Fundamental causes: Some Occult Methods

What a contrast to the great traditions of the Theosophical movement, formulated by H. P. Blavatsky in The Key to Theosophy (Third Edition, p. 191);—"As for our best Theosophists, they would also far rather that the names of the Masters had not been mixed up with our books in any way." And later, on p. 192;—"I say again, every earnest Theosophist regrets to-day, from the bottom of his heart, that these sacred names and things have ever been mentioned before the public." And this would be the moment to say with Mme. Blavatsky;—"Great are the desecrations to which the names of two of the Masters have been subjected." ... But when all is said and done, what is this occultism which produces such disregard of truth, such calumny in daily life, such diastrous confusion in the domain of clairvoyance, and finally, advice of such a kind as to arouse universal disgust? [Italics mine.—A. L. C.]

This occultism has its methods, as all schools of occultism have; for occultism consists in a methodical training and the awakening of consciousness to superior worlds; and where a method produces such results, may we not regard it as legitimate to ask what is the source of such serious and such numerous aberrations?... On this question, as on all those that we have examined, we will cite as witnesses original documents, the appraisements of those who teach their own methods. It is well known that Mr. Leadbeater is the inventor and manipulator of the Adyar occultism. In the Inner Life (Vol. I, p. 450), in speaking of the centres, the awakening of which, as we know, developes clairvoyance, he expresses himself in these terms;—"I have heard it suggested that each of the different petals of these force-centres represents a moral quality, ... I have not yet met with any facts which confirm this ... their development seems to me to have no more connection with morality than has the development of the biceps." [Italics mine. A little later I shall quote some very definite pronouncements of H. P. Blavatsky's which teach the exact opposite.—A. L. C.]

Further, it is of interest to find Mrs. Besant and Mr. Leadbeater, in the first lines of the Preface to Man; Whence How, and Whither, expressing the same view as regards the connection between morality and clairvoyance—"It is not generally accepted, nor indeed is it accepted to any large extent ... [clairvoyance] is a power latent in all men ... it can be developed by any one who is able and willing to pay the price demanded for its forcing, ahead of the general evolution."

Mrs. Besant is no less positive. A price is demanded for the "forcing" of clairvoyance, but this price is neither "high spirituality" nor "lofty intelligence," nor even "purity of character" ... she fully shares the views of Mr. Leadbeater....

Thus the calumny, sectarianism, the disregard of truth in daily life, the increasingly serious aberrations in the spiritual life, have gradually revealed the main source of all these facts, i. e., the defect of the method.

All becomes clear. Mr. Leadbeater is probably right, and it may be possible to develop, as he claims, a certain clairvoyance (an inferior clairvoyance, it must be said) without the concurrence of a moral and mental training.... But who will maintain that without moral purification we shall possess that moral sense that inspires gracious and noble conduct, and teaches us to hate falsehood?... be able to distinguish illusions from reality in our astral visions?

Mrs. Besant and Mr. Leadbeater are most certainly not ignorant of the dangers of occult development without morality. But it is quite another matter to profess this theory, or even to lean towards morality in the course of occult development, by means of ... generous aspirations perpetually evoked in eloquent language, from setting to work on the development of these centres by means of exercises arranged with the express purpose of bringing in the practice of morality, of truth, and of logic as powerful factors in the reorganisation of the subtle bodies—which produces clairvoyance.... That method which dissociates moral and intellectual aspiration from occult development, and seeks to cultivate them separately, will not achieve moral progress since the inner nature is not transmuted; but this method will produce a very debauch of phrases invoking these aspirations. For, instead of penetrating by means of the appropriate practice into the inner regions of the soul, these aspirations swirl, so to say, perpetually on the surface of the mind. Their presence there will produce a kind of psychic intoxication, sometimes rousing in the occultist thoughts so much above his own mental and moral standard, that he may come to regard himself as a saint, while at the same time performing the most despicable actions. Indeed, during such times the conduct shows a moral retrogression very noticeable when compared with the conduct before this occult development For this latter increases and intensifies all the temptations, as every occultist will admit. An increase of active morality is therefore, required if we would avoid this most dangerous lack of balance....

We find constantly in Mrs. Besant and Mr. Leadbeater, under a great show of high moral aspirations, the reality of an actual moral and intellectual fall. Much emphasis is placed on "liberty of thought" [see p. 14 A. L. C.], and at the same time the intellectual desertion of this principle is preached in counselling members to give blind obedience to "the least hint which falls from the lips of Mrs. Besant," and to follow her implicitly whether she is understood or not....

We see clearly that the fruits are precisely those we should expect from the seed; the terrible danger of this method can neither be misunderstood nor denied ... [we must] never lend ear to the words which in this school quite naturally take the place of the honest and right act, and so turn attention from the moral ugliness of the actions performed.... Acts alone show forth morality, not attractive formulas flowing from literary or oratorical talent. The constant declaration of liberty of thought, of human brotherhood, cannot impress us when the actions of those who delight in them enslave thought, persecute merit, seek to poison souls by flimsy and deceptive spiritual pronouncements....

It is a painful duty to have to press this point with such insistence. But now that we are facing the consequences of the Leadbeater method on the mental character of the clairvoyant, our warnings in reference to still more serious harm will not appear exaggerated.

We know that the higher regions of the invisible worlds are those in which "consciousness" manifests itself principally in the most intense awareness of moral beauty.

Since this is so, the cultivation of the non-moral clairvoyance could only attain results in the lower regions of the astral world ... the organ of clairvoyant sight, when developed according to certain methods, will be blind to the moral outline of subtle worlds, and will thus be cut off from all their truly spiritual content. The field of their experiences will be limited to the lower regions of the astral plane.

And it is these lower visions, more frequently experienced because of their affinity to elements in the vehicles of the investigator not yet purified, that will be presented as the most sublime images of the higher worlds. For such a clairvoyant is deprived of the high morality which is the force leading our "bodies" by affinity towards truly spiritual Beings [e.g., the Masters in Their Mahatmic "bodies".—A. L. C.] Deprived of the standard of comparison that these provide, he will be the victim of all the illusions of a world that is the veritable motherland of illusions, for human errors are but the faint reflection of these. Since the sense of responsibility, which is essentially moral in origin [H. P. Blavatsky says; "The sense of Responsibility is the beginning of Wisdom." A. L. C.] will equally fail him, he will have no scruple in sharing his illusions with all in making known his misleading experiences—the less since the forces, whose sport he is, push him irresistibly to this. Are they not in truth the adversaries of the divine scheme of evolution, the servants and sowers of error and immorality the world over?

In these clear and logical arguments M. Lévy expresses, even in a translation, so much better than I could have done, the dangers of the way leading to the path of "error" which Mrs. Besant is now treading, that I have quoted at greater length than I originally intended. Although written nine years ago, they are more than ever true to-day. M. Lévy then continues:—

We have thus sketched in their broad hypothetical outlines the incalculable reactions that the defect in the Leadbeater method brings into the inner life, into the words and actions of those who yield their souls to him.

In demonstrating the fatal effects of this method we have shown the real meaning of the faults and failings of all kinds as exhibited by Mrs. Besant, who is its most fervent adherent. The right interpretation of the known facts seems to us so entirely in conformity with the consequences, as implied in our hypothesis, as to make it possible to some extent to foresee these facts with scientific certainty—which is precisely what has happened....

We recall the "Leadbeater Case," which in 1906 [this was the Committee of Inquiry in London, above referred to.—A. L. C] called forth within the Theosophical Society, no less than outside, unanimous moral censure.... Resigning from the Theosophical Society in consequence of this affair, Mr. Leadbeater has since returned, at the invitation of Mrs. Besant.... Have the principles and methods of Mr. Leadbeater changed since he has returned to his place amongst us? He himself informs us on this point in a letter written after the "affair," at the express desire of Mrs. Besant that he should "define his position" at the time she started the well-known campaign in favour of his re-admission (Theosophist, February 1908.)

"You ask me," says Mr. Leadbeater, "to write you a clear letter that you may show at need, expressing my real views on the advice I gave some time ago to certain young boys. I need hardly say that I keep my promise not to repeat the advice, for I defer to your opinion that it is dangerous. I also recognise, as fully as yourself, that it would be if it were promiscuously given, but I have never thought of so giving it."

In this declaration Mr. Leadbeater first recognises the danger of his advice, then immediately retracts this confession by reservations which imply its harmlessness in just those cases for which he is blamed. He has not, as we see from this letter, then, changed his views; but the important fact is that he only speaks of "danger," and never of "immorality." His moral standpoint remains, then, unaltered—is precisely the same as before the exposé.

And what is this point of view? Mrs. Besant thus gives it in a letter dated July, 1906 (Theosophic Voice, May, 1908):—

"Mr. Leadbeater appeared before the Council of the British Section, representatives from the French and the American Sections being present and voting. Colonel Olcott in the chair. He denied none of the charges, but in answer to questions, very much strengthened them, for he alleged.... So that the advice ... became advice putting foul ideas into the minds of boys innocent of all sex impulses.... It was conceivable that the advice, as supposed to have been given, had been given with pure intent, and the presumption was so in a teacher of theosophical morality; anything else seemed incredible. But such advice as was given in fact, such dealing with boys before sex passion had awakened, could only be given with pure intent if the giver were, on this point, insane." [Italics mine. The details omitted cannot be put in print.—A. L. C.]

"Let me here place on record my opinion that such teaching as this, given to men, let alone to innocent boys, is worthy of the sternest reprobation. It distorts and perverts the sex impulse ... degrades the ideas of marriage, fatherhood and motherhood ... befouls the imagination, pollutes the emotions, and undermines the health. Worst of all that it should be taught under the name of Divine Wisdom, being essentially 'earthly', 'sensual', 'devilish.'"

Mrs. Besant's last sentence contains the whole raison d'être of this my Protest. She has expressed precisely the views I hold; but in this fervid condemnation she herself must now be included, since she condones and thus supports this horror. M. Lévy graphically portrays for us on what road it is that this once apparently sane and normal woman, with all her great gifts, is descending—a road that, as H. P. Blavatsky puts it in the concluding paragraph of Occultism versus the Occult Arts, "can lead only to Dugpa-ship." (see post p. 33.) He continues:—

Mrs. Besant then deemed Mr. Leadbeater's morality so defective as to be accounted for only by mental derangement. Nevertheless, the promise contained in the letter just quoted and which expresses no shadow of moral repentance whatsoever, nor anything approaching it, was sufficient, in Mrs. Besant's eyes, to justify her in bringing back into the Theosophical Society a teacher she has judged thus. Could one ask a clearer proof of the anarchy produced by such occultism?

A recent suit, instituted by the parent of the young Krishnamurti, re-claiming the custody of his child, brings forward again this question of morality ... reminding us of the exposé. In fact, the present case clearly formulates the accusation of immoral conduct testified to by witnesses ... In such a discussion, this attempt [by Mrs. Besant] to play upon the political interests of the judges is unexpected, amazing,—and, alas! significant. We see clearly that a mind that shows itself capable of throwing into the balance political (and racial) appeals in a matter of conduct, is utterly blind to the question of human consideration [a Brahmin father re-claiming his young sons] that overshadows this whole case.

Clear and unmistakable through all these actions shows the consistent distortion of the moral outlook, more serious since the esoteric ethics should be an extension, a purification, an exaltation of exoteric morality, and in no circumstances its decline, its degradation, its negation. And if we would realise to what extent this moral outlook can be warped under certain influences, we need but to hear Mrs. Besant say of Mr. Leadbeater:—"By hard, patient work he has won rewards ... until he stands perhaps the most trusted of his Master's disciples on the threshold of Divinity." (Theosophist, November, 1911, p. 308.)

This conception of the "Divinity" that should be the the final expression of morality has no need of comment other than that same "deification" by his colleague—who five years earlier regarded his teaching as so utterly immoral as to suggest mental derangement as the only explanation.... Perhaps we shall understand these things a little better if we remember that this occultist, if he contradicts the Buddha, on the other hand almost deifies Mrs. Besant. Possibly taking into consideration this exchange of admiration, the meaning of the "deifications" will become sufficiently clear.

H. P. Blavatsky on true Occultism.

"There are four (out of the many other) names of the various kinds of Esoteric Knowledge or Sciences given, even in the exoteric Pur㯡s. There is (1) Yajna-Vidya, knowledge of the occult powers awakened in Nature by the performance of certain religious ceremonies and rites. (2) Mahavidya, the 'great knowledge,' the magic of the Kabalists and of the Tantrika worship, often Sorcery of the worst description. (3) Guhya-Vidya, knowledge of the mystic powers residing in Sound (Ether), hence in the Mantras (chanted prayers or incantations), and depending on the rhythm and melody used; in other words, a magical performance based on knowledge of the Forces of Nature and their correlation; and (4) Atma-Vidya, a term which is translated simply 'Knowledge of the Soul,' true Wisdom by the Orientalists, but which means far more.

"This last is the only kind of Occultism that any Theosophist who admires 'Light on the Path,' and who would be wise and unselfish, ought to strive after. All the rest is some branch of the 'Occult Sciences,' i.e., arts based on the knowledge of the ultimate essence of all things in the kingdoms of Nature—such as minerals, plants and animals—hence of things pertaining to the realm of material nature, however invisible that essence may be, and howsoever much it has hitherto eluded the grasp of Science.... Siddhis (or the Arhat powers) are only for those who are able to 'lead the life,' and to comply with the terrible sacrifices required for such a training, and to comply with them to the very letter. Let them know at once and remember always, that true Occultism or Theosophy is the 'Great Renunciation of SELF,' unconditionally and absolutely, in thought as in action. It is ALTRUISM, and it throws him who practises it out of the ranks of the living altogether. 'Not for himself, but for the world he lives,' as soon as he has pledged himself to the work. Much is forgiven during the first years of probation. But, no sooner is he 'accepted' than his personality must disappear, and he has to become a mere beneficent force in Nature. There are two poles for him after that, two paths, and no midway place of rest. He has either to ascend laboriously step by step, often through numerous incarnations and no Devachanic break, the golden ladder leading to Mahatmaship (the Arhat or Bodhisattva condition), or—he will let himself slide down the ladder at the first false step, and roll down into Dugpa-ship....[8]

"All this is either unknown or left out of sight altogether. Indeed, one who is able to follow the silent evolution of the preliminary aspirations of the candidates often find strange ideas quietly taking possession of their minds. There are those whose reasoning powers have been so distorted by foreign influences that they imagine that animal passions can be so sublimated and elevated that their fury, force and fire can, so to speak, be turned inwards ... until their collective and unexpanded strength enables their possessor to enter the true Sanctuary of the Soul, and stand therein in the presence of the Master—the HIGHER SELF.... Oh, poor blind visionaries!... Strange aberration of the human mind. Can it be so? Let us argue.

"The 'Master' in the Sanctuary of our souls is 'the Higher Self'—the divine spirit whose consciousness is based upon and derived solely (at any rate during the mortal life of the man in whom it is captive) from the mind, which we have agreed to call the Human Soul (the 'Spiritual Soul' being the vehicle of the Spirit.) In its turn the former (the personal or human soul) is a compound, in its highest form of spiritual aspirations, volitions and divine love; and in its lower aspect, of animal desires and terrestrial passions imparted to it by its association with its vehicle, the seat of all these ... the inner animal. [It] is the instinctual 'animal soul,' and is the hotbed of those passions which ... are lulled instead of being killed, ... And where, on what neutral ground, can they be imprisoned so as not to affect man?

"The fierce passions of love and lust are still alive, and they are allowed to still remain in the place of their birth—that same animal soul.... It is thus the mind alone—the sole link and medium between the man of earth and the Higher Self—that is the only sufferer, and which is in incessant danger of being dragged down by those passions, that may be re-awakened at any moment and perish in the abyss of matter.... How can harmony prevail and conquer, when the soul is stained and distracted with the turmoil of passions and the terrestrial desires of the bodily senses, or even of the 'Astral man'?

"For this 'Astral'—the shadowy 'double' (in the animal as in man) is not the companion of the divine Ego but of the earthly body. It is the link between the personal self, the lower consciousness of Manas, and the Body, and is the vehicle of transitory, not of immortal life.... It is only when the power of the passions is dead altogether, and when they have been crushed and annihilated in the retort of an unflinching will; when not only all the lusts and longings of the flesh are dead, but also the recognition of the personal Self is killed out and the 'Astral' has been reduced in consequence to a cipher, that the Union with the 'Higher Self' can take place. Then when the 'Astral' reflects only the conquered man, the still living but no more the longing, selfish personality, then the brilliant Augœides, the divine SELF, can vibrate in conscious harmony with both the poles of the human Entity—the man of matter purified, and the ever pure Spiritual Soul—and stand in the presence of the MASTER SELF, the Christos of the mystic Gnostic, blended, merged into, and one with IT for ever.[9]

"How, then, can it be thought possible for a man to enter the 'strait gate' of occultism when his daily and hourly thoughts are bound up with worldly things, desires of possession and power, with lust, ambition, and duties which, however honourable, are still of the earth, earthy? Even the love for wife and family—the purest as the most unselfish of human affections—is a barrier to real occultism.... While the heart is full of thoughts for a little group of selves, near and dear to us, how shall the rest of mankind fare in our souls? What percentage of love and care will there remain to bestow on the 'great orphan' [Humanity]? And how shall the 'still small voice' make itself heard in a soul entirely occupied with its own privileged tenants?... yet, he who would profit by the wisdom of the universal mind, has to reach it through the whole of Humanity, without distinction of race, complexion, religion, or social status. It is altruism, not ego-ism even in its most legal and noble conception, that can lead the unit to merge its little Self in the Universal Selves. It is to these needs and to this work that the true disciple of true Occultism has to devote himself if he would obtain theo-sophy, divine Wisdom and Knowledge.

"The aspirant has to choose absolutely between the life of the world and the life of Occultism.... It would be a ceaseless, a maddening struggle for almost any married man, who would pursue true practical Occultism, instead of its theoretical philosophy. For he would find himself ever hesitating between the voice of the impersonal divine love of Humanity, and that of the personal, terrestrial love.... Worse than this. For, whoever indulges, after having pledged himself to OCCULTISM, in the gratification of a terrestrial love or lust, must feel an almost immediate result—that of being irresistibly dragged from the impersonal divine state down to the lower plane of matter. Sensual, or even mental, self-gratification involves the immediate loss of the powers of spiritual discernment; the voice of the MASTER can no longer be distinguished from that of one's passions, or even that of a Dugpa; the right from wrong; sound morality from mere casuistry. The Dead Sea fruit assumes the most glorious mystic appearance ... although it is the intention that decides primarily whether white or black magic is exercised, yet the results even of involuntary sorcery cannot fail to be productive of bad Karma.... Sorcery is any kind of evil influence exercised upon other persons, who suffer, or make other persons to suffer, in consequence ... such causes produced have to call forth effects, and these are evidenced in the just laws of Retribution.

"Much of this may be avoided if people will only abstain from rushing into practices neither the nature nor importance of which they understand.... We are in the Kali-Yuga and its fatal influence is a thousand-fold more powerful in the West than it is in the East; hence the easy preys made by the Powers of the Age of Darkness in this cyclic struggle, and the many delusions under which the world is now labouring." (Italics mine—A. L. C.)

Applying this high and absolutely uncompromising moral standard, these grand and stern words, to the two pseudo-occultists under discussion, it is not difficult—even in the light of the little I have already given—to see that they themselves, and their actions, bear no sort of relation to real "Occultism" as here briefly outlined by H. P. Blavatsky. Their teaching concerning sex is indeed its antithesis, which inevitably leads to Dugpa-ship, as H. P. B. definitely states. The issue is clear, and cannot be evaded or explained away.

It is true that Mrs. Besant started well, even splendidly, in H. P. B.'s lifetime, and just after her death wrote a series of simple explanatory manuals which were of great value to beginners and enquirers. But only two years later she began, under Brahmin[10] inspiration, to make serious alterations in H. P. B.'s own works, and even to throw doubt on her occult knowledge (e.g., Mrs. Besant's Preface to the so-called Vol. III of The Secret Doctrine.) Unfortunately larger and more ambitious works which followed were vitiated by the same influences, and I well remember marking many passages in The Ancient Wisdom which were not in accordance with H. P. B.'s teachings. But the radical departure from them began when Mrs. Besant definitely threw in her lot with C. W. Leadbeater, the sex pervert, and thereby alienated and caused such deep sorrow to her former friends and supporters.

Mrs. Besant's responsibility and the Madras Law-suits.

"In restoring to Mr. Leadbeater his influence over herself and over the destinies of the Theosophical Society [she] has proved her failure in moral vigilance and her lack of intellectual discrimination as regards methods to which she thus fails the first victim. And the sorry contradictions that this brings into her spiritual message, the utter disregard of truth resulting from this, impel her to words and actions that now involve an incalculable number of victims, misled by their devoted trust in her. Her responsibility is in truth a very terrible one.... I have come to regard the actions of Mrs. Besant—and of Mr. Leadbeater equally, of course—as the leaven of destruction, of disintegration in the Theosophical Society.

We cannot rid ourselves of a growing disquiet in seeing Mrs. Besant, in her monthly articles in the Theosophist, entitled "On the Watch-Tower," so tirelessly expressing such great and manifest satisfaction in every smallest material increase, improvement and enrichment of the Adyar Headquarters.

Mr. Leadbeater shares in this joy. Speaking of Mrs. Besant in the Adyar Album, p. 7, he praises at great length the material improvements of the Headquarters:—"In her reign have been added to the estate no less than six valuable pieces of property." Thus temporal power would clearly seem to be the main concern of Adyar. And we involuntarily turn to the words of Christ, who so well described the spiritual splendours:—"My kingdom is not of this world." Not thus does Mrs. Besant understand spirituality since she "reigns" as a prince of this world, over a kingdom that grows by her conquests.... A like concern follows Mr. Leadbeater even into his occult investigations into the twenty-eighth century, in which he sees "a kind of gorgeous palace with an enormous dome, the central part of which must be an imitation of the Taj Mahal at Agra, but on a much larger scale. In this great building they mark as memorials certain spots by pillars and inscriptions, such as ... here such and such a book was written ... they even have statues of some of us [sic!!] ...—Man; Whence, How, and Whither.

Truly may one here repeat the somewhat banal phrase "Comment is needless"; indeed one might add, "impossible," in the face of such an amazing manifestation of megalomania. But this is not the most serious disease from which C. W. Leadbeater and his colleague are suffering. As M. Lévy has already shown, there is much worse behind of which this megalomania is only one symptom. In an "Addendum" given at, the end of his book, M. Lévy says that since the publication of his brochure judgment has been pronounced on the case he mentions (see p. 29), the judge ruling that the children should be removed from the care of Mrs. Besant and given back to the father within a fixed time." He then continues:—

Further legal proceedings have confirmed, with yet more precision, the infamous immorality of which Mr. Leadbeater stands accused. (see report in The Hindu, Madras, May 9th, 1913.) A Madras medical review called The Antiseptic had pubished an article in which apprehension of the establishment of a 'Temple of Onanism" ["unnatural sin." See Dr. Hartmann's Paracelsus, p. 90] at Adyar was expressed. The Hindu newspaper reprinted the scandal. Mrs. Besant took proceedings aga nst the author of the article and the publisher of The Antiseptic; and the Treasurer of the Theosophical Society was moved at the same time to action against The Hindu. All three cases were dismissed. The gravity of the position is evident. Mr. Leadbeater's methods have been proved by his own admissions as well as by documents before the Court to be subversive of morality....

These facts [I omit the worst details that M. Lévy feels obliged to quote] condemn Mr. Leadbeater without possibility of appeal; they reveal to us, with regard to Mrs. Besant, a truly degrading complaisance, by reason of her desire to hide a crime as patent as it is abominable ... the members of the Theosophical Society are not only kept in complete ignorance regarding these facts, but the administration of Adyar, through its extensive propaganda, has a great influence over new members in all conditions, while concealing and perverting the truth.... The existence of persons like Mr. Leadbeater, who admit and practise the worst perversities, is a sad reminder of the darker side of human nature; yet the attitude of simply ignoring that such things exist seems indefensible when these persons pretend to the highest morality and represent themselves as guides towards spiritual development ... claiming to stand "on the threshold of divinity.".. The danger that such persons may continue to extend their empire over the souls of others is an increasing one....

In view of these "facts" M. Lévy's restraint of language is remarkable, his condemnation hardly sufficiently scathing. His concluding words, however, explain much; he has evidently greatly admired Mrs. Besant in earlier years, and the last paragraph of his book eloquently attests his personal grief:—"The feeling which here arrests my pen, and prevents me from saying more on the matter, will be understood by those who have followed me so far, and they may hear across my silence the voice of their own sorrow." I deeply respect M. Lévy's feelings; but for me—who have never had any illusions regarding Mrs. Besant from the time of the disruption of the Society in 1894-5—the matter assumes a more sinister aspect. His pages have rendered me most invaluable help in putting before the general public matter not personally known to my own experience. I left Colonel Olcott's Society in 1895, M. Lévy left Mrs. Besant's in 1913; and when we remember that this was its condition nine years ago, my previous remarks (see p. 14) may be better appreciated now that more evidence has been adduced

The Central Hindu College. An Indian Criticism.

[Mrs. Besant's] remarks on the Central Hindu College [Benares] in your paper are illustrations of this sad change in her. This Institution, for which she has done more than anyone else perhaps, she now openly and obviously tries to injure most deeply in the minds of the public by wild suggestions that it and the Hindu University, into which it is proposed to be expanded, are mixed up with political seditionists and extremists ... that such an educational movement is in any way mixed up with seditionism and extremism is an idea ... fatuously ludicrous.... The reckless, incoherent, self-contradictory, incorrect and misleading statements that Mrs. Besant has been freely making latterly in the public press, have only injured her own reputation.... The C. H. C. was founded in July, 1898, in order to do for the numerous sects and sub-divisions of Hinduism what the T. S. was endeavouring to do for all views and religions.... The College grew and prospered year by year, under the Presidentship of Mrs. Besant, and won the confidence ... of Hindus of almost all shades of opinion.... But with the transfer of Mrs. Besant from Benares to Adyar in 1907, as President of the T. S., elected under very peculiar circumstances [as I learnt recently from a very old member present in Adyar when Colonel Olcott was on his deathbed. Italics mine.—A. L. C.] foreshadowing the coming policies, a change began to come over the spirit of all her work and surroundings. Despite the suggestions, advice, entreaties, expostulations, and warnings of her old colleagues and counsellors who had made her work in India possible [Italics mine.—A. L. C.], she developed more and more and beyond all due bounds, the germ of person-worship so long held in restraint. Entirely proofless claims to superphysical powers and experiences, to being an Initiate, an Arhat, a Mukta and what not; claims to read Mars and Mercury and the whole Solar System, past, present and future (but with careful avoidance of even the most easy test, such as reading a given page of a closed book) claims to be the authorised agent of "the Great White Brotherhood which guides Evolution on earth" and to be in communication with the Supreme Director of the world and with "the World-Teacher," etc., in short, all the elements of sensationalism and emotionalism—which were subdominant and private (confined mostly to the "inner" E. S. T. organisation within the T. S.) now began to be predominant and public.... In the spring of 1909, a "brother Initiate" of Mrs. Besant's "discovered" the boy, now nicknamed Alcyone, as the future vehicle of the Coming Christ ... "neo-theosophy" was started more or less definitely [Italics mine.—A. L. C.]....

In January 1911 was started publicly by the then Principal of the C. H. C., as the chief member of the "Group" an "Order" called The Order of the Rising Sun, with the idea of "preparing for a coming World-Teacher "as its publicly avowed central idea, and the creed that the boy J. K. (Alcyone) would be the "vehicle" of the "Coming Christ—Maitreya-Bodhisattva," etc., as its privately understood creed, to spread which amongst the students was the duty of the inner "pledged group.' ... [See ante p. 21.

In short, Mrs. Besant cleverly utilised an already existing organisation, founded for quite other objects and aims, to spread this crazy and pernicious "neo-theosophy," under cover of secrecy, pledges, etc., which she and C. W. Leadbeater—the real inspirer—well knew to be almost irresistible baits for sensitive and imaginative youths at a highly impressionable age.

In April, 1911, on remonstrance by the older members of the Managing Committee, Mrs. Besant arranged that the Order of the Rising Sun should be disbanded. But this was mere show. When the disbandment was announced to the managers, it had already been arranged to replace the O. R. S. on a larger scale by The Order of the Star in the East with the Principal, Head Master, and various Professors of the C. H. C. as the Private and other secretaries, of the boy J. K. as Head of the Order, and Mrs. Besant as Protectress of the whole....

In the summer of 1911, side by side with this public activity, there was started by Mrs. Besant within the E. S. T. ... A WRITTEN PLEDGE OF ABSOLUTE OBEDIENCE TO HERSELF. This fact, "private and confidential" at the time, is now public property since the Madras law suits....

In August, 1911, the Trustees of the C. H. C., to allay the apprehension in the public mind that the C. H. C. was being diverted from its constitutional broad and liberal Hinduism into a bizarre and unhealthy personal-cult and bigoted Second-Adventism, passed formal resolutions to the effect that the Institution had nothing to do with any such Orders as those of the Rising Sun or the Star in the East.

On December 24th, 1911, resolutions were passed by the Trustees, agreeing that the C. H. C. should become part of the Hindu University.... The neo-theosophic propagandism within (as without) the C. H. C. continued ... in a score of evasive and elusive forms. Inner "Groups" and "Esoteric Section Groups" of persons formally pledged to obedience to Mrs. Besant, "Leagues of Service" of various kinds, "Orders of S. E." and "S. I." and "I. L.," "Co-Masonry Lodges," "Temple of the R. C.," and corresponding badges, bands, "regalia," "jewels,"and "pink," and "blue," and "yellow" scarves; "magnetized ribbons," and "stars" in pin, brooch, and button forms, etc. [for all the world like the Kindergarten games for developing infant intelligences!—A. L. C.] multiplied and replaced one another in interest like mushrooms in the rain time, a very fever of restless sound and movement hiding lack of substance and of wise purpose. Fuss of the most absurd and mischievous kind became rampant. Lectures, meetings, night classes, outside the college rooms and buildings, took place perpetually in the neighbouring T. S. premises and private residences, for expounding the doctrines of neo-theosophy and especially the book called At the Feet of the Master alleged to have been written down by Alcyone (J. Krishnamurti), as the embryonic scriptures and revelation of "the Embryo of a New Religion," as Mrs. Besant declares the O. S. E. to be. Resident students were advised, and a number of them began to keep photos of Alcyone, as the "vehicle" of the "Coming Christ" and himself an "Initiate of the Great White Brotherhood" (and Mrs. Besant and one or two other living persons) "on the threshold of divinity," and to worship them with flowers, incense, etc. Old and young believers prostrating and genuflecting, literally, at the feet of the living original when within reach.... The then Principal of the College (who had founded the O. R. S.) proclaimed in his lectures in the neighbouring T. S. Hall, and elsewhere, that he was a "High Disciple of the Master"; and that the C. H. C. was "founded to prepare for the Advent of the World-Teacher"....

[Mrs. Besant] has publicly stated [that] all of the members of the General Council of the T. S. now belong, with one or two exceptions perhaps, to the "Esoteric Section," prime condition of membership of which is, the formal written pledge of absolute obedience to Mrs. Besant; and so while the loud profession is freedom of thought "for all" the practice is sedulously "for herself," and her pledged votaries only; while the theory is that the O. S. E. "must not be identified with the T. S.," the practice is that the T. S. must be merged in the O. S. E.

Let us turn to the C. H. C. to bring the narrative up to date. In March and April 1913 there came into the hands of another Manager and Trustee, a printed "letter," covering some three foolscap pages, bearing the signature of the gentleman who was then Principal of the C. H. C., the date October 25th, 1912, and the imprint of Mrs. Besant's Vasanta Press, Adyar, Madras, and not bearing any word like "private" or "personal," or "confidential." In this "letter" amazingly extravagant and fantastic statements are made as regards Mrs. Besant; she is hailed repeatedly as one who is "to become one of the greatest Rulers of the World of Gods and men" [This is sheer insanity.—A. L. C.]; mention is made of the "recognition of the God without us, which made us members of this Group from which we draw our life to-day"; it is said "that her light to ours was and is as the rays of the sun at noon-time to the rays of a lamp at night, and we did not desire to examine the Sun to see under what conditions it might possibly ray forth a more dazzling brilliance." The members of the Group are reminded that "we pledged ourselves in our hearts that we should strive to become her true and loyal servants ...," etc.

Thus complete was the hypnosis and surrender of reason which was sought to be effected amongst the votaries. It was a case of emotionalism run amuck...."

It is, unfortunately, "a case" of something infinitely more mischievous; of evil "magic" and "sorcery" (cf. H. P. B.'s definition, ante p. 36.) Whether Mrs. Besant knows it or not, Mr. Leadbeater undoubtedly must be well aware that life and strength can be drawn, on inner planes of being, from the blind devotion of a solid body of fanatical votaries. "Magicians" of a certain school—I need hardly specify which—thus prolong their lives through the magnetic and vita emanations of their nearest and most devoted followers. In a word, it is Vampirism, pure and simple, on the psychic plane. (I found that Mrs. Tingley well understood this form of Sorcery.) This, if true in Mrs. Besant's case is probably unconscious; but in Mr. Leadbeater's it is done consciously and with knowledge. That the secret acts and teachings of this man are far worse than most people have ever suspected is confirmed in a "Letter in reply to Mrs. Besant" by "Dreamer" which appeared in The Theosophic Voice (Chicago), November, 1908, under the title "India Speaks." This scholarly Hindu Theosophist writes:—

If we are to believe the stenographic report of the Inquiry in 1906, then instead of holding that Mr. Leadbeater denied the charges, we must come to the conclusion that not only did he teach the solitary vice, but further he did things which would have brought him within the pale of the criminal laws for the foulest and most indecent offence which brute man may commit. This is our latter day saint who must be re-admitted, nay, invited back, into the Theosophical Society.

Note that this was written fourteen years ago! The subject is a revolting one, but in the interests of that public whom these people are still misleading and deceiving, and who have no idea of the extreme gravity of the menace, it is necessary to be explicit.

To return to the "Letter" mentioned by Mr. Das; he continues:—

The Trustee and Manager into whose hands a copy of the astonishing document came, with the information that it had been circulated amongst a number of the C. H. C. students, informed the secretaries of the College, and sent the letter with the comments on the same for publication in a daily paper, in order to show the public how the person-worship-creeds of Mrs. Besant's "neo-theosophy" were being sown and grown within the C. H. C. despite the resolutions of the Trustees.

On publication of the rhapsody, a great outcry in the name of "injured innocence" was raised.... As to the "dishonourableness" of the publication, competent judges of such matters have pronounced that it was dishonourable only if it be dishonourable to expose what cannot be called other than gross treason to the Constitution and ideals of the C. H. C., and to bring to light, and the bar of public opinion, underhand or half-concealed or openly defiant efforts to convert students to a grotesque person-worship and demoralizing and soul-stunting blind obedience to Mrs. Besant.... The asking for, and the receiving of the pledges of obedience to herself, etc., is an act of over-weening presumption against the God in every man.... Ever since she encouraged and started them, her mind has worked less and less correctly and confusion has fallen ever worse and worse upon her work, losing to the T. S. many thousands of old members, alienating from her all her old co-workers and co-founders of the C. H. C. and destroying the confidence in her of the Indian public.

Towards the end of his most illuminating pamphlet Mr. Das has occasion to speak of Mrs. Besant's "wildly reckless statements," some of which he quotes. They relate to the C. H. C. and he stigmatises them as "all simply and utterly untrue." "Her mind," he says a little further on, is working "incoherently." Finally, he writes:—

Let us conclude; when a person like Mrs. Besant, with a biography full of remarkable changes, full of fine work as well as bad blunders, having established herself, in her own belief, and that of her pledged band, as the present chief Spiritual Teacher and Saviour of Mankind, as "the God within us" now, and as the future "greatest Ruler of the World of Gods and men," suddenly adds on the role of political saviour of India in particular, and pre-determined martyr in constant danger of assassination [strangely enough, this was also one of Mrs. Tingley's obsessions] by anarchist miscreants ... and proclaims that those who differ from her are in league with those miscreants—when this happens, what explanation can be offered to their own minds by her old friends ...?

The only sad explanation that they can postulate is that she is suffering from mental delusions.

Alas! this lenient and charitable judgment by no means covers the ground as a complete explanation of Mrs. Besant's mischievous and almost irresponsible activities. Mr. Das fails to see as clearly as MM. Lévy and Schuré the sinister influence behind all these manifestations; the source and inspiration of all this evil.

Mrs. Besant's latest Assertions and claims examined.

WE now come to the examination of two articles in the Theosophist for March, 1922, in which the President of the T. S. makes some attempt to deal with recent criticism. One is a Supplement, or Manifesto, addressed "To all Members of the Theosophical Society," and couched in Mrs. Besant's present style—flamboyant, a trifle bombastic, often Biblical in phraseology, and running throughout it, her usual fervid and disingenuous appeal to sentimental emotionalism, instead of the instinctive sense of justice latent in all beings. This latter, a feature of her best days, she has entirely abandoned; it no longer serves her ends. What those "ends" are one almost hesitates to formulate, so impious and almost insane do they appear. Even taking into consideration the tangled mass of evasions, misstatements and hypocritical equivocations presented in this manifesto, these "ends" emerge with sufficient clearness. But, in the first place, and before going further, one must ask on what basis this amazing claim to almost deific powers and knowledge rests. Let me here call M. Lévy into the witness box once more; for he also had put the same question to himself nine years ago, and will provide the answer. It occurs in his chapter on "Mrs. Besant's 'Return of the Christ,'" where he is dealing with her position and actions in regard to Dr. Steiner, the German occultist and Christian Theosophist—with whose ideas, I should add, I am not in personal agreement. My teacher is H. P. Blavatsky and she alone: I follow no lesser light. M. Lévy says:—

Our reason forces us to confess that all goes to suggest that Mrs. Besant, having herself ceased to believe in the identity of her Jesus with the Christ [of the Gospels.—A. L. C.], would still continue to make others believe it.... Her pride ... her dominating mind, have driven her on this crusade of extermination of Dr. Steiner's teachings; it has induced her to collect, without the least regard for truth, justice, or theosophic principles, no matter what weapons if they do but serve against her opponent; calumny, abuse of power, misstatement of facts, all combined in a subtle strategy.

Italics are mine; for we find Mrs. Besant using precisely the same methods to-day, only in a form fortunately neither so "subtle" nor so Jesuitically plausible. Her powers are failing, as the manifesto under consideration clearly proves. M. Lévy proceeds:—

And when she falls victim of some error in the course of her occult investigations—of which in theory she is always proclaiming the fallibility—it is again her pride that bars the way to admission, and makes her the slave of the most pitiful machinations ... which ... will shatter to fragments in all directions the confidence she had formerly inspired. For if she is not consciously defending her mistake, then what kind of a break-up of all her faculties are we witnessing?... The more deeply we study this [i.e., the "neo-theosophy" already described by M. Lévy and Pandit Bhagavan Das.—A. L. C.], the more terrible appear the responsibilities of Adyar in this deplorable scheme; for we would still seek the origin of such fearless confidence [in Mrs. Besant's followers.—A. L. C.] refusing, as it does, to be shaken by the eloquent appeal of the facts here set forth, and of which some, if not all, have been within the reach and open to examination of those members who profess such an enthusiastic confidence in Mrs. Besant. The result of our search is a yet further culpability, as overwhelming as it is unexpected.

For this confidence is not in the case of all the victims the result of the free use of their own inner faculties. It is in the case of the greater number, due to the influence of a strong suggestion deliberately organised and cleverly carried out by the authors of this mystification themselves; by Mr. Leadbeater who wrote, and by Mrs. Besant who published, the following lines in the Adyar Album, p. 45: "What can I say to you of your President that you do not know already? Her colossal [sic] intellect, her unfailing wisdom, her unrivalled eloquence, her splendid forgetfulness of self, her untiring devotion to work for others—all these are familiar to you. Yet these qualities, these powers, are but a small part of her greatness; they are on the surface, they may be seen by all, they leap to the eyes. But there are other qualities, other powers, of which you cannot know, because they pertain to the secrets of Initiation. She is a pupil of our Masters; from the fount of Their archaic wisdom she derives her own, the plans which she is carrying out are Their plans for the welfare of the world. Think, therefore, how great an honour it is for you that you should be permitted to work under her, for in doing so you are virtually working under Them. Think how watchful you should be to miss no hint which falls from her lips, to carry out exactly whatever instructions she may give you. Remember that because of her position as an Initiate she knows far more than you do; and precisely because her knowledge is occult, given under the seal of Initiation, she cannot share it with you. Therefore her actions must certainly be governed by considerations of which you have no conception. There will be times when you cannot understand her motives, for she is taking into account many things which you cannot see and of which she must not tell you. But whether you understand or not, you will be wise to follow her implicitly, just because she knows. This is no mere supposition on my part, no mere flight of the imagination; I have stood beside your President in the presence of the Supreme Director of evolution on this globe, and I know whereof I speak. Let the wise hear my words, and act accordingly."

It is easy to see how minds not gifted with a highly developed critical faculty, or the instinctive sense that discriminates the true from the false, would yield hopelessly to such a formidable assault. They cannot see that he who thus guarantees the infallibility of Mrs. Besant has himself need of guarantee.... I do not think that any religion or man-made cult, even in the earliest ages, has ever promulgated superstition in its grossest form so openly and boldly as this ... [Italics mine.—A.L.C.]. Mr. Leadbeater ... demands deliberate suppression of thought.... And having extolled such a deliberately induced mental torpor for Mrs. Besant's benefit, he immediately demands it for himself when he speaks of the "Supreme Director of evolution on this globe." Who is this administrative person? With whom is he to be identified in the scheme of evolution as it has been given to us by Mrs. Besant and Mr. Leadbeater themselves?... What avenging God will come to confound this impious prophet who seeks to reduce humanity to the level of a troop of obedient automata!... A gentle and winning voice, infinitely reassuring, rises out of the depths of my being ... a great light breaks forth, triumphant. Mr. Leadbeater hears the words of a judgment immediate and without appeal, pronounced by the Buddha himself:—

"Believe not what you have heard said; believe not in traditions merely because they have been transmitted through many generations; believe not merely because a thing is repeated by many persons; ... believe not conjectures ... believe not solely upon the authority of your Masters and elders. When upon observation and analysis a principle conforms to reason and leads to the benefit and welfare of all, accept it and hold it."—(Buddha, Anguttura Nikaya.)

What a royal refuge, what a noble support are the words of those who are the truly great! They are the perpetual safeguard of humanity.

We have seen that upon "observation and analysis" the "unfailing" wisdom of Mrs. Besant is no more than a mass of inconsistencies, injustices, sectarian tactics in administration, error and mystification in esoteric announcements. Far from leading to "the benefit and welfare of all," this "unfailing" wisdom is leading to the ... most miserable slavery of souls, the emasculation of minds, the creation of a terrible heresy. And at the present time we are all feeling that we shall not be living up to the wise exhortations of that great Being who was the Buddha, unless we clearly denounce the lamentable aberrations of these two occultists in the hope of drawing all the souls we possibly can away from their pernicious influence. With this end in view, and faithful to this duty, we shall calmly and firmly continue our investigation of facts.

Fortunately, the assertions of Mrs. Besant and Mr. Leadbeater have lately reached to such a pitch of extravagance and have so utterly defied common sense that they will rouse even the least critical minds and the most compliant hearts.

Then follows the section of M. Lévy's book in which he quotes from Man; Whence, How, and Whither; much of this I have given earlier in this pamphlet. And M. Lévy, one must remember, wrote all this nine years ago!

At this point it may serve a useful purpose if I specifically define my own position in regard to Mrs. Besant's claims. I entirely and most emphatically reject them all. Mr. Leadbeater's I was not even aware of, until I came to collect and examine the material for this pamphlet. They are so monstrous as not even to merit a specific "rejection"—it goes without saying. I practically lost all faith in Mrs. Besant when she dissimulated and tried to mislead the Inner Group Council on her return from her first visit to India in 1894. She then informed us that she had been "ordered by the Master to accuse Judge." On being closely cross-examined, however, she finally admitted that she had not received this "Order" direct, as she would have had us believe, but through the Brahmin whom she then followed blindly[11], exactly as she now follows Leadbeater. But later, when taxed with this in public, she pretended that he had had nothing whatever to do with it! This is a typical example of Mrs. Besant's idea of a 'truthful' statement in a matter of the most vital importance involving the fate of a leader and many thousands of members. What confidence can be placed in such a woman—one whose mental processes are so warped, and whose ideas of 'truth' and 'honesty' are so peculiar? To inspire confidence a leader must be the very soul of truth and uprightness. Mrs. Besant has always been remarkable for asserting herself to be this, and people have believed her. But a truly upright and honest person (even if aware of it, as in Occultism he has to be) would never draw attention to it—and that publicly and in print.

Because, for Mrs. Besant, Mr. —— was at this period her mouthpiece for the Master, she expected her colleagues to take the same view without question. This attitude is typical, and can be applied to all that she now says about Leadbeater (see ante p. 19.) From this time I found it impossible to believe in her or her statements; such, for instance, as that H. P. B. had reincarnated in Mr. ——'s little daughter!![12]—or in anyone else for that matter. H. P. B. herself, when someone asked her about reincarnating, jokingly replied—"Yes, in some mild Hindu youth with half a lobe to his brain!" H. P. B. has not reincarnated. On the ridiculous belief above mentioned Mrs. Besant based her "authority" for doing things in H. P. B.'s name after her death (see post p. 71 for examples). It follows also that I absolutely reject her claim to be an "agent" of the Masters (i.e., the Trans-Himâlayan Brotherhood), neither do I believe that she has had any communication whatsoever with Them since H. P. B.'s death.[13] Finally, I reject her most presumptuous claim that she is able, or in anyway fitted, to "expand," "verify," or "check" by psychic faculties H. P. B.'s statements and teachings; still less to carry on independent occult investigations on the same, or any similar plane of consciousness. Whether Mrs. Besant, in making these claims, is acting under the glamour of Mr. Leadbeater's "clairvoyant" delusions, as MM. Lévy and Schuré suggest, or is fully conscious and responsible, is not my part to judge, nor does it really matter. For me, her life may be summed up in some words she applied recently to Mr. Gandhi (Theosophist, April, 1922). It is "the tragedy of a soul." Her criticisms on what she calls his "failure" apply fully and literally to her own.

There is really very little in the Manifesto (Theosophist, March, 1922), that is not sufficiently answered by the various extracts I have quoted from previous critics. Mrs. Besant opens with the usual disingenuous statements about the "Liberal Catholic Church." Her argument that all religions are on an equal footing in the T. S. carries no weight when it is widely known that L. C. C. agents are everywhere at work pushing its interests.

Coming next to Mr. Leadbeater, Mrs. Besant states that he was "cleared by a Committee in England"! But it is really a little too much, and altogether too brazen,[14] when she dares to compare his case with that of H. P. B. in the matter of slander. There can be no possible comparison. The worst ever suggested against H. P. B. was what has been said of many other women, including Mrs. Besant herself, who have had to work in the glare of publicity and champion an unpopular cause. No evidence was ever brought forward, and the New York Sun promptly apologised for publishing such statements on being shown that they were unfounded.[15] The grave charges against Mr. Leadbeater were supported by documentary evidence which has never been rebutted, and they have to do with something far worse than personal moral laxity, as we have seen. Mrs. Besant knows she cannot meet these charges, and so seeks to brush them aside by voluble talk about "hatred," "defamation," and "vilification." The only justification she offers for having reinstated him in 1907 is that she had discovered that it was "a cruel lie that he had confessed to wrongdoing"! This is to argue that the "accused" should be "acquitted" because he refused to confess—in the face of evidence of no matter how damning a nature! Did Mrs. Besant follow this procedure in her "Case against W. Q. Judge"? Not at all; far from "acquitting" him when he refused to "confess to wrongdoing" and asked for production of the incriminating documents, she calmly confessed that she had destroyed them! But now that it is a case of her own guide and "intermediary" in the dock, her attitude is entirely different, and it is quite enough for her that the "accused" did not "confess" his crime!

As Dr. Stokes, Editor of the O. E. Critic (Washington, D.C.) has been fearlessly stating the facts and encouraging the "Back to Blavatsky" movement for some time past, she next devotes a paragraph to an attempt to discredit him by suggesting his connection with an old enemy of H. P. B.'s. Dr. Stokes's championship of H. P. B., and relentless exposure of the Besant-Leadbeater imposture is the more effective since he persists in retaining his membership in the T. S.

The next to be dealt with is Pandit Bhagavan Das, and his criticisms about the Central Hindu College. Here again, all I have quoted from his pamphlet about the secret sections, underhand work, pledges, etc., are entirely ignored.

Mr. T. H. Martyn's letter, which has caused such a sensation in the Society (Holland alone asking for 500 copies) is dismissed as full of "untrue" statements. Truly a very simple method of dealing with matter which Mrs. Besant finds compromising or unpleasant (see ante p. 18); but she can hardly believe it to be convincing.

It is when this profoundly disingenuous woman comes to an explanation of the motive behind her political work in India, that we find a typical specimen of the peculiar form of megalomania already so ably demonstrated by M. Lévy. What must be the mental condition of a person who can sit down and solemnly write the following?

The work entrusted to me directly by the great Rishi who is—as one may say [sic]—the spiritual Viceroy[16] for India of the King of Kings of our world—is the bringing about of Home Rule in India, in close union with Great Britain, as part of a great Federation of Free Nations, a model of the future World Commonwealth...."

Why such a very mundane and political idea should need an order from a Rishi is not explained. The patent appeal both to the Government and the Indian people in this portentous announcement is not very happily conceived.