NOTICE.------» -----

THE Manager of the Theosophist wishes to draw particular attention to the alterations in and additions to the list of books for this month. Since much may often be very pleasantly

and easily learnt from Occult Stories, a, special heading has been opened for them ; and as it ia frequently of great importance for a man (especially if engaged in teaching, or in the study of law or medicine) to be able at a glance to form an estimate of the character, temperament, and capabilities of those with whom he is brought into cbntact, some space has also been devoted to Character-Reading, and books treating of all the various methods employed for this end will be found under that heading.

B O O K S N E W L Y A R R IV ED .Heads and Faces. The latest and most popular book of its kind, combining the sciences

of Phrenology and Physiognomy in such a manner as, with the help of the numerous illus­trations, to render the path of the student of this fascinating subject as easy as possible. Its size and appearance will surprise the purchaser; it contains 184 pp. largo 8vo. (moro matter than many books at double its cost) and 188 illustrations—mauy of them portraits of distinguished men-—and is altogether really a wonderful work for its pride—quito the . cheapest ever published on the subject: whilo the fact that the author is tho celebrated Pro­fessor Nelson Sizer is a guarantee of its accuracy. I t was published only three months ago in^America, and has already had an enormous salo there.

Indications of Character in the Head and Face, By H. s. Drayton, M. D. A work on the samo subject by another author, and consequently valuable for comparison with the last.

AcrOSS the Zodiac: a Story in 2 vols., by Percy Greg. This is a most remarkable occult novel. Every ono will read with pleasure and profit its ingenious description of life in another planet and under entirely different conditions ; while students of Occultism cannot fail to be deeply interested in the account of the mystic Brotherhood of the Silver Star and its initiations. This edition was originally published a t a guinea, but the few remaining copies are now offered at a much reduced price.

The Wonderful Story of Ravallette, by P. B. Randolph. This book well deserves its title of “ The Wonderful Story;” and those who once read it will never forget it. Some of its descriptions of magical performances are Btartlingly correct and very suggestive, though the magic employed is more of the black than tho w hite order.

The Virgin Of the World. (See articles on £p. 95 and 153 of the Theosophist). A few damaged copies of this rare work are still for salo as advertised.

Zoroaster, a high-class Occult Story by F. Marion Crawford, author of tho well known “ Mr. Isaacs.’* I t was so fully reviewed in theJDecember Magazine that no more need be said here.

The Aim of Life, by Siddliesvar Ghosh. A useful book giving instructions how to prolong life.

Hints on Esoteric Theosophy in Urdu, by Thakur Ganesh Singh. I t is a very usefulbook for Urdu knowing people who are ignorant of English.

The Sankhya Karika of Iswara Krishna ; an exposition of the system of Kapila, with an appendix on tho Nyaya and Vaiseshika systems : by John Davies. In this book the learned author exhibits “ the connection of tho Sankhya system with the philosophy of Spinoza, and tho connection of tho system of Kapila with that of Schopenhauer and Von Hartmann.” I t is a valuable addition to a philosophical library.

The Birth Of the War-God, by Kalidasa, translated by Professor Ralph T. II. Griffith. A very spirited rendering of the Kumdrasambhava, well known to all who are interested in Indian literature.

The Sarva-Darsana-Samgraha, or Roview of the different systems of Ilindu Philosophy, by Madhava Aoharya : translated by Professors Cowell and Gough. In this book the author passes in review tho sixteen philosophical systems current in the fourteenth century in the South of India, giving what appear to him to be their most important tenets, and the principal arguments by which their followers endeavoured to maintain them.

Modern India and the Indians, (with illustrations and map) by Professor MonierWilliailig. A much enlarged edition of a well known book, containing tho impressions of an ablo and thoughtful man on some of the most important questions relating to the Empire of India.

History of Indian Literature, by Professor Albrecht Weber. Perhaps the most compre­hensive and lucid survey of Sanskrit literature extant, though unfortunately somewhat partisan —-especially useful to students in our Indian Colleges and Universities.

Indian Poetry, containing the Oita Govinda of Jayadeva, two books from the Mahabharat,at the Hitopadesa, and other Oriental poems, by Edwin Arnold, C. S. I. A volume by the talented author of The Light of Asia, whose name needs no introduction to lovers of high-class English poetry.

Intending purchasers of any of the abovo books should apply early, as orders will be executed strictly in rotation aB received, preference being given to thoso accompanied by remittance.

The Indian Press Guide'and Eastern Advertiser’s Hand-book, by Tom Luker, Sub- Editor, Madras Mail—Tho work is a useful pne for person wishing to advertise in Indian Newspapers with postage Re, t <

s i r

T H E

T H E O S O P H I S TA M A G A Z IN E O F

O R IE N T A L P H IL O S O P H Y , A R T , L IT E R A T U R E A N D O C C U L T ISM .

C o n d u c t e d by H. P . B la .v a ts k y .

V o l . V I I . No. 79.— A p r i l 1886.

P ao s .

I . Jacob Boehme and the Secret D octrine . . . . . . 4 HI I . Occult or E x ac t S c ie n c e ? ......................... ■••• ,\>}2

I I I . K iraenis .......... ■■••••....... ......................................... ....IV Som e cases of Ceremonial M agi ..... . . . . . . . . , ,

V . A hura M azd and the Amesh . S p e n t a s . . . 4 ^VI.' S a rth an th ik a Sam adhi ............ ..........................................

V I I . M ystic R e v e r ie s ............... ....... ••••■................... " 4 5 1

V I I I . T he R osicrucians ........ ..........»•••••• • 46JIX . T he Goddess D u rg a ............ ••••• 4 g 3

X LI S I S ' S £ » AJgoonahj* T h e Sphinx" ” ]!! 477

S — S : A s t ^ o g y i Tobacco B m o k i n ^ ^

S u p p le m e n t ..........................................................................

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THE THEOSOPHIST.

V o l. V II. No. 79.— A pril 1886,

*\

THERE I S NO RELI GI ON HI GHER THAN TRUTH.

[Family motto cf the Maharajahs of Benares.]

JA C O B B O E H M E A N D T H E S E C R E T D O C T R IN E .

JACOB Boehme (or as somo say Behmen) was a Germ an m ystic and sp iritua list who began to w rite in th e 17th century . Iu

h is works he inserted a p ic tu re of an angel blow ing a trum pet, from w hich issued these w o rd s : “ To all C hristians, Jew s,T urks and H eathens, to all th e nations of th e e a rth th is T rum ­p e t sounds for the la s t tim e.” In tru th it was a curious emblem, bufc lie, th e au thor, was a m ystic, and as all experience shows, tho path, of tho m ystic is a s tran g e one. I t is, as Jo b says, a p a th which th e “ vu ltu re know eth n o t.” E ven as a b ird cleaves th e e ternal e th er, eo the m ystic advances on a p a th no t o rd inarily m anifest, a w ay w hich m ust be followed w ith care, because like th e G reat L igh t, w hich flashes fo rth and leaves only traces w hen i t re tu rn s again to its centre, only ind ications are le ft for thoso who come a fte r seek ing th e same sp iritu a l wisdom. Y et by th ese (C traces,” for such they are called in the K abbala; the way can be discerned, and th e tru th discovered.

Boehme was poor, of common b irth , and to ta lly devoid of o rd inary education. H e was only a shoem aker. Y et from tho m ind and out of th e m outh of th is u n le tte red m an came m ighty tru th s .

I t would be idle to inqu ire in to th e complications of K arm a w hich condem ned him to such a lifo as his appeared to be. I t m ust have been ex trem ely curious, because though he had g rasp ed th e tru th and was able to appreciate it, ye t a t tho same tim e ho could no t give i t out in its p erfec t form. B ut ho perform ed his w ork , and thero can bo no m anner of doubt about his succeeding in ca r­nation . As K rishna says in the B aghavad-G ita, he has been already or will shortly be “ born into a family of wise d e v o t e e s a n d thence <( he will a tta in tho h ighest w alk.”

H is life and w ritings furnish ano ther proof th a t the g re a t w isdom -religion— tho Secret D octrinc—-has nover been le ft without/

a witness. Born a Christian, he nevertheless saw th e esoteric tru th ly m g im d e r the moss and crust of centuries, and from th e € h n stian Bible ex tracted fo r h is purb lind fellows those pearls which they refused to accept. B ut he did no t g e t his know ledge from the Q h m tian Scrip tures only. B efore his in te rn a l eye th e pano­ram a t)f rea l knowledge passed. H ia in te rio r vision bein<r open lie could see tlie th in g s he had learned in a form er life, and a t first no t knowing w h at th ey w ere was stim ulated by them to construe his only sp iritual books in th e esoteric fashion. H ia brain took cognizance o f th e Book before him, b u t his sp irit a ided by his past, and perchance by th e living guard ians of th e shining lam p of tru th , could no t b u t read them arigh t.t x?- W? rk w a a C a lle d “ T h e D a w n i n g o f the E te rn a l D ay ” in th is he endeavqurs to ou tline th e -great philosophy. H e n a rra te s th e circum stances and reasons for th e angelic creation, th e ta il of its chief th ree h ierarch ies, and the awful e feo ts w hich thereupon fell upon E ternal N atu re . M ark th is, no t upon m an— fo r he was no t yet— but upon th e e te rn a l N atu re , th a t is B r a h m . 1 hen he says th a t these effects cam e abou t by reason of th e unbalancing of the seven equipoised pow ers o r forces of th e E te rn a l .Nature or B rahm . T hat is to say, th a t so long as th e seven p rin ­ciples or B rahm were in perfec t poise, there was no corporeal or m ani­fested universe. So in th e B aghavad-G ita we find th a t K rish n a tells A rju n a th a t “ a fte r the lapse of a thousand ages (or N ig h t of Brahm) all objects of developed m a tte r come fo rth from th e non- •developed principle. A t th e approach of th a t day they em anate spontaneously.” (Baghavad-Gita* C hap. 8 .) Such is th e teach in g of the Secret D octrine.

A nd again Boehme shows th e duality o f th e Suprem e Soul. F o r hesays in his w ork “ Psychologia V era cum Supplem ento” th a t thesetw o eternal principles of positive an d negative, th e yea and th en ay ot th e outspeaking Suprem e One, to g e th e r constitu te e te rn a lna tu re ,— not th e dark w orld alone, w hich is term ed th e “ roo t ofna tu re , th e two being as i t w ere com bied in perfect indissoluble union. x

This is no th in g else bu t P u rush and P ra k riti, o r tak en to g e th e r, w hat is re fe rred to in the B aghavad-G ita w here i t is s a id : 11 B u t th e re is ano ther invisible, eternal existence, superior to th is visible one, which does n o t perish when all th in g s perish . I t is called invisib le and indivisible. This is my Suprem e A bode.”• V,'ea,r^ ,^ 'e Suprem e Abode could never be in P u ru sh alone, no r m P rak riti alone, bu t in bo th w hen in d isso lu b ly united.

This schem e is adhered to a ll th ro u g h th is g re a t ph ilosopher’s works, no m a tte r w hether he is speak ing of th e g re a t U niverse o r macrocosm, or of its antitype in m an o r microcosm. In “ D e 1 nbus P rincip iis” he treats o f th e th re e princip les o r w orlds of .Nature, describ ing its eternal b ir th , its seven p roperties, and th a two co-eternal p rincip les; an d fu rtherm ore in “ De T riplici Vita, Hominis he gives the th ree-fo ld life ,of m an from w hich th e seven is again deduced.

In “ De Eloctione G ratia” h e goes in to a, sub ject th a t often p ro v es a stum bling block to m any , an d th a t is th e in evita-

bleness o f evil as w ell as of good. F rom th is i t is easy to pass to a contem plation of one of the difficult points in occultism as show n in th e S ecre t D octrine, th a t no thing is evil, and th a t even if wo adm it evil or w ickedness in man, i t is of the n a tu re of th e q u a lity o r guna, which in th e B aghavad-G ita is denom inated or r a ja foulness or bad action. E ven th is is b e tte r than the indifferent ac tio n th a t only leads to dea th . Even from w ickedness m ay and does come fo rth sp iritua l life, b u t from indifferent action comes on ly darkness, an d finally death . #

K rishna says in B aghavad-G ita , Chap. I V : tcThere are th ree k in d s of action ; first, th a t w hich is of th e natu re of Sdtycivi, or tru o ac tio n ; second, th a t w hich is of th e natu re of lia ja , or b a d a c tio n ; th ird , th a t w hich is of the n a tu re of Tamas, or ind iffe ien t action .” H e th en say s: “ A lthough thou w ert the g reatest of all offenders, thou shalt be able to cross th e gulf of sin m th o b a rk of sp iritua l w isd o m ;” and a little fa rth er on I h o ig n o ran t and th e m an w ithout fa ith , whose sp irit is full of doubt, is lost and cannot enjoy either world/* A nd in another chap te r in describ ing H im self, he says th a t he is no t only the B uddha, b u t also is th e m ost evil of m ankind or the A sura.

This is one of the m ost m ystical p a rts of the whole secret doctrine* W hile Boehme has touched on it sufficiently to show th a t he had a m em ory of it, he did no t go into the m ost occult details. I t has to be rem em bered th a t the B aghavad-G ita, and m any o ther books trea tin g on th e S ecre t D octrine, m ust b e reg a rd ed from seven points of v ie w ; an d th a t im perfect m an is not ablo to look a t i t from th e centre, w hich would give th e whole seven points a t once..

Boehm e w rote about th ir ty different treatises, all of th em devoted to g re a t sub jects, portions of th e Secret D octrine.

Curiously enough th e first tre a ted of the <( D aw n of the E te rn a l D ay ,” and the second was devoted to an elucidation of the “ T h e T hree P rincip les of M an.” In the la tte r is really to be found a sevenfold classification sim ilar to th a t w hich M r. S in n e tt p ro ­pounded in “ E soteric Buddhism .”

H e held th a t th e g rea te s t obstacle in th e p a th of m an is th e a stra l or e lem entary pow er, w hich engenders and. sustains th is w orld.

T hen he ta lk s of “ t in c tu re s / ' w hich we m ay call principles. A ccording to h im th e re are two principal ones, the watery,, and the igneous. T hese ought to be un ited in M a n ; and th ey arden tly seek each o ther continually, in order to bo identifi­ed w ith Sophia or D ivine W isdom . M any Theosophists will see in th is a clue no t only to the two princip les—or tinctures— w hicli ough t to be un ited in m an, b u t also to a law which obtains m m any of the phenom ena of m agic. B ut even if I w ere able, I shou ldno t speak on th is more clearly. ^

F o r m any inqu irers th e g rea test in te rest in these w orks will bo- found in h is hypothesis as to the b ir th of th e m ateria l U n iv e rse . On th e ©volution of m an from sp irit in to m a tte r he has much, m ore th an I could hope to glance at. I n nearly all of i t he w as outlin ing and illu stra ting the Secret D octrine, T he books ind ica ted

aro well worthy of study no t only by W estern b u t also by E as te rn m etaphysicians. *

Let us add a few sentences to Support th is hypothesis from C ount Sain t M artin , who was a devoted stud en t of these w orks.

“ Jacob Boehme took for g ra n te d the existence of an U niversal P rin c ip le ; he was persuaded th a t every th ing is connected in tho immense chain of tru th s, and th a t the E te rn a l N a tu re reposed on seven principles or bases, w hich he sometimes calls powers, form s, spiritual wheels, sources, and fountains, and th a t those seven bases exist also in th is d iso rdered m ateria l na tu re , u n d er con­stra in t. H is nom enclature, adop ted for these fundam enta l re la ­tions, ran thus : The first astringency, the second ga ll o r b itte rn ess , th e th ird anguish> the fourth fire, th e fifth ligh t, th e six th sound , and th e seventh he called B e i n g or th e th ing itse lf

The reader m ay have begun to th in k the au th o r d id no t rig h tly com prehend the first six b u t his definition of th e seven th shows he was r ig h t th roughout, an d we m ay conclude th e rea l m eanings are concealed under these nam es.

“ The th ird principle, anguish, a tten u a tes th e astringent one, tu rn s i t into w ater, and allows a passage to fire, w hich was sh u t up in the a s trin g en t principle.”

T here are in th is m any suggestions and a pu rsu it of them will repay the studen t.

“ Now the D ivine Sophia caused a new o rd er to ta k e b ir th in the cen tre of our system , and th e re bu rn ed our sun ; from th a t do come fo rth all kinds of qualities, form s and pow ers. This cen tre is the S epara to r.” I t is well know n th a t from th e sun was tak en by th e ancients all k inds of power ; and if we m istake no t, th e H indus claim th a t when th e F a th e rs en te r in to P ara-N irv an a , th e ir accum ulated goodness pours itse lf ou t on th e w orld th ro u g h th e “ Door o f the S u n ”

Tho B aghavad-G ita says, th a t the Lord of all dwells in th e reg ion of the heart, and again th a t th is L ord is also th e S un of th e world,

“ The earth is a condensation of the seven prim ordial princip les, an d by th e w ithdraw al of eternal lig h t th is became a d a rk v&l^ey.,, I t is ta u g h t in tho East, th a t th is . world is a valley and th a t wd are iu it, our bodies reaching to the moon, being condensed to hardness a t th e point where we are on the earth , thus becoming' visible to th e eye of man; T here is a m ystery in th is statiem ent, b u t not such an ono as cannot be unravelled.

Boehm e proceeds : (t W hen tho lig h t m astered th e fire a t tho place of the sun, the terrible shock of the b a ttle engendered an igneous eruption by which th e re shot fo rth from th e sun a flboriny and frigh tfu l flash of fire— M ars. Tak^n captive by lig h t i t assumed a place, and th ere i t s trugg les furiously, a p rick in g * goad, whose office is to ag ita te all n a tu re , p roducing reaction . I t is the gall of nature. The gracious, am iable L igh t, h av in g en­chained unerupted M&rs,' proceeded by its own pow er to tho bottom or end of the rig id ity of Natiirfc, w hence unable to p ro ­ceed fu rth e r it stopped, and becam e co rpo rea l; rem ain ing th e re

i t warm s th a t place, and although a va let m N a tu re , ifc is th o source of sw eetness and th e m oderator of .Mars.

“ S a tu rn does no t originate from th e sun, b u t was p roduced from th e severe a s trin g en t anguish of the whole body of th is U n i­verse. A bove Ju p ite r th e sun could no t m itigate th e horro r, an I o u t of th a t arose S a tu rn , who is tho opposite of m eekness, a n d who produces w hatever of rig id ity th e re is in crcatures, m c u d m g bones, and w hat in m oral na tu re corresponds thereto . (Ihisi is a ll the h ig h est astro logy, from one w ho had no know ledge of it) .« As in the S un is the heart of life, so by Saturn com m enceth all corporeal n a tu re . T hus in these tw o resides the pow er of th e whole un iversal body, a,nd w ithout th e ir power there could be nocreation nor any corporification.

“ V enus originates in effluvia from th e Sun. She lig h ts th e unctuosity of th e w ater of th e U niverse, penetrates hardness, a n denkindles love. ■ , , ,

"M erc u ry is th e chief w orker m th e p lanetary w heel; he issound, and w akes up th e germ s in every th ing . H is o rig intho trium ph of L ig h t over A stringency (in which sound was sh u tup silent), se t free th e sound by th e a tten u a tio n of th e a s tr in g e n t

^ I t is certain th a t if th is peculiar s ta tem ont reg a rd in g M crcury is understood, tho stu d en t will have gained a high p o in t of knowledge. A seductive b a it is here held out to those striv in g d is- cinles who so earnestly desire to hold converse w ith th e e lem enta l w orld. B u t th e re is no danger, for all tho avenues a re v e ry secret and only th e pu re can prevail in th e prelim inary steps.

Boehme says a g a in : “ The M ercury is im pregnated and fe dcontinually by tho solar su b s tan ce ; th a t in i t is found th e know ­ledge of w h at was in the. o rder above, before L ig h t h ad p en e ­tra te d to th e solar cen tre .” .

As to th e Moon, i t is curious to note th a t h e says, she w as p ro ­duced from th e sun itself, a t th e tim e of his becom ing m ateria l, and th a t th e moon is his spouse.’ S tu d en ts of th e sto ry of A dam being m ade to sleep a fte r his c rea tion and before coats of sk in were g iven , w hen Eve was produced from his side, will hnd m

^ T h o a ib o v e is no t by any m eans a com plete sta tem ent of Boolnne’s system . In order to do ju stice to it, a full analysis of all h is w orks should be undertaken . H ow ever, i t is sufficient if th o u g h t­fu l m inds who have n o t : read Boehm e, shall tu rn to him a l te r read in g th is, or if b u t one earnest re a d e r of his works, or seek er a fte r wisdom, shall receive even a h in t th a t may lead to a clearing up of doubts, or to the acquisition of one new idea. C ount bamfc M artin continually read h im ; and th e m erest glance a t t t e “ T h e o so p h ie Correspondence or, M an— H is N a tu re , Ac., o f S a in t M artin , will show th a t from th a t s tudy he lea rned m uch . H ow m uch more then will the W estern m ind be aided by th o lig h t shed on both by th e lam p of Theosophical teachings.

“ L e t tho desire of th e pious be fulfilled.W illiam Q. J udge,

O C C U LT OB E X A C T S C IE N C E ?JjJCCE S ig m im ! Behold th e sign foreseen in a b rig h te r fu tu re :

^ *lie problem th a t will be the question of th e forthcom ing age, th a t every thoughtfu l, ea rn est fa th er will be ask ing himself w ith reg a rd to his ch ild ren ’s education in th e X X tli cen­tury. A nd le t i t be sta ted a t oiice, th a t by " Occult Science” neither the life of a chela nor th e austerities of an ascetic fire here m ean t; b u t sim ply the study of th a t w hich alone can furn ish th e key to the m ysteries of nature , and unveil the problem s of th e universe and of psycho-physical m an— even though one should no t feel inclined to go any deeper.

E very ngw discovery m ade by m odern science vindicates th e tru th s of th e archaic philosophy. The tru e occultist is acquain ted with no single problem th a t esoteric science is unable to solve, iff f p r i n the rigtfc direcfcion > th e scientific bodies of the W est have as y e t no phenom enon of na tu ra l science th a t they can fathom to its innerm ost depths, or explain in fill its aspects. E x ac t science fails to do so— in th is cycle, for reasons th a t will be g iven fu rth e r on. N evertheless the p ride of th e a°*e, which revolts against the in trusion in to th e em pire of science°of

especially of transcenden tal— tru th s , is grow ing every year more in to lerant. Soon tho world will bohold i t soaring in tlie clouds of self-sufficiency like a new tow er of Babel, to share, perchance, th e fate of the B iblical monum ent.

In a recen t scientific work on A nthropology ,* one can read the follow ing: “ I t is then given to us, a t last, to know (?), to g rasp , to handle and m easure the forces th ro u g h w hich it is claim ed, th a t God p roceeded ...W e have m ade e lectric ity our postm an, ligh t our draughtsm an, affinity our journeym an ,” etc., etc. This is in a F rench work. One who knows som ething of th e perp lex ities of exact science, of the m istakes and daily confessions of h e r staff, feels .inclined, after read in g such pompous stuff, to

exclaim w ith the m alcontent of the B ib le : T ra d id it m undum n t non sc ian t, Y erily— “ the world was delivered to them th a t theu should never know i t.” . How likely th e scientists are to succeed in th is direction m ay bo

inferred f;rom the fact th a t the g rea t H um boldt him self could g iv e expression to such erroneous axioms as th is one : ” Science beg ins io r m an only ivheii his mind has m astered M atter !” f T he w ord f sp irit * fo r <e m a tte r” m ight perhaps have expressed a g re a te r

tru th . B u t M . Renan would no t hav& com plim ented thovenerabld au tho r of the KosmOs in th e term s he did, h ad th e te rm m atte r been replaced by spirit.

1 in tend to give a few illustrations to show th a t tho know ledge of m atter alone, with the quondam " im p o n d e rab le” forces—• w hatever the* adjective may have m ean t w ith the F ren ch A cadem y an d Royal Society a t the time i t was inven ted— is no t sufficient fo r the purposes of true science. N o r will i t ever p rove efficient to explain the sim plest phenom enon even in objective physical

* Bulletin de la Sociti6 d*Anthropologic, 3. fasc. p. 384. t Kosmos, Vol. I, pp. 3 and 70 (with same ideas.)

n atu re , le t alone tho abnorm al canes in which physio logists and biologists a t p resen t m anifest such in terest. As F a th e r Secclii, the fam ous Rom an astronom er expressed i t in his w ork,* “ I f b u ta few of th e new forces were proven, they would n ecessita te th e adm ission in th e ir dom ain (tha t of forces) of agen ts of quite another order th an those of g rav ita tio n .”

“ I have read a good deal about occultism and studied K ab b alis tic b o o k s : I have never understood one word in them !” — w as arecen t rem ark m ade b y a learned experim enter in “ thou g h t* transference ,” “ colour-sounds,” and so on.

V ery likely . One has to s tudy h i3 le tte rs before he can spell and read, or u n d erstan d w hat he reads.

Some fo rty years back, I knew a child— a little girl of seven o r e ig h t—who very seriously frigh tened h e r paren ts by sa y in g :

“ Now, m am a, I love you. Y ou are good and k in d to m e to-day. T o u r w ords are quite blue” ...

“ W h a t do you m ean?” ... asked th e m other. ; _“ Y our w ords are all b lue— because they are so caressing ,

b u t w hen you scold me they are re d ...so red ! B ut it is worse w h en you fly in a passion w ith papa for th en they are o ra n g e ...h o rr id ..*like th a t” ... .

A nd tho child pointed to tho lioartli, w ith a big ro arin g h re and huge flames in it. The m other tu rn ed pale.

A fte r th a t th e little sensitive was heard very often associa ting sounds w ith colours. The melody p layed by th e m other on tlia piano th rew h e r in to ecstacieS of d e l ig h t; she saw “ such b e a u ti­fu l rainbow s,” she explained, b u t w hen h e r aun t played, i t w as “ fire-works an d stars ,” “ b rillian t s ta rs shooting pistols-—and.th e n ...b u rs tin g ” ...

T he p a ren ts g o t frig h ten ed an d suspected som ething had gone w rong w ith th e child’s brain . The fam ily physician w as sen t for;

“ E xuberance of childish fancy,” he said. “ Innocen t halluci­n a tio n s...D o n ’t le t her d rin k tea , and m ake h e r p lay more w ith h e r little b ro th e rs— fight w ith them , and have physical exercise ...

A nd he departed . 4 ' „ , , T , x jI n a la rge R ussian city, on th e banks of the V olga, s tands an

hospital w ith A lunatic asylum a ttach ed to it. There a poor woman w as locked up for over tw en ty years—to the day of h e r d ea th in fac t— as a “ harm less” though insane patien t. N o o ther proofs of her insan ity could be found on the case-books than th e fac t th a t th e splash and m urm ur of the river-w aves produced th e finest “ God’s rainbow s” for h e r ; while the^voice of tho superin tenden t caused hor to seo “ b lack and crimson — thocolours o f the E v il one. _ . ,

A bout th a t same period, nam ely in 1810, Romotlung sim ilar to tin s phenom enon was heralded by th e F rench papers. Such an ab n o r­m al sta te of feelings—physicians tho u g h t in those days— could bo due b u t to one reason; such im pressions w henever experienced w ith ­ou t any traceable cause, denoted an ill-balanced m ind , a w eak b ra in— likely to lead its possessor to lunacy. Such was the decree of

* Bella ForzCf etc.

Spence. Tbo views of tho piously inclined, supported bv tl,,, aftrmahons of the village curcs, inclined the other way. The brain or tn V tf f f f ° WltV h°, "obsession," for it was simply the work

S S r Z L ' K W°m“ ” - S C w ?Even in th a t early period and before th e “ R ochester” wave of

piritualism had sw ept over any considerable portion of civilized

S K p"blidy- o ~

f l ”h ? s sau thoi, m which he describes the dream s of an opium -eater

hash™ }?™ « M i”T S?a” "*«a t |.firSt h-m d ’ h 0 t0° k a la r^ ° dose °*c a p a c iti,, : 1• W t £ S , s“ “ d’ ™ ' re

m anv H0n °Wef fi!0nf t l b ™ted and resounded within, me like so any claps of thunder. A t the gen tlest con tact w ith ob iects__

/,'lm nro.or human body I heard prolonged sounds, sighs like the melodious vibrations of an ^Eolian harp ”*

No doubt the powers of human fancy" are great - no doubt delusion and hallucination may be generated for a shorter or^ S r t r f human brain either naturally orartificially. But natural phenomena that are not includedn th a t abnorm al class do e x is t; and they have a t la s t tak en

forcible possession even of scientific minds. The phenom ena of hypnotism , of thought-transference, of sense-provoking m ere- ’“ f ,aS the7 do ln*° one ano th er and m anifesting th e ir occuffc existence m our phenomenal world, succeeded finally in a rres tin g th e a tten tion of some em inent scientists. U n d er th e leadersh ip of tk 0 fam ous D r. Charcot, of the Salp6triere H ospita l in P aris several famous men of science took th e phenom ena in hand— m F rance, Russia, England, G erm any and Ita ly . F o r over fifteen years they have been experim enting, investiga ting , theorising A nd w hat is the result ? The sole explanation given to th e pub lic ' to those who th irs t to become acquain ted w ith th e real, th e in tim ate ^ tlf Phen° mena' th e ir productive cause and genesis

T hey are Z f i d ^ T X !

t l J f u t u r e k9SatisfaCt017f° r th e Pre8enfcj an d - q « i t o hopeful for* La Prcsse, July 10, 1840. ” " ' 1------- — ----------- :-----

t F r o m tL Z 7 a Z t lo™ C°iDCd b? th° KUeSian Mcdical

“ H y ste rica l hallucination” is thus doomed to becom e, as ifc appears, th e alph a and the omega of every phenom enon. A t tlio sam e tim e science defines the word “ hallucination ” as “ an e rro r of our senses, shared by, and imposed (by th a t error) upon o u r in telligence .” * Now such hallucinations of a sensitive as a re ob jective— tho apparition of an “ astra l body” for in stance ,— aro no t only percep tib le by the sensitive’s (or m edium ’s) “ in te l l i­g en ce” b u t a re likewise shared by tho senses of thoso p re sen t. C onsequently th e n a tu ra l inference is th a t all those w itnesses aro also h ysterica l.

The w orld is in danger, we see, of being turned, by the end of th is cen tury , into one vast lunatic asylum, in which the lea rn ed physicians alone would form the sane portion of hum anity.

Of all the problem s of m edical philosophy, hallucination seems, a t th is ra te , th e m ost difficult to solve, the most obstinate to g e t r id of. I t could hard ly be otherw ise, for ifc is one of the m ysterious resu lts of our dual na tu re , tho b ridge throw n over the chasm th a t separa tes th e world of m a tte r from tho world of spirit. N ono b u t those w illing to cross to the o ther side can appreciate it, o r ever recognize the noumenon of its phenom ena. A nd w ith o u t doubt a m anifestation is quite disconcerting to any ono w ho w itnesses i t for the first tim e. P rov ing to the m ateria list th o creative facu lty , th q potency of m an’s spirit, natu ra lisin g beforo th e churchm an the “ m iracle,” an d super naturalising, so to say, tho sim plest effects of n a tu ra l causes, hallucination cannot be accepted y e t for w hat it really is, and could hard ly bo forced upon th e accep tation of e ither th e m ateria lis t or th e believing C hristian , since one is as strong in his denial as the o ther is in his affirm ation. “ H allucination ,” says an au tho rity quoted by B rierre de Boism ont,+ “ is the rep roduction of the m ateria l sign of the idea.” H allucina­tion, it is said, has no respect for age or for m e r i t ; or, if a fa ta l experience is w orth any th ing— “ a physician who would g ive it too m uch of his a tten tion or w ould study it for too long a tim e and too seriously, would be sure to end his career in the ran k s of his own p a tie n ts .”

This is an additional proof, thafc “ hallucination” was hard ly ever stud ied “ too seriously” as self-sacrifice is no t quite th e m ost p rom inent fea tu re of the age. B u t i f so catching, why should we no t be perm itted th e bold and disrespectfu l suggestion th a t tho biologists and physiologists of D r. C harco t’s school, have them selves become hallucinated w ith th e ra th e r one-sided scientific idea thafc such phenom enal hallucinations are all due to H ysteria ?

H ow ever i t m ay be, w hether a collective hallucination of our m edical ligh ts or the im potency of m aterial though t, th e s im p lest phenom enon— of the class accepted and verified by m en of science in th e y ea r 1885— rem ains as unexplained by them , as i t w as in 1840.

If , ad m ittin g for argum ent sake, th a t some of th e com m on h e rd ou t of th e ir g rea t reverence— often am ounting to fe tic h w o r s h ip ~ for science and authority , do accept tho dictum of tho sc ien tists

* Dirlionvnirc Mcdicnlt f HaH>>cin*Uon: p. 3,

th a t every phenomenon, every <c abnorm al” m anifestation , is due to the pranks of epileptic h ysteria , w hat shall th e re s t of the public do ? Shall they b elieve,that M r. E g lin ton ’s self-moving slate pencil is also labouring un d er a fit of the sam e epilepsy as its medium — even though he does not touch i t ? Or th a t the p rophetic u tterances of the seers, th e g ran d inspired apostles of all ages an d religions, were simply the pathological resu lts of hysteria ? O r again th a t the “ m iracles” of th e Bible, those of P y th ag o ras , Apollonius and o thers—belong to the same fam ily of abnorm al m anifestations, as the hallucinations of D r. C harco t’s Mile. A lphonsine— or w hatever h e r nam e— and her erotic descriptions an d h e r poetry— “ in consequence o f the sivelling w ith gases o f her g re a t bowel’* (sic) ? Such a pretension is likely to come to grief. [First of all “ hallucination” itself, w hen it is really the effect of a physiological cause, would have to be explained— b u t i t never has been. T ak ing a t random some out of the hundreds of definitions b y em inent F rench physicians (we have not those of th e E ng lish a t hand) w hat do we learn abou t u hallucinations ?” W e have g iven D r. B rierre de Boism ont’s “ definition,” if i t can be called trne : now let us see a few more.

D r. L elut calls i t— “ a sensorial and percej)tive fo lly ;” D r. Chomil— “ a common illusion of the sensorinm D r. L eu re t” — 4t an illusion in term ediary | betw een sensation an d conception” ( Psychol. F ragm ents) ; D r. M ichea— “ a percep tive delirium ” ( Delusion o f the Senses) ; D r. Calmeil— “ an illusion due to a vicious m odification of the nervous substance” (of F o lly , Vol. I) ; etc., etc.

T he above will no t m ake th e world, I am a fra id , m uch w iser th a n i t is. F o r my part, I believe th e theosophists would do well to keep to the old definition of hallucinations (theophan ict)f and folly, m ade some two thousands of years back by P la to , V irgilius, H ippocra tes, Galen and th e m edical and theological schools of o ld. “ There are two kinds of folly, one of which is produced by th e body, the o ther sen t to us by the g o d s”

A bout ten years ago, when Isis Unveiled was b e in g w ritten , the m ost im portan t point the w ork aim ed a t was th e dem onstration of th e fo llow ing : (a) the rea lity of the Occult in n a tu re ; (b ) the tho ro u g h know ledge of, and fam iliarity w ith , all such occult dom ains am ongst “ certain m en,” and th e ir m astery th ere in ; (c) h a rd ly an a r t or science known in our age, th a t the Vedas have no t m en tioned ; and (d ) th a t hundreds of th ings, especially m ysteries of na tu re ,— in abscondito as the alchem ists called it,—■ w ere known to the A ryas of the prem ahabara.ta period, which a re unknow n to us, the modern sages of tho X lX th cen tu ry .

A new proof of i t is now b e in g given. I t comes as a fresh corroboration, from some recent investigations in F ran ce by learned €( specialists” (?) with regard to the confusion m ade by th e ir neurosists a n d psychomaniacs between colour and sound* “ m usical im pres- sion s” and colour-impressions.

# Sen Dictionary/ of Medical Terms• Communication with Gods.

Thi s special phenomenon was firjrt “eSonsly1873 by Dr. Newbamer. in Italy byi nve s t i ga t ed in Germany by B aver ana fi u nnd quiteVellardi, Bareggi and a few other, and it ^ J ^ ^

r s w - s si m w ” ih *gentleman whom he names Mr. N . K. .g The following is a s h o r t^ ^ e o fh .s e x p rt ocflie by

N . R. is a man of about 57 T ^ o t . o{ Paris,profession, now living m sciences which he has stu d ieda passionate amateur of nat ^ & bvery seriously, f°nd of m ’ ^ R had nover read anythingtraveller and as g ieata lingu . k certain people asso-abou t th a t peculiar p h . fKL L v ery ciate sound with colour, but • ■ J alwnyg „onerated in boyhood. _ Sound of ^ery ea P a ‘the articulation of thohim the impression of cojon . . r e s u l t s T h e lettervowels produces m his brain the R ow in g O-yellow ?A —appears to him dark ^ J ^ h f {L ch esn n t colour; E i -

S ending a word and t th syilable that precedesthe Spanish words lo$ eom pm , impart J depends thus onit a metallic glittering. J 1™ “ J i T so that to N. B.the colour of the letters « _ nF Trionv coloured, or variegat*human speech a p p e a r s i n t e M j , the colours of whiched ribbons coming out o p e ^ vowe]g in the sentences, separated

Z f r o " a ” o ther b y th e from

which abounds in consonants/forms on j W“°l® ;xFed withof a dark grey moss; French appears gr,ey, much white ; the English seems, near y ^ ^ tint8. Italian is

c a m in e an d b t a k , b u t w ith m ore d e l,c a teL a h » m c „ f o « S t i „ U , th » t h e ^ ™ s h i! ^ ^ ^ ^

A doop-tonc* voice k lle . w1li,„ » .h r ill, .m o ro n *which gradually pa. colour> Bn(j a voico between theso two

r “ e™ » ?h au g T the™

« “*» « V S < f l i" l » »f b ' “ ; th e ' ' ,0 h n _ 'black ; and theguitar -s i lvergreyec inf,uence N. R.

in ' S : a .

and playing ctepend upon tlie voice arid its com pass and altitude , and upon the instrum ent p layed on.

So it -i. w ith figures verbally p ro n o u n ced ; h u t when read m entally they reflect for him the colour of tho ink th ey arc w ritten or prm ted With. The form, therefo re , has nough t to do w ith such coloui phenomena,. W hile these im pressions do not genera lly tak e place outside of him self, b u t perform , so to say, on the p la t­form of h isb ram , we find o th e r sensitives offering fa r m ore curious phenom ena than “ N . R .” does.« r ! eSldeS G?lfcon’« in te resting ch ap te r upon th is sub jec t, in In's

In q u irie s into H um an F acu lty and its D evelopm ent,” we find in th e London M edical Record a sensitive describ ing his im pres­sions m th is w ise: “ A s soon as I hear th e sounds of a g u ita r , I see - v ib ra tin g chords, surrounded by coloured vapours.” Tho piano produces the sam e: “ coloured im ages beg in to float over th e keys. One of D r. P ed ronneau ’s subiects in P aris* has always colour im pressions outside of him self. “ W henever I hear a chorus composed of several voices,” he says, “ I feel a g re a t num ber of coloured points floating over the heads of tbe singers. I feel t ie m , to r my eye receives no definite im pression ; nevertheless, I am compelled to look a t them , and while exam ininq them I feel perplexed for I cannot find those b rig h t coloured spots whero 1 look a t them , or ra th e r fee l them .”

Inversely , there are sensitives in whom th e s ig h t of colours evokes im m ediately th a t of sounds, and o thers ag a in , in whom a trip le phenomenon is p roduced by one special sense g en e ra tin g two o ther senses. A certa in sensitive cannot h ea r a brass b and w ithout a taste “ like copper m tho m outh” d u rin g the perform - ance, and seeing d a rk golden clouds.

Science investigates such m anifestations, recognizes th e ir reality a n d - r e m a .n s powerless to explain them . “ Neurosis and hysteria" is the only answer obtained, and the " canine hallucinations” of trie d ren ch academ icians quoted in Isis, have rem ained valid to- th is day as an explanation, or a universal solvent of all such phenom ena. B ut it is only natu ra l a fte r all, th a t science should be unable to account a t any ra te for this p a rticu la r phenom enon ot ligh t and sound, since the ir theory of ligh t itse lf has never been lu ijy verified, nor mado comploto to the presen t day.« t t r ithen n s£j,entific opponents play for a while longer a t

v w i 1 1 8 " am ongst phenom ena, w ith no g ro u n d to standnpon b u t the ir eternal physiological hypotheses. T he tim e is not perhaps fa r off when they shall bo com pelled to change th e ir ta c tic s or— confess themselves defeated by even such element aru phenom ena as described above. B ut, w hatever physiologists m ay, or may not say, or d o ; w hatever th e ir scientific exp lana­tions, hypotheses and conclusions a t p resen t o r in the fu tu re m odern phenom ena, are fa s t cycling back fo r th e ir tru e explanation, to the archaic Vedas, and o ther “ S acred Books of th e Last. i or it is an easy m a tte r to show, th a t th e V edic A r ja n a ^ w e r e jmte fam iliar w ith all such m ysteries of sound and

colour. M ental correlations of the two senses of “ s ig h t” an d tc h ea rin g ” were as common a fact in th e ir days, as th a t of a m an in our own seeing objective th ings before liim w ith his eyes w ide open a t noon.

A ny s tu d en t of Occultism, the youngest of chelas who lias ju s t begun read in g esoterically his V edas, can suspect w hat th e rea l phenom enon m eans; sim ply— a cyclic return o f human, organ ism s to their p r im itiv e fo rm du rin g the 3rd and even 4th Hoot R aces of w hat is known as the A n ted ilu v ian periods. E very th ing consp ires to prove it, even the study of such exact sciences as philology an d com parative m ythology. P rom the hoary days of an tiqu ity , from th e very daw n of the g ra n d civilizations of those races th a t p reced ­ed our F ifth Race, and th e traces of which now lie buried a t th e v ery bottom of the oceans, th e fact in question was know n. T h a t which is now considered as an abnorm al phenomenon, was in every p robab ility the norm al s ta te of the antediluvian H um anity . T hese are no vain words, for here nre two of the m any proofs.

In consequence of the ab u n d an t d a ta gleaned by linguistic resen rch , philologists are beg inning to raise th e ir voices and are po in ting to some very suggestive, though ns y e t unexplained facts. ( 1 ) A ll the w ords indicative of hum an representations and conceptions of ligh t and sound nre fo u n d to have their derivation from the same ro o ts* (2 ) M ythology shows, in her tu rn , the ev ident law — th e uniform ity of which precludes the possibility of chance—■ th a t led the ancient sym bologists to represen t all th e ir su n - gods and rad ian t deities— such as the Dawn, the Sun, or A urora , Phoebus, Apollo, etc.— connected in one way or the o ther w ith m usic and sing ing ,— w ith sound in sho rt,— associated w ith rad iancy and co lou r.t

I f th is is as ye t b u t an inference, there exists a still b e tte r proof in the Vedas, for th ere th e conceptions of the w ords “ sound” and u lig h t,” “ to h ea r” and f( to see,” are a lw ays associated. In H ym n X , 71, verse 4, we read “ One— though looking , sees not the speech, and th e o ther seeing— does not hear it.” A nd again in verse 7th, in which a p a rty of friends is rep resen ted as em ulat­in g each o th er in singing, they are charactered by the double ep ith e t placed side by side A ksh avan ta and K a rn a va n ta , or “ ono fu rn ished w ith eyes” and “ ono furnished with ears.” The la tte r is n a tu ra l— the singer has a good ear fo r m usic, and the ep ithe t is com prehensible in view of the m usical em ulation. B ut w hat sense can th e A kshavan ta have in th is case, w ith his good sigh t, unless th e re is a connection and a m eaning in it th a t are not explained, because probably the hym n refers to days when sight and hearing w ere synonym ous term s ? M oreover, a philologist, a r is in g O rien talist, tells J us th a t “ the S ansk rit verbal root A rc is used to denote two m eanings— (a) “ to sing ,” and (b) to s h i n e torad ia te beam s or rays. The substan tives rc and arka , d e rived from th e roo t A rc are used to signify (1) song, hym n , an d (2 )

* Introduction & la Mythologie de VOdyssfa. “ Voyvodsky.’*+ Essay on thc Bacchic Cults of thc Indo-European Nations.J Professor OTBeniko KoulikoT8ky,.thc Anthor of the Essay on {t Bacchic Cults.’*

brilliancy, ray, su n ...In th e conception of the ancien ts a speech could be.seen...he explains. W h a t does th e E soteric D octrine,— th a t universal solvent indeed of all scientific difficulties and puzzles say to this ? I t sends us to the ch ap ter on the E volu tion o f Races, in which prim itive m an is shown in his special evolution advancing on the physical p lane by developing a sense in each successive sub-race (of which there are seven) of the 1 s t Root-race du ring the 4 th R ound on th is g lo b e * H um an speech, as known to us, came into being in the R oot-race th a t preceded ours the Fourth or the 11 A tlan tean ” — at the very beg inn ing of it, in sub-race No. 1 ; and sim ultaneously w ith i t were developed sight.— as a physical sense— while th e four o ther senses (with the two additional— th e 6 th and 7 th — of which science knows no th ing as ye t)— rem ained in their la ten t, undeveloped s ta te as physical senses, although fu lly developed as sp iritua l faculties. Our sense of hearing developed only in the 3rd sub-races. Thus, if hum an " speech” — owing to th a t absence of the sense of hearing— was in the beginning even less th an w hat we would call a w hispered speech, for it wa,s a m ental articu la tion of sounds ra th e r than any­th in g else, som ething like the system s we now see w orked out fo r the D eaf and Dum b, still it is easy to u n d erstan d how, even from those early days, “ speech” becam e associated w ith “ s ig h t,” or, in o ther words, people could u n derstand each o ther and ta lk w ith th e help of only sigh t and touch. “ Sound is seen before i t is h eard ,”— says the Book of K iu -ti. T he flash of ligh tn in g precedes th e clap of thunder. As ages w ent by m ankind fell w ith every new genera- ra tion lower and lower in to m atter, the physical sm othering the spiritual, until the whole set of senses— th a t had form ed du rin g the first th ree Root-races b n t one S en se , nam ely, sp ir itu a l perception— finally fell asunder to form henceforth five d istinc t senses...

B u t we are in the 5th race, and we have a lready passed th e tu rn in g or ax ia l point of our “ sub-race cycle.” E ventually as th e cu rren t phenom ena and th e increase of sensitive organism s in our age go to prove, th is H um anity will be m oving sw iftly on th e p a th of pure spirituality , and will reach th e apex (of our Race) a t th e end of the 7th sub-race. In p la iner and fu ller lan g u ag e—p la in er and fu lle r to some theosophists only, I am a fra id —we shall be, a t th a t period, on the same degree of sp iritua l­ity th a t belonged to, and was natu ra l in, th e 1 st sub-race of the 3 rd Root-race of th e F ourth R ound; and the second h a lf of i t (or th a t half in which we now are) will be, owing to the law of correspon­dence, on parallel lines with the f ir s t h a lf of the T h ir d Round. In th e words of one in whom live T ru th and W isdom —how ever often H is words may have been m isunderstood and criticised, nofc alone by profane critics bufc even by some theosophists,— " in the 1st ha lf of the 3rd Round the prim ordial sp iritu a lity of m an was eclipsed, because over-shadowed by nascen t m e n ta lity ;” H um an ity w as on its descending arc in th e first half of th a t round and in th e las t half on its ascending a r c : i. e., " his (m an’s) g igan tic s ta tu re h a d decreased and his bpdy im proved in te x tu re ; and he had

* See Esoteric Buddhism—for the Rounds, World-periods, and Sub-racea. Tho chapter reforred to will appear in the Secret Doctrine, which will shortly be published'.

becom e a more ra tional being though still moro an apo th a u a 2 )eurt-man.” A nd, if so, then , according to th a t sam e law of correspondences— an im m utable one in the system of cycles we have to in fer th e following :— th a t the la tte r half of our R ound, — as shown to correspond w ith th e 1st half of the 3 rd ,— m ust have a lready begun to be once more overshadowed by re -nascen t “ p rim ord ia l” sp iritua lity , which, a t the end of the 4 th R ound, will have nearly eclipsed our ac tua l m entality— in the sense of cold hum an Reason.

On th e princip le of th a t sam e law of correspondences,— as Bhall be shown and thoroughly explained in the forthcom ing S ec ret D octrine— civilized hum anity will soon begin to show itself, if even less “ ra tio n a l” on the worldly p lane, a t any ra te m ore D eva-like th an “ ape-like” — as we now actually are, and th a t in th e m ost d istressing degree.

I m ay conclude w ith th e rem ark , th a t since our n a tu ra l an d still “ ape-like” propensities m ake us dread , individually an d collectively, to be throw n by public opinion out of th a t reg ion w here all the sm aller bodies g rav ita te tow ard th e lum inary of our social solar system — Science and h er au th o rity ,— som ething has to be done to rem edy such a d isastrous sta te of things. I propose to show therefore, in my next, th a t as wo aro still only in tho 5 th sub-race of the P a re n t race, and none of us shall live to seo the 7 th — when th ings shall m end na tu ra lly ,— th a t i t is ju s t as well no t to liang our hopes on science, w hether orthodox or semi- here tica l. The men of science cannot help the w orld to u n d e r­s tan d tlie rationale of phenom ena, which for a little while longer in th is cycle it will be quite im possible for them to account for, even to them selves. T hey can n e ith e r understand no r explain it, any m ore th an any one else can, who has no t stud ied occultism an d th e h idden laws th a t govern n a tu re and ru le m ank ind . The m en of science are helpless in th is case, and it is u n ju s t to charge th em w ith malice, or even w ith unw illingness as has been often ’done. T heir ra tio n a lity (taken in th is case in th e sense of in te llec tu a lity , not of reason) can never perm it them to tu rn the ir a tten tio n to occult study. T herefore i t is useless to dem and or expect from th e learned m en of our age th a t which they a ie absolutely incapable of doing for us, until the n ex t cycle changes and transform s en tire ly th e ir inner na tu re by “ im proving th e te x tu re ” of th e ir sp iritual m inds.

H . P . B lavatsky.

(To be continued .)

K I M E N I S .* I

I O PE N E D th e page I h ad already m a rk e d 'in ray volum e of Records o f the Codrt b f A p p e a l . I i’e -perused it and hastily

transcribed i t ' *“ As regards th e Application of artic le 366 of th e Same code,

i t *t.ppkars from th e p reced ing decision of th e C ourt of A ppea l th a t the fixing of th e sum to be p a id fo r dam ages and in te re s tre sts w ith the Court, and h en ce ........”

T he construction of the sentence did n o t seem c o r re c t : u No,” I said. “ I t is not th a t, I m iist change it .”I p u t down my pen, I rose from my chair and w alked up and

down the room. The candles w ith th e ir shades th rew the lig h t down on to the table-clo th and the books aiid papers th a t were on it. A ll o ther objects d isappeared in sem i-darkness. T he fire, in th e g ra te was alm ost out. A ll around me wrts still, as th ere was no noise from ,the street, and in th e house all th e o ther inm ates wero asleep.

I was feeling ra th e r tired . I had been w orking a t th is rep o rt for the last th ree hours and i t had to be ready for m y chief in the m orning w ithout fail.. I sat down again a t the w riting-tab le and beg an tp correct my sentence.

“ H ence” .. .I was going to add : “ it would ap p ear reasonable.” W hen all a t once my hand began to trem ble and a fte r “ hence,”

instead of “ it would appear reasonable” . . . i t w rote th e words.: “ I am here, I am here, I am h ere” ...

I c lo sed . my eyes, then I opened them again and had somo difficulty in convincing my&elf th a t it was litit an illusion. A t the sam e moment my rig h t hand was bent by an involuntary m ovem ent and seemed to wish to approach the paper.

Then, w ithout idea or > i l l oil my p art, my pen began to w rite : “ I am here, I w ant to speak to you.”

“ P u t who are you then...w ho ?” I said involuntarily .K im enis” traced the pen on the d raft of my repo rt,

“ W hat nonsense ! W hat do6 s all this m ean ?”“ W hence comes this strange ’name ?”I do not know w hether I was th ink ing or speak ing aloud.T he pen wrote rapidly : “ Kimenis is niy nam e : i t m eans beauty,

for I am beautiful. I am here because I wish you well. I lovo you. Do not torm ent me by susp ic ion ; hencefo rth I shall be w ith you often.”

I threw down tho pen and left th e tab le.I t was true th a t I had a vague idea of so-called sp iritual

correspondence, as the tab le-turners call it, b u t I had never investigated it. These stupidities in no way in te rested me.

B ut whence came all th a t had ju s t happened an d how was it to bo accounted for, especially at a tim e when I was com pletely absorbed in m y work and was th inking of nothing bu t my rep o rt J

# Translated from L<\ NouvcUc Revue»

However T di<l not linger over tliis question, for I was decidedly t i r e d ) 1 w ent to bed and fell asleep a t once.

I I

T he n ex t day I rose early and it was only when I had sea ted m yself a t m y w riting-tab le to finish my repo rt th a t the ad v en ­tu re of th e previous evening occurred to me.

T his recollection caused me a certain am ount of annoyance to rthe sheet had been spoiled by the w riting of K im enis and I liad to copy it ont afresh.

In an hour or two I. finished m y work and took it to my ch ief. On mv re tu rn home I fe lt unwell. The w eather was d isagree­

able T here was a thaw . M ist em anated from the houses, from t-ho pavem ent, from horses and even from men. N othing was easier th an to fall ill under such conditions. A lready I began to tee l feverish . My bead was heavy and my th roat sore. This was tlio more annoying since I had prom ised to go to the opera iu tho evenino- and did not wish to b reak my engagem ent.

In th is unpleasant disposition, morose and irrita ted , I sa t dow n to my tab le , aud took up the first book th a t came to h a n d ; b u t Ifound i t un in teresting and soon closed tlie volume. .

A ll a t once my left hand began to trem ble : i t raised ltselt an d th en fell again w ithout any volition oil my p a rt.

Could th is be a repetition of w hat took place yesterday ? I took a sheet of paper w ondering if I could manage to w rite w ith th ale ft hand . My hand sped rapidly over the blank paper

I shu t my eyes. A t leng th th e pencil stopped. My hand rose, th en suddenly falling, s truck the paper as i t made an energetic tu ll stop a t th e end of the sentence.

I looked • i t was im possible to understand a n y th in g ; out tho idea presently occurred to mo th a t th e phrases were w ritten tho reverse way and m ust be read by holding the p aper up to tho ligh t.

In a fine hand , th a t of th e n ig h t before, were traced the fol­lowing w o rd s : , ^ i ^

“ Y our suspicion and contem pt offend me. You do not w ant me ;b u t I am here and I cannot go away. Believe me, I wish you well. Y ou are ill b u t I will cure you in an in stan t with sea air.

I "had barely time to read theso lines before I felt around moa soft caressing b rea th of a ir. , ..

“ W h a t has come to m e ? ” I th ough t w ith terror. Is i t possible th a t my nerves havo become affected to this e x te n t . W hence comes th is sickly im agination ?”

B ut tho b rea th of air increased. I t was sea air, the a ir wo all know so well, fresh, electrifying, vivifying, as on a b r ig h t sp rin g day when one ia standm g 011 tho deck of a s h ip : 1 lelb i t on my 'faco and d rank it in greedily.

R eality disappeared. I was w rapped in dream , a dream o t S ou thern seas. I seemed to hear tho regular and monotonous •murmur of th e waves. The far-off blue spark led before me. I b rea th ed w ith full lungs, d

Gradually tlie breeze ceased, and I came to myself. My fatigue, my head-ache, all had d isappeared as if by m agic. A sense of supreme well-being enveloped me. I fe lt fresh and well.

Again my left hand was draw n to th e table, and a few seconds frfter, holding the pap er to th e lig h t as before, I r e a d :

“ You see, you are cured. B u t I will do even moro for you : This evening I will save your life. T hen perhaps you will havo confidence in me.”

B nt afte r all, th is is pure m adness ! I t is im possible th a t I can give myself up like th is, I th o u g h t. A nd crush ing the p ap er in my hand I th rew it into the fire.

Then from tho walls and from th e fram es of th e p ictures I b eg an to hear strange sounds th a t h ad never till th en been produced in my rooms. I t was a short h a rd noise as if some one was tap p in g som ething h a rd , a crackling like the b u rstin g of some tiny object, o r ra th e r like slig h t electrical discharges.

T he bell sounded in the an ticham ber. I w ent to the door to m eet a friend who had just come. I was feeling exceedingly well.

I I I .A fte r d inner I p repared to go to th e th e a tre and ordered my

Servant to b ring me my large pelisse.H e looked a t me w ith surprise. I only used th is pelisse, a v ery

ca.pacious and heavy one, fo r travelling and going out in tho evening when th e re w ere a t least tw en ty degrees of frost. D u rin g th e whole of th a t w in ter I h ad not once h a d occasion to use it.

“ W h a t did m aster ask ?” said my servan t,“ The large pelisse.”“ B ut m aster forgets liow warm it is to-day. Even w ith tho

sm all ono m aster would be suffocated. I was th in k in g he would only need his overcoat.”

“ Give me th e large pelisse.”H o shrugged his shoulders slightly w ith a stupefied air, fe tch ed

th e pelisse, and p u t i t round m y shoulders.I drew it round me, went out and got into m y carriage.A t th is hour of the evening the prom enade called the G rand

M orskaya was, as usual, thronged w ith equipages which passed and repassed one ano ther in the fog.

I had already nearly reached the door of th e th ea tre , when, all a t once, a vehicle rushing along a t full galop em erged from a side s tree t in fron t of my carriage. In an in stan t m y coachm an u tte red a cry and pulled a t the reins w ith all his s tren g th . I fe lt a t tho back of my neck the warm breath of the horses who w ere following. Som ething struck me in the back and pushed me forw ard. I was p itched over to the rig h t and then found m yself, w rapped in m y enormous pelisse, throw n like a sack on to th e m uddy pavem ent.

I succeeded in ra ising myself. The carriag e th a t had knocked down mine had driven away rap id ly . The d rivers were shouting an d quarrelling, and a crowd began to collect.

Some one gave me my hat. I heard ano ther say :“ A nd what a good th ing it was th a t the g rey horse took f r i g h t !

D id you seo how ho threw himself on his haunches ? B u t for th a t i t

w ould lmve been impossible to slop liim. Tho gentle ,nnn would S e r have b e * , crushed altogether o r a t any ra te would b » d l , have escaiDed w ithout the frac tu re of a lnno.

' i t T s f e a r f a l to th in k o f! B u t we live beneath th e eye o£

G °llp u t on my h a t all sp lashed with mud and took my place in th e

“ " ' S r n o t h u r t r ' asked thocoachm an " T h a tra s c a l o u g h t to W been tak en to th e police-station. Buch careless peopleo u g h t to be punished.’ . n >>

“ No, I have received no harm . Go on quickly.Tn a short tim e I was com pletely myselt again. ^“ B ut then ” I though t, “ the pole m nst have struck me in th e

b a c k T he sh„ck inus't hkve been p re tty strong b ecau se I <» u ld n o t keep n,y seat. I feel no th ing now, it ,s t r u e , b u t perhaps th a t

" ? t l t b ^ S r t , T o t " ^ » i n , b u t my pelisse was h a d , ,

. ' _.p , t,„ n.r-'.lr.- mv torn garm ent, the w add ing

show ing C »= » " * .» » •> - « ” i t t ” hi01' 1

“ cau ^ n g 0 contem ptuous

rem ark s.” , Faust. M azino an dI t was a charm ing evening. J h t ope T |.pr„ seem ed to be

M arie D urand sang m ost enchant,nR y l l i e r e ^ e m e d som eth ing m ysterious and superna tu ra l m th e scene.

S till I d id no t once th in k of K im em s.IV .

t • i l nmo m v servan t ra ised bo th his hands nt J J * , p X f i n s ° u » conditio,, a n d - h e n he heard m ,

^ .^ Y e s e^ n iay^ eirsa^that^ G od qiecially^rotocts our master !” „ c CS . I f you had not put on «-at p f sse perhaps you wonld

n ev er have come back. See i t bJ fc the fu r le ft.” A n d

w ould have 1been cnt t . tlift)ikg to thia ,M,|1WP, >t

k; u -T a ^ g H i n - c h 0w a l w eather. ‘ Yes, i t is ju s t th a t, and no one

can deny tlia t it was a P™®en V?10” n]y liea rin g w lia t h e

-« Y es, lie is righ t, tho p - absurd to dress in th is way

w h a t m ade me pu t it on f .is m w ith th e therm om eter ten degrees above zcio . ^

I could not understand it in the least. W hy it was I do not know, bu t I had certainly felt th a t 1 m ust necessarily w ear th a t pelisse, and that I could not in fac t do otherw ise.

“ I his evening I will save your life,”These words came back to my mem ory and I shuddered. A fte r

having ordered tea to be sent to my study, I sa t down a t the tab le . I waited lo r my hand to be draw n tow ards the paper, and even longed for i t ; b u t i t rem ained im moveable. Some m inutes elapsed. I t seem ed to me th a t som ething m oved

m a corner of the room. I looked .. .nothing..Then, on the looking-glass above the m antel-p icce I d istinc tly

heard taps, lh e y passed on to a p ictu re th a t h ung near, as if some one was gen tly s trik ing the canvas. B u t a g a in .. .nothing. .

W hat could it all be ? b "H igh up, quite near the ceiling, there came an alm ost im percep­

tib le sound like th a t of a tiny glass bell. I t sounded louder; th en louder again , till a t last I heard it close to my ear.

W as it w ithin me or w ithout ? I could not tell, b u t I heard it. A warm soft b rea th like the air ag ita ted by a fan passed close by

m y face, and on my cheek I fe lt a k iss ; long, tender, silent. Yes, a k is s ; and then, again I could not tell w hether w ithin me 01* w ithout, som ething seemed to m u rm u r:

“ Kimenis I*9This tim e I was really afraid.U p to th is tim e I had certainly been s truck by the su rp ris in g

w riting , by the m ysterious sea-breeze : b u t I h ad m ade no a tte m p t to th ink the m a tte r out and probe it to its dep ths. The affair or the pelisse too had d isturbed me considerably. I aw aitod, w ith more im patience than I cared to confess to myself, th e appearance of w ritten lines th a t should be signed “ K im enis.”

However th is Kimenis itseJf, th is som ething th a t seemed to obsess me th roughout the day, took no definite form in my thoughts. 1 did not represen t it to myself as any th ing having a real an d definite existence.

B ut now, all a t once, after this m ysterious kiss, I felt positively th a t K imenis existed, tha t she was there close by me. In a w ord I believed in Kim enis, and I told myself th a t henceforw ard n o th in g in the world could remove th a t belief.

A nd this is w hy I was afraid.J rushed into my room where fortunately , as on th e n ig h t before,

I fell a t once into a sleep as profound as if I had been under tho influence of some narcotic.

V.Tho next m orning I received from th e s ta tio n er’s some p ap er

and envelopes th a t I had ordered.As I opened the packet I m echanically took up some of th e

envelopes and exam ined them atten tively .On one of them I noticed some m arks in relief like those p roduc­

ed by w riting in pencil over some soft substance. I th o u g h t I could distinguish the le tte r K and opened th e envelope to °look inside.

B ig h t a t the bottom , close to the lowest fold, I read th e w ords, in a well-known hand :

“ I am gain ing s tren g th ,— Kimenis.” I t was im possible to suppose th a t any one could have w ritten so well and so re g u la r ly a t th e bottom of an envelope. I t would have been folly to liavo allowed this hypothesis, or to look for any reasonable exp lan a tio n ; so I did not try .

H ence I really believed in th is Kimenis.I f she grew stronger, I became w eaker. Though I was no t ill,

a g re a t change took place in and around me.I t seem ed as though I was enveloped in a th ick fog, and in th is

fog I was able to d istingu ish nothing of w hat, up to a couple of days before, had belonged to my life.

T he hours passed on and I rem ained a t home with my door locked, incapable of w orking, un-nerved by expectation.

I w ent into th e d in ing room and (lined m echanically. W hen I re tu rn ed to my study I stretched m yself 011 a largo T urk ish couch and w aited. The evening closed in, b u t I never th o u g h t of ligh ting the candles.

A large fire was bu rn in g on the hearth . I ts fitful flame, som e­tim es b rig h t and som etim es dull, ligh ted th e h igh roomy cham ber. O ut of th is sem i-darkness 1 saw em erge from tim e to tim e tho fan tastic design of a heavy piece of tap estry , the angle of a p ic tu re , a vase or a s ta tu e tte , and all these fam iliar ob jec ts seem ed to tak e on a strange appearance ; th e re was about them som eth ing new th a t I h ad never before rem arked .

M y eyes closed, b u t I did no t sleep.I heard the c rack ling of th e logs on th e h e a r th and th e tick in g

of the clock.T hen a fresh b rea th of a ir fanned m y face, an d a strong

perfum e of violets filled th e room.I opened my eyes and , a couple of y ards from w here I was

ly ing , in a space lig h ted up by the fire, I d istinguished w hat looked like a small cloud, w hich seem ed to revolve as it g rew g rad u a lly m ore dense. I rem ained im m ovable. My b rea th in g stopped and my h e a rt began to boat v io lently and painfully . My eyes did not lea.vo tho cloud. I t did not d isappear b u t w en t on grow ing denser by degrees. L ittle by little it began to assum e the vague appearance of a hum an form . I still gazed a t i t w ith my hand over my h ea rt as if to stifle its beatings.

A feeling of te rro r, of trouble and of sadness came over m o ; and ye t I felt th a t had th is vapoury form disappeared, I should have been in despair.

All a t once I had the im pression th a t some one was g az in g fixedly a t me. I saw no eyes, there wero no eyes, b u t som eth ing incom prehensible, a t once sad and yet a ttrac tiv e , gazed a t mo fixedly m aking me feel hot and cold by tu rns.

A n in stan t a fte r I saw them , those deep d a rk eyes.In th is bluish cloud which became b rig h te r and b r ig h te r a ra d i­

a n t form began to m anifest itself. I could contain myself no

longer, but th rew myself on ifc madly. My trem bling hands seized ........nothing........ then fell to my side as if deprived of s tren g th .

Ali had disappeared.V I.

A nother day passed. I tried to calm myself, to drive aw ay th is dream , to re tu rn to reality .

I went to my office and re tu rn ed hom e w ith some fresh w ork. In the evening I was looking for an artic le I w anted in one of th e innum erable volumes of the “ Laws of th e R ussian E m pire .”

“ N o,” I th o u g h t; “ I will give way to th is folly no longer* It. is m adness.”

“ The law passed by the S enate No. 16181, is i t th a t? No*16000........” B u t the figures and th e w ords danced before m y eyes.I read whole pages w ithout understan d in g a syllable of th e ir contents.

Suddenly th e enormous volume thafc I was holding closed of its own accord and fell to the g round wifch a loud noise.

I trem b led ; rose hastily and, as I tu rn e d round, I saw, beh ind m y ch a ir........ H er.

This tim e it was no vague and uncerta in form , it was no lo n g er a cloud, a vapour, a phantom . A liv ing woman of ex trao rd inary beauty stood before me. I t was the sam e gaze th a t I had fe lt the evening before, the same smile.

Black silky h a ir braided w ith rows of pearls shaded h e r face, covered her shoulders and fell in th ick waves to h e r knees. H e r b reast was half uncovered. W ith one adm irab ly form ed h and she lean t on the h ig h back of my c h a ir . H e r o th er arm> w hite as alaba^ ster, appeared th ro u g h her w aving hair.

She was clad in a sort of tunic th a t reached to th e ground, of two colours, w hite and pale blue, of some indescribable stuff, supple, velvet-like, very f in e ; and so closely d id i t cling to h er lithe form thafc it m ight have been dam ped.

Yes, it was a w om an; bu t so brilliant, and so rad ian t th a t she could not be com pared to any hum an creature, even in the fresh est blossom of youth and beauty. She was th e incarnation of an a r tis t’s dream a t th e most ecstatic in stan t of his creative frenzy. I contem plated her ardently w ith a feeling of Unspeakable suffering. My wholo being seemed dissolved before her.

Suddenly she took my hand, and her touch th rilled th ro u g h m e like an electric current.

I w anted to cry out, but I could n o t ; and I do no t know how ifc was, b u t I found myself seated beside h e r on th e sofa.

H e r warm hand still clasped mine. She leaned tow ards me and I fe lt her b reath on my cheek. A t the slig h test m ovem ent a p e r­fum e of violets exhaled from h er person an d m ade me feel q u ite g iddy .

Then she spoke. A nd who b u t she could have expressed her though ts in thafc m ysterious ripp ling speech th a t filled m y h e a r t w ith terror, w ith deligh t and w ith suffering ?

“ Is it possiblo th a t you are afra id of me ?” she m urm ured w ith a smile as she looked into my eyes, and drew herself m ore closely tow ards me, ' •

T hen, m arshalling all my last rem aining forces, I said, alm ost w ith a sigh :

“ B u t who are you V“ W ho ? I m igh t tell you th a t I was a spirifc who has long q u itted

th e earth . I m igh t m ake up some sort of in teresting s to ry ; b u t Ido nofc w an t to deceive you ........I do not know whafc I am, I havonever lived as you live, and I want to live.”

She pronounced these last words in a tone thafc v ibrated w ith passion, w ith pain and w ith tears.

“ W hence do you come then ? W hy are you here ? W h a t is i t you w ant of me ?”

“ W hence do I come ? From everywhere. I havo been ab o u t you for a long tim e, b u t I could never m ake myself known. I am here because I belong to you. You yourself have created me,* youhave evoked me ; and I love you. I w ant to live ........Give me life ...life !”

H e r eyes spark led and grew" dull by turns. She threw herself on my b reast folding me in her arms, and h er hot lips seemed to d ra in the life from m ine.

I fe lt my blood freeze in my veins and snatched myself from h e r em brace.

T hen she gazed a t me w ith a trium phan t smile. H er cheeks a glow red, her bosom heaving, sho tried to approach mo again . B u t I repelled her w ith violence.

A n indescribable horror seized me. A ll a t once I felt such a h a tred for her, th a t I could have strang led her, annihilated her ; bufc I could no t move. A m ortal weakness had taken hold of me.

She laughed gen tly and m urm ured ; “ Till to-m orrow .”I t seem ed to me she th rew som ething over me and th en she

d isappeared .F o r a long tim e I rem ained m otionless, h a rd ly able to b rea th e ,

an d covered w ith a cold perspiration-. T hen I perceived on m y knees a f ra g ra n t bouquet of violets. I seized them and approach­ed my tab le w ith to tte r in g steps. W hile I was looking a t tho flowers, as fresh an d scented as if they had ju s t been ga thered , I saw them suddenly dissolve and evaporate in m y hand.

V II .I passed a horrib le n ig h t, a lte rnate ly b u rn in g and shaking w ith

fever, w ithout a m inu te ’s sleep. A s soon as there was an in te rv a l in the fever, horrib le , formless n igh t-m ares passed beforo m y eyes. T hen I woko with a s ta r t w ith a feeling of suffocation, an d a violent b ea tin g of tho heart. I t was only tow ards m orning th a t I becam e som ewhat calm er and was able to sleep.

* Khimcnu is the female demon created by tho desires nnd will of man himself. In ancient Egypt during the twelve trials of the candidate for Initiation, the purity of the neophyte was tried by surrounding him with conditions that created tempta­tions. If the will of the candidate was strong, all was well. But woo to him if his lust was stronger : it created Khimcnu and he was caught in tho snares of big own creation. The writer tells us he had never even heard tho name before. Ho pledges his word that the facts of his story happened exactly as told and are in no way exaggerated, and his family corroborate him. A tcrriblo ncurvous prostration dates from that time, three or four years ago.—Ed.

Ifc was late wlien I awoke, w ith sh a tte red nerves and a heavy head. Afc last iny ideas becam e p re tty clear. A lthough m y firm faith in the reality of the existence of K im enis was not shaken, ye t I was no longer under th e spell of th is indefinable being. I no longer aw aited her coining w ith dread m ingled w ith deligh t, bufc was determ ined to allow her to influence me no more. I resolved to figh t against h e r and to conquer her, be the cost w hat it m ight.

“ N o /’ I . said to myself, “ it is im possible th a t a m ysterious force can thus tak e hold of a m an aga in st his will, and exei'ciso such dominion over him as to ren d er resistance impossible. No, if I do not succum b to her charm s, if I rem ain cold and strong , she will d isappear like a fog, as if she had never existed .”

These reflections calmed me and gave me confidence in m yself. Several tim es during th e day m y hand began to trem ble,

to bend until it pained m e; bufc I resisted . I did nofc touch a pencil and succeeded in concentrating my whole a tten tion on my work.

I passed the evening in company. My w earied, unhealthy a ir a ttrac ted a tten tion . I felt indeed very ill, bu t I did not wish to show th a t th is was the case. I t was m idn igh t when I re tu rn ed home, and I w ent s tra igh t to my bed-room w ithout en te ring my study. As I p u t out the ligh t, I suddenly saw Kim enis beforo m e; b u t she was not the sam e as 011 the previous evening. H e r vapoury form floated in undecided lines, as she fixed a sad and supplian t gaze upon me.

I called up all my stren g th and said as I looked steadily a t her : “ V anish !”

A sound th a t resembled a sigh or a g roan was heard, and then i t vanished.

The phantom disappeared in the tw inkling of an eye.I p u t out the light, closed my eyes and slept.B ut I sa.w her again in my dream s as clearly as in reality .She stood before me, witli flaming eyes, her face d isto rted w ith

anger and said :“ A h ! you do not want me ; you drive mo a w a y ; you do no t

give me life ! V ery w e ll! th e n ....... ”She mftde a movement and behind h er I saw an enorm ous

m onster of an ou ran g-ou tang which threw itself on rao and began to tickle me. I m ight struggle as m uch as I pleased, it would not release me. I was being suffocated, and felt as if I was dy ing iu terrib le pain.

I rose from my bed with a cry. G roping w ith trem bling handa I lit my candle.

Kimenis and her onrang-outang had disappeared, bufc my ho rro r m ay be im agined when I felt the tick ling continue. I ran round the room like a madman, covered w ith cold perspiration . Tho invisible paws continued to ticklo me and th is to rtu re lasted m oro th an an hour. I was a t tho end of my s tren g th and art irres is ti­ble impulse drew me towards the razors on my dressing table. B u t all afc once I fe lt w ithin myself such fury, such th irs t for life, th a t horror, despair a,nd t e r ro r were all fo rgo tten . Then suddenly th is insupportab le tickling ceased.

I fell exhausted oil my bed. L itt l6 by little I cam e to m yself, b u t sleep was im possible. 1

From th a t tim e all has ceased.! K im enis has le ft me in peace. 1 N o th ing recalls h e r ex istence to me. B u t I am broken . T here is not a sound spot in my body. T here are w eeks, even m onths, during which I feel as if I w as go ing to die every m om ent. Life becomes insupportab le to mo. A nd can th is incessan t to rtu re be called life? I am poisoned for ever.

“ N ervous d iso rd er,” say the doctors w ith a sh ru g of th a shoulders,

V sevolod S olovioff.

S O M E C A S E S O F C E R E M O N IA L ( E U R O P E A N ) M A G IC .(From a scarco and curious book, “ Tho Astrologer of tho 19th Century” by tha

Members of “ The Mercurii,” London. 1825.)

1 )JL V A IS IN G th e sp irits of the Moon.

“ The following curious facts were re lated to ns by th reo gentlem en, students, of undoubted veracity , w ith whom we are w ell acquainted , and who actually experienced them t—

“ On th e n ig h t of O ctober 2 2 , 1822, we resolved upon invocat- in g th e sp irits of th e moon, and, accordingly, hav ing p repared tho circle, and used the necessary ceremonies and incantations, th e ro suddenly came such a furious storm of ra in and hail, and such a d read fu l tem pest arose w ith fearful b lasts of wind, th a t th o elem ents seem ed as if w aging w ar w ith each other. W e every m om ent expected th e dome sky ligh t over our heads would bo sh a tte red into a thousand pieces. T he ra in Continued to fall in gush in g to rren ts , th e w ind howled m ournfully , and th e lig h tn in g flashed in our faces, while th e th u n d er actually shook the bu ild ing to its foundations. E x p ec tin g these occurrences, we were no th ing dism ayed th e r e a t /b u t persisted , no tw ith stan d in g th is fu ry of tho elem ents, to u rge th e sp irits more pow erfully to visible appearance. W h a t followed we cannot a t p resen t reveal : suffice it we had am plo proof of th e rea lity of sp iritua l agency. A t th e close of o n r m ystic labours, as we were dism issing tho sp irits by pow erful restric tions, we were suddenly astonished by a trem endous noise, evidently supernatu ra l, for, had tw enty parks of artillery, a hundred loaded wagons, or a thousand pedestrians, passed by a t this period, th e noise we heard could not havo been equalled. I t resem bled th e m ost furious crashes, incessant c rack ing of whips, tram p lin g of horses, sound of organs, and innum erable voices, united m a n unintellig ib le ja rgon . I t lasted w ithout interm ission for n e a rly tw en ty m inutes, then suddenly ceased. A s soon as we could (whicli w as alm ost on th e in stan t the noise ceased), we ru sh ed in to tho s tree t, eagerly inquiring of the guard ians of tho n ig h t if an y vehicles, or if any particu lar company, had p assed ; b u t they alla,greed none had gone by. This was a little before two o’clock iu the m orning (our ceremonies began a t m idn igh t), and tlio

experim ent was perform ed in a 1 now d ilap idated , b u t once (London) ^ ^ reso rt, a t th e w est-end of th e tow n.”

il,e M oon- (As: ‘ A few years sjnce, Mr. P lig h t and an o th e r stu d en t in th e occult sciences resolved upon m aking an a ttem p t to ra ise a sp irit. T hev accordingly, a f te r m ature deliberation , de term ined upon ra is in s the lunar sp irits , or those a ttr ib u te d as such to th e governm en t of , > fo1: th ls pnrpose th ey rep a ired to a field in th e n e igh ­bourhood, and commenced th e ir operations. They drew th e circ le correctly upon a p lain p a r t of th e field, and had no sooner b egan tlie ir m agical incantations, th a n th e re came m ost fearfu l noises, to w hich succeeded copious show ers of ra in around th e circle, but none f e l l in side thereof. A fte r this, th e re came a figure ap p a ren tly resem bling a woolpack, which peram bu la ted the circle, and” as m ay

be BUPPOsed, terrified tlie operators. H ow ever, th e n e x t ap pearance was still more fearfiil and terrific. F o r there now came a m ost furious bull, which, h ideously roaring , d a rted d irec tly a t them . I h e assistan t opera to r, no longer able to keep no

v c.ou™£°> ran ,n dism ay out of th e circle, g o t over a stile w hich adjoined, and escaped. The bull pu rsu ed him to th e aforesaid stile and then vanished. Mr. F lig h t persists in tho tru th of th is, and

eclares th a t i t was only by th e m ost pow erful in can ta tions thafc lie ensured his own safety .” ' ■ • 1

A H U R A M A Z D A N D T H E A M E S H A S P E N T A S .

T H E Gr,^ n a l Being, the indefinable, incom prehensible, infinite.r w r - ° nd; tl0n0d’ UnC1'e,a t° Firsfc P rincip le , th e Cause of al Causes, m its inconceivable s ta te before its 'm an ife s ta tio n in to th e s ta te of existence, is variously denom inated by various philo- S P ^ and doctrines, ^though recognized by them all as the God. Some call i t tho invisible l ig h t; while, according to th e V e d a n tis ts • i t is th e ev erlasting intelligence and bliss, o r P a rab rah m . T he la te n t p roperties of the B eing a re two, consisting of th e sp ir it and th e substance, which are co-existent and co-eternal. In th ewhTch 3is° eStaf r n 13 Pr ° duo<:d the Wea of m anifestation,w hich is tho same thing as th e in telligence or wisdom. Theexpiession of th is idea is called th e divine ’ sp irit or d iv ine m indLrvCe n r C1 0 l S'fRSS- SeVeuf0ld (°r i t s constituen t pow ers a re seven), and its existence is pervaded by sevenfold system s.n r l ' r ^ T f “ am festation ,.according to th e V edan tists , is th is :t J t L l l ’r ’ (T - T n? ° f and ignorance,) o r acco rd ingto the Sankhya philosophy, of P u ru sh (spirit) and of P ra k r i t ifco liT ivT '' ( ) Mahatafcwa (B nddhi or in te lle c t) ; (3) A h am ta tw a creator.) gg r6ga te ° f eg01Sm> <*e Ishw ar, th e m anifestor, th e

,. 4 ccord,'ng to the P latonists, th e re a re threo hypostases in tha <bvine nature, lh e first is the One, who is above everything ' a pure, will, an absolute love (or in tellect). The second is th e intelli-

gence. The th ird is the D em iurgus, the universal sp irit, soul o rlife, the m anifestor o r the creator.

Tlie idea of B eing always carries w ith it the idea of non-Being;. The two ideas a re co-existent and co-eternal. No philosophy o r doctrine, therefore , is perfec t th a t exclusively regards th e B eing w ithout the non-B eing. T here can be conceived no idea of B e ing w ithout non-B eing, of lig h t w ithout darkness, of know ledgo w ithout ignorance, of good w ithout evil, of tru th w ithout fa lse­hood.

“ I f it seem to yon th a t th e hypothesis m ust b e defective, which- rep resen ts th e principles of good and evil as co-eternal and' co-equal, and’ n e ith e r proceeding from the o th e r; and nevertheless m akes the la tte r to some ex ten t inferior and subordinate to th o form er,— rem em ber th a t, although in one sense they m nst be 011

an equality, inasm uch as bo th haTe- an ideutical source in th ehum an facu lty of idealization-, ye t th a t it lies w ith man todeterm ine to w hich side the balance of p-ower shall incline, and- th a t it pleases him , theoretically a t least, to give the preference to- his ideal of good, and m aking th a t the Suprem e, to com m it all creative power* in to his hands, even th e power th a t p roduces th e Devil ; a f a c t ' recognized in the H ebrew saying, 11 the L o rd c rea te evil.’

“ B ut though we thus a tta in our- conception of th e existence of th e personified evil by a process identical w ith th a t which b rings us to God, nam ely, by im agining one side of our nature* as divested of lim itations, i t does no t follow th a t the natu res of these two b e in g s correspond in detail. In the* devil th ere is no distinction of persons o r d istribu tion of functions; no trin ity of F a th e r; Son and Spirit, of God, W om an an d Offspring; These are the- essential a ttribu tes of creative in telligence only and of loving impulse: H a te crea tesnought,, save a hell fo r itself and! its victim s. The function of th o

; f sole Being so le /— th e personified selfishness^—is destruction .^ (Tho K ey of the Creeds.) ■ . i

In th e Zend A vesta of the Zoroastrians, th e words;, A hura, M azd; and A hura M azd, a re prom iscuously u s e d ; b u t it appears th a t A h u ra is eq u ira len t to the Being : M azd, to th e wisdom or in telli­gence ; and A h u ra M azd, to the Demiurgus> the creator, the un i­versal sp irit; ye t, as we have said, all the th ree term s a re used fw one another,— a fau lt not uncommon- w ith m any doctrines. Tho A n ra M ainyus is equivalen t to th e principle of non-Being, though th e word has ano ther signification as opposed to the- S pen ta M ainyus. Thifc sub jec t has, however) been sufficiently dwelt upon in m y last paper. .

T h a t A h u ra M azd is em inently the divine sp irit w ill'be g a th e re d from th e following ra th e r lengthy bu t very valuable quotation from th e work of th e Germ an Doctor W ilhelm G eiger, entitled 1 tc C iviliza­tion of th e E ast e ra Iran ians in A ncien t tim es

“ A hura M azd is th e R u le r ancF K ing of the in risib le , as well as of th e visible world. I t is H e Him self who has revealed H is holy relig ion to Zaratliusti*a. In H is b e in g A h u ra M azd is a S p irit. H is most conspicuous a ttribu tes are Asha, ‘ Holiness, and C histi, ‘ W isdom / Even H is name describes Him as th e ‘W ise’ (M azd), and

as the 'Lord* (Ahura,). E xtrem ely characteristic is th e very, address which constantly recurs in the V endidad : ‘ A h u ra M azdthe most blissful spirit, c rea to r of th e corporeal w orld, Thou H oly V or more briefly only: “ C reator of th e Corporeal W orld , Thou Holy !”

“ W ith th is we may. also fu r th e r com pare .the first words of the first Y asna : . -

‘ I declare it, and I v en era te the :C reator, A h u ra M azd, th e B rilliant, R a d ia n t,. the G reatest, B est, M ost B eautifu l, M ightiest, W isest, Best-form ed, most exalted th rough H oliness, G iving P ro ­fusely, G ran ting Much Bliss, W ho crea ted us, W ho p repares us, W ho m aintains us, the Most B lissful S p ir i t / ,

“ In the above are given th e p rincipal a ttr ib u te s th a t constitu te th e n a tu re of A hura M azda.

“ H e is a S p ir i t . H e is no t anthropom orphous. T hough H e is rep re ­sen ted as speaking, th ink ing and acting , 110 passage of th e A vesta au thorizes us to assume th a t A h u ra M azd was tho u g h t to exist in any definite visible.form. T he expression ( B est fo rm ed / m ust not be pressed too far, and if, on th e o ther hand, m ention is m ade of* the m ost beautifu l body of M azd / we m ust re g a rd such language as sym bolical. F o r the sun is expressly spoken of ‘ as the body of M a z d / and no one could well affirm th a t th is designation should be understood literally . L ig h t is indeed of th e essence of A h u ra ; and lienee the sun as the source of percep tib le lig h t ren d ers M azd, so to say* visible himself.

“ A h ura M azd is a S p ir i t . 1 H e is a superhum an and tran scen ­dent being. H is a ttrib u tes a re therefo re chiefly sp iritual ones. H e is th e W ise, the Om niscient, th e Holy or P u re , tlie B enign.

“ A h u ra M azd is also identified w ith th e B est H oliness, w ith A sh avah ista . * H oly’ and f P u re ’ are his constan t ep ithe ts. A ll is good in H im , as also only goodness issues from H im . A nd as the believers in M azd shall im ita te H im , so also they, as the ( p u re’ or* holy’ are styled the AshavdnO.

“ A hura M azd does not s tan d alone. H e is also th e h igh est am ongst all the spirits. Thus H e is surrounded by a body of genii o r angels, who assist Him in H is work, or, to whom certa in spheres of ac tiv ity are assigned. The m igh tiest aud m ost venerab le am ongst them are “ the A m esha-Spenta. i T heir nam e signifies th e blissful im m ortal;”‘ P la to com pares the F irs t P rincip le to the sun. “ F o r as the sun by his lig h t not only confers tho pow er of be ing seen on visible objects, b u t is likewise the cause of th e ir genera tion , n u trim en t and in c re a se ; so the good, th ro u g h superessential ligh t, im p arts being , and the power of being know n, to ' ev e ry th ing w hich is the ob ject i of knowledge.” “ H ence,” says D am ascius, “ th is h ighest God is seen afar off as it w ere obscu re ly ; and if you approach nearer, he is beheld still m ore obscure ly ; an d lastly , he takes away the ability of perce iv ing o th e r objects. H e is, th e re ­fore, tru ly an incom prehensible an d inaccessible ligh t, and is profoundly com pared to the s u n : upon w hich th e m ore a tten tiv e ly you look, the more you will be d ark en ed and b linded ; and will only b rin g back w ith you eyes s tu pefied w ith excess of lig h t.” *

* Tho Introduction to the Parmenides of Pluto by Thomas Taylor.

The D ivine S p irit is Sevenfold or hns seven D iv ine pow ers wliich are called th e A m esha-Spentas, or the Im m ortal B enefacto rs. They are Called; (1) Ahura-M azd / (2) Vohumano ; (3) A slia- V ah is ta ; (4) K h sh tlira -V airya ; (5) Spenta^ A rm aiti; (6 ) H a u r v e ta t ; (7) A m erta t. 1

A ccord ing to th e K abbalists, these Divine powers a re ca lled God’s Spirits, th e spirits of the invisible ligh t, and are respec tive ly denom inated th u s : (1) th e S p irit of wisdom j (2) th e S p ir it of u n d e rs ta n d in g ; (3) the S p irit of counsel; (4) th e S p irit of p o w e r; (5) th e S p irit of k n o w ledge; (6 ) the Spirit of rig h teo u sn ess ; (7) th e S p irit of D ivine awfulness. “ They: are the Pow ers or th e Elohim of God, and are co -equal-and co-eternal. E ach has in itself th e n a tu re of the whole. E ach is a perfect entity . Of th em all is th e whdle of G od’s substance pervaded. A nd in th e ir ind iv idual m anifestations, th ey are the Gods.” *

A ccord ing to Zoroastrianism , each of the soven powers w hich collectively constitu te th e D ivine Spirit, respectively im part, (1) wisdom, .divine know ledge and perfection, (2 ) good m ind, (3) tru th fu ln ess , (4) fruitfulness*. (5). devotion and piety, (G) h ea lth fu l­ness, (7 ). im m ortality .

T he Z am yad Y asht has the following description of the A m eslia-S p e n t a s »

“ The s trong kingly m a je s ty < created by M azd praise we, w hich belongs to the A m esha-Spentas, th e shining, having efficacious eyes, g rea t, helpful, strong , A hurian— who are im perishable an d pure. . . r • , 1.

“ W hich are all seven of like m ind, like speech, all seven do ing alike, like is th e ir mind, like th e ir word, like is th e ir action, lik e th e ir F a th e r and R uler, nam ely, the' C reator A hilra-M azd.'

^ O f whom one sees the soul of the o ther, how it th in k s on good tho u g h ts , how it th inks on good Words, how it th in k s 011

good deeds, th in k in g on' G aro-nem ana. T heir ways are sh in ing w hen they come h ith e r to the offering g ifts. r

“ W hich are th e re th e creators and the destroyers of th e c rea tu res of A hura-M azd, th e ir , c reato rs And; overseer^, th e ir pro tectors and rulers. • '

“ T hey it is who fu rth e r th e w orld a t will so th a t it does n o t grow old and die, does not become co rrup t and stinking, bu t ever- living, ever-profiting , a kingdom as one wishes it, th a t the dead m ay arise, and Im m ortality for the living may come, w hich goes accord ing to wish, fu rtherance for the world* ,

“ The worlds which teach p u rity will be immortal, th e P ru k h s will d isappear a t tho tim e. , So soon as it. comes to the p u re to slay him , ancl his hundred-fold seed th en it is (ripe) for dy in g an d fleeing aw ay.” \

On the physical plane, the A m esha-Spentas rep resen t th e various stages of the evolution of th e : substance in th e ir due o rder. A shavah ista represents the ethereal e lem en ts; K h sh tlira -V a iry a , th e m in e ra ls ; Spenta-A rm aiti, the earth ly elem ents ; H a u rv e ta t, th e w atery elem ents; A m ertat, the vegetable, k in g d o m ; Voliu-

* “ The Perfect Way.’1

m ano, the animal kingdom ; and A hura M azd, m an (not rud im entary 1 man but man reg en era te ). These are th e various stages through which the D ivine S p irit passes or has to pasS before arriv ing again a t th e po in t or the State from w hich it originally started . The G aham bars or the season festivals, w hich the Zoroastrians celebrate, and which are six in a year, ap p ea r more in accordance w ith the six passion d a y s ' of th e C hristians. The G aham bars in th e ir consecutive orders re fer to th e evolutions th u s: (I) the heaven (or the e thereal e lem en ts); (2 ) th e w atery elem ents; (3) th e earth ly e lem en ts; (4) th e v egetab le k in g d o m ; (5) the anim al k ingdom ; (6 ) th e hum an k ingdom .’ 1 T hese are th e six staged of *the evolutions 6 f th e substance, a fte r p a ss in g th ro u g h which, the D ivine Spirit, u ltim ately en te rs th e seven th sta te , th& sta te of Itse lf, and a rriv ing th e re , rests from th e ac tiv ity of evolution, before another till'll of m anifesta tion is ripe and th is rest is the end of the K alp» of th e H indus. 1 •

The A m esha Spenta, S penta-A rm aiti is often m en tioned in the Zend Avesta-, as the d augh ter of Ahura, M azd ; w hile F ire (the ethereal element) represen ted by the A m esha Spenta* A sha- vahesta, is the son of A hura M azd. T he peculiar ch a rac te ris tic of Spenta-A rm aiti is th a t of purify ing . Now it is well know n th a t m any doctrines tak e water, to be the symbol of m a tte r and possessed of the p roperty of purification^ t e d call i t e ither the* spouse or th e d au g h te r of th e Spirit. M a tte r is, again , th e symbol of the d ivine substance, in th a t m a tte r is th e densified sta te of th e substance^ and is th a t som ething which is essential to the p u rify in g of ihe Spirit. ’ In the Zoroastrian ceretnonies m a tte r is sym bolized by w ater (or w hat is called th e Z astlira) and the S p irit, by th e Haoinrt juice. In th e C hristian symbolbgy, the equivalents a re w ater and wine respectively. T hus w hen Spenta A rinaiti is* spoken of as th e daugh ter of A hura Mazd, th e in terp re ta tion is th a t she is thd symbol of th e divine substance. F ire is th e symbol of th e S p irit of soul regenerated by means of the Substance or of Water, o r o th e r­wise expressed, it is til’d result of the sp irit purified, by its conjunc­tion With or its crucifixion through lhatterJ ' '

“ W hen the com ing A sha shall sm ite the D rukhs, w hen th e re comes w hat was announced as de lusive; im m ortality .fo r m en and D aevas, th en shall thy profitable land incipease, O A h u ra !” (Y asna 4 ? ) . ’ The w ord A sh a here as elsewhere stands for A shavahista. T h e a rriv a l o f th e ' A sha indicates th a t ultim ate M ahapralaya^ w hen t h e . , to ta lity of the sp irit shall have com pletely passed th ro u g h the ordeal of purification an cl’ w hen th e substance too shall have resolved itself into th e original s ta te of B eing. I t Will be then th a t the tru th will be realized th a t the im m ortality bf m en a n d of Daevas (the evil spirits of the astra l sphere) was delusive an d not real. Applied individually, th e a tta in in g to' A sha or A shavah ista means the accomjplfshinent of th a t sp iritua l perfection , w hich is and which ougl^t. to be the . u ltim ate and t h e . only ob jec t o f m ankind. . ‘ , , ‘ 1

A rd v isu r is another name for w ater or for the symbol of substance and is of fem inine sex. She is often spoken of aud p raised in con­

nection w ith th e MazdiasniaA law. This M azdiasnirtn law is tho Z oroastrian doctrine, the essential precept of which is p u rity in th o u g h t, word, and deed, and which leads one td Gbd.

D iiu njibbo y J a m setjee M ed h o r a .

S A R T H A N T H IK A S A M A D H I. : ' ' "■ : • • P art I I . ' : ( ’ ’ ' .

Vdkya.ms ^Sentences.) ' , .’ 1, T he s ta te in wliich th e individual soul m erges in to th o universal soul, w here th e re is no th ripu ti— i . e . , the d istinc tions of th e S igh t, th e Seeing, an d the Seen,— and the condition of in fin ite blissfulness an d .th e form of pure energy, is S am adh i.

2. H av ing given up th e m editation and the position of a m edi­ta to r , the ac t of know ing, w ith as calm a mind as the steady lam p in w indless room, essentially th e ob jec t of m editation is S am adh i.

3. T he inind becom ing m otionless, assim ilates itself j w ith P a r a -m dth m a . T his is S am adh i. i - >

4. W hile know ledge grow ing to h igher knowledge reveals the existence of Param dth m a in one’s own heart, self pride (A h a n k a ra ), M ind (M anas) and B u ddhi d isappear. This is tiam ddhi.

5. U n itin g P ran a Vdyu and A pdna Vayn, and storing up b rea th ,and resolutely looking a t th e tip of the nose, and s ittin g in th e well know n posture of S han m ukti* and listen ing to the sound of P ran av a— O m ; w ith these helps, m ind sinks away th e re only. This is Sam ddhii i !

6 . A s there is no m ilk in the cow’s tea ts a fte r the cow is m ilked,so th e re is no m ind a fte r the destruction of jail passions. ; T his is ftlso S am adhi. i

7— 8 . W h en th e fine know ledge-giving senses re jec tin g the ir sensations and un iting them selves w ith m ind, rem ain in the ir tru e an,d orig inal natu re , and w hen B \iddh i is steady and firm, th en th a t s ta te is the best one as they Say., 1 . !' ! Slokam s (Vers&g.)" \

9 — 10. The one and suprem e sta te of existence is th a t which is perfec tly calm , Which has desires and designs, and which is yet as steady and unm oving as a piece of stone, and which has neither w aking nor sleeping Conditions.

11. W hen the P rdn a V dyu (B reathing) is moving to and f r6 th ro u g h the Sushum na road (i. e. when th e b rea th is passing in and out equally th ro u g h the two nostrils sim ultaneously), then tho m ind or Chiththam will be calm and quiet.

12. The sta te in which the m ind is s teady and calm, is know nas M andnm ani. ' : * '

13. A person who is a Jtvanm u kth a has this destruction of th is fo rm atory m ind. (A Jivanm uktha , , in , brief, is .“ a.* m an m > tho w orld, b u t no t o f tlie world.” )

14. T h a t person, after th e destruction, o f , his botdy, a tta in s Videham ukshi (i. e. Re-birthless M oksha).

* Posturo of Shaniiiukhi,:—is closing tho r.Jtrg, eyos, , aiid nose, ' fixing ‘ tho sight and mind between the two eye-brows, and perceiving tho sacred Ntida, Hindi/, nnd Kaln; (Vido Sri Sftharawnnjati^yamJ Canto I, YCrse 106) j which correspond to A, U, and M of Om (Ibid, Ycree 126),

1 0 . W hen : Chiththam haft soared above th e influence of tho m ighty world, (i. e. when th e earth ly desires have ceased), th e state of those th a t have lost th e tnind, i n : its > undesiring .w akeful condition, is still called a sleeping one.

17. S an kalpa or desire be ing absent, th is is n e ith e r a w aking nor a dream ing condition. *

18. N or is it* a sleeping condition, inasm uch as th e re no t a complete unconsciousness and m otionlessness.

19. B u t th is is the S a th ya G nyanam or know ledge of, T ru th ,w hich is like fire to th e hay-like Vdsana, (i. e. th e m ateria l affini­ties contracted in ,the past and p resen t b irth s ; i i i/b r ie f , the recol­lections of the past.) 1 , 1 ■ *: . i

2 0 . The very w ord Sam ddh i explains i t ; and i t does nqt ineaiiany th ing e lse ., , , 1 7

2 1 -2 2 . E ith e r by changelessness, or by reg a rd in g every th ing as B rahm a, ignoring in toto th e ex ternal actions is S am ddh i.

23-24. T ha t sta te or m anner of life, w hich resu lts a f te r tho I t aja. (Love) D wesha (H atred) &c. have p ined aw ay under tho sublim e B rahm a G nyanam (i. e. D ivine know ledge ol\ T heosophy), is w hat is called Sam ddhi. \

25—:26. T h a t sta te w hich regards him self as P a ra B rahm a, and vice versa, and destroys all, k inds of actions (ra th e r desires) o ugh t to be known as S am adhi. ' ;J;

27. Iden tify in g one!s self w ith, o thers,— tlie Hse of th is know ­ledge is S am ddhi. ’ • . •

28. The com plete forgetfu lness of m editation is S am ddh i.29— 30. E njoying a sort of tranquillity in p ie m ind which is

purified by th e good deeds, th e tru th , and th a t w hich is to be know n— the know ledge of these is B rahm a as th e sages say, and as th e word S am ddhi itself im plies.

31— 32. The word S am ddh i also signifies th a t B rahm a who is above all pains and all selfishness, and who is unaffected by hap ­piness and m isery, a n d whose sta te is more m otionless th an th e firm M eru m ountain. • v ! r < *

33— 34. T he word Sam ddhi fu rth e r signifies th a t th a t s ta te of th e fulness of m ind which is a resolute one, w hich is rooted out, which has n e ith e r likes nor d is lik es ,; and w hich know s n e ith e r reception nor rejection, is B rahm a. , i : \ ; ' . 1

35— 30. T he same kind of assim ilation betw een A th in a an d M anas (mind) as th a t betw een • watei* an d s a l t ; ‘is said to be S a m d d h i. . 1 • ■ - ; ■ - 1 I i ‘ ‘ ' •

37— 38. 1 T hat state where th e Jitid thvia a n d 1 Pdram dthm a, (In ­dividual soul and Universal soul) are on a par, an d which is th e buria l ground of all desires, is said to be S a m d d h i. r

39—40. T hat sta te which is void of , pride>, void o f m ind, void of hnddhi, void of sensual actions, ahd void of all sorts of Work 3, an d has - no rem iniscences of th e p ast or . th e p re se n t,,is said to bp S am ddh i.

41— 42. Giving np pride, th e stream of th e Works of m ind w hich has become Brahm a, through practice, in m edita tion , becomes S a y n p ra g n y d th a G nyd n a m . :■ i ■ « 1

43— 14. The ch ith tham , whoso actions are all subsided, and w hich d isplays th e e ternal bliss, and which is known as A sam jiragn ydtham , in an essential qualification of those th a t practise S am ddh i.

45— 46. Tho sta te of a person who, being drow ned in the ocean of self-experience (of divine know ledge), is perfectly ind ifferen t to visible ob jects and ex ternal sounds, and which s ta te is like tho lam p in a w indless place, is the N irv ik a lp a S am ddh i (i. c ., S a m d d h i w hich has no changes of desires.)

47— 49. The S am ddh i w hich has neither m ind, buddhi, no r chith tham , and w hich is th e em bodim ent of Chith or G nyanam itself, and which despises and re jec ts all earthly th ings, and which i.s p rac tised by tho M unis or Sages, is full above, below, and betw een, and is godly.

50. T his m ost excellent S am ddh i was born of th a t very B rah ­m a’s face, (i. e., th is S a m d d h i is the most sacred and im portan t one.)

B. r . N ., B. A., F . T. S.

M Y S T I C R E V E R I E S .

ON E evening, when reclin ing on my couch, u tte rly dejected , dissatisfied w ith my a ttem p ts in m aking progress in tho

occult knowledge, and gazing out into space, ray eyes becam o fixed on a b rig h t star, th a t sen t its rays into my room. A nd as th u s I gazed, my inner hearing was opened, and I heard , w hat a t first was like the m urm uring of the sea, as i t b reaks upon tho shore. Then the rh y th m changed, and wave upon wave, billow upon billow, oceans of harm onious sound broke upon m y en tranced ear. A nd from th e n o rth , from the south, from tho cast and the w est thereof, th ere was one glorious choral chant, and w hich seem ed to say “ E nd is th e re none to th e U niverse of God, so also there is ho B eg inn ing .” A nd as thus I listened, th e re flashed across m y m em ory th a t short sketch of the musio of th e spheres in Isis U nveiled.* T h a t the reciprocal relations betw een th e p lanetary bodies are as perfect as those between tho corpuscles of the blood, Which float in a common fluid ; and th a t each one is affected by the com bined influences of all the rest, as each in tu rn affects each of th e others. As the planets differ in size, d istance, and activ ity , so differ in intensity their impulses upon tho e th er or a stra l ligh t, and the m agnetic and other subtile forces rad iated by them in certain aspects of tho heavens. Music is the combination and m odulation of sounds, and sound is an effect produced by vibration . Now, if tho im pulses com m unicated to the e ther by the different %plaliots may bo likened to the tones produced by the different notes of jo m usical instrum ent, it is not difficult to conceive th a t the P y th a ­gorean (( m usic of the spheres” is som ething more than a mero fancy, and th a t certain p lanetary aspects may imply d istu rbances in the e th e r of our planet, aud certain others re s t and harm ony. Certain kinds of music throw us into frenzy ; somo ex a lt th e soul

* Vol. J, pago 275.

to religious aspirations. In fac t there is scarcely a lium an crea­tion wliich does not respond to certain v ibrations of the atm osphere.

I f we and the anim als are affected individually hy v ibrations acting upon a very m inute scale, why m ay we not be influenced in the mass by vibrations ac tin g upon a g ran d scale as th e effect of combined ste llar influences ?

I also noticed th a t each s ta r gave fo rth a certain musical note, and I solved th e problem w hy one certa in note in music always affected me m ore than the o th e r s ; th is note was given fo rth by m y N ata l S ta r, and as thus I listened I grew calm and quiet, and I knew th a t all would be well in the fu tu re , th a t th is life is b u t a dream , and we only tru ly aw ake, when the grim circle of necessity is broken, and th en the music of th e spheres will con­tinually ring in our ears. B u t before we reach th a t happy sta te , a long journey is before m ost of us. F o r th e m om ent a tru ly earnest occult s tu d en t enters the s tra ig h t and narrow pa th , all h is o r h e r previous K arm a concentrates itself to a point, and is no t sp read out, as it would be, if they lead b u t an o rd inary life. T hey m ust persevere and reach th e goal they are striv ing for or perish in th e a ttem pt. They m ust be k ind and considerate of the feel­ings of others, no t puffed up or vain, nor m ust they th in k th a t no one else has th e tru th b u t them selves, for if egotism or ra th e r egoism enters th e m ind th e journey becomes lengthened . B ut a t th e same tim e they m ust no t cast pearls before swine. They m ust also be just, and sometimes severe, especially to those who would use arcane know ledge for w orldly and selfish purposes.

L et us be tru e Theosophists, in W ord , T hough t and D eed. L e t us ever be ready to lend a help ing h and to those who need help, sparing others bu t no t ourselves, and le t i t grow into our h ea rts and understand ing , th a t we are all a p a r t of one g ran d stupendous whole— from the h ighest to tho lowest, from th e k in g upon his throno, to the beggar in th e s tree t. The m an in th e g u tte r is an in tegral p a r t of the g re a t unity . I f we unselfishly strive for others, doing good w herever we can, doing our du ty because it is our duty , yet not slavishly, liv ing up to our h igh est Ideals, we may rest assured th a t help w ill come, ju s t as soon as it is deserved* • ,

S tanley B. S exton , F . T. S .

T H E E O S IC R U C IA N S *

IT is a rem arkab le historical fact, th a t the R osicrueian o rd e r sp ran g in to existence, some throe centuries ago, like M inerva

from the head of Zeus, completely form ed and organised w ithou t any visib le source whence the exoteric world m ig h t trace its beg inn ings. Indeed th e m em bers of tho order them selves n ro by no m eans certa in as to its precise origin, and th e m ost fa r­fe tched theories thereupon are to be found iu their w ritings.

A ll th e accounts however agree in pointing to an orig in ou tside E urope in O riental lands, and for this opinion there m ust havo been some h istorical grounds th a t have been either lost or com pletely shrouded beneath the veil of symbolism. On the one hand it is im possible th a t a detailed constitu tion such as th a t of the O rder, to g e th e r writh a system of occult science th a t em braces every dom ain of transcenden tal know ledge, should havo been the 'p ro d u c t of a single m an and a single epoch. There m ust ra th e r have been th e co-operation of m any m en of h igh spiritual a tta in m en ts; and th u s those hypotheses w hich a ttrib u te the foundation of the O rder to a single m an such as S tudion or Valentine A ndrea are untenable,, an d can only have arisen th ro u g h the prevailing ignorance about th e O rder.

I t is know n th a t every form of occultism was cultivated am ong th e E gyp tian priesthood, th a t m agic : m agnetism , astrology an d th e secrets of chem istry found th e ir votaries in tho tem ples. Since Moses was said to be learned in all th e wisdom of th e E g y p tian s, w hich wisdom, as we know, included m agic, there is no in h e ren t im probability in th e kabbalistic trad ition according to w hich Moses, w ith whom, the Rosicrucians claim a certa in connec­tion, com m unicated his knowledgo to certa in chosen m em bers of liis nation. P erhaps we ough t to consider the Essenes and th e T h e ra p e u te of the earliest C hristian tim es as bearers of the M osaic tradition,, while the depositaries of the E g y p tian temple- secrets, m ust be looked for in th e N eo-P latonists, especially Jam blichus.

I t is certa in , th a t from some such elem ents as these, among E uropeans of Greco-Rom an cu ltu re , th ere existed in the first cen tu ries of our era, a secret society, th e principal aim of w hich w as, to g e th e r w ith m agico-m ystical studies, the transm utation of m etals or alchemy. Such' a society is referred to in the following passage from Thoelden’s (Tollii) “ Coclum rescratum ch o m c u m ’ : “ O ur ancestors again u n ited them selves in th e tim e of V alerius D iocletian, in the year 248. This ty ran t reigned tw enty years and d u rin g his reign m any of the good old men wrere m arty red th ro u g h his cruel rage, while not only learned men b u t o thers also w ere com pelled to flee for safety to o ther lands with th e ir w ives an d children, etc.” Reference is plainly here m ade to a m ystical society,, w hich was in course of timo destroyed th ro u g h hostile c ircum stances, bu t afterw ards reconstitu ted .

This view is supported by Professor Kopp in h is tc H is to ry of C hem istry” and “ M aterials for a history of chem istry .” K opp accounts in th is way for the rem arkable fact th a t, from the fourth?.

* Translated from tlie “ Sphinx,

to the sixth century, there was quite a flood of alchem ical w ritings in the Greek language containing an am ount of practical chemical knowledge, of which the prose w riters of the classical age, such as Diodorus Siculus, P liny, Dioscorides and o thers, give no indication th a t they knew anything. This is fu rth e r confirmed by the fix ity of chemical symbolism and th e m ystical p roperties a ttrib u ted to certain chem ical substances, so th a t we are obliged to suppose th a t these th ings were more universal and of more ancient orig in , because isolated searchers, during the confusion of the g re a t m ig ra­tions, would hard ly have been able to find e ith er leisure for such studies or a receptive public to appreciate them . W e can th e re ­fore only conclude th a t the long course of experim ental research undertaken by a closed body was w ritten down, and thus com­m unicated to th e new m em bers, who were adm itted from tim e to tim e into its ranks.

A s we find th a t the A rabians were the guard ians of the scien- ces> so we find ex isting am ong them various secret unions hav ing m ystical and alchem ical studies as the ir object: These are re fe r­red to iy. the different accounts of the schools of m agic a t Toledo, Salam anca, Barcelona and o ther places, th e existence of w hich is confirmed by B ernhard B asinus in his “ I)e cultibus m agicis” and by M artin Delrio in his “ De disquisionibus m a g i c i s both theso w riters being* S pan iards living a t a tim e w hen these schools were still flourishing. I t is needless to m ention th a t these schools of m agic were not establishm ents w here instruction was given in tho a r t of “ raising th e devil” bu t centres of m eeting for societies such as have been already described. I t is well know n th a t th e A ra ­bians were deep studen ts of alchemy, m agic, astrology, etc., and in proof th a t th is was so I need only m ention th e nam es of Geber, A vicenna, Rhases and A verrhoes.

As Christendom began to shake off the chains of barbarism in Europe, young men of all nations tu rned th e ir eager steps to Spain , to sit a t the feet of the g rea t m asters and learn from them tho secre t sciences. Such a studen t was G erhard of Crem ona (about 1130), wrho first transla ted A ristotle and Ptolem y into L atin , also th e celebrated doctor of medicine A rnald of Y illanova (about 1243), and P e tru s of Agano (died 1403), and lastly th e celebrated R ay ­m ond Lully who died in 1336 and Pope S y lvester I I a na tive of L orraine.

A ll theso men were deeply versed in the secre t sciences, w hence th ey w ere reputed to be m agicians. They n a tu ra lly sought to sp read the knowledge they had acquired and a t th a t epoch th is could only be accomplished th ro n g h th e m eans of secret societies.

Of the existence of such societies we find proofs from the w ritings of these men. Thus in the “ Tfieoria” of R aym ond L ully , p rin ted in th e “ Thealrum chemicitm Argentoratum ” (1613) there is a pas­sage in which m ention is m ade of a society Cf Societas ph ysicoru m ” and of a “.Bex physicorum ” and in the " R o s a ry ” of A rnald of V illanova, w ritten about 1230 and included in th e fourth volum e o f the “ Thcatrum Chnmicum ” we find traces of a sim ilar society a cen tu ry before the days of Lully, as we find m ention m ade of “ sons of th e O rder.”

In the samo volume (page 1028) wo fu rth e r find a bishop of Treves, Count von Falkenstein , spoken of as “ m ost illustrious an d serene prince and fa th e r of philosophers” in the fourteen th cen tu ry . T h a t the above was one of the titles of the h igher officers of tho Rosi- crucian O rder is proved by the title of a m anuscrip t in m y posses­sion called (t Compendium totius Philosophice et Alchemice. F ra - te m ita tis Rosce Cruris ex m andato Serenissim i Cornitis de F alkenstein , Im pera toris nostri Anno D om in i 1 3 7 4 ”

T his m anuscrip t contains an exposition of alchemical theories in accordance w ith the science of the tim e w ith a collection of such processes are as are of value in practical alchemy. A lthough i t con tains no philosophy or theology in the m odern sense of tho w ords, th is m anuscrip t has still a certain historical value as in it we find the first use of th e title rf Im pera to r” as applied to a m em ber of the O rder and also this is the earliest ex tan t m ention of th e nam e “ F ra te rn ita s Rosse Crucis” (F ra te rn ity of the Rosy Cross). I t is proba.ble th a t th e old secret brotherhoods of A lche­m ists and m ystics had th is nam e a t the tim e of the appearance of th e m any “ R osaries” produced by snch men as A rnald, L ully , O rtholanus, R oger Bacon, etc., and united the symbol of the rose w hich represen ts the secret as well as ineffable bliss, w ith th e cross or symbol of the C hristian faith .*

T he earliest ex tan t accounts of the O rder of Rosicrucians a re abou t contem poraneous w ith this m anuscrip t and the actual h isto ry of th e order may thus be said to commence from th is time. T his how ever is not very extensive as the O rder, en tire ly free from w orldly aims or am bition, devoted its whole energy to the eleva­tion of m ankind and the search a fte r the secrets of na tu re . Tho w rite r is how ever in a position td furnish some in te resting facts connected w ith the O rder, as his g rea t g ran d fa th e r was long one of its m ost zealous m em bers and held th e office of Im pera to r. D u rin g the years from 1764 to 1802 he copied out the chief conten ts of the arch ives of th e O rder and th is m anuscrip t lib rary is still in my possession.

A bout the year 1378 C hristian R osenkreutz, a k n ig h t of noble fam ily, newly re tu rn ed from th e E ast, estab lished a secret society a t some place now unknow n. R osenkreutz who had learned m any secrets during his travels in A rab ia and C haldea, was the head of th is order, and its ob jec t was th e s tudy of the h ig h er chem istry or th e search for the “ Ph ilosophers’ S tone.”

T he society began w ith four m em bers th e ir num ber being a fte rw ard s increased to e igh t. These lived with R osenkreutz in a bu ild ing erected by him called S an cti S p ir itu s . Linder a p ledge of secrecy R osenkreutz d ic ta ted to the other m em bers tho secrets he had learnt, and th is know ledge was w ritten on t in books. A lth o u g h it m ay have contained o ther sim ilar m anuscrip ts of o lder d a te , these books form ed th e nucleus of tho lib ra ry of th e O rder, an d in m y collection there are a num ber of m anuscrip ts , b eg in ­

# Similar proofs thongh of a less striking naturo that tho Ropicrncians aro descended from tho above named societies, may be found in tho book of the great Kabbalist Pico de Mirandole “ Do Oro” which went through many editions and is to be found in all large libraries.

n in g from tlio y ear 1400, eacli inscribed w ith th e d a te a t 'w h ic h ifc was w ritten and the nam e of th e Im p era to r by whose o rders ifc was prepared. r '

Ih e rules pf the society founded by C hristian R osenkreutz wero as follows : The m em bers were to heal the sick w ithout accep tingrem uneration for so doing. T here w~as to be no d istinct uniform worn by m em bers of the brotherhood as such, b u t each was to dress in accordance w ith the custom s of his country. A t a certa in day in every year all the b ro thers w ere to m eet in the bu ild ing above m entioned, or assign good reasons for th e ir absence. E ach was to choose out a w orthy person to be his successor in case of death . The le tte rs R. C. w ere to form th e ir seal and w atchw ord. I h e brotherhood was to rem ain a secret one for a period of ono hundred years.

R osenkreutz is said to have died a t th e age of 106. The o th er m em bers knew of his death bu t they d id not know where he w as buried , it being a maxim w ith th e first R osicrucians th a t th e ir place of burial should be concealed even from th e m em bers of tho O rder. In the same build ing o th er m asters were chosen as necessity required , and the society continued fo r about 1 2 0 years never having more than eigh t m em bers, new ones being adm itted only to tak e the place of those th a t died , u n d er an oath of silenco and fidelity.

A fter th is tim e a door was discovered in th e bu ild ing (probably somewhere in South Germany) and on its being opened it w'as

. found to lead to a buria l vault. T he door boro th e inscrip tion “ Post nnnos G X X pa.tebo.” The vault had seven sides and corners, each side being five feet broad and eigh t feet h igh . I t was ligh ted by an artificial sun. In th e m iddle, instead of a tom b-stone, th e re was a round a lta r and on ifc a small p la te of brass bearing the inscription “ A . C. R. C. Hoc Universi Com peiidinm virus m ih i Sepulc.hr mn fc c i” (W hile alive I m ade th is my sepulchre the com­pendium of the universe). Round the edge was “ Jesus mrh.i o m n ia ” In the m iddle were four figures w ith th e inscription : “ N equaquam vacuum. Legis Jugum. L ibertas E vangelii. D ei gloria In ta c ta ! T he vault was divided by the brothel's into roof or sky, wall or sides, and earth or pavem ent. T he roof and th e pavem ent w ere in triang les tow ards the seven sides, and each side was divided in to ten squares, which were to be explained to those newly adm it- ed. Each side had a door to a chest in which different th in g s W’ere kept, especially the secret books of the O rder and o th e r w ritings, which la tte r also m igh t be seen by th e profane. In theso chests were found am ong o th er th ings, “ m irrors possess­in g many virtues, little bells, b u rn in g lam ps, all so a rranged th a t oven after m any hundred years, w hen tlie whole O rder had been destroyed, ifc could, by m eans of tlio th in g s in th is vau lt, bo again restored.”

U nder the a ltar, a fter rem oving th o b rass p la te , the b ro th e rs found the body of Rosenkreutz, undecayed and un in ju red . In h is h an d he held ri book w ritten on parchm en t w ith golden characters.

w ith th e le tte r T on the cover,* and a t the end signed by eighfc b ro th e rs “ in two different circles, who had been p resen t a t tlio d ea th and burial of the fa ther of the R osicrucians.” .

In the testam ent th e society offers its secrets to the wholo world ; it declares th a t it belongs to the C hristian religion bu t to no pa rticu la r s e c t ; th a t it honours all g o v e rn m e n t; “ th a t th o m ak ing of gold is b u t a small th ing to them , and th a t they have a thousand b e tte r ob jec ts .” The w riting ends w ith the w ords : “ O ur bu ild ing S a n c ti S p ir i tm , though a hundred thousand m en have seen it, shall rem ain for ever undisturbed, undestroyed , unseen and well h idden from th e godless w orld.”

The m anuscrip ts in m y possession are the only record of tho doings of tho R osicrucians du rin g the fifteenth century. A m ong these there is especially a C lavis Sapiential (key of wisdom) or “ a d ialogue on wisdom (Alchemy) with a scholar of note.” This is d a ted 1468 and bears th e nam e of the Im pera to r Johann C arl F riesen ; it contains a collection of im portan t alchemical processes of which somo few w ere known, though in an incomplete form, to th e ce lebrated chem ist Jo h an n K unkel von Loew enstern ,t who, as is s ta ted in th e ch ap te r on A ntim ony and Crocus M artis, in h is “ Laboratorhim chym icum ” m ade gold from one of them .

A t the beginning of the six teen th cen tury there appeared in P a ris a secret society founded by H enry Cornelius A g rip p a of Nefcteslieim in 1507. This society was connected w ith the Rosi­crucians, and th e R osicrucian Irenneus Philaletlies, when w riting in 1650, expressly calls A g rip p a Im perator.

T he R osicrucians w ere re-organised by T heophrastus P arace l­sus. D uring his long travels in the E ast he had evidently become acquain ted w ith th e In d ian secret doctrine, and lie drew afte r him in Europe a la rge num ber of disciples am ong the learned m en o f the day, and un ited the Rosicrucian system w ith tho older teach ings, though we cannot now easily trace how fa r th is was done. 1

T his “ L u th e r of m edicine” is no t only caUed in my m anu­scrip ts Im p era to r b u t also Reorganisator. M oreover the title Mon- archa Secretorum adop ted by Paracelsus and used against him as a proof of his insanity , po in ts to the same circum stance.

Paracelsus was inclined to bo a free-th inker in ecclesiastical matters* and was 7nore a ttra c te d to the teachings of L u ther th an those of the orthodox church, and from his timo we find m any protestfints in th e ranks of tho Rosicrucians such as tho doctors of medicine, Aclam von Bodenstein, M ichael Toxicates, Jo h an n H ufer, M ichael M aier and Conrad K h u n ra th who edited editions

* Perhaps the original o£ the manuscript in my possession, entitled “ Testn- m bn turn Fratruni llosav a t Auno Cruiiis,” thn above mentioned dictation of Rosenkreutz, which, next to the Bible, was considered tho most precious treasure of the Order.

t Kunkel von Locwonst^rn wns Hie discoverer of phosphorus. Ilo wns alchemist, lo tho Kurfursfc Johann ficorgo Tl of Snxonv, to Frederick William and Frederick Tl! of Urondcnburgr, as well as Charles XI of Sweden, who ennobled him on account, of his eminent services.

of tho works of Paracelsus and in a num erous collection of w rit­ings worked for the spread of the R osicrucian doctrines.*

iWnon^ the ^ c r u c i a n s such an S j V ^ o a the celebrated au th o r of “ Tho true C hristendom ’'

I Wr° a RosiCrucian book, a copy of which I possess, entitled << Zweytes S i entium D ei.” In th is m anuscrip t is ^ a u g h t the pi eparation of the philosophers’ Stone w ithout artificial fire,

y only using th e hoat of th e sun concentrated by m eans of b u rn ­ing m irrors. W hatever m ay be tho u g h t of the value of th e ir aimB m general, it is an in te restin g scientific fac t th a t th e Rosicrucians were acquainted with tlie use of burn ing m irrors a century before Isoh .rn h au sen , which m irrors were qu ite equal m power to th e celebrated w ork of th is Saxon philosopher who waaa contemporary of A ugustus the Strong. ■

in tHe ° ,'cler nn ,?fc 1,ave beon widely d is trib u tedT i , • i d 1' m !afc a n c lth e following year we find tho

F rench alchem ist B arnaud trave lling about G erm any to seek ou t th e H erm etic m asters of the Rosy Cross.

h i the year 1601 he had a L a tin le tte r p rin ted , addressed to all the Rosicrucians in 1‘ ranee w arm ly recom m ending to them K in y H enry IV and M aurice of N assau. ' F rom this we m ust g a th e r th a t B arnaud had entered into close relations w ith tho O rder and may even have been i ts 'Im p e ra to r , as also th a t H enry IV and M aurice of N assau had evinced no unfriendly disposition tow ards it. I t is rem arkab le th a t tho em peror R udolph I I , who was know n to be an eager studen t of m agic, alchem y and astrology, was never a member of the order, and th is is th e more rem arkable since ho had Rosicrucians as his physicians in G erhard D ora, T haddeus von H ayeck and M ichael M aier.

In 1604 a certain Simon S tudion, born a t U rach in W urttom burg , wroto.a m ystical work, only ex tan t in m anuscrip t, en titled " N ao- m etna. By th is he m eans a new w orship of the in n er and outer tem ple, thafc is to say, a m ystical description of the inner and ou ter man who is taken as th e tem ple of God. Tho w riter has m any mystical th ings to say about fche rose and th e cross, and produces a set of allegories a,nd apocalytic calculations th a t are perfectly unintelligible. Studion was a m ta who was g iven to seeing visionP, and who was affected w ith a sort of religious m ania. N o tw ith stand ing this, his curious work has been ignorantly supposed to be th e foundation of the Rosicrucian system , and he has been looked upon as the founder of the O rder.

Sim ilar claims have beon mado on behalf of the : w e ll-know n W urttom burg Doctor Johann V alentine A n d rea (1586-1634) a m an of high culture and learning, who w rote a “ F am a et Confestio

fra tc rn ita tis Rosae Cruets,” as woll as his b e tte r known w ork th o Chemical m arriage of Christian R osenkreu tz” and also a “ G ener-

al reform ation of the whole w ord” .

* Thero iB a good catalogue of these works in Schmiedi!7’s “ History of Alchemy ” bnt they have no interest for tho modern reader as tho symbology used in tho de’fl-

Z lr 'c l? LcUPm p S n llc MnS8 Ut ^ °f ^ u t u r j i8 no,r

Theso works mado a g rea t impression, and were im m ediately tra n s­la ted into o ther languages— the Fam a was transla ted info five d if­fe ren t tongues. The utility of these works is about equal to thoso of S tudion m entioned above. In the Fam a nnd Confessio tho history of tho k n ig h t llosenkreutz is related with a num ber of allegorical em bellishm ents. The “ Chemical M arriage” is a very abstruse alchem ical book in which the universal alchemical process is ta u g h t under tho figure of a m arriage. The setting is how ever so bizarre, all d irec t reference to chem istry being avoided, th a t 110

one—th a t is no one living a t the present day—can m ake tho leas t sense out of it. In tho “ G eneral Reform ation” he gives a p lan of an U topia on a christian-theosophical basis; b u t the book is as unsatisfactory as his o ther works.

The fact th a t these works were transla ted iuto so many languages shows th a t there m ust have been a large num ber of persons who possessed tho key to their dark symbolism, so th a t in spite of th e ir o racu lar obscurity these books were a source of commercial p ro f i t to the publishers. A m ong those in itia ted into the mysteries of th is hieroglyphical language there may. have been a. large num ber of exoteric alchem ists, who vainly tortured the ir brains to arrive at tho real m eaning of the allegories w ithout being ever able to tam e tho “ red lions.” All th a t we of this ago can say is th a t tho key to theso mystical w ritings is now lost.

The works of A ndrea were the precursors of a whole lite ra tu re , in which th e R osicrucian O rder was either defended or a ttack ed . To this belong especially the “ Five L etters to the w orshipful B ro­therhood of the Rosy Cross” (Lintz, A ustria , 1615) and the “ A n ­swer to the enligh tened B rotherhood of tho w orshipful O rder of the R. C.” dated 12th Jan u a ry 1615, in which is projected a refo r­m ation of the a rts and sciences— especially of the healing art.

One of the chief studies of the Rosicrucians of the second system was th a t of m agico-m agnetic healing. The im perial physician M i­chael M aier, in his book en titled (<S ilen tiu m post Clamores” * has an im portan t passage on this su b je c t: “ N a tu re ,” he says, “ is still half veiled. M any of her m anifestations and secret m ethods of w orking, especially those of which a know ledge is necessary for the healing a rt, are still quite hidden. Thero is especially a lack of experim ent and observation, for our senses alone arc unable to trace out the inner being and its qualities. Much g ra titude is therefore due to the Rosicrucians, those “ Indagatoribus sciential n atu ra lis” for w orking to supply th is m uch-felt need. T he ir secrets are no other than those tlia t every one, who is bu t to somo ex ten t acquainted with philosophy, m ust discover aud they enablo him by researches into tho unknown to com plete tho known an d use it to advan tage .”

A bout the year 1620 Michael M aier travelled to E ng land in order to carry on tho Rosicrucian propaganda, l ie was very well received and made the acquaintance of the ce lebra ted philosopher R obert F ludd (1575— 1037). F ludd was a genial m an, m aster of

* Frankfort IGl17; pp. 112.

all the science of his time, and hay ing m oreover a strong vein of mysticism in his character. Since about the year 1600 he had begun to study the kabbala, m agic, astrology and alchem y, as is proved by his “ I lis to ria utriusque cosm i.” *

In this work he unfolds a com plete transcenden tal system ; and it contains facts and theories of the m ost im portan t na tu re . F ludd grasped the Rosicrucian scheme w ith fiery zeal and was its most ardent defender in England. H e w rote a book called “ Sum m um bonum ” in which he drew a tten tio n to the Rosicrucian O rder and applied th e expressions used in alchem y to tho m ystical cleansing of the soul according to th e C hristian gospels. This w ork gavo rise to the view th a t all alchem y had b u t a symbolical m eaning, and th a t its teachings were to be in te rp re ted in a spiritual sense only w ithout any reference to the actual transm uta tion of m etals, an e rro r which shows a complete ignorance of the history of alchem y find of chem istry.

F lu d d ’s Sf Sum m um bonum” aroused the w rath of tlie well-known F a th e r M ersennus, the “ A th eist orum Prince,ps” and th e friend of Ram us, Peirescius and Gassendi, and a b itte r feud was created betw een F ludd and M ersennus as well as Gassendi, Theophilus bchw eighard t and others. The perusal of these controversial w ritings, collected in the large O ppenheim edition (1617— 1638), is now however w ithout in terest and alm ost unintelligible. A passage from the “ C laris ph ilosoph ic F luddance” (page 50) is how ever of some im portance. From this it appears th a t the prosperity of th e Rosicrucian O rder in E ngland was b u t short-lived, and the tran s i­tion of the Rosicrucians to tho freem asons is a t the sam e tim e liinted at. F rom th is the rise of freem asonry m ust be p laced about tho years 1629— 1635 ; though as it is not used by F ludd , it does not seem as if the nam e of freem ason was then adopted. The inventor of the nam e and tho da te of its first adoption are alike m atters of un ce rta in ty .f

In the year 1622 there was a Rosicrucian society a t the H ague, w here it was established in a palace and its m embers lived in w ealth. The society also had houses in A m sterdam , N urenberg , H am burg , D antzig , Mantua, V enice and E rfu rt. As a sign of recognition the brothers wore a black silk cord in the top b u tto n ­hole. This sign was received by neophytes a fte r they had prom is­ed under oath , as my m anuscript says, to be stran g led by such a cord ra th e r th an break the silence im posed upon them . “ T heir o ther sign is th a t when they go into com pany they all w ear a blue ribbon to which is attached a golden cross w ith a rose on it, and th is they are given on being received into th e society. This they w ear round the neck under th e ir coats so th a t not m uch of it is visible. The golden cross hangs down on the left side. T he th ird sign is th a t on the top of the head they have a shaven spot about th e size of a Louis d 'o r as you m ay see on myself. H ence m ost of them wear a w ig in order not to be recognized, they are m oreover v ery devout and live very quietly. The fourth sign is th a t on all h igh

* Opponhpim 1617, folio.f Com pa ro .lob, CoHl. Uuble “ VcHv den Urapruvrj vnd tlie. rornchmtfen SchicXsalc

des Order der Roscnkrcuirxr and Freimaurcr” Gotiitiffcn, 1802, pogo 252,

festivals, very early a t sunrise, they leave th e ir residence by th a t sam e door (the one facing the sun-rise, i . e the East) and wave a small g reen flag. W hen another of them appears a t th e p laco w here one lives, he goes to th is same place and there they e n te r into conversation in o rder to recognize one another, for in th o beg inn ing they do not tru s t one another. Thus they have a ce rta in g ree tin g am ong them selves which is as follows : The stran g er says to tho m an he is v isiting c Are F rater / ’ to which the o ther answ ers ( Roscu et A urem ; then th e first says f Crucix.’ The both to g e th e r say ‘ Benedic t us D eus Dominies noster, qui nobis ded it S ign u m .9 T hen they have a la rge docum ent to w hich the Im perator affixes th e secret seal.”

I am in a position to give an exact description of this seal sinco I was for m any years in possession of the one formerly belonging to my g re a t g ran d fa th e r, who, as m entioned above, was Im p era to r of the order. U nfortunate ly it was destroyed in the year 1874 by a fire in my p a ren ts ’ house. I t was m ade of brass and was abou t th e size of a m ark (about as large as ha lf a rupee). I t consisted of a shield w ithin a c irc le ; on the shield there was a cross a t th o base of which was a conventional rose w ith five petals. A t top , bottom and sides of the shield was tho le tte r C, and theso fo u r le tte rs s ig n ify : Crux C h risti Corona Christianorum (The cross o£ C hrist is the C hristian’s crown).

The R osicrucians of these tim es m ust nofc bo confounded w ith th e Society of th e Rose founded a t P aris about the year 1660 by an alchem ist and apo thecary nam ed Jacob Rose. T his d id no t last, and was dissolved in 1674 in consequence of the notorious B rinv illie r’s case.

A short sum m ary will be in te restin g of the chief points in th o h istory of th e O rder du ring th e seven teen th cen tury .

1604. The tw elve trac ts of Sendivogius on “ The Stone of th o Sages” w ere pub lished a t P rague . In 1605 a new edition was issued w ith an add ition addressed by th e W u rttem b erg councillor K onrad Schuler to th e G erm an princes. .

1607. B ened ic t F igu lus the R osicrucian p rin ted a “ Dialogue* of M ercury w ith a philosopher,” a w ork w hich made a g re a t im ­pression a t th e tim e.

1608. The abovenam ed K onrad Schuler published an “ E xp la­nation of th e w ritings of Basil V alen tine.”

1616. A ccording to a catalogue of th is year some Rosicrucian w ritings were sold a t P rague for the sum of 16,000 thalers.

1619. G utm ann’s celebrated m ystical work “ R evelation of D ivine M ajesty” was p rin ted a t F ran k fo rt.

1641. Two Rosicrucians who had disclosed the ir w ealth, w ero to rtu red to death in Bohemia, in o rder to ex trac t the ir secrets from them .

1652. The “ Lum en de Lum ine” of Ireneeus Phila le thes ap* peared.

In th is work the u Universal Process” is tau g h t.1667. Johannes L ange published th e “ In tro itu s apertus ill•

regium pcila tiu m ” by Irenceus P hila le thes, a t H am burg .

1673. Tlie same “ In tro itus apertu-s” was published a t F ran k - forfc in the Germ an language. F rom this tim e there is a pause of forty years in Rosicrucian activ ity .

In the year 1714 as a celebration of the centennial jubilee of tho work of tho O rder from tho tim e of the g re a t im petus given it by the publication of the “ Fam a F ratern itas” of A ndrea, the Silesian pastor, Sincerns R enatus (Richter) p u b ­lished a work entitled “ The tru e aud complete p repara tion of the Philosopher’s Stone of th e B rotherhood of the O rder of th e Golden and Rosy Cross fo r the benefit of the Sons of th e D octrine.” * In th is work th e re is the im portan t inform ation th a t u some years ago the M asters of the Rosicrucians w ent to In d ia and since th a t tim e none of them rem ained in E urope.” t

D uring the n ex t few years up to about the year 1762, we liave no au then tic news of the doings of th e Rosicrucians. My g ra n d ­fa th e r m erely m akes mention in his w ritings of an “ A d ep t” J under the cipher F . C. R., who lived in D resden in a sort of honourable im prisonm ent under the care of several officers and in 1748 m ade some four quintals of gold for the then prince of Saxony and left some “ T incture of health” of th e bulk of a hazel-nut and van ish ­ed. from his prison in somo m ysterious way. A n assistan t of th is A dept, a certa in Johann Gottlob F ried who was a fterw ards em ploy­ed a t T aucha n ear Leipsic, and who was a serving b ro th er of the R. C., inform ed my g rea t-g ran d fa th e r of th is fact, and to ld him th a t from the crucible employed in m aking the gold he had got about twenty-one thalers w orth of m etal, and had also some of the tincture. My ancestor says in a note on the m argin of a le tte r da ted 3rd Ju ly 1765, “ th a t lie has no longer any doubt as to the reality of our stone for lie had tried the tincture . I t proved to be of lead and quicksilver m ade in to a tinc tu re and it was found to g ive truo results.”

My g rea t-g ran d fa th e r was m ade acquainted w ith the O rder and adm itted as one of its members a t A m sterdam by a certa in Tobias Schulze, the then Im perator. Ilow this happened I am not able to say, b u t it appears from the m anuscripts th a t he signed as Im pe­ra to r from the year 1769. A t th is time the O rder again m ade some s tir in th e world, though why this was the case does not a.ppear. M any who have enquired into the question, as for instance N icholai, account for it on the hypothesis th a t the Jesu its, a fte r the dissolution of the congregation by Pope Clem ent X IV in 1774, h ad in troduced themselves into th e O rder. B u t in contradiction to th is hypothesis, it appears from m y m anuscrip ts th a t, so fa r from this be ing the case* the Rosicrucians took a inystico- p ro tes tan t direc­tion in the ir theological views, basing th e ir teach ing on B iblical g rounds and sym pathising w ith the m ysticism of Jacob Boehme. The tendency of these last R osicrucians is a union of the em ana­tion theories of the K abbala w ith th e doctrines of C hristian ity , and Jby this means the Rosicrucians'set on foot an am algam ation w ith the

* Breslau : bey Esaia Fcllgiebcls sel. TTritwe und J rben, 1716.f See the same work, page 125.J “ Adopt,” in Mir* alchemical sense, is a iimn possessed of the secret of tho

transmutation pf metals, Cf. the abovementioned works Qf Schmieder and Bopp.

M artin ists and the Illum inati. M oreover the connection w ith th e O rder of such men as Schrepi'er, St. Germ ain and C agliostro re n d ­ers it unlikely th a t the Jesu its had any relations with it.

I t appeal’s from the papers of my g rea t-g ran d fa th e r th a t the la s t of the tru e R osicrucians passed th e ir lives in contem plative qu ie t, votaries of a C hristian Theosophy. I t is plain th a t the in troduction of masonic elem ents and the tenets of the Illum inati had shaken th e old s truc tu re of the O rder and forced it out of its form er grooves, and from a m em orandum in my possession it appears th a t in 1702 it had been decided to release the bro thers from their oath and to destroy the lib rary and the archives. W hen and where th is h a p ­pened I am unable to say.

In 1801 th e well-known au thor of the “ Jobsiade,” J . J . K orturn , endeavoured to resuscitate the O rder by founding a herm etic society. This a ttem p t was however entirely fruitless, for the political fe r ­m ent of th e tim e had driven all ideas of mysticism out of m en 's m inds, and the few surviving “ F ratres R o w et Aureal Crucis” wero dying out. I t is however possible th a t down to the middle of th e p resen t cen tu ry there were still liv ing some genuine Rosicrucians ; b u t I do no t th in k it probable th a t there is any collection of tho w ritings of th e O rder sim ilar to th a t of my g rea t-g ran d fa th e r now in existence. A lthough on account of the s tric t s ta tu tes of tho O rder i t contains b u t little historical m aterial, it is most rich in inform ation on practical m atters, and one is struck w ith aston ish ­m ent on read ing of the innum erable secret a rts w ith w hich th e Rosicrucians were acquainted.

K arl K is e w e t t e e .

T H E G O D D E S S D U R G A .

r n n i s ten -handed goddess o f th e A rya s is often now looked upon 1 w ith contem pt, and laughed a t by all so-called educated

natives of In d ia . They are of opinion th a t th e ir barbarous ances­to rs in troduced the w orship of th is goddess out of th e ir whim sical ideas and idle fancies, as the idol itself is the best proof of th a t. I t is generally believed th a t th is m onstrous goddess was invented simply to serve the purpose of the g re a t festive occasion. N otw ith ­stan d in g all these opinions, th is m onster-shaped goddess D urga is w orshipped and revered in In d ia th roughou t the length and b read th of the country. She is worshipped twico during the year, once in tho m onth of A shina and another in Chaitra. Form erly before th e tim e of Yagaban Ram C hundra of Ayoodhia, the w orshipping ceremonies were only once perform ed in the m onth of C h aitra . B u t th is A v a ta r, while a t Ceylon, on his expedition for the lib e ra ­tion of his d ear wife Seta, w orshipped this goddess th e re in th e m onth of A shina, hence the introduction of the w orship in th a t m onth w hich has continued ever since.

I t should natu ra lly draw the atten tion of every th in k in g ind iv i­dual to a though tfu l enquiry, why th is goddess is thus rep resen ted— w ith ten hands, m ounted on a lion and ashura (demon), checking and crush ing them both under her feet ?

This goddess D urga is no th ing b u t the sym bolical phraseology of the evolution theory of the A ryas, and shows th e im perative duties of man, as they are very clearly and d istinctly depicted in it. This D urga is the SaJcte, P ra lcriti or M aya,— the subtle invisi­ble force, and her ten hands are rep resen ted as ten P ragapa tees, the ten active principles. She is correctly rep resen ted as tho symbol of creation and th e evolution of m an, bo th m ateria l and sp iritual. The Purusha and P ra k r it i are th e two principles, one active and the o ther passive, or, according to th e protoplasm theory of H uxley, force and m atte r. The com bination of these two principles, P urush a and P ra k r iti, is the cause of e ternal creation or evolution. However, in stead of tread in g upon th e trodden pa th , I m ust tu rn to point ou t to my readers w hat I in tended in th is le tte r. This goddess D urga is no th ing b u t so-called P ra k riti w ith all the a ttrib u tes . She is supposed to be the m other of two sons, K a r tik a and Ganesh, and two daugh ters, L aksh m i and S arasw a ti. They occupy both her sides— tho r ig h t side h er first born child Ganesh and elder d au g h ter L akshm i, the le ft side h er feecond son K a r tik a and younger d au g h te r S a ra sw a ti. U nder h er feet a m ighty lion and an Ashura are fighting fearfu lly and w ith all th e ir m ight, whilo tho m other D urga w ith h e r seventh hand ia tig h tly g rasp ing the Shiklia (scalp lock) of th e A shu ra. W h a t aro all these I ask ? A re these m ere idle fancies and whims of our ancestors, or are they in tended to convey as deep esoteric m eaning ? T his p ic ture of our m other D urga is th e best and m ost im pressive dem onstration of the evolution of m an and his subsequent stages of progress. The fighting of lion and A shura and th e pulling of th e Shikha clearly show and im pressively p ic tu re to our m ind the final efforts of n a tu re in evolving m an— the crown of creation and th e conscious ag en t— out of lower kingdom s. N ex t in o rder in tho g roup are h er own sons and daughters. H ere her first son Ganesh is exhibited in a perfect and well developed hum an body w ith an e lephant’s head. This clearly shows th a t m an in his first s tage of evolution was of gross anim al na tu re . Tho fou rth princip le in m an is a fully developed one, consequently th e lower qualifications, Sararipu , are predom inant in him. N ex t to him is his beloved sister Lakshm i, the goddess of w ealth . They are closely and intim ately connected : one cannot live w ithout the o ther. The assistance of the sister is quite indispensable in carry ing in to effect th e various ambitions and desires of the b ro ther.

Now to the o ther side of tho picture. H ere we seo her beloved son K a r tik a and daugh ter S arasiva ti (the goddess of wisdom). T he son has no physical defect w hatever, e ither in shape or in sym m e­try . The daugh ter is seated on the A sh tada la P a d m a (eight petal- led lotus) with B ina in her hands, teaching h e r ea rn est b ro th e r all the learnings th a t are in h e r possession.

I t will be seen from the foregoing, th a t the side of one p ic tu re rep resen ts m atter and the o th e r sp irit, or in o th e r words, K a rm a Y oga and Gy an Yoga. The one leads m an constan tly dow nw ards, an d the other pushes him upw ards tow ards th e final goal. Tho one keeps man entirely covered by the th ick veil o i^ A vidya , tho

o th e r dispels from th e m ind’s eye all the darkness of illusion, .keep­in g constan tly in view the all pervading microcosmic sun an d eventually lead ing to perm anent re s t and happiness.

This is w hat our m onster-shaped goddess D urga dep ic ts to our m ind, and we should not look a t it in any other ligh t. In connec­tion w ith th e above there is ano ther lesson in v irtue wo H indoos m ay learn from th e D urga festival. The worshipping cerem onies of th is goddess, already know n to every Hindoo reader, commence on th e seventh day of the w axing moon, and last for th ree days. T he fou rth , or th e la s t day of th e festival, is the day above all o thers devoted by th e H indoos to m irth and m errim ent. H igh an d low, rich and poor, friend and foe, m eet and embrace each o ther, b u ry in g all old enm ities and inim ical feelings, like tru e b ro th ers nnd friends— a p ractica l illu stra tion of universal B rotherhood. This is the theosophy of our goddess, m other D urga. V ery few persons, I am sure, look a t th e p ictu re in question in the lig h t I have poin ted out. I hope m y in te rp re ta tio n will be approved of by the public.

P . N . 0 .

A B U D D H I S T D E D IC A T IO N F E S T IV A L .

IN th e W est th e ecclesiastical “ D edication F estiv a l” is only a recen t revival, so fa r a t least as E ngland is concerned, b u t in

E aste rn countries i t seems to have been an institu tion from tim o im m em orial. In Ceylon every tem ple has annually its own especial p in h am a, as these festivals are called, w hen the priests and lead ­ing laym en of all th e country round are invited , and th e devotees g ive them selves up to enjoym ent in th e ir own peculiar way. T he festiv ities usually last e ith e r a week or a fo rtn ig h t, b u t (precisely as a t a W este rn church) th e first and la s t days are considered tho m ost im p o rtan t. On these occasions special p reachers address th e people, processions are organized, and various en te rta inm en ts— such as m usic, dancing , tum bling, and firew orks— add to the joy of tho c row d; b u t th rou g h o u t th e whole dura tion of th e p in k a m a cordial hosp ita lity is ex tended to all, and visitors and inhab itan ts aliko w ear th e ir b rig h te s t gala dress and spend every m inute of th e ir spare tim e w ith in th e precincts of the tem ple. D uring th e wholo tim e, too, th e P ir i t or R ecitation of B lessings— the religious cere­m ony w hich is the nucleus of all th is popular rejoicing— is going o n ; ju st as in connection w ith some churches and convents thero is a “ C onfratern ity of P erpetual A doration ,” whoso m em bers re ­lieve one ano ther in regu lar w atches in order to keep up n ig h t and day continuous w orship beforo the a lta r, so from the beg inn ing to th e end of th e festival the m onotonous chan t of tho rec ita tions from the sacred books never ceases. A ttached to m ost of th e tem ples is a preaching-hall (D h arm asala), and it is in th is th a t th e P ir it is chanted. This p reaching-hall is so en tire ly d ifferen t from any bu ild ing used for sim ilar purposes in the W est th a t p er­haps a descrip tion of it may not be u n in te restin g to E uropean readers. I ts size varies w ith th e m eans a t the disposal of tho bu ilder, bu t its shape is invariably square. The lofty roof is

suppovted^simply by pillars ; and ifc has no walls of any sort nor does ifc contain any seats, the people disposing them selves ou m ats on the earthen floor. In tbfe cen tre is a large ra ised square platform , having pillars a t its corners and a low railing round i t ; and round tho edge of this, inside tho railing , runs a low seat— often scarcely more th an a step— on which (facing inw ards) th e m em bers of tho priesthood sit, while one of th e ir num ber addresses tho people, who are thus, ft will be seen, no t grouped in fro n t of the speaker only, as is usual in th e W est, bufc surround him on all sides. On the platform , in the cen tre of the hollow square thus form ed by tho priests is usually a small table w ith flowers upon it, or som etim es a relic, if the tem ple happens to possess one. W h ere no perm anen t bu ild ing of this so rt exists, a tem porary one (but always on exactly th e same plan) is pu t up for the fe s tiv a l; and a stran g er is su rp ris­ed to see how substan tia l these erections of bamboo, palm-leaves, and coloured paper can be m ade to appear un d er the skilful hands of native workm en.

I t is in th is preaching-hall, th en , w heth er perm an en t or tempo-, ra ry , th a t the constan t recitation of the P ir it goes on ; and there also, th ree tim es in each day, the whole band of p riests assem bles to chan t the more im posing M aha P ir i t— an in te restin g m esmeric cerem ony which m erits special description. I t should be prem ised th a t before the festival commences a huge pot of w ater, carefully covered, is placed in th e cen tre of the p latform , and num erous th reads or strings are carried from p illa r to p illa r round the edge of it, above the heads of the p riests as they sit. A t the tim e of tho M aha P ir it—the priests being seated in a hollow square as abovo described— a piece of rope about the th ickness of an ordinary clothes-line is produced and laid on the knees of tlie p riests, each of whom holds i t in his hands all th rough th e cerem ony, thus esta­b lish ing a connection wifch his fellows not unlike th a t of the circle a t a spiritualistic seance. Care is taken th a t a fte r the circle is com pleted one of the ends of the rope shall be carried up and connectod w ith the th reads and strings above. T his being dono the M aha P ir it commeuces, and the whole body of p riests, w ith the u nited w ill to bless, recite for some fo rty m inutes a series of bene­dictions from the sacred books. As th is cerem ony is perform ed th ree tim es daily for seven days, and the influence k ep t up in th e in tervals by the constant chanting of the o rd inary P irit, the s tuden t of m esm erism will have no difficulty in believing thafc by fche end of th a t tim e the cord, the connected th reads, and th e po t of w ater in th e centre of fche circle are all p re tty thorough ly m agnetized. On th e last day comes the crow ning glory of the festiv a l— the d is tr i­bution of the mesmerized w ater. F irs t of all th e principal men and the honoured guests go up to th e steps of th e platform , and the chief priest, litte ring a form of benediction, pours th ree tim es a few drops of the w ater iu to th e ir ou ts tre tch ed palm s, they b end in" reverently the while. A t the conclusion of the benedic­tion the recipient drinks a little of tho w ater, and applies tho rest to his forehead, tho whole cerem ony, to a W este rn m ind, s trangely su g g estin g a com bination of two well know n Christian rites. Tho re s t of the w ater is then poured into sm aller vessels, aud dis­

tr ib u te d by th e deacons am ong the crowd, each person receiv ing ifc in th e same m anner. The m esm erised th read is th en cu t in to pieces and d istrib u ted am ongst the people, who w ear i t round th e a rm or th e neck as a talism an. I t is no t uncommon to a tta c h special th read s to the circle and allow them to hang down outside th e p latform , so th a t those who are suffering from fever, rheum a­tism , &c., m ay hold the ends in th e ir hands during th e c h an tin g of tho M aha P i r i t ; and th e p a tien t frequently seems to derive ad v an tag e from th u s “ ta p p in g ” the m esmeric ba ttery .

T hanks to th e k ind inv ita tion of a leading priest in Ceylon we h ad recently an opportun ity of seeing a P inkam a of a ra th e r elabora te description. To m ako sure of arriv ing in good tim e we le f t Colombo on th e previous evening, and travelled all n ig h t in a bullock cart. T h a t n ig h t-rid e was an experience in itself, never to be fo rg o tte n ; to w a \e a t in tervals, and lie dream ily looking up afc th e g racefu l over-arch ing palm -trees outlined against the deep d a rk blue of a sou thern s k y ; to raise one’s self now and then for a g lance a t th e lovely landscape, flooded w ith the glorious lig h t of th e trop ical m o o n ; to w atch the ever-changing play of lig h t and shadow as we moved slowly, sm oothly along th rough the silence of the n ig h t— these wero deligh ts too deep for words. W e reached our destination afc seven o’clock, and affcer a bafch and a hasfcy b reak fast a t the house of a k ind friend wo repaired a t onco to th e tem ple. E arly as ifc was, a considerable num ber of people had already assem bled, and w ere exam ining th e decorations and various a rrangem ents w ith ev iden t tokens of approval. A tem ­porary preach ing-hall of quite im posing dim ensions—perhaps somo e ig h ty feet square— had been erected in the court of th e tem ple, an d its curious pyram idal roof— or ra th e r roofs, for it had a series of five or six ris ing one above th e o ther in steps, in th e style of B urm ese a rch itec tu re— tow ered above those of th e perm anen t bu ild ings around. The in te rio r of th is hall was gorgeously decora ted in th e native fashion, and I believe the effect was consi­dered an unprecedented success, though m uch of it seemed strango and incongruous to E uropean eyes. W e w ere to ld th a t four of tho lead ing m en of the neighbourhood had divided the work betw een them , each u n d ertak in g th e decoration of one side of tho square, an d of course thero was some friend ly em ulation as to who could m ake th e best display. The lead ing idea seemed to be “ B ring an y th in g and every th ing you can th ink of, and pu t thom all in som ew here— somehow.” T he m ost exhaustive verbal description can only fain tly shadow fo rth tho genoral e ffec t: indeed, so en tire ly foreign is the scene to W estern minds th a t one alm ost despairs of doing even th a t much. Im agine, then , a p reaching hall a rran g ed as above described, b u t tho centre of the raised p latform tak en up by the base of a g igan tic cone of silver paper (presum ably s tre tch ed on a fram ew ork of pasteboard and bamboo) full fo rty fee t in h e ig h t, covered from top to bottom w ith erratic designs in colours, and em bellished w ith medley of p ictures, m irrors, and b rig h tly co­loured handkerchiefs, the wholo cone being m ade to revolve slowly a t in tervals by the agency of men concealed inside, so as to display its glories the more fully. T hen, rem em bering th e pyram idal

S en f°flt , i e -.r0° f ,th e fip e X 0 fw h ic h is of course exactly above th a t of the silver-paper cone above m entioned; im agine tlie inner surface of th a t roof covered w ith inconceivably m iscellaneous d ra- f f ? ; ' ! * 1' patchw ork bed-quilts d istinc tly predom inated, reliev-

by lace curtains, tab le linen, T u rk ish towels, and long lines of uncut cotton pocket-handkerchiefs of the m ost aggressive c o W s . The favourite p a tte rn s of th is la tte r a rtic le w ere w hat Mr. Sti°-ginsm ent with i n , r ° r K P°v? r h.andkerch ief ” ^ hich combines am use- S J w u r f 1 10n^ displaying a hum ourous illustration (usually of school boy life) w ith :'som e pious sen tim en t underneath an d J i l S fc u d e " t, 3 Pocket handkerch ief,” w hich presen ts its happy

' K 1 l ?• V10W .°,f th e le tte rs ^ th e alphabet, large a i d email, and som etim es w ith p a r t of the m ultiplication table as well N ow from this sloping roof, thus decorated , im agine sc o re T o f paraffin lam ps hang ing , a t various elevations and of all possible descriptions, from th e h ighly finished chandelier of six ? r e ig h t ligh ts to th e m ere wick floating in a tum bler of oil. H av ing thus carried th e im agination down as fa r as th e top of the pillars n ex t

“ I T 0, f t te r *^ be h ung With P ictnres of all sorts—princi-C v X l p e0^ [ aphs’ and engravings of th e various m em bers of th e

. R oyal Fam ilies of Europe, or of actresses who won renown tw enty years a g o ; t en suppose th a t [between and around these p ictures, and m fact w hereever room can be found for them , are stuck hundreds of coloured tissue-paper flags of all sizes, from a few inches square up to four fee t by th ree, all of them edged w ith gold

t K V l T n f 7b f K - , 0 ° Ur ° UtHne p ic tu re sk e tched in as fa r as the shell of th e build ing is concerned. I t ought, however, to bem entioned th a t one of the four decorators, in whom perchance th eartistic sense was germ inating , had attem pted a series of original pic-s l ] l t ! i” s7 ra? tl,'e events of th e earth-life of the prince

S i an? - .°U,g Perh.aP3 tho execution was hard ly equal to S subJcc t> he certainly deserved g re a t cred it for p ro jec t-

g so daring an innovation. On the floor w ere laid m ats for th e congregation, and all round the central platform stood a num ber o t tables loaded w ith heterogeneous ornam ents and sm all articles of . ^ - e - S w i s s docks, glass candlesticks, china • vases, da te boxes, bunches of wax flowers and fru it, inkstands, in la id boxes—L i e ? • ° H c 'm ° slfcy s]l°p. Of course all th is seems incon­gruous and in th e highest degree absurd to one tra ined in W este rn ideas ot tlie a r tis tic ; and y e t there is som ething touching in such a cargo of assorted notions,” each artic le no doubt th e specialli'om p'bm 0 iT / 10 snnP*° villager, th e g re a te s t o rnam ent o fh is home, brought freely and willingly, an hum ble contribu tion tow ards; l f 7 s Pmkama.^ Some artic les th e re were of rea lr~ iU n S °o aU,S leopard skins and huge e lephant-tusks, an dT l m S n n f 1 3 T eJ |le d , 1m°.d e l1 j 1 PaS °da> ^ery finely executed.. P c is o the festival had somehow or o th er procured fo r

th e occasion a la rge m odern m usical box, of w hich th ey w ere evidently proud, for i t was k ep t constan tly p laying. I t s tones

T o n L U • 7 „swee\ bu t™ lu c k ily for th e proprieties it p layed. a fact of which they w ere of course en tirely un­

aw are , I t waa ra th e r destruc tive of th e sen tim en t of th e cerem ony

w hen, m w hat should have been a solemn an d im pressive pause m th e M ah a-P m t, th e well known chorus of “ E h ren on th o R hine ran g clear and loud through tho aw e-struck crowd T o th e sim ple-m inded native it was no doubt celestial m u sic ; b u t fo r us these th ings have associations.

A bout e igh ty p riests had gathered together fo r th e festival, a n d we spen t th e g re a te r p a r t of the m orning in conversation w ith th e chiefs am ong them . A t noon it was announced th a t th e first P ro ­cession was approaching, so we took up a com m anding positiou afc th e en trance to th e tem ple grounds, from which we could see ev e ry th in g clearly. I t appears th a t two processions, ono from th e n o rth and the o th er from th e south, had s ta rted from poin ts ten m iles away early in the m orning, aud each had swelled as i t m oved on until i t am ounted to abou t two thousand people. This was th e one from the south P erhaps th e best idea of its general ap p ear­ance will be conveyed to E nglish readers by describing it as a very prim itive k ind of L ord M ayor’s show. In the forefront was borne th e m agnificent B anner of the Lord B uddha,” which, though a t p resen t little know n in the W est, is w orthy in point of beauty and effectiveness to ran k w ith any standard in tho world. I t is in tended to rep resen t th e colours of B uddha’s aura in the order m entioned m th e sacred books, and is consequently divided vertically in to six stripes five of which are (m order from th e staff) blue vellow • crim son, w hite, and p ink respectively, while th e six th contains a ll th e above colours m th e sam e order, b u t set horizontally. Suck was th e huge banner, th a t headed the first procession, and ano ther of sim ilar size was borne by th e rea r guard , while scores of sm aller rep resen tations of it, some in bunting , some in cloth, somo only in paper, were carried , am ong m ultitudes of o th er flags, by those who m arched betw een I t should be m entioned th a t alm ost all th e tissue p ap er flags in th e preach ing-hall were represen tations, m ore

less correct, of the same banner. A num ber of m en also carried la rg e wooden discs w ith various designs— such as th e sun, a lion, th e hare in th e moon, &c.— pain ted upon th e m ; they were borne u P°.n Poles in t!l.° m anner of th e ancient Rom an eagles. Thon H i all in th e procession were S inhalese, m any of them were carefully dressed m th e costum es of o th e r nations. A m ong the raceJ rep resen ted were M oham m edans, Parsees, H indus from all parts of th e peninsula, A fghans, A rabs, Jew s and Chinese, besides one or tw o o ther nations th a t we could no t recognize. Tho most ludicrous w ere a set of men go t up as E nglish soldiers, w ith th e ir faces carefu lly pain ted w hite and red to increase the accuracy of th e represen ta tion . These w ere evidently looked upon by the specta to rs as the g re a t success of th e procession, and it was am using to see th e conscious d ignity w ith which they m arched along 'I'lie objectionable p a r t of th e disguise appeared to us to be th a t th ey w ere arm ed With all sorts of worn-out m uskets and guns of everv conceivable p a tte rn in use not la ter than th e last cen tury , and , th o u g h th ey were commendably careful alw ays to d ischarge them exactly tow ards the zenith, nobody know a t w hat m om ent somo of these antiquities m ight happen to explode. H ow ever we saw no accidents. In the m iddle of the procession cam e about two liuu-

dred women, bearing on the ir heads and in th e ir hands offerings of flowers for the te m p le ; and a fte r them some elaborate erections of canvas on wooden fram es were draw n along on bullock carts. Tho lirst was a represen tation of a fishing boat, full size and with a p rac ti­cable mast, on w hich was perched a poor fellow, who evidently fe lt his position to be exceedingly insecure; th e second was a k ind of small house, in w hich some m arionettes th ree feet h ig h were mado to move about by very palpable strings. Two o ther erections on carts seemed to be th e rude originals of those swings a t E ng lish fairs, in which four baskets are suspended from a vertical wheel, and the hapless experim entalists carried up and down a lternately aa th e wheel revolves. However, there were some p re tty little children in these swings on th e carts, who seemed to enjoy th e ir p lanet-like double motion of revolution and progression im m ensely, and to be quite unconscious th a t such a th ing as m al-de-m er existed in th e w orld. One th in g th a t s trikes us very m uch in Ceylon is th e extrem e beau ty of m any of the ch ild ren ; one constantly sees small boys w ith a perfectly Greek type of face, and a regu la rity of fea tu re th a t would m ake the fortune of an a r tis t’s m o d e l: b u t as they grow older it all seems to pass off, an d they settle down in to common-place people enough.

B ut to re tu rn to our procession. T here w ere several p arties of th e celebrated devil-dancers w ith m asks and head-dresses appallingly h id e o u s ; tum blers— some of them very clever— who walked on th e ir hands, or tu rn ed perpe tua l so m ersau lts ; jugg lers, who danced along doing all sorts of uncanny th in g s w ith sticks and balls and c h a tt ie s ; and as to m usicians— well, their nam e was legion. I th ink we m ust have had samples of every kind of drum , fife, and cym bal th a t has ever been invented , w ith probably a dozen new kinds c rea ted by diabolical and m isdirected ingenu ity for th is special occasion. E very body who had one hand free seemed to carry som ething in i t to m ake a noise w ith , and as they approached th e ir destina tion th ey redoubled th e ir efforts. F o r exam ple, th e re m ust have been a t least forty m iscreants arm ed w ith bells, w hich varied from tw o o r th ree of the size and general capacity of those used by railw ay p o rte rs , to some of home m anufacture w hich appeared to consist of an em pty potted-shrim p tin w ith a b it of s trin g and a pebble b y way of clapper. There was no a ttem p t a t concerted action, everybody sim ply m aking as m uch noise as he could. The m en w ith g uns had evidently not practised th e m usketry d r i l l ; each m an loaded and fired as rapidly as he could. W e th o u g h t th e ea rth could hardly hold a more horrib le din th an th a t procession m ade ns i t swept up to the gates, b u t we were soon undeceived w hen th e tem ple authorities began the ir welcome. Scores of bells w ere se t in m otion ; hundreds of crackers, squibs, and m aroons w ere all discharged a t once, and a host of cam p-followers in th e shape of village boys appeared on the scone, arm ed w ith oil-cans, fragm en ts o f iron hoops, relics of long-defunct tea-pots, ke ttles , tra y s— an y­th in g th a t would m ake a noise when b ea ten w ith a stick . F o r politeness sake we bore it as long as we could, b u t a t la s t we h ad to s it down and coyer our ears ; “ endurance could no fu rth e r go .”

Y e t even th is pandem onium was exceeded on th e arriva l of tho second procession, for th e first was there to help to welcome it. W ords simply fail me to do justice to th a t reception. I belifcvo one of our p a rty has no t fully recovered his h ea rin g yet. Tho second procession so closely resem bled the first th a t no special account of it is n ecessa ry ; i t is sufficient to particularize two or th reo additional a ttrac tions w hich it possessed. I t was graced by th e presence of four or five brow n bears, who created a considerablo sen sa tio n ; and in addition to the various costumes of the d ifferent nations th e re w ere two te rr ib ly realistic im itations of th e In d ian fa k ir w ith knives stuck th ro u g h his th roat, arms and back. So well w ere they p repared fo r th e ir p a r t th a t for a m om ent we th o u g h t them genuine, and d u rin g th e few seconds in which they rem ained close to us we were unable to discover the deception, even though we knew it existed. A gain , there were some boys who had ap p a­ren tly been ta rre d and fea th e red a t least th e ir whole bodies wero covered w ith a k ind of down like fine cotton-wool, stuck on by some resinous substance. W h a t they were in tended to rep resen t we could no t discover, b u t conjectured it m igh t be some kind of fu rry w hite m onkey. I am told th a t the processions were consider­ed extrem ely successful, and I can well believe th a t the spectaclo would have been in tensely exh ilarating— to a deaf man.

D uring the afternoon and evening the dancers, th e jugglers and the m u s ic ia n s all gave perform ances, and several p riests and lay­m en addressed th e crowd. A t about seven o’clock we w ent back to our friend ’s house to d inner, b u t re tu rn ed to the preaching-hall a t eleven to h ear the la s t rec ita tion of M aha-P irit, and see tho d istribu tion of th e w ater, w hich has been described above. Tho cerem ony was over by abou t one o’clock, and as we w alked back th ro u g h th e woods in th e m oonlight th e charm of th e previousn ig h t seemed to be upon us once more

So ended our experience of a B uddh ist D edication Festival. I t is a fte r all m uch like one of our old E nglish fairs— w ith this ono v ita l difference, th a t no in tox ica ting liquor is consum ed ; and conse­quently no excesses are com m itted. I t is tru e th a t m any of tlio surround ings seem to us u tte rly out of place as connected w ith an y th in g like religious cerem onial; bu t we m ust rem em ber th a t th e ir’s is less a relig ion th a n a philosophy. W hen one sees tho ev ident Rood fa ith and the sim ple earnestness of the people, th e incongruity soon fades into th e back g round and one rises to th a t tru e r stand-point from which the earnestness, th e good in tention, th e sim plicity of h e a r t are seen to be the only realities, and all these outw ard circum stances are “ b u t a shadow of the n ig h t; aa a dream they pass away, and are gone.

C harles W ebster , F . T. S* . f .

U N P U B L IS H E D W R IT IN G S O F E L I P H A S L E V I .V ; Fourth Series. '-■■ ■ ■ ■ '

T h e following is the second chap ter of the Sepliir D zeniutha.

I have div ided it into two p a rts because it is longer and m ore difficult th an the firsts

, , , Chapter ii.“ The beard of tru th . ,“ This does no t re fer to the beard w hich appears on the o rd in a ry

hum an countenance.“ The b ea rd of tru th springs f ro m ; th e opening of the e a r s ;

thence it descends and m ounts again . I t is composed of w hite hairs, and is d iv ided into th irteen p a rts to em bellish the face of th e Invisible.

“ I t is of th is m ysterious beard th a t it is w ritten . The male sex counts for no th ing in it, and m an has n o th in g ^ do w ith it. W h a t we say does no t re fe r to man, and should be understood as being above all sex and all form.

“ The divine b eard is like a river d ivided into th irteen channels of which nine w ater the breast.

Ih e four o thers descend from tho ears to tho m outh, and m ount fiom the corners of th e mouth to the opening of the nostrils.

“ Below the nose, between th e two nostrils, a , p a th is traced whereon there is no beard, and w hich is th e road of pardon by w hich sin departs. .

A-bove th e beard on the two sides of th e face the cheeks ap ­pear like two rosy apples w hither th e suns come to borrow th e ir ligh t. ;

Ih e lower locks of the beard , w hich are divine influences, descend as fa r as th e breast of the fa ther.

■ The hairs are a rranged in adm irable sym m etry, and not one i^ above the others in its row* '

I h e lips are bare . H appy is he who is adm itted tb kiss them . r* T hrough the th irteen influences of the holy beaixd flow th ir te e n sources of very precious balm.

* 1 hese influences are produced w ithout and rem ain h idden .” H ere le t us pause. W e are in th ick est n ig h t and in c learest

day. B u t l l ie lig h t is so veiled th a t i t j resem bles .the d a rk est n ig h t. ( , j ■■■ ' : ■ 1 , ': • ■ ■1 ;, W h a t is th e m eaning of this beard th a t is no beard ?

W h a t barber could( recognise i t or p ro p e r ly , comb its th ir te en tu fts ? , , '' ’ ■ ''

W h a t does this beard m ean? Tho te x t tells us a t tho b eg in ­n ing th a t it means the tru th , for th is is th e first sentence of th e chapter. B ut why does this h ea rd rep resen t th e tru th ? B ecause i t radiates around the m outh, and also rep resen ts the au th o rity th a t g rea t age gives in the councils of wisdom.

W hy is it white ?Because the word of God is ligh t, and also because God is called

th e A ncient of Days.W hy is it divided into th irteen p a rts ?

In the upper p a r t there are four divisions, whilo nine tu fts h a n g down on th e b reast, in symmetrical order, in th ree masses, each d ivided in to th ree . These la tte r give th e nine sephiro ths, whilo th e four com partm ents above indicate the divine te trag ram . N ine sephiroths and four le tte rs m ake up the num ber th irteen , tho sum of th e d ig its of w hich is four. In tho ta ro t nirie is th e sage, and four is th e em peror. The two together should be read as tho em pire of th e sage, wisdom of command or empire. A dded to ­g e th e r they give th irte en and in this wo may say th a t th e num ber one represen ts th e autonom y of spirit, find nuinber th ree rep re ­sen ts na tu re . T aken to g e th e r they give the sp irit of na tu re o r th e n a tu re of sp irit w ith th e power of th e one over; the o ther. S uch then is th e em pire of the sage. r

B ut we also find th a t th e num ber th irteen represents death, an d know ing also th a t th e sam e num ber represents the complete num ­b e r of the divine branches of knowledge, we conclude th a t to dio is to know God. H ence d ea th is im m ortality, and the sage has no d read of it, and exercises dominion over it.

T his is an exam ple of w hat is called the kabbalistic rending of a num ber by m eans of th a t marvellous instrum ent called th e ta ro t. ; • i

Tho symbolism of the cars aiid nose will help us to understand th e four le tters of the te trag ram , figured by the m oustache and w hiskers of th e Baphom etic head.

W hen P ila te asked Jesu s : W h a t is tru th ? hb expected no reply. W ould he have understood had Jesus answ ered him ? Only th e day before Jesus h ad said to his disciples : I ain. th e way, th e tru th and the life, m ystic words in te rp re ted by ev&ry C hristian sect in a different m anner. B ut he w ould certainly havo very much astonished the proconsul had lie answ ered : T ru th isth e beard of th e M acroprosope A rich A npin. P ila te would have th o u g h t him self insulted, and there are m any serious people of o ur own day, who would e ither g e t angry or would m erely 1 shrug th e ir shoulders, w ere th ey to receive a sim ilar' reply.

W h a t is th e m eaning of th 6 words M acroprosope and Arich A npin ?

M acroprosope m eans the g re a t personification, and this is the nam e given to the divine head th a t appears in the Sohar.

This head w ith th e eyes of carbuncle, whose immense beard is d iv ided into th ir te en tu fts , th e initiates df the temple adored u n d er the nam e of th e Baphom etic head, from the G reek baplie melons— illum ination of the m ind.

Tho g re a t ancestors of philosophy, tho kabbalistic sages, did not believe th a t th e ir science could ever be w ritten. This is why they recorded it in symbolical language by a ttach ing certain m eanings to th e ir symbols analogous to those t-h&t all could see and observe •—the hum an face and th e human hand, then the whole m an, then m an and woman separa ted and also joined to g e th e r in a sort of androgyne. The book we are now tran sla tin g is an exam ple of th is system . W e are a t tho beard of the M acroprosope, and tho book says th a t this beard represen ts tru th ,

The beard rad iates around the m outh : it descends from th e ears, and then m ounting again from the m outh to th e nose, it form s two mysterious angles. E ach of these angles is bounded by th re e points thus m aking six. W hen we tak e th e angle form ed around the m oustache, we g e t nine. This cen tra l angle m ay thus be said to be doubled, as the le tte r H e is doubled in the divine te trag ram .

The te trag ram counts as nine, and to th is M alchuth is added which m akes te n ; for the Jod , the Y au and the H e are all trip le . Each of th e th ree divine personifications contains the two o thers. N ine is th e trip lic ity of th r e e ; and ten or zero is the circle of which the te tra g ra m is the tru e q uad ra tu re .

Thus in th e sacred beard, th a t w hich is above is like th a t w hich is below. T he angle on the r ig h t, form ed by th e w hisker and tho half of th e m oustache, th ree points, is Jod , the angle on the le ft is He, and th e whole m oustache is V au. W ith the points of these th ree figures you can compose the tree of the sephiroths. Y ou have not indeed go t M alchuth or th e kingdom , bu t th a t is rep resen ­ted by th e nine points of the beard w hich ex tend to the b rea s t in groups of th ree. These are th e th in g s of the sp irit w hich are reproduced in forms.

This singular m ethod of w riting in hieroglyphics, is a t once most simple and m ost abstruse, and we feel th a t it b rin g s us into relations w ith th e prim itive world. The evolutions of the num bers four and th ree b rin g us into relation w ith th e te trach tys and tr iad of P y thagoras. T hree and four m ake up th e eacred septenary . T hree m ultiplied b y itself Imakes nine. F o u r times nine is th irty-six , the num ber of th e talism ans of Solomon and of H erm es Trism egistus, to whom th e invention of the ta ro t is a ttrib u ted .

All m ay be deduced from th is— th e th irty-tw o ways, th e fifty gates, the laws of equilibrium, which are those of the caduceus and of the rod of Moses. K nowledge is pow er when one know s how to dare and to keep silence.

In th is w ay all science is suspended as it w ere from th e th irte en tu fts of a fictitious beard, and we m ay say, speaking m etaphorically , th a t tru th is th e old m an’s beard.

In tho description of the fictitious head, which is th e symbol of divinity, th e author of the Sohar explains the cen tral line as the sign of pardon, or ra th e r of th e repara tion of sin. T his cen tral line is double, for th ere are two of th em ; one vertical passing down the nose, and one horizontal passing th ro u g h th e eyes, which give the sign of th e cross, adopted by C hristia­nity , bu t known in h ieratic symbolism m any years before th e ad ­vent of Jesus Christ.

But why is th is central line th e sign of pardon ?I t is because i t reveals th e harm ony resu ltin g from th e analogy

of contraries.I t is the central line, which by tu rn in g around th e te rre s tr ia l

globe produces lig h t successively on all sides by constantly repel­ling the n ight. I t is the central line in the hum an face, th a t h a r­monizes the two profiles and determ ines the physiognomy*

The sign of the cross is also th a t of the universal balance, th e balance th a t seems to oscillate between good and evil, b u t tho equilibrium of w hich is always good. The first balances m ust hav e been constructed in the form of tho Tau or cross w ith two m ovea­ble sticks placed a t r ig h t angles to one another. Look in th o second volume of “ Dogme et Rituel de la haute M ag ie” a t tho oc­cu lt seal of Solomon. You will there find the law of equilib rium figured by a cross, and the movements of the universal a g e n t determ ined as they a lte rn a te by the parity of m agnets. F o r m ag ­nets are the balances of the universal physical force. They a ll hav etwo poles con trary to one another ju s t as electricity is double. I t would be dangerous to say th a t good and evil aro the tw o necessary poles of th e moral m agnet and are determ ined by a law sim ilar to th a t w hich governs con trary curren ts of e lectric ity . M oreover evil is never absolute ; it is relative to beings and condi­tions of beings. Tho appe tite of the wolf is an evil to the sheep, b u t you cannot expect a tig e r to become a vegetarian . A p re tty little cat devours a living mouse, and we do not regard this as si crim inal action, b u t we should feel very m uch aggrieved were ou r cat to eat our favourite bird.

Good for us is w hat we find useful or agreeable. God secs from a h igher standpoin t and secs fu rth er th an we can. For him good is in tho end and not in the means, and all the means of God aro good. Man ought never to do evil th a t good may come, because m an has neither the knowledge nor the power of the absolute, an d because he is powerless to repair the w rong ho causes. Tho evil has no real existenco outside our ignorance and can never be a ttrib u ted to God. Suppose we wero to see a sta tue in w hich half the nose were left unfinished, and one of the eyes an d bo on, we should th in k it horrible, b u t th e sculptor would le t th e spectators say w hat they pleased, know ing his own pow er to finish the work and b rin g it to a sta te of harm onious com pletion.

I t is in th is way th a t igno ran t persons a ttr ib u te evil to God. A body w ithout a head and a head w ithout a body are two defective th in g s, which, when joined together, m ay form a complete im age. T his is how it is th a t the cen tra l line, th a t w hich brings the con­tra rie s into harm ony, is tho sign of tho profound peace betw een heaven aud earth , the sign of the harm ony to be established betw een all beings. All our organs are double, says the Sohar in ano ther place, except the nose, the tongue, tho heart and tho o rgans of generation, figures of the divine un ity in the service of w hich all the o ther divided organs aro b ro u g h t into agreem ent.

To righ tly understand tho allegories of: tlie Sohar, we m ust know w hat is represented by each p a rt of the hum an head taken a:* a symbol of the head of the universe which is God.

The forehead is intelligence and wisdom. I t is on the forehead that the suprem e crown is placed.

The eyes are the lights of the mind. Tn the hieroglyphic h ead they are w ithout lids, and radiate like two suns a t th e two foci of an ellipse th a t encloses the two eyes. T here you m ay find all tho m ysteries of the C hristian trin ity , as well as thoso of the In d ian trim u rti and the triad or te rnary of Hfcrmes and P ythagoras.

This ellipse of ligh t is the key to all th e m ovem ent of the heavens and the stars. I t is indicated in the ta ro t by the two disks, and is analogous to th e two trees of E den , around which the astral se rp en t is coiled, and which we find also in th e g re a t symbols of Ezekiel and in the Apocalypse. I t explains the polar laws of th e universal m agnet and the m ysteries of th e m agic w and, which has a po in t of crystal and a globe of resinous substance as its two poles, and which serves to d irect the a stra l fluid. L ig h t becomes m anifest by two phenom ena, b righ tness and heat, and each of these two is d o u b le ; th a t is to say, there is positive and negative b righ tness, rad ian t and la te n t heat. T he negative b righ tness is th a t which we see w ith our m ortal organs ; th e positive is w hat we see w ith th e faculties of the soul. I t is w ith th is la tte r th a t infinite space is filled, on w hich, in angelic eyes, our suns are patches of shadow.

In the symbolism of colours lig h t ia rep resen ted by w hite and h ea t by red.

The learned R obert F ludd a t the beg inn ing of his “ M osaical Philosophy” gives, as a figure rep resen tin g the circle of ligh t, a w hite disk in which Phoebus shines, while for th e circle of heat he gives a red d isk w ith Bacchus in the cen tre . Red is the colour of blood and of wine. I t excites the fu ry of bulls and deligh ts re ­volutionaries. W e shall see in tho Sohar th a t the lig h t of th e ono old man— the upper— is white, while th a t of th e o ther— th e lower —-is red.

B ut le t us now pass on to th e o ther fea tu res of th e face. T he nose represents judgm ent, d iscretion and forbearance. I t is very long in the superior head and very short in th e inferior one. T his is why tho two old men, of whom one is th e m irage of th e o ther, aro called th e one A rich and th e o ther Seir, two words m eaning long and short respectively.

Of these two old men, the suprem o is the ,God of the sa g e s ; and the lower one, th a t is to say the b lack m irage of the w hite head , is the God of official sacerdotalism and of th e vulgar.

The m outh is th e source of speech. I t represen ts the logos, love and grace, because w ith tho mouth we speak and kiss.

The cheeks represen t the beauties and riches of liv ing na tu re . T he author com pares them to beds of flowers.

The perfum es diffused th ro u g h th e th irte en p arts of the board are the m ercies, consolations, joys and sweetness th a t God m ingles w ith the pains of life. They are also th e special beau ty of all th e forms of speech, for perfum ed oil softens th e beard and causes i t to shine.

E very h a ir of the supreme beard is in perfec t order. Tho short ones are finer and more delicate th a n the long, b u t all are in perfect harm ony none in te rfe rin g w ith another.

This is becauso h ierarchy is th e law of the logos and of reason. I t is by the h ierarchy th a t o rder is p roduced and m ain tained , and through it th a t God governs th e whole universe, the various p a rts of which, are arranged in order like th e hairs of th e sym bolic beard .

L O N E L Y M U S IN G S . I I I .

r p R U L Y the p a th is as a razor’s edge, h a rd to tread ; for s tra ig h t 1 ig the ga te and narrow is the way th a t leadeth unto life.

The world is ever a ttack in g us on one side, seducing us on another, and who can always keep his thoughts in the celestial region ? Even while we are yet enduring the to rtu re th a t h a s ta u g h t us to look beyond these th ings of tho senses for our final peace, the deep despair th a t levels all th ings to its own hideous deform ity may en ter our souls, and m ake us cry vainly to death to freo us from our pains, or the demon of rag e m ay seize us— rage a t tho continuance of our apparen tly unm erited suffering and te a r us, till we curse all the powers of heaven and earth in our m adness w ith a concentrated b itte rness of soul th a t only those who have experienced it can realize. A nd though we know by absolute conviction th a t there can be no im m ediate liberation from our past K arm a, and th a t it m ust be w orked out to the sweet or the b itte r end th rough innum erable incarnations, th e doubtings of L ucretius still come back to our m em ory, w ith alm ost a wish th a t his suggested solution m igh t be p rac ticab le—doubtings w hether m an’s best hope m igh t not be to quench in annihilation his insatiab le longings an dliis deep despair.

Or ao-ain we are relieved from our pains, and again the sun shines in a clear sky. Then do th e smiles of our friends carry to our souls a still more subtle po iso n : for we are led to fancy th a t the life we so lately scorned and h a ted is still w orth living, and the infinite possibilities of th e fu tu re gleam in rad ia tiu g colours as love again begins to lift h er gauzy veil. So do our im aginations ru n on w eaving the old unreal dream s. W h a t help is th ere for n a tu res so crossed and trav ersed by passion ? T hey have slept and dream ed in the arm s of lust, and though, w hen aw akened they havo seen and fled from h e r deform ity, it seems as though she wero ao-ain able to assum e for them the m ask of beauty ;— they have gazed into the abysses of hate, and have indeed recoiled from th e ir awful depths, b u t a pow er again urges them to the brink. A fte r hav ing gone over the whole gam ut of the sense-passions and fo r­sworn them , again the passions shew th e ir m astery , draw ing as w itha m agnet. # .

W h a t hope for one who lives in so fluctuating a sta te ot m ind, and is unable to keep his soul in equilib rium ? How can he expect to a tta in to passionless tran qu illity—-the very an tithesisof his p resen t sta te ?

K rishna answ ers A rju n a ff L et him regain his kingdom . L e t him tu rn the very passion of his na tu re to the contest and ho will conquer. L e t him oftener and oftener lift his m ind to th e celestial regions and he will be reinvigorated by somo reflex from th e g rea t souls who dwell there. L et him conquer tranq u illity byfervency of sp irit.

One who realizes th is difficulty of controlling the h e a r t and who desires to rid him self of theso constant fluctuations of feeling should pursue his search in a system atic m anner and th e following rules may be taken as guides

1st. Read the holy books—read them though the h ea rt m ay bo cold and torpid, and if indeed the slothful and despairing quality of “ Tam as” be a t the moment param ount, there is all the g re a te r necessity to end its reign, for all the th ree qualities a lte rn a te ly dom inate us, and th e slow steady progress tow ards perfection is only m ade perm anent by arousing the natu re w hen invaded by th e sloth of “ T a m a s /’ and refusing to allow it to sink into the s ta g n a ­tion of le th a rg y ; by restrain ing it when dom inated by th e passion of “ R ajas,” until the duration of control by these evil forces is gradually lessened, and the n a tu re tends more and more to perm a­nence in the tranqu illity of “ Satw am .”

A nd out of tha t tranqu illity shall rise The end and healing of his earthly pains.Since the will governed sets the soul a t peace.The soul of the ungoverned is not his,N or hath he knowledge of himself ; which lacked,JTow' grows serenity ? and, w anting that,'Whence shall be hope for happiness P

R ead the holy books of all ages an d all peoples. The Y edas, th e D ham m apada, the Bible, the Z end A vesta and th e K oran, w hich­ever is found by practical experience to have m ost effect on th e life, for we a re all governed by our em otions and require different influences. B ut above and before all read the Song Celestial of the heavenly K rishna.

2 nd. A tten d to any conversation about sp iritual th ings you m ay have the opportun ity of hearing— atten d to it w hether you u n d e r­stand it fully or not, w hether i t is to you a mere s ta tem en t of truism s, or w hether, as is more likely, its m etaphysical philosophy Eeems to soar above your head. S to re in your memory w hatever you can grasp , for a timo will come w hen you will understand more fully, and your fu tu re progress will be facilitated by w hat you m ay now learn.

3rd. Realize as fully as possible tho cu rren t opinions abou t du ty in tho socicty and nation in which you have been born and b rough t up. However much you m ay have— or th in k you h av e—■ transcended the ordinary curren t notions of m orality, the study and com parison of the opinions of others is a necessary p a r t of your education. The reader m ay here rem ark th a t this is as it were the prelude or commencement of th a t “ in telligen t looking into th e hearts of men,” which is one of the rules laid down for those who desire to ascend the ladder of Jacob , though its complete a tta in m en t i t need scarcely be said is impossible, till m any of th e rungs have been passed. This purely in tellectual com parison of opinions from one’s own standpo in t m igh t seem a t first s ig h t unnecessary compared with personal advance in holiness, b u t the studen t cannot too soon grasp th e idea th a t for the a tta in m en t of perfection the whole nature m ust be cultivated equally, and the few er read justm ents of equilibrium th a t m ay subsequently be required, the sw ifter and steadier will be his progress.

4 th . A ct so as to give yourself only satisfaction. This, the fou rth ru le in the descending scale, deals m ore especially w ith tho physical nature . A ct so as never to incur th e upbra id ings of conscience. Should experience have ta u g h t th a t any act is follow­

ed by inw ard sham e— avoid th a t act in fu ture . A nd as tho whole n a tu re develops, conscience develops also. W hat m igh t previously have been done w ithout a qualm, will now evoke the stings of Bhame, for as th e standard becomes more exalted, so will th e inw ard pressure become more severe till we m ake the ou ter accord w ith the inner. So the traveller along the narrow way pursues its course a fte r untold failures in the innum erable d iverging p a th s which have been tried and found m isleading. Yes, conscience is indeed the ever sharpened goad, th a t will never let us rest— it is tu rn ed into an in strum en t of to rtu re when in our w averings we aro led to em brace a low er life, bu t it is the surest guaran tee of ou r G odhead, and contains in itself the potency of all progress.

P ilgrim.

Tiib Science of th e Mind applied to Teaching. B y U. J . H offm an. N ew Y ork. F o w le r, W ells & Co.

T he lean an d spectacled pedagogue, w ho drove know ledge into the h ead of th e last gen era tio n as the carp en te r drives nails in to wood— by force of b low s—has well n ig h d isappeared . A new and b rig h te r e ra ia ed u ca tio u h as daw ned ,— the e ra of k indness and reason. T hough there a re s t il l m any teachers w ho suppose th a t th e w hole a r t of in s truc tion consists in m ak ing th e ir pupils lea rn te x t books by h ea rt, y e t th e re a re a la rg o n u m b er w ho have rea lised th e fac t th a t ch ild ren differ in th e ir fa c u l­tie s and dispositions, and accordingly endeavour to ad ap t th e ir m ethods of c u ltiv a tio n to th e n a tu re of th e soil. To such we co rd ia lly recom m end M r. H offm an’s book. T he first p a r t is devoted to th e sub jec t of h u m an tem peram en ts an d facu lties in m an and child , based upon phreno logy in th e w idest sense of th e te rm , w ith h in ts reg a rd in g th e ir c u lt iv a ­tion and developm ent. I t m ig h t be read w ith in te re s t by one who w as n o t p rep ared to accep t th e d ic ta of tho P h ren o lo g is ts . T he au th o r th e n deals w ith th e th eo ry of teach ing , w hich he bases upon th e n ine p rin c i­p les of Pestalozzi. H e show s how education shou ld consist in lib e ra tin g th e m ind and th ro w in g o u t s ignals by wdiich it cau discover tr u th . H e likens th e ch ild to an egg w hich, under ap p ro p ria te conditions, w ill develop in to a b ird ab le to w alk, able to fly ; b u t w hich will becomo add led if m ism anaged and never be a n y th in g b a t a bad egg. In th o la s t p a r t th e re are specim ens of lessons, a rran g ed on the p rincip les enuncia ted in the ea rlie r parts , w ith suggestions to th e teacher on tho in tro d u c tio n of new sub jects of study by p re lim in a ry discourse, beforo s e ttin g his pupils to w ork on te x t books. T h is is of the g rea tes t p ra c t i­ca l value. A plan for the a rran g em en t of lessons in a school is added .

M r. H offm an’s book w ill be found w orthy of perusal not only by th© teac h er b n t also by th e paren t, for m uch good counsel to m o thers is con ta ined th e re in on th e cu ltivation of good m anners and m orals.

• N. 0 .

L a Vie, par le Maqnetisme et l’E lectricite, par G. Edard.W e have on our lib ra ry table tho second ed itio n of th is w ork. A

considerable p a r t of it is devoted to an exposition on M ons, E d a rd ’s com plex e lec tro -m agnetic appara tus, w hich has a lre a d y been described in the Theosophist. M uch space is also g iven to the a u th o r’s life and

memoirs, w ith details concerning tho legal a tta ck s m ade upon h im ; fo r he claims the honour of hav ing been a m a r ty r to th e cause of o cca lt science. T he volumo before us is in no sense a te s t book on E lectro- M agnotism , b u t contains ex trac ts— som e of them of considerab le in te re s t— from A uthors and Jo u rn a ls on th a t an d a llied sub jects, w ith le tte rs from B aron Du P o te t and o ther g re a t exponen ts of th e m agnetic science, M o d s . E d ard has gone beyond th e dom ain of m en and anim als, and applied his system to the cu re of sickly p la n ts— w ith s igna l success according to th e testim onials received from h o rticu ltu ris ts .

b N . C.

T h e B o o k o f A l g o o n a h .

T his w ork professes to be a ch ro n ic le of tho men of K a iah w ho are sta ted th e r e in to have been th e o rig ina l bu ilders of th e g rea t m ounds th a t abound in the valleys of th e M isissipi an d M issouri and in o th e r p a rts of A m erica. T he problem of th e construc tion of these m ounds has long been a puzzle to an tiq u a rian s an d according to the book u n d e r no tice th e rea l bu ilders w ere m em bers of a race sprung fro m a sm all band of fisherm en on the coast of A m nion w ho em igra ted to A m erica . T he book of A lgoonah is now presen ted to th e public in an E n g lish d ress, tlie lan g u ag e em ployed being th a t w ith w hich we are fa m ilia r in th e 44 au tho rised version” of the O ld T estam en t. T here is no defiu ite account g iven as to the tim e and p lace of th e d iscovery of th is book, w hich is c laim ed to be an o rig inal chronicle, n o r do we know in w h a t language i t was o rig inally w ritten . I t g ives a long acco u n t of th e w anderings of the m en of K a iah very m uch lik e th a t of th e ch ild ren of Is rae l in th e w ilderness and o th e r p laces. W e have m oreover no certa in accoun t of the chronology of th is w onderfu l people. W e are prom ised o th e r books belonging to th e sam e series, one of w h ich is to give a com plete account of the re lig ion an d philosophy of th e rnound- bu ilders an d to reveal th e tru e o rig in of m asonry . I n th e absence of fu r th e r in fo rm ation we m ust decline to pass an opinion on th is book. I n its p re sen t form i t is valueless to th e h is to rica l stu d en t, and th e re does n o t seem to bo m uch in it th a t could n o t have been w ritten by a person of average im agination fam ilia r w ith old T estam en t lan g u ag e a n d as m uch of un iversa l h istory as g enera lly fa lls to th e lo t of those •who have n o t been very highly educated.

T h e S f u i n x .W e have received the second n u m b er of th is m agazine pub lished ( in

G erm an) a t L eipsig under the ed ito rsh ip of D r. H uebbe S ch le iden . I t contains a second instalm ent of a series of pap ers on th o u g h t-read in g w ith il lu s tra tio n s from the records of experim en ts of th e Society fo r P sych ical R esearch . There is also a tran s la tio n of “ H a rm o n y of science a n d sp iritua lism by A. R . Wallace* A pap er by D r. C arl du P re l ( th e second on the same subject) on “ M onistic psychology” m erits ca re fu l study , H e rr K arl K iesew etter co n tr ib u tes an artic le on tho h is to rica l records of hypnotic clairvoyance an d th e n u m b er closes w ith a p ap e r by M ohini M. C hatterji on the esoteric m ean ing of S h ak esp ea r’s H am le t. W e cordially recom m end th is m agaz ine to all those of o u r read e rs w ho a re acquainted w ith the G erm an lan g u ag e as i t prom ises to be one of th e b est ex tan t periodicals trea tin g of tran scen d en ta l sub jects. ^ W e th ia m on th give a tran sla tio n of a n a rtic le from “ th e S p h in x ” on th e R osicrucians, con tain ing inform ation ab o u t th is secret S ocie ty of m ore th a n o rd inary in te re s t and au th en tic ity .

M r. R . J a g a n n a th ia h is engaged in tra n s la tin g irrto E n g lish from tho S an sk rit, S r im u t S a n k a ra c h a r ia r’s “ D w adasa M an jarika S tro tru m ” o r c lu s te r of tw elve p rayers w ith verses by disciples.

ASTROLOGY.S ir,— I h eard th e fo llow ing from B abu B y k an th a N ath Sen. B y k a n th a

B abu is a d is tin g u ish ed p leader of th e J u d g e ’s C ourt of M urshedabad , e lec ted C hairm an of B e rh am p u r M unicipality , and legal adv iser to M abaran i Surnom oyee, M. I- 0 . C. I. of Kasim bazar :—

1. B y k an th a B abu ’s fa th e r d ied of erysipelas w ith in 24 hou rs of th e first appearance of the disease. Somo days a fte r tho event, B y ­k a n th a Babu h ad th e horoscope of h is fa th e r exam ined, w hen ho fo u n d th a t n o t only th e tim o of death b u t th e disease also had beeu m en tioned in th e horoscope co rrec tly .

2. H e saw an astro loger, w ho correc tly to ld h im , by m erely seeing h is countenance, th e very day and h o u r of h is b ir th ; som e friends of h is a lso tr ied th e ex p erim en t, w ith equa l success. T he astro loger was a s tra n g e r to him , and h ad no t th e s lig h te s t m eans of g a th e r in g su ch in fo rm ations beforehand .

3. H e know s m any cases in w hich an a s tro lo g e r to ld r ig h tly th e sex of th e child by m erely being to ld tho exact tim e of its b ir th .

B y k an th a B abu re m ark ed th a t th e influence of th e p lanets on liv in g o rgan ism s is now an ad m itted fac t in m odern science, th a t he believes th a t astro logy w as founded by sy s tem atiz in g a very large n u m b er o f observations e x ten d in g over a series of years , and hence m u s t be tru e in th e m a in th a t th e fa ilu re of th e p re sen t astro logers gen e ra lly to p red ic t fu tu re even ts , m ay be ascribed to th e ir n o t a llow ing for th e d isp lacem en t of heavenly bodies, as th ey base th e ir ca lcu lations upon Sphutams some th o u san d s years old.

K . P. M u k e r j i , F. T . S. ( B e r h a m p u r ) ,

TOBACCO SMOKING.

I t is a g rea t puzzle to m e to see th a t a la rgo n u m b er of tho m em ­bers of the T heosophical Society a re confirm ed sm o k e rs ; to become a m em ber of th e T heosophical Society is v ir tu a lly to avow th e in ten tio n of lead in g a life of p u rity and tem perance ; and how can the p recep t sq u a re w ith prac tico of those who so openly and vehem ently g ive th o co n trad ic tio n to th e ir own professions ? F o r, indeed , tobacco-sm oking h as no a llu rem en t excep t as an ac t of m ere se lf-indu lgence in sen su a l p leasu re . A ll tho em inen t physicians, w ith h a rd ly an excep tion , a re s tau n ch opponents of its h ab itu a l use aud hold th a t i t is no less de le te rio u s in its effects th a n alcohol, opium or any o th er poison. N o t to m en tion c igars, c igare ttes, &c., even the E astern fashion of sm ok ing in a lioohah is h a rd ly w ith o u t vicious and dangerous resu lts . S low ly an d silen tly an d as su re ly th e poison w orks, and sooner or la te r m an ifests tho ravages it has done by b ring ing com plete enervaf.ion of m ind and body, n, p rem atu re deterio ra tion and decay, dyspepsia an d o ther aw fu l m aladies

spring ing from th is waste of v ir ility and n e rv e force. V iew ing th e m a tte r in a m ore sub tle an d con tem pla tive lig h t, a ll th e m isch ief does not cease w ith th e sm oker, fo r by th e law of h e red ity ho beqneaths all th e w eakness of h is m ind an d body to his o ffsp ring au d th u s renders, innocen tly perhaps , the cu rse of sm oking m ore fa r-reach in g in its effects th a n is o rd inarily supposed. A nd ju d g in g by th e ‘ sm ok­ing ca r’ and th e * sm oking jroom ,’ sm okers w ith a c igar benea th th e ir nose—“ a fire a t one end and a fool a t th e o th e r ,” — can h a rd ly be fittin g associates in polished so c ie ty ; fo r in u tte r d isregard of po liteness and the rig h ts of o thers, they puff co n tinua lly filling the a ir w ith ill-sinell- in g vapour. A p a rt from the fa ta l consequences re su ltin g from th e h ab itu a l u se of tobacco, its m edicinal use is very ra re ; as D r. F a rq u h arson , M. D. Ac. &c. says, in his T h erap eu tic s “ Tobacco is now ra re ly , if ever u sed in M edicine on account of its po isonous p ro p e r ty .” In th e A y u r­veda, i t is seldom or never used m edicinally . “ I t is com puted th a t th e w hole w orld is now p ro d u c in g 1,000,000,000 lbs of tobacco a t a to ta l cost of % 5 ,000,000,000 a n n u a lly .” W h a t an # enorm ous am o u n t of good m oney is th ro w n aw ay in w rong speculation ! A nd if w ith th is be calcu lated th e loss of m isused a rab le lands com ­bined w ith th e loss of labour and tim e of th e th o u san d s of m en, (in G erm any 1,004,000 and th e U n ite d S ta te s 40,000 n o t to speak of o th e rs) engaged in the m an u fac tu re an d sale of tobacco, th e to ta l loss m u s t be im m easurab ly g rea t. I n th e face of so m any obnoxious qua lities , tobacco can n o t be re p u te d to be beneficial to th e soul- To a tta in to any psychic perfec tion , i t is as useless, as G ungn- em oking is held inva luab le by ce rta in ascetics. In th e P u ran s , a m an u sc rip t edition k ind ly len t to me by an o ld D evade B rahm in of th e M oorsheda- bad D istric t, s tr ic t in junc tions a re la id dow n a g a in s t its u se u n d e r heavy penalties. A re n o t these , th e n , sufficient to show th a t tobacco 13 an enem y to h u m an progress ? I n d iffe ren t p a rts of th e globe, c lu s te rs of sp irited m en have boldly b an d ed them selves to g e th e r to p u t dow n th is seem ingly harm less hab it of sm oking : and you, w ho, I believe, have so m uch the good of h u m an ity a t h ea rt, w ould you n o t jo in tho b rave and th e wise, and fearlessly h u r l th e b it te re s t an a th e m a on Tobacco— and Btrike ou t a g re a t reform ? W e have h ea rd of fam ilies, of litt le boys, generously reso lv ing to tak e te a w ith o u t sugar, b read w ith o u t b u tte r, to keep a p a r t a h an d fu l of m ille t o u t of th e da ily consum ption , solely to contribu te th e ir q u o ta to th e c h a rity - fu n d . A nd could n o t th e smoking m em bers of th e T heosophical S ociety b rin g them selves to bear th is litt le p riv a tio n ? W o u ld they n o t b race u p th e ir en erg y to do w hat d u ty dem ands to exercise an indom itab le w ill to avoid th e tem ptation of fa llin g in to th is pern ic ious h a b it to w hich th ey have g iven themselves up as w illing slaves fo r th e v a in g ra tifica tio n of th e sen se s? Assuredly they can if th ey be b u t re s o lu te ; an d th e trifling fa r th in g so saved, w ill, i f co llected sw ell in to a la rgo Bum of monoy. W ith tha t, im ag ine , w h a t noble deeds cou ld n o t be done for tho poor and the needy ! H ow m an y deso la te h o a rth s w ou ld b u rn the b rig h te r ! How m any b roken hearts could be com forted ! Ifc is never too late. L et us se t to w ork an d re fo rm ; le t u s t r y to bo m aster over the F lesh and tlie B lood. “ B egin even now to p rac tise ifc au d so a thousand serpen ts w ill be sw ep t aw ay from y ou r p a th .”

D a y a l C h u n d e r G u p t a .

A I’ Jt i L 1 8 8 ( 5 .

; , LO N D O N LO D G E 'f H E O SO PH iG A L SO CIETY . ,

T h e Annual Geueral M eeting of the London Lodge Theosophical Society was held a t 55, Chancery Lane, 011 W ednesday, Jan u ary 27th, a t 8-30 r. ai., Mr. A. P. S innett in the chair.

In opening tho proceeding^, the President referred to the great success of the A nnual Convention in India, and to the progress in practical w ork accomplished there du ring the past year.

■ Then passing to the Society in London, he pointed to the increasing num bers and steady activity of the Lodge as proof of the v itality of th e movement in th is country. These facts were the more im portant in view of the a ttack levelled a t the Society in the report of the S. P. R. Com m ittee.

Comm enting on th a t document Mr. S innett exposed its weakness as a whole, and especially the frivolous grounds on which Mr. Hodgson im pugns th e “ Occult W orld” Phenomena. (This portion of the report has been dealt w ith in a pam phlet ju s t issued by Mr. Sinnett.)

The P residen t then sta ted th a t in consequence of the changes in th e sta tu tes of th e P aren t Society recently made a t the Convention, it would be necessary to revise the rules of the Lodge, and th a t the m eeting m ust therefore be adjourned for th e ir consideration. •

The following elections of Officers and Council for 1886 then took place. President ... ... Mr. A. P. S innett.Vice-Presidents.................... ».i; Mr. T. V arlev and Miss A ruudale.Hon. Secretary .......... ........ Mr. B. K eightley.Hon. Treasurer................. Mr. E. W ade.

and the following six members of the Lodge to serve on the CouncilMr. Crookes, F. R. S. Mr. H arbottle. Mr. A shton Ellis, Mr. A. K eightley .

Madame de Steiger. Miss H am ilton.' All tho elections were unanim ous, and a fte r some general conversation th e

m eeting adjourned.; . . . , , Bertram K>,1ghtley,:l . i . - > - • • Hon. Secretary.

! A N A N TA PU R T H E O SO PH IC A L SO CIETY .Under the auspices of the above Society Mr. R agbavendra C harlu read a

w ell-w ritten and elaborate le c tu re 011 “ the A ncient L itera tu re of I n d ia ” on th e 20th ultimo, when M. R. Ry. K. Seshyya Chctti Garu, b. a ., took the chair, l he lecturer viewed the subject from the different stand points of lite ra tu re , philosophy, history, religion, politics, &c., and showed th a t many a gem of

tru th which modern science has yet scarcely discovered, lies included in th a t unique language of Sanskrit, and th a t its revival will tend m uch to the regeneration of A ryavartha.

On tho 3rd instan t Mr. Cooper-Oakley and Dr. Cook from A dyar paid tho local branch a visit. They spent two days here in philosophical and religious discussions w ith the members and others, and on the m orning of the 4th inst. Mr. Cooper-Oakley delivered a public lecture on the “ Religions of the world and their relation to Theosophy.” Questions were then asked by some of tho audience on spiritualism , mesmerism, m ediumship, &c., to w hich brief and in teresting explanations were given.; i

B. SUDARSANAM.

JA M A L PU R .T ite 3rd A nniversary of the Jam alpu r B ranch Theosophical Society was

celebrated w ith eclat on the 7th In s ta n t a t 7 A. M. a t No. 7, A lbert Road, Jam alpur. The following delegates from Branches in Bengal and B ehar were also p resen t:

From B erham pur: Babus D inanath Gangooly (Government Pleader), N afar Das Roy (M unicipal Commissioner), S ri N ath Goswami T rid h ara C harn B hatta, b. a.

From B hagalpur: Babus P arvati C haru M aker jea (Pensioner), B hagw attal M isser U pendranath Sarvadhicory.

First day, 6th March 1886.

Oil the previous evening a private m eeting of the mem bers was held and Babu Balai Chand M ullick of the C alcu tta Branch, and Babus N afar Das Roy and T ridhara C haru B hatta, B. a., of the B erham pur B ranch were in troduced to those present.

Babu Ram C hnnder C hatterjea, P residen t of tho local branch, opened the Iheeting w ith a short speech on the past, present and fu tu re of Theosophy.

The Secretary being called upon, read the 3rd A nnual R eport, w hich wrb adopted.

The T reasurer then subm itted his account for examination. Two of the Councillors checked the account and found it to be correct.

The position of the Sanskrit Sunday School, which has now completed tho first year of its existence, was discussed, and the members expressed th e ir w illingness to support it according to the ir means, and a Comm ittee was formed to inspect tne school and give i t th e ir moral support.

The following oflice-bearers for tho cu rren t year were elected:B abu Bam Chnnder C hatterjea ... ... President^

„ Troylukho N ath Roy ... ... ... Vice-President,,, K ali Bhusan Hoy ... ................Secretary.„ R aj Coomar Roy............... ... Joint Secretary*„ K ali Padagupta ... ... .............. Treasurer,, , Bani Madhaw Roy ............................ Librarian .

Councillors: Babus Da Bendra N ath C hatterjea, H ari N a th B hu ttacharjij Nilwani Banerjea, and Tara N arain M azum dar.

M embers and delegates were requested to consider means for th e diffusion of theosophic ideas outside the Society and cooperation w ith the neighbouring branches. A fter due consideration a Committee was formed to record th e proceedings of im p o rtan t meetings for circulation among co-operative branches as arranged by the B erham pur Branch. A nother Committee was form ed to translate im portant articles from th e Theosophist in Bengali in view of th e ir being published for the benefit of mem bers and the public. To fram e am ended rules and bye-laws for the local branch. The consideration of thia question was postponed.

T he meeting dissolved with a vote of thanks to the chair and delegates present.

2nd day, 7th March 1886.

A t 7 a. M. tho delegates and members of the local branch assem bled afc No. 7, A lbert Road. The P und it of the local Hari Saba, whose services h ad been previously engaged, explained slokas from the B hagaw at G ita ; on h is resum ing his seat a discussion followed on the “ Law of K arm a.” B abus P arvati C haru M ukerjea, D inanath Gangooly, T roylukho N a th Roy a n d T arin i C haru Roy took p art and cleared up some doubtful points.

T he meeting adjourned after 10 A. M. for recreation.A fter 2 t. m. th e delegates and members gathered a t No. 7, A lbert Road, to

hear B rother D inanath Gangooly explain passages in the “ L ig h t on th e P a th .” A fter 3 outsiders began to come in. W hen several gentlem en w ere present, i t was proposed th a t D ina Babu would explain w hether o r nofc th e idea bf “ form ation of a nucleus of universal brotherhood” was utopian. H e convinced tho audience th a t ifc was practicable if we were unselfish. D iscus­sions on im portan t subjects wero held till 5 p. M., when, according to programme, arrangem ent was m ade for delivery of public address. Tho P res iden t of the local b ranch was voted to the chair. H e called on B abu Sahadro De, a m em ber of the branch, to read his paper. Brother De, in ashorfc lecture, explained the first and the th ird objects of the Theosophical Society, an d cited au thorities from th e Shastras. H is selections from A ndrew Jackson D avis’ “ M agic Staff,” dated 1857, on Clairvoyance, were in teresting .

Then B abu D ina N ath Gangooly following the plan laid down by B ro ther De, explained the objects of Theosophy and th e Theosophical Society. H is speech was s tirr in g and attentively followed.

Then Babu A runaday Bhattacharji* a m em ber of the branch, addressed th e meeting.

Before the m eeting dispersed D ina Babu rose once more and drew a tten tion of the members and outsiders to Mr. H odgson’s report published in tho Calcutta Statesman, dated the 19th, 20th and 21st February 1886, a tta ck in g Madame Blavatsky* H e convinced his audience th a t the report of tho S. P . R . was prepared in a very perfunctory m anner, and th a t Mr. H odgson was an incom petent m an for in s titu ting enquiry in to the Coulomb affair, and thafc M adam e B lavatsky is an honest seeker for tru th .

W ith a, vote of thanks to the chair and delegates th e m eeting came to a close a t about 7 p. m.

The delegates re tu rned to th e ir respective destinations by the n ig h t tra in .B rother S rin a th Goswami of the B erham pur B ranch labored m uch to m ake

the A nniversary M eeting a success and the Jam alp u r B ranch expressed th e ir thanks to him.

The members of the B erham pur and B hagalpur Branches are always tak ing a deep in terest in the Jam alpur Branch, and we m ust place on record our deep obligation for the unselfish conduct of these brothers.

Alms to poor will be d istribu ted in honor of the anniversary.

R a j C o o m a r R o t ,

Joint Secretary.

R A M N A RA Y A N A N G LO -SA N SK R IT V ER N A C U L A R SCHO OL.

W e have received the report of this school, from which it appears th a t its founders are to be congratulated on its flourishing condition. Ifc Was established in 1883 by B. Babu Baroda Prasad Bosu, F. T. S., in m em ory of h is father. I t has received a Government educational g ran t of R upees 50 per mensem, and has been empowered to send up candidates for th e en trance exam ination of the C alcutta University.

The cost of the school building has been Rs. 5,136, of the site, Rs. 525; and a new road has been constructed a t a fu r th e r cost of Rs. 1,300. T here a re about 130 boys in the school, with a staff of eigh t teacher besides the head m aster.

I t appears from the accounts th a t tlie annual cost of carry ing on th e school amounts to about Rs. 2,000, of which nearly 0110 halt is con tri­buted by tho founder. The rcccnt exam inations have been attended w ith very satisfactory results, and the establishm ent of tlie school has been 01 grea benefit to. the inhabitants of the d is tric t who were before obliged to sendtheir children considerable distances from hom£; ;

• } « t i• • • : ■ “ . ' ■*' ■ ” ,

MR. S IV A SA N K A R A P A N D IA H ’S C L A S S E S .

T hese classes opened on the 14th of February for the ir fifth yearly course. They are held iu the V I-A Class Room of Patfcheappa’s College bvery Sunday ' between 3 p. m. and 5 p. in. All H indu young men w ith a fa ir knowledge of E nglish are eligible as mombfers of theso clashes, the object of w hich is to } diffuse the leading principles of A ryan M orality and Religion. ‘ ' ' ; ‘

. i f •: • • ■ i • ‘_________ j • • . • .................

'■ • ’ . f;R O H ILC U N D T H E O S O P H IC A L SO C IE T Y .A t a m eeting of th is Branch, held on the 10th pf January , the officQ-bcarors

of the preceding year were re-elected : .. ■ : ; . .A t another m eeting, held om the 7th February, the byedaw s of th e B ian ch

were revised and sundry alterations m ade in tjiein . 1

’ ' ! A M E R IC A . •’ 7 ' '

, : Till? AUTAN THEOSOPHIST OF N. T.

This B ranch, which was organized in N. Y. City, January 1884, had a large and very in teresting m eeting on February 4,1886, a t its rooms in N. Y .C ity . Bro. Gopal V inayak Josliee, of Bombay, road a paper on Theosophy in Ind ia and America, ih which he gave an outline of the movement, and strong ly insisted On the1 principle of Universal Brotherhood. H e was followed by Bro. W . Q. Judge, who mado Soule rem arks on ICarlna and R eincarnation, which arc subjects quito strange to the W estern mind. A fter th is m any questions were propounded by those present. Two of tho Rochester B ranch were present and also seve­ral old members who were adm itted by Madame Blavatsky in 1875, and severalinquirers. . . ■ _ r '

The N. Y . B ranch is now very active. Thev are rep rin ting Mrs. b in n e tt s “Purpose of Theosophy,” “L ight on the Path , and other valuable docum ents. I t is expected th a t this is only the beginning of a g reat in terest.

! ’ W illiam Q. J udge,President A. T. S.

‘ IR E L A N D .A charter has ju s t been issued for the form ation of a new B ranch to ba

called the “ D ublin Lodge of the Theosophical S oc ie ty”

T R IC H U R .

Mr. A Sahkarinh, Dewan F eishkak F . T. S., sends us an account of the form a­tion of an association to provide m ed ical: women for Cochin in w hich he is taking an active part., .s ; ,, *

’ > L . : 7. ••• . • ■■ • ; ]. •• .'! V.*) w,:.'* : • ■ ' ' ■' '

’ : . f ( ■ • ' : ; 1

Printed by Graves, Cookson and Co., at tho Scottish Press, Madras, ahd Published for'tho Proprietors by the Business Manager, Mr. Charles W. LeAdbeater, a t Adyar, Madras, 1

USEFUL BOOKS.

lhe prices of books named in these advertising columns include Indian postaa#. lor the accommodation of our subscribers, the Manager of tho THEOSOPHIST will procure any of these without additional charge, on receipt of price, but he parti-r r k i p r r il’ corre*P°ndenU will give their FULL ADDRESSES, CLEARLY niUTlEN, in every letter that they send; illegible handwriting and

ac™re**cs having tn many cases caused much delay, trouble, and loss All Money Orders to be made payable to the Manager at the Adyar Post Office.

THEOSOPHY.Isis Unveiled, by IT. P. Blavatsky (2 vols.) ...The Occult World, by A. P. Sinnett (4th od.) ’ 7 "*Esoteric Buddhism, by do. ...The Purpose of Theosophy, by Mrs. A. p. SinnettH ints on Esoteric Theosophy, No. I

D ? .. No. I ITheosophy, Religion, and Occult Science, by Col. n . s . Olcott! f . t . s .7 Five Years of Theosophy ... ...Man; some fragments of Forgotten History, by i ;wo Chelan in tiiaIheosonhical SooietyTlie Idy ll of tho W hite Lotus, by ii! c. 7L ight on the P ath , by M. c. ... ... ^

Do. (for distribution) 10 forTlie L ight of Asia, by Edwin Arnold Tlie Perfect W a y ; or the Finding of Christ !!! 7Magic : or Practical Instructions for Students of Occultism Thoughts on the Metaphysics of TheosophyParh a s L e v f / ^ H ig h e s t S c ien ce (U n p u b lis h e d W r it in g s o f E\i-E ^xirSof6Life 7 !!! !!! !‘! .................................Pearls of T ruth , by the Countess Wachtmeistrr, F. T .S .Epitome of A ryan Morals, by P. Sreenevas llow, F. T. s .

DO. (for distribution)I 15 copies As. 8, 100 copies Ils. 3-^ 1,000 copies Its’. Mona Singn, by D. m . S. ... ... # rThe Aim Of Life, by Siddheswar Ghosh Fragm ents of Occult T ruth, Nos. 2 to 8 (per set of 7.)

Do. (mixed Nos.) 16 for

i t a s * * * "IDo* (for distribution) 16 for I(%

R ELIG IO N .A Buddhist Catechism, by Col. II. s . Olcott, P. T. s. ...Buddhism , by T. \V. Rhys-Davids ...The Bhagavad-Gita, trans. by J. Davies ... 7

DO. ,, by Charles WilkineThe Life of Gaudama, by Bishop Bigandet ...Buddhist B irth Stories Catena of Chinese Scriptures, by Beal Dhammapada, by BeniThe Sankhya X arika of Isw ara Krishna, by John Daviei The B irth of the War-God, by Kalidasa The Sarva-Darsana-Sam graha, by Madhava Acharya U danavarga, by Rockhiii ... ... itiM etrical T ranslation of Sanskrit Authors, by Muir Hindu Pantheism , by JacobsDathavansa, by Sir Coomaraswatny... ,,, It,Philosophy of the Upanishads, by Gough ...The Religions of India, by Barth ...O riental Religions, by Johnson (2 vols.) iMVedantism, by Babu Dvijadas D atta ...Isavasvppanishad, translated by S, Eamaswami Iyer, F. T. S

Pf. A.25 03 08 02 21 00 84 04 4

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R E L I G I O N . — ( Continued.)

A tm a Bodh, translated hy B. P. Narasimiah, F. T. S. ...The V edan tasara , Sanskrit text in Devanagari charactej

lationg into English, Hindi and Bengali The V edan tasara , English translation only H eaven and H ell, hy Emanuel Swedenborg ... ...R ational C h ris tian ity , by Hugh Junor Browne Tlie V irgin of th e W orld (damaged copies) ...E leusin ian and Bacchic- M ysteries, by Thomas Taylor ...P rim itive Sym bolism as il lu s tra te d in P h a llic W orship , by llodder

M. Westropp ... ... ,,, ... ... ...Phallicism , l>y Hargrave Jennings ... ... ...P a ta n ja li’s Yoga Philosophy, edited by Tukaram Tatya, F.T.S.The Q uestion S e ttled or R eligion versus S u p ers titio n ...

M E S M E R I S M .Science and A r t of O rganic M agnetism , by Miss C. L. H unt..,How to M agnetize, by J. V . Wilson ...Six lec tu rcs on th e Philosophy of M esm erism , by J. B. Dods P rac tic a l In s tru c tio n s on A nim al M agnetism , by J. P. F. Deleuze The T ext Book of M esm erism , by Dr. williams H ow to M esm erise, by Prof. Cadwell A nim al M agnetism , by Prof. Gregory, in 6 part-3 L ib ra ry of M esm erism ...V ita l M agnetic Cure, by a Magnetic Physician A rtific ia l Som nam bulism , by Dr. Fahnestock The M odern B ethesda, by A. E. Newton

S P I R I T U A L I S M .People from th e O ther W orld, by Col. n . s. Oloott, p. T. S.A New Basis of B elief in Im m o rta lity , by j . S. Farmer Psycliography, by m . A. (Oxon)T ranscenden ta l Physics, by Zoiinor Pioneers of th e S p ir itu a l R eform ation ... ...The Scientific Basis of S p iritua lism , by Epes Sargent P roof Palpab le of Im m o rta lity , by do.The D ebatable L and betw een This W orld and th e Ne

R o b e r t D ale O w enM iracles and M odern S p iritua lism by A. R. Wallace A Defence of M odern S p iritualism by A. ll. Wallace

O C C U L T S T O R I E S .K a rm a ; a Novel, cheap Edition by A. P. Sinnett A cross the Zodiac; a S tory in 2 Vols., by Percy Greg M r. Isaacs, a T ale of Modern Ind ia , by F. Marion Crawford Zoroaster, by F. Marion Crawford ... ... ,,,W onderfu l S to ry of R avallette , by p. B. Randolph..,Zanoni, by Bulwer Lytton... ... t>1

Do. ... ... cheap edition titA S trange S tory by do ...

Do. cheap edition .., ...The Coming Race by do ...

Do. cheap edition. The Persian K ing i»y do

The B ro ther of th e Shadow, by Mrs. Campbell Pracd

CHARACTER-READING A N D PHRENOLOGY.H eads and Faces, by Professor Nelson Sizer (181 pp. Bvo. and 188 Illus­

trations—strongly recommended)

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Indications of Character in the Head and Face, by II. sM. D.................................................................................. ’

Handbook of Physiognomy, by Rosa Banghan ■ ...Ilow to Study Character ... ... ...How to RcadCharacter ... ...Chiromancy by Firth and Ilcron-Allcn Ml ,,,

Drayton,1212

80

13

A D V E R T IS E M E N T S .

CH ARACTER-READING AND PH RENO LO G Y.( Continued.)

J?s. A.A r t of Ju d g in g C h a rac te r by H an dw riting ... . •. ... 3 2P a lm is try , by Rosa Banghan ... ... ... 0 J 2Chirognom ancy, by do. ... ... ... l oP a lm is try and C hirognom ancy (in one Vol. cloih) ... ... ... 2 sS e lf-In s tru c to r in P hrenology and Physiology ... ... ... l 8H ow to S tudy P hrenology ... ... ... „ ... . o 5A C atechism of Phreno logy • ... ... ... ... l sPhrenology , its H is to ry and P rincip les ... .................. ... o 5H arm ony of Phrenology and th e Bible ... ... ... ... o 5

H E A L T H .A H ea lth C atechism ... ... ... ... ... ... o r>The P e rfec t W ay in D iet, by Dr. A. Kingsford ... ... ... l 8The D iet Q uestion ... ... ... ... ... ... o 12The Alcoholic C on troversy ... ... ... ... ... I sThe B ath , its H is to ry and U ses ... ... ... ... ... o 12W a te r Cure for th e m illion ... . . ... ... ... o 8H ered ity and R esponsib ility in P a re n ta g e ... ... ... ... o 5

M I S C E L L A N E O U S .M odern In d ia and th e Ind ians, by Professor Monior Williams ,,, 0 0H is to ry of In d ia n L ite ra tu re , by Professor AIbrccht Wcbcr ... 7 0H is to ry of M agic, by Joseph Ennemoser (2 vols.) ... ... ... 8 0C haldean Magic, by Lcnormant ... ... ... ... ... 2 8The R osicrucians, by Hargrove Jennings ... ... ... ... 0 0The Conflict betw een R eligion and Science, by J. W. Draper.., v . 4 12!The Soul of T hings, by Prof. William Denton ... ... 12 8Psychom etry , by Dr. J. R. Buchanan .., ... 5 12The B eginnings of T hings, by Prof. Tyndall 1.. ... o 32M a tte r and M otion, by Clark Maxwell ... ... ... ... 0 12The H ollow Globe ... ••• r> 12The S ta rs and th e E a r th ... ... ••• .*• ... 0 12The S ecre t Of D eath , by Edwin Arnold ... ... ... ... S 0In d ia n P oetry , by do ... ... ... ... r> oThe P arm en ides of P la to , by Thomas T:iylor ... O MCompendium Of A stro logv , by Narain Bow ... ... ,i. O 9E g y p t; th e W onders of th e Land of th e F liaraohs ... ... 6 oConfessions of an E ng lish H aschish E a te r ... ... ... ... o 12H ow to L earn P hortlia iid , by Baker ... ............... ... 0 12H ow to Conduct a P ub lic M ee tin g ... *. • ... ... ... o 8No R evelation In fa llib le , by A. (). Hnme ... ... 0 IW h a t is th e F o u rth D im ension? by c. it. Hinton ... o 12

SA N SK R IT .The 108 U panishads, in T elugu ch a rac te rs (never before published

in one volum e) ... ... • 9 0B hagavad-G ita , (T ex t only) in D evanagiri C harac te r, (pocket edition,

b o u n d in c r im so n s ilk — a m o s t b e a u t ifu l l i t t l e bo o k ) ... ... ... 0 GBliagavad-Gita in Grandha Character with Tamil Meaning for cacli

word mid sloka ... •• • 'l ■*P rim e r No. 2, by Dewan Bahadur R. Ragoonath Row ... ... <>Y og a ta rav a li in T elugu ch a rac te r •• • •• • • • 0 &

Series of Authoritative Text-Books of .Adwaita Philosophy in Telugu characters as under :—

F ra s n o tta ra ra tn a m a lik a ... ... ... o 10A tm an a tm a V ivekah ) ■ • , . , 0 6M ah av ak h y a D arpanam ) *MA tm a Bodh ... ... ... • •• ••• 0 5A parokshanuboot-i ... ••. ••• • • 0 3V iveka Choodaniani • • • • ••• ... o r*B hagavad-G ita w ith B hashya ... ... ... ... ... l 6

PUBLICATIO NS IN VERNACULAR.UR1)U.

Hints on Esoteric Theosophy, No. lHINDI.

BENGALI.

Catechism of Hinduism, by Nobin K. Bannerjee Tatwa-Sopana, Part I, by Syamacharan Bhatta, F. T. S. Prasnottaramala, translated by Bholanath Chatterjee...

TAMIL.

Primer, by Dewan Bahadur R. Ragoonath Row Light on the Path ... ... ••• # ...Kyvallia Navaneetam, by Esoor Sachitananda Pillai

Rs. A.

Ml ... 1 2

. T. S. M 0 3

0 81.. ... 0 6

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0 1Ml I.. 0 4. '• I 2 4

P. T. S ... 0 2

L I B R A R I E S.As tho Manager of the Theosophist ia frequently aBked what books he would

recommend to those forming a new Library, ho has drawn up tho following Lists, which, ho trusts, will be found suitable. The prices include postage in all cases. I t will be seon tha t the value of the books offered in each set amounts to ten per cent, more than the price charged for it.

L ibrary N o . L P rice R s . 25 .Paradoxes of the Highest Science.Hints on Esoteric Theosophy, No. I.

Do. do. No. II .How to Mesmerise, by Prof. Cadwell. Theosophy, Religion, and Occult Scienco. Magic: or Practical Instructions for Stu­

dents of Occultism.

Occult World.Psychometry.Light on the Path.Esoteric Buddhism;Buddhist Catechism.Five Yetra of Theosophy.Bhagavadgita, (Eng.) by Charles Wilkins.

L ibrary No. I I . P rice R s. 50.Tho Books of Library No. I and the following:—

Isis Unveiled. I The Idyll of the White Lotus,Atma Bodh (English.) I

L ibrary No. Tho Books of Library

Palmistry.Vedantasara.Chirognomancy.Zanoni (cheap edition.)Tho Beginnings of Things,Epitome of Aryan Morals. Isavaeyopanishad (English.)A Strange Story (cheap edition.)Tho Coming Race (cheap edition.)

I l l . P rice R s. 75.No. II and tho following:—

Tho Purpose of Theosophy.Fragments of Occult Truth, Nos. 2 to 8. Man : some Fragments of F o r g o t t e n

History.Tho Perfect W ay: or tho Finding of

Christ.Thoughts on the Metaphysics of Theoso-

phy.

VodantJsm.Mona Singh.Chaldean Magic.Tho Rosicrucians.Health Catechism.Matter and Motion. Parmenides of Plato. Theory of Evolution.The Perfect Way in Diet#

L ibrary No. I V . P rice R s . 100.The Books of Library No. I l l and the following:—

Tho Night Side of Nature.Water Cure for tho Million.Poople from the Other World.Tho Templo of tho Rosy Cross.Conflict between Religion aud Scienco. Heredity and Responsibility in Parontage. Tho Text Book of Mesmerism, by Dr

Williams,

MR. G E O R G E R E D W A Y ,

P U B L IS H E R , IM PO RTE R, A N D B O O K -SE L L E R ,

Will be happy to mail to any address in the world his Now Catalogue, in which will be found a larger number of books of interest to tho student of Occultism and Archaeology, than has over beforo been gathered together for sale.

The books have been divided into classes, such as :—

Ancient Worships. Magic and Magicians.Antiquities. Behmen and the Mystics.Symbolism. Koran.Mythology. Philology.Kabbala. Persian.Rosicrucians. Arabic.Freemasonry. Stone Monuments.Flagellants, India and the Hindus,Mysteries, Parsees.Oracles. Buddhism.Sibylla. Hieroglyphics and SecrotRound Towen*. Writing.Serpent Worship. Egypt.Secret Societies. PhilosopliyandMetaphysicsAssassins. Ethnology.Cabeiri. Skeptics, Jesuits, Christi­Druids. ans, and Quakers,Dreams and Visions. Travels.Divination. Gems and Coins.Neo-Platonism. Obolisks.Rabbinical, Ancient Ceremonies.Gnostics. Phallic Worship.

Folk-Lore.Herbs and Drug*. Psychomotry.Hermetic.Prophets.Tombs.Orientalia.China.Physiognomy.Palmistry and H andw rit­

ing.Phrenology. Psychoneurology. Thcosophical.Astrology.Alchemy.Demonology and W itch­

craft.Spiritualism.Mitliraic Worship. Mesmerism.Etc., Eto.

This collection comprises not only such rare and expensive books as Godfrey Higgins’s ‘ Anacalypsis’ ; Forlong’s ‘ Rivers of Life’ ; the Works of Robert Fludd, Paracelsus, and Jacob Behmen; the writings of Vaughan, the Rosicrucian; tracts on Alchemy and Magic, Ac., but all such indispensable books for students as Reichenbach’s ‘ Researches,’ Inman’s * Ancient Faiths,’ King’s ‘ Gnostics,’ Hardy’s* Manual of Buddhism,* ‘ Isis Unveiled,’ Barrett’s * Magus’ ; while the latest published works of Mr. Sinnett, Colonel Olcott, Dr. Hartmann, Mr. Hargrave Jennings, Dr. Anna Kingsford, Mr. Maitland, and other living authors, aro always in stock from the day of publication.

I t may be stated as a m atter of fact that the advertiser’s endeavour has been to offer tho most extensive choice of books in tlie World to those interested in thafc class of literature of which he makes a speciality,

By means of catalogues carefully compiled and well printed, nearly tho samo advantages are given to customers in Australia, in Asia, in America, and in, the extremes of Europe as to those residing in England,

All communications bearing the namo and full addross of the Bonder in plain writing will receive immediate and personal attention.

GEORGE RED W AT, 15, YORK STR EET, COVENT GARDEN, LONDON.

S A N S K R IT B O O K S IN D E V A N A G A R I C H A R A C T E R .

Vishnivpuranam with Sridhara Swatnis Commentary Nrisimna Tapani with Sankara Charya’s Commentary The Aitareya Aranyka with Say ana ■ Charva’s Commentary. Chandogya Upanishad with Sankara Charya’s Commentary

(nicely bound)Isa, Kena, Katha, Prasna, Munda, Mandnkya and Muktika

Upanishads with Sankara Charya’s Commentary (nicely bound)

Taittariya, Aittareya and Swetashwatara Upanishads withSankara Charya’s Commentary (nicely bound) ...

Brahma Slltras with (lo: do. (nicely bound)...Brihadaranyaka Upanishad do. do. (nicely bound).., Panchadasi writh Commentary (nicely bound) ... ..These aro very rare books now on sale with us. Please apply

Theosophist, Adyar, Madras.

6 0 02 6 03 14 0

G 12 0

0 12 0

3 12 012 8 012 8 04 0 0

to the Manager,

IM P O R T A N T N O T IC E .---------- o - ---------

SABDAKULPADRUM—A new and improved edition of the celebrated cyclopedic Lexicon by tho late Rajah Sir Radhakant Deb Bahadur— is offered to the

public at the remarkably low price of Rupees 45. This edition will contain a mass of new matter consisting a variety of important and useful information—deriva­tions of words (the original work gives no derivation) determined after the rules of the renowned Sanskrit Grammarian Panini, significations of words omitted in tho original, and an appendix as large in itself as a complete Dictionary containing all such words as do not appear in tlie original Sabdakulpadrum, explained and illus­trated after its manner and a compendium of thc principles of Sanskrit Grammar.

The work will be published in monthly parts of about 8 forms each, double royal octavo, from May next, and no pains will be spared to present it to the public in the neatest possible form. I t will be printed a t the Baptist Mission Press, Calcutta in New Devanagari types.

To non-Subscribcrs tlie price will be Rupees 75 and Subscribers in Europe and America will have to pay £ 6 only for thc whole work.

For further particulars apply to Babu Uarichurn Bosu, 71 Pathuriaghata Street . Calcutta.

L A R G E GROUP PHOTOS OF T H E M EM BERS OF T H E THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY.

Comprising Portraits of Delegates from all parts of tho world, assembled 29th Dec. 1881- and 1885.

No. 1.—Morning and Evening group near the house taken in 1885,,, 2.—Evening group, near tbe house.,, 3.—Morning group, in front of the large pan dal.

4.—Group of the Foundors and somo of their associates.Also

,, 5.—A view of the Thcosophical Head-Quarters.„ 0.-—View of thc Adyar river, looking towards the sea.

Price Rs. 1-8 unmounted. Rs. 2 mounted.7.—AN EXTRA SIZE of the evening group 15 by 12 inches.

Price Rs. 3 unmounted.,r 4 mounted.

Photos of Eighth Anniversary Groups offered at reduced rates'.Rs. 1-4 unmounted photos. Rs. 1-8 mounted.

Cabinet size Photos of (1) Madamo Blavatsky; (2) Colonel Olcott; and (.3) Mm<\ Blavatsky and Messrs. T. Subba Rowland Babajec, are also available from Members of the Society at lls» 1-8-0 each.

■m. ^ . N O W R E A D Y .The Yoga Philosophy.— Being the text of P atan.fali, with Biio.ta Raja’s Com­m entary; with their translations into English by Dr. Ballantyne and Govr^r* S hastri D iova, an introduction by Colonel U.S. Olcott, and'an Appendix containing extracts from various authors bearing upon thc subject. Edited and reprinted for tho Bombay Theosophical Publication Fund by T ckaram Tatya, F. T. S. Second Edition,- revised and enlarged. This valuable work is now on sale at a low prico at the Theosophist Office ; no student of Occult Philosophy should be without it.

The Bhagavad-gita.—Only a few copies of Mr. T uraram T atya’s edition of his sacred book now remain ; those who wish to aid him in his good work by

tpurchaaing it should therefore apply at once.

J UST P U B L I S H E D .M A N U A L O F P S Y C H O M E T R Y .

The Dawn of a New Civilization, By Joseph Rhodes Buchanan, M. D.Author of “ Anthropology,” “ Therapeutic Sarcognomy” and “ Moral Education”—

Professor of Physiology and Instit utes of Medicine in four Medical Colleges succes­sively from 1845 to 1881, and for live years Dean of the Eclectic Medical Institute, the parent School of American Medical Eclecticism—Discoverer of thc Impressi­bility of thc Brain, of Psychometry and of Sarcognomy.

This work of 500 pages, wliich illustrates the origin of Psychometry, its scientific methods and its vast range of application to the investigation of character, the diagnosis of disease, the exploration of phj'siology, psychology, geology, medicine, biography, history, religion, pneumatology, and destiny, is pronounced by thc Banner4of Light the most important work of thc present century. To obtain copies by mail post paid send $2-1(5 to thc author, D r. J. R. B uchanan, 29 Fort Avenue, Boston, U. S. A.

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T H E LA TEST A M ER ICAN INVEN T IO N .

THE VICTORY OF ELECTRICITY.

Since Electricity has been applied for lighting purposes, all efforts of inventors have beendirected to construct a lamp for general domestic use. The reason why this problem has still now not been solved, is that none of the inventors could rid themselves of tho idea of lighting, and that all have adhered to the system of producing the Electricity in some central place, or by large machinery, instead of first laying down tho principle that a Lamp which should ever become generally useful and popular, must be portable, like an Oil Lamp and contain tho generator of Electricity in itself, i. e., in tho foot of tho Lamp.

The Norman Electric Light Co. has at last succeeded in completely realizing this ideal of Electric Lighting, and there is no doubt that this most important invention will bring about a complete revolution in all branches of lighting.

Our Electric Lamp needs neither Machinery, Conductors, nor any expensive outlay, and ia neither complicated, nor disagreeable in manipulation j all that is necessary is to refill it every four or five days with acid. The cost of lighting will be as cheap as gas (f cents per hour) and it has before the latter the immense advantage of neither producing heat, smoke nor* car­bonic acid, owing to which the air is not impured, and remains at tho same degree of tem- peratnre. I t is further* absolutely inodorous, aiid does not need to be kindled by match or otherwise, but simply by turning the key, thus avoiding all danger of fire, explosion or suffo­cation, as in tho caso of gas, if the key is left open; and it must ba conceded that thia advantage alone is invaluable. I t is further preferable to any known kind of lighting for tha following reasons :

(1.) Its manipulation is so simple that .any child can keep it in order.(2.) That the Lamp is portable, and can be removed like any Oil Lamp, from one placa

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cylinder, as in the case of Oil Lamps.(4.) That the light produced is a soft and most steady one; that it never flickers and tha

flame, though being equal in power of lighting to gas, can be regulated to any degree.(5.) That every danger of fi.re is absolutely excluded, as tho light will extinguish immedi­

ately, if by any accident the glass surrounding the burner should be broken.(6.) That it will burn, even in the strongest wind, completely unaffected, thus beintr

invaluable for illuminations, lighting of gardens, corridors, etc. ’This Lamp is constructed for the present in three different sizes :—A, small size. Height of complete Lamp, 14 inches weight, about 5 pounds ; for lighting

rooms, cellars, storage houses, powder magazines (or similar places, where explosives aro kept), coaches, illuminations, gardens, mines, or any other industrial purpose. Price Rupees 15.

Per Lamp, delivered free to any part of the world.B, medium size. Serves all domestic purposes for lighting rooms, houses, etc. This Lamp

is elegantly decorated, and has removable white ground Glass Globe.Price, per Lamp (inclusive of Bronze Foot and Globe, richly and elegantly constructed).Price Rupees 30, delivered free to any part of the world.C, Grand size for Parlor, Hall, Saloon, Public Building, &c. The Lamp gives a most bril­

liant and steady light, has large removable white Globe, decorated most tastefully, and the workmanship is both first-class and elegant. Price Rupees 65. ’

Foot of Lamp in either Bronze, Japanese, Faience or Silver Oxide.Any special size or design made to order. Estimates furnished.All Lamps are ready for immediate use, and will be sent, securely packed in strong wooden

box, with printed directions for use, a quantity of chemicals sufficient for several months’ lighting, and one extra burner for size A, and two for sizes B and C. The necessary chemicals can be purchased in any Drug Store, in even the smallest village.

Every Lamp is accompanied by a written gnaranteo for one year, and will be exchanged or money refunded, if the same should not give complete satisfaction. *

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/Ocreativ ^com m onsAttribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported

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to S h a r e — l o c o p y , d istribu te a n d t ra n sm it th e w o r k

©to R e m ix — to a d a p t th e w o r k

U n d e r the fo llo w in g co n d it io n s :

CDA t t r i b u t i o n — Y o u m u s t attribute th e w o r k in th e m a n n e r sp e c if ie d b y th e au tho r

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the w o rk ) .

N o n c o m m e r c ia l — Y o u m a y no t u s e th is w o r k fo r c o m m e rc ia l p u rp o s e s .

©S h a r e A l i k e — If y o u alter, t ra n s fo rm , o r bu ild u p o n th is w o rk , y o u m a y d istribute

the re su lt in g w o r k o n ly u n d e r th e s a m e o r s im ila r l ic e n se to th is one .

W ith the u n d e rsta n d in g that:

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

holder.

P u b l i c D o m a in — W h e r e th e w o r k o r a n y o f its e le m e n ts is in th e p u b l i c d o m a in u n d e r

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O t h e r R i g h t s — In n o w a y a re a n y o f th e fo llow ing r igh ts a ffe c te d b y th e licen se :

• Y o u r fa ir d e a lin g o r f a i r u s e righ ts, o r o th e r a p p lica b le c o p y r ig h t e x c e p t io n s a n d

lim itations;

• T h e a u th o r 's m o r a l rights;

• R ig h t s o th e r p e r s o n s m a y h a v e e ither in th e w o r k itse lf o r in h o w th e w o r k is u se d , s u c h

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N o t i c o — F o r a n y r e u s e o r d istribution, y o u m u s t m a k e c le a r to o th e rs the l ic e n se te rm s o f

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