Los Angeles herald., 1893-01-10
DEATH AND WHAT COMES AFTER.
Mrs. Besant's Lecture Last
Night on a Deep Subject.
The Appearance Here of the Leader
Of the Theosophic Clnh.
A Large Audience Enjoys Her Thought
fal Discourse-An Outline of the
Very Abstruse Principles
She Advanced.


the concert and Professor LIE Conte's
lecture, large audience greeted
Mrs. Annie Besant at the Los Angeles
theatre on the occasion of her first
lecture in this city. 1t was essen.
TALLY an intelligent audience and
one that evidently understood and ap.
preciated the points of the discourse
even when strongly tinged with occult
ism.
This was evidenced by the applause
that greeted we'll made argument. 1t
was about ten minutes after the hour
announced for the lecture when Mrs.
Besant made her appearance, and, with
out other introduction than has been
given her by the papers, plunged into
her subject, Death and After. She is a
woman of medium height, of benign
countenance, with kindly eyes that look
one straight in the face. A corona Of
hair that will soon be snowy lends a
beauty and softening effect to her face.
Mrs. Besart's manner of speaking is
somewhat aggressive, and yet is char
acterized by confidence and evident
,self-belief that carries weight. Her voice
is full and round, penetrating the re-
hottest portions of the auditorium with
perfect ease, and is characterized by an
English accent.
| Without preliminary or delay she at
once commenced her discourse. All
men who believed in any religion are
religiously taught the immortality of
what they called the soul. Each be-
lieved, or professed to believe, that the
| 49, I. s~~kN H.
mortality. All taught that the condi-
tion of the soul after death was modified
by the manner of living.
after this belief? Men would sit
dulge In devotional exercises and
indulge in life that would lead one to
mediate present was all they lived for.
They were more anxious to gain busi-
ness advantage over their neighbor, or
in wondering whether Mrs. X. would
invite them to her next dinner, than
they were to live spiritual lives. SO
much for the effects OF the teachings Of
| the modern religions on mankind. The
element OF spirituality was gone from
them. Theosophy goes farther than the
theologies OF today in its treatment OF
the question as to the life of the spirit
after death.
| Where the latter postulates that this
must be a matter of faith rather than
knowledge, the theosophiet, or rather
the occultist, knows from absolute obser-
walton and personal experience that it
is matter of knowledge rather than
blind faith.
81 will try" said Mrs. Besant, "to lay
before you map of that which is moi
entirely undiscovered and concerning
which certain knowledge ie possible tc
any who wish to give to the subject the
time and thought necessary for investi-
cation. And for those who cannot in
vestigate for themselves there are the
reports of those who know as certainly
who comes after death as the traveller
who has explored Africa knows what he
has there experienced. Much of what
| these original Investigators have re-
ported as to what lies beyond the grave
I have myself verified, and any of you
can do the same if you will.
"There are three garments which the
soul wears during its earth life, and
death is merely the shaking off of these
coverings.
First is the material body, which
we all know and have constantly be.
fore US.
Second is the astral body, the
ethereal double OF the material body, in
! which reside the magnetic and electric
| qualities of the body, and which, as faI
as we know. is made of that substance
| which scientists call ether. Theoso.
/, phists call it astral matter. It is the
| opinion of all the leading scientists who
have studied the subject of electricity
Crookes, Helmholtz, Lodge, Tesla-that
ali the electrical forces are close
Ely connected with the ether.
Professor Houston declares that
each molecule of the brain ia
1 surrounded by waves of ether, and that
| as. each molecule in motion produces
/ thought, the waves of ether surrounding
it must be affected by that motion, and
in turn affect other and still other waves
of ether in widening circle. The
7 theosophist believes that through the
continued action of these waves Of ether
thought transference is effected. And
be believes, too, that out of that ether
which the scientists show permeates
the body and gives birth to the mag
netic forces, is formed the astral body
| which envelopes the soul and forms
a bridge between it and the material
/ body.
"The third garment of the soul is the
passional and emotional nature of man.
| formed of all the necessities and in
| stincts, impulses and desires and appe-
tites of the material body.
''The casting off of the physical body
ia the first stage of death-that physical
body which brings US into nearer kin
ship than we think with those who sur
round US. For the constant change of
the molecules of the body, the constant
outward streaming of the molecules of
my body, upon which l have put the
impress of the kind of life / live, and the
constant streaming into mine of the
molecules from your body, impressed
with your mode of life, produce a phys.
ical brotherhood of all men, women and
children.
"When the soul has cast off it's physi-
cal and astral bodies and stands clothed
only in the body Of desires, it's length
OF life in that state depends on the life
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