv'e ye.r o Theosophy " ; " The Idyll of the Vv'hite Lotus " and " L It on f . ''.f'^.f \ ''■ C-; "Magic" by F. Hartmann " R.! ': o the Highest Sciences" by Eliphos Levi ; " The Mysteries of M "c » by A^E. Waite, a compilation from the works of E. Levi ; " Pa^: el Nath Sen ; and lastly that mine of occult learning '■ Isis Unveiled " But above all the earnest student should study his own sacred Scriptures and by concentrated meditation endeavour to wrest fZ ' them the gems of wisdom they enshrine, and at all times he must .trive to recognize the guidance of the divine light in his own in- most being and by purifying his soul learn to rise above the infiu ^ce of merely selfish woildly interest to a union with the Supreme ■len knowledge takes the place of faith, and certainty replaces hvpo- bis, when doubts are resolved in realization and tlie fierce warfare fmst the lower animal nature is succeeded by the calm confidence Victory. OOXTEXTS OF A GUIDE TO THEOSOPHY. FAGK. Preface. Introduction. What is Tlieosopliy. ...... 1 What are the Theo- sophists 13 Common sense ot* Theo- so})hy........... 21 The founders of the Theo- sophical Society. . . ^ . . . 33 Theosophical Society (ob- jects, Rules, and Bye laws.)... , 51 Theosophical Symbolism. 63 Notes on " Om " from the Upanisliads. 77 Six pointed Stars and Five pointed Stars. .., 84 Brotherhood. 89 Extracts from the Ad- dresses delivered by the late BabuNobin Kri- shna Rmerji and Babu Narendra Nath S;en. ... 95 What is necessary to be- come Initiated. 1Q7 Object of Initiation 119 Strict Morality. The first step to divine wis- dom , 125 Instructions to the aspir- ants of Divine wisdom. 133 Spiritual progress. ..,.., 135 PAGE. Practical Hints to Theo- sophists. 141 Qualification for Chela- ship 155 When to expect spiritual help 165 Mahatmas. 167 Mahatmas and Chelas. ... 183 Relation between the Masters and Chelas. ... 187 The importance of the stu- dy of Sanscrit. 193 The O-ccult Sciences ;. 205 Musings on the True Theo- sophist's Path 211 Know Thyself. 215 Practical Instructions for students of occultism. 251 The constitution of Man. 267 Faith and Knowledge. ... 279 Imagination 287 The power of Will 295 Development of Will. ... 307 The twenty-two rules re-«. garding the will from Hermes 315 The Elixir of Life 319 Contemplation, 317 Concentration 359 Freedom » 367 How to enter the path to Infinite life. ... ..*... 37? jfltmw INTRODUCTION. ■^•♦^ ** What shall I do to gain eternal life t Discharge aright The simple dues with which each day is rift ; Yea, with thy might. Ere perfect scheme of action thou devise Life will be fled. While he who ever acts as conscience cries, Shall live though dead.". . Schiller. Men are born, live out tlieir brief life and die ; nations rise, reach a certain height and fall ; civilizations are built up, shaped and polished only to decay each in turn and be succeeded by new systems evolved by new races of men. In the now all- powerful civilization of Europe, hastening so rapidly to its Zenith, there is one element lacking that held a foremost place in the mightier systems now all but forgotten. That element is the part played by man's higher nature in evolutionary development, the practical knowledge of the soul. The whole aim of Western civilization is to improve the material condition of mankind. It is to this end that th© huge fires never cease to burn by day or night, for this power- looms turn out endless miles of woven cotton, for this the land is bound with a network of iron rails— for this the seething multitudes are struggling in the mad race for wealth. No doubt we move about from place to place more quickly than our fathers did. No doubt we enjoy comforts of vvhich they never dreamt. But the price we pay for these things is a II INTRODL't TIOX. heavy one. Daily harder grows the struggle for bare existence, vrhon the weak go to the wall, when the man Tvho pauses to take breath is trampled under toot, when the man who presses on beconies a slave under a system that turns the world into si vast machine in which human beings perform the function of cogs on great wheels-fa tally pushed onward, resting only when life ends. The philosophy that corresponds to such a civilization is one of negation-cold and heartless modern materialism. But men are beginning to find out that there is something wanting in this state of things. They feel an unsatisfied void within, an unconfesscd conviction that there is somehow a world that we cannot see but Aviiich is vet a very real world. A bitter crv is beo;innin as well as Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Christianity, Mahomedanism, Zoroastrism and every other known religion, do all recognise the prime fact that there is a Great Principle, whom ( or which ) we call Paramatma, however much those svstems mav conflict with each other in their conception of that principle, with reference to Its Unity, Personality, Attributes and Moral Perfections, Even the Materialist finds in Matter ^' the Promise and Potency of all terrestial life," and the Spiritu- alist discovers in spirit the source of all energy and of matter as Avell. As for the Agnostic, he says that he does not know what others mean bv God, but he does not declare that there is no God. To be thoroughly able to say that there is a God, one has onlv to look around on any definite space, and point to the ves- tiges that are given of His power and His presence there. But to be able to say that there is no God, we must explore the wholo expanse of infinity, and ascertain l)y observation that such if lY INTRODUCTIOX. vestiges are to be found nowhere ; and what 'ages and what lights are requisite for the attainment of this knowledge ! Thii intelligence involves the very attribute of Divinity, while a God is denied ; for unless Man is Omnipresent and Omniscient he cannot know^ but there may be in some place manifestations of a Deity, by which even he would be overpowered. Thus, unless man knows all things, that is, unless he himself is a deity, he cannot know that God, whose existence he denies, does not exist. Thus, we may safely hold that the existence of one Great Author of the Universe, by whatever name called, and with whatever attributes endowed, has been recognised by mankind with more or less variations and qualifications. But a belief to this limited extent is hardly sufficient to serve all our pur- poses. We should have a clear knowledge, that is as clear knowledge as it is possible for human beings to attain, as to the character and attributes of the Deity ; His relation to the material Universe, and to man in particular ; besides also as to the nature of our soul, its immateriality and immortality ; its functions, transmigrations and final goal ; and lastly, as to the ways and means for approaching that goal in all spiritual purity and faith. And yet it is unfortunate that on these very points there has been an extreme diversity of views among mankind. It is utterly impossible that all these divers systems could be true in every respect ; and it is absolutely necessary that we ehould know which one of them is true and wholly true ; for truth has no degrees. Moreover, as God is one. Religion must necssarily be one likewise. Conflicting sentiments in regard to this all-important subject tend not only to prejudice the spiri- tual advantage which mankind are naturally desirous of acquir- ing, hut also to interfere ivith their loordly comfort, by dividing them into so many factions, [and engendering a hostile spirit to- i 4 INTRODUCTION. ▼ ivards each other. It would he a happy event if all the several forms of religion could coalesce into one common faith, adopting one form of worship, and following one common end! But how is this grand object to be achieved ? How can w© form one cosmopolitan Religion ? is a question for the careful consideration of every thoughtful man. Generally speaking, we may say that the best w^ay by which we could secure this most desirable purpose, is that mankind should all combine together, with a hearty good-will for the investigation and discussion of this question, starting from a stand-point, w^hich is common to all ; selecting at first, only such subjects for discussion as may not be inconsistent with any section of the people ; and gradually rising to the settlement of the conflicting and complicated points, until at length w^e arrive at definite conclusions una voce in all matters essential for the spiritual w^ants of man. Thus then the first thing we should do would be to find some starting point from which to commence our studies and investi- gations. All religionists, whether orthodox or heterodox, have an equal right to have the essential features of their beliefs laid before the tribunal of an impartial world ; but the real difficulty is to select one of them to form a broad platform on which all can meet, without prejudice or offence, and discuss the various questions connected with the great point. The difficulty is magnified manifold when we remember that each orthodox religion, so far from being uniform, is divided into numerous systems, each of which has in its turn its own subdivisions in the shape of sects and creeds, widely differing from one another ; and the case is not different with heterodoxy. The world is full of numerous heretical systems, each having a basis opposed to others. And even the materialists and scientists, who are not VI INTRODUCTION. tied down to any revelation or tradition, but are proiio to rely- on Fact and Reason, are, strange to say, really diversilied in their view of the ('osmos and its origin* In this great dilemma^ lli^osophj viits forward a d aim for its adoption hy mankind as the common basis from which all can start on the great mission of inquirx/. It is the platform on which the professors of all systems^ orthodox or heterodox, materialists or atheists may all stand on a footing of equality, without in any way conflicting ivith each other. Indeed, Theosophy seems to he just the sort of system peculiarly adapted for the cosmopolitan movement which is noxo under contemplation. WHAT IS THEOSOPHY, « The theorems of philosophy are to be enjoyed as much as *' possible, as if they were ambrosia and nectar. For the jileasurc *' arising from them is genuine, incorruptible, and divine." — Pythagoras, According to lexicographers,the term Theosophia is composed of two Greek words — Theos "god/* and sophos "wise." So far correct. But the explanations that follow are far from giving a clear idea of Theosophy. Webster defines it most originally as " a supposed intercourse with God and superior spirits, and consequent attainment of superhuman knowledge, by physical processes, as by the theurgic operations of some ancient Plato- nists, or by the chemical processes of the German firephiloso- phers." This, to say the least, is a poor and flippant explanation. To attribute such ideas to men like Ammonius Saccas, Plotinus, Jamblichus, Porphyry, Proclus,-shows either intentional misre- presentation, or Mr, Webster's ignorance of the philosophy and motives of the greatest geniuses of the later Alexandrian School. To impute to those whom their contemporaries as well as posteri- ty styled "Theodidaktoi," god-taught, a purpose to develope their psychological, spiritual perceptions by " physical processes," is to describe them as materialists. As to the concluding fling at the fii-ephilosophers, it rebounds from them to fall home 2 WHAT IS TIIEOSOPHY among our most eminent modern men of science ; those in whoso mouths the Rev. James Martineau places the following boast : ** matter is all we want ; give us atoms alone, and we will explftin the universe." Vaughan offers a far better, more philosophical definition "A Theosophist '' he says "is one who gives you a theory of God or the works of God which has not revelation, but an in- spiration of his own for its basis. " In this view every groat thinker and philosopher, especially every founder of a new reli- gion, school of philosophy or sect is necessarily a Theosophist. Hence, Theosophy and Theosophists huve existed ever since the first glimmering of nascent thought made man seek insthictively for the means of expressing his own indcpendant opinions. There were Theosophists before the Christian era notwith- standing that the Christian writers ascribe the development of the Eclectic theosophical system, to the early part of the third century of their Era. Diogenes Laertius traces Theosophy to au epoch antedating the dynasty of the Ptolemies ; and names as its founder an Egyptian Hierophant called Pot-Aniun, the name being Coptic and signifying a priest consecrated to Aniun the god of wisdom. But history shows it revived by Ammonius Saccas, the founder of the Neo-Platonic School. He and his dis- ciples called themselves "Philaletheians" lovers of the truth; while others termed them the "Analogists," on account of their method of interpreting all sacred legends, symbolical myths and mysteries, by a rule of analogy or correspondence, so that events which had occurred in the external world were regarded as expressing operations and experiences of the human soul. It was the aim and purpose of Ammonius to reconcile all sects, peoples and nations under one common fciith a belief in one supreme Eternal, Unknown, and Unnamed Power governing the I I ? WHAT IS THEOSOPHY. 3 Universe by immutable and eternal laws. His object was to prove a primitive system of Theosophy, which at the beginning was es- sentiallv alike in all countries ; to induce all men to lay aside * their strifes and quarrels, and unite in purpose and thought as the Children of one common mother, to purify the ancient reli- gions, by degrees corrupted and obscured, from all dross of human element, by uniting and expounding them upon pure philosophical principles. Hence the Bhuddistic, VeJantic and Magian or Zoroastrian, systems were taught in the Eclectic Theosophical school along with all the philosophies of Greece. Hence also, that pre-eminently Buddhistic and Indian feature among the ancient Theosophists of Alexandria of due reverence for parents and aged persons, a fraternal affection for the whole human race ; and a compassionate feeling for even the dumb animals. While seeking to establish a system of moral discip- line which, enforced upon people the duty to live according to the laws of their respective countries ; to exalt their minds by the research and contemplation of the one Absolute truth ; his chief object in order, as he believed, to achieve all others, was to extract from the various religious teachings, as from a many, chorded instrument, one full and harmonious melody which would find response, in every truth loving heart. Theosophy is, then, the archaic Wisdom Religion, the esoteric- doctrine once known in even^j ancient Counti^ having claims to civilization. This " wisdom" all the old writings show us as an emanation of the divine principle ; and the clear comprehension of it is typified in such names as the Indian Buddh, the Babylonian Nebo, the Thoth of Memphis, the Hermes of Greece ; in the appellations, also, of some goddesses Metis, Neitha, Athena, the Gnostic Sophia, and finally — the Vedas, from the word " to know." Under this designation, all the ancient philosophers of the East and West, the Hicrophants t 4 WHAT IS TIIEOSOniY. of old Egypt, the Rishis of Aryavart, theTlieodidaktoi of (jfreece, included all knowledge of things occult and essentially divine. The Merciivah of the Hel)rew llabbis, the secular nnd popular series, were thus designated as only the vehicle, the outward shell which contained the higher esoteric knowledges. The Magi of Zoraster received instruction and were initiated in the caves and secret lodges of Bactria ; the Eg}^ptian Grecian hiero- phants had their appc>rrheta, or secret discourses during which Mysta became an Epopta — a Seer The central idea of the Eclectic Theosophy was that of a single Supreme Essence, Unknown and Unknowable — for — '* How could one know the knower V As enquires Brihadaranyaka Upa- nishad. Their system was characterized by three distinct features the theory of the above-named Essence ; the doccrine of the human soul, an emanation from the latter, hence of the same nature ; and its theurgy. It is this last science which has led the Neo-Platonists to be so misrepresented in our era of materi- alistic science. Theurgy being essentially the art of applying the divine powers of man to the subordination of the blind forces of nature, its votaries were fu'st-termed magicians— a corruption of the w^ord "Magh" signifying a wise, or learned man, and-deri- ded. Sceptics of a century ago would have been as "vvide of the mark if they had laughed at the idea of a phonograph or a telegraph. The ridiculed and the " infidels '' of one generation generally become the wise men and saints of the next. As regards the Divine Essence and the nature of the soid and spirit, modern llteosoj^hj/ believes now as ancient Theosophy did. The popular Diu li the Aryan nations was identica with the lao of the Chaldeans, and even with the Jupiter of the less learned and jihilosophical among the Romans ; and it was just a:* identical with the J alive of the Samaritans, the Tin or WHAT IS THEOSOPHY. 5 " Tinsco" of the Northmen, the Duw of the Britain8,and the Zens of the Thracians. As to the Absolute Essence, the One and All- whether we accept the Greek Pythagorean, the Chaldean Kaba- listic, or tlie Aryan pliilosophy in regard to it, it will all lead to one and the same result. The Primeval Monad of the Pvtha- gorean system which retires into darkness and is itself Dark- ness ( for human intellect ) was made the basis of all things ; and wo can find the idea in all its integrity in the philosophical systems of Leibnitz and Spinoza. Therefore, wiiether a Theo- sophist agrees with the Kabala which, speaking of En-soph pro- pounds the query : '^ Who, then, can comprehend it, since It is form-less, and Non-Existent ? " Or, remembering that magnificent hymn from the Rig-Yeda. ( Hymn 129th, Book 10th, enquire ; " Who knows from whence this great Creation sprang ? Whether his will Created or was mute. He knows it — or perchanco even lie know not^ Or, again, accepts the Vedantic conception of Brahma, who in the Upanishads is represented as " without life, without mind, pure, unconscious, for — Brahma is " Absolute Consciousness." Or even finally, siding with the Svabhavikas of Nepaul, main- tains that nothing exists but '' Svabhavat ( substance or nature ) which exists by itself without any Creator any one of the above conceptions can lead hid to pure and ahsolute Theosophy. That Theosophy which prompted such men as Hegel, Fichte and Spinoza to take up the labors of the old Grecian Philoso- pher and speculate upon the one substance— The Deity, the Divine All proceeding from the Divine Wisdom incomprehen- sible, unknown and unnamed by any ancient or modern religious philosoi^hy, with the exception of Christianity and 6 WHAT IS THEOSOPIIY^ Mahommedanism. Every llieosophist, then, holding to a theory of the Deity *^ which has not revelation, hut an inspiration of his own for its basis, '* may accept any ofths above definitions or belong to any of these religions, and yet remain strictly within the boundaries of Theosophy. For the latter is belief in the Deity as the all, the source of all existence, the infinite that cannot be either comprehended or known, the universe alone revealing It, or^ as some prefer it. Him, thus giving a seco to that, to anthoropomorphize which is blasphemy. True, Theosophy shrinks from brutal materialization ; it prefers believing that, from eternity retired within itself, the spirit of the Deity neither ivills nor creates ; but that, from the infinite effulgency everyivhere going forth froin the Great Centime, that which produces all visible and Invisible things is but a Ray containing in itself the generative and conceptive power which in its turn produces that ivhich the Greeks called Macrocosm, the Kabalists Tikkun or Adam Kadmon — the archetypal man, and the Aryans Purusha the manifested Brahn, or the Divine Male. Theosophy believes also in the Anastasis or continued existence, and in transmigration ( evolution ) or a series in changes in the soul ivhich can be defended and explained on strict philosophical principles ; and only by making a distinc^ Hon between Paramatma ( transcendental, snprone soul ) and Jivatma ( animal, or conscious soid ) of the Vedantins. To fully define Theosophy, we must consider it under all its aspects. The interior ivorld has not been hidden from all by impenetrable darkness. By that highter intuition ac- quired by Tlieosophia or God-knowledge, which carries the mind from the world of form into that of formless spirit, man has been sometimes, enabled in every age and every country to erceive things in the interior or invisible world -J WHAT IS THEOSOrnY. 7 Hence, the Samadhi or Dhyan Yog Samadhi. of the Hin- doo ascetics ; the " Diamonlon-photi " or spiritual illumination, of the Neo-Pktonists ; the " Sidereal confabulation of soul, " of the Rosicrucians or Fire-philosophers ; and, even the ecstatic trance of mystics and of the modern mesmerists and spiritualists, are identical in nature, though various as to manifestation. The search after man's diviner " self,'' so often and so erroneously interpreted as individual communion with a personal God, was the object of every mystic, and belief in its possibility seems to have been coeval with the genesis of huma- nity, each people giving it another name. Thus Plato and Plotinus call *' Noetic work " that which the yogas and the Shrotriya term Vidya. " By reflection, self-knowledge and intellectual discipline, the soul can be raised to the vision of eternal truth, goodness, and beauty that is, to the Vision of God— this is the, epopteia," said the Greeks. *^ To unite one's soul to the Universal soul," says Porphyry, " requires but a perfectly pure-mind. Through self-contemplation, perfect chas- tity, and purity of body, we may approach nearer to It, and receive, in that state, true knowledge and wonderful insight." And Swami Dayanund Saraswati, who has read neither Pro- phyry nor other Greek authors, but who is a thorough Yedic scholar, says in his Veda Bhashya ( opasna prakaru ank. 9) To obtain Deksha (highest initiation ) and Yog, one has to practise according to the rules. The soul in human body can perform the greatest wonders by knowing Universal spirit ( or God ) and ac- quainting itself with the properties and qualities ( occult) of all the things in the universe. A human being ( a Dekshit or initiate ) can thus acquire a power of seeing and hearing at great distan- ces." Finally, Alfered B. Wallace, F. R. S. , a spiritualist and yet a confessedly great naturalist, says with brave candour : WHAT IS TIIEOSOniY. *^It is ' spirit' that alono feels, and perceives, and thinks — that acquires knowledge, and reasons and aspires... there not unfre- quentlj occur individuals so constituted that the spirit can perceive independently of the corporeal organs of sense, or can, perhaps, wholly or partially quit the body for a time and return to it again... the spirit... communicates with spirit easier than with matter." We can now see how, after thou- sands of years have intervened between the age of the Gymno- sophists and our own highly civilized era, notwithstanding or, perhaps, just bocause of, such an enlightenment which pours its radiant light upon the psychological as well as upon the physical realms of nature, over twenty millions of people to-day believe, under a different form, in those same spiritual powers that were believed in by the Yogins and the Pytha- goreans, nearly 3,000 years ago. Thus which the Aryan mystic claimed for himself the power of solving all the pro- blems of life and death, when ho had once obtained the power of acting independently of his body, through tho Atman— " self," or" soul " ; and the old Greeks went in search of Atman the hidden one, or the God soul of man, with the symbolical mirror of the Thesmophorian mysteries ;— 80 the spiritualists of to-day bdievc in tho fiiculty of the spirits, or the souls of the disembodied persons, to communicato visibly and tangibly with those they loved on earth. And all those, Aryan Yogis, Greek philosophers, and modern spiritualists, affirm that possibility on the ground that the embodied soul and its never embodied spirit— the real self,— are not separated from either the Universal Soul or other spirits by space, but merely by the differentiation of their qualities ; as in the boundless expanse of the universe there can bo no limitation. And that when this difference is once removed according to the Greeks and Aryans by abstract contemi)lation, producing the temproary liberation of WHAT IS THEOSOPHY. 9 the imprisoned soul, and according to spiritualists, through mediumship such an union between, embodied and disembo- died spirits becomes possible. Thus was it that Patanjali's Yogis and, following in their steps, Plotinus, Porphyry and other Neo-Platonists maintained that in their hours, of ecstacy, they had been united to, or rather become as one with, God several times during the course of Mieir lives. This idea erroneous as it may seem in this application to the Universal Spirit, was, and is, claimed by too many great philosophers to be put aside as entirely chimerical. In the case of the Theodidaktoi, the only controvertible point, the dark spot on this philosophy of extreme mysticism was its claim to include that which is simply, ecstatic illumination, under the head of sensuous perception. In the case of the Yogins, who main_ tained their ability to see Iswara " face to face" this claim was successfully overthrown by the stern logic of Kapila. As to the similar assumption made for their Greek followers, for a long array of Christian ecstatics, and, finally, for the last two claimants to ^* God seeing " within these last hundred years — Jacob Bohme and Swedenborg — this pretension would and should have been philosophically and logically questioned if a few of our great men of science who are spiritualists had more interest in the philosophy than in the more pheno- menalism of spiritualism. The Alexandrian Theosophists were divided into neophytes, initiates, and masters, or hierophants ; and their rules were copied from the ancient Mysteries of Orpheus, who, according to. Herodotus brought them from India. Ammonius obligated his disciples by oath not to divulge his higher doctrines, except to those who were proved thoroughly worthy and initiated, and who have learned to regard the Goik, the Angels, and the -./ «-».' 10 WHAT IS TIIEOSOPIIY. demons of other peoples, according to the esoteric hyponia or under-meaning. " The gods exist, but they are not what the Oipolloi, the uneducated multitude, suppose them to be," says Epicurus. " He is not an atheist who denies the existence of the gods, whom the multitude worship, but ho is such who fastens on these Gods the opinions of the multitude" In his turn, Aristo- tle declares that of the " Divine Essence pervading the whole world of nature, what are styled the Gods are simply the fii'st principles. Plotinus the pupil of the " God-taught " Ammonius, tells ns that the secret gnosis or the knowledge of Theosophy, has three degrees— opinion, science, and illununation. " The means or instrument of the first is sense, or perception, of the second dialectics ; of the third, imtuition. To the last, reason is subor- dinate, it is absolute knowledge, founded on the identification of the mind with the object known." Th(osophy is the exact science of phychology, so to say ; it stands in reUtion to natural, uncultivated mediumsUp, as the knowledge of a Tyndall stands to that of a school boy in physics. It develops in man a direct beholding ; that which Schelling denominates " a realization of the identity of subject and object in the individual ; so that under the influence und knowledge of hyponia man thinks divine thoughts, views all things as they really are, and, finally, " becomes recipient of the soul of the World, " to use one of the finest eocpressions of Emerson. " I the inperfect, adore my own Perfect." he says in his superb Essay on the Oversoul. Besides this psychological, or soul state, Theosophy cultivated, every branch of sciences and arts. It was thoroughly familiar with what is now commonly known as mesmerism. Practical theurgy or " ceremonial magic, " so often resorted to in their exorcisms by the Roman-Catholic clergy was discarded by the Theosoi)hists WHAT IS THEOSOPHY. 11 It is but Jamblichus alone who, transcending the other Electics added to Theosophy the doctrine of Theurgy. When ignorant of the true meaning of the esoteric divine symbols of nature man is apt to miscalculate the powers of his soul, and, instead of communing spiritually and mentally with the higher, celestial beings, the good spirits ( the gods of the theurgists of the Plato- nic school ), he will unconsciously call forth the evil, dark powers w^hich lurk around humanity — the undying, grim crea- tions of human crimes and vices — and thus fall from theurgia ( w^hite magic ) into goetia ( or black magic, sorcery. ) yet neither white nor black magic are w^hat popular superstition understands by the terms. The possibility of " liaising spirits " according to the key of Solomon, is the height of superstition and ignorance. Purity of deed and thought can alone raise us to an hitercourse " ivith the gods^' and attain for us the goal we desire. Alchemy, believed by so many to have been a spiritual philosophy as well as a physical science belonged to the teachings of the Theosophical school. It is a noticeable fact that neither Zoroaster, Buddha, Orpheus Pythagoras, Confucius, Socrates, nor Ammonius Saccas, commit- ted anything to writing. The reason for it is obvious. Theoso- phy is a double-edged lueapon and unfit for the ignorant or the selfish. Like every ancient philosophy, it has its votaries among the moderns ; but, until late in our own days, its disciples were few in numbers, and of the most various sects and opinions. " Entirely speculative and founding no schools, they have still exercised silent influence upon philosophy : and no doubt, when the time arrives, many ideas thus silently propounded may yet give new directions to human thought remarks Mr. Ken- neth R. H. Mackenzie IX. himself a mystic and a Theosophist, 12 WHAT IS THEOSOPHY. / in his large and valuable work, The Royal Masonic Cyclopoe- dia (articles Theosophical society of New York, and Theosophy, P. 731 ). since the days of the fire-philosophers, they had never formed themselves into societies, for, tracked like wild beasts by the Christian clergy, to be known as a Theosophist often amounted, hardly a century ago, to a death-wairant The statistics show that, during a period of 150 years, no less then 90,000 men and women were burned in Europe for; alleged witchcraft. In Great Britain only, from A. D. 1640 to 16G0, but twenty years, 3,000 persons were put to death for compact with the " Devil." It was hut late in the present century— in 1875 that some progressed mystics and spiritualists unsatisfied with the theories and explanations of spiritualism started by its votaries, and finding that they were far from covering the whole ground of the wide range of phenomena, formed at Neiv Yorh, an association ivhich is now widely known as the Theosophical Soeiety. 4 t WHAT ARE THE THEOSOPHISTS. But in what manner a Supreme Being superintend the human race, and how he delights to be worshipped, what is Virtue, Justice, Temperance, neither will Athos show to those who climb its summit, uor Olympos, so renownod in song— if tho soul does not make such things as the objects of its contemplation ; and if it does engage in such topics pure and undefiled, I will not hesitate to assert that it will rise far above Kaukasos itself. — Apollonios Tyaneus, o:o:o He who would seriously attempt to fathom the psycholo- gical sciences, must come to the sacred land of ancient Arya- varta. None is older than her in esoteric wisdom and civiliza- tion, however fallen may be her poor shadow — modern India Holding this country, as we do, for the fruitful hot-bed whence proceeded all subsequent philosophical systems, to this source of all psychology and philosophy a portion of our society has come to learn its ancient wisdom and ask for the importation of its weird secrets. Philology has made too much progress to require at this late day a demonstration of this fact of the primo- genitive nationality of Aryavart. Tho unproved and prejudiced hypothesis of modern Chronology is not worthy of a moment's thought, and it will vanish in time like too many other unproved hyphotheses. The line of philosophical heredity, from Kapila through Epi- curus to James Mill ; from Patanjali through Plotinus to Jacob Bohme, can be traced like the course of a river through a land- scape. One of the objects of the society's organization icas to '^^.M^MT'^V.. «| jm-m^T'^V^ H WHAT ARE THE THEOSOPHISTS. WHAT ARE THE THEOSOPHISTS. 15 examine the too transceiulent vleius of the spiritualists in rer/ard to the jwicers of disembodied spirits; and, having told them what, in our opinion at lean, a portion of their phenomena are not, it ivill hecome incnmhent upon us 7ioio to show ichat they are. So apparent is it that it is in the East, and especially in India, that the key to the alleged " super-natural" phenomena of the spiritualists must be sought, that it has been conceded in the Allahabad Pioneer ( Aug. 11th 1879 ) an Anglo-Indian daily journal Avhich has not the reputation of saying what it does not mean. Blaming the men of science who " intent upon physical discovery, for some generations have been too prone to neglect super-physical investigation," it mentions " the new wave of doubt—" ( spiritualism ) which has " latterly disturbed this conviction." To a large number of persons, including many of high culture and intelligence, it adds, " the supernatural has again asserted itself as a fit subject of inquiry and research. And there are plausible hyphotheses, in favour of the idea that among the ' sages' of the East— there may be found in a higher degree than among the more modernised inhabitants of the West, traces of those personal peculiarities, whatever they may be, which are required as a condition precedent to the occurrence of supernatural phenomena." And then, unaware that the cause he pleads is one of the chief aims and objects of our society, the editorial writer remarks that it is " the only direction in which, it seems to us, the efforts of the Theosophists in India might possibly be useful. The leading members of the Theosophical society in India are known to be very advanced students of occult phenomena, already, and we cannot but hope that their professions of interest in oriental philosophy... may cover a reserved intention of carrying out exploration of the kind we indicate." While as observed, one of our objects, it yet is but one of many ; the most important of which is to revive the work of Ammonius Saccas, and make various nations remember that they are the childern " of one another r As to the transcendental side of the ancient Theosophy, it is also high time that the Theosophical society should explain. With how much then, of this nature searching, God-seeking science of the ancient Arvan and Greeks mystics, and of the powers of modern spiritual mediumship, does the society agree ? Our answer is .-—with it all. Bat if asked what it believes in, the reply will be : " as a body-Nothinyr The society, as a body, has no creed, as creeds are but the shells around spiritual knowledge ; and Theosophy in its fruition is spiritual knowledge itself—the very essence of philosophical and theistic enquiry. Visible representative of Universal Theosophy, can be no more sectarian than a Geograph ical society, which represents universal geograj^hical exploration without caring whether the explorers be of one creed or another. The religion of the society is an algebraical equation, in which so long as the sign of equality is not omitted, each member is aUowed to substitute quantities of his own, which better accord with climatic and other exigencies of his native land, with the idiosyncracies of his people, or even with his own. Havino- no accepted creed, our society is ever ready to give and take to learn and teach by practical experimentation, as opposed to mere passive and credulous acceptance of enforced dogma. It is willing to accept every result claimed by any of the foregoino- schools or systems, that can be logically and ewperimentally demonstrated; conversely, it can take nothing on mere faith, no matter by whom the demand may be made. But when we come to consider ourselves individually it is quite another thing. The society's members represent the most 16 WHAT ARE THE THEOSOPHISTS. varied nationalities and races, and wore born and educated in the most dissimlar creeds and social conditions. Some of them believe in one thing, others in another one. Some incline toward the ancient magic, or secret wisdom that was taught in the sanctuarie.s, which was the very opposite of supernaturalism or diabolism ; others in modern spiritualism, or intercourse with the spirits of the dead ; still others in mesmerism or animal magnetism, as only an occult dynamic force in nature. A cer- tain number have scarcely yet acquired any definite belief, but are in a state of attentive expectancy ; and there are even those who call themselves mat<;rialists, in a certain sense. Of atheists and bigoted sectarians of any religion, there are none in tlie society; for the very fact of a man's joining it proves that ho IS in search of the final truth as to the ultimate essence of things. If there be such a thing as a speculative atheist which many philosophers deny, he would have to reject both cause and effect, whether in this world of matter, or iu that of spirit. There may be members who, like the poet Shelley, have let their imagination soar from cause to prioJ cause ad infinitum, as each in its turn became logically trans- formed into a result necessitating a prior cause, until they have thinned the Eternal into a mere mist. But even they are not atheists in the speculative sense, whether they identify the material forces of the universe with the functions with which the theists endow their God, or otherwise ; for once that they cannot free themselves from the conception of the abstract ideaj of power, cause, necessity, and effect they can be considered as atheists only in respect to a personal God, and not to the Univer- sal soul of the Pantheists. On the other hand, the bigoted sectarian, fenced m,as he is, with a creed upon every paling of which IS written the warning « No Thoroughfare," can neither come out ofhis enclosure to join the Theosophical society, nor WHAT ARK THB THEOSOPHISTS. 17 if he could, has it room for one whose very religion forbids exa- mination. The very root idea of the society is free and fearkss investigation. As a body, the Theosophical Society holds that all original thinkers and investigators of the hidden side of nature^ whether materialists — those lohofind in matter " the promise and potency of all terrestrial life^' or spiritualists -that is those who discover in spirit the source of all energy and of matter as well, were and are properly, Theosophists. For to be one, one need not necessarily reaognize th3 existence of any special God or a deity. One need but worship the spirit of living nature and try to identify oneself with it. To reverse th.it Presence, the ever invisible which is yet ever manifesting itself in its incessant results I the intangible, Omnipotent, and Omnipresent Proteus : indi- visible in its Essence, and eluding form, yet appearing under all and every form ; who is here and there, and everywhere and nowhare, is all, and nothing ; ubiquitous yet one ; the Esseace filling, binding, bounding, containing everything ; contained in all. It will, we think, be seen now, that whether classed as Theists, Pantheists or Atheists, such men are al] near kinsmen to the rest. Be what he may, once that a stu- dent abandons the old and trodden highway of routine, and enters upon the solitary path of independant thought— God- ward — he is a Thsosophist, an original thinker, a sojker after the eternal truth, with " an inspiration of his own *' to solve the universal problems. With every man that is earnestly searching in his own way after a knowledge of the Divine Principle, of man's relations to it, and nature's manifestations of it, Theosophy is allied. It is likewise the ally of honest science, as distinguished from much 1ft WHAT ARE THE THE080PHISTS. WHAT ARE THE THEOSOPHISTS, i that passes for exact, physical science, so long as tha latter doss not poach on the domains of psjchologj and metaphysics. An 1 it is also the ally of every honest religion, to wit : a religfon willing to be judged by the same tests as it applies to tha others. Those books which contain the most self-evident truth, are to it inspirel (not revealed). But all books it re- gards, on account of the human element contained in them as inf.Tior to the Book of nature to read which and comj.rehend it correctly, the innats powers of the soul must be highlv developed. Ideal laws can be perceived by the intuitive faculty alone ; they are beyond the donriin of argument and dialectics, and no one can understand or rightly appreciate them through the explanations of another mind, though even his mind be claiming a direct revelation. And as this Society, which allows the widest sweep in the realms of the pure ideal is no less fir.n in the sphere' of facts iU deference to modern soienco anj its ju.t representives is smoere. Despite all their lack of a higher spiritual intuition the world's debt to the representatives of modern phvsical science is immense ; hence, the Society endorses heartily the noble anl indignant protest of that gifted and eloquent preacher the Rev. 0. B. Frothingham, against those who try to under- value the services of our great naturalists. « Talk of sc^enc3 as bemg irreligious, atheistic," he exclaimed in a recent lecture delivere.l at New York, « science is creating a new idea of God. It ,s due to science that we have any conception at all of ahvmg God. If we do not beeome atheists one of these days under the maddening effect of Protestantism, it will be due to soienoe, because it is disabusing us of the hiJeons illusions that taase and embarrass us, and putting us in the way of knowing how to reason about the things wo see." 19 And it is also due to the unremitting labors of such Orien- talists as Sir W. Jones, Max Muller, Burncuf, Colebrcoke, Hiiug, St. Hilaire, and so many others, that the society, as a body, feels er^ual respect and veneration for Vedic, Buddhist, Zoroastrian, and other old reLgions of the world ; and a like brotherly feeling toward its Hindu, Sinhalese, Parsi, Jain, Hebrew, and Christian members as individual students of *^ self," of nature, and of the divine in nature. Born in the Unitod States of America, the society was con- stituted on the moJel of its Mother Land. The latter, omittincr the name of God from its constitution lest it should afford a pre!;3xt one day to make a state religion, gives absolute equali- ty to all religion in its laws. All support and each is in turn protected by the state. The society, modelled upon this consti- tution may fairly be termed a "republic of Conscience." We have now, we think, made clear why our members, as individuals, arc free to stay outside or inside any creed they please, provided they do not pretend that none but themselves shall enjoy the privilege of conscience, and try to force their opi:i:oin npm the others. In thisr3sp3ct the Rale? of the Society arc very strict. It tries to act upon the wi.'-rdom of the old Buddhistic axiom " Honour thine own faith, and do not slander that of others ;" For, above all human sects stands Tlieosophy in its abstract sense ; Thoosophy which is too wide for any of them to contain but which easily contains them all. In conclusion, we mav state that broader and far more univer- sal in its views than any existing mere scientific Society, it has plu^ science its belief in every possibility, and determined will to penetrate into those unknown spiritual regions which exact science pretends that its votaries have no business to explores. And, it has one quality more than any religion in that it make rf .jfrmC^^'^^.'m'H ■ .'fl^'^^. \^ V- 25 WHAT ARE THB TH KOSOPHISTS. no difference between Gentile, Jew, or Christian. It is in this spirit that the Society has been established upon the footing of a Universal Brotherhood. Unconcerned about politics ; hostile to the insane dreams of Socialism and of Communism, which it abhors — as both are but disguised conspiracies of brutal force and sluggishness against honest labour ; the Society cares but little about tha outward human management of the material world. The whole of its aspirations are directed toward the occult truths of the visible and invisible worlds. Whether the physical man be under the rule of an empire or a republic, concerns only the man of matter. His body may be enslaved ; as to his soul, he has the right to give to his rulers the proud answer of Socrates to his judges. They have no sway over the inner man. Such is then, the Theosophical Society and such its principles, its multifarious aims, and its objects. THE COMMON SEKSE OF TBEOSOPHY.* ** Not on flowery beds, nor under shade Of canopy reposing, heaven is wod." Vante. It is difficult to break down the Chinese wall of misconcep- tions with which all new movements of thought beccme more cr less ccnipletely surrounded. The assimilat'on 1 y the public mind of ideas which lie outside its mochanica'ly-rcguluted every day life is a slow process, which the vigour of the constitution dees not justify. For all movements, which possess any vitality at all, always provoke to an unusual degree of activity the ima- ginative faculties cf their opponents. iMore or less fiint:ut:e caricatures of the aims and methods of a strrggling movement are generated by an unconscious process of invention, fathered upon the movement, and then knocked down with solemn pom- posity. At the end af the achievement, when the invader of orthodox indolence and respectable indifference is found to gain ground in the midst of the dust storm of misrepresentations, a wondering sneer is directed against personalities who have not had the decency and good sense to die at the command cf their antagonists. The Theosophical movement has proved no exception to this general rule. Oppositions against it are generally but attempts to remove this disturber of established ease by finding some excuse for ignoring its existence. False issues are raised in every direction, and a candid examination of the truths that Theosophy embodies is evaded in the confusion. It is a profit- ' * Th« Path. Vol. I. No. 8. '^■.mmr^r\ ™^ ■■"i^W^WBk^ 22 THE COMMON SENSE OF THEOSOPHY. less task to hunt the brood of Error which, like the giants of Nor^e folk-lore sally forth at night to slay and devour, but melt into thin a:r when surprised by a ray of sunlight. Kicking at nothing is an exhausting proce-s. Unmindful of th!s, many, in the words of the author of Religio Medici, have " ra.-hly charged the troops of error, sl.A remained as trcpliies unto the enemies/' It Is therefore^ proposed to set forth a^phiin, v.n- varnished" statement of what 'Ihr-csophy really is, and the work in wh'ch the Tlieoso^ihical Society is engaged, and leave the decision to the conimoii sjn>e of the reade/. The trans- cen lental metaphysics of Theostphy will be but si ghtly touched upcn here. For fu.ler information the inquirer is referred to sources indicated by the puijlicauoiis of ihuTheo.icphi.al Society and the writings of the Theosophisls of the day. Wha"^^, then, is Theosophy ? iNumlcrless aro the misconcep- tions to which the word has given ri.e. Etymology does not throw any great light on it. The interpretation of *•' Gcd- wisJom " can be spread over a large area. Without follo\\ing the hi.^tory of the word, it may b:^ state 1 that the chief ex- ponents of the present revival of Theoso] hy take it to n:ean Wisdom-relig'on. Their interpretation, wh le cpen to no great philological objection, is sufficiently precise for all literarv purpose-. Theosr phy from this stan 1 poi:it is synonymous, with Truth — the Truth that has been clothe 1 in various garbs of religion; it also implies th .t this Truth is attainable by a natural development of wisdom, without the intervention of supernatual means. Thus it will be seen that Theosophy dees not attach infallibility to any particular system of revelation, but maintains that under suitable conditions Truth reveals itself to every individual. The sun i?hines eqiiaUy on all ; the crystal reflects it ; the clcd of earth does not. Yet 'J hecsophy sets great value on all systems of revelation, looking upon them as fijiger- THE COMMON SENSE OF THEOSOPHY. 23 i posts which indicate the direction in which Truth is to be sought although it declines to accept them as invitations to surrender personal inquiry. This tenet of Theosophy is founeled upon the consi Jeration that Truth is tha result of real experience, and does not consist in the transfer of intellectual svmlols from one person to another. To speak about truth is one thing, and to perceive it is quite another. It is a fact of common experience that the most accurate and elaborate description cf, say, a flower is by no means an efficient substitute f )r a visual contar^t with it, although the description has an abundant value of its cwn. Henco individual consci^/usness is consistently uphelel as the only criter'on of Truth, but this consciousness derives material help in its developmont anel expansion by the study of the experiences of others. Thus Theosophy teachas tint person- al exertion is the only means by which progress can be achieved. But in the eltort for growth the ultimate unity of consc'ousnerg must not be ignored. Individuals are not distinct crystids, placed side by side, b .t the varied mniifv t itions of one un- changing universal consc'ousness. As light from one sng'e source produces the a;)paaran2e of different lights by reflection from a number of surfaces, so tlis universal conciou ness^ remaining itself unchangel, produces er.dle-s indi\idiiali ies which in the course of their evolution reach perfection by recognising th*s essential imity. According to Tbeoso^ hical thinkers th's doctrine forms the fundamental truth uj^on which all religions are based ; it is the final consummation of all philosophical thought and the crowning experience of all practical mysticism. The search for this truth, and the practical realization of it are not considered as mere gratification of intalleclualcurlos'ty but as the very summum bonum of evolutionary progress. It is the Nirvana of the Buddhists, the Moksha of Brahmins, and .mmc^-^ u THE COMMON SENSE OF THEOSOPHT. not verv different from the Beatific vision of the Christians. When this condition, or rather want of condition, is realized in consciousness pain is for ever extlnguishei. Nirvana is by no means the annihilation of consciousness, but its rest in the infinite plenitude of being. Needless to discuss the Nihilist view of Budlhism which some scholars of ablity have brouoht forward; suffice it to say, that the Theosophists on th's point share the respcnsibiJity of their opinion with m:iny names of great eminence. Nirvana is the extinction of all i)ain because, being the ultimate unity of all being, it cannot be the play- ground of those contending forces which alone jn'oduce pain. « Proceeding upon this basis, the essential features of Th ^osophy can be thrown into relief by determining its relations to relgijn and scence. As the science of Relgion, it looks upon the diiferent systems of faith as so many languao-es seek n »• to express the truth abjut man, his origin, nature, and destin r as well as his relations to the surrounding world of objects. But as a word or phrase is nothing but a sound in the absence of experience of the object connoted, so the proper comprehension of religious symbjlogy can be a-quired only by realzi;ig the truths that underlie it. Frjm the Theosophic standpoint the different systems of religion appear as the various forms evolved by the peculi.irities of t me, place, and other special causes, to embody the bodiless truth. It is necessary to guard against a misconception which may arise here. Theosophy is not eclectcism, which is a mosaic while Wisdom-Religion is an organic whole. Theosophy is like an abstract mathematical formula of which each religion is a particular application. It does not select bits from all religions and piece them together according to Soma fanciful standard of symmetry. But being the f 'r THE COMMON SENSE OF THEOSOPHY. 25 inner truth itself, Theosophy regards rehgions as various descriptions of that truth. It will no more recognise antagonism between religions than the linguist wiU condemn the description of the same thing in different languages because of peculiarities of idiom and grammar. Theosophy is not hostile to any religion, but is bound, in the interest of truth, to oppose the tyranny of ecclesiastical forms on individuals! Humanity, in the course of its evolution, produces individuals who outstrip the generaUty in the realization of truth, and are thus enabled t« perceive the capabilities of the truth to be manifested within a certain period of time. To help the masses •truggUng blindly for the light of truth, these teachers of man- kmd construct a symbology of words and emblems to represent the truth. But as acquisition of wisdom is a change in quality of the consciousness of the acquirer and not merely a surface expansion of it, the symbology, though eminently useful, is not in Itself spiritual knowledge, and can never be converted into It except when "inwardly digested." The physical process of digestion supplies a striking analogy in this matter. Food, assimilated by different organisms, follows their origi- nal differences. Spiritual food, on assimilation, partakes of the peculiarities of the individual, and two individuals cannot be exactly identical, whether physically or otherwise. A contrary supposition would violate the lex parsimoniaj in nature. Con- sequently, Theosophy is the uncompromising supporter of the freedom of individual conscience. On the other hand, it con- demns a selfish desire for self development as wrong on account of Its violation of the essential unity of being one of the great- est Theosophists of the world, Gautama Buddha declared, " Let the sins of the Kali Yuga foil upon me, and let the world be redeemed." This noble saying found an echo in the Christian 26 THE COMMON SENSE OF THEOSOPHT. Apostle, who would be anathema from Christ if ho could save the world thereby. Nor has Theosophy any antagonism to the scientific spirit. Claiming to be tho religion of Truth, it must show itself to be the most exact of all exact sciences. According to it truth can- not be dissociated from real experience ; the more intellectual form of It can never be the truth any more than tho word man can bo the human being. It opposes the dogmatisms of scxence which deny independant reality to in^ts of mental experinco because of their eminently unscientific character. If there be no operation of thought matter itself will disappear. The contrary of this existence of matter without relation to a conscious knower has never been experienced. Therefore matter and consciousness are both eternal or neither. Further it rejects the mechanical theory of universe on account of its unreasonable- ness. If consciousness is derivable from unconciousness, a fundamental law of reason becomes stultified. Unconsciousness is the negation of consciousness, and therefore an affirmation of the absence of all relations to consciousness is its essential pro- perty. Row, then, can it be related to consciousness so as to produce it ? If the atoms themselves are considered conscious tho difficulty is not removed. For consciousness must be associated with the notion of I and if this egoism is to be postulated for each atom it is ine.xplicable how a man, composed of myriads of atoms, possesses yet a single indivisible notion of I. It IS clear therefore that there is in nature a principle of con- sciousness whoso units are not atoms but individualities, and if the principle is eternal its units must also be so. For the ocean cannot be salt unless the quality of saltness inhered in every one of its drops. Theosophy for these, among other reasons, holds against materialism the individuality THE COMMON SENSE OF THEOSOPHY. 27 in man is immortal. In this, however, it does not maintain that the present body, emotion or thought of a man will as such abide for ever, but that the unit of consciousness which is now manife.sted as the man will never undergo any change in essence. For change, independant of consciousness, is unthink- able. It is in fact the unchangeableness of consciousness, tliat by comparison renders tho conception of change a reality. In ordinary language no doubt such pharses as the '^ growth and development of consciousness " are in use, but strictly speaking it is the basis in which the consciousness inheres that changes, the phrases in question being of the same character as those which ascribe motion to the sun in relation to the earth. Moreover, if one unit of consciousness were to change in essence, that is, become annihilated, the same liabi- lity must attach to all other units, and we shall be driven to hold that the principle of consciousness in nature is destructible, while matter which cannot exist in its absence is indestructible. From the indestructibility of individual consciousness, and it& relations to matter, two important deductions follow. — First that this relation, which is perpetually changing to a definite law. The products of the change are bound each to each in a definite way. What is now is not wholly unrelated to what was before. This is a matter of experience, and in fact experience is based upon it. Without the law of causation experience would be impossi- ble, on whatever plane we take experience mental or physical. Thus by tlie application of the law of causation to our being, it follows that the experience of pleasure and pain in the present must be the necessary consequence of causes geii orated in the past. A contention may herc be raised that it is a fact of expe- rience that many sufferings and enjoyments come to us of which wo are not conscious of having generated the causes. But it is without any real force. What connection is there between our 28 THE COMMON SENSE OF THEOSOPHY. consciousness of a cause and its power to produce effect ? If vre receive in the system malarious germs, the disease is not pre- vented because we were unconscious of the reception. Whatever you sow the same you reap, whether you are conscious of the sowing or not. The law of causation, thus applied to personal experience of suffering and enjoyment, is caUed by the Brahmins and Bud- dhists the Law of Karma. The second deduction hinges on to the first and forms with it a harmonious whole. If the individual consciousness is immortal, and its experiences are governed by the Law of Karma, then it follows that so long as all causes, capable of producing effects on the present plane of life, are not exhausted, and the generation of similar causes is not stopped, the individual consciousness will remain connected with the experience of earthly existence. Thus the ego successively incarnates itself on this earth until it has collected aU experiences that life on this planet can offer The doctrine of reincarnation is taught by all religions of the Tv^orld, Christianity not excepted. In the Gospel of St. Matthew It IS declared in no uncertain tone that John the Baptist was the incarnation of Elias (chap. XVII. 12, 13). It is not intended fully to discuss the scientific and metaphysical bases of the doctrine of reincarnation, as the subject has been adequately dealt with in a recent Theosophical publication.! But it will not be out of place to consider fche ethical objection which is so frequently brought forward against the doctrine. Is It just that a person should experience pleasure or pain for acts done in a previous life of which no recollection is preserved ? THE COMMON SENSE OF THEOSOPHY. 29 ^J.. sec "Transactions of the London Lodge of the Theosophical society. The argument thus implied is based upon the confusion of the two different meanings of the word justice as applied to the regulation of human affairs, and to the operation of natural laws. Human beings are admittedly imperfect in knowledge, and it is required for the well-being of society that all its members should feel confident that they are not liable to arbitrary punishment. For this reason it is necessary that before inflict- ing punishment the grounds for it should be disclosed. But justice, as affecting the operation of natural laws, is a totally different thing. The workings of nature being invariably by the law of causation are not amenable to conditions which depend upon admitted inability to apply that law without failure. The moral ameliortion, which it is fancied that a know- ledge of the precise cause of our sufferings would produce, is more than compensated for by the numberless incentives to good, which gratitude and other similar motives supply. The teaching of Theosophy from the standpoint of common sense can be briefly summed up thus: — 1. That there is a principle of consciousness in man which is immortal. 2. That this principle is manifested in successive incarnations on earth. 3. That the experiences of the different incarnations are strict- ly governed by the law of causation. 4. That as each individual man is the result of a distinct causal necessity in nature, it is not wise for one man to dominate the life and action of another, no matter what their relative development may be. On the other hand it is of paramount 30 THE COMMON SENSE OF THEOSOPHY. importance that each individual should ceaselessly work for the attainment of the highest ideal that he is capable of conceiving. Otherwise pain will arise from the opposition of the real and the ideal. Be as perfect as our Father in heaven is perfect. 5. That for the above reasons it is wise and just to practise the most ungrudging toleration towards all our fellow creatures. (>. That as absolute unity of all nature subsists for ever, all self-centred actions are bound to end in pain to the actor on account of their opposition to this fact. The foundation of morals must therefore lie in the feeling of Universal Brother- hood of man. 7. That the harmony of the unit with the whole is the only condition which can remove all pain, and as each individual represents a distinct causal operation of nature, tliis harmony is attainable only through the individual's own exertions. The Theosophical Society is an organization having for its object the study of truth upon the most unsectarian basis, and as a result of such study it believes that the truths enumerated above are, if generally accepted, calculated greatly to benefit the age. It is necessary, however, to add that there are many members in the Society, earnest in the pursuit of truth, who are not prepared to subscribe to all these doctrines without further thought and study ; but all are agreed as to the ethical principles involved therein. The chief aim of the Theosophical Society is " to form the nucleus of a universal Brotherhood of mankind without distinction of race, color or creed." The basis of brotherhood, which the Theosophical society considers scientific has been adverted to. The Theosophic brotherhood does not limit the freedom of individual development. It THE COMMON SENSE OF THEOSOPHY. 31 requires nothing from its members but a desire to recognise the unity of the human family as a natural fact which cannot be ignored with impunity, and a living conscious feeling of which is sure to load to the highest development of the individual. The Theosophical Society is convinced that the most efficaci- ous means for the study of truth is furnished by the ancient religions and philosophical systems of the world, as they are free from the disturbing influences by which contemporary forms are surrounded. The Society therefore earnestly labours to promote an appreciative study of Eastern philosophy, built up by generations of Theosophists, as affording easy access to the Wisdom-religion of the world. Further, the society seeks to combat materialism by the in- vestigation of abnormal phenomena which afford a practical demonstration of the existence of a Psyche in man and to lead to a proper comprehension of the laws which underlie those phenomena. Theosophists do not believe in supernaturalism, and discard the nation of miracles as involving an unreasonable limitation of the possibilities of nature. The views of the lead- ing Theosophists with regard to this subject are to be found very ably expounded in Madame Blavatsky's Isis Unveiled, and Mr. Sinnett's Esoteric Buddhism. All Theosophists, whether in perfect agreement with these views or not look upon them as opening immense vistas of thought on subjects which are as important as they are neglected. In conclusion, it is to be clearly stated that the Theosophical Society is composed of a body of earnest students and inquirers, and not of dogmatic teachers. But naturally a large number of members hold convictions in common on any points. Yet in .jmm 32 THE COMMON SENSE OF THKOSOPHY. each case the final authority comes from no external source but from within. " There is no religion higher than Truth/' is the motto of the Society. (mohini m. chatterji.) . f ^JS^r ^T^n^ lU I) ( ^Rw. The sages are bom for the good of the world. They bear physical pains for its benefit.— Tukaram (the Maratha sage.) Ladioi and Gantlemen, I feel it a great privilege to be allow ed to take part in this day's proceedings, for, as a Hindu, I view them with no ordinary interest as bearing on the true welfare of India, and it is, therefore, that I have come all the way from Calcutta to be present on this occasion. It appears there is no institution in all India more useful and dealing with much higher and nobler objects than the Theosophical Society, and that the presence in India of its Founders who are both well- known persons in their own countries, and to whom we should be deeply indebted for all that they have done, and are still doing for the reawakening of this country, at an enormus self- sacrifice, and, as I know too well, with the purest and most disinterested motives, is an event of no mean importance in the history of this country. I have the highest respect for them, because of the truly unselfish, unostentatious and self-denying lives that they lead. In fact, the more intimately I come to know them, the more regard I learn to have for them. Though Europeans by birth, they are Hindus at heart, — better Hindus than many of us, I should say, A wise dispensation of Provi- dence has brought to our shores from beyond the Atlantic two * An address by Mr. Norendranath Sen at a public meeting in Bombay at the Framji Cowasji Hall, ik 34: THE FOUNDERS OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. remarkable foreigners, one an old lady and the other an old gentleman, One a llussian and the other an American by birth, but both citizens of the United States, 7iot to teach Its anuthing new, but simply to tell us to seek wisdom at our very doors, in our own Eastern books of antiquity \vhich we have hitherto totally neglected,--\visdom much higher than is to be met with in any other part of the known world. Their mission is one purely of love and bene- volence. They come also under the most distinguished auspices— the auspices of the Great Eishls or Mahatmas—v;\\o have their sacred abodes on the heights of the Himalvas, and are, there- fore known as the Himalyan Brothers. They are the succes- sors of those holy sages who lived in Ancient India, and the tradition of whose existence is not yet extinct among the pre- sent generation of Hindus. The Founders have come to India determined to fulfil their philanthropic object. They are not adventurers, certainly, as some silly persons would call them. Every one who has read Madame Blavatsky's rare work, his Unveiled, must hnYe been impressed with the great learning and industry of its eminent author. A noble lady by birtll^ and a public writer of great reputation in America, France and Russia, she leaves home and friends, and comes here to work, heart and soul, for the moral regeneration of India along with Colonel Olcott, late a well known Counsellor-at-law, author and journalist in America, who held various positions of trust, res- ponsibility and importance, and the memory of whose past valued services is still green in that country. They sacrifice wealth, social position, and every thing that is j)rized in this world, ami settle for good in India which they justly regard ag the cvadle'land of humanity, and work unceasinghj for the henefit of oar country. They deny themselves rest, and give their iL'hole time and attention to this end. They, like many i THE FOUNDERS OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. 35 other foreigners of distinction in Europe and America, who have studied our Aryan literature and j)hilosophv, are impress- ed with their sublime truths, and proclaim them to us, the present Europeanized Hindus, and recall to our minds the glorious past of Hindustan, and encourage us with their words of brotherly love and symjmthy. How can we be so unpatriotic and heartless as not to extend to them the right hand of fellow- ship, and co-operate with them most cordially in their labors of love ? I have watched them very closely, and have had many opportunities of judging of their character, their motives and their labors ; and I can tell you most confidently that, at this moment, India cannot have better and more sincere friends than these persons. As the Indian public come to know them more intimately, I am sure, all existing prejudices against them will wear away. In the meantime, what grieves me most is to sea that instead of being respected and honored as they deserve to be, they are reviled and laughed at by people who probably know little, or nothing of them ; aye, sometimes even by our own countrymen. This is really most painful to my feelings as a Hindu, and I am ashamed of the conduct of such men. For myself, I do not respect any one half so nnich as an earnest and devoted worker in the cause of humanity. May we have more such persons in our country and in the world at large, to in- crease the sum of human happiness. India, at least, badly ^vant3' their services, at the present moment. Tlie progress of India is being hampered by men who apparently patriotic, have still got a good mixture of selfishness in them. They actually sacri. fice the interests of our countrv for their own individual adh vancement. They follow a temporising policy, and tamj)er wi-te the great cause of India. We want no such men. What ws want, is a number of true, unselfisli patriots, who will be pre- pared to set aside all personal considerations, and all thought ""ffrntomm.- 36 THB FOUNDERS OF THE THEOSOFHICAL SOdETY. THE FOUNDERS OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. 37 Wn. of self-aggrandisement altogether. We must learn to love our country, for our country's sake. We must serve it not for the earthly honors and distinctions that it may bring in the way. The self Las become so powerful in our unfortunate mother-land that the very ideal of unselfishness has become quite extinct among us ; and such few persons as may be found still prepared to give even their last drop of blood for us, aro liable to be misunderstood and unappreciated. It is on account of our selfishness alone that we Hindus do not now love truth so much as we did in the past. Wc have become almost a race of flatterers and sycophants— a brood apJce-wastes as we call them in Calcutta. We have lost that independent manliness of ^ spirit for which we were at one time distinguished. What a r deplorable sight to every friend and well-wisher of India ! Our national heart and national honor must be completely dead when we are capable of treating our own benefactors as the Founders of the Theosophical Society with contempt, and of casting reproach and obloquy on them. If we find foreigners like them prepared to do so much for us, should we not be roused to save our country from moral degradation, even from very shame? I consider it one of the highest duties of humanity to servo one's country as to serve one's king. Let us, therefore, all join hands together, and earnestly work for our national resuscitation, ir- respective of all desires of self, and without caring whether wo succeed or fail in our efforts. The results, you may be sure, will come of themselves, and no one, perhaps, more than our- selves will eventually be surprised at them. The great secret of working for the public good, without, any, the least selfish or mercenary objects, is tliat marvellous success invariably attends our labours ; and that without seeking for it, we ultimately riKip our own reward. So let us make a strong, united resolve to give up all sorts of self-seeking in our noble attempt to ^ - i. elevate our country, and India will stand regenerated and re- formed so rapidly and effectually as even beyond all our wild anticipations. I say— try, and you will realize the fact. With the scientific precision of every law of nature, the result will follow the act,— the cause will produce the effect. We now always go to work in a wrong direction, and that is why we so often fail. Be assured, my friends, we can always render our- selves individually and collectively happy by working in a purely disinterested and philanthropic spirit in all matters of public welfare. Our good deeds will never go unrewarded. This thought should sustain every one of us in his public life. Those who are called " converts " are even now for the most part only so in name. They are Hindus in all their customs and manners without exception. They observe caste even more strictly than we do. They will at the first opportunity turn Hindus if they are not so already. Our Branch has translated into the Vernacular several useful Theosophical tracts and published them at our expense. We are carrying with our heart and soul, in proportion to our strength, stones in aid of the triumphal arch on which shall be inscribed the glorious legend, "The Moral Regeneration of India " and which is being built under the auspices of the Theosophical Society or Universal Brotherhood— a resplenden! arch cemented together with love and kindness under the patronage of the living Representatives of the hoary Maha Eishis of Aryavarta. Oh blessed day ! Oh auspicious hour t that saw its foundations laid by our Brothers from across the seas ! Brothers of queenly Bombay ! here rises the holy altar of Religion, the altar beside which our forefathers learned the secrets of nature and the wisdom of gods. Come, stand beside us, and for the sake of the memories of the past, with the i 1^1^ ^^ 38 THE FOUNDERS OF THE TIIEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. blessing of the JRishis, whose spiritual teachings come down to our ears like dulcet music througli the long corridors of time, let us pledge to ourselves, heart to heart and liand to hand, to make good use of our inheritance, to be worthy of our Aryan sires ! ! J Rao Bahadur Jaxardan S. Gadgii. b. a., l. l. b., of the Rewah Theosophical Society of Baroda said :— Gentlemen, On an occasion like the present, it is ])ut na- tuml that I should speak a few words, and with your permit sion I shall do so. I was an>ong the first who made their acquaintance with Madame Blavatsky and Colonel Olcott, very soon after their landing at Bombay. It happened that I had looked into « Isis Unveiled " a little while previously, and the work liad so much excited my curiosity to see and have a personal conversation Avith the author of that remarkable production, that I took the earliest opportunity to satisfy it by coming down to Bombay on short leave. I had the desired intemew, and it more than satisfied my expectataions. WeU, at the end of now nearly four years, our acquaintance has, I hope, matured into friendship, or rather into brotherly and sisterly love. Closer and closer acquaintance convinced me, as it has eon vinced so many other brother Theosophists, that the mission of Madame Balvatsky and Colonel Olcott was high-for hic^hcr even than men can-ordinarily understand. Their philosophy was of the purest kind-so pure that worldly men could not believe in it. The powers that Madame Balvatsky possesses are so astounding that it is difficult to bebeve in their reality until by hard experience you are obliged to pronounce them to be true in spite of yourself. If Madame Balvatsky and Colonel THE founders of the theosophical society. 39 Olcott are stil looked upon with suspicion in some quarters, the reason of it is that their mission, their philanthrop}-, and their powers are too high for ordinary comprehension. To check the materialistic tendency of this 19th century, and establish th truth of those philosophies which regard and all-pervading Intelligence as the only real existence which appears under different phases of matter or spirit ; to show how matter and spirit are connected and how spirit entirely controls matter, to furnish a key by which the mysteiy of life and death and of sorrow and happiness can be solved, this is the high mission to which they have been appointed by those that guide them ; and they have made a commencement. A total abnegation of world- V self-interest and complete devotion to the cause of Humanity without distinction of race, colour or creed is the high standard; of philanthropy to which they have jjledged themselves before they were appointed to their mission ; the extraordinary powers which Madame Balvatsky possesses furnish actual proof that the philosophy they advocate is not a matter of faith and fancy but a science capable of even experimental demontration. All these things are too high for ordinary comprehension and too far beyond ordinary experience to command immediate beliefe and knowing, as every one does, how the world is full of pre- tenders, it is not at all surprising that Madame Balvatsky and Colonel Olcott's motives, conduct and doctrines should have been looked upon with distrust. But it is now high time that truth should be perceived. They have out-lived the suspicions of friends and foes as regards their motives. The philosophy they advocate underlies every Aryan religion and probably all the religions of the world, the powers which Madame Balvatsky and in a far higher degree the Himalayan Mahatmas possess can no longer be questioned. The existence of the Mahatmas can no longer be doubted. There are persons in this haU who V 40 THE FOUNDERS OF THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. went to the Himalays and succeeded in actually seeing and con- versing with some of them. As to those powers, sufficient manifestations were given at Simla and elsewhere, and those who, like myself have been eye-witness to some of them, cannot doubt their reality or significance. Under these circumstances, it is high time, I say, to open one's eyes to truth. And to a Native of India, only if he open his eyes to see, the prospect is really most cheering. Those of us Natives of India, who have paid any attention to the learning of our forefathers know tha from time immemorial the philosophy of our fore-fathers has taught us that an all-pervading Intelligence is the only true and eternal existence and that all else that appears is its manifesta^ tion. EXTRACT SHOWING THE HIGH CHARACTER OF THE FOUNDERS. (Document No. 1) Extract from a Report to the Secretary of the Navy ( U. S. A. ) from the Assistant Secretary, dated February 24, 1865, Taken from the Journal of the Senate of the United States entry of March 3, 1865. " In obedience to your oi^ders, to cause to be investigated the alleged fraudulent transactions of all persons amenable to this department, the services of Colonel H. S. Olcott were temporarily obtained. This Officer is attached to the War Department, is familiar with such investigations, and enjoys in an eminent degree the confidence of that department." (Document No. 2.) From an Editorial of tha New Yorh Tribune of September 22nd 1871. The Tribune was at that time the most influential journal in the United States " Col. Henry S. Olcott of this city is not a politician, is a gentleman of unsullied record, widely known, and amply re- I I THE FOUNUKKS OF THE THEOSOKIICAL SOCIETY. 41 ^^onsiblo. Chosen by Edwin M. Stanton, receiving the confidence ot thended by the Committee [of Congress] on the Conduct of the War, and when at hsst he insisted n returning to his pro- fession, sent out with tlie highest commendufiou.i from all his superiors, Col. Olcott is a witness whose word nobody wiU question " (DoCCMKNT No. 3.) A paper «gned by the Washington ro],re8entati^■es of the Icadin- journals of the United States, of all the j;o!itical parties reeeni^ mending Co!. Olcott to the PreBident of the United StLtcs for the vacant olEce of Assistant Secretary of the Trcasuiy. (Document No. 4.) Lktteu from Mr. Le Grand Lockwccd, -, : ; -.rs. I.cctwccd ard Co Bankers, New York City, to the Sec - , .{ the Treasury. "I desire to say that I hav: ;-.:.,wn t Olcott from boyhood that he is a gentleman of th. ^ ,..est integrity and of firstnlass aiulity. I cannot think of a. . one who would be likely to fill the position of Assistant Secretary more creditably than he." II > (DOCUMKNT No. 5.) ExTP^cr from a letter to Col. Olcott from Maior L. C Turner Jud^- Advocate of the V>ar Department, of "the date* October 20, 1865, '^' I am informed that you are tendered to tlie Secretary of War your rosjonation of tJio C^oinmi^sion ^hicli vou Lave lield i ll 42 THE FOUNDERS OF THE THSOSOPHICAL SOCIMT. ^'^"^^ 1^^^ The responsibilitioe, difficulties and dangers incident to tlio faithful and fearless performance of the duties of jour position, I have been enabled personally and officially to appreciate ; it is my duty as Avell as my privilege, therefore, to »ay that the faithful performance of these labours required, in an eminent degree, untiring industry and energy, discreet and prompt action, and unfalterhuj courage It is a grateful duty to certify that, during the past three years of turmoil, trouble, and fraud you have been energetic, prompt, honest and, fearless; and therefore, enn-nently successful. You are entitled to the thanks of all honest, loyal-hearted citizens;' (Document No. 6.) ^™7/^'""^ ' ^''''' '" ^"^- ^^^^^^ ^^'^"^ '^' "«»• John Wilson, Ilurd Auditor of the Treasury Department, of date May, 7, 1866. " ^^^^ ^"^""^'^y ""^'^ ^^''^^^^y ^ith which you have discharged the onerous, responsible, and delicate duties entrusted to youV the Government; and the sterling integrity evinced by you, under all circumstances, are the best gnarantees that can be offered to all who may seek your aid in future." ( Document No. 7. ) Letter from the Hon. A. H. Groen, Comptroller of the City of ^ewYork, toE.Delafield Smith, Esq., Counsel to the Corpo- ration niforming him of Col. Olcott's retention as Attorney for the City Treasury in certion large suits pending. Dated 16th April, 1873. ( Documents Nos. 8, 9 and 10.) Extracts from letters of Samuel G. Courtney, Esq., U. S. District Attorney for the Southern District ; and B. F. Tracy, Esq, U s' District Attorney, for the Eastern District, of New 'vork • and A. Q. Keasbey, Esq., U. S. District. Attorney for the State of Now Jersey. All recommend Col. Olcott as -a gentleman of rare executive ability and strict and unimpeachable integrity." fi' THE FOUNDERS OF THE THKOSOWIICAL SOCIETY. (DOCUMEXT No. n.l 43 ExriuCT from letter from George T. Hope, Esq, President of tlio Continental Fire Insurance Comi^any ,thc largest in the United States) to Albert Povvker, Esq, President of the Boston (Mr. Cook's Boston) Board of Underwriters. Dated Sept. 16 1873. " His (Col. Olcott's) experience and ability combined Tvitli Lis interest in the substantial ^volfare of the Conipanie.. and tlm C;on,7nunity, in respect to Fire Insnrnnco, are well kno^vn here (at New York) an.l entitled liini to bo regarded as a public benefactor." (DocuMEvr No. 12.) Extract from Editorial article in the Baltimor Underwriter an in- fluential organ of the An>criean Insurance interest respecting the Officml Keport of the Second Session of the National it surance Convention : (a Congress of the officials of the several State Govcrnmonts who by law have Supervision over Insurance Companies. " No addition to insurance literature more valiiabio tlian this conii.act octavo has yet been publisheKl. . . . (,V1. Olcott will receive the thanks of the profession as well for the juf-r 10, 1881, beii.f n^H-.ial documoiit'a from Kussia, showing the high l.'irlh aud Social stand- ing in that (.'uunlry of .Madame 11. V. Biavatsky. . ^'The eBtablishmcnr of I\r- 'm-- Blavatskv'a real identity Iv formal proofa of tliis n;itur:> ; never been uecessarv for any person of cultnre or ; ' '.lio knows her, but foolish or malevolent peopk% ] • - -n vague and erroneous eonjee- turen as to the natu. . vork to which slie has devoted her- self in thia country, hav :;ntured to iiriply that .^he must bo an iiupostor, aiming at common-place end.^— mcney,or social i)()sition. The absurdity of tliir; contention i.^ made evident bv the follow- iiig letter, which shows to what rank in soeietv she i^-oixrlv belongs : — Sir,— Having licard with astonishiuent tliat tlicro exist f?Gmo >vhere about the ^vorkl j)ersons who have an interest in denving the personality of my niece, Mme. 11. P. Biavat^kv, pretendin" tJiat sne has approT)riatcd to herself a nrdue that does not belong to her, 1 hasten to send you these lines, begging you to mako use of them to dissipate the very strange calumny. I say Mrange bur 1 might Fay senseless (iuHnsce}, For v.hv should she clioose (supposing she had really any necessity to chango her nan^e) a fan-ily vvhich is not at all illustrious except by lite- rary and Fcientiflc merits, which, indc(d would do honour to it^ TUB FOUNDERS OF THS THEoSoPHICAL SOCIETY. 45 name whatever that might be. What astonishes mo especially is that any one can make a mistake about the origin of a person so erudite and of bo cultivated an education as that of my niece. However, as it is the burlesque fancy of her personal cnemicB to treat her as an impostor, Avill you receive my personal guarantee (given on my honour) that she is what she affirms herself to be Madame Helen 1\ Blavatsky, Avidow of a Council- lor of State, Ex-Vice-Governor of the Province of Erivan in the Caucasus, daughter of a Kussian (Vdonel, Pierre Von llahn (whose ancestors were allied with the C-ounts Von llahn of Germany, and whose mother was nee Countess Probstiug) and niv nioce by her own mother, mv sister nee FadeeiY, ia*and- daughter of the Princess Dolgorouky of the elder princely line. To establish her identity I enclose in this letter two of her portraits, one taken twenty years ago in my presence, the other sent from America four or five years ago. Furthermore, in order that sceptics may not conceive suspicions as to my personal identity, 1 take the liberty of returning your letter received through M. ie Prince DondoukolT-Korsakoff Governor-General of Odessa. I hope that this proof of authenticity is perfectly satisfactory. I believe, moreover, that vou will have already received the certificate of the individuality of Madame Blavatsky that the Governor-General desired himself to send to Bombay. I ought also to mention a rather important fact, which is, that since the departure of my niece Plelene Blavatsky from Odessa for America, in 1872, slie has always been in continuous correspondence, not only with me, but all her relations in Ihissia — a correspondence, which has never been inteiTU})ted even for a month, and that all this time there has been no change what- ever in her style, wliich is peculiar to herself, nor in her hand- writing. This can be proved by all her letters to any one who 46 THE FOUSDERS OF THR THKOSoPHICAL SOCIETY. THE FOUNDERS OE THK THKOSOPHICAL SOOIETT. 47 wishes to convince lii.nsolf. This fact alone can leave no doubt except to idiots or evil-intentioned j.ersons who liave their own ends to serve. But witli tliese there is no need to waste tin:e. I cause niT signature to he certified by the confirmation of a notarj. On whicli I beg you to receive the expressions, &c. (signed) Nadejda A. Fadeeff (daugher of tlie Privy CouncilJor), n>en>ber of the Council of tlie Theosophical Society, daughter of the late llussian Privy Councillor, formerly director of the Department of State Lands in the Caucasus, and member of the Council of the \ iceroy of tiio Claucasus. Odessa, 3rd (1.'5) ]SrovemI)er. (The signature is forn>ally authenticated by the Notary of the i3ourse at Odessa, and the letter bears his official stan>p.) We must add, in explanation, that the enclosed portraits are imdoubtcdly portraits of Madame Blavatsky, and that we have «cen the forn.al certificate of her identity forwarded direct (for the better assurance of sceptics to the care of a gentlen.an in h.gh oftcal position at Si.nla) by General Fadeeff at present Jon,t Secretary of State in the Ilon.e Departn.ent at St. Peters- burg. A\ o have also seen the letter addressed to Madan.e Blavatsky as to an intimate frien.l by Prince Dondoukoff ex- pressing besides war,n syn,pathy, no small n.easure of (well- deserved) contcn.pt for persons wl>o could misunderstand lier true character." ; ll-e certificate sent by General Fadeeff and referred to in this statement runs as follows ; ".f. '"T^.'^ '''! J"^^''"* *'"''* ^^-•-- H. p. Blavatsky now es,dmg at Snnia (British India) is from her father's side Z ue(L 8. The local l^raticht^s, with their exemp(>tent for t!»e said President in OounriT to delegate all or arry of his powers to any Board of ( Control or Adnn'nistrative ( ()mmittee which may be formed ac- cording to rule eleven, 0. The loc.d adnn'nistration ofM5ranches is vested in their respective othcers, but no branch has the right to exercise juris^ w J THK THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETT. 53 Societies in promoting the object of tho Theosophical Society. (h,) Such Branches as wish to have the assistance of an Inspector shall bear all the expenses that may be necessary for the jmrpose. (c) The Inspectors so appointed shall send half-yearly reports of the work done by them to Head-<|uarters. {d.) In case of a difierence of opinion on any measure be- tween him and a Branch Society, the Inspector shall refer the matter to the Head-quarters and the decision of the President in Council shall be final. Membership. 19. Mend)ership in the Society is open to persons with- out distinction of sex, race, creed or caste ; 'but no Asiatic female, and no person under eighteen, shall be admitted to mend)ership without the consent of the legal guardian. A knowledge of English is not an essential qualification. THE THEOSOPHICAK SOCIETY. 57 I 20. Of Fellows there are three classes, viz., Corresponding Honorary and Active. The grade of Corresponding Fellow em- braces persons of learning and distinction, who are w^illing to furnish information of interest to the Society ; and the Diploma of Honorary Fellow is exclusively reserved for persons eminent for their contributions to Theosophical knowledge, or for their services to humanity. Admission to these two grades shall rest with the President in Council, and these members shall have none of the rights or responsibilities attaching to active fellow- ship. 21. Admission as an active Fellow^ into the Theosophical Society and its Branches is obtained as folio w^s : — (a.) Any person being in sympathy wdth the objects of the Society and willing to abide by its rules and desiring admission as an active Fellow of the Society, shall submit an application in writing according to form A, duly signed by himself and countersigned by two active Fellows of the Society. (6.) The application shall be accompanied by an entrance fee of 1£ or its equivalent in other currencies. (c.) Such application shall be made either to the President of the Society or to the President of the particular Branch which he wishes to join. On being accepted by the President of the Society or elected by the Branch, as the case may be, the candidate shall be furnished with a diploma signed by the President of the Theosophical Society ; and no person shall be a Fellow of the Society unless furnished with a diploma issued in proper form. {d.) An annual subscription of two shillings (or one Rupee In Asia) shall always be paid in advance by all the active Fel- lows of the Society. The annual subscription after the first 58 THE TIIEoSOrmCAL SOCIETY. payment shall become duo on the 1st January of each year ; except in tho case of those admitted during the last quarter, when an extension of three months shall be given. 22. A person may bo a Fellow of the Theosophical Society without joining himself to any particular Branch. 23. No Branch shall be compelled to accept a person as a member of its body, who has not been duly elected by tho Branch and agreed to abide by its bye-laws and rules. 24. A member of the Theosophical Society cannot be a member of more than one Branch at one time. If ho becomes a member of another Branch, his membership in the Branch to which he previously belonged ceases until he again acquires membership by election. 25. Tho Society having to deal only with scientific and phi- losophical subjects, and having Branches in different parts of the world under various forms of Government, does not permit its members, as such^ to interfere with politics, and repudiates any attempt on tho part of any one to commit it in favour of or against any political party or measure. 26. The Society being formed upon the basis of a Universal Brotherhood of Humanity, it inculcates and encourages perfect tolerance, especially in matters of religious opinion, and no member shall enforce any hostile sectarian views to hurt the feelings of other members by depreciating their religion. 27. No Fellow shall slander any other Theosophist or write or utter any words calculated to individually injure such. 28. Any Fellow violating Rule 25 or 26 or 27 or convicted of an offence against tho penal laws of the country he inhabits, involving moral turpitude, shall be expelled from the Society after opportunity of defence has been given, and due investiga- \\ THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. 59 tion into the facts made on behalf of the Society, and the accused found guilty. Notice of such expulsion shall be given to the Branches. 29. Should any dispute or disagreement arise among two Branches or two Fellows of a Branch in regard to matters con- nected with the work of the Society, and should the President or Presidents and the Council of their respective Branches find themselves unable to restore peace and brotherly harmony between the disputants, the case may, if both parties should so desire it, be referred to the President in Council, whose decision shall be final. Reports. 30. Every Fellow is expected to promote the objects of the Society, and each Branch shall submit a quarterly report to the Head-quarters. Property. 31. The Head-quarters of the Theosophical Society are the property of the Society and shall be in charge of one trustee, who shall be the President of the Society for the time being. Any person desiring to make a gift or bequest in favour of the Society, shall do so in the name of the above-mentioned trustee in accordance with form B. 32. No one shall be permitted to take up his permanent resi- dence at the Head quarters except members ef the executive staff of the Society, unless by consent of the President in Council. 33. Such Fellows as wish to reside apart at Head-quarters may be permitted by the President in Council to erect private buildings on the premises of the Society at their own expense, and these buildings may be exclusively occupied by such Fellows as long as they remain members of the Society; but such persons I 60 THE TIIEOSOPIIICAL SOCIETY. or their representatives acquire no right over such buildings other than occupancy while they are members, and when they die or cease to be members, those buildings shall vest exclusively in the Society. Affiliation. 84. It shall be competent to the President in Council to affiliate any Society with the Theosophical Society at his discretion. Note. — The following have already been affiliated. (1.) The Sanskrit Sabha of Benares, with Pandit Bapu Deva Shastri as President. (2.) The literary Society of Benares Pandits, wdth Pandit Ram Misra Shastri, Professor,of Saiikhya, Benares College, as its President. (3.) The Hindu Sabha, founded by M. R. Ry. A. Sankariah Avorgal, B. A., Naib Dewan of Cochin. \ i f THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. 61 (Form A.) APPLICATION FOR FELLOWSHIP. /,. being in sympathy with the objects of the Theosophical Society, and being willing to conform with its rules, hereby make appli- cation for admission as a fellow thereof. (Signature) Post Office Address, We, the tindersigned Fellows of the Theosophical Society, hereby certify that__ a condidatefor admission to the said Society, is a person who, to the best of our belief, will be worthy member of the same. Dated at this day of 188 (This Applicatien must be accompained with the Entrance- Fee £ 1,— or Ten Rupees— and the annual Subscription of One Rupee.) No part of the Society* s income is paid to the Founders, whose services are gratuitously given, * litis recommendation must he signed by at least two Fellows. 62 THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY. (Form B.) BEQUESTS : I, A. B., give (or devise and bequeath as the case may be) my house and garden (or other property as the case may be), as hereunder fully described, unto C. D., the present President and Trustee of the Theosophical Sodiety, for the purpose of the same being properly and faithfully used and applied by him, and by his successors in office, duly appointed according to the Rules of the Society for the time being in force, — for the sole and exclusive use of such Society. \ li I THEOSOPHICAL SYMBOLISM. itmi^io^ " Adore the Deity in his creatures." It is said in the verse of Quran— " It is not given ti> man that the Deity should speak to him ; if it does so it is by inspiration or through a veil." Thus all the efforts of man should tend to raise the veil of divine love and to the annihilation of individuality which separates him from the Divine essence SuphisrjK * The Theosophical Motto is " ^^ 5[Tf^(T TO" W: meaning * There is no religion (duty) higher than Truth.' This aphorism, small as it is points out to us in plain terms the fr.ct that all the manifested and unmanifested worlds or the objec- tive and the subjective worlds have emanted but from one source and one sourc6 only and that they are all under its control. This is here called the truth. It is the duty, nay ought to be the aspiration of each and all of us to search it out and know what it is for the knowledge of it leads ultimately to salvation or emancipation. The number 7 has ever since the Theosophical Society was founded November 17th, 1885, played a prominent part in all its affairs, and, as usual the symbols which particularly relate or pertain to the Society are in number, seven. They are ; first the seal of the society ; second, the serpent biting his tail ; third, the gnostic cross near the serpent head ; fourth, the in- terlaced triangles ; fifth, the cruxansata in the centre ; sixth, the fine of the society, composed of a cruxansata entwined by a serpent, forming together T. S. and seventh, Om the sacred Vedic word. * This para is subsequently added to the article. 64* TIlEOSormCAL SYMBOLISM. The seal of the Society contains all of the symbols enume- rated, excepting aum, and is the synthesis of them. It in fact, expresses what the Society is itself, and contains, or ought to, in symbolic form, the doctrines which many of its members ad- here to. A symbol to be properly so called, must be contained in the idea or ideas which it is intended to represent. As a symbol of a house could never be the prow of a boat, or the wing of a bird, but must be contained some where in the form of the house itself; that is, it must be an actual part chosen to represent, or stand for the whole. It need not be the whole, but may be a lower form or species used as the representative of a higher of the same kind. The word is derived from the Greek words meaning to throw with, that is to throw together. To be just and correct symbol, it should be such as that the moment it is seen by one versed in symbolism, its meaning and application become easily apparent. The Egyptians adopted to represent the soul passing back to its source, after the trial in the Hall of two Truths, a winged globe, for a globe is a symbol of either the supreme soul or a portion of it and the wings were added to represent its life and flight to the upper spheres. In another branch of their symbology they represented justice by a scale which gives a just balance ; while even there in the Hall of Two Truths, they reverted again to the other mode and symbolized the man being weighed by justice, in the form of his heart over against the feather of truth in the opposite pan of the scales. There is one very curious hieroglyph of the Egyptians which deserves some study by those of curious mind. Here we will merely point it out, remarking that there is a mine of great value in the Egyptian method of picturing their ideas of the t The Path No. 2, 1886. iVl THEOSOPHICAL SYMBOLISM. 65 i macrocosm. In one of the numerous pap3Ti now in the British ]^Iuseum, there is a picture of a globe being held up by a beetle by means of his liead and two fore legs^ while he is standing upon a sort of pedestal whicli lias certain division?, looking on the whole, like a section of an hour glass crossed bv horizontal lines that project from each side. This pedestal represents stability ; but what does the whole mean or shadow forth ? Those who can follow up suggestions should direct their thoughts to the relation which the Sun bears to the earth in its orbital revolution. To proceed with our analysis : The second symbol is, the serpent biting his tail. This is wisdom, and eternitv. It is eternity because that lias neither beginning nor end and there- fore the ring is formed by serpent swallowing his tail. There is an old hermetic symbol similar to this, in which the circle is formed by two serpents interlaced and each swallowing the tail of the other one. l^o doubt the symbolism in that is, in respect to the duality of the manifestf. feel oompletely his union with alh This is when he has acquired the highest Yoga. So in our experience and in liistory and ethnolooy we find individuals, nations and races, whose want of responsiveness to certain ideas, and others whose power to grasp them, can only he exi)lained hy the doctrines of Re-incarnation and Karma. If those doctrines are not accepted, there is no escape from a hlank negation. It is not necessary to express the duality of the supreme soul by two serpents, because in the third component part of the seal, elsewhere, that is symbolized by tlie interhiced triangles. One of these is white, that one with the point up[)ermost, and the other is black with its apex directed downward. They are intertwined because the dual nature of tlm sui)reme wliile in manifestation, is not separate in its parts. Each atom of matter, so called, has also its atom of spirit. This is what the Bhagavad- Gita * denominates Purusha and Prakriti, and Krishna there says that he is at once Purusha and Prakriti, he is alike the very worst of men. These triangles also mean, ^' the manifest- ed universe." It is one of the oldest and most beautiful of symbols, and can be discovered among all nations, not oidy those now inhabiting the earth, but also in the monuments^ car\dngs and other remains of the great races who have left us the gigantic structures now silent as far as the voice of man is concerned, but resomiding with speech for those wlio care to listen. They seem to be full of ideas turned into stone. The triangles thus combined form in the interior space, a six sided piano figure. This is the manifested world. Six is the number of the world, and GGl) is the great mystery which is relate*! to the symbol. St. John talks of this number. Around the six sided centre are tlie six triangles projecting into the spiritual world, and touching the enclosed serpent of wisdom. In an old book, this is made by the \ t LI I, 1,1 THEOSOPHICAL SYMBOLISM, 67 great head of the Lord rising above the horizon of the ocean of matter, with the arms just raised so that they make the upper half of the triangle. This is the " long face" or macrocoscopos, n3 it is called. As it rises slowly and majestically, the placid water below reflects it in reverse, and thus makes the whole double triangle. The lower one is dark and forbidding in its aspect, but at the same time the upper part of the darker one is itself light, for it is formed by the majestic head of this Adam Kadmon. Thus they shade into one another. And this is a perfect symbolism, for it clearly figures the way iu which day •hades into night, and evil into good. In ourselves we fined both, or as the Christian St. Paul says, the natural and spiritual man are always together warring against each other, so that what we would do, we cannot and what we desire not to be guilty of, the darker half of man compels us to do. But ink and paper fails us in the task of trying to elucidate this great sym- bol. Goto Hermes, to St. John, the Caballah, the Hindu books, wherever you please and there will you find the seven meanings of the interlaced triangles. * OM is the Sacred Vedic syllable ; let us repeat it with a thought directed to its true meaning. Within the small circle, placed upon the serpent is a cross with its ends turned back. This is called the Gnostic cross. It signifies evolution, among other ideas, for the turning back of its ends is caused by the revolving of the two diameters of the circle. The vertical diameter is the spirit moving down and bisecting the horizontal. This completed the revolution round the great circle commences and that motion is represented in the * Vide the notes on OM at the end of the Article and the articles on the practical signijfication of OM in the Theosophist Vol. Ill p. 131 and th« rath No. 1, 1886, \ 66 THFOSOPHrCAL RVMRoLISM. feel oompletely his union with all. This is when he lias acquired the highest Yo^ra. So in our experience and in liistory and ethnology we find individnals, nations and races, whose Avant of responsiveness to certain ideas, and others whose power to grasp them, can only he exr)lained hy the doctrines of He-incarnation and Karma. If those doctrines are not accepted, there is no escape from a hhxnk negation. It is not necessary to express tlie duality of the supreme soul bj two serpents, because in the third couiponent part of the seal, elsewhere, that is symbolized by the interlaced triangles. One of these is white, that one with the point upi)ermost, and the other is black with its apex directed downward. They are intertwined because the dual nature of the supreme wliih^ in manifestation, is not separate in its parts. Each atom of matter, so called, has also its atom of spirit. This is what the Bhagavad- Gita * denominates Purusha and Prakriti, and Krishna there says that he is at once Purusha and Prakriti, he is alike the verv worst of men. These triangles also mean, *^ the manifest- ed uniyerse." It is one of the oldest and most beautiful of symbols, and can be discovered among all nations, not onW those now inhabiting the earth, but also in the monuments^ carvings and other remains of the great races who have left us the gigantic structures now silent as far as the voice of man is concerned, but resounding with speech for those wlio care to listen. They seem to be full of ideas turned into stone. The triangles thus combined form in the interior space, a six sided piano figure. This is the manifested world. Six is the number of the world, and GGi) is the great mystery which is related to the symbol. St. John talks of this number. Around the six sided centre are tlie six triangles projecting into the spiritual world, and touching the enclosed serpent of wisdom. In an old book, (his is made by the II THEOSOPHICAL SYMBOLISM, 67 great head of the Lord rising above the horizon of the ocean of matter, with the arms just raised so that they make the upper half of the triangle. This is the " long face" or macrocoscopos, as it is called. As it rises slowly and majestically, the placid water below reflects it in reverse, and thus makes the whole double trianorle. The lower one is dark and forbidding in its aspect, but at the same time the upper part of the darker one is itself light, for it is formed by the majestic head of this Adam Kadmon. Thus they shade into one another. And this is a perfect symbolism, for it clearly figures the way in which day •hades into night, and evil into good. In ourselves we fined both, or as the Christian St, Paul says, the natural and spiritual man are always together warring against each other, so that what we would do, we cannot and what we desire not to be guilty of, the darker half of man compels us to do. But ink and paper fails us in the task of trying to elucidate this great sym- bol. Go to Hermes, to St. John, the Caballah, the Hindu books, wherever you please and there will you find tlie seven meanings of the interlaced triangles. * OM is the Sacred Yedic syllable ; let us repeat it with a thought directed to its true meaning. Within the small circle, placed upon the serpent is a cross with its ends turned back. This is called the Gnostic cross. It signifies evolution, among other ideas, for the turning back of its ends is caused by the revolving of the two diameters of the circle. The vertical diameter is the spirit moving down and bisecting the horizontal. This completed the revolution round the great circle commences and that motion is represented in the * Vide the notes on OM at the end of the Article and the articles on the practical signification of OM in the Theosophist Vol. Ill p. 131 and fch« Path No. 1, 1886, !*] \ ? -* 68 THEOSOrillCAL SYMBOLISM. lymLol by the ends turned back. In Cliapter III of Bbagavad- Gita. Krishna says ; '' He ^vho in this life does not cause this cycle, thus already revolved, to continue revolving, lives to no purpose, a life of sin, indulging his senses." That is, ^ve must assist the great wheel of evolution and not oppose it ; we must try to help in the great work of returning to the source from whence we come, and constantly endeavour to convert lower nature into higher, not only that of ourselves, but also of our fellow men and of the whole animated world. This cross is also the symbol of the Hindu (.liakkra, or discuf of Vishnu, In the Mahablmrata is described the conflict between the A suras and Devas, for the possession of the vase Amreeta which had been churned with infinite trouble, from the ocean, and which the Asuras desired to take for themselves. The con- flict beoan when Rahu and Asura, assuming the form of a Deva, began drinking the ambrosia. In this case the Amreet^i was spiritual wisdom material existence, immortality, and alsQ magic power. The deceit of Rahu was discovered before hf had swallowed, and then the battle began. *^In the jnidst of this dreadful hurry and confusion of the fight, Nar and Narayan entered the field together Narayan beholding a celestial bow in the hands of Nar, it reminded him of his Chakkra, the destroyer of the Asuras. The faithful weapon, ready at the mind's call, flew down from heaven with direct and refulgent speed, beautiful yet terrible to behold, and being arrived, glowing like the sacri- ficial flame, and spreading terror around, Narayan with his right arm formed like the elephantine trunk hurled forth the ponierous orb, the speedy messenger, and glorious ruin of hostile towns, who raging like the final all destroying fire, shot bounding with desolating force, killing thousands of the Asuras in his rapid flight, burning and involving, like the lambent ;Li I t ♦ ii. i I I f THEOSOPHICAL SYMBoLlsM. C9 flame, and cutting down all that would oppose him. Anon he climboth the heavens from whence he came." (Mahabharaat, book I. Chap. 15.) Ezekiel, of the Jews, saw this wheel when he was among the ca})tives by the river Chebar in Chaldea. In a vision he saw the four beasts and the man of tlie Apocalypse, and with them " for each of the four faces," was a wheel, of the colour of a beryl ; it was '*' as a wheel within a wheel," and tliev went wherever the living creatures went, ^' for the spirit of the living creatures was in the wheels." All of this ap[;eared terrible to him, for he says ; ^' And when they went I hoard a noise like the noise of great waters, like the voice of the Almighty a noise of tumult like the noise of a host." There are manv other meanino^s concealed in this svmbol as in all others. In the center of the interlaced triangles is placed the Cruxansata. This is also extremely ancient. In the old Eg}-p- tion pa})yri it is frequently found. It signifies life. As Isis stands before the candidate, or the soul, upon his entry, she holds in one hand this cross, ^vhile he holds up his hand that he may not look upon her face. In another there is a winged figure, whose wings are attached to the arms, and in each hand is held the same cross. Amono- other thinos we find here the horizontal and vertical diameters once more but conjoined with the circle placed on top. This is the same as the old astrological sign for Venns. But in the seal, its chief and most important meaning is the regenerated man. Hers in the centre, after passing the difterent degrees and cycles, both spirit ancF matter are united in the intelligent regenerated man, who stands in the middle knowing all things in the manifested universe. He has triumphed over death and holds the cross of life. i 70 TIIEOSOPHICAL SYBOLISM, The last Theosophical symbol is, the pin of the Society adopt- ed early iu its history hut not nsed much. It is the cross we have just hcon considering, entwined in such a way by a serpent that the combination makes T. S. as a monogram. The foregoing is not exhaustive. Every symbol should have seven meanings of ])rincipal value, and out of every one of those we have been (Considering can be drawn that nundjer of significa- tions. Intelligent study of them will be beneficial, for when a consistent symbol embodying many ideas is found and meditated upon the thought or view of the symbol brings up each idea at ouco before the mind. Nil AK ANT. .1 I NOTES ON " OM " FROM THE UPANISHADS. >^sible obstacles to the communication and acquisition of the science of Brahma. The preserver and re- compenser is the universal soid or Demiurgus. Mitndalc Upanishad The use of the Syllable Cm. ^' Let a man take the great weapon of the Upanishads, for his bow and let him fix upon it his arrow sharpened with devotion. Bend it with the thouglits fixed upon the Self, and hit the mark, the undecaying principle." '' The mvstic utterance Om is the bow, the soul the arrow, the Self the mark. Let it be shot at with unfailing heed, and let the soul, like an arrow, become one with the mark." *•' It is over this Self that sky and earth and air are woven, and the sensory with all the organs of sense and motion. Know that this is the one and only Self. Renounce all other words, for this is the bridge to immortality." The Self dwells in the heart where the arteries are connected variously manifesting itself. Om ; thus meditate upon the Self. ]\ray it be well with you that you may cross beyond the darkness. l\ W i Katha Upaiiishad The mystic si/llahle Om maist he emyloyed hy the seehcv of the Self. " Yama said : I will tell thee briefly the utterance that all the YeJas celebrate which all modes of selfcoercion proclaim, and aspiring to which men live as celibate votaries of the sacred science. It is Om." " This mystic utterance is Brahma, this Mystic utterance is Brahma. He that has this has all that he would have." " This is the be-^t reliance, this is the highest reliance ; he that knows this reliance is glorified in the sphere of Brahma. '' The repetition of the mystic monosyllable, and meditation upon it, is said to raise the less skilful aspirants to iXiQ paradise of Brahma, the highest of the deities, the first emanation of tlie divine Self. To the highest order of aspirants it serves as a Iiclp on the way to the knowledge of the Brahman, and extrica- tion from the miseries of metempsychosis, as being an image or a substitute for the characterless Self." '^ This Self is not born, and dies not, it is omniscient. It proceeds from none and none proceed from it, it is without beorinninir and without end, unfaihng from before all time. It is not killed when T)ody is killed." The Svetasvatara Upanishad. Repetition of Om reveals Brahman. *^ The Self is to be made to shine forth in the body by repeti- tion of the mystic Om; in the same way as fire is unseen so long as it is latent in the fire-drills, and so long as its latency is not ■■■!■ NOTES ON OM FROM THK UPANISHADS. NOTES ON OM FROM THE UPANISHADS. 77 ,f1 put an end to, and is seen as often as it is struck out of the fire- drills that it resides in/' ^* Let the sage make his hody the nether, and the mystic syllable the upper fire-drill and by the prolonged friction of meditation lot him gaze upon the divine Self that is concealed within him." " This Self is to be found within himself by the sage that seeks it with truthfulness and with self-coercion; like the oil that is in the oil-seeds, the butter within the cream, the water within the rivevs." He finds the Self that pereniej^tes all things, the fount of spiritual insight and of self-coercion within his body, as the purds are within the milk. That is the Self iji which the fulness of blisR reside?." Extracts from Maitri Upanishada. It has been also said elsewhere, Two Brahmans arp indeed to be contemplatecl, Sound and Non-Sound. By Sound is the non-Sound inanifested. Of these two Op> is the Brahman called Sound. By means of this ( Om ), rising above ( all things ) a man becomes merged in the (Supreme Brahman called) Non-Sound. This is the end, this is imn>ortality, this is absorption and beatitude, As the spider, rising up by its thread, reaches a free space, so this thinker, rising up by means of Om, reaches absolute free- dom. But others who maintain the Brahman chilled Sound, hold otherwise. By fixing their thumbs on their ears, they list- en to sound in the ether within the heart. It has seven-fold similitude. It is like the sound of rivers or a bell, or brazen vessel, or f^ wheel, or croaking of fj-ogs or rain, or a sound heard in a still place, Passing beyond this variously-likened sound, thejr lose themselves in the Supreme Non-sound, the unmaiiii *u ! i fested Brahman. Therein they merge all their individual attri- butes, they can no longer be severally distingished, as the various flavours of the flowers are lost in the honey. Thus saith (the Sruti); He who is the Deity, Superior and Inferior, Om by name, — who i s without Sound and absolute — on Him let a man meditate in the topmost place.''^ Prusna Upanishad Fifth Prasna 1, Then asked him Satyakama the son of 3iva : — Which of the worlds gains he who among men hs^ unceasingly (tad) meditated on the word " Om " until his departure from life ? 2, He said to him : — Satyakama, the supreme and the inferior Brahma are the word " Om." Hence the wise follows by this siipport one of the two, 3, If he meditates upon one letter, being enlightened thereby, ho is quickly born upon earth ; — Him carry the Mantras of the Rig to the world of man, There, devoted to Austerity, the duties of a Brahmanj^-student (andj faith, he pnjoys greatness. 4, Again, if he meditates in his mind on two letter 'fA, XJJ he is elevated by the Mantras of the Yajur to the atmosphere ; he (obtains) the world of the moon. Having enjoyed power in the world of the moon, he returns again ( to the World of man ) 5, Who again meditates by three letters, by the word "Om" on the supreme soul, is produced in light in the sun. As the snake is liberated from the skin, so gets he liberated from sin. He is elevated by the Mantras of the Sama to the world of Prahma (Hiranyagarbha.) (There) he beholds the soul which The earlier Upanishads divide Om, into, four partp (3i matras), but in the Ramatapaniya Upanishad we Und a division into seven, scil 1. a. 2. u, 3, w?, 4. hindti, 5. nada (the nasal half circle?^, G. the sakfe (the namci of Om jtfoiial), 7. sdnta or the ensuinfj silence after the word is uttered, 78 NOTES ON OM FROM THE UPANISIIADS. NOTES ON OM FllOM THE UPANISHADS. 79 is greater tlian tlie great totality of tlio individual souls, and M'hich is pervading (all) bodies. Here the lbllo^ving two memo- rial verses are recorded: — 6. There are three letters, (A, U, M,) subject to death, de- signed for the meditation of the soul, they are designed (either) connected among themselves, or (each) designed for (medita- tion on) a special object. When the external, internal and intermediate actions, are fully directed (to their objects^, then the wise does not tremble. 7. The wise obtains by the Mantras of the Kig this (world of man), by the ]\Iantras of the Yajur the atmosphere, (the moon) by the Mantras of the Sama that which the sages know (as the world of the Brahma), (he obtains) this (three-fold world) by the word " Om " as means (and) even the highest (Brahma) who is without strife, without decay, without death and without fear. MandiiJcva Upanishad, 1. "Om" this is immortal. Its explanation is this all; what was, what is, and what will be, all is verily the word *^ Om."and every thing else which is beyond the threefold time is also verily the word '' Om." 2. For this all (represented by " Om '') is Brahma ; this soul is Brahma. This soul has four conditions. 3. The first condition is Vaiswanara, Avhose place is in the waking state, whose knowledge are external objects, who has seven members,* who has nineteenf mouths, (and; who enjoys the gross objects. •^ The seven members are : His head the heavens, his eyes the sun, hia breathin^r the wind, his centre the ether, his place for wine the water, his feet the earth and his mouth the iire. Anquetil gives the five senses mmd, and intellect as his seven members. t According to 8th the nineteen doors of perception, viz. the five organs of intellect, the five organs of action, the five vital airs, mind, intellect, sel^ consciousness, and chittam. According to Anquetil the sixteen Kala and the three guna, and by the sixteen Kala he means the five elements, the five .senses, the five organs of action and the mind. I' ' 4. His second condition is Taijasa, whose place is in dreams, whose knowledge are the internal objects, who has seven mem- bers, and nineteen mouths and enjoys the subtle (objects.) 5. When the sleeper desires no desire, sees no dreams, this is sound sleep. His third condition is Prajna* (who completely knows) who has become one, whose knoAvledge is uniform alone, whose nature is like bliss, who enjoys bliss^f and whose mouth is knowledge. % 6. He (the Prajna) is the lord of all ; he is omniscient, he is the internal ruler ; he is the source of all ; for he is the origin and destruction of (all) beings. 7. They think the fourth him, whose knowledge are not internal objects, nor internal, nor both •{f who has not uniform knowledge, who is not intelligent and not unintelligent, who is invisible, imperceptible, unseizable, incapable of proof, beyond thought not to be defined, whose only proof is the belief in the soul, in whom all the spheres have ceased, who is tranquil, blissful, and without duality. 8. This soul depends upon the word Om which depends upon its parts. The conditions (of the soul) are parts (of the " Om ") ; these parts conditions (These parts are) the letters A. U. and M. • Prajna (sarvavishayajnatriham asya eva iti Prajna) who has knowledge of every object, according to Sankaracharya the derivation of the commenta- tor of the Vedanta Saia (Rama Krishna Tirtha,) on the other hand, is pra- yinajna : prajna is a person who is nearly ignorant. In the present Upanishad, however, Prajna has the sense which Sankaracharya ascribes to it. t Not bliss but like bliss, because it is not eternal. (Sankararacharya.) X Chetomukha it is called, because conscience (chetas) is the door (mu- kha to understand the dream &c.or conscience characterised by intellect is his door to enter the state of dream «S:c.— S. And Anand G adds, there would be on such things as dream and the waking states independant of the state of profound sleep, because they are the effects of the latter. Neither of these explanations appear to me here called for, but Chetomukha to be taken rather in its literal sense " whose mouth is knowledge," in accor- dance with the expression in the third and fourth mantras. H Whose knowledge are not internal objects nor internal, nor both successively prohibits to think Brahma as Taijasa, as Visva. and as being in the state between waking and dream. — S. f=s^Bm 80 NOTK« ON OM FROM THE UPANISIIADS 9. Vaiswanara, who abides in the waking state is the letter A, the first part, (either) from pervading (apteh), or from its being the first (letter). He verily obtains all desires and is the first who thus knows. 10. Taijasa who abides in dream, is the letter U, the second part, from its being more elevated or from its being in the midst. He verily elevates the continuance of knowledge, and becomes like (to friend and foe) and has no descendant ignorant of Brahma who thus knows. 11. Prajna (the perfect wise) who abides in sleep deep, is the letter M the third part, from its being a measure (miteh), or from its being of one and the same nature. He verily measures this all and becomes of the said nature who thus knows. 12. (The " Om '*) which is without part is the fourth (con- dition of Brahma) which is imperceptible in which all the spheres have ceased, which is blissful (and) without duality. This "Om" thus meditated upon is sonl alone. Ho enters with his soul, who thus knows, who thus knows. It hath been said elscrsvhexe. The syllable Om is sound ; its end is silence, soundless, void of all fear or sorrow, full of joy and satisfaction, firm, immoveable, indestructible, imperishable, certain, — its name is Vishnu. To attain this state other than all else, let a man worship these two. Thus saith (the Sruti) He who is the Deity, Superior and Inferior, Om by name, — wha is without sound and absolute on Him hi a man meditate in the topmost place. It hath been said elsewhere. The body is the bow, Om is the arrow, its point is the mind } having pierced the error — distin- guished darkness he proceeds to that which is rtnenveloped by darkness. Piercing that which was (oucej enveloped thereby, he beholds Brahman flashing like the circle of a whirling torch Notes on om from the upanishads. 81 in colour like the sun, full of vigour, beyond the bounds of darkness, (that Brahman) which shines in yonder sun, and in the moon, fire, and lightning. Then having verily seen him, he goes into immortality. Thus saith (the Senti) ; The contempla- tion is fixed (first) on the objects, (then) on the internal supreme Brahman ; thus the dim perception attains distinctness. All that belongs to the mind being thus absorbed, the bliss which is its own witness (arises) this is the indestructible, resplendent Brahman, this the end, this is the only world. (4) It hath been also said elsewhere : He who with all his senses absorbed as in sound sleep, with his intellect perfectly clear, dwelling in the cavern of the senses, but not subject to their power, beholds, as in a dream, the mover, called Om manifest as light, the sleepless, the ageless, the deathless, and sorrowless, he too himself becomes the mover, called Om, manifest as light the sleepless, the ageless, the deathless, the sorrowless. Thus saith (the sruti) ; since he thus joins (yuj) or they join to prana and Om all the world in its manifold variety ; hence is this called in tradition Yoga. The uniting of the prana, the mind and the senses,- the abandonment of all individual existence this is (also) called Yoga. EiJCtracts from Mr. H. T, Colebf-ooke* s works. The names of the worlds are preceded by the triliteral monosyllable, to obviate the evil consequence announced by Manu, " A Brahmana, beginning and ending a lecture of the ** Veda (or recital of any holy strain), must always pronounce to " himself the syllable Om : for unless the syllable Om precedes, ** his learning will slip away from him : unless it follow, nothing " wiU be long retained." Or that syllable fixed to the several 11 82 NOTES ON OM FROM THE UPANISHADS. names of worlds, denoting that the seven worlds are manifesta- tions of the power signified by that syllable. " As the leaf of <* the Palasa says Yajuyawalkya, is supported by a single pedi- " cle so is this universe upheld by this syllable Om, the syllable ** of the supreme Brahma. " All rites ordained in the Veda, <* oblations to fire, and solemn sacrifices, pass away ; but that " which passeth not away, says Manu, ** is declared to be the " syllable Om, hence called Akshara, since it is a symbol of " God, the lord of created beings." (Manu Chap. II. V. 74-84). In treating the Sankhya system Mr. C. quotes the passage that the promptest mode of attaining beatitude through absorb- ed contemplation, is devotion to God , consisting in repeated muttering of his mystical name, the syllable Om, at the same time meditating its sigification. It is this which constitutes efficaci- ous devotion, whereby the deity, propitiated, confers on the votary the boon that is sought ; precluding all impediments, and effecting the attainment of an inward sentiment that pre- pares the soul for liberation. In treating the Vedant he has again quoted the following passage. The mystic syllable Om, composed of three elements of arti- culation, is the subject of devout meditation ; and the efficacy of that meditation depends on the limited or extended sense in which it is contemplated. The question concerning this mode of worship in the dialogue between Pippalada and Satyakama is in the Prasna Upanishad. The Maheswaras and Pasupatas (followers of certain doc- trines) uphold that Yoga, abstraction ; as perseverance in meditation on the syllable Om, the mystic name of the deity ; the profound contemplation of the divine excellence &c. NOTES ON CM FROM THE UPANISHADS. 88 Extracts from the ivorks of Sir W, Jones. The Gayatn, called by Sir William Jones the mother of the Vedas, and in another place the holiest text of the Vedas, is expressed by the triliteral monosyllable AUM or ^ and means, if I understand it correctly, that divine light of know- ledge dispersed by the Almighty, the sun of righteousness to illumine the minds of created beings. Sir William Jones thus translates it : " Let us adore the supremacy of that divine sun, the Godhead who illumines all, delights all, from whom all proceed, to whom all must return, whom we invoke to direct our understandings aright in our progress towards his holy seat." And in another place he defines that divine sun as " not the visible material sun, but that divine and incomparably greater light, which illumines all, delights all, from whom all proceeds, to which all must return, and which can alone irradi- ate not our visual organs merely, but our souls and our intel- lects." Mr. Oolebrooke again explains it. " On that effulgent power which is Brahma himself and is called the light of the radiant sun, do I meditate, governed by the mysterious light which resides within me for the purpose of thought. I myself am an irradiated manifestation of the Supreme Brahma." THE SIX-POINTED AND FIVE-POINTED STARS.* -•«tc»««=t«*- A sign represents an idea, and helps us to realise that idea ; but no sign can he efficacious unless it is properly applied. r ^J^ \\ » n To consider that creation is one with the God is the duty of the Vaishnavas. To consider it sejmrate from Him is impurity and vain trouble. Hear, Oh worshipper of the Bhagvan! Do that which is really beneficial. Do not consider any creature separate for, this is the secret of the worship of the God. Though there are many limbs is one body, still the soul ( alone ) experiences their pleasures and pains, II That the Theosophical Society is doing great good, is evident from tho success with which our ever-increasing Branches are giving a shape to our ideal of a Universal Brotherhood. Many persons remark, that there can be no Brotherhood unless all agree to eat and drink out of the same plate and the same cup together. This I need hardly observe is a mistaken idea. Real Brotherhood does not consist in eating and drinking together. Whatever may be the views of other fraternities and individuals \ i\ 96 BROTMERllOOn. on this point, our ideas arc different. They partake oC a purely spiritual and intellectual character. We do not concern ourselves at all to make merry and enjoy for the moment, but it is our duty to ponder seriously over matters which affect the vital interests and social well-beinf^ of man in o;eneral, and of Indians in particular. The qualification for candidates in other Societies is generally their creed and profession, while that of a Theosophist is " Love of Truth and Humanity, and intoleration of intolerance and bigotry." In other fraternities including even the Freethinkers, — no member is allowed to think differently from the rest, and that too in the name of Progress and Truth ! But here your creed and your private opinions are your private property. No body has any right to concern himself with them, so long as your acts do not in any way come into friction wdth public interests and general welfare, and your example has no demoralising effects on the public. It is, in fact, something like a joint Hindu family on a large scale, where each brother follows his particular occupation, and yet all the whole continues an important factor of a harmonious whole, notwithstanding that each may have his own idiosyncracies in matters of food and drink, and notwithstanding the fact that often the male members and the young daughters partake of food and drink which the old widowed mother, the mistress of the house cannot touch, or even allow the flavor thereof to approach her. This may be a matter of surprise to Europeans ; nevertheless it is a fact, and shows that we, Asiatics, can love one another dearly, notwithstanding difference in food and drink. The dining table is not the only gate to the human heart ! Our liberality in food is not of so much consequence as our liberalitv of conduct towards those who have the mis- fortune to differ from us in opinion. Do you not agree in this ? Ask your own hearts and say what answer you get. BROTHERHOOi). 97 We, the present generation of Aryans, have lost all those noble traits in our character which distinguished our fore-fathers, and raised them so much above all other nations as still to excite the admiration of the rest of the world. We are wanting in those very qualities which contribute to exalt a people. It is my belief bordering upon conviction that Theosophy will supply them all ; and it is therefore only that I have given my adhesion to the Theo- sophical movement in India. Theosophy teaches the cultivation of brotherly feeling among different persons and races, and the preservation of our national life. - It also teaches force of character, energy of action, self-help, self-reliance, truthfulness, independence and fearlessness of spirit, purity of character, and a knowledge of the secret forces or laws of nature, unknown to modern science, with the help of which we may widely extend our powers of usefulness, and make life as happy as possible in this world. What better science can Modern India in particular, or the world in general, have, or wish for ? Our so called patriots and reformers in India are only groping in the dark. The axe must be laid at the very root of the evils which are undermining our national manhood. You will all admit, I suppose, that Universal Brotherhood is nowhere needed more than in India where we have a heterogeneous population with conflicting interests, and of various colors and creeds. The antagonism of races, as we all know, flourishes somewhat w ith wild fury on the Indian soil. Not only between Europeans and Natives, but also between Hindus and Mahomedans, such a bad, unneighbourly feeling is observable as to sink the heart of a patriot or a lover of humanity. There is a total absence of an entente cordiale between the different classes which make up our Indian society. What is the great remedy for this great social ill ? Is it not the formation of a Universal Brotherhood, which is the primary object of Theosophy ? If as members ef 98 BROTHERHOOD. the large family of the human races, we look upon e^ach other as loving brothers and sisters, how much the face of the world will be changed for the better, how much peace, charity and love will pervade the universe, and how much we make this and the life to come, happier ! The idea of a Universal Brotherhood may be regarded as a Utopian dream by some. It may be said that it is an idea as old as mankind, but never realized. All religions, we know, have more or less attempted to establish such a brotherhood, but with indifferent success. The chief reason of such failure has been the observance of a procrustean rule, to which every one claiming brotherhood was forced to submit. The Theosophical Society seeks to organise a Universal Brotherhood only upon such points of contact in which all men touch each other. It is consistent with the utmost individual liberty and freedom of action and thought, and therefore, easy of attainment. No body has any thing to lose but a great deal to gain by joining such a Brotherhood. Here people are brought on a common platform of reciprocity and co-operation. The platform is wide enough to contain all men, without their jostling against each other. The only duty which this Brother- hood enjoins upon each of its members, is to lend that helping hand to his brother, which he himself expects from him. The only thing, of which it is intolerant, is intolerance itself. It is founded upon the broad principle of toleration of the beliefs of others, which each member desires all his brother-members to exhibit in regard to his own faith. This differentiates Theosophical Brotherhood from all other Brotherhoods in the world. When the doctrine of Universal Brotherhood than which there can be no higher doctrine propounded by any social or religious system, will be preached and practised throughout the world, then and then only we may expect to have a heaven on BROTHERHOOD. 99 I ' m ( earth, and to realize the fabled wolf drinking from the same stream with the fabled lamb. If through the Theosophical movement, the varied classes composing the Indian population are brought into brotherly union with each other, why-^the Theosophical Society will then have solved one of the greatest Indian difficulties, and removed one of fche strongest barHers to social progress. India has principally fallen so low in her con- dition because we have so much hatred, jealousy, and uncharitableness among us as are hardly to be found anywhere else in the world. The wordly prosperity of some of our own countrymen, will make us sometimes so uncomfortable as to rob us of our appetite, or give us a bad headache ? All this wiU vanish if our people cultivate a more brotherly feeling among them. Here in Bombay at this Anniversary, we have the rare< sight of witnessing Europeans, Parsis, Marhattas, Madrassis, Bengalis, Hindustanis, Punjabis and Sinhalese fraternising together, calling each other " Brothers," forgetting all their quarrels and race and provincial prejudices, and each striving in his own way to do some good to the country of his birth'' or adoption, as the case may be. The spectacle is one worth the sight of gods. How to bring about a better understanding be- tween the Europeans and Natives has been a puzzle to many of our social reformers. Various means have been suggested, but in vain. And yet the Theosophical Society has already suc- ceeded, to some extent, in producing results the most satisfactory in this direction. There are now no better friends of the Natives than Mr. Sinnett of the Fioneer, and Mr. A. 0. Hume, late of the Bengal CivU Service. I could mention a few other instances, but I am not privileged to name ihem. To the Europeans in India particularly, I would recommend Theosophy, as it will, I am sure, interest them deeply in our Indian traditions, literature, science, philosophy and religion. 100 BROTHERHOOD. If we have any respect for the memory of the past of India and wish to be as great as our Aryan ancestors were, we should, never neglect to cultivate and foster one thing in particular among us, — and that is— the love of humanity. Without it, we are no better than the animals of the lower creation. Under the influence of modern ideas, we have certainly learnt all sorts of luxury, but not the luxury of doing good to others. Ah ! It is a luxury indeed, as every humane man will be able to tell you from his own personal experience. Love of humanity was one of the chief characteristics of the Aryans, and is so still of the Great Mahatmas, — the Himalyan Brothers — whose name I cannot pronounce without the utmost reverence. If all of us knew one half of what they feel for humanity, we could then only realize to ourselves how they have attained to their present superiority in existence. The Theosophists should certainly be proud to be permitted to call themselves their followers. It is the love of humanity which raises one immeasurably above the common herd of men, and brings him nearer to the ideal of a deity. National life will always revive under its influence, and all the virtues which adorned the character of the ancient Hindus will come back to us, and make us as much respected as before. You may laugh at Occultism as something beyond the reach of man. But I can tell you one great secret. If you want to be great occultists, you can never expect to acquire the powers of one, unless you have a good share of the love of your own species in you. Every true lover of mankind developes unconsciously his psychic or spiritual powers, and becomes a clairvoyant by nature. This explains the gift of prophecy by many good and religious men. Love of humanity is so great a virtue that with it will come, as a matter of course, the love of our country, unselfishness, Jirutbfuluoss, purity of mind and character, and every thing BROTHERHOOD. 101 else which ennobles man. To be a genuine Theosophist, with- out being a lover of humanity, is quite a misnomer. I have given a good deal of attention to Spiritualism and Theosophy, and my experience tells me that both among Spiritualists and Theosophists no virtue is rated so high as this love of hu- manity. Most of us think that if we all attended to our personal con- cerns alone, and worshipped Mammon as our god, without caring at all for our fellow-creatures, we should benefit ourselves. Poor, deluded men ! We may prosper for a time, perhaps, by the eff'ects of our own kajma in the previous existence, but we shall have to account heavily for our intense selfishness in the end. India has come to be so nmch degraded, because we all live for ourselves, and not for others. We do not give a thought to any body else, except to ourselves, our wives and our families. This was not certainly what our honored progenitors did, and that is exactly why they were so much better off than ourselves. Our ignorance is the cause of our own happiness. What we call knowledge, according to our modern ideas, is no knowledge at all. The true knowledge is to be found only in the ancient books of the East, the result of accumulated ages, and of that highest development of spirituality for which India was at one time so noted. The faith of the people following low and ordinary reli- gions is not excellent, and cannot correspond with the faith of the parajnhans (or meditative ascetics). By this it is not proved that there may not exist a unity among the followers of of all religions. Nay, if people of all religious persuasions should be possessed of faultless and holy minds, of course, there will be love among them. If one man saves himself from sin by means of TirtJiayatra and Haj (pilgrimages), and another rmains bol^ bjr worshipping aeities, or by inclining his be^d in 102 BROTHERHOOD. BROTHERHOOD. 103 prayer in a Musjid, and a third remains pure and clean by- means of the close study of self (Atma CUkitsa ) then in my opinion these three equally participate in the honor, and no one can say that he can entertain friendship towards one, and cherish ill-feeling towards another. This is the principle upon which the Theosophical Society works, and this is the cause why we having distinct temperaments, distinct religious observances and distinct faiths, and at th(> same time being divided into separate castes, have at this time joined and assembled together with joy and happiness as brothers. If the Theosophi- cal Society spues any one, it spues those who find fault with every religion and religious ceremony, but whose ow^n religious observances are not pure, and if the Society has broken its alliance with any one up to this day, it is with men like these. How far are we to thank the Theosophical Society ? By showing the glory of the light of occult sciences, it has not only made us, the inhabitants of Bharat-land, perfect brethren, but also the inhabitants of several countries, who had hitherto treated us with contempt, and considered us as barbarous. Now they have commenced loving us in such a manner that such such love could never have been brought about by merely eatinir and drinking with them. The reason is that the Theosophical Society has assured the people in distant countries of the fact that the old RisMs of Bharat Varsha had perfectly mastered all the occult sciences — sciences wonderful to the com- mon eye, a particle of which even has not up to this day been acquired by any one, and even if it can be attained, it can be attained only in Bharat Varsha })y the favor of those High-souled Men, who in their love of the sciences have left populous places, and are living in jungles, and on mountains in retirement. There are also people of another description, who in another way blame the Theosophical Society. By these people I mean s.i those who w^ere or are members of the Society, who entertained and still entertain an ill feeling towards it on the ground that the w^onders which the Founders of the Society shewed that the secret sciences possessed, were not placed within their reach. As a knowdedge of these sciences has not been acquired by them they blame the Society, and say that it is false. But, Gentle- men, see how unjust this blame is. When ordinary sciences are acquired by great exertions and steady application, how do you imagine these most sacred sciences can be acquired by simple real connnunication ? Means are necessary to acquire these sciences, but the principal of all these means is that a man should keep himself aloof from lust, anger, desire, and infatu- ation, and other vices, and become pure, holy and clean. The l)eople of this country within a short time by close application can acquire these sciences, but never without it. Say, whether the Theosophical Society or any other Society or religion is such that by a mere touch with it, a man can get himself com- pletely freed from vices, and become holv, so Ions: as he does not exert himself to become so. A person goes to a Tirth (or holy place of pilgrimage) and there commits sin ; he goes to a religious temple and indulges himself in wicked ac- tions, and then afterwards blames the Tirth and the temple, saying that they did not make him holy! How ridiculous this is ! Our first duty should be to form a Universal Brotherhood among ourselves, and, unless we do so, it is of no use expect- ing to form a Universal Brotherhood with the other branches of the human race. Let us in our own small family in this home of the ancient civilization of the world, set an example, so that we may attract other nations to our fold. Let us try our best to realise in ourselves in evely shape and form the character of the Aryans of old. The number of religions in 104 BROTHERHOOD. BROTHERHOOD. 105 the world, my brothers, is endless. The first object of every religion should be to bind together men of all races and of all classes by ties of Universal Brotherhood. If religion fails to fulfil this cardinal principle, it is wholly useless. But Theo- sophy makes Universal Brotherhood its first object. And whether it be a religion or not, it is the best religion that can be preached to the world. Let each of us, Theosophists, then by his own conduct in life, show that Universal Brotherhood is not a myth, but a reality, and, thus, go on adding to our numbers considerably from year to year. Example teaches better than precept : and the days of preaching, my friends, are passed. We have had enough of preaching. The day of action has arrived : let us now practise what we have hitherto preached. We are not Christians — we are regarded as heathens. We are traduced as a debased race. We are calumniated, I am sorry to say, in no measured terms. But let us be traduced and calumniated as much as possible. We have found a heaven in Theosophy. We had hitherto been wayward stran- gers in our own home. But thanks to the High Powers, the voice of Theosophy, which contains the germs of our ancient religion, philosophy and science, has at last made itself heard through foreign tongues in our dear land of Aryavarta, and call- ed us back from our wayward course. Let us now act up strictly to the teachings of Theosophy, and by our own personal lives give the lie to all the calumnies that may be heaped upon us, as a nation ; and though we may not be Christians, let us yield the palm to none in love of Humanity and in fear of God. That should be the great aim of life among us all. The tongue of calumny will then be effectually silenced and, in spite of ourselves, we shall raise ourselves in the estimation of the whole world, if we shame even the Christians themselves by our own practiciil lives and examples. Our duties and re- / i'M M sponsibilities as the descendants of the great Aryans, as the inheritors of a great name, and the possessors of glorious traditions are vast and manifold. We are a fallen nation ? It is now our turn to retrieve our ancient reputation and, if possible, try even to excel the glory of our great ancestors. When we consider the degradation of our mother-land, we are overpowered by our sense of responsibility. AVe, Indians, must not consider our duties in life fulfilled, if we only faithfully perform all that we owe in our personal relations in the world. Every native of India is a guardian of his country's interests ; the more so, every educated native. He is in his own person the representative, as well as the guide of his less educated and his uneducated country- men. The responsibilities of education cannot be over-estimated. We are all answerable for our own deeds. If an educated native be wanting in his duty to his country, he proves unfaithful to the sacred trust, impliedly vested in him by his education. And when his world's career is over, he will be answerable for this, as well as for all other failures in life. Our time is too valuable to be lost in frivolous amusements ; for every moment wasted we shall be called to a strict account. Life in all cases is a continued strufjole. M VI i-t / WHAT IS NECESSARY TO BECOME INITIATED * Oh father 1 if you desire emancipation, abandon like poison the objects of wordly pleasures and accept like ambrosia forgiveness, humility, clemency, contentment and truthfulness. Plato wrote over the door of his academy : ** Let no one enter here, who is not well vei*sed in Mathematics." Pythagoras ex- acted further the study of Music. In this way the two great masters desired to teach that above all we must possess th& sentiments of accuracy and harmony. Exact and inflexible mathematics preside indeed over the laws of nature. Subjected to the intelligent evolutions of calcu- lation, they prove the existence of a calculator who is superior to man. For man by his most exalted exertions can only obtain an intuitional perception and prove only to his own satisfaction more and more the sublimity and infinity of the divine intelligence. We must know that nature is hannonious in spite of the ap- parently existing discords, and this we learn by contemplating the high intelligence of music, which knows how to harmonize even discordant sounds and to transform them into the most perfect harmony. We must know that there are no discords in nature^ and that the mutual destruction of imperfect beings represents only the creative labor of progressive perfection^ which is the univer- sal law of being. ■* Su^jpleuients to the Tlieosophist, April and May 1884. r y 108 WHAT IS NECESSARY TO BECOME INITIATED. We must know that exact proportions exist between the beings, that therefore no man will ever walk on his hands, for the purpose of astonishing an ant ; that nothing of a similar character can bo supposed to take place between man and a being so superior to man as man himself is superior to an ant, and with still stronger reasons ; that the universal principle of being has never siibverted and will never subvert the laws of nature, for the purpose of confounding man's reason and to obtain his homage. We must know that the universal and regular laws of nature produce sometimes exceptional manifestations, which are due to a concurrence of certain causes which only rarely happen and which result in singular facts or phenomena, which by the ionorant are mistaken for miracles or wonders. We must know that matter is only a phenomenon and that mathematical reason alone is a reality. We must know that matter is inert and that intelligence alone is action ; that force is the lever of intelligence, that life is the labor of universal reason ; that outside of the demonstra- tions of mathematics phenomena will always remain doubtful ; that if we record phenomena, we only collect the materials necessary for the study of the laws which govern them. We must know that reason is not a sentiment, that sentiment is not reason but that a reason which we feel and a sentiment which is in accordance with reason, can conduct us to certainty by combining the two living forces of the soul. We must know that the soul is the very person of man, whose body is only the phenomenal a})i)earance ; that the soul essence is liberty, its attributes intelligence and love, and its immortality a sufficient cause for durable and ])erfectible action. We must know that pure nuithematics are the examination of WHAT IS NECESSARY TO BECOME INITIATED. 109 reason and the logical manifestation of the divine principle ; that supernaturalism is a hypothetic fiction of extranatural operations of this principle, and that Metaphysics are only a dream, if they are not the differential and integral calculus of the mathema- tical powers of thought. We must know that moral emancipation is accomplished not by violence ; that he who demands does not deserve ; tliat silence im[)osed upon truth by constraint shifts the respon- sibility of falsehood, and that it is often useful and even neces- sary to deceive unreasonable people ; but that nobody ever obtains a good ol)ject by evil means. God and Nature will that beasts shall be submissive to man. The tiger may surprise a disarmed or careless hunter, he may break his chain In captivity and destroy his keeper ; but such an accident is never a victory. Mobs rebel but do not become free. They take up arms in the name of justice and their first acts are crimes. The heat of unchained passions produces ferocity but never gives birth to heroism. The f(^et can never usurp the functions of the head, and that the social body has functions like the human body. The most intimate union of all the members must be established. When one suffers, all the others ought to come to its assistance, and in this consists their e:piality of nature, regulated by an Inviolable liierarchy. The feet must walk, the Iitmds work and the head govern to keep the body in health. Well balanced man re- presents a living monarchy. The universe is the monarchy of the sun. Great monarchies have never been flourishing except through great monarchs. Republics end always by the conflicts of those who pretend to reign in virtue of the audacity of the greatest villain. They are in fact monarchies in fusion. They are the boiling metal which is waiting to be formed Into a colossus of monarchic pride ; a mould crossed bv a sword. 110 WHAT IS NECESSARY TO BECOME INITIATED. WHAT IS NECESSARY TO BECOME INITIATED. Ill What is the popiihice ? Is it only the poor classes ? No. This is not a question of poverty or wealth. Many great men have heen poor. Jesus did not have a stone on which to rest his head, and his most fervent disciples, those who have chang- ed the face of the earth, professed poverty. The populace is the fertile soil of the ignorant, the indolent and the willfully blind. These are the men subjected to their passions ; these are the lepers of vice, the paralytics of intelligence, the crip- ples of reason, who do not want to be asked questions or to bo guided; in short, they are the turbulent beasts, which society must either enchain or demolish, if it docs not wish to perish by them. Men without moral freedom are the most dangerous of all animals, and we must always exert our strength in their interest and sometimes restrain them for the same reason in their liberties. We must only confide to them that which we desire to lose, and it is necessary to conceal from them all truths which they may misuse. If I have two watches one made out of gilded brass, and the other one of pure gold^ am I obliged to deliver the golden one to a thief who wants to rob me of it ? And if I abandon to him the brass-watch, can he say that I cheated him? Must I reconduct the mis- creant to the road from which he strayed and who fears that he mijrht not reach his destination in time to commit a crime? No ! I re[)eat to you again that the slaves of fatality are un- worthy of freedom, unworthy of truth and unworthy of human brotherhood. The occult and primitive book of Tai'ot gives in the eight- eenth symbol the representation of them under the form of three different animals, a dog, a wolf and a water-crab, which obtains its nourishment from animal and vegetable corruption in impure a\ ator. /I We educate the dog, kill the wolf and eat the crab. The dog is the fool who obeys ; the wolf the fool who howls and kills. The crab is not a fool, it is foolishness itself, for a popular tradition tells us that the crab marches backward, and here the crab of natural history becomes mixed up with the symbolical crab. Which is more valuable ; the dog or the wolf ? If you ask a shepherd this question, you will know beforehand what his answer will be, or perhaps he will give you no answer at all. He will laugh, because he does not suppose that you would ask such a question seriously. It is just as if you would ask what is more valuable, the soldier or the brigand. Neverthe- less it is known that the brigand is the ideal of ladies of high standing, while kitchen-maids and chamber-maids are perhaps the only ones whose hearts are captured by a soldier. The high truths of science are neither made for brigands, nor for soldiers, nor for the majority of women. A soldier cannot be free ; a brigand does not know how to be free, and a woman answers always according to the sway of her heart. The grand, true and only emancipation of women is maternity, which makes her — ^not free — but sovereign. Women who want to become free in the same manner as men, become unavoidably prostitutes ; the most abject and despicable slaves. Ninon de L' Enelos was a woman of talent and fortune, who sacrificed to a false liberty the most precious gift of her sex, — her virtue. She could obtain a reputation of honesty only by a paradoxical pun. It was said that she was an honest man. No one, not even one of those of her courtesans who were made to blush the least by her, ever attempted to deny for a moment that she was a dishonest woman. A passionate man casts himself at the feet of the dishonest woman in the servile insolence of M ^ ^ 112 WHAT IS NECESSARY TO BECOME INITIATED. his desire, because he disrespects her sufficiently beforehand to suppose that she will submit to him. After she has submit- ted, he becomes certain of that fact and his disrespect is justified. To be worthy of initiation it is necessary to know how to subdue the beasts, beginning \vith those which we carry in our heart. The passions which rule us are living forces which aid us to con(j[uer innnortality. Those which govern us are weaknesses, which lead us imavoidably to death. I have often beheld with a curiosity mixed with pity the deep and insane love which certain degraded creatures have for animals. I have seen some old ladies who wore rich and without children, eat at the same table with pet dogs, feed with partridge wings, served on precious i)late. I have seen how in the midst of a great conflagration a terror-stricken woman with dishevelled hair wildly rushed about, crying in such heart-rending tones, as could possibly be produced by maternal despair : " Let everything perish ; but save my cat." Often did I ask myself, what may have become of that unfortunate woman, if lier cat had not been saved ? Undoubtedly she must have gone mad, provided grief had not killed her. We smile at such an unfortunate Mama but how many intelligent and distinguished men have died of despair for the loss of an animal ; because that animal had a pretty female form. It is very difficult to be always reasonable, and not to suffer occasionally the consequences of our animal weaknesses. The wise are not without sins and faults ; but they do not love sin and the faults which they commit are to them signals of danger, stimulating them to make renewed efforts towards the good and to be still more careful on their guard. The fool, to whom WHAT IS NECESSARY TO BECOME INITIATED. 113 SV you show his faults, gets offended for not having been found perfect, and says that nature is responsible for his stupidity. If you had always remained such as nature made you, you would never have learned lO ialk or walk. Nature wishes that man shall go on and progress ; correcting his faults and becoming more and more perfect every day. No one has the right to make himself troublesome and noxious to others and he who rejects moral progress becomes an apostate of the eternal life. The Parisian students insulted one day the honest M. Nizard for having said in one of his public discourses, that morality is not the same thing to everybody^ The greatest folly of modern pride is the dream of equality and it is w^rong to say to any body that Boquillon has less intelligence than Pascal. Boquillon wants to be told tbe whole truth. That which remains unintelligible to him must not be intelligible to another. The vagrants who almoi^t ruined France during two months, vv^anted to burn the Louvre and the public libraries-. Their morality was to tlK-mselves certainly not the same as to the valiant Arcl'bi.-hop of Paris whom they assassinat- ed ; but they would have been th(3 very first ones to cry down M. Nizard, if they had heard him say that morality is not the same thing to everybody. Whaf an incredible thing ! It surpasses all possible dreams of Yi(;f,or Hugo I It so happened in the nineteenth century that the court of miracles took possession of the capital of the world and organised plunder, tried honest people for their lives and set fire to the church of Notre Dame of Paris. The Tuileries, the Palais Royal, the Hotel de Ville and the most beautiful parts of the capital were in ashes. And these criminals had an army of two hundred thousand men, and three hundred thousand men let them do as they pleased. In this case the 15 f 114 WHAT IS NECESSARY TO BECOME INITIATED. wolves terrified the dogs, and the crabs remained quiet in their corner. May it not displease the contradictors of M. Nizard ; there are three different kinds of morality. The natural morality, the philosophical morality and the religious morality. The natural morality is simply that of common sense. The philosophical morality is the morality of reason, and the religious morality is that of spirit and faith. By using your common sense you arrive at reason. With reason enlightened by the illumination of spirit you certainly arrive at faith ; but faith does not impose itself upon good sense by doing violence to reason, and reason by rejecting faith parts by this veiy act from common sense. There is nothing in the world more dangerous and at the same time more pitiful then those little reasoners ^vho comprehend nothing that comes from spirit and who believe themselves to be above ordinary common sense. They are those who preach Atheism, Materialism and Anarchy. A wise man said in my presence. — " A little philosophy makes Man an atheist, but a great deal of philosophy leads him to the knowledge of a God. " The boor with his good common sense is satisfied with the faith of a charcoal-burner and lives quiet. He follows nature and the usages of his countiy. He knows that his priest preaches neither vice nor dishonesty, and he feels perfectly that the morality of the gospel is true. If you tell him about some bad priest, he draws therefrom no conclusions against religion, because he knows that there are also good ones and that by them only religion is represented. If he has gross vices, he does not attempt to excuse them by sophistry. This man is in the right path. He has read neither Troudhon nor Buchner ; it is useless W^flAT IS NECESSARY TO BECOME INITIATED. 115 to tell him that God is evil, that possession is theft and that ho has no more of a soul than his dog. He would only be offended and he would be a thousand times risfht. But let this fellow come to town, let him talk with some smooth-tongued workman, let him be inoculated Avith the poison of pride and envy, and he will be lost. He thinks that he has only been a brute and to become emancipated he becomes a square fool ; he loses his i-eason with his good sense ; he has lost his faith and not learned science, there remains with him only that which is necessary for making him a criminal. It is evident that the duties of a labourer or workman are different from those of a judge and that a judge is not subject to the obligations of a priest. A workman must have good sense and reason ; a judge needs science and a more elevated reason and a priest ought to have a reasonable and knowing piety, which should be like an apotheosis of good sense. Duties become more difficult and more severe in proportion as the functions become larger, and morality in proportion to man's elevation becomes more exacting and rigorous. A'^ot in this manner were the two moralities of M. Nizard understood. They made him say that duties were more rigorous for small people and easier for the great ones which is an absurdity. To preach theology and asceticism to common laborers, blind belief to free thinkers and scepticism to priests is an immoral way of instructing. Devotion is very dangerous for ignorant men ; intellectual blindness suits not reason ; and doubt is the deadly enemy of faith. We must distribute science to all, in certain proportions we must develop good sense amongst the masses, lead reasoners to reason and speak of piety only to men that are reasonable enough and know enough to arrive at faith without assistance. In short, instruction ought to be hierarchic like \ r€ X. 116 WHAT IS NPICESSARY TO BECOME INITIATED. WHAT IS NECESSABY TO BECOME INITIATED. 117 nature. Then Avill it cea~o to be revolutionary and become construct! \ e instead of being ^'ontinually destructive. On this hierarchy of intelligences and on the necessity of a proportional and gradual instruction rests the law of occultism, which was the great secret of the ancient sanctuarie.- and which is yoi. t'le secret of Free-Masonry. Amongst the Free-Masons the apprentice does no 1; < omprehend the symbols of the fellow-craft, and the fellow-craft is not initiated into the secrets of a master. Each grade has its rites, its passwords, its sacred signs and formulie. In each degree the candidate is subjeorel co new trials. In olden times all this was meant seriously ; but now Free-Masonry as well as the Church has lost the key to its ceremonies and mysteries. When man walks, he moves forwards by alternate and apparently contrary movements He makes a step to the right, one to the left, one again to the right, and so on and nevertheless he never makes the same step again. Nothin^^ endures except the eternal, and that which is })ast never re- turns. Life is an unceasing creation, and the same breath never passes twice over one's lips. While we are in the shade we wait for tke sun, and when we are exposed to the heat of the sun, we seek the shade. The one and the other are desirable, and for the wise, good like God is always present ; at all times and in all forms. Often it seems that evil rules the world, but always the good by its ever living power of equilibrium reigns supreme. A pain is always productive of joy ; error is truth in disguise ; the sphynx appears to be a monster and is a problem ; the paradoxical is the hyperbole of reason. All folly is wisdom, which decomposes to become formed again and more complete ; a cadaver is a genesis ; crime is a forceps by which the difficult and births of virtue are assisted ; and M. de Maistre who believes in the divine mission of the soldier did not flinch before the apology of the hangman. Every evil contains its own remedy and therefore we see in tho book of Job, Satan preside according to his rank, and in his turn in the senate of the Beni-Elohim and answering the Eternal who interrooates him in the presence of the sons of God. By the permission of Jehovah he tempts Job, and in the holy book, the work of hell has the character of a divine mission. ^^ Quod superius — quod inferius " says the secret dogma of Hermes. We must know how to support the divine treatment and patiently await the end of the trials to which we are subjected by the eternal physician. We must suffer without silent revolt the cruel operations and bloody amputations. Life can never be a hell as long as we keep courage and hope, and the sick and aching heart even when it is failing and guilty, can- not be lost as long as it remains submissive to God — the eternal order. We must know how to make use of realitv by behold ino- the ideal without ever mistaking one for the other, or to confound them. Then we shall never mistake the relative for the absolute ; the means for the end ; the instrument for the music ; riches for happiness ; a passion for destiny, a woman for divinity, nor a beloved being for the perfection of love. Ideal love is per- fect love, and it alone can fill and satisfy our soul. We must not seek it in others but in ourselves, ask no one for it as lono; as we have not found it, and exact it the less as we feel our- selves more capable of approaching it. The legitimate cravings of our heart are not the torture of Tantalus, and nature never r \ X [^' 118 WHAT IS NECESSARY TO BECOME IXITIATED. refuses to us anything which she owes its. Those that aro dissatisfied with life are bad players, who wish to be i)aid without having gained. All deception is the punishment of an imprudence, all despair is the rage of a robbed thief. A man. who despairs has put his confidence in lies, for truth does never cheat. He loved injustice because the immutable justice of truth did not console him. He is a sick person who prefers death to recovery. What are in fact lost illusions, if they are not a desire which goes ? But reason is horrible to mad men, who prefer to consider theiiiselves haj)py in their folly, liather than to return sincerely to truth, they fly voluntarily into tho bosom of death ; because their dcsj>erate way of looking at the face of death transforms it into a lust illusion and nuikes it look like an eternal lie. We must finally know how to stand the trials, and this we cannot do without a perfect knowledge of the aim which we wish to reach and an innnovable will to arrive there^ THE OBJECT OF INITIATION ra o o o cs ; " The true philosopher's stone to be discovered by all was the new life in Christ Jesus. Only by victory over self could any win victory over nature. To the selfish and godless no secrets ivoulcl be revealed." — Behmen. II The object of the ancient initiation was to become worthy to be a priest and a king. The high science taught by Zoroaster and Hermes was amongst the ancients the art of priesthood and of royalty. Priests and kings were then looked upon as representing divinity uj)on earth. God spoke to the priests and governed the people through the kings. To approach divinity without an intermedial to exert power is still the privilege of him who is admitted in the occult sanctuary. He is admitted to see God through intelligence and reason and to adore him in sj)irit and in truth, and he is armed with strength to dispel from himself and others — not the necessary sufferings, but at least all the real misfortunes of life, and to dispose, in the measure of human forces, of all advantages and benefits which the perfection of nature can procure. To become inaccessible to evil and error, to be master of oneself and therefore worthy to command others, always to choose, of all things in creation, only that which is good and to possess in peace that which one has chosen, — is not this a dignity truly sacerdotal and royal ? In other words, is not this a divine existence^? This is the object of the occidt sciences, and wc must arrive at it throu^rh the real initiation. r 120 THE OBJECT OF INITIATIOX. V THE OBJECT OF INITIATION* 121 Is perfection possible to man ? Yes, certainly ! If we com- prehend that we do not speak of absolute perfection, which would elevate him above his proper nature, a perfection of which we can dream, but which we cannot define or even conceive. We speak of a perfection, which is within the human nature and which can be expressed by the three w^ords, which are so badly understood and which serve as motto to the adherents of the republican doctrine : Liberty, Equality and Brotherhood. Liberty of intelligence, free of all prejudices ; liberty of will, free of all shameful and irregular passions ; liberty of affections, always voluntarily directed towards good Equality through the perfect equilibrium of mind ; and Brotherhood with the right of eldership to our own advantage and that of entire nature. Yes, the sage is the beloved brother of the stars, because he knows what they do not know, and he under- stands the laws which direct the thought before it is formed ; he understands their influence, he analyses their light, ho is in some respects the treasurer of their wealth ; he is the brother and friend of all nature ; he is the priest of the seasons and he offers their first fruits to God ; he is the consoler of men, the minister of the animals, and all this without constraint, without efforts and perfectly naturally, as soon as he has succeeded in perfecting his nature. He is therefore the happiest, the most useful and the most amiable of men. His invisible divinity becomes visible in liim ; impersonal infinity manifests itself in his person and he becomes a living solution of the great riddle of Man-God. a It is true that such a high prerogative dooms him at first to the sacrifice. He will be adored by some and detested by others ; because there J^re good and bad j)Cople on earth. He V has to defend himself as well against the imprudent actions which the enthusiasm of his friends may cause, as against the exasperated hate of his enemies. None possess with impunity the fire from heaven, and the slaves of Jupiter will always be the executioners of Prometheus. He will be persecuted in the name of God, and for God^s sake wall they try to kill him. He may be benevolent as Osiris, a poet like Orpheus, w^ise as Socrates, with the knowledge of Pythago^ . ; meek and patient as Jesus, pious like Savonarola, a good pastor like John Huss ; nevertheless he will be treated as a public malefactor and be made to answer for his science before ignorance, for his ignorance before stupidity, for his virtue before the vicious. Christ said ! '' If one w^ill follow me, let him take up his cross before starting and let him walk resolute- ly to the rock. Such was the fate of the revelators of the ancient world and of the reformers of the middle age. So does the type of the perfect man, which is divine and human at the same time in the person of Jesus present in an extraordinary manner the symbols of sacrifice. But the sacrifice is only the probation and the gospel is only the introduction to the great book of wisdom resuscitated by Jesus, and living, for ever in his dis- ciples, must for ever write or rather form by acts, w^hich are at once divine and human, all through the coming ages. An act of humanity is truly a divine act, and good works are more efficacious than prayers. The best of all good w orks are those which are performed spontaneously and without any pretention to merit. Christ said, a good tree will produce good fruit, and thus do good people perform good works without much thinking about it. They perform them, because they could not act otherwise ; they answer their goodness as sun 16 ;\ 122 THE OBJECT OF INITIATION. gives his light ; and if a drink of water given to a thirsty wanderer merits an eternal reward, what price can be adequate to pay him who discovers a spring in the desert and who constructs a fountain ? Mercenaries are paid and recompensed ; but what can we give to him who possesses all ? Would you offer an apple to an apple merchant ? How can you justify the just, who is judge himself? All recompensations are temporary and an eternity of blessedness would not be a recompensation but a normal state at which the souls of those, who know how to make them- selves inmortal, must arrive. We obtain it by vanquishing fear, desire and death. He who has suficient intelligence will understand it. A just man can never become accessory to injustice. Socrates, before he dies, advises his disciples to offer for him a cock to Esculapius, and he, the adorer of the true God, is blamed for such an apparent act of superstition. The divine life of the Initiate is by the vulgar crowd looked upon as being super- natural. Because nature rises up for the sage, he naturally avoids that which attracts catastrophes upon the head of the senseless. He radiates good and repulses evil, and superior intellitrences are supposed to serve him. Solomon was the king of spirits ; Jesus could cammand angels ; Socrates had a familiar demon ; Appollonius held the key of miracles. They know the secrets of the present, un- cover the past and penetrate the future by their sagacity of connecting effects with causes. They are sorcerers like physi- cians and prophets like astronomers ; they are diviners simply because they are divine, and they are divine because they are THE OBJECT OF INITIATION. 123 perfectly human ; that is, they are men, such as God and Nature evolve, and such as Science and Virtue complete. The Initiate alone possesses riches, because he disposes of them for good pmposes and is never afraid to lose them : be- cause he alone can obtain them without desiring. He alone enjoys the pleasures of life, because he chooses his own and keeps sway over his senses. He walks like Jesus over the waves of the turbulent sea, and needs only to rise to pacify by a word or look the tempests which assail him during his sleep. He is not afraid of the bloody step to calvary ; because ho knows the luminous road to Thabor. He may be poor and leprous like Job, an exile like Pythagoras, sentenced to death like Socrates, imprisoned like Appollonius, tortured like Campa- nella, burnt like Savonarola, Giordano, Bruno and Vanini ; he cannot be impoverished of his true possessions, nor be humi- liated in his own eyes, nor discouraged, nor belittled, nor can he be made to fear death. He knows, like Job, that his re- deemer lives and that he will come to raise him up again ; his redeemer is the word of truth, it is God ; always victorious in just men ; he knows that to suffer is to work and that to work is to become rich. Never can he be separated from those he loves ; for he knows well that real love is immortal. He does not love death, he loves immortality, and he knows well, that she will not escape him. Are we then really separated from our friends when they travel ? Do not souls remain united from one end of the universe to the other ? Does a mother cry because her child sleeps ; and does the father, who works for his children, grieve he knows that they have before him moved into the house where the whole family must unite again some day and for which he undertakes to pay by his work. 124 THE OBJECT OF INITIATION". Being free from regrets, the Initiate is inaccessible to fear. He loves God and does not fear him. He knows that the re- ligious laws are the ordinances which moral medicine prescribes, and that, those who are sound do not need a physician. He does not need any preachers, his sovereign pontiff is reason enlightened by faith. The whole of humanity is the body of God, of which we are the members ; all must suffer what one suffers, and the happiness of one makes all happy. This is the dogma of salvation, the dogma of tho future. STRICT MORALITY THE FIRST STEP TO DIVINE WISDOM. Scrupulously avoiding all wicked actions, Reverently performing all virtuous ones, Purifying this intention from selfish desire, Is the doctrine of all the Budhas. — Light of Asia. Purity is good. It is the best thing in the world. It is happiness. Happy is he who is the purest in purity. The man, who is pure, is the ruler of the world. — Khurde A vesta, ^ ^ W5I%r ^ ^ WTT^: II \ II Duty alone is the great Bramha, and truthfulness the great penance It is the best emancipation, and the best ( future ) condition. AN EPITOME OF HINDU MOEALS. I 1. '* Iswara (the Supreme Soul) resideth in the heart of every mortal being "— (Bhagavat Gita. XVIII.-— 61.) 2. " man thou thinkest that thou art alone ; and actest as thou likest. Thou dost not perceive the Eternal Soul that dwells within thy breast. Whatever is done by thee It sees, and notes it all. This Soul is its own witness ; and is its own refuge. It is the supreme eternal witness of man. Do not offend it." (Maha-bharata I, 3, 015. Manu, VIII 85.) 3. " Action, either mental, verbal or corporeal, bears good or evil fruit according as the action itself is good or evil ; and from the actions of men proceed th©ir various transmigrations 126 STRICT MORALITY THE FIRST STEP TO DIVINE WISDOM. in the highest, the mean, and the lowest degree. Nobody ever enjoys or suffers except from the effects of his own action. Every one reaps the consequence of his conduct." (Manu, XII, 3, Mahabharata Anusasana Parva, VI, 30. Vishnu Purana I, 1-18.) 4. " Therefore, considering the misery attached to embodied souls from a violation of duty, and the imperishable bliss attach- ed to them from the proper performance of all duties ; and con- sidering also with thy intellectual powers the migrations of the soul according to its virtue or vice thou shouldst constantly fix thy heart on virtue and be always pure in thought, in word, and in deed." (Manu, VI, 64, XII, 23, XI, 232.) 5. " Thou shouldst strive to raise thyself. Self is the friend of Self ; and Self, in like manner, is the enemy of Self. (Bhagavat Gita, VI. 4.) 6. *' The mind of man is the cause, both of his bondage and his liberation. Its attachment to objects of sense is the reason of his bondage, and its separation from the objects of sense is the means of his freedom. He who is capable of discriminating knowledge should, therefore, restrain his mind from all objects of sense ; and therewith meditate upon Para-Bramha, the Supreme Soul, in order to attain liberation. (Vishnu Purana VI. VII. 22-30.) 7. " In a man's passage to the next birth, neither his father, nor mother, nor wife, nor son, nor kinsman will bear him company. The only thing that adheres to his soul is the effect of his action (Karma). Continually, therefore, man ought to accumulate virtue for the sake of securing a good inseparable companion. AVith virtue for his guide, he will pass through a gloom hard to be traversed." (Manu IV. 289-241.) STRICT MORALITY THE FIRST STEP TO DIVINE WISDOM. 127 GFKEEAL PRECEPTS. 8. (1) " Contenment ; (2) Abstention from injury to others, active benevolence, and returning good for evil ; (3) Resistance to sensual appetites ; (4) Abstinence from theft and illicit gain ; (5) Purity, chastity, and cleanliness ; (6) Coercion of Passions ; (7) Acquisition of knowledge ; (8) Acquisition of Divine Wisdom ; (9) Veracity, honesty and fidelity ; and (10) Free- dom from wrath and hatred ; are the ten-fold system of virtuous duties." (Manu, VI. 92.) 9. " Covetousness, indolence, avarice, slander and calumny, materialism, neglect of prescribed acts, the habit of soliciting favours, and inattention to necessary work, belong to the dark quality ; as do also the denial of future state, neglect of scrip- ture, contempt of the Deities, envy, hatred, vanity, pride, anger and severity." (Manu, XII, 33, IV. 163.) 10. " Persevere in good actions ; subdue thy passions ; bestow gifts in a suitable manner ; be gentle in manner ; bear hardship patiently ; do not associate with the malignant ; and give no pain to any sentient being : then shalt thou hope to obtain beatitude." (Manu, IV. 246.; 11. ''Walk in the path of good people ; the Path in which thy forefathers walked. Take examples of good conduct from all ; as nectar is taken from poison ; gentleness of speech from a child ; prudent conduct from an enemy ; and gold from un- clean substance. (Manu, 11, 239, IV. 178.) 12. "Endeavour to augment that religious merit which bestows good on all. (Vishnu Purana. I. XI. 23.) 13. " Though oppressed by penury in consequence of thy righteous dealings, do not give thy mind over to unrighteous- ness." (Manu, IV. 171.) 126 STRICT MORALITY THE FIRST STEP TO DIVINE WISDOM, 14. Whenever man does wrong, it is not enough to say, ^ I will not sin again.' Release from guilt depends upon true contri- tion ; and this consists in actual abstinence from sinful action ever afterwards ." (Manu, XI, 230.) SPECIAL PRECEPTS. 15. " Speak the truth (Satyam.) Truth alone conquers, and not falsehood. Truth means the blissful correspondence of mind, speech and actions w^ith one another. No religion or morality is higher than Truth, and no sin is greater than false- hood. Let mortals, therefore, adhere to Truth, and Truth, alone, at all times. Truth represents a great devotion ; and upon Truth depends the good effect of our actions. There is nothing higher than Truth." (Taitcriya Upanishat, I. II, Mun- daka Upanishat I ; Maha-nirvaua IV. 70, 73.) 16. "Do Justice. Justice being destroyed, will destroy; being preserved, will preserve : it must never therefore be violated. Beware lest justice, being overturned, overturn thee and us all. (Manu YIII. 15.) 17. *^ Do no injury to another. By non-injury is meant the non-causing of pain of any kind to any one at any time, in mind, speech or action. The principle of non-injury helps us in practising the virtues of mercy, charity, devotion and wor- ship. It is our greatest strength and greatest friend ; and it is the source of liappiness, veracity and all that is good " (Maha- bharata ; Anusasanaparva IIG, 57, 18.) 18. " Mercy is the might of the righteous." (Vishnu Purana I. I. 21.) Being treated cruelly, do not return the cruelty. Give blessing for curses." (Manu, VI. 47) A good man thinks only of benefitting all and cherishes no feelings of hostility towards any one, even at the moment of his being STRICT MORALITY THE FIRST STEP TO DIVINE WISDOM. 129 destroyed by him, just as the sandal tree sheds perfume on the edge of the axe, at the time of its being cut down." (Hito- padesa.). 19. "Be greatful." Sages prescribe expiations for mur- derers, robbers, drunkards and other sinners ; but no expiation can wash away the sin of one whose offence is ingratitude." (Ramayana, Kishkindha Kanda, XLIII. II.) 20. " Do not neglect benevolence. The little-minded ask, ' Does this person belong to our family ? ' " But the noble- hearted regard the human race as all akin." " He who willing- ly gives no pain of any kind whatsoever to any one, but seeks the good of all, enjoys everlasting bliss." — (Taitereya Upanishat, XL Sikshavalli. Hitopadesa, I. 79 ; Manu, V. 46, and Mahopandshat.) 21. " Gift means the giving of justly acquired wealth, grain and so forth, with a good v/ill, to those who stand in need of relief. Make gifts according to thy means to helpless mendi- cants religious or heterodox ; and — without inconveniencing those who are wholly dependent upon thee— reserve a just portion of thy wealth for the benefit of all sentient beings" — (Sandilyopanishat, 2. Manu, IV. 32.) 22. Be not selfish. A selfish inclination is the root of the two sets of evil, and ought to be suppressed with diligence. Strive not too anxiously for a subsistence : that has been furnished by Providence. No sooner is a creature born than milk for its support streams from the breast of the mother. " The wise give up their wealth and even their life, for the good of others. The destruction of wealth and life being inevitable, they prefer to sacrifice them for good objects. Re- member there is an exceedingly wide difference between our mortal body and virtue, the former falls asunder in a moment, 17 V. '!. ' i ' -Ji, *!-J.,'i!! M-. . 'i 130 STRICT ilORALlTY THE FIRST STEP TO DIVIKE WISDOM. i^'liile the latter remains to the end of Kalj)a." (Manu YII. 46, Hitopadsa. 1. 117,43,411.) '23, ** Do not covet that whicli belong?* to another. Absten- tion from theft means the absence of desire to become possessed of another's i)roj)erty, either mentally, verbally or in act. (Isavasya Uj)anishat, (I. Sandilyoiumisluit, I.) 24. " Wish for no hononr other than such as thine own action shall obtain for thee ; and be contented with that detrreo which appertains to thee." (Vishnu-pur ana. I. XI. 22. 29.) 25. " Be contented. Contentment means unalloyed satis- faction with whatever may haj)j)en. Desire is not satisfied with the enjoyment of the objects desired, as fire is not quenched with clarified butter ; it only blazes more vehemently." (Manu, 119, 10.) 26. " Practise fortitude, which means shibilitv of mind at all times, either when one loses his wealth or kinsman, or gains them. Let not your mind be distressed in adversity, nor let it be elated in prosperity. Be free from anxiety, fear, and animosity ; and have always confidence in the rectitude of thy conduct." (Sandilyopanishat, I, Bhagavatgita. II. 56.) 27. " It is certain that man connnits some sin or other by the attachment of his organs to sensual i)Ieasure. He ought therefore to subdue them rigorously ; :ind he will then attain a lasting bliss." (Manu, II, 9-3.) "Anger is the passion of fools ; it becomes not a wise man." (Vislmu Purana, I. I. 18.) 28. '' All undertakings prove successful if conducted Avith prudence." (Vishnu Purana, I. XIII. 78.) 29. '' Always speak kindly and j)leasantly. Do not main- tain unworthy dissensions or altercations, nor indulge in idle talk." (Manu, IV. 189.) STRICT MORALITY THE FIRST STEP TO DIVINE WISDOM. 131 30. " One should look upon others as well as he does upon himself. And bearing in mind that life mUvSt be as dear to all livintr creatures as it is to thee, thou sliouldst in all thine actions comjiare thyself to others, and then try to do what is best In causing pleasure or pain, or in granting or refusing a boon to others, a man obtains an unerring scale through self- comi)arison." (Maha Bliarata, Anusasanaparva. 110-5C91, Hitopadesa, L IL 12.) 31. Abstain from fle,sh-meat and intoxicating substances. Be moderate in virtuous recreations and actions ; in eating and in sleeping ; as this is the means of avoiding misery." (Maitri Ui)auishat and Bhagavatgita, VI. 17. and Brihadaraneya Upauishat.) 32. " The vice of gaming has, from the most ancient times, been found to be productive of great evil. Let no sensible man, therefore addict himself to gaming or other mischievous play, even for the sake of amusement" (Manu, IX. 227.) 33. Resi)ect thy mother. liespect thy father. Ilepeet thy teacher. And respect thy superiors." (Taiteriya Upanishat Sikshavalli XI. Manu, IV. 134.) 34. " Do not spurn thy inferiors, those who are deformed, who are unlearned, who are advanced in age, who have no beauty or wealth, or who are of low birth." (Manu, IV. 141.) 3.5. "Even a man as brave as a lion cannot atta hi fortune except by industry and exertion. Therefore, one should per- form the appointed functions ; for action is preferable to inac- tion ; and the journey of mortal frame will not succeed from inaction." ( Hitoj^adesa 31. Bhagavatgita, IL 47. III. 8.) But the action must be passionless, (Ibid.) 36. Of all pure things, purity in acquiring wealth is pro nounceil the niost important in this world. Hence the means 132 STRICT MORALITY THE FIRST STEP TO DIVINE WISDOM. used for gathering riches should always be pure ; especially so, in the case of those public men upon whom the people have to wait for the redressal of their wrongs. The Sovereign shall maintain purity in this respect by banishing bad men from his realm, after confiscating all their possessions," (Manu, VII, 124.) CONCXUSION. 37. « He who considers all beings as existing in the Su- preme Spirit, and the Supremo Spirit as pervading all, is henceforth incapable of perpetrating any sin whatsoever." (Isa Upanished, 6.) miere there is virtue there is Victory. Instructions to the aspirants of Divine wisdom. -••ie9««=a}*»- III. LESSON I. * Learn to cast away from thee all vile affections, all levity and inconstancy of mind, let all thy dealings be free from deceit and hypocrisy ; avoid the company of vain young men ; hate all profligacy and vain speaking. LESSON IL Keep thy own and thy neighbour's secrets ; court not the favours of the rich ; despise not the poor, for he who does will be poorer than th^ poorest. LESSON III. Give to the needy and unfortunate what little thou canst spare ; for he that has but little, whatever he spares to the miserable, God shall amply reward him. LESSON IV. Be merciful to those who offend thee, or who have injured thee ; for what must that man's heart be, who would take heavy vengeance on a slight offence ? Thou shalt give thy brother until seventy times seven. LESSON V. Be not hasty to condemn the actions of others, lest thou shouldst, the next hour, fall into the very same error ; despise scandal and tattling ; let thy words be few. * From Barrett's Magiis. 131 INSTRl-CTIOXS TO THE ASPinANTS OF DIVINE WISDOM. LESSON VI. Study day nnd niglit and .Kupplicute thy Creator ( the Logos or, t^C ) that ho would be pleased to grant thee knowledge Tnd understanding ; and that the pure si,irits may have communi- cation with, and influence in thee. LESSON VIL Be not overcome with ,/n«»A-m«m; for he assured, that Aaf/ the evils that l)efuli mankind originate in drunkenness ; for too great a quantity of strong liquors deprive men of their reason, then, having lost the use of the faculty of their judgement' they innnediately b.^come the reeij.ient of all evil infl"uenc«.s' and are justly compared to weather-cocks, that are driven hither and thither by every gust of wind, so those who drown the reasonable power, are easily persuaded to the lightest and most frivolous j.ursuits, and, from these, to vices more gross and reprobate, for the ministers of darkness have never so favourable an opportunity of insinuating themselves into the minds and hearts of men, as when they are lost m intoxication. I j.ray you to avoid this dreadful vice. LESSON VIII. Avoid gluttony, and all excess— it is very pemiciou.vand from the Devil ; these are the things that constantly tempt man, and by which he falls a prey to his spiritual adversary; for he w rendered incapable of receiving any good or divine gift. Be- sides, the divine an-«— ^O C^KHJ-B^^^o^ Christine Rosetti's well-known lines : " Does the road wind up-hill all the way ? Yes, to the very end. Does the journey take the whole long day ? From morn, till night, my friend." are like an epitome of the life of those >vho are truly treading the path which leads to higher things. Whatever differences are to he found in the various presentations of the Esoteric Doctrine, as in every age it donned a fresh garment, different both in hue and texture to that Avhich preceded ; yet in every one of them we find the fullest agreement upon one point — the road to spiritual development. One only inflexible rule has been ever binding upon the neophyte, as it is binding now — the complete subjugation of the lower nature by the higher. From the Vedas and Upanishads to the recently published " Light on the Path," search as we may through the bibles of every race and cult, we find but one only way,— hard, painful, troublesome, by which man can gain the true spiritual insight. And how can it be otherwise since all religions and all philosophies are but the variants of the first teachings of the One Wisdom, imparted to men at the beginning of the cycle by the Planetary Spirit ? The true Adept, the developed man, must, we are always told, become — he cannot be made. The process is therefore one of growth through evolution, and this must necessary involve a certain amount of pain. The main cause of pain lies in our perpetually seeking the permanent in the impermanent, and not only seeking, but acting as if we had already found the unchangeable, in a world * The Theosophist May, 1885, 136 SPIRITUAL PROGRESS. i of which the one certain quality we can predicate is constant change, and always, just as we fancy we have taken a firm hold upon the permanent, it changes within our very grasp, and pain results. Again, the idea of growth involves also the idea of disruption, the inner being must continually burst through in confining shell or encasement, and such a disruption must also be ac- companied by pain, not physical but mental and intellectual. And this is how it is, in the course of our lives, the trouble that comes upon us is always just the one we feel to be the hardest that could possibly happen— it is always the one thing we feel we cannot possibly bear. If we look at it horn a wider point of view, we shall see that we are trying to burst through our shell at its one vulnerable point ; that our growth, to be real growth, and not the collective result of a series of excrescences, must progress evenly throughout, just as the body of a child grows, not first the head and then a hand followed perhaps by a leg ; but in all directions at once, re- gularly and imperceptibly. Man's tendency is to cultivate each part separately, neglecting the others in the meantime— every crushing pain is caused by the expansion of some neglected part, which expansion is rendered more difficult by the effects of the cultivation bestowed elsewhere. Evil is often the result of over-anxiety, and men are always trying to do too much, they are not content to leave well alone, to do always just what the occasion demands and no more, they exaggerate every action and so produce karma to be worked out in a future birth. One of the subtlest forms of this evil is the hope and desire of reward. Many there are who, albeit often unconsciously, are yet spoiling all their efforts by entertaining this idea of re- rr^v.:- «""4i* 4'::.^^.i SPIRITUAL PROGRESS. 137 ward, and allowing it to become an active factor in their lives and so leaving the door open to anxiety, doubt, fear, despon- dency — failure. The goal of the aspirant for spiritual wisdom, is entrance upon a higher plane of existence ; he is to become a new man more perfect in every way than he is at present, and if he succeeds, his capabilities and faculties will receive a correspond- ing increase of range and power, just as in the visible world we find that each stage in the evolutionary scale is marked by increase of capacity. This is how it is that the Adept becomes endowed with marvellous powers that have been so often described, but the main point to be remembered is, that these powers are the natural accompaniments of existence on a hifrher plane of evolution, just as the ordinary human faculties are the natural accompaniments of existence on the ordinary human plane. Many persons seem to think that adeptship is not so much the result of radical development as of additional construction ; they seem to imagine that an Adept is a man, who, by going through a certain plainly defined course of training, consisting of minute attention to a set of arbitrary rules, acquires first one power and then another and when he has attained a certain number of these powers is forthwith dubbed an adept. Acting on this mistaken idea they fancy that the first thing to be done towards attaining adeptship is to acquire " powers" — clair- voyance and the power of leaving the physical body and travelling to a distance, are among those which fascinate the most. To those who wish to acquire such powers for their own private advantage, we have nothing to say, they fall under the condemnation of all who act for purely selfish ends. But therd 18 ^ ^ If .j^ 138 SPIRITUAL PROGRESS. SPIRITUAL PROGRESS. 139 are others, who, mistaking effect for cause honestly think that the acquirement of abnormal powers is the only road to spiritual advancement. These look upon our Society as merely the readiest means to enable them to gain knowledge in this direction, considering it as a sort of occult academy, an institution established to afford facilities for the instruction of would-be miracle-workers. In spite of repeated protests and warnings, there are some minds in whom this notion seems ineradicably fixed, and they are loud in their expressions of disappointment when they find that what had been previously told them is perfectly true ; that the Society was founded to teach no new and easy paths to the acquisitions of " powers" ; and that its only mission it to re-kindle the torch of truth, so long extinguished for all hut the very few, and to keep that truth alive by the formation of a fraternal union of mankind, the only soil in which the good seed can grow. The Theosophi- cal Society does indeed desire to promote the spiritual groAvth of every individual who comes within its influence, but its methods are those of the ancient Rishis, its tenets those of the oldest Esotericism ; it is no dispenser of patent nostrums com- posed of violent remedies which no honest healer would dare to use. In this connection we should warn all our members, and others who are seeking spiritual knowledeg, to beware of persons offering to teach them easy methods of acquiring psychic gifts, such gifts (laukika) are indeed comparatively easy of acquire- ment by artificial means, but fade out as soon as the nerve- stimulus exhausts itself. The real seership and adeptship which is accompanied by true psychic development (lokothra), once reached is never lost. It appears that various societies have sprung into existence. since the foundation of the Theosophical Society, profiting by the interest the latter has awakened in matters of psychic re- serch, and endeavouring to gain members by promising them easy acquirement of psychic powers. In India we have long been familiar with the existence of hosts of sham ascetics of all descriptions, and we fear that there is fresh danger in this direction, here, as well as in Europe and America. We only hope that none of our members, dazzled by brilliant promises, will allow themselves to be taken in by self-deluded dreamers' or, it may be, wilful deceivers. It is perfectly true that some Theosophists Lave been (through nobody's fault but their own) greatly disappointed because we have offered them no short cut to Yoga Vidya, and there are others who wisli for practical work. And, significantly enough, those who have done least for the Society are loudest in fault- finding. Now, why do not these persons and all our members w^ho are able to do so, take up the serious study of mesmerism ? Mesmerism has been called the Key to the Occult Sciences, and it has this advantage that it offers peculiar opportunities for doing good to mankind. If in each of our branches we were able to establish a homeopathic dispensary with the addition^ of mesmeric healing, such as has already been done with great success in Bombay, we might contribute towards putting the science of medicine in this country on a sounder basis, and be the means of incalculable Ijenefit to the people at large. There are others of our branches, besides the one at Bombay that have done good work in this direction, but there is room for infinitely more to be done than has yet been attempted. And the same is the case in the various other departments of the Society's work. It would be a good thing if the members of each branch would put their heads together and seriously consult as to what tangible steps they can take to further the declared objects of the Society. In too many cases the mem- ■«w 140 SriRITUAL PROGRESS. hers of the Theosophical Society content themselves with a somewhat superficial study of its books, without making any real contribution to its active work. If the Society is to be a power for good in this and other lands, it can only bring about this result by the active co-operation of every one of its members and we would earnestly appeal to each of them to consider carefully what possibilities of work are within his power, ^nd then to earnestly set about carrying them into effect. Bight thought is a good thing, but thought alone does not count for much unless it is translated into action. There is not a single meniber in the Society who is not able to do something to aid the cause of truth imd universi^l brotherhood ; it onlv depends on his own will, to make that something an accomplish- ed fact, Above j^U we would reiterate the fi^ct, that the Society is no nursery for incipient adepts, teachers cannot be provided to go round and give instruction to various hrjvnches on the different subjects which come within the Society's work of investio-ation • the branches must study for themselves ; books are to he had and the knowledge there put forth must be practicjilly applied by the various members : thns will be developed self-reliance and reasoning powers. We urge this strongly ; for appeals have reached us that any lecturer sent to branches nmst be practically versed in experimental psychology and clairvoyance (i, 6,, looking into magic mirrors and reading the future etc.) Now we consider that such experiments should originate' amongst members themselves to be of any value in the develop-, ment of the individual or to enable him to make progress in his " uphill " path, and therefore earnestly recommend our n^ember to try for themselves. PRACTICAL HINTS TO THEOSOPHISTS. " A Sacred burden is the life ye bear ; Look on it, life it, bear it solemnly ; Stand up and walk beneath it steadfastly : Fail not for sorrow, falter not for sin, But onward, upward, till the goal ye win" Frances Anne Kemble, " Pitch thy behaviour low, thy projects high, So shalt thou humble and magnanimous be. Sink not in spirit ; who aimeth at the sky. Shoots higher much than he that means a tree. George Herhurt The aim of every true Theosophist should be the spiritual enlightenment of his fellowmen. This is not only th.e noblest but also the most sensible aim, as in pursuing it one steadily improves his own Karma, promotes his happiness, and causes his spiritual improvement. To work towards that end, he should educate his intuitive faculty, which is the only guide to the comprehension of spiritual truths. We only know one Avay of developing the intuitive faculty, and that is, through deep study of the works of the savants of Secret Science (our Sages), which contain the immortal records of their experiences. Many a student of occultism who had not the lofty genius necessary to comprehend the intricacies of Aryan Philosophy, gave up the study in utter despair on account of his inability to soar to the heights of occultism or yoga (i. e., development of the highest intellection), preferring the mere mechanical portion of yoga and neglecting these immortal records. Hence all schools of occultism attach great importance to scholarship, so that an aspirant may have a theoretical knowledge of the philosophy ^^ :iamsemim 142 PRACTICAL IIIXTS TO TnEOSOrillSTS. PKACTICAL HINTS TO THEOSOPHISTS. 143 before any practical proofs are given to him. Chelas of Tibetan Muhatmas are only taught practical occultism after seven years of study ; and not even then unless they are found prepared. To facilitate the understanding of the records of our ancient Rishis, our Society is mainly instrumental in bringing within the reach of every true seeker after the Truth, a knowledge of the Esoteric Doctrine. Hence each Branch is asked to select a Committee comprising earnest members who would make it their duty to studi/ the following important works and articles from the Theosophist magazine, and discuss the several subjects treated therein, so as to benefit one another by mutual exchange of thoughts, and thus keep pace with the development of Theosophical ideas which goes on increasing year by year : — (1) "Isis Unveiled." (2) ThePurposeof Theosophyby Mrs. A.P. Sinnett. (3) *' Hints on Esoteric Theosophy, No. I and No.2."(4) Letters of the Masters in "The Occult World." (5) "Precipitation" (6) " Fragments of Occult Truth," Nos. 1. to 8. (7) Brahmanism on the Sevenfold Principle in Man; and " The Septennary Princi- ple in Esotericism" (8) " The Elixir of Life." (9) " Is the desire to live Selfish ?" (10) "Contemplation." (11) "Morality and Pantheism." (12) "Esoteric Buddhism." (13) *' Some inquiries suggested by Esoteric Buddhism." (14) "Western Stricture and the Eastern theory of Devachan (Swarga)." (15) "Personal and Impersonal God." (16) "Purusha and Prakriti." (17) " Chelas and Lay Chelas." (18) " Qualifications for Chelaship." (ID) " Magic, or Practical Instructions for a Student of Occultism." (20) " Light on the Path." with Mr. P. Sreenivas Row's annotations. (21) " The Idyll of the White Lotus." (22) " Temple of the Rosy Cross, by F. B. Dowd." The advanced members of each Branch ought to help those less advanced, and whenever a new member joins a Branch, he should be asked by a member of the said Committee to study the important works * and articles abovementioned, and those points which he finds it difiicult to understand, ought to be ex- plained so that he may not lag behind. When the members gain Paroksha gnyanam, or Theoretical knowledge of the Aryan philosophy through deep study, they should make it a point to mould their lives according to the highest ideal which they have formed of human perfectibility. Mere exegetical skill in explaining the Shastras is of no use to an aspirant for " liberation." In order to pei'ceive spiritual truths, he should free his spirit from the bonds of matter by leading a pure and unselfish life. There are apparently bu^ very few who realise what a pure and unselfish life is. The following words of a Mahatma throw a great deal of light on it. Let those members who apply for chelaship (pupilage) study these words carefully and ponder tiiem well: — "The chief object of the Theosophical Society is not so much to gratify individual aspirations as to serve our fellow men, and the real value of this term " Selfish," which may jar upon your ear, has a peculiar significance with us which it cannot have with you ; therefore, to begin with, you must not accept it otherwise than in the former sense. Perhaps you will better appreciate our meaning when told that In our view the highest aspirations for tlie wel- fare of Humanity become tainted with selfishness if, in the ^nlnd of the philanthropist, there lurJcs the shadow of a desire for self-benefit, or a tendency to do injustice, even ichere these eaist unconsciously to himself^ Purity should be the groundwork of your development — not only in words and deeds, but also in your inmost thoughts while you are shut up in your private chambers. Only thus will you be able to exercise a moral re- generating force, not only on your friends and neighbours but also on the public, and make them feel the influence of our X i, aa£S staaeai 144 PRACTICAL IILVTS TO TIIEOSOPHISTS. PRACTICAL HINTS TO TIIEOSOPHISTS. 145 Society, which exists for the good of Humanity in general. The following are the ten-fold duties prescriKed by Manu, which every member should try his best to fulfil :— (1) Steadiness or firmness (under every temptation.) (2) Forgiveness (i. e., abstention from injury to others). (3.) Re- sistance to sensual appetites. (4) Abstinence from theft and illicit gain. (5) Purity (in thought, word, and deed). (6) Control over passions. (7) Acquisition of divine wisdom (through the development of the intuitive faculty). (8) Ac- quisition of learning (through the development of intellect). (9) Veracity, honesty. (10) Freedom from wrath and hatred* There are members here and there in the Branches who want us to show some methods whereby they can develope their powers. Notwithstanding our frequent protests against such practices as the concentration of mind on a black spot, and other similar ones (for instance, development of clairvoyance by mirror-gazing,) which are fraught with dangers to the development of the inner man, many still clamour. Some members continue them, while others have wisely given them up. These practices, if followed, would destroy the capabili- ties of a man for spiritual development and make him a passive tool in the hands of elementals and elementaries. Hence they were denounced by our wise Sages, who however laid great stress on moral and mental development. It is true that some powers (laukika) can be gained by following those practices, but they are merely physico-magnetic powers which disappear when some disturbance or other t^ikes place in the nervous system. Spiritual powers (lokothra) are very difficult to att^iin, but when once gained are not lost. The practical portion of Theosophy consists in following the ten-fold path, or Dharma, pointed out by Manu and other sages. Let no efforts be spared to preach the Law of Karma to the public, and make them understand how it operates and what they should do to free themselves from its operation. Then only you will confer a a great boon upon Hurhanity, which cannot be fully rewarded even by the communication of the highest kind of knowledo-e in the hands of its custodians. Therefore, such as are Hindus are urged to pay particular attention to the subject of the moral and spiritual regenerations of our mother country by example and precept. When you have gained an insight into the Esoteric Doctrine by the study of the works and articles above enumerated, you are to proceed with the occult and philosophical literature of our ancient Rishis or Sages. All these works are in Sanskrit. If you know this sacred language, it will be of immense advan- tage to you in enabling you to get at the esoteric meanings of the works of our Sages. Otherwise you v/ill have to engage a Pandit competent to give you the literal meaning of any work on occultism, and then by applying the tests described in theosophical works try your best to find out whether it contains an esoteric meaning. If you reflect intensely enough on difficult points you may solve some — if not, apply your intellect to those points until you solve them. If you still do not suc- ceed, leave them for a time (say ten days) and then repeat the same process with perseverance. Some idea evolved by think- ing on it intensely, or else put into your brain by some Mahatma, will solve the all-absorbing problem. All students of occultism have to pass through the same straits to develop the higher or spiritual self. In this, as well as in every other respect, to make an aspirant independent of his own efforts is to destroi/ the most important element necessary to his develop- 19 t I. \ i 146 PRACTICAL fliNTS TO TIIEOSOPHISTS. ment — the growth of spiritual perceptions. Sree Sankhara- charya says in his " Viveka Chudamani." -.^J3l«<,.v.--^j»i^ 152i PRACTICAL HINTS TO THEOSOPHISTS. krit literature* Hence our Branches are particularly requested to further the cause of Sanscrit with the help of the public. At Bareilly and Jubulpore our Sanskrit schools are maintained partly by subscriptions and partly by the contributions which the inhabitants of those places make in the shape of handfuls of wheat flour every week. If all the Branches were to follow this noble example, we might expect to see the moral and spiritual regeneration of India in the way to be accomplished even before we pass away from this sphere of causes to a subjective one. We have noticed that the system of teaching Sanskrit followed in Sanskrit shools started by our Branches is defective in many points. The teachers employed therein should make the study of Sanskrit an interesting one to the pupils. Much care should be bestowed upon encouraging and awakening thought in the pupils instead of overburdening their memories ; the object being that they might be able to speak Sanskrit and translate their Vernacular into Sanskrit and Sanskrit into their native tongue. The Branches which have already established Sanskrit schools are requested to adopt the system of teaching Sanskrit recommended by the committee which sat during the late session of the Theosophical Society's Convention (Dec. 1815) to consider measures for the revival of Sanskrit learning ; it is sure to produce practical results in moulding the young minds to understand Sanskrit in an easy and interesting way.* The ''Aryan League of Honour" ought to be introduced as a great help towards raising the moral status of school boys. Those who are to succeed us in carrying on the Society's work are now sitting on school-benches. They should be brought early to the beneficial practice of Aryan virtues by the example of their elders, and precepts drawn from the Shastras. An "Epitome of Aryan Morals" has already been published for the ( * See 80th page of the anniversary Report of 1885) ^y^--»;r^,ag» sssa "-^■*^ aiMT^wariHiii'iiiiiiil ■.-^■■^.m-!--r~- jPfrJ^t^-TTi PBACrriCAL HINTS TO THEOSOPHISTS. 153 nse of students. Wo earnestly recommend that work and the " Light on the Path," which is being translated into Sanskrit, " Hindu Dharma Niti," published lately at Calcutta, and other similar works for the benefit of young students. It is hoped that the members of our Society will lose no time in starting such associations of students to educate them in morals and religion. Now, Gentlemen and Brothers, we have done our duty in pointing out to you different channels through which you can benefit yourselves and Humanity at large. It is for you to decide whether you will hasten the moral and spiritual re- generation of your mother — Aryavarta, or let her die under the stifling breath of materialism and sensuality, and thus bring her curses upon our heads for neglect and laziness. If any germs of patriotism smoulder in your hearts then prove the fact that they do exist by combined action for the restoration of India's ancient spirituality. Meet together, do some work or other as suggested above, visit the nearest Branches to benefit one another by exchange of mutual experiences. Let each year bring forth some valuable results which will advance the progress of Humanity, and prove your worthiness of member- ship in the Theosophical Society. Show us deeds, not words. 20 T J QUALIFICATIONS FOR CHELASHIR* ^ ^I^RT c^PF: ^l^rftl^ OT^: f^^: qrr^ra": ^t^'Wct t^ I ^ ^ 5:^Rr nTi%ajMT ^pmr ii vs ii ^d ^ ^. The power of the Adepts over forces of nature, not generally- recognised, has been enlarged upon various occasions, but no account of them can possibly be satisfactory without bringing into prominence their goodness and their solicitude for the wel- fare of the race, which an ordinary man can no more comprehend than the Polynesian savage measure the intellectual height of a Newton or a Galileo. Surprise is often expressed that the philanthrophy of the Mahatmas does not induce them to abandon their seclusion and work for men, among men. But the reason for such apparently strange conduct o-n the part of these good-like men is not very far to seek. The productive power of our energies varies in accordance with the plane on which they operate. A brick- layer labouring from sunrise to sunset produces work which, when estimated in money, will be found to be but a small fraction of the money value of an hour's work by a man of science. The diflPerence in the effects generated by a given quantity of energy on the physical and intellectual planes is thus apparent. Those who are acquainted with the laws of spiritual dynamics know that the work produced by a given * The Theo8ophist Vol. 5 p. 284. 156 QUALIFICATIONS FOR CHELASHIP. amount of energy on the intellectual plane is in its turn im- measurably less than that produced by the same quantity of energy acting on the plane of spirit, the highest principle in man, according to the occult doctrine. It is more unreason- eble, therefore, to expect an Adept to work with us on the ordi-* nary plane than it would be to suggest to Sir William Thomp. son to turn shoe^maker, The value of a scientific discovery as an intellectual triumph can be best estimated by a proper study of the various steps which have led up to it. Similarly, the excellence achieved by an Adept can only be appreciated, though in a very rough and incomplete manner no doubt, by a careful consideration of his preliminary training, According to the most authoritative treatises on that occult Bcienco of which the Adept is a master, verified by the ex- perience of its living students, nope are admitted into the inner sanctuary for instruction until they reach a certain stage of spiritual development, characterised by the attainment of whatj in the Jirahnuxnual hook$^ are called the four " sadhanas" or accomplishments. The first " accomplishment,*' which a neophyte must have, is the right knowledge of the real and the unreal. The object to be attained by the help of the ** Great Science," as it is called, being the realisation of the true, and Adept-ship being but the mark of a certain stage of this realisation, it is clear that the first step to be taken i» to go in an intellectual apprehension of what the truth is. But what is the truth ? It will not do for the neophyte to ask the question like the jesting proconsul, and refuse to wait for the answer. Had Pilate asked the question in Sanskrit he might have been answered out of his own mouth. For the Sanskrit word itself offers a clue to the QUALIFICATIONS FOR CHELASHIP, 157 nature of truth. In that language truth and reality bear the same name, and reality is defined to be that which is unaffected by time, or, in the quaint phraseology of the original, remains witness of the three divisions of time — the past, the present and the future. The first accomplishment, therefore, consists in an intimate intellectual conviction of the fact that all and everything which appears to have an existence separate from Parabrahm is merely illusion (Maya.) Hence, it is clear that at the present stage of the Theosophical movement the duty that lies upon the Society and all its members is to disseminate the knowledge of the Esoteric Doctrine, the true philosophy of the real and the unreal, as that alone is capable of laying the foundation of any progress whatever. The second accomplishment marks the step on the path, and is the permanent effect produced on the mind by the theoreti- cal knowledge, which forms the preceding accomplishment. When the neophyte has once grasped the unreal character of the objects around him, he ceases to crave for them, and is thus prepared to acquire the second accomplishment, which is a perfect indifference to the enjoyment of the fruit of one's actions, both here and hereafter. Exoteric students fall into a grievous error by their failure to catch the true spirit of the injunction against acting under the impulse of desire. They erroneously suppose that the best preparation for spiritual life is to forcibly repress all outward expression of desire, entirely losing sight of the fact that even the most rigid abstinence from physical acts does not produce inactivity on the higher planes of spiritual or mental existence. Sankaracharya, in his commentaries on the Bhagavat Gita^ one of the most authoritative of the Brahminical sacred writings, says that such a conclusion is simply delusive. A hasty sup- position might here be made that thes« considerations will have 158 QUALIFICATIONS FOR CTIELASHIP. the effect of sanctioning persistence in evil, but when the desire for improvement is constantly present in the mind, and the character of the evil thoroughly realised, each failure to har- monize the inward with the outward nature, will, by the revulsion of feeling thus produced, strengthen the determination to such an extent that the evil desire will be speedily crushed. This is why Eliphas Levi so vehemently denounces the institu- tion of forced celibacy among the llomish priests. The personality of a man at any one moment is the result of all his previous acts, thoughts, and emotions, the energy of which constantly inclines the mind to act in a particular way. All attempts therefore, to cure this mental bias by repressing its expression on the outer i)lane is as hurtful as to throw back into the circulation unhealty blood, seeking a natural outlet. The internal desire is always forging fresh links in the chain of material existence, even though denied outward manifestation. The only way to free oneself from the bonds of Karma, pro- ducing birth and death, is to let the stored-up energy exhaust itself merely as a portion of the great cosmic energy, and not to colour it with personality by referring it to self. The Bhagavat Gita itself speaks on this subject with no uncertain sound. The great teacher Krishna reproves his pupil Arjuna for having expressed a disinclination to perform the duties pertaining to his sphere of life. The reason is perfectly plain ; in reference to the great reality everything of this world is unreal, therefore, to renounce the duties entailed upon us by our birth for something equally unreal only accentuates the ignorance which makes the unreal appear as the real. The wisest course, suggested by Krishna, is that Arjuna should perform all his duties unselfishly. " Thy right is only to the act," says the teacher, " it ends with the performance of the acj and never extends to the result." We must perform our QUALIFICATIONS FOR CHELASHtF. 159 duty for its own sake and never allow the mind to dwell on the Iruit of our actions, either with pleasufe or with pain. Pu! i- fied from the taint of selfishness, the act passes by like water over the lotus-leaf, without wetting it* But if the act is done as a means to the attainment of a personal end, the mind acquires a tendency to repeat the act, and thus necessitates further incarnations to exhaust that tendency* From the above consideration it is abundantly clear that occultism enjoins upon its votaries the necessity of an ardent and sleepless desire for the performance of duty ^ the sphere of which is enlarged by the first accomplishment, which requireJS a thorough recognition of the unity of the individual with the all. It is not enough to have a sentimental perception of this great truth, but it must be realised in every act of life. The student, therefore, to begin with, must do everything in his power to benefit all on the ordinary physical plane, transferring his activity, however to the higher intellectual and spiritual planes as his development proceeds. This leads us to the consideration of the third accomplish- ment, which is the acquisition of the " six qualifications " in the order they are treated of here. The first of them is called in Sanskrit " Sama ; " it consists in obtaining perfect mastery over the mind (the seat of emotions and desires), and in forcing it to act in subordination to the intellect, which has already been purified and strengthened in attaining the tw^o degrees of development already dwelt upon. This done, the mind is thoroughly cleansed of all evil and foolish desires. The injunction to chasten our minds before purifying our acts might at first sight appear strange, but the practical utility of the course laid down will be obvious on reflection. We have already seen how varying effects are produced by a fixed :fi '^l 1 160 QUALIFICATIONS FOB CflElASHIP. amotint of energy, according to the plane on -which it is ex- pended, and certainly the plane of the niind is superior to the plane of ottr senses. In the next place, forced abstinence from physical evil goes but very little way towards the evolution of that energy which alone can give us the power of approaching the truth. Our thoughts, governed under ordinary circumstances by the law of association, make us contemplate incidents in our past life and thus produce as much mental disturbance and draw as much on our mental energy as if we had repeated the acts in question many times over. " Sama " then is really the breaking-up of the law of the association of ideas, which enslaves our imaginations, when our imagination is purified, the chief difficulty is removed. The next qualification, the complete mastery over our bodily acts (" Dama" in Sanskrit) follows, as a necessary consequence, from the one already discussed, and does not require much explanation* The third qualification, known by the Brahmins as '^ Uparati," is the renunciation of all formal religion and the power of contemplating objects without being in the least disturbed in the performance of the great task one has set before oneself. What is here expected of the aspirant for spiritual knowlege is that he should not allow his sympathies and usefulness to be narrowed by the domination of any particular ecclesiastical system, and that his renunciation of worldly objects should not proceed merely from an incapacity to appreciate their value. When this state is reached, danger from temptation is removed. *They alone,' the Hindu poet says, ^^ are possessed of the true fortitude, who preserve the equammity of their minds in the presence of temptation^^ Fourth in order comes the cessation of desire and a constant readiness to part with every thing in the world (Titiksha). QUALIFICATIONS FOR CIIELASHIP. 161 The typical illustration of this, given in our mystical literature, is the absence of resentment of wrong. When this qualification is completely attained, there arises in the mind a perennial spring of cheerfulness, washing away every trace of solicitude and care. Then is acquired the qualification called Samadhana, which renders the student constitutionally incapable of deviating from the right path. In one sense this qualification is the comple- ment of the third as given above. First, all egotistical motives, tempting the man to travel out of his chosen path lose their hold over him, and finally he perfects liimself to such an extent that, at the call of duty, he can unhesitatingly engage in any worldly occupation with the certainty of returning to his habi- tual life after completing his self-imposed task. One other qualification is necessaiy to crown the neophyte's work, and that is an implicit confidence in his master's power to teach and his own power to learn (Sraddhd). The impor- tance of this qualification is liable to be misunderstood. An unswerving confidence in the master is not required as a means to build up a sytem of priestcraft, but for an entirely different reason. It will perhaps be readily granted that the capacity for receiving truth is not the same in every mind. There exists a saturation-point for truth in the human mind, as there is one for aqueous vapour in the atmosphere. When that point is reached in any mind, fresh truth becomes to it undistinguishable from falsehood. Truth must by slow degrees grow in our minds, and a strict injunction is laid down in the Bhagvat Gita against "unsettling the faith of the multitude" by a too sudden revelation of esoteric knowledge. At the same time it must be remembered that no man can be expected to seek after athing, the reality of which is improbable; the dreaau-land of 21 t 1G2 QUALIFICATIONS FOll CHELASniP. an opium-eater will never be a subject of exploration to any one else. The truth perceived by the higher faculties of the Adepts cannot be proved to one who has not developed those faculties, otherwise than by showing its consistency with known truths and by the assertion of those who claim to know. The sanction of a competent authority is a sufficient guarantee that the investigation will not be fruitless. But to accept any authority as final, and to dispense with the necessity of independent in- vestigation is destructive of all progress. Nothing^ in fact, shculd he taken upon blind, unquestiordng faith. Indeed, the Eastern sages go so far as to say that to rely solely on the authority of even the Scriptures is sinful. The wisdom of the course actually followed is almost self-evident. Reason is the immediate perception of the fact that the eternal alone is true, and reasoning is the attempt to trace the existence of a thing all through the scale of time ; the longer the period over which this operation extends the more complete and satisfactoiy is the reasoning considered to be. But the moment any fact of know- ledge is realised on the plane of eternity, reason becomes changed into consciousness — the son is merged in the father as the Christian mystic would say. Why then, it may be asked, should confidence in the teaching of the master be a requisite qualification at all ? The reply lies on the surface. No one takes the trouble to inquire about what he does not believe to be true. Such confidence in no way demands surrender of reason. The second part of this qualification, the confidence in one's own power to learn, is an indispensable basis of all endeavours to progress. The poet uttered a deeper truth than he was aware of, when he sang : " Ye«, self-ahnsenicnt leads the way To villain bond* and despot'* «wuy." QUALIFICATIONS FOR CHELASHIP. 163 The moment a man thoroughly believes himself incapable of realising the highest ideal he am conceive of, he becomes so, the conviction of weakness, that apparently supports him, really robs him of his strength : none aspire for what they consider absolutely beyond their reach. Occultism teaches us that infinite perfection is the heritage of man. He must not bias- pheme against his innermost divine self, the Angoeides of the Greeks and the Atma of the Brahmins, by self abasement, for that would be the unpardonable sin, the sin against the Holy Ghost. Christian doctors have tried in vain to identify this particular sin, the deadliest of all ; its true significance lies far beyond the narrow horizon of their theology. The last accomplishment required is an intense desire for liberation from conditioned existence and for transformation into the one life (MumukshatvaO It may be thought at first sight that this qualification is a mere redundancy, being practically involved in the second. But such a supposition would be as erroneous as to conceive Nirvana as the annihilation of all life. The second accomplish- ment is absence of desire for life as a means of selfish enjoyment ; while the fourth is a positive and intense desire for a kind of life of which none but those who have attained the first three accomplishments can form any adequate conception. All that need here be stated is, that the neophyte is expected to know the real nature of his Ego and to have a fixed determi- nation to retain that knowledge permanently and thus get rid of the body, created by allowing the notion of " I" to fasten itself upon an illusory object. We shall now pass to the consideration of the minimum amount of these accomplishments indispensable to a successful study of occultism. If the desire for liberation, which con- I - \ r Ill Ml ill 164 QUALIFICATIONS FOR CIIELASHIP. stitutes the last accomplishment, is only moderately strong, but the second, indifference to the fruits of one's action, is fully developed and the six qualifications well marked, success Is attained by the help of the Master, who moulds the future incarnations of the pupil and smooths his path to Adeptship. But if all the accomplishments are equally strong, Adeptship is reached by the pupil in the same incarnation. Without the second and fourth accomplishments, up to a certain extent however, the six qualifications ** water but the desert." In recent Theosophical publications two classes of the Mahatma's pupils are mentioned— accepted and probationary pupils (chelas). The first class consists of those who have acquired the four accomplishments up to a certain point and are being practically trained for Adeptship in this life ; to the other class belong Buch pupils as are qualifying themselves, under the guidance of their masters, for aoceptiince. A few words may here be said regarding tliose who study occultism without any intention of aspiring for regular chelaship. It is evident that by theoretical study of the Esoteric Doctrine the first of the four accomplishments can be achieved ; the eff'ect of this in regulating a person's next incarnation cannot be oversti- mated. The spiritual energy thus generated will cause him to be born under conditions favourable to the acquirement of tho qualifications and to spiritual progress in general. One of the greatest of India's occult teachers says on this point that a theoretical study of the philosophy, though unac- companied by the requisite accomplishments, produces more merit than the pcrfornunco of dl tho duties enjoined by the formalities of religion eighty times over. WHEN TO EXPECT SPIRITUAL HELP. Extract from a private letter. " Inquire of thelioly ones of the earth of the secrets they hold for you. The conquering of the desires of the outer senses will give you the right to do this " Light OH the Path. " * * * For all men one rule holds good — live the purest and most unselfish life you possibly can — cultivate alike your mind and heart — detach your mind as far possible from worldly pleas- ures, worldly desires, worldly objects and set your heart as undividedly as your strength permits on doing good to all living things. If you thus reach, or have in past lives by similar exertions, reached, a certain stage of spiritual awaken- ment, you will find others more advanced from whom vou will receive encouragement and some little help (though in the main each soul has to work out its own road) if you meet none such, then you know that you have not reached the stage at which such encouragement is desirable, and you have only to per- severe in the right path, quite sure that in the inexorable sequence of cause and effect that dominates the universe, you will, if not in this, at least in the next life, reach the gate way that leads to the higher life. The way may seem long and weary — but never despair ; it leads to the everlasting condition and to these sooner or later according to your own exertions and deserts you will attain — as all men — not utterly destroyed on the way, and these are few (the time of trial comes later) — do likewise attain. " what I have said before, let me try to give you an illustration. I am very fond of flowers — to those who have worked in certain line?, their beauty and fragrance 1^ ICG WHEN TO EXPECT SPIKITUAL HELP. liavo higher meanings. I receive a parcel of amaryllis bulbs, destined later to produce some of the loveliest and most gorged ous blooms know,., but when received they look like a set^of dry, brown scaled coarse onions, not worthy of a second look. Knowing however, their innate capacities, I place them carefully in dry earth in j.ots and leave them to themselves I do not water them for the vital j.rinciplo in them is still dormant, an.l were I to try water out of season, to endeavour to stimulate them into premature growth, thev would rot— so I leave them to themselves-and weeks and weeks and some- times months and months pass thus and no change no pro-ress discernible, though all the while in their inner tissues, action and reaction are preparing the way for higher dovolop.nent. But one day in one of thcn> I discern a tiny green point pushing its way between the brown scaly skins that cover the sides o'f the bulb, and then I know that the period of rest is over and that of activity is commencing, and that I may now begin to wter without danger very sparingly at first but, as the flower . stem rises and the great l)uds begin to show out, with generous hands. " So it is with the soul, its inner actions and reactions must have triumphed over its .lormancy and its spiritual aspi- rations must have pushed their way out of the dry earth of material associations into a clear air of spirituality "before tho watchers over the progress of their less advanced brethren, can diire to water them, however sparingly with tho water of life. * * * » P. G. N, M A H A T M A S*. =«»©H3«8*#e« He, whose soul is not agitated even, by the roars of destruction, which can move great mountains, is called a Mahatma. We propose in this article to give onr readers some account of a movement which has attained sufficient scope to be im- portant, and which cannot but interest all inquiring and active minds, seeing that it concerns those subjects which from tho remotest past have attracted, fascinated and baffled so many aspiring intelligences. Through all literature there flows a stream of hints and flashes of a deeper and more precious knowledge than mankind at large have ever made their own- Disguised by ignorance, and by superstition; warped and twisted by the media through which it has passed ; now reduced to a thread so slender as almost to escape the search, now promising to broaden into a noble river ; this stream has at least sufficed to keep alive a certain interest in its source, and has fertilized here and there little spots along its banks. It has been a hindrance to the investigation requisite for the clearing up of the subject that the Middle Ages interpose a dense mass of fantastic superstition between our own times and the ancient sources of Occultism. The Alchemists were not all dreamers, as every student knows. They numbered ~ * II". . . 1.1..., ^ * A Review- by Geo. F. Parsons, Editor of the "Sacraments Rocord- Union" of the Occult World by A. P. Sinnett. 168 MAIIATMAS. among them many mon whose investigations were conducted bj purely scientific methods, and who neither sought the Elixir of Immortal Life nor the Philosopher's Stone. But the superstition of those times catalogued all that was unknown as miraculous, and whoever ventured bevond the common herd had to make his account with the accusation of sorcery. Thus Eoger Bacon, a true scientific inquirer, was driven to defend himself against such charges, and to exclaim : " Because theso things are beyond your comprehension, you call them the works of the Devil ; your canonists and theologians abhor them as the productions of magic, regarding them as unworthy of a Christian." And the same philosopher was moved to say, on his death-bed, because of the persecutions to which he had been subjected : ^* I repent now that I have given myself so much trouble for the love of science." The superstition which thus crushed a Bacon has affected all the inquirers into physical science of that period. Neo-Platonic and Egyptian and Arabian learning indeed had together produced a very strange compound in European minds, and through this chaotic mass of mingled fact and fiction and transcendental metaphysics the light of a simpler but profounder era shed its rays very dimly. The Baconian movement discredited all that had gone before it and prejudiced the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, not only against medieval philosophy, but against all those ancient schools from which Medievalism had derived the basis of its ideas. Yet it is a fact which impresses itself more and more strongly upon the scholar who seeks to divest his mind of bias, that the world's literature, philosophy, and science, owe to Asia the germs of most that is of value in them, and must look to Asia yet for the explanation of much that is still obscure. Putting aside all consideratign of the figments of the seventeenth centu- MAHATMAS. 1G9 ry, the stories of the Brothers of the Rosy Cross, the audacious pretence of Cagliostro and St. Germain, it remains true that there has been a strongly fortified record of the existence in Asia of a small body of men devoted to the study of occult science, and believed to have attained surprising results* The evidence for the existence of such a class of men, and for the reality of their powers, must be gathered from casual statements and narratives in many works of travel in the Orient. But whoever will follow up this line of inquiry will find that there really is a mass of testimony, as well attested as anything in ordinary history, affirming the existence in these regions of men who, leading the lives of recluses and ascetics, possess powers which, because of the ignorance of the rest of the world, are regarded as supernatural. It must be remembered that the East has in many respects an unbroken past. It has not under- gone the cataclysmal changes which during the last thousand years have so altered the face of Europe. When the Roman Empire rose and shed its splendor over the earth, Asia alone refused to be metamorphosed : The brooding East with awe beheld Her impious younger world. The Roman tempest swell'd and swell'd, And on her head was hurled. The East bow'd low before the blast In patient, deep disdain ; She let the legions thunder past, And plunged in thought again. And her passivity and contemplative spirit have favored the growth and extension of the knowledge referred to. Now some four years ago one who had passed many years in the pursuit of occult science, yet who had not attained to the higher branches of that knowledge, Mas brought into contact with some American and European students who had satisfied 170 MAIIATMAS. themselves that beneath all the suffocating impediments of medieval superstition and popular ignorance— behind Simon Magus and Apollonius of Tyana and Albertus Magnus and Kay- mond Lully and the little army of deluded enthusiasts who followed Arabian dreams— there lies a solid substratum of fact ; that on the flanks of the Himalayas, in the Lamaseries of Thibet among the Temples of Brahm, in the jungles of Hindostan, is to be sought and found a science which surpasses the proudest examples Europe can exhibit; which includes discoveries to which the most important modern inventions are trivial ; which has learned to conquer Time and Space, to solve the impenetra- bility of matter, to settle the vexed question of the dimensions, to obtain a solution to the problem of the nature of Light which overthrows the Undulatory Theory, and to acquire, during the pursuit of these physical phenomena, indubitable evidence of the persistence of the human soul after the death of the body. And the desire to wrest this latter secret from Nature is an impera- tive necessity in the human mind. The mystery of the Universe is not that of its own creation ; it is the question of Man's origin and destiny. Eight centuries ago the Astronomer-Poet of Persia discussed it hopelessly. Myself when young did eagerly frequent Doctor and Saint, and heard great argument About it and about ; but evermore Came out by the same door where in I went. With them the seeds of Wisdom did I sow, And with my own hand sought to make it grow ; And this wa,s all the Harvest that I reap'd— " I came like Water, and like Wind I go." Into this Universe, and Wh/ not knowing, Nor Whence like Water willy-nilly flowing ; And out of it, as Wind along the Waste, I know not Whither^ willy-nilly blowing. MAHATMAS. 171 This is the state of mental blankncsg to which Agnosticism is now driving modern independent thinkers, and it was doubt- less in part the natural revulsion from so comfortless a creed which led the inquirers of whom we are speaking to determine upon a settled and organized movement for the better dissemina- tion of such occult truths as could be safely given to the world and for the opening up to Western research of the vast stores of Oriental learning by which It was hoped that the cruditv and presumptuousness of modern Science miglit perhaps be correct- ed at least baknced. And so the Theosophical Society came to be founded In New York, and soon afterwards the very re- markable work entitled " Isis Unveiled," by Madame Blavatsky^ the Corresj)ondIng Secretary of the Society, and its real fomid- er, was published. The work referred to was in many respects very remarkable. It contained a mass of the most erudite arguments and illustra- tions, but whije in some senses recognizing modern Spiritualism, it appeared to Intimate that the supernatural explanations offer- ed by the Spiritualists for the phenomena of the seance were generally erroneous, and that natural forces, at present un- recognized by the Euroj)ean world, were at i\iQ lx)ttom of much hitherto ascribed to the operation of disembodied spirits. But the most interesting references in *'Isi& Unveiled " were to a certain Brotherhood of Occultists, alleged to reside in Asia., of whom the most wonderful powers were predicated, and who were declared by the authoi to be capable of i>erfonmng what the superstitious call miracles in the most offhiind way. In- evitably the reference to this Brotherhood stinmlated public curiosity, and when, ^ubsequeiitly, the headquarters of the Theosophical Society were removed to Bombay, and Madame Blavatsky and Col. Olcott (the President) took up their abode there, and published the journal called The Theosophist, expec- 172 MAIIATMAS. tations began to anticipate some trreat revelation. But it did not come, and presently some Spiritualists, ^\]\o resented the tone taken by Madame Blavatsky toward tlieir cherislied tlieo- Ties, began to suggest suspicions of the genuineness of lier statements concerning tlie mysterious Fraternity, and to in- timate that possibly the latter might be after all merely an effect of her too fertile and vivid imagination. Skepticism in short insisted on some great demonstration to prove the reality of the revelation as of old and as of old skepticism was refused the evi- dences it demanded. Madame Blavatsky indeed had all along stated that the Brotherhood were not seeking indorsement or recogni- tion at the hands of the modern world ; that they did not pro- pose to put themselves forward as guides or teachers ; that they had no religion or philosophy to ])ropound ; that they in fact had long since become convinced of the futility of all efforts to eduaite the world up to their level, and that consequently they had determined upon preserving the most rigorous silence as regarded their more important knowledge. This, however, did not check the ardor of inquiring minds which had joined the Theosophical Society, and at last we have in the litle volume which forms the text for this article, a posi- tive and definite link between the alleged Brotherhood of Occultists and the outside world. The author, Mr. Sinnett, is Vice-President, of the Theosophical Society, and the editor of one of the loading English journals in India. He is a man of ripe education, extensive knowledge of the world, solid jud^r- ment, and undoubted integrity. And his statements of the things he has himself seen are consequently entitled to respect- ful consideration, to say the least. He was very anxious, and even impatient, to ascertain for himself the actual facts about the Brotherhood concerning whom Madame Blavatsky said so mudi; and to whose assistance she referred nearly all the more MAHATMAS. 173 important plienomena produced by herself. Indeed, she asserts that " Isis Unveiled " was written in large part by the Brother- hood, who dictated to her, or who supplied manuscript while she was asleep. Mr. Sinnett especially desired to be placed in direct connnunication with some members of the Brotherhood and at length his desire w^as gratified, and part of the corres- pondence which ensued is contained in his book. The natural and now strongly stinnilated curiosity of the author led him to propose the breaking of that seal of secrecy which the Mystic Brotherhood had placed upon its proceedings ; but to all such suggestions the same answer was given. It was a courteous but inflexible refusal. As to the arguments employed on either side, it is impossible to present the pith of them better than by making a brief quotation of a conversation between Glyndon and Mejnour, in Bulwer's "Zanoni." " But," said Glyndon, " if possessed of these great secrets, " why so churlish in withholding their diffusion ? Does not the " false or charlatanic science differ in this from the true and *^ indisputable — that the last comnnmicates to the world the *^ processes by which it attains its discoveries ; the first boasts " of marvelous results, and refuses to explain the causes ? " " Well said, Logician of the Schools ; but think again. ** Suppose we were to impart all our knowledge to all mankind "indiscriminately, alike to the vicious and the virtuous, shoulcl " we be benefactors or scourges ? Imagine the tyrant, the sen- ** sualist, the evil and corrupted being, possessed of these '^ tremendous powers — would he not be a demon let loose on " earth? Grant that the same privilege be accorded also to the " good, and in what state would be society? Eno-aarated from each other when thev first became known to historv, were deriv- cd from one common origin. But to this last conclusion the perfect originality of the Sanscrit forms an insurmountable ob- jection : for Sir W. J -les has with the greatest justice observed *"' that *•' the Sanscrit language, whatever be its antiquity, is of a " wonderful structure ; more perfect than Greek, more perfect '* than Latin, and more exquisitely refined than either, yet bear- '' ing to both of them a strong affinity, both in the root of verbs '' and in the forms of grammar, than could possibly have been " produced by accident ; bu strong, indeed, that no philologcr 194 THE IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY OF SaXSCRIT. ** could examine all these, without believiug them to have sprung ** from common source, which, perhaps, no longer exists." * It " is, therefore, the structure of Sanscrit which peculiarly dis- tinguishes it from other languages, and which impresses on it a character of originality which cannot be disputed ; for it contains no exotic terms, and, though I have before observed that its roots are evidently the work of grammarians, and not a constituent part of the language, still its words show that they have been all formed solely by the people who spoke it, accord- ing to some well known principle. t It is not, however, indispensable that a language should admit the majority of its words being decompounded and traced up to simpler elements, because Persian evinces that a very copious language may be formed without the assistance of modifying the primitive by means of suffixes ; but, when the whole frame and analogy of the speech of any people, as that of the Greeks and Romans, prove beyond doubt that many of the words exist not in their simplest state, it must be concluded that composition had been essential to its formation ; and, whenever, therefore these simpler elements cannot be discovered in the tongue itself, it necessarily follows that it is not an original one, but derived from some other language. It is in this respect that Sanscrit differs so materially from Greek and Latin ; for, as the labours of the Sanscrit grammarians have proved, it admits of being completely analysed by merely re- ducing its compound words to certain simple elements which * Sir W. Jone's works Vol. I Page 26. + It is, for instance, sufficiently evident that hhara^ that which supports ; hharata^ a servant; bhamniam^ wages; bharamu, a master ; bharatha, a king; bharta, a husband ; bharia, a wife ; 6Aam, a burden ; bhirta, hired ; bhrita, wages ; bhritya, a servant ; are all cognate words with the verb bibharti or bharati, he supports, maintains, or bears ; but no other person than a gram- marian would have thought of deriving all these words from the monosyl- lable bhri. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY OF SANSCRIT. 195 exist in the language itself: but Greek and Latin sufficiently prove that this could not have been the case had the Sanscrit been derived from any other language ; for they contain many words that admit not of analysis, and the irregularities that occur in their grammatical system evince that they have not been formed according to any leading and uniform principles. AVhen therefore these circumstances are considered, it would seem irresistibly to follow that Sanscrit itself is that primitive language from which Greek, Latin, and the mother of the Teutonic were originally derived. This conclusion would be conformable to the opinion of the Hindus ; for they believe that India was the part of the world first peopled, and their sacred books contain accounts of manv emigrations from it in all directions. They, consequently would find no difficulty in explaining the cause which has introduced Sanscrit words into the languages of other people, as they would ascribe it to their having been descended from the Hindus, and to their having preserved words of their primeval tongue, although they had forgotten the civil and religious institution of their progenitors. Mr. Halhed in the preface to his grammar of the Bengali language whicli was published in 1778 says : — " The grand source of Indian literature, the parent of almost " every dialect from the Persian Gulf to the China Seas, is the " Sanskrit ; a language of the most venerable and unfathom- *^ able antiquity ; which, although at present shut up in the li- ** braries of Brahmans, and appropriated solely to the records of *^ their religion, appears to have been current over most of the " oriental world ; and traces of its original extent may still be " discovered in almost every district of Asia. I have been as- " tonished to find the similitude of Sanscrit words with those of " Latin and Greek ; and these not in technical and metaphorical liM; TIfK IMP()RTAX(T. oK TfFM HTLPV OF SaN'SCKIT. ** terms, wliich the mutation, refined arts and improved manners *' might have occasionally introduced : but in the main oround *' work of languarre, in monosyllables, in the names of numbers, *' and t\v> appellations of such things as would be first dis- *^ criminated on the innneiliate dawn oi' civilization." At the opening of the Oriental Library at Adyar, December 1886, Colonel Olcott said as loUows. — Jiadios and (^lentlemen of the three declared aims of our Society the first is. — •' To form the nucleus of a I'nivcrsal Brotherhood of hu- manity, w ithout distinction of race, creed or colour." 1 he second. — '* To promote the study of Arvan and ot]u>r Eastern literatures religions and sciences," The tirst is the indisjjensable antecedent to liu! second, as tho latter is the logical cou>e((uence of tlur former. It >yould bo impracticable to bring about any frii^ndlv co-onerariou by tho learned of the several anci(^nt faiths and races, for the study of comparative religion and archaic philosophy and science, ^yith- out first getting them to consent to work in mutual kindliness and, on the other hand, the establishment of this fraternal sj)irit would naturally stimulate research into the records of the past, to discover, if possif)le, the basis of religious thought and hu- man aspiration. Strife comes of mutual inisunderstandinfr and prejudice, as unity results from the discovery of basic truth. Our Society is an agency of peac^e and enlightenment, and in founding this Library it is })ut carrying out its policy of imiversal good-will. Our last thought is to make it a literary godown, a food-bin for the nourishment of white ants, a forcintr bed for the spores of mildew and niould. We want, not so much number of books, as books of a useful sort for our pur- poses, We wish to make it a monument of ancestral learning but of the kind it is of most practical use to the world. We do liot desire to crowd our shelves with tons of profitless casuistic- THE IMPORTAyCE OF THE STT^DY OF SANSCRIT. 197 al speculations but to gather together the best religious, moral and philosophical teaching of the ancient sages. We aim to collect, also, whatever can be found in the literature of yore npon the laws of nature, the principles of science, the rules and processes of useful arts. Some Aryaphiles are thoroughly con- vinced that the forefathers had rumnuiged through the whole domain of human thought, had formulated all philosophical pro- blems, sounded all depths and scaled all heights of human nature, and discovered most, if not all, hidden properties of plants and minerals and laws of vitality : we wish to know how much of this is true. There are some so ignorant of the facts as to affirm their disbelief in the learning of the ancients, and the value of the contents of the old books. To them, the dawn of human wisdom is just breaking, and in the Western sky. Two centuries ago — as Flammarion tells us — the Jesuits Schiller and Bayers proposed to have the stars and constellations re-christen- ed with Christian instead of Pagan names : the Sun was to be called (Jhrist ; the Moon, Mary Virgin ; Saturn, Adam ; Jupiter, Moses ; etc. etc. : tlie orbs would have shone none the less brightly and sectarianism would have been gratified I In some- thing of the same spirit, some of our improved Aryans seem disposed to obliterate the good old orbs of knowledge and set up new ones — putting out Vyasa, Manu, Kapila and Patanjali the Aryan luminaries, and lighting up Comte, Haeckel, Huxley Spencer and Mill. It would not be so reprehensible if they would bo content to see all great and shining lights. " admitted to that equal sky." We are all for progress and reform, no doubt, but it is yet to be proved that it is a good plan to throw away a valuable patri- mony to clutch at a foreign legacy. For my part, I cannot help thinking that if our clever graduates knew as much about Sanskrit, Zend and Pali literature as they do of English, the \ 198 THE IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY OF SANSCRIT. Rishis would have more, and modern biologists less, reverence. Upon that impression, at any rate, this Adyar Library is being founded. With the combined labour of Eastern and Western scholars, Ave hope to bring to light and publish much valuable kno>vledge now stored away in the ancient languages, or, if rendered into Asiatic vernaculars, still bevond the reach of the thousands of earnest students who are only familiar with the Greek and Latin classics and their European derivative tongues. There is a widespread conviction that many excellent secrets of chemis- try, metallurgy, medicine, industrial arts, meteorology, agricul- ture, animal breeding and training, architecture, engineering, botany, mineralogy, astrology, etc., known to former genera- tions, have been forgotten, but may be recovered from literary remains. Some go so far as to affirm that the old sages had a comprehensive knowledge of the law of human development, based upou experimental research. I confess that I am one of such, and that I am more and more persuaded that the outcome of modern biological research will be the verification of the Secret, or Esoteric, Philosophy. This firm conviction has made me so anxious to begin, as soon" as possible, while we are in health and strength, the gathering together of the present Library, and it shall not be my fault if it does not achieve its object within the life-time of the majority of the present audi- ence. If the ancient books are as valuable as some alle^re, the sooner we prove it the better ; if they are not, we cannot dis- cover the fact too speedily. That intellectual marvel of our times, Sir William Jones, had a better opinion of the merit of Sanskrit literature than our improved Aryans, it would appear. "I can venture to affirm," says he, in his discourse before the Asiatic Society, delivered at Calcutta, February 20th, 1794— " I can venture to affirm, without meaning to pluck a leaf from THE IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY OF SANSCRIT. 199 the never-fading laurels of our immortal Newton, that the whole of his theology, and part of his philosodhy, may be found in the Vedas, and even in the w^orks of the Sufis. The most subtle spirit, which he suspected to pervade natural bodies, and lying concealed in them, to cause attraction and repulsion ; the emission, reflection, and refraction of light ; electricty, calefac- tion, sensation, and muscular motion ; is described by the Hindus as a fifth element , endued with those very powers ; and the Vedas abound with allusions to a force universally attractive, which they chiefly ascribe to the Sun, thence called Adity, or the Attractor." Of Sri Sankaras, commentary upon the Ved- anta, he says that " it is not possible to speak with too much applause of so excellent a work ; and I am confident in asserting that, until an accurate translation of it shall appear in some European language, the general history of philosophy must remain incomplete :" and he further affirms that *' one correct version of any celebrated Hindu book would be of greater value than all the dissertations or essays that could be composed on the same subject." An entire Upanishad is devoted to a de- scription of the internal parts of the body, an enumeration of the nerves, veins and arteries ; a description of the heart, spleen and liver, and of pre-natal development of the embryo. If you will consult the most recent medical authorities, you will find the very remarkable fact, — one recently brought to my notice by a medical member of our Society — that the course of the sushutnna^ or spinal tube, which accordingly to the Aryan book, connects the various chakrams^ or psychic evolutionary centres in the human body, can be traced from the brain to the os coccyx : in fact, my friend has kindly shown me a section o^ it under a strong lens. Who knows, then, what strange biological and psychical discoveries may be waiting to crown tht intelligent researches of the modern anatomist and phy- 200 THK IMPOIlTAXrE OV THE STUDY OF SANSCRIT. siolofifist who is not above cousiiltinrr the Arvaii text books ? There are not in any hmguage (save tlie ancient Hebrew),'' says Sir William Jones, ''more pious and sublime addresses to the Beinor of beintrs, more splendid enumerations of his attributes, or more beautiful descriptions of his visible works, than in Arabic, Pcrsixan, and Sanskrit." But the theme is inexhaus- tible, and I must resist the temptation to collate the many accessible testimonies of vSome of the greatest scholar of our own time to the richness, value and interest of the ancient books of Asia. In Europe and America these profound students and thinkers are working patiently, in sympathetic collaboration with colleagues, Asiatic and European, in India, Ceylon, Burma, Japan, ('hina, Egypt, Assyria and other Eastern coun- tries. We are honoured this evening with the presence of some of these public benefactors, and I would that to their more practised hands had been confided the duty I am now officially performing. It will be for the learned gentleman (Pandit Bhashya Charyar) who is to follow mo to express in the Sanskrit language the interest felt by all the promoters of the Advar Librarv in the success of the work to which they are devoting their time and talent. You will observe, Ladies and Gentlemen, from what pro- cedes, that the Library we are now founding is neither meant to be a mere repository of books, nor a training school for human parrots who, like some modern pandits mechanically learn their thousands of verses and lacs of lines without being able to explain, or perhaps even understand, the meaning ; nor an agency to promote the particular interests of some one faith or sectarian sub-division of the same ; nor an agency to pro- mote the particular interests of some one faith or sectarian sub- division of the same ; nor as a vehicle for the vain display of literary proficiency. Its object is to help to revive Oriental THB IMPORTAKCE OF THE STUDY OF SANSCRIT. 201 i i literature ; to re-establish the dignity of the true pandit, mobed, bhikshu and maulvi ; to win the regard of educated men, especially that of the rising generation, for the sages of old, their teachings, their wisdom, their noble example ; to assist, as far as may be, in bringing about a more intimate relation, a better mutual appreciation, between the literary workers of the two hemispheres. Our means are small, but sincere motive and patient industry may offset that in time, and we trust to deserve public confidence. As an example of one branch of the work we have mapped out for ourselves, I beg to ask your present acceptance of copies of a catechetical synthesis of that branch of Hindu religious philosophy known as the Dwaita Doctrine of Sri Madhacharya. The compiler, our learned and respected townsman M. R. By, P. Sreenivas Row, intends to follow this up with similar works upon the other two great religious schools of the Yishishthdwaita and Adwaita, founded respectively by Sri Ramanuja Acharya and Sri Sankaracharya The Buddhist Catechism— of copies of which, in the name of Mrs. Ilangakoon, a worthy Buddhist lady of Ceylon, I ask your acceptance— will be succeeded, as my time shall permit, by Catechisms of the Zoroastrian and Mohammedan faiths, written from the stand-points of follow^ers of those religions re- spectively* I think the Theosophical Society is now Somewhat fulfillin*^ the functions of the Asiatic Society of Calcutta which rendered such great service to the country in the olden days, and that the journal of the Theosophical Society, known as the Theoso-- phist, than which there is no journal more interesting that I know of, has taken the place partly of the old Asiatic Research' €s issued by the Asiatic Society in Bengal. The eld genera- tion of Anglo-Indians felt a greater regard for the Hindus than the present one do,— and why ? Because many of them made 202 THE IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDY Or SaNSCKIT. our Shastrag their special study. Who could be more power- ful friends of the Hindus in the past than Sir ■\VilIiani Jones, Professor Horace Hayman "William Wilson, Mr. Henry Cole- brooke, Sir Thomas Strange, the Rev. Mr. Ward, M. Burnovf and others of that glorious band ? Who now can be greater friend of theirs than Professor Max MuUer, some of whose re- markable papers on India have lately appeared in the Coniempo- vary Review? It is a well-known fact that every European who has taken to the study of the Sanskrit language, and to the research of our ancient literature and science has invariably turned a friend of the Hindus. The want of sympathy between the Europeans and Natives arises chiefly from a want of proper knowledge and understanding of each other. With English education in full swing, to the utter neglect of Oriental studies, we are fast losing our nationality, and getting Europeanized to such an alarming extent that it will be no wonder if in the course of a few years more, the Natives of India become a race of dark Englishmen altogether. The tide of denationalisation is running its irresistible course. Our national literature and science are fast dying out. Happily for the coun- trv, Theosophy has stepped in to rescue them from decay and oblivion, and to unfold to us the valuable treasures of Indian antiquity, hidden in our sacred books. We have had enough of English education. Its results have been tried now^ for a little less than half a century; and by a strange coincidence of cir- cumstances an Education Commission is now sitting to enquire into these results. This Commission would do well to look into the records of the old Council of Education in Bengal, and search for the Minutes which were written by the two parties in Calcutta then fighting with each other, one known, as Oriental- ists, headed by Professor Horace Hayman Wilson, and the other known as Anglicists, headed by Mr. T. B. Macaulay, (afterwards Lord Macaulay). The words of Professor Wilson THE IMPORTANCE OF THE STUDT OF SANSCRIT. 203 uttered in 1839, I believe, as to the danger of a purely English education in this country have come to be prophetic. I am glad that in the Punjab University, Oriental studies have been adopted along with English studies— thanks to the influence of that great Orientalist Dr. Leitner of Lahore. The Punjab has been thus happily saved. Neither in England nor in America are the classical languages of the West neglected at all. But it is strange that here in India alone where we have the best of all classical languages, a different course is observed. AVhat I wish to see is that from the very date of a Hindhu boy's admission to school, a Sanskrit primer should be placed in his hands along- With an English primer, so that as he advances in years, and makes progress in his Sanskrit and English studies, he may compare the ancient Indian literature and philosophy with the modern English literature and philo.sophy. In that case, the evil of denationalisation will be stopped. Oriental studies are essentially necessary to keep up our national spirit, and to pro- duce in us a large and more abiding love of our country. Pa- triotism has become a lip patriotism in India, because, as I be- lieve, of the shameful neglect of the study of our own Shastras. A Hindu has no more idea of his own sacred books than the man in the moon. The Theosophical Society strongly re- commends the study of these books. It advocates the establish- ment of Sanskrit schools and colleges throughout the length, and breadth of this land. The educational Policy in India has been a mistaken one from the beginning. I am afraid it has in the long run done more harm than good. Through the action of a purely English education, we have lost our respect for our ancestors, we have lost faith in our own religion without getting something belter in substitution, we have contracted more vices than the virtues of Englishmen, we have got merely an external polish 204 THE IMPORTANCE Or THK STUDY OF SANSCRIT. while we are rotten within, we have developed more our physi- cal than our spiritual nature; and many other evils have been brought in, which would not have come into existence at all, if Western education had gone hand in hand with Eastern educa- tion. To be brief, our nationality and spirituality, the two most important elements which contributed so much to the glory of ancient India have departed. I hope the result of the labors of the present Education Commission will materially change the policy, hitherto followed in regard to public educa- tion in India. Nothing influences the character of a nation more than the education that is imparted to thera, and the pre-* sent Government of India could not have directed its attention to a much larger question than the educational one, after the fair trial given to a purely English education for such a long period. Besides, our people now need more an industrial ^ni agricultural education than a purely literary education, to save them from proverty and to lessen the growing discontent among them. Let me not be misunderstood. I do not condemn English education In toto. What I do condemn is an exclusive English education, leaving out national education in the cold. It must not be thought that I want to convert the distant past into the immediate future of our country. Such a thing would be the very night of absurdity. What I wish to impress upon my countrymen is to c^tch our national spirit from study of the past and to be guided by its light in our future onward pro- gress. THE OCCULT SCIENCES. 4(