INDEX. A AConversationonMahatmas, 207 AddressesattheConventionof1892, 300 Adepts,Interference by 283 The 317 " WhatThey haveSaid, 333 ALostIdentity, 142 AnnieBesant'sTour, 329,363,394 AnniversaryofH.P.B. 'sDeparture, 96 AnnualConvention, 65 AnnualConvention,AmericanSection, 32 AphorismsonKarma, 366 AppointmentandOrder, 59 AReminiscence, 343 AshesofMadameBlavatsky,168 AWord ofThanks, 395 B BasisofPracticalTheosophy, 49 BrahmanicalCatechism, 53, 119,217 C CatechismofBrahmanism, 53,119.217 CeylonGirls'School(Letter), 99 ChainofGlobes,Earth-35 I, 377 CitiesunderCities, 259 Clairvoyance,Delusionsof106 Col.Olcott'sGifttoHeadquarters, 265 Col.Olcott'sRevocation, 235 Coming ofthe Serpent, 385 CommentaryontheGayatri, 301 Conscience,183 Conventionof1892, 300 Correspondence,124,323,387 D Delusions ofClairvoyance,106 Devachan, 369 ivTHEPATH. DogmatismintheT.S. DonationstoH.P.B.'sUrn, Earth ChainofGlobes, Electricity? What is E Etching ofIndianHeadquarters, EuropeanSectionConvention, Evolution, Faces ofFriends, Formation ofCrystals, F Friends orEnemies in theFuture, From OstendetoLondon, G Gift fromMr.BertramKeightley, H Habitations ofH.P.B. Headquarters inIndia,Etching Higher SelfandMesmerism, HinduDeities and their Worship, Horoscope oftheN.Y.Headquarters, How she mustLaugh, H.P.B.,Ashes of "Departure Anniversary, "Her 'Vritings, I.Incident inher Life, IILetters from LibelSuits, " " onPrecipitation and otherProphecies by. IconoclasmtowardsIllusions, Illusion, Imagination andOccultPhenomena, ImpossibilitiesDemanded, InH.P.B's Writings What isKew? Interferenceby Adepts, Jared, Joining theT.S. Karma,Aphorisms on Thoughts on J K ---'==---- ------[Vol.VII, 25 1 203,268 35 I, 377 79 364 169 117 319,354,372 356 321 245 266 36,71 364 47 115 70 101 203, 268,168 96 315 245 87. 121,161 236 381 275 27 2 269 289 173 315 283 351 311 366 157 Digitizedby Google _--" I ~ D E X . L Letters fromH.P.B..87, Letter byH.P.B.onPrecipitation and other Matters, LITERARYNOTES: AModernCatechism, As it isto be, BeyondHypnotism, Death as Viewedby Theosophy, FuneralService forStudents ofTheosophy, God'sImage inMan, V 121,161 381 358 295 296 127 360 57 H.P.B'sGhost, Lucifer,26,57,89,9 1, MarriageoftheSoul, New Californian, Nightmare Tales, 91 262,295,326,359,388 198 27,58,91,127,196 PacificTheosophist, Papers onTheosophy, 197 58 359 Pauses,90 Raja YogaBrahmaDynanubhutiSangraha Veda,198 The Columbus ofLiterature,164 TheDignityofSex,327 The GoldenStairs,327 TheIrish Theosophist,295 TheLight oftheEast,263,359 The Occult Sciences,125 Theosophy Glossary byH.P.B.28 TheosophicalSiftings,28,57,89,9,126,163,164,197,230,262 263,295,326,358,359,389 Theosophist, 27,58,9,126,163,197,23,262,295,326,358,389 Theosophy and theSociety ofJesus,296 Theosophy:aPopular Exposition,164 The PrincessDaphne,326 The Queens,125 TheRationale ofMesmerism,29 The TheosophicalRay,296 The Truth aboutBeauty,327 TheUpadhi,327 The WomanwhoDares,263 ThroughtheCaves and Jungles ofHindustan,327 TwoMen and aGirl,326 Vahan,.57 Voice oftheSilence,126,163 Words ofReconciliation,58 gitiz e VI THEPATH. [Vol.VII, M Mahatmas asIdeals andFacts, "Conversation with "Interference by Adepts, "The ""What the :MastershaveSaid," Mesmerism and theHigher Self, MetaphysicalHealing,Articles on ""Once More, Mirror oftheMovement,29,60,91,127,165,'98,23', MisunderstoodEditorial, ModernizedU pan ish ed, New AryanHeadquarters, New YorkHeadquarters, 328, N """Budget,97,129.168,204.236, ""..Horoscope, """ReferenceLibrary, Note fromCol.Olcott to Theosophists,. Notice by Vice-PresidentT.S. 32,68,100,'32,204,236, OBITUARYNOTICES: Mrs.Georgiana S.Bowman, Gen.Abner Doubleday, Mrs.Susie A.English, Mrs.Mary Gebhard, Mrs.Emma L.Stone, o OccultPhenomena and Imagination, OrientalDepartment, Persian Students'DOCtrine, Pertinent RefleCtions, PlainTheosophicalTraces, Planetary Evolution,Articleon Planetary Influences, PrediCtions,Two Startling Press Scheme and" F. _T.S." Probation, Problems inPsychology,. Prof.Dean's Consultations,. Prophecies byH.P.Blavatsky, p 332 ,

374 207 283 317 333 47 136,225 13 264,297 360,389 69 180 94 32 268,300 364,396 70 95 167 97 332, 396 164 362 265 363 363 289 T 29,167 213 33 '33 255 345 304 68 40,82 277 2 275 Digitizedby Google INDEX. QUOT A TlONS: AncientRockInscription, Anugita, Attanagalu-vansa, BookofItems, Brahma-jala-sutta, Bstan-hgyur, ChandogyaUpanishad, Dhammapada, Fa-khen-pi-u, Fo-sho-hing-tsan-king, Hindu Wisdom, Jataka, Mahaparini-bhana-su tta, Mulamuli, PalmLeaf, Questions ofKingMilinda, RockCutting, RockInscriptions ofAsoka, Sandarikabharadvaja-sutta, San-Kiao-yuen-lieu, Shaman'sDailyManual, Sutra ofForty-two Sections, Temple ofNakkonWat, U danavarga, Vasala-sutta,. Yagnavalkya-Samhita, Upanishads, Q R ReferenceLibrary atHeadquarters, ReincarnationintheBible, 268, ReplantingDiseasesforFuture Use, Responsetothe GeneralSecretary's Appeal, Rings,Rounds,and Obscuration, Rounds andRaces, s SalvationbyFaith, ScientificSalvation, Serpent,Coming- ofthe SevenStepsForward, SeventeenYearsAgo andNow, Seventeenth T.S.Anniversary inIndia, vii 237, 301 173 333 300,332,364, 396 205 69 33,269 101 333 133 365 69 301 205 32 365 68, 204 301 132 69 333 133 365 101 33 33,269 95 280 225 364, 396 255 286 240 243 385 23i 392 itizedby (.oog viiiTHEPATH. Seven Years Gone, She being Dead,yet Speaketh, Signs ofthis Cycle, Some F cl.llaciesofMetaphysicalHealing, Spheres ofInanimate ObjeCts, Spiritualism,Old and New, Symbols,Theosophical Synthesis ofOccult Science, T [Vol.VII,1892-93.] 365 87,121,161 205 136 109,335 190,220 8. 44 Tea-Table Talk, Thanks,AWord of, The Adepts, 23,55,194,228,293.32 4, 387 The Ashes ofH.P.B. The Cure ofDisease, TheLibelonH.P.Blavatsky, The Light ofEgypt, The NewHeadquarters, TheosophicalSymbols, Theosophy,Basis ofPractical "Traces ofinPast,Article The Place ofPeace, 395 317 307 187 236 22 32 8 49 133 175 ThePresident'sRetirement:ExecutiveOrders, The SevenPrinciples, 128 19 Third Ad-Interim Convention, Third Visit ofMrs.AnnieBesant, Thoughts onKarma, ThreeLetters toaChild, T.S.Anniversary inIndia,Seventeenth Two Startling Predittions, TwoTheosophicalEvents, u Upanishads,Modernized v Visitof GeneralSecretaryEuropeanSection, What isElettricity?. What our Society needs most, What shallweCallOurselves? What theMasters haveSaid, Yoga:theScience ofthe Soul, W y 266 300 157 273.308341 392 304 248 180 95 79 185 258 333 75,102,153 Digitizedby Google '.A. VOL.VII. Maymy thoughts,nowsmallandnarrow,expand ill the next exiatence, that Imay understand the precepts thorough. ly and never break them or be guilty of trespau.-brscriplwII ill Tempk of Nalll/QIIWal. THEPATH. No.I. TileTlIeosop"ical as SIIC".is 1101 forallYol.,;'iollor ill Ilrisby ",lrolllSOnJ"IIIIkss co"'a,,,id i" allOllici41 Where any article or Btstement has theauthor's name attschecf, he alone is responsible, and for those which are unsigned the Editor will be accountable. ------ .----------------------$tbtn $ttpS jforwarb. WITHthisissuePATHstartsontheseventhyearoflife, andthesevenpastyearshavebeenfullofaction,of work,andofresults.Webeganwithoutanofficeor capital:itmightbesaidthatthebusinesswascarriedonina hatatfirst.ThenitmovedintoacellordenonParkRow, whereno man couldenter by the dooriftheoccupant within did notrisetomakeroomfortheportaltoswing.Subsequently a largerinfact-washiredandexultinglythen called commodious" by thefactotum.Later back again to Park Rowand evenmorecommodious,asthe quartersofabeemight seem so,by comparison,to an ant.Then again to larger quarters on Nassau street,untilnowitexpectstomoveintotheSociety'S permanent house. Soto signalizetheeventitputson anew cover,and weresub-scribers more numerous it might enlarge the number ofits pages. But the penalty ofindependence in business conduct is frequently lack ofsupport fromaworldthat acts onconventionand delights in pandering and being pandered to.But it may as well be known that the PATHwillpander to nothing. Digitizedby Google 2THEPATH.[April, Oncemore,too,theeditordeclaresheseesnoexcuseforthe existence ofthis or any other magazine.He wearies oftheeter-nalprintingthatgoeson,forthere is nothing new under the sun andwearelikesquirrelsrepeatingthewordsspokenbybodies long since deadwhichwereinhabitedby ourselves whomnow we failto recognize.But sincethis istheage ofblack on white im-pressedbymachinery,wearecompelledtopublishsothatthe opportunityofsayingthesamethingoncemoretoarebellious and stiff-necked generation shall not be neglected. Uro!.}Jean'setonsultations. ( Concluded. )

ofthetwosobusilyengaged hadperceivedthe mtruslOn. "Howitgoes!"saidVera."It isangrybecauseyou have taken its tongue off. " "Yes,clocks are likepeople," respondedJohnGraham,"they don't like to be meddled with.The more you can let a clock alone the " "Clocks are people," asserted Vera,with asilvery littlelaugh. "They say agreat many things to you when you listen.o, , , Yes, "herepliedindulgently,"they arepeople.Youlet me hear aman speak and Ican tell youjust whatkindofamanhe is;so you let me hear aclocktickandIcantellyoujustwhat kindofaclockitis.Ofcourse,ifyoucanseetheman or the clock,so much the better." "Or ifyoucanfeelit," rejoinedVera,"I meanfeelitright insidewithouttouchingit,that'sbestofall,becausethenyou seerightthroughit.IfeltMr.Pendergast,theminister,come inthefrontdooroneday whenIwasinthegarden.Iwasn't happy.WhenIfeelyoucomingI'mvery happy.Doyoulike Mr.Pendergast?Inever see you in church. II . , , Well,yousee," he replied,hesitating,as on the pen-dulum foramoment tokeepthe clock more quiet,"Mr.Pender-gastandIare notas good friendsasweshallbeperhaps when wecome again.Just now we're going different ways,that's all. II "Were you goodfriends when you came before?" she enquired. "Perhaps so, " he replied.' , You know it isn't necessary for us to chum together every time wecome,even ifwe are allbrothers." "Iguess we chummed together the lasttimeandagood many times,"she said,"for,dovouknow,sometimesIalmostremem-Digitizedby Google PROF.DEAN'SCONSULTATIONS. 3 ber,then allat onceIcan't.WhenItell father that Iremember thingsor seethings,hesaysit'sbecauseI'msick.But hewas awful sick oneday andhesaidhedidn't see anythingatall,-l mean the things that I see.Queer,isn't it?Do you see any fair-ies around this clock now? " "Yes,Ido," hereplied promptly."ButasI'vesaidbefore. it's no good telling anybody about it,forwhat they can't see they tan'tsee,and what you see is only for you,and 'taint for anybody else that doesn't see it. " John Graham raised his head and cast afond,benignant glance uponthe child,and as he didsohediscoveredMrs.Deaninthe doorway.He rose respectfully and greetedher. " After you have finishedthe clock we would like to have a little talkwithyou,"hesaidwiththefamiliarityofalongdomestic acquaintance.Assheturned awayhereyesfilledwithtears. which,however,were fromjoy rather than pain. Afewhourslater,whenJohnGrahamfoundhimselffaceto facewithProf.Dean,heexperiencedanunwontedconfusionof mind.He did not know exactly whatwasexpectedofhim,but Mrs.Dean was smiling upon him and theProfessor was in oneof his most gracious and tolerant moods,for the man before him was uneducated and lowly in station, bothwhich misfortunes appealed tohis generosity and touched his radically kindheart. When theProfessor asked John Graham forhis diagnosis of and hisremedy forVera'sailment,heexperiencedthehelplessfeel-ingofawarnor broughtfacetofacewithanimpregnablewall against which his most skilful weaponsmustfallpowerless.He was,in his own undefined way,conscious of the utter hopelessness ofan endeavor tomeet one who wasnotonthesameroadwith himself.Howevermuchthey might bothadvance,eachonhis ownroad,they couldnevercometogether.Hisexplanationof Vera's condition wouldbe like biddingtheProfessortoperceive the odor of a flower by means of the sense of hearing.What could' he say that would be comprehensible to this scholar inhis unread-iness forthe truth as he himself saw it?As isusually the case,it was the more spiritually-unfolded man who was abashed before the less spiritually-developed but self-assuredmanofmereintellect. Thewholegistofthematterlay inmaking the Professor see whathecouldnot see.Allargumentmustbebaseduponthe . -to him-impossiblepremisethatthereexistedallaroundhim things not perceptible by means ofhis physical senses. "Do not be afraid to giveyour opinion,"saidtheProfessor en-couragingly."Youarenotbeforeabarofjustice.Youwill Digitizedby Google 4 THEPATH.[April, not be held responsibleto the Academy ofScience or tothePsy-chicalResearch Society for what you say tome ... Reassured by theProfessor'skindly feelingratherthanby his words,John Graham began."Suppose, only just supposethat lit-tle Vera,like the rest ofus,has livedagreat many times onthis earth,and that in these lives she hasbelievedinaworldthat she couldnot see,and has loved to think aboutit,andhas studied so much into it that now she is abletoseewhatshecouldonly im-agine at first.You know the more you study arithmetic the more you see into it. ... "Well "-said theProfessor,fillingin a pause,and with asmile broadening until it became mirthful. " Suppose, .. continued John Graham, losing consciousness of an antagonist in the importance ofthesubject,"supposethatthere aresuchthings as what Vera calls fairies,and that whenever she isgoodthegoodonescometoher,andthatthey lovetoserve her.Now ifshe does not try to bring them,andifshe doesnot give up her own willtothem,but only tries tobeas goodas pos-sible,then the good ones will be sure tobe there and the bad ones cannot harm her.It cannot harm her to see things that youcan-not see,but you can harm her ifYCJudonot understand it." The speaker nowturnedhisglanceaway fromtheProfessor's perplexedcountenancetothemoreinterestedandsympathetic faceofhis wife." Once, ..he continued,"I thought my life was ruined because I was different from other people.I saw things that others did not see.Iwas ahearty lad andlovedcompanionship, but Ilearned not to speak of my visions,and soIkept my friends. But whenIgrew olderandwasabouttobemarriedtoayoung girl who was heart ofmy heart,Itoldhereverything.Shewas terribly troubled aboutitandtoldherparents.They prevented her marriage with aman who wasn't like other people.They said Iwasn't quite right.She believed them.It was the greatest blow Iever had. IIHere the narrator passedhis hand across his glisten-ingeyesasiftow.ipeaway thememory offorty yearsago."I thought about it day and nightuntilImyselfbelieved thatIwas not quite right.I could not understand it.Itook a little house and lived alone.IfeltthatIneededawhole lifetimetothink it out. Ithought andIthought,but Iwas always grieving and my think-ing did not dome any good.One day I met agentleman who lent me some books,on Theosophy,you know. " Mrs.Dean assented smilingly."Yes,"saidtheProfessor,"I know.It is a science of the supernatural built on the logic of lunacy. Ihavethoroughly investigated it.There isreally nothing in it. " Digitizedby Google 1892.] PROF.DEAN'SCONSULTATIONS. 5 \ "Iread the books," continued JohnGraham,withhiseyesriv-eteduponMrsDeanasifsheweretheonlylistener."I de-voured them.It was arevelation.From that time Ibegan to live. IfeltthatIhadeverythingtolivefor,andfromthattimeI seemedtobe needed whereverIwent.For yearsIhad worked at clock-making in afactory,and had been more of amachine than the senseless things I worked upon.My fellow-workmenhad been nothing tome,forIwas always silent and tryingtothinkit out. ButnowIsawhowmuchIcoulddoforthem,andknewhow blindIhad beennot to seeitbefore.Ino longer grieved,forI knewthatwhat cametomewasallright,andIwaswillingto reap whatImust have sown,butIdid not sowany moreofthat same kind of seed.Iloved everybody and, bless your heart!from thattimetothiseverybodyhascometomewithallsortsof troubles,and my littlehome isashelterfor anyonewhoneeds it. Many'sthetimeI'veleftclocksItookin. to workupon,and in-stead have workeddayandnighttoregulatesomepoorbrother thatdidnotgoq u i ~ eright,foryouseethere'snomorereal wickedness in peoplethan there is in clocks;they only need regu-lating.You thinkIlivedownthestreethereallby myself,but I'm never alone.I'msothankfulI'vebeenableto thinkitout. WhenIcomeagain Imay begin better." "Do you mean to say that you intend to be reincarnated, as they call it? ..enquired the Professor. "I don'tknowaboutintending,"saidJohnGraham,suddenly conscious ofan unsympathizinglistener."I thinkit is lawthat intends,hnd Ionly dowhatImustdo.It islikethis:aclock goes until it has run down,and if it goes wellit is sure to be put in agood place. " "What a disagreeable idea! ..rejoined the Professor,shifting un-easily inhischair."I don'tlikeit.Ihavenodesireto come here again." John Graham lookedthoughtfully overtheProfessor'sheadto the windowbeyond.The figurebetweenhimselfand the strong light was distinct only in outline.Crowning the bald top of the Pro-fessor's head was alarge wen ofmany years' standing,whichwas now defined with unusual boldnessagainstthegr;enbackground ofthe garden foliagebeyond. JohnGrahamregardedtheexcrescenceforamomentinsi-lence,theninsuddeninspirationhesaid,"Pardonme,butper-haps you do not,for example,likethat swelling onthe top of your head." "Iloatheit," respondedtheProfessor promptly,as he suddenly Digitizedby Google 6THEPATH.[April, recalledtitteringpupils,andslyly-wroughtsketchesofhimself with an exaggerated mound on the top ofhis head. "Youdo notlikeit," continuedJohnGraham"butstillitis there.You never wanted it,but for all thatitcame.Youhate it,but still it keeps on growing." "Yes,Ihate it,but stillitis there,said the Professor thought-fully,passing his hand slowly over it asiftoverify his last asser-tion.Andashis mind pursuedthetrainofthoughtjustsetin motion,hewasastonishedtodiscoverhowmany conditionsand circumstances ofhis lifehedisliked andyet seemed powerless to alter.Thecircleofnecessity seemedtocontractandcloseup tightly around him.For an instant he almost realized that he was under the action oflaws beyond his present conception. "Although there are some things that wecannot control," con-tinued JohnGraham,falling in with his line of reflection,"yet we can do everything tha.t is necessary forourselves.Wecandoso wellwhile we are here thistime,thatitwillmakethingsbetter for the next time. " "What right has anyone to assertsuchthingswhenthey can't be scientifically proved?" asked the Professor,recovering what he considered his lost balance. JohnGrahamfellbackhopelessly inhischairandmadeno reply. "Walter," said Mrs.Dean,coming tothe rescue,"can you not imagine that there mightbecertain advanced human beingswho have proofsofwhat our friend asserts?Canyounot understand that therearealsosomethings wefeelwithin and that therefore require no externalproof?" "Feeling and sentiment are as often falseastrue," hereplied. "The factis,reasonisouronly salvation.Intellectistheonly ballast wehave.Myreasontells me thatIhave never lived be-fore.Ihaveno recollectionofany other life." "Do youremember the firsttwo years ofthis life?" askedJohn Graham. "Of course you donot," said Mrs.Dean,"and yet your mother says that you were very precociousandevincedstrong character-istictraits during that period.You played with booksinsteadof toys,and took newspapers to bed with you. " "Did I,really?" he askedwithapleasedsmile,"I donotre-memberit,that istrue.Butthen,whathasallthistodowith Vera's case?" "It has everything todowithit," sherepliedwithaglowing countenance."As John Graham can tell you,our little Vera has, Digitizedby Google PROF.DEAN'SCONSULTATIONS. 7 in the course of her many lives,developed alittle differently from us.Shehasdevelopedpowers thatare as yet only latentinus. Her finer perceptions open to her arealm invisible to us." "But we have no scientific authority forbelievingthat there is such arealm," he said. "And,Walter,"shecontinued,ignoringhisinterruption,"it behoovesustoguardandcherishher most tenderly in this dan-gerous development.During these last fewmonthsIhavebeen growing into a realization of our serious responsibility in the charge of our child.She is on perilous ground,but it is beautiful to feel that we haveaglimmeroflightonthesubject,andthat,ifwe live fully up to it, more willbe sure to come in upon us as we need it.Let us endeavor to strengthen her will,sothat she may never lend herselfasapassiveinstrumenttoany extraneousinfluence that she ought to resist,that she may never be under the mesmeric dominion of intelligences in or out of the flesh.Let us try to cul-tivateherspiritualnaturesothatitmay mountguard over her psychical development. " The Professor swung himselfaround in his chairandregarded his wife in mingled admiration andastonishment.The flushthat mantled her cheeks andthedeeplustreofher eyesattestedher sincerity and earnestness of purpose.He had never before heard her speak so after the manner ofalearnedwoman,buttheman-ner or formofher speech was the only thing that impressed him; the essence he f.ailedtoperceive.It wasto him thejargonofa fanciedlearning;neverthelesshefoundhimselflisteningtoher with akindly indulgence ofwhichhewouldnotpreviously have believed himself"I know you cannot view it asIdo," shecontinued,"butwill you not promise me thatyou willlet me manage Vera's case,and that youwillnot interfere with anything Isee fittodo?Iknow it is agreat dealto ask,but Imust ask it," she urged. At this point,John Graham,feeling thatthecasewasingood hands,quietly stole out of the room."The mainspring has started andthemachinerywillgo,"hesaidtohimselfwithasatisfied smile."She was ready for it.Hecannotseeit.Thesuncan-not get into the roomuntilthe blinds are open. " "Isabel,"begantheProfessorafterathoughtfulpause,and witharespectfultrustbornofhiswife'snewattitudetowards him,"I promiseto leaveVera wholly in your hands.". She approached him andwith an armaroundhisnecklaidher flushedcheek against his,toexpress the thanksanddeep gratitfi-cation whichshe dared not at this moment trust to speech. Digitizedby Google 8THEPATH.[Aprilt He remained silent and refleCtive.After she had retired to the other side ofthe room she heard him murmuring to himself. "I hate it and yet it isthere," hesaid,ashemadethecoronal exploration." It istrue,Iremembernothingofmy babyhood. But science surely can explain allthis.Wedonotneedtotum to the supernatural.It isallbosh.Theosophy-pshaw! there's nothing in it.But Isabel is dreadfully in earnest,and Imustlet her have fullswing." The next day he met the physician of the Nervine Hospital and from sheer force of habit was about to lay Vera'scasebefore him, but checked himselfin time. "No more consultations," he said to himself, in a spirit of heroic self-denial.M.J.BARNETT,F. T.S. frf)t050pbitaI first article printed in the PATHon this subject was "Theo-sophicalSymbolism" in Vol.I,May,1886. ThesymbolsoftheSocietyarecontainedinitsseal, whichmay be describedfirst.It consistsofa serpent formed into a circle and biting or swallow- 111 ing its tail.Placed withinthis circle aretwo in- terlacedtrianglesthatmakewhatiscalledthe!0l; "SealofSolomon ",oneofthetrianglespoint-.;l.r:i ing apex up and the other apex down.That one"10,. whichpointsupiswhiteincolororany shadethatisequivalenttothatwhencomparedWithOM theother triangle,which is dark,asit !>houldalwaysbesorep-resented.On theserpentandnearitsheadsoastobeinthe centre line ofthe circle is asmall circle within whichisinscribed the SWaStica,asimple cross withitsfourendsturnedbackward. Inside the centralspaceenclosedby thetwointerlaced triangles isplacedthefamouscrossoftheEgyptianscalledansa/a,and whichismanytimesolderthantheChristiansymbol.Itisa crosswithoutatoparm,whichisreplacedby anovalthenar-row end ofwhichrests on thetopofthecross,thusformingits top arm.It shouldbeofawhitecolor.Aroundthewholeis written themottooftheSociety,reading"Thereisnoreligion higher than Truth ", the family. motto of the Maharajahs,or great kings,ofBenares,the sacred city ofIndia.Sometimesover the top ofthe seal is written" OM ",thesacredwordoftheHindus and the firstletter ofthe Sanskrit alphabet. Digitizedby Google THEOSOPHICALSYMBOLS. 9 It willbe of interest to all members of the Society to know that, although some people have claimed to be the inventors of this seal as just described and that they made it for the Society in its initial stagesin1875,MadameBlavatskylongbeforethenandbefore theseclaimantsheardofTheosophy u s ~ dsubstantially thesame thingonherprivatenotepaper,somesamplesofwhicharein my desk,as alsothe original block fromwhichshehadher paper printed.Her seal had the coronet of countess over the top, and her monograminthe.middleinplaceoftheEgyptian cross.Some years after the adoption of the seal by the Society aperson by the name ofBothell ofBath,England,made ahybridimitation ofit by splitting the serpent into three as if to show that evolution had divideditselfupintoheterogeneouselements,andhewasthen imitated by aperson in Americawhosoldamulets and love phil-ters,meanwhilecribbingwholesalefromalltheTheosophical booksandperiodicalsinordertomakeasaleablebookonthe darkness ofEgypt.These childishimitationssufficiently expose themselves to anyone who knows something ofsymbology. Our seal points the mindtothe regenerated man who,symhol-ized by the cross,standsinthecentreenclosedby thelightand the dark triangle,and encircled by the great serpent or dragonof evolution and matter.Butananalysisofthedifferent.partsof the whole willaid us in understanding and grasping allitsmean-ings.Forinsymbology thesymbolisonly rightwhenitfitly represents allthe ideas meant to be conveyed,and in allitsparts is consistent withthe whole,as wellas being also in conformity to tradition and the rules of the ancients.It should also when under-stood be ofsuch acharaeter that when it islookedatorthought of,with theimageofitinthemind,alltheideasanddoetrines it represents recur to the thinker.This iswhy confused symbols are useless and right ones ofthe greatestuse.Indeed,thesame ruleholdswithclairvoyance-avery differentsubjeet-for there the symbol whichisthe image ofthepersonorthingdesiredto beseenclairvoyantly may confusetheseer,ortheopposite,just asitisorisnotconsistent.Symbols arealsovaluableforthe olderreasonthat,whilethebooks,thewritings,andtheother works of men fadeaway and are no more for subsequent ages,the great symbols do not disappear.Our Zodiac is one mass of these, andthoughitsageisamystery itstilllingersinouralmanacs andfiguresinthesacredbooksormonumentsofalltimesand peoples.Andeyento-daythemostmaterialisticofourpeople are wondering ifit may not bepossibletocommunicate withthe inhabitants ofother planets by the useofsymbols,insomesuch Digitizedby Google 10THEPATH.[April, way as the savage may be dealt withby the use of sign language. Let us take the serpent which forms the great circle of the seal. Swallowing its tail,it shows the cycle of eter-nity orthegreatspiralofevolutionorthe Manvantara.This isthecircleofnecessity oftheEgyptians,the pathofthenumerous reincarnationsofthesoul.Merelyevenas serpent it signifiesthis,fortheserpentcasts its skin periodicallyjust as man does at every deathofhismanybodies.It alsosignifies wisdom,as the Serpenthasbeencalledthewise,and,asshown intheSecretDoctrine,the word also meant theMasters ofwisdom and power.Its tailrunning into its mouth means perpetual turn-ing ofthe circle,or the periodicalcoming forthand disappearing ofthe manifestedUniverse.Nearly every bible has this.Saint John speaks of the great dragon who swept with histailone-third of the stars to the earth.That. is,that in the course of this great evolutiontheserpentwe are considering broughtegosfromthe stars downto this globe,or up to it if you prefer and think it any better than the others in the sky.In the formofacircle it sym-bolizes perfection,asthatisthemostperfectfigure,which,too, in its diff:rentrelations shows us the great doctrinethat theUni-verse was built by number, weight, and number,and is controlled or presided over by harmony now disturbed and now restored. For,althoughthe proportion ofthe diameter ofthe circle isas one to three,there is aremainder,when weareexact,offigures that cannot be written because we never should gettothe end of them.Thisistheunknownquantitycontinuallyenteringinto the successionof events and ever tending to restore the harmony. Thetwointerlacedtrianglescomenextinimportance.This istheSealofSolomon", socalledbecauseit waspopularlysupposedheuseditwhendeal-ing withthe genii that didhis bidding.Among the Moors is atale of how he confinedone of the spiritsintheRedSeainapot,onthetopof whichthis sealwas inscribed.But this is hardly the origin ofit.Onavery ancientIndiancoin in my possession may be seenthesameseal sur-rounded by rays of the sun,and the figure was knownin the early agesinHindustan.Acouple ofBrahminfriendsofthewriter state that it has always heen known in that caste.In IsisUnveiled, page260,H.P.Blavatsky has avery good exposition of it,accom-panied withtwo diagrams illustrating its Hindu and Jewish forms. Digitizedby Google THEOSOPHICALSYMBOLS.II These triangles also symbolizethesevenfoldconstitutiunofman and allthings.They have sixpoints andsix triangles enclosing a central space whichisthe seventhdivisionofthemand here rep-resents the seventh principle or moreproperly thethinker,stand-ing in the universe andtouching allthingsfromthesixsidesby means ofthe sixtriangles.The pointsofthesetouchthesides ofthe serpentorthegreatencirclingwheelofevolutioninand by whichthethinkergainsexperiencefromnature.Thewhite triangle- called the upper-refers to spirit,and the lower,or dark one.,tomatter;interlacedtheysignify,assaidintheBhagavad-GtM,thatspiritandmatterarecoeternalandeverconjoined. Thus they alsorepresentthegreatoppositesinnature and mind of good andevil,night and day,male and female,liberty andslav-ery,coldandheat,thosegreatcontrastsby meansofwhichwe areableatlasttofindthetruth.Inthe Kaballahthisfigureis thought muchof.Thusitissaidthatitsrepresentationinthis worldisarefleCtionorreverseoftherealtriangleinthe upper worlds.Butthisstatementdoesnotconveymuch,because,if one tries the experiment ofreversingthe image onpaper,itwill be foundthatthenourfigurewouldhavetheblacktriangleup-permost,and inmysticalwritingsthatmeansthereignofblack magic.ProbablythatiswhattheCabalistsmeant,astheyde-light incalling this the darkworld or hell. Thethirty-thirddegreeofFreemasonry may alsobeobtained from this figure.That degree is the Consistory or Coun-cil,emblematically the great body of the Sages or Gov-ernors,the colleCtionor sum of all the others.The idea nowillustrated maybe new toFreemaSons,butisnev-erthelesscorreCt.Revolvethefiguredownwardsso as to produce areverse image, andwe get two;asthe K abal-lahofthe Jews hasit,onethe image ofthe other.Next takethetwo-slanting sides,being the prolongation of the twodownward-pointing sidesofthe upperdarktriangle,andmakeareflec-tionuponthemasbaseoneachside. The result willbe thefigure hereshown, in which three smaller "Solomon's seals" arecontainedwithinagreaterone.If nowthechambersordivisionsinthis new figureare counted,they willbefoundtonumber thirty-two, andby addingthefigureasawholewegetthirty-threeorthe itizedby (.oog 12THEPATH.[April, Consistory,which may be placedin the pointinthe centre ofall. This may seemtobe fancifultosome,butitisnomore sothan muchelseinMasonry.Ithas the advantage,however,ofbeing correa,evenifcurious.This number ofdivisions or chambers, withthewholefigure,alsogivesthenumber ofthe thirty-three crores ofgods or forces of nature in the ancientHindu Pantheon. No less ancient and interesting than the triangles is theEgypt-ian cross placed in the very centre of the sealwithin thesix-sidedchambermadebytheinterlacedtri-angles.This should be aglittering whiteincolor, as it r e p ~ e s e n t sthe regeneratedmanas wellas life. The"topovalismatter,andthelowerarmsspir-it,whichjoinedtomatterislifebothmaterial andeternal.ItisalsothesignofVenus.And Venus is theeldersisteroftheearthaccordingto theSecretDoctrine.OnVenusarefeltourchanges,andthose proceeding on her affea us.This cross isfoundinnearly e\'ery Egyptian papyms.The Book 0/ Job isreally atranslation,some-what altered,ofthe Book 0/ theDead used by the Egyptians.In this thesoul-orthecandidate-enterstheHallofTwoTruths tobejudged before Osiris.He isJob.Enteringhestandsbe-foreIsis,who is amaid and says,"I made acovenantwithmine eyes that Ishould not look upon amaid. ..She holds in her hand the symbol given in the illustration, signifying life.It was placed inthe hands ofthe guardiansofthedeadandinmany different other places.In theBritishMuseum inthe papyri,andonmon-uments inEgypt or those inEurope and America,it istobe con-stantly found.On the obelisk brought fromEgypt by Commander Gorringe and now set up in CentralPark,New York City,acount showsmorethanthirtyrepetitionsofthissymbol.Examining amummy-casethatbysomechancewasexhibitedinTacoma, Washington,lastyear,Isawmany ofthesepainted onthe case. It is one of the most ancient ofallthe symbols. The bent cross in the littlecircleplacedontheserpentatthe top ofthe seal joined to the apex oftheupper triangle ~~;, the Swastica.It u; foundalmosteverywhe;hatsoever Is displeasing to yourselves never doto an-other.-Bslan-"gyllr, v123,leaf'74.. Then declared he unto them the rule of doing to others what we ourselves Iike.-.San-kiao-Ylien-lil!lI. From henceforth... put away evil and do good.-Jataka, tJ. THEPATH. NO3 TileTlleosop";calSociety, asSIlC",;snotresponsibleforany opln;on"r dedara/;"n;n tll;s MaKalf;n",by wllomsol!'l/er expressed,IInless conla;n"d ;n an O.ljicialDocllment. Where any articleor statementhas theauthor's name attached, he alone Isresponsible, and for those which are unsigned the Editor will be accountable. -- ------.---------- Ebitorial. editorialinAprilPATHhasbeenthoughtbysometo mean thatitistheEditor's intention .tocease publication, and one newspaper wantedto knowwhat wemeantby re-peating wordswespoke long ago.Thereisno intention ofstop-ping thisMagazine;indeed,ifTheosophists patronized thePAT H more,it wouldbeenlargedtotwiceitspresentsize.What was statedwas,that theEditor thinksittobeimpossibletosayany-thing new,and allthat canbe said was published centuries ago by theancients.Healsoholdsthatnowadaysthereis athirst for more,more,morearticles and books,allrepeatingtheoldideas whilethey pretendtobe giving out originalthoughts.Why not read and re-read the thoughts as given?And the reply is that it is not pleasant totake so much trouble; besides,the modern method' isnotthesame;and,aboveall,wearelazy ofmindaswellsuperficial,thereforetheremustbe constant re-statement,Give out the doctrines foundinthe Upanishadsinthe old formand they are scouted,but rewrite them withamodern title anditwillbe considered.Hence while seing no excuse for the existence of any magazine,theEditorisforcedby circumstancestocontinue thi' publication ofhis own,however faultyit may be. Digitizedby Google '0 [June, ftfJe11lor05tOpe OFTHENEWYORKHEADQUARTERS. ~ H Efollowinghas been"set up", asastrologers say,forthe ~houratwhichthekeyofthenewHouse,144Madison Ave.,NewYork,wasdeliveredtothePresidentofthe Aryan T.S.Itisnot offeredto showabeliefinastrology,but asaninteresting mattertorecord.If timeshallshowittobe wrong wemust blame the astrologer; ifright,thenit willbefor thejoy ofUrania's devotees.The prognosticationsarealldone by rule andfromold books,none ofthem depending onthe judg-ment or fancyof the astrologer. Awell-knownCabalistsaysNo.144isoneofthegreatkey-numbers ofthe Caballah of theHebrews.-[ED.] THEASTROLOGER'SJUDGMENT. I------+--t * $22 "Iregardthis asafortunatefigure;infact,under the circum-stances,nonebettercouldbeexpected.ThemeetingofMoon ~ ,Venus,andMercury ~illthe ninth house is ofitselfasur-prisingly good coincidence,aseven in' nativities ofpersons this is asure harbinger of success in religious matters.Most of the ben-eficent planets are above the earth,which is also an infallibly good Digitizedby Google THEHOROSCOPE. position,whileJupiter9j.is only justbelow the horizon.Vulcan "'in theMid-Heaven also givesamildly benignant aspect.Sat-urnttin thefirsthouse,atrinewithMoonand Venus9, is anindication of asober,steady constitution andalong life.Mer- lord ofthe ascendant,is in the ninth house,governing re-ligious matters.Moonin Taurus 'd is in her exaltation,while Venus9stands in her own house.Sun0is in his exaltation in Aries ry',andsuggeststhatthenewenterprisewillnotlackfor financial support, even inthe way of legacies.Jupiter 9j.in Pisces Xalsoholdshisownhouse,andbeingatrinewithHerschel H shows successinreligiousmatters.Marsc1'isinasharmless a position as he can wellbe,though in his exal'tation. You willobserve that nearly all of the planets are either intheir ownhousesor intheirexaltation.Their influences willthusbe proportionally intensified. N either willtheHeadquartershave anuninterrupted career of success.Aviolent opposition at times may belookedfor.Mars c1'in square aspectwithSun 0suggestsrealdanger.Theun-dertaking willsuffer from rashness.Big chances will be assumed, and great anxiety willbecaused ereitsfinancialfoundations be-come settled.So,too,the trine ofHershel Hto Jupiter9j.,while marking eventualsuccess,willcausesuddenand unlooked-for ob-stacles,entailingmuchtravelandcorrespondence.Thefirst serious difficulty willoccur- in three years' time,and it will lookas though the property would be lost tothe Society,butunexpected assistancewillcome fromatotal stranger. ..ASTROLABE. April 6,I892. 11labitatitlnsof11l.D.J3. NO.2. ERS. \Tllt;OSOI'HICALStlCIETV,PRESlllENT'SOFFICE, '/AnYAR,27thApril,1892. [Col'y.-Rec'd New YorkMay 28,1892.] ThelegaladvisersoftheSociety inIndiaandelsewherehaving reported that my relinquishment of official status before the Adyar Trust Deed is finally Digitizedby Google MIRROROFTHEMOVEMENT. settled, the Australian legacy affair judicially arranged, and Mr.Judge released fromhis General Secretaryship by the American Section and made freeto take over the Presidential duties, would be highl Y injurious to the Society's interesb; ; andtheChicagoConventionhavingcausedMr.Judgetocablemetothat effect;andMr.Meadconcurring;andMr.B.Keightleyandsome ofourin-fluentialIndian Councillors having written me inlike terms;itisevident that Imust once more postpone-if only forafewmonths-my long-desired retire-ment,sofarasthe actualseveringofmy officialtiewiththe Societyiscon-cerned.The T. S.not being alegalentity, the property interests have of nec-essity beenvested in me,and my signature in bothmy personal and represen-tativecapacitiesisneededto validatetheirtransfertoaBoardor Boards of Trustees;while as regards the Australian estatebequeathedtome.nosettle-ment can be made by athird party,and possibly none even by myselfwithout anpther visit to Queensland.For me to consult only my own wishes andbreak my official tie regardless of the evil effects that would befallthe Society, would be an act ofselfishness such as Icannot even think offor amoment. Notice isthereforegiventhatwithoutagainvainly tryingtofixanactual date for my vacating office,Ishall do my utmosttohastenthecompletionof alllegalbusiness,sothatImay handovereverythingtoMr.Judge,myoid friend,colleague,and chosen successor. Meanwhile to protect the Society from the possibility of loss or trouble in case ofmy sudden death,Ihave executed aWillbequeathing allproperty whatso-ever,whether realorpersonal,standinginmy name orlegally mine,includ-ing Headquarters,the Permanent Fundandotherfunds,theTheosophist,its good-will,stock-in-hand,bookaccounts,cash,etc.,my Ooty cottageandplot ofland. furniture,books,clothing.etc., etc.,to the Society. (Signed.)H.S.OLCOTT,P.T.~ : NEWYORKHEADQUARTERSIIUDGET. Deficiency reported in June ................... '1.74267 Additional outlay. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63956 Actual deficiency. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .$238223-Contributions sinceTunereport:-Members of Aryan T.S ... $4700Dr.D'J'E.B .......... $98 G. T.R.. ..... .. .. . . .... .500P.R.ehta. .. .. . .....451 L. G.....................100001.J.L.H.............1000 J.T.M..................150]. 13.H...............200 G.R.B...... ...........10011:.A.H...............700 G.T.H.................200MissC.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .250 L.H.C. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .100S.A.M......... . . . . . .100 H.M.S. . . .... .. . . . . . ...200A.M.S ... '"... .. .. . . .500 C.. .. .. .. .. .. . .. .. .. . .. ..200Toledo Theosophists.. .400 R.O.R.B.. . . . . . . . . . . . . .I00E.H. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 Cincinnati T.S..........4200J.B.......... .........IS00 Total ............................................... $25729----Actual deficiency (J une 22d). . . . .. .................2,12494 ORIENTAl.IJI!PARTMt::n. No.12ofthe series.forMay-June,1892.brings the first year toaclose.In accordancewithdirectionsofthe ConventionofApril.the Department issues. willappearlessofte!!thanhitherto,butoflargersize.Retrenchmenthas something to do withthechange,asthetreasury cannotsustainatthesame timetheexpenseofapundit'ssalary andthecostoffrequentprinting.No Digitizedby Google 130THEPATH.[July, particular date for bringingoutthepapersispromised,butitislikely tobe every three months,and if that shall appear to be the best arrangement No.13 -the first ofthe new year-will be issued inSeptember,1892. WILLIAMQ.JUDGE. Gl!nera/ Sl!(retaryAml!rican Section. JlnaianADY AR,MADRAS. Miss Anna Ballard,F. T. S.,who has been residing atAdyarforsome time past,has now leftforBurmah.Sheintendstobecome aBuddhistnun,and she will no doubt be able to render valuable aidtotheBuddhistsinBurmah. She isan American by birth,ajournalist by profession,andalife-memberof theNew YorkPress Club. BertramKeightley has brought his tour to aclose withvisitsto Bareily,Mor-adabad,Lucknow,and Tamalpur.Heisnowtakingafewdayswell-earned rest at Darjeeling. The Maharajah ofKapoorthala has been pleased to giveRs 2000 toward: our work outhere.Agenerously-mindedAustralianhasgiven100 which isto be used forthe library. WHITELOTUSDAYATAIlYAR.-The anniversary ofH.P.B's death was cel-ebrated as.. White Lotus Day" at Headquarters in the Convention hall.Some hundred members assembled. The President tookthe chair at noon and opened the proceedings by explain-ing inafewwords the object of themeeting,after which he requested some of theBrahmins present to recite some selected passages fromthe Sansl.-nttext of theBltagavad-Gitd.ThePresidentthenreadtheEnglishversionofthis Sanskrit redtation fromone ofthe volumes ofTlteSacrl!d Books oj liteEast, andcalledtheParsee,MobedRustomji,tothe platform.Thatgentleman explained that hehad beendeputedby theBombay BranchoftheSociety to attendastheirrepresentativetoexpresstheiraffectionatereverenceforthe memory ofMadameBlavatsky and their determinationtocarry onthework, with allpossible vigor,whichshe laid out for the Society.He thenreadfrom the ZendaVestasomeversesinvokingtheblessingoftheFravars/tis,an ancientZend word whichhas the same significance astheEnglishexpressi.on .. Higher Self" orspiritualselfofman.It isthebcliefoftheParseesthat these great personages who have passedthroughthelimitedcircleofhuman existencestilltakeaninterestinthe progress ofmankind,and that their be-nigninfluencecanbedrawntothosewho arepurein heart and have spirit-ual aspirations.It wasremarkedthatthe soundandrhythmoftheZendic language closelyresembled those ofthe Sanscrit.Thegentleman ob-servedthatinasmuchasMadameBlavatskyhadunselfishlyworkedforthe goodofhumanity,leavingbehindheragreatbodyofnobleteachings,she might fairly be classed among the Frllvllrshis, and that he had accordingly in-cluded her nameand that ofColonelOlcott under the category. Mr.S.E.GopalaCharlu,theRecordingSecretaryoftheSocietyandthe adopted son ofthe latePunditN.Bashya Chamar,thenreadapaperonthe mysticalsignificance ofthe white lotus.Thepaperwasofahighly interest-ing and instructive character.and its reading was greeted with much applause. Thewhite lotus,he said,was aflowerfullofmystical significance.andtothe nations ofEgypt,India,and Greece denotedthesymbolofcosmicevolution, Digitizedby Google MIRROROFTHEMOVEMENT. 131 and the supremacyofspiritovermatter.It wassignificantoftheeffectof Madame Blavatsky's teaching, which had the tendency to vindicate the suprem-acy ofthe spiritual over thephysical man. Col.Olcott then said that among thebookswhichhaddonemorethan any others to win the respect ofWesternnationsforEasternphilosophy,thetwo which}Iadame Blavatsky had designated in her will for the day's reading stood preeminent.They had heard extracts fromthe Bhagavad-Gild, and he would select those splendidpassagesofLightofAsiawhichdescribedthejoyous thrill that ran throughNature onthe morning afterPrinceSiddhArthagained supreme wisdom or gnyanum, and became Buddha.He had the goodfortune to possess Sir Edwin Arnold's manuscript draftofthosepassages,whichha:l been presented to him by the author inLondon several years ago.Each doc-ument,asthey wouldsee,wasattestedbySirEdwin'scertificate ofitspre-sentation to himself (the speaker).Col.Olcott then read several passages, and his rendering ofthe concluding verserousedtheenthusiasmofthemeeting. The reader said he doubted if in the whole range of literature there was apas-sagewhich soclearly andsobeautifully expressedtheideacommontoboth Hindu andBuddhistreligions,thatthemiseriesoflifeconsequentuponthe misery ofrebirthinthephysicalbodyaretheresultofignorance,andthat the only method ofescapefromthis" viciouscircle"isby theattainmentof knowledge. The President then called upon any friends of Madame Blavatsky who wished to make some remarks to comeforward.The invitationwas accepted by Mr, C.Kotiah,RetiredDeputy Inspector of Schools, and Mr.C.Streenevasa Iyen-gar,oftheTeachers'College,Saidapet,bothofwhomdeliveredappropriate addresses, Col.Olcott nextdeliveredanaddressuponthelifeandworksofthelate Madame Blavatsky,They were met therenot forthe purpose ofindulging in indiscriminatepraiseofMadameBlavat'Sky,forthetrueTheosophistknew that blind hero-worship and personal idolatry werethe greatest of all obstacles in the way ofspiritualadvancement,whichcouldonlybeattamedby areli-ance upon one's own selfand an appeal to thesaviour within man,that is,his Higher ~ e l f ._ $Ul"ope. IxLONDoxMrs,Besant hasbeen delivering two lectures onMesmerism and HypnotismatPrince'sHall.Picadilly,inwhich she went over thewhole sub-ject andtooksubstantially thesamepositionaswell-groundedTheosophists do,that the key to these things is found in man's duaillature as aphysical and psychic being.Admission feewas charged. FRANCESHOWSsomesignsofimprovementTheosophically.Mr.Coulomb at Paris isworking hard and is deluged with correspondence.If traditionhas any force,Theosophy ought toflourish inFrance.There Count St.Martin was adeeply-readTheosophist in the revolutionary times,and many ofhis friends also.At that timetoo much attentionwaspaid toMesmerismand all psychic phenomena.. Cagliostroandothers werethere then aswell.St.Martinsays hewaswonderfullyprotectedduringtheworstdaysoftheTcrreurbya power outside himself,But Germany at the same timewas full of disciples of Brehme,andyetitnowdocsbutlittleTheosophically,H,P.B.didsome things in both countries,and perhaps some day the occult traillsshethenlaid down will exhibit activity. Digitizedby Google 132THEPATH. INJULYabazar will probably be held for the benefit oftheBowTheosoph-icalClub,London.A bazar like this means that pretty, useful,and decorative articles will be sold.In America it would be called aFair. H.P.B.PRESS,now inHenrystreetnearHeadquarters,isvery busy with all sorts ofTheosophical printing,and Bro.James M.Pryse,its head,is over-whelmed with work. ATFROMEanother lending library has been established. ANEWLODGE T. S. at Harrogate has resulted from Annie Besant's visit there. THEOSOPHICALLEAGUEin London opened their Creche at 67St.John's Wood Terrace in June.Children of any and every class are admitted on payment of fourpencefor each.MissKislingbury istreasurer. SUNIlAYLECTURESOCIETYofLondon,presidedoverbyProf.Huxley,has invited Mrs.Besant to lecture for them.Many well-knownscientificmenbe-long to this body. THiioSOPHICALMANUALSNo.2,being uponReincarnation,by AnnieBesant. willsoon be out in book form,probably in July. CHAMBERSENCYCLOP. put it in correspondence.Each F. T. S.reading this itemmay therefore con-sider it apersonal appeal,and may respond to it without imputation ofvanity ofany othermotivethanawishtoobligeaCommittee which is doing so much for Theosophy and the T. S. Digitizedby Google MIRROROFTHEMOVEMENT. JlnaianlWotes. Prof.ManilalL.DvivediisengagedonatranslationofM4nddkyUpan-isltad and commentary.When finished,thequestionQfissuingitasQneQf theH.P.B.Memorial vQlumeswillt>ecO"lsidered. The Adyar Library has been able,throughthe generosity Qfan anQnymous Australian Theosophist,to spend SQme$500inboob.Thissumisto.beap-prQpriatedequally between theEasternand Western sections QftheLibrary. An Qldand faithfulservitQr ofthe Society has just diedin"Nawab", afine-Arabian horse,presented to the Society some ten Qrtwelve years ago.by Dam-odar.He died" regrettedbyall who knew him". We hear that the Chinese envoy who.recently arrivedinDarjeeling hasex-pressed himselfas deeply interested in the work Qfthe newly-organized MahA Bodhi Society.With such patrons as DhammapAla has found in the short time Qfthe Society's existence,we cannot but feelthat the success of the mQvement is certain.-GoodwQrkisbeingdoneinthefieldQf translatiQn.BQththe MeerutandFatehgarhBrancheshavepublishedpamphletsinUrdoo,while-"'Brother Rama Prasad,president ofthe fQrmerBranch,editsanUrdooTheo-sophical monthly.S.V.E. Gegton. The harbor MissiQnis working splendidly,and has brQught Theosophy with-in the reach Qfsome who.had notheardQfitbefore.The missiQnarieshave been further equipped withastockQfTheosophicalliterature forthe Harbor wQrkby CQuntessWachtmeister,Mrs.Gates,andBro..Fullerton,to.whQmI am desired to.offer the heartfelt thanks ofthe missiQnaries. The many friendsofQurSangamittaGirls'Schoolwillbepleasedtohear-that it is progressing under the able management QfMrs.Higgins.The work ofthe institutiQn has so grQwnsince my last letterthat thePrincipal has been obliged to.secure alarger staff.The ignorance and stupidity Qfthe Sinhalese women are immeasurable,and Mrs.Higgins'work is truly a"God-send". Writing about our educational wQrkamong WQmen,Iwish to refer the read-ers QfTHEPATHto.the letter written by Dr.AliceB.Stockham, QfChicago, to theUnionSignal.She writes: Iknowthere18plentyofmiaaionary workat home,butmay Itnotafterallbetrue that we cannot, as Americans, climb very high on theladderofprogreaaIfany nationor people are far behind ua?The world is amall, and allemanatefrom one source.The dif-ference Infundamental principles ofreligionevenIsnot as great asmlUlYsuppose,while most life interests are common.Iam sure no one would ever regret aiding the Sangamitta. Girls' School of Colombo,Ceylon. Mrs.Stockham has donated$zoo,andnQWonherreturnhometoChicago she is trying to.interest others about our workhere.She is not a TheosQphist. We areshortly expectingthearrivalQfsomefriends-afamily ofTheoso-phists-tosettledo.wninCeylQnandhelpourworkandthespreadofthe Cause.They areDr.andMrs.EnglishandfamilyQfNewBedford,Mass. These good people are coming attheir o.wnexpense ando.wnresponsibility to wQrkthemission.Ontheirarrivalweho.peto.extend the sphere of our la-bors.Mrs.Higgins contemplates to make" nursing"asystematicbranch Qf study intheinstitutiQn,andMrs.andDr.Englishwillteach that.We ho.pe ere long tohave amedical class forWQmenattached to.QurinstitutiQn. SINHALAPUTllA. ColomIJo,Ceylon,Aug. zd. itizedby (.oog 234 THEPATH. $nl1tana. [october, August 19th saw avery successfulgathering at theWorking Women's Club at Bow,founded by the T. S.It was on Aug.16th that H.P.Blavatskyopened theClub twoyearsago,and lastyear andthistheanniversary waskeptby giving atea and entertainment to members of the Club.The hall looked very pretty,withlongtablesgaily deckedwithflowersandfruit,andwhenthe tables were lined on each side with bright faces,fewplaces could containmore concentratedenjoymentonagivenarea.HeadquarterssentdownAnnie Besant,MissWilson,MissBlack, James Pryse,and J.Ablett, and other mem-bers oftheBlavatskyLodge came as willinghelpers.Theseappearedamid aphantasmagoria of tea-cups,tea-urns,milk-pails.cake-heaps. bread andbut-ter piles, and jam-oh! much jamwith accompanying stickiness.James Pryse was seenstrugglingtoconvey fullcupsthroughthewhirl;J.Campbell,de-spite all clatter,sat sternly ononeside,lookingaftertheprogrammeandits arrangement.Presently tea was over,the hall cleared.and thenafterabrief interlude began the entertainment.Some of the girls performed alittle dram-atic sketchvery prettily.andthiswasfollowedby gleesandsolos,andby a coupleofcleverrecitationsby J.Ablett thatmuchdelightedthegirls.Be-forethemusicbegan,AnnieBesantmadeavery briefspeech,recalling the memory ofH.P.Blavatsky,and her teachingand living ofbrotherhood; and later,awarmtributewas paidtoMrs.Lloydforherdevoted and persistent work. InterestinTheosophyseemstobespreading,thoughslowly,amongthe London artisans,and Annie Besant isjustarrangingforacourseofsixlec-tures ataLiberaland Radical clubatPeckham,acrowdedLondonsuburb. The course will deal with main Theosophicalteachings, and she is asking Her-bertBurrows,JamesPryse,andHerbert Coryntocooperatewithher.The details are notyet arranged. Mrs.Cooper-Oakley has beendoingmuchusefulworkinBradfordduring thelast fewweeks,andhasstimulatedthe workers theretorenewedefforts. Towardsthecloseofherstay,AnnieBesantwentnorthandlecturedat Heighley and at Leeds.About 200 people werepresentatHeighley,but the Leeds audience was exceedingly large.Onthe Wednesday followingthelec tureameetingwasheldbythelocalfriendsofMrs.Oakley,andnineteen persons gaveintheir namestoformalocalTheosophical Society.Therent ofrooms hasbeen guaranteed forayear,andtheprospectsofagoodLodge are promising. FromLeeds Annie Besant went to South Shields, and held three large meet-lOgS,butunfortunatelythereisnoonetheretowatertheseedsown.It is, hoped, however, that the Newcastle Lodge may be ableto do something in that district. TheBlavatskyLodgewasagaincrowdedonSept.1St,manypersonsbe-ingunabletogainadmittance.Thesubjectwas.. Death-andafter?",and many questions were asked on the Theosophical position. TheGeneralSecretaryleavesonSept.15thforhistourthroughFrance, Spain,and Germany,and we hopeto hear ofmuch localactivity followinghis visits.At thebeginning ofOctober AnnieBesantistorun overtoHolland to opentheDutch Headquarters. and to give alecture in alarge church offered forth at purpose in Amsterdam. Bro.James M.Pryse,our American brother and invaluable printer, lectured onSeptember26thbeforethePeckhamandDulwichRadicalClubonthe itizedby (.oog MIRROROFTHE . SevenPrinciples ofMan", in acourse entitled .. What is Theosophy".The other lecturers of that course are Annie Besant and Bro.H. A.W.Coryn. M.D. ThereisaChurchCongresstobeheld atFolkestoneatthebeginningof October.So Annie Besant lectures thereinthe Town Hall onSept.30th,on "Theosophy and Religion".The local paper says: Friday, the30th inst.,is thedate fixed for Mrs.Besant's visit toFolkestone.The great interest displayed on the occaalon ofthe talented lady's lastvisitleads ustoanticipatea ..ery large attendance, moreespeclallyas thesubjectof herlecturemay beexpectedto bave adirect bearing upon the C!turcb Congre88. nol._Ieott.Jllevoeation. Tolluand Branclus ofT.S.inU.S.: On the 30th ofAugust,1892,Ireceived the following telegram fromCol.H. S.Olcott: To JUDGE,NEWYORK: MADRAS,A.plt JO.r/kp. Col.H. S.Olcott remains president [ofthe Theosophical Society]. NoticeofthisrevocationofhisresiguationoftheofficeofPresidentwas immediately given by methroughthenewspaperpressofthecountry.His officialletter arrivedSep.24thandis givenherunder withthe accompanying circular.Theyarenowprintedforgeneral information,andwillgotothe Secretaries ofBranches as soon as possible. The election ofsuccessor to the presidency baving beenheldinaUthe Sec tions,and the choice baving been unanimous,there willbe no new election for theoffice,buttheGeneralCouncil, consistingofthePresidentandGeneral Secretaries,will maketheneeded Constitutionalalterations.The well-work ing machinery ofthe Sections will go onwithnochangeofofficials,andthe PresidentFounderwillremainattheheadoftheorganizationtillthevery last,thus fulfilling the promise given in his resignation of never ceasing to de-vote himselfto the Cause oftheSociety whichhehassolongworkedforin season and out ofseason,in every land and in many climates. WILLIAMQ.JUDGE,Gen. Am.THEOSOPHICALSOCIETY,PRESIDENT'SOFFICE,ADYAR,lui .4..,.., r/kp. W.Q.JUDGE,Vi'6-Pre.r.T.S. DEARSIR ANDBROTHER :-The restoration ofmy health and other Important consider-ationsinducemetorevoke my letter of resignation ofoffice, and Ibegherewith to hand you anadvancecopyof the ExecutiveCircularnotifying thefact,which willappearin theSeptember numberofther"1.rtll"i.r/.Youwill kindly make the facta knownto the American Section.Fraternally Yours, H. S.OLCOTT,P. T. S. EXECUTIVECIRCULAR. THEOSOPHICAl.SOCIETY,PRESIDENT'SOFFICE,lui A..,.., r/kp. Injanuary last,confinedtomf roombysickn.... lameinbothfeet,unablctomo..e about save on crutches, and yearnIng for rest after many years of Incessant work, I carried out a long entertainedandsentthe VIce-Presidentmy resignation of the Presi dentalilp.I should have exercised my constitutional right and named him as my successor if Ihad not been told that the American and European Sections would not consent to ha..ing theoffice filledduringmy life.time..thisbeing, they thought, thetruestcomplimentthat couldbepaidme.Immediately,1beganbuildingthecottageatOotacamundonland bought, in 1888as aretreat forH.P.B.and myselfin our old age. On the 11thFebruary, however, the familiar voice of my Guru chided me for attempting to retire before my time, asserted the unbroken relation between Himselt, H. P.B.and my-self, and bademepreparetoreceive furtherandmorespecific orders by messenger, but without naming time or place. TheIndian Sectionhad, as early asFebruary last, unanimously agreedtorecommend that ifIwerereally compelledtoretire the Presidential office shouldnotbe filledduring my lifetime, but my dutiesperformedby theVice President, actingasP. T. S.Nearly alltheIndian Brancnes andmost influential members, as wellastheBranches andchief membersinAustralasiaand Ceylon, andmany inEuropeand America wrotetoexpress their hope that Imight ... yet my way to retaining office, in which Ihad given satisfaction. Digitizedby Google 2J6 'THEPATH. Under date of April 20th,Mr.Judge cabled fromNewYork that he wasnot then able to-relinquish the Secretaryship of the American Section and wrote me, enclosing atranscript of amessage he hadalsoreceived for me from aMaster that "it is not time, nor right, nor just,norwise, nor therealwishofthe.*. thatyoushouldgo out, either corporeally or officially". The Chicago Convention of the American Section, heldin the same month, unanimously adopted Resolutions declaring Mr.Judge my constitutionalsuccessor and their choice,but asking me not to retire. TheLondonConventionof theEuropeanSection,heldinJuly, alsounanimouslyde-clareditschoiceofMr.Judgeasmy successorandadoptedcomplimentary Resolutions about myself,but abstained frompassing uponthequestionofmy retainingofficeunder the misapprehension-how caused Iknow not-that Ihad definitively and finallyrefused to revoke myTanuary letter ofresignation.Thefactbeingthattheterms ofmy May note upon the subject (printed with theTuneTlteosopllisl)left the question opt!n and dependent upon the contingenciesofmyhealthand theproof that my return toofficewouldbefor the best interest of the Society. Along rest in the mountainshas restoredmy health and renewedmy mental and phys-icalvigor, andtherefore, sincefurthersuspensewould injure theSociety, Ihereby gIve notice that Irevoke my letter ofand resume the active duties and responsibil-ities ofoffice;and I declare William.Vice-President,my constitutional successor andeligibleforduty as suchuponisrelinquishment ofany other officeiutheSociety which he may hold at the time ofmy death.H.S.OLCOTT,P.T. S. onJtI.1l.On Sep.26ththe New YorkSun published ageneralretractionofthelibel emittedby itinJuly,18Pe!11toauthority,thoughthat authority beaDhyanChohan. Therefore,whiletheouterbody oftheSocietymaybecomposedofpeople with no clear cut. definite knowledge ofits philosophy, it will fail in its mission if at the center it have not aheart composed of those who know and teach this, even though their utterances seem at times alittle dogmatic to those who have not given its teachings the same concentrated study. San Francisco,Calif. JEROMEA.ANDERSON,M.D.,F. T. S. Adogmatic spiritdemandstheacceptance ofateaching withoutregardto independent action in the mind ofthe receiver. H.P. B.and many writerson Theosophyhavebeenearnestintheirstate-ments anduntiring intheir effortstoplacetheir reasons for beliefbefore the minds ofothers.They sometimes askthereader nottoobjectprematurely, buttoacceptcertaintenetsprovisionally,that thewholephilosophymay be outlined correctly and then either accepted or rejected with intelligence. This, however, is but the common-sense method of searching for truth, which so many forget to practice.Afew who have endeavored to ride the ecclesias-ticalhobby ofsomespecialreligionintotheTheosophicalfield,have written inasomewhat dogmatic vein.Imay mentioninillustration thearticlesen-titled "'I'he true Church ofChrist" which appeared in Lucifer. Weare prone to worship the lower Ego,the root ofall dogmatism.Theos-ophy leadstoimpersonality.Astheoutlinesofitsmajesticphilosophyare realized,the transient selfis dwarfed to amere tool and vanity seems absurd. The personality ofeven the greatest teacher becomes as the vehiclewhich has brought the traveler within sight ofasnow-capped mountain range. WM.MAIN. Brooklyn,N.Y. It appears to me that"as arule,Theosophical writers express their intention and wish to be an avoidance of dogmatism.This is their premise.Following on thispremisecomethe statement anddevelopmentoftheirviews.These viewsgenerally are based upon the teachings ofEasternwisdom,and are de-cided,precise,definite.Inordertoputthemclearly,vigorousEnglishis employed and an earnest spirit displayed,sometimeswith great fervor and in-sistence.Such positive statement, coupled with faithful acknowledgment of the source of these beliefs,might lead the casual reader to infer dogmatism.It is evident that if the writer hedges the article about with caution, proviso, and pre-amble,it is much weakened,both instyle and inits impress.Hence the prior statement,intheearlierwritingsofanauthor,thatnoauthority isclaimed no dogmatism intended,ought-as it appears to me-to cover all but themost ftagrantly dogmatic utterances,andought tobeinferred even amid great fer-vor ofutterance.Have not almost all authors ofprominence in the T. S.dis-claimed ,. authority" and deprecated blind belief?Ithink so. NewYork City. J.C.KEIGHTLEY. The definition ofthe phrase"dogmatic spirit" is,asIunderstandit,tobe found in the phrase.. atendency to demandabeliefin any writer'sorteach-ers views".So understood,Ido not call to mind any dogmatic spirit in The-osophicalliterature.Isuppose that intalkingthereisattimesagreater ap-parent tendency to dogmatism.ButIam sure it is apparent rather than real Digitizedby Google DOGMATISMINTHET.S. AndIhavenoticedbutseldominthewordsofTheosophistsevenanyap-parenttendency to dogmatize,and no tendency that Ican callto mindinthe wordsofourleaders.Earnestness ofopinionandforcefulnessofstatement are to be found in abundance,but no dogmatism that Iremember. GEORGED.AYERS, Boston,Mass. The very absence of dogmatism in Theosophic teaching constitutes its great-est force.E.AUGNERESHEIMItR,F. T. S. NewYorkCily. Except in aLucifereditorial lastOctober,whichwasafterwardsmanfully modified,Irecallnoinstance.H.P.B.wasemphaticindiscountenancing dogmatism,and her most immediate pupils evidently cultivate the same spirit, even where their own convictions are most decided.Ithink that every leading Theosophicalwriter disclaims the right,thepower,andeventhewish,toc0-erce opinion,insistingthatnohumanbeinghastheprerogative ofenforcing orthodoxy,as also thatabeliefunder strain has no validity.The Theosoph-icalSociety,organically andby itsforemost members,hasrepudiatedadog-matic purpose,and the consistency ofits and their courseIjudge opentono impugnment.ALEXANDERFULLERTON. NewYork Cily. That the tendency ofTheosophy istoemancipate,not to fetter,the mind is. shown by the very make-up ofthe Theosophical Society.Its members live in allpartsoftheworldandareofmany nationalitiesandcreeds,yet they all meeton the common platform offraternity.Thisisagainst theteachings of dogmaticreligionseverywhere,which discouragetheirvotaries from friendly intercoursewiththoseofopposingbeliefs.Henceitfollowsasamatter of coursethat only themostliberalfollowersofanyreligionarefoundinthe ranks ofthe Theosophical Society.Nor does it seem possible that adogmatic tendency shouldever developtoany appreciableextent,althoughamember hereandtheremay thinktoimposeaparticularset ofviewsupoothe rest. Andthereasonwhy dogmacannot prevailisbecauseallTheosopbicstudy leads to the giving npofdogma.Aliberal thinker after joining the T. S.be-comes moreliberal;then ~ wthinkergrowsenlightened.It seemstome the loftiest claim of Theosophy is that it widens the horizonof the mind.Cer-tainly no onecan read the worksofH.P.Blavatsky withoutacknowledging that they breathe the very spirit ofreligious freedom. GEO.E.WRIGHT. Chicago,/11. Iam asubscribertoalltheTheosophicalmagazines,and own mostofthe literaturepublishedduringthepastfiveyears;Ihavenever noticedinthis massofliterature,orinthewordsofTheosophicalleaders,anydogmatic spirit or tendency todemandabeliefin any writer's or teachers's views.To assert positively what one knowscannot be called adogmatic spirit,and those in the Society whosoassert arethelasttodemand beliefin such assertions, even though l!ley know litemto6eIrue "each individualisleftto take what he can assimilate,and,whether he takes part or rejectsall ofwhatissaidor written by leadersofthemovement,such actiondoesnotinthe least impair hisstandingintheSociety.NeverhaveIknownaTheosophisttosayor write, ., If you do not believe this,you are not one of us" ; such aposition would Digitizedby Google 254 THEPATH.[November, be adogmatic one as Iunderstandthe term.It istherightandtheduty of everymembertovoicehishonestconviction,andtogivetheresultofhis studies forthe benefitofall:allarestudents, fromtheleaderstothelatest member;thereisnodogmaticauthority,nor can therebe,for"Thereisno religion (authority) higher than truth ". ROBERTCROSBIE,F.T. S. Boston,Mass. Ido not see any dogmatic spirit inourliterature.Theosophy isnotasys-temofnegations,butanassertive,positivephilosophy,religion,and science, nothing new but the very old. The writer or speakerpresentingTheosophy mustdosopositively andas-sertively,and it isso presented,but not to my viewinthedisreputablesense thathasbecomeattachedtotheworddogmatic,t:e.,arrogant,dictatorial presentation,the spirit of.. Believe or be burned:Ihave the only truth!" The individual who studies Theosophy,who thinks,begins to have adogma at once, this being the meaning of "dogma", and we need more people having adogma oftheir own! . Theosophy is my dogma:Ithink,Ibelieve it,but it only a.. hypothesis" for you,presented for your consideration,until you may.. think" it also. Until you can do so,youare rightwhereyouare mentally,and fillingyour place in humanity as wen as I.This is the spirit of our literature and leaders. The less we know ofTheosophy,the warmer we become in writingandargu-ment,but this Inotice becomes temperate, cool,in him who knows. EDWAR.DB.RAMBO. SanFrancisco. So farasmy readinghasextendedandso farasmy mingling and talking with Theosophica1leaders have gone.Ihave notatany timebeenimpressed with the idea that there was suchaspiritasdogmatismanywhereinthelit-eratureorinthemindsofTheosophists.Theosophycomesfreefromany demandsastobeliefor action.The problemsarepresented,themethodof proof suggested, and the student left to work out the answer; and whatever con-clusion has been reached must serve as the guide to the person who is climbing the Theosophical ladder,mustshow him wheretograsp the next rung.The knowledgesoobtained cannotbe transferredtoabrother asyou would pour water inane ~ p t ypitcher.Thereforetherecanbenoroom forthe class of personswhodemandabeliefintheirparticular views,andTheosophy must remain free fromdogmatists and dogmatism, or cease to be of any value to the human family.A.P.BUCHMAN,F. T. S. ForIWayne,Ind. The worldofdevotionisfullofcircles whicharemadeupof smaller circles,and these again are included in larger ones;allof themtogether make up the great circle ofdevotees who workfor thegood oftheHuman Family.Thereisnopart ofthe round world which is not covered by somepartofthisgreatsphereof the heart's effort. Digitizedby Google l\.ings,1lUlunbs,anb8bsturatjon. ft NUMBERofcorrespondentshavepropoundedquestions growing out ofarecentarticleon"Evolution" and relat-ing to the great progress round the chain of globes of which this earth is one.One oftheseis: If we are transferred to the next planet ofourchain.shall we be born there like achild on this one.or have weto evolve through minerals.plants. etc.? Nodetails,suchasarerequestedinthisenquiry,havebeen givenout by the Adepts,allthat hasbeensaidbeinggeneralin its nature wherever the other planets of our chain were spoken of. In theSecretDoctrineH.P.Blavatsky distinctly saysthe teaching has to do with this earth particularly, and that when other planets arementionedthereare only hints,except in regard to the grand factthat thehumanlife-wavepasses fromthis to the next globe, andsoonthrough the chain.The only other writer onthis who quotesauthorityisMr.Sinnettin EsotericBuddhis""andinthat hecopiestheletterssent himby H.P.B. 's Masters.He has in-formationofdetailregardingonlythisearth.Consequently,to hazardananswertothequestionwouldbeguessing.Noone knows what exact functionthe other planets in the chain perform; allweknow isthatthehumanlife-wavedoespassinto the next planetwhenthecycleiscompletedforthisone.Whetherwe shallbebornthereashumanchildren or into other forms we do notknow.Anddoubtlessitisnotnecessary weshouldbein-formed,inasmuchasagesmustpassbefore weshallbereleased fromthis world.By that time we should have forgotten the facts. Theseconsiderationsapply to another question,whether only a part, 'or the whole,6the human family is at the same time on one globe.Of this wecannot speak with authority.But in the Suret Doctrinethe author says the Adepts teach that sevenraces appear inthebeginningonsevendifferentportions oftheearth.This wouldappeartoindicatethattheegoswithinthoserace-forms comefromanotherplanetinthechain.Andasit isdistinctly taught that an obscuration overtakes aglobe when the entire race deserts it for another,it is very safe to assumetheteaching to be that deserted planets go into obscuration if the races that left them havenotcompletedalltheirrounds.Andasthematter ofob-scurationascomparedwithpra/aya-or total destruction-is also raised,we may keep inmind at this point that atotal pra/aya only comes when the entire seven rounds of the seven races aroundthe sevenglobes iscompleted.The obscurationis similar tothe sleep Digitizedby Google 256THEPATH.[November, ofman'sbody,makingareawakeningpossible;whiletotalpra-. la)'ais similar to theactual death ofthebody ofaman,followed by hisego'sgoingintothestate of Devadzan.Thisagrees with the views given by H. P. B., as fromtheMasters, that the Nirvana for the great human family isreally that long p ~ r i o dwhich inter-venesbetweenthetotaldeath ofaplanetary chainandthenew birth ofanew planetary chain,upon which ahigher form ofevo-lution will be started at the hour of that new birth. WhenthearticleinJulyPATHsaid"wemustgoroundthe whole chain ofseven planets three times more before as araft we areperfected," thewords asaractwereintendedto,astheydo, pointoutthatsub-raceswerenotbeingdealtwith.Sub-races grow on the planet, and not by going to other ones.Hence there isnoobscurationor pralayaafterasub-race.Asthese, intheir processofformation,proceedwiththeirdevelopmentuponthis globe-oranyothertheymaybeon,cataclysmsforthatglobe takeplacefromtimetotime,involving either the entire mass or only aportion of it.These cataclysms are not obscurations of the globe.For the latter can only come on whenthe egos of the race haveabandonedtheglobefor the purpose of continuing work on another ofthesame chain.And carrying onthe correspondence for the purpose ofillustration,those cataclysms are similar to the sicknessesandaccidentswhichcometoamanduringasingle lifetime.Whenallthenecessarysub-raceshavebeenevolved, and the root,trunk,branch,twig,leaf,blossom,and fruit-seven in all-are completed,thentherace,havingbeenthusperfected as such,passes on to the next globe in the chain.This is what is involved in the sentence quoted fromthe July PATH. Confusionmaybeavoidedbyrememberingthattheraceof which we formapart includesmany sub-races,and that the term .. sub-races" doesnotmeanthatanewsub-racecomesononly whenaprecedingonehasdisappeared.ThetrueHindusand many European racesare in our race,sothat weandthey areall .sub-races.In Americaanewsub-raceisbeingformedaspre-parationformanyothers,allpreparingthegroundforthefinal greatrace.Itisonlywhensub-raceshavefullyaccomplished theirtaskthattheyleavethisearthaltogether.And insaying they leave or disappear,what is meant isthat the race as aphysi-cal expression goes out,not that the egos in thebodiesleavethis world and go to another one. As allthe egos engaged in this evolution are not in equal stages ofprogress,butare very variedintheirdevelopment,somefor-wardandothersbackward,the wholeprocessisamatter of edu-Digitizedby Google 1892.]RINGS,ROUNDS,ANDOBSCURATION.257 cation for the egos.They go backwardandforwardinthe vari-ous sub-races which are onthe earth at the same timejustasthe developmentoftheegosrequires,inthesame way as one incar-natesinfamilyafterfamilyin hisownrace.So that in one life one may be in an advanced sub-raceinaccordance with predomi. natingqualities,butinthatincarnationmaybringupcertain defeCts or generate certain causes requiring him to pass over next life to some other lessprogressedsub-race forthepurpose ofex-tirpating the defeCts or working off the causes. In this way accurate adjustment,perfeCt development,regular-ityandroundnessareallamplyprovidedfor.Classesofegos fromtime totime move up tn masst,and at last no egoisleft re-quiringthedevelopmentaffordedbysomesub-races,andthe latter then,asphysical forms,beginto die away,being inhabited only by very low orders of intelligence which need no description. Butasthese are much lower in power thaneventhe mere brain-matterofthe formsthey come into,the resultisthatthey drag the physical race down,they are unabletogive the natural brain capacityitsnormalexpression,andthatracewillshowallthe signs ofhuman decrepitude untilitsremaining members,gradu-ally becomingcuriosities inEthnology,areatlastengulfed alto-getherby death.Thisisone ofthe great facts inracialhistory notyetunderstoodby theworld.Araceisbothphysicaland spiritual.The physical body and brain requireaninformingin-telligenceofadegreeofpowersufficienttokeepuptheexaCt amount oftensiondemandedby thatsort ofbody,and ifthisis notfurnishedtheconsequencewillbethatequilibriumisde-stroyed,followedintimeby sterilityamongthe femalesofthe race,leading inevitably to extinction. Itisanobscurepoint,butofthehighestimportance.Not improbably many will rejeCt it,but the faCtof racialextinction is known,as in the case ofHottentots and others, and ordinary theo-ries failtoshowwhy aperfectblight fallsuponsomemasses of people. Returning tothe great progress ofthesevenraces,itistobe notedthat when thecompletesevenhaveallfinishedtheseven rounds the entire family of egos evolving on the seven globes com-mences toleavethewholechainforever;andthevarious globes composingitbegintodiealtogether.This, . however,doesnot take place at the same time for the whole seven.They dieone by one because the "human life wave" never arrives at or leaves any globe in a complete mass.Such coming and going is similar to the migrationofbirds fromzonetozone,they being knownto go in Digitizedby Google THE PATH.[November, detachments until all have migrated.The advance portion of the life-wavewillarriveatglobesevenonitslastjourney,there-mainder following;and thus the whole wave will be atlast with-drawn fromglobeafter globe beginning withnumberone--or A -untilthe entire stream has passed out fromtheseventh,itbe-ing,asitwere,thedoorofdeparture.It is evident,then,that globeA,beingtheonetobefirstcompletelyabandoned,has time to throw its energies off into space for the purpose ofbegin-ning the formationofanew first-planeglobetobe ready inthat new chain forthe incoming rush ofpilgrimsoulsassoonasthe rest between chains is over. Thisisexactlywhathappenedforthepreuecessorsofthis chain of globes,and, as our earth is a fourth-round or fourth-plane globe,itwasformedinspacebytheenergiesoftheoldmoon . which is afourth-planeglobe ofaformer chain.For this reason the Adepts callthe Moonour parent,meaningtheparent ofour globe.And theMoonmay lllustratethequestionabout obscura-tionand pra/aya,as she is not inobscuration but is in her final pra-/ayaandisdisintegratingasquickly asnaturewillpermit,this earthmeanwhile absorbing herparticlesslowly fromday today while the great cycle of our evolution unerringly goes on.It has also been statedin lettersfromtheAdeptsthatthewell-known planet Mars is nowinobscuration.This means that the body of the planet is,as it were,sleeping in space, as it rollsabout the sun and has no inhabitants onitsuchaswe.The life-wavebelong-ing to it has passed ontothe next or some other globe ofits own chain,but since thatwavehastoreturn,thebody oftheplanet doesnot go into pralaya,but waits forthe new day.Its life asa sleeping globe is maintainedby acertainsubtleprinciplewhich isnotpublicly referredtoby thosewhoknowofit,andwhich willnot permit it to die until the whole chainofglobesofwhich itisonehasbeentraversedseventimes,ortheequivalentof seven,by the wave oflife belonging to it. mof)at $f)aUmot (Call6Ufstlbts { I;ET. Deficiency reported in Decem ber.. ............................. $1289.50 Contributions sinceDecember report: Members of Aryan T. S ...$741.00R.O.R.B.. . .....,$1.00 A.W.W.. ... . . . .. . . .. . . .10.00L..................10.00 L.H.K. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .2.00A.M. S.. . .........5.00 L.L....................2.50P.v.d.L..........4.50 W. A.R................5.00J.J.L.H...........500 786 00 Actual deficiencyDec.20th.. . . . . . . . . ..........................503So Standnotwithyourbacktothe sun;letnotyourshadowrailonthework;Intbe nieht'sdarknessnoworkiswellbeeunorended.-Bol'R of Items. OM. Digitizedby Google VOL.VII. There Is no happiness except in righteousness.-Attanagalu-va"sa, C.2,I4. Full oflove for all thingsInthe world, practising virtuein order to benefit others-this man only is happy.-Fa-.illt!u-pi-u, WOnfirst awakening from my sleep,Ishould pray that every breathing thing may wake to saving wisdom, vast as the wide and boundless universe.-Sha",an's Daily ilanual. THEPATH. FEBRUARY,1893.No.1 I. TMTlteosoplticalSociety,assuclt,;snotresponsibleforanyopinionor declarationIn tltis MagafIine, by wltomsoever expressed, unless contained in anOffiCIalDocu",ent. Where any article or statementhas theauthor's name attached, he alone isresponsible and for those which are unsigned the Editor will be accountable. tbe11labe :{ N1888,speakingofCol.Olcott,anarticleinthismagazine 'rquotedfromlettersfromtheAdeptssent toMr.Sinnettat atime some objections weremade to the work ofthe Society onthegroundthatenoughattentionwasnotpaidtomenoi scienceandtoscienceitself.Sincetheyearinwhichthose letterswerewrittenmanypersonshavejoinedtheTheosophical Society anditssphereofworkhasgreatly extended.Andnow no lessthanthen,the workers have beguntopay too muchatten-tiontotheintellectualsideofTheosophyandtoolittletothat phaseonwhichtheMasterswhoarebehindinsistandwhichis calledbyH.P. B.inVoiceof SilefUl the" heart doctrine". Others also have saidthat they do not wantany oftheheart doc-trine,but wishustobe highly respectableandscientific.Let us consult theMasters,thoseofus whobelieve inthem. WhentheletterstotheSimlaLodgewerewrittenitwassaid by objecting Theosophists that it wastime nowtotake adifferent tackandto workformen ofscience,andtherewasaslightsus-picionofarepulsionbetweentheHindus,who are black,andthe Europeans,aswellasanopenlyexpressedcondemnationofthe PATH, voL iii, P12 itizedby (.oog 334 THEPATH.[February methods of Col.Olcott and H ..P.Blavatsky.The reply fromthe Adepts,madeafterconsultationwithothersverymuchhigher still,runs inpart: No messenger oftruth,no prophet,haseverachievedduringhislifetime a completetriumph-not evenBuddha.TheTheosophicalSociety waschosen asthecorner-stone,thefoundationofthefuturereligionofhumanity.To achieve the proposed object agreater, wider, and especially amore benevolent intermingling ofthehighand the low,ofthe alpha and omega ofsociety was determined on. Who determined this?The Adeptsandthosewho areyetstill behindthem,thatistosay,fortheTheosophist,theDhyan Chohans who have control ofsuch matters.Why was it decided? Becausetheworldissunkinsorrowandinselfishnesswhich keepstheone side ofsociety' fromhelping the other.The letter goes on: The white race must be the firsttostretch out the hand offellowshipto the dark nations.This prospect may not smile to all alike.He is no Theosophist who objects to the principle...and it is we,the humble disciples ofthe per-fectLamas,whoareexpectedtoallowtheTheosophicalSocietytodropits noblest title,The Brotherhood of Humanity, to become asimple school of phi-losophy.Letusunderstandeachother.Hewhodoesnotfeelcompetent enoughtograsp the noble ideasufficiently to work foritneednotundertake atask too heavy forhim. The depthofthesarcasmhere cannotbemeasured,and at the same time it isalmost impossible to fullyunderstand the opportu-nity pointed out inthosewordsandtheloss ofprogressonemay suffer by not heeding them.They apply to all, and not merely to the persons they were writtento,forthe Masters always say what applies universally.The letter continues: But thereis hardly aTheosophist in the whole Society unabletoeffectually help itby correctingtheerroneousimpression ofoutsiders,ifnotby actually himselfpropagating this idea. Later on,nearthetime whenH. P.B.wasinGermany,others cameandaskedwhattheymightdo,how they might work,and what"sphere ofinfluence" they might find.The Master known as .K.H.thenwrotealettertoone,andatthesametimesent copies with fuller notes onthe commmunicationto others.A part ofthatletter has lately beenpublishedinthe German magazine, the Sphillx.In it the Master said among other things: Spheres of influence canbe found everywhere.The first object of the Theo-sophical Society is philanthropy.The true Theosophist is a philanthropist,who .. Not forhimselfbut forthe worldhe lives".This,and philosophy,the right comprehensionoflifeanditsmysteries.willgivethe" necessary basis" and show the right path to pursue.Yet the best.. sphere of influence" for the ap-plicant is now in [his own land]. Thereferenceto abasisandasphere of injluenceisto ,theidea of Digitizedby Google WHATTHEMASTERSHAVESAID. 335 those who held that ascientific or at least avery long preparation togetabasisandasphereforworkwasneededfirst.But the answershowsthe Adeptasnotagreeing,and as pointing out the way to workalongtheline oftheheartdoCtrine.Andsomeof the fuller notes annexed to the copy ofthis letter sent at the same timeto others read: Myreferenceto"philanthropy"wasmeantinitsbroadestsense,andto draw attention tothe absoluteneed ofthe.. doctrine ofthe heart" as opposed tothatwhichismerely" oftheeye".Andbefore,Ihave writtenthatour Society isnotamere intellectual school for occultism,andthosegreaterthan wehave said thathe who thinksthetask ofworking forotherstoohard had betternotundertakeit.The moralandspiritual sufferings ofthe worldare moreimportant andneedhelpandcuremorethanscienceneeds aid from us in any fieldofdiscovery... Hethat hath ears to hear,let himhear".-K.H. Afterseventeenyearsofworkitisnowtimethatthewhole Society shouldpayalittlemoreattentiontothewordsofthose Mastersofwisdomwhohavethusindicated theroad,and these arethe"originallines"tracedoutandmeanttobefollowed. All those who do notfollowthemarethosewhofeeldissatisfied with our work,and thosewho try to go uponthese lines are those who feeland know that help is always given to the sincere Theoso-phist who ever tries not only to understand the philosophy but also to make itforcefulfortheprovingandthe. exemplifyingofthe doCtrineand objeCt ofUniversalBrotherhood. ONEOFTHERECIPIENTS. ------ --- ---ltbt~ p b t r t sofnnanimattebjtds. ACRITICISMCRITICISED. fWyattentionhasonlyrecentlybeencalledtoapaper with theabovetitleintheOctoberTlltosophisl,inwhichmy criticcontendsthatitisdifficulttodeterminebymy articleinJulyPATHonthe"SpheresofInanimateObjeCts" "whetherthewriterwasfullysatisfiedthathisexperiments reasonablydemonstratehishypothesis ",whenintheparagraph belowitisstatedthat"Mr.Karrconsidershishypothesisto havebecomereasonably demonstrated. " Inthefaceofsuchcross-statements,andofotherswhichwill benoticedlater on,itissomewhat difficulttohandlethesubject seriously. Mr.Travers'snextcomplaintisthatIhavefailedtomakeit entirely clear inmy paper whetherinanimateobjeCtsare devoid, or not, ofany aura.One wouldhavethought fromthe mere title Digitizedby Google THEPATH.[February, ofthearticleinquestionlet alone its matter,that this point had beengivensufficientprominence,inasmuchasinanimateobjetts areadmittedtohavecertainobscure propertiesthat,for want of abetter term, wecall splure or aura.But not mindful ofthis tacit admission my critic proceeds to ask,withapassing allusion to my confusion ofmind,"What doesMr.Karr mean?Are his readers tounderstandthatobjectsaredevoidofanyaurawhatever?" Then,aray oflightflashinginuponhisdarkness,hedemands, "OrdoesMr.Karrmeanthat theauraofanobjectisbarren untilimpressedbythethoughtofindividuals or theassociations ofalocality?"SurelytheinstancesIrecordedwouldseemto make this latter surmise inferentially clear enough to most readers, evenwithoutthedirectstatementofsuchabeliefonpage113 (JulyPATH.)It wasthepurposeofthewriterthroughout,to showfromhis owncarefulinvestigationsthat,howeverrankthe scepticismandloudthedenials ofthoseunfamiliar withpsychic phenomena, there manifestly is some inherent quality, call it what you will, resident in inanimate objects.That this quality appeared to bea neutral one seemed reasonably demonstrated by the experi. mentsrecorded:neutral,Isay,forasmuchastheobjects chosen were in each severalinstanceincapableofgiving outany clueto their structure, origin, or habitat, save as these missing facts were readintothem,sotosay,bythestronglypositivecurrentofa mindaware ofallthree factors,or,as incertain instances,where by personalcontiguity theactivequality ofanorganicstructure hadbeensuperimposedonthepassivesphereoftheinanimate object. Mr.Travers intimates it is fromfamiliaritywithReichenbach's writings that I derive authorizationforthe idea of spheres around objects.Iwould, however, say that though possessing both Reich enbach'sandGregory'sworks,andespeciallycuriousasarethe accounts given by theformer experimenter, I do not place reliance forthe factofspheressurrounding objetts on therecord ofthese authors alone.Far more trustworthy,to my mind, is the evidence ofindependent clairvoyants ofgoodcharacter and undoubted sin-cerity who,withnotheorybehindthemtosustain,claimtosee the glow emanating fromthings.It may even become a question, inthe light ofafullerknowledge ofthepowersofthemindand itsstrangeintricacies,ifinReichenbach'sexperimentswithhis sensitivesanythingbeyondthepower ofthought. transferenceis proved;for it mustbeborneinmindthathistheory ofcrystals andmetalswasexceedinglydear untohim,andhismind,satur-atedwithhisownideaanddominatingtheplasticsphere ofhis Digitizedby Google 1893.]THESPHERESOFINANIMATEOBJECTS.337 sensitive,naturally projected allthathe thought concerning their properties into the mind vibrating in unison withhis own, and,as usual in such cases, the subject received the given idea pictorially, and saw what the agent wished him to see.This is not so unlikely an assumptionin view ofwhattakesplaceeverydayinexperi ments ofan hypnotic order,when we remember that other inves tigatorsfollowingReichenbach'smethodsfailedutterly to obtain his results. Of Prof.Denton's experiments, which are also cited by my critic on one leaf as authoritative proofs(see p.42,'Tluosophist,October) and onthepagefacingtheformer (see43,ditto)areconceded to have been often carelessly made, it may be said that such slovenly conductedandbadly recorded researchescannot beheldtohave much scientific value. To turn now toMr.Travers'sexaminationindetail ofmy first batch ofexperimeutswhichhereferstoasNos.I,II,III,and IV. but as he does not take them in the order relatedthisnumeration may be somewhat misleading. In CaseNo.Ithecriticregretsthatit wasnot stated whether the agent had actually visitedthe Palace of the Ca:sars or not.It sohappensthathehad,andthat itwasfamiliar groundtohim j but even were the reverse the case,given an educated person with thedegreeofcultivationthatreading,familiaritywithengrav-ings,andconversation ~ i t htravellers would bestow,the evidence for thought-transference would still be unshaken.In spite of the distinctassertiononp.110ofPATHarticlethattherefollowed this test"a minute description of the past and present appearance ofthe historicsite ",our friendsolemnly declares that this"very important point is left unmentioned by the writer."T