,,five ,,years ,,of ,,theosophy ,mystical1 ,philosophical1 ,theosophical1 ,historical and ,scientific ,essays ,selected from ,the ,theosophist ,edited by ,george ,robert ,snow ,mead ,,contents ,mystical ,the ,elixir of ,life ,is the ,desire to ,live ,selfish8 ,contemplation ,chelas and ,lay ,chelas ,ancient ,opinions upon ,psychic ,bodies ,the ,nilgiri ,sannyasis ,witchcraft on the ,nilgiris ,shamanism and ,witchcraft ,amongst the ,kolarian ,tribes ,mahatmas and ,chelas ,the ,brahmanical ,thread ,reading in a ,sealed ,envelope ,the ,twelve ,signs of the ,zodiac ,the ,sishal and ,bhukailas ,yogis ,philosophical ,true and ,false ,personality ,chastity ,zorastrianism on the ,septenary ,constitution of ,man ,brahmanism on the ,sevenfold ,principle in ,man ,the ,septenary ,principle in ,esotericism ,personal and ,impersonal ,god ,prakriti and ,parusha ,morality and ,pantheism ,occult ,study ,some ,inquiries ,suggested by ,mr4 ,sinnett's ,esoteric ,buddhism ,sakya ,muni's ,place in ,history ,inscriptions ,discovered by ,general ,a4 ,cunningham ,discrimination of ,spirit and ,not-,spirit ,was ,writing ,known ,before ,panini8 ,theosophical ,what is ,theosophy8 ,how a ,chela ,found ,his ,guru ,the ,sages of the ,himavat ,the ,himalayan ,brothers--,do ,they ,exist8 ,interview ,with a ,mahatma ,the ,secret ,doctrine ,historical ,the ,puranas on the ,dynasty of the ,moryas and on ,koothoomi ,the ,theory of ,cycles ,scientific ,odorigen and ,jiva ,introversion of ,mental ,vision ,precipitation ,how ,shall ,we ,sleep8 ,transmigration of the ,life ,atoms ,,om and its ,practical ,significance ,,five ,,years ,,of ,,theosophy ,mystical ,the ,elixir of ,life ,from a ,chela's99 ,diary4 ,by ,g---,m---1 ,f4,t4,s4 ,and ,enoch walked with the ,elohim1 and the ,elohim took him4 --,genesis ,introduction ,the curious information-for whatsoever else the world may think of it1 it will doubtless be acknowledged to be that--contained in the article that follows1 merits a few words of introduction4 ,the details given in it on the subject of what has always been considered as one of the darkest and most strictly guarded of the mysteries of the initiation into occultism--from the days of the ,rishis until those of the ,theosophical ,society--came to the knowledge of the author in a way that would seem to the ordinary run of ,europeans strange and supernatural4 ,he himself1 however1 we may assure the reader1 is a most thorough disbeliever in the ,supernatural1 though he has learned too much to limit the capabilities of the natural as some do4 ,further1 he has to make the following confession of his own belief4 ,it will be apparent1 from a careful perusal of the facts1 that if the matter be really as stated therein1 the author cannot himself be an adept of high grade1 as the article in such a case would never have been written4 ,nor does he pretend to be one4 ,he is1 or rather was1 for a few years an humble ,chela4 ,hence1 the converse must consequently be also true1 that as regards the higher stages of the mystery he can have no personal experience1 but speaks of it only as a close observer left to his own surmises--and no more4 ,he may1 therefore1 boldly state that during1 and notwithstanding1 his unfortunately rather too short stay with some adepts1 he has by actual experiment and observation verified some of the less transcendental or incipient parts of the ,course4 ,and1 though it will be impossible for him to give positive testimony as to what lies beyond1 he may yet mention that all his own course of study1 training and experience1 long1 severe and dangerous as it has often been1 leads him to the conviction that everything is really as stated1 save some details purposely veiled4 ,for causes which cannot be explained to the public1 he himself may he unable or unwilling to use the secret he has gained access to4 ,still he is permitted by one to whom all his reverential affection and gratitude are due--his last guru--to divulge for the benefit of ,science and ,man1 and specially for the good of those who are courageous enough to personally make the experiment1 the following astounding particulars of the occult methods for prolonging life to a period far beyond the common4--,g4,m4 --------- 99 ,a4 ,chela is the pupil and disciple of an initiated ,guru or ,master4--,ed4 --------- ,probably one of the first considerations which move the worldly-minded at present to solicit initiation into ,theosophy is the belief1 or hope1 that1 immediately on joining1 some extraordinary advantage over the rest of mankind will be conferred upon the candidate4 ,some even think that the ultimate result of their initiation will perhaps be exemption from that dissolution which is called the common lot of mankind4 ,the traditions of the ,elixir of ,life1 said to be in the possession of ,kabalists and ,alchemists1 are still cherished by students of ,medieval ,occultism--in ,europe4 ,the allegory of the ,ab-e ,hyat or ,water of ,life1 is still credited as a fact by the degraded remnants of the ,asiatic esoteric sects ignorant of the real ,,great ,,secret4 ,the pungent and fiery ,essence1 by which ,zanoni renewed his existence1 still fires the imagination of modern visionaries as a possible scientific discovery of the future4 ,theosophically1 though the fact is distinctly declared to be true1 the above-named conceptions of the mode of procedure leading to the realization of the fact1 are known to be false4 ,the reader may or may not believe it2 but as a matter of fact1 ,theosophical ,occultists claim to have communication with 7living7 ,intelligences possessing an infinitely wider range of observation than is contemplated even by the loftiest aspirations of modern science1 all the present ,adepts of ,europe and ,america--dabblers in the ,kabala--notwithstanding4 ,but far even as those superior ,intelligences have investigated 7or1 if preferred1 are alleged to have investigated71 and remotely as they may have searched by the help of inference and analogy1 even ,they have failed to discover in the ,infinity anything permanent but--,,space4 ,,all ,,is ,,subject ,,to ,,change4 ,reflection1 therefore1 will easily suggest to the reader the further logical inference that in a ,universe which is essentially impermanent in its conditions1 nothing can confer permanency4 ,therefore1 no possible substance1 even if drawn from the depths of ,infinity2 no imaginable combination of drugs1 whether of our earth or any other1 though compounded by even the ,highest ,intelligence2 no system of life or discipline though directed by the sternest determination and skill1 could possibly produce ,immutability4 ,for in the universe of solar systems1 wherever and however investigated1 ,immutability necessitates ,non-,being in the physical sense given it by the ,theists-,non-,being which is nothing in the narrow conceptions of ,western ,religionists--a reductio ad absurdum4 ,this is a gratuitous insult even when applied to the pseudo-,christian or ecclesiastical ,jehovite idea of ,god4 ,consequently1 it will be seen that the common ideal conception of ,immortality is not only essentially wrong1 but a physical and metaphysical impossibility4 ,the idea1 whether cherished by ,theosophists or non-,theosophists1 by ,christians or ,spiritualists1 by ,materialists or ,idealists1 is a chimerical illusion4 ,but the actual prolongation of human life is possible for a time so long as to appear miraculous and incredible to those who regard our span of existence as necessarily limited to at most a couple of hundred years4 ,we may break1 as it were1 the shock of ,death1 and instead of dying1 change a sudden plunge into darkness to a transition into a brighter light4 ,and this may be made so gradual that the passage from one state of existence to another shall have its friction minimized1 so as to be practically imperceptible4 ,this is a very different matter1 and quite within the reach of ,occult ,science4 ,in this1 as in all other cases1 means properly directed will gain their ends1 and causes produce effects4 ,of course1 the only question is1 what are these causes1 and how1 in their turn1 are they to be produced4 ,to lift1 as far as may be allowed1 the veil from this aspect of ,occultism1 is the object of the present paper4 ,we must premise by reminding the reader of two ,theosophic doctrines1 constantly inculcated in ,isis and in other mystic works--namely1 7a7 that ultimately the ,kosmos is ,one--one under infinite variations and manifestations1 and 7b7 that the so-called man is a compound being-- composite not only in the exoteric scientific sense of being a congeries of living so-called material ,units1 but also in the esoteric sense of being a succession of seven forms or parts of itself1 interblended with each other4 ,to put it more clearly we might say that the more ethereal forms are but duplicates of the same aspect1--each finer one lying within the inter-atomic spaces of the next grosser4 ,we would have the reader understand that these are no subtleties1 no spiritualities at all in the ,christo-,spiritualistic sense4 ,in the actual man reflected in your mirror are really several men1 or several parts of one composite man2 each the exact counterpart of the other1 but the atomic conditions 7for want of a better word7 of each of which are so arranged that its atoms interpenetrate those of the next grosser form4 ,it does not1 for our present purpose1 matter how the ,theosophists1 ,spiritualists1 ,buddhists1 ,kabalists1 or ,vedantists1 count1 separate1 classify1 arrange or name these1 as that war of terms may be postponed to another occasion4 ,neither does it matter what relation each of these men has to the various elements of the ,kosmos of which he forms a part4 ,this knowledge1 though of vital importance in other respects1 need not be explained or discussed now4 ,nor does it much more concern us that the ,scientists deny the existence of such an arrangement1 because their instruments are inadequate to make their senses perceive it4 ,we will simply reply--get better instruments and keener senses1 and eventually you will4 ,all we have to say is that if you are anxious to drink of the ,elixir of ,life1 and live a thousand years or so1 you must take our word for the matter at present1 and proceed on the assumption4 ,for esoteric science does not give the faintest possible hope that the desired end will ever be attained by any other way2 while modern1 or so-called exact science--laughs at it4 ,so1 then1 we have arrived at the point where we have determined-- literally1 not metaphorically--to crack the outer shell known as the mortal coil or body1 and hatch out of it1 clothed in our next4 ,this next is not spiritual1 but only a more ethereal form4 ,having by a long training and preparation adapted it for a life in this atmosphere1 during which time we have gradually made the outward shell to die off through a certain process 7hints of which will be found further on7 we have to prepare for this physiological transformation4 ,how are we to do it8 ,in the first place we have the actual1 visible1 material body--,man1 so called2 though1 in fact1 but his outer shell--to deal with4 ,let us bear in mind that science teaches us that in about every seven years we change skin as effectually as any serpent2 and this so gradually and imperceptibly that1 had not science after years of unremitting study and observation assured us of it1 no one would have had the slightest suspicion of the fact4 ,we see1 moreover1 that in process of time any cut or lesion upon the body1 however deep1 has a tendency to repair the loss and reunite2 a piece of lost skin is very soon replaced by another4 ,hence1 if a man1 partially flayed alive1 may sometimes survive and be covered with a new skin1 so our astral1 vital body--the fourth of the seven 7having attracted and assimilated to itself the second7 and which is so much more ethereal than the physical one--may be made to harden its particles to the atmospheric changes4 ,the whole secret is to succeed in evolving it out1 and separating it from the visible2 and while its generally invisible atoms proceed to concrete themselves into a compact mass1 to gradually get rid of the old particles of our visible frame so as to make them die and disappear before the new set has had time to evolve and replace them4 ,we can say no more4 ,the ,magdalene is not the only one who could be accused of having seven spirits in her1 though men who have a lesser number of spirits 7what a misnomer that word67 in them1 are not few or exceptional2 they are the frequent failures of nature--the incomplete men and women499 ----------- 99 ,this is not to be taken as meaning that such persons are thoroughly destitute of some one or several of the seven principles--a man born without an arm has still its ethereal counterpart2 but that they are so latent that they cannot be developed1 and consequently are to be considered as non-existing4--,ed4 ,theos4 ---------- ,each of these has in turn to survive the preceding and more dense one1 and then die4 ,the exception is the sixth when absorbed into and blended with the seventh4 ,the ,phatu 99 of the old ,hindu physiologist had a dual meaning1 the esoteric side of which corresponds with the ,tibetan ,zung 7seven principles of the body74 ,we ,asiatics1 have a proverb1 probably handed down to us1 and by the ,hindus repeated ignorantly as to its esoteric meaning4 ,it has been known ever since the old ,rishis mingled familiarly with the simple and noble people they taught and led on4 ,the ,devas had whispered into every man's ear--,thou only--if thou wilt--art immortal4 ,combine with this the saying of a ,western author that if any man could just realize for an instant1 that he had to die some day1 he would die that instant4 ,the ,illuminated will perceive that between these two sayings1 rightly understood1 stands revealed the whole secret of ,longevity4 ,we only die when our will ceases to be strong enough to make us live4 ,in the majority of cases1 death comes when the torture and vital exhaustion accompanying a rapid change in our physical conditions becomes so intense as to weaken1 for one single instant1 our clutch on life1 or the tenacity of the will to exist4 ,till then1 however severe may be the disease1 however sharp the pang1 we are only sick or wounded1 as the case may be4 ----------- 99 ,dhatu--the seven principal substances of the human body--chyle1 flesh1 blood1 fat1 bones1 marrow1 semen4 ----------- ,this explains the cases of sudden deaths from joy1 fright1 pain1 grief or such other causes4 ,the sense of a life-task consummated1 of the worthlessness of one's existence1 if strongly realized1 produced death as surely as poison or a rifle-bullet4 ,on the other hand1 a stern determination to continue to live1 has1 in fact1 carried many through the crises of the most severe diseases1 in perfect safety4 ,first1 then1 must be the determination--the ,will--the conviction of certainty1 to survive and continue499 ,without that1 all else is useless4 ,and to be efficient for the purpose1 it must be1 not only a passing resolution of the moment1 a single fierce desire of short duration1 but a settled and continued strain1 as nearly as can be continued and concentrated without one single moment's relaxation4 ,in a word1 the would-be ,immortal must be on his watch night and day1 guarding self against-himself4 ,to live--to live--to live--must be his unswerving resolve4 ,he must as little as possible allow himself to be turned aside from it4 ,it may be said that this is the most concentrated form of selfishness1--that it is utterly opposed to our ,theosophic professions of benevolence1 and disinterestedness1 and regard for the good of humanity4 ,well1 viewed in a short-sighted way1 it is so4 ,but to do good1 as in everything else1 a man must have time and materials to work with1 and this is a necessary means to the acquirement of powers by which infinitely more good can be done than without them4 ---------- 99 ,col4 ,olcott has epigrammatically explained the creative or rather the re-creative power of the ,will1 in his ,buddhist ,catechism4 ,he there shows--of course1 speaking on behalf of the ,southern ,buddhists--that this ,will to live1 if not extinguished in the present life1 leaps over the chasm of bodily death1 and recombines the ,skandhas1 or groups of qualities that made up the individual into a new personality4 ,man is1 therefore1 reborn as the result of his own unsatisfied yearning for objective existence4 ,col4 ,olcott puts it in this way3 ,q4 #abc4 ,what is that1 in man1 which gives him the impression of having a permanent individuality8 ,a4 ,tanha1 or the unsatisfied desire for existence4 ,the being having done that for which he must be rewarded or punished in future1 and having ,tanha1 will have a rebirth through the influence of ,karma4 ,q4 #abd4 4444,what is it that is reborn8 ,a4 ,a new aggregation of ,skandhas1 or individuality1 caused by the last yearning of the dying person4 ,q4 #abh4 ,to what cause must we attribute the differences in the combination of the ,five ,skandhas has which makes every individual different from every other individual8 ,a4 ,to the ,karma of the individual in the next preceding birth4 ,q4 #abi4 ,what is the force or energy that is at work1 under the guidance of ,karma1 to produce the new being8 ,a4 ,tanha--the ,will to ,live4 ---------- ,when these are once mastered1 the opportunities to use them will arrive1 for there comes a moment when further watch and exertion are no longer needed3--the moment when the turning-point is safely passed4 ,for the present as we deal with aspirants and not with advanced chelas1 in the first stage a determined1 dogged resolution1 and an enlightened concentration of self on self1 are all that is absolutely necessary4 ,it must not1 however1 be considered that the candidate is required to be unhuman or brutal in his negligence of others4 ,such a recklessly selfish course would be as injurious to him as the contrary one of expending his vital energy on the gratification of his physical desires4 ,all that is required from him is a purely negative attitude4 ,until the turning-point is reached1 he must not lay out his energy in lavish or fiery devotion to any cause1 however noble1 however good1 however elevated499 ,such1 we can solemnly assure the reader1 would bring its reward in many ways--perhaps in another life1 perhaps in this world1 but it would tend to shorten the existence it is desired to preserve1 as surely as self-indulgence and profligacy4 ,that is why very few of the truly great men of the world 7of course1 the unprincipled adventurers who have applied great powers to bad uses are out of the question7--the martyrs1 the heroes1 the founders of religions1 the liberators of nations1 the leaders of reforms--ever became members of the long-lived ,brotherhood of ,adepts who were by some and for long years accused of selfishness4 7,and that is also why the ,yogis1 and the ,fakirs of modern ,india--most of whom are acting now but on the dead-letter tradition1 are required if they would be considered living up to the principles of their profession--to appear entirely dead to every inward feeling or emotion47 ,notwithstanding the purity of their hearts1 the greatness of their aspirations1 the disinterestedness of their self-sacrifice1 they could not live for they had missed the hour4 -------- 99 ,on page #aea of ,mr4 ,sinnett's ,occult ,world1 the author's much abused1 and still more doubted correspondent assures him that none yet of his degree are like the stern hero of ,bulwer's ,zanoni4444 the heartless morally dried up mummies some would fancy us to be and adds that few of them would care to play the part in life of a desiccated pansy between the leaves of a volume of solemn poetry4 ,but our adept omits saying that one or two degrees higher1 and he will have to submit for a period of years to such a mummifying process unless1 indeed1 he would voluntarily give up a life-long labour and--,die4--,ed4 ---------- ,they may at times have exercised powers which the world called miraculous2 they may have electrified man and subdued ,nature by fiery and self-devoted ,will2 they may have been possessed of a so-called superhuman intelligence2 they may have even had knowledge of1 and communion with1 members of our own occult ,brotherhood2 but1 having deliberately resolved to devote their vital energy to the welfare of others1 rather than to themselves1 they have surrendered life2 and1 when perishing on the cross or the scaffold1 or falling1 sword in hand1 upon the battle-field1 or sinking exhausted after a successful consummation of the life-object1 on death-beds in their chambers1 they have all alike had to cry out at last3 ,eli1 ,eli1 lama sabachthani6 ,so far so good4 ,but1 given the will to live1 however powerful1 we have seen that1 in the ordinary course of mundane life1 the throes of dissolution cannot be checked4 ,the desperate1 and again and again renewed struggle of the ,kosmic elements to proceed with a career of change despite the will that is checking them1 like a pair of runaway horses struggling against the determined driver holding them in1 are so cumulatively powerful1 that the utmost efforts of the untrained human will acting within an unprepared body become ultimately useless4 ,the highest intrepidity of the bravest soldier2 the interest desire of the yearning lover2 the hungry greed of the unsatisfied miser2 the most undoubting faith of the sternest fanatic2 the practiced insensibility to pain of the hardiest red ,indian brave or half-trained ,hindu ,yogi2 the most deliberate philosophy of the calmest thinker--all alike fail at last4 ,indeed1 sceptics will allege in opposition to the verities of this article that1 as a matter of experience1 it is often observed that the mildest and most irresolute of minds and the weakest of physical frames are often seen to resist ,death longer than the powerful will of the high-spirited and obstinately-egotistic man1 and the iron frame of the labourer1 the warrior and the athlete4 ,in reality1 however1 the key to the secret of these apparently contradictory phenomena is the true conception of the very thing we have already said4 ,if the physical development of the gross outer shell proceeds on parallel lines and at an equal rate with that of the will1 it stands to reason that no advantage for the purpose of overcoming it1 is attained by the latter4 ,the acquisition of improved breechloaders by one modern army confers no absolute superiority if the enemy also becomes possessed of them4 ,consequently it will be at once apparent1 to those who think on the subject1 that much of the training by which what is known as a powerful and determined nature1 perfects itself for its own purpose on the stage of the visible world1 necessitating and being useless without a parallel development of the gross and so-called animal frame1 is1 in short1 neutralized1 for the purpose at present treated of1 by the fact that its own action has armed the enemy with weapons equal to its own4 ,the force of the impulse to dissolution is rendered equal to the will to oppose it2 and being cumulative1 subdues the will-power and triumphs at last4 ,on the other hand1 it may happen that an apparently weak and vacillating will-power residing in a weak and undeveloped physical frame1 may be so reinforced by some unsatisfied desire--the ,ichcha 7wish7--as it is called by the ,indian ,occultists 7for instance1 a mother's heart-yearning to remain and support her fatherless children7--as to keep down and vanquish1 for a short time1 the physical throes of a body to which it has become temporarily superior4 ,the whole rationale then1 of the first condition of continued existence in this world1 is 7a7 the development of a ,will so powerful as to overcome the hereditary 7in a ,darwinian sense7 tendencies of the atoms composing the gross and palpable animal frame1 to hurry on at a particular period in a certain course of ,kosmic change2 and 7b7 to so weaken the concrete action of that animal frame as to make it more amenable to the power of the ,will4 ,to defeat an army1 you must demoralize and throw it into disorder4 ,to do this then1 is the real object of all the rites1 ceremonies1 fasts1 prayers1 meditations1 initiations and procedures of self-discipline enjoined by various esoteric ,eastern sects1 from that course of pure and elevated aspiration which leads to the higher phases of ,adeptism ,real1 down to the fearful and disgusting ordeals which the adherent of the ,left-hand-,road has to pass through1 all the time maintaining his equilibrium4 ,the procedures have their merits and their demerits1 their separate uses and abuses1 their essential and non-essential parts1 their various veils1 mummeries1 and labyrinths4 ,but in all1 the result aimed at is reached1 if by different processes4 ,the ,will is strengthened1 encouraged and directed1 and the elements opposing its action are demoralized4 ,now1 to any one who has thought out and connected the various evolution theories1 as taken1 not from any occult source1 but from the ordinary scientific manual accessible to all--from the hypothesis of the latest variation in the habits of species--say1 the acquisition of carnivorous habits by the ,new ,zealand parrot1 for instance--to the farthest glimpses backwards into ,space and ,eternity afforded by the ,fire ,mist doctrine1 it will be apparent that they all rest on one basis4 ,that basis is1 that the impulse once given to a hypothetical ,unit has a tendency to continue2 and consequently1 that anything done by something at a certain time and certain place tends to repeat itself at other times and places4 ,such is the admitted rationale of heredity and atavism4 ,that the same things apply to our ordinary conduct is apparent from the notorious ease with which habits1--bad or good1 as the case may be--are acquired1 and it will not be questioned that this applies1 as a rule1 as much to the moral and intellectual1 as to the physical world4 ,furthermore1 ,history and ,science teach us plainly that certain physical habits conduce to certain moral and intellectual results4 ,there never yet was a conquering nation of vegetarians4 ,even in the old ,aryan times1 we do not learn that the very ,rishis1 from whose lore and practice we gain the knowledge of ,occultism1 ever interdicted the ,kshetriya 7military7 caste from hunting or a carnivorous diet4 ,filling1 as they did1 a certain place in the body politic in the actual condition of the world1 the ,rishis as little thought of interfering with them1 as of restraining the tigers of the jungle from their habits4 ,that did not affect what the ,rishis did themselves4 ,the aspirant to longevity then must be on his guard against two dangers4 ,he must beware especially of impure and animal99 thoughts4 ,for ,science shows that thought is dynamic1 and the thought-force evolved by nervous action expanding outwardly1 must affect the molecular relations of the physical man4 ,the inner men19999 however sublimated their organism may be1 are still composed of actual1 not hypothetical1 particles1 and are still subject to the law that an action has a tendency to repeat itself2 a tendency to set up analogous action in the grosser shell they are in contact with1 and concealed within4 ---------- 99 ,in other words1 the thought tends to provoke the deed4--,g4,m4 9999 ,we use the word in the plural1 reminding the reader that1 according to our doctrine1 man is septenary4--,g4,m4 ---------- ,and1 on the other hand1 certain actions have a tendency to produce actual physical conditions unfavourable to pure thoughts1 hence to the state required for developing the supremacy of the inner man4 ,to return to the practical process4 ,a normally healthy mind1 in a normally healthy body1 is a good starting-point4 ,though exceptionally powerful and self-devoted natures may sometimes recover the ground lost by mental degradation or physical misuse1 by employing proper means1 under the direction of unswerving resolution1 yet often things may have gone so far that there is no longer stamina enough to sustain the conflict sufficiently long to perpetuate this life2 though what in ,eastern parlance is called the merit of the effort will help to ameliorate conditions and improve matters in another4 ,however this may be1 the prescribed course of self-discipline commences here4 ,it may be stated briefly that its essence is a course of moral1 mental1 and physical development1 carried on in parallel lines--one being useless without the other4 ,the physical man must be rendered more ethereal and sensitive2 the mental man more penetrating and profound2 the moral man more self-denying and philosophical4 ,and it may be mentioned that all sense of restraint--even if self-imposed--is useless4 ,not only is all goodness that results from the compulsion of physical force1 threats1 or bribes 7whether of a physical or so-called spiritual nature7 absolutely useless to the person who exhibits it1 its hypocrisy tending to poison the moral atmosphere of the world1 but the desire to be good or pure1 to be efficacious must be spontaneous4 ,it must be a self-impulse from within1 a real preference for something higher1 not an abstention from vice because of fear of the law3 not a chastity enforced by the dread of ,public ,opinion2 not a benevolence exercised through love of praise or dread of consequences in a hypothetical ,future ,life499 ---------- 99 ,col4 ,olcott clearly and succinctly explains the ,buddhist doctrine of ,merit or ,karma1 in his ,buddhist ,catechism4 7,question #hc74--;,g4,m4 ---------- ,it will be seen now in connection with the doctrine of the tendency to the renewal of action1 before discussed1 that the course of self-discipline recommended as the only road to ,longevity by ,occultism is not a visionary theory dealing with vague ideas1 but actually a scientifically devised system of drill4 ,it is a system by which each particle of the several men composing the septenary individual receives an impulse1 and a habit of doing what is necessary for certain purposes of its own free-will and with pleasure4 ,every one must be practiced and perfect in a thing to do it with pleasure4 ,this rule especially applies to the case of the development of ,man4 ,virtue may be very good in its way--it may lead to the grandest results4 ,but to become efficacious it has to be practiced cheerfully not with reluctance or pain4 ,as a consequence of the above consideration the candidate for ,longevity at the commencement of his career must begin to eschew his physical desires1 not from any sentimental theory of right or wrong1 but for the following good reason4 ,as1 according to a well-known and now established scientific theory1 his visible material frame is always renewing its particles2 he will1 while abstaining from the gratification of his desires1 reach the end of a certain period during which those particles which composed the man of vice1 and which were given a bad predisposition1 will have departed4 ,at the same time1 the disuse of such functions will tend to obstruct the entry1 in place of the old particles1 of new particles having a tendency to repeat the said acts4 ,and while this is the particular result as regards certain vices1 the general result of an abstention from gross acts will be 7by a modification of the well-known ,darwinian law of atrophy by non-usage7 to diminish what we may call the relative density and coherence of the outer shell 7as a result of its less-used molecules72 while the diminution in the quantity of its actual constituents will he made up 7if tried by scales and weights7 by the increased admission of more ethereal particles4 ,what physical desires are to be abandoned and in what order8 ,first and foremost1 he must give up alcohol in all forms2 for while it supplies no nourishment1 nor any direct pleasure 7beyond such sweetness or fragrance as may be gained in the taste of wine1 c41 to which alcohol1 in itself1 is non-essential7 to even the grossest elements of the physical frame1 it induces a violence of action1 a rush so to speak1 of life1 the stress of which can only be sustained by very dull1 gross1 and dense elements1 and which1 by the operation of the well-known law of ,re-action 7in commercial phrase1 supply and demand7 tends to summon them from the surrounding universe1 and therefore directly counteracts the object we have in view4 ,next comes meat-eating1 and for the very same reason1 in a minor degree4 ,it increases the rapidity of life1 the energy of action1 the violence of passions4 ,it may be good for a hero who has to fight and die1 but not for a would-be sage who has to exist and4444 ,next in order come the sexual desires2 for these1 in addition to the great diversion of energy 7vital force7 into other channels1 in many different ways1 beyond the primary one 7as1 for instance1 the waste of energy in expectation1 jealousy1 c471 are direct attractions to a certain gross quality of the original matter of the ,universe1 simply because the most pleasurable physical sensations are only possible at that stage of density4 ,alongside with and extending beyond all these and other gratifications of the senses 7which include not only those things usually known as vicious1 but all those which1 though ordinarily regarded as innocent1 have yet the disqualification of ministering to the pleasures of the body--the most harmless to others and the least gross being the criterion for those to be last abandoned in each case7--must be carried on the moral purification4 ,nor must it be imagined that austerities as commonly understood can1 in the majority of cases1 avail much to hasten the etherealizing process4 ,that is the rock on which many of the ,eastern esoteric sects have foundered1 and the reason why they have degenerated into degrading superstitions4 ,the ,western monks and the ,eastern ,yogees1 who think they will reach the apex of powers by concentrating their thought on their navel1 or by standing on one leg1 are practicing exercises which serve no other purpose than to strengthen the willpower1 which is sometimes applied to the basest purposes4 ,these are examples of this one-sided and dwarf development4 ,it is no use to fast as long as you require food4 ,the ceasing of desire for food without impairment of health is the sign which indicates that it should be taken in lesser and ever decreasing quantities until the extreme limit compatible with life is reached4 ,a stage will be finally attained where only water will be required4 ,nor is it of any use for this particular purpose of longevity to abstain from immorality so long as you are craving for it in your heart2 and so on with all other unsatisfied inward cravings4 ,to get rid of the inward desire is the essential thing1 and to mimic the real thing without it is barefaced hypocrisy and useless slavery4 ,so it must be with the moral purification of the heart4 ,the basest inclinations must go first--then the others4 ,first avarice1 then fear1 then envy1 worldly pride1 uncharitableness1 hatred2 last of all ambition and curiosity must be abandoned successively4 ,the strengthening of the more ethereal and so-called spiritual parts of the man must go on at the same time4 ,reasoning from the known to the unknown1 meditation must be practiced and encouraged4 ,meditation is the inexpressible yearning of the inner ,man to go out towards the infinite1 which in the olden time was the real meaning of adoration1 but which has now no synonym in the ,european languages1 because the thing no longer exists in the ,west1 and its name has been vulgarized to the make-believe shams known as prayer1 glorification1 and repentance4 ,through all stages of training the equilibrium of the consciousness--the assurance that all must be right in the ,kosmos1 and therefore with you a portion of it--must be retained4 ,the process of life must not be hurried but retarded1 if possible2 to do otherwise may do good to others-- perhaps even to yourself in other spheres1 but it will hasten your dissolution in this4 ,nor must the externals be neglected in this first stage4 ,remember that an adept1 though existing so as to convey to ordinary minds the idea of his being immortal1 is not also invulnerable to agencies from without4 ,the training to prolong life does not1 in itself1 secure one from accidents4 ,as far as any physical preparation goes1 the sword may still cut1 the disease enter1 the poison disarrange4 ,this case is very clearly and beautifully put in ,zanoni1 and it is correctly put and must be so1 unless all adeptism is a baseless lie4 ,the adept may be more secure from ordinary dangers than the common mortal1 but he is so by virtue of the superior knowledge1 calmness1 coolness and penetration which his lengthened existence and its necessary concomitants have enabled him to acquire2 not by virtue of any preservative power in the process itself4 ,he is secure as a man armed with a rifle is more secure than a naked baboon2 not secure in the sense in which the deva 7god7 was supposed to be securer than a man4 ,if this is so in the case of the high adept1 how much more necessary is it that the neophyte should be not only protected but that he himself should use all possible means to ensure for himself the necessary duration of life to complete the process of mastering the phenomena we call death6 ,it may be said1 why do not the higher adepts protect him8 ,perhaps they do to some extent1 but the child must learn to walk alone2 to make him independent of his own efforts in respect to safety1 would be destroying one element necessary to his development--the sense of responsibility4 ,what courage or conduct would be called for in a man sent to fight when armed with irresistible weapons and clothed in impenetrable armour8 ,hence the neophyte should endeavour1 as far as possible1 to fulfill every true canon of sanitary law as laid down by modern scientists4 ,pure air1 pure water1 pure food1 gentle exercise1 regular hours1 pleasant occupations and surroundings1 are all1 if not indispensable1 at least serviceable to his progress4 ,it is to secure these1 at least as much as silence and solitude1 that the ,gods1 ,sages1 ,occultists of all ages have retired as much as possible to the quiet of the country1 the cool cave1 the depths of the forest1 the expanse of the desert1 or the heights of the mountains4 ,is it not suggestive that the ,gods have always loved the high places2 and that in the present day the highest section of the ,occult ,brotherhood on earth inhabits the highest mountain plateaux of the earth899 --------- 99 ,the stern prohibition to the ,jews to serve their gods upon the high mountains and upon the hills is traced back to the unwillingness of their ancient elders to allow people in most cases unfit for adeptship to choose a life of celibacy and asceticism1 or in other words1 to pursue adeptship4 ,this prohibition had an esoteric meaning before it became the prohibition1 incomprehensible in its dead-letter sense3 for it is not ,india alone whose sons accorded divine honours to the ,wise ,ones1 but all nations regarded their adepts and initiates as divine4-- ,g4,m4 --------- ,nor must the beginner disdain the assistance of medicine and good medical regimen4 ,he is still an ordinary mortal1 and he requires the aid of an ordinary mortal4 ,suppose1 however1 all the conditions required1 or which will be understood as required 7for the details and varieties of treatment requisite1 are too numerous to be detailed here71 are fulfilled1 what is the next step8 the reader will ask4 ,well if there have been no backslidings or remissness in the procedure indicated1 the following physical results will follow3-- ,first the neophyte will take more pleasure in things spiritual and pure4 ,gradually gross and material occupations will become not only uncraved for or forbidden1 but simply and literally repulsive to him4 ,he will take more pleasure in the simple sensations of ,nature--the sort of feeling one can remember to have experienced as a child4 ,he will feel more light-hearted1 confident1 happy4 ,let him take care the sensation of renewed youth does not mislead1 or he will yet risk a fall into his old baser life and even lower depths4 ,action and ,re-action are equal4 ,now the desire for food will begin to cease4 ,let it be left off gradually--no fasting is required4 ,take what you feel you require4 ,the food craved for will be the most innocent and simple4 ,fruit and milk will usually be the best4 ,then as till now1 you have been simplifying the quality of your food1 gradually--very gradually--as you feel capable of it diminish the quantity4 ,you will ask3 ,can a man exist without food8 ,no1 but before you mock1 consider the character of the process alluded to4 ,it is a notorious fact that many of the lowest and simplest organisms have no excretions4 ,the common guinea-worm is a very good instance4 ,it has rather a complicated organism1 but it has no ejaculatory duct4 ,all it consumes--the poorest essences of the human body--is applied to its growth and propagation4 ,living as it does in human tissue1 it passes no digested food away4 ,the human neophyte1 at a certain stage of his development1 is in a somewhat analogous condition1 with this difference or differences1 that he does excrete1 but it is through the pores of his skin1 and by those too enter other etherealized particles of matter to contribute towards his support499 ,otherwise1 all the food and drink is sufficient only to keep in equilibrium those gross parts of his physical body which still remain to repair their cuticle-waste through the medium of the blood4 ,later on1 the process of cell-development in his frame will undergo a change2 a change for the better1 the opposite of that in disease for the worse--he will become all living and sensitive1 and will derive nourishment from the ,ether 7,akas74 ,but that epoch for our neophyte is yet far distant4 --------- 99 ,he is in a state similar to the physical state of a fetus before birth into the world4--,g4,m4 --------- ,probably1 long before that period has arrived1 other results1 no less surprising than incredible to the uninitiated will have ensued to give our neophyte courage and consolation in his difficult task4 ,it would be but a truism to repeat what has been again alleged 7in ignorance of its real rationale7 by hundreds and hundreds of writers as to the happiness and content conferred by a life of innocence and purity4 ,but often at the very commencement of the process some real physical result1 unexpected and unthought of by the neophyte1 occurs4 ,some lingering disease1 hitherto deemed hopeless1 may take a favourable turn2 or he may develop healing mesmeric powers himself2 or some hitherto unknown sharpening of his senses may delight him4 ,the rationale of these things is1 as we have said1 neither miraculous nor difficult of comprehension4 ,in the first place1 the sudden change in the direction of the vital energy 7which1 whatever view we take of it and its origin1 is acknowledged by all schools of philosophy as most recondite1 and as the motive power7 must produce results of some kind4 ,in the second1 ,theosophy shows1 as we said before1 that a man consists of several men pervading each other1 and on this view 7although it is very difficult to express the idea in language7 it is but natural that the progressive etherealization of the densest and most gross of all should leave the others literally more at liberty4 ,a troop of horses may be blocked by a mob and have much difficulty in fighting its way through2 but if every one of the mob could be changed suddenly into a ghost1 there would be little to retard it4 ,and as each interior entity is more rare1 active1 and volatile than the outer and as each has relation with different elements1 spaces1 and properties of the ,kosmos which are treated of in other articles on ,occultism1 the mind of the reader may conceive--though the pen of the writer could not express it in a dozen volumes--the magnificent possibilities gradually unfolded to the neophyte4 ,many of the opportunities thus suggested may be taken advantage of by the neophyte for his own safety1 amusement1 and the good of those around him2 but the way in which he does this is one adapted to his fitness--a part of the ordeal he has to pass through1 and misuse of these powers will certainly entail the loss of them as a natural result4 ,the ,itchcha 7or desire7 evoked anew by the vistas they open up will retard or throw back his progress4 ,but there is another portion of the ,great ,secret to which we must allude1 and which is now1 for the first1 in a long series of ages1 allowed to be given out to the world1 as the hour for it is come4 ,the educated reader need not be reminded again that one of the great discoveries which has immortalized the name of ,darwin is the law that an organism has always a tendency to repeat1 at an analogous period in its life1 the action of its progenitors1 the more surely and completely in proportion to their proximity in the scale of life4 ,one result of this is1 that1 in general1 organized beings usually die at a period 7on an average7 the same as that of their progenitors4 ,it is true that there is a great difference between the actual ages at which individuals of any species die4 ,disease1 accidents and famine are the main agents in causing this4 ,but there is1 in each species1 a well-known limit within which the ,race-life lies1 and none are known to survive beyond it4 ,this applies to the human species as well as any other4 ,now1 supposing that every possible sanitary condition had been complied with1 and every accident and disease avoided by a man of ordinary frame1 in some particular case there would still1 as is known to medical men1 come a time when the particles of the body would feel the hereditary tendency to do that which leads inevitably to dissolution1 and would obey it4 ,it must be obvious to any reflecting man that1 if by any procedure this critical climacteric could be once thoroughly passed over1 the subsequent danger of ,death would be proportionally less as the years progressed4 ,now this1 which no ordinary and unprepared mind and body can do1 is possible sometimes for the will and the frame of one who has been specially prepared4 ,there are fewer of the grosser particles present to feel the hereditary bias--there is the assistance of the reinforced interior men 7whose normal duration is always greater even in natural death7 to the visible outer shell1 and there is the drilled and indomitable ,will to direct and wield the whole499 ----------- 99 ,in this connection we may as well show what modern science1 and especially physiology has to say as to the power of the human will4 ,the force of will is a potent element in determining longevity4 ,this single point must be granted without argument1 that of two men every way alike and similarly circumstanced1 the one who has the greater courage and grit will be longer-lived4 ,one does not need to practice medicine long to learn that men die who might just as well live if they resolved to live1 and that myriads who are invalids could become strong if they had the native or acquired will to vow they would do so4 ,those who have no other quality favourable to life1 whose bodily organs are nearly all diseased1 to whom each day is a day of pain1 who are beset by life-shortening influences1 yet do live by will alone4 --,dr4 ,george ,m4 ,beard4 ------------- ,from that time forward the course of the aspirant is clearer4 ,he has conquered the ,dweller of the ,threshold--the hereditary enemy of his race1 and1 though still exposed to ever-new dangers in his progress towards ,nirvana1 he is flushed with victory1 and with new confidence and new powers to second it1 can press onwards to perfection4 ,for1 it must be remembered1 that nature everywhere acts by ,law1 and that the process of purification we have been describing in the visible material body1 also takes place in those which are interior1 and not visible to the scientist by modifications of the same process4 ,all is on the change1 and the metamorphoses of the more ethereal bodies imitate1 though in successively multiplied duration1 the career of the grosser1 gaining an increasing wider range of relations with the surrounding kosmos1 till in ,nirvana the most rarefied ,individuality is merged at last into the ,,infinite ,,totality4 ,from the above description of the process1 it will be inferred why it is that ,adepts are so seldom seen in ordinary life2 for1 pari passu1 with the etherealization of their bodies and the development of their power1 grows an increasing distaste1 and a so-to-speak1 contempt for the things of our ordinary mundane existence4 ,like the fugitive who successively casts away in his flight those articles which incommode his progress1 beginning with the heaviest1 so the aspirant eluding ,death abandons all on which the latter can take hold4 ,in the progress of ,negation everything got rid of is a help4 ,as we said before1 the adept does not become immortal as the word is ordinarily understood4 ,by or about the time when the ,death-limit of his race is passed he is actually dead1 in the ordinary sense1 that is to say1 he has relieved himself of all or nearly all such material particles as would have necessitated in disruption the agony of dying4 ,he has been dying gradually during the whole period of his ,initiation4 ,the catastrophe cannot happen twice over4 ,he has only spread over a number of years the mild process of dissolution which others endure from a brief moment to a few hours4 ,the highest ,adept is1 in fact1 dead to1 and absolutely unconscious of1 the world2 he is oblivious of its pleasures1 careless of its miseries1 in so far as sentimentalism goes1 for the stern sense of ,,duty never leaves him blind to its very existence4 ,for the new ethereal senses opening to wider spheres are to ours much in the relation of ours to the ,infinitely ,little4 ,new desires and enjoyments1 new dangers and new hindrances arise1 with new sensations and new perceptions2 and far away down in the mist--both literally and metaphorically--is our dirty little earth left below by those who have virtually gone to join the gods4 ,and from this account too1 it will be perceptible how foolish it is for people to ask the ,theosophist to procure for them communication with the highest ,adepts4 ,it is with the utmost difficulty that one or two can be induced1 even by the throes of a world1 to injure their own progress by meddling with mundane affairs4 ,the ordinary reader will say3 ,this is not god-like4 ,this is the acme of selfishness4 4444 ,but let him realize that a very high ,adept1 undertaking to reform the world1 would necessarily have to once more submit to ,incarnation4 ,and is the result of all that have gone before in that line sufficiently encouraging to prompt a renewal of the attempt8 ,a deep consideration of all that we have written1 will also give the ,theosophists an idea of what they demand when they ask to be put in the way of gaining practically higher powers4 ,well1 there1 as plainly as words can put it1 is the ,,path 4444 can they tread it8 ,nor must it be disguised that what to the ordinary mortal are unexpected dangers1 temptations and enemies also beset the way of the neophyte4 ,and that for no fanciful cause1 but the simple reason that he is1 in fact1 acquiring new senses1 has yet no practice in their use1 and has never before seen the things he sees4 ,a man born blind suddenly endowed with vision would not at once master the meaning of perspective1 but would1 like a baby1 imagine in one case1 the moon to be within his reach1 and1 in the other1 grasp a live coal with the most reckless confidence4 ,and what1 it may be asked1 is to recompense this abnegation of all the pleasures of life1 this cold surrender of all mundane interests1 this stretching forward to an unknown goal which seems ever more unattainable8 ,for1 unlike some of the anthropomorphic creeds1 ,occultism offers to its votaries no eternally permanent heaven of material pleasure1 to be gained at once by one quick dash through the grave4 ,as has1 in fact1 often been the case many would be prepared willingly to die now for the sake of the paradise hereafter4 ,but ,occultism gives no such prospect of cheaply and immediately gained infinitude of pleasure1 wisdom and existence4 ,it only promises extensions of these1 stretching in successive arches obscured by successive veils1 in an unbroken series up the long vista which leads to ,,nirvana4 ,and this too1 qualified by the necessity that new powers entail new responsibilities1 and that the capacity of increased pleasure entails the capacity of increased sensibility to pain4 ,to this1 the only answer that can be given is two-fold3 7#ast7 the consciousness of ,power is itself the most exquisite of pleasures1 and is unceasingly gratified in the progress onwards with new means for its exercise and 7#bndly7 as has been already said--,,this is the only road by which there is the faintest scientific likelihood that ,death can be avoided1 perpetual memory secured1 infinite wisdom attained1 and hence an immense helping of mankind made possible1 once that the adept has safely crossed the turning-point4 ,physical as well as metaphysical logic requires and endorses the fact that only by gradual absorption into infinity can the ,part become acquainted with the ,whole1 and that that which is now something can only feel1 know1 and enjoy ,,everything when lost in ,absolute ,totality in the vortex of that ,unalterable ,circle wherein our ,knowledge becomes ,ignorance1 and the ,everything itself is identified with the ,,nothing4 ,is the ,desire to ,live ,selfish8 ,the passage to live1 to live1 to live must be the unswerving resolve1 occurring in the article on the ,elixir of ,life1 is often quoted by superficial and unsympathetic readers as an argument that the teachings of occultism are the most concentrated form of selfishness4 ,in order to determine whether the critics are right or wrong1 the meaning of the word selfishness must first be ascertained4 ,according to an established authority1 selfishness is that exclusive regard to one's own interest or happiness2 that supreme self-love or self-preference which leads a person to direct his purposes to the advancement of his own interest1 power1 or happiness1 without regarding those of others4 ,in short1 an absolutely selfish individual is one who cares for himself and none else1 or1 in other words1 one who is so strongly imbued with a sense of the importance of his own personality that to him it is the crown of all thoughts1 desires1 and aspirations1 and beyond which lies the perfect blank4 ,now1 can an occultist be then said to be selfish when he desires to live in the sense in which that word is used by the writer of the article on the ,elixir of ,life8 ,it has been said over and over again that the ultimate end of every aspirant after occult knowledge is ,nirvana or ,mukti1 when the individual1 freed from all ,mayavic ,upadhi1 becomes one with ,paramatma1 or the ,son identifies himself with the ,father in ,christian phraseology4 ,for that purpose1 every veil of illusion which creates a sense of personal isolation1 a feeling of separateness from ,,the ,,all1 must be torn asunder1 or1 in other words1 the aspirant must gradually discard all sense of selfishness with which we are all more or less affected4 ,a study of the ,law of ,kosmic ,evolution teaches us that the higher the evolution1 the more does it tend towards ,unity4 ,in fact1 ,unity is the ultimate possibility of ,nature1 and those who through vanity and selfishness go against her purposes1 cannot but incur the punishment of annihilation4 ,the occultist thus recognizes that unselfishness and a feeling of universal philanthropy are the inherent laws of our being1 and all he does is to attempt to destroy the chains of selfishness forged upon us all by ,maya4 ,the struggle then between ,good and ,evil1 ,god and ,satan1 ,suras and ,asuras1 ,devas and ,daityas1 which is mentioned in the sacred books of all the nations and races1 symbolizes the battle between unselfish and selfish impulses1 which takes place in a man1 who tries to follow the higher purposes of ,nature1 until the lower animal tendencies1 created by selfishness1 are completely conquered1 and the enemy thoroughly routed and annihilated4 ,it has also been often put forth in various ,theosophical and other occult writings that the only difference between an ordinary man who works along with ,nature during the course of ,kosmic evolution and an occultist1 is that the latter1 by his superior knowledge1 adopts such methods of training and discipline as will hurry on that process of evolution1 and he thus reaches in a comparatively short time the apex which the ordinary individual will take perhaps billions of years to reach4 ,in short1 in a few thousand years he approaches that type of evolution which ordinary humanity attains in the sixth or seventh ,round of the ,manvantara1 i4e41 cyclic progression4 ,it is evident that an average man cannot become a ,,mahatma in one life1 or rather in one incarnation4 ,now those1 who have studied the occult teachings concerning ,devachan and our after-states1 will remember that between two incarnations there is a considerable period of subjective existence4 ,the greater the number of such ,devachanic periods1 the greater is the number of years over which this evolution is extended4 ,the chief aim of the occultist is therefore to so control himself as to be able to regulate his future states1 and thereby gradually shorten the duration of his ,devachanic existence between two incarnations4 ,in the course of his progress1 there comes a time when1 between one physical death and his next rebirth1 there is no ,devachan but a kind of spiritual sleep1 the shock of death1 having1 so to say1 stunned him into a state of unconsciousness from which he gradually recovers to find himself reborn1 to continue his purpose4 ,the period of this sleep may vary from twenty-five to two hundred years1 depending upon the degree of his advancement4 ,but even this period may be said to be a waste of time1 and hence all his exertions are directed to shorten its duration so as to gradually come to a point when the passage from one state of existence into another is almost imperceptible4 ,this is his last incarnation1 as it were1 for the shock of death no more stuns him4 ,this is the idea the writer of the article on the ,elixir of ,life means to convey when he says3 ,by or about the time when the ,death-limit of his race is passed he is actually dead1 in the ordinary sense1 that is to say1 he has relieved himself of all or nearly all such material particles as would have necessitated in disruption the agony of dying4 ,he has been dying gradually during the whole period of his ,initiation4 ,the catastrophe cannot happen twice over1 he has only spread over a number of years the mild process of dissolution which others endure from a brief moment to a few hours4 ,the highest ,adept is1 in fact1 dead to1 and absolutely unconscious of1 the ,world2 he is oblivious of its pleasures1 careless of its miseries1 in so far as sentimentalism goes1 for the stern sense of ,duty never leaves him blind to its very existence4444 ,the process of the emission and attraction of atoms1 which the occultist controls1 has been discussed at length in that article and in other writings4 ,it is by these means that he gets rid gradually of all the old gross particles of his body1 substituting for them finer and more ethereal ones1 till at last the former sthula sarira is completely dead and disintegrated1 and he lives in a body entirely of his own creation1 suited to his work4 ,that body is essential to his purposes2 as the ,elixir of ,life says3-- ,to do good1 as in every thing else1 a man most have time and materials to ,work with1 and this is a necessary means to the acquirement of powers by which infinitely more good can be done than without them4 ,when these are once mastered1 the opportunities to use them will arrive4444 ,giving the practical instructions for that purpose1 the same paper continues3-- ,the physical man must be rendered more ethereal and sensitive2 the mental man more penetrating and profound2 the moral man more self-denying and philosophical4 ,losing sight of the above important considerations1 the following passage is entirely misunderstood3-- ,and from this account too1 it will be perceptible how foolish it is for people to ask the ,theosophist to procure for them communication with the highest ,adepts4 ,it is with the utmost difficulty that one or two can be induced1 even by the throes of a world1 to injure their own progress by meddling with mundane affairs4 ,the ordinary reader will say3 ,this is not god-like4 ,this is the acme of selfishness4 4444,but let him realize that a very high ,adept1 undertaking to reform the world1 would necessarily have to once more submit to ,incarnation4 ,and is the result of all that have gone before in that line sufficiently encouraging to prompt a renewal of the attempt8 ,now1 in condemning the above passage as inculcating selfishness1 superficial critics neglect many profound truths4 ,in the first place1 they forget the other extracts already quoted which impose self-denial as a necessary condition of success1 and which say that1 with progress1 new senses and new powers are acquired with which infinitely more good can be done than without them4 ,the more spiritual the ,adept becomes the less can he meddle with mundane gross affairs and the more he has to confine himself to spiritual work4 ,it has been repeated1 times out of number1 that the work on the spiritual plane is as superior to the work on the intellectual plane as the latter is superior to that on the physical plane4 ,the very high ,adepts1 therefore1 do help humanity1 but only spiritually3 they are constitutionally incapable of meddling with worldly affairs4 ,but this applies only to very high ,adepts4 ,there are various degrees of ,adept-ship1 and those of each degree work for humanity on the planes to which they may have risen4 ,it is only the chelas that can live in the world1 until they rise to a certain degree4 ,and it is because the ,adepts do care for the world that they make their chelas live in and work for it1 as many of those who study the subject are aware4 ,each cycle produces its own occultists capable of working for the humanity of the time on all the different planes2 but when the ,adepts foresee that at a particular period humanity will he incapable of producing occultists for work on particular planes1 for such occasions they do provide by either voluntarily giving up their further progress and waiting until humanity reaches that period1 or by refusing to enter into ,nirvana and submitting to re-incarnation so as to be ready for work when the time comes4 ,and although the world may not be aware of the fact1 yet there are even now certain ,adepts who have preferred to remain in statu quo and refuse to take the higher degrees1 for the benefit of the future generations of humanity4 ,in short1 as the ,adepts work harmoniously1 since unity is the fundamental law of their being1 they have1 as it were1 made a division of labour1 according to which each works on the plane appropriate to himself for the spiritual elevation of us all--and the process of longevity mentioned in the ,elixir of ,life is only the means to the end which1 far from being selfish1 is the most unselfish purpose for which a human being can labour4 7--,h4,p4 ,blavatsky7 ,contemplation ,a general misconception on this subject seems to prevail4 ,one confines oneself for some time in a room1 and passively gazes at one's nose1 a spot on the wall1 or1 perhaps1 a crystal1 under the impression that such is the true form of contemplation enjoined by ,raj ,yoga4 ,many fail to realize that true occultism requires a physical1 mental1 moral and spiritual development to run on parallel lines1 and injure themselves1 physically and spiritually1 by practice of what they falsely believe to be ,dhyan4 ,a few instances may be mentioned here with advantage1 as a warning to over-zealous students4 ,at ,bareilly the writer met a member of the ,theosophical ,society from ,farrukhabad1 who narrated his experiences and shed bitter tears of repentance for his past follies--as he termed them4 ,it appears from his account that fifteen or twenty years ago having read about contemplation in the ,bhagavad ,gita1 he undertook the practice of it1 without a proper comprehension of its esoteric meaning and carried it on for several years4 ,at first he experienced a sense of pleasure1 but simultaneously he found he was gradually losing self-control2 until after a few years he discovered1 to his great bewilderment and sorrow1 that he was no longer his own master4 ,he felt his heart actually growing heavy1 as though a load had been placed on it4 ,he had no control over his sensations the communication between the brain and the heart had become as though interrupted4 ,as matters grew worse1 in disgust he discontinued his contemplation4 ,this happened as long as seven years ago2 and1 although since then he has not felt worse1 yet he could never regain his original healthy state of mind and body4 ,another case came under the writer's observation at ,jubbulpore4 ,the gentleman concerned1 after reading ,patanjali and such other works1 began to sit for contemplation4 ,after a short time he commenced seeing abnormal sights and hearing musical bells1 but neither over these phenomena nor over his own sensations could he exercise any control4 ,he could not produce these results at will1 nor could he stop them when they were occurring4 ,numerous such examples may be cited4 ,while penning these lines1 the writer has on his table two letters upon this subject1 one from ,moradabad and the other from ,trichinopoly4 ,in short1 all this mischief is due to a misunderstanding of the significance of contemplation as enjoined upon students by all the schools of ,occult ,philosophy4 ,with a view to afford a glimpse of the ,reality through the dense veil that enshrouds the mysteries of this ,science of ,sciences1 an article1 the ,elixir of ,life1 was written4 ,unfortunately1 in too many instances1 the seed seems to have fallen upon barren ground4 ,some of its readers pin their faith to the following clause in that paper3-- ,reasoning from the known to the unknown meditation must be practiced and encouraged4 ,but1 alas6 their preconceptions have prevented them from comprehending what is meant by meditation4 ,they forget that the meditation spoken of is the inexpressible yearning of the inner ,man to 'go out towards the infinite1' which in the olden time was the real meaning of adoration-- as the next sentence shows4 ,a good deal of light would be thrown upon this subject if the reader were to turn to an earlier part of the same paper1 and peruse attentively the following paragraphs3-- ,so1 then1 we have arrived at the point where we have determined-- literally1 not metaphorically--to crack the outer shell known as the mortal coil or body1 and hatch out of it1 clothed in our next4 ,this 'next' is not a spiritual1 but only a more ethereal form4 ,having by a long training and preparation adapted it for a life in the atmosphere1 during which time we have gradually made the outward shell to die off through a certain process 4444 we have to prepare for this physiological transformation4 ,how are we to do it8 ,in the first place we have the actual1 visible1 material body--,man1 so called1 though1 in fact1 but his outer shell--to deal with4 ,let us bear in mind that ,science teaches us that in about every seven years we change skin as effectually as any serpent2 and this so gradually and imperceptibly that1 had not science after years of unremitting study and observation assured us of it1 no one would have had the slightest suspicion of the fact4444 ,hence1 if a man1 partially flayed alive1 may sometimes survive and be covered with a new skin1 so our astral1 vital body 4444 may be made to harden its particles to the atmospheric changes4 ,the whole secret is to succeed in evolving it out1 and separating it from the visible2 and while its generally invisible atoms proceed to concrete themselves into a compact mass1 to gradually get rid of the old particles of our visible frame so as to make them die and disappear before the new set has had time to evolve and replace them4444 ,we can say no more4 ,a correct comprehension of the above scientific process will give a clue to the esoteric meaning of meditation or contemplation4 ,science teaches us that man changes his physical body continually1 and this change is so gradual that it is almost imperceptible4 ,why then should the case be otherwise with the inner man8 ,the latter too is developing and changing atoms at every moment4 ,and the attraction of these new sets of atoms depends upon the ,law of ,affinity--the desires of the man drawing to his bodily tenement only such particles as are necessary to give them expression4 ,for ,science shows that thought is dynamic1 and the thought-force evolved by nervous action expanding itself outwardly1 must affect the molecular relations of the physical man4 ,the inner men1 however sublimated their organism may be1 are still composed of actual1 not hypothetical1 particles1 and are still subject to the law that an action has a tendency to repeat itself2 a tendency to set up analogous action in the grosser shell they are in contact with1 and concealed within4--,the ,elixir of ,life ,what is it the aspirant of ,yog ,vidya strives after if not to gain ,mukti by transferring himself gradually from the grosser to the next less gross body1 until all the veils of ,maya being successively removed his ,atma becomes one with ,paramatma8 ,does he suppose that this grand result can be achieved by a two or four hours' contemplation8 ,for the remaining twenty or twenty-two hours that the devotee does not shut himself up in his room for meditation is the process of the emission of atoms and their replacement by others stopped8 ,if not1 then how does he mean to attract all this time only those suited to his end8 ,from the above remarks it is evident that just as the physical body requires incessant attention to prevent the entrance of a disease1 so also the inner man requires an unremitting watch1 so that no conscious or unconscious thought may attract atoms unsuited to its progress4 ,this is the real meaning of contemplation4 ,the prime factor in the guidance of the thought is ,will4 ,without that1 all else is useless4 ,and1 to be efficient for the purpose1 it must be1 not only a passing resolution of the moment1 a single fierce desire of short duration1 but a settled and continued strain1 as nearly as can be continued and concentrated without one single moment's remission4 ,the student would do well to take note of the italicized clause in the above quotation4 ,he should also have it indelibly impressed upon his mind that3 ,it is no use to fast as long as one requires food4444 ,to get rid of the inward desire is the essential thing1 and to mimic the real thing without it is barefaced hypocrisy and useless slavery4 ,without realizing the significance of this most important fact1 any one who for a moment finds cause of disagreement with any one of his family1 or has his vanity wounded1 or for a sentimental flash of the moment1 or for a selfish desire to utilize the ,divine power for gross purposes--at once rushes into contemplation and dashes himself to pieces on the rock dividing the known from the unknown4 ,wallowing in the mire of exotericism1 he knows not what it is to live in the world and yet be not of the world2 in other words1 to guard self against self is an almost incomprehensible axiom for the profane4 ,the ,hindu ought to know better from the life of ,janaka1 who1 although a reigning monarch1 was yet styled ,rajarshi and is said to have attained ,nirvana4 ,hearing of his widespread fame1 a few sectarian bigots went to his court to test his ,yoga-power4 ,as soon as they entered the court-room1 the king having read their thoughts--a power which every chela attains at a certain stage--gave secret instructions to his officials to have a particular street in the city lined on both sides by dancing girls singing the must voluptuous songs4 ,he then had some gharas 7pots7 filled with water up to the brim so that the least shake would be likely to spill their contents4 ,the wiseacres1 each with a full ghara 7pot7 on his head1 were ordered to pass along the street1 surrounded by soldiers with drawn swords to be used against them if even so much as a drop of water were allowed to run over4 ,the poor fellows having returned to the palace after successfully passing the test1 were asked by the ,king-,adept what they had met with in the street they were made to go through4 ,with great indignation they replied that the threat of being cut to pieces had so much worked upon their minds that they thought of nothing but the water on their heads1 and the intensity of their attention did not permit them to take cognizance of what was going on around them4 ,then ,janaka told them that on the same principle they could easily understand that1 although being outwardly engaged in managing the affairs of his ,state1 he could1 at the same time1 be an ,occultist4 ,he too1 while in the world1 was not of the world4 ,in other words1 his inward aspirations had been leading him on continually to the goal in which his whole inner self was concentrated4 ,raj ,yoga encourages no sham1 requires no physical postures4 ,it has to deal with the inner man whose sphere lies in the world of thought4 ,to have the highest ideal placed before oneself and strive incessantly to rise up to it1 is the only true concentration recognized by ,esoteric ,philosophy which deals with the inner world of noumena1 not the outer shell of phenomena4 ,the first requisite for it is thorough purity of heart4 ,well might the student of ,occultism say with ,zoroaster1 that purity of thought1 purity of word1 and purity of deed1--these are the essentials of one who would rise above the ordinary level and join the gods4 ,a cultivation of the feeling of unselfish philanthropy is the path which has to be traversed for that purpose4 ,for it is that alone which will lead to ,universal ,love1 the realization of which constitutes the progress towards deliverance from the chains forged by ,maya 7illusion7 around the ,ego4 ,no student will attain this at once1 but as our ,venerated ,mahatma says in the ,occult ,world3-- ,the greater the progress towards deliverance1 the less this will be the case1 until1 to crown all1 human and purely individual personal feelings1 blood-ties and friendship1 patriotism and race predilection1 will all give way to become blended into one universal feeling1 the only true and holy1 the only unselfish and eternal one1 ,love1 an ,immense ,love for ,humanity as a whole4 ,in short1 the individual is blended with the ,,all4 ,of course1 contemplation1 as usually understood1 is not without its minor advantages4 ,it develops one set of physical faculties as gymnastics does the muscles4 ,for the purposes of physical mesmerism it is good enough2 but it can in no way help the development of the psychological faculties1 as the thoughtful reader will perceive4 ,at the same time1 even for ordinary purposes1 the practice can never be too well guarded4 ,if1 as some suppose1 they have to be entirely passive and lose themselves in the object before them1 they should remember that1 by thus encouraging passivity1 they1 in fact1 allow the development of mediumistic faculties in themselves4 ,as was repeatedly stated--the ,adept and the ,medium are the two ,poles3 while the former is intensely active and thus able to control the elemental forces1 the latter is intensely passive and thus incurs the risk of falling a prey to the caprice and malice of mischievous embryos of human beings1 and the elementaries4 ,it will be evident from the above that true meditation consists in the reasoning from the known to the unknown4 ,the known is the phenomenal world1 cognizable by our five senses4 ,and all that we see in this manifested world are the effects1 the causes of which are to be sought after in the noumenal1 the unmanifested1 the unknown world3 this is to be accomplished by meditation1 i4e41 continued attention to the subject4 ,occultism does not depend upon one method1 but employs both the deductive and the inductive4 ,the student must first learn the general axioms1 which have sufficiently been laid down in the ,elixir of ,life and other occult writings4 ,what the student has first to do is to comprehend these axioms and1 by employing the deductive method1 to proceed from universals to particulars4 ,he has then to reason from the known to the unknown1 and see if the inductive method of proceeding from particulars to universals supports those axioms4 ,this process forms the primary stage of true contemplation4 ,the student must first grasp the subject intellectually before he can hope to realize his aspirations4 ,when this is accomplished1 then comes the next stage of meditation1 which is the inexpressible yearning of the inner man to 'go out towards the infinite4' ,before any such yearning can be properly directed1 the goal must first be determined4 ,the higher stage1 in fact1 consists in practically realizing what the first steps have placed within one's comprehension4 ,in short1 contemplation1 in its true sense1 is to recognize the truth of ,eliphas ,levi's saying3-- ,to believe without knowing is weakness2 to believe1 because one knows1 is power4 ,the ,elixir of ,life not only gives the preliminary steps in the ladder of contemplation but also tells the reader how to realize the higher stages4 ,it traces1 by the process of contemplation as it were1 the relation of man1 the known1 the manifested1 the phenomenon1 to the unknown1 the unmanifested1 the noumenon4 ,it shows the student what ideal to contemplate and how to rise up to it4 ,it places before him the nature of the inner capacities of man and how to develop them4 ,to a superficial reader1 this may1 perhaps1 appear as the acme of selfishness4 ,reflection will1 however1 show the contrary to be the case4 ,for it teaches the student that to comprehend the noumenal1 he must identify himself with ,nature4 ,instead of looking upon himself as an isolated being1 he must learn to look upon himself as a part of the ,integral ,whole4 ,for1 in the unmanifested world1 it can be clearly perceived that all is controlled by the ,law of ,affinity1 the attraction of the one for the other4 ,there1 all is ,infinite ,love1 understood in its true sense4 ,it may now not be out of place to recapitulate what has already been said4 ,the first thing to be done is to study the axioms of ,occultism and work upon them by the deductive and the inductive methods1 which is real contemplation4 ,to turn this to a useful purpose1 what is theoretically comprehended must be practically realized4 --,damodar ,k4 ,mavalaukar ,chelas and ,lay ,chelas ,a chela is a person who has offered himself to a master as a pupil to learn practically the hidden mysteries of ,nature and the psychical powers latent in man4 ,the master who accepts him is called in ,india a ,guru2 and the real ,guru is always an adept in the ,occult ,science4 ,a man of profound knowledge1 exoteric and esoteric1 especially the latter2 and one who has brought his carnal nature under the subjection of the ,,will2 who has developed in himself both the power 7,siddhi7 to control the forces of ,nature1 and the capacity to probe her secrets by the help of the formerly latent but now active powers of his being--this is the real ,guru4 ,to offer oneself as a candidate for ,chelaship is easy enough1 to develop into an adept the most difficult task any man could possibly undertake4 ,there are scores of natural-born poets1 mathematicians1 mechanics1 statesmen1 c4 ,but a natural-born adept is something practically impossible4 ,for1 though we do hear at very rare intervals of one who has an extraordinary innate capacity for the acquisition of occult knowledge and power1 yet even he has to pass the self-same tests and probations1 and go through the self-same training as any less endowed fellow aspirant4 ,in this matter it is most true that there is no royal road by which favourites may travel4 ,for centuries the selection of ,chelas--outside the hereditary group within the gon-pa 7temple7--has been made by the ,himalayan ,mahatmas themselves from among the class--in ,tibet1 a considerable one as to number--of natural mystics4 ,the only exceptions have been in the cases of ,western men like ,fludd1 ,thomas ,vaughan1 ,paracelsus1 ,pico di ,mirandolo1 ,count ,st4 ,germain1 c41 whose temperament affinity to this celestial science1 more or less forced the distant ,adepts to come into personal relations with them1 and enabled them to get such small 7or large7 proportion of the whole truth as was possible under their social surroundings4 ,from ,book ,,iv4 of ,kui-te1 ,chapter on ,the ,laws of ,upasanas1 we learn that the qualifications expected in a ,chela were3-- #a4 ,perfect physical health2 #b4 ,absolute mental and physical purity2 #c4 ,unselfishness of purpose2 universal charity2 pity for all animate beings2 #d4 ,truthfulness and unswerving faith in the law of ,karma1 independent of the intervention of any power in ,nature3 a law whose course is not to be obstructed by any agency1 not to be caused to deviate by prayer or propitiatory exoteric ceremonies2 #e4 ,a courage undaunted in every emergency1 even by peril to life2 #f4 ,an intuitional perception of one's being the vehicle of the manifested ,avalokiteswara or ,divine ,atma 7,spirit72 #g4 ,calm indifference for1 but a just appreciation of1 everything that constitutes the objective and transitory world1 in its relation with1 and to1 the invisible regions4 ,such1 at the least1 must have been the recommendations of one aspiring to perfect ,chelaship4 ,with the sole exception of the first1 which in rare and exceptional cases might have been modified1 each one of these points has been invariably insisted upon1 and all must have been more or less developed in the inner nature by the ,chela's unhelped exertions1 before he could be actually put to the test4 ,when the self-evolving ascetic--whether in1 or outside the active world--has placed himself1 according to his natural capacity1 above1 hence made himself master of his 7#a7 ,sarira--body2 7#b7 ,indriya--senses2 7#c7 ,dosha--faults2 7#d7 ,dukkha--pain2 and is ready to become one with his ,manas--mind2 ,buddhi--intellection1 or spiritual intelligence2 and ,atma--highest soul1 i4e41 spirit2 when he is ready for this1 and1 further1 to recognize in ,atma the highest ruler in the world of perceptions1 and in the will1 the highest executive energy 7power71 then may he1 under the time-honoured rules1 be taken in hand by one of the ,initiates4 ,he may then be shown the mysterious path at whose farther end is obtained the unerring discernment of ,phala1 or the fruits of causes produced1 and given the means of reaching ,apavarga--emancipation from the misery of repeated births1 pretya-bhava1 in whose determination the ignorant has no hand4 ,but since the advent of the ,theosophical ,society1 one of whose arduous tasks it is to re-awaken in the ,aryan mind the dormant memory of the existence of this science and of those transcendent human capabilities1 the rules of ,chela selection have become slightly relaxed in one respect4 ,many members of the ,society who would not have been otherwise called to ,chelaship became convinced by practical proof of the above points1 and rightly enough thinking that if other men had hitherto reached the goal1 they too1 if inherently fitted1 might reach it by following the same path1 importunately pressed to be taken as candidates4 ,and as it would be an interference with ,karma to deny them the chance of at least beginning1 they were given it4 ,the results have been far from encouraging so far1 and it is to show them the cause of their failure as much as to warn others against rushing heedlessly upon a similar fate1 that the writing of the present article has been ordered4 ,the candidates in question1 though plainly warned against it in advance1 began wrong by selfishly looking to the future and losing sight of the past4 ,they forgot that they had done nothing to deserve the rare honour of selection1 nothing which warranted their expecting such a privilege2 that they could boast of none of the above enumerated merits4 ,as men of the selfish1 sensual world1 whether married or single1 merchants1 civilian or military employees1 or members of the learned professions1 they had been to a school most calculated to assimilate them to the animal nature1 least so to develop their spiritual potentialities4 ,yet each and all had vanity enough to suppose that their case would be made an exception to the law of countless centuries1 as though1 indeed1 in their person had been born to the world a new ,avatar6 ,all expected to have hidden things taught1 extraordinary powers given them1 because--well1 because they had joined the ,theosophical ,society4 ,some had sincerely resolved to amend their lives1 and give up their evil courses3 we must do them that justice1 at all events4 ,all were refused at first1 ,col4 ,olcott the ,president himself1 to begin with3 and he was not formally accepted as a ,chela until he had proved by more than a year's devoted labours and by a determination which brooked no denial1 that he might safely be tested4 ,then from all sides came complaints--from ,hindus1 who ought to have known better1 as well as from ,europeans who1 of course1 were not in a condition to know anything at all about the rules4 ,the cry was that unless at least a few ,theosophists were given the chance to try1 the ,society could not endure4 ,every other noble and unselfish feature of our programme was ignored--a man's duty to his neighbour1 to his country1 his duty to help1 enlighten1 encourage and elevate those weaker and less favoured than he2 all were trampled out of sight in the insane rush for adeptship4 ,the call for phenomena1 phenomena1 phenomena1 resounded in every quarter1 and the ,founders were impeded in their real work and teased importunately to intercede with the ,mahatmas1 against whom the real grievance lay1 though their poor agents had to take all the buffets4 ,at last1 the word came from the higher authorities that a few of the most urgent candidates should be taken at their word4 ,the result of the experiment would perhaps show better than any amount of preaching what ,chelaship meant1 and what are the consequences of selfishness and temerity4 ,each candidate was warned that be must wait for year in any event1 before his fitness could be established1 and that he must pass through a series of tests that would bring out all there was in him1 whether bad or good4 ,they were nearly all married men1 and hence were designated ,lay ,chelas--a term new in ,english1 but having long had its equivalent in ,asiatic tongues4 ,a ,lay ,chela is but a man of the world who affirms his desire to become wise in spiritual things4 ,virtually1 every member of the ,theosophical ,society who subscribes to the second of our three ,declared ,objects is such2 for though not of the number of true ,chelas1 he has yet the possibility of becoming one1 for he has stepped across the boundary-line which separated him from the ,mahatmas1 and has brought himself1 as it were1 under their notice4 ,in joining the ,society and binding himself to help along its work1 he has pledged himself to act in some degree in concert with those ,mahatmas1 at whose behest the ,society was organized1 and under whose conditional protection it remains4 ,the joining is then1 the introduction2 all the rest depends entirely upon the member himself1 and he need never expect the most distant approach to the favour of one of our ,mahatmas or any other ,mahatmas in the world--should the latter consent to become known--that has not been fully earned by personal merit4 ,the ,mahatmas are the servants1 not the arbiters of the ,law of ,karma4 ,lay-,chelaship confers no privilege upon any one except that of working for merit under the observation of a ,master4 ,and whether that ,master be or be not seen by the ,chela makes no difference whatever as to the result3 his good thought1 words and deeds will bear their fruits1 his evil ones1 theirs4 ,to boast of ,lay ,chelaship or make a parade of it1 is the surest way to reduce the relationship with the ,guru to a mere empty name1 for it would be prima facie evidence of vanity and unfitness for farther progress4 ,and for years we have been teaching everywhere the maxim ,first deserve1 then desire intimacy with the ,mahatmas4 ,now there is a terrible law operative in ,nature1 one which cannot be altered1 and whose operation clears up the apparent mystery of the selection of certain ,chelas who have turned out sorry specimens of morality1 these few years past4 ,does the reader recall the old proverb1 ,let sleeping dogs lie8 ,there is a world of occult meaning in it4 ,no man or woman knows his or her moral strength until it is tried4 ,thousands go through life very respectably1 because they were never put to the test4 ,this is a truism doubtless1 but it is most pertinent to the present case4 ,one who undertakes to try for ,chelaship by that very act rouses and lashes to desperation every sleeping passion of his animal nature4 ,for this is the commencement of a struggle for mastery in which quarter is neither to be given nor taken4 ,it is1 once for all1 ,to be1 or ,not to be2 to conquer1 means ,adept-ship3 to fail1 an ignoble ,martyrdom2 for to fall victim to lust1 pride1 avarice1 vanity1 selfishness1 cowardice1 or any other of the lower propensities1 is indeed ignoble1 if measured by the standard of true manhood4 ,the ,chela is not only called to face all the latent evil propensities of his nature1 but1 in addition1 the momentum of maleficent forces accumulated by the community and nation to which he belongs4 ,for he is an integral part of those aggregates1 and what affects either the individual man or the group 7town or nation71 reacts the one upon the other4 ,and in this instance his struggle for goodness jars upon the whole body of badness in his environment1 and draws its fury upon him4 ,if he is content to go along with his neighbours and be almost as they are--perhaps a little better or somewhat worse than the average--no one may give him a thought4 ,but let it be known that he has been able to detect the hollow mockery of social life1 its hypocrisy1 selfishness1 sensuality1 cupidity and other bad features1 and has determined to lift himself up to a higher level1 at once he is hated1 and every bad1 bigotted1 or malicious nature sends at him a current of opposing will-power4 ,if he is innately strong he shakes it off1 as the powerful swimmer dashes through the current that would bear a weaker one away4 ,but in this moral battle1 if the ,chela has one single hidden blemish--do what he may1 it shall and will be brought to light4 ,the varnish of conventionalities which civilization overlays us all with must come off to the last coat1 and the inner self1 naked and without the slightest veil to conceal its reality1 is exposed4 ,the habits of society which hold men to a certain degree under moral restraint1 and compel them to pay tribute to virtue by seeming to be good whether they are so or not--these habits are apt to be all forgotten1 these restraints to be all broken through under the strain of ,chelaship4 ,he is now in an atmosphere of illusions--,maya4 ,vice puts on its most alluring face1 and the tempting passions attract the inexperienced aspirant to the depths of psychic debasement4 ,this is not a case like that depicted by a great artist1 where ,satan is seen playing a game of chess with a man upon the stake of his soul1 while the latter's good angel stands beside him to counsel and assist4 ,for the strife is in this instance between the ,chela's will and his carnal nature1 and ,karma forbids that any angel or ,guru should interfere until the result is known4 ,with the vividness of poetic fancy ,bulwer ,lytton has idealized it for us in his ,zanoni1 a work which will ever be prized by the occultist while in his ,strange ,story he has with equal power shown the black side of occult research and its deadly perils4 ,chelaship was defined1 the other day1 by a ,mahatma as a psychic resolvent1 which eats away all dross and leaves only the pure gold behind4 ,if the candidate has the latent lust for money1 or political chicanery1 or materialistic scepticism1 or vain display1 or false speaking1 or cruelty1 or sensual gratification of any kind the germ is almost sure to sprout2 and so1 on the other hand1 as regards the noble qualities of human nature4 ,the real man comes out4 ,is it not the height of folly1 then1 for any one to leave the smooth path of commonplace life to scale the crags of ,chelaship without some reasonable feeling of certainty that he has the right stuff in him8 ,well says the ,bible3 ,let him that standeth take heed lest he fall--a text that would-be ,chelas should consider well before they rush headlong into the fray6 ,it would have been well for some of our ,lay ,chelas if they had thought twice before defying the tests4 ,we call to mind several sad failures within a twelve-month4 ,one went wrong in the head1 recanted noble sentiments uttered but a few weeks previously1 and became a member of a religion he had just scornfully and unanswerably proven false4 ,a second became a defaulter and absconded with his employer's money--the latter also a ,theosophist4 ,a third gave himself up to gross debauchery1 and confessed it1 with ineffectual sobs and tears1 to his chosen ,guru4 ,a fourth got entangled with a person of the other sex and fell out with his dearest and truest friends4 ,a fifth showed signs of mental aberration and was brought into ,court upon charges of discreditable conduct4 ,a sixth shot himself to escape the consequences of criminality1 on the verge of detection6 ,and so we might go on and on4 ,all these were apparently sincere searchers after truth1 and passed in the world for respectable persons4 ,externally1 they were fairly eligible as candidates for ,chelaship1 as appearances go2 but within all was rottenness and dead men's bones4 ,the world's varnish was so thick as to hide the absence of the true gold underneath2 and the resolvent doing its work1 the candidate proved in each instance but a gilded figure of moral dross1 from circumference to core4 ,in what precedes we have1 of course1 dealt but with the failures among ,lay ,chelas2 there have been partial successes too1 and these are passing gradually through the first stages of their probation4 ,some are making themselves useful to the ,society and to the world in general by good example and precept4 ,if they persist1 well for them1 well for us all3 the odds are fearfully against them1 but still there is no impossibility to him who ,wills4 ,the difficulties in ,chelaship will never be less until human nature changes and a new order is evolved4 ,st4 ,paul 7,rom4 vii4 #ah1ai7 might have had a ,chela in mind when he said to will is present with me2 but how to perform that which is good ,i find not4 ,for the good ,i would ,i do not2 but the evil which ,i would not1 that ,i do4 ,and in the wise ,kiratarjuniyam of ,bharavi it is written3-- ,the enemies which rise within the body1 ,hard to be overcome--the evil passions-- ,should manfully be fought2 who conquers these ,is equal to the conqueror of worlds4 7,,xi4 #cb47 7--,h4,p4 ,blavatsky7 ,ancient ,opinions ,upon ,psychic ,bodies ,it must be confessed that modern ,spiritualism falls very short of the ideas formerly suggested by the sublime designation which it has assumed4 ,chiefly intent upon recognizing and putting forward the phenomenal proofs of a future existence1 it concerns itself little with speculations on the distinction between matter and spirit1 and rather prides itself on having demolished ,materialism without the aid of metaphysics4 ,perhaps a ,platonist might say that the recognition of a future existence is consistent with a very practical and even dogmatic materialism1 but it is rather to be feared that such a materialism as this would not greatly disturb the spiritual or intellectual repose of our modern phenomenalists499 ,given the consciousness with its sensibilities safely housed in the psychic body which demonstrably survives the physical carcase1 and we are like men saved from shipwreck1 who are for the moment thankful and content1 not giving thought whether they are landed on a hospitable shore1 or on a barren rock1 or on an island of cannibals4 ,it is not of course intended that this hand to mouth immortality is sufficient for the many thoughtful minds whose activity gives life and progress to the movement1 but that it affords the relief which most people feel when in an age of doubt they make the discovery that they are undoubtedly to live again4 ,to the question how are the dead raised up1 and with what body do they come8 modern ,spiritualism1 with its empirical methods1 is not adequate to reply4 ,yet long before ,paul suggested it1 it had the attention of the most celebrated schools of philosophy1 whose speculations on the subject1 however little they may seem to be verified1 ought not to be without interest to us1 who1 after all1 are still in the infancy of a spiritualist revival4 --------- 99 ,i am afraid1 says ,thomas ,taylor in his ,introduction to the ,phaedo1 there are scarcely any at the present day who know that it is one thing for the soul to be separated from the body1 and another for the body to be separated from the soul1 and that the former is by no means a necessary consequence of the latter4 ----------- ,it would not be necessary to premise1 but for the frequency with which the phrase occurs1 that the spiritual body is a contradiction in terms4 ,the office of body is to relate spirit to an objective world4 ,by ,platonic writers it is usually termed okhema--vehicle4 ,it is the medium of action1 and also of sensibility4 ,in this philosophy the conception of ,soul was not simply1 as with us1 the immaterial subject of consciousness4 ,how warily the interpreter has to tread here1 every one knows who has dipped1 even superficially1 into the controversies among ,platonists themselves4 ,all admit the distinction between the rational and the irrational part or principle1 the latter including1 first1 the sensibility1 and secondly1 the ,plastic1 or that lower which in obedience to its sympathies enables the soul to attach itself to1 and to organize into a suitable body those substances of the universe to which it is most congruous4 ,it is more difficult to determine whether ,plato or his principal followers1 recognized in the rational soul or nous a distinct and separable entity1 that which is sometimes discriminated as the ,spirit4 ,dr4 ,henry ,more1 no mean authority1 repudiates this interpretation4 ,there can be nothing more monstrous1 he says1 than to make two souls in man1 the one sensitive1 the other rational1 really distinct from one another1 and to give the name of ,astral spirit to the former1 when there is in man no ,astral spirit beside the ,plastic of the soul itself1 which is always inseparable from that which is rational4 ,nor upon any other account can it be called ,astral1 but as it is liable to that corporeal temperament which proceeds from the stars1 or rather from any material causes in general1 as not being yet sufficiently united with the divine body--that vehicle of divine virtue or power4 ,so he maintains that the ,kabalistic three souls--,nephesh1 ,ruach1 ,neschamah--originate in a misunderstanding of the true ,platonic doctrine1 which is that of a threefold vital congruity4 ,these correspond to the three degrees of bodily existence1 or to the three vehicles1 the terrestrial1 the aerial1 and the ethereal4 ,the latter is the augoeides--the luciform vehicle of the purified soul whose irrational part has been brought under complete subjection to the rational4 ,the aerial is that in which the great majority of mankind find themselves at the dissolution of the terrestrial body1 and in which the incomplete process of purification has to be undergone during long ages of preparation for the soul's return to its primitive1 ethereal state4 ,for it must be remembered that the preexistence of souls is a distinguishing tenet of this philosophy as of the ,kabala4 ,the soul has sunk into matter4 ,from its highest original state the revolt of its irrational nature has awakened and developed successively its vital congruities with the regions below1 passing1 by means of its ,plastic1 first into the aerial and afterwards into the terrestrial condition4 ,each of these regions teems also with an appropriate population which never passes1 like the human soul1 from one to the other--gods1 demons1 and animals499 ,as to duration1 the shortest of all is that of the terrestrial vehicle4 ,in the aerial1 the soul may inhabit1 as they define1 many ages1 and in the ethereal1 for ever4 --------- 99 ,the allusion here is to those beings of the several kingdoms of the elements which we ,theosophists1 following after the ,kabalists1 have called the ,elementals4 ,they never become men4 --,ed4 ,theos4 --------- ,speaking of the second body1 ,henry ,more says the soul's astral vehicle is of that tenuity that itself can as easily pass the smallest pores of the body as the light does glass1 or the lightning the scabbard of a sword without tearing or scorching of it4 ,and again1 ,i shall make bold to assert that the soul may live in an aerial vehicle as well as in the ethereal1 and that there are very few that arrive to that high happiness as to acquire a celestial vehicle immediately upon their quitting the terrestrial one2 that heavenly chariot necessarily carrying us in triumph to the greatest happiness the soul of man is capable of1 which would arrive to all men indifferently1 good or bad1 if the parting with this earthly body would suddenly mount us into the heavenly4 ,when by a just ,nemesis the souls of men that are not heroically virtuous will find themselves restrained within the compass of this caliginous air1 as both ,reason itself suggests1 and the ,platonists have unanimously determined4 ,thus also the most thorough-going1 and probably the most deeply versed in the doctrines of the master among modern ,platonists1 ,thomas ,taylor 7,introduction4 ,phaedo73--,after this our divine philosopher informs that the pure soul will after death return to pure and eternal natures2 but that the impure soul1 in consequence of being imbued with terrene affections1 will be drawn down to a kindred nature1 and be invested with a gross vehicle capable of being seen by the corporeal eye499 ,for while a propensity to body remains in the soul1 it causes her to attract a certain vehicle to herself2 either of an aerial nature1 or composed from the spirit and vapours of her terrestrial body1 or which is recently collected from surrounding air2 for according to the arcana of the ,platonic philosophy1 between an ethereal body1 which is simple and immaterial and is the eternal connate vehicle of the soul1 and a terrene body1 which is material and composite1 and of short duration1 there is an aerial body1 which is material indeed1 but simple and of a more extended duration2 and in this body the unpurified soul dwells for a long time after its exit from hence1 till this pneumatic vehicle being dissolved1 it is again invested with a composite body2 while on the contrary the purified soul immediately ascends into the celestial regions with its ethereal vehicle alone4 ---------- 99 ,this is the ,hindu theory of nearly every one of the ,aryan philosophies4--,ed4 ,theos4 ---------- ,always it is the disposition of the soul that determines the quality of its body4 ,however the soul be in itself affected1 says ,porphyry 7translated by ,cudworth71 so does it always find a body suitable and agreeable to its present disposition1 and therefore to the purged soul does naturally accrue a body that comes next to immateriality1 that is1 an ethereal one4 ,and the same author1 ,the soul is never quite naked of all body1 but hath always some body or other joined with it1 suitable and agreeable to its present disposition 7either a purer or impurer one74 ,but that at its first quitting this gross earthly body1 the spirituous body which accompanieth it 7as its vehicle7 must needs go away fouled and incrassated with the vapours and steams thereof1 till the soul afterwards by degrees purging itself1 this becometh at length a dry splendour1 which hath no misty obscurity nor casteth any shadow4 ,here it will be seen1 we lose sight of the specific difference of the two future vehicles--the ethereal is regarded as a sublimation of the aerial4 ,this1 however1 is opposed to the general consensus of ,plato's commentators4 ,sometimes the ethereal body1 or augoeides1 is appropriated to the rational soul1 or spirit1 which must then be considered as a distinct entity1 separable from the lower soul4 ,philoponus1 a ,christian writer1 says1 that the ,rational ,soul1 as to its energie1 is separable from all body1 but the irrational part or life thereof is separable only from this gross body1 and not from all body whatsoever1 but hath after death a spirituous or airy body1 in which it acteth--this ,i say is a true opinion which shall afterwards be proved by us4444 ,the irrational life of the soul hath not all its being in this gross earthly body1 but remaineth after the soul's departure out of it1 having for its vehicle and subject the spirituous body1 which itself is also compounded out of the four elements1 but receiveth its denomination from the predominant part1 to wit1 ,air1 as this gross body of ours is called earthy from what is most predominant therein4--,cudworth1 ,intell4 ,syst4 ,from the same source we extract the following3 ,wherefore these ancients say that impure souls after their departure out of this body wander here up and down for a certain space in their spirituous vaporous and airy body1 appearing about sepulchres and haunting their former habitation4 ,for which cause there is great reason that we should take care of living well1 as also of abstaining from a fouler and grosser diet2 these ,ancients telling us likewise that this spirituous body of ours being fouled and incrassated by evil diet1 is apt to render the soul in this life also more obnoxious to the disturbances of passions4 ,they further add that there is something of the ,plantal or ,plastic life1 also exercised by the soul1 in those spirituous or airy bodies after death2 they being nourished too1 though not after the same manner1 as those gross earthy bodies of ours are here1 but by vapours1 and that not by parts or organs1 but throughout the whole of them 7as sponges71 they imbibing everywhere those vapours4 ,for which cause they who are wise will in this life also take care of using a thinner and dryer diet1 that so that spirituous body 7which we have also at this present time within our proper body7 may not be clogged and incrassed1 but attenuated4 ,over and above which1 those ,ancients made use of catharms1 or purgations to the same end and purpose also4 ,for as this earthy body is washed by water so is that spirituous body cleansed by cathartic vapours--some of these vapours being nutritive1 others purgative4 ,moreover1 these ,ancients further declared concerning this spirituous body that it was not organized1 but did the whole of it in every part throughout exercise all functions of sense1 the soul hearing1 seeing and perceiving all sensibles by it everywhere4 ,for which cause ,aristotle himself affirmeth in his ,metaphysics that there is properly but one sense and one ,sensory4 ,he by this one sensory meaneth the spirit1 or subtle airy body1 in which the sensitive power doth all of it through the whole immediately apprehend all variety of sensibles4 ,and if it be demanded to how it comes to pass that this spirit becomes organized in sepulchres1 and most commonly of human form1 but sometimes in the forms of other animals1 to this those ,ancients replied that their appearing so frequently in human form proceeded from their being incrassated with evil diet1 and then1 as it were1 stamped upon with the form of this exterior ambient body in which they are1 as crystal is formed and coloured like to those things which it is fastened in1 or reflects the image of them4 ,and that their having sometimes other different forms proceedeth from the phantastic power of the soul itself1 which can at pleasure transform the spirituous body into any shape4 ,for being airy1 when it is condensed and fixed1 it becometh visible1 and again invisible and vanishing out of sight when it is expanded and rarified4 ,proem in ,arist4 de ,anima4 ,and ,cudworth says1 ,though spirits or ghosts had certain supple bodies which they could so far condense as to make them sometimes visible to men1 yet is it reasonable enough to think that they could not constipate or fix them into such a firmness1 grossness and solidity1 as that of flesh and bone is to continue therein1 or at least not without such difficulty and pain as would hinder them from attempting the same4 ,notwithstanding which it is not denied that they may possibly sometimes make use of other solid bodies1 moving and acting them1 as in that famous story of ,phlegons when the body vanished not as other ghosts use to do1 but was left a dead carcase behind4 ,in all these speculations the ,anima ,mundi plays a conspicuous part4 ,it is the source and principle of all animal souls1 including the irrational soul of man4 ,but in man1 who would otherwise be merely analogous to other terrestrial animals--this soul participates in a higher principle1 which tends to raise and convert it to itself4 ,to comprehend the nature of this union or hypostasis it would be necessary to have mastered the whole of ,plato's philosophy as comprised in the ,parmenides and the ,timaeus2 and he would dogmatize rashly who without this arduous preparation should claim ,plato as the champion of an unconditional immortality4 ,certainly in the ,phaedo the dialogue popularly supposed to contain all ,plato's teaching on the subject--the immortality allotted to the impure soul is of a very questionable character1 and we should rather infer from the account there given that the human personality1 at all events1 is lost by successive immersions into matter4 ,the following passage from ,plutarch 7quoted by ,madame ,blavatsky1 ,isis ,unveiled1 vol4 ii4 p4 #bhd7 will at least demonstrate the antiquity of notions which have recently been mistaken for fanciful novelties4 ,every soul hath some portion of nous1 reason1 a man cannot be a man without it2 but as much of each soul as is mixed with flesh and appetite is changed1 and through pain and pleasure becomes irrational4 ,every soul doth not mix herself after one sort2 some plunge themselves into the body1 and so in this life their whole frame is corrupted by appetite and passion2 others are mixed as to some part1 but the purer part still remains without the body4 ,it is not drawn down into the body1 but it swims above1 and touches the extremest part of the man's head2 it is like a cord to hold up and direct the subsiding part of the soul1 as long as it proves obedient and is not overcome by the appetites of the flesh4 ,the part that is plunged into the body is called soul4 ,but the incorruptible part is called the nous1 and the vulgar think it is within them1 as they likewise imagine the image reflected from a glass to be in that glass4 ,but the more intelligent1 who know it to be without1 call it a ,daemon4 ,and in the same learned work 7,isis ,unveiled 7 we have two ,christian authorities1 ,irenaeus and ,origen1 cited for like distinction between spirit and soul in such a manner as to show that the former must necessarily be regarded as separable from the latter4 ,in the distinction itself there is of course no novelty for the most moderately well-informed4 ,it is insisted upon in many modern works1 among which may be mentioned ,heard's ,trichotomy of ,man and ,green's ,spiritual ,philosophy2 the latter being an exposition of ,coleridge's opinion on this and cognate subjects4 ,but the difficulty of regarding the two principles as separable in fact as well as in logic arises from the senses1 if it is not the illusion of personal identity4 ,that we are particle1 and that one part only is immortal1 the non-metaphysical mind rejects with the indignation which is always encountered by a proposition that is at once distasteful and unintelligible4 ,yet perhaps it is not a greater difficulty 7if1 indeed1 it is not the very same7 than that hard saying which troubled ,nicodemus1 and which has been the key-note of the mystical religious consciousness ever since4 ,this1 however1 is too extensive and deep a question to be treated in this paper1 which has for its object chiefly to call attention to the distinctions introduced by ancient thought into the conception of body as the instrument or vehicle of soul4 ,that there is a correspondence between the spiritual condition of man and the medium of his objective activity every spiritualist will admit to be probable1 and it may well be that some light is thrown on future states by the possibility or the manner of spirit communication with this one4 --,c4 ,c4 ,massey ,the ,nilgiri ,sannyasis ,i was told that ,sannyasis were sometimes met with on a mountain called ,velly ,mallai ,hills1 in the ,coimbatore ,district1 and trying to meet with one1 ,i determined to ascend this mountain4 ,i traveled up its steep sides and arrived at an opening1 narrow and low1 into which ,i crept on all fours4 ,going up some twenty yards ,i reached a cave1 into the opening of which ,i thrust my head and shoulders4 ,i could see into it clearly1 but felt a cold wind on my face1 as if there was some opening or crevice--so ,i looked carefully1 but could see nothing4 ,the room was about twelve feet square4 ,i did not go into it4 ,i saw arranged round its sides stones one cubit long1 all placed upright4 ,i was much disappointed at there being no ,sannyasi1 and came back as ,i went1 pushing myself backwards as there was no room to turn4 ,i was then told ,sannyasis had been met with in the dense sholas 7thickets71 and as my work lay often in such places1 ,i determined to prosecute my search1 and did so diligently1 without1 however1 any success4 ,one day ,i contemplated a journey to ,coimbatore on my own affairs1 and was walking up the road trying to make a bargain with a handy man whom ,i desired to engage to carry me there2 but as we could not come to terms1 ,i parted with him and turned into the ,lovedale ,road at #f ,p4,m4 ,i had not gone far when ,i met a man dressed like a ,sannyasi1 who stopped and spoke to me4 ,he observed a ring on my finger and asked me to give it to him4 ,i said he was welcome to it1 but inquired what he would give me in return1 he said1 ,i don't care particularly about it2 ,i would rather have that flour and sugar in the bundle on your back4 ,i will give you that with pleasure1 ,i said1 and took down my bundle and gave it to him4 ,half is enough for me1 he said2 but subsequently changing his mind added1 now let me see what is in your bundle1 pointing to my other parcel4 ,i can't give you that4 ,he said1 ,why cannot you give me your swami 7family idol78 ,i said1 ,it is my swami1 ,i will not part with it2 rather take my life4 ,on this he pressed me no more1 but said1 ,now you had better go home4 ,i said1 ,i will not leave you4 ,oh you must1 he said1 you will die here of hunger4 ,never mind1 ,i said1 ,i can but die once4 ,you have no clothes to protect you from the wind and rain2 you may meet with tigers1 he said4 ,i don't care1 ,i replied4 ,it is given to man once to die4 ,what does it signify how he dies8 ,when ,i said this he took my hand and embraced me1 and immediately ,i became unconscious4 ,when ,i returned to consciousness1 ,i found myself with the ,sannyasi in a place new to me on a hill1 near a large rock and with a big shola near4 ,i saw in the shola right in front of us1 that there was a pillar of fire1 like a tree almost4 ,i asked the ,sannyasi what was that like a high fire4 ,oh1 he said1 most likely a tree ignited by some careless wood-cutters4 ,no1 ,i said1 it is not like any common fire--there is no smoke1 nor are there flames--and it's not lurid and red4 ,i want to go and see it4 ,no1 you must not do so1 you cannot go near that fire and escape alive4 ,come with me then1 ,i begged4 ,no--,i cannot1 he said1 if you wish to approach it1 you must go alone and at your own risk2 that tree is the tree of knowledge and from it flows the milk of life3 whoever drinks this never hungers again4 ,thereupon ,i regarded the tree with awe4 ,i next observed five ,sannyasis approaching4 ,they came up and joined the one with me1 entered into talk1 and finally pulled out a hookah and began to smoke4 ,they asked me if ,i could smoke4 ,i said no4 ,one of them said to me1 let us see the swami in your bundle 7here gives a description of the same74 ,i said1 ,i cannot1 ,i am not clean enough to do so4 ,why not perform your ablutions in yonder stream8 they said4 ,if you sprinkle water on your forehead that will suffice4 ,i went to wash my hands and feet1 and laved my head1 and showed it to them4 ,next they disappeared4 ,as it is very late1 it is time you returned home1 said my first friend4 ,no1 ,i said1 now ,i have found you ,i will not leave you4 ,no1 no1 he said1 you must go home4 ,you cannot leave the world yet2 you are a father and a husband1 and you must not neglect your worldly duties4 ,follow the footsteps of your late respected uncle2 he did not neglect his worldly affairs1 though he cared for the interests of his soul2 you must go1 but ,i will meet you again when you get your fortnightly holiday4 ,on this he embraced me1 and ,i again became unconscious4 ,when ,i returned to myself1 ,i found myself at the bottom of ,col4 ,jones' ,coffee ,plantation above ,coonor on a path4 ,here the ,sannyasi wished me farewell1 and pointing to the high road below1 he said1 ,now you will know your way home2 but ,i would not part from him4 ,i said1 ,all this will appear a dream to me unless you will fix a day and promise to meet me here again4 ,i promise1 he said4 ,no1 promise me by an oath on the head of my idol4 ,again he promised1 and touched the head of my idol4 ,be here1 he said1 this day fortnight4 ,when the day came ,i anxiously kept my engagement and went and sat on the stone on the path4 ,i waited a long time in vain4 ,at last ,i said to myself1 ,i am deceived1 he is not coming1 he has broken his oath--and with grief ,i made a poojah4 ,hardly had these thoughts passed my mind1 than lo6 he stood beside me4 ,ah1 you doubt me1 he said2 why this grief4 ,i fell at his feet and confessed ,i had doubted him and begged his forgiveness4 ,he forgave and comforted me1 and told me to keep in my good ways and he would always help me2 and he told me and advised me about all my private affairs without my telling him one word1 and he also gave me some medicines for a sick friend which ,i had promised to ask for but had forgotten4 ,this medicine was given to my friend and he is perfectly well now4 ,a verbatim translation of a ,settlement ,officer's statement to --,e4,h4 ,morgan ,witchcraft on the ,nilgiris ,having lived many years 7#cj7 on the ,nilgiris1 employing the various tribes of the ,hills on my estates1 and speaking their languages1 ,i have had many opportunities of observing their manners and customs and the frequent practice of ,demonology and ,witchcraft among them4 ,on the slopes of the ,nilgiris live several semi-wild people3 #ast1 the ,curumbers1 who frequently hire themselves out to neighbouring estates1 and are first-rate fellers of forest2 #bnd1 the ,tain 7,honey ,curumbers71 who collect and live largely on honey and roots1 and who do not come into civilized parts2 #crd1 the ,mulu ,curumbers1 who are rare on the slopes of the hills1 but common in ,wynaad lower down the plateau4 ,these use bows and arrows1 are fond of hunting1 and have frequently been known to kill tigers1 rushing in a body on their game and discharging their arrows at a short distance4 ,in their eagerness they frequently fall victims to this animal2 but they are supposed to possess a controlling power over all wild animals1 especially elephants and tigers2 and the natives declare they have the power of assuming the forms of various beasts4 ,their aid is constantly invoked both by the ,curumbers first named1 and by the natives generally1 when wishing to be revenged on an enemy4 ,besides these varieties of ,curumbers there are various other wild tribes ,i do not now mention1 as they are not concerned in what ,i have to relate4 ,i had on my estate near ,ootacamund a gang of young ,badagas1 some #cj young men1 whom ,i had had in my service since they were children1 and who had become most useful handy fellows4 ,from week to week ,i missed one or another of them1 and on inquiry was told they had been sick and were dead6 ,one market-day ,i met the ,moneghar of the village to which my gang belonged and some of his men1 returning home laden with their purchases4 ,the moment he saw me he stopped1 and coming up to me1 said1 ,mother1 ,i am in great sorrow and trouble1 tell me what ,i can do6 ,why1 what is wrong8 ,i asked4 ,all my young men are dying1 and ,i cannot help them1 nor prevent it2 they are under a spell of the wicked ,curumbers who are killing them1 and ,i am powerless4 ,pray explain1 ,i said2 why do the ,curumbers behave in this way1 and what do they do to your people8 ,oh1 ,madam1 they are vile extortioners1 always asking for money2 we have given and given till we have no more to give4 ,i told them we had no more money and then they said1--,all right--as you please2 we shall see4 ,surely as they say this1 we know what will follow--at night when we are all asleep1 we wake up suddenly and see a ,curumber standing in our midst1 in the middle of the room occupied by the young men4 ,why do you not close and bolt your doors securely8 ,i interrupted4 ,what is the use of bolts and bars to them8 they come through stone walls4444 ,our doors were secure1 but nothing can keep out a ,curumber4 ,he points his finger at ,mada1 at ,kurira1 at ,jogie--he utters no word1 and as we look at him he vanishes6 ,in a few days these three young men sicken1 a low fever consumes them1 their stomachs swell1 they die4 ,eighteen young men1 the flower of my village1 have died thus this year4 ,these effects always follow the visit of a ,curumber at night4 ,why not complain to the ,government8 ,i said4 ,ah1 no use1 who will catch them8 ,then give them the #bjj rupees they ask this once on a solemn promise that they exact no more ,i suppose we must find the money somewhere1 he said1 turning sorrowfully away4 ,a ,mr4 ,k---is the owner of a coffee estate near this1 and like many other planters employs ,burghers4 ,on one occasion he went down the slopes of the hills after bison and other large game1 taking some seven or eight ,burghers with him as gun carriers 7besides other things necessary in jungle-walking--axes to clear the way1 knives and ropes1 c474 ,he found and severely wounded a fine elephant with tusks4 ,wishing to secure these1 he proposed following up his quarry1 but could not induce his ,burghers to go deeper and further into the forests2 they feared to meet the ,mula ,curumbers who lived thereabouts4 ,for long he argued in vain1 at last by dint of threats and promises he induced them to proceed1 and as they met no one1 their fears were allayed and they grew bolder1 when suddenly coming on the elephant lying dead 7oh1 horror to them671 the beast was surrounded by a party of ,mulu ,curumbers busily engaged in cutting out the tusks1 one of which they had already disengaged6 ,the affrighted ,burghers fell back1 and nothing ,mr4 ,k--- could do or say would induce them to approach the elephant1 which the ,curumbers stoutly declared was theirs4 ,they had killed him they said4 ,they had very likely met him staggering under his wound and had finished him off4 ,mr4 ,k---was not likely to give up his game in this fashion4 ,so walking threateningly to the ,curumbers he compelled them to retire1 and called to his ,burghers at the same time4 ,the ,curumbers only said1 ,just you ,,dare to touch that elephant1 and retired4 ,mr4 ,k---thereupon cut out the remaining tusk himself1 and slinging both on a pole with no little trouble1 made his men carry them4 ,he took all the blame on himself1 showed them that they did not touch them1 and finally declared he would stay there all night rather than lose the tusks4 ,the idea of a night near the ,mulu ,curumbers was too much for the fears of the ,burghers1 and they finally took up the pole and tusks and walked home4 ,from that day those men1 all but one who probably carried the gun1 sickened1 walked about like spectres1 doomed1 pale and ghastly1 and before the month was out all were dead men1 with the one exception6 ,a few months ago1 at the village of ,ebanaud1 a few miles from this1 a fearful tragedy was enacted4 ,the ,moneghar or headman's child was sick unto death4 ,this1 following on several recent deaths1 was attributed to the evil influences of a village of ,curumbers hard by4 ,the ,burghers determined on the destruction of every soul of them4 ,they procured the assistance of a ,toda1 as they invariably do on such occasions1 as without one the ,curumbers are supposed to be invulnerable4 ,they proceeded to the ,curumber village at night and set their huts on fire1 and as the miserable inmates attempted to escape1 flung them back into the flames or knocked them down with clubs4 ,in the confusion one old woman escaped unobserved into the adjacent bushes4 ,next morning she gave notice to the authorities1 and identified seven ,burghers1 among whom was the ,moneghar or headman1 and one ,toda4 ,as the murderers of her people they were all brought to trial in the ,courts here1--except the headman1 who died before he could be brought in--and were all sentenced and duly executed1 that is1 three ,burghers and the ,toda1 who were proved principals in the murders4 ,two years ago an almost identical occurrence took place at ,kotaghery1 with exactly similar results1 but without the punishment entailed having any deterrent effect4 ,they pleaded justification1 as witchcraft had been practiced on them4 ,but our ,government ignores all occult dealings and will not believe in the dread power in the land4 ,they deal very differently with these matters in ,russia1 where1 in a recent trial of a similar nature1 the witchcraft was admitted as an extenuating circumstance and the culprits who had burnt a witch were all acquitted4 ,all natives of whatever caste are well aware of these terrible powers and too often do they avail themselves of them--much oftener than any one has an idea of4 ,one day as ,i was riding along ,i came upon a strange and ghastly object--a basket containing the bloody head of a black sheep1 a cocoanut1 #aj rupees in money1 some rice and flowers4 ,these smaller items ,i did not see1 not caring to examine any closer2 but ,i was told by some natives that those articles were to be found in the basket4 ,the basket was placed at the apex of a triangle formed by three fine threads tied to three small sticks1 so placed that any one approaching from the roads on either side had to stumble over the threads and receive the full effects of the deadly ,soonium as the natives call it4 ,on inquiry ,i learnt that it was usual to prepare such a ,soonium when one lay sick unto death2 as throwing it on another was the only means of rescuing the sick one1 and woe to the unfortunate who broke a thread by stumbling over it6 --,e4,h4 ,morgan ,shamanism and ,witchcraft ,amongst the ,kolarian ,tribes ,having resided for some years amongst the ,mimdas and ,hos of ,singbhoom1 and ,chutia ,nagpur1 my attention was drawn at times to customs differing a good deal in some ways1 but having an evident affinity to those related of the ,nilghiri ,curumbers in ,mrs4 ,morgan's article4 ,i do not mean to say that the practices ,i am about to mention are confined simply to the ,kolarian tribes1 as ,i am aware both ,oraons 7a ,dravidian tribe71 and the different ,hindu castes living side by side with the ,kols1 count many noted wizards among their number2 but what little ,i have come to know of these curious customs1 ,i have learnt among the ,mimdas and ,hos1 some of the most celebrated practitioners among them being ,christian converts4 ,the people themselves say1 that these practices are peculiar to their race1 and not learnt from the ,hindu invaders of their plateau2 but ,i am inclined to think that some1 at least1 of the operations have a strong savour of the ,tantric black magic about them1 though practiced by people who are often entirely ignorant of any ,hindu language4 ,these remarks must he supplemented by a short sketch of ,kol ideas of worship4 ,they have nothing that ,i have either seen or heard of in the shape of an image1 but their periodical offerings are made to a number of elemental spirits1 and they assign a genie to every rock or tree in the country1 whom they do not consider altogether malignant1 but who1 if not duly fed or propitiated1 may become so4 ,the ,singbonga 7lit41 sun or light spirit7 is the chief2 ,buru ,bonga 7spirit of the hills71 and the ,ikhir ,bonga 7spirit of the deep71 come next4 ,after these come the ,darha1 of which each family has its own1 and they may be considered in the same light as ,lares and ,penates4 ,but every threshing1 flour and oil mill1 has its spirit1 who must be duly fed1 else evil result may be expected4 ,their great festival 7the ,karam7 is in honour of ,singbonga and his assistants2 the opening words of the priests' speech on that occasion1 sufficiently indicate that they consider ,singbonga1 the creator of men and things4 ,munure ,singbonga manokoa luekidkoa 7,in the beginning ,singbonga made men74 ,each village has its ,sarna or sacred grove1 where the hereditary priest from time to time performs sacrifices1 to keep things prosperous2 but this only relates to spirits actually connected with the village1 the three greater spirits mentioned1 being considered general1 are only fed at intervals of three or more years1 and always on a public road or other public place1 and once every ten years a human being was 7and as some will tell you is sacrificed to keep the whole community of spirits in good train47 ,the ,pahans1 or village priests1 are regular servants of the spirits1 and the najo1 deona and bhagats are people who in some way are supposed to obtain an influence or command over them4 ,the first and lowest grade of these adepts1 called najos 7which may be translated as practitioners of witchcraft pure and simple71 are frequently women4 ,they are accused1 like the ,mula ,curumbers1 of demanding quantities of grain or loans of money1 c41 from people1 and when these demands are refused1 they go away with a remark to the effect1 that you have lots of cattle and grain just now1 but we'll see what they are like after a month or two4 ,then probably the cattle of the bewitched person will get some disease1 and several of them die1 or some person of his family will become ill or get hurt in some unaccountable way4 ,till at last1 thoroughly frightened1 the afflicted person takes a little uncooked rice and goes to a deona or mati 7as he is called in the different vernaculars of the province7--the grade immediately above najo in knowledge--and promising him a reward if he will assist him1 requests his aid2 if the deona accedes to the request1 the proceedings are as follows4 ,the deona taking the oil brought1 lights a small lamp and seats himself beside it with the rice in a surpa 7winnower7 in his hands4 ,after looking intently at the lamp flame for a few minutes1 he begins to sing a sort of chant of invocation in which all the spirits are named1 and at the name of each spirit a few grains of rice are thrown into the lamp4 ,when the flame at any particular name gives a jump and flares up high1 the spirit concerned in the mischief is indicated4 ,then the deona takes a small portion of the rice wrapped up in a sal 7,shorea robusta7 leaf and proceeds to the nearest new white-ant nest from which he cuts the top off and lays the little bundle1 half in and half out of the cavity4 ,having retired1 he returns in about an hour to see if the rice is consumed1 and according to the rapidity with which it is eaten he predicts the sacrifice which will appease the spirit4 ,this ranges from a fowl to a buffalo1 but whatever it may include1 the pouring out of blood is an essential4 ,it must be noted1 however1 that the mati never tells who the najo is who has excited the malignity of the spirit4 ,but the most important and lucrative part of a deona's business is the casting out of evil spirits1 which operation is known variously as ashab and langhan4 ,the sign of obsession is generally some mental alienation accompanied 7in bad cases7 by a combined trembling and restlessness of limbs1 or an unaccountable swelling up of the body4 ,whatever the symptoms may be the mode of cure appears to be much the same4 ,on such symptoms declaring themselves1 the deona is brought to the house and is in the presence of the sick man and his friends provided with some rice in a surpa1 some oil1 a little vermilion1 and the deona produces from his own person a little powdered sulphur and an iron tube about four inches long and two tikli499 ,before the proceedings begin all the things mentioned are touched with vermilion1 a small quantity of which is also mixed with the rice4 ,three or four grains of rice and one of the tikli being put into the tube1 a lamp is then lighted beside the sick man and the deona begins his chant1 throwing grains of rice at each name1 and when the flame flares up1 a little of the powdered sulphur is thrown into the lamp and a little on the sick man1 who thereupon becomes convulsed1 is shaken all over and talks deliriously1 the deona's chant growing louder all the while4 ,suddenly the convulsions and the chant cease1 and the deona carefully takes up a little of the sulphur off the man's body and puts into the tube1 which he then seals with the second tikli4 ,the deona and one of the man's friends then leave the hut1 taking the iron tube and rice with them1 the spirit being now supposed out of the man and bottled up in the iron tube4 ,they hurry across country until they leave the hut some miles behind4 ,then they go to the edge of some tank or river1 to some place they know to be frequented by people for the purposes of bathing1 c41 where1 after some further ceremony1 the iron is stuck into the ground and left there4 ,this is done with the benevolent intention that the spirit may transfer its attentions to the unfortunate person who may happen to touch it while bathing4 ,i am told the spirit in this case usually chooses a young and healthy person4 ,should the deona think the spirit has not been able to suit itself with a new receptacle1 he repairs to where a bazaar is taking place and there 7after some ceremony7 he mixes with the crowd1 and taking a grain of the reddened rice jerks it with his forefinger and thumb in such a way that without attracting attention it falls on the person or clothes of some4 ,this is done several times to make certain4 ,then the deona declares he has done his work1 and is usually treated to the best dinner the sick man's friends can afford4 ,it is said that the person to whom the spirit by either of these methods is transferred may not be affected for weeks or even months4 ,but some fine day while he is at his work1 he will suddenly stop1 wheel round two or three times on his heels and fall down more or less convulsed1 from that time forward he will begin to be troubled in the same way as his dis-obsessed predecessor was4 -------- 99 ,tikli is a circular piece of gilt paper which is stuck on between the eyebrows of the women of the ,province as ornament4 -------- ,having thus given some account of the deona1 we now come to the bhagat1 called by the ,hindus sokha and sivnath4 ,this is the highest grade of all1 and1 as ,i ought to have mentioned before1 the 'ilm 7knowledge7 of both the deona and bhagat grades is only to be learned by becoming a regular chela of a practitioner2 but ,i am given to understand that the final initiation is much hastened by a seasonable liberality on the part of the chela4 ,during the initiation of the sokha certain ceremonies are performed at night by aid of a human corpse1 this is one of the things which has led me to think that this part at least of these practices is connected with ,tantric black magic4 ,the bhagat performs two distinct functions3 7#ast71 a kind of divination called bhao 7the same in ,hindi71 and 7#bnd71 a kind of ,shamanism called darasta in ,hindi1 and bharotan in ,horokaji1 which1 however1 is resorted to only on very grave occasions--as1 for instance1 when several families think they are bewitched at one time and by the same najo4 ,the bhao is performed as follows3--,the person having some query to propound1 makes a small dish out of a sal leaf and puts in it a little uncooked rice and a few pice2 he then proceeds to the bhagat and lays before him the leaf and its contents1 propounding at the same time his query4 ,the bhagat then directs him to go out and gather two golaichi 7varieties of ,posinia7 flowers 7such practitioners usually having a golaichi tree close to their abodes72 after the flowers are brought the bhagat seats himself with the rice close to the inquirer1 and after some consideration selects one of the flowers1 and holding it by the stalk at about a foot from his eyes in his left hand twirls it between his thumb and fingers1 occasionally with his right hand dropping on it a grain or two of rice499 ,in a few minutes his eyes close and he begins to talk-- usually about things having nothing to do with the question in hand1 but after a few minutes of this1 he suddenly yells out an answer to the question1 and without another word retires4 ,the inquirer takes his meaning as he can from the answer1 which1 ,i believe1 is always ambiguous4 --------- 99 ,this is the process by which the bhagat mesmerizes himself4 --------- ,the bharotan as ,i have above remarked is only resorted to when a matter of grave import has to be inquired about2 the bhagat makes a high charge for a seance of this description4 ,we will fancy that three or four families in a village consider themselves bewitched by a najo1 and they resolve to have recourse to a bhagat to find out who the witch is2 with this view a day is fixed on1 and two delegates are procured from each of five neighbouring villages1 who accompany the afflicted people to the house of the bhagat1 taking with them a dali or offering1 consisting of vegetables1 which on arrival is formally presented to him4 ,two delegates are posted at each of the four points of the compass1 and the other two sent themselves with the afflicted parties to the right of the bhagat1 who occupies the centre of the apartment with four or five chelas1 a clear space being reserved on the left4 ,one chela then brings a small earthenware-pot full of lighted charcoal1 which is set before the bhagat with a pile of mango wood chips and a ball composed of dhunia 7resin of ,shorea robusta71 gur 7treacle71 and ghee 7clarified butter71 and possibly other ingredients4 ,the bhagat's sole attire consists of a scanty lenguti 7waist-cloth71 a necklace of the large wooden beads such as are usually worn by fakeers1 and several garlands of golaichi flowers round his neck1 his hair being unusually long and matted4 ,beside him stuck in the ground is his staff4 ,one chela stands over the firepot with a bamboo-mat fan in his hand1 another takes charge of the pile of chips1 and a third of the ball of composition1 and one or two others seat themselves behind the bhagat1 with drums and other musical instruments in their hands4 ,all being in readiness1 the afflicted ones are requested to state their grievance4 ,this they do1 and pray the bhagat to call before him the najo1 who has stirred up the spirits to afflict them1 in order that he may be punished4 ,the bhagat then gives a sign to his chelas1 those behind him raise a furious din with their instruments1 the fire is fed with chips1 and a bit of the composition is put on it from time to time1 producing a volume of thick greyish-blue smoke2 this is carefully fanned over1 and towards the bhagat1 who1 when well wrapped in smoke1 closes his eyes and quietly swaying his body begins a low chant4 ,the chant gradually becomes louder and the sway of his body more pronounced1 until he works himself into a state of complete frenzy4 ,then with his body actually quivering1 and his head rapidly working about from side to side1 he sings in a loud voice how a certain najo 7whom he names7 had asked money of those people and was refused1 and how he stirred up certain spirits 7whom he also names7 to hurt them1 how they killed so and so's bullocks1 some one else's sheep1 and caused another's child to fall ill4 ,then he begins to call on the najo to come and answer for his doings1 and in doing so rises to his feet--still commanding the najo to appear2 meanwhile he reels about2 then falls on the ground and is quite still except for an occasional whine1 and a muttered1 ,i see him6 ,he is coming6 ,this state may last for an hour or more till at last the bhagat sits up and announces the najo has come2 as he says so1 a man1 apparently mad with drink1 rushes in and falls with his head towards the bhagat moaning and making a sort of snorting as if half stifled4 ,in this person the bewitched parties often recognize a neighbour and sometimes even a relation1 but whoever he may be they have bound themselves to punish him4 ,the bhagat then speaks to him and tells him to confess1 at the same time threatening him1 in case of refusal1 with his staff4 ,he then confesses in a half-stupefied manner1 and his confession tallies with what the bhagat has told in his frenzy4 ,the najo is then dismissed and runs out of the house in the same hurry as he came in4 ,the delegates then hold a council at which the najo usually is sentenced to a fine--often heavy enough to ruin him--and expelled from his village4 ,before the ,british rule the convicted najo seldom escaped with his life1 and during the mutiny time1 when no ,englishmen were about1 the ,singbhoom ,hos paid off a large number of old scores of this sort4 ,for record of which1 see ,statistical ,account of ,bengal1 vol4 xvii4 p4 #eb4 ,in conclusion ,i have merely to add that ,i have derived this information from people who have been actually concerned in these occurrences1 and among others a man belonging to a village of my own1 who was convicted and expelled from the village with the loss of all his movable property1 and one of his victims1 a relation of his1 sat by me when the above was being written4 --,e4,d4 ,ewen ,mahatmas and ,chelas ,a ,mahatma is an individual who1 by special training and education1 has evolved those higher faculties1 and has attained that spiritual knowledge1 which ordinary humanity will acquire after passing through numberless series of re-incarnations during the process of cosmic evolution1 provided1 of course1 that they do not go1 in the meanwhile1 against the purposes of ,nature and thus bring on their own annihilation4 ,this process of the self-evolution of the ,,mahatma extends over a number of incarnations1 although1 comparatively speaking1 they are very few4 ,now1 what is it that incarnates8 ,the occult doctrine1 so far as it is given out1 shows that the first three principles die more or less with what is called the physical death4 ,the fourth principle1 together with the lower portions of the fifth1 in which reside the animal propensities1 has ,kama ,loka for its abode1 where it suffers the throes of disintegration in proportion to the intensity of those lower desires2 while it is the higher ,manas1 the pure man1 which is associated with the sixth and seventh principles1 that goes into ,devachan to enjoy there the effects of its good ,karma1 and then to be reincarnated as a higher personality4 ,now an entity that is passing through the occult training in its successive births1 gradually has less and less 7in each incarnation7 of that lower ,manas until there arrives a time when its whole ,manas1 being of an entirely elevated character1 is centred in the individuality1 when such a person may be said to have become a ,,mahatma4 ,at the time of his physical death1 all the lower four principles perish without any suffering1 for these are1 in fact1 to him like a piece of wearing apparel which he puts on and off at will4 ,the real ,,mahatma is then not his physical body but that higher ,manas which is inseparably linked to the ,atma and its vehicle 7the sixth principle7--a union effected by him in a comparatively very short period by passing through the process of self-evolution laid down by ,occult ,philosophy4 ,when therefore1 people express a desire to see a ,,mahatma1 they really do not seem to understand what it is they ask for4 ,how can they1 with their physical eyes1 hope to see that which transcends that sight8 ,is it the body--a mere shell or mask--they crave or hunt after8 ,and supposing they see the body of a ,,mahatma1 how can they know that behind that mask is concealed an exalted entity8 ,by what standard are they to judge whether the ,maya before them reflects the image of a true ,,mahatma or not8 ,and who will say that the physical is not a ,maya8 ,higher things can be perceived only by a sense pertaining to those higher things2 whoever therefore wants to see the real ,,mahatma1 must use his intellectual sight4 ,he must so elevate his ,manas that its perception will be clear and all mists created by ,maya be dispelled4 ,his vision will then be bright and he will see the ,,mahatma wherever he may be1 for1 being merged into the sixth and the seventh principles1 which know no distance1 the ,,mahatma may be said to be everywhere4 ,but1 at the same time1 just as we may be standing on a mountain top and have within our sight the whole plain1 and yet not be cognizant of any particular tree or spot1 because from that elevated position all below is nearly identical1 and as our attention may be drawn to something which may be dissimilar to its surroundings--in the same manner1 although the whole of humanity is within the mental vision of the ,,mahatma1 he cannot be expected to take special note of every human being1 unless that being by his special acts draws particular attention to himself4 ,the highest interest of humanity1 as a whole1 is the ,,mahatma's special concern1 for he has identified himself with that ,universal ,soul which runs through ,humanity2 and to draw his attention one must do so through that ,soul4 ,this perception of the ,manas may be called faith which should not be confounded with blind belief4 ,blind faith is an expression sometimes used to indicate belief without perception or understanding2 while the true perception of the ,manas is that enlightened belief which is the real meaning of the word faith4 ,this belief should at the same time be accompanied by knowledge1 i4e41 experience1 for true knowledge brings with it faith4 ,faith is the perception of the ,manas 7the fifth principle71 while knowledge1 in the true sense of the term1 is the capacity of the ,intellect1 i4e41 it is spiritual perception4 ,in short1 the individuality of man1 composed of his higher ,manas1 the sixth and the seventh principle1 should work as a unity1 and then only can it obtain divine wisdom1 for divine things can be sensed only by divine faculties4 ,thus a chela should be actuated solely by a desire to understand the operations of the ,law of ,cosmic ,evolution1 so as to be able to work in conscious and harmonious accord with ,nature4 --,anon4 ,the ,brahmanical ,thread ,i4 ,the general term for the investiture of this thread is ,upanayana2 and the invested is called ,upanita1 which signifies brought or drawn near 7to one's ,guru71 i4e41 the thread is the symbol of the wearer's condition4 ,,ii4 ,one of the names of this thread is ,yajna-,sutra4 ,yajna means ,brahma1 or the ,supreme ,spirit1 and ,sutra the thread1 or tie4 ,collectively1 the compound word signifies that which ties a man to his spirit or god4 ,it consists of three yarns twisted into one thread1 and three of such threads formed and knotted into a circle4 ,every ,theosophist knows what a circle signifies and it need not be repeated here4 ,he will easily understand the rest and the relation they have to mystic initiation4 ,the yarns signify the great principle of three in one1 and one in three1 thus3--,the first trinity consists of ,atma which comprises the three attributes of ,manas1 ,buddhi1 and ,ahankara 7the mind1 the intelligence1 and the egotism74 ,the ,manas again1 has the three qualities of ,satva1 ,raja1 and ,tama 7goodness1 foulness1 and darkness74 ,buddhi has the three attributes of ,pratyaksha1 ,upamiti and ,anumiti 7perception1 analogy1 and inference74 ,ahankara also has three attributes1 viz41 ,jnata1 ,jneya1 and ,jnan 7the knower1 the known1 and the knowledge74 ,,iii4 ,another name of the sacred thread is ,tri-dandi4 ,tri means three1 and ,danda1 chastisement1 correction1 or conquest4 ,this reminds the holder of the three great corrections or conquests he has to accomplish4 ,these are3--7#a7 the ,vakya ,sanyama299 7#b7 the ,manas ,sanyama2 and 7#c7 the ,indriya 7or ,deha7 ,sanyama4 ,vakya is speech1 ,manas1 mind1 and ,deha 7literally1 body7 or ,indriya1 is the senses4 ,the three conquests therefore mean the control over one's speech1 thought1 and action4 -------- 99 ,danda and ,sanyama are synonymous terms4--,a4,s4 --------- ,this thread is also the reminder to the man of his secular duties1 and its material varies1 in consequence1 according to the occupation of the wearer4 ,thus1 while the thread of the ,brahmans is made of pure cotton1 that of the ,kshatriyas 7the warriors7 is composed of flax--the bow-string material2 and that of ,vaishyas 7the traders and cattle-breeders71 of wool4 ,from this it is not to be inferred that caste was originally meant to be hereditary4 ,in the ancient times1 it depended on the qualities of the man4 ,irrespective of the caste of his parents1 a man could1 according to his merit or otherwise1 raise or lower himself from one caste to another2 and instances are not wanting in which a man has elevated himself to the position of the highest ,brahman 7such as ,vishvamitra ,rishi1 ,parasara1 ,vyasa1 ,satyakam1 and others7 from the very lowest of the four castes4 ,the sayings of ,yudhishthira on this subject1 in reply to the questions of the great serpent1 in the ,arannya ,parva of the ,maha-,bharata1 and of ,manu1 on the same point1 are well known and need nothing more than bare reference4 ,both ,manu and ,maha-,bharata--the fulcrums of ,hinduism--distinctly affirm that a man can translate himself from one caste to another by his merit1 irrespective of his parentage4 ,the day is fast approaching when the so-called ,brahmans will have to show cause1 before the tribunal of the ,aryan ,rishis1 why they should not be divested of the thread which they do not at all deserve1 but are degrading by misuse4 ,then alone will the people appreciate the privilege of wearing it4 ,there are many examples of the highest distinctive insignia being worn by the unworthy4 ,the aristocracies of ,europe and ,asia teem with such4 --,a4 ,sarman ,reading in a ,sealed ,envelope ,some years ago1 a ,brahman astrologer named ,vencata ,narasimla ,josi1 a native of the village of ,periasamudram in the ,mysore ,provinces1 came to the little town in the ,bellary ,district where ,i was then employed4 ,he was a good ,sanskrit1 ,telugu and ,canarese poet1 and an excellent master of ,vedic rituals2 knew the ,hindu system of astronomy1 and professed to be an astrologer4 ,besides all this1 he possessed the power of reading what was contained in any sealed envelope4 ,the process adopted for this purpose was simply this3--,we wrote whatever we chose on a piece of paper2 enclosed it in one1 two or three envelopes1 each properly gummed and sealed1 and handed the cover to the astrologer4 ,he asked us to name a figure between #a and #i1 and on its being named1 he retired with the envelope to some secluded place for some time2 and then he returned with a paper full of figures1 and another paper containing a copy of what was on the sealed paper--exactly1 letter for letter and word for word4 ,i tried him often and many others did the same2 and we were all satisfied that he was invariably accurate1 and that there was no deception whatsoever in the matter4 ,about this time1 one ,mr4 ,theyagaraja ,mudalyar1 a supervisor in the ,public ,works ,department1 an ,english scholar and a good ,sanskrit and ,telugu poet1 arrived at our place on his periodical tour of inspection4 ,having heard about the aforesaid astrologer1 he wanted to test him in a manner1 most satisfactory to himself4 ,one morning handing to the astrologer a very indifferently gummed envelope1 he said1 ,here1 ,sir1 take this letter home with you and come back to me with your copy in the afternoon4 ,this loose way of closing the envelope1 and the permission given to the astrologer to take it home for several hours1 surprised the ,brahman1 who said1 ,i don't want to go home4 ,seal the cover better1 and give me the use of some room here4 ,i shall be ready with my copy very soon4 ,no1 said the ,mudalyar1 take it as it is1 and come back whenever you like4 ,i have the means of finding out the deception1 if any be practiced4 ,so then the astrologer went with the envelope2 and returned to the ,mudalyar's place in the afternoon4 ,myself and about twenty others were present there by appointment4 ,the astrologer then carefully handed the cover to the ,mudalyar1 desiring him to see if it was all right4 ,don't mind that1 the ,mudalyar answered2 ,i can find out the trick1 if there be any4 ,produce your copy4 ,the astrologer thereupon presented to the ,mudalyar a paper on which four lines were written and stated that this was a copy of the paper enclosed in the ,mudalyar's envelope4 ,those four lines formed a portion of an antiquated poem4 ,the ,mudalyar read the paper once1 then read it over again4 ,extreme satisfaction beamed over his countenance1 and he sat mute for some seconds seemingly in utter astonishment4 ,but soon after1 the expression of his face changing1 he opened the envelope and threw the enclosure down1 jocularly saying to the astrologer1 ,here1 ,sir1 is the original of which you have produced the copy4 ,the paper lay upon the carpet1 and was quite blank6 not a word1 nor a letter on its clean surface4 ,this was a sad disappointment to all his admirers2 but to the astrologer himself1 it was a real thunderbolt4 ,he picked up the paper pensively1 examined it on both sides1 then dashed it on the ground in a fury2 and suddenly arising1 exclaimed1 ,my ,vidya99 is a delusion1 and ,i am a liar6 --------- 99 ,secret knowledge1 magic4 --------- ,the subsequent behaviour of the poor man made us fear lest this great disappointment should drive him to commit some desperate act4 ,in fact he seemed determined to drown himself in the well1 saying that he was dishonoured4 ,while we were trying to console him1 the ,mudalyar came forward1 caught hold of his hands1 and besought him to sit down and calmly listen to his explanation1 assuring him that he was not a liar1 and that his copy was perfectly accurate4 ,but the astrologer would not be satisfied2 he supposed that all this was said simply to console him2 and cursed himself and his fate most horribly4 ,however1 in a few minutes he became calmer and listened to the ,mudalyar's explanation1 which was in substance as follows ,the only way for the sceptic to account for this phenomenon1 is to suppose that the astrologer opened the covers dexterously and read their contents4 ,so1 he said1 ,i wrote four lines of old poetry on the paper with nitrate of silver1 which would be invisible until exposed to the light2 and this would have disclosed the astrologer's fraud1 if he had tried to find out the contents of the enclosed paper1 by opening the cover1 however ingeniously4 ,for1 if he opened it and looked at the paper1 he would have seen that it was blank1 resealed the cover1 and declared that the paper enveloped therein bore no writing whatever2 or if he had1 by design or accident1 exposed the paper to light1 the writing would have become black2 and he would have produced a copy of it as if it were the result of his own ,vidya2 but in either case and the writing remaining1 his deception would have been clear1 and it would have been patent to all that he did open the envelope4 ,but in the present case1 the result proved conclusively that the cover was not opened at all4 --,p4 ,sreeneevas ,row ,the ,twelve ,signs of the ,zodiac ,the division of the ,zodiac into different signs dates from immemorial antiquity4 ,it has acquired a world-wide celebrity and is to be found in the astrological systems of several nations4 ,the invention of the ,zodiac and its signs has been assigned to different nations by different antiquarians4 ,it is stated by some that1 at first1 there were only ten signs1 that one of these signs was subsequently split up into two separate signs1 and that a new sign was added to the number to render the esoteric significance of the division more profound1 and at the same time to conceal it more perfectly from the uninitiated public4 ,it is very probable that the real philosophical conception of the division owes its origin to some particular nation1 and the names given to the various signs might have been translated into the languages of other nations4 ,the principal object of this article1 however1 is not to decide which nation had the honour of inventing the signs in question1 but to indicate to some extent the real philosophical meaning involved therein1 and the way to discover the rest of the meaning which yet remains undisclosed4 ,but from what is herein stated1 an inference may fairly be drawn that1 like so many other philosophical myths and allegories1 the invention of the ,zodiac and its signs owes its origin to ancient ,india4 ,what then is its real origin1 what is the philosophical conception which the ,zodiac and its signs are intended to represent8 ,do the various signs merely indicate the shape or configuration of the different constellations included in the divisions1 or1 are they simply masks designed to veil some hidden meaning8 ,the former supposition is altogether untenable for two reasons1 viz43-- ,i4 ,the ,hindus were acquainted with the precession of the equinoxes1 as may he easily seen from their work on ,astronomy1 and from the almanacs published by ,hindu astronomers4 ,consequently they were fully aware of the fact that the constellations in the various ,zodiacal divisions were not fixed4 ,they could not1 therefore1 have assigned particular shapes to these shifting groups of fixed stars with reference to the divisions of the ,zodiac4 ,but the names indicating the ,zodiacal signs have all along remained unaltered4 ,it is to be inferred1 therefore1 that the names given to the various signs have no connection whatever with the configurations of the constellations included in them4 ,,ii4 ,the names assigned to these signs by the ancient ,sanskrit writers and their exoteric or literal meanings are as follows3-- ,the ,names of the ,signs 4444444 ,their ,exoteric or ,literal ,meanings #a4 ,mesha 444444444444444444444444444 ,ram1 or ,aries4 #b4 ,rishabha 44444444444444444444444,bull1 or ,taurus4 #c4 ,mithunam 4444444444444444444 ,twins1 or ,gemini 7male and female74 #d4 ,karkataka 4444444444444444444444 ,crab1 or ,cancer4 #e4 ,simha 444444444444444444444444444444 ,lion1 or ,leo4 #f4 ,kanya 44444444444444444444444444444 ,virgin or ,virgo499 #g4 ,tula 44444444444444444444444444 ,balance1 or ,libra4 #h4 ,vrischika 444444444444444444444 ,scorpion1 or ,scorpio4 #i4 ,dhanus 44444444444444444444444 ,archer1 or ,sagittarius4 #aj4 ,makara 44444444444 ,the ,goat1 or ,capricornus 7,crocodile1 in ,sanskrit74 #aa4 ,kumbha 444444444444444444 ,water-bearer1 or ,aquarius4 #ab4 ,meenam 44444444444444444 ,fishes1 or ,pisces4 ,the figures of the constellations included in the signs at the time the division was first made do not at all resemble the shapes of the animals1 reptiles and other objects denoted by the names given them4 ,the truth of this assertion can be ascertained by examining the configurations of the various constellations4 ,unless the shape of the crocodile9999 or the crab is called up by the observer's imagination1 there is very little chance of the stars themselves suggesting to his idea that figure1 upon the blue canopy of the starry firmament4 -------- 99 ,virgo-,scorpio1 when none but the initiates knew there were twelve signs4 ,virgo-,scorpio was then followed for the profane by ,sagittarius4 ,at the middle or junction-point where now stands ,libra and at the sign now called ,virgo1 two mystical signs were inserted which remained unintelligible to the profane4--,ed4 ,theos4 9999 ,this constellation was never called ,crocodile by the ancient ,western astronomers1 who described it as a horned goat and called it so-- ,capricornus4--,ed4 ,theos4 -------- ,if1 then1 the constellations have nothing to do with the origin of the names by which the ,zodiacal divisions are indicated1 we have to seek for some other source which might have given rise to these appellations4 ,it becomes my object to unravel a portion of the mystery connected with these ,zodiacal signs1 as also to disclose a portion of the sublime conception of the ancient ,hindu philosophy which gave rise to them4 ,the signs of the ,zodiac have more than one meaning4 ,from one point of view they represent the different stages of evolution up to the time the present material universe with the five elements came into phenomenal existence4 ,as the author of ,isis ,unveiled has stated in the second volume of her admirable work1 ,the key should be turned seven times to understand the whole philosophy underlying these signs4 ,but ,i shall wind it only once and give the contents of the first chapter of the ,history of ,evolution4 ,it is very fortunate that the ,sanskrit names assigned to the various divisions by ,aryan philosophers contain within themselves the key to the solution of the problem4 ,those of my readers who have studied to some extent the ancient ,mantra and the ,tantra ,sastras 99 of ,india1 would have seen that very often ,sanskrit words are made to convey a certain hidden meaning by means of well-known pre-arranged methods and a tacit convention1 while their literal significance is something quite different from the implied meaning4 --------- 99 ,works on ,incantation and ,magic4 --------- ,the following are some of the rules which may help an inquirer in ferreting out the deep significance of ancient ,sanskrit nomenclature to be found in the old ,aryan myths and allegories3 #a4 ,find out the synonyms of the word used which have other meanings4 #b4 ,find out the numerical value of the letters composing the word according to the methods given in ancient ,tantrika works4 #c4 ,examine the ancient myths or allegories1 if there are any1 which have any special connection with the word in question4 #d4 ,permute the different syllables composing the word and examine the new combinations that will thus be formed and their meanings1 c4 c4 ,i shall now apply some of the above given rules to the names of the twelve signs of the ,zodiac4 ,i4 ,mesha4--,one of the synonyms of this word is ,aja4 ,now1 ,aja literally means that which has no birth1 and is applied to the ,eternal ,brahma in certain portions of the ,upanishads4 ,so1 the first sign is intended to represent ,parabrahma1 the self-existent1 eternal1 self-sufficient cause of all4 ,,ii4 ,rishabham4--,this word is used in several places in the ,upanishads and the ,veda to mean ,pranava 7,aum74 ,sankaracharya has so interpreted it in several portions of his commentary499 -------- 99 ,example1 ,rishabhasya--,chandasam ,rishabhasya ,pradhanasya ,pranavasya4 -------- ,,iii4 ,mithuna4--,as the word plainly indicates1 this sign is intended to represent the first androgyne1 the ,ardhanareeswara1 the bisexual ,sephira--,adam ,kadmon4 ,,iv4 ,karkataka4--,when the syllables are converted into the corresponding numbers1 according to the general mode of transmutation so often alluded to in ,mantra ,shastra1 the word in question will be represented by _/_/_/_/4 ,this sign then is evidently intended to represent the sacred ,tetragram2 the ,parabrahmadharaka2 the ,pranava resolved into four separate entities corresponding to its four ,matras2 the four ,avasthas indicated by ,jagrata 7waking7 ,avastha1 ,swapna 7dreaming7 ,avastha1 ,sushupti 7deep sleep7 ,avastha1 and ,turiya 7the last stage1 i4e41 ,nirvana7 ,avastha 7as yet in potentiality72 the four states of ,brahma called ,vaiswanara1 ,taijasa 7or ,hiranyagarbha71 ,pragna1 and ,iswara1 and represented by ,brahma1 ,vishna1 ,maheswara1 and ,sadasiva2 the four aspects of ,parabrahma1 as ,sthula 7gross71 ,sukshma 7subtle71 ,vija 7seed71 and ,sakshi 7witness72 the four stages or conditions of the ,sacred ,word1 named ,para1 ,pasyanti1 ,madhyama and ,vaikhari2 ,nadam1 ,bindu1 ,sakti and ,kala4 ,this sign completes the first quaternary4 ,v4 ,simha4--,this word contains a world of occult meaning within itself2 and it may not be prudent on my part to disclose the whole of its meaning now4 ,it will be sufficient for the present purpose to give a general indication of its significance4 ,two of its synonymous terms are ,panchasyam and ,hari1 and its number in the order of the ,zodiacal divisions 7being the fifth sign7 points clearly to the former synonym4 ,this synonym--,panchasyam--shows that the sign is intended to represent the five ,brahmas--viz41 ,isanam1 ,aghoram1 ,tatpurusham1 ,vamadevam1 and ,sadyojatam3--the five ,buddhas4 ,the second synonym shows it to be ,narayana1 the ,jivatma or ,pratyagatma4 ,the ,sukarahasy ,upanishad will show that the ancient ,aryan philosophers looked upon ,narayana as the ,jivatma499 ,the ,vaishnavites may not admit it4 ,but as an ,advaiti1 ,i look upon ,jivatma as identical with ,paramatma in its real essence when stripped of its illusory attributes created by ,agnanam or ,avidya--ignorance4 --------- 99 ,in its lowest or most material state1 as the life-principle which animates the material bodies of the animal and vegetable worlds1 c4 --,ed4 ,theos4 --------- ,the ,jivatma is correctly placed in the fifth sign counting from ,mesham1 as the fifth sign is the putrasthanam or the son's house according to the rules of ,hindu ,astrology4 ,the sign in question represents ,jivatma-- the son of ,paramatma as it were4 7,i may also add that it represents the real ,christ1 the anointed pure spirit1 though many ,christians may frown at this interpretation4799 ,i will only add here that unless the nature of this sign is fully comprehended it will be impossible to understand the real order of the next three signs and their full significance4 ,the elements or entities that have merely a potential existence in this sign become distinct separate entities in the next three signs4 ,their union into a single entity leads to the destruction of the phenomenal universe1 and the recognition of the pure ,spirit and their separation has the contrary effect4 ,it leads to material earth-bound existence and brings into view the picture gallery of ,avidya 7,ignorance7 or ,maya 7,illusion74 ,if the real orthography of the name by which the sign in question is indicated is properly understood1 it will readily be seen that the next three signs are not what they ought to be4 -------- 99 ,nevertheless it is a true one4 ,the ,jiv-atma in the ,microcosm 7man7 is the same spiritual essence which animates the ,macrocosm 7universe71 the differentiation1 or specific difference between the two ,jivatmas presenting itself but in the two states or conditions of the same and one ,force4 ,hence1 this son of ,paramatma is an eternal correlation of the ,father-,cause4 ,purusha manifesting himself as ,brahma of the golden egg and becoming ,viradja--the universe4 ,we are all born of ,aditi from the water 7,hymns of the ,maruts1 ,x4 #fc1 #b71 and ,being was born from not-being 7,rig-,veda1 ,mandala ,i1 ,sukta #aff74--;,ed4 ,theos4 ----------- ,kanya or ,virgo and ,vrischika or ,scorpio should form one single sign1 and ,thula must follow the said sign if it is at all necessary to have a separate sign of that name4 ,but a separation between ,kanya and ,vrischika was effected by interposing the sign ,tula between the two4 ,the object of this separation will be understood on examining the meaning of the three signs4 ,,vi4 ,kanya4--,means a virgin and represents ,sakti or ,mahamaya4 ,the sign in question is the sixth ,rasi or division1 and indicates that there are six primary forces in ,nature4 ,these forces have different sets of names in ,sanskrit philosophy4 ,according to one system of nomenclature1 they are called by the following names993--7#a7 ,parasakty2 7#b7 ,gnanasakti2 7#c7 ,itchasakti 7will-power72 7#d7 ,kriytisakti2 7#e7 ,kundalinisakti2 and 7#f7 ,matrikasakti4 ,the six forces are in their unity represented by the ,astral ,light49999 --------- 99 ,parasakti3--,literally the great or supreme force or power4 ,it means and includes the powers of light and heat4 ,gnanasakti3--,literally the power of intellect or the power of real wisdom or knowledge4 ,it has two aspects4 ,i4 ,the following are some of its manifestations when placed under the influence or control of material conditions4 7a7 ,the power of the mind in interpreting our sensations2 7b7 ,its power in recalling past ideas 7memory7 and raising future expectation2 7c7 ,its power as exhibited in what are called by modern psychologists the laws of association1 which enables it to form persisting connections between various groups of sensations and possibilities of sensations1 and thus generate the notion or idea of an external object2 7d7 ,its power in connecting our ideas together by the mysterious link of memory1 and thus generating the notion of self or individuality4 ,,ii4 ,the following are some of its manifestations when liberated from the bonds of matter3-- 7a7 ,clairvoyance4 7b7 ,pyschometry4 ,itchasakti3--,literally the power of the will4 ,its most ordinary manifestation is the generation of certain nerve currents which set in motion such muscles as are required for the accomplishment of the desired object4 ,kriyasakti3--,the mysterious power of thought which enables it to produce external1 perceptible1 phenomenal results by its own inherent energy4 ,the ancients held that any idea will manifest itself externally if one's attention is deeply concentrated upon it4 ,similarly an intense volition will be followed by the desired result4 ,a ,yogi generally performs his wonders by means of ,itchasakti and ,kriyasakti4 ,kundalinisakti3--,literally the power or force which moves in a serpentine or curved path4 ,it is the universal life-principle which everywhere manifests itself in ,nature4 ,this force includes in itself the two great forces of attraction and repulsion4 ,electricity and magnetism are but manifestations of it4 ,this is the power or force which brings about that continuous adjustment of internal relations to external relations which is the essence of life according to ,herbert ,spencer1 and that continuous adjustment of external relations to internal relations which is the basis of transmigration of souls or punarjanmam 7re-birth7 according to the doctrines of the ancient ,hindu philosophers4 ,a ,yogi must thoroughly subjugate this power or force before he can attain moksham4 ,this force is1 in fact1 the great serpent of the ,bible4 ,matrikasakti3--,literally the force or power of letters or speech or music4 ,the whole of the ancient ,mantra ,shastra has this force or power in all its manifestations for its subject-matter4 ,the power of ,the ,word which ,jesus ,christ speaks of is a manifestation of this ,sakti4 ,the influence of its music is one of its ordinary manifestations4 ,the power of the mirific ineffable name is the crown of this ,sakti4 ,modern science has but partly investigated the first1 second and fifth of the forces or powers above named1 but it is altogether in the dark as regards the remaining powers4 9999 ,even the very name of ,kanya 7,virgin7 shows how all the ancient esoteric systems agreed in all their fundamental doctrines4 ,the ,kabalists and the ,hermetic philosophers call the ,astral ,light the heavenly or celestial ,virgin4 ,the ,astral ,light in its unity is the #gth4 ,hence the seven principles diffused in every unity or the #f and one--two triangles and a crown4--,ed4 ,theos4 ----------- ,,vii4 ,tula4--,when represented by numbers according to the method above alluded to1 this word will be converted into #cf4 ,this sign1 therefore1 is evidently intended to represent the #cf ,tatwams4 7,the number of ,tatwams is different according to the views of different philosophers but by ,sakteyas generally and by several of the ancient ,rishis1 such as ,agastya1 ,dvrasa and ,parasurama1 c41 the number of ,tatwams has been stated to be #cf74 ,jivatma differs from ,paramatma1 or to state the same thing in other words1 ,baddha differs from ,mukta 99 in being encased as it were within these #cf ,tatwams1 while the other is free4 ,this sign prepares the way to earthly ,adam to ,nara4 ,as the emblem of ,nara it is properly placed as the seventh sign4 --------- 99 ,as the ,infinite differs from the ,finite and the ,unconditioned from the ,conditioned4--,ed4 ,theos4 --------- ,,viii4 ,vrischika4--,it is stated by ancient philosophers that the sun when located in this ,rasi or sign is called by the name of ,vishnu 7see the #abth ,skandha of ,bhagavata74 ,this sign is intended to represent ,vishnu4 ,vishnu literally means that which is expanded--expanded as ,viswam or ,universe4 ,properly speaking1 ,viswam itself is ,vishnu 7see ,sankaracharya's commentary on ,vishnusahasranamam74 ,i have already intimated that ,vishnu represents the ,swapnavastha or the ,dreaming ,state4 ,the sign in question properly signifies the universe in thought or the universe in the divine conception4 ,it is properly placed as the sign opposite to ,rishabham or ,pranava4 ,analysis from ,pranava downwards leads to the ,universe of ,thought1 and synthesis from the latter upwards leads to ,pranava 7,aum74 ,we have now arrived at the ideal state of the universe previous to its coming into material existence4 ,the expansion of the ,vija or primitive germ into the universe is only possible when the #cf ,tatwams 99 are interposed between the ,maya and ,jivatma4 ,the dreaming state is induced through the instrumentality of these ,tatwams4 ,it is the existence of these ,tatwams that brings ,hamsa into existence4 ,the elimination of these ,tatwams marks the beginning of the synthesis towards ,pranava and ,brahmam and converts ,hamsa into ,soham4 ,as it is intended to represent the different stages of evolution from ,brahmam downwards to the material universe1 the three signs ,kanya1 ,tula1 and ,vrischika are placed in the order in which they now stand as three separate signs4 ,,ix4 ,dhanus 7,sagittarius74--,when represented in numbers the name is equivalent to #i1 and the division in question is the #ith division counting from ,mesha4 ,the sign1 therefore1 clearly indicates the #i ,brahmas--the #i ,parajapatis who assisted the ,demiurgus in constructing the material universe4 ,x4 ,makara4--,there is some difficulty in interpreting this word2 nevertheless it contains within itself the clue to its correct interpretation4 ,the letter ,ma is equivalent to number #e1 and ,kara means hand4 ,now in ,sanskrit ,thribhujam means a triangle1 bhujam or karam 7both are synonymous7 being understood to mean a side4 ,so1 ,makaram or ,panchakaram means a ,pentagon49999 ---------- 99 #cf is three times #ab1 or #i ,tetraktis1 or #ab ,triads1 the most sacred number in the ,kabalistic and ,pythagorean numerals4--,ed4 ,theos4 9999 ,the five-pointed star or pentagram represented the five limbs of man4--,ed4 ,theos4 ---------- ,now1 ,makaram is the tenth sign1 and the term ,dasadisa is generally used by ,sanskrit writers to denote the faces or sides of the universe4 ,the sign in question is intended to represent the faces of the universe1 and indicates that the figure of the universe is bounded by ,pentagons4 ,if we take the pentagons as regular pentagons 7on the presumption or supposition that the universe is symmetrically constructed7 the figure of the material universe will1 of course1 be a ,dodecahedron1 the geometrical model imitated by the ,demiurgus in constructing the material universe4 ,if ,tula was subsequently invented1 and if instead of the three signs ,kanya1 ,tula1 and ,vrischikam1 there had existed formerly only one sign combining in itself ,kanya and ,vrischika1 the sign now under consideration was the eighth sign under the old system1 and it is a significant fact that ,sanskrit writers generally speak also of ,ashtadisa or eight faces bounding space4 ,it is quite possible that the number of disa might have been altered from #h to #aj when the formerly existing ,virgo-,scorpio was split up into three separate signs4 ,again1 ,kara may be taken to represent the projecting triangles of the five-pointed star4 ,this figure may also be called a kind of regular pentagon 7see ,todhunter's ,spherical ,trigonometry1 p4 #adc74 ,if this interpretation is accepted1 the ,rasi or sign in question represents the microcosm4 ,but the microcosm or the world of thought is really represented by ,vrischika4 ,from an objective point of view the microcosm is represented by the human body4 ,makaram may be taken to represent simultaneously both the microcosm and the macrocosm1 as external objects of perception4 ,in connection with this sign ,i shall state a few important facts which ,i beg to submit for the consideration of those who are interested in examining the ancient occult sciences of ,india4 ,it is generally held by the ancient philosophers that the macrocosm is similar to the microcosm in having a ,sthula ,sariram and a ,suksma ,sariram4 ,the visible universe is the ,sthula ,sariram of ,viswam2 the ancient philosophers held that as a substratum for this visible universe1 there is another universe-- perhaps we may call it the universe of ,astral ,light--the real universe of ,noumena1 the soul as it were of this visible universe4 ,it is darkly hinted in certain passages of the ,veda and the ,upanishads that this hidden universe of ,astral ,light is to be represented by an ,icosahedron4 ,the connection between an ,icosahedron and a ,dodecahedron is something very peculiar and interesting1 though the figures seem to be so very dissimilar to each other4 ,the connection may be understood by the under-mentioned geometrical construction4 ,describe a ,sphere about an ,icosahedron2 let perpendiculars be drawn from the centre of the ,sphere on its faces and produced to meet the surface of the ,sphere4 ,now1 if the points of intersection be joined1 a ,dodecahedron is formed within the ,sphere4 ,by a similar process an ,icosahedron may be constructed from a ,dodecahedron4 7,see ,todhunter's ,spherical ,trigonometry1 p4 #ada1 art4 #aic74 ,the figure constructed as above described will represent the universe of matter and the universe of ,astral ,light as they actually exist4 ,i shall not now1 however1 proceed to show how the universe of ,astral ,light may be considered under the symbol of an ,icosahedron4 ,i shall only state that this conception of the ,aryan philosophers is not to be looked upon as mere theological twaddle or as the outcome of wild fancy4 ,the real significance of the conception in question can1 ,i believe1 be explained by reference to the psychology and the physical science of the ancients4 ,but ,i must stop here and proceed to consider the meaning of the remaining two signs4 ,,xi4 ,kumbha 7or ,aquarius74--,when represented by numbers1 the word is equivalent to #ad4 ,it can be easily perceived then that the division in question is intended to represent the ,chaturdasa ,bhuvanam1 or the #ad lokas spoken of in ,sanskrit writings4 ,,xii4 ,mina 7or ,pisces74--,this word again is represented by #e when written in numbers1 and is evidently intended to convey the idea of ,panchamahabhutams or the #e elements4 ,the sign also suggests that water 7not the ordinary water1 but the universal solvent of the ancient alchemists7 is the most important amongst the said elements4 ,i have now finished the task which ,i have set to myself in this article4 ,my purpose is not to explain the ancient theory of evolution itself1 but to show the connection between that theory and the ,zodiacal divisions4 ,i have herein brought to light but a very small portion of the philosophy imbedded in these signs4 ,the veil that was dexterously thrown over certain portions of the mystery connected with these signs by the ancient philosophers will never be lifted up for the amusement or edification of the uninitiated public4 ,now to summarize the facts stated in this article1 the contents of the first chapter of the history of this universe are as follows3 #a4 ,the self-existent1 eternal ,brahmam4 #b4 ,pranava 7,aum74 #c4 ,the androgyne ,brahma1 or the bisexual ,sephira-,adam ,kadmon4 #d4 ,the ,sacred ,tetragram--the four matras of ,pranava--the four avasthas--the four states of ,brahma--the ,sacred ,dharaka4 #e4 ,the five ,brahmas--the five ,buddhas representing in their totality the ,jivatma4 #f4 ,the ,astral ,light--the holy ,virgin--the six forces in ,nature4 #g4 ,the thirty-six ,tatwams born of ,avidya4 #h4 ,the universe in thought--the ,swapna ,avastha--the microcosm looked at from a subjective point of view4 #i4 ,the nine ,prajapatis--the assistants of the ,demiurgus499 #aj4 ,the shape of the material universe in the mind of the ,demiurgus-- the ,,dodecahedron4 #aa4 ,the fourteen lokas4 #ab4 ,the five elements4 -------- 99 ,the nine ,kabalistic ,sephiroths emanated from ,sephira the #ajth and the head ,sephiroth are identical4 ,three trinities or triads with their emanative principle form the ,pythagorean mystic ,decad1 the sum of all which represents the whole ,kosmos4--,ed4 ,theos4 -------- ,the history of creation and of this world from its beginning up to the present time is composed of seven chapters4 ,the seventh chapter is not yet completed4 --,t4 ,subba ,row ,triplicane1 ,madras1 ,september #ad1 #ahha ,the ,sishal and ,bhukailas ,yogis ,we are indebted to the kindness of the learned ,president of the ,adi ,brahmo ,samaji for the following accounts of two ,yogis1 of whom one performed the extraordinary feats of raising his body by will power1 and keeping it suspended in the air without visible support4 ,the ,yoga posture for meditation or concentration of the mind upon spiritual things is called ,asana4 ,there are various of these modes of sitting1 such as ,padmasan1 c4 c4 ,babu ,rajnarain ,bose translated this narrative from a very old number of the ,tatwabodhini ,patrika1 the ,calcutta organ of the ,brahmo ,samaj4 ,the writer was ,babu ,akkhaya ,kumar ,dalta1 then editor of the ,patrika1 of whom ,babu ,rajnarain speaks in the following high terms--,a very truth-loving and painstaking man2 very fond of observing strict accuracy in the details of a description4 ,sishal ,yogi ,a few years ago1 a ,deccan ,yogi1 named ,sishal1 was seen at ,madras1 by many ,hindus and ,englishmen1 to raise his ,asana1 or seat1 up into the air4 ,the picture of the ,yogi1 showing his mode of seating1 and other particulars connected with him1 may be found in the ,saturday ,magazine on page #bh4 ,his whole body seated in air1 only his right hand lightly touched a deer skin1 rolled up in the form of a tube1 and attached to a brazen rod which was firmly stuck into a wooden board resting on four legs4 ,in this position the ,yogi used to perform his japa 7mystical meditation71 with his eyes half shut4 ,at the time of his ascending to his aerial seat1 and also when he descended from it1 his disciples used to cover him with a blanket4 ,the ,tatwabodhini ,patrika1 ,chaitra1 #agfh ,sakabda1 corresponding to ,march #ahdg4 ,the ,bhukailas ,yogi ,the extraordinary character of the holy man who was brought to ,bhukailas1 in ,kidderpore1 about #ad years ago1 may still be remembered by many4 ,in the month of ,asar1 #aged ,sakabda 7#ahcd ,a4,c471 he was brought to ,bhukailas from ,shirpur1 where he was under the charge of ,hari ,singh1 the durwan 7porter7 of ,mr4 ,jones4 ,he kept his eyes closed1 and went without food and drink1 for three consecutive days1 after which a small quantity of milk was forcibly poured down his throat4 ,he never took any food that was not forced upon him4 ,he seemed always without external consciousness4 ,to remove this condition ,dr4 ,graham applied ammonia to his nostrils2 but it only produced tremblings in the body1 and did not break his ,yoga state4 ,three days passed before he could be made to speak4 ,he said that his name was ,dulla ,nabab1 and when annoyed1 he uttered a single word1 from which it was inferred that he was a ,punjabi4 ,when he was laid up with gout ,dr4 ,graham attended him1 but he refused to take medicine1 either in the form of powder or mixture4 ,he was cured of the disease only by the application of ointments and liniments prescribed by the doctor4 ,he died in the month of ,chaitra #agee ,sakabda1 of a choleric affection499--,the ,tatwabodhini ,patrika1 ,chaitra1 #agfh ,sakabda1 corresponding to ,march1 #ahdg ,a4,c4 -------- 99 ,the above particulars of this holy man have been obtained on unexceptionable testimony4--,ed4 ,t4,b4,p4 -------------------- ,,philosophical ,true and ,false ,personality ,the title prefixed to the following observations may well have suggested a more metaphysical treatment of the subject than can be attempted on the present occasion4 ,the doctrine of the trinity1 or trichotomy of man1 which distinguishes soul from spirit1 comes to us with such weighty1 venerable1 and even sacred authority1 that we may well be content1 for the moment1 with confirmations that should be intelligible to all1 forbearing the abstruser questions which have divided minds of the highest philosophical capacity4 ,we will not now inquire whether the difference is one of states or of entities2 whether the phenomenal or mind consciousness is merely the external condition of one indivisible ,ego1 or has its origin and nature in an altogether different principle2 the ,spirit1 or immortal part of us1 being of ,divine birth1 while the senses and understanding1 with the consciousness--,ahankara--thereto appertaining1 are from an ,anima ,mundi1 or what in the ,sankhya philosophy is called ,prakriti4 ,my utmost expectations will have been exceeded if it should happen that any considerations here offered should throw even a faint suggestive light upon the bearings of this great problem4 ,it may be that the mere irreconcilability of all that is characteristic of the temporal ,ego with the conditions of the superior life--if that can be made apparent--will incline you to regard the latter rather as the ,redeemer1 that has indeed to be born within us for our salvation and our immortality1 than as the inmost1 central1 and inseparable principle of our phenomenal life4 ,it may be that by the light of such reflections the sense of identity will present no insuperable difficulty to the conception of its contingency1 or to the recognition that the mere consciousness which fails to attach itself to a higher principle is no guarantee of an eternal individuality4 ,it is only by a survey of individuality1 regarded as the source of all our affections1 thoughts1 and actions1 that we can realize its intrinsic worthlessness2 and only when we have brought ourselves to a real and felt acknowledgment of that fact1 can we accept with full understanding those hard sayings of sacred authority which bid us die to ourselves1 and which proclaim the necessity of a veritable new birth4 ,this mystic death and birth is the key-note of all profound religious teaching2 and that which distinguishes the ordinary religious mind from spiritual insight is just the tendency to interpret these expressions as merely figurative1 or1 indeed1 to overlook them altogether4 ,of all the reproaches which modern ,spiritualism1 with the prospect it is thought to hold out of an individual temporal immortality1 has had to encounter1 there is none that we can less afford to neglect than that which represents it as an ideal essentially egotistical and borne4 ,true it is that our critics do us injustice through ignorance of the enlarged views as to the progress of the soul in which the speculations of individual ,spiritualists coincide with many remarkable spirit teachings4 ,these are1 undoubtedly1 a great advance upon popular theological opinions1 while some of them go far to satisfy the claim of ,spiritualism to be regarded as a religion4 ,nevertheless1 that slight estimate of individuality1 as we know it1 which in one view too easily allies itself to materialism1 is also the attitude of spiritual idealism1 and is seemingly at variance with the excessive value placed by ,spiritualists on the discovery of our mere psychic survival4 ,the idealist may recognise this survival2 but1 whether he does so or not1 he occupies a post of vantage when he tells us that it is of no ultimate importance4 ,for he1 like the ,spiritualist who proclaims his proof palpable of immortality1 is thinking of the mere temporal1 self-regarding consciousness--its sensibilities1 desires1 gratifications1 and affections--which are unimportant absolutely1 that is to say1 their importance is relative solely to the individual4 ,there is1 indeed1 no more characteristic outbirth of materialism than that which makes a teleological centre of the individual4 ,ideas have become mere abstractions2 the only reality is the infinitely little4 ,thus utilitarianism can see in the ,state only a collection of individuals whose greatest happiness1 mutually limited by nice adjustment to the requirements of the greatest numbers1 becomes the supreme end of government and law4 ,and it cannot1 ,i think1 be pretended that ,spiritualists in general have advanced beyond this substitution of a relative for an absolute standard4 ,their glad tidings of great joy are not truly religious4 ,they have regard to the perpetuation in time of that lower consciousness whose manifestations1 delights1 and activity are in time1 and of time alone4 ,their glorious message is not essentially different from that which we can conceive as brought to us by some great alchemist1 who had discovered the secret of conferring upon us and upon our friends a mundane perpetuity of youth and health4 ,its highest religious claim is that it enlarges the horizon of our opportunities4 ,as such1 then1 let us hail it with gratitude and relief2 but1 on peril of our salvation1 if ,i may not say of our immortality1 let us not repose upon a prospect which is1 at best1 one of renewed labours1 and trials1 and efforts to be free even of that very life whose only value is opportunity4 ,to estimate the value of individuality1 we cannot do better than regard man in his several mundane relations1 supposing that either of these might become the central1 actuating focus of his being--his ruling love1 as ,swedenborg would call it--displacing his mere egoism1 or self-love1 thrusting that more to the circumference1 and identifying him1 so to speak1 with that circle of interests to which all his energies and affections relate4 ,outside this substituted ,ego we are to suppose that he has no conscience1 no desire1 no will4 ,just as the entirely selfish man views the whole of life1 so far as it can really interest him solely in relation to his individual well-being1 so our supposed man of a family1 of a society1 of a ,church1 or a ,state1 has no eye for any truth or any interest more abstract or more individual than that of which he may be rightly termed the incarnation4 ,history shows approximations to this ideal man4 ,such a one1 for instance1 ,i conceive to have been ,loyola2 such another1 possibly1 is ,bismarck4 ,now these men have ceased to be individuals in their own eyes1 so far as concerns any value attaching to their own special individualities4 ,they are devotees4 ,a certain conversion has been effected1 by which from mere individuals they have become representative men4 ,and we--the individuals--esteem them precisely in proportion to the remoteness from individualism of the spirit that actuates them4 ,as the circle of interests to which they are devoted enlarges--that is to say1 as the dross of individualism is purged away--we accord them indulgence1 respect1 admiration and love4 ,from self to the family1 from the family to the sect or society1 from the sect or society to the ,church 7in no denominational sense7 and ,state1 there is the ascending scale and widening circle1 the successive transitions which make the worth of an individual depend on the more or less complete subversion of his individuality by a more comprehensive soul or spirit4 ,the very modesty which suppresses1 as far as possible1 the personal pronoun in our addresses to others1 testifies to our sense that we are hiding away some utterly insignificant and unworthy thing2 a thing that has no business even to be1 except in that utter privacy which is rather a sleep and a rest than living4 ,well1 but in the above instances1 even those most remote from sordid individuality1 we have fallen far short of that ideal in which the very conception of the partial1 the atomic1 is lost in the abstraction of universal being1 transfigured in the glory of a ,divine personality4 ,you are familiar with ,swedenborg's distinction between discrete and continuous degrees4 ,hitherto we have seen how man--the individual--may rise continuously by throwing himself heart and soul into the living interests of the world1 and lose his own limitations by adoption of a larger mundane spirit4 ,but still he has but ascended nearer to his own mundane source1 that soul of the world1 or ,prakriti1 to which1 if ,i must not too literally insist on it1 ,i may still resort as a convenient figure4 ,to transcend it1 he must advance by the discrete degree4 ,no simple bettering of the ordinary self1 which leaves it alive1 as the focus--the ,french word foyer is the more expressive--of his thoughts and actions2 not even that identification with higher interests in the world's plane just spoken of1 is1 or can progressively become1 in the least adequate to the realization of his ,divine ideal4 ,this bettering of our present nature1 it alone being recognized as essential1 albeit capable of improvement1 is a commonplace1 and to use a now familiar term a ,philistine1 conception4 ,it is the substitution of the continuous for the discrete degree4 ,it is a compromise with our dear old familiar selves4 ,and ,saul and the people spared ,agag1 and the best of the sheep1 and of the oxen1 and of the fatlings1 and the lambs1 and all that was good1 and would not utterly destroy them2 but everything that was vile and refuse1 that they destroyed utterly4 ,we know how little acceptable that compromise was to the ,god of ,israel2 and no illustration can be more apt than this narrative1 which we may well1 as we would fain1 believe to be rather typical than historical4 ,typical of that indiscriminate and radical sacrifice1 or vastation1 of our lower nature1 which is insisted upon as the one thing needful by all1 or nearly all199 the great religions of the world4 ,no language could seem more purposely chosen to indicate that it is the individual nature itself1 and not merely its accidental evils1 that has to be abandoned and annihilated4 ,it is not denied that what was spared was good2 there is no suggestion of a universal infection of physical or moral evil2 it is simply that what is good and useful relatively to a lower state of being must perish with it if the latter is to make way for something better4 ,and the illustration is the more suitable in that the purpose of this paper is not ethical1 but points to a metaphysical conclusion1 though without any attempt at metaphysical exposition4 ,there is no question here of moral distinctions2 they are neither denied nor affirmed4 ,according to the highest moral standard1 ',a' may be a most virtuous and estimable person4 ,according to the lowest1 ',b' may be exactly the reverse4 ,the moral interval between the two is within what ,i have called1 following ,swedenborg1 the continuous degree4 ,and perhaps the distinction can be still better expressed by another reference to that ,book which we theosophical students do not less regard1 because we are disposed to protest against all exclusive pretensions of religious systems4 -------- 99 ,of the higher religious teachings of ,mohammedanism ,i know next to nothing1 and therefore cannot say if it should be excepted from the statement4 -------- ,the good man who has1 however1 not yet attained his son-ship of ,god is under the law--that moral law which is educational and preparatory1 the schoolmaster to bring us unto ,christ1 our own ,divine spirit1 or higher personality4 ,to conceive the difference between these two states is to apprehend exactly what is here meant by the false1 temporal1 and the true1 eternal personality1 and the sense in which the word personality is here intended to be understood4 ,we do not know whether1 when that great change has come over us1 when that great work99 of our lives has been accomplished--here or hereafter--we shall or shall not retain a sense of identity with our past1 and forever discarded selves4 ,in philosophical parlance1 the matter will have gone1 and the very form will have been changed4 ,our transcendental identity with the ',a' or ',b' that now is9999 must depend on that question1 already disclaimed in this paper1 whether the ,divine spirit is our originally central essential being1 or is an hypostasis4 ,now1 being under the law implies that we do not act directly from our own will1 but indirectly1 that is1 in willing obedience to another will4 -------- 99 ,the great work1 so often mentioned by the hermetic philosophers1 and which is exactly typified by the operation of alchemy1 the conversion of the base metals to gold1 is now well understood to refer to the analogous spiritual conversion4 ,there is also good reason to believe that the material process was a real one4 9999 ,a person may have won his immortal life1 and remained the same inner self he was on earth1 through eternity2 but this does not imply necessarily that he must either remain the ,mr4 ,smith or ,brown he was on earth1 or lose his individuality4--,isis ,unveiled1 vol4 #a4 p4 #caf4 ---------- ,the will from which we should naturally act--our own will--is of course to be understood not as mere volition1 but as our nature--our ruling love1 which makes such and such things agreeable to us1 and others the reverse4 ,as under the law1 this nature is kept in suspension1 and because it is suspended only as to its activity and manifestation1 and by no means abrogated1 is the law--the substitution of a foreign will-- necessary for us4 ,our own will or nature is still central2 that which we obey by effort and resistance to ourselves is more circumferential or hypostatic4 ,constancy in this obedience and resistance tends to draw the circumferential will more and more to the centre1 till there ensues that explosion1 as ,st4 ,martin called it1 by which our natural will is for ever dispersed and annihilated by contact with the divine1 and the latter henceforth becomes our very own4 ,thus has the schoolmaster brought us unto ,christ1 and if by ,christ we understand no historically divine individual1 but the logos1 word1 or manifestation of ,god in us--then we have1 ,i believe1 the essential truth that was taught in the ,vedanta1 by ,kapila1 by ,buddha1 by ,confucius1 by ,plato1 and by ,jesus4 ,there is another presentation of possibly the same truth1 for a reference to which ,i am indebted to our brother ,j4,w4 ,farquhar4 ,it is from ,swedenborg1 in the ,apocalypse ,explained1 ,no4 #eg3--;,every man has an inferior or exterior mind1 and a mind superior or interior4 ,these two minds are altogether distinct4 ,by the inferior mind man is in the natural world together with men there2 but by the superior mind he is in the spiritual world with the angels there4 ,these two minds are so distinct that man so long as he lives in the world does not know what is performing within himself in his superior mind2 but when he becomes a spirit1 which is immediately after death1 he does not know what is performing in his mind4 ,the consciousness of the superior mind1 as the result of mere separation from the earthly body1 certainly does not suggest that sublime condition which implies separation from so much more than the outer garment of flesh1 but otherwise the distinction between the two lives1 or minds1 seems to correspond with that now under consideration4 ,what is it that strikes us especially about this substitution of the divine-human for the human-natural personality8 ,is it not the loss of individualism8 7,individualism1 pray observe1 not individuality47 ,there are certain sayings of ,jesus which have probably offended many in their hearts1 though they may not have dared to acknowledge such a feeling to themselves3 ,woman1 what have ,i to do with thee8 and those other disclaimers of special ties and relationships which mar the perfect sympathy of our reverence4 ,there is something awful and incomprehensible to us in this repudiation of individualism1 even in its most amiable relations4 ,but it is in the ,aryan philosophies that we see this negation of all that we associate with individual life most emphatically and explicitly insisted on4 ,it is1 indeed1 the impossibility of otherwise than thus negatively characterizing the soul that has attained ,moksha 7deliverance from bonds7 which has caused the ,hindu consummation to be regarded as the loss of individuality and conscious existence4 ,it is just because we cannot easily dissociate individuality from individualism that we turn from the sublime conception of primitive philosophy as from what concerns us as little as the ceaseless activity and germination in other brains of thought once thrown off and severed from the thinking source1 which is the immortality promised by ,mr4 ,frederick ,harrison to the select specimens of humanity whose thoughts have any reproductive power4 ,it is not a mere preference of nothingness1 or unconscious absorption1 to limitation that inspires the intense yearning of the ,hindu mind for ,nirvana4 ,even in the ,upanishads there are many evidences of a contrary belief1 while in the ,sankhya the aphorisms of ,kapila unmistakably vindicate the individuality of soul 7spirit74 ,individual consciousness is maintained1 perhaps infinitely intensified1 but its matter is no longer personal4 ,only try to realize what freedom from desire1 the favourite phrase in which individualism is negated in these systems1 implies4 ,even in that form of devotion which consists in action1 the soul is warned in the ,bhagavad-,gita that it must be indifferent to results4 ,modern ,spiritualism itself testifies to something of the same sort4 ,thus we are told by one of its most gifted and experienced champions1 ,sometimes the evidence will come from an impersonal source1 from some instructor who has passed through the plane on which individuality is demonstrable4 7,m4,a4 7,oxon471 ,spirit ,identity1 p4 #g47 ,again1 ,and if he 7the investigator7 penetrates far enough1 he will find himself in a region for which his present embodied state unfits him3 a region in which the very individuality is merged1 and the highest and subtlest truths are not locked within one breast1 but emanate from representative companies whose spheres of life are interblended4 7,id41 p4 #ae47 ,by this interblending is of course meant only a perfect sympathy and community of thought2 and ,i should doubtless misrepresent the author quoted were ,i to claim an entire identity of the idea he wishes to convey1 and that now under consideration4 ,yet what1 after all1 is sympathy but the loosening of that hard astringent quality 7to use ,bohme's phrase7 wherein individualism consists8 ,and just as in true sympathy1 the partial suppression of individualism and of what is distinctive1 we experience a superior delight and intensity of being1 so it may be that in parting with all that shuts us up in the spiritual penthouse of an ,ego--all1 without exception or reserve--we may for the first time know what true life is1 and what are its ineffable privileges4 ,yet it is not on this ground that acceptance can be hoped for the conception of immortality here crudely and vaguely presented ill contrast to that bourgeois eternity of individualism and the family affections1 which is probably the great charm of ,spiritualism to the majority of its proselytes4 ,it is doubtful whether the things that eye hath not seen1 nor ear heard1 have ever taken stronghold of the imagination1 or reconciled it to the loss of all that is definitely associated with the ,joy and movement of living4 ,not as consummate bliss can the dweller on the lower plane presume to command that transcendent life4 ,at the utmost he can but echo the revelation that came to the troubled mind in ,sartor ,resartus1 ,a man may do without happiness1 and instead thereof find blessedness4 ,it is no sublimation of hope1 but the necessities of thought that compel us to seek the condition of true being and immortality elsewhere than in the satisfactions of individualism4 ,true personality can only subsist in consciousness by participation of that of which we can only say that it is the very negation of individuality in any sense in which individuality can be conceived by us4 ,what is the content or matter of consciousness we cannot define1 save by vaguely calling it ideal4 ,but we can say that in that region individual interests and concerns will find no place4 ,nay1 more1 we can affirm that only then has the influx of the new life a free channel when the obstructions of individualism are already removed4 ,hence the necessity of the mystic death1 which is as truly a death as that which restores our physical body to the elements4 ,neither ,i am1 nor is aught mine1 nor do ,i exist1 a passage which has been well explained by a ,hindu ,theosophist 7,peary ,chand ,mittra71 as meaning that when the spiritual state is arrived at1 ,i and mine1 which belong to the finite mind1 cease1 and the soul1 living in the universum and participating in infinity with ,god1 manifests its infinite state4 ,i cannot refrain from quoting the following passage from the same instructive writer3-- ,every human being has a soul which1 while not separable from the brain or nerves1 is mind or jivatma1 or sentient soul1 but when regenerated or spiritualized by yoga1 it is free from bondage and manifests the divine essence4 ,it rises above all phenomenal states--joy1 sorrow1 grief1 fear1 hope1 and in fact all states resulting in pain or pleasure1 and becomes blissful1 realizing immortality1 infinitude and felicity of wisdom within itself4 ,the sentient soul is nervous1 sensational1 emotional1 phenomenal1 and impressional4 ,it constitutes the natural life and is finite4 ,the soul and the non-soul are thus the two landmarks4 ,what is non-soul is prakriti1 or created4 ,it is not the lot of every one to know what soul is1 and therefore millions live and die possessing minds cultivated in intellect and feeling1 but not raised to the soul state4 ,in proportion as one's soul is emancipated from prakriti or sensuous bondage1 in that proportion his approximation to the soul state is attained2 and it is this that constitutes disparities in the intellectual1 moral1 and religious culture of human beings and their consequent approximation to ,god4--,spiritual ,stray ,leaves1 ,calcutta1 #ahgi4 ,he also cites some words of ,fichte1 which prove that the like conclusion is reached in the philosophy of ,western idealism3 ,the real spirit which comes to itself in human consciousness is to be regarded as an impersonal pneuma--universal reason1 nay1 as the spirit of ,god ,himself2 and the good of man's whole development1 therefore1 can be no other than to substitute the universal for the individual consciousness4 ,that there may be1 and are affirmed to be1 intermediate stages1 states1 or discrete degrees1 will1 of course1 be understood4 ,the aim of this paper has been to call attention to the abstract condition of the immortalized consciousness2 negatively it is true1 but it is on this very account more suggestive of practical applications4 ,the connection of the ,theosophical ,society with the ,spiritualist movement is so intimately sympathetic1 that ,i hope one of these may he pointed out without offence4 ,it is that immortality cannot be phenomenally demonstrated4 ,what ,i have called psychic survival can be1 and probably is4 ,but immortality is the attainment of a state1 and that state the very negation of phenomenal existence4 ,another consequence refers to the direction our culture should take4 ,we have to compose ourselves to death4 ,nothing less4 ,we are each of us a complex of desires1 passions1 interests1 modes of thinking and feeling1 opinions1 prejudices1 judgment of others1 likings and dislikings1 affections1 aims public and private4 ,these things1 and whatever else constitutes1 the recognizable content of our present temporal individuality1 are all in derogation of our ideal of impersonal being--saving consciousness1 the manifestation of being4 ,in some minute1 imperfect1 relative1 and almost worthless sense we may do right in many of our judgments1 and be amiable in many of our sympathies and affections4 ,we cannot be sure even of this4 ,only people unhabituated to introspection and self-analysis are quite sure of it4 ,these are ever those who are loudest in their censures1 and most dogmatic in their opinionative utterances4 ,in some coarse1 rude fashion they are useful1 it may be indispensable1 to the world's work1 which is not ours1 save in a transcendental sense and operation4 ,we have to strip ourselves of all that1 and to seek perfect passionless tranquillity4 ,then we may hope to die4 ,meditation1 if it be deep1 and long1 and frequent enough1 will teach even our practical ,western mind to understand the ,hindu mind in its yearning for ,nirvana4 ,one infinitesimal atom of the great conglomerate of humanity1 who enjoys the temporal1 sensual life1 with its gratifications and excitements1 as much as most1 will testify with unaffected sincerity that he would rather be annihilated altogether than remain for ever what he knows himself to be1 or even recognizably like it4 ,and he is a very average moral specimen4 ,i have heard it said1 ,the world's life and business would come to an end1 there would be an end to all its healthy activity1 an end of commerce1 arts1 manufactures1 social intercourse1 government1 law1 and science1 if we were all to devote ourselves to the practice of ,yoga1 which is pretty much what your ideal comes to4 ,and the criticism is perfectly just and true4 ,only ,i believe it does not go quite far enough4 ,not only the activities of the world1 but the phenomenal world itself1 which is upheld in consciousness1 would disappear or take new1 more interior1 more living1 and more significant forms1 at least for humanity1 if the consciousness of humanity was itself raised to a superior state4 ,readers of ,st4 ,martin1 and of that impressive book of the late ,james ,hinton1 ,man and his ,dwelling-place1 especially if they have also by chance been students of the idealistic philosophies1 will not think this suggestion extravagant4 ,if all the world were ,yogis1 the world would have no need of those special activities1 the ultimate end and purpose of which1 by-the-by1 our critic would find it not easy to define4 ,and if only a few withdraw1 the world can spare them4 ,enough of that4 ,only let us not talk of this ideal of impersonal1 universal being in individual consciousness as an unverified dream4 ,our sense and impatience of limitations are the guarantees that they are not final and insuperable4 ,whence is this power of standing outside myself1 of recognizing the worthlessness of the pseudo--judgments1 of the prejudices with their lurid colouring of passion1 of the temporal interests1 of the ephemeral appetites1 of all the sensibilities of egoism1 to which ,i nevertheless surrender myself so that they indeed seem myself8 ,through and above this troubled atmosphere ,i see a being1 pure1 passionless1 rightly measuring the proportions and relations of things1 for whom there is1 properly speaking1 no present1 with its phantasms1 falsities1 and half-truths2 who has nothing personal in the sense of being opposed to the whole of related personalities3 who sees the truth rather than struggles logically towards it1 and truth of which ,i can at present form no conception2 whose activities are unimpeded by intellectual doubt1 un-perverted by moral depravity1 and who is indifferent to results1 because he has not to guide his conduct by calculation of them1 or by any estimate of their value4 ,i look up to him with awe1 because in being passionless he sometimes seems to me to be without love4 ,yet ,i know that this is not so2 only that his love is diffused by its range1 and elevated in abstraction beyond my gaze and comprehension4 ,and ,i see in this being my ideal1 my higher1 my only true1 in a word1 my immortal self4 --,c4,c4 ,massey ,chastity ,ideal woman is the most beautiful work of the evolution of forms 7in our days she is very often only a beautiful work of art74 ,a beautiful woman is the most attractive1 charming1 and lovely being that a man can imagine4 ,i never saw a male being who could lay any claims to manly vigour1 strength or courage1 who was not an admirer of woman4 ,only a profligate1 a coward or a sneak would hate women2 a hero and a man admires woman1 and is admired by her4 ,women's love belongs to a complete man4 ,then she smiles on him his human nature becomes aroused1 his animal desires like little children begin to clamour for bread1 they do not want to be starved1 they want to satisfy their hunger4 ,his whole soul flies towards the lovely being1 which attracts him with almost irresistible force1 and if his higher principles1 his divine spirit1 is not powerful enough to restrain him1 his soul follows the temptations of his physical body4 ,once again the animal nature has subdued the divine4 ,woman rejoices in her victory1 and man is ashamed of his weakness2 and instead of being a representation of strength1 he becomes an object of pity4 ,to be truly powerful a man must retain his power and never for a moment lose it4 ,to lose it is to surrender his divine nature to his animal nature2 to restrain his desires and retain his power1 is to assert his divine right1 and to become more than a man--a god4 ,eliphas ,levi says3 ,to be an object of attraction for all women1 you must desire none2 and every one who has had a little experience of his own must know that he is right4 ,woman wants what she cannot get1 and what she can get she does not want4 ,perhaps it is to the man endowed with spiritual power1 that the ,bible refers1 when it says3 ,to him who has much1 more shall be given1 and from him who has little1 that little shall be taken away4 ,to become perfect it is not required that we should be born without any animal desires4 ,such a person would not be much above an idiot2 he would be rightly despised and laughed at by every true man and woman2 but we must obtain the power to control our desires1 instead of being controlled by them2 and here lies the true philosophy of temptation4 ,if a man has no higher aim in life than to eat and drink and propagate his species2 if all his aspirations and desires are centred in a wish of living a happy life in the bosom of his family2 there can be no wrong if he follows the dictates of his nature and is satisfied with his lot4 ,when he dies1 his family will mourn1 his friends will say he was a good fellow2 they will give him a first-class funeral1 and they will perhaps write on his tombstone something like what ,i once saw in a certain churchyard3 ,here is the grave of ,john ,mc,bride1 ,he lived1 got married1 and died4 ,and that will be the end of ,mr4 ,john ,mc,bride1 until in another incarnation he will wake up again perhaps as ,mr4 ,john ,smith1 or ,ramchandra ,row1 or ,patrick ,o',flannegan1 to find himself on much the same level as he was before4 ,but if a man has higher aims and objects in life1 if he wants to avoid an endless cycle of re-incarnations1 if he wants to become a master of his destiny1 then must he first become a master of himself4 ,how can he expect to be able to control the external forces of ,nature1 if he cannot control the few little natural forces that reside within his own insignificant body8 ,to do this1 it is not necessary that a man should run away from his wife and family1 and leave them uncared for4 ,such a man would commence his spiritual career with an act of injustice1--an act that like ,banquo's ghost would always haunt him and hinder him in his further progress4 ,if a man has taken upon himself responsibilities1 he is bound to fulfill them1 and an act of cowardice would be a bad beginning for a work that requires courage4 ,a celibate1 who has no temptation and who has no one to care for but himself1 has undoubtedly superior advantages for meditation and study4 ,being away from all irritating influences1 he can lead what may be called a selfish life2 because he looks out only for his own spiritual interest2 but he has little opportunity to develop his will-power by resisting temptations of every kind4 ,but the man who is surrounded by the latter1 and is every day and every hour under the necessity of exercising his will-power to resist their surging violence1 will1 if he rightly uses these powers1 become strong2 he may not have as much opportunity for study as the celibate1 being more engrossed in material cares2 but when he rises up to a higher state in his next incarnation1 his will-power will be more developed1 and he will be in the possession of the password1 which is ,,continence4 ,a slave cannot become a commander1 until after he becomes free4 ,a man who is subject to his own animal desires1 cannot command the animal nature of others4 ,a muscle becomes developed by its use1 an instinct or habit is strengthened in proportion as it is permitted to rule1 a mental power becomes developed by practice1 and the principle of will grows strong by exercise2 and this is the use of temptations4 ,to have strong passions and to overcome them1 makes man a hero4 ,the sexual instinct is the strongest of all1 and he who vanquishes it1 becomes a god4 ,the human soul admires a beautiful form1 and is therefore an idolater4 ,the human spirit adores a principle1 and is the true worshiper4 ,marriage is the union of the male spirit with the female soul for the purpose of propagating the species2 but if in its place there is only a union of a male and a female body1 then marriage becomes merely a brutal act1 which lowers man and woman1 not to the level of animals but below them2 because animals are restricted to certain seasons for the exercise of their procreative powers2 while man1 being a reasonable being1 has it in his power to use or abuse them at all times4 ,but how many marriages do we find that are really spiritual and not based on beauty of form or other considerations8 ,how soon after the wedding-day do they become disgusted with each other8 ,what is the cause of this8 ,a man and a woman may marry and their characters may differ widely4 ,they may have different tastes1 different opinions and different inclinations4 ,all those differences may disappear1 and will probably disappear2 because by living together they become accustomed to each other1 and become equalized in time4 ,each influences the other1 and as a man may grow fond of a pet snake1 whose presence at first horrified him1 so a man may put up with a disagreeable partner and become fond of her in course of time4 ,but if the man allows full liberty to his animal passions1 and exercises his legal rights without restraint1 these animal cravings which first called so piteously for gratification1 will soon be gorged1 and flying away laugh at the poor fool who nursed them in his breast4 ,the wife will come to know that her husband is a coward1 because she sees him squirm under the lash of his animal passions2 and as woman loves strength and power1 so in proportion as he loses his love1 will she lose her confidence4 ,he will look upon her as a burden1 and she will look upon him in disgust as a brute4 ,conjugal happiness will have departed1 and misery1 divorce or death will be the end4 ,the remedy for all these evils is continence1 and it has been our object to show its necessity1 for it was the object of this article4 --,f4 ,hartmann ,zoroastrianism on the ,septenary ,constitution of ,man ,many of the esoteric doctrines given out through the ,theosophical ,society reveal a spirit akin to that of the older religions of the ,east1 especially the ,vedic and the ,zendic4 ,leaving aside the former1 ,i propose to point out by a few instances the close resemblance which the doctrines of the old ,zendic ,scriptures1 as far as they are now preserved1 bear to these recent teachings4 ,any ordinary ,parsi1 while reciting his daily ,niyashes1 ,gehs and ,yashts1 provided he yields to the curiosity of looking into the meanings of what he recites1 will1 with a little exertion1 perceive how the same ideas1 only clothed in a more intelligible and comprehensive garb1 are reflected in these teachings4 ,the description of the septenary constitution of man found in the #edth chapter of the ,yasna1 one of the most authoritative books of the ,mazdiasnian religion1 shows the identity of the doctrines of ,avesta and the esoteric philosophy4 ,indeed1 as a ,mazdiasnian1 ,i felt quite ashamed that1 having such undeniable and unmistakable evidence before their eyes1 the ,zoroastrians of the present day should not avail themselves of the opportunity offered of throwing light upon their now entirely misunderstood and misinterpreted ,scriptures by the assistance and under the guidance of the ,theosophical ,society4 ,if ,zend scholars and students of ,avesta would only care to study and search for themselves1 they would1 perhaps1 find to assist them1 men who are in possession of the right and only key to the true esoteric wisdom2 men1 who would be willing to guide and help them to reach the true and hidden meaning1 and to supply them with the missing links that have resulted in such painful gaps as to leave the meaning meaningless1 and to create in the mind of the perplexed student doubts that finally culminate in a thorough unbelief in his own religion4 ,who knows but they may find some of their own co-religionists1 who1 aloof from the world1 have to this day preserved the glorious truths of their once mighty religion1 and who1 hidden in the recesses of solitary mountains and unknown silent caves1 are still in possession of2 and exercising1 mighty powers1 the heirloom of the ancient ,magi4 ,our ,scriptures say that ancient ,mobeds were ,yogis1 who had the power of making themselves simultaneously visible at different places1 even though hundreds of miles apart1 and also that they could heal the sick and work that which would now appear to us miraculous4 ,all this was considered facts but two or three centuries back1 as no reader of old books 7mostly ,persian7 is unacquainted with1 or will disbelieve a priori unless his mind is irretrievably biassed by modern secular education4 ,the story about the ,mobed and ,emperor ,akbar and of the latter's conversion1 is a well-known historical fact1 requiring no proof4 ,i will first of all quote side by side the two passages referring to the septenary nature of man as ,i find them in our ,scriptures and the ,,theosophist-- ,sub-divisions of septenary ,sub-divisions of septenary man according to the man according to ,yasna ,occultists4 7chap4#ed1 para4 ,i74 #a4 ,the ,physical body1 com- #a4 ,tanwas-i4e41 body7the posed wholly of matter in its self 7 that consists of bones grossest and most tangible -grossest form of matter4 form4 #b4 ,the ,vital principle-7or ,jiva7- #b4 ,ushtanas-,vital heat a form of force indestructible1 7or force74 and when disconnected with one set of atoms1 becoming attracted immediately by others4 #c4 ,the ,astral body 7,linga- #c4 ,keherpas ,aerial form1 sharira7 composed of highly the airy mould1 7,per4 ,kaleb74 etherealized matter2 in its habitual passive state1 the perfect but very shadowy duplicate of the body2 its activity1 consolidation and form depending entirely on the ,kama-rupa4 #d4 ,the ,astral shape 7,kama- #d4 ,tevishis-,will1 or where rupa or body of desire1 a sentient consciousness is principle defining the con- formed1 also fore-knowledge4 figuration of-- #e4 ,the animal or ,physical #e4 ,baodhas 7in ,sanskrit1 intelligence or ,conscious- ,buddhi7-,body of physical ness or ,ego1 analogous to1 consciousness1 perception by though proportionally higher the senses or animal soul4 in the senses or the animal degree than the reason1 instinct1 memory1 imagination c41 existing in the higher animals4 #f4 ,the ,higher or ,spiritual #f4 ,urawanem 7,per4 ,rawan7 intelligence or consciousness1 -,soul1 that which gets its spiritual ,ego1 in which or reward or punishment mainly resides the sense of after death4 consciousness in the perfect man1 though the lower dimmer animal consciousness co-exists in ,no4 #e4 #g4 ,the ,spirit-an emanation from #g4 ,frawashem or ,farohar- the ,,absolute uncreated2 eternal2 ,spirit 7the guiding energy a state rather than a being4 which is with every man1 is absolutely independent1 and1 without mixing with any worldly object1 leads man to good4 ,the spark of divinity in every being74 ,the above is given in the ,avesta as follows3-- ,we declare and positively make known this 7that7 we offer 7our7 entire property 7which is7 the body 7the self consisting of7 bones 7tanwas71 vital heat 7ushtanas71 aerial form 7keherpas71 knowledge 7tevishis71 consciousness 7baodhas71 soul 7urwanem71 and spirit 7frawashem71 to the prosperous1 truth-coherent 7and7 pure ,gathas 7prayers74 ,the ordinary ,gujarathi translation differs from ,spiegel's1 and this latter differs very slightly from what is here given4 ,yet in the present translation there has been made no addition to1 or omission from1 the original wording of the ,zend text4 ,the grammatical construction also has been preserved intact4 ,the only difference1 therefore1 between the current translations and the one here given is that ours is in accordance with the modern corrections of philological research which make it more intelligible1 and the idea perfectly clear to the reader4 ,the word translated aerial form has come down to us without undergoing any change in the meaning4 ,it is the modern ,persian word kaleb1 which means a mould1 a shape into which a thing is cast1 to take a certain form and features4 ,the next word is one about which there is a great difference of opinion4 ,it is by some called strength1 durability1 i4e41 that power which gives tenacity to and sustains the nerves4 ,others explain it as that quality in a man of rank and position which makes him perceive the result of certain events 7causes71 and thus helps him in being prepared to meet them4 ,this meaning is suggestive1 though we translate it as knowledge1 or foreknowledge rather1 with the greatest diffidence4 ,the eighth word is quite clear4 ,that inward feeling which tells a man that he knows this or that1 that he has or can do certain things--is perception and consciousness4 ,it is the inner conviction1 knowledge and its possession4 ,the ninth word is again one which has retained its meaning and has been in use up to the present day4 ,the reader will at once recognize that it is the origin of the modern word ,rawan4 ,it is 7metaphorically7 the king1 the conscious motor or agent in man4 ,it is that something which depends upon and is benefited or injured by the foregoing attributes4 ,we say depends upon1 because its progress entirely consists in the development of those attributes4 ,if they are neglected1 it becomes weak and degenerated1 and disappears4 ,if they ascend on the moral and spiritual scale1 it gains strength and vigour and becomes more blended than ever to the ,divine essence--the seventh principle4 ,but how does it become attracted toward its monad8 ,the tenth word answers the question4 ,this is the ,divine essence in man4 ,but this is only the irresponsible minister 7this completes the metaphor74 ,the real master is the king1 the spiritual soul4 ,it must have the willingness and power to see and follow the course pointed out by the pure spirit4 ,the vizir's business is only to represent a point of attraction1 towards which the king should turn4 ,it is for the king to see and act accordingly for the glory of his own self4 ,the minister or spirit can neither compel nor constrain4 ,it inspires and electrifies into action2 but to benefit by the inspiration1 to take advantage of it1 is left to the option of the spiritual soul4 ,if1 then1 the ,avesta contains such a passage1 it must fairly be admitted that its writers knew the whole doctrine concerning spiritual man4 ,we cannot suppose that the ancient ,mazdiasnians1 the ,magi1 wrote this short passage1 without inferring from it1 at the same time1 that they were thoroughly conversant with the whole of the occult theory about man4 ,and it looks very strange indeed1 that modern ,theosophists should now preach to us the very same doctrines that must have been known and taught thousands of years ago by the ,mazdiasnians1--the passage is quoted from one of their oldest writings4 ,and since they propound the very same ideas1 the meaning of which has well-nigh been lost even to our most learned ,mobeds1 they ought to be credited at least with some possession of a knowledge1 the key to which has been revealed to them1 and lost to us1 and which opens the door to the meaning of those hitherto inexplicable sentences and doctrines in our old writings1 about which we are still1 and will go on1 groping in the dark1 unless we listen to what they have to tell us about them4 ,to show that the above is not a solitary instance1 but that the ,avesta contains this idea in many other places1 ,i will give another paragraph which contains the same doctrine1 though in a more condensed form than the one just given4 ,let the ,parsi reader turn to ,yasna1 chapter #bf1 and read the sixth paragraph1 which runs as follows3-- ,we praise the life 7ahum71 knowledge 7daenam71 consciousness 7baodhas71 soul 7urwanem71 and spirit 7frawashem7 of the first in religion1 the first teachers and hearers 7learners71 the holy men and holy women who were the protectors of purity here 7in this world74 ,here the whole man is spoken of as composed of five parts1 as under3-- #a4 ,the ,physical ,body4 #a4 ,ahum-,existence1 ,life4 #b4 ,the ,vital ,principle4 ,it includes3 #c4 ,the ,astral ,body4 #b4 ,daenam-,knowledge4 #d4 ,the ,astral shape or body of desire4 #c4 ,baodhas-,consciousness4 #e4 ,the ,animal or physical intelligence or consciousness or ,ego4 #d4 ,urwanem-,soul4 #f4 ,the ,higher or ,spiritual intelligence or consciousness1 or ,spiritual ,ego4 #e4 ,frawashem-,spirit4 #g4 ,the ,spirit4 ,in this description the first triple group--viz41 the bones 7or the gross matter71 the vital force which keeps them together1 and the ethereal body1 are included in one and called ,existence1 ,life4 ,the second part stands for the fourth principle of the septenary man1 as denoting the configuration of his knowledge or desires499 ,then the three1 consciousness 7or animal soul71 7spiritual7 soul1 and the pure ,spirit are the same as in the first quoted passage4 ,why are these four mentioned as distinct from each other and not consolidated like the first part8 ,the sacred writings explain this by saying that on death the first of these five parts disappears and perishes sooner or later in the earth's atmosphere4 ,the gross elementary matter 7the shell7 has to run within the earth's attraction2 so the ahum separates from the higher portions and is lost4 --------- 99 ,modern science also teaches that certain characteristics of features indicate the possession of certain qualities in a man4 ,the whole science of physiognomy is founded on it4 ,one can predict the disposition of a man from his features1--i4e41 the features develop in accordance with the idiosyncrasies1 qualities and vices1 knowledge or the ignorance of man4 --------- ,the second 7i4e41 the fourth of the septenary group7 remains1 but not with the spiritual soul4 ,it continues to hold its place in the vast storehouse of the universe4 ,and it is this second daenam which stands before the 7spiritual7 soul in the form of a beautiful maiden or an ugly hag4 ,that which brings this daenam within the sight of the 7spiritual7 soul is the third part 7i4e41 the fifth of the septenary group71 the baodhas4 ,or in other words1 the 7spiritual7 soul has with it1 or in it1 the true consciousness by which it can view the experiences of its physical career4 ,so this consciousness1 this power or faculty which brings the recollection1 is always with1 in other words1 is a part and parcel of1 the soul itself2 hence1 its not mixing with any other part1 and hence its existence after the physical death of man499 --,a ,parsi ,f4,t4,s4 --------- 99 ,our ,brother has but to look into the oldest sacred hooks of ,china-- namely1 the ,,yi ,,king4 or ,book of ,changes 7translated by ,james ,legge7 written #a1bjj ,b4,c41 to find that same ,septenary division of man mentioned in that system of ,divination4 ,zhing1 which is translated correctly enough essence1 is the more subtle and pure part of matter-- the grosser form of the elementary ether2 ,khi1 or spirit1 is the breath1 still material but purer than the zhing1 and is made of the finer and more active form of ether4 ,in the hwun1 or soul 7animus7 the ,khi predominates and the zhing 7or zing7 in the pho or animal soul4 ,at death the hwun 7,or spiritual soul7 wanders away1 ascending1 and the pho 7the root of the ,tibetan word ,pho-hat7 descends and is changed into a ghostly shade 7the shell74 ,dr4 ,medhurst thinks that the ,kwei ,shans 7see ,theology of the ,chinese1 pp4 #aj-ab7 are the expanding and contracting principles of human life6 ,the ,kwei ,shans are brought about by the dissolution of the human frame--and consist of the expanding and ascending ,shan which rambles about in space1 and of the contracted and shrivelled ,kwei1 which reverts to earth and nonentity4 ,therefore1 the ,kwei is the physical body2 the ,shan is the vital principle the ,kwei ,shan the linga-sariram1 or the vital soul2 ,zhing the fourth principle or ,kama ,rupa1 the essence of will2 pho1 the animal soul2 ,khi1 the spiritual soul2 and ,hwun the pure spirit--the seven principles of our occult doctrine6--,ed4 ,theos4 --------- ,brahmanism on the ,sevenfold ,principle in ,man ,it is now very difficult to say what was the real ancient ,aryan doctrine4 ,if an inquirer were to attempt to answer it by an analysis and comparison of all the various systems of esotericism prevailing in ,india1 he will soon be lost in a maze of obscurity and uncertainty4 ,no comparison between our real ,brahmanical and the ,tibetan esoteric doctrines will be possible unless one ascertains the teachings of that so-called ,aryan doctrine1 and fully comprehends the whole range of the ancient ,aryan philosophy4 ,kapila's ,sankhya1 ,patanjali's ,yog philosophy1 the different systems of ,saktaya philosophy1 the various ,agamas and ,tantras are but branches of it4 ,there is a doctrine1 though1 which is their real foundation1 and which is sufficient to explain the secrets of these various systems of philosophy and harmonize their teachings4 ,it probably existed long before the ,vedas were compiled1 and it was studied by our ancient ,rishis in connection with the ,hindu scriptures4 ,it is attributed to one mysterious personage called ,maha49944444 ---------- 99 ,the very title of the present chief of the esoteric ,himalayan ,brotherhood4--,ed4 ,theos4 ---------- ,the ,upanishads and such portions of the ,vedas as are not chiefly devoted to the public ceremonials of the ancient ,aryans are hardly intelligible without some knowledge of that doctrine4 ,even the real significance of the grand ceremonials referred to in the ,vedas will not be perfectly apprehended without its light being throw upon them4 ,the ,vedas were perhaps compiled mainly for the use of the priests assisting at public ceremonies1 but the grandest conclusions of our real secret doctrine are therein mentioned4 ,i am informed by persons competent to judge of the matter1 that the ,vedas have a distinct dual meaning--one expressed by the literal sense of the words1 the other indicated by the metre and the swara 7intonation71 which are1 as it were the life of the ,vedas4 ,learned ,pundits and philologists of course deny that swara has anything to do with philosophy or ancient esoteric doctrines2 but the mysterious connection between swara and light is one of its most profound secrets4 ,now1 it is extremely difficult to show whether the ,tibetans derived their doctrine from the ancient ,rishis of ,india1 or the ancient ,brahrnans learned their occult science from the adepts of ,tibet2 or1 again1 whether the adepts of both countries professed originally the same doctrine and derived it from a common source499 ,if you were to go to the ,sramana ,balagula1 and question some of the ,jain ,pundits there about the authorship of the ,vedas and the origin of the ,brahmanical esoteric doctrine1 they would probably tell you that the ,vedas were composed by ,rakshasas9999 or ,daityas1 and that the ,brahmans had derived their secret knowledge from them4999999 --------- 99 ,see ,appendix1 ,note ,i4 9999 ,a kind of demons-devil4 999999 ,and so would the ,christian padris4 ,but they would never admit that their fallen angels were borrowed from the ,rakshasas2 that their devil is the illegitimate son of ,dewel1 the ,sinhalese female demon2 or that the war in heaven of the ,apocalypse--the foundation of the ,christian dogma of the ,fallen ,angels was copied from the ,hindu story about ,siva hurling the ,tarakasura who rebelled against the gods into ,andhahkara1 the abode of ,darkness1 according to ,brahmanical ,shastras4 --------- ,do these assertions mean that the ,vedas and the ,brahmanical esoteric teachings had their origin in the lost ,atlantis--the continent that once occupied a considerable portion of the expanse of the ,southern and the ,pacific oceans8 ,the assertion in ,isis ,unveiled1 that ,sanskrit was the language of the inhabitants of the said continent1 may induce one to suppose that the ,vedas had probably their origin there1 wherever else might be the birthplace of the ,aryan esotericism499 ,but the real esoteric doctrine1 as well as the mystic allegorical philosophy of the ,vedas1 were derived from another source again1 whatever that may be-- perchance from the divine inhabitants 7gods7 of the sacred island which once existed in the sea that covered in days of old the sandy tract now called ,gobi ,desert4 ,however that may be1 the knowledge of the occult powers of ,nature possessed by the inhabitants of the lost ,atlantis was learnt by the ancient adepts of ,india1 and was appended by them to the esoteric doctrine taught by the residents of the sacred island49999 ,the ,tibetan adepts1 however1 have not accepted this addition to their esoteric doctrine2 and it is in this respect that one should expect to find a difference between the two doctrines4999999 ---------- 99 ,not necessarily4 7,see ,appendix1 ,note ,,ii47 ,it is generally held by ,occultists that ,sanskrit has been spoken in ,java and adjacent islands from remote antiquity4--,ed4 ,theos4 9999 ,a locality which is spoken of to this day by the ,tibetans1 and called by them ,scham-bha-la1 the ,happy ,land4 7,see ,appendix1 ,note ,,iii47 999999 ,to comprehend this passage fully1 the reader must turn to vol4 ,i4 pp4 #ehi-eid of ,isis ,unveiled4 -------- ,the ,brahmanical occult doctrine probably contains everything that was taught about the powers of ,nature and their laws1 either in the mysterious island of the ,north or in the equally mysterious continent of the ,south4 ,and if you mean to compare the ,aryan and the ,tibetan doctrines as regards their teachings about the occult powers of ,nature1 you must beforehand examine all the classifications of these powers1 their laws and manifestations1 and the real connotations of the various names assigned to them in the ,aryan doctrine4 ,here are some of the classifications contained in the ,brahmanical system3 ,i4 ,as appertaining to ,parabrahmam and existing in the ,,macrocosm4 ,,ii4 ,as appertaining to man and existing in the ,,microcosm4 ,,iii4 ,for the purposes of d ,taraka ,yog or ,pranava ,yog4 ,,iv4 ,for the purposes of ,sankhya ,yog 7where they are1 as it were1 the inherent attributes of ,prakriti74 ,v4 ,for the purposes of ,hata ,yog4 ,,vi4 ,for the purposes of ,koula ,agama4 ,,vii4 ,for the purposes of ,sakta ,agama4 ,,viii4 ,for the purposes of ,siva ,aqama4 ,,ix4 ,for the purposes of ,sreechakram 7the ,sreechakram referred to in ,isis ,unveiled is not the real esoteric ,sreechakram of the ancient adepts of ,aryavarta7499 -------- 99 ,very true4 ,but who would be allowed to give out the real esoteric one8--,ed4 ,theos4 -------- ,x4 ,in ,atharvena ,veda1 c4 ,in all these classifications subdivisions have been multiplied indefinitely by conceiving new combinations of the ,primary ,powers in different proportions4 ,but ,i must now drop this subject1 and proceed to consider the ,fragments of ,occult ,truth 7since embodied in ,esoteric ,buddhism74 ,i have carefully examined it1 and find that the results arrived at 7in the ,buddhist doctrine7 do not differ much from the conclusions of our ,aryan philosophy1 though our mode of stating the arguments may differ in form4 ,i shall now discuss the question from my own standpoint1 though1 following1 for facility of comparison and convenience of discussion1 the sequence of classification of the sevenfold entities or principles constituting man which is adopted in the ,fragments4 ,the questions raised for discussion are 7#a7 whether the disembodied spirits of human beings 7as they are called by ,spiritualists7 appear in the seance-rooms and elsewhere2 and 7#b7 whether the manifestations taking place are produced wholly or partly through their agency4 ,it is hardly possible to answer these two questions satisfactorily unless the meaning intended to be conveyed by the expression disembodied spirits of human beings be accurately defined4 ,the words spiritualism and spirit are very misleading4 ,unless ,english writers in general1 and ,spiritualists in particular1 first ascertain clearly the connotation they mean to assign to the word spirit1 there will be no end of confusion1 and the real nature of these so-called spiritualistic phenomena and their modus occurrendi can never be clearly defined4 ,christian writers generally speak of only two entities in man--the body1 and the soul or spirit 7both seeming to mean the same thing to them74 ,european philosophers generally speak of body and mind1 and argue that soul or spirit cannot be anything else than mind4 ,they are of opinion that any belief in lingasariram99 is entirely unphilosophical4 ,these views are certainly incorrect1 and are based on unwarranted assumptions as to the possibilities of ,nature1 and on an imperfect understanding of its laws4 ,i shall now examine 7from the standpoint of the ,brahmanical esoteric doctrine7 the spiritual constitution of man1 the various entities or principles existing in him1 and ascertain whether either of those entities entering into his composition can appear on earth after his death1 and if so1 what it is that so appears4 -------- 99 ,the astral body1 so called4 -------- ,professor ,tyndall in his excellent papers on what he calls the ,germ ,theory1 comes to the following conclusions as the result of a series of well-planned experiments3--,even in a very small volume of space there are myriads of protoplasmic germs floating in ether4 ,if1 for instance1 say water 7clear water7 is exposed to them1 and if they fall into it1 some form of life or other will be evolved out of them4 ,now1 what are the agencies for the bringing of this life into existence8 ,evidently-- ,i4 ,the water1 which is the field1 so to say1 for the growth of life4 ,,ii4 ,the protoplasmic germ1 out of which life or a living organism is to be evolved or developed4 ,and lastly-- ,,iii4 ,the power1 energy1 force1 or tendency which springs into activity at the touch or combination of the protoplasmic germ and the water1 and which evolves or develops life and its natural attributes4 ,similarly1 there are three primary causes which bring the human being into existence4 ,i shall call them1 for the purpose of discussion1 by the following names 7#a7 ,parabrahmam1 the ,universal ,spirit4 7#b7 ,sakti1 the crown of the astral light1 combining in itself all the powers of ,nature4 7#c7 ,prakriti1 which in its original or primary shape is represented by ,akasa4 7,really every form of matter is finally reducible to ,akasa4799 ,it is ordinarily stated that ,prakriti or ,akasa is the ,kshetram1 or the basis which corresponds to water in the example we have taken ,brahmam the germ1 and ,sakti1 the power or energy that comes into existence at their union or contact49999 -------- 99 ,the ,tibetan esoteric ,buddhist doctrine teaches that ,prakriti is cosmic matter1 out of which all visible forms are produced2 and ,akasa1 that same cosmic matter1 but still more subjective--its spirit1 as it were4 ,prakriti being the body or substance1 and ,akasa ,sakti its soul or energy4 9999 ,or1 in other words1 ,prakriti1 ,swabhavat1 or ,akasa1 is ,,space1 as the ,tibetans have it2 ,space filled with whatsoever substance or no substance at all--i4e41 with substance so imperceptible as to be only metaphysically conceivable4 ,brahman1 then1 would be the germ thrown into the soil of that field1 and ,sakti1 that mysterious energy or force which develops it1 and which is called by the ,buddhist ,arahat of ,tibet1 ,,fohat4 ,that which we call form 7rupa7 is not different from that which we call space 7sunyata74444 ,space is not different from form4 ,form is the same as space2 space is the same as form4 ,and so with the other skandhas1 whether vedana1 or sanjna1 or sanskara1 or vijnana1 they are each the same as their opposite4 4444 7,book of ,sin-king1 or the ,heart ,sutra4 ,chinese translation of the ,maha-,prajna-,paramita-,hridaya-,sutra1 chapter on the ,avalokiteshwara1 or the manifested ,buddha47 ,so that the ,aryan and ,tibetan or ,arhat doctrines agree perfectly in substance1 differing but in names given and the way of putting it4 --------- ,but this is not the view which the ,upanishads take of the question4 ,according to them1 ,brahamam99 is the ,kshetram or basis1 ,akasa or ,prakriti1 the germ or seed1 and ,sakti1 the power evolved by their union or contact4 ,and this is the real scientific1 philosophical mode of stating the case4 -------- 99 ,see ,appendix1 ,note ,,iv4 -------- ,now1 according to the adepts of ancient ,aryavarta1 seven principles are evolved out of these three primary entities4 ,algebra teaches us that the number of combinations of n things1 taken one at a time1 two at a time1 three at a time1 and so forth #b7n7-#a4 ,applying this formula to the present case1 the number of entities evolved from different combinations of these three primary causes amounts to #b7c7-a #h-a #g4 ,as a general rule1 whenever seven entities are mentioned in the ancient occult science of ,india1 in any connection whatsoever1 you must suppose that those seven entities came into existence from three primary entities2 and that these three entities1 again1 are evolved out of a single entity or ,,monad4 ,to take a familiar example1 the seven coloured rays in the solar ray are evolved out of three primary coloured rays2 and the three primary colours coexist with the four secondary colours in the solar rays4 ,similarly1 the three primary entities which brought man into existence co-exist in him with the four secondary entities which arose from different combinations of the three primary entities4 ,now these seven entities1 which in their totality constitute man1 are as follows4 ,i shall enumerate them in the order adopted in the ,fragments1 as far as the two orders 7the ,brahmanical and the ,tibetan7 coincide3-- ,corresponding names in ,esoteric ,buddhism4 ,i4 ,prakriti4 ,sthulasariram 7,physical ,body74 ,,ii4 ,the entity evolved out of the combination ,sukshmasariram or ,lingasariram of ,prakriti and ,sakti4 7,astral ,body74 ,,iii4 ,sakti4 ,kamarupa 7the ,perispirit74 ,,iv4 ,the entity evolved out of the combination of ,jiva 7,life-,soul74 ,brahmam1 ,sakti and ,prakriti4 ,v4 ,the entity evolved out of the combination of ,physical ,intelligence 7or ,brahmam and ,prakriti4 animal soul74 ,,vi4 ,the entity evolved out of the combination of ,spiritual ,intelligence 7or ,soul74 ,brahmam and ,sakti4 ,,vii4 ,brahmam4 ,the emanation from the ,,absolute1 c4 7or pure spirit47 ,before proceeding to examine these nature of these seven entities1 a few general explanations are indispensably necessary4 ,i4 ,the secondary principles arising out of the combination of primary principles are quite different in their nature from the entities out of whose combination they came into existence4 ,the combinations in question are not of the nature of mere mechanical juxtapositions1 as it were4 ,they do not even correspond to chemical combinations4 ,consequently no valid inferences as regards the nature of the combinations in question can be drawn by analogy from the nature variety8 of these combinations4 ,,ii4 ,the general proposition1 that when once a cause is removed its effect vanishes1 is not universally applicable4 ,take1 for instance1 the following example3--,if you once communicate a certain amount of momentum to a ball1 velocity of a particular degree in a particular direction is the result4 ,now1 the cause of this motion ceases to exist when the instantaneous sudden impact or blow which conveyed the momentum is completed2 but according to ,newton's first law of motion1 the ball will continue to move on for ever and ever1 with undiminished velocity in the same direction1 unless the said motion is altered1 diminished1 neutralized1 or counteracted by extraneous causes4 ,thus1 if the ball stop1 it will not be on account of the absence of the cause of its motion1 but in consequence of the existence of extraneous causes which produce the said result4 ,again1 take the instance of subjective phenomena4 ,now the presence of this ink-bottle before me is producing in me1 or in my mind1 a mental representation of its form1 volume1 colour and so forth4 ,the bottle in question may be removed1 but still its mental picture may continue to exist4 ,here1 again1 you see1 the effect survives the cause4 ,moreover1 the effect may at any subsequent time be called into conscious existence1 whether the original cause be present or not4 ,now1 in the ease of the filth principle above mentioned-the entity that came into existence by the combination of ,brahmam and ,prakriti--if the general proposition 7in the ,fragments of ,occult ,truth7 is correct1 this principle1 which corresponds to the physical intelligence1 must cease to exist whenever the ,brahmam or the seventh ,principle should cease to exist for the particular individual2 but the fact is certainly otherwise4 ,the general proposition under consideration is adduced in the ,fragments in support of the assertion that whenever the seventh principle ceases to exist for any particular individual1 the sixth principle also ceases to exist for him4 ,the assertion is undoubtedly true1 though the mode of stating it and the reasons assigned for it1 are to my mind objectionable4 ,it is said that in cases where tendencies of a man's mind are entirely material1 and all spiritual aspirations and thoughts were altogether absent from his mind1 the seventh principle leaves him either before or at the time of death1 and the sixth principle disappears with it4 ,here1 the very proposition that the tendencies of the particular individual's mind are entirely material1 involves the assertion that there is no spiritual intelligence or spiritual ,ego in him1 it should then have been said that1 whenever spiritual intelligence ceases to exist in any particular individual1 the seventh principle ceases to exist for that particular individual for all purposes4 ,of course1 it does not fly off anywhere4 ,there can never be any thing like a change of position in the case of ,brahmam499 ,the assertion merely means that when there is no recognition whatever of ,brahmam1 or spirit1 or spiritual life1 or spiritual consciousness1 the seventh principle has ceased to exercise any influence or control over the individual's destinies4 -------- 99 ,true--from the standpoint of ,aryan ,exotericism and the ,upanishads1 not quite so in the case of the ,arahat or ,tibetan esoteric doctrine2 and it is only on this one solitary point that the two teachings disagree1 as far as we know4 ,the difference is very trifling1 though1 resting as it does solely upon the two various methods of viewing the one and the same thing from two different aspects4 7,see ,appendix1 ,note ,,iv47 -------- ,i shall now state what is meant 7in the ,aryan doctrine7 by the seven principles above enumerated4 ,i4 ,prakriti4 ,this is the basis of ,sthulasariram1 and represents it in the above-mentioned classification4 ,,ii4 ,prakriti and ,sakti4 ,this is the ,lingasariram1 or astral body4 ,,iii4 ,sukti4 ,this principle corresponds to your ,kamarupa4 ,this power or force is placed by ancient occultists in the ,nabhichakram4 ,this power can gather akasa or prakriti1 and mould it into any desired shape4 ,it has very great sympathy with the fifth principle1 and can be made to act by its influence or control4 ,,iv4 ,brahmam and ,sakti1 and ,prakriti4 ,this again corresponds to your second principle1 ,jiva4 ,this power represents the universal life-principle which exists in ,nature4 ,its seat is the ,anahatachakram 7heart74 ,it is a force or power which constitutes what is called ,jiva1 or life4 ,it is1 as you say1 indestructible1 and its activity is merely transferred at the time of death to another set of atoms1 to form another organism4 ,v4 ,brahma and ,prakriti4 ,this1 in our ,aryan philosophy1 corresponds to your fifth principle1 called the physical intelligence4 ,according to our philosophers1 this is the entity in which what is called mind has its seat or basis4 ,this is the most difficult principle of all to explain1 and the present discussion entirely turns upon the view we take of it4 ,now1 what is mind8 ,it is a mysterious something1 which is considered to be the seat of consciousness--of sensations1 emotions1 volitions1 and thoughts4 ,psychological analysis shows it to be apparently a congeries of mental states1 and possibilities of mental states1 connected by what is called memory1 and considered to have a distinct existence apart from any of its particular states or ideas4 ,now in what entity has this mysterious something its potential or actual existence8 ,memory and expectation1 which form1 as it were1 the real foundation of what is called individuality1 or ,ahankaram1 must have their seat of existence somewhere4 ,modern psychologists of ,europe generally say that the material substance of brain is the seat of mind2 and that past subjective experiences1 which can he recalled by memory1 and which in their totality constitute what is called individuality1 exist therein in the shape of certain unintelligible mysterious impressions and changes in the nerves and nerve-centres of the cerebral hemispheres4 ,consequently1 they say1 the mind--the individual mind--is destroyed when the body is destroyed2 so there is no possible existence after death4 ,but there are a few facts among those admitted by these philosophers which are sufficient for us to demolish their theory4 ,in every portion of the human body a constant change goes on without intermission4 ,every tissue1 every muscular fibre and nerve-tube1 and every ganglionic centre in the brain1 is undergoing an incessant change4 ,in the course of a man's lifetime there may be a series of complete tranformations of the substance of his brain4 ,nevertheless1 the memory of his past mental states remains unaltered4 ,there may be additions of new subjective experiences and some mental states may be altogether forgotten1 but no individual mental state is altered4 ,the person's sense of personal identity remains the same throughout these constant alterations in the brain substance499 ,it is able to survive all these changes1 and it can survive also the complete destruction of the material substance of the brain4 -------- 99 ,this is also sound ,buddhist philosophy1 the transformation in question being known as the change of the skandhas4--,ed4 ,theos4 -------- ,this individuality arising from mental consciousness has its seat of existence1 according to our philosophers1 in an occult power or force1 which keeps a registry1 as it were1 of all our mental impressions4 ,the power itself is indestructible1 though by the operation of certain antagonistic causes its impressions may in course of time be effaced1 in part or wholly4 ,i may mention in this connection that our philosophers have associated seven occult powers with the seven principles or entities above-mentioned4 ,these seven occult powers in the microcosm correspond with1 or are the counterparts of1 the occult powers in the macrocosm4 ,the mental and spiritual consciousness of the individual becomes the general consciousness of ,brahmam1 when the barrier of individuality is wholly removed1 and when the seven powers in the microcosm are placed en rapport with the seven powers in the macrocosm4 ,there is nothing very strange in a power1 or force1 or sakti1 carrying with it impressions of sensations1 ideas1 thoughts1 or other subjective experiences4 ,it is now a well-known fact1 that an electric or magnetic current can convey in some mysterious manner impressions of sound or speech1 with all their individual peculiarities2 similarly1 ,i can convey my thoughts to you by a transmission of energy or power4 ,now1 this fifth principle represents in our philosophy the mind1 or1 to speak more correctly1 the power or force above described1 the impressions of the mental states therein1 and the notion of self-identity or ,ahankaram generated by their collective operation4 ,this principle is called merely physical intelligence in the ,fragments4 ,i do not know what is really meant by this expression4 ,it may be taken to mean that intelligence which exists in a very low state of development in the lower animals4 ,mind may exist in different stages of development1 from the very lowest forms of organic life1 where the signs of its existence or operation can hardly be distinctly realized1 up to man1 in whom it reaches its highest state of development4 ,in fact1 from the first appearance of life99 up to ,tureeya ,avastha1 or the state of ,nirvana1 the progress is1 as it were1 continuous4 -------- 99 ,in the ,aryan doctrine1 which blends ,brahmam1 ,sakti1 and ,prakriti in one1 it is the fourth principle then1 in the ,buddhist esotericisms the second in combination with the first4 -------- ,we ascend from that principle up to the seventh by almost imperceptible gradations4 ,but four stages are recognized in the progress where the change is of a peculiar kind1 and is such as to arrest an observer's attention4 ,these four stages are as follows3-- 7#a7 ,where life 7fourth principle7 makes its appearance4 7#b7 ,where the existence of mind becomes perceptible in conjunction with life4 7#c7 ,where the highest state of mental abstraction ends1 and spiritual consciousness commences4 7#d7 ,where spiritual consciousness disappears1 leaving the seventh principle in a complete state of ,nirvana1 or nakedness4 ,according to our philosophers1 the fifth principle under consideration is intended to represent the mind in every possible state of development1 from the second stage up to the third stage4 ,,iv4 ,brahmam and ,sakti4 ,this principle corresponds to your spiritual intelligence4 ,it is1 in fact1 ,buddhi 7,i use the word ,buddhi not in the ordinary sense1 but in the sense in which it is used by our ancient philosophers72 in other words1 it is the seat of ,bodha or ,atmabodha4 ,one who has ,atmabodha in its completeness is a ,buddha4 ,buddhists know very well what this term signifies4 ,this principle is described in the ,fragments as an entity coming into existence by the combination of ,brahmam and ,prakriti4 ,i do not again know in what particular sense the word ,prakriti is used in this connection4 ,according to our philosophers it is an entity arising from the union of ,brahmam and ,sakti4 ,i have already explained the connotation attached by our philosophers to the words ,prakriti and ,sakti4 ,i stated that ,prakriti in its primary state is ,akasa499 ,if ,akasa be considered to be ,sakti or power9999 then my statement as regards the ultimate state of ,prakriti is likely to give rise to confusion and misapprehension unless ,i explain the distinction between ,akasa and ,sakti4 ,akasa is not1 properly speaking1 the crown of the astral light1 nor does it by itself constitute any of the six primary forces4 ,but1 generally speaking1 whenever any phenomenal result is produced1 ,sakti acts in conjunction with ,akasa4 ,and1 moreover1 ,akasa serves as a basis or ,adhishthanum for the transmission of force currents and for the formation or generation of force or power correlations4999999 -------- 99 ,according to the ,buddhists1 in ,akasa lies that eternal1 potential energy whose function it is to evolve all visible things out of itself4--,ed4 ,theos4 9999 ,it was never so considered1 as we have shown it4 ,but as the ,fragments are written in ,english1 a language lacking such an abundance of metaphysical terms to express ever minute change of form1 substance and state as are found in the ,sanskrit1 it was deemed useless to confuse the ,western reader1 untrained in the methods of ,eastern expression1 more than is necessary1 with a too nice distinctions of proper technical terms4 ,as ,prakriti in its primary state is ,akasa1 and ,sakti is an attribute ,,akasa1 it becomes evident that for the uninitiated it is all one4 ,indeed1 to speak of the union of ,brahmam and ,prakriti instead of ,brahmam and ,sakti is no worse than for a theist to write that ,that man has come into existence by the combination of spirit and matter1 whereas1 his word1 framed in an orthodox shape1 ought to read man is a living soul was created by the power 7or breath7 of ,god over matter4 999999 ,that is to say1 the ,aryan ,akasa is another word for ,buddhist ,,space 7in its metaphysical meaning74--,ed4 ,theos4 --------- ,in ,mantrasastra the letter ,ha represents ,akasa1 and you will find that this syllable enters into most of the sacred formula intended to be used in producing phenomenal results4 ,but by itself it does not represent any ,sakti4 ,you may1 if you please1 call ,sakti an attribute of ,akasa4 ,i do not think that1 as regards the nature of this principle1 there can in reality exist any difference of opinion between the ,buddhist and ,brahmanical philosophers4 ,buddhist and ,brahmanical initiates know very well that mysterious circular mirror composed of two hemispheres which reflects as it were the rays emanating from the burning bush and the blazing star--the spiritual sun ,shining in ,,chidakasam4 ,the spiritual impressions constituting this principle have their existence in an occult power associated with the entity in question4 ,the successive incarnations of ,buddha1 in fact1 mean the successive transfers of this mysterious power1 or the impressions thereof4 ,the transfer is only possible when the ,mahatma99 who transfers it has completely identified himself with his seventh principle1 has annihilated his ,ahankaram1 and reduced it to ashes in ,,chidagnikundum1 and has succeeded in making his thoughts correspond with the eternal laws of ,nature and in becoming a co-worker with ,nature4 ,or1 to put the same thing in other words1 when he has attained the state of ,nirvana1 the condition of final negation1 negation of individual1 or separate existence49999 --------- 99 ,the highest adept4 99 ,in the words of ,agatha in the ,maha-pari-,nirvana ,sutra1 ,we reach a condition of rest ,beyond the limit of any human knowledge --,ed4 ,theos4 --------- ,,vii4 ,atma4--,the emanation from the absolute1 corresponding to the seventh principle4 ,as regards this entity there exists positively no real difference of opinion between the ,tibetan ,buddhist adepts and our ancient ,rishis4 ,we must now consider which of these entities can appear after the individual's death in seance-rooms and produce the so-called spiritualistic phenomena4 ,now1 the assertion of the ,spiritualists1 that the disembodied spirits of particular human beings appear in seance-rooms1 necessarily implies that the entity that so appears bears the stamp of some particular personality4 ,so1 we have to ascertain beforehand in what entity or entities personality has its seat of existence4 ,apparently it exists in the person's particular formation of body1 and in his subjective experiences 7called his mind in their totality74 ,on the death of the individual his body is destroyed2 his lingasariram being decomposed1 the power associated with it becomes mingled in the current of the corresponding power in the macrocosm4 ,similarly1 the third and fourth principles are mingled with their corresponding powers4 ,these entities may again enter into the composition of other organisms4 ,as these entities bear no impression of personality1 the ,spiritualists have no right to say that the disembodied spirit of the human being has appeared in the seance-room whenever any of these entities may appear there4 ,in fact1 they have no means of ascertaining that they belonged to any particular individual4 ,therefore1 we must only consider whether any of the last three entities appear in seance-rooms to amuse or to instruct ,spiritualists4 ,let us take three particular examples of individuals1 and see what becomes of these three principles after death4 ,i4 ,one in whom spiritual attachments have greater force than terrestrial attachments4 ,,ii4 ,one in whom spiritual aspirations do exist1 but are merely of secondary importance to him1 his terrestrial interests occupying the greater share of his attention4 ,,iii4 ,one in whom there exists no spiritual aspirations whatsoever1 one whose spiritual ,ego is dead or non-existent to his apprehension4 ,we need not consider the case of a complete adept in this connection4 ,in the first two cases1 according to our supposition1 spiritual and mental experiences exist together2 when spiritual consciousness exists1 the existence of the seventh principle being recognized1 it maintains its connection with the fifth and sixth principles4 ,but the existence of terrestrial attachments creates the necessity of ,punarjanmam 7re-birth71 the latter signifying the evolution of a new set of objective and subjective experiences1 constituting a new combination of surrounding circumstances1 or1 in other words1 a new world4 ,the period between death and the next subsequent birth is occupied with the preparation required for the evolution of these new experiences4 ,during the period of incubation1 as you call it1 the spirit will never of its own accord appear in this world1 nor can it so appear4 ,there is a great law in this universe which consists in the reduction of subjective experiences to objective phenomena1 and the evolution of the former from the latter4 ,this is otherwise called cyclic necessity4 ,man is subjected to this law if he do not check and counterbalance the usual destiny or fate1 and he can only escape its control by subduing all his terrestrial attachments completely4 ,the new combination of circumstances under which he will then be placed may be better or worse than the terrestrial conditions under which he lived2 but in his progress to a new world1 you may be sure he will never turn around to have a look at his spiritualistic friends4 ,in the third of the above three cases there is1 by our supposition1 no recognition of spiritual consciousness or of spirits2 so they are non-existing so far as he is concerned4 ,the case is similar to that of an organ or faculty which remains unused for a long time4 ,it then practically ceases to exist4 ,these entities1 as it were1 remain his1 or in his possession1 when they are stamped with the stamp of recognition4 ,when such is not the case1 the whole of his individuality is centred in his fifth principle4 ,and after death this fifth principle is the only representative of the individual in question4 ,by itself it cannot evolve for itself a new set of objective experiences1 or1 to say the same thing in other words1 it has no punarjanmam4 ,it is such an entity that can appear in seance-rooms2 but it is absurd to call it a disembodied spirit499 ,it is merely a power or force retaining the impressions of the thoughts or ideas of the individual into whose composition it originally entered4 ,it sometimes summons to its aid the ,kamarupa power1 and creates for itself some particular ethereal form 7not necessarily human74 -------- 99 ,it is especially on this point that the ,aryan and ,arahat doctrines quite agree4 ,the teaching and argument that follow are in every respect those of the ,buddhist ,himalayan ,brotherhood4--,ed4 ,theos4 -------- ,its tendencies of action will be similar to those of the individual's mind when he was living4 ,this entity maintains its existence so long as the impressions on the power associated with the fifth principle remain intact4 ,in course of time they are effaced1 and the power in question is then mixed up in the current of its corresponding power in the ,,macrocosm1 as the river loses itself in the sea4 ,entities like these may afford signs of there having been considerable intellectual power in the individuals to which they belonged2 because very high intellectual power may co-exist with utter absence of spiritual consciousness4 ,but from this circumstance it cannot be argued that either the spirits or the spiritual ,egos of deceased individuals appear in seance-rooms4 ,there are some people in ,india who have thoroughly studied the nature of such entities 7called ,pisacham74 ,i do not know much about them experimentally1 as ,i have never meddled with this disgusting1 profitless1 and dangerous branch of investigation4 ,the ,spiritualists do not know what they are really doing4 ,their investigations are likely to result in course of time either in wicked sorcery or in the utter spiritual ruin of thousands of men and women499 -------- 99 ,we share entirely in this idea4--,ed4 ,theos4 -------- ,the views ,i have herein expressed have been often illustrated by our ancient writers by comparing the course of a man's life or existence to the orbital motion of a planet round the sun4 ,centripetal force is spiritual attraction1 and centrifugal terrestrial attraction4 ,as the centripetal force increases in magnitude in comparison with the centrifugal force1 the planet approaches the sun--the individual reaches a higher plane of existence4 ,if1 on the other hand1 the centrifugal force becomes greater than the centripetal force1 the planet is removed to a greater distance from the sun1 and moves in a new orbit at that distance--the individual comes to a lower level of existence4 ,these are illustrated in the first two instances ,i have noticed above4 ,we have only to consider the two extreme cases4 ,when the planet in its approach to the sun passes over the line where the centripetal and centrifugal force completely neutralize each other1 and is only acted on by the centripetal force1 it rushes towards the sun with a gradually increasing velocity1 and is finally mixed up with the mass of the sun's body4 ,this is the case of a complete adept4 ,again1 when the planet in its retreat from the sun reaches a point where the centrifugal force becomes all-powerful1 it flies off in a tangential direction from its orbit1 and goes into the depths of void space4 ,when it ceases to be under the control of the sun1 it gradually gives up its generative heat1 and the creative energy that it originally derived from the sun1 and remains a cold mass of material particles wandering through space until the mass is completely decomposed into atoms4 ,this cold mass is compared to the fifth principle under the conditions above noticed1 and the heat1 light1 and energy that left it are compared to the sixth and seventh principles4 ,either after assuming a new orbit or in its course of deviation from the old orbit to the new1 the planet can never go back to any point in its old orbit1 as the various orbits lying in different planes never intersect each other4 ,this figurative representation correctly explains the ancient ,brahmanical theory on the subject4 ,it is merely a branch of what is called the ,great ,law of the ,universe by the ancient mystics4 --,t4 ,subba ,row ,appendix ,note ,i4 ,in this connection it will be well to draw the reader's attention to the fact that the country called ,si-dzang by the ,chinese1 and ,tibet by ,western geographers1 is mentioned in the oldest books preserved in the province of ,fo-kien 7the headquarters of the aborigines of ,china7 as the great seat of occult learning in the archaic ages4 ,according to these records1 it was inhabited by the ,teachers of ,light1 the ,sons of ,wisdom and the ,brothers of the ,sun4 ,the ,emperor ,yu the ,great 7#bbjg ,b4,c471 a pious mystic1 is credited with having obtained his occult wisdom and the system of theocracy established by him--for he was the first one to unite in ,china ecclesiastical power with temporal authority--from ,si-dzang4 ,that system was the same as with the old ,egyptians and the ,chaldees2 that which we know to have existed in the ,brahmanical period in ,india1 and to exist now in ,tibet--namely1 all the learning1 power1 the temporal as well as the secret wisdom were concentrated within the hierarchy of the priests and limited to their caste4 ,who were the aborigines of ,tibet is a question which no ethnographer is able to answer correctly at present4 ,they practice the ,bhon religion1 their sect is a pre-and anti-,buddhistic one1 and they are to be found mostly in the province of ,kam4 ,that is all that is known of them4 ,but even that would justify the supposition that they are the greatly degenerated descendants of mighty and wise forefathers4 ,their ethnical type shows that they are not pure ,turanians1 and their rites--now those of sorcery1 incantations1 and ,nature-worship--remind one far more of the popular rites of the ,babylonians1 as found in the records preserved on the excavated cylinders1 than of the religious practices of the ,chinese sect of ,tao-sse 7a religion based upon pure reason and spirituality71 as alleged by some4 ,generally1 little or no difference is made1 even by the ,kyelang missionaries1 who mix greatly with these people on the borders of ,british ,lahoul and ought to know better1 between the ,bhons and the two rival ,buddhist sects1 the ,yellow ,caps and the ,red ,caps4 ,the latter of these have opposed the reform of ,tzong-ka-pa from the first1 and have always adhered to old ,buddhism1 so greatly mixed up now with the practices of the ,bhons4 ,were our ,orientalists to know more of them1 and compare the ancient ,babylonian ,bel or ,baal worship with the rites of the ,bhons1 they would find an undeniable connection between the two4 ,to begin an argument here1 proving the origin of the aborigines of ,tibet as connected with one of the three great races which superseded each other in ,babylonia1 whether we call them the ,akkadians 7a name invented by ,f4 ,lenormant71 or the primitive ,turanians1 ,chaldees1 and ,assyrians1 is out of the question4 ,be it as it may1 there is reason to call the trans-,himalayan esoteric doctrine ,chaldeo-,tibetan4 ,and when we remember that the ,vedas came1 agreeably to all traditions1 from the ,mansarawara ,lake in ,tibet1 and the ,brahmins themselves from the far ,north1 we are justified in looking on the esoteric doctrines of every people who once had or still has it1 as having proceeded from one and the same source2 and to thus call it the ,aryan-,chaldeo-,tibetan doctrine1 or ,universal ,wisdom-,religion4 ,seek for the ,lost ,word among the hierophants of ,tartary1 ,china1 and ,tibet1 was the advice of ,swedenborg the seer4 ,note ,,ii4 ,not necessarily1 we say4 ,the ,vedas1 ,brahmanism1 and along with these1 ,sanskrit1 were importations into what we now regard as ,india4 ,they were never indigenous to its soil4 ,there was a time when the ancient nations of the ,west included under the generic name of ,india many of the countries of ,asia now classified under other names4 ,there was an ,upper1 a ,lower1 and a ,western ,india1 even during the comparatively late period of ,alexander2 and ,persia 7,iran7 is called ,western ,india in some ancient classics4 ,the countries now named ,tibet1 ,mongolia1 and ,great ,tartary were considered by them as forming part of ,india4 ,when we say1 therefore1 that ,india has civilized the world1 and was the ,alma ,mater of the civilizations1 arts1 and sciences of all other nations 7,babylonia1 and perhaps even ,egypt1 included71 we mean archaic1 pre-historic ,india1 ,india of the time when the great ,gobi was a sea1 and the lost ,atlantis formed part of an unbroken continent which began at the ,himalayas and ran down over ,southern ,india1 ,ceylon1 and ,java1 to far-away ,tasmania4 ,note ,,iii4 ,to ascertain such disputed questions1 one has to look into and study well the ,chinese sacred and historical records--a people whose era begins nearly #d1fjj years back 7#bfig ,b4,c474 ,a people so accurate1 and by whom some of the most important inventions of modern ,europe and its so much boasted modern science were anticipated--such as the compass1 gunpowder1 porcelain1 paper1 printing1 c4--known and practiced thousands of years before these were rediscovered by the ,europeans1 ought to receive some trust for their records4 ,and from ,lao-tze down to ,hiouen-,thsang their literature is filled with allusions and references to that island and the wisdom of the ,himalayan adepts4 ,in the ,catena of ,buddhist ,scriptures from the ,chinese1 by the ,rev4 ,samuel ,beal1 there is a chapter ,on the ,,tian-,,ta',i ,school of ,buddhism 7pp4 #bdd-beh7 which our opponents ought to read4 ,translating the rules of that most celebrated and holy school and sect in ,china founded by ,chin-che-,k'hae1 called ,che-chay 7the ,wise ,one71 in the year #ege of our era1 when coming to the sentence which reads ,that which relates to the one garment 7seamless7 worn by the ,,great ,,teachers ,,of ,,the ,,snowy ,,mountains1 the school of the ,haimavatas 7p4 #bef71 the ,european translator places after the last sentence a sign of interrogation1 as well he may4 ,the statistics of the school of the ,haimavatas1 or of our ,himalayan ,brotherhood1 are not to be found in the general census records of ,india4 ,further1 ,mr4 ,beal translates a rule relating to the great professors of the higher order who live in mountain depths remote from men1 the ,aranyakas1 or hermits4 ,so1 with respect to the traditions concerning this island1 and apart from the 7to them7 historical records of this preserved in the ,chinese and ,tibetan sacred books1 the legend is alive to this day among the people of ,tibet4 ,the fair island is no more1 but the country where it once bloomed remains there still1 and the spot is well known to some of the great teachers of the ,snowy ,mountains1 however much convulsed and changed its topography by the awful cataclysm4 ,every seventh year these teachers are believed to assemble in ,,scham-,,bha-,,la1 the ,happy ,land4 ,according to the general belief it is situated in the north-west of ,tibet4 ,some place it within the unexplored central regions1 inaccessible even to the fearless nomadic tribes2 others hem it in between the range of the ,gangdisri ,mountains and the northern edge of the ,gobi desert1 south and north1 and the more populated regions of ,khoondooz and ,kashmir1 of the ,gya-,pheling 7,british ,india71 and ,china1 west and east1 which affords to the curious mind a pretty large latitude to locate it in4 ,others still place it between ,namur ,nur and the ,kuen-,lun ,mountains1 but one and all firmly believe in ,scham-bha-la1 and speak of it as a fertile fairy-like land once an island1 now an oasis of incomparable beauty1 the place of meeting of the inheritors of the esoteric wisdom of the god-like inhabitants of the legendary island4 ,in connection with the archaic legend of the ,asian ,sea and the ,atlantic ,continent1 is it not profitable to note a fact known to all modern geologists-that the ,himalayan slopes afford geological proof that the substance of those lofty peaks was once a part of an ocean floor8 ,note ,,iv4 ,we have already pointed out that1 in our opinion1 the whole difference between ,buddhistic and ,vedantic philosophies was that the former was a kind of ,rationalistic ,vedantism1 while the latter might be regarded as transcendental ,buddhism4 ,if the ,aryan esotericism applies the term jivatma to the seventh principle--the pure and per se unconscious spirit--it is because the ,vedanta1 postulating three kinds of existence--7#a7 the paramarthika 7the true1 the only real one71 7#b7 the vyavaharika 7the practical71 and 7#c7 the pratibhasika 7the apparent or illusory life7--makes the first life or jiva1 the only truly existent one4 ,brahma1 or the ,,one',s ,,self1 is its only representative in the universe1 as it is the universal ,life in toto1 while the other two are but its phenomenal appearances1 imagined and created by ignorance1 and complete illusions suggested to us by our blind senses4 ,the ,buddhists1 on the other hand1 deny either subjective or objective reality even to that one ,self-,existence4 ,buddha declares that there is neither ,creator nor an ,absolute ,being4 ,buddhist rationalism was ever too alive to the insuperable difficulty of admitting one absolute consciousness1 as in the words of ,flint1 wherever there is consciousness there is relation1 and wherever there is relation there is dualism4 ,the ,,one ,,life is either ,,mukta 7absolute and unconditioned71 and can have no relation to anything nor to any one2 or it is ,,baddha 7bound and conditioned71 and then it cannot be called the absolute2 the limitation1 moreover1 necessitating another deity as powerful as the first to account for all the evil in this world4 ,hence1 the ,arahat secret doctrine on cosmogony admits but of one absolute1 indestructible1 eternal1 and uncreated ,,unconsciousness 7so to translate7 of an element 7the word being used for want of a better term7 absolutely independent of everything else in the universe2 a something ever present or ubiquitous1 a ,presence which ever was1 is1 and will be1 whether there is a ,god1 gods1 or none1 whether there is a universe1 or no universe1 existing during the eternal cycles of ,maha ,yugs1 during the ,pralayas as during the periods of ,manvantara1 and this is ,,space1 the field for the operation of the eternal ,forces and natural ,law1 the basis 7as ,mr4 ,subba ,row rightly calls it7 upon which take place the eternal intercorrelations of ,akasa-,prakriti2 guided by the unconscious regular pulsations of ,sakti1 the breath or power of a conscious deity1 the theists would say2 the eternal energy of an eternal1 unconscious ,law1 say the ,buddhists4 ,space1 then1 or ,fan1 ,bar-nang 7,maha ,sunyata7 or1 as it is called by ,lao-tze1 the ,emptiness1 is the nature of the ,buddhist ,absolute4 7,see ,confucius' ,praise of the ,abyss47 ,the word jiva1 then1 could never be applied by the ,arahats to the ,seventh ,principle1 since it is only through its correlation or contact with matter that ,fo-hat 7the ,buddhist active energy7 can develop active conscious life2 and that to the question how can unconsciousness generate consciousness8 the answer would be3 ,was the seed which generated a ,bacon or a ,newton self-conscious8 ,note ,v4 ,to our ,european readers1 deceived by the phonetic similarity1 it must not be thought that the name ,brahman is identical in this connection with ,brahma or ,iswara1 the personal ,god4 ,the ,upanishads--the ,vedanta ,scriptures--mention no such ,god1 and one would vainly seek in them any allusions to a conscious deity4 ,the ,brahman1 or ,parabrahm1 the absolute of the ,vedantins1 is neuter and unconscious1 and has no connection with the masculine ,brahma of the ,hindu ,triad1 or ,trimurti4 ,some ,orientalists rightly believe the name derived from the verb ,brih1 to grow or increase1 and to be in this sense the universal expansive force of ,nature1 the vivifying and spiritual principle or power spread throughout the universe1 and which1 in its collectivity1 is the one ,absoluteness1 the one ,life and the only ,reality4 --,h4,p4 ,blavatsky ,septenary ,division in ,different ,indian ,systems ,we give below in a tabular form the classifications1 adopted by ,buddhist and by ,vedantic teachers1 of the principles in man3-- ,classification in ,vedantic ,classification in ,esoteric ,buddhism ,classification ,taraka ,raja ,yoga 7#a47 ,sthula sarira ,annamaya kosa ,sthulopadhi 7#b47 ,prana ,pranamaya kosa 7#c47,the ,vehicle of ,prana 7#d47 ,kama rupa 7a7 ,volitions ,manomaya kosa 7#e47 ,mind_/ feelings c4 ,sukshmopadhi 7b7 ,vignanam ,vignanamayakosa 7#f47 ,spiritual ,soul ,anandamayakosa ,karanopadhi 7#g47 ,atma ,atma ,atma ,from the foregoing table it will be seen that the third principle in the ,buddhist classification is not separately mentioned in the ,vedantic division as it is merely the vehicle of prana4 ,it will also be seen that the fourth principle is included in the third kosa 7sheath71 as the said principle is but the vehicle of will-power1 which is but an energy of the mind4 ,it must also be noticed that the ,vignanamayakosa is considered to be distinct from the ,manomayakosa1 as a division is made after death between the lower part of the mind1 as it were1 which has a closer affinity with the fourth principle than with the sixth and its higher part1 which attaches itself to the latter1 and which is1 in fact1 the basis for the higher spiritual individuality of man4 ,we may also here point out to our readers that the classification mentioned in the last column is for all practical purposes connected with ,raja ,yoga1 the best and simplest4 ,though there are seven principles in man1 there are but three distinct ,upadhis 7bases71 in each of which his ,atma may work independently of the rest4 ,these three ,upadhis can be separated by an adept without killing himself4 ,he cannot separate the seven principles from each other without destroying his constitution4 --,t4,s4 ,the ,septenary ,principle in ,esotericism ,since the exposition of the ,arhat esoteric doctrine was begun1 many who had not acquainted themselves with the occult basis of ,hindu philosophy have imagined that the two were in conflict4 ,some of the more bigoted have openly charged the ,occultists of the ,theosophical ,society with propagating rank ,buddhistic heresy2 and have even gone to the length of affirming that the whole ,theosophic movement was but a masked ,buddhistic propaganda4 ,we were taunted by ignorant ,brahmins and learned ,europeans that our septenary divisions of ,nature and everything in it1 including man1 are arbitrary and not endorsed by the oldest religious systems of the ,east4 ,it is now proposed to throw a cursory glance at the ,vedas1 the ,upanishads1 the ,law-,books of ,manu1 and especially the ,vedanta1 and show that they too support our position4 ,even in their crude exotericism their affirmation of the sevenfold division is apparent4 ,passage after passage may be cited in proof4 ,and not only can the mysterious number be found traced on every page of the oldest ,aryan ,sacred ,scriptures1 but in the oldest books of ,zoroastrianism as well2 in the rescued cylindrical tile records of old ,babylonia and ,chaldea1 in the ,book of the ,dead and the ,ritualism of ancient ,egypt1 and even in the ,mosaic books--without mentioning the secret ,jewish works1 such as the ,kabala4 ,the limited space at command forces us to allow a few brief quotations to stand as landmarks and not even attempt long explanations4 ,it is no exaggeration to say that upon each of the few hints now given in the cited ,slokas a thick volume might be written4 ,from the well-known hymn ,to ,time1 in the ,atharva-,veda 7xix4 #ec73 ,time1 like a brilliant steed with seven rays1 ,full of fecundity1 bears all things onward4 ,time1 like a seven-wheeled1 seven-naved car moves on1 ,his rolling wheels are all the worlds1 his axle ,is immortality4444 --down to ,manu1 the first and the seventh man1 the ,vedas1 the ,upanishads1 and all the later systems of philosophy teem with allusions to this number4 ,who was ,manu1 the son of ,swayambhuva8 ,the secret doctrine tells us that this ,manu was no man1 but the representation of the first human races evolved with the help of the ,dhyan-,chohans 7,devas7 at the beginning of the first ,round4 ,but we are told in his ,laws 7,book ,i4 #hj7 that there are fourteen ,manus for every ,kalpa or interval from creation to creation 7read interval from one minor ,pralaya to another7 and that in the present divine age there have been as yet seven ,manus4 ,those who know that there are seven ,rounds1 of which we have passed three1 and are now in the fourth2 and who are taught that there are seven dawns and seven twilights1 or fourteen ,manvantaras2 that at the beginning of every ,round and at the end1 and on and between the planets1 there is an awakening to illusive life1 and an awakening to real life1 and that1 moreover1 there are root-,manus1 and what we have to clumsily translate as the seed-,manus--the seeds for the human races of the forthcoming ,round 7a mystery divulged but to those who have passed the #crd degree in initiation72 those who have learned all that1 will be better prepared to understand the meaning of the following4 ,we are told in the ,sacred ,hindu ,scriptures that the first ,manu produced six other ,manus 7seven primary ,manus in all71 and these produced in their turn each seven other ,manus 7,bhrigu ,i4 #fa-fc7199 the production of the latter standing in the occult treatises as #g x #g4 ,thus it becomes clear that ,manu--the last one1 the progenitor of our ,fourth ,round ,humanity--must be the seventh1 since we are on our fourth ,round1 and that there is a root-,manu on globe ,a and a seed-,manu on globe ,g4 ,just as each planetary ,round commences with the appearance of a ,root-,manu 7,dhyan-,chohan7 and closes with a ,seed-,manu1 so a root-and a seed-,manu appear respectively at the beginning and the termination of the human period on any particular planet4 ------- 99 ,the fact that ,manu himself is made to declare that he was created by ,viraj and then produced the ten ,prajapatis1 who again produced seven ,menus1 who in their turn gave birth to seven other ,manus 7,manu1 ,i4 #cc-cf71 relates to other still earlier mysteries1 and is at the same time a blind with regard to the doctrine of the ,septenary chain4 --------- ,it will be easily seen from the foregoing statement that a ,manu-antaric period means1 as the term implies1 the time between the appearance of two ,manus or ,dhyan-,chohans3 and hence a minor ,manu-antara is the duration of the seven races on any particular planet1 and a major ,manu-antara is the period of one human round along the planetary chain4 ,moreover1 that1 as it is said that each of the seven ,manus creates #g x #g ,manus1 and that there are #di root-races on the seven planets during each ,round1 then every root-race has its ,manu4 ,the present seventh ,manu is called ,vaivasvata1 and stands in the exoteric texts for that ,manu who represents in ,india the ,babylonian ,xisusthrus and the ,jewish ,noah4 ,but in the esoteric books we are told that ,manu ,vaivasvata1 the progenitor of our fifth race--who saved it from the flood that nearly exterminated the fourth 7,atlantean7--is not the seventh ,manu1 mentioned in the nomenclature of the ,root1 or primitive ,manus1 but one of the #di emanated from this 'root'--,manu4 ,for clearer comprehension we here give the names of the #ad ,manus in their respective order and relation to each ,round3-- #ast #ast 7,root7 ,manu on ,planet ,a4-,swayambhuva ,round4 #ast 7,seed7 ,manu on ,planet ,g4-,swarochi 7or7,swarotisha #bnd #bnd 7,r47 ,m4 on ,planet ,a4-,uttama ,round #bnd 7,s47 ,m4 ,g4-,thamasa #crd #crd 7,r47 ,m4 ,a4-,raivata ,round #crd 7,s47 ,m4 ,g4-,chackchuska #dth #dth 7,r47 ,m4 ,a4-,vaivasvata 7our progenitor7 ,round #dth 7,s47 ,m4 ,g4-,savarni #eth #eth 7,r47 ,m4 ,a4-,daksha ,savarni ,round #eth 7,s47 ,m4 ,g4-,brahma ,savarni #fth #fth 7,r47 ,m4 on ,planet ,a4-,dharma ,savarni ,round #fth 7,s47 ,m4 ,g4-,rudra ,savarni #gth #gth 7,r47 ,m4 ,a4-,rouchya ,round #gth 7,s47 ,m4 ,g4-,bhoutya ,vaivasvata thus1 though seventh in the order given1 is the primitive ,root-,manu of our fourth ,human ,wave 7the reader must always remember that ,manu is not a man but collective humanity71 while our ,vaivasvata was but one of the seven ,minor ,manus who are made to preside over the seven races of this our planet4 ,each of these has to become the witness of one of the periodical and ever-recurring cataclysms 7by fire and water in turn7 that close the cycle of every root-race4 ,and it is this ,vaivasvata--the ,hindu ideal embodiment called respectively ,xisusthrus1 ,deukalion1 ,noah1 and by other names--who is the allegorical man who rescued our race when nearly the whole population of one hemisphere perished by water1 while the other hemisphere was awakening from its temporary obscuration4 ,the number seven stands prominently conspicuous in even a cursory comparison of the #aath ,tablet of the ,izdhubar ,legends of the ,chaldean account of the ,deluge and the so-called ,mosaic books4 ,in both the number seven plays a most prominent part4 ,the clean beasts are taken by sevens1 the fowls by sevens also2 in seven days1 it is promised ,noah1 to rain upon the earth2 thus he stays yet other seven days1 and again seven days2 while in the ,chaldean4 account of the ,deluge1 on the seventh day the rain abated4 ,on the seventh day the dove is sent out2 by sevens1 ,xisusthrus takes jugs of wine for the altar1 c4 ,why such coincidence8 ,and yet we are told by1 and bound to believe in1 the ,european ,orientalists1 when passing judgment alike upon the ,babylonian and ,aryan chronology they call them extravagant and fanciful6 ,nevertheless1 while they give us no explanation of1 nor have they ever noticed1 as far as we know1 the strange identity in the totals of the ,semitic1 ,chaldean1 and ,aryan ,hindu chronology1 the students of ,occult ,philosophy find the following fact extremely suggestive4 ,while the period of the reign of the #aj ,babylonian antediluvian kings is given as #dcb1jjj years199 the duration of the postdiluvian ,kali-yug is also given as #dcb1jjj1 while the four ages or the divine ,maha-yug1 yield in their totality #d1cbj1jjj years4 ,why should they1 if fanciful and extravagant1 give the identical figures1 when neither the ,aryans nor the ,babylonians have surely borrowed anything from each other6 ,we invite the attention of our occultists to the three figures given--#d standing for the perfect square1 #c for the triad 7the seven universal and the seven individual principles71 and #b the symbol of our illusionary world1 a figure ignored and rejected by ,pythagoras4 -------- 99 ,see ,babylonia1 by ,george ,smith1 p4 #cf4 ,here again1 as with the ,manus and #aj ,prajapatis and the #aj ,sephiroths in the ,book of ,numbers-- they dwindle down to seven6 -------- ,it is in the ,upanishads and the ,vedanta though1 that we have to look for the best corroborations of the occult teachings4 ,in the mystical doctrine the ,rahasya1 or the ,upanishads--the only ,veda of all thoughtful ,hindus in the present day1 as ,monier ,williams is made to confess1 every word1 as its very name implies199 has a secret meaning underlying it4 ,this meaning can be fully realized only by him who has a full knowledge of ,prana1 the ,,one ,,life1 the nave to which are attached the seven spokes of the ,universal ,wheel4 7,hymn to ,prana1 ,atharva-,veda1 ,,xi4 #d47 ,even ,european ,orientalists agree that all the systems in ,india assign to the human body3 7a7 an exterior or gross body 7sthula-sarira72 7b7 an inner or shadowy body 7sukshma71 or linga-sarira 7the vehicle71 the two cemented with--7c71 life 7jiv or ,karana sarira1 causal body749999 ,these the occult system or esotericism divides into seven1 farther adding to these--kama1 manas1 buddhi and atman4 ,the ,nyaya philosophy when treating of ,prameyas 7by which the objects and subjects of ,praman are to be correctly understood7 includes among the #ab the seven root principles 7see ,i,xth ,sutra71 which are #a1 soul 7atman71 and #b its superior spirit ,jivatman2 #c1 body 7sarira72 #d1 senses 7indriya72 #e1 activity or will 7pravritti72 #f1 mind 7manas72 #g1 ,intellection 7,buddhi74 ,the seven ,padarthas 7inquiries or predicates of existing things7 of ,kanada in the ,vaiseshikas1 refer in the occult doctrine to the seven qualities or attributes of the seven principles4 ,thus3 #a1 substance 7dravya7 refers to body or sthula-sarira2 #b1 quality or property 7guna7 to the life principle1 jiv2 #c1 action or act 7karman7 to the ,linga1 sarira2 #d1 ,community or commingling of properties 7,samanya7 to ,kamarupa2 #e1 personality or conscious individuality 7,visesha7 to ,manas2 #f1 co-inherence or perpetual intimate relation 7,samuvuya7 to ,buddhi1 the inseparable vehicle of ,atman2 #g1 non-existence or non-being in the sense of1 and as separate from1 objectivity or substance 7abhava7--to the highest monad or ,atman4 ------- 99 ,upa-ni-shad means1 according to ,brahminical authority1 to conquer ignorance by revealing the secret spiritual knowledge4 ,according to ,monier ,williams1 the title is derived from the root sad with the prepositions upa and ni1 and implies something mystical that underlies or is beneath the surface4 9999 ,this ,karana-sarira is often mistaken by the uninitiated for ,linga-sarira1 and since it is described as the inner rudimentary or latent embryo of the body1 confounded with it4 ,but the ,occultists regard it as the life 7body7 or ,jiv1 which disappears at death2 is withdrawn--leaving the #ast and #crd principles to disintegrate and return to their elements4 ---------- ,thus1 whether we view the ,,one as the ,vedic ,purusha or ,brahman 7neuter7 the all-expanding essence2 or as the universal spirit1 the light of lights 7jyotisham jyotih7 the ,,total independent of all relation1 of the ,upanishads2 or as the ,paramatman of the ,vedanta2 or again as ,kanada's ,adrishta1 the unseen ,force1 or divine atom2 or as ,prakriti1 the eternally existing essence1 of ,kapila--we find in all these impersonal universal ,principles the latent capability of evolving out of themselves six rays 7the evolver being the seventh74 ,the third aphorism of the ,sankhya-,karika1 which says of ,prakriti that it is the root and substance of all things1 and no production1 but itself a producer of seven things1 which produced by it1 become also producers1 has a purely occult meaning4 ,what are the producers evoluted from this universal root-principle1 ,mula-prakriti or undifferentiated primeval cosmic matter1 which evolves out of itself consciousness and mind1 and is generally called ,prakriti and amulam mulam1 the rootless root1 and ,aryakta1 the unevolved evolver1 c48 ,this primordial tattwa or eternally existing 'that1' the unknown essence1 is said to produce as a first producer1 #a1 ,buddhi-- intellect--whether we apply the latter to the #fth macrocosmic or microcosmic principle4 ,this first produced produces in its turn 7or is the source of7 ,ahankara1 self-consciousness and manas mind4 ,the reader will please always remember that the ,mahat or great source of these two internal faculties1 ,buddhi per se1 can have neither self-consciousness nor mind2 viz41 the #fth principle in man can preserve an essence of personal self-consciousness or personal individuality only by absorbing within itself its own waters1 which have run through that finite faculty2 for ,ahankara1 that is the perception of ,i1 or the sense of one's personal individuality1 justly represented by the term ,ego-ism1 belongs to the second1 or rather the third1 production out of the seven1 viz41 to the #eth principle1 or ,manas4 ,it is the latter which draws as the web issues from the spider along the thread of ,prakriti1 the root principle1 the four following subtle elementary principles or particles--,tanmatras1 out of which third class1 the ,mahabhutas or the gross elementary principles1 or rather sarira and rupas1 are evolved-- the kama1 linga1 ,jiva and sthula-sarira4 ,the three gunas of ,prakriti--the ,sattwa1 ,rajas and ,tamas 7purity1 passionate activity1 and ignorance or darkness7--spun into a triple-stranded cord or rope1 pass through the seven1 or rather six1 human principles4 ,it depends on the #eth--,manas or ,ahankara1 the ,i--to thin the guna1 rope1 into one thread--the sattwa2 and thus by becoming one with the unevolved evolver1 win immortality or eternal conscious existence4 ,otherwise it will be again resolved into its ,mahabhautic essence2 so long as the triple-stranded rope is left unstranded1 the spirit 7the divine monad7 is bound by the presence of the gunas in the principles like an animal 7purusha pasu74 ,the spirit1 atman or jivatman 7the #gth and #fth principles71 whether of the macro-or microcosm1 though bound by these gunas during the objective manifestation of universe or man1 is yet nirguna--i4e41 entirely free from them4 ,out of the three producers or evolvers1 ,prakriti1 ,buddhi and ,ahankara1 it is but the latter that can be caught 7when man is concerned7 and destroyed when personal4 ,the divine monad is aguna 7devoid of qualities71 while ,prakriti1 once that from passive ,mula-prakriti it has become avyakta 7an active evolver7 is gunavat--endowed with qualities4 ,with the latter1 ,purusha or ,atman can have nought to do 7of course being unable to perceive it in its gunuvatic state72 with the former--or ,mula-prakriti or undifferentiated cosmic essence--it has1 since it is one with it and identical4 ,the ,atma ,bodha1 or knowledge of soul1 a tract written by the great ,sankaracharya1 speaks distinctly of the seven principles in man 7see #adth verse74 ,they are called therein the five sheaths 7panchakosa7 in which is enclosed the divine monad--the ,atman1 and ,buddhi1 the #gth and #fth principles1 or the individuated soul when made distinct 7through avidya1 maya and the gunas7 from the supreme soul--,parabrahm4 ,the #ast sheath1 called ,ananda-maya--the illusion of supreme bliss--is the manas or fifth principle of the occultists1 when united with ,buddhi2 the #bnd sheath is ,vjnana-maya-kosa1 the case or envelope of self-delusion1 the manas when self-deluded into the belief of the personal ,i1 or ego1 with its vehicle4 ,the #crd1 the ,mano-maya sheath1 composed of illusionary mind associated with the organs of action and will1 is the ,kamarupa and ,linga-sarira combined1 producing an illusive ,i or ,mayavi-rupa4 ,the #dth sheath is called ,prana-maya1 illusionary life1 our second life principle or jiv1 wherein resides life1 the breathing sheath4 ,the #eth kosa is called ,anna-maya1 or the sheath supported by food--our gross material body4 ,all these sheaths produce other smaller sheaths1 or six attributes or qualities each1 the seventh being always the root sheath2 and the ,atman or spirit passing through all these subtle ethereal bodies like a thread1 is called the thread-soul or sutratman4 ,we may conclude with the above demonstration4 ,verily the ,esoteric doctrine may well be called in its turn the thread-doctrine1 since1 like ,sutratman or ,pranatman1 it passes through and strings together all the ancient philosophical religious systems1 and1 what is more1 reconciles and explains them4 ,for though seeming so unlike externally1 they have but one foundation1 and of that the extent1 depth1 breadth and nature are known to those who have become1 like the ,wise ,men of the ,east1 adepts in ,occult ,science4 --,h4,p4 ,blavatsky ,personal and ,impersonal ,god ,at the outset ,i shall request my readers 7such of them at least as are not acquainted with the ,cosmological theories of the ,idealistic thinkers of ,europe7 to examine ,john ,stuart ,mill's ,cosmological speculations as contained in his examination of ,sir ,william ,hamilton's philosophy1 before attempting to understand the ,adwaita doctrine2 and ,i beg to inform them beforehand that in explaining the main principles of the said doctrine1 ,i am going to use1 as far as it is convenient to do so1 the phraseology adopted by ,english psychologists of the ,idealistic school of thought4 ,in dealing with the phenomena of our present plane of existence ,john ,stuart ,mill ultimately came to the conclusion that matter1 or the so-called external phenomena1 are but the creation of our mind2 they are the mere appearances of a particular phase of our subjective self1 and of our thoughts1 volitions1 sensations and emotions which in their totality constitute the basis of that ,ego4 ,matter then is the permanent possibility of sensations1 and the so-called ,laws of matter are1 properly speaking1 the ,laws which govern the succession and coexistence of our states of consciousness4 ,mill further holds that properly speaking there is no noumenal ,ego4 ,the very idea of a mind existing separately as an entity1 distinct from the states of consciousness which are supposed to inhere in it1 is in his opinion illusory1 as the idea of an external object1 which is supposed to be perceived by our senses4 ,thus the ideas of mind and matter1 of subject and object1 of the ,ego and external world1 are really evolved from the aggregation of our mental states which are the only realities so far as we are concerned4 ,the chain of our mental states or states of consciousness is a double-headed monster1 according to ,professor ,bain1 which has two distinct aspects1 one objective and the other subjective4 ,mr4 ,mill has paused here1 confessing that psychological analysis did not go any further2 the mysterious link which connects together the train of our states of consciousness and gives rise to our ,ahankaram in this condition of existence1 still remains an incomprehensible mystery to ,western psychologists1 though its existence is but dimly perceived in the subjective phenomena of memory and expectation4 ,on the other hand1 the great physicists of ,europe are gradually coming to the conclusion99 that mind is the product of matter1 or that it is one of the attributes of matter in some of its conditions4 ,it would appear1 therefore1 from the speculations of ,western psychologists that matter is evolved from mind and that mind is evolved from matter4 ,these two propositions are apparently irreconcilable4 -------- 99 ,see ,tyndall's ,belfast ,address4--,s4,r4 -------- ,mill and ,tyndall have admitted that ,western science is yet unable to go deeper into the question4 ,nor is it likely to solve the mystery hereafter1 unless it calls ,eastern occult science to its aid and takes a more comprehensive view of the capabilities of the real subjective self of man and the various aspects of the great objective universe4 ,the great ,adwaitee philosophers of ancient ,aryavarta have examined the relationship between subject and object in every condition of existence in this solar system in which this differentiation is presented4 ,just as a human being is composed of seven principles1 differentiated matter in the solar system exists in seven different conditions4 ,these different states of matter do not all come within the range of our present objective consciousness4 ,but they can be objectively perceived by the spiritual ,ego in man4 ,to the liberated spiritual monad of man1 or to the ,dhyan ,chohans1 every thing that is material in every condition of matter is an object of perception4 ,further1 ,pragna or the capacity of perception exists in seven different aspects corresponding to the seven conditions of matter4 ,strictly speaking1 there are but six states of matter1 the so-called seventh state being the aspect of cosmic matter in its original undifferentiated condition4 ,similarly there are six states of differentiated ,pragna1 the seventh state being a condition of perfect unconsciousness4 ,by differentiated ,pragna1 ,i mean the condition in which ,pragna is split up into various states of consciousness4 ,thus we have six states of consciousness1 either objective or subjective for the time being1 as the case may be1 and a perfect state of unconsciousness1 which is the beginning and the end of all conceivable states of consciousness1 corresponding to the states of differentiated matter and its original undifferentiated basis which is the beginning and the end of all cosmic evolutions4 ,it will be easily seen that the existence of consciousness is necessary for the differentiation between subject and object4 ,hence these two phases are presented in six different conditions1 and in the last state there being no consciousness as above stated1 the differentiation in question ceases to exist4 ,the number of these various conditions is different in different systems of philosophy4 ,but whatever may be the number of divisions1 they all lie between perfect unconsciousness at one end of the line and our present state of consciousness or ,bahipragna at the other end4 ,to understand the real nature of these different states of consciousness1 ,i shall request my readers to compare the consciousness of the ordinary man with the consciousness of the astral man1 and again compare the latter with the consciousness of the spiritual ,ego in man4 ,in these three conditions the objective universe is not the same4 ,but the difference between the ,ego and the non-,ego is common to all these conditions4 ,consequently1 admitting the correctness of ,mill's reasoning as regards the subject and object of our present plane of consciousness1 the great ,adwaitee thinkers of ,india have extended the same reasoning to other states of consciousness1 and came to the conclusion that the various conditions of the ,ego and the non-,ego were but the appearances of one and the same entity--the ultimate state of unconsciousness4 ,this entity is neither matter nor spirit2 it is neither ,ego nor non-,ego2 and it is neither object nor subject4 ,in the language of ,hindu philosophers it is the original and eternal combination of ,purusha and ,prakriti4 ,as the ,adwaitees hold that an external object is merely the product of our mental states1 ,prakriti is nothing more than illusion1 and ,purush is the only reality2 it is the one existence which remains eternal in this universe of ,ideas4 ,this entity then is the ,parabrahmam of the ,adwaitees4 ,even if there were to be a personal ,god with anything like a material ,upadhi 7physical basis of whatever form71 from the standpoint of an ,adwaitee there will be as much reason to doubt his noumenal existence as there would be in the case of any other object4 ,in their opinion1 a conscious ,god cannot be the origin of the universe1 as his ,ego would be the effect of a previous cause1 if the word conscious conveys but its ordinary meaning4 ,they cannot admit that the grand total of all the states of consciousness in the universe is their deity1 as these states are constantly changing and as cosmic idealism ceases during ,pralaya4 ,there is only one permanent condition in the universe which is the state of perfect unconsciousness1 bare ,chidakasam 7field of consciousness7 in fact4 ,when my readers once realize the fact that this grand universe is in reality but a huge aggregation of various states of consciousness1 they will not be surprised to find that the ultimate state of unconsciousness is considered as ,parabrahmam by the ,adwaitees4 ,the idea of a ,god1 ,deity1 ,iswar1 or an impersonal ,god 7if consciousness is one of his attributes7 involves the idea of ,ego or non-,ego in some shape or other1 and as every conceivable ,ego or non-,ego is evolved from this primitive element 7,i use this word for want of a better one7 the existence of an extra-cosmic god possessing such attributes prior to this condition is absolutely inconceivable4 ,though ,i have been speaking of this element as the condition of unconsciousness1 it is1 properly speaking1 the ,chidakasam or ,chinmatra of the ,hindu philosophers which contains within itself the potentiality of every condition of ,pragna1 and which results as consciousness on the one hand and the objective universe on the other1 by the operation of its latent ,chichakti 7the power which generates thought74 ,before proceeding to discuss the nature of ,parabrahmam4 ,it is to be stated that in the opinion of ,adwaitees1 the ,upanishads and the ,brahmasutras fully support their views on the subject4 ,it is distinctly affirmed in the ,upanishads that ,parabrahmam1 which is but the bare potentiality of ,pragna199 is not an aspect of ,pragna or ,ego in any shape1 and that it has neither life nor consciousness4 ,the reader will be able to ascertain that such is really the case on examining the ,mundaka and ,mandukya ,upanishads4 ,the language used here and there in the ,upanishads is apt to mislead one into the belief that such language points to the existence of a conscious ,iswar4 ,but the necessity for such language will perhaps be rendered clear from the following considerations4 -------- 99 ,the power or the capacity that gives rise to perception4 -------- ,from a close examination of ,mill's cosmological theory the difficulty will be clearly seen referred to above1 of satisfactorily accounting for the generation of conscious states in any human being from the standpoint of the said theory4 ,it is generally stated that sensations arise in us from the action of the external objects around us3 they are the effects of impressions made on our senses by the objective world in which we exist4 ,this is simple enough to an ordinary mind1 however difficult it may be to account for the transformation of a cerebral nerve-current into a state of consciousness4 ,but from the standpoint of ,mill's theory we have no proof of the existence of any external object2 even the objective existence of our own senses is not a matter of certainty to us4 ,how1 then1 are we to account for and explain the origin of our mental states1 if they are the only entities existing in this world8 ,no explanation is really given by saying that one mental state gives rise to another mental state1 to a certain extent at all events1 under the operation of the so-called psychological ,laws of ,association4 ,western psychology honestly admits that its analysis has not gone any further4 ,it may be inferred1 however1 from the said theory that there would be no reason for saying that a material ,upadhi 7basis7 is necessary for the existence of mind or states of consciousness4 ,as is already indicated1 the ,aryan psychologists have traced this current of mental states to its source--the eternal ,chinmatra existing everywhere4 ,when the time for evolution comes this germ of ,pragna unfolds itself and results ultimately as ,cosmic ideation4 ,cosmic ideas are the conceptions of all the conditions of existence in the ,cosmos existing in what may be called the universal mind 7the demiurgic mind of the ,western ,kabalists74 ,this ,chinmatra exists as it were at every geometrical point of the infinite ,chidakasam4 ,this principle then has two general aspects4 ,considered as something objective it is the eternal ,asath--,mulaprakriti or ,undifferentiated ,cosmic matter4 ,from a subjective point of view it may be looked upon in two ways4 ,it is ,chidakasam when considered as the field of ,cosmic ideation2 and it is ,chinmatra when considered as the germ of ,cosmic ideation4 ,these three aspects constitute the highest ,trinity of the ,aryan ,adwaitee philosophers4 ,it will be readily seen that the last-mentioned aspect of the principle in question is far more important to us than the other two aspects2 for1 when looked upon in this aspect the principle under consideration seems to embody within itself the great ,law of ,cosmic ,evolution4 ,and therefore the ,adwaitee philosophers have chiefly considered it in this light1 and explained their cosmogony from a subjective point of view4 ,in doing so1 however1 they cannot avoid the necessity of speaking of a universal mind 7and this is ,brahma1 the ,creator7 and its ideation4 ,but it ought not to be inferred therefrom that this universal mind necessarily belongs to an ,omnipresent living conscious ,creator1 simply because in ordinary parlance a mind is always spoken of in connection with a particular living being4 ,it cannot be contended that a material ,uphadi is indispensable for the existence of mind or mental states when the objective universe itself is1 so far as we are concerned1 the result of our states of consciousness4 ,expressions implying the existence of a conscious ,iswar which are to be found here and there in the ,upanishads should not therefore be literally construed4 ,it now remains to be seen how ,adwaitees account for the origin of mental states in a particular individual4 ,apparently the mind of a particular human being is not the universal mind4 ,nevertheless ,cosmic ideation is the real source of the states of consciousness in every individual4 ,cosmic ideation exists everywhere2 but when placed under restrictions by a material ,upadhi it results as the consciousness of the individual inhering in such ,upadhi4 ,strictly speaking1 an ,adwaitee will not admit the objective existence of this material ,upadhi4 ,from his standpoint it is ,maya or illusion which exists as a necessary condition of ,pragna4 ,but to avoid confusion1 ,i shall use the ordinary language2 and to enable my readers to grasp my meaning clearly the following simile may be adopted4 ,suppose a bright light is placed in the centre with a curtain around it4 ,the nature of the light that penetrates through the curtain and becomes visible to a person standing outside depends upon the nature of the curtain4 ,if several such curtains are thus successively placed around the light1 it will have to penetrate through all of them2 and a person standing outside will only perceive as much light as is not intercepted by all the curtains4 ,the central light becomes dimmer and dimmer as curtain after curtain is placed before the observer2 and as curtain after curtain is removed the light becomes brighter and brighter until it reaches its natural brilliancy4 ,similarly1 universal mind or ,cosmic ideation becomes more and more limited and modified by the various ,upadhis of which a human being is composed2 and when the action or influence of these various ,upadhis is successively controlled1 the mind of the individual human being is placed en rapport with the universal mind and his ideation is lost in ,cosmic ideation4 ,as ,i have already said1 these ,upadhis are strictly speaking the conditions of the gradual development or evolution of ,bahipragna--or consciousness in the present plane of our existence--from the original and eternal ,chinmatra1 which is the seventh principle in man1 and the ,parabrahmam of the ,adwaitees4 ,this then is the purport of the ,adwaitee philosophy on the subject under consideration1 and it is1 in my humble opinion1 in harmony with the ,arhat doctrine relating to the same subject4 ,the latter doctrine postulates the existence of ,cosmic matter in an undifferentiated condition throughout the infinite expanse of space4 ,space and time are but its aspects1 and ,purush1 the seventh principle of the universe1 has its latent life in this ocean of ,cosmic matter4 ,the doctrine in question explains ,cosmogony from an objective point of view4 ,when the period of activity arrives1 portions of the whole differentiate according to the latent law4 ,when this differentiation has commenced1 the concealed wisdom or latent ,chichakti acts in the universal mind1 and ,cosmic energy or ,fohat forms the manifested universe in accordance with the conceptions generated in the universal mind out of the differentiated principles of ,cosmic matter4 ,this manifested universe constitutes a solar system4 ,when the period of ,pralaya comes1 the process of differentiation stops and ,cosmic ideation ceases to exist2 and at the time of ,brahmapralaya or ,mahapralaya the particles of matter lose all differentiation1 and the matter that exists in the solar system returns to its original undifferentiated condition4 ,the latent design exists in the one unborn eternal atom1 the centre which exists everywhere and nowhere2 and this is the one life that exists everywhere4 ,now1 it will be easily seen that the undifferentiated ,cosmic matter1 ,purush1 and the ,,one ,,life of the ,arhat philosophers1 are the ,mulaprakriti1 ,chidakasam1 and ,chinmatra of the ,adwaitee philosophers4 ,as regards ,cosmogony1 the ,arhat standpoint is objective1 and the ,adwaitee standpoint is subjective4 ,the ,arhat ,cosmogony accounts for the evolution of the manifested solar system from undifferentiated ,cosmic matter1 and ,adwaitee ,cosmogony accounts for the evolution of ,bahipragna from the original ,chinmatra4 ,as the different conditions of differentiated ,c osmic matter are but the different aspects of the various conditions of ,pragna1 the ,adwaitee ,cosmogony is but the complement of the ,arhat ,cosmogony4 ,the eternal principle is precisely the same in both the systems1 and they agree in denying the existence of an extra-,cosmic ,god4 ,the ,arhats call themselves ,atheists1 and they are justified in doing so if theism inculcates the existence of a conscious ,god governing the universe by his will-power4 ,under such circumstance the ,adwaitee will come under the same denomination4 ,atheism and theism are words of doubtful import1 and until their meaning is definitely ascertained it would be better not to use them in connection with any system of philosophy4 --,t4 ,subba ,row ,prakriti and ,parusha ,prakriti may be looked upon either as ,maya when considered as the ,upadhi of ,parabrahmam or as ,avidya when considered as the ,upadhi of ,jivatma 7#gth principle in man7499 ,avidya is ignorance or illusion arising from ,maya4 ,the term ,maya1 though sometimes used as a synonym for ,avidya1 is1 properly speaking1 applicable to ,prakriti only4 ,there is no difference between ,prakriti1 ,maya and ,sakti2 and the ancient ,hindu philosophers made no distinction whatsoever between ,matter and ,force4 ,in support of these assertions ,i may refer the learned hermit to ,swetaswatara ,upanishad and its commentary by ,sankaracharya4 ,in case we adopt the fourfold division of the ,adwaitee philosophers1 it will be clearly seen that ,jagrata199 ,swapna99 and ,sushupti ,avasthas99 are the results of ,avidya1 and that ,vyswanara199 ,hiranyagarbha99 and ,sutratma99 are the manifestations of ,parabrahmam in ,maya or ,prakriti4 ,in drawing a distinction between ,avidya and ,prakriti1 ,i am merely following the authority of all the great ,adwaitee philosophers of ,aryavarta4 ,it will be sufficient for me to refer to the first chapter of the celebrated ,vidantic treatise1 the ,panchadasi4 ---------- 99 ,upadhi--vehicle4 ,jagrata--waking state1 or a condition of external perception4 ,swapna--dreamy state1 or a condition of clairvoyance in the astral plane4 ,sushupti--a state of extasis2 and ,avastas--states or conditions of ,pragna4 ,vyswanara--the magnetic fire that pervades the manifested solar system-- the root objective aspect of the ,,one ,,life4 ,hiranyagarbha--the one life as manifested in the plane of astral ,light4 ,sutratma--the ,eternal germ of the manifested universe existing in the field of ,mulaprakriti4 --------- ,in truth1 ,prakriti and ,purusha are but the two aspects of the same ,,one ,,reality4 ,as our great ,sankaracharya truly observes at the close of his commentary on the #bcrd ,sutra of the first chapter of the ,brahma sutras1 ,parabrahmam is ,karta 7,purush71 as there is no other ,adhishtatha199 and ,parabrahmam is ,prakriti1 there being no other ,upadanam4 ,this sentence clearly indicates the relation between the ,one ,life and the ,one ,element of the ,arha-philosophers4 ,this will elucidate the meaning of the statement so often quoted by ,adwaitees--,sarvam ,khalvitham ,brahma 9999 and also of what is meant by saying that ,brahmam is the ,upadanakarnam 7material cause7 of the ,universe4 --,t ,subba ,row --------- 99 ,adishtatha--that which inheres in another principle--the active agent working in ,prakriti4 9999 ,everything in the universe is ,brahma4 --------- ,morality and ,pantheism ,questions have been raised in several quarters as to the inefficiency of ,pantheism 7which term is intended to include ,esoteric ,buddhism1 ,adwaitee ,vedantism1 and other similar religious systems7 to supply a sound basis of morality4 ,the philosophical assimilation of meum and teum1 it is urged1 must of necessity be followed by their practical confusion1 resulting in the sanction of cruelty1 robbery1 c4 ,this line of argument points1 however1 most unmistakably to the co-existence of the objection with an all but utter ignorance of the systems objected to1 in the critic's mind1 as we shall show by-and-by4 ,the ultimate sanction of morality1 as is well known1 is derived from a desire for the attainment of happiness and escape from misery4 ,but schools differ in their estimate of happiness4 ,exoteric religions base their morality on the hope of reward and fear of punishment at the hands of an ,omnipotent ,ruler of the ,universe by following the rules he has at his pleasure laid down for the obedience of his helpless subjects2 in some cases1 however1 religions of later growth have made morality to depend on the sentiment of gratitude to that ,ruler for benefits received4 ,the worthlessness1 not to speak of the mischievousness1 of such systems of morality is almost self-evident4 ,as a type of morality founded on hope and fear1 we shall take an instance from the ,christian ,bible3 ,he that giveth to the poor lendeth to the ,lord4 ,the duty of supporting the poor is here made to depend upon prudential motives of laying by for a time when the giver to the poor will be incapable of taking care of himself4 ,but the ,mahabharata says that ,he that desireth a return for his good deeds loseth all merit2 he is like a merchant bartering his goods4 ,the true springs of morality lose their elasticity under the pressure of such criminal selfishness2 all pure and unselfish natures will fly away from it in disgust4 ,to avoid such consequences attempts have been made by some recent reformers of religion to establish morality upon the sentiment of gratitude to the ,lord4 ,but it requires no deep consideration to find that1 in their endeavours to shift the basis of morality1 these reformers have rendered morality entirely baseless4 ,a man has to do what is represented to be a thing dear unto the ,lord out of gratitude for the many blessings ,he has heaped upon him4 ,but as a matter of fact he finds that the ,lord has heaped upon him curses as well as blessings4 ,a helpless orphan is expected to be grateful to him for having removed the props of his life1 his parents1 because he is told in consolation that such a calamity is but apparently an evil1 but in reality the ,all-,merciful has underneath it hidden the greatest possible good4 ,with equal reason might a preacher of the ,avenging ,ahriman exhort men to believe that under the apparent blessings of the ,merciful ,father there lurks the serpent of evil4 ,the modern ,utilitarians1 though the range of their vision is so narrow1 have sterner logic in their teachings4 ,that which tends to a man's happiness is good1 and must be followed1 and the contrary shunned as evil4 ,so far so good4 ,but the practical application of the doctrine is fraught with mischief4 ,cribbed1 cabined1 and confined1 by rank ,materialism1 within the short space between birth and death1 the ,utilitarians' scheme of happiness is merely a deformed torso1 which cannot certainly be considered as the fair goddess of our devotion4 ,the only scientific basis of morality is to be sought for in the soul-consoling doctrines of ,lord ,buddha or ,sri ,sankaracharya4 ,the starting-point of the pantheistic 7we use the word for want of a better one7 system of morality is a clear perception of the unity of the one energy operating in the manifested ,cosmos1 the grand result which it is incessantly striving to produce1 and the affinity of the immortal human spirit and its latent powers with that energy1 and its capacity to cooperate with the one life in achieving its mighty object4 ,now knowledge or jnanam is divided into two classes by ,adwaitee philosophers--,paroksha and ,aparoksha4 ,the former kind of knowledge consists in intellectual assent to a stated proposition1 the latter in the actual realization of it4 ,the object which a ,buddhist or ,adwaitee ,yogi sets before himself is the realization of the oneness of existence1 and the practice of morality is the most powerful means to that end1 as we proceed to show4 ,the principal obstacle to the realization of this oneness is the inborn habit of man of always placing himself at the centre of the ,universe4 ,whatever a man might act1 think1 or feel1 the irrepressible personality is sure to be the central figure4 ,this1 as will appear on reflection1 is that which prevents every individual from filling his proper sphere in existence1 where he only is exactly in place and no other individual is4 ,the realization of this harmony is the practical or objective aspect of the ,,grand ,,problem4 ,and the practice of morality is the effort to find out this sphere2 morality1 indeed1 is the ,ariadne's clue in the ,cretan labyrinth in which man is placed4 ,from the study of the sacred philosophy preached by ,lord ,buddha or ,sri ,sankara1 paroksha knowledge 7or shall we say belief871 in the unity of existence is derived1 but without the practice of morality that knowledge cannot be converted into the highest kind of knowledge1 or aproksha jnanam1 and thus lead to the attainment of mukti4 ,it availeth naught to intellectually grasp the notion of your being everything and ,brahma1 if it is not realized in practical acts of life4 ,to confuse meum and teum in the vulgar sense is but to destroy the harmony of existence by a false assertion of ,i1 and is as foolish as the anxiety to nourish the legs at the expense of the arms4 ,you cannot be one with all1 unless all your acts1 thoughts1 and feelings synchronize with the onward march of ,nature4 ,what is meant by the ,brahmajnani being beyond the reach of ,karma1 can be fully realized only by a man who has found out his exact position in harmony with the ,one ,life in ,nature2 that man sees how a ,brahmajnani can act only in unison with ,nature1 and never in discord with it3 to use the phraseology of ancient writers on ,occultism1 a ,brahmajnani is a real co-worker with ,nature4 ,not only ,european ,sanskritists1 but also exoteric ,yogis1 fall into the grievous mistake of supposing that1 in the opinion of our sacred writers1 a human being can escape the operation of the law of ,karma by adopting a condition of masterly inactivity1 entirely losing sight of the fact that even a rigid abstinence from physical acts does not produce inactivity on the higher astral and spiritual planes4 ,sri ,sankara has very conclusively proved1 in his commentaries on the ,bhagavad ,gita1 that such a supposition is nothing short of a delusion4 ,the great teacher shows there that forcibly repressing the physical body from working does not free one from vasana or vritti--the inherent inclination of the mind to work4 ,there is a tendency1 in every department of ,nature1 for an act to repeat itself2 the ,karma acquired in the last preceding birth is always trying to forge fresh links in the chain1 and thereby lead to continued material existence2--and this tendency can only be counteracted by unselfishly performing all the duties appertaining to the sphere in which a person is born2 such a course alone can produce chitta suddhi1 7purification of the mind71 without which the capacity of perceiving spiritual truths can never be acquired4 ,a few words must here be said about the physical inactivity of the ,yogi or the ,mahatma4 ,inactivity of the physical body 7sthula sarira7 does not indicate a condition of inactivity either on the astral or the spiritual plane of action4 ,the human spirit is in its highest state of activity in samadhi1 7highest trance7 and not1 as is generally supposed1 in a dormant1 quiescent condition4 ,and1 moreover1 it will be easily seen1 by any one who examines the nature of occult dynamics1 that a given amount of energy expended on the spiritual or astral plane is productive of far greater results than the same amount expended on the physical objective plane of existence4 ,when an ,adept has placed himself en rapport with the universal mind he becomes a real power in ,nature4 ,even on the objective plane of existence the difference between brain and muscular energy1 in their capacity of producing widespread and far-reaching results1 can he very easily perceived4 ,the amount of physical energy expended by the discoverer of the steam-engine might not have been more than that expended by a hardworking day-labourer4 ,but the practical results of the labourer's work can never be compared with the results achieved by the discovery of the steam-engine4 ,similarly1 the ultimate effects of spiritual energy are infinitely greater than those of intellectual energy4 ,from the above considerations it is abundantly clear that the initiatory training of a true ,vedantin ,raj ,yogi must be the nourishing of a sleepless and ardent desire of doing all in his power for the good of mankind on the ordinary physical plane1 his activity being transferred1 however1 to the higher astral and spiritual planes as his development proceeds4 ,in course of time1 as the ,truth becomes realized1 the situation is rendered quite clear to the ,yogi1 and he is placed beyond the criticism of any ordinary man4 ,the ,mahanirvan ,tantra says3-- ,charanti trigunatite ko vidhir ko ishedhava4 ,for one1 walking beyond the three gunas--,satva 7feeling of gratification71 ,rajas 7passional activity7 and ,tamas 7inertness7--what injunction or what restriction is there8--in the consideration of men1 walled in on all sides by the objective plane of existence4 ,this does not mean that a ,mahatma can or will ever neglect the laws of morality1 but that he1 having unified his individual nature with ,great ,nature herself1 is constitutionally incapable of violating any one of the laws of nature1 and no man can constitute himself a judge of the conduct of the ,great one without knowing the laws of all the planes of ,nature's activity4 7,as honest men are honest without the least consideration of the7 criminal law1 so a ,mahatma is moral without reference to the laws of morality4 ,these are1 however1 sublime topics3 we shall before conclusion notice some other considerations which lead the ordinary pantheist to the true foundation of morality4 ,happiness has been defined by ,john ,stuart ,mill as the state of absence of opposition4 ,manu gives the definition in more forcible terms3 ,sarvam paravasam duhkham ,sarva matmavasam sukham ,idam jnayo samasena ,lakshanam sukhaduhkhayo4 ,every kind of subjugation to another is pain1 and subjugation to one's self is happiness3 in brief1 this is to be known as the characteristic marks of the two4 ,now1 it is universally admitted that the whole system of ,nature is moving in a particular direction1 and this direction1 we are taught1 is determined by the composition of two forces--namely1 the one acting from that pole of existence ordinarily called matter towards the other pole called spirit1 and the other in the opposite direction4 ,the very fact that ,nature is moving shows that these two forces are not equal in magnitude4 ,the plane on which the activity of the first force predominates is called in occult treatises the ascending arc1 and the corresponding plane of the activity of the other force is styled the descending arc4 ,a little reflection will show that the work of evolution begins on the descending arc and works its way upwards through the ascending arc4 ,from this it follows that the force directed towards spirit is the one which must1 though not without hard struggle1 ultimately prevail4 ,this is the great directing energy of ,nature1 and1 although disturbed by the operation of the antagonistic force1 it is this that gives the law to her2 the other is merely its negative aspect1 for convenience regarded as a separate agent4 ,if an individual attempts to move in a direction other than that in which ,nature is moving1 that individual is sure to be crushed1 sooner or later1 by the enormous pressure of the opposing force4 ,we need not say that such a result would be the very reverse of pleasurable4 ,the only way1 therefore1 in which happiness might be attained is by merging one's nature in great ,mother ,nature1 and following the direction in which she herself is moving3 this again can only be accomplished by assimilating men's individual conduct with the triumphant force of ,nature1 the other force being always overcome with terrific catastrophes4 ,the effort to assimilate the individual with the universal law is popularly known as the practice of morality4 ,obedience to this universal law1 after ascertaining it1 is true religion1 which has been defined by ,lord ,buddha as the realization of the ,true4 ,an example will serve to illustrate the position4 ,can a practical pantheist1 or1 in other words1 an occultist1 utter a falsehood8 ,now1 it will be readily admitted that life manifests itself by the power of acquiring sensation1 temporary dormancy of that power being suspended animation4 ,if a man receives a particular series of sensations and pretends they are other than they really are1 the result is that he exercises his will-power in opposition to a law of ,nature on which1 as we have shown1 life depends1 and thereby becomes suicide on a minor scale4 ,space prevents further discussion1 but all the ten deadly sins mentioned by ,manu and ,buddha can be satisfactorily dealt with in the light sought to be focused here4 --,mohini ,m4 ,chatterji ,occult ,study ,the practical bearing of occult teaching on ordinary life is very variously interpreted by different students of the subject4 ,for many ,western readers of recent books on the esoteric doctrine1 it even seems doubtful whether the teaching has any bearing on practical life at all4 ,the proposal which it is supposed sometimes to convey1 that all earnest inquirers should put themselves under the severe ascetic regimen followed by its regular ,oriental disciples1 is felt to embody a strain on the habits of modern civilization which only a few enthusiasts will be prepared to encounter4 ,the mere intellectual charm of an intricate philosophy may indeed be enough to recommend the study to some minds1 but a scheme of teaching that offers itself as a substitute for religious faith of the usual kind will be expected to yield some tangible results in regard to the future spiritual well-being of those who adopt it4 ,has occult philosophy nothing to give except to those who are in a position and willing to make a sacrifice in its behalf of all other objects in life8 ,in that case it would indeed be useless to bring it out into the world4 ,in reality the esoteric doctrine affords an almost infinite variety of opportunities for spiritual development1 and no greater mistake could be made in connection with the present movement than to suppose the teaching of the ,adepts merely addressed to persons capable of heroic self-devotion4 ,assuredly it does not discourage efforts in the direction of the highest achievement of occult progress1 if any ,western occultists may feel disposed to make them2 but it is important for us all to keep clearly in view the lower range of possibilities connected with humbler aspirations4 ,i believe it to be absolutely true that even the slightest attention seriously paid to the instructions now emanating from the ,indian ,adepts will generate results within the spiritual principles of those who render it--causes capable of producing appreciable consequences in a future state of existence4 ,any one who has sufficiently examined the doctrine of ,devachan will readily follow the idea1 for the nature of the spiritual existence which in the ordinary course of things must succeed each physical life1 provides for the very considerable expansion of any aspirations towards real knowledge that may be set going on earth4 ,i will recur to this point directly1 when ,i have made clearer the general drift of the argument ,i am trying to unfold4 ,at the one end of the scale of possibilities connected with occult study lies the supreme development of ,adeptship2 an achievement which means that the person reaching it has so violently stimulated his spiritual growth within a short period1 as to have anticipated processes on which ,nature1 in her own deliberate way1 would have spent a great procession of ages4 ,at the other end of the scale lies the small result to which ,i have just alluded--a result which may rather be said to establish a tendency in the direction of spiritual achievement than to embody such achievement4 ,but between these two widely different results there is no hard and fast line that can be drawn at any place to make a distinct separation in the character of the consequences ensuing from devotion to occult pursuits4 ,as the darkness of blackest night gives way by imperceptible degrees to the illumination of the brightest sunrise1 so the spiritual consequences of emerging from the apathy either of pure materialism or of dull acquiescence in unreasonable dogmas1 brighten by imperceptible degrees from the faintest traces of ,devachanic improvement into the full blaze of the highest perfection human nature can attain4 ,without assuming that the course of ,nature which prescribes for each human ,ego successive physical lives and successive periods of spiritual refreshment--without supposing that this course is altered by such moderate devotion to occult study as is compatible with the ordinary conditions of ,european life1 it will nevertheless be seen how vast the consequences may ultimately be of impressing on that career of evolution a distinct tendency in the direction of supreme enlightenment1 of that result which is described as the union of the individual soul with universal spirit4 ,the explanations of the esoteric doctrine which have been publicly given1 have shown that humanity in the mass has now attained a stage in the great evolutionary cycle from which it has the opportunity of growing upward towards final perfection4 ,in the mass it is1 of course1 unlikely that it will travel that road3 final perfection is not a gift to be bestowed upon all1 but to be worked for by those who desire it4 ,it may be put within the theoretical reach of all2 there may be no human creature living at this moment1 of whom it can be said that the highest possibilities of ,nature are impossible of attainment1 but it does not follow by any means that every individual will attain the highest possibilities4 ,regarding each individual as one of the seeds of a great flower which throws out thousands of seeds1 it is manifest that only a few1 relatively to the great number1 will become fully developed flowers in their turn4 ,no unjust neglect awaits the majority4 ,for each and every one the consequences of the remote future will be precisely proportioned to the aptitudes he develops1 but only those can reach the goal who1 with persistent effort carried out through a long series of lives1 differentiate themselves in a marked degree from the general multitude4 ,now1 that persistent effort must have a beginning1 and granted the beginning1 the persistence is not improbable4 ,within our own observation of ordinary life1 good habits1 even though they may not be so readily formed as bad ones1 are not difficult to maintain in proportion to the difficulty of their commencement4 ,for a moment it may be asked how this may be applied to a succession of lives separate from each other by a total oblivion of their details2 but it really applies as directly to the succession of lives as to the succession of days within one life1 which are separated from each other by as many nights4 ,the certain operation of those affinities in the individual ,ego which are collectively described in the esoteric doctrine by the word ,karma1 must operate to pick up the old habits of character and thought1 as life after life comes round1 with the same certainty that the thread of memory in a living brain recovers1 day after day1 the impressions of those that have gone before4 ,whether a moral habit is thus deliberately engendered by an occult student in order that it may propagate itself through future ages1 or whether it merely arises from unintelligent aspirations towards good1 which happily for mankind are more widely spread than occult study as yet1 the way it works in each case is the same4 ,the unintelligent aspiration towards goodness propagates itself and leads to good lives in the future2 the intelligent aspiration propagates itself in the same way plus the propagation of intelligence2 and this distinction shows the gulf of difference which may exist between the growth of a human soul which merely drifts along the stream of time1 and that of one which is consciously steered by an intelligent purpose throughout4 ,the human ,ego which acquires the habit of seeking for knowledge becomes invested1 life after life1 with the qualifications which ensure the success of such a search1 until the final success1 achieved at some critical period of its existence1 carries it right up into the company of those perfected ,egos which are the fully developed flowers only expected1 according to our first metaphor1 from a few of the thousand seeds4 ,now1 it is clear that a slight impulse in a given direction1 even on the physical plane does not produce the same effect as a stronger one2 so1 exactly in this matter of engendering habits required to persist in their operation through a succession of lives1 it is quite obvious that the strong impulse of a very ardent aspiration towards knowledge will be more likely than a weaker one to triumph over the so called accidents of ,nature4 ,this consideration brings us to the question of those habits in life which are more immediately associated in the popular views of the matter with the pursuit of occult science4 ,it will be quite plain that the generation within his own nature by an occult student of affinities in the direction of spiritual progress1 is a matter which has little if anything to do with the outer circumstances of his daily life4 ,it cannot be dissociated from what may be called the outer circumstances of his moral life1 for an occult student1 whose moral nature is consciously ignoble1 and who combines the pursuit of knowledge with the practice of wrong1 becomes by that condition of things a student of sorcery rather than of true occultism--a candidate for satanic evolution instead of perfection4 ,but at the same time the physical habits of life may be quite the reverse of ascetic1 while all the while the thinking processes of the intellectual life are developing affinities which cannot fail in the results just seen to produce large ulterior consequences4 ,some misconception is very apt to arise here from the way in which frequent reference is made to the ascetic habits of those who purpose to become the regular chelas of ,oriental ,adepts4 ,it is supposed that what is practiced by the ,master is necessarily recommended for all his pupils4 ,now this is far from being the case as regards the miscellaneous pupils who are gathering round the occult teachers lately become known to public report4 ,certainly even in reference to their miscellaneous pupils the ,adepts would not discountenance asceticism4 ,as we saw just now1 there is no hard line drawn across the scale on which are defined the varying consequences of occult study in all its varying degrees of intensity--so with ascetic practice1 from the slightest habits of self-denial1 which may engender a preference for spiritual over material gratification1 up to the very largest developments of asceticism required as a passport to chelaship1 no such practices can be quite without their consequences in the all-embracing records of ,karma4 ,but1 broadly speaking1 asceticism belongs to that species of effort which aims at personal chelaship1 and that which contemplates the patient development of spiritual growth along the slow track of natural evolution claims no more1 broadly speaking1 than intellectual application4 ,all that is asserted in regard to the opening now offered to those who have taken notice of the present opportunity1 is1 that they may now give their own evolution an impulse which they may not again have an opportunity of giving it with the same advantage to themselves if the present opportunity is thrown aside4 ,true1 it is most unlikely that any one advancing through ,nature1 life after life1 under the direction of a fairly creditable ,karma1 will go on always without meeting sooner or later with the ideas that occult study implants4 ,so that the occultist does not threaten those who turn aside from his teachings with any consequences that must necessarily be disastrous4 ,he only says that those who listen to them must necessarily derive advantage from so doing in exact proportion to the zeal with which they undertake the study and the purity of motive with which they promote it in others4 ,nor must it be supposed that those which have here been described as the lower range of possibilities in connection with occult study1 are a mere fringe upon the higher possibilities1 to be regarded as a relatively poor compensation accorded to those who do not feel equal to offering themselves for probation as regular chelas4 ,it would be a grave misconception of the purpose with which the present stream of occult teaching has been poured into the world1 if we were to think it a universal incitement to that course of action4 ,it may be hazardous for any of us who are not initiates to speak with entire confidence of the intention of the ,adepts1 but all the external facts concerned with the growth and development of the ,theosophical ,society1 show its purpose to be more directly related to the cultivation of spiritual aspirations over a wide area1 than to the excitement of these with supreme intensity in individuals4 ,there are considerations1 indeed1 which may almost be said to debar the ,adepts from ever doing anything to encourage persons in whom this supreme intensity of excitement is possible1 to take the very serious step of offering themselves as chelas4 ,directly that by doing this a man renders himself a candidate for something more than the maximum advantages that can flow to him through the operation of natural laws--directly that in this way he claims to anticipate the most favourable course of ,nature and to approach high perfection by violent and artificial processes1 he at once puts himself in presence of many dangers which would never beset him if he contented himself with a favourable natural growth4 ,it appears to be always a matter of grave consideration with the ,adepts whether they will take the responsibility of encouraging any person who may not have it in him to succeed1 to expose himself to these dangers4 ,for any one who is determined to face them and is permitted to do so1 the considerations put forward above in regard to the optional character of personal physical training fall to the ground4 ,those ascetic practices which a candidate for nothing more than the best natural evolution may undertake if he chooses1 with the view of emphasizing his spiritual ,karma to the utmost1 become a sine qua non in regard to the very first step of his progress4 ,but with such progress the present explanation is not specially concerned4 ,its purpose has been to show the beneficial effects which may flow to ordinary people living ordinary lives1 from even that moderate devotion to occult philosophy which is compatible with such ordinary lives1 and to guard against the very erroneous belief that occult science is a pursuit in which it is not worth while to engage1 unless ,adeptship is held out to the student as its ultimate result4 --,lay ,chela ,some ,inquiries ,suggested by ,mr4 ,sinnett's ,esoteric ,buddhism ,the object of the following paper is to submit certain questions which have occurred to some ,english readers of ,esoteric ,buddhism4 ,we have had the great advantage of hearing ,mr4 ,sinnett himself explain many points which perplexed us2 and it is with his sanction that we now venture to ask that such light as is permissible may be thrown upon some difficulties which1 so far as we can discover1 remain as yet unsolved4 ,we have refrained from asking questions on subjects on which we understand that the ,adepts forbid inquiry1 and we respectfully hope that1 as we approach the subject with a genuine wish to arrive at all the truth possible to us1 our perplexities may be thought worthy of an authorized solution4 ,we begin1 then1 with some obvious scientific difficulties4 #a4 ,is the ,nebular ,theory1 as generally held1 denied by the ,adepts8 ,it seems hard to conceive of the alternate evolution from the sun's central mass of planets1 some of them visible and heavy1 others invisible1--and apparently without weight1 as they have no influence on the movements of the visible planets4 #b4 ,and1 further1 the time necessary for the manvantara even of one planetary chain1 much more of all seven1 seems largely to exceed the probable time during which the sun can retain heat1 if it is merely a cooling mass1 which derives no important accession of heat from without4 ,is some other view as regards the maintenance of the sun's heat held by the ,adepts8 #c4 ,the different races which succeed each other on the earth are said to be separated by catastrophes1 among which continental subsidences occupy a prominent place4 ,is it meant that these subsidences are so sudden and unforeseen as to sweep away great nations in an hour8 ,or1 if not1 how is it that no appreciable trace is left of such high civilizations as are described in the past8 ,is it supposed that our present ,european civilization1 with its offshoots all over the globe1 can be destroyed by any inundation or conflagration which leaves life still existing on the earth8 ,are our existing arts and languages doomed to perish8 or was it only the earlier races who were thus profoundly disjoined from one another8 #d4 ,the moon is said to be the scene of a life even more immersed in matter than the life on earth4 ,are there then material organizations living there8 ,if so1 how do they dispense with air and water1 and how is it that our telescopes discern no trace of their works8 ,we should much like a fuller account of the ,adepts' view of the moon1 as so much is already known of her material conditions that further knowledge could be more easily adjusted than in the case 7for instance7 of planets wholly invisible4 #e4 ,is the expression a mineral monad authorized by the ,adepts8 ,if so1 what relation does the monad bear to the atom1 or the molecule1 of ordinary scientific hypothesis8 ,and does each mineral monad eventually become a vegetable monad1 and then at last a human being8 ,turning now to some historical difficulties1 we would ask as follows3-- #f4 ,is there not some confusion in the letter quoted on p4 #fb of ,esoteric ,buddhism1 where the old ,greeks and ,romans are said to have been ,atlanteans8 ,the ,greeks and ,romans were surely ,aryans1 like the ,adepts and ourselves3 their language being1 as one may say1 intermediate between ,sanscrit and modern ,european dialects4 #g4 ,buddha's birth is placed 7on p4 #ada7 in the year #fdc ,b4,c44 ,is this date given by the ,adepts as undoubtedly correct8 ,have they any view as to the new inscriptions of ,asoka 7as given by ,general ,a4 ,cunningham1 ,corpus ,inscriptionum ,indicanum1 vol4 ,i4 pp4 #bj-bc71 on the strength of which ,buddha's ,nirvana is placed by ,barth 7,religions of ,india1 p4 #ajf71 c41 about #dgf ,b4,c41 and his birth therefore at about #eef ,b4,c48 ,it would be exceedingly interesting if the ,adepts would give a sketch however brief of the history of ,india in those centuries with authentic dates4 #h4 ,sankaracharya's date is variously given by ,orientalists1 but always after ,christ4 ,barth1 for instance1 places him about #ghh ,a4,d4 ,in ,esoteric ,buddhism he is made to succeed ,buddha almost immediately 7p4 #adi74 ,can this discrepancy be explained8 ,has not ,sankaracharya been usually classed as ,vishnuite in his teaching8 ,and similarly has not ,gaudapada been accounted a ,sivite8 and placed much later than ,esoteric ,buddhism 7p4#adg7 places him8 ,we would willingly pursue this line of inquiry1 but think it best to wait and see to what extent the ,adepts may be willing to clear up some of the problems in ,indian religious history on which1 as it would seem1 they must surely possess knowledge which might be communicated to lay students without indiscretion4 ,we pass on to some points beyond the ordinary range of science or history on which we should be very glad to hear more1 if possible4 #i4 ,we should like to understand more clearly the nature of the subjective intercourse with beloved souls enjoyed in ,devachan4 ,say1 for instance1 that ,i die and leave on earth some young children4 ,are these children present to my consciousness in ,devachan still as children8 ,do ,i imagine that they have died when ,i died8 or do ,i merely imagine them as adult without knowing their life-history8 or do ,i miss them from ,devachan until they do actually die1 and then hear from them their life-history as it has proceeded between my death and theirs8 #aj4 ,we do not quite understand the amount of reminiscence attained at various points in the soul's progress4 ,do the ,adepts1 who1 we presume1 are equivalent to sixth rounders1 recollect their previous incarnations8 ,do all souls which live on into the sixth round attain this power of remembrance8 or does the ,devachan1 at the end of each round bring a recollection of all the ,devachans1 or of all the incarnations1 which have formed a part of that particular round8 ,and does reminiscence carry with it the power of so arranging future incarnations as still to remain in company with some chosen soul or group of souls8 ,we have many more questions to ask1 but we scruple to intrude further4 ,and ,i will conclude here by repeating the remark with which we are most often met when we speak of the ,adepts to ,english friends4 ,we find that our friends do not often ask for so-called miracles or marvels to prove the genuineness of the ,adepts' powers4 ,but they ask why the ,adepts will not give some proof--not necessarily that they are far beyond us1 but that their knowledge does at least equal our own in the familiar and definite tracks which ,western science has worn for itself4 ,a few pregnant remarks on ,chemistry1--the announcement of a new electrical law1 capable of experimental verification--some such communication as this 7our interlocutors say71 would arrest attention1 command respect1 and give a weight and prestige to the higher teaching which1 so long as it remains in a region wholly unverifiable1 it can scarcely acquire4 ,we gratefully recognize the very acceptable choice which the ,adepts have made in selecting ,mr4 ,sinnett as the intermediary between us and them4 ,they could hardly have chosen any one more congenial to our ,western minds3--whether we consider the clearness of his written style1 the urbanity of his verbal expositions1 or the earnest sincerity of his convictions4 ,since they have thus far met our peculiar needs with such considerate judgment1 we cannot but hope that they may find themselves able yet further to adapt their modes of teaching to the requirements of ,occidental thought4 --,an ,english ,f4,t4,s4 ,london1 ,july #ahhc4 ,reply to an ,english ,f4,t4,s ,answers ,it was not in contemplation1 at the outset of the work begun in ,fragments1 to deal as fully with the scientific problems of cosmic evolution as now seems expected4 ,a distinct promise was made1 as ,mr4 ,sinnett is well aware1 to acquaint the readers with the outlines of ,esoteric doctrines and--no more4 ,a good deal would be given1 much more kept back4 ,this seeming unwillingness to share with the world some of ,nature's secrets that may have come into the possession of the few1 arises from causes quite different from the one generally assigned4 ,it is not ,,selfishness erecting a ,chinese wall between occult science and those who would know more of it1 without making any distinction between the simply curious profane1 and the earnest1 ardent seeker after truth4 ,wrong and unjust are those who think so2 who attribute to indifference for other people's welfare a policy necessitated1 on the contrary1 by a far-seeing universal philanthropy2 who accuse the custodians of lofty physical and spiritual though long rejected truths1 of holding them high above the people's heads4 ,in truth1 the inability to reach them lies entirely with the seekers4 ,indeed1 the chief reason among many others for such a reticence1 at any rate1 with regard to secrets pertaining to physical sciences--is to be sought elsewhere499 ,it rests entirely on the impossibility of imparting that the nature of which is at the present stage of the world's development1 beyond the comprehension of the would-be learners1 however intellectual and however scientifically trained may be the latter4 ,this tremendous difficulty is now explained to the few1 who1 besides having read ,esoteric ,buddhism1 have studied and understood the several occult axioms approached in it4 ,it is safe to say that it will not be even vaguely realized by the general reader1 but will offer the pretext for sheer abuse4 ,nay1 it has already4 ------- 99 ,needless to remind ,,an ,,english ,f4,t4,s4 that what is said here1 applies only to secrets the nature of which when revealed will not be turned into a weapon against humanity in general1 or its units--men4 ,secrets of such class could not be given to any one but a regular chela of many years' standing and during his successive initiations2 mankind as a whole has first to come of age1 to reach its majority1 which will happen but toward the beginning of its sixth race--before such mysteries can be safely revealed to it4 ,the vril is not altogether a fiction1 as some chelas and even lay chelas know4 --------- ,it is simply that the gradual development of man's seven principles and physical senses has to be coincident and on parallel lines with ,rounds and ,root-races4 ,our fifth race has so far developed but its five senses4 ,now1 if the ,kama or ,will-principle of the ,fourth-rounders has already reached that stage of its evolution when the automatic acts1 the unmotivated instincts and impulses of its childhood and youth1 instead of following external stimuli1 will have become acts of will framed constantly in conjunction with the mind 7,manas71 thus making of every man on earth of that race a free agent1 a fully responsible being--the ,kama of our hardly adult fifth race is only slowly approaching it4 ,as to the sixth sense of this1 our race1 it has hardly sprouted above the soil of its materiality4 ,it is highly unreasonable1 therefore1 to expect for the men of the fifth to sense the nature and essence of that which will be fully sensed and perceived but by the sixth--let alone the seventh race--i4e41 to enjoy the legitimate outgrowth of the evolution and endowments of the future races with only the help of our present limited senses4 ,the exceptions to this quasi-universal rule have been hitherto found only in some rare cases of constitutional1 abnormally precocious individual evolutions2 or1 in such1 where by early training and special methods1 reaching the stage of the fifth rounders1 some men in addition to the natural gift of the latter have fully developed 7by certain occult methods7 their sixth1 and in still rarer cases their seventh1 sense4 ,as an instance of the former class may be cited the ,seeress of ,prevorst2 a creature born out of time1 a rare precocious growth1 ill adapted to the uncongenial atmosphere that surrounded her1 hence a martyr ever ailing and sickly4 ,as an example of the other1 the ,count ,st4 ,germain may be mentioned4 ,apace with the anthropological and physiological development of man runs his spiritual evolution4 ,to the latter1 purely intellectual growth is often more an impediment than a help4 ,an instance3 radiant stuff--the fourth state of matter--has been hardly discovered1 and no one--the eminent discoverer himself not excepted--has yet any idea of its full importance1 its possibilities1 its connection with physical phenomena1 or even its bearing upon the most puzzling scientific problems4 ,how then can any ,adept attempt to prove the fallacy of much that is predicated in the nebular and solar theories when the only means by which he could successfully prove his position is an appeal to1 and the exhibition of1 that sixth sense-- consciousness which the physicist cannot postulate8 ,is not this plain8 ,thus1 the obstacle is not that the ,adepts would forbid inquiry1 but rather the personal1 present limitations of the senses of the average1 and even of the scientific man4 ,to undertake the explanation of that which at the outset would be rejected as a physical impossibility1 the outcome of hallucination1 is unwise and even harmful1 because premature4 ,it is in consequence of such difficulties that the psychic production of physical phenomena--save in exceptional cases--is strictly forbidden4 ,and now1 ,adepts are asked to meddle with astronomy--a science which1 of all the branches of human knowledge has yielded the most accurate information1 afforded the most mathematically correct data1 and of the achievements in which the men of science feel the most justly proud6 ,it is true that on the whole astronomy has achieved triumphs more brilliant than those of most other sciences4 ,but if it has done much in the direction of satisfying man's straining and thirsting mind and his noble aspirations for knowledge1 physical as to its most important particulars1 it has ever laughed at man's puny efforts to wrest the great secrets of ,infinitude by the help of only mechanical apparatus4 ,while the spectroscope has shown the probable similarity of terrestrial and sidereal substance1 the chemical actions peculiar to the variously progressed orbs of space have not been detected1 nor proven to be identical with those observed on our own planet4 ,in this particular1 ,esoteric ,psychology may be useful4 ,but who of the men of science would consent to confront it with their own handiwork8 ,who of them would recognise the superiority and greater trustworthiness of the ,adept's knowledge over their own hypotheses1 since in their case they can claim the mathematical correctness of their deductive reasonings based on the alleged unerring precision of the modern instruments2 while the ,adepts can claim but their knowledge of the ultimate nature of the materials they have worked with for ages1 resulting in the phenomena produced4 ,however much it may he urged that a deductive argument1 besides being an incomplete syllogistic form1 may often be in conflict with fact2 that their major propositions may not always be correct1 although the predicates of their conclusions seem correctly drawn--spectrum analysis will not be acknowledged as inferior to purely spiritual research4 ,nor1 before developing his sixth sense1 will the man of science concede the error of his theories as to the solar spectrum1 unless he abjure1 to some degree at least1 his marked weakness for conditional and disjunctive syllogisms ending in eternal dilemmas4 ,at present the ,adepts do not see any help for it4 ,were these invisible and unknown profanes to interfere with--not to say openly contradict--the dicta of the ,royal ,society1 contempt and ridicule1 followed by charges of crass ignorance of the first elementary principles of modern science would be their only reward2 while those who would lend an ear to their vagaries1 would be characterized immediately as types of the mild lunatics of the age4 ,unless1 indeed1 the whole of that ,august body should be initiated into the great ,mysteries at once1 and without any further ado or the preliminary and usual preparations or training1 the ,f4,r4,s4's could be miraculously endowed with the required sixth sense1 the ,adepts fear the task would be profitless4 ,the latter have given quite enough1 little though it may seem1 for the purposes of a first trial4 ,the sequence of martyrs to the great universal truths has never been once broken2 and the long list of known and unknown sufferers1 headed with the name of ,galileo1 now closes with that of ,zollner4 ,is the world of science aware of the real cause of ,zollner's premature death8 ,when the fourth dimension of space becomes a scientific reality like the fourth state of matter1 he may have a statue raised to him by grateful posterity4 ,but this will neither recall him to life1 nor will it obliterate the days and months of mental agony that harassed the soul of this intuitional1 far-seeing1 modest genius1 made even after his death to receive the donkey's kick of misrepresentation and to be publicly charged with lunacy4 ,hitherto1 astronomy could grope between light and darkness only with the help of the uncertain guidance offered it by analogy4 ,it has reduced to fact and mathematical precision the physical motion and the paths of the heavenly bodies1 and--no more4 ,so far1 it has been unable to discover with any approach to certainty the physical constitution of either sun1 stars1 or even cometary matter4 ,of the latter1 it seems to know no more than was taught #e1jjj years ago by the official astronomers of old ,chaldea and ,egypt--namely1 that it is vaporous1 since it transmits the rays of stars and planets without any sensible obstruction4 ,but let the modern chemist be asked to tell one whether this matter is in any way connected with1 or akin to1 that of any of the gases he is acquainted with2 or again1 to any of the solid elements of his chemistry4 ,the probable answer received will be very little calculated to solve the world's perplexity2 since1 all hypotheses to the contrary notwithstanding1 cometary matter does not appear to possess even the common law of adhesion or of chemical affinity4 ,the reason for it is very simple4 ,and the truth ought long ago to have dawned upon the experimentalists1 since our little world 7though so repeatedly visited by the hairy and bearded travelers1 enveloped in the evanescent veil of their tails1 and otherwise brought in contact with that matter7 has neither been smothered by an addition of nitrogen gas1 nor deluged by an excess of hydrogen1 nor yet perceptibly affected by a surplus of oxygen4 ,the essence of cometary matter must be--and the ,adepts say is--totally different from any of the chemical or physical characteristics with which the greatest chemists and physicists of the earth are familiar-- all recent hypotheses to the contrary notwithstanding4 ,it is to be feared that before the real nature of the elder progeny of ,mula ,prakriti is detected1 ,mr4 ,crookes will have to discover matter of the fifth or extra radiant state2 et seq4 ,thus1 while the astronomer has achieved marvels in the elucidation of the visible relations of the orbs of space1 he has learnt nothing of their inner constitution4 ,his science has led him no farther towards a reading of that inner mystery than has that of the geologist1 who can tell us only of the earth's superficial layers1 and that of the physiologist1 who has until now been able to deal only with man's outer shell1 or ,sthula ,sarira4 ,occultists have asserted1 and go on asserting daily1 the fallacy of judging the essence by its outward manifestations1 the ultimate nature of the life-principle by the circulation of the blood1 mind by the gray matter of the brain1 and the physical constitution of sun1 stars and comets by our terrestrial chemistry and the matter of our own planet4 ,verily and indeed1 no microscopes1 spectroscopes1 telescopes1 photometers1 or other physical apparatuses can ever be focused on either the macro-or micro-cosmical highest principles1 nor will the mayavirupa of either yield its mystery to physical inquiry4 ,the methods of spiritual research and psychological observation are the only efficient agencies to employ4 ,we have to proceed by analogy in everything to be sure4 ,yet the candid men of science must very soon find out that it is not sufficient to examine a few stars--a handful of sand1 as it were1 from the margin of the shoreless1 cosmic ocean--to conclude that these stars are the same as all other stars--our earth included2 that1 because they have attained a certain very great telescopic power1 and gauged an area enclosed in the smallest of spaces when compared with what remains1 they have1 therefore1 concurrently perfected the survey of all that exists within even that limited space4 ,for1 in truth1 they have done nothing of the kind4 ,they have had only a superficial glance at that which is made visible to them under the present conditions1 with the limited power of their vision4 ,and even though it were helped by telescopes of a hundred-fold stronger power than that of ,lord ,rosse1 or the new ,lick ,observatory1 the case would not alter4 ,no physical instrument will ever help astronomy to scan distances of the immensity of which that of ,sirius1 situated at the trifle of #acj1abe1jjj1jjj1jjj miles away from the outer boundary of the spherical area1 or even that of 7a7 ,capella1 with its extra trifle of #bie1cee1jjj1jjj1jjj99 miles still farther away1 can give them1 as they themselves are well aware1 the faintest idea4 ,for1 though an ,adept is unable to cross bodily 7i4e41 in his astral shape7 the limits of the solar system1 yet he knows that1 far stretching beyond the telescopic power of detection1 there are systems upon systems1 the smallest of which would1 when compared with the system of ,sirius1 make the latter seem like an atom of dust imbedded in the great ,shamo desert4 ,the eye of the astronomer1 who thinks he also knows of the existence of such systems1 has never rested upon them1 has never caught of them1 even that spectral glimpse1 fanciful and hazy as the incoherent vision in a slumbering mind that he has occasionally had of other systems1 and yet he verily believes he has gauged ,,infinitude6 ,and yet these immeasurably distant worlds are brought as clear and near to the spiritual eye of the astral astronomer as a neighbouring bed of daisies may be to the eye of the botanist4 -------- 99 ,the figures are given from the mathematical calculations of exoteric ,western astronomy4 ,esoteric astronomy may prove them false some day4 -------- ,thus1 the ,adepts of the present generation1 though unable to help the profane astronomer by explaining the ultimate essence1 or even the material constitution1 of star and planet1 since ,european science1 knowing nothing as yet of the existence of such substances1 or more properly of their various states or conditions1 has neither proper terms for1 nor can form any adequate idea of them by any description1 they may1 perchance1 be able to prove what this matter is not--and this is more than sufficient for all present purposes4 ,the next best thing to learning what is true is to ascertain what is not true4 ,having thus anticipated a few general objections1 and traced a limit to expectations1 since there is no need of drawing any veil of mystery before ,an ,english ,f4,t4,s41 his few questions may be partially answered4 ,the negative character of the replies draws a sufficiently strong line of demarcation between the views of the ,adepts and those of ,western science to afford some useful hints at least4 ,question #a4--;,do the ,adepts deny the ,nebular ,theory8 ,answer3--,no2 they do not deny its general propositions1 nor the approximative truths of the scientific hypotheses4 ,they only deny the completeness of the present1 as well as the entire error of the many so-called exploded old theories1 which1 during the last century1 have followed each other in such rapid succession4 ,for instance3 while denying1 with ,laplace1 ,herschel and others1 that the variable patches of light perceived on the nebulous background of the galaxy ever belonged to remote worlds in the process of formation2 and agreeing with modern science that they proceed from no aggregation of formless matter1 but belong simply to clusters of stars already formed2 they yet add that many of such clusters1 that pass in the opinion of the astro-physicists for stars and worlds already evoluted1 are in fact but collections of the various materials made ready for future worlds4 ,like bricks already baked1 of various qualities1 shapes and colour1 that are no longer formless clay but have become fit units of a future wall1 each of them having a fixed and distinctly assigned space to occupy in some forthcoming building1 are these seemingly adult worlds4 ,the astronomer has no means of recognizing their relative adolescence1 except perhaps by making a distinction between the star clusters with the usual orbital motion and mutual gravitation1 and those termed1 we believe1 irregular star-clusters of very capricious and changeful appearances4 ,thrown together as though at random1 and seemingly in utter violation of the law of symmetry1 they defy observation3 such1 for instance1 are #e ,m4 ,lyrae1 #e #b ,m4 ,cephei1 ,dumb-,bell1 and some others4 ,before an emphatic contradiction of what precedes is attempted1 and ridicule offered perchance1 it would not be amiss to ascertain the nature and character of those other so-called temporary stars1 whose periodicity1 though never actually proven1 is yet allowed to pass unquestioned4 ,what are these stars which1 appearing suddenly in matchless magnificence and splendour1 disappear as mysteriously as unexpectedly1 without leaving a single trace behind8 ,whence do they appear8 ,whither are they engulfed8 ,in the great cosmic deep--we say4 ,the bright brick is caught by the hand of the mason--directed by that ,universal ,architect which destroys but to rebuild4 ,it has found its place in the cosmic structure and will perform its mission to its last ,manvantaric hour4 ,another point most emphatically denied by the ,adepts is1 that there exist in the whole range of visible heavens any spaces void of starry worlds4 ,there are stars1 worlds and systems within as without the systems made visible to man1 and even within our own atmosphere1 for all the physicist knows4 ,the ,adept affirms in this connection that orthodox1 or so-called official science1 uses very often the word infinitude without attaching to it any adequate importance2 rather as a flower of speech than a term implying an awful1 a most mysterious ,reality4 ,when an astronomer is found in his ,reports gauging infinitude1 even the most intuitional of his class is but too often apt to forget that he is gauging only the superficies of a small area and its visible depths1 and to speak of these as though they were merely the cubic contents of some known quantity4 ,this is the direct result of the present conception of a three-dimensional space4 ,the turn of a four-dimensional world is near1 but the puzzle of science will ever continue until their concepts reach the natural dimensions of visible and invisible space--in its septenary completeness4 ,the ,infinite and the ,absolute are only the names for two counter-imbecilities of the human 7uninitiated7 mind2 and to regard them as the transmuted properties of the nature of things--of two subjective negatives converted into objective affirmatives1 as ,sir ,w4 ,hamilton puts it1 is to know nothing of the infinite operations of human liberated spirit1 or of its attributes1 the first of which is its ability to pass beyond the region of our terrestrial experience of matter and space4 ,as an absolute vacuum is an impossibility below1 so is it a like impossibility above4 ,but our molecules1 the infinitesimals of the vacuum below1 are replaced by the giant-atom of the ,infinitude above4 ,when demonstrated1 the four-dimensional conception of space may lead to the invention of new instruments to explore the extremely dense matter that surrounds us as a ball of pitch might surround--say1 a fly1 but which1 in our extreme ignorance of all its properties save those we find it exercising on our earth1 we yet call the clear1 the serene1 and the transparent atmosphere4 ,this is no psychology1 but simply occult physics1 which can never confound substance with centres of ,force1 to use the terminology of a ,western science which is ignorant of ,maya4 ,in less than a century1 besides telescopes1 microscopes1 micrographs and telephones1 the ,royal ,society will have to offer a premium for such an etheroscope4 ,it is also necessary in connection with the question under reply that ,an ,english ,f4,t4,s4 should know that the ,adepts of the ,good ,law reject gravity as at present explained4 ,they deny that the so-called impact theory is the only one that is tenable in the gravitation hypothesis4 ,they say1 that if all efforts made by the physicists to connect it with ether1 in order to explain electric and magnetic distance-action have hitherto proved complete failures1 it is again due to the race ignorance of the ultimate states of matter in ,nature1 and1 foremost of all1 of the real nature of the solar stuff4 ,believing but in the law of mutual magneto-electric attraction and repulsion1 they agree with those who have come to the conclusion that ,universal gravitation is a weak force1 utterly incapable of accounting for even one small portion of the phenomena of motion4 ,in the same connection they are forced to suggest that science may he wrong in her indiscriminate postulation of centrifugal force1 which is neither a universal nor a consistent law4 ,to cite but one instance this force is powerless to account for the spheroidal oblateness of certain planets4 ,for if the bulge of planetary equators and the shortening of their polar axes is to be attributed to centrifugal force1 instead of being simply the result of the powerful influence of solar electro-magnetic attraction1 balanced by concentric rectification of each planet's own gravitation achieved by rotation on its axis1 to use an astronomer's phraseology 7neither very clear nor correct1 yet serving our purpose to show the many flaws in the system71 why should there be such difficulty in answering the objection that the differences in the equatorial rotation and density of various planets are directly in opposition to this theory8 ,how long shall we see even great mathematicians bolstering up fallacies to supply an evident hiatus6 ,the ,adepts have never claimed superior or any knowledge of ,western astronomy and other sciences4 ,yet turning even to the most elementary textbooks used in the schools of ,india1 they find that the centrifugal theory of ,western birth is unable to cover all the ground4 ,that1 unaided1 it can neither account for every spheroid oblate1 nor explain away such evident difficulties as are presented by the relative density of some planets4 ,how indeed can any calculation of centrifugal force explain to us1 for instance1 why ,mercury1 whose rotation is1 we are told1 only about one-third that of the ,earth1 and its density only about one-fourth greater than the ,earth1 should have a polar compression more than ten times greater than the latter8 ,and again1 why ,jupiter1 whose equatorial rotation is said to be twenty-seven times greater1 and its density only about one-fifth that of the ,earth1 should have its polar compression seventeen times greater than that of the ,earth8 ,or1 why ,saturn1 with an equatorial velocity fifty-five times greater than ,mercury for centrifugal force to contend with1 should have its polar compression only three times greater than ,mercury's8 ,to crown the above contradictions1 we are asked to believe in the ,central ,forces as taught by modern science1 even when told that the equatorial matter of the sun1 with more than four times the centrifugal velocity of the earth's equatorial surface and only about one-fourth part of the gravitation of the equatorial matter1 has not manifested any tendency to bulge out at the solar equator1 nor shown the least flattening at the poles of the solar axis4 ,in other and clearer words1 the sun1 with only one-fourth of our earth's density for the centrifugal force to work upon1 has no polar compression at all6 ,we find this objection made by more than one astronomer1 yet never explained away satisfactorily so far as the ,adepts are aware4 ,therefore do they say that the great men of science of the ,west1 knowing nothing or next to nothing either about cometary matter1 centrifugal and centripetal forces1 the nature of the nebulae1 or the physical constitution of the sun1 stars1 or even the moon1 are imprudent to speak so confidently as they do about the central mass of the sun whirling out into space planets1 comets1 and whatnot4 ,our humble opinion being wanted1 we maintain3 that it evolutes out1 but the life principle1 the soul of these bodies1 giving and receiving it back in our little solar system1 as the ,universal ,life-giver1 the ,,one ,,life gives and receives it in the ,infinitude and ,eternity2 that the ,solar ,system is as much the ,microcosm of the ,one ,macrocosm1 as man is the former when compared with his own little solar cosmos4 ,what are the proofs of science8 ,the solar spots 7a misnomer1 like much of the rest78 ,but these do not prove the solidity of the central mass1 any more than the storm-clouds prove the solid mass of the atmosphere behind them4 ,is it the non-coextensiveness of the sun's body with its apparent luminous dimensions1 the said body appearing a solid mass1 a dark sphere of matter confined within a fiery prison-house1 a robe of fiercest flames8 ,we say that there is indeed a prisoner behind1 but that having never yet been seen by any physical1 mortal eye1 what he allows to be seen of him is merely a gigantic reflection1 an illusive phantasma of solar appendages of some sort1 as ,mr4 ,proctor honestly calls it4 ,before saying anything further1 we will consider the next interrogatory4 ,question ,,ii4--,is the ,sun merely a cooling mass8 ,such is the accepted theory of modern science3 it is not what the ,adepts teach4 ,the former says--the sun derives no important accession of heat from without3--the latter answer--the sun needs it not4 ,he is quite as self dependent as he is self-luminous2 and for the maintenance of his heat requires no help1 no foreign accession of vital energy2 for he is the heart of his system1 a heart that will not cease its throbbing until its hour of rest shall come4 ,were the sun a cooling mass1 our great life-giver would have indeed grown dim with age by this time1 and found some trouble to keep his watch-fires burning for the future races to accomplish their cycles1 and the planetary chains to achieve their rounds4 ,there would remain no hope for evoluting humanity2 except perhaps in what passes for science in the astronomical textbooks of ,missionary ,schools--namely1 that the sun has an orbital journey of a hundred millions of years before him1 and the system yet but seven thousand years old6 7,prize ,book1 ,astronomy for ,general ,readers47 ,the ,adepts1 who are thus forced to demolish before they can reconstruct1 deny most emphatically 7a7 that the sun is in combustion1 in any ordinary sense of the word2 or 7b7 that he is incandescent1 or even burning1 though he is glowing2 or 7c7 that his luminosity has already begun to weaken and his power of combustion may be exhausted within a given and conceivable time2 or even 7d7 that his chemical and physical constitution contains any of the elements of terrestrial chemistry in any of the states that either chemist or physicist is acquainted with4 ,with reference to the latter1 they add that1 properly speaking1 though the body of the sun--a body that was never yet reflected by telescope or spectroscope that man invented--cannot be said to be constituted of those terrestrial elements with the state of which the chemist is familiar1 yet that these elements are all present in the sun's outward robes1 and a host more of elements unknown so far to science4 ,there seems little need1 indeed1 to have waited so long for the lines belonging to these respective elements to correspond with dark lines of the solar spectrum to know that no element present on our earth could ever be possibly found wanting in the sun2 although1 on the other hand1 there are many others in the sun which have either not reached or not as yet been discovered on our globe4 ,some may be missing in certain stars and heavenly bodies still in the process of formation2 or1 properly speaking1 though present in them1 these elements on account of their undeveloped state may not respond as yet to the usual scientific tests4 ,but how can the earth possess that which the sun has never had8 ,the ,adepts affirm as a fact that the true ,sun--an invisible orb of which the known one is the shell1 mask1 or clothing--has in him the spirit of every element that exists in the solar system2 and his ,chromosphere1 as ,mr4 ,lockyer named it1 has the same1 only in a far more developed condition1 though still in a state unknown on earth2 our planet having to await its further growth and development before any of its elements can be reduced to the condition they are in within that chromosphere4 ,nor can the substance producing the coloured light in the latter be properly called solid1 liquid1 or even gaseous1 as now supposed1 for it is neither4 ,thousands of years before ,leverrier and ,padri ,secchi1 the old ,aryans sung of ,surya 4444 hiding behind his ,yogi199 robes his head that no one could see2 the ascetic's dress being1 as all know1 dyed expressly into a red-yellow hue1 a colouring matter with pinkish patches on it1 rudely representing the vital principle in man's blood--the symbol of the vital principle in the sun1 or what is now called chromosphere4 ,the rose-coloured region6 ,how little astronomers will ever know of its real nature1 even though hundreds of eclipses furnish them with the indisputable evidence of its presence4 ,the sun is so thickly surrounded by a shell of this red matter1 that it is useless for them to speculate with only the help of their physical instruments1 upon the nature of that which they can never see or detect with mortal eye behind that brilliant1 radiant zone of matter4 --------- 99 ,there is an interesting story in the ,puranas relating to this subject4 ,the ,devas1 it would appear1 asked the great ,rishi ,vasishta to bring the sun into ,satya ,loka4 ,the ,rishi requested the ,sun-god to do so4 ,the ,sun-god replied that all the worlds would be destroyed if he were to leave his place4 ,the ,rishi then offered to place his red-coloured cloth 7,kashay ,vastram7 in the place of the sun's disk1 and did so4 ,the visible body of the sun is this robe of ,vasishta1 it would seem4 --------- ,if the ,adepts are asked3 ,what then1 in your views1 is the nature of our sun and what is there beyond that cosmic veil8--they answer3 beyond rotates and beats the heart and head of our system2 externally is spread its robe1 the nature of which is not matter1 whether solid1 liquid1 or gaseous1 such as you are acquainted with1 but vital electricity1 condensed and made visible499 --------- 99 ,if the ,english ,f4,t4,s4 would take the trouble of consulting p4 #aa of the ,magia ,adamica of ,eugenius ,philalethes1 his learned compatriot1 he would find therein the difference between a visible and an invisible planet is clearly hinted at as it was safe to do at a time when the iron claw of orthodoxy had the power as well as disposition to tear the flesh from heretic bones4 ,the earth is invisible1 says he1 4444 and which is more1 the eye of man never saw the earth1 nor can it be seen without art4 ,to make this element visible is the greatest secret in magic 4444 ,as for this feculent1 gross body upon which we walk1 it is a compost1 and no earth but it hath earth in it 4444 in a word1 all the elements are visible but one1 namely1 the earth3 and when thou hast attained to so much perfection as to know why ,god hath placed the earth in abscondito1 thou hast an excellent figure whereby to know ,god himself1 and how he is visible1 how invisible1 ,the italics are the author's1 it being the custom of the ,alchemists to emphasize those words which had a double meaning in their code4 ,here ,god himself visible and invisible1 relates to their lapis philosophorum--,nature's seventh principle4 ---------- ,and if the statement is objected to on the grounds that were the luminosity of the sun due to any other cause than combustion and flame1 no physical law of which ,western science has any knowledge could account for the existence of such intensely high temperature of the sun without combustion2 that such a temperature1 besides burning with its light and flame every visible thing in our universe1 would show its luminosity of a homogeneous and uniform intensity throughout1 which it does not2 that undulations and disturbances in the photosphere1 the growing of the protuberances1 and a fierce raging of elements in combustion have been observed in the sun1 with their tongues of fire and spots exhibiting every appearance of cyclonic motion1 and solar storms1 c4 c42 to this the only answer that can be given is the following3 the appearances are all there1 yet it is not combustion4 ,undoubtedly were the robes1 the dazzling drapery which now envelopes the whole of the sun's globe1 withdrawn1 or even the shining atmosphere which permits us to see the sun 7as ,sir ,william ,herschel thought7 removed so as to allow one trifling rent1 our whole universe would be reduced to ashes4 ,jupiter ,fulminator revealing himself to his beloved would incinerate her instantly4 ,but it can never be4 ,the protecting shell is of a thickness and at a distance from the universal ,,heart that call hardly be ever calculated by your mathematicians4 ,and how can they hope to see the sun's inner body once that the existence of that chromosphere is ascertained1 though its actual density may be still unknown1 when one of the greatest1 if not the greatest1 of their authorities--,sir ,w4 ,herschel--says the following3 ,the sun1 also1 has its atmosphere1 and if some of the fluids which enter into its composition should be of a shining brilliancy1 while others are merely transparent1 any temporary cause which may remove the lucid fluid will permit us to see the body of the sun through the transparent ones4 ,the underlined words1 written nearly eighty years ago1 embody the wrong hypothesis that the body of the sun might be seen under such circumstances1 whereas it is only the far-away layers of the lucid fluid that would be perceived4 ,and what the great astronomer adds invalidates entirely the first portion of his assumption3 ,if an observer were placed on the moon1 he would see the solid body of our earth only in those places where the transparent fluids of the atmosphere would permit him4 ,in others1 the opaque vapours would reflect the light of the sun without permitting his view to penetrate to the surface of our globe4 ,thus1 if the atmosphere of our earth1 which in its relation to the atmosphere 787 of the sun is like the tenderest skin of a fruit compared with the thickest husk of a cocoa-nut1 would prevent the eye of an observer standing on the moon from penetrating everywhere to the surface of our globe1 how can an astronomer ever expect his sight to penetrate to the sun's surface1 from our earth and at a distance of from #he to #ie million miles199 whereas1 the moon1 we are told1 is only about #bch1jjj miles6 -------- 99 ,verily1 absolute accuracy in the solution of this problem 7of distances between the heavenly bodies and the earth7 is simply out of the question4 ---------- ,the proportionately larger size of the sun does not bring it any the more within the scope of our physical vision4 ,truly remarks ,sir ,w4 ,herschel that the sun has been called a globe of fire1 perhaps metaphorically6 ,it has been supposed that the dark spots were solid bodies revolving near the sun's surface4 ,they have been conjectured to be the smoke of volcanoes the scum floating upon an ocean of fluid matter4444 ,they have been taken for clouds 4444 explained to be opaque masses swimming in the fluid matter of the sun4444 ,when all his anthropomorphic conceptions are put aside1 ,sir ,john ,herschel1 whose intuition was still greater than his great learning1 alone of all astronomers comes near the truth--far nearer than any of those modern astronomers who1 while admiring his gigantic learning1 smile at his imaginative and fanciful theories4 ,his only mistake1 now shared by most astronomers1 was that he regarded the opaque body occasionally observed through the curtain of the luminous envelope as the sun itself4 ,when saying in the course of his speculations upon the ,nasmyth willow-leaf theory--the definite shape of these objects1 their exact similarity one to another4444 all these characters seem quite repugnant to the notion of their being of a vaporous1 a cloudy1 or a fluid nature--his spiritual intuition served him better than his remarkable knowledge of physical science4 ,when he adds3 ,nothing remains but to consider them as separate and independent sheets1 flakes4444 having some sort of solidity4444 ,be they what they may1 they are evidently the immediate sources of the solar light and heat--he utters a grander physical truth than was ever uttered by any living astronomer4 ,and when1 furthermore1 we find him postulating--looked at in this point of view1 we cannot refuse to regard them as organisms of some peculiar and amazing kind2 and though it would be too daring to speak of such organization as partaking of the nature of life1 yet we do know that vital action is competent to develop at once heat1 and light1 and electricity1 ,sir ,john ,herschel gives out a theory approximating an occult truth more than any of the profane ever did with regard to solar physics4 ,these wonderful objects are not1 as a modern astronomer interprets ,sir ,j4 ,herschel's words1 solar inhabitants1 whose fiery constitution enables them to illuminate1 warm and electricize the whole solar system1 but simply the reservoirs of solar vital energy1 the vital electricity that feeds the whole system in which it lives1 and breathes1 and has its being4 ,the sun is1 as we say1 the storehouse of our little cosmos1 self-generating its vital fluid1 and ever receiving a much as it gives out4 ,were the astronomers to be asked--what definite and positive fact exists at the root of their solar theory--what knowledge they have of solar combustion and atmosphere--they might1 perchance1 feel embarrassed when confronted with all their present theories4 ,for it is sufficient to make a resume of what the solar physicists do not know1 to gain conviction that they are as far as ever from a definite knowledge of the constitution and ultimate nature of the heavenly bodies4 ,we may1 perhaps1 be permitted to enumerate3-- ,beginning with1 as ,mr4 ,proctor wisely calls it1 the wildest assumption possible1 that there is1 in accordance with the law of analogy1 some general resemblance between the materials in1 and the processes at work upon1 the sun1 and those materials with which terrestrial chemistry and physics are familiar1 what is that sum of results achieved by spectroscopic and other analyses of the surface and the inner constitution of the sun1 which warrants any one in establishing the axiom of the sun's combustion and gradual extinction8 ,they have no means1 as they themselves daily confess1 of experimenting upon1 hence of determining1 the sun's physical condition2 for 7a7 they are ignorant of the atmospheric limits2 7b7 even though it were proved that matter1 such as they know of1 is continuously falling upon the sun1 being ignorant of its real velocity and the nature of the material it falls upon1 they are unable to discuss of the effect of motions wholly surpassing in velocity 4444 enormously exceeding even the inconceivable velocity of many meteors2 7c7 confessedly--they have no means of learning whence that part of the light comes which gives the continuous spectrum4444 hence no means of determining how great a depth of the solar substance is concerned in sending out that light4 ,this light may come from the surface layers only2 and1 it may be but a shell 4444 7truly672 and finally1 7d7 they have yet to learn how far combustion1 properly so-called1 can take place within the sun's mass2 and whether these processes1 which we 7they7 recognize as combustion1 are the only processes of combustion which can actually take place there4 ,therefore1 ,mr4 ,proctor for one comes to the happy and prudent idea after all that what had been supposed the most marked characteristic of incandescent solid and liquid bodies1 is thus shown to be a possible characteristic of the light of the glowing gas4 ,thus1 the whole basis of their reasoning having been shaken 7by ,frankland's objection71 they1 the astronomers1 may yet arrive at accepting the occult theory1 viz41 that they have to look to the #fth state of matter1 for divulging to them the true nature of their photospheres1 chromospheres1 appendages1 prominences1 projections and horns4 ,indeed1 when one finds one of the authorities of the age in physical science--,professor ,tyndall--saying that no earthly substance with which we are acquainted1 no substance which the fall of meteors has landed on the earth--would be at all competent to maintain the sun's combustion2 and again3--4444 multiplying all our powers by millions of millions1 we do not reach the sun's expenditure4 ,and still1 notwithstanding this enormous drain in the lapse of human history1 we are unable to detect a diminution of his store 4444--after reading this1 to see the men of science still maintaining their theory of a hot globe cooling1 one may be excused for feeling surprised at such inconsistency4 ,verily is that great physicist right in viewing the sun itself as a speck in infinite extension--a mere drop in the ,universal sea2 and saying that1 to ,nature nothing can be added2 from ,nature nothing can be taken away2 the sum of her energy is constant1 and the utmost man can do in the pursuit of physical truth1 or in the applications of physical knowledge1 is to shift the constituents of the never-varying total4 ,the law of conservation rigidly excludes both creation and annihilation 4444 the flux of power is eternally the same4 ,mr4 ,tyndall speaks here as though he were an ,occultist4 ,yet1 the memento mori--the sun is cooling 4444 it is dying6 of the ,western ,trappists of ,science resounds as loud as it ever did4 ,no1 we say2 no1 while there is one man left on the globe1 the sun will not be extinguished4 ,before the hour of the ,solar ,pralaya strikes on the watch-tower of ,eternity1 all the other worlds of our system will be gliding in their spectral shells along the silent paths of ,infinite ,space4 ,before it strikes1 ,atlas1 the mighty ,titan1 the son of ,asia and the nursling of ,aether1 will have dropped his heavy manvantaric burden and--died2 the ,pleiades1 the bright seven ,sisters1 will have upon awakening hiding ,sterope to grieve with them--to die themselves for their father's loss4 ,and1 ,hercules1 moving off his left leg1 will have to shift his place in heavens and erect his own funeral pile4 ,then only1 surrounded by the fiery element breaking through the thickening gloom of the ,pralayan twilight1 will ,hercules1 expiring amidst a general conflagration1 bring on likewise the death of our sun3 he will have unveiled by moving off the ,,central ,,sun--the mysterious1 the ever-hidden centre of attraction of our sun and system4 ,fables8 ,mere poetical fiction8 ,yet1 when one knows that the most exact sciences1 the greatest mathematical and astronomical truths went forth into the world among the hoi polloi from the circle of initiated priests1 the ,hierophants of the sanctum sanctorum of the old temples1 under the guise of religious fables1 it may not be amiss to search for universal truths even under the patches of fiction's harlequinade4 ,this fable about the ,pleiades1 the seven ,sisters1 ,atlas1 and ,hercules exists identical in subject1 though under other names1 in the sacred ,hindu books1 and has likewise the same occult meaning4 ,but then like the ,ramayana borrowed from the ,greek ,iliad and the ,bhagavat-,gita and ,krishna plagiarized from the ,gospel--in the opinion of the great ,sanskritist1 ,prof4 ,weber1 the ,aryans may have also borrowed the ,pleiades and their ,hercules from the same source6 ,when the ,brahmins can be shown by the ,christian ,orientalists to be the direct descendants of the ,teutonic ,crusaders1 then only1 perchance1 will the cycle of proofs be completed1 and the historical truths of the ,west vindicated6 ,question ,,iii4--,are the great nations to be swept away in an hour8 ,no such absurdity was ever postulated4 ,the cataclysm that annihilated the choicest sub-races of the ,fourth race1 or the ,atlanteans1 was slowly preparing its work for ages2 as any one can read in ,esoteric ,buddhism 7page #ed74 ,poseidonis1 so called1 belongs to historical times1 though its fate begins to be realized and suspected only now4 ,what was said is still asserted3 every root-race is separated by a catastrophe1 a cataclysm--the basis and historical foundation of the fables woven later on into the religious fabric of every people1 whether civilized or savage1 under the names of deluges1 showers of fire1 and such like4 ,that no appreciable trace is left of such high civilization is due to several reasons4 ,one of these may be traced chiefly to the inability1 and partially to the unwillingness 7or shall we say congenital spiritual blindness of this our age67 of the modern archeologist to distinguish between excavations and ruins #ej1jjj and #d1jjj years old1 and to assign to many a grand archaic ruin its proper age and place in prehistoric times4 ,for the latter the archeologist is not responsible--for what criterion1 what sign has he to lead him to infer the true date of an excavated building bearing no inscription2 and what warrant has the public that the antiquary and specialist has not made an error of some #bj1jjj years8 ,a fair proof of this we have in the scientific and historic labeling of the ,cyclopean architecture4 ,traditional archeology bearing directly upon the monumental is rejected4 ,oral literature1 popular legends1 ballads and rites1 are all stifled in one word-- superstition2 and popular antiquities have become fables and folk-lore4 ,the ruder style of ,cyclopean masonry1 the walls of ,tyrius1 mentioned by ,homer1 are placed at the farthest end--the dawn of pre-,roman history2 the walls of ,epirus and ,mycenae--at the nearest4 ,the latter are commonly believed the work of the ,pelasgi and probably of about #a1jjj years before the ,western era4 ,as to the former1 they were hedged in and driven forward by the ,noachian deluge till very lately-- ,archbishop ,usher's learned scheme1 computing that earth and man were created #d1jjd ,b4,c41 having been not only popular but actually forced upon the educated classes until ,mr4 ,darwin's triumphs4 ,had it not been for the efforts of a few ,alexandrian and other mystics1 ,platonists1 and heathen philosophers1 ,europe would have never laid her hands even on those few ,greek and ,roman classics she now possesses4 ,and1 as among the few that escaped the dire fate not all by any means were trustworthy-- hence1 perhaps1 the secret of their preservation--,western scholars got early into the habit of rejecting all heathen testimony1 whenever truth clashed with the dicta of their churches4 ,then1 again1 the modern ,archeologists1 ,orientalists and ,historians1 are all ,europeans2 and they are all ,christians1 whether nominally or otherwise4 ,however it may be1 most of them seem to dislike to allow any relic of archaism to antedate the supposed antiquity of the ,jewish records4 ,this is a ditch into which most have slipped4 ,the traces of ancient civilizations exist1 and they are many4 ,yet1 it is humbly suggested1 that so long as there are reverend gentlemen mixed up unchecked in archaeological and ,asiatic societies2 and ,christian bishops to write the supposed histories and religions of non-,christian nations1 and to preside over the meetings of ,orientalists--so long will ,archaism and its remains be made subservient in every branch to ancient ,judaism and modern ,christianity4 ,so far1 archeology knows nothing of the sites of other and far older civilizations1 except the few it has stumbled upon1 and to which it has assigned their respective ages1 mostly under the guidance of biblical chronology4 ,whether the ,west had any right to impose upon ,universal ,history the untrustworthy chronology of a small and unknown ,jewish tribe and reject1 at the same time1 every datum as every other tradition furnished by the classical writers of non-,jewish and non-,christian nations1 is questionable4 ,at any rate1 had it accepted as willingly data coming from other sources1 it might have assured itself by this time1 that not only in ,italy and other parts of ,europe1 but even on sites not very far from those it is accustomed to regard as the hotbed of ancient relics--,babylonia and ,assyria--there are other sites where it could profitably excavate4 ,the immense ,salt ,valley of ,dasht-,beyad by ,khorasson covers the most ancient civilizations of the world2 while the ,shamo desert has had time to change from sea to land1 and from fertile land to a dead desert1 since the day when the first civilization of the ,fifth ,race left its now invisible1 and perhaps for ever hidden1 traces under its beds of sand4 ,times have changed1 are changing4 ,proofs of the old civilizations and the archaic wisdom are accumulating4 ,though soldier-bigots and priestly schemers have burnt books and converted old libraries to base uses2 though the dry rot and the insect have destroyed inestimably precious records2 though within the historic period the ,spanish brigands made bonfires of the works of the refined archaic ,american races1 which1 if spared1 would have solved many a riddle of history2 though ,omar lit the fires of the ,alexandrian baths for months with the literary treasures of the ,serapeum2 though the ,sybilline and other mystical books of ,rome and ,greece were destroyed in war2 though the ,south ,indian invaders of ,ceylon heaped into piles as high as the tops of the cocoanut trees the ollas of the ,buddhists1 and set them ablaze to light their victory--thus obliterating from the world's knowledge early ,buddhist annals and treatises of great importance3 though this hateful and senseless ,vandalism has disgraced the career of most fighting nations--still1 despite everything1 there are extant abundant proofs of the history of mankind1 and bits and scraps come to light from time to time by what science has often called most curious coincidences4 ,europe has no very trustworthy history of her own vicissitudes and mutations1 her successive races and their doings4 ,what with their savage wars1 the barbaric habits of the historic ,goths1 ,huns1 ,franks1 and other warrior nations1 and the interested literary ,vandalism of the shaveling priests who for centuries sat upon its intellectual life like a nightmare1 an antiquity could not exist for ,europe4 ,and1 having no ,past to record themselves1 the ,european critics1 historians and archeologists have not scrupled to deny one to others--whenever the concession excited a sacrifice of biblical prestige4 ,no traces of old civilizations we are told6 ,and what about the ,pelasgi--the direct forefathers of the ,hellenes1 according to ,herodotus8 ,what about the ,etruscans--the race mysterious and wonderful1 if any1 for the historian1 and whose origin is the most insoluble of problems8 ,that which is known of them only shows that could something more be known1 a whole series of prehistoric civilizations might be discovered4 ,a people described as are the ,pelasgi--a highly intellectual1 receptive1 active people1 chiefly occupied with agriculture1 warlike when necessary1 though preferring peace2 a people who built canals as no one else1 subterranean water-works1 dams1 walls1 and ,cyclopean buildings of the most astounding strength2 who are even suspected of having been the inventors of the so-called ,cadmean or ,phoenician writing characters from which all ,european alphabets are derived--who were they8 ,could they be shown by any possible means as the descendants of the biblical ,peleg 7,gen4 x4 #be7 their high civilization would have been thereby demonstrated1 though their antiquity would still have to be dwarfed to #bbdg ,b4,c44 ,and who were the ,etruscans8 ,shall the ,easterns like the ,westerns be made to believe that between the high civilizations of the pre-,roman 7and we say--prehistoric7 ,tursenoi of the ,greeks1 with their twelve great cities known to history2 their ,cyclopean buildings1 their plastic and pictorial arts1 and the time when they were a nomadic tribe first descended into ,italy from their northern latitudes--only a few centuries elapsed8 ,shall it be still urged that the ,phoenicians with their ,tyre #bgej ,b4,c4 7a chronology1 accepted by ,western history71 their commerce1 fleet1 learning1 arts1 and civilization1 were only a few centuries before the building of ,tyre but a small tribe of ,semitic fishermen8 ,or1 that the ,trojan war could not have been earlier than #aahd ,b4,c41 and thus ,magna ,graecia must be fixed somewhere between the eighth and the ninth ,century ,b4,c41 and by no means thousands of years before1 as was claimed by ,plato and ,aristotle1 ,homer and the ,cyclic ,poems1 derived from1 and based upon1 other records millenniums older8 ,if the ,christian historian1 hampered by his chronology1 and the freethinker by lack of necessary data1 feel bound to stigmatize every non-,christian or non-,western chronology as obviously fanciful1 purely mythical1 and not worthy of a moment's consideration1 how shall one1 wholly dependent upon ,western guides get at the truth8 ,and if these incompetent builders of ,universal ,history can persuade their public to accept as authoritative their chronological and ethnological reveries1 why should the ,eastern student1 who has access to quite different--and we make bold to say1 more trustworthy-- materials1 be expected to join in the blind belief of those who defend ,western historical infallibility8 ,he believes--on the strength of the documentary evidence1 left by ,yavanacharya 7,pythagoras7 #fjg ,b4,c4 in ,india1 and that of his own national temple records1 that instead of giving hundreds we may safely give thousands of years to the foundation of ,cumaea and ,magna ,graecia1 of which it was the pioneer settlement4 ,that the civilization of the latter had already become effete when ,pythagoras1 the great pupil of ,aryan ,masters went to ,crotone4 ,and1 having no biblical bias to overcome1 he feels persuaded that1 if it took the ,celtic and ,gaelic tribes ,britannicae ,insulae1 with the ready-made civilizations of ,rome before their eyes1 and acquaintance with that of the ,phoenicians whose trade with them began a thousand years before the ,christian era2 and to crown all with the definite help later of the ,normans and ,saxons--two thousand years before they could build their medieval cities1 not even remotely comparable with those of the ,romans2 and it took them two thousand five hundred years to get half as civilized2 then1 that instead of that hypothetical period1 benevolently styled the childhood of the race1 being within easy reach of the ,apostles and the early ,fathers1 it must be relegated to an enormously earlier time4 ,surely if it took the barbarians of ,western ,europe so many centuries to develop a language and create empires1 then the nomadic tribes of the mythical periods ought in common fairness--since they never came under the fructifying energy of that ,christian influence to which we are asked to ascribe all the scientific enlightenment of this age--about ten thousand years to build their ,tyres and their ,veii1 their ,sidons and ,carthagenes4 ,as other ,troys lie under the surface of the topmost one in the ,troad2 and other and higher civilizations were exhumed by ,mariette ,bey under the stratum of sand from which the archeological collections of ,lepsius1 ,abbott1 and the ,british ,museum were taken2 and six ,hindu ,delhis1 superposed and hidden away out of sight1 formed the pedestal upon which the ,mogul conqueror built the gorgeous capital whose ruins still attest the splendour of his ,delhi2 so when the fury of critical bigotry has quite subsided1 and ,western men are prepared to write history in the interest of truth alone1 will the proofs be found of the cyclic law of civilization4 ,modern ,florence lifts her beautiful form above the tomb of ,etruscan ,florentia1 which in her turn rose upon the hidden vestiges of anterior towns4 ,and so also ,arezzo1 ,perugia1 ,lucca1 and many other ,european sites now occupied by modern towns and cities1 are based upon the relics of archaic civilizations whose period covers ages incomputable1 and whose names ,echo has forgotten to even whisper through the corridors of ,time4 ,when the ,western historian has finally and ,unanswerably proven who were the ,pelasgi1 at least1 and who the ,etruscans1 and the as mysterious ,iapygians1 who seem also to have had an earlier acquaintance with writing--as proved by their inscriptions--than the ,phoenicians1 then only may he menace the ,asiatic into acceptance of his own arbitrary data and dogmas4 ,then also may he tauntingly ask how it is that no appreciable trace is left of such high civilizations as are described in the ,past8 ,is it supposed that the present ,european civilization with its offshoots 4444 can be destroyed by any inundation or conflagration8 ,more easily than was many another civilization4 ,europe has neither the titanic and ,cyclopean masonry of the ancients1 nor even its parchments1 to preserve the records of its existing arts and languages4 ,its civilization is too recent1 too rapidly growing1 to leave any positively indestructible relics of either its architecture1 arts or sciences4 ,what is there in the whole ,europe that could be regarded as even approximately indestructible1 without mentioning the debacle of the geological upheaval that follows generally such cataclysms8 ,is it its ephemeral ,crystal ,palaces1 its theatres1 railways1 modern fragile furniture3 or its electric telegraphs1 phonographs1 telephones1 and micrographs8 ,while each of the former is at the mercy of fire and cyclone1 the last enumerated marvels of modern science can be destroyed by a child breaking them to atoms4 ,when we know of the destruction of the ,seven ,world's ,wonders1 of ,thebes1 ,tyre1 the ,labyrinth1 and the ,egyptian pyramids and temples and giant palaces1 as we now see slowly crumbling into the dust of the deserts1 being reduced to atoms by the hand of ,time--lighter and far more merciful than any cataclysm--the question seems to us rather the outcome of modern pride than of stern reasoning4 ,is it your daily newspapers and periodicals1 rags of a few days2 your fragile books bearing the records of all your grand civilization1 withal liable to become annihilated after a few meals are made on them by the white ants1 that are regarded as invulnerable8 ,and why should ,european civilization escape the common lot8 ,it is from the lower classes1 the units of the great masses who form the majorities in nations1 that survivors will escape in greater numbers2 and these know nothing of the arts1 sciences1 or languages except their own1 and those very imperfectly4 ,the arts and sciences are like the phoenix of old3 they die but to revive4 ,and when the question found on page #eh of ,esoteric ,buddhism concerning the curious rush of human progress within the last two thousand years1 was first propounded1 ,mr4 ,sinnett's correspondent might have made his answer more complete by saying3 ,this rush1 this progress1 and the abnormal rapidity with which one discovery follows the other1 ought to be a sign to human intuition that what you look upon in the light of 'discoveries' are merely rediscoveries1 which1 following the law of gradual progress1 you make more perfect1 yet in enunciating1 you are not the first to explain them4 ,we learn more easily that which we have heard about1 or learnt in childhood4 ,if1 as averred1 the ,western nations have separated themselves from the great ,aryan stock1 it becomes evident that the races that first peopled ,europe were inferior to the root-race which had the ,vedas and the pre-historic ,rishis4 ,that which your far-distant forefathers had heard in the secrecy of the temples was not lost4 ,it reached their posterity1 which is now simply improving upon details4 ,question ,,iv4--,is the ,moon immersed in matter8 ,no ,adept1 so far as the writers know1 has ever given to ,lay ,chela his views of the moon1 for publication4 ,with ,selenography1 modern science is far better acquainted than any humble ,asiatic ascetic may ever hope to become4 ,it is to be feared the speculations on pp4 #ajd and #aje of ,esoteric ,buddhism1 besides being hazy1 are somewhat premature4 ,therefore1 it may be as well to pass on to-- ,question ,v4--,about the mineral monad4 ,any ,english expression that correctly translates the idea given is authorized by the ,adepts4 ,why not8 ,the term monad applies to the latent life in the mineral as much as it does to the life in the vegetable and the animal4 ,the monogenist may take exception to the term and especially to the idea while the polygenist1 unless he be a corporealist1 may not4 ,as to the other class of scientists1 they would take objection to the idea even of a human monad1 and call it unscientific4 ,what relation does the monad bear to the atom8 ,none whatever to the atom or molecule as in the scientific conception at present4 ,it can neither be compared with the microscopic organism classed once among polygastric infusoria1 and now regarded as vegetable and ranked among algae2 nor is it quite the monas of the ,peripatetics4 ,physically or constitutionally the mineral monad differs1 of course1 from that of the human monad1 which is neither physical1 nor can its constitution be rendered by chemical symbols and elements4 ,in short1 the mineral monad is one--the higher animal and human monads are countless4 ,otherwise1 how could one account for and explain mathematically the evolutionary and spiral progress of the four kingdoms8 ,the monad is the combination of the last two ,principles in man1 the #fth and the #gth1 and1 properly speaking1 the term human monad applies only to the ,spiritual ,soul1 not to its highest spiritual vivifying ,principle4 ,but since divorced from the latter the ,spiritual ,soul could have no existence1 no being1 it has thus been called4 ,the composition 7if such a word1 which would shock an ,asiatic1 seems necessary to help ,european conception7 of ,buddhi or the #fth principle is made up of the essence of what you would call matter 7or perchance a centre of ,spiritual ,force7 in its #fth and #gth condition or state2 the animating ,,atman being part of the ,,one ,,life or ,parabrahm4 ,now the ,monadic ,essence 7if such a term be permitted7 in the mineral1 vegetable and animal1 though the same throughout the series of cycles from the lowest elemental up to the ,deva kingdom1 yet differs in the scale of progression4 ,it would be very misleading to imagine a monad as a separate entity trailing its slow way in a distinct path through the lower kingdoms1 and after an incalculable series of transmigrations flowering into a human being2 in short1 that the monad of a ,humboldt dates back to the monad of an atom of hornblende4 ,instead of saying a mineral monad1 the correcter phraseology in physical science which differentiates every atom1 would of course have been to call it the ,monad manifesting in that form of ,prakriti called the mineral kingdom4 ,each atom or molecule of ordinary scientific hypotheses is not a particle of something1 animated by a psychic something1 destined to blossom as a man after aeons4 ,but it is a concrete manifestation of the ,universal ,energy which itself has not yet become individualized3 a sequential manifestation of the one ,universal ,monas4 ,the ocean does not divide into its potential and constituent drops until the sweep of the life-impulse reaches the evolutionary stage of man-birth4 ,the tendency towards segregation into individual monads is gradual1 and in the higher animals comes almost to the point4 ,the ,peripatetics applied the word ,monas to the whole ,cosmos1 in the pantheistic sense2 and the ,occultists while accepting this thought for convenience' sake1 distinguish the progressive stages of the evolution of the ,concrete from the ,abstract by terms of which the ,mineral ,monad is one4 ,the term merely means that the tidal wave of spiritual evolution is passing through that arc of its circuit4 ,the ,monadic ,essence begins to imperceptibly differentiate in the vegetable kingdom4 ,as the monads are uncompounded things1 as correctly defined by ,leibnitz1 it is the spiritual essence which vivifies them in their degrees of differentiation which constitutes properly the monad--not the atomic aggregation which is only the vehicle and the substance through which thrill the lower and higher degrees of intelligence4 ,and though1 as shown by those plants that are known as sensitives1 there are a few among them that may be regarded as possessing that conscious perception which is called by ,leibnitz apperception1 while the rest are endowed but with that internal activity which may be called vegetable nerve-sensation 7to call it perception would be wrong71 yet even the vegetable monad is still the ,monad in its second degree of awakening sensation4 ,leibnitz came several times very near the truth1 but defined the monadic evolution incorrectly and often greatly blundered4 ,there are seven kingdoms4 ,the first group comprises three degrees of elementals1 or nascent centres of forces--from the first stage of the differentiation of ,mulaprakriti to its third degree--i4e41 from full unconsciousness to semi-perception2 the second or higher group embraces the kingdoms from vegetable to man2 the mineral kingdom thus forming the central or turning-point in the degrees of the ,monadic ,essence-- considered as an ,evoluting ,energy4 ,three stages in the elemental side2 the mineral kingdom2 three stages in the objective physical side--these are the seven links of the evolutionary chain4 ,a descent of spirit into matter1 equivalent to an ascent in physical evolution2 a re-ascent from the deepest depths of materiality 7the mineral7 towards its status quo ante1 with a corresponding dissipation of concrete organisms up to ,nirvana--the vanishing point of differentiated matter4 ,perhaps a simple diagram will aid us3-- ,diagram here ,the line ,a ,d represents the gradual obscuration of spirit as it passes into concrete matter2 the point ,d indicates the evolutionary position of the mineral kingdom from its incipient 7d7 to its ultimate concretion 7a72 c1 b1 a1 on the left-hand side of the figure1 are the three stages of elemental evolution2 i4e41 the three successive stages passed by the spiritual impulse 7through the elementals--of which little is permitted to be said7 before they are imprisoned in the most concrete form of matter2 and a1 b1 c1 on the right-hand side1 are the three stages of organic life1 vegetable1 animal1 human4 ,what is total obscuration of spirit is complete perfection of its polar antithesis--matter2 and this idea is conveyed in the lines ,a ,d and ,d ,a4 ,the arrows show the line of travel of the evolutionary impulse in entering its vortex and expanding again into the subjectivity of the ,,absolute4 ,the central thickest line1 d d1 is the ,mineral ,kingdom4 ,the monogenists have had their day4 ,even believers in a personal god1 like ,professor ,agassiz1 teach now that1 ,there is a manifest progress in the succession of beings on the surface of the earth4 ,the progress consists in an increasing similarity of the living fauna1 and among the vertebrates especially1 in the increasing resemblance to man4 ,man is the end towards which all the animal creation has tended from the first appearance of the first ,palaeozoic fishes 7,principles of ,zoology1 pp4 #bje-f74 ,the mineral monad is not an individuality latent1 but an all-pervading ,force which has for its ,present vehicle matter in its lowest and most concrete terrestrial state2 in man the monad is fully developed1 potential1 and either passive or absolutely active1 according to its vehicle1 the five lower and more physical human principles4 ,in the ,deva kingdom it is fully liberated and in its highest state--but one degree lower than the ,,one ,universal ,life499 ---------- 99 ,the above diagram represents a logical section of the scheme of evolution1 and not the evolutionary history of a unit of consciousness4 ---------- ,question ,,viii4--,sri ,sankaracharya's ,date ,it is always difficult to determine with precision the date of any particular event in the ancient history of ,india2 and this difficulty is considerably enhanced by the speculations of ,european ,orientalists1 whose labours in this direction have but tended to thicken the confusion already existing in popular legends and traditions1 which were often altered or modified to suit the necessities of sectarian controversy4 ,the causes that have produced this result will be fully ascertained on examining the assumptions on which these speculations are based4 ,the writings of many of these ,orientalists are often characterized by an imperfect knowledge of ,indian literature1 philosophy and religion1 and of ,hindu traditions1 and a contemptuous disregard for the opinions of ,hindu writers and pundits4 ,very often1 facts and dates are taken by these writers from the writings of their predecessors or contemporaries on the assumption that they are correct without any further investigation by themselves4 ,even when a writer gives a date with an expression of doubt as to its accuracy1 his follower frequently quotes the same date as if it were absolutely correct4 ,one wrong date is made to depend upon another wrong date1 and one bad inference is often deduced from another inference equally unwarranted and illogical4 ,and consequently1 if the correctness of any particular date given by these writers is to be ascertained1 the whole structure of ,indian ,chronology constructed by them will have to be carefully examined4 ,it will be convenient to enumerate some of the assumptions above referred to before proceeding to examine their opinions concerning the date of ,sankaracharya4 ,i4 ,many of these writers are not altogether free from the prejudices engendered by the pernicious doctrine1 deduced from the ,bible1 whether rightly or wrongly1 that this world is only six thousand years old4 ,we do not mean to say that any one of these writers would now seriously think of defending the said doctrine4 ,nevertheless1 it had exercised a considerable influence on the minds of ,christian writers when they began to investigate the claims of ,asiatic ,chronology4 ,if an antiquity of five or six thousand years is assigned to any particular event connected with the ancient history of ,egypt1 ,india or ,china1 it is certain to be rejected at once by these writers without any inquiry whatever regarding the truth of the statement4 ,,ii4 ,they are extremely unwilling to admit that any portion of the ,veda can be traced to a period anterior to the date of the ,pentateuch1 even when the arguments brought forward to establish the priority of the ,vedas are such as would be convincing to the mind of an impartial investigator untainted by ,christian prejudices4 ,the maximum limit of ,indian antiquity is1 therefore1 fixed for them by the ,old ,testament2 and it is virtually assumed by them that a period between the date of the ,old ,testament on the one side1 and the present time on the other1 should necessarily be assigned to every book in the whole range of ,vedic and ,sanskrit literature1 and to almost every event of ,indian history4 ,,iii4 ,it is often assumed without reason that every passage in the ,vedas containing philosophical or metaphysical ideas must be looked upon as a subsequent interpolation1 and that every book treating of a philosophical subject must be considered as having been written after the time of ,buddha or after the commencement of the ,christian era4 ,civilization1 philosophy and scientific investigation had their origin1 in the opinion of these writers1 within the six or seven centuries preceding the ,christian era1 and mankind slowly emerged1 for the first time1 from the depths of animal brutality within the last four or five thousand years4 ,,iv4 ,it is also assumed that ,buddhism was brought into existence by ,gautama ,buddha4 ,the previous existence of ,buddhism1 ,jainism and ,arhat philosophy is rejected as an absurd and ridiculous invention of the ,buddhists and others1 who attempted thereby to assign a very high antiquity to their own religion4 ,in consequence of this erroneous impression every ,hindu book referring to the doctrines of ,buddhists is declared to have been written subsequent to the time of ,gautama ,buddha4 ,for instance1 ,mr4 ,weber is of opinion that ,vyasa1 the author of the ,brahma ,sutras1 wrote them in the fifth century after ,christ4 ,this is indeed a startling revelation to the majority of ,hindus4 ,v4 ,whenever several works treating of various subjects are attributed to one and the same author by ,hindu writings or traditions1 it is often assumed1 and apparently without any reason whatever in the majority of cases1 that the said works should be considered as the productions of different writers4 ,by this process of reasoning they have discovered two ,badarayanas 7,vyasas71 two ,patanjalis1 and three ,vararuchis4 ,we do not mean to say that in every case identity of name is equivalent to identity of personality4 ,but we cannot but protest against such assumptions when they are made without any evidence to support them1 merely for the purpose of supporting a foregone conclusion or establishing a favourite hypothesis4 ,,vi4 ,an attempt is often made by these writers to establish the chronological order of the events of ancient ,indian history by means of the various stages in the growth or development of the ,sanskrit language and ,indian literature4 ,the time required for this growth is often estimated in the same manner in which a geologist endeavours to fix the time required for the gradual development of the various strata composing the earth's crust4 ,but we fail to perceive anything like a proper method in making these calculations4 ,it will be wrong to assume that the growth of one language will require the same time as that of another within the same limits4 ,the peculiar characteristics of the nation to whom the language belongs must be carefully taken into consideration in attempting to make any such calculation4 ,the history of the said nation is equally important4 ,any one who examines ,max ,muller's estimate of the so-called ,sutra1 ,brahmana1 ,mantra and ,khanda periods1 will be able to perceive that no attention has been paid to these considerations4 ,the time allotted to the growth of these four strata of ,vedic literature is purely arbitrary4 ,we have enumerated these defects in the writings of ,european ,orientalists for the purpose of showing to our readers that it is not always safe to rely upon the conclusions arrived at by these writers regarding the dates of ancient ,indian history4 ,in examining the various quotations and traditions selected by ,european ,orientalists for the purpose of fixing ,sankaracharya's date1 special care must be taken to see whether the person referred to was the very first ,sankaracharya who established the ,adwaitee doctrine1 or one of his followers who became the ,adhipathis 7heads7 of the various ,mathams 7temples7 established by him and his successors4 ,many of the ,adwaitee ,mathadhipatis who succeeded him 7especially of the ,sringeri ,matham7 were men of considerable renown and were well known throughout ,india during their time4 ,they are often referred to under the general name of ,sankaracharya4 ,consequently1 any reference made to any one of these ,mathadhipatis is apt to be mistaken for a reference to the first ,sankaracharya himself4 ,mr4 ,barth1 whose opinion regarding ,sankara's date is quoted by ,an ,english ,f4,t4,s4 against the date assigned to that teacher in ,mr4 ,sinnett's book on ,esoteric ,buddhism1 does not appear to have carefully examined the subject himself4 ,he assigns no reasons for the date given1 and does not even allude to the existence of other authorities and traditions which conflict with the date adopted by him4 ,the date which he assigns to ,sankara appears in an unimportant foot-note on page #hi of his book on ,the ,religions of ,india1 which reads thus3 ,sankaracharya is generally placed in the eighth century2 perhaps we must accept the ninth rather4 ,the best accredited tradition represents him as born on the #ajth of the month ',madhava' in #ghh ,a4,d4 ,other traditions1 it is true1 place him in the second and fifth centuries4 ,the author of the ,dabistan1 on the other hand1 brings him as far down as the commencement of the fourteenth4 ,mr4 ,barth is clearly wrong in saying that ,sankara is generally placed in the eight century4 ,there are as many traditions for placing him in some century before the ,christian era as for placing him in some century after the said era1 and it will also be seen from what follows that in fact evidence preponderates in favour of the former statement4 ,it cannot be contended that the generality of ,orientalists have any definite opinions of their own on the subject under consideration4 ,max ,muller does not appear to have ever directed his attention to this subject4 ,monier ,williams merely copies the date given by ,mr4 ,wilson1 and ,mr4 ,weber seems to rely upon the same authority without troubling himself with any further inquiry about the matter4 ,mr4 ,wilson is probably the only ,orientalist who investigated the subject with some care and attention2 and he frankly confesses that the exact period at which he 7,sankara7 flourished can by no means be determined 7p4 #bja of vol4 ,i4 of his ,essays on the ,religion of the ,hindoos74 ,under such circumstances the foot-note above quoted is certainly very misleading4 ,mr4 ,barth does not inform his readers where he obtained the tradition referred to1 and what reasons he has for supposing that it refers to the first ,sankaracharya1 and that it is the best accredited tradition4 ,when the matter is still open to discussion1 ,mr4 ,barth should not have adopted any particular date if he is not prepared to support it and establish it by proper arguments4 ,the other traditions alluded to are not intended1 of course1 to strengthen the authority of the tradition relied upon4 ,but the wording of the foot-note in question seems to show that all the authorities and traditions relating to the subject are comprised therein1 when in fact the most important of them are left out of consideration1 as will be shown hereafter4 ,no arguments are to be found in support of the date assigned to ,sankara in the other portions of ,mr4 ,barth's book1 but there are a few isolated passages which may be taken either as inferences from the statement in question or arguments in its support1 which it will be necessary to examine in this connection4 ,mr4 ,barth has discovered some connection between the appearance of ,sankara in ,india and the commencement of the persecution of the ,buddhists1 which he seems to place in the seventh and eighth centuries4 ,in page #hi of his book he speaks of the great reaction on the offensive against ,buddhism which was begun in the ,deccan in the seventh and eighth centuries by the schools of ,kumarila and ,sankara2 and in page #ace he states that the disciples of ,kumarila and ,sankara1 organized into military bands1 constituted themselves the rabid defenders of orthodoxy4 ,the force of these statements is1 however1 considerably weakened by the author's observations on pages #hi and #acd1 regarding the absence of any traces of ,buddhist persecution by ,sankara in the authentic documents hitherto examined1 and the absurdity of legends which represent him as exterminating ,buddhists from the ,himalaya to ,cape ,comorin4 ,the association of ,sankara with ,kumarila in the passages above cited is highly ridiculous4 ,it is well known to almost every ,hindu that the followers of ,purva ,mimamsa 7,kumarila commented on the ,sutras7 were the greatest and the bitterest opponents of ,sankara and his doctrine1 and ,mr4 ,barth seems to be altogether ignorant of the nature of ,kumarila's views and ,purva ,mimamsa1 and the scope and aim of ,sankara's ,vedantic philosophy4 ,it is impossible to say what evidence the author has for asserting that the great reaction against the ,buddhists commenced in the seventh and eighth centuries1 and that ,sankara was instrumental in originating it4 ,there are some passages in his book which tend to show that this date cannot be considered as quite correct4 ,in page #ace he says that ,buddhist persecution began even in the time of ,asoka4 ,such being the case1 it is indeed very surprising that the orthodox ,hindus should have kept quiet for nearly ten centuries without retaliating on their enemies4 ,the political ascendency gained by the ,buddhists during the reign of ,asoka did not last very long2 and the ,hindus had the support of very powerful kings before and after the commencement of the ,christian era4 ,moreover1 the author says1 in p4 #acb of his book1 that ,buddhism was in a state of decay in the seventh century4 ,it is hardly to be expected that the reaction against the ,buddhists would commence when their religion was already in a state of decay4 ,no great religious teacher or reformer would waste his time and energy in demolishing a religion already in ruins4 ,but what evidence is there to show that ,sankara was ever engaged in this task8 ,if the main object of his preaching was to evoke a reaction against ,buddhism1 he would no doubt have left us some writings specially intended to criticize its doctrines and expose its defects4 ,on the other hand1 he does not even allude to ,buddhism in his independent works4 ,though he was a voluminous writer1 with the exception of a few remarks on the theory advocated by some ,buddhists regarding the nature of perception1 contained in his ,commentary on the ,brahma-,sutras1 there is not a single passage in the whole range of his writings regarding the ,buddhists or their doctrines2 and the insertion of even these few remarks in his ,commentary was rendered necessary by the allusions contained in the ,sutras which he was interpreting4 ,as1 in our humble opinion1 these ,brahma-,sutras were composed by ,vyasa himself 7and not by an imaginary ,vyasa of the fifth century after ,christ1 evolved by ,mr4 ,weber's fancy71 the allusions therein contained relate to the ,buddhism which existed to the date of ,gautama ,buddha4 ,from these few remarks it will be clear to our readers that ,sankaracharya had nothing to do with ,buddhist persecution4 ,we may here quote a few passages from ,mr4 ,wilson's ,preface to the first edition of his ,sanskrit ,dictionary in support of our remarks4 ,he writes as follows regarding ,sankara's connection with the persecution of the ,buddhists3--,although the popular belief attributes the origin of the ,bauddha persecution to ,sankaracharya1 yet in this case we have some reason to distrust its accuracy4 ,opposed to it we have the mild character of the reformer1 who is described as uniformly gentle and tolerant2 and1 speaking from my own limited reading in ,vedanta works1 and the more satisfactory testimony of ,ram ,mohun ,roy1 which he permits me to adduce1 it does not appear that any traces of his being instrumental to any persecution are to be found in his own writings1 all which are extant1 and the object of which is by no means the correction of the ,bauddha or any other schism1 but the refutation of all other doctrines besides his own1 and the reformation or re-establishment of the fourth religious order4 ,further on he observes that it is a popular error to ascribe to him the work of persecution2 he does not appear at all occupied in that odious task1 nor is he engaged in particular controversy with any of the ,bauddhas4 ,from the foregoing observations it will be seen that ,sankara's date cannot be determined by the time of the commencement of the ,buddhist persecution1 even if it were possible to ascertain the said period4 ,mr4 ,barth seems to have discovered some connection between the philosophical systems of ,sankara1 ,ramanuja and ,anandathirtha1 and the ,arabian merchants who came to ,india in the first centuries of the ,hejira1 and he is no doubt fully entitled to any credit that may be given him for the originality of his discovery4 ,this mysterious and occult connection between ,adwaita philosophy and ,arabian commerce is pointed out in p4 #bab of his book1 and it may have some bearing on the present question1 if it is anything more than a figment of his fancy4 ,the only reason given by him in support of his theory is1 however1 in my humble opinion1 worthless4 ,the ,hindus had a ,prominent example of a grand religious movement under the guidance of a single teacher in the life of ,buddha1 and it was not necessary for them to imitate the adventures of the ,arabian prophet4 ,there is but one other passage in ,mr4 ,barth's book which has some reference to ,sankara's date4 ,in page #bjg he writes as follows3--,the ,siva1 for instance1 who is invoked at the commencement of the drama of ,sakuntala1 who is at once ,god1 priest and offering1 and whose body is the universe1 is a ,vedantic idea4 ,this testimony appears to be forgotten when it is maintained1 as is sometimes done1 that the whole sectarian ,vedantism commences with ,sankara4 ,but this testimony appears to be equally forgotten when it is maintained1 as is sometimes done by ,orientalists like ,mr4 ,barth1 that ,sankara lived in some century after the author of ,sakuntala4 ,from the foregoing remarks it will be apparent that ,mr4 ,barth's opinion regarding ,sankara's date is very unsatisfactory4 ,as ,mr4 ,wilson seems to have examined the subject with some care and attention1 we must now advert to his opinion and see how far it is based on proper evidence4 ,in attempting to fix ,amara ,sinha's date 7which attempt ultimately ended in a miserable failure71 he had to ascertain the period when ,sankara lived4 ,consequently his remarks concerning the said period appear in his preface to the first edition of his ,sanskrit ,dictionary4 ,we shall now reproduce here such passages from this preface as are connected with the subject under consideration and comment upon them4 ,mr4 ,wilson writes as follows3-- ,the birth of ,sankara presents the same discordance as every other remarkable incident amongst the ,hindus4 ,the ,kadali 7it ought to be ,koodali7 ,brahmins1 who form an establishment following and teaching his system1 assert his appearance about #b1jjj years since2 some accounts place him about the beginning of the ,christian era1 others in the third or fourth century after2 a manuscript history of the kings of ,konga1 in ,colonel ,mackenzie's ,collection1 makes him contemporary with ,tiru ,vikrama ,deva ,chakravarti1 sovereign of ,skandapura in the ,dekkan1 ,,ad4 #agh2 at ,sringeri1 on the edge of the ,western ,ghauts1 and now in the ,mysore ,territory1 at which place he is said to have founded a ,college that still exists1 and assumes the supreme control of the ,smarta ,brahmins of the ,peninsula1 an antiquity of #a1fjj years is attributed to him1 and common tradition makes him about #a1bjj years old4 ,the ,bhoja ,prabandha enumerates ,sankara among its worthies1 and as contemporary with that prince2 his antiquity will then be between eight and nine centuries4 ,the followers of ,madhwacharya in ,tuluva seem to have attempted to reconcile these contradictory accounts by supposing him to have been born three times2 first at ,sivuli in ,tuluva about #a1ejj years ago1 again in ,malabar some centuries later1 and finally at ,padukachaytra in ,tuluva1 no more than #fjj years since2 the latter assertion being intended evidently to do honour to their own founder1 whose date that was1 by enabling him to triumph over ,sankara in a supposititious controversy4 ,the ,vaishnava ,brahmins of ,madura say that ,sankara appeared in the ninth century of ,salivahana1 or tenth of our era4 ,dr4 ,taylor thinks that1 if we allow him about #ijj years1 we shall not be far from the truth1 and ,mr4 ,colebroke is inclined to give him an antiquity of about #a1jjj years4 ,this last is the age which my friend ,ram ,mohun ,roy1 a diligent student of ,sankara's works1 and philosophical teacher of his doctrines1 is disposed to concur in1 and he infers that 'from a calculation of the spiritual generations of the followers of ,sankara ,swami from his time up to this date1 he seems to have lived between the seventh and eighth centuries of the ,christian era1' a distance of time agreeing with the statements made to ,dr4 ,buchanan in his journey through ,sankara's native country1 ,malabar1 and in union with the assertion of the ,kerala ,utpatti1 a work giving art historical and statistical account of the same province1 and which1 according to ,mr4 ,duncan's citation of it1 mentions the regulations of the castes of ,malabar by this philosopher to have been effected about #a1jjj years before #agih4 ,at the same time1 it must be observed1 that a manuscript translation of the same work in ,colonel ,mackenzie's possession1 states ,sankaracharya to have been born about the middle of the fifth century1 or between thirteen or fourteen hundred years ago1 differing in this respect from ,mr4 ,duncan's statement--a difference of the less importance1 as the manuscript in question1 either from defects in the original or translation1 presents many palpable errors1 and cannot consequently be depended upon4 ,the weight of authority therefore is altogether in favour of an antiquity of about ten centuries1 and ,i am disposed to adopt this estimate of ,sankara's date1 and to place him in the end of the eighth and beginning of the ninth century of the ,christian era4 ,we will add a few more authorities to ,mr4 ,wilson's list before proceeding to comment on the foregoing passage4 ,in a work called ,the ,biographical ,sketches of ,eminent ,hindu ,authors1 published at ,bombay in #ahfj by ,janardan ,ramchenderjee1 it is stated that ,sankara lived #b1ejj years ago1 and that1 in the opinion of some people1 #b1bjj years ago4 ,the records of the ,combaconum ,matham give a list of nearly #ff ,mathadhipatis from ,sankara down to the present time1 and show that he lived more than #b1jjj years ago4 ,the ,kudali ,matham referred to by ,mr4 ,wilson1 which is a branch of the ,sringeri ,matham1 gives the same date as the latter ,matham1 their traditions being identical4 ,their calculation can safely be relied upon as far as it is supported by the dates given on the places of ,samadhi 7something like a tomb7 of the successive ,gurus of the ,sringeri ,matham2 and it leads us to the commencement of the ,christian era4 ,no definite information is given by ,mr4 ,wilson regarding the nature1 origin1 or reliability of the accounts which place ,sankara in the third or fourth century of the ,christian era or at its commencement2 nor does it clearly appear that the history of the kings of ,konga referred to unmistakably alludes to the very first ,sancharacharya4 ,these traditions are evidently opposed to the conclusion arrived at by ,mr4 ,wilson1 and it does not appear on what grounds their testimony is discredited by him4 ,mr4 ,wilson is clearly wrong in stating that an antiquity of #a1fjj years is attributed to ,sankara by the ,sringeri ,matham4 ,we have already referred to the account of the ,sringeri ,matham1 and it is precisely similar to the account given by the ,kudali ,brahmins4 ,we have ascertained that it is so from the agent of the ,sringeri ,matham at ,madras1 who has recently published the list of teachers preserved at the said ,matham with the dates assigned to them4 ,and further1 we are unable to see which common tradition makes ,sankara about #a1bjj years old4 ,as far as our knowledge goes there is no such common tradition in ,india4 ,the majority of people in ,southern ,india have1 up to this time1 been relying on the ,sringeri account1 and in ,northern ,india there seems to be no common tradition4 ,we have but a mass of contradictory accounts4 ,it is indeed surprising that an ,orientalist of ,mr4 ,wilson's pretensions should confound the poet named ,sankara and mentioned in ,bhoja ,prabandha with the great ,adwaitee teacher4 ,no ,hindu would ever commit such a ridiculous mistake4 ,we are astonished to find some of these ,european ,orientalists quoting now and then some of the statements contained in such books as ,bhoja ,prabandha1 ,katha ,sarit ,sagara1 ,raja-tarangini and ,panchatantra1 as if they were historical works4 ,in some other part of his preface ,mr4 ,wilson himself says that this ,bhoja ,prabandha is altogether untrustworthy1 as some of the statements contained therein did not harmonize with his theory about ,amarasimha's date2 but now he misquotes its statements for the purpose of supporting his conclusion regarding ,sankara's date4 ,surely1 consistency is not one of the prominent characteristics of the writings of the majority of ,european ,orientalists4 ,the person mentioned in ,bhoja ,prabandha is always spoken of under the name of ,sankara ,kavi 7poet71 and he is nowhere called ,sankaracharya 7teacher71 and the ,adwaitee teacher is never mentioned in any ,hindu work under the appellation of ,sankara ,kavi4 ,it is unnecessary for us to say anything about the ,madhwa traditions or the opinion of the ,vaishnava ,brahmins of ,madurah regarding ,sankara's date4 ,it is1 in our humble opinion1 hopeless to expect anything but falsehood regarding ,sankara's history and his philosophy from the ,madhwas and the ,vaishnavas4 ,they are always very anxious to show to the world at large that their doctrines existed before the time of ,sankara1 and that the ,adwaitee doctrine was a deviation from their preexisting orthodox ,hinduism4 ,and consequently they have assigned to him an antiquity of less than #a1ejj years4 ,it does not appear why ,dr4 ,taylor thinks that he can allow ,sankara about #ijj years1 or on what grounds ,mr4 ,colebrooke is inclined to give him an antiquity of about #a1jjj years4 ,no reliance can be placed on such statements before the reasons assigned therefore are thoroughly sifted4 ,fortunately1 ,mr4 ,wilson gives us the reason for ,ram ,mohun ,roy's opinion4 ,we are inclined to believe that ,ram ,mohun ,roy's calculation was made with reference to the ,sringeri list of ,teachers or ,gurus1 as that was the only list published up to this time2 and as no other ,matham1 except perhaps the ,cumbaconum ,matham1 has a list of ,gurus coming up to the present time in uninterrupted succession4 ,there is no necessity for depending upon his calculation 7which from its very nature cannot be anything more than mere guesswork7 when the old list preserved at ,sringeri contains the dates assigned to the various teachers4 ,as these dates have not been published up to the present time1 and as ,ram ,mohun ,roy had merely a string of names before him1 he was obliged to ascertain ,sankara's date by assigning a certain number of years on the average to every teacher4 ,consequently1 his opinion is of no importance whatever when we have the statement of the ,sringeri ,matham which1 as we have already said1 places ,sankara some centuries before the ,christian era4 ,the same remarks will apply to the calculation in question even if it were made on the basis of the number of teachers contained in the list preserved in the ,cumbaconum ,matham4 ,very little importance can be attached to the oral evidence adduced by some unknown persons before ,dr4 ,buchanan in his travels through ,malabar2 and we have only to consider the inferences that may be drawn from the accounts contained in ,kerala ,utpatti4 ,the various manuscript copies of this work seem to differ in the date they assign to ,sankaracharya2 even if the ease were otherwise1 we cannot place any reliance upon this work1 for the following among other reasons3-- ,i4 ,it is a well-known fact that the customs of ,malabar are very peculiar4 ,their defenders have been1 consequently1 pointing to some great ,rishi or some great philosopher of ancient ,india as their legislator4 ,some of them affirm 7probably the majority7 that ,parasurama brought into existence some of these customs and left a special ,smriti for the guidance of the people of ,malabar2 others say that it was ,sankaracharya who sanctioned these peculiar customs4 ,it is not very difficult to perceive why these two persons were selected by them4 ,according to the ,hindu ,puranas1 ,parasurama lived in ,malabar for some time1 and according to ,hindu traditions ,sankara was born in that country4 ,but it is extremely doubtful whether either of them had anything to do with the peculiar customs of the said country4 ,there is no allusion whatever to any of these customs in ,sankara's works4 ,he seems to have devoted his whole attention to religious reform1 and it is very improbable that he should have ever directed his attention to the local customs of ,malabar4 ,while attempting to revive the philosophy of the ancient ,rishis1 it is not likely that he should have sanctioned the customs of ,malabar1 which are at variance with the rules laid down in the ,smritis of those very ,rishis2 and as far as our knowledge goes1 he left no written regulations regarding to the castes of ,malabar4 ,,ii4 ,the statements contained in ,kerala ,utpatti are opposed to the account of ,sankara's life given in almost all the ,sankara ,vijayams 7,biographies of ,sankara7 examined up to this time--viz41 ,vidyaranya's ,sankara ,vijayam1 ,chitsukhachary's ,sankara ,vijayavilasam1 ,brihat ,sankara ,vijayam1 c4 ,according to the account contained in these works1 ,sankara left ,malabar in his eighth year1 and returned to his native village when his mother was on her death-bed1 and on that occasion he remained there only for a few days4 ,it is difficult to see at what period of his lifetime he was engaged in making regulations for the castes of ,malabar4 ,,iii4 ,the work under consideration represents ,malabar as the seat of ,bhattapada's triumphs over the ,buddhists1 and says that this teacher established himself in ,malabar and expelled the ,buddhists from that country4 ,this statement alone will be sufficient to show to our readers the fictitious character of the account contained in this book4 ,according to every other ,hindu work1 this great teacher of ,purva ,mimamsa was born in ,northern ,india2 almost all his famous disciples and followers were living in that part of the country1 and according to ,vidyaranya's account he died at ,allahabad4 ,for the foregoing reasons we cannot place any reliance upon this account of ,malabar4 ,from an examination of the traditions and other accounts referred to above1 ,mr4 ,wilson comes to the conclusion that ,sankaracharya lived in the end of the eighth and the beginning of the ninth century of the ,christian era4 ,the accounts of the ,sringeri1 ,kudali and ,cumbaconum ,mathams1 and the traditions current in the ,bombay ,presidency1 as shown in the biographical sketches published at ,bombay1 place ,sankara in some century before the ,christian era4 ,on the other hand1 ,kerala ,utpatti1 the information obtained by ,dr4 ,buchanan in his travels through ,malabar1 and the opinions expressed by ,dr4 ,taylor and ,mr4 ,colebrooke1 concur in assigning to him an antiquity of about #a1jjj years4 ,the remaining traditions referred to by ,mr4 ,wilson are as much opposed to his opinion as to the conclusion that ,sankara lived before ,christ4 ,we shall now leave it to our readers to say whether1 under such circumstances1 ,mr4 ,wilson is justified in asserting that the weight of authority is altogether in favour of his theory4 ,we have already referred to the writings of almost all the ,european ,orientalists who expressed an opinion upon the subject under discussion2 and we need hardly say that ,sankara's date is yet to be ascertained4 ,we are obliged to comment at length on the opinions of ,european ,orientalists regarding ,sankara's date1 as there will be no probability of any attention being paid to the opinion of ,indian and ,tibetan initiates when it is generally believed that the question has been finally settled by ,european ,sanskritists4 ,the ,adepts referred to by ,an ,english ,f4,t4,s4 are certainly in a position to clear up some of the problems in ,indian religious history4 ,but there is very little chance of their opinions being accepted by the general public under present circumstances1 unless they are supported by such evidence as is within the reach of the outside world4 ,as it is not always possible to procure such evidence1 there is very little use in publishing the information which is in their possession until the public are willing to recognize and admit the antiquity and trustworthiness of their traditions1 the extent of their powers1 and the vastness of their knowledge4 ,in the absence of such proof as is above indicated1 there is every likelihood of their opinions being rejected as absurd and untenable2 their motives will no doubt be questioned1 and some people may be tempted to deny even the fact of their existence4 ,it is often asked by ,hindus as well as by ,english men why these ,adepts are so very unwilling to publish some portion at least of the information they possess regarding the truths of physical science4 ,but1 in doing so1 they do not seem to perceive the difference between the method by which they obtain their knowledge and the process of modern scientific investigation by which the facts of ,nature are ascertained and its laws are discovered4 ,unless an ,adept can prove his conclusions by the same kind of reasoning as is adopted by the modern scientist they remain undemonstrated to the outside world4 ,it is of course impossible for him to develop in a considerable number of human beings such faculties as would enable them to perceive their truth2 and it is not always practicable to establish them by the ordinary scientific method unless all the facts and laws on which his demonstration is to be based have already been ascertained by modern science4 ,no ,adept can be expected to anticipate the discoveries of the next four or five centuries1 and prove some grand scientific truth to the entire satisfaction of the educated public after having discovered every fact and law of ,nature required for the said purpose by such process of reasoning as would be accepted by them4 ,they have to encounter similar difficulties in giving any information regarding the events of the ancient history of ,india4 ,however1 before giving the exact date assigned to ,sankaracharya by the ,indian and ,tibetan initiates1 we shall indicate a few circumstances by which his date may be approximately determined4 ,it is our humble opinion that the ,sankara ,vijayams hitherto published can be relied upon as far as they are consistent with each other regarding the general outlines of ,sankara's life4 ,we cannot1 however1 place any reliance whatever upon ,anandagiri's ,sankara ,vijaya published at ,calcutta4 ,the ,calcutta edition not only differs in some very material points from the manuscript copies of the same work found in ,southern ,india1 but is opposed to every other ,sankara ,vijayam hitherto examined4 ,it is quite clear from its style and some of the statements contained therein1 that it was not the production of ,anandagiri1 one of the four chief disciples of ,sankara and the commentator on his ,upanishad ,bhashyam4 ,for instance1 it represents ,sankara as the author of a certain verse which is to be found in ,vidyaranya's ,adhikaranaratnamala1 written in the fourteenth century4 ,it represents ,sankara as giving orders to two of his disciples to preach the ,visishtadwaitee and the ,dwaitee doctrines1 which are directly opposed to his own doctrine4 ,the book under consideration says that ,sankara went to conquer ,mandanamisra in debate1 followed by ,sureswaracharya1 though ,mandanamisra assumed the latter name at the time of initiation4 ,it is unnecessary for us here to point out all the blunders and absurdities of this book4 ,it will be sufficient to say that in our opinion it was not written by ,anandagiri1 and that it was the introduction of an unknown author who does not appear to have been even tolerably well acquainted with the history of the ,adwaitee doctrine4 ,vidyaranya's 7otherwise ,sayanachary1 the great commentator of the ,vedas7 ,sankara ,vijaya is decidedly the most reliable source of information as regards the main features of ,sankara's biography4 ,its authorship has been universally accepted1 and the information contained therein was derived by its author1 as may be seen from his own statements1 from certain old biographies of ,sankara existing at the time of its composition4 ,taking into consideration the author's vast knowledge and information1 and the opportunities he had for collecting materials for his work when he was the head of the ,sringeri ,matham1 there is every reason to believe that he had embodied in his work the most reliable information he could obtain4 ,mr4 ,wilson1 however1 says that the book in question is much too poetical and legendary to be acknowledged as a great authority4 ,we admit that the style is highly poetical1 but we deny that the work is legendary4 ,mr4 ,wilson is not justified in characterizing it as such on account of its description of some of the wonderful phenomena shown by ,sankara4 ,probably the learned ,orientalist would not be inclined to consider the ,biblical account of ,christ in the same light4 ,it is not the peculiar privilege of ,christianity to have a miracle-worker for its first propagator4 ,in the following observations we shall take such facts as are required from this work4 ,it is generally believed that a person named ,govinda ,yogi was ,sankara's ,guru1 but it is not generally known that this ,yogi was in fact ,patanjali--the great author of the ,mahabhashya and the ,yoga ,sutras-- under a new name4 ,a tradition current in ,southern ,india represents him as one of the ,chelas of ,patanjali2 but it is very doubtful if this tradition has anything like a proper foundation4 ,but it is quite clear from the #idth1 #ieth1 #ifth1 and #igth verses of the #eth chapter of ,vidyaranya's ,sankara ,vijayam that ,govinda ,yogi and ,patanjali were identical4 ,according to the immemorial custom observed amongst initiates1 ,patanjali assumed the name of ,govinda ,yogi at the time of his initiation by ,goudapada4 ,it cannot be contended that ,vidyaranya represented ,patanjali as ,sankara's ,guru merely for the purpose of assigning some importance to ,sankara and his teaching4 ,sankara is looked upon as a far greater man than ,patanjali by the ,adwaitees1 and nothing can be added to ,sankara's reputation by ,vidyaranya's assertion4 ,moreover1 ,patanjali's views are not altogether identical with ,sankara's views2 it may be seen from ,sankara's writings that he attached no importance whatever to the practices of ,hatha ,yog regarding which ,patanjali composed his ,yoga ,sutras4 ,under such circumstances1 if ,vidyaranya had the option of selecting a ,guru for ,sankara1 he would no doubt have represented ,vyasa himself 7who is supposed to be still living7 as his ,guru4 ,we see no reason therefore to doubt the correctness of the statement under examination4 ,therefore1 as ,sankara was ,patanjali's ,chela1 and as ,goudapada was his ,guru1 his date will enable us to fix the dates of ,sankara and ,goudapada4 ,we may here point out to our readers a mistake that appears in p4 #adh of ,mr4 ,sinnett's book on ,esoteric ,buddhism as regards the latter personage4 ,he is there represented as ,sankara's ,guru2 ,mr4 ,sinnett was informed1 we believe1 that he was ,sankara's ,paramaguru1 and not having properly understood the meaning of this expression1 ,mr4 ,sinnett wrote that he was ,sankara's ,guru4 ,it is generally admitted by ,orientalists that ,patanjali lived before the commencement of the ,christian era4 ,mr4 ,barth places him in the second century before the ,christian era1 accepting ,goldstucker's opinion1 and ,monier ,williams does the same thing4 ,weber1 who seems to have carefully examined the opinions of all the other ,orientalists who have written upon the subject1 comes to the conclusion that we must for the present rest satisfied with placing the date of the composition of the ,bhashya between ,b4,c4 #adj and ,a4,d4 #fj1 a result which considering the wretched state of the chronology of ,indian ,liturgy generally is1 despite its indefiniteness1 of no mean importance4 ,and yet even this date rests upon inferences drawn from one or two unimportant expressions contained in ,patanjali's ,mahabhashya4 ,it is always dangerous to draw such inferences1 and especially so when it is known that1 according to the tradition current amongst ,hindu grammarians1 some portions of ,mahabhashya were lost1 the gaps being filled up by subsequent writers4 ,even supposing that we should consider the expression quoted as written by ,patanjali himself1 there is nothing in those expressions which would enable us to fix the writer's date4 ,for instance1 the connection between the expression ,arunad ,yavanah ,saketam and the expedition of ,menander against ,ayodhya between ,b4,c4 #add and #abj1 relied upon by ,goldstucker is merely imaginary4 ,there is nothing in the expression to show that the allusion contained therein points necessarily to ,menander's expedition4 ,we believe that ,patanjali is referring to the expedition of ,yavanas against ,ayodhya during the lifetime of ,sagara's father described in ,harivamsa4 ,this expedition occurred long before ,rama's time1 and there is nothing to connect it with ,menander4 ,goldstucker's inference is based upon the assumption that there was no other ,yavana expedition against ,ayodhya known to ,patanjali1 and it will be easily seen from ,harivamsa 7written by ,vyasa7 that the said assumption is unwarranted4 ,consequently the whole theory constructed by ,goldstucker on this weak foundation falls to the ground4 ,no valid inferences can be drawn from the mere names of kings contained in ,mahabhashya1 even if they are traced to ,patanjali himself1 as there would be several kings in the same dynasty bearing the same name4 ,from the foregoing remarks it will be clear that we cannot fix1 as ,weber has done1 ,b4,c4 #adj as the maximum limit of antiquity that can be assigned to ,patanjali4 ,it is now necessary to see whether any other such limit has been ascertained by ,orientalists4 ,as ,panini's date still remains undetermined1 the limit cannot be fixed with reference to his date4 ,but it is assumed by some ,orientalists that ,panini must have lived at some time subsequent to ,alexander's invasion1 from the fact that ,panini explains in his ,grammar the formation of the word ,yavanani4 ,we are very sorry that ,european ,orientalists have taken the pains to construct theories upon this basis without ascertaining the meaning assigned to the word ,yavana1 and the time when the ,hindus first became acquainted with the ,greeks4 ,it is unreasonable to assume without proof that this acquaintance commenced at the time of ,alexander's invasion4 ,on the other hand1 there are very good reasons for believing that the ,greeks were known to the ,hindus long before this event4 ,pythagoras visited ,india1 according to the traditions current amongst ,indian initiates1 and he is alluded to in ,indian astrological works under the name of ,yavanacharya4 ,moreover1 it is not quite certain that the word ,yavana was strictly confined to the ,greeks by the ancient ,hindu writers4 ,probably it was originally applied to the ,egyptians and the ,ethiopians2 it was probably extended first to the ,alexandrian ,greeks1 and subsequently to the ,greeks1 ,persians1 and ,arabians4 ,besides the ,yavana invasion of ,ayodhya described in ,harivamsa1 there was another subsequent expedition to ,india by ,kala ,yavana 7,black ,yavana7 during ,krishna's lifetime described in the same work4 ,this expedition was probably undertaken by the ,ethiopians4 ,anyhow1 there are no reasons whatever1 as far as we can see1 for asserting that ,hindu writers began to use the word ,yavana after ,alexander's invasion4 ,we can attach no importance whatever to any inferences that may be drawn regarding the dates of ,panini and ,katyayana 7both of them lived before ,patanjali7 from the statements contained in ,katha ,sarit ,sayara1 which is nothing more than a mere collection of fables4 ,it is now seen by ,orientalists that no proper conclusions can be drawn regarding the dates of ,panini and ,katyayana from the statements made by ,hiuan ,thsang1 and we need not therefore say anything here regarding the said statements4 ,consequently the dates of ,panini and ,katyayana still remain undetermined by ,european ,orientalists4 ,goldstucker is probably correct in his conclusion that ,panini lived before ,buddha1 and the ,buddhists' accounts agree with the traditions of the initiates in asserting that ,katyayana was a contemporary of ,buddha4 ,from the fact that ,patanjali must have composed his ,mahabhashyam after the composition of ,panini's ,sutras and ,katyayana's ,vartika1 we can only infer that it was written after ,buddha's birth4 ,but there are a few considerations which may help us in coming to the conclusion that ,patanjali must have lived about the year #ejj ,b4,c42 ,max ,muller fixed the ,sutra period between #ejj ,b4,c4 and #fjj ,b4,c4 ,we agree with him in supposing that the period probably ended with ,b4,c4 #ejj1 though it is uncertain how far it extended into the depths of ,indian antiquity4 ,patanjali was the author of the ,yoga ,sutras1 and this fact has not been doubted by any ,hindu writer up to this time4 ,mr4 ,weber thinks1 however1 that the author of the ,yoga ,sutras might be a different man from the author of the ,mahabhashya1 though he does not venture to assign any reason for his supposition4 ,we very much doubt if any ,european ,orientalist can ever find out the connection between the first ,anhika of the ,mahabhashya and the real secrets of ,hatha ,yoga contained in the ,yoga ,sutras4 ,no one but an initiate can understand the full significance of the said ,anhika2 and the eternity of the ,logos or ,sabda is one of the principal doctrines of the ,gymnosophists of ,india1 who were generally ,hatha ,yogis4 ,in the opinion of ,hindu writers and pundits ,patanjali was the author of three works1 viz41 ,mahabhashya1 ,yoga ,sutras1 and a book on ,medicine and ,anatomy2 and there is not the slightest reason for questioning the correctness of this opinion4 ,we must1 therefore1 place ,patanjali in the ,sutra period1 and this conclusion is confirmed by the traditions of the ,indian initiates4 ,as ,sankaracharya was a contemporary of ,patanjali 7being his ,chela7 he must have lived about the same time4 ,we have thus shown that there are no reasons for placing ,sankara in the eighth or ninth century after ,christ1 as some of the ,european ,orientalists have done4 ,we have further shown that ,sankara was ,patanjali's ,chela1 and that his date should be ascertained with reference to ,patanjali's date4 ,we have also shown that neither the year ,b4,c4 #adj nor the date of ,alexander's invasion can be accepted as the maximum limit of antiquity that can be assigned to him1 and we have lastly pointed out a few circumstances which will justify us in expressing an opinion that ,patanjali and his ,chela ,sankara belonged to the ,sutra period4 ,we may1 perhaps1 now venture to place before the public the exact date assigned to ,sankaracharya by ,tibetan and ,indian initiates4 ,according to the historical information in their possession he was born in the year ,b4,c4 #eaj 7fifty-one years and two months after the date of ,buddha's ,nirvana71 and we believe that satisfactory evidence in support of this date can be obtained in ,india if the inscriptions at ,conjeveram1 ,sringeri1 ,jaggurnath1 ,benares1 ,cashmere1 and various other places visited by ,sankara1 are properly deciphered4 ,sankara built ,conjeveram1 which is considered as one of the most ancient towns in ,southern ,india2 and it may be possible to ascertain the time of its construction if proper inquiries are made4 ,but even the evidence now brought before the public supports the opinion of the ,initiates above indicated4 ,as ,goudapada was ,sankaracharya's ,guru's guru1 his date entirely depends on ,sankara's date2 and there is every reason to suppose that he lived before ,buddha4 ,question ,,vi4--,historical ,difficulty--,why8 ,it is asked whether there may not be some confusion in the letter quoted on p4 #fb of ,esoteric ,buddhism regarding old ,greeks and ,romans said to have been ,atlanteans4 ,the answer is--,none whatever4 ,the word ,atlantean was a generic name4 ,the objection to have it applied to the old ,greeks and ,romans on the ground that they were ,aryans1 their language being intermediate between ,sanskrit and modern ,european dialects1 is worthless4 ,with equal reason might a future #fth ,race scholar1 who had never heard of the 7possible7 submergence of a portion of ,european ,turkey1 object to ,turks from the ,bosphorus being referred to as a remnant of the ,europeans4 ,the ,turks are surely ,semites1 he might say #ab1jjj years hence1 and their language is intermediate between ,arabic and our modern #fth ,race dialects4 99 -------- 99 ,this is not to be construed to mean that #ab1jjj years hence there will be yet any man of the #fth ,race1 or that the #eth will be submerged4 ,the figures are given simply for the sake of a better comparison with the present objection in the case of the ,greeks and ,atlantis4 --------- ,the historical difficulty arises from a certain authoritative statement made by ,orientalists on philological grounds4 ,professor ,max ,muller has brilliantly demonstrated that ,sanskrit was the elder sister--by no means the mother--of all the modern languages4 ,as to that mother1 it is conjectured by himself and colleagues to be a now extinct tongue1 spoken probably by the nascent ,aryan race4 ,when asked what was this language1 the ,western voice answers3 ,who can tell8 ,when1 during what geological periods did this nascent race flourish8 the same impressive voice replies3 ,in prehistoric ages1 the duration of which no one can now determine4 ,yet it must have been ,sanskrit1 however barbarous and unpolished1 since the ancestors of the ,greeks1 the ,italians1 ,slavonians1 ,germans and ,kelts were living within the same precincts with that nascent race1 and the testimony borne by language has enabled the philologist to trace the language of the gods in the speech of every ,aryan nation4 ,meanwhile it is affirmed by these same ,orientalists that classical ,sanskrit has its origin at the very threshold of the ,christian era2 while ,vedic ,sanskrit is allowed an antiquity of hardly #c1jjj years 7if so much7 before that time4 ,now1 ,atlantis1 on the statement of the ,adepts1 sank over #i1jjj years before the ,christian era499 ,how then can one maintain that the old ,greeks and ,romans were ,atlanteans8 ,how can that be1 since both nations are ,aryans1 and the genesis of their languages is ,sanskrit8 ,moreover1 the ,western scholars know that the ,greek and ,latin languages were formed within historical periods1 the ,greeks and ,latins themselves having no existence as nations #aa1jjj ,b4,c44 ,surely they who advance such a proposition do not realize how very unscientific is their statement6 ---------- 99 ,the position recently taken up by ,mr4 ,gerald ,massey in ,light that the story of ,atlantis is not a geological event but an ancient astronomical myth1 is rather imprudent4 ,mr4 ,massey1 notwithstanding his rare intuitional faculties and great learning1 is one of those writers in whom the intensity of research bent into one direction has biased his otherwise clear understanding4 ,because ,hercules is now a constellation it does not follow that there never was a hero of this name4 ,because the ,noachian ,universal ,deluge is now proved a fiction based upon geological and geographical ignorance1 it does not1 therefore1 appear that there were not many local deluges in prehistoric ages4 ,the ancients connected every terrestrial event with the celestial bodies4 ,they traced the history of their great deified heroes and memorialized it in stellar configurations as often as they personified pure myths1 anthropomorphizing objects in ,nature4 ,one has to learn the difference between the two modes before attempting to classify them under one nomenclature4 ,an earthquake has just engulfed over #hj1jjj people 7#hg1ijc7 in ,sunda ,straits4 ,these were mostly ,malays1 savages with whom but few had relations1 and the dire event will be soon forgotten4 ,had a portion of ,great ,britain been thus swept away instead1 the whole world would have been in commotion1 and yet1 a few thousand years hence1 even such an event would have passed out of man's memory2 and a future ,gerald ,massey might be found speculating upon the astronomical character and signification of the ,isles of ,wight1 ,jersey1 or ,man1 arguing1 perhaps1 that this latter island had not contained a real living race of men but belonged to astronomical mythology1 was a ,man submerged in celestial waters4 ,if the legend of the lost ,atlantis is only like those of ,airyana-,vaejo and ,jambu-dvipa1 it is terrestrial enough1 and therefore the mythological origin of the ,deluge legend is so far an open question4 ,we claim that it is not indubitably demonstrated1 however clever the theoretical demonstration4 --------- ,such are the criticisms passed1 such the historical difficulty4 ,the culprits arraigned are fully alive to their perilous situation2 nevertheless1 they maintain the statement4 ,the only thing which may perhaps here be objected to is1 that the names of the two nations are incorrectly used4 ,it may be argued that to refer to the remote ancestors and their descendants equally as ,greeks and ,romans1 is an anachronism as marked as would be the calling of the ancient ,keltic ,gauls1 or the ,insubres1 ,frenchmen4 ,as a matter of fact this is true4 ,but1 besides the very plausible excuse that the names used were embodied in a private letter1 written as usual in great haste1 and which was hardly worthy of the honour of being quoted verbatim with all its imperfections1 there may perhaps exist still weightier objections to calling the said people by any other name4 ,one misnomer is as good as another2 and to refer to old ,greeks and ,romans in a private letter as the old ,hellenes from ,hellas or ,magna ,graecia1 and the ,latins as from ,latium1 would have been1 besides looking pedantic1 just as incorrect as the use of the appellation noted1 though it may have sounded1 perchance1 more historical4 ,the truth is that1 like the ancestors of nearly all the ,indo-,europeans 7or shall we say ,indo-,germanic ,japhetidae871 the ,greek and ,roman sub-races mentioned have to be traced much farther back4 ,their origin must be carried far into the mists of that prehistoric period1 that mythical age which inspires the modern historian with such a feeling of squeamishness that anything creeping out of its abysmal depths is sure to be instantly dismissed as a deceptive phantom1 the mythos of an idle tale1 or a later fable unworthy of serious notice4 ,the ,atlantean old ,greeks could not be designated even as the ,autochthones--a convenient term used to dispose of the origin of any people whose ancestry cannot be traced1 and which1 at any rate with the ,hellenes1 meant certainly more than simply soil-born1 or primitive aborigines2 and yet the so-called fable of ,deukalion and ,pyrrha is surely no more incredible or marvelous than that of ,adam and ,eve--a fable that hardly a hundred years ago no one would have dared or even thought to question4 ,and in its esoteric significance the ,greek tradition is possibly more truly historical than many a so-called historical event during the period of the ,olympiades1 though both ,hesiod and ,homer may have failed to record the former in their epics4 ,nor could the ,romans be referred to as the ,umbro-,sabbellians1 nor even as the ,itali4 ,peradventure1 had the historians learnt something more than they have of the ,italian ,autochthones--the ,iapygians--one might have given the old ,romans the latter name4 ,but then there would be again that other difficulty3 history knows that the ,latin invaders drove before them1 and finally cooped up1 this mysterious and miserable race among the clefts of the ,calabrian rocks1 thus showing the absence of any race affinity between the two4 ,moreover1 ,western archeologists keep to their own counsel1 and will accept of no other but their own conjectures4 ,and since they have failed to make anything out of the undecipherable inscriptions in an unknown tongue and mysterious characters on the ,iapygian monuments1 and so for years have pronounced them unguessable1 he who would presume to meddle where the doctors muddle would be likely to be reminded of the ,arab proverb about proffered advice4 ,thus1 it seems hardly possible to designate the old ,greeks and ,romans by their legitimate1 true name1 so as to at once satisfy the historians and keep on the fair side of truth and fact4 ,however1 since in the ,replies that precede ,science had to be repeatedly shocked by most unscientific propositions1 and that before this series is closed many a difficulty1 philological and archeological as well as historical1 will have to be unavoidably created--it may be just as wise to uncover the occult batteries at once and have it over with4 ,well1 then1 the ,adepts deny most emphatically to ,western science any knowledge whatever of the growth and development of the ,indo-,aryan race which1 at the very dawn of history1 they have espied in its patriarchal simplicity on the banks of the ,oxus4 ,before our proposition concerning the old ,greeks and ,romans can be repudiated or even controverted1 ,western ,orientalists will have to know more than they do about the antiquity of that race and the ,aryan language2 and they will have to account for those numberless gaps in history which no hypotheses of theirs seem able to fill up4 ,notwithstanding their present profound ignorance with regard to the early ancestry of the ,indo-,european nations1 and though no historian has yet ventured to assign even a remotely approximate date to the separation of the ,aryan nations and the origins of the ,sanskrit language1 they hardly show the modesty that might1 under these circumstances1 be expected from them4 ,placing as they do that great separation of the races at the first dawn of traditional history1 with the ,vedic age as the background of the whole ,indian world 7of which confessedly they know nothing71 they will1 nevertheless1 calmly assign a modern date to any of the ,rik-vedic oldest songs1 on its internal evidence2 and in doing this1 they show as little hesitation as ,mr4 ,fergusson when ascribing a post-,christian age to the most ancient rockcut temple in ,india1 merely on its external form4 ,as for their unseemly quarrels1 mutual recriminations1 and personalities over questions of scholarship1 the less said the better4 ,the evidence of language is irrefragable1 as the great ,oxford ,sanskritist says4 ,to which he is answered--provided it does not clash with historical facts and ethnology4 ,it may be--no doubt it is1 as far as his knowledge goes--the only evidence worth listening to with regard to ante-historical periods2 but when something of these alleged prehistorical periods comes to be known1 and when what we think we know of certain supposed prehistoric nations is found diametrically opposed to his evidence of language1 the ,adepts may be1 perhaps1 permitted to keep to their own views and opinions1 even though they differ with those of the greatest living philologist4 ,the study of language is but a part--though1 we admit1 a fundamental part--of true philology4 ,to be complete1 the latter has1 as correctly argued by ,bockt1 to be almost synonymous with history4 ,we gladly concede the right to the ,western philologist1 who has to work in the total absence of any historical data1 to rely upon comparative grammar1 and take the identification of roots lying at the foundation of words of those languages he is familiar with1 or may know of1 and put it forward as the result of his study1 and the only available evidence4 ,but we would like to see the same right conceded by him to the student of other races2 even though these be inferior to the ,european races1 in the opinion of the paramount ,west3 for it is barely possible that1 proceeding on other lines1 and having reduced his knowledge to a system which precludes hypothesis and simple affirmation1 the ,eastern student has preserved a perfectly authentic record 7for him7 of those periods which his opponent regards as ante-historical4 ,the bare fact that1 while ,western men of science are referred to as scholars and scholiasts--native ,sanskritists and archeologists are often spoken of as ,calcutta and ,indian sciolists--affords no proof of their real inferiority1 but rather of the wisdom of the ,chinese proverb that self-conceit is rarely companion to politeness4 ,the ,adept therefore has little1 if anything1 to do with difficulties presented by ,western history4 ,to his knowledge--based on documentary records from which1 as said1 hypothesis is excluded1 and as regards which even psychology is called to play a very secondary part--the history of his and other nations extends immeasurably beyond that hardly discernible point that stands on the far-away horizon of the ,western world as a landmark of the commencement of its history4 ,records made throughout a series of ages1 based on astronomical chronology and zodiacal calculations1 cannot err4 7,this new difficulty-- palaeographical1 t his time--that may be possibly suggested by the mention of the ,zodiac in ,india and ,central ,asia before the ,christian era1 is disposed of in a subsequent article47 ,hence1 the main question at issue is to decide which--the ,orientalist or the ,oriental--is most likely to err4 ,the ,english ,f4,t4,s4 has choice of two sources of information1 two groups of teachers4 ,one group is composed of ,western historians with their suite of learned ,ethnologists1 ,philologists1 ,anthropologists1 ,archeologists and ,orientalists in general4 ,the other consists of unknown ,asiatics belonging to a race which1 notwithstanding ,mr4 ,max ,muller's assertion that the same blood is running in the veins 7of the ,english soldier7 and in the veins of the dark ,bengalese1 is generally regarded by many a cultured ,western as inferior4 ,a handful of men can hardly hope to be listened to1 specially when their history1 religion1 language1 origin and sciences1 having been seized upon by the conqueror1 are now disfigured and mutilated beyond recognition1 and who have lived to see the ,western scholar claim a monopoly beyond appeal or protest of deciding the correct meaning1 chronological date1 and historical value of the monumental and palaeographic relics of his motherland4 ,it has little1 if ever1 entered the mind of the ,western public that their scholars have1 until very lately1 worked in a narrow pathway obstructed with the ruins of an ecclesiastical1 dogmatic ,past2 that they have been cramped on all sides by limitations of revealed events coming from ,god1 with whom a thousand years are but as one day1 and who have thus felt bound to cram millenniums into centuries and hundreds into units1 giving at the utmost an age of #a1jjj to what is #aj1jjj years old4 ,all this to save the threatened authority of their religion and their own respectability and good name in cultured society4 ,and even that1 when free themselves from preconceptions1 they have had to protect the honour of the ,jewish divine chronology assailed by stubborn facts2 and thus have become 7often unconsciously7 the slaves of an artificial history made to fit into the narrow frame of a dogmatic religion4 ,no proper thought has been given to this purely psychological but very significant trifle4 ,yet we all know how1 rather than admit any relation between ,sanskrit and the ,gothic1 ,keltic1 ,greek1 ,latin and old ,persian1 facts have been tampered with1 old texts purloined from libraries1 and philological discoveries vehemently denied4 ,and we have also heard from our retreats1 how ,dugald ,stewart and his colleagues1 upon seeing that the discovery would also involve ethnological affinities1 and damage the prestige of those sires of the world races--,shem1 ,ham and ,japhet--denied in the face of fact that ,sanskrit had ever been a living1 spoken language1 supporting the theory that it was an invention of the ,brahmins1 who had constructed their ,sanskrit on the model of the ,greek and ,latin4 ,and again we know1 holding the proof of the same1 how the majority of ,orientalists are prone to go out of their way to prevent any ,indian antiquity 7whether ,,mss4 or inscribed monument1 whether art or science7 from being declared pre-,christian4 ,as the origin and history of the ,gentile world is made to move in the narrow circuit of a few centuries ,b4,c41 within that fecund epoch when mother earth1 recuperated from her arduous labours of the ,stone age1 begat1 it seems without transition1 so many highly civilized nations and false pretenses1 so the enchanted circle of ,indian archeology lies between the 7to them unknown7 year of the ,samvat era1 and the tenth century of the ,western chronology4 ,having to dispose of an historical difficulty of such a serious character1 the defendants charged with it can but repeat what they have already stated2 all depends upon the past history and antiquity allowed to the ,indo-,aryan nation4 ,the first step to take is to ascertain how much ,history herself knows of that almost prehistoric period when the soil of ,europe had not been trodden yet by the primitive ,aryan tribes4 ,from the latest ,encyclopedia down to ,professor ,max ,muller and other ,orientalists1 we gather what follows2 they acknowledge that at some immensely remote period1 before the ,aryan nations got divided from the parent stock 7with the germs of ,indo-,germanic languages in them72 and before they rushed asunder to scatter over ,europe and ,asia in search of new homes1 there stood a single barbaric 787 people as physical and political representative of the nascent ,aryan race4 ,this people spoke a now extinct ,aryan language1 from which by a series of modifications 7surely requiring more thousands of years than our difficulty-makers are willing to concede7 there arose gradually all the subsequent languages now spoken by the ,caucasian races4 ,that is about all ,western history knows of its genesis4 ,like ,ravana's brother1 ,kumbhakarna1--the ,hindu ,rip van ,winkle--it slept for a long series of ages a dreamless1 heavy sleep4 ,and when at last it awoke to consciousness1 it was but to find the nascent ,aryan race grown into scores of nations1 peoples and races1 most of them effete and crippled with age1 many irretrievably extinct1 while the true origin of the younger ones it was utterly unable to account for4 ,so much for the youngest brother4 ,as for the eldest brother1 the ,hindu1 who1 ,professor ,max ,muller tells us1 was the last to leave the central home of the ,aryan family1 and whose history this eminent philologist has now kindly undertaken to impart to him1--he1 the ,hindu1 claims that while his ,indo-,european relative was soundly sleeping under the protecting shadow of ,noah's ark1 he kept watch and did not miss seeing one event from his high ,himalayan fastnesses2 and that he has recorded the history thereof1 in a language which1 though as incomprehensible as the ,iapygian inscriptions to the ,indo-,european immigrant1 is quite clear to the writers4 ,for this crime he now stands condemned as a falsifier of the records of his forefathers4 ,a place has been hitherto purposely left open for ,india to be filled up when the pure metal of history should have been extracted from the ore of ,brahmanic exaggeration and superstition4 ,unable1 however1 to meet this programme1 the ,orientalist has since persuaded himself that there was nothing in that ore but dross4 ,he did more4 ,he applied himself to contrast ,brahmanic superstition and exaggeration with ,mosaic revelation and its chronology4 ,the ,veda was confronted with ,genesis4 ,its absurd claims to antiquity were forthwith dwarfed to their proper dimensions by the #d1jjd years ,b4,c4 measure of the world's age2 and the ,brahmanic superstition and fables about the longevity of the ,aryan ,rishis1 were belittled and exposed by the sober historical evidence furnished in ,the genealogy and age of the ,patriarchs from ,adam to ,noah1 whose respective days were #icj and #iej years2 without mentioning ,methuselah1 who died at the premature age of nine hundred and sixty-nine4 ,in view of such experience1 the ,hindu has a certain right to decline the offers made to correct his annals by ,western history and chronology4 ,on the contrary1 he would respectfully advise the ,western scholar1 before he denies point-blank any statement made by the ,asiatics with reference to what is prehistoric ages to ,europeans1 to show that the latter have themselves anything like trustworthy data as regards their own racial history4 ,and that settled1 he may have the leisure and capacity to help his ethnic neighbours to prune their genealogical trees4 ,our ,rajputs1 among others1 have perfectly trustworthy family records of an unbroken lineal descent through #b1jjj years ,b4,c4 and more1 as proved by ,colonel ,tod2 records which are accepted by the ,british ,government in its official dealings with them4 ,it is not enough to have studied stray fragments of ,sanskrit literature--even though their number should amount to #aj1jjj texts1 as boasted of--allowed to fall into foreign hands1 to speak so confidently of the ,aryan first settlers in ,india1 and assert that1 left to themselves1 in a world of their own1 without a past and without a future 767 before them1 they had nothing but themselves to ponder upon1 and therefore could know absolutely nothing of other nations4 ,to comprehend correctly and make out the inner meaning of most of them1 one has to read these texts with the help of the esoteric light1 and after having mastered the language of the ,brahmanic ,secret ,code--branded generally as theological twaddle4 ,nor is it sufficient--if one would judge correctly of what the archaic ,aryans did or did not know2 whether or not they cultivated the social and political virtues2 cared or not for history--to claim proficiency in both ,vedic and classical ,sanskrit1 as well as in ,prakrit and ,arya ,bhasha4 ,to comprehend the esoteric meaning of ancient ,brahmanical literature1 one has1 as just remarked1 to be in possession of the key to the ,brahmanical ,code4 ,to master the conventional terms used in the ,puranas1 the ,aranyakas and ,upanishads is a science in itself1 and one far more difficult than even the study of the #c1iif aphoristical rules of ,panini1 or his algebraical symbols4 ,very true1 most of the ,brahmans themselves have now forgotten the correct interpretations of their sacred texts4 ,yet they know enough of the dual meaning in their scriptures to be justified in feeling amused at the strenuous efforts of the ,european ,orientalist to protect the supremacy of his own national records and the dignity of his science by interpreting the ,hindu hieratic text after a peremptory fashion quite unique4 ,disrespectful though it may seem1 we call on the philologist to prove in some more convincing manner than usual1 that he is better qualified than even the average ,hindu ,sanskrit pundit to judge of the antiquity of the language of the gods2 that he has been really in a position to trace unerringly along the lines of countless generations the course of the now extinct ,aryan tongue in its many and various transformations in the ,west1 and its primitive evolution into first the ,vedic1 and then the classical ,sanskrit in the ,east1 and that from the moment when the mother-stream began deviating into its new ethnographical beds1 he has followed it up4 ,finally that1 while he1 the ,orientalist1 can1 owing to speculative interpretations of what he thinks he has learnt from fragments of ,sanskrit literature1 judge of the nature of all that he knows nothing about--i4e41 to speculate upon the past history of a great nation he has lost sight of from its nascent state1 and caught up again but at the period of its last degeneration--the native student never knew1 nor can ever know1 anything of that history4 ,until the ,orientalist has proved all this1 he can be accorded but small justification for assuming that air of authority and supreme contempt which is found in almost every work upon ,india and its ,past4 ,having no knowledge himself whatever of those incalculable ages that lie between the ,aryan ,brahman in ,central ,asia1 and the ,brahman at the threshold of ,buddhism1 he has no right to maintain that the initiated ,indo-,aryan can never know as much of them as the foreigner4 ,those periods being an utter blank to him1 he is little qualified to declare that the ,aryan1 having had no political history of his own4444 his only sphere was religion and philosophy4444 in solitude and contemplation4 ,a happy thought suggested1 no doubt1 by the active life1 incessant wars1 triumphs1 and defeats portrayed in the oldest songs of the ,rik-,veda4 ,nor can he with the smallest show of logic affirm that ,india had no place in the political history of the world1 or that there are no synchronisms between the history of the ,brahmans and that of other nations before the date of the origin of ,buddhism in ,india2 for he knows no more of the prehistoric history of those other nations than of that of the ,brahman4 ,all his inferences1 conjectures and systematic arrangements of hypotheses begin very little earlier than #bjj ,b4,c41 if even so much1 on anything like really historical grounds4 ,he has to prove all this before he can command our attention4 ,otherwise1 however irrefragable the evidence of language1 the presence of ,sanskrit roots in all the ,european languages will be insufficient to prove1 either that 7a7 before the ,aryan invaders descended toward the seven rivers they had never left their northern regions2 or 7b7 why the eldest brother1 the ,hindu1 should have been the last to leave the central home of the ,aryan family4 ,to the philologist such a supposition may seem quite natural4 ,yet the ,brahman is no less justified in his ever-growing suspicion that there may be at the bottom some occult reason for such a programme4 ,that in the interest of his theory the ,orientalist was forced to make the eldest brother tarry so suspiciously long on the ,oxus1 or wherever the youngest may have placed him in his nascent state after the latter saw his brothers all depart towards the setting sun4 ,we find reasons to believe that the chief motive for alleging such a procrastination is the necessity to bring the race closer to the ,christian era4 ,to show the brother inactive and unconcerned1 with nothing but himself to ponder on1 lest his antiquity and fables of empty idolatry1 and perhaps his traditions of other people's doings1 should interfere with the chronology by which it is determined to try him4 ,the suspicion is strengthened when one finds in the book from which we have been so largely quoting--a work of a purely scientific and philological character--such frequent remarks and even prophecies as3 ,history seems to teach that the whole human race required a gradual education before1 in the fulness of time1 it could be admitted to the truths of ,christianity4 ,or1 again ,the ancient religions of the world were but the milk of ,nature1 which was in due time to be succeeded by the bread of life2 and such broad sentiments expressed as that there is some truth in ,buddhism1 as there is in every one of the false religions of the world1 but4444 99 ----------- 99 ,max ,muller's ,history of ,ancient ,sanskrit ,literature4 ----------- ,the atmosphere of ,cambridge and ,oxford seems decidedly unpropitious to the recognition of either ,indian antiquity1 or the merit of the philosophies sprung from its soil699 --------- 99 ,and how one-sided and biased most of the ,western ,orientalists are may be seen by reading carefully ,the ,history of ,indian ,literature1 by ,albrecht ,weber--a ,sanskrit scholiast classed with the highest authorities4 ,the incessant harping upon the one special string of ,christianity1 and the ill-concealed efforts to pass it off as the keynote of all other religions1 is painfully pre-eminent in his work4 ,christian influences are shown to have affected not only the growth of ,buddhism and ,krishna worship1 but even that of the ,siva-cult and its legends2 it is openly stated that it is not at all a far-fetched hypothesis that they have reference to scattered ,christian missionaries6 ,the eminent ,orientalist evidently forgets that1 notwithstanding his efforts1 none of the ,vedic1 ,sutra or ,buddhist periods can be possibly crammed into this ,christian period--their universal tank of all ancient creeds1 and of which some ,orientalists would fain make a poor-house for all decayed archaic religions and philosophy4 ,even ,tibet1 in his opinion1 has not escaped ,western influence4 ,let us hope to the contrary4 ,it can be proved that ,buddhist missionaries were as numerous in ,palestine1 ,alexandria1 ,persia1 and even ,greece1 two centuries before the ,christian era1 as the ,padris are now in ,asia4 ,that the ,gnostic doctrines 7as he is obliged to confess7 are permeated with ,buddhism4 ,basilides1 ,valentinian1 ,bardesanes1 and especially ,manes were simply heretical ,buddhists1 the formula of abjuration of these doctrines in the case of the latter1 specifying expressly ,buddha 7,bodda7 by name4 ---------- ,leaflets from ,esoteric ,history ,the foregoing--a long1 yet necessary digression--will show that the ,asiatic scholar is justified in generally withholding what he may know4 ,that it is not merely on historical facts that hangs the historical difficulty at issue2 but rather on its degree of interference with time-honoured1 long-established conjectures1 often raised to the eminence of an unapproachable historical axiom4 ,that no statement coming from our quarters can ever hope to be given consideration so long as it has to be supported on the ruins of reigning hobbies1 whether of an alleged historical or religious character4 ,yet pleasant it is1 after the brainless assaults to which occult sciences have hitherto been subjected--assaults in which abuse has been substituted for argument1 and flat denial for calm inquiry--to find that there remain in the ,west some men who will come into the field like philosophers1 and soberly and fairly discuss the claims of our hoary doctrines to the respect due to a truth and the dignity demanded for a science4 ,those alone whose sole desire is to ascertain the truth1 not to maintain foregone conclusions1 have a right to expect undisguised facts4 ,reverting to our subject1 so far as allowable1 we will now1 for the sake of that minority1 give them4 ,the records of the ,occultists make no difference between the ,atlantean ancestors of the old ,greeks and ,romans4 ,partially corroborated and in turn contradicted by licensed or recognized history1 their records teach that of the ancient ,latini of classic legend called ,itali2 of that people1 in short1 which1 crossing the ,apennines 7as their ,judo-,aryan brothers--let this be known--had crossed before them the ,hindoo-,koosh7 entered from the north the peninsula--there survived at a period long before the days of ,romulus but the name1 and a nascent language4 ,profane history informs us that the ,latins of the mythical era got so ,hellenized amidst the rich colonies of ,magna ,grecia that there remained nothing in them of their primitive ,latin nationality4 ,it is the ,latins proper1 it says1 those pre-,roman ,italians who by settling in ,latium had from the first kept themselves free from the ,greek influence1 who were the ancestors of the ,romans4 ,contradicting exoteric history1 the ,occult records affirm that if1 owing to circumstances too long and complicated to be related here1 the settlers of ,latium preserved their primitive nationality a little longer than their brothers who had first entered the peninsula with them after leaving the ,east 7which was not their original home71 they lost it very soon1 for other reasons4 ,free from the ,samnites during the first period1 they did not remain free from other invaders4 ,while the ,western historian puts together the mutilated1 incomplete records of various nations and people1 and makes them into a clever mosaic according to the best and most probable plan and rejects entirely traditional fables1 the ,occultist pays not the slightest attention to the vain self-glorification of alleged conquerors or their lithic inscriptions4 ,nor does he follow the stray bits of so-called historical information1 often concocted by interested parties and found scattered hither and thither in the fragments of classical writers1 whose original texts themselves have not seldom been tampered with4 ,the ,occultist follows the ethnological affinities and their divergences in the various nationalities1 races and sub-races1 in a more easy way2 and he is guided in this as surely as the student who examines a geographical map4 ,as the latter can easily trace by their differently coloured outlines the boundaries of the many countries and their possessions2 their geographical superficies and their separations by seas1 rivers and mountains2 so the ,occultist can by following the 7to him7 well distinguishable and defined auric shades and gradations of colour in the inner-man unerringly pronounce to which of the several distinct human families1 as also to what special group1 and even small sub-group of the latter1 belongs any particular people1 tribe1 or man4 ,this will appear hazy and incomprehensible to the many who know nothing of ethnic varieties of nerve-aura1 and disbelieve in any inner-man theory1 scientific but to the few4 ,the whole question hangs upon the reality or unreality of the existence of this inner-man whom clairvoyance has discovered1 and whose odyle or nerve-emanations ,von ,reichenbach proves4 ,if one admits such a presence and realizes intuitionally that being closer related to the one invisible ,reality1 the inner type must be still more pronounced than the outer physical type1 then it will be a matter of little1 if any1 difficulty to conceive our meaning4 ,for1 indeed1 if even the respective physical idiosyncrasies and special characteristics of any given person make his nationality usually distinguishable by the physical eye of the ordinary observer--let alone the experienced ethnologist3 the ,englishman being commonly recognizable at a glance from the ,frenchman1 the ,german from the ,italian1 not to speak of the typical differences between human root-families99 in their anthropological division--there seems little difficulty in conceiving that the same1 though far more pronounced1 difference of type and characteristics should exist between the inner races that inhabit these fleshly tabernacles4 ,besides this easily discernible psychological and astral differences1 there are the documentary records in their unbroken series of chronological tables and the history of the gradual branching off of races and sub-races from the three geological primeval ,races1 the work of the ,initiates of all the archaic and ancient temples up to date1 collected in our ,book of ,numbers1 and other volumes4 --------- 99 ,properly speaking1 these ought to be called ,geological ,races1 so as to be easily distinguished from their subsequent evolutions--the root-races4 ,the ,occult doctrine has nothing to do with the ,biblical division of ,shem1 ,ham and ,japhet1 and admires1 without accepting it1 the latest ,huxleyan physiological division of the human races into their quintuple groups of ,australioids1 ,negroids1 ,mongoloids1 ,xanthechroics1 and the fifth variety of ,melanochroics4 ,yet it says that the triple division of the blundering ,jews is closer to the truth1 it knows but of three entirely distinct primeval races whose evolution1 formation and development went pari passu and on parallel lines with the evolution1 formation1 and development of three geological strata2 namely1 the ,,black1 the ,,red-,,yellow1 and the ,,brown-,,white ,,races4 --------- ,hence1 and on this double testimony 7which the ,westerns are quite welcome to reject if so pleased7 it is affirmed that1 owing to the great amalgamation of various sub-races1 such as the ,iapygian1 ,etruscan1 ,pelasgic1 and later--the strong admixture of the ,hellenic and ,kelto-,gaulic element in the veins of the primitive ,itali of ,latium--there remained in the tribes gathered by ,romulus on the banks of the ,tiber about as much ,latinism as there is now in the ,romanic people of ,wallachia4 ,of course if the historical foundation of the fable of the twins of the ,vestal ,silvia is entirely rejected1 together with that of the foundation of ,alba ,longa by the son of ,aeneas1 then it stands to reason that the whole of the statements made must be likewise a modern invention built upon the utterly worthless fables of the legendary mythical age4 ,for those who now give these statements1 however1 there is more of actual truth in such fables than there is in the alleged historical ,regal period of the earliest ,romans4 ,it is to be deplored that the present statement should clash with the authoritative conclusion of ,mommsen and others4 ,yet1 stating but that which to the ,adepts is fact1 it must be understood at once that all 7but the fanciful chronological date for the foundation of ,rome-,april1 #gec ,b4,c47 that is given in old traditions in relation to the ,paemerium1 and the triple alliance of the ,ramnians1 ,luceres and ,tities1 of the so-called ,romuleian legend1 is indeed far nearer truth than what external history accepts as facts during the ,punic and ,macedonian wars up to1 through1 and down the ,roman ,empire to its fall4 ,the founders of ,rome were decidedly a mongrel people1 made up of various scraps and remnants of the many primitive tribes2 only a few really ,latin families1 the descendants of the distinct sub-race that came along with the ,umbro-,sabellians from the ,east remaining4 ,and1 while the latter preserved their distinct colour down to the ,middle ,ages through the ,sabine element1 left unmixed in its mountainous regions1 the blood of the true ,roman was ,hellenic blood from its beginning4 ,the famous ,latin league is no fable1 but history4 ,the succession of kings descended from the ,trojan ,aeneas is a fact2 and the idea that ,romulus is to be regarded as simply the symbolical representative of a people1 as ,aeolus1 ,dorius1 and ,ion were once1 instead of a living man1 is as unwarranted as it is arbitrary4 ,it could only have been entertained by a class of historiographers bent upon condoning their sin in supporting the dogma that ,shem1 ,ham and ,japhet were the historical once living ancestors of mankind1 by making a burnt-offering of every really historical but non-,jewish tradition1 legend1 or record which might presume to a place on the same level with these three privileged archaic mariners1 instead of humbly groveling at their feet as absurd myths and old wives' tales and superstitions4 ,it will thus appear that the objectionable statements on pp4 #ef and #fb of ,esoteric ,buddhism1 which are alleged to create an historical difficulty1 were not made by ,mr4 ,sinnett's correspondent to bolster a western theory1 but in loyalty to historical facts4 ,whether they can or cannot be accepted in those particular localities where criticism seems based upon mere conjecture 7though honoured with the name of scientific hypothesis71 is something which concerns the present writers as little as any casual traveler's unfavourable comments upon the time-scarred visage of the ,sphinx can affect the designer of that sublime symbol4 ,the sentences1 the ,greeks and ,romans were small sub-races of our own ,caucasian stock 7p4 #f71 and they were the remnants of the ,atlanteans 7the modern belong to the fifth race7 7p4 #fb71 show the real meaning on their face4 ,by the old ,greeks1 remnants of the ,atlanteans the eponymous ancestors 7as they are called by ,europeans7 of the ,aeolians1 ,dorians and ,ionians1 are meant4 ,by the connection together of the old ,greeks and ,romans without distinction1 was meant that the primitive ,latins were swallowed by ,magna ,graecia4 ,and by the modern belonging to the fifth race--both these small branchlets from whose veins had been strained out the last drop of the ,atlantean blood--it was implied that the ,mongoloid #dth race blood had already been eliminated4 ,occultists make a distinction between the races intermediate between any two root-races3 the ,westerns do not4 ,the old ,romans were ,hellenes in a new ethnological disguise2 and the still older ,greeks the real blood ancestors of the future ,romans4 ,in direct relation to this1 attention is drawn to the following fact--one of the many in close historical bearing upon the mythical age to which ,atlantis belongs4 ,it is a fable and may be charged to the account of historical difficulties4 ,it is well calculated1 however1 to throw all the old ethnological and genealogical divisions into confusion4 ,asking the reader to bear in mind that ,atlantis1 like modern ,europe1 comprised many nations and many dialects 7issues from the three primeval root-languages of the #ast1 #bnd1 and #crd ,races71 we may return to ,poseidonis1 its last surviving remnant of #ab1jjj years ago4 ,as the chief element in the languages of the #eth race is the ,aryan-,sanskrit of the ,brown-white geological stock or race1 so the predominating element in ,atlantis was a language which has now survived but in the dialects of some ,american ,red-,indian tribes1 and in the ,chinese speech of the inland ,chinamen1 the mountainous tribes of ,kivang-ze--a language which was an admixture of the agglutinate and the monosyllabic1 as it would be called by modern philologists4 ,it was1 in short1 the language of the ,red-yellow second or middle geological stock 7we maintain the term geological74 ,a strong percentage of the ,mongoloid or #dth ,root-race was1 of course1 to be found in the ,aryans of the #eth4 ,but this did not prevent in the least the presence at the same time of unalloyed1 pure ,aryan races in it4 ,a number of small islands scattered around ,poseidonis had been vacated1 in consequence of earthquakes1 long before the final catastrophe1 which has alone remained in the memory of men-- thanks to some written records4 ,tradition says that one of the small tribes 7the ,aeolians7 who had become islanders after emigrating from far northern countries1 had to leave their home again for fear of a deluge4 ,if1 in spite of the ,orientalists and the conjecture of ,m4,f4 ,lenormant-- who invented a name for a people whose shadowy outline he dimly perceived in the faraway ,past as preceding the ,babylonians--we say that this ,aryan race that came from ,central ,asia1 the cradle of the #eth race ,humanity1 belonged to the ,akkadian tribes1 there will be a new historico-ethnological difficulty created4 ,yet it is maintained that these ,akkads were no more a ,turanian race than any of the modern ,british people are the mythical ten tribes of ,israel1 so conspicuously present in the ,bible1 and absent from history4 ,with such remarkable pacta conventa between modern exact 787 and ancient ,occult sciences1 we may proceed with the fable4 ,belonging virtually1 through their original connection with the ,aryan1 ,central ,asian stock1 to the #eth race1 the old ,aeolians yet were ,atlanteans1 not only in virtue of their long residence in the now submerged continent1 covering some thousands of years1 but by the free intermingling of blood1 by intermarriage with them4 ,perhaps in this connection ,mr4 ,huxley's disposition to account for his ,melanochroi 7the ,greeks being included under this classification or type7--as themselves the result of crossing between the ,xanthochroi and the ,australioids1 among whom he places the ,southern ,india lower classes and the ,egyptians to some extent--is not far off from fact4 ,anyhow the ,aeolians of ,atlantis were ,aryans on the whole1 as much as the ,basques-- ,dr4 ,pritchard's ,allophylians--are now southern ,europeans1 although originally belonging to the ,south ,indian ,dravidian stock 7their progenitors having never been the aborigines of ,europe prior to the first ,aryan emigration1 as supposed74 ,frightened by the frequent earthquakes and the visible approach of the cataclysm1 this tribe is said to have filled a flotilla of arks1 to have sailed from beyond the ,pillars of ,hercules1 and1 sailing along the coasts1 after several years of travel to have landed on the shores of the ,aegean ,sea in the land of ,pyrrha 7now ,thessaly71 to which they gave the name of ,aeolia4 ,thence they proceeded on business with the gods to ,mount ,olympus4 ,it may be stated here1 at the risk of creating a geographical difficulty1 that in that mythical age ,greece1 ,crete1 ,sicily1 ,sardinia1 and many other islands of the ,mediterranean1 were simply the far-away possessions1 or colonies1 of ,atlantis4 ,hence1 the fable proceeds to state that all along the coasts of ,spain1 ,france1 and ,italy the ,aeolians often halted1 and the memory of their magical feats still survives among the descendants of the old ,massilians1 of the tribes of the later ,carthago-,nova1 and the seaports of ,etruria and ,syracuse4 ,and here again it would not be a bad idea1 perchance1 even at this late hour1 for the archeologists to trace1 with the permission of the anthropological societies1 the origin of the various autochthones through their folk-lore and fables1 as they may prove both more suggestive and reliable than their undecipherable monuments4 ,history catches a misty glimpse of these particular autochthones thousands of years only after they had been settled in old ,greece--namely1 at the moment when the ,epireans cross the ,pindus bent on expelling the black magicians from their home to ,boeotia4 ,but history never listened to the popular legends which speak of the accursed sorcerers who departed1 leaving as an inheritance behind them more than one secret of their infernal arts1 the fame of which crossing the ages has now passed into history--or1 classical ,greek and ,roman fable1 if so preferred4 ,to this day a popular tradition narrates how the ancient forefathers of the ,thessalonians1 so renowned for their magicians1 had come from behind the ,pillars1 asking for help and refuge from the great ,zeus1 and imploring the father of the gods to save them from the deluge4 ,but the ,father expelled them from the ,olympus1 allowing their tribe to settle only at the foot of the mountain1 in the valleys1 and by the shores of the ,aegean ,sea4 ,such is the oldest fable of the ancient ,thessalonians4 ,and now1 what was the language spoken by the ,atlantean ,aeolians8 ,history cannot answer us4 ,nevertheless1 the reader has only to be reminded of some of the accepted and a few of the as yet unknown facts1 to cause the light to enter any intuitional brain4 ,it is now proved that man was universally conceived in antiquity as born of the earth4 ,such is now the profane explanation of the term autochthones4 ,in nearly every vulgarized popular fable1 from the ,sanskrit ,arya born of the earth1 or ,lord of the ,soil in one sense2 the ,erechtheus of the archaic ,greeks1 worshiped in the earliest days of the ,akropolis and shown by ,homer as he whom the earth bore 7 ,il4 ii4 #edh72 down to ,adam fashioned of red earth1 the genetical story has a deep occult meaning1 and an indirect connection with the origin of man and of the subsequent races4 ,thus1 the fables of ,helen1 the son of ,pyrrha the red--the oldest name of ,thessaly2 and of ,mannus1 the reputed ancestor of the ,germans1 himself the son of ,tuisco1 the red son of the earth1 have not only a direct bearing upon our ,atlantis fable1 but they explain moreover the division of mankind into geological groups as made by the ,occultists4 ,it is only this1 their division1 that is able to explain to ,western teachers the apparently strange1 if not absurd1 coincidence of the ,semitic ,adam--a divinely revealed personage--being connected with red earth1 in company with the ,aryan ,pyrrha1 ,tuisco1 c4--the mythical heroes of foolish fables4 ,nor will that division made by the ,eastern ,occultists1 who call the #eth race people the ,brown-white1 and the #dth race the ,red-yellow1 ,root-races--connecting them with geological strata--appear at all fantastic to those who understood verse iii4 #cd-i of the ,veda and its occult meaning1 and another verse in which the ,dasyus are called ,yellow4 ,hatvi ,dasyun pra aryam varanam avat is said of ,indra who1 by killing the ,dasyus1 protected the colour of the ,aryans2 and again1 ,indra unveiled the light for the ,aryas and the ,dasyus was left on the left hand 7ii4 ,,iii #ah74 ,let the student of ,occultism bear in mind that the ,greek ,noah1 ,deukalion1 the husband of ,pyrrha1 was the reputed son of ,prometheus who robbed ,heaven of its fire 7i4e41 of secret ,wisdom of the right hand1 or occult knowledge72 that ,prometheus is the brother of ,atlas2 that he is also the son of ,asia and of the ,titan ,iapetus--the antetype from which the ,jews borrowed their ,japhet for the exigencies of their own popular legend to mask its kabalistic1 ,chaldean meaning2 and that he is also the antetype of ,deukalion4 ,prometheus is the creator of man out of earth and water199 who after stealing fire from ,olympus--a mountain in ,greece--is chained on a mount in the far-off ,caucasus4 ,from ,olympus to ,mount ,kazbek there is a considerable distance4 ,the ,occultists say that while the #dth race was generated and developed on the ,atlantean continent--our ,antipodes in a certain sense--the #eth was generated and developed in ,asia4 7,the ancient ,greek geographer ,strabo1 for one1 calls by the name of ,ariana1 the land of the ,aryas1 the whole country between the ,indian ,ocean in the south1 the ,hindu ,kush and ,parapamisis in the north1 the ,indus on the east1 and the ,caspian ,gates1 ,karamania and the mouth of the ,persian ,gulf1 on the west47 ,the fable of ,prometheus relates to the extinction of the civilized portions of the #dth race1 whom ,zeus1 in order to create a new race1 would destroy entirely1 and ,prometheus 7who had the sacred fire of knowledge7 saved partially for future seed4 ,but the origin of the fable antecedes the destruction of ,poseidonis by more than seventy thousand years1 however incredible it may seem4 ,the seven great continents of the world1 spoken of in the ,vishnu ,purana 7,b4 ,,ii41 cap4 #b7 include ,atlantis1 though1 of course1 under another name4 ,ila and ,ira are synonymous ,sanskrit terms 7see ,amarakosha71 and both mean earth or native soil2 and ,ilavrita is a portion of ,ila1 the central point of ,india 7,jambudvipa71 the latter being itself the centre of the seven great continents before the submersion of the great continent of ,atlantis1 of which ,poseidonis was but an insignificant remnant4 ,and now1 while every ,brahmin will understand the meaning1 we may help the ,europeans with a few more explanations4 -------- 99 ,behold ,moses saying that it requires earth and water to make a living man4 -------- ,if1 in that generally tabooed work1 ,isis ,unveiled1 the ,english ,f4,t4,s4 turns to page #ehi1 vol4 ,i41 he may find therein narrated another old ,eastern legend4 ,an island 4444 7where now the ,gobi desert lies7 was inhabited by the last remnants of the race that preceded ours3 a handful of ,adepts--the ,sons of ,god1 now referred to as the ,brahman ,pitris2 called by another yet synonymous name in the ,chaldean ,kabala4 ,isis ,unveiled may appear very puzzling and contradictory to those who know nothing of ,occult ,sciences4 ,to the ,occultist it is correct1 and while perhaps left purposely sinning 7for it was the first cautious attempt to let into the ,west a faint streak of ,eastern esoteric light71 it reveals more facts than were ever given before its appearance4 ,let any one read these pages and he may comprehend4 ,the six such races in ,manu refer to the sub-races of the fourth race 7p4 #eij74 ,in addition to this the reader must turn to the paper on ,the ,septenary ,principle in ,esotericism 7p4 #ahg ante71 study the list of the ,manus of our fourth ,round 7p4 #bed71 and between this and ,isis light may1 perchance1 be focused4 ,on pages #eij-f of the work mentioned above1 he will find that ,atlantis is mentioned in the ,secret ,books of the ,east 7as yet virgin of ,western spoliating hand7 under another name in the sacred hieratic or sacerdotal language4 ,and then it will be shown to him that ,atlantis was not merely the name of one island but that of a whole continent1 of whose isles and islets many have to this day survived4 ,the remotest ancestors of some of the inhabitants of the now miserable fisherman's hovel ,aclo 7once ,atlan71 near the gulf of ,uraha1 were allied at one time as closely with the old ,greeks and ,romans as they were with the true inland ,china-man1 mentioned on p4 #eg ,of ,esoteric ,buddhism4 ,until the appearance of a map1 published at ,basle in #aebb1 wherein the name of ,america appears for the first time1 the latter was believed to be part of ,india2 and strange to him who does not follow the mysterious working of the human mind and its unconscious approximations to hidden truths--even the aborigines of the new continent1 the ,red-skinned tribes1 the ,mongoloids of ,mr4 ,huxley1 were named ,indians4 ,names now attributed to chance3 elastic word that6 ,strange coincidence1 indeed1 to him who does not know--science refusing yet to sanction the wild hypothesis--that there was a time when the ,indian peninsula was at one end of the line1 and ,south ,america at the other1 connected by a belt of islands and continents4 ,the ,india of the prehistoric ages was not only within the region at the sources of the ,oxus and ,jaxartes1 but there was even in the days of history1 and within its memory1 an upper1 a lower1 and a western ,india3 and still earlier it was doubly connected with the two ,americas4 ,the lands of the ancestors of those whom ,ammianus ,marcellinus calls the ,brahmans of ,upper ,india stretched from ,kashmir far into the 7now7 deserts of ,schamo4 ,a pedestrian from the north might then have reached--hardly wetting his feet--the ,alaskan ,peninsula1 through ,manchooria1 across the future ,gulf of ,tartary1 the ,kurile and ,aleutian ,islands2 while another traveler1 furnished with a canoe and starting from the south1 could have walked over from ,siam1 crossed the ,polynesian ,islands and trudged into any part of the continent of ,south ,america4 ,on pp4 #eib-c of ,isis1 vol4 ,i41 the ,thevetatas--the evil1 mischievous gods that have survived in the ,etruscan ,pantheon--are mentioned1 along with the sons of ,god or ,brahman ,pitris4 ,the ,involute1 the hidden or shrouded gods1 the ,consentes1 ,complices1 and ,novensiles1 are all disguised relics of the ,atlanteans2 while the ,etruscan arts of soothsaying their ,disciplina revealed by ,tages comes direct and in undisguised form from the ,atlantean king ,thevetat1 the invisible ,dragon1 whose name survives to this day among the ,siamese and ,burmese1 as also1 in the ,jataka allegorical stories of the ,buddhists as the opposing power under the name of ,devadat4 ,and ,tages was the son of ,thevetat1 before he became the grandson of the ,etruscan ,jupiter-,tinia4 ,have the ,western ,orientalists tried to find out the connection between all these ,dragons and ,serpents2 between the powers of ,evil in the cycles of epic legends1 the ,persian and the ,indian1 the ,greek and the ,jewish2 between the contests of ,indra and the giant2 the ,aryan ,nagas and the ,iranian ,aji ,dahaka2 the ,guatemalian ,dragon and the ,serpent of ,genesis--c4 c4 c48 ,professor ,max ,muller discredits the connection4 ,so be it4 ,but the fourth race of men1 men whose sight was unlimited and who knew all things at once1 the hidden as the unrevealed1 is mentioned in the ,popol-,vuh1 the sacred books of the ,guatemalians2 and the ,babylonian ,xisuthrus1 the far later ,jewish ,noah1 the ,hindu ,vaivaswata1 and the ,greek ,deukalion1 are all identical with the great ,father of the ,thlinkithians1 of ,popol-,vuh who1 like the rest of these allegorical 7not mythical7 ,patriarchs1 escaped in his turn and in his days1 in a large boat at the time of the last great ,deluge--the submersion of ,atlantis4 ,to have been an ,indo-,aryan1 ,vaivaswata had not1 of necessity1 to meet with his ,saviour 7,vishnu1 under the form of a fish7 within the precincts of the present ,india1 or even anywhere on the ,asian continent2 nor is it necessary to concede that he was the seventh great ,manu himself 7see catalogue of the ,manus1 in the paper on ,the ,septenary ,principle in ,esotericism cited above71 but simply that the ,hindu ,noah belonged to the clan of ,vaivaswata and typifies the fifth race4 ,now the last of the ,atlantean islands perished some #aa1jjj years ago2 and the fifth race headed by the ,aryans began its evolution1 to the certain knowledge of the ,adepts nearer one million than #ijj1jjj years ago4 ,but the historian and the anthropologist with their utmost stretch of liberality are unable to give more than from twenty to one hundred thousand years for all our human evolution4 ,hence we put it to them as a fair question3 at what point during their own conjectural lakh of years do they fix the root-germ of the ancestral line of the old ,greeks and ,romans8 ,who were they8 ,what is known or even conjectured about their territorial habitat after the division of the ,aryan nations8 ,and where were the ancestors of the ,semitic and ,turanian races8 ,it is not enough for purposes of refutation of other peoples' statements to say that the latter lived separate from the former1 and then come to a full stop--a fresh hiatus in the ethnological history of mankind4 ,since ,asia is sometimes called the ,cradle of ,humanity1 and it is an ascertained fact that ,central ,asia was likewise the cradle of the ,semitic and ,turanian races 7for thus it is taught in ,genesis71 and we find the ,turans agreeably to the theory evolved by the ,assyriologists preceding the ,babylonian ,semitists1 where1 at what spot of the globe1 did these ,semito-,turanian nations break away from the parent stock1 and what has become of the latter8 ,it cannot be the small ,jewish tribe of ,patriarchs2 and unless it can be shown that the garden of ,eden was also on the ,oxus or the ,euphrates1 fenced off from the soil inhabited by the children of ,cain1 philologists who undertake to fill in the gaps in ,universal ,history with their made-up conjectures1 may be regarded as ignorant of this detail as those they would enlighten4 ,logically1 if the ancestors of these various groups had been at that remote period massed together1 then the self-same roots of a parent common stock would have been equally traceable in their perfected languages as they are in those of the ,judo-,europeans4 ,and so1 since whichever way one turns1 one is met with the same troubled sea of speculation1 margined by the treacherous quicksands of hypothesis1 and every horizon bounded by inferential landmarks inscribed with imaginary dates4 ,again1 the ,adepts ask why should any one be awed into accepting as final criterion that which passes for science of high authority in ,europe8 ,for all this is known to the ,asiatic scholar--in every case save the purely mathematical and physical sciences--as little better than a secret league for mutual support1 and1 perhaps1 admiration4 ,he bows with profound respect before the ,royal ,societies of ,physicists1 ,chemists1 and1 to a degree1 even of ,naturalists4 ,he refuses to pay the slightest attention to the merely speculative and conjectural so-called sciences of the modern ,physiologist1 ,ethnologist1 ,philologist1 c41 and the mob of self-styling ,oedipuses to whom it is not given to unriddle the ,sphynx of ,nature1 and who therefore throttle her4 ,with an eye to the above1 as also with a certain prevision of the future1 the defendants in the cases under examination believe that the historical difficulty with reference to the non-historical statement1 necessitated more than a simple reaffirmation of the fact4 ,they knew that with no better claims to a hearing than may be accorded by the confidence of a few1 and in view of the decided antagonism of the many1 it would never do for them to say we maintain while ,western professors maintained to the contrary4 ,for a body of1 so to say1 unlicensed preachers and students of unauthorized and unrecognized sciences to offer to fight an ,august body of universally recognized oracles1 would be an unprecedented piece of impertinence4 ,hence their respective claims had to be examined on however small a scale to begin with 7in this as in all other cases7 on other than psychological grounds4 ,the ,adepts in ,occult ,arts had better keep silence when confronted with the ,a4,c4,s4's--,adepts in ,conjectural ,sciences--unless they could show1 partially at least1 how weak is the authority of the latter and on what foundations of shifting sands their scientific dicta are often built4 ,they may thus make it a thinkable conjecture that the former may be right after all4 ,absolute silence1 moreover1 as at present advised1 would have been fatal4 ,besides risking to be construed into inability to answer1 it might have given rise to new complaints among the faithful few1 and lead to fresh charges of selfishness against the writers4 ,therefore have the ,adepts agreed to smooth in part at least a few of the most glaring difficulties and showing a highway to avoid them in future by studying the non-historical but actual1 instead of the historical but mythical1 portions of ,universal ,history4 ,and this they have achieved1 they believe 7at any rate with a few of their querists71 by simply showing1 or rather reminding them1 that since no historical fact can stand as such against the assumption of the ,adepts-- historians being confessedly ignorant of pre-,roman and ,greek origins beyond the ghostly shadows of the ,etruscans and ,pelasgians--no real historical difficulty can be possibly involved in their statement4 ,from objectors outside the ,society1 the writers neither demand nor do they expect mercy4 ,the ,adept has no favours to ask at the hands of conjectural science1 nor does he exact from any member of the ,london ,lodge blind faith3 it being his cardinal maxim that faith should only follow inquiry4 ,the ,adept is more than content to be allowed to remain silent1 keeping what he may know to himself1 unless worthy seekers wish to share it4 ,he has so done for ages1 and can do so for a little longer4 ,moreover1 he would rather not arrest attention or command respect at present4 ,thus he leaves his audience to first verify his statements in every case by the brilliant though rather wavering light of modern science3 after which his facts may be either accepted or rejected1 at the option of the willing student4 ,in short1 the ,adept--if one indeed--has to remain utterly unconcerned with1 and unmoved by1 the issue4 ,he imparts that which it is lawful for him to give out1 and deals but with facts4 ,the philological and archeological difficulties next demand attention4 ,philological and ,archeological ,difficulties ,two questions are blended into one4 ,having shown the reasons why the ,asiatic student is prompted to decline the guidance of ,western ,history1 it remains to explain his contumacious obstinacy in the same direction with regard to philology and archeology4 ,while expressing the sincerest admiration for the clever modern methods of reading the past histories of nations now mostly extinct1 and following the progress and evolution of their respective languages1 now dead1 the student of ,eastern occultism1 and even the profane ,hindu scholar acquainted with his national literature1 can hardly be made to share the confidence felt by ,western philologists in these conglutinative methods1 when practically applied to his own country and ,sanskrit literature4 ,three facts1 at least1 out of many are well calculated to undermine his faith in these ,western methods3-- #a4 ,of some dozens of eminent ,orientalists1 no two agree1 even in their verbatim translation of ,sanskrit texts4 ,nor is there more harmony shown in their interpretation of the possible meaning of doubtful passages4 #b4 ,though ,numismatics is a less conjectural branch of science1 and when starting from well-established basic dates1 so to say1 an exact one 7since it can hardly fail to yield correct chronological data1 in our case1 namely1 ,indian antiquities72 archeologists have hitherto failed to obtain any such position4 ,on their own confession1 they are hardly justified in accepting the ,samvat and ,salivahana eras as their guiding lights1 the real initial points of both being beyond the power of the ,european ,orientalists to verify2 yet all the same1 the respective dates of #eg ,b4,c4 and #gh ,a4,d4 are accepted implicitly1 and fanciful ages thereupon ascribed to archeological remains4 #c4 ,the greatest authorities upon ,indian archeology and architecture-- ,general ,cunningham and ,mr4 ,fergusson--represent in their conclusions the two opposite poles4 ,the province of archeology is to provide trustworthy canons of criticism1 and not1 it should seem1 to perplex or puzzle4 ,the ,western critic is invited to point to one single relic of the past in ,india1 whether written record or inscribed or uninscribed monument1 the age of which is not disputed4 ,no sooner has one archeologist determined a date--say the first century--than another tries to pull it forward to the #ajth or perhaps the #adth century of the ,christian era4 ,while ,general ,cunningham ascribes the construction of the present ,buddha ,gaya temple to the #ast century after ,christ--the opinion of ,mr4 ,fergusson is that its external form belongs to the #adth century2 and so the unfortunate outsider is as wise as ever4 ,noticing this discrepancy in a ,report on the ,archeological ,survey of ,india 7vol4 viii4 p4 #fj71 the conscientious and capable ,buddha-,gaya ,chief ,engineer1 ,mr4 ,j4,d4 ,beglar1 observes that notwithstanding his 7,fergusson's7 high authority1 this opinion must be unhesitatingly set aside1 and forthwith assigns the building under notice to the #fth century4 ,while the conjectures of one archeologist are termed by another hopelessly wrong1 the identifications of ,buddhist relics by this other are in their turn denounced as quite untenable4 ,and so in the case of every relic of whatever age4 ,when the recognized authorities agree--among themselves at least--then will it be time to show them collectively in the wrong4 ,until then1 since their respective conjectures can lay no claim to the character of history1 the ,adepts have neither the leisure nor the disposition to leave weightier business to combat empty speculations1 in number as many as there are pretended authorities4 ,let the blind lead the blind1 if they will not accept the light499 -------- 99 ,however1 it will be shown elsewhere that ,general ,cunningham's latest conclusions about the date of ,buddha's death are not all supported by the inscriptions newly discovered4--,t4 ,subba ,row4 --------- ,as in the historical1 so in this new archeological difficulty1 namely1 the apparent anachronism as to the date of our ,lord's birth1 the point at issue is again concerned with the old ,greeks and ,romans4 ,less ancient than our ,atlantean friends1 they seem more dangerous inasmuch as they have become the direct allies of philologists in our dispute over ,buddhist annals4 ,we are notified by ,prof4 ,max ,muller1 by sympathy the most fair of ,sanskritists as well as the most learned--and with whom1 for a wonder1 most of his rivals are found siding in this particular question--that everything in ,indian chronology depends on the date of ,chandragupta1--the ,greek ,sandracottus4 ,either of these dates 7in the ,chinese and ,ceylonese chronology7 is impossible1 because it does not agree with the chronology of ,greece4 7,hist4 of the ,sans4 ,lit41 p4 #bge47 ,it is then by the clear light of this new ,alexandrian ,pharos shed1 upon a few synchronisms casually furnished by the ,greek and ,roman classical writers1 that the extraordinary statements of the ,adepts have now to be cautiously examined4 ,for ,western ,orientalists the historical existence of ,buddhism begins with ,asoka1 though1 even with the help of ,greek spectacles1 they are unable to see beyond ,chandragupta4 ,therefore1 before that time ,buddhist chronology is traditional and full of absurdities4 ,furthermore1 nothing is said in the ,brahmanas of the ,bauddhas--ergo1 there were none before ,sandracottus1 nor have the ,buddhists or ,brahmans any right to a history of their own1 save the one evoluted by the ,western mind4 ,as though the ,muse of ,history had turned her back while events were gliding by1 the historian confesses his inability to close the immense lacunae between the ,indo-,aryan supposed immigration en masse across the ,hindoo ,kush1 and the reign of ,asoka4 ,having nothing more solid1 he uses contradictory inferences and speculations4 ,but the ,asiatic occultists1 whose forefathers had her tablets in their keeping1 and even some learned native ,pundits--believe they can4 ,the claim1 however1 is pronounced unworthy of attention4 ,of the late ,smriti 7traditional history7 which1 for those who know how to interpret its allegories1 is full of unimpeachable historical records1 an ,ariadne's thread through the tortuous labyrinth of the ,past--has come to be unanimously regarded as a tissue of exaggerations1 monstrous fables1 clumsy forgeries of the first centuries ,a4,d4 ,it is now openly declared as worthless not only for exact chronological but even for general historical purposes4 ,thus by dint of arbitrary condemnations1 based on absurd interpretations 7too often the direct outcome of sectarian prejudice71 the ,orientalist has raised himself to the eminence of a philological mantic4 ,his learned vagaries are fast superseding1 even in the minds of many a ,europeanized ,hindu1 the important historical facts that lie concealed under the exoteric phraseology of the ,puranas and other ,smritic literature4 ,at the outset1 therefore1 the ,eastern ,initiate declares the evidence of those ,orientalists who1 abusing their unmerited authority1 play ducks and drakes with his most sacred relics1 ruled out of court2 and before giving his facts he would suggest to the learned ,european ,sanskritist and archeologist that1 in the matter of chronology1 the difference in the sum of their series of conjectural historical events1 proves them to be mistaken from ,a to ,z4 ,they know that one single wrong figure in an arithmetical progression will always throw the whole calculation into inextricable confusion3 the multiplication yielding1 generally1 in such a case1 instead of the correct sum something entirely unexpected4 ,a fair proof of this may1 perhaps1 be found in something already alluded to-- namely1 the adoption of the dates of certain ,hindu eras as the basis of their chronological assumptions4 ,in assigning a date to text or monument they have1 of course1 to be guided by one of the pre-,christian ,indian eras1 whether inferentially1 or otherwise4 ,and yet--in one case1 at least--they complain repeatedly that they are utterly ignorant as to the correct starting-point of the most important of these4 ,the positive date of ,vikramaditya1 for instance1 whose reign forms the starting point of the ,samvat era1 is in reality unknown to them4 ,with some1 ,vikramaditya flourished ,b4,c4 #ef2 with others1 #hf2 with others again1 in the #fth century of the ,christian era2 while ,mr4 ,fergusson will not allow the ,samvat era any beginning before the #ajth century ,a4,d4 ,in short1 and in the words of ,dr4 ,weber199 they have absolutely no authentic evidence to show whether the era of ,vikramaditya dates from the year of his birth1 from some achievement1 or from the year of his death1 or whether1 in fine1 it may not have been simply introduced by him for astronomical reasons4 ,there were several ,vikramadityas and ,vikramas in ,indian history1 for it is not a name1 but an honorary title1 as the ,orientalists have now come to learn4 ,how then can any chronological deduction from such a shifting premise be anything but untrustworthy1 especially when1 as in the instance of the ,samvat1 the basic date is made to travel along1 at the personal fancy of ,orientalists1 between the #ast and the #ajth century8 ----------- 99 ,the ,history of ,indian ,literature1 ,trubner's ,series1 #ahhb1 p4 #bjb4 ----------- ,thus it appears to be pretty well proved that in ascribing chronological dates to ,indian antiquities1 ,anglo-,indian as well as ,european archeologists are often guilty of the most ridiculous anachronisms4 ,that1 in fine1 they have been hitherto furnishing ,history with an arithmetical mean1 while ignorant1 in nearly every case1 of its first term6 ,nevertheless1 the ,asiatic student is invited to verify and correct his dates by the flickering light of this chronological will-o-the-wisp4 ,nay1 nay4 ,surely ,an ,english ,f4,t4,s4 would never expect us in matters demanding the minutest exactness to trust to such ,western beacons6 ,and he will1 perhaps1 permit us to hold to our own views1 since we know that our dates are neither conjectural nor liable to modifications4 ,where even such veteran archeologists as ,general ,cunningham do not seem above suspicion1 and are openly denounced by their colleagues1 palaeography seems to hardly deserve the name of exact science4 ,this busy antiquarian has been repeatedly denounced by ,prof4 ,weber and others for his indiscriminate acceptance of that ,samvat era4 ,nor have the other ,orientalists been more lenient2 especially those who1 perchance under the inspiration of early sympathies for biblical chronology1 prefer in matters connected with ,indian dates to give head to their own emotional but unscientific intuitions4 ,some would have us believe that the ,samvat era is not demonstrable for times anteceding the ,christian era at all4 ,kern makes efforts to prove that the ,indian astronomers began to employ this era only after the year of grace #ajjj4 ,prof4 ,weber1 referring sarcastically to ,general ,cunningham1 observes that others1 on the contrary1 have no hesitation in at once referring1 wherever possible1 every ,samvat or ,samvatsare-dated inscription to the ,samvat era4 ,thus1 e4g41 ,cunningham 7in his ,arch4 ,survey of ,india1 iii4 #ca1 #ci7 directly assigns an inscription dated ,samvat #e to the year ,b4,c4 #eb1 c41 and winds up the statement with the following plaint3 ,for the present1 therefore1 unfortunately1 where there is nothing else 7but that unknown era7 to guide us1 it must generally remain an open question1 which era we have to do with in a particular inscription1 and what date consequently the inscription bears4 99 -------- 99 ,op4 cit41 p4 #bjc4 -------- ,the confession is significant4 ,it is pleasant to find such a ring of sincerity in a ,european ,orientalist1 though it does seem quite ominous for ,indian archeology4 ,the initiated ,brahmans know the positive dates of their eras and remain therefore unconcerned4 ,what the ,adepts have once said1 they maintain2 and no new discoveries or modified conjectures of accepted authorities can exert any pressure upon their data4 ,even if ,western archeologists or numismatists took it into their heads to change the date of our ,lord and ,glorified ,deliverer from the #gth century ,b4,c4 to the #gth century ,a4,d41 we would but the more admire such a remarkable gift for knocking about dates and eras1 as though they were so many lawn-tennis balls4 ,meanwhile1 to all sincere and inquiring ,theosophists1 we will say plainly1 it is useless for any one to speculate about the date of our ,lord ,sanggyas's birth1 while rejecting a priori all the ,brahmanical1 ,ceylonese1 ,chinese1 and ,tibetan dates4 ,the pretext that these do not agree with the chronology of a handful of ,greeks who visited the country #cjj years after the event in question1 is too fallacious and bold4 ,greece was never concerned with ,buddhism1 and besides the fact that the classics furnish their few synchronistic dates simply upon the hearsay of their respective authors--a few ,greeks1 who themselves lived centuries before the writers quoted--their chronology is itself too defective1 and their historical records1 when it was a question of national triumphs1 too bombastic and often too diametrically opposed to fact1 to inspire with confidence any one less prejudiced than the average ,european ,orientalist4 ,to seek to establish the true dates in ,indian history by connecting its events with the mythical invasion1 while confessing that one would look in vain in the literature of the ,brahmans or ,buddhists for any allusion to ,alexander's conquest1 and although it is impossible to identify any of the historical events related by ,alexander's companions with the historical tradition of ,india1 amounts to something more than a mere exhibition of incompetence in this direction3 were not ,prof4 ,max ,muller the party concerned--we might say that it appears almost like predetermined dishonesty4 ,these are harsh words to say1 and calculated no doubt to shock many a ,european mind trained to look up to what is termed scientific authority with a feeling akin to that of the savage for his family fetich4 ,they are well deserved1 nevertheless1 as a few examples will show4 ,to such intellects as ,prof4 ,weber's--whom we take as the leader of the ,german ,orientalists of the type of ,christophiles--certainly the word obtuseness cannot be applied4 ,upon seeing how chronology is deliberately and maliciously perverted in favour of ,greek influence1 ,christian interests and his own predetermined theories--another1 and even a stronger term should be applied4 ,what expression is too severe to signify one's feelings upon reading such an unwitting confession of disingenuous scholarship as ,weber repeatedly makes 7,hist4 ,ind4 ,lit47 when urging the necessity of admitting that a passage has been touched up by later interpellation1 or forcing fanciful chronological places for texts admittedly very ancient--as otherwise the dates would be brought down too far or too near6 ,and this is the keynote of his entire policy3 fiat hypothesis1 ruat caelum6 ,on the other hand ,prof4 ,max ,muller1 enthusiastic ,indophile as he seems1 crams centuries into his chronological thimble without the smallest apparent compunction4444 ,these two ,orientalists are instances1 because they are accepted beacons of philology and ,indian paleography4 ,our national monuments are dated and our ancestral history perverted to suit their opinions2 the pernicious evil has ensued1 that as a result ,history is now recording for the misguidance of posterity the false annals and distorted facts which1 upon their evidence1 will be accepted without appeal as the outcome of the fairest and ablest critical analysis4 ,while ,prof4 ,max ,muller will hear of no other than a ,greek criterion for ,indian chronology1 ,prof4 ,weber 7op4 cit47 finds ,greek influence--his universal solvent--in the development of ,india's religion1 philosophy1 literature1 astronomy1 medicine1 architecture1 c4 ,to support this fallacy the most tortuous sophistry1 the most absurd etymological deductions are resorted to4 ,if one fact more than another has been set at rest by comparative mythology1 it is that their fundamental religious ideas1 and most of their gods1 were derived by the ,greeks from religions flourishing in the north-west of ,india1 the cradle of the main ,hellenic stock4 ,this is now entirely disregarded1 because a disturbing element in the harmony of the critical spheres4 ,and though nothing is more reasonable than the inference that the ,grecian astronomical terms were inherited equally from the parent stock1 ,prof4 ,weber would have us believe that it was ,greek influence that just infused a real life into ,indian astronomy 7p4 #bea74 ,in fine1 the hoary ancestors of the ,hindus borrowed their astronomical terminology and learnt the art of star gazing and even their zodiac from the ,hellenic infant6 ,this proof engenders another3 the relative antiquity of the astronomical texts shall be henceforth determined upon the presence or absence in them of asterisms and zodiacal signs1 the former being undisguisedly ,greek in their names1 the latter are designated by their ,sanskrit names which are translated from the ,greek 7p4 #bee74 ,thus ,manu's law being unacquainted with the planets1 is considered as more ancient than ,yajnavalkya's ,code1 which inculcates their worship1 and so on4 ,but there is still another and a better test found out by the ,sanskritists for determining with infallible accuracy the age of the texts1 apart from asterisms and zodiacal signs any casual mention in them of the name ,yavana1 taken in every instance to designate the ,greeks4 ,this1 apart from an internal chronology based on the character of the works themselves1 and on the quotations1 c41 therein contained1 is the only one possible1 we are told4 ,as a result the absurd statement that the ,indian astronomers regularly speak of the ,yavanas as their teachers 7p4 #beb74 ,ergo1 their teachers were ,greeks4 ,for with ,weber and others ,yavana and ,greek are convertible terms4 ,but it so happens that ,yavanacharya was the ,indian title of a single ,greek--,pythagoras2 as ,sankaracharya was the title of a single ,hindu philosopher2 and the ancient ,aryan astronomical writers cited his opinions to criticize and compare them with the teachings of their own astronomical science1 long before him perfected and derived from their ancestors4 ,the honorific title of ,acharya 7master7 was applied to him as to every other learned astronomer or mystic2 and it certainly did not mean that ,pythagoras or any other ,greek ,master was necessarily the master of the ,brahmans4 ,the word ,yavana was a generic term employed ages before the ,greeks of ,alexander projected their influence upon ,jambudvipa1 to designate people of a younger race1 the word meaning ,yuvan young1 or younger4 ,they knew of ,yavanas of the north1 west1 south and east2 and the ,greek strangers received this appellation as the ,persians1 ,indo-,scythians and others had before them4 ,an exact parallel is afforded in our present day4 ,to the ,tibetans every foreigner whatsoever is known as a ,peling2 the ,chinese designate ,europeans as red-haired devils2 and the ,mussalmans call every one outside of ,islam a ,kuffir4 ,the ,webers of the future1 following the example now set them1 may perhaps1 after #aj1jjj years1 affirm1 upon the authority of scraps of ,moslem literature then extant1 that the ,bible was written1 and the ,english1 ,french1 ,russians and ,germans who possessed and translated or invented it1 lived in ,kaffiristan shortly before their era under ,moslem influence4 ,because the ,yuga ,purana of the ,gargi ,sanhita speaks of an expedition of the ,yavanas as far as ,pataliputra1 therefore1 either the ,macedonians or the ,seleuciae had conquered all ,india6 ,but our ,western critic is ignorant1 of course1 of the fact that ,ayodhya or ,saketa of ,rama was for two millenniums repelling inroads of various ,mongolian and other ,turanian tribes1 besides the ,indo-,scythians1 from beyond ,nepaul and the ,himalayas4 ,prof4 ,weber seems finally himself frightened at the ,yavana spectre he has raised1 for he queries3--,whether by the ,yavanas it is really the ,greeks who are meant or possibly merely their ,indo-,scythian or other successors1 to whom the name was afterwards transferred4 ,this wholesome doubt ought to have modified his dogmatic tone in many other such cases4 ,but1 drive out prejudice with a pitch fork it will ever return4 ,the eminent scholar1 though staggered by his own glimpse of the truth1 returns to the charge with new vigour4 ,we are startled by the fresh discovery that ,asuramaya399 the earliest astronomer1 mentioned repeatedly in the ,indian epics1 is identical with ',ptolemaios' of the ,greeks4 ,the reason for it given is1 that this latter name1 as we see from the inscriptions of ,piyadasi1 became in ,indian ',turamaya1' out of which the name ',asuramaya' might very easily grow2 and since1 by the later tradition1 this ',maya' is distinctly assigned to ,romaka-pura in the ,west4 ,had the ,piyadasi inscription been found on the site of ancient ,babylonia1 one might suspect the word ,turamaya as derived from ,turanomaya1 or rather mania4 ,since1 however1 the ,piyadasi inscriptions belong distinctly to ,india1 and the title was borne but by two kings--,chandragupta and ,dharmasoka--what has ',ptolemaios' of the ,greeks to do with ,turamaya or the latter with ,asuramaya1 except1 indeed1 to use it as a fresh pretext to drag the ,indian astronomer under the stupefying ,greek influence of the ,upas ,tree of ,western ,philology8 ,then we learn that1 because ,panini once mentions the ,yavanas1 i4e41 4444 ,greeks1 and explains the formation of the word ',yavanani1' to which1 according to the ,varttika1 the word lipi1 'writing1' must be supplied1 therefore the word signifies the writing of the ,yavanas of the ,greeks and none other4 ,would the ,german philologists 7who have so long and so fruitlessly attempted to explain this word7 be very much surprised if told that they are yet as far as possible from the truth8 ,that--,yavanani does not mean ,greek writing at all1 but any foreign writing whatsoever8 ,that the absence of the word writing in the old texts1 except in connection with the names of foreigners1 does not in the least imply that none but ,greek writing was known to them1 or that they had none of their own1 being ignorant of the art of reading and writing until the days of ,panini8 7theory of ,prof4 ,max ,muller74 ,for ,devanagari is as old as the ,vedas1 and held so sacred that the ,brahmans1 first under penalty of death1 and later on of eternal ostracism1 were not even allowed to mention it to profane ears1 much less to make known the existence of their secret temple libraries4 ,so that by the word ,yavanani1 to which1 according to the ,varttika1 the word lipi1 'writing1' must he supplied1 the writing of foreigners in general1 whether ,phoenician1 ,roman1 or ,greek1 is always meant4 ,as to the preposterous hypothesis of ,prof4 ,max ,muller that writing was not used for literary purposes in ,india before ,panini's time 7again upon ,greek authority7 that matter has been disposed of elsewhere4 --------- 99 ,dr4 ,weber is not probably aware of the fact that this distinguished astronomer's name was simply ,maya2 the prefix ,asura was often added to it by ancient ,hindu writers to show that he was a ,rakshasa4 ,in the opinion of the ,brahmans he was an ,atlantean and one of the greatest astronomers and occultists of the lost ,atlantis4 --------- ,equally unknown are those certain other and most important facts1 fable though they seem4 ,first1 that the ,aryan ,great ,war1 the ,mahabharata1 and the ,trojan ,war of ,homer--both mythical as to personal biographies and fabulous supernumeraries1 yet perfectly historical in the main-- belong to the same cycle of events4 ,for the occurrences of many centuries1 among them the separation of sundry peoples and races1 erroneously traced to ,central ,asia alone1 were in these immortal epics compressed within the scope of single dramas made to occupy but a few years4 ,secondly1 that in this immense antiquity the forefathers of the ,aryan ,greeks and the ,aryan ,brahmans were as closely united and intermixed as are now the ,aryans and the so-called ,dravidians4 ,thirdly1 that before the days of the historical ,rama1 from whom in unbroken genealogical descent the ,oodeypore sovereigns trace their lineage1 ,rajpootana was as full of direct post-,atlantean ,greeks1 as the post-,trojan1 subjacent ,cumaea and other settlements of pre-,magna ,graecia were of the fast ,hellenizing sires of the modern ,rajpoot4 ,one acquainted with the real meaning of the ancient epics cannot refrain from asking himself whether these intuitional ,orientalists prefer being called deceivers or deceived1 and in charity give them the benefit of the doubt499 --------- 99 ,further on1 ,prof4 ,weber indulges in the following piece of chronological sleight of hand4 ,in his arduous endeavour to determine accurately the place in history of the ,romantic ,legend of ,sakya ,buddha 7translation by ,beale71 he thinks the special points of relation here found to ,christian legends are very striking4 ,the question which party was the borrower ,deals properly leaves undetermined4 ,yet in all likelihood 7667 we have here simply a similar case to that of the appropriation of ,christian legend by this worshipers of ,krishna 7p4 #cjj74 ,now it is this that every ,hindu and ,buddhist has the right to brand as dishonesty1 whether conscious or unconscious4 ,legends originate earlier than history and die out upon being sifted4 ,neither of the fabulous events in connection with ,buddha's birth1 taken exoterically1 necessitated a great genius to narrate them1 nor was the intellectual capacity of the ,hindus ever proved so inferior to that of the ,jewish and ,greek mob that they should borrow from them even fables inspired by religion4 ,how their fables1 evolved between the second and third centuries after ,buddha's death1 when the fever of proselytism and the adoration of his memory were at their height1 could be borrowed and then appropriated from the ,christian legends written during the first century of the ,western era1 can only be explained by a ,german ,orientalist4 ,mr4 ,t4,w4 ,rhys ,davids 7,jataka ,book7 shows the contrary to have been true4 ,it may be remarked in this connection that1 while the first miracles of both ,krishna and ,christ are said to have happened at a ,mathura1 the latter city exists to this day in ,india--the antiquity of its name being fully proved--while the ,mathura1 or ,matures in ,egypt1 of the ,gospel of ,infancy1 where ,jesus is alleged to have produced his first miracle1 was sought to be identified1 centuries ago1 by the stump of an old tree in thee desert1 and is represented by an empty spot6 ---------- ,what can be thought of ,prof4 ,weber's endeavour when1 to determine more accurately the position of ,ramayana 7called by him the 'artificial epic'7 in literary history1 he ends with an assumption that it rests upon an acquaintance with the ,trojan cycle of legend 4444 the conclusion there arrived at is that the date of its composition is to be placed at the commencement of the ,christian era in an epoch when the operation of the ,greek influence upon ,india had already set in6 7p4 #aid47 ,the case is hopeless4 ,if the internal chronology and external fitness of things1 we may add presented in the triple ,indian epic1 did not open the eyes of the hypercritical professors to the many historical facts enshrined in their striking allegories2 if the significant mention of black ,yavanas1 and white ,yavanas1 indicating totally different peoples1 could so completely escape their notice299 and the enumeration of a host of tribes1 nations1 races1 clans1 under their separate ,sanskrit designations in the ,mahbharata1 had not stimulated them to try to trace their ethnic evolution and identify them with their now living ,european descendants1 there is little to hope from their scholarship except a mosaic of learned guesswork4 ,the latter scientific mode of critical analysis may yet end some day in a consensus of opinion that ,buddhism is due wholesale to the ,life of ,barlaam and ,josaphat1 written by ,st4 ,john of ,damascus2 or that our religion was plagiarized from that famous ,roman ,catholic legend of the eighth century in which our ,lord ,gautama is made to figure as a ,christian ,saint1 better still1 that the ,vedas were written at ,athens under the auspices of ,st4 ,george1 the tutelary successor of ,theseus4 --------- 99 ,see ,twelfth ,book of ,mahabharata1 ,krishnas fight with ,kalayavana4 --------- ,for fear that anything might be lacking to prove the complete obsession of ,jambudvipa by the demon of ,greek influence1 ,dr4 ,weber vindictively casts a last insult into the face of ,india by remarking that if ,european ,western steeples owe their origin to an imitation of the ,buddhist topes99 4444 on the other hand in the most ancient ,hindu edifices the presence of ,greek influence is unmistakable 7p4 #bgd74 ,well may ,dr4 ,rajendralala ,mitra hold out particularly against the idea of any ,greek influence whatever on the development of ,indian architecture4 ,if his ancestral literature must be attributed to ,greek influence1 the temples1 at least1 might have been spared4 ,one can understand how the ,egyptian ,hall in ,london reflects the influence of the ruined temples on the ,nile2 but it is a more difficult feat1 even for a ,german professor1 to prove the archaic structure of old ,aryavarta a foreshadowing of the genius of the late lamented ,sir ,christopher ,wren6 ,the outcome of this paleographic spoliation is that there is not a tittle left for ,india to call her own4 ,even medicine is due to the same ,hellenic influence4 ,we are told--this once by ,roth--that only a comparison of the principles of ,indian with those of ,greek medicine can enable us to judge of the origin1 age and value of the former2 4444 and a propos of ,charaka's injunctions as to the duties of the physician to his patient1 adds ,dr4 ,weber1 he cites some remarkably coincident expressions from the ,oath of the ,asklepiads4 ,it is then settled4 ,india is ,hellenized from head to foot1 and even had no physic until the ,greek doctors came4 ---------- 99 ,of ,hindu ,lingams1 rather4 ---------- ,sakya ,muni's ,place in ,history ,no ,orientalist1 save perhaps1 the same wise1 not to say deep1 ,prof4 ,weber1 opposes more vehemently than ,prof4 ,max ,muller ,hindu and ,buddhist chronology4 ,evidently if an ,indophile he is not a ,buddhophile1 and ,general ,cunningham1 however independent otherwise in his archeological researches1 agrees with him more than would seem strictly prudent in view of possible future discoveries499 ,we have then to refute in our turn this great ,oxford professor's speculations4 --------- 99 ,notwithstanding ,prof4 ,m4 ,muller's regrettable efforts to invalidate every ,buddhist evidence1 he seems to have ill-succeeded in proving his case1 if we can judge from the openly expressed opinion of his own ,german confreres4 ,in the portion headed ,tradition as to ,buddha's ,age 7pp4 #bhc-bhh7 in his ,hist4 of ,ind4 ,lit41 ,prof4 ,weber very aptly remarks1 ,nothing like positive certainty1 therefore1 is for the present attainable4 ,nor have the subsequent discussions of this topic by ,max ,muller 7#ahei7 7',hist4 ,a4,s4,l4' p4 #bfd ff71 by ,westergaard 7#ahfj71 ',ueber ,buddha's ,todesjahr1' and by ',kern ,over de ,jaartelling der ,zuidel ,buddhisten' so far yielded any definite results4 ,nor are they likely to4 --------- ,to the evidence furnished by the ,puranas and ,mahavansa1 which he also finds hopelessly entangled and contradictory 7though the perfect accuracy of that ,sinhalese history is most warmly acknowledged by ,sir ,emerson ,tennant1 the historian71 he opposes the ,greek classics and their chronology4 ,with him1 it is always ,alexander's invasion and ,conquest1 and the ambassador of ,seleucus ,nicator-,megasthenes1 while even the faintest record of such conquest is conspicuously absent from ,brahmanic record2 and although in an inscription of ,piyadasi are mentioned the names of ,antiochus1 ,ptolemy1 ,magus1 ,antigonus1 and even of the great ,alexander himself1 as vassals of the king ,piyadasi1 the ,macedonian is yet called the ,conqueror of ,india4 ,in other words1 while any casual mention of ,indian affairs by a ,greek writer of no great note must be accepted unchallenged1 no record of the ,indians1 literary or monumental1 is entitled to the smallest consideration4 ,until rubbed against the touch-stone of ,hellenic infallibility it must be set down1 in the words of ,professor ,weber1 as of course mere empty boasting4 ,oh1 rare ,western sense of justice6 99 ---------- 99 ,no ,philaryan would pretend for a moment on the strength of the ,piyadasi inscriptions that ,alexander of ,macedonia1 or either of the other sovereigns mentioned1 was claimed as an actual vassal of ,chandragupta4 ,they did not even pay tribute1 but only a kind of quit-rent annually for lands ceded in the north3 as the grant-tablets could show4 ,but the inscription1 however misinterpreted1 shows most clearly that ,alexander was never the conqueror of ,india4 --------- ,occult records show differently4 ,they say--challenging proof to the contrary--that ,alexander never penetrated into ,india farther than ,taxila2 which is not even quite the modern ,attock4 ,the murmuring of the ,macedonian's troops began at the same place1 and not as given out1 on the banks of the ,hyphasis4 ,for having never gone to the ,hydaspes or ,jhelum1 he could not have been on the ,sutlej4 ,nor did ,alexander ever found satrapies or plant any ,greek colonies in the ,punjab4 ,the only colonies he left behind him that the ,brahmans ever knew of1 amounted to a few dozens of disabled soldiers1 scattered hither and thither on the frontiers2 who with their native raped wives settled around the deserts of ,karmania and ,drangaria--the then natural boundaries of ,india4 ,and unless history regards as colonists the many thousands of dead men and those who settled for ever under the hot sands of ,gedrosia1 there were no other1 save in the fertile imagination of the ,greek historians4 ,the boasted invasion of ,india was confined to the regions between ,karmania and ,attock1 east and west2 and ,beloochistan and the ,hindu ,kush1 south and north3 countries which were all ,india for the ,greek of those days4 ,his building a fleet on the ,hydaspes is a fiction2 and his victorious march through the fighting armies of ,india1 another4 ,however1 it is not with the world conqueror that we have now to deal1 but rather with the supposed accuracy and even casual veracity of his captains and countrymen1 whose hazy reminiscences on the testimony of the classical writers have now been raised to unimpeachable evidence in everything that may affect the chronology of early ,buddhism and ,india4 ,foremost among the evidence of classical writers1 that of ,flavius ,arrianus is brought forward against the ,buddhist and ,chinese chronologies4 ,no one should impeach the personal testimony of this conscientious author had he been himself an eye-witness instead of ,megasthenes4 ,but when a man comes to know that he wrote his accounts upon the now lost works of ,aristobulus and ,ptolemy2 and that the latter described their data from texts prepared by authors who had never set their eyes upon one line written by either ,megasthenes or ,nearchus himself2 and that knowing so much one is informed by ,western historians that among the works of ,arrian1 ,book ,,vii4 of the ,anabasis of ,alexander1 is the chief authority on the subject of the ,indian invasion--a book unfortunately with a gap in its twelfth chapter--one may well conceive upon what a broken reed ,western authority leans for its ,indian chronology4 ,arrian lived over #fjj years after ,buddha's death2 ,strabo1 #ejj 7#ee ,b4,c472 ,diodorus ,siculus--quite a trustworthy compiler6--about the first century2 ,plutarch over #gjj anno ,buddhae1 and ,quintus ,curtius over #a1jjj years6 ,and when1 to crown this army of witnesses against the ,buddhist annals1 the reader is informed by our ,olympian critics that the works of the last-named author--than whom no more blundering 7geographically1 chronologically1 and historically7 writer ever lived--form along with the ,greek history of ,arrian the most valuable source of information respecting the military career of ,alexander the ,great--then the only wonder is that the great conqueror was not made by his biographers to have--,leonidas-like--defended the ,thermopylean passes in the ,hindu ,kush against the invasion of the first ,vedic ,brahmins from the ,oxus4 ,withal the ,buddhist dates are either rejected or only accepted pro tempore4 ,well may the ,hindu resent the preference shown to the testimony of ,greeks--of whom some1 at least1 are better remembered in ,indian history as the importers into ,jambudvipa of every ,greek and ,roman vice known and unknown to their day--against his own national records and history4 ,greek influence was felt1 indeed1 in ,india1 in this1 and only in this1 one particular4 ,greek damsels mentioned as an article of great traffic for ,india--,persian and ,greek ,yavanis--were the fore-mothers of the modern nautch-girls1 who had till then remained pure virgins of the inner temples4 ,alliances with the ,autiochuses and the ,seleucus ,nicators bore no better fruit than the rotten apple of ,sodom4 ,pataliputra1 as prophesied by ,gautama ,buddha1 found its fate in the waters of the ,ganges1 having been twice before nearly destroyed1 again like ,sodom1 by the fire of heaven4 ,reverting to the main subject1 the contradictions between the ,ceylonese and ,chino-,tibetan chronologies actually prove nothing4 ,if the ,chinese annalists of ,saul in accepting the prophecy of our ,lord that a thousand years after ,he had reached ,nirvana1 ,his doctrines would reach the north fell into the mistake of applying it to ,china1 whereas ,tibet was meant1 the error was corrected after the eleventh century of the ,tzina era in most of the temple chronologies4 ,besides which1 it may now refer to other events relating to ,buddhism1 of which ,europe knows nothing1 ,china or ,tzina dates its present name only from the year #bif of the ,buddhist era99 7vulgar chronology having assumed it from the first ,hoang of the ,tzin dynasty73 therefore the ,tathagata could not have indicated it by this name in his well-known prophecy4 ,if misunderstood even by several of the ,buddhist commentators1 it is yet preserved in its true sense by his own immediate ,arhats4 ,the ,glorified ,one meant the country that stretches far off from the ,lake ,mansorowara2 far beyond that region of the ,himavat1 where dwelt from time immemorial the great teachers of the ,snowy ,range4 ,these were the great ,sraman-acharyas who preceded ,him1 and were ,his teachers1 their humble successors trying to this day to perpetuate their and ,his doctrines4 ,the prophecy came out true to the very day1 and it is corroborated both by the mathematical and historical chronology of ,tibet--quite as accurate as that of the ,chinese4 ,arhat ,kasyapa1 of the dynasty of ,moryas1 founded by one of the ,chandraguptas near ,ptaliputra1 left the convent of ,panch-,kukkutarama1 in consequence of a vision of our ,lord1 for missionary purpose in the year #fhc of the ,tzin era 7#dcf ,western era7 and had reached the great ,lake of ,bod-,yul in the same year4 ,it is at that period that expired the millennium prophesied4 -------- 99 ,the reference to ,chinahunah 7,chinese and ,huns7 in the ,vishma ,parva of the ,mahabharata is evidently a later interpolation1 as it does not occur in the old ,,mss4 existing in ,southern ,india4 -------- ,the ,arhat carrying with him the fifth statue of ,sakya ,muni out of the seven gold statues made after his bodily death by order of the first ,council1 planted it in the soil on that very spot where seven years later was built the first ,,gunpa 7monastery71 where the earliest ,buddhist lamas dwelt4 ,and though the conversion of the whole country did not take place before the beginning of the seventh century 7,western era71 the good law had1 nevertheless1 reached the ,north at the time prophesied1 and no earlier4 ,for1 the first of the golden statues had been plundered from ,bhikshu ,sali ,suka by the ,hiong-un robbers and melted1 during the days of ,dharmasoka1 who had sent missionaries beyond ,nepaul4 ,the second had a like fate1 at ,ghar-zha1 even before it had reached the boundaries of ,bod-,yul4 ,the third was rescued from a barbarous tribe of ,bhons by a ,chinese military chief who had pursued them into the deserts of ,schamo about #dbc ,buddhist era 7#abj ,b4,c47 ,the fourth was sunk in the third century of the ,christian era1 together with the ship that carried it from ,magadha toward the hills of ,ghangs-chhen-dzo-nga 7,chitagong74 ,the fifth arriving in the nick of time reached its destination with ,arhat ,kasyapa4 ,so did the last two499 --------- 99 ,no doubt1 since the history of these seven statues is not in the hands of the ,orientalists1 it will be treated as a groundless fable4 ,nevertheless such is their origin and history4 ,they date from the first ,synod1 that of ,rajagriha1 held in the season of war following the death of ,buddha1 i4e41 one year after his death4 ,were this ,rajagriha ,council held #ajj years after1 as maintained by some1 it could not have been presided over by ,mahakasyapa1 the friend and brother ,arhat of ,sakyamuni1 as he would have been #bjj years old4 ,the second ,council or ,synod1 that of ,vaisali1 was held #abj1 not #ajj or #aaj years as some would have it1 after the ,nirvana1 for the latter took place at a time a little over #bj years before the physical death of ,tathagata4 ,it was held at the great ,saptapana cave 7,mahavansa's ,sattapanni71 near the ,mount ,baibhar 7the ,webhara of the ,pali ,manuscripts71 that was in ,rajagriha1 the old capital of ,magadha4 ,memoirs exist1 containing the record of his daily life1 made by the nephew of king ,ajatasatru1 a favourite ,bikshu of the ,mahacharya4 ,these texts have ever been in the possession of the superiors of the first ,lamasery built by ,arhat ,kasyapa in ,bod-,yul1 most of whose ,chohans were the descendants of the dynasty of the ,moryas1 there being up to this day three of the members of this once royal family living in ,india4 ,the old text in question is a document written in ,anudruta ,magadha characters4 7,we deny that these or any other characters--whether ,devanagari1 ,pali1 or ,dravidian--ever used in ,india1 are variations of1 or derivatives from1 the ,phoenician47 ,to revert to the texts it is therein stated that the ,sattapanni cave1 then called ,sarasvati and ,bamboo-cave1 got its latter name in this wise4 ,when our ,lord first sat in it for ,dhyana1 it was a large six-chambered natural cave1 #ej to #fj feet wide by #cc deep4 ,one day1 while teaching the mendicants outside1 our ,lord compared man to a ,saptaparna 7seven-leaved7 plant1 showing them how after the loss of its first leaf every other could be easily detached1 but the seventh leaf--directly connected with the stem4 ,mendicants1 he said1 there are seven ,buddhas in every ,buddha1 and there are six ,bikshus and but one ,buddha in each mendicant4 ,what are the seven8 ,the seven branches of complete knowledge4 ,what are the six8 ,the six organs of sense4 ,what are the five8 ,the five elements of illusive being4 ,and the ,,one which is also ten8 ,he is a true ,buddha who develops in him the ten forms of holiness and subjects them all to the one--'the silent voice' 7meaning ,avolokiteswara74 ,after that1 causing the rock to be moved at ,his command1 the ,tathagata made it divide itself into a seventh additional chamber1 remarking that a rock too was septenary1 and had seven stages of development4 ,from that time it was called the ,sattapanni or the ,saptaparna cave4 ,after the first ,synod was held1 seven gold statues of the ,bhagavat were cast by order of the king1 and each of them was placed in one of the seven compartments4 ,these in after times1 when the good law had to make room to more congenial because more sensual creeds1 were taken in charge by various ,viharas and then disposed of as explained4 ,thus when ,mr4 ,turnour states on the authority of the sacred traditions of ,southern ,buddhists that the cave received its name from the ,sattapanni plant1 he states what is correct4 ,in the ,archeological ,survey of ,india1 we find that ,gen4 ,cunningham identifies this cave with one not far away from it and in the same ,baihbar range1 but which is most decidedly not our ,saptaparna cave4 ,at the same time the ,chief ,engineer of ,buddha ,gaya1 ,mr4 ,beglar1 describing the ,chetu cave1 mentioned by ,fa-hian1 thinks it is the ,saptaparna cave1 and he is right4 ,for that1 as well as the ,pippal and the other caves mentioned in our texts1 are too sacred in their associations--both having been used for centuries by generations of ,bhikkhus1 unto the very time of their leaving ,india--to have their sites so easily forgotten4 --------- ,on the other hand1 the ,southern ,buddhists1 headed by the ,ceylonese1 open their annals with the following event3-- ,they claim according to their native chronology that ,vijaya1 the son of ,sinhabahu1 the sovereign of ,lala1 a small kingdom or ,raj on the ,gandaki river in ,magadha1 was exiled by his father for acts of turbulence and immorality4 ,sent adrift on the ocean with his companions after having their heads shaved1 ,buddhist-,bhikshu fashion1 as a sign of penitence1 he was carried to the shores of ,lanka4 ,once landed1 he and his companions conquered and easily took possession of an island inhabited by uncivilized tribes1 generically called the ,yakshas4 ,this--at whatever epoch and year it may have happened--is an historical fact1 and the ,ceylonese records1 independent of ,buddhist chronology1 give it out as having taken place #chb years before ,dushtagamani 7i4e41 in #edc before the ,christian era74 ,now1 the ,buddhist ,sacred ,annals record certain words of our ,lord pronounced by ,him shortly before ,his death4 ,in ,mahavansa ,he is made to have addressed them to ,sakra1 in the midst of a great assembly of ,devatas 7,dhyan ,chohans71 and while already in the exalted unchangeable ,nirvana1 seated on the throne on which ,nirvana is achieved4 ,in our texts ,tathagata addresses them to his assembled ,arhats and ,bhikkhuts a few days before his final liberation3--,one ,vijaya1 the son of ,sinhabahu1 king of the land of ,lala1 together with #gjj attendants1 has just landed on ,lanka4 ,lord of ,dhyan ,buddhas 7,devas76 my doctrine will be established on ,lanka4 ,protect him and ,lanka6 ,this is the sentence pronounced which1 as proved later1 was a prophecy4 ,the now familiar phenomenon of clairvoyant prevision1 amply furnishing a natural explanation of the prophetic utterance without any unscientific theory of miracle1 the laugh of certain ,orientalists seems uncalled for4 ,such parallels of poetico-religious embellishments as found in ,mahavansa exist in the written records of every religion--as much in ,christianity as anywhere else4 ,an unbiased mind would first endeavour to reach the correct and very superficially hidden meaning before throwing ridicule and contemptuous discredit upon them4 ,moreover1 the ,tibetans possess a more sober record of this prophecy in the ,notes1 already alluded to1 reverentially taken down by ,king ,ajatasatru's nephew4 ,they are1 as said above1 in the possession of the ,lamas of the convent built by ,arhat ,kasyapa--the ,moryas and their descendants being of a more direct descent than the ,rajput ,gautamas1 the ,chiefs of ,nagara--the village identified with ,kapilavastu--are the best entitled of all to their possession4 ,and we know they are historical to a word4 ,for the ,esoteric ,buddhist they yet vibrate in space2 and these prophetic words1 together with the true picture of the ,sugata who pronounced them1 are present in the aura of every atom of ,his relics4 ,this1 we hasten to say1 is no proof but for the psychologist4 ,but there is other and historical evidence3 the cumulative testimony of our religious chronicles4 ,the philologist has not seen these2 but this is no proof of their non-existence4 ,the mistake of the ,southern ,buddhists lies in dating the ,nirvana of ,sanggyas ,pan-chhen from the actual day of his death1 whereas1 as above stated1 ,he had reached it over twenty years previous to his disincarnation4 ,chronologically1 the ,southerners are right1 both in dating ,his death in #edc ,b4,c41 and one of the great ,councils at #ajj years after the latter event4 ,but the ,tibetan ,chohans1 who possess all the documents relating to the last twenty-four years of ,his external and internal life--of which no philologist knows anything--can show that there is no real discrepancy between the ,tibetan and the ,ceylonese chronologies as stated by the ,western ,orientalists499 ,for the profane1 the ,exalted ,one was born in the sixty-eighth year of the ,burmese ,eeatzana era1 established by ,eeatzana 7,anjana71 ,king of ,dewaha2 for the initiated--in the forty-eighth year of that era1 on a ,friday of the waxing moon1 of ,may4 ,and it was in #efc before the ,christian chronology that ,tathagata reached his full ,nirvana1 dying1 as correctly stated by ,mahavana--in #edc1 on the very day when ,vijaya landed with his companions in ,ceylon--as prophesied by ,loka-ratha1 our ,buddha4 --------- 99 ,bishop ,bigandet1 after examining all the ,burmese authorities accessible to him1 frankly confesses that the history of ,buddha offers an almost complete blank as to what regards his doings and preachings during a period of nearly twenty-three years4 7,vol4 ,i4 p4 #bfj47 --------- ,professor ,max ,muller seems to greatly scoff at this prophecy4 ,in his chapter 7,hist4 ,s4 ,l47 upon ,buddhism 7the false religion71 the eminent scholar speaks as though he resented such an unprecedented claim4 ,we are asked to believe--he writes--that the ,ceylonese historians placed the founder of the ,vijyan dynasty of ,ceylon in the year #edc in accordance with their sacred chronology6 7i4e41 ,buddha's prophecy71 while we 7the philologists7 are not told1 however1 through what channel the ,ceylonese could have received their information as to the exact date of ,buddha's death4 ,two points may be noticed in these sarcastic phrases3 7a7 the implication of a false prophecy by our ,lord2 and 7b7 a dishonest tampering with chronological records1 reminding one of those of ,eusebius1 the famous ,bishop of ,caesarea1 who stands accused in history of perverting every ,egyptian chronological table for the sake of synchronisms4 ,with reference to charge one1 he may be asked why our ,sakyasinha's prophecies should not be as much entitled to his respect as those of his ,saviour would be to ours--were we to ever write the true history of the ,galilean ,arhat4 ,with regard to charge two1 the distinguished philologist is reminded of the glass house he and all ,christian chronologists are themselves living in4 ,their inability to vindicate the adoption of ,december #be as the actual day of the ,nativity1 and hence to determine the age and the year of their ,avatar's death-- even before their own people--is far greater than is ours to demonstrate the year of ,buddha to other nations4 ,their utter failure to establish on any other but traditional evidence the1 to them1 historically unproved1 if probable1 fact of his existence at all--ought to engender a fairer spirit4 ,when ,christian historians can1 upon undeniable historical authority1 justify biblical and ecclesiastical chronology1 then1 perchance1 they may be better equipped than at present for the congenial work of rending heathen chronologies into shreds4 ,the channel the ,ceylonese received their information through1 was two ,bikshus who had left ,magadha to follow their disgraced brethren into exile4 ,the capacity of ,siddhartha ,buddha's ,arhats for transmitting intelligence by psychic currents may1 perhaps1 be conceded without any great stretch of imagination to have been equal to1 if not greater than1 that of the prophet ,elijah1 who is credited with the power of having known from any distance all that happened in the king's bed chamber4 ,no ,orientalist has the right to reject the testimony of other people's ,scriptures1 while professing belief in the far more contradictory and entangled evidence of his own upon the self-same theory of proof4 ,if ,professor ,muller is a sceptic at heart1 then let him fearlessly declare himself2 only a sceptic who impartially acts the iconoclast has the right to assume such a tone of contempt towards any non-,christian religion4 ,and for the instruction of the impartial inquirer only1 shall it be thought worth while to collate the evidence afforded by historical--not psychological--data4 ,meanwhile1 by analyzing some objections and exposing the dangerous logic of our critic1 we may give the theosophists a few more facts connected with the subject under discussion4 ,now that we have seen ,professor ,max ,muller's opinions in general about this1 so to say1 the ,prologue to the ,buddhist ,drama with ,vijaya as the hero--what has he to say as to the details of its plot8 ,what weapon does he use to weaken this foundation-stone of a chronology upon which are built and on which depend all other ,buddhist dates8 ,what is the fulcrum for the critical lever he uses against the ,asiatic records8 ,three of his main points may be stated seriatim with answers appended4 ,he begins by premising that-- #ast4--,if the starting-point of the ,northern ,buddhist chronology turns out to be merely hypothetical1 based as it is on a prophecy of ,buddha1 it will be difficult to avoid the same conclusion with regard to the date assigned to ,buddha's death by the ,buddhists of ,ceylon and of ,burmah 7p4 #bff74 ,the ,mahavansa begins with relating three miraculous visits which ,buddha paid to ,ceylon4 ,vijaya1 the name of the founder of the first dynasty 7in ,ceylon71 means conquest1 and1 therefore1 such a person most likely never existed 7p4 #bfh74 ,this he believes invalidates the whole ,buddhist chronology4 ,to which the following pendant may be offered3-- ,william ,i41 ,king of ,england1 is commonly called the ,conqueror2 he was1 moreover1 the illegitimate son of ,robert1 ,duke of ,normandy1 surnamed le ,diable4 ,an opera1 we hear1 was invented on this subject1 and full of miraculous events1 called ,robert the ,devil1 showing its traditional character4 ,therefore shall we be also justified in saying that ,edward the ,confessor1 ,saxons and all1 up to the time of the union of the houses of ,york and ,lancaster under ,henry ,,vii4--the new historical period in ,english history--are all fabulous tradition and such a person as ,william the ,conqueror most likely never existed8 #bnd4--,in the ,chinese chronology--continues the dissecting critic --the list of the thirty-three ,buddhist patriarchs 4444 is of a doubtful character4 ,for ,western history the exact ,ceylonese chronology begins with #afa ,b4,c4 ,extending beyond that date there exists but a traditional native chronology4 ,therefore 4444 what goes before 4444 is but fabulous tradition4 ,the chronology of the ,apostles and their existence has never been proved historically4 ,the history of the ,papacy is confessedly obscure4 ,ennodius of ,pavia 7fifth century7 was the first one to address the ,roman ,bishop 7,symmochus71 who comes fifty-first in the ,apostolic succession1 as ,pope4 ,thus1 if we were to write the history of ,christianity1 and indulge in remarks upon its chronology1 we might say that since there were no antecedent ,popes1 and since the ,apostolic line began with ,symmochus 7#dih ,a4,d471 all ,christian records beginning with the ,nativity and up to the sixth century are therefore fabulous traditions1 and all ,christian chronology is purely hypothetical4 #crd4--,two discrepant dates in ,buddhist chronology are scornfully pointed out by the ,oxford ,professor4 ,if the landing of ,vijaya1 in ,lanka--he says--on the same day that ,buddha reached ,nirvana 7died7 is in fulfilment of ,buddha's prophecy1 then if ,buddha was a true prophet1 the ,ceylonese argue quite rightly that he must have died in the year of the conquest1 or #edc ,b4,c4 7p4 #bgj74 ,on the other hand1 the ,chinese have a ,buddhist chronology of their own2 and it does not agree with the ,ceylonese4 ,the lifetime of ,buddha from #ajbi to #iej rests on his own prophecy that a millennium would elapse from his death to the conversion of ,china4 ,if1 therefore1 ,buddha was a true prophet1 he must have lived about #ajjj ,b4,c4 7p4 #bff74 ,but the date does not agree with the ,ceylonese chronology--ergo1 ,buddha was a false prophet4 ,as to that other the first and most important link in the ,ceylonese as well as in the ,chinese chronology1 it is extremely weak4 4444 ,in the ,ceylonese a miraculous genealogy had to be provided for ,vijaya1 and1 a prophecy was therefore invented 7p4 #bfi74 ,on these same lines of argument it may be argued that3 ,since no genealogy of ,jesus1 exact or inexact1 is found in any of the world's records save those entitled the ,gospels of ,,ss4 ,mathew 7,i--#a-ag71 and ,luke 7iii4 #bc--ch72 and1 since these radically disagree--although this personage is the most conspicuous in ,western history1 and the nicest accuracy might have been expected in his case2 therefore1 agreeably with ,professor ,max ,muller's sarcastic logic1 if ,jesus was a true prophet1 he must have descended from ,david through ,joseph 7,matthew's ,gospel72 and if he was a true prophet1 again1 then the ,christians argue quite rightly that he must have descended from ,david through ,mary 7,luke's ,gospel74 ,furthermore1 since the two genealogies are obviously discrepant and prophecies were1 in this instance1 truly invented by the post-apostolic theologians or1 if preferred1 old prophecies of ,isaiah and other ,old ,testament prophets1 irrelevant to ,jesus1 were adapted to suit his case--as recent ,english commentators 7in ,holy ,orders71 the ,bible revisers1 now concede2 and since1 moreover-- always following the ,professor's argument1 in the cases of ,buddhist and ,brahmanical chronologies--,biblical chronology and genealogy are found to be traditional and full of absurdities 4444 every attempt to bring them into harmony having proved a failure4 7p4 #bff73 have we or have we not a certain right to retort1 that if ,gautama ,buddha is shown on these lines a false prophet1 then ,jesus must be likewise a false prophet8 ,and if ,jesus was a true prophet despite existing confusion of authorities1 why on the same lines may not ,buddha have been one8 ,discredit the ,buddhist prophecies and the ,christian ones must go along with them4 ,the utterances of the ancient pythoness now but provoke the scientific smile3 but no tripod ever mounted by the prophetess of old was so shaky as the chronological trinity of points upon which this ,orientalist stands to deliver his oracles4 ,moreover1 his arguments are double-edged1 as shown4 ,if the citadel of ,buddhism can be undermined by ,professor ,max ,muller's critical engineering1 then pari passu that of ,christianity must crumble in the same ruins4 ,or have the ,christians alone the monopoly of absurd religious inventions and the right of being jealous of any infringement of their patent rights8 ,to conclude1 we say1 that the year of ,buddha's death is correctly stated by ,mr4 ,sinnett1 ,esoteric ,buddhism having to give its chronological dates according to esoteric reckoning4 ,and this reckoning would alone1 if explained1 make away with every objection urged1 from ,professor ,max ,muller's ,sanskrit ,literature down to the latest evidence--the proofs in the ,reports of the ,archeological ,survey of ,india4 ,the ,ceylonese era1 as given in ,mahavansa1 is correct in everything1 withholding but the above given fact of ,nirvana1 the great mystery of ,samma-,sambuddha and ,abhidina remaining to this day unknown to the outsider2 and though certainly known to ,bikshu ,mahanama--,king ,dhatusena's uncle--it could not be explained in a work like the ,mahavansa4 ,moreover1 the ,singhalese chronology agrees in every particular with the ,burmese chronology4 ,independent of the religious era dating from ,buddha's death1 called ,nirvanic ,era1 there existed1 as now shown by ,bishop ,bigandet 7,life of ,guadama71 two historical eras4 ,one lasted #acfb years1 its last year corresponding with #aaef of the ,christian era3 the other1 broken in two small eras1 the last1 succeeding immediately the other1 exists to the present day4 ,the beginning of the first1 which lasted #efb years1 coincides with the year #gi ,a4,d4 and the ,indian ,saka era4 ,consequently1 the learned ,bishop1 who surely can never be suspected of partiality to ,buddhism1 accepts the year #edc of ,buddha's ,nirvana4 ,so do ,mr4 ,tumour1 ,professor ,lassen1 and others4 ,the alleged discrepancies between the fourteen various dates of ,nirvana collected by ,csoma ,corosi1 do not relate to the ,nyr-,nyang in the least4 ,they are calculations concerning the ,nirvana of the precursors1 the ,boddhisatwas and previous incarnations of ,sanggyas that the ,hungarian found in various works and wrongly applied to the last ,buddha4 ,europeans must not forget that this enthusiast acted under protest of the ,lamas during the time of his stay with them3 and that1 moreover1 he had learned more about the doctrines of the heretical ,dugpas than of the orthodox ,gelugpas4 ,the statement of this great authority 767 on ,tibetan ,buddhism1 as he is called1 to the effect that ,gautama had three wives whom he names--and then contradicts himself by showing 7,tibetan ,grammar1 p4 #afb1 see note7 that the first two wives are one and the same1 shows how little he can be regarded as an authority4 ,he had not even learned that ,gopa1 ,yasodhara and ,utpala ,varna are the three names for three mystical powers4 ,so with the discrepancies of the dates4 ,out of the sixty-four mentioned by him but two relate to ,sakya ,muni--namely1 the years #egf and #edf--;and these two err in their transcription2 for when corrected they must stand #efd and #edc4 ,as for the rest they concern the seven ku-sum1 or triple form of the ,nirvanic state and their respective duration1 and relate to doctrines of which ,orientalists know absolutely nothing4 ,consequently from the ,northern ,buddhists1 who1 as confessed by ,professor ,weber1 alone possess these 7,buddhist7 ,scriptures complete1 and have preserved more authentic information regarding the circumstances of their redaction--the ,orientalists have up to this time learned next to nothing4 ,the ,tibetans say that ,tathagata became a full ,buddha--i4e41 reached absolute ,nirvana--in #bedd of the ,kali era 7according to ,souramana71 and thus lived indeed but eighty years1 as no ,nirvanee of the seventh degree can be reckoned among the living 7i4e41 existing7 men4 ,it is no better than loose conjecture to argue that it would have entered as little into the thoughts of the ,brahmans to note the day of ,buddha's birth as the ,romans or even the ,jews 7would have7 thought of preserving the date of the birth of ,jesus before he had become the founder of a religion4 7,max ,muller's ,hist4 ,s4 ,l47 ,for1 while the ,jews had been from the first rejecting the claim of ,messiah-ship set up by the ,chelas of the ,jewish prophet and were not expecting their ,messiah at that time1 the ,brahmans 7the initiates1 at any rate7 knew of the coming of him whom they regarded as an incarnation of ,divine wisdom1 and therefore were well aware of the astrological date of his birth4 ,if1 in after times1 in their impotent rage they destroyed every accessible vestige of the birth1 life and death of ,him1 who in his boundless mercy to all creatures had revealed their carefully concealed mysteries and doctrines in order to check the ecclesiastical torrent of ever-growing superstitions1 yet there had been a time when he was met by them as an ,avatar4 ,and1 though they destroyed1 others preserved4 ,the thousand and one speculations and the torturing of exoteric texts by ,archeologist or ,paleographer will ill repay the time lost in their study4 ,the ,indian annals specify ,king ,ajatasatru as a contemporary of ,buddha1 and another ,ajatasatru helped to prepare the council #ajj years after his death4 ,these princes were sovereigns of ,magadha and have naught to do with ,ajatasatru of the ,brihad-,aranyaka and the ,kaushitaki-,upanishad1 who was a sovereign of the ,kasis2 though ,bhadrasena1 the son of ,ajatasatru cursed by ,aruni1 may have more to do with his namesake the heir of ,chandragupta than is generally known1 ,professor ,max ,miller objects to two ,asokas4 ,he rejects ,kalasoka and accepts but ,dharmasoka--in accordance with ,greek and in utter conflict with ,buddhist chronology4 ,he knows not--or perhaps prefers to ignore--that besides the two ,asokas there were several personages named ,chandragupta and ,chandramasa4 ,plutarch is set aside as conflicting with the more welcome theory1 and the evidence of ,justin alone is accepted4 ,there was ,kalasoka1 called by some ,chandramasa and by others ,chandragupta1 whose son ,nanda was succeeded by his cousin the ,chandragupta of ,seleucus1 and under whom the ,council of ,vaisali took place supported by ,king ,nanda as correctly stated by ,taranatha4 7,none of them were ,sudras1 and this is a pure invention of the ,brahmans47 ,then there was the last of the ,chandraguptas who assumed the name of ,vikrama2 he commenced the new era called the ,vikramaditya or ,samvat and began the new dynasty at ,pataliputra1 #cah 7,b4,c47--according to some ,european authorities2 after him his son ,bindusara or ,bhadrasena--also ,chandragupta1 who was followed by ,dharmasoka ,chandragupta4 ,and there were two ,piyadasis--the ,sandracottus ,chandragupta and ,asoka4 ,and if controverted1 the ,orientalists will have to account for this strange inconsistency4 ,if ,asoka was the only ,piyadasi and the builder of the monuments1 and maker of the rock-inscriptions of this name2 and if his inauguration occurred as conjectured by ,professor ,max ,muller about #bei ,b4,c41 in other words1 if he reigned sixty or seventy years later than any of the ,greek kings named on the ,piyadasian monuments1 what had he to do with their vassalage or non-vassalage1 or how was he concerned with them at all8 ,their dealings had been with his grandfather some seventy years earlier--if he became a ,buddhist only after ten years occupancy of the throne4 ,and finally1 three well-known ,bhadrasenas can be proved1 whose names spelt loosely and phonetically1 according to each writer's dialect and nationality1 now yield a variety of names1 from ,bindusara1 ,bimbisara1 and ,vindusara1 down to ,bhadrasena and ,bhadrasara1 as he is called in the ,vayu ,purana4 ,these are all synonymous4 ,however easy1 at first sight1 it may seem to be to brush out of history a real personage1 it becomes more difficult to prove the non-existence of ,kalasoka by calling him false1 while the second ,asoka is termed the real1 in the face of the evidence of the ,puranas1 written by the bitterest enemies of the ,buddhists1 the ,brahmans of the period4 ,the ,vayu and ,matsya ,puranas mention both in their lists of their reigning sovereigns of the ,nanda and the ,morya dynasties4 ,and1 though they connect ,chandragupta with a ,sudra ,nanda1 they do not deny existence to ,kalasoka1 for the sake of invalidating ,buddhist chronology4 ,however falsified the now extant texts of both the ,vaya and ,matsya ,puranas1 even accepted as they at present stand in their true meaning1 which ,professor ,max ,muller 7notwithstanding his confidence7 fails to seize1 they are not at variance with ,buddhist chronology before ,chandragupta4 ,not1 at any rate1 when the real ,chandragupta instead of the false ,sandrocottus of the ,greeks is recognized and introduced4 ,quite independently of the ,buddhist version1 there exists the historical fact recorded in the ,brahmanical as well as in the ,burmese and ,tibetan versions1 that in the year #fc of ,buddha1 ,susinago of ,benares was chosen king by the people of ,pataliputra1 who made away with ,ajatasatru's dynasty4 ,susinago removed the capital of ,magadha from ,rajagriha to ,vaisali1 while his successor ,kalasoka removed it in his turn to ,pataliputra4 ,it was during the reign of the latter that the prophecy of ,buddha concerning ,patalibat or ,pataliputra--a small village during ,his time--was realized4 7,see ,mahaparinibbana ,sutta74 ,it will be easy enough1 when the time comes1 to answer all denying ,orientalists and face them with proof and document in hand4 ,they speak of the extravagant1 wild exaggerations of the ,buddhists and ,brahmans4 ,the latter answer3 ,the wildest theorists of all are they who1 to evade a self-evident fact1 assume moral1 anti-national impossibilities1 entirely opposed to the most conspicuous traits of the ,brahmanical ,indian character--namely1 borrowing from1 or imitating in anything1 other nations4 ,from their comments on ,rig ,veda1 down to the annals of ,ceylon1 from ,panini to ,matouan-lin1 every page of their learned scholia appears1 to one acquainted with the subject1 like a monstrous jumble of unwarranted and insane speculations4 ,therefore1 notwithstanding ,greek chronology and ,chandragupta--whose date is represented as 'the sheet-anchor of ,indian chronology' that 'nothing will ever shake'--it is to be feared that as regards ,india1 the chronological ship of the ,sanskritists has already broken from her moorings and gone adrift with all her precious freight of conjectures and hypotheses4 ,she is drifting into danger4 ,we are at the end of a cycle--geological and other--and at the beginning of another4 ,cataclysm is to follow cataclysm4 ,the pent-up forces are bursting out in many quarters2 and not only will men be swallowed up or slain by thousands1 'new' land appear and 'old' subside1 volcanic eruptions and tidal waves appal2 but secrets of an unsuspected past will be uncovered to the dismay of ,western theorists and the humiliation of an imperious science4 ,this drifting ship1 if watched1 may be seen to ground upon the upheaved vestiges of ancient civilizations1 and fall to pieces4 ,we are not emulous of the prophet's honours3 but still1 let this stand as a prophecy4 ,inscriptions ,discovered by ,general ,a4 ,cunningham ,we have carefully examined the new inscription discovered by ,general ,a4 ,cunningham on the strength of which the date assigned to ,buddha's death by ,buddhist writers has been declared to be incorrect2 and we are of opinion that the said inscription confirms the truth of the ,buddhist traditions instead of proving them to be erroneous4 ,the above-mentioned archeologist writes as follows regarding the inscription under consideration in the first volume of his reports3--,the most interesting inscription 7at ,gaya7 is a long and perfect one dated in the era of the ,nirvana or death of ,buddha4 ,i read the date as follows3--,bhagavati ,parinirvritte ,samvat #ahai ,karttike badi ,i ,budhi--that is1 'in the year #ahai of the ,emancipation of ,bhagavata on ,wednesday1 the first day of the waning moon of ,kartik4' ,if the era here used is the same as that of the ,buddhists of ,ceylon and ,burmah1 which began in #edc ,b4,c41 the date of this inscription will be #ahai--edc ,a4,d4 #abgf4 ,the style of the letters is in keeping with this date1 but is quite incompatible with that derivable from the ,chinese date of the era4 ,the ,chinese place the death of ,buddha upwards of #ajjj years before ,christ1 so that according to them the date of this inscription would be about ,a4,d4 #hjj1 a period much too early for the style of character used in the inscription4 ,but as the day of the week is here fortunately added1 the date can be verified by calculation4 ,according to my calculation1 the date of the inscription corresponds with ,wednesday1 the #agth of ,september1 ,,ad4 #acdb4 ,this would place the ,nirvana of ,buddha in #dgg ,b4,c41 which is the very year that was first proposed by myself as the most probable date of that event4 ,this corrected date has since been adopted by ,professor ,max ,muller4 ,the reasons assigned by some ,orientalists for considering this so-called corrected date as the real date of ,buddha's death have already been noticed and criticized in the preceding paper2 and now we have only to consider whether the inscription in question disproves the old date4 ,major-,general ,cunningham evidently seems to take it for granted1 as far as his present calculation is concerned1 that the number of days in a year is counted in the ,magadha country and by ,buddhist writers in general on the same basis on which the number of days in a current ,english year is counted2 and this wrong assumption has vitiated his calculation and led him to a wrong conclusion4 ,three different methods of calculation were in use in ,india at the time when ,buddha lived1 and they are still in use in different parts of the country4 ,these methods are known as ,souramanam1 ,chandrarmanam and ,barhaspatyamanam4 ,according to the ,hindu works on astronomy a ,souramanam year consists of #cfe days #ae ghadias and #ca vighadias2 a ,chandramanam year has #cfj days1 and a year on the basis of ,barhaspatyamanam has #cfa days and #aa ghadias nearly4 ,such being the case1 ,general ,cunningham ought to have taken the trouble of ascertaining before he made his calculation the particular manam 7measure7 employed by the writers of ,magadha and ,ceylon in giving the date of ,buddha's death and the manam used in calculating the years of the ,buddhist era mentioned in the inscription above quoted4 ,instead of placing himself in the position of the writer of the said inscription and making the required calculation from that standpoint1 he made the calculation on the same basis of which an ,english gentleman of the nineteenth century would calculate time according to his own calendar4 ,if the calculation were correctly made1 it would have shown him that the inscription in question is perfectly consistent with the statement that ,buddha died in the year #edc ,b4,c4 according to ,barhaspatyamanam 7the only manam used in ,magadha and by ,pali writers in general74 ,the correctness of this assertion will be clearly seen on examining the following calculation4 #edc years according to ,barhaspatyamanam are equivalent to #ecf years and #h months 7nearly7 according to ,souramanam4 ,similarly1 #ahai years according to the former manam are equivalent to #agih years 7nearly7 according to the latter manarn4 ,as the ,christian era commenced on the #cajbnd year of ,kaliyuga 7according to ,souramanam71 ,buddha died in the year #befe of ,kaliyuga and the inscription was written in the year #dcfb of ,kaliyuga 7according to ,souramanam74 ,and now the question is whether according to the ,hindu almanack1 the first day of the waning moon of ,kartik coincided with a ,wednesday4 ,according to ,suryasiddhanta the number of days from the beginning of ,kaliyuga up to midnight on the #aeth day of increasing moon of ,aswina is #a1eic1jgb1 the number of ,adhikamasansas 7extra months7 during the interval being #afjh and the number of ,kshayathithis #be1cbc4 ,if we divide this number by #g the remainder would be #e4 ,as ,kaliyuga commenced with ,friday1 the period of time above defined closed with ,tuesday1 as according to ,suryasiddhanta a weekday is counted from midnight to midnight4 ,it is to be noticed that in places where ,barhaspatyamanam is in use ,krishnapaksham 7or the fortnight of waning moon7 commences first and is followed by ,suklapaksham 7period of waxing moon74 ,consequently1 the next day after the #aeth day of the waxing moon of ,aswina will be the #ast day of the waning moon of ,kartika to those who are guided by the ,barhaspatyamanam calendar4 ,and therefore the latter date1 which is the date mentioned in the inscription1 was ,wednesday in the year #dcfb of ,kaliyuga4 ,the geocentric longitude of the sun at the time of his meridian passage on the said date being #agd deg4 #bj' #af and the moon's longitude being #gj deg #ea' #db 7according to ,suryasiddhanta7 it can be easily seen that at ,gaya there was ,padyamitithi 7first day of waning moon7 for nearly #g ghadias and #ej vighadias from the time of sunrise4 ,it is clear from the foregoing calculation that ,kartik ,i ,badi coincided with ,wednesday in the year #dcfb of ,kaliyuga or the year #abfa of the ,christian era1 and that from the standpoint of the person who wrote the inscription the said year was the #ahaith year of the ,buddhist era4 ,and consequently this new inscription confirms the correctness of the date assigned to ,buddha's death by ,buddhist writers4 ,it would have been better if ,major-,general ,cunningham had carefully examined the basis of his calculation before proclaiming to the world at large that the ,buddhist accounts were untrustworthy4 ,discrimination of ,spirit and ,not ,spirit 7,translated from the original ,sanskrit of ,sankara ,acharya47 by ,mohini ,m4 ,chatterji ,an apology is scarcely needed for undertaking a translation of ,sankara ,acharya's celebrated ,synopsis of ,vedantism entitled ,atmanatma ,vivekah4 ,this little treatise1 within a small compass1 fully sets forth the scope and purpose of the ,vedanta philosophy4 ,it has been a matter of no little wonder1 considering the authorship of this pamphlet and its own intrinsic merits1 that a translation of it has not already been executed by some competent scholar4 ,the present translation1 though pretending to no scholarship1 is dutifully literal1 excepting1 however1 the omission of a few lines relating to the etymology of the words ,sarira and ,deha1 and one or two other things which1 though interesting in themselves1 have no direct bearing on the main subject of treatment4 --,t4,r4 ,nothing is ,spirit which can be the object of consciousness4 ,to one possessed of right discrimination1 the ,spirit is the subject of knowledge4 ,this right discrimination of ,spirit and ,not-spirit is set forth in millions of treatises4 ,this discrimination of ,spirit and ,not-spirit is given below3 ,q4 ,whence comes pain to the ,spirit8 ,a4 ,by reason of its taking a body4 ,it is said in the ,sruti3 99 ,not in this 7state of existence7 is there cessation of pleasure and pain of a living thing possessed of a body4 ,q4 ,by what is produced this taking of a body8 ,a4 ,by ,karma49999 ,q4 ,why does it become so by ,karma8 ,a4 ,by desire and the rest 7i4e41 the passions74 ,q4 ,by what are desire and the rest produced8 ,a4 ,by egotism4 ,q4 ,by what again is egotism produced8 ,a4 ,by want of right discrimination4 ,q4 ,by what is this want of right discrimination produced8 ,a4 ,by ignorance4 ,q4 ,is ignorance produced by anything8 ,a4 ,no1 by nothing4 ,ignorance is without beginning and ineffable by reason of its being the intermingling of the real 7sat7 and the unreal 7asat47999999 ,it is a something embodying the three qualities99999999 and is said to be opposed to ,wisdom1 inasmuch as it produces the concept ,i am ignorant4 ,the ,sruti says1 7,ignorance7 is the power of the ,deity and is enshrouded by its own qualities4 9999999999 ---------- 99 ,chandogya ,upanishad4 9999 ,this word it is impossible to translate4 ,it means the doing of a thing for the attainment of an object of worldly desire4 999999 ,this word1 as used in ,vedantic works1 is generally misunderstood4 ,it does not mean the negation of everything2 it means that which does not exhibit the truth1 the illusory4 99999999 ,satva 7goodness71 ,rajas 7foulness71 and ,tamas 7darkness7 are the three qualities2 pleasure1 pain and indifference considered as objective principles4 9999999999 ,chandogya ,upanishad4 -------- ,the origin of pain can thus be traced to ignorance and it will not cease until ignorance is entirely dispelled1 which will be only when the identity of the ,self with ,brahma 7the ,universal ,spirit7 is fully realized499 ,anticipating the contention that the eternal acts 7i4e41 those enjoined by the ,vedas7 are proper1 and would therefore lead to the destruction of ignorance1 it is said that ignorance cannot be dispelled by ,karma 7religious exercises74 -------- 99 ,this portion has been condensed from the original4 -------- ,q4 ,why is it so8 ,a4 ,by reason of the absence of logical opposition between ignorance and act4 ,therefore it is clear that ,ignorance can only be removed by ,wisdom4 ,q4 ,how can this ,wisdom be acquired8 ,a4 ,by discussion--by discussing the nature of ,spirit and ,non-,spirit4 ,q4 ,who are worthy of engaging in such discussion8 ,a4 ,those who have acquired the four qualifications4 ,q4 ,what are the four qualifications8 ,a4 7#a7 ,true discrimination of permanent and impermanent things4 7#b7 ,indifference to the enjoyment of the fruits of one's actions both here and hereafter4 7#c7 ,possession of ,sama and the other five qualities4 7#d7 ,an intense desire of becoming liberated 7from conditional existence74 7#a47 ,q4 ,what is the right discrimination of permanent and impermanent things8 ,a4 ,certainty as to the ,material ,universe being false and illusive1 and ,brahman being the only reality4 7#b47 ,indifference to the enjoyment of the fruits of one's actions in this world is to have the same amount of disinclination for the enjoyment of worldly objects of desire 7such as garland of flowers1 sandal-wood paste1 women and the like7 beyond those absolutely necessary for the preservation of life1 as one has for vomited food1 c4 ,the same amount of disinclination to enjoyment in the society of ,rambha1 ,urvasi1 and other celestial nymphs in the higher spheres of life beginning with ,svarga loka and ending with ,brahma loka499 -------- 99 ,these include the whole range of ,rupa loka 7the world of forms7 in ,buddhistic esoteric philosophy4 -------- 7#c7 ,q4 ,what are the six qualities beginning with ,sama8 ,a4 ,sama1 dama1 uparati1 titiksha1 samadhana and sraddha4 ,sama is the repression of the inward sense called ,manas--i4e41 not allowing it to engage in any other thing but ,sravana 7listening to what the sages say about the ,spirit71 ,manana 7reflecting on it71 ,nididhyasana 7meditating on the same74 ,dama is the repression of the external senses4 ,q4 ,what are the external senses8 ,a4 ,the five organs of perception and the five bodily organs for the performance of external acts4 ,restraining these from all other things but sravana and the rest1 is dama4 ,uparati is the abstaining on principle from engaging in any of the acts and ceremonies enjoined by the shastras4 ,otherwise1 it is the state of the mind which is always engaged in ,sravana and the rest1 without ever diverging from them4 ,titiksha 7literally the desire to leave7 is the bearing with indifference all opposites 7such as pleasure and pain1 heat and cold1 c47 ,otherwise1 it is the showing of forbearance to a person one is capable of punishing4 ,whenever a mind1 engaged in ,sravana and the rest1 wanders to any worldly object of desire1 and1 finding it worthless1 returns to the performance of the three exercises--such returning is called samadhana4 ,sraddha is an intensely strong faith in the utterances of one's guru and of the ,vedanta philosophy4 7#d47 ,an intense desire for liberation is called mumukshatva4 ,those who possess these four qualifications1 are worthy of engaging in discussions as to the nature of ,spirit and ,not-,spirit1 and1 like ,brahmacharins1 they have no other duty 7but such discussion74 ,it is not1 however1 at all improper for householders to engage in such discussions2 but1 on the contrary1 such a course is highly meritorious4 ,for it is said--,whoever1 with due reverence1 engages in the discussion of subjects treated of in ,vedanta philosophy and does proper service to his guru1 reaps happy fruits4 ,discussion as to the nature of ,spirit and ,not-,spirit is therefore a duty4 ,q4 ,what is ,spirit8 ,a4 ,it is that principle which enters into the composition of man and is not included in the three bodies1 and which is distinct from the five sheaths 7,koshas71 being sat 7existence7199 chit 7consciousness719999 and ananda 7bliss71999999 and witness of the three states4 -------- 99 ,this stands for ,purusha4 9999 ,this stands for ,prakriti1 cosmic matter1 irrespective of the state we perceive it to be in4 999999 ,bliss is ,maya or ,sakti1 it is the creative energy producing changes of state in ,prakriti4 ,says the ,sruti 7,taittiriya ,upanishad73 ,verily from ,bliss are all these bhutas 7elements7 born1 and being born by it they live1 and they return and enter into ,bliss4 -------- ,q4 ,what are the three bodies8 ,a4 ,the gross 7sthula71 the subtile 7sukshma71 and the causal 7karana74 ,q4 ,what is the gross body8 ,a4 ,that which is the effect of the ,mahabhutas 7primordial subtile elements7 differentiated into the five gross ones 7,panchikrita7199 is born of ,karma and subject to the six changes beginning with birth49999 ,it is said3-- ,what is produced by the 7subtile7 elements differentiated into the five gross ones1 is acquired by ,karma1 and is the measure of pleasure and pain1 is called the body 7sarira7 par excellence4 ,q4 ,what is the subtile body8 ,a4 ,it is the effect of the elements not differentiated into five and having seventeen characteristic marks 7lingas74 ,q4 ,what are the seventeen8 ,a4 ,the five channels of knowledge 7,jnanendriyas71 the five organs of action1 the five vital airs1 beginning with prana1 and manas and buddhi4 ------- 99 ,the five subtile elements thus produce the gross ones--each of the five is divided into eight parts1 four of those parts and one part of each of the others enter into combination1 and the result is the gross element corresponding with the subtile element1 whose parts predominate in the composition4 9999 ,these six changes are--birth1 death1 existence in time1 growth1 decay1 and undergoing change of substance 7parinam7 as milk is changed into whey4 -------- ,q4 ,what are the ,jnandendriyas8 ,a4 ,spiritual ,ear1 skin1 eye1 tongue and nose4 ,q4 ,what is the ear8 ,a4 ,that channel of knowledge which transcends the physical ear1 is limited by the auricular orifice1 on which the akas depends1 and which is capable of taking cognisance of sound4 ,q4 ,the skin8 ,a4 ,that which transcends the skin1 on which the skin depends1 and which extends from head to foot1 and has the power of perceiving heat and cold4 ,q4 ,the eye8 ,a4 ,that which transcends the ocular orb1 on which the orb depends1 which is situated to the front of the black iris and has the power of cognising forms4 ,q4 ,the tongue8 ,a4 ,that which transcends the tongue1 and can perceive taste4 ,q4 ,the nose8 ,a4 ,that which transcends the nose1 and has the power of smelling4 ,q4 ,what are the organs of action8 ,a4 ,the organ of speech 7vach71 hands1 feet1 c4 ,q4 ,what is vach8 ,a4 ,that which transcends speech1 in which speech resides1 and which is located in eight different centres99 and has the power of speech4 -------- 99 ,the secret commentaries say seven2 for it does not separate the lips into the upper and nether lips4 ,and1 it adds to the seven centres the seven passages in the head connected with1 and affected by1 vach-- namely1 the mouth1 the two eyes1 the two nostrils and the two ears4 ,the left ear1 eye and nostril being the messengers of the right side of the head2 the right ear1 eye and nostril1 those of the left side4 ,now this is purely scientific4 ,the latest discoveries and conclusions of modern physiology have shown that the power or the faculty of human speech is located in the third frontal cavity of the left hemisphere of the brain4 ,on the other hand1 it is a well known fact that the nerve tissues inter-cross each other 7decussate7 in the brain in such a way that the motions of our left extremities are governed by the right hemisphere1 while the motions of our right limbs are subject to the left hemisphere of the brain4 --------- ,q4 ,what are the eight centres8 ,a4 ,breast1 throat1 head1 upper and nether lips1 palate ligature 7fraenum71 binding the tongue to the lower jaw and tongue4 ,q4 ,what is the organ of the hands8 ,a4 ,that which transcends the hands1 on which the palms depend1 and which has the power of giving and taking4444 7,the other organs are similarly described47 ,q4 ,what is the antahkarana8 99 ,a4 ,manas1 buddhi1 chitta and ahankara form it4 ,the seat of the manas is the root of the throat1 of buddhi the face1 of chitta the umbilicus1 and of ahankara the breast4 ,the functions of these four components of antahkarana are respectively doubt1 certainty1 retention and egotism4 ,q4 ,how are the five vital airs19999 beginning with prana1 named8 -------- 99 ,a flood of light will be thrown on the text by the note of a learned occultist1 who says3--,antahkarana is the path of communication between soul and body1 entirely disconnected with the former1 existing with1 belonging to1 and dying with the body4 ,this path is well traced in the text4 9999 ,these vitals airs and sub-airs are forces which harmonize the interior man with his surroundings1 by adjusting the relations of the body to external objects4 ,they are the five allotropic modifications of life4 ------- ,a4 ,prana1 apana1 vyana1 udana and samana4 ,their locations are said to be3--of prana the breast1 of apana the fundamentum1 of samana the umbilicus1 of udana the throat1 and vyana is spread all over the body4 ,functions of these are3--prana goes out1 apana descends1 udana ascends1 samana reduces the food eaten into an undistinguishable state1 and vyana circulates all over the body4 ,of these five vital airs there are five sub-airs--namely1 naga1 kurma1 krikara1 devadatta and dhananjaya4 ,functions of these are3--eructations produced by naga1 kurma opens the eye1 dhananjaya assimilates food1 devadatta causes yawning1 and krikara produces appetite--this is said by those versed in ,yoga4 ,the presiding powers 7or macrocosmic analogues7 of the five channels of knowledge and the others are dik 7akas7 and the rest4 ,dik1 vata 7air71 arka 7sun71 pracheta 7water71 ,aswini1 bahni 7fire71 ,indra1 ,upendra1 ,mrityu 7death71 ,chandra 7moon71 ,brahma1 ,rudra1 and ,kshetrajnesvara199 which is the great ,creator and cause of everything4 ,these are the presiding powers of ear1 and the others in the order in which they occur4 ,all these taken together form the linga sarira49999 ,it is also said in the ,shastras3-- ,the five vital airs1 manas1 buddhi1 and the ten organs form the subtile body1 which arises from the subtile elements1 undifferentiated into the five gross ones1 and which is the means of the perception of pleasure and pain4 ,q4 ,what is the ,karana sarira8 --------- 99 ,the principle of intellect 7,buddhi7 in the macrocosm4 ,for further explanation of this term1 see ,sankara's commentaries on the ,brahma ,sutras4 9999 ,linga means that which conveys meaning1 characteristic mark4 -------- ,a4 ,it is ignorance of different monads 7avidya71 which is the cause of the other two bodies1 and which is without beginning in the present manvantara199 ineffable1 reflection of ,brahma and productive of the concept of non-identity between self and ,brahma4 ,it is also said3-- ,without a beginning1 ineffable avidya is called the upadhi 7vehicle7-- karana 7cause74 ,know the ,spirit to be truly different from the three upadhis--i4e41 bodies4 ,q4 ,what is ,not-,spirit8 ,a4 ,it is the three bodies described above1 which are impermanent1 inanimate 7jada71 essentially painful and subject to congregation and segregation4 -------- 99 ,it must not be supposed that avidya is here confounded with prakriti4 ,what is meant by avidya being without beginning1 is that it forms no link in the ,karmic chain leading to succession of births and deaths1 it is evolved by a law embodied in prakriti itself4 ,avidya is ignorance or matter as related to distinct monads1 whereas the ignorance mentioned before is cosmic ignorance1 or maya-,avidya begins and ends with this manvantara4 ,maya is eternal4 ,the ,vedanta philosophy of the school of ,sankara regards the universe as consisting of one substance1 ,brahman 7the one ego1 the highest abstraction of subjectivity from our standpoint71 having an infinity of attributes1 or modes of manifestation from which it is only logically separable4 ,these attributes or modes in their collectivity form ,prakriti 7the abstract objectivity74 ,it is evident that ,brahman per se does not admit of any description other than ,i am that ,i am4 ,whereas ,prakriti is composed of an infinite number of differentiations of itself4 ,in the universe1 therefore1 the only principle which is indifferentiable is this ,i am that ,i am and the manifold modes of manifestation can only exist in reference to it4 ,the eternal ignorance consists in this1 that as there is but one substantive1 but numberless adjectives1 each adjective is capable of designating the ,all4 ,viewed in time the most permanent object or mood of the great knower at any moment represents the knower1 and in a sense binds it with limitations4 ,in fact1 time itself is one of these infinite moods1 and so is space4 ,the only progress in ,nature is the realization of moods unrealized before4 -------- ,q4 ,what is impermanent8 ,a4 ,that which does not exist in one and the same state in the three divisions of time namely1 present1 past and future4 ,q4 ,what is inanimate 7jada78 ,a4 ,that which cannot distinguish between the objects of its own cognition and the objects of the cognition of others4444 ,q4 ,what are the three states 7mentioned above as those of which the ,spirit is witness78 ,a4 ,wakefulness 7jagrata71 dreaming 7svapna71 and the state of dreamless slumber 7sushupti74 ,q4 ,what is the state of wakefulness8 ,a4 ,that in which objects are known through the avenue of physical senses4 ,q4 ,of dreaming8 ,a4 ,that in which objects are perceived by reason of desires resulting from impressions produced during wakefulness4 ,q4 ,what is the state of dreamless slumber8 ,a4 ,that in which there is an utter absence of the perception of objects4 ,the indwelling of the notion of ,i in the gross body during wakefulness is visva 7world of objects7199 in subtile body during dreaming is taijas 7magnetic fire71 and in the causal body during dreamless slumber is prajna 7,one ,life74 ,q4 ,what are the five sheaths8 ,a4 ,annamaya1 ,pranamaya1 ,manomaya1 ,vjjnanamaya1 and ,anandamaya4 ,annamaya is related to anna9999 7food71 ,pranamaya of prana 7life71 ,manomaya of manas1 ,vijnanamaya of vijnana 7finite perception71 ,anandamaya of ananda 7illusive bliss74 ------- 99 ,that is to say1 by mistaking the gross body for self1 the consciousness of external objects is produced4 9999 ,this word also means the earth in ,sanskrit4 ------- ,q4 ,what is the ,annamaya sheath8 ,a4 ,the gross body4 ,q4 ,why8 ,a4 ,the food eaten by father and mother is transformed into semen and blood1 the combination of which is transformed into the shape of a body4 ,it wraps up like a sheath and hence so called4 ,it is the transformation of food and wraps up the spirit like a sheath--it shows the spirit which is infinite as finite1 which is without the six changes1 beginning with birth as subject to those changes1 which is without the three kinds of pain99 as liable to them4 ,it conceals the spirit as the sheath conceals the sword1 the husk the grain1 or the womb the fetus4 ,q4 ,what is the next sheath8 ,a4 ,the combination of the five organs of action1 and the five vital airs form the ,pranamaya sheath4 ,by the manifestation of prana1 the spirit which is speechless appears as the speaker1 which is never the giver as the giver1 which never moves as in motion1 which is devoid of hunger and thirst as hungry and thirsty4 ,q4 ,what is the third sheath8 ,a4 ,it is the five 7subtile7 organs of sense 7jnanendriya7 and manas4 -------- 99 ,the three kinds of pain are3-- ,adhibhautika1 i4e41 from external objects1 e4g41 from thieves1 wild animals1 c4 ,adhidaivika1 i4e41 from elements1 e4g41 thunder1 c4 ,adhyatmika1 i4e41 from within one's self1 e4g41 head-ache1 c4 ,see ,sankhya ,karika1 ,gaudapada's commentary on the opening ,sloka4 ------- ,by the manifestation of this sheath 7vikara7 the spirit which is devoid of doubt appears as doubting1 devoid of grief and delusion as grieved and deluded1 devoid of sight as seeing4 ,q4 ,what is the ,vijnanamaya sheath8 ,a4 ,the essence of the five organs of sense form this sheath in combination with buddhi4 ,q4 ,why is this sheath called the jiva 7personal ego71 which by reason of its thinking itself the actor1 enjoyer1 c41 goes to the other loka and comes back to this899 ,a4 ,it wraps up and shows the spirit which never acts as the actor1 which never cognises as conscious1 which has no concept of certainty as being certain1 which is never evil or inanimate as being both4 ,q4 ,what is the ,anandamaya sheath8 ,a4 ,it is the antahkarana1 wherein ignorance predominates1 and which produces gratification1 enjoyment1 c4 ,it wraps up and shows the spirit1 which is void of desire1 enjoyment and fruition1 as having them1 which has no conditioned happiness as being possessed thereof4 ,q4 ,why is the spirit said to be different from the three bodies8 ,a4 ,that which is truth cannot be untruth1 knowledge ignorance1 bliss misery1 or vice versa4 ,q4 ,why is it called the witness of the three states8 ,a4 ,being the master of the three states1 it is the knowledge of the three states1 as existing in the present1 past and future49999 ------- 99 ,that is to say1 flits from birth to birth4 9999 ,it is the stable basis upon which the three states arise and disappear4 ------- ,q4 ,how is the spirit different from the five sheaths8 ,a4 ,this is being illustrated by an example3--,this is my cow1 this is my calf1 this is my son or daughter1 this is my wife1 this is my anandamaya sheath1 and so on99--the spirit can never be connected with these concepts2 it is different from and witness of them all4 ,for it is said in the ,upanishad--,the spirit is naught of sound1 of touch1 of form1 or colour1 of taste1 or of smell2 it is everlasting1 having no beginning or end1 superior in order of subjectivity to ,prakriti 7differentiated matter72 whoever correctly understands it as such attains mukti 7liberation74 ,the spirit has also been called 7above7 sat1 chit1 and ananda4 ,q4 ,what is meant by its being sat 7presence78 ,a4 ,existing unchanged in the three divisions of time and uninfluenced by anything else4 ,q4 ,what by being chit 7consciousness78 ,a4 ,manifesting itself without depending upon anything else1 and containing the germ of everything in itself4 ,q4 ,what by being ananda 7bliss78 ,a4 ,the ne plus ultra of bliss4 ,whoever knows without doubt and apprehension of its being otherwise1 the self as being one with ,brahma or spirit1 which is eternal1 non-dual and unconditioned1 attains moksha 7liberation from conditioned existence47 -------- 99 ,the heresy of individuality1 or attavada of the ,buddhists4 -------- ,was ,writing ,known ,before ,panini8 ,i am entrusted with the task of putting together some facts which would support the view that the art of writing was known in ,india before the time of our grammarian--the ,siva-taught ,panini4 ,professor ,max ,muller has maintained the contrary opinion ever since #ahef1 and has the approbation of other illustrious ,western scholars4 ,stated briefly1 their position is that the entire absence of any mention of writing1 reading1 paper1 or pen in the ,vedas1 or during the whole of the ,brahmana period1 and the almost1 if not quite1 as complete silence as to them throughout the ,sutra period1 lead us to suppose that even then the ,sutra period1 though the art of writing began to be known1 the whole literature of ,india was preserved by oral tradition only4 7,hist4 ,sans4 ,lit41 p4 #eja47 ,to support this theory1 he expands the mnemonic faculty of our respected ancestors to such a phenomenal degree that1 like the bull's hide of ,queen ,dido1 it is made to embrace the whole ground needed for the proposed city of refuge1 to which discomfited savants may flee when hard pressed4 ,considering that ,professor ,weber--a gentleman who1 we observe1 likes to distil the essence of ,aryan aeons down into an attar of no greater volume than the capacity of the ,biblical period--admits that ,europe now possesses #aj1jjj of our ,sanscrit texts2 and considering that we have1 or have had1 many other tens of thousands which the parsimony of ,karma has hitherto withheld from the museums and libraries of ,europe1 what a memory must have been theirs6 ,under correction1 ,i venture to assume that ,panini1 who was ranked among the ,rishis1 was the greatest known grammarian in ,india1 than whom there is no higher in history1 whether ancient or modern2 further1 that contemporary scholars agree that the ,sanskrit is the most perfect of languages4 ,therefore1 when ,prof4 ,muller affirms that there is not a single word in ,panini's terminology which presupposes the existence of writing 7op4 cit4 #ejg71 we become a little shaken in our loyal deference to ,western opinion4 ,for it is very hard to conceive how one so pre-eminently great as ,panini should have been incapable of inventing characters to preserve his grammatical system--supposing that none had previously existed--if his genius was equal to the invention of classical ,sanskrit4 ,the mention of the word ,grantha1 the equivalent for a written or bound book in the later literature of ,india--though applied by ,panini 7in ,b4 ,i4 #c1 #ge7 to the ,veda2 7in ,b4 iv4 #c1 #hg7 to any work2 7in ,b4 iv4 #c1 #aaf7 to the work of any individual author2 and 7in ,b4 iv4 #c1 #gi7 to any work that is studied1 do not stagger ,prof4 ,muller at all4 ,grantha he takes to mean simply a composition1 and this may be handed down to posterity by oral communication4 ,hence1 we must believe that ,panini was illiterate2 but yet composed the most elaborate and scientific system of grammar ever known2 recorded its #c1iif rules only upon the molecular quicksands of his cerebral cineritious matter1 and handed them over to his disciples by atmospheric vibration1 i4e41 oral teaching6 ,of course1 nothing could be clearer2 it commends itself to the simplest intellect as a thing most probable6 ,and in the presence of such a perfect hypothesis1 it seems a pity that its author should 7op4 cit4 #ebc7 confess that it is possible that he may have overlooked some words in the ,brahmanas and ,sutras1 which would prove the existence of written books previous to ,panini4 ,that looks like the military strategy of our old warriors1 who delivered their attack boldly1 but nevertheless tried to keep their rear open for retreat if compelled4 ,the precaution was necessary3 written books did exist many centuries before the age in which this radiant sun of ,aryan thought rose to shine upon his age4 ,they existed1 but the ,orientalist may search in vain for the proof amid the exoteric words in our earlier literature4 ,as the ,egyptian hierophants had their private code of hieratic symbols1 and even the founder of ,christianity spoke to the vulgar in parables whose mystical meaning was known only to the chosen few1 so the ,brahmans had from the first 7and still have7 a mystical terminology couched behind ordinary expressions1 arranged in certain sequences and mutual relations1 which none but the initiate would observe4 ,that few living ,brahmans possess this key but proves that1 as in other archaic religious and philosophical systems1 the soul of ,hinduism has fled 7to its primal imparters--the initiates71 and only the decrepit body remains with a spiritually degenerate posterity499 ------- 99 ,not only are the ,upanishads a secret doctrine1 but in dozens of other works as1 for instance1 in the ,aitareya ,aranyaka1 it is plainly expressed that they contain secret doctrines1 that are not to be imparted to any one but a ,dwija 7twice-born1 initiated7 ,brahman4 -------- ,i fully perceive the difficulty of satisfying ,european philologists of a fact which1 upon my own statement1 they are debarred from verifying4 ,we know that from the present mental condition of our ,brahmans4 ,but ,i hope to be able to group together a few admitted circumstances which will aid1 at least1 to show the ,western theory untenable1 if not to make a base upon which to rest our claim for the antiquity of ,sanskrit writing4 ,three good reasons may be adduced in support of the claim--though they will be regarded as circumstantial evidence by our opponents4 ,i4--,it can be shown that writing was known in ,phoenicia from the date of the acquaintance of ,western history with her first settlements2 and this may be dated1 according to ,european figures1 #bgfj ,b4,c41 the age of the ,tyrian settlement4 ,,ii4--,our opponents confess to ignorance of the source whence the ,phoenicians themselves got their alphabet4 ,,iii4--,it can be proved that before the final division and classification of languages1 there existed two languages in every nation3 7a7 the profane or popular language of the masses2 7b7 the sacerdotal or secret language of the initiates of the temples and mysteries--the latter being one and universal4 ,or1 in other1 words1 every great people had1 like the ,egyptians1 its ,demotic and its ,hieratic writing and language1 which had resulted first in a pictorial writing or the hieroglyphics1 and later on in a phonetic alphabet4 ,now it requires a stretch of prejudice1 indeed1 to assert upon no evidence whatever that the ,brahman ,aryans--mystics and metaphysicians above everything--were the only ones who had never had any knowledge of either the sacerdotal language or the characters in which it was recorded4 ,to contradict this gratuitous assumption1 we can furnish a whole array of proofs4 ,it can be demonstrated that the ,aryans no more borrowed their writing from the ,hellenes1 or from the ,phoenicians1 than they were indebted to the influence of the former for all their arts and sciences4 7,even if we accept ,mr4 ,cunningham's ,indo-,grecian ,period1 for it lasted only from #bej-eg ,b4,c41 as he states it47 ,the direct progenitor of the ,vedic ,sanskrit was the sacerdotal language 7which has a distinct name among the initiates74 ,the ,vach--its alter ego or the mystic self1 the sacerdotal speech of the initiated ,brahman--became in time the mystery language of the inner temple1 studied by the initiates of ,egypt and ,chaldea2 of the ,phoenicians and the ,etruscans2 of the ,pelasgi and ,palanquans2 in short1 of the whole globe4 ,the appellation ,,devanagari is the synonym of1 and identical with1 the ,hermetic and ,hieratic ,,neter-,,khari 7divine speech7 of the ,egyptians4 ,as the discussion divides naturally into two parts as to treatment-- though a general synthesis must be the final result--we will proceed to examine the first part--namely1 the charge that the ,sanskrit alphabet is derived from the ,phoenicians4 ,when a ,western philologer asserts that writing did not exist before a certain period1 we assume that he has some approximate certitude as to its real invention4 ,but so far is this from the truth1 that admittedly no one knows whence the ,phoenicians learned the characters1 now alleged 7by ,gesenius first7 to be the source from which modern alphabets were directly derived4 ,de ,rouge's investigations make it extremely probable that they were borrowed1 or rather adapted from certain archaic hieroglyphics of ,egypt3 a theory which the ,prisse ,papyrus1 the oldest in existence1 strongly supports by its striking similarities with the ,phoenician characters4 ,but the same authority traces it back one step farther4 ,he says that the ascription 7by the myth-makers7 of the art of writing to ,thoth1 or to ,kadmos1 only denotes their belief in its being brought from the ,east 7,kedem71 or being perhaps primeval4 ,there is not even a certainty whether1 primevally or archaically1 there were several original alphabetical systems1 or whether one is to be assumed as having given rise to the various modes of writing in use4 ,so1 if conjecture has the field1 it is no great disloyalty to declare one's rebellion against the eminent ,western gentlemen who are learnedly guessing at the origin of things4 ,some affirm that the ,phoenicians derived their so-called ,kadmean or ,phoenician writing-characters from the ,pelasgians1 held also to have been the inventors1 or at least the improvers1 of the so-called ,kadmean characters4 ,but1 at the same time1 this is not proven1 they confess1 and they only know that the latter were in possession of the art of writing before the dawn of history4 ,let us see what is known of both ,phoenicians and ,pelasgians4 ,if we inquire who were the ,phoenicians1 we learn as follows3--,from having been regarded as ,hamites on ,bible testimony1 they suddenly became ,semites--on geographical and philological evidence7874 ,their origin begins1 it is said1 on the shores of the ,erythrian ,sea2 and that sea extended from the eastern shores of ,egypt to the western shores of ,india4 ,the ,phoenicians were the most maritime nation in the world4 ,that they knew perfectly the art of writing no one would deny4 ,the historical period of ,sidon begins #aejj ,b4,c4 ,and it is well ascertained that in #abej ,sanchoniathon had already compiled from annals and ,state documents1 which filled the archives of every ,phoenician city1 the full records of their religion4 ,sanchoniathon wrote in the ,phoenician language1 and was mis-translated later on into ,greek by ,philo of ,byblus1 and annihilated bodily--as to his works--except one small fragment preserved by ,eusebius1 the literary ,siva1 the ,destroyer of nearly all heathen documents that fell in his way4 ,to see the direct bearing of the alleged superior knowledge of the ,phoenicians upon the alleged ignorance of the ,aryan ,brahmans1 one has but to turn to ,european ,universal ,history1 meagre though its details and possible knowledge1 yet ,i suppose no one would contradict the historical facts given4 ,some fragments of ,dius1 the ,phoenician who wrote the history of ,tyre1 are preserved in ,josephus2 and ,tyre's activity begins #aajj ,b4,c41 in the earlier part of the third period of ,phoenician history1 so called4 ,and in that period1 as we are told1 they had already reached the height of their power2 their ships covered all seas1 their commerce embraced the whole earth1 and their colonies flourished far and near4 ,even on ,biblical testimony they are known to have come to the ,indies by the ,red ,sea1 while trading on ,solomon's account about a millennium before the ,western era4 ,these data no man of science can deny4 ,leaving entirely aside the thousand-and-one documentary proofs that could be given on the evidence of our most ancient texts on ,occult ,sciences1 of inscribed tablets1 c41 those historical events that are accepted by the ,western world are alone here given4 ,turning to the ,mahabharata1 the date of which--on the sole authority of the fancy lore drawn from the inner consciousness of ,german scholars1 who perceive in the great epic poem proofs of its modern fabrication in the words ,yavana and others--has been changed from #ccjj years to the first centuries after ,christ 76671 we find3 7#a7 ample evidence that the ancient ,hindus had navigated 7before the establishment of the caste system7 the open seas to the regions of the ,arctic ,ocean and held communication with ,europe2 and 7#b7 that the ,pandus had acquired universal dominion and taught the sacrificial mysteries to other races 7see ,mahabharata1 book xiv174 ,with such proofs of international communication1 and more than proved relations between the ,indian ,aryans and the ,phoenicians1 ,egyptians and other literate people1 it is rather startling to be told that our forefathers of the ,brahmanic period knew nothing of writing4 ,admitting1 for the argument only1 that the ,phoenician were the sole custodians of the glorious art of writing1 and that as merchants they traded with ,india1 what commodity1 ,i ask1 could they have offered to a people led by the ,brahmans so precious and marketable as this art of arts1 by whose help the priceless lore of the ,rishis might be preserved against the accidents of imperfect oral transmission8 ,and even if the ,aryans learned from ,phoenicians how to write--to every educated ,hindu an absurdity--they must have possessed the art #b1jjj or at least #a1jjj years earlier than the period supposed by ,western critics4 ,negative proof1 perhaps8 ,granted3 yet no more so than their own1 and most suggestive4 ,and now we may turn to the ,pelasgians4 ,notwithstanding the rebuke of ,niebuhr1 who1 speaking of the historian in general1 shows him as hating the spurious philology1 out of which the pretences to knowledge on the subject of such extinct people arise1 the origin of the ,pelasgians is conjectured to have been from--7a7 swarthy ,asiatics 7,pellasici7 or from some 7b7 mariners--from the ,greek ,pelagos1 the sea2 or again to be sought for in the 7c7 ,biblical ,peleg6 ,the only divinity of their ,pantheon well known to ,western history is ,orpheus1 also the swarthy1 the dark-skinned2 represented for the ,pelasgians by ,xoanon1 their ,divine ,image4 ,now if the ,pelasgians were ,asiatics1 they must have been ,turanians1 ,semites or ,aryans4 ,that they could not have been either of the two first1 and must have been the last named1 is shown on ,herodotus' testimony1 who declared them the forefathers of the ,greeks-- though they spoke1 as he says1 a most barbarous language4 ,further1 unerring philology shows that the vast number of roots common both to ,greek and ,latin1 are easily explained by the assumption of a common ,pelasgic linguistic and ethnical stock in both nationalities4 ,but then how about the ,sanskrit roots traced in the ,greek and ,latin languages8 ,the same roots must have been present in the ,pelasgian tongues8 ,we who place the origin of the ,pelasgian far beyond the ,biblical ditch of historic chronology1 have reasons to believe that the barbarous language mentioned by ,herodotus was simply the primitive and now extinct ,aryan tongue that preceded the ,vedic ,sanskrit4 ,who could they be1 these ,pelasgians8 ,they are described generally on the meagre data in hand as a highly intellectual1 receptive1 active and simple people1 chiefly occupied with agriculture2 warlike when necessary1 though preferring peace4 ,we are told that they built canals1 subterranean water-works1 dams1 and walls of astounding strength and most excellent construction4 ,and their religion and worship originally consisted in a mystic service of those natural powers--the sun1 wind1 water1 and air 7our ,surya1 ,maruts1 ,varuna1 and ,vayu71 whose influence is visible in the growth of the fruits of the earth2 moreover1 some of their tribes were ruled by priests1 while others stood under the patriarchal rule of the head of the clan or family4 ,all this reminds one of the nomads1 the ,brahmanic ,aryas of old under the sway of their ,rishis1 to whom were subject every distinct family or clan4 ,while the ,pelasgians were acquainted with the art of writing1 and had thus a vast element of culture in their possession before the dawn of history1 we are told 7by the same philologists7 that our ancestors knew of no writing until the dawn of ,christianity6 ,thus the ,pelasgianic language1 that most barbarous language spoken by this mysterious people1 what was it but ,aryan2 or rather1 which of the ,aryan languages could it have been8 ,certainly it must have been a language with the same and even stronger ,sanskrit roots in it than the ,greek4 ,let us bear in mind that the ,aeolic was neither the language of ,aeschylus1 nor the ,attic1 nor even the old speech of ,homer4 ,as the ,oscan of the barbarous ,sabines was not quite the ,italian of ,dante nor even the ,latin of ,virgil4 ,or has the ,indo-,aryan to come to the sad conclusion that the average ,western ,orientalist will rather incur the blame of ignorance when detected than admit the antiquity of the ,vedic ,sanskrit and the immense period which separated this comparatively rough and unpolished language1 compared with the classical ,sanskrit1 and the palmy days of the extinct ,aryan tongue8 ,the ,latium ,antiquum of ,pliny and the ,aeolic of the ,autochthones of ,greece present the closest kinship1 we are told4 ,they had a common ancestor--the ,pelasgian4 ,what1 then1 was the parent tongue of the latter unless it was the language spoken at one time by all the nations of ,europe--before their separation8 ,in the absence of all proofs1 it is unreasonable that the ,rik-,brahmanas1 the ,mahabharata and every ,nirukti should be treated as flippantly as they now are4 ,it is admitted that1 however inferior to the classical ,sanskrit of ,panini1 the language of the oldest portions of ,rig ,veda1 notwithstanding the antiquity of its grammatical forms1 is the same as that of the latest texts4 ,every one sees--cannot fail to see and to know--that for a language so old and so perfect as the ,sanskrit to have survived alone1 among all languages1 it must have had its cycles of perfection and its cycles of degeneration4 ,and1 if one had any intuition1 he might have seen that what they call a dead language being an anomaly1 a useless thing in ,nature1 it would not have survived1 even as a dead tongue1 had it not its special purpose in the reign of immutable cyclic laws2 and that ,sanskrit1 which came to be nearly lost to the world1 is now slowly spreading in ,europe1 and will one day have the extension it had thousands upon thousands of years back--that of a universal language4 ,the same as to the ,greek and the ,latin3 there will be a time when the ,greek of ,aeschylus 7and more perfect still in its future form7 will be spoken by all in ,southern ,europe1 while ,sanskrit will be resting in its periodical pralaya2 and the ,attic will be followed later by the ,latin of ,virgil4 ,something ought to have whispered to us that there was also a time--before the original ,aryan settlers among the ,dravidian and other aborigines1 admitted within the fold of ,brahmanical initiation1 marred the purity of the sacred ,sanskrita ,bhasha--when ,sanskrit was spoken in all its unalloyed subsequent purity1 and therefore must have had more than once its rise and fall4 ,the reason for it is simply this3 classical ,sanskrit was only restored1 if in some things perfected1 by ,panini4 ,panini1 ,katyayana or ,patanjali did not create it2 it has existed throughout cycles1 and will pass through other cycles still4 ,professor ,max ,miller is willing to admit that a tribe of ,semitic nomads--fourteen centuries before the year #a of the ,westerns--knew well the art of writing1 and had their historically and scientifically proven book of the covenant and the tables 'with the writing of ,god upon them4' ,yet the same authority tells us that the ,aryans could neither read nor write until the very close of the ,brahmanic period4 ,no trace of writing can be discovered 7by the philologists7 in the ,brahmanical literature before the days of ,panini4 ,very well1 and now what was the period during which this ,siva-taught sage is allowed to have flourished8 ,one ,orientalist 7,bohtlingk7 refers us to #cej ,b4,c41 while less lenient ones1 like ,professor ,weber1 land the grammarian right in the middle of the second century of the ,christian era6 ,only1 after fixing ,panini's period with such a remarkable agreement of chronology 7other calculations ranging variously between #djj ,b4,c4 and #dfj ,a4,d471 the ,orientalists place themselves inextricably between the horns of a dilemma4 ,for whether ,panini flourished #cej ,b4,c4 or #ahj ,a4,d41 he could not have been illiterate2 for firstly1 in the ,lalita ,vistara1 a canonical book recognized by the ,sanskritists1 attributed by ,max ,muller to the third ,buddhist council 7and translated into ,tibetan71 our ,lord ,buddha is shown as studying1 besides ,devanagari1 sixty-three other alphabets specified in it as being used in various parts of ,india2 and secondly1 though ,megasthenes and ,nearchus do say that in their time the laws of ,manu were not 7popularly7 reduced to writing 7,strabo1 xv4 #ff and #gc7 yet ,nearchus describes the ,indian art of making paper from cotton4 ,he adds that the ,indians wrote letters on cotton twisted together 7,strabo1 xv4 #ec and #fg74 ,this would be late in the ,sutra period1 no doubt1 according to ,professor ,miller's reasoning4 ,can the learned gentleman cite any record within that comparatively recent period showing the name of the inventor of that cotton-paper1 and the date of his discovery8 ,surely so important a fact as that1 a novelty so transcendently memorable1 would not have passed without remark4 ,one would seem compelled1 in the absence of any such chronicle1 to accept the alternative theory--known to us ,aryan students as a fact--that writing and writing materials were1 as above remarked1 known to the ,brahmans in an antiquity inconceivably remote--many centuries before the epoch made illustrious by ,panini4 ,attention has been asked above to the interesting fact that the god ,orpheus1 of ,thracia 787 is called the dark-skinned4 ,has it escaped notice that he is supposed to be the ,vedic ,ribhu or ,abrhu1 an epithet both of ,indra and the ,sun499 ,and if he was the inventor of letters1 and is placed anterior to both ,homer and ,hesiod1 then what follows8 ,that ,indra taught writing to the ,thracian ,pelasgians under the guise of ,orpheus19999 but left his own spokesmen and vehicles1 the ,brahmans1 illiterate until the dawn of ,christianity8 ,or1 that the gentlemen of the ,west are better at intuitional chronology than conspicuous for impartial research8 ------- 99 ,chamber's ,encyclopedia1 vii4 #abg4 9999 ,according to ,herodotus the ,mysteries were actually brought from ,india by ,orpheus4 ------- ,orpheus was--in ,greece--the son of ,apollo or ,helios1 the sun-god1 according to corrected mythology1 and from him received the phorminx or lyre of seven strings1 i4e4--according to occult phraseology--the sevenfold mystery of the ,initiation4 ,now ,indra is the ruler of the bright firmament1 the disperser of clouds1 the restorer of the sun to the sky4 ,he is identified with ,arjuna in the ,samhita ,satapatha ,brahmana 7although ,prof4 ,weber denies the existence of any such person as ,arjuna1 yet there was indeed one71 and ,arjuna was the ,chief of the ,pandavas299 and though ,pandu the white passes for his father1 he is yet considered the son of ,indra4 ,as throughout ,india all ancient cyclopean structures are even now attributed to the ,pandavas1 so all similar structures in the ,west were anciently ascribed to the ,pelasgians4 ,moreover1 as shown well by ,pococke--laughed at because too intuitional and too fair though1 perchance less1 philologically learned--the ,pandavas were in ,greece1 where many traces of them can be shown4 ------- 99 ,another proof of the fact that the ,pandavas were1 though ,aryans1 not ,brahmans1 and belonged to an ,indian tribe that preceded the ,brahmans1 and were later on ,brahmanized1 and then out-casted and called ,mlechhas1 ,yavanas 7i4e41 foreign to the ,brahmans71 is afforded in the following3 ,pandu has two wives2 and it is not ,kunti1 his lawful wife1 but ,madri1 his most beloved wife1 who is burnt with the old ,king when dead1 as well remarked by ,prof ,max ,muller1 who seems astonished at it without comprehending the true reason4 ,as stated by ,herodotus 7v4 #e71 it was a custom amongst the ,thracians to allow the most beloved of a man's wives to be sacrificed upon his tomb2 and ,herodotus 7iv4 #ag7 asserts a similar fact of the ,scythians1 and ,pausanias 7iv4 #b7 of the ,greeks4 7,hist4 ,sans4 ,lit4 p4 #dh74 ,the ,pandavas and the ,kauravas are called esoterically cousins in the ,epic poem because they were two distinct yet ,aryan tribes1 and represent two peoples1 not simply two families4 -------- ,in the ,mahabharata1 ,arjuna is taught the occult philosophy by ,krishna 7personification of the universal ,divine ,principle72 and the less mythological view of ,orpheus presents him to us as a divine bard or priest in the service of ,zagreus 4444 founder of the ,mysteries 4444 the inventor of everything1 in fact1 that was supposed to have contributed to the civilization and initiation into a more humane worship of the deity4 ,are not these striking parallels2 and is it not significant that1 in the cases of both ,arjuna and ,orpheus1 the sublimer aspects of religion should have been imparted along with the occult methods of attaining it by masters of the mysteries8 ,real ,devanagari--non-phonetic characters--meant formerly the outward symbols1 so to say1 the signs used in the intercommunication between gods and initiated mortals4 ,hence their great sacredness and the silence maintained throughout the ,vedic and the ,brahmanical periods about any object concerned with1 or referring to1 reading and writing4 ,it was the language of the gods4 ,if our ,western critics can only understand what the ,ancient ,hindu writers meant by ,rhutaliai1 so often mentioned in their mystical writings1 they will be in a position to ascertain the source from which the ,hindus first derived their knowledge of writing4 ,a secret language1 common to all schools of occult science once prevailed throughout the world4 ,hence ,orpheus learnt letters in the course of his initiation4 ,he is identified with ,indra2 according to ,herodotus he brought the art of writing from ,india2 his complexion swarthier than that of the ,thracians points to his ,indo-,aryan nationality--supposing him to have been a bard and priest1 and not a god2 the ,pelasgians are said to have been born in ,thracia2 they are believed 7in the ,west7 to have first possessed the art of writing1 and taught the ,phoenicians2 from the latter all modern alphabets proceed4 ,i submit1 then1 with all these coincidences and sequences1 whether the balance of proof is on the side of the theory that the ,aryans transmitted the art of writing to the people of the ,west2 or on the side which maintains that they1 with their caste of scholarly ,brahmans1 their noble sacerdotal tongue1 dating from high antiquity1 their redundant and splendid literature1 their acquaintance with the most wonderful and recondite potentialities of the human spirit1 were illiterate until the era of ,panini1 the grammarian and last of the ,rishis4 ,when the famous theorists of the ,western colleges can show us a river running from its mouth back to its source in the feeble mountain spring1 then may we be asked to believe in their theory of ,aryan illiteracy4 ,the history of human intellectual development shows that humanity always passes through the stage of ideography or pictography before attaining that of cursive writing4 ,it therefore remains with the ,western critics who oppose the antiquity of ,aryan ,scriptures to show us the pictographic proofs which support their position4 ,as these are notoriously absent1 it appears they would have us believe that our ancestors passed immediately from illiteracy to the ,devanagari characters of ,panini's time4 ,let the ,orientalists bear in mind the conclusions drawn from a careful study of the ,mahabharata by ,muir in his ,sanskrit ,texts 7vol4 ,i4 pp4 #cij1dhj and #dhb74 ,it may be conclusively proven on the authority of the ,mahabharata that the ,yavanas 7of whom ,india1 as alleged1 knew nothing before the days of ,alexander67 belong to those tribes of ,kshatriyas who1 in consequence of their non-communication with1 and in some cases rejection by1 the ,brahmins1 had become from twice-born1 ,vrishalas1-- i4e41 outcasts 7,mahabharata ,anusasanaparvam1 vv4 #bajc ,f473 ,sakah ,yavana-,kambojas tastah kshattriya jatayah ,vrishalatvam parigatah ,brahmananam adarsana4 ,dravidas cha ,kalindas cha ,pulindas chapy ,usinarah ,kalisarpa ,mahishakas tastah kshattriya jatayah1 c4 c4 ,the same reference may be found in verses #baeh-i4 ,the ,mahabharata shows the ,yavanas descended from ,turvasu--once upon a time ,kshatriya1 subsequently degraded into ,vrishala4 ,harivamsa shows when and how the ,yavanas were excommunicated4 ,it may be inferred from the account therein contained of the expedition against ,ayodhya by the ,yavanas1 and the subsequent proceedings of ,sagara1 that the ,yavanas were1 previous to the date of the expedition1 ,kshatriyas subject to the government of the powerful monarchs who reigned at ,ayodhya4 ,but on account of their having rebelled against their sovereign1 and attacked his capital1 they were excommunicated by ,sagara who successfully drove them out of ,ayodhya1 at the suggestion of ,vasishtha who was the chief minister and guru of ,sagara's father4 ,the only trouble in connecting the ,pelasgians with1 and tracing their origin to1 the ,kshatriyas of ,rajputana1 is created by the ,orientalist who constructs a fanciful chronology1 based on no proof1 and showing only unfamiliarity with the world's real history1 and with ,indian history even within historical periods4 ,the value of that chronology--which places virtually the primitive ,indo-,germanic-period before the ancient ,vedic period 767--may1 in conclusion1 be illustrated by an example4 ,rough as may be the calculations offered1 it is impossible to go deeper into any subject of this class within the narrow limits prescribed1 and without recourse to data not generally accessible4 ,in the words of ,prof4 ,max ,muller3--,the ,code of ,manu is almost the only work in ,sanskrit literature which1 as yet1 has not been assailed by those who doubt the antiquity of everything ,indian4 ,no historian has disputed its claim to that early date which had from the first been assigned to it by ,sir ,william ,jones 7,hist4 ,sans1 ,lit4 p4 #fa74 ,and now1 pray1 what is this extremely early date8 ,from #hhj to #abjj ,b4,c41 we are told4 ,we will then1 for the present purpose1 accept this authoritative conclusion4 ,several facts1 easily verifiable1 have to be first of all noticed3--7#a7 ,manu in his many enumerations of ,indian races1 kingdoms and places1 never once mentions ,bengal2 the ,aryan ,brahmans had not yet reached1 in the days when his ,code was compiled1 the banks of the ,ganges nor the plains of ,bengal4 ,it was ,arjuna who went first to ,banga 7,bengal7 with his sacrificial horse4 ,yavanas are mentioned in ,rajdharma ,anasasanika ,parva as part of the tribes peopling it4 7#b7 ,in the ,ayun a list of the ,hindu kings of ,bengal is given4 ,though the date of the first king who reigned over ,banga cannot be ascertained1 owing to the great gaps between the various dynasties2 it is yet known that ,bengal ceased to be an independent ,hindu kingdom from #abjc after ,christ4 ,now if1 disregarding these gaps1 which are wide and many1 we make up the sum of only those chronological periods of the reign of the several dynasties that are preserved by history1 we find the following3-- #bd ,kshatriya families of kings reigned for a period of #b1dah years #i ,kaista kings #bej #aa ,of the ,adisur families #gad #aj ,of the ,bhopal family #fhi #aj ,of the ,pala dynasty 7from #hee to #ajdj ,a4,d47 #ahe #aj ,the ,vaidya ,rajahs reigned for a period of #acg -------- ,years 4 4 4 4 #d1cic ,if we deduct from this sum #a1bjc1 we have #c1aij years ,b4,c4 of successive reigns4 ,if it can be shown on the unimpeachable evidence of the ,sanskrit texts that some of the reigns happened simultaneously1 and the line cannot therefore be shown as successive 7as was already tried71 well and good4 ,against an arbitrary chronology set up with a predetermined purpose and theory in view1 there will remain but little to be said4 ,but if this attempt at reconciliation of figures and the surrounding circumstances are maintained simply upon critical1 internal evidence1 then1 in the presence of these #c1aij years of an unbroken line of powerful and mighty ,hindu kings1 the ,orientalists will have to show a very good reason why the authors of the ,code of ,manu seem entirely ignorant even of the existence of ,bengal--if its date has to be accepted as not earlier than #abhj ,b4,c46 ,a scientific rule which is good enough to apply to the case of ,panini ought to be valid in other chronological speculations4 ,or1 perhaps1 this is one of those poor rules which will not work both ways8 --,a ,chela ,,theosophical ,what is ,theosophy8 ,according to lexicographers1 the term theosophia is composed of two ,greek words--theos god1 and sophas wise4 ,so far1 correct4 ,but the explanations that follow are far from giving a clear idea of ,theosophy4 ,webster defines it most originally as a supposed intercourse with ,god and superior spirits1 and consequent attainment of superhuman knowledge by physical processes1 as by the theurgic operations of some ancient ,platonists1 or by the chemical processes of the ,german fire-philosophers4 ,this1 to say the least1 is a poor and flippant explanation4 ,to attribute such ideas to men like ,ammonius ,saccas1 ,plotinus1 ,jamblichus1 ,porphyry1 ,proclus1 shows either intentional misrepresentation1 or ignorance of the philosophy and motives of the greatest geniuses of the later ,alexandrian ,school4 ,to impute to those1 whom their contemporaries as well as posterity styled theodidaktoi1 god-taught1 a purpose to develop their psychological1 spiritual perceptions by physical processes1 is to describe them as materialists4 ,as to the concluding fling at the fire-philosophers1 it rebounds from them upon some of the most eminent leaders of modern science2 those in whose mouths the ,rev4 ,james ,martineau places the following boast3 ,matter is all we want2 give us atoms alone1 and we will explain the universe4 ,vaughan offers a far better1 more philosophical definition4 ,a ,theosophist1 he says1 is one who gives you a theory of ,god or the works of ,god1 which has not revelation1 but inspiration of his own for its basis4 ,in this view every great thinker and philosopher1 especially every founder of a new religion1 school of philosophy1 or sect1 is necessarily a ,theosophist4 ,hence1 ,theosophy and ,theosophists have existed ever since the first glimmering of nascent thought made man seek instinctively for the means of expressing his own independent opinions4 ,there were ,theosophists before the ,christian era1 notwithstanding that the ,christian writers ascribe the development of the ,eclectic ,theosophical system to the early part of the third century of their era4 ,diogenes ,laertius traces ,theosophy to an epoch antedating the dynasty of the ,ptolemies2 and names as its founder an ,egyptian ,hierophant called ,pot-,amun1 the name being ,coptic1 and signifying a priest consecrated to ,amun1 the god of ,wisdom4 ,but history shows its revival by ,ammonius ,saccas1 the founder of the ,neo-,platonic ,school4 ,he and his disciples called themselves ,philaletheians--lovers of the truth2 while others termed them the ,analogists1 on account of their method of interpreting all sacred legends1 symbolical myths1 and mysteries1 by a rule of analogy or correspondence so that events which had occurred in the external world were regarded as expressing operations and experiences of the human soul4 ,it was the aim and purpose of ,ammonius to reconcile all sects1 peoples1 and nations under one common faith--a belief in one ,supreme1 ,eternal1 ,unknown1 and ,unnamed ,power1 governing the universe by immutable and eternal laws4 ,his object was to prove a primitive system of ,theosophy1 which1 at the beginning1 was essentially alike in all countries3 to induce all men to lay aside their strifes and quarrels1 and unite in purpose and thought as the children of one common mother2 to purify the ancient religions1 by degrees corrupted and obscured1 from all dross of human element1 by uniting and expounding them upon pure philosophical principles4 ,hence1 the ,buddhistic1 ,vedantic and ,magian1 or ,zoroastrian systems were taught in the ,eclectic ,theosophical ,school along with all the philosophies of ,greece4 ,hence also1 that pre-eminently ,buddhistic and ,indian feature among the ancient ,theosophists of ,alexandria1 of due reverence for parents and aged persons1 a fraternal affection for the whole human race1 and a compassionate feeling for even the dumb animals4 ,while seeking to establish a system of moral discipline which enforced upon people the duty to live according to the laws of their respective countries1 to exalt their minds by the research and contemplation of the one ,absolute ,truth2 his chief object1 in order1 as he believed1 to achieve all others1 was to extract from the various religious teachings1 as from a many-chorded instrument1 one full and harmonious melody1 which would find response in every truth-loving heart4 ,theosophy is1 then1 the archaic ,wisdom-,religion1 the esoteric doctrine once known in every ancient country having claims to civilization4 ,this ,wisdom all the old writings show us as an emanation of the ,divine ,principle2 and the clear comprehension of it is typified in such names as the ,indian ,buddh1 the ,babylonian ,nebo1 the ,thoth of ,memphis1 the ,hermes of ,greece2 in the appellations1 also1 of some goddesses--,metis1 ,neitha1 ,athena1 the ,gnostic ,sophia2 and1 finally1 the ,vedas1 from the word to know4 ,under this designation1 all the ancient philosophers of the ,east and ,west1 the ,hierophants of old ,egypt1 the ,rishis of ,aryavart1 the ,theodidaktoi of ,greece1 included all knowledge of things occult and essentially divine4 ,the ,mercavah of the ,hebrew ,rabbis1 the secular and popular series1 were thus designated as only the vehicle1 the outward shell1 which contained the higher esoteric knowledges4 ,the ,magi of ,zoroaster received instruction and were initiated in the caves and secret lodges of ,bactria2 the ,egyptian and ,grecian hierophants had their apporiheta1 or secret discourses1 during which the ,mysta became an ,epopta--a ,seer4 ,the central idea of the ,eclectic ,theosophy was that of a single ,supreme ,essence1 ,unknown and ,unknowable2 for how could one know the knower8 as inquires ,brihadaranyaka ,upanishad4 ,their system was characterized by three distinct features1 the theory of the above-named ,essence3 the doctrine of the human soul2 an emanation from the latter1 hence of the same nature2 and its theurgy4 ,it is this last science which has led the ,neo-,platonists to be so misrepresented in our era of materialistic science4 ,theurgy being essentially the art of applying the divine powers of man to the subordination of the blind forces of ,nature1 its votaries were first decisively termed magicians--a corruption of the word ,magh1 signifying a wise or learned man4 ,sceptics of a century ago would have been as wide of the mark if they had laughed at the idea of a phonograph or telegraph4 ,the ridiculed and the infidels of one generation generally become the wise men and saints of the next4 ,as regards the ,divine ,essence and the nature of the soul and spirit1 modern ,theosophy believes now as ancient ,theosophy did4 ,the popular ,dev of the ,aryan nations was identical with the ,iao of the ,chaldeans1 and even with the ,jupiter of the less learned and philosophical among the ,romans2 and it was just as identical with the ,jahve of the ,samaritans1 the ,tiu or ,tiusco of the ,northmen1 the ,duw of the ,britons1 and the ,zeus of the ,thracians4 ,as to the ,absolute ,essence1 the ,one and ,all1 whether we accept the ,greek ,pythagorean1 the ,chaldean ,kabalistic1 or the ,aryan philosophy in regard to it1 it will all lead to one and the same result4 ,the ,primeval ,monad of the ,pythagorean system1 which retires into darkness and is itself ,darkness 7for human intellect71 was made the basis of all things2 and we can find the idea in all its integrity in the philosophical systems of ,leibnitz and ,spinoza4 ,therefore1 whether a ,theosophist agrees with the ,kabala which1 speaking of ,en-,soph1 propounds the query2 ,who1 then1 can comprehend ,it1 since ,it is formless1 and non-existent8 or1 remembering that magnificent hymn from the ,rig ,veda 7,hymn #abi1 ,book x471 inquires3 ,who knows from whence this great creation sprang8 ,whether his will created or was mute4 ,he knows it--or perchance even ,he knows not4 ,or1 again1 he accepts the ,vedantic conception of ,brahma1 who1 in the ,upanishads1 is represented as without life1 without mind1 pure1 unconscious1 for ,brahma is ,absolute ,consciousness4 ,or1 even finally1 siding with the ,svabhavikas of ,nepaul1 maintains that nothing exists but ,svabhavat 7substance or nature7 which exists by itself without any creator--he is the true follower of pure and absolute ,theosophy4 ,that ,theosophy which prompted such men as ,hegel1 ,fichte and ,spinoza to take up the labours of the old ,grecian philosophers and speculate upon the ,one ,substance--the ,deity1 the ,divine ,all proceeding from the ,divine ,wisdom--incomprehensible1 unknown and unnamed by any ancient or modern religious philosophy1 with the exception of ,judaism1 including ,christianity and ,mohammedanism4 ,every ,theosophist1 then1 holding to a theory of the ,deity which has not revelation but an inspiration of his own for its basis1 may accept any of the above definitions or belong to any of these religions1 and yet remain strictly within the boundaries of ,theosophy4 ,for the latter is belief in the ,deity as the ,,all1 the source of all existence1 the infinite that cannot be either comprehended or known1 the universe alone revealing ,it1 or1 as some prefer it1 ,him1 thus giving a sex to that1 to anthropomorphize which is blasphemy4 ,true ,theosophy shrinks from brutal materialization2 it prefers believing that1 from eternity retired within itself1 the ,spirit of the ,deity neither wills nor creates2 but from the infinite effulgence everywhere going forth from the ,great ,centre1 that which produces all visible and invisible things is but a ray containing in itself the generative and conceptive power1 which1 in its turn1 produces that which the ,greeks called ,macrocosm1 the ,kabalists ,tikkun or ,adam ,kadmon1 the archetypal man1 and the ,aryans ,purusha1 the manifested ,brahm1 or the ,divine ,male4 ,theosophy believes also in the ,anastasis1 or continued existence1 and in transmigration 7evolution7 or a series of changes of the personal ego1 which can be defended and explained on strict philosophical principles by making a distinction between ,paramatma 7transcendental1 supreme spirit7 and ,jivatma 7individual spirit7 of the ,vedantins4 ,to fully define ,theosophy1 we must consider it under all its aspects4 ,the interior world has not been hidden from all by impenetrable darkness4 ,by that higher intuition acquired by ,theosophia1 or ,god-knowledge1 which carries the mind from the world of form into that of formless spirit1 man has been sometimes enabled1 in every age and every country1 to perceive things in the interior or invisible world4 ,hence1 the ,samadhi1 or ,dhyan ,yog ,samadhi1 of the ,hindu ascetics2 the ,daimonlonphoti1 or spiritual illumination of the ,neo-,platonists2 the sidereal confabulation of soul1 of the ,rosicrucians or ,fire-philosophers2 and1 even the ecstatic trance of mystics and of the modern mesmerists and spiritualists1 are identical in nature1 though various as to manifestation4 ,the search after man's diviner self1 so often and so erroneously interpreted as individual communion with a personal ,god1 was the object of every mystic2 and belief in its possibility seems to have been coeval with the genesis of humanity1 each people giving it another name4 ,thus ,plato and ,plotinus call ,noetic work that which the ,yogi and the ,shrotriya term ,vidya4 ,by reflection1 self-knowledge and intellectual discipline1 the soul can be raised to the vision of eternal truth1 goodness1 and beauty--that is1 to the ,vision of ,god4 ,this is the epopteia1 said the ,greeks4 ,to unite one's soul to the ,universal ,soul1 says ,porphyry1 requires but a perfectly pure mind4 ,through self contemplation1 perfect chastity1 and purity of body1 we may approach nearer to ,it1 and receive1 in that state1 true knowledge and wonderful insight4 ,and ,swami ,dayanund ,saraswati1 who has read neither ,porphyry nor other ,greek authors1 but who is a thorough ,vedic scholar1 says in his ,veda ,bhashya 7opasna prakaru ank4 #i7--,to obtain ,diksha 7highest initiation7 and ,yog1 one has to practise according to the rules44444 ,the soul in the human body can perform the greatest wonders by knowing the ,universal ,spirit 7or ,god7 and acquainting itself with the properties and qualities 7occult7 of all the things in the universe4 ,a human being 7a ,dikshit or initiate7 can thus acquire a power of seeing and hearing at great distances4 ,finally1 ,alfred ,r4 ,wallace1 ,f4,r4,s41 a spiritualist and yet a confessedly great naturalist1 says1 with brave candour3 ,it is spirit that alone feels1 and perceives1 and thinks1 that acquires knowledge1 and reasons and aspires44444 ,there not unfrequently occur individuals so constituted that the spirit can perceive independently of the corporeal organs of sense1 or can1 perhaps1 wholly or partially quit the body for a time and return to it again2 the spirit communicates with spirit easier than with matter4 ,we can now see how1 after thousands of years have intervened between the age of the ,gymnosophists99 and our own highly civilized era1 notwithstanding1 or1 perhaps1 just because of such an enlightenment which pours its radiant light upon the psychological as well as upon the physical realms of ,nature1 over twenty millions of people today believe1 under different form1 in those same spiritual powers that were believed in by the ,yogis and the ,pythagoreans1 nearly #c1jjj years ago4 -------- 99 ,the reality of the ,yog-power was affirmed by many ,greek and ,roman writers1 who call the ,yogis ,indian ,gymnosophists--by ,strabo1 ,lucan1 ,plutarch1 ,cicero 7,tusculum71 ,pliny 7vii4 #b71 c4 -------- ,thus1 while the ,aryan mystic claimed for himself the power of solving all the problems of life and death1 when he had once obtained the power of acting independently of his body1 through the ,atman1 self1 or soul2 and the old ,greeks went in search of ,atmu1 the ,hidden one1 or the ,god-,soul of man1 with the symbolical mirror of the ,thesmophorian mysteries2 so the spiritualists of today believe in the capacity of the spirits1 or the souls of the disembodied persons1 to communicate visibly and tangibly with those they loved on earth4 ,and all these1 ,aryan ,yogis1 ,greek philosophers1 and modern spiritualists1 affirm that possibility on the ground that the embodied soul and its never embodied spirit--the real self--are not separated from either the ,universal ,soul or other spirits by space1 but merely by the differentiation of their qualities1 as in the boundless expanse of the universe there can be no limitation4 ,and that when this difference is once removed--according to the ,greeks and ,aryans by abstract contemplation1 producing the temporary liberation of the imprisoned soul1 and according to spiritualists1 through mediumship--such a union between embodied and disembodied spirits becomes possible4 ,thus was it that ,patanjali's ,yogis1 and1 following in their steps1 ,plotinus1 ,porphyry and other ,neo-,platonists1 maintained that in their hours of ecstasy1 they had been united to1 or rather become as one with1 ,god several times during the course of their lives4 ,this idea1 erroneous as it may seem in its application to the ,universal ,spirit1 was1 and is1 claimed by too many great philosophers to be put aside as entirely chimerical4 ,in the case of the ,theodidaktoi1 the only controvertible point1 the dark spot on this philosophy of extreme mysticism1 was its claim to include that which is simply ecstatic illumination1 under the head of sensuous perception4 ,in the case of the ,yogis1 who maintained their ability to see ,iswara face to face1 this claim was successfully overthrown by the stern logic of the followers of ,kapila1 the founder of the ,sankhya philosophy4 ,as to the similar assumption made for their ,greek followers1 for a long array of ,christian ecstatics1 and1 finally1 for the last two claimants to ,god-seeing within these last hundred years--,jacob ,bohme and ,swedenborg--this pretension would and should have been philosophically and logically questioned1 if a few of our great men of science1 who are spiritualists1 had had more interest in the philosophy than in the mere phenomenalism of spiritualism4 ,the ,alexandrian ,theosophists were divided into neophytes1 initiates and masters1 or hierophants2 and their rules were copied from the ancient ,mysteries of ,orpheus1 who1 according to ,herodotus1 brought them from ,india4 ,ammonius obligated his disciples by oath not to divulge his higher doctrines1 except to those who were proved thoroughly worthy and initiated1 and who had learned to regard the gods1 the angels1 and the demons of other peoples1 according to the esoteric hyponia1 or under-meaning4 ,the gods exist1 but they are not what the hoi polloi1 the uneducated multitude1 suppose them to be1 says ,epicurus4 ,he is not an atheist who denies the existence of the gods1 whom the multitude worship1 but he is such who fastens on these gods the opinions of the multitude4 ,in his turn1 ,aristotle declares that of the ,divine ,essence pervading the whole world of ,nature1 what are styled the gods are simply the first principles4 ,plotinus1 the pupil of the ,god-taught ,ammonius1 tells us that the secret gnosis or the knowledge of ,theosophy1 has three degrees-opinion1 science1 and illumination4 ,the means or instrument of the first is sense1 or perception2 of the second1 dialectics2 of the third1 intuition4 ,to the last1 reason is subordinate2 it is absolute knowledge1 founded on the identification of the mind with the object known4 ,theosophy is the exact science of psychology1 so to say2 it stands in relation to natural1 uncultivated mediumship1 as the knowledge of a ,tyndall stands to that of a school-boy in physics4 ,it develops in man a direct beholding2 that which ,schelling denominates a realization of the identity of subject and object in the individual2 so that under the influence and knowledge of hyponia man thinks divine thoughts1 views all things as they really are1 and1 finally1 becomes recipient of the ,soul of the ,world1 to use one of the finest expressions of ,emerson4 ,i1 the imperfect1 adore my own ,perfect1 he says in his superb ,essay on the ,oversoul4 ,besides this psychological1 or soul state1 ,theosophy cultivated every branch of sciences and arts4 ,it was thoroughly familiar with what is now commonly known as mesmerism4 ,practical theurgy or ceremonial magic1 so often resorted to in their exorcisms by the ,roman ,catholic clergy1 was discarded by the ,theosophists4 ,it is but ,jamblichus alone who1 transcending the other ,eclectics1 added to ,theosophy the doctrine of ,theurgy4 ,when ignorant of the true meaning of the esoteric divine symbols of ,nature1 man is apt to miscalculate the powers of his soul1 and1 instead of communing spiritually and mentally with the higher celestial beings1 the good spirits 7the gods of the theurgists of the ,platonic school71 he will unconsciously call forth the evil1 dark powers which lurk around humanity1 the undying1 grim creations of human crimes and vices1 and thus fall from theurgia 7white magic7 into goetia 7or black magic1 sorcery74 ,yet1 neither white nor black magic are what popular superstition understands by the terms4 ,the possibility of raising spirits1 according to the key of ,solomon1 is the height of superstition and ignorance4 ,purity of deed and thought can alone raise us to an intercourse with the gods and attain for us the goal we desire4 ,alchemy1 believed by so many to have been a spiritual philosophy as well as a physical science1 belonged to the teachings of the ,theosophical ,school4 ,it is a noticeable fact that neither ,zoroaster1 ,buddha1 ,orpheus1 ,pythagoras1 ,confucius1 ,socrates1 nor ,ammonius ,saccas1 committed anything to writing4 ,the reason for it is obvious4 ,theosophy is a double-edged weapon and unfit for the ignorant or the selfish4 ,like every ancient philosophy it has its votaries among the moderns2 but1 until late in our own days1 its disciples were few in numbers1 and of the most various sects and opinions4 ,entirely speculative1 and founding no schools1 they have still exercised a silent influence upon philosophy2 and no doubt1 when the time arrives1 many ideas thus silently propounded may yet give new directions to human thought1 remarks ,mr4 ,kenneth ,r4 ,h4 ,mackenzie1 himself a mystic and a ,theosophist1 in his large and valuable work1 ,the ,royal ,masonic ,cyclopaedia 7articles ,theosophical ,society of ,new ,york1 and ,theosophy1 p4 #gca7499 ,since the days of the fire-philosophers1 they had never formed themselves into societies1 for1 tracked like wild beasts by the ,christian clergy1 to be known as a ,theosophist often amounted1 hardly a century ago1 to a death-warrant4 ---------- 99 ,the ,royal ,masonic ,cycloptedia of ,history1 ,rites1 ,symbolism1 and ,biography4 ,edited by ,kenneth ,r4 ,h4 ,mackenzie ,,ix4 7,cryptonymus7 ,hon4 ,member of the ,canongate ,kilwinning ,lodge1 ,no4 #b1 ,scotland4 ,new ,york ,j4 ,w4 ,bouton1 #gjf1 ,broadway4 #ahgg4 -------- ,the statistics show that1 during a period of #aej years1 no less than #ij1jjj men and women were burned in ,europe for alleged witchcraft4 ,in ,great ,britain only1 from ,a4,d4 #afdj to #affj1 but twenty years1 #c1jjj persons were put to death for compact with the ,devil4 ,it was but late in the present century--in #ahge--that some progressed mystics and spiritualists1 unsatisfied with the theories and explanations of ,spiritualism started by its votaries1 and finding that they were far from covering the whole ground of the wide range of phenomena1 formed at ,new ,york1 ,america1 an association which is now widely known as the ,theosophical ,society4 7--,h4,p4 ,blavatsky7 ,how a ,chela ,found his ,guru ,being ,extracts from a private letter to ,damodar ,k4 ,mavalankar1 ,joint ,recording ,secretary of the ,theosophical ,society4 4444,when we met last at ,bombay ,i told you what had happened to me at ,tinnevelly4 ,my health having been disturbed by official work and worry1 ,i applied for leave on medical certificate and it was duly granted4 ,one day in ,september last1 while ,i was reading in my room1 ,i was ordered by the audible voice of my blessed ,guru1 ,m---,maharsi1 to leave all and proceed immediately to ,bombay1 whence ,i was to go in search of ,madame ,blavatsky wherever ,i could find her and follow her wherever she went4 ,without losing a moment1 ,i closed up all my affairs and left the station4 ,for the tones of that voice are to me the divinest sound in ,nature1 its commands imperative4 ,i traveled in my ascetic robes4 ,arrived at ,bombay1 ,i found ,madame ,blavatsky gone1 and learned through you that she had left a few days before2 that she was very ill2 and that1 beyond the fact that she had left the place very suddenly with a ,chela1 you knew nothing of her whereabouts4 ,and now1 ,i must tell you what happened to me after ,i had left you4 ,really not knowing whither ,i had best go1 ,i took a through ticket to ,calcutta2 but1 on reaching ,allahabad1 ,i heard the same well-known voice directing me to go to ,berhampore4 ,at ,azimgunge1 in the train1 ,i met1 most providentially ,i may say1 with some ,bengali gentlemen 7,i did not then know they were also ,theosophists1 since ,i had never seen any of them71 who were also in search of ,madame ,blavatsky4 ,some had traced her to ,dinapore1 but lost her track and went back to ,berhampore4 ,they knew1 they said1 she was going to ,tibet and wanted to throw themselves at the feet of the ,mahatmas to permit them to accompany her4 ,at last1 as ,i was told1 they received from her a note1 permitting them to come if they so desired it1 but saying that she herself was prohibited from going to ,tibet just now4 ,she was to remain1 she said1 in the vicinity of ,darjiling and would see the ,mahatma on the ,sikkhim ,territory1 where they would not be allowed to follow her 4444 ,brother ,nobin ,k4 ,bannerji1 the ,president of the ,adhi ,bhoutic ,bhratru ,theosophical ,society1 would not tell me where ,madame ,blavatsky was1 or perhaps did not then know himself4 ,yet he and others had risked all in the hope of seeing the ,mahatmas4 ,on the #bcrd1 at last he brought me from ,calcutta to ,chandernagore1 where ,i found ,madame ,blavatsky1 ready to start by train in five minutes4 ,a tall1 dark-looking hairy ,chela 7not ,chunder ,cusho71 but a ,tibetan ,i suppose by his dress1 whom ,i met after ,i had crossed the river ,hugli with her in a boat1 told me that ,i had come too late1 that ,madame ,blavatsky had already seen the ,mahatmas and that he had brought her back4 ,he would not listen to my supplications to take me with him1 saying he had no other orders than what he had already executed--namely1 to take her about twenty-five miles beyond a certain place he named to me1 and that he was now going to see her safe to the station and return4 ,the ,bengali brother ,theosophists had also traced and followed her1 arriving at the station half an hour later4 ,they crossed the river from ,chandernagore to a small railway station on the opposite side4 ,when the train arrived1 she got into the carriage1 upon entering which ,i found the ,chela6 ,and1 before even her own things could be placed in the van1 the train1 against all regulations and before the bell was rung1 started off1 leaving the ,bengali gentlemen and her servant behind1 only one of them and the wife and daughter of another--all ,theosophists and candidates for ,chelaship--having had time to get in4 ,i myself had barely the time to jump into the last carriage4 ,all her things1 with the exception of her box containing ,theosophical correspondence1 were left behind with her servant4 ,yet1 even the persons that went by the same train with her did not reach ,darjiling4 ,babu ,nobin ,banerjee1 with the servant1 arrived five days later2 and those who had time to take their seats1 were left five or six stations behind1 owing to another unforeseen accident 7871 reaching ,darjiling also a few days later4 ,it required no great stretch of imagination to conclude that ,madame ,blavatsky was1 perhaps1 being again taken to the ,mahatmas1 who1 for some good reasons best known to them1 did not want us to be following and watching her4 ,two of the ,mahatmas1 ,i had learned for a certainty1 were in the neighbourhood of ,british territory2 and one of them was seen and recognized1 by a person ,i need not name here1 as a high ,chutukla of ,tibet4 ,the first days of her arrival ,madame ,blavatsky was living at the house of a ,bengali gentleman1 a ,theosophist1 refusing to see any one1 and preparing1 as ,i thought1 to go again somewhere on the borders of ,tibet4 ,to all our importunities we could get only this answer from her3 that we had no business to stick to and follow her1 that she did not want us1 and that she had no right to disturb the ,mahatmas with all sorts of questions that concerned only the questioners1 for they knew their own business best4 ,in despair1 ,i determined1 come what might1 to cross the frontier1 which is about a dozen miles from here1 and find the ,mahatmas or--,,die4 ,i never stopped to think that what ,i was going to undertake would be regarded as the rash act of a lunatic4 ,i had no permission1 no pass from the ,sikkhim ,rajah1 and was yet decided to penetrate into the heart of a semi-independent ,state where1 if anything happened1 the ,anglo-,indian officials would not--if even they could--protect me1 since ,i should have crossed over without their permission4 ,but ,i never even gave that a thought1 but was bent upon one engrossing idea--to find and see my ,guru4 ,without breathing a word of my intentions to any one1 one morning1 namely1 ,october #e1 ,i set out in search of the ,mahatma4 ,i had an umbrella and a pilgrim's staff for sole weapons1 with a few rupees in my purse4 ,i wore the yellow garb and cap4 ,whenever ,i was tired on the road1 my costume easily procured for me for a small sum a pony to ride4 ,the same afternoon ,i reached the banks of the ,rungit ,river1 which forms the boundary between ,british and ,sikkhimese territories4 ,i tried to cross it by the aerial suspension bridge constructed of canes1 but it swayed to and fro to such an extent that ,i1 who have never known in my life what hardship was1 could not stand it4 ,i crossed the river by the ferry-boat1 and this even not without much danger and difficulty4 ,that whole afternoon ,i traveled on foot1 penetrating further and further into the heart of ,sikkhim1 along a narrow footpath4 ,i cannot now say how many miles ,i traveled before dusk1 but ,i am sure it was not less than twenty or twenty-five miles4 ,throughout1 ,i saw nothing but impenetrable jungles and forests on all sides of me1 relieved at very long intervals by solitary huts belonging to the mountain population4 ,at dusk ,i began to search around me for a place to rest in at night4 ,i met on the road1 in the afternoon1 a leopard and a wild cat2 and ,i am astonished now to think how ,i should have felt no fear then nor tried to run away4 ,throughout1 some secret influence supported me4 ,fear or anxiety never once entered my mind4 ,perhaps in my heart there was room for no other feeling but an intense anxiety to find my ,guru4 ,when it was just getting dark1 ,i espied a solitary hut a few yards from the roadside4 ,to it ,i directed my steps in the hope of finding a lodging4 ,the rude door was locked4 ,the cabin was untenanted at the time4 ,i examined it on all sides and found an aperture on the western side4 ,it was small indeed1 but sufficient for me to jump through4 ,it had a small shutter and a wooden bolt4 ,by a strange coincidence of circumstances the hillman had forgotten to fasten it on the inside when he locked the door4 ,of course1 after what has subsequently transpired1 ,i now1 through the eye of faith1 see the protecting hand of my ,guru everywhere around me4 ,upon getting inside ,i found the room communicated1 by a small doorway1 with another apartment1 the two occupying the whole space of this sylvan mansion4 ,i laid down1 concentrating every thought upon my ,guru as usual1 and soon fell into a profound sleep4 ,before ,i went to rest1 ,i had secured the door of the other room and the single window4 ,it may have been between ten and eleven1 or perhaps a little later1 that ,i awoke and heard sounds of footsteps in the adjoining room4 ,i could plainly distinguish two or three people talking together in a dialect unknown to me4 ,now1 ,i cannot recall the same without a shudder4 ,at any moment they might have entered from the other room and murdered me for my money4 ,had they mistaken me for a burglar the same fate awaited me4 ,these and similar thoughts crowded into my brain in an inconceivably short period4 ,but my heart did not palpitate with fear1 nor did ,i for one moment think of the possibly tragical chances of the moment4 ,i know not what secret influence held me fast1 but nothing could put me out or make me fear2 ,i was perfectly calm4 ,although ,i lay awake staring into the darkness for upwards of two hours1 and even paced the room softly and slowly without making any noise1 to see if ,i could make my escape1 in case of need1 back to the forest by the same way ,i had effected my entrance into the hut--no fear1 ,i repeat1 or any such feeling ever entered my heart4 ,i recomposed myself to rest4 ,after a sound sleep1 undisturbed by any dream1 ,i awoke at daybreak4 ,then ,i hastily put on my boots1 and cautiously got out of the hut through the same window4 ,i could hear the snoring of the owners of the hut in the other room4 ,but ,i lost no time1 and gained the path to ,sikkhim 7the city7 and held on my way with unflagging zeal4 ,from the inmost recesses of my heart ,i thanked my revered ,guru for the protection he had vouchsafed me during the night4 ,what prevented the owners of the hut from penetrating to the second room8 ,what kept me in the same serene and calm spirit1 as if ,i were in a room of my own house8 ,what could possibly make me sleep so soundly under such circumstances1--enormous1 dark forests on all sides abounding in wild beasts1 and a party of cut-throats--as most of the ,sikkhimese are said to be--in the next room1 with an easy and rude door between them and me8 ,when it became quite light1 ,i wended my way on through hills and dales4 ,riding or walking1 the journey was not a pleasant one for any man not as deeply engrossed in thought as ,i was then myself1 and quite oblivious to anything affecting the body4 ,i have cultivated the power of mental concentration to such a degree of late that1 on many an occasion1 ,i have been able to make myself quite unconscious of anything around me when my mind was wholly bent upon the one object of my life1 as several of my friends will testify2 but never to such an extent as in this instance4 ,it was1 ,i think1 between eight and nine ,a4,m4 ,i was following the road to the town of ,sikkhim1 whence1 ,i was assured by the people ,i met on the road1 ,i could cross over to ,tibet easily in my pilgrim's garb1 when ,i suddenly saw a solitary horseman galloping towards me from the opposite direction4 ,from his tall stature and skill in horsemanship1 ,i thought he was some military officer of the ,sikkhim ,rajah4 ,now1 ,i thought1 ,i am caught6 ,he will ask me for my pass and what business ,i have in the independent territory of ,sikkhim1 and1 perhaps1 have me arrested and sent back1 if not worse4 ,but1 as he approached me1 he reined up4 ,i looked at and recognized him instantly4444 ,i was in the awful presence of him1 of the same ,mahatma1 my own revered ,guru1 whom ,i had seen before in his astral body on the balcony of the ,theosophical ,headquarters4 ,it was he1 the ,himalayan ,brother of the ever-memorable night of ,december last1 who had so kindly dropped a letter in answer to one ,i had given but an hour or so before in a sealed envelope to ,madame ,blavatsky1 whom ,i had never lost sight of for one moment during the interval4 ,the very same instant saw me prostrated on the ground at his feet4 ,i arose at his command1 and1 leisurely looking into his face1 forgot myself entirely in the contemplation of the image ,i knew so well1 having seen his portrait 7the one in ,colonel ,olcott's possession7 times out of number4 ,i knew not what to say3 joy and reverence tied my tongue4 ,the majesty of his countenance1 which seemed to me to be the impersonation of power and thought1 held me rapt in awe4 ,i was at last face to face with the ,mahatma of the ,himavat1 and he was no myth1 no creation of the imagination of a medium1 as some sceptics had suggested4 ,it was no dream of the night2 it was between nine and ten o'clock of the forenoon4 ,there was the sun shining and silently witnessing the scene from above4 ,i see him before me in flesh and blood1 and he speaks to me in accents of kindness and gentleness4 ,what more could ,i want8 ,my excess of happiness made me dumb4 ,nor was it until some time had elapsed that ,i was able to utter a few words1 encouraged by his gentle tone and speech4 ,his complexion is not as fair as that of ,mahatma ,koothoomi2 but never have ,i seen a countenance so handsome1 a stature so tall and so majestic4 ,as in his portrait1 he wears a short black beard1 and long black hair hanging down to his breast2 only his dress was different3 ,instead of a white1 loose robe he wore a yellow mantle lined with fur1 and on his head1 instead of the turban1 a yellow ,tibetan felt cap1 as ,i have seen some ,bhootanese wear in this country4 ,when the first moments of rapture and surprise were over1 and ,i calmly comprehended the situation1 ,i had a long talk with him4 ,he told me to go no further1 for ,i should come to grief4 ,he said ,i should wait patiently if ,i wanted to become an accepted ,chela2 that many were those who offered themselves as candidates1 but that only a very few were found worthy2 none were rejected1 but all of them tried1 and most found to fail signally1 as for example---and---4 ,some1 instead of being accepted and pledged this year1 were now thrown off for a year4 ,the ,mahatma1 ,i found1 speaks very little ,english--or at least it so seemed to me--and spoke to me in my mother-tongue--,tamil4 ,he told me that if the ,chohan permitted ,madame ,blavatsky to visit ,parijong next year1 then ,i could come with her4 ,the ,bengali ,theosophists who followed the ,upasika 7,madame ,blavatsky7 would see that she was right in trying to dissuade them from following her now4 ,i asked the blessed ,mahatma whether ,i could tell what ,i saw and heard to others4 ,he replied in the affirmative1 and that moreover ,i would do well to write to you and describe all4 ,i must impress upon your mind the whole situation1 and ask you to keep well in view that what ,i saw was not the mere appearance only1 the astral body of the ,mahatma1 as we saw him at ,bombay1 but the living man1 in his own physical body4 ,he was pleased to say when ,i offered my farewell namaskarams 7prostration7 that he approached the ,british territory to see the ,upasika4 ,before he left me1 two more men came on horseback1 his attendants ,i suppose1 probably ,chelas1 for they were dressed like lama-gylungs1 and both1 like himself1 with long hair streaming down their backs4 ,they followed the ,mahatma1 when he left1 at a gentle trot4 ,for over an hour ,i stood gazing at the place that he had just quitted1 and then ,i slowly retraced my steps4 ,now it was that ,i found for the first time that my long boots had pinched my leg in several places1 that ,i had eaten nothing since the day before1 and that ,i was too weak to walk further4 ,my whole body was aching in every limb4 ,at a little distance ,i saw petty traders with country ponies1 carrying burdens4 ,i hired one of these animals4 ,in the afternoon ,i came to the ,rungit ,river and crossed it4 ,a bath in its cool waters revived me4 ,i purchased some fruit in the only bazaar there and ate heartily4 ,i took another horse immediately and reached ,darjiling late in the evening4 ,i could neither eat1 nor sit1 nor stand4 ,every part of my body was aching4 ,my absence had seemingly alarmed ,madame ,blavatsky4 ,she scolded me for my rash and mad attempt to try to go to ,tibet after that fashion4 ,when ,i entered the house ,i found with ,madame ,blavatsky1 ,bahu ,parbati ,churn ,roy1 ,deputy ,collector of ,settlements and ,superintendent of ,dearah ,survey1 and his assistant1 ,babu ,kanty ,bhushan ,sen1 both members of our ,society4 ,at their prayer and ,madame ,blavatsky's command1 ,i recounted all that had happened to me1 reserving of course my private conversation with the ,mahatma4 ,they were all1 to say the least1 astounded4 ,after all1 she will not go this year to ,tibet2 for which ,i am sure she does not care1 since she has seen our ,masters and thus gained her only object4 ,but we1 unfortunate people6 we lose our only chance of going and offering our worship to the ,himalayan ,brothers1 who1 ,i know1 will not soon cross over to ,british territory1 if ever1 again4 ,and now that ,i have seen the ,mahatma in the flesh1 and heard his living voice1 let no one dare say to me that the ,brothers do not exist4 ,come now whatever will1 death has no fear for me1 nor the vengeance of enemies2 for what ,i know1 ,i know6 --,s4 ,ramaswamier1 ,f4,t4,s4 ,the ,sages of the ,himavat ,while on my tour with ,col4 ,olcott several phenomena occurred1 in his presence as well as in his absence1 such as immediate answers to questions in my ,master's handwriting1 and over his signature1 put by a number of our ,fellows4 ,these occurrences took place before we reached ,lahore1 where we expected to meet in the body my ,master4 ,there ,i was visited by him in the body1 for three nights consecutively1 for about three hours every time1 while ,i myself retained full consciousness1 and1 in one case1 even went to meet him outside the house4 ,to my knowledge there is no case on the ,spiritualist records of a medium remaining perfectly conscious1 and meeting1 by previous arrangement1 his spirit-visitor in the compound1 re-entering the house with him1 offering him a seat1 and then holding a long converse with the disembodied spirit in a way to give him the impression that he is in personal contact with an embodied entity4 ,moreover1 him whom ,i saw in person at ,lahore was the same ,i had seen in astral form at the ,headquarters of the ,theosophical ,society1 and again1 the same whom ,i had seen in visions and trances at his house1 thousands of miles off1 which ,i reached in my astral ,ego by his direct help and protection4 ,in those instances1 with my psychic powers hardly yet developed1 ,i had always seen him as a rather hazy form1 although his features were perfectly distinct and their remembrance was profoundly graven on my soul's eye and memory1 while now at ,lahore1 ,jummoo1 and elsewhere1 the impression was utterly different4 ,in the former cases1 when making ,pranam 7salutation7 my hands passed through his form1 while on the latter occasions they met solid garments and flesh4 ,here ,i saw a living man before me1 the original of the portraits in ,madame ,blavatsky's possession and in ,mr4 ,sinnett's1 though far more imposing in his general appearance and bearing4 ,i shall not here dwell upon the fact of his having been corporeally seen by both ,col4 ,olcott and ,mr4 ,brown separately for two nights at ,lahore1 as they can do so better1 each for himself1 if they so choose4 ,at ,jummoo again1 where we proceeded from ,lahore1 ,mr4 ,brown saw him on the evening of the third day of our arrival there1 and from him received a letter in his familiar handwriting1 not to speak of his visits to me almost every day4 ,and what happened the next morning almost every one in ,jummoo is aware of4 ,the fact is1 that ,i had the good fortune of being sent for1 and permitted to visit a sacred ,ashrum1 where ,i remained for a few days in the blessed company of several of the ,mahatmas of ,himavat and their disciples4 ,there ,i met not only my beloved ,gurudeva and ,col4 ,olcott's master1 but several others of the fraternity1 including one of the highest4 ,i regret the extremely personal nature of my visit to those thrice blessed regions prevents my saying more about it4 ,suffice it that the place ,i was permitted to visit is in the ,himalayas1 not in any fanciful ,summer ,land1 and that ,i saw him in my own sthula sarira 7physical body7 and found my ,master identical with the form ,i had seen in the earlier days of my ,chelaship4 ,thus1 ,i saw my beloved ,guru not only as a living man1 but actually as a young one in comparison with some other ,sadhus of the blessed company1 only far kinder1 and not above a merry remark and conversation at times4 ,thus on the second day of my arrival1 after the meal hour1 ,i was permitted to hold an intercourse for over an hour with my ,master4 ,asked by him smilingly what it was that made me look at him so perplexed1 ,i asked in my turn3--,how is it1 ,master1 that some of the members of our ,society have taken into their heads a notion that you were 'an elderly man1' and that they have even seen you clairvoyantly looking an old man past sixty8 ,to which he pleasantly smiled and said that this latest misconception was due to the reports of a certain ,brahmachari1 a pupil of a ,vedantic ,swami in the ,punjab199 who had met last year in ,tibet the chief of a sect1 an elderly ,lama1 who was his 7my ,master's7 traveling companion at that time4 ,the said ,brahmachari1 having spoken of the encounter in ,india1 had led several persons to mistake the ,lama for himself4 ,as to his being perceived clairvoyantly as an elderly man1 that could never be1 he added1 as real clairvoyance could lead no one into such mistaken notions2 and then he kindly reprimanded me for giving any importance to the age of a ,guru1 adding that appearances were often false1 c41 and explaining other points4 -------- 99 ,see infra4 ,rajani ,kanta ,brahmachai's ,interview with a ,mahatma4 -------- ,these are all stern facts1 and no third course is open to the reader4 ,what ,i assert is either true or false4 ,in the former case1 no ,spiritualistic hypothesis can hold good1 and it will have to be admitted that the ,himalayan ,brothers are living men1 and neither disembodied spirits nor creations of the over-heated imagination of fanatics4 ,of course ,i am fully aware that many will discredit my account2 but ,i write only for the benefit of those few who know me well enough to see in me neither a hallucinated medium1 nor attribute to me any bad motive1 and who have ever been true and loyal to their convictions and to the cause they have so nobly espoused4 ,as for the majority who laugh at and ridicule what they have neither the inclination nor the capacity to understand1 ,i hold them in very small account4 ,if these few lines will help to stimulate even one of my brother-,fellows in the ,society1 or one right-thinking man outside of it1 to promote the cause of ,truth and ,humanity1 ,i shall consider that ,i have properly performed my duty4 --,damodar ,k4 ,mavalankar ,the ,himalayan ,brothers--,do ,they ,exist8 ,ask and it shall be given unto you2 knock and it shall be opened1 this is an accurate representation of the position of the earnest inquirer as to the existence of the ,mahatmas4 ,i know of none who took up this inquiry in right earnest and were not rewarded for their labours with knowledge1 certainty4 ,in spite of all this there are plenty of people who carp and cavil but will not take the trouble of proving the thing for themselves4 ,both by ,europeans and a section of our own countrymen--the too ,europeanized graduates of ,universities--the existence of the ,mahatmas is looked upon with incredulity and distrust1 to give it no harder name4 ,the position of the ,europeans is easily intelligible1 for these things are so far removed from their intellectual horizon1 and their self-sufficiency is so great1 that they are almost impervious to these new ideas4 ,but it is much more difficult to conceive why the people of ,india1 who are born and brought up in an atmosphere redolent with the traditions of these things1 should affect such scepticism4 ,it would have been more natural for them1 on the other hand1 to hail such proofs as those ,i am now laying before the public with the same satisfaction as an astronomer feels when a new star1 whose elements he has calculated1 swims within his ken4 ,i myself was a thorough-going disbeliever only two years back4 ,in the first place ,i had never witnessed any occult phenomena myself1 nor did ,i find any one who had done so in that small ring of our countrymen for whom only ,i was taught to have any respect--the educated classes4 ,it was only in the month of ,october1 #ahhb1 that ,i really devoted any time and attention to this matter1 and the result is that ,i have as little doubt with respect to the existence of the ,mahatmas as of mine own4 ,i now know that they exist4 ,but for a long time the proofs that ,i had received were not all of an objective character4 ,many things which are very satisfactory proofs to me would not be so to the reader4 ,on the other hand1 ,i have no right to speak of the unimpeachable evidence ,i now possess4 ,therefore ,i must do the best ,i can with the little ,i am permitted to give4 ,in the present paper ,i have brought forward such evidence as would be perfectly satisfactory to all capable of measuring its probative force4 ,the evidence now laid before the public was collected by me during the months of ,october and ,november1 #ahhb1 and was at the time placed before some of the leading members of the ,theosophical ,society1 ,mr4 ,sinnett among others4 ,the account of ,bro4 ,ramaswamier's interview with his ,guru in ,sikkhim being then ready for publication1 there was no necessity1 in their opinion1 for the present paper being brought to light4 ,but since an attempt has been made in some quarters to minimize the effect of ,mr4 ,ramaswamier's evidence by calling it most absurdly the hallucinations of a half-frozen strolling ,registrar1 ,i think something might be gained by the publication of perfectly independent testimony of1 perhaps1 equal1 if not greater1 value1 though of quite a different character4 ,with these words of explanation as to the delay in its publication1 ,i resign this paper to the criticism of our sceptical friends4 ,let them calmly consider and pronounce upon the evidence of the ,tibetan pedlar at ,darjiling1 supported and strengthened by the independent testimony of the young ,brahmachari at ,dehradun4 ,those who were present when the statements of these persons were taken1 all occupy very respectable positions in life--some in fact belonging to the front ranks of ,hindu ,society1 and several in no way connected with the ,theosophical movement1 but1 on the contrary1 quite unfriendly to it4 ,in those days ,i again say ,i was rather sceptical myself4 ,it is only since ,i collected the following evidence and received more than one proof of the actual existence of my venerated master1 ,mahatma ,koothoomi1 whose presence-- quite independently of ,madame ,blavatsky1 ,colonel ,olcott or any alleged ,chela--was made evident to me in a variety of ways1 that ,i have given up the folly of doubting any longer4 ,now ,i believe no more--,i ,,know2 and knowing1 ,i would help others to obtain the same knowledge4 ,during my visit to ,darjiling ,i lived in the same house with several ,theosophists1 all as ardent aspirants for the higher life1 and most of them as doubtful with regard to the ,himalayan ,mahatmas as ,i was myself at that time4 ,i met at ,darjiling persons who claimed to be ,chelas of the ,himalayan ,brothers and to have seen and lived with them for years4 ,they laughed at our perplexity4 ,one of them showed us an admirably executed portrait of a man who appeared to be an eminently holy person1 and who1 ,i was told1 was the ,mahatma ,koothoomi 7now my revered master71 to whom ,mr4 ,sinnett's ,occult ,world is dedicated4 ,a few days after my arrival1 a ,tibetan pedlar of the name of ,sundook accidentally came to our house to sell his things4 ,sundook was for years well-known in ,darjiling and the neighbourhood as an itinerant trader in ,tibetan knick-knacks1 who visited the country every year in the exercise of his profession4 ,he came to the house several times during our stay there1 and seemed to us1 from his simplicity1 dignity of bearing and pleasant manners1 to be one of ,nature's own gentlemen4 ,no man could discover in him any trait of character even remotely allied to the uncivilized savages1 as the ,tibetans are held in the estimation of ,europeans4 ,he might very well have passed for a trained courtier1 only that he was too good to be one4 ,he came to the house while ,i was there4 ,on the first occasion he was accompanied by a ,goorkha youth1 named ,sundar ,lall1 an employee in the ,darjiling ,news office1 who acted as interpreter4 ,but we soon found out that the peculiar dialect of ,hindi which he spoke was intelligible to some of us without any interpreter1 and so there was none needed on subsequent occasions4 ,on the first day we put him some general questions about ,tibet and the ,gelugpa sect1 to which he said he belonged1 and his answers corroborated the statements of ,bogle1 ,turnour and other travelers4 ,on the second day we asked him if he had heard of any persons in ,tibet who possessed extraordinary powers besides the great lamas4 ,he said there were such men2 that they were not regular lamas1 but far higher than they1 and generally lived in the mountains beyond ,tchigatze and also near the city of ,lhassa4 ,these men1 he said1 produce many and very wonderful phenomena or miracles1 and some of their ,chelas1 or ,lotoos1 as they are called in ,tibet1 cure the sick by giving them to eat the rice which they crush out of the paddy with their hands1 c4 ,then one of us had a glorious idea4 ,without saying one word1 the above-mentioned portrait of the ,mahatma ,koothoomi was shown to him4 ,he looked at it for a few seconds1 and then1 as though suddenly recognizing it1 he made a profound reverence to the portrait1 and said it was the likeness of a ,chohan 7,mahatma7 whom he had seen4 ,then he began rapidly to describe the ,mahatma's dress and naked arms2 then suiting the action to the word1 he took off his outer cloak1 and baring his arms to the shoulder1 made the nearest approach to the figure in the portrait1 in the adjustment of his dress4 ,he said he had seen the ,mahatma in question accompanied by a numerous body of ,gylungs1 about that time of the previous year 7beginning of ,october #ahha7 at a place called ,giansi1 two days' journey southward of ,tchigatze1 whither the narrator dad gone to make purchases for his trade4 ,on being asked the name of the ,mahatma1 he said to our unbounded surprise1 ,they are called ,koothum-pa4 ,being cross-examined and asked what he meant by they1 and whether he was naming one man or many1 he replied that the ,koothum-pas were many1 but there was only one man or chief over them of that name2 the disciples being always called after the names of their guru4 ,hence the name of the latter being ,koot-hum1 that of his disciples was ,koot-hum-pa4 ,light was shed upon this explanation by a ,tibetan dictionary1 where we found that the word pa means man2 ,bod-pa is a man of ,bod or ,thibet1 c4 ,similarly ,koothum-pa means man or disciple of ,koothoom or ,koothoomi4 ,at ,giansi1 the pedlar said1 the richest merchant of the place went to the ,mahatma1 who had stopped to rest in the midst of an extensive field1 and asked him to bless him by coming to his house4 ,the ,mahatma replied1 he was better where he was1 as he had to bless the whole world1 and not any particular man4 ,the people1 and among them our friend ,sundook1 took their offerings to the ,mahatma1 but he ordered them to be distributed among the poor4 ,sundook was exhorted by the ,mahatma to pursue his trade in such a way as to injure no one1 and warned that such was the only right way to prosperity4 ,on being told that people in ,india refused to believe that there were such men as the ,brothers in ,tibet1 ,sundook offered to take any voluntary witness to that country1 and convince us1 through him1 as to the genuineness of their existence1 and remarked that if there were no such men in ,tibet1 he would like to know where they were to be found4 ,it being suggested to him that some people refused to believe that such men existed at all1 he got very angry4 ,tucking up the sleeve of his coat and shirt1 and disclosing a strong muscular arm1 he declared that he would fight any man who would suggest that he had said anything but the truth4 ,on being shown a peculiar rosary of beads belonging to ,madame ,blavatsky1 the pedlar said that such things could only be got by those to whom the ,tesshu ,lama presented them1 as they could be got for no amount of money elsewhere4 ,when the ,chela who was with us put on his sleeveless coat and asked him whether he recognized the latter's profession by his dress1 the pedlar answered that he was a ,gylung and then bowing down to him took the whole thing as a matter of course4 ,the witnesses in this case were ,babu ,nobin ,krishna ,bannerji1 deputy magistrate1 ,berhampore1 ,m4,r4 ,ry4 ,ramaswamiyer ,avergal1 district registrar1 ,madura 7,madras71 the ,goorkha gentleman spoken of before1 all the family of the first-named gentleman1 and the writer4 ,now for the other piece of corroborative evidence4 ,this time it came most accidentally into my possession4 ,a young ,bengali ,brahmachari1 who had only a short time previous to our meeting returned from ,tibet and who was residing then at ,dehradun1 in the ,north-,western ,provinces of ,india1 at the house of my grandfather-in-law1 the venerable ,babu ,devendra ,nath ,tagore of the ,brahmo ,samaj1 gave most unexpectedly1 in the presence of a number of respectable witnesses1 the following account3-- ,on the #aeth of the ,bengali month of ,asar last 7#ahhb74 being the #abth day of the waxing moon1 he met some ,tibetans1 called the ,koothoompas1 and their guru in a field near ,taklakhar1 a place about a day's journey from the ,lake of ,manasarawara4 ,the guru and most of his disciples1 who were called gylungs1 wore sleeveless coats over under-garments of red4 ,the complexion of the guru was very fair1 and his hair1 which was not parted but combed back1 streamed down his shoulders4 ,when the ,brahmachani first saw the ,mahatma he was reading in a book1 which the ,brahmachari was informed by one of the gylungs was the ,rig ,veda4 ,the guru saluted him1 and asked him where he was coming from4 ,on finding the latter had not had anything to eat1 the guru commanded that he should be given some ground gram 7,sattoo7 and tea4 ,as the ,brahmachari could not get any fire to cook food with1 the guru asked for1 and kindled a cake of dry cow-dung--the fuel used in that country as well as in this--by simply blowing upon it1 and gave it to our ,brahmachari4 ,the latter assured us that he had often witnessed the same phenomenon1 produced by another guru or chohan1 as they are called in ,tibet1 at ,gauri1 a place about a day's journey from the cave of ,tarchin1 on the northern side of ,mount ,kailas4 ,the keeper of a flock1 who was suffering from rheumatic fever came to the guru1 who gave him a few grains of rice1 crushed out of paddy1 which the guru had in his hand1 and the sick man was cured then and there4 ,before he parted company with the ,koothumpas and their guru1 the ,brahmachari found that they were going to attend a festival held on the banks of the ,lake of ,manasarawara1 and that thence they intended to proceed to the ,kailas mountains4 ,the above statement was on several occasions repeated by the ,brahmachari in the presence 7among others7 of ,babu ,dwijender ,nath ,tagore of ,jorasanko1 ,calcutta2 ,babu ,cally ,mohan ,ghose of the ,trigonometrical ,surcey of ,india1 ,dehradun2 ,babu ,cally ,cumar ,chatterij of the same place2 ,babu ,gopi ,mohan ,ghosh of ,dacca2 ,babu ,priya ,nath ,sastri1 clerk to ,babu ,devender ,nath ,tagore1 and the writer4 ,comments would here seem almost superfluous1 and the facts might very well have been left to speak for themselves to a fair and intelligent jury4 ,but the averseness of people to enlarge their field of experience and the wilful misrepresentation of designing persons know no bounds4 ,the nature of the evidence here adduced is of an unexceptional character4 ,both witnesses were met quite accidentally4 ,even if it be granted1 which we certainly do not for a moment grant1 that the ,tibetan pedlar1 ,sundook1 had been interviewed by some interested person1 and induced to tell an untruth1 what can be conceived to have been the motive of the ,brahmachari1 one belonging to a religious body noted for their truthfulness1 and having no idea as to the interest the writer took in such things1 in inventing a romance1 and how could he make it fit exactly with the statements of the ,tibetan pedlar at the other end of the country8 ,uneducated persons are no doubt liable to deceive themselves in many matters1 but these statements dealt only with such disunited facts as fell within the range of the narrator's eyes and ears1 and had nothing to do with his judgment or opinion4 ,thus1 when the pedlar's statement is coupled with that of the ,dehradun ,brahmachari1 there is1 indeed1 no room left for any doubt as to the truthfulness of either4 ,it may here be mentioned that the statement of the ,brahmachari was not the result of a series of leading questions1 but formed part of the account he voluntarily gave of his travels during the year1 and that he is almost entirely ignorant of the ,english language1 and had1 to the best of my knowledge1 information and belief1 never even so much as heard of the name of ,theosophy4 ,now1 if any one refuses to accept the mutually corroborative but independent testimonies of the ,tibetan pedlar of ,darjiling and the ,brahmachari of ,dehradun on the ground that they support the genuineness of facts not ordinarily falling within the domain of one's experience1 all ,i can say is that it is the very miracle of folly4 ,it is1 on the other hand1 most unshakably established upon the evidence of several of his ,chelas1 that the ,mahatma ,koothoomi is a living person like any of us1 and that moreover he was seen by two persons on two different occasions4 ,this will1 it is to be hoped1 settle for ever the doubts of those who believe in the genuineness of occult phenomena1 but put them down to the agency of spirits4 ,mark one circumstance4 ,it may be argued that during the pedlar's stay at ,darjiling1 ,madame ,blavatsky was also there1 and1 who knows1 she might have bribed him 7667 into saying what he said4 ,but no such thing can be urged in the case of the ,dehradun ,brahmachari4 ,he knew neither the pedlar nor ,madame ,blavatsky1 had never heard of ,colonel ,olcott1 having just returned from his prolonged journey1 and had no idea that ,i was a ,fellow of the ,society4 ,his testimony was entirely voluntary4 ,some others1 who admit that ,mahatmas exist1 but that there is no proof of their connection with the ,theosophical ,society1 will be pleased to see that there is no a priori impossibility in those great souls taking an interest in such a benevolent ,society as ours4 ,consequently it is a gratuitous insult to a number of self-sacrificing men and women to reject their testimony without a fair hearing4 ,i purposely leave aside all proofs which are already before the public4 ,each set of proofs is conclusive in itself1 and the cumulative effect of all is simply irresistible4 --,mohini ,m4 ,chatterji ,interview with a ,mahatma ,at the time ,i left home for the ,himalayas in search of the ,supreme ,being1 having adopted ,brahmacharyashrama 7religious mendicancy71 ,i was quite ignorant of the fact that there was any such philosophical sect as the ,theosophists existing in ,india1 who believed in the existence of the ,mahatmas or superior persons4 ,this and other facts connected with my journey are perfectly correct as already published1 and so need not be repeated or contradicted4 ,now ,i beg to give a fuller account of my interview with the ,mahatmas4 ,before and after ,i met the so-called ,mahatma ,koothum-pa1 ,i had the good fortune of seeing in person several other ,mahatmas of note1 a detailed account of whom1 ,i hope1 should time allow1 to write to you by-and-by4 ,here ,i wish to say something about ,koothum-pa only4 ,when ,i was on my way to ,almora from ,mansarowar and ,kailas1 one day ,i had nothing with me to eat4 ,i was quite at a loss how to get on without food4 ,there being no human habitation in that part of the country1 ,i could expect no help1 but pray to ,god1 and take my way patiently on4 ,between ,mansarowar and ,taklakhal1 by the side of a road1 ,i observed a tent pitched and several ,sadhus 7holy men71 called ,chohans1 sitting outside it who numbered about seventeen in all4 ,as to their dress1 c41 what ,babu ,m4,m4 ,chatterji says is quite correct4 ,when ,i went to them they entertained me very kindly1 and saluted me by uttering1 ,ram ,ram4 ,returning their salutations1 ,i sat down with them1 and they entered upon conversation with me on different subjects1 asking me first the place ,i was coming from and whither ,i was going4 ,there was a chief of them sitting inside the tent1 and engaged in reading a book4 ,i inquired about his name and the book he was reading from1 one of his ,chelas1 who answered me in rather a serious tone1 saying that his name was ,guru ,koothum-pa1 and the book he was reading was ,rig ,veda4 ,long before1 ,i had been told by some ,pundits of ,bengal that the ,tibetan ,lamas were well-acquainted with the ,rig ,veda4 ,this proved what they had told me4 ,after a short time1 when his reading was over1 he called me in by one of his ,chelas1 and ,i went to him4 ,he1 also bidding me ,ram ,ram1 received me very gently and courteously1 and began to talk with me mildly in pure ,hindi4 ,he addressed me in words such as follows3--,you should remain here for some time and see the fair at ,mansarowar1 which is to come off shortly4 ,here you will have plenty of time and suitable retreats for meditation1 c4 ,i will help you in whatever ,i can4 ,he spoke as above for some time1 and ,i replied that what he said was right1 and that ,i would gladly have stayed1 but there was some reason which prevented me4 ,he understood my object immediately1 and then1 having given me some private advice as to my spiritual progress1 bade me farewell4 ,before this he had come to know that ,i was hungry1 and so wished me to take some food4 ,he ordered one of his ,chelas to supply me with food1 which he did immediately4 ,in order to get hot water ready for my ablutions1 he prepared fire by blowing into a cow-dung cake1 which burst into flames at once4 ,this is a common practice among the ,himalayan ,lamas4 ,it is also fully explained by ,m4,m4 ,chatterji1 and so need not be repeated4 ,as long as ,i was there with the said ,lama1 he never persuaded me to accept ,buddhism or any other religion1 but only said1 ,hinduism is the best religion2 you should believe in the ,lord ,mahadeva--he will do good to you4 ,you are still quite a young man--do not be enticed away by the necromancy of anybody4 ,having had a conversation with the ,mahatma as described above for about three hours1 ,i at last took leave and resumed my journey4 ,i am neither a ,theosophist nor a sectarian1 but am the worshipper of the only ,om4 ,as regards the ,mahatma ,i personally saw1 ,i dare say that he is a great ,mahatma4 ,by the fulfilment of certain of his prophecies1 ,i am quite convinced of his excellence4 ,of all the ,himalayan ,mahatmas with whom ,i had an interview1 ,i never met a better ,hindi speaker than he4 ,as to his birth-place and the place of his residence1 ,i did not ask him any question4 ,neither can ,i say if he is the ,mahatma of the ,theosophists4 ,as to the age of the ,mahatma ,koothum-pa1 as ,i told ,babu ,m4 ,m4 ,chatterji and others1 he was an elderly looking man4 --,rajani ,kant ,brahmachari ,the ,secret ,doctrine ,few experiences lying about the threshhold of occult studies are more perplexing and tormenting than those which have to do with the policy of the ,brothers as to what shall1 and what shall not1 be revealed to the outer world4 ,in fact1 it is only by students at the same time tenacious and patient--continuously anxious to get at the truths of occult philosophy1 but cool enough to bide their time when obstacles come in the way--that what looks1 at first sight1 like a grudging and miserly policy in this matter on the part of our illustrious teachers can be endured4 ,most men persist in judging all situations by the light of their own knowledge and conceptions1 and certainly by reference to standards of right and wrong with which modern civilization is familiar a pungent indictment may be framed against the holders of philosophical truth4 ,they are regarded by their critics as keeping guard over their intellectual possessions1 declaring1 ,we have won this knowledge with strenuous effort and at the cost of sacrifice and suffering2 we will not make a present of it to luxurious idlers who have done nothing to deserve it4 ,most critics of the ,theosophical ,society and its publications have fastened on this obvious idea1 and have denounced the policy of the ,brothers as selfish and unreasonable4 ,it has been argued that1 as regards occult powers1 the necessity for keeping back all secrets which would enable unconscientious people to do mischief1 might be granted1 but that no corresponding motives could dictate the reservation of occult philosophical truth4 ,i have lately come to perceive certain considerations on this subject which have generally been overlooked2 and it seems desirable to put them forward at once2 especially as a very considerable body of occult philosophical teaching is now before the world1 and as those who appreciate its value best1 will sometimes be inclined to protest all the more emphatically against the tardiness with which it has been served out1 and the curious precautions with which its further development is even now surrounded4 ,in a nutshell1 the explanation of the timid policy displayed is that the ,brothers are fully assured that the disclosure of that actual truth 7which constitutes the secret doctrine7 about the origin of the ,world and of ,humanity--of the laws which govern their existence1 and the destinies to which they are moving on--is calculated to have a very momentous effect on the welfare of mankind4 ,great results ensue from small beginnings1 and the seeds of knowledge now being sown in the world may ultimately bear prodigious harvest4 ,we1 who are present merely at the sowing1 may not realize the magnitude and importance of the impulse we are concerned in giving1 but that impulse will roll on1 and a few generations hence will be productive of tremendous consequences one way or the other4 ,for occult philosophy is no shadowy system of speculation like any of the hundred philosophies with which the minds of men have been overwhelmed2 it is the positive ,truth1 and by the time enough of it is let out1 it will be seen to be so by thousands of the greatest men who may then be living in the world4 ,what will be the consequence8 ,the first effect on the minds of all who come to understand it1 is terribly iconoclastic4 ,it drives out before it everything else in the shape of religious belief4 ,it leaves no room for any conceptions belonging even to the groundwork or foundation of ordinary religious faith4 ,and what becomes then of all rules of right and wrong1 of all sanctions for morality8 ,most assuredly there are rules of right and wrong thrilling through every fibre of occult philosophy really higher than any which commonplace theologies can teach2 far more cogent sanctions for morality than can be derived at second-hand from the distorted doctrines of exoteric religions2 but a complete transfer of the sanction will be a process involving the greatest possible danger for mankind at the time4 ,bigots of all denominations will laugh at the idea of such a transfer being seriously considered4 ,the orthodox ,christian--confident in the thousand of churches overshadowing all western lands1 of the enormous force engaged in the maintenance and propagation of the faith1 with the ,pope and the ,protestant hierarchy in alliance for this broad purpose1 with the countless clergy of all sects1 and the fiery ,salvation ,army bringing up the rear--will think that the earth itself is more likely to crumble into ruin than the irresistible authority of ,religion to be driven back4 ,they are all counting1 however1 without the progress of enlightenment4 ,the most absurd religions die hard2 but when the intellectual classes definitively reject them1 they die1 with throes of terrible agony1 may be1 and1 perhaps1 like ,samson in the ,temple1 but they cannot permanently outlive a conviction that they are false in the leading minds of the age4 ,just what has been said of ,christianity may be said of ,mahomedanism and ,brahminism4 ,little or no risk is run while occult literature aims merely at putting a reasonable construction on perverted tenets--in showing people that truth may lurk behind even the strangest theologic fictions4 ,and the lover of orthodoxy1 in either of the cases instanced1 may welcome the explanation with complacency4 ,for him also1 as for the ,christian1 the faith which he professes-- sanctioned by what looks like a considerable antiquity to the very limited vision of uninitiated historians1 and supported by the attachment of millions grown old in its service and careful to educate their children in the convictions that have served their turn--is founded on a rock which has its base in the foundations of the world4 ,fragmentary teachings of occult philosophy seem at first to be no more than annotations on the canonical doctrine4 ,they may even embellish it with graceful interpretations of its symbolism1 parts of which may have seemed to require apology1 when ignorantly taken at the foot of the letter4 ,but this is merely the beginning of the attack4 ,if occult philosophy gets before the world with anything resembling completeness1 it will so command the assent of earnest students that for them nothing else of that nature will remain standing4 ,and the earnest students in such eases must multiply4 ,they are multiplying now even1 merely on the strength of the little that has been revealed4 ,true1 as yet--for some time to come--the study will be1 as it were1 the whim of a few2 but those who know1 know among other things that1 give it fair-play1 and it must become the subject of enthusiasm with all advanced thinkers4 ,and what is to happen when the world is divided into two camps--the whole forces of intellectuality and culture on the one side1 those of ignorance and superstitious fanaticism on the other8 ,with such a war as that impending1 the adepts1 who will be conscious that they prepared the lists and armed the combatants1 will require some better justification for their policy before their own consciences than the reflection that1 in the beginning1 people accused them of selfishness1 and of keeping a miserly guard over their knowledge1 and so goaded them with this taunt that they were induced to set the ball rolling4 ,there is no question1 be it understood1 as to the relative merits of the moral sanctions that are afforded by occult philosophy and those which are distilled from the worn-out materials of existing creeds4 ,if the world could conceivably be shunted at one coup from the one code of morals to the other1 the world would be greatly the better for the change4 ,but the change cannot be made all at once1 and the transition is most dangerous4 ,on the other hand1 it is no less dangerous to take no steps in the direction of that transition4 ,for though existing religions may be a great power--the ,pope ruling still over millions of consciences if not over towns and ,states1 the name of the ,prophet being still a word to conjure with in war1 the forces of ,brahmanical custom holding countless millions in willing subjection--in spite of all this1 the old religions are sapped and past their prime4 ,they are in process of decay1 for they are losing their hold on the educated minority2 it is still the case that in all countries the camps of orthodoxy include large numbers of men distinguished by intellect and culture1 but one by one their numbers are diminishing4 ,five-and-twenty years only1 in ,europe1 have made a prodigious change4 ,books are written now that pass almost as matters of course which would have been impossible no further back than that4 ,no further back1 books thrilled society with surprise and excitement1 which the intellectual world would now ignore as embodying the feeblest commonplaces4 ,the old creeds1 in fact1 are slowly losing their hold upon mankind--more slowly in the more deliberately moving ,east than ,europe1 but even here by degrees also--and a time will come1 whether occult philosophy is given out to take their place or not1 when they will no longer afford even such faulty sanctions for moral conduct and right as they have supplied in times gone by4 ,therefore it is plain that something must be given out to take their place1 and hence the determinations of which this movement in which we are engaged is one of the undulations--these very words some of the foremost froth upon the advancing wave4 ,but surely1 when something which must be done is yet very dangerous in the doing1 the persons who control the operations in progress may be excused for exercising the utmost caution4 ,readers of ,theosophical literature will be aware how bitterly our adept ,brothers have been criticized for choosing to take their own time and methods in the task of partially communicating their knowledge to the world4 ,here in ,india these criticisms have been indignantly resented by the passionate loyalty to the ,mahatmas that is so widely spread among ,hindus--resented more by instinct than reason in some cases perhaps1 though in others1 no doubt1 as a consequence of a full appreciation of all that is being now explained1 and of other considerations beside4 ,but in ,europe such criticisms will have seemed hard to answer4 ,the answer is really embodied1 however imperfectly1 in the views of the situation now set forth4 ,we ordinary mortals in the world work as men traveling by the light of a lantern in an unknown country4 ,we see but a little way to the right and left1 only a little way behind even4 ,but the adepts work as men traveling by daylight1 with the further advantage of being able at will to get up in a balloon and survey vast expanses of lake and plain and forest4 ,the choice of time and methods for communicating occult knowledge to the world necessarily includes the choice of intermediary agent4 ,hence the double set of misconceptions in ,india and ,europe1 each adapted to the land of its origin4 ,in ,india1 where knowledge of the ,brothers' existence and reverence for their attributes is widely diffused1 it is natural that persons who may be chosen for their serviceability rather than for their merits1 as the recipients of their direct teaching1 should be regarded with a feeling resembling jealousy4 ,in ,europe1 the difficulty of getting into any sort of relations with the fountain-head of ,eastern philosophy is regarded as due to an exasperating exclusiveness on the part of the adepts in that philosophy1 which renders it practically worth no man's while to devote himself to the task of soliciting their instruction4 ,but neither feeling is reasonable when considered in the light of the explanations now put forward4 ,the ,brothers can consider none but public interests1 in the largest sense of the words1 in throwing out the first experimental flashes of occult revelation into the world4 ,they can only employ agents on whom they can rely for doing the work as they may wish it done--or1 at all events1 in no manner which may be widely otherwise4 ,or they can only protect the task on which they are concerned in another way4 ,they may consent sometimes to a very much more direct mode of instruction than that provided through intermediary agents for the world at large1 in the cases of organized societies solemnly pledged to secrecy1 for the time being at all events1 in regard to the teaching to be conveyed to them4 ,in reference to such societies1 the ,brothers need not be on the watch to see that the teaching is not worked up for the service of the world in a way they would consider1 for any reasons of their own1 likely to be injurious to final results or dangerous4 ,different men will assimilate the philosophy to be unfolded in different ways3 for some it will be too iconoclastic altogether1 and its further pursuit1 after a certain point is reached1 unwelcome4 ,such persons1 entering too hastily on the path of exploration1 will be able to drop off from the undertaking whenever they like1 if thoroughly pledged to secrecy in the first instance1 without being a source of embarrassment afterwards1 as regards the steady prosecution of the work in hand by other more resolute1 or less sensitive1 labourers4 ,it may be that in some such societies1 if any should be formed in which occult philosophy may be secretly studied1 some of the members will be as well fitted as1 or better than1 any other persons employed elsewhere to put the teachings in shape for publication1 but in that case it is to be presumed that special qualifications will eventually make themselves apparent4 ,the meaning and good sense of the restrictions1 provisionally imposed meanwhile1 will be plain enough to any impartial person on reflection1 even though their novelty and strangeness may be a little resented at the first glance4 --,lay ,chela ,,historical ,the ,puranas on the ,dynasty of the ,moryas and on ,koothoomi ,it is stated in ,matsya ,puran1 chapter cclxxii41 that ten ,moryas would reign over ,india1 and would be succeeded by the ,shoongas1 and that ,shata ,dhanva will be the first of these ten ,maureyas 7or ,moryas74 ,in ,vishnu ,purana 7,book ,,iv4 chapter iv47 it is stated that there was in the ,soorya dynasty a king called ,moru1 who through the power of devotion 7,yoga7 is said to be still living in the village called ,katapa1 in the ,himalayas 7vide vol4 iii4 p4 #aig1 by ,wilson71 and who1 in a future age1 will be the restorer of the ,kshatriya race1 in the ,solar dynasty1 that is1 many thousands of years hence4 ,in another part of the same ,purana 7,book ,,iv4 chapter xxiv47 it is stated that1 upon the cessation of the race of ,nanda1 the ,moryas99 will possess the earth1 for ,kautilya will place ,chandragupta on the throne4 ,col4 ,tod considers ,morya1 or ,maurya1 a corruption of ,mori1 the name of a ,rajput tribe4 ------- 99 ,the particulars of this legend are recorded in the ,atthata katha of the ,uttaraviharo priests4 ------- ,the ,commentary on the ,mahavanso thinks that the princes of the town ,mori were thence called ,mauryas4 ,vachaspattya1 a ,sanskrit ,encyclopaedia1 places the village of ,katapa on the northern side of the ,himalayas-- hence in ,tibet4 ,the same is stated in chapter xii4 7,skanda7 of ,bhagavat1 vol4 iii4 p4 #cbe4 ,the ,vayu ,purana seems to declare that ,moru will re-establish the ,kshatriyas in the nineteenth coming ,yuga4 ,in chapter vi4 ,book ,,iii4 of ,vishnu ,purana1 a ,rishi called ,koothoomi is mentioned4 ,will any of our ,brothers tell us how our ,mahatmas stand to these revered personages8 --,r4 ,ragoonath ,row ,editor's ,note ,in the ,buddhist ,mahavanso1 ,chandagatto1 or ,chandragupta1 ,asoka's grandfather1 is called a prince of the ,moryan dynasty as he certainly was--or rather as they were1 for there were several ,chandraguptas4 ,this dynasty1 as said in the same book1 began with certain ,kshatriyas 7warriors7 of the ,sakya line closely related to ,gautama ,buddha1 who crossing the ,himavanto 7,himalayas7 discovered a delightful location1 well watered1 and situated in the midst of a forest of lofty bo and other trees4 ,there they founded a town1 which was called by its ,sakya lords1 ,morya-,nagara4 ,prof4 ,max ,muller would see in this legend a made-up story for two reasons3 7#a7 ,a desire on the part of ,buddhists to connect their king ,asoka1 the beloved of gods1 with ,buddha1 and thus nullify the slanders set up by the ,brahmanical opponents of ,buddhism to the effect that ,asoka and ,chandragupta were ,sudras2 and 7#b7 because this document does not dovetail with his own theories and chronology based on the fanciful stories of the ,greek-,megasthenes and others4 ,it was not the princes of ,morya-,nagara who received their name from the ,rajput tribe of ,mori1 but the latter that became so well known as being composed of the descendants of the ,moryan sovereign of ,morya-,nagara4 ,some light is thrown on the subsequent destiny of that dynasty in ,replies to an ,english ,f4,t4,s4 7,see ante47 ,the name of ,rishi ,koothoomi is mentioned in more than one ,purana1 and his ,code is among the eighteen ,codes written by various ,rishis1 and preserved at ,calcutta in the library of the ,asiatic ,society4 ,but we have not been told whether there is any connection between our ,mahatma of that name and the ,rishi1 and we do not feel justified in speculating upon the subject4 ,all we know is1 that both are ,northern ,brahmans1 while the ,moryas are ,kshatriyas4 ,if any of our ,brothers know more1 or can discover anything relating to the subject in the ,sacred ,books1 we shall hear of it with pleasure4 ,the words3 ,the ,moryas will possess the earth1 for ,kautilya will place ,chandragupta on the throne1 have in our occult philosophy a dual meaning4 ,in one sense they relate to the days of early ,buddhism1 when a ,chandragupta 7,morya7 was the king of all the earth1 i4e41 of ,brahmans1 who believed themselves the highest and only representatives of humanity for whom earth was evolved4 ,the second meaning is purely esoteric4 ,every adept or genuine ,mahatma is said to possess the earth1 by the power of his occult knowledge4 ,hence1 a series of ten ,moryas1 all initiated adepts1 would be regarded by the occultists1 and referred to as possessing all the earth1 or all its knowledge4 ,the names of ,chandragupta and ,kautilya have also an esoteric significance4 ,let our ,brother ponder over their ,sanskrit meaning1 and he will perhaps see what bearing the phrase--for ,kautilya will place ,chandragupta upon the throne--has upon the ,moryas possessing the earth4 ,we would also remind our ,brother that the word ,itihasa1 ordinarily translated as history1 is defined by ,sanskrit authorities to be the narrative of the lives of some ,august personages1 conveying at the same time meanings of the highest moral and occult importance4 ,the ,theory of ,cycles ,it is now some time since this theory--which was first propounded in the oldest religion of the world1 ,vedaism--has been gradually coming into prominence again4 ,it was taught by various ,greek philosophers1 and afterwards defended by the ,theosophists of the ,middle ,ages1 but came to be flatly denied by the wise men of the ,west1 the world of negations4 ,contrary to the rule1 it is the men of science themselves who have revived this theory4 ,statistics of events of the most varied nature are fast being collected and collated with the seriousness demanded by important scientific questions4 ,statistics of wars and of the periods 7or cycles7 of the appearance of great men--at least those who have been recognized as such by their contemporaries2 statistics of the periods of development and progress of large commercial centres2 of the rise and fall of arts and sciences2 of cataclysms1 such as earthquakes1 epidemics2 periods of extraordinary cold and heat2 cycles of revolutions1 and of the rise and fall of empires1 c43 all these are subjected in turn to the analysis of the minutest mathematical calculations4 ,finally1 even the occult significance of numbers in names of persons and cities1 in events1 and like matters1 receives unwonted attention4 ,if1 on the one hand1 a great portion of the educated public is running into atheism and scepticism1 on the other hand1 we find an evident current of mysticism forcing its way into science4 ,it is the sign of an irrepressible need in humanity to assure itself that there is a power paramount over matter2 an occult and mysterious law which governs the world1 and which we should rather study and closely watch1 trying to adapt ourselves to it1 than blindly deny1 and dash ourselves vainly against the rock of destiny4 ,more than one thoughtful mind1 while studying the fortunes and reverses of nations and great empires1 has been struck by one identical feature in their history--namely1 the inevitable recurrence of similar events1 and after equal periods of time4 ,this relation between events is found to be substantially constant1 though differences in the outward form of details no doubt occur4 ,thus the belief of the ancients in their astrologers1 soothsayers and prophets might have been warranted by the verification of many of their most important predictions1 without these prognostications of future events implying of necessity anything very miraculous4 ,the soothsayers and augurs having occupied in days of the old civilizations the very same position now occupied by our historians1 astronomers and meteorologists1 there was nothing more wonderful in the fact of the former predicting the downfall of an empire or the loss of a battle1 than in the latter predicting the return of a comet1 a change of temperature1 or perhaps the final conquest of ,afghanistan4 ,both studied exact sciences2 for1 if the astronomer of today draws his observations from mathematical calculations1 the astrologer of old also based his prognostication upon no less acute and mathematically correct observations of the ever-recurring cycles4 ,and1 because the secret of this ancient science is now being lost1 does that give any warrant for saying that it never existed1 or that to believe in it1 one must be ready to swallow magic1 miracles and the like8 ,if1 in view of the eminence to which modern science has reached1 the claim to prophesy future events must be regarded as either child's play or a deliberate deception1 says a writer in the ,novoye ,vremja1 then we can point at science which1 in its turn1 has now taken up and placed on record the question1 whether there is or is not in the constant repetition of events a certain periodicity2 in other words1 whether these events recur after a fixed and determined period of years with every nation2 and if a periodicity there be1 whether this periodicity is due to blind chance1 or depends on the same natural laws which govern the phenomena of human life4 ,undoubtedly the latter4 ,and the writer has the best mathematical proof of it in the timely appearance of such works as that of ,dr4 ,e4 ,zasse1 and others4 ,several learned works treating upon this mystical subject have appeared of late1 and to some of these works and calculations we shall presently refer4 ,a very suggestive work by a well-known ,german scientist1 ,e4 ,zasse1 appears in the ,prussian ,journal of ,statistics1 powerfully corroborating the ancient theory of cycles4 ,these periods which bring around ever-recurring events1 begin from the infinitesimally small--say of ten years--rotation1 and reach to cycles which require #bej1 #ejj1 #gjj1 and #ajjj years to effect their revolutions around themselves1 and within one another4 ,all are contained within the ,maha-,yug1 the ,great ,age or ,cycle of ,manu's calculation1 which itself revolves between two eternities--the ,pralayas or ,nights of ,brahma4 ,as1 in the objective world of matter1 or the system of effects1 the minor constellations and planets gravitate each and all around the sun1 so in the world of the subjective1 or the system of causes1 these innumerable cycles all gravitate between that which the finite intellect of the ordinary mortal regards as eternity1 and the still finite1 but more profound1 intuition of the sage and philosopher views as but an eternity within ,,the ,,eternity4 ,as above1 so it is below1 runs the old ,hermetic maxim4 ,as an experiment in this direction1 ,dr4 ,zasse selected the statistical investigations of all the wars recorded in history1 as a subject which lends itself more easily to scientific verification than any other4 ,to illustrate his subject in the simplest and most easily comprehensible manner1 ,dr4 ,zasse represents the periods of war and the periods of peace in the shape of small and large wave-lines running over the area of the ,old ,world4 ,the idea is not a new one1 for the image was used for similar illustrations by more than one ancient and medieval mystic1 whether in words or pictures--by ,henry ,kunrath1 for example4 ,but it serves well its purpose1 and gives us the facts we now want4 ,before he treats1 however1 of the cycles of wars1 the author brings in the record of the rise and fall of the world's great empires1 and shows the degree of activity they have played in the ,universal ,history4 ,he points out the fact that if we divide the map of the ,old ,world into six parts--into ,eastern1 ,central1 and ,western ,asia1 ,eastern and ,western ,europe1 and ,egypt--then we shall easily perceive that every #bej years an enormous wave passes over these areas1 bringing to each in its turn the events it has brought to the one next preceding4 ,this wave we may call the historical wave of the #bej years' cycle4 ,the first of these waves began in ,china #bjjj years ,b4,c41 in the golden age of this empire1 the age of philosophy1 of discoveries1 of reforms4 ,in #agej ,b4,c4 the ,mongolians of ,central ,asia establish a powerful empire4 ,in #aejj1 ,egypt rises from its temporary degradation and extends its sway over many parts of ,europe and ,asia2 and about #abej1 the historical wave reaches and crosses over to ,eastern ,europe1 filling it with the spirit of the ,argonautic ,expedition1 and dies out in #ajjj ,b4,c4 at the ,siege of ,troy4 ,the second historical wave appears about that time in ,central ,asia4 ,the ,scythians leave her steppes1 and inundate towards the year #gej ,b4,c4 the adjoining countries1 directing themselves towards the south and west2 about the year #ejj1 in ,western ,asia begins an epoch of splendour for ancient ,persia2 and the wave moves on to the east of ,europe1 where1 about #bej ,b4,c41 ,greece reaches her highest state of culture and civilization--and further on to the west1 where1 at the birth of ,christ1 the ,roman ,empire finds itself at its apogee of power and greatness4 ,again1 at this period we find the rising of a third historical wave at the far ,east4 ,after prolonged revolutions1 about this time1 ,china forms once more a powerful empire1 and its arts1 sciences and commerce flourish again4 ,then #bej years later1 we find the ,huns appearing from the depths of ,central ,asia2 in the year #ejj ,a4,d41 a new and powerful ,persian kingdom is formed2 in #gej--;in ,eastern ,europe--the ,byzantine empire2 and in the year #ajjj--on its western side--springs up the second ,roman ,power1 the ,empire of the ,papacy1 which soon reaches an extraordinary development of wealth and brilliancy4 ,at the same time the fourth wave approaches from the ,orient4 ,china is again flourishing2 in #abej1 the ,mongolian wave from ,central ,asia has overflowed and covered an enormous area of land1 including ,russia4 ,about #aejj1 in ,western ,asia the ,ottoman ,empire rises in all its might1 and conquers the ,balkan peninsula2 but at the same time1 in ,eastern ,europe1 ,russia throws off the ,tartar yoke2 and about #agej1 during the reign of ,empress ,catherine1 rises to an unexpected grandeur1 and covers itself with glory4 ,the wave ceaselessly moves further on to the ,west2 and beginning with the middle of the past century1 ,europe is living over an epoch of revolutions and reforms1 and1 according to the author1 if it is permissible to prophesy1 then about the year #bjjj1 ,western ,europe will have lived through one of those periods of culture and progress so rare in history4 ,the ,russian press taking the cue believes1 that towards those days the ,eastern ,question will be finally settled1 the national dissensions of the ,european peoples will come to an end1 and the dawn of the new millennium will witness the abolition of armies and an alliance between all the ,european empires4 ,the signs of regeneration are also fast multiplying in ,japan and ,china1 as if pointing to the rise of a new historical wave in the extreme ,east4 ,if from the cycle of two-and-a-half centuries we descend to that which leaves its impress every century1 and1 grouping together the events of ancient history1 mark the development and rise of empires1 then we shall find that1 beginning from the year #gjj ,b4,c41 the centennial wave pushes forward1 bringing into prominence the following nations1 each in its turn--the ,assyrians1 the ,medes1 the ,babylonians1 the ,persians1 the ,greeks1 the ,macedonians1 the ,carthagenians1 the ,romans1 and the ,teutons4 ,the striking periodicity of the wars in ,europe is also noticed by ,dr4 ,e4 ,zasse4 ,beginning with #agjj ,a4,d41 every ten years have been signalized by either a war or a revolution4 ,the periods of the strengthening and weakening of the warlike excitement of the ,european nations represent a wave strikingly regular in its periodicity1 flowing incessantly1 as if propelled onward by some fixed inscrutable law4 ,this same mysterious law seems also to connect these events with the astronomical wave or cycle1 which governs the periodicity of solar spots4 ,the periods when the ,european powers have shown the most destructive energy are marked by a cycle of fifty years' duration4 ,it would be too long and tedious to enumerate them from the beginning of history4 ,we may1 therefore1 limit our study to the cycle beginning with the year #agab1 when all the ,european nations were fighting each other in the ,northern1 and the ,turkish wars1 and the war for the throne of ,spain4 ,about #agfa1 the ,seven ,years' ,war2 in #ahaj1 the wars of ,napoleon ,i4 ,towards #ahfa1 the wave has been a little deflected from its regular course2 but1 as if to compensate for it1 or propelled1 perhaps1 with unusual force1 the years directly preceding1 as well as those which followed it1 left in history the records of the most fierce and bloody wars--the ,crimean ,war in the former1 and the ,american ,civil ,war in the latter period4 ,the periodicity in the wars between ,russia and ,turkey appears peculiarly striking1 and represents a very characteristic wave4 ,at first the intervals between the cycles of thirty years' duration--#agaj1 #agdj1 #aggj then these intervals diminish1 and we have a cycle of twenty years--#agij1 #ahaj1 #ahbi-cj2 then the intervals widen again--#ahec and #ahgh4 ,but if we take note of the whole duration of the in-flowing tide of the war-like cycle1 then we shall have at the centre of it--from #agfh to #ahab--three wars of seven years' duration each1 and at both ends1 wars of two years4 ,finally1 the author comes to the conclusion that1 in view of facts1 it becomes thoroughly impossible to deny the presence of a regular periodicity in the excitement of both mental and physical forces in the nations of the world4 ,he proves that in the history of all the peoples and empires of the ,old ,world1 the cycles marking the millenniums1 the centennials as well as the minor ones of fifty and ten years' duration1 are the most important1 inasmuch as neither of them has ever yet failed to bring in its train some more or less marked event in the history of the nation swept over by these historical waves4 ,the history of ,india is one which1 of all histories1 is the most vague and least satisfactory4 ,yet were its consecutive great events noted down1 and its annals well searched1 the law of cycles would be found to have asserted itself here as plainly as in every other country in respect of its wars1 famines1 political exigencies1 and other matters4 ,in ,france1 a meteorologist of ,paris went to the trouble of compiling the statistics of the coldest seasons1 and discovered that those years which had the figure #i in them had been marked by the severest winters4 ,his figures run thus3--in #hei ,a4,d41 the northern part of the ,adriatic ,sea was frozen1 and was covered for three months with ice4 ,in #aagi1 ,in the most moderate zones1 the earth was covered with several feet of snow4 ,in #abji1 in ,france the depth of snow and the bitter cold caused such a scarcity of fodder that most of the cattle perished in that country4 ,in #abdi1 the ,baltic ,sea between ,russia1 ,norway and ,sweden remained frozen for many months1 and communication was kept up by sleighs4 ,in #acci1 there was such a terrific winter in ,england1 that vast numbers of people died of starvation and exposure4 ,in #adji1 the river ,danube was frozen from its sources to its mouth in the ,black ,sea4 ,in #adfi1 all the vineyards and orchards perished in consequence of the frost4 ,in #afji1 in ,france1 ,switzerland and ,upper ,italy1 people had to thaw their bread and provisions before they could use them4 ,in #afci1 the ,harbour of ,marseilles was covered with ice to a great distance4 ,in #afei1 all the rivers in ,italy were frozen4 ,in #afii1 the winter in ,france and ,italy proved the severest and longest of all4 ,the prices for articles of food were so much raised that half of the population died of starvation4 ,in #agji1 the winter was no less terrible4 ,the ground was frozen in ,france1 ,italy and ,switzerland to the depth of several feet2 and the sea1 south as well as north1 was covered with one compact and thick crust of ice1 many feet deep1 and for a considerable distance in the usually open sea4 ,numbers of wild beasts1 driven out by the cold from their dens in the forests1 sought refuge in villages and even cities2 and the birds fell dead to the ground by hundreds4 ,in #agbi1 #agdi and #agfi 7cycles of twenty years' duration71 all the rivers and streams were ice-bound all over ,france for many weeks1 and all the fruit trees perished4 ,in #aghi1 ,france was again visited by a very severe winter4 ,in ,paris1 the thermometer stood at nineteen degrees of frost4 ,but the severest of all winters proved that of #ahbi4 ,for fifty-four consecutive days all the roads in ,france were covered1 with snow several feet deep1 and all the rivers were frozen4 ,famine and misery reached their climax in the country in that year4 ,in #ahci1 there was again in ,france a most terrific and trying cold season4 ,and the winter of #ahgi has asserted its statistical rights1 and proved true to the fatal influence of the figure #i4 ,the meteorologists of other countries are invited to follow suit1 and make their investigations likewise1 for the subject is certainly most fascinating as well as most instructive4 ,enough has been shown1 however1 to prove that neither the ideas of ,pythagoras on the mysterious influence of numbers1 nor the theories of the ancient world-religions and philosophies are as shallow and meaningless as some too forward thinkers would have had the world to believe4 --,h4,p4,b4 ,,scientific ,odorigen and ,jiva ,professor ,yaeger of ,stuttgart has made a very interesting study of the sense of smell4 ,he starts from the fact well known in medical jurisprudence1 that the blood of an animal when treated by sulphuric1 or indeed by any other decomposing acid1 smells like the animal itself to which it belongs4 ,this holds good even after the blood has been long dried4 ,let us state before all what is to be understood by the smell of a certain animal4 ,there is the pure1 specific smell of the animal1 inherent in its flesh1 or1 as we shall see hereafter1 in certain portions of its flesh4 ,this smell is best perceived when the flesh is gently boiling in water4 ,the broth thereby obtained contains the specific taste and smell of the animal--,i call it specific1 because every species1 nay every variety of species1 has its own peculiar taste and smell4 ,think of mutton broth1 chicken broth1 fish broth1 c4 c4 ,i shall call this smell1 the specific scent of the animal4 ,i need not say that the scent of an animal is quite different from all such odours as are generated within its organism1 along with its various secretions and excretions3 bile1 gastric juice1 sweat1 c4 ,these odours are again different in the different species and varieties of animals4 ,the cutaneous exhalation of the goat1 the sheep1 the donkey1 widely differ from each other2 and a similar difference prevails with regard to all the other effluvia of these animals4 ,in fact1 as far as olfactory experience goes1 we may say that the odour of each secretion and excretion of a certain species of animals is peculiar to itself1 and characteristically different in the similar products of another species4 ,by altering the food of an animal we may considerably alter all the above-mentioned odours1 scents1 as well as smells2 yet essentially they will always retain their specific odoriferous type4 ,all this is matter of strict experience4 ,strongly diffusive as all these odorous substances are1 they permeate the whole organism1 and each of them contributes its share to what in the aggregate constitutes the smell of the living animal4 ,it is altogether an excrementitious smell tempered by the scent of the animal4 ,that excrementitious smell we shall henceforth simply call the smell1 in contradistinction to the scent of the animal4 ,to return after this not very pleasant1 but nevertheless necessary digression1 to our subject4 ,professor ,yaeger found that blood1 treated by an acid1 may emit the scent or the smell of the animal1 according as the acid is weak or strong4 ,a strong acid1 rapidly disintegrating the blood1 brings out the animal's smell2 a weak acid1 the animal's scent4 ,we see1 then1 that in every drop of blood of a certain species of animal1 and we may as well say1 in each of its blood corpuscles1 and in the last instance1 in each of its molecules1 the respective animal species is fully represented1 as to its odorant speciality1 under both aspects of scent and smell4 ,we have1 then1 on the one side1 the fact before us that wherever we meet in the animal kingdom with difference of shape1 form1 and construction1 so different as to constitute a class1 a genus1 or a family of its own1 there we meet at the same time with a distinct and specific scent and smell4 ,on the other hand1 we know that these specific odours are invariably interblended with the very life-blood of the animal4 ,and lastly1 we know that these specific odours cannot be accounted for by any agents taken up in the shape of food from the outer world4 ,we are1 then1 driven to the conclusion that they are properties of the inner animal2 that they1 in other words1 pertain to the specific protoplasm of the animal concerned4 ,and thus our conclusion attains almost certainty1 when we remember that it stands the crucial test of experiment--that we need only decompose the blood in order to find there what we contend to be an essential ingredient of it4 ,i must now say a few words in explanation of the term protoplasm4 ,protoplasm is a soft1 gelatinous substance1 transparent and homogeneous1 easily seen in large plant-cells2 it may be compared to the white of an egg4 ,when at rest all sorts of vibratory1 quivering and trembling movements can be observed within its mass4 ,it forms the living material in all vegetable and animal cells2 in fact1 it is that component of the body which really does the vital work4 ,it is the formative agent of all living tissues4 ,vital activity1 in the broadest sense of the term1 manifests itself in the development of the germ into the complete organism1 repeating the type of its parents1 and in the subsequent maintenance of that organism in its integrity and both these functions are exclusively carried on by the protoplasm4 ,of course1 there is a good deal of chemical and mechanical work done in the organism1 but protoplasm is the formative agent of all the tissues and structures4 ,of tissues and structures already formed1 we may fairly say that they have passed out of the realms of vitality1 as they are destined to gradual disintegration and decay in the course of life2 it is they that are on the way of being cast out of the organism1 when they have once run through the scale of retrograde metamorphosis2 and it is they that give rise to what we have called the smell of the animal4 ,what lives in them is the protoplasm4 ,in the shape of food the outer world supplies the organism with all the materials necessary for the building up of the constantly wasting organic structures2 and1 in the shape of heat1 there comes from the outer world that other element necessary for structural changes1 development and growth--the element of force4 ,but the task of directing all the outward materials to the development and maintenance of the organism--in other words1 the task of the director-general of the organic economy falls to the protoplasm4 ,now this wonderful substance1 chemically and physically the same in the highest animal and in the lowest plant1 has been all along the puzzle of the biologist4 ,how is it that in man protoplasm works out human structure2 in fowl1 fowl structure1 c4 c41 while the protoplasm itself appears to be everywhere the same8 ,to ,professor ,yaeger belongs the great merit of having shown us that the protoplasms of the various species of plants and animals are not the same2 that each of them contains1 moreover1 imbedded in its molecules1 odorant substances peculiar to the one species and not to the other4 ,that1 on the other hand1 those odorous substances are by no means inactive bodies1 may be inferred from their great volatility1 known as it is in physical science that volatility is owing to a state of atomic activity4 ,prevost has described two phenomena that are presented by odorous substances4 ,one is that1 when placed on water1 they begin to move2 and the other is1 that a thin layer of water1 extended on a perfectly clean glass plate1 retracts when such an odorous substance as camphor is placed upon it4 ,monsieur ,ligeois has further shown that the particles of an odorous body1 placed on water1 undergo a rapid division1 and that the movements of camphor1 or of benzoic acid1 are inhibited1 or altogether arrested1 if an odorous substance be brought into contact with the water in which they are moving4 ,seeing1 then1 that odorous substances1 when coming in contact with liquid bodies1 assume a peculiar motion1 and impart at the same time motion to the liquid body1 we may fairly conclude that the specific formative capacity of the protoplasm is owing1 not to the protoplasm itself1 since it is everywhere alike1 but to the inherent1 specific1 odoriferous substances4 ,i shall only add that ,professor ,yaeger's theory may be carried farther yet4 ,each metal has also a certain taste and odour peculiar to itself2 in other words1 they are also endowed with odoriferous substances4 ,and this may help us to explain the fact that each metal1 when crystallizing out of a liquid solution1 invariably assumes a distinct geometrical form1 by which it may be distinguished from any other4 ,common salt1 for instance1 invariably crystallizes in cubes1 alum in octohedra1 and so on4 ,professor ,yaeger's theory explains further to us that other great mystery of ,nature--the transmission from parent to offspring of the morphological speciality4 ,this is another puzzle of the biologist4 ,what is there in the embryonal germ that evolves out of the materials stored up therein a frame similar to the parents8 ,in other words1 what is there that presides over the preservation of the species1 working out the miniature duplicate of the parents' configuration and character8 ,it is the protoplasm1 no doubt2 and the female ovum contains protoplasm in abundance4 ,but neither the physicist nor the chemist can detect any difference between the primordial germ1 say of the fowl1 and that of a female of the human race4 ,in answer to this question--a question before which science stands perplexed--we need only remember what has been said before about the protoplasmic scent4 ,we have spoken before of the specific scent of the animal as a whole4 ,we know1 however1 that every organ and tissue in a given animal has again its peculiar scent and taste4 ,the scent and taste of the liver1 spleen1 brain1 c41 are quite different in the same animal4 ,and if our theory is correct1 then it could not be otherwise4 ,each of these organs is differently constructed1 and as variety of organic structure is supposed to be dependent upon variety of scent1 there must necessarily be a specific cerebral scent1 a specific splenetic scent1 a specific hepatic scent1 c4 c4 ,what we call1 then1 the specific scent of the living animal must1 therefore1 be considered as the aggregate of all the different scents of its organs4 ,when we see that a weak solution of sulphuric acid is capable of disengaging from the blood the scent of the animal1 we shall then bear in mind that this odorous emanation contains particles of all the scents peculiar to each tissue and organ of the animal4 ,when we further say that each organ in a living animal draws by selective affinity from the blood those materials which are necessary for its sustenance1 we must not forget that each organ draws at the same time by a similar selective affinity the specific odorous substances requisite for its constructive requirements4 ,we have now only to suppose that the embryonal germ contains1 like the blood itself1 all the odorous substances pertaining to the various tissues and organs of the parent1 and we shall understand which is the moving principle in the germ that evolves an offspring1 shaped in the image and after the likeness of the parents4 ,in plants it is the blossom which is entrusted with the function of reproduction1 and the odorous emanations accompanying that process are well known4 ,there is strong reason to believe that something similar prevails in the case of animals1 as may be seen from an examination of what embryologists call the aura seminalis4 ,let us now inquire what the effects are of odours generated in the outer world on animals4 ,the odorous impressions produced may be pleasant or unpleasant1 pleasant to one and unpleasant to another animal4 ,what is it that constitutes this sensation of pleasure or displeasure8 ,professor ,yaeger answers1 ,it is harmony or disharmony which makes all the difference4 ,the olfactory organs of each animal are impregnated by its own specific scent4 ,whenever the odorous waves of a substance harmonize in their vibration with the odorous waves emanating from the animal2 in other words1 whenever they fall in and agree with each other1 an agreeable sensation is produced2 whenever the reverse takes places1 the sensation is disagreeable4 ,in this way it is that the odour regulates the choice of the food on the part of the animal4 ,in a similar way the sympathies and antipathies between the various animals are regulated4 ,for every individual has not only its specific but also its individual scent4 ,the selection between the sexes1 or what1 in the case of the human race1 is called love1 has its mainspring in the odorous harmony subsisting in the two individuals concerned4 ,this individual scent--a variation of the specific odorous type--alters 7within the limits of its speciality7 with age1 with the particular mode of occupation1 with the sex1 with certain physiological conditions and functions during life1 with the state of health1 and last1 but not least1 with the state of our mind4 ,it is to be remembered that every time protoplasm undergoes disintegration1 specific odours are set free4 ,we have seen how sulphuric acid1 or heat1 when boiling or roasting meat1 brings out the specific animal odour4 ,but it is an established fact in science1 that every physical or mental operation is accompanied by disintegration of tissue2 consequently we are entitled to say that with every emotion odours are being disengaged4 ,it can be shown that the quality of those odours differ with the nature of the emotion4 ,the prescribed limits prevent further pursuit of the subject2 ,i shall1 therefore1 content myself by drawing some conclusions from ,professor ,yaeger's theory in the light of the ,esoteric ,doctrine4 ,the phenomena of mesmeric cures find their full explanation in the theory just enunciated4 ,for since the construction and preservation of the organism1 and of every organ in particular1 is owing to specific scents1 we may fairly look upon disease in general as a disturbance of the specific scent of the organism1 and upon disease of a particular organ of the body1 as a disturbance of the specific scent pertaining to that particular organ4 ,we have been hitherto in the habit of holding the protoplasm responsible for all phenomena of disease4 ,we have now come to learn that what acts in the protoplasm are the scents2 we shall1 therefore1 have to look to them as the ultimate cause of morbid phenomena4 ,i have mentioned before the experiment of ,mons4 ,ligeois1 showing that odoriferous substances1 when brought in contact with water1 move2 and that the motion of one odoriferous substance may be inhibited1 or arrested altogether1 by the presence of another odoriferous substance4 ,epidemic diseases1 and the zymotic diseases in particular1 have1 then1 most likely their origin in some local odours which inhibit the action of our specific organic odours4 ,in the case of hereditary diseases1 it is most likely the transmission of morbid specific odours from parent to offspring that is the cause of the evil1 knowing1 as we do1 that in disease the natural specific odour is altered1 and must1 therefore1 have been altered in the diseased parent4 ,now comes the mesmeriser4 ,he approaches the sick with the strong determination to cure him4 ,this determination1 or effort of the will1 is absolutely necessary1 according to the agreement of all mesmerisers1 for his curative success4 ,now an effort of the will is a mental operation1 and is1 therefore1 accompanied by tissue disintegration4 ,the effort being purely mental1 we may say it is accompanied by disintegration of cerebral and nervous tissue4 ,but disintegration of organic tissue means1 as we have seen before1 disengagement of specific scents2 the mesmeriser emits1 then1 during his operation1 scents from his own body4 ,and as the patient's sufferings are supposed to originate from a deficiency or alteration of his own specific scent1 we can well see how the mesmeriser1 by his mesmeric or odoriferous emanations1 may effect a cure4 ,he may supply the want of certain odoriferous substances in the patient1 or he may correct others by his own emanations1 knowing1 as we do1 from the experiment of ,mons4 ,ligeois1 that odorant matter does act on odorant matter4 ,one remark more and ,i have done4 ,by the ,esoteric ,doctrine we are told that the living body is divided into two parts3 #a4 ,the physical body1 composed wholly of matter in its grossest and most tangible form4 #b4 ,the vital principle 7or ,jiva71 a form of force indestructible1 and1 when disconnected with one set of atoms1 becoming attracted immediately by others4 ,now this division1 generally speaking1 fully agrees with the teachings of science4 ,i need only remind you of what ,i have said before with regard to the formed tissues and structures of the body and its formative agent the protoplasm4 ,formed structure is considered as material which has already passed out of the realms of life2 what lives in it is the protoplasm4 ,so far the esoteric conception fully agrees with the result of the latest investigations of modern science4 ,but when we are told by the ,esoteric ,doctrine that the vital principle is indestructible1 we feel we move on occult1 incomprehensible ground1 for we know that protoplasm is1 after all1 as destructible as the body itself4 ,it lives as long as life lasts1 and1 it may be said1 it is the only material in the body that does live as long as life lasts4 ,but it dies with the cessation of life4 ,it is true it is capable of a sort of resuscitation4 ,for that very dead protoplasm1 be it animal or vegetable1 serves again as our food1 and as the food of all the animal world1 and thus helps to repair our constantly wasting economy4 ,but for all that it could hardly be said to be indestructible2 it is assimilable--that is to say1 capable of re-entering the domain of life1 through its being taken up by a living body4 ,but such an eventual chance does by no means confer upon it the attribute of indestructibility2 for we need only leave the dead animal or plant containing the protoplasm alone1 and it will rot and decay--organs1 tissues1 and protoplasm altogether4 ,to our further perplexity the ,esoteric ,doctrine tells us that the vital principle is not only indestructible1 but it is a form of force1 which1 when disconnected with one set of atoms1 becomes attracted immediately by others4 ,the vital principle to the ,esoteric ,doctrine would then appear to be a sort of abstract force1 not a force inherent in the living protoplasm--this is the scientific conception--but a force per se1 independent altogether of the material with which it is connected4 ,now ,i must confess this is a doctrine which puzzles one greatly1 although one may have no difficulty in accepting the spirit of man as an entity1 for the phenomena of ratiocination are altogether so widely different from all physical phenomena that they can hardly be explained by any of the physical forces known to us4 ,the materialist1 who tells us that consciousness1 sensation1 thought1 and the spontaneous power of the will1 so peculiar to man and to the higher animals1 are altogether so many outcomes of certain conditions of matter and nothing else1 makes at best merely a subjective statement4 ,he cannot help acknowledging that spontaneity is not a quality of matter4 ,he is then driven to the contention that what we believe to be spontaneous in us1 is1 after all1 an unconscious result of external impulses only4 ,his contention rests then on the basis of his own inner experience1 or what he believes to be such4 ,this contention of his is1 however1 disputed by many1 who no less appeal to their own inner experience1 or what they believe to be their experience4 ,it is then a question of inner experience of the one party versus inner experience of the other4 ,and such being the case1 the scientific materialist is driven to admit that his theory1 however correct it may be1 rests1 after all1 on subjective experience1 and can1 as such1 not claim the rank of positive knowledge4 ,there is then no difficulty in accepting the entity of the spirit in man1 the materialistic assertion to the contrary notwithstanding4 ,but the vital force is exclusively concerned with the construction of matter4 ,here we have a right to expect that physical and chemical forces should hold the whole ground of an explanation1 if an explanation is possible at all4 ,now1 physical and chemical forces are no entities2 they are invariably connected with matter4 ,in fact1 they are so intimately connected with matter that they can never be dissevered from it altogether4 ,the energy of matter may be latent or patent1 and1 when patent1 it may manifest itself in one form or the other1 according to the condition of its surroundings2 it may manifest itself in the shape of light1 heat1 electricity1 magnetism1 or vitality2 but in one form or the other energy constantly inheres in matter4 ,the correlation of forces is now a well-established1 scientific fact1 and it is more than plausible that what is called the vital principle1 or the vital force1 forms a link in the chain of the other known physical forces1 and is1 therefore1 transmutable into any of them2 granted even that there is such a thing as a distinct vital force4 ,the tendency of modern ,biology is then to discard the notion of a vital entity altogether4 ,if vital force is to be indestructible1 then so are also indestructible heat1 light1 electricity1 c42 they are indestructible in this sense1 that whenever their respective manifestation is suspended or arrested1 they make their appearance in some other form of force2 and in this very same sense vital force may be looked upon as indestructible3 whenever vital manifestation is arrested1 what had been acting as vital force is transformed into chemical1 electrical forces1 c41 taking its place4 ,but the ,esoteric ,doctrine appears to teach something quite different from what ,i have just explained1 and what is1 as far as ,i understand1 a fair representation of the scientific conception of the subject4 ,the ,esoteric ,doctrine tells us that the vital principle is indestructible1 and1 when disconnected with one set of atoms1 becomes attracted by others4 ,he then evidently holds that1 what constitutes the vital principle is a principle or form of force per se1 a form of force which can leave one set of atoms and go over as such to another set1 without leaving any substitute force behind4 ,this1 it must be said1 is simply irreconcileable with the scientific view on the subject as hitherto understood4 ,by the and of ,professor ,yaeger's theory this difficulty can be explained1 ,i am happy to say1 in a most satisfactory way4 ,the seat of the vital principle1 according to ,professor ,yaeger's theory1 is not the protoplasm1 but the odorant matter imbedded in it4 ,and such being the case1 the vital principle1 as far as it can be reached by the breaking up of its animated protoplasm1 is really indestructible4 ,you destroy the protoplasm by burning it1 by treating it with sulphuric acid1 or any other decomposing agent--the odoriferous substances1 far from being destroyed1 become only so much the more manifest2 they escape the moment protoplasmic destruction or decomposition begins1 carrying along with them the vital principle1 or what has been acting as such in the protoplasm4 ,and as they are volatile1 they must soon meet with other protoplasms congenial to their nature1 and set up there the same kind of vital activity as they have done in their former habitat4 ,they are1 as the ,esoteric ,doctrine rightly teaches1 indestructible1 and when disconnected with one set of atoms1 they immediately become attracted by others4 --,l4 ,salzer1 ,m4,d4 ,odorigen and ,jiva 7,,ii47 ,there is a well-known ,sanskrit treatise1 where most of the deductions of ,dr4 ,yaeger are anticipated and practically applied to sexual selection in the human species4 ,the subject of aura seminalis finds a pretty full treatment there4 ,the connection between what ,dr4 ,yaeger calls odorigen and jiva or prana1 as it is differently called in different systems of ,indian philosophy1 has been well traced4 ,but his remarks on this subject1 able as they no doubt are1 call for a few observations from the point of view of occult philosophy4 ,jiva has been described by a trustworthy authority as a form of force indestructible1 and1 when disconnected with one set of atoms1 is immediately attracted by another set4 ,dr4 ,salzer concludes from this that occult philosophy looks upon it as an abstract force or force per se4 ,but surely this is bending too much to the ,procrustean phraseology of modern science1 and if not properly guarded will lead to some misapprehension4 ,matter in occult philosophy means existence in the widest sense of that word4 ,however much the various forms of existence1 such as physical1 vital1 mental1 spiritual1 c41 differ from each other1 they are mutually related as being parts of the ,,one ,,universal ,,existence1 the ,parabrahma of the ,vedantist4 ,force is the inherent power or capacity of ,parabrahma1 or the matter of occultism1 to assume different forms4 ,this power or capacity is not a separate entity1 but is the thing itself in which it inheres1 just as the three-angled character of a triangle is nothing separate from the triangle itself4 ,from this it will be abundantly clear that1 accepting the nomenclature of occult science1 one cannot speak of an abstract force without being guilty of a palpable absurdity4 ,what is meant by ,jiva being a form of force1 c41 is that it is matter in a state in which it exhibits certain phenomena1 not produced by it in its sensuous state2 or1 in other words1 it is a property of matter in a particular state1 corresponding with properties called1 under ordinary circumstances1 heat1 electricity1 c41 by modern science1 but at the same time without any correlation to them4 ,it might here be objected that if ,jiva was not a force per se1 in the sense which modern science would attach to the phrase1 then how can it survive unchanged the grand change called death1 which the protoplasms it inheres in undergo8 and even granting that ,jiva is matter in a particular state1 in what part of the body shall we locate it1 in the teeth of the fact that the most careful examination has not been successful in detecting it8 ,jiva1 as has already been stated1 is subtle supersensuous matter1 permeating the entire physical structure of the living being1 and when it is separated from such structure life is said to become extinct4 ,it is not reasonable therefore to expect it to be subject to detection by the surgeon's knife4 ,a particular set of conditions is necessary for its connection with an animal structure1 and when those conditions are disturbed1 it is attracted by other bodies1 presenting suitable conditions4 ,dr4 ,yaegar's odorigen is not ,jiva itself1 but is one of the links which connects it with the physical body2 it seems to be matter standing between ,sthula ,sarira 7gross body7 and ,jiva4 --,dharanidar ,kauthumi ,introversion of ,mental ,vision ,some interesting experiments have recently been tried by ,mr4 ,f4,w4,h4 ,myers and his colleagues of the ,psychic ,research ,society of ,london1 which1 if properly examined1 are capable of yielding highly important results4 ,with the details of these we are not at present concerned3 it will suffice for our purpose to state1 for the benefit of readers unacquainted with the experiments1 that in a very large majority of cases1 too numerous to be the result of mere chance1 it was found that the thought-reading sensitive obtained but an inverted mental picture of the object given him to read4 ,a piece of paper1 containing the representation of an arrow1 was held before a carefully blindfolded thought-reader1 who was requested to mentally see the arrow as it was turned round4 ,in these circumstances it was found that when the arrow-head pointed to the right1 it was read off as pointing to the left1 and so on4 ,this led some to imagine that there was a mirage in the inner as well as on the outer plane of optical sensation4 ,but the real explanation of the phenomenon lies deeper4 ,it is well known that an object as seen by us and its image on the retina of the eye1 are not exactly the same in position1 but quite the reverse4 ,how the image of an object on the retina is inverted in sensation1 is a mystery which physical science is admittedly incapable of solving4 ,western metaphysics1 too1 with regard to this point1 hardly fares any better2 there are as many theories as there are metaphysicians4 ,the only philosopher who has obtained a glimpse of the truth is the idealist ,berkeley1 who says that a child does really see a thing inverted from our standpoint2 to touch its head it stretches out its hands in the same direction of its body as we do of ours to reach our feet4 ,repeated failures give experience and lead to the correction of the notions born of one sense by those derived through another2 the sensations of distance and solidity are produced in the same way4 ,the application of this knowledge to the above mentioned experiments of the ,psychic ,research ,society will lead to very suggestive results4 ,if the trained adept is a person who has developed all his interior faculties1 and is on the psychic plane in the full possession of his senses1 the individual1 who accidentally1 that is1 without occult training1 gains the inner sight1 is in the position of a helpless child--a sport of the freaks of one isolated inner sense4 ,such was the case with the sensitives with whom ,mr4 ,myers and his colleagues experimented4 ,there are instances1 however1 when the correction of one sense by another takes place involuntarily and accurate results are brought out4 ,when the sensitive reads the thoughts in a man's mind1 this correction is not required1 for the will of the thinker shoots the thoughts1 as it were1 straight into the mind of the sensitive4 ,the introversion under notice will1 moreover1 be found to take place only in the instance of such images which cannot be corrected by the already acquired sense-experience of the sensitive4 ,a difficulty may here suggest itself with regard to the names of persons or the words thought of for the sensitive's reading4 ,but allowance must in such cases be made for the operation of the thinker's will1 which forces the thought into the sensitive's mind1 and thereby obviates introversion4 ,it is abundantly clear from this that the best way of studying these phenomena is when only one set of inner faculties1 that of the sensitive1 is in play4 ,this takes place always when the object the sensitive has to abnormally perceive is independent of the will of any other person1 as in the case of its being represented on paper4 ,applying the same law to dreams1 we can find the rationale of the popular superstition that facts are generally inverted in dreams4 ,to dream of something good is generally taken to be the precursor of something evil4 ,in the exceptional cases in which dreams have been found to be prophetic1 the dreamer was either affected by another's will or under the operation of some disturbing forces1 which cannot be calculated except for each particular case4 ,in this connection another very important psychic phenomenon may be noticed4 ,instances are too numerous and too well authenticated to be amenable to dispute1 in which an occurrence at a distance--for instance1 the death of a person--has pictured itself to the mental vision of one interested in the occurrence4 ,in such cases the double of the dying man appears even at a great distance1 and becomes visible usually to his friend only1 but instances are not rare when the double is seen by a number of persons4 ,the former case comes within the class of cases under consideration1 as the concentrated thought of the dying man is clairvoyantly seen by the friend1 and the incidents correctly reproduced by the operation of the dying man's will-energy1 while the latter is the appearance of the genuine mayavirupa1 and therefore not governed by the law under discussion4 --,mohini ,m4 ,chatterji ,precipitation ,or all phenomena produced by occult agency in connection with our ,society1 none have been witnessed by a more extended circle of spectators1 or more widely known and commented on through recent ,theosophical publications1 than the mysterious production of letters4 ,the phenomenon itself has been so well described in the ,occult ,world and elsewhere1 that it would be useless to repeat the description here4 ,our present purpose is more connected with the process than the phenomenon of the mysterious formation of letters4 ,mr4 ,sinnett sought for an explanation of the process1 and elicited the following reply from the revered ,mahatma1 who corresponds with him3--4444,bear in mind these letters are not written1 but impressed1 or precipitated1 and then all mistakes corrected 4444 ,i have to think it over1 to photograph every word and sentence carefully in my brain1 before it can be repeated by precipitation4 ,as the fixing on chemically-prepared surfaces of the images formed by the camera requires a previous arrangement within the focus of the object to be represented1 for1 otherwise--as often found in bad photographs--the legs of the sitter might appear out of all proportion with the head1 and so on--so we here to first arrange our sentences1 and impress every letter to appear on paper in our minds1 before it becomes fit to be read4 ,for the present1 it is all ,i can tell you4 ,since the above was written1 the ,masters have been pleased to permit the veil to be drawn aside a little more1 and the modus operandi can thus be explained now more fully to the outsider4 ,those having even a superficial knowledge of the science of mesmerism know how the thoughts of the mesmeriser1 though silently formulated in his mind1 are instantly transferred to that of the subject4 ,it is not necessary for the operator1 if he is sufficiently powerful1 to be present near the subject to produce the above result4 ,some celebrated practitioners in this science are known to have been able to put their subjects to sleep even from a distance of several days' journey4 ,this known fact will serve us as a guide in comprehending the comparatively unknown subject now under discussion4 ,the work of writing the letters in question is carried on by a sort of psychic telegraphy2 the ,mahatmas very rarely write their letters in the ordinary way4 ,an electro-magnetic connection1 so to say1 exists on the psychic plane between a ,mahatma and his chelas1 one of whom acts as his amanuensis4 ,when the ,master wants a letter to be written in this way1 he very often draws the attention of the chela1 whom he selects for the task1 by causing an astral bell 7heard by so many of our ,fellows and others7 to be rung near him1 just as the despatching telegraph office signals to the receiving office before wiring the message4 ,the thoughts arising in the mind of the ,mahatma are then clothed in words1 pronounced mentally1 and forced along currents in the astral light impinge on the brain of the pupil4 ,thence they are borne by the nerve-currents to the palms of his hands and the tips of his fingers1 which rest on a piece of magnetically-prepared paper4 ,as the thought waves are thus impressed on the tissue1 materials are drawn to it from the ocean of akas 7permeating every atom of the sensuous universe7 by an occult process1 out of place here to describe1 and permanent marks are left4 ,from this it is abundantly clear that the success of such writing1 as above described1 depends chiefly upon two conditions3--7#a7 ,the force and clearness with which the thoughts are propelled2 and 7#b7 the freedom of the receiving brain from disturbance of every description4 ,the case with the ordinary electric telegraph is exactly the same4 ,if1 for some reason or other1 the battery supplying the electric power falls below the requisite strength on any telegraph line1 or there is some derangement in the receiving apparatus1 the message transmitted becomes either mutilated or otherwise imperfectly legible4 ,inaccuracies1 in fact1 do very often arise1 as may be gathered from what the ,mahatma says in the above extract4 ,bear in mind1 says he1 that these letters are not written1 but impressed1 or precipitated1 and then all mistakes corrected4 ,to turn to the sources of error in the precipitation4 ,remembering the circumstances under which blunders arise in telegrams1 we see that if a ,mahatma somehow becomes exhausted1 or allows his thoughts to wander during the process1 or fails to command the requisite intensity in the astral currents along which his thoughts are projected1 or the distracted attention of the pupil produces disturbances in his brain and nerve-centres1 the success of the process is very much interfered with4 ,it is to be regretted that illustrations of the above general principles are not permitted to be published4 ,enough1 however1 has been disclosed to give the public a clue to many apparent mysteries in regard to precipitated letters1 and to draw all earnest and sincere inquirers strongly to the path of spiritual progress1 which alone can lead to the comprehension of occult phenomena4 --,anon4 ,how ,shall ,we ,sleep8 ,it appears that the opinion of ,mr4 ,seeta ,nath ,ghose and of ,baron ,von ,reichenbach are in direct conflict on the subject of this paper1 the latter recommending the head of the sleeper to be northward1 the former entirely condemning that position4 ,it is my humble opinion that both writers are right1 each from his own standpoint1 as ,i shall try to show4 ,what is the reason that our position in sleep should be of any consequence8 ,because our body must be in a position at harmony with the main magnetic currents of the earth2 but as these currents are not the same in all parts of the world the positions of the sleeper must1 therefore1 vary4 ,there are three main magnetic currents on our earth--viz41 in the northern hemisphere1 from north pole towards the equator2 in the southern hemisphere1 from south pole towards the equator2 these two currents meeting in the torrid zone continue their combined course from east to west4 ,so the position of the sleeper must vary according as he finds himself to the north or south of the torrid zone or within it4 ,in the north frigid or temperate zone1 he has to lie with his head northward2 in the southern1 southward2 in the torrid zone1 eastward-- in order that the magnetic current may pass through him from head to foot without disturbance1 as this is the natural position for magnetization4 ,the following diagram may give a clearer view of the case1 and thus help us to answer the second part of the question1 whether and when we ought to lie on the right or the left side1 on the stomach or on the back3-- ,diagram here ,the able writer of ,how ,shall we ,sleep8 shows1 in his cross diagram1 that he thinks the head to be entirely positive and both feet negative4 ,i think that this is not the case1 but that the right side of the head and the left foot are positive1 and the left side of the head and the right foot negative1 and similarly the right hand is negative and the left hand is positive4 ,as the north pole is positive and the left side of the head negative1 the natural position in sleep for those living within the northern zones would be on the right side1 head northward2 and it is obvious that in the southern zones the position must be exactly the reverse4 ,as to those who live under the tropics1 lying on the stomach seems to me to be the most natural position1 since the left1 or negative side of the head1 is turned to the north or positive current1 and vice versa4 ,for many years ,i and my family have been sleeping with our heads either to the north or the west 7the right position in our hemisphere1 in my opinion71 and we had no occasion to regret it2 for from that time forward the physician has become a rare visitor in our house4 ,mr4 ,seeta ,nath ,ghose says1 in his interesting paper on ,medical ,magnetism1 that ,mandulies 7metallic cells7 are worn to great advantage in ,india on diseased parts of the body4 ,the curative properties of these cells ,i have seen verified in authentic instances4 ,when1 years ago 7,i believe about #aheb71 cholera was devastating some parts of ,europe1 it was remarked at ,munich 7,bavaria7 that among the thousands of its victims there was not a single coppersmith4 ,hence1 it was recommended by the medical authorities of that town to wear disks of thin copperplate 7of about #b #a_/b inch diameter7 on a string1 on the pit of the stomach1 and they proved to be a powerful preventive of cholera4 ,again1 in #ahfg1 cholera visited ,odessa4 ,i and my whole family wore these copper disks2 and while all around there were numerous cases of cholera and dysentery1 not one of us was attacked4 ,i propose that serious experiments should be made in this direction1 and specially in those countries which are periodically devastated by that disease3 as ,india1 for instance4 ,it is my conviction that one disk of copper on the stomach1 and another of zinc on the spine1 opposite the former1 will be of still better service1 the more so if the disks are joined by a thin copper chain4 --,gustave ,zorn ,in the first place it is necessary to say that the rules laid down by ,garga1 ,markandeya and others on the above subject1 refer to the inhabitants of the plains only1 and not to dwellers on mountains4 ,the rule is that on retiring a man should first lie on his right side for the period of sixteen breathings1 then turn on his left for double that time1 and after that he can sleep in any position4 ,further1 that a man must not sleep on the ground1 on silken or woollen cloth1 under a solitary tree1 where cross-roads meet1 on mountains1 or on the sky 7whatever that may mean74 ,nor is he to sleep with damp clothes1 wet feet1 or in a naked state2 and1 unless an initiate1 should not sleep on ,kusha grass or its varieties4 ,there are many more such rules4 ,i may here notice that in ,sanskrit the right hand or side and south are signified by the same term4 ,so also the front and north have one and the same name4 ,the sun is the great and chief source of life and magnetism in the solar system4 ,hence to the world the east is positive as the source of light and magnetism4 ,for the same reason1 to the northern hemisphere the south 7the equator and not the north7 is positive4 ,under the laws of dynamics the resultant of these two forces will be a current in the directed from ,s4,e4 to ,n4,w4 ,this1 ,i think1 is one of the real causes of the prevailing south-east wind4 ,at any rate1 ,i do not think the north pole to be positive1 as there would be no snow there in such a case4 ,the aurora cannot take place at the source of the currents1 but at their close4 ,hence the source must be towards the equator or south4 ,the course of life1 civilization1 light1 and almost everything seems to be from ,e4 to ,w4 or ,s4,e4 to ,n4,w4 ,the penalty for sleeping with the head to the west is said to be anxiety of mind1 while sleeping with the head to the north is considered fatal4 ,i beg to invite the attention of the ,hindus to a similar penalty of death incurred by any but an initiate 7,brahman7 pronouncing the sacred ,pranava 7,om74 ,this does not prove that ,pranava is really a mischievous bad word1 but that1 with incompetent men1 it is fraught with danger4 ,so also1 in the case of ordinary men of the plains1 there may be unknown dangers which it would not be prudent for them to risk so long as they do not know how to meet them1 or so long as they are not under the guidance of men who can protect them4 ,in short1 ordinary men should move on in their beaten course1 and these rules are for them only4 ,as an instance of the infringement of the rule the following anecdote is given3-- ,after ,ganesha 7,siva's son7 was born1 all the ,devas 7gods7 came to congratulate the family and bless the child4 ,sani or ,saturn1 was the last to come1 and even then he came after he had been several times inquired after4 ,when he went to see the infant1 it appeared headless6 ,this at once created a sensation1 and all the ,devas were at their wits' end4 ,at last ,saturn himself approached ,mahadeva with folded hands and reminded him that it was due to his presence1 and the child having been kept in a bed with its head to the north4 ,for such was the law4 ,then the ,devas consulted together and sent out messengers to find out who else was sleeping with the head to the north4 ,at last they discovered an elephant in that position4 ,its head was immediately cut off and placed on the shoulders of ,ganesha4 ,it need not be said that ,ganesha became afterwards so learned and wise that if he had not had an elephant's head1 a human head would never have been sufficient to hold all he knew4 ,this advantage he owed to the circumstance of his sleeping with head to the north1 and the blessing of the ,devas4 ,to the elephant1 the same position but minus the blessing of the ,devas proved absolute death4 --,nobin ,k4 ,bannerji ,reading ,mr4 ,seeta ,nath ,ghose's paper on ,medical ,magnetism and having studied long ago ,baron von ,reichenbach's ,researches in ,magnetism1 ,i am sorely puzzled1 inasmuch as these two authorities appear to clash with each other most completely--the one asserting head to north never1 under no circumstances1 the other head to north ever and under all circumstances4 ,i have pursued the advice of the latter1 not knowing of the former for many years1 but have not found the effect on my health which ,i had hoped for1 and what is of more importance1 ,i have not found a law of certain application to humanity and bringing health to all4 ,it seems to me on carefully reading this article that a most important point has been omitted or passed over--i4e41 the position of the sleeper1 whether on his face or on his back8 ,this is most important1 for a correct answer may go far to reconcile the two theories1 which1 be it remembered1 claim both to be supported by experiment and by observation4 ,i cannot conceive that a one-sided position is a natural one for man1 and thus leave two alternatives4 ,is the proper position in sleep lying on the back or on the stomach8 ,not one word has been said as to the position in which experiments were tried on either side4 ,now the one thing which seems clear in all this is1 that positive should be toward negative and negative toward positive4 ,let us then draw a diagram and these positions will follow with these results--taking the north as positive and south as negative1 east as negative and west as positive4 ,position ,i4--,lying on the ,back4 ,a4 ,head to ,east 444444444444 ,accord in all ,b4 ,head to ,north 4444444444 ,discord--,head and feet ,accord--,hands4 ,c4 ,head to ,south 44444444444 ,accord--,head and feet4 ,discord--,hands4 ,d4 ,head to ,west 444444444444 ,discord in all4 ---#ebi ,diagram here ,position ,,ii4--,lying on ,stomach ,a'4 ,head to ,east 44444444 ,accord--in ,head and feet ,discord--in ,hands ,b'4 ,head to ,north 4444444 ,discord in all ,c'4 ,head to ,south 4444444 ,accord in all ,d'4 ,head to ,west 44444444 ,discord--,head and feet ,accord--,hands ,now1 from this will come some light1 ,i think on the apparently contradictory theories1 if we could ascertain3 7#a7 ,which position did the renowned ,garga and ,markandeya contemplate as the proper position for men to sleep in8 7#b7 ,in which position did those on whom ,baron von ,reichenbach experimented lie8 ,this is a most important question for all who value the gift of health1 as well as for those who would be wise4 ,in my sojourn in southern countries ,i have noticed that the natives of the lower classes at least always sleep on their stomachs1 with their back turned to the sun1 and all animals do the same1 while sleeping on the back is most dangerous1 at least in the sun4 ,is not this a guide or hint as to the true position8 ,transmigration of the ,life-,atoms ,it is said that for three thousand years at least the 'mummy1' not withstanding all the chemical preparations1 goes on throwing off to the last invisible atoms1 which1 from the hour of death1 reentering the various vortices of being1 go indeed through every variety of organized life-forms4 ,but it is not the soul1 the fifth1 least of all the sixth principle1 but the life-atoms of the ,jiva1 the second principle4 ,at the end of the #c1jjj years1 sometimes more1 and sometimes less1 after endless transmigrations1 all these atoms are once more drawn together1 and are made to form the new outer clothing or the body of the same monad 7the real soul7 which they had already clothed two or three thousand years before4 ,even in the worst case1 that of the annihilation of the conscious personal principle1 the monad or individual soul is ever the same1 as are also the atoms of the lower principles1 which1 regenerated and renewed in this ever-flowing river of being1 are magnetically drawn together owing to their affinity1 and are once more reincarnated together4 ,this little passage is a new instalment of occult teaching given to the public1 and opens up a vast field for thought4 ,it suggests1 in the first instance1 that the exoteric doctrine of the transmigration of the soul through lower forms of existence--so generally believed in by the ,hindus1 though incorrect as regards the soul 7fifth principle7--has some basis of truth when referred to the lower principles4 ,it is stated further that the mummy goes on throwing off invisible atoms1 which go through every variety of organized life-forms1 and further on it is stated that it is the life-atoms of the ,jiva1 the second principle1 that go through these transmigrations4 ,according to the esoteric teaching1 the ,jiva is a form of force indestructible1 and1 when disconnected with one set of atoms1 becoming attracted immediately by others4 ,what1 then1 is meant by the life-atoms1 and their going through endless transmigrations8 ,the invisible atoms of the mummy would mean the imperceptibly decaying atoms of the physical body1 and the life-atoms of the ,jiva would be quite distinct from the atoms of the mummy4 ,is it meant to imply that both the invisible atoms of the physical body1 as well as the atoms of the ,jiva1 after going through various life-forms1 return again to re-form the physical body1 and the ,jiva of the entity that has reached the end of its ,devachanic state and is ready to be reincarnated again8 ,it is taught1 again1 that even in the worst case 7the annihilation of the ,personal ,ego7 the atoms of the lower principles are the same as in the previous birth4 ,here1 does the term lower principles include the ,kama rupa also1 or only the lower triad of body1 ,jiva1 and ,lingasarira8 ,it seems the ,kama rupa in that particular case cannot be included1 for in the instance of the annihilation of the personal soul1 the ,kama rupa would be in the eighth sphere4 ,another question also suggests itself4 ,the fourth principle 7,kama rupa7 and the lower portion of the fifth1 which cannot be assimilated by the sixth1 wander about as shells1 and in time disperse into the elements of which they are made4 ,do the atoms of these principles also reunite1 after going through various transmigrations1 to constitute over again the fourth and the lower fifth of the next incarnation8 --,n4,d4,k4 ,note ,we would1 to begin with1 draw attention to the closing sentence of the passage quoted above3 ,such was the true occult theory of the ,egyptians1 the word true being used there in the sense of its being the doctrine they really believed in1 as distinct from both the tenets fathered upon them by some ,orientalists1 and that which the modern occultists may be now teaching4 ,it does not stand to reason that1 outside those occult truths that were known to1 and revealed by1 the great ,hierophants during the final initiation1 we should accept all that either the ,egyptians or any other people may have regarded as true4 ,the ,priests of ,isis were the only true initiates1 and their occult teachings were still more veiled than those of the ,chaldeans4 ,there was the true doctrine of the ,hierophants of the inner ,temple2 then the half-veiled ,hieratic tenets of the ,priest of the outer ,temple2 and1 finally1 the vulgar popular religion of the great body of the ignorant1 who were allowed to reverence animals as divine4 ,as shown correctly by ,sir ,gardner ,wilkinson1 the initiated priests taught that dissolution is only the cause of reproduction 4444 nothing perishes which has once existed1 but things which appear to be destroyed only change their natures and pass into another form4 ,to the present case1 however1 the ,egyptian doctrine of atoms coincides with our own occult teachings4 ,in the above remarks the words1 ,the life-atoms of the ,jiva1 are taken in a strictly literal sense4 ,without any doubt ,jiva or ,prana is quite distinct from the atoms it animates4 ,the latter belong to the lowest or grossest state of matter--the objectively conditioned2 the former1 to a higher state--that state which the uninitiated1 ignorant of its nature1 would call the objectively finite1 but which1 to avoid any future misunderstanding1 we may1 perhaps1 be permitted to call the subjectively eternal1 though1 at the same time and in one sense1 the subsistent existence1 however paradoxical and unscientific the term may appear499 ,life1 the occultist says1 is the eternal uncreated energy1 and it alone represents in the infinite universe1 that which the physicists have agreed to name the principle1 or the law of continuity1 though they apply it only to the endless development of the conditioned4 ,but since modern science admits1 through her most learned professors1 that energy has as much claim to be regarded as an objective reality as matter itself9999 and as life1 according to the occult doctrine1 is the one energy acting1 ,proteus-like1 under the most varied forms1 the occultists have a certain right to use such phraseology4 ,life is ever present in the atom or matter1 whether organic or inorganic--a difference that the occultists do not accept4 ,their doctrine is that life is as much present in the inorganic as in the organic matter3 when life-energy is active in the atom1 that atom is organic2 when dormant or latent1 then the atom is inorganic4 -------- 99 ,though there is a distinct term for it in the language of the adepts1 how can one translate it into a ,european language8 ,what name can be given to that which is objective yet immaterial in its finite manifestations1 subjective yet substantive 7though not in our sense of substance7 in its eternal existence8 ,having explained it the best we can1 we leave the task of finding a more appropriate term for it to our learned ,english occultists4 9999 ,unseen ,universe4 ---------- ,therefore1 the expression life-atom1 though apt in one sense to mislead the reader1 is not incorrect after all1 since occultists do not recognize that anything in ,nature can be inorganic1 and know of no dead atoms1 whatever meaning science may give to the adjective4 ,the law of biogenesis1 as ordinarily understood1 is the result of the ignorance of the man of science of occult physics4 ,it is accepted because the man of science is unable to find the necessary means to awaken into activity the dormant life inherent in what he terms an inorganic atom2 hence the fallacy that a living thing can only be produced from a living thing1 as though there ever was such a thing as dead matter in ,nature6 ,at this rate1 and to be consistent1 a mule ought to be also classed with inorganic matter1 since it is unable to reproduce itself and generate life4 ,we dwell so much upon the above as it meets at once all future opposition to the idea that a mummy1 several thousand years old1 can be throwing off atoms4 ,nevertheless1 the sentence would perhaps have gained in clearness if we had said1 instead of the life-atoms of jiva1 the atoms animated by dormant ,jiva or life-energy4 ,again1 the definition of ,jiva quoted above1 though quite correct on the whole1 might be more fully1 if not more clearly1 expressed4 ,the jiva1 or life1 principle1 which animates man1 beast1 plant1 and even a mineral1 certainly is a form of force indestructible1 since this force is the one life1 or anima mundi1 the universal living soul1 and that the various modes in which objective things appear to us in ,nature in their atomic aggregations1 such as minerals1 plants1 animals1 c41 are all the different forms or states in which this force manifests itself4 ,were it to become--we will not say absent1 for this is impossible1 since it is omnipresent--but for one single instant inactive1 say in a stone1 the particles of the latter would lose instantly their cohesive property1 and disintegrate as suddenly1 though the force would still remain in each of its particles1 but in a dormant state4 ,then the continuation of the definition1 which states that when this indestructible force is disconnected with one set of atoms1 it becomes attracted immediately by others1 does not imply that it abandons entirely the first set1 but only that it transfers its vis viva1 or living power--the energy of motion--to another set4 ,but because it manifests itself in the next set as what is called kinetic energy1 it does not follow that the first set is deprived of it altogether2 for it is still in it1 as potential energy1 or life latent499 ,this is a cardinal and basic truth of occultism1 on the perfect knowledge of which depends the production of every phenomenon4 ,unless we admit this point1 we should have to give up all the other truths of occultism4 ,thus what is meant by the life-atom going through endless transmigration is simply this3 we regard and call1 in our occult phraseology1 those atoms that are moved by kinetic energy as life-atoms1 while those that are for the time being passive1 containing but imperceptible potential energy1 we call sleeping atoms2 regarding1 at the same time1 these two forms of energy as produced by one and the same force or life4 ------- 99 ,we feel constrained to make use of terms that have become technical in modern science--though they do not always fully express the idea to be conveyed--for want of better words4 ,it is useless to hope that the occult doctrine may be ever thoroughly understood1 even the few tenets that can be safely given to the world at large1 unless a glossary of such words is edited2 and1 what is of a still greater importance1 until the full and correct meaning of the terms therein taught is thoroughly mastered4 --------- ,now to the ,hindu doctrine of ,metempsychosis4 ,it has a basis of truth2 and1 in fact1 it is an axiomatic truth1 but only in reference to human atoms and emanations1 and that not only after a man's death1 but during the whole period of his life4 ,the esoteric meaning of the ,laws of ,manu 7sec4 ,,xii4 #c1 and ,,xii4 #ed and 71 of the verses asserting that every act1 either mental1 verbal or corporeal1 bears good or evil fruit 7,karma71 that the various transmigrations of men 7not souls7 through the highest1 middle and lowest stages1 are produced by their actions1 and again that a ,brahman-killer enters the body of a dog1 bear1 ass1 camel1 goat1 sheep1 bird1 c41 bears no reference to the human ,ego1 but only to the atoms of his body1 his lower triad and his fluidic emanations4 ,it is all very well for the ,brahmans to distort1 in their own interest1 the real meaning contained in these laws1 but the words as quoted never meant what they were made to yield later on4 ,the ,brahmans applied them selfishly to themselves1 whereas by ,brahman1 man's seventh principle1 his immortal monad and the essence of the personal ,ego were allegorically meant4 ,he who kills or extinguishes in himself the light of ,parabrahm--i4e41 severs his personal ,ego from the ,atman1 and thus kills the future ,devachanee1 becomes a ,brahman killer4 ,instead of facilitating1 through a virtuous life and spiritual aspirations1 the union of the ,buddhi and the ,manas1 he condemns1 by his own evil acts1 every atom of his lower principles to become attracted and drawn in virtue of the magnetic affinity1 thus created by his passions1 into the bodies of lower animals4 ,this is the real meaning of the doctrine of ,metempsychosis4 ,it is not that such amalgamation of human particles with animal or even vegetable atoms can carry in it any idea of personal punishment per se1 for of course it does not4 ,but it is a cause1 the effects of which may manifest themselves throughout succeeding re-births1 unless the personality is annihilated4 ,otherwise1 from cause to effect1 every effect becoming in its turn a cause1 they will run along the cycle of re-births1 the once given impulse expending itself only at the threshold of ,pralaya4 ,but of this anon4 ,notwithstanding their esoteric meaning1 even the words of the grandest and noblest of all the adepts1 ,gautama ,buddha1 are misunderstood1 distorted and ridiculed in the same way4 ,the ,hina-yana1 the lowest form of transmigration of the ,buddhist1 is as little comprehended as the ,maha-yana1 its highest form2 and1 because ,sakya ,muni is shown to have once remarked to his ,bhikkhus1 while pointing out to them a broom1 that it had formerly been a novice who neglected to sweep out the ,council-room1 hence was re-born as a broom 7671 therefore1 the wisest of all the world's sages stands accused of idiotic superstition4 ,why not try and find out1 before condemning1 the true meaning of the figurative statement8 ,why should we scoff before we understand8 ,is or is not that which is called magnetic effluvium a something1 a stuff1 or a substance1 invisible1 and imponderable though it be8 ,if the learned authors of ,the ,unseen ,universe object to light1 heat and electricity being regarded merely as imponderables1 and show that each of these phenomena has as much claim to be recognized as an objective reality as matter itself1 our right to regard the mesmeric or magnetic fluid which emanates from man to man1 or even from man to what is termed an inanimate object1 is far greater4 ,it is not enough to say that this fluid is a species of molecular energy like heat1 for instance1 though of much greater potency4 ,heat is produced when ever kinetic energy is transformed into molecular energy1 we are told1 and it may be thrown out by any material composed of sleeping atoms1 or inorganic matter as it is called2 whereas the magnetic fluid projected by a living human body is life itself4 ,indeed it is life-atoms that a man in a blind passion throws off unconsciously1 though he does it quite as effectively as a mesmeriser who transfers them from himself to any object consciously and under the guidance of his will4 ,let any man give way to any intense feeling1 such as anger1 grief1 c41 under or near a tree1 or in direct contact with a stone1 and after many thousands of years any tolerable psychometer will see the man1 and perceive his feelings from one single fragment of that tree or stone that he had touched4 ,hold any object in your hand1 and it will become impregnated with your life-atoms1 indrawn and outdrawn1 changed and transferred in us at every instant of our lives4 ,animal heat is but so many life atoms in molecular motion4 ,it requires no adept knowledge1 but simply the natural gift of a good clairvoyant subject to see them passing to and fro1 from man to objects and vice versa like a bluish lambent flame4 ,why1 then1 should not a broom1 made of a shrub1 which grew most likely in the vicinity of the building where the lazy novice lived1 a shrub1 perhaps1 repeatedly touched by him while in a state of anger provoked by his laziness and distaste for his duty--why should not a quantity of his life-atoms have passed into the materials of the future besom1 and therein have been recognized by ,buddha1 owing to his superhuman 7not supernatural7 powers8 ,the processes of ,nature are acts of incessant borrowing and giving back4 ,the materialistic sceptic1 however1 will not take anything in any other way than in a literal1 dead-letter sense4 ,to conclude our too long answer1 the lower principles mentioned before are the first1 second and the third4 ,they cannot include the ,kama rupa1 for this rupa belongs to the middle1 not the lower principles4 ,and1 to our correspondent's further query1 ,do the atoms of these 7the fourth and the fifth7 also re-form1 after going through various transmigrations1 to constitute over again the fourth and the lower fifth of the next incarnation8 we answer1 ,they do4 ,the reason why we have tried to explain the doctrine of the life-atoms at such length1 is precisely in connection with this last question1 and with the object of throwing out one more fertile hint4 ,we do not feel at liberty at present1 however1 to give any further details4 --,h4,p4 ,blavatsky ,,om1 ,and ,its ,practical ,significance ,i shall begin with a definition of ,om1 as given by the late ,professor ,theodore ,goldstucker3-- ,om is a ,sanskrit word which1 on account of the mystical notions that even at an early date of ,hindu civilization were connected with it1 acquired much importance in the development of ,hindu religion4 ,its original sense is that of emphatic or solemn affirmation or assent4 ,thus1 when in the ,white ,yajur ,veda the sacrificer invites the gods to rejoice in his sacrifice1 the goddess ,savitri assents to his summons by saying1 ',om' 7i4e41 be it so72 proceed6 ,or1 when in the ,brihadaranyaka ,upanishad1 ,prajapati1 the father of gods1 men and demons1 asks the gods whether they have understood his instructions1 he expresses his satisfaction with their affirmative reply in these words1 ,om1 you have fully comprehended it2 and in the same ,upanishad1 ,pravahana answers the question of ,swetaketu1 as to whether his father has instructed him1 by uttering the word ,om--i4e41 forsooth 7,i am74 ,a portion of the ,rig ,veda called the ,aitareya ,brahmana1 where1 describing a religious ceremony at which verses from the ,rig ,veda1 as well as songs called ,gathas1 were recited by the priest called ,hotri1 and responses given by another priest1 the ,adhwaryu1 says3 ,om is the response of the ,adhwaryu to the ,rig ,veda verses 7recited by the ,hotri71 and likewise tatha 7i4e41 thus7 his response to the ,gathas1 for ,om is 7the term of assent7 used by the gods1 whereas tatha is 7the term of assent7 used by men 7the ,rig ,veda verses being1 to the orthodox ,hindu1 of divine and the ,gathas of human authorship74 ,in this1 the original sense of the word1 it is little doubtful that ,om is but an older and contracted form of the common ,sanskrit word evam 7thus71 which1 coming from the pronominal base a1 in some derivations changed to e1 may have at one time occurred in the form avam1 when1 by the elision of the vowel following a1 for which there are numerous analogies in ,sanskrit1 vum would become aum1 and hence1 according to the ordinary phonetic laws of the language1 ,om4 ,this etymology of the word1 however1 seems to have been lost even at an early period of ,sanskrit literature2 for another is met with in the ancient grammarians1 enabling us to account for the mysticism which many religious and theological works of ancient and medieval ,india suppose to inhere in it4 ,according to this latter etymology1 ,om would come from a radical av2 by means of an affix man1 when ,om would be a curtailed form of avman or oman1 and as av implies the notion of protect1 preserve1 save1 ,om would be a term implying protection or salvation1 its mystical properties and its sanctity being inferred from its occurrence in the ,vedic writings and in connection with sacrificial acts1 such as are alluded to before4 ,hence ,om became the auspicious word with which the spiritual teacher had to begin and the pupil to end each lesson of his reading of the ,veda4 ,let this syllable1 the existing ,prati-sakhya1 or a grammar of the ,rig ,veda1 enjoins1 be the head of the reading of the ,veda2 for alike to the teacher and the pupil it is the supreme ,brahman1 the gate of heaven4 ,and ,manu ordains3 ,a ,brahman at the beginning and end 7of a lesson on the ,veda7 must always pronounce the syllable ,om2 for unless ,om precede1 his learning will slip away from him2 and unless it follows1 nothing will be long retained4 ,at the time when another class of writings 7the ,puranas7 were added to the inspired code of ,hinduism1 for a similar reason ,om is their introductory word4 ,that the mysterious power which1 as the foregoing quotation from the law-book of ,manu shows1 was attributed to this word must have been the subject of early speculation1 is obvious enough4 ,a reason assigned for it is given by ,manu himself4 ,brahma1 he says1 extracted from the three ,vedas the letter a1 the letter u1 and the letter m 7which combined result in ,om71 together with the 7mysterious7 words ,bhuh 7earth71 ,bhuva 7sky71 and ,swah 7heaven72 and in another verse3 ,these three great immutable words1 preceded by the syllable ,om1 and 7the sacred ,rig ,veda verse called7 ,gayatri1 consisting of three lines1 must be considered as the mouth 7or entrance7 of ,brahman 7the ,veda71 or1 as the commentators observe1 the means of attaining final emancipation2 and ,the syllable ,om is the supreme ,brahman4 7,three7 regulated breathings1 accompanied with the mental recitation of ,om1 the three mysterious words ,bhuh1 ,bhuvah1 ,swah and the ,gayatri1 are the highest devotion4 ,all rites ordained in the ,veda1 such as burnt and other sacrifices1 pass away1 but the syllable ,om must be considered as imperishable2 for it is 7a symbol of7 ,brahman 7the supreme spirit7 himself1 the ,lord of ,creation4 ,in these speculations ,manu bears out1 and is borne out by1 several ,upanishads4 ,in the ,katha-,upanishad for instance1 ,yama1 the god of death1 in replying to a question of ,nachiketas1 says3 ,the word which all the ,vedas record1 which all the modes of penance proclaim1 desirous of which religious students perform their duties1 this word ,i will briefly tell thee--it is ,om4 ,this syllable means the 7inferior7 ,brahman and the supreme 7,brahman74 ,whoever knows this syllable obtains whatever he wishes4 ,and in the ,pras'na-,upanishad the saint ,pippalada says to ,satyakama3 ,the supreme and the inferior ,brahman are both the word ,om2 hence the wise follow by this support the one or the other of the two4 ,if he meditates upon its one letter 7a7 only1 he is quickly born on the earth2 is carried by the verses of the ,rig ,veda to the world of man2 and1 if he is devoted there to austerity1 the duties of a religious student and faith1 he enjoys greatness4 ,but if he meditates in his mind on its two letters 7a and u71 he is elevated by the verses of the ,yajur ,veda to the intermediate region2 comes to the world of the moon and1 having enjoyed there power1 returns again 7to the world of man74 ,if1 however1 he meditates on the supreme spirit by means of its three letters 7a1 u1 and m7 he is produced in light in the sun2 as the snake is liberated from its skin1 so is he liberated from sin4 ,according to the ,mandukya-,upanishad the nature of the soul is summarized in the three letters a1 u1 and m in their isolated and combined form--a being ,vaiswanara1 or that form of ,brahman which represents the soul in its waking condition2 a1 ,taijasa1 or that form of ,brahman which represents it in its dreaming state2 and m1 ,piajna1 or that form of ,brahman which represents it in its state of profound sleep 7or that state in which it is temporarily united with the supreme spirit72 while a1 u1 m combined 7i4e41 ,om71 represent the fourth or highest condition of ,brahman1 which is unaccountable1 in which all manifestations have ceased1 which is blissful and without duality4 ,om therefore1 is soul1 and by this soul1 he who knows it1 enters into 7the supreme7 soul4 ,passages like these may be considered as the key to the more enigmatic expressions used2 for instance1 by the author of the ,yoga philosophy where1 in three short sentences1 he says his 7the supreme lord's7 name is ,pranava 7i4e41 ,om72 its muttering 7should be made7 and reflection on its signification2 thence comes the knowledge of the transcendental spirit and the absence of the obstacles 7such as sickness1 languor1 doubt1 c41 which obstruct the mind of an ascetic74 ,but they indicate1 at the same time1 the further course which superstition took in enlarging upon the mysticism of the doctrine of the ,upanishads4 ,for1 as soon as every letter of which the word ,om consists was fancied to embody a separate idea1 it is intelligible that other sectarian explanations were grafted on them to serve special purposes4 ,thus1 while ,sankara1 the great theologian and commentator on the ,upanishads1 is still contented with an etymological punning by means of which he transforms a into an abbreviation of apti 7pervading71 since speech is pervaded by ,vaiswanara2 u into an abbreviation of utkartha 7superiority71 since ,taijasa is superior to ,vaiswanara2 and m into an abbreviation of miti 7destruction71 ,vaiswanara and ,taijasa1 at the destruction and regeneration of the world1 being1 as it were1 absorbed into ,prajna--the ,puranas make of a1 a name of ,vishnu2 of u1 a name of his consort ,sri2 and of m1 a designation of their joint worshipper2 or they see in a1 u1 m1 the ,triad--,brahm1 ,vishnu1 and ,siva2 the first being represented by a1 the second by u1 and the third by m--each sect1 of course1 identifying the combination of these letters1 or ,om with their supreme deity4 ,thus1 also1 in the ,bhagavadgita1 which is devoted to the worship of ,vishnu in his incarnation as ,krishna1 though it is essentially a poem of philosophical tendencies based on the doctrine of the ,yoga1 ,krishna in one passage says of himself that he is ,om2 while in another passage he qualifies the latter as the supreme spirit4 ,a common designation of the word ,om--for instance1 in the last-named passages of the ,bhagavadgita is the word ,pranava1 which comes from a so-called radical nu1 praise1 with the prefix pra amongst other meanings implying emphasis1 and1 therefore1 literally means eulogium1 emphatic praise4 ,although ,om1 in its original sense as a word of solemn or emphatic assent1 is1 properly speaking1 restricted to the ,vedic literature1 it deserves notice that it is now-a-days often used by the natives of ,india in the sense of yes1 without1 of course1 any allusion to the mystic properties which are ascribed to it in the religious works4 ,monier ,williams gives the following account of the mystic syllable ,om3 ,when by means of repeating the syllable ,om1 which originally seems to have meant 'that' or 'yes1' they had arrived at a certain degree of mental tranquillity1 the question arose what was meant by this ,om1 and to this various answers were given according as the mind was to be led up to higher and higher objects4 ,thus1 in one passage1 we are told at first that ,om is the beginning of the ,veda1 or as we have to deal with an ,upanishad of the ,shama ,veda1 the beginning of the ,shama ,veda2 so that he who meditates on ,om may be supposed to be meditating on the whole of the ,shama ,veda4 ,om is the essence of the ,shama ,veda which1 being almost entirely taken from the ,rig ,veda1 may itself be called the essence of the ,rig ,veda4 ,the ,rig ,veda stands for all speech1 the ,shama ,veda for all breath or life2 so that ,om may be conceived again as the symbol of all speech and all life4 ,om thus becomes the name not only of all our mental and physical powers1 but is especially that of the living principle of the pran or spirit4 ,this is explained by the parable in the second chapter1 while in the third chapter that spirit within us is identified with the spirit in the sun4 ,he1 therefore1 who meditates on ,om1 meditates on the spirit in man as identical with the spirit in ,nature or in the sun1 and thus the lesson that is meant to be taught in the beginning of the ,khandogya ,upanishad is really this that none of the ,vedas1 with their sacrifices and ceremonies1 could ever secure the salvation of the worshipers4 ,that is1 the sacred works performed1 according to the rules of the ,vedas1 are of no avail in the end1 but meditation on ,om1 or that knowledge of what is meant by ,om1 alone can procure true salvation or true immortality4 ,thus the pupil is led on step by step to what is the highest object of the ,upanishads--namely1 the recognition of the self in man as identical of the highest soul4 ,the lessons which are to lead up to that highest conception of the universe1 both subjective and objective1 are1 no doubt1 mixed up with much that is superstitious and absurd4 ,still the main object is never lost sight of4 ,thus1 when we come to the eighth chapter1 the discussion1 though it begins with ,om ends with the question of the origin of the world1 and the final answer--namely1 that ,om means ,akasa1 ether1 and that ether is the origin of all things4 ,dr4 ,lake considers electricity as the akas1 or the fifth element of the ,hindus4 ,i shall now give my own opinion on the mystic syllable ,om4 ,breath consists of an inspiration termed puraka1 an interval termed kumbhaka1 and an expiration called rechaka4 ,when the respiration is carried on by the right nostril1 it is called the pingala2 when it is carried on by the two nostrils1 it is named the susumna2 and when it is carried on by the left nostril1 it is called ida4 ,the right respiration is called the solar respiration1 from its heating nature2 while the left respiration is termed the lunar respiration1 from its cooling character4 ,the susumna respiration is called the shambhu-nadi4 ,during the intermediate respiration the human mind should be engaged in the contemplation of the supreme soul4 ,the breath takes its origin from the indiscreet or unreflecting form1 and the mind from the breath4 ,the organs of sense and action are under the control of the mind4 ,the ,yogis restrain their mind by the suspension of breath4 ,breath is the origin of all speech4 ,the word soham is pronounced by a deep inspiration followed by expiration carried on by the nostrils4444 ,this word means1 ,god is in us4 ,there is another word called hangsha4 ,this is pronounced by a deep expiration followed by inspiration4 ,its meaning is ,i am in ,god4 ,the inspiration is sakti1 or strength4 ,the expiration is siva1 or death4 ,the internal or ,kumbhaka is a promoter of longevity4 ,when the expiration is not followed by inspiration death ensues4 ,a forcible expiration is always the sure and certain sign of approaching dissolution or death4 ,both these words soham and hanysha cause the waste of the animal economy1 as they permit the oxygen of the inspired air to enter the lungs where the pulmonary changes of the blood occur4 ,according to ,lavoissier1 an adult ,frenchman inhales daily #ae1ffa grains of oxygen from the atmosphere1 at the rate of #aj4hg grains nearly per minute4 ,the word ,om is pronounced by the inspiration of air through the mouth and the expiration of the same by the nostrils4 ,when a man inspires through the mouth and expires through the nostrils1 the oxygen of the inspired air does not enter the lungs where the pulmonary changes of the blood take place4 ,the monosyllable ,om thus acts as a substitute for the suspension of the breath4 ,the waste of the body is proportionate to the quantity of oxygen taken into the system by the respiration4 ,the waste of a man who breathes quickly is greater than that of one who breathes slowly4 ,while tranquillity of mind produces slow breathing1 and causes the retardation of the bodily waste1 the tranquil respiration has a tendency to produce calmness of mind4 ,the ,yogis attain to ,nirvana by suspending or holding the breath4 ,the ,vedantists obtain moksha1 or emancipation of the soul1 by holding the mind 7mental abstraction74 ,thus ,om is the process of separating the soul from the body4 ,it is the product of the gasping breath which precedes the dissolution of our body4 ,the ancient ,hindus utilized the gasping breath of the dying man by discovering the syllable ,om4 ,the syllable ,om protects man from premature decay and death1 preserves him from worldly temptations1 and saves him from re-birth4 ,it causes the union of the human soul to the supreme soul4 ,om has the property of shortening the length of respiration4 ,siva is made to say in a work on ,sharodaya 7an excellent treatise on respiration7 that the normal length of the expiration is #i inches4 ,during meals and speaking the length of the expiration becomes #ac4e inches4 ,in ordinary walking the expiration is lengthened to #ah inches4 ,running lengthens the expiration to #be4e inches4 ,in sexual intercourse the extent of respiration becomes #dh4ge inches4 ,during sleep the respiration becomes #ge inches long4 ,as sleep causes a great waste of the body and invites disease1 premature decay and death1 the ,yogi tries to abstain from it4 ,he lives upon the following dietary3--rice1 #f ounces troy2 milk1 #ab ounces troy4 ,he consumes daily3 carbon1 #aef4b grains2 nitrogen1 #fc4h grains4 ,under this diet he is ever watchful1 and spends his time in the contemplation of ,om4 ,from the small quantity of nitrogen contained in his diet he is free from anger4 ,the ,yogi next subdues his carnal desire or sexual appetite4 ,he diminishes day by day his food until it reaches the minimum quantity on which existence is maintained4 ,he passes his life in prayer and meditation4 ,he seeks retirement4 ,he lives in his little cell2 his couch is the skin of tiger or stag2 he regards gold1 silver1 and all precious stones as rubbish4 ,he abstains from flesh1 fish1 and wine4 ,he never touches salt1 and lives entirely on fruits and roots4 ,i saw a female mendicant who lived upon a seer of potatoes and a small quantity of tamarind pulp daily4 ,this woman reduced herself to a skeleton4 ,she led a pure1 chaste life1 and spent her time in the mental recitation of ,om4 ,one seer of potatoes contains #c1fjj grains of solid residue1 which is exactly #g #a_/b ounces troy4 ,the solid residue of one seer of potatoes consists of the following ultimate ingredients3-- ,carbon 44444444444444 #aehg4f grains ,hydrogen 444444444444 #bjh4h ,nitrogen 4444444444444 #dc4b ,oxygen 44444444444444 #aehj4d ,salts 44444444444444444#ahj4j -------- #cfjj4j ,i saw a ,brahman 7,brahmachari7 who consumed daily one seer of milk1 and took no other food4 ,analysis of ,one ,seer of ,cow's ,milk by ,boussingault4 ,water 44444444444444444444444 #ab1eci4ebj grains ,carbon 4444444444444444444444 #a1jje4djh ,hydrogen 4444444444444444444444 #afd4gcf ,nitrogen 44444444444444444444444 #gd4hhj ,oxygen 4444444444444444444444444 #ebe4def ,salts 444444444444444444444444444 #ij4jjj ----------- #ad1djj4jjj ,now1 one seer of cow's milk requires for combustion within the animal economy #cbgh4hh grains of oxygen4 ,the ,brahmachari inhaled #b4bg grains of oxygen per minute4 ,this ,brahmachari spent his life in the contemplation of ,om1 and led a life of continence4 ,the ,french adult1 who is a fair specimen of well-developed sensuality1 inhaled from the atmosphere #aj4hg grains of oxygen every minute of his existence4 ,a retired1 abstemious1 and austere life is essentially necessary for the pronunciation of ,om1 which promotes the love of rigid virtue and a contempt of impermanent sensuality4 ,siva says ,he who is free from lust1 anger1 covetousness and ignorance is qualified to obtain salvation1 or moksha1 or the ,nirvana of the ,buddhists4 ,the solid residue of one seer of cow's milk is #ahfj4dh grains4 ,in #aghd a student of physic at ,edinburgh confined himself for a long space of time to a pint of milk and half a pound of white bread4 ,the diet of this student contained #adhg4e grains of carbon and #hj4ahge grains of nitrogen4 ,this food required #d1cje grains of oxygen for the complete combustion of its elements4 ,he inspired #b4ib grains of oxygen per minute4 ,in this instance the intense mental culture diminished the quantity of oxygen inspired from the atmosphere4 ,the early ,christian hermits1 with a view to extinguish carnal desire and overcome sleep1 lived upon a daily allowance of #ab ounces of bread and water4 ,they daily consumed #djfc4jhd grains of oxygen4 ,they inhaled oxygen at the rate of #b4hbae grains per minute4 ,according to ,m4 ,andral1 the great ,french physiologist1 a ,french boy #aj years old1 before the sexual appetite is developed1 exhales #aheb4h grains of carbon in the twenty-four hours4 ,he who wishes to curb his lust should consume #aheb4h grains of carbon in his daily diet4 ,now1 #f1ejj grains of household bread contain #aheb grains of carbon1 according to ,dr4 ,edward ,smith4 ,this quantity of bread is equal to #ad ounces avoirdupois and #cge grains1 but the early ,christian hermits who lived upon #ab oz4 of bread 7avoirdupois7 consumed daily #adif4be grains of carbon4 ,this quantity of carbon was less than that which the ,french boy consumed daily by #cef4ee grains4 ,the ,french boy consumed #aheb4h grains of carbon in his diet1 but the ,hindu female mendicant1 who led a life of continence1 consumed in her daily ration of potatoes #aehg4f grains of carbon4 ,hence it is evident that the ,french boy consumed #bfe4b grains of carbon more than what was consumed by the female ,hindu ,yogi4 ,there lived in ,brindavana a ,sannyasi1 who died at the age of #aji years1 and who subsisted for forty years upon the daily diet of four chuttacks of penda and four chuttacks of milk4 ,his diet contained #a1ihj grains of carbon and #ij4gb grains of nitrogen4 ,abstemiousness shortens the length of respiration1 diminishes the waste of the body1 promotes longevity1 and engenders purity of heart4 ,abstemiousness cures vertigo1 cephalalgia1 tendency to apoplexy1 dyspnoea1 gout1 old ulcers1 impetigo1 scrofula1 herpes1 and various other maladies4 ,cornaro1 an ,italian nobleman1 who was given up by all his physicians1 regained health by living upon #ab ounces of bread and #ae ounces of water1 and lived to a great age4 ,he consumed less than an ounce of flesh-formers in his diet4 ,according to ,edward ,smith #edja4b grains of bread contain #a ounce of flesh-formers4 ,he who wishes to lead a life of chastity1 honesty1 meekness1 and mercy1 should consume daily one ounce of flesh-formers in his diet4 ,as an ounce of nitrogenous matter contains #gj grains of nitrogen1 one should take such food as yields only #gj grains of azote4 ,murder1 theft1 robbery1 cruelty1 covetousness1 lust1 slander1 anger1 voluptuousness1 revenge1 lying1 prostitution1 and envy are sins which arise from a consumption of a large quantity of aliments containing a higher percentage of azote4 ,he who intends to be free from every earthly thought1 desire and passion should abstain from fish1 flesh1 woman1 and wine1 and live upon the most innocent food4 ,the following table shows approximately the quantities of various aliments furnishing #gj grains of nitrogen3 ,wheat dried in vacuo 444444444444 #caha4ha grains ,oats 4444444444444444444444444444 #caha4ha ,barley 44444444444444444444444444 #cdfe4cd ,indian corn 444444444444444444444 #cejj ,rye dried 444444444444444444444444#daag4fd ,rice dried 44444444444444444444444#ejcf ,milk dried 44444444444444444444444#agej ,peas dried 44444444444444444444444#afff4f ,white haricots dried 44444 4444444#afbg4fg ,horse beans dried 4444444444444444#abgb4gb ,cabbage dried 44444444444444444444#ahia4hi ,carrots dried 44444444444444444444#biaf4ff ,jerusalem artichokes 4444444444444#dcge ,turnips dried 44444444444444444444#caha4ha ,bread 4444444444444444444444444444#edja4b ,locust beans 444444444444444444444#faaj ,figs 44444444444444444444444444444#gagb4ac ,cow's milk fresh 44444444444444444#acdf4b ,abstemiousness begets suspension of breath4 ,from the suspension of breath originates tranquillity of mind1 which engenders supersensuous knowledge4 ,from supersensuous knowledge originates ecstasy which is the ,samadhi of the ancient ,hindu sages4 ,instead of walking and running1 which lengthen the respiration1 the devotees of ,om should practice the two tranquil postures termed the padmasana and siddhasana1 described in my mystic tract called ,the ,yoga ,philosophy4 ,according to ,siva the normal length of expiration is #i inches4 ,he says that one can subdue his lust and desire by shortening his expiration to #h4be inches1 whether by the inaudible pronunciation of ,om or by the suspension of breath 7,pranayama72 that one can enjoy ecstasy by diminishing the length of his expiration to #g4ej inches4 ,one acquires the power of writing poetry by reducing his expiration to #f4ge inches4 ,when one can reduce his expiration to #f inches long he acquires the power of foretelling future events4 ,when one reduces the length of his expiration to #e4be inches he is blessed with the divine eye4 ,he sees what is occurring in the distant worlds4 ,when the inaudible pronunciation of ,om reduces the length of the expiration to #d4ej inches it enables its votary to travel to aerial regions4 ,when the length of expiration becomes #c4ge inches1 the votary of ,om travels in the twinkling of an eye through the whole world4 ,when by the inaudible muttering of ,om a man reduces his expiration to #c inches1 he acquires ashta ,siddhis or consummations 7or superhuman powers74 ,when the expiration is reduced to #b4be inches1 the votary of ,om can acquire the nine precious jewels of the world 7,nava nidhi74 ,such a man can attract the wealth of the world to him499 -------- 99 ,supposing he had any care or use for it--,ed4 ,theos4 -------- ,when the expiration becomes #a4ej inches long from the above practice1 he sees the celestial sphere where the ,supreme ,soul resides4 ,when the inaudible pronunciation of ,om reduces the length of expiration to 4#ge inch1 the votary becomes deified and casts no shadow4 ,om ,amitaya6 measure not with words ,the immeasurable2 nor sink the string of thought ,into the ,fathomless6 ,who asks doth err2 ,who answers errs4 ,say nought6 ,om mani padma hum4 ,om the jewel in the lotus4 ,by the muttering of the above formula the ,great ,buddha freed himself from selfishness1 false faith1 doubt1 hatred1 lust1 self-praise1 error1 pride1 and attained to ,nirvana4 ,and how man hath no fate except past deeds1 ,no ,hell but what he makes1 no ,heaven too high ,for those to reach whose passions sleeps subdued4 ,according to ,siva a man acquires ,nirvana when his breathing becomes internal and does not come out of the nostrils4 ,when the breathing becomes internal--that is1 when it is contained within the nostrils1 the ,yogi is free from fainting1 hunger1 thirst1 languor1 disease and death4 ,he becomes a divine being1 he feels not when he is brought into contact with fire2 no air can dry him1 no water can putrefy him1 no poisonous serpent can inflict a mortal wound4 ,his body exhales fragrant odours1 and can bear the abstinence from air1 food1 and drink4 ,when the breathing becomes internal1 the ,yogi is incapable of committing any sin in deed1 thought1 and speech1 and thereby inherits the ,kingdom of ,heaven1 which is open to sinless souls4 --,n4,c4 ,paul ------------------- ,glossary ,ab-e-,hyat1 ,water of ,life1 supposed to give eternal youth4 ,abhava1 negation or non-being of individual objects2 the substance1 the abstract objectivity4 ,adam ,kadmon1 the bi-sexual ,sephira of the ,kabalists4 ,adept1 one who1 through the development of his spirit1 has attained to transcendental knowledge and powers4 ,adhibhautika1 arising from external objects4 ,adhidaivika1 arising from the gods1 or accidents4 ,adhikamasansas1 extra months4 ,adhishthanum1 basis a principle in which some other principle inheres4 ,adhyatmika1 arising out of the inner-self4 ,advaiti1 a follower of the school of ,philosophy established by ,sankaracharya4 ,ahankara1 personality2 egoism2 self identity2 the fifth principle4 ,ahriman1 the ,evil ,principle of the ,universe2 so called by the ,zoroastrians4 ,ahum1 the first three principles of septenary human constitution2 the gross living body of man according to the ,avesta4 ,a'kasa1 the subtle supersensuous matter which pervades all space4 ,amulam ,mulam 7lit4 the rootless root72 ,prakriti2 the material of the universe4 ,anahatachakram1 the heart1 the seat of life4 ,a'nanda1 bliss4 ,a'nanda-maya-kosha1 the blissful2 the fifth sheath of the soul in the ,vedantic system2 the sixth principle4 ,anastasis1 the continued existence of the soul4 ,anima ,mundi1 the soul of the world4 ,annamaya ,kosha1 the gross body2 the first sheath of the divine monad 7,vedantic74 ,antahkarana1 the internal instrument1 the soul1 formed by the thinking principle and egoism4 ,anumiti1 inference4 ,aparoksha1 direct perception4 ,apavarya1 emancipation from repeated births4 ,apporrheta1 secret discourses in ,egyptian and ,grecian mysteries4 ,arahats 7lit4the worthy ones71 the initiated holy men of the ,buddhist and ,jain faiths4 ,aranyakas1 holy sages dwelling in forests4 ,ardhanariswara1 7lit4 the bisexual ,lord72 the unpolarized state of cosmic energy2 the bi-sexual ,sephira1 ,adam ,kadmon4 ,arka1 sun4 ,aryavarta1 the ancient name of ,northern ,india where the ,brahmanical invaders first settled4 ,a'sana1 the third stage of ,hatha ,yoga2 the posture for meditation4 ,asat1 the unreal1 ,prakriti4 ,a'shab and ,laughan1 ceremonies for casting out evil spirits1 so called among the ,kolarian tribes4 ,ashta ,siddhis1 the eight consummations of ,hatha ,yoga4 ,asoka 7,king71 a celebrated conqueror1 monarch of a large portion of ,india1 who is called the ,constantine of ,buddhism1 temp4 circa #bej ,b4,c4 ,astral ,light1 subtle form of existence forming the basis of our material universe4 ,asuramaya1 an ,atlantean astronomer1 well known in ,sanskrit writings4 ,asuras1 a class of elementals considered maleficent2 demons4 ,aswini1 the divine charioteers mystically they correspond to ,hermes1 who is looked upon as his equal4 ,they represent the internal organ by which knowledge is conveyed from the soul to the body4 ,atharva ,veda1 one of the four most ancient and revered books of the ancient ,brahmans4 ,atlantis1 the continent that was submerged in the ,southern and ,pacific ,oceans4 ,atmabodha 7lit4 self-knowledge71 the title of a ,vedantic treatise by ,sankaracharya4 ,atman1 c ,atma4 ,a'tma1 the spirit2 the divine monad2 the seventh principle of the septenary human constitution4 ,a'ttavada1 the sin of personality 7,pali74 ,aum1 the sacred syllable in ,sanskrit representing the ,trinity ,avalokitesvara1 manifested wisdom1 or the ,divine ,spirit in man4 ,avasthas1 states1 conditions1 positions4 ,avatar1 the incarnation of an exalted being1 so called among the ,hindus4 ,avesta1 the sacred books of the ,zoroastrians4 ,avyakta1 the unrevealed cause4 ,baddha1 bound or conditioned2 the state of an ordinary human being who has not attained ,nirvana4 ,bahihpragna1 the present state of consciousness4 ,baodhas1 consciousness2 the fifth principle of man4 ,barhaspatyamanam1 a method of calculating time prevalent during the later ,hindu period in ,north-eastern ,india4 ,bhadrasena1 a ,buddhist king of ,magadha4 ,bhagats 7or called ,sokha and ,sivnath by the ,hindus71 one who exorcises an evil spirit4 ,bhagavad ,gita 7lit1 the ,lord's ,song71 an episode of the ,maha-,bharata1 the great epic poem of ,india4 ,it contains a dialogue between ,krishna and ,arjuna on ,spiritual ,philosophy4 ,bhao1 ceremony of divination among the ,kolarian tribes of ,central ,india4 ,bhashya1 commentary4 ,bhon1 religion of the aborigines of ,tibet4 ,bikshu1 a religious mendicant and ascetic who suppresses all desire and is constantly occupied in devotion2 a ,buddhist monk4 ,boddhisatwas1 ,egos evolving towards ,buddhahood4 ,brahma1 the ,hindu ,deity which personifies the active cosmic energy4 ,brahmachari1 a ,bushman ascetic4 ,brahmagnani1 one possessed of complete illumination4 ,brahman1 the highest caste in ,india2 ,brahman1 the absolute of the ,vedantins4 ,brahmana period1 one of the four periods into which the ,vedic literature has been divided4 ,brihadranyaka ,upanishad1 one of the sacred books of the ,brahmins2 an ,aranyaka is a treatise appended to the ,vedas1 and considered the subject of special study by those who have retired to the forest for purposes of religious meditation4 ,buddha1 the founder of ,buddhism2 he was a royal prince1 by name ,siddhartha1 son of ,suddhodhana1 king of the ,sakyas1 an ,aryan tribe4 ,buddhi1 the spiritual ,ego4 ,buru ,bonga1 spirit of the hills worshiped by the ,kolarian tribes of ,central ,india4 ,canarese1 one of the ,dravidian tongues1 spoken in ,southern ,india4 ,chandragupta1 one of the kings of ,magadha1 an ancient province of ,india4 ,chandramanam1 the method of calculating time by the movements of the moon4 ,charaka1 the most celebrated writer on medicine among the ,hindus4 ,chaturdasa ,bhuvanam1 the fourteen lokas or states4 ,chela1 a pupil of an adept in occultism2 a disciple4 ,chichakti1 the power which generates thought4 ,chidagnikundum 7lit4 the fireplace in the heart71 the seat of the force which extinguishes all individual desires4 ,chidakasam1 the field of consciousness4 ,chinmatra1 the germ of consciousness1 abstract consciousness4 ,chit1 the abstract consciousness4 ,chitta suddhi 7,chitta1 mind1 and ,suddi1 purification71 purification of the mind4 ,chutuktu1 the five chief ,lamas of ,tibet4 ,daemon1 the incorruptible part of man2 nous2 rational soul4 ,daenam 7lit4 knowledge71 the fourth principle in man1 according to the ,avesta4 ,daimonlouphote1 spiritual illumination4 ,daityas1 demons1 ,titans4 ,dama1 restraint of the senses4 ,darasta1 ceremonial magic practised among the ,kolarian tribes of ,central ,india4 ,darha1 ancestral spirits of the ,kolarian tribes of ,central ,india4 ,deona or ,mati1 one who exercises evil spirits 7,kolarian74 ,deva1 ,god2 beings of the subjective side of ,nature4 ,devachan1 a blissful condition in the after-life2 heavenly existence4 ,devanagari1 the current ,sanskrit alphabet4 ,dharmasoka1 one of the kings of ,magadha4 ,dhatu1 the seven principal substances of the human body --chyle1 flesh1 blood1 fat1 bones1 marrow1 semen4 ,dhyan1 contemplation4 ,there are six stages of ,dhyan1 varying in the degrees of abstraction of the ,ego from sensuous life4 ,dhyan ,chohans1 ,devas or ,gods planetary spirits4 ,dik1 space4 ,diksha1 initiation4 ,dosha1 fault4 ,dravidians1 a group of tribes inhabiting ,southern ,india4 ,dravya1 substance4 ,dugpas1 the ,red ,caps1 evil magicians1 belonging to the left-hand path of occultism1 so called in ,tibet4 ,dukkhu1 pain4 ,dwija ,brahman1 twice born2 the investiture with the sacred thread constitutes the second birth4 ,elementals1 generic name for all subjective beings other than disembodied human creatures4 ,epopta1 ,greek for seer4 ,fakir1 a ,mahomedan recluse or ,yogi4 ,fan1 ,bar-nang1 space1 eternal law4 ,fohat1 ,tibetan for ,sakti2 cosmic force or energizing power of the universe4 ,fravashem1 absolute spirit4 ,gaudapada1 a celebrated ,brahmanical teacher1 the author of commentaries on the ,sankhya ,karika1 ,mundukya ,upanishad1 c4 ,gayatri1 the holiest verse of the ,vedas4 ,gehs1 ,parsi prayers4 ,gelugpas1 ,yellow ,caps1 the true ,magi and their school1 so called in ,tibet4 ,gnansaki1 the power of true knowledge1 one of the six forces4 ,gujarathi1 the vernacular dialect of ,gujrat1 a province of ,western ,india4 ,gunas1 qualities1 properties4 ,gunava1 endowed with qualities4 ,guru1 spiritual preceptor4 ,ha1 a magic syllable used in sacred formula2 represents the power of ,akasa ,sakti4 ,hangsa1 a mystic syllable standing for evolution1 it literally means ,i am he4 ,hatha ,yog1 a system of physical training to obtain psychic powers1 the chief feature of this system being the regulation of breath4 ,hierophants1 the ,high ,priests4 ,hina-yana1 lowest form of transmigration of the ,buddhist4 ,hiong-,thsang1 the celebrated chinese traveler whose writings contain the most interesting account of ,india of the period4 ,hwun1 spirit2 the seventh principle in man 7,chinese74 ,ikhir ,bongo1 spirit of the deep of the ,kolarian tribes4 ,indriya1 or ,deha ,sanyama1 control over the senses4 ,isis 7,isis ,unveiled71 book written by ,madame ,blavatsky on the ,esoteric ,doctrine4 ,iswara1 ,personal ,god1 ,lord1 the ,spirit in man1 the ,divine principle in its active nature or condition1 one of the four states of ,brahma4 ,itchasakti1 will power2 force of desire2 one of the six forces of ,nature4 ,itchcha1 will4 ,ivabhavat1 the one substance4 ,jagrata1 waking4 ,jagrata ,avasta1 the waking state2 one of the four aspects of ,pranava4 ,jains1 a religious sect in ,india closely related to the ,buddhists4 ,jambudvipa1 one of the main divisions of the world1 including ,india1 according to the ancient ,brahminical system4 ,janaka1 ,king of ,videha1 a celebrated character in the ,indian epic of ,ramayana4 ,he was a great royal sage4 ,janwas1 gross form of matter4 ,japa1 mystical practice of the ,yogi1 consisting of the repetition of certain formula4 ,jevishis1 will2 ,karma ,rupa2 fourth principle4 ,jiva or ,karana ,sarira1 the second principle of man2 life4 ,jivatma1 the human spirit1 seventh principle in the ,microcosm4 ,jnanam1 knowledge4 ,jnanendrayas1 the five channels of knowledge4 ,jyotisham ,jyotih1 the light of lights1 the supreme spirit1 so called in the ,upanishads4 ,kabala1 ancient mystical ,jewish books4 ,kaliyuga1 the last of the four ages in which the evolutionary period of man is divided4 ,it began #c1jjj years ,b4,c4 ,kalpa1 the period of cosmic activity2 a day of ,brahma1 #d1cbj million years4 ,kama ,loka1 abode of desire1 the first condition through which a human entity passes in its passage1 after death1 to ,devachan4 ,it corresponds to purgatory4 ,kama1 lust1 desire1 volition2 the ,hindu ,cupid4 ,kamarupa1 the principle of desire in man2 the fourth principle4 ,kapila1 the founder of one of the six principal systems of ,indian philosophy--viz41 the ,sankhya4 ,karans1 great festival of the ,kolarian tribes in honour of the sun spirit4 ,karana ,sarira1 the causal body2 ,avidya2 ignorance2 that which is the cause of the evolution of a human ego4 ,karma1 the law of ethical causation2 the effect of an act for the attainment of an object of personal desire1 merit and demerit4 ,karman1 action2 attributes of ,linga ,sarira4 ,kartika1 the ,indian god of war1 son or ,siva and ,parvati2 he is also the personification of the power of the ,logos4 ,kasi1 another name for the sacred city of ,benares4 ,keherpas1 aerial form2 third principle4 ,khanda period1 a period of ,vedic literature4 ,khi 7lit1 breath72 the spiritual ego2 the sixth principle in man 7,chinese74 ,kiratarjuniya of ,bkaravi1 a ,sanskrit epic1 celebrating the encounters of ,arjuna1 one of this heroes of the ,maha-bharata with the god ,siva1 disguised as a forester4 ,kols1 one of the tribes in ,central ,india4 ,kriyasakti1 the power of thought2 one of the six forces in ,nature4 ,kshatriya1 the second of the four castes into which the ,hindu nation was originally divided4 ,kshetrajnesvara1 embodied spirit1 the conscious ego in its highest manifestation4 ,kshetram1 the great abyss of the ,kabbala2 chaos2 ,yoni1 ,prakriti2 space4 ,kumbhaka1 retention of breath1 regulated according to the system of ,hatha ,yoga4 ,kundalinisakti1 the power of life2 one of the six forces of ,nature4 ,kwer ,shans1 ,chinese for third principle2 the astral body4 ,lama-gylongs1 pupils of ,lamas4 ,lao-teze1 a ,chinese reformer4 ,macrocosm1 universe4 ,magi1 fire worshippers2 the great magicians or wisdom- philosophers of old4 ,maha-,bharata1 the celebrated ,indian epic poem4 ,mahabhashya1 a commentary on the ,grammar of ,panini by ,patanjali4 ,mahabhautic1 belonging to the macrocosmic principles4 ,mahabhutas1 gross elementary principles4 ,mahaparinibbana ,sutta1 one of the most authoritative of the ,buddhist sacred writings4 ,maha ,sunyata1 space or eternal law2 the great emptiness4 ,mahat1 ,buddhi2 the first product of root-nature and producer of ,ahankara 7egotism71 and manas 7thinking principle74 ,mahatma1 a great soul2 an adept in occultism of the highest order4 ,mahavanso1 a ,buddhist historical work written by the ,bhikshu ,mohanama1 the uncle of ,king ,dhatusma4 ,maha-,yug1 the aggregate of four ,yugas1 or ages--#d1cbj1jjj years--in the ,brahmanical system4 ,manas1 the mind1 the thinking principle2 the fifth principle in the septenary division4 ,manas ,sanyama1 perfect concentration of the mind2 control over the mind4 ,manomaya ,kosha1 third sheath of the divine monad1 ,vedantic equivalent for fourth and fifth principles4 ,mantra period1 one of the four periods into which ,vedic literature has been divided4 ,mantra ,sastra1 ,brahmanical writings on the occult science of incantations4 ,mantra ,tantra ,shastras1 works on incantation and ,magic4 ,manu1 the great ,indian legislator4 ,manvantara1 the outbreathing of the creative principle2 the period of cosmic activity between two pralayas4 ,maruts1 the wind gods4 ,mathadhipatis1 heads of different religious institutions in ,india4 ,matras1 the quantity of a ,sanskrit syllable4 ,matrikasakti1 the power of speech1 one of six forces in ,nature4 ,matsya ,puranas1 one of the ,puranas4 ,maya1 illusion1 is the cosmic power which renders phenomenal existence possible4 ,mayavic ,upadhi1 the covering of illusion1 phenomenal appearance4 ,mayavirupa1 the double2 doppelganger2 perisprit4 ,mazdiasnian1 ,zoroastrian 7lit4 worshiping ,god74 ,microcosm1 man4 ,mobeds1 ,zoroastrian priests4 ,monad1 the spiritual soul1 that which endures through all changes of objective existence4 ,moneghar1 the headman of a village4 ,morya1 one of time royal houses of ,magadha2 also the name of a ,rajpoot tribe4 ,mukta1 liberated2 released from conditional existence4 ,mukti4 ,see ,mukta4 ,mula-prakriti1 undifferentiated cosmic matter2 the unmanifested cause and substance of all being4 ,mumukshatwa1 desire for liberation4 ,nabhichakram1 the seat of the principle of desire1 near the umbilicus4 ,najo1 witch4 ,nanda 7,king71 one of the kings of ,magadha4 ,narayana1 in mystic symbology it stands for the life principle4 ,nava nidhi1 the nine jewels1 or consummation of spiritual development4 ,neophyte1 a candidate for initiation into the mysteries of adeptship4 ,nephesh1 one of the three souls1 according to the ,kabala2 first three principles in the human septenary4 ,neschamah1 one of the three souls1 according to the ,kabala2 seventh principle in the human septenary4 ,nirguna1 unbound2 without gunas or attributes2 the soul in its state of essential purity is so called4 ,nirvana1 beautitude1 abstract spiritual existence1 absorption into all4 ,niyashes1 ,parsi prayers4 ,noumena1 the true essential nature of being1 as distinguished from the illusive objects of sense4 ,nous1 spirit1 mind2 ,platonic term1 reason4 ,nyaya ,philosophy1 a system of ,hindu logic founded by ,gautuma4 ,occultism1 the study of the mysteries of ,nature and the development of the psychic powers latent in man4 ,okhema1 vehicle2 ,platonic term for body4 ,padarthas1 predicates of existing things1 so called in the ,vaiseshikha1 or atomic system of philosophy1 founded by ,kanad 7,sanskrit74 ,padma sana1 a posture practised by some ,indian mystics it consists in sitting with the legs crossed one over the other and the body straight4 ,pahans1 village priests4 ,panchakosha1 the five sheaths in which is enclosed the divine monad4 ,panchikrita1 developed into the five gross elements4 ,parabrahm1 the supreme principle in ,nature2 the universal spirit4 ,paramarthika1 one of the three states of existence according to ,vedanta2 the true1 the only real one4 ,paramatma1 time ,supreme ,spirit1 one of the six forces of ,nature2 the great force4 ,parasakti1 intellectual apprehension of a truth4 ,pataliputra1 the ancient capital of the kingdom ,magadha1 in ,eastern ,india1 a city identified with the modern ,patna4 ,patanjali1 the author of ,yoga ,philosophy1 one of the six orthodox systems of ,india and of the ,mahabhashya4 ,peling1 the name given to ,europeans in ,tibet4 ,phala1 retribution2 fruit or results of causes4 ,pho1 animal soul4 ,pisacham1 fading remnants of human beings in the state of ,kama ,loka2 shells or elementaries4 ,piyadasi1 another name for ,asoka 7q4v47 ,plaster or ,plantal1 ,platonic term for the power which moulds the substances of the universe into suitable forms4 ,popol-,vuh1 the sacred book of the ,guatemalans4 ,poseidonis1 the last island submerged of the continent of ,atlantis4 ,pracheta1 the principle of water4 ,pragna1 consciousness4 ,prajapatis1 the constructors of the material universe4 ,prakriti1 undifferentiated matter2 the supreme principle regarded as the substance of the universe4 ,pralaya1 the period of cosmic rest4 ,prameyas1 things to be proved1 objects of ,pramana or proof4 ,prana1 the one life4 ,pranamaya ,kosha1 the principle of life and its vehicle2 the second sheath of the ,divine monad 7,vedantic74 ,pranatman1 the eternal or germ thread on which are strung1 like beads1 the personal lives4 ,the same as ,sutratma4 ,pratibhasika1 the apparent or illusory life4 ,pratyaksha1 perception4 ,pretya-bhava1 the state of an ego under the necessity of repeated births4 ,punarjanmam1 power of evolving objective manifestation2 rebirth4 ,puraka1 in-breathing1 regulated according to the system of ,hatha ,yoga4 ,puranas 7lit4 old writings74 ,a collection of symbolical ,brahmanical writings4 ,they are eighteen in number1 and are supposed to have been composed by ,vyasa1 the author of the ,mahabharata4 ,purusha1 spirit4 ,rajas1 the quality of foulness2 passionate activity4 ,rajarshi1 a king-adept4 ,raj ,yoga1 the true science of the development of psychic powers and union with the ,supreme ,spirit4 ,rakshasas1 evil spirits2 literally1 raw-eaters4 ,ramayana1 an epic poem describing the life of ,rama1 a deified ,indian hero4 ,ram ,mohun ,roy1 the well-known ,indian ,reformer1 died #ahcc4 ,rechaka1 out-breathing1 regulated according to the system of ,hatha ,yoga4 ,rig ,veda1 the first of the ,vedas4 ,rishabham1 the ,zodiacal sign ,taurus1 the sacred syllable ,aum4 ,rishis 7lit4 revealers71 holy sages4 ,ruach1 one of the souls1 according to the ,kabala2 second three principles in the human septenary4 ,sabda1 the ,logos or ,word4 ,saketa1 the capital of the ancient ,indian kingdom of ,ayodhya4 ,sukshma sariram1 the subtile body4 ,sakti1 the crown of the astral light2 the power of ,nature4 ,sakuntala1 a ,sanskrit drama by ,kalidasa4 ,samadhana1 incapacity to diverge from the path of spiritual progress4 ,sama1 repression of mental perturbations4 ,samadhi1 state of ecstatic trance4 ,samanya1 community or commingling of qualities4 ,samma-,sambuddha1 perfect illumination4 ,samvat1 an ,indian era which1 is usually supposed to have commenced #eg ,b4,c4 ,sankaracharya1 the great expositor of the monistic ,vedanta ,philosophy1 which denies the personality of the ,divine ,principle1 and affirms its unity with the spirit of man4 ,sankhya ,karika1 a treatise containing the aphorisms of ,kapila1 the founder of the ,sankhya system1 one of the six schools of ,hindu philosophy4 ,sankhya ,yog1 the system of ,yog as set forth by ,sankhya philosophers4 ,sannyasi1 a ,hindu1 ascetic whose mind is steadfastly fixed upon the ,supreme ,truth4 ,sarira1 body4 ,sat1 the real1 ,purusha4 ,sattwa1 purity4 ,satva1 goodness4 ,satya ,loka1 the abode of ,truth1 one of the subjective spheres in our solar system4 ,shamanism1 spirit worship2 the oldest religion of ,mongolia4 ,siddhasana1 one of the postures enjoined by the system of ,hatha ,yoga4 ,siddhi1 abnormal power obtained by spiritual development4 ,sing ,bonga1 sun spirit of the ,kolarian tribes4 ,siva1 one of the ,hindu gods1 with ,brahma and ,vishnu1 forming the ,trimurti or ,trinity2 the principle of destruction4 ,sivite1 a worshipper of ,siva1 the name of a sect among the ,hindus4 ,skandhas1 the impermanent elements which constitute a man4 ,slokas1 stanzas 7,sanskrit74 ,smriti1 legal and ceremonial writings of the ,hindus4 ,soham1 mystic syllable representing involution2 lit4 that am ,i4 ,soonium1 a magical ceremony for the purpose of removing a sickness from one person to another4 ,soorya1 the sun4 ,souramanam1 a method of calculating time4 ,space1 ,akasa2 ,swabhavat 7q4v47 ,sraddha1 faith4 ,sravana1 receptivity1 listening4 ,sthula-,sariram1 the gross physical body4 ,sukshmopadhi1 fourth and fifth principles 7,raja ,yoga47 ,sunyata1 space2 nothingness4 ,suras1 elementals of a beneficent order2 gods4 ,surpa1 winnower4 ,suryasiddhanta1 a ,sanskrit treatise on astronomy4 ,sushupti ,avastha1 deep sleep2 one of the four aspects of ,pranava4 ,sutra period1 one of the periods into which ,vedic literature has been divided4 ,sutratman1 7lit4 the thread spirit17 the immortal individuality upon which are strung our countless personalities4 ,svabhavat1 ,akasa2 undifferentiated primary matter2 ,prakriti4 ,svapna1 dreamy condition1 clairvoyance4 ,swami 7lit4 a master71 the family idol4 ,swapna ,avastha1 dreaming state2 one of the four aspects of ,pranava4 ,tama1 indifference1 dullness4 ,tamas1 ignorance1 or darkness4 ,tanha1 thirst2 desire for life1 that which produces re-birth4 ,tanmatras1 the subtile elements1 the abstract counterpart of the five elements1 earth1 water1 fire1 air and ether1 consisting of smell1 taste1 feeling1 sight and sound4 ,tantras1 works on ,magic4 ,tantrika1 ceremonies connected with the worship of the goddess ,sakti1 who typifies ,force4 ,taraka ,yog1 one of the ,brahmanical systems for the development of psychic powers and attainment of spiritual knowledge4 ,tatwa1 eternally existing that2 the different principles in ,nature4 ,tatwams1 the abstract principles of existence or categories1 physical and metaphysical4 ,telugu1 a language spoken in ,southern ,india4 ,tesshu ,lama1 the head of the ,tibetan ,church4 ,the ,laws of ,upasanas1 chapter in the ,book iv4 of ,kui-te on the rules for aspirants for chelaship4 ,theodidaktos 7lit4 ,god taught 71 a school of philosophers in ,egypt4 ,theosophy1 the ,wisdom-,religion taught in all ages by the sages of the world4 ,tikkun1 ,adam ,kadmon1 the ray from the ,great ,centre4 ,titiksha1 renunciation4 ,toda1 a mysterious tribe in ,india that practise black magic4 ,tridandi1 7tri1 three1 danda1 chastisement71 name of ,brahmanica,i thread4 ,trimurti1 the ,indian ,trinity--,brahma1 ,vishnu and ,siva1 ,creator1 ,preserver and ,destroyer4 ,turiya ,avastha1 the state of ,nirvana4 ,tzong-ka-pa1 celebrated ,buddhist reformer of ,tibet1 who instituted the order of ,gelugpa ,lamas4 ,universal ,monas1 the universal spirit4 ,upadana ,karnam1 the material cause of an effect4 ,upadhis1 bases4 ,upamiti1 analogy4 ,upanayana1 investiture with the ,brahmanical thread4 ,upanishads1 ,brahmanical ,scriptures appended to the ,vedas1 containing the esoteric doctrine of the ,brahmans4 ,upanita1 one who is invested with the ,brahmanical thread 7lit4 brought to a spiritual teacher74 ,uparati1 absence of out-going desires4 ,urvanem1 spiritual ego2 sixth principle4 ,ushtanas1 vital force2 second principle4 ,vach1 speech2 the ,logos2 the mystic ,word4 ,vaishyas1 cattle breeders artisans2 the third caste among the ,hindus4 ,vakya ,sanyama1 control over speech4 ,varuna or ,pracheta1 the ,neptune of ,india4 ,vasishta1 a great ,indian sage1 one of those to whom the ,rig ,veda was revealed in part4 ,vata1 air4 ,vayu1 the wind4 ,vayu ,puranas1 one of the ,puranas4 ,vedantists1 followers of the ,vedanta ,school of ,philosophy1 which is divided into two branches1 monists and dualists4 ,vedas1 the most authoritative of the ,hindu ,scriptures4 ,the four oldest sacred books--,rig1 ,yajur1 ,sama and ,atharva--revealed to the ,rishis by ,brahma4 ,vedic1 pertaining to the ,vedas4 ,vidya1 secret knowledge4 ,vija1 the primitive germ which expands into the universe4 ,vijnana-maya-kosha1 the sheath of knowledge2 the fourth sheath of the divine monad2 the fifth principle in man 7,vedanta74 ,viraj1 the material universe4 ,vishnu1 the second member of the ,hindu trinity2 the principle of preservation4 ,vishnuite or ,vishuvite1 a worshiper of ,vishnu1 the name of a sect among the ,hindus4 ,vrishalas1 ,outcasts4 ,vyasa1 the celebrated ,rishi1 who collected and arranged the ,vedas in their present form4 ,vyavaharika1 objective existence2 practical4 ,yajna ,sutra1 the name of the ,brahmanical thread4 ,yama1 law1 the god of death4 ,yashts1 the ,parsi prayer-books4 ,yasna1 religious book of the ,parsis4 ,yasodhara1 the wife of ,buddha4 ,yavanacharya1 the name given to ,pythagoras in the ,indian books4 ,yavanas1 the generic name given by the ,brahmanas to younger peoples4 ,yoga ,sutras1 a treatise on ,yoga philosophy by ,patanjali4 ,yog ,vidya1 the science of ,yoga2 the practical method of uniting one's own spirit with the universal spirit4 ,yogis1 mystics1 who develop themselves according to the system of ,patanjali's ,yoga ,philosophy4 ,yudhishthira1 the eldest of the five brothers1 called ,pandavas1 whose exploits are celebrated in the great ,sanskrit epic ,mahabharata4 ,zend1 the sacred language of ancient ,persia4 ,zhing1 subtle matter2 ,kama ,rupa1 or fourth principle 7,chinese74 ,zoroaster1 the prophet of the ,parsis4