Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1891-06-14
H. P. B. IN HISTORY,
An Estimate of Madame Blavatsky
From One of Her Followers.
HER WORTH NOT YET REALIZED.
She Was Consistent and the Mistress Of
Hidden Laws of Nature.
NEVER BOASTED OF HER PHENOMENA
rwRrTTEN FoR TIE p1srArcH.l

lowing interesting facts concerning the de-
ceased Madame Blavatsky in the June num-
Der of the Path:
I met Fl. P. B., he says, in 1875, in the
city of New York, where she was living in
Irving Place. There she suggested the
formation of the Theosophical Society, lend.
ing to its beginnings the power Of her indi-
viduality, and giving to its President and
those who have stood by it ever since the
knowledge of the existence of the Mahatmas
In 1877 she wrote 'fIsis Unveiled in nv
presence, and was helped in the proof read
ing by the President of the society. This
book, she declared to me then, was intended
to aid the cause for the advancement of
which the Theosophical Society was found
ed Of this speak with knowledge, for I
was present, and, at her request, drew up
the contract for its publication between
her and her New York publishers. When
the document was signed she said to me on
the street, "Now, L must go to India"
As an Organizer in England.
In November, 1878, she went to India, and
continued the work Of helping her colleagues
to spread the society's influence there,
working in that mysterious land until she
returned to London, in 1887. There was
then in London but one branch Of the So
society-the London Lodge-the members
of which thought it should work only with
the upper and cultured classes. The effect
of H. P. B. IS coming here was that branches
began to spring up, so that now they are in
many English towns, in Scotland and in
Ireland. There she founded her magazine
L1lcter; there worked night and day for the
society loved to the core of her heart; there
wrote the "Secret Doctrine" the ''Key to
Theosophy'' and the ''Voiee of the Silence"
and there passed away from body that had
been worn out by unselfsh work for the
good of the few Of our century, and of the
many in the centuries to come.
1t has been said that she went to
India because she merely left a barren
field here, by sudden impulse, and without
a purpose. But the contrary is the fact.
In the very beginning of the society, drew
up with my own hand at her request the
diplomas of some members here and there
in India, who were of different faiths, and /
who were in correspondence. Some of them
were Parsees.
Always Intended to Visit India
She always said that she would have to go
to India as soon as the society was under
way here and 'Isis" was finished And when
she had beer In India some time her many
letters to me expressed her intention to re-
turn to England, so as to open the move
ment actively and outwardly there, in order
that the three great points on the earth's
surface, India, England and America,
should have active centers of theosophical
work. This determination was expressedro
me before the attempt made by the Psychial
Research Society on her reputation-of
which also know good deal to be used at
future time, as 1 was present in India be-
fore and after the alleged expose-and she
returned to England to carry out her pur-
pose even in the face of charges that she
could not stay in India. But to disprsve
these she went back to Madras, and them
again rejourneyed to London.
Her Phenomena Only Incidental.
Much has been said about her 'fphe-
nomena," some denying them, others alleg-
ing tricks and device. Knowing her so
many years so WELL and having seen at her
hand in private the production of more and
more varied phenomena than it has been the
good fortune of all others of her friends put
together to see, know for myself that she
had control of hidden powerful laws Of
nature not known to our science, and also
know she never boasted of herpowers, never
advertised their possession, never publicly
advised anyone to attempt their acquire
ment, but always turned the eyes of those
who could understand her to a life of al
truism based OIL knowledge of true phil
osophy. Such phenomena were not the aim
of the society nor were ever more than in
eidents in the life of its leader, II. P. Bla-
vatsky.
Further on Mr.. Judge quotes approvingly
from an editorial in the New York Tribune
as follows:
Few women of our time have been moro
persisently misrepreSented, slandered and
DETAINED than Mdme. Blavatsky, but though
malice and ignorance did their worst upon
her, there are abundant indications that her
life work will vindicate itself, that it viii
endure, and that it will operate for good.
\ y For nearly 20 years she has devoted
herself to the dissemination of doctrines the
fundamental principles of which are OF the
loftiest ethical character. However Utopian
may appear to some minds an attempt in
the nineteenth century to break down the
barriers of race, nationality, caste, and class
prejudice, and to 1nculcate that spirit OF
brotherly love which the greatest of all
Teachers enjoined in the first century, the
nobility of the aim can only be impeached
by those who repudiate Christianity.
Madame Blavatsky held that the regenera-
tion of mankind must be bas ed upon the de-
yelOpment of altruism. In this she was at
one with the greatest thinkers, not alone Of
the dav, but OF all time. This alone
should entitle her teachings to the candid
and serious consideration of ali who respect
the influences that make for righteousness.
One Good Result of Her Work.
In another direction, though in close asso-
citation with the cult of universal fra aternity,
she did important work. No one in the
present generation, it may be said, has done
more toward opening the long sealed
treasures of Eastern thought, wisdom and
philosophy. No one certainly has done so
much toward calculating that profound
wisdom religion wrought out by the
ever cogitating Orient, and bringing into
the light those ancient literary works whose
scope and depth have so astonished the
Western world. Her own knOwl-
edge of Oriental philosophy and esotericism
was comprehensive. No candid mind can
doubt this after reading her two principal
works. = The tone and tendency Of
all her writings was bracing and healthful
and stimulating. Her work has already
borne fruit, and is destined apparently to
produce still more marked and salutary eff
fects in the future. = A broader hui
manity a more liberal speculation, a dispo-
sition to investigate ancient philosophers
from a higher point of view, have no indi-
rect association with the teachings re-
fe1red to.
A full and trustworthy account of the
life of this remarkable woman is probably
one OF the forthcoming events of the not far
distant future. The above quotation more
over would seem to indicate a growing
comprehension of Madame Blavatsky's
real character and real worth, so long un-
justly overshadowed by the persistent ef-
forts of certain disgruntled and malicious