The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1894-08-17

Some new sensation must be fur
| nished.
Mrs. Besant's recent arrival i'm India
furnished all the excitement that any
Theosophist could desire. She is hav-
ing II grand ovation among Hindus,
such as To eclipse any given TO The
osophists in the past. Madame Bla-
vatsky "slew her thousands" Mrs.
Besant her "ten thousands" Her
praise is trumpeted abroad among
natives high and low. She was in
the country only n few weeks
and she made the name of Theosophy
and Mrs. Besant-to echo all over
India. Many natives have verify
called her reincarnation of their
goddess Sarasvathi. We naturally in
quire for the cause of this wonderful
popularity. They are not far To find.
She is undoubtedly very clever wo-
Hindu editor, who heard her at Ma
dura recently, and was led captive,
delivers himself as follows:
"In the ease and fuency OF her
speech, in her sustained delivery from
beginning to end of Il lecture, her lec-
lures may remind one OF one of the
great speeches of Lord Palmerston.
In the simplicity of her language, the
clearuess of her ideas and the convinc-
ing logicality of her argument, her
speeches may remind one of the great
est efforts of Mr.. Gladstone. But in
her there is neither the shallow reas-
oning of the former nor the continu-
Ously involved sentences of the lat
ter"
But her eloquence is, after all, "a
very small element in her success.
She is doing one real service TO the
people by vigorously attacking mater
ialism, a strong tendency toward
which is sadly manifest among edu-
Gated Hindus. There are few natives,
however, who would thank her much
for this service. Her success depends,
doubtless, almost entirely on her atti-
tude toward Christianity and Hindu
ism. Christians are not expecting any
eulogy upon their faith from one who,
like Mrs. Besant, swung around the
whole circle of belief and unbelief,
and who is as yet by no means at rest.
But they are not prepared to hear her
compare Christianity with Hinduism
as common glass with pearl.' Nor
can they relish, as can HiDdus, the
remark which she made that the
custom of sending children to school
under the missionaries or under Gov
ernment where a new religion is
taught, or where no religion is taught,
was the cause of so many young Hin
dus turning sceptics and materialists,
and, what is worse, becoming con-
verts to Christianity" All this, how
ever, reveals the vigorous renewal by
Theosophy under its new highpriestess
of the old attitude of hostility to our
faith. 1t also reveals one cause of
Mrs. Besants popularity among Hin
dus. The cheapest popularity that an
English man or woman can win
j.
abusing the faith of his faith
ers. This people are prepared TO APP
plaud to the echo any Englisman's
spiteful thrust at Christ.
But Mrs. Besant's attitude toward
is the most remarkable
thing of all. Madame Blavatsky and
Colonel OlcOtt faithfully adhered to
'Esoteric Buddhism" AS the nearest
which they could make to
Hindu life and thought. But Mrs.
Besant, with one leap, has apparently
landed in the center of Hinduism it
self; and in very "esoteric" man
doubt in the minds of any one rs 90
her admiration of and faith in Hin
duism. Her mahatmas are not Bud
dhistlc ghosts, but orthodox, mythical
Hindu riShis. Her lord is Sri KTish-
nau, and not Gautama. When she
visited the great Madura temple, il
was in true Hindu deNotee fashion,
with bare feet; and she made her bow
and oDcisauce TO the IDOLS therein
with apparent sincerity and to the
delight of all devout Hindus. In Ma.
dra4, replying to an inGCiry, she said,
81 am a Hindu in my religious belief.
| believe in the gods and in the sub
lime philosophy OF the Upanishads.n
She everywhere urge the people TO
their ycarnlug for Western
thought and Christianity, and TO re
turn to their "diviue ancestral faith
and To the sublime philosophy of their
sacred books" She elOquently pro-
claims 10 the admiriug crowds that
India has never since seen the sweet
prosperity which prevailed i'm Manu's
time. She probably forgets that If
She had lived in Manu's day and had
been brought up under his laws, she
would have been the ignorant slave
II her husband lord, shut mp In n
lenana, with few privileges OF earth
and with hopes Of heaven based solely
upon her abjcct obedience TO him in
avorythiug, instead Of being, "a she
now il, divorced from her husband
and the head OF the Thcosophical So
.iety.
80 there il little doubt "a to where
Mrs Besaut stands nor as 10 whore
she has carried Theosophy. The
writer cannot see, aud he is quite
,uro that no Hindu can see, but that
is now completely alb.
orbed into Hinduism and will hence
orth, in this land at least, he ideuti-
led with it. In this way Mrs. Besaut
las achieved for herself and her cult
sudden popularity. she will find
II regret this sudden de-
cent aud the surrender Of Theosophy
- the tender mercies of the deCrepit
hinduism of today. And couple OF
decades residence i'm India would
ully disillusionize her "a to the char
Icter OF religion which has tyrau-
,ized over the destluies OF this people
or thirty centuries and To which every
century hna added error and corrup-
ion, until one can rarely meet amOng
- fnllnunra m inInlliunnI nnrann