Rock Island daily Argus., 1888-01-25

in the Metropolis-Christian Scientists
The VIII Power People.
Curious beliefs abound in this city just
now. The big, busy, commercial part OF
New York would he completely taken Off its
feet did it know of the startling thought that
is seethng underneath an apparently practi-
cal surface one must be little touched
with some of the extraordinary isms ones
self to be able to learn about all the others,
for the people who are up to the neck in
mysteries and mySticislns do not go around
talking about their works or their faith to
| uuhclevers. That phase Of conduct belongs
| TO vulgar wonder mongers, who tinker at
what, in the vernacular of the investigators,
ure called physical manifestations On the
contrary, secrecy is not only necessary to adj
vancement in occult science, but it is impress
sve as well The man who is just entering
| the doors of occult learning is deeply i'm
| pressed by the air Of mystery and secrecy
| which is assumed by the other fellow who
has trodden the innermost recesses of the
| temple.
The men and women who fairly reek with
| knowledge of the unknown are not found
among the common people. They are not of
the ciammy and long haired variety so rife
in New York years ago, and who became
known over the whole country as having to
do with tables and spirits No, indeed.
| They tread Administer carpets; some of them
are clad in fine raiment others in plain
| attire, but all train in what are considered
the intellectual rank Some of them are
perched on judicial benches; some are officers
| Of library or educational associations; some
are writers; some are even scientists, al
| though science and the supernatural are sup
posed to be mortal enemies.
AT the mention Of theosophy everybody
quite naturally thinks of Nine. Blavatsky,
author and founder of this phase of belief,
| and presumably lone of the greatest and
most .successful impostors of all times"
Thirteen years ago she founded the Theo-
sophical society here. Its headquarters were
afterward transferred to India, and even
from that remote point this remarkable
woman spread her new religion all over this
country and Europe, and by this means de-
rived handsome income, since each new
member must send u handsome initiation fee
before he could receive his certificate Of
membership from Madras, and if he did not
receive his certificate he had not Registered"
as they call it, and could not receive the
ministrations of 1.-THE brotherhood,n other
wise Mahatnas, tabled beings who had mas
tered the secrets of life and time and could
live 800 years as easily as they could live
day.
These weird and wonderful brothers are be-
lieved in by various theosophists of this city
even unto this day There are pictures Of
two of them in the possession of mighty be-
LEVERS They are regarded as more sacred
than life itself, and are kept secure from pro-
fame and skeptical eyes under formidable
locks. The favored ones who have seen them
report them as representing dark skinned,
long haired Hindoos thin and emaciated
to consumption's extreme point An ullue-
vout or untaught spectator ventured to re-
mark that he saw no good in a wisdom which
did not enable them to keep more flesh on
their bones He was reproved, and told that
to Mahatmas 1.-THE flesh profteth nothing"
that in fact they preferred, for tho most part,
to go about i'll astral bodies, leaving their old,
earthly flesh and bones lying around inani-
mate in caves and mountains for months at a
time
There are two or three persons here who
claim to have helped the late Bulwer do some
wonder working, such as is described in
"Zanoni," the Strange Story and "The
Coming Race These wiseacres assert that
Bulwer believed the things he described and
tampered with demons. AS he is dead and
cannot defend himself their story goes uncon-
tradicted. All grosser forms of commune
place to higher orders of the work.
The reincarnationists, or believers in nu-
merous re-embodiments Of the soul, are per-
haps the most amusing and least dangerous
of these mystic cTanks. In all seriousness |
they trace themselves back to great eras and |
powerful figures of history, and actually be- |
lieve the curious stuff they talk The re-em- |
bodiment theory fosters the natural egotism
of the soul For aught it knows, it may I
have been king as well as a beggar. Any |
way, it pleases it to think of itself as some |
thing extraordinary in the past. And as that |
sort Of recreation does no harm to society be-
yond occasionally adding an inmate to
madhouse, nobody contests the reincaIna-
tionists' claims.
And there are both men and women who
go about all puffed up with what they firmly |
believe is the secret of eternal youth.
One man who has been quite prominent in
his day, and is now tottering into his eighties,
says that he possessed it, but lost it because
he told it. Whatever you know that is truly |
occult don't tell it. This is the new rule One
woman calmly declares that she will never
die. More than that, she will eradicate every
trace of the years she has lived from her
body and be young forever.
The mental or Christian scientists have
opinions similar to hers on that question.
They believe that the day is near at hand
when the last enemy to be destroyed is death.
The business of denying what we have here
tofore claimed as reality is going on briskly.
Many already have almost reached the point
so much desired by the Hmdoo ascetic, when
he sits under his palm tree and denies away
every visible thing, and so blends himself
back to his infinite source.
The will power people are not so strong as
formerly. The new schools Of thought are
tearing down their structures Of belief, and
intimatng very strongly that it is evil, con-
not lasting.
Plain spiritualists who stick to table tip
ping and other forms of physical manifes-
tationsn are left far in the rear, if not
thrown quite into the disgrace by the new
system of metaphy ysics, the higher spiritual
ity "Psychics" are much talked Of They
are people who have peculiar gifts-can fore
tell things, and see what others cannot see.
Of course, there are always a fair sprinkling
Of palmists and clairvoyants, and nobody
gets SO high in mystic lore that he will not
give eager ear to what they say, l speak not
Of the professional fortune tellers, but Of
those who are only known as gifted in occult
matters to their particular circle.
The great mass of practical plodders have
no idea Of the extravagant order of thought {
which settles in the brains Of some of the {
people they see and hear of frequently in the |
capacities of life. And it all indi- {
cates that the soul aspires, God help them, +
every one-New York Press. :
I'll Is,r-ss, |