THE THEOSOPHIST:A

MONTHLY JOUR,NAL DEvorrED TO ORIENrrAIJ

PIIII~OSO~

PHY, ARrr, IJI'l'ERATURE AND

OCCUIIJ'ISl\tJ~

CONDUCTED BY

II. P. BLAVATSI{Y.UNDER THE AUSPICES OF THE THEOSOPHICAL 'SOCIETY.

VOLUME IV.-1882-83.

~f A DRAS:

PUBLI SHED BY THE THEOSOPHICAL SOCIETY, ADY AR

PRU,'l'EJl A'I' 'nil"!\y OHArJ;S,

fo:CO'1'T.fH II J'lfESS,Ar\I- ('().

CtH.lli.~f)N

TIlE; THEOSOPliIST. .;;

.\

VOLUME IV;1882--83

(OCTOBER '1-'0 SEPTEMBElJ,.)

'ttYP~OE.

JNDEX.'j 'j'.PAOE. PAGE.

Atonement, the mischief of the Buddhist,-Catechism, Sl.e under A. ..... 119 douhine of-I'.; ." Catechism "--Slwrerl t1!ee in his commentary on thc Mallll Sallliita, a class of house-holders who were ealled Ved:ulriori unless bis mind is irretriovably biassed by modern secu lar education. The story a boutthe ..il/i)lied and Emperor Akbar and of the In.ttel''S conversion, is an historical faet, so well known as to require no IIIore proofs at this late hour. But as the modern Parsi will n8'ler fail to ask for a corroboration, and that boforo we insi;;t upon tIle results we have to show the existence a.nd rEality of the causes that underlie snch phenomenal powen in man, called in our days-jll!7g1e1.1J, I will first of all quote side by side the two passages referring to tJIC septenary \ature of man liS [ find them in our scriptures and the Fl'AGMENTS.Sub.divi~ionR

of sept.P1Hlry man according to the Occultist~.

POF!'.}

'l'he PhysiclIl hody, COI11wholly of militer ill ils grossest nud most tangible form.1.

Suh-rli\'isioIR of srpt(mnl'Y mall fi('cot(ling to Yasna (chup. 5-!, pllra. 1). 3 1. Tantws-i.e., bod y (t.he self) 11Uit cOI,~i;;tf! of LOllrs (4 )-g:ossest furm of mutter.[)

The Vitnl principle-(or Jiv.alma).- n form of force,indC'Rtructible nnd when di~con necled with one set of ntomR, . becomin~ nttl"llctel.\ iQlmedintely by others.

2.

2.(01'

UsMan a;- Vi till hent

force).

October, 1882,]

THE THEOSOPHIST,

21Others explain it as

===-====63. The Astml body (Lillgashariral cornpo:,ed of higldy etlll'rializeu mutler; ill its huLitliul pus"ivo st.llto, tllo pel'fect but v(,l'y ehadowy dllplicutc of' tI,C Lody; its uetivity, cOIl~oli dat iOIl nnd forlll depell'Jillg entircly on tllC Kama 1"11j1ll. 4. 'rhe A"tr,,1 slmpe (l,auiGTlIpa) or bouy of dCHil'!" II prillciple ,Ietillillg tho eOlifiguratiou

-,.:

:..-.:=:.....:~=:--~

3. Kehf1'I}(ls-Aerinl forll1, the uiry 1l1l1ld.1, (Pr.) I\a/('h.

t1~at Cjuali!,y in a mall of milk and position which mnkes

tenacity to and sustains the nerves.

i4. TC1!i",/, is- \V ill, 01' W Ilerc ""II tieill', col!;ci""~lletS is fl.l'Il1ed, abo I',rc-klloll'ltrait" I:>etticlllents, Chilla, Japan, alld Australia, 118. 1$; ill Africa, Europe, Hlld the United States,;I;. 1. Half-year (I ndin, &0.) Its.;'; Hingle copies ](upeo 1. J:emittallces in postal stUlIIPS must be at tho ral.e of aUlla, J ~ to tho Hllpce to cover. discoullt. The nu~vo rates incilldo l'ostages ...\ 0 hauw u:til be enif-I'ed "U~ Ute lJof}l's ui" pa}Jt.7" seut until lilA!- 1JW1U!I 1& 1"emitled; unc/' ;nvHrinlJl!1 ilt~ lJalJt1 1t~ill be discfJ7i.t.inut!d at t/le eXI)t1({tiu/~ of tile te,.", sl,bscrib,,1, 1m'. HCllIittanccs shoul'l ue made ill Money-ardors, lInlJdis, Hill cLeques, \ or '!'masnry bills if in registered letter.), and made payable only to the 1'IlUl'IllETUitS of 'I'IH; 'J'lIEUSOl'HlSl', Breach t;alJdy, Bombay, India. Slluecriptions commencc with tho Volume.hcr~

Subscribel" wishing a printed receipt for their remittances Inllst sand s!.amps for return postage. Otherwise acknowledgments will uo mado through the journal.~. O~T,Y EIGHT NU,IIBE!!8 01' 'OJ,. I H1-:11W AY,\IT..Ull.J:, TEE CIIAf1GI: 1'01< thcm will bo n. 44. Subscribers for the Sccolld VolullIe (Llet. ISSO to SepteJlIloel' 1881) pay Rs. ti oilly ill India; Its. 7 ill Ceylon: Hs. 8 ill the ~trait" Scttlelllcllt, t;hilla, Japall, and Australia; alld 1 ill Africa Europe and tho Uuited :status. ' AOgN'I'S: London \j'"g.), Bernard Qual'itch, 1& Piccadilly, W. ; France P. G. Leymaric, 5, Hue Neu\'c dcs Petits Cholllps, l'aris; ~C\V ,,"ork, }-uwler and WuiJs, 1[';.1, Broadway; J.iostOIJ, Mass, Loluy :1ll'1 ltich, U, l\lontgolllery Placc; Clliengo, Ill. J. U. HUIlII)" !J~, La Salle St. American sub.cl ibeu llIay"lso order tbeir 1'''1'ors tlorough W. Q. Judge, 1';"1-> 71 Broadway New York; Mclholll'llo, \V. 11. 'Jerry, Pub. ]It,rbi"!JeI' "f L'!Jht ; West lndics' C. E 'lay 101', St. Thomas; 11Iliia : .illessr". Thacker I:>l'illl< alld Comllany; Booksellers, Calcutta; Balm .NarclIdro Nath :::;ell, ]",/i'Ut Nirrul' oHice ;H ~Iott's Lane, Vhurrurntollah ::ltl'cet, Calcutta; Me"sr" JOllllSOll k Co.; !!ti 1'01'1mm's liroadway, l\lauras; Ceylon: J ohll Hohert do ::lilvII, Surveyor ~elleral'8 OJliCl', Cololllbo: Von 'l'llcotUY Karullaratlle, KUlIdy. t;binu,: Kelly lind Walsh, Shenglm;.

(Tv be contimtctl.)-~----.-.~""""---".,,,----

SO.IIE

S1'IIUTtI.\L

'l'HUUUJ!'I'S

01"

CAltT,yr,l~

rrom

llis

" Note-Book" given in Li.qld :!I'e worlhy of being republished. The late vlllierable philo:-uphel' "('ellis 1.0 IlIlve hlld Ihe true Vednnt.ic ring in him. For instance : "Yon ~eu two Illun frollting' eaeh o(.I,,\,. Ulle sits ,In~ssecl ill red cloth, the othel' Abu](h:; drp8sed in thl'eadlmre 1>lue. The tirst su.ys to the other, 'Be hanged and anat.(lllliHc,1 !' allli it i~ forthwith put ill l'xc,,"tioll, WI Number 'I'll'''. is a skeleton. Whence "ome~ thi~? Thu"e lIlell llal'c lIO 1'/'/I1dllg the 1!lImuCl' of Boys in the Theo,Qoph1'oal Soddy's JJurld/u',q( lh:qh School at (Julle, ar/mitted dl!.1ing the.fil\~1 montil.

-;~,:,n Wh~~:;,~-o~FT~F'~1Mt. Cnlvory

ml ILl I~ II.

nomnr,,".

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62

Homnn Cntholi.,.Wecu HHldu !iO public. " The whole Truth about tho Theosupliical Society amI its FOUllLiel's" is 110W S() well kllo\\'n tu the English-speakilln' :lllllriuht-minde(l Hindus that th(y can no longer be b n 1 imposed upon by the dissimulating advocates of tlO Nazarene Prophet's creed. Blltsome of those yet, who do not undlJrstalld Engli~L, are still bbomiug under misconceptiolls, while there are others who aro totally iO'Tlorallt of the nxistence of such It f)ociet)" all(1 the real o go()(l its FOliliders aru doiHg" to 0111' coullt.ry. It is chiefly for the wide dissemination of the results of the Theosophical Society's researches, and the vin(lieation of its FntlIlden;' eharacters that" Om Aryan }OPIIII>T."

In the :nticle Oil "])eath" by the lftte Elipllas Leyi, printed in tile Uctuber number of the THI~of;uI'IUST, vol. III.. pftge la, the writer Rfty,; that "to be ill1l110rtftl in good, olle must identify olleself with God; to be ilJllllortnl in evil, with Satftll. These ftre the two poles of tile world of Souls; beh"ccn tll/~sc t'l('O lJoles vegetate lid die withollt rC1nelllll1'((lIc(~ the 1I8el('S,~ 7)(1'1'lion 0/ manh'iilrl," In yonr explmmtory llote Oil this pftssnge yon quote the hook of Khiu-te, which sayR that "to force oneself npon tllu current of ilillllortality, or rather to sucnre for olleself :1.Il endle,~8 81'1';1'8 ofl'e-l,il'lhs (/S COllsciolls illllivitlnftlitie,~, olle must become ~t eo worker with Imtnre, either for [Ioor! or for bad, in her work of creation ftn(l reprodnctioll or in that of destrnctioll. It i~ ]mt the 1I8eiC88 drones which she gets . rid of, violent.ly ejecting them amI making them perish by the millioll,; as Seif-C(lIl:3ciullS entitie~. Thus while t.lle good ftllli pure strive to rench Ninarm, the wicked will seek, 011 the contrary, a series of lives ftS conscious, definite existences or beillgs, pH'felTing to be ever suffering under the law of retributive jllstice rather thall give np their lives as portions of the illtegral nnivenml whole. Being woll aware that they enn Ilever hope to reach the filial rest in pure spirit OJ' J',""1'((1/(/., they (~lilJg to lire ill nny form rather thall give up that' desire for lift',' or '}'((11//('" which cftuses a lIUW nggregfttioll of 8!.:u,ndus, or indivitillality to be ro-horn. 'rhore are thorougldy wicke(1 or (Iepra.vcd mell, yet as llighly illtellectual all(l acutely "l'l~l'i,tl{.(~r fur evil, as those who are spiritmd for good, The I'!/ON of tlH!se IlHlJ escape thn law of fiuftl destructioll or annihilation for ages to COIne. Heftt and eold are the two 'poles,'i, (~., good :uHI evil, spirit and 'I/IoUel. Natllrn '~lmps the 'lukewarm' 01' the useless portion of mankilld' out of her mUllth, ,i.e" annihilates them." III the very same HUlllber in which these lines occur we hftve the" Fragment.s of Occult Truth," and we learll thelJce that there an~ 8en'il entities or principles constitut.ing a hUlI1ftu 1)('illg, When death occurs, the first three principles (I. e., the hlldy, t.he vital energy, and astml body) are dissipated; alld with reglm] to the remaining four prineiples "olle of (1('0 things occurs." If tile Spiritual Ego (sixth principle) lms been in life material ill its tendencies, then at de~Lth it continue'S to cling blindly to the luwer clements of it.s late cOlllbillation, ftnd the true spirit. severs itself from the~e and pns,~es awftY elsewhere, whell the Spiritual Ego i!l also TO SATE OTHElt UVES (lJIIl that the1'C l1'aS 110 othel' alternati)'1? fmit. Let him_ read para. 7, page 21 :1, in the Septemhor THF:oSIJPI[{S'L', find reflect. Of course, the question is simply generalised by the writer. To t.roat exhaustively of all anel every case ofsuieide ami their after-states woul(l requiro a shelf of volumes from tho British Museum's Library, not om

Fragments.(2.) No man, we repeat, has a right to put an end to his existence simply because it is useless. As well argue the necessity of inciting to suicide all the 111C111'o,ble invalids and cripples who are a constant souree of misery to tbeir families; amI preach the moral beauty of that bw amollg some of the savage tribes of the South Sea Islanders, ill obedience to which they put to death, with warlikc honours, their old men and women. The instance chosen by " Inquirer" i5 not a happy one. There is a vast Jitference between the man who parts with his life in sheer disgust at constant failnre to do gooel, Ollt of despair of ever being 11seful, or even ont of tlread to do injury to his fellow-men by remaining' alive; alHl one wllO gives it l1p voluntarily to ~ave the lives either committed to his charge or dear to him. One is a half insane misanthrope-the other, a hcro and a martyr. One take.g o,way his life, the other o.flcrs it in sacrifice to philanthropy and to his duty. The captain who remains alone on ?oard of a sillkin.~ ship; the lllan who gives 11p his place III a boat that 'Will not llUld all, in faVOll1' of younger and weaker beings; the physician, the sister of charity, and nur:se who stir 110t from the bed-side of patients dying at an mfectious fcver . thQ man of science who wastes his life in brain-work and fatigne and 7molcs he is so wasting it ~nd yet is offering it day after day lind night after night l~ order to discover some great law of the universe, the dll;covery of ,:iJich may bring in its results some great boon t.o mankmd; the mother that throws herself before the wild beast, that attacks her children, to screen and give them the time to fly; all theRe au not suicide.~. The impulse which prompts them thus to contravene the first great law of animated nature-the first instinctive impulse of which is to preserve life-is grand and noble. And, though all these 7Vm have to live in the Kama Lol.~a their appointed life term, they are y0t admirerl by all, and their memory will live honoured among t.he living for a still longer period. 'Ve all wish that, upon si milar occasions, we may have COl1l'HO"e so to die, Not so, Sl1l'ely in the case of the man inst:lll~ed by" Inquirer." Notwithstanding bis assert,ion that" there is no moral cowardice whatever involved" in snch se?f-sacrifice-we call it decidedly "mornl cowardice" and refuse it the name of sacrifice. (3 and 4.) There is far more courage to live than to (lie in most cases. If "M." feels that he is "positively mischievous," let him retire to a jnngle, a desert isl11ml; or, what is still hetter, to a cave or hut near some big city; and then, while living the life of a hermit, a life which would preclude the very possibility of doing mischief to anyone, work, in one way or the other, for the poor, the starving, the afflicted. If he does th:lt, no one can "become involved in the effects of his mistaken zeal," whereas, if ho has the slightest talent, he can benefit many hy simple manual labour carried on in as complete a solitude and silence as can be commanded under the circumstances. Anything is better-even being called a crazy philanthropist-than committing s'uiciclc, the most dastardly and cowardly of aU actions, unless the lela de se is resorted to, in a fit of insanit.y.

(5.) "Inqllirer" asks whether his "M."J1lllst ahobe victim of that tram;/'ormat.iol1 into 8pook nlHI Fis(l('ha! .J udging by the delineation given of his character, by his frienel, we should say that, of all suicides, he is the mOflt likely to become a seance-room SpODA;. Gniltle~s" of any moral turpitude," he mn.y well be. But, sillce he is affiictell with a "restless disposition which is perpetl1nlly urging him on to mal,e an ~/l'Ol't to do gOal!" -llore, on eanh, there is no reason we know of, why he should lose that unfortunate disposition (11llfortunate 'because of tIle COllstant failllre)-in the J((l,l/Ia Lo7m. A" 1llistaken zeal" if; sure to lead him on toward variolls mellill1lls. Attracted by the strong magnetic desire of sensiti '1es Hnd spiritualists, "t.L" will probably feel "morally houud to diminish the woes to which these sentient beings (mediums and believers) are sll~iect all en.rth," and shall once more destroy, not ollly himself, bnt his "affinities" the mediums.

TIIOUGHTS UPON THE RELIGIOUS PROBLEM-

)

OF A FiRST CAUSE.*BY L. A. SANDERS, F.T.S.

Our intellect is a force of Will, its highest, subtleRt force, !JavinO" the power to command all upon earth (as Will becom~s intellectual in the mlept), while, in remaining Nature, it is 1111conscious a1ll1 without intellect. Time has the notions Jln.st and future, begillning ami end, bnt these notions belong altogether to intellect alone; there is no subjective Time_ Time heg-ant with the awakening of intellec~, in N atnre, ami its 1lotions, past. an (I futnre, are the plan upon which om intellect Tlll1st thil~k; time produces the necessity for flpprehellding causalIty, i,e., r:hanges in succession. N ow, changes in succe~sion an(l eternity are heterogeneous_ The first are ill Time, as Time is in Intellect. Eternity is a word which we use in order to designate that wllich is not Time. It is only a word, not even a notion; we think nothing by it, because, when we attempt to analyse it, we are always forced to imagine something in tlte way of a long, long Time, a Time without ent!; and but prove by that, that for Eternity, we have no adeql1ate concept in om intellect, 'Ve can think only of Time. CallR!l.lity, beginning', end, past. future-are notions of Time,ancl in Time nre the structure~, the plan upon which am intellect must operat.e. Intellect began and will end like time, like cn.1l~ality, like past, like future, when intellect ends itself. Eternity belongs to Nirvana, which has 11!lUgllt t.o do with all these thill,q,~ all these notions, ~\. first. cause is untltinkable Rnd cannot exist beyond N:ltnre, beyond us, because olJr intellect itself, ,,,hen trying to imagine it, acts after the law of caumlity, its own form, becanse onr intellect makes the beginning and there is 1I0t.hing else, as matter is causality. We see nnd think nature slIch, because we ourseh'es are N atnre and our intellect is also N :\tllre ; not someth ing apart, looking upon something else.

By attempting to think a first cause, we try t.o thinl~ onr intellect. Matter is force, is intellect. is cauRality, ig will, a circle, and we ourselves arc will. The time forphilosophy has come, the time for thinking is here, awl the above are broad hint~ for friends. Borneo, July, 1882, See TIIF.O~orI!I~T, Al'dl, 1882,

t Tn each wor],l-rycle.---Ell.

Koveiuber, It:lt:l2.)

SUPERIOIUTY OF HINDUISJ1I '1'0 OTHER EXISl'lNG RELIGIONS: AS VIEWED ]/W11I TIlE S'PAND-POINT OP TllEISM.(('ouLilln",\ fl'OIll tlw Odo!>cr Numbor.j

1S

mentionc(1 in the V cllant b.y the word 'Ho'--of Him wbat more shall I tell you, my beloved? He is to be cuntemphtted, He is to be wurshipped. His worship is easy. \Vithout Hi:; worsllip there cOllld be no salvation." Agaill-

BY llABU HAJ NAHAIN HOSE,lJ{c.~t'do~l

uf t/~e A(li

lJ1'ldl1)W /~'alll((J.

(1'muslated /nlo En!! I isl, b!; tlw A 111/'01'.)CHIll:

" I only ita-uti 011, I caullot create ne'\" tlwlcfore, I love tUCUl."-CO}lj/!c;a8.

thill~'~,

I l,clicyc in the ancients

III olle pineo of the Mahanirvau Tuatra: the unties .of a blOwer of tile One True God are be.ltntlfully . descnbed. The gOll Shiva is representeJ as :;aylllg to Ills beloved cou:;ort, Parvati : -