The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-05-04
LOCAL THEOSOPHISTS.
oCCULTIsM CONSIDERED AT YES.
TERDAY MORNINGS MEETING.
Next Fridny All the Societies VIII
Celebrate the White Lotus Day, in
Commemmoration of the Work of
Blayatsky.

Next Friday all the branches of the
Theosophical society will celebrate the
White Lotus day. This is in commem-
Grafton Of the work done by Helen P.
Biavatsky. The Theosophical society
wishes to keep up a remembrance of
the great work which this woman ac-
complished, but her personality is not
at. all worshiped. Theosophists don't
care a straw for personality, but they
do believe that any deed which has
elevated humanity or has been bene-
fetal in any way should receive due
credit. At this celebration only mem
bers of the Theosophical society will
be allowed to be present.
The paper discussed at Sunday morn
ing's session dealt with theosophy and
occultism. 1t elected quite a scientific
discussion, and when the members left
they carried with them a knowledge
of hypnotism, mesmerism and other
isms which the world of late is trying
to solve.
Helen P. Blavatsky says that "oc-
cuitisn1 is the science of life, the art
of living
NJ K. Leonard defines it thus: Self
lessness is the gateway to occultism
and the world of daily duties is the
battlefield wherein the victory over self
is obtained
ANY person of average intellectual
capacities and a leaning toward the
metaphysical; of pure, unselfish life,
who finds more joy in helping his neigh
Dor than in receiving help himself; one
who is ever ready to sacrifice his own
pleasures for the sake of other peo-
pie; and who loves truth, goodness and
wisdom for their own sakes, not for
the benefit they may convey, is The
osophist." That is, any person who is
large minded enough not to be warped
by amy creed or line of thought, and
who has a warm love for humanity, is
a Theosophist. But this does not make
him an occultist.
The occultist is one who learns con-
scientiously to distinguish between
evil and good He does not act from
intuition alone: he must be something
more than good-he must be wise. The
first step in roccultism is to become a
Theosophist. To be wise man must
first be good and compassionate to all.
The wicked can gain some knowledge,
it is true; but they can never have
wisdom.
Wisdom lies at the root of all evolu-
ton and is the ultimate goal of perfect
manhood Genesis also commences
with the words, I'm wisdom the Elolum
Cor great creative powers) fashioned
the substance of the heavens and the
earth"-this is the Interpretation of
the learned rabbis who wrote the Tar
gum of Jerusalem, and they knew more
of their own religion than the ortho-
doxists who prefer the mistransaat10m,
I'm the beginning
The occultist is one who treads the
path of usefulness, justice and true
knowledge. A man cannot be really
just if he is ignorant He who cramps
his mind within the limits of any dog
ma is to the occultist as unwise as the
Chinese woman who takes pleasure in
deforming her feet and squeezing them
into slippers of half the natural size, or
the European woman who ruins her
own health and that of her offspring
by deforming her. body with tight lac
ing.
There is a difference between true
occultism and magic. Under the lat
ter head may be classed astrology,
physical alchemy, hypnotism, mesmer-
ism and a thousand and one other
mautic arts. A person may become a
powerful hypnotist even if he is by no
means psychic if he discovers or is
taught the right methods All arts
have been guarded with the greatest
secrecy because of the fact that even
the grea test villain on earth might -be
able to practice them to some extent,
and thus mankind would be exposed to
a terrible power, but wishing to show
society the terrible dangers which men
ace them from hypnotism and
mesmersm when such knowledge
is placed in INSCRIPTIONS hands these
secrets are being revealed.
The occultist's mind must remain
blind to all but the universal truths
in nature; and lastly he must touch no
animal food. no wine, spirits,or mar
cotics and above all must be absolute
ly chaste, both physically and mental
ly.
Occultism is not theosophy in the
ordinary sense of the word, much less
is it the occult arts, for an earnest
theosophist is far nearer the path of
occultism than the dabbler in les
sciences maudites.''
We cannot all be Budhas and Christs
in one birth. But we can make our
garments white; that is to say we can
make pure our garments of mind and
desire, of sense and flesh, so that in
another birth we may have a fit taber-
nacle for the indwelling spirit of love,
our higher self, to manifest itself to
the world.
The Lotus circle listened to story
entitled "Unselfish Love- which told of
how lutte boy in this city gave his
favorite book to the Bryant school
library in order that other children
might have the pleasure it had given
him.
The secretary of the Salt Lake
branch, Mrs. Virginia Phelps being
called to Fort Smith, Arkansas, on ac-
count of the illness of her son, Miss F,
A McMinn was appointed to act dur
ing her absence. Miss Lille Thomas
will fbe superintendent of the Lotus
circle.
UTAH MIDLAND RAILROAD.