THEOSOPHY AND THE THESOPHISTS.

New Zealand Tablet, 25 September 1913, Page 19

THEOSOPHY AND THE THESOPHISTS.

To the Editor.

Sir,—l beg to draw attention to the following misstatements in your leading article, on 4th inst., on " Theosophy and the Theosophists." The ' Order of the Star in the East' did not replace an older society which was suppressed in India; the ' Order of the Rising Sun ' is still, I believe, in existence under the Vedantists and that name was at first inadvertently adopted by the O.S.E. I do not speak officially for that Order, but I believe that its object is—not to ' ensnare ' any— to induce all to live and prepare themselves for the coming of a Great Teacher.

Miss McNeil's statement that ' Theosophy explicitly denies the Incarnation, the Atonement, the death of Christ, the claim of Christ to be. the only way to the Father; and if a Christian would be also a Theosophist, he must leave all this out of his Christianity,' is entirely unfounded: Theosophy denies none of these things, as its literature clearly shows. It opposes no man's faith, and has no sectional body of doctrine. The Society includes members of all faiths, each being free to think freely on Theosophieal subjects and explanations.

You quote from the Bombay Guardian that the judge held that Mr. Leadbeafcer was ‘an immoral person ’; that is not true, and the Tress Agency withdrew and apologised for the error.' The judge’s opinion that Mrs. Besant had stipulated that the boys should have nothing to do with Mr. Leadbeater, was given in opposition to theovidence of Mrs, Besant herself , and : of Sir Subramaniab - Iyer, late Chief Justice, and of three other gentlemen*, all present at the interview. The whole case is still before the Courts, on appeal. I have no reason to disbelieve Mr, Leadbeater’s statement that he acted (as • regards three boys' in America many years ago) : in accordance with : rules laid down in a certain Order of the 1 Anglican Church of which he was a member. The result in: every case ; was quite successful in eradicating : the ‘ devilish ’ habit'. : C. W. Sanders, General Secretary, Theosophical. Society.[As a mere matter of- courtesy we print the' foregoing, but we would point out that a writer who'sets out to correct ‘misstatements’ is expected :to r give chapter and verse for his counter-statements," and’to furnish his readers with something better than ; that -he ‘believes’ this, or ‘has no reason to disbelieve’ the 'other thing. Our correspondent’s failure to supply a single authority in substantiation of his statements renders his communication entirely valueless. We have dealt briefly with his assertions in another column.— N.Z.T.]