liG i

HEOSOPHIST
fc d to iv - tilta
i s s r s i la a r s i i
h l 11

A MONTHLY JOURNAL DEVOTED TO ORIENTAL PHILOSOPHY, ART, LITERATURE AND OCCULTISM: EMBRACING
MESMERISM, SPIRITUALISM, AND OTHER SECRET SCIENCES.

Vol . I. B O M B A Y , M A R C H , 1SSO. No. 6.

S P E C IA L N O T IC K S. I n Q U IU IK S AUK CON STANTLY SIADK l»K O l'U S O l'IK T Y AS-

It is oviilont th a t tho Tili:ohoi*u 1ST will offer to ndvortisor* unusual a d ­ to th o possibility of im porting from America h an d -m a-
vantages in circulation. Wo have already subscribers in every p a rt of
I n d i a , in Ceylon, Hurm ah, ami ou tlio P ersian Uulf. Our paper also goos chinos for various industrial purposes. T here is no lack
to (ire a t B ritain, Kranoo, Germ any, H ungary, Creeco, Russia, C o nstanti­ in Am erica of inventive capacity to produce a n y ,h a n d -
nople, Kgypt, A ustralia, and N orth and S outh America. Tlio follow ing very
m oderate rates have boon adopted :
machine th a t India m ig h t need for any branch of m a n u ­
• A d v e r t is in g R it k s . facture, b u t the whole resources of our mechanical genius
F irst in sertio n .............16 linos aud u n d e r........... 1 Uupco. have for many years been applied to the production of
F or each additio n al lino........................................ \ Anna. machines to be worked by steam. T h e case of Am erica
Spaco h charged for a t tb e rate of 12 line* to tho inch. Special arra n g e ­ is th e exact op]>osite of th a t of India. Here, manual
m e n t * can bo made for large advertisement-*, and for longer aud fixed labor is superabundant ; there, it is excessively scarce and
poncnU. For fu rth e r inform ation and coutracU for ad v ertisin g , a p p ’y to
costly. Steam machinery has, therefore, been b ro u g h t to
I U :s6»3. C O O P E R k Co.
th e highest pitch of perfection. T he true way to pro­
A dvertising Agent*, Bookseller* an d Publishers, Meadow S tre e t, F o rt, cure w hat India needs in this direction is for some e n ­
Bombay.
lightened princes lo otter prizes for machines that will do
such or such work by hand or bullock power, and p u b ­
T o SU B SC R IB E R S.
lish the same in th e American journals th a t circulate
T h e S u b s c r i p t i o n p r i e o n t w h i c h t h o T h k o s o p h i s t is p u b l i s h e d b a r e l y among the inventive classes. Such are the JS'eiv Vorh
c o v e r s c o a t t h o d e » i g u i n e s t a b l i s h i n g Miq j o u r n a l h a v i n g b o o n r a t h e r
t o r e a c h a v ery w ide circle of ro a d e rs, t h a n to m a k o a profit. Wo cannot
Tril'iriif and the Scientific . \werie«n. The American D e ­
affo rd , th e re fo re , to s e n d s p o e im o n copies freo, n o r to s u p p ly lib ra rie s, so- p a rtm e n t of S tate m ig h t also, it' requested hy Colonel
c i eti o* , o r in d i v i d u a l * g r a t u i t o u s l y . F o r t h e i»amo r e a s o n wo a r o o b l i g e d
t o a d o p t t h o p l a n , n o w u u i v o r * a i in A m o r i c a , o f r e q u i r i n g s u b s c r i b e r s t o
Olcott, who holds the ap p o in tm en t of United S tates C o m ­
p a y iu a d v a n c e , a n d of b t o p p i n g th o p a p e r a t t h o e n d of th o t e r m p a i d fo r. missioner to the East Indies, cause th e offer of the prize
M a n y y o u r* o f p r a c t i c a l c x p c r i c n c o h a s c o n v i n c e d W e s t o r n p u b l i s h e r s t h a t
t h i s s y s t e m o f c a s h p a y m e n t is t h o b e s t a n d m o s t s a t i s f a c t o r y t o b o t h
or prizes to be announced in the official circular ot th e
p a r t i e s ; a n d al l r e s p e c t a b l e j o u r n a l s n r o n o w c o n d u c t e d o u t h i s p l a n . P a te n t Office, and th u s ensure it the widest publicity.
Sub-M.TilHirs w i s h i n g n p r i n t e d r e c e i p t f o r t h e i r r c m i t t a u c c s m u s t s e n d Should this suggestion so far commend itself to the n a ­
s t a m p s f o r r e t u r n p o s t a g e . O t h e r w i s e , a c k n o w l e d g m e n t s will b o u i a d o
t h r o u g h tho journal.
tive princes a.s to be carried out, certain things must be
T b o T i i k u j w p i i i s t will a p p e a r e a c h m o n t h . T h o r a t e s , f o r t w o l v o n u m - borne in mind. First, th a t inventors are, as a rule, poor
l»ers o f n o t le ss t h a u 40 c o l u m n s R o y a l -Ho o a c h , o f r o a d i n g m a t t e r , o r mechanics, employed on wages, and unable to devote tim e
4S0 c o l u m n s in all a r e a s fo llo ws :— T o S u b s c r i b e r * in a n y p a r t o f I n d i a ,
Ks. ti p e r a n n u m ; i n C e y l o n , Us 7 ; iu t h o S t r a i t s S e t t l e m e n t s , ( J h i u a , J a m m , to th in k in g out such inventions as India wants, or invest
n n d A u s t r a l i a Ks. ij ; i n A f r i c a , E u r o p e , a n d t h o U n i t e d S t a t o s , i . 1. H a l f th e ir scanty means in th e purchase of materials of con­
y e a r ( I n d i a ) R s , 4 ; S i n g l e c o p i e s a u n a s \'l. R e m i t t a n c e s in post-al u t a m p s
m u s t b o a t t i i e r a t e o f a n n a s 1/ t o t h o K u p o o t o c o v e r d i s c o u u t . T h o a b o v o
struction, unless certain of a sufficient, reward, if a cer­
r a t e * i n c l u d e p o s t a g e . -Vo nauie will be otfcrtd on the bonis or f>a/>tr sent tain stated result, should bo obtained. Secondly, th a t I n ­
u n til the tmuuif u rem itted; and invariably the paper will be dtsotntinved dia is so far away from America as to practically prevent
at the rx)>t> u(iun »»/’ the Urn, subscribed for. R e m i t t a n c e s s h o u l d b o t u a d o i n
M o n e y - o r d e r s , H u n d i s , Kill c h & p i c s , ( o r T r e a s u r y b il ls , if i u ro g is te ro <l them from reaping any profit from th e sale of royalties,
J o t t e r s ) , n n d m u d o p a y a b l e o n l y t o t b o P n o r u i K T u i t s oK T i l t T u k o s u w i s t , or by sharing in the gains of any company th a t m ig h t
108, ( . l i r g a u m R a c k R o a d , B o m b a y , I n d i a .
u n d ertak e the introduction of the new machines. Even
A m . s t h : I «o nd on ( K n g ), B o m a n l Q t i a r i t c b , 1;*» P i c c a d i l l y . \V. ; N o w Y o r k , if Indian companies should form, and take the j)atent or
S . U. W e l l s & C o . , 7ti7, B r o a d w a y ; B o s t o n , M a * * , C o l b y a n d R i c h , 9 , M o n t ­
g o m e r y P l a c e ; C h i c a g o , HI. J . C- U n ti d y , W , I * S a l l e S t . A m e r i c a n s u b ­ p aten ts on royalty, th e inventor would be too far d istan t
s c r i b e r s m a y a U o o r d e r t h e i r p a p e r s t h r o u g h W . Q. J u d g o , Us*p, 71. B r o a d ­ to enable him to watch over his interests ; -while if he
w a y , N o w York.
should come here at great expense, he, being ignorant of
C o y h m : lsa ;ie W e o r c a o o r i y a , D e p u t y C o r o n o r , D o d a u d m v n : J o h n R o b e r t
d e S i l v a , C o lo m b o . th e vernaculars, would be almost as badly off. Tiio in­
ference, then, is th a t th e offer should be either of a round
sum for a successful invention, with a stated yearly bonus
THE THEOSOPHIST. for so m any years to th e discoverer, or a greater lum p
sum for the invention, and all the inventor’s right and
BOM BAY, M A R C H 1s t , 1HS0. title to its use. Knowing w hat we do of American i n ­
ventors and th eir capabilities, we feel no hesitancy in say ­
T h e Editors disclaim responsibility for opinions expressed ing th a t any desired machine to be worked by either hand
by contributors in their articles. Great latitude is allowed or bullocl^ power, may be h ad by India for the asking.
to porres|M>ndent.s, and they alone are accountable for w hat B u t the asking m ust be done in the rig h t way.
th e y write. Rejected MSS. are not returned. T h ere are numl>erlcss ingenious machines in Am erica
th a t would bo wholly valueless here, because th e h a ­
bits aud wants of th e people do not call for such m e ­
If a n y ok o u u h e a d e rs a r k n o t in tk n d in o to sa v k chanical helps. So, too, much good intention has h ith erto
■op their num bers of the journal for binding, we will pur- been wasted on foolish a tte m p ts to im port E uiopean
chuse back the issues of October and November, a t minaa methods of agriculture, when the country is utterly u n ­
six each ; either in cash or credit on next year’s subscrip­ suited to them. Common sense ought to have suggested
tion as may be preferred. Though more than twice a.s that, rude as Indian plows, harrows nnd drills are, a n d
many copies of those numbars were printed as ail experi­ strange as Indian systems of rotation may appear t o
enced Indian journalist advised, they are o ut of print, while W estern eyes, th e imperative demands of hunger a n d
even those of iater m onths are fast disappearing. poverty would, ages ago, have compelled th eir reliu*
quislinicnt if they were utterly bail. Tin' fact is tliiit the.
Imliiiii climates
• ’ anil soils .i Ii m i u i i i i I one kind( ot' agriculture,
O ’
aiul the climates aiul soils of Europe q u ite another. If
there be such a th ing am ong' Europeans as t n i r friend­
liness for India, let it be shown iu giving her help to im ­
prove upon her own methods,, not to import, foreign ones,
in assisting her to manufacture her own raw products hy
utilising her superabundant labor, not to send them awav
and bring them back wlirn worked up. I f any one knows
ol one more ...... i en.p that ean be introdueed, or can tell
when; there is a. seed-grain that, will yield more f<trn» to
the I'iifhi', let him, for mercy's sake, speak. O r if any
Knglish im plem ent-m aker c;in show si common Hindu
blacksmith how to shape his monld-board so as to pul­
verize the ryot’s ground better, with no mole expenditure
of bullock-power and no greater cost, lie may earn tlie
blessings ot a wretched people by showing the fact. But.
to persuade e ith e r a rajah, o r a zemindar to import costly
im plements or machinery on mere guess-work, is sim­
ply cruel, for il. destroys their confidence ;iml tu rns them
into b itter toes of progress. We have been often im por­
tuned Ibr American catalogues, and had thousands of
rupees offered us to scud awav for machines of any
kind we might, think suitable for importation, lint, as
this is now our people and our permanent home, we have
lelt obliged to decline forwarding th e orders when we
were not quite sure the m achinery or implements were
really adi pted to Indian wants. T here is not. so much
Native capital left that it should be Hung away oil m e ­
chanical toys, g re a t or small.
Skvkkai. must i . n u c i i u r s i'imntkis’s .m istakes iia v k
occurred lately within our experience. T he P rv n ii Slur,
noticing a hook written bv the Conductor of this magazine,
called it “ /<■<•'■ U nveiled;” iu printing, last, month, the
Viceroy's letter to us, the compositor made .Mr. B atten
say he had subm itted three of our itn'iith,/-*-, instead of
numbers, to 11 is Kxeclleiicv ; and, instead of allowing one
of our metaphysical contributors to write about, develop­
ing the inner or spiritual Kgo, compelled I lie un hap py
man to appear anxious to develop the spiritual ‘‘[t'j".
Filially, the sober I h ii nlnl- .1/isitlbnn/ of ( 'aleiitta. tor
February, conies prating to us about, the I rue spiritual
philosopher uniting himself to th e S'-ul of the Universe !
If a ny th in g more clearly justifying compositorcide th a n
th e sc c a n be shown, let us know il, by all means.
A no th e r error, not at all ludicrous but very annoying,
was the conversion of th e lion. George II. Al. Batten's
official title from Personal Assistant into Personal ,!//.■»-
Jiinl of His Kxcclloncy the Viceroy, We trust th a t the
stupid blunder may hi' excused.
— ]. The Kssay shall be of a high m e r it;
T hat wittv and kimcisamiiatic .i oci i xai ,, tiik
Ihririr, has favored us with several friendly notices, for
which it merits, ami will kindly accept, our best, thanks.
But, one remark upon our February n u m b e r must not pass
w ithout rejoinder. It. says " The Til K<>s<>I“Hist ghost,-
stories we have noted once and tor ever— t hey m ake very
uncanny reading.” They do, if taken only in one sense ;
and the less one has of ghost-stories in general, judging
from that point, of view, the better. If they were only
meant to feed the morbid fancies of sentim ental jiovcl-
rcaders, the ir room might well be thought b e tte r than
their company. But, since they app ear in a magazine
professedly devoted to a serious enquiry into questions of
scicnce and religion, it, is not unreasonable to presume tliafc
the editors have a definite purpose to show their connec­
tion w ith one or both of these d epartm en ts of research.
Such, a t an}’ rate, is the fact. B e f o r e we have done with
our readers, it, will be made very clear that, every story of
ghost, goblin, and b/mfn adm itted into our columns has this
value of an illustration of some one phase of that, miscon­
ceived but, most, important science, Psychology. O ur friend
of th e .//<nulhii/ Rfi-bic is hasty in ju m p in g at, the conclu­
sion th a t he has had his last say about our Phantom J)ogs,
Ensouled Violins, anil stalking shades of th e departed.
A M E D A L OF J r o S O li: /
T he importance of the action, tak e n at its late meeting
by the General ( 'ounoil of our Society, in voting the foun­
dation of a Medal of Honor, to be annually awarded by an
unbiassed .Jury of N ative gentlem en of em inent character
an d lea riling to N ative authors, will doubtless bcappreeiateil.
To recognize th a t Aryavarta. has a. grand history, and that,
the sons ol t he soil are her proper historiographers ; and to
stim ulate a brotherly competition fora prize of real dignity,
with ample? g uarantees for the impartiality of the awards,
is to ta k e a long step towards creating tha t feeling of
nationality on which alone great states can rise. Let this
action stand as one more pledge that the honor of Ind ia
is dear to th e heart of ever\' true Theosophist. O u r inner­
most feelings are sum med up in a single sentence of a
letter received by last mail from America. “ W h en I
read of those noble B u ddhists and Hindus who have passed
through so much to m ake the soul dominant m a s te r,’
writes the respected .Dr. .Ditsou, “ I feel as if I could
kneel and kiss their foot. Ilow grand they seem to m e !
Tell all such whom you mny chance to meet tha t I am
with tIn-in in deep s y m p a th y .” At ano th er time we shall
publish extracts from th e letters of Theosophists iu differ­
ent parts of the world to show how universal is this love
and reverence Ibr In d ia am ong them. Meanwhile wo
give the following:—
(E x ! mu! fro m !h<’ M inute* ■;/' flu' n></ <>/’ the General
Ctiiiiicil. bi h! id ]]<imbm/, Feb r u e >■//, •<//( /■w o .)
“ W ith a view to stim ulate enquiry, by. the N atives of
India, into the literature of ancient, times, to increase their
respect, Ibr their ancestors, and to thus accomplish one im­
portant, object for which the Theosophical Society was
formed, it is by the General ( 'oiincil
l ’v K S n l . V Kl)
T hat there shall be founded a high prize and dignity to
be known and designated as ' T h e Medal of H onor of th e
Theosophical Society,’ for a,ward u n de r competition.”
“ Tho said medal shall be of pure silver and made from
Indian coins melted down for the purpose ; and shall bo
suitably engraved, stamped, carved or embossed with a.
device expressive of its high character as a. Medal of
I l.onor. It shall be annually awarded by a commit,too of
N ative scholars, designa,tod by the President., to the N ative
a u th o r of the best original Essay upon any subject con­
nected with tin* ancient religions, philosophies or sciences;
preference being given in the D e p a rtm e n t of Science, other
things being equal, to th e occult, or mystical, branch of
science as known and practised by the ancients.”
“ T he following conditions to govern the award, viz.—-
2. Kacli Kssa v shall bear a cipher, initial, verse or m o t­
to, but no other sign by which th e authorship m ay lie.
detected. T h e author's name, in each case, to be w ritten
in a. closed envelope outside which shall be inscribed the
cipher or other device which he has a,tt,ached to his essay.
T h e M anuscript to be placed by the President in this
hands of the Ju ry , and th e envelopes filed away unopened
and not examined until the. J u r y shall have, made th e ir
awards;.
:t. All Essays subm itted to be at the disposal of tlio
Society, whose officers m ay designate such as are pro­
nounced most meritorious for publication in the T jik o so -
IM11ST, with the ir a u th o r’s names attached, so that, th e ir
leai ning m ay be properly appreciated by their c o u u tiy -
incn.
4. T he Society to be allowed to publish as a .se p a ra te
pamphlet, the Kssay which shall be deemed worthy of this
Medal of Honor, on condition of giving to its au th or this
entire n e tt profits of the publication. ’
Essays to comprise not less than 2,-'»()() nor more
than 4,000 words— foot-notes and quotations included.
(J. The J u r y sliall also award to the authors of the
Essays which they consider second and third in degree of
 Maitli, 18,SO.] .THE T H EOHO P H I S T .
merit, special diplomas, to 1«* entitled Diplomas of Honor
jmd au th en tica te d by the seal of tlio Society. -
7. I lie J iiry may also speeificidly name throe o th e r
Essays liesides tiie throe aforesaid, for th e distinction of
certificates of honorable mention, to Ik- issued to 11it: re­
ts] lective a u th o rs u n d er the seal of th e Socictv.
N. Essays to be subm itted in English, b u t it is not
obligatory th a t the a u th or shall him self know tliat lan­
guage. _ ^ ^ • ' , and whose hopes were of conquest. I t is easy .to im a ­
!•. All coni|>eting niaiinseri)its to be in tlio P re s id e n t’s
hands by 12 o’clock noon of the Jst day of J u n e lSfSO,
and the J u r y to announce th e ir awards on tin: 1st day
•if S e p tem b e r l!S<N().
HI. Upon the receipt of th e rejiort of th e J u ry , the
President shall at once-identity the nam es of the successful
authors, and officially publish tin- same throu gh out India
and in nil countries where there aro branches of th e
Theosophical Society.
II . Full authority is given to the P resident to adopt
whatever measures may be required to carry into effect
this Resolution.”
A tte s t :—. KhajtsKD.ii N. S k k k v a t,
. S c c n tu n j, JCii.slcm J
Z ( > l! O A S T i: i! .
15V S<lit AIU I JAMASIUI J’ADSHAll, F.T.S.
Of all th e g reat names of ancient tim es— of saints and
prophets— none have come down to us with less im purity
attached to their memories th an those of Zoroaster and
Buddha. W hile th e oth er groat ones of the earth have
hardly stood the severe scrutiny of modern sceptical criti­
cism, those two “ Lights of Asia" have never flickered Ibr
a moment, b u t shone on steadily with a Hamc whose
splendour was ever visible over th e din and tho darkness
of the storms of ago succeeding age. People have begun
to question th e pretensions of .Moses lo be ranked as a
prophet a t all ; ( ’hrist has so far lost the faith, on which
the foundations of liis religion were laid, of the m ajority of
his followers, th a t they are beginning t,o ask if the exis­
tence of th a t prophet was not merely an ornam ental m yth ;
Mahomet's assertion, th a t “ there is no (Jod b u t (Jod
and M ahomet is h is p r o p h e t,” is subscribed to not without,
a limitation, and in spite of the e loquent vindication of
liis claims by tlio learned a u th o r of the “ Conflict bet ween
Religion and Science,” the n u m b e r of people who aro
willing to regard him as the One Prophet, is lessening. B u t
Zoroaster and B uddha stand w ithout th e slightest breath
of' slander sullying th eir fair fame. H ow ever modern
thinkers may quarrel with their teachings and th e m a nn er
-of their teaching, it lia.s never been denied th a t they had
a mission to accomplish— a great, a divine mission, which
they accomplished rem arkably w e ll; t h a t th e y were g re a t
reformers, and appeared when th e ir presence wa.s most
needed to counteract the vico?» of th e respective clinics nnd
times in which they flourished.
But th e results of the work of these two g lo at m en—
how vastly different they are when exam ined by th e facts
of the present day i I t would appear th a t B ud dhism was
.an evergreen plant— it is now almost a.s fresh as it was in
the days of its princely founder. One third of th e world’s
population own B ud dha as th e ir Lord. But how different
is it with Zoroastrianism I . It is a painful fact th a t Zoro­
astrianism never spread much beyond th e limits of Persia,
and th a t as time advanced, it had fewer a n d fewer follow­
ers, till at this day it numbers in its fold no more than
-about, a hundred thousand half-believing souls. How is
this to be accounted for {
N either Zoroaster nor B u d d h a was so m uc h tlio
founder of a new religion,
O ’ as tho reformer of tin: existing ft
religion of his country. B u t th e ways in which each
was received, were different. B uddha's career wa.s com­
paratively unruffled— ho had not so much to contend with
liis enemies as with him self and his friends. B u t Zoroaster
had a serious opposition to encounter from tho very begin-
ning. Then, again, B u d d h a preachcd his doctrines
amongst a people naturally mild and thoughtful. B u t
Zoroaster hail to shout from the housetops to a proud and
h a u g h ty nice of warriors, who were from their vc ry infancy
trained to sjieak the tru th and In iriehl the sw »/•(/, b u t
whose thoughts ami ambition scarcely winged th e ir way
beyond these. T he Persians were a rough set— a
ki|id ol m ilitary oligarchy, whose dreams were of war,
gine what kind ol reception the novel teachings o f Zoro-
jister m ust have m et with from such people. T h a t lie
eventually made an impression on them and succeeded in
converting them to his tenets, is a wonderful proof of his
eloquence and the power of his writings. Zoroastrianism
became th e religion of the sta te ; an d the religion of th e
monarch was th e religion of tho subject. B u t religion soon
assumes a secondary im portance am ong a people who
live by blood aud conquest. Tim words and laws of Zoro­
aste r were, indeed, listened to and observed, b u t only iii
ail apathetic spirit — the sun of faith shone on, b u t the
heat was taken out of him. I have said that the Persians
Were proud— they were proud of th eir country, of th e ir
women, of th e ir weapons, of their horses, and of th e ir
kings. In the same, way they were proud of th eir reli­
gion. T he ir pride forbade them to seek proselytes, though
Zoroaster had enjoined them expressly to do so. It was
th u s th a t Zoroastrianism spread not beyond the bounds
of Persia. T h e final blow was given bv the Mahomedans.
These people were, iu th e ir turn, in th e Hush of victoiy,
and did nut deign to spare the religion of th e ir foes. A.
very large n u m b e r— I may say, almost all— of the h u m il­
iated Persians yielded up the freedom ol their conscience
without any serious struggle. I'ew, very lew csca]ted to
India, true to Zoroaster and themselves. This, 1 believe,
accounts for th e g reat difference in t he results of Buddhism
and Zoroastriauism.
There is also a n o th e r reason, and more valid, which
accounts lor the neglect into which I lie writ ings and precepts
of Zoroaster have fallen, even am ong his professed fol­
lowers. These writings are too abstruse and philosophi­
cal Ibr a nation ot mere lighters or traders— and the a n ­
cient Persians were nothing, if not soldiers or so
(merchants). T hey had n e ith e r the learning nor the neces­
sary elevation ol thought to road between the lines, so to
s a y ; nor did they take an y pains to look lor the vast,
stores of treasure concealed under the th:bri* ol hymns and
ceremonies. .And the Parsees ol to-day have not taken a.
single step in advance in tin.: right direction. They liavo
tacitly subscribed to a n y th in g th a t those modern dicta­
tors of hum an th o u g h t— the Ocrnmn tinea,its— asked
them to believe. W h a t is Zoroastrianism, as in terpreted
by the letter, but a commonplace sort ol religion with
( t o d and Satan as its central ligures, and with angels aud
devils h ym ning and cursing for ever and e v e r ' I be­
lieve th a t Zoroastrianism has never been rightly com ­
prehended, save by the initiated lew, the venerable Magi,
the Wise Men of the East. T he tirst step to rightly u n ­
derstand the merits o f Zoroastriauism is to comprehend
th e life and character of its founder. That life was not
ordinary nor common. It was not the life, as narrated in
our day, of a precocious child, a miracle-working young man,
u pious old sage. I t was a great deal more than this.
Very few persons have a ttained to th e real conception of
th e personal greatness of Zoroaster, l i e was not only a
wonder-worker, a man learned in chemistry and astrology.
T h ere live a few who imagine th a t when they have dul)-
lied their prophet its th e greatest sanitary officer th a t ever
lived, they have done him the highest honour! Zoroas­
trianism m ust have fallen low, indeed, when its followers
have recourse to such shifts as this !
Who and w hat was Zoroaster { An answer to this
question will materially assist us in th e right conception
ol the h o l ir a li i a li l if of I hat extraordinary man. 1 will not
appeal to traditional m yths for a reply. T h e writings of
all great men are unconsciously autobiographical, anil the
host answer to our question is found iu the writings of
Zoroaster himself. H ow eloquently and with w hat pathos
 t h e struggles of his noble lifo are chronicled in tin* over­
living pages ? W h a t glimpses have we there of a man,
searching and yearning for T r u th with his whole soul
wrapt, tip in Hormazd ; how he often struggles in the d a rk ­
ness for light, how lie has to battle with tem ptations, how
often lit; is lost in despair ! H e exclaims in th e h eig ht
of his god-like a g o n y :— " To w hat land shall I proceed—
in w h a t direction shall I take m y way ! I have very few
helpers. Who will plead for me w hen th e lying people
look on me with jealous eyes?”
W h a t was Zoroaster before he appeared before th e P e r ­
sian people with his new system of religion? What, in­
duced him to th ink out. a. new system of religion at all ? I
ha v e said before th a t Zoroaster was only a reformer of th e
old faith ol Persia. Tho followers of this old faith wero
called “ Porio-dakesh." They believed in one God. Zoroas­
t e r has spoken ot them with respect in his writings. O th e r
forms of faith, also, had had th e ir day before" Zoroaster
appeared. But ho saw that, excellent as all these faiths
wero, when taken superficially, th e re was .something w a n t ­
ing in them . They were like so m any models of sculp­
t u r e — b u t the life was wanting. H o, therefore, set ab o u t
to find tha t which should gratify his spiritual instincts.
I cannot say if ho had ever come across th e Vedas. H e
m a y have done so in his m a tu re r ago. P u t, it is certain
t h a t lie had not soon them in his youth. H e has not
mentioned anyw here in his writings th a t he had had the
adv antag e ot tho assistance of e ith e r i/iiriis or books.
I t is certain th a t ho. resolved to th in k for himself. H e
wished to have a personal communion with Horinazd.
In order to do this successfully, he did what, others have
done before and after him. H e retired to th e solitude of
m ountains. Alone, and with no oth e r companion save
tho wild gran deu r of n a tu re around him, and far from th e
influence of the throbbing heart of h um anity, he sat lost
in contemplation.
H e wished to know (Iod— not through the agency of
men, but. through God himself. In th e A vesta, it. is m e n ­
tioned th a t the assistance of “ IJehmnn” was invoked for
th e furtherance of this desire. This word has boon vari­
ously interpreted. I t has now come to m ean— ‘ th e noble
m ind .” But 1 cannot help thinking, th a t it moans tho
“ spirit.” Zoroaster wished to know God, and since he
had 110 faith in th e assistance of man, he would o u t of his
own consciousness work out th a t knowledge— th rough his
own spirit lie would know God. JBut between tho wish
and its accomplishment, what an e te rn ity seems to i n t e r ­
ve n e I Zoroaster despairingly exclaim s:— “ Oh! T ho u
T ru th fu l Ono, when shall I be able t<> see T h e e and Bell­
m an ? ’ All this appeai-s to me very much like th e posi­
tion of B uddha and other Yogis. I cannot help believing
th a t Zoroaster was a Yogi, though, perhaps, he did mil,
know it himself. And this is th e more probable from th e
fact t h a t the Magi, t h e initiated followers of th a t prophet,
have m uch in common with th e In d ia n Yogis and are
fully aware of th e resemblance. A nd, then, th e process
of the e n ligh te nm e n t of Zoroaster— his soul-connnunion—
his tem ptation— his trance— all those are tho mystical
symbols mentioned in th e 'Yog-Vidya. So, in solitude,
lie hoped and dreamed and planned, now radiant w ith th e
expectation ot the fulfilment of his wish, and now p l u n ­
ged in despair. A t length, the fullness of knowledge bu rst
upon his spirit. H e saw God face to face, not as Moses
saw th rough tho filmy veil of a cloud, b u t in all the s m i­
ling glory of his real presence. H e felt. God in h i m s e l f ;
he conversed familiarly with th e D e i t y ; ho tpiestioned
a n d received a n s w e r s ; ho learned tho mystery of b e in g ;
life opened all its secrets ; and death opened its portals,
and beyond th e portals lie saw— li f e ! All this is n arrated
in the A vesta w ith a simplicity and vet-a gra n d e u r that,
a t once fill the reader with conviction anil with hope.
T have said before th a t Zoroaster wished to know God
th r o u g h “ Beliman. ’ H e said, or ra th e r wrote, distinctly,
t h a t he saw Hormazd in his eye. T his may mean much.
W h a t eye does ho moan— the mind's eye ? I have tr a n s ­
lated “ Beliman” as th e spirit. H e saw God through
-Bellman. H e had his wish— lie saw th e D eity th rough
his own consciousness, throughout his own spirit__he felt
God in himself. H o s a y s “ W h e n I fixed T hee in my
eye, I felt, t h a t Thou wast worthy of th e homage of the
high est m ind in th e Universe, th a t T hou wast. th e Father
of the inspiration of th e noblest, intellect, and th a t Thou
wast th e entrance to th e World of T r u th .” This passage
is remarkable. Zoroaster's God was not th e God of his mo­
dern followers, who m ingle terror w ith worship, ascribe
to H i m all kinds of material thunderbolts, and make
h im a huge, gigantic M a n !
H ow is it t h a t th e re exists such a close resemblance
betw een the sacred writings of th e Parseos and th e H in ­
doos ? Is it because the a u th o r of tho A vesta passed
th ro u g h th e same experiences as the a u th o r or authors o f
th e Vedas ? T his much is probable, th a t Zoroaster had
not w ritten a word of th e Zend Avesta before he had
preached its doctrines orally to th e people. T h a t great
work was written in tho quiet of his la tte r days. H e
m ight have then come across th e Vedas. B u t this is a
p o in t on which I am not com petent to form an y opinion.
Can a n y m em bers of th e Theosophical Society throw any
light on tho subject ? It m u st be first determ ined if the
Avesta or th e Vedas wero first w ritten. Modern opinion
is extrem ely divided on th e subject. T h a t learned Parsee-
scholar, Mr. Iv. R. K am a, and several G erm an philologists,,
would have us believe th a t th e A vesta writings are t h e
more ancient. B u t th e tim e when Zoroaster flourished
has been traced back to about eight thousand two h u n ­
dred years ; while tho a u th o r of “ Isis U nveiled” has con­
clusively proved, in spite of Max Miiller and his school,
th a t tho Vedas m ust have been w ritte n ages before th e
Bible. "
V I S I T O R S F R O M S I / A D O U '-L A iY JX
11V W IL L IA M T K M i'L K .
T am greatly e n te rta in e d — nay I m ay say excited, and
ye t th a t is not q uite tho correct word— by the ghost stories-
1 have read iu the T h k o s o i m i i s t . I tun a believer in ghosts
— I would not go into a re p u te d ly h a u n te d house and stay
there all night for anything. W riters- of ghost-stories
always say— “ I laughed when th e y told m e the place was
hau nted.” P lucky story-tellers! P erhap s .^ory-tellors, in
more senses th a n one. However, t h a t is n e ith e r here nor
th ere ; m y object is, if you care to have them, to relate a
few stories th a t I can vouch for. •
T h e first was told mo by a friend of mine, named P.
(well known in Lucknow, and alas ! now no more) which
he declared true, and I believe him to have been inca­
pable of a. falsehood as lie was one of th e best m en th a t
ov e rste p p e d . H e said th a t on one occasion he was on the
eve of his d e pa rtu re for India from London, when, as lie
was driving down to th e docks, he espied a well-known
friend whom he had parted with in Bombaj’, w alking
along th e pavement. H o stopped his cab, and entered into
conversation with his friend. Arriving in Bombay, w h at
was his surprise, his astonishm ent, to m oot this very friend,
who declared to h im solemnly ho had never left Bombay
since th e oth e r’s departu re. I cannot in the least account
for this. It is possible m y friend suffered from a diseased
brain, b u t I hardly th in k so. B u t what the p u rp o rt of
such an apparition could bo, goodness only knows.
A sim ilar ad v en tu re occurred onco to myself. I was
w alking up Broadway, N ew York, one day, and stopped
to look in a t a shop nearly opposite A. T. Stew art's retail
dry-goods store, when I became conscious th a t some ono
whom I niusl look a t was standing beside me. I m igh t as
well have looked in a mirror. I beheld m y double in every
respect, and you bet I stared. H e did ditto, and we stood
th ere for several m in u te s in m u te astonishm ent ore w e ■
passed on our way. I t was not a ghost. If it was, it was ■
th e m ost substantial ono g o i n g ; and I only mention the
incident because it m a y afford a sort of key to m y friend’s
adventure, by showing th a t th e world dors contain hum an
duplicates. However, th e following story is tr u e — a t least
i f I m ay believe m y m o th e r and sisters.
i T h e y were visiting some relutives who resided in T un -
"bridge Wells. My a u nt and cousins (all save one) had
gone out to spend the evening, and m y m other, sisters, and
cousin were seated in tho drawing-room about 10 P.M .
■working and talking. The door was open. S uddenly they
he a rd some one coming down stairs. N a tu ra lly th ey
th o u g h t it was th e servant. B u t no, th e sound of feet ami
a rustling dress certainly passed by th e door, b u t no body.
My mother, who knows no fear, rushed ou t on the landing,
while the girls, poor children, huddled to g e th e r from
fright. My m o th e r says she distinctly heard th e foot­
steps and rustle of th e dress till th e — w hatev er it was—
seemed to reach th e foot of the stairs, w hen all sounds
ceased. Again,---------- my eldest sister is left-handed.
W1 tether t h a t affects m atters or not, I am not prepared
to say. All I know is, sho in left-handed, and people say
left-handed jtcoplc are always more susceptible to sp irit­
ualistic influences than others. However, she says th a t
once when a child, she awoke from her sleep iu a g rea t four-
poster bed, and saw two figures, app arently h e r father and
mother, at th e foot of th e bed. T h e y tu rn e d round soon
after she awoke and had called to th e m in her childish
way, b u t their faces were so hideous th a t she instantly
xetreated un d e r the clothes in almost a fit. O u r parents
were a t the tim e a t su p p e r down stairs. Now, she is grown
up, she th in k s it m ust have been n ig h tm a re — b u t I don’t
know. I t was told w ith too much solid earnestness a t
tho time, and if I am right in my theory of n ightm are
it generally results in your waking u p ; whereas she lay
wide awake and q u a k in g u nder th e clothes till her father
and m other came to bed.
T hrou gh ou t our family, a belief in sup ernatu ral a p p e a r­
ances is strong. I rem em ber seeing one myself a t Yonkers,
New York, once, when I first wont out to America in 18GG.
T h e relative with whom I was staying, (well known to
New Y orkers as “ Triangle B ” ) lived a few miles o u t of th e
village, and one n ig h t as I was going along th e road, and
past one of his meadows, I saw a dim m isty figure s ta n d ­
ing some distance on th e other side of th e rail fence. Som e­
how I had th e pluck to go u p to th e fence and have a look
a t it. F irst of all I th o u g h t it was m y shadow, but, as a
rule, shadows falling on grass lie down. This stood up.
Well, I had my Iook, and then like a brave man, I took
to my heels, and never stopped till I got inside our house !
I had carried my investigations as far as I considered
prudent.
1 believe in spirits, b u t I m u st say, I don’t care about
m eeting them. B u t m y grandfather was a g re a t b e ­
liever in apparitions. H e too was a m an who like George
W ashington “ could not tell a lie,” and ho has often
affirmed th a t when awake in his bed, he has seen his
deceased wife standing beside him, “ a n d ” he used to add
“ 1 felt no fear.” I t is singular his seeing m y g ra n d ­
mother ; for an uncle of m ine who was in A ustralia a t th e
time of her death declares (and with good show of tru th )
th a t she called him by nam e several tim es on th a t night.
“ I was resting” said he “ in my te n t smoking, when I
heard a voice call---------- . Again and again it was repeated,
and I felt convinced I recognised my d ear m o th er’s voice.
Arising, I noted th e day and hour, and allowing for th e
difference of time, I should say, she m u st have died in E n g ­
land about th e same tim e I heard her in Australia.”
A t CHICAGO, ON'K OF THK HUSIKST CITIES OK AMERICA,
is published one of th e two most prosperous and widely
circulated journals devoted to modern Spiritualism . T h e
number of its subscribers wo have seen stated a t nearly-
30,000, and th e y are scattered all over th e world. I t is a
bold, incisive paper, and its E ditor seems really anxious
to expose fraud wherever he can find it practised by m e ­
diums upon th e credulaus. Recently, it has earned the
thanks of th e public by unm asking a gross c h eat nam ed
Mrs. Stewart, who for years has been p retend in g to pro ­
duce materialized spirit-forms, when in fact th e y wera
only herself and confederates dressed u p for th e occa­
sion.
T R U E A N 1) F A L S E P E R S O N A L IT Y . *
II r C. C. MASSKV, F.T.S.
T h e title prefixed to th e following observations m a y
well have suggested a more metaphysical tre a tm e n t of th e
subject th a n can be a tte m p ted on th e p resent occasion.
T he doctrine of th e trinity, or trichotomy of man, which
distinguishes soul from spirit, comes to us with such weighty,
venerable, and even sacred authority th a t we m ay well be
content, for th e moment, with confirmations th a t should
be intelligible to all, forbearing th e abstruscr questions
which have divided m inds of th e highest philosophical
capacity. W e will not now inquire w hether the difference
is one of states or of e n titie s; w hether tho phenomenal or
mind consciousness is merely the external condition of one
indivisible Ego, or has its origin and n ature in an alto­
g eth e r different principle ; the Spirit, or immortal part of
us, being of D ivine birth, while the senses and u n de rsta nd ­
ing, with th e consciousness— A h a n k a ra — thereto a p p e r­
taining, are from an A n im a A lu n d i, or w h a t in th e Sankya
philosophy is called P rakriti. My utmost expectations,
will have been exceeded if it should happen th a t any con­
siderations here offered should throw even a faint sug­
g e s t i v e light upon the bearings of this great problem. I t
may be th a t th e mere irreconcilability of all tliat is charac­
teristic of th e temporal Ego w ith th e conditions of t h e
superior life— if th a t can be m ade ap paren t— will incline
you to regartl the latter ra th e r as th e Redeemer, t h a t has
indeed to be born w ithin us for our salvation and our im ­
mortality, th a n a-s th e inmost, central, and inseparable
principle of our phenomenal life. I t may be th a t by th e
light of such reflexions th e sense ot identity will present
no insuperable difficulty to the conception ot its contin­
gency, or to recognition that, the mere consciousness which
fails to attach itself to a high er principle is no g u a ra n te e
of an eternal individuality.
I t is only by a survey of w hat individuality, regarded
as th e source of all our affections, thoughts, and actions, is,
t h a t we can realise its intrinsic worthlessness ; and only
when we have b ro u g h t ourselves to a real and felt
acknow ledgm ent ot t h a t fact, can we accept with full
understanding those “ hard sayings ” of sacred autho rity
which bid us “ die to ourselves, ” and which proclaim th e
necessity of a veritable new birth. This mystic d e a th
anti birth is th e keynote of all profound religious te aching;
and th a t which distinguishes th e ordinal)' religious m ind
from spiritual insight is ju s t the tendency to in te rp ie t
these expressions as merely figurative, or, indeed, to
overlook th em altogether.
O f all th e reproaches which modern Spiritualism , w i t h
th e prospect it is th o ug ht to hold out ol an individual
temporal immortality, has had to encounter, there is none
th a t we can less afford to neglect th a n th a t which
represents it as an ideal essentially egotistical and borne.
T ru e it is th a t our critics do us injustice through ignorance
of th e enlarged views as to the progress of th e soul in
which th e speculations of individual Spiritualists coincide
w ith m an y rem arkable spirit teachings. These are, u n ­
doubtedly, a great advance upon popular theological opin­
ions, while Home of th em go far to satisfy the claim of
Spiritualism to be regarded as a religion. Nevertheless,
th a t slight estim ate ot individuality, as we know it, which
in one view too easily allies itself to materialism, is also
the a ttitu d e of spiritual idealism, and is ^seemingly a t
variance with th e excessive value placed by Spiritualists ou
th e discovery of our mere psychic survival. The idealist may
recognise this survival ; but, w h ether he does so or not,
he occupies a post ot vantage when he tells us that; it
is of no u ltim a te importance. F o r he, like th e S p ir it­
ualist who proclaims his “ proof palpable of im m or­
tality,” is th in k in g of th e mere temporal, self-regarding
consciousness— its sensibilities, desires, gratifications, and
affections— which are u n im p o rta n t absolutely, th a t is t<>
say, their importance is relative solely to the individual.
• A i>»p»r re a d b«foro th o B ritis h T h»o«ophical S o c ie ty , » t L o u d o n . It*
p u b lic a tio n h a s b«ou u n a v o id a b ly d e la y e d u n til now . lie . T U O S .
 There is, indeed, no more characteristic out birth of m a te ­
rialism than th a t wliieli makes a telcological centre of tho
indiviilunl. Ideas have become mere abstractions ; the
only reality is the infinitely little. T h u s utilitarianism can
see in the S ta te only a collection of individuals whoso
•' g reatest happiness,” m utually limited by nice a d ju stm e nt
to t he requirements of “ the g reatest num bers,” becomes
th e supreme end of g overnm ent aud law. A nd it cannot ,
1 think, be pretended th a t Spiritualists in general have
advanced beyond this siibstitiit ion of a relative for an
absolute standard. Their “ glad tidings of g re a t jo y ” are
not truly religious. They have regard to th e perpetuation
jii tim e of th a t lower consciousness whose manifestations,
delights, and activity are in time, and of tim e alone.
T heir glorious message is not essentially different from
th a t which we can conceive as b ro u g h t t o n s by some g reat
alchemist, who had discovered the secret of conferrintr
upon us and upon our friends a m u nd an e p e rp e tu ity of
you th and health. Its highest religious claim is th a t it
eidarges the horizon of our opportunities. As such, then,
let us hail it with g ra titu d e aud relief ; but, on jx-ril of
our salvation, if I may not say of our immortality, let us
no t repose upon a prospect which is, a t best, one of
renewed labours anil trials, and efforts to be free even of
th a t very life whose only value is opportunity.
To estim ate the value of individuality, we cannot do
b e tte r than regard man in his several m un da n e relations,
supposing th a t either of these might, become th e central,
a ctu atin g focus of his being— his ruling love,” as Sw eden­
borg would call it— displacing his m ere egoism, or self-love,
th ru stin g th a t more to the circumference, and identifying
him , so to speak, with th a t circle of interests to which all
bis energies and affections relate. O utside this substituted
ego we are to suppose th a t he has no conscience, no desire,
no will. J u s t as th e entirely selfish m an views the whole
of life, so far as it can really interest him solely in relation
to his individual well-being, so our supposed m an
of a family, of a society, of a church, or a State, has no eye
for any tr u th or any interest more abstract or more in­
dividual than tha t of which lie m a y b e rightly termed th e
incarnation. H istory shows approximations to this ideal
man. Such a one, for instance, I conceive to have been
Loyola ; such another, possibly, is Bismarck. Now these
men have ceased to be individuals in th e ir own eyes, so far
as concerns any value attach in g to th e ir own special in­
dividualities. T hey are devotees. A c ertain" conversion ” has
been effected, by which from mere individuals they have
become “ representative ” men. And we— the individuals
— esteem them precisely in proportion to th e remoteness
from individualism of the spirit th a t actu ates them. As
th e circle of interests to which they are “ devoted ” enlarges
— th a t is to say, as th e dross of individualism is purged
aw ay— we accord th em indulgence, respect, adm iration
and love. From self to th e family, from th e family to the
scct or society, from the sect or society to th e Church (in no
denominational sense) and State, th ere is th e ascending
scale and widening circle, th e successive transitions which
m a k e the worth of an individual depend on th e more or
less complete subversion of his individuality by a more
comprehensive soul or spirit. T h e very modesty which
suppresses, as far as possible, th e personal pronoun iu our
addresses to others, testifies to our sense th a t wc arc hiding
away some utterly insignificant and unw orthy thing; a
th in g th a t has no business even to be, except in th a t u tte r
privacy which is ra th e r a sleep and a rest th a n living.
Well, b u t iu th e above instances, even those most remote
from sordid individuality, we have fallen far short of th a t
ideal in which th e very conception of th e partial, the
atomic, is lost in the abstraction of universal being,
transfigured in the glory of a Divine personality. You are
familiar with Swedenborg’s distinction between discrete
And continuous degrees. H ith e rto we have seen how m an
— th e individual— may rise continuously by throwing h im ­
self heart and soul into th e living interests of th e world,
a n d lose his own limitations by adoption of a larger
m un da n e spirit. B u t still he has b u t ascended nearer to
his own m und an e source, t h a t soul of th e world, or P ra k riti
to which, if I m u st not too literally insist on it, I
m ay still resort as a convenient figure. To transcend it, lie
m u s t advance by the discrete degree. N o simple “ b e tter­
ing ” of th e ordinary self, which leaves it alive, ns the
focus— th e French word “ foyer ” is the more expressive—
of hi.1' thou gh ts a n d iic tio n s ; not even th a t ideiifi/ication
with higher interests in th e world’s plane just spoken of,
is, or can progressively become, in the least adequate to
tho realisation of his Divine ideal. This “ bettering ” of
our present nature, it alone being recognised as essential,
albeit capable of “ improvement,” is a commonplace
and to use a now familiar term a " Philistine ” conception.
I t is th e substitution of th e continuous for the discrete
degree. I t is a compromise with our dear old familiar
selves. “ And Saul and th e people spared Agag, and
th e best of th e sheep, and of the oxen, nnd of th e
fallings, nnd th e lambs, ami all thnt was good, and would
not utterly destroy th em ; b u t everything th n t was vile
and refuse, th a t they destroyed utterly.” W e know how
little acceptable th a t compromise was to the Uod of I s ­
rael ; and no illustration can be more a p t th an this nar­
rative, which we may well, as we would fain, believe to be
rath er typical than historical. Typical of th a t indiscrimi­
nate and radical sacrifice, or “ vastation,” of our lower na­
ture, which is insisted upon as th e one th in g needful by
all, or nearly all* th e g re a t religions of th e world. N o
language could seem more purposely chosen to indicate
th a t it is th e individual nature itself, and not merely its
accidental evils, th a t has to be abandoned nnd annihilated.
I t is not denied th a t w hat was spared was good ; there is
no suggestion of an universal infection of physical or
moral e v i l ; it is simply t h a t w hat is good and useful re­
latively to a lower state of being m ust perish with it if
th e la tte r is to m ake way for som ething better. And the
illustration is th e more suitable in th a t the purpose of
this paper is not ethical, b u t points to a metaphysical con­
clusion, though w ithou t any a tte m p t a t metaphysical ex­
position. T h ere is no question here of moral distinctions;
they are ne ith e r denied nor affirmed. According to th e
highest moral standard, A may be a most virtuous nnd
estimable person. According to the lowest, Ii may be ex­
actly the reverse. T h e moral interval between the two
is within what J have called, following Swedenborg, the
“ continuous degree.” And perhaps the distinction can be
still b e tte r expressed by another reference to t h a t Hook
which we theosophical students do not less regard, because
we are disposed to protest against all exclusive pretensions
of religious systems. T h e good m an w ho has, however, not
y e t attain ed his “ sonship of God ’’ is “ u n d er the law ”—
th a t moral law which is educational and preparatory,
“ the schoolmaster to bring us into Christ," our own Divine
spirit, or higher personality. To conceive th e differ­
ence between these two states is to apprehend exactly
w h a t is here m e a n t by the false, temporal, and th e true,
eternal personality, and the sense in which th e word per­
sonality is here intended to be understood. W e do not
know whether, when th a t g re a t change has come over us,
when t h a t g reat work -f- of our lives has been accomplish­
e d— here or hereafter— we shall or shall not retain a
sense of id entity with our past, and for ever discarded-
selves. I n philosophical parlance, th e “ m a t t e r ” will have
gone, and th e very “ form ” will have been changed.' O ur
transcendental identity with the A or B th a t now i s j
m u st depend on th a t question, already disclaimed in this
paper, w heth er tho D ivine spirit is our originally central
essential beinff, or is nn hypostasis.* N o w ; being “ un ­
der th e law ’’ implies th a t we do not, act directly from our
, ,______I ,1. . j .. , |,
* Of tho h ig h er religion* teaching* of Mohmnutednnient I knt»A’ n ex t to
nothing, mid therofuro cannot nay if it *hduld he excepted froni th e fiiato-
niont*
■ . •.• i ■i i
»f i,* ■ ■
+ Tho “ g re a t w o rk ,” so ofton m entioned hy tho H erm otic philosopher*,
nml which is exactly typifiou hy tho operation of nlchetny,' r th e cohvorftioh
of th e base metal* to gold i* now well uudcm tood to refer to tho aualogourt
spiritual conversion. T hcro U al*o good reason to believe th a t th e m aterial.
proceM was a real one. '
J " A person may h are won hi* im m ortal lifo, and remninod tho fcamd inntri
M l/ ho un* on earth , through e tern ity ; b u t thin does n ot im ply nocOKmirily
tlm t he m ust e ith e r rem ain tlio Mr. Sm ith or lirown he was on earth, or lone
his individuality.” — I t u l ’HVciU>lt vol. i , p, 310, 1‘ ’
 own will, b u t indirectly, th a t is, in willing obedience to
ano th er will. T he will from which we should naturally
act-r-ouv own will— is of course to be understood not os
mere volition, b u t as our nature—ou r “ ru lin g love,” which
makes such and such things agreeable to us, and others
the reverse. As “ u n de r th e law,” this n a tu r e is k e p t in
sus]>ension, and because it is suspended only as to its a c ti­
vity and manifestation, anil by no means abrogated, is th e
law— the substitu tion of a foreign will— necessary for us.
O ur own will or n a tu re is still c e n t r a l ; t h a t which we
obey by effort and resistance to ourselves is more circum ­
ferential or hypostatic. Constancy in th is obedience and
resistance tends to draw the circumferential will more and
more to th e centre, till th ere ensues t h a t “ explosion,” as
St. Martin called it, by which our natural will is for ever
dispersed and annihilated by contact with th e divine, and
th e latter henceforth becomes our very own. T h u s has
“ the schoolmaster ” b rought us u nto " C h rist ”, and if by
“ C h r i s t ” we understand no historically divine individual,
bu t th e logos, word, or manifestation of God in u.<— then
we have, I believe, the essential tru th th a t was ta u g h t in
th e Vedanta, by Kapila, by Blm ddha, by Confucius, by
Plato, and by Jesus. There is ano th e r presentation of
possibly the same truth, for a reference to which 1 am
indebted to our b rother J . W . Farquhar. I t is from S w eden­
borg, in th e Apocalypse J'J.vpluined, No. 5 2 7 :— “ E very
man has an inferior or exterior mind, and a m ind superior
or interior. These two minds are altogether distinct. By
the inferior m ind m an is in the natural world together
with m en th e re ; b u t by the superior m ind he is in th e
spiritual world with th e angels there. T hese two minds
are so distinct th a t man so long as he lives in the world
does not know w hat is performing w ithin himself in
his superior mind ; b u t when he becomes a spirit, which
is immediately after death, ho does not know w hat is
performing in his m ind.” T h e consciousness o f th e
“ superior mind,” us a result of mere separation from th e
earthly body, certainly does not suggest t h a t sublim e con­
dition which implies separation from so m uch more than
the outer g a rm e n t of flesh, b u t otherwise th e distinction
between thi^ two lives, or minds, seems to correspond with
th a t now u nd e r consideration.
W h a t is it th a t strikes us especially about this s u b stitu ­
tion of the divine-hum an for th e h u m an -natural personality ?
Is it not th e loss of individualism ? (Individualism, pray
observe, not individuality.) There are certain sayings of
Jesus which have probably offended m any in th e ir heaits,
though they m ay not have dared to acknowledge such a
•feeling to them selves: "W o m a n , w hat have I to do with,
thee r and those other disclaimers of special ties and
relationships which m a r the perfect sym p athy of our
reverence. T h ere is som ething awful and incom prehen­
sible to us in this repudiation of individualism, even in
its most amiable relations. B u t it is in th e Aryan philo­
sophies t h a t we see this negation of all t h a t we associate
Avith individual life most emphatically and explicitly in ­
sisted on. I t is, indeed, th e imjiossibility of otherwise
•than thus negatively characterising the soul t h a t has a tta in ­
ed Moksha (deliverance from bonds) which has caused th e
Hindu consummation to be regarded as th e loss of indivi­
duality and conscious existence. It is j u s t because we
cannot easily dissociate individuality from individualism
that we tu rn from the sublime conception of primitive
philosophy as from w h a t concerns us as little as th e
ceaseless activity an d germ ination in other brains of
.thought once thrown off ami severed from the t hinking
source, which is the im mortality promised by Mr. Frederick
Harrison to th e select specimens of h u m a n ity whose
thoughts have any reproductive power. I t is not a mere
preference of nothingness, or unconscious absorption, to
limitation th a t inspires th e intense yearning o f th e Hindu
mind for Nirvana. Even in the Ujmnishiuls there are
many evidences of a contrary W ie f , while in tho S a n k y a
the aphorisms of Kapila unm istakably vindicate th e in ­
dividuality of soul (spirit). Individual consciousness is
maintained, perhaps infinitely intensified, b u t its “ m a t t e r ”
is do longer personal. Only try to realise w hat “ freedom
from desire,” the favourite phrase in which individualism
is negated in these systems, implies ! E ven in th a t form,
o f devotion which consists in action, th e soul is w arned
in th e Bhagaviul-Gita th a t it m ust be indifferent to results.
Modern Spiritualism itself testifies to som ething of th e
same sort. T h u s we are told by one of its most gifted an d
experienced champions, “ Sometimes the evidence will come
from an impersonal source, from some instructor who has
passed through the plane on which individuality is dem o n­
strable. — M. A. (Oxon), S p ir it Id e n tity , p. 7. Again,
“ And if h e ” (the investigator) “ penetrates far enough, he
will find himself in a region for which his p resen t
embodied state unfits him: a region in which the very
individuality is merged, and tho highest and subtlest tr u th s
are not locked within one breast, b u t emanate from repre­
sentative companies whose spheres of life are interblended.”
— Id., p. l.i. By this “ interblending ” is of course m e an t
only a perfect sym pathy and com m unity of th o u g h t; and
I should doubtless misrepresent, th e a u th o r quoted
were I to claim an e ntire identity of the idea he wishes
to convey, aud that, now u nd e r consideration. Y et what,
after all, is sy m pa thy b u t the loosening of th a t hard
“ astrin g e n t ” quality (to use Bohme’s phrase) wherein
individualism consists ( And ju s t a.s iu true sympathy, th e
partial suppression of individualism and of what is distinc­
tive, we experience a superior delight and intensity of being,
8o it may be th a t in parting* with all th a t shuts us up iu
Hie spiritual penthouse of an 1’go— all, w ith o u t exception
or reserve— we may for the first tim e know w hat true life
is, and w hat are its ineffable privileges. Y e t it is not ou
this ground th a t acceptance can be hoped for th e conception,
of immortality here crudely and vaguely presented in
contrast to th a t boai'gvoix eternity of individualism and the
family affections, which is probably the great charm of
Spiritualism to th e majority of its proselytes. I t is d o ubt­
ful w hether the things th a t “ eye hath not seen, nor e a r
heard," have ever taken stronghold of th e imagination, or
reconciled it to the loss of all th a t is definitely associated
w ith the joy nnd movem ent of living. N o t as consummate
bliss can th e dweller on th e lower plane presume to commend
th a t transcendent life. A t th e u tm ost lie can b u t echo th e
revelation th a t came to the troubled mind iu S a rto r
Jienartus, “ A man may do w ithout happiness, ami instead
th ereof find blessedness.” I t is no sublimation of hope,
but the necessities of th o u g h t th a t compel us to seek th e
condition of true being and imm ortality elsewhere th a n
in the satisfactions of individualism. T rue personality
can only subsist in consciousness by participation of th a t
of which we can only say t h a t it is th e very negation of
individuality in any sense in which individuality can be
conceived by us. W h a t is th e c ontent or “ m a tte r ” of
consciousness we cannot define, save by vaguely calling
it ideal. B u t we can say th a t in th a t region individual
interests ami concerns will find no place. Nay, more, we
can affirm th a t only th en has the influx of the new lit'e a
free channel when th e obstructions of individualism are
already removed. Hence th e necessity of th e mystic,
death, which is as truly a death as th a t which restores our
physical body to th e elements. “ N e ith e r 1 am, nor is
a u g h t mine, nor do [ exist,” a passage which has been
well explained by a Hindu Theosophist (Peary Chand Mittra),
as m eaning “ th a t when the spiritual state is arrived at,
/ and mine, which belong to tl w. finite mind, cease, and th e
soul, living in th e univerxum an d participating iu infinity
w ith God, manifests its infinite stale.” I cannot refrain
from quoting tin; following passage from the same in ­
structive w r i t e r :— •
Kvery hum an being has a soul w hich, while not separable from
tho brain ornerves, ix m ind, nvjeedtini), or sentient soul, lint when re ­
generated o r sp iritualised by it in fiee from boudnpe, nmi
m anifests th e divine essence. It rises above all phenomenal states
— joy, sorrow, ”rief, fear, hope, and ill fact nil states rcsullin;.' in juiin
o r pleasure, ami lieeouie-s blissful, roali.'itig im m ortality, intinit'. ile,
nmi felicity of wisdom w ithin itself. Tho sen tien t soul ix nervous,
sensational, emotional, phenomenal, anil impressioiml. I t constitutes
th e n atu ral life am i is Unite. T h e soul and the non-soul nre th u s
the two landm arks. W h a t is non-soul is p rn lrit, or created. I t is
not the lot of every one to know w lm t soul ix, ami therefore millions
live au d die possessing m inds cultivated iu intellect and feeling, h u t
 not raised to tlio soul .state. In proportion a.* one's soul is emanci­
pated from ^>ra/‘n7 or sensuous bondage, in tliat proportion his ap­
proximation to the soid state is attained ; and it is this that consti­
tutes disparities in (lie intellectual, moral, and religious culture of
human beings, and their consequent approximation to God.—iip iri-
tv.al Stray / , « « , Calcutta, 137!*.
H e also cites some wonls of Fichte, which prove th a t
t h e like conclusion is reached in th e philosophy of W e s t­
e r n idealism : “ The real spirit which comes to itself in
h u m a n consciousness is to be regarded as an impersonal
p n e u m a —universal reason, nay, as th e spirit of God H i m ­
self ; and the good of m a n ’s whole development, th e r e ­
fore, can be no other th a n to su b stitu te the universal for
t h e individual consciousness.”
T h a t th e r e may be, and are affirmed to be, in te rm e ­
diate stages, states, .or discrete• degrees, ® will, of course, be
understood. T he aim of this paper has been to call a t ­
tentio n to th e abstract condition of th e immortalised con­
sciousness ; negatively it is true, b u t it is on this very ac­
c o u n t more suggestive of practical applications. T he con­
nection of this Society with the Sp iritualist m ovem ent is
so intim ately sympathetic, th a t I hope one of these may
be pointed o ut without offence. I t is th a t im mortality
cannot be phenom enally demonstrated. W h a t I have
called psychic survival can be, and probably is. B u t im­
m ortality is th e a tta in m e n t of a state, and that, sta te the
very negation of phenom enal existence. A n o th e r con­
sequence refers to th e direction our culture should take.
W c have to conqx>se ourselves to death. N o th in g less.
W e are each of us a complex of desires, passions,
interests, modes of th in k in g and feeling, opinions,
prejudices, ju d g m e n t of others, likings and dislikings,
affections, aims public and private. T hese things, and
w h atever else constitutes th e recognisable content- of our
p re se n t temporal individuality, are all in derogation of our
ideal of impersonal being— saving consciousness, tho m ani­
festation of being. I n some m inute, imperfect, relative, and
almost worthless sense wc may do rig h t in m any of our
judg m e nts, and amiable in m any of our sym pathies and
affections. W e cannot be sure even of this. Only people
u n h ab itu a te d to introspection and self-analysis are quite
sure of it. These are ever those who are loudest in their
censures, and most dogmatic in th e ir opinionative u tte r ­
ances. I n some coarse, rude fashion they are useful, it,
m a y be indispensable, to the world’s work, which is not
ours, save in a transcendental sense and operation. W e
have to strip ourselves of all that, and to seek jierfect
passionless tranquillity. T h e n we may hope to die. Medi­
tation, if it be deep, and long, and frequ en t enough, will
teach even our practical W estern m ind to understand the
H in d u m ind in its yearning for Nirvana. One infinitessi-
m al atom of th e great conglomerate of hum anity, who
enjoys the temporal, sensual life, with its gratifications an d
excitements as much <is most, will testify with unaffected
sincerity th a t he would ra th e r be annih ilated altogeth er
th a u remain for ever w ha t h e knows him self to be, or even
recognisably like it. A n d he is a very average moral speci­
men. I have heard it said, “ The world’s life and business
would come to an end, th ere would be an end to all its
h e a lth y activity, an end of commerce, arts, manufactures,
social intercourse, government, law, an d science, if we were
all to devoto ourselves to th e practice of Yoga, which is
p re tty much w hat your ideal comes to.” A n d th e criticism
is perfectly j u s t and true. Only I believe it does not go
q u ite far enough. N o t only th e activities of th e world b u t
th e phenomenal world itself, which is upheld in conscious­
ness, would disappear or take new, more interior, more
living, and more significant forms, a t least for hum anity,
i f the consciousness of h u m a n ity was itself raised to a
superior sta.te. Readers of St. Martin, and of th a t im ­
pressive book of th e late Ja m e s H inton, M an arid H is
D w elling-plaec, especially if they have also by chance been
stu d e n ts of the idealistic philosophies, will not th in k this
suggestion extravagant. I f all th e world were Yogis, th e
world would have no need of those special activities, th e
u ltim a te end and purpose of which, by-the-by, our critic
■would find it not easy to define. A nd if only a few w ith­
draw, th e world can spare them. E nough of th at.
Only let us not ta lk of this ideal of impersonal, universal
being in individual consciousness as an unverified dream.
O u r sense and im patience of limitations are the guarantees
th a t th e y are not final and insuperable. W hence is this
power of stand in g outside myself, of recognising the worth­
lessness of th e pseudo-judgments, of the prejudices with
th e ir lurid colouring of passion, of th e tem poral interests,
of the ephem eral appetites, of all the sensibilities of egoism,
to which I nevertheless surrender myself, so t h a t thoy
indeed seem myself ? T hrough and above this troubled
atm osphere I seo a being , pure, passionless, rightly m e a ­
suring th e proportions and relations of tilings, for whom
th ere is, properly speaking, no present, with its phantasms,
falsities, and h a lf-tru th s : who has nothing personal in the
sense of being opposed to th e whole of related personalities:
who sees th e tr u th ra th e r th a n struggles logically towards
it, an d tr u th of which I can a t present form no con­
ception ; whose activities are unim peded by intellectual
doubt, uuperverted by moral depravity, and who is indiffer­
e n t to results, because he has not to guide his conduct by
calculation of them, or by any estim ate of th e ir value. I
look u p to him with awe, because in being passionless he
sometimes seems to m e to be w itho ut love. Y e t I know
th a t this is n o t s o ; only t h a t his love is diffused by its
range, an d elevated in abstraction beyond my gaze and
comprehension. A nd I see in this being my ideal, my
higher, my only true, in a word, my immortal self.
O uit KUROl’EAN AND PAIISf KEADKRS SHOULD KNOW
th e d a nge r th e y incur in using th e various “ restorers, ”
dyes, and washes for th e hair which are very widely
advertised just. now. Besides being needlessly expensive,
th e y are in most, cases positively poisonous. Instances of
paralysis and even d eath from th e effects of h a ir lotions
have come un d e r our personal notice. Tho m a tte r has
been considered grave enough to engage th e atten tion of
E u ro pean and A m erican Boards of H e a lth ; and Professor
C. F. Chandler, a noted chemist and President of tho
H e a lth Board of N ew York City, after analyzing samples
ta k e n from bottles t h a t were purchased in open market,
denounces th e nostrum s and their m akers and vendors in
the following strong term s :—
A tte n tio n cannot too strongly be called to th e dangers of the
indiscrim inate use of th e so-called Ila ir dyes, R estorers, Invigora-
tors, etc., of w hich th ere are two classes in the m ark et : tlio first
ono usually offered as instantaneous h air dyes, coiuo mostly in two
small vials, th e one containing a w atery solution of gum arabic and
soda, or an alcoholic solution of gallic acid (obtained from nut-
galls), th e oth er a solution of n itrate of silver, in dilute aqua ammo­
nia (hartshorn). These dyes, when carefully applied, may be
considered harm less. Batchelor's, B riest’s, C ristadoro’s, H ill's,
M iller’s, Vessey’s dyes,niul H o y t’s H iaw atha H a ir R estorative belong
to th is class. T hey can readily be com pounded for less cost by every
pharm acist.
The o th er class, oft'ered w ith moro pretentious names and claims,
coino iu 6 to 8 ounce bottles and consist, w ith b u t few exceptions, of
a m ix tu re of w ater [(! fluid parts], glycerin [ 1 fluid part], and alcohol
[ 1 fluid part], scented w ith rose, lavender, o r oth er flavors, and
w hich contain various quan tities of acotate of lead (sugar of lead) in
solution, and sulphur (lac sulphur), and small q u an tities of carbonate
and sulphate of lead in suspension. By th e chemical action of the
lead upon co n stitu en ts of th e hair, its color is gradually darkened,
b u t th ere cannot be any doubt th a t th e continuous application of
such lead solutions to the scalp acts injuriously, and gives rise to
m ost serious consequences, frequently causing obstinate and fatal
sickncss. _
Tlio q u a n tity of sugar of lead varies much iu th e different res­
torers and is not uniform even in the same m aker's preparation.
The average qu a n tity of acetate o f lead in th e following h air restor­
ativ es is, for each jtvid , miner, as follows :
C hevalier's Life for the H a ir.............................. l i grain* •
P earson’s Circassian I la ir llcjuV enator........... 2 f „
A yer's I la ir Vigor................................................. „
W ood's H a ir R estorative.................................... 3 ,,
O ’B rien’s R estorer of A m erica............ ............ 3 | „
G rqy's I la ir R estorative...................................... 3J
P h alo n ’s V italia.................................................... -H ,>
R ing’s Vegetable Ambrosia .............................. „
Sterling's A m brosia ............... ......................... 4 j „ .
M rs. A llen's W orld’s H a ir R e sto re r.............. „
H a ll’s Vegetable Sicilian H air R enew er......... 7 „.
T ebbet's Physiological H air R egenerator........ 7 J „
M arth a W ashington's H a ir R e sto ra tiv e ....... 9?
S inger’s H a ir R e sto ra tiv e ................, . . , , , .......... lG f
 N il'.L I // v ersu s MISS/OXAHV.
The debate at Ajmere between Pundit Thn/mnnid Sarattrati Steam!,
« ud the Ilev. Dr. (rather Mr.) (,'rtty.
ItV T i l l ': HKV. J . O K A Y , M I S S I O N A I ! V.
I t was onljf yesterday th a t m y attentio n was draw n to
a n article with tho above heading in the T jikoso I'HIst
for Jan uary . As the w riter has fallen into not a lew in ­
accuracies, some ot’ which serve to p u t my conduct in
q u ite ft false light, I m u st beg to be allowed to correct th e
more im portant of them.
I t is stated at tho outset th a t of three copies of th e
Record o f J Hscttssion one was taken away by me a t th e
close of the meeting. T his is not correct. I n e ith e r a sk ­
ed nor was offered any record of the discussion, and though
I had heard of its being in circulation, I had never seen
a ny th in g of it till yesterday, when you r issue for Jan uary ,
with extracts from the Record, and Munshi S a m a rth a d a n ’s
comments thereon, was put into my hand.
T h e circumstances u nder which th e diseussionfini.se were
as follows :— I atten de d a lecture of Pundit Dayanand
Saraswati, towards th e close of which lie undertook to
show th a t there were a great m any errors iu th e liiblo and
the Koran. A fter the list of Scriptural errors had been
read out, I addressed myself to th e Swami to the effect,
th a t I understood no discussion was allowable 011 the spot
during his lecture hours ; b u t it would only be fair th a t
he should supply m e with a copy of his list of objections
and fix a tim e and place to h ear my reply. To this th e
Sw am i a t once assented as cpiite fair and reasonable, and
I left with th e full understanding thnt the objections would
b e sent to me, and th a t there would afterwards be a p u b ­
lic discussion. Munshi Samarthadiiu, therefore, does th e
Swami injustice— qu ite un intentionally 110 d o u bt— in
speaking as if I had to iitsixt “ th a t the questions should
be communicated ” to me in writing ; and he does m e 110
less injustice in conveying the impression th a t I wished to
reply in writing, and to avoid an open discussion ot tlio
points in dispute. N o thing could possibly be further from
m y intention. A public discussion was exactly w ha t I
desired, and in requesting a list of the S w am i’s objections,
I distinctly intim ated th a t 1 would expect him to give mo
an opportunity of replying as publicly as he had m ade th e
attack. T he list, duly sent to me, contained, ns Munshi
Samarthadiin states, abo ut fifty quotations from Scripture.
I saw th a t unless some lim it were set to th e discussion,
th e patience of th e audience would become exhausted,
and m any of th e im portant points would never be over­
taken, b u t th e s ta te m e n t of th e Munshi th a t I suggested
a t th e outset th a t the questions and answers on each pas­
sage should be limited to two, is liable to be m isunder­
stood. W h a t I stipulated for was th a t after the Swami
had fu lly stated his objections on any one passage, and I
had replied as fully as I th ou gh t necessary, he should be
a t liberty to dispose of my reply - as best he might., and
then after my rejoinder to his second speech, wo should
go on to the next point. My only object in this wa.s to
secure th a t we should get over the ground of controversy,
from the beginning to th e end of th e Bible, and not consume
all tho tim e iu wrangling abo ut a few points in Genesis.
My object was frustrated, however, by a n o th e r device on
which th e Swami insisted, viz., t h a t every word of th e
debate should be tak en down in writing. I was delighted
to see three reporters present, b u t I understood lit tirst
th a t they were to act as reporters in all o th e r cases do—
take down as full and correct a report as possible w ithout
interfering with tho course of debate. W e had 110 sooner
begun th an 1 found o u t my mistake. T h e Sw am i dictated
to-tlio slow-going H indi a n d U rd u writers his objections
on the first passage lie liad selected. Ab th is took u p a
considerable time, I replied more briefly th a n I had in ­
tended, and perhaps, th a n I o u gh t to have done, in order
to save time. A second course of dictation 011 th e p a r t of
the Swami was followed by a few brief sentences on m y p a rt
by way of reply ; and so on, till a t tho close of th e first
two hours we had only got to th e third of th e fifty pas­
' sages. Meanwhile, th e people, who had assembled with
lively interest to hear th e discussion, had got tired o f
looking on a t this dictation business. Many had not been
able to hear, and some had very naturally gone to sleep.
Tile I'ccurtl o f .Discussion had to be rend over at the close
of tho m eeting tha t the auditors might know what had
been said. T h ere had been 110 life, or l u t f as one of th e
chief men present declared in s u c h a discussion. 1 sug ­
gested th a t if it was to be a m a tte r of dictation— to
which personally I entirely objected— it would be much
b e tte r for the Swami to dictate his objections a t his own
residence, and for me to write my replies similarly, w ith ­
out bringing th e people to g e th e r every night for a month
to see th e writing going 011. Sardar B ahadur M unshi
Aniinehand expressed his approval of this suggestion
with the addition th a t there should be a m eeting or m e e t­
ings a t the close to hear w ha t had been written. To this
th e Swami refused to consent. I again urged th a t it
ought to be a free, open discussion, iu which all present
could take nn in te ie st ; and I p u t it to the meeting to in­
dicate w hether tha t was n o t the general desire. T he res­
ponse in favour of an oral discussion, instead of one by
dictation, was all b u t unanimous, and I hoped some of th e
leading m en present would succeed by next day in in ­
ducing the Swami to give up the work ot dictation which
had dragged so heavily. On the following day 1 sent a
note to the Swami, asking if he would agree to a free oral
discussion unimpeded by dictation, so th a t th e ground
m ight all be overtaken, and the interest k e p t up. l i e d e­
clined to accede to my request, and added— “ I t is not
necessary th a t all th e points should be discussed a t th e
present time, and by you personally. L e t some ot tbe
points lie settled now, and th e remainder can be discussed
in some o ther place and by some other Pitdri Stdteb.
T his was the point upon which the Swami and I differed.
H e th ou ght it was not necessary to have all th e points
discussed in Ajmere, while I was decidedly of opinion
th a t as th e objections had been set forth a t a public meet-
in*r iu Ajmere, they should all be answered in the sam e
place with equal publicity. My chief objection to th e
system of dictation had been th a t the ground could never
be overtaken iu this way. T h e people would not have
continued to c o m e to such meetings, even it the Swami
had been willing to stay for a m o nth to discuss all th e
points, and the Swami never professed any intention of
staying to complete the discussion. Munshi S a m a ith a -
dan, indeed, says he promised, in th e le tte r above referred
to, “ to stay a t A jm ere to continue the discussion as long
as he would be desired to do so,” b u t this is one of th e
num erous inaccuracies into which lie has somehow fallen.
T h e letter, as quoted above, repeated what the Swami had
said at the meeting, th a t there was 110 necessity for going
over all his objections in Ajmere. I t would be enough i f
only a few were thsrnssed. As soon as 1 got his leply, I
arranged to call a public meeting, where all the objections
could be ta k e n u p and answered. l o speak ol it as a
m eeting of th e " s t u d e n t s ” of th e Mission school aud
some others, is an entire misrepresentation. Notices wero
lithographed an d circulated as widely as possible, and th e
m eetin g was atte n d e d by th e elite, of Ajmere. Munshi
Saniarthaddn speaks of it as having ta k en place ‘ th e
day after th e Swami had left Ajmere, b u t he does not
m ention th a t th e notice had been issued, and it was well
known th a t th e m eeting was to ta k e place. I had taken
special care to have a notico sen t to the Swami, aud was
sorry to learn a t th e tim e of the m eeting th a t he had left
for Masudah. I throw o u t no insinuations after the m a n ­
n er of the Munshi. P erhaps th e S w a m i ’s a rrangem ents
did not allow him to stay ano th er day in Ajmere. O th e r ­
wise i t would have been only becoming in him to a tte nd
th e m eeting and h e a r w hat was to be said in reply to his.
charges.
As to Munshi SamarthadA n’s comments 011 th e extracts-
h e has furnished, I do not consider it necessary to say any­
th in g either as to th e t r u th or spirit of them. I should
not th in k of discussing th e m a tte r with him, or with any
one, b u t P u n d it Day&nand Saraswati himself. It th e
 Swnmi should soc fit to bring forward in yum columns in
m o n th ly instalm ents tho objections lie did not stay to hear
•answered, and if you would allow m e equal space in them
to reply, 1 should be very happy to continue th e discus­
sion which b e broke off in Ajmere. " in qu antity, and it by no means improves in quality.
A.im e r e :
27(/t Ja n u a ry , 1t»SO.
A H indi translation of th e above having been sen t to
iSwaniiji, he writes, under date of Benares, 10th February,
“ Wlirn the m eeting was held a t Ajm ere by me I asked
th e I'a d r i to come forward the next day and discuss, b u t
his answer was th a t he would n o t come. Therefore, I now
reply to him t h a t it does not suit me to carry on th e dis­
cussion h e now proposes. I f any well-educated bishop
should be ready to conduct a discussion of this kind in
your journal, there need be uo d o ubt b u t th a t I would
accept a proposal similar to th e one now made.”
T hough our columns m ight be occupied to b e tte r a d ­
vantage than with debates upon ( 'hristianity, which is
m oribund in its own strongholds and never was a vital
issue in India, yet, t h a t there may be no appearance of
partiality in our m anagem ent, th e TiiKOSOi’ii 1ST will print
th e discussion suggested by our B rothe r if any bishop
should be willing to expose his head to th e th u n d erin g
blows of a “ H e a th e n '’ mace of logic. Meanwhile it m ig ht
not be a bad idea for some l'o d r i Sahcb to read th e follow­
ingO editorial from a recent issue of th e N ew York S u n : —
W h y is T h e o i .o o y so N e g l e c t e d ?
I t is a remarkable circumstance th a t th ere has been of
recent years an actual decline in th e num b er of theological
stu dents in th e diviuity schools of some of our most im por­
ta n t P rotestant denominations.
T he graduates from colleges are yearly more numerous,
and th e e ntering classes a t our chief universities are ste a d ­
ily increasing in size and rendering necessary th e employ­
m e n t of additional instructors. H a rva rd never had so g re a t
a b o d y of students as now, though it has of late years
very much raised its standard for admission. Vale also
is fuller tl urn ever, while Colum bia is obtaining
classes two or three tim es as large :us those it instructed
before the war. T he th ron g of stu den ts a t Princeton has
much increased, and a t Williams, D a rtm o u th , and oth e r
smaller colleges of th e interior th e faculties and trustees
are rejoicing over classes rem arkable for th e ir numbers.
T h e l a w schools are crowded, th e lectures a t the medical
colleges were never before so well attended, and th e m ining
and scientific schools are nourishing to an unusual degree.
Y et theological seminaries, though th e y spend g re a t
efforts to obtain students, and frequently offer them not only
free tuition, b u t also entire or partial su p p o rt du rin g th e ir
course, m ust content themselves with a few young men, and
these, oftentimes n ot th e cream of our youth, b u t th e sk im ­
m ed and even th e watered milk.
I n the Presbyterian denomination, one of th e greatest
bulwarks of orthodoxy and one of th e strongest and richest
of P rotestant bodies, o u t of .>,415 churches 92(5 arc w itho ut
pastors. The n u m b e r of churches increased last year by
14G, and y e t there was an increase of m inisters of only 37,
thou gh 58 ministers came over to tho Presbyterians from
o th er denominations. The candidates for th e m inistry are
this year 22 fewer th a n last year, and 153 fewer th a n iu
1874 . . .
W h a t is th e m eaning of this rem arkable decline in th e
num ber of theological students ? Though the population
lias been g r o w i n g "steadily and largely in six years, and th e
Presbyterians have manifested their interest in th e ir religi­
ous doctrines by organizing hundreds of new churches, th e
Presbyterian young men tu rn w ith aversion from th e m in i­
s tr y or pass it by to u n d e rta k e a more congenial career.
O u t of all th e thousands of them, a few score only, and
t h e y by no means the most promising of these youth, are
tu r n in g th e ir attentio n to th e stud y of theology. Money
for th e education of m inisters is n o t lacking, and th e re
never was an abler body of divinity professors th a n now.
T h e principal churches th rou gh ou t the country are anxioufk
for ]>n.stors of eloquence and power, and are ready to pay
them salaries larger than ever before. B u t th e m aterial
o u t of which acceptable ministers may be m ade grows less
Is this decline due to th e superior inducem ents in th e
way of worldly success offered by ot her professions than tho
sacred one ? T h a t cannot be the cause, for a young m inister
especially a dapted to his calling, and who can dem onstrate’
liis ability to preach to th e satisfaction of a church, a t once
leaps into a place where lie gets both consequence an d n.
sure and am ple living, while if his heart is in his work ho
has full em ploym ent for his powers. In other professions
a young man m u s t m a ke bis way upward by slow ami
arduous climbing.
is it not ra th e r because the zeal for th e faith is g e ttin g
so cold t h a t young men have no spirit and enthusiasm to
u n d e rta k e its propagation ? T he ranks of th e lawyers,
doctors, engineers, and business m en are gaining new
recruits faster than th ey need, and yet orthodox churches
cannot keep lip their supply of m inisters !
T H E E X V A N E S ! 1 1'A R T . v
An English Theosophist asked in th e J a n u a ry nu m b e r
for information about “ t h a t most mystic of all mystic
books,” T h e / h ij/fin e s h n ir i ,- “ Can any of y ou r corres­
pondents,” ho exclaims, “ give any account of this book ?
Who w;is A lundi ?” H e was answered briefly last m onth
b y a Bengali Babu ; now he may read w hat this friend a t
Poona writes :— •
J ’ooua, J a n u a ry 18ifi, 1S80.
I n (Ik; D ecember num ber of the T i i k o s o i m i i s t th ere is a comm uni­
cation by a E uropean, n t th e end of which he iuijuircfc ‘a bout the
Jhiyancshcari nnd A lundi. I nm certain th a t many native subscribers
of the Jo u rn al m ust have w ritten to you a b o u tit ; b u t still I take thin
o p portunity of lettin g you know th e following facts T he D nyan-
cshrari is a com m entary on th a t master-piece of the author of
th e .Vuhitbhdratu, th e M a-yinitfjiti). I t wa-s w ritten by D nyaii-
eshvara, an in h a b ita n t of A lundi (A lakiipuri.) H e w rote it in the
Saka year 1212, which shows th a t the work lias been in the handH
of the public of the MaharaKtni for nearly six centuries. T his
work which, owing to th e degeneracy of th e present age, is littlo
known to tlie so-called educated natives, was the stan d ard work on
V edanta for th e MalmWistras. and w ith th e men th a t were and nre
"enerally know n as th e Y arkaris or th e followers o f the Vithnba a t
i ’andharpur, it stood in th e place of th e Vedas. As to its m erits,
I th in k th a t I am not able to do justice to them , owing to m y
ignorance, b u t I may safely assert from w hat little knowledge I
have of the work, th a t it is ‘first of its class iu th e whole range of
M arathi literature. I t is to th is day th e te x t of the Vedi'iutis.
Owing to th e lapse of centuries, its language differs very much
from th a t of tho Inter poets, am i so a o p iire s a considerable am ount
of study. _
I t has been prin ted and published lately in Bombay, aud can bo
had for a few rupees. I have iu m y possession an old M anuscript
o f the same, and am willing to se n d 'it to your L ibrary, if re<juired.
A s to A lundi, it is a village somo tea miles from Poona, an d is held
sacred owing to its being th e place where the g reat D nyaneshvara
lived. A n annual fair is held th ere in liis honor.
I beg to rem ain,
Yours, &c.(
M. V. L E L E .
Engineering College, P oona.
A K E L b O W OK T H E l o M A N ' T h E O S O P H IC .U , S O C I E T Y O K
Corfu, Greece, C o u n t N . de Gonemys, M . I ) . , announces
his intention to publish a critical work upon th e three,
th erapeutic systems of Allopathy, H o m e o p a th y and A ni­
mal Magnetism, in which th e ir respective claims an d m erits
will be exhaustively and impartially set forth. C o u n t de
G onemys is a gentlem an of superior medical as well as
general education, and, as we are informed, likely to do
well w hat h e has undertak en . T he work will be ill
G r e e k w ith a translation into F rench alongside th e text.
I t is to appear in abo ut <10 m on thly parts, a t the ra te of
1’2 parts each year, and th e subscription price; is fixed a t
12 francs (0 shillings and 8 pence sterling) per year.. T h e
work m ay be ordered th ro ug h th e M anager of th e
T h e o s o p h i s t , who will also see to the delivery of th o
] vi its. ’.
 H O W B E S T TO B E C O M E A T IIE O S O P IIIST.
HY HKN'ltY K. ()!,(,’OTT.
Tho London S p ir itu a lis t gives space to a lull report of
th e in aug ural address of George Wyld, Esq., M. I)., (Edin.)
th e newly elected President of tho British Theosophical
Society, a branch of our own, which wc lack tho room to
print. l)r. W yld’s p aper is m arked by th e force, learning
and sincerity which arc liis recognised personal character^
istics. I t teaches tlio tru e doctrine th a t adoptship, or tlio
a tta in m e n t of a lull spiritual condition, is only possible
for those who b ring th e bodily lusts of all kinds u n d e r
th e control of th e h igher and b ettor nature ; and, in a series
of a p t quotations from th e four Gospels of tho N ow T esta ­
m ent, he endeavours to convince liis audience th a t Jesus,
thou gh perhaps not the very nnd only Son of God, was
a t least th e highest type of hum an spirituality over vouch­
safed to m ankind. A t th e same time, Dr. W yld affirms
th a t every m an may become a “ Son of God," his rule
being " -So to e m p ty o u r souls o f s e lf th a t the Father,
becom ing m a n ife s t h i H is S o n #, illu m in a te s a n d regene­
rates the w orld." T h is species of Christian adoptship our
respected bro th er places even above th e adoptship of tho
E a st which, he says “ is secret and mysterious, and hidden
from all except a select few, who have passed th ro ug h an
ordeal so severe and dangerous tliat many, it is said, perish
in body or in soul ou m aking tho a ttem p t, and into which
select few, so far as we know, no woman has over been
adm itted.”
In these utterances, so foreign to th e views e n te rta in e d
by a largo majority of Thcosophists, our Oriental friends
will see a practical evidence of tho truly republican and
cosmopolitan n atu re of th e Theosophical Society. Dr.
Wyld is an enthusiastic adm irer of tl io character of Jesus,
and yet sees his way clear to th e accomplishment of th a t
personal spiritual unfolding towards which we all aspire.
Indeed, as is b u t natural w ith strong thinkers, his p ath
seems to him th e best and surest one, and lie lays his
scheme before his Society and tho world w ith an a rd e n t
longing for its acceptance. Brahmos will doubtless recog­
nize tlie very essence of th e ir own ideas coming from this
good T hcosophists lips, and sec tliat our jou rn a l was not
wide of the m ark in saying u j k i i i its first appearance th a t
th ere was am ple room for Brahm o and P ia r th a n a Sam a-
jists and even liberal Christians, in our fellowship. O ur
London brother means every word he speaks on this theme,
and his opinions are respected by us j u s t as much as though
he had avowed his faith in e ither of th e ancient Eastern
religions, which some of us th in k th e best over evolved by
man. I f he had been in India, studied the a ncient philoso­
phies, and seen the E astern adepts and tho practical
proofs of th e ir lofty science, he would beyond do ubt change
th e views he now expounds so eloquently. A nd all th is
m ay come in time.
But, in th u s conceding to Dr. W yld th e full rig ht of
private jud gm ent, it m ust not bo forgotten t h a t like th e
rest of us, he speaks only for himself, and neith er tho T heo­
sophical Society as a whole, nor oven tho British branch, as
a body, is responsible. T h e very idea of “ Brotherhood of
H u m a n i t y ” and “ Republic of Conscience,” both of which
.synonyms apply to the basis 011 which our Society is build­
ing up, tovors tho principle of strict intellectual recipro­
city. A ny a t te m p t to m ake tho Society a propaganda,
w hether of C hristianity or any o ther single religion, would
a t once strip it of th e first quality of cosmopolitanism
and m ake it only a sect. F o r myself, I am free to say
th a t there is 110 adequate proof to my miiul e ith er th a t
Jesus was the Son of (Jod, th a t he said or did th e th in gs
ascribed to him, t h a t eith er one of tho four Gospels is a n y ­
th in g b e tte r th an a literary fabrication, or t h a t J e su s ever
lived. N o r do I see th a t tluj ideal character of Je su s is any
nobler th an th a t of G autam a, if so noble. A t tho proper
times and places I have m aintained these views, aud
hope to do so often again. So far from sharing Dr. W y ld ’s
ideal of Christianity, I have, after nearly fifty years of
practical observation and experience in Christian countries
and among th e teachers and professors of Christianity, been
forced to conclude th a t it is a had religion and fosters
eveiy sin and vice against which its ethical code inveighs.
A nd y e t this is b u t my individual opinion, and in express­
ing it, I no more compromise o n r Society than does Dr.
Wyld, who is so strong an adm irer of Jesus, liy expressing
liis, or than Mr. Massey hy his article in this nu m ber of
th e T h e o s o p h i s t , or the Swami Dayanand, or our ortho­
dox H indu fellows, or the high priest Sumangala, or any
other a d h e re n t of any special sect or theology, by what
they respectively teach. W e are all individual and freo
as to personal beliefs, b u t are knitted to geth er by th e
.strong ties of intellectual reciprocity and universal b roth er­
hood.
N o r is Dr. W yld warranted in his definition of th e
n a tu re of Oriental adoptship, as given in the following
te rm s : “ Tho Oriental adept obtains magical or soul
]x>wer over m atter, ivhtch he u s e s f u r his in n i eutls— and
over spirits. B u t the Christian ad ep t has no dealings
w ith low or weak spirits, except to convert them or to
oast them o u t ; h u t his life is spout in openly tra nsm utin g
his spiritual powers into good works for th e g o o d of m a n ­
kind.” Tho implication here is most unequivocal— tho,
E astern adept uses his acquired power for selfish ends
a n d consorts with low and weak spirits with a less com­
m endable object than that of converting or casting th e m
o u t ; and, unlike his Christian compeer, does not “ tra n s­
m ute his spiritual powers into good works for the good of
m ankind.” Since I, as an individual, am com m enting
upon th e opinions of Dr. Wyld as an individual, I am
bound to sa)r th a t nothing could bo farther from the real
state of thocn.se. W h a te v er the Christian adept m a y o r
m ay not do of beneficent deeds— and church history is
not all one-sided on th a t question— it is most certain th a t
th e Eastern a d e p t’s first and last, aspiration is to benefit
m ankind by m ak in g him self pu rer and b e tte r than they.
So far from consorting with low and weak spirits, the very
elem entary instruction he receives is to avoid them, and
rid himself of th e ir fatal influence hy becoming too holy
for them to approach him. Not a single “ Eastern a d o ] it”
comes w ithin Dr. W yld’s hypothesis, except th e proble­
matical practitioner of Black Magic or Sorcery, who uses
liis knowledge of arcane natural powers to gratify carnal
apjiotites and desires, and ia e a iiitU y f a l l s Victim to the
c e il s p ir its he has drairu t<>h is a id .
I t is equally incorrect to say th a t no woman has lie-
come au adept. N o t to mention o n e example which will
im m ediately recall itself to every Theosophist, 1 m ay say
t h a t I personally have encountered in India two other ini­
tiated women, and know of a num ber of others iu th e
E ast. Some women, it m u st be remembered, are of t h a t
sex only in body— taking sex to mean th a t negative q ual­
ity of individuality which Dr. Wyld evidently had in mi ml
w hen thinking of them. I f Je sus made adepts by b re ath ­
ing 011 men, so th a t they could un der this afflatus do
“ m iracles;” and if Loyola, Theresa, Savonarola, and th e
C ure D ’Ars, possessed the power of afthrobaey and heal­
ing, so have hundreds o f ‘ Eastern a d e p t s ” in Indian
history healed the ir multitudes, “ miraculously ” fed tho
hungry, and raised the dead : as for air-walking, tho
readers of this paper need not be told th a t in India,
oven a'11 English doctor adm its it is an exact physiological
science.
My friend Dr. W yld deplores that in G reat Britain there
are 110 examples of adoptship to refer to ; to which I
reply th a t I could nam e to him a t least one British F e l ­
low of th e Society who, in modest privacy has by intelli­
g e n t self-discipline already acquired very m arked results
in this direction ; while I have, with my own eyes, seen
in th e streets of London one of tho most em inent of Eas­
te rn adepts, who has th a t to look after which is a tra n s m u ta ­
tion of his jxnvers for th e good of hum anity. Those “ adepts,”
“ Rosicruoaiis,” “ initiates,” or whatever else we ma)'choose
to call them, go abo ut th e world— as Professor Alexander
W ild er so clearly told us last m onth— w itho ut being sus-
jHjcted ; m ingling in crowds b u t not affected by them, and
doing w h a t is best to be done, and o u t of purest love
lor th e ir fellow-men. Those only are perm itted to recog­
nise them whom it is necessary they should reveal th e m ­
selves to for th e a tta in m e n t of a definite object. Hut
th is one tiling is indisputable, that, w h e th e r they o u t ­
w ardly call themselves Buddhists, H indus, Parsis or C hris­
tians, they are absolutely a t 011c in spirit, ; and that spirit
is to become spiritually great, so tha t g re a t good may he
d o n e by them to the whole world.
-------- ♦--------
T H E M ’D D H I S T I D E A A B O U T SO U L.*
Erotii thr Sanskrit of the Iliyht Hiw If. Svuuittrjtdn.
Ts th e re an everlasting and constant soul ? T his ques-
tioii occupies th e thoughts of the world. The doctrine
that, the soul exists, though held by various sects of p h i­
losophers, docs not find n place in the B u d d h a system, tor
t h e B ud dh a rejects th e doctrine of tlic existence of the
pohI. Herein lies th e great, g u lf between tin? Buddhistic
and oth e r systems of belief. A nd i t behoves learned
th in k e rs to settle this disputed point w h e th e r nn eternal
:md undying soul exists in living beings or not. F o r it is
«>f th e utm ost importance in the exam ination of modern
.systems of belief. According to th e J a r t u k a s (Naiyayikas)
flic soul is the eighth in the category of nine .substances
th a t exist in the world. This soul is of two kinds, liumnn
(or rather animal) soul and the suprem e soul. T h e a n i­
m al soul is eternal. And thus it is said iu th e T ark a -
f^angraha. " T h e soul is th e repository of knowledge. It
is of two kinds, th e animal soul and th e suprem e soul.
O f these th e suprem e soul is one only. I t is alm ighty
nnd omniscient and is n o t subject to pain nnd pleasure.”
T h e hum an soul is different in different bodies. I t is all
pervading and eternal and is subject to pain and pleasure.
Ami so it is said in th e '‘ D ip ik a ’’— “ T h e characteristic
of the hum an (animal) soul is th a t it is subject to pain
and pleasure.” According to the Buddhas, there is 110
o th e r soul (in living beings) th a n the five aggregates.
E v ery living being has the five aggregates. T hese are tho
sensational, th e affectional, th e nominal, th e imprcssional,
ih e perceptional. T he scnsationals are th e bodies, begin­
ning with atom s upwards, subject to changes 011 account,
of their being affected hy heat and cold. Th ey are called
t h e sensational aggregates inasmuch as the}’ are the agg re­
ga te s of sensible objects. T he aflectional aggregates are
sill.the pains and pleasures, See., th a t a r c felt, or are cap a­
ble of being felt. T he nominal aggregates are those th a t
give names as characterising recognition (of distinct ob­
jects). T h e impressional aggregates are all the im pres­
sions of th e general, th e beautiful, and so on. T he p e r­
ceptional aggregates are all those m ental p henom ena
■which lead to acts th a t are liked (or to th e rejection of acts
t h a t arc not liked.)
All these aggregates are m utable nnd perishable. N o t
one of them is constant, or perm anent. T hey are all
changeable and perishable as the foam or th e vapour. T h e
J a r tu k a s hold an atom to be eternal. T his belief is e n ­
tirely rejected by th e Buddhas. T h a t which knows growth
a n d decay m ust be inconstant. Those who assert th a t
th e re exists a constant (perm anent) soul in a living being
nre wrong in their assertion. T h ey see th nt th e visible
organs of sense, eyes, &c., are liable to destruction, b u t
of th e invisible mind they do not witness its destruction.
H enco th e y conclude th a t the mind is eternal. B y in ­
duction they identify th e soul with th e m in d and a tt r i­
b u t e its qualities of immutability, &c., to th e soul. A s
i\ bud leaves one tre e for another, so does the soul leave
one body to m igrate in another. This is th e ir doctrine
sis explained by th e ir learned philosophers.
Now inasmuch as th ey hold th e existence of different
souls in different bodies, and one cannot exist sim ul­
taneously in different places, th e y (souls) m u st be m any.
T h a t which is more than one m ust necessarily be incon­
s ta n t and mutable.
• T rn n d a to 'l from tlic F cbrunry num ber of tho T heosophist ,
f< IV M ncript.”
A JE W E L J jY T H E O L D R U B B I S H .
HY fiO V IN I) \V. K A N IT K A U .
I am an hum ble adm irer of Physical Science. While,
therefore, 1 was tu rn in g over the pages of a big volume o f
a ncient learning, entitled ‘ Tho B rih a t Sanhita,' com­
posed by th e well-known scientist Varuha Mihira, I h a p ­
pened to read th e ch apter on llain-Fall. T he second*
verso in it gives a description of w hat to us moderns is
known as th e liain-Gnnr/e. The author says : ‘ The in­
s tru m e n t to measure rain-fall should be constructed in the
following manner. M ake a k un d a k a or circular vessel as
wide as your hand. Place it in th e open air where rain
begins to fall. T his in stru m e n t will enable you toknow how
m uch w ater falls from heaven. Divide it into fifty parts.
Fifty ptthts (one pala equals four tolas) will m ake one
Ail/inlit (a higher measure).’ Now, Sir, 1 feel my patriotic
feeling much gratified when I reflect upon this ingenious
and original way of m easuring rainfall which suggested
itself to th e inventive and keenly observant mind of th e
learned Varsiha Mihira— for, I cannot possibly believe th a t
lie pilfered it from a W estern scientific Acharya, a
Thomson or a Ganot. No, Sir, VarAha Mihira, tho w riter
of this verse, lived in tho time of K in g Vikrama, a con­
tem po rary of our Sanscrit royal bard KalidAsa. This
book (B rihat S anhita) contains m any interesting chap­
ters, full of most valuable and original information. B u t
alas 1 who is to dig o u t tho treasure from the mines and to
utilize it ? T h e cost of it is immense. Tlio poor anuiot
do it unaided, and th e rich won’t do it. W e have how­
ever m any hopes from your noble attemptB a t reviving our
ancient learning. Well, let us see w hat comes out of it. I
am iuduccd to send you this short note in the hope o f
co ntributing m y poor little m ite towards tho grand object
of your Society. P u t it into th e TnEOSOPHi.ST if you think
fit. A s tim e and tide shall p e rm it I hope to m ake more
notes of this kind and sond th e m to you.
Tho B rihat Stm hita is properly speaking a work on As­
trology. B u t m an y oth e r useful subjects are also treated
in connection w ith it. T here is a lengthy ch apter ( ’>3) in
it entitled th e A r t of B gilding a H ouse (Architecture!)
Similarly th ere is ano th e r ono headed “ T he knowledge
respecting th e life and rearing of plants," ch. ;'>•>. I may
call this th e science of gardening. C h a p te r 54 treats o f
digging wells and fiuding out water, &c.
G injaum B u c k Rood, K n m tk a r H ull,
Kheticadcc, 8th Jan. 1880.
T m -. G o v k h x m k x t o k E m v a x w a s a l w a y s k x o w n r o i t
th e wealth of its m o nu m en ts and relics of antiquity. A n d
now, a Russian daily paper, The Ctntctim.?, announces re­
cent discoveries invaluable to arclueology, in th e shape of
inscriptions upon solid rocks and isolated stones. T h e y
are all in cuneiform characters. T h e earliest of them
having attracted th e a tte n tio n of th e em in en t arclia ologist
and A rm enian scholar, Professor N o rm an , w ith th e help,
of the photograph forwarded to h im from E tc ln n ia th in e
(The oldest A rm enian monastery) he first discovered the-
key to these characters, and has proved th e ir historical ini--
portnncc. Besides this, th e Professor has demonstrated by
his discovery that, previous to th e invention of th e now
existing alphabet, by Mesrob, <he A rm enians had cuneiform
or arrow-headed characters, especially rem arkable in all that,
have a similar form of rectangular triangles; tho significance
of each character, i.e. of th e triangle, depending upon t h e
m u tu a l conjunction and position of these trian gu lar forms.
T h e h u l k s o k t h i : t h k o s o p h ic a l socnrrv, a s -
recently revised a t Benares, together witli nu address to-
th e friends of tr u th from th e General Council, will shortly
be issued in English, M arathi, Guzerati, Bengalee, Cana--'
rese, and H indi. Price— As. 4.
12*J, ICICI II
xxiii.
 THE MADRAS YOGI S A / i H A P A T Y S W A M I .
11V AX A DM I It KR.
S ab liap aty Swamy was born iu Madras in the year 1840.
H e came from one of the richest and noblest B rahm an
families of Dakkan, where his father was well-known for
h is magnificent gifts and charities.
N a tu r e had endowed him with- a precocious in tel­
lect, since a t th e age of eighteen hu was th o u g h t to possess
a very creditable knowledge ot the English language, and
a tolerably good acquaintance with th e oth er branches of
learning. H e was educated in the Free ( Hunch Mission
College.
H e was gifted with a poetic and well-regulated im agina­
tion, so th a t while y et a student, he acquired th e approba­
tion of his friends and superiors for his excellent Tamil
poems. Some of them have become standard works iu th e
language.
o O
F rom his early ago he showed g re a t interest in religion,
a nd all the noblest faculties of his poetic genius were often
brought into play iu singing hym ns in praise of th e G reat
God, the Msihudeva. liis verses were well received by his
countrym en and gained for him th e title of “ Arootpa,
moorti.” H e is a m aster of music also.
His great desire to learn w hat the religions of other
people had to teach, caused him to travel to B urm ah. l i e
lived there with his father-in-law who carried on a great
mercantile traffic. H e re he learned from th e Poongees
(the Buddhistic priests) tho doctrines of th e ir renowned
Teacher. H e stayed there for about a year.
A fter his return from B u rm a h ho w e n t to th e tem p le of
N agoor Masthan in N a g ap a ta m and gained the tru th s of
t h e Moslem faith from the well-known and learned fakirs of
t h e place. These travels took him -th ree years. T h e result
o f his search was th a t none of these three religions, viz.,
Buddhism, Christianity, aud M oham m edanism could satisfy
his aspirations. Ho found to his great disap pointm ent
th a t none of them had the tru e knowledge and complete
m e th o d of holding communion with th e Infinite Spirit.
H e therefore return ed to his own country, easily obtained
a G overnm ent employment, and applied all the stre n g th
of his body aud m ind to th e diligent study of the H in d u
Sh£stros. H is labours were not in vain since he becam e
a perfect m aster of all the Vedas, Darshanas, &c. These
studies took him seven years, and he had finished now his
tw en ty -ninth year.
B u t though he hail learned all th e sacred books of th e
Aryas, he was far from obtaining tb e tru e Brahinagiyana.
H e had learned to be pious and religious, kind and chari­
table to all. B u t in spite of all his p iety an d devotion his
m ind was not at ease. H e had longed for direct and face
to face communion with God, and he was still unsuc­
cessful. H e found o ut t h a t books could not teach him this
knowledge, and God alone could reveal to him the mys­
teries of Godhead.
I t was in the tw en ty -ninth year of his age, w hen the
anx iety of his m ind for B rahinagiyana was the greatest,
th a t he had a vision of the infinite Spirit, i t said unto
h im “ Know, O Sabhapati, th a t I, th e Infinite Spirit, am in
all creations, and all th e creations aro in me. You are
not separate from me, n eith er is any soul distinct from me.
1 reveal this directly unto you, because I see you to be holy
aud sincere. I accept you as m y disciple an d bid you rise
and go to A g usty a Ash rum where you will find mo in
shape of Rishees and Yogis.” T h e words ceased, he sprang
up from his bed aud found h im self to be full of holy and
divine ecstasy t h a t made him forget every thing. All
things dropped from him as of themselves, he was to tally
unconscious even of his ownself. In th e dead of the night,
for it was one o'clock of th e m ornim g w hen he saw th e
divine vision, he left his wife and two sons, w rapped his
body with only a sheet, w e n t o u t of his home and travelled
all the n ig h t till he reached th e tem ple of Mahddeva, also
called Vedashreni Sw ayam bbu Sth alum . T h is te m p le is
situated seven m ile3 south of Madras. T h e re he sa t before
the Mahudeva for threo days and three nights immersed iu
deep contemplation. O u th e th ird day he hud tho vision
(darshonum) of Mahudeva who said :— “ Consider th e
L ingam to be nothing more th a n m y U niversal Infinite
Spiritu al Circle or Brahmosaroopa itself. H e who th in ks
so receives Brahinagiyana. Therefore, go, m y son to th e
A gustya A shrum and have m y blessings with thee.”
T his vision confirmed him more in his d e term ination t o
go to N ilghirry hills, where th e A g u s ty a A sh ru m is situated.
E n te rin g a thick forest, he crossed it aud passed through
Soorooli, Aliigur, a u d S a th ra g iri hill, thence th rou gh Kootala
P apanashan to A gusty a Ashrum. This A sh ru m is su r­
rounded ou all sides by jungles, and he suffered much iu
crossing these dreary and pathless forests. He was m any
tim es in th e close and terrible vicinity of wild beasts, and
had it n ot been for th e grace and protection of th e
Infinite Spirit, he should have long fallen a prey to these
ferocious creatures. T he sufferings of his way were in­
creased by th e w a n t of proper nourishment. H e had to
live for days on fruits and roots, and he was not even certain
w h e th e r h e should n ot pick up some poisonous roots.
He searched these forests for th e caves of the Rishees.
One day as he was sittin g un der a tree exhausted and
disappointed from m any days’ unsuccessful search, ho had
a vision. I t said that, th re e miles from the place where he
was then sitting was a Yogi raja to whom he m ust go and
become his disciple. H e rose up cheered by th e vision and
proceeded on his way. l i e reached th e spot. I t was a cave
half a mile long and cu t into the solid rock. A t th e
entrance of the cave he saw a man whom he found after­
wards to be the first disciple of the Yogi. On requesting
th is personage to introduce him to th e Guroo, he said “ Are
you the same person who had the vision of Muhadeva while
in the tem ple of Vedshreni, for my Guroo has been lately
ta lk in g to me of such a one coming to us.” O u r a u th o r
answered in the affirmative, and the delight and elevation
of his h e a rt cannot be described when he found him self
ushered into th e presence of th e m ost venerable p a ra m
Guroo Y ogi R is h i. H e prostrated him self before the Yogi
who was about two hu nd red years old, and whose face was
benign an d shining w ith divinity. H e blessed our a u th o r
and said, “ I understood in my Sam adhi th a t Mahudeva
had ordered you to come to me and learn Brahmagiyana.
I accept you as my disciple and henceforth I will call you
A hiitat K oonda Moorti ( i .e ., called out.)
T he first instructions ol the Guroo were certain secret
mantras, &c., which served to guard against the a ttac k of
beasts in case of danger, to which they were b u t too often
exposed. H is second instructions were to give D ivine sight
to our author, which facilitated his a cquirem ent of \ o g a .
W ith in a short tim e he became Brahmagiyana, and
w e n t on practising Samadhi, so t h a t he could sit several
days together w ithout any food ; and enjoying full absorp­
tion. H e lived in the same cave with liis Guroo, and his
food was roots, &c.
After nine years he took leave from his Guroo to m ake
pilgrim age to the A shruins ol tho Rishees of India. T h e
Guroo blessed him and said : “ Go my son, and try to do
good to the world by revealing th e tru th s which thou hast
learned from me. Be liberal in im parting the t r u t h t h a t
should benefit th e Grihastees. I in i beware lent thy vanity
or the import un ity oj the w orld lead thru to perjovm
■miracles a n d show iconders to the profane." H e bowed
down an d promised to his Guroo not to divulge th e higher
secrets of Yoga to any b u t th e Moomookhshoo. H e de p a rt­
ed and came down to the plains. ^
He published in T am il a Soorooti called V edanta Si-
d h a n ta Snm arasa Brahm agiyana Shiva Raja \ o g u e Kaiulia
A nubhooti, as soon as he entered th e pilgrimage, l i e
also delivered lectures in m any ol the great cities in India.
H e has visited nearly all the holy shrines and A shrum s
of India, and iu some ot these places he m e t with genuine
Yo>'is and Rishees. H e had many adventures w ith these
depositories ot an c ie n t lore. W e select one of them , it b e ­
ing ra th e r singular and unique. I t was after his crossing
th e H im alayas and on th e coast ot Manasarovar Bake, and
while ho was in his contem plation t h a t ho lelt some one
approaching near him. O n opening his eyes he saw tln ee
Rishees in a ntique Aryan dress stan ding before him. H e
 instantly rose up, inspired with awe and admiration. They
sat down and beckoned him to do so. But. lie respectfully
declined to sit beforo thoir presence, and stood all th e
while they talked. They asked him a b o u t his Guroo and
th e Agustya Ashruni, ab out his tin veils and progress in Yoga
an d m any other questions of th e sam e nature. To all of
these he gave appropriate! answers, and it seemed th a t
they were pleased with his m anners an d knowledge. They
th e n told him to ask any boon from th em a.s th e y were
ready to confer it. : they w ent so tin* as to say that, they
would give him A shtam a Siddbis, ifh c liked. T he A.slitama,
Siddhis are eig ht kinds of psychic powers,* th e acquisition of
which enables one to perform (w hat is vulgarly called)
miracles. O u r Swaniy answered “ I th a n k you for your
kindness, O holy sages, and I th in k myself highly honour­
ed hy your visit. As for Siddhis 1 m ay say I do not like
to have them, I have all my desires satisfied and now only
wish to pass the rem ainder of my days on th e e a rth in Nisli-
kamya Brahnmgiya.ua, Yoga Tap,am'.’’ T h e y were satisfied
w ith his answer and conferred upon h im th e title of Brah-
'nagiyana Guroo Yogi, and then told h im to ask any other
th in g which they can do for him. H e expressed his desire
of .seeing Kailas or th e celestial m ountain, which, it, is said,
is invisible to ordinary mortals. They granted his request,,
and they and ou r Swaniy began to fly in air for a time
towards the direction of the m o un tain ; then they pointed
him out th e w hite peaks of th e holy m ountain where I k s
had the good fortune to see Mahudeva sittin g iu Saniadhi
in a cave. On the sight of it bis h e art swelled with ex u lta ­
tion and ra p tu re and gave vent to its overcharged emotions
by c.r. tempore, versification. The Risbe.es gave to the sloka.s
th u s uttered th e nam e of “ Shiva v arnan a stuti mj’i la.”
I hen they descended and came back to the place where,
they were formerly sitting. H e then prayed them to
oblige him by telling th e ir names. T h e first Risliee gave,
himself ou t to be Sooga, th e o ther Bhringi, b u t the third
said “ never mind about, my name, we are all satisfied to
find you N ishkainya Brahmagiyanee.” A fter blessing him
by “ nityn m ap k a Bralimagiyana sadastoo,” they vanished
from th e very spot. H e afterwards found out. t h a t they
were the same Rishees whose names we find in th e Maiiii-
bhrtrata, and th a t they hail taken a hu m a n form to test his
piety and bless him.
He now began to retu rn to Tndia an d m e t with m any
hardships on his way, which he of course easily surmounted.
On one occasion when he and some other s/idhoos were
passing through th e bills of Nepal, th e snow began to fall
heavily, and th e cold was piercing. Many of bis comrades
were on the point of being killed when he changed th e ir
im pending fate through his divinity. H e caused the snow
to fall on both sides, leaving th em an open passage through
which they passed w itho ut suffering a n y cold.
H e visited I’anclia Kedar, P a n ch a Bhadrie, and Pn.supati
!Nath in Nepal, and return in g from th e m is now staying a t
Lahore. H e re a t t h r request of m an y he gave two lec­
tures on V edanta and Yoga. T his book is th e substance
of those lectures, th ou gh considerable additions have been
made, and th e second p a r t is altogether new. I f any
gen tle m a n has leisure or inclination to translate and p u b ­
lish th is book in Bengalee or H in d u sta n e e or any o ther
language, with th e diagram and th e a u th o r ’s name, he has
the full permission of our venerable Sw am y to do so.
Such is th e brief and unfinished sketch of th e life of one
who renounced in the prime of his manhood th e house of
his forefathers, th e society of his dear wife and children
and all th a t is dearest and most fascinating. T he life of
such a m an is far more deserving our admiration, wonder,
and reverence, th a n all th e histories of generals and states­
men. H e who fights with his own carnal passions and
appetites and comes out victorious, is far more heroic th a n
he who conquers nations. A nd th a t th e lives of such
m e n are valued far above those of heroes and warriors, is
evident when we rem em ber th at, whilst kings have lived,
•died and been forgotten, th e unanim o us voicc of m a nk in d
has consigned th e memory of th e ir g re a te st benefactors to
im mortality. Hoping, therefore, th a t his life will not Vie
less interesting and instructive th a n those of G autum
Buddha, Christ,, and Sankaracharya, T need m ake no apology
for my a ttem pt. How far I have succeeded, it is for tho
public to judge, b u t I may say it has been a labour of love
with me to write th e life of one for whose kindness and
instructions I feel th e most sincere respect and admiration.
The fo llo w in g ix a co m m u n ica tio n fr o m the venerable
S w a m y describing how the Yogi* a n d Rishees p a ss their
lives in the A s h r u m , which “ The - \dmirer" had reccired
J fo m him irhcn hix nuumxeript icax in print.
T h e Rishees and Yogis after remaining as m any h u n d re d
years as th e y choose (like our Guroo, who is two h u n ­
dred years old, though he seems to be eighty) in th e
state of Jevium iu kti (i. e„ full absorption even while in
body,), change their body an d bless it to become Sw am bhu
Malia Lingam, and th e ir spirit joins th e Infinite Spirit.
Thus m an y of th e lingains (phallic stones) seen in tlio
Ashrum are nothing more or less th a n th e metamorphosed
bodies of th e Holy Rishees. O thers ble*s their bodies to
remain uncorruptcd and unputrefied, and in the same pos­
ture for centuries, while the ir spirits rem ain absorbed in
th e Infinite Spirit. T he bodies of Yogis, in this state of
Sam udhi (w hich is N irv ik u lp a Saniadhi) are also in our
Ashrums.
T he founder of our Ashrum, viz., H is Holiness t h e
A gustiya Moonee, who died, according to th e common
chronology, m any thousand years ago, is s till liv in g , w ith
m any o th e r Rishees of his t une. He lives in a cave on the
top of th e hills. T h e entrance of th e . cave is three feet
high and one foot broad. T h e present Yogis who live
around this cave go to have th e darshanam once in fifty
years. A t all other times the cave is inaccessible, and if
any Yogi w ants to pay special reverence, for some special
reason, he assumes th e shape of a bird and th e n enters tho
cave. B u t a t th e appointed time (after fifty years) all th e
Yogis o f the A sh ru m go in a. procession, the door is
spontaneously opened, and th e y prostrate themselves a t
th e feet of the Holy Risliee, who blesses them, a n d
enjoins them to keep secret w hat passes in his presence
and in th e Ashrum. All Shnstias and Vedas and many
oth er books which are now supposed to be lost, aro" also
preserved in th a t cave : b u t our Holy A gustya Mooneo
has n o t allowed us to open th em and reveal th eir contents
to mankind, as th e tim e has not come.”
In reference to th e miracles performed by a Yogi of his
Ashrum, th e venerable Swamy adds— “ A b o u t 180 years
ago, a Yogi passed through Mysore du rin g his pil­
grimage, and visited the Rajah of the country, who r e ­
ceived him w ith g re at reverence a n d hospitality, and
requested the holy Yogi to take him to th e A gustya
Ashrum, where he wished to pay his reverence to tlie
o th e r Yogis. Meanwhile th e Nabob of Arcot paid a visit
to Mysore Rajah, and they all w ent with the Yogi to the
A shrum. The Rajah paid the greatest reverence to the
holy Yogis, b u t th e Nabob, being a Mussalman, asked
‘ w hat powers have you t h a t you arrogate to yourself
divine honor, a n d w ha t have you, t h a t you should call
yourself divine persons.’ A Yogi answered ‘ Yes, we pos­
sess th e full divine power toiler all t h a t God can d o ; where­
upon he took a stick, gave divine power to it, and threw it
in th e sky. T he stick was transformed into millions of
arrows and c u t down th e branches of th e forest trees to
pieces, th un de r began to roar in the air, and lightning began
to flash, «a deep darkness spread over th e land, clouds
overcast th e sky and rain began to fall in torrents. All th e
forest was ablaze, th e constant peals of th u n d e r shook the
earth, aud th e stormy winds howled th rough the trees.
Destruction was im pending ; and in th e m idst of this con­
flict of elem ents th e voice of th e Yogi was heard to say—■
‘ I f I give more power, th e world will be ruined.’ B ut
they (viz. the Rajah and th e Nabob) were already too much
frightened to wish for any prolongation of this terrible, awe­
inspiring scene, and they implored th e Yogi to calm this
universal havoc. H e willed, and th e tempest, and th e th un ­
de r,th e rain,and th e wind,and th e tire and all, werestbpped,
the sky became as serene and calm as ever. T he Nabob,
who wns now thoroughly convinced o) th e divinity of the
Yogis, wished to show his reverence by endowing th e ir
A shnini with some presents and money. T h e Yogi told
him : ‘ W e live 011 roots and fruits, and require 110 money;’
and he th e n took the Nabob and th e Rajah with him into
th e interio r of the cave and showed th e m heaps o f d ia­
monds, rubies, emeralds and otherpreeious stones,and heaps
ot gold and silver, anil said ‘ 1 have created these delusions
ot riches even just now, to show you, th a t we are iu no need
ot your gifts, for we can have riches fr o m ournclces w h e n ­
ever and w herever we choose, if we only like them . For
our wills can produce t h a t which it m ay ta k e all you r lives
to accumulate.’ So saying he dismissed them, with strict
injunctions of secresy.”
Tho foregoing narrative, which is certainly a valuable
a d d itio n to o u r scries of biographical articles upon In d ia n
saints, has been se n t us b y a subscriber to ou r journal.
I t will form tho Introduction in a forthcoming p a m p h le t
a t Lahore, in which the science of Y oga will bo expounded,
by tho venerable Swami, whose re m a rk a b le adv en tu res
in th e pursuit of tho D ivine know ledge aro so p ic ture s­
quely described in this chapter. W c p r in t it a t th e re ­
quest of a valued friend and in tho hope of th u s assisting
in th e circulation of a p a m p h le t of unique and s trik in g
character. I t is presum ably almost needless, in view of
th e paragraph on th e opening page, to rem in d th e read er
t h a t th e E d ito rs of this journal are n o t responsible for any
views or statem ents contained in com m uuicated articles •
even though, as iu tho presen t instance, m a n y o f tho
l ’ellows of ou r Society m a y personally agree with th 0
writers. — En. Tiik< i s .
T H E S O C I E T Y 'S F O U R T H A N N I V E R S A R Y .
Though frequently requested to furnish m a nu sc ript
notes of th e ir addresses a t th e late anniversary celebra­
tion, for publication in th e p a m p h le t promised in our
J a n u a ry number, Messrs. Nowrozji Kurd001 iji, K. T. Teldng,
Shdntaram Nardyen, and N arm adilsankar have failed to
do so, and the p a m p h le t will now be dispensed with.
Subscribers who have rem itted money for th e same will
receive it back, anil m u s t exonerate the officers of th e
Society from all blame for th e ir disappointm ent. The
President’s address is herewith published, since its them e
is one th a t has lost 110 interest by th e enforced delay.
T h e introductory rem arks of th e learned chairman,
Ruo Bdhd.lur Gopdlrdo H m r y Deshmuk, who is President
of th e Bombay Arya San id j, express th e good feelings which
exist betw een th e Sanuij and our Society, and were as
follows :—
X jA diks a n d G k n t l k m k n ,
A s chairm an of this meeting, I am very glad to welcome
you all 011 this occasion of the 4th anniversary of th e
Theosophical Society. 1 am glad to see here the different
members of the g re a t Aryan family assembled a t this
headquarters of th e Society. One branch of it is repre­
sented by Hindus, an o th e r by Parsis, and th e th ird by
Americans and Europeans whom I see around us. Accord­
ing to the usage, I m ust speak to you a few words reg ard­
ing th e establishm ent of the Society which we have m e t
here to felicitate. This Society was established 111 A m e ri­
ca four years ago, an d its object is to enquire into th e
philosophies of th e East, to announce th e brotherhood of
man, and to create th e bonds of fellowship am ong nations
and sects of different denominations. T h e leader o f th is
Society heard there th e name of th e g re a t P a n d it Sw am i
Daydnand Saraswati, who is working zealously and en er­
getically in India, and preaching doctrines and philosophies
contained in th e Veda, which is th e most ancient book in
possession of th e A ryans and perhaps of th e whole world.
His labours have kindled, in all parts of this g re a t country,
a spirit of e n q iiiiy n n d interest in the interpretation a n d
contents of the Veda, and these are now m ak in g a rapid
progress. There tire a t present two interpretations of th is
ancient book of knowledge being published in India. T h e
one professes to give its m eaning according to the tra d i­
tion and has for its basis the work of Shayanacharya. T h e
other is being published by the Swaini himself according
to the more a n c ie n t authorities as they are understood by
him aud by th e Aryas before the time of MahdbhdraUi.
T he Sw ami was iu Bombay four years ago and m any hero
have heard him. He is a great scholar, an earnest reform­
er, and a zealous worker. The chiefs of this Society had a.
g re at curiosity to see th e Swdtni in person, and after th e i r
arrival here, they proceeded to Meerut to m e e t him a n d
have found him a worthy man in all respects. It is by t h e
labours of such a man as this that India will be elevated
to its proper rank am ong the nations of the Earth. T h is
was the first nation which made a rapid progress in civili­
zation, b u t by revolution of fortune it has come like a.
caterpillar into a larval condition. Hut I th in k the tim e
is not d istant when th e caterpillar will be reproduced as a
beautiful and floating butterfly, to the astonishm ent ot
those who iu th e ir u tte r despondency considered th e r e ­
generation of this nation as hopeless. T hirty years ago,
Educational road was felt as a great want, b u t now th is
want has been pretty well supplied by th e aid of G overn­
m ent, and we now earnestly look to th e new industries
and m achinery as a means ot m aintaining increasing p o p u ­
lation. On this and o ther subjects Colonel Olcott., th o
P resident of the Society, will now address you a t length
with his usual power of oratory and eloquence.
T he President then said :—
On th e evening of th e 17th day of November 1875, T
had the honor of delivering, in th e city ot N ew York,
m y inaugural iulilress as President ot th e rheosophical
Society. T h a t was th e first regular meet ing of this body,
and hero in iny hand I hold the printed notice sent to th e
members to attend the same. D u rin g the four years t h a t
have since come and gone, we have experienced those
changes which tim e always brings to societies a.s well as to
individuals. O f the th irteen officers and councillors elect­
ed a t tho m eetin g above referred to, only three remain ;
th e rest have dropped of! for one reason or an o th e r a n d
left us to carry 011 our work with new associates who r e ­
placed them. B u t th e work has gone on, day by^ day,
month by m onth, year by year, without one m o m en t’s in ­
terruption, anil always growing more important. O ur field
has widened so as to embrace almost th e whole world.
T he little company of one score ot m en and women has
increased to thousands. Instead ot my remarks b e in g ’
addressed, as then, to Americans alone, I am now, a t this
fourth ann ual celebration, confronted by Hindus, Parsis,
Mohammedans, J a in s and Buddhists, besides many E n g ­
lish representatives of H e r Gracious Majesty s Im pe ria l
G overnm ent in India. Comm ittees to represent our tw in
sister society, th e A rya Sam aj,— whose anniversary this is,
as well as ours— and th e Poona G ayan Samaj, honor u s
with th e ir presence. Here are g reat m erchants and b ank ­
ers, some titled, some untitled ; here th e executive officers
of native, princes. From others a t th e N oith, the South,
th e E ast and th e West, who could not be. present, we have
letters of affection and encouragement. Instead of occupy­
ing th e platform of a hall in the Metropolis ot th e W e st­
ern Hemisphere, I stand to-night in an Indian bungalow,
dedicated to th e use of ou r Library, to celebrate th e o p en ­
ing of t h a t Library in th e commercial Metropolis of W e s t­
ern India, an d to com m em orate the foundation of t b e
Society’s new magazine, th e T i i k o s o p h i k t , which has prov­
ed an unprecedented success from the very start, a n d
within th e first two m o n th s of its existence been called for
by subscribers all over In d ia and Ceylon, a n d in e v e ry
q u a r te r of Christendom , as well, trie m ls, one and all.
brothers of every race, complexion, creed and tongue, I
give you th e rig h t hand of fellowship and bid you wel­
come. W ritte n in letters of tire, 011 this arch over m y
head, is th a t word of friendship, W k lo o M k ; let t h e i r
 flame typify that p u r e r light of Tmt.li, wliieli h u m s for
every mini who seeks it. Here, at the door of th is Library,
i t most eloquently speaks in th e language of symbols, to
bid all e n te r and search with the help of lwoks after
t h a t hidden glory of spiritual knowledge which th e a n ­
cient, sages and mystic saw, but, which this sceptical g e n e ­
ra tion falsely supposes to have been long since e x tin g u ish ­
ed. T ins fact th a t we deny t h a t the sun of A ryan W is­
dom has set to rise 110 more, is th e one memorable feature
of this e v e n in g s festivity. Brothers, th a t glorious sun will
again shine over the world throug h tho gloom of this
K a l i - \ u g . Already, th e p a tie u t w atchers see th e first
golden gleam ol its coming. F rom afar, as th ou gh it wero
a w hisper borne on the breeze, th e voicc of th e Piist
m u r m u r s th e promise of a revival of spiritual learning.
O u r ears have cau ght the welcome sound, and our souls
arc refreshed and made strong to continue our efforts.
As, a t th e first streak of dawn, one, standing a t some dis­
tance from a camp, first hears th e confused rustle of arms,
o f stum ping steeds, nml the calls of the relieving sentries,
before th e sleeping arm y awake us to th e day’s march ami
battle, so we may now perceive th e premonitions of the
active struggle th a t is coming between tho Old and th e
New in the domain of thought. T h e touch of th e m a g i­
cian has been laid upon the lips of the sleeping Aryan
.Mother, and she is ready to instruct, her willing descend­
a n ts in th e knowledge which her im m ediate sons learned
a t her knees. • spirit of tru th , set to work to study. I f they would enjoy
How olten since we came to In d ia have I heard it said
b y Natives, th a t it was a strange anomaly th a t white men
had to journ ey from the antipodes— from /'n id i— to tell
th e m about th e ir forefathers’ religion ' A nd y et it ought,
no t to surprise you so very much, after all. H av e we not
all looked from a height upon th e plain and noticed how
m uc h more we could see of the movem ents of people th ere
th a n could th e people themselves ? i t is so as regards alt
hu m a n affairs— the d ista n t observer can often tak e a more
correct view of a national question th a n th e people m ost
im m ediately interested. O u r late civil war looked very
different to you th an it did to us, and so we arc in a posi­
tion to g et a quicker glimpse of this question of A ryan
learning, than you who have long got out of the hab it ol"
consulting your ancient literature, and must break through
m an y prejudices and fixed habits of th o u g h t before you
will bo ready to resume the s tu dy of the Veda. And,
moreover, is not our coming like the reflux of the wave
which easts u p upon the beach t h a t which in its flux it
bore away a t the last turn of the tide ? W e bring no
new doctrine to you, teach 110 new t h i n g ; wo only rem ind
you of the facts of your own history, expound b u t the
philosophy ami .science which your own wise m en ta ught.
I n th e far d istan t Past— so far removed from th e presen t
th a t our modern books of history contain no records of it,
b u t which th e archa-ologists and philologists vouch for
upon th e stre n g th of intrinsic probabilities— th e A ry a n
wisdom was carried from these shores to the o th e r side of
th e globe. A m ong th e remains of th e prehistoric nations
of N o rth and S o u th America, the explorer finds vestiges
of this trans-m undane outflow of A ryan ideas, in th o reli­
gious symbolism of th e ir lithic remains, and th e lingering
traditions of degenerate tribes. I f th e Zoroastrian Magi
fed th e sacred fire on their C haldean towers, so did the
priests of th e S u n in Mexico and Peru. Nay, so, to-day
do th e wretched Zuni Indians of Arizona and N ew Mexico,
who go o u t every morning to g re e t th e rising sun w ith
reverential prayers and prostrations. I cannot enlarge upon
th is m ost wonderful them e in th e few m in utes d u rin g
which I shall now speak, b u t it will be treated, as occa­
sion offers, in our jo u rn a l where you may all read it.
You will see then, in view of th e above facts, t h a t— as
I rem arked before— the coming of our party to In d ia for
th o purpose of studying th e A ryan philosophy is b u t a
n a tu ra l result of events occurring thousands of years ago
— ages before m y own people or a n y other white race of
th o W est existed. I wish I m ig h t say t h a t we find you
a s a body willing to help our studies, or even capable. I t
i s a melancholy lact th a t modern Ind ia knows so little of
th e Veda t h a t its contents are not even suspected ; while
th e Rishis, and even th e founders of th e -se v e ra l philoso­
phical schools, were long ago turned into gods or, made
incarnations of the Sup rem e Power, set u p as images to
worship. Your young men, totally uneducated in H indu
literature, and stuffed with th e hot-spiced scraps of guess­
ing W estern Science, tu rn away from th e superstitious
stories of Snnknrnchamyn's miracles, and pronounce Patan-
ja li’s “ aphorisms of the Yoga philosophy ” !is the ravings
of a credulous mind. .A nd when we tell the modern Parsi
th e secret m e a n in g of his DaxtUir, or show the modern
H in d u th a t every so-called supernatural phenomenon,
ascribed to th e old Yogis, can be explained and proved
possible by scientific rules, they reply in one breath “ Show
us n miracle and we will believe ; let one of these adep ts
t h a t you say still live, come forth from his hiding-place,
and do wonders before us, and we will be willing to ad m it
t h a t you are speaking th e tru th .” Wo have had a score of
messages sen t us by rich m en to the effect, th a t if we
would show them one of those pretended magical feats,
th ey would m ake us rich presents and join our Society.
Poor, ignorant men, th e y imngine th a t their money gives
th e m importance in th e eyes of a student, and th a t the
divine powers of th e soul can be made the subject of b ar­
te r anil traffic ! I f th e y have any . desire to learn th e
secrets of n a tu re and of man, let. them throw all th e ir
van ity and conceit, behind them, and humbly, and in th e
t h e presence and counsel of the lo i/itt, let them wash off
th e d ir t of th e world, and then seek the feet of those holy
men, in th e presence of whose pu rity and learning even
kings are unfit to stand with covered feet.
T h e best friends of India, h e r most patriotic sons, have
deplored to me th e moral darkness and degradation o f
h e r people. N a tiv e judges, who have sat on th e bench
for m any years to ad m inister justice, have bowed th eir
w hite heads in sham e when they said th a t th e vice of
lying and th e crime of perjury prevailed to a fearful
extent. A nd the worst part of it w j i s th a t th e moral
sense w;is so far gone, t h a t people confessed th e ir false­
hood w ith ou t a blush, and without an idea that, they were
to be pitied. Has it indeed come to this, th a t modern
In d ia has lost th e power to discriminate between truth
and falsehood ! A re th e descendants of th e A ryas fal­
len so low ? Forbid it, 0 Thou Infinite and Inexorable
Law of Compensation, the E m bo dim en t of Ju stic e and
Ijaw • For, when a nation plunges to th e very bottom of
th e mire of immorality, its doom is written. W h e n false­
hood is set above tru th , when man loses his confidence in
man, when respectability counts in proportion to success,
and villany is not reproved if it only pour wealth into the
hungry coffer, then do the pillars of a nation rock and
totter, and th e building th a t took so long to rear crumbles
to its fall. But., for m y part, I do n ot believe things are
come to this j v l s s in this Ind ia of my love, this land of my
adoption. Falsehood there is, a dulled moral sense, a fail­
ing to keep promises, lack of patriotic fervor, treachery
and m u tu a l over-reaching. T hese are too painfully evi­
d e n t for us even to a tte m p t to deny or conceal th e fact.
But. I tell you, an d I fling into th e teeth of all India's
slanderers, t h a t these are b u t th e ulcers on a strong body,
and th a t th e y will pass away I say th a t In dia has touched
bottom and already is beginning to rise. ] see th e ele­
m ents of a g re a t revival of learning, of national health,
gath erin g together. These influences are stream ing ou t
from every school, college, and university th a t a wise and
h u m a n e G o vernm ent has established in this land. They
are diffused broadcast by every newspaper, w hether E n g ­
lish or vernacular, t h a t is circulating. T h ey came from
every reforming samaj, society and league. T h ey are pour­
ing m by every m ail-steam er t h a t brings W e ste h i thought,
ideas, and enterprising suggestions. O u r N a tiv e youth
enrolled a t E nglish Universities, are fitting themselves to
bccome th e apostles of national reform, th e heralds of a new
dispensation. Ideas of political economy are slowly hut
surely infusing them selves th ro u g h o u t th e nation, through
th e agency of th e N a tiv e clerks who drudge in public offices
 where these grave questions are discussed, and who, insen-
.sibly to themselves,are being gradually educated in practical
.affairs. H ow can this change, so desirable for both gover­
nors ami governed, so auspicious for th e world a t large, he
hastened ? L e t this be the th em e of m y closing remarks.
First, then, we m u st all promote education to th e u t ­
most of our united powers.' T h a t is th e key-stone of the
.arch of a nation, th e foundation of true national g re a t­
ness. And this education m u s t given to both sexes.
A n educated wife is the real companion aud comforter of
her husband, th e w orthy m o th er of great sons. I t is not
shallow ornamental education th a t is needed by th e I n ­
dian youth, b u t th a t kind of education which will tit them
for tho active pursuits of life, and help them to earn an
independent livelihood. T he first, most imperative demand
of th e hour is for technical schools. N o t g re a t em p ty p a ­
laces th a t serve only as m onum ents to a rich m a n ’s vanity,
b u t institutions wheie th e industrial and ornam ental arts
are ta u g h t by capable teachers in a thoroughly practical
way. Schools which can tu rn out young carpenters,
blacksmiths, carvers, builders, jew ellers,printers, lithograph­
ers and other artisans who can do work so much b etter
and more ingeniously th an others t h a t they will never
lack em ploym ent a t th e highest prices paid to skilled
labor. My talented colleague, Mr. Wimbridge, has written
upon this them e in our journal, and shown that, in the
present low state of Indian art, the apprenticeship system
is only pe rp e tu a tin g bad workmanship, and th a t tech­
nological schools are a prime necessity. You will find in
th e exhibition of products of native in dustry that, will be
thrown open to y o n as soon as the speeches are concluded,
some specimens sent for this exhibition by th e P a n d h a rp u r
School o f Industry. I hope you will examine them closely,
for you will in th em practically see w hat Mr. W im bridge
means. T heir workmanship is not perfect, y e t 1 v enture
to say th a t you will search through th e whole of the Bom­
bay bazaar and not find a lock, a key, a steel box, or a
hand device, of N a tiv e workmanship, to be compared with
these P a n d h a rp u r samples for quality of finish. Now
why cannot such schools be established everywhere VThink
of the crores of rupees as good as flung into th e tire every
year, on paltry shows aiul foolishness, only to put m en’s
names and sweetm eats into their neighbours’ m ouths for
a day, a t the cost of a week’s subsequent dyspepsia—
when one-fourth the-money would set all th ese schools in
operation ! People tell me th e nation is starving for w ant
of grain, th a t th eir industries are rooted out, th e ir work­
men selling their tools for bread i Well, charge il. upon
N ative millionaires who have th e money to waste upon
the gratification of th e ir own vanity and greediness, b u t
not a pice to give for education. W h a t does th e starving
agriculturist know of th e law of rainfall or th e u ltim ate
poverty and famine th a t luis befallen his district because
the faggot-gatherers and lum berm en have stripped th e
hills and m ountain slopes of th e ir forest growths ( I f any
of (hem have sons in town a t school, ten to one they are
being ta u g h t hard G reek names for alleged scientific dis­
coveries, and not a word th a t will be of use to th e m o u t­
side the public offices. Charge this ujxin th e rich men
who stin t themselves to get up showy feasts to unsym ­
pathetic strangers, b u t can spare nothing for schools. And
charge it all the more upon them when th e y will screw
the wages of skilled N ative artisans down to th e last point,
and ini|M>rt foreigners to do th e very same work, and pay
them three times or five tim es as much for their services.
W hy should w eim port skilled labor except to h e lp and found
technological schools ? Answer me th at, you capitalists
of India. W as there ever turned out of W estern looms a
fabric so fine as th e muslin of Dacca ? H av e European
weavers produced a shawl to rival the shawls of Cashmere I
Are there any b e tte r swords than those blades of the In ­
dian temperers, which would cleave th ro ug h an iron b a r
and then slit a veil of lace floating 011 th e a ir I Are the
mosaics of Florence finer than those of Surat, A h m ed a-
bad, and Bombay th a t you 'will sec in our present exhi­
bition ; the carvings of th e Swiss mountaineers more win­
ning than those th a t lie in those cases th ere in all th e ir
beauty ( W here, iu all th e W estern world, can you p o in t
me to more titanic engineering feats th a n th e ancient hy ­
draulic works of this country, or th e rock-teinples of Ele-
phanta, Kurli and til lorn ? And where is there an edifice
to rival the Taj Mahal { Shame, then, upon th e Aryan,
who talks of the ignorance or incapacity of his country ­
men. The men are here, and the t a l e n t ; all th a t is needed
is education and patronage.
My friend find Brother, Lalla Mulraj of th e Lahore
A rya Samaj, has j u s t sent me a most valuable p a m p h le t
of his upon th e sciencc of Sanitation. I wish it m ig h t be
read and pondered by every intelligent Native, for the laws
of health are universally ignored and violated here, and
th e welfare of the nation correspondingly suffers. And
am ong other causes of national degeneration is one t h a t
has entered upon its fatal work. I refer to the use of in­
toxicating liquors ami stupefying drugs. Those accursed
pest-holes, the toddy shops, are multiplying 011 every side,
th e maxims of th e good old religion are being forgotten,
even priests are becoming drinkers. This should Ix- stop­
ped a t once. T h e whole influence of the B rahm ins should
be a t once thrown 011 th e side; of Temperance. Total
A bstinence Societies should he organized by them every­
where, and they should be first to take pledge. I know
it will he said that th e ir very religion forbids th e ir touch­
ing liquor and so there is 110 need for them to sign ; that, in,
fact, their signing would be a lowering of their prestige.
B u t this is an argum ent of no weight. I t m atters not
w hat any religion forbids, the m il ijnestiou is whither its
coiiniHiiitl.i m e uliei/eil. C hristianity forbids m any things
— adultery, hypocrisy, lying, murder, false-wit ness, for
instance—yet this does not prevent tho whole Christendom
from being tilled with divorce-suits, perjury, manslaughters
and every other loentionable nod unm entionable crime.
A re the H ind us falling into habits of drunkenness ? If so,
th e Brahmins should be th e first to rescue them. Believing
this, to Ik; the common-senso view to take inv Brahm an
friend who occupies the chair nf this m eeting— lum ac­
cepted the Presidency of the Aryan Temperance Society
a body organized this very day under the auspices of the,
Theosophical Society, and himself was first to sign the.
pledge. People have asked what practical good we would
do for India: let them have a partial answer in this begin­
ning of u cru sad e against intem perance. As we have made
our Theosophical Society a success, despite a thousand
obstacles, and j u s t founded a paying journal iu the face
of difficulties which Indian jou rnalists painted to us in
blackest colors, so we mean to help to make a success for this
A ryan Tem perance Society, until there shall be branches
of it working for the regeneration of the people in the four
qu arters of India. W hy should we leave to Christians a
work th a t we can do far better ourselves; why leave T e m ­
perance to be used by the American Methodist cat to pull
th e heathen chesnuts out of the everlasting tire '
Besides our library, our journal, and this Tcmporance
Society, we have begun ano th e r practical work for India.
I n that, bungalow across the. compound is a work-shop
in which we have placed a lathe for metal turning, a
lithographic press, a drill, saw and other machines for
doing various kinds of work. It is not a school of techno­
logy but our private work-shop, whore we have begun
m anufacturing certain articles for export. T he money
realized from their sale in foreign countries will come
back here and be spent here in useful ways. You may
ju d g e w h eth er it is likely to In.* of any practical use to
th e country, when 1 tell you that a large num ber of the
beautiful invitation cards issued for this occasion, were
printed iu t h a t shop by a young Parsi who has en tirely
learned bis a r t from Mr. W im bridge within th e past few
weeks. I venture to challenge every lithographer in Bom­
bay, Calcutta, and Madras to produce a specimen of N a tiv e
work 1<i compare w ith it. And yet, work equally as good
o u ght to be turned o u t of every one of them, and would
be if the proper kind of technical education had been
accessible. You will see a t work this evening a n u m b e r
of machines nnd working models of machines made by
N a tiv e artisans. Compared with th e n um b e r which o u g h t
to be here they are few, b u t there wa.s no tim e for (is to
.make known our intention to bold this exhibition and
induce artisans to contribute. But. it is a t least, you
will admit., a fair b e g in n in g : when th e N ative workmen
discover th a t we are their friends th e v will come to us—■
.self-interest will compel them. W e have called you here
to look at wliat they have b r o u g h t -, I hope we m ay often
call you again, and th a t good results will come— as they
have in my own country and everywhere else— from th e
-bringing together of capital and skilled lalmr.
I m ust give place to o ther and more able speakers to
address you in your own vernacular tongues, and testify to
t h e ir love of th e country anil hopes for its resuscitation.
1 thank you for your presence to-night, I tru st th a t you
m a y go away feeling an interest in us and our work.
T h a t work is one iu which you have a deep interest. W e
aim with the help of the Arya Samaj and others, to revive
th e study of the Veda, th e formation of S a n sk rit classes,
and an enquiry into th e alleged la te n t powers of the hu-
.ntan soul, stated hy the ancient Aryas to exist and affirm­
ed by thousands of experimentalists since their time and
even in our own days. W e would call in the aid of modern
.science to help us to understand th a t ancient mystical philo­
sophy. For the debased forms of religion th a t so widely
prevail we would substitute the noble faiths of th e olden
time. W e would teach India th e useful arts, and thus
assist in reviving Indian prosperity and greatness. We
would help to abolish vicious habits, aud to form habits
of temperance, manliness aud self-respect. W e call upon
every man of you, and every lover of India to rally around
us. We do not. ask you to In- our followcm b u t our allies.
O u r ambition is not to be considered leaders, or te a c he rs;
not to m ake money, or gain power, or fame. Choose any
m a n hero, of either of the oid races represented, and show
us th a t he is the right- man to lend in either branch of
th is reformatory movement anil 1 will most gladly enlist
as a common soldier under him, ju s t as I have under my
brother Gopalrao H urry J)eshm uk in this Tem perance
Society. Come, let us labor together like brothers for the
welfare of our Motherland.
T h e re is one regret th a t comes to mar th e pleasure of
this evening, and somewhat dim the lustre of all these
Jam ps— our Buddhist brothers of Ceylon are absent. And
a bsent too, is th a t most beloved T eacher of ours, t h a t elder
brother, so wise, so good, so courageous,— Swamiji
D a yanu nd Saraswati, W ere ho and those others but. here,
n o th in g would bo left to desire— nothing b u t th a t the
Theosophists of our branch societies of Kurope and A m e ­
rica m ig h t a t least have reflected by some magician’s skill
upon th e sky above them the picture of the joyful scene
th a t we are witnessing. From afar th e ir longing eyes are
tu rn e d toward India, and thoy are w aiting to catch the
words of instruction and good cheer th a t our Eastern
teachers may utter. This is a novel thing, is it not, that.
W estern men of high position— authors, journalists, u n i­
versity professors, physicians, lawyers, m erchants; Russian
princes, English lords, German barons and counts— people
of high b irth and low birth should be looking to In d ia
•for instruction in religion and science ? Y e t this is th e
very fact, for all those are Fellows of the Theosophical
Society, and disposed to listen to D ayanund Swami in
his saffron robe and puggaree, nnd to all your oth e r bright
minds, rather thau to the paid m inisters who occupy
W e ste rn pulpits, and to th e guessing scientists who so often
p re te n d to a knowledge of man and nature they do not
possess.
The JolLm 'm g are the. names o f the H.rhihitors and their
I ft tele*, (tilt tiled to in the foregoing xpeeeh.
F r o m M e s h r i i u s J u g g a n n a t h , E s q ., — M a n u u h v i. 110 to 140 years, one, in th e town of Valciatium, near
1 Green gold embroidered Shawl. 1 Red do. 2 Silk Placentia, who lived 152 years. Dr. V an Oven gives
embroidered fancy Cashmere Shawls, .‘t Benares gold
embroidered lace Scarfs. 7 Silk embroidered fancy
Handkerchiefs. 4 Do. Togas. 1 Benares gold em broi­
dered Royal Toga. 2 Cashmere silk embroidered waist­
coats. 1 Delhi silk embroidered table-cover.
F rom R a n g il a l J u l l a n a t h , E s q . ,— M a m u d e v i. ■
0 B enares silk fancy Cloaks. 7 Silk embroidered Dress­
ing Gowns. 4 Benares fancy Frocks. A lot of fancy Mad­
ras Borders. A lot of fancy Madras Collars. A lot of
Delhi fancy Bottlestands. A lot of Chair ( ’overs embroider­
ed in gold and silk. A lot of H ydrabad and Madras fancy
Cushions. A lot of C u tch do. A lot of C utch and Delhi
silk em broidered Table Cloths. A lot of Delhi Shawls-
embroidered in silk. A lot of ladies’ handkerchiefs. A
lot of fancy Cashmere Gowns and Cloaks.
F r o m S o o r j e e L u i m i a , E sq .,— K h a d a k .
A lot of Flower Vases. A lot of Flower Pots. A lot of'
Goblets. A lot of Bowls. A lot of Plates. A lot of H in ­
du Gods and Goddesses. A lot of Pansopari Plates. A lot
of Hookas. A lot of Glasses with plates. A lot of S u g a r
Boxes. 2 T e a Sets.
C ashmkrk G oods.
A lot of Plates, large and small. A lot of Glasses. A
lot of Flower Vases. A lot of Flower Pots. A lot of
Bowls. A lot of H in d u Gods nnd Goddesses holding can­
dles in th eir hands.
F ro m S i t a r a m P r a g j i , E s q .,— Iih o o h sln m r.
2 Marble H in du Gods— Gunesh. 1 Do. do. Krishna.
F ro m A t m a r a m V i s h v a n a t h , E s q .,— P a n jra p o le.
P oona B rass W o r k s .
1 Brass Tree. 1 Pun Dan. 1 Sopari D in . A lot of
all Toys of H indu Gods and Goddesses. A lot of Animals,
Elephants, Horses.
F ro m G i r d i i a r l a l M a i i e s i i l a l , E s q ., — M arket.
A large and splendid lot of S u r a t Wood Ware. I Dozen
Animals. 1 Dozen Birds. 2 Celestial Cars.
M i s c e l l a n e o u s : Palanquin ill pith, with Sahib, bearers
&c. ; a pith tem ple ; buttons, studs, paper-cutters, etc. in
agate, cornelian, onyx, etc.
F r o m t h e P a n d i i a r i ’UR S c h o o l ok I n d u s t r y : Lock,
knife, stool box, and rings in gold ; from Baroda, through
th e kindness of .1. S. Gadgi!, Esq., a knife, scalpel, ring,
and chained stu d s ; from Vishrnm Je th a , of Cutch, working;
model of steam-engine, circular saw. grist mill, drill, force-
pum p and autom atic perfume-fountain ; from a Native
c a r p e n t e r , whose nam e the Exhibition Com m ittee unfor­
tun a te ly did not receive for registration, a highly inge­
nious im p enetrable w riting-desk; from the girls of the
A darji Cowasji School, through Mr. Ju gm o h u n d a s Samul-
das, a largo ex h ib it of fancy needle-work; and from the
wife of Mr. P u rsh otam Narayanji, specimens of embroidery.
Besides th e above there was received too late for the
exhibition, th e splendid collection ol Cutchee b u n tin g and
m ilitary weapons, kindly forwarded by th e patriotic Dewan
of H is H ighness the llao of Cutch-Bluij which has been
so adm ired since it was displayed in th e Library building.
T h e n a t u r a l o r r a t h e r a v e r a g e a g e o f m a n is fr o m
three scorc-and-ten to four-score-and-ten. I t may, however,
be cut short by accident or by disease, and often is prolonged
to twice th e average or more. T here arc many well a u ­
thenticated cases on record of m en and women who have
attained th e age of 100, and some 120, 1H0, 140, 1:>0, 1G0,.
170, or even as m uch as 185; the age of a Hungarian
peasant, P e te r Czartan, who was born in 1587 and died
1772. T h e la tte r is vouched for by th e New A m e ric a n
Cyclop m l ia, Vol. 1. p. 102. Pliny, giving instances of'
longevity, as found in the record of t h e census taken by
Vespasian, shows among 208 persons who reached from
seventeen examples of age exceeding 150 y e a r s ; and Mr.
Bailey, in his Records o f L ongevity, gives a catalogue of
a b o u t 4,000 cases in which not a few are shown as liAving.
reached 150 years. A fter this, th e stories of extreme-
longevity am ong H in d u ascetics appear less improbable.
 •• . ' . ' - I O U R “ A M E R I C A N P A N D I T ."
A n allusion was m ade last m on th to th e perfect u n d e r ­
sta n d in g which, during th e recent visit of our p a rty to
Benares, had been b ro ught abo ut betw een the learned o rtho ­
dox P andits of th a t Holy C ity and ourselves. T h e im ­
pression had until th e n been en te rta in e d th a t a ll Theoso-
phiats held to th e views o fS w a m iji Daydnund Saraswati,
an d 110 alliance was sought by ns w ith any b u t his follow­
ers. This entire misconception of th e platform of Theoso­
p h y having been removed, th e m ost friendly relations
were at once formed with th e orthodox party, and an
^ddress, signed by P aiidits Bala Shastri, Ramil Misra and
others, was presented to our President, and he was elected,
as was last m onth stated, an H onorary M ember of th e S o ­
ciety of Benares Pandits, or B ra h m a m rita V arshini Sablid.
T h e formafcertificate, u n d e r the seal of the Sabha, has since
th e n been received, and we ta k e pleasure in laying its te x t
before our readers. I t is as follows :—
B r a h m a m r it a V a r sh in i S a b h a ; o r , L it e r a r y
S o c ie t y o f t h k B e n a r e s P a n d it s .
We, the P andits of Benares, certify th a t Col. H. S. Olcott,
P re sid e n t of the Theosophical Society, has come to I n d ia
w ith the view of trying his best to aid in reviving ou r
Science and Philosophy. H is acceptance of th e H onorary
M embership of our L ite ra ry Society, the due consideration
paid by him towards Oriental Science and Philosophy, and
iiis j u s t an d unaffected inclination towards th e Vedic
t r u th s and principles, have encouraged tis to present him a
certificate stating the close ties of union which he has foim-
ed w ith our Society. W e th in k his journal, th e T h e o s o ­
p h i s t , has th e tru e m erit of presenting to our view th e exact
measures which should be ta k e n for th e revival and perfect
developm ent of our Philosophy fo r th e good of our country.
W e have been ta k e n by surprise a t th e daring e n te r ­
prise of a foreigner, solicitous to receive th e outrageous
darts of his fellow-countrymen a t this grand and noble u n ­
dertaking. As a m a tte r of fact, m en generally say th a t
t h e grand impulse to such a befitting revival of th e m uch
neglected Science and Philosophy of th e Aryans, is the.
work of several m a ste r minds, an d could not be produced
b y th e m editated effort of a single man. Being overpower­
ed w ith this exaggerated opinion, m en are in general not
■willing to risk th e ir individual efforts from th e fear of th e ir
ending in smoke. I n addition to all these, his unaffected
love towards our countrymen, as brothers and friends, has
produced such a deep and p e rm a n e n t effect on our m inds
th a t we cannot forbear m entioning it in these few lines.
R a m a M isr a S h a st r i, M anager.
B a i.k r i s h n a A c h a r a y a , M . A .,
^ 'frrwtf,
R am a K r isjim a ,
S u r v a N a iu y e n ,
Secretariat.
Considerations of delicacy would have prevented th e r e ­
c ip ient of this highly honourable testim onial from p e r ­
m ittin g its publication ; b u t tho General Council th o u g h t
it best t h a t it should appear, since i t is im p o rta n t t h a t our
whole Society should see t h a t th e benign principles which
we profess are w inning a way for us into th e hearts of our
Eastern brothel's, aud t h u s ensuring success for our efforts.
One collateral reason for th e publication of th e above
docum ent is th a t it tu rn s th e laugh upon certain W este rn
assailants of Theosophy, who enjoyed a b rief m errim e n t a t
o u r expense. S hortly before our C om m itte e sailed from
America, the N ew Y ork S u n , a very able and influential
newspaper, in an editorial entitled “ A Mission against
Christianity,” ironically bewailed th e m eagre results of m is­
sionary work iu India, and announced th e speedy d e p a rtu re
of the Theosopliists to ally themselves w ith th e “ heathens.”
This intelligence,the editor said jestingly, "is th e more s t a r t ­
ling because th e H iero ph an t (meaning our President) has
lately been received into th e Brahm anical sect, and is now
P a n d it of New York, an d Madame Blavatsky, who ha s
. long been an out-an d-o ut Brahmanist, with a c o n te m p tu o u s
opinion of C hristianity, has set her heart on over­
throw ing th e Bible and su bstitu ting the Vedas in th e
U n ite d S ta te s ........W e are not informed as to the exact
plan of campaign of t h e Pandit, nor do we know the means
he in tend s to use to g e t th e missionaries into a defensive
position ; b u t both he and Mme. Blavatsky are full of r e ­
sources and we d oubt n o t th e y have carefully considered
th eir strategy.” Speculating upon the reception we would
probably receive on our arrival, th e S u n r e m a r k s : “ T h e y
oug ht to be received w ith great pomp, for th e y are th e first
allies th e U n ite d S ta te s have sen t out to th e heathens an d
H ie ro p h a n t Olcott is th e first and only American P an d it.”
O u r sarcastic frieird m ay now, if these pages should
m e e t his eye, recall w ith profit the old adage, “ H e laughs
best who laughs hist • ”
S IIR A D D T IA A N D P IN D A .
A le tte r was received by us recently w hich was forward­
ed to Swamiji D a y a n a n d Saraswati w ith a request th a t
he would answer it. T h e following is the lette r aud Sw<4-
m iji’s reply, which also expresses our own v ie w s:—
T he L etter.
Bombay, Stli February 1880.
M adam ,
W ill y o u o b lig e a se c tio n o f y o u r read ers b y in se r tin g iu t h e n e x t
issu e o f th e T iik o s o Im iis t a paragraph e x p la in in g y o u r v ie w s on
tin; H in d u c u sto m o f p erfo rm in g S h r a d d h a to d ep arted a n c e s to r s ?
T h e p o in ts req u irin g n o tic e m e (« ) h o w su c h a cu sto m :arose, i.e.,
its p h ilo so p h ica l o rigin ; (6) w h e th e r th e o lle r in g o f jn m / a b en efits
in a n y w a y t h e p erso n s for w h om th e y are ottered, in th e sen s«
th a t th e ir n on -o tterin g w o u ld su b je c t th e )iiaiw.i to a n y su fferin g or
p r iv a tio n in th e o th e r w orld ; an d , if so, (c) w h y n o S h n id d h ti is
p erform ed to ch ild ren w h o L ave d ied y o u n g .
I s h a ll be th a n k fu l if y o u cou ld a lso g iv e th e v ie w s o f Sw atui.
D a y a n a n d S a ra sw a ti on t h is q u estio n .
S w am ps A n sw er .
^ ( a f r f c i s P £ ) 3P-TRT t JSTCJ % 3P-f
%f. jtrtt fa«rr airfcsft snjra 3^%
I. ^ 5ft # r jft fT
fierier ws t ^fr I sfw *rrcrr
farr jtcht
^ foosr I r r ^
crar.
(T r a n sla tio n .) T h o o rig in a l m e a n in g o f th e word S h r a d d h a i s ■
S h r a d d lu t, " d e v o tio n .” I t is th e d u ty o f e v e r y sou to se rv e h is
p a ren ts w itli all p ossib le d ev o tio n w h ile th e y are liv in g , lin t t h e
p erform an ce o f S h n i d d h u in h on or o f th e d e a d d oes not b ear o u t
th e origin al id ea a t a ll. S h r iid d h a really sig n ifies to se rv e th e liv in g
p a r e n ts w ith a ll d e v o tio n , n o t th e dead. A n d it is, therefore, u se le ss
to offer l 'i n d a (rice ball ;) in h on or o f th e d ead , as it r e s u lts in 1 1 0
good .
1) AVAN A N 1) S AII AS W ATI.
T he S a tu rd a y evening lectures a t th e Library upon th e
W e stern discoveries in the d e p a rtm e n t of occult science
and th e ir connection w ith O riental philosophy have reach­
ed th e second stage. T he first six lectures were devot­
ed to Magnetism and its experim ental proofs of tho
existence of a m iddle principle in N atu re , variously te r m ­
ed E ther, Astral Light, Akasa, e t c . ; its relation to th o
h u m an soul, o r in n e r s e l f ; and the possibility of concen­
tra tin g an d directing its currents a t will. N u m erou s prac­
tical experim ents were m ade 011 members of th e class,
proving the points taken. Tho seventh lecture was upon.
Crystallomancy, and th e several forms of cups, crystals,
mirrors, and liquids used for th e purpose of divination
were described. Among these were th e divining-cup of
Joseph spoken of in th e B ible; th e crystals of Dr. Dee,.
Cagliostro, and m an y others ; the black mirrors, formerly
prepared a t A gra ; th e A ra b conjuror’s drop of ink ; and
th e water-glasses used iu our own times.
 a Ki*'* ■-*
A T U R K I S H E F F E N D I O N C H R IS T E N D O M A N D
IS L A M .
In the suburb of one of the most romantically situated
towns in Asia Minor th e re lives the most rem arkable
oriental whom it has ever been m y fortune to meet.
T ravelling through tlm t interestin g country a few months
ago, with the view of assisting tlie British G overnm ent
to introduce some m uch-needed reforms, I arrived nt-------.
I purposely abstain from mentioning ( lie name, of th e jiln.ee,
as my Eastern friend, to whom J am indebted f o rt I k ;
following paper, desires his h u 'ognito to be observed,
for reasons which th e reader will easily un derstan d on
its perusal. I remained th e re some weeks examini ng th e
s ta te of th e surrounding country, nt th a t tim e a good
deal disturbed, and giving th e local authorities th e benefit
of a little wholesome counsel and advice, which, I need
-scarcely say, they wholly disregarded. My officious in te r­
ference in thoir affairs not u nn atura lly jirocured me some
n o to r ie ty ; and 1 received, in consequence, num erous visits
from members of all classes of th e com m un ity detailing
th e ir grievances, nnd anxious to know wlmt chance there
might be. of a forcible* intervention on the jia.rt of England
by which these should be redressed. In my intercourse
■with them I was struck hy th e ir constant allusion to an
ajjparcntly mysterious individual, who evidently enjoyed
a reputation for nn alm ost s u pern atural sagacity, and
■whose name they never mentioned exccjit in term s of the
greatest reverence, and indeed, I m ight alm ost say, of
awe. My curiosity a t last became excited, and I made
special inquiries in regard to this unknown sage. I found
t h a t he lived about a mile and a half out, o f the town, on
a farm which he had jiurclmsed abo ut live years a g o ;
t h a t no one knew from whence he hnd come : th a t he sjioke
both T u rk ish and Arabic as his native tongues ; b u t th a t
some sujijiosed him to be a F rank , o w i n g J,is c*iit.ir«!
neglect of all the ceremonial observances of a good Moslem,
and to a certain foreign mode of t h o u g h t ; while others
maintained th a t no man who had not been born an orien­
tal could adapt, himself so naturally to th e domestic life
of th e East, and acquirc its social habits with such ease
and jierfection. liis erudition was said to be extraordi­
nary, anti his life seemed jiassed in s tu dying th e literature
o f many languages— his a g e n t for the purchase and for­
w arding of such books anil ] tapers as he needed, being a
foreign merchant a t th e nearest sea j tort. l i e seemed
possessed of considerable wealth, b u t his mode of life was
simjtlc in the e x t r e m e ; and he employed large sum s’in
relieving th e distress by which he was surrounded, nnd
in protecting by the necessary bribes those who were
nnable to protect themselves from ojijtrcssion. T h e result
•was, th a t he was adored by th e country people for miles
round, while he was ra th e r respected and feared than
disliked by th e Turkish officials— for lie was extrem ely
tolerant of th e ir financial necessities, nnd quite understood
t h a t they were eomjtellcd to squeeze m oney o u t of the
peasantry, because, as they received no pay, th e y would
starve themselves unless th e y did.
To this gentleman I sent m y card, w ith a note in French,
sta tin g th a t I was a travelling Englishman, w ith a seat
in th e H ouse of Commons in im m ediate jirosjiect a t the
coming election, consumed with a desire to reform Asia
Minor, or, a t all events, to enlighten m y countrym en as
to how it should be done. Perhaps I am wrong in saying
t h a t I actually jm t all this in my note, b u t it was couched
in the usual tone of m em bers of P arliam ent who are cram ­
m ing political questions abroad which are likely to come
u p next session. I know the style, because I have been
iu the House myself. T h e note 1 received in reply was
in English, and ran as follows:—
“ D k a r S i r , — If you are not otherwise engaged, it will
give me g re a t pleasure if you will do me th e honour of
dining with me to-morrow evening a t seven. I tru s t you
will excuse th e prelim inary formality of a visit, b u t I
have an ap po in tm ent a t some distance in th e country,
which will detain me until too Into an hour to call.—
Believe me, yours very truly, -------E r t ' E N D l .
“ P .S .— As you inay have some difficulty iu finding’
your way, my servant will be with you nt half-past six to
serve os a guide.”
" Denr me,” 1 thought, as I read this civilised epistle
w ith am azem ent, “ I wonder w heth er he expects m e to
dress ; ” for I need scarcely sa3r 1 had come littvrly un­
provided for any such contingency, my wearing apparel, out
of regard for my baggage-mule, having been limited to
th e smallest allowance consistent with cleanliness. , P u n c ­
tually nt th e hour nnmcd, my dragoman informed nip
tha t-------Efiendi’s servant was in attendance ; and, arrayed
in the shooting-coat, knee-breeches, nnd riding-boots which
formed iny only costume, I followed him on foot th ro ug h
th e narrow winding streets of the town, until we emerged
into its gardens, and following a charming p a th between
orchards of fruit-trees, gradually reached its extrem e
outskirts, when it turned into a narrow glen, down which
foamed a brawling torrent. A stecji ascent for ab out ten
m inutes brought us to a large gate in a wall. This was
im m ediately opened by a porter who lived in a lodge
outside, ami I found myself in grounds t h a t were half
park, half flower-garden, in t h e centre of which, ou a te r ­
race commanding a magnificent view, stood th e house
of my host— a Turkish mansion with projecting latticed
windows, and a courtyard w ith a colonnade round it and
a fountain in th e middle. A broad flight of steps led to
th e jirincipal entrance, and a t th e toj) of it stood a tall
figure in the flowing 'Turkish costume of fifty years ago,
now, alius ! becoming very rare am ong th e ujtjtcr classes.
I wondered w h e th er this could be th e w riter of the in­
vitation to d in n e r ; b u t my doubts w e r e ’speedily solved
by the cm prew tem tnt with which this turbaned indivi­
dual, who seemed a m an of ab ou t fifty years of age, d es­
cended th e stejis, nnd with th e most consum m ate ease
nnd grnce of manner, advanced to shake hands nnd givo
m e a welcome of unaffected cordiality. H e spoke English
with th e g reatest fluency, though w ith a slight, accent,
and in appearance was of th e fair type n o t uncommonly
seen in T u rk e y ; th e eyes dark-blue, mild in repose, but,
w hen anim ated, e xpanding and flashing with th e bril­
liancy of the intelligence •■which lay behind them. The
beard was silky and slightly auburn. T he whole exjtres-
sion of the. face was inexpressibly w inning and attractive,
and I instinctively felt th a t if it only dejtended ujion me,
we should soon become fast friends. Such in fact proved
to be the case. W c had a perfect little dinner, cooked
in T u rk ish style, but, served in European fashion ; and
afterwards talked so far into th e night, th a t my host
would not h e ar of my returning, and p u t m e into a bed­
room as nicely furnished ns if it had been in a country-house
in England. N e x t m orning I found th a t my dragoman
and baggage had all been transferred from th e house of
th e family with whom I had been lodging in town, and
I was jtolitely given to understand th a t I was forcibly
taken jtossession of durin g th e rem ainder of my stay
a t-------. A t th e exjtiratiou of a week I was so much struck
by th e entirely novel view, as it seemed to me, ■which
m y host took of th e conflict between Christendom| and
Islam, and by th e philosophic asjiect u n d e r which he pre­
sented the E astern Question generally, th a t I asked him
w h e th e r he would object to p u ttin g his ideas in writing,
and nllowing m e to publish th e m — jtrofneing his rem arks
by any explanation m regard to his own personality which
lie m igh t feel disjwsed to give, lie was extrem ely re­
luctant to comply with this request, his na tiv e modesty
anil sh rinking from notoriety of nny sort presenting an
alm ost insurm ountable obstacle to his rushing 'into print,
even in th e strictest incognito. However, by d in t of per­
sistent, im portunity, I a t Inst succeeded in breaking through
his reserve, and he consented to throw into the form of
a jK-rsonal communication addressed to m e whatever he
had to say, an d to allow m e to m ake any use of it I
liked. ' 1
I confess t h a t w hen I came to read his letter, I was
somew hat ta k e n nback by th e uncompromising m a n n e r
in which th e EIT’e mli had stated his c a s e ; an d I should
have asked him to modify th e language in which he had.
-couched liis views, blit I felt convinced t h a t hail I done
so, ho would have withdrawn it altogether. I was, m ore­
over, asham ed to a d m it tliat I doubted w h e th e r I should
find a magazine in England with sufficient courage to
publish it. I need not say th a t 1 differ from it entirely,
and in our numerous conversations gave m y reasons for
doing so. B u t 1 have th o u g h t it well th a t it should, if
possible, be made public in E ngland, for m a ny reasons.
In the tirst place, th e question of reform, especially in
Asiatic Turkey, occupies a d o m inant position in English
p o litic s; and it is of g re a t im portance th a t we should
know, not only t h a t m any intelligent T u rk s consider a
reform of th e G overnm ent hopeless, b u t to w h a t causes
they a ttrib u te th e present decrepit and corrupt condition
of th e empire. W e can g a th e r from the views here e x ­
pressed, thou gh stated in a most uncom plim entary manner;
why m any o f the most enlightened Moslems, while lam en­
tin g the vices which have bro ug ht th e ir country to ruin,
refuse to co-operate in an a tte m p t, on th e jiart of th e
W estern Powers, which, in th e ir opinion, would only be
going from bad to worse. H ow ever m uch we may differ
from those whom we wish to benefit, it won It I be folly
to s h u t our ears to th e ir opinions in regard to ourselves
or our religion, sim ply because th e y are distasteful t o n s .
W e can best achieve our end by candidly listening to
w hat they m ay have to say. A nd this m ust be m y apo­
logy, ns well as th a t of th e magazine in which it up]>ears,
for th e publication of a le tte r so hostile in tone to our
cherished convictions and beliefs. A t the same time, I
cannot disguise from myself, t h a t while m any of its s ta te ­
m ents are prejudiced and highly coloured, others are not
altogether devoid of some foundation in tri u th ; it never
I
can do us an y harm to see ourselves sometimes as others
see us. T h e tendency of m ankind, and perhaps especially
of Englishmen, is so very m uch t h a t of th e ostrich, which
is satisfied to keep its head in th e sand and see nothing
th a t is disturbing to its self-complacency, t h a t a little
rough hand ling occasionally does no harm.
These considerations have induced me to do m y best
to m ake “ the bark of the distant E ffendi" be heard, to
use th e tine imagery of Bon G a u ltie r;* and with these
few words of introduction, I will leave him to tell his own
tale, and state his opinions on th e b u rning questions of
the day.
[The following letter, tog e th er with w hat precedes, was
originally published in Jilnchicooil's E dinburgh. M n y a zh ie
for Ja n u a ry .— Er>. T h k o s .]
“ M y d ear F u ik n d ,—
“ I proceed, in compliance w ith your request, to p u t
in writing a n'mmu! in a condensed form of tho views
which 1 liuve expressed in our various conversations to­
gether on th e E astern Question, prem ising only t h a t 1
have yielded to it u n d e r strong pres.sure,‘because I fear
they m ay wound the sensibilities or shock th e prejudices
■of you r countrymen. As, however, you assure me t h a t
they are sufficiently tolerant to have th e question in which
they are so much interested, presented to th e m from an
Oriental point o f view, I shall write with perfect frankness,
and in tlio conviction t h a t opinions, however un palatable
they may be, which are only offered to th e public in th e
earnest desire to advance th e cause of tru th , will m e e t
with some response in th e breasts of those who are a n i­
mated with an equally earnest desire to find i t In order
to explain how I have come to form these opinions, 1
must, a t the cost of seeming egoistic, m ake a few pre­
fatory remarks about myself. My father was an official of
high ra nk and old T u rkish family, resident for some tim e
iu Constantinople, and afterwards in an im p o rta n t sea­
port in the Levant. A n unusually enlightened and well-
educated man, he associated much with E uropeans ; and
from early life I have l>eeii familiar w ith th e Greek,
French, and Italian languages. H e died w hen I was ab ou t
* “ Say, in i t tho iflnnce of tho haughty vizior,
Or tlio Iwirk of tho d ista n t Ktfoiuli, you fear ? '*
—“ K a^tcm Scrcuario Boii G aultier's ‘ Book of Ballad*.*
tw enty years of a g e ; and [ determ ined to m ake use o f
th e affiuence to which I fell heir, by travelling in foreign
countries. 1 had already read largely th e literature of
both France and Italy, and had to a certain exten t become
em ancipated from the modes of thought, and I may even
say from the religious ideas, prevalent am ong my country­
men. I went in the first instance to Rome, and after a
y ea r’s sojourn there, proceeded to England, where I a s ­
sumed an Italian name, and devoted myself to the stu d y
of th e language, institutions, literature, and religion o f
th e country. I was a t all times extremely fond of p h i­
losophical speculation, and this led me to a study o f
G erman. My pu rsuits were so engrossing tliat I saw
little of society, aud th e few friends I made were am o n g
a comparatively hum ble class. I remained in E ngland
te n years, travelling occasionally on th e Continent., and
visiting T u rk e y twice du ring th a t time. I then proceed­
ed to America, where I passed a year, and thence w ent
to I n d ia by way of J a p a n and China. In Ind ia I rem ain­
ed two years, re su m in g during this period an O riental
garb, and living principally am ong my co-religionists. I
was chiefly occupied, however, iu studying th e religious
m ov em entam ong the Hindoos known as the B ra ln n o Sam aj.
F rom India 1 w ent to Ceylon, where I lived in g r e a t
retirem ent, and b e cam e deeply immersed in the more
occult knowledge of Buddhism . Indeed, these mystical
studies so intensely interested me, th a t it was with diffi­
culty, after a stay of three years, th a t 1 succeeded in te a r­
in g myself away from them . I then passed, by way of
th e Persian Gulf, into Persia, remained a year in Teheran,
whence I went to Damascus, where I lived for five years,
d u rin g which time I performed the Hailj, more out of
curiosity th a n as an ac t of devotion. Five yea re ago I
arrived here ou m y way to ( 'ontantinople, and was so
attra c te d by the beau ty of th e spot and th e repose which
it seemed to offer me, t h a t I determ ined to pitch my te n t
here for th e rem ain der of my days, and to spend th e m
in doing w hat I could do to improve the lot of those am id st
whom Providence hud throw n me.
“ 1 am aware th a t this record of my travels will be
received with considerable surprise by those acquainted
with the habits of life of T u rk s generally. I have given
it, however, to account for th e train of th ou gh t into which
I have been led, and the conclusions a t which I have
arrived, and to explain th e exceptional and isolated posi­
tion in which 1 find myself am ong my own countrymen,
who, as a rule, have no sy m pathy with th e motives which
have actuated me through o life,’ or with th e ir results. I
have hitherto observed, therefore, a complete reticence,
in regard to both. Should, however, these pages fall
u n d er th e eye of any m em ber of the Theosophical Society,
e ith e r in America, Europe, or Asia, they will a t once
recognise
O th e w riter as one of th e ir number, and will, I
.
feel sure, resjiect th a t reserve as to my |>ersonality which
1 wish to maintain.
“■I have already said t h a t in early life 1 became thorou gh ­
ly dissatisfied with the religion in which I was born
a n d bro u g h t u p ; aud, determ ined to discard all early pre­
judices, I resolved to travel over th e world, visiting th e
various centres of religious thought, with th e view of
m ak in g a comparative study of the value of its religions,
a nd of arriving at some conclusion as to th e one I o u g h t
myself to adopt. As, however, th e y each claimed to be
derived from an inspired source, I very soon became over­
whelmed with the presumption of the task which I had
undertak en ; for I was n ot conscious of the possession of
a n y verifying faculty which would w arrant m y deciding
between the claims of different revelations, or of ju d g in g
of th e m erits of rival forms of inspiration. N o r did i t
seem possible to m e th a t any evidence in favour of a re ­
velation which was in all instances offered by h u m a n beings
like myself, could be of such a nature t h a t a n o th e r h u m a n
beinjr should dare to assert th a t it could have none o th e r
th a n _a divine origin ; th e more especially as the a u th o r
of it was in all instances in external ap|>euranco also a.
hu m a n being. A t th e same time, 1 am far from being ho
da ring as to m aintain th a t no divine revelation, claim in g
 to Ik1 sucli, is not |>ervailed with ii divine afflatus. On
tin.* contrary, it would seem thnt to a •'renter or less extent,
■they must nil be so. Tlieii relative values must depend,
so far as our own earth is concerned, upon the am o u n t
o f moral tru th of a curative kind in regal'd to this world’s
m oral disease which they contain, and upon their prac­
tical influence upon tint lives and conduct of men. I was
therefore led to institute a comparison between the objects
■which were proposed by various re lig io n s; and I found
th a t just, in the degree in which they had been diverted
from their original design of woiid-regeneration, were tlio
results unsatisfactory, so liir as hum an righteousness wa.s
concerned ; ami that the concentnition of the m ind of tin?
devotee upon a future statu of life, and th e salvation of
liis soul alter lie left this world, tended to produce an
enlightened selfishness in his daily life, which has cul­
m inated in its extrem e form u nd e r th e inlluence of one
religion, ami finally resulted in what is commonly known
as W estern Civilization. For it is only logical, if a m an
be ta u g h t to consider his highest, religious d u ty to be
t h e salvation of his own soul, while the salvation of his
neighbour's occupies a secondary place, that he should in­
stinctively feel his highest earthly d u ty is the welfare
o f his own hum an personality and those belonging to it
in this world. I t m atters not w hether this future salva­
tion is to Ik* attained hy an act of faith, or by m e rit
throu gh good works— the effort, is none th e less a selfish
one. 1 he religion to which I am now referring will be a t
once recognised a.s the |»>pular form of Christianity. A fter
a careful study of tin: teaching of th e founder of this
religion, I am amazed at the distorted character it has
assumed u nder the influence of the three great sects into
which it has become divided— to-wit, the Greek, Catholic,
and Pro testant Christians. Then; is no teaching so
th oroughly alt ruistic in its character, and which, if it could
be literally applied, would, I believe, exercise so direct
aud beneficial an inlluence 011 the hu m an race, as the
teaching ot Christ ; but there is none, it seems to me, as
an impartial student,, the spirit of whose revelation has
been more perverted anil degraded by H is followers of all
denominations. The Buddhist, the Hindoo, and th e Mo­
hammedan, though they have all more or less lost th e in-
flm *nce of the afflatus which pervades th e ir sacred writings,
have not, actually constructed a theology based upon the
inversion of this original principles of their religion. T h eir
lig h t has died away till but a faint flicker rem ain s; b u t
Christians have developed th e ir social and ]*>litical m o ral­
ity out of th e very ; blackness of the shadow thrown by
‘ T h e light of the World.’ Hence it is th a t wherever
modern Christendom — which I will, for th e sake of dis­
tinguishing it from th e Christendom proposed by Christ,
style A nti-Christendom *— conies into contact with the
races who live u nder the dim religious light of th e ir res­
pective revelations, the feeble rays of th e la tte r become
extinguished by th e gross darkness of this A nti-Christen-.
dum, and they lie crushed and mangled u nder the iron
heel of its organised and sanctified selfishness. T h e real
God of Anti-Christendom is M a m m o n : in Catholic A nti-
Christendom, tempered by a lust of spiritual and te m po­
ral power; in Greek A nti-Christendom , tem pered by a
lust of race aggrandisement ; b u t iu Protestant A nti-C hris­
tendom, reigning supreme. The cultivation of th e sel­
fish instinct has unnaturally developed the purely intel­
lectual faculties a t the expense of the m o r a l; has stim u ­
lated c o m p e titio n ; and lias produced a combination of
mechanical inventions, political institutions, and an indivi­
dual force of character, against which so-called 1h e ath en ’
nations, whose cupidities and covetous propensities lie com­
paratively dormant, are utterly unable to prevail.
* I here rem nrkod to tho Effomli th n t there wns som othing very ofToiimvo
to Christmr.H in tho torni A wM.'hriHtondom, iih it posaufwod ft peculiar nip-
ntfic'ition in th eir roli^ious helioft and I re<|ue*tod ldm to xuhstitutc for ib
K o i n e o th er word. Thin he declined to do m ost |K>sdtively ; nnd h e pointed
to pnPKiires in tho K oran, in which M ahom et nrophoMen th e com ing of
A ntich rist, An ho xaid i t was an articlo of hi« faith th a t tho A ntichrist nl-
Inded to by th e p ro p h et wa* tho culm ination of tho invorted C hristianity
l>rofe*sed in thcso la tte r dayw, he could n ot so f«r com prom ise w ith his con*
*cioncca* to change tho term , nml rath er than do so no would w ithdraw th e
•letter. J have therefore been constrained to let it rem ain.
“ This overpowerin'; love of* the root of all evil/ with
the mechanical inventions in th e shape of railroads, tele­
graphs, ironclads, and other appliances which it has dis­
covered for th e accumulation of wealth, and the destruc­
tion of those who impede its accumulation, constitutes what
is called ‘ W estern Civilization.’ .
“ Countries in which there are 110 gigantic swindling
cori»orations, no financial crises by which millions are ruin­
ed, or Gatling guns by which they may be slain, are said to-
be in a state of barbarism. W hen the civilization of Anti-
Christendom conies into contact with barbarism of th is
sort, instead of lifting it out of its moral error, which would
be th e case if it were tru e Christendom, it almost invaria­
bly shivers it to pieces. The consequence of the arrival
of the so-called Christ,inn in a heathen country is, not,
to bring immortal life, but physical and moral death.
E ith e r th e native races die out, before him — as iu tho case
of the Red Indian of America and th e A ustralian and
New Z ealander— or they save themselves from physical
decay by worshipping, with all the ardour of perverts to
a new’ religion, a t the shrine of Mammon— as in th e case
of J a p a n — and fortify themselves against dissolution by
such a rapid developm ent of th e mental faculties and the
avaricious instincts, as may enable them to cope success­
fully with th e formidable invading influence of A nti-Chris­
tendom. T h e disastrous moral tendencies and disinte­
g ra tin g effects of inverted Christianity upon a race pro­
fessing a religion which was far inferior in its origin and
conception, hut, which hns been practised bv its professors
with more fidelity and devotion, has lteen strikingly illus­
trated in th e history of my own country. One of th e most
corrupt forms which C hristianity has ever assumed, was ■
to be found organised in the Byzantine empire a t th e tim e
of its coii(|uest. by th e T urks. H ad the so-called Chris­
tian races which fell u nder th e ir sway in Europe d u rin g
the ir victorious progress westward lieen compelled, w ith ­
out exception, to adopt the faith of Islam, it is certain,,
to my mind, that th e ir moral condition would have been
immensely improved. Indeed, j o u who have travelled
am ong th e Moslem Slavs of Bosnia and Herzegovina, w ho
are the descendants of converts to Islam a t th a t epo ch,.
will bear testimony to the fact th a t they contrast most
favourably in true Christian virtues with the descendants:
of their countrym en who remained Christians ; and I fear­
lessly appeal to th e Austrian authorities now governing
those provinces to bear m e out in this assertion. U n ­
fortunately, a sufficiently large nominally Christian po­
pulation was allowed by the T u rk s to remain in theiif
ncwly-acquircd possessions, to ta in t th e conquering race-
itself. T h e vices of Byzantinism speedily made th e m ­
selves felt in the body politic of Turkey. T h e subser­
vient races, intensely superstitious in th e form of their
religious belief, which had been degraded into a passport
systeni, by which the believer in the efficacy of certain*
dogmas and ceremonials m ight a tta in heaven irrespective
of his moral character on earth, were unrestrained b y
religious principles from giving free rein to their n a tu r a l
propensities, which wero dishonest and covetous in th e
extreme. T h e y th u s revenged themselves 011 their con­
querors, b y u n derm in in g them financially, ]K>litically, anil
m o r a lly ; tliey insidiously plundered those who were too*
indifferent to wealth to learn how to preserve it, and in­
fected others with the contagion of their own cupidity,,
un til t h e s e became as vicious and corrupt in their means -
of acquiring riches as they were themselves. T his process-
has been going 011 for the last, five hundred years, until
th e very fanaticism of th e race, which was its best pro­
tection against, inverted Christianity, has begun to diV
out, and th e governing class of T u rk s has with rare excep­
tions become as dishonest and degraded as the Ghiaours •­
they despise. Still they would have been able, for many
years y e t to come, to hold their own in Europe, b u t for
th e enormously increased facilities for the accumulation-
of wealth, and therefore for the gratification of covetous
propensities, created within th e last half-century by the
discoveries of steam and electricity. N o t only was T ur­
k e y protected formerly from th e sordid and contam inating
 influence of Anti-Christendom by th e difficulties e>f com­
m unication, hut the mania of developing th e resources of
foreign countries for th e purpose of appro priatin g th e
w ealth which they m ig h t contain, became proportionately
juigmentod with increased facilities of transpo rt— so th a t
now the very hahits of th o u g h t in regard to countries
styled barbarous have become changed. As an example of
this, I would again refer to m y own country. I can re­
m em b er tlie day when British tourists visited it with a
view to th e gratification of th e ir aesthetic tastes. T hey
delighted to contrast w h a t they were then pleased to term
* oriental civilization ’ w ith th e ir own. O u r very back­
wardness iu th e mechanical arts was an attractio n to them.
T h e y w ent home delighted with the picturesqueness and
t h e indolence of the East. Its bazaars, its costumes, its
prim itiv e old-world cachet, invested it in .th e ir eyes with
a n indescribable charm ; and books were w ritten which
fascinated th e W estern reader with pictures of our m a n ­
ners and customs, because they were so different from
those with which he was familiar. Now all this is chang­
ed ; the m odern traveller is in nine cases out of ten a
railroad speculator, or a m ining engineer, or a financial
promoter, or a concession hu nter, or perchance a would-be
m em ber of Parliam ent like yourself, coming to see how
pecuniary or political capital can be made out of us, and
how he can best cx/ilo lter th e resources of the country
to his own profit. This he calls * re fo rm in g ’ it. H is idea
is, not how to m ake th e people morally better, b u t how
best to develop th e ir p red ato iy instincts, and teach th e m
to prey upon each other’s pockets. F o r lie knows t h a t
by encouraging a rivalry in the pursuits of wealth am ongst
a people comparatively unskilled in th e a rt of money-
grubbing, his superior ta le n t and experience in th a t occu­
pation will enable him to tu rn th e ir efforts to his own
advantage. H o disguises from himself the immorality of
th e proceeding by the reflection th a t th e introduction of
foreign capital will add to th e wealth of th e country, and
increase th e m aterial well-being and happiness of th e
people. B u t apart from th e fallacy th a t wealth and h ap ­
piness are synonymous terms, reform of this kind rests
ou th e assum ption th a t natural teni|>crament and religious
tendencies of th e race will lend themselves to a keen com­
mercial rivalry of this description ; ami if it does not,
they, like th e A ustralian and th e Red Indian, m u st dis-
upitear before it. Already th e process has begun in E u ­
rope. T h e Moslem is rapidly being reformed out of- exis­
tence altogether. Between th e u p p e r and the n e th e r
millstone of Russian greed for territory and of British
greed for money, and behind th e mask of a prostituted
Christianity, th e Moslem in Europe has been ground to
p o w d e r : h undreds of thousands of innocent men, women,
and children have e ith e r perished by violence or starv a­
tion, or, driven from th eir homes, are now .struggling to
keep body ami soul together iisbest they can in misery and
desolation, crushed beneath th e wheels of tho J u g g e m a u th
o f ‘ Progress,’— th eir only crime, like th a t of the poor cross-
ing-swecper, I think, in one of you r own novels, th a t th e y
did not ‘ move on.’ This is called in modern parlance
• the civilizing influence of C hristianity.’ A t this m om ent
th e Russians are pushing roods thro ug h th e ir newly-nc-
quired territory towards Kars. 1 am informed by an in ­
telligent Moslem gentlem an who has ju s t arrived from
t h a t district, th a t th e effect of th e ir ‘civilizing ’ influence
upon th e inhabitants of th e villages through which these
roads pass, is to convert the women into prostitu tes mid
the; men into drunkarels. N o wonder th e Mohammedan
population is flocking in thousands across th e frontier into
T u rk ish territory, abandoning th e ir homes an d laiuleel
possessions in order to escape th e contamination of A nti-
Christendom.
“ In these days of steam and electricity, not only has
th e traveller no eye for th e moral virtues of a people, b u t
his lesthetic faculties have become blunted ; lie regards
them only as m oney-m aking machines, anil he esteems
th e m j u s t in th e elegree in which they excel in th e a rt e>f
wealth-accumulation. Blinded by a selfish utilitarianism,
h e can now see only barbarism in a c ountry where the
landscape is not obscureel by th e black smoke of factory-
cliinineys, and th e ear eleafened by the scream of the loco­
motive. For him a people who cling to the manners a m i
customs of a bygone epoch with which their own most glo­
rious traditions are associated, have no charm. H e sees
in a race which still endeavours to follow the faith o f
th e ir forefathers with simplicity and devotion, no thing
b u t ignorant fanaticism, for he lias long sinete substituted
hypocrisy for sincerity in his own belief. H e despises--
a peasantry whose instincts of submission aiul obeelience
induce th e m to suffer r a th e r than rise in revolt against a
(iovernm ent which oppresses them, because th e heael o f
it is invested in th e ir eyes with a sacred character. H e
can no longer find a n y th in g to adm ire or to interest in
th e contrast betw een th e E a st aiul West, b u t everything
to condemn ; and his only sy m pathy is with th a t section
of the population in T u rk e y who, called Christians like
himself, like him elevote themselves to th e sttiely of how
much can be maile, by fair means or foul, out of their
Moslem neighbours.
“ W hile I observe th a t th is change has come over the-
W e ste rn traveller of late years— a change which I a t t r i ­
b u te to th e mechanical appliances of th e ag e — a corres­
ponding effeert, owing to the same cause, has, I regret to
say, been produced upon my own countrymen. A gradual
assimilation liiis been for some tim e iu progress in the
E a s t with the habits and customs of the rest of Europe..
W e are abandoning our distinctive costume, and a d a p t­
ing ourselves te> a Weste:ru mode of life in many ways.
W e are becoming lax in the observances of our religion ;
and it is now the fashion for our women to get their h ig l i-
heclcel boots and bonnets from Paris, and for our youths
of gooel family to go to th a t city of pleasure, or to oner
of th e large capitals of Europe, for th e ir education. H e r e
tlieiy adopt all the vices of Anti-Christendom, for tho
attractions of a civilization based ii|x )n enlightened sel­
fishness are overpoweringly seductive, and they return-
w ithout religion of any sort— shallow, sceptical, egoistical,
a n d thoroughly demoralised. I t is next to impossible for
a Moslem youth, as I myself experienced, to come out o f
th a t fire uncontaininateel. His religion fits him to live
with simple and prim itive races, and even to acquire a
moral control over th e m ; but he is fascinated and over­
powered by th e m ighty influence of the glam our of the
W est. H e re tu rn s to T u rk e y with his principle's thorough­
ly underm ined, and, if he has sufficient ability, adds ono
to the n u m b e r ot those who misgovern it.
“ T h e two d om ina nt vices which characterise Anti-Cliris-
teuelom are cupidity and hypocrisy. T h a t which chiefly
revolts th e T u r k in this disguised attack upon the morals
of his people, no less th a n upon the; very existence of
liis empire, is, t h a t it should be made uiuler the p re te x t
of morality, an d behinel the flimsy veil of huinanitaria-
nism. I t is in th e nature; of the religious idea th a t j u s t
in proportion as it was originally penetrated with a divine
truth, which has become ]>erverted, does it engender hy ­
pocrisy. T his was so true of Judaism , t h a t when tlio
founder of C hristianity came, though himself a Jew , ho
scorchingly denounced th e class which most loudly pro-
fesseel th e religion which they profaned. But th e P lia-
riseeism which lias made war upon T urk ey is far more?
intense in elegree than th a t which lie attacked, for they
religion which it profanes contains th e most divine t r u t h
which th e worlel ever received. Mahomet divieled the>
n e th e r world into seven hells, and in the lowest he plae:eel
t h e hypocrites of all religions. I have now carefully exa­
m ined into m a ny religions, b u t as none of them elemaneled
so high a stand ard from its followers as Christianity, th ero
lias not been any developm ent of hypocrisy o u t of th em
a t all corresponeling to th a t which is peculiar to A n ti-
Christianity. F o r th a t reason I am constrained to th in k
t h a t its contributions to th e region assigned to hype>crites
by tho pro p h e t will be o ut of all proportion to the hypo­
crites of o th e r religions.
“ In illustration of this, see how the principles of moral­
ity anel ju stice are a t this m om ent being hypocritically
outraged iu Albania, where, on the moral ground th a t a
 nationality lias an in h e re n t right to tlio property of its
neighbour, if i t can m ake a claim of similarity of race, a
southern district of th e country is to lie forcibly given to
Greece ; while, in violation of the same moral principle,
a no rth e rn district is to be taken from th e A lbanian na ­
tionality, to which by rig h t of race it belongs, a n d violent­
ly and against the will of the people, who are in no way
consulted as to th e ir fate, is to be handed over for a n n e x a ­
tion to the M ontenegrins— a race whom the population
to be annexed traditionally hate and detest.
“ W hen A n ti-C h ristia n nations, sittin g in solemn con­
gress, can be guilty of such a prostitution of th e most
sacred principles in th e name of morality, and construct
an international code of ethics to be applicable to T u rk e y
alone, and which th e y would one and all refuse to a dm it
or be controlled by themselves,— when we know t h a t the
internal corruption, the adm inistrative abuses, and the
oppressive m isgovernm ent of the Power which lias j u s t
m ade war against us in th e nam e of hum anity, have driven
th e population to despair, and th e autho rities to th e most
cruel excesses in order to repress them,— and when, in the
face of all this most tra n sp a re n t hum bug, these Anti-
C hristian nations arrogate to themselves, on th e ground of
th e ir superior civilization and morality, th e righ t to im ­
pose reform upon Turkey,— we n e ith e r a d m it th e ir p re ­
tensions. covet their civilization, believe in th e ir good faith,
nor respect th e ir morality.
“ T h u s it is that, from first to last, th e woes o f T u rk e y
have been due to its contact w ith A nti-Christendom .
T h e race is now paying th e penalty for th a t lust of dom i­
nion and power which tem pted them in th e first instance
to cross the Bosphorus. From th e day on which the tree
of em pire was planted in Europe, th e canker, in th e shape
of th e opposing religion , began to gnaw a t its roots.
W h e n the Christians w ithin had thoroughly eaten out its
vitals, they called on th e C hristians w ith ou t for assistance ;
and it is morally impossible th a t th e decayed tr u n k can
much longer w ithstand th e ir combined efforts. B u t as I
commenced by saying, had th e invading Moslems in the
first instance converted th e entire population to their
creed, T u rk e y m ight have even now withstood th e assaults
of ‘ progress. Nay, more, it is not impossible t h a t her
victorious armies m ig h t have overrun Europe, and th a t
t h e faith of Islam m ig h t have extended over th e whole
o f w hat is now termed th e civilized world. I have often
th o u g h t how much happ ier it would have been for E u ­
rope, and unquestionably for th e rest of th e world, had such
been the case. T h a t wars and national antagonism s would
have continued, is doubtless true ; b u t we sh o rld have
been saved th e violent political an d social changes which
have resulted from steam and electricity, and have con­
tinued to live the simple and primitive life which satisfied
t h e aspirations of our ancestors, and in which th e y found
c o n ten tm e n t and happiness, while millions of barbarians
would to this day have rem ained in ignorance of th e g i­
gantic vices peculiar to A nti-C hristian civilization, l l i o
W est would then have been spared th e terrible conse­
qu e n c e s which arc even now impending, as th e inevitable
re su lt of an intellectual progress to which th e re has been
no corresponding moral advance. T h e persistent viola­
tion for eighteen centuries of th e g re a t altruistic law pro­
p ounded an d enjoined by th e great founder of the C hristian
religion, m u st inevitably produce a corresponding c a ta ­
stro p h e ; an d th e day is n o t far d istan t when m odern civili­
zation will find t h a t in its g re at scientific discoveries and
inventions, devised for th e purpose of m inistering to its
own extravag an t necessities, it has forged th e weapons
by which it will itself be destroyed. N o b e tte r evidence
of the tr u th of this can be found th an in th e fact th a t
A nti-Christendom alone is menaced with th e danger of
a g reat class revolution : already in every so-called Chris­
tia n country we hear th e m u tte r in g s o f the coming storm
w hen labour and capital will find themselves arrayed
a g ain st each other,— when rich a n d poor will m e e t ill d ead­
ly antagonism, and th e spoilers a n d th e spoiled solve, by
m eans of the most recently invented artillery, th e econo­
m ic problems of modern ‘ progress.’ I t is surely a re m a rk ­
able fact, th a t this struggle betw een rich and poor is spe­
cially reserved for those whose religion inculcates upon
them, a.s th e highest law— tin* love of their neighbour—
and most strongly denounces th e love of money. N o
country which does not bear the name of Christian is th u s
threatened. Even in Turkey, in spite of its bad govern­
m e n t and th e m any Christians who live in it, socialism,
communism, nihilism, internationalism, and all k ind re d
forms of class revolution, are unknown, for the simple rea­
son th a t T u rk e y has so fur, a t least, successfully resisted
the influence of ‘ A n ti-C hristian civilization.'
“ In th e degree in which the State d e p e nd s’ for its
political, commercial, and social well-being and prosperity,
not upon a moral b u t a mechanical basis, is its foundation
perilous. W h e n th e life-blood of a nation is its wealth, and
th e existence of th a t wealth depends upon the re gularity
with which railroads an d telegraphs perforin th e ir func­
tions, it is in th e ]iower o f a few skilled artisans, by menus
o f a combined operation, to strangle it. Only th e other
day the engineers and firemen of a few railroads in the
U n ite d S ta tes struck for a w e e k ; nearly a thousand men
were killed and wounded before th e trains could be set
r u n n in g again ; millions of dollars’ worth property was
destroyed. Tho contagion spread to th e mines aud facto­
ries, and had th e m ovem ent been more skilfully organised,
th e whole country would have been in revolution, and it
is impossible to tell w ha t the results m ight have been.
Com binations am ong th e working classes are now render­
ed practicable by rail and wire, which formerly were im­
possible ; and th e facilities which exist for secret conspi­
racy have turned Europe into a slum bering volcano, an
eruption of which is rapidly approaching.
“ T hu s it is th a t th e laws of retribution run th e ir course,
and th a t th e injuries th a t A nti-Christendom has inflicted
upon th e more primitive and simple races of the world,
which— u nd e r the p re te x t of civilizing th e m — it has ex­
plored to its own profit, will be amply avenged. Believe me,
m y dear friend, t h a t i t i s u n d e r 110 vindictive impulse or spirit
of religious intolerance th a t 1 write th u s : on the contrary,
though I consider Mussulmans generally to be far moro
religious th a n Christians, inasmuch as they practise more
conscientiously the teaching of their prophet, I feel th a t
teaching from an ethical point, of view to be infinitely in­
ferior to th a t of Christ. I have written, therefore, w ith ­
o u t prejudice, in this a t te m p t philosophically to analyse
th e nature and causes of th e collision which has a t last
culminated between th e E ast and the W est, between the so-
called Christendom and Islam. A nd I should only be too
thankful if it could be proved to me t h a t I had done the
form of religion you profess, or th e nation to which you
belong, an injustice. I am far from wishing to insinuate
t h a t am ong Christians, even as Christianity is a t p resent
professed and practised, there are not as good m en as
am ong nations called heathen and barbarous. I am even
prepared to ad m it there are b e tte r— for some struggle to
practise th e higher virtues of Christianity, not unsuccess­
fully, considering the m a n n e r in which these are conven­
tionally travestied ; while others, who reject the popular
theology altogether, have risen higher than ordinary mo­
dern C hristian practice by force of reaction against th e
hypocrisy and shams by which they are surrounded,— b u t
these are in a feeble minority, and unable to affect th e
popular standard. S uch men existed among th e Je w s a t
th e tim e of Christ, b u t th ey did not prevent H im from
denouncing th e moral iniquities of H is day, or th e Church
which countenanced them. A t the same time, I m u s t re­
m ind you th a t I shra nk from the task which you imposed
upon me, and only consented a t last to un dertak e it 011
y o u r repeated assurances t h a t by some, a t all events, of
y o u r countrymen, th e sp irit by which I have been a n im a t­
ed in w riting th u s frankly will not be misconceived.—
Believe me, m y d ear friend, yours very sincerely,
“ A T u r k i s h E f f e n d i .”
Mr. Ed. W im bridge, F.T.S., has j u s t etched a large m npof
th e railway system of In d ia for th e G. I. P. Railway Com­
pany, to accompany th e Guide th ey are abo ut publishing.
 T H E A R VA2T R K V I V A L .
A public m eeting was held a t 3 P. sr. on Sunday, tho
l l t l i Ja n u a ry , a t N a ty a M andir of th e late S ir Rajah
Rad ha K a n t D eb Bahadur, K.t'.S.l. More th a n three
hundred H in d u gentlemen were present.
Proposed by Babu Jiln'm Kissen Ghose, seconded i>y
B a b u Shoslii Bhoosun Mookerjee, luid carried unanimously,
t h a t Rajah Rajender N arain D eb B a ha d ur ta k e th e chair.
T he chairman requested Pan dit R ally Prossuno
V e d a ru tn a to deliver his lecture on th e “ superiority of
t h e Aryan religion and th e necessity of th e diffusion of its
knowledge by public preaching.”
After the lecturer h ad finished his lecture, the chair­
m an proposed “ t h a t a society he formed for th e diffusion
of the A ryan faith, and th a t steps bo ta k en for th a t p u r ­
pose on th e spot.” T h e proposal was carried new. con.
Proposed by Babu G irinder C h u n d e r Ghose, seconded
b y B abu Mohendra N a th Bose, and carried unanimously,
t h a t a society be formed for th e above purpose aud be called
th e B h a r a t y a r s a A r y a D i i a k m a P r o c i i a r i n i S a i i h a .
Proposed by Babu Kojla-sh C h u n d e r Mookerjee, second­
ed by Babu Obhoy C hu ru n M ittra, and carried u n a n i­
mously, t h a t Rajah K om ul K rish na U eb B a ha d ur and R a ­
j a h R ajendra N arain D eb B a h a d u r be elected Presidents
of the Sablm.
F ifty gentlem en were elected members, and Babu Shoo-
shee Bhoosun Mookerjee was appointed Secretary to
the Sabh£.
Proposed by Babi'i H e rra Laid R ukhit, seconded by Rabii
Nilcomid Banerjee, and carried unanimously, t h a t P a n d it
Kally Prossimu V e d aru tn a and Gocul C h u n d er Gossawmi
be ap])ointcd botli as Acharyas and Procharaks, (m is­
sionary) of the Sablii.
W ith a vote of th a n k s to th e chairman, tlie m eeting
broke up a t 7 i\ si.
S ho o sh ee B hoosun M o o k e k jj,
Secretary o f the JJItKrutnirxa A n /a
D hurm a P ro d u trin i Sabhd.
C A I.C U T T A :
No. o, R am Kissen B angchce’s Lane.
G E S T U li E -S P E E C H .
Observation* on the Sign Language o f the -Vorth American Indian.*•
UY COL. CiAKHICK MALLEIIY, U.S.A.
Anxious to avail of the first o p p o rtu nity ever offered for
m ak in g a close collation of tho language, superstitions,
customs a n d traditions of th e A ry ans an d those s tr a n g e
nomads of tho N o rth A m erican prairies inis-termed “ I n ­
dians,” Col. Olcott, some tim e ago, called th e a tte n tio n
of Col. G. Mallery an d Major J . W . Powell, of th e U n ite d
S ta te s A rm y , th e chiefs of th e Ethnological B ureau of tho
Sm ithsonian In s titu tio n , to th e subject. S ub joined is
Col. Mallery’s reply and th e re p o rt of his re c e n t lecture,
a t W ashington, D.C., w hich h e has k indly revised for our
magazine — Ei>. T h e o s .
Sniit/tnoiiian Institution, Bureau o f I'Jthnoloyy.
W ashington, D. C., Nov. l.S, 1871).
C o l . H . S. O l c o t t , U n ite d Suites C o m m r .
M y D e a r C olonkl,
T he subject you su g g e st is highly interesting, a u d i t
■will be m ost useful to collate in th e T ueosoi *iiist (grate­
fully received) tho parallels between th e N . A . Imlians
and tho real Indians, in psychology, philosophy, &c. 1 d e ­
livered last w inter a popular lecture u n d e r the title “ T h e
comparative m ythology of tho two In dies.’’ I will look it
over an d see w hat m ay bo excerpted. Major Powell
is iu Oregon, an d can no t have received y o u r le tte r y e t
I feel confident t h a t h e as well as inyself will gladly
give you “ notes,” if n o t carefully prep ared papers.
Neither of us will have much leisure d u r in g th e im ­
pending session of th e Congress, as wo are mixed
up in th e Pub lic Land Commission, C hange of Laws
Adapted for tho A rid Region, Irrigation, &C....I enclose a
. n e w s p a p e r s lip a b o u t s o m e o f m y r e c e n t w o rk s. P e r h a p s
I m a y g e t fro m y o u r o b s e r v e r s in I n d i a m a te r ia ls to c o lla te
t h o n a ti v e g e s t u r e s o f I n d i a n ra c e s w ith th o s e of i h e N .A .
I . a n d th o d e a f m u te s . I t is a n e w b u t im p o r t a n t field in
e v o lu tio n . I w ill p r i n t in a m o n th o r so m y p r e l im in a r y
p a p e r a n d s e n d i t to y o u . I t w ill n o t b e e x h a u s tiv e e v e n of
m a t e r i a ls a lr e a d y g a th e r e d , b u t w ill s e r v e to d ra w fire a n d
in d u c e c o r r e s p o n d e n c e fo r a c o m p le te m o n o g r a m , in w h ic h
th c T iiE O S O rm s T a n d its c o rp s o f c o n t r i b u t o r s c a n g r e a t l y a i d .
H eartily Yours,
G .u u u c k M a llk u y .
R eport.
Before th e A m erican Association for tho advance­
m e n t of Science, a t its late m eeting in Saratoga, Co­
lonel G arrick M allery of th e U nited States Army, and
attached to th e B u re a u of Eth no lo gy of th e Sm ithsonian
I n s titu tio n , read an elaborate p a p e r on “ T h e Sign L a n ­
g u a g e of tho N o rth Am erican In dians,” presenting points
both of novel, scientific in te re st as illu stra tin g th e ge stu re
speech of m an kind , and, of practical value. After tracing
th e history of g e sture speech, so far as know n in other
p a r ts of tho world, th e th e ory was controverted th a t tho
power of the visible g e stu re relative to, and its influence
upon, th e audible word was inversely proportioned to th o
d evelopm ent of th e oral language. The traveller’s tales
of people un able to u n d e rsta n d th e ir mother to n g u e in
t h e dark because not th e n able to see gestures, were of
d o u b tfu l tr u th anywhere, and certainly false .os regards
th e American tribes, m any of those t h a t ge sture most
freely having a copious vocabulary with highly differen­
tiated p a rts of speech. T h e tru e distinction is th a t w hero.
tho n u m b e r of m en speaking tho saino dialect is small,
and when they are throw n into contact on equal term s
w ith others of different tongues, ge stu re is necessarily
resorted to for converse, while large bodies enjoying a
common language, and eith o r isolated from foreigners, or
if in contact with them , so d o m in a nt as to compel tho
learn in g and adoption of th e ir own tongue, become i m ­
passive in its delivery. Instances of this from tho old
world were presented. B u t nowhere as on our continent
was th e re spread over so vast a space so small a n u m b e r
of individuals divided by so m any linguistic boundaries.
T h e general use of signs originating from the necessity
for extra tribal communication becam e also convenient
from the habits of hu nte rs and th e military tactics of s u r­
prise. So, naturally, th e practice of a sign language
am ong our Indians is noticed by all travellers, and tho
assertion has been c u r r e n t th a t it was a single, universal
and absolute code. To test this rem arkable sta te m e n t a
n u m b e r of sign vocabularies ta k e n in different parts of tho
co un try a t several dates from th e hist century to tho last
m o nth were collected by tho writer, comprising to g e th e r
more th an eight h u n d r e d signs. T ho result is th a t thero
is often an en tire discrepancy betw een th e signs m ado b y
different bodies of Ind ians to express the same idea. Very
few of the lim ited n u m b e r of' gestures th a t are in g eneral
use are a t all conventional, b eing only portions more o r
less elaborate of obvious n atu ral p a n to m im e ; and thoso
proving to bo th e fittest expressions of th o several ideas
becam e th e m ost widely adopted. I n some cases the ori­
ginal air pictures of an outline or action have become a b ­
breviated— and even if both th e original conception anil
delineation w ere th e sam e, th e two or moro abbreviations
■ became unlike. T h e first conceptions were also often d i ­
verse, because all objects have several characteristics, and
w h a t struck one se t of people as th e most distinctive
would not always so impress an other. Col. Mallery th e n
gave from the collected lists, or vocabulary, a largo n u m ­
b e r of examples w h ere e ith e r th e conception or execu-
■tion or both , to express th e same idea, were widely di­
verse. Also a n u m b e r of typical cases of agreem ent, fol-
' lowed by illustrations of others no t r e m a rk a b le e ith e r
for general or limited acceptance, b u t for th e philosophy
or poetry su g g e ste d by th e ir picturesque figuration. Some
of these wcro com pared w ith tho g e stu res of savage aiuL
t ivilized jicople in tlic1 old world, witli tlic<sc of deaf unites, n w g tr:
-with th e code of tlie Cistercian monks wlio were vowed to
silence, and witli the picture writing on butlalo robes anti s n re rrfa tfrT : *7-
NO
tin Eg yp tian pyramids. T h e general result proved th a t Jre rg jfe fr II a?K*R: II
th e r e wa.s no uniformity in detail, blit th e variety in ex­
pression was in itself of great psychological interest. t f r r e g w if a f if a c r : . ^ ^ R n ^ r a f t ^ w q ^ ^ : ll
W h ile the assertion of a single universal sign language ra?rrcfaw r || q ’-ri?":
a m o n g the tribes is, therefore, one of th e popular errors v3 q i > ^ : || s f r g f s f r f t s'Sr s i f e T P i r -
ab o u t our aborigines, it is nevertheless tru e th a t th e a t ­ sfitsp ftw T r || T T w r r e n m T 1*:
te m p t to convey m eaning by signs is universal among
5i% ll n
them , and so is its successful execution, not by a rb itra ry
sem aphoric motions, b u t in a cultivated a r t which is found­
ed upon principles th a t can readily be applied by travellers
a n d officials so as to give th e m much independence of Translation o f the above made by 1". It. 1 ’atvardhon, P. T,S., fo r
professed interpreters. Two intelligent pantomimists,
the T hcow phitt.from ihe X anslril original.
w h e th e r Indian or Caucasian, deaf or w itho ut common
ton gu e, will seldom fail of m u tu a l u n d e rsta n d in g when H e r e in th e land of Benares, fragrant as it were with
th e ir a tte n tio n is exclusively directed to expressing tho ug hts th e stores of knowledge, arrived Colonel Olcott, witli a mind
by m eans of comprehension and reply equally possessed by earnestly desirous of acquiring the knowledge of the
both, without the m en tal confusion of conventional sounds mtinners, customs, mechanical 'and other arts and sciences
only intelligible to one. of th e ancient Aryas and having formed friendship with
"Whether or not g estu re u tte ra n c e preceded articulatc the m em bers of tin* H rahndm vitavavshini Association,
Fpeech, study of th e a r t in its high developm ent will, by showed at a m eeting of t h a t assembly a very great liking
ji re tu rn to carlv principles, tend to solve th e old problem J b r the In d ia n Philosophies, (the J)avsanas S/id-tras).

of universal communication am ong m en in spite of their Metliinks th a t although he is born in a foreign land,
dialectic divisions. A main object of th e p a p e r was to in­ ye t lie is assuredly a native of India, inasmuch as in him
vite suggestions anti contributions to perfect a com pre­ t he effect of t he original antecedent relationship has shown
hensive monograph on th e subject, now iu preparation, to life afresh, and ho has made not infrequent efforts to­
be published with illustrations u n d e r th e auspices of tho wards the good of India. N evertheless enough with such
{Smithsonian Institutio n. series of conjectures. T h e fact, however, still remains
th a t lie longs to know the philosophy (the Darsanas) of
our country, and being desirous of spreading in foreign
TH E 1'!■:./>. IJX T J ) . \U S . I .V. I. countries tlit' knowledge of th e Vedant ./tarxana invited
HY MAMA M ISRA S1IA STH I, i-lilS K » M )K OK .SA N K IIV A . earnestly and not infrequently Vedantic contributions to
th eir famous Jo u rn a l which, as it were, acts th e part of th e
^ -o ^ M Os Moon in expanding the lotus of Indian Wisdom.
Now, th e 'Vedant Philosophy owing to th e variety of
c 'S Mt
h u m a n th o u g h t is m ade u p of th e several doctrines or
- n. ^ 6 views, namely, Suild/iddvaita, Jfvaita, A dvaita, 1 isis-
tddvaita and others based 011 a variety of distinct posi­
*N *S
tions ; and it is not. possible to receive any one of th e
JTKI5T || doctrines as the principal exponent of th e whole V edant
philosophy by distinguishing any one of them from its
fellows.
c m N ia ia t: C. G *s‘»
II Seeing, however, th a t some introduction should be made
regarding the Advaita doctrine alone, which is being fol­
'O "O
lowed by hun dreds of famous learned men, who, though
\5 divided by hundreds of shades and differences of opinions,
tlo y e t coincide in substance in the pith of th e A dvaita
'C <, *s doctrine, namely, the u nity and universality of soul, we
shall accordingly first introduce the A droit a doctrine.
N o w , following the gist of the rule implied in th e saying
fcT, f«n|rT, of th e Glorious One (lih a g a vd n ), namely, “ One should
ii a?rrffiq*: 5 i t : Ri%g;- not create an unsettled or divided state o f m ind in the.
■ii/norant who are given up to outward acts and ceremonies’
^ [4 ?R r sr-
th e teachers of Advaita doctrine to attra c t to themselves
th e rexyect and attention of their respective pupils of vary­
ing calibre, have w ritten 011 th e A dvaita doctrine the
Siildhdutalexa and o ther treatises, which, over aud above
^ - ? 3f q " ^ s T R i ^ V i n - q " f the substance of th e doctrine, naturally contain futile and
'O '4
noisy controversies produced by marshalling together con­
flicting and polemical hypotheses. In illustration of the
^voR R ^ ^ q m q ^ r f l ^ ^ : n q w ?^* rr^ u ^r* r: above, th e one instance of JUidxkarueJiavya would suffice.
T h o u g h him self a strict follower o f Advaita doctrine, Blias-
karacharya m akes scornful strictures on th e exposition of
<r, ^ ^ r f r f q ^ T K J T ? : ll q 5- n ^ : Advaita doctrine' by Sankavdchdvya, which, nevertheless,
f o r m s th e vital support of the followers o f th a t d o ctrine;
5 ir^ > §• for, so says lihdskordvhdrya in th e beginning of his com­
ii «rr- m e n ta ry 011 the Vedant Aphorisms ( S u tr a ) t h a t he u n ­
dertook to com m ent on the Vedant philosophy, which by
^ r f 5r R R * R ® s « i * T i ^ « ^ n i c r r - th e way is a tit subject for commentaries, in order to neu­
tralise th e pernicious effects of the works of those scholiasts
&\ 'O who have concealed the real m eaning of the Aphorisms
q w ^rr^ cu ^ n q*- anti m ade commentaries to suit th e ir own views tin the
subject. F u rth e r, Bhaskaracharya thus anim adverts also-
ND on the conflict of th e Aphorisms that, in commenting nnd
discovering ( A d h ik a ra n a ) 011 th e Aphorism beginning;
w ith the word Anatuhamnju the great anil revered S a n kara-
churi/a, stick in g last always to his own views ami using
not infrequently such artifices in construing th e Aphorisms
as would favour his own views on tho subject, says th a t the
words ot th e Aphorism m ust be construed in such and such
a way, and could show only a forced m ann er after all th a t
t h e words of the Aphorism supported his contention and
view on th e subject. B ut, such reflections apart, it is cer­
tain th a t Haukamcluiryii'ti view of th e A ilra ilu doctrine is
very ancient, and its high a n tiq u ity is established by the fact
t h a t Sankunic/utryii’.s view of th e A tlraiht doctrine (n ir-
visrfiluulraiht) has been found controverted in the ancient,
philosophies of Kapila, aud others who have controverted
Verfunt doctrines.
Now, according to all the doctrines of 1 \ila n t, " Final
E m a n cipa tio n” (m ohrha) is th e a tta in m e n t of one’s own
original state of existence ( Kra.svarupuv6pti), which is cor­
roborated and affirmed by both th e xinritt and the nitra ;
for, th e .m/iriti says, “ Final Em ancipation (tn u k tih ) is no ­
th in g else than existence in th e original sta te of one's
self,” and the xulrti says, “ having attain ed original self.”
T h e real nature and essence of the spirit is eternal and
unchangeable (nilya), pure (xiuhlhu), essentially knowing
(huthllui), and emancipated (niuktu). Soul’s evolution— tbo
visible universe— is but tbo effect of Illusion (M in im a.)
Illusion is without a beginning (A m uti) and is tho result,
of th e negation of knowledge (A r iily u ), which is equally
w ithou t a beginning. N egation of knowledge is eternal
and unchangeable also ; for, th e ancients say that,
] — T he “ Encased soul” ( ,/ir a ) ; 2— The “ Creative Pow ­
er” (Isa.)-, :!— “ Unalloyed E n e rg y ” ( Vixiuhlhd chit) ;
4— T h e relative difference between ,/ira and /mi ; ;*>— “ T h e
negation of knowledge and (i— T h e relative difference
betw een the energy and " negation of knowledge,” are
eternal and unchangeable,
Benares College, Feb. 1SN0.
[ To he Ciwtiiiiieil.]
A LAN D OF M Y S T E R Y .
BY 11. P . 11.
"Whether one surveys the imposing ruins of M emphis
or Palm yra ; stands a t the foot of the g re a t pyramid of
Ghize ; wanders along the shores of th e N ile ; or ponders
amid th e desolate fastnesses of th e long-lost and mysterious
Petra, however clouded and misty the origin of these p r e ­
historic relics may appear, one nevertheless finds at least
certain fragments of firm ground upon which to build con­
jectu re. Thick as may be the curtain behind which the h is­
tory of these antiquities is hidden, still there are rents here
and there through which one m ay catch glimpses of light.
W e are acquainted with t he descendants of th e builders.
And, however superficially, we also know the story of tho
nations whose vestiges are scattered around ns. N o t so with
th e antiquities of the N ew W orld of the two Americas.
There,- all along the coast of Peru, all over th e Isthm us
and N o rth America, in the canyons of the Cordilleras, iu
th e impassable gorges of the Andos, and, especially beyond
th e valley of Mexico, lie, ruined and desolate, hundreds
of once m ig hty cities, lost to th e memory of men, anil
having themselves lost even a name. Buried in dense
forests, entombed in inaccessible valleys, sometimes six­
ty feet under ground, from th e day of the ir discovery
■until now they have ever remained a riddle to science
baffling all inquiry, and they have been m uter than tho
Egyptian Sphinx herself. W e know nothing of America
prior to the Conquest— positively nothing. N o chronicles,
not even comparatively modern ones survive; there are
no traditions, even among the aboriginal tribes, as to its
past events. W e are as ignorant of th e races that, built
these cyclopean structures, as of the strange worship t h a t
inspired the antediluvian sculptors who carved upon h u n ­
dreds of miles of walls, of monum ents, monoliths and altars,
these weird hieroglyphics, these groups of animals and
men, pictures ot an unknow n life and lost a r t s ; scenes so
fantastic and wild, a t times, th a t they involuntarily
suggest th e idea of a feverish dream, whose p h a n ta s m a ­
goria a t the wave of some m ighty magician’s hand suddenly
crystalized into granite, to bewilder the coming gen e ra ­
tions for ever andi ever. So .late as the be*riiinin<;
O O of tho
present century, the very existence of such a wealth of
antiq uities was unknown. The potty, suspicious jealousy
of the Spaniards had, from th e tirst, created a sort of
Chinese wall between their American possessions and the
too curious traveller ; and the ignorance and fanaticism of
th e conquerors, and the ir carelessness as to all b u t the
satisfaction of th e ir insatiable greediness, had precluded
Scientific research. Even th e enthusiastic accounts of C or­
tez and his arm y o f brigands and priests, and o f PizaiTo
and his robbers and monks, as to the splendour of th e
temples, palaces, and cities of Mexico ami Peru, were long
discredited. In his H istory of America, Dr. Robertson
goes so far as to inform his reader th a t the houses of the
ancient Mexicans were “ mere huts, built with turf, or
mud, or th e branches of trees, like those of th e rudest
Indians and, upon th e testimony of some Spaniards
he even risked the assertion th a t “ in all the e xte nt of
t h a t vast empire,” there was not a single m onum ent or
vestige’of any building mori! ancient than the C o n q u e s t ” !
I t was reserved to th e O in'eat Alexander H um # boldt to vin­
dicate the truth. In ISOS a new Hood of light was poured
into th e world of arclceology by this em inent and learned
traveller. In this he luckily proved but the pioneer of
future discoverers. H e then described b u t Mitla, or th e
Vale of tb e Dead, Xoxichalco, and th e great pyramidal
T em ple of Cholula. But, after him came Stephens, Cather-
wooil, and S q u ie r ; and, in Peru, D ’Orbigny and Dr. Tschud-
di. Since then, num erous travellers have visited and given
u s accurate details of m any of this antiquities. liut, how
m any more y e t remain not only unexplored, but even
unknown, no one can tell. A.s regards prehistoric build­
ings, both Peru and Mexico are rivals of Egypt. Equal­
ling the la tte r in the immensity of her cyclopean stru c­
tures, Peru surpasses her in th e ir n u m b e r ; while Cholula
exceeds th e grand pyramid of Cheops in breadth, if not.
in height. W orks of public utility, such as walls, forti­
fications, terraces, water-eourses, aqueducts, bridges, te m ­
ples, burial-grounds, whole cities, and exquisitely paved
roads, hundreds of miles in length, stretch in an unbroken
line, almost covering th e land as with a net. On the
coast., they are b uilt of sun-dried bricks ; in th e m o un ­
tains, of (torphyritic lime, granite, and silicated sand-stones.
O f the long generations of peoples who built them, his­
tory knows nothing, and even tradition is silent. As a
m a tte r of course, most of these litliic remains are covered
with a dense vegetation. Whole forests have grown o u t
of th e broken hearts of th e cities, and, with a few excep­
tions, every th in g is in ruin. But one may ju d g e of wliat
once was by tha t which yet remains.
W ith a most flippant unconcern, the Spanish historians
refer nearly every ruin to Incal times. No greater m is­
take can he made. T he hieroglyphics which sometimes
cover from top to bottom whole walls and monoliths are,
as they were from the tirst, a dead letter to modern
science. B u t they were equally a dead letter to th e Incus,
though the history of th e latter can be traced to tho
eleventh century. T hey had no clue to th e m eaning of
these inscriptions, b u t a ttrib u te d all such to th e ir unknown
predecessors; th u s barring th e presum ption of their own
descent from th e tirst civilizers of th eir country. Briefly',
the Incal history runs t h u s : —
I n c a is the (juiclm a title for chief or emperor, and tb o
nam e of the ruling and most aristocratic race or ra th e r
caste of the land ; which was governed by th e m for an
unknown period, prior to, and until, the Spanish Conquest.
Some place th e ir first appearance in Peru from regions
■unknown in 1021 ; others, also, or conjecture, a t five cen­
turies after th e Biblical “ Hood,” and according to th e
modest notions of Christian theology. Still th e la tte r
theory is un do ubtedly nearer tr u th th a n the former. T h e
Tncas, jud ged by th e ir exclusive privileges, power and
“ infallibility” are the antipodal counterpart of th e Brail-
• Soo Stei'bons* C e n tra l Amcrica. '
 minical caste; of India. L ik e the latter, tho Incas claimed
direct descent from the Deity, which, as in th e case of
the Souryavansa dynasty of India, was th e Sun. Accord­
ing to th e sole b u t general tradition, th e re was a time
w hen th e whole of th e population of th e now N ew World
was broken up into independent, warring, and barbarian
tribes. A t last, the “ H ig h e st” deity — th e S u n — took
p ity upon them, and, in order to rescue th e people from
ignorance, sent down upon earth to teach th e m liis two
children Manco Capac, and his sister and wife, Mania
Ocollo H uaco— the counterparts, again, of the Egyptian
•Osiris, and his sister and wife, Isis, as well as of th e seve­
ral H in d u gods and demi-gods and th e ir wives. These
two made th e ir appearance on a beautiful island in Lake
Titicaea— of which we will speak fu rthe r 011— and thence
proceeded northward to Cuzco, later on th e capital of th e
Incas, where th e y a t once began to disseminate civiliza­
tion. Collecting together th e various races from all parts
of Peru, the divine couple then divided their labour.
Manco Capac ta u g h t m en agriculture, legislation, archi­
tectu re and a r t s ; while M am a Ocollo instructed th e women
in weaving, spinning, embroidery aiid house-keeping. It
is from this celestial pair t h a t th e Incas claimed th e ir
d e s c e n t ; and yet, they were u tte rly ignorant of th e people
who bu ilt the stupendous and now m in e d cities which
cover the whole .area of th e ir empire, and which th e n e x ­
ten ded from th e E q u a to r to over H7 degrees of Latitude,
and included not only th e western slope of th e 'A n d o s ,
b u t th e whole m ountain chain with its eastern declivities
t o th e Amazon and Orinoco. As th e direct descendants
of the Sun, th e y were exclusively the high priests of tho
s ta te religion, aud a t the same tim e emperors and the
h ig h e st statesmen, iu th e land ; in virtue of which, they,
again like th e Brahmans, arrogated to themselves a divine
superiority over th e ordinary mortals, th u s founding like
t h e “ twice-born ” an exclusive and aristocratic caste—
th e Inca race. Considered as th e son of th e Sun, every
reigning Inca was the high priest, the oracle, chief captain
in war, and absolute sovereign; th u s realizing th e double
office of Pope and King, and so long a n ticipating the
dream of th e Homan Pontiffs. To his com mand the
blindest obedience was exacted ; his person was s a c re d ;
and he was th e object of divine honours. T h e highest
officers of th e land could not, appear shod in hix p re ­
sence ; this m ark of respect pointing again to an
O rien tal o r ig in ; while th e custom of boring th e ears
of the youths of royal blood and inserting in them
golden rings “ which were increased in size as they a d ­
vanced in rank, until th e distention of th e cartilage
became a positive deformity,” suggests a strange resem­
blance between the sculptured portraits of m any of them
t h a t we find in the more• modern• »ruins, and th e images of
, O
B u d d h a and of some H in d u deities, not to m ention our
contemporary dandies of Siam, Burmali, and Southern
India. I 11 that, once more like in India, in th e palmy
•days of th e B rahm in power, 110 one had th e rig h t to
e ith e r receive an education or study religion except th e
young m en of th e privileged Inca caste. And, when
t h e reigning Inca died, or as it was term ed, “ was called
h om e to th e mansion of his father,” a very large n u m ­
b e r of his a tte n da nts and his wives were m ade to die with
him, d u rin g th e ceremony of his obsequies, j u s t as we
find in th e old annals of Rajesthdn, and down to the b u t
j u s t abolished custom of Sutti. T a k in g all this into con­
sideration, t h e archaeologist cannot rem ain satisfied w ith
th e brief rem ark of certain historians t h a t " in th is tra d i­
tion we trace only a no th er version of th e story of th e ci­
vilization common to all prim itive nations, and, th a t im ­
posture of a celestial relationship whereby designing rulers
a nd cunning priests have sought to secure th e ir ascen­
dency among men.” N o more is it an explanation to say
t h a t “ Manco Capac is th e almost exact c ou nterpart of t he
Chinese Fold, the H in d u Buddha., th e terrestrial Osiris of
E gypt, th e Quetzacoatl of Mexico, and V otan of Central
' A m erica” ; for all this is b u t too evident.. W h a t we w ant
to learn is, how came these nations so antipodal to each
■other as India, Egypt, and America, to offer such extraordi­
nary points of resemblance, n ot oidy in th eir general re­
ligious, political, and social views, b u t sometimes iu the
m in u te st details. T h e much-needed task is to find out
which one of th e m preceded th e o th e r ; to explain how
these people came to p lant a t th e four corners of the earth
nearly identical architecture and arts, unless there was a
tim e when, as assured by Plato and believed in by more
t h a n one m odern arclueologist, no ships were needed for
such a transit, as th e two worlds formed b u t one continent.
According to th e most recent researches, th e re are five
d istinct styles of architecture in th e Andes alone, of which
th e Tem ple of th e S u n at Cuzco was th e latest. A n d this
one, perhaps, is th e only structure of importance which,
according to modern travellers, can be safely a ttrib u te d to
th e Incas, whose imperial glories are believed to have,
been th e last gleam of a civilization d a tin g back for untold
ages. Dr. E. It. H e ath , of Kansas, (U.S.A.) th in k s t h a t
“ long before Manco Capac, th e Andes had been th e dwell-
ing-plaeeot races, whoso beginnings m u s t have been coeval
with th e savages of W e ste rn Europe. T h e gigantic a r ­
chitecture points to th e cyclopean family, th e founders of
th e Temple of Babel, and th e Egyptian pyramids. T he
Grecian scroll found in m any places is borrowed (?) from
th e E gyptians ; the mode of burial and em balm ing th e ir
dead points to Egypt.” F u r th e r on, this learned traveller
finds t h a t th e skulls ta k e n from the burial-grounds, ac­
cording to craniologists, represent three distinct races :
t.he Chinchas, who occupied th e western p art of Peru from
th e Andes to th e Pacific; th e Aymaras, dwellers of th e
elevated plains of P e ru an d Bolivia, on th e southern shore
ot Lake T i tic a c a ; and th e Huancas, who “ occupied th e
plateau betw een th e chains of th e Andes, n o rth of L ak e
Titicaca to the !)th degree of South Latitude. To con­
found th e buildings of th e epoch of th e Incas in P e ru ,.a n d
of M ontezuma and his Caciques, in Mexico, with th e ab o­
riginal m o n um ents is fatal to arclueology. W h ile ’Cholula,
U xm al, Quiche, Pachacamac, and Chichen were all perfect­
ly preserved and occupied a t th e tim e of th e invasion of
th e Spanish hmvlitti., th e re are hundreds of ruined cities
.and works which were in the samu state of ruin even th e n ;
whose origin was u nk now n to the; conquered Incas and
Caciques as it is to u s ; and which arc undoubtedly th e
remains of u nk no w n and now extinct peoples. T he strange
shapes of th e heads, and profiles of the hum an figures upon
th e monoliths of Copan are a w arrant for th e correctness of
tho hypothesis. T h e pronounced difference betw een th e
skulls of these races and th e In d o-E urop ean skulls was
a t first a ttrib u te d to mechanical means, used by t h e m o ­
thers for giving a peculiar conformation to th e head of
th e ir children d u rin g infancy, as is often done by other
tribes a n d peoples. But, as the same a u th o r tells us, th e
finding in “ a m u m m y of a foetus of seven or e igh t m o n th s
having th e sam e conformation of skull, has placed a d o u b t
as to the ce rta inty of this fact.” And besides hypothesis,
we have a scientific and an unim peachable proof of a ci­
vilization • t h a t m u st have existed in P e ru ages
O Oago* W e re
we to give th e n u m b e r of thousands of years t h a t have
probably elapsed since then, w ith o u t first nhowing good
reasons for th e assumption, th e reader m igh t feel like
holding liis b re a th So let us try.
T h e P e ru v ia n guano (hiuino), th a t precious fertilizer,
composed of th e ex crem ent of sea-fowls, interm ixed w ith
th e ir decaying bodies, eggs, remains of seal, and so on,
which has accum ulated upon the isles of th e Pacific and
t.he coast of S o u th America, and its formation are now well-
known. I t was H u m b o ld t who first discovered aud drew
th e world’s a tte n tio n to it in 180+. And, while describ­
in g th e deposits as covering th e granite rocks of the
Chincas and other islands to th e d e p th of .">() or GO feet,
he states that, the accumulation n f the preceding 300 yearn,
.since the Conquext, had form ed only a fe w lines in thickness.
H ow m a n y thousands of years, then, it required to form
th is deposit GO feet deep, is a m a tte r of simple calculation.
In this connection we m ay now q uote som ething of a dis­
covery spoken of in th e P eruvian A ntiquities.* “ Buried
•A . pap er published by M r. E. R. H eath iu th e Iiama.% City Reciem of
Scienct (turf Industry, Nov. 1878.
 62 feet un der th e ground, on th e C hinca islands, stone-
idols and waterpots were found, while 35 an d .‘t.'i feet be­
low th e surface were wooden idols. Jieneat/t the t/uano on
th e G uanapi islands, j u s t south of Truxillo, aiul Macabi
j u s t north, mummies,.birds, and birds' eggs, gold and silver
ornaments were taken. On tlie Macabi th e labourers found
some large valuable golden vases, which they broke u p
a n d divided among themselves, even though offered weight
for w eight iu gold coin, and th u s relics of g re a te r interest
to th e scientist have been ever lost. H e who can determ in e
th e centuries necessary to deposit th irty and sixty feet of
auano on these islands, rem em bering t h a t since th e Con­
quest, th ree h un d re d years ago, no appreciable increase in
d e p th has been noted, can givo you an idea of the a n ti­
equity of these relics.”
I f we confine ourselves to a strictly arithm etical cal­
culation, th e n allowing 12 lines to an inch, and 12 inches
to a foot, and allowing one line to every century, we are
forced to believe th a t th e people who m ade these precious
gold vases lived 8,04,000 years ago ! Leave an ample
m argin for errors, and give two lines to a c entury — say an
inch to every 100 years— and we will yet have 72,000 years
back a civilization which— if we ju d g e by its public works,
th e durability of its constructions, and th e g ra n d e u r of its
buildings,— equalled, and in some tilings certainly su r­
passed o u r own.
H a v in g well defined ideas as to th e periodicity of cycles,
for th e world as well as for nations, empires, and tribes,
we are convinced t h a t our p re se nt m odern civilization is
b u t the latest dawn of t h a t which already has been seen an
innum erable n u m b e r of times upon this planet. I t may
n o t be exact sciencc, b u t it is both inductive and deduc­
tiv e logic, based upon theories far less hypothetical and
m ore palpable th a n m any a n o th e r .theory, held as strictly
bcientific. To express it in th e words of Professor T. E.
N ipher, of St. Louis, “ we are not the friends of
theory, b u t of tru th ,” and un til t r u t h is found, we welcome
every new theory, however unpop ular a t first, for fear of
rejecting in our ignorance th e stone which m ay in tim e
become the very corner-stone of the tru th . ‘ T h e errors
of scientific men are well nigli countless, not because they
aro men of scicnce, b u t because th e y arc m e n ” says th e
same scientist ; an d fu r th e r quotes th e noble words of
F a r a d a y — “ occasionally, and frequently th e exercise of
t h e ju d g m e n t o u g h t to end in absolute reservation. I t
m ay be very distasteful and a great fatigue to suspend a
conclusion, b u t as we are not infallible, so we o u g h t to
be cautious.” (K.vperimental Researches, 2 4th Series.)
I t is doubtful w hether, with th e exception of a few of
th e most p ro m in e n t ruins, there ever was a tte m p te d a d e ­
tailed account of th e so-called A m erican antiquities. Y e t
in order to bring out th e more prom inently a point of
comparison such a work would be absolutely necessary.
'If tlie history of religion and of mythology a n d — far more
im po rtan t— th e origin, developing a n d final group in g of
th e hu m a n species is ever to be unravelled, we have to
t r u s t to archaeological research, r a th e r th a n to th e hypo­
thetical deductions of philology. W e m u st begin by
massing to g e th e r the concrete imagery of th e early thought,
m ore eloquent in its stationery form th a n th e verbal e x ­
pression of tho same, th e la tte r being b u t too liable, in its
m anifold interpretations, to be distorted in a thousand
ways. T his would afford us an easier and m ore t r u s t­
w orthy clue. Arclueological Societies o u g h t to have a whole
.cyclopaedia of th e world’s remains, w ith a collation of the
most im p ortan t of the speculations as to each locality. For,
however fantastic and wild some of these hypotheses m ay
seem a t first glance, y et each has a chance ofproving useful a t
some time. I t is often more beneficial to know w h a t a th in g
is not th a n to know w hat it is, as Max Muller tru ly tells us.
I t is n o t w ithin th e limits of an article in our p aper
th a t any such object could bo achieved. A vailing o u r­
selves, though, of th e reports of th e G ov ernm ent survey­
ors, trustw o rth y travellers, men of science, and, even our
own limited experience, we will try in future issues to givo
to our H indu readers, who possibly m ay n ever have heard
of these antiquities, a general idea of them . O u r latest
informations are draw n from every reliable source ; t h e
survey ol th e P eruvian an tiqu ities being mostly d u e ti»
Dr. H e a t h ’s able paper, abovementioned.
(To be Continued.)
P U Z Z L E S FOR TH E PH IL O L O G IST S.
Iir HAMCHUNDUA 1IAPUJI, KS(?„
Siiperiiitendeiit, Dead Letter Office, lUmibay.
I n th e issue of the T h kosophist for the m o n th o f N o ­
vember, 1879, appeared an interesting article e n title d
“ Cross and F ire ” which shows t h a t th e Elem ental worship,
or th e worship of th e Sun, was practised by th e Bulgarians,
before the days of Christianity, and th a t it is still p r e ­
served even now.
In this connection, I bog to su bm it a few questions upon
which I hone th e T h eo s o p h is t , acquainted as it is w ith
th e mythology anil history of th e old religions of alm ost
all th e nations of th e world, may be able to throw some
light, and clear u p th e doubts and am biguities in which
tlio m a tte r is enveloped. My questions are as follows :—
]. W e have been told* more or less vaguely by th o
philologists, t h a t a t a certain place on the northern fron­
tie r of India, or iu Central Asia, there once lived a peo­
ple or a nation which abandoned th eir country in p a r ­
ties (why and when, it is said, cannot be defined,) one
em igrating into India, w hilst th e other p en etrated into
th e countries of Europe, & c .; conquering India, it is a d d ­
ed, and driving into th e m ountain fiistnesses th e Gounds,
Jihills, Kulie.s, II'aghars, M ahars, Mongs, J3ei/dars o r
JJerads, Chambars, II addars, Sonthals, Fodegurs, Sfc., S[C.,
who are supposed or said to be the aborigines, anil m a k in g
them selves the m asters of the Peninsula. T h ey styled
them selves A ryas (Lords.) H ere they continued or pro­
pag ated th e religion of th e Vedas, which they had bro u g h t
w ith them , as well as th e arts and polity of a civilized
nation, as it is said, th e y were ; the im putation being t h a t
th e Vedas and civilization were not known in In d ia before
th e arrival of these adventurous immigrants.
Indeed, it is alleged t h a t in this pastoral and nomadic
race, as it is otherwise calked, there were priests, warriors,
agriculturists
o and serfs,' and t h a t the aborigines
t o who were
driven into th e hills, forests and mountains, were th e pro­
genitors of those who still remain ; b u t a few were absorb­
ed into, and am algam ated with, the Aryas.
. I t th e n n atu rally follows t h a t the other parties of these
A ryas who invaded and p e n e tra ted into the various coun­
trie s of Europe, &c., also carried w ith th e m th e ir sacred
and beloved Vedas, to g e th e r w ith th e S a n sk rit in which
th e y were delivered ; and not only preserved th e m intact,
b u t propagated th e ir religion in those new countries as,
according to th e philologists, had been done in India. T h e
nam es of th e Vedas, therefore, and th e E lem entary worship,
as well as th e spiritual science of Yog, including the use of
th e mystical or sacred syllable OM, which is invariably
prefixed to every scriptural or sacred writing, and even
repeated a t every daily ritualistic observance— to say
no th in g of th e old prim itive ways and customs of th o
Aryas, such as crem ation— m u st be traceable in a complete
form somewhere in th e oldest histories of those countries,
as in India, if such an Aryan em igration took place. And
this, even though C hristianity or M ohammedanism was
afterwards embraced by those nations.
Can any such traces be found, especially of th e Y og ;
an d w h a t equivalent word is given to it in any of the his­
tories ? H ow can th e g re a t fact be explained th a t th e people
.of Europe were wallowing in the mire of barbarism a n d
ignorance, while perfect civilization was reigning in In dia,
if em igrants from one A ryan stock, or family, or n a tio n
entered E u ro pe eith e r simultaneously with or even later
th a n th e p enetration of th oir supposed brothel's into I n d ia ?
European civilization is comparatively of a recent o r
modern date, long posterior to t h a t when darkness an d
gloom began to overspread India, .and cannot possibly b e
• C<iL M. T aylor’s “ S tu d en t's M anual of tlio H istory of In d ia," pp. 38, 3 9 .
162 t il k
a ttrib u te d to th e Aryan emigration, or if it can bo, th e n
th r r o should bo 110 difficulty in tracing or defining tin;
causes and period of the emigration most accurately ; tbo
E urop ean liistorical accounts being presumably b e tte r
■written and b e tter preserved tlian the Indian, since they
go as far back as the tim e of “ N o a h ’s covenant w ith God,”
o r th e creation of the world.
Various are the (lights of speculation of various minds
on th is great subject. L e t m e give expression to a few
o f them.
I t is asserted by some th a t th e Vedas are of tin; r e m o t­
est antiquity, and their birth or appearance iu India is
coeval with th e foundation or creation of the world ; aud
th ese refer m e to various authorities, .showing th a t the
A ry a n s are th e aborigines* of India. T hey say th a t our
forefathers originally lived around th e base of th e m o u n ­
ta in Himalaya, abounding in shrines, and on tho bunks
o f tho sacred rivers, which spring from this g re a t abode of
snow and water, th e tracts now denom inated the Banjul',
Benares, &c., &c., and th a t tho Aryans shifted southw ards
as they multiplied or as o ther occasions demanded. They
•were not em igrants from any place out of In d ia as
supposed.
Others affirm th a t th e allegation tliat th e parties, ori­
ginally of ono stock of family or one nation, separated and
emigrated from C entral A sia into India and the coun­
tries of Europe, is a m ere hoax purposely invented to
su ppo rt theoretical views, and to narrow as much as possi­
ble the gulf which now separates th e people of India
from those of oth er parts of th e world.
Still others aver th a t in those good old days c o m m u n i­
cation-!* or intercourse was free, and adventurers or e n te r ­
p ris in g philosophers, visiting India, picked u p some k no w ­
ledge of th e Indian religion and im parted it to th e ir coun­
trym en.
Lastly, it is affirmed t h a t in India, a certain king
chanced to g e t a t logger-lieads w ith a host of Rushers, who
carried th e ir animosity so far as to abandon th e king
altogether. T hey refrained from a tte n d in g or officiating
a t th e sacrifices and ceremonies a t t h a t place ; in fact,
th e y held th e king as an outcast. T h e king, for his part,
eared very little for the indignities offered, and treated his
adversaries w ith u t t e r contem pt in return. T h u s th e ill-
feelings were intensified and reconciliation bceainc im ­
possible. On th e demise of th e king, the Rusher* who
had already conspired, ceased not to pour th e ir w rath upon
th e adh eren ts or ra th e r the partizans of th e king, who
being disgusted aud harassed in the extreme, p u t an end
to the broils by leaving India, once for all. T h e y sought
refuge in th e countries of Europe, &c., and settlin g there,
ta u g h t th e people tho worship inculcated by th e Vedas,
of which thoy had b u t a faint knowledge.
I t is pointed o ut after all th a t tho Greeks,J th e oldest
people in Europe, woro not unknow n to th e Aryas of I n ­
dia, who distinguished or designated th e m as Yavans§
(barbarians or foreigners), a distinctive appellation which
could not liavo possibly been applied to th e Greeks, had
th e y been really th e same tribes or belonged to tho same
stock and origin as the A ryas of India. Or, again, if the
Europeans had enjoyed, as a birthright, tlio blessings and
revelations of th e sacred and philosophical t r u th s of th e
Vedic religion, it is doferentia i'y asked vvhat g re a t te m p ­
tation could have impelled th em to relinquish or exchange
tlio Vedas for th e Bible anil Koran alternately, when we
consider th e comparatively slight progress which C hris­
tian ity has made in India, th e land of the Vedas, du rin g
th e period of th e last two thousand years.
Before concluding th e subject, I m u st not lose sight of
some of tho striking facts and circumstantial evidences
• Elpkinstono’s H istory of India, Vol. I., pages 2 ami 05 to 99. Pocock's
In d ia in Uroccc, pages 203 to 206.
+ Elpkinstono'a H istory of India, Vol, I., pages 9J, 25G and 206. Pocoek'*
In d ia in Greece, pages 41 to 47, and 2f>0.
X E lpkinstono’a H istory of India, Vol. I., page 251.
3 M onirr W illiam’s S an sk rit and Knglub D ictionary, page 812.
rr ii e o s o p h ts t [Mart'll, 18,SO.
relative to it. Many of th e E uropean scholars and orien­
talists, strain in g every nerve, have drawn a conclusion that
Greeco, Italy, E gy pt, Palestine, &c., were colonized* hy
various m artial or warrior (kshatriya) clans, and by Brahnii-
nical and B uddhistic tribes, from th e East, nil hoicerer ori­
ginally or prim a rily fr o m India ; at th e same tim e showing
th e close affin ityf between the Sanskrit and th e several
European languages as evidence of the tru th of th is grand
exodus, and m a k in g its salient features harmonize with
the evidences supplied in th e Indian epics.
B u t then, again, tho startling fact of the Sanskrit having
sunk as it did into corruption, and not m a intaining its
ascendency in those countries, as it did in India, leads to
th e irresistible inferenco th a t th e colonists had to yield to
tho W e ste rn aborigines ; causing thereby a m ixture of
blood, and th e ir S a n sk rit so largely aiding in the refine­
m en t of th e indigenous dialects, as to enable th e m to
assume the high appellation of classical languages.
W H I C H F I R S T — TJIE E G G OR TJIE B I R D ?
B T II. P. W A V ATS KY.
I beg to present my warm est thank s to M r. William S im p ­
son, F.R.G.S., the distinguished artist and antiquary, who
extended last year his researches to Peshaw nr valley and
elsewhere, an d th ereb y .so enriched the Lahore Museum,
for kindly presenting me with a copy of his very valuable
paper, “ B u ddh ist A rchitecture : .Jellalabad," enriched
with seven illustrations. O u r th ank s are hone the less duo
to Mr. Simpson, th a t in one point, and a very im portant
one too, "it is impossible for either our Society or m y­
self, to agree w ith his conclusions. T h e feature of Mr. S im p ­
son’s interesting and learned paper is to quote th e words
of Mr. Ja m e s Eergusson, F.Il.S., Fast, Vice-Fresident, th a t
e v e r y “ form of a r t was imported into India, and nothing
ever came mil of it," (the italics arc mine). Mr, S im p ­
son builds his’ hasty conclusions upon the fact th a t most
of the capitals of th e pillars and pilasters in the ruins
of tho valley of th e Kabul river, are Corinthian, and
'• th e bases and mouldings generally are such as arc most
nnm istakeably derived from the far West, anil finally th a t
a “ n u m b e r of bell-shaped capitals, surmounted by double
animals which look like a reminiscence of th e pillars of
Perscpolis,” are also found in the caves of Karli, and o ther
eaves of India, as well as in th e valley of Peshawur. ^
I will not lim it my protest in this case, to nieioly point
to th e words of Mr. Eergusson, who cautiously rem arks
th a t “ th e sim ilarity is, however, so remote t h a t it is h a rd ­
ly sufficient to sustain Mr. Simpson’s assertion th a t every
form of a i t was im ported into India, and nothing ever
cam e o u t of it.” B u t 1 will hum bly suggest th a t in a
country like Indiii, whose past history is a total blank,
every "attem pt to decide th e age of th e monuments, or
w h ether th eir style wa.s original or borrowed, is now p re tty
m uch as open a question as it was a century ago. A new
discovery may any day annihilate th e theory of the day
before. Lack of space forbids me to en ter upon th e dis­
cussion more elaborately. Therefore', I will perm it my*
self only to say th a t Mr. Sim pson’s present “ assertion”
remains as hypothetical as before. Otherwise, we would
have to decide a jyriori, w hether India or Greece borrowed
from th e o th e r in other im po rtant cases now pending. B e­
sides “ Corinthian pillars” and “ double animals,'' once so
clear to the Persepolitans, wc have, here, th e solar race of
th e H a r i- K u la (Sun family) whose deeds m u st have been
a copy of, or th e model for, th e labours and very name of
th e Grecian Sun-God Hercules. N o less is it a m a tte r for
th e consideration of philologists and archa ologists which
of th e two— th e E gyptian Sphinx, called by th em H ari-
m ukh, or H ar-M -K ho (the Sun in his resting-place) or th e
• l’ocock'a Indin in Grroco, pages 9, 71, 111, IN), 200 to 210 and 214, 229
to 232 and 317. Sir W illiam .Jones—A siatic Rcacni-clie.*, Vol. I., pn^o 426.
f E lphinntonc's H istory of India, Vol. I., i>ogo 97. 1’ococU'j In d ia in
• (Jrcoce, p fg e s 145, 146, 208 nnd 270.
 lofty H im alaya peak, also eallotl H a rim u k li (tho m o u th of s tru m e n t round and round so as to m ake a ‘ c u p -m a rk ’
tho Sun) iu th e range to th e n orth of Cash mi r, owes its would be comparatively easy................. I n the American
nam e to th e other. invention by which a record of the message sent by th e
electric telegraph is made by tho instrum ent itself, th e
most primitive style of marking or writing on th e paper
0 U P -M A R K IN S C R IP T lO iY S . was necessarily adopted. A nd letters in th e Morse code
H. llivett-Carnac, Esquire, o f th e Bengal Civil Service, aro consequently composed of numerous combinations of
C.I.E., F.S.A., M. R. A. S., F . O. S., &c. has placed us long and short strokes."
u n d e r obligations by se nding us copies of Ins paper, Mr. R ivett-C arnac’s attention is called to th e fact th a t
‘ Archeological Notes on A n cient Sculpturings 011 Rocks stones inscribed with similar cup-marks aro found, in
in Kuniaon, Im lia etc.,' and other recent m onographs which th e Caucasian steppes, and it may be th a t by a friendly
embody th e latest fruits of his indefatigable antiq uarian collaboration am ong archaeologists in various countries, it
researches. A n eloquent and famous A m erican preacher will soon be practicable to trace th e progress from th e E ast
once said, in an add (‘ess upon th e Fine Arts, t h a t he never to the W e st of the conquering nomads whose lithic m o n u ­
■ could see a n Ita lia n image-vendor e n te r a poor m a n ’s ments in th e British Isles S ir J a m e s Simpson has describ­
cabin w ithou t feeling th a t he o u gh t to lift his h a t to ed, and which, we doubt not, th a t em inent explorer of the
him as to a real missionary of Art. For, rude and coarse Colorado Canyon, Major Powell, has encountered in th e
as m ig h t be the images he carried, they still embodied N o rth American Continent. S u ch a cooperation m ight be
a t least a rudim entary idea of sculpture, and th a t hastened if the assiduous observers now in In d ia would
germ m ight suffice to awaken th e glorious ta le n t of accept-the suggestion of Colonel (iarrick Mallery of the
a sculptor th a t lay la te nt in th e m in d of th e poor m a n ’s Ethnographic Bureau of th e Smithsonian Institution to
son. T h is was a great tr u th t h a t th e preacher uttered, m ake th e T h e o s o p h i s t the vehicle for tho m u tu al exchange
and recalls the old familiar proverb, ‘‘ Despise not th e day of Indian, European and American notes of discovery.
of small things.” Some of th e world's greatest discoveries
have resulted from the chance observation of some trilling
fact th a t had previously been passed over with ignorant T he undersigned is also u n d e r great personal obligation
indifference. W ho knows, for instance, what a Hood of light to Mr. llivett-C arnac for th e present of seven extremely
m ay not be thrown upon th e history of m ank in d by a valuable old coins recently found in the Bareilly District.
recent discovery announced by Mr. llivett-C arnac— a dis­ This is, indeed, a rare and well appreciated g ift; th e more
so, as our g reat Indian arclueologist tells me in his letter
covery hitherto not .sufficiently appreciated ; certainly not
of F e b ru ary 0.
as it ought to be. The description given by Sir J a m e s
Simpson, Bart., of th e cup-like m arkings 011 stones and “ They are coins of S u ry a or M itra D ynasty (r'u/e Prin-
sep, Vol. II.) '
rocks in Scotland, England, and other countries of the
W e st struck him as offering an" “ extraordinary resem ­ “ B h u m i Mitra, ) , , , n c , .
a • in-. nave been lound before, blit arc rare.
blance” “ to th e marks 011 th e tra p boulders which encircled Agni Mitra, J
th e Barrows n e a r N a g p u r ...T h e id e n tity betw een tho “ P h aguni Mitra, . . . , ,
m 1 ni I are not only new coins, but tint'
shape and construction of the tum uli, and betw een th e Bluulra (.ahosa, I ■ , .. ,
Til , • m-. •, y-itavux hi th e lists oi Indian
rem ains found in tho tu m u li of the two countries had al­ B ham i Mitra, and ( , .„
ready been noticed, and now here was a third, ami still Suyd or Suzyd M itra ) ' m oh‘
more rem arkable point, th e discovery on these tu m u li of As soon as a description of these coins shall appear in
m arking s which correspond exactly with th e markings th e Asiatic Society’s Jo urna l, we will give our readers
found in th e same clas3 of tum uli in Europe.” H e abs­ extracts from it. Every true son of th e great Aryavarta
tained from p u ttin g forward any theories founded upon of old should watch with interest all such new finds, as
th is striking resemblance, b u t affirmed th a t th e cup- they are constantly adding material for India’s archaic his­
marks formed “ another and very extraordinary addition to tory, and affirming our right to regard her as the oldest,
th e mass of evidence which already existed in favor of th e most venerable, and, a t th e same time, most interesting
■view, th a t a branch of tho nomadic tribes who swept, a t relic of tho prehistoric days. Meanwhile, I again personal­
an early date, over Europe, pe n e tra te d into In d ia also.” ly reiterate m y best thanks to Sir. llivett-Carnac.
T here is bo m uch more involved in Mr. R iv e tt-C a rn a c ’s H . P. B l a v a t s k y ,
discovery and th e theory he propounds th a n could possibly E d ito r o f the Theosophist.
he discovered in the spaco t h a t is a t our present disposal Bombay, F e b ru ary 25, 1880.
t h a t we refrain. Tho world’s history is yet to be written,
and it rests with scholars like Mr. llivett-C arnac to fur- T he Prospectus, issued in advance of the publication of
p’ish th e alphabet in which its pages are to be traced. W e th is magazine, promised our Subscribers th a t in th e y ear’s
m u st first scuttle N o a h ’s A rk and drown those fabulous twelve issues th ere should b e not less than 240 pages of
sons who have served so useful a purpose to the pious read in g m atter. T h a t would m ake 1:20 for th e half-year ;
ethnographers in search of progenitors for th e races whereas the folio n u m b e r which this pago bears shows th a t
of mankind, and then th e ground will bo cleared for th e we have exceeded th a t lim it by 4:i pages. W e have,
real historian to build upon. T here can be no tr u e arcliaj- therefore, done even more th a n wo promised. W e hope
ology among Christian nations u n til the last re m n a n t of to do as well th e o th e r six months. '
superstitious reliance upon Biblical chronology and history
is swept away. These two have composed a m ephitic th e o ­
logical atmosphere in which t r u th has been asphyxiated. T A B L E OK C O N T E N T S
Tho cup-marks noticed by Sir Ja m e s Simpson and Mr. Page. . . Fag*.
llivett-C arn ac are by th e la tte r described as “• holes A Medal of H onor ............ 131 T he Society’* l'o u rth A n­
Z o ro a s te r.............................. 135 n iversary ......................... 147
scooped out 0 11 the face of tho rock (or monum ent) . . V ic to rs from Shadow-land 13(i O ur “ A m erican P a n d it.”. . 151
. . . T h e y are of different sizes, varying from six inch­ T rue and E a lse l’ersonality 137 S h rad d h a nml Pinda ........ 151
e s to a n inch and a half in diameter, and in d e p th from Swami v e r s m M issionary. . 1 11 A T urkish Effendi 011
one inch to h a lf a n inch, and are generally arranged in Tlio D nyanushvari ............ 142 Christendom and Ialum. 152
perp end icular lines presenting m any p erm utation s in the H ow ljcat to become a Ciesture-Speech ................. 157
T h eo so p h ist..................... 143 T he V edant D a rs a n a ........ 158-
n u m b e r and size and a rra ng e m en t of th e cups.” T he B uddhist Idea about A L and of M y stery ............ 159
“ T h e A h g a m w ritin g c o n s is ts o f c o m b in a tio n s o f lo n g a n d Soul .................................. 144 Puzzlesfortlio Philologists 161
s h o r t s tr o k e s c u t 011 s a n d - s to n e . O11 s a n d - s to n e i t w o u ld A Jew el iu th e Old R ubbish 144 W hich first—Tho Egg or
b e e a s i e r to c u t lin e s w i t h t h o g ra in , so t o s p e a k , o f t h e The M adras Yogi Sabha- th e B ird ? ..................... 1G-2
paty S w a m i..................... 145 Cup-Mark Inscriptions ... 163
sto n e . To a t t e m p t t o m a k e a c u p -m a rk w o u ld l>e to r is k
s p l it ti n g t h e sla b . O n t h e o t h e r h a n d , t o c u t a lin e o n P rin ted a t tho Im lv tlriu l P r tu by B. Cursctjeo it Co., and published by
th e Thcosoi.liical Society, a t No. 108, tiiijjauin Hack ltoad, llombay.
hard trap would b e difficult, w h e re a s to w o r k a n iro n i n ­
 .A D V E R TISEM E N TS.
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R E V U E S PIIIIT E .
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18.r)8 ; appears (iu th e F rench language) on the 1st of every mouth.
P rice 1 franc o r (including In d ia n postige) 14 francs p er year.
P ublished b y th e Societi Anonym e, 5, Rue Neuve des P etits-
Chatnps, P aris, France. M ake postal orders payable to M r. P . G.
Ley marie.
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Y o u are free:

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

to R e m ix — to ad ap t th e w o rk

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

lim itations;

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

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

N o t ic o — F o r a n y r e u s e o r d istrib u tio n , y o u m u s t m a k e c le a r to o t h e r s th e l i c e n s e t e r m s o f
th is w o r k . T h e b e s t w a y t o d o t h is is w it h a lin k t o t h is w e b p a g e .