,libraries47 ,h4 ,p4 ,,blavatsky ,a ,,great ,,betrayal ,,by ,,alice ,,leighton ,,cleather ,one of ,her ,pupils ,,price ,one ,rupee1 ,fifty cents1 or ,one ,shilling ,six ,pence ,,published ,,by ,,thacker1 ,,spink ,,co ,,calcutta #aibb ,,works ,,by ,,the ,,same ,,author4 ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky3--,her ,life and ,work for ,humanity4 ,,calcutta3 ,,thacker1 ,,spink ,,co41 #aibb4 ,in ,collaboration with ,mrs4 ,laura ,langford3--,helena ,petrovna ,blavatsky4 ,personal ,recollections by ,old ,friends4 ,new ,york1 #aibb4 ,in ,collaboration with ,mr4 ,basil ,crump3 ,richard ,wagner's ,music ,dramas4 ,embodying ,wagner's own interpretations based upon his studies of ,oriental ,philosophy4 ,,london3 ,,methuen ,,co41 #d ,,vols4 ,h4 ,p4 ,,blavatsky ,behold the truth before you6 a clean life1 an open mind1 a pure heart1 an eager intellect1 an unveiled spiritual perception1 a brotherliness for one's co-disciple1 a readiness to give and receive advice and instruction1 a loyal sense of duty to the ,teacher1 a willing obedience to the behests of ,,truth1 once we have placed our confidence in1 and believe that ,teacher to be in possession of it2 a courageous endurance of personal injustice1 a brave declaration of principles1 a valiant defence of those who are unjustly attacked1 and a constant eye to the ideal of human progression and perfection which the secret science 7,gupta ,vidya7 depicts--these are the golden stairs up the steps of which the learner may climb to the ,temple of ,divine ,wisdom4 ,say this to those who have volunteered to be taught by you4 ,letter to ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 from her ,master 7concerning her ,e4 ,s4 students47 ,h4 ,p4 ,,blavatsky ,a ,,great ,,betrayal ,,by ,,alice ,,leighton ,,cleather ,one of ,her ,pupils ,published by ,,thacker1 ,,spink ,,co ,,calcutta #aibb ,tell them 4442 ,as pure water poured into the scavenger's bucket is befouled and unfit for use1 so is divine truth when poured into the consciousness of a ,sensualist4444 ,observe1 that the first of the steps of gold which mount towards the ,temple of ,truth is--,a ,,clean ,,life4 ,this means a purity of body1 and a still greater purity of mind1 heart and spirit4 ,letter to ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 from her ,master 7concerning her ,e4 ,s4 students47 ,,contents4 ,,page ,,foreword vii ,,introductory #a ,,mr4 ,,william ,,kingsland ,,on ,,the ,,crisis ,,of #aijf #g ,m4 ,m4 ,,schur ,,and ,l,,vy ,,on ,,the ,,crisis ,,of #aiac #aa ,,mrs4 ,,besant',s ,,return ,,of ,,the ,,christ #ae ,,fundamental ,,causes3 ,,some ,,occult ,,methods #bc ,h4 ,p4 ,,blavatsky ,,on ,,true ,,occultism #ca ,,mrs4 ,,besant',s ,,responsibility ,,and ,,the ,,madras ,,law-,,suits #ci ,,the ,,central ,,hindu ,,college3 ,,an ,,indian ,,criticism #dc ,,mrs4 ,,besant',s ,,latest ,,assertions ,,and ,,claims ,,examined #ea ,,tampering ,,with ,h4 ,p4 ,,blavatsky',s ,,writings #ga ,,annie ,,besant',s ,,corruption ,,of ,,the ,,secret ,,doctrine #gf ,,the ,,truth ,,about ,,the ,e4 ,s4 ,,council ,,and ,,the ,,inner ,,group #hc ,,conclusion #hi ,,addendum4 ,,the ,,australian ,,crisis #ib ,,an ,,indictment ,,of ,,mrs4 ,,besant ,,by ,a ,,resigning ,,member ,,of ,,her ,e4 ,s4 #ie ,,bibliography #ig ,there is a very1 very ancient maxim1 far older than the time of the ,romans or the ,greeks4444 ,it is a maxim all of them ought to remember--and live accordingly 444 a sound and pure mind requires a sound and pure body4 ,bodily purity every adept takes precautions to keep4444 ,most of them know this4444 ,but though they have been repeatedly told of this sine qua non rule on the ,path of ,theosophy and ,chelaship1 how few of them have given attention to it4444 ,behold1 how many of them are 444 debauchees1 ,,guilty ,,of ,,secret ,,immorality in more than one form4444 ,though such a person with any of the faults as above declared others are named should fill the world with his charities1 and make his name known throughout every nation1 he would make no advancement in the practical occult sciences1 but be continually slipping backward4 ,the 'six and ten transcendental virtues1' the ,paramitas#a1 are not for full grown ,yogis and priests alone1 but for all those who would enter the ',path4' ,letter to ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 from her ,master 7concerning her ,e4 ,s4 students47 ,,footnotes3 #a ,see ,the ,voice of the ,silence1 by ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky4 ,,foreword4 ,this ,protest has been undertaken at the earnest and repeated requests of ,theosophical friends of long standing4 ,they feel strongly that the time has come for one of ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky's old pupils1 who was a member of her ,inner ,group1 to demonstrate as clearly as possible that the teachings promulgated for nearly twenty years past by the present leaders of the ,theosophical ,society have departed more and more from ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's1 and are now their direct antithesis1 particularly on the fundamental question of sex morality4 ,since ,mr4 ,g4 ,r4 ,s4 ,mead1 one of my fellow-members of the ,inner ,group1 spoke out at the ,leadbeater ,inquiry of #aijf1 and resigned1 no other surviving member1 so far as ,i have been able to ascertain1 has attempted to stem the awful and ever increasing tide of horror and delusion1 that is1 engulfing--one might almost say has engulfed--,mrs4 ,besant's ,society4 ,if ,mr4 ,mead could say in #aijf2--,we stand on the brink of an abyss1 what is to be said now8 ,the enquiries and researches ,i have undertaken to enable me to write this pamphlet have revealed the present state of things to be far worse than ,i could have imagined possible4 ,from the time ,i left ,mrs4 ,besant in #ahie and ,mrs4 ,tingley in #ahii1 ,i have been out of touch with these two movements1 each calling itself theosophical and each leader claiming to be ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's successor4 ,this is the reason why ,i have hitherto kept silent2 in fact1 it was not until ,i came to live in ,india in #aiah1 after spending some years on the ,continent1 and met some of the members--both ,indian and ,european--who had left ,mrs4 ,besant in more recent years1 that ,i learnt of the appalling developments since she became ,president and installed the sex pervert ,leadbeater as supreme esoteric teacher4 ,i feel that ,i should be failing in my duty1 and false to the solemn ,pledges ,i have taken1 if ,i did not now do my utmost to clear ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's name from these horrible associations1 and demonstrate that they have nothing whatever to do with her ,masters 7the ,trans-,himlayan ,brotherhood7 or ,their ,esoteric doctrine4 ,i therefore ,,protest with all my strength1 and in ,their sacred ,names1 against what is to me a desecration and a blasphemy4 ,september1 #aibb4 ,a4 ,l4 ,c4 ,whom the gods would destroy they first make mad4 ,,introductory4 ,for the past fifteen years1 despite repeated scandals1 exposures1 and even the damning evidence produced in various court cases1 ,mrs4 ,besant still persists in her blind and fanatical support of the sex pervert and pseudo-occultist ,c4 ,w4 ,leadbeater1 and the promulgation of his delusive1 immoral1 and poisonous teachings among the members of the ,theosophical ,society she rules1 and the public at large1 to whom she is known chiefly as an able speaker and an astute politician4 ,goaded by a revival of the well-known evidence against ,mr4 ,leadbeater1 and a severe criticism of her own actions1 ,mrs4 ,besant published in her official organ 7,theosophist1 ,march1 #aibb47 an article entitled ,whom ,will ,ye ,serve8 and a long ,supplement addressed to the members1 reiterating her support of ,mr4 ,leadbeater1 and making statements in justification of him and herself that call imperatively for a dispassionate review of the history of this ill-omened partnership1 and the strongest possible protest against the complete stultification and perversion of ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky's life-work and teaching that it involves4 ,i have no personal quarrel with ,mrs4 ,besant1 whose brilliant intellectual gifts we all so much admired in the early days1 and who accomplished such splendid work for the ,cause during ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky's lifetime4 ,i had already been a member of the ,society for four years when ,mrs4 ,besant joined in #ahhi2 and as we both subsequently became members of the ,inner ,group of ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's personal pupils1 ,i feel ,i am in a position to review the facts1 and entitled to utter this protest4 ,in fact1 ,i can no longer remain silent in the face of so much that is abhorrent to every true ,theosophist1 to every devoted follower of ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky1 her ,masters1 and ,their teachings4 ,in a private letter to ,mr4 ,judge1 in or about #ahhg1 ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 writes3 ,i am the mother and creator of the ,society2 it has my magnetic fluid4444 ,therefore ,i alone and to a degree 444 can serve as a lightning conductor of ,karma for it4 ,i was asked whether ,i was willing1 when on the point of dying--and ,i said ',yes'--for it was the only means to save it4 ,therefore ,i consented to live4444 ,obviously1 the only possible conclusion to be drawn from this is that1 when in #ahia ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky passed away 7or rather was recalled7 nine years before the limit of time within which the ,masters' help could be given1#b it was because ,they saw that the ,t4 ,s4 had definitely failed1 that it could no longer be kept alive4 ,a long and1 in this connection1 very important letter was written by ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky in #ahij ,to my ,brothers in ,aryavarta1 giving the real reason why she did not return to ,india4 ,among other significant statements which she makes 7,theosophist1 ,january1 #aibb471 there is one which shows that she must clearly have foreseen the ultimate disintegration of the ,society1 which occurred in #ahie4 ,writing of the shameful way in which she was thrown overboard1 like a second ,jonah1 by ,colonel ,olcott and the ,t4 ,s4 ,council at ,adyar in their cowardly panic during the crisis of #ahhd-he1 ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 says3 ,it was during that time 444 that the seeds of all future strifes1 and--let me say at once--disintegration of the ,theosophical ,society ,italics mine4--,a4 ,l4 ,c4 were planted by our enemies4444 ,in a letter received from ,damodar in #ahhf ,he had been called by his ,master to ,tibet the previous year4--,a4 ,l4 ,c4 he notified me that the ,masters' influence was becoming with every day weaker at ,adyar4 ,further on in the letter ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 again refers to ,adyar1 and to an invitation to return to ,india which came too late 444 nor can ,i1 if ,i would be true to my life-pledge and vows1 now live at the ,headquarters from which the ,masters and ,their spirit are virtually banished4 ,the presence of ,their portraits will not help2 ,they are a dead letter4 ,italics mine4 ,yet ,mrs4 ,besant asks us to believe that ,they returned when she was elected ,president in #aijg1 and even nominated her6--,a4 ,l4 ,c4 ,in the same letter ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 says that she was pledged never to reveal the whole truth about the ,masters to anyone1 excepting to those who like ,damodar1 had been finally selected and called by ,them4 ,she also speaks of him as that one future ,adept who has now the prospect of becoming one day a ,mahatma1 ,kali ,yuga notwithstanding4 ,it is he again of whom she spoke four years earlier1 when she wrote3 ,during the eleven years of the existence of the ,theosophical ,society ,i have known1 out of the seventy-two regularly accepted chelas on probation and the hundreds of lay candidates--only three who have not hitherto failed1 and one only who had a full success4 7,the ,theosophical ,mahatmas4 ,path1 ,december1 #ahhf47 ,damodar is the only chela she ever spoke of as a full success in her lifetime2 and it is worthy of special note that he was a high caste ,brahmin who did not hesitate to give up caste and become a ,buddhist 7so ,colonel ,olcott states74 ,in the late spring ,mrs4 ,besant paid a hasty visit to ,australia1 whither her brother-initiate had to flee from ,india some time since1 as previously from ,london1 ,paris1 and ,america4 ,the cause is always the same2 scandals inevitably arise1 and ,australia has proved no exception4 ,mr4 ,leadbeater is a ,bishop of the ,liberal ,catholic ,church1 an anomalous body warmly supported and encouraged within and without the ,t4 ,s4 by ,mrs4 ,besant4 ,other of its bishops have incurred similar odium and a priest has quite recently confessed in writing and implicated the ,presiding ,bishop and others4 ,it has been stated that all these men are being watched by the police1 who are only waiting to secure enough evidence4 ,matters cannot go on much longer like this2 and a pamphlet published at ,new ,york last ,february says that with difficulty a delay of a few months has been obtained in a pending arraignment and exposure in the ,public ,press in ,america4 ,when it comes it will be a far graver indictment than that which precipitated the ',besant v4 ,judge' crisis in #ahid-ie1 and rent the ,t4 ,s4 in twain4 ,then ,mrs4 ,besant accused her colleague ,mr4 ,judge of giving a misleading material form to messages received psychically from the ,master in various ways 444 7,enquiry at ,london1 ,july1 #ahid72 but now she is deliberately condoning1 if not actually supporting1 something far worse which was investigated and found true by a ,t4 ,s4 committee of enquiry in #aijf4c ,for those unfamiliar with the events succeeding ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky's death in #ahia1 ,i must add that those of us who supported ,mr4 ,judge against ,mrs4 ,besant's charges came under the sway1 after his death a year later1 of an equally masterful1 able1 and ambitious woman having very similar characteristics and methods4 ,this was ,mrs4 ,katherine ,tingley1 formerly a ,new ,york professional psychic and trance medium1 from whose organisation 7,the ,universal ,brotherhood7 ,i resigned in #ahii4 ,her activities are now mainly confined to a colony in ,california4 ,a point to which ,i think attention has not hitherto been drawn is the striking similarity in the fate which befell ,mrs4 ,besant and ,mr4 ,judge respectively after the death of ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky4 ,being left as the most obvious leaders of the ,european and ,american ,sections respectively 7neither of them were in ,england when she died71 the ,e4 ,s4 ,council decided that they should carry on the ,esoteric ,school as joint ,outer ,heads in place of ,h4 ,p4 ,b41 oblivious of the fact that one of them 7,mrs4 ,besant7 was untrained1 and both were unfit to fill such a high occult office 7see post p4 #hf74 ,this soon became evident when each in turn fell an easy prey to external influences which first separated them1 and then disrupted the ,society and ,e4 ,s4 ,among the old ,t4 ,s4 and ,e4 ,s4 papers now lying before me ,i find not a few which throw a most illuminating light on ,mrs4 ,besant's activities in recent years4 ,before dealing with her latest statements ,i will quote extracts from these papers in support and elucidation of the points ,i wish to make1 viz3-- 7a7 ,that under ,mrs4 ,besant's guidance the ,t4 ,s4 has long ceased to represent ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky's teaching1 or the thought of its ,founders4 7b7 ,that it is now completely dominated by the deluded1 impure1 and poisonous ideas of an acknowledged sex pervert1 to whom this unhappy and misguided woman believes and openly declares herself to be bound by indissoluble and age-long ties4 7c7 ,that in adopting and conniving at the promulgation of the teachings of this man1 and allowing him virtually to control her ,society1 ,mrs4 ,besant most impiously gives out that she is acting under the orders of the ,trans-,himlayan ,masters of ,wisdom1 and ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky's directions4 ,this last point 7c7 is the real gravamen of my ,protest4 ,it would be of relative unimportance--,mrs4 ,besant having already wrecked the ,society in #ahie--that it had descended to the level of any existing sect1 ,christian or other 7as much a close corporation as the ,adventists or ,new ,jerusalemites71 had its two present leaders dropped the title1 and ceased to claim any connection with the real ,founders4 ,but1 on the contrary1 ,mrs4 ,besant and ,mr4 ,leadbeater use ,their sacred names and declare themselves to be under ,their direct guidance4 ,such proceedings merit the sternest possible moral condemnation in view of the facts4 ,,footnotes3 #b 444 there remain but a few years to the last hour of the term--namely1 till ,december the #cast1 #ahii4 ,those who will not have profited by the opportunity 7given to the world in every last quarter of a century7 444 will advance no further than the knowledge already acquired4 ,no ,master of ,wisdom from the ,east will himself appear or send anyone to ,europe or ,america after that period4444 ,such is the law1 for we are in ,kali-,yuga--the ,black ,age--and the restrictions in this cycle1 the first #e1jjj years of which will expire in #ahig1 are great and almost insuperable4 7,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky in the ,book of ,rules1 ,e4 ,s4 ,t4 #ahhh47 #c ,for later and fuller particulars from ,australia1 see ,addendum4 ,mr4 ,william ,kingsland on the ,crisis of #aijf4 ,the first of the old papers ,i shall quote from is by my old friend and fellow-,councillor ,mr4 ,william ,kingsland1 author of ,the ,esoteric ,basis of ,christianity and kindred works4 ,he was one of the leading members in the early days under ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 who1 when ,mrs4 ,besant on securing the ,presidency after ,colonel ,olcott's death in #aijg reinstated ,mr4 ,leadbeater1 resigned their membership4 ,mrs4 ,besant had reviewed a new book by ,mr4 ,kingsland1 and took the opportunity to refer to his resignation4 ,replying in ,an ,open ,letter to ,annie ,besant dated ,december1 #aiji1 he tells her3 ,you have dragged in a perfectly irrelevant1 uncalled-for and untrue statement which ,i cannot allow to pass unchallenged4444 ,the words ,i refer to are these3 ,we have here a very excellent ,theosophical book1 with an evasion of all recognition of the source whence the ideas are drawn4 ,when ,theosophy becomes fashionable1 how those who refuse to walk with her in the days of scorning will crowd to claim her as theirs when she walks in the sunshine amid applause6 ,now these words convey the implication1 in the first place1 that there is a connection between the form in which my book is presented1 and recent events in the ,theosophical ,society which have led me as well as many others1 to sever our connection with that ,society2 and1 in the second place1 that we now refuse to walk with her because1 forsooth1 she is not now fashionable1 but in the days of scorning4 ,neither of these statements is true1 and the implication is most unworthy of you4444 ,that1 however1 is a small matter compared with the implication that ,i and others have turned our backs on ,theosophy for so unworthy a reason4 ,let me ask you to look at the names of the old and tried workers whom you have forced out of the ,society by your disastrous policy1 and then ask yourself in the ,great ,presence whether it is true that any of them have deserted ,theosophy--or rather the ,theosophical ,society--because it is less fashionable now than it was in the old days when you and ,i and these others stood side by side and fought the battle for ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky4 ,did any of us shirk obloquy then1 and do you really think we are less ready to face it now8 ,it is one thing1 however1 to incur obloquy for the sake of ,truth1 and quite another thing to be asked to do it in support of immoral teachings4444 ,what ,i want to point out now more particularly1 and in the interest of true ,theosophy1 is1 that you are now making the grand mistake--one never made by ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky--of thinking1 writing1 and speaking as if ,theosophy and the ,theosophical ,society were one and the same thing1 absoutely identical2 and that there can be no ,theosophy in the world without the ,theosophical ,society1 and no ,theosophists outside of it4444 ,you must know that in leaving the ,theosophical ,society1 the great majority of us at all events have not given up ,theosophy1 even if we may feel compelled to teach it under another name1 and though we can no longer work with or through the ,theosophical ,society1 we are none the less carrying on the great work which ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky initiated4 ,but in the old days we did at least think that the ,theosophical ,society stood for pure ,theosophy and pure ,morality4 ,we cannot think or say this any longer4 ,the ,theosophy of the ,theosophical ,society is now a definite creed and dogma based upon authoritative psychic pronouncements1 from which those who dare to differ are first of all squeezed out of office by the ,president1 and finally compelled to leave the ,society1 being denounced in the strongest language as persecutors and haters4 ,i am quite aware that all the time you are preaching freedom of opinion2 but that is one of the farcical aspects of the rgime which you inaugurated4444 ,whatever you may preach1 it is now notorious that your practice has been the exact reverse4 ,you commenced by turning out the ,vice-,president for daring to hold a different opinion from your own as to the inception of the ,society2 and you then proceeded so to manipulate matters that several old and tried officials who had been in opposition to your pronouncements and policy1 were ousted from their positions as ,general ,secretaries of ,sections4444 ,well1 you succeeded in getting your own supporters appointed--and in losing many hundreds of old members4 ,doubtless you will now have complete control and be able to mould the ,society to your own will and liking1 and train it to obedience to your psychic authority and visions4 ,at what expense and sacrifice of principles you have already done this1 we all know4 ,but let none imagine that this is the basis on which ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky founded the ,society2 or that it will thus fulfil the mission for which it was intended2 or that it can thereby become other than a narrow and exclusive sect4 ,and if perchance your statement is true that the ,theosophical ,sciety--which you so mistakenly identify with ,theosophy--is now in the days of scorning1 possibly even more than it was in the old days2 ,what and who is it that has made it so8 ,is it not because the ,president and ,general ,council have set their seal and official condonation to a theosophy which countenances the grossest immorality1 and which can advocate--as a means of discharging sic thought-forms 7see ,van ,hook's pamphlet7--a practice which you yourself once characterised as being when taught under the name of ,divine ,wisdom1 essentially earthly1 sensual1 devilish8 ,yet it is thus taught and justified--with an appeal to the laws of reincarnation and karma--in ,van ,hook's pamphlet1 which you and the ,general ,council have refused to repudiate1 and have thereby condoned4 ,and now1 since you have had your own way1 and have cleared the ,society of the elements of the so-called hatred and persecution2 can you not at least refrain from hitting behind our backs8 ,nothing is sadder for your old friends and comrades than to see you stoop to veiled insinuations1 and even direct untruths2 missing no opportunity--not even in the review of a book--of striking unjustly and falsely at those who have recently been your opponents1 and who have now no direct means of answering you1 or of refuting your statements within the ,society itself4 ,i have italicised a few passages which seem to be of special importance as showing that1 thirteen years ago1 ,mr4 ,leadbeater's sinister hand had already grasped the ,society and its infatuated ,president1 and that his vile and immoral teachings1 supported by her1 had driven out some of the oldest and most clear-headed and clear-sighted of ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky's friends and pupils2 among them ,mr4 ,g4 ,r4 ,s4 ,mead1 one of the ,leadbeater ,committee of ,inquiry1 who also resigned at the time ,mrs4 ,besant became ,president for the same reasons as those stated by ,mr4 ,kingsland4 ,the practice to which he alludes in his ,open ,letter is of course now well known to be that taught and advocated by ,mr4 ,leadbeater1 who claims that in so doing he is acting on the advice and under the authority of one of the ,masters of ,wisdom4 ,could a more terrible infamy be perpetrated6 ,m4 ,m4 ,schur and ,lvy on the ,crisis of #aiac4 ,let us see1 however1 what others have to say seven years later on the state of the ,t4 ,s4 ,in #aiac another violent crisis convulsed this miserable travesty of a ,society that once stood for the highest principles and ideals1 but which even a ,lake ,harris might blush now to be associated with4 ,as before1 it centred round the shocking perverter of morals who had obtained complete ascendancy over ,mrs4 ,besant4 ,a book entitled ,mrs4 ,besant and the ,present ,crisis in the ,theosophical ,society was published in #aiac by ,m4 ,eugne ,lvy1 with a ,prefatory ,letter by ,m4 ,edouard ,schur1 the well-known author of ,the ,great ,initiates and other mystical works4 ,writing to ,m4 ,charles ,blech1 ,general ,secretary of the ,french ,t4 ,s41 ,m4 ,schur states that he feels compelled to retire officially from the ,t4 ,s4 and that it is his duty to give his reasons straightforwardly4 ,after alluding to the date 7#aijg71 when ,m4 ,blech had offered and he had accepted the honorary membership in the ,society1 ,m4 ,schur goes on to speak of ,mrs4 ,besant1 as she had then appeared to him1 in high terms1 expressing the hope that the nobility of her past career was an augury that the ,t4 ,s4 would continue in the broad way of tolerance1 impartiality1 and veracity which forms an essential part of its programme4 ,m4 ,schur then continues3-- ,unfortunately things turned out otherwise4 ,the primary cause of this deviation lies in the close alliance of ,mrs4 ,besant with ,mr4 ,leadbeater1 a learned occultist1 but of an unsettled disposition and doubtful morality4 ,after ,mr4 ,leadbeater had been found guilty by an advisory ,committee of the ,t4,s4 ,mrs4 ,besant publicly announced her reprobation of the educational methods with which he was charged4444 ,by an inconceivable change of front she soon afterwards declared her intention of bringing ,mr4 ,leadbeater into the ,t4,s4 again and she succeeded4444 ,the excuses she gave for this recantation were charity and pardon4 ,the real reason was that the ,president needed ,mr4 ,leadbeater for her occult investigations1 and that this collaboration appeared to her necessary to her prestige4 ,to those who have followed her words and acts from that time onwards1 it is clearly manifest that ,mrs4 ,besant has fallen under the formidable suggestive power of her dangerous collaborator1 and can only see1 think and act under his control4 ,the personality henceforward speaking through her is 444 the questionable visionary1 the skilful master of suggestion who no longer dares to show himself in ,london1 ,paris1 or ,america1 but in the obscurity of a summer-house at ,adyar governs the ,t4 ,s4 through its ,president4 ,the ill-omened consequences of this influence were soon to appear before the world through the affair of ,alcyone and the founding of the ,order of the ,star in the ,east4444 ,if a real ,indian initiate1 a ,brahmin or otherwise1 of ripe age1 had come to ,europe on his own responsibility or in the name of his ,masters to teach his doctrines1 nothing would have been more natural or interesting4444 ,but it was not in this form that we beheld the new apostle from ,adyar4 ,a young ,indian1 aged thirteen1 initiated by ,mr4 ,leadbeater 444 is proclaimed and presented to the ,european public as the future teacher of the new era4 ,krishnamurti1 now called ,alcyone1 has no other credentials than his master's injunctions and ,mrs4 ,besant's patronage4 ,his thirty-two previous incarnations are related at length1 the early ones going back to the ,atlantean period4 ,these narrations1 given as the result of ,mr4 ,leadbeater's and ,mrs4 ,besant's visions1 are for the most part grotesquely puerile1 and could convince no serious occultist4 ,they are ostensibly designed to prove that for twenty or thirty thousand years the principal personages in the ,t4 ,s4 have been preparing for the ,great ,work which is soon to be accomplished4 ,in the course of their incarnations1 which remind one of a newspaper novel1 these personages are decorated with the great names of ,greek mythology1 and with the most brilliant stars in the firmament4 ,during a meeting at ,benares1 ,krishnamurti presenting certificates to his followers1 received honours like a divine being1 many persons present falling at his feet4 ,he does not1 however1 utter a word1 but only makes a gesture of benediction1 prompted by ,mrs4 ,besant4 ,in reporting this scene ,mr4 ,leadbeater likens it to the descent of the ,holy ,ghost at ,pentecost4 ,for this dumb prophet is founded the ,order of the ,star in the ,east1 which the whole world is invited to join1 and of which he is proclaimed the head 444 this passive young prodigy1 who has not yet given the world the least proof of having any mission at all this is as true in #aibb as it was in #aiac4--;,a4 ,l4 ,c41 becomes henceforth the centre and cynosure of the ,t4 ,s41 the symbol and sacred ark of the orthodox faith at ,adyar4 ,as to the doctrine preached by ,mrs4 ,besant1 it rests on a perpetual equivocation4 ,she allows the ,english public at large1 to whom she speaks of the coming ,christ1 to believe that he is identical with the ,christ of the ,gospels1 whereas to her intimates she states what ,mr4 ,leadbeater teaches1 and what he openly proclaims in one of his books1 ,the ,inner ,life--namely1 that the ,christ of the ,gospels never existed1 and was an invention of the monks of the second century4 ,such facts are difficult to characterise4 ,i will simply say that they are saddening for all who1 like myself1 believed in the future of the ,t4 ,s41 for they can only repel clear-sighted and sincere minds4444 ,in my eyes1 one can no longer be an actual member of the ,t4 ,s4 without implicitly approving the deeds and words of the ,president1 which flagrantly contradict the essential principle of the ,society--,i mean scrupulous and absolute respect for truth4 ,for these reasons ,i regret that ,i must send you my resignation as a member of the ,theosophical ,society4 ,the italics throughout the foregoing quotations are mine1 and serve again to emphasise essential points2 points almost exactly similar to those raised by ,mr4 ,kingsland1 the most serious being the condonation by ,mrs4 ,besant of immoral practices in a colleague whose collaboration1 as ,m4 ,schur shrewdly adds1 has become a necessity to her1 and under whose formidable suggestive power she has now completely fallen4 ,if this was true in #aiac1 what may not be said in #aibb1 when the intervening nine years have given time for the growth and development of this deadly ,upas ,tree8 ,i use the simile advisedly1 for this teaching is a deadly poison1 not only from the ordinary moral standpoint1 but especially from that of the esoteric teaching of ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 and the ,trans-,himlayan ,brotherhood1 under whose authority it is falsely and blasphemously given out2 ,i do not hesitate to declare it4 ,m4 ,schur also emphasises an important and vital point which ,mr4 ,kingsland seems to have felt equally deeply1 viz4--,that ,mrs4 ,besant has no use for any but those who accept everything she says and does with blind subservience1 even when1 in the eyes of such men as ,m4 ,schur1 ,mr4 ,mead1 ,mr4 ,kingsland1 and others1 it merits strong condemnation as untrue and misleading4 ,in the pages of the recent numbers of the ,theosophist the talk about freedom of opinion within the ,society is still repeated1 although in actual practice1 as ,i have shown1 the exact opposite obtains4 ,much that emanates from this tainted source is so fantastic and puerile that ridicule ought long since to have killed it1 as it did ,oscar ,wilde's sthetic movement4 ,mrs4 ,besant's return of the ,christ4 ,to return to ,m4 ,lvy's book2 it deals with ,mrs4 ,besant's ,proceedings under various headings4 ,in the one entitled ,mrs4 ,besant's ,return of the ,christ is to be found some of the most amazing balderdash--given out as serious teaching6--it has ever been my lot to encounter4 ,for instance1 a book called ,man3 ,whence1 ,how1 and ,whither1 written by ,mrs4 ,besant and ,mr4 ,leadbeater in collaboration1 is quoted from by ,m4 ,lvy at considerable length4 ,he explains that the substitution of a false ,christ for the ,christ of the ,gospels is here supported by a new order of evidence 7,italics mine74 ,specimens of this evidence follow1 and ,i will here give some of it in order to show the almost unbelievably low level of intelligence to which this whole mischievous movement--miscalled ,theosophical--has descended1 and the sort of elements in human nature to which such an ill-conceived and fantastic production is designed to appeal4 ,m4 ,lvy writes3-- ,in the course of their investigations these two occultists look up on the one side1 the past incarnations of him whom ,mrs4 ,besant calls the ,master ,jesus1 that is1 of the ,jesus born #aje ,b4,c42 and on the other side1 the past lives of the being whom she calls the ,lord ,maitreya1 the present ,bodhisattva1 the ,supreme ,teacher of the ,world2 whose ego at a given moment replaced that of ,jesus1 this being the last incarnation of the ,christ whose immediate return she is announcing4 ,let us first quote from their account of the incarnations of the ,supreme ,teacher 444 ,in the chapter headed ,early ,times on the ,moon ,chain1 p4 #cd1 we read3-- ,there is a hut in which dwell a ,moon-,man1 his wife and children2 these we know in later times under the names of ,mars and ,mercury1 the ,mahaguru and ,surya4 ,a number of these monkey-creatures live round the hut1 and give to their owners the devotion of faithful dogs2 among them we notice the future ,sirius1 ,herakles1 ,alcyone1 and ,mizar1 to whom we may give their future names for the purpose of recognition1 though they are still non-human4#d ,in the ,fourth ,root ,race we again find the personage supposed to be ,maitreya as the husband of the ego claimed by these authors as that of ,master ,k4 ,h4 ,mrs4 ,besant is again incarnated in the family as daughter1 the eldest sister of the ,master ,m42 ,maitreya1 the future ,world-,teacher1 being at this time the head of the tribe 7p4 #aac74444 ,we have thus reached to somewhere about the year #ae1jjj ,b4,c41 and then--incredible as it seems--they give no further incarnations of him whom they nevertheless claim to have been the ,world-,teacher at the beginning of our era4 ,they give us his incarnations as husband1 as father1 as counsellor and priest1 and are silent as to the only incarnation of fundamental and vital importance to the whole world4 ,let us see if the incarnations of their ,jesus will fill this gap in our knowledge1 if they will throw light on this essential point1 thus left in obscurity4 ,we meet this ,jesus for the first time at the beginning of the ,fifth ,root ,race1 as daughter of ,alcyone 7,krishnamurti7 and sister of ,maitreya 7p4 #beb47 ,then1 on p4 #cbh1 as the wife of ,julius ,csar #ah1hgh ,b4,c41 he1 or rather she1 being at this time the widow of ,vulcan 7,known in his last incarnation as ,sir ,thomas ,more74444 ,he is later identified as daughter of ,alcyone-,krishnamurti 7his father7 and ,fabrizio ,ruspoli 7his mother71#e parents at the same time of the future ,world-,teacher1 ,maitreya1 their young daughter4 ,these incarnations took place #gb1jjj ,b4,c41 on the shores of the ,lake of ,gobi1 we are told on p4 #dij4 ,in #ae1iaj ,b4,c41 we find ,jesus as grandson of ,maitreya1 and as father and grandfather of a large family composed1 as in all cases investigated by these two authors1 of present members of the ,theosophical ,society only1 and including the faithful friends of ,adyar to the exclusion of all others4#f 444 ,in #ab1hjj ,b4,c4 the ,jesus of these investigations again forms part of a very extensive family composed as usual of the selfsame elements1 and including amongst the names known in the theosophic world that of ,mme4 ,marie ,louise ,kirby 7an ,italian theosophist recently at ,adyar7 who was his sister4 ,jesus was then the father of ,mrs4 ,s4 ,maud ,sharpe 7,general ,secretary of the ,english ,section71 of ,julius ,csar1 and of ,t4 ,subba ,rao2 the ,teshu ,lama being at that time his daughter1 etc41 etc4 7p4 #dii74444 ,once more have our hopes been betrayed1 for an absolute silence broods over the ,incarnations of ,jesus later than this date of #ac1ejj1 as it reigned over those of the ,world-,teacher4444 ,we cannot1 however1 conceive that this information gathered from occult investigation will be felt to be indispensable by anyone4 ,now that we know that ,mrs4 ,besant's ,world-,teacher is an ordinary man of the lunar chain 7to whom ,mrs4 ,besant was first domestic animal and then sister1 and who1 in the early period of our earth1 was daughter of the young ,krishnamurti 7or of ,m4 ,ruspoli71 who could be found still to imagine that there could be here any question1 save a mad or impious joke4444 ,incredible as it may appear to those who know anything of ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky's teachings1 their comprehensive grandeur and sublimity1 especially as given in ,the ,secret ,doctrine1 this extraordinary mixture of clumsy fairy-tale and extravagant and even malicious mumbo-jumbo is apparently swallowed whole by the blind and credulous followers of this grotesque ,neo-,theosophy4 ,not so much for them do ,i write as for those who1 while interested in these subjects1 have neither the inclination nor the leisure to examine1 for instance1 such published ,records as these from which ,i quote1 for themselves4 ,such would naturally accept on their face value ,mrs4 ,besant's own account of herself and of her ,society1 unaware that she is no longer anything but a blind leader of the blind1 incapable of distinguishing light from darkness1 truth from falsehood4 ,we have direct testimony to the truth of this statement in ,mr4 ,t4 ,h4 ,martyn's now famous letter to ,mrs4 ,besant4#g ,in it he tells her3--,you have been relying upon ,c4 ,w4 ,l4 as sole intermediary between the ,hierarchy the ,trans-,himlayan ,brotherhood1 the ,masters of ,wisdom4 ,italics mine4--,a4 ,l4 ,c4 and yourself for many years4444 ,c4 ,w4 ,l4's word is final and his seership infallible to you4 ,the quality of this supposed seership bears a very close resemblance to a stupid and vulgar hoax4 ,this is clearly shown by ,mr4 ,martyn1 who says3--,in #aiai ,i went to ,america4 ,young ,van ,hook was in ,new ,york4 ,he talked freely of ,c4 ,w4 ,l4's immorality and about faking the 'lives' of people 7,italics mine47 ,mr4 ,martyn then puts together various pieces of evidence against this man1 and tells ,mrs4 ,besant that he finds staring me in the face the conclusions that ,leadbeater is a sex pervert1 his mania taking a particular form which ,i have--though only lately--discovered1 is a form well known and quite common in the annals of sex criminology4 7,italics mine47 ,this sex criminal1 then1 is the creature whom ,mrs4 ,besant has accepted for many years as sole intermediary between herself and--the ,masters of ,wisdom66 ,one almost hesitates to draw the obvious inference2 for this is the man whom she has for years held up to and imposed upon their followers as a model of all the virtues--a saint--a person on the threshold of divinity4 7,see also footnote post1 p4 #ef47 ,why has it always been necessary for ,mrs4 ,besant to have an intermediary8 ,before ,mr4 ,leadbeater it was her ,brahmin guide1 and before him it was ,mr4 ,judge4 ,to each in turn she gave implicit belief in the matter of messages and directions from the ,masters1 while outwardly claiming direct communication4 ,the fact is that1 as ,i have come to believe1 the plain psychology of the thing is--sheer femininity4 ,with all her intellectual talents1 her once clear brain1 ,mrs4 ,besant is 7in her personality7 just simple woman1 relying upon male guidance and authority as instinctively as any of her humbler sisters4 ,and what student of human nature will fail to recognise in her that purely feminine trait of blind and fanatical obedience which loves to receive and obey orders even though the result should be a world in ruins8 ,the existence of this fundamental and essential quality in female human nature is the real reason why even the most broad-minded men shrink from giving women equality of power with themselves in wordly affairs4 ,let me here declare what ,i believe to be the real truth2 namely1 that after ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky's death in #ahia1 neither ,mrs4 ,besant1 nor ,mr4 ,judge1 nor ,colonel ,olcott1 nor anyone else1 could communicate1 because ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's withdrawal meant the withdrawal of her ,masters as well4 ,it has always seemed strange to me that this was never realised by anyone1 for in this pamphlet ,i have quoted quite enough from ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 to make it perfectly clear4 ,does she not say in the #ahij letter to the ,indians 7see p4 #b7 that after she had to leave ,india in #ahhe the ,masters' influence at ,adyar became a dead letter8 ,did not the ,masters ,themselves write as early as #ahhd that they could only communicate through her or in places previously prepared magnetically by her presence8 ,how1 then1 could ,they be expected to continue to communicate or direct the affairs of the ,t4 ,s4 7as ,they did in ,india until #ahhe71 or the ,e4 ,s4 7as ,they did from #ahhh to #ahia71 after ,they had withdrawn the ,agent ,they had so carefully prepared and subjected to the severest trials and initiations in ,tibet8 ,barely three years after this withdrawal the fatal ,split took place owing to ,mr4 ,judge giving out what purported to be direct communications1 but which1 as ,i discovered after working for a time under his inspirer and successor1 ,mrs4 ,tingley1 were obtained from her4 ,mrs4 ,besant1 in accusing him1 did precisely the same1 for she stated in her ,case against ,w4 ,q4 ,judge that she had received her orders direct from the ,master1 whereas 7as ,i relate elsewhere1 post1 p4 #ef7 she admitted to the ,inner ,group that they came through her ,brahmin guide4 ,this1 then1 was the great and fundamental error committed by the leaders of the movement1 after ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 was withdrawn4 ,it is responsible for all the subsequent troubles1 and the appalling situation with which we are faced to-day4 ,a great and world-wide organisation is being used to promulgate blasphemous1 poisonous and absolutely anti-,theosophical and anti-,occult doctrines as emanating direct from the ,masters who definitely withdrew ,their chosen ,agent in #ahia4 7,see ante p4 #b47 ,in any case1 even had she lived1 ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 told the ,e4 ,s4 that the last hour of the term was ,december #cast1 #ahii1 after which no ,master of ,wisdom from the ,east will himself appear or send anyone to ,europe or ,america4 7,see footnote1 ante p4 #b47 ,she also said that the next ,messenger would be sent out in #aige4 ,yet the fiction that the ,masters are still directing the leaders and the movement is kept up1 not only by ,mrs4 ,besant1 but also by ,mrs4 ,tingley1 #bb years after the last hour of the term4 ,it is the same with all this wild talk about the imminent advent of a ,world-,teacher4 ,is this in the least probable1 in view of the above pronouncements8 ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 definitely states in ,the ,secret ,doctrine the exact opposite2 but all the ,neo-,theosophists seem to prefer the ,besant and ,leadbeater books4 ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 says1 with reference to this very ,maitreya whose name they so lightly take in vain1 that ,he is not due until the ,seventh ,sub-,race1 i4e41 several thousand years hence2 and that1 in any case1 it is not in the ,kali ,yug1 our present terrifically materialistic age of ,darkness1 the ',black ,age1' that a new ,saviour of ,humanity can ever appear4 7,s4 ,d4 ,third ,ed41 ,vol4 ,i1 p4 #eaj et seq4 ,see also ,theosophical ,glossary1 ,kalki ,avatar and ,maitreya ,buddha47 ,if we accept ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's authority there is no evading this issue1 and we must reject the ,besant-,leadbeater pretensions in toto1 for their absurdity is patent4 ,yet they claim to have been specially taught and prepared by her to carry on her message6 7,vide ,mrs4 ,besant in the ,theosophist1 ,march1 #aibb2 and also post p4 #fh47 ,,footnotes3 #d ,in these incarnations such names are used as2 ,mars for the ,master ,m42 ,mercury for the ,master ,k4 ,h42 ,surya1 the ,lord ,maitreya1 the present ,bodhisattva1 the ,supreme ,teacher of the ,world2 ,sirius for ,mr4 ,leadbeater2 ,herakles for ,mrs4 ,besant2 ,alcyone for ,krishnamurti2 ,mizar for his young brother1 etc4 ,a list of these names and those to whom they apply is given in the ,foreword of the book4 ,italics mine4 ,here we see the bald and unabashed appeal to the personality and its ambitions and desires which is characteristic of this kind of charlatanism4--,a4 ,l4 ,c4 ,we shall here substitute the names of the real persons as given in this list for the fancy names used to distinguish them in the body of the book1 ,man3 ,whence1 ,how and ,whither4 #e ,m4 ,ruspoli is an ,italian theosophist recently living at ,adyar1 with whom ,mr4 ,leadbeater stayed in ,italy4 #f ,it is a remarkable fact that outside this little circle not a single being in our great world has ever entered into these family communities to whom the honour is given of being the pioneers of every civilisation of the past4 ,even though we are invited to assist at marriages running into thousands1 ever the same names appear and all the members of all the families are identified4 ,this singular oligarchy of friends and devotees of ,adyar perhaps merited to be signalised throughout the evolution of our earth1 the more so that ,mr4 ,leadbeater1 writing in his bird's-eye view of the twentieth century and of the pioneers of the future sixth race1 remarks maliciously3 ,we know who will not be there4 ,he puts in italics the word not2 desirous doubtless to indicate the unworthiness of other theosophists4 #g ,mr4 ,martyn is the ,president of the ,sydney ,lodge1 ,australian ,section ,t4 ,s41 a member of thirty years' standing4 ,see ,addendum4 ,fundamental causes3 ,some ,occult ,methods4 ,under this heading ,m4 ,lvy deals with what he calls the pitiful climax of this parody3-- ,what a contrast to the great traditions of the ,theosophical movement1 formulated by ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky in ,the ,key to ,theosophy 7,third ,edition1 p4 #aia72--;,as for our best ,theosophists1 they would also far rather that the names of the ,masters had not been mixed up with our books in any way4 ,and later1 on p4 #aib2--;,i say again1 every earnest ,theosophist regrets to-day1 from the bottom of his heart1 that these sacred names and things have ever been mentioned before the public4 ,and this would be the moment to say with ,mme4 ,blavatsky2--,great are the desecrations to which the names of two of the ,masters have been subjected4 444 ,but when all is said and done1 what is this occultism which produces such disregard of truth1 such calumny in daily life1 such diastrous confusion in the domain of clairvoyance1 and finally1 advice of such a kind as to arouse universal disgust8 ,italics mine4--,a4 ,l4 ,c4 ,this occultism has its methods1 as all schools of occultism have2 for occultism consists in a methodical training and the awakening of consciousness to superior worlds2 and where a method produces such results1 may we not regard it as legitimate to ask what is the source of such serious and such numerous aberrations8444 ,on this question1 as on all those that we have examined1 we will cite as witnesses original documents1 the appraisements of those who teach their own methods4 ,it is well known that ,mr4 ,leadbeater is the inventor and manipulator of the ,adyar occultism4 ,in the ,inner ,life 7,vol4 ,i1 p4 #dej71 in speaking of the centres1 the awakening of which1 as we know1 developes clairvoyance1 he expresses himself in these terms2--,i have heard it suggested that each of the different petals of these force-centres represents a moral quality1 444 ,i have not yet met with any facts which confirm this 444 their development seems to me to have no more connection with morality than has the development of the biceps4 ,italics mine4 ,a little later ,i shall quote some very definite pronouncements of ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky's which teach the exact opposite4--,a4 ,l4 ,c4 ,further1 it is of interest to find ,mrs4 ,besant and ,mr4 ,leadbeater1 in the first lines of the ,preface to ,man2 ,whence ,how1 and ,whither1 expressing the same view as regards the connection between morality and clairvoyance--,it is not generally accepted1 nor indeed is it accepted to any large extent 444 clairvoyance is a power latent in all men 444 it can be developed by any one who is able and willing to pay the price demanded for its forcing1 ahead of the general evolution4 ,mrs4 ,besant is no less positive4 ,a price is demanded for the forcing of clairvoyance1 but this price is neither high spirituality nor lofty intelligence1 nor even purity of character 444 she fully shares the views of ,mr4 ,leadbeater4444 ,thus the calumny1 sectarianism1 the disregard of truth in daily life1 the increasingly serious aberrations in the spiritual life1 have gradually revealed the main source of all these facts1 i4 e41 the defect of the method4 ,all becomes clear4 ,mr4 ,leadbeater is probably right1 and it may be possible to develop1 as he claims1 a certain clairvoyance 7an inferior clairvoyance1 it must be said7 without the concurrence of a moral and mental training4444 ,but who will maintain that without moral purification we shall possess that moral sense that inspires gracious and noble conduct1 and teaches us to hate falsehood8444 be able to distinguish illusions from reality in our astral visions8 ,mrs4 ,besant and ,mr4 ,leadbeater are most certainly not ignorant of the dangers of occult development without morality4 ,but it is quite another matter to profess this theory1 or even to lean towards morality in the course of occult development1 by means of 444 generous aspirations perpetually evoked in eloquent language1 from setting to work on the development of these centres by means of exercises arranged with the express purpose of bringing in the practice of morality1 of truth1 and of logic as powerful factors in the reorganisation of the subtle bodies--which produces clairvoyance4444 ,that method which dissociates moral and intellectual aspiration from occult development1 and seeks to cultivate them separately1 will not achieve moral progress since the inner nature is not transmuted2 but this method will produce a very debauch of phrases invoking these aspirations4 ,for1 instead of penetrating by means of the appropriate practice into the inner regions of the soul1 these aspirations swirl1 so to say1 perpetually on the surface of the mind4 ,their presence there will produce a kind of psychic intoxication1 sometimes rousing in the occultist thoughts so much above his own mental and moral standard1 that he may come to regard himself as a saint1 while at the same time performing the most despicable actions4 ,indeed1 during such times the conduct shows a moral retrogression very noticeable when compared with the conduct before this occult development ,for this latter increases and intensifies all the temptations1 as every occultist will admit4 ,an increase of active morality is therefore1 required if we would avoid this most dangerous lack of balance4444 ,we find constantly in ,mrs4 ,besant and ,mr4 ,leadbeater1 under a great show of high moral aspirations1 the reality of an actual moral and intellectual fall4 ,much emphasis is placed on liberty of thought see p4 #ad ,a4 ,l4 ,c41 and at the same time the intellectual desertion of this principle is preached in counselling members to give blind obedience to the least hint which falls from the lips of ,mrs4 ,besant1 and to follow her implicitly whether she is understood or not4444 ,we see clearly that the fruits are precisely those we should expect from the seed2 the terrible danger of this method can neither be misunderstood nor denied 444 we must never lend ear to the words which in this school quite naturally take the place of the honest and right act1 and so turn attention from the moral ugliness of the actions performed4444 ,acts alone show forth morality1 not attractive formulas flowing from literary or oratorical talent4 ,the constant declaration of liberty of thought1 of human brotherhood1 cannot impress us when the actions of those who delight in them enslave thought1 persecute merit1 seek to poison souls by flimsy and deceptive spiritual pronouncements4444 ,it is a painful duty to have to press this point with such insistence4 ,but now that we are facing the consequences of the ,leadbeater method on the mental character of the clairvoyant1 our warnings in reference to still more serious harm will not appear exaggerated4 ,we know that the higher regions of the invisible worlds are those in which consciousness manifests itself principally in the most intense awareness of moral beauty4 ,since this is so1 the cultivation of the non-moral clairvoyance could only attain results in the lower regions of the astral world 444 the organ of clairvoyant sight1 when developed according to certain methods1 will be blind to the moral outline of subtle worlds1 and will thus be cut off from all their truly spiritual content4 ,the field of their experiences will be limited to the lower regions of the astral plane4 ,and it is these lower visions1 more frequently experienced because of their affinity to elements in the vehicles of the investigator not yet purified1 that will be presented as the most sublime images of the higher worlds4 ,for such a clairvoyant is deprived of the high morality which is the force leading our bodies by affinity towards truly spiritual ,beings e4g41 the ,masters in ,their ,mahatmic bodies4--,a4 ,l4 ,c4 ,deprived of the standard of comparison that these provide1 he will be the victim of all the illusions of a world that is the veritable motherland of illusions1 for human errors are but the faint reflection of these4 ,since the sense of responsibility1 which is essentially moral in origin ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky says2 ,the sense of ,responsibility is the beginning of ,wisdom4 ,a4 ,l4 ,c4 will equally fail him1 he will have no scruple in sharing his illusions with all in making known his misleading experiences--the less since the forces1 whose sport he is1 push him irresistibly to this4 ,are they not in truth the adversaries of the divine scheme of evolution1 the servants and sowers of error and immorality the world over8 ,in these clear and logical arguments ,m4 ,lvy expresses1 even in a translation1 so much better than ,i could have done1 the dangers of the way leading to the path of error which ,mrs4 ,besant is now treading1 that ,i have quoted at greater length than ,i originally intended4 ,although written nine years ago1 they are more than ever true to-day4 ,m4 ,lvy then continues3-- ,we have thus sketched in their broad hypothetical outlines the incalculable reactions that the defect in the ,leadbeater method brings into the inner life1 into the words and actions of those who yield their souls to him4 ,in demonstrating the fatal effects of this method we have shown the real meaning of the faults and failings of all kinds as exhibited by ,mrs4 ,besant1 who is its most fervent adherent4 ,the right interpretation of the known facts seems to us so entirely in conformity with the consequences1 as implied in our hypothesis1 as to make it possible to some extent to foresee these facts with scientific certainty--which is precisely what has happened4444 ,we recall the ,leadbeater ,case1 which in #aijf this was the ,committee of ,inquiry in ,london1 above referred to4--,a4 ,l4 ,c called forth within the ,theosophical ,society1 no less than outside1 unanimous moral censure4444 ,resigning from the ,theosophical ,society in consequence of this affair1 ,mr4 ,leadbeater has since returned1 at the invitation of ,mrs4 ,besant4444 ,have the principles and methods of ,mr4 ,leadbeater changed since he has returned to his place amongst us8 ,he himself informs us on this point in a letter written after the affair1 at the express desire of ,mrs4 ,besant that he should define his position at the time she started the well-known campaign in favour of his re-admission 7,theosophist1 ,february #aijh47 ,you ask me1 says ,mr4 ,leadbeater1 to write you a clear letter that you may show at need1 expressing my real views on the advice ,i gave some time ago to certain young boys4 ,i need hardly say that ,i keep my promise not to repeat the advice1 for ,i defer to your opinion that it is dangerous4 ,i also recognise1 as fully as yourself1 that it would be if it were promiscuously given1 but ,i have never thought of so giving it4 ,in this declaration ,mr4 ,leadbeater first recognises the danger of his advice1 then immediately retracts this confession by reservations which imply its harmlessness in just those cases for which he is blamed4 ,he has not1 as we see from this letter1 then1 changed his views2 but the important fact is that he only speaks of danger1 and never of immorality4 ,his moral standpoint remains1 then1 unaltered--is precisely the same as before the expos4 ,and what is this point of view8 ,mrs4 ,besant thus gives it in a letter dated ,july1 #aijf 7,theosophic ,voice1 ,may1 #aijh73-- ,mr4 ,leadbeater appeared before the ,council of the ,british ,section1 representatives from the ,french and the ,american ,sections being present and voting4 ,colonel ,olcott in the chair4 ,he denied none of the charges1 but in answer to questions1 very much strengthened them1 for he alleged4444 ,so that the advice 444 became advice putting foul ideas into the minds of boys innocent of all sex impulses4444 ,it was conceivable that the advice1 as supposed to have been given1 had been given with pure intent1 and the presumption was so in a teacher of theosophical morality2 anything else seemed incredible4 ,but such advice as was given in fact1 such dealing with boys before sex passion had awakened1 could only be given with pure intent if the giver were1 on this point1 insane4 ,italics mine4 ,the details omitted cannot be put in print4--,a4 ,l4 ,c4 ,let me here place on record my opinion that such teaching as this1 given to men1 let alone to innocent boys1 is worthy of the sternest reprobation4 ,it distorts and perverts the sex impulse 444 degrades the ideas of marriage1 fatherhood and motherhood 444 befouls the imagination1 pollutes the emotions1 and undermines the health4 ,worst of all that it should be taught under the name of ,divine ,wisdom1 being essentially 'earthly'1 'sensual'1 'devilish4' ,mrs4 ,besant's last sentence contains the whole raison d'tre of this my ,protest4 ,she has expressed precisely the views ,i hold2 but in this fervid condemnation she herself must now be included1 since she condones and thus supports this horror4 ,m4 ,lvy graphically portrays for us on what road it is that this once apparently sane and normal woman1 with all her great gifts1 is descending--a road that1 as ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky puts it in the concluding paragraph of ,occultism versus the ,occult ,arts1 can lead only to ,dugpa-ship4 7see post p4 #cc47 ,he continues3-- ,mrs4 ,besant then deemed ,mr4 ,leadbeater's morality so defective as to be accounted for only by mental derangement4 ,nevertheless1 the promise contained in the letter just quoted and which expresses no shadow of moral repentance whatsoever1 nor anything approaching it1 was sufficient1 in ,mrs4 ,besant's eyes1 to justify her in bringing back into the ,theosophical ,society a teacher she has judged thus4 ,could one ask a clearer proof of the anarchy produced by such occultism8 ,a recent suit1 instituted by the parent of the young ,krishnamurti1 re-claiming the custody of his child1 brings forward again this question of morality 444 reminding us of the expos4 ,in fact1 the present case clearly formulates the accusation of immoral conduct testified to by witnesses 444 ,in such a discussion1 this attempt by ,mrs4 ,besant to play upon the political interests of the judges is unexpected1 amazing1--and1 alas6 significant4 ,we see clearly that a mind that shows itself capable of throwing into the balance political 7and racial7 appeals in a matter of conduct1 is utterly blind to the question of human consideration a ,brahmin father re-claiming his young sons that overshadows this whole case4 ,clear and unmistakable through all these actions shows the consistent distortion of the moral outlook1 more serious since the esoteric ethics should be an extension1 a purification1 an exaltation of exoteric morality1 and in no circumstances its decline1 its degradation1 its negation4 ,and if we would realise to what extent this moral outlook can be warped under certain influences1 we need but to hear ,mrs4 ,besant say of ,mr4 ,leadbeater3--,by hard1 patient work he has won rewards 444 until he stands perhaps the most trusted of his ,master's disciples on the threshold of ,divinity4 7,theosophist1 ,november1 #aiaa1 p4 #cjh47 ,this conception of the ,divinity that should be the the final expression of morality has no need of comment other than that same deification by his colleague--who five years earlier regarded his teaching as so utterly immoral as to suggest mental derangement as the only explanation4444 ,perhaps we shall understand these things a little better if we remember that this occultist1 if he contradicts the ,buddha1 on the other hand almost deifies ,mrs4 ,besant4 ,possibly taking into consideration this exchange of admiration1 the meaning of the deifications will become sufficiently clear4 ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky on true ,occultism4 ,before giving some fine passages from ,m4 ,lvy's concluding chapters ,i will quote from ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky's ,practical ,occultism3 ,occultism versus the ,occult ,arts1 mentioned a few pages back4 ,in its original form it is a booklet containing a reprint of two articles which she wrote for ,lucifer in #ahhh1 shortly before she founded the ,esoteric ,section4 ,these extracts will show the true teaching in this matter of ,occultism1 as contrasted with the false1 or ,mrs4 ,besant's and ,mr4 ,leadbeater's4 ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 begins by declaring that3 ,there are not in the ,west half-a-dozen among the fervent hundreds who call themselves ',occultists' who have even an approximately correct idea of the nature of the ,science they seek to master4 ,with a few exceptions1 they are all on the highway to sorcery4444 ,let them first learn the true relation in which the ,occult ,sciences stand to ,occultism4444 ,it differs from ,magic and other secret sciences as the glorious sun does from a rush-light1 as the immutable and immortal ,spirit of ,man--the reflection of the absolute1 causeless and unknowable ,,all--differs from the mortal clay--the human body4444 ,the word ,,occultism is certainly misleading1 translated as it stands from the compound word ,gupta-,vidya 7,secret4 ,knowledge47 ,but the knowledge of what8 ,some of the ,sanskrit terms may help us4 ,there are four 7out of the many other7 names of the various kinds of ,esoteric ,knowledge or ,sciences given1 even in the exoteric ,purnas4 ,there is 7#a7 ,yajna-,vidya1 knowledge of the occult powers awakened in ,nature by the performance of certain religious ceremonies and rites4 7#b7 ,mahavidya1 the 'great knowledge1' the magic of the ,kabalists and of the ,tantrika worship1 often ,sorcery of the worst description4 7#c7 ,guhya-,vidya1 knowledge of the mystic powers residing in ,sound 7,ether71 hence in the ,mantras 7chanted prayers or incantations71 and depending on the rhythm and melody used2 in other words1 a magical performance based on knowledge of the ,forces of ,nature and their correlation2 and 7#d7 ,atma-,vidya1 a term which is translated simply ',knowledge of the ,soul1' true ,wisdom by the ,orientalists1 but which means far more4 ,this last is the only kind of ,occultism that any ,theosophist who admires ',light on the ,path1' and who would be wise and unselfish1 ought to strive after4 ,all the rest is some branch of the ',occult ,sciences1' i4e41 arts based on the knowledge of the ultimate essence of all things in the kingdoms of ,nature--such as minerals1 plants and animals--hence of things pertaining to the realm of material nature1 however invisible that essence may be1 and howsoever much it has hitherto eluded the grasp of ,science4444 ,siddhis 7or the ,arhat powers7 are only for those who are able to 'lead the life1' and to comply with the terrible sacrifices required for such a training1 and to comply with them to the very letter4 ,let them know at once and remember always1 that true ,occultism or ,theosophy is the ',great ,renunciation of ,,self1' unconditionally and absolutely1 in thought as in action4 ,it is ,,altruism1 and it throws him who practises it out of the ranks of the living altogether4 ',not for himself1 but for the world he lives1' as soon as he has pledged himself to the work4 ,much is forgiven during the first years of probation4 ,but1 no sooner is he 'accepted' than his personality must disappear1 and he has to become a mere beneficent force in ,nature4 ,there are two poles for him after that1 two paths1 and no midway place of rest4 ,he has either to ascend laboriously step by step1 often through numerous incarnations and no ,devachanic break1 the golden ladder leading to ,mahatmaship 7the ,arhat or ,bodhisattva condition71 or--he will let himself slide down the ladder at the first false step1 and roll down into ,dugpa-ship4444#h ,all this is either unknown or left out of sight altogether4 ,indeed1 one who is able to follow the silent evolution of the preliminary aspirations of the candidates often find strange ideas quietly taking possession of their minds4 ,there are those whose reasoning powers have been so distorted by foreign influences that they imagine that animal passions can be so sublimated and elevated that their fury1 force and fire can1 so to speak1 be turned inwards 444 until their collective and unexpanded strength enables their possessor to enter the true ,sanctuary of the ,soul1 and stand therein in the presence of the ,master--the ,,higher ,,self4444 ,oh1 poor blind visionaries6444 ,strange aberration of the human mind4 ,can it be so8 ,let us argue4 ,the ',master' in the ,sanctuary of our souls is 'the ,higher ,self'--the divine spirit whose consciousness is based upon and derived solely 7at any rate during the mortal life of the man in whom it is captive7 from the mind1 which we have agreed to call the ,human ,soul 7the ',spiritual ,soul' being the vehicle of the ,spirit47 ,in its turn the former 7the personal or human soul7 is a compound1 in its highest form of spiritual aspirations1 volitions and divine love2 and in its lower aspect1 of animal desires and terrestrial passions imparted to it by its association with its vehicle1 the seat of all these 444 the inner animal4 ,it is the instinctual 'animal soul1' and is the hotbed of those passions which 444 are lulled instead of being killed1 444 ,and where1 on what neutral ground1 can they be imprisoned so as not to affect man8 ,the fierce passions of love and lust are still alive1 and they are allowed to still remain in the place of their birth--that same animal soul4444 ,it is thus the mind alone--the sole link and medium between the man of earth and the ,higher ,self--that is the only sufferer1 and which is in incessant danger of being dragged down by those passions1 that may be re-awakened at any moment and perish in the abyss of matter4444 ,how can harmony prevail and conquer1 when the soul is stained and distracted with the turmoil of passions and the terrestrial desires of the bodily senses1 or even of the ',astral man'8 ,for this ',astral'--the shadowy 'double' 7in the animal as in man7 is not the companion of the divine ,ego but of the earthly body4 ,it is the link between the personal self1 the lower consciousness of ,manas1 and the ,body1 and is the vehicle of transitory1 not of immortal life4444 ,it is only when the power of the passions is dead altogether1 and when they have been crushed and annihilated in the retort of an unflinching will2 when not only all the lusts and longings of the flesh are dead1 but also the recognition of the personal ,self is killed out and the ',astral' has been reduced in consequence to a cipher1 that the ,union with the ',higher ,self' can take place4 ,then when the ',astral' reflects only the conquered man1 the still living but no more the longing1 selfish personality1 then the brilliant ,auoeides1 the divine ,,self1 can vibrate in conscious harmony with both the poles of the human ,entity--the man of matter purified1 and the ever pure ,spiritual ,soul--and stand in the presence of the ,,master ,,self1 the ,christos of the mystic ,gnostic1 blended1 merged into1 and one with ,,it for ever4#i ,how1 then1 can it be thought possible for a man to enter the 'strait gate' of occultism when his daily and hourly thoughts are bound up with worldly things1 desires of possession and power1 with lust1 ambition1 and duties which1 however honourable1 are still of the earth1 earthy8 ,even the love for wife and family--the purest as the most unselfish of human affections--is a barrier to real occultism4444 ,while the heart is full of thoughts for a little group of selves1 near and dear to us1 how shall the rest of mankind fare in our souls8 ,what percentage of love and care will there remain to bestow on the 'great orphan' ,humanity8 ,and how shall the 'still small voice' make itself heard in a soul entirely occupied with its own privileged tenants8444 yet1 he who would profit by the wisdom of the universal mind1 has to reach it through the whole of ,humanity1 without distinction of race1 complexion1 religion1 or social status4 ,it is altruism1 not ego-ism even in its most legal and noble conception1 that can lead the unit to merge its little ,self in the ,universal ,selves4 ,it is to these needs and to this work that the true disciple of true ,occultism has to devote himself if he would obtain theo-sophy1 divine ,wisdom and ,knowledge4 ,the aspirant has to choose absolutely between the life of the world and the life of ,occultism4444 ,it would be a ceaseless1 a maddening struggle for almost any married man1 who would pursue true practical ,occultism1 instead of its theoretical philosophy4 ,for he would find himself ever hesitating between the voice of the impersonal divine love of ,humanity1 and that of the personal1 terrestrial love4444 ,worse than this4 ,for1 whoever indulges1 after having pledged himself to ,,occultism1 in the gratification of a terrestrial love or lust1 must feel an almost immediate result--that of being irresistibly dragged from the impersonal divine state down to the lower plane of matter4 ,sensual1 or even mental1 self-gratification involves the immediate loss of the powers of spiritual discernment2 the voice of the ,,master can no longer be distinguished from that of one's passions1 or even that of a ,dugpa2 the right from wrong2 sound morality from mere casuistry4 ,the ,dead ,sea fruit assumes the most glorious mystic appearance 444 although it is the intention that decides primarily whether white or black magic is exercised1 yet the results even of involuntary sorcery cannot fail to be productive of bad ,karma4444 ,sorcery is any kind of evil influence exercised upon other persons1 who suffer1 or make other persons to suffer1 in consequence 444 such causes produced have to call forth effects1 and these are evidenced in the just laws of ,retribution4 ,much of this may be avoided if people will only abstain from rushing into practices neither the nature nor importance of which they understand4444 ,we are in the ,kali-,yuga and its fatal influence is a thousand-fold more powerful in the ,west than it is in the ,east2 hence the easy preys made by the ,powers of the ,age of ,darkness in this cyclic struggle1 and the many delusions under which the world is now labouring4 7,italics mine--,a4 ,l4 ,c47 ,applying this high and absolutely uncompromising moral standard1 these grand and stern words1 to the two pseudo-occultists under discussion1 it is not difficult--even in the light of the little ,i have already given--to see that they themselves1 and their actions1 bear no sort of relation to real ,occultism as here briefly outlined by ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky4 ,their teaching concerning sex is indeed its antithesis1 which inevitably leads to ,dugpa-ship1 as ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 definitely states4 ,the issue is clear1 and cannot be evaded or explained away4 ,it is true that ,mrs4 ,besant started well1 even splendidly1 in ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's lifetime1 and just after her death wrote a series of simple explanatory manuals which were of great value to beginners and enquirers4 ,but only two years later she began1 under ,brahmin#aj inspiration1 to make serious alterations in ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's own works1 and even to throw doubt on her occult knowledge 7e4g41 ,mrs4 ,besant's ,preface to the so-called ,vol4 ,,iii of ,the ,secret ,doctrine47 ,unfortunately larger and more ambitious works which followed were vitiated by the same influences1 and ,i well remember marking many passages in ,the ,ancient ,wisdom which were not in accordance with ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's teachings4 ,but the radical departure from them began when ,mrs4 ,besant definitely threw in her lot with ,c4 ,w4 ,leadbeater1 the sex pervert1 and thereby alienated and caused such deep sorrow to her former friends and supporters4 ,,footnotes3 #h ,,dugpas4 7,tibetan74 ,lit41 ,red ,caps1 a sect in ,tibet4 ,before the advent of ,tsong-ka-pa in the fourteenth century1 the ,tibetans1 whose ,buddhism had deteriorated and been dreadfully adulterated with the tenets of the old ,bhon religion--were all ,dugpas4 ,from that century1 however1 and after the rigid laws imposed upon the ,gelukpas 7,yellow ,caps7 and the general reform and purification of ,buddhism 7or ,lamaism71 the ,dugpas have given themselves over more than ever to sorcery1 immorality1 and drunkenness4 ,since then the word ,dugpa has become a synonym of sorcerer1 adept of black magic and everything vile4 ,there are few1 if any1 ,dugpas in ,eastern ,tibet1 but they congregate in ,bhutan1 ,sikkim1 and the borderlands generally4--,the ,theosophical ,glossary1 by ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky4 #i ,man is a trinity composed of ,body1 ,soul1 and ,spirit2 but man is nevertheless one1 and is surely not his body4 ,the three ',egos' are ,,man in his three aspects on the astral1 intellectual or psychic1 and ,spiritual planes1 or states4 #aj ,in making use of the word ,brahmin in this connection1 ,i mean only to indicate that sacerdotal spirit of the ,brahmin caste which has always resisted 7and quite reasonably1 from their point of view7 any revealing of esoteric teaching to the multitude1 and especially to the ,west4 ,the particular ,brahmin whom ,mrs4 ,besant followed at that period 7see post p4 #ef ,footnote7 induced her to adopt a line of action which disrupted the ,society created by ,h4 ,p4 ,b41 and diverted attention from her works4 ,mrs4 ,besant's responsibility and the ,madras ,law-suits4 ,m4 ,lvy's concluding chapter1 from which ,i will now quote1 is obviously written from the heart4 ,he says that it is his imperative duty to resign his membership in ,mrs4 ,besant's ,society1 referring to the pain caused to her old friends by the opinion expressed by the police court magistrate in the defamation cases 444 for he considered that the facts before him1 and the documentary evidence1 supported the view that ,mrs4 ,besant had known of and even countenanced the practices of ,mr4 ,leadbeater4444 ,in restoring to ,mr4 ,leadbeater his influence over herself and over the destinies of the ,theosophical ,society she has proved her failure in moral vigilance and her lack of intellectual discrimination as regards methods to which she thus fails the first victim4 ,and the sorry contradictions that this brings into her spiritual message1 the utter disregard of truth resulting from this1 impel her to words and actions that now involve an incalculable number of victims1 misled by their devoted trust in her4 ,her responsibility is in truth a very terrible one4444 ,i have come to regard the actions of ,mrs4 ,besant--and of ,mr4 ,leadbeater equally1 of course--as the leaven of destruction1 of disintegration in the ,theosophical ,society4 ,we cannot rid ourselves of a growing disquiet in seeing ,mrs4 ,besant1 in her monthly articles in the ,theosophist1 entitled ,on the ,watch-,tower1 so tirelessly expressing such great and manifest satisfaction in every smallest material increase1 improvement and enrichment of the ,adyar ,headquarters4 ,mr4 ,leadbeater shares in this joy4 ,speaking of ,mrs4 ,besant in the ,adyar ,album1 p4 #g1 he praises at great length the material improvements of the ,headquarters3--,in her reign have been added to the estate no less than six valuable pieces of property4 ,thus temporal power would clearly seem to be the main concern of ,adyar4 ,and we involuntarily turn to the words of ,christ1 who so well described the spiritual splendours3--,my kingdom is not of this world4 ,not thus does ,mrs4 ,besant understand spirituality since she reigns as a prince of this world1 over a kingdom that grows by her conquests4444 ,a like concern follows ,mr4 ,leadbeater even into his occult investigations into the twenty-eighth century1 in which he sees a kind of gorgeous palace with an enormous dome1 the central part of which must be an imitation of the ,taj ,mahal at ,agra1 but on a much larger scale4 ,in this great building they mark as memorials certain spots by pillars and inscriptions1 such as 444 here such and such a book was written 444 they even have statues of some of us sic66 444--,man2 ,whence1 ,how1 and ,whither4 ,truly may one here repeat the somewhat banal phrase ,comment is needless2 indeed one might add1 impossible1 in the face of such an amazing manifestation of megalomania4 ,but this is not the most serious disease from which ,c4 ,w4 ,leadbeater and his colleague are suffering4 ,as ,m4 ,lvy has already shown1 there is much worse behind of which this megalomania is only one symptom4 ,in an ,addendum given at1 the end of his book1 ,m4 ,lvy says that since the publication of his brochure judgment has been pronounced on the case he mentions 7see p4 #bi71 the judge ruling that the children should be removed from the care of ,mrs4 ,besant and given back to the father within a fixed time4 ,he then continues3-- ,further legal proceedings have confirmed1 with yet more precision1 the infamous immorality of which ,mr4 ,leadbeater stands accused4 7see report in ,the ,hindu1 ,madras1 ,may #ith1 #aiac47 ,a ,madras medical review called ,the ,antiseptic had pubished an article in which apprehension of the establishment of a ',temple of ,onanism unnatural sin4 ,see ,dr4 ,hartmann's ,paracelsus1 p4 #ij at ,adyar was expressed4 ,the ,hindu newspaper reprinted the scandal4 ,mrs4 ,besant took proceedings aga nst the author of the article and the publisher of ,the ,antiseptic2 and the ,treasurer of the ,theosophical ,society was moved at the same time to action against ,the ,hindu4 ,all three cases were dismissed4 ,the gravity of the position is evident4 ,mr4 ,leadbeater's methods have been proved by his own admissions as well as by documents before the ,court to be subversive of morality4444 ,these facts ,i omit the worst details that ,m4 ,lvy feels obliged to quote condemn ,mr4 ,leadbeater without possibility of appeal2 they reveal to us1 with regard to ,mrs4 ,besant1 a truly degrading complaisance1 by reason of her desire to hide a crime as patent as it is abominable 444 the members of the ,theosophical ,society are not only kept in complete ignorance regarding these facts1 but the administration of ,adyar1 through its extensive propaganda1 has a great influence over new members in all conditions1 while concealing and perverting the truth4444 ,the existence of persons like ,mr4 ,leadbeater1 who admit and practise the worst perversities1 is a sad reminder of the darker side of human nature2 yet the attitude of simply ignoring that such things exist seems indefensible when these persons pretend to the highest morality and represent themselves as guides towards spiritual development 444 claiming to stand on the threshold of divinity444 ,the danger that such persons may continue to extend their empire over the souls of others is an increasing one4444 ,in view of these facts ,m4 ,lvy's restraint of language is remarkable1 his condemnation hardly sufficiently scathing4 ,his concluding words1 however1 explain much2 he has evidently greatly admired ,mrs4 ,besant in earlier years1 and the last paragraph of his book eloquently attests his personal grief3--,the feeling which here arrests my pen1 and prevents me from saying more on the matter1 will be understood by those who have followed me so far1 and they may hear across my silence the voice of their own sorrow4 ,i deeply respect ,m4 ,lvy's feelings2 but for me--who have never had any illusions regarding ,mrs4 ,besant from the time of the disruption of the ,society in #ahid-e--the matter assumes a more sinister aspect4 ,his pages have rendered me most invaluable help in putting before the general public matter not personally known to my own experience4 ,i left ,colonel ,olcott's ,society in #ahie1 ,m4 ,lvy left ,mrs4 ,besant's in #aiac2 and when we remember that this was its condition nine years ago1 my previous remarks 7see p4 #ad7 may be better appreciated now that more evidence has been adduced ,the ,central ,hindu ,college4 ,an ,indian ,criticism4 ,in a pamphlet published at ,benares about the same date 7#aiac7 by ,pandit ,bhagavan ,das1 a former ,general ,secretary of the ,indian ,section ,t4 ,s4 we possess still further evidence of ,mrs4 ,besant's extraordinary aberrations under ,c4 ,w4 ,leadbeater's guidance and control4 ,mr4 ,das's pamphlet is addressed to the editor of the ,london ,christian ,commonwealth1 and is entitled ,the ,central ,hindu ,college and ,mrs4 ,besant4 ,it is a reply to some remarks by her on this ,college1 which appeared in that paper in ,june1 #aiac4 ,mr4 ,das writes3-- ,mrs4 ,besant's remarks on the ,central ,hindu ,college ,benares in your paper are illustrations of this sad change in her4 ,this ,institution1 for which she has done more than anyone else perhaps1 she now openly and obviously tries to injure most deeply in the minds of the public by wild suggestions that it and the ,hindu ,university1 into which it is proposed to be expanded1 are mixed up with political seditionists and extremists 444 that such an educational movement is in any way mixed up with seditionism and extremism is an idea 444 fatuously ludicrous4444 ,the reckless1 incoherent1 self-contradictory1 incorrect and misleading statements that ,mrs4 ,besant has been freely making latterly in the public press1 have only injured her own reputation4444 ,the ,c4 ,h4 ,c4 was founded in ,july1 #ahih1 in order to do for the numerous sects and sub-divisions of ,hinduism what the ,t4 ,s4 was endeavouring to do for all views and religions4444 ,the ,college grew and prospered year by year1 under the ,presidentship of ,mrs4 ,besant1 and won the confidence 444 of ,hindus of almost all shades of opinion4444 ,but with the transfer of ,mrs4 ,besant from ,benares to ,adyar in #aijg1 as ,president of the ,t4 ,s41 elected under very peculiar circumstances as ,i learnt recently from a very old member present in ,adyar when ,colonel ,olcott was on his deathbed4 ,italics mine4--,a4 ,l4 ,c4 foreshadowing the coming policies1 a change began to come over the spirit of all her work and surroundings4 ,despite the suggestions1 advice1 entreaties1 expostulations1 and warnings of her old colleagues and counsellors who had made her work in ,india possible ,italics mine4--,a4 ,l4 ,c41 she developed more and more and beyond all due bounds1 the germ of person-worship so long held in restraint4 ,entirely proofless claims to superphysical powers and experiences1 to being an ,initiate1 an ,arhat1 a ,mukta and what not2 claims to read ,mars and ,mercury and the whole ,solar ,system1 past1 present and future 7but with careful avoidance of even the most easy test1 such as reading a given page of a closed book7 claims to be the authorised agent of the ,great ,white ,brotherhood which guides ,evolution on earth and to be in communication with the ,supreme ,director of the world and with the ,world-,teacher1 etc41 in short1 all the elements of sensationalism and emotionalism--which were subdominant and private 7confined mostly to the inner ,e4 ,s4 ,t4 organisation within the ,t4 ,s47 now began to be predominant and public4444 ,in the spring of #aiji1 a brother ,initiate of ,mrs4 ,besant's discovered the boy1 now nicknamed ,alcyone1 as the future vehicle of the ,coming ,christ 444 neo-theosophy was started more or less definitely ,italics mine4--,a4 ,l4 ,c44444 ,in ,january #aiaa was started publicly by the then ,principal of the ,c4 ,h4 ,c41 as the chief member of the ,group an ,order called ,the ,order of the ,rising ,sun1 with the idea of preparing for a coming ,world-,teacher as its publicly avowed central idea1 and the creed that the boy ,j4 ,k4 7,alcyone7 would be the vehicle of the ,coming ,christ--,maitreya-,bodhisattva1 etc41 as its privately understood creed1 to spread which amongst the students was the duty of the inner pledged group4' 444 ,see ante p4 #ba4 ,in short1 ,mrs4 ,besant cleverly utilised an already existing organisation1 founded for quite other objects and aims1 to spread this crazy and pernicious neo-theosophy1 under cover of secrecy1 pledges1 etc41 which she and ,c4 ,w4 ,leadbeater--the real inspirer--well knew to be almost irresistible baits for sensitive and imaginative youths at a highly impressionable age4 ,in ,april1 #aiaa1 on remonstrance by the older members of the ,managing ,committee1 ,mrs4 ,besant arranged that the ,order of the ,rising ,sun should be disbanded4 ,but this was mere show4 ,when the disbandment was announced to the managers1 it had already been arranged to replace the ,o4 ,r4 ,s4 on a larger scale by ,the ,order of the ,star in the ,east with the ,principal1 ,head ,master1 and various ,professors of the ,c4 ,h4 ,c4 as the ,private and other secretaries1 of the boy ,j4 ,k4 as ,head of the ,order1 and ,mrs4 ,besant as ,protectress of the whole4444 ,in the summer of #aiaa1 side by side with this public activity1 there was started by ,mrs4 ,besant within the ,e4 ,s4 ,t4 444 ,a ,,written ,,pledge ,,of ,,absolute ,,obedience ,,to ,,herself4 ,this fact1 private and confidential at the time1 is now public property since the ,madras law suits4444 ,in ,august1 #aiaa1 the ,trustees of the ,c4 ,h4 ,c41 to allay the apprehension in the public mind that the ,c4 ,h4 ,c4 was being diverted from its constitutional broad and liberal ,hinduism into a bizarre and unhealthy personal-cult and bigoted ,second-,adventism1 passed formal resolutions to the effect that the ,institution had nothing to do with any such ,orders as those of the ,rising ,sun or the ,star in the ,east4 ,on ,december #bdth1 #aiaa1 resolutions were passed by the ,trustees1 agreeing that the ,c4 ,h4 ,c4 should become part of the ,hindu ,university4444 ,the neo-theosophic propagandism within 7as without7 the ,c4 ,h4 ,c4 continued 444 in a score of evasive and elusive forms4 ,inner ,groups and ,esoteric ,section ,groups of persons formally pledged to obedience to ,mrs4 ,besant1 ,leagues of ,service of various kinds1 ,orders of ,s4 ,e4 and ,s4 ,i4 and ,i4 ,l41 ,co-,masonry ,lodges1 ,temple of the ,r4 ,c41 and corresponding badges1 bands1 regalia1 jewels1and pink1 and blue1 and yellow scarves2 magnetized ribbons1 and stars in pin1 brooch1 and button forms1 etc4 for all the world like the ,kindergarten games for developing infant intelligences6--,a4 ,l4 ,c4 multiplied and replaced one another in interest like mushrooms in the rain time1 a very fever of restless sound and movement hiding lack of substance and of wise purpose4 ,fuss of the most absurd and mischievous kind became rampant4 ,lectures1 meetings1 night classes1 outside the college rooms and buildings1 took place perpetually in the neighbouring ,t4 ,s4 premises and private residences1 for expounding the doctrines of neo-theosophy and especially the book called ,at the ,feet of the ,master alleged to have been written down by ,alcyone 7,j4 ,krishnamurti71 as the embryonic scriptures and revelation of the ,embryo of a ,new ,religion1 as ,mrs4 ,besant declares the ,o4 ,s4 ,e4 to be4 ,resident students were advised1 and a number of them began to keep photos of ,alcyone1 as the vehicle of the ,coming ,christ and himself an ,initiate of the ,great ,white ,brotherhood 7and ,mrs4 ,besant and one or two other living persons7 on the threshold of divinity1 and to worship them with flowers1 incense1 etc4 ,old and young believers prostrating and genuflecting1 literally1 at the feet of the living original when within reach4444 ,the then ,principal of the ,college 7who had founded the ,o4 ,r4 ,s47 proclaimed in his lectures in the neighbouring ,t4 ,s4 ,hall1 and elsewhere1 that he was a ,high ,disciple of the ,master2 and that the ,c4 ,h4 ,c4 was founded to prepare for the ,advent of the ,world-,teacher4444 ,mrs4 ,besant has publicly stated that all of the members of the ,general ,council of the ,t4 ,s4 now belong1 with one or two exceptions perhaps1 to the ,esoteric ,section1 prime condition of membership of which is1 ,,the ,,formal ,,written ,,pledge ,,of ,,absolute ,,obedience ,,to ,,mrs4 ,,besant2 and so while the loud profession is freedom of thought for all the practice is sedulously for herself1 and her pledged votaries only2 while the theory is that the ,o4 ,s4 ,e4 must not be identified with the ,t4 ,s41 the practice is that the ,t4 ,s4 must be merged in the ,o4 ,s4 ,e4 ,let us turn to the ,c4 ,h4 ,c4 to bring the narrative up to date4 ,in ,march and ,april #aiac there came into the hands of another ,manager and ,trustee1 a printed letter1 covering some three foolscap pages1 bearing the signature of the gentleman who was then ,principal of the ,c4 ,h4 ,c41 the date ,october #beth1 #aiab1 and the imprint of ,mrs4 ,besant's ,vasanta ,press1 ,adyar1 ,madras1 and not bearing any word like private or personal1 or confidential4 ,in this letter amazingly extravagant and fantastic statements are made as regards ,mrs4 ,besant2 she is hailed repeatedly as one who is to become one of the greatest ,rulers of the ,world of ,gods and men ,this is sheer insanity4--,a4 ,l4 ,c42 mention is made of the recognition of the ,god without us1 which made us members of this ,group from which we draw our life to-day2 it is said that her light to ours was and is as the rays of the sun at noon-time to the rays of a lamp at night1 and we did not desire to examine the ,sun to see under what conditions it might possibly ray forth a more dazzling brilliance4 ,the members of the ,group are reminded that we pledged ourselves in our hearts that we should strive to become her true and loyal servants 4441 etc4 ,thus complete was the hypnosis and surrender of reason which was sought to be effected amongst the votaries4 ,it was a case of emotionalism run amuck4444 ,it is1 unfortunately1 a case of something infinitely more mischievous2 of evil magic and sorcery 7cf4 ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's definition1 ante p4 #cf47 ,whether ,mrs4 ,besant knows it or not1 ,mr4 ,leadbeater undoubtedly must be well aware that life and strength can be drawn1 on inner planes of being1 from the blind devotion of a solid body of fanatical votaries4 ,magicians of a certain school--,i need hardly specify which--thus prolong their lives through the magnetic and vita emanations of their nearest and most devoted followers4 ,in a word1 it is ,vampirism1 pure and simple1 on the psychic plane4 7,i found that ,mrs4 ,tingley well understood this form of ,sorcery47 ,this1 if true in ,mrs4 ,besant's case is probably unconscious2 but in ,mr4 ,leadbeater's it is done consciously and with knowledge4 ,that the secret acts and teachings of this man are far worse than most people have ever suspected is confirmed in a ,letter in reply to ,mrs4 ,besant by ,dreamer which appeared in ,the ,theosophic ,voice 7,chicago71 ,november1 #aijh1 under the title ,india ,speaks4 ,this scholarly ,hindu ,theosophist writes3-- ,if we are to believe the stenographic report of the ,inquiry in #aijf1 then instead of holding that ,mr4 ,leadbeater denied the charges1 we must come to the conclusion that not only did he teach the solitary vice1 but further he did things which would have brought him within the pale of the criminal laws for the foulest and most indecent offence which brute man may commit4 ,this is our latter day saint who must be re-admitted1 nay1 invited back1 into the ,theosophical ,society4 ,note that this was written fourteen years ago6 ,the subject is a revolting one1 but in the interests of that public whom these people are still misleading and deceiving1 and who have no idea of the extreme gravity of the menace1 it is necessary to be explicit4 ,to return to the ,letter mentioned by ,mr4 ,das2 he continues3-- ,the ,trustee and ,manager into whose hands a copy of the astonishing document came1 with the information that it had been circulated amongst a number of the ,c4 ,h4 ,c4 students1 informed the secretaries of the ,college1 and sent the letter with the comments on the same for publication in a daily paper1 in order to show the public how the person-worship-creeds of ,mrs4 ,besant's neo-theosophy were being sown and grown within the ,c4 ,h4 ,c4 despite the resolutions of the ,trustees4 ,on publication of the rhapsody1 a great outcry in the name of injured innocence was raised4444 ,as to the dishonourableness of the publication1 competent judges of such matters have pronounced that it was dishonourable only if it be dishonourable to expose what cannot be called other than gross treason to the ,constitution and ideals of the ,c4 ,h4 ,c41 and to bring to light1 and the bar of public opinion1 underhand or half-concealed or openly defiant efforts to convert students to a grotesque person-worship and demoralizing and soul-stunting blind obedience to ,mrs4 ,besant4444 ,the asking for1 and the receiving of the pledges of obedience to herself1 etc41 is an act of over-weening presumption against the ,god in every man4444 ,ever since she encouraged and started them1 her mind has worked less and less correctly and confusion has fallen ever worse and worse upon her work1 losing to the ,t4 ,s4 many thousands of old members1 alienating from her all her old co-workers and co-founders of the ,c4 ,h4 ,c4 and destroying the confidence in her of the ,indian public4 ,towards the end of his most illuminating pamphlet ,mr4 ,das has occasion to speak of ,mrs4 ,besant's wildly reckless statements1 some of which he quotes4 ,they relate to the ,c4 ,h4 ,c4 and he stigmatises them as all simply and utterly untrue4 ,her mind1 he says a little further on1 is working incoherently4 ,finally1 he writes3-- ,let us conclude2 when a person like ,mrs4 ,besant1 with a biography full of remarkable changes1 full of fine work as well as bad blunders1 having established herself1 in her own belief1 and that of her pledged band1 as the present chief ,spiritual ,teacher and ,saviour of ,mankind1 as the ,god within us now1 and as the future greatest ,ruler of the ,world of ,gods and men1 suddenly adds on the role of political saviour of ,india in particular1 and pre-determined martyr in constant danger of assassination strangely enough1 this was also one of ,mrs4 ,tingley's obsessions by anarchist miscreants 444 and proclaims that those who differ from her are in league with those miscreants--when this happens1 what explanation can be offered to their own minds by her old friends 4448 ,the only sad explanation that they can postulate is that she is suffering from mental delusions4 ,alas6 this lenient and charitable judgment by no means covers the ground as a complete explanation of ,mrs4 ,besant's mischievous and almost irresponsible activities4 ,mr4 ,das fails to see as clearly as ,,mm4 ,lvy and ,schur the sinister influence behind all these manifestations2 the source and inspiration of all this evil4 ,mrs4 ,besant's latest ,assertions and claims examined4 ,we now come to the examination of two articles in the ,theosophist for ,march1 #aibb1 in which the ,president of the ,t4 ,s4 makes some attempt to deal with recent criticism4 ,one is a ,supplement1 or ,manifesto1 addressed ,to all ,members of the ,theosophical ,society1 and couched in ,mrs4 ,besant's present style--flamboyant1 a trifle bombastic1 often ,biblical in phraseology1 and running throughout it1 her usual fervid and disingenuous appeal to sentimental emotionalism1 instead of the instinctive sense of justice latent in all beings4 ,this latter1 a feature of her best days1 she has entirely abandoned2 it no longer serves her ends4 ,what those ends are one almost hesitates to formulate1 so impious and almost insane do they appear4 ,even taking into consideration the tangled mass of evasions1 misstatements and hypocritical equivocations presented in this manifesto1 these ends emerge with sufficient clearness4 ,but1 in the first place1 and before going further1 one must ask on what basis this amazing claim to almost deific powers and knowledge rests4 ,let me here call ,m4 ,lvy into the witness box once more2 for he also had put the same question to himself nine years ago1 and will provide the answer4 ,it occurs in his chapter on ,mrs4 ,besant's ',return of the ,christ1' where he is dealing with her position and actions in regard to ,dr4 ,steiner1 the ,german occultist and ,christian ,theosophist--with whose ideas1 ,i should add1 ,i am not in personal agreement4 ,my teacher is ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky and she alone3 ,i follow no lesser light4 ,m4 ,lvy says3-- ,our reason forces us to confess that all goes to suggest that ,mrs4 ,besant1 having herself ceased to believe in the identity of her ,jesus with the ,christ of the ,gospels4--,a4 ,l4 ,c41 would still continue to make others believe it4444 ,her pride 444 her dominating mind1 have driven her on this crusade of extermination of ,dr4 ,steiner's teachings2 it has induced her to collect1 without the least regard for truth1 justice1 or theosophic principles1 no matter what weapons if they do but serve against her opponent2 calumny1 abuse of power1 misstatement of facts1 all combined in a subtle strategy4 ,italics are mine2 for we find ,mrs4 ,besant using precisely the same methods to-day1 only in a form fortunately neither so subtle nor so ,jesuitically plausible4 ,her powers are failing1 as the manifesto under consideration clearly proves4 ,m4 ,lvy proceeds3-- ,and when she falls victim of some error in the course of her occult investigations--of which in theory she is always proclaiming the fallibility--it is again her pride that bars the way to admission1 and makes her the slave of the most pitiful machinations 444 which 444 will shatter to fragments in all directions the confidence she had formerly inspired4 ,for if she is not consciously defending her mistake1 then what kind of a break-up of all her faculties are we witnessing8444 ,the more deeply we study this i4e41 the neo-theosophy already described by ,m4 ,lvy and ,pandit ,bhagavan ,das4--,a4 ,l4 ,c41 the more terrible appear the responsibilities of ,adyar in this deplorable scheme2 for we would still seek the origin of such fearless confidence in ,mrs4 ,besant's followers4--,a4 ,l4 ,c4 refusing1 as it does1 to be shaken by the eloquent appeal of the facts here set forth1 and of which some1 if not all1 have been within the reach and open to examination of those members who profess such an enthusiastic confidence in ,mrs4 ,besant4 ,the result of our search is a yet further culpability1 as overwhelming as it is unexpected4 ,for this confidence is not in the case of all the victims the result of the free use of their own inner faculties4 ,it is in the case of the greater number1 due to the influence of a strong suggestion deliberately organised and cleverly carried out by the authors of this mystification themselves2 by ,mr4 ,leadbeater who wrote1 and by ,mrs4 ,besant who published1 the following lines in the ,adyar ,album1 p4 #de3 ,what can ,i say to you of your ,president that you do not know already8 ,her colossal sic intellect1 her unfailing wisdom1 her unrivalled eloquence1 her splendid forgetfulness of self1 her untiring devotion to work for others--all these are familiar to you4 ,yet these qualities1 these powers1 are but a small part of her greatness2 they are on the surface1 they may be seen by all1 they leap to the eyes4 ,but there are other qualities1 other powers1 of which you cannot know1 because they pertain to the secrets of ,initiation4 ,she is a pupil of our ,masters2 from the fount of ,their archaic wisdom she derives her own1 the plans which she is carrying out are ,their plans for the welfare of the world4 ,think1 therefore1 how great an honour it is for you that you should be permitted to work under her1 for in doing so you are virtually working under ,them4 ,think how watchful you should be to miss no hint which falls from her lips1 to carry out exactly whatever instructions she may give you4 ,remember that because of her position as an ,initiate she knows far more than you do2 and precisely because her knowledge is occult1 given under the seal of ,initiation1 she cannot share it with you4 ,therefore her actions must certainly be governed by considerations of which you have no conception4 ,there will be times when you cannot understand her motives1 for she is taking into account many things which you cannot see and of which she must not tell you4 ,but whether you understand or not1 you will be wise to follow her implicitly1 just because she knows4 ,this is no mere supposition on my part1 no mere flight of the imagination2 ,i have stood beside your ,president in the presence of the ,supreme ,director of evolution on this globe1 and ,i know whereof ,i speak4 ,let the wise hear my words1 and act accordingly4 ,it is easy to see how minds not gifted with a highly developed critical faculty1 or the instinctive sense that discriminates the true from the false1 would yield hopelessly to such a formidable assault4 ,they cannot see that he who thus guarantees the infallibility of ,mrs4 ,besant has himself need of guarantee4444 ,i do not think that any religion or man-made cult1 even in the earliest ages1 has ever promulgated superstition in its grossest form so openly and boldly as this 444 ,italics mine4--,a4,l4,c44 ,mr4 ,leadbeater 444 demands deliberate suppression of thought4444 ,and having extolled such a deliberately induced mental torpor for ,mrs4 ,besant's benefit1 he immediately demands it for himself when he speaks of the ,supreme ,director of evolution on this globe4 ,who is this administrative person8 ,with whom is he to be identified in the scheme of evolution as it has been given to us by ,mrs4 ,besant and ,mr4 ,leadbeater themselves8444 ,what avenging ,god will come to confound this impious prophet who seeks to reduce humanity to the level of a troop of obedient automata6444 ,a gentle and winning voice1 infinitely reassuring1 rises out of the depths of my being 444 a great light breaks forth1 triumphant4 ,mr4 ,leadbeater hears the words of a judgment immediate and without appeal1 pronounced by the ,buddha himself3-- ,believe not what you have heard said2 believe not in traditions merely because they have been transmitted through many generations2 believe not merely because a thing is repeated by many persons2 444 believe not conjectures 444 believe not solely upon the authority of your ,masters and elders4 ,,when ,,upon ,,observation ,,and ,,analysis ,a ,,principle ,,conforms ,,to ,,reason ,,and ,,leads ,,to ,,the ,,benefit ,,and ,,welfare ,,of ,,all1 ,,accept ,,it ,,and ,,hold ,,it4--7,buddha1 ,anguttura ,nikaya47 ,what a royal refuge1 what a noble support are the words of those who are the truly great6 ,they are the perpetual safeguard of humanity4 ,we have seen that upon observation and analysis the unfailing wisdom of ,mrs4 ,besant is no more than a mass of inconsistencies1 injustices1 sectarian tactics in administration1 error and mystification in esoteric announcements4 ,far from leading to the benefit and welfare of all1 this unfailing wisdom is leading to the 444 most miserable slavery of souls1 the emasculation of minds1 the creation of a terrible heresy4 ,and at the present time we are all feeling that we shall not be living up to the wise exhortations of that great ,being who was the ,buddha1 unless we clearly denounce the lamentable aberrations of these two occultists in the hope of drawing all the souls we possibly can away from their pernicious influence4 ,with this end in view1 and faithful to this duty1 we shall calmly and firmly continue our investigation of facts4 ,fortunately1 the assertions of ,mrs4 ,besant and ,mr4 ,leadbeater have lately reached to such a pitch of extravagance and have so utterly defied common sense that they will rouse even the least critical minds and the most compliant hearts4 ,then follows the section of ,m4 ,lvy's book in which he quotes from ,man2 ,whence1 ,how1 and ,whither2 much of this ,i have given earlier in this pamphlet4 ,and ,m4 ,lvy1 one must remember1 wrote all this nine years ago6 ,at this point it may serve a useful purpose if ,i specifically define my own position in regard to ,mrs4 ,besant's claims4 ,i entirely and most emphatically reject them all4 ,mr4 ,leadbeater's ,i was not even aware of1 until ,i came to collect and examine the material for this pamphlet4 ,they are so monstrous as not even to merit a specific rejection--it goes without saying4 ,i practically lost all faith in ,mrs4 ,besant when she dissimulated and tried to mislead the ,inner ,group ,council on her return from her first visit to ,india in #ahid4 ,she then informed us that she had been ordered by the ,master to accuse ,judge4 ,on being closely cross-examined1 however1 she finally admitted that she had not received this ,order direct1 as she would have had us believe1 but through the ,brahmin whom she then followed blindly#aa1 exactly as she now follows ,leadbeater4 ,but later1 when taxed with this in public1 she pretended that he had had nothing whatever to do with it6 ,this is a typical example of ,mrs4 ,besant's idea of a 'truthful' statement in a matter of the most vital importance involving the fate of a leader and many thousands of members4 ,what confidence can be placed in such a woman--one whose mental processes are so warped1 and whose ideas of 'truth' and 'honesty' are so peculiar8 ,to inspire confidence a leader must be the very soul of truth and uprightness4 ,mrs4 ,besant has always been remarkable for asserting herself to be this1 and people have believed her4 ,but a truly upright and honest person 7even if aware of it1 as in ,occultism he has to be7 would never draw attention to it--and that publicly and in print4 ,because1 for ,mrs4 ,besant1 ,mr4 ---- was at this period her mouthpiece for the ,master1 she expected her colleagues to take the same view without question4 ,this attitude is typical1 and can be applied to all that she now says about ,leadbeater 7see ante p4 #ai47 ,from this time ,i found it impossible to believe in her or her statements2 such1 for instance1 as that ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 had reincarnated in ,mr4 ----'s little daughter66#ab--or in anyone else for that matter4 ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 herself1 when someone asked her about reincarnating1 jokingly replied--,yes1 in some mild ,hindu youth with half a lobe to his brain6 ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 has not reincarnated4 ,on the ridiculous belief above mentioned ,mrs4 ,besant based her authority for doing things in ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's name after her death 7see post p4 #ga for examples74 ,it follows also that ,i absolutely reject her claim to be an agent of the ,masters 7i4e41 the ,trans-,himlayan ,brotherhood71 neither do ,i believe that she has had any communication whatsoever with ,them since ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's death4#ac ,finally1 ,i reject her most presumptuous claim that she is able1 or in anyway fitted1 to expand1 verify1 or check by psychic faculties ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's statements and teachings2 still less to carry on independent occult investigations on the same1 or any similar plane of consciousness4 ,whether ,mrs4 ,besant1 in making these claims1 is acting under the glamour of ,mr4 ,leadbeater's clairvoyant delusions1 as ,,mm4 ,lvy and ,schur suggest1 or is fully conscious and responsible1 is not my part to judge1 nor does it really matter4 ,for me1 her life may be summed up in some words she applied recently to ,mr4 ,gandhi 7,theosophist1 ,april1 #aibb74 ,it is the tragedy of a soul4 ,her criticisms on what she calls his failure apply fully and literally to her own4 ,there is really very little in the ,manifesto 7,theosophist1 ,march1 #aibb71 that is not sufficiently answered by the various extracts ,i have quoted from previous critics4 ,mrs4 ,besant opens with the usual disingenuous statements about the ,liberal ,catholic ,church4 ,her argument that all religions are on an equal footing in the ,t4 ,s4 carries no weight when it is widely known that ,l4 ,c4 ,c4 agents are everywhere at work pushing its interests4 ,coming next to ,mr4 ,leadbeater1 ,mrs4 ,besant states that he was cleared by a ,committee in ,england6 ,but it is really a little too much1 and altogether too brazen1#ad when she dares to compare his case with that of ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 in the matter of slander4 ,there can be no possible comparison4 ,the worst ever suggested against ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 was what has been said of many other women1 including ,mrs4 ,besant herself1 who have had to work in the glare of publicity and champion an unpopular cause4 ,no evidence was ever brought forward1 and the ,new ,york ,sun promptly apologised for publishing such statements on being shown that they were unfounded4#ae ,the grave charges against ,mr4 ,leadbeater were supported by documentary evidence which has never been rebutted1 and they have to do with something far worse than personal moral laxity1 as we have seen4 ,mrs4 ,besant knows she cannot meet these charges1 and so seeks to brush them aside by voluble talk about hatred1 defamation1 and vilification4 ,the only justification she offers for having reinstated him in #aijg is that she had discovered that it was a cruel lie that he had confessed to wrongdoing6 ,this is to argue that the accused should be acquitted because he refused to confess--in the face of evidence of no matter how damning a nature6 ,did ,mrs4 ,besant follow this procedure in her ,case against ,w4 ,q4 ,judge8 ,not at all2 far from acquitting him when he refused to confess to wrongdoing and asked for production of the incriminating documents1 she calmly confessed that she had destroyed them6 ,but now that it is a case of her own guide and intermediary in the dock1 her attitude is entirely different1 and it is quite enough for her that the accused did not confess his crime6 ,as ,dr4 ,stokes1 ,editor of the ,o4 ,e4 ,critic 7,washington1 ,d4,c47 has been fearlessly stating the facts and encouraging the ,back to ,blavatsky movement for some time past1 she next devotes a paragraph to an attempt to discredit him by suggesting his connection with an old enemy of ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's4 ,dr4 ,stokes's championship of ,h4 ,p4 ,b41 and relentless exposure of the ,besant-,leadbeater imposture is the more effective since he persists in retaining his membership in the ,t4 ,s4 ,the next to be dealt with is ,pandit ,bhagavan ,das1 and his criticisms about the ,central ,hindu ,college4 ,here again1 all ,i have quoted from his pamphlet about the secret sections1 underhand work1 pledges1 etc41 are entirely ignored4 ,mr4 ,t4 ,h4 ,martyn's letter1 which has caused such a sensation in the ,society 7,holland alone asking for #ejj copies7 is dismissed as full of untrue statements4 ,truly a very simple method of dealing with matter which ,mrs4 ,besant finds compromising or unpleasant 7see ante p4 #ah72 but she can hardly believe it to be convincing4 ,it is when this profoundly disingenuous woman comes to an explanation of the motive behind her political work in ,india1 that we find a typical specimen of the peculiar form of megalomania already so ably demonstrated by ,m4 ,lvy4 ,what must be the mental condition of a person who can sit down and solemnly write the following8 ,the work entrusted to me directly by the great ,rishi who is--as one may say sic--the spiritual ,viceroy#af for ,india of the ,king of ,kings of our world--is the bringing about of ,home ,rule in ,india1 in close union with ,great ,britain1 as part of a great ,federation of ,free ,nations1 a model of the future ,world ,commonwealth4444 ,why such a very mundane and political idea should need an order from a ,rishi is not explained4 ,the patent appeal both to the ,government and the ,indian people in this portentous announcement is not very happily conceived4 ,it is unfortunate for ,mrs4 ,besant that her indignant denial that another of the notorious ,bishops 7,wedgwood7 is wanted by the police was immediately followed by a priest's confession and the ,bishop's resignation from the ,l4 ,c4 ,c41 the ,t4 ,s41 and the ,co-masons6#ag ,finally we come to the most ominous part of the whole document1 where ,mrs4 ,besant refers to the present condition of the sex problem1 and indicates that ,mr4 ,leadbeater's vile teachings to1 and practices with boys--trying to wean lads from evil practices is her version of it--are part of a process necessary to save mankind in the near future4 ,the lessening of the sex impulse on the line of higher mental evolution is too slow4 ,early marriage and birth-control--preceded1 one must assume1 by ,leadbeaterism--are now ,mrs4 ,besant's inspired panaceas4 ,the appalling menace to the evolution of the spiritual nature in man1 of the secret ,leadbeater teaching known as the ,x-system1 is shown by the evidence of ,dr4 ,eleanor ,m4 ,hiestand-,moore 7,m4,d471 ,editor of the ,theosophic ,voice 7,chicago71 in which all the ,leadbeater proceedings of #aijf were reported and discussed4 ,in the ,august number1 #aijh1 ,dr4 ,hiestand-,moore writes3-- ,during the winter of #aijf-g the ,editor herself was in ,chicago and in order to combat the widespread tendency to uphold self-abuse on the lines indicated by ,mr4 ,leadbeater1 a series of lectures on the psychology of sex was given4 ,there were members in the ,e4 ,s41 and out of it who upheld the ,x-system4 ,one person declared 444 that this system would1 before many years1 be taught in our public schools4 ,still another insisted that by self-abuse humanity was to return to the hermaphroditic type and that this practice would be universal among ,fifth ,round ,humanity4 ,a number declared that1 while they did not pretend to know anything about such matters1 they had understood this was a highly occult teaching given to would-be disciples6 ,we could lay hands on a letter setting forth the claim that this teaching is purely esoteric and not to be estimated by exoteric standards--this1 too1 from a ,branch president6 ,italics mine4--,a4 ,l4 ,c44 ,these instances are sufficiently appalling in themselves4 ,but what can we say now that ,the ,voice has elicited a correspondence which is simply a brazen defence of these teachings8#ah ,what1 then1 must be the moral condition of this horrible travesty of the old ,t4,s4 now1 fourteen years after ,dr4 ,hiestand-,moore wrote the foregoing8 ,mrs4 ,besant is thus seen to have now returned practically to the ,neo-,malthusianism of her earlier1 pre-theosophic association with the late ,charles ,bradlaugh4 ,it may not be generally known that ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 refused to accept her as a pupil until she had published a recantation of all she and ,bradlaugh had advocated in ,the ,fruits of ,philosophy4 ,it is a sinister omen that under ,c4 ,w4 ,leadbeater1 the sex pervert1 ,mrs4 ,besant has abandoned ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky's imperative requirement for becoming a student of ,white ,occultism1 and has returned to the essentially materialistic doctrine of birth-control1 in direct contravention of the true ,occult teaching4 ,in other words1 her assertion amounts to this3--,self-control is not possible 7or is too slow 71 therefore we must control results4 ,how different is the ,occult teaching is well-known to all who have taken the trouble to read ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's articles from which ,i have already quoted 7see ante p4 #ca7 and the splendid chapter in ,vol4 ,,ii of ,the ,secret ,doctrine entitled ,the ,curse from a ,philosophical ,point of ,view4 ,and ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 told me herself that she included the following verse in ,the ,voice of the ,silence with the express object of combating such teachings and placing the ,occult doctrine beyond possibility of misinterpretation3-- ,do not believe that lust can ever be killed out if gratified or satiated1 for this is an abomination inspired by ,mra4 ,it is by feeding vice that it expands and waxes strong1 like to the worm that fattens on the blossom's heart4 ,in a note ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 explains that ,mra is personified temptation through men's vices1 and translated literally means 'that which kills' the ,soul4 ,far from saving mankind1 therefore1 these professed 'expanders' and 'expounders' of ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's doctrines are in reality doing their best to hasten its end4 ,better far1 from the ,occult standpoint1 that a race should be wiped out by outraged ,nature1 as were the ,atlanteans for the same sins1 than that it should be kept alive only to sink lower and lower until ,mra kills its ,soul4 ,in the ,watch-,tower 7,theosophist1 ,march1 #aibb17 ,editorial mention is made of a display at ,adyar of treasures of the most varied kinds1 which have just been unearthed from all the old locked-up boxes at the headquarters4 ,why1 one may not unreasonably enquire1 has ,mrs4 ,besant waited until #aibb to disinter1 for instance1 a long and valuable letter from ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 herself8 ,why have such treasures been kept back for over thirty years2 just as ,letters from the ,masters 7the ,trans-,himlayan ,brotherhood7 were kept hidden away for an even longer period--nearly forty years8 ,the reasons are so ridiculously transparent that they would hardly deceive an intelligent child4 ,mrs4 ,besant is becoming seriously discomposed1 even alarmed1 by the growing strength of the ,back to ,blavatsky movement1 which is in itself a reaction against her own neglect4 ,hence all this burrowing 7her own word7 in order to make a brave show of these treasures for which she had no sort of use until1 disturbed by alarming rumours1 she hastily resorts to them for purposes of camouflage and disguise4 ,for she is a skilful opportunist and clever actress1 assuming successive parts with as convincing an air as any star2 neither does she scruple to employ every device of the party politician4 ,does ,mrs4 ,besant seriously believe that this attempt to drag the red herring of an unexplained and suddenly awakened interest in these treasures across the trail of ,mr4 ,leadbeater's infamies will deceive anyone save their blind and infatuated followers8 ,has she forgotten that when1 only two years after ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky's death1 she came under the direct hypnotic control of ,brahmin influence1 she threw doubts upon her old ,teacher's bona fides and her occult knowledge2 and1 in the course of formulating her charges against her fellow-disciple 7a chela of many years' standing before she ever even heard of ,theosophy7 suggested to ,mr4 ,judge that1 misled by a high example 7,h4 ,p4 ,b471 he had fallen a victim4 ,for1 as she then told him1 her theory was first1 that ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 had committed several frauds for good ends and made bogus messages2 second1 that he was misled by her example2 and third1 that ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 had given him permission to do such acts4 ,she then1 continues ,mr4 ,judge1 asked me to confess thus1 and that would clear up all4 ,i peremptorily denied such a horrible lie1 and warned her that everywhere ,i would resist such attack on ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 ,these are the facts1 and the real issue is around ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 7,the ,path1 ,march1 #ahie47 ,with the complete disruption of the ,society the ,brahmin period of dominance over ,mrs4 ,besant came to an end4 ,then followed the ,leadbeater rgime1 the first phase of which culminated in the crisis of #aijf4 ,but on ,colonel ,olcott's death in the following year1 she contrived the realisation of her great ambition1 and became ,president of the ,society4 ,at this point in her career1 however1 there were two serious difficulties which she had to meet3--first1 the ,leadbeater scandal which raised a storm of horror and protest from those old and tried members who had remained in the ,society up to that time1 but who then practically withdrew in a body ,deprived of their support1 and having reinstated the infamous ,leadbeater1 ,mrs4 ,besant realised that1 as ,president1 she could no longer risk appearing half-hearted over ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky2 nay more1 she needed the support of her venerated name2 second1 as ,president of the ,society created by ,h4 ,p4 ,b41 she must1 for the sake of her own prestige1 take some definite action which would remove all possibility of suspicion that she was no longer the follower of the ,teacher whom she had1 in fact1 already denied and betrayed only two years after her death4 ,mrs4 ,besant realised1 in short1 that she had gone too far1 and must now retrieve the position4 ,accordingly1 in #aijg1 she issued a pamphlet entitled ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky and the ,masters of the sic ,wisdom1 in which1 with all her accustomed ability1 she dealt once more with the famous 7or rather infamous7 ,report of the ,society for ,psychical ,research1 published in #ahhe4 ,but the concluding eulogy strikes a false note1 coming from one who1 as ,i have shown1 was capable of being persuaded that ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 had concocted messages from those ,masters ,whom she so faithfully served for two-thirds of her life4 ,it was at this time also 7#aijg71 so ,mrs4 ,besant later declared1 that the ,t4 ,s4 fully regained its original position1 with the ,masters of the sic ,wisdom as once more the ',first ,section' of the ,society4 ,this bold assertion was made in #aiai1 when1 under pressure of some fresh scare connected with ,mr4 ,leadbeater1 ,mrs4 ,besant published a small volume of the ,masters' ,letters 7most of which had presumably been lying in the archives of the ,society at ,adyar for nearly forty years671 obviously for no other reason than because among them are two alleged to have been received by ,mr4 ,leadbeater4 ,this she did in order to bolster up the extravagant claims she now makes for him as a ,great ,teacher4 ,but there were many who received ,letters in the early days1 and there is no reason why similar claims should not be made for all the recipients6 ,in the article entitled ,whom will ye ,serve8 7,theosophist1 ,march1 #aibb17 ,mrs4 ,besant says that ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 formed an inner circle of her pupils1 that it might bear witness to the truth and reality of the inner side of life4 ,this was the ,inner ,group of which she and ,i were two of the six women members4 ,but as1 unfortunately ,mr4 ,leadbeater was not included1 although he had become a member of the ,t4 ,s4 some years before1 she adds3--,and behold6 ere she passed away1 she had led others to the ,light1 and bade them bear witness to it4444 ,considering that she passed away less than a year after forming the ,inner ,group in the summer of #ahij1 and that we were constantly with her and never heard of these others1 this statement is manifestly untrue4 ,mrs4 ,besant also refers to ,mr4 ,leadbeater as one of ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's nearest and most trusted pupils ,absolutely untrue4--,a4 ,l4 ,c4 whom she had led to his ,master of many lives1 and in whom she had awakened the powers since so splendidly used in the service of the ,society that he might become a great ,teacher4444 ,i challenge ,mrs4 ,besant to produce anything in writing by ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 to warrant this audacious assertion4 ,i was a pupil of ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 7and through her was accepted as a chela on probation1 in #ahhi7 before ,mrs4 ,besant joined the ,t4 ,s41 and saw her expel one of her most gifted and valued workers from the ,esoteric ,section for offences against the occult and moral law similar to those with which ,mr4 ,leadbeater's name has now been associated for nearly twenty years4 ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 was always extremely strict on this particular point1 and many would-be aspirants for chelaship were refused on this one ground alone1 while others who had been accepted on probation failed almost immediately afterwards4 ,when ,i joined the ,t4 ,s4 in #ahhe my diploma was signed by ,colonel ,olcott as ,president and ,c4,w4 ,leadbeater as ,secretary 7he was then at ,adyar71 but ,i never heard him mentioned by ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 or anyone else at the ,london ,headquarters1 as a person of any importance whatever1 in the occult sense4 ,mrs4 ,besant goes on to say that ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 left the twain of us ,leadbeater and herself to bear personal witness to the truth when she had gone6 ,where is her evidence that ,mr4 ,leadbeater was ever one of ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's pupils8 ,there is none1 save this bare1 unsupported assertion of a highly interested party4 ,how could these two1 to the exclusion of all ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's pupils--some of them regularly accepted chelas on probation--be specially selected1 taught1 and prepared1 7and above all1 to promulgate the sort of teachings of which ,i have given a few specimens71 without any of us hearing even a hint of it6 ,moreover1 ,i never saw1 or even heard of ,mr4 ,leadbeater at the ,london ,headquarters while ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 was alive4 ,i might just as well claim such a mission for myself1 or ,mr4 ,mead1 or ,dr4 ,keightley1 or any other member of the ,inner ,group who has remained true to the pledge and the ,teacher2 and with greater justice1 for ,mrs4 ,besant has not4 ,the truth is that ,mr4 ,leadbeater was never heard of in connection with occult teaching until he was taken up and foisted on the unfortunate ,t4 ,s4 and ,e4 ,s4 as a ,great ,teacher by ,mrs4 ,besant who was herself never more than a chela on probation--during ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's lifetime4 ,let me refer again to ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's article ,the ,theosophical ,mahatmas from which ,i have already quoted 7ante p4 #c71 in which she deals with the members of the ,t4 ,s4 who were regularly accepted chelas on probation1 and the subsequent failure of nearly all of them4 ,if this was true at that time1 it can certainly now be applied to the case of ,mrs4 ,besant1 who1 in my judgment and that of many others1 conspicuously failed under two great tests4 ,the first failure occurred when she went to ,india in #ahic1 became an orthodox ,hindu1 and was induced to entertain those doubts of her ,teacher that ,i have already alluded to4 7ante p4 #ff47 ,bound up with this failure--the doubt of the ,teacher--was her attack on her fellow chela1 ,mr4 ,judge4 ,the second failure was a far worse one when1 in #aijf1 after having publicly endorsed the finding of the ,advisory ,committee on ,leadbeater's crimes 7see footnote ante p4 #ei71 she suddenly turned round and secured his reinstatement4 ,in thus condoning and even endorsing immorality of the vilest description1 she denied one of the strictest occult laws binding upon a chela4 ,this double failure had far more serious results in her case than in those of which ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 wrote in #ahhf1 because1 owing to her commanding position as a leader1 the fate of the many thousands of earnest souls in the ,society who believed in and followed her implicitly1 was involved4 ,,footnotes3 #aa ,this ,brahmin is the person referred to in the following passage from ,mr4 ,t4 ,h4 ,martyn's letter to ,mrs4 ,besant of ,may #bjth1 #aiba 7see ante p4 #ah73--,like many of the older members ,i have known how you and others for quite a long time regarded ---- as a ,master in the flesh and later had to repudiate him when certain facts indicated the mistake4 ,italics mine4 ,this is absolutely new to me4 ,in #ahid none of us 7so far as ,i was then aware7 regarded ,mr4 ---- as anything more than a chela1 so what ,mr4 ,martyn here states must have been a later development1 and explains much4 ,i suppress the gentleman's name out of regard for his present official position in ,india and his dissociation from ,mrs4 ,besant4 #ab ,i did not learn the actual facts of this foolish fable until ,i came to ,india in #aiah1 and found they were common knowledge among leading members of that time4 ,naturally1 when ,mrs4 ,besant transferred her allegiance to ,mr4 ,leadbeater1 she had to find another body for ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 ,so1 in the ,theosophist for ,january1 #aibb4 she writes the following typical effusion for the benefit of the faithful3-- 444 alas6 she passed away1 and took rebirth in the north of ,india1 and though we have lived for twenty-eight years in the same land so dear to beth of us1 we have never met physically face to face4 ,yet close ties bind us to each other1 and may be we shall yet greet each other in the flesh4 ,observe the suggestion that she has always been in close touch with ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 out of the body1 and that later they may meet in the flesh4 ,this prepares the ground for producing this new incarnation when the suitable moment comes2 just as the boy ,krishnamurti was brought forward as the body for the coming ,world-,teacher4 ,mrs4 ,besant's new version must be amusing reading for those familiar with the earlier theory1 as she was certainly face to face with the little daughter constantly1 and even persuaded ,countess ,wachtmeister to resume her former care of ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 in her new body4 ,needless to say the poor ,countess was sadly disillusioned1 and died not long afterwards bitterly bewailing the ruin of the ,t4 ,s4 #ac ,as showing the absurdity of such a claim1 ,i may mention that ,mrs4 ,besant actually visited mediums through whom ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 was supposed to communicate4 ,in #ahib1 only a year after her death1 my colleague ,mr4 ,basil ,crump1 ,barrister-at-,law1 was investigating the phenomena of a certain trance medium shortly before he joined the ,t4 ,s4 ,he was present at a private sitting with this medium in the studio of an artist friend1 to which ,mrs4 ,besant came with another member of ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's ,inner ,group1 ,miss ,emily ,kislingbury1 in order to speak with her deceased teacher4 ,an intelligence calling itself ,madame ,blavatsky controlled the medium1 and ,mrs4 ,besant held a conversation with it4 ,later1 when ,mr4 ,crump became acquainted with ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's explanation of ,spiritualistic phenomena1 and her express denial that the true immortal ,ego ever communicated in this manner1 he was naturally astonished that one of her most learned pupils should for a moment entertain such a possibility and waste her valuable time in attending a sance4 ,but now he sees that it was only an early symptom of the astounding credulity and ignorance of occult science she has since exhibited1 as shown in these pages4 ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's explanations of psychic phenomena are rapidly being endorsed and followed by the modern scientific school of investigation1 which has succeeded not only in proving the genuineness of the phenomena1 but also the important part played by the will and imagination both of the medium and the sitters in their production4 #ad ,her latest move1 is to draw a distinction between the ,advisory ,committee of #aijf which she accuses of unjust action1 and what she calls the prolonged investigation of #aijg-jh1 which of course was engineered by her after she became ,president1 in order to white-wash ,mr4 ,leadbeater and secure his reinstatement4 7,see ,theosophist1 ,july1 #aibb74 ,see ,addendum for the ,australian views on this4 #ae ,the importance of this case lies in the fact that it constituted an absolute vindication of ,h4 ,p4 ,b41 for every slander ever circulated directly or indirectly was covered by it4 ,although the libel action came to an end with her death1 the paper was so impressed by the evidence produced1 in rebuttal1 by ,mr4 ,judge1 that it not only retracted all that it had published1 but also invited ,mr4 ,judge to write a long article entitled ,the ,esoteric ,she which they said disposes of all questions relating to ,madame ,blavatsky4 ,that ,mrs4 ,asquith and ,count ,witte should both have seen fit to revive some of these old slanders in their books of reminiscences does not redound to their credit4 #af ,mrs4 ,besant's ,spiritual ,viceroy has certainly nothing to do with ,those who were directing ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 when she founded the ,indian ,t4 ,s4 ,,or ,u4 ,b4 in #ahgi2 for a special clause was included in the ,constitution stating that ,the ,society repudiates all interference on its behalf with the ,governmental relations of any nation or community1 confining its attention exclusively to the matters set forth in the present document4444 ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 also wrote in the ,theosophist1 for ,october1 #ahgi--,unconcerned about politics2 hostile to the insane dreams of ,socialism and ,communism1 which it abhors--as both are but disguised conspiracies of brutal force and sluggishness against honest labour2 the ,society cares but little about the outward human management of the material world4 ,the whole of its aspirations are directed toward the occult truths of the visible and invisible worlds4 ,whether the physical man be under the rule of an empire or a republic1 concerns only the man of matter4 ,his body may be enslaved2 as to his ,soul1 he has the right to give to his rulers the proud answer of ,socrates to his ,judges4 ,they have no sway over the inner man4 ,there speaks the true ,mystic whose ,kingdom is not of this world4 ,three years later ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 and ,colonel ,olcott published a further disclaimer1 in which they said--,before we came to ,india1 the word ,politics had never been pronounced in connection with our names2 for the idea was too absurd to be even entertained1 much less expressed4444 #ag ,the original documents appear in the ,o4 ,e4 ,critic for ,june #bast1 #aibb1 and include a confession signed by a priest of the ,l4 ,c4 ,c4 who states that he was led astray by those whom ,i considered to be my superiors both morally and spiritually adding ,wedgwood absolutely declines to give up the mal-practice4 ,wedgwood fled to ,algeria at the end of ,march4 ,a cable from ,sydney dated ,may #cjth states that ,mrs4 ,besant refused to answer any enquiry in reference to ,wedgwood4 ,police now holding an enquiry into the charges against ,leadbeater4 ,dr4 ,stokes concludes his comments on the documents as follows3--,and ,annie ,besant1 having repeatedly been informed of the facts1 not only refused to look into them1 but launched her anathemas against those who criticised1 even threatening them with expulsion from the ,e4 ,s41 and even very recently cabling to ,wedgwood that he made a mistake in resigning6--,it is on ,annie ,besant1 more than on any other one person1 that the responsibility for the present scandalous condition in the ,t4 ,s4 rests4 ,the best of societies may have its black sheep and it is not to be blamed if it does its best to purge itself4 ,but it is ,annie ,besant1 with her tools and sycophants1 who has ever concealed and denied the palpable facts1 or1 where they could not be denied1 has palliated1 excused and even defended them1 throwing over them a veil of esoteric glamour1 supporting such scoundrels as ,leadbeater and ,wedgwood1 apparently in order the better to serve her ambitions4 ,a vote of confidence in ,annie ,besant to-day either betrays total ignorance of the facts1 or associates those who give it with the grossest forms of moral rottenness4 ,see ,addendum for ,mr4 ,piddington1 ,k4 ,c's opinion on ,mrs ,besant's conduct in ,australia last ,may2 also ,mr4 ,hugh ,gillespie's evidence of her use of the ,esoteric ,school as a political machine to secure her ascendancy in the various bodies to which ,e4 ,s4 members have gained access4 #ah ,as to the methods employed to suppress criticism1 ,dr4 ,hiestand-,moore says in the same issue3--,slander1 falsehood1 deceit1 treachery1 all have been summoned to the support of ,mr4 ,leadbeater's cause4 ,anonymous communications have been written to confound the prosecution1 letters have been stolen and threats made4 ,the ,editor of ,the ,voice has been compelled to call upon the ,secret ,service to protect her mails4 ,an entire issue in proof with copy and unset matter disappeared1 and had to be rewritten6 ,again1 the ,editor of the ,o4 ,e4 ,critic writes3--,it is understood1 and ,i have the direct testimony of the publisher to the fact1 that the entire edition of the ,brooks' books ,esoteric ,bogeydom and ,neo-,theosophy ,exposed was corralled by ,mrs4 ,besant in order to suppress their circulation4 ,they tell too much about her4 ,tampering with ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky's writings4 ,the result of ,mrs4 ,besant's first failure1 through harbouring doubts of her ,teacher's bona fides and esoteric knowledge1 was soon manifested when she began to publish new editions of ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's works4 ,the first noteworthy example was her excision from ,the ,voice of the ,silence of passages and notes1 presumably out of deference to ,brahmin sentiment1 which then governed her actions4 ,one of the last verses in ,the ,two ,paths 7the second of the ,three ,fragments forming the little book7 in the original edition 7#ahhi7 begins thus3--,he who becomes ,pratyeka ,buddha1 makes his obeisance but to his ,self4 ,in a footnote ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 explains that ,pratyeka ,buddhas are those ,bodhisattvas who strive after and often reach the ,dharmakaya robe after a series of lives4 ,caring nothing for the woes of mankind or to help it1 but only for their own bliss1 they enter ,nirvana and--disappear from the sight and the hearts of men4 ,in ,northern ,buddhism a ',pratyeka ,buddha' is a synonym of spiritual ,selfishness4 ,in ,mrs4 ,besant's edition both the passage and the footnote ,i have quoted are omitted4 ,her reason for this unscrupulous proceeding is given in a footnote on p4 #daf of the so-called third volume of ,the ,secret ,doctrine4 ,in this note ,mrs4 ,besant1 from the heights of her then newly-acquired ,brahmanical wisdom1 adopts the following dictatorial and censorious tone towards her late ,teacher3-- ,the ,pratyeka ,buddha stands on the level of the ,buddha 61 but ,his work for the world has nothing to do with its teaching1 and ,his office has always been surrounded with mystery4 ,the preposterous sic view that ,he1 at such superhuman height of power1 wisdom and love could be selfish1 is found in the exoteric books1 though it is hard to see how it can have arisen4 ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 charged me to correct the mistake1 as she had1 in a careless moment1 copied such a statement elsewhere4--,a4 ,b4 ,observe the assumption of superior knowledge to ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's1 and the use of the words preposterous and careless4 ,to any real ,oriental chela such an attitude towards his ,guru would be simply unthinkable2 but we have seen how very quickly ,mrs4 ,besant believed herself to have soared far above the chela on probation state of her ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 days into that of an ,initiate and future ,supreme ,ruler of the ,world of ,gods and men4 ,to such vanity and self-delusion everything is possible4 ,how different was the attitude of the real ,occultist who was spoken of by the ,masters as ,our ,brother ,h4 ,p4 ,b41 yet called herself a ,chela of one of ,them6 ,the passage ,i have italicised in the above footnote by ,mrs4 ,besant is untrue on the face of it to anyone who knew1 as ,i did1 the loving care with which ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 prepared this unique little book of ,golden ,precepts4 ,moreover1 she states in her ,preface that the verses given are selected from a much larger number which she learnt by heart4 ,further1 ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 not only repeated but greatly amplified this statement about the ,pratyeka ,buddha in her ,theosophical ,glossary1 a fact which ,mrs4 ,besant had evidently forgotten when she concocted the footnote quoted above4#ai ,the ,pratyeka ,buddha is doubtless much that ,mrs4 ,besant claims for him1 but she does not seem to know1 or has probably forgotten1 that there are two classes of ,masters1 two ,paths 7as this very section of ,the ,voice of the ,silence shows72 that the ,pairs of ,opposites obtain on all planes of ,manifestation and ,being1 right up to the threshold of the ,unmanifested--the ,,one2 that1 while there are ,masters of ,,compassion1 there must of necessity exist also the opposite pole--the wearers of the ,dharmakya robe1 with all the power and knowledge which that state implies1 but without that ,compassion which alone makes a ,master of the ,right ,hand ,path4#bj ,it was a great and valuable feature of ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's1 method that she taught us to reason on these lines1 checking everything by the ,law of ,correspondences4 ,but ,mrs4 ,besant has evidently long since abandoned this1 and prefers the sacerdotal plan of accepting everything on authority1 which in her present phase means ,leadbeater or her own psychic delusions4 ,the ,world ,teacher dogma is a case in point4 ,she asserts it as a fact to be accepted because she says it2 whereas1 as ,i have shown1 it is untenable in the light of ,the ,secret ,doctrine 7see ante p4 #b71 which endorses ,oriental tradition and cyclic law4 ,mrs4 ,besant's partiality for the ,pratyeka ,buddha1 however1 may possibly be explained by some words that ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 once wrote of her to ,mr4 ,judge3--,she is not psychic or spiritual in the least--all intellect4 ,for ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 opens her paragraph in the ,theosophical ,glossary on the ,pratyeka ,buddha with these words3-- ,the ,pratyeka ,buddha is a degree which belongs exclusively to the ,yogchrya school 444 one of high intellectual development with no true spirituality4 7,italics mine47 ,moreover1 we have the authority of the ,maha ,chohan ,himself 7the ,head of the ,trans-,himlayan ,brotherhood7 for the statement that even ,nirvna is1 after all1 but an exalted and glorious selfishness4 ,in the ,theosophist for ,march1 #aibb1 ,mrs4 ,besant says1 in her ,watch-,tower notes3-- ,a wild theory has just been started in the ,u4 ,s4 ,a4 that ,the ,secret ,doctrine1 brought out by the ,london ,t4 ,p4 ,h4 after ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's death1 was not as ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 wanted it4 ,the insinuation is made that ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 was edited by those in charge of the second edition4 ,the trustees to whom she left the safeguarding of her printed books and unpublished manuscripts were all her own pupils who had lived with her for years1 and they made only such changes as she had herself directed1 which consist mainly in the correction of verbal and grammatical errors1 and the arrangement of the material of ,vol4 ,,iii4 ,i have italicised the statements requiring explanation or correction4 ,the second edition1 as ,mrs4 ,besant must be well aware1 was merely a re-print to meet an unexpected demand1 and bears the same date as the original edition1 viz41 #ahhh4 ,but as ,mrs4 ,besant only joined the ,t4 ,s4 early in #ahhi1 and was led to seek an interview with ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky after reviewing ,the ,secret ,doctrine for the late ,mr4 ,w4 ,t4 ,stead1 then ,editor of the ,pall ,mall ,gazette1 clearly she can know absolutely nothing of the preparation of its first or of its second edition6 ,as to the alleged trustees1 ,i can only say that ,i never heard of their existence4 ,mrs4 ,besant only lived with ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 for rather more than eighteen months4 ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 left #ag1 ,lansdowne ,road1 ,london1 ,w41 in the summer of #ahhi1 the ,headquarters being moved to ,mrs4 ,besant's house in ,avenue ,road1 ,n4,w41 where she died in ,may #ahia1 while ,mrs4 ,besant was on her way back from a lecture tour in ,america4 ,take next the alleged safeguarding of ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's unpublished manuscripts4 ,those who were responsible for the so-called ,volume ,,iii1 had a strange and unusual conception of the meaning of the word safeguarding4 ,it so happens that while it was being set up ,i was able actually to peruse one or two of the familiar long foolscap sheets which ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 always covered with her small fine handwriting4 ,they were mutilated almost beyond recognition1 few of her sentences remaining intact2 and there were corrections not only in the handwritings of the editors1 ,mrs4 ,besant and ,mr4 ,mead1 but also in that of others which ,i was able to identify4 ,more than this ,i cannot say without abusing confidence2 but the wrong done to my ,teacher compels me to say this much4 ,those who were ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's untiring and unfailing helpers in the preparation of ,the ,secret ,doctrine for the press in #ahhg-hh1 ,dr4 ,archibald and ,mr4 ,bertram ,keightley1 have1 fortunately for posterity1 put on record their experiences of those days4 ,they have made statements of the utmost value in connection with the facts ,i am here dealing with1 which they wrote specially for ,countess ,wachtmeister's ,reminiscences of ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky and ,the ,secret ,doctrine1 published in #ahic4 ,moreover1 ,dr4 ,keightley wrote an account of ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's manifold literary activities at this time1 which appeared in the ,theosophist for ,july #ahhi1 in which he states that the ,third ,volume of ,the ,secret ,doctrine is in ,,ms4 ready to be given to the printers4 ,italics mine4--,a4 ,l4 ,c4 ,it will consist mainly of a series of sketches of the great ,occultists of all ages1 and is a most wonderful and fascinating work4 ,in the face of this clear and definite statement1 made by one whose word ,i know to be unimpeachable1 and who lived and worked with ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 at that time1 what becomes of ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's alleged directions for the arrangement of the material of ,vol4 ,,iii which ,mrs4 ,besant speaks of above1 and the statement in the ,preface to her version of ,vol4 ,,iii3--,the task of preparing this volume for the press has been a difficult and anxious one4444 ,the papers given to me by ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 were quite unarranged1 and had no obvious order44448 ,this volume1 given by ,mrs4 ,besant to the world in #ahig1 is most certainly not the one ,dr4 ,keightley speaks of as ready for the printers in #ahhi1 as ,i will prove4 ,,what ,,then ,,became ,,of ,,that ,,volume8 ,but first ,i will quote ,dr4 ,stokes1 ,editor of the ,o4 ,e4 ,critic1 whose most specific charges and plain statements of fact hardly come under the purposely misleading term insinuations1 used by ,mrs4 ,besant6 ,dr4 ,stokes insinuates nothing2 he heads his most damaging accusation as follows3-- ,,annie ,,besant',s ,,corruption ,,of ,,the ,,secret ,,doctrine4 ,in all probability ,annie ,besant's revision of ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky's original edition of ,the ,secret ,doctrine constitutes the most colossal case of corruption of an original text to be found in history4 ,a group of students is comparing the original edition with the third and revised edition1 edited by ,annie ,besant and ,g4 ,r4 ,s4 ,mead1 after the author's death4444 ,i am informed by those making the comparison that 444 the actual changes will be far more than twenty thousand4 ,many of these changes are trivial and one wonders at the impertinence or conceit which inspired them4 ,some of the changes--those which might have put students on their guard against the so-called ,third ,volume--can only be construed as deliberate and intentional suppressions and corruptions of the original text4 ,and this in a work of which the ,master ,k4 ,h4 wrote3 ,every mistake or erroneous notion corrected and explained by her from the works of other ,theosophists was corrected by me or under my instruction4 ,the true title of the third and revised edition should be ,the ,secret ,doctrine1 written by ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky1 corrected and approved by the ,master ,k4 ,h41 and corrupted by ,annie ,besant4 ,it is almost impossible to comprehend the colossal conceit1 the limitless contempt for common literary decency which could have inspired such an act of vandalism1 to say nothing of such disrespect for the ,master whom she professes to venerate4 ,and all of this is put forth as the work of ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky herself1 with the mere apology in the preface that ,had ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky lived to issue the new edition1 she would doubtless have corrected and enlarged it to a very considerable extent4 ,what a specious excuse8 ,repeated in the preface to the alleged ,vol4 ,,iii4--,a4 ,l4 ,c4 ,had ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 corrected and enlarged it it would without doubt have been done under the same guidance and authority which directed and corrected the first edition4 ,it is enough to cast suspicion on each and every quotation of original sources made by ,mrs4 ,besant1 and her emendation of the ,theosophy of ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 as well4 7,october #abth1 #aiba47 ,as for the third volume1 edited and published after the death of ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 from manuscripts left by her1 nobody knows1 in the absence of a previous edition issued by her1 how much of it is ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's and how much is not1 but there is good evidence that much of it is not1 which is the more likely in view of the vandalisms the same editors perpetrated in the first two volumes4 ,in no sense can the third and revised edition be said to be a re-print of the original ,secret ,doctrine of ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky4 7,december #bast1 #aiba47 ,i most fully endorse all that ,dr4 ,stokes so ably demonstrates1 and ,i can quite believe that1 in regard to ,vol4 ,,iii1 some of the contents are not by ,h4 ,p4 ,b4-- the style in places is not hers at all4 ,but ,i can enlighten him as to those portions of the contents of which ,i have actual knowledge4 ,i may here add that1 when my own group of students were checking the third and revised edition of the first and second volumes of ,the ,secret ,doctrine by the original edition of #ahhh1 they came across no less than four specific references by ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 to ,vols4 ,,iii and ,,iv as being practically completed1 viz41 ,vol4 ,i1 ,preface1 and p4 #aa2 ,vol4 ,,ii1 pp4 #dcg1 #gih1 #ast ,ed41 #ahhh4 ,mrs4 ,besant coolly deleted all these without a word of explanation6 ,how unnecessary nearly all of this so-called revision was1 can be realised in the ,keightleys' accounts 7see ,countess ,wachtmeister's book7 of the care taken over the proofs of the first edition4 ,mr4 ,bertram ,keightley says they first read the whole mass of ,,mss4--a pile over three feet high--most carefully through1 correcting the ,english and punctuation where absolutely indispensable4 7,contrast this modesty and respect for the author with the spirit that perpetrated the thirty thousand corrections in the third edition67 ,it was then arranged under ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's supervision in ,sections1 etc41 and professionally typewritten4 ,this first copy was again revised and any obscurities explained4 ,it should be noted here that ,mr4 ,keightley says they laid before ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 a plan1 suggested by the character of the matter itself1 viz41 to make the work consist of four volumes 444 to follow the natural order of exposition and begin with the ,evolution of ,cosmos1 to pass from that to the ,evolution of ,man1 then to deal with the historical part in a third volume treating of the lives of some great ,occultists1 and of ',practical ,occultism' in a fourth4 ,this proves that at least the whole of the material for ,vol4 ,,iii was actually there 7,dr4 ,keightley elsewhere states that it was ready for the printer47 ,finally the ,keightleys themselves set to work to type out a fair copy of ,vols4 ,i and ,,ii for the printer4 ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 read and corrected two sets of galley proofs1 then a page proof1 and finally a revise in sheet1 correcting1 adding1 and altering up to the very last moment4 ,dr4 ,a4 ,keightley says3-- 444 no work and no trouble1 no suffering or pain could daunt her from her task4 ,crippled with rheumatism1 suffering from a disease which had several times nearly proved fatal1 she still worked on unflaggingly1 writing at her desk the moment her eyes and fingers could guide the pen4444 ,we had to carry on the general scheme 444 to act as watch-dogs and help her to make the meaning as clear as possible4 ,but all the work was hers 444 it went through three or four other hands besides ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's in galley proof1 as well as in revise4 ,she was her own most severe corrector4444 ,another able helper was ,mr4 ,e4 ,douglas ,fawcett1 the well-known author of ,the ,riddle of the ,universe1 of whom both the ,keightleys speak in terms of high praise4 ,his profound knowledge of science1 philosophy1 and metaphysics was invaluable4 ,he supplied many of the quotations from scientific works1 as well as many confirmations of the occult doctrines derived from similar sources4 ,and this monumental work1 produced with such meticulous care and precautions against errors1 is subjected to some thirty thousand corrections by its subsequent editors6 ,in all my study of the original edition ,i have never found more than a few errors that matter in the least1 and these are mostly typographical and quite obvious to any person of average intelligence4 ,the marvel is that there are so few in a work of such magnitude and scope4 ,those of my students who possess only the third and revised edition 7the first and second now being scarce71 have re-corrected it to agree with the first2 and to look at the pages covered with these re-corrections brings home to one1 as nothing else can1 the force and justice of ,dr4 ,stokes's indictment4 ,let us hope that when ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's great work is understood and accepted seriously at its true worth1 an indignant posterity will pass judgment on one of the worst examples of literary vandalism in the nineteenth century4 ,in her ,preface to ,vol4 ,,iii1 ,mrs4 ,besant boldly states that1 in regard to the ,sections entitled ,the ,mystery of ,buddha1 there are very numerous errors of fact1 and many statements based on exoteric writings1 not on esoteric knowledge6 ,if her own statement with which ,i have dealt1 regarding the ,pratyeka ,buddha is to be taken as the measure of her capacity to judge of the merit or demerit of ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's work1 all that ,mrs4 ,besant says1 or skilfully suggests1 in this ,preface can be dismissed as absolutely worthless4 ,but in view of the fact that she then believed herself to be acting under the direction of a ,master in the flesh 7see ,mr4 ,martyn's letter1 ante pp4 #ah-ai and footnote p4 #ef71 who happened to be an orthodox ,brahmin1 these unfounded pronouncements which ,i quote with regard to the ,sections on the ,lord ,buddha are perhaps not so surprising4 ,i use the word unfounded advisedly1 for she makes two separate statements as to the way in which she obtained the material for this so-called ,vol4 ,,iii4 ,she opens the ,preface with the first one3--,the task of preparing this volume for the press has been a difficult and anxious one1 and it is necessary to state clearly what has been done4 ,this is one of her usual formulas1 after which she proceeds to do the exact opposite4 ,she thus continues1 in fact3--,the papers given to me by ,h4 ,p4 ,b4444 ,but ,mrs4 ,besant was not in ,england when ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 died1 quite unexpectedly1 and with only three of her pupils present1 namely1 ,mr4 ,claude ,wright1 ,mr4 ,walter ,old and ,miss ,laura ,cooper 7now ,mrs4 ,g4 ,r4 ,s4 ,mead47 ,we were all summoned by telegram1 and ,i was at ,avenue ,road within a few hours4 ,i never heard of any evidence that she gave ,mrs4 ,besant papers1 or directions about papers1 before the latter left for ,america on a lecture tour2 and most certainly ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 never formally appointed her1 or anyone else1 as her successor1 for the very good reason that ,i have given elsewhere--that the movement had definitely failed1 and she was recalled4 7see ante p4 #b47 ,to return to ,mrs4 ,besant's ,preface4 ,her second statement is that the papers for the ,sections on ,the ,mystery of the ,buddha were given into my hands to publish1 as part of the ,third ,volume of ,the ,secret ,doctrine4444 ,by whom were they given8 ,certainly not by ,h4 ,p4 ,b42 and why does ,mrs4 ,besant speak of these ,sections on the ,buddha as if they were something apart from the papers she alleges she received from ,h4 ,p4 ,b48 ,clearly any further analysis is useless1 for in all probability the truth about what really happened to all ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's ,,mss4 after her death will never be known1 since the few who do know will1 naturally1 never speak4 ,brushing aside1 therefore1 ,mrs4 ,besant's explanatory ,preface1 ,volume ,,iii1 as given to the public in #ahig1 appears to be simply a collection of fugitive articles which1 as ,i have shown1 were obviously freely edited4 ,to pad out the volume 7the ,,mss4 spoken of by ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 in ,vols4 ,i and ,,ii1 as already existing1 having mysteriously vanished7 ,mrs4 ,besant prints both the ,e4 ,s4 ,t4 and the ,inner ,group ,instructions1 despite the pledge of secrecy taken by her and all other recipients of these teachings4 ,in justification of this she states--six years after ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's death--that ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 instructed her to do so6 ,the worthlessness of such instructions is palpable in the light of her nave belief in the alleged reincarnation of her ,teacher in ,mr4 ----'s little daughter4 7,needless to add that1 under ,leadbeater1 she has another version of this idea67 ,we have the usual misleading and disingenuous statement in a ,note which is prefixed to these ,instructions4 ,mrs4 ,besant says3--,papers ,i1 ,,ii and ,,iii 444 were written by ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 and were circulated privately during her lifetime ,these ,papers are the ,e4 ,s4 ,instructions4 ,she calls those given to the ,inner ,group ,notes of some ,oral ,teaching4 ,but1 with two exceptions1 almost every word of both ,e4 ,s4 and ,i4 ,g4 ,instructions are given intact1 just as we received them2 ,i possess them all4 ,the two exceptions are1 first1 the practical teachings1 given at the first meeting of the ,i4 ,g41 for ,yoga development1 which even ,mrs4 ,besant had not the hardihood to publish2 and1 second1 a very long ,preliminary ,memorandum to ,instructions ,,iii4 ,,footnotes3 #ai ,see also ,an ,introduction to ,mahayna ,buddhism1 by ,w4 ,m4 ,mc,govern1 #aibb4 ,kegan ,paul4 ,he confirms ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's definition4 #bj ,it was 444 during the highest point of civilisation and knowledge1 as also of human intellectuality1 of 444 the ,atlantean ,race that 444 humanity branched off into its two diametrically opposite paths2 the ,right and the ,left-hand paths of knowledge or of ,vidya4 ,thus were the germs of the ,white and the ,black ,magic sown in those days4 ,the seeds lay latent for some time1 to sprout only during the early period of the ,fifth 7our ,race74 7,commentary74--,the ,secret ,doctrine4 ,first ,edition1 ,vol4 ,i1 p4 #aib4 ,the ,truth about the ,e4 ,s4 ,council1 and the ,inner ,group4 ,the ,e4 ,s4 ,instructions were written by ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 during the winter of #ahhh-hi4 ,the ,i4 ,g4 ,teachings were given orally by ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 at its meetings in #ahij-ia4 ,it was the duty of the two secretaries1 ,mrs4 ,besant and ,mr4 ,mead1 to write these ,teachings up1 from notes sent in by all of us1 after each meeting1 and record them in a book4 ,this record was dealt with at each succeeding meeting1 corrected and often amplified by ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 ,all these might1 therefore1 have been included in ,vol4 ,,iv of ,the ,secret ,doctrine1 according to the general plan of the work adopted by ,h4 ,p4 ,b41 if she had lived and had permitted it4 ,mrs4 ,besant's statement that they were written with that in view is incorrect1 and was obviously made to justify her action in using them for her version of ,vol4 ,,iii4 ,in the ,theosophist for ,march1 #aibb1 ,mrs4 ,besant published an article in which several false statements are made concerning the history of the ,e4 ,s4 ,the writer1 a ,mr4 ,fritz ,kunz1 quotes ,colonel ,olcott's ,old ,diary ,leaves as authority for saying that the first move towards founding the ,e4 ,s4 was made in #ahha1 that it was organised steadily through the trials of #ahhd-he1 and merely announced in #ahhh4 ,the actual facts 7see ,theosophist1 ,april1 #ahhj7 are1 that when ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 established the real ,,theosophical ,,society ,,or ,,universal ,,brotherhood at ,benares in #ahgi 7the ,t4 ,s4 founded at ,new ,york in #ahge was only a ,miracle ,club1 as ,colonel ,olcott says1 with no brotherhood plank71 it was on a purely esoteric basis4 ,it was under the direct guidance of the ,trans-,himlayan ,brotherhood1 ,who formed the ,first ,section2 the second and third being for accepted and probationary chelas respectively4 ,when ,i joined the ,t4 ,s4 in #ahhe1 these rules were still in force in the ,london ,lodge4 ,but ,colonel ,olcott insisted on an exoteric organisation with the occultism more in the background2 and the crisis of #ahhd-he1 which drove ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 from ,india 7see her letter of #ahij1 ante p4 #b71 was the natural result of this policy4 ,far from the ,e4 ,s4 being organised steadily at that time1 as ,mr4 ,kunz asserts1 ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 makes it clear in her letter that the ,master's influence was virtually banished from ,adyar through lack of faith in ,them1 and failure to support her1 and that she had been ordered to establish the ,esoteric ,section1 at ,london1 which she did in #ahhh1 because the necessary faith in the ,masters still existed there and in ,america4 ,mr4 ,kunz then makes the astonishing assertion that the ,e4 ,s4 was transferred to ,mrs4 ,annie ,besant in due course by ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 in #ahia4 ,as ,i was a member of ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's ,inner ,council which was responsible for what was done after her death1 ,i am in a position to state the true facts as known to me1 and as they appear in the ,e4 ,s4 documents in my possession4 ,these facts are3--,when ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 died--suddenly and unexpectedly1 on ,may #hth1 #ahiaba41 ,mr4 ,judge at once came over from ,new ,york1 and after much consultation and informal meetings of the ,e4 ,s4 ,council 7composed of the ,i4 ,g4 members7 and two others1 ,mr4 ,wm4 ,kingsland and ,dr4 ,w4 ,wynn ,westcott71 a formal and full meeting of the ,council was held at ,headquarters on ,may #bgth1 #ahia1 when ,bro4 ,wm4 ,q4 ,judge attended as the representative of ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 under a general power given as below4 7,italics mine4--,a4 ,l4 ,c47 ,as ,head of the ,esoteric ,section of the ,theosophical ,society1 ,i hereby declare that ,william ,q4 ,judge1 of ,new ,york1 ,u4,s41 in virtue of his character as a chela of thirteen years' standing1 and of the trust and confidence reposed in him1 is my only representative for said ,section in ,america1 and he is the sole channel through whom will be sent and received all communications between the members of said ,section and myself1 and to him full faith1 confidence and credit in that regard are to be given1 4994 ,done at ,london this fourteenth day of ,december1 #ahhh1 and in the fourteenth year of the ,theosophical ,society4 ,seal ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky1 444 ,the ,council passed the following minute4444 ,that it was resolved and recorded that the highest officials in the ,school for the present are ,annie ,besant and ,william ,q4 ,judge1 in accordance with the above-quoted order to ,william ,q4 ,judge of ,december1 #ahhh1 and with the order of ,april #ast1 #ahia1 to ,annie ,besant1 as well as with the written declaration of ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 in a letter to ,william ,q4 ,judge dated ,march #bgth1 #ahia1 which we now here have read1 in which she wrote that ,annie ,besant should be so considered4 ,the order of ,april #ast1 #ahia1 is as follows3-- ,i hereby appoint1 in the name of the ,master1 ,annie ,besant ,chief ,secretary of the ,inner ,group of the ,esoteric ,section and ,recorder of the ,teachings4#bb ,h4 ,p4 ,b41 asterism dots ,finally1 we--the ,council--declared over our signatures that from henceforth with ,annie ,besant and ,william ,q4 ,judge rest the full charge and management of the ,school4 ,thus did the ,council establish the ,dual ,headship1 and until her meeting with ,mr4 ----1 two years later1 and her subsequent visit to ,india1 ,mrs4 ,besant continued to work harmoniously with ,mr4 ,judge in the management of the ,school4 ,a full report of this ,council meeting was immediately sent out to the whole ,e4 ,s41 bearing the date ,may #bgth1 #ahia4 ,attached to it was an ,address signed by ,mrs4 ,besant and ,mr4 ,judge as joint ,outer ,heads1 declaring that these changes in the ,constitution of the ,school having been made by the joint ,councils of the ,e4 ,s4 ,t4 7,italics mine4--,a4 ,l4 ,c471 they considered it their duty to issue this address to each member4 ,the one error1 and the foundation of all subsequent ones1 as ,i subsequently realised1 was that of speaking of themselves as ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's agents and representatives after her departure2 for there is nothing whatever in the wording of the abovementioned official appointments which even suggests such a contingency4 ,both obviously could refer to the holders of them only during ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's life-time4 ,indeed1 ,mr4 ,judge's was made when the ,school was founded1 and had been operative ever since2 while ,mrs4 ,besant's was merely an official confirmation of a secretarial office she had filled since the formation of the ,i4 ,g4 scarcely nine months previously 7thus giving her the precedence of ,mr4 ,mead47 ,it will be seen1 however1 that ,mr4 ,judge's appointment was a far more important one than ,mrs4 ,besant's1 and was conferred on him in virtue of his character as a chela of thirteen years' standing2 whereas ,mrs4 ,besant had been on probation only1 for barely a year4 ,moreover1 when ,mr4 ,judge became the object of attacks in #ahhi1 ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 issued the following very significant notice3-- ,,london1 ,october #bcrd1 #ahhi4 ,the ,esoteric ,section and its life in the ,u4 ,s4 ,a4 depends upon ,w4 ,q4 ,j4 remaining its agent and what he is now4 ,the day ,w4 ,q4 ,j4 resigns ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 will be virtually dead for the ,americans4 ,w4 ,q4 ,j4 is the ,antaskarana between the two ,manas7es71 the ,american thought and the ,indian--or rather the trans-,himlayan esoteric knowledge4 ,dixi4 ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 asterism dots ,p4 ,s4--,w4 ,q4 ,j4 had better show and impress this on the mind of all those it may concern4 ,this notice appeared in an ,e4 ,s4 paper issued by ,mrs4 ,besant and ,mr4 ,judge1 dated ,july #ahth1 #ahid1 when ,mrs4 ,besant was already implicated in the plot against ,mr4 ,judge4 ,mrs4 ,besant's appointment1 given above1 was the only official one she ever received from ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 in either the ,e4 ,s4 or ,t4 ,s4 ,certainly ,i never heard of anything else4 ,the absolutely ,jesuitical nature of her methods is patent1 in that she completely ignores the documentary facts set forth above4 ,to read the present statements it might be imagined that ,mr4 ,judge hardly existed at that time1 except as an obscure person who1 as ,mr4 ,kunz tactfully 767 puts it1 made an unfortunate blunder4 ,as ,i have shown elsewhere 7see ante pp #e1 #gj72 it is the fact that blunders--and worse than blunders--were made after ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's death 7see ante p4 #hf72 but ,mrs4 ,besant's blunders were far more serious than ,mr4 ,judge's2 though both of them were1 in the first instance1 misled by others1 whose real aim was to disrupt the ,society and defeat ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's work4 ,i possess a copy of the previously mentioned most valuable ,preliminary ,memorandum to ,instructions ,,iii1 as issued by ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 to her students2 and a prefatory note states3-- ,the following ,preliminary ,memorandum was written by ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 at the time of a grave crisis1 or rather series of crises1 through which the ,t4 ,s4 passed in #ahhi-ij4 ,treachery within the ,e4 ,s4 itself1 and persistent and relentless attacks on the ,t4 ,s4 from without1 especially in ,america necessitated the striking of a fresh keynote and giving directions for the closing up of the ranks of the ,e4 ,s4 ,at the time of reprinting the ,instructions in ,london in #ahij-ia1 certain portions of this ,preliminary ,memorandum dealing with the details of the matter were purposely omitted by those of ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's pupils who were constituted the editors ,mrs4 ,besant and ,mr4 ,mead1 these portions being deemed by them of too personal a character to remain4 ,this was done when ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 was too ill to supervise1 without her sanction1 and1 as she afterwards said1 much against her wishes4 ,some of the details omitted related to attacks on ,mr4 ,judge1 and the duty of defending him when the time comes4 ,similarly1 ,mr4 ,mead omitted from his third and revised edition of ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's ,key to ,theosophy1 published in #ahic1 most of the part in which the author deals with the ,report of the ,society for ,psychical ,research1 classing it with passages of a controversial nature1 which are no longer of general interest4 ,yet the public at large still accept this ,report as a proof that ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 was a fraud1 a charlatan1 and a ,russian spy6 ,another feature of this edition1 as of others of her works produced after her death1 is what he calls a systematic use of italics and capitals4 ,this means that he abandons ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's extremely effective use of large and small capitals and italics to emphasise the importance of words like ,,mysteries1 ,,occultism1 ,,wisdom-,,religion1 etc41 or ,,self1 ,self1 and ,self to indicate the three different selves in man1 and so robs her text of much of its emphasis and meaning4 ,one has to compare her editions with these posthumos ounes to realise the extent to which this has been done4 ,it is particularly noticeable in ,the ,voice of the ,silence1 where the exact meaning often depends on the distinctions ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 thus makes4 7,see her article on ,occultism quoted ante p4 #ca74 ,,conclusion4 ,if the ,back to ,blavatsky movement accomplishes nothing else1 let us hope it may succeed in getting rid of all this vandalism and re-establishing ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's works on their original basis1 that she may go down to posterity on her own merits and not altered and distorted by the brain-mind notions of her followers4 ,some of this work is already being done by organisations or private enterprise1 but it needs to be systematised and co-ordinated4#bc ,although the door had to be shut at the end of #ahii1 ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 in her last paragraph of the ,key to ,theosophy expressed the hope that1 when the time comes for the effort of the twentieth century i4e41 in #aige1 besides a large and accessible literature ready to men's hands1 the next impulse will find a numerous and united body of people ready to welcome the new ,torch-bearer of ,truth4 ,it has been my painful task to show how lamentably we have failed to realise her hopes4 ,the united body she sacrificed so much to create and hold together1 was disrupted barely four years after her death2 the main body under the ,besant-,leadbeater rgime is following strange gods2 while the great literary legacy left by ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 has not only been seriously tampered with1 but even largely superseded and obscured by books which will certainly not be of any assistance to the next ,torch-,bearer4 ,some years ago ,i founded an ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 ,lending ,library with my original editions of her works1 and others that are reliable and in line with her teaching4 ,it has already done much good1 especially among those who have been misled and kept in ignorance of them4 ,if others would do the same we can in time hope to stem the tide of evil and error1 and preserve ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's message untainted until #aige4 ,it is now within the life-span of our younger students1 many of whom1 as the children of ,theosophists1 have been brought up on the teachings and will bridge the gap for us4 ,the bridging of this gap1 however1 has been rendered more difficult than it should have been2 first1 by the failure of the ,t4 ,s4 as a living spiritual force in the world2 and second1 by the sinister activities of this ill-omened partnership which almost immediately followed4 ,the whole tragic and dreadful history1 fragments only of which ,i have been able to give in this brief examination1 proves what incalculable harm ,leadbeaterism is working on the minds of the rising generation4 ,not only is he the virtual director of ,mrs4 ,besant's ,society1 but he has completely infected her mind with his soul-destroying teachings4 ,hers is the real responsibility1 therefore#bd2 and hers the karma of ruining ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's life-work1 and carrying with her in her fall thousands upon thousands of honest1 but too credulous and easily deceived souls along the broad and flowery road leading to destruction4 ,as ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 says in concluding her ,occultism versus the ,occult ,arts3--,if1 while turning their backs on the narrow gate1 they are dragged by their desire for the ,occult one step in the direction of the broad and more inviting ,gates of that golden mystery which glitters in the light of illusion1 woe to them6 ,it can lead only to ,dugpa-ship1 and they will be sure to find themselves very soon landed on that ,via ,fatale of the ,inferno1 over whose portal ,dante read the words3-- ,per me si va nella citt dolente ,per me si va nell'eterno dolore ,per me si va tra la perduta gente4 ,,footnotes3 #ba ,how unexpected was the manner of her passing may be gathered from the fact that she was1 at that very time1 building a little occult room next to her own1 of a particular shape and structure1 in which each of her pupils was to sit--alone--for development1 under special conditions and under observation4 ,the tiny roof was to be of dark blue glass1 of which ,i still possess a small piece of the colour ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 had finally selected4 #bb ,these orders are here reproduced exactly as printed in the ,e4 ,s4 paper4 ,it should be noted that the one relating to ,mr4 ,judge is in larger type than the other4 ,the triangle formed of asterisks 4994 after the words regard are to be given indicates that ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 is there endorsed by an ,initiate of a higher grade4 ,it will also be noticed that the dots forming the triangle after her signature differ in size in the two orders4 ,in a note in the ,voice of the ,silence to the words ,thyself and mind1 like twins upon a line1 the star which is thy goal burns overhead ,h4 ,p4 ,b4 says ,every stage of development in ,raja-,yoga is symbolised by a geometrical figure4 ,this one is the sacred ,triangle i4e41 asterism dots and precedes ,dharana4 ,the triangle is the sign of the high chelas1 while another kind of triangle is that of high ,initiates4 ,the asterism dots is also used in ,freemasonry to denote certain high degrees4 #bc ,it is only fair to give ,mrs4 ,tingley's ,organisation credit for the good work it is doing in publishing accurate reprints of ,h4 ,p4 ,b4's works with all the references carefully checked1 but none of her own writing tampered with4 ,now that the #ahhh edition of ,the ,secret ,doctrine is so scarce1 students will be glad to know that an unaltered reprint can now be had instead of the ,besant corruption4 ,the reprint of ,isis ,unveiled1 with the addition of an excellent ,index1 has long been wanted2 and the original paging has been preserved1 so that the ,index also serves for the original edition4 ,it is to be regretted that these reprints are prefaced by an account of the ,theosophical ,movement from ,mrs4 ,tingley's point of view1 which is inaccurate and misleading4 ,however1 this is easily removed4 #bd ,in a letter from a ,master to a friend occur these words3--,you are responsible for the influence that you permit others to exert over you4 ,,addendum4 ,the ,australian ,crisis4 ,the official account of the events in ,australia last spring reached me too late to include in its proper place 7ante1 p4 #d71 but its importance as the latest phase of the ,leadbeater scandal demands quotation of the principal details4 ,australia has been the scene of ,mr4 ,leadbeater's activities since the ,madras lawsuits 7ante1 p4 #ci7 made ,india too hot for him in #aiac4 ,needless to say1 the same scandals were repeated there1 and finally brought about a crisis at the ,t4 ,s4 ,convention last ,easter in ,sydney4 ,two of ,mr4 ,leadbeater's ,indian pupils1 ,krishnamurti 7see ante1 p4 #ab7 and ,jinarajadasa1 secured a vote of confidence in ,mrs4 ,besant and ,mr4 ,leadbeater which roused strong opposition4 ,i quote from a long circular letter issued to the members by one of the opposition1 ,mr4 ,j4 ,m4 ,prentice1 of ,hobart1 who is evidently a leading officer4 ,it is dated ,may #bh1 #aibb4 ,,mrs4 ,,besant ,,refuses ,,an ,,enquiry4 ,soon after ,convention ,mrs4 ,besant arrived in ,sydney from ,india a very worried and angry woman4 ,at the ,sydney ,lodge she spoke on the lines of ,judge not that ye be not judged1 and made it thoroughly apparent that she was not in favour of anything in the nature of an ,enquiry4 ,during the ,convention ,leadbeater had issued a special statement to the ,e4 ,s4 ,t4 which led to its expulsion from the ,sydney ,lodge building4 ,it was this that had finally angered ,mrs4 ,besant to boiling point4444 ,she expressed a wish to meet the ,lodge ,committee and talk over the difficulties4 ,there was a three-hour conference that led nowhere4 ,i am told that she was helpless to a point of pathos4 ,she denied everything as far as ,leadbeater and ,wedgwood see ante1 p4 #fb were1 concerned1 and refused to consider anything in the nature of an ,enquiry4 ,she read from old files of the ,theosophist how ,leadbeater had been rehabilitated1 but a member of the ,executive challenged her with more recent happenings1 to which she could only reply that she did not believe them4 ,a ,,terrific ,,press ,,criticism4 ,two days later the ,daily ,telegraph came out with a tremendous attack on the ,liberal ,catholic ,church4 ,the result was terrific4 ,at the members' meeting that night feeling ran very high4 ,the ,telegraph had a reporter present and came out with six or seven columns under heavily leaded headlines4 ,moreover this information was disseminated to all the papers the ,telegraph is correspondent for4 ,the result is that irreparable damage has been done to ,theosophy and the ,society2 although the ablest papers are willing to admit that there is still a minority genuinely fighting for sanity and cleanness in the ,t4 ,s4 ,,government ,,enquiry ,,instituted4 ,the ,government has now instituted an ,enquiry1 but so far ,i do not know the scope of its intention4 ,i have been told by telegram that the ,leadbeater boys have been examined or interrogated4444 ,one of the latest developments was when ,mr4 ,a4 ,b4 ,piddington1 a leading barrister and ,k4 ,c4 of ,sydney1 resigned from the ,presidency of the ,public ,questions ,society of ,sydney ,university rather than meet ,mrs4 ,besant at a public address which she proposed to give to the members4 ,he has addressed a scathing letter to the ,telegraph1 or rather released for publication his letter of resignation1 which is a remarkable summing-up of the position4 ,,mr4 ,,piddington1 ,k4 ,c4',s ,,opinion4 ,the following are the chief points made by this gentleman1 who is not a member of the ,t4 ,s41 and therefore represents an impartial legal and public view of the moral issue at stake3-- ,my resignation is based on the ground that the ,society ought to withdraw its invitation to ,mrs4 ,besant until the matters involved in her defence of ,mr4 ,c4 ,w4 ,leadbeater have been settled by a trustworthy tribunal4 ,grave allegations were recently made against ,mr4 ,leadbeater by ,mr4 ,martyn see ante1 p4 #ah1 for his letter to ,mrs4 ,besant1 and ,mr4 ,leadbeater's precept and practice in the training of boys have been quoted4 ,mr4 ,martyn is supported by other reputable ,australians4 ,before landing here1 and since1 ,mrs4 ,besant has refused any inquiry into these matters1 and taken up positions which1 in a teacher of morals disentitle her to be heard by an undergraduate society which exists for the pursuit of truth4 ,these positions are3-- #a4 ,that there is a class of beings so high in the religious order that to accuse them is presumption on the part of the common people4 ,indeed accusations are 'persecution1' which proves the sanctity of these higher beings1 and is 7in ,mrs4 ,besant's words7 the seal of their apostolate4 #b4 ,mrs4 ,besant refers ,mr4 ,leadbeater's challengers to the courts1 though to propagate in private the abominable tenet held by him does not constitute an offence against any law1 but only against common decency as understood by ordinary men4 #c4 ,she writes that she does not believe1 and will not discuss ,mr4 ,martyn's allegations1 though she writes from ,india of what ,mr4 ,martyn says happened in his own home in ,sydney4 ,if these are good reasons for refusing to hold an inquiry1 then immorality can be safely taught and practised in high places so long as the teacher belongs to ,mrs4 ,besant's way of thinking4 ,from the public point of view such a claim cuts the ground from all morals4 ,in her letter to the ,daily ,telegraph of ,sydney for ,may #ah1 ,mrs4 ,besant asks the public to believe that ,mr4 ,leadbeater has to meet charges relating to #aijf see ante1 p4 #bg1 and disposed of 8 by some private investigation in #aijh4 ,the fact is ignored that ,mr4 ,martyn's accusations relate to conduct since #aiad1 ,worse than this1 the fact is suppressed that ,mrs4 ,besant in #aiac was herself ordered by the ,madras ,high ,court to return to their father two boys whom she insisted in placing in ,mr4 ,leadbeater's care1 in spite of the father's protest4 ,see ante1 p4 #dj 444 ,mr4 ,justice ,bakewell said that1 from ,leadbeater's evidence1 he was certainly an immoral person1 and highly unfit to be in charge of the boys4 ,he also found that ,mrs4 ,besant had violated her stipulation made with the father before parting with the boys1 that they should have nothing to do with ,mr4 ,leadbeater4 7,london ,times1 ,march #h1 #aiac47 ,in the following year ,mr4 ,leadbeater came to ,australia and now trains ,australian boys4 ,mrs4 ,besant lent herself and her oratory to the acquittal1 without evidence1 of ,mr4 ,leadbeater at a public meeting 444 ,in my view it is as bad to rescue a man from public justice 7which is a wider term than criminal law7 by the exercise of a dominating personal veto1 as it is to do it by money or social or any other 'influence'--'influence' which is the bane of any system of justice4444 ,she may effect a master-stroke of salvage1 but she offends every canon of fairplay1 let alone of that ordinary morality by which all men1 high or humble1 must be content to be judged4 ,these sombre facts stand out3-- #a4 ,mrs4 ,besant's chief colleague has stated as late as #aiac in open court that he still believed in teaching a detestable vice to boys1 which he had previously taught them4 #b4 ,an ,english ,judge for this reason declared him to be an immoral person4 #c4 ,mr4 ,martyn accused ,mr4 ,leadbeater of being still what the ,english judge said of him1 and alleged fact upon fact in support of this4 #d4 ,mrs4 ,besant has shielded ,mr4 ,leadbeater from inquiry4 #e4 ,mr4 ,leadbeater says nothing4 ,,an ,,indictment ,,of ,,mrs4 ,,besant ,,by ,a ,,resigning ,,member ,,of ,,her ,e4 ,s4 ,further very recent testimony and criticism is furnished by a letter of resignation from ,mrs4 ,besant's ,esoteric ,school by ,mr4 ,hugh ,r4 ,gillespie1 of ,krotona1 ,california1 one of the strongholds of the ,liberal ,catholic ,church4 ,the letter1 dated ,may #bi1 is printed in the ,o4 ,e4 ,critic of ,august #af1 and the ,editor in a prefatory note says3-- ,the writer 444 is well-known to ,theosophists of three continents as a lecturer and as a fearless1 persistent and uncompromising fighter for honesty and cleanness in the ,t4 ,s4 ,for almost three years he was attached to ,adyar as architect and sanitary engineer4444 ,he was at ,adyar during the trial of the ,cases in the ,madras courts and saw the whole sordid drama in action4 ,during this period he had abundant opportunity for getting light1 as well as sidelights1 on the working of the ,adyar machine and on the personal peculiarities of the gods and demigods of the ,theosophical ,olympus4 ,later he was resident three years at ,krotona1 where similar opportunities were not lacking4 ,mr4 ,gillespie writes that he resigns as a protest against the actions and utterances of ,mrs4 ,besant as ,outer ,head of the ,e4 ,s4 and ,president of the ,t4 ,s41 and continues3-- ,these actions and utterances have1 since her assumption of the above mentioned positions1 been of such a character that1 to use the words of ,h4 ,p4 ,b41 the ,theosophical ,society is 444 being made a spectacle to the world through the exaggerations of some fanatics1 and the attempt of various charlatans to profit by a ready-made programme4 ,these1 by disfiguring and adapting ,occultism to their own filthy and immoral ends bring disgrace on the whole movement4 ,as a result of ,mrs4 ,besant's methods we learn that the ,t4 ,s4 and ,e4 ,s4 in almost every section is seething with dissension4 ,england1 ,australia and ,america are racked and torn2 ,germany is split2 ,finland is shattered1 and the closing of the ,e4 ,s4 for some four years in ,switzerland indicates the conditions there4 ,mrs4 ,besant's arrogance and vanity in office and her lack of dignity1 as exemplified in her ridiculous ,whom will ye serve8 tirade1 and her letter of ,march1 #aibb1 have drawn the attention of the great ,london weekly ,truth1 and in its pages the ,t4 ,s4 is held up to the scorn and ridicule of the world4 ,i have dealt with these under the heading of ,mrs ,besant's ,latest ,assertions and ,claims ,examined4--,a4 ,l4 ,c4 ,so far as the ,e4 ,s4 is concerned1 my experience of its working under ,mrs4 ,besant in ,australia1 ,adyar1 ,england1 and ,america enable me to assert that it is nothing but a political machine used for the purpose of securing the ascendancy of ,mrs4 ,besant in the various bodies to which ,e4 ,s4 members have gained access4 ,i would draw particular attention to this important statement4 ,it is especially true of ,india1 which is the principal scene of her political activities4--,a4 ,l4 ,c4 444 ,mrs4 ,besant's parade of thrusting the ,l4 ,c4 ,c4 out of the ,t4 ,s4 door while bringing it in by the ,e4 ,s4 window1 added to her condonement of the vile practices of the ,l4 ,c4 ,c4 bishops and priests1 fall little short of a betrayal of the ,t ,s4 and could only be adequately met by her resignation from all office4444 ,,bibliography4 ,the ,secret ,doctrine4 ,london1 #ahhh4 ,the ,key to ,theosophy and ,the ,voice of the ,silence4 ,london #ahhi4 ,the ,theosophical ,glossary4 ,london1 #ahib4 ,practical ,occultism ,reprint1 ,london1 #aiba4--;,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky4 ,mrs4 ,besant and the ,present ,crisis in the ,theosophical ,society4 ,with a ,prefatory ,letter by ,m4 ,edouard ,schur4 ,london1 #aiac4--;,eugne ,lvy4 ,the ,central ,hindu ,college and ,mrs4 ,besant4 7,the ,rise of the ,alcyone ,cult47 ,chicago1 #aiac4--;,bhagavan ,das4 ,reminiscences of ,h4 ,p4 ,blavatsky and ,the ,secret ,doctrine4 ,london1 #ahic--;,countess ,constance ,wachtmeister4 ,,printed ,,by ,,thacker1 ,,spink ,,co ,,calcutta 99 99 99 99 99 ,,transcriber',s ,,notes ,this text is full of typographical errors 7wrong spelling and unmatched brackets and quotation marks1 reference to italics when there are none74 ,since these are really a characteristic of the text1 ,i have left them unchanged4 ,the asterisms on p4 #he and in footnote #bb are represented in the text version as 4994 and the asterisms-with dots on the same page and in the same footnote are represented by asterism dots2 the triangle on p4 #hf is indicated by triangle in the text version4 ,words in bold are indicated by the markup 4 ,the word ,self in small capitals is indicated by the markup ,self4