The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-09-10
ALL RELIGIONS TO MEET.
The Great Parliament At The Worlds
Fair This Week.

An Unique Assemblage of All Beliefs.
Two Days Set Apart for Theosophy,
During Which the Principles of the
New Faith viii be Presented Mrs.
Annie Besant's Life Work-Bud-
dhists, Brahmins and Christians on
Common Basis.
One of the features of this week at the
worlds fair will be the parliament of re
ligions. Two days have been set apart
for the exclusive presentation of the
principles of theOsophy and the thousands
of people who attend will for the first
time, find out definitely what theosOphy
is. The Theosophical Society, though in
existenc comfy eighteen years, has grown to
such proportions that the management of
the fair granted it two days at the par
lament. The Philosophical Society was
founded in New York by Nine. Blavatsky
in Il Is, and it now has branches in eveA
part of the world. In America there are
IS, in Europe so, and in India $50, besides
which a dozen or more are scattered in
out of the way places like Peru and the
west.
AN UNIQUE GATHERING.
The parliament of religions will be
the most unique that has ever been held,
since never before in history have reli-
gionists from all over the world met for
the purpose of comparing their respective
doctrines. TheOsOphy includes all rell-
giOns, so from the theosOphical platform
all religions will be eXpOunded Buddhist
theosophists will tell of Buddhism, Brah-
min theosophists will talk on Brahmin-
Ty,lN. f-f- TAuIg
Catholic theosophists on Catholicism,
Protestant theosophists on their particu-
lar creeds All will meet tremendously,
since this doctrine of brotherhood is the
one thing in theosophy that all who
would join must subscribe to.
THE THEosoPHIsTs' BELIEF.
Theosophists may believe what they
please, but they must regard all men as
sons of one God, and all religion as rivu-
lets flowing from a common sOurce-the
ocean of Truth. Thus a Christian is at
liberty to believe his religion better than
that of the Buddhist, but he is no
theosophist if he claims that his religion
is the only true one. The great mass of
theOsophists believe that Buddha, Jesus,
Confucius and all other great religious
teachers are men who have evolved to
perfection through having lived many
lives on earth, and that they constitute
a secret brotherhood from which mem
bers are sent now and then to
this view for example, Jesus,
who taught Christianity. might have
| been the incarnation of Gautama. who
! taught Buddhism. Not only do the va
rious delegates tolerate each others reli-
| gion, but most of them agree that the doc
| trine of reincarnation is taught in their
respective religions. In America and Eu-
] 81 al na efu
are either Christians or Hebrews, thedoc-
trine is almost as fully accepted as by the
| Asiatics.
| Probably the most widely known of the
| delegates is Mrs. Annie Besant, of Lon
| don, famous as a lecturer, friend of the
! working girl, thinker and theosopnist.
MRS. BEsANT's HISTORY.
Mrs. Besant's life history is a stirring
! one. She married early, taking as hus-
| band the Rev. Besant, a brother of Walter
Besant, the novelist. There was no per
! sonal love in the union. She was impelled
| by love of Christ, thinking she could bet
ter serve Him by joining her life to that
of a minister Of the gospel. Mrs. Besant
| had strong views on the subject of right
| and wrong, and it was not long before she
| discovered qualities in her husband that
! seemed to her very unlike the ideals of
| Christ. She obtained a divorce on the
| EIOluu Ol Cruelty, UuI al EilSllSu DIuS Id w
| gave the husband the guardianship of the
| children. Then came terrible internal
| struggle. Should she abandon her chill
| dren or her convictions
She renowned Christianity and became
an infidel When her children came of
! age, both Of them left their father and re-
| turned to their mother. Meanwhile Mrs.
Besant became member of the secular
society, and. assOciating herself with
ChgplAc Rpa6 ianCb M d toUpt hnp fbnU
made war on dogmatism.
A CHAMPION OF THE POOR.
Mrs. Besant then discovered the awful
| condition of the laboring classes of Lon
don. and from that time on she became
| their champion She exposed the abuses
to which the poor match girls of London
were subjected, and in public lectures day
! and night made piteous appeals for re-
| form. Her eloquence stirred up parlia-
ment and many reforms were legislated.
| 1t was due mainly to her agitation that
| Burns was given a seat in parliament as
Il representative of the labor
| ing classes. Mrs Besants efforts
| resulted in awakening the working
men and girls to their rights, and under
their guidance they organized. She was
| a socialist almost before she new it, and
one night found her in Trafalgar square at
the head of the column of an army of
charging down upon her with fixed
bayonets. But she stood her ground, and
her bravery won for her the admiration
of all England.
CONVERT TO THE NEW FAITH.
Mrs Besant then became the pupil of
Huxley and under his tutorship proceeded
10 educate herself along the lines of
science and philosophy. One day at the
office of the Review of Reviews there
| came book called the Secret Doctrine. 3"
| 1t was by Nine Blavatsky. Editor
| William T. Stead tried to review
| the work, and giving up he sent
for Mrs. Besant and asked her to
! undertake it, Mrs. Besant was'at once i'm
pressed with the mine Of original thought
contained therein, and she sought Nine
| Blavats6y for an interview A friend
ship sprang up betw cen the two, which
not even death severed. and the rare phe-
| nomenon of one great woman acknowledge
ing herself small in the presence of an
other, content to be disciple was eXhib-
tied to the world. 1t took months to digest
| enough Of the work before a review could
be attempted, and at the expiration of
that time Mrs Besant was convert to
| theosophy. One of her acts of philan-
thropy was the founding of a
club for the working girls Of Lon
! don three years ago with $4,000
TIT FIRST THEOSOPHIST HERE.
William @. Judge is the most promi-
81 40 hi 70 ~, 10