In view of the sustained attack by Anglo-Indian and English journals, we are obliged to enter the arena of controversy, under the penalty of having our silence construed into tacit consent. The torrent of letters from our opponents, pouring upon us from all sides, compelled us to lower the flag of truce which we have hitherto presented to spiritualists. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. The peacock’s feathers of the Indian Dailies and Weeklies, which are made to clumsily cover the ugly bird beneath, now painfully ruffled stand on end, can no longer hide the ravenous crow. Christian charity and malicious slandering of innocent people are mutually exclusive with the true religion of Christ (who has nothing to do with modern christrinity), however much they have become synonymic in the mind of some Bishops and their clergy. Those Anglo-Indian editors who done their best to injure the Theosophists, not only they patently failed in their unholy attempt, they did help our Branches to skyrocket worldwide. The sanctioning and spreading of flagrant untruths and malicious innuendoes, constitutes a dishonourable and venomous act — all the more reprehensible as it comes from the missionary press of Bombay. The clerical and Jesuitical policy is to disseminate false rumours, malicious backbiting, wicked and stupid cock-and-bull stories, by salaried catechists, zenana-missionaries, and padris under the sanction and with the blessings of their respective Bishops. We are charged with anti-Christism, while we are guilty but of anti-clericalism; and with a “fierce hatred of the Church,” when we confess but to a ferocious contempt for the ecclesiastical system — the system that crucifies its Christ daily, tramples His commands in the dust under his feet, and disfigures His noblest and most divine teachings! Other persons, nobler and far higher in social position than we, humble Theosophists, are no better protected against scurrilous abuse in the Indian Empire; and thus we find ourselves standing on parallel lines with His Excellency, the Viceroy of India.

Madame Blavatsky on the Venerable Swami of Almora, on the Advaita philosophy in general, and our failings in particular. No “merging” or absorption can take place without dissolution, and an absolute annihilation of the previous form. The venerable Paramahansa claims that he had “composed” himself into the state of Nirvikalpa, which Monier Williams defines as a state “destitute of all reflection.” A mortal wound can be inflicted by the inner man upon another, neither by a real dagger nor by a hand of flesh — but simply by Will. Spirit and Matter are illusionary aspects of the One Reality that veil Its ineffable splendour. These two ever-opposing forces are inseparable, interdependent, and interchangeable permutations of the One Life and Consciousness. In a piece of wood or a stone there is as much latent spirit or life, as there is in a week-old human foetus. Truth (central point) is everywhere: its outer boundary is nowhere. Eastern occult philosophy is the only one which can lead to true knowledge, for its starts from and proceeds only on principles clearly defined and accurately known.

Colonel Olcott wrote what he then thought was the truth, honestly and sincerely; and, as I had a determined object in view, I did not seek to disabuse him too rudely of his dreams. It was only after the formation of The Theosophical Society in 1875, that he learned the whole truth! But when Colonel Olcott clearly says in his book that instead of being controlled by spirits to do their will, it is I who control the so-called “spirits,” yet he was made to say by Mr. Lillie that it is I who was controlled! I had known “John King” since 1860, for it was the form of an Eastern adept, who has since gone for his final initiation, passing through and visiting us in his living body on his way, at Bombay. What right does Mr. Lillie has to cross-examine me? But since he chooses to take such liberties, I will tell him plainly that he himself knows nothing, not only of initiations and Tibet (not even exoteric), let alone Esoteric Buddhism. Yet he who knows nothing of either Tibet or Buddhism, tries his best to make out Madame Blavatsky a liar in a cunning attempt to elevate himself above his station. Accusations and insinuations against one whom no insult of his can reach, are worthless and unworthy of a self-proclaimed Buddhist. Mr. Lillie is ruining terribly his reputation as an Orientalist. Indeed, before this controversy is settled, he may lay bare the last shreds of his supposed oriental learning for all to see. The irrepressible Arthur Lillie, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, continues his extravagant tirade against Madame Blavatsky. He keeps feeding his censer with his own incense with endless heaping of malignant nonsense, peppered with misconceptions, blunders, and unfair insinuations. His tactics are a sort of guerrilla skirmishing; one answers and corrects one set of blunders when, forthwith, there appears a fresh series. Mr. Lillie is a base man indeed who, having had truth revealed to him under the seal of secrecy, and solemnly pledged himself never to reveal the information, does nevertheless divulge it to the profane. I was a Spiritualist well before the truth of modern Spiritualism. As regards to mediums, séances, and the spiritualistic “philosophy,” so-called — belief in the latter alone constituting a Spiritualist. It is most unfortunate that Mr. Lillie hardly ever knows what he is talking about.

Madame Blavatsky defends Buddhism in Ceylon, and points out that the root cause of the Kotahena riot in was the ungenerous and unlawful attitude of the Christian padris and bigots of Ceylon toward the Buddhist religion. The spirit of the law is easily avoided, while its dead letter is as often made the weapon and pretext for the perpetration of the most iniquitous deeds. Honour your own faith, and do not slander that of others. Buddhism is the least aggressive of all religions, as Christianity the most aggressive of all and more so than Mohammedanism. The devil who, to defeat God and thwart the ends of Justice and of Right, sows on earth the seeds of thousand and one conflicting religious sects; the seeds sprouting and growing into the strong weeds that will stifle mankind, unless destroyed and annihilated.

Theosophy is a system of divine philosophy offering to eclectic thinkers rational explanations of occult phenomena, without bamboozling them with hollow tenets, sophistry, and dogmas. It is the Beacon-light of Hope guiding Humanity on her true path. Its noble aim is to unite men of all nations in brotherly love and acts of charity beyond kith and kin, to all that lives and feels, and needs help and kindness. Theosophy seeks to refine human nature at the voluntary sacrifice of the superfluous animality and private wealth, fostered by modern life and materialistic education, which is abnormal for the human race at this evolutionary stage. Theosophists are friends of all World Movements, whether intellectual or practical, striving for the amelioration of Humanity. Their mission is to open man’s heart and mind to charity, justice, and generosity — attributes which belong specifically to the human kingdom and are natural to man, once he has developed the qualities of a human being worthy of the name. Theosophy teaches and prompts the animal-man to be human, by living for others; and when men have learnt to think and feel, as all truly human beings should feel and think, they will act humanely; and works of charity to visible and invisible beings will be done spontaneously by all to All — by virtue of the immaculate nature inherent in All. On the day, when Theosophy will have accomplished its most holy pledge — namely, to unite firmly men of all nations in brotherly love bent on pure altruistic work, not on labour spurred by selfish motives — on that day only, will Theosophy become an ever-Living Power on earth, far higher than any nominal “brotherhood of man.” Great results can be achieved by those who, forgoing their own comfort, work unselfishly for the ideal of Universal Brotherhood by helping their fellow pilgrims to carry the burden of life. Such a joyful and soul-ennobling responsibility will be fruitful of good to the Society, to yourselves, and to Humanity at large. While preparations for the new cycle continue, and the forerunners of the new subrace appear on the American Continent, the latent occult powers in man have already begun germinating and growing. The Ethics of Theosophy are far higher and more precious than any divulgement of psychic laws; the latter relate wholly to the material and evanescent part of the septenary man. Only self-abnegation and the goodness of earthly love can purify and prepare for the realisation of the Divine Love. Teach, practice, and proclaim the twin doctrines of Karma and Reincarnation, for it is that system of life and principles, which alone can save the coming races. Do not work merely for The Theosophical Society, but through it for the benefit of the Great Orphan, the only disinherited one upon this earth crying aloud in the darkness for guidance and light. Had it not been for W.Q. Judge, Theosophy would not be where it is today in the United States. It is he who has built up the Movement among you, and he who has proved in a thousand ways his loyalty and steadfast devotion to the Cause of the Masters — which is Compassion, i.e., the Causeless Cause of the Spirit of Truth.