H. P. Blavatsky and the few real Occultists who partly understood or understand Her message and her mission stand arraigned by public opinion, which still holds high the banners of inductive Science and orthodox Religion. Old and time-honoured errors— such as become with every day more glaring and self-evidentstand arrayed in battle order, now, as always. Marshalled by blind conservatism, conceit and prejudice, they are constantly on the watch, ready to strangle every truth which knocks for admission. That this proves in every case moral death to the revealers, who bring to light any of these old, old truths, is as certain as that it gives LIFE and REGENERATION to those who are fit to profit even by the little that is revealed to them. But all the time the faculty of perception is awakening in some enabling them to descry these facts and truths beyond the ordinary ken. And cyclic law will but repeat itself in a few generations when these very truths will be looked upon as commonplace facts, and a little later declared to be necessary, and even the dullest intellects will wonder how they could ever have been denied.

THE MOTHER OF THE VEDAS*

Rig Veda: III, 62, 10.

The Gayatri, the most sacred Indian verse, the Mother of the Vedas, is taken from the third of the ten cycles of hymns, the cycle of the Râjaputra Sage Vishvâmitra. This is its original form, preceded by the four sacred syllables:

Om Bhur Bhuvah Svah!

Tat Savitur varenyam
Bhargo devasya dhimahi

Dhiyo yo nah prachodayât.

Taken word for word, it may be translated:

Om Earth Mid-World Heaven!

That Life-Sun's adorable

Light, god's,-let-us-think-on,

Souls who for-us may-quicken.

Or, rendered more freely: Let us keep in mind the adorable light of that divine Sun of Life, who may illumine our souls.

Reprinted from the "Oriental Department" papers, May, 1895.

ON THE LOOKOUT

"There is no existence for that which does not exist; neither is there any non-existence for what exists." There is neither creation nor destruction of anything, but only ceaseless transformation under the never-resting action of eternal consciousness. Things come within the horizon of our perception and we say "creation" has taken place. They pass the farther border of our sight and we say they have "ceased to be." The idea of the mortality, the annihilation, of anything, and the conception of birth or the "beginning" of anything, are nothing but the opposed phases of the limitation of our vision, our acquired experience. Krishna's words are but a statement of undying truth. Solomon said the same thing in other words: "That which is, hath been and shall be," and the life of H. P. B. was devoted to striking one single note, namely. that there is one eternal unchanging Reality and that everything that is partakes of Its nature, came from It, exists in It, and sooner or later shall return into It. "E'en wasted smoke," she wrote, "remains not traceless. Causes sown each hour bears each its harvest of effects. A harsh word spoken in past lives is not destroyed, but ever comes again." Intuitional scientists have more than once sensed this fountain head of all true observation and experience, though they, the same as the devout religionists, have ever failed to recognize its all-inclusive scope and application, so that the world has been little benefited either by their flashes of genius or by the virtues of the pietists.

An interesting recurrence of the same flash of soul-perception is shown in an editorial article in the Los Angeles Daily Times of April 21. Using the thrilling title of "Voices Buried in the Air" this writer takes note of certain presently inexplicable phenomena connected with wireless telegraphy -"sounds of voices, music, tramping of crowds, and explosions of sound for which they cannot account," makes him think "we may indeed be on the eve of an electric miracle. It may be possible that in the future the voices of the past will be brought back to us on the waves of the air." He concludes that these phenomena cannot be "accounted for on any other ground than that of some phenomena connected with the lingering vibrations of other days." Thus once more we see a close approach to the occult teachings of man and nature. But it is much more than an "electric miracle," much more than the phenomena of wireless, or of "voices buried in the air." Some day we shall recognize that all phenomena have the same basis -the action of consciousness; and that the rationale of wireless, of telepathy, of spiritualism, of all those mysterious events at present so wonderful and so baffling, are no more so and no different from the phenomena of birth and death or any "physical" happening. The source is the same, the laws are the same-the action of conscious intelligence; the variations are of instrument and process. All earthly perceivable events spring from the "astral light" which H. P. B. called the memory of God. The universe is embodied consciousness, and some day we will study the workings of consciousness, the cause, instead of matter, the effect.

In a recent notice of a Theosophical book the writer of the review quotes a statement which he attributes to "the Master Hilarion": "Abstain because it is right to abstain, not that yourself shall be kept clean." Now, the Lookout finds this statement in the little book "Light on the Path" (page 20), a volume well known to most students-and wonders upon just what purported “authority” it is attributed to "the Master Hilarion". In the

writings of the two Teachers, H. P. Blavatsky and Wm. Q. Judge, the name "Hilarion" is scarcely mentioned-the Lookout is reasonably familiar with all the known writings of the Teachers and recalls having seen the name "Hilarion" mentioned in an incidental way just once. No known books or writings are anywhere attributed to "Hilarion" either by H. P. B. or W. Q. J. Both stated to persons who are still living, known to us to be in full retention of their mental faculties, that Hilarion had no direct connection with the Theosophical Movement, as such, whatever. Yet among Theosophical students we hear that name, "the Master Hilarion”, bandied about and his purported writings quoted from, although there is not a scintilla of evidence anywhere in the Teachers' presentations of Theosophy that the personage referred to ever wrote a line that we know as His. On the contrary, there is every evidence, direct and implied, that there were two Masters directly concerned with the Theosophical Movement, and two only and They are the only Masters that students have any information about. Neither of these is called "Hilarion".

But some students will remark perhaps, "Oh, but so-and-so said that 'Light on the Path' was given out by the Master Hilarion". Is that evidence to any thinking mind? Or does it really make any difference who wrote, or "gave out" (we think that is the term ordinarily used by the "mystics") the book, provided the statements are good, and approve themselves to our highest aspirations? People say all sorts of things-even that the moon is made of green cheese-but students in judging these things must take some standard or other; and what would be the logical standard in matters Theosophical but Theosophy itself, and the statements made and indications given by Those who brought it to the West and exemplified it in Their lives and writings? Of these there were but two, H. P. B. and W. Q. J. Both demonstrated Their power and knowledge. This cannot be said in truth of present-day students who stand before the public as exponents of Theosophy, and who tell us so much about "Masters" of various names and powers, and designate Their writings so precisely. All students will doubtless agree that in the ordinary affairs of life no statements or actions are more generally respected and really admired than those qualified by a vigorous and persistent exercise of common-sense. Why not make the application, then, to matters Theosophical? If we are to spread the philosophy among intelligent people-and they are the class of minds that can help the Movement mostlet us try to bring to the promulgation in every department the same sound judgment we would endeavor to use in those other activities of ours that we are wont to term "practical".

In this connection a word may be said in regard to the various statements which go the rounds among some students to the effect that H. P. B has again incarnated. These statements are common today; they were common twenty-five years ago. In fact the physical H. P. B. was scarcely cold in death before some busy students began to speculate about Her reincarnation, and many declared that She actually had taken another physical body. None of the students really knew anything about the matter then; none of them know anything about it today. Some Theosophical "pundit" or another remarks in a lecture or writes in a book that H. P. B. has reincarnated, and immediately a flock of sheep-like students repeat the statement as if it were a fact well-known to them. Ask them definitely for their reasons-where they secured their information-and they will answer with the most conclusive air in the world, "Why, Mrs. says so", or "Mr. tells us about it isn't it wonderful to be able to see like that!" The hard-headed listener who has acquired what little he knows by his own efforts, through observation and experience, answers more likely than not, "Yes, it is indeed 'wonderful", and lets the matter go at that, and wonders, perhaps, where the word "common-sense" comes into circles Theosophical.

One remarkable student who talked with the Lookout not long ago possessed sufficient hardihood to state not only that H. P. B. had reincarnated, but that she (the speaker) had herself offered H. P. B. her body to use-but that fortunately H. P. B. had declined the offer. Shall we call this "hallucination"? It is no worse, nor better, than much of the speculation, misinformation, misunderstanding and astral gossip that is rampant in certain of the more prominently known "theosophical societies". This lady said she was a member of the Besant society. Furthermore she had been to India, and naturally that fact gave her preeminence among her kind. All she needs to do now is to get a few people to believing her, and she, too, will have a following. Perhaps some reader of THEOSOPHY will hereupon ask, "Well, do you think H. P. B. has reincarnated?" To which this answer may be made in all truth, "If She has, She certainly has not announced Herself" -with the further suggestion, surprisingly logical it seems to us, that any true announcement of the return of H. P. B. would not be likely to come through persons or Societies who have for years belittled Her and Her work and have actually and persistently travelled in directions that are the exact opposite of those lines clearly indicated by the Masters-and to be found precisely and accurately stated in the writings of H. P. B. The Teacher's writings, as printed by Her in the original editions, are still in the world and available to students. How many students of today are able to point out the changes that have been embodied in the later editions-those produced since H. P. B.'s death-and how many have understood the implication that is behind these changes? Surprises are in store for students who do this; and perhaps less dependence upon the "say-so's" of present-day "leaders" and "teachers".

"Whether I always existed or not, I do not know. The Theosophists may answer. But this I know: I did not always exist as I now am. And the Power that either gave me life or called me from the realm of spirits to walk the earth for a little time can be trusted to preserve me, if I am worth preserving, after my earthly pilgrimage is done. So I have no fear, either for myself or for my friends." The quotation is from a sermon on "The Question of Immortality," by the Rev. Carl F. Henry at the Universalist Church in Pasadena, California, as reported in the Pasadena Star-News of April 1. In his discussion of the great question Mr. Henry goes on to say, "If a man could say, 'I have survived death, my body has died and disintegrated but I still live; I am the same person that I was before my body returned to dust,' he would himself be convinced of his own immortality. Well, I can say that in all honesty, and so can you; you who have reached middle life have survived the death and disintegration of not one body only, but of six or eight. And I have no doubt that I, who have survived these succeeding physical deaths and disintegrations that have claimed one after another my bodies of flesh shall survive the death of the body that I am now wearing and of the next and of the next, if I shall need so many, and stand forth at length clothed in that spiritual body of which the seer spake."

Mr. Henry's sermon was from the text, "Why is it judged incredible with you if God doth raise the dead?" The subject and its treatment were looked upon by the newspaper as "news" important enough in the midst of daily events to be given a prominent display heading and full quotations. Is there not in all this something of much more than passing significance to theosophical students, committed by the very nature of their faith to help on the progress of the race? It seems so to us for many reasons. There was here no question of creed, sect or party; no selfish view or appeal, nor any

bigotry or intolerance. Tacitly there is the recognition that in Theosophy may be found the hidden causeway leading to knowledge of which the saviors, seers and mystics of all time have spoken in the veiled language of symbology. There is the consideration of some at least of the analogies and inferences common to the experience of the most ordinary man which point in the direction from which alone comprehension and understanding of the divine mystery of all life and being can come. One can hear throughout Mr. Henry's spoken meditation some broken echoes of the Word spoken by Krishna more than fifty centuries agone: "Never was time when I was not, nor thou, nor all these princes of the earth, nor shall we ever hereafter cease to be. As the Lord of this mortal frame experienceth therein infancy, youth and old age, so in future incarnations will it meet the same. One who is confirmed in this belief is not disturbed by anything that may come to pass. As a man throweth away old garments and putteth on new, even so the dweller in the body having quitted its old mortal frames, entereth into others which are new."

Nor need there be regret that such sermons and questionings are echoes only and fragmentary perceptions, or that they are intermixed with errors and misconceptions of the complex nature of man. These things are not merely inevitable; they are part and parcel of the process and evolution of the Soul. It suffices that the question is raised; that it is seriously pondered; that some light dawns, some fire of knowledge burns. In that light will be perceived how great is the darkness in which it burns, and the undying essence within will drive ceaselessly to further questioning and further search. And again, from the standpoint of the teachings of Theosophy and the lesson to be acquired from such applications as Mr. Henry was able to make, students of the Wisdom-Religion may perceive that their own work is a leavening one. H. P. B. did not come only to found a Society, only to impart instruction and give guidance to a favored few. Her work was the parable of the Sower once more exemplified and ours to emulate her example. As we study, assimilate, live Theosophy and spread its teachings broadcast, the ideas and principles of the great philosophy will enter minds open to receive them, germinate, root and grow in hearts everywhere mellowed whether by their own throes and sorrows or by sympathy with the world's woes, till little by little the great mind and heart of Humanity will be leavened with the leaven of the great doctrines of Unity, of Brotherhood, of Karma and Reincarnation, of the perfectibility of Man. In four little centuries America has been changed from a savage wilderness to a populous civilization. This is a physical transformation, it is true, and at best represents but a wrestling and a stage, but it is a type and a symbol of psychical and soul transformation, a ground-work made and laid in physical evolution for the expression of its inner and more perfect mental and spiritual complements. We must not forget that evolution is triple and that as in its individual units, so in a wider and more universal sweep that material civilization in the midst of which we are embedded is but the body of the race and within it, as within the body of man, the race soul and the race spirit are incarnate and ceaselessly giving the impulse to truer coordination. So students of H. P. B. are, in a spiritual and soul sense, pioneers, as were the early and hardy forbears of our generation, working in the wilderness of materialism and superstition, doing the primeval work of clearance, sowing the seed, making ready for the future, as they are making that future possible.