OpenLLM-France/wikimedia huggingface dataset:
# A Collection of Esoteric Writings of T. Subba Row/Buddhism and Ancient Wisdom-Religion

BUDD-HISM AND ANCIENT WISDOM-RELIGION.
[Note added in reply to a correspondent.]
We are in a position to state that Mr. Sinnett never intented to maintain that Buddhism, as popularly conceived, is the nearest approach ever made to the ancient Wisdom-Religion. His assertion simply means that the Tibetan from of Exoteric Buddhism is in closer connection at present with the Esoteric Doctrine than any other popular religion on account of the presence of the great Himalayan Brotherhood in Tibet, and their constant guidance, care and supervision. The name given to Mr. Sinnett's book will not be misleading or objectionable when the close identity between the doctrines therein expounded and those of the ancient Rishis of India is clearly perceived. As the writer of the foregoing article seems to be in a state of doubt as to the position occupied by the septenary constitution of man as expounded by Mr. Sinnett, in the Aryan Hindu Occult System, we shall herein below state in a tabular form corresponding principles recognized by the Vedantic teachers:—
| Classification in Esoteric Buddhism. | Classification in Esoteric Buddhism. | Vedantic Classification. | Vedantic Classification. | Classification in Tharaka Raja Yoga. | Classification in Tharaka Raja Yoga. |
| (1.) | Sthula sarira. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | | Annamaya kosa | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | Stholopadhi. |
| (2.) | Prana. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | Pranamaya kosa | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | Stholopadhi. |
| (3.) | The Vehicle of Prana. . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | Pranamaya kosa | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | Stholopadhi. |
| (4.) | Kamarupa. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | Manomaya kosa | | |
| (5.) | Mind $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ (a) Volutions and feelings, &c. (b) Vignanam. . . . . . . . . . | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | Manomaya kosa | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | Sukshmopadhi. |
| (5.) | Mind $\scriptstyle {\left\{{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right.}$ (a) Volutions and feelings, &c. (b) Vignanam. . . . . . . . . . | | Vignanamaya kosa | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | Sukshmopadhi. |
| (6.) | Spiritual Soul. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | | Anandamaya kosa | | Karanopadhi. |
| (7.) | Atma. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . | | Atma | | Atma |
# A Collection of Esoteric Writings of T. Subba Row/A Letter to Madame H. P. Blavatsky

* To
* MADAME H. P. BLAVATSKY,
* Corresponding Secretary to the
* Theosophical Society.
Madame,
After a careful examination of the private and confidential "Letter" addressed to the Fellows of the London Lodge by its President and one of the Vice-Presidents, I could not help coming to the conclusion that the writers of the letter have greatly misunderstood the relations of the Himalayan Brotherhood to the Theosophical Society, and the peculiar circumstances under which Mr. Sinnett's book on Esoteric Buddhism was written. Their criticism, moreover, of the doctrines contained in that work seems to me illogical, and quite uncalled for, as I have attempted to show in the accompanying observations.
In accordance with the order of the Mahatmas and the desire of the Council, I have in every case given full reasons for the conclusions I have arrived at. Now I have the honor to request you to forward these observations to the London Lodge for the consideration of its members, with such additional remarks as you may think proper.
Yours, &c., T. SUBBA ROW, c. t. s. :
| Forwarded to the London Lodge Theosophical Society, for the consideration of its Fellows. |||
| Head-quarters of the | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | By order, |
| Theosophical Society, | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | H. P. BLAVATSKY, |
| Adyar (Madras), India, | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | Corresponding Secretary to the |
| January 27, 1884. | $\scriptstyle {\left.{\begin{matrix}\ \\\\\ \\\ \ \end{matrix}}\right\}\,$ | Theosophical Society. |
# A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Innig

From volume 2 of the work.
[ G. ]
# A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Interlude

From volume 2 of the work.
​INTERLUDE (Germ. Zwischenspiel). A short Voluntary, played, by English Organists of the older School, between the verses of a Hymn, or Metrical Psalm.
Fifty, or even thirty years ago, a good extempore Interlude was regarded as no unfair test of an Organist's ability. The late Mr. Thomas Adams had a peculiar talent for Voluntaries of this kind: and, at S. Peter's, Walworth, John Purkis charmed his hearers, at about the same period, with delightful little effusions which were frequently far more interesting than the Hymns between the verses of which they were interpolated. Of late years, however, the Interlude has fallen so much into disuse that it is doubtful whether a good one is now to be heard in any Church in England.
In French Cathedrals, a long and elaborate Interlude is usually played, at Vespers, between the verses of the Magnificat, as well as those of the Hymn: and, at Notre Dame de Paris, S. Sulpice, and other Churches built on the same grand scale, where the Organ in the Choir is supplemented by a larger one at the western end of the Nave, a fine effect is sometimes produced by the alternate use of the two instruments; the smaller one being employed for the accompaniment of the voices, while the larger is reserved for the Interludes alone.
Interludes are played, in Germany, not between the verses of the Choral, but between the separate lines of each verse—an arrangement, which, however effective it may be in the hands of an accomplished Organist, is generally very much the reverse in those of a tyro. (Good examples are to be found in Ch. H. Rink's 'XXIV Choräle,' op. 64, 1804.) The delicious orchestral Interludes which embellish the Choral, 'Cast thy burthen upon the Lord,' in Mendelssohn's 'Elijah,' and those on a more extended scale in 'Nun danket' in the 'Lobgesang,' were evidently suggested by this old German custom; while the grand crash of brass instruments, introduced between the lines of 'Sleepers, wake!' in the same composer's 'S. Paul,' illustrates, perhaps, the most striking effect which it has yet been made to produce. [See Chorale.]
[ W. S. R. ]
# A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Institut, Prix de l'

From volume 2 of the work.
[ G. C. ]
# A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Instrumentation

From volume 2 of the work.
​INSTRUMENTATION, see Orchestration.
# A Dictionary of Music and Musicians/Initials, Absolute

From volume 2 of the work.
​INITIALS, ABSOLUTE. Though it is not necessary that a Plain Chaunt Melody should begin on the Final, Dominant, or even Mediant, of the Mode in which it is written, the choice of the first note is not left entirely to the Composer's discretion. He can only begin upon one of a series of sounds, selected from the Regular or Conceded Modulations of the Scale in which he writes, and invariably occupying the first place in all Plain Chaunt Melodies referable to that Scale. These sounds are called Absolute Initials. Their number varies, in different Modes; no Tonality possessing less than three, or more than six: and, among them, there are a few, which, though freely permitted, by law, are, in practice, very rarely used.
In the following Table, the letters, enclosed in brackets, denote the more unusual Initials: while those printed in Italics indicate that the sounds they represent are to be taken in the lower Octave, even though they should thus be brought beyond the normal bounds of the Mode.
| Mode I. | C. D. F. G. A. |
| Mode II. | A. C. D. F. [E.] |
| Mode III. | E. [F.] G. C. |
| Mode IV. | C. D. E. F. [G.] [A.] |
| Mode V. | F. A. C. |
| Mode VI. | F. [C.] [D.] |
| Mode VII. | G. [A.] B. C. D. |
| Mode VIII. | C. D. F. G. A. C. |
| Mode IX. | G. A. C. D. E. |
| Mode X. | E. G. A. C. [B.] |
| (Mode XI.) | B. [C.] D. G. |
| (Mode XII.) | G. A. B. C. [D.] [E.] |
| Mode XIII. | C. [D.] E. G. |
| Mode XIV. | [G.] [A.] C. [D.] |
[ W. S. R. ]
# A Critical Exposition of the Popular 'Jihád'/Chapter 10/71

[Sidenote: 71. The exaggerated number of the persons executed.]
The number of male adults executed has been much exaggerated, though it is immaterial, when an execution duly authorized by the international law of a country takes place, to consider the smallness or greatness of the number. I cannot do better than quote Moulvie Ameer Ali of Calcutta on the subject, who has very judiciously criticised the same: "Passing now to the men executed," he says, "one can at once see how it has been exaggerated. Some say they were 400; others have carried the number even up to 900. But Christian historians generally give it as varying from 700 to 800. I look upon this as a gross exaggeration. Even 400 would seem an exaggerated number. The traditions agree in making the warlike materials of the Bani Koreiza consist of 300 cuirasses, 500 bucklers, 1,500 sabres, &c. In order to magnify the value of the spoil, the traditions probably exaggerated these numbers. But taking them as they stand, and remembering that such arms are always kept greatly in excess of the number of fighting men, I am led to the conclusion that the warriors could not have been more than 200 or 300. The mistake probably arose from confounding the whole body of prisoners who fell into the hands of the Moslems with those executed."
Even 200 seems to be a large number, as all of the prisoners were put up for the night in the house of Bint-al-Haris, which would have been insufficient for such a large number.

## Footnotes

* ↑ "Compare the remarks of Ibn-Khaldún (Prelégoménes d' Ibn Khaldoun, traduits par M. de Slane, Part I, p. 14)."
* ↑ A Critical Examination of the Life and Teachings of Mohammed, by Syed Ameer Ali, Moulvi, M.A., LL.B., of the Inner Temple, Barrister-at-Law, p. 113: William and Norgate, London, 1873.
* ↑ Ibn Hisham, p. 689. Others say the males were kept in the house of Osman-bin-Zaed, and the females and children in the house of Bint-al-Haris. Vide Insan-al-Oyoon, by Halabi. Vol. III, p. 93.
# A Critical Exposition of the Popular 'Jihád'/Chapter 11/75

3.—Torture of Kinana.
[Sidenote: 75. Torture of Kinana.]
It is related by the biographers "that Kinana, chief of the Jews of Khyber, and his cousin had kept back, in contravention of their compact, a portion of their riches. On the discovery of this attempt at imposition, Kinana was subjected to cruel torture—'fire being placed upon his breast till his breath had almost departed'—in the hope that he would confess where the rest of his treasures were concealed. Mahomet then gave command, and the heads of the chief and his cousin were severed from their bodies."
The story of Kinana's being subjected to extortion and put to death for hiding some treasure, for which he had contravened his contract, is altogether a spurious one. Kinana was executed in retaliation for treacherously killing Mahmud, the brother of Mohammad-bin-Moslama, to whom he was made over for execution. There is one tradition, without any authority, to the effect, that Zobeir was producing fire on Kinana's breast by the friction of flint and steel. This, if it be a fact, does not show that it was done by Mohammad's direction and approval. On the contrary, there are several traditions from the Prophet himself in which he has forbidden to punish any one with fire. It is related by Bokharee from Ibn Abbás, that Mohammad said, "God only can punish with fire." It is also related by Abu Daood from Abdullah, that the Prophet said, "No body ought to punish any one with fire except the Lord of the fire."

## Footnotes

* ↑ Muir's Life of Mahomet, Vol. IV, p. 68.
* ↑ Vide Mishkát Book of Retaliation, pp. 243-244.
# A Critical Exposition of the Popular 'Jihád'/Chapter 11/73

2.—Urnee Robbers.
[Sidenote: 73. The alleged mutilation of the Urnee robbers.]
Some Urnee robbers, lately converted, had plundered the camels of Medina and barbarously handled their herdsman, for they cut off his hands and legs, and struck thorny spikes into his tongue and eyes, till he died. The bandits were pursued, captured, and executed by Kurz-bin-Jabir. "They had merited death," says Sir W. Muir, "but the mode in which he inflicted it was barbarous and inhuman. The arms and legs of eight men were cut off, and their eyes were put out. The shapeless, sightless trunks of these wretched Bedouins were then impaled upon the plain of Al Ghâba, until life was extinct." As the robbers had mutilated the herdsman, this gave currency to their having been mutilated in retaliation. But in fact Mohammad never ordered mutilation in any case. He was so averse to this practice, that several traditions from various sources emanating from him to the effect, prove that he prohibited mutilation lest he himself be mutilated by divine judgment.

## Footnotes

* ↑ Muir's Life of Mahomet, Vol. IV, p. 19. In the collections of Bokharee the story is traced to Ans. But Ans could not be a witness to Mohammad's command for mutilation, as Ans did not come until the expedition to Khyber; and the execution of those robbers took place before that. The story from Jábir in Ibn Mardaveih's collections to the same effect is not authentic, as Jábir, who says he was sent by Mohammad in pursuit of the robbers, and committed the act, was not a convert at that time. Koostalanee, the author of Mooahib, has declared the tradition of Ibn Jarir Tabari on the subject as an apocryphal, i.e., "Zaeef." Vide Zoorkanee on Movahib, Vol. II, p. 211.
* ↑ Ibn Hisham (p. 463) relates from Ibn Is-hak that Omar asked permission to mutilate Sohail, but Mohammad replied, "I would not mutilate him; if I do, God will mutilate me, though I be a Prophet."
# A Critical Exposition of the Popular 'Jihád'/Chapter 11/74

[Sidenote: 74. Amputation or banishment substituted temporarily in place of imprisonment for want of a well-organized system of jails.]
Sir W. Muir continues:—"On reflection, Mahomet appears to have felt that this punishment exceeded the bounds of humanity. He accordingly promulgated a Revelation, in which capital punishment is limited to simple death or crucifixion. Amputation of the hands and feet is, however, sanctioned as a penal measure; and amputation of the hands is even enjoined as the proper penalty for theft, whether the criminal be male or female. This barbarous custom has accordingly been perpetuated throughout the Mahometan world. But the putting out of the eyes is not recognized among the legal punishments."
These alternative punishments were prescribed for the heinous crimes of highway robbery, dacoity, and theft by house-breaking. They were (i) capital punishment, (ii) amputation, and (iii) banishment (Sura, v, 37, 42), according to the circumstances of the case. The last two were of a temporary nature substituted for imprisonment for want of an organized system of jails and prisons. When the Commonwealth was in its infancy, the troubles of the invasions and wars of the aggressive Koreish and their allies had left neither peace nor security at Medina to take such administrative measures as to organize a system of building, guarding, and maintaining jails, their inmates and their establishments. As soon as jails were established in the Mohammadan Commonwealth, amputation and banishment gave way to imprisonment. The prisoners of war, not being criminals, used to be made over by Mohammad to some citizens of Medina, as in the case of the prisoners of the battle of Badr, to keep them in their houses as guests, on account of the want of prisons; but as for the other criminals—the highway robbers, dacoits, and house-breakers—they could not be treated and entertained so hospitably. Thus there was left no alternative for them except either to banish such criminals, or to award them corporal punishment in the shape of amputation.

## Footnotes

* ↑ Muir's Life of Mahomet, Vol. IV, p. 19.
* ↑ This subject has been fully and judiciously discussed by the Honorable Syed Ahmed Khan Bahadur, C.S.I., in his "Commentary of the Koran;" Sura. iv. pp. 198-204.
# A Critical Exposition of the Popular 'Jihád'/Chapter 11/77

[Sidenote: 77. The charitable spirit of Mohammad towards his enemies.]
The magnanimity, clemency, forbearance, and forgiveness of Mohammad at the time of his victory at Mecca were very remarkable. Mr. Stanley Lane Poole with his usual acumen writes:—"But the final keystone was set in the eighth year of the flight (A.D. 630), when a body of the Kureysh broke the truce by attacking an ally of the Muslims; and Mohammad forthwith marched upon Mekka with ten thousand men, and the city, defence being hopeless, surrendered. Now was the time for the Prophet to show his bloodthirsty nature. His old persecutors are at his feet. Will he not trample on them, torture them, revenge himself after his own cruel manner? Now the man will come forward in his true colours: we may prepare our horror, and cry shame beforehand.
"But what is this? Is there no blood in the streets? Where are the bodies of the thousands that have been butchered? Facts are hard things; and it is a fact that the day of Mohammad's greatest triumph over his enemies was also the day of his grandest victory over himself. He freely forgave the Kureysh all the years of sorrow and cruel scorn they had inflicted on him: he gave an amnesty to the whole population of Mekka. Four criminals, whom justice condemned, made up Mohammad's proscription list when he entered as a conqueror the city of his bitterest enemies. The army followed the example, and entered quietly and peaceably; no house was robbed, no woman insulted."

## Footnotes

* ↑ Introduction to Lane's Selections from the Kur-án, by Stanley Lane Poole, p. lxvii. London: Trubner and Co., 1879.
# A Critical Exposition of the Popular 'Jihád'/Chapter 10/70

[Sidenote: 70. The women and children of the Bani Koreiza were not sold.]
The rest of the Bani Koreiza,—male adults, women, and children,—were either liberated or got themselves ransomed. We read in Oyoon-al-Asar by Ibn Sayyad-al-Nas some account of the ransom. Osman-bin-Affan gathered much money by the transaction. But Sir W. Muir quotes from Hishamee, that the rest of the women and children were sent to be sold among the Bedouin tribes of Najd, in exchange of horse and arms. But there is no authority for this story. Abul Mo'tamar Soleiman, in his Campaigns of Mohammad, gives another account which is more probable. He writes:—
"Out of what was captured from Bani Koreiza Mohammad took seventeen horses and distributed them among his people. The rest he divided into two halves. One-half he sent with Sád bin Obádd to Syria, and the other half with Ans bin Quízí to the land of Ghatafán, and ordered that they may be used there for breeding purposes. They did so, and got good horses."

## Footnotes

* ↑ Muir's Life of Mahomet, Vol. III, p. 279.
* ↑ History of Mohammad's Campaigns: Edited by Von Kremer, p. 374.
# A Critical Exposition of the Popular 'Jihád'/Chapter 11

XI.—Some Miscellaneous Objections refuted.
* 72. The execution of Omm Kirfa for brigandage
* 73. The alleged mutilation of the Urnee robbers
* 74. Amputation or banishment substituted temporarily in place of imprisonment for want of a well organized system of jails
* 75. Torture of Kinana
* 76. The alleged execution of a singing girl
* 77. The charitable spirit of Mohammad towards his enemies
* 78. Abu Basir not countenanced by the Prophet in contravention to the spirit of the treaty of Hodeibia
* 79. Nueim not employed by the Prophet to circulate false reports in the enemy's camp
* 80. Deception in war allowed by the International Law
* 81. Lecky's standard of morality
* 82. The alleged permission to kill the Jews
* 83. Sir W. Muir quoted
* 84. The expulsion of the Bani Nazeer
* 85. Their fruit-trees were not cut down
* 86. Females and the treaty of Hodeibia
* 87. Stanley defended
* 88. Marriage a strict bond of union
# A Critical Exposition of the Popular 'Jihád'/Chapter 11/72

1.—Omm Kirfa.
[Sidenote: 72. The execution of Omm Kirfa for brigandage.]
The barbarous execution of Omm Kirfa, a female, who was notorious as the mistress of a nest of robbers, by tying her each leg to a separate camel and being torn asunder, is not a fact. It is only mentioned by Katib Wáckidi, and is not to be found in any other earliest account of Wáckidi, Ibn Is-hak, and Ibn Hisham. Even Katib Wáckidi does not say that the execution was ordered by Mohammad, and it is not fair on the part of Sir W. Muir to hold Mohammad an accomplice in the ferocious act, because he reads of no disapprobation expressed by the Prophet at such an inhuman treatment. But in the first place the narration is a mere fiction; and secondly, the traditions are, as a rule, always incomplete; in one place they are given shorter, and in another longer, according to the circumstances of the occasion on which they are originally recited. Ibn Hisham relates, that "Zaid-bin-Harisa ordered Kays-bin-Mosahhar to execute Omm Kirfa, so he executed her with a violent execution." ('Katlan Aneefan,' p. 980.) He does not relate that Mohammad was even informed of the execution after the party had returned from this terrible mission. I think the word "aneef" (violent or severe), as used originally by the narrator, might have been the cause of the growth of the story of executing by tying up to two camels, by way of a gratuitous explanation or glossary, as another tradition relates that she was tied to the tails of two horses (vide Koostalanee in his Commentary on Bokharee, Vol. III, p. 307).

## Footnotes

* ↑ Muir's Life of Mahomet, Vol. IV. p. 13.
# A Critical Exposition of the Popular 'Jihád'/Chapter 11/76

4.—A Singing-Girl executed.
[Sidenote: 76. The alleged execution of a singing-girl.]
"From general amnesty extended to the citizens of Mecca, Mahomet excluded ten or twelve persons. Of these, however, only four were actually put to death.... The two next were renegade Moslems, who having shed blood at Medina had fled to Mecca, and abjured Islam. They were both slain, and also a singing-girl belonging to one of them, who had been in the habit of annoying the Prophet by abusive verses."
"Their names are Abdallah ibn Khalal and Mikyas ibn Subâba. The murder committed by the former is said to have been wilful, that of the latter unintentional. Abdallah had two singing-girls. Both were sentenced to death, but one escaped and afterwards obtained quarter; the execution of the other appears to have been the worst act committed by Mahomet on the present occasion."
Abdullah had committed cold-blooded murder, and most probably the singing-girl belonging to him had taken a share in his crime. Her execution was owing to her being an accomplice or abettor in the foul act which was justified by law. Then why should the execution be considered a worst act? Mohammad felt the deepest respect for the weaker sex, and had enjoined during the warfares "not to kill women;" but the law makes no difference amongst the sexes, both sexes being liable to punishment according to their deserts.

## Footnotes

* ↑ Muir's Life of Mahomet, Vol. IV, p. 131, foot-note.
# A Cyclopaedia of Female Biography/Rambouillet, Catharine de Vivonne, Marchioness de

Layout 2
RAMBOUILLET, CATHARINE DE VIVONNE, MARCHIONESS DE,
Was the wife of Charles d'Angennes, Marquis de Rambouiliet, ​She was virtuous and intellectual, and her house the resort of all men of learning. There the great Corneille read his tragedies, and there Bossuet, at the age of sixteen, displayed those oratorical talents for which he afterwards became so celebrated. She lived in the seventeenth century.