The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1892-03-02
THE END.
IHEOSOPhY.
AZ 1t Is Expounded ia London by the New
PrieStess, Mrs. BeEant.
London Standard

London Standard.
Mrs. Besant delivered a lecture last
evening on "Theosophy and Occultism."
Mrs. Besant stated that theosophy came
forward as holding the spiritual as op-
posed to the material conception of the
universe, but declaring that it might be
justified TO the intellect and demonstrated
to the reason. humanity asked Tor some
thing more than the outcome of agnosti-
cism, which was that man climbed up
ward to fall back in the end and in re-
spouse to this demand theosophy came
with Its message of life and immortality,
showing that the universe was, indeed, a
spiritual universe, that man was essen
TALLY spirit, and that that spirit was i'm
mortal, eternal. and imperishable, as we'll
as uncreated. 1t said to agnostic science:
Man is an organism evolving new powers,
new sciences, new things for investigation,
and what you call 'unknOwable' is only
unknowabie to many today, but which
has been already Investigated by few,
and is not beyond the reach of those who
dare TO tread an unknown path" Having
pointed out that the distinction between
theosophy and occultism was that the lat
ter was a branch of theosophv which be.
| longed to the more advanced in theosO-
phic science. Mrs. Besant added that be-
yond this, theosOphy alleged that there
were different planes of lie, thought. and
being namely, the physical, or lower
| planes, and the spiritual, or higher planes.
the latter being denominated "astro,"
| "passional, mental and so on. The
lecturer referred at length to the evil
| dences furnished bv cases of hypnotism,
clairvoyance, etc., of the existence of
| spiritual or will power capable OF moving
I matter md m n aoofpr,H 2 rot hot
| theosophists regarded as the higher planes
were eternal and imperishable.
She also stated that one OF the doctrines
| OF theosophy was that Of reincarnation, it
/ being held that the eternal spirit came to
/ the earth, encased itself in the human
form, gathered human knowledge through
| the education OF lie, and when death ar
| rived. and the body was worn out, the i'm
mortal principle OF higher intelligence, or
the spirit of man, passed through period
| OF rest, and then returned once more TO
earth with the experience already gath
/ cred, entering upon a new course of hu-
man life, thus constantly accumulating
mental and moral capacities by an evolu-
! ton as natural and orderly as the physical
| evolution, and one that was necessary to
! explain the differences in the intelligence
and morality OF man. Theosophy, she
said, further held that there was a mental
and moral as we'll as physical heredity,
/ and that there was q principle termed
/ karma, which n cant that as humanity
/ sowed so must il reap.
At the close of the lecture a number of
| questions, written by members of the
audience ard handed to the chairman,
were answered by Mrs. Besant, whose re-
! plies may be summarized as follows The
explanation OF how mans want of all rec
objection of q previous state of existence
was to be recOnciled with a belief in a fu-
| ture state OF existence WIS, roughly tent
the brain memory elOnged to transient
! personality. To the question wLetDer
/ there was any knowledge derived from as
! certained facts accessible 10 inQuirers in
! proof OF the doctrine OF reincarnation, the
answer was contained in the suggestion
furnished by the immense differences.
morally and intellectually, between hu-
man beings, the Emergencies often exist
ing in the case of twins, the numerous
cases OF infant genius in which there was
knowledge such as could not have been
acquired in the present state of existence.
In reply to the question, Are beasts rein
carnaIed, ami if not, why not?' the
answer was that the reincarnating princi-
pie passed through all the lower stages Of
4 CAlSLtuCt, kllO Tue
plant, and the brute, up to man; that this
was a process of differentiation, and that
gradually this principle, which was gem
| eral and universal, became individuaized
as the physical apparatus became suitable
for the manifestation. The reply TO the
question, "Does not theosophy destroy
the intuition implanted by God in every
| individual?" was that it did not destroy.
but rather trained that faculty. A ques-
ton as the origin and use of evil was
broadly that evil was the persistence OF
the lower, or brute, nature In the lower
planes of humanity. AS to individual
mind, origin, that was derived from the
universal mind which. like light, pervaded
the universe. With regard 10 the period
of reincarnation, that varied according to
the stage OF evolution reached by the in
dividual. In reference to prayer. theos-
ophists did not believe IN prayer to any
object outside humanity; she preferred to
put it, not as prayer, but as the asp. ration
of lower to higher life. AS to the the
Org of a personal God, If by this were
meant an extra-cosmic God. distinct from
the universe, and vet infinite, so unphilo-
sophie a conception was not part of the
theosophc theory. With reference TO
love, Mrs Besant stated that she regarded
love as the great moving force of the
world. but it needed wisdom to prevent
| lite doinO harm