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{{Style P-HPB SB. Title continued|From Across the Ocean|4-36}}

{{Style P-HPB SB. Title continued|From Across the Ocean|4-36}}

{{Style P-No indent|under which the elastic religious beliefs of Americans manifest themselves. This can be proved by what I will presently tell about the Theosophical, or as it sometimes prefers to call itself, Masonic<ref>{{Style S-HPB SB. Editors note|So far, this assertion has not found confirmation in the writings of the Founders of the Theosophical Society. In 1877, V.P. Zhelihovsky's views of the theosophical principles were rather superficial as she was only beginning to learn more about them. Hence, her erroneous opinion largely shared by the public.}}</ref> Society numbering hundreds if not exceeding 1,000 members presided by Col. Olcott. His personality has become known to the Russian public through Professor Wagner's articles on the Eddy mediums.<ref>{{Style S-HPB SB. Editors note|N.P. Wagner, ''Mediumism'', Russkiy Vestnik, 1875, No. 10.}}</ref> The Theosophical Society, I believe, is nothing but an association of our old acquaintances, Spiritists, acting under a new alias, a new half mask.<ref>{{Style S-HPB SB. Editors note|A few years later and until her death H.&nbsp;P.&nbsp;Blavatsky repeatedly denied similar speculations. In the ''Theosophical Glossary'', for instance, she calls spiritualism ''necromancy'' (''vide'': Spiritualism); but in the early years, when the teaching of theosophy could not yet be publicly given out, she called herself a spiritualist when she proved the plausibility of phenomena. On this occasion, see her "[https://en.teopedia.org/lib/HPB-SB-1-20.1 Important note]", pasted in Scrapbooks, [[HPB-SB-1-20.1|vol.1, page 20.1]] (inlay to page 20).}}</ref> Half mask, I say, because even though they grant, in word and in deed, full freedom to their members to profess their own faiths while demanding of them only respect (at least, merely outward) for the abstract idea of Deity, the President himself as well as all others Society functionaries are Spiritists. The object of the Theosophical Society (as determined by their President) consists in spreading ''Truth'', which is understood in the broadest sense of the word, defying any preconceived views or time-honored faiths of the past generations or even personal outlooks of the Society's Head Office personnel. To achieve this one object, they (the members) are equally expected to study sciences, history of all nations, their religions, faiths of all ages, and especially, psychology – human spiritual powers and correlations between these powers and laws of Nature. It does not pretend to teach but, finding modern sciences and faiths far too unsatisfactory for explanation of moral and mental powers granted by Nature to mankind, it prays that its members meticulously study all of its Powers, those discovered by Science and those remaining still hidden. Thus, the Society's theoretical object is Truth while its practical one is good acts, benefaction not for Theosophists alone but, rather, for the whole of Mankind. The Society's motto is: “It's not words that matter but acts!”, the emblem being a star encircled by a serpent biting its own tail – a symbol of Eternity. Eternity is one of the fundamental tenets of Theosophists. They do not recognize unconditional death in anything: ''there is no annihilation'' in Nature but only a ''change'' of form. Everything, from man down to the tiniest blade of grass, dies daily only to be daily reborn. Only, this blade of grass, when spring comes, will blossom in a beauty visible to human sight while men, after dying, are reborn into a more perfect life, this life of our immortal spirit being what Theosophists are striving to comprehend and fathom, for which purpose they resort to the still poorly determined spiritual powers of the ''living'', feeble though they are as compared to those of the dead, and the inherent faculties of the soul still imprisoned in matter, however inferior they may be compared to those of the souls already liberated from their earthly bonds, which, however, are still capable, under certain conditions, of reassuming their earthly clothes – materializing. The first half of this almost universal belief shared by all Theosophists is as old as the world, and no monopoly in it can be claimed by them. It's only the second half which is somewhat new, for it was contemplated by Messrs. mediums and remains exclusive property of Spiritism. At any rate, none of the ancient legends mentioning the invocation of spirits seems to say that shadows invoked from Pluto's realm could really create a tangible handshake ritual or snap their fingers while strolling barefoot, as the original spirits at the Eddy Homestead did. . . Invocation of spirits is nothing new, but the discovery of the notorious ''materialization'' is an undeniable fruit of the latter half of the 20^th century. Praise be to its seers and invokers! . . By searching painstakingly for the practical application of their discoveries for the benefit of humankind, spirit mediums will, perhaps, succeed in spreading their art of clothing things with ''matter'', ''i.e.'', with flesh and blood, so that from materializing the souls of their departed neighbors they can proceed to materializing also the ''vapor'' issuing (as old housekeepers believe) from animals parting with this transitory world. Among other things, humanity would be saving on cooking steaks and roasts! . . One such cow or well-fed turkey could provide a few families of Theosophists with fresh meat'' à perpétuité''<ref>{{Style S-HPB SB. Editors note|Perpetually (''Fr''.)}}</ref>. What makes my hypothesis even more plausible is the new conditions enunciated by G. Adams in the Boston ''Banner of Light'' – conditions under which any fraud with regard to the invocation of spirits would become unthinkable. All mediums, he says, lest they be branded as impostors, should begin their practical sessions in no other manner but by surrounding themselves – their chairs and space sufficient for spirits to appear and move around included – with a net made of a cloth transparent and loose enough for the materialized souls of relatives not only to be visible to the public but also to be able to shake hands with their families and even kiss them. The only precaution to be taken in such situations is to ascertain that no body, compact enough even ''prior'' to the invoker's magical sleep, can get into the enchanted area within which spirits are expected to appear, without ''breaking'' ''the net''. Should the honorable Spiritists, even under so restricted conditions, prove able to demonstrate a few or, ''at least'', ''one sole'' visitor from the world of shadows – materialized, moreover, into what once was his own flesh and blood – then, I believe, nobody will be able to further question the possibility of applying my above-mentioned hypothesis (with regard to perpetually roasting the meat of the same cow) to living practice. A discovery like this would become a truly ''universal'' boon that the New York Masonic Society is so strenuously striving to give to humanity! Then, Spiritism would hardly need even such a talented defense as a work (published recently in Boston) by Alfred Russel Wallace, a well-known naturalist and Ch. Darwin's companion in their researches into the origin of species. This work titled ''A Defense of Modern Spiritualism'' (1874) states that “the assertion so often made, that Spiritualism is . . . the revival of old superstitions, is . . . utterly unfounded,” that a group of people “which inculcates investigation” of human nature through the strict exploration of its moral powers; “which teaches that happiness in a future life can be secured by cultivating and developing to the utmost the higher faculties of our intellectual and moral nature . . . is and must be the natural enemy of all superstition.”}}

{{Style P-No indent|under which the elastic religious beliefs of Americans manifest themselves. This can be proved by what I will presently tell about the Theosophical, or as it sometimes prefers to call itself, Masonic<ref>So far, this assertion has not found confirmation in the writings of the Founders of the Theosophical Society. In 1877, V.P. Zhelihovsky's views of the theosophical principles were rather superficial as she was only beginning to learn more about them. Hence, her erroneous opinion largely shared by the public.</ref> Society numbering hundreds if not exceeding 1,000 members presided by Col. Olcott. His personality has become known to the Russian public through Professor Wagner's articles on the Eddy mediums.<ref>N.P. Wagner, ''Mediumism'', Russkiy Vestnik, 1875, No. 10.</ref> The Theosophical Society, I believe, is nothing but an association of our old acquaintances, Spiritists, acting under a new alias, a new half mask.<ref>A few years later and until her death H.&nbsp;P.&nbsp;Blavatsky repeatedly denied similar speculations. In the ''Theosophical Glossary'', for instance, she calls spiritualism ''necromancy'' (''vide'': Spiritualism); but in the early years, when the teaching of theosophy could not yet be publicly given out, she called herself a spiritualist when she proved the plausibility of phenomena. On this occasion, see her "[https://en.teopedia.org/lib/HPB-SB-1-20.1 Important note]", pasted in Scrapbooks, [[HPB-SB-1-20.1|vol.1, page 20.1]] (inlay to page 20).</ref> Half mask, I say, because even though they grant, in word and in deed, full freedom to their members to profess their own faiths while demanding of them only respect (at least, merely outward) for the abstract idea of Deity, the President himself as well as all others Society functionaries are Spiritists. The object of the Theosophical Society (as determined by their President) consists in spreading ''Truth'', which is understood in the broadest sense of the word, defying any preconceived views or time-honored faiths of the past generations or even personal outlooks of the Society's Head Office personnel. To achieve this one object, they (the members) are equally expected to study sciences, history of all nations, their religions, faiths of all ages, and especially, psychology – human spiritual powers and correlations between these powers and laws of Nature. It does not pretend to teach but, finding modern sciences and faiths far too unsatisfactory for explanation of moral and mental powers granted by Nature to mankind, it prays that its members meticulously study all of its Powers, those discovered by Science and those remaining still hidden. Thus, the Society's theoretical object is Truth while its practical one is good acts, benefaction not for Theosophists alone but, rather, for the whole of Mankind. The Society's motto is: “It's not words that matter but acts!”, the emblem being a star encircled by a serpent biting its own tail – a symbol of Eternity. Eternity is one of the fundamental tenets of Theosophists. They do not recognize unconditional death in anything: ''there is no annihilation'' in Nature but only a ''change'' of form. Everything, from man down to the tiniest blade of grass, dies daily only to be daily reborn. Only, this blade of grass, when spring comes, will blossom in a beauty visible to human sight while men, after dying, are reborn into a more perfect life, this life of our immortal spirit being what Theosophists are striving to comprehend and fathom, for which purpose they resort to the still poorly determined spiritual powers of the ''living'', feeble though they are as compared to those of the dead, and the inherent faculties of the soul still imprisoned in matter, however inferior they may be compared to those of the souls already liberated from their earthly bonds, which, however, are still capable, under certain conditions, of reassuming their earthly clothes – materializing. The first half of this almost universal belief shared by all Theosophists is as old as the world, and no monopoly in it can be claimed by them. It's only the second half which is somewhat new, for it was contemplated by Messrs. mediums and remains exclusive property of Spiritism. At any rate, none of the ancient legends mentioning the invocation of spirits seems to say that shadows invoked from Pluto's realm could really create a tangible handshake ritual or snap their fingers while strolling barefoot, as the original spirits at the Eddy Homestead did. . . Invocation of spirits is nothing new, but the discovery of the notorious ''materialization'' is an undeniable fruit of the latter half of the 20^th century. Praise be to its seers and invokers! . . By searching painstakingly for the practical application of their discoveries for the benefit of humankind, spirit mediums will, perhaps, succeed in spreading their art of clothing things with ''matter'', ''i.e.'', with flesh and blood, so that from materializing the souls of their departed neighbors they can proceed to materializing also the ''vapor'' issuing (as old housekeepers believe) from animals parting with this transitory world. Among other things, humanity would be saving on cooking steaks and roasts! . . One such cow or well-fed turkey could provide a few families of Theosophists with fresh meat'' à perpétuité''<ref>Perpetually (''Fr''.)</ref>. What makes my hypothesis even more plausible is the new conditions enunciated by G. Adams in the Boston ''Banner of Light'' – conditions under which any fraud with regard to the invocation of spirits would become unthinkable. All mediums, he says, lest they be branded as impostors, should begin their practical sessions in no other manner but by surrounding themselves – their chairs and space sufficient for spirits to appear and move around included – with a net made of a cloth transparent and loose enough for the materialized souls of relatives not only to be visible to the public but also to be able to shake hands with their families and even kiss them. The only precaution to be taken in such situations is to ascertain that no body, compact enough even ''prior'' to the invoker's magical sleep, can get into the enchanted area within which spirits are expected to appear, without ''breaking'' ''the net''. Should the honorable Spiritists, even under so restricted conditions, prove able to demonstrate a few or, ''at least'', ''one sole'' visitor from the world of shadows – materialized, moreover, into what once was his own flesh and blood – then, I believe, nobody will be able to further question the possibility of applying my above-mentioned hypothesis (with regard to perpetually roasting the meat of the same cow) to living practice. A discovery like this would become a truly ''universal'' boon that the New York Masonic Society is so strenuously striving to give to humanity! Then, Spiritism would hardly need even such a talented defense as a work (published recently in Boston) by Alfred Russel Wallace, a well-known naturalist and Ch. Darwin's companion in their researches into the origin of species. This work titled ''A Defense of Modern Spiritualism'' (1874) states that “the assertion so often made, that Spiritualism is . . . the revival of old superstitions, is . . . utterly unfounded,” that a group of people “which inculcates investigation” of human nature through the strict exploration of its moral powers; “which teaches that happiness in a future life can be secured by cultivating and developing to the utmost the higher faculties of our intellectual and moral nature . . . is and must be the natural enemy of all superstition.”}}

“Spiritualism,” honorable A.&nbsp;P.&nbsp;Wallace continues, –  

“Spiritualism,” honorable A.&nbsp;P.&nbsp;Wallace continues, –  

{{Footnotes}}

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