it should have been; first, by the failure of the T. S. as _a living
spiritual force in the world_; and second, by the sinister activities of
this "ill-omened partnership" which almost immediately followed. The
whole tragic and dreadful history, fragments only of which I have been
able to give in this brief examination, proves what incalculable harm
"Leadbeaterism" is working on the minds of the rising generation. Not
only is he the virtual director of Mrs. Besant's Society, but he has
completely infected _her_ mind with his soul-destroying teachings. Hers
is the real responsibility, therefore[24]; and hers the _karma_ of
ruining H. P. B.'s life-work, and carrying with her in her fall
thousands upon thousands of honest, but too credulous and easily
deceived souls along the broad and flowery road "leading to
destruction."
As H. P. B. says in concluding her "Occultism _versus_ the Occult
Arts":--"If, while turning their backs on the narrow gate, they are
dragged by their desire for the Occult one step in the direction of the
broad and more inviting Gates of that golden mystery which glitters in
the light of illusion, woe to them! It can lead only to Dugpa-ship, and
they will be sure to find themselves very soon landed on that _Via
Fatale_ of the _Inferno_, over whose portal Dante read the words:--
"_Per me si va nella cittá dolente
Per me si va nell'eterno dolore
Per me si va tra la perduta gente._"
FOOTNOTES:
[21] _How_ "unexpected" was the manner of her passing may be gathered
from the fact that she was, at that very time, building a little
"occult" room next to her own, of a particular shape and structure, in
which each of her pupils was to "sit"--alone--"for development," under
special conditions and "under observation." The tiny roof was to be of
dark blue glass, of which I still possess a small piece of the colour H.
P. B. had finally selected.
[22] These orders are here reproduced exactly as printed in the E. S.
paper. It should be noted that the one relating to Mr. Judge is in
larger type than the other. The triangle formed of asterisks .*. after
the words "regard are to be given" indicates that H. P. B. is there
endorsed by an Initiate of a higher grade. It will also be noticed that
the dots forming the triangle after her signature differ in size in the
two orders. In a note in the _Voice of the Silence_ to the words
"Thyself and mind, like twins upon a line, the star which is thy goal
burns overhead" H. P. B. says "Every stage of development in _Raja-Yoga_
is symbolised by a geometrical figure. This one is the sacred _Triangle_
[_i.e._, [asterism dots] and precedes Dharana. The [triangle] is the
sign of the high _chelas_, while another kind of triangle is that of
high Initiates." The [asterism dots] is also used in Freemasonry to
denote certain high degrees.
[23] It is only fair to give Mrs. Tingley's Organisation credit for the
good work it is doing in publishing accurate reprints of H. P. B.'s
works with all the references carefully checked, but none of her own
writing tampered with. Now that the 1888 edition of _The Secret
Doctrine_ is so scarce, students will be glad to know that an unaltered
reprint can now be had instead of the Besant corruption. The reprint of
_Isis Unveiled_, with the addition of an excellent Index, has long been
wanted; and the original paging has been preserved, so that the Index
also serves for the original edition. It is to be regretted that these
reprints are prefaced by an account of the Theosophical Movement from
Mrs. Tingley's point of view, which is inaccurate and misleading.
However, this is easily removed.
[24] In a letter from a Master to a friend occur these words:--"You are
responsible for the influence that you permit others to exert over you."
_ADDENDUM._
=The Australian Crisis.=
The official account of the events in Australia last spring reached me
too late to include in its proper place (_ante_, p. 4), but its
importance as the latest phase of the Leadbeater scandal demands
quotation of the principal details. Australia has been the scene of Mr.
Leadbeater's activities since the Madras lawsuits (_ante_, p. 39) made
India too hot for him in 1913. Needless to say, the same scandals were
repeated there, and finally brought about a crisis at the T. S.
Convention last Easter in Sydney. Two of Mr. Leadbeater's Indian
"pupils," Krishnamurti (see _ante_, p. 12) and Jinarajadasa, secured a
vote of confidence in Mrs. Besant and Mr. Leadbeater which roused strong
opposition. I quote from a long circular letter issued to the members by
one of the opposition, Mr. J. M. Prentice, of Hobart, who is evidently a
leading officer. It is dated May 28, 1922.
MRS. BESANT REFUSES AN ENQUIRY.
Soon after Convention Mrs. Besant arrived in Sydney [from
India] a very worried and angry woman. At the Sydney Lodge she
spoke on the lines of "Judge not that ye be not judged," and
made it thoroughly apparent that she was not in favour of
anything in the nature of an Enquiry. During the Convention
Leadbeater had issued a special statement to the E. S. T. which
led to its expulsion from the Sydney Lodge building. It was
this that had finally angered Mrs. Besant to boiling point....
She expressed a wish to meet the Lodge Committee and talk over
the difficulties. There was a three-hour conference that led
nowhere. I am told that she was helpless to a point of pathos.
She denied everything as far as Leadbeater and Wedgwood [see
_ante_, p. 62] were, concerned, and refused to consider
anything in the nature of an Enquiry. She read from old files
of the _Theosophist_ how Leadbeater had been rehabilitated, but
a member of the Executive challenged her with more recent
happenings, to which she could only reply that she did "not
believe them."
A TERRIFIC PRESS CRITICISM.
Two days later the _Daily Telegraph_ came out with a tremendous
attack on the "Liberal Catholic Church." The result was
terrific. At the members' meeting that night feeling ran very
high. The _Telegraph_ had a reporter present and came out with
six or seven columns under heavily leaded headlines. Moreover
this information was disseminated to all the papers the
_Telegraph_ is correspondent for. The result is that
irreparable damage has been done to Theosophy and the Society;
although the ablest papers are willing to admit that there is
still a minority genuinely fighting for sanity and cleanness in
the T. S.
GOVERNMENT ENQUIRY INSTITUTED.
The Government has now instituted an Enquiry, but so far I do
not know the scope of its intention. I have been told by
telegram that the Leadbeater boys have been examined or
interrogated.... One of the latest developments was when Mr. A.
B. Piddington, a leading barrister and K. C. of Sydney,
resigned from the Presidency of the Public Questions Society of
Sydney University rather than meet Mrs. Besant at a public
address which she proposed to give to the members. He has
addressed a scathing letter to the _Telegraph_, or rather
released for publication his letter of resignation, which is a
remarkable summing-up of the position.
MR. PIDDINGTON, K. C.'S OPINION.
The following are the chief points made by this gentleman, who is not a
member of the T. S., and therefore represents an impartial legal and
public view of the moral issue at stake:--
My resignation is based on the ground that the Society ought to
withdraw its invitation to Mrs. Besant until the matters
involved in her defence of Mr. C. W. Leadbeater have been
settled by a trustworthy tribunal.
Grave allegations were recently made against Mr. Leadbeater by
Mr. Martyn [see _ante_, p. 18,] for his letter to Mrs. Besant,
and Mr. Leadbeater's precept and practice in the training of
boys have been quoted. Mr. Martyn is supported by other
reputable Australians.
Before landing here, and since, Mrs. Besant has refused any
inquiry into these matters, and taken up positions which, in a
teacher of morals disentitle her to be heard by an
undergraduate society which exists for the pursuit of truth.
These positions are:--
1. That there is a class of beings so high in the religious
order that to accuse them is presumption on the part of the
common people. Indeed accusations are 'persecution,' which
proves the sanctity of these higher beings, and is (in Mrs.
Besant's words) the "seal of their apostolate."
2. Mrs. Besant refers Mr. Leadbeater's challengers to the
courts, though to propagate in private the abominable tenet
held by him does not constitute an offence against any law, but
only against common decency as understood by ordinary men.
3. She writes that she does not believe, and will not discuss
Mr. Martyn's allegations, though she writes from India of what
Mr. Martyn says happened in his own home in Sydney.
If these are good reasons for refusing to hold an inquiry, then
immorality can be safely taught and practised in high places so
long as the teacher belongs to Mrs. Besant's way of thinking.
From the public point of view such a claim cuts the ground from
all morals.
In her letter to the _Daily Telegraph_ [of Sydney] for May 18,
Mrs. Besant asks the public to believe that Mr. Leadbeater has
to meet charges relating to 1906 [see _ante_, p. 27], and
disposed of [?] by some private investigation in 1908. The fact
is ignored that Mr. Martyn's accusations relate to conduct
since 1914, Worse than this, the fact is suppressed that Mrs.
Besant in 1913 was herself ordered by the Madras High Court to
return to their father two boys whom she insisted in placing in
Mr. Leadbeater's care, in spite of the father's protest. [See
_ante_, p. 40] ... Mr. Justice Bakewell said that, from
Leadbeater's evidence, he was "certainly an immoral person, and
highly unfit to be in charge of the boys." He also found that
Mrs. Besant had violated her stipulation made with the father
before parting with the boys, that they should have nothing to
do with Mr. Leadbeater. (London _Times_, March 8, 1913.)
In the following year Mr. Leadbeater came to Australia and now
"trains" Australian boys.
Mrs. Besant lent herself and her oratory to the acquittal,
without evidence, of Mr. Leadbeater at a public meeting ... In
my view it is as bad to rescue a man from public justice (which
is a wider term than criminal law) by the exercise of a
dominating personal veto, as it is to do it by money or social
or any other 'influence'--'influence' which is the bane of any
system of justice.... She may effect a master-stroke of
salvage, but she offends every canon of fairplay, let alone of
that ordinary morality by which all men, high or humble, must
be content to be judged. These sombre facts stand out:--
1. Mrs. Besant's chief colleague has stated as late as 1913 in
open court that he still believed in teaching a detestable vice
to boys, which he had previously taught them.
2. An English Judge for this reason declared him to be an
immoral person.
3. Mr. Martyn accused Mr. Leadbeater of being still what the
English judge said of him, and alleged fact upon fact in
support of this.
4. Mrs. Besant has shielded Mr. Leadbeater from inquiry.
5. Mr. Leadbeater says nothing.
AN INDICTMENT OF MRS. BESANT BY A RESIGNING MEMBER OF HER E. S.
Further very recent testimony and criticism is furnished by a letter of
resignation from Mrs. Besant's Esoteric School by Mr. Hugh R. Gillespie,
of Krotona, California, one of the strongholds of the "Liberal Catholic
Church." The letter, dated May 29, is printed in the _O. E. Critic_ of
August 16, and the Editor in a prefatory note says:--
The writer ... is well-known to Theosophists of three
continents as a lecturer and as a fearless, persistent and
uncompromising fighter for honesty and cleanness in the T. S.
For almost three years he was attached to Adyar as architect
and sanitary engineer.... He was at Adyar during the trial of
the "Cases" in the Madras courts and saw the whole sordid drama
in action. During this period he had abundant opportunity for
getting light, as well as sidelights, on the working of the
Adyar machine and on the personal peculiarities of the gods and
demigods of the Theosophical Olympus. Later he was resident
three years at Krotona, where similar opportunities were not
lacking.
Mr. Gillespie writes that he resigns as a protest against the actions
and utterances of Mrs. Besant as "Outer Head" of the E. S. and President
of the T. S., and continues:--
These actions and utterances have, since her assumption of the
above mentioned positions, been of such a character that, to
use the words of H. P. B., the Theosophical Society is
" ... being made a spectacle to the world through the
exaggerations of some fanatics, and the attempt of various
charlatans to profit by a ready-made programme. These, by
disfiguring and adapting Occultism to their own filthy and
immoral ends bring disgrace on the whole movement."
As a result of Mrs. Besant's methods we learn that the T. S.
and E. S. in almost every section is seething with dissension.
England, Australia and America are racked and torn; Germany is
split; Finland is shattered, and the closing of the E. S. for
some four years in Switzerland indicates the conditions there.
Mrs. Besant's arrogance and vanity in office and her lack of
dignity, as exemplified in her ridiculous "Whom will ye serve?"
tirade, and her letter of March, 1922, have drawn the attention
of the great London weekly _Truth_, and in its pages the T. S.
is held up to the scorn and ridicule of the world. [I have
dealt with these under the heading of "Mrs Besant's Latest
Assertions and Claims Examined."--A. L. C.]
So far as the E. S. is concerned, my experience of its working
under Mrs. Besant in Australia, Adyar, England, and America
enable me to assert that it is nothing but a political machine
used for the purpose of securing the ascendancy of Mrs. Besant
in the various bodies to which E. S. members have gained
access. [I would draw particular attention to this important
statement. It is especially true of India, which is the
principal scene of her political activities.--A. L. C.]
... Mrs. Besant's parade of thrusting the L. C. C. out of the
T. S. door while bringing it in by the E. S. window, added to
her condonement of the vile practices of the L. C. C. bishops
and priests, fall little short of a betrayal of the T S. and
could only be adequately met by her resignation from all
office....
BIBLIOGRAPHY.
_The Secret Doctrine._ London, 1888. _The Key to Theosophy and The Voice
of the Silence._ London 1889. _The Theosophical Glossary._ London, 1892.
_Practical Occultism_ Reprint, London, 1921.--H. P. Blavatsky.
_Mrs. Besant and the Present Crisis in the Theosophical Society._ With a
Prefatory Letter by M. Edouard Schuré. London, 1913.--Eugène Lévy.
_The Central Hindu College and Mrs. Besant. (The Rise of the Alcyone
Cult.)_ Chicago, 1913.--Bhagavan Das.
_Reminiscences of H. P. Blavatsky and "The Secret Doctrine."_ London,
1893--Countess Constance Wachtmeister.
PRINTED BY
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* * * * *
TRANSCRIBER'S NOTES
This text is full of typographical errors (wrong spelling and unmatched
brackets and quotation marks, reference to italics when there are none).
Since these are really a characteristic of the text, I have left them
unchanged.
The asterisms on p. 85 and in footnote 22 are represented in the text
version as .*. and the "asterisms-with dots" on the same page and in the
same footnote are represented by [asterism dots]; the triangle on p. 86
is indicated by [triangle] in the text version.
Words in bold are indicated by the markup = =.
The word Self in small capitals is indicated by the markup ~Self~.
End of Project Gutenberg's H. P. Blavatsky, by Alice Leighton Cleather