The Jersey City news. (Jersey City [N.J.]) 1889-1906, 1899-03-30
STUDYING %THEOSOpHY.
Mrs. Arthur Smith Tells the
Rambiers About Oriental
lem and Madame
Blavatsky.

The Ramblers were fortunate yesterday
afternoon in having with them Mrs. Ar
thur Smith, of New York, who spoke on
Madame Blavatsky, having personally
known that lady. Mrs. Smith is herself
an OrientaIist, being an Anglo-Indian,
and naturally has many of Madame
Blavatsky's Eastern views on spiritual
ism and a few other ''isms.
She opened her lecture by saying:-"Ma-
dame is one of the most wonderful wom-
en- of Russia. and they are wonderful,
but Madame Blavatsky stands supreme.
II we realize the power of high thinking
we know what an influence she had in
her own and other countries The lec-
turer then went OH to give a biographical
sketch of her life, saying that she was
a Russian. princess who had married a
man very much older than herself and
was very unhappy. Then came the di-
vorce, and Madame Blavatsky began her
stndv of the inner life.
The lecturer spoke of how Madame
Blavatsky was criticised-how she was
sometimes conventional, sometimes UNI
conventional; "but.D said Mrs. Smith,
1--WE must always look at the motive be-
lore we CTltltlSe. l4dudliS IA =
habit of smoking cigarettes was also
mentioned. the speaker saying tina 1t
seemed a pity the 8shigh-souled must de-
pend upon a weed for inspiration
The doctrine of reincarnation, one OF
Madame Blavatsky's strongest beliefs,
was spoken of. Don't said Mrs.
Smith. .'confound reincarnation with
transmigration.' She then continued to
prove her doctrine. why is'it," said she,
you feel a kindred spirit when you meet
certain people? o seem to know them.
You have met them at some previous
time. You may have a number of rein
carnations before you. We make our W
Heaven and we make our own He'll. Re-
incarnation does not belong to theosophy,
and yet theosophists everywhere have
done much that Orientals bless them for,
because they rave hired Oriental scholars
to translate the languages in which the
Oriental Bible is written, and the Bible
is. Oriental literature. Madame Blavatsky
saw and studied all these things
hi belief of the Orientals in the three
bodies, the astral, spiritual and physical,
was mentioned, and dreams were ex-
planned as a time when the spiritual body
emanates from the physical and comes
back with some communication from the
spirit world. The spiritual power, Mrs.
Smith said, was greater in those who abb
stained from eating flesh. She, herself,
did not eat meat, because there was
plenty else, and she thought it wrong to
kill to satisfy ones stomach, and then
eat q corpse. Besides, only one-third of
the population of the globe, the speaker
had discovered, ate meat, and among that
third there was more disease han among
the other two-thirds combined.
Mrs. Smith said that she, herself, was
nothing but a free soul seeking Christ,
and concluded her talk with an appeal to
the young ladies to be. true to themselves.
'sDo not" said she. even wear anything
false. You car all develop your three
bodies. Live simply, live purely and think
high.
Besides the regular club member there
were present yesterday many guests,
among whom was Mrs. Peter j. Koonz.
At next meeting, April II, the Ramblers
will study THE Flight of the Tartar
Tribes