From the Caves and Jungles of Hindostan | Page 9

hate the very name of the
spirits whom the Spiritualists venerate so deeply, yet many an ignorant
fakir can perform "miracles" calculated to turn upside-down all the
notions of a scientist and to be the despair of the most celebrated of
European prestidigitateurs. Many members of the Society have visited
India--many were born there and have themselves witnessed the
"sorceries" of the Brahmans. The founders of the Club, well aware of
the depth of modern ignorance in regard to the spiritual man, were most
anxious that Cuvier's method of comparative anatomy should acquire
rights of citizenship among metaphysicians, and, so, progress from
regions physical to regions psychological on its own inductive and
deductive foundation. "Otherwise," they thought, "psychology will be
unable to move forward a single step, and may even obstruct every
other branch of Natural History." Instances have not been wanting of
physiology poaching on the preserves of purely metaphysical and
abstract knowledge, all the time feigning to ignore the latter absolutely,
and seeking to class psychology with the positive sciences, having first
bound it to a Bed of Procrustes, where it refuses to yield its secret to its
clumsy tormentors.
In a short time the Theosophical Society counted its members, not by
hundreds, but by thousands. All the "malcontents" of American
Spiritualism--and there were at that time twelve million Spiritualists in
America--joined the Society. Collateral branches were formed in
London, Corfu, Australia, Spain, Cuba, California, etc. Everywhere
experiments were being performed, and the conviction that it is not
spirits alone who are the causes of the phenomena was becoming
general.
In course of time branches of the Society were in India and in Ceylon.
The Buddhist and Brahmanical members became more numerous than
the Europeans. A league was formed, and to the name of the Society
was added the subtitle, "The Brotherhood of Humanity." After an
active correspondence between the Arya-Samaj, founded by Swami
Dayanand, and the Theosophical Society, an amalgamation was

arranged between the two bodies. Then the Chief Council of the New
York branch decided upon sending a special delegation to India, for the
purpose of studying, on the spot, the ancient language of the Vedas and
the manuscripts and the wonders of Yogism. On the 17th of December,
1878, the delegation, composed of two secretaries and two members of
the council of the Theosophical Society, started from New York, to
pause for a while in London, and then to proceed to Bombay, where it
landed in February, 1879.
It may easily be conceived that, under these circumstances, the
members of the delegation were better able to study the country and to
make fruitful researches than might, otherwise, have been the case.
Today they are looked upon as brothers and aided by the most
influential natives of India. They count among the members of their
society pandits of Benares and Calcutta, and Buddhist priests of the
Ceylon Viharas--amongst others the learned Sumangala, mentioned by
Minayeff in the description of his visit to Adam's Peak--and Lamas of
Thibet, Burmah, Travancore and elsewhere. The members of the
delegation are admitted to sanctuaries where, as yet, no European has
set his foot. Consequently they may hope to render many services to
Humanity and Science, in spite of the illwill which the representatives
of positive science bear to them.
As soon as the delegation landed, a telegram was despatched to
Dayanand, as everyone was anxious to make his personal acquaintance.
In reply, he said that he was obliged to go immediately to Hardwar,
where hundreds of thousands of pilgrims were expected to assemble,
but he insisted on our remaining behind, since cholera was certain to
break out among the devotees. He appointed a certain spot, at the foot
of the Himalayas, in the jab, where we were to meet in a month's time.
Alas! all this was written some time ago. Since then Swami Dayanand's
countenance has changed completely toward us. He is, now, an enemy
of the Theosophical Society and its two founders-- Colonel Olcott and
the author of these letters. It appeared that, on entering into an
offensive and defensive alliance with the Society, Dayanand nourished
the hope that all its members, Christians, Brahmans and Buddhists,
would acknowledge His supremacy, and become members of the Arya
Samaj.
Needless to say, this was impossible. The Theosophical Society rests

on the principle of complete non-interference with the religious beliefs
of its members. Toleration is its basis and its aims are purely
philosophical. This did not suit Dayanand. He wanted all the members,
either to become his disciples, or to be expelled from the Society. It
was quite clear that neither the President, nor the Council could assent
to such a claim. Englishmen and Americans, whether they were
Christians or Freethinkers, Buddhists, and especially Brahmans,
revolted against Dayanand, and unanimously demanded that the