THEOSOPHY.

Evening Star, Issue 10212, 14 January 1897, Page 4

THEOSOPHY.

A leoture was delivered in Stuart street Oddfellows' Hall on Tuesday night by Mrs Sara Draffib, F.T.B. (of Auckland), the subject being * The Necessity for Physical Rebirth Governed by the Law of Cause and Effect.' MrG. Richardson acted as chairman, and the attendance was only moderate. - -The first portion of the lecture dealt with the law of Karma, or cause and effect, which ensured to mankind the result of their labors, good or bad, in any and every walk of life, the soul coming back to this earth, through the gate of Reincarnation, to reap the harvest it had sown. These two doctrines accounted for the diversity of environment- seen all around us, and it was, the lecturer said, a nobler and more inspiring doctrine than that orthodox one which made of man a mere automaton, whose eternal fortunes were disposed of before he was born. Still, the message of Theosophy was not eo much to those who were satisfied with the teachings in which they had been reared as to the thoughtful men and women whose profounder intuition had carried them from the comfortable anchorage of the church out into the great ocean of doubt—an ocean whereof Theosophy alone could supply the chart; for the teachings of the church were vague and unsatisfactory, and the Bible only capable of being understood when read iu the light of the Wisdom Religion. Man had none to fear but hinuelf; the universe was governed by law ; and when he began to understand the law he could shape his purpose more dtfiaitelv, and obtain that for which he worked—a better body, a larger brain, an unfolded spiritual perception ; his fate was, under, the law, in his own hands, and he, inhabiting body after body, made progress exactly commensurate with his effort and intention. That was the message of hope and comfort Theosophy had to preach. Evil existed but for the more perfect ultimate development of goodness, and at the heart of the universe all was well. Let them strive after the Christ spirit, and they would draw nearer and nearer to the light until the Christ spirit was revealed incarnate lin them. Some questions were asked and answered at the close.

A cable message, published in another column, states that Mrs Tingley and party are passengers by the Rotomahana, which sailed from Sydney for Auckland yesterday. It seems that the crusaders represent a Bection of Theosophists distinct from that headed by Mrs Besant. They are organised by the American Theosophists founded by Madame Blavatsky in 1875, and of whom Mr W. Q. Judge was the leader until last year. It is claimed that this Bection comprises more than three-quarters of the entire movement throughout the world. Since Mr Judge's death its leader has been Mrs Katherine A. Tingley, and its ramifications extend to France, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Greece, and Egypt, each national division managing its own affaire. That it is in marked disagreement with Mrs Besant and her associates the following quotation from a namphlet issued in connection with the tour will show :—" An attempt has recently been made by Mrs Besant and others to organise a systematic persecution of Mrs Tingley, the present leader of the movement. Letters have been sent to the AngloIndian Press, personal letters have been written, and every other possible step has been taken to defame Mrs Tingley. Mrs Besant publicly stated in Bombay that Mrs Tingley claimed to be the reincarnation of Madame Blavatsky, a positive untruth. Mrs Tingley and her feliow Theosophists were called * Masqueraders' by the same defaming pen. Would not this also lead the public to suppose we were impostors ? But such attacks can only be regarded as childish, due to fear, and of no account when the public learn the facts. It should be clear, at least, that Mrs Tingley and the members of the Theosophical Society who are with her neither belong to nor have any connection with a society whose headquarters are at Adyar, Madras, which is presided over by Colonel Olcott, and, to a greater or less extent, by Mrs Annie Besant. It should also be clear that the work being done by Mrs Tingley and her party in India and the other countries visited is not in opposition to any persons, societies, or religions. They attaek no one, and the above explanation would not have been necessary if petty persecution had not been commenced even before the party had reached India. Mrs Tingley desires to carry on her work for brotherhood with all people, of every creed, caste, or color, who earnestly desire the elevation of mankind."