THEOSOPHY.

Otago Witness, Volume 01, Issue 2123, 1 November 1894, Page 37

THEOSOPHY.

THE MAHATMAS ALLEGED TO BE A HOAX.

London, October 29.

The Westminster Gazette publishes a series of articles, the object of whioh is to prove that the Mahatmas are ft hoax. It alleges that Mrs Besant has been bamboozled for years by bogus communications, and that she and her colleagues are now condoning the hoax in order to shield the author of the bogus document, who is holding the highest office bnt one in the Theosophioal Society.

In connection with the above message Mrs Besant, being interviewed at Wellington by the Press Asßooiation, makes the following statet&vciV. — "I. fcarcft usA %<yya. at tta&td anything about the alleged articles in the Westminster Gazette, but I can unhesitatingly deny the statements as cabled that there were some messages circulated, alleged to be from Mnhatmas, that did not originate from them. It is also true that there were messages given to certain people by Mr Judge 'in the script recognisable as that adapted by the master, with whom M. P. Blavatsky was closely connected, and that these letters and messages were neither written nor precipitated directly by the master, in whose writing they appear.' Knowing that this had been done, I brought the matter before the officials of the Theosophical Society, and I did this partly to put an end to what I considered dangerous »nd wrong, and partly to reduce to their true measure a mass of vague accusations, for the most part false, that had been made against Mr Judge. He had been freely accused in yarious newspaper! in America, India, and England of forgery and fraud, and It was necessary that the accusations should be sifted, and that he should be given an opportunity of meeting them. The essential charge I brought was the one stated above in inverted commas, and I stated that I believed Mr Judge had often received direct messages from the masters and from their chelas, but that he has sometimes written down the message psychically received in the script above referred to, and had thug misled the person to whom he gave it. Believing this to be wrong I protested against it, and my full statement was published last July. So far from condoning any wrong, I publioly alleged it and condemned it. The committee of the Theosopbical Society broke down on a technical objection raised by Mr Judge, and in consequence of that failure I published a statement of the proceedings of the committee, and my statement and oho by Mr Judge were sent by myself to every important London paper, the Westminster Gazette included, last July. .Shit US a»fttU» was not liven uubVoitr to U

therefore due to the press and not to thd sooiefey that published the proceed ing*, nor tti myself, who sent them to the papers. I cad give you the whole for publication it" you wish. I send you also a statement issued by seyen o£ us showing the poaition we take up. All thii business in no way touches the existence ot masters any more than the forging of a lettet from the Queen would disprove her existence. My knowledge, then, does not exist on any written papers to myself or others, but on my own porsonal experiencs— on teaching direotly received on face-to-face communication. On this I reßt."